We journey through the intricate details of Daniel’s seventy weeks prophecy, shedding light on timeless truths and historic fulfillment. Discover the incredible timeline from the command to rebuild Jerusalem to Christ’s entry into the city. David Hawking guides us with compelling insights, connecting prophetic dots that have eternal significance. This episode invites listeners to trust in the sovereignty of God while anticipating future revelations as foreshadowed by these ancient predictions.
00:24:33 Upcoming Study of Revelation and Final Thoughts
SPEAKER 02 :
The Bible teaches that the revelation, the direct revelation, God speaking to people and telling them to write it down and tell folks, it’s going to come to an end. This is what Daniel predicted. There’s going to be an end to it. And Hebrews identifies when. It’s going to be a final revelation by Jesus Christ, and God’s going to stop speaking. So within the 70-week prophecy is going to come an end of vision and prophecy. Which means that no matter what anybody claims today who says they have direct revelation from God, God’s already said they don’t.
SPEAKER 04 :
This is Hope for Today with Bible teacher and author David Hawking. And on today’s program, we come to our final look at one of the most precise and powerful prophecies in the entire Word of God, the 70 weeks of Daniel chapter 9, verses 24 to 26. Now, so far in this passage, we’ve seen God’s timetable unfold, a Messiah revealed and cut off, and a future still to come. Now, this last section points to what lies ahead, a world in turmoil, a coming leader, and the unstoppable hand of God bringing it all to completion. It’s not just history. It’s a warning, a promise, and a call to stand firm. Day three of the 70 weeks begins in just a moment. First, let me tell you about the Hope for Today newsletter. It’s recently been revamped with a bright new beautiful format, full color, and it’s the great content you’ve come to expect. Encouraging articles, prophetic insights, ministry updates, and Bible study resources to strengthen your walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. And it’s a powerful way to stay connected with hope for today. And it’s completely free. To sign up, call 875-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada, or visit davidhawking.org and use the contact form, ask for the monthly newsletter. Now here’s David.
SPEAKER 02 :
Daniel chapter 9, beginning at verse 24. Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and 62 weeks. The street shall be built again and the wall even in troublesome times. And after the 62 weeks, Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with the flood. Until the end of the war, desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of the week, he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abomination shall be one who makes desolate. Even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate. Will you join me please in prayer? Father, we remember that your son Jesus told us that heaven and earth will pass away, but my words shall never pass away. We thank you for the reliability and accuracy of your word, that it is a complete and final revelation from your hand. And thank you, Lord, that all the prophecies of the Bible will be fulfilled. And I pray, Lord, you’d help us to understand your plan in the light of this special and unique prophecy in the book of Daniel. God, help us to see. Help us to understand that there’s not much time. Help us to realize that soon our Messiah is going to return and set up his kingdom. Help us, Lord, to live like we understand prophecy, like we know the Son of God who is the theme of prophecy. Help us to live lives that would be pleasing to you, would draw others to you before it’s too late. Thank you, Lord. What you’re going to do, we leave in your hands. And we realize, Lord, that you have special purposes every time your word is proclaimed. And I pray that our hearts will be challenged and touched deeply by the ministry of the Holy Spirit using your word. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. Daniel chapter 9, point 2, is the command that begins the prophecy. The command that begins the prophecy. Let’s look at it carefully. Verse 25. Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. The streets shall be built again in the wall, even in troublesome times. And after the 62, which if you look back to verse 25, this is a frequent grammatical situation in Hebrew. It’s not eliminating the seven. It’s just taking it in order, not repeating both phrases, just repeating the last one, meaning the 69. After the 62, or after the total period of 69 weeks, 69 sevens, or 483, Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The command, therefore, that begins the prophecy is to restore and build Jerusalem. The key is the word street and wall. Sometimes said plaza and moat. A plaza is kind of like a city center that you don’t build unless you have the walls. A moat is the trenches that they built along outside of the wall does demand the wall also. The key phrase is the wall. Now, folks, there are four commands mentioned in the Bible concerning rebuilding Jerusalem. I’m just going to mention them. We’re not going to study each one of them. I’m going to mention them to you so you understand. Cyrus the Persian gave a command to rebuild the temple. You’ll find that in 2 Chronicles 36, Ezra 1, 1-4, and chapter 6, verses 1-5. That command was given in 538 B.C. It did not include the wall. It was a building of the temple. Command number two to restore Jerusalem was under Darius. And all he did is confirm the original decree of Cyrus. And you can read that in Ezra 6, verses 6 to 12, and that was in 519 B.C. The third command was by Artaxerxes, recorded in Ezra 7, verses 11 to 26, and