God’s Plan For Israel’s Future, Part 1

Transcript

GR 1912
3/15/2015
God’s Plan for Israel’s Future
Daniel 9:22-27; Matthew 24
Gil Rugh

We are in the book of Daniel and the 9th chapter in your Bibles and if you have been a Bible student very long your Bible has come to Daniel chapter 9 a number of times. You cannot deal with Biblical prophecy without dealing with Daniel chapter 9. It becomes foundational for what Jesus says in the discourse He gives in Matthew 24 and 25 and is foundational for the book of the Revelation of John, so very important chapter in the Bible.

In chapters 2 and 7 of Daniel, God revealed the coming history of Gentile nations and if you will put that chart up you can see here the course of the nations, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome and how they were laid out.

In Daniel chapter 2 we had the image of the man and each of these nations was pictured by the different parts of the statue and the metal associated with it. There was no issue in interpreting this because it was interpreted by God for Daniel.

In Daniel chapter 7 we had that same material gone over again with different symbolism using animals this time; but again, no problem in interpreting it because it is interpreted again for Daniel and for us. Some additional information was given in Daniel chapter 7 but we have really the overview of Gentile nations from Daniel’s time in the beginning of the times of the Gentiles as we noted when Jerusalem will be dominated by Gentile powers.

Now when we come to chapter 9 we are going to have a revelation from God on the future history of the nation Israel. These are the nations of the world, the Gentile nations, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome. What about the nation Israel? That is the focal point in Daniel chapter 9 and the section we come to.

Daniel chapter 9 opened up, you remember, with Daniel studying the prophecies of Jeremiah and as he studied those prophecies in verse 2 of Daniel 9 he says: “I Daniel observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the Word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem,” seventy years and we went back and looked in the book of Leviticus where God clearly set out warnings to Israel. Every seventh year Israel was to let the land lay dormant. They weren’t to plant, they weren’t to harvest. That year belonged to the Lord. He warned them, “If they do not honor Him and obey Him and do that seventh as He instructs it will bring judgment on them.” And ultimately if they don’t He will remove them from the land so that the land will remain unused until He collects all the seventh years that are owned to Him and that’s why we have 70 years of the Babylonian captivity.

For 490 years Israel failed to keep the seventh year and we know their history and we looked at that in our previous study. It was a time of rebellion against God. God sent the prophets to them. They ignored the message of the prophets and so on. So then judgment fell and for 70 years Israel is off of the land. So we have 490 years, every seventh year.

Now we are going to come down after Daniel’s marvelous prayer in line with the Word of God and what God had said promising the nation, “If they repented of their sin, if they acknowledged their guilt,” and so on, “God would restore them to the land.”

So Daniel studying Jeremiah and also knowing the Law of Moses, he prays in accordance with that. “Lord, forgive us our sins,” and really acting on behalf of the nation as the intercessor for the nation even as Moses did, praying for God now to fulfill His promise to restore the land. He acknowledges the guilt of the nations and so on. While he is contemplating all of this and praying, verse 20 – 23 tells us what he was doing. “I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people, Israel.” No sin recorded about Daniel. That doesn’t mean he was a sinless person but he is an exemplary man of God yet he includes his sin. He identifies himself with the nation and he is praying for the nation, bringing his desire and request before God, at the end of verse 20, “In behalf of the holy mountain of my God.” That is Mount Zion. It’s Jerusalem representing the nation just like we would talk about Washington, the capital of our country representing what the United States is doing. You use the capital to refer to the nation. So here he is praying on behalf of the holy mountain because Jerusalem is the focal point. It is the center.

What about Israel? You know something about the coming history of the nations, the prophecy of the nations being their history just written before time. What about the nation, God, your promise to restore us.

“While he is speaking, the angel Gabriel” and he refers to the fact “whom I had seen in the vision previously” and in chapter 8 we saw Gabriel coming to speak to Daniel and to give him understanding and “he gave me instruction” verse 22 “and talked with me. O, Daniel, I am now come forth to give you insight with understanding. At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued. I have come to tell you for you are highly esteemed. So give heed to the message, gain understanding of the vision.”

