Friday, March 06, 2020

1888 Message Study : From Confession to Consolation

https://www.1888msc.org/resources/ssi/2020-q1/from-confession-to-consolation

"FROM CONFESSION TO CONSOLATION"

 

 

Read for This Week's Study:  Daniel 9; Jeremiah 25:11, 12; 29:10; 2 Kings 19:15-19; Matthew 5:16; James 5:16.

Memory Text:  Daniel 9:19. "O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for Thine own sake, O my God: for Thy city and Thy people are called by thy name."

"May the bones of the hands and the bones of the fingers decay and decompose, of him who turns the pages of the book of Daniel, to find out the time of Daniel 9:24-27, and may his memory rot from off the face of the earth forever."

An ancient Rabbinic curse in the Talmud forbids people to read Daniel 9:24-27. Why? What are they trying to hide?

Daniel 9 is an incredibly rich chapter, of course providing the prophecy showing us the time in which the Messiah would come and accomplish the redemption of the human race. It also includes a wonderful prayer that illustrates to us some of the principles of Corporate Repentance and true humility before God, trusting in His mercy. Last, it provides the final probationary time for the Jewish nation, before the Gospel was then carried for by the Gentiles to be the "light to lighten the gentiles."

Daniel 8 and 9 are intimately linked, as Daniel is very impacted by the 2300-day prophecy. He has studied Jeremiah 29:11-12 and its prediction that the Jewish people would be in captivity for 70 years before God brings judgment on Babylon and releases His people to return home again. He is troubled and uncertain about the 2300 years, and at the beginning of Daniel 9, He seeks the Lord in prayer and fasting, to intercede for his people. Daniel knew that the 70 years was almost up. He also learned from Isaiah that God would use Cyrus to help rebuild Jerusalem.

Isaiah 44:24 "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; ….(Isaiah 44:28)  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."

Daniel's prayer reveals that He is concerned that the sin of his people could prevent the restoration of Jerusalem in 70 years as God had promised. So Daniel turned to God in earnest prayer.

Daniel 9:4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and to them that keep His commandments;

Daniel 9:5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Thy precepts and from Thy judgments:

Daniel includes himself in corporate identity with his people, a beautiful representation of the concept of corporate repentance. Daniel is interceding for his people, but recognizes the reality that we are all equally accountable to God, and that in human nature, we all have "sinned and are coming short of the glory of God."

4 parts

Daniel's prayer can be broken into 4 parts that are applicable for any believer to pray as well.

Realize the sin – verses 4-6

Wicked and rebelled

Turned away from commands and laws

Not listened

React to God's righteousness – verses 7-11

 

Recognize the punishment – verses 11-14

 

Request action by God – verses 15-19

Restoration request – Daniel recognizes that God is still in control of the situation and that He can still forgive and restore Israel

Response request – Daniel asks that God would look, listen, act, and not delay.

 

God Answers

Daniel requested rapid action by God and he gets it! While he is still praying Gabriel visits him. Gabriel tells him that "as soon as you began to pray, an answer was given." Gabriel goes on to give Daniel one of the most marvelous prophecies of the Bible. 1 John 1:9 tells us, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." The passage is in reference to salvation but it applies here as well. If we recognize our sins and ask God to forgive and restore us, He will respond.

Is corporate identity a sound biblical teaching?

Perhaps the most obvious Old Testament example of corporate responsibility is found in the story of Achan. Joshua clearly instructed the army of Israel how to conduct themselves during the capture of Jericho, "The city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction.... But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction. . .. But all silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are sacred to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord" (Joshua 6:17-19).

In spite of this strict proscription, Achan took some of the devoted things and hid them in his tent. Describing this one man's sin, the Bible speaks in corporate terms. "But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things; . . . and the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel" (Joshua 7:1). This anger was manifested in the defeat of Israel at Ai. When Joshua threw himself upon his face before God, God told him that the whole nation had sinned. "Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant which I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, and lied, and put them among their own stuff' (verse 11).