was in 458 B.C., And the fourth command was by Artaxerxes Longimanus, his whole name, Artaxerxes, to Nehemiah in Nehemiah chapter 2. And I’d like you to turn there, please. And that occurred in 445 B.C. Turn to Nehemiah chapter 2. When does the 70-week prophecy begin? What is the command that begins that prophecy? And we believe it’s the command of Artaxerxes to Nehemiah mentioned in Nehemiah chapter 2. Interesting, we have a date there. Chapter 2, verse 1. It came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the springtime, in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes. Well, he started his reign in 465 B.C. That brings us to 445 B.C., That is when Nehemiah got a decree to rebuild Jerusalem. And the whole point of Nehemiah is to rebuild what? Anybody? The wall. Now as you read through Nehemiah, you come down to a statement about the wall. Verse 15 of chapter 6. So the wall was finished on the 25th day of the month of Elul in 52 days. The wall was completed. Now in Nehemiah 2.1 it says the 20th year of Artaxerxes and says it was in the month of Nisan. Now when that statement is saying in the month of Nisan and there’s no other day given, it always means the first of the month. We know when it was. The first of Nisan in 445 B.C. was on March 14th, 445 B.C. We know exactly when it was. There’s no doubt about it at all. Now, That’s the command to begin the prophecy. Now go back to Daniel chapter 9 again. Daniel chapter 9. The command to begin it is the 20th year of our exerces. That’s 445 B.C. That’s the only one that deals with the wall. And it was on March the 14th, the first day of the month of Nisan. That year was on March 14th. 445 B.C. Now you’re in Daniel 9, verse 25 says, know that the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince will be 7 and 62, or a total of 69 sevens. We believe they’re years. That’s 483 years. Until when? Until Messiah the Prince. Well, what event of Messiah the Prince? Well, the way it’s phrased, it indicates that Israel will know that it’s Messiah the Prince. It’s a public introduction. Most people believe that the statement is referring to the triumphal entry because of something Jesus said. Turn please to Luke chapter 19, verse 37. Now look at this interesting passage in Luke 19. First of all, from verse 28 following, just glance through your Bible. What’s it talking about? It’s talking about the triumphal entry. Getting the donkey, he’s going to ride on the donkey. And we read in verse 36, they spread their clothes on the road, and he came near the descent of the Mount of Olives. The whole multitude of disciples are rejoicing and praising God. and saying, Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven, glory in the highest. The Pharisees said, Teacher, rebuke your disciples. He answered and said, I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out. What are they announcing? Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Verse 41, Now as he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it. I don’t know if you have ever read this carefully. Watch this carefully. Saying, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the Prince of Peace, will come. Prophecy of Isaiah 9, 6, and 7. But now they are hidden from your eyes, for the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you, and close you in on every side, and level you and your children within you to the ground. They will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation. In verse 42, day… this your day, verse 44, the time of your visitation. How long until Messiah the Prince? 483 years. What day are we talking about? According to Jesus, the day that they should have known, because it was in the prophecy of Daniel, was the day of his triumphal entry. So I’m not making it up. That’s what Jesus said about that day that he came into Jerusalem as he wept over the city and said, oh, if you only knew what day this was. But you didn’t know, and that’s why God is going to judge you with the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome, which happened in 70 AD. If you ask me a question, which Jewish people do, but you say, why did God destroy the temple in 70 AD? The answer is very clear by Jesus Christ, because they rejected Messiah the Prince. That’s the answer. Why did God destroy that temple? Because they rejected the Messiah. If they had not rejected him… He would have set up his kingdom on earth. The ifs of prophecy. But we already know from prophecy that never would have happened. Now if that’s true, which it evidently is, they could have known. Why? Because it was said in Daniel chapter 9. So they could have known the exact day. So let’s figure it out. 483 years. Let’s multiply 483 times 360. You say, wait a minute, a year has 365. I knew there were some of you like that. So why don’t we multiply 476 times 365? You say, why? Well, the prophecy says 483. And in a prophetic year, we have 360 days. If you want to go to 365, we’ve got to knock some years off. Do it any way you want. Please multiply 483 times 360. You say, how do you know that the Bible has a year that’s 360? Well, take the time of the flood in Genesis chapter 7. We know exactly that five months is 150 days, 30 days in each month. That was a calendar that was known in many nations of the world, not just among the Jews. In the book of Revelation, we have the tribulation period divided into two halves. Three and a half years each, 42 months, 1260 days. Obviously, a prophetic year is 360 days, not 365. When did we get 365? That came very late in history, long after the time of Christ. Another calendar developed by Romans, which was not the calendar in use at the time of Christ. 360 days is the prophetic year. You can do this any way you want. But multiply 483 times… 360, and how much do you get?
