Daniel 9:24
By Pastor F. M. Riley
October 9,
2010
“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy
people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an
end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in
everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint
the most holy.”
Daniel 9:24
Introduction
There is no question in my mind that this
Scripture is one of the most abused Scriptures in the prophetic Word. It is a sad fact that most prophecy preachers
and teachers pay little to no attention at all to what is actually stated in
the passage. The proof of this statement
can easily be seen by the multiplicity of “interpretations” based on this
Scripture, each of them supposedly justified by lifting one or more of the events
named right out of the verse and emphasizing it to the complete ignoring of the
other events named in the passage.
It is my intention in this study to
examine and expound exactly what this Scripture says, rather than what
many today would like to make it say. Join
us for a Scripturally enlightening Bible study as we carefully examine what
this Scripture text actually and literally states…..
The Time Period
The very first thing stated in
this Scripture is, “Seventy weeks are determined…” This
is then a prophecy which sets forth a “determined” period of time; that
is, a time “determined” or “appointed” by Almighty God which therefore
cannot be set aside or altered. The Hebrew words translated as “Seventy
weeks” in this passage are “sabua
sibim,” literally meaning “seventy
sevens.” See Strong’s Concordance,
No’s 7620 and 7657. It is undeniable
that there is a “week of years” set forth in the Scriptures. See Leviticus 25:1-12. Seventy of these
“weeks of years” would then amount to 490 years or seventy times seven. This 490 year period is the amount of time
that the Lord Himself “determined” upon…..
The Jewish People
This Scripture is explicitly clear in
stating that this 490 year period is “determined upon thy people and upon thy
holy city…” This means upon
Daniel’s people; the Jews, and upon the “holy city” of Daniel and
his people; the city of Jerusalem. How much plainer could it be stated that this
“Seventy
weeks” prophecy applies to the Jewish people and to the city of Jerusalem? It DOES NOT apply to “the church” [a New Testament entity], nor to the
Gentiles, their armies, their lands, their leaders, or anything else about the
Gentiles, except to that extent to which some Gentile peoples come into contact with and
effect the Jewish people during this 490 year period. This prophecy has to do with Israel and the
Jewish people. Period!
I would also add that “the Lord’s church”
had nothing to do with the first 69 weeks of the fulfillment of this prophecy,
and therefore it WILL NOT have anything to do with the fulfillment of the final
7 weeks of it. It doesn’t take a rocket
scientist to understand the
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plain
statement made in this Scripture. Then
why do so many today choose to ignore this
truth
and try to apply this passage to the Gentiles and to the church? Obviously some “Christian” people, with all
their boasted knowledge of the Word, have never yet learned how to “rightly
divide the Word of truth,” 2 Timothy 2:15.
Sic!
The Context of the Verse
The very first event referred to in this
verse is “to finish the transgression.” This
sets forth the context for the entire verse.
This verse deals with events which occur at the end of the “seventy
weeks” and the beginning of the Millennial Kingdom
which follows. How do we know this to be true?
Because to this very day the Jewish people whom this verse is explicitly
speaking about are still “transgressing” God’s Law. They didn’t stop “transgressing the law” when
Christ died on the cross. Their “transgression
of the law” is still going on right to this present hour. Many Bible students today seem to have missed
this very obvious truth, and attempt to apply this statement to Christ dying on
the cross. Sorry, your “interpretation” won’t work. After some 2,000 years the “transgression
of the law” by unbelieving Israel and the Jewish people is
continuing right on, just like it always has through the centuries. Therefore, it is obvious that this verse is a
prophecy of the future time during or at the end of the Tribulation when such “transgression
of the law” by Israel
and the Jewish people will be brought to a complete “finish.”
Praise God! Glory to the Lord!
No where in this Scripture does this
passage speak of events which occur during the course of the 70 weeks [490 years].
The Scriptures which follow, verses 25-27, do speak of events
which will occur during the 490 years, but this 24th
verse is limited to those events which will reach their consummation at
the end of the 490 year period and going into the Millennial Kingdom. This is not hard to see at all if people
would pay attention to what they are reading.
