WHAT TIME IS IT?
Lesson 8 -
Part 2
Review
In our last lesson we
began looking into Daniel’s
prophecy concerning the appointed
time of the end. Even though
the prophecy spans several centuries,
its primary focus is the appointed
time of the end.
The prophecy actually
contains two parts. The first
part held immediate meaning for
Daniel and as we shall see, it also
establishes a valuable historical
marker so that we might know when the
end of time arrives. So far, we
have discussed 3 dates. These
were 457 B.C., 27 and 31 A.D.
The correctness of 457B.C. is marked
by the decree of Artaxerxes (Ezra 7)
to restore and rebuild
Jerusalem. Jesus beginning his
ministry precisely on time 483 years
later - during the fifteenth year of
Tiberius Caesar.
The 15th
year of Tiberius Caesar is 27
A.D. Further, Jesus, the
Passover Lamb, died right on time,
three and half years later at the
Passover feast in the Spring of 30
A.D.
Three keys help us
unlock the vision of Daniel’s
prophecy. The first key
requires an understanding of the time
period known as a
“seven.” A
“seven” represents 7 years.
(See Leviticus 26.) Every 7
years, the Jews did not plant crops
for this year was a rest or
sabbatical. Thus 70
“sevens” represent 490
literal years. The appearing of
Messiah 483 years later (69
“seven”) confirms the
correctness of this interpretation.
The second key is the
historical timing of Christ’s
death as it relates to the
prophecy. Jesus died precisely
on time in the middle of the 70th
week, which is 30 A.D. Some
students of prophecy believe the 70th
week is broken into two parts.
In this view, the 70th
week contains a time period of 3.5
years, a gap of many centuries, then
the final time period of 3.5
years. If this is true, the
middle of the 70th cannot
be determined! For example, we
can only compute the middle of the 70th
week when we know the beginning and
ending dates. The middle year
between 27 A.D. and 34 A.D. is 30
A.D. However, if the 70th
week is not consecutive years, the
middle of the 70th week
cannot be determined until the end of
the week is known.
Other students of
prophecy attempt to move the entire
70th week of seven years
to the end of time. If this is
done, the birth, death and
resurrection of Jesus are completely
missed! Further, those moving
the 70th week of seven
years to the end of time disconnect
the 69 weeks from the 70th
week. If this is done, no
historical marker pinpoints the
beginning of the seven years of the
70th week.
The 70 weeks of 490
years must stand together as one unit
of time. These years were
allotted to the Jewish nation to
accomplish certain things, which
Gabriel explained to Daniel.
Jesus Himself confirmed the beginning
of the 70th week of seven
years by beginning His ministry in 27
A.D. and confirming the covenant by
His death three and a half years
later in 30 A.D.
The third and last key
that unlocks this portion of the
prophecy relates to the end of the 70th
week – 34 A.D. At this
point in time, the destiny of the
Jewish nation was decided.
KEY III – The
destiny of the Jews
Let us review
Gabriel’s comments to Daniel
concerning the Jews:
“70 sevens (or
weeks) are granted to Israel
to”:
- Pay the
penalty for their wicked
deeds as a nation
- Put an end to
national apostasy
- Bring in
everlasting righteousness
- Seal up the
vision and prophecy
- Anoint the
Most Holy
The first two elements
of the prophecy above relate to
Jewish behavior and the last three
elements relate to promised
glory. The Jews knew they were
special to God. They knew that
Messiah would come through their
bloodline. This prophecy
underscores the special relationship
between Jesus and His people.
If they would turn to Jesus, Israel
could still fulfill His
purpose. They would have the
opportunity to anoint the Most Holy
One of Israel! They would have
the opportunity to bring in
everlasting righteousness. Just
think, if the Jews had taken
advantage of the promise given, the
history of the world would be far
different than it has
been! If the Jews
have fulfilled their calling, they
could have “sealed up the vision
and prophecy” so that the
destruction also contained in this
prophecy would not take place!
This prophecy (and a
few others in the Bible) contains a
conditional element. If Israel
did not meet the conditions set
forth, Jerusalem would again be
destroyed and wars and desolations
would continue to the end of the
world. Even more, the
“one” who causes wars and
desolations would be free to continue
his work until the end.
