I AM #5 Perpetual in existence

 The clouds looked amazing the other night. It reminded me of the verse, "Look up for your redemption draws near." Luke 21:28.

"He was taken up in the clouds...This same Jesus will return in like manner," Acts 1:11.

"Behold He is coming with clouds," Rev. 1:7.

"Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds," Mark 13:26.

As we see signs of the end times in a world that makes very little sense, we need to "occupy, (or 'do business' as most translate it), until He comes," Luke 19:13.

When the disciples were concerned about His COMING in His glory, He was more concerned about them GOING with the gospel!

When we see the clouds, it should remind us of the cloud of witnesses, encouraging us to be a witness of our faith (Heb. 12:1).

That ties into John 8:58 in which Jesus gave the fifth Intransitive I AM statement, “Before Abraham was, I AM”, which signifies that He is Perpetual in existence.

Who is Jesus? He is who He says that He is. He is. He is omnipresent, in every place and has been here for all time and will be here for all eternity.

Us? Not so much. We are here for a moment, then pass.

This was the clearest Intransitive “I AM” statement of them all, as Jesus boldly stated that He existed before Abraham. God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: 'I AM has sent me to you.'" (Exodus 3:14).

When Jesus said before Abraham was, "I AM", He was identifying Himself with Yahweh, existing before and was greater than the Jewish spiritual father Abraham.

As a result, the Jewish people picked up stones to hurl at this blasphemous “prophet” as they presumed Jesus to be. But that is not who He Is. He Is the I AM. All-Knowing. All-Powerful. All-Present. Before your problems and after their solutions, He IS. He orchestrates the times and the seasons for His purposes. Others may mean it for evil, but He uses it for good. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose," Romans 8:28.

British Professor and Writer C.S. Lewis, author of the Chronicles of Narnia and numerous Christian classic books, put it perhaps the most succinctly:

Jesus was either

a liar,

a lunatic,

or the Lord He claimed to be.

I AM #4. Provider of Salvation

   On my 45-minute drive in to work this morning, I saw a beautiful sunrise. Instead of complaining about the traffic or the drive or the work, I thought of how blessed I was to have been raised in a country that was imperfect but could be trusted to do what was right. To have a church that I knew could be trusted. To have a faith in God that I knew could be trusted. To have a family that I knew could be trusted.

Not everyone had that and fewer have it today than when I was growing up.

If you did or do not have that, or even if you do have a trust in people and in God, read the following passage below from John 8 and know that if all else fail you, your country, your church, your family, friends, and even your trust in yourself, just know that God is there for you. That God is. That Jesus said, “I AM”. That the Father said, “I AM”.

28 Then Jesus said to them, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. 29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.” 30 As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

In the Old Testament, Jehovah God revealed Himself and distinguish Himself from the other “so-called” gods by saying “I AM who I AM”. That Hebrew verb tense of I AM was like the name Jehovah or Yahweh.

In speaking to the religious leaders in John 8, Jesus gives a series of three “I AM” statements, and today’s “then you will know that I am,” means that when He was lifted up on the cross, it was proof positive that God Is, that Jesus Is, the Provider of salvation.

The fourth “I AM” statement is a reference to the cross. When Jesus is lifted up on the cross, He was fulfilling the true Passover, bearing the sins of the world. Jesus said that on that day that He would be lifted up, all of the world would know in that day and will know for all eternity that He is who He said He is.

A previous "I AM" statement reminded us that He is omniscient and knows all and that includes all our thoughts. The next "I AM" statement will remind us that He is omnipresent, in every place and every time of our lives and the history of all of creation.

But today, the I AM reminds us that in all of His omnipotence and power, in all that He could do, He gave all He could give. On that day that He died, He left it all, He gave it all, and He gave all power and might.

For you.

For me.

He did nothing for Himself.

He IS Someone, the Only One, in whom we can trust.

Some may have come to salvation on that day, while others in full knowledge, rejected Him still. In this passage, Jesus was asked who He was, and as a result of this “I AM” statement, many placed their faith in Him (see John 8:30–31).

Jesus gave parables that said that that a king’s own son would come to receive a kingdom and people would reject him. Jesus is that Son. There is a song that says,

Oh, How He Loves You And Me,

Oh, How He Loves You And Me.

He Gave His Life, What More Could He Give;

Oh, How He Loves You,

Oh, How He Loves Me,

Oh, How He Loves You And Me.

