The Backbone of Bible Prophecy
Matthew 24:15; Daniel 9:24-27
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/Backbone.html
Jesus tells us to turn back to Daniel, so we’d better do what we’re told! It is the skeletal structure of all prophecy, so it can be a great help in our study of the end times.
v. 24-27
The Period of Time
v. 24
70 weeks of years, not days. In the original language the word week is the word ‘seven’. The word week here is used like we use the word ‘dozen’ to describe a category of 12.
Ex.: if we said ’70 dozen are determined’ we could ask, ’70 dozen what?...is it 70 days, years, millennia? In this case it is years.
Another example:
Leviticus 25:8
And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.
We’ll reveal the 70 weeks in pt. 2 [scroll down] But first, it’s good to lay more groundwork...
The People
v. 24 ‘thy people’ = the Jews = a God ordained, God decreed, God conceived, and God protected nation.
Deuteronomy 7:6
For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
• A prominent people-they represent less than .4% of the world’s population, and yet you can write all of human history around the names of just 6 Jews: Moses, Paul, Marx, Freud, Einstein, and Jesus Christ. In the information age about 1/3rd of Nobel Prize winners have been Jews.
• A blessed people- Genesis 12:3
And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
I can preach tonite because of the Jewish race, who gave me a Savior, and the Word of God.
Romans 3:1
What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?
What good is it to be a Jew? He asks this question because back in chapter 2 he just pointed out that a person isn’t saved just because they are a Jew. They still have to accept their Messiah and be born again. So what advantage is there to being a Jew?
Romans 3:2
2 Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
God used them to write the Bible!
Deuteronomy 4:5-6
5 Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. 6 Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
God deposited His wisdom and knowledge into His people to share w/ the world.
And God still has a wonderful plan for the future of the nation of Israel!
Prominent, blessed...
• Indestructible- Psalms 89:27-37
27 Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth. 28 My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him. 29 His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven. 30 If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments; 31 If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments; 32 Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. 33 Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail. 34 My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips. 35 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. 36 His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. 37 It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.
They have endured unspeakable atrocities under the likes of Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great, Titus, Nero, Adolf Hitler, and the former Soviet Union...and yet they exist today in their native land! The Nile river could not drown the Jews, nor could the Red Sea. Jonah’s whale could not digest a Jew! Haman’s gallows could not hang a Jew, a fiery furnace could not consume them, the nations of the world could neither assimilate them nor annihilate them!
The Period is 490 years, the People are the Jews...
The Place
v. 24 Jerusalem, like no other place on the face of the earth. But there will never be peace on earth until there’s peace there, which only the Prince of Peace will truly bring. The West Bank, the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip, etc...they will never be resolved issues until Jesus resolves them. The 35 acres that make up the Temple Mount is the most disputed tract of land on the planet! It will be center stage for the countdown to Armageddon.
Zechariah 12:2-3
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. 3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
To the Jew, the Temple mount was where Abraham offered his son, Isaac, where Jesus offered Himself as the Lamb of God, and where the 3rd temple must be built soon. [By the way, priests have been being trained for temple worship for the last 20 years, and garments and articles have been being fashioned, instruments of temple worship, etc...all in preparation for what could come at any time!]
To the Muslim, it is one of their most holy places, where the Dome of the Rock now sits.
Ezekiel 5:5
Thus saith the Lord GOD; This is Jerusalem: I have set it in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her.
It is the capital city of the world, the center of the hub of all that is...mentioned over 800 times in the Bible. Destroyed several times but always rebuilt. We don’t know if Washington will always be here, or Paris, or London, or Tokyo...but Jerusalem does have a future, no matter what!
Psalms 2:6
Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
God calls Jerusalem His holy hill!
Isaiah 62:1
For Zion’s sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not rest, until the righteousness thereof go forth as brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burneth.
Zechariah 1:17
Thus saith the LORD of hosts; My cities through prosperity shall yet be spread abroad; and the LORD shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose Jerusalem.
Zechariah 2:12
And the LORD shall inherit Judah his portion in the holy land, and shall choose Jerusalem again.
Matt. 5:35 says not to swear by Jerusalem because it is the city of the great King.