This prophecy
illuminates a very serious and
important point. When Jesus
chose Israel to be a special people
to Himself, He wanted them to clearly
understand that the relationship
depended upon certain
conditions. Jesus told the Jews
through Moses, “..If you do not
obey the Lord your God and do not
carefully follow all his commands and
decrees I am giving you today, all
these curses will come upon you and
overtake you… The Lord
will send on you curses, confusion
and rebuke in everything you put your
hand to, until you are destroyed and
come to sudden ruin because of the
evil you have done in forsaking
him.” Deuteronomy 28:15,20
So, seventy
“sevens” or 490 years of
probationary time was granted to
Israel. It was their last
opportunity for reconciliation with
Jesus. God had suffered with
their stiff-necks and hard hearts for
about 1300 years, and this was their
final opportunity. If they did
not respond to the offer, Jesus would
do something else. Several
important factors supplement this
portion of the prophecy.
During the 70
“sevens” Israel was to
atone for their wicked ways as a
nation by experiencing revival and
reformation. Repentance means
the forsaking of sin! During
this probationary time of 490 years
(457 B.C. to 34 A.D.), the Jewish
nation was to “bring in
everlasting righteousness” by
forsaking sin and measuring up to the
high standards set forth by Jesus.
70 “sevens”
– a measure of forgiveness
The Jewish people knew
the 70 sevens were
probationary. They knew
national apostasy brought on the
Babylonian captivity. They knew
they were given a last chance.
In fact, Jesus used the 70
“sevens” mentioned in
Daniel 9 as an expression of
forbearance when Peter asked,
“…Lord, how many times
shall I forgive my brother when he
sins against me? Up to seven
times? Jesus answered, I tell
you, not seven times, but seventy
times seven.” Matthew
18:21,22
The Jews were to bring
in everlasting righteousness.
What does “bringing in
everlasting righteousness”
mean? It means Jesus wanted the
nation to operate on the principles
of righteousness. This can only
happen if the people of the nation
love righteousness. Jesus
wanted a people that loved the Lord
with all their hearts and their
neighbors as themselves! The
Jews clearly knew that their favored
status with God was
conditional. Moses had said,
“If you fully obey the Lord your
God and carefully follow all his
commands… blessings will
come… However, if you do not
obey the Lord your God and do not
carefully follow all his
commands… curses will come upon
you…” (Deut 28)
The last year of the
70th “seven”
occurred in 34 A.D. This year is
very important for it represents the
last year of Jewish probation as a
nation to receive and fulfill
God’s promises. As the 490
years of probationary time expired,
so did Israel’s last opportunity
to fulfill God’s glorious plan
for them as a nation. Like Sodom and
Gomorrah, Jericho and the wicked
nations of Canaan, Israel passed the
point of divine forbearance.
They had been forgiven “seventy
times seven.” The Jewish
nation like the heathen nations
before them came to the end of divine
mercy and Jesus dealt with them
accordingly. Jesus had clearly
warned Israel of His actions on the
heathen and made it clear He would do
the same to them saying,
“…So I punished (the land
of Canaan) for its sin and the land
vomited out its inhabitants… And
if you defile the land, it will vomit
you out as it vomited out the nations
that were before you.”
Leviticus 18:25,28
Israel abandoned
A series of events
transpired in 34 A.D. that shows
Jesus terminated His relationship
with the nation of Israel.
Before looking at them, lets review
Israel’s relation to Jesus:
- The Jews
rejected Jesus as the
Messiah, the Savior of the
world. They could not
see beyond the shadows of
ceremonies and services.
For salvation, they
preferred the blood of
animals to faith in the blood
of Jesus.
- The Jews
failed to bring in national
repentance; thus their
corporate rebellion led them
to crucify Jesus and
persecute those who
represented His work on
earth.
Their religious pride
blinded them in their
transgressions.
- Jesus, knowing
He would die in 30 A.D. when
He gave the prophecy to
Daniel, did not base the
close of Jewish probation on
His death. For three
and half years after His
death, His disciples pressed
upon the leaders in Jerusalem
the prophecies concerning the
resurrected Messiah!
Oh, what divine mercy, what
divine patience and
forbearance! Jesus,
before his death predicted
the Jews would reject the
gospel, saying, “If they
do not listen to Moses and
the Prophets, they will not
be convinced even if someone
rises from the dead.”
