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The theme thoughout the Bible deals with the great controversy between Christ and satan. It's whole focus is on God's plan to rescue people from sin, to liberate them from the power of satan. The whole Great Controversy is over the question: Is God's government good, just and righteous and loving or does satan have a better plan?
Artist: Frank Breaden: "New Pictorial Aid for Bible Study"
Frankly, I get very concerned when I see people trying to take Christ and His ministry out of the prophecies. Without Him the prophecies have little meaning. To remove His ministry and try to reduce these prophecies to simply events of historical or future happenings is missing the central issue and essence of truth within them.
When a person comes to the study of prophecy with this mind set they see it in a totally different light then when they come to it as just a history lesson.
Daniel's Prayer
Gabrial Brings an Answer
To Confirm the Covenant
The Covenant lawsuit
Which Prince
Daniel 9.2
Daniel's prayer offers us a key element in the whole prophetic outline of Daniel 7-9. Sin seperates from God and leads to desolation. To regain favor and acceptance with God, the sinful self must give way to righteousness. Sinful human beings are dependant on the great mercies and provisions of God. The plan for forgiveness, cleansing, renewal and salvation lies in the sanctuary truths in which Christ is central with a ministry that can save to the uttermost all who come to Him with wholehearted devotion.
Daniel is concerned with the future of his people who have no access to the sanctuary services. He is seeking answers for them specifically. In chapter 8 we know Daniel had a vision spanning a great amount of time. From the kings of Media Persia till "the time of the end." The vision stated the sanctuary would not be restored until the end of time? 2300 days/years? Daniel fainted and was sick certain days afterward and was astonished at the vision, but none understood it. Not even Daniel. Which resulted in his deep concern.
Now he is earnestly pleading with God because he desires the restoration of the temple in Jerusalem. The holy city was in ruins, the temple services could not be carried out, because it too was in ruins. Daniel was praying for the welfare of his own people, while God had in mind the welfare of the whole world, the destiny of Jews and Gentiles as determined by the coming of the Messiah! God was revealing to Daniel the full plan of heaven's method for dealing with sin for the whole world.
Dan. 9.23
At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.
This is referring back to Daniel 8. That vision had stated the sanctuary would not be restored until the end of time? 2300 days/years? Daniel had fainted and was sick certain days afterward and was astonished at the vision, but none understood it. Did it mean that the captivity would continue beyond the 70 years of Jeremiah's prophecy? Daniel hoped not!
The angel goes right to the issue:
Seventy weeks, that is 490 days/years are "determined for your people." The word here is "chathak" which means to cut off, to sever from, to amputate. Cut off from what? Obviously they are cut off from the 2300 day/years. They would be cut off from the beginning of these 2300 years as we will see as we progress.
Just about every verse of the angel's message points forward to Christ's ministry on earth. This verse began with the time to be alloted to Israel until the anointing of the Holy One. Israel was being given a second chance! They were being gathered back into their land to prepare themselves for the coming Messiah! They were to finish with their transgressing against God's will. The Old Testament is full of promises of an almost heaven like, yet still on earth nation, if only they would turn to God and fully enter into the convenant relationship with Him. The Messiah, they rightful Prince would come to them. Israel was to be the center from which the blessings of God flowed out to all nations. Christ would come to them to do the work of reconciliation from sin. He would be their sin bearer, and atone for sin to bring in everlasting righteousness.
The commandment to restore and build Jerusalem, as completed by the decree of Artaxerxes, went into effect in the autumn of 457 BC (See link)
From this time four hundred and eighty-three years extend to the autumn of A.D. 27. According to the prophecy, this period was to reach to the Messiah, the Anointed One.
Then the message was proclaimed, "The time is fulfilled." Mark 1:15.
Messiah the Prince, the Prince of Life (Acts 3:15) A Prince and a Savior (Acts 5:31) Against the prince that works in the children of disobedience (Eph. 2:2) the prince of this world (John 14:30) the prince of devils (Mark 3:22) During the final week of probationary time for the Jewish nation, which prince will they chose? In the middle of that final week (7 years,) Messiah will be cut off, but not for himself. It wasn't for His sins that he was killed. It was for our sins that He died!
