I was going to preach a sermon today on the timing of the rapture.
I was going to preach on the post-trib pre-rap rapture.
And then I decided, as I was putting the sermon together,
I started to build a bit of an introduction to that sermon
because it's important that we look at Daniel's 70 weeks as an introduction
that will help us then understand that final seven-year period to come.
But as I was putting the introduction together, it was blowing up more and more and more.
It's become its own sermon.
So basically the sermon that I took that I was prepared today,
I've got to cut that in half.
I'm not going to be touching on the rapture specifically this time around.
But I do want to look at Daniel's 70 weeks.
So the title for the sermon tonight is Daniel's 70 weeks.
And as Brother Tim was reading that in Daniel 9,
you could sort of see some mention of that.
But one thing I want you to notice at the beginning of verse number one,
it says,
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus,
of the seed of the Medes,
which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans,
in the first year of his reign,
I Daniel,
now look what Daniel says.
In the first year of his reign,
I Daniel understood by books the number of the years whereof
the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet,
and that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
The 70 years there,
let's just get us into the history we're up to here.
So this is after Israel has been split into two kingdoms.
The northern kingdom of Israel,
the southern kingdom of Judah.
And if you remember,
the northern kingdom was dispersed by the Assyrians,
taken into captivity,
and all those kinds of things,
those 10 tribes kind of missing,
you know, in the picture.
Then we have the southern kingdom of Judah
being taken into captivity by the Babylonians.
Remember that?
King Nebuchadnezzar taking them into captivity.
Now, what Daniel is saying,
Daniel is someone who has grown up basically in captivity.
Okay, he was a young man that was taken into captivity,
you know, made to serve the king of Babylon,
and here he is now being a counselor,
a wise man to King Darius.
And what he's saying here is when Darius started to reign,
in his first year,
Daniel is saying,
I finally understood what was written in Jeremiah.
I finally got it, he's saying, right?
He's saying, look, I've learnt,
I've read Jeremiah,
and Jeremiah was a prophet that came before the captivity,
and that Jeremiah would prophesy of that captivity to come.
And then we have the book of Lamentations,
which Jeremiah also wrote,
and that's a book where he's saddened,
he's seen the state of Jerusalem,
of Judah being taken into captivity,
lamentation, he's sorrowful,
he's crying about that.
But what Daniel found exciting in the books of Jeremiah,
he goes, I realize now,
it's only going to last 70 years, right?
He's come to realize,
he's studied Jeremiah, he gets it,
he's studied the scriptures, he gets it,
and he understands,
what's it saying in verse number two?
I, Daniel, understood by books a number of the years, okay?
This gets me excited,
because the autism prophets have to learn as well.
They have to read,
they have to understand,
just like all of us.
So when you're reading your Bibles,
and you're struggling to understand,
don't worry, even Daniel struggles to understand,
even Daniel needs to study,
spend time in the books of Jeremiah.
Now the reason this is important,
is because when we look at the end times,
and I'll just read to you a quick portion in Matthew 24,
just very quickly, you don't need to turn there,
but in Matthew 24, Jesus says,
at a very specific time, he says,
when ye therefore, in verse number 15,
when ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet,
then he says, stand in the holy place,
then he says this,
whoso readeth, let him understand.
So Jesus says,
when he comes to the topic of the end times,
he goes, listen, go and read Daniel,
then you'll understand what I'm talking about.
Okay, go read Daniel,
and understand what we're talking about.
So as I was preparing the timing of the rapture,
I realized, well, you know what,
Jesus is saying, go back to Daniel.
So what we're going to do tonight is,
like I said, the title is Daniel 70 Weeks.
We're going to go back to Daniel,
we're going to read,
we're going to understand,
so as we continue this series,
we have a better grasp of the end times.
Okay, so just like Daniel had to understand Jeremiah,
well now we, we have to understand Daniel.
Okay, that's the instruction
that's being given to us by Jesus Christ.
Now, look at verse number 20,
Daniel chapter nine, verse 20.
It says here,
So we have a good characteristic there of Daniel,
first of all, a good Christian man.
What's he doing?
He's praying to the Lord, right?
And what's he doing?
He's confessing his sins.
Should we confess our sins?
Absolutely, every day.
Every day we sin,
we should confess our sins.
Hey, Daniel's like us, he sins.
He's got to confess our sins to the Lord.
But then he says,
Now Gabriel is the angel.
Okay, Gabriel is the same angel
that would come to Mary
and tell her that she would give birth
as a virgin to Jesus Christ.
It's the same Gabriel.
This is an angel here.
He touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
And he informed me and talked with me and said,
Oh Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee
skill and understanding.
At the beginning of thy supplications,
the commandment came forth
and I am come to show thee.
Look at this.
What's Gabriel saying?
He's saying, look,
he says at the beginning of thy supplications,
the commandment came forth
and I come to show thee.
He's saying, look, when you started praying,
I've got a commandment from God
to come and show you.
