There is so much historical documentation for us to research for Daniel's 70-Week vision, making this series very long, but hopefully it is answering questions you have pondered for years. When we were last together I had just begun to reveal the multiple warning signs God had provided Israel before His judgment fell on them for rejecting Jesus Christ as their Messiah.
As we explained in the last blog many of these supernatural signs occurred during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The eastern gate of the inner court was made of brass and iron. It was so heavy it required 20 men to open and shut it. At the 6th hour, on the day of the feast, this gate opened of its own accord. What makes this supernatural event so significant?
When Jesus was dying on the cross, darkness covered the land at the 6th hour, lasting until the 9th hour of His death...Matt. 27:45. This darkness symbolized error, revealing that a specific miscalculation had been perpetrated by the religious leaders of Israel, when they rejected Jesus as their Messiah - resulting in His death.
Because the horrible suffering - beating/torture - of Jesus precipitated His 6th-hour darkness, then death, the priests of the temple were given a 6th-hour sign to let them know that the same darkness of suffering and 9th hour death will enter their inner court, resulting in their own horrific death during the "great tribulation" that Jesus Christ warned them was coming during the 70th week of Daniel's vision.
Another phenomenon occurred during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. About the time of dusk, a menacing sign was seen in the sky. Eyewitnesses to this heavenly event reported seeing apparitions - ghostly figures - in the form of chariots and armed troops high in the sky, interacting with each other in the midst of the fluffy clouds over Jerusalem, and surrounding cities...II Kings 6:17.
These savvy temple priests must have known that this supernatural revelation in the sky was a portent of war. Collectively, all of the omens and supernatural signs were a forewarning to the priests that they were no longer secure in their temple. The citizens must have been frightened, because they received no answers to their questions about these ominous signs from the silent religious hierarchy. There is no evidence the priests warned the populous, nor did they explain these omens.
Did Jesus warn Israel about the events of the 70th week of Daniel's vision? Luke, who was a physician and disciple of the Lord, recorded in his gospel what sign they should watch for that would prompt them to flee Jerusalem before the "great tribulation" descends upon them.
Luke recorded...when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near...then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her...for these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled...Luke 21:20-22.
Luke describes the coming war as the days of vengeance, which means there will be retribution against Israel for rejecting her Messiah. Jerusalem surrounded by armies will fulfill the first objective in Daniel 9:26 - He shall destroy the city and the sanctuary with the prince that is coming.
God will destroy Jerusalem and the temple with the prince that is coming - Commander Titus Vespasian - a prince of Rome.
The second objective in Daniel 9:26 - and they shall be cut off with a flood - describes how Commander Titus and his army of 6,000 men will surround Jerusalem and cut them off from the outside world - no escape from the Wrath of the Lamb...Rev. 6:16
The third objective in Daniel 9:26 - he shall appoint the city to desolation - was accomplished by Commander Titus. As the war was ebbing, Commander Titus ordered what was left of the city to be destroyed by his army.
How do we know that Titus is the fulfillment of the predictions in the 70th week of Daniel's vision? We have the personal testimony of Titus himself as he fulfills all of Daniel 9:27. Stay tuned...
God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~
When we were last together I introduced you to Jesus, son of Ananus, an emissary from God who walked the streets of Jerusalem beginning in 63 A.D., speaking one message...a voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the holy house, a voice against the bridegrooms and the brides, and a voice against the whole people.
Jesus, son of Ananus, spoke this prophetic warning for 7.5 years to the end of the war of 70 A.D. What caused God to send this humble prophet and what happened to Jesus, son of Ananus?
When Herod suddenly died in 4 B.C. he had not completed his reconstruction plan to rebuild Jerusalem - wall and streets were not rebuilt. Beginning in 64 A.D. this last portion of his grandiose project was finalized, fulfilling Daniel 9:25...and the street shall be built and the wall.
By 66 A.D. Roman General Vespasian arrived in Jerusalem to set up his fortifications outside the city. This was the beginning preparations for fulfilling Daniel's 70th week of his vision. What happened to Jesus?
At the end of the war of 70 A.D. on the day of his last woe, Jesus provided a twist to his usual lamentation. He deliberately climbed up on the wall where he became a perfect target for the Roman army, and declared loudly, "Woe, woe unto Jerusalem and woe, woe unto myself!" Suddenly, a flying rock propelled from a Roman assault engine, struck him with a mortal wound. Jesus, son of Ananus, was obedient to the call of God unto death - mission accomplished.
