Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: HWIS
Program Code: HWIS000015
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00:34 Shall we pray.
00:37 Father in heaven, what a privilege it is 00:41 to call You Father. 00:43 We thank You for the awesome opportunity that we have 00:47 of coming together once again to open Your Word 00:51 and understand the message that You have for us 00:55 at this awesome period in human history. 00:59 Father, we cannot understand Your Word without divine help. 01:04 And that's why we come before Your throne in humility 01:09 expressing our need of wisdom from on high. 01:14 We ask, Father, that You will bless us by Your presence 01:18 through the ministry of the angels, that You will 01:20 make things absolutely clear to each one of us. 01:24 And we thank You, Father, for Your presence 01:26 and for hearing our prayer. 01:28 Because we come to Your throne boldly 01:30 in the name of Jesus, amen. 01:36 I'd like to begin by reminding all of you who are present here 01:41 that the 70 week prophecy is the smaller portion 01:46 of the prophecy of the 2300 days. 01:49 In other words, the 2300 days are the complete prophecy, 01:54 and the 70 weeks are cut off from the prophecy 01:58 of the 2300 days. 02:00 The 70 weeks are the first portion of the prophecy 02:04 of the 2300 days. 02:07 I'd like to begin by reading the prophecy of the 70 weeks 02:11 as it is written in Daniel chapter 9 02:14 and verses 25 through 27. 02:17 Daniel chapter 9 and verses 25 through 27. 02:22 Immediately after Gabriel comes back and says to Daniel, 02:26 "Understand the mareh," he goes on to speak 02:31 immediately about the 70 weeks. 02:34 The 70 weeks are related to the mareh. 02:37 They help explain, in other words, the time factor 02:41 of the 2300 days. 02:43 And so we find in Daniel 9:25, "Know therefore and understand, 02:49 that from the going forth of the command 02:52 to restore and build Jerusalem..." 02:57 Not only to build, but to restore and build Jerusalem. 03:01 "...until Messiah the Prince, there shall be 03:05 seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. 03:08 The street shall be built again, and the wall, 03:11 even in troublesome times. 03:14 And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, 03:18 but not for Himself. 03:20 And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy 03:24 the city and the sanctuary. 03:26 The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the 03:31 war desolations are determined. 03:35 Then he," that is the prince who is to come, 03:39 "shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. 03:43 But in the middle of the week," this is the last week, 03:47 "he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. 03:52 And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes..." What? 03:58 "...desolate." Don't forget, two key words. 04:00 It uses the words, "On the wing of abominations 04:04 shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, 04:09 which is determined, is poured out on the desolate." 04:15 This is the famous prophecy of the 70 weeks. 04:19 And now we want to interpret the meaning 04:22 of this magnificent prophecy. 04:25 We're not going to be able to finish our study 04:28 in the lecture today. 04:30 We're actually going to study two parts of the 70 weeks. 04:35 Today, we are going to study up to the point of the 04:38 cutting off of the Messiah. 04:40 And then in our lecture tomorrow, we are going to 04:43 deal with the remaining portion of the prophecy of the 70 weeks. 04:48 So let's begin at Daniel chapter 9 and verse 25 04:52 where it says... 05:03 Question, is there a beginning point to the 70 week prophecy? 05:09 Yes, it says, "from." 05:12 Is there an ending point to the first 69 weeks, 05:15 at least, of the 70 week prophecy? 05:19 Absolutely, because it says, "from...to." 05:24 So there is a clearly defined beginning point, and what? 05:28 And ending point. 05:30 Now it's interesting to notice the word, "command." 05:34 "From the going forth of the command." 05:38 That word, "command," is used a little bit earlier 05:42 in Daniel chapter 9. 05:44 It's actually used in verse 23 where the Bible tells us 05:50 that God gave the command to Gabriel to explain 05:55 the mareh to Daniel. 05:58 In other words, what we have here is a decree, 06:02 or an order, or a command. 06:07 Now you notice that this command contemplates two things. 06:11 Number one, it contemplates the idea of restoring Jerusalem, 06:18 and also of what? 06:20 Building Jerusalem. 06:23 Now I don't have time to get into all of the details on this, 06:26 but they are not the same thing. 06:28 They are related one to another, but they're not the same. 06:32 Restoring and building are two separate things, 06:37 although they are related. 06:39 Now in order to understand what it means to restore 06:43 and build Jerusalem, we need to understand 06:46 what is meant by Jerusalem. 06:49 Now we usually think of Jerusalem as a city 06:52 composed of buildings and walls and a temple. 06:56 But Jerusalem means much more than that. 06:59 Jerusalem not only means the physical city composed of 07:03 buildings and walls, it also refers to the social, religious, 07:08 and political order of the city. 07:11 The institutions, the political and the religious institutions, 07:16 of the city. 07:18 That is to say, Jerusalem means the commerce, 07:22 the rulers, the magistrates, the judges, and the civil 07:26 and the religious laws. 07:29 Now it is a fact that Jerusalem lost its sovereignty, 07:37 not when the city was destroyed. 