Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: HWIS
Program Code: HWIS000013
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00:35 Shall we pray.
00:38 Our loving heavenly Father, as we look at the world 00:42 everything appears to be spinning out of control. 00:46 But we know that You're seated on Your throne in heaven 00:50 beyond the noise and the hustle and bustle of earth. 00:55 Nothing escapes Your attention. 00:57 You have everything under perfect control. 01:00 We thank You that we can trust You as such a wonderful God. 01:04 And as we study the second part of the prophecy of Daniel 8, 01:11 we plead for the help of Your Holy Spirit. 01:14 Help us, Lord, to understand not only intellectually, 01:19 but also experientially. 01:21 And we thank You for hearing our prayer for we ask it 01:24 in Jesus' name, amen. 01:28 The first thing that we want to do in our study today is review 01:32 what we studied last time. 01:34 Last time, we were discussing Daniel chapter 8. 01:38 And I'm going to go through this rather quickly because 01:40 we have a lot of material to cover in our lecture today. 01:44 You remember that in Daniel chapter 8, the vision begins 01:48 with a ram. 01:50 And then after the ram, we find that... 01:54 Well in connection with the ram, rather, we have two what? 01:59 Two horns. 02:01 And one of them is higher than the other. 02:03 When does the higher one come out, first or last? 02:06 The higher one comes out last. 02:08 Now what is represented by the ram? 02:11 The kingdom of Medo-Persia. 02:12 What do the two horns represent? 02:15 They represent the fact that it's a dual kingdom. 02:18 And Persia was the predominate kingdom that rose to power 02:23 last, as we studied. 02:25 And then we have a flying he goat. 02:27 What does the he goat represent? 02:29 It represents the kingdom of Greece. 02:32 And the he goat has a notable horn between its eyes. 02:36 What does the notable horn represent? 02:39 The notable horn represents the first king. 02:42 And the first king was whom? 02:44 Alexander the Great. 02:46 And then when the kingdom was strong, 02:49 the great horn was broken. 02:53 And how many horns came out in its place? 02:56 Four horns came out in its place. 02:59 And those four horns represent the four divisions of what? 03:04 Of Greece. 03:05 Of Alexander's empire. 03:08 And then from one of the horns at the four winds, 03:12 a little horn rises. 03:14 And we noticed that it rises from Pergamum in Asia Minor. 03:19 And then this little horn, first of all, conquers how? 03:23 Horizontally. 03:25 His conquests are earthly. 03:28 But then this little horn has a second stage. 03:32 Now it's fight is not against any kingdom on earth. 03:35 Its fight is against whom? 03:38 It's against the God of heaven. 03:41 And we noticed that this little horn attacked the host, 03:46 which represents God's people. 03:48 And we noticed that he also attacked the Prince of the host. 03:52 And who is the Prince of the host? 03:54 The Prince of the host is Jesus Christ. 03:56 And he took away what? 03:58 The daily from Christ. 03:59 Which means, the work of Jesus in the court and in the 04:04 Holy Place of the Sanctuary. 04:07 And then we noticed in Daniel 8 that the video goes blank 04:11 and there's a conversation between two heavenly beings. 04:15 And one heavenly being asked the other, 04:18 "Until when will this vision last?" 04:22 It's the vision of the ram, the goat, and the two stages 04:27 of the little horn. 04:28 Until when, or how long, will this vision last? 04:34 And the other one says to this being, "Unto two-thousand 04:39 three-hundred days and the Sanctuary shall be..." What? 04:44 "...shall be cleansed." 04:47 And then we noticed that Gabriel went on to explain 04:51 the meaning of the "chazon," of the vision. 04:56 Did he explain what the ram represents? 04:59 Yes he did. 05:00 Did he explain what the two horns represent? 05:03 Absolutely. 05:04 Did he explain what the flying he goat represents? 05:07 Yes. 05:08 Did he explain what the notable horn is? 05:11 Absolutely. 05:12 Did he explain what the four horns are in the 05:15 second half of the chapter? 05:16 Absolutely. 05:17 Did he explain the horizontal conquest of the little horn? 05:22 Yes. 05:23 Did he explain the vertical attack of the 05:25 little horn upon God? 05:27 Absolutely. 05:28 But the interesting thing is that when Gabriel got to the 05:33 part that had to do with the 2300 days, or the appearance 05:38 of the two beings that were talking in heaven, 05:42 he had to suspend the explanation of the vision. 05:47 He did not finish the explanation of the vision. 05:52 And so we noticed that God tells Gabriel, 05:58 "Gabriel, explain the mareh..." 06:02 Which is the other word for "vision." 06:04 The first word is the one that is used at the 06:06 beginning of the chapter. 06:07 "...explain the mareh," which is the appearance 06:10 of the two beings. 06:11 And Gabriel could not do it because Daniel, 06:17 according to Scripture, got sick. 06:20 Let's read that in Daniel chapter 8 and verse 27. 06:24 Daniel chapter 8 and verse 27 tells us that Daniel did not 06:28 understand the mareh. 06:30 Now he understood the chazon, which is the total vision. 06:33 Because Gabriel explained it. 06:36 But the portion that he did not understand 06:38 was the other word for "vision" that is used 06:42 in the middle of chapter 8. 06:44 Notice what is says in Daniel 8 verse 27. 07:02 The word, "vision," there is not the "chazon." 07:04 It's not what Gabriel had explained. 07:07 It's the word, "mareh." 