The book of Daniel is very much concerned ABOUT THE COVENANT! The promises are all part of the covenant, and this covenant, Christ came to confirm with the house of Israel with His very own blood!
We read in Daniel 9 that, "He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week [seven years]."
For seven years after the Saviour entered upon His ministry, the gospel was to be preached especially to the Jews. To the JEWS FIRST (Acts 1:16)
"In the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease." Daniel 9:27.
In the spring of A.D. 31, Christ,
The time had come for the earthly
sacrifice and oblation to cease.
Yet the last "week" or seven years were not yet finished. Three and a half more years belonged to the Jewish Nation to accept the covenant offered them and become the "spiritual center" of the world.
After the ascension of Christ-- God's true "Israel" (His disciples) set up headquarters in Jerusalem and did a mighty work in Jerusalem, with thousands being baptised. (three and a half more years Jerusalem was called to the "covenant" of Christ).
But when they started stoning and killing God's true "Israelites" (34 A.D.) (who, by way were also literal Jews) old Jerusalem forfeited the promises-- the disciples basically scattered to other places, only a few remained in Jerusalem.
When one reads the old testament promises it is evident that had Israel, as a nation, remained stedfast in the covenant relationship with God, and if they had accepted Christ as the Messiah, world history would have been very different. Jerusalem would have been the center of the Kingdom of Grace for all nations, with the gospel going to all the world.
However, when Christ came to ratify and confirm that covenant with them, as a nation, they did not accept Him nor His covenant.
For "half a week" three and a half years, Christ walked and taught among His people,
They crucified Him.
But the door was still open to the nation to be God's light to world, as truth of WHO Christ was and WHAT His sacrifice and resurrection meant was heralded to the Jewish people. -- for three and a half more years the Jews COULD have repented and as a nation accepted the covenant.
When Stephen preached his last sermon under the Spirit's power, it was a "covenant lawsuit" against Israel, God's covenant community. Thus Stephen was their last prophet, appealing to them to see how they had trampled God's covenant. Would they repent? No, they promptly stoned Stephen, thus they forever broke their covenant as God's covenant community and their house was left unto them desolate.
Yet, still the covenant was RATIFIED, but it was
taken from the Israelites as nation, and a small group of Jews who accepted their Messiah, took the message to people who would receive it.
Daniel 9 sets forth seven objectives which would be accomplished when the Messiah comes to confirm the covenant and be "cut off" to seal the covenant with His own blood.
Daniel 9:24
1. To finish, or set a curb on rebellion.
The word "kalah" means "to restrict, restrain, withhold, shut up, keep back, refrain, forbid, finish"
Through His grace and merits He would provide the power to break the bonds of sin in the human life.
2. To make an end of sin (offerings)
The word "taman" means "to be finished, come to an end, cease"
The word "chatha" means "sin, sin offering, punishment for sin, guilt"
"He Who knew no sin, became a sin offering for us." 2 Cor 5:21
3. To make reconciliation or atonement for sin
The word "kipper" used here, as "make atonement" literally means "to cover". Jesus provided His blood of forgiveness to cover our sin. "awon".
This is the daily "HaTamid"--- while on "Yom Kippur" the day of atonement the ultimate "cleanse" occurs.
4. Bring in everlasting righteousness.
The verb used here means "to cause to enter"
The Bridegroom (Christ) presents the robe of righteousness-- the trousseau to His bride to prepare for His return.
5. To seal up the vision.
The vision which points out the coming of the Messiah. Christ ensured that every prophecy will reach its fulfillment. Every promise relating to the "engagement" was fulfilled, and we can rest assured that that the Bridegroom who has gone to prepare a place for us, will come again and receive us unto Himself!
6. To seal the prophet.
The word "nabi" means prophet, it is never used in any other place as prophecy.
"Nabi" points directly to "The Prophet" predicted by Moses Who would arise among God's people. Duet. 18:15,18
The vision pointed to Christ, and at the precise time the Bridegroom came to seal the covenant.
7. To anoint the most holy [quodes quodeshim]
To anoint with oil,
Jesus is all three!
The "quodes quodeshim" points us to the Most Holy Place of the Sanctuary. The earthly tabernacle was inaugurated with sacrificial blood and oil, as well as the priests! This points to Christ our high Priest who enter the heavenly sanctuary in our behalf, with His own blood and the oil of the Holy Spirit.
