PART TWO
Daniel's 70 Weeks
Scripture by Scripture
& Word by Word As Needed
                                                                     By Pastor F. M. Riley
                                                                     October 14, 2019
     "And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined," Daniel 9:26.   
Introduction
     Every reader needs to read the first study on this subject, in order to put the whole prophetic picture together in the right order, and the proper perspective.  Any reader who did not receive the first study, needs only to request it, and a copy will be sent  by either email or postal mail, as the reader desires.  
    The previous study ended with the exposition of Daniel 9:25.  This study will begin  right where the previous study ended.......
Daniel 9:26
The Threescore and Two Weeks
     Notice that this Scripture begins by explicitly stating that it was "after" the "threescore and two weeks" that the "Messiah" was cut off [crucified].  Therefore this second period of "weeks"  DID NOT end at the crucifixion of Christ.  It had to end earlier, just as this Scripture clearly states.   
     This second period of 62 weeks of years; 434 years, ended when Christ rode the donkey into Jerusalem at His Triumphal Entry, and was proclaimed by His disciples, to be the long  awaited Messiah of Israel,  Matthew 21:1-11; Luke 19:28-44.  
     It is sad that Christ was not received by the Jewish people as their Messiah at that time.  The Jewish people could have been redeemed 2,000 years ago, but by their unbelief and rejection of Christ, they forfeited their opportunity. It is also sad that millions of lost people living today, due to their unbelief and rejection of Christ as their Savior and Lord, are likewise forfeiting their opportunity to be saved.      
     Dear readers,  I have a genuine God given burden for those today who are lost in sin and unbelief.  That is why I continue to write and send out these Bible studies.  I often grieve over the many lost souls today, who, just like ancient Israel, are forfeiting their opportunity to be saved, by their own  unbelief and rejection of Christ.  God have mercy upon every reader of this study, 2 Peter 1:10-11.  
     Also notice that this sixty-two week period of years, added to the first seven week period of years, as clearly divided in 9:25, totals 69 weeks of years, or a. total of 483 years.  This leaves only one week [seven years]  yet to be fulfilled.  This final 70th week is due to begin at any time now.   Take heed!   
      Right at the completion of the 69 weeks, due to Israel's rejection of Christ as their Messiah, Gabriel's prophecy of 70 weeks [490 years] determined upon Israel and the Jewish people came to a screeching halt.  Why?  Because it can be demonstrated in the Scriptures, that God does not count time against Israel and the Jewish people when they are out of His will.  So this left one more week [seven years] yet to be fulfilled, in order to complete the 70 weeks prophesied by Gabriel in 9:24. Most of God's people who seriously study Bible prophecy, understand that this missing week [7 years] will be the future seven year Tribulation period, described in detail in the Book of Revelation.  
     The Crucifixion of Christ
     In Gabriel's prophecy to Daniel, in this Scripture,  9:26, the next thing mentioned is the "cutting off" of the "Messiah."  Don't fail to notice that this inspired Scripture clearly states that the "Messiah" was not "cut off......for Himself."  Why?  Because.......
       The Lord Jesus Christ came into this world as "the last [second] Adam," 1 Corinthians 15:45.  When God created Adam, as recorded in Genesis 1:26-27 and 2:7, Adam was absolutely without sin.  But in disobeying God Adam lost his state of innocence, and became a guilty sinner.  And, just like Romans 5:12 states, Adam's sin was passed on to all of mankind;  EXCEPT ONE!
     The Lord Jesus Christ was born into this world in a state of total innocence, because His father was the Holy Spirit of the living God, Luke 1:35.  The bloodline of mankind [which carries the "sin nature"] is always passed on in the birth process, by the father, NEVER by the mother of a child!  God then used the virgin Mary to bring Christ into the world.  It was from Mary that Christ received His human body without receiving the "sin nature" of Adam.   Glory to God!   
     When Satan came into the Garden and deceived Eve, Adam disobyed God and became a fallen sinner.  
     But when Satan came to Christ,  attempting to cause Him to  fall, the Lord Jesus rebuked Satan, and overcame him.  Read the account for yourself in Matthew 4:1-11.  Christ remained absolutely SINLESS throughout the remainder of  His life.  
     This is why Gabriel explicitly told Daniel that when Christ was "cut off", He was not "cut off.....for Himself."  Christ was sacrificed for the sins of fallen mankind; not for any sin which He had committed.  The totally innocent Son of God, laid down His lifes at Calvary to pay the sin debt of totally guilty fallen mankind.  That includes every  descendant of Adam, Romans 3:23  Me and you, and the whole human race.   
        And "when" was Christ sacrificed?  His death took place on the Jewish Festival of Passover.  Christ died there as "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world," John 1:29: 1:36. Our readers who truly believe God's Word should then understand why Gabriel told Daniel that the "Messiah" was not "cut off..... for Himself."   Thank you Lord Jesus!  
