The Time Gap

AUGUST 14, 2022 STUDY NOTES DANIEL 9:26 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES THE TIME GAP INTRODUCTION The God-given prophecy of Daniel is for a time-period of 490 years The prophecy concerns God’s chosen nation Israel and the city of Jerusalem The purpose of the events of the 490 years is to accomplish 6 purposes (Divine Goals) Dan 9:24 Each purpose requires the first coming of Jesus, His death, burial, and resurrection The cross and resurrection of Christ made each purpose possible Each purpose will ultimately be fulfilled at the return of Christ to the earth The beginning of the 490-year prophecy was the decree of Artaxerxes, Nehemiah 2:1-8 The first 483 years of the prophecy ended when Jesus, rode into Jerusalem, His triumphal entry There is a time gap between the 69th week and the 70th week of the 490-year time-period The gap is an unspecified duration of time, we are still within the time-gap Revealing that the final 7 years of Daniel’s prophecy is yet to be fulfilled (The 70 th Week) Dan 9:26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: 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. Daniel 9:25 revealed a 7-week period, weeks has the meaning of 7, 7x7 equals 49 years Followed by a period of 62 weeks, 62 x 7 would be 434 years Adding the two periods together, 49 years plus 434 years, comes to 483 years Daniel is told what will happen after the 62 weeks that followed the first 7 weeks After the first 69 weeks, or 483 years, “Messiah shall be cut off” (the timing is important) “After” the 69 Weeks, after the first 483 years of the 490-year prophecy Jesus is the “Messiah,” Mat 16:15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Mat 16:16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, (Messiah) the Son of the living God. “Cut off” is a prophetical description of the death of the Messiah on the cross of Calvary Within the prophecy of Daniel’s seventy weeks, we find the promise of Jesus’ death The 69th week would come to an end before the crucifixion of Jesus At the time of the crucifixion of Jesus the first 69 weeks will have been fulfilled According to Daniel’s prophecy the death of Jesus would occur between the 69th and 70th week The crucifixion occurred only a few days after the end of the first 69 weeks Christ was not crucified during or within the 70th week, but before the 70th week We must understand that the crucifixion did not occur within the final 7 years of the 490 years The cross of Jesus was necessary for the atonement of sins, 1Pe 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: Only through the cross of Jesus can God forgive sin and redeem sinners, Jews or Gentiles Only through the cross can we enter-into the eternal presence of God, Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (Non-Jew, Gentile) Daniel is told of other events taking place after the 69th week And they will take place before the final 70th week begins Page 1 of 6 Daniel sees events that were yet future, following the 69th week, or the first 483 years And those events did not happen during the 70th week or the final 7 years All of which reveals an interlude of time or a time-gap between the 69th and 70th week We are now living in the time-period known as the “Church Age,” Eph 3:2 If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: Paul’s calls this age the “dispensation of the grace of God,” which is a NT mystery, Eph 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, A NT mystery is not a secret that leaves a person wondering or without understanding It is a truth which was previously unknown in the OT, but has now been revealed Truth that we cannot discover on our own, it must be revealed to us by God The mystery of the NT church was knowledge given to Paul, Eph 3:4 Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which had been given to the apostles and prophets by the Spirit, Eph 3:5 Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; It has also been revealed by the Holy Spirit to the saints, Col 1:26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: Truth now made known to believers through the ministry of the Holy Spirit and God’s Word “The mystery” is that God now unites Gentiles and Jews into the “Body of Christ,” Eph 3:6 That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: (Colossians 1:24-29) The “Body of Christ” is the NT Church, Rom 12:5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. The “N.T. Church,” the “One Body in Christ,” does not teach that God is finished with Israel The prophecy of Daniel’s 70th week reveals that God will fulfill all promises to Israel After the 69 weeks, SHALL MESSIAH BE CUT OFF, BUT NOT FOR HIMSELF But what is the meaning of shall Messiah be cut off, “but not for himself?” “But not for himself” has been given many different translations: Shall have nothing or will have nothing; No one defending Him; Appearing to have accomplished nothing; Though there is no crime in Him; But not for His own sake, and others There are several Biblical truths that can identify with “but not for himself” A spiritually blind world did not see Jesus as the Messiah, Joh 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. Israel was spiritually blind and did not see Jesus as the Messiah, Joh 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. The world looked upon Jesus as a “nobody,” one who was nothing and had “nothing” Jesus was born in a stable that belonged to another man When Jesus was born, He was