2027 A.D., Parts 4-6

Part 4: Daniel 11-12: 

The book of Daniel was written in 2 languages, Hebrew and Aramaic. Daniel chapter 1 thru 8, and chapter 12 were written in Hebrew. Chapters 2 thru 7 were written in Aramaic. Therefore, when studying the book, one needs to examine many of the words closely, because in certain instances they do not mean what they appear to mean in our modern English.

Daniel 11:40 to 45 concerns end time events that lead into the 7 years of tribulation. Daniel was a Jew of the tribe of Judah; taken into captivity in 606 B.C., spent most of his captivity in Babylon under king Nebuchadnezzar; then eventually under Cyrus the Greats authority.

The book concerns the Gentile world empires; their interaction with the Jews, the land of Israel; the temple and their religion. The book covers the period between 605 B.C. until the end of the age when Christ returns and sets up his kingdom; still future. In this article we will examine the verses that are relevant to end time prophesy.

This post will take a look into the last few verses in Daniel 11-then a more detailed study of Daniel 12. But first, we must lay the groundwork that will eventually bring us to the end of the age when Jesus sets up the kingdom.

Daniel 11:41 tells us in the end days, the antichrist will enter into the Promised land. After the rapture of the church, Israel will be without any political or military allies. They will also be surrounded by their Islamic enemies, Jordan, Libya, Syria, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Lebanon, Sudan and Ethiopia. Even America, without any Christian presence because of the rapture, they will also be an enemy to the Jews, as will all of Europe, Russia and China.   

Today, Russia is supplying weapons to many Middle Eastern countries, and China’s is also developing interests in the Middle East.

Daniel 11:45, “And he (the antichrist) shall plant the tabernacles (his chief residence) between the seas (Mediterranean and Dead seas) in the glorious holy mountain (Mt. Moriah where the Dome of the Rock now stands); yet he shall come to his end (destruction), and none shall help him.”  

Daniel 12:1, “And at that time (tribulation period) shall Michael (God’s Holy messenger) stand up, the great prince which stands for the children of your (Daniel’s) people: and there shall be a time of trouble (Jacob’s trouble, the great tribulation), such as never was since there was a nation (of Israel) even to the same time: and at that time your (Daniel’s) people shall be delivered, every on one that shall be found written in the book.” 

In verse 5, Daniel sees two men one on each side of a riverbank. Verse 6, he also sees a man clothed in linen standing upon the waters of the river. One of the two asks the one standing on water, “How long shall it be to the end of these wonders.?”

The man standing on the water’s replies,

Verse 7, “that it shall be for a time, times, and a half = (3 ½ years) and when he (God) shall have accomplished to scatter (disperse) the power (meaning a part of) of the holy people (saved Jews), all these things shall be finished.”

There will be a small number of Jews saved during the tribulation. “Shall” in the above verse is in the 3ed person and implies a promise or determination that shall be fulfilled, and, that the Lord has the authority to enforce these promises.  

Now, the meaning of the word “time” in the above verse represents the time (1 year) between the same feast; as from a particular feast to the following year’s feast: it’s a set time of a solemn feast: total time involved, 3 ½ years.

The text of verse 7 lies in the context of the last 3 ½ years of the tribulation. Verse 1, it will be “A time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation (speaking of Israel) even to the same time:”

Jeremiah 30:7, speaks of the last days, “Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble:”  

Over the centuries, Israel’s has had many wars, catastrophes, and purges, each bringing with them, destruction, death, slavery and dispersion. To say the last 3 ½ years of the tribulation will bring upon them a catastrophe like no other in their history, is unimaginable. But it must be so, for it is written and emphasized and described in Matthew 24:21; Revelation 2:22 and, 7:14, as “the great tribulation.” Tribulation as in distress and affliction like never before or ever shall be after.

The angel Gabriel gives the answer to the question, “how long?” verse 7, “a time, times and half,” meaning 3 ½ years between one of the most important feast or festivals of the Jews; possibly, Passover, Shavuot or Sukkot. Also, there are two very important High Holy Days, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Not sure which one these Gabriel is speaking of, but my guess would be either in late September or October.

