Thread: Daniel's 70 week time prophecy made simple!
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Daniel's 70 week time prophecy made simple!
Posted : 10 Nov, 2010 05:42 PM
I hope the following study on Daniel's 70 week time prophecy in Dan 9:24-27 will be for the first time clearly understood in its simplicity. There's a lot of crazy ideas out there that amount to hardly anthing more then pure speculation, and very poor exegisis.
I would like to present a fresh new perspective on this prophecy, fully supported by the testimony of scripture and not on any current authors imaginings or private interpretation. One that I believe is far more Biblically based then what is traditionally taught.
Most Christians by now I would assume are familiar with the dominant view popularized by the "Left Behind" novels and other mainline prophecy teachers out there. So I won't rehash all the details of this popular view here. Let's just start from scratch with a clean slate and an open mind and the aid of the Holy Spirit and let the Scriptures speak for themselves.
The prophecy begins by saying:
"Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city..."
That equals 490 days (7 x 70) or 490 years. A day for a year in Bible prophecy which all agree upon, especially as it relates to this prophecy.
So 490 years was given to the Jewish nation and the holy city to "finish transgression, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting� righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anointed the most Holy." vs 24.
Now in verse 25 it says that the beginning of this prophecy begins with "the command to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem". This decree can be found in Ezra 7 which was in the 7th year of the reign of King Artaxerxes. Ezra 7:8. This was then in the year 457 BC.
Now back to Dan 9:25. It says "that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times."
So let's break this down. From 457 BC then until the Messiah, the Prince (Jesus Christ) shows up, there will be seven weeks (49 days or years) then sixty-two weeks. (434 days or years). It took the Jews exactly 49 years to rebuild there city, 46 years to rebuild the temple. (See John 2:20). Then another 434 years before the Messiah, the Prince shows up. So adding 49 years to 434 years equals 483 years, or a total of 69 weeks. Hope I haven't lost you yet! This is a very exciting prophecy, one the Jews are forbidden to calculate. The reason being is that it points unmistakenly to Jesus Christ as the promised Messiah! He showed up exactly right on time!
So we need to do some more math here. We need to count down 483 years from our starting point of 457 BC. In doing so we need to remember there was no year "0". So 1 BC to 1 AD is just one year, not two. So this brings us to the year 27 AD. This is exactly the year that Jesus shows up on the banks of the Jordan river and is baptized.
This now is the beginning of the last 7 years of this 490 year prophecy. Instead of letting time run out, prophecy teachers stop the clock and move this last 7 years clear down to the end of time. Why? There is no time prophesy anywhere in the Bible where you stop and start the clock again. This is really bad exegesis! The last 7 years does not apply to the Antichrist, but to Jesus Christ! Read on and you will see how perfectly this was fulfilled by the Messiah.
"And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: and there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." John 1:10, 11.
Acts 10:37, 38 says that "after the baptism which John preached; How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power."
So there you have the Messiah showing up right on time and Jesus saying, "the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand." Mark 1:15.
Now in Daniel 9:26 it says "after threescore and two weeks shall the Messiah will be cut off, but not for himself". So sometime after 27 AD Jesus will be "cut off, but not for himself." Well we know that exactly 3 1/2 years later Jesus was crucified, "cut off" but not for himself. Not for his own sins, but for the sins of the whole world!
Listen to what Isaiah says:
"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: tor the transgression of my people was he stricken". Isaiah 53:8.
Wow! What a perfect fulfillment of Daniel 9:26. In verse 27 it says:
"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."
That means from the beginning of the 70th week, 27 AD until the end of it in 34 AD. The word "confirm", in Strong's Concordance means to "strengthen". And the word covenant means "a compact", an agreement or promise.
"And I say that the covenant , that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect." Gal. 3:17.
"Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers." Romans 15:8.
Here we have another exact fit, a perfect fulfillment of this prophecy, that Jesus Christ is the one "confirming the covenant" and not the Antichrist. The covenant made with Abraham back in Genesis 15. If people would just let the Bible interpret itself we wouldn't have all these crazy ideas floating around and misleading honest sincere believers.