So here now we are going to get new information, key information. What about Israel. We have seen the nations carried down to the climax, the kingdom that would be established. “The days of those kings, (chapter 2 said) God would set up a kingdom which would have no end.” We saw the same conclusion in chapter 7 but now God’s plan for Israel.

So verse 24 says: “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city.” The focal point of this information should be clear. You read Bible commentaries on Daniel and they say, “Well it says your people and your holy city, but you know, it’s a lot broader than that.” Your holy people could be any believer. No, just like in the revelation to the nations Babylon was Babylon, Greece was Greece, Rome was Rome and so on. Here ‘your people’ there is no doubt who are the people that Daniel belongs to. The people of Daniel are the Jews. What is the holy city that he was praying about? At the end of verse 20: “Praying on behalf of the holy mountain of my God.” What he prayed up in verse 16: “O, Lord in accordance with all Your righteous acts let not Your anger, Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain.” So here are 70 weeks that have been decreed for You, Your people and Your holy city, for the Jews and Jerusalem, 70 weeks.

Interesting, because what did we have? We have the 70 years captivity because for 490 years Israel had not observed the 7th year and 7 x 70 is 490. So in light of what Daniel has come to understand regarding Israel’s past history, the previous 490 years, now God unfolds the future 490 years of Israel’s history, 70 sevens.

Now there is discussion about what are the 70 sevens? We have it translated seventy weeks and you probably have in the margin of your Bible, units of seven, 70 sevens. And you will have to determine whether the sevens are seven-day weeks, seven years and some say these numbers are all symbolic, seven being the number of perfection this just talks about the perfection of God’s plan. We don’t look for any specific literal understanding of 70 and seven. Well you can’t do that with the previous understanding that Daniel has, can you? Well the 70 years captivity that just means any number of years will perfectly fulfill God’s plan and the 490 years God took that literally. We have the 70 years of captivity because for 490 years all these numbers but somehow when they get to prophecy some just decide, well you know the numbers are just symbolic. Why would the first part of the chapter have numbers that are literal and the last part of the chapter have numbers that are figurative? God’s intention is not to confuse us with revelation. It is to enlighten us with revelation. So I take it the 70 sevens are 70, seven year periods. This is going to become clear as we move through the section; 490 years are going to be broken in the plan of God.

Turn back to chapter 7. Look at verse 24. We are in the fourth kingdom here in Daniel chapter 7. Rome, the dreadful beast and then verse 24 talked about the ten horns. We have that down here, coming out of that kingdom. “Ten kings will arise and then another one after them,” so the little horn. Then we say in verse 25: “He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One. He will intend to make alterations in times and in law. They will be given into His hand for a time, times and a half time;” time and then times plural and then a half time.

Come over to Daniel chapter 12. Look at some of this and then it will come into play as we move through this last part of chapter 9. In Daniel chapter 12, verse 7: “I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times,” a different form of the word times here, it is a dual form. So time, two times and half time, three and one half times.

Come over to the book of Revelation and we will come to chapter 11. We will just take these in order. In Revelation chapter 11 we note the numbers here. At the end of verse 2: “They will tread underfoot the holy city for forty-two months.” Forty-two months is how long? It is a time, two times and a half time as will see. It is three and one half years, forty-two months, three and one half years.

It said in verse 3: “I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days.” A year in prophecy is 360 days. We won’t go in but they had a plan. Every so many years they made an adjustment to include but in the prophecy a year is about 360 days. We refer to that often as the prophetic year. We know that because 42 months is three and a half years. 1,260 days with 360 being a prophetic year is also the same as 42 months, three and a half years.

Come over to chapter 12, verse 6, at the end of the verse and here we are in the midst of the tribulation. We are going to come and talk about this middle point: “The woman (referring to Israel) fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she might be nourished for one thousand two hundred and sixty days,” three and one half years.

Chapter 12, verse 14: “Two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time and times and half time.” There is our expression from Daniel chapter 7 and Daniel chapter 12, time, times and a half time. Well that is the same thing that is said she would go to the wilderness to be protected by God in verse 12 for 1,260 days so the time, times and a half time is the same as 1, 260 days which we saw in verse 11 is the same as 42 months; all these referring to three and a half years.

