Countdown in the Holy Land

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Take your Bibles and turn to the prophet Daniel.

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Daniel chapter 9, and we’re going to be studying there in just a moment. But may I tell you now that the eyes of the world are on the Middle East. Things are changing, aren’t they? And they’re changing rapidly. Who would have ever thought that out of Europe would come such a unified voice that they say we are now going to be the strong arm to enforce peace in the Middle East. Of course, we all know that ultimately Satan’s Superman is going to come out of unified Europe. And through peace, he will destroy many. And the Israeli will see him as their friend and benefactor. It’s all wrapped up in one little nation. which is the focal point of it all, the tiny state of Israel. Now, what is happening in the world today? Well, we may not know every detail, but my dear friend, God has given us a broad outline. God has given us a blueprint. God has given us an indicator that we can take the newspapers in one hand and the Bible in the other hand and And we can know to a great degree what’s going on in the world. I want you to begin reading with me now in the book of Daniel, chapter 9 and verse 24. Daniel has been praying. And he’s been saying, Lord, I want to know. I want to know, Lord, what you’re up to. I want to know, Lord, what is the future of my people. Now, my friend… An understanding man prays and a praying man gets understanding. So God spoke to Daniel and this is what God said to him in verse 24. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins and to make reconciliation for iniquity and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and anoint the most holy. First of all, I want you to notice what I’m going to call the period. God is speaking of a specific period of time. And He says in verse 24, “…seventy weeks are determined.” 70 weeks. Now, what does that mean? Well, it means 490 years. You say, well, why doesn’t it say 490 years? Well, actually what it says is 70 sevens. 70 heptads. You and I get the idea that a week is seven days. But in Bible times, they had weeks of years as well as weeks of days. And the word literally does not mean seven days. It just means 70 sevens. And it’s obvious as you look at the scripture here that he’s not talking of 70 weeks of days, but 70 weeks of years or 490 years. Here’s a prophecy that that spans 490 years. That is the period of time that God told Daniel he would begin and end his policy and his program with Israel. Second thing, not only the period… but the people. Look again in verse 24. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and thy holy city. Now this is a prophecy, therefore, that involves and revolves around Israel. It’s very clear Daniel was a Hebrew. Daniel was a Jew. The people mean the Jews, right? Now learn this, friend, that you will never understand Bible prophecy unless you understand God’s dealing with the Jews. The Jews are the people of destiny. They are God’s outline, God’s plan, God’s blueprint for what He’s going to do in the world. And the tiny little nation Israel is the center of the world. It’s called the navel of the earth. Ezekiel chapter 5 and verse 5, God said, I have set thee, talking of Israel, in the midst of the nations. It is the confluence of three mighty continents. Africa, Asia, and Europe. It’s the hub of these continents. It’s a military and economic highway. It is the geographic center of the world. It is the revelation center of the world because from that little nation we have Moses, the prophets, and the apostles. It’s the spiritual center of the world because Because it is here that Jesus Christ the Messiah was born. It was here that he lived. It was here that he died. From this place that he ascended into heaven. And one day Jesus will come back again to Jerusalem. And his feet will stand upon the Mount of Olives on the east of Jerusalem. It is the spiritual center of the world. Jerusalem, Israel is the prophetic center of the world. Now, we Americans think everything revolves around America, but very little is said in the Bible of anything about America. But Israel is the only people and only country whose complete history is minutely foretold in the Scripture. Israel is the storm center of the world. The last great battle will be fought there, the Battle of Armageddon. But not only is Israel the storm center, friend, it is the peace center. You say, when will we have peace in the world? When we have peace in Jerusalem. That’s the reason we are told as Christians not only to pray, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, but to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. And there’ll be no peace in Jerusalem until the Prince of Peace is recognized as to who He is. This land and this people are the glory center. One of these days the Lord Jesus is going to sit on the throne of His father David and Jesus is going to rule and to reign from Jerusalem here upon the earth for a thousand blessed years. And so here we see that the prophecy deals with the holy people and the holy city. Now, you’ve seen the period. 