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Focus on the Future - 3

Jesus Left Behind

Many Jewish people have put their faith in Jesus because of the calendar countdown that Connie mentioned. This amazing prophecy predicted the year Jesus appeared as Messiah. Also the year of His death. Incredible! Yet most Bible scholars overlook its cross-centered focus. In fact, they take the part of the prophecy about Christ’s sacrifice and substitute in His place the work of the antichrist. Jesus gets left behind.

Well, lots to talk about today. Let’s go right to the book of Daniel, chapter 9. You may remember from Sunday school days hearing about Daniel in the lion’s den. He did more than survive a night with ferocious felines. He also wrote one of the most fascinating prophetic books of all Scripture. Daniel has tremendous relevance for you and me in these last days.
Here in chapter 9 we find the elderly prophet quite upset about something. What’s the problem?
Well, years ago when Daniel was probably just a teenager, Babylon attacked Jerusalem. God gave His people over to captivity because of their wickedness. The temple—God’s own glorious temple built by King Solomon—was destroyed. Thousands perished. Others went off in chains to Babylon, including young Daniel.

During that devastating experience, God brought some hope to His people. He promised that after 70 years Jerusalem would be rebuilt and the temple restored. That prophecy sustained Daniel all his life. Now he is an old man. The time is near for liberation and restoration. Yet nothing seems to be happening. What’s the matter? worries Daniel.
The old prophet brings his perplexity to God. It’s one of the most heart-touching prayers in all Scripture. Suddenly, while he is still praying, an angel arrives with an answer direct from heaven. Verse 22: "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.”
The angel proceeds to explain. Verse 24: "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.” God is granting the Jews a probationary period of 70 weeks. His purpose is clear and simple: Quit trifling with transgression and get
ready for Messiah!

Now, when would this calendar countdown get started? Verse 25: "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.@

Let's decode this intriguing prophecy. It begins with a time span of 7 weeks plus 62 weeksBtotaling 69 weeks. The starting point is a special command to rehabilitate Jerusalem, which was destroyed during the Babylonian invasion. These 69 weeks would then stretch from the time of that command until Messiah=s appearance.
Fascinated so far? Let's proceed with some quick calculations. If you have a calculator handy, check this out. If you happen to be driving across the Brooklyn Bridge, you’d better just keep your hands on the wheel as you listen. Call for the book we’re offering today. We’ll give you our phone number again in a few minutes.

Now here we go again. Back to Daniel 9. Sixty-nine weeks equals 483 days. That’s about a year and one third. Strange, you may say, it was actually more like almost 500 years from when Jerusalem was rebuilt until the time of Jesus. Well, you’re correctB483 years, to be precise. It's evident here that God gave a time prophecy with 69 units of seven years each. And seven times 69 equals 483. That’s how we arrive at 483 years.
Do you see it? This prophecy is foretelling that there would be 483 years between the command to rebuild Jerusalem and the time Messiah would appear.

So now the big question: When did that royal decree go forth empowering Jewish exiles to restore Jerusalem? Knowing this, we simply count forward 483 years. That should take us right to the time of Jesus.

Thank God, we don’t have to guess about the starting date of that decree. The Bible records it in Ezra 7, verses 11 through 13. It happened in the seventh year of the Persian king Artaxerxes. That was 457 B.C. This date is confirmed by discoveries in archeology, a fact recognized by many Bible scholars. One trusted evangelical study source, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties endorses the year 457 B.C. as a fulfillment of Daniel 9. This book, published by Zondervan, explains how the prophecy unfolds. Listen as I quote:

If, then, the decree of 457 granted to Ezra himself is taken as the ... commencement of the ... 483 years, we come out to the precise year of the appearance of Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah (or Christ): 483 minus 457 comes out to A.D. 26. But since a year is gained in passing from 1 B.C. to A.D. 1 (there being no such year as zero), it actually comes out to A.D. 27Ba most remarkable exactitude in the fulfillment of such an ancient prophecy.