Did you know Jerusalem means “city of peace”? Ironic, considering history...but peace is coming one day!
Back to Dan. 9...
The Purpose
v. 24 The verse ends w/ a 5 fold purpose for these 70 weeks.
“to finish the transgression and make an end of sins”
=
To figure out what has been wrong
“to make reconciliation for iniquity”
=
To make it right
“to bring in everlasting righteousness”
=
To keep it right
“to seal up the vision and prophecy”
=
To close the deal
[God will put the last period on the last sentence on the last page of the last chapter of the last book of human history, but w/ God the end is only the beginning!]
“to anoint the most Holy”
=
To rule and reign forever, with all Who have followed Him.
Back to our text in Mt. 24:15
Matthew 24:15
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
We’ll talk about that abomination of desolation from Dan. 9 on Wed. Nite. It will take place at the mid point of the tribulation, and Jesus says for us to make sure and understand.
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pt. 2
Last time:
The period – 70 weeks [of years] = 490 years
The people – God’s chosen people, Israel
The place – Jerusalem, the Holy City
The purpose – listen to first message
Now:
The program – the actual prophecy and what the 70 weeks are all about.
1. The commencement of the count.
v. 25a Israel’s prophetic clock began to tick when the commandment rebuild Jerusalem was given. [2 Chron. 36 / Ezra 1] “The first year of Cyrus, King of Persia.” [his was the first decree given of 3, ending w/ Artaxerxes in 444 B.C., March 21st on our calendar, to be exact.
2. The coming of the Christ.
v. 25b
7 weeks of years = 49 yrs.
62 weeks of years = 434 yrs.
The total is 483 years. Multiply times 360 days [the ancient calendar was based on this] A prophetic year in the Bible is always 360 days.
This totals 173,880 days. Do the math and you land on Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry, March 30th, A.D. 33. [H. W. Hoehner’s Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ]
We serve an on time God, and He’s not going to be late for you, either!
As Jesus approached Jerusalem on that Sunday, walking down the slopes of the Mount of Olives, He paused, and probably it was with tears that He said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem”, if only they knew the things that belonged to them on this, their day! No wonder He refused the Kingship.
John 6:15
When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.
Matthew 16:20
Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
He kept this low profile throughout His ministry until this day arrived!
We believe the Bible by faith, but it’s not a blind faith, but a well founded, well grounded, reasonable faith!
3. The crucifixion on the cross.
v. 26a
“cut off”
Isaiah 53:8
He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
This means that He would die.
v. 26b
“but not for Himself”
He didn’t die for His own sins, for He had none.
2 Corinthians 5:21
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
“I should have been crucified!”
Commencement of the count, coming of the Christ...
4. The collapse of the city.
v. 26c
“The prince that shall come” = the antichrist.
“The people of the prince” = the Romans.
“destroy the city and the sanctuary” = Titus, the Roman General destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70.
5. The calling of the church.
v. 26d
“unto the end wars and desolations are determined” [literal reading]
This is an indeterminate period of time. God calls a time out and the prophetic clock stops ticking. 69 weeks of years have gone by, there’s only 1 more week [7 years to go].
This is because Israel rejected her Messiah and King. Welcome to the church age! This interim period is a layover which lasts ‘until the fullness of the Gentiles’ be come in. God turned from the Jews to the Gentiles, and we should be thankful that He did! We don’t know when but someday soon God will look down from glory and see a sinner repenting and will turn to His Son and tell Him to go and get His bride...and hey, Gabriel, blow your horn!
This is the rapture of the church, and the end of the church age. Our redemption will be complete. I’ll get a glorified body better than Jason’s, and it won’t break on me! We’ll see loved ones gone on before, and every tear will be wiped away. There will be rewards and riches and royalty as we rule and reign w/ Him. There will be rapture at the rapture...and I’m gonna get carried away, when I get carried away!
1 Peter 4:13
But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.
6. The confirmation of the covenant.
v. 27
The antichrist makes a 7 year peace treaty, playing right into God’s hands he unwittingly starts the prophetic clock ticking again, and now the last of the 70 weeks is underway. He promises to protect Israel for 7 years.