Listen brethren,
if you're struggling in reading the Bible,
if you're struggling to understand,
if you need answers to life,
if you need answers to what God wants you
to do for your life,
what do you do?
You get your head down,
you get on your knees,
you bow your head and you pray.
You speak to God.
And as you're starting to do that,
God is already sending things in command.
He's already organizing events
to give you those answers.
But what if Daniel doesn't pray?
What if Daniel's not speaking?
What if Daniel's not confessing his sins?
You think God's going to send Gabriel
to give him understanding and wisdom?
No.
Okay, so the importance of prayer
we're seeing there, right?
The commandment came to Gabriel
and then it says here,
for thou art greatly beloved,
in verse 23,
therefore understand the matter
and consider the vision.
Verse 24,
now this is the most important part here.
Seventy weeks are determined
upon thy people and upon thy holy city
to finish their transgression.
Now before I keep reading,
Gabriel is telling Daniel,
there are 70 weeks that are important,
that's coming up.
This is important for you to understand, Daniel.
I want you to have understanding
and these 70 weeks are for a purpose.
The purpose, to finish their transgression,
number one.
Number two,
to make an end of sins.
Number three,
to make reconciliation for iniquity.
Number four,
and to bring in everlasting righteousness.
Number five,
and to seal up the vision and prophecy.
Number six,
and to anoint the most holy.
So these 70 weeks are about six major things
Gabriel is telling him, okay.
So I don't know what your thoughts are there,
I'm going to give you my thoughts
as to what these six things are
and it's not that complicated.
I believe all of these things,
or at least five out of six things
is basically about the coming of Christ.
It's basically about his sacrifice.
You know, his death,
his burial and resurrection.
Because what's the first thing
that's mentioned there?
To finish the transgression,
all right.
And Galatians 3.19 says,
Okay.
And here's the thing,
when we transgress,
when we commit sin,
we're breaking God's laws.
This is why the law was given.
This is why the Old Testament was given.
So people could know
they had transgressed against the Lord.
But then it says,
The seed should come
to whom the promise was made.
And it was ordained by angels
in the hand of a mediator.
So we're talking about a time
when transgressions would be finished, okay.
And the Bible tells in Galatians 3,
that happened till the seed came.
That seed being Jesus Christ.
That's when Christ came to die
to make an end
or to finish the transgression.
Look at the next thing there.
And to make an end of sins.
Transgressions are sins.
It's the same thing.
To make an end of sins.
And Romans 8.3 says,
Sin was condemned in the flesh of Christ
as he hung on that cross,
the Bible tells us.
He made an end to sin at that point.
He died for all our sins.
He died for those that lived before Christ.
He died for those that lived during Christ.
He died for us that lived after Christ.
He's made an end for sin on the cross.
Hebrews 9.26 says,
For then must he have often suffered
since the foundation of the world,
but now once in the end of the world
hath he appeared to put away sin
by the sacrifice of himself.
That's how the end of sin comes.
That's how sin has been put away
by the sacrifice of himself.
Once done, 2000 years ago on the cross.
The next thing we see there in verse number 24.
To make an end of sins
and to make reconciliation for iniquity.
Reconciliation, and again,
iniquity is just another way of saying sins.
Transgressions, sins, iniquity
are all talking about the same thing.
Romans 5.10 says,
So you can see how important
this 70 week period is.
It's all about pointing Daniel to Christ.
It's all about that being
the focal point of that period.
2 Corinthians 5.18 says,
Sorry, let me read that again.
Verse number 18.
Reconciliation.
So we see these things come into play
where Christ's sacrifice means many, many things.
The end of the transgressions,
the end of the law as it were,
the end of sin being condemned in the flesh,
and also that we are brought into reconciliation with God
through the sacrifice of His Son.
What else does it say there in verse number 24 though?
Make a reconciliation for iniquity
and then it says then to bring in
everlasting righteousness.
This is obvious for us.
Everlasting righteousness,
eternal life,
everlasting life,
one saved always,
saved eternal security.
Of course, this is how
Christ has given us this gift of eternal life.
Romans 5.19 says,
So by the obedience of one
shall many be made righteous.
By the obedience of one,
by the obedience of Jesus,
only by Jesus can we be made righteous.
What a great thing.
Everlasting righteousness.
In Romans 5.21,
it says that as sin have reigned unto death,
even so might grace reign
through righteousness unto eternal life
by Jesus Christ our Lord.
So as we're reading this vision
that's given to Daniel,
what's Gabriel telling him about?
What did Gabriel come to Mary
to tell her about?
About Jesus.
You're going to give birth to the Messiah.
You're going to be giving birth to Emmanuel,
God with us, right?
To Jesus Christ.
But what's he doing before that?
He's telling Daniel about the same story.
He's telling Daniel about the coming of the Messiah.
So Gabriel has an important role
to point people to Jesus Christ.
And then it says here,
after it says everlasting righteousness,
and to seal up the vision and prophecy.
Now keep that in mind.
We're going to come back to this.
I don't want to talk about this just yet.
