Rev - The Keys to Escatology - Part 2

What we cover tonight

New words

Dan 9

Next Week: Matt 24:29-51; Sign of Son of Man; Fig tree & the knowing the day & hour. Mark 13, Luke 21

Welcome

(Opener for each class ) who am I: Ken Geer

Thanks for visiting our church. If your a member of another church, you remain a member of that church, and we bless your church, and thank you for joining us for this study. We look foreword to more unity in the body of Jesus.. each church of Jesus is a candle in the dark and we are praying that we may all grow brighter, in these end times. we must all work together.

Other churches may have slightly different perspectives on Revelation . That is just fine. I am comfortable with that . It is OK to have differences. I will give you my view, and why I hold my view. I will do my best to accurately represent other major views. we are looking to study the Bible, not confirm our bias. so we must be willing to study.

Our desire is to be like the good Bereans. they were challenged with a strange new teaching that Jesus was the messiah and had been crucified. they had to deal with a pretty unsettling set of thoughts. but they got through it.

If you do have a corrections for me. you may briefly state you concern in the class in the form of a question, but it would be best for others if we hold our discussion/or disagreements on these things till after class. - I am happy to learn and grow. I am not the final authority on revelation. For that I refer you to Jesus.

Pray

Invite the Holy spirit, ask him to give us a spirit of humility unity and love. Make us more like Jesus.

Video (skip)

to catch attention, and pull people in - but then do intro.

Intro

Be Resolute Chapter Nine: The Prophetic Calendar (Daniel 9)

When speaking at a press conference in Cairo on February 1, 1943 Sir Winston Churchill said, “I always avoid prophesying beforehand, because it is a much better policy to prophesy after the event has already taken place.”

Bible Memory Verse for this week

Matthew 24:35 ESV

35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.

Bible Memory Verse for Last week

Matthew 24:44 ESV

Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

Review - Asking Jesus when are you coming back?

What 3 questions do the Disciples ask Jesus?

Matt 24:1-3

When will these things be? v 3b

what will be the sign of your coming? v 3c

what will be the signs of the end of the age? v 3d

What is significant about jesus saying “The beginning Birth Pangs”?

Matthew 24:4–8 ESV

4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

analogy of birth pain is easy to understand. initial labor begins, and becomes stronger till birth takes place. So he was giving them the context. If he was calling the first few signs he listed as “the beginning of birth pains” the rest of the passage must be the stuff that comes later! (does not make sense he would then back up to stuff that would come earlier)

The disciples would have recognized the beginning of Birth Pangs phrase and connect it with Isaiah passages that also use that phrase that were clearly about the end times, and Resurrection.

Isaiah 26:16-21 ; He points to something that looks like the rapture! the Resurrection of the dead, followed by....something that looks like it may be describing the Great Tribulation…

Isaiah 66:7-16; But Isaiah indicates this is the Nation of Israel being born in a day, before Israel will fully birth the salvation of the world were they will have peace like a river, and joy, as the Lord comes in fire, and judges, and by his sword kills many.

SO which of the three questions does Jesus start to answering first with birth pang signs?

Matthew 24:4–8 ESV

4 And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are but the beginning of the birth pains.

These early signs cannot be signs of Jesus comming, because he starts the beginning of birth pangs with a claim at a false messiah indicating that this time would be filled with false ones, and not the real one

This means Jesus was not referring to the destruction of the Temple in his response, because when the temple was destroyed by the time this is written, it says see that no one leads you astray saying “I am the christ” (that would be about signs of Jesus return) there was no physical resurrection of the dead! Iike Isaiah 26

What are the early birth pains of the end of the age?

Beginning of Birth Pains include:

Religious deception (vv. 4–5)

Wars (v. 6).

Famines (v 7a)

Eathquakes (v 7a)

These things happen all the time... but like birth pangs, we could expect that they will increase in frequency and intensity as the time gets close.