placed in a feed trough made for animals During His life upon this earth, He had nowhere to lay His head He was crucified on the cross between two thieves and was buried in a borrowed tomb To the world, it appeared that He was no one, that He had nothing, His life accomplished nothing The world could not see what God had accomplished through the death of His Son While Jesus was on the cross it appeared that Satan and the demons were victorious Especially when they heard the cry of Jesus, Mat 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? The question of Jesus reveals the truth of the price of sin, which is separation from God It also reveals the Person of Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb of God sent to take away sin The cry of Jesus was the announcement that the price of sin had been paid, Heb 10:10 By the Page 2 of 6 which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. It did appear to the eyes of the world that Jesus was a failure, He had not accomplished anything The cross appeared to man to be the failure and the end of the “so-called” Messiah But the truth of the cross was stated by Jesus, Joh 17:4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. The words of Jesus, at the time of His death, were true, Joh 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost. The price of redemption for sinful man had been paid in full by the Messiah The truth is, Jesus went to the cross to claim and redeem all that was rightfully His But at the time of the cross, and even until now, all has not yet been fulfilled or redeemed When Christ returns, all that was redeemed through the cross will be His forever Daniel’s vision of the “Seventy Weeks” reveals that Christ must come again But it also reveals a “prince who is to come,” and he is not the “True Christ” THE PEOPLE OF THE PRINCE THAT SHALL COME Pay close attention to what the verse says, or, especially what it does not say It is not the “prince who is to come” that destroys the “city and sanctuary” It is the “people of the prince who is to come” that does the destroying First-of all, “Who are the people of the prince who is to come?” That question takes us back to the previous visions of Daniel, chapters 2 & 7 In Daniel 2, King Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of a great statue God gave Nebuchadnezzar a vision of the nations that would rule over Israel A vision from the time of the Babylonian Empire until the future Kingdom of God on earth The statues head of gold was the Babylonian empire, Nebuchadnezzar was the head of gold The first kingdom identified in the vision of the statue is the Babylonian empire Three successive kingdoms would follow the Babylonian Empire The breast and arms of silver identified the Medo-Persian Empire The belly and thighs of bronze identified the Greek Empire, Alexander the Great The legs of iron represented the Roman Empire History has verified the fulfillment of the 3 successive kingdoms following the Babylonians The 10 toes partly iron and clay represented the final empire, that which is yet to come Which some Bible scholars refer to as the “Revived Roman Empire” Other Bible scholars identify a future empire of Islamic rule Islamic nations united from the Middle East territory of the former Roman Empire In chapter 7, Daniel had a vision of 4 beasts, representing the same Gentile world powers The first beast was like a lion revealing the Babylonian Empire The second beast was like a bear revealing the Medo-Persia Empire The third beast was like a leopard revealing the Greek Empire The fourth beast was dreadful and terrifying revealing the Roman Empire The beast with 10 horns and a little horn reveals the final empire yet to come In Revelation, these Gentile world powers are identified as Satan’s Beast Empires (Rev 13) Satan’s Beast Empires are the Gentile nations that have opposed and persecuted Israel In Daniel 2 & 7, the 4 empires are, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome It is revealed in Daniel 2 & 7 that there will be a future persecution of Israel Identified by the 10 toes, partly iron and clay, and the 10 horns in the head of the 4 th beast The people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary The “city” is Jerusalem, and the “sanctuary” is the Temple in Jerusalem In the “Olivet Discourse” Jesus predicted this destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, Mat 24:2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be Page 3 of 6 left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down. Jesus points out the temple in-order to tell them of the future events concerning Israel That great, magnificent structure that they were looking at would one day be destroyed It will all be torn down, totally destroyed, not even two stones will be left together The words of Jesus were fulfilled in A.D. 70 when the Romans destroyed the temple Jerusalem was literally destroyed by the Roman General Titus and the Roman Empire The Roman army destroyed Jerusalem, burned the temple, and killed more than a million Jews Which occurred about 40 years after the end of the 69th week of Daniel’s prophecy of 70 weeks The time-gap between the crucifixion and the Jerusalem destruction is approximately 40 years The Jewish nation was defeated, and they were no longer a united people in their own land The Jews who were left alive were driven from their land And the Jews had no form of government again until May 14, 1948 Israel was once again back in their land