HopeLives365

Mark Finley: Neither you nor I are getting any younger. The great joy of it is that death is not a dark hole in the ground and the grave is not a long night without a morning. The great joy is this, that one day Jesus will come.

Guest (Male): This is Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. Today's message, a series in the book of Daniel, week four, part two. Enjoy and remember you can always catch up with past messages and stay up to date with Hope Lives 365 and Pastor Mark by going to hopelives365.com. And now, Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: Daniel 9, if you have your Bible take a look at it. Here we go into the time prophecy. 70 weeks are determined for your people. You see the word determined here. The word determined is a Hebrew word, the word is chatak, and it means to be cut off from. 70 weeks are determined or cut off from. Cut off from what? Obviously, the 2300 days for your people. For who? The Jews. And for your holy city. To finish transgression, to make an end of sins, make reconciliation for iniquity. Incidentally, let's go back and look at that again.

To finish transgression, to make an end of sin or sin offering. Who would make an end of sin offering? Jesus would, wouldn't he? Who would indeed here make reconciliation for iniquity? What's another word for iniquity? That is sin, isn't it? Who is the only one that could make reconciliation for our sins? Who could do that? Jesus. Who would bring an everlasting righteousness? Jesus.

Who would seal up this vision that had to do with the Jews when they would be no longer his chosen people? Jesus would. Who would ascend to heaven and go into the holy place of the sanctuary, then anoint the entire sanctuary in the most holy place before he began his priestly ministry? Only Jesus could do that. So this must be a prophecy about Jesus.

Know therefore and understand. Who's talking here? The angel Gabriel. Now when Gabriel says know and understand something, is it important to know it? Is it important to understand it? So the angel says know and understand, from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince. Who's Messiah the Prince? Jesus.

Now follow me closely. Remember we read in Daniel chapter 9 at the beginning that Daniel was praying. And what was Daniel concerned about? What was on Daniel's mind? The prophecies of Jeremiah and the release of his people from captivity. So here Daniel says, know and understand, from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince.

There shall be seven weeks and 62 weeks. So if you can find out when the command to restore and build Jerusalem went forth, if we could ever discover that date, we could go forward on the timeline 69 prophetic weeks. Seven weeks and 62 weeks. How many weeks is that? 69 prophetic weeks. So if we could ever find out when that command to restore and build Jerusalem went and we could walk forward on the timeline 69 prophetic weeks, we could find out when the Messiah would come.

Now does anybody know another name for the Hebrew meaning for the word Messiah? What is the word Messiah? The anointed one. When was Jesus anointed? At his baptism. Could this prophecy in the Old Testament given hundreds of years in advance predict the exact date for the baptism of Jesus Christ? If Daniel can predict that date, Daniel was written 600 years before Christ. If Daniel can predict the date of Jesus' baptism, that would help to establish the credibility of the entire book of Daniel.

One prophetic day in Bible prophecy equals one literal year. You can read that in the book of Ezekiel chapter 4 verse 6 and read it as well in Numbers 14 verse 34. 2300 days would represent 2300 years. Now remember he said 70 weeks are determined upon you and your city. So 70 weeks of this prophecy would apply to the Jews. 69 of those weeks would take you down to the baptism of Jesus. How many days in a week? I knew this was a good class, I mean I knew these were sharp people here. How many days in a week, class? Seven.

If we have to figure out how many days there are to get this into years, 70 weeks. Seven times zero are zero. That was good. Seven times seven are 49. So 70 weeks has 490 days or 490 years. Okay, that wasn't too difficult. One prophetic day equals one literal year. So 490 days are 490 years. 70 weeks would represent 490 years. We have to figure out a starting point, though. When was the starting point? Know therefore and understand.

In Hebrew, the word chatak means cut off or separate from. 70 weeks are determined or cut off from the 2300 years for the Jews. Okay, so you have the 2300 years that take you down to the time of the end. You have 70 weeks of that or 490 days or 490 years that are cut off for the coming of the Messiah. Know therefore and understand. What did the angel Gabriel say? Know it and understand.

This is not the time to fall asleep now, folks, because the angel Gabriel is speaking. He says what? Know it and understand it. From the going forth of the command to do what? Restore and build Jerusalem unto Messiah. What is another word for Messiah? The anointed one. Prince. Shall be how long? Seven weeks, 69 weeks. The street will be built, the wall in troublous times.

The timeline begins with the command to do what? Restore and build Jerusalem. When did that take place? One prophetic day equals one literal year. 69 weeks times seven. Seven times nine are 63 and six. Seven times six are 42 and six are 48. So 69 weeks would be 483 days or 483 years. 490 years of the prophecy relates to the Jews. The first 483 years of that prophecy should take you down to the baptism of Jesus.

The whole thing starts at a decree to restore and build Jerusalem. We have to find out when that took place. Here it is, Ezra 7 verse 13. Let's read it from the screen. Ezra says, "I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and the Levites in my realm who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem may go with you. Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers who has put such a thing as this in the king's heart to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem."

