Most people in the developed world today live in a urban environment, and in a scientific and technological culture. Even so, what kind of things do we believe? If the popularity of television shows is any measure, a lot of people believe in things they cannot see and things from "another world". How about these?
- Ghost hunters
- Long Island Medium
- Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry
Or how about these things?
- People held captive by extra-terrestrial beings
- The government hiding UFO's in Roswell New Mexico
- Anything posted on Facebook must be true
Prophecy
The Judaeo-Christian Bible (particularly the Old Testament) records a lot of the spoken words and writings of human beings called "prophets". They claimed to be speaking or writing words that God had given to them. When we look at their words we can generally conclude two things:
- They were delivering a message from God to the people around them.
- Sometimes those messages included a description, sometimes in detail, of future events that we now know occurred hundreds of years after the prophet spoke the words.
In his book, Core 52: A Fifteen-Minute Daily Guide to Building your Bible IQ in a Year, Mark Moore mentions several of these prophesies. One of these prophesies states that a descendant of King David would be known as the anointed one (Messiah), "the Son of God", and that he would rule the nations (Psalm 2). Other prophesies, written down more that 400 years before Jesus was born, give details of the life of Jesus:
I want to tell you about an amazing, detailed prophesy that was written 500 years before Jesus was born. This is found in the Old Testament book of Daniel, chapter 9. First, I want to put this prophesy in its historical context.
We will first look at the timeline for this prophesy and then we will look at the purposes for and the significance of the prophesy. The message speaks of "seventy weeks" or "seventy 'sevens'". Some English Bibles translate this as "weeks" and some as "sevens". The original Hebrew word simply means "group of seven". Where did these numbers come from? Remember that Daniel was led to pray when he read Jeremiah's writing which describes 70 years of destruction and oppression. We might paraphrase the message from God to Daniel like this: "Jeremiah spoke of seventy years; now I am telling you what will happen over the next seventy-times-seven years." So we are looking at a prophesy that will take place over 490 years (70 x 7 = 490).
Next, verse 25 further defines the 70 'sevens' as "seven 'sevens' and sixty-two 'sevens'", but what is the significance of this division? We have a hint of an explanation there in verse 25. The message is speaking of restoring and rebuilding Jerusalem, saying, "... it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress." So we can conclude that the seven 'sevens', 49 years, is the period when the city of Jerusalem will be rebuilt, and that is historically accurate. But what about the sixty-two 'sevens'? This section of the message is defining the combined period of seven 'sevens' and sixty-two 'sevens' with a starting event and an ending event:
Verse 26 describes two events that will occur "after" the 483 years, but it does not say how long after.
Now we need to look at verse 27. It is actually dealing with two different things.
The meaning of this phrase hinges on a determination of who the pronoun "he" refers to. There are two possibilities from the previous verse: The Messiah or the ruler who will come and destroy Jerusalem. I think it is clear that Jesus the Messiah is the intended subject for the following reasons:
This is an amazing prophesy written hundreds of years before Jesus' time on earth and describing details of his life and purpose.
Scripture quotations labeled as NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible
- He would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2)
- He would be preceded by a forerunner (Malachi 3:1)
- He would enter Jerusalem riding a donkey (Zechariah 9:9)
- He would be betrayed by a friend, which would result in his hands being wounded (Zechariah 13:6)
- He would be sold for 30 pieces of silver, which would be given to a potter (Zechariah 11:12-13)
- He would stand silent before his oppressors (Isaiah 53:7)
- He would die by crucifixion (Psalm 22:16)
I want to tell you about an amazing, detailed prophesy that was written 500 years before Jesus was born. This is found in the Old Testament book of Daniel, chapter 9. First, I want to put this prophesy in its historical context.
- In 605 BC, some key events occur.
- The prophet Jeremiah, in Jerusalem, predicts the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, and the captivity of the people for 70 years.
- Babylon invades Judah but leaves Jerusalem intact
- Some Jewish people are carried away in captivity to Babylon. Daniel is one of those who is taken to Babylon. He is a young man, perhaps even a teenager, when he is taken.
- From 605 to 603 BC Daniel and some other young men are trained to be servants in the royal palace of King Nebuchadnezzar.
- In 588 BC, Jeremiah, still in Jerusalem, writes a letter to the Jewish captives in Babylon, again describing the destruction of Jerusalem and the 70 years of captivity; but also describing a coming restoration.
- In 586 BC, Babylon attacks and destroys Jerusalem and the temple.
- Many years later in 539 BC, Daniel, now an elderly man, is reminded of Jeremiah's writings from many years earlier.
Daniel 9:1-3 describes how Daniel looked at Jeremiah's writings, and how that led him to turn to God in prayer for his people and for Jerusalem. Verses 4-19 record his prayer. Verses 20-23 describe how, as a result of Daniel's prayer, he has a vision in which God gives him a message describing the future of his people, the city of Jerusalem, and the temple through the angel Gabriel. Verses 24-27 are the message:
24 "Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.
25 So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.
26 Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.
27 And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate." (NASB)
25 So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.
26 Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.
27 And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate." (NASB)
We will first look at the timeline for this prophesy and then we will look at the purposes for and the significance of the prophesy. The message speaks of "seventy weeks" or "seventy 'sevens'". Some English Bibles translate this as "weeks" and some as "sevens". The original Hebrew word simply means "group of seven". Where did these numbers come from? Remember that Daniel was led to pray when he read Jeremiah's writing which describes 70 years of destruction and oppression. We might paraphrase the message from God to Daniel like this: "Jeremiah spoke of seventy years; now I am telling you what will happen over the next seventy-times-seven years." So we are looking at a prophesy that will take place over 490 years (70 x 7 = 490).