Jesus To Calvary Did Go,

His Love For Mankind To Show.

What He Did There, Brought Hope From Despair.

Oh, How He Loves You,

Oh, How He Loves Me,

Oh, How He Loves You And Me.

Oh, How He Loves You And Me,

Oh, How He Loves You And Me.

He Gave His Life, What More Could He Give;

Oh, How He Loves You,

Oh, How He Loves Me,

Oh, How He Loves You And Me.

I AM #3 Preeminent in Judgment

In John 8 we see three intransitive I AM Statements in a singular chapter. Chapters 6 through 8 are some of the weightiest portions of the gospel and even the Bible. The chapters of John’s gospel average 42 verses each but John 6-8 average 61 verses.

The third Intransitive I AM statement is a negative one statement

“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do NOT believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”

It’s not that a holy God will send someone to hell, but rather if Christ did not come or if we do not believe, we will die in our sins. The fact that Jesus is Personal and the Jesus is Perfect in love are great and wonderful, but what if we do NOT believe that? Then we reject His Preeminence in everything that He is and are only left with His preeminence in Judgment of our sins. No redemption. No forgiveness.

John reveals in the third, fourth, and fifth “I AM” statements an interrelationship of Jesus’s omniscience, His omnipotence and His omnipresence. He is the discerner of our thoughts and intentions (see Hebrews 4:12, which is rightly thought of as the “word of God”, that is, the Bible, but in the Greek it is “logos theos” is used there which does refer also to the “Word of God” that is, Jesus. See Revelation 2:23 also for the "I AM" Statement there of "I am He who searches the minds and hearts.")

His preeminence in judgment is in the context of a lack of faith or unbelief that God through Jesus would forgive, that God through Jesus would redeem. Jesus’s statement in verse 24 made them respond with, “Who are You?” And that is the weightiest of all questions and the entire reason for the “I AM” Statements and the study of Christology in the context of systematic theology!

Who Is Jesus? He is who He has been saying He was from the beginning (verse 25- 26).

25 “Then they said to Him, ‘Who are You?’

And Jesus said to them, ‘Just what I have been saying to you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.’ “

The doubters in John 8 were mocking Christ because they knew His mother became pregnant when she was not married. They did not know who His physical father was, not realizing that it was more important who His Heavenly Father was. The lack of faith that Jesus is the “I AM” is what causes God’s judgment of unbelievers.

By faith alone in Christ and His sacrifice, they could avoid the punishment. Jesus declares in their presence three times (8:24, 28, 58) in this one chapter that He is “I AM,” that is, “Yahweh God.” He declares that lack of faith will cause them to miss eternal life.

In this I AM statement, He declares His Preeminence in Judgment, because He is All-Knowing, All-Seeing, All-Wise God that without faith, they would die in their sins. The next two related I AM statements (#4 and #5) will deal with Jesus being Omnipotent and Omnipresent.

We've been watching some "I AM" songs, but since this I AM statement is actually about Not Believing in the I AM, I wanted to show one of my favorite songs from one of my favorite groups, about "Who am I?"

I AM #2 Perfect in Love

¹⁶ And when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, ¹⁷ and having entered into the boat, they were going over the sea to Capernaum, and darkness had already come, and Jesus had not come to them, ¹⁸ the sea also—a great wind blowing—was being raised, ¹⁹ having pushed onward, therefore, about twenty-five or thirty stadia, they behold Jesus walking on the sea, and coming near to the boat, and they were afraid; ²⁰ and He says to them, “I AM; do not be afraid”; ²¹ they were willing then to receive Him into the boat, and immediately the boat came to the land to which they were going.

John 6:16-21

(Literal Standard Version)

It's getting dark. We are going down to get away from it all. The people, the work, the crowds, the fame, it was all going so good. We thought this is what God wanted.

And then, it wasn't.

In fact, it seems that Jesus left us. Alone. We're sailing to "The Village of Comfort," Capernaum, but we feel like we're in the sea of confusion. Didn't Jesus tell us to go to Bethsaida? What does God want?

Now we're heading off without the Lord, rowing against the wind, and it looks like a spring-time storm is brewing.

Did we miss something?