SPEAKER 1 :
173,880?
SPEAKER 02 :
No? Yes? How many believe it’s 173,880? How many do not believe it’s 173,000? The first is right. Not because we took a vote. Now, this is fun. 173,880 days… divided by 365. Oh, don’t forget 116 leap year days. Oh, by the way, don’t forget the difference between the first of Nisan, March 14th, to whenever the triumphal entry is. Well, anyway, let’s just figure it out. Where do you come out? Oh, by the way, 1 BC and 1 AD, you know you don’t count twice. Is everybody still counting or would just like to hear the answer? Just like to hear the answer? It works out right on the nose to the following date. Sunday, triumphal entry, April 6, A.D.
SPEAKER 1 :
32.
SPEAKER 02 :
Right on the nose. How in the world could they have missed it? Jesus said, if you had known this day, it’s the time of your visitation. It was right on the spot, but they didn’t know it. Blindness. Rebellion. They didn’t receive the Messiah. And thus they were judged. Right on the day. Now, in John 2.20, you remember the remark that the temple had been built for 46 years? Herod had been rebuilding the temple for 46 years? Watch this carefully, people. We know when Herod began the project. He began the project… building that temple, rebuilding it, in 18 B.C. The project was finally completed in 64 A.D. and then destroyed six years later. We know that from Roman history. If you take 18 B.C. and add 46 years, and remember you don’t have two for 1 B.C. and 1 A.D., you come out right on the button, first Passover, therefore, because John says it was the first Passover of Jesus, was in 29 A.D., 29 A.D. If you’re looking to the Gospel of John and counting the Passover, then the one he died was in 32 A.D. How interesting. Well, let me give you something else. In Luke 3.1… It says concerning the ministry of John the Baptist, it mentions the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar. Well, that’s interesting because we know when Tiberius began his reign. He began on August 19, 14 A.D. The 15th year is A.D. 28th. Jesus Christ was baptized in the fall of AD 28. Did you know that that’s a consistent view of church history? Epiphanius, a bishop in Cyprus, said Christ was baptized in November of 28 AD and that he died in the spring of 32 AD. It’s been the standard view of church history. The thing that amazes me is the accuracy of the Bible right down the line. The 173,880 days, we know when it began. March 14, 445 B.C. And you come out to the triumphal entry, which in Luke 19, Jesus said, was the day. And that comes out April 6, A.D.
SPEAKER 1 :
32.
SPEAKER 02 :
Everything matches. All the chronology matches. Amazing. And I say, hallelujah. Right on the nose. Hallelujah. And you know what’s coming is so exciting, and I’ve got to quit. What have we learned so far? We have learned that God is right on time. Do you suppose that he might be that way in your life also? All of our days are numbered. He knows the day of your death. He knows when you were born. It’s all under His control. God is in absolute control. Everything is numbered. What was the opening statement of verse 24? Seventy weeks are what? Determined. The sovereignty of God. Are you trusting a God who knows everything about you? Every single day is outlined and all things have already been determined by Him. You say, well… What’s going to happen tomorrow? He doesn’t let you in on it. You say, why? I mean, if he already knows, why didn’t he give me some advanced stuff? You can’t handle it. Jesus said, take no thought for tomorrow because sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. What it means is there’s so much trouble coming tomorrow, if you knew it in advance, you wouldn’t even get out of bed. So the Lord knows what he’s doing. He wants you to trust in the Lord with all your heart and don’t lean to your own understanding and all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths. Why? Because it’s all determined by our sovereign God. Let’s close with prayer. Father, we thank you for your wonderful word. I pray, Lord, that you will help us as we go point by point to see the wonderfulness and accuracy of your blessed word. God, you are truly in control. And we know that everything is happening exactly like you said. Help us to trust you in our life. I pray for those right now hearing all this, finding it a little strange. God, give them a heart to study the Bible and see it for themselves. Draw us, Father, to the Savior, the Redeemer, the one who will save Israel. May we also, Lord, understand that he is the Savior for the whole world, including the Gentiles. May we turn to him before it’s too late. We see these prophecies coming to pass. God, help us to be ready when Jesus comes. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
SPEAKER 1 :
Amen.
SPEAKER 04 :
Amen. And friend, if you’re not sure about where you stand with the Lord Jesus, let us send you David’s booklet called What is Christianity? And a Bible study by mail. Both of these are free if you don’t yet know Jesus Christ, you’re not yet a Christian, or if you’re brand new to the faith. Get yours today by calling 800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. Bible by the numbers 24253. Right now, Matt’s here, and we’re going to share a powerful resource or two with you that I think are really going to bless you in the days ahead.