07:39 It lost its sovereignty in the year 605 07:43 when King Nebuchadnezzar came and he took all of the royalty 07:48 and all of the princes and all of the rulers 07:51 away to Babylon from Jerusalem. 07:54 In other words, Jerusalem lost its political autonomy. 08:00 In other words, now the city belonged to someone else. 08:04 And not only that, the institutions by which 08:08 the city had functioned came to an end. 08:12 Because there were no legitimate rulers in the city of Jerusalem. 08:17 In fact, let's notice 2 Kings 24 verses 14 through 16 08:22 where we find this idea of what is meant by Jerusalem. 08:26 Jerusalem does not mean only the physical city. 08:30 It means the city composed of all of its magistrates, 08:34 its rulers, its business people, its military leaders, etc. 08:41 Now notice 2 Kings chapter 24 and verses 14 through 16. 08:45 It says here, speaking about Nebuchadnezzar... 08:56 Now I've always wondered how he could carry Jerusalem 08:58 into captivity. 09:00 He must have had some pretty heavy carts 09:02 to be able to do that. 09:04 What is meant when it says that he carried all Jerusalem 09:09 into captivity? 09:11 Is it talking about the city or is it talking about 09:13 the leaders of the city; the political, and the commercial, 09:17 and the military leaders? 09:18 Let's read it. 09:19 It continues saying, "Also he carried into captivity 09:23 all Jerusalem: all the captains," notice, 09:26 "all the mighty men of valor..." 09:28 These are the warriors, the military. 09:56 Now do you notice that Jerusalem is used in 09:58 two different ways in this passage? 10:00 First of all, it says that he took Jerusalem captive. 10:03 But then at the end of the verse it says he took all these 10:06 into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 10:10 So Jerusalem means two things. 10:12 It means, first of all, the political and 10:16 economic and military leaders of Jerusalem. 10:19 That is, the political structure of the city. 10:22 And it also means the physical city itself. 10:27 Now I want you to notice also 2 Kings 14 verse 22 where 10:32 the words "built" and "restore," the very words are used, 10:36 so that you can see that "built" and "restore," 10:39 though related, mean different things. 10:42 2 Kings 14 verse 22. 10:44 It's speaking about Azariah, and it says, 10:48 "He," that is Azariah... 10:55 What does that mean that he built and he restored it? 10:58 It means that he gave it back to Judah for Judah to what? 11:02 To rule over it. 11:04 And so it says... 11:13 So any decree that fulfills this command 11:17 to restore and build Jerusalem not only needs to include 11:22 building the physical city, but also what? 11:25 Restoring its political, military, 11:29 and judicial institutions so that the city can function 11:34 as a political and economic and social entity. 11:42 Now there were four decrees that were given with regards 11:46 to Jerusalem. 11:48 Let's take a look at those four decrees that were given. 11:51 The first decree was given by Cyrus. 11:55 And that was given in the year 536 BC. 11:59 You can find it in Ezra chapter 1 verses 2 through 4. 12:03 We're not going to read it, we don't have the time. 12:05 And it's also found in 2 Chronicles 36 and verse 23. 12:10 Now if you read those verses, you'll discover that Cyrus 12:14 only gave permission to build the temple. 12:16 It had nothing to do with restoring 12:19 and building Jerusalem. 12:20 It had only to do with the temple; 12:23 the religious institutions of Israel. 12:26 Now after this, after the captivity, 12:31 several thousand Jews, 50,000 actually, returned to Jerusalem. 12:36 And taking advantage of this decree that Cyrus gave, 12:40 they began building the temple and they put the foundations 12:43 of the temple down. 12:45 But then there was opposition by the people of the land. 12:48 And therefore they said, "It's not time for us to build 12:51 the temple because we're having all sorts of problems." 12:54 And so basically, they gave up the idea of building the temple. 12:58 And all of them started building their own houses 13:01 and remodeling their own houses. 13:02 They went to do their own thing. 13:04 You can find this in the book of Haggai chapter 1. 13:07 It says very clearly there what happened during this period. 13:11 So then a little bit later on, Darius the First; 13:15 who is Darius the Persian, not Darius the Mede. 13:17 Not the one who conquered Babylon. 13:21 But this is Darius the Persian. 13:23 He gave a decree renewing the decree that was given by Cyrus. 13:28 This decree, you can read it. 13:30 It's found in Ezra 6 verses 3 through 12. 13:34 And it's also found in the books of Nehemiah and Haggai. 13:38 And basically, Darius the First simply ratified and confirmed 13:44 the decree that had been given by Cyrus. 13:47 And this happened, as I mentioned, in the year 520. 13:51 Nothing in this decree about restoring and building the city. 13:55 The only thing that you will find in this decree 13:58 was rebuilding the temple. 14:01 And so this decree cannot fulfill the command 14:04 to restore and to build Jerusalem. 14:08 A third decree was given by King Artaxerxes the First. 14:12 Also known as Longanimus. 