Week 4: The Vision of the Seventy Weeks and the Age of Mystery
Before
I came to know the Lord, I used to be very interested in horoscope, by
looking at date and time of birth according to Chinese calendar. I loved
to know what or how my life would be. Even though I found that it was
not accurate at all, I still could not stop doing it. I was so obsessed
with it that I would not do any important thing on the day that seemed
not good for me, according to horoscope. As a result, I had no peace,
and I sometimes submitted my homework after due date because of it.
However, this lesson taught me one thing. My life was not accident. It
told me that my life was predestinated by someone or something. But I
did not know who that one was.
I
started to learn about Daniel's prophecy from a bible correspondence
course via email, I was astonished by the prophecies of Daniel. He
accurately prophesied about the coming kingdoms, and almost all of his
prophecies has already fulfilled. And now, I have known already why. He
had a God who did not only know the future, He also held the future.
That is why after I came to Christ, I don't have to worry about life any
more. Now I know the true God who knows the future and holds the
future. I am safe in Hand, and my life has been predestinated to be
conformed to Christ and to be with Him forever. He is the God that I can
fully trust.
This
week, the message is about one of the greatest prophecies in the bible.
We cannot make sense of any other end-time prophecy in other parts of
the bible without the light of the prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27. It
provides a clear time frame of what have happened and will be happening.
It has only 4 verses, but the content is so rich.
In
the context, Daniel learned from the Scripture about God's plan of
redemption for His people from Babylon. The 70-year duration of
captivity indicated in Jeremiah 25:11 had been finished, and the time of
God's deliverance should be very near. He then confessed on the behalf
of Israel people, and diligently asked God for deliverance with
desperate prayer. And the climax of his request, he prayed, "O
my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our
desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not
present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but
because of Your great mercies. O
Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for
Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your
name." (Daniel 9:19 NKJV)
He knew that God would help His people according to God's great
mercies, not their righteous deeds. It was all about God's grace and
mercy. And he prayed for God's own sake!
Daniel
requested that God would help His people, but God's answer through the
messenger Gabriel far exceeded his request. The content of the message
was far greater than what Daniel would have expected. God did not show
him only when He would bring His people back and restore and rebuild
Jerusalem, He also showed him the much greater things beyond that point,
consisting of the cutting off of the Messiah, the appearing of the
Antichrist, and the returning of Christ.
The Vision of Seventy Weeks
(Day 1 and Day 2)
God explicitly declares His purpose of seventy weeks.
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, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy. (Daniel 9:24 NKJV)
And
these wonderful things will be fully accomplished when Christ comes
back to destroy human governments, and establish the new heaven and new
earth, in which the everlasting righteousness will dwell.
The seventy weeks (sevens) can be divided into 3 periods of time.
1. The first part: 7 weeks (49 years)
Know therefore and understand, That 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; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. (Daniel 9:25)
From Nehemiah 2:1-8, we can see that this time started when the decree to rebuild Jerusalem was issued "in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes" (Nehemiah 2:1), which was about 444 BC, until the completion of the rebuilding. The first month of Nisan of that year was from February 27 to March 28.
2. The second part: 62 weeks (434 years)
And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. (Daniel 9:26 NKJV)
If
we calculate from the year that the decree was issued (444 BC) using
360-day year system (30 days x 12 months), we will see that this second
part ends at about 33 AD. It was exactly the year in which our Lord
Jesus was crucified for redemption of our sins, wasn't it?
Moreover,
for those who are very good at calculations, that day of crucifixion
was exactly at the end of this 69 years, counted from the first Nisan of
444 BC (February 27 to March 28). Given
that a year in our calendar is equal to 365.24219879 days, the 173,880
days (483 years x 360 days) would be 476 years and 25 days. Therefore
the end of this period would fall between March
24 to April 22, 33 AD. Historically, all events associated with
crucifixion fell within this period of time. Followings are the
estimated dates that have been proposed.
- March 27: Palm Sunday
- April 1: Good Friday, the day of crucifixion
- April 3: Resurrection
The
Messiah was cut off for us all! Jesus's crucifixion was not accident.
It did not surprise God at all, because it had already been predestined
by God out of His sacrificial love for His children.
As Easter day of this year is very near, let's ponder about Christ's crucifixion. Let's see the cross, and realise
how much He loves you. Let's see the resurrection, and know that we are
not alone. Christ is risen! He is with us, and in us. The old creation
was terminated at the crucifixion of Christ, and the new creation was
germinated through the resurrection of Christ. Therefore the cross of
Christ is the centrality and universality of God's work!
3. The third part: the last week (7 years)
Then 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. 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. (Daniel 9:27 NKJV)
If
you have seen a movie named "Left Behind," the actors and actresses
will show up during this time. It will be the time of Antichrist, who
will break the covenant at the middle of this week. That will be
followed by the great tribulation in the last 3 and a half year. Many
end-time prophecies in the new testament, particularly in the synoptic Gospels, 2 Thessalonians and Revelation, refer
to this last week. However, we will not be there to play in the film,
because we, as the overcomers, will be raptured before that horrible
time. You don't want to be left behind, do you? Neither do I. So let's
take heed, and actively wait for His coming!
