Posted on 08/13/2011 12:49:58 PM PDT by GiovannaNicoletta
Ever since Sir Robert Anderson published his seminal work, The Coming Prince at the turn of the 20th century, prophecy watchers have been trying to figure out who he is. Sir Robert took his title from Daniel 9:26’s identification of the antichrist as a prince of the Roman Empire:
“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.”
Of all the prophetic clues to the identification of the antichrist, this seems to me to be the most unassailable. There have been only two ‘peoples’ whom history records destroying both the city of Jerusalem and the sanctuary of the Temple.
The first was Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who sacked Jerusalem, destroyed the Temple, carried off its treasures and took the Judean intelligentsia captive to serve the Babylonian Empire. Daniel’s prophecy was recorded from Babylon, many years after the event.
The second time was in AD 70 when Titus of Rome, together with elements of the V Macedonia, XII Fulminata and XV Fretnensis, lay siege to Jerusalem and the Temple.
On the Jewish feast day of Tisha B’av (the Ninth of Av) and exactly four hundred and ninety years to the day from the date of Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of the First Temple, the Romans fired and destroyed the Second Temple.
The Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, was an eyewitness to the events that he described:
"Now as soon as the army had no more people to slay or to plunder, because there remained none to be the objects of their fury (for they would not have spared any, had there remained any other work to be done), [Titus] Caesar gave orders that they should now demolish the entire city and Temple . . . but for all the rest of the wall [surrounding Jerusalem], it was so thoroughly laid even with the ground by those that dug it up to the foundation, that there was left nothing to make those that came thither believe it [Jerusalem] had ever been inhabited."
According to Josephus, as many as one million, one hundred thousand Jews were killed during the siege, with less than a hundred thousand surviving to be captured and enslaved.
"The slaughter within was even more dreadful than the spectacle from without. Men and women, old and young, insurgents and priests, those who fought and those who entreated mercy, were hewn down in indiscriminate carnage. The number of the slain exceeded that of the slayers. The legionaries had to clamber over heaps of dead to carry on the work of extermination."
Most amazingly, Titus reportedly refused to accept a victory wreath from Ceasar, on the grounds that, “there is no merit in vanquishing a people forsaken by their own God.”
Assessment:
Scripture paints a detailed portrait of the man Daniel said would be a prince of the people who would destroy the city [Jerusalem] and the sanctuary [the Temple].
Daniel 7:8, 24 says that the antichrist will rise from obscurity, but with a 'mouth speaking great things'. He will blaspheme God [Daniel 7:25; 11:36; Revelation 13:5] slandering His Name, dwelling place, and departed Christians and Old Testament saints [Revelation 13:6]
He will confirm a covenant between Israel and the 'many'. [Daniel 9:27] This covenant will likely involve the establishment of a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. [see Dan 9:27; Matt 24:15]
He will put an end to Jewish sacrifice and offerings after 3 ½ years and will set up an abomination to God in the Temple [Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15]. His power will be as absolute as any 'king' of the ancient Babylonians, Persians, and Greeks. [Revelation 13:2] He will not answer to a higher earthly authority; “He will do as he pleases.” [Daniel 11:36]
Daniel 11:37 says he will pay lip service to the religion of his ancestors, but will give honor to the 'god of [military] forces. His whole focus and attention will be on his military. He will conquer lands and distribute them [Daniel 11:39-44]
He will claim that Jesus did not come in the flesh, or that Jesus did not rise bodily from the grave. [2 John 7]. He will deny that Jesus is the Messiah [I John 2:22]
He will be worshiped by many people [Rev. 13:8] He will hate a nation that initially will have some control over his kingdom, but he will destroy this nation [Rev 17:16-18] In some fashion, his name will be related to the number six hundred and sixty six— but not necessarily in an obvious fashion. [Rev 13:17-18]
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, he will be indwelt and empowered by Satan himself. [Revelation 13:2]
I believe that he is alive today and is probably already a well-known politician. But I don’t believe that it is the responsibility of the Church to identify him or even to be on the lookout for him. The Scriptures tell us to be watching for the coming of Christ.
Signs pointing to the antichrist are important only in that the revelation of the antichrist means the return of Jesus Christ is only seven years away from that moment. The Tribulation Period lasts for 2,520 days, which works out to seven Hebrew calendar years.
Over the years, I’ve heard dozens of novel interpretations by folks who find a seven year Tribulation Period inconvenient to their own theories but the big hurdle to get over is that Daniel says the antichrist’s covenant is for one “week” (Hebrew: shabua).
(“Shabua” is used here in the same sense that the Greeks used “decade” to measure multiples of ten years, except the Hebrews worked in multiples of seven.)