Ok back to our text in Daniel. It says that he would confirm the covenant "with many" during this one week period. In other words this 70 week time period, and especially this last week was allotted only to Daniel's people, Israel and only to those who believed on him. For we read in John 1:11,12:
He came unto his own and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name."
Not all of his his own rejected him, "many" thousands actually believed on him, especially after his death, but the majority did not. Many were called, but few chosen. (John 20:16)
Back to Daniel 9:27. It says that "in the midst of the week, he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease." How was this also fulfilled by Jesus Christ? In the midst, or middle of that last week, the Spring of 31 AD, exactly 3 1/2 years from the beginning of his ministry in the fall of 27 AD he was offered up as a sacrifice for our sins, forever putting an end to the need for any more sacrifices or oblations. Type has met antitype! At the very moment of his death, as the High Priest was about to offer up the Passover lamb as a sacrifice, the scripture says:
"And behold, the veil in the temple was rent in twain from top to bottom..."
The Lamb of God, to which all those sacrifices had pointed forward to had been slain, the veil separating the holy from the most holy was ripped in two! We can now "come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Heb 4:16. No more animal sacrifices and no more priests between us and God. Jesus has become our sacrifice and has become our great High Priest.
So once again Jesus Christ and not the Antichrist perfectly fulfills this prophecy! Isn't this exciting?
Ok we're just about finished! Let's back up a little bit now to Daniel 9:26. It says sometime after the Messiah is cut off, that "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."
The word "prince" in Strongs Concordance means "commander (as occupying the front)." 39 years after the Messiah was "cut off", in 70 AD the Romans came as a flood under Titus and leveled the city of Jerusalem and set fire to the temple, destroying it. Jesus made reference to this very passage in Matt 24:15,16,20.
"When you therefore see the abomination of desolation spoken by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee unto the mountains." And he said "pray that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day."
Josephus, a first century historian tells us that when the followers of Christ saw this sign, the Roman army placing there ensign inside the city walls of Jerusalem in 67 AD they all left the city and fled north towards Antioch and the silent cities of Syria. Some 700 cities to be exact. For some reason the Roman army withdrew and didn't come back until 70 AD and that when the city was destroyed, but says Josephus, not one Christian lost their lives who headed the warning of Jesus to flee to the mountains when you see the sign spoken of by Daniel. Pretty amazing isn't it! Once again a perfect and wonderful fulfillment of scripture!
Ok, one last fulfillment to cover, and that's the termination of the 70 week prophecy, the end of the last 7 years of this prophecy. Remember this prophecy only applied to Daniel's people and to the holy city.
This prophecy of this last week began in 27 AD and ends in 34 AD. In the middle of this week Jesus was crucified, "cut off, but not for himself". There's still another 3 1/2 years to go that's allotted only to the Jewish people to "finish transgressions and make an end of sins," ect. So even though they have now crucified their Messiah in their ignorance, Christ continues to plead with them through his Spirit and the witness of his apostles.
"These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and unto any city of the Samaritans enter ye not. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Matt 10:5,6.
So for another 3 1/2 years Daniel's people were still on probation if you will.� And during this time, tens of thousands of Jews accepted their Messiah and made an end of "transgressions and sins". At Pentecost alone, 3000 Jews accepted their Messiah! (Acts 2:41)� More and more were added daily to the church. (vs 47)� In Acts 4:4, 5000 more Jews accepted there Messiah! In acts 6:7 it says: "And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith." Again, all Jews!
By the time we get to Acts 7, Stephen is stoned to death by the unbelieving Jews and becomes the first martyr for Jesus. Then in Acts 9 we have the conversion of Saul who begins now to take the gospel to the Gentiles. The last of the 70 weeks has reached it's end! A great number of the Jews responded to the message Gabriel gave to Daniel concerning his people (Dan 9:21-24) to make an end of sins. But the rest of the Jews and their leaders rejected Christ. There probation was now over, those unbelieving branches were broken off from the good Olive tree and the Gentiles, or wild branches are now being grafted in, in their place. The stoning of Stephen was the last straw! But a remnant of the Jews responded and were saved, many thousands of them!
And thus the 70 weeks of Daniel have come to an end. Every aspect of this prophecy was perfectly fulfilled in Jesus Christ!�
As you can see, when you know the truth of the fulfillment of this prophecy, the whole "Left Behind" scenerio comes crashing down! It's all based on the wild imagination of its authors to sell a lot of books and videos and is purely fiction in my opinion and not based upon the sure Word of God.