There is fascinating graphs looking at Earthquakes frequency and intensity.

https://testbook.com/question-answer/the-intensity-of-an-earthquake-is-measured-on-____--60cafdb59036210fa64ae799

https://www.psalm11918.org/images/blog/2014/earthquakes/earthquakes2b.jpg

Then... the end will come (v 14b): what comes before this? (v9-14a)

Jews/disciples will be be tested (tribulation, litereally tressed, squashed, pressed - like apple cider) (v 9a)

Jews/disciples will be will be put to death - Martyrs (v. 9b)

Jews/disciples will be will be hated by all nations. because of His name. Jesus? or YHWH? United Nations.

many Jews/Disciples will falling away from the faith -Apostasy (v 10a)

many Jews/Disciples will betray each other!

many Jews/Disciples will hate each other!

more (many) False Prophets and lead people stray (v 11)

Lawlessness will increase (v 12a)

love will grow cold (because of lawlessness (v 12b)

gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations (v14), (and then the end will come).

Are all these things happening? Yes

Are we at the END based on this? NO need to finish preaching the gosple

we are in the last days perhaps, but not at the end.

What are we to do through all of this? ENDURE

Matthew 24:13 ESV

13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

ENDURE. what does revelation say so often to the churchs?

OVERCOMES! (NKJV) — Conquers (ESV) , is victorious(NLT)

Revelation 2:7 NSFLB

7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’

We must ENDURE to share the gosple until the end!

Now this week:

Daniel 9 the center point of Prophesy

The abomination that cases desolation

so Jesus is that all the signs? nope. not all!

Matthew 24:15–20 ESV

15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.

This is were some think suddenly jesus has Gone back to describing the seige of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

I certainly did.

The Christians in the days of the seige of Jerusalem noticed the similarity too, and did not take changes, so they fled jerusalem before the end (or so I have been told I was not there)

But it is clear that this prophesy although was foreshadowed by the events of 70 AD with the destruction of the temple, it is still to come.

why? (you know the answer. we just covered it)

The Gospel has not been preached to the world yet! I told you this would not be to tough.

We need to study Daniel to know what this “abomination of desolation” is about. (more on that later - but Dan 9:24 explains it is about the holy people and …the holy city … so this is definitely all about the JEWS and we should not attempt to pretend it is about the CHURCH.

There is an interesting (let the reader understand) note. This means there is something that later readers of this passage would understand, that perhaps those listening to Jesus were not prepared to understand. Readers could study Daniel 9 and know that the end did not come John is writing this in 80 or 90 AD so it is after the destruction of Jerusalem, so … perhaps that was a clue that he knew it was not a prophesy about 70 AD!

Matthew 24:21–22 ESV

21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

well the cinches it… the days were not cut short… it has been 2000 years, so us readers know, that 70 AD was not the time.

But the temple was destroyed in 70 AD. so how can an abomination that causes desolation stand in the “holy place”

what is that holy place? the temple according to

Read Daniel 9.

This chapter is the Key to all end time events. Daniel can be trusted. Ultimate authentication: Jesus quotes Daniel “Daniel the Prophet.”

Matthew 24:15(ESV)

Mark 13:14(ESV)

The historical context of Daniel 9

Chapter 9 - Daniel is finishing up his first career for the Babylonians and now he is serving a new king Darius.

Daniel 9:1 ESV

1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a Mede, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—

King Darius will loose the kingdom to the Persians this very year. Daniel is expecting this because of previous prophetic revelations.

Daniel studies prophecy. Just like Jesus expects us and his disciples to study prophesy.

Daniel 9:2 ESV

2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

Daniel has been reading the prophet Jeremiah.

Prophets read other prophets. Just like today.

he realized the time period for the Jewish exile is nearly over (70 years)

Instead of waiting around doing nothing, He does what we are going to learn at teh end of Matthew 24. we was watching and Praying.

Daniel 9:3 ESV

3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

His prayer is magnificent and a model for us today in intercession.

please read it!

He begins to Intercede for the nation. remember God has created nations at the Tower of Babel and is using nations for his purposes to bring as many people into his kingdom as possible.