07:09 In other words, Daniel could not understand the conversation 07:11 of these two beings concerning the time period, the 2300 days. 07:16 And so it says, "I was astonished by the vision," 07:20 by the mareh, "but no one..." What? 07:24 "...understood it." 07:25 So which portion of the vision did Daniel not understand? 07:30 He understood the chazon, the whole vision 07:33 that includes the ram, the he goat, the horns, 07:36 the little horn and its two stages, etc. 07:40 But he did not understand the mareh. 07:43 Now let's give a little bit of historical background. 07:46 If you remember, Daniel chapter 8 is taking place 07:51 in the year 550 BC. 07:55 And we're told there in Daniel chapter 8 that after 2300 days, 08:02 the Sanctuary would be cleansed. 08:04 But we have a problem in Daniel chapter 8. 08:07 Is there any beginning date for the 2300 days? 08:11 Is there anything in Daniel 8 that says when the 2300 days 08:15 were going to begin? 08:16 Absolutely not. 08:18 So would it be important to know when the 2300 days 08:22 are going to begin so that we could know 08:25 when the 2300 days are going to end? 08:28 Absolutely. 08:29 But in Daniel 8, you don't have an explanation of the 2300 days. 08:33 They're brought to view, but you don't have an explanation. 08:36 And you have absolutely no beginning date. 08:39 Now the question is, where would you expect to find 08:42 the explanation of the beginning date of the prophecy 08:45 of the 2300 days. 08:47 The next chapter would be a very good place to look. 08:51 Now, let's go forward to the year 538. 08:56 This is the date for Daniel 9. Okay? 08:59 Daniel 8 is 550 BC. 09:02 Remember that before Christ we go down, right? 09:05 Daniel chapter 9 is taking place in 538 BC. 09:10 Babylon has just fallen the year before. 09:14 Now Daniel knew that there was a prophecy that God had given 09:19 that the captivity of Israel in Babylon 09:22 was going to last 70 years. 09:25 He knew that. 09:26 In fact, let's read that prophecy as we find it 09:30 in 2 Chronicles 36 and verses 15 through 21. 09:34 And I'm going to read also the events that led up to 09:39 the captivity of Israel. 09:41 And this is a long passage, but I'm going to read it 09:43 because it's important. 09:45 It says here... 09:47 That is, of Israel. 10:15 The king of the Chaldeans was Nebuchadnezzar. 11:21 So how long was Israel going to remain in captivity in Babylon? 11:25 According to Jeremiah, they were going to be there 70 years. 11:29 But now listen. 11:32 Daniel chapter 9 is taking place in 538 BC. 11:36 Now Daniel knew when the 70 year captivity began. 11:40 It actually began in the year 605 BC. 11:43 And Daniel knew from personal experience 11:45 because Nebuchadnezzar took him and his three friends 11:48 to Babylon in the year 605 BC. 11:51 And so if you go from 605 BC forward 11:55 for a period of 70 years, you come to the year 536 BC. 11:59 And Daniel 9 is taking place in 538. 12:03 And Daniel doesn't see anything happening. 12:05 He's saying, you know, "God promised that in 70 years 12:09 a decree was going to be given for us to go back to our land 12:12 to rebuild the city, rebuild the temple, rebuild the walls. 12:15 Here we are in 538; two more years and the 70 years are over, 12:19 and I don't see anything happening." 12:22 And so he's very, very concerned. 12:24 And so Daniel decides to take another look at the prophecy 12:28 of the 70 years of Jeremiah. 12:29 Notice Daniel chapter 9 verses 1 and 2. 12:32 Daniel 9:1-2 12:34 "In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, 12:38 of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king 12:41 over the realm of the Chaldeans..." 13:02 So what was Daniel studying as Daniel chapter 9 begins? 13:06 He was studying the prophecy of the 70 year captivity. 13:09 Because the 70 year captivity is about to end. 13:13 Now it appears that Daniel was not able to reconcile the 13:17 70 year prophecy of Jeremiah with the prophecy 13:20 of the 2300 days. 13:21 Which, by the way, are years. 13:23 Apply the year/day principle. 13:26 In other words, Daniel says, "God has said that our Sanctuary 13:30 and our city will be desolate and trampled upon 13:34 for 70 years. 13:35 "But now I remember that 11 years ago God said 13:40 that the Sanctuary would be trampled and the 13:42 city would be trampled for 2300 years." 13:47 So Daniel is trying to figure out how to reconcile 13:51 the 70 year prophecy with the 2300 day, or year, prophecy. 13:58 And suddenly a thought comes to the mind of Daniel. 14:02 Daniel says to himself, "Is it perhaps possible 14:07 that God has decided because of the rebellion of His people, 14:12 because they've been so disobedient to Him 14:15 that God has decided not to fulfill His word and end the 14:20 captivity after 70 years, but He has decided 14:24 to extend it for 2300 years?" 14:27 Are you understanding the problem that Daniel has? 14:30 "Is it just possible?" 14:32 And so Daniel now raises to God one of the most beautiful 14:37 intercessory prayers that we find in all of the Bible. 14:41 Daniel chapter 9 and verse 4 through 11A. 14:44 And I'm going to read these verses, because we need to 14:46 catch the context of what we're looking at. 14:49 Daniel chapter 9 verse 4. 14:51 And we're going to go through verse 11, 14:53 the first part of the verse. 14:56 This is where Daniel confesses his sin 15:00 and the sin of his people. 15:01 Because he says, "God has said 70 years the city and the 15:04 Sanctuary are going to be trampled upon, 15:06 but then he said 2300 years and then the Sanctuary is 15:09 going to be cleansed and it's going to be trampled upon. 15:12 How do I understand the relationship between 15:14 these two time periods?" 