And to seal up the vision and prophecy,
that's another important aspect
of the 70th week,
or the 70 weeks I should say.
And then it says,
and to anoint the most holy.
To anoint the most holy.
And the Bible tells us in Acts 10 38,
it says how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Ghost and with power
and went about doing good
and healing all that were oppressed of the devil
for God was with him.
And we are witnesses of all things
which he did both in the land of the Jews
and in Jerusalem
whom they slew and hanged on a tree.
Him, God raised up the third day
and showed him openly.
Okay, so you can see
at least five of these six things
are all about Christ,
about his sacrifice
and all the things that come together
with that offering of his body.
You know, on the cross,
his burial, his death, his resurrection.
Okay, but there was just the one
that little point there
that I want to touch on soon
and to seal up the vision and prophecy.
Okay, we'll come back to that a little bit later.
But let's drop down to verse number 27
in Daniel 12.
Sorry, Daniel 9, verse 27.
And it says here.
All right, verse 27.
I'm not sure why I've got my notes here
but I'll cover this anyway.
Verse number 27.
So Daniel's going to be given
this vision of 70 weeks, right?
And the one we care about the most,
you know, as New Testament believers
is the final 70th week.
Now when it comes to Daniel,
the entire 70 weeks
was a future event to him.
But for us,
69 of those weeks have already passed
and we've got one week left.
One of those weeks left, okay?
Now look at verse number 27.
Let's talk about this last week for now.
It says here,
So we're talking about the midst of the week,
the middle of the week,
something's going to happen.
Now remember Jesus Christ said
in Matthew 24
about this abomination of desolation.
This is where it comes from.
This is why he said
we need to understand
the prophecy that was given to Daniel.
So we can read,
we can understand.
And then it says here,
Notice how many times
the word desolate comes up there, right?
Overspreading the abominations
shall make it desolate.
And at the end,
and that determination
shall be poured upon the desolate.
This is the abomination of desolation
which Jesus Christ is speaking about.
It's when the Antichrist will exalt himself
and is going to set up an image
in the future for people to worship.
Now you guys are in Daniel.
Keep your finger in Daniel 9.
But go to Daniel 11.
Go to Daniel 11.
Because Daniel explains
what this is about, okay?
Daniel 11 verse 31.
Notice this.
It says,
shall stand on his part
and they shall pollute
the sanctuary of strength
and shall take away the daily sacrifice.
Look at this.
And they shall place the abomination
that maketh desolate.
So they're placing something
that is an abomination, okay?
And this is that statue.
That statue of the Antichrist
for people to worship.
Drop down to verse number 36
of the same chapter.
Daniel 11 verse 36.
It says here,
and the king,
now this king
is referring to that beast,
to that Antichrist.
It says here,
and the king shall do
according to his will.
This is when he sets up
the abomination of desolation.
The king shall do
according to his will
and he shall exalt himself
and magnify himself
above every god
and shall speak marvelous things
against the God of gods
and shall prosper
till the indignation be accomplished
for that that is determined
shall be done, alright?
So what do we see coming together
on that final week,
on that 70th week,
there is coming a point
in the midst of that week,
in that middle of the week
that this abomination will be set up,
this idol.
And at that point,
the king that's mentioned there,
the Antichrist, the beast,
will say, I'm God.
He'll exalt himself.
He'll magnify himself
above the God of gods,
the Bible tells us here.
He blasphemes against God.
He sets himself up as this deity, okay?
So this is where it plays in
to what Matthew 24 is about,
where Jesus Christ
was speaking about this event.
Jesus wants us to understand
the book of Daniel
so we can better then understand
what he teaches in Matthew 24, alright?
Now, if you can please go to
Daniel 12, verse 11.
Because what I said to you
is that that final 70th week,
I told you that represents 7 years.
So how do we know
it represents 7 years?
Why can't it represent 7 days?
Why can't it represent something else?
Okay, well let me show you this.
In Daniel 12, verse 11,
Daniel 12, verse 11,
it tells us here,
I know what I've done.
Sorry guys, can you please
go to verse number 25?
Verse number 25.
Sorry guys, I missed one page in my notes.
I've stapled it the wrong way around.
Let's go to verse 25.
I'll put it all together for us
as we keep going through this.
Verse number 25.
So this is, remember,
Gabriel coming to Daniel, alright?
And he says here in verse number 25,
Know therefore and understand
that from the going forth of the commandment
to restore and build Jerusalem,
unto the Messiah the Prince
shall be 7 weeks.
Notice that, okay?
There's a period of 7 weeks to come.
And what do we see that's referring to?
About the going forth of a commandment
to restore and build Jerusalem, right?
You see that?
So keep in mind,
what are we talking about?
Daniel is in captivity.
Daniel is in Babylon.
He knows that when 70 years are done
in captivity,
they're going to go back
according to Jeremiah, right?
And what Gabriel is saying here
is there's going to come
a commandment to restore and build Jerusalem
and referring to Messiah the Prince
shall be 7 weeks.
Now there's a period of 7 weeks
and that's important
but then it says this.
