Love Worth Finding

Guest (Male): We live in great anticipation as we wait for Jesus to come again.

Adrian Rogers: When is Jesus coming? Well, when the fullness of the Gentiles comes in. Maybe you'll be the last soul saved before the rapture. And when will that be? Well, it may be at morn, when the day is awaking, when sunlight through darkness and shadows breaking that Jesus will come in the fullness of glory to receive from the world his own.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Love Worth Finding, featuring the insightful teaching of beloved pastor and author Adrian Rogers. This month we've been exploring the idea of living in hope on the edge of eternity. In part one of today's message, we learned how an Old Testament passage in Daniel can be seen as an outline of the things to come in the last days. If you have your Bible, turn to Daniel chapter nine. We'll look at verse 20 as Adrian Rogers delivers part two of When Time Runs Out.

Adrian Rogers: Now, prophecy is history pre-written. Only God can give true prophecy. Listen to this passage. Beginning in verse 24, here's what God said to Daniel. 70 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. Number one, uh he is going to finish the transgression, not a transgression, but the transgression. To whom is he speaking? Israel. What is the transgression of Israel?

They're forsaking, they're turning their back on their Messiah. The rejection of Israel's Messiah. But one day, thank God that rejection will be over. That transgression will be in the past. Number two, he's going to make an end of sins because there can be no end of sins without Messiah. There is no forgiveness of sin apart from the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world. And so there's coming a time when uh the Jews shall turn in faith uh to Jesus Christ and trust him. Now, Daniel also said he's coming to make reconciliation for iniquity.

Uh these who were enemies are now going to be reconciled. The great uh need for all of us to understand, both Jew and Gentile, is without Christ we are alienated from God. Romans 5:10 for if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. So Jesus is going in this prophecy to make reconciliation for iniquity. And thank God for that. And then to bring in everlasting righteousness. Now, uh there is no righteousness either without Messiah, without the Lord Jesus Christ.

Daniel says uh there's coming a time when he's going to bring in this everlasting righteousness. Now, remember he's talking about Israel. The Jews are going to say Messiah now is our righteousness. Now, the next of these purposes is to seal up the vision and the prophecy. That means that God has a plan and in 490 years he's going to finish that plan. He's going to put the last period upon the last paragraph, upon the last page, upon the last chapter, upon the last book of history. He is going to seal it up. He is going to finish it.

Nothing has gotten out of hand. Not a jot or a tittle will fail from the law till all has been fulfilled. Uh people say God said it, I believe it and that settles it. No, God said it, that settles it. I hope you believe it. Friend, it is there. It is there. He is going to seal up the vision and the prophecy. Now, here is the program deployed. Beginning now in verses 25 through 27, you're going to see how this program works out. And so God is telling Daniel to know and understand and now I am trying to share with you so you can know and understand.

Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to uh build Jerusalem under Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks and three score and two weeks. The street shall be built again and the wall even in troublous times. Now, 490 years uh it's going to take. Well, you have to understand when the countdown begins and when it ends. And God tells us when this count will begin. When you can start the counting off these 490 years. It begins with a command to restore and build Jerusalem. That's the commencement of the count.

Now, when was the command to restore and build Jerusalem? Well, that command was given in the book of Nehemiah chapter two and verse one. Now, uh notice what he says here if you will in this verse. Uh know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem under Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks. That's 49 years. It took 49 years uh to restore and to build Jerusalem. It happened uh just as God said it would. God gave the uh the ability through Artaxerxes and God used Nehemiah to do it.

And in uh these 49 years uh it was done exactly. And uh it was this first section now is completed. But now that's the commencement of the count. Now, let's look at the continuation of the count in verse 25. And he says unto Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks and three score and two weeks. Now, he's saying I am going to expand the uh prophecy just a little bit. You have 49 weeks. Add to that 49 434 weeks. And put all of these together and uh you have 483 years uh from the time the command was given to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah would come, Messiah the Prince.