So there's no 7 year tribulation period, with a rapture right before it, in the middle of it, or immediately following it for that matter. There's no antichrist who makes a treaty with modern Israel, a 7 year pact, but renigs after 3 1/2 years. It's all based upon a false interpretation of scripture. One that actually denies all that Jesus Christ accomplished during the last 7 years of this prophecy and applies it to the Antichrist instead who is never even mentioned as such anywhere in this whole passage.
When I think of the millions of readers of the Left Behind books and the many thousands more of children who are listening to all the children's audio dramatizations on this theme, my heart just aches! What chance do they have with being fed all this nonsense at such an early age.
I hope as many people read this post will be a true Berean and prove all things! Just because a belief is very popular and the majority believe it, doesn't make it so.
I welcome any comments or questions you the reader may have and will be happy to respond in kind.
Grace and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
What is �preterism�? It is a doctrine teaching that all prophecy has been fulfilled, including the prophecies in the book of Revelation regarding the antichrist and the second coming of Jesus Christ.
If that was the case, then how did the prophecy in Ezekiel 4:1-8 for Israel and God�s warning for Israel in Leviticus 26: 18-27 which was 7 times longer because Israel did not heed to God�s warning be fulfilled in 1948 in exactly the year God said it would be done 2485 years ago?
Israel regained their nation again and God gave them the promise in Amos 9:14-15 14
I will bring back my exiled people Israel; they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. 15 I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them," says the LORD your God.
Another argument is the Promise to Israel in Jeremiah 31. This prophecy has started in today�s generation and will be completely fulfilled in the building of the 3rd and final temple in Jerusalem after the ME War. Preterism includes many unique and strange teachings. It teaches that the Roman emperor Nero was the antichrist of the book of Revelation. Preterism teaches that Jerusalem is the �whohre� or�harlot� of Revelation 17. It teaches that Jesus� second coming took place in 70 AD when Jerusalem was destroyed by Roman armies; moreover, that these events in 70 AD constituted the �time of the end� and the �end of the age� referred to in Scripture. Preterism also teaches that the book of Revelation was written before 70 AD, which is a necessity for the preterist doctrine to be plausible. Preterists say that we are now living in the �new earth� foretold in Scripture, because God is �with us� through His Holy Spirit. They also claim that the frequent references and implications in the Bible that Christ�s coming was near or soon, and that the �last days� had already begun in the days of the apostles, do not allow or permit a 2000-year lapse of time before His return. Preterism teaches that Jesus� statement in Matthew 24:34 and Mark 13:30 that �this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place�, necessitates that Jesus had to return within a few decades of 31 AD, when He spoke these words. Likewise, preterists claim that Jesus� statement recorded in Matthew 16:28 and Mark 9:1, where Jesus declared that some who were standing with Jesus at that time would not �taste death� until they had seen the Son of Man coming in His Kingdom with power; preterists insist that this statement by Jesus also required Him to physically return to earth within a few decades before those disciples had all died.