Passover, also known as the Festival of Unleavened Bread, is a spring holiday commemorating the Exodus. It’s a foundation for all Jewish beliefs.

Pentecost or Shavuot occurred fifty days after the offering of the barley sheaf during the Passover feast.

Sukkot, also known as the “Festival of Booths,” the seasoning of rejoicing. 

Also, there are two High Holy days, the first is Rosh Hashanah meaning, “head of the year.” It’s the day on which the year changes, from 2021 to 2022. 

Yom Kippur is celebrated this year on the 27 th of September and is the most important and solemn of Jewish holidays.

During Christ’s earthly ministry which lasted exactly 3 ½ years, Jesus brought to the Jews a new covenant beginning sometime between the 15th and 30th of October 27 A.D., just after his baptism by the Holy Spirit, and his forty-day wilderness experience with the devil.  

Jeremiah 31:31, “Behold, the days come (future), said the LORD, that I will make (make here means to cut off the old and make) a new covenant with the house of Israel (10 tribes) and with the house of Judah (2 tribes).”

This is the same promise the LORD made with the Jews in,

Ezekiel 37:19, “Thus saith the Lord God; behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim and the tribes of Israel (speaking of the 10 Northern tribes) his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah (2 Southern tribes) and make them one stick (one nation), and they shall be one in mine (God’s) hand.”

In order to fulfill this promise of confirming God’s new covenant, the 12 tribes had/have to be gathered together as one people in their own land. This was the situation in Israel before the Romans went in to destroy the Temple and Jerusalem.

During the 3 ½ years of Christ’s earthly ministry, all 12 tribes were present in the land. After the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem in 70 A.D. the Jews would be scattered to every nation by God, as prophesied. And for the next 1878 Years, they were a people without a country. And during that time, they were called ‘the wandering Jews!”

You can read about the prophesies in the following verses. Deuteronomy 30:4-5: Ezekiel 37:21-28: Isaiah 11:10-16: Amos 8:14-15: And,

Hosea 3:4-5, “The children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice … Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king = (symbolic of Christ); and shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the Latter days.”

It was officially on May 14th, 1948, God began to draw all 12 tribes back to the land as prophesied. And on May 13th, 2022, the Jewish people will celebrate a full 74 years in the land.  Today, there are over 8 million Jews living in Israel today.

This number consists of all twelve tribes, there are no lost tribes! These things are in the Lord’s hands, and they will be accomplished as promised, remember He said, “all these things shall be finished” verse 7.

And because for the most part the Jews today still reject Jesus as their Messiah, they are, in the eyes of God still under the law. In the past 70 years, they have committed the same transgression they had before their days in captivity to the Babylonians. What was that transgression? They have not rested the land, and yet reject the Lord as their King and High Priest..

Revelation 2:10, “You (those who go into the tribulation) shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death;” ten days translates in English to “a short time,” or 7 years of tribulation.

During Jesus earthly ministry, he had been cut off by the religious elite, not at the cross, but during the 3 ½ year he spent healing the sick, raising the dead and showing many other signs and wonders.

At the cross, the Lord cut the people of Israel off except for those few who had received him as the Messiah. For 3 ½ years, Jesus was considered too be a rebellious son by the religious leaders, and so they rejected him as their Messiah, as did the Jewish people. They made several attempted to arrest him and also attempted to kill him.  

John 5:18, “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.”

To the Jews, this was Blaspheme, a sin worthy of being stoned to death. Again in,

John 7:30-32, “Then they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, because his hour was not yet come.” Verse 32, “The Pharisees heard that the people murmured such things concerning him; and the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him.”