15:16 And so he confesses his sin and that of his people. 15:18 Notice Daniel 9 verse 4. 15:35 Notice he's confessing. 16:39 What is Daniel doing? 16:41 He's confessing his sin and the sin of his people 16:46 with no excuses, no ifs, buts, or maybes. 16:50 He's saying, "We have sinned against You, 16:54 and we confess our sin." 16:57 And then in Daniel 9 verse 11, the last half of the verse, 17:01 through verse 14, Daniel describes the results 17:06 of the disobedience of Israel. 17:08 What is the fruit of their disobedience? 17:11 Notice what he continues saying. 17:13 "Therefore..." 17:14 That is, "Because we have rebelled, because we have 17:16 not obeyed the voice of the Lord." 17:18 "Therefore, the curse and the oath written in the law of Moses 17:23 the servant of God..." 17:24 This is Deuteronomy 28 you need to write there, 17:27 because that's where the covenant curses are described. 18:16 So notice, now he's talking about the results, or fruits, 18:19 of the disobedience of Israel. 18:21 Disaster has come upon Israel. 18:23 The curse has fallen upon them. 18:26 And then in chapter 9 and verses 15 through 19, 18:29 Daniel now intercedes for his people. 18:34 So you have first of all, confession. 18:37 Secondly, you have what? 18:39 The results of the rebellion. 18:41 And in the third place, now Daniel 18:44 intercedes before the Lord. 18:45 He's going to say, "Lord, please have mercy." 18:49 Let's read Daniel 9 beginning with verse 15. 19:39 Do you notice that he's praying for the city, 19:41 and he's praying for the Sanctuary, 19:43 and he's praying for the people? 19:44 Are those the same issues that were addressed 19:46 in Daniel chapter 8? 19:47 Absolutely. 19:48 During the 2300 days, the Sanctuary would be 19:51 trampled upon, God's people would be trampled upon, 19:54 and the Prince of the host would be trampled upon. 19:57 So now, he's bring to view all of these issues of 20:00 Daniel chapter 8 because he doesn't understand how the 20:03 70 years relate to the 2300 days. 20:06 Verse 18. 20:28 So he has confessed his sin and the sin of Israel. 20:31 He's spoken about the results of the sin. 20:34 And now he's interceding before the Lord 20:36 to pour out His mercy upon His people. 20:39 And then we come to verse 19. 20:41 This is a very important verse because it tells us 20:44 what Daniel was worried about. 20:46 Verse 19. 20:47 There's a very important little word that's used here. 20:50 This is the climax of his prayer. 20:52 It's the last verse that has to do with his prayer. 20:55 Notice... 21:06 And now notice, "Do not..." What? 21:09 What is Daniel's concern? 21:11 That God is going to what? 21:14 Delay his fulfillment of the prophecy of the 70 years. 21:18 He says... 21:28 That word, "delay," is translated in the 21:30 Old Testament, "defer, to tarry, or to delay." 21:36 Daniel is saying, "Lord, do not delay the fulfillment of the 21:40 prophecy of the 70 years. 21:42 I know that Your people have been sinners. 21:44 But Lord, please forgive and please don't extend 21:47 this period to 2300 years." 21:52 That is Daniel's concern. 21:54 So then Daniel ends his prayer. 21:57 And when Daniel ends his prayer, Gabriel is sent to Daniel 22:04 with the answer to his prayer. 22:06 Now before we study the answer to Daniel's prayer, 22:10 I'd like to ask this question. 22:12 Is there any vision so far in Daniel chapter 9? 22:17 Is there any vision? 22:19 Is there any appearance of heavenly beings 22:23 speaking in Daniel chapter 9 verses 1 through 19? 22:28 None whatsoever. 22:29 There is no vision, there is no heavenly beings speaking. 22:33 What do we have in the first part of Daniel 9? 22:35 We have only a what? 22:37 Only a prayer. 22:39 That's an important detail. 22:40 Now go with me to Daniel chapter 9 and verse 20 22:44 where Daniel's prayer is going to be answered. 22:47 Here it says, "Now while I was speaking..." 22:51 Daniel is still talking here, praying. 23:04 Now notice what he's praying for. 23:06 For what? 23:08 For the holy mountain. 23:09 What was on the holy mountain? 23:12 On Mount Zion was the temple of Jerusalem. 23:15 Okay? 23:16 And so he says... 23:34 Who was the one that appeared to Daniel in chapter 8? 23:38 Gabriel. 23:39 Is that the same angel? 23:41 Absolutely. It says... 23:50 That word, "vision," is the word "chazon." 23:53 The very word that is used in Daniel chapter 9 23:56 to refer to the vision of the ram, the he goat, 24:00 the notable horn, the four horns, the little horn, etc. 24:04 So he says.. 24:11 Which vision at the beginning? 24:15 Any vision in Daniel 9? 24:17 No, so what vision must it be? 24:20 It must be that he's coming back to explain the 24:23 vision from what? 24:24 Daniel 8. 24:25 Because the same word is used, the word "chazon." 24:29 So it's the same angel. 24:32 And it says that, "I had seen him in the vision 24:36 at the beginning." 24:38 A direct reference to the previous chapter. 24:40 It continues saying, verse 21... 25:04 To understand what? 25:07 Is there anything that needed to be understood 25:10 in verses 1 through 19? 25:12 No, there's no new vision. 25:14 There's no new dream. 25:16 What does Daniel need to understand? 25:19 Does he need to understand the ram? 25:21 No. Does he need to understand the goat? 25:24 No. Does he need to understand the notable horn? 25:26 No. Does he need to understand the four horns? 25:29 No. Does he need to understand the little horn 25:32 and its geographical and religious extension? 