Daniel was an intercessor. He is literally praying God’s will into existence from Heaven in to the earth. just as Jesus indicated… pray your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

This is like what we saw with Abraham before Sodom and Gomorrah, and Moses before God on Mt Sinai. Intercession is a role for God’s priests. Jesus on the Cross. and for us:

revelation calls us a “kingdom of priests” That is why this church has focused on intercession.

When Daniel is done praying something happens. PUSH. pray until something happens.

Daniel 9:20–21 ESV

20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the Lord my God for the holy hill of my God, 21 while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice.

Yep visited by an angel. Daniel is fantastically dedicated God, I think because he truey enjoys being with God. Because he is a friend of God. God tells him what he is doing…

Daniel 9:22–23 ESV

22 He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. 23 At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision.

God give daniel a prophetic timeline that is the key to understanding much of the end times.

Key to the prophetic end-times timeline

Daniel 9:24–26 ESV

24 “Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. 25 Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. 26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.

The early church father Jerome indicates in his commentary on the book of Daniel that many individuals believed that Daniel 9:24-26a was a prophecy about the Messiah. The prophecy in Daniel 9:24-26a refers to 70 weeks. After the 69th week the prince or Messiah would die.

Daniel 9:24–26 (NKJV) “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. 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 street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. 26 “And after the sixty-two 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 a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.

It is important to note that the term “weeks” refers to a period of seven years.

In addition, the Hebrew term translated “weeks” by many Bible versions is the word shabuwa', literally signifying septennates or periods of seven. In view are not literal weeks of seven days, but periods of seven years. Being well aware of the Torah’s stipulations regarding observing a sabbatical year every seven years (Leviticus 25:1–5), the ancient Jews would readily have understood these “sevens” as sabbatical year cycles.

Additionally, Jerome states that there were Jews who agreed that the prophecy of 69 “weeks” seemed to point to the era of Jesus.[1]

69 x 7 = 483 yrs

This is absolutely stupendous… flabbergasting prophesy… this is why the Jews in the Gospel stories kept asking are you the Messiah, should we expect another?

The intro: 70 weeks.(of years)

about your people (jews)

and your holy city(Jerusalem) ,

To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, (the redemptive work of the Messiah perfectly describing what Jesus did)

To seal up vision and prophecy (culmination of many visions and prophesies) ,

And to anoint the Most Holy (the veil to the most holy place was torn, indicating that Jesus blood was anointing a new better most holy place - our hearts).

They no doubt did fully understand this prophesy but surely could see the HUGE significant of an event at the end of 70 weeks.

The measuring point

Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until… (I see many dates suggested for this the date that make this align to AD31 is 446)

Three such decrees… covered in scripture, 2 for building the temple, but only one was to authorize the rebuilding of Jerusalem.

I have seen people who study bible prophesy assign different dates to that one. (i think in an attempt to force a particular day of the week (Friday passover) end date.) pinpointing dates back that far can be challenging because of the different calendars and changes to those calendars. I am convinced that the accuracy of these prophesies will show us accuracy to the day. - but we can show beyond a any doubt down to a the decade!

The end point(s)

Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; (cannot refer to the High priest that is also an anointed one (lesser), because they are not a prince or ruler)

The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. (this applies form history it is clear to the rebuilding of the wall under Nehemiah 49 years)

This part is twisted a bit in some translations, NKJV has it done well. but their appear to be 2 endpoints

49 years from Artaxerxes’ decree to the arrival of Nehemiah and the covenant renewal celebration at Jerusalem - the Jerusalem with )

434 years—397 B.C. to A.D. 31 From the dedication of the second temple to the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ)

Verse 27 goes on to talk about the remaining seven - 7 years is left remaining… unfulfilled and a strange gap exists between the end of the 69 and start of the final seven.

Another problem is the exact year of the crucifixion, and the belief that it must have happened on a Friday. when it probably occured on a Wednesday or a Thursday.

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Twenty-One: The King’s Return—Part 1 (Matthew 24:1–44)

The prophecy involves seventy weeks, and the Hebrew word “week” means “a week of years,” or seven years. Seventy sevens would equal 490 years. But this period of 490 years is broken up into three parts:

(1) During seven weeks (49 years) the city of Jerusalem would be rebuilt and the worship reestablished.