In his lamentation Jesus said...a voice from the four winds. What did he mean? In Blog 5 - Part 73 of Riddles, Enigmas & Esoteric Imagery of Revelation - I explain in detail. In Rev. 4: 8, the 4 winds are the 4 living creatures - Seraphim - around the throne of God who cry...holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come! God's voice...
Besides the lamentation by Jesus, son of Ananus, did God provide other signs and wonders to warn the people of their impending doom? Let's take a look at what historians have provided for us.
A year before this horrific war began, a comet was seen and a star - appearing over the city shaped in the form of a sword. A sword symbolizes war. For one year everyone in Jerusalem could see this sword in the sky, day and night, a continual reminder that death and destruction would be coming to their city. They did not know the exact time, but this supernatural sign promised that war would definitely arrive soon.
Another sign provided by God occurred during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. At this time, a priest was leading a heifer to be slaughtered for the sacrifice, when suddenly in the midst of the temple, the heifer gave birth to a lamb. The priest must have been overwhelmed with mystification as he witnessed this shocking phenomenon - maybe even scared. Why is this phenomenon an important sign?
The priests of Israel continued to offer animal sacrifices for the sins of the people, mocking the blood sacrifice of God's Son on the cruel Roman cross. By allowing the heifer to give birth to a lamb, God vividly expressed His disdain for their continual animal blood sacrifices - the Lamb of God provided a permanent blood sacrifice for the sins of all mankind - the only sacrifice now accepted by God.
Is it possible that this priest had a flashback to the time he heard John the Baptist call Jesus Christ...the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world? I wonder if he remembered hearing Jesus say in the market place...I am the bread of life...signaling that the purpose for the Passover - Feast of the Unleavened Bread has already been fulfilled? History does not answer my questions, but it is clear that God was visually conveying a clear message of warning to the people.
There are many more exciting supernatural signs warning Israel of their coming destruction - what have historians recorded? Stay tuned...
God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~
So far in this series we have defined 69 weeks - times - of Daniel's vision of 70 weeks, revealing when they were fulfilled. Last blog we listed 3 objectives that must be fulfilled in Daniel 9:26...And after the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One shall be destroyed, and there is no judgment in Him: and He shall destroy the city and the sanctuary with the prince that is coming: they shall be cut off with a flood, and to the end of the war which is rapidly completed he shall appoint the city to desolation.
Before this portion of Daniel's vision can be fulfilled - one week (70th) - the last half of Daniel 9:25 must be fulfilled...and then the time shall return and the street shall be built, and the wall, and the times shall be exhausted.
After the 7 weeks (times) and 62 weeks (times) edicts have been fulfilled by 30 A.D., the time - week - will return and the street shall be built and the wall. Time will return means the final week of Daniel's 70 week vision will be ready to be fulfilled. What date does historical documentation reveal for the time to return?
The time would return near the end of 63 A.D. Before any Roman armies arrive, we find the city of Jerusalem peaceful and prospering. Yet, in the midst of their tranquility, a puzzling situation develops in the streets of Jerusalem. An ordinary farmer, called a husbandman in those days, appeared on the streets of Jerusalem upending their peace. God sent this unobtrusive humble man to be His voice of warning, so that the citizens of Jerusalem could prepare for His soon coming judgment on them for rejecting His Son, as their Messiah. Who was this voice of warning from God?
What I do know, you have not heard about this prophetic voice, because the modern end-time doctrine embraced by all Christian denominations, leave out portions of history that might contradict their narrative.
Maybe you don't know that Jesus was a commonly used name in this generation, as was James and John. This ordinary farmer was named Jesus, who was the son of Ananus. He was a plebian, a member of the lower class, distinguished from a patrician of the Roman upper class. Yet, God called him to be His emissary, by walking through the streets of Jerusalem crying aloud His urgent warning. What was the warning?
Jesus went through the streets of Jerusalem saying, "A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the holy house, a voice against the bridegrooms and the brides, and a voice against the whole people." This message clearly delineates an indictment against the people of Jerusalem, launching the beginning of the fulfillment of the 70th week of Daniel's vision.
Historians record that Jesus, son of Ananus, walked through the streets of Jerusalem moaning this dirge for seven years and five months. This scripture that he spoke over and over for this long period of time was a prophetic warning that God was against this people. How do I know that Jesus was speaking scripture?