And 3 score and 2 weeks.
What's 3 score and 2 weeks?
60 and 2 weeks.
62 weeks, right?
So the 7 weeks and the 62 weeks.
When you put these two together,
that's 69 weeks
and then you've got that final week left, okay?
Let's keep going.
It says here,
the street shall be built again
and the wall even in troubleless times.
Now when it says here
the street and the wall will be built again,
that's talking about, of course,
the commandment to restore
and to build Jerusalem.
Okay.
So here's what we need to understand.
They're in captivity in Babylon.
Daniel knows shortly
it's going to come to pass
and we're going to go back.
You know, the Jews are going to go back
and rebuild that city, right?
Now when it's said there
that Messiah the Prince
shall be 7 weeks,
again who's Messiah the Prince?
Well John 1.41 says,
He that findeth his own brother Simon
and saith unto him,
We have found the Messiah's
which is being interpreted the Christ.
Okay.
So when we read there Messiah the Prince,
that is basically another way of being,
I've said Christ the Prince.
We know Jesus Christ is the Prince of peace.
Okay.
He's the Messiah.
He's the Christ.
And so you can understand why
all of this is to build toward Jesus Christ.
Now keep your finger there
and go to Ezra chapter 1.
Ezra chapter 1.
As I've told you before,
this end time study
is more of a Bible study than a sermon.
More of a Bible study.
Please go to Ezra 1
because I want to show you
a couple of things here.
There is some misunderstanding
when it comes to this topic
of rebuilding Jerusalem
and what this means.
Okay.
In Ezra chapter 1 verse 1,
now Ezra is another man
who lived during the Babylonian captivity.
Okay.
He's another man that knew
there was coming a time
and he was involved in this
where the Jews would go back
and rebuild Jerusalem.
Okay.
And all this kind of stuff.
Rebuild the temple.
And it says here in Ezra 1.1,
Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia,
that the word of the Lord
by the mouth of Jeremiah
might be fulfilled.
Again Jeremiah is prophesying
of all these things.
The Lord stirred up the spirit
of Cyrus king of Persia
that he made a proclamation
throughout all his kingdom
and put it also in writing saying,
Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia,
the Lord God of heaven
have given me
all the kingdoms of the earth
and have charged me,
look at this,
have charged me
to build him
and house at Jerusalem
which is in Judah.
Hey, what's the house of the Lord
in Jerusalem?
That was the Old Testament temple.
You know what Cyrus is saying?
Cyrus the king of Persia is saying,
God has put it on my heart.
He has commanded me.
He's charged me.
Go and build me that house.
Go and rebuild that broken down temple
in Jerusalem.
Okay.
And then verse number three.
He asked this question.
Who is there among you
of all his people?
His God be with him
and let him go up to Jerusalem
which is in Judah
and build the house of the Lord
God of Israel.
He is the God which is in Jerusalem.
Okay, so notice that.
You know this is now God
preparing the hearts of the kings
of Babylon to send back the Jews
to go back to Jerusalem.
Go back to rebuild everything
that was broken down
during the captivity.
But if we look at Ezra 1,
what is God asking King Cyrus
to build specifically?
What was it?
The temple.
Okay.
This is where some people
get it mixed up
because they think the prophecy
of Daniel is with Ezra
when Ezra writes these things
to go and rebuild the temple.
But when we read the prophecy of Daniel,
was it about rebuilding the temple
or was it about rebuilding the walls
and the streets and the city?
It was about rebuilding the walls
and the streets and the city.
Okay.
So here's what you need to understand.
King Cyrus allowed Ezra
to go back with others
and they started rebuilding that temple.
Now there was a time
where they took a bit of a break
and they had to complete it later on.
Okay.
But that's not where
the 70 week prophecy begins.
The beginning of the 70 week prophecy
is the commandment to rebuild the wall,
not the temple,
but to rebuild the wall.
So please go to Nehemiah now.
Nehemiah chapter 2.
Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 1.
Nehemiah, another man
who lived at the time
of the Babylonian captivity.
Another man that was used
to go back to Jerusalem to rebuild things.
In Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 1,
it says,
Verse number 2.
Now this is nothing else
but sorrow of heart.
Then I was very sore afraid.
So Nehemiah is someone
that's just squeezing grape juice there, right?
He's a cup bearer for the king
and the king's concerned for his sake, right?
The king obviously cares for Nehemiah.
Verse number 3.
And said unto the king,
Let the king live forever.
Why should not my countenance be sad,
when the city,
the place of my father's sepulchres,
lieth waste,
and the gates thereof
are consumed with fire?
Then the king said unto me,
For what dost thou make request?
So I prayed to the God of heaven,
and I said unto the king,
If it please the king,
if thy servant have found favour in thy sight,
that thou wouldst send me unto Judah,
unto the city of my father's sepulchres,
that I may build it.
So what does he want to build?
The city, right?
He's not so keen,
his mission isn't about building the temple,
but it's about building the city.
Verse number 6.