14:15 It was given in the fall of the year 457 BC. 14:21 And if you read Ezra 6 verses 14 and 15, 14:25 It tells us that this was the third decree with regards 14:29 to Jerusalem which was given by Persian kings. 14:33 It's the third decree. 14:34 The first was Cyrus, the second was Darius. 14:37 And it says in Ezra 6:14-15 that this was the third decree 14:42 that was given. 14:43 I believe that this is the decree that fulfills the 14:48 prophecy of the 70 weeks; the command to build 14:52 and restore Jerusalem. 14:53 And in a moment we're going to go through that. 14:55 But before we do, allow me to mention the fourth decree. 14:59 It was given in the year 445 BC. 15:04 And most evangelical scholars today believe that this is the 15:07 decree that marks the beginning of the 70 week prophecy. 15:11 I disagree with this. 15:13 Because the year 445 is really not a new decree at all. 15:19 You see, basically what happened is that after Artaxerxes 15:24 gave his decree to restore and build Jerusalem, 15:28 evil reports came from the people that lived in Judah. 15:32 And they said, they wrote a letter to the king 15:34 and they said, "King, the Jews are rebuilding the city, 15:38 and they're rebuilding the wall. 15:40 And these are a rebellious people. 15:42 They have a bad history. 15:44 And therefore, if you allow them to continue building, 15:47 they're going to cause you all sorts of problems." 15:50 And so the Bible tells us that Artaxerxes put his decree 15:56 on hold until he could investigate the situation. 16:00 And in the year 445... 16:02 And by the way, in the handout that you have in your hands, 16:05 you have all of the text. 16:06 You can check this out. 16:08 What Artaxerxes did after he checked out all of the 16:12 information, he renewed the decree to restore 16:16 and to build Jerusalem in the year 445 BC. 16:21 So this one does not fit. 16:24 Now let's read the decree that does fit. 16:28 It's the decree that is mentioned in Ezra chapter 7. 16:33 Go with me to chapter 7 of Ezra and you're going to find 16:37 the words of Artaxerxes the First. 16:42 And there's a very interesting little detail here. 16:46 Here, Artaxerxes is speaking and he says... 16:49 "I issue a decree..." 16:54 That word, "decree," is the identical word that is used 16:59 in Daniel 9:25, the word, "command," 17:03 to restore and build Jerusalem. 17:05 It's the identical Hebrew word, "dabar." 17:10 So would we suspect that this might be the decree 17:13 if it's the same word, "command," that you find 17:15 in Daniel 9 verse 25? 17:17 Absolutely. 17:18 And so Artaxerxes says, "I issue a decree..." 17:34 He's saying to Ezra, "Anyone who wants to go to Jerusalem 17:38 to restore and to build can now go." 17:42 Now the question is, why do we take this decree 17:46 of Artaxerxes in 457 BC as the decree that begins the 70 weeks? 17:52 There are three reasons. 17:55 The first reason is the one that I already mentioned. 17:58 The word, "dabar," which is translated, "command," 18:02 in Daniel 9:25, is the very word that is used in Ezra 7 verse 13 18:08 where the king says, "I make a decree." 18:12 Same word. 18:13 There's a second reason. 18:15 None of the three other decrees would fit the chronology 18:21 of the Messiah. 18:22 Let's take a look at them. 18:23 Let's suppose that we began the 70 weeks in the year 536 BC. 18:29 You go 70 weeks of years later, which is 490 years. 18:34 What date would you end up? 18:35 You would end up in the year 46 BC. 18:40 Could that be fulfilled with the Messiah? 18:43 Absolutely not. 18:44 Well let's take the second decree, the decree of Darius, 18:47 Darius the Persian, and see whether that one fits. 18:51 You go from the year 520, 490 years forward. 18:57 Where would that take you? 18:59 It takes you to the year 30 BC. 19:03 Jesus hadn't even been born in the year 30 BC. 19:07 But let's take the one that was given in the year 445 BC, 19:13 the renewal of the decree by Artaxerxes. 19:18 If you go from 445 BC forward, it takes you to the year 45 AD. 19:25 The problem is, Jesus Christ was crucified in the year 31 AD. 19:31 And so taking this decree, it would be too late. 19:35 Every scholar agrees that it would be too late. 19:38 And so the first two decrees would be too early. 19:41 And the last decree would be too late. 19:44 How many decrees does that leave us? 19:47 It only leaves us one decree. 19:51 Now there's a third reason. 19:52 And this is the most important reason. 19:54 And that is that the decree of Artaxerxes in the year 457 19:59 is the only one that not only gives permission to build, 20:02 but it also gives the authorization to restore 20:07 the political structure of Hebrew society. 20:11 Notice once again Ezra chapter 7 and verse 12. 20:16 "Artaxerxes, king of kings..." 20:28 Verse 13, "I issue a decree..." 20:52 What were they going to consult about? 20:53 With regard to what? 21:00 In other words, was Artaxerxes saying that you can re-establish 21:04 society in harmony with the Law of God? 21:06 Absolutely. 21:08 But now let's go down to verses 25 and 26 21:11 where the re-establishment of the civil order of Israel 21:15 is clearly mentioned. 21:18 Chapter 7 and verses 25 and 26. 21:21 It says, "And you, Ezra..." 21:29 Interesting, would that have to do with restoring the city? 21:33 Absolutely. 21:38 Is he authorizing to re-establish the civil order 21:41 as well as building the city? 21:43 Absolutely. 21:44 That had been taken away by Nebuchadnezzar. 