Corporate identity can also be seen in Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the temple (2 Chronicals 6:24-39); in God's response to Solomon's corporate prayer, "If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face. . . then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin" (2 Chronicles 7:14), and the corporate prayers of Daniel (Daniel 9) and Ezra (Nehemiah 9). Both Daniel and Ezra acknowledge that Judah's kings and princes, priests and Levites have sinned and rebelled against God; then these men of God go on to accept guilt with those who have re belled. "We have sinned, we have done wickedly," Daniel says (Daniel 9:15). "Thou hast been just in all that has come upon us, for thou hast dealt faithfully and we have acted wickedly," Ezra confesses (Nehemiah 9:33).

In 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Paul makes it clear that the church is the corporate body of Christ. "If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together" (verse 26). Paul's statements on spiritual gifts in Romans 12:4-8 and Ephesians 4:1-16 are also set in the context of the corporate body.

Our doctrine of the nature of man and the nature of sin is also built upon the concept of corporate identity: "Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all men sinned" (Romans 5:12). "Then as one man's trespass led to condemnation of all men, so one man's act of righteousness leads to acquittal and life for all men. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience many will be made righteous" (verses 18, 19).

In defense of Jesus' high priesthood, Paul argues for the superiority of the Melchizedek priesthood over the Levitical priesthood on the basis of corporate identity: "One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him"(Hebrews 7:9, 10).

Ellen White's Understanding

In 1904 a series of 19 articles by Ellen White appeared in the Southern Watchman dealing with Nehemiah and the spiritual revival that occurred under his and Ezra's leadership. The very first words in the first article are a statement on corporate identity. "Among the children of Israel scattered in heathen lands as a result of the 70 years' captivity, there were Christian patriots, men who were true to principle; men who esteemed the service of God above every earthly advantage; men who would honor God at the loss of all things. These men had to suffer with the guilty."

In the last article of this series the following sentence appears, "Ezra and Nehemiah repeatedly humbled themselves before God, confessing the sins of their people, and entreating pardon as if they themselves were offenders." Throughout the series Ellen White portrays the responsibility of church leadership within the corporate body of Christ.

Thus, the Bible and the writings of Ellen White picture God's people as a corporate group.

In our consideration of corporate repentance, we must look at two more concepts: (1) divine punishment is shared by the corporate body, and (2) a later generation may share the guilt of a previous generation.

It is clear that the members of God's corporate people share punishment. Israelites of Achan's generation shared the displeasure of God for Achan's sin. "Christian patriots" like Daniel and his three friends were taken into Babylonian captivity because of the sins of Judah, both past and present. Ellen White says, "These men had to suffer with the guilty." But was it because they shared guilt with the rebellious that they suffered?

We must be careful not to confuse shared punishment and shared guilt. They are both corporate experiences, but they are two different things. Can the guilt of one generation be shared by another? Jesus accused the religious leaders of being the "sons of those who murdered the prophets" (Matthew 23:31), and indicated that they would be punished for the sins of their ancestors. He added, "that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of innocent Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, all this will come upon this generation" (Matthew 23:35-36). Obviously, these men had not killed Abel, Zechariah, or any of the other martyrs. How could they be accounted guilty?

Regarding Christ's statement to the religious leaders, Ellen White says, "In like manner Christ declared the Jews of His time guilty of all the blood of holy men which had been shed since the days of Abel; for they possessed the same spirit and were seeking to do the same work with these murderers of the prophets." It was because the religious leaders sought the blood of Christ and shared the same spirit that drove previous generations to kill God's messengers that they shared the guilt of their ancestors.

Speaking of the reaction of the Jews to the preaching of the apostles after Jesus' ascension, Ellen White says, "The children were not condemned for the sins of the parents; but when, with a knowledge of all the light given to their parents, the children rejected the additional light granted to themselves, they became par takers of the parents' sins, and filled up the measure of their iniquity."

Notice that the last sentence of this statement has two parts. The main statement is "The children were not condemned for the sins of the parents." This is followed by a qualifying statement that expresses a condition under which the children did share the guilt of rejecting Jesus along with their parents "when, with a knowledge of all the light given to their parents, the children rejected the additional light granted to themselves, they became partakers of the parents' iniquity."

Thus, the guilt of one generation can be shared by a later generation, if the later generation clings to and perpetuates the sins of the former generation. If the religious leaders had accepted Jesus, they would not have shared the guilt of those who preceded them. If the Jews who heard the preaching of the apostles after Jesus' ascension had accepted Jesus as their Savior, they would not have been guilty with their parents.