Also, during his ministry, Jesus was accused of having a devil; He endured the contradiction of sinners; he lived in poverty, was falsely accused; had no place to rest his head; his Father’s house was made a house of merchandise; He was run out of the temple, betrayed, mocked, spit on, beaten, then hung on the cross as any common criminal would. At the cross the people shook their fists at him and said to him as he hung there, mocking him,

Matthew 27:40, “You that destroys the temple, and (claim to) build it (back) in three days, save yourself, if you be the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

And at his death, his enemies took great satisfaction in his death. But, while hanging on the cross, he looked down on the religious leaders and the people he came to save, then said,

Luke 23:34, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” Also, as he looked down on the crowd standing before him, mocking him, said,

Mark 15:34, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Even the 11 apostles, Mark 14:50, “they all forsook (abandoned) him.” 

Many say He was talking to the Father, that’s nuts! What the Lord did was to repeat the words David spoke 1000 years earlier in Psalms 22:1. By speaking these words, “My God, My God,” Jesus fulfilled prophesy, and the religious leaders know it. The Father had sent his Son: Jesus came of his own free will, to do what? To do the will of His Father and finish the work of His Father. He said in,

John 19:30, “It is finished.” 

Meaning, the things he came to do had been finished. He fulfilled the demands of the law: His obedience to the Father’s will was even unto death, the death of the cross: the promise of deliverance was finished: Redemption was completed: He had finished the transgression and made reconciliation for iniquity and brought in everlasting righteousness. He had fulfilled everything that had been written by the prophets. And the way to the Holy of holies in heaven was made manifest to every believer by his blood.

In Revelation 13:8, it was said of Jesus, He was “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” This was God’s plan from before the creation, and neither the Father nor Son was caught by surprise, they expected Jesus to die that death, because they knew the hearts of man was evil continually. 

Hebrews 12:2; Jesus is said to be, “the author and finisher of our faith; who for the JOY that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God (His Father).”

To say the Son was speaking to the Father when he said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” makes no sense. Because it was by him, the author of our faith who centuries before, had it written concerning his own death by those he came to save. The three, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit knew exactly what was going to happen, and the three are witnesses in heaven. He spoke to the apostles about his death before the cross, but,

Mark 9:32, “they understood none of these things,” that’s why the 11 abandoned him. His Father loved his Son, and he loved his Father, and with his last breath, He said,

Luke 23:46, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Doesn’t sound to me as if the Father had abandoned his Son.

So, after the 3 ½ years of Jesus ministry to the Jews proclaiming his new covenant, there remains 3 ½ years to finish the conformation of this new covenant with the Jewish people. So, the question remains, when?

The final 3 ½ years will be fulfilled by the two witnesses, Revelation 11. Before they begin their ministry, I am sure they will be marked with God’s seal before the tribulation begins, so there will be NO MISTAKING THEM, as to who they represent.  

Revelation 11:3, “I (the LORD) will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days (3 ½ years.)”  

What are the two going to do during the 3 ½ years? Their word will be to finish confirming the new covenant Jesus had begun. And in so doing, fulfill,

Daniel 9:27, “He (the Lord) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week (7 years): and in the middle of the week (3 ½ years) he shall cause the sacrifices and oblation to cease,” Jesus found the Jews sitting in darkness, and except for a precious few, left them sitting in darkness, and to this day, they remain as blind people, sitting in darkness.

Now, when the two witnesses are finished, they will be killed, and after 3 days be raised up alive into heaven, just as the Lord was.

This verse in Daniel 9:27, in no way is speaking of the antichrist making a covenant with the Jews, that’s nonsense! I understand the Dome of the Rock is going to be his Temple in Jerusalem, set atop God’s Holy Mountain, Mt. Moriah. Daniel 12:11-12 will explain it. 

  

 

 

2019 A.D. Part 5: 

Parts 1-2-3-4 can be found in the left-hand column under the title of 2020 A.D. 

In this post we will cover Daniel 12:11-12-13. Before we move ahead, keep in mind, these verses are written for Daniel’s people the Jews, not for the church. Also, every bit of information we get from Daniel’s book, is to fit within the time frame of Nebuchadnezzar’s image found in Daniel 2. From the head of gold, 605 B.C. to the feet of iron and miry clay. Today, the world is standing in the shoes of the image’s feet of iron and clay. 