Messiah came right on time. Now, here's the point. From the command to restore and build Jerusalem to Messiah the Prince is going to be 49 years and then 434 years which is going to make a total of 483 years. The point that you need to understand is this that Daniel pinpointed the coming of Messiah down to the very day. 173,880 days from March the 14th 445 BC Jesus was riding into Jerusalem. Now, Jesus on the Mount of Olives wept. Do you know why Jesus wept? Listen to it again. Luke 19 beginning in verse 41. And when he was come near, that is when he was coming near to the city, he beheld the city and wept over it saying, if thou hadst known even thou at least in this thy day the things which belong unto thy peace, but now they hid from thine eyes.

No wonder Jesus wept. The precise day was given by Daniel the Prophet. And he said if you'd only known the things that belong to you on this your day. And so there was the commencement of the count. We see where the commencement of the count began with the building of Jerusalem. There is the continuation of the count from the rebuilding of Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince. Now, there is the secession of the count. The count is stopped. God puts a hold in the count. Look now in verse 26 and after three score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off.

That is after this period of time, after Messiah has come in three score and two weeks plus the seven weeks the building rebuilding of the city, Messiah is going to be cut off. That is you're going to crucify Messiah. Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself. That's very interesting. What does it mean Messiah shall be cut off? It speaks of the crucifixion of Jesus. Daniel prophesied the crucifixion of the Son of God as did Isaiah. Isaiah 53:8 He was taken from prison and from judgment and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living.

That's what his crucifixion was. His life was cut off and actually it means to be cut short. He died as a young man. He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And that's what uh Isaiah said he he was stricken for the sins of the Jewish people. Uh Daniel says Messiah will be cut off, but not for himself. That is not because of any sin that he had done. He did not die for his own sin. He had no sin. He died for us.

And then Daniel saw not only would Messiah come exactly on time, not only would Messiah be rejected and crucified, but Daniel also saw that the city uh would be destroyed. And it would be destroyed by a Roman. I want you to see uh what he goes on to say here in this passage of scripture. And after three score 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. Not the Prince that shall come, who is the Antichrist, but the people of the Prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.

And the end thereof shall be with a flood. That is you will be inundated with trouble and difficulty. And unto the end of the war, desolations are determined. Now, what's he talking about here? Daniel looking down through the corridor of time saw Messiah coming exactly precisely on time. Daniel looking down through the corridor of time by divine inspiration saw Messiah rejected uh that Passover week and nailed to a cross. He saw him being cut off from the land of the living. And then Daniel saw Jerusalem being destroyed. Jesus also wept over Jerusalem. And Jesus said not one stone will be left upon another.

And uh Luke 21 in verse six for these things which he behold, the days will come in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down. If you go sometime to Israel, you'll be able to see uh the ruins of that temple. Not one stone is left on that Temple Mount that was there in the time of Christ. But you can look down into the valley and see these massive stones that have been tumbled down, thrown down uh down off that Temple Mount exactly precisely as the Bible said that it would happen.

Now, at this point, God puts a hold in the countdown. God stops the clock from running because God is dealing with Israel. And when Israel rejected and turned her back on Messiah the Prince, then the clock stopped ticking for Israel. And there is an undetermined period of time that will be marked by wars and desolations. And that's the time we're living in. You'll find that in the last part of verse 26. And uh this now is what we call the times of the Gentiles. Key verse, Romans 11:25 Paul said but I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own conceit, that blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles become in.

There is a number of folks that are going to be saved that the Bible calls uh the fullness of the Gentiles. We don't know when that's going to be, but what is going to determine the time that Jesus is going to come and take the church out. It is when his bride is complete. It is when the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And somewhere uh perhaps tonight that last soul will be saved. Perhaps there's a service tonight in the mountains of North Carolina. Perhaps it's a little country church there and uh it's already darker there than it is here.

And maybe it's a little chilly in the mountains tonight and they've lit the stove for the first time. And there is a lay preacher there because uh there regular preacher uh was ill and didn't come. So there's a lay preacher and he's got the word of God and he's doing what a lot of lay preachers would do. He's just trying to explain how to be saved and he's using John 3:16. And in that little North Carolina church tonight where it's kind of chilly in the air, that stove is burning. There's a new family there that has come to visit for the first time, a mother and father and an nine-year-old girl.

