A Christmas Theme
There are several prophecies pointing to the first coming of Christ (can they apply to the people waiting for His second coming?). The ones most often quoted are from Isaiah chapter 53, “He was a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. All we like sheep have gone astray and turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquities of us all….” Or Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?...” Or maybe the very first prophecy, far into the distant past in the Garden of Eden, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed. It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heal.” Gen. 3:15, 16. The one I would like to cover now is found in Daniel chapter 9. This one is not referred to very often, yet it is the one and only reference in the Old Testament of the term “Messiah,” which is the Hebrew word for the promised anointed Seed of Eve, “Christ” being the translation in the Greek language.
The backdrop to this amazing chapter is that Daniel is very disturbed by the subjugation of Israel by Babylon, which occurred 70 years previous when Daniel was just in his teens. Now he is an old man and there is no end in sight to the captivity. Maybe he was praying to know the purpose of God in removing their freedom for so long, we don’t know. But we do know that at that point he stumbles over a part of the book of Jeremiah, the prophet whom Jehovah sent to warn Judah of the approaching Babylonian decimation because of their stubborn hard-heartedness and disobedience to Jehovah. Hadn’t Daniel read this before? Maybe he had, but this time the Holy Spirit made it stand out in blazing letters. The captivity would only last 70 years. 70 years?! That time was up! Now Daniel had cause to pray like he had never had before. Now he had an argument to take to his Lord. So far from presumption, all-powerful faith rising up and responding to a precious promise, Daniel became an intercessor for the holy nation. Faith was plucking up a mountain and throwing it into the sea. This shows how the scriptures become so necessary in giving us power in prayer.
Over and over, in this chapter, in taking up their case, Daniel recalls Israel’s and his own failures, and also Jehovah’s longsuffering and tender mercy. Nowhere in that long prayer is the claim that God had been too tough on them. Nowhere does he begin to justify or defend their actions since being established as a nation. Rather we hear a brokenness and repeated confession of their iniquity, their departing and transgressions, their wickedness, and rebellion, and utterly incredible lack of appreciation of all that heaven had done for them and the resultant confusion of face, but also to please remember “Thy city Jerusalem,” “Thy holy mountain” and “Thy people” in their destitution. “Incline Thine ear and hear, open Thine eyes and behold our desolations.” “Hear,” “forgive,” “hearken and do,” “defer not,” not “[because of] our righteousnesses, but [because of] Thy great mercies.” At length, an angel appears. Gabriel was dispatched, but not because Daniel had groveled long enough before God. Rather, the covering cherub was sent, just as soon as Daniel began to lift up his voice in prayer. However, there was the time factor involved in traveling at lightening speed from God’s throne to planet Earth.
Gabriel’s message: 70 weeks of years were determined upon Israel and upon the system of worship which had been in place for a thousand years. Following a probation of 490 literal years they would be judged─judged by Messiah, the holy One, as the prophecy said, “He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears: but with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins.” Isa. 11: 3-5. Would they come to their God and conclude their continuous transgressions? Would they choose to make an end of their rebellion by anointing the Most Holy? The clock would begin to count down at the command to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple, with a 49 year period for its actual construction. Then a 7 year block of time was separated at the very end of the prophecy, for the actual judgment of the descendants of Abraham, beginning at the 483rd year. By all indications from Gabriel’s words, the end didn’t look good for Israel. An investigative judgment, a probation, was in effect. God has been holding back retribution for a long time. But if it finally comes, it will be very harsh. God is as full of mercy as ever, but their hearts are in no way prepared to appreciate it. This is no time for presumption.
In spite Israel’s history of backsliding and shaking their daring fists at the God of their fathers, providentially the command to rebuild came in 457 B.C. Four hundred eighty-three years later, in 27 A.D., Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River. From that time He began to preach, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.” Mk 1:15. Three and on half years afterward, 31 A.D., “in the midst of the [prophetic, final] week,” Messiah was cut off, and the sacrifices and oblations ceased (Dan. 9:26, 27). Then, in 34 A.D., after a final 3 ½ years was given to the Jews to accept the Messiah’s judgment and to repent, instead they stoned Stephen, one of God’s closest friends. That finalized Christ’s judgment that was determined upon them, and their rejection by heaven as God’s representatives and His favored people. Not long afterwards, Paul was converted and, with power, the word of God’s covenant of mercy that “endureth forever,” (Ps. 136) taken from the Jews, was given to the Gentiles, the new Israel, for them to protect and to take to the world, with fear and trembling. (Rom. 11:20, 21).