490 years. The people, the Jews, now the place, look again, and upon thy holy city. Now that holy city is Jerusalem. It is indeed the Holy Land. Sometimes when we go to the Holy Land, they say, well… What’s any different from that piece of real estate than any other piece of real estate? My dear friend, it is distinctly different, intrinsically different. God calls Jerusalem the holy city. There’s no more important city upon the face of the earth. Not Washington, not Moscow, not Paris, not Tokyo, not Madrid. The international hot spot in the last days is Jerusalem. Now, you’re in the book of Daniel. Just go to Zechariah here for just a moment. And look with me in Zechariah chapter 12, verse 2. And listen to the scripture. Behold, I will make Jerusalem… a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day I will 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.” There’s coming a time when the opinion of the peoples of this world are going to be turned against Jerusalem and they’re going to gather against Jerusalem under the leadership of the Antichrist who will come out of a reconstituted Roman Empire. But notice again in Zechariah chapter 14 and look with me in verse 16. I love this wonderful promise. And it shall come to pass that every one that is left of all of the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. One day Jerusalem will be the capital city of the world. It is the glory center of all of the world. Jesus is going to rule and reign from Jerusalem. Now, what is the purpose? What is God going to do in these 490 years? Well, look in verse 24, and you’ll see that God has in mind six wonderful blessings. Here is God’s plan. Here is the purpose. Notice the purpose now. Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, number one, to finish the transgression. Now, what is the transgression? Notice it doesn’t say a transgression, but the transgression. What is the great transgression? It is Israel’s rejection of her Messiah. Israel has rejected her Messiah. One day that rejection will be over. That’s the first thing. Now here’s the second thing. To make an end of sins. Now sin cannot be dealt with until Messiah is recognized. There is no way of forgiveness for Israel or anyone else apart from the Lamb of God. Turn with me to Romans chapter 11 and look with me in verse 26. The Bible says, and so all Israel shall be saved as it is written. There shall come out of Zion the deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant unto them when I shall take away their sins. The nation Israel is going to come to the Lord. They’re going to finish the transgression, the rejection of Messiah. And when they finish the transgression, that will make an end of sins. And when sins have been made an end of, go back, if you will, to verse 24, and to make reconciliation for iniquity. Do you see when you recognize Jesus as Messiah, then sins are forgiven. And when sins are forgiven, God and man are reconciled. And the Bible says Jesus, by the death of His cross, hath reconciled both God and man. Jesus’ death has always been sufficient. but it will never be efficient as long as he is rejected. And then when there’s reconciliation, what is the next thing? Then everlasting righteousness. That’s the fourth blessing. Notice it says here, and to bring in everlasting righteousness. Now, what does he mean by that? Well, the Bible teaches in Romans chapter 10, verses one through four, that Christ is the end of the law. for righteousness to everyone that believes. And dear friend, not only does God forgive our sins when we receive Him, not only are we reconciled, but God makes us perfectly righteous in His sight and the righteousness of God is fulfilled in those who trust Him. What a day that will be when God visits His ancient people with righteousness. And then, to seal up the vision and the prophecy in verse 24. What does that mean? It means this is what I’ve been going about all of these years. This is what God has been up to. One of these days, my dear friend, God is going to put the last period upon the last sentence, upon the last paragraph, upon the last page, upon the last chapter, upon the last book of history, and God will say, “‘Tis done! “‘Tis done!” Not one jot nor one tittle shall fail from the law till all be fulfilled. You can rest in it, my dear friend. You can bank on it. We used to say, God said it, I believe it, and that settles it. God said it, that settles it, whether you believe it or not, my dear friend. God is going to do it. And then what? Well, he’s not finished yet. And to anoint the most holy. Some say, what does the most holy mean? Does that mean the most holy place or the most holy person? Yes, the most holy person in the most holy place and Jesus shall reign where the sun doth his successive journeys run. His kingdom spread from shore to shore till moon shall wax and wane no more. How many times have we prayed, oh Lord, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Do you think Jesus Christ would have taught us to pray that prayer had He not meant to fulfill it? No, my dear friend. He will be anointed as King of kings and Lord of lords, the holy place and the holy person together. That’s the purpose. How is He going to fulfill that? The purpose. Well, He’s going to fulfill the purpose with a program. Now we begin in verse 25. And here’s the program on through verse 27. “…know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks.” The streets shall be built again, and the wall, even in probulous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself. And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. And the end thereof shall be with a flood. And unto the end of the war… DESOLATIONS ARE DETERMINED. AND HE SHALL CONFIRM THE COVENANT WITH MANY FOR ONE WEEK. AND IN THE MIDST OF THE WEEK HE SHALL CAUSE THE SACRIFICE AND THE OBLATION TO CEASE. AND FOR THE OVERSPREADING OF ABOMINATIONS HE SHALL MAKE IT DESOLATE EVEN UNTIL THE CONSUMMATION AND THAT DETERMINED SHALL BE POURED OUT