| We now venture into one of the most popular prophecies in the entire word of G-d. Volumes have been dedicated to these four short verses. What I believe to be the truth about this passage is not my own, but was the widely held consensus before Mr. Scofield came along. The modern shepherds have designed a complete prophetic scenario stemming directly from these four verses. They always have an overview of prophetic events, but never seem to give an in-depth analysis of the difficult scriptures that present problems with their hard fought ideology. Have you heard much about the 2300-day prophecy from them? They pass it off on Antiochus Epiphanes and Judas Maccabeus, yet Josephus tells us that this period was three years exactly to the day, (Antiquities, bk. 12, Ch. 7, paragraph.6). They brush over, and lightly comment on the passages that contradict their prophecy dogma. By the end of this work we shall see how the shepherds have led us astray. The pre-tribulation rapture theory is another good example. Could this teaching be the cause of the “great falling away” spoken of in 2 Thess. 2:3? How many so-called Christians will be prepared to lay down their lives when the time comes? “My pastor said I would be raptured, this must not be the mark of the beast,” they will say, or “you lied to me about the rapture, you lied to me about the seven year peace treaty, you lied about persecution, I will go my own way.” We sing songs like “what a friend we have in Jesus,” but are we prepared to be his friend also? Do we really love our L-rd that much? Jesus told us a little about love and friendship, John 15:13) “greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” Yes we have a friend in Jesus; does he have a friend in us? Beware what you teach, preach, and believe about the rapture! Jesus called us to follow in his steps! The dispensationalists tell us that the church is the bride of Christ, and that Israel is the wife of G-d the father. This, they do, in order to place their rapture theory before the coming holocaust. But they have not understood the new covenant, for Christ taught otherwise. In John 10:15-16, Jesus speaking to the Pharisees, the spiritual leaders of the time, says this: v.15) “As the father knoweth me, even so I know the father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. v.16) and other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice: and there shall be one fold, and one Shepard.” One fold and one Shepard! The “other fold” are the gentiles who believe on his name! And though we were not of the fold of Israel, Jesus, by his blood, has grafted us into the fold (of Israel)! If there is one fold and one Shepard, then there can be only one bride. How then, can the bride leave this earth if she is not yet ready? No, No, No, the Jews must first be grafted back into the fold of the Messiah they rejected, this we are told in Romans, 11:24! Then the bride of Christ will be ready! We read, just one verse before Christ returns to earth, Rev.19: 7) “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.” Now there is more evidence to this point, the 144,000 Jews of the twelve tribes of Israel are said to be the “first-fruits to G-d and unto the Lamb,” If they are the first fruits then the rapture must come later. I will devote a complete chapter to the rapture later, for now, we have enough information to move on and engage Dan.9: 24-27. The Rabbis have pronounced a curse on any that would attempt to interpret this passage. Why? Is it to hide the fact that they missed the timing of Messiah’s first Advent? Or do they use the fact that in other visions, Daniel is told to seal them or shut them up? We already learned that G-d wanted Daniel, (and his people), to understand this vision. All I know about the curse of the Rabbis is this: Who is more cursed of G-d, he who attempts to shed light on G-d’s word, or he that attempts to hide G-d’s word from his people? Fear him that has power over the soul not him that has power over the flesh. Dan.9: 24) “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.” Now of course the weeks are weeks of years, I will not endeavor to prove this point since so many before me have labored to do so. The seventy weeks are a total of 490 years. The first week would be seven years; the second week would be seven more years in succession with the first, etc. etc. until seventy weeks would be completed. And all of the things prophesied in this verse would be fulfilled in the seventieth and last week, for the language of this verse dictates that it is so. It doesn’t say sixty-nine weeks, or any other number, but that it would take seventy weeks to fulfill these particular prophecies. Now Jesus Christ has fulfilled some of these things already, and this is another place where the shepherds have misled the flock. They say that the sixty-ninth week ended at Palm Sunday with the L-rd’s Triumphal Entry, four days before his crucifixion. And they conjured elaborate mathematical equations to fit an uncertifiable date! Some of the modern shepherds even go so far as to say that none of these events in verse 24 have been fulfilled yet! In effect, this teachung denies the reconciliatory power of the shed blood of Christ! (I recently heard a radio shepherd promoting this idle teaching, and he is one of the foremost, and well respected "teachers of knowlege," in our sphere.) So supposedly we still have one week left on G-d’s clock. We shall now look at all six of these prophesies and see which ones have been fulfilled by our L-rd. #1) “To finish the transgression.” This one obviously has not yet been fulfilled; in fact the Antichrist does not arrive on the scene until “the transgressors are come to the full,” (Dan.8: 23). #2) “To make an end of sins.” Jesus Christ defeated the power of sin at the cross, by his blood, shed for us, we can be cleansed from our sin, but still man continues to sin. The L-rd will make an end of sins when he returns at the end of the seventieth week. This one also is not