Artaxerxes passes this decree, the Persian king, in 457 BC. 457. There were multiple decrees passed by Artaxerxes. Why do we choose the date in 457? Why don't you choose another date? When the 70 years of Jeremiah ran out, the Jews were allowed to go back in 536 and earlier than that. They were allowed to go back. Very few of them went back. There were at least three decrees.

When Artaxerxes comes, the difference is this, and this is why the prophecy is dated from Artaxerxes' decree. It is the first time that a civil decree provides the finances and the legal permission for them to rebuild the wall. So here you have not only the ability for them to go back, but you have the legal permission provided for them not only to rebuild the wall but to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem.

Now they have a legal justification in Ezra 7 to establish worship. Previous to this time, they were able to go back, but you have a legal justification to establish worship and you have the means to rebuild the temple in Artaxerxes' decree. The issue in Daniel's mind was the Jews going back to worship, so therefore we date the beginning of these 70 weeks back to the days of 457.

There's another reason. Has anybody ever said to you, if the shoe fits, wear it? When you date this prophecy from 457, everything on the timeline comes out right in the prophecy. The decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem was issued in the autumn of 457 BC. Now if I am in the autumn of 457 BC, now remember the text, know therefore and understand. From the going forth of the command to do what? Restore and build Jerusalem. That we just read that decree in Ezra 7, same language, unto Messiah the Prince.

Who is the Messiah the Prince? Jesus. He is anointed by the Holy Ghost as he is baptized. Shall be seven weeks and three-score and two weeks, 69 weeks, or 483 prophetic days or literal years. Look, if you start at 457 BC and you walk forward on the timeline. So I am walking forward now. If I walk 457 steps, let's suppose I am walking this way and I am back here at 457 BC and I want to go forward 483 years.

But let's start by just going forward 457. If I am walking like this and I take 457 steps, what is it going to take me to? Zero, right? What is 457 from 457? Was there any zero year in history? No. So if I go forward on the timeline 457 years, I go one year beyond 1 BC, I go to 1 AD, right? But how many years are left over that I have to go forward? I wasn't supposed to go forward 457, I was supposed to go forward how many? 483. So there is 26 left over. That takes me to 27 AD.

What happened in AD 27? This is remarkable, this is incredible. Luke 3 verse 1, notice how the Bible gives you dates. Now in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. When is that? 27 AD. What happens in that year? I don't want you to miss this. Can you keep your finger, a marker, a pen, something in Daniel chapter 9? We're going to come back. Go over to Luke chapter 3 verse 1. Let's go to the New Testament.

Luke 3 verse 1. What happens in around AD 27? Well, verse 21 tells you. Verse 1 tells you it is the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. Verse 21 says, now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized. While he prayed, heaven was opened, the Holy Spirit descended upon him. So Jesus is baptized in AD 27. What does Christ say when he is baptized? Mark chapter 1. How does Mark record that? The Gospel of Mark chapter 1.

Jesus comes to be baptized of John in Mark chapter 1 verse 14. Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the kingdom and saying, the time is fulfilled. So in Mark 1 verse 15, Jesus says, the time is fulfilled. What time was fulfilled? The prophecy of Daniel, that Jesus would be baptized in AD 27. So here Jesus is confirming the fact that he would be baptized exactly on time, exactly what the Bible says. Jesus is the Messiah of prophecy.

There have been many false messiahs, but nobody has fulfilled the prophecies exactly like Jesus Christ has. Jesus, baptized exactly on time. 69 prophetic weeks, 483 years, take us down to AD 27. But the prophecy was of 490 years, right? That would be given to the Jewish nation. How many years then would be left? If you have 483 that take you to 27 AD, how many years would be left of that 490-year prophecy? Seven.

Let me ask you a question. It's a very simple question. Even the children can answer this. Even the adults could answer this one. It is a very simple question, but do you know on this question hangs one of the greatest falsehoods in Christianity today? If you have 490 years that apply to the Jews, and if year one is followed by year two is followed by year three is followed by year four, and if you have 483 of those years, one following right after the other, what would you expect to happen?

Would the next follow after that and follow after that? Some people want to say, well, you know what happens? There is 69 years and then there is this great gap between and the last seven are way over here. I am going to show you why that is one of Satan's greatest deceptions and do you know why it is? Because those last seven years that the Bible connects to the first 483—there is no gap theory in the Bible, that is a man-made theory.

The reason why the devil has palmed that off on many Christians is because the last seven years are the greatest prophecy showing beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is the Messiah. And the devil hates that Jesus Christ is the Messiah, that he died on Calvary's cross to shed his blood for our sins. And so he would try to take away or undergird that prophecy. You'll see it tonight.

Look, Luke 3 verse 21, when all the people were baptized, it came to pass Jesus was baptized. As he prayed, heaven was opened, we just read that. And the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily dove upon him. Exactly 27 AD. Know therefore and understand. From the going forth to restore and build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince. Be seven weeks and 62 weeks. After 62 weeks. Okay, so sometime after AD 27, Messiah shall be what? Cut off.