21:46 In fact, Nebuchadnezzar had taken away the sovereignty 21:51 of Israel 19 years before the city was destroyed. 21:54 It was actually withdrawn in 605. 21:57 The city was destroyed in the year 586. 21:59 So it says, "And, you Ezra, according to your 22:02 God given wisdom, set magistrates and judges 22:05 who may judge all the people... 22:14 By whose laws is this area going to be governed now? 22:18 By the laws of God. 22:19 The theocracy is being re-established. 22:22 And notice... 22:27 Punitive measures could be taken against anyone who 22:30 did not obey these laws. 22:31 Because it says... 22:48 Is Artaxerxes authorizing the civil order to be re-established 22:52 once again according to the laws of the God of Israel? 22:57 Absolutely. 22:58 It is the only decree that fits with the criteria, 23:02 both chronologically and with the duties and the work that 23:08 needed to be performed to restore and to build Jerusalem. 23:14 Now somebody might be asking, "Pastor Bohr, how accurate 23:18 is the date 457 as the date for this decree of Artaxerxes?" 23:24 The fact is, the Bible says that this was given in the 23:27 seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes. 23:31 This date is one of the most firmly established dates 23:36 of antiquity. 23:37 In fact, there was a book written several years ago. 23:40 It's called, The Chronology of Ezra 7, 23:43 by Siegfried Horn, an archaeologist, 23:45 and by Kenneth Wood. 23:47 And in this book, which unfortunately it's out of print, 23:51 they draw on historical, biblical, archaeological, 23:55 and astronomical data to prove, shadow of a doubt, 24:00 that 457, the fall of 457, was the date when Artaxerxes 24:07 gave his decree to restore and to build Jerusalem. 24:11 This date is set in history. 24:15 It is a certain date. 24:16 So we can know that the 70 week prophecy begins in the fall 24:22 of the year 457. 24:24 In a moment, you're going to see the reason why 24:25 we know it was in the fall, 24:28 in our study of the prophecy of the 70 weeks. 24:31 It says there in Daniel chapter 9 and verse 25, 24:34 "From the going forth of the command to restore 24:37 and to build Jerusalem..." Until when? 24:50 Now the question is, why didn't Gabriel just say 69 weeks? 24:58 Why does he divide this period into 7 weeks and 62 weeks? 25:04 Which we know are what? 25:05 69 weeks. 25:07 He could have said 69. 25:09 The reason why is because he actually is going state 25:13 that the first 7 weeks, 49 years, have to do 25:18 with the restoring and the building of what? 25:21 Of Jerusalem. 25:23 In fact, let's notice what we find in Daniel chapter 9 25:29 and verse 25, "Until Messiah the Prince, there shall be 25:32 seven weeks and sixty-two weeks." 25:35 Now notice, the last part of verse 25 says, "The street..." 25:41 The street of what? 25:43 Of Jerusalem. 25:44 And by the way, that's a mistranslation. 25:45 I won't get into that because that's another half an hour. 25:52 "...and the wall..." Also a mistranslation. 25:54 Very clearly a mistranslation. 26:00 So during those 7 weeks, or 49 years, the restoring 26:05 and the building of Jerusalem was going to be done, how? 26:09 In very troublesome, what? 26:12 In very troublesome times. 26:13 And if you read the book of Ezra, you will find all sorts of 26:18 opposition to the rebuilding and restoring of Jerusalem. 26:21 Those who had stayed back in the land fought tooth and nail 26:25 so that it wouldn't happen. 26:26 They certainly were troublous times. 26:29 But now notice that it says that from the going forth of the word 26:35 "to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, 26:38 there shall be seven weeks," which has to do with 26:41 the re-establishment of the civil order 26:43 and religious order of Israel. 26:45 And after 62 weeks, you come to whom? 26:49 You come to the arrival of the Messiah. 26:54 Now the question is, what does the word, "Messiah," mean? 26:59 The Hebrew word, "Mashiyach," means, anointed. 27:06 It means, anointed. 27:09 And so we need to find out what was the act 27:12 that anointed Jesus Christ? 27:15 Now you notice that it says, "Until Messiah the Prince." 27:19 Right? 27:20 So He has two names; He's called Messiah, 27:23 and He's called what? 27:24 The Prince. 27:26 There's no doubt whatsoever that the Prince is Jesus Christ. 27:29 He's called by different names in the book of Daniel. 27:31 He's called, the Prince of the host. 27:33 We've already studied that. 27:34 He's called, the Prince of the covenant. 27:37 He's called, Michael the great Prince. 27:40 And in Daniel 8, He's called, the Prince of princes. 27:45 Do you know something very interesting? 27:47 In the prophetic chapters of Daniel, excluding the 27:51 historical chapters where it talks about the princes 27:53 that serve Nebuchadnezzar, but in the prophetic chapters 27:57 of Daniel, every single time that the word, "prince," 28:00 appears, it applies to Jesus Christ. 28:04 There is no exception to the rule. 28:06 In other words, this prince is none other than whom? 28:10 Than Jesus Christ. 28:11 In fact, Isaiah also called Him, the Prince of peace. 28:16 And Peter, in the early chapters of Acts, 28:20 called Jesus, "the Prince," twice. 28:23 So there's no doubt whatsoever about who this 28:26 Messiah the Prince is. 28:28 Now the question is, the word, "Messiah," means anointed. 28:32 When was Jesus anointed? 28:36 Well let's go to John chapter 1 and verse 32. 