You come down into chapter 13. Look at verse 5: “And there was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies; and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.” So we have it called, time, times and a half time. We are going to talk about it as a week, a seven year period divided in two as we will see in a moment. That is two three and one half year segments. The last half of that seven year period, 42 months, 1,260 days, a time, times and a half time, I think it is pretty clear what we are talking about here.

So you come back to Daniel chapter 9. When he says, “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people” he is talking about 70 times seven, 490 years. Daniel would pick that up immediately. I have just understood from Daniel that the seventy years captivity in Babylon is tied to the 490 years of Israel’s rebellious history. Now where do we go from here? Alright, here we are going to fit Israel in and bring them to the coming kingdom. We’ve brought the nations of the earth to the kingdom that the Messiah will set up. Now let’s get Israel there. It will be 490 years that have been decreed for your people, your holy city. Now what will be accomplished? Six things will be accomplished in this 490 year period. Number 1: to finish the transgression. The first three of these have to do with sin and keep in mind we are talking about the sin of the nation Israel and its guilt. To finish the transgression, the sin of Israel will be finally dealt with.

Remember in Romans chapter 11 after the fullness of the Gentiles is completed then all Israel will be saved, will be a national conversion. The whole issue of Israel’s transgression, “to make an end of sin” and God will bring judgment on the unbelieving in Israel. They will be judged and excluded from the kingdom that will be established.

Third: “To make reconciliation for iniquity.” So in the context of God bringing to an end Israel’s persistent rebellion, bringing judgment on them for their sin, there will be the final reconciliation where they enter into the New Covenant provision of the covenant and God will establish with that nation and they will become beneficiaries.

Remember now we as Gentiles are experiencing the salvation of the New Covenant that is part of what God covenanted with Abraham to bring blessing and the Gentiles have been grafted in to enjoy this but it’s really an ultimate promise for the nation Israel so reconciliation will occur at that time. This will go on.

The fourth thing to be accomplished for the Jews in Jerusalem: “To bring in everlasting righteousness.” We are going to establish a kingdom. That’s where we saw that Daniel chapter 2 goes with the Gentile nations. Daniel chapter 7 culminates with a Jewish kingdom ruled by a Jewish Messiah. How do we get there? Well, we have to deal with Israel’s sin and then we will bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up the vision in prophecy because we won’t need it anymore. Remember in the kingdom everyone won’t tell their family member or their neighbor about Christ for the knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. We won’t need any more prophecy. We don’t need any more visions. Seal it up and it will all be fulfilled and accomplished.

And sixth, to anoint the most holy place because in the holy city the holy place is the temple and Ezekiel chapters 40 to 48 focus on what, the description of the temple that will be in place in the millennium. It is a millennial temple and all the details given there.

So these six things will be accomplished in this 490 years of Israel’s future history. Keep in mind this is Israel’s future history. This is not the history of the world. This is the future history of the nation Israel in God’s plan to bring about their ultimate redemption and the establishing of the kingdom.

So let’s start this period and then move it along. So you are “to know and to discern.” I love that. You are to know and to discern. This is not just something that is to be hidden and closed. Gabriel came to give him understanding. Verse 22: “To give instruction. I have come to give you insight with understanding.” It is recorded for us so we can have insight and understanding.

“So you are to know (verse 25) and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.” Well, that gets us started where we are going to go from an issuing of a decree to rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince. We are going to have a total of 69 weeks, seven weeks and 62 weeks. Seven plus 62 is 69, 483 years will get us to the Messiah.