The prince That Shall Come
     The next thing prophesied in this Scripture is that a "prince" and his "people" would come and destroy the city of Jerusalem and the sanctuary [Temple].
       The "Messiah," Christ Jesus, is called a "Prince" in 9:25, but He is certainly not the "prince" being described here in 9:26.    How can I be so sure?  just pay attention to the description that follows, and any honest reader can see this truth.
     This "prince" is most certainly NOT the Lord Jesus Christ, and his people ARE NOT the disciples of Christ.  This same destruction prophesied by Gabriel, as he spoke to Daniel, was also prophesied by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 24:1-2 and Luke 21:5-6.  Carefully study both passages.  
     Christian history clearly records that the "prince" being prophesied to come in this Scripture, was "prince" Titus, the nephew of the Roman Emperor, and his "people" were citizens of the Roman Empire, who hated the Jewish people with a burning passion.   Titus was the commanding General who led the Roman army in a war against Judah and the Jewish people.
The Seige Against Jerusalem  
     Titus and his army surrounded the city of Jerusalem, exactly as prophesied by the Lord Jesus Himself, Luke 21:20.  The attack was well planned.  Thousands of Jews from all over Judea had come to Jerusalem for a holy day observance.  The whole city was packed with people.  That was the time "prince" Titus chose to strike.  I don't recall right now, but I think the year was 68 A.D., and the seige  continued into 70 A.D.   
     The Roman army, having surrounded Jerusalem,  cut off all access into the city, allowing no one to go into Jerusalem for any reason. The eye witness account of the Jewish historian,  Josephus, tells us that about a million of the Jewish people were packed into Jerusalem at that time.  Over the two years of the seige, thousands of the Jews literally starved to death, because no food was allowed to be brought in to the city.  Over  that
nearly two year period, the entrapped Jews ate every dog, cat, rat, snake, and other animal or bird they could find or catch, They ate  every sheep, camel,  horse, and mule in the city, then begin eating their own babies and little children, and finally began to eat the flesh from the carcases of those who had died.  However,.......
A Glorious Escape
     At some point during the seige, the gate in the wall nearest to the Temple was opened, and a group of Roman soldiers carried a statue of Jupiter, the "god" of the Roman Empire, and erected it in the courtyard of the Jewish Temple. Such idol gods are an "abomination" to the Lord God, Exodus 20:3-6; Deut. 7:25-26.
This is why the Lord warned His disciples about the "abomination of desolation," explicitly telling them to "stand in the holy place" when Jupiter's statue was being erected.   The Lord's disciples understood and obeyed, gathering together in front of the Temple at that specific time.  For just a short time the gate  was left unguarded.  During that short time, every Christian believer in Jerusalem escaped from the city, due to the warning the Lord had given to them, Matthew 24:15-16; Mark 13:14.  Not a single Jewish Christian believer died in the seige of Jerusalem.  Oh praise the Lord!  God loves and cares for His believing children.
The End.     
    The war against Jerusalem was finally brought to an "end"  when Titus decided to break through the wall and take the city.  Thousands of Roman soldiers poured into the city, looting, raping, killing, and burning. "and the end thereof shall be with a flood."   This "flood" prophesied by Gabriel in this Scripture, was the Roman soldiers.   Compare Daniel 11:22. It WAS NOT a flood of water. Hundreds of the Jewish people who had managed to survive up to that point, were crucified on crosses erected all over the city.  And.......
     The Temple was desecrated, looted, burned, and destroyed.  This was done in spite of General Titus issuing an order that the Temple was to be preserved.  The Temple was one of the most beautiful buildings in ancient history.  The interior rooms of the Temple had been plated by gold leaf.  The Temple was deliberately set on fire by the soldiers, in order to melt the gold off the walls and ceiling of the Temple.  As the Temple burned, the gold melted and ran down into the cracks between the foundation blocks upon which the Temple structure had been built. The soldier's of Titus were consumed with such greed to retrieve every single ounce of the gold, that they took iron bars and literally pried apart the foundation stones in order to retrieve the gold.  This fulfilled to the letter the prophecy of the  Lord Jesus Christ Himself, that not one stone would be left upon another, Matthew 24:2; Luke 21:6.  
      After destroying Jerusalem and the Temple, the Roman army went all over the holy land, looting, killing, raping, and burning.  The Jews who lived in the rural areas all  over the holy land, who saw the Romans approaching deserted their homes and fled for their lives, leaving the whole land desolate [deserted and empty], thus fulfilling Gabriel's prophecy in this Scripture; "...and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.." .  This also fulfilled the prophecy of the Jewish people being scattered into various Gentile nations all over the earth.   
     Then for some today to claim that Christ and His disciples were the "prince" and "his people"  who would "destroy the city and the sanctuary," and fulfill this prophecy of Gabriel in 9:26, is utterly ridiculous.    Ignorance gone to seed!
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TO BE CONTINUED
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