The Age of Mystery
(Day 3 and Day 4)
You
may have questioned, "where are we now?" Of course, Christ was
crucified nearly 2000 years ago, so the last week could not have started
immediately after that. The answer is that we are now in the age of the
church, age of the mystery, age of grace, which is the gap between the
first 69 weeks and the last week. Let's see now how mysterious this age is.
As
the name implies, everything is mysterious. Let me list some mysterious
things. The age is mysterious even at the very beginning, as the incarnation of Christ, when God was manifested in the flesh, is the mystery of godliness (1 Timothy 3:16).
Christ is the mystery of God, and the church is the mystery of Christ.
The kingdom of the heavens (Matthew 13:11), the indwelling of Christ
(Colossians 1:27), and the resurrection and the transfiguration of the
saints (1 Corinthians 15:51-53) are also all mysterious.
Among these mysteries, may I mention a little more about Christ as the mystery of God, and the church as the mystery of Christ.
...
that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to
reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the
knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ... For in him the whole fullness of
deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head
of all rule and authority. (Colossians 2:2-3, 9 ESV)
...
by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery
of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men,
as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and
prophets: that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body,
and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel (Ephesians
3:4-6 NKJV)
The
fact that Christ is the mystery of God tells us that if we want to know
the mystery of God, we need to know Christ, who is the embodiment of
God and in whom the fullness of Godhead dwells. And the fact that the
church is the mystery of Christ tells us that if we need to know the
mystery of Christ, we need to be a part of the church, which is the body
of Christ and is being built up by Him to be His bride.
When they are mysteries, we cannot use our brain to understand. Nor can we use any of all 5 organs of sensation.
Me must use the other special organ to discern these mysterious things.
No any anatomist has ever identified this organ, but we all have it. It
is "faith."
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV)
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6 NKJV)
The
righteous shall live by faith. Our life begins with faith and ends in
faith. Through faith we will see the things not seen. Our faith is not
based upon our own imagination, but on the mysterious truth that we can
see through the lens of faith. Therefore let us come to God, believing
that He is and that He is the rewarder of us who diligently seek Him.
Interestingly,
even the Gospel of Christ is also mysterious. Therefore it is
impossible for us to understand the Gospel without having faith. And the
mystery of the Gospel is the Christ Himself and the church for the
fulfilment of God's eternal purpose.
Here’s
His objective: through the church, He intends now to make known His
infinite and boundless wisdom to all rulers and authorities in heavenly
realms. This has been His plan from the beginning, one that He has now
accomplished through the Anointed One, Jesus our Lord. (Ephesians
3:10-11 The Voice)
Applications from the message
Personally,
I really like to learn mysterious things. I love to decipher the
visions, and see how they have been and will be fulfilled. I am so
excited to study about the prophecies. It may be fun. But if I finish
studying it without any change in my life, that knowledge is futile.
Knowing the truth about the Lord's coming back is meaningless without
the experience of waiting for it.
What does God want us to learn from this wonderful vision that can be applied in our life?
God
reveals us the prophecies, and shows us that He has already fulfilled
what He said would happen. Everything that comes from His mouth will
happen exactly as He says.
I have declared the former things from the beginning; They went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to hear it. Suddenly I did them, and they came to pass. Because I knew that you were obstinate, And your neck was an iron sinew, And your brow bronze, Even from the beginning I have declared it to you; Before it came to pass I proclaimed it to you ... (Isaiah 48:3-5a NKJV)
The
Jerusalem was rebuilt. Christ was crucified. But the last week of
horrible time, second half of which is the great tribulation, is coming.
The right reaction from this vision is that we will take heed of
ourselves and be actively watchful at every time.
But
take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with
carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you
unexpectedly. (Luke 21:34 NKJV)
Watch
therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all
these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of
Man. (Luke 21:36 NKJV)
Brother Watchman Nee says, "Having realised
that the Lord will come again, we need to have a proper attitude toward
His coming. Hearing a message on His coming and knowing the doctrine of
His coming are not the end; we have to be those who wait for His
coming." (The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, Vol. 60, p. 440)
In
our perspectives, we should looking forward to it, because our
Bridegroom is coming. And we must live today in the light of the Lord's
appearing. We should not only mentally acknowledge about the Lord's
coming, but we need to desire it, ask for it, prepare for it, and trust
in it.
Brother
Nee shared a story about M. E. Barber, whom he really admired as a
person who truly waited for the Lord's return. One New Year's eve, he
spent time with her. She prayed, "Lord, if You want to come now, there is still time this year; You do not have to wait until next year."
At another occasion, the brother asked her to explain a hymn that she
wrote. She took him for a walk. Before they were about to turn a corner,
she said to him, "The Lord is coming; He is getting closer and closer. Perhaps we will see Him around the corner." (The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, Vol. 60, p. 442)
May I end this long message with the last sentence from the outline as well as a part of Apostle Paul's letter to Timothy, which I found to be a very good summary for this message,.
The
Lord's appearing, His coming back, is a warning, an encouragement, and
an incentive to us; we should love His appearing and look forward to it
with earnest expectation and joy.
I
charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will
judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach
the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke,
exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when
they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own
desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for
themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth,
and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure
afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. For
I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my
departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the
race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown
of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me
on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His
appearing. (2 Timothy 4:1-8 NKJV)
Reference
- The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallisation Study of Daniel and Zechariah Volume 1, week 4.
- Crystallisation-Study of Daniel.
- ESV Study Bible Note for Daniel 9:24-27.