Therefore when you read this verse you are reading about events which
are brought to fruition at the end of the 70th Week of
Daniel. How glorious these events will be for God’s people! This is reason enough for true believers to
make a serious effort to “rightly divide” this passage of
Scripture, 2 Timothy 2:15. Blessing
awaits all humanity at the end of the 70th week of Daniel!
Six Wonderful Truths
[1] “to
finish the transgression”…….This is referring to “the
transgression of the Law” by the Jewish people. The Lord gave them His Law at Mt. Sinai
some 3,400 years ago, and the sad truth is that the Jews as a people have
never kept it. They transgressed God’s
Law in the past, they are transgressing it today, and they will continue to
transgress it in the future Tribulation period right until the day when
the Jewish remnant turns to the Lord with their whole heart, Jeremiah
29:13; Zechariah 13:8-9. Then and only then will “the transgression” be
finished! This will occur right at or towards the end of the Tribulation period
literally fulfilling this statement in Daniel 9:24. From that time forward
the Jews, individually and as a people, will never transgress God’s Law
again. Read Ezekiel 11:19-20, 36:25-28,
Jeremiah 31:31-34, Zephaniah 3:13, Hebrews 8:10-12, and 10:16-17
and give glory to God!
[2] “to
make an end of sins”…….Again, some today attempt to apply this
statement to the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, but such an application
is neither historically nor Scripturally correct. The Lord did not make “an
end of sins.” The Lord paid
the penalty for Israel’s
transgression of the Law and for the sins of the whole human race. But did men cease to sin when Christ was
crucified? No, they did not! Men kept right on
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sinning
and are still sinning today. In fact,
sin and wickedness and rebellion is worse today than at any time previously
since “the days of Noah” preceding the flood.
Folks, this statement means what it says
and says what it means. At the end of
the coming Tribulation, the practice of sin will cease forever. Notice that the word “sins” is in the plural
form, making it obvious that it refers to the practice of any and every type of
sin which can be conceived in the “desperately wicked” human heart of
mankind, Jeremiah 17:9.
In several previous studies I have pointed
out that at or near the end of the Tribulation the “sin nature” will be totally
removed from the redeemed Jewish remnant who survives the Tribulation, Joel
3:20-21. They simply will not
sin anymore. This is why the Scriptures twice explicitly state that
the Jews will no longer exhort one another to “Know the Lord: for they shall
all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the
Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no
more,” Jeremiah 31-34. See
also Hebrews
8:11-12.
However, this will not
be true of the Gentiles who survive the Tribulation. The “sin nature” will not be removed
from the Gentiles until the 1,000 years of the Millennial Kingdom
are expired. During the thousand years
there will still be a “sin nature” in the flesh of the surviving Gentiles. Therefore, even though only saved Gentiles
will enter into the blessings of the Millennial
Kingdom, the children
born to them may or may not receive Christ as their own Savior during the 1,000
years of the Kingdom. But whether they
do or not, NO ONE, whether saved or unsaved will be allowed to
PRACTICE sin during the time of the Millennial Kingdom. The practice of “sins” will be brought to
a screeching halt at the end of the 70th week of Daniel [Tribulation] and will never again be allowed
to be practiced in the kingdom of our precious Lord, or in the Eternal
Kingdom of God which will follow the Millennial
Kingdom. Praise the Lord! Glory to God!
[3] “to
make reconciliation for iniquity”……This statement again means what it
says and says what it means. This is one
of the first things that will occur at the end of the Tribulation on behalf of the redeemed
Jewish remnant and the nation of Israel as they are again
consecrated to the service of the Lord. This
“reconciliation”
between God and Israel
actually consists of a sacrifice as prescribed in the Law which God gave to Israel. The blood of that sacrifice will be used to
again anoint and purify and sanctify the altar which the Jews will use during
the Millennial Kingdom
to offer sacrifices to the Lord as an everlasting “memorial” of
the sacrifice for sin made by Christ at Calvary.
Significantly, it will be King David himself who will be responsible for offering
the sacrifice to make “reconciliation for the house of Israel.” See Leviticus 8:14-15 and Ezekiel
45:17-20.