Daniel 12:11, “And from the time (appointed time) that the daily sacrifice (which was to be a perpetual sacrifice) shall be taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”

Verse 12-13, “Blessed is he that waits and comes to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. But go thou thy way till the end be; for thou (Daniel) shalt rest (die), and stand (be raised) in thy lot at the end of the days.”

The word “days” in the above verses is the Hebrew word “yom.” We must be careful how the word is understood. The Jews were particular in defining time. When the word “day” or “yom” was used with an adjective, as in, one day, or the second day, it meant from sunset to sunset (24 hours). If there is no adjective, the time is then uncertain, and the event or context that it’s written in must explain it.

As far as I can see, the text sits within the context of a long period of time, from the head of gold to the feet of iron and clay. The daily sacrifice which was to be a perpetual sacrifice, and a perpetual fire in the brazen altar was never to be extinguished, but both were taken from the Jews authoritatively by God when He sent king Nebuchadnezzar armies to remove the sacred vessels, including the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat from the Temple to Babylon, the year, 598 B.C.

Jeremiah 25:9, “Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land (Israel),”

2 Chronicles 36:17, “Therefore he (the LORD) brought upon them (the Jews) the king of the Chaldees (Nebuchadnezzar), who slew their young men —- Verse 18, “And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, —– all these he (Nebuchadnezzar) brought to Babylon.”

2 Kings 25:13, “And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD (temple), and the bases, and the brazen sea (meaning the great bronze laver in the temple) that was in the house of the LORD, did the Chaldees break in pieces and carried the brass of them to Babylon.”

The following year, in 598 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar returned to Israel and took captive king Jehoiakim, see 2 Chronicles 36:6.

Hosea 3:4-5, “The children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, (meaning Jesus Christ) and without a sacrifice (no Temple)… Afterward (in the latter days) shall the children of Israel return (May 14, 1948), and seek the LORD their God (after the tribulation), and David their king (symbolic of Christ); and shall fear (seek after) the LORD and His goodness in the Latter days (last days).”

The Jews may have continued on with the daily sacrifice after Nebuchadnezzar removed the sacred vessels, but, without the ark, the mercy seat, the brazen altar and eternal fire, their offerings were of no value to God, therefore simply ritualistic.

It’s even more obvious that the LORD was dissatisfied with this people when he speaks of them as “Daniel’s people,” and of Jerusalem as, Daniel’s “holy city,” not saying, “my people, or my holy city.” We see it written this way in Daniel 9:24, 12:1 and in other verses.

Hosea 1:9, “for you are NOT my people, and I will not be your God.”

Now let’s examine, Daniel 12:11, “and from the time the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate set-up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”

God has given to us a specified period of time, 1290 years between the daily sacrifice being taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate set up. Two questions pop up.

First, what is the “abomination that makes desolate?” Secondly, when was this abominable that makes desolate set up?

We do have our start point, the year 598 B.C. when the “daily sacrifice” was taken away, and all the treasures of gold, silver, and bronze of the Temple were removed to Babylon.

To be set up means, something is to be set in place, a thing established. I would have to say this thing has to be obvious to the world so God can be glorified in these prophesies. Following is an example in scripture of something being set up, or set in place:

Genesis 1:17, “God set them (sun and moon) in the firmament of heaven to give light upon the earth,”

1 Kings 6:19, “to set there (in the Temple) the ark of the covenant of the LORD.”   

Now, what is meant by “to be made desolate”? It will be something that will be set in place where once the Holies of holies was built in Solomon’s temple, and where the daily sacrifices were made and presented to the LORD.

It was the room where the LORD showed himself once a year over the mercy seat, communicating with the high priest from within the Holy of Holies; or concerning the “daily sacrifice” (two times each day), God would communicate with the priests. God on the inside of the curtain that hung in front of the Holy place, and the priest making his offering on the outside of the curtain.