25:35 Absolutely not. 25:36 That has already been what? 25:37 Explained in chapter 8. 25:40 What is the part that he did not understand? 25:43 The 2300 day prophecy. 25:45 Notice what it continues saying in verse 22. 25:58 Interesting. 26:00 And it continues saying in verse 23... 26:08 In other words, God gave Gabriel a command. 26:19 "Therefore..." Now listen carefully. 26:21 "Therefore, consider the matter and understand the mareh." 26:30 What is the part that Daniel had not understood? 26:33 Did he understand the chazon? 26:36 Yes. 26:37 What is the part he did not understand? 26:39 The mareh. 26:40 And so it says here, "Therefore, consider the matter 26:45 and understand the vision." 26:48 Understand the mareh. 26:50 Now what I want you to do is take out that sheet 26:52 that we distributed, and I'm going to go through a 26:55 summary of the whole thing, chapter 8 and chapter 9, 26:58 so you have this crystal clear in your minds. 27:02 We'll go first of all to Daniel chapter 8 and verse 15. 27:06 After Gabriel has given this vision to Daniel, 27:12 I want you to notice how Daniel reacts. 27:15 Daniel 8 verse 15. 27:16 "Then it happened when I, Daniel, had seen the vision," 27:20 that is the word chazon, "and was seeking the..." What? 27:25 Did Daniel understand the chazon? 27:27 Not before the interpretation. 27:29 Because the interpretation, in verse 15, hadn't been given yet. 27:32 And so it says, "...then suddenly there stood before me 27:35 one having the appearance of a..." What? 27:38 "...of a man." 27:39 By the way, that's Gabriel. 27:41 Now let's go on to verses 16 and 17. 27:44 Gabriel is commanded to explain this to Daniel. 27:49 Notice verse 16. 27:51 "And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, 27:55 who called and said, 'Gabriel, make this man 28:00 understand the vision.'" 28:03 Now that word, "vision," is the word, "mareh." 28:06 Why would it say, "Make this man understand the mareh?" 28:09 Well that's the focus that needs to be explained. 28:12 But what does Gabriel have to do in order to be able to 28:15 explain the mareh? 28:17 He has to explain what? 28:20 He has to explain the chazon. 28:22 Everything that comes before that leads up to the mareh. 28:25 Are you understanding me or not? 28:27 And so, what is the part that God commands 28:29 Gabriel to explain to Daniel? 28:31 He says, "Explain the mareh." 28:32 But in order to explain the mareh, he first of all 28:35 has to explain what? 28:36 The chazon, because the mareh is the culmination 28:39 of the chazon. 28:41 And so it says, "And I heard a man's voice between 28:44 the banks of the Ulai, who called and said, 28:46 'Gabriel, make this man understand the mareh.' 28:50 So he came near where I stood, and when he came 28:54 I was afraid and fell on my face. 28:55 But he said to me, 'Understand, son of man, 28:59 that the vision refers to the time of the end.'" 29:03 And then what does Gabriel do? 29:05 Gabriel begins explaining what? 29:08 The chazon. 29:11 He explains the ram, the he goat, the notable horn, 29:15 the four horns, the little horn and its political extension, 29:19 the little horn and its religious extension, 29:21 how he tramples on the host, and how he also attacks 29:26 the ministry of the Prince of the host. 29:30 And then what does he want to explain? 29:34 He wants to explain the mareh. 29:35 But what happens with Daniel? 29:39 Daniel got sick. 29:41 Let's read Daniel chapter 8 verses 26 and 27. 29:45 It says, "And the vision..." 29:46 By the way, that's the word "mareh." 29:48 "...of the evenings and mornings..." 29:49 Now we know that the mareh refers to the 29:51 evenings and mornings, right? 29:52 The 2300 day prophecy. 29:54 "And the mareh of the evenings and mornings 29:57 which was told is true. 29:58 Therefore seal up the vision, for it refers to many 30:01 days in the future. 30:02 And I Daniel..." 30:03 What happened to him? 30:05 You can understand the confusion. 30:08 70 years; now God say 2300 years. 30:11 Daniel is puzzled. 30:12 He says, "I don't get this." 30:14 And so it says... 30:22 "By the vision;" that is, by the mareh. 30:24 "But no one..." What? 30:27 "...understood." 30:28 Interesting. 30:29 Had the chazon already been explained? 30:32 Yes, so what is the part that he doesn't understand? 30:35 The part concerning the evenings and mornings. 30:38 It says so here, "And the vision," or the mareh, 30:40 "of the evenings and mornings which was told is true. 30:43 Therefore seal up the vision, for it refers to 30:45 many days in the future. 30:46 And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days. 30:48 Afterward, I arose and went about the kings business. 30:51 I was astonished by the mareh, but no one understood it." 30:56 Let me ask you, had Gabriel completed his mission? 30:59 No, because God had told Gabriel, 31:01 "Explain to Daniel..." What? 31:03 The mareh. 31:05 What is the only thing that Gabriel had explained? 31:07 The chazon. 31:10 So did he need to complete his mission? 31:13 He absolutely needed to complete his mission. 31:16 And so in Daniel 9:20-23, as we've studied, Gabriel what? 31:20 He comes back. 31:22 And he says, "Now, I'm going to explain..." What? 31:26 "I'm going to explain the mareh." 31:28 And he gives the prophecy of the 70 weeks. 31:31 And after he gives the prophecy of the 70 weeks, 31:34 notice Daniel 10 verse 1. 31:37 The first verse after the prophecy of the 70 weeks. 31:40 It says... 31:44 Which is around the year 536. 31:54 And notice, "And he understood the message, 31:59 and had understanding of the mareh." 