So there it is! Mathematical proof that Jesus is the Messiah. By the way, the word Messiah means Aanointed One.@ In A.D. 27Bthe same year foretold by Daniel 9BJesus became anointed as Messiah at His baptism. He then launched His public ministry, announcing: AThe time is fulfilled." Mark 1 verse 15.

What time was He talking about? The prophetic time of Daniel 9—fulfilled with amazing precision!

Right here is as far as most readers go with the Messianic prophecy of Daniel 9. But there=s more. Hang in there with me! The most exciting part is just to come.
Back to Jesus, just beginning His ministry in the year 27. Soon He becomes so popular that jealous religious leaders decide to kill Him. Again and again they try to assassinate Him, all in vain. The gospel of John records one such episode. Chapter 7 verse 30: "They sought to take Him; but no one laid a hand on Him, because His hour had not yet come."

“His hour had not yet come?” Was there a specific time set apart for Jesus to die? Yes! It’s dramatic proof that He died for our sins as Messiah. Let=s trace this.

Bible students know that Christ=s public ministry lasted three-and-a-half years. This time period also was foretold in Daniel’s calendar countdown. Evidence for this is in John 17 verse 1, which Jesus prayed the night before He died. Listen: He said: "Father, the hour has come." It was now His time to die, foretold by Daniel chapter 9. Notice verse 26:

AAnd after the sixty-two [additional] weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself.@ Think about those words: “cut off, but not for Himself”? Obviously this refers to His sacrifice for us on the cross. Christ would be Acut off” sometime after the 62 additional weeks that brought Him to A.D. 27. Verse 26 doesn’t say how long after the year A.D. 27—but the next verse does! Daniel 9:27: AThen he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.”

There it is! Messiah would confirm God’s covenant right in the middle of Daniel’s last week of seven years. So three-and-a-half years after beginning His ministry, Messiah would end the age of animal sacrifices and sin offerings. Did this happen? Yes indeed, and right on schedule.

My friend, is this exciting or what! Jesus not only came on time but He died on time.

The moment Jesus breathed His final breath, the veil inside the temple sanctuary ripped apart. Why? Because Christ’s death had made the temple with its animal sacrifices obsolete. It became an empty shell of meaningless worship, later to be destroyed by the Romans. Daniel 9 verse 27 predicted that final consummation: “And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.@ Caesar and his Roman army (Athe people of the prince”) invaded Jerusalem with their pagan abominations. They destroyed both Jerusalem and its desolated temple.

That’s the bad news of Daniel 9. The good news—the glad tidings of great joy—is that Christ’s death on the cross was not a defeat. No way! What a glorious victory! He confirmed God’s covenant with the Jewish nation by arriving as their Messiah—right on schedule. Then He became our sacrifice for sin precisely in the middle of those final seven years. Again, right on schedule.

Can you see the beauty and importance of this? Of all the prophecies confirming Jesus as Messiah, Daniel 9 is among the most persuasive. Because of its mathematical evidence for Jesus, thousands of Jews have concluded that He is their Messiah. The odd thing—the tragic thing—is that many Christians know nothing about this powerful, faith-inspiring prophecy. How come? Because many teachers and writers take an important part of this prophecy about Christ and apply it instead to the antichrist! They take Christ’s covenant with His people and call it the antichrist’s covenant. Listen carefully, friend. The Bible never teaches that the antichrist power will either make or break any kind of covenant with the Jews or anyone else. May I repeat that? Scripture never teaches that the antichrist either makes or breaks any covenant with anybody. God’s covenant in Daniel 9 belongs to Christ and His people. To give it instead to the antichrist is just so sad. So wrong. So uncalled for.

Well, our time is gone for today. One last thought: please remember that accepting God’s Messiah is not optional. Not for the Jews, and not for anyone else. Jerusalem=s destiny depended upon what it did with its Messiah. And so does your future and mine! My friend, don’t let Jesus get left behind in your life.