fulfilled yet. #3) “To make reconciliation for iniquity.” Now this one we know for sure has been fulfilled, one can scarcely read the New Covenant, (Testament), without reading about how Christ has reconciled us unto G-d! His blood has paid the price for our iniquity! Thank you L-rd! However, this happened at Calvary, at the cross. So then, because this happened at the cross, the sixty-ninth week could have ended at Palm Sunday as the shepherds claim. But, amazingly, as I just said: I recently heard a very popular and famous prophecy teacher proclaim that none of these six prophesies has been fulfilled yet! #4) “To bring in everlasting righteousness.” Not yet, we all know this will be fulfilled in the return of our L-rd, and setting up of his everlasting kingdom. #5) “To seal up the vision and prophecy.” This one is not yet fulfilled either, but when Christ returns we shall see clearly, and there will no longer be any reason for prophets, visions, or prophecy. #6) “And to anoint the Most Holy.” Ahah! This is the one! Jesus the Messiah is the Most Holy! This whole vision is about him. Was he anointed? Sure enough he was several times. So now, which anointing is this verse speaking of? It would be the anointing of the Holy Spirit. In 2 Cor.1: 21-22 we read this: v.21) “Now he which establisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us is G-d. v.22) Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.” So the anointing is also our “seal,” which is the Holy Spirit given to us by G-d. 1 John, 2:27) “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.” There is now no doubt that the anointing comes by the giving of the Holy Spirit. We all know that Christ was anointed in this way by G-d the father at the beginning of his ministry! Was this the start of the seventieth week? Does Dan.9: 24 say sixty-nine weeks to anoint the Most Holy? No way! We shall now look at Matthew’s account of this anointing. Jesus came to John the Baptist at the Jordan River to be baptized. Matt.3: 14-17, v.14) “But John forbade him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? v.15) And Jesus answering said unto him, suffer now; for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him.” According to the answer Christ gave to John, this was to be the fulfillment of something, I wonder what! Where is it prophesied that the Most Holy will be anointed? And when was he to be anointed? Very interesting. v.16) “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of G-d descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: v.17) and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, this is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” Can any deny that Jesus the Most Holy Messiah was anointed on this day? The Anointed One was anointed at the beginning of his ministry on earth, at the start of the seventieth week. For this prophecy had to have been in the final week of this vision. There is other evidence of this truth, as we shall see shortly, but now on with the vision, Dan.9: 25) “Know therefore and understand, from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and sixty and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.” (Notice that the word translated Prince in this text is the Hebrew word “Nagiyd,” this is important!) So from the going forth of the command to not only build Jerusalem, but also to restore it, there will be sixty-nine weeks. And this sixty-ninth week goes “unto” Messiah the Prince. This occasion of the use of the word “unto” is important. The sixty-ninth week is not said to go “unto” his death, and there is no way to prove that this is what the verse is saying. Even the modern shepherds admit by their own argument that they are still off by four days!.The proper understanding of this verse would be that the sixty-nine weeks run unto his arrival. How would we know that Messiah had come? His anointing! And the voice of G-d from heaven, “THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED.” Also of note here is that Daniel is told once again to understand, and to know what he is being told. The next thing we shall look into is the use of the word “restore.” What does it mean? In the sense of restoring a city, it would seem to mean the restoration of law and order, and security. And in this particular city, (Jerusalem), it would also mean restoring the priesthood, temple worship, and sacrificial system, and also the wall around the city for protection. As for the wall, many have mistaken Nehemiah’s decree, given in 445 BC by Artexerxes, for the fulfillment of the beginning of this vision. If you read the book of Nehemiah, you will see that the decree he received was for wood and beams to rebuild the gates and the wall of the city, and that was the work that he did. But that does not mean that the permission to build the wall had not already been given to Ezra! The decree set forth in Ezra chapter seven is the most comprehensive and all-inclusive decree given. It went forth in Jerusalem in the fifth month, 457 BC. We shall now read this decree. Ezra.7: 12-26, v.12) “Artexerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the G-d of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time. v.13) I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own free will to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee. v.14) For as much as thou art sent of the king, and of his seven counselors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy G-d which is in thy hand; v.15) and to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have freely offered unto the G-d of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem; v.16) and all the silver and gold that thou canst find in all the province of Babylon, with the free-will-offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their G-d which is in Jerusalem: v.17) that thou mayest buy speedily with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their meat offerings, and offer them upon the alter of the house of your