The backdrop to this amazing chapter is that Daniel is very disturbed by the subjugation of Israel by Babylon, which occurred 70 years previous when Daniel was just in his teens. Now he is an old man and there is no end in sight to the captivity. Maybe he was praying to know the purpose of God in removing their freedom for so long, we don’t know. But we do know that at that point he stumbles over a part of the book of Jeremiah, the prophet whom Jehovah sent to warn Judah of the approaching Babylonian decimation because of their stubborn hard-heartedness and disobedience to Jehovah. Hadn’t Daniel read this before? Maybe he had, but this time the Holy Spirit made it stand out in blazing letters. The captivity would only last 70 years. 70 years?! That time was up! Now Daniel had cause to pray like he had never had before. Now he had an argument to take to his Lord. So far from presumption, all-powerful faith rising up and responding to a precious promise, Daniel became an intercessor for the holy nation. Faith was plucking up a mountain and throwing it into the sea. This shows how the scriptures become so necessary in giving us power in prayer.
Over and over, in this chapter, in taking up their case, Daniel recalls Israel’s and his own failures, and also Jehovah’s longsuffering and tender mercy. Nowhere in that long prayer is the claim that God had been too tough on them. Nowhere does he begin to justify or defend their actions since being established as a nation. Rather we hear a brokenness and repeated confession of their iniquity, their departing and transgressions, their wickedness, and rebellion, and utterly incredible lack of appreciation of all that heaven had done for them and the resultant confusion of face, but also to please remember “Thy city Jerusalem,” “Thy holy mountain” and “Thy people” in their destitution. “Incline Thine ear and hear, open Thine eyes and behold our desolations.” “Hear,” “forgive,” “hearken and do,” “defer not,” not “[because of] our righteousnesses, but [because of] Thy great mercies.” At length, an angel appears. Gabriel was dispatched, but not because Daniel had groveled long enough before God. Rather, the covering cherub was sent, just as soon as Daniel began to lift up his voice in prayer. However, there was the time factor involved in traveling at lightening speed from God’s throne to planet Earth.
Gabriel’s message: 70 weeks of years were determined upon Israel and upon the system of worship which had been in place for a thousand years. Following a probation of 490 literal years they would be judged─judged by Messiah, the holy One, as the prophecy said, “He shall not judge after the sight of His eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of His ears: but with righteousness shall He judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of His loins, and faithfulness the girdle of His reins.” Isa. 11: 3-5. Would they come to their God and conclude their continuous transgressions? Would they choose to make an end of their rebellion by anointing the Most Holy? The clock would begin to count down at the command to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple, with a 49 year period for its actual construction. Then a 7 year block of time was separated at the very end of the prophecy, for the actual judgment of the descendants of Abraham, beginning at the 483rd year. By all indications from Gabriel’s words, the end didn’t look good for Israel. An investigative judgment, a probation, was in effect. God has been holding back retribution for a long time. But if it finally comes, it will be very harsh. God is as full of mercy as ever, but their hearts are in no way prepared to appreciate it. This is no time for presumption.
In spite Israel’s history of backsliding and shaking their daring fists at the God of their fathers, providentially the command to rebuild came in 457 B.C. Four hundred eighty-three years later, in 27 A.D., Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River. From that time He began to preach, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand.” Mk 1:15. Three and on half years afterward, 31 A.D., “in the midst of the [prophetic, final] week,” Messiah was cut off, and the sacrifices and oblations ceased (Dan. 9:26, 27). Then, in 34 A.D., after a final 3 ½ years was given to the Jews to accept the Messiah’s judgment and to repent, instead they stoned Stephen, one of God’s closest friends. That finalized Christ’s judgment that was determined upon them, and their rejection by heaven as God’s representatives and His favored people. Not long afterwards, Paul was converted and, with power, the word of God’s covenant of mercy that “endureth forever,” (Ps. 136) taken from the Jews, was given to the Gentiles, the new Israel, for them to protect and to take to the world, with fear and trembling. (Rom. 11:20, 21).
posted by David | 8:42 PM
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