INTRODUCTION AND REVIEW
Last week we launched a study of biblical prophecy with one question in mind: Will Christians go through the Tribulation Period? Finding an answer to that one question is not easy. To intelligently answer it, we must consider a vast amount of biblical revelation. Twenty-seven percent of the Bible is prophecy. It involves 150 chapters of scripture. Quoting a few proof texts to defend a position is simply inadequate. We need a comprehensive approach to our inquiry.
So, we began by identifying three concepts foundational to our understanding prophecy. We are exploring those three subjects before pushing toward an answer to the question. The three concepts are:
1) The Method to Use for Interpreting Bible Prophecy
2) God’s Purpose for the Tribulation Period
3) The Mystery of the Church Age.
Last week we addressed the first one: The Method of Interpreting Bible Prophecy. In that message we considered the two prevalent methods of interpretation: the Allegorical method and the Literal method, also called the grammatical-historical method. We rejected the allegorical method because it fails to give adequate weight to what the Bible actually says, and it allows too much opportunity for the interpreter to inject his or her own ideas into the interpretation. We chose the literal method because it holds the interpreter more accountable to the inspired words of Scripture. In our discussion of the literal method we talked about some of the challenges of applying the method since there is symbolism in the Bible and various genres of literature are used to convey the message. But even with those challenges, the literal method is the most reliable approach.
Many of the variation in interpretation of prophecy are due to the use of a different method of interpretation. Therefore, from the beginning we must be clear on which method we’re going to use. Then we must consistently apply that method when interpreting Scripture. This would turn into a course on hermeneutics if we dealt with that issue in any comprehensive way. But it must be addressed before we try to answer our question.
This week as I sought the Lord for today’s message, I was impressed to slow down and not push thorough this material so rapidly. God seems to be leading us to a more extensive study of Bible prophecy than I initially thought. With that in mind, I want to touch upon one additional principle of interpreting prophecy in Scripture. It is the principle of progressive revelation.
The principle of progressive revelation recognizes the way revelation is built upon previous revelation in the Bible. A truth will first be given in seed form. Then it will bud into more detail. Finally, it blossoms into a full flower of truth. The fuller revelation builds upon previous revelation and never contradicts it.i Take for example the all-important revelation in Genesis 3:15 spoken by God to Satan after Adam’s fall. “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed [Messiah]; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel [at the cross].”ii That is the first prophecy of Christ. Not much detail is given, but the truth is provided in seed form. In the Old Testament the revelation is expanded to reveal that Christ (Messiah) would come through the tribe of Judah (Gen. 49:10), and later it was revealed that Messiah would be a descendant of David (2 Sam. 7:16). Of course, the gospels’ account of the death and resurrection of Jesus provides much more insight on exactly what Genesis 3:15 meant. Then the epistles explain its significance more fully.
What are the implications of this for interpreting the Bible? The more-current revelation in Scripture never contradicts the previous, less-complete revelation. It builds upon what has already been revealed and opens the truth more fully. Additionally, when I have greater clarity on a truth in the New Testament, that revelation can help me understand the earlier revelation better.iii For example, we understand Daniel 9:24-27, a passage we will look at today, with more clarity because Jesus explained it more fully in Matthew 24 and the book of Revelation deals with those truths in even more detail.
So, our first issue was the method of interpretation used. We reject the allegorical method and use the literal method.
II. GOD'S PURPOSE FOR THE TRIBULATION PERIOD. Any answer to our question must coincide with this vital issue.
The purpose of the tribulation period in Scripture is two-fold:
(1) the outpouring of God’s wrath on the unbelieving, gentile nations and
(2) the preparation of Israel to receive her Messiah. That is the reason there is a tribulation period.
First, the wrath of God is being poured out on the gentile nations, especially during the last half of that seven-year period. The theme of wrath is prominent in the book of Revelation. It is referenced at least a dozen times.
For example, Revelation 6:15-17 says, “And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
Revelation 15:1: “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them the wrath of God is complete.” And in 15:7: “Then one of the four living creatures gave to the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God who lives forever and ever.” This is not a time of God correcting His children or purifying His church. It is God venting His wrath on the wicked world.
In contrast, Paul tells the Christians at Thessalonica, “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:9). Jesus bore the wrath of God on the cross for us so that we would never come under that condemnation. Christians receive correction and discipline (Heb. 12:3-11) but they are not subject to the wrath of God.