The WHOLE THING POINTS US TO CHRIST and the covenant he came to make and which He ratified with his people.
The desolation--
that is the sad result of Israel, when, as a nation they rejected the covenant and were given over to the "master" she chose. (We have no king but Caesar) so they got Caesar, the Roman desolating power who came and destroyed the sanctuary and the city.
In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
Daniel approached God with wholehearted devotion to plead for his people. To indicate his seriousness, he fasted in sackcloth and ashes. With humility he came to God to intercede for his people who had lost their homeland and been deported to Babylon because of their turning away from the only true God. Daniel had read Jeremiah's prophecy and understood that the captivity in Babylon would not last more than 70 years. The 70 years were just about ended. Realizing that the fulfillment of the prophecy might depend upon whether the hearts of the people were right with God, he is pleading for them.
"And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.
O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us.
Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.
O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies.
O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name."
While Daniel is yet praying the answer comes!
God responds, not in the limited way that our mind works, but in the unlimited ways of His grace.
Daniel 9.20-22
"And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;
Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding."
Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
Ezra gives us a copy of the decree of Artaxerxes authorizing the Jews to return and rebuild Jerusalem (Ezra 7:12-26). He tells us that it was during the king's seventh year of reign that he arrived in Jerusalem for his task (verse 8). Summarizing the various forces that led to the rebuilding, he declares, "So the elders of the Jews continued to build and prosper under the preaching of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah, a descendant of Iddo. They finished building the Temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia" (Ezra 6:14). History tells us that the issuing of the decree took place in the year of 457 B.C.
In A.D. 27, Jesus at His baptism received the anointing of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:36-37) and began His ministry.
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Messiah the Prince against another prince.
Isaiah 53:8 "For He was CUT OFF from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Christ is the only ONE who can make a FIRM covenant! It was Christ's sacrifice which once and for all, and forever made an end to ceremonial sacrifices. For only His blood can wash away sins and restore the sinner. Only His sacrifice could make the covenant of promise sure and FIRM. Jesus, Himself said, in Matt. 26.28,
"For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
But why does this result in desolation for Israel? What happened to all those wonderful promises in the Old Testament?
For three and a half years Christ Himself dwelt among the Jews and taught them, and afterward His ascension the apostles proclaimed the truth in Jerusalem.
the true Sacrifice, was offered on Calvary. Then the veil of the temple was rent in twain, showing that the purpose and function of the earthly temple was ended. There was no more NEED OR PURPOSE for sacifices, for Christ the true Lamb of God had died.
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killed the prophets, and stoned them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate."
For Israel chose the wrong prince and turned their backs on the Prince of Heaven.
"And Pilot said unto the Jews, Behold your King!
But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified."
In Israel three types of people were anointed, --prophets, priests and kings.
It talks about the NEW COVENANT! Notice with WHOM, this new covenant is made!
Hebs. 8:8 Behold the days come, says the Lord when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah
The disciples' FIRST mission, was to preach to the Jews, NOT to the Gentiles.
Not till the final covenant "Lawsuit" sermon, preached by Stephen, which resulted in his stoning, did anyone go out to preach to anyone else.
It was AFTER that, that we see Philip going to the Samaritans. We see Peter being sent to Cornelius. We see Paul converted and commissioned to go to the Gentiles.
Stephen's sermon is the "convenant lawsuit".
He starts with the covenant first spoken to Abraham and the promise made to Abraham and to "his seed". (7:5)
He mentions the covenant of circumcision (7:8)
Tells the story of how they went into Egypt.
BUT WHEN THE TIME OF PROMISE came near God ordained events that would lead to their deliverance (7:17-25)
BUT even then the Israelites did NOT UNDERSTAND that God would deliver them -- send a deliverer (7:25)
But God patiently worked things out in spite of their stubornness. They had a hard time recognizing the "deliverer" God sent. "This Moses whom they refused saying, Who made you a ruler over us?" BUT GOD SENT HIM as their deliver! (7:35)
Stephen then quotes Moses prophecy of Christ, who would be "like him" (like Moses) (7:36) would they hear HIM?