When do we start? There is discussion. Some say it’s the decree in the book of Ezra because Ezra was given permission to go and rebuild the temple but the beginning point here is the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. Some say Jerusalem just represents the temple. I don’t think so. I think the decree to rebuild the temple is different. The decree to rebuild Jerusalem is given in the book of Nehemiah. So why don’t you turn to Nehemiah. Nehemiah, chapter 1 Nehemiah is praying. It’s in this context he’s received word. He’s in Susa, the capital. The Persians are in power now. Verse 2: “Hanani, one of my brothers, and some men from Judah came.” They have been back in the land. “And I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped and had survived the captivity, and about Jerusalem. They said to me, “The remnant there in the province who survived the captivity are in great distress and reproach, and the wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates are burned with fire.” That goes back to the destruction Nebuchadnezzar brought on Jerusalem and when he finally came in for the third time, 586 put an end to their rebellion. So nothing has been done to restore the city or the walls of the city. “When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.” Here’s another man of God characterized by an intense prayer life. What does this do? Throw him into despair? No, he is overwhelmingly concerned and in humility he goes before the Lord. “I beseech You, O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and loving kindness of those who love Him and keep His commandments. Let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You.” And you will note he includes himself. I am part of the nation. “I and my father’s house have sinned. We have acted…” and on he goes in that prayer. That is the background.

You come into chapter 2: “It came about in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes” and he is the cupbearer before the king. A very important responsibility making sure the king doesn’t get poisoned and so on. “He takes the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence. The king said, “Why is your face sad though you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart.” Then I was very much afraid.” You know, you are not to bring your problems in before the king. You are here for the king’s servant and you don’t come in here looking like some sad face, down and out. How you are feeling doesn’t matter. You better come into the king’s presence looking good.

And then he has a burden on his heart, of course, what he has been praying in chapter 1. “I said to the king, “Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?” I have just been thinking about my home land and it is in terrible condition. Then the king could understand. A city with its walls torn down and gates burned with fire. It’s hardly a city. There is no security. There is no protection. There is no way to establish normal life is such condition. “So the king said, “What would you request?” it says in verse 4. “So I prayed to the God of heaven. I said to the king,” and this is a brief prayer here. But this brief prayer is backed up by the extensive prayer of chapter 1, the intense prayer there and now briefly as he opens his mouth to speak to the king he is asking God to give him wisdom, courage to say what he should and request what he should.

“If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.” That is where we are. That is why you have it dated so clearly in verse 1, “In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes” which was 444 B.C.

You read different ones. Some say it was 445 because it depends on how they start the beginning of the king what they call a ascendancy and so on. So some will say it is 445. Some say 444; 444 has become more the year most are settled on. It doesn’t make a big deal of difference. In the ultimate end it will make a year’s difference but you come up to the same kind of conclusion.

So the king gives him letters and he goes. That gives him the right with the king’s authority to have timbers cut and rebuild the walls, timbers for the gates and begin to rebuild the city. That is the decree that starts.

When we come back to Daniel chapter 9, verse 25: “You are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.” That’s it. We can date that in the kingship of Artaxerxes, 444 B.C. That gets us running on the 490 years. Now he breaks it down into two periods, this first 69 weeks. There will be seven weeks and 62 weeks.

Why don’t you put that chart up if you would? You can see here we’ve put it on the chart. You have the seven weeks, the 62 weeks totaling 69 weeks. 69 times seven is 483 years of course. Why the seven weeks? Well, at the end of verse 25: “It will be built again.” What will be built again? Well the decree was to rebuild Jerusalem. “It will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.” And if we went on and read the next couple verses we would read that there was opposition to the rebuilding of the city from the enemies there.

So really what the first 49 years do here is the rebuilding of Jerusalem is accomplished. The walls are rebuilt and the gate and so on. That is the point since he talked about decree started with the decree to rebuild Jerusalem. When he breaks it down he talks about when that is accomplished. Then we have 62 more weeks on top of those seven weeks. That will bring us 69 weeks and that brings us to Messiah, the Prince, 483 years. That’s 33 A.D. on the calendar as we would have it. 483 years brings us to 33 A.D. If you started in 445 you will come to 32 A.D. Both positions would bring you to Palm Sunday, either in 32 A.D. or 33 A.D. That is why I say it doesn’t make a huge difference in where we are coming. We are using 444 B.C. which would bring us to 33.

Now you will note in verse 26 the pattern here. “After the sixty-two weeks” which remember was after the seven weeks so it is after the total of 69 weeks. He stopped. He said, “Seven weeks and 62 weeks” and then he went back. In the seven weeks, the 49 years “it will be built again with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.”