But, because of the idolatry of the Jews, in His anger, the LORD had the Roman armies come in, destroy Jerusalem and the temple completely in 70 A.D. And today, atop Mt. Moriah sits Islam’s Dome of the Rock, an abomination unto the LORD, a thing for all the world to see.   

Many commentators claim it was the altar, or the idol which Antiochus IV Epiphanies erected in the temple in 145 B.C. Antiochus’s actions may have served as a type, but as far as I can make out in the verse, the abomination was still far into the future, well beyond the years of Antiochus the 4th.

So, in the year 692 A.D., Islam’s Dome of the Rock had been completed atop God’s holy Mountain; the very place king David purchased for the house of the LORD, and where Solomon had built the Temple.  

This parcel of land was purchased by king David about 974 or 973 B.C. during the Philistine wars, purchased with 600 shekels of gold by weight. The sole purpose of the purchase was to build the house of God. And because of the idolatry of the people, God threw the Jews out, had the Temple destroyed, and temporally gave the Temple Mt. over to the Gentiles. For how long?

Luke 21:24, Jesus is speaking to certain scribes when he said, “and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Compare with,

Daniel 9:27, “And he (Jesus) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week, he shall cause the sacrifice (animal sacrifice) and oblation (gift offering) to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation and the determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

As I said above, “their daily blood sacrifices and offerings were of no value to God, therefore, having only a ritualistic and ceremonial value, and even these ceremonies were stopped when the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D.  

So, we know what the “daily sacrifice” was, and when it was taken away in 598 B.C., and we also know what the “abomination that makes desolate is. It’s the Dome of the Rock also known as, Qubbat al-Ṣakhrah. Lastly, we know when this abomination was set up and established, the year, 692 A.D. It’s revealed in Daniel there would be a long period of time between these two events, the daily sacrifice taken away and the abomination of desolation set up; exactly, 1290 years, not days according to the evidence provided in the context.  

So, let’s do a little math, 598 B.C., when the daily sacrifice was taken away. Then come forward in history 1290 years and we come to the year, 692 A.D., it’s the same year the Dome of the Rock was completed on God’s holy mountain.  

Now there are those who study end time prophesy that teach the 1290 days actually means 1260 days + an additional 30 days. If you ask them, “what’s the extra 30 days for?” they have NO answer, none! It doesn’t work that way! If God meant 1260 or 3 ½ years, he would NOT have had Daniel write 1290. God is not the author of confusion.

John wrote 1260 days in Revelation 11:3; 12:6, some 700 years after Daniel wrote. I’m sure if the Lord had meant 1290 days, He would have had John clarify it, but he didn’t, John wrote, 1260, or 3 ½ years.  

Daniel 12:12, “Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days (1335).”

Michael gave Daniel two sets of numbers, 1290 and 1335. Because there were to be two specific events at two different specified times, both numbers combined would bring us to the end of 2625 years, beginning from 598 B.C.

Questions concerning the 1335 years. To “wait from when to when? and for what?” The 1335 years has to begin from the last day of the 1290 years, 692 A.D., when the Dome of the Rock atop Mt. Moriah in Israel was started and moves forward into the future.

Second question, “cometh” to what? Answer, to the end of the 1335 years, or Daniel 12:13, “the end of days.” I will use the same reasoning I used for the 1335 days that I used for the 1290 days. The context does not concern days, but years.  

So, when the daily sacrifice ended in 598 B.C., to the time the Dome of the Rock was completed in 692 A.D., 1290 years had passed. Now we can continue a full 1335 years into the future. What year would that take us to? From 692 A.D. to the end of the 1335 years would fall in 2027 A.D., which ends in September according to the Jewish calendar.

Daniel 12:10 is speaking to the Jews after the great tribulation is over. “Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand: but the wise shall understand.”

The word “purified” in the Hebrew means to be purged from the defilement of idolatry and sin, to be reformed.

During these 7 years of Tribulation, many Jews will call on the name of the Lord Jesus. And in so doing, will reject the mark of the beast, but will have to sacrifice their lives. And when the tribulation is finished, they will be a raised to life, Revelation 20:4. 