UPON THE DESOLATE. NOW NOTICE GOD SAYS THAT THERE ARE 490 YEARS. All right, in order for this to make sense to us, we have to know when does God’s clock start ticking and when does it stop ticking? When do we put the first mark on God’s calendar? And when do we put the last period upon God’s program? Now, the Bible says here that there is a starting time. What is the commencement of the count? Look in the first part of verse 25. All right, God’s clock started ticking. when God gave a command to restore and build Jerusalem. Now, when was this? Well, you remember that it was Nehemiah who restored and built Jerusalem. And you can find this in Nehemiah chapter 2, verse 1 and verse 5. You’ll find out that it was under Artaxerxes the king, that Artaxerxes the king gave Nehemiah the command to restore and build Jerusalem. Now, thankfully, we know exactly when that was because it is dated for us. And even the Encyclopedia Britannica, volume 2, page 660, says it was in the year 445 B.C. And the Bible tells us in Nehemiah chapter 2, it was in the month of Nisan. Now, that’s very important because we know not only the year, but we know the month when it began. Nisan is the first month of the Jewish year. And remember that this is regulated by the Paschal moon. So we can be very precise. On what we call the Julian calendar, the command to restore and build Jerusalem was March the 14th, 445 B.C., That’s the commencement of the count. Now, the second thing here in the program is going to be the construction of the city. Look again in verse 25, if you will. He says, Now, what he’s saying is this. that the city is going to be rebuilt in seven weeks. That’s seven weeks of years. 49 years and Jerusalem would be rebuilt. It happened exactly as God said it would happen. It literally happened. And in 49 years, they rebuilt the city and the wall, even in probabilist times. If you read the book of Nehemiah, you’ll know that the devil did all he could do to stop it, but he could not stop it. So you see the commencement of the count. You see the construction of the city. And then you see the coming of the Christ. Look again in verse 25. Now what is the three score and two weeks? Well, three score is 60 plus two is 62 plus the seven that it took to build the city. You add all of those together and multiply by seven and you have 483 years. Now, this might sound a little convoluted, but 62 weeks is 434 years. Seven weeks is 49 years. Add them together, 483 years. 483 years meaning what? From the time that the commandment was given to restore and build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince will be 483 years. Now, a prophetic year is not 365 days. A year in Bible prophecy is 360 days. Incidentally, that’s the reason we have 360 degrees in a circle. 360 days, for example, we know this from the book of Revelation, that three and a half years is 1260 days. 360 days is a prophetic year. Now pay attention. We said from the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem to the time that the Messiah would come would be 483 years and 483 years of 360 days. Now I hope I didn’t lose you. But if you multiply 483 times 360, that gives you… 173,880 days. Keep that in mind. Stay with me. Jesus, the Messiah, began His public ministry in A.D.

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29.

SPEAKER 02 : 20:54

You say, how can you be so sure? The Bible tells us in Luke chapter 3 and verse 1, it was in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. That date, my dear friend, is preserved in history. We know that’s when Jesus began His public ministry. And we know that three Passovers later, Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. You remember when Jesus came riding on a donkey? and the people threw the palm branches in His way. Three Passovers later. Again, we know exactly when that Passover was. We don’t have to guess. Because, dear friend, we get our date from the Paschal moon, and the chronologers and astronomers tell us that the day was April the 6th, A.D. 32, when Jesus went into Jerusalem. Now, the prophet Daniel… said, we’ll tell you when we’re going to start, and 483 years later will be Messiah the Prince. If you were to start it and count it, it would be exactly when Jesus rode into Jerusalem. It’s one of the most incredible things in all of the Bible. Exactly. That’s the reason when Jesus was riding across that Kidron Valley and up through that golden gate, He was weeping copious tears. And He said, Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, if you only knew the things that belong to you, On this your day. It had been prophesied for centuries down to the minutest hour. Jesus came on time. He died on time. He was buried on time. He rose on time. And he is coming on time. You can just bank on it. Now, there is the coming of the Messiah. But then this prophecy goes on in verse 26. There’s the crucifixion of the Christ. Look in verse 26 and see what God told Daniel. He says then, and Messiah shall be cut off. Now the Jews, it’s hard for the Jews to believe in a crucified Messiah. They ought to read their prophet Daniel. Messiah shall be cut off. What do you mean cut off? Well it refers to capital punishment. Read Isaiah 53 verse 8 when it speaks of the death of Christ and it says he shall be cut off from the land of the living. Prophet Daniel saw the coming of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, as he presented himself to Israel on that Palm Sunday. And he looked past that to the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. But notice how much God told Daniel. The Bible