Luke 16:31
The straw that breaks
the camel’s back
The most significant
historical event recorded in the
Bible during the last year of
probationary time (34 A.D.) was the
stoning of the Christian deacon,
Stephen. The Sanhedrin (the
Jewish Supreme court) sentenced
Stephen to death for preaching,
“Jesus risen from the
dead.” The killing of
Stephen initiated a calculated and
open persecution of all Christians by
the Jews (see Acts 7).
Jesus chooses others
to carry His gospel
What did Jesus do from
heaven in 34 A.D. in response to the
decision of the Jews?
1.
Jesus gave Peter a vision about
unclean animals. While in
vision, Peter thought the command to
“kill and eat” the unclean
animals had dietary
implications. Peter said,
“I have never eaten anything
impure or unclean.” Acts
10:14 But a voice from heaven said,
“…Do not call anything
impure that God has made
clean.” Acts 10:15 three
times this happened. Peter
wondered about the vision. What did
it mean? While thinking about
the meaning, the Holy Spirit said,
“…Simon, three men are
looking for you. So get up and
go downstairs. Do not hesitate
to go with them, for I have sent
them.”
Acts 10:19,20
The apostle Peter was
invited to the home of a Roman
centurion, Cornelius. Cornelius
was a Gentile and as such, was
regarded as “unclean” by
the Jews. But Cornelius wanted
to hear the gospel. He was a
God-fearing man.
Peter was very
perplexed about going into the home
of a Gentile (which was unlawful for
a Jew to enter), but the Holy Spirit
had said, “Go!” Upon
arriving at the home of Cornelius,
Peter said, “…you are well
aware that it is against our law for
a Jew to associate with a Gentile or
visit him. But God has shown me
that I should not call any man impure
or unclean. So when I was sent
for, I came without raising any
objection. May I ask why you
sent for me?” Acts
10:28,29 Peter now understood the
meaning of the vision. A great
change was taking place. He
dimly began to see that the
commission of representing God on
earth belonged to the Christians
– instead of the Jews.
(Compare Acts 10, Matthew 28)
2.
Perhaps the strongest response of
Jesus to Israel’s final
rejection in 34 A.D. was to take one
of Israel’s brightest and best
and “make” a Christian out
of him. The conversion of Saul
to the apostle Paul and his life of
service is a story only excelled by
the life of Jesus. Saul, the
Jewish persecutor, became Paul, the
persecuted Christian, an apostle sent
specifically to the gentiles.
Jesus told Ananias concerning Saul,
“…This man is my chosen
instrument to carry my name before
the Gentiles and their kings and
before the people of Israel. I
will show him how much he must suffer
for my name.” Acts 9:15,16
At the expiration of
the 70 “seven” in 34 A.D.,
Israel had failed to meet the
conditions of the prophecy.
Therefore, Jesus rose up a new group
of “chosen” people called
“Christians.” Jesus
set out to accomplish through the
Christians Church what the Jews had
failed to do. He gave the
Christian Church a renewed covenant,
a renewed faith, a renewed
understanding of His character and
most of all, a theology based on His
life, death, resurrection and
priestly ministry.
Three keys confirm
historical footing
The three keys now
work together to unlock the longest
time prophecy in the Bible.
Note that 457 B.C. is now
historically confirmed with three
dates. First, Jesus began His
ministry on time (27 A.D.), He
died on time (30 A.D.), and Israel
lost favored status at the end of the
seventy “seven” (34
A.D.). The promised destruction
of the city and the temple also
mentioned in the prophecy (Daniel
9:26) occurred in 70 A.D. Rome
completely destroyed Jerusalem in
that siege. What a sad ending
to such a glorious beginning.
The appointed time of
the end
The vision of Daniel
is comprehensive. As you can
see, the Bible is a storehouse of
treasures and those who study
prophecy study the deep things of
God.
Now that the accuracy
of 457 B.C. has been
“nailed” down, we can
understand another portion of
Daniel’s vision. Remember,
Daniel heard two angels talking in
the first segment of his
vision. One angel asked a very
complex question that really contains
five questions. They are:
- How long will
it take for the vision to be
fulfilled?
- How will the
daily be taken away?
- How long will
the rebellion that causes
desolation last?
- How long will
the sanctuary be surrendered?
- How long will
the saints be trampled upon?