Daniel's 70 Weeks & The Great Tribulation The Bible's Central Prophecy The 70 Weeks Prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 is unquestionably a key prophecy of the Bible. It gives the timing of both the First and Second Coming of Israel's Messiah. It predicted the construction of the Second Temple and predicts the morning and evening sacrifices of the Third Temple and the Antichrist who will stop them and inhabit the temple. It is from the 70th week of Daniel, as interpreted by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse, that the term �Great Tribulation� is derived. Simply put, without this prophecy a complete Revelation Roadmap could not be constructed. Daniel 9:24-27 (HCSB) � 24 Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city�to bring the rebellion to an end, to put a stop to sin, to wipe away injustice, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place. 25 Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince will be seven weeks and 62 weeks. It will be rebuilt with a plaza and a moat, but in difficult times. 26 After those 62 weeks the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the coming prince will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come with a flood, and until the end there will be war; desolations are decreed. 27 He will make a firm covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering. And the abomination of desolation will be on a wing of the temple until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator.� If You Are Unfamiliar With Daniel's 70 Weeks Not surprisingly, my Revelation Roadmap is based on the 70 thWeek of Daniel. Therefore, understanding the roadmap requires familiarity with this key prophecy. As it is so familiar and adequately explained by many other sources, I will skip explaining it in great detail here to allow more space for insights on other prophecies not found so easily elsewhere. For those who are totally unfamiliar with the 70 Weeks or why the 70th Week must be after a time gap and yet future, I can recommend some free articles by Thomas Ice. They explain much of the 70th Week from a literal approach, and highlight the problems with the allegorizers' approach (Preterism). Although Ice works with Tim LaHaye and is naturally a pre-tribulation rapturist, he nevertheless has much worth listening to. (I'm a firm believer in that we can and must learn from everyone if we truly are diligently seeking the truth on a subject, regardless of our prejudices against views a teacher may hold on other points.) The 70 Weeks of Daniel by Thomas Ice at Rapture Ready  www.raptureready.com/featured/ice/ttcol.html (scroll down to �27. 70 Weeks of Daniel I� through �38. 70 Weeks of Daniel XII) My Own View on the 70 Weeks As stated above, I do not agree 100% with everything Ice teaches. Here, then, is a brief overview of the defining points of my 70 Weeks understanding that may or may not differ from those of Thomas Ice. The reasons why I believe each are expounded in subsequent chapters.  Time Gap Between 69th and 70th Week: Jesus said that the AoD, which is part of the 70th Week, is yet future. This means it did not immediately follow the 69th week already. Therefore, I see a clear gap allowed for and required between the 69th and 70th week and Scripture itself delineates it. Not only that, but several of the �Six Prophetic Purpose Clauses� of the 70 Weeks from verse 24 that Ice talks about are not literally fulfilled yet.  70th Week for End Times: Daniel 11:35-45 states that the Antichrist shall take over Jerusalem in the �time of the end� until God's wrath completes things. Daniel 8:9-17 identifies the Antichrist in Jerusalem ending the sacrifices and committing the abomination in the �time of the end.� Thus, contrary to what Preterists teach, we are still in the time gap. This requires a yet future 70th week with a wicked ruler seizing Jerusalem, stopping the sacrifices and setting up an abominable statue as Antiochus Epiphanes IV did to foreshadow or partially fulfill the 70th Week.  Are Sabbath Year Cycles: The 70 weeks are not just any set of seven years, but as anyone who has studied the Torah might suppose, are groups of seven years which end in a Sabbath year, just as the Sabbath year cycle does. The Bible and history support this.  �He� Who Makes the Covenant is the Antichrist: This can only be the Antichrist, because Daniel 11:31-36 describes the one who committed the first AoD as speaking despicable things against God, something Jesus would never do.  The Seven-year Covenant Is With Ten Kings, Not Israel: Amazingly, there is not one plain verse to support that the �covenant confirmed with the many� is between the Antichrist and Israel. The meaning of the word HaRabim translated �the many� in Daniel 9:27 is ambiguous and inconsistently used elsewhere in Daniel for peoples other than Israel (Dan 11:33, 39; 12:3). There is, however, good support that the covenant mentioned in Daniel 9 is the same as the secret covenant between the Antichrist and the ten rulers detailed in Revelation 17 for destroying America and dominating the world in her place.  Confirmation of the Covenant Not Public: There is no sign that the start of the seven-year covenant is a public event that we can watch for and respond to. To the contrary, Jesus pointed to an event 3� years later as the visible signal of the GT: the AoD. If it were a conspiracy between the Antichrist and these other men of power to rule together after destroying America as Revelation 17 describes, then by no means would it be public. This could explain why Jesus did not tell us to watch for any treaty as the earliest warning sign.  