Messianic Perspectives

Liz Aiello: Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinctive first-century Jewish point of view. This is Liz Aiello. Today, Pastor Al Runge answers the question, "What is God's final solution to evil?" with a study from Daniel 9. I'll be back at the close of the program to give you some important information. And now, with today's study, here is Pastor Al Runge.

Pastor Al Runge: Thank you for letting me come back into your homes and to continue my series on God's final solution to evil. You see, God is not going to allow evil to continue corrupting His creation forever. Evil will be eternally defeated and everlasting righteousness will be brought in.

A heavenly messenger from God revealed this to Daniel the prophet. He revealed the future for His people, the Jews, and the world. I want to read to you the entire scripture for our series again because it's something that I want you to get deep into your mind so you might understand it. It is found in Daniel 9:24-27.

"70 weeks are determined for your people, Daniel, and for your holy city Jerusalem, 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. 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 62 weeks.

The street shall be built again and the wall, even in troublesome times. And after the 62 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, that is an invasion. Until the end of the war, desolations are determined.

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." These words are somewhat difficult to understand, but yet not so when we seek for the wisdom of God.

These 70 weeks are really of years and not of days. You might be interested to know that the Jewish calendar is made up of weeks of years. Every seventh year is a sabbatical year. In Israel, the land is not tilled during that year to give the land a Sabbath rest. When I was in Israel, our guide told us that some of the land was not being cultivated, especially among the Orthodox Jews, because it was a sabbatical year.

The land was given its sabbatical rest. 70 weeks of years amount to 490 years. These prophetic years are broken down into five periods of time. Let us talk about the prophetic times and seasons recorded in Daniel 9. Listen to this. The first period was that the angel began with the ending: what will happen?

The end of the 70 weeks in which God ends the transgression and establishes His eternal kingdom of righteousness. Secondly, the seven weeks, the 49 years, in which the second temple and the second city was rebuilt in troublesome times under Nehemiah and Ezra. The third period, an additional 62 weeks of 434 years later, or 483 years adding the seven weeks, the Messiah will come the first time and will be killed, but not for Himself.

And then the second temple and the city of Jerusalem is destroyed. The fourth period of time, the prophetic clock is stopped for a determined amount of years of desolation for the nation of Israel. During this time, the church will be built up with believing Jews and believing Gentiles until it is completed.

The fifth period is the prophetic clock will start again for the last week of seven years in which the Antichrist makes his appearance on the world scene. He makes a covenant with Israel to rebuild their temple and start sacrifices again. After three and a half years, he breaks the covenant with Israel and sits in the temple demanding worship.

But then Jesus returns and destroys him after the last three and a half years. We want to continue with the period of the completion of the 70 weeks in order to understand the ultimate plan of God to end the transgression in His creation. In our last message, we studied the statement "God will end the transgression."

The Hebrew word transgression means rebellion. Satan, the fallen angels, demons, and mankind has rebelled against the authority of God and godliness. God will put an end to that rebellion. God could have done this by sending every rebel to eternal exile in the Lake of Fire from the very beginning, but His infinite love moved Him to provide a redemption for sinners who would believe in the Messiah Jesus.

Before God could establish His kingdom on Earth, He had to establish His kingdom in the hearts of men. So He had to deal with the sin issue. The Jewish prophet Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 59:1-2, "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, nor is His ear heavy that it cannot hear, but your iniquities have separated you from your God and your sins have hidden His face from you so you will not hear."

Now, the only way we can hear is for that sin issue to be settled. So not only has God decided and will end the rebellion against Him, but He will also make an end to sins by turning sinners into saints. In this life, even believers may struggle with sin, but the day will come when we shall be free from sin forever.

I love what the Jewish psalmist wrote in Psalm 17:15. I read it the other day: "As for me, I will see your face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake in your likeness." See, even in the Old Testament, they knew that there would be a transformation of those who are His children. In the world to come, no one will lie, cheat, steal, covet, or murder, and all hatred and conflict will cease.

There will be no rebellion then, and only love will prevail. Believers will be free from sin forever because they will become just like Jesus, the Son of God. Thirdly, God has made reconciliation for iniquity. By nature, we are rebels and enemies of God, but Jesus brought us reconciliation.

Listen to Romans 5:10-11: "For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ through whom we have now received the reconciliation." Not only are we no longer God's enemies, but we are His children.

We are members of His family. And fourthly, we're told that He will bring in everlasting righteousness and complete the vision and prophecy. The day will come when God will say it's enough and will end this old corrupt creation and create an entirely new one. Listen to 2 Peter 3:10-13: "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat.

Both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?

Nevertheless, we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells." What a wonderful day that's going to be. Fifthly, God will anoint the most holy. Jesus will finally be anointed as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. The day will come when the Father will complete His plan, when Jesus shall reign over all the universes.

I love 1 Timothy 6:14-16: "Until our Lord Jesus Christ appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen." The prophecy of Daniel 9 is all about the atoning work of the Messiah, the time of His first coming, the purpose of His first coming, and His final achievement in His second coming.

Someone asked me the question, "How can you say if I don't believe in Jesus I'll be lost forever?" I replied, "Don't blame Jesus for your lostness. The whole human race is lost already because of sin. We are already the enemies of God and need to be reconciled. We're born that way."

Jesus is the solution and He's not the problem. He came to seek and to save the lost, and He warned His enemies, "If you do not believe that I am He, that I am the Messiah, the atoning Savior, you shall die in your sins." And of course, if you die in your sins, you have to answer for them yourself. And without forgiveness, we're all lost.

I have great news for you, the news that you will want to hear. We are still living in the day of salvation and not in the day of God's wrath. Listen, God says, "In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation."

You can come to Jesus now. The door is open. There's no reason why you don't come to the Lord Jesus. And there you will find forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with the heavenly Father so He is your Father. Listen, He's provided the way. He's provided the means of forgiveness.

He wants you into His family, but He'll not force you. He's waiting for you to make the decision. Will you receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior? If so, welcome into the family of God. God really bless you as you think of these things. Amen.

Liz Aiello: Thank you, Pastor Runge. And thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. We've been listening to Pastor Al Runge teach on God's Final Solution to Evil. If you would like to have your own copy of this series, or perhaps you'd like to share it with a friend, you will be glad to know that it's available on two convenient compact discs.

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And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. This is Liz Aiello. Join us next time, won't you, as Pastor Al Runge continues our series on God's Final Solution to Evil, right here on Messianic Perspectives.