The arguments are interesting and novel and some of them show evidence of years of effort at making the numbers match the theory being offered, but you can’t make Daniel’s Seventieth Week into anything but a week of years without trashing the incredible accuracy of Daniel’s prediction regarding the Messiah.
Josh McDowell wrote his thesis at Dallas Theological Seminary on the Book of Daniel, and his thesis was subsequently published as a book entitled, “Evidence that Demands a Verdict.”
McDowell calculated the date of Xerxes commandment to restore the Temple on March 5, 444 BC and counted forward 483 lunar years, which equals 173,855 days.
And exactly 173,855 days after Xerxes issued that commandment, Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on the foal of an ass, was received as King and was ‘cut off’ (killed) “but not for Himself”.
“Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one Man should die for the people.” (John 18:14)
So to argue that Daniel’s Seventieth Week is anything but seven years trashes Daniel’s most spectacular prophetic fulfillment. If the first sixty-nine weeks weren’t multiples of seven, then McDowell’s calculations are meaningless.
And so is Daniel’s prophecy – so why bother to either cite or study it?
Furthermore, the Prophet Jeremiah identifies the Tribulation Period as the “time of Jacob’s trouble” which comports to Daniel’s vision of the seventy weeks being determined for Israel and not the Church.
Remember, it is to make ‘reconciliation for sin’ and to ‘bring in everlasting righteousness’.
For the Church during the Church Age, those goals were already accomplished at the Cross.
But the Tribulation Period is the final week of the Age of the Law. The Temple will be in full operation and the Mosaic Law in full force. The Church Age is concluded with the antichrist’s treaty.
We don’t know who the antichrist is -- but we do know that the covenant the antichrist confirms is based on the formula of “land for peace” the formula upon which the Oslo Agreement (September 13, 1993 –September 13, 2000) was based.
So the treaty exists, but collapsed before it was fully implemented. The principle of land for peace remains at the heart of every peace proposal. The antichrist is said to ‘confirm’ the covenant, not write it, or negotiate it or sign it. He ‘confirms’ it.
One cannot confirm anything unless it first exists!
If the symbols, heads, horns and beasts of Daniel and Revelation make sense that is because this is the generation to whom they were addressed. Daniel didn't understand all that he was seeing in his vision, and he asked for an explanation. Instead, the revealing angel told Daniel,
"But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." [Daniel 12:4]
The Book is unsealed in this generation, a generation in which a person can circumnavigate the planet in a day. A generation that has unlocked the secrets of the human genome, one in which knowledge doubles every eighteen months.
Daniel’s treaty already exists. All that remains is for it to be confirmed and guaranteed by Sir Robert’s coming prince.
At some point before that treaty is finally confirmed, Jesus Christ will descend from heaven with a shout, and the voice of an archangel, and all those living who placed their faith in Christ will be snatched away, to be forever with Christ.
“Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:18)
Xerxes did not order the rebuilding of the temple, Cyrus did in 538 B.C. when he decreed that any Jewish exiles who wanted to could return to Palestine.
Ezra 1:1-2, “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.”
The Persian king Artaxerxes Longimanus ordered the rebuilding of Jerusalem app. 444 B.C. in fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy,
Dan 9:25, “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.”
If we are going to maintain any credibility with our pre-trib. position we should be accurate with the scripture and history.
Everyone attributes this to the antichrist my question is if he has destroyed the city and sanctuary how can he do scarifies and such for three and ahalf years into his perposed covenant?
Here is what we know. The Jewish calendars used a 360-day year; 4 69 weeks of 360-day years totals 173,880 days. In effect, Gabriel told Daniel that the interval between the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem until the presentation of the Messiah as King would be 173,880 days. The commandment to restore and build Jerusalem was given by Artaxerxes Longimanus on March 14, 445 B.C. The day that Christ presented Himself as King was April 6, 32 A.D.
When we examine the period between March 14, 445 B.C. and April 6, 32 A.D., and correct for leap years, we discover that it is 173,880 days exactly, to the very day.
Now, can you give me evidence that, if we are to count the beginning of the 70 weeks from 538 B.C., instead of 444 B.C., the days to Christ entering Jerusalem would add up precisely as they do when we count from 444 B.C., using the Biblically correct 360 day years?
The Scripture there is stating that after 69 "sevens", or 483 years, had passed, the Messiah (Jesus) would be "cut off", or crucified, and after that the people from whom the Antichrist will come would destroy Jerusalem and the temple.
The Antichrist is the one who puts and end to sacrifices three and a half years into the Tribulation. He does not destroy a city and a sanctuary; he will come from the same people who destroyed the city and the sanctuary in 70AD.
“Now, can you give me evidence that, if we are to count the beginning of the 70 weeks from 538 B.C., instead of 444 B.C.”