Stephen tells them how they rejected Moses, and would not listen to him (7:39) and wanted other gods, till finally they were taken captive to Babylon. (43)
Stephen then goes back to say they had the tabernacle of God's presence in the wilderness. Joshua established it in Canaan, a land that God gave to them. David again brought them to a "high point" and his son built them the temple.
But God is not restricted to any building!
And that's what the Israelites had attempted to do!
Then Stephen gives his challenge.
"You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, always you resist the Holy God just like your fathers, so do you. You have killed the prophets, you slew those who prophesied the coming of Christ, and now you have betrayed and murdered the Just One! (51-52)
Then comes the final verdict--
You received the law (the convenant in the Pentateuch) by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. (Acts 7:53)
When they heard this THEY WERE CONVICTED! "cut to the heart" (7:54)
They actually, literally, plugged their ears and charged at him, like a pack of wild dogs, to destroy the power and glory with which he Stephen was delivering this last message. (7:54-57)
Now compare that with Jesus prophecy
Matt. 21:33-41
The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.
Priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they UNDERSTOOD that he spake of them.
The vineyard... "let out to husbandmen"...
Sent servants.... they beat, killed, stoned them...
last of all he sent unto them his son....
they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him....
He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen...
What Jesus prophecied here in Matt.21 was restated by Stephen-- in the last covenant lawsuit to the leaders of the Jewish nation. This was the termination point of the 490 years.
At that point the "kingdom was taken from them" and given to whom-so-ever would bring forth the "fruits" thereof.
The Jewish nation, not realizing THEIR DELIVERER HAD COME, rejected Him, and faced the flood of desolation that was coming to sweep away their temple and their city
After the 490 years ended -- as Daniel points out, desolation flooded over it and "on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consumation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate."
This was the result of rejecting the Prince of Life-- it allowed the prince of darkness to bring in desolation which would continue till the consumation.
This "desolating force" is not contained in the 490 years, it sweeps in and continues till the end of time-- it is Rome-- pagan and papal.
The way to read these verse is to realize they are speaking of two parallel subjects: the city and it's temple, and the coming Messiah.
(A) Speaks of the Messiah
(B) of the city.
9:25
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem
A. Until Messiah the Prince, there shall be 7 weeks, 62 weeks,
B. The street will be built again and the wall even in troublesome times.
9:26
A. And after the 62 weeks Messiah shall be cut off but not for Himself.
B. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destory the city and the sanctuary and the end..war..desolation..
9:27
A. He shall cofirm a covenant with many for one week, in the midst of week sacrifices cease.
B. One will come who makes desolate even until the consummation.
And Rome, the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. Rome fulfilled the prophecy several years later, completely destroying Jerusalem and the sanctuary building in 70 A.D. as well as filling our history book with accounts of "desolation" against the Jews for hundreds of years.
Notice that in each segment in which the destructive prince is mention, it says he WILL COME, he's still coming in the second reference to him. Notice too, in Daniel 11:22, the one who comes "with a flood" to "overthrow" is NOT the Prince of the Covenant! The Prince of the Covenant is "broken" by that flood. Thus the "people of the prince who is to come with a flood" in Daniel 9, are the Roman's who also crucified Christ. It was the Romans who were to come and who DESTROYED THE TEMPLE AND THE CITY after the covenant was confirmed with the Jewish nation for "one week" yet they rejected it.
The same choice faces the world today.
There is no need to point to the Jews as the "evil" ones, we are all equal at the foot of the cross.
Paul, realizing the reality of this, and the despair and distain some had for the Jews, wrote his explanation in Romans 11 to show the larger picture--
The true, spiritual Israel was founded on Christ-- the Jews were "natural branches" and the early Christian church was mainly Christian Jews! But due to rejection of the ONE to Whom their whole economy pointed, the unbelieving "branches" were chopped off, and believing Gentiles grafted in. Jewish branches (contrary to what we hear most often) were the branches that flourished best when attached to CHRIST-- because they were natural branches!
Christ is the true Israel--THE SEED through which all nations are blessed, He is the VINE, we are the branches.
Which prince do we chose?
Who will we choose as our Prince? The King of kings, Jesus our Creator, Savior and Lord. Or the imposter prince from Rome?
Actually the "other prince" is really Satan-- for the whole controversy is between Messiah the Prince, and the prince of darkness--satan, but he uses earthly powers through which to work.
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