32:04 Did Daniel now understand the mareh? 32:06 Is there something in the prophecy of the 70 weeks 32:10 that is useful in explaining the 2300 days? 32:15 Do you see the connection or not? 32:18 Did the 70 week prophecy help Daniel understand 32:26 the mareh that has to do with the 2300 days? 32:29 Absolutely. 32:31 Because you notice that before the prophecy of the 70 weeks 32:34 Daniel says, "I don't understand." 32:36 Gabriel says, "I have come to give you understanding." 32:39 Gabriel gives the prophecy of the 70 weeks. 32:41 And after he gives the prophecy of the 70 weeks, 32:43 Daniel says, "I understand." 32:46 So the 70 weeks explain the 2300 day prophecy. 32:50 Are you understanding what I'm saying? 32:53 Very, very important. 32:56 Now, let's notice Daniel chapter 9 verses 23 and 24. 33:04 "At the beginning of your supplications 33:06 the command went out, and I have come to tell you, 33:08 for you are greatly beloved. 33:09 Therefore, consider the matter and understand the vision." 33:14 Understand the mareh. 33:15 And then what does Gabriel explain to Daniel? 33:20 The 70 weeks. 33:22 So are the 70 weeks instrumental in explaining 33:25 the 2300 days? 33:27 There's no way you can get around it. 33:29 Now notice what verse 24 says. 33:31 "Seventy weeks are determined for your people 33:35 and your holy city..." 33:37 And then there are six things. 33:40 "...to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, 33:44 to make reconciliation for iniquity, 33:47 to bring in everlasting righteousness, 33:49 to seal up..." 33:50 A better translation would be, "to bring to an end." 33:53 "...vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy." 33:58 Six things that were going to happen during the period of 34:01 the 70 week prophecy. 34:03 Once again, I need to underline this because it's so important. 34:07 Does the prophecy of the 70 weeks have anything to do 34:09 with understanding the prophecy of the 2300 days? 34:12 Is there a connection and a link, yes or no? 34:14 Absolutely. 34:15 You can't get out of it. 34:18 Because very, very clearly Daniel does not understand, 34:22 Gabriel explains the 70 week prophecy, 34:25 then Daniel says, "Now I understand." 34:28 Now let me tell you something about that word, "determined," 34:32 that is used here. 34:33 "Seventy weeks are determined for your people 34:36 and for your holy city." 34:39 Now that word, "determined," this is the only time 34:41 that it appears in the Old Testament. 34:44 It's what theologians call a hapax legomenon. 34:49 In other words, it appears only once in the Hebrew Scriptures. 34:53 Now it's translated in different ways; 34:55 determined, marked out, etc. 34:58 But the basic meaning of the word, "chathak," 35:01 is actually to cut off, to cut. 35:07 Even though it's not used in other places of 35:10 the Old Testament, it is used in the mishnah. 35:12 Do you know what the mishnah is? 35:14 It's a collection of Jewish traditions. 35:16 And it's very ancient. 35:18 And the word, "chathak," is used in the mishnah. 35:21 Let me explain how it's used there. 35:24 Because it does help to understand how the 35:25 Jews used terms. 35:27 Even thought it doesn't appear in the Bible, we know 35:30 how they used these particular words. 35:34 The word, "chathak," is used for cutting parts off of animals 35:39 in the sacrificial service. 35:42 It's used for cutting off the foreskin in circumcision. 35:47 It's used to cut the wick of a lamp. 35:53 It's used to cut ore out of a mountain. 35:57 And it's also used cut or divide the Bible into two parts, 36:03 a verse that you're studying divided into two parts. 36:06 In other words, the basic meaning of the word, "chathak," 36:09 is, "to cut off." 36:13 Now, of course, the big question is, 36:15 when it says in Daniel 9 and verse 24, 36:18 "70 weeks are cut off for your people and your city," 36:23 the question is, cut off from where? 36:28 Let me ask you this. 36:30 When something is cut off, must it be cut off from something? 36:36 Absolutely. 36:37 For example, if you're going to cut a branch off of a tree, 36:40 do you have to have a tree to cut the branch off of? 36:43 Of course. 36:44 So the 70 weeks are cut off. 36:45 Where do you suppose the 70 weeks will be cut off from? 36:49 They must be cut off from where? 36:52 From the prophecy of the 2300 days. 36:54 You see, the prophecy of the 2300 days is the longer portion 36:57 of the prophecy. 36:58 The 70 weeks, as we're going to study in our next two lectures, 37:02 is the first portion that is cut off from the longer 37:06 2300 day period. 37:07 Raise your hand if you're understanding what I'm saying. 37:11 That's what the basic word means. 37:12 It means to cut off. 37:15 In other words, the 70 weeks are cut off from the longer prophecy 37:20 of the 2300 days. 37:22 Now basically what I'm saying is that in 37:24 Daniel chapter 9 and verse 2, Daniel is motivated to pray 37:30 because of the desolation of Jerusalem. 37:33 Whereas later on in Daniel chapter 9 and verse 25, 37:39 Gabriel comes back and he says, "Listen, your prayer 37:42 has been answered. 37:44 Jerusalem will be restored after the 70 years. 37:48 There will be a command to restore and to build Jerusalem 37:52 at the end of the 70 weeks." 37:55 But the 70 weeks are the first portion 37:58 of the 2300 day prophecy. 38:00 Now listen to what I'm going to say because 38:02 it's very, very important. 38:05 70 weeks is symbolic language, isn't it. 38:10 Because we're not talking about literal weeks, are we. 38:13 We're talking about symbolic weeks. 