Notice the following in Daniel's prayer:

  1. Daniel confesses the sins of his people, "We have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from Thy commandments and ordinances" (Daniel 9:5). "To us, O Lord, belongs confusion efface, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee" (verse 8).
  2. Daniel intercedes for his people and asks forgiveness for them, "O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive" (verse 19).
  3. The burden of Daniel's prayer is an appeal to God to remove the punishment which he and his people share as a corporate group because of their sins as well as the sins of previous generations, "O Lord, according to all Thy righteous acts, let Thy anger and tTy wrath turn away from Thy city Jerusalem, Thy holy hill; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Thy people have become a byword among all who are round about us" (verse 16).

 

Ezra's prayer is similar to Daniel's. He acknowledges the past and present sins of his people and asks God to remove the punishment Israel shares as a result of being a corporate body (Nehemiah 9). Neither of these prayers support the idea that one generation repents for the sins of another generation. Daniel does recognize shared guilt, "because of our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers" (Daniel 9:16), "While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel" (verse 20). These prayers do, however, illustrate that God deals with His people as a corporate body, and punishment is shared by the corporate group.

That spirit of resistance and hostility prevented the Holy Spirit from doing the work that God intended. After the conference, the delegates carried the spirit of Minneapolis to their fields of labor.

If the church today demonstrates the spirit of Minneapolis resistance and rebellion against the testimonies, and feelings of hostility and bitterness toward fellow believers we share in the guilt of that former generation. If we resist the Gospel and cling to self-righteousness, we share in the guilt of that former generation.

God's command to Gabriel to make Daniel understand the vision. 70 "weeks" are determined for Daniel's people and for the holy city. The word "determined" is the Hebrew word "chatakh", a primitive verb which means literally to "cut off" or determined. As the explanation given to Daniel involves the 2300 year prophecy, and this explanation provides a period of 490 years, it is logical to see that the explanation of the beginning of the prophecy in full is also cutting off a section to speak of the future of the nation Daniel is praying for, with additional years leading to the "cleansing of the sanctuary."

 

  • To finish the transgression
  • To make an end of sins
  • To make reconciliation for iniquity
  • To bring in everlasting righteousness
  • To seal up vision and prophecy
  • And to anoint the Most Holy

 

We must ask the question, "What vision?" There is no vision in Daniel 9, so it must be related to the vision Daniel previously received in Daniel 8.

There are two different Hebrew words translated "vision" in Daniel 8 and 9.

  1. Chazown – refers to the vision as a whole.
  2. Mareh – refers to the vision concerning time. This is what Gabriel came to explain.

 

Daniel 8:26 And the vision (mareh) of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision (chazown); for it shall be for many days.

Daniel 8:27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision (mareh), but none understood it.

Daniel 9:21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision (chazown) at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

Daniel 9:22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.

Daniel 9:23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore, understand the matter, and consider the vision (mareh).

The part of the vision to be explained, therefore, is the reference to 2300 days, or years, when the day-year principle is applied. Critics object to this principle and I would refer you to Stephen Bohr's excellent paper presenting many Biblical evidences for the validity of this principle.

https://secretsunsealed.org/content/PDF_downloads/20-Reasons-To-Apply-The-Year-Day-Principle.pdf

 

An excellent paper regarding the beginning of the Prophecy is found at the site of the Biblical Research Institute.

https://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/materials/prophecy/when-did-seventy-weeks-daniel-924-begin

 

Daniel 9:25 "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.

Daniel 9:26 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.

Daniel 9:27 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."

In these verses, Gabriel helps Daniel understand:

  • When the Messiah would come
  • When the Messiah would die
  • What the Messiah would do: free people from sin and provide everlasting righteousness
  • That the earthly sanctuary would be restored, but then it would be destroyed again, and Israel would be given a probationary time after their national sovereignty was reestablished
  • Another sanctuary would be "anointed" with another Priesthood
  • The prophecies in total of the coming Messiah would be fulfilled

 

Daniel 9:24 uses a form of Hebrew poetry called a chiasm.

 

A1     To finish the transgression

A2     To make an end of sins (or sin offerings)

A3    To make reconciliation for iniquity

 

B3    To bring in everlasting righteousness

B2      To seal up vision and prophecy

B1     And to anoint the Most Holy

 

To make reconciliation for iniquity. When Jesus comes, He will make reconciliation for all iniquity. His death would pay for the sins of the whole human race.