says, He shall be cut off, but not for himself. It was not because of his sins that he died, but for my sins and your sins. He did no sin, neither was iniquity found in his mouth. All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. Daniel saw that. Hundreds of years before Jesus Christ came, Messiah would die. He would be cut off out of the land of the living, Isaiah tells us, but not for himself. “‘Twas my sin, your sin, that nailed him to the tree.'” But now the countdown continues. Not only do you see, dear friend, the construction of the city and then the coming of the Christ, and then the crucifixion of the Christ. But you see, the conquest of the city. Notice again what Daniel prophesied. And then he said, Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself, verse 26. Now watch it. And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city. The prince that shall come is not Jesus. He is the Antichrist. And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city. Who destroyed Jerusalem? The Romans. The Romans. And out of a revived Roman Empire, there is another prince that will come, the Antichrist. Daniel prophesied that the Romans would destroy Jerusalem. And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary, that’s the temple, and And the end thereof shall be with a flood. This does not speak of a flood of water. The Bible says when the enemy shall come in like a flood, then shall the Lord lift up a standard, a banner against him. And unto the end of the war, desolations are determined. Now this may be rendered this way. And unto the end, wars and desolations are determined.” The people asked the Lord Jesus, Jesus, what will be the sign of thy coming and of the end of the age? And Jesus said unto the end, wars and desolations are determined. There will be wars and rumors of wars, but the end is not yet. It’s amazing what Jesus prophesied and what Daniel prophesied. You would have thought of all of these years after 2,000 years that some way, somehow, somebody would have figured out a way that we could live in peace on this war-torn world. But Daniel said what Jesus said. There will be wars and rumors of wars. We said that there are 490 years, but when Messiah came, was cut off. When Jesus was crucified, the clock stopped ticking for Israel. God called time out and God stopped dealing with Israel as a nation. He just simply said that there’s going to be a period of time known as the times of the Gentiles. And so we got to 483 years. The Messiah came. They crucified the Messiah and God said, all right, now the clock stops ticking for Israel. Now we have an undetermined period of time known as wars and desolations of wars. When will that time end? When will the time of the Gentiles end? The Bible says blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. What is the fullness of the Gentiles? Well, I believe it has reference, among other things, to the completion of the body of Christ. I believe there’s a number known to God alone that will make the bride complete. That will make the building called the church complete. And the last brick in the building will be put in place. The last member of the body will be in place. The last part of the bride will be complete. And then the trumpet will sound. We’re living in a time known as the church age. where God called time out for Israel. The Old Testament prophets didn’t see the church. They didn’t understand the church. Even Daniel doesn’t mention the church here. He just mentions wars and desolations. For the Bible tells us in the book of Ephesians that the church was a mystery revealed in the last days. And so here we see, dear friend, the calling of the church. The last part of verse 26. And then look in verse 27. You’ll see the completion of the count. Notice in verse 27, And He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week. That’s the missing week. We’ve had 483 years, but now 490 years are about to be completed. Who is going to confirm the covenant? Does it refer to Messiah, the prince? Oh, no. Not Messiah, the prince. It refers to Antichrist, the prince, the prince that shall come. Read it. The prince that shall come will destroy the city, or the people of the prince that will come shall destroy the city. But the prince that will come will confirm the covenant with many for one week. What does that mean? In plain English, it means that when the Antichrist comes, he is going to make a league, a seven-year treaty with the nation Israel. This Antichrist is going to come out of the revived Roman Empire, and he’s going to say to a beleaguered Israel, I will protect you. I will make a covenant of peace with you. And you know what the nation Israel will do? They will say, Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Praise God! At last, we’re at peace. But the Bible says concerning the Antichrist in Daniel chapter 8, through peace, He will destroy many. He will make a covenant with many. But by peace, He will destroy many. He will come as the greatest benefactor that the Jews have ever known. Jesus Christ said… I have come in my Father’s name, and you’ll not receive me. But Jesus said, If another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. That was a prophecy of the Lord Jesus. They will believe this apostate. They will believe this beast. They will believe this pervert, this man of sin, who claims to be God on earth, the Antichrist. And when they do, dear friend, they make a covenant with the Antichrist. In the middle of that seven-year period, the Antichrist is going to move into the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Notice, if