The message of the rapture is a message of comfort for the believer. After declaring the coming rapture/resurrection of the just in 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul concludes with these words: “Therefore comfort one another with these words.” The message of the rapture is not a warning of pending wrath for the believer. It is a message of comfort and assurance.
The other purpose of the tribulation period is to complete God’s preparation for Israel to receive her Messiah.
In Jeremiah 30:7 refers to this as “the time of Jacob’s trouble.” It is never referred to as the time of the church’s trouble.iv The seven-year tribulation people is specifically related to Israel, rather than the church.
The key passage that prophesies this seven-year period is Daniel 9:24-27. That passage lays out God’s plan for Israel and is essential to understanding expanded revelation of end-time prophecy. This is where we get the seven-year tribulation period. The seven-year period is explained more fully by John the Revelator. But this is the key passage that reveals the Tribulation Period as a seven-year event.
This revelation came in the context of Daniel seeking God about Israel’s future.v In answer to Daniel’s prayer God sent Gabriel with the revelation recorded in Daniel 9:24-27.
In verse 24 Gabriel says, “Seventy weeks are determined For your people [Daniel’s people are the nation of Israel] and for your holy city [Jerusalem], To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, [to finish the appointed judgment for the nation’s unfaithfulness] To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy” At the conclusion of the seventy weeks the righteous rule of Messiah will be established and Israel will flourish as God’s people..
Seventy weeks refers to 490 years to prepare Israel for the Millennial glory. Each week represents seven years. Seventy times seven years is 490 years.
Verse 25 continues, “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, [Christ] There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.” God began this 490-year prophetic clock in 445 B. C. with the commandment by Artaxerxes to restore Jerusalem (Neh. 2). There were other decrees prior to that for the rebuilding of the temple, but this decree authorized the full restoration of the city, Jerusalem.vi God started this prophetic clock at 445 B.C.
The first 69 weeks (483 years) was made up of 7 weeks (49 years) plus 62 weeks (434 years). The seven-week period was from the decree in 445 B.C. (Neh. 2) to the covenant renewal celebrated at Jerusalem in Nehemiah 9 (396 B. C.).
In verse 25, why was the seven weeks distinguished from the 62 weeks? Why didn’t verse 25 simply say there would be 69 weeks “from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince”? It’s because there would be a partial fulfillment in the relatively near future in Nehemiah’s day,vii but the ultimate fulfillment would not come until the full 70 weeks were accomplished at the end of the Tribulation Period.
The 62 weeks (434 years) was from the dedication of the second temple (396 B.C.) to the crucifixion of Christ. Verse 26 says, “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself. [That’s a reference to the cross.] And the people of the prince who is to come [the prince here is the Antichrist and his people are the Roman Empire) Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.” In 70 A.D. the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (the temple) were destroyed by the Roman Empire just as Jesus prophesied in Matthew 23:37-24:2).
So, the 49 years plus the 434 years is 483 years.
That leaves 7 of the 490 unfulfilled. Since the first 483 years were literally fulfilled, it follows the last 7 years will be literal years. That is the seven-year tribulation period. It is the final week of God’s preparation of Israel to receive Messiah and the fulfillment of Old Testament promises to the nation during Millennial reign of Christ.viii
Because Israel rejected the Messiah at His first advent, God turned to the gentiles with the gospel and ushered in the church age on the Day of Pentecost. The church and the thousands of years between Christ’s crucifixion and the final week of God’s dealings with Israel was a mystery not revealed in the Old Testament.ix So there is a lengthy gap between Daniel 9:26 and Daniel 9:27 when the final seven years are fulfilled.
The people who destroyed the city of Jerusalem and the sanctuary after Jesus’s death on the cross was the Roman Empire. The prince mentioned in 9:27 is the Antichrist. “Then he [the Antichrist] shall confirm a covenant with many [with Israel] for one week [seven years]; But in the middle of the week [3 ½ years] He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”
Jesus spoke about the abomination that makes desolate in Matthew 24:15 as a future event. There He warned, “Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 "then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. [Notice how Jewish this setting is] 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matt. 24:15-22). Those last 3½ years will be a time of horrific trouble all over the world with intense persecution by the Antichrist. The record in Revelation (especially chapters 12 and 13) details this out more fully.