To bring in everlasting righteousness. And through His perfect life, everlasting righteousness would be given to the human race, in Christ. As a result of His perfect life and death, anyone that would want to live forever with Jesus is free to do so, for He is the One who qualifies us for eternal life.

To make an end of sin (offerings). When Jesus died on the cross, He brought a complete end to sin offerings, for they were no longer needed. Daniel 9:27 spells this out when it says, "In the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering."

To seal up vision and prophecy. The prophecy of Daniel 8 would eventually be fully completed, and the universe would be cleansed from sin. The plan of salvation would be fully realized.

To finish the transgression. The word for transgression is revolt, or rebellion. Of course, the end of the 70 weeks would bring an end of the Jewish nation fulfilling their calling as the evangelizing force for God, but in a much larger sense, the atonement in total would provide the remedy for the sin problem we all struggle with.

To anoint the Most Holy. This refers to the heavenly sanctuary being anointed, for after His resurrection, Jesus was inaugurated to begin His work as our High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary.

"The Pentecostal outpouring was Heaven's communication that the Redeemer's inauguration was accomplished. According to His promise He had sent the Holy Spirit from heaven to His followers as a token that He had, as Priest and King, received all authority in heaven and on earth, and was the Anointed One over His people." Acts of the Apostles, p. 39.

There are several decrees that all provided aspects of the restoration of the city of Jerusalem, the Temple, etc. The decree of Artaxerxes in Ezra 7 is the one which is appropriate for applying it to the beginning of the prophecy. The reason has to do with the word "restore" in Daniel 9:25.

Many have thought that the words "restore" and "build" were teaching essentially the same thing. However, we must comprehend what Daniel means by "Jerusalem." It is not merely referring to the physical city but rather to the city as a social, religious and political entity composed of people, commerce, rulers, magistrates, judges and civil and religious laws. It is referring to the need of the city to have its self-governance as well as legal sovereignty over the land restored.

In 2 Kings 14:22 we have the same two words which appear in Daniel 9:25. There we are told that Azariah "built Elath and restored it to Judah." The text makes clear that "build" and "restore", though related, are not identical. What the text means is that the physical city of Elath was built and then governance over it was given to Judah.

Ezra 7:25 "And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not."

Only the decree of Artaxerxes officially authorized the restoration of the Hebrew civil order and the right of Israel to govern herself according to the Law of God. Israel was given 490 years, after their independent governance was restored, and thus no longer under pagan rule, or influences from pagan worship, to come back into loyal relationship with God.

Daniel 9:25 says "the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times." This also refers to the political and legal restoration of Jerusalem. Why would building a street be important? The Hebrew word rachab means a "broad place", "avenue", "broad expanse." What is it referring to?

2 Chronicles 32:6 explains that Hezekiah "set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, and spoke comfortably to them." This is referring to the place of meeting that often existed. Even today we have "town squares". In Nehemiah 8:1-3 we read

Nehemiah 8:1 "And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street that was before the water gate; and they spoke unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to Israel.

Nehemiah 8:2 And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the first day of the seventh month.

Nehemiah 8:3 And he read therein before the street that was before the water gate from the morning until midday,"

The city square or meeting place was the center of public civil, social and religious life. In Daniel 9:25 we are thus being told that the town square or place of announcement was rebuilt in order to facilitate the establishment of social, political, and religious life. They could use it again as a part of their tradition for civil and religious governance and communication. The city gate that led to the town square was the place where judicial, military, civil and religious decisions were to be made. The word "wall" actually is "harus" which is used elsewhere to mean "determined" or "decreed." The ability for self-rule, forming decisions, and governance would be fully restored, even in the time of opposition, which we read about in Nehemiah.

The prophetic calendar extends to 34 A.D., and we see in that date the timing of the stoning of Stephen, the last prophet to the Nation of Israel, who presented to Israel a "covenant lawsuit" revealing their corporate responsibility for their continual rebellion. We also read in Acts 13:46-47

Acts 13:46 "Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, it was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.

Acts 13:47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth."

Some critics call this "replacement theology" in a scornful way. However, it is obvious from several verses that the Jewish nation was replaced by the NT church to evangelize the world, for the obvious reason that they had no "salvation" to take to the world, as they did not believe in Christ, although some individual Jews and priests became faithful to Christ, and there are Messianic Jews and Jews for Jesus today showing that many are now coming to the truth of Christ.