I’m looking ahead but someone at the front of the boat is looking back and his terrified face looks like he's seen a ghost! I turn around and there is something, someone, walking on water. I know we are three, no four, miles away from shore, the waves are pounding, rolling, but with every flash of lightning, with every beam of moonlight between the clouds, there is an unmistakable figure of a man walking on the waves, drawing closer and coming directly towards us.

Disappointment, confusion, sadness, loneliness, all now melt into a horrifying scream of fear, louder than the wind, echoed only by the pounding of the heartbeats from my chest.

All that I have given up, all the acts of love and kindness we’ve all shown have only been returned with hatred, plots of murder against the man we’ve given our life for. They just killed The Baptizer, the prophet I loved and once followed. Now some want to place my new rabbi to be king and others want to place him on a cross, tearing him in two between a crown and crucifixion.

He is close enough now to recognize clearly that it is He! He who went to a mountain to pray. He who told us to leave him. He who went to mourn for his friend, his cousin, his baptizer.

Did he stumble and fall to his death, or even worse throw himself off and now this is his ghost, coming to take us with him?

Now so close I can hear him call.

...."I AM. Do not be afraid."....

Jesus next uses the “I AM” phrase (in Greek, Ego eime) in the context of fear. The disciples saw Jesus as He walked on the storm. His response to their fear was “I AM, do not be afraid” (Hebrew Names Version).

From the beginning, sinful humanity's response to a holy God is fear. Adam in Genesis hid himself from God because he was naked and afraid.

Abram was afraid that he would have no heir.

Sarai was afraid when she laughed at God.

Hagar was afraid that her crying son would starve?

Jacob was afraid to go to Egypt even though his long-lost son was there, along with his grandchildren he had never seen.

Moses, Joshua, Gideon, Elijah, even David had times of fear, and each were told "Fear not."

When life throws us in a storm, when God seems distant and even absent from our lives, when confusion seems to be our destination when we once thought we knew for sure where we were heading...

Jesus will walk on the storms of life, and He will provide deliverance.

Years, decades, after the storm had passed, John would write these words in 1 John 4:17-19, undoubtedly having faced down more fears than the younger version of himself had faced that dark and stormy night.

¹⁷Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.

¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. ¹⁹ We love Him because He first loved us.

 

His perfect love drives out all fear.

Great I am (Lyrics) - YouTube

I AM #1 He is personal in our relationship.

Have you asked Jesus to be your PERSONAL Lord and Savior?

That question used to be used a lot more than it is now, or perhaps I heard it so often that I almost became immune to its significance. That the God of the universe would come to us personally, in the form of a human in the Gospels and in the form of the Holy Spirit to us today, is unique from all of the other religions.

In the Gospel of John, there is never a mention of systematic theology or a study of God, neither is there a study of Christ in the educational sense. And yet the master teacher produces an exquisite way of teaching that reveals characteristics of Christ.

For instance, in the first Intransitive I Am Statement, Jesus said, “Jesus said to her, “I am He, the One speaking to you.”is speaking to the woman at the well. In my book,

The Gospel of John One Day at a Time, I described the encounter as follows

In the Old Testament, Jehovah God would reveal Himself and distinguish Himself from the other “so-called” gods who were made out of wood and did not speak or do anything. When Jesus came to the woman at the well, she was surprised that a Jewish man would speak to her, a woman with a questionable reputation. Today, many are surprised that the God of the universe would speak to them. As I write this, I am in awe that God forgave my sins and puts up with me. I love Him and He “walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own” (In the Garden, hymn published 1912). The idolatrous images made in the Biblical days did not have a personal relationship with those who worshipped them. We, on the other hand, have a God whose presence is with us always, who invites us to pray to Him, and responds when we do.

In the Old Testament, another woman, Hagar calls God “The God Who Sees”. “So she named Yahweh (I AM) who spoke to her: “You are El-roi,” for she said, “In this place, have I actually seen the one who sees me?” (Gen. 16:13)

God saw her and Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman in a personal encounter. The first stand-alone I AM Statement in John also precedes the first Transitive I AM Statement, showing that God not only sees, not only comes, but God through Jesus and now through His written word, the Bible, speaks to us. Several times in the Old Testament, God mocks the false idols for, “They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see.” Psalm 115:5, 135:16.

Instead of His presence and his voice, we often forsake Him, the one true God, for idols that we have made and as we have made gods in our own image and likeness, they have mouths but cannot speak, ears but do not hear. Like them, we have