The following outline might help you grasp the flow of Daniel 9:24-27.
70 WEEK PLAN FOR ISRAEL
Vs 24 --- 70 weeks (week = 7 years) ----from 445 B.C.---------------to end of tribulation period
Vs 25 --- 7 weeks (49 years) ----------------from 445 B.C decree----to 396 B.C. Renewal (Neh. 9)
62 weeks (434 years) -------------- from 396 B.C.-------------- to 32 A.D. Crucifixion
Subtotal: 69 weeks (483 years)
Vs 26 --- Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in 70 A.D.
GAP --- Hidden Mystery (Church Age) from Acts 2 (Day of Pentecost) -------to Rapture
Vs 27--- 1 week (7 years) --------------from End of Church Age – to End of Tribulation Period
That is our understanding of this passage.
Two questions about our interpretation must be answered before we move on.
First, how do we know the weeks spoken of in this passage are seven years and not seven days. This question arises because of the English translation. For the typical English reader, a week means seven days. But for the Jew in Daniel’s day, the Hebrew word shabua meant seven days or seven years depending on the context. Jews we socially cognizant of the seven-year shabua because key ordinances revolved around it. They were to till the land six years and let the land rest on the seventh year (Lev. 25:3-4). A Hebrew servant was to serve six years and on the seventh year he was to be set free (Deut. 15:12). The context of a restoration of Israel included a return of the Jewish captives to the land, and that would be followed by rebuilding the city and the temple. It would not have been reasonable to include all those events in 490 days. So, Daniel immediately understood the week in our passage as referring to seven years.x In confirmation of this understanding, we can look back in history and affirm the prophecies were not fulfilled in 490 days. We can also look back at the first 69 weeks and see they were precisely fulfilled in 483 lunar years.xi
The bigger issue is how do we know there is a gap between the 69th and 70th week, between verses 26 and verse 27. The mystery is explained in the New Testament, and we will deal with those passages shortly. When the gap is recognized a lot of Scripture that would not otherwise make sense falls into place.
The only alternative to the gap is that there is not a gap. The absence of a gap creates all kinds of interpretation problems. Of course, some solve this by using the allegorical method and attaching spiritualized meanings not supported by what the Scripture actually says. We have rejected that method for the reasons already stated.
What happens when you insist that no gap exists? Let’s consider that question.
It’s easy to understand verse 26 refers to the time of Christ’s crucifixion followed by the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. Notice, the gap of about 40 years between the crucifixion and the destruction of Jerusalem described in the last part of the verse.xii Look at verse 26: “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself [the crucifixion of Christ]; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city [Jerusalem] and the sanctuary [the temple]. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.” That happened in 70 A.D.
If you allow no gap, then some amazing things must happen by 77 A.D. The Antichrist has to make a seven-year covenant with Israel to restore the daily sacrifices. That requires the rebuilding of the temple and the resumption of the daily sacrifice.xiii Then in the middle of the seven years the Antichrist has to break the covenant and desecrate the sanctuary.
According to Jesus’s words in Matthew 24:21 that has to be followed by a time of great tribulation “such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” Following that great tribulation, according to Matthew 24:29-30, profound events must follow. “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” If the 70 weeks were fulfilled by 77 A.D., the glorious restoration of Israel as prophesied for the nation would have immediately followed. All the blessings listed in Daniel 9:24 would be fulfilled.
None of that happened! The temple was not rebuilt. The daily sacrifice was not restored. There was no seven-year covenant made with Israel. There was no time of trouble “such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” The trouble during World War II was far more devastating than anything that happened from 32 A.D. to 77 A.D. The sun and moon did not stop shinning; the stars did not fall from heaven. Christ did not return “on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” Instead of becoming the head of the nations at the end of that seven years and enjoying all the prominence and blessing promised by God through the prophets, Israel was scattered and was not even a nation until 1948. Taking the gap out, results in an interpretation that history clearly proves to be false.xiv
Therefore, acknowledging a time gap between Daniel 9:26 and verse 27 makes much more sense than not recognizing it. That gap is what we typically refer to as the Church Age. We will now examine New Testament passages that tell us it was hidden in the Old Testament and is fact currently happening. So, we move to our third foundational concept.