All this can be avoided if they receive Jesus now as their Messiah before the body of Christ is caught up to meet the Lord in the air, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

To be “made white.” Let’s look at a few other verses that clarify its meaning.

Revelation 3:5, Jesus is speaking, “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white rainment–.”

Revelation 6:11, “And white robes were given unto every one of them;”

This is speaking of the end of the tribulation when,

Revelation 20:4, John writes, “I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived (were resurrected) and reigned with Christ a thousand years.”

Well, each of you can examine the evidence put forth, and compare it with the other 5 posts I’ve written.

My next post will concern Hosea 6, same results.

Phillip LaSpino   www.seekfirstwisdom.com

 

Part 6 of 2027 A.D. 

 

 This post concerns Daniel 9:25. Let’s begin by establishing the year Daniel wrote the following,

Daniel 9:1-2, “In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus,–.”  

Darius, king of the Medes and Persians began his reign in 529 B.C., ten years after Babylon was defeated and king Belshazzar killed. So, 529 B.C. is the year Daniel understood Jeremiah’s book concerning the 70 years of captivity.

Verse 2, “Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he (God) would accomplish seventy years (either 606 B.C. when Daniel was taken captive, or in 605 B.C. when Nebuchadnezzar became king) in the desolations of Jerusalem.”   

In Daniel 9:21; the angel Gabriel spoke to Daniel concerning the vision he had seen in Daniel 8:1. Question, what did the vision concern?

In Daniel 8:1, we read that it was in the 3ed year of king Belshazzar, 550 B.C. The whole of the vision concerned a ram having two horns (Medes and Persians) one higher (Medes) than the other. Medio Persian empire lasted from 539 B.C. to 333 B.C. when they were defeated by Alexander the Great. In verse 5, Daniel sees the he goat having a notable horn between his eyes. The he-goat symbolizes Alexander.

Next, in verse 8 he sees the he-goat’s horn is broken off, this representing Alexander’s untimely death in 323 B.C.  

Then up from the broken horn came four notable ones (horns), these representing the 4 generals that had marched with Alexander during his many campaigns. Then out of one of the four horns comes a little horn, this was the beginning of the family of Antiochus, beginning in the latter part of the year 281 B.C., when king Seleucid died, and his son Antiochus the 1st became king.

The Seleucid Empire was a Hellenistic state ruled by the Seleucid dynasty which existed from 312 B.C. to 63 B.C. Seleucus 1st Nicator founded it following the division of the Macedonian Empire. Hellenistic relates to Greek history, language, and culture from the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. to the defeat of Cleopatra and Mark Antony by Octavian in 31 B.C.

During this period, Greek culture flourished, spreading through the Mediterranean and into the Near East and Asia and centering on Alexandria in Egypt and Pergamum in Turkey.

This little horn that would wax (grow in power and authority) exceeding great. The generations of Antiochus ruled the Seleucid empire for some 200 years. The empire finally fell about 68 B.C. when Rome pushed the Greeks back to their Island nation.    

Following are the verses under discussion: Daniel 9:24-25,

In verse 24, we are told, “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy (Daniel’s) people (the Jews) and upon thy holy city (Jerusalem) to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness,”

But Daniel is told to, “seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy (meaning the Holy Spirit anointing of our Lord Jesus in October of 27 A.D. at the river Jordan, after he had turned 30 Years of age.

The verse reveals to us the 70 weeks of years would represent 490 years from its beginning, until the transgression is finished and when there is an “end of sin.”

Obviously, to this day, we have not reached the time when sin is at its end. As we read on, we will understand the 490 years are broken down into 3 periods of time. 

Verse 25, It began when there was a “going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto (until) the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks (49 Years) and threescore and two weeks (434 Years): the street shall be built again, and the wall even in troublous times.”

OK, let’s first break down four words in the above. They are, “to restore; build; street; and wall.”

The 1st word, restore: In most commentaries I have read, the word “restore” has been miss-represented. It’s true meaning in Hebrew speaks of the Jews returning to their land, to the place of their original habitation. So, to restore means to return from captivity.