And the king said unto me,
the queen also sitting by him,
For how long shall thy journey be,
and when wilt thou return?
So it pleased the king to send me,
and I sent him a time.
Moreover I said unto the king,
If it please the king,
let letters be given unto me
to the governors beyond the river,
that they may convey me over
till I come into Judah.
And a letter unto Asaph,
the keeper of the king's forest,
that he may give me timber to make beams,
look at this,
for the gates of the palace
which appertain to the house,
look at this,
and for the wall of the city,
and for the house that I shall enter into.
And the king granted me
according to the good hand
of my God upon me.
So when we look at Ezra and we look at Nehemiah,
and both these guys lived around the same time,
they both had different missions, didn't they?
Ezra's mission was to go and rebuild the temple,
but Nehemiah's mission was to go rebuild the city.
And specifically he was focusing on
having enough wood to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
Now this is important,
because we found out in Daniel chapter 9,
it said in verse number 25,
I'll read it again,
Now therefore and understand,
that from the going forth of the commandment
to restore and build Jerusalem,
that comes with Nehemiah, not with Ezra.
And then it says,
the street shall be built again and the wall,
even in troublous times.
Are you guys in Daniel 9?
Go back to Daniel 9.
So let's break this down,
let's understand this.
We need to understand,
notice how many times the Bible says,
understand, understand,
we want to understand.
We don't want to rush this teaching.
It's important.
So it says here that,
let me break this down.
Now therefore and understand,
that from the going forth of the commandment
to restore and build Jerusalem,
now forget Messiah the Prince for a moment.
Let's just put that aside.
It says here, shall be seven weeks.
How do we know these weeks represent seven years?
I'll tell you why.
Because it didn't take seven weeks
to rebuild the entire city.
Okay, to rebuild all the streets,
to rebuild all the walls.
But this commandment to rebuild the walls
and the streets is said to have happened.
Now I don't know exactly,
we can't go to the Bible
and see these dates obviously.
But it's said to have happened
around 454 B.C.
454 B.C.
And it took 49 years,
49 years to rebuild Jerusalem.
Okay, to rebuild the walls,
to rebuild the streets,
it took 49 years for that to happen.
Now if you divide 49 years
divided by seven,
what do you get?
Seven.
Seven times seven is 49.
So when you read about these seven weeks,
that's talking about the commandment to rebuild
and it took seven weeks
or seven times seven years
to finalize the city of Jerusalem,
the walls, the streets
and all those kinds of things.
Ezra on the other hand
was making sure the temple
was getting rebuilt.
The house of God was being rebuilt.
Okay.
So that's where that first seven weeks comes from.
Okay.
As we read Daniel chapter 9.
Now notice as we kept reading,
it says,
and in verse number 25,
and three score and two weeks.
A score is 20.
Three score, three times 20.
60 and two weeks.
62 weeks, right?
62 weeks is how long it takes
from that time
till Messiah the Prince.
Okay.
Till Messiah the Prince.
Now look at verse number 26.
Verse number 26.
Daniel chapter 9 verse 26.
And then it says here,
and after three score and two weeks.
What's that?
That's after 62 weeks.
So we have the seven weeks already gone.
Then another three score and two weeks.
Another 62 weeks.
We're now up to 69 weeks.
Right?
So let's look at it like that.
And after the 69th week, right?
Shall Messiah be cut off?
Now when it says cut off there,
that's a reference
to Jesus dying on the cross.
Amen?
But then it says here,
but not for himself.
He didn't die for himself.
It says here,
it must be cut off,
but not for himself.
Okay.
He didn't die for himself.
He died for our sins.
He died for you and I.
And then it says here,
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.
So let's pause there for a moment.
69 weeks from that commandment
to rebuild Jerusalem.
Seven weeks and then another 62 weeks.
If you break that down,
69 weeks times seven years
is 483 years.
Okay.
483 years.
From the commandment
to Messiah being cut off.
The crucifixion.
Alright.
Now, if it is correct
that this commandment
to rebuild Jerusalem
happened at 454 BC.
Okay.
Then we need to add
483 years.
That'll bring us up to 29 AD.
29 AD.
Okay.
Now how old was Jesus
when he was crucified?
33 years.
Alright.
He was 33 years old
when he was crucified.
Now if this is correct
that the crucifixion then
it would have taken
it would have happened
about 29 AD.
Okay.
So if he was 33 years old
when he died
approximately what was the year
that Jesus was born?
Well, we go back 29 years.
Then we go back the three years.
Now there's no year zero.
You gotta remember that.
So you go to 1 BC then 1 AD.
That will take us
to the birth of Christ
being about 4 or 5 BC.
And most historians
you know if you lived around
that time most historians
would identify
roughly that would be
the period of time
that Jesus was born.
About 4 or 5 BC.
Because that was the time
that King Herod the Great
was ruling from Jerusalem.
Okay.
So some people say
well hold on.
What about the AD?
You know the calendar
that we use?
You know 1 AD.
Wasn't Jesus born in 1 AD?
Because you know 1 BC
that's before Christ.