II. THE MYSTERY OF THE CHURCH AGE
Our explanation of the gap between the verse 26 and 27 of Daniel 9 is the church age. How do we know that there is a gap of time there? The answer cannot be found in the Old Testament. The revelation of that gap did not come until after Israel rejected and crucified their Messiah. The offer of full restoration to Israel at Christ’s first advent was a bonified offer. Had Israel received her Messiah, there would have been no gap. Of course, God who knows all things knew what would happen.xv But the church age was hidden in the Old Testament so that Israel would be free to receive Jesus as the Messiah if she would do so.
Notice how the last (70th) week in Daniel 9:24-25 is set off from the others. Verse 24 says 70 weeks are determined. But in verse 25 only 69 weeks are discussed as seven plus 62. That is a hint that there is something unique about the 70th week. And the rest of Scripture affirms this.
Daniel 9:26 says, “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; [That’s the crucifixion.] And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.” That’s the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
That rejection of Messiah marked the temporary end of God’s dealings with Israel as a nation. It concluded the 69 weeks and marked the beginning of the Church Age which was launched on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2).
The Church Age is described in the New Testament as a mystery. A mystery [musterion] as biblical terms is not something puzzling that you can figure out. It is a truth that can only be known if God reveals it.xvi God did not reveal it to Daniel or any of the other Old Testament saints.xvii After Jesus was rejected, crucified, and ascended into heaven, God revealed to Paul and the apostles this mystery of the church age.
In Ephesians 3:2-6 Paul wrote, “If indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God [that’s the church age] which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery [musterion] (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, [it was hidden in the Old Testament] as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, [the church] and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel.”xviii
During this Church Age the wall of separation between Jew and Gentile is broken down (Eph. 2:13-22). A biological Jew gets saved the same way a gentile gets saved. They are both saved into one Body. Galatians 3:26-29 says, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”xix
In contrast, during the old covenant the distinction between Jew and gentile was strictly observed. A gentile could only be saved by becoming a Jewish proselyte and must worship at the temple in the court of the gentiles. Similarly, during the Tribulation period we see God sealing 144,000 Jews in Revelation 7. The woman being persecuted in Revelation 12 is Israel. The nation of Israel is in focus there. In this current church age “there is neither Jew nor Greek [gentile].”
Paul deals with this matter extensively in Romans 9-11. Without this interlude called the Church Age it is impossible to make any sense of Romans 9-11. In Rom 11:25-26 Paul wrote, “For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.”xx A judicial blindness came on the nation of Israel after they rejected Messiah, but in the end times that blindness will be lifted and they will ultimately receive Jesus as their Messiah. But God’s program from the Day of Pentecost until the initiation of Daniel’s seventh week is the Church—something not anticipated in the Old Testament.
There are two great mountains of Old Testament prophecy. One mountain is those predictions concerning the first advent of Christ and the other mountain is the predictions concerning His second coming. Between those mountains, hidden from the Old Testament saints, was a great valley of time, the Church Age.xxi
If God started His program with the church when He ended the 69th week of His dealings with Israel, it is logical that He would conclude the church age as He starts up the 70th week for the Jewish nation. That conclusion of the church age is probably the rapture as an event, just as the Day of Pentecost was an event that began the Church Age. It’s not impossible that God would continue the church age into the Tribulation period, allowing a seven-year overlap. But that would be inconsistent with the more distinct timing on the Day of Pentecost. It’s more likely that He will conclude the church age with the rapture as He resumes His program (70th week) with Israel. That is not a conclusive argument for a pretribulation rapture, but it should be considered.
We have now considered three foundational concepts:
1) The method to Use for Interpreting Bible Prophecy
2) God’s purpose for the Tribulation Period
3) The Mystery of the Church Age.
We have done that in preparation of attempting an answer to one question: Will Christians go through the Tribulation period? We have spent a lot of time looking at Daniel 9:24-27 because it is a pivotal passage in biblical prophecy. It is important to understand what it’s saying. When Israel rejected and crucified her Messiah, God put His program for the nation of Israel on pause. He initiated the Church Age on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. At the end of the Church Age He will restart His program to prepare Israel to receive her Messiah. That seven-year period is the Tribulation Period.
Next week we will lay a little more foundation, then begin to examine the various positions on the timing of the rapture in relation to the Tribulation period. Until then, keep looking up for your redemption draws near!