The 2ed word, “build,” means to construct, repair, restore, raise up and reestablish. So, the Jews were given permission from the king to return to Israel and to “build” or repair and reestablish their city, the wall, moat and street.

3ed word is “Street. This is the open square in Jerusalem that was also in need of repair.

The 4th word: “wall,” speaks of the ditch or moat, and the wall surrounding Jerusalem. Obviously, after 70 years in captivity, both the moat and the walls would be in need of repair.

In verse 25, only two of the three periods of time are noted; they are the first week, or 49 years that would precede the 434 years, both totaling 483 years, but 7 years remain. 

The return of Ezra to Jerusalem was regarded by the Jews as the second Moses. His return from Persia to Jerusalem, marked the restoration of the city, the Jews nationality and the law.

Let’s summarize Daniel 9:25. The prophesy declares, when the command goes forth, the Jews who had been in captivity for 70 years would be given permission to return to Israel in order to repair, raise up and reestablish Jerusalem. To repair the open square, the wall and the moat around Jerusalem. This would be finished by the time Messiah the Prince is revealed to the religious leaders and the people of Israel.

The prophesied Messiah, Jesus Christ was introduced in October of 27 A.D. after Jesus had turned 30 years old, see Luke 3:23. He was baptized with water according to law in the river Jordan by John the Baptist, then anointed by the Holy Spirit as Messiah, the “most Holy.” He was anointed King and High Priest of Israel, after the order of Melchizedek, legally doing away with the Levitical priesthood as prophesied.     

Soon after His baptism at Jordan, Andrew would be the first to understand that he had found the Jews Messiah. This is important because the prophesy reads, “Unto the Messiah the Prince.”

John 1:41, “He (Andrew) first finds his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, we have found the Messiah, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.” This happened in October of 27 A.D. at Jesus baptism and witnessed by Andrew and Simon soon after.

Matthew 18:16, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.” I suppose we can also count John the Baptist in the mix.  

Concerning the decree for the Jews to return to the land, there is much confusion and many opinions concerning which decree, and by whom it was made. Why? because there were four decrees ordered over a period of 86 years that had been declared by Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, all having been rulers over the Persia empire.

The 1st came from Cyrus’ decree in 538 B.C., see 2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4; Ezra 5:13. 

The 2ed was from Darius in 512 B.C., see Ezra 6:1 and verse 12. Darius had only confirmed Cyrus’s decree.

The third came from Artaxerxes who ruled from 465 to 423 B.C. His decree came in 457 B.C., see Ezra 7:11-26.

The 4th decree also came from Artaxerxes on March 5th 444 B.C., see Nehemiah 2:1-8.

What I have done is this; because of the wording of Daniel 9:25 concerning this decree that raise certain difficult questions, I took the last part of the prophesy where it reads, “until Messiah the Prince.” This is the one thing that is sure! Jesus was baptized and introduced to the Jews as Messiah the Prince in October of 27 A.D., at the age of 30. And because Jesus was born in 4 B.C., if we add 30 completed years, Luke 3:23, we will arrive in October of 27 A.D.  

Now, if we take the second period of time found in Daniel, that being, 434 years and go backward from 27 A.D. we would come to the year 407 B.C. This may be the year Malachi finished his book which is the last book of the Bible, or it may be the year Malachi died, or both. What we do know is, Malachi was written between 436 and as late as 400 B.C. There would be a 400 Year gap between God’s final message to Malachi and John the Baptist. John’s birth was followed by the Lord’s birth 6 months later in October of 4 B.C.

Now if we take this date of October 27 A.D., when Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit, then go back in time the full 483 years, 434 + 49 as prophesied, we will arrive when Artaxerxes had made his decree, 457 B.C., the same year the king gave Ezra a copy of the letter concerning the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to Israel.

Ezra 7:13, “I make a decree (457 B.C), that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee (meaning Ezra).” 