And then AD
that's the year of the Lord.
So isn't 1 AD
the time that Jesus was born?
No.
Okay.
The reason
the man that created
the AD era
in our calendars
he was a eastern monk
that lived in the 6th century.
And his name was
Dionysus Exiduus.
Okay.
And this was a monk
okay
that was involved
with helping collaborate
information for the Gregorian calendar
that we use today.
And he
according to his research
believed that Jesus was born at 1 AD.
But if you go
and you try to investigate that
you research that
nobody knows how he came to that.
Like nobody knows.
I mean I wouldn't trust a monk anyway.
With the word of God.
Nobody knows.
But if you look at the historians
most historians recognise
that Jesus must have been born
about 4 or 5 or 6 BC
approximately.
Okay.
So we're in that ballpark.
So the reason we know
these are 7 weeks of years
is obvious.
It's common sense.
Because that's how long it took
from the commandment
to rebuilding the entire city
till then Christ coming back
coming the first time
and dying on the cross for us.
Okay.
So this would make no sense
if there were days.
Okay.
But this makes perfect sense
if there were years.
Now this is what's amazing
about the Bible.
Because this is a prophecy
that's very specific
from the commandments
to the rebuilding
to the death of Christ.
Very specific dates.
And it lines up perfectly
with when Christ came.
It lines up perfectly.
It lines up well
with the writings of history as well.
And these are prophecies
that an angel Gabriel gave to Daniel.
And you know people
that mock the Bible
they say that Daniel
could not have written such things.
They don't believe these chapters
that were written of Daniel
were written by Daniel.
Because it's too accurate.
It's too correct.
It shows the hand of God.
It shows that somebody
knows the future
and he's writing about these things.
And many theologians
many students
people that study the Bible
say no, no.
This must have been
another person
that wrote under the name of Daniel
and then they attached it
to his books
to his writings.
No.
It's the hand of God.
You know it's God revealing
the future events for us.
Now if we can please go to Daniel 12.
Daniel 12 please.
And this is where I skipped ahead
I'm sorry guys
but I skipped ahead to the 70th week.
So we know that after the 69 weeks
at the point of the 69 weeks
that were done
Christ died for us.
There's still another week left.
Okay.
There's still another week.
Now the question is
well maybe that week continued.
Maybe that next seven years
was after Christ died.
But no I'm here to tell you
that seven year period
is still to come.
That's still a future event
that has not been fulfilled.
Okay.
How do I know this?
Because
remember when it said that
on the final week
in the midst of the week
that the Antichrist
will cause the abomination of desolation
at the midst of the week.
Right.
Now if you look at Daniel 12 verse 11
look at this
Daniel 12 verse 11
it says here
and from the time
that the daily sacrifice
shall be taken away
and the abomination
that maketh desolate set up
there shall be
a thousand two hundred
and ninety days.
Now think about this for a moment.
This is the final week.
We already know this can't be days.
But this proves it again.
Because it's saying
from the abomination of desolation
we've got another three and a half years left.
Right.
Or we have three and a half days.
Which one?
But then that period of time
of that three and a half that's left
shall be a thousand two hundred
and ninety days.
So it's not three and a half days.
If you break that down
that becomes years.
Okay.
So this is another way of seeing
how these weeks represent years.
Alright.
Now I want you to understand this.
Look at this.
It says here
there shall be a thousand
now kids pay attention
especially my kids.
If you're doing maths pay attention.
One thousand
two hundred
and ninety days.
One thousand two hundred
and ninety days.
Now when it comes to the Jewish calendar
they've got twelve months like we do.
Okay.
But do you know how many days per month
they have on the Hebrew calendar?
Does anybody know?
Thirty.
Thirty days.
Now on our calendar
we've some months have thirty
some months have thirty-one
February has twenty-eight
and in the leap year
we give that extra day
for February.
Alright.
Now the reason we have it this way
is because our calendar
is built around the sun.
Okay.
It's a solar calendar.
Alright.
And the reason we have thirty-one and thirty
is so we can sort of stay within
the seasons so you know we don't
you know start having winter in summer
and summer in winter
we need to adjust these things
and every now and again
we need to adjust the leap year as well
to keep it in the ballpark of the seasons.
Okay.
But when it comes to the Hebrew calendar
when it comes to other people
like the Chinese as well
even I think the Muslims
they have a lunar calendar.
A lunar calendar.
So instead of it being by the rotation of the sun
or the orbit of the earth to the sun
they do it by the orbit of the moon.
Okay.
And so their months
when it comes to the Hebrew calendar
they've got thirty days.
Now think about that problem.
They've got twelve months like we do
but they've got only thirty days.
That means our years
are always a little bit longer
a few more days longer than their years.
Does that make sense?
So they're also going to have to make adjustments
to their calendar system.
The way we make adjustments
they also need to make adjustments.
But what it says here
let me just read verse number eleven again
let's pay attention
and from the time that the daily sacrifice
shall be taken away
and the abomination that maketh desolate set up
when is that set up again?