To this day many New Testament believers
do not realize that God gave His Law to Israel to be observed “forever.” The difference is that under the Old
Covenant the Law was written in stone, clearly depicting the “stony
hearts” of the unbelieving Jewish people, Ezekiel 11:19-20; 36:26-27; Zechariah
7:12. But at the end of the
Tribulation, by God’s GRACE [Zechariah
12:10; 13:1], the redeemed Jewish remnant will be given a soft, tender,
heart of flesh, and God’s Law will be written in their hearts rather
than in stone, Jeremiah 31:33; Hebrews 8:10; 10:16. “Reconciliation” between Israel and the
Lord will then be accomplished. Praise
the Lord! Glory to God!
[4]
“to bring in everlasting righteousness”…….This literally means that from the end of the 70th
week of Daniel [Tribulation] there
will be “everlasting righteousness” among mankind in the Millennial
Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ on earth, and extending into the Eternal Age
which will follow the Millennial Kingdom. What a contrast! Today we see the whole world system filled
with malice, anger, hate, murder,
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war,
crime, injustice, wickedness, and every imaginable kind of
unrighteousness. But as the Tribulation
period ends and the Millennial
Kingdom begins, all
unrighteousness will cease forever.
All of surviving humanity from that day forward will only do that
which is right, both towards the Lord and towards other people. Read Isaiah 11:1-5. Praise God! Glory to our Lord! Hallelujah!
Read Romans 11:12.
[5] “to
seal up the vision and prophecy”…….This statement is to be taken
literally for what it says. When the
Tribulation is brought to an end by the literal, bodily, return of the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself back to this earth to rule and reign in righteousness,
there will no longer be any need for anyone, Jew or Gentile, to be given
visions and prophecies of the future.
Both of these “gifts” will be “sealed up” and cease. The Lord Himself, ruling and reigning over
mankind from His glorious throne in Jerusalem, will then reveal whatever
knowledge of the future He wants mankind to know whenever He wants them to know
it, Isaiah
2:1-4; Micah 4:1-3..
Absolute proof of this truth is verified
in Zechariah
13:1-5. During the Millennial Kingdom anyone claiming to have had a
vision or to have received a prophecy will be branded a liar and put to death.
As I have already pointed out in this study, no sin or unrighteousness
will be allowed to be practiced among mankind after the end of the Tribulation. The gifts of visions and prophecies among
men will then be “sealed up,” apparently “for ever.”
[6] “to
anoint the most holy”…….Above all the other events mentioned in this
verse, this is the one that many prophecy teachers today stumble over the
worse. Many today insist that this
statement just has to apply to the Lord Jesus Christ at His first coming. Sic! Pure
human reasoning claims that no one could possibly be more “holy” than the
Lord Jesus, so this phrase has to apply to His “anointing” by the Holy Spirit
at His baptism. Oh, is that so? Sic!
Sic! (That’s a double “sic” just in case some readers might tend to overlook
it).
The expression, “the most holy,” occurs
exactly 44 times in the Old Testament.
Take your Concordance, look up the Scriptures references, and count them
for yourself. Out of all 44 occurrences
of this expression in the Scriptures, not even one time is the
expression ever used in referring to a person, not to the Lord Jesus
Christ or any other person. Hello! The very first occurrence of this expression in
God’s Word is found in Exodus 26:33-34, where it occurs once
in each verse. The context reveals that it is referring to “the most holy place” in the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle as distinct from the
“holy
place” in the Tabernacle.
The expression is then used 12 more
times in the Old Testament in referring to “the most holy place;” the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle or Temple where the mercy seat was located. The 14th and final place where
this word occurs when referring to “the most holy” [place] is right here in Daniel
9:24. Since all 13 previous occurrences of the
expression actually refer to “the most holy place” rather than to a
person, then what good Scriptural reason is there for claiming that Daniel
9:24 is referring to the anointing of the Lord Jesus Christ at His first
coming? Well…??