Many centuries before this time, this same prophetic warning was spoken through the prophet Jeremiah, when he tried to persuade the people of Israel to repent for disobeying the Sabbath Rest. He warned if they did not repent they would be punished...Jer. 25:6-11. They did not heed the warning, they did not repent, so were taken captive into Babylon for 70 years.
While chanting his prophetic dirge throughout the streets of Jerusalem, day in and day out, Jesus, son of Ananus, was hit and kicked daily by enraged citizens and religious leaders. Surely the religious leaders knew that Jesus was quoting the prophet Jeremiah, but now this scripture was indicting them - and they were angry. Rather than repent, they vehemently rejected Jesus and his warning, stirring up the people against him.
One day the monotonous dirge enraged them so much, they violently whipped him until his bones were laid bare - yet he shed no tears. In fact, he seemed unaware of his surroundings, as if in a trance. Even a Roman procurator proclaimed that Jesus, son of Ananus, was a madman. Yet, he was unmoved by the daily assaults he endured as a voice of warning for God.
What happened to Jesus, son of Ananus? Stay tuned...
God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~
So far in this study of Daniel's vision of 70 weeks, we have defined the meaning of the weeks (times). We have also learned how and when the 7 weeks edict and the 62 weeks edict were fulfilled. Last blog we began to research the 1 week edict - the 70th week of Daniel's vision. Yes, historical documentation proves this week has already been fulfilled.
The last portion of Daniel 9:25...and then the time shall return and the street shall be built, and the wall, and the times shall be exhausted...begins our research to understand the 70th week of Daniel's vision. What does "time" shall return and "times" exhausted mean?
Last blog we described King Herod's grandiose reconstruction project of Solomon's temple and the city of Jerusalem. But he died before he completed the whole plan. What didn't he complete? Herod did not complete the reconstruction of the wall and the street before he died in 4 B.C., neither did anyone else complete it. In fact, the wall and the street will not be built until the "time" (weeks) returns. Don't you love a good riddle - especially one we can solve?
First let's recap what we have learned. The 70 weeks are the measurement of an ecclesiastical indictment (edict) pronounced upon Israel. Each set of weeks (times) have been set apart as a time of specific significance to judge sin - necessitating vengeance or forgiveness - 70 x 7.
And after the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One shall be destroyed, and there is no judgment in Him: and He shall destroy the city and the sanctuary with the prince that is coming: they shall be cut off with a flood, and to the end of the war which is rapidly completed he shall appoint the city to desolation...Dan. 9:26 (Septuagint translation).
The first sentence of this text reveals - after the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One shall be destroyed. Blog 10-11 reveal that the Anointed One is Jesus Christ. The angel is telling Daniel that the culmination of the 62 weeks edict is the death of the Anointed One - Jesus Christ in 30 A.D. The text further states there is no judgment in Him because He knew no sin, so was not destroyed for Himself, but for the sins of all mankind.
The balance of our text Daniel 9:26 provides objectives that will be accomplished during the third measurement of weeks - one week - 70th week of Daniel's vision. What are these objectives?
1. He (Jesus) shall destroy the city and the sanctuary with the prince (Titus) that is coming.
2. They (Jerusalem) shall be cut off with a flood.
3. He (Titus) shall appoint the city to desolation.
These are the players in the one week edict of Daniel's vision - 70th and final week to be fulfilled in the war of 70 A.D.
The He that shall destroy the city and the sanctuary is Jesus. Remember, we described this action earlier in our study as the Wrath of the Lamb...Rev. 6:16. The coming war is the Lamb's vengeance upon Israel for rejecting Him as their Messiah.
The prince that is coming is Titus, a prince of Rome, who later became emperor. Titus is the prince that Jesus Christ will use to destroy the sanctuary, and the city of Jerusalem.
The they that shall be cut off with a flood - overflowing of soldiers - are the inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem. As we will learn in our research, Titus and his army will surround the city, preventing anyone behind the walls from escaping. We will be studying the detailed accounts of this war recorded by the historian Josephus, proving how Titus knew God had appointed him as the prince that would bring the city to desolation.
The first objective to be fulfilled in Daniel 9:26 is - He (Jesus) shall destroy the city and the sanctuary with the prince (Titus) that is coming. Before Titus destroys the temple and the city of Jerusalem, Herod's reconstruction of the street and the wall must be completed - "times" shall return. 69 weeks of Daniel's vision was fulfilled by 30 A.D. The "weeks" shall return to fulfill the 70th week of the vision. The "time" will return on what date according to historical documentation? Stay tuned...
God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~
