Day #241
Scripture Reading: Daniel 7 - 12 …
That this world as we know it will end is the clear
teaching of the Bible, God's Word. GOD knows the future and He chose to
reveal it to Daniel AND to us, through Daniel!
Some of Daniel's visions regarded the immediate future. Even
before Daniel and some of the other Jews who were in captivity in Babylon
returned to Jerusalem, the kingdom of Babylon was overtaken by the Medes and
Persians. Not long after that, the kingdom of Greece defeated them, as is
described in the visions, and that was followed by the Roman Empire. All
of this happened exactly as God had revealed to Daniel. But there was
more ...
God also revealed things to Daniel about the
DISTANT future - the time of the end, the time of wrath. God’s plan
unfolds throughout time. To those who believe that the visions of Daniel
were all fulfilled prior to Jesus being born, I refer to Matthew 24, where
Jesus is teaching His disciples about FUTURE events and He refers to the
prophet Daniel and what he had written (Matthew 24:15). If these events
had all been fulfilled previously, then Jesus is wrong in teaching that some of
what Daniel saw had not yet happened, but would be fulfilled in the future,
just before He returned!
Chapter 8 gives a description of the events leading
up to the destruction of the Medes and Persians by the Greeks. History shows the accuracy of Daniel's vision
- so much so that those who do not believe in predictive prophecy claim that
Daniel was written later, after these events had already taken place. But
God does this to confirm that since these things came true, the rest will also
take place just as Daniel wrote ... during the time of the end.
An example is Daniel 7:20-22. Read those
verses and then read Revelation 13:5-7. Both speak of the same event and
the apostle John writes several hundred years after Daniel and about sixty
years after Jesus was crucified, rose again and ascended into heaven ... and
even after the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. That proves that
some of the things revealed in Daniel's visions lie in the future, when God
will bring His judgment on this world and pour out His wrath on the Antichrist
and those who follow him. All of that is described in more detail in Chapter
9:24-27.
These verses have been the subject of so much
discussion over the past few decades and longer because they so clearly point
to God's dealings with "Daniel's people," the Jews, the
descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Gabriel says specifically, "Seventy
'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city ..." (9:24).
Daniel's people were the Jews and their holy city was Jerusalem. History
reveals that from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until the crucifixion of
Jesus was 483 years ... "69 'sevens'" or "weeks of
years." This portion of Daniel is not so much a vision as it is a
revelation, a teaching.
During the entire "seventy 'sevens'" Daniel
is told that several things would happen: "Seventy 'sevens' are
decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an
end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to
seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy" (9:24).
Verses 25-26 explain that some of these things will happen in the time-frame
of the first "sixty-nine 'sevens,'" but then there is the
last "seven," the seventieth "seven" ...
Verse 26 indicates that there is an interruption ... a gap, between the
first sixty-nine weeks of years (483 years) and the last seven. Verse 25
said God would deal specifically with the Jewish people for "seven
'sevens' and sixty-two 'sevens" = 69 "sevens" ...
and verse 26 says,
"After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed
One (the Christ) will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the
ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will
come like a flood; war will continue until the end and desolations have been
decreed." Then verse 27 speaks of a future ruler
(from the people who destroyed the sanctuary - the Roman Empire), who will
confirm a covenant for one "seven" ... then break the
covenant in the middle of the "seven" and do what the rest of the
verse says. Jesus refers to THIS time in Matthew 24:15 and following as
future.
All of this points to the coming of the Antichrist.
In Chapter 12, verses 9-10, the angel
says, "Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed
until the time of the end. Many will be purified, made spotless and
refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked
will understand, but those who are wise will understand."
If we are nearing the time of the return of Jesus
Christ (Matthew 24) and the end of this age, then those who are given wisdom
from God by His Spirit will understand these things. While many have
written about this time in great detail and there seem to be many ideas and
theories, God IS giving understanding of these things during this time in which
we are living. How far in the future do the events of Daniel's "seventieth
'seven'" lie? We do not know for sure, but the
re-establishment of "Daniel's people," the Jews, in the
land God gave to Abraham and his descendants more than 4,000 years ago
indicates that we are nearing the return of Christ and the unfolding of the
rest of God's plan as it is revealed in Daniel, Revelation, Matthew and
elsewhere in Scripture.
The time of the end WILL come ... just as God has
said it will. You do well to believe ALL that God says, to place your
faith and to find your hope in Jesus Christ, the "Anointed One" and
to know that what Daniel predicts about HIM (Chapter 7:9-14) WILL take place
and HIS kingdom will be established and will endure FOREVER!! Believing
the prophecy in Daniel's visions and placing your faith in Jesus Christ leads
to a life lived with hope and with purpose, as God speaks to you by His Word
and Spirit. Read, study and learn about these things - for yourself and
for others, so that when that day comes you will know what God is doing and be
used of God to warn others! Jesus is LIFE, and all who come to Him will
be saved!!
"Almighty God, my Creator and my Savior, I am
in awe of Your power and majesty and wisdom! Your Word reveals who You
are and Your plan for mankind and for all who believe in Your Son Jesus Christ.
HIS kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom and we who believe will exist
forever in Your perfect presence. Help me to live today in such a way
that my life is a testimony to others as I share Your truth with them, that
some might believe and be saved. In Jesus' name, Amen"
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