Abomination of Desolation Was and Will Be a Statue at the Temple (Image of the Beast): There is surprisingly much confusion on the AoD considering that Daniel clearly references two fulfillments of this, including one historical fulfillment by Antiochus (Dan 11:31) and one for the �time of the end� (Dan 9:27=Dan 8:12-17=Dan 12:9-11). It seems safe to say that this will be the Image of the Beast that the False Prophet commands to be made of the Antichrist for worship (and he also brings to life) given that Antiochus, as the type of the Antichrist, put up a statue of Zeus/Jupiter for his AoD.  The 69th Week Predicts the Start of Jesus' Ministry, Not the End: Daniel 9:25's 69 weeks �until Messiah the prince� are interpreted by some to have ended with Jesus' death or triumphal entry on Palm Sunday. But Daniel 9 says he died after 69 weeks, not at. He was publicly proclaimed by John the Baptist to be the Lamb of God at his baptism so this is a better natural fit for the first fulfillment of �69 weeks until Messiah the Prince�. We will see later that the historic Sabbath year cycle confirms this. As does the Gospel account of when Jesus read from Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth proclaiming it was a Sabbath year right after his baptism by John the Baptist.  No �360-day Prophetic Calendar� Basis: You may have seen date setting based on turning the 70 Weeks into years multiplied by a �360 day year prophetic calendar� value which supposedly allows you to pinpoint the very day of Jesus' �triumphal entry� (usually in some year after 30 AD). The major problem with this is that there is no such thing as a prophetic calendar used or defined in Scripture, but this belief comes from allegorizing the literal 1260 days and 42 months of the Tribulation because they do not presently fit our 365�-day year reality (but they will literally fit after Wormwood passes).  The 69th Week is a Dual Prophecy: The 69 weeks not only predict the year by which Jesus would be cut off, but also give us the literal week into his ministry after which he was cut off. This would explain why the word seven alone was used without a qualifier such as �years�. Michael Rood's �70 Week Ministry of the Messiah� series first alerted me to this possibility. It provided the answer to the problem I was having with a 3 BC birth of Messiah, a 30 year age at start of his ministry in a historically confirmed Sabbath year, and a death in 30 AD followed by exactly 40 years of cessation of miracles in the temple service before the destruction of it in 70 AD (as the Talmud records). Those time points leave only room for a 1�-year ministry. It appears that the traditional �3� year ministry� is based on two misinterpreted or mistaken verses in the Book of John, which seem to refer to the Feast of Passover but do not 31 .  The GT is only the Second Half of the 70th Week: You always hear about the �seven-year tribulation�. It often makes me cringe when I hear it because in six places the Bible gives it a length of 3� years. Jesus gives us a play by play for things to watch for in Matthew 24
Just for the record, I am not a preterist and do not subscribe to many of the beliefs you brought out that they teach. In interpreting Daniel 9:24-27, I simply compared Scripture with Scripture and let the Bible interpret itself. Nothing more, nothing less.
�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 Holy of Holies . . . 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 street shall be built again, and the wall (or �moat�) in troublesome times� (Daniel 9:24-25).
The question is has all of the above prophecy been fulfilled for Israel?
But after Messiah the Prince has been heralded by Israel, by �your people� � yes, �AFTER the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;� (Daniel 9:26a). Indeed, it was shortly four days after Messiah�s Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, riding up a donkey that He was �cut off� � was crucified � but �no fault� was found in the spotless lamb! (Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:29-38)
AFTER the �cutting off� of Messiah �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� (Daniel 9:26b). Just as the Gentiles �will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months� � even so, it is �the prince who is to come� who will, �When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them� (Revelation 11:2, 7). This �DESOLATOR� � this �VILE or DESPICABLE ONE� (Daniel 9:27; 11:21) who, as we soon shall see, �. . . shall come to his end, and no one will help him� (Daniel 11:45).
You must compare Revelation to many verses in Daniel for confirmation!
For this �prince who is to come� � yes, this one . . . The Antichrist
�He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time. But the court shall be seated, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it forever. The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him� (Daniel 7:25-27) . . .
. . . (this Antichrist) shall have conspired to deceive, yet once more in the latter days after Israel�s ingathering, only to terminate their sacrifice and in its place �declare himself that he is God� (II Thess. 2:4) . . . for �the Abomination of Desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet� (Daniel 11:31; 12:11; Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14) shall inspire the Desolator (Daniel 9:27) to �make war against them, (note--you'll have to manually go in and change the hyperlink in Bible Gateway to read from Matthew 24:15 and not Matthew 14:15) overcome them, and kill them� (Revelation 11:7) but, the day awaits his doom, for nigh when the �power of the holy people has been completely shattered� (Daniel 12:7) � even unto the �one thousand two hundred and ninety days� of his determined abominations (Daniel 12:11) shall this one � �the same horn (who) was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them� (Daniel 7:21) �until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom� (Daniel 7:22) � even he shall come to his end.