The answers to these
five questions are sprinkled
throughout this comprehensive
prophecy. To appreciate the
answers to all these questions, the
student must understand
Revelation’s story too.
For now, we will look at the fourth
question, “how long will the
sanctuary be surrendered?”
Daniel heard an
immediate answer to this
question. One angel said,
“…it will take 2,300
evenings and mornings; then the
sanctuary will be recons crated”
(Daniel 8:14). Daniel heard the
answer, but didn’t understand
the meaning. Gabriel said,
“The vision of the (2,300)
evenings and mornings that has been
given to you is true, but seal up the
vision, for it concerns the distant
future. I Daniel was exhausted
and lay ill for several days.
Then I got up and went about the
king’s business. I was
appalled by the vision; it was beyond
understanding” Daniel 8:26,27
A year passes
Daniel meditated on
the vision from time to time.
As any student of prophecy, he
carefully studied all that had been
revealed through past prophets for
understanding on God’s purposes
and plans. He wanted to know
the meaning of what he had
seen. One day, while Daniel was
in earnest prayer, Gabriel came to
give more information about the
vision.
(Note: The
reason we have spent considerable
effort establishing the historical
importance and accuracy of 457 B.C.
is because this date also marks the
beginning of the 2.300 evenings and
mornings!)
Seventy
“sevens” are cut off
Remember, Gabriel told
Daniel, “Seventy sevens are
decreed for your
people…” Daniel 9:24
The Hebrew word translated
“decreed” is chathak (see
Strong’s Hebrew and Chaldee
dictionary #2852), which literally
means, “cut off.”
What Gabriel told Daniel is that
seventy “sevens” are
“cut off” from the vision
of the 2,300 evenings and
mornings. In other words, the
490 years are a subset or part of the
larger vision.
The relationship
between the vision recorded in Daniel
8 and the comments of Gabriel in
Daniel 9 is clearly established for
Daniel identifies Gabriel as the one
he had talked with in the earlier
segment of this vision. (Daniel
9:21) Even though Daniel
desired to know the meaning of the
vision concerning the 2,300 evenings
and mornings, Gabriel does not
directly address the first segment of
Daniel’s vision except to say
the seventy sevens are cut off from
the larger time period.
What does the
scripture mean? “…it will
take 2,300 evenings and mornings;
then the sanctuary will be recon se
crated.” Daniel 8:14
Several elements have to be addressed
to explain the meaning of this verse.
- Since
creation, an evening and a
morning represent one
day. “God called
the light ‘day’ and
the darkness He called
‘night’. And
there was evening and morning
the first day.”
Genesis 1:5 In Bible times a
day began at evening
(twilight). This was
followed by midnight, morning
and noon. A 24-hour day
lasted from evening to
evening.
- 2,300 evenings
and mornings means 2,300
days. Since the seventy
“sevens” (490
years) are “cut
off” from this prophecy,
we know that this prophecy
represents on day as a
year. Here’s
how: the seventy
“sevens” are a
subset of a larger time
prophecy; consequently, they
are “cut off” or
cut out of the larger time
prophecy. If the
seventy “sevens”
use the day for a year
process, then 2,300 days have
to follow the day/year
structure too!
From the mathematics
alone, we note the date would be
1843. This is because math uses
a number scale that includes a zero.
Notice the following scale:
-----------------------------------------
- 2
-1
0
1
2
- You will
notice that 2 years (or two
spaces) exist between –1
and 1 for this scale moves
from –1 to 0 to 1.
When the dating of time
relative to Christ’s
birth was put together, the 0
year was left out. It
is not possible to say 0 B.C.
or 0 A.D. So any
periods of time that span
B.C. to A.D. must have an
additional year added to be
mathematically correct.
So 1843 + 1 equals 1844.
- What does the
Bible mean when it says that
the sanctuary will be recon
se crated or cleansed after
2,300 evenings and mornings?
Some Christians
believe that the Jews are still
God’s chosen people and that
Israel has an important part for the
cause of Jesus at the end of the
world. Thirty-eight hundred
years of Jewish history and tradition
indicates the Jewish nation will
never accept Christ as the promised
Messiah. (Yes, a few Jews have
come to accept Jesus as their
personal Messiah, but as a nation,
they haven’t changed.)