Antichrist compared to Jesus Christ:
Jesus Christ came down from heaven [Jn. 6:36]
*Antichrist will ascend from the bottomless pit [Rev. 11:7]
Jesus Christ came in His Father’s name [Jn. 5:43]
*Antichrist will come in His own name [Jn. 5:43]
Jesus Christ humbled Himself and became obedient unto death [Phil. 2]
*Antichrist will exalt himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped [2 Thess. 2:4]
Jesus Christ was despised and rejected of men [Is. 53:3]
*Antichrist will be admired and wondered after and worshipped [Rev. 13:13-14]
Jesus Christ came into the world to do His Father’s will [Jn. 6:38]
*Antichrist will do his own will [Dan. 11:36]
Jesus Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost [Luke 19:10]
*Antichrist shall destroy the mighty and the holy people [Dan. 8:24]
Jesus Christ is the good shepherd [Jn. 10:11]
*Antichrist shall eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces [Zech. 11]
Jesus Christ is the true Vine [Jn. 15:1]
*Antichrist will be the vine of the earth [Rev. 14]
Jesus Christ is the truth that sets men free [Jn. 8:32]
*Antichrist will be a liar [2 Thess. 2:11]
Jesus Christ is the holy One of God [Mark 1:24]
*Antichrist will be that Wicked [2 Thess. 2:8]
Jesus Christ is the sinless one [Heb. 4:15]
*Antichrist is the man of sin [2 Thess. 2:3]
Jesus Christ was the virgin born, only begotten of God [Luke 1:35]
*Antichrist will be the son of perdition [2 Thess. 2:3]
Jesus Christ is the mystery of Godliness [1 Tim. 3:16]
*Antichrist is called the mystery of iniquity [2 Thess. 2:7]
Who is the antichrist? I don’t know, and I don’t want to know...I’m not looking for the antichrist, but for Jesus Christ!
If you see the antichrist it will mean:
• Whatever religion you had, if any, was false. You missed the rapture. You may have known ‘about’ Jesus, but you didn’t KNOW Him personally.
• God, who used to be for you, is now against you.
• You have entered a nightmare beyond description.
• Your destiny will be same as the god you have followed.
Revelation 20:10
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Again, the antichrist promises to protect Israel for 7 years. Israel has never trusted her national defense to anyone, but they will with him, because he will be so deceptively loving, kind, and wise...such a gifted peacemaker!
• There will be a one world government [The New World Order]
• He will allow the Jews to rebuild their Temple, which will fit on the open area of the temple mount beside the Dome of the Rock if necessary. [if court of the Gentiles left off!]
• Animal sacrifices will resume, and priests will once again enter the Holy Place.
• Halfway thru the week [3.5 years] the antichrist will break his covenant.
v. 27b
He will enter that temple where they are sacrificing lambs and will say get this trash outta here! Take away your bloody sacrifices. You want to know who God is? You’re looking at him!
This is the abomination of desolation!
Dan. 12:11, 11:31 {Antiochus Epiphanes}
2 Thessalonians 2:4
Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
The antichrist is the devil incarnate [in the flesh] and he will have his day saying, I am God, worship me!
What did Jesus say to do?
Back to our main text in Matthew 24:15...
Matthew 24:15-22
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) 16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
You don’t want to be here...and you don’t have to be!
Ill.—years ago men sat on the deck of a steamer heading up the Delaware River. They looked over Philadelphia and noticed a bright orange sky. There was a yellow flicker, almost like a fireworks display...it intrigued them. They sat on the ship smiling, entertained by what they saw. When they got to the landing, got off the ship, and got the word that their factory had just burned to the ground. The very event that ruined them for life they had been smiling about.
Many today scoff at the end of the world. Let’s pray that they heed the warning now from some distance, before their ship is sunk!
I believe that we are the terminal generation. I’m not setting dates, but reminding you that all the ducks are in a row, and all things are ready, and Jesus said He would be coming quickly!
7. The completion of the count.
The last half of the tribulation is hell on earth, and 3.5 years go by slowly when you are scrapping to stay alive every minute of every day! But at the end of those 7 years the 70 weeks are up, and God’s kingdom will come to earth--the prophetic clock can hang in heaven’s museum, for time will be no more!
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/Backbone.html