Now we’ve got the city rebuilt, the walls and all. Let’s move on. Now sixty-two weeks later. “After the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing.” What is he talking about? And it is interesting here. Note the precision. It does not say, “In the seventieth week the Messiah will be cut off.” You would think that’s it if we are following consecutively. You would say “In the seventieth week the Messiah will be cut off.” So we want to be careful we don’t read into it what it doesn’t say. It says, “After sixty-nine weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing” referring to the crucifixion of Christ and if the 483 years end on Palm Sunday we know what happens that week. That means the sixty-ninth week was over and in that following week Christ is crucified and He has nothing even from the Jewish perspective. Where are we? There is no kingdom. He is not ruling in Jerusalem so He has nothing. This point, that He didn’t establish the kingdom. He has nothing. “And the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.” When the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. What happened in 70 A.D.? The Romans. Now note here. It’s the people of the prince who is to come. Now the prince who is to come is a prophetic figure but the people that he is part of. We are down here and this is the prince who will come but the people of this prince who are they? Where does he come from, out of the ten horns that come from where? Out of the dreadful beast. Who are the people represented by the dreadful beast? The Romans. So the people out of whom the prince is to come as we will see, this little horn, he had a prophetic figure. The Romans will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Well known history, in 70 A.D. the Romans came in and destroyed the city, the sanctuary.

Some of you have gone to Israel. You know you see something. The stone is thrown down. They still lay there from the destruction that took place; interesting the preciseness. So now you can fit this and you can see the importance. The people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city, how clear he is identified because you can follow this figure back and know who we are talking about, the Romans that were the ones who destroyed the city and the prince who is to come. Not talking about the Messiah, the Prince, but this other coming anti-Christ prince as we will see in a moment. “They will destroy the city and the sanctuary.” Its end will come with a flood. Even to the end there will be war, desolations are determined. And he, who are we talking about? Well the prince who is to come. Picking up now and moving on with Israel’s history “will make a firm covenant with the many for one week.” The many refers to the nation Israel here as we are talking about God’s plan for Daniel’s people Israel and Jerusalem. He’ll make a firm covenant with the many for one week. Remember we are talking about the seven year period, not a seven day period; a week of years, not a week of days. So that is why he said, “After sixty-two weeks, a total of sixty-nine weeks the Messiah is cut off.” There is a break. It is not revealed with clarity here but it’s provided for. The Messiah is cut off. It doesn’t say in the seventieth week it says after the sixty-ninth. It gives a starting point for that last seven year period. The prince who is to come will make a firm covenant with the many for one seven year period “but in the middle of the week he will put stop to sacrifice and grain offering.” What do we have? We have that breaking of that seven year period into two parts which we saw when we went to the book of Revelation and talked about 42 months, 1,260 days, a time, times and a half time. This seven year period is broken into two parts.

Let’s go to the other chart. You see this period here we have put in color is not in Old Testament prophecy so it’s not surprising that this is left out. Some who follow a different way of handling prophecy say “No, you can’t make a gap there.” But there are gaps you can’t get away from it. There are portions of the Scripture that talk about the first coming of Christ and the second coming of Christ and they talk about them together. Now we know they are separated by 2000 years. This, we are talking about Israel’s history. This is not Israel’s history in prophecy. We go from events right around the end of the 69th week and after that the Messiah cut off, a period of time associated with that and then what? We had a little more than a month. It wasn’t two months, 50 days, the church starts in Acts chapter 2 and Israel is set aside. Now is the time of the fullness of the Gentiles is that initial period of time in Acts the ministry starts and Jews are saved but we quickly move to Gentiles and this period of time is called the Church Age, the fullness of the Gentiles. Then we come back down here. Now back here you have the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. by the Romans and Jesus will talk about that in Matthew 24 as well but really then here is where we go.

