Sermon Notes: End Time Events

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Sermon Notes Sunday 24 June 2007

End Time Events - Part 2
By Brother Joseph Mahele

  Daniel's 70 Weeks Prophecy - An Introduction

Daniel 9:24-27

1-    The Centrepiece of the prophecy

The angel Gabriel told Daniel that the prophecy concerned Jewish people and Jerusalem. These two are the centrepiece of this prophecy. This is a very important observation.

Verse 24
“Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city…”

2-    The Nature of this “70 weeks” time measure

The seventy weeks referred to in this prophecy are not weeks of days, but weeks of years, one week representing a period of 7 years.

See for example Genesis 29:26-28 where Laban asks Jacob to serve for another “week” before he can marry Rachel.

See also Leviticus 25:1-4 where God tells Moses every 7th year will be a Sabbath, carrying the idea of a 7-year week.

Remember that a year in the Scripture represents a period of 360 days.

The prophecy covers a period of 490 years.

3-    The Outcome of the 70 weeks

The prophecy states that 70 weeks have been determined to the following end:
*    To finish the transgression (or rebellion): Israel’s rebellion against God will be finished at the end of the 70 weeks
*    To make an end of sins: Sinfulness will be terminated at the end of the 70 weeks
*    To make reconciliation for iniquity: The word translated reconciliation here is kaphar which is the word for atonement. This speaks of the national conversion of Israel to the Lord Jesus and their acceptance of the his sacrifice on the cross, because reconciliation can come no other way except through faith in the shed blood of Jesus. (Zec 12:10, Col 1:20, Rom 5:25-27)
*    To bring in everlasting righteousness: Everlasting righteousness shall be established in Israel
*    To seal up vision and prophecy: The complete fulfilment of vision and prophecy concerning Israel and Jerusalem
*    To anoint the Most Holy: The end of the 70 weeks will mark the beginning of the reign of the Most Holy (Jesus Christ, see Mark 1:24, Acts 3:14, Rev 3:7). Kings are anointed in the beginning of their reign.

4-    The beginning of the 70 weeks

Verse 25
“Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty two weeks…”

The first 69 weeks are divided into 2 parts: 7 weeks and 62 weeks.

The order to rebuild Jerusalem referred to in this prophecy was fulfilled in Nehemiah 2:1-8. Nehemiah received permission to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and restore its wall. Ancient History attests that this occurred in 445 BC.

Counting 69 weeks from this event, takes us to the year Jesus Messiah was crucified (around 29 AD)

Verse 26
“And after 62 weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself”

The death of Jesus Messiah marks the end of the 69 weeks. The “after 62 weeks” means the 62 weeks following the first 7 weeks. Remember in verse 25, the 69 weeks were divided into “seven weeks and sixty two weeks”.

At the end of the 69th weeks Jesus died, not for himself, but for the sins of Israel and that of the whole world.

Verse 26b
“And the people of the prince to come shall destroy the city and the temple…”

After Messiah the Prince died (and rose again), both Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed and Jews dispersed about 40 years later by the Roman General Titus in 70 AD.

This destruction is what Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24:1-2.

5-    The two princes

This prophecy speaks of 2 princes: Messiah the Prince (verse 25) and the “the prince who is to come” (verse 27).

Messiah the Prince is obviously the Lord Jesus. Who is the prince who is to come?

Verse 26 indicates that people who would destroy Jerusalem and the temple (i.e. the Romans) would be the people of the “prince who is to come”, which means that this is a prince (or a political ruler) from the Roman Empire. More shall be said about this prince later as we continue the study.

6-    The 70th Week

Verse 27
“Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week, he shall bring an end to the sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate…”

In the 70th week, the “prince who is to come” shall make a treaty with the Jews. This covenant is for 7 years (one week). However 3.5 years into it, the prince breaks the deal. He will put an end to worship. This is what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 24:15-20.

In the middle of the 70th week, this prince will severely persecute the Jews, will forbid the worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel.

A previous vision in Daniel 7:7-8 identifies a “little horn” from the fourth beast. In that vision, Daniel saw 4 beasts. Daniel was intrigued by the last beast and wanted an explanation. The angel told him that the 4th beast is “a fourth kingdom on earth”. Based on its characteristics, Bible scholars agree this kingdom is the Roman Empire. Daniel 7:24-25 says a king shall arise from this Kingdom. He will speak against the Most High, intend to change Jewish laws and worship rituals and will persecute the Jews for “a time, times and a half a time”. This is a period of 3.5 years or 42 months. This is what John saw in Revelation 13:1-8. There is absolutely no question that the “prince who is to come”, the “little horn” and the “beast rising out of the see” are one and the same person.

There is also no question that this individual is the same one referred to as the “man of sin” in Thessalonians 2:1-12.

We know that the manifestation of the man of sin is prevented by a restraining force (The Church) and that once the restraint is removed, he will be manifested. That is why we know that 70th week has not begun yet because the Church has not been taken out of the way. There is a gap of about 2,000 years between 69th week and 70th week. Why? Because the prophecy concerns Israel in particular, when the Church age began after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, God turned to the gentiles since Israel as a whole had rejected Messiah. In this dispensation, God’s people are the Church, the body of Christ, although He has not forsaken Israel. Therefore the period of the Church age is not computed in the 70 weeks of the prophecy. God’s prophetic watch was stopped, as it were, until the end of the Church age.

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