And they are sitting there on the back row uh just kind of listening to this man stumble through the message and not more than uh 40 people in that little church building. And this layman is trying to share Jesus Christ and share what Christ has done for him. And he's trying to explain John 3:16. And as he does, just tears pop out of his eyes with a trembling voice and no homiletical beauty at all. He just tells how God loved and he loved the world. And when God gave, he gave his son. And he's telling that if anyone would repent of their sin and trust Jesus, they'd be saved.

And that little girl right now, just a moment, in my imagination she's stepping out and coming forward to give her hand to that lay preacher and to give her heart to Jesus. And did you know that may be the last soul that will ever be saved before Jesus comes? I mean tonight, that could happen tonight. I mean just that little girl coming, she's the last one. And and the Lord says, Gabriel, that's it. Marshal the troops. Lord Jesus. His time. My son, go and claim your bride. Now, we have talked about the uh the commencement of the count.

We've talked about the continuation of the count. We're talking now about the secession of the count. It has stopped for a while. When will the clock start ticking again? With for Israel with the rapture of the church, you're going to have the completion of the count. Now, notice in verse 27 and he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week. Well, who is this he uh that will confirm the covenant with many for one week? And remember one week is seven years. Who is this? Well, verse 26 tells us that the people of the Prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.

Uh who destroyed the city and the sanctuary? The Romans. When did they do it? In 70 AD. And then uh he says there's a Prince that's going to come. Now, he's not talking about Messiah the Prince. There are two princes that are mentioned here. In verse 25 Messiah the Prince is mentioned. In verse 26 there is a uh Roman Prince that is coming. The Romans destroyed uh the temple and destroyed Jerusalem. And uh this Prince that is going to come, Daniel says, is going to make a covenant with Israel. He's going to come out of Europe.

There's going to be a a refederation of the old Roman Empire which, by the way, has taken place out of that Roman Empire is going to come a Prince, a leader. He is called the man of sin. He is called the beast. He is called the wicked one. He is called the Antichrist. And he is going to come, but he is going to make a covenant with Israel. He will make a peace treaty with Israel for seven years. Israel by this time will be very beleaguered. They'll be looking for a Messiah. You see they did not accept the true Prince, the Prince of Peace.

They will accept the false Prince. Jesus said I've come in my father's name and you have won't receive me. If another shall come in his own name, him ye shall receive. Now, this Prince that will come will make a peace treaty with Israel in this final seven years. After the church has been taken out, God's clock will start to tick again for Israel. And uh you will see uh seven more years. Now, in the middle of this peace treaty, this beast, this Antichrist, this Prince that shall come will double cross Israel. He will break his covenant.

Look if you will in verse 27 and he the Prince that shall come that's the false Prince now shall confirm the covenant with many for one week. That's seven years. And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. That tells me that the temple is going to be rebuilt and they're going to be making sacrifices in that temple. And it will be rebuilt. And uh this Prince that will come he's going to say, look, that's all right. We'll make a covenant. We'll work this thing out. Uh that temple can be rebuilt.

And once it's rebuilt in the midst of this seven-year period, he is going to come into that temple. And he's going to say enough of this foolishness, enough of this terrible fiasco of your so-called religion. Get all of that out of here. You want to worship God? I'm God. Look at me. Worship me. And the Bible says that he is going to come to the temple of God showing himself that he is God. And at that time the Jews are going to recognize that they'd been double crossed and they're going to refuse this false Prince and he's going to unleash his satanic fury on God's ancient people.

And uh you in Daniel nine, just go to Daniel 12 and look in verse one of this chapter. And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince, which standeth for the children of thy people. For there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time. And at that time thy people again the Jews shall be delivered. Everyone that shall be found written in the book. Now, Jesus also told about this. Jesus was a student of the book of Daniel. Daniel chapter 24 verse 15 when ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the Prophet stand in the holy place.

The holy place is the temple. Whoso readeth, let him understand. I hope you're understanding. Uh Jesus said uh then uh there's going to be great uh tribulation. And he says in Matthew 24 verse 21, for then shall be great tribulation such as was not uh since the beginning of the world to this time, nor nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved. But for the elect's sake those days should be shortened. If God did not step in, it would be truly a a Holocaust like the world has ever known.