Now the question, when Ezra arrived, “was the Temple, the street, wall and moat already under repair, but not finished, or were both finished”? Even if the Temple and brazen altar were rebuilt, there still was no Ark of the Covenant or Mercy Seat for the Jews to have any legal sacrifices as prescribed by the law in Leviticus.

The Jews were still under law when they began their return in 457 B.C. Was the Temple finished? You can make up your own mind, but before you do, consider the following verses,

Verses 16-17, before the Jews returned to Israel according to the decree of 457 B.C., they were to take with them silver and gold and offerings, “willingly FOR the house (meaning the Temple) of their God WHICH IS in Jerusalem: That they may buy speedily with this money bullocks, rams, lambs, with their food offerings and their drink offerings and offer them upon the (brazen) altar of the house (Temple) of your God which is in Jerusalem.”

It reads as if the Temple and the brazen altar had already been rebuilt. And the silver and gold Ezra took with him to Jerusalem would be used to purchase animals for sacrifice and possibly for breeding stock for all future offerings to God, and to reestablish their religion and nationality.  

Concerning the brazen altar, when a person entered through the court gate of the tabernacle, the first thing they would see was the brazen altar. So, it appears the Temple and the brazen altar were both standing, as well as certain repairs having been made in the city, on the walls, moat and street.

It seems as if Artaxerxes decree in 457 B.C., to return and to rebuild is what Daniel 9:25 means. 

Jesus has finished 3 1/2 years confirming his new covenant, leaving 3 1/2 years. This will be done by the two witnesses of Revelation 11. There is an overlapping of time, the two witnesses 3 1/2 years will end Daniel’s prophesy of 490 years. Now the beginning of the seven years of tribulation also begins with the two witnesses but continues on for another 3 1/2 years after the two witnesses are killed and then raised from the dead and taken up into heaven. What remains is the time of judgement for the Jews and for the rest of the world. A time of Great tribulation. 

What we do know is, when the 7 years of tribulation is finished, the last part of Daniel 9:24 would be fulfilled, “to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sin, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness.” Since Christ’s anointing, we are almost at 2000 years, or in God’s mind, 2 days, which brings us to,

Hosea 5:15; 6:1-2, “I (the Lord Jesus) will go and return to my place (in heaven), until they (the Jews) acknowledge their offence, and see my face: in their affliction (time of tribulation) they will see me early. Come, and let us (the Jews) return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten (stricken) and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us (make the Jews alive literally and spiritually): in the third day he (Jesus) will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight (in 1000 reign of Christ.)”  

If we can use 2 Peter 3:8, and Psalms 90:4, as a guide to how God perceives time, we can then draw a correct understanding of what Hosea was prophesying.

2 Peter 3:8, “Beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

Psalms 90:4, “For a thousand years in thy (God’s) sight are but as yesterday (one day) when it is past, —”

We are not to be ignorant of these facts, that God is not slow in keeping his promises, and for God, a day is as a thousand years. Jehovah knows no distinction between a day and a thousand years. All time, past, present and future are forever before Him; and both Psalms and Peter speak of time as the LORD sees time. Hosea has marked time the way God perceives it, 2 days to God are as 2000 years for us. And the last 1000 years would be God’s third day.

Bottom line! From that day in October of 27 A.D., Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit as King and Hight Priest; but the Jews fought against him and rejected his Messiahship.

We know, after he had turned 30, He was made known to two of his disciples, soon after, the chief priests, the Pharisees, and the Jewish people as the promised Messiah. It was at this time, in October of 27 A.D. the Lord began to confirm the first 3 ½ years of his new covenant to his people, Jeremiah 31:31, but he was rejected. Then in April of 31 A.D., 3 ½ years later, He was cut off at the cross as prophesied in Daniel 9:26, leaving 3 ½ years to finish the conformation of His new covenant with Israel.

This final chapter has been left to God’s two witnesses of,

Revelation 11:3, “And I (Jesus) will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days (3 ½ years), clothed in sackcloth.”   

Phillip Lapino www.seekfirstwisdom.com