Matthew 21:43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.

1 Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him Who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light:

The Gentile church became the "holy nation" to take the Gospel to the world.

The Jewish nation did not fulfill their calling as the "chosen people" to serve God. They still have not received Christ into their corporate identity. Therefore, 2 Corinthians 1:20 "For all the promises of God in Him are yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us." has the implication that the return to Israel in 1947 was NOT according to God's covenant promises, for they are fulfilled "in Christ" and the Jews did not believe in Christ.

Romans 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:

Romans 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

The 7 weeks of prophecy probably refer to the rebuilding of Jerusalem. The total 69 weeks take us to AD 27, and the "anointing" of Jesus at His baptism. This date can be verified.

Acts 10:38 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.

Luke 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene,

Luke 3:2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

There is one person and one only who fulfills this requirement, and that is the one who was anointed as the Messiah in A.D. 27, Jesus of Nazareth. His anointing at the Jordan River, by both John the Baptist and His heavenly Father, took place in the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar according to Luke 3:1, 21, 22. While there are other possible ways of reckoning this regnal year of Tiberius, it certainly is the reasonable and standard procedure accepted by many commentators, chronographers, and historians to reckon it from A.D. 12. Utilizing that procedure and starting from the beginning point established above in 457 B.C. lead us to one specific individual as the Messiah of this prophecy, Jesus Christ. In other words, the establishment of 457 B.C. as the starting point of the 70-week prophecy of Daniel 9 is one of the strongest indicators among the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament that Jesus truly was all that He claimed to be.

Daniel 9:26 of course refers to the time in which Christ would be "cut off" and "not for Himself", but for every human being. Daniel 9:27 "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. Jesus would be crucified in the middle of the final week of the prophecy, placing His death in the spring of 31 A.D.

Isaiah 53:8" He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken."

Who is the "Prince" that is to come?

Daniel 9:26 "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."

This verse and verse 27 are used as a part of the proof for the "Secret Rapture" theory and the 7-year tribulation period. There are several problems with this position. First, the 490 years is a connected time prophecy, and to "wing" a part of it forward 2000 years with no anchor to know when it would apply is doing serious violation to time prophecies and their use. Secondly, of course, the rapture theory has a separate plan for the "Church" and "Israel", provides a second chance for salvation, provides EXACT knowledge when Christ would come the third time, namely, after 7 years, when the Bible says no man will know the day or hour of His "coming" or Parousia, the term used for the Second Coming. The most dangerous point is this. The only text we have providing information about the Antichrist or "Man of Lawlessness" is in 2 Thessalonians 2:3.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 "Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

The word used throughout I and II Thessalonians for the coming of Christ is Parousia. This verse says that the "man of sin" will be revealed BEFORE the "day" when Jesus returns. In the rapture theory, the antichrist appears AFTER the "coming" of Christ. Therefore, WHOMEVER APPEARS AS THE PEACE MAKER FOR THE WORLD BEFORE THE ANTICIPATED RAPTURE WOULD NEVER BE RECOGNIZED AS THE ANTICHRIST, FOR the timing of the antichrist, according to their theory, would be incorrect.

In Daniel, Christ is called "Messiah the PRINCE." There is no reason for assuming the "prince" in Daniel 9:26 is different. The rapture theory regards the second use of "prince" to refer to the antichrist.

If this is not so, then, who are the "people of the prince that is to come" and how did they "destroy the city and the sanctuary?" If this is referring to the Jewish people, how would they be implicated, when it was obviously the Romans and Titus who conducted the physical destruction of the city and the sanctuary. The Biblical concept is that through their sins, which are brought out in many of Christ's parables, as well as history itself, they "destroyed themselves."

Hosea 13:9 "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help."

Hosea 14:1 "O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity."

"The Jews had forged their own fetters; they had filled for themselves the cup of vengeance. In the utter destruction that befell them as a nation, and in all the woes that followed them in their dispersion, they were but reaping the harvest which their own hands had sown. Says the prophet: "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself;" "for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity." Hosea 13:9; 14:1. Their sufferings are often represented as a punishment visited upon them by the direct decree of God. It is thus that the great deceiver seeks to conceal his own work. By stubborn rejection of divine love and mercy, the Jews had caused the protection of God to be withdrawn from them, and Satan was permitted to rule them according to his will." Great Controversy, p. 36.