The �transgression of desolation� � wherein the rededicated sanctuary within the crucible of Daniel�s 70th Week shall have its daily sacrifice terminated by the Desolator � yea, �the host to be trampled underfoot� for 42 months, for time, times and half a time, for 1260 days, for 3.5 years/3.5 days (Daniel 7:25; 12:7; Rev. 12:14; 11:2, 9, 11; 12:6; 13:5). He shall have his horrid and vile conclusion �come to his end, and no one will help him� (Daniel 11:45b) . . . for he who �shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people through his cunning (wherein) he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule� . . . even this one who �shall exalt himself in his heart� . . . this one who shall �rise against the Prince of princes� . . . �he shall be broken without human means� (Daniel 8:24b-25) . . . for . . .
�In the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold�the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this�. . . yes . . . �a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces . . . and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth� (Daniel 2:44-45; 34-35).
YOU ARE MY WITNESSES
Though some today would claim to be Jehovah�s exclusive �witnesses� � their flamboyant and altogether dubious organizational claims fly in the face of all prophetic witness � such prophetic testimony to the Gentiles, to the Gentile World Powers, �the nations� (not as unto individuals, per se, among the Gentiles), belongs to the exclusive purview of the Almighty�s choice of Israel � set aside and chosen upon the earth to fulfill the purposes of God � not for their sakes (by any stretch of one�s self-righteous imagination), but to declare �the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God � how unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out . . . for of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen� (Romans 11:33, 36).
�I will accept you as a sweet aroma when I bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you have been scattered; and I will be hallowed in you before the Gentiles. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the country for which I raised My hand in an oath to give to your fathers. And there you shall remember your ways and all your doings with which you were defiled; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight because of all the evils that you have committed. Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have dealt with you for My name�s sake, not according to your wicked ways nor according to your corrupt doings, O house of Israel,� says the Lord God.�� (Ezekiel 20:41-44).
�Let all the nations be gathered together and let the people be assembled. Who among them can declare this, and show us former things? Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified; or let them hear and say, �It is truth.� �You are My witnesses,� say the LORD, �and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the LORD, and besides Me there is no savior. I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, and there was no foreign god among you; therefore you are My witnesses,� Says the Lord, �that I am God. Indeed before the day was, I am He; and there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?� . . . �I am the LORD, Your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King.� . . . �This people I have formed for Myself they shall declare My praise�� (Isaiah 43:9-13, 15, 21).
�Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: I am the First and I am the Last; besides Me there is no god. And who can proclaim as I do? Then let him declare it and set it in order for Me, since I appointed the ancient people. And the things that are coming and shall come, let them show these to them. Do not fear, nor be afraid have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.�� (Isaiah 44:6-8).
God�s promises to �national� Israel (and be very clear, that is precisely what we�re discussing) are irrevocable � and that will be His declaration throughout eternity � the endless covenantal promises of Him Who declares the eternality of His promise (Jeremiah 33:19-26�and do read it) � a promise and covenant that no man can put asunder; nor deviant eschatological system destroy; nor clever cultic device His decree besmirch; nor Gentile dispersion, onslaught, religious intolerance and expulsion, persecution, Crusade, inquisition, ghetto, pogrom, assimilating flood, Holocaust or Jihad, nor ceaseless Middle East conflict � nor �Prince of the Covenant�s� deceptive treaty�s enforcement; nor Jacob�s Trouble through Beast and Gentile trampling and shattering of this holy people�s power, nor �doctrines of demons� destroy . . . for, whereas �nothing shall separate us (His Church) from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord� (Romans 8:38-39) � even so, NOTHING will prevent �The Deliverer (Who) will come out of Zion . . . He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins� . . . for . . . �Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable . . . and so all Israel will be saved� (Romans 11:26-29) . . . for he will �finish the transgression and make an end of sins . . . make reconciliation for iniquity . . . bring in everlasting righteousness . . . confirm what the prophet saw and �anoint the Holy of Holies�� (Daniel 9:24 � NKJV, The Message, NLV).