Now let’s start this last seven year period. What happens? Well it starts Israel’s prophetic clock, if you will for Israel starts again. It stops, if you will after the 69th week and events just after the death of Messiah, the ultimate destruction of Jerusalem we just showed the final judgment coming on the nation during this period of time and incidentally it was in 130 A. D. Hadrian, the Roman emperor even renamed the land Palestine, passed a decree no Jew could live there. He wanted to annihilate any reference to the Jews connected to that land; characteristic of the judgment that they would experience.

So here we pick up. That why we are constantly referring to the 70th week of Daniel. It’s that last seven year period. It’s a week of years. This last seven year period divided into two three and a half year periods of time. It will start when the coming prince, the little horn of chapter 7, makes a firm covenant with the Jews for one week. In the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrificing grain offering. So in connection with this, the temple is going to be rebuilt before this seven year period we don’t know. All we know is that when we get into this seven year period Israel will have a temple and you are aware we have talked about this. Time magazine years ago had an article about the place in Jerusalem that is making (according to Biblical instructions) all the items necessary for a rebuilt temple, the garments the priests will need and so on. How will that all take place? Maybe it will be in the context of the covenant that this coming prince is able to establish but we know that during this period of time there is a temple and recent activity is going on in Judaism.

“On the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.” The one who establishes this covenant is going to break it, when? In the middle of the week. Well we all know what the middle of the seven year period is. It’s three and a half years in when he’ll break the covenant. He will put a stop to the sacrifices and on the wing of abominations comes one who makes desolate.

Come over to Matthew chapter 24 and here in the context the rejection of their Messiah is referred to. Jesus, at the end of chapter 23 and verse 37: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her?” Sounds something like the first 490 years that led to the Babylonian captivity doesn’t it? I sent you my servants, the prophets. You wouldn’t listen to them and they were persecuted, they were killed. So here Jesus said that is their characteristic.

“How often I wanted to gather your children together the way the hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. Behold, your house is being left to you desolate.” There is no going back. “For I say to you, from now on you shall not see Me until you say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.” Until Israel repents of their sin and turns to their Messiah and that is when all Israel will be saved and the Messiah will return from heaven in glory.

So chapter 24 they came out of the temple as Jesus comes out. His disciples came up to point out the buildings of the temple and this is a magnificent temple that Herod the great builder, Herod the Great wicked man that he was a genius in building buildings and that and he constructed and they added on and so on to the temple and made it a magnificent place.

“And He said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here shall be left upon another, which will not be torn down.” And if you have been to Jerusalem as many of you have you can go and see stones from the temple, the wailing wall there that is left and they take you around and you see those huge stones, that part of the temple and they have been pushed down and they are in a heaps there. This is a reminder of the fulfillment of what Jesus said in judgment has come.

“He’s sitting on the Mount of Olives and the disciples came to Him saying, “Tell us when will these things happen? What will be the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?” When are we going to have the kingdom? I mean in light of this, you know they are not clear because the Old Testament didn’t reveal the Church Age. Remember Peter said this was the problem of the Old Testament and his letter said the Old Testament prophets said they couldn’t understand how the Messiah could suffer and die and rule and reign in glory and they struggled and tried to search the Scriptures but they couldn’t put it together because it took further revelation. There is a period of time that fits in here that the Old Testament doesn’t deal with so they want to know. Remember when we get to Acts chapter 1 what is their question to Him even after His death on the cross, His resurrection, His instructing them for 40 days after the resurrection? “Will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” “Okay now we understand. You had to die on the cross to pay the penalty for sin, be raised from the dead. Now we can have the kingdom.” What did Jesus say? “You don’t need to know when the kingdom will be established. Here is what you are going to do. You are going to represent Me in the power of the Holy Spirit.” So they know that is going to take place down through 2,000 years of history to our day, the Gospel being proclaimed.

So Jesus goes on, unfolds and warns them about false Messiahs and really He is talking in the context and you could come down through here. What is going to go on in that seven year period? And the trials and difficulties but things are going to get worse so really when we break it down through the first eight verses you could have the first three and a half years then verse 9: “They will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations.” Why? Because in the middle of that seven year period that man who was able to bring peace to the Middle East, a semblance of peace to the world how would you not be drawn to that man. He will be the most dynamic, attractive appealing man the devil has ever put forth. People will be in awe of him. His life will be connected with miracles, demonstrations of power to the point that people will begin to recognize him as god. He is the anti-Christ. So the struggles of that last three and a half years.