Next, verse 25 further defines the 70 'sevens' as "seven 'sevens' and sixty-two 'sevens'", but what is the significance of this division? We have a hint of an explanation there in verse 25. The message is speaking of restoring and rebuilding Jerusalem, saying, "... it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress." So we can conclude that the seven 'sevens', 49 years, is the period when the city of Jerusalem will be rebuilt, and that is historically accurate. But what about the sixty-two 'sevens'? This section of the message is defining the combined period of seven 'sevens' and sixty-two 'sevens' with a starting event and an ending event:
- The starting event is the "decree" to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.
- The ending event is the appearing of the anointed one [Messiah], the prince.
So to summarize the math:
- 7 X 7 = 49 years
- 62 X 7 = 434 years
- 49 + 434 = 483 years
- Therefore, the prophetic message is defining a period of 483 years from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until the anointed one is revealed.
Now we need to identify the starting event for the 483 years. I believe it is Ezra's command to begin work on rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem in 457 BC. Please see my previous post "Daniel 9 Timeline" for a detailed explanation of the reason for choosing that date.
Next we need to identify the ending event. Throughout the Old Testament period prophets and the Jewish scriptures spoke of a coming anointed one, a Messiah, who would be a caretaker and ruler of the people. This is the person identified in verse 25 as "the anointed one, the prince." The Hebrew word that is translated into English as "Messiah" simply means "anointed one". Further, the New Testament scriptures identify Jesus Christ as the Messiah, the anointed one. In fact, Jesus himself claimed to be the Messiah.
Now we begin to transition from timing to purpose. This prophetic message defines the purpose for the 483 and 490 years as well as the timing. Does Jesus fit the profile of the Messiah as defined by this prophetic message? Let's look at timing and purpose:
Timing: 483 years from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem to the anointed one (Messiah)
Timing: 483 years from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem to the anointed one (Messiah)
- 457 BC - The beginning event: the decree to rebuild Jerusalem
- -457 BC + 483 years = 26 AD
- Jesus was born about 4 BC (see the previous post "Daniel 9 Timeline" for details)
- In Luke 3:23 Luke says Jesus was "about thirty years old" when he was baptized and began his public ministry.
- -4 BC + 30 = 26 AD
There are some other purposes and events identified by this prophesy. Verse 24 states six purposes for the 490 years (seventy 'sevens'). I have listed them here along with an explanation of how Jesus fulfills or completes them:
- to finish the transgression
- to make an end of sin
- These first two are resolved by Jesus' presence here on earth, his Crucifixion, and his resurrection. Sin is still present here on earth, but God took the action that will ultimately deal with the problem of human sin (falling short of God's standard).
- to make atonement for iniquity
- Through his death, Jesus paid the penalty we should have paid, received the sentence we should have received.
- to bring in everlasting righteousness
- Through his death and resurrection, Jesus made it possible for us to be declared righteous, declared innocent, even though we are guilty of missing God's standard
- to seal up vision and prophecy
- Jesus said, "Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill." (Matthew 5:17 NASB)
- to anoint the most holy place
- The word "place" does not occur in the original language and was added by the translators. It could as easily be "the most holy one". It could be said that Jesus was "anointed" at his baptism.
Verse 26 describes two events that will occur "after" the 483 years, but it does not say how long after.
- "The Messiah will be cut off and have nothing..."
- I believe this is speaking of Jesus arrest and execution about three
- "The people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.
- A coming ruler will destroy the city of Jerusalem and the temple again.
- Roman armies did this in 70 AD.
Now we need to look at verse 27. It is actually dealing with two different things.
"And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering..."
The meaning of this phrase hinges on a determination of who the pronoun "he" refers to. There are two possibilities from the previous verse: The Messiah or the ruler who will come and destroy Jerusalem. I think it is clear that Jesus the Messiah is the intended subject for the following reasons:
- "He will make a firm covenant..."
- During his time here on earth, Jesus never left Palestine and only preached to and served the Jewish people. He was completing his covenant with the Jewish people before his disciples later took the message of the gospel to the "Gentiles" (the rest of us).
- "...in the middle of the week..."
- Jesus ministry on earth (from baptism to resurrection) was about three and one half years and that fits this description.
- "...he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering..."
- Although sacrifices and offerings continued until the temple was destroyed in 70 AD, the PURPOSE or REASON for the sacrifices ended with the death and resurrection of Jesus.
- "He will make a firm covenant for one 'seven'..." (seven years)
- Jesus' disciples continued to preach the gospel to only Jews in Palestine for a few years after his resurrection and departure to Heaven, until the Holy Spirit guided them to preach to the Gentiles as well.
- Possible end points for the last seven years:
- Stephen’s hearing before the ruling council in Jerusalem, explaining in detail how Jesus fulfilled their scriptures as the Messiah, after which he was executed.
- Peter converts Cornelius
- Conversion of Paul
This is an amazing prophesy written hundreds of years before Jesus' time on earth and describing details of his life and purpose.
Scripture quotations labeled as NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible
This post is the result of my studies based on the book by Mark E. Moore, Core 52: A Fifteen-Minute Daily Guide to Building your Bible IQ in a Year, published by WaterBook (Penguin Random House)
Trade Paperback ISBN 978-0-525-65325-7
ebook isbn 978-0-525-65326-4
No comments:
Post a Comment