The midst of the week.
So from that time
now we're in the second half
of that final seventieth week.
Does that make sense?
Okay.
So from that time in the middle
in the second half
shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days.
Now if you divide one thousand two hundred and ninety
if you divide that by thirty days
and that's how many days of the month they have
that comes down to forty three months.
Forty three months.
Okay.
Now
when it comes to three and a half years
okay
so every year has twelve months
let's count this
one year has twelve
the second year if we include it
the second year how many months?
Twenty four
a third year
thirty six
and then half a year
three and a half years
another six months
what do we get to?
Forty two.
So a year
sorry three and a half years
is actually forty two months.
Okay.
But this period that we're looking at here
is forty three months.
And you say why is that?
It's because in the Hebrew calendar
like we've got that leap year
when it comes to adding a day to February
and the thirty one and thirty days
they've got a leap month basically.
They've got these leap years as well
that every few years
they've got to add an extra month to their calendar.
Instead of us adding an extra day
they have to add an entire month
to their calendars every so often.
Okay.
And this is a leap year to the Hebrew calendar.
So here's why we're seeing
that the next three and a half years
isn't actually forty two months
but it's forty three months.
Okay.
So why do we have to know this?
We've got to call it later
as we keep going through this series
on the end times right.
Now I'm going to read to you
just pay attention to Esther chapter three verse seven
because it mentions the months.
Mention the months.
Don't turn there.
Just listen to me.
Esther three seven.
It says here
in the first month
that is the month Nisan.
So what's the first month of the Hebrew calendar?
Nisan.
As is January.
For them it's Nisan.
Okay.
And this is this.
In the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus
they cast per
that is the lot before Haman
from day to day
and from month to month
to the twelfth month.
So now we're going to the twelfth.
What's our twelfth month?
December.
What's their twelfth month?
To the twelfth month
that is the month Adar.
Their twelfth month is Adar.
Okay.
Now when they add another month
to their calendar
every few years
instead of having twelve months of the year
they've got thirteen months in a year.
Okay.
And the month of Adar
the twelfth month of the year
they basically have another month called Adar.
Okay.
So they have Nisan first month
the next ten months
then when they get to the twelfth month
that's Adar one.
Oh now we need to have elite month.
Then we have Adar two.
And then after Adar two
they're back to Nisan.
Okay.
And they keep going in that month.
Okay.
So that's why we have this extra month
that's mentioned here.
Forty-three months
rather than forty-two months.
Okay.
On the Jewish calendar.
You've got to keep that in mind.
Alright.
Now Daniel twelve twelve.
Daniel twelve twelve.
It says here
Blessed.
Now I want a blessing.
Do you want a blessing?
Do you want a blessing from God?
It says blessed.
Alright.
Is he that waiteth
and cometh
to the thousand three hundred
and five and thirty
days.
You go man what are these numbers
they're confusing me
and they are a little bit confusing
I understand.
You understand why we have to read
and understand.
Okay.
We need to spend time on these things.
I want to be blessed.
So I want to know what this is about.
Okay.
And so
as I told you
three and a half years
is actually forty-two months.
Okay.
Now if you get forty-two months
and you times that by thirty days
on the Hebrew calendar
you come to
and this is important kids pay attention
kids pay attention here.
One thousand
two hundred
and sixty
days.
How many days for half a year?
One thousand
sorry for three and a half years
one thousand
two hundred and sixty days.
Keep that in your mind.
One
two
six zero.
Okay.
That is three and a half years.
But
the blessing
is to someone
that waits
and cometh
to the thousand
three hundred
and five and thirty days.
That's one thousand
three hundred
and thirty five days.
Now for any of the kids
maybe Tim or someone else right
if you're good at maths
can you work out
the difference here?
What difference are we talking about here?
One thousand three hundred and thirty five
that's where the blessing is
if you wait that long
one thousand three hundred and thirty five
but
three and a half years
is actually
one thousand two hundred and sixty.
So the maths is this
one thousand three hundred and thirty five
take away
one thousand
two hundred
and sixty.
Let me tell you that again
one thousand three hundred and thirty five
take away
one thousand two hundred and sixty.
Who wants to give a shot?
Nicholas?
Sorry?
Seventy five days.
Alright.
Think about this.
So when talking about that final week to come
that's a future event to come.
Okay.
We know
and we're going to get into all this next time
but we know it's going to be a very difficult time
and we know at the midst of the week
the Antichrist is going to exalt himself
is going to persecute the believers.
Alright.
That happens at the midst of the week
that happens at the end of forty two
months
but then there's an extra seventy five days
which Nicholas worked out
and
we've been told here that there's a blessing
to be had at the end of those seventy five days.
Okay.
So if
the Antichrist exalts himself
exalts himself at the half point
that begins the great tribulation.
That's when the Antichrist and his armies
and whatever the devils start persecuting
the people of God.
Those that have the name of Christ
those that have his testimony.
What this is teaching us
is that there is seventy five days
of that great tribulation.
Okay.