you will. in verse 27 and he the prince that shall come the antichrist shall confirm the covenant with many for one week and in the midst of the week after three and a half years he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease but in the middle of that seven years in the midst of the week after three and a half years the bible calls it in revelation a time and times and half a time are 42 months are 1260 days it’s all the same period of time three and a half years is When the Jews are sacrificing back in their Old Testament worship, then this devil in the flesh is going to come into the temple of God and say, Hold it! If you want to worship something, if you’re looking for a God to worship, I’m the one. And the Bible says in 2 Thessalonians, the second chapter, he will sit in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. That’s what Jesus was talking about when he said, when you see the abomination of desolation in the holy place, flee, get out of there, for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of the world to this time, nor ever shall be. And this megalomaniac, this Satan’s superman, this devil in the human flesh will show himself that he is God. Satan has always said, I will be like the Most High. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. When Jesus Christ was here on earth, he could say, he that hath seen me hath seen my Father. When Antichrist comes, he’ll be able to say the same thing. He that has seen me has seen my Father. He will be Satan incarnate, the man of sin. And he will make a covenant with many and they’ll say, peace at last. But through peace he’ll destroy many. And in the middle of that week, three and a half years, he himself will come into the temple of God, showing himself that he is God, cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. And the Bible says, and for the overspreading of abominations, he’ll make it desolate. Did you read that? The overspreading of abominations? Now you understand what Jesus meant in Matthew 24 when He spoke of the abomination of desolation. That’s what He’s talking about. Jesus said, when you see that, get out of Jerusalem. For then shall be great tribulation. such as was not from the beginning of the world to this time, nor ever will be. The Antichrist is going to double-cross Israel and unleash his satanic fury on God’s chosen people. Daniel chapter 12 and verse 1 tells us about it. At that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince, which standeth for the children of thy people. And there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time. And at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book. Not only did he see the completion of the count in the final seven years as the clock starts to tick again. And by the way, we said the clock started ticking to begin with the command to restore and build Jerusalem. Then we said it stopped ticking after 483 years with the crucifixion of Jesus. When will it start ticking again? With the rapture of the church. When the church is taken out, then it’s time in again for Israel. We’re living in a parenthetical time called the church age, the mystery that was hid from the prophets. And when the church is taken out, at that moment God’s prophetic clock begins to tick for those final seven years. And the great tribulation will be seven years in length. The last three and a half years will be time of unmentionable horror. Well, how does it all end? Well, thank God we know. Look in the last part of verse 27. And the Bible says, until the consummation and that determined be poured out upon the desolate or the desolator. Don’t think that Satan is going to win. The Bible says there’s coming a consummation. Jesus is going to consummate all things. He put everything into action, and He’s going to put everything into conclusion. He was there in the commencement. He will be there in the consummation. We call the Antichrist 666. But dear friend, I want to tell you, 777 is going to take care of him. When Jesus comes, not for His saints, but this time with His saints, after the tribulation period, and he shall come with the armies in heaven, and he shall come with a sharp two-edged sword that goes out of his mouth, which is his word. In the garden of Gethsemane, when they came to take Jesus, they came with sticks and staves and swords, a great host, a great army, to take Jesus to crucify him. Jesus turned and said, Whom seek ye? Bible says they fell like dead men on the ground. Just his breath, his words. Then Jesus allowed them up and allowed them to handcuff him. Dear friend, there you have in miniature Judas who represents the Antichrist. All of those soldiers that represent Judas The forces at Armageddon. This time Jesus will come and the Bible says He will slay them with the sword that goes out of His mouth. You say, what’s the battle of Armageddon going to be like? Going to be jets and lasers and napalm and atomic bombs? It may start that way. But friend, when Jesus comes, He’ll win that war with a word. He will speak. And the Lord that spoke them into existence… will speak them into oblivion. That’s the battle of Armageddon. And that consummation will be poured out upon the desolate. Friend, I want to tell you something. A lot of people, for whatever reason, are following Satan. But don’t follow a loser. He is a consummate loser. Friend, if it has been this way thus far… And every scripture thus far has been minutely fulfilled. You can bank on the rest of it.

SPEAKER 01 : 38:07

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