and the Jews were reestablished as a nation Israel regained control of her city in 1967, all of which is significant Because Israel had to be back in their land before the prophecy of Daniel could be fulfilled Other prophecies concerning Jerusalem extend the time-gap far beyond 40 years The Temple was destroyed in 70AD and has not yet been rebuilt Yet sacrifices will be allowed according to the future covenant of Daniel 9:27 Which requires a place of sacrifice to be rebuilt in the time of the future covenant Which requires a time-gap between the Temple’s destruction and the future covenant So, there is a time-gap between the 69th week and the 70th week What the Romans did in A.D. 70 is a type of what will happen to the Jews again Jerusalem will again be destroyed by the people of another prince who is yet to come WHO IS THE PRINCE WHO IS TO COME? He is identified in many ways in scripture, he is commonly known as the “Antichrist,” 1Jn 2:18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. 1Jn 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. He is the “Little Horn” of, Dan 7:8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things. He is the future king of fierce countenance, Dan 8:23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up. The prophecy of Daniel 8 was not completely fulfilled in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes Antiochus is a type or foreshadow of the future Antichrist who will be the fulfillment of Dan. 8 The future Antichrist is the prince who is to come and the one who makes desolate (Dan 9:26-27) He is the king who will exalt and magnify himself above God, Dan 11:36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done. He is the man of lawlessness and the son of destruction, 2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; He will sit in the Temple of God claiming to be God, 2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Page 4 of 6 Jesus referred to this same event as the “Abomination of Desolation,” Mat 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) By word and action, the Antichrist will blaspheme all truths related to God, Rev 13:6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. He will blaspheme God and persecute the saints, Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. Antichrist will come on the scene appearing as the Christ John saw a rider on a white horse, Rev 6:2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. Which is not the True Christ, but the Antichrist who will come with an offer of peace The Antichrist will offer Israel a peace treaty that will be short lived In the future Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies and face its greatest time of persecution THE END THEREOF SHALL BE WITH A FLOOD “The end” refers to an end of a period-of time, the finish, or the final point The word “flood” may be a symbolic term referring to an overflowing destruction A figurative term indicating overwhelming circumstances Israel has experienced a steady stream of desolation ever since their destruction in 70AD Israel has often faced severe persecution, kings and nations attempting to destroy them Including Hitler’s demonic Nazi holocaust, but according to Daniel, the end is not yet Satan will continue his attempt to destroy Israel, Rev 12:15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. The “serpent” is Satan, the “woman” is Israel, the “flood” is Satan’s work Satan will put forth an all-out effort to destroy the nation of Israel during the 70 th week of Daniel His attempt is pictured as a flood that destroys everything in its path According to Jesus, the war and desolations unto the end have not yet occurred Which Jesus covers within the “Olivet Discourse” (Matthew 24) The war and desolations unto the end are also presented in Revelation as yet-future The beast with 10 horns (Antichrist) will persecute God’s people (Dan, 7:19-25) The future “little horn” is the Antichrist who will come in the end (Daniel 8:23-25) So, there is a time-gap between the 69th week and the 70th week AND UNTO THE END OF THE WAR DESOLATIONS ARE DETERMINED There will be continuous desolation and persecution from that time of 70AD Trouble, war, persecution, and desolations will be the normal experience of Israel Which will be their experience “unto the end,” which refers to the end of the age Israel will experience the greatest holocaust ever in the time of the future Antichrist The “desolations are determined,” meaning that which cannot be changed or altered It is that which is fixed, settled, resolved, and will be concluded as has been determined God is in control, history has been in His hands, the future is in God’s hand All prophecy will be fulfilled just as God has “determined” CONCLUSION The final 70th week does not immediately follow the 69th week The gap between the 69th and 70th week is an undetermined period-of time Page 5 of 6 The gap has already lasted for 2,000 years, the church age is between the 69 th and the 70th week The final seven years will begin when the Antichrist will-make a firm covenant with many The Antichrist is the one who will come and make a covenant with the nation of Israel The “prince who is to come” will arise at the time of the future 70th week of Daniel Daniel 9:27 tells us what he is going to do when he comes Christians are looking for Jesus to come, Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; But during the time gap, God is building a church, listen to the song Page 6 of 6