G-d which is in Jerusalem. v.18) And whatsoever shall seem good to thee, and to thy brethren, to do with the rest of the silver and gold, that do after the will of your G-d. v.19) The vessels also that are given thee for the service of the house of thy G-d, deliver thou before the G-d of Jerusalem. v.20) And whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of thy G-d, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow out of the king’s treasure-house. v.21) And I, even I Artexerxes the king, do make, a decree to all the treasurers which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the G-d of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily, v.22) unto an hundred talents of silver, and to an hundred measures of wheat, and to an hundred baths of wine, and to an hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing. v.23) Whatsoever is commanded by the G-d of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the G-d of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons? v.24) Also we certify you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, singers, porters, nethinims, or ministers of this house of G-d, it shall not be lawful to impose toll, tribute, or custom upon them. v.25) And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy G-d, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy G-d; and teach ye them that know them not. v.26) And whosoever will not do the law of thy G-d, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether unto death, or banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.” This decree obviously restores Jerusalem, it allows for a legal system to be set up and enforced, even to the point of capitol punishment! Artexerxes also sends with Ezra the vessels of the temple, and this decree allows for “whatsoever” the will of G-d is for his people. This would include rebuilding the city and the wall. The decree, however, does not specifically mention the wall, so the modern shepherds claim that this is not the right decree. Sorry modern shepherds but you should have read further in the book of Ezra. G-d made sure we would not have to wonder or be confused about which decree was the right one. He wanted his people to understand this particular vision! We shall now read further in the book of Ezra, for in his prayer in chapter nine, Ezra recounts what G-d has done for them. Ezra.9: 8-9, v.8) “And now for a little space grace hath been from the L-rd our G-d, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our G-d may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. v.9) For we were bond-men; yet our G-d hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our G-d, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.” And so Ezra did have the decree that allowed for judges and magistrates to be set up, and to set up the house of G-d, and to build the wall. The temple was already built so this setting up of the house of G-d meant setting up the priesthood, and sacrificial system. Verse 22 holds the key to why the wall didn’t get built: they ran out of money! So Nehemiah in 445BC asked the king, (Neh.2:8), for “a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into, and the king granted me, according to the good hand of my G-d upon me.” Now that we know it was Ezra’s decree in 457 BC that began the vision, we know when the sixty-nine weeks should end. The sixty-nine weeks did not end on Palm Sunday as the shepherds say. They use the argument that Palm Sunday was when Christ presented himself as the Messiah to the nation. Didn’t he preach and teach in the synagogues for three and a half years before Palm Sunday? What about all those times they tried to seize him for blasphemy, yet he slipped away from them? Didn’t they accuse him right from the very beginning of his ministry, when he claimed to be the Son of G-d? There are other scriptures that show a time of fulfillment at the beginning of Christ’s ministry, but because these verses do not fit their “chronology,” the modern shepherds never quote them. We are told of Jesus in Luke.4: 16-21, v.16) “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath-day, and stood up for to read. v.17) And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it is written, v.18) The Spirit of the L-rd is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, v.19a) to preach the acceptable year of the L-rd.” Then he closes the book and sits down. Then in verse 21b), “This day is this scripture fulfilled in you ears.” There it is in black and white! Christ tells them he has the anointing of the Spirit of the L-rd, and that this is the acceptable year! And that he is the fulfillment of the promised Messiah! 483 years had transpired from Ezra’s decree in 457 BC. Sixty-nine weeks of seven years each are 483 years. Now this verse Jesus quotes comes from Isaiah 61, but he stops about half way through verse two, and here is why: Isaiah 61:2) “to proclaim the acceptable year of the L-rd, and the day of vengeance of our G-d; to comfort all that mourn;” The day of vengeance had not yet come, but rest assured that all will be fulfilled, down to the last letter! As if this were not enough evidence for us to believe, Mark 1:14-15 lays it out perfectly, loud and clear. Mark 1:14-15, v.14) “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of G-d. v.15) And saying, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of G-d is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.” This was the beginning of his ministry! Not Palm Sunday! If the “time” that is fulfilled here is not the sixty-nine weeks, then what is Christ talking about? Of course it was the fulfillment of the sixty-nine weeks! Why do the shepherds not tell us these things? Feed the flock! Feed the flock of the slaughter! Prepare us for what is to come! Woe to the shepherds that care not for the flock of G-d. Feed his flock! |
| Daniel 9:24-27 The Seventy Weeks Prophecy |
| (Part III of the Mini-Series) |
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