28:39 John chapter 1 and verse 32. 28:44 Here, it's speaking about the baptism of Jesus, 28:48 which marks the beginning of His ministry. 28:51 John 1 and verse 32. 29:07 Is this referring to the baptism of Jesus where the Holy Spirit 29:10 fell upon Jesus? 29:11 Absolutely. 29:12 Now I want us to go down to verse 41, 29:15 just a few verses after this. 29:18 Andrew speaks to his brother Peter, and I want you to notice 29:22 what Andrew says to Peter. 29:24 This is immediately after it speaks about the Holy Spirit, 29:28 John speaking about the Holy Spirit descending upon Christ. 29:32 It says in verse 40, "One of the two who heard John speak, 29:36 and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 29:40 He first found his own brother Simon..." 29:48 Interesting. 29:49 The same word. 29:50 Right after the baptism of Jesus, 29:52 "We have found the Messiah." 29:56 And now listen to what it continues saying. 30:03 You see, in Greek the word, "Christ," is exactly 30:06 equivalent to "Messiah." 30:08 Have you ever heard the word, "christened?" 30:11 It comes from, christ-ened. 30:13 It means, to anoint. Doesn't it. 30:16 So "Christ" means the same as "Messiah;" the anointing. 30:21 Immediately after the baptism of Jesus, we find 30:25 Andrew saying to Peter, "We have found the anointed One." 30:31 Now notice Luke 4 and verse 14. 30:34 We're still talking about, "Messiah the Prince." 30:37 Luke 4 and verse 14. It says here... 30:45 How did He return to Galilee? In what? 30:48 In the power of the Spirit, He returned to Galilee. 30:56 Now what comes immediately before this text? 31:00 If you look in Luke 3, it describes the baptism of Jesus. 31:05 Then chapter 4 verses 1 through 11 describe 31:09 the temptations of Jesus. 31:11 And then the last part of chapter 4 describes 31:15 the beginning of the public ministry of Jesus in Galilee. 31:20 And it says, after His baptism, after the temptations, 31:24 when He begins His ministry, it tells us that He returned 31:28 in the power of the Spirit to Galilee. 31:32 Now notice with what words Jesus began His ministry. 31:37 It's in the synagogue in Nazareth. 31:39 Notice Luke chapter 4 and verses 18 and 19. 31:44 Here, Jesus says, "The Spirit of the Lord is..." What? 31:49 "...is upon Me, because He has..." What? 31:52 When did Jesus receive the Holy Spirit? 31:55 When He was what? Baptized. 31:58 So it says, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me... 32:16 So when was Jesus anointed as the Messiah? 32:20 He was anointed as the Messiah when 32:22 He received the Holy Spirit. 32:23 And when did that take place? 32:25 At His baptism. 32:27 If anybody has any doubt, let's read Acts chapter 10 32:30 and verses 36 to 38. 32:33 Acts chapter 10 and verses 36 to 38. 33:01 There's the key word. 33:09 When was Jesus anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power? 33:13 At the moment of His what? 33:14 Of His baptism. 33:16 And so it says here in verse 37, "That word you know, 33:20 which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from 33:23 Galilee after the baptism which John preached..." 33:36 So when is the moment that the 69 weeks come to an end? 33:43 It's when Jesus becomes what? 33:45 The anointed One. 33:47 And that refers to His what? 33:49 To His baptism. 33:51 Now do we have a date for the baptism of Christ? 33:55 We sure do. 33:56 Luke chapter 3 and verses 1 and 2. 34:00 This date refers to the year 27 AD. 34:04 Now I want you to notice, it gives us 34:06 several historical markers. 34:08 I think God wants us to know when this date is. 34:12 Because notice all the historical markers 34:15 that God gives. 34:16 Luke 3:1-2 34:24 We know that this is the year 27 AD. 34:47 Does God gives us all kinds of historical markers here? 34:50 He most certainly does. 34:55 And then Jesus is baptized. 34:57 This is the year 27 AD when Jesus begins His ministry. 35:02 Now let me ask you, to whom did Jesus preach? 35:07 Jesus went all over the world and preached 35:09 to the Gentiles, didn't He? 35:12 Who did He preach to only? 35:14 To the Jews. Why? 35:16 Because the prophecy of the 70 weeks says, 35:18 "Seventy weeks are determined for your city and your people." 35:22 So Jesus had to preach to the Jews 35:24 until this time was finished. 35:25 Are you with me? 35:27 Notice what we find in Matthew 10:5-6. 35:30 It's explicit. 35:32 Matthew 10 verses 5 and 6. 35:45 When the 70 weeks ended, is that when the gospel 35:47 was suppose to go to the Gentiles, according to 35:49 what we studied this morning? 35:50 When at last he sent his son, and they rejected the son? 35:55 Is that when the gospel was going to go to the Gentiles? 35:58 "The kingdom taken from you and given to a nation 36:01 that produces the fruits thereof." 36:03 Yes. 36:04 But at this point, the 70 weeks had not ended. 36:08 So what is the focus of the ministry of Jesus? 36:10 It says... 36:24 Because the 70 weeks were not up. 36:27 And the 70 weeks were for the city 36:29 and for the people of Daniel. 36:31 Are you with me? 36:32 How the Bible harmonizes all these things 36:35 is simply marvelous. 36:37 Now let's go on in our study. 36:39 It says in the prophecy of the 70 weeks, Daniel 9 verse 26... 36:43 "And after the sixty-two weeks..." 36:45 Notice it doesn't specify when after. 36:48 It simple says, "After the sixty-two weeks..." 36:51 At some point. 