I’m not contesting the fact that the dating started in 444 B.C.. What I am contesting is the writer’s statement that it was “Xerxes commandment to restore the Temple on March 5, 444 BC”. No responsible historian holds to that position. Xerxes ordered Jerusalem rebuilt and according to the scripture, and that was the signal for the prophetic clock to restart, not the rebuilding of the temple.
26 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.
This verse talks about Jesus coming and being cut off and the Rome destroying the city and sanctuary. 27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. Spoken of in verse 26
verse 27 This verse jumps back to Jesus who confirmed the covenant for 3.5 years of ministry to the Jewish people. After three and one half years upon His crucified the final sacrifice is given. Because Isreal did not repent God gave them 40 years (same time period in the wilderness) to repent and then He caused the temple to be destroyed because it was an abomination to Him because of the final sacrifice of Christ.
Have you considered that all the times in Revelations is a period of 3.5 years? That is the final 1/2 week.
The only temple left to be built is the temple of Ezekial in the millennial reign of Christ.
In Matthew 24:15-21 Jesus said this event will kick off the 3.5 year Great Tribulation, and in Matthew 24:30 said His 2nd Coming would take place shortly after it ends, so we know this final seven year period is still in our future. So it seems pretty clear the angel said that Jesus would die after the end of 69 sevens, but before the beginning of the 70th and final seven.
In order to make it work, proponents of this view claim that Jesus is the coming ruler of Daniel 9:27 and that his ministry occurred during the first half of the 70th seven. They say it was His death that put an end to Temple sacrifice in the middle of the final seven.
Here are the problems. First the rules of grammar require that the coming ruler be descended from the people who destroyed the city and sanctuary. In other words, He has to come from some part of the Roman Empire. Second, the passage clearly states that there was one period of seven years left after the Lord’s execution. And third it means they believe the Lord’s death was the Abomination of Desolation.
There’s only ever been one Abomination of Desolation and that was when Antiochus Epiphanes placed a statue of the Greek God Zeus in the Jerusalem Temple and required everyone to worship it on pain of death. It happened in 168 BC and resulted in the Maccabean revolt. There’s no way in which the Lord’s sacrificial death can be compared to that pagan affront to God.
I don’t believe there’s any way in which the Lord’s ministry occupied the first half of Daniel’s 70th Week. There are still seven years left to run in the prophecy Daniel was given.
I believe the answer is that we believers will be raptured, but Bibles won't be. It will be the survival guide to those left that must endure to the end to be saved. Hebrews through Revelation, I believe, were written specifically to these people going through the Tribulation.
The Abomination of Desolation is the Jews resuming their sacrifices? You'll need to provide the supporting Scripture for that. Without the Scripture to validate that assertion, it looks like a replacement theology pep - rally chant.
There is no 7 years of tribulation and to prove that show me in revelation a seven year period.
Not every prophecy is in the book of Revelation. Here is a great site that lays it all out with the supporting Scriptures.
Of course, if you disagree, you'll provide the Scripture to support your denial of the Scripture that's on the site. That way we can contrast and compare.
http://ad2004.com/prophecytruths/Articles/Prophecy/7yrsproof.html
Hi GiovannaNicoletta, Your link diagram puts the rapture about 3/4 of the way into the final 7 years at the sixth seal?
Are you a pretriber?
They do a good job of proving Biblically that there is a literal, seven year Tribulation, the details of which are described in the Book of Revelation.
I've always said that Christians can have disagreements over the timing of the Rapture as long as no Scripture is denied in the process of coming to a conclusion. The Scripture on the fact of the Tribulation actually occurring, and lasting seven years as given at the site, is correct so I'll just say there is hope for the person who put up the page to "evolve" in their Rapture beliefs :).
Absolutely.
I evolved, maybe that is the process? To me I the division between The church and Israel is key and I do not like mixing them together. This is where all the confusion comes in understanding end time events IMHO.
Daniel 8
23 “In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise. 24 He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people. 25 He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.
World: Middle East
Abdullah sworn in
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/274302.stm
Revelation 17
9 “This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.
What is Amman?
Amman is the capital city of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, a city of 2,125,400 inhabitants (2005 estimate), and the administrative capital and commercial centre of Jordan. It is also the capital city of Amman Governorate. Amman is located in a hilly area of north-western Jordan. The city was originally built on seven hills, but it now spans over an area of nineteen hills (each known as a jabal, the Arabic word for "mountain"). The main areas of Amman gain their names from the hills and mountains on whose slopes they lie.
Note: "His Majesty King Abdullah II is the 43rd generation direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammad".
As always, there’s lots more!
What’s not in the Bible?
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