SPEAKER 03 :
Is it possible to understand the book of Revelation? Which view of the end times is correct? When will Jesus come again? These are just a few of the questions tackled in Revelation, Understanding the Future.
SPEAKER 04 :
Matt, this is a hardbound book by your dad, David Hawking, and it’s excellent and so very helpful to have on hand as we begin a series in the book of Revelation later this month.
SPEAKER 03 :
You know, Jim, you can open the book. You can easily locate any particular passage in Revelation that you might want to study in the easy-to-follow table of contents, which lists the chapter and verses covered in each section, along with a perfect descriptive title.
SPEAKER 04 :
If there’s a section that’s baffling to you or a bit complex… Or simply something you’d like to study more in depth. Go to the table of contents, locate the section, head over to it, and you’ll see the text of that passage, along with cross-references, outlines, David’s insights… explanations and applications.
SPEAKER 03 :
All designed to help you understand the book of Revelation. That’s it. This is exciting. It’s a marvelous study that gives us hope for the future. Revelation, understanding the future is normally $25, but this month we have it for you at just 20 bucks. And Matt, we also have your dad’s sermon notes and outlines for the upcoming Revelation series. Order them now and you’ll be ready to go for the start of the series. You can download them or purchase a PDF CD either way. Either way. just $10.
SPEAKER 04 :
And what a wonderful tool they’ll be helping you to get the very most of our daily study time in Revelation.
SPEAKER 03 :
Call us to order 1-800-75-BIBLE. Bible by the numbers is 24253. In Canada, call 1-888-75-BIBLE or at davidhocking.org.
SPEAKER 04 :
Matt, we also want to tell folks about your dad’s complete audio series in the book of Daniel. This is a resource that covers our entire current radio series in Daniel, all the messages in a package for you. You can get the full series, again, our current radio series in Daniel on MP3 for just $30 or on audio CD for $50. Order when you call 1-800-75-BIBLE in the U.S. or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. And of course, you can purchase online at davidhawking.org. Now, just before David returns to close out today’s study, a quick favor to ask of you, something that really helps us out. We ask for this from time to time. Take a moment and let us know where you hear hope for today. It might be a local radio station, through a podcast, or maybe online at davidhawking.org. Why do we ask? Well, because it helps us to be good stewards of the finances God provides through your generosity. When we know where people are listening, we can make sure that gifts are being used in the most effective and God-honoring way possible. To connect with us, call 800-75-BIBLE, that’s in the U.S., or 888-75-BIBLE in Canada. You can also write to us at Hope for Today. Box 3927, Tustin, California, 92781. In Canada, write to Hope for Today, Box 15011, RPO, Seven Oaks, Abbotsford, BC, V2SHP1. And thank you for helping us stay faithful. Let’s get back to our study.
SPEAKER 01 :
Well, I hope you’re enjoying this study. The 70-week prophecy of Daniel 9 is probably the most famous prophecy of certainly the book of Daniel, if not the entire Old Testament. And it makes a lot of connections with the book of Revelation, which we’ll be studying coming up. Don’t miss it. Well, what we’re studying here is a prophecy that really a week represents not just seven days or seven months, but seven years. And if you don’t do that, it’s going to get really hard to understand. What we have in this prophecy is a prince that’s coming who’s going to make a covenant with the majority in Israel to restore their sacrificial system. But then he’s going to terminate it. In the middle of a week or a middle of seven years, he’s going to break his promise and remove all the temple sacrifices, and it will be a rebellion against God. And according to the passage, there’ll be the revenge of God upon this coming prince. It says it’s determined. and it’ll be poured out upon the desolate one. Well, praise God. You won’t overthrow the Messiah, that’s for sure.
SPEAKER 04 :
God bless you. And next time on Hope for Today, Daniel 9.27 reveals the prince who is to come, a deceptive world leader who will strike a covenant, break it, and bring destruction. This is a direct look at the coming Antichrist and what’s still ahead. Don’t miss it right here on Hope for Today.
We journey through the intricate details of Daniel’s seventy weeks prophecy, shedding light on timeless truths and historic fulfillment. Discover the incredible timeline from the command to rebuild Jerusalem to Christ’s entry into the city. David Hawking guides us with compelling insights, connecting prophetic dots that have eternal significance. This episode invites listeners to trust in the sovereignty of God while anticipating future revelations as foreshadowed by these ancient predictions.