It is true that Israel
plays a part in the end of the world
– but it is not a glorious
part. This prophecy of Daniel
predicts that Israel (and most of the
world) will accept the great imposter
that is coming upon the earth
claiming to be God! More will
be said about this when we study
Revelation 9.
The sanctuary to which
the vision relates exists in heaven,
where Jesus serves as our High
Priest. Remember, this vision
primarily applies to the
“appointed time of the
end.” The Romans destroyed
the rebuilt sanctuary of the Jews in
A.D.70 because the privilege of being
God’s chosen nation was
forfeited by the end of the 70th
Week (34 A.D.). Thus
Jesus prophesied to the Pharisees,
“Look, your house (temple) is
left to you desolate.”
Matthew 23:38
Remember, the Apostle
Paul confirms the presence of the
heavenly sanctuary, “We do have
such a high priest, who sat down at
the right hand of the throne of the
Majesty in heaven, and who serves in
the sanctuary, the true tabernacle
set up by the Lord, not by
man.” Hebrews 8:1,2
So, the vision of the
2,300 days is connected to the
services of the heavenly sanctuary
that is to be restored or recon se
crated! How can this be?
The sanctuary restored
The Christian faith is
built upon the achievement of
Jesus. He came to earth, was
tempted beyond anything humans will
ever face; yet lived a sinless life
and willingly died at the hands of
His own people to pay the penalty of
sin. He returned to heaven and
sat down at the right hand of the
Father to intercede through the
merits of His blood for the human
race. Christ’s work in
heaven from His ascension to 1844
many is thought of as that of a
priest in the earthy sanctuary.
Since the Old
Testament sanctuary built in the
wilderness was a representation of
the one in heaven, services there
represent or “shadow”
processes of services actually taking
place in heaven! Paul clearly
understood this point. Talking
about the role of priests, he says,
“They serve at a sanctuary that
is a copy and shadow of what is in
heaven. This is why Moses was
warned when he was about to build the
tabernacle: ‘See to it
that you make everything according to
the pattern shown you on the
mountain.’” Hebrews 8:5
Since the Jews failed
to respond to the probationary time
period of the seventy
“sevens”, the intended
purpose of the rebuilt temple and
restored services were never
fulfilled. Consequently, Jesus
said, “Your temple is left
desolate.” Here is a
profound point: What Jesus
intended to do in the earthy temple
would have to be done in the heavenly
one!
In a later lesson, we
will learn that Jesus was coroneted
as High Priest in 1844 in heaven and
began a very special work. It
is His coronation and work as our
High Priest that recon se crates or
restores the sanctuary process!
This is not to say Jesus wasn’t
busy with heavenly business from His
ascension in 30 A.D. to 1844.
No! Jesus was very intimately
involved with the development of the
Christian Church. Jesus showed
Daniel that certain matters would
develop during the “times of the
Gentiles.” Some of these
prophetic matters are very
fascinating and will be looked at in
our next lesson.
The point is made that
Jesus clearly placed a long span of
time between Daniel’s day and
the “appointed time of the end:
- 2,300 years to be exact!
Since Jesus personally confirmed the
accuracy of 457 B.C. with his baptism
and death, 1844 is just as certain
too! We shall soon see that
1844 marks the beginning of the end.
Summary
Daniel 8 and 9 are
inseparably linked together to show
us when the “appointed time of
the end” arrives
chronologically. The accuracy
of 1844 is as certain as the
beginning date of 457 B.C., the
baptism of Jesus in 27 A.D. and the
death of Jesus in 30 A.D. Three
keys unlock the meaning of the
seventy “sevens” and the
resulting harmony is both scriptural
and historical.
Isn’t it
interesting that what the Jews
forfeited, the Christians
inherited? In our next study,
we will look into prophetic events
that take place between the ascension
of Jesus and 1844. We will see
how history repeats itself!
Quiz
1.
The Jews understood that a
“seven” represented _______
years.
2.
How many years existed between the
decree to restore and rebuild
Jerusalem and the appearing of
Messiah?
3.
Jesus died in the middle of the
_______ week.
4.
Peter first thought the vision of
unclean animals related to diet, then
understood that the vision related
to:
5.
Seventy “seven” were cut
off of what?
Memory Verse:
Matthew 23:38 “Look, your
house (temple) is left to you
desolate.”
Notes:
