THE 70th WEEK OF DANIEL

Larry T. Smith

© 2002 Copyright Rightly Dividing the Word

All Rights Reserved

Daniel 9:24-27

(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. (25) 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. (26) 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. (27) 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.

 SETTING OF THIS PROPHECY

 

Daniel 9:1-3

(1) In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; (2) 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. (3) And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

Jeremiah 25:11

(11) And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

Jeremiah 25:11

(10) For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.

REASON FOR THE DESOLATION

 

Daniel 9:11

(11) Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. [Curse of the Law as found in Deuteronomy 28]

Daniel is seeking God for direction because he knows that the seventy prophesied years are about up, and that means it is about time for his people to be returned to their land. God then reveals to Daniel that there are seventy more sevens determined for his people and that during that time they would commit an even greater sin then they had done in the past by cutting cut off their Messiah. This transgression, God explained, would bring about the destruction of their city and their sanctuary.

 

Daniel 9:22-23

(22) And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. (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 salutation is very similar to the one the same angel Gabriel gave to Mary when he announced she would be the vessel through which God would bring forth the messiah.

 

Luke 1:28

(28) And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

Daniel’s prophecy revealed the exact number of years it would be until the Messiah came and was cut off by His people. This time frame became the key to the future of Israel. For us to see if this time frame is now past or a coming, we simply have to see if all six points of Daniel 9:24 have come to pass. If they have, then we can know that not only are the first 69 weeks past, but also the all important 70^th week is now history as well.

 

Daniel 9:24

(24) Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon the holy city.

Strong’s Concordance WEEKS - 7620. shabuwa', shaw-boo'-ah; or shabua', shaw-boo'-ah; also (fem.) shebu'ah, sheb-oo-aw'; prop. pass. part. of H7650 as a denom. of H7651; lit. sevened, i.e. a week (spec. of years):--seven, week.

 

A biblical example of this is found in Genesis 29.

 

Genesis 29:18

(18) And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.

Genesis 29:27-28

(27) Fulfill her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. (28) And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.

CONCLUSION OF VERSE 24 – (parenthesis mine)

 

Daniel 9:24

(24) Seventy weeks [490 years] are determined upon thy people [Jews] and upon thy holy city, [Jerusalem] (to accomplish six things) [1] to finish the transgression, and [2] to make an end of sins, and [3] to make reconciliation for iniquity, and [4] to bring in everlasting righteousness, and [5] to seal up the vision and prophecy, and [6] to anoint the most Holy.

Not one of these six things was fulfilled during the first 69 weeks, so that means they must all be fulfilled during the 70^th week. That is why it is set aside as a separate week, because during that the week Messiah would come and fulfill all 6 of these points by being cut off in the midst of the week. This would bring about the Abomination of Desolation which would end in the destruction of the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (Temple). This judgment all took place within the generation after the death of Jesus just as He predicted in Matthew 23 & 24.

 

Some in an effort to deceive the Church and create seven more years of law keeping created a 2000-year gap theory and said all these things are yet future and are to be fulfilled when the Lord comes the second time. This teaching is known as Dispensational Theology. This theory began in 1830, and gained popularity in the 1900’s by the printing of the Scofield Bible that featured Dispensational footnotes and the writings of Clarence Larkin.

 

There is never any mention of this so called gap in the Bible, nor to my knowledge, are there any references to it in history before that time. Dispensationalists then placed a rapture in front of this week to give their teaching some type of substance, and then make the seven years a future tribulation period dealing with a covenant of antichrist instead of Jesus Christ. They make this covenant change when they teach that there will be a future return to law keeping and animal sacrifices for salvation. The scriptures of the New Testament deny that salvation according to the law covenant can ever happen again after Christ came and made one sacrifice for the sins of mankind forever.

 

Now we have all kinds of theories that have come from this teaching (pre, mid, and post tribulation, and pre-wrath), and all these are based on the false teaching that the 70^th week is a future tribulation, where God will turn back to the natural Jew. Where you put this week is the most important teaching of Bible prophecy.

 

KEY POINTS TO KEEP IN MIND
 

·         The Bible says nothing about an Antichrist in Daniel 9. Men have added this idea to the Scriptures.

 

·         The Bible does not say anything about a gap between the 69^th and 70^th week of Daniel. This gap thinking contradicts the consistency of the scriptures that deal with Israel’s 70 years of captivity in Babylon, of which Daniel used to determine the timeframe for his people’s freedom.

 

·         There is not one scripture that teaches the Lord God will ever reject grace and Jesus’ blood and return to His Law and animal sacrifices for the atonement for men’s sin. The Bible teaches in Galatians 3:19 that the Law was given because of transgressions till the seed [Christ] could come to whom the promise was made. This shows that the Law would was the parenthesis in God’s plan for man, and not Jesus’ New Covenant.

 

·         There is not one scripture in the Bible for a pre-tribulation rapture of the church. The Bible teaches a last day resurrection. The question then becomes, if there is not one scripture for it, why are we teaching it? Dispensationalists needed this teaching to get men to accept this idea to support an endtime change of covenants.

 

·         There is not one scripture in the Bible for a future seven-year tribulation period, yet this period is the basis for most of the manmade teachings of prophecy today. This time was created by putting a gap between the 69^th and 70^th weeks of Daniel’s prophecy and claiming it applies to a future time period of Law keeping.

 

The following question is the key in determining the difference between the historical and futurist viewpoints: Is the covenant spoken of in Daniel 9:27 confirmed by Jesus Christ (Messiah the Prince), or is it confirmed by a future Anti-christ? The best way to determine who in Daniel this scripture is referring is to look at related scriptures in the Bible.

 

The scriptures do not teach that this covenant is a 7-year covenant. The scriptures say that the prince will confirm the covenant to the Jews for one week, which is showing this will happen during the final week of the 70-week prophecy. The covenant itself could be an everlasting covenant, which is exactly what the scriptures declare it to be. If the scriptures bear this out, then we know the prince in this scripture would be Messiah the Prince, which was cut off in the midst of the week causing the sacrifice and the oblation (animal sacrifices to no longer be accepted by God) to cease.

 

I will come back to the six points of verse 24 a little later, and take them one at time, and prove that they were all fulfilled by Jesus during the 70^th week without a gap or break in the number of years that God spoke to Daniel. Let's glean through the next three verses first.

 

Daniel 9:25

(25) Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment [The day it was given] 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. [483 years or 69 weeks]

490 YEARS DIVIDED INTO THREE PARTS

7 WEEKS – Rebuilding the wall and the Temple

62 WEEKS – From then to Messiah—Explained in Daniel 11. There is not 400 years of silence as some men teach, because these years are explained in Daniel chapter 11 (which I will briefly cover later in this lesson), and in 1^st and 2^nd Maccabees (which is at least a historical account of this time).

1 WEEK – Set aside for the Messiah—Cut off in the Midst—Stopping the sacrifice—Fulfilling all of verse 24—Causing the destruction of the Temple and the City before that generation passed away. (40 Years—one 40-year generation—70 AD. This was fulfilled to the letter for Jesus was born in 4 BC, He was crucified in 30 AD, and His ministry lasted 3½ years, and 40 years after His crucifixion the Temple and city were destroyed.)

 

Who gave the command is certain, because it was prophesied approximately 200 years before he was born and he was called by name in the prophesy and told what he was supposed to do.

 

Isaiah 44:24-28

(24) Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I am the LORD that maketh all things; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; (25) That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish; (26) That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof: (27) That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers: [This was the way the Medes and the Persians entered Babylon] (28) That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.

Isaiah 45:1

(1) Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;

The fulfillment of this is found in Daniel 5:6, 28.

 

Daniel 5:6

(6) Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed [Isaiah 45:1], and his knees smote one against another.

Daniel 5:28

(28) PERES; Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians [Darius & Cyrus].

Isaiah 45:2-3

(2) I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight: I will break in pieces the gates of brass, and cut in sunder the bars of iron: [This is describing the method used to enter Babylon] (3) And I will give thee the treasures of darkness (treasures of Babylon), and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name [Isaiah 44:28], am the God of Israel.

Isaiah 45:13

(13) I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith the LORD of hosts.

The Fulfillment of this came 200 years later, and is recorded in II Chronicles 36:21-23 and Ezra 1:1-4.

 

2 Chronicles 36:21-23

(21) To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years. (22) Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, [483 years to the day of Jesus!] (23) Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.

Ezra 1:1-4

(1) Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, (2) Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. (3) Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. (4) And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.

From the time that Cyrus gave the command to rebuild, until Messiah the Prince was revealed to Israel and began to confirm the New Covenant with them during the final week, would be 483 years. This Messiah the Prince would cause the sacrifice and the oblation [animal sacrifices] to cease in the midst of the week, because his blood, being shed for the sins of Israel, would replace animal sacrifices forever. This would then officially bring in the new covenant, though the actual offering of it did not stop till 70 AD. This Covenant was prophesied in various scriptures in the Old Testament, especially in Jeremiah 31:31-34, and quoted in Hebrews 8:8-13. There the writer of Hebrews described this as being the New Covenant that had replaced the Old Covenant. Clarence Larkin claims in his book Dispensational Truth that this Covenant has nothing to do with the Church, but, he says, it applies only to Israel in the Millennium, the New Heaven, and the New Earth. Larkin’s statement is in direct contradiction to those of the Book of Hebrews and to those found in the rest of the New Testament, yet some men still claim that their Dispensational doctrines are biblical truths.

 

Daniel 9:26

(26) 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.

"AFTER" NOT "AT"
 

Notice that this does not say “AT” but “AFTER” the 69 weeks that Messiah will be cut off. What is after 69? 70! This shows that this occurrence had to take place during the 70^th week. Scriptures and history agree with that for they show that Jesus was crucified after 31/2 years of ministry. That would have made Him cut off in the midst of the 70^th week.

 

"THE PEOPLE OF THE PRINCE THAT SHALL COME SHALL
DESTROY THE CITY AND THE SANCTUARY"
 

Most prophecy teachers, both Preterists and Futurists, agree that the last part of this verse is a prophecy of the Roman army attacking Jerusalem between 67 AD and 70 AD, because the Jews that lived during that time were the generation that had "finished the transgression" by killing their Messiah. This occurrence was the Great Tribulation and the Abomination of Desolation, which are both found in Matthew 24, Luke 21, and Daniel 9:27.

 

"UNTO THE END OF THE WAR
DESOLATIONS ARE DETERMINED"
 

Daniel is saying that there would be a war that would not end until there was a destruction of the city and the Temple, and it happened just as he prophesied. Jesus confirmed Daniel’s words in Matthew 23 and 24, and He confirmed in these chapters of Matthew and the parallel chapter of Luke 21 that this time that Daniel spoke of would all be fulfilled before the generation to whom He spoke ended. He gave the House of Israel one generation, from 30 A. D. to 70 A.D., to decide if they were going to accept or reject His new covenant. The ones that accepted it fled Jerusalem before its destruction. The remainder were either killed or taken captive when the city and the Temple were destroyed in the 3 ½ year seize on Jerusalem.

 

THE BIG DIFFERENCE IS IN THE IDENTITY

OF THE PRINCE OF VERSE 26 AND VERSE 27
 

Is the prince spoken of in verse 26 and 27 the same prince found in 27? Some say verse 27’s prince is speaking of Messiah the Prince (which was cut off in the midst of the week), or of Titus (who was to come and lead the Roman siege), or is it speaking of some future anti-Christ (a yet unnamed, leader who is not found in scripture)? Those who claim this verse is dealing with the later future antichrist also say this scripture is dealing with a future destruction of a rebuilt Temple in our day, rather than the 70 AD destruction of Jerusalem, which followed the cutting off of the Messiah mentioned in the first part of this verse. This future Temple teaching was subtly put into the Church to make the saints and the world believe that the rebuilding of a third Temple is prophesied in the Bible. This has helped shift the focus of the Church and the world to Natural Israel and away from God’s true people who are the Spiritual Israel of God—Jew and Gentile in one body of Christ!

 

Remember, these scriptures in Daniel 9 DO NOT mention a future 7-year tribulation time period, a future Antichrist, or a future third Jewish Temple, and neither does any other scriptures in the Bible! None of these happenings are mentioned in Daniel 9:24-27. The scriptures that men usually quote as proof of this referring to these occurrences are Matthew 24:15 (the abomination of desolation), 2 Thessalonians 2:3-9 (the man of sin sitting in the Temple of God), Revelation 13:3-15 (the beast that persecutes the church for 3 ½ years), Daniel 11:9-39 (the vile person that arises to oppose the covenant and the people), and the parallel of Daniel 11’s same event Daniel 8:9-14 (the little horn that arises to take away the daily sacrifice, fights against the people of God, and brings about the transgression of desolation, by treading the people of God under foot).

 

Time limitations will not allow me to spend a great deal of time on these, so let me touch on each of them briefly. In order to avoid repeating myself, I will save the explanations of Matthew 24:15, and Daniel Chapters 11 and 8 until I began my explanations of the next verse in Daniel 9:27.

 

II THESSALONIANS 2:3-9—THE MAN OF SIN
SITTING IN THE TEMPLE AS GOD
 

Because of the preconceived ideas of Dispensationalism, most teach this to be the future antichrist that was supposedly spoken of in Daniel. The word antichrist is not found in this scripture. It is found in 1 John 2:18, 2:22, 4:3, and 2 John 1:7. In those scriptures John said he knew it was then the “last days” because many anti-Christ’s had already come. He also said that they 9the antichrists) went out from us because they were not of us. John was clearly referring to the Christians of the early Church leaving Christianity to go back into the Law keeping and Judaism. This is return is exactly what Dispensationalists teach will happen in the “last days.” That makes you wonder what kind of spirit would be behind that type of deceptive unscriptural teaching. In reference to the Christians wanting to return to the works of the Law, Paul said, “If I build again the things that I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.” Yet that is exactly what the original teachings of Dispensationalism says will take place during a supposed future seven-year period.

 

In the chapter before this, Paul wrote, “it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you.” (II Thessalonians 1:6)  He wrote this as though he expected God was coming soon to pour out His wrath on the people that were persecuting the Church at that time; he did not write it as though it would take place some 2000 years in the future. Paul went on to say that there had to be “an apostasy first” and “the man of sin be revealed, who would sit in the Temple of God showing himself that he is God.” The phrase “at hand” here does not mean “soon to come,” but it comes from the Greek word “enistemi” which means already “present.” There was a perfect historical fulfillment of this writing which took place during the 3 ½ year seize of Jerusalem.

 

JOHN LEVI OF GISCHALA

Josephus wrote extensively about an apostate Jew named John Levi of Gischala. John fled to Jerusalem when the city was under Roman siege, and while there he presented himself as a God-sent savior that came to help his people fight against the Roman Armies. He soon showed that he wasn’t really a savior, but was rather a wicked man who burnt Jerusalem’s storehouses of food, hired Idumaeans, who were descendants of Esau to help him take the city. These gentiles killed the Jewish High Priest, because he resisted giving John control over the temple. This resistance could have been the resistance that Paul spoke of in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-9. John took over the control of the Temple, set himself up in the Temple as the Jewish savior, looted the vessels of the Temple for their Gold, and caused the daily animal sacrifices to cease. Later Titus asked John to leave the Temple. John flatly refused and his refusal was the very reason why the Temple was razed with the city. Paul’s words about a man of sin sitting in the Temple are easily seen as being fulfilled in the above scenarios, and cannot be used to make the prince in Daniel 9:26 & 27 into a future antichrist of our day.

 

REVELATION 13:3-13—THE BEAST

THAT PERSECUTES THE CHURCH

The Rightly Dividing the Word book The Coming of the Lord…, proves that this had a perfect historical fulfillment in Nero. He persecuted the Church for 3½ years. Nero’s name numerically also met the requirements of the numbers 666 (Hebrew) and 616 (Latin) as is translated in different versions of the Bible from the various languages. This scripture also cannot be used to prove an antichrist in Daniel chapter 9.

 

THE PRINCE OF VERSES 26 AND 27

 

The original 1611 edition of the KJV version of the Bible has capital letter “P” for the word “Prince” in verse 26. This would make it a reference to the same Prince as the “Messiah the Prince” of verse 25, which was a reference to this Prince—the promised Messiah Jesus.

 

Daniel 9:26

(26) And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince [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.

In order for this to be speaking of Jesus the Prince, God would have to be looking prophetically at the Roman Army as being God’s Army. This would be the same view He had when He saw Cyrus as His anointed one as found in Isaiah 45:1. Jesus confirms this in the parables found in Matthew 21 and 22. There Jesus was describing how He was going to bring judgment on the Jews who had rejected His New Covenant message. The following two verses are a description of the Roman Army that He would send to destroy them and their city.

 

Matthew 21:40-41

(40) When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? (41) They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

Matthew 22:7

 (7) But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth “his” armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

In these passages, Jesus refers to the Roman Army as His army since they were doing what He prophesied would come to pass.

 

This would make Jesus the only Prince spoken of in Daniel 9:25-27, and would be the Prince that confirms the New Covenant of verse 27, which was already spoken of by the prophets. Even if the prince in verse 26 was speaking of Titus, it still could not be used as an insert scripture about some future prince sent specifically to destroy the city and Temple.

 

Daniel 9:27

(27) 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.

I believe the "HE" in Daniel 9:27 is Jesus and not Titus, but either way you see this, it would still be history to us. Verse 26 is used as an insert about the future destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, but verse 27 goes right back to talking about the Messiah from verse 25, the first part of verse 26, and telling of what would happen during the 70^th week.

 

Notice it says He shall "CONFIRM THE COVENANT WITH MANY FOR ONE WEEK." This does not mean that the covenant was just seven years long, but it is dealing with the one week that is left of the 70 weeks in which the Messiah will confirm the covenant with many.  This week had to begin with Messiah the prince being anointed at His baptism. This was verse 24’s anointing of the most holy. This fulfilled one of the 6 requirements of the 70^th week. Let’s now look at some scriptures that refer to His confirming this covenant.

 

Isaiah 53:11

(11) He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. [Cut off, but not for himself]

Luke 1:16

(16) And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.

Luke 2:34

(34) And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against;

Matthew 20:28

(28) Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Malachi 3:1

(1) Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: [John the Baptist] and the Lord, [Jesus] whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

Malachi declared that Christ, not some Antichrist, was to be "the messenger of the Covenant."

 

THE ANOINTING OF JESUS OFFICIALLY STARTED HIS
MINISTRY AND THE BEGINNING OF THE 70th WEEK
WITH HIM CONFIRMING THE COVENANT

Luke 4:14

(14) And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.

Luke 4:17

(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 was written,

Luke 4:18-21

(18) The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, (19) To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. (20) And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. (21) And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

Notice Jesus was quoting from Isaiah 61:

 

Isaiah 61:1-9

(1) The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; (2) To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; (3) To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. [This is the Church] (4) And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. (5) And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. [Gentiles] (6) But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. (7) For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. (8) For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. [Same covenant that was mentioned earlier. Jesus was just confirming that covenant while He was ministering on earth.] (9) And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they are the seed which the LORD hath blessed.

Dispensationalists say that the Church is not the plan, yet here Isaiah says that we are! In the entirety of the Bible there is not one scripture that shows that there were to be two churches, one Jewish and one Gentile. Rather the scriptures all agree that the Church would be made up of both Jew and Gentile together in one body!

 

This was the covenant that the Lord began confirming to the people, but then he was cut off in the midst of the week and that caused the sacrifice and the oblation (old covenant animal sacrifices) to cease to be accepted by God even though they continued to be offered until the Temple was destroyed by the Roman army in 70 AD when God poured out His vengeance on those Jews who refused His New Covenant. This successfully brought an end to the Jewish age of Law keeping and animal sacrifice.

 

Let’s now look at the latter part of Daniel 9:27. This is where many try to use to prove that the Abomination of Desolation is an antichrist is in some future Temple taking away animal sacrifices.

 

Daniel 9:27

(27) 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, [end] and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

 MATTHEW 24:15—THE ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION
 

The easiest way to understand this is to look at the parallel account of this that is found in the book of Luke. There Luke inserted the exact explanation of this event when he said, “And when you shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.” Luke interpreted this as being the Roman armies coming to destroy Jerusalem, and mentions nothing about a future antichrist taking away animal sacrifices in a future Jewish Temple.

 

In the margin of Daniel 9:27, the translators of the 1611 edition of the King James Bible placed added this alternative rendering, “or with the abominable armies.” This means even the scholars that translated the original 1611 King James Version of the Bible believed Daniel 9:27 referred to an army that would make Jerusalem desolate. Most scholars taught this same doctrine for nearly 1800 years, then the theory of Dispensationalism came along and it became distorted.

 

When Darby first introduced Dispensationalism he claimed, “This teaching will bring the church back to Judaism.” He was quite right because it has been very successful plan.

 

The SEPTUAGINT says “And on the Temple shall be the abomination of desolations.” Jesus quoted this in Matthew 24.

 

Matthew 24:15-21

(15) When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) (16) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: [This proves this is not referring to an antichrist in the temple, because the people in the country areas of Judaea could not see what was happening inside the temple, but they could see a Roman Army surrounding Jerusalem.] (17) Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: [This is not a rapture, but is the Jews of Jerusalem feeing their homes pre-70 AD destruction.] (18) Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. (19) And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! (20) But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: (21) For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Luke revealed that the Abomination of Desolation was the Roman army sent to destroy Jerusalem and the Temple.

 

Luke 21:20-22

(20) And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. (21) Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. [The Christians obeyed this and fled.] (22) For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

Luke 21:32

(32) Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled. [The generation in which Christ and the apostles lived, and following the 70th week] From the death of Jesus in 30 AD until the destruction of the temple in 70 AD is a generation of 40 years.

Daniel 9:27

(27) 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, [end] and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

GLEAN DANIEL 8, 11 & 12
 

Daniel 12:6-7

(6) And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders? (7) And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.

Isaiah 6:11

(11) Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate,

THE SIX POINTS OF VERSE 24 WERE FULFILLED
BY JESUS DURING THE 70^TH WEEK, AND
ARE NOT FOR A FUTURE 70^TH WEEK.

Dispensational Theology began in 1830 and gained popularity in the 1900’s with the printing of the Scofield Bible and its Dispensational footnotes. This theory stands or falls on whether or not there is a gap between the 69th and 70th weeks of Daniel 9:24-27. The timeframe of when this 70th week is to occur can be surmised by knowing when the 6 points found in Daniel 9:24 are fulfilled. If these 6 points are yet unfulfilled, as Dispensationalists claim, then there has to be a gap of time to allow them time to take place. But if they have already taken place, then there would be no scriptural reason for a gap, which would mean Daniel’s 70th week is now a past event. This shows why the placement of this week is so important to properly understand Bible prophecy.

 

In his book, Daniel’s Prophecy of the 70 Weeks, Alva J. McClain states, “The fulfillment of the tremendous events in (Daniel 9) verse 24 cannot be found anywhere in known history.” By saying this, Mr. McClain is showing that Dispensationalists, of which McClain is one, believe that not one of the six points found in verse 24 were fulfilled during the first 69 weeks, but were all to be fulfilled during the final 70th week. While it is true that all six points would be fulfilled in the 70th week, McClain is incorrect that this is not history. In the midst of the 70th week the Messiah would appear and be cut off, which would fulfill all six points as found in verse 24, and this 70th week occurred consecutively after the 69th week. This same cutting off would bring about the abomination of desolation which would end in the destruction of the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (Temple) as revealed in the remaining verses of Daniel 9.

 

THE SIX POINTS OF VERSE 24

 

Let’s now look and see what these 6 points are. I have added some wording and numbering for clarity.

 

Daniel 9:24

Seventy weeks [490 years] are determined upon thy people [Jews] and upon thy holy city [Jerusalem], (to accomplish six things) [1] to finish the transgression, and [2] to make an end of sins, and [3] to make reconciliation for iniquity, and [4] to bring in everlasting righteousness, and [5] to seal up the vision and prophecy, and [6] to anoint the most Holy.

These are the 6 points that Daniel said would be fulfill during this 70 weeks. Again, you must remember, most [if not all] men agree that these 6 points were never fulfilled during the first 69 weeks, so they were to be fulfilled during the 70th week, which is why the 70th week was set aside from the other 69. The key question now is whether these 6 points of Daniel 9:24 are already fulfilled, or if they are yet to be fulfilled sometime in the future. The only trusted source to answer this all-important question is the Bible itself. There we find that not only were all these 6 points fulfilled by Jesus, but they were fulfilled in the generation that Jesus said would see the fulfillment of the remaining verses of Daniel 9’s prophecy.

 

1. To Finish the Transgression

 

The Old Testament repeatedly deals with Israel’s transgression of the Law of God. Their past transgressions are what Daniel was praying about when the angel revealed that there would be 490 more years until the people of Israel would commit their greatest transgression—the killing of their Messiah. This great sin would finish the transgressions of Israel and make their city (Jerusalem) and their sanctuary (Temple) desolate. Jesus confirmed this coming destruction in Matthew 23, where He forewarned the Jews of His day that destruction would come against those who rebelled against His New Covenant.

 

Matthew 23:29-38

(38) Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, (30) And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. (31) Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. (32) Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. [This is the same as “finish the transgression.” They did this by killing Jesus and His messengers.] (33) Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? (34) Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: (35) That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. (36) Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. (37) O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! (38) Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

Notice that Jesus said, “All these things shall come upon THIS generation.” This shows He was referring to the generation He was speaking to at that time. He confirmed this again in Matthew 24:34.

 

Matthew 24:34

(34) Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

The Apostle Paul also said this coming wrath would be upon the Jews of his generation.

 

1 Thessalonians 2:14-16

(14) For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: (15) Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: (16) Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.

These are just a few of many scriptures that show this point, but they are sufficient enough evidence to prove that the Jewish non-believers of Jesus’ day finished the transgression of Daniel 9:24 by killing their Messiah. This transgression resulted in desolation coming to those who refused the New Covenant message of Jesus.

 

2. To Make an End of Sin

 

During Moses’ first Passover, the same sacrificial lamb that brought judgments against God’s enemies also brought protection to God’s covenant people. It was very similar here as well except this time the sacrifice came in the form of a man named Jesus, and His sacrifice was not temporary, but forever brought redemption for mankind’s sin.

 

Hebrews 9:26

(26) For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Hebrews 9:11-14

(11) But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; (12) Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. (13) For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: (14) How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Hebrews 10:9-14

(9) Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. (10) By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (11) And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: (12) But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; (13) From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. (14) For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

How anyone could ignore these, or any of the other scriptures that clearly show Jesus’ sacrifice was God’s perfect and final sacrifice for man’s sins, is beyond me, but Dispensationalists must, otherwise they couldn’t create their needed gap. I would rather believe what the Bible says about the work of the cross and the sufficiency of Jesus’ blood, than to believe what some man’s study notes say the blood of bulls and goats will do during a covenant of which the Bible speaks nothing.

 

3. To Make Reconciliation for Iniquity

 

Some scholars feel this word “reconciliation” should have been “atonement” instead. That really doesn’t matter since they both mean “to bring into agreement or harmony; make compatible or consistent.” Since the fall of Adam, mankind has been born into this world with a sin nature. This made him a natural-born enemy with his Creator. To change this status and to regain a close relationship with their Creator, mankind needed an atonement that could reconcile their nature back with God’s. The blood of Jesus was that atoning sacrifice that brought mankind that opportunity, for His sacrifice brought to man a new nature that was not born after their natural father Adam, but rather one born after their heavenly Father Jesus!

 

Notice in these verses how “atonement” and “reconciliation” are spoken of as taking place at Calvary, and was then made available to all through the gospel message.

 

Romans 5:8-11

(8) But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (9) Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (10) For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. (11) And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

Colossians 1:20, 21

(20) And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. (21) And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled.

2 Corinthians 5:17-20

(17) Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (18) And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; (19) To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. (20) Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

It is easy to see this point is not referring to a coming 7-year tribulation where the breaking of a covenant by some antichrist causes animal sacrifices to cease, but is instead referring to Jesus Christ’s death on Calvary, which satisfied man’s payment for sin and offered him a way to walk in close fellowship with God. Jesus’ sacrifice stopped animal sacrifices from being acceptable to God, since there is now no scriptural reason for them to ever occur again. His sacrifice also occurred 3½ years into His ministry, which fits perfectly the description of the cutting off in the midst of Daniel’s final 70th week [See Daniel 9:27].

 

4. To Bring in Everlasting Righteousness

 

Webster’s 1828 dictionary defines righteousness as, “Purity of heart and rectitude of life; conformity of heart and life to the divine law. Righteousness, as used in Scripture and theology, in which it is chiefly used, is nearly equivalent to holiness, comprehending holy principles and affections of heart, and conformity of life to the divine law. It includes all we call justice, honesty and virtue, with holy affections; in short, it is true religion.” Without being led by the Spirit of Christ, no one would be able to live up to this definition. Webster also described righteousness as, “The active and passive obedience of Christ, by which the law of God is fulfilled. Daniel 9.” Even Webster connected the work of Christ to Daniel 9, because he also recognized that Jesus was the one who ushered in everlasting righteousness for mankind, and thereby fulfilled this 4th point. These next scriptures help to show why this is true.

 

Romans 3:21-26

(21) But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; (22) Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: (23)  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (24) Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: (25) Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; (26) To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Romans 4:13

(13) For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.

Romans 5:17, 18

(17) For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. (18) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.

Romans 9:30, 31

(30) What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. (31) But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.

The Bible shows the righteousness of God never could come through the Law, so this 4th point could not be referring to a future time of Law-keeping. Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” He referred to righteousness as being available now. Paul “amen’d” that when he said, “For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. [Romans 14:17] This was Paul’s way of saying God’s righteousness does not come not through man’s religion of works, but through man’s faith in Jesus’ works.

 

5. To Seal Up the Vision and the Prophecy

 

This prophecy seems to carry a two-fold meaning. One interpretation says it fulfills and completes the prophecy concerning Jesus’ coming during the time of the 490 years, and was not totally completed until the conclusion of the 70th week. Another interpretation suggests the word translated “seal” deals with the blindness that is put on Israel because of their rebellion. This blindness made them unable to see the prophecy fulfillment happening around them. Regardless which of these may be the better interpretation, they both end with judgment coming against Israel coming because of her rejection of the New Covenant.

 

Isaiah 6:10-12

(10) Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. (11) Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate, (12) And the LORD have removed men far away, and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.

 

Verse 10 is explained in the New Testament as being Israel’s blindness during the earthly ministry of Christ.

 

Matthew 13:14, 15

(14) And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: (15) For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

John 12:39-41

(39) Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, (40) He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. (41) These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.

This sealing of the vision seems to be part of God’s judgment against Israel, and her main city Jerusalem, because of her rejection of Isaiah 28 and 29’s chief cornerstone. Isaiah 28:9-12 is also an area that prophesies of the coming New Covenant Holy Ghost outpouring.

 

Isaiah 28:9-12

(9) Whom shall he teach knowledge? And whom shall he make to understand doctrine? Them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. (10) For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little: (11) For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people. (12) To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.

Isaiah goes on to show how those to whom this covenant would come would trust in the Law and reject God’s cornerstone for their lives.

 

Isaiah 28:15-18

(15) Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: (16) Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. (17) Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. (18) And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.

Isaiah 29 then talks about God’s reason for the destruction of Jerusalem, and gives a hint as to how it will come.

 

Isaiah 29:1-3

(1) Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, [Jerusalem] the city where David dwelt! Add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices. (2) Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel. (3) And I will camp against thee round about, and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee.

Isaiah 29:6

(6) Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire. [This is the same language as the 7th seal, trumpet, and vial of the book of Revelation]

Isaiah 29:10-14

(10) For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. (11) And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: (12) And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. (13) Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: (14) Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvelous work among this people, even a marvelous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.

Either of these interpretations ends with the same result, which is that they were both fulfilled during the timeframe of the 70th week, and during the time of Jesus’ ministry. Both of these also show that generation’s rejection of Jesus’ New Covenant culminated with the destruction of Jerusalem, before that generation ended in 70 AD.

 

6. To Anoint the Most Holy

 

Dispensationalists claim this refers to a future Jewish Temple. That could not be the case since there is not one scripture that says God will ever again have another physical Temple built, nor is there any that says He will ever again use its sacrificial system. Besides that, God never really wanted a dwelling place built by hands, and will never choose to return to one. Acts 7:49 supports this when it asks, “Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my rest?”

 

These truths show that this “anointing of the most high” must be referring to something greater than a building…something greater like the most Holy ONE—Jesus. He was the One who was called “Emmanuel,” which the Bible says is interpreted, “God with us.” Jesus’ coming allowed God’s presence to dwell—tabernacle—with man. The anointing of significance that could fulfill this point from Daniel 9:24 happened at Jesus’ baptism. The scripture says John did not even know Jesus was the One to come until he saw the Spirit of God descend and remain on Jesus at His baptism. That anointing was the inauguration of Jesus’ ministry for it manifested Him as the Messiah of God and ushered in the beginning of Daniel’s 70th week. Jesus went from this anointing and began systematically fulfilling all the Messianic signs of Isaiah 61.

 

John 1:29-34

(29) The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. [Make an end of sin] (30) This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. (31) And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. [Unto Messiah the prince. This started the final week of Daniel when he began His ministry of the New Covenant] (32) And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. [Anoint the Most Holy] (33) And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. (34) And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.

Isn’t it ironic that the apostle Peter, just like dispensationalists of today, was at one time confused about God’s desire for a manmade physical dwelling place for His Spirit? Peter was the apostle that suggested building Moses, Elijah, and Jesus a physical dwelling place on the Mount of Transfiguration. [See Mark 9:5] Later, after receiving the Spirit of Truth, Peter testified to the Jews [See Acts 2] and to the Gentiles [See Acts 10] that Jesus’ body was the true anointed dwelling place of God. Peter also explained that John’s baptism of Jesus began the fulfillment of the six points of Daniel 9:24, and launched the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel. Peter did this when he told his listeners that Jesus would make them His earthly abode after they obeyed the New Covenant command to be born again!

 

Acts 2:32-33

(32) This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. (33) Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

Acts 10:37-38

(37) That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; (38) How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.

Jesus was the anointed Temple of God while He was here on earth. He came to usher in a New Covenant whereby He could dwell in the hearts of men. This brought the Kingdom of God to man and made the Church His Temple of God in the earth.

 

Malachi also prophesied of this event. He told of the one who was to “prepare the way” for the coming Lord. The Bible shows that John the Baptist was the one that this idiom describes. [See Isaiah 40:3, Luke 1:76, and Matthew 3:3] But also notice that Malachi calls the coming Lord “the messenger of the Covenant.” This confirms that the coming Messiah would be the One who would proclaim the covenant with His people.

 

Malachi 3:1

(1)  Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

Conclusion:

 

As a person searches the Bible without the aids of Dispensational study notes, they soon discover they cannot find any mention of a gap for Daniel’s prophecy, and to my knowledge, there were not any references to this supposed gap even in study notes before the time of Dispensational Theology. All these teachings about a pre, mid, post, or pre-wrath tribulation are based on a false teaching of a future seven-year tribulation that was created by claiming the points of Daniel 9:24 are yet unfulfilled and are for a future time. By saying this, this doctrine has changed Daniel 9’s covenant of Jesus Christ into a covenant of antichrist. This was done by satan to make the Church believe that there is still seven-years remaining of law-keeping, and that God’s eye is on the Natural Jew because of race, instead of on the Church (Jew and Gentile) because of grace.

 

To make this gap work, Dispensationalists had to place a “pre-trib” rapture in front of the 70th week, even though there is not one scripture in the Bible to support it. This rapture gave them a reason for a dispensational covenant change, which Dispensationalists say will be a time when God will no longer accept the blood of Jesus for mankind’s sins, but will instead require either animal blood offered by a Jewish High Priest, or human blood that comes from being beheaded by the antichrist. This covenant change is taught in spite of the fact that the New Testament clearly teaches that Jesus Christ was the only perfect sacrifice, which brought remission for the sins of mankind forever.

 

McClain had asked in his book, “Where in the history of Acts, for example, can you find any finishing of Jewish transgression or an ending of Jewish sins?” Even a Sunday school child could quickly answer him by saying, “Acts 2:38!”  McClain, like other Dispensationalists, confuses the plan of God when he says these scriptures in Daniel 9 were intended only for the Jews, and since the Jews have not yet responded to them, they are still not completed. That is simply not true! The Apostle Peter was a Jew, and he was preaching to his own countrymen in Acts 2. Those Jews who heeded his words were obedient to the New Covenant and were protected by Jesus’ blood. Those Jews who refused his words became disobedient to God’s New Covenant and were in danger of His coming judgment. That is why Peter warned his hearers to “Save yourselves from this untoward generation.” (Acts 2:40) This saving grace of Jesus did finish their transgression, and it did end their sentence of death, which was coming because of their sins. The untoward (perverse) generation to which Peter was referring was the same one Jesus warned would see His coming in judgment. History shows this judgment came against the disobedient in 67-70 AD just as Peter and Jesus had warned.

 

Dispensationalism annuls the work of the cross and distorts the true identity of the Church by saying Jesus’ sacrifice is neither sufficient nor everlasting. The Partial Preterist view, on the other hand, supports both the cross and the Church, because it teaches Jesus’ sacrifice is the final sacrifice that will ever be made or needed for mankind. Scripture supports this latter view because it confirms that neither Jew nor Gentile will ever be set free from their sin without Jesus’ New Covenant plan of salvation. This same freedom also releases the Church from the entanglements of physical temples and animal sacrifices, so they can focus on their own spiritual temples! The Partial Preterist view is also a powerful testimony since it shows that only God could give such a detailed timeframe in advance, and then fulfill it on the exact prophesied day several hundred years later in every detail. That testifies, to both the believer and the unbeliever, of the validity of the Bible, and of the omniscience of the omnipotent God; for it loudly proclaims that Jesus truly is an “on time” God!

 

The conclusion of this matter is the Bible shows that the prophesied 490 years of Daniel 9:24-27 were all completed in order without a gap, because all 6 points of Daniel 9:24 have already been fulfilled in perfect detail by Jesus. This makes Daniel’s 70th week history, and leaves all the Dispensational teachings about a future seven-year tribulation period without a biblical foundation. So from these 6 proofs we can clearly see that the dispensationalist’s gap is not truly between the 69th and the 70th week, as they have taught, but is instead found between their teachings and the teachings of the Bible.  I say we move away from this schism and move on to truth!

 

The Church may still expect tribulation since in John 16:33 Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation.” This will be happen because Hell has always had a desire to destroy the Church. God may allow some persecution, just as He did during in the early Church, but He will never let satan’s plans succeed because the saints are promised victory in the end! We know this because Jesus went on to say, “But be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” God promises vengeance against those who persecute His people. He has avenged His elect in the past by pouring out His wrath on those who attacked His Church. He is still the same yesterday, today, and forever, so let’s not concern ourselves with the things that God has in His control, and instead strive to allow God to work through us to bring revival to our world!                                                   

 

RDTW