That has been established by the prophet Daniel
and at the end of those seventy five days
Jesus Christ is going to come back.
That's the blessing.
That Jesus Christ will come back
by that point.
And in fact
and we'll get into this next time
I think Christ is going to come before that.
But I'll get into that later.
Okay.
Seventy five days.
So we have this teaching.
So if you put all this together
about three and a half years
another three and a half years
it's definitely seven years
that a week is.
So this is how you work it out.
Okay.
It's not seven weeks of days
but it's seven weeks of years.
Now look at verse number twenty four.
Daniel nine.
Daniel nine
verse twenty four.
Because I want to end on this.
Thank you for your patience.
I really appreciate it.
Daniel nine twenty four.
Let's end on this one.
I left this to last.
It says here seventy weeks
to determine upon thy people
and upon thy holy city
to finish their transgression
to make an end of sins
and to make reconciliation for iniquity
and to bring in everlasting righteousness.
So I showed you how all these things tie in
to the sacrifice of Christ.
But this is the one that stands out.
And to seal up the vision and prophecy.
So Gabriel's telling Daniel
I'm giving you this vision and this prophecy
but during this time
it's going to be sealed up.
There's going to be a restriction
on this knowledge for Daniel.
Okay.
Now look at Daniel twelve please.
Daniel twelve verse four.
God says these words to the prophet Daniel
in Daniel twelve four.
But thou, O Daniel,
shut up the words
and seal the book
even to the time of the end.
Right?
The knowledge,
the information will be sealed till the end.
Many shall run to and fro
and knowledge shall be increased.
Drop down to verse number eight.
And I heard,
but I understood not.
Then said I,
O my Lord,
what shall be the end of these things?
And he said,
go thy way Daniel
for the words are closed up and sealed
till the time of the end.
Now this is important because Daniel twelve
speaks about that tribulation period to come.
It talks about the resurrection to come.
Right?
And so Daniel's getting a good picture
of what's happening.
Gets a good picture about, you know,
going back to Jerusalem.
You know, learns from that from Jeremiah.
And then he's got this period of time.
Okay, it's going to work out to be 49 years
from the time, you know,
that this is all finished.
And then an extra, you know,
whatever number of weeks,
whatever it was, 62 weeks more
times seven years
when Messiah comes.
But then when he comes to this final week,
Daniel wants to try to understand that more.
And God said,
no, seal up the book.
Okay?
Seal it up till the end,
time of the end.
Right?
And so this is important
because let's just end on Revelation 22 now.
Revelation 22.
Why am I spending so much time on this?
This was information that was restricted to Daniel.
But it's not restricted to us.
Okay?
And this is why we need to spend time
teaching on the end times.
Because in Revelation 22 verse seven,
Revelation 22 verse seven.
Now, of course, the book of Revelation
is all about the end times.
Half of Daniel is as well.
The two books really go hand in hand so well.
In Revelation 22 verse seven,
Jesus says,
Behold, I come quickly.
Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings
of the prophecy of this book.
And I, John, saw these things
and heard them.
And when I heard and seen,
I fell down to worship
before the feet of the angel
which showed me these things.
Then sayeth he unto me,
See thou do it not,
for I am thy fellow servant
and of thy brethren the prophets
and of them which keep
the sayings of this book.
Worship God,
and he saith unto me,
look at this,
Seal not the sayings of the prophecy
of this book,
for the time is at hand.
So was it sealed in the time of Daniel?
Yes.
Is it sealed anymore?
No, the time is at hand now.
You know it's been the end times
since Christ has come back?
It's been the latter times
since Christ has come back, okay?
But the knowledge will increase.
We'll have a greater understanding,
a greater appreciation of the end times
as we get closer and closer to the end.
Now we have the benefit
of the book of Revelation.
Daniel did not have that book, okay?
The book of Revelation
is a book of revealing.
And it reveals for us
that which was sealed by the prophet
or by Daniel.
But yeah,
where Daniel was struggling
to understand certain truths.
So brethren,
I hope this sermon didn't go over your head.
I want you to understand,
you have a great honor.
You have a great blessing
to have been revealed great truths
by God in the Bible.
And the other reason
we know this is a future event
is because the book of Revelation
was written in 90 AD,
90 AD, okay?
Therefore,
when this is now open,
you know God's saying,
don't seal it up anymore.
This is knowledge that needs to be known.
That means it's still
it was still a future event to come
at least after 90 AD.
This couldn't have happened before then
because there are some
in the world of Christendom
that would teach
now these things already happened.
No, it must have happened after 90 AD
or it's got to happen after 90 AD.
This is still
that final seven year period
is still a time to come.
This Antichrist,
this beast will still come
and persecute the believers.
But brethren,
if we are that generation,
if we are those people
that go through this time period,
what I want you to remember
with this sermon
is there's a blessing.
There's a blessing.
You can last out 75 days
of tribulation,
you'll be going up in the rapture.
You'll be waiting there,
waiting for the coming of the Lord
and He's going to deliver you
from His enemies.
All right, let's pray.