Now would some of these “super scholars”
who so dogmatically claim that this expression in Daniel 9:24 just has to
refer to the “anointing” of the Lord Jesus at His baptism, care to explain to
the rest of us “ignorant peons” why we should believe your “interpretation”
rather than simply letting Scripture explain Scripture? Hello!
Does this mess up your “theology?”
Tsk! Tsk! I couldn’t care less about your “theology!” What I care about is the truth of God’s
Word. Period! If you are a “true believer” that is what YOU
should also care about. Read Romans
3:4. The real truth of this
expression is exactly in harmony with the previous five events referred to in
this verse. At the end of
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the
70th Week of Daniel [the
Tribulation] “the most holy” place will again be “anointed” and the Temple Mount,
the Tabernacle of David, and the Millenial
Temple [in this order] and all connected with them
will be consecrated to the Lord. Read it yourself in Ezekiel
45:18-25.
The Restitution of All Things
What Daniel 9:24 actually does
is set forth the six events towards which the Lord Himself is working in order
to “restore” a world system [civilization] upon this earth which will glorify and
magnify Almighty God who created it, and which will be a blessing to all
humanity from that time forth. The Apostle Peter, in speaking to Israel many
centuries ago, urged the nation and people of Israel to “Repent ye therefore, and be
converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing
shall come from the presence of the Lord; And He shall send Jesus Christ, which
before was preached unto you: Whom the
Heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which
God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began,”
Acts 3:19-21. The Greek word translated as “restitution” literally
means “to restore.” See Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, page 63,
Strong’s No. 605.
It has often been said that Israel and the Jewish people are
the “key” to the fulfillment of all Bible prophecy. This statement is absolutely true! Humanity upon this earth will never truly
know righteousness, holiness, peace, justice, mercy, love, and fellowship for
one another, until a redeemed Israel
is in their right spiritual relationship with the Lord. That will not happen until the Jewish remnant
turns to the Lord with their whole heart right at the end of the Tribulation. Read Jeremiah 29:11-13 and Zechariah
13:8-9 again and this time let it soak in. Then and only then will the “restitution
of all things” come as the Lord Himself subdues and restores this whole
earth, the world system, and creation itself to the state of holiness, purity,
and Godly order that it was in when the Lord first placed mankind upon the
earth. Read 1 Corinthians 15:24-28. Significantly, this is what the
creation itself is looking forward to.
Read Romans 8:19-22. May God
hasten the day when there shall truly be “on earth peace, good will toward men,” Luke
2:14.
Conclusion
Some of our readers who are indeed true believers, may find it
necessary to “adjust their theology” after reading this study. If so, I hope you will! It is far past time that God’s people RETURN
to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, of God’s Word, and
stop espousing silly theories, vain opinions, and man-made ”interpretations.” John 16:12-15, Romans 3:4, and 1
Thessalonians 5:21 are all still in the Bible, and God’s people today
ought to be putting these inspired Scriptures into practice in our daily
lives. Our Lord is able and willing to
give to His people the absolute truth of His Word. We DO NOT have to go chasing off after silly
“theories,” vain “opinions,” or the man-made “interpretations” of so-called
“great scholars.” Sic!
Get
serious about studying and listening to what God’s Word actually and literally
says, rather than what some Laodicean “scholar” would like to make it say. Make
an honest effort to learn how to “rightly divide the Word of truth,” 2
Timothy 2:15. The very souls of
your own lost loved ones, and others around you may be depending on it. Do you care?
Do you really care? Think about
it!
“But what saith it? The Word is nigh thee, even in
thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the Word of faith, which we
preach;
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth
the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from
the dead, thou shalt be saved.
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For with the heart man believeth unto
righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation,” Romans
10:8-10.
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of
God,” Romans 10:17.
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NOTICE:
Permission is granted to any true
believer or to any Bible believing Christian ministry to reproduce this
study to share with others or to quote from it in context as written.
Please address all comments, questions,
and correspondence to: Pastor F. M. Riley, 184 County Road 108, Harrisburg, Missouri 65256.
I can also be contacted via email at:
fmrglbd5@yahoo.com or fmr7sngn@centurylink.net.
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