 

Luke 19:37-44                                                           Daniel 9:25-27

  1. Jesus comes.                                                         1. The Messiah comes.
  2. He is cut off.                                                         2. He is cut off
  3. The City and the Temple are destroyed.              3. The City and Temple are destroyed.

 

Vs. 26 and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

The end, thereof, refers to the destruction of the city and sanctuary. In the Bible, a military invasion is often compared to a flood. (See Isaiah 8:7-8; Jeremiah 46:6-7; Revelation 12:15-16; Daniel 11:22; Revelation 16:12 compared with Revelation 17:1-5, 15.)

"And He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week."

Who is the "he" in this verse? What does the word "confirm" mean, and which "covenant" is being spoken of? Who are the "many" with whom the covenant is confirmed? Is this week the last of the seventy, or is this a 7-year tribulation period at the end of time?

Futurists believe that this person is a future Roman Antichrist who will make a seven-year pact of peace with the literal Jews only to break it in the middle of the week. According to this view, this vile person will halt the sacrificial system in a rebuilt Jerusalem temple and impose a reign of terror for three and a half literal years.

Every time the word "covenant" is used in the Book of Daniel, it is referring to God's covenant with His people. It is never used to describe a secular political covenant, or a religious agreement not referring to the Covenant. For example, Daniel 9:4 says "And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love Him, and to them that keep His commandments;" Daniel 11:22 refers to Jesus as the "prince of the covenant", (notice the same words as in Daniel 9); Daniel 11:28 speaks of the "holy covenant" and Daniel 11:32 describes those who do "wickedly against the covenant." Daniel 9:27 has the definite article THE Covenant.

The word "confirm" is gabar in Hebrew, and has the meaning of being mighty, strong, etc. Jesus will "make strong" the covenant, or empower it. The Old Covenant could not save. Jesus brought true salvation to all.

Who is the "many?" Mark 10:45 "For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many." Matthew 26:28 "For this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Isaiah 53:11 "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."

The Jewish nation, through their continued rebellion, even after the cross, brought destruction upon themselves. Notice Acts 13.

Acts 13:45 "But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming……

Acts 13:48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed."

They rejected the preaching of Paul and the Gospel, while the gentles received it with joy.  Thus, Paul proclaimed that they, in fact, "judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life." Acts 13:46.

Daniel 9:27 ends with "and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." When did this occur? Jesus said, in Matthew 23,

 

Matthew 23:36 "Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

Matthew 23:37 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!

Matthew 23:38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

Matthew 23:39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."

 

The best translation of Matthew 24:15 is "When you therefore shall see the abomination which maketh desolate." That is, the abominable Roman standards of the legions, which consisted of an eagle surrounded by a golden wreath, and under that was a solar disk which represented the sun-god Mithra.

"And the Saviour warned His followers: "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:) then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains." Matthew 24:15, 16; Luke 21:20, 21. When the idolatrous standards of the Romans should be set up in the holy ground, which extended some furlongs outside the city walls, then the followers of Christ were to find safety in flight." Great Controversy, p. 26. The abominable standards of the Romans were a sign that the desolation of Jerusalem was at the doors. The word "overspreading" refers to the wings of a bird.

Let us learn from the story of Israel, but for a more meaningful motivation, let us respond to the incredible love of Christ to accomplish a legal justification or redemption of the entire human race, to be received by a living faith.

"The Son of God, heaven's glorious Commander, was touched with pity for the fallen race. His heart was moved with infinite compassion as the woes of the lost world rose up before Him. But divine love had conceived a plan whereby the lost might be redeemed. The broken law of God demanded the life of sinners. In all the universe there was but One Who could, in behalf of humanity, satisfy its claims. Since the divine law is as sacred as God Himself, only one equal with God could make atonement for its transgression. None but Christ could redeem fallen humans from the curse of the law and bring them again into harmony with Heaven. Christ would take upon Himself the guilt and shame of sin—sin so offensive to a holy God that it must separate the Father and His Son. . .." {CT 30.3}

Let us respond as the Gentiles did, with joy and glorifying of God for His "unspeakable gift" of Christ Jesus.

 

~Tom Cusack