38:16 In other words, 70 weeks; and each week has how many days? 38:20 Each week has 7 days. 38:22 Are we talking about literal days, or are we 38:25 talking about symbolic days? 38:28 We're talking about symbolic days. 38:30 You have to apply the year/day principle. 38:31 And by the way, I know very few scholars 38:35 who would say that the 70 weeks are to be taken literally. 38:41 Because they know that the 70 weeks are really 38:44 weeks of years. 38:47 Even though the text does not say, "weeks of years," 38:50 some translations translate "weeks of years." 38:52 Because they know that the 70 week prophecy is really 38:58 a prophecy concerning 70 weeks of years. 39:01 Now if you multiply 70 times 7, 70 weeks times 7 days, 39:06 how much do you come up with? 39:08 You come up with 490. 39:12 490 days, right? 39:14 Because there's 70 weeks. 39:16 But those days represent what? 39:19 Those days represent 490 years. 39:22 Now listen carefully. 39:24 The real reason why Bible expositors don't want to 39:27 connect Daniel 8 with Daniel 9, do you know? 39:30 Most scholars refuse to see any connection between 39:33 Daniel 8 and Daniel 9 even though we saw 39:36 a clear connection. 39:38 Point after point after point shows that there's a connection 39:42 between Daniel 8 and Daniel 9. 39:43 But most scholars don't want to connect Daniel 8 and 9, 39:47 including many Adventist scholars. 39:50 Do you know the reason why? 39:51 It's very simple. 39:53 If you apply the year/day principle to the 70 weeks, 39:57 which is the first part of the 2300 days, 40:00 you have to apply the year/day principle to the 40:02 2300 days as well. 40:05 Are you following me or not? 40:07 And if you do that, if you take the 70 weeks 40:11 as applying the year/day principle; they're actually 40:14 weeks, but they represent years, the 2300 days are the longer 40:18 portion of which the 70 weeks are cut off, 40:22 you would have to apply the year/day principle also to what? 40:25 To the 2300 days. 40:27 And have mercy, if you did that you'd have to become 40:30 a Seventh-day Adventist. 40:33 According to what we're going to study in the next two lectures. 40:35 There's no way around it. 40:38 And that's the reason, the real reason, why 40:41 scholars don't really want to connect Daniel 8 with Daniel 9. 40:45 They say that they're dealing with two different topics. 40:49 It's impossible that they're dealing with 40:50 two different topics. 40:51 We've already noticed abundant evidence that these two chapters 40:55 are actually very closely connected. 40:57 Are you understanding my point? 41:00 Now let's examine the six things that were going to be 41:04 accomplished during the prophecy of the 70 weeks. 41:07 Do you remember what they are? 41:10 Finish the transgression, 41:12 make an end of sins, 41:15 make reconciliation for iniquity, 41:18 bring in everlasting righteousness, 41:21 seal up vision and prophecy, 41:25 and anoint the Most Holy. 41:28 Now let's take these one at a time and show how they are 41:33 fulfilled during this 70 week period, particularly during the 41:36 last week of the 70 weeks. 41:40 Let's deal first of all with, "finish the transgression." 41:43 This word, "transgression," is the strongest word 41:47 in the Old Testament for sin. 41:50 There are many words for sin in the Old Testament. 41:53 But this particular Hebrew word is the strongest word. 41:58 Really, it should be translated, rebellion or revolt. 42:04 In other words, it is a high handed rebellion against God. 42:09 And by the way, this is not some indefinite rebellion. 42:12 Because in the Hebrew, the word, "rebellion," 42:16 or the word, "transgression," has the definite article. 42:20 It is, "the" transgression. 42:22 This is a specific transgression, 42:25 a specific rebellion, or a specific revolt, 42:28 that will finish during the period of the 70 weeks. 42:35 Now we're going to find in our study that this really is 42:38 referring to the constant rebellion of Israel 42:42 against God, the constant revolt of Israel against God. 42:47 And Israel could choose to end this rebellion 42:51 in one of two ways. 42:53 The first way would be to receive the Messiah, 42:56 and in this way end their constant rebellion against God. 43:00 The second way that they could do it would be to 43:03 irrevocably revolt against the Messiah, and this would bring 43:08 the Hebrew theocracy to an end. 43:10 In other words, everything was determined by an acceptance 43:14 or rejection of the Messiah. 43:16 They could choose to continue their revolt 43:19 and rebellion against God or they could accept the Messiah 43:22 and bring their constant revolt and rebellion to an end. 43:26 Prophecy, as well as the gospels, tell us that they 43:29 chose the second option. 43:31 And we're going to study this when we deal with the 43:33 prophecy of the 70 weeks. 43:35 Now let's go to our second accomplishment. 43:37 "To make an end of sins." 43:41 Notice it doesn't say, "To make an end of sinning." 43:44 It says, "To make an end of sins." 43:47 How did Jesus make an end of sins? 43:51 By bearing them where? 43:53 By bearing them upon Himself on the cross. 43:56 In fact, let's notice several texts. 43:58 Hebrews chapter 1 and verse 3 tells us that when Jesus 44:04 "had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand 44:09 of the Majesty on high." 44:11 He purged our sins. 44:13 Hebrews 9 and verse 28 says... 44:23 Hebrews 9 and verse 26 tells us that Jesus appeared once 44:28 at the end of the ages to put away sin 44:35 by the sacrifice of Himself. 44:38 And finally, Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 12 44:40 tells us about Jesus. 44:43 "This Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, 44:49 sat down at the right hand of God." 44:52 Did Jesus take upon Himself the sins of the whole world? 44:56 He most certainly did. 44:58 Did He make an end of sin not sinning, but of sin, 45:03 by bearing it upon Himself? 45:04 Absolutely. 45:05 This phrase is also Messianic. 45:09 All of the accomplishments of the 70 weeks were 45:12 going to be accomplished by the Messiah. 45:14 You cannot separate the 70 weeks from the Messiah. 45:18 Because it's the story of the Messiah. 45:20 It's not the story of some antichrist that's going to 45:23 appear in the future. 45:25 It's speaking about Jesus Christ. 45:27 Do you think it would be a very serious thing 45:29 to take a prophecy that applies to Christ 45:31 and apply it to the antichrist? 45:34 A very, very serious matter. 45:36 Now in the prophecy of the 70 weeks we're going to see this. 45:39 You are going to be amazed at the next two lectures. 45:43 I can assure you. 45:44 As I prepared, I was amazed myself. 45:47 Because Scripture is so powerful, it's not because 45:50 I have some supernatural wisdom. 45:53 The wisdom is in Scripture. 45:54 I was amazed at how everything fits together. 45:58 Now let's take the third phrase, 45:59 "To make reconciliation for iniquity." 46:03 Let me ask you, who reconciled man to God? 46:06 Jesus did. 46:07 Notice Isaiah chapter 53. 46:09 It says, "But He was wounded for our transgressions..." 46:23 In Romans chapter 5 and verse 10, 46:26 the word, "reconciliation," is used with regards to Christ. 46:29 It says there... 46:46 What is it that reconciled us to God? 46:49 The sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. 46:52 This phrase is also Messianic. 46:54 Notice 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verses 18 and 19. 46:57 Once again, the idea of reconciliation is connected 47:00 with the Messiah. 47:01 It says there, "Now all things are of God, who has..." What? 47:29 Now let's go to our fourth phrase. 47:32 "To bring in everlasting righteousness." 47:36 A better translation would be, "To introduce 47:39 everlasting righteousness." 47:42 Do you know what name is given prophetically to Jesus Christ? 47:45 He is called in Jeremiah 23 verse 6, 47:49 "The Lord our righteousness." 47:55 Are you acquainted with 1 John chapter 2 and verse 1 47:58 where it says that John writes these things 48:01 so that we do not sin. 48:02 But if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father. 48:05 Jesus Christ the what? 48:07 The righteous. 48:08 Did Jesus introduce everlasting righteousness 48:11 by His life on this earth? 48:12 He most certainly did. 48:15 Notice Isaiah chapter 53 and verse 11. 48:19 We're told there about the Messiah. 48:21 "By His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify many." 48:29 So what is He called? The what Servant? 48:32 The righteous Servant shall justify many, 48:34 "for He shall bear their iniquities." 48:37 This thought is developed repeated times 48:40 in the New Testament. 48:41 For example, in Romans 3 and 4, the whole subject 48:44 is righteousness through Jesus Christ. 48:48 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 30, 48:50 Jesus Christ is called our righteousness. 48:55 Did Jesus Christ introduce everlasting righteousness 48:58 by His coming to this world? 48:59 He most certainly did. 49:01 He brought in everlasting righteousness. 49:05 Now let's go to our fifth phrase. 49:07 "To seal up..." 49:09 A better translation is, "To bring to an end..." 49:11 We will take a look at this phrase in our topic, 49:15 not the next one, but the one after. 49:17 "To seal up," or to bring to an end, "vision and prophecy." 49:23 Now you say, "What could this mean, to bring to an end 49:25 vision and prophecy?" 49:27 Does this have anything to do with the Messiah? 49:30 The fact is that we're going to deal with this more extensively 49:34 when we deal with the 70 weeks. 49:36 But allow me just to make a couple of comments. 49:39 The 70 weeks actually end in the year 34 AD. 49:46 And what great event marked the ending of the 70 weeks? 49:50 We're going to study this. 49:52 You have to accept it by faith now. 49:55 What is the great event that brought the 70 weeks to an end? 49:59 It was the stoning of Stephen. 50:01 You see, the 70 weeks, we're going to see, 50:03 they present the baptism of Jesus, His death 50:05 in the middle of the week, and then at the end 50:08 you have the stoning of Stephen. 50:09 And I'm going to prove to you from the Bible 50:12 that the stoning of Stephen is the ending date of the 70 weeks. 50:15 And I'm going to prove it with abundance biblical evidence. 50:18 Even Adventists who, you know, have studied this 50:21 and wondered about why we end with the stoning of Stephen, 50:24 you're going to see it very clearly. 50:26 Do you know that the last prophet who received a vision 50:33 for literal Israel was whom? 50:37 Stephen. 50:39 I'm going to prove to you that Stephen was the last prophet 50:44 that God sent to the Jewish Sanhedrin. 50:47 Did Stephen see a vision of Christ in the 50:51 heavenly Sanctuary? 50:53 He says, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man 50:57 at the right hand of God." 50:59 He's seeing this how? 51:00 In vision. 51:02 Is this the last vision that God is going to give 51:06 to the literal Hebrew theocracy? 51:08 Yes it is. 51:09 Stephen is the last prophet who gets the last vision 51:13 for the Jewish nation. 51:15 When they decide to stone him, vision and prophecy 51:19 come to an end. 51:21 Are you understanding me? 51:23 Now the important thing is you understand the concept 51:26 because we're going to go through this with a 51:27 fine tooth comb, scripturally, in our next couple of lectures. 51:33 Now let's go to our final phrase. 51:34 "To anoint the Most Holy." 51:37 Literally, it says, "To anoint the Holy of Holies." 51:42 Now this expression can be understood in 51:44 two different ways. 51:46 First of all, the expression, "Holy of Holies," 51:50 can be understood of a person. 51:52 It can be understood of Jesus Christ. 51:55 He is the Holy of all of the holy ones. 51:58 Or it can be understood also as the Most Holy Place 52:03 of the heavenly Sanctuary. 52:05 Now the question is, which of these two translations 52:09 is the correct one? 52:11 The fact is, I believe that both of these 52:13 translations are correct. 52:15 Both of these concepts are correct. 52:17 You say, "How do you know that?" 52:19 Because when the Hebrew Sanctuary was inaugurated, 52:24 the entire Sanctuary was anointed. 52:27 Including the Most Holy Place. 52:29 And also Aaron the High Priest was anointed as well. 52:35 In other words, the entire Sanctuary including the 52:38 Most Holy Place was anointed. 52:40 And also the High Priest, Aaron, was anointed as well. 52:45 I want you to read Leviticus chapter 8 verses 1 through 12 52:48 where you have this original ceremony where the Sanctuary 52:52 and the High Priest are anointed as they begin their service 52:56 in the Sanctuary. 52:59 Let me ask you, when Jesus went to heaven, 53:01 was He anointed High Priest over His people? 53:04 He most certainly was. 53:06 Notice Acts chapter 2 and verses 32 to 36. 53:11 We're not going to read it because we don't have the time. 53:14 But there very clearly, Peter, on the day of Pentecost, 53:17 explains that Jesus Christ was anointed Priest and King 53:22 over His people. 53:24 I want to read a statement from Acts Of The Apostles, 53:27 page 38, this is a book written by Ellen White, 53:31 where she speaks about when Jesus was inaugurated 53:34 as our High Priest in the Holy Place of the Sanctuary. 53:37 She says this. 53:39 "The Pentecostal outpouring was heaven's communication that 53:43 the Redeemer's inauguration was accomplished." 53:47 In other words, the tongues of fire and the mighty rushing wind 53:50 was an earthly announcement that Jesus had been inaugurated 53:53 as the High Priest. 53:55 She continues saying, "According to His promise, 53:58 He had sent the Holy Spirit from heaven to His followers 54:01 as a token that He had, as Priest and King, 54:07 received all authority in heaven and on earth," 54:11 and now notice, "and was the anointed One over His people." 54:20 So was Jesus anointed to be the High Priest? 54:23 Absolutely. 54:24 You want to read an interesting little psalm? 54:27 Psalm 133. 54:29 It speaks about the anointing of Aaron. 54:32 I wish we had time to talk about this psalm. 54:35 It's a real short one. 54:36 It begins by saying how wonderful it is for 54:39 brothers and sisters to live together in harmony 54:42 or in unity. 54:43 Are we in one accord? 54:45 And then it speaks about Aaron and the oil being 54:47 poured over the head of Aaron. 54:49 And it's dripping down his beard and it's dripping 54:52 down his garments. 54:53 And the oil is so abundant that it's dripping 54:55 down on Mount Zion. 54:57 You know, that's describing the day of Pentecost. 54:59 When Jesus Christ was anointed High Priest over His people, 55:03 He received the gift of the Holy Spirit from His Father 55:06 before He gave it. 55:07 His Father gave Him the gift of the Spirit. 55:09 And then Jesus poured it out upon His followers on earth. 55:14 And the Holy Spirit was so abundant that Jesus was 55:17 anointed with that it actually dripped down 55:21 into the upper room on Mount Zion 55:24 where the disciples were gathered together. 55:27 Now let me ask you, as soon as Daniel chapter 9 55:32 comes to an end, does Daniel now understand the mareh? 55:37 Let's finish by reading Daniel chapter 10 and verse 1. 55:45 Daniel chapter 10 and verse 1. 55:48 It says, "In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia 55:53 a message was revealed to Daniel, 55:55 whose name was called Belteshazzar. 55:57 The message was true, but the appointed time was long..." 56:03 What is that referring to, "the appointed time was long?" 56:07 Ah, the prophecy of the 2300 days. 56:09 Absolutely. 56:10 "And he..." What? 56:12 "...understood the message..." 56:15 And in case you didn't understand that part, 56:17 it says, "...and had understanding of the..." 56:21 Mareh. "...of the vision." 56:23 Does Daniel now understand? 56:26 What led him to understand? 56:29 How did he understand the mareh now? 56:33 Because Gabriel had explained the prophecy of what? 56:37 Of the 70 weeks. 56:40 Thus, the 70 weeks are the first portion of what? 56:44 Of the 2300 day prophecy. 56:47 If we can know when the 70 weeks begin, 56:51 we can know when the cleansing of the Sanctuary 56:54 begins 2300 years later. 56:58 And I can assure you that the date is the year 1844. 57:05 More specifically, by examining the Hebrew feasts we can 57:09 specify the day and the month as well. 57:12 It is October 22, 1844 when the 2300 days, or years, 57:19 come to an end and the process of cleansing 57:23 the Sanctuary begins. 57:25 We will have a whole lecture on what it means 57:27 to cleanse the Hebrew Sanctuary. |
Revised 2014-12-17