(2) After 63 weeks (434 years) Messiah would come to Jerusalem and die for the sins of the world.

(3) The prince will make an agreement with the Jews for one week (seven years) to protect them from their enemies.

The decree to rebuild Jerusalem was given in 445 B.C. by Cyrus (2 Chron. 36:22–23; Ezra 1). The city was rebuilt in troubled times. Sir Robert Anderson in his classic book The Coming Prince (Kregel, 1975) has proved that there were exactly 482 prophetic years (of 360 days each) between the giving of the decree and the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem as the King.

I have listed to Chuck Misser redid the calculation and he also claims that this land on the actual Palm Sunday to the day.

I can’t do Dan 9:24-26 any better than Chuck, and I have tired, so here is his article

https://www.khouse.org/articles/2004/552/

I am not quite that good with the calendar and could not quite convince myself that we could prove it to the day. But… they are better men than I am , and I don't have much time to study these things. It seams odd to me that God would get so close with a prophesy and then miss it by a few days. IN any-case the accuracy is astounding even if you cant quite prove it to the day.

If you have been following along so far and were not convinced that the Bible is true, you have certainly got allot of thinking to do. I have given you allot to think about. the Bible is astounding. in fact it is impossible for the bible not to be a message from outside time (from God). the chance of a prophesy like this being written before it came true, with the accuracy and precision and detail of these 3 verses, is so improbable that it would be easier to believe in God, than to beleive Daniel got it right by chance.

We know Daniel was written 3 centuries before Jesus was born if for no other reason, because it was part of the Septuagint. (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures) that we know was finished between 285-246 B.C.

There is one more week of years (7 yr) unaccounted for

So you will note that the 70 years in Daniel was broken up and we have only completed 69 weeks to get to the death of Jesus.

obviously the world did not end 7 years after Jesus death… the Book of acts was not even half over at that point. there appears to have been a long delay. A pause button.

Does that bother you? why? (it bothers me a little, i like things a bit more obvious)

was the pause predicted? YES

Daniel 9:26 ESV

26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.

The Coming World Leader--commonly known as the Antichrist - has 33 titles in the Old Testament and 13 in the New Testament. One of these, The Prince That Shall Come, comes from Daniel 9:26-27 in which the people of the Prince that shall come would destroy the city and the sanctuary. The fulfillment occurred in history when the Roman legions under Titus Vespasian destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple(the sanctuary) in 70 A.D.10

It’s end shall come with a flood (a “rush” or “overwhelming”) and to the end there shall be war.

“desolations decreed” - it takes time for desolation. how much time?

How long did Israel have to be left desolate? From 70 AD to May 1948 when Israel became a nation? or 1968 when they got control of Jerusalem? that is nearly 2000 of desolations.

This a a hint that there is a pause for the desolation(s) multiple. “I’m not so sure Ken, ok just wait…

do we know how long the pause will be? When does, was a last 7 years occur?

lets check further…

But this Prince then does something more after these times of desolations.

Daniel 9:27 NIV

27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”

Now this Prince that shall come makes a strong covenant with many for one week(‘seven’). Remember Hebrew for week is ‘seven’, and depending on situation it can stand for 7 days, or 7 years.

What does the prince who is to come (the anti-christ) do?

we puts and end to offering in the middle of 7 weeks. 3.5 yrs.

At the temple he will setup and abomination that causes desolation.

Not sure what that is… but… wait

where did the temple come from. it was destroyed in v26!

He shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.

it either got built in 3.5 years of being destroyed in 70 AD (and it did not!)

or there was a Pause in the years before the last week goes into effect!

I told you it would make sense! (did it make sense?)

there had to be a pause according to the very nature of the prophesy.

it is then going to be confirmed in Revelation.

What is that last thing that happens in this v27?

until the end that is decreed is poured out on the Prince who is to come (the Antichrist) we will read about that in Revelation too!

Next week Back to Matt 24 The Great Tribulation

Q&A