Old Testament Chronology Lecture 7

SHEPHERDS COLLEGE SHORT COURSE: OLD TESTAMENT CHRONOLOGY 29 APRIL 2025, LECTURE 7 1 2 3 AFTER THE EXILE Exilic and Post-Exilic prophets 4 DANIEL IN CHRONOLOGY 5 KEY TEXTS • Daniel 2:31-45 • 3:1-7 • Daniel 9:24-27 6 DANIEL 2:31-45 16 therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’ (Isaiah 28:16) 7 The Interpretation of the Dream Four kingdoms Babylon Medes/Persians Greece 16 therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’ (Isaiah 28:16) Rome Strong Mixed Brittle Corrupt Fails Stone cut without human hands 8 DANIEL 9:24-27 Daniel 9:24–27 (ESV) “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. 24 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. 25 9 DANIEL 9:24-27 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. 26 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.” 27 10 DATING THE SEVEN YEARS Four possible “start dates” of Daniel’s 586 BC = God’s word at the fall of Jerusalem (Jer. 25:11–12; 29:10) 537 BC = Cyrus’s word allowing the return from exile (2 Chron. 36:23; Ezra 1:1–4) 457 BC = Artaxerxes’s commission to Ezra (Ezra 7:11–26) 444 BC = Artaxerxes’s commission to Nehemiah (Neh. 2:1–6) • Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum, Kingdom through Covenant: A BiblicalTheological Understanding of the Covenants, Second Edition. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018), 617. 11 GETTING TO CHRIST • 457 BC • 483 years pass • 26 AD • One Week • Daniel 9:24 (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. 12 • Daniel 9:24 (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. 13 9:26 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. “Daniel is seeing this in the sixth century B.C., but it did not happen until A.D. 70, when Titus and his Roman legions fulfilled this prophecy exactly. The destruction of Jerusalem did not immediately follow Calvary, but it was an event which was determined by the fact that the Jews rejected Christ. It did not happen in the seventieth “week,” but was determined in the seventieth “week.” Our Lord made it clear, both in His Olivet discourse and as He walked to the cross, that His rejection by the Jews would mean the destruction of their city and temple (MATT. 23:34–24:38; LUKE 23:27–31).” Stuart Olyott, Dare to Stand Alone (Welwyn, Hertfordshire, England: Evangelical Press, 1982), 125. in Gary DeMar, Left Behind: Separating Fact from Fiction (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 2009).Gary DeMar, Left Behind: Separating Fact from Fiction (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 2009), 52. 14 9:27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.” Seven years to establish the covenant 3 ½ years of ministry 3 ½ years church is established to the point of the Gentiles being included (Acts 11:26) 15 FULFILLMENT Matthew 26:28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. Hebrews 10:9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. Daniel 9:27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.” John 19:30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. 16 FULFILLMENT Hebrews 10:12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, God (not the Antichrist) makes covenants Genesis 6:18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark, you, your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you. 17 FULFILLMENT Genesis 9:9 “Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, Genesis 9:11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” Genesis 17:2 that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly.” Genesis 17:19 God said, “No, but Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him. Genesis 17:21 But I will establish my covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this time next year.” 18 FULFILLMENT Mark 14:24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Hebrews 9:28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Luke 22:20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. 19 DIVIDING DANIEL’S WEEKS 20 70 WEEKS OF YEARS 7 weeks of years 62 weeks of years Final one week 49 years 434 years 483 From the command of Artaxerxes’s to the rebuilding of Jerusalem The Messiah is cut off 26 AD 21 DEMAR’S COMMENTS 1. There is no seven-year tribulation in the book of Revelation 2. Neither Daniel 9:24–27 nor Revelation uses the word Antichrist. 3. The “prince” of Daniel 9:26 is not described as evil. 4. There is no record in Revelation or Daniel 9:27 of the Antichrist making a covenant with Israel. 5. There is no record in Revelation or Daniel 9:27 of the Antichrist breaking a covenant. 6. There is no mention of a rebuilt temple anywhere in the New Testament, including Revelation. Gary DeMar, (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 2009), 4546. 22 “Since Jesus completed His redemptive work, any new temple “made with hands” is little different from a pagan temple that has no inherent life or redemptive value (cf. Acts 17:24; 19:26; 2 Cor. 5:1). “The description of the Jerusalem Temple as ‘made with hands’ … is a strong means of playing down its significance.” Gary DeMar, 10 Popular Prophecy Myths Exposed: The Last Days Might Not Be as near as You Think (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 2010), 106. 23 A Construction of Jerusalem (9:25a) B Coming of the Anointed One (9:25b) C Construction of Jerusalem (9:25c) D DEATH OF THE ANOINTED ONE (9:26a) C′ Destruction of Jerusalem (9:26b) B′ Activities of the Anointed One (9:27a) A′ Destruction of Jerusalem (9:27b) Sidney Greidanus, (Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012), 292. 24 PROPHETS AND HISTORY IN EXILE • Daniel • Ezekiel • Jeremiah • Haggai • Zechariah • Malachi • Joel • Ezra • Nehimiah • Esther 25 26 27