Then verse 15 Jesus goes back now. “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet” which we just read about in Daniel chapter 9, verse 27: “On the wing of abomination comes one who makes desolate,” the abomination of desolation. “When you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet standing in the Holy Place let the reader understand.”

Isn’t it amazing? We make such a mess of prophecy today? Well you know, it’s not easy to understand and he says, “You ought to understand this. I am telling you so you can understand it. What is the abomination of desolation? It is something real. It will stand in the Holy Place. What is the Holy Place? It is the temple. Then you better pay attention. For the Jews this is the turning point. “Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. If you are on the housetop, you know often their roofs, the flat roofs, there was a place to go up and catch the breeze and so on. Don’t even go back down in the house to get an added coat or something. That is how quickly persecution will break out. It’s almost instant. When you see that abomination standing in the temple all you can do is run and hide as fast as you can. If you are in the field don’t go back to get a coat. “Woe to those who are pregnant, those who are nursing babies.” I mean a terrible condition. You’ve got a pregnant woman or a new baby, how are you going to flee? You are naturally slowed down and those who are slowed down won’t make it. And pray it won’t be in winter or on the Sabbath. These are days when we are going you know, back to Jewish laws.

Years ago when we were in Israel our guide was complaining about the ultra-Orthodox Jews bringing everything to a halt on the Sabbath. It’s killing our commerce. Well they are going back to that eventually and so on. Why? “For then there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now nor ever will be.” The worst is yet to come.

That is why people say the problem with those who take a literal interpretation of the Scripture, pre-tribulational, pre-millennialists as we are called, they are pessimists. Well what do you read here, the worst tribulation that the world has ever seen is yet future? I wouldn’t say that is optimistic. I say that is pretty pessimistic for the people of the world, wouldn’t you and it’s going to be so bad unless Christ intervenes verse 22, “no life would be saved.” I mean that is how bad it is going to be.

So we look around and we say, “What is going on, what is going to happen in the future?” We know what is going to happen in the future. It is going to get much worse. “Oh what about my kids? What about my grandkids?” Each day has enough trouble of its own. Relax. We know the final chapter. This is not it because then we will come and see the Lord returning in glory and we have to stop here but we will pick up here in our next study because we don’t want to leave ourselves at the end of the tribulation but this is the unfolding. This is what the whole book of Revelation is about. That is why people who don’t take what the Bible says about prophecy literally come to the book of Revelation and they don’t know which end is up. They are in a world of confusion and we’ve got all these symbols and nobody is sure what it means but we know it’s probably important. It is not so difficult. It is just a follow through, filling out God’s plan for Israel.

You know the nations of the earth were laid out because there is one nation God chose for Himself, the nation Israel. Important we understand where it’s going.

Isn’t it interesting? The whole world’s focused on Israel. The greatest nation in the world as we think of ourselves whether it’s true anymore or not at least that’s the way we can talk. The leader of Israel comes and throws our whole nation into uproar, the President and the Secretary of State and everybody else. Who cares? Everybody cares. Why? Because the heart of what God is doing is preparing Israel for the coming judgment.

Let’s pray together. Thank You Lord for the revelation of Your Word. Lord thank You that You have given this truth so that we should understand it, live in light of it, see Your hand at work in the world, have full confidence in You, unshaken, undisturbed because we belong to You. You are our heavenly Father. You care for us. You provide for us and we see that You are a God of Your Word because everything that You promised for the nation, to the nation will come about, the terrible judgments they must experience to bring them to repentance so that they can experience the wonderful blessings You have promised. Lord thank You for Your purposes and plans for the church in these days and the privilege that is ours to live in this time when Your salvation has been provided to Gentiles unworthy and undeserving but experiencing the blessings You promised in the covenant you made with Abraham, the provision that You provided in the New Covenant in Christ. Lord we are blessed to live every day in light of the promises You have given we pray in Christ’s name, amen.