But thank God that he will step in. How will he step in? Well, he came uh for the church and took the church out. And when he did, the clock started ticking again. It will take seven more years until 490 years are complete. And then when it looks like it's the darkest day ever for Israel and for Jerusalem, then heaven's king will come, the Lord Jesus. This time not coming for his church, but this time coming uh with his church in power and great glory. And the Roman Prince will meet Messiah the Prince. And 777 will take care of 666.

That's what's going to happen right there. And so what do we do? Well, we praise the Lord. I don't know what all of this does for you, but when I study this it helps me when I read the newspaper to see it through the lens of God's word. It helps me when I see how God so meticulously, so wonderfully pinpointed the exact precise time that Messiah would come. How Daniel so long before Jesus ever came to this earth, how Daniel prophesied the crucifixion of Jesus and the destruction of Jerusalem. Is not the Bible a wonderful book?

And it tells me that God is in control. And it gives me hope uh for the Jewish nation that I love. And I I love the Jewish people. I have a special affinity in my heart for the Jewish people. Sometimes when you preach a message like this, some people think that you're anti-Semitic. This is one of the most pro-Israel messages that I could possibly preach because God has a great and a glorious future for his people. And God has not forgotten his people. Now, when is Jesus going to come? We're living in that period of time that is time out uh for uh the Jews so far as prophecy is concerned.

That doesn't mean the Jews can't be saved. Blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles become in. When is Jesus coming? When the fullness of the Gentiles comes in. Maybe you'll be the last soul saved tonight before the rapture. Well, I hope that you'll look at this passage of scripture and that you will savor it and delve into it. And whenever anybody ever preaches on prophecy, they always need to do it with humility because I don't believe there is a pastor or a preacher or a Bible student ever who's gotten it all just right.

But when Jesus comes, we'll say now, Lord, I understand. So it's always better, friend, to be on the welcome committee than on the program committee and to be ready when Jesus comes. The Bible says for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. So would you right now just pray and say, Lord Jesus, please come into my heart. Come in now. Forgive my sin. Cleanse me. Take control of my life. Begin now to make me the person you want me to be. Thank you for paying for my sin with your blood on the cross.

I believe you were raised from the dead. And now I just trust you and you only to save me. And now, Lord Jesus, give me the courage to make it public. You died for me. Let me live for you. And I know you will if I just trust you and I do trust you. In your name I pray. Amen.

Guest (Male): Amen. And if you've prayed to receive Jesus just now, we would love to celebrate with you and invite you to our website to our Find God's Love page. You'll find answers you may need about your new found faith. Go to lwf.org/radio and click the tab that says Find God's Love. Welcome to the family of God. We can't wait to hear from you today.

Carrie Vaughn: Hi, this is Carrie Vaughn and this program has been brought to you by Love Worth Finding, a nonprofit ministry showcasing the powerful preaching and teaching of pastor Adrian Rogers. We operate solely through the generous gifts of individual supporters just like you. To give a gift today, call 1877 Love God. That's 1877 Love God. Or write to us at Love Worth Finding, box 38-600 Memphis, Tennessee 38183. You can also connect with us online by going to lwf.org/radio. There we offer helpful resources inspired by the timeless teachings of pastor Adrian Rogers. Additionally, you can sign up for daily emails, donate to the ministry and learn more about how to become an ambassador of the word.

Thank you so much for listening today. Be sure to join us next time for more profound truth simply stated right here on Love Worth Finding.

Adrian Rogers: I've been preaching for a number of years and I have learned that God's word is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces. So I try to analyze it, organize it, illustrate it, and apply it and it seems to reach hearts.

Guest (Male): At Love Worth Finding we are honored to share timeless teachings and exciting new resources to help you flourish in your faith. That's why we want to send you your very own copy of the Adrian Rogers Legacy Bible. Pastor Rogers loved God's word. He wanted everyone it came in contact with to love it too. Different from a study Bible, this edition is an illumination Bible designed to help you fall in love with God's word all over again. This is one of our most requested resources and we're so excited that they are back in stock. This Legacy Bible can be yours for $68.

For more information, go online to lwf.org/bible.