Who is the Messiah? Jesus. What does it mean that he would be cut off? What does that mean? He would die, he would be crucified. But not for himself. What does it mean that Jesus would die but not for himself? He died for you and for me, right? And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. As the result of the Jewish nation's rejection of Jesus, did Titus the Roman prince in AD 70 destroy Jerusalem? This prophecy has been fulfilled exactly.

Sometime after AD 27, the Messiah would be cut off. Does the Bible tell us when? It does. Now to position us clearly, the decree of Artaxerxes went forth in the fall of 457 BC. Jesus was baptized 483 years later, exactly in the fall of 27 AD. So the decree goes forth in the fall of 457, Jesus is baptized in the fall of AD 27. The end of it, that is the sanctuary of Jerusalem that would be destroyed by Titus, shall be with a flood, until the end of the war, desolations are determined. Exactly that happened with Titus.

Then he, that is the Messiah, shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. I have had some people say, well doesn't that refer to the Antichrist? I just want to show you something in your Bible that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that that doesn't. First, in the Bible, the only one that ever makes a covenant is who? Jesus Christ. He's the son of the everlasting covenant. But I want to show you something in Daniel 9. I want you to look in your Bible now at Daniel chapter 9. And I want to ask you some questions and you feel free to answer them, the conclusion will be self-evident.

Daniel 9 verse 25. Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince. Who is the main theme of verse 25, class? Who is that? Messiah the Prince. And that is Jesus. Verse 26. And after 62 weeks Messiah shall be cut off but not for himself. Who is the main theme of verse 26? Messiah.

Verse 27. He shall confirm a covenant. Who is the only one that can ever confirm the eternal everlasting covenant? Jesus. How did Jesus confirm the covenant? By dying with his own, shedding his own blood. Remember when Jesus talks about communion, he says, "I will not take the cup again, drink the covenant of this cup." So here we have he, the Messiah, shall confirm the covenant with many for one week.

But in the middle of the week, in the middle of the week, he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. Who was it that brought an end to all the lamb sacrifices? Who did that? Jesus. See, Satan would want to take the most precious prophecy, say, "Okay, I'm going to take seven years, I'm going to put it at the time of the end with no biblical justification to destroy the prophecy about Jesus."

Wait a minute. He'll confirm the covenant with many for one week. 69 weeks and one week are how much is 69 and one? 70. 69 prophetic days is 483 days or 483 years. Runs out in AD 27. But there is one prophetic week left. Something is going to happen in the middle of that last prophetic week. If you have seven, what is half of seven? Three and a half.

Follow me closely. If Christ is baptized in the fall of 27 AD, if an event was to take place three years into the future, it would take you to the fall of 30. But it was to be three and a half years into the future, so that six months would take you over to the spring of AD 31. Jesus was 33 years old in the spring of 31 AD. What happened when Jesus was 33 in the spring? It's when he sealed the everlasting covenant with his blood and his death.

Jesus was crucified on time, he brought an end to every animal sacrifice. Look, AD 27, three and a half years take you to 31 AD in the spring. Exactly at that point Jesus the Messiah is crucified. He seals the eternal everlasting covenant with his own blood. Now three and a half years, 483 years take us to 27 AD. Three and a half years beyond that take us to the spring of 31. Three and a half years that take us to the fall of 34 AD.

Daniel predicted the precise timing of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. I have shared this prophecy with thought leaders around the world. In fact, one night I was preaching in the Kremlin in Moscow. God did some amazing things just after the fall of the communist government. For a very short period of time, the Yeltsin government, I had been working in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, and the Kremlin auditorium was given to us to speak.

We had 6,500 people each lecture. It was just an amazing experience to see what God is doing. But the general that led the Afghan invasion gathered a group of intellectuals together and we were studying the prophecies of Daniel during that lecture series. They were amazed at the precision of Daniel's prophecies. Daniel predicted the precise timing of the crucifixion of Jesus at the end of the 490 years. Something would happen, though.

31 AD Christ would be crucified. Three and a half years more would complete the 70 weeks or 490 years that would go upon the Jews. In 34 AD, the Jews would seal their destiny as God's people. How did that happen?

Guest (Male): You've been listening to Hope Lives 365 with Pastor Mark Finley. We hope you've enjoyed today's message and remind you that you can find more in our many ministry resources at hopelives365.com. And you can support this ministry by going to hopelives365.com/donate. And now, a final thought from Pastor Mark Finley.

Mark Finley: And I should pause to say this, how merciful our God is. Don't miss the mercy of God in the numbers. The numbers are important. When Jesus was crucified on the cross by the Romans, as the Jewish nation rejected him and the veil was rent in two in the temple, Christ gave the Jewish nation three and a half more years to repent before their doom was sealed as a nation.

The Bible teaches that thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of Jews were later baptized and became part of Christian faith. And even now God is reaching out to our Jewish brothers and sisters. We were in Israel in June, had a marvelous baptism. One of the things about the gospel is it brings people together.

The Bible says that Christ has made of one blood all nations. And I remember we were in the Sea of Galilee this June, baptizing. Here is an Arab businessman being baptized next to a Jewish woman. The gospel is amazing. It unites us in Jesus. It brings people of all nations and kindreds and tongues together in Christ, and we become one body and one nation and we're bonded in Jesus.