When we were last together in this series, we found out the meaning of weeks in Daniel's vision of seventy weeks - 70 x 7 weeks. The Jewish people annually celebrated the redemptive blood that saved them from the plague of death during their days in Egypt - the Passover Celebration. They confessed their sins and asked God for forgiveness during this celebration, while looking forward to a coming Messiah who would end animal sacrifices, by shedding His own blood to once and for all atone for the sins of mankind.
But the Messiah never arrived. As the centuries passed, the celebration of the Feasts of Passover, Pentecost, Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Tabernacles eventually became merely perfunctory observances - an outward religious appearance, yet hearts were unchanged, because they continued to break God's commandments. Many people no longer believed a Messiah would ever come.
When Jesus arrived on the scene, He precisely summed up the condition of the hearts of the religious leaders, when He said...woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites...for you are like white-washed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness...even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness...Matt. 23:27-28.
Jesus was confronting the religious leaders who led the celebration of the many feast throughout the year, beginning with the shaboa - the ecclesiastical year of seven weeks. Jesus knew there was no faith in the hearts of these religious leaders, so how could their lawlessness lead the people to believe in the promises of God?
Because the Jewish people no longer believed the prophets who had faithfully prophesied the coming of the Messiah, their unbelief - hardened hearts toward God - became an indictment against them. What is an indictment? It is an accusation - charge of a crime. Jesus accused the religious leaders of Israel of appearing righteous on the outside, but full of hypocrisy and lawlessness in their hearts.
If the religious leaders did speak of a coming Messiah, it was in the context that He would set up an earthly kingdom in Israel and overthrow the power of Rome. The people did like the idea of a physical Messiah that would set up a physical kingdom on earth and destroy their enemy - but this was not the truth.
Daniel was shown in his vision that seventy ecclesiastical years - 70 x 7 - were determined upon Israel. History has already documented that it took 527 years to fulfill this judgment - indictment - on their sin of doubt and unbelief, culminating with the war of 70 A.D. for rejecting their Messiah. So we can clearly see that calendar years are not intended in the interpretation of the seventy weeks - 70 x 7 - vision.
The time frame for prophecy in the Bible is often measured symbolically by: time, times, half-times, weeks, seasons, seed time or harvest. Each symbolizes a measurement of a cycle, a pronouncement, a judgment, or a decree with varied increments of calendar time.
Daniel's vision of seventy weeks - 70 x 7 - is divided into three measurements: 7 weeks, 62 weeks, 1 week. Each of these set of weeks is a religious judgment against Israel for their faithlessness. Now we can see that seventy shaboa - seventy ecclesiastical years - have been pronounced upon Israel because they celebrated the feasts without faith in their hearts - without faith we cannot please God. Unbelief is equal to idolatry. 70 x 7 is a religious indictment on sin, resulting in vengeance or forgiveness.
Seventy times seven - 70 x 7 - was a common metaphorical phrase used in conversation by ancient biblical societies, including the times of the apostles. 70 x 7 implies God's immeasurable vengeance on sin, or His immeasurable forgiveness of sin. Since this metaphor was commonly used and understood in ancient times, we find two references in the Bible. The Apostle Paul said...by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established...II Cor. 13:1.
Can Moses and Jesus unravel the mystery of the 70 x 7? Stay tuned...
God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~
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