36:59 Now let's go to Isaiah 53 and verse 5 to see if 37:01 this is an accurate statement. 37:03 Isaiah 53 and verse 5. 37:05 Did Jesus die for Himself? 37:08 No, He didn't die for Himself. 37:10 Notice Isaiah 53 and verse 5. 37:13 It says here... 37:30 So the suffering and death of Jesus, was it for Himself? 37:35 No, it was for us. 37:37 Now what does the expression, "cut off," mean? 37:40 It says, "The Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself." 37:43 We notice what Jesus did, He did for us. 37:45 But what does, "cut off," mean? 37:48 Well Isaiah 53, which is that great Messianic prophecy, 37:51 verse 8 tells us what it means to cut off. 37:55 Speaking about the Messiah, it says... 38:06 Interesting. 38:13 Does that mean that He died? 38:14 Does "cut off" mean that He died? 38:17 Yes. 38:18 He was cut off from the land of the what? 38:21 Of the living. 38:22 Did He do it for Himself? 38:24 No. 38:25 Because it continues saying... 38:33 Did Jesus do this for Himself? 38:35 No. 38:36 Was He cut off or did He die? 38:38 He most certainly did. 38:39 Who fulfills this specification where it says 38:43 that after 62 weeks, the Messiah would be cut off. 38:47 That is, He would be killed. 38:48 But not, what? 38:50 But not for Himself, but for others. 38:52 There's only one. 38:54 It has to be Jesus Christ. 38:55 Because the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 53 38:58 is in perfect harmony with the prophecy of Daniel chapter 9. 39:02 Now let's go on to the next phrase. 39:05 It says in Daniel 9 verse 26, after speaking about the 39:09 cutting off of Messiah the Prince, not for Himself, 39:16 after His death, it says, listen carefully, 39:20 "And the people of the prince..." 39:22 Who do you think this prince is? 39:25 Is there any change between the previous phrase and this one 39:28 to indicate that this is a different prince? 39:31 Evangelical scholars today say that this the antichrist prince. 39:35 There's no evidence in the sequence of this prophecy 39:38 that this is some kind of antichrist prince who is 39:41 going to rise in the future. 39:43 Notice it says, "And the people of the prince..." 39:53 Question, was Jerusalem going to be destroyed again? 39:57 This is interesting. 39:59 Because God had told Daniel, 40:01 "You know, Jerusalem is going to be..." What? 40:03 Restored and what? Built. 40:06 But then after 69 weeks, the Messiah, 40:09 the anointed One, was going to come. 40:10 And after it at some point, after the 69 weeks, 40:13 the Messiah is going to be cut off. 40:16 And He's not cut off for Himself. 40:19 And then he says the Sanctuary and the city 40:22 are going to be destroyed again. 40:26 Are you following me or not? 40:27 They're going to be destroyed again. 40:30 Now, does the cutting off of the Messiah 40:33 have anything to do with the destruction of the city? 40:35 It most certainly does. 40:37 Messiah is cut off, not for Himself. 40:39 And then it speaks about what? 40:41 It speaks about the destruction of the city. 40:44 And it continues saying, once again, "And the people of 40:48 the prince who is to come shall destroy 40:50 the city and the Sanctuary. 40:51 The end of it," that is of the city and the Sanctuary, 40:54 "shall be with a..." What? "...a flood." 40:57 In Scripture invasions of armies are represented by the flood. 41:02 For example, read Isaiah 8:7-8. 41:04 It's not on your list, but you might want to write it down. 41:07 Isaiah 8 verses 7 and 8. 41:09 And then it continues saying, "Till the end of the war..." 41:13 Here comes the key word. 41:14 What's the key word? 41:15 Desolations. Don't forget that word. 41:18 "...desolations are..." What? 41:20 "...are determined." 41:22 Now we need to interpret who this prince is. 41:25 There are three views concerning the prince. 41:28 The first view is the traditional 41:30 Seventh-day Adventist view of the prince. 41:33 Basically, the idea is that the prince is Titus. 41:37 And the people of the prince are the Roman armies. 41:42 That's the traditional point of view. 41:45 A second view is that the prince is a nasty antichrist 41:50 that is going to arise in the future after the 41:53 rapture of the church. 41:55 That does not fit at all, as we're going to study 41:58 along the 70 weeks. 41:59 The third view is the one that I espouse. 42:03 And that is that the prince is Jesus. 42:06 And the people of the prince are the Jews. 42:10 And you say, "Pastor, that doesn't fit." 42:12 Well let's examine it to see if it does fit. 42:16 First of all, let's talk about view number one. 42:18 Listen carefully. 42:20 View number one is that the prince is Titus, 42:23 and the people of the prince are the Roman armies. 42:26 This view is not sustainable. 42:29 And you say, "Why is it not sustainable?" 42:32 For the simple reason that in verse 27, we are told that 42:36 this prince would do three things. 42:40 What would he do? 42:42 First of all, he would confirm the covenant 42:44 with many for one week. 42:46 Did Titus do that? 42:48 Did Titus confirm a covenant with Israel for the last week? 42:51 No, he lived in the year 70. 42:54 Secondly, in the midst of the last week, he would cause 42:57 the sacrifice and oblations to cease. 42:59 Did Titus do that? 43:00 He did cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease, 43:02 but in the year 70. 43:04 Not in the middle of the last week. 43:07 And then finally, he would make Jerusalem desolate. 43:10 That's the only one that fits. 43:12 Are you understanding me? 43:13 And so Titus does not fit. 43:17 Because the people of the prince would actually be those... 43:22 Or the prince of the people, rather. 43:24 ...would confirm the covenant for a week. 43:26 In the midst of the last week he would cause the sacrifice 43:29 and oblation to cease. 43:30 And in the third place his death would lead to the 43:35 desolation of Jerusalem. 43:37 Now the question is, who is this prince and who are the 43:42 people of the prince? 43:44 You're saying, "Pastor Bohr, you're a little bit crazy. 43:48 You're saying that the Jews destroyed their city? 43:51 The people of the prince destroyed Jerusalem?" 43:54 That's exactly what I'm saying. 43:57 Let me talk, first of all, to provide you with an analogy. 44:01 What happened with the first destruction of Jerusalem? 44:04 Let me ask you, who destroyed Jerusalem the first time? 44:10 There's three explanations given in the Bible. 44:12 And I'm going to give you only the references. 44:14 They're probably on your list. 44:16 Daniel 9 verse 14, I'll quote. 44:18 It says, "The Lord brought this disaster upon us." 44:23 So who caused the first destruction of Jerusalem? 44:26 The Lord. 44:28 2 Chronicles 36 verses 17 to 20 says that God used 44:36 Nebuchadnezzar to destroy the city of Jerusalem. 44:41 It says in fact, He brought against them 44:43 the King of the Chaldeans. 44:45 And Daniel 9:11 and verses 14 and 15 says very clearly 44:51 that it was Israel's sins that brought the 44:54 destruction of Jerusalem. 44:55 So the question is, who destroyed Jerusalem? 44:57 Was it God, was it Nebuchadnezzar, 44:59 or was it the people? 45:02 All of the above? 45:04 You see, the people, the rebellion of the people 45:08 led God to use Nebuchadnezzar 45:12 to punish the people for their rebellion. 45:14 Are you understanding me or not? 45:16 In fact, the Bible says this. 45:18 Notice what Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah. 45:22 This is in Jeremiah 38 and verses 21 and 23. 45:27 Jeremiah 38 verse 21 and verse 23. 45:31 Jeremiah is saying, "Submit to the King of Babylon or else." 45:34 Notice... 45:39 He's saying to King Zedekiah. 45:51 Who was going to cause the city to be burned with fire? 45:55 Zedekiah, the king. 45:57 Why? 45:58 Because he was not obeying the Lord. 46:00 He was being rebellious and he was not subjecting 46:03 himself to King Nebuchadnezzar. 46:06 Now let's talk about the second destruction of Jerusalem. 46:09 Did you notice that each time that the destruction 46:13 of Jerusalem is addressed in the prophecy of the 70 weeks, 46:16 there's something that the Messiah did immediately before? 46:20 He's cut off and Jerusalem is destroyed. 46:24 Then it says He causes the sacrifice and the oblation 46:27 to cease, and once again Jerusalem is destroyed. 46:31 Does the rejection of the Messiah and the death 46:35 of the Messiah have anything to do with 46:38 the destruction of Jerusalem? 46:39 Absolutely. 46:41 Go with me to Psalm 118 and verses 22 and 23. 46:46 Psalm 118 verses 22 and 23. 46:48 Psalm 118 is a Messianic prophecy. 46:51 Notice what it says. 46:53 "The stone which the builders rejected..." 46:55 You immediately recognize this as a Messianic prophecy, right? 46:58 "The stone which the builders rejected..." 47:07 Now to whom does this prophecy apply? 47:11 Is this referring just to anyone or is it referring 47:14 to Jesus Christ as the Messiah? 47:15 It's referring to the Messiah. 47:18 Notice Matthew 21 and verse 42. 47:20 Jesus quotes this verse. 47:21 He's saying, "This psalm belongs to Me." 47:24 Matthew 21 and verse 42. 47:42 To whom does Jesus apply this prophecy of Psalm 118? 47:46 He applies it to Himself. 47:49 Do you know that a little bit later on in this Psalm, 47:54 in verse 26, we find a very interesting verse that was sung, 48:00 listen carefully, it was sung by those who were 48:03 accompanying Jesus in the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. 48:07 You see, it says, "The people of the prince who is..." What? 48:13 "...who is to come..." 48:15 Now, let's notice that expression, "who is to come." 48:20 Go with me to Psalm 118 verse 26. 48:23 We've already shown that this is a Messianic psalm. 48:26 The people were singing what? 48:41 So who is it that comes in the name of the Lord, 48:44 according to Psalm 118? 48:46 It is none other than Jesus Christ. 48:49 Now let's go to an interesting passage that puts 48:52 all of this together. 48:53 Luke 19 and verses 37 to 44. 48:57 And I want you to see that there are three things 49:00 in this passage, three key things. 49:02 Luke 19 verses 37 through 44. 49:07 Three main ideas. 49:08 The first idea is that Jesus comes into Jerusalem 49:12 and the people are singing, "Blessed is He who comes 49:14 in the name of the Lord." 49:16 This is the Prince who is to come. 49:18 The second idea is that Jesus speaks about His rejection 49:22 by the Jewish nation. 49:24 And the third idea is that Jesus speaks about 49:27 the destruction of Jerusalem. 49:29 Three ideas. 49:30 First idea, Jesus comes into Jerusalem. 49:33 They sing, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." 49:36 Second idea, Jesus is rejected. 49:39 Third idea, Jesus speaks about the destruction of Jerusalem. 49:43 Let's read this passage, Luke 19:37-44. 50:04 Is this the prince who is to come? 50:07 Absolutely. 50:36 Is Jesus speaking about His rejection by the 50:38 city of Jerusalem? 50:39 He most certainly is. 50:41 And what is the result going to be because 50:43 the Jewish nation has rejected Him? 50:46 Notice what we find in verse 43. 50:48 The destruction is spoken of. 51:16 Who caused the destruction of Jerusalem? 51:20 Titus? 51:21 Would Titus have destroyed Jerusalem if the 51:23 people were faithful? 51:25 No. 51:26 Would God have destroyed Jerusalem if the 51:28 people had been faithful? 51:30 Absolutely not. 51:31 So who brought destruction upon Jerusalem? 51:34 You know, there's a text in the Old Testament where God says, 51:37 "Ephraim," or Israel, "you have destroyed yourself." 51:44 What is it that led to the destruction of Jerusalem? 51:47 It was the rejection of the Messiah by the people. 51:52 Now let's review something that we studied this morning. 51:55 You remember in Matthew chapter 21 51:57 Jesus arrived in the temple, right? 52:00 And then you have the fig tree episode. 52:02 Everything He deals with after Matthew 21 has to do with 52:05 the history and the rebellion of the Jewish nation. 52:08 The fig tree episode that has no fruit. 52:10 Jesus curses the fig tree and it dries up from the roots. 52:14 And Jesus says, "You're never going to produce 52:16 fruit ever again." 52:17 And it represents the Jewish theocracy as a nation. 52:20 It's not saying that all Jews are lost. 52:22 It's talking about the Jewish theocracy as God's chosen vessel 52:26 to proclaim the gospel. 52:28 You remember also the parable of the vineyard workers. 52:32 The three stages there. 52:33 He sends messengers; they reject them. 52:36 So he sends more messengers; and they reject them. 52:40 And then he says, "Last of all, I'm going to send..." What? 52:43 "I'm going to send my son." 52:44 And what did they do? 52:46 They rejected him as well. 52:48 And then Jesus, after He tells this parable, 52:52 we find Jesus saying, "The kingdom will be taken from you 52:56 and given to a nation that produces the fruits thereof." 53:00 Who is that nation that produces the fruits thereof? 53:03 It'll become absolutely clear, if it isn't already, tomorrow 53:07 when we deal with the second part of the 70 weeks. 53:10 That it has to do with the preaching of the gospel 53:14 in the Gentile world. 53:16 And then you noticed that after he gives the parable of the 53:19 vineyard workers, He pronounces the woes on the 53:22 scribes and the Pharisees. 53:23 And He says, "Fill up the cup. 53:25 The cup is full." 53:27 But as we noticed, Jesus said, "I'm still going to 53:30 send you wise men. 53:31 And I'm still going to send you prophets." 53:33 Because the 70 weeks don't end when Jesus is rejected. 53:36 They end three and a half years later. 53:38 Are you with me or not? 53:40 So there's still three and a half years of grace 53:42 for the Hebrew nation even after this. 53:45 And then Jesus, after He pronounces the woes on the 53:48 scribes and the Pharisees, in Matthew chapter 23 53:51 and verse 38, He departs the temple. 53:54 The Shekinah is departing the temple, and He says, 53:57 "Your house is left unto you..." What? 54:02 Is that a word that's used in Daniel chapter 9? 54:05 Absolutely, "Your house is left unto you desolate." 54:09 In other words, the Shekinah has abandoned the temple. 54:12 And now where does Jesus go to sit? 54:15 Just like in the first destruction, He goes to 54:18 sit on the Mount of Olives. 54:19 And what does He begin talking about? 54:22 He begins talking about the destruction of what? 54:25 Of Jerusalem. 54:26 Because of the rejection of the Messiah. 54:29 Are you following me or not? 54:31 Is this prophecy talking about some future antichrist 54:34 after the rapture? 54:35 Listen carefully to what the Christian world has done. 54:39 First of all, they have absolved the Jewish nation 54:42 from the guilt of the death of the Messiah. 54:46 And how have they done that? 54:48 They have done that by projecting this prophecy 54:53 to a future antichrist after the rapture. 54:56 So the Jewish nation has nothing to do with the fulfillment 54:59 of the rejection of the Messiah. 55:02 The second thing that they have done is by saying that the 55:05 prophecy of the little horn applies to the future 55:08 antichrist, they have absolved the Roman Catholic Church 55:11 from the guilt of killing the body of Jesus Christ; 55:15 His church. 55:18 And so basically, by directing these prophecies to the future, 55:22 they have lost sight of the guilt of the Jewish nation 55:25 as a nation, and the guilt of the Roman Catholic papacy 55:29 in persecuting the saints of the Most High. 55:32 Because they're projecting these things to the future 55:34 and they do not see how these things have been fulfilled 55:37 in the past. 55:38 Notice how Ellen White described the destruction of Jerusalem, 55:42 the reason, in Great Controversy, page 35. 55:51 What had the Jews done? 55:53 They had forged their own fetters. 56:15 Who destroyed Jerusalem? 56:17 They did by rejecting the Messiah. 56:21 Now she quotes that verse. 56:23 It's found in Hosea 13 verse 9. 57:09 So which of the three options makes more sense? 57:12 Was it Titus and the armies of Rome? No. 57:15 Is it some future antichrist? No. 57:18 Who is it referring to? 57:21 The people of the prince are the Jews; 57:23 the people of Jesus Christ who brought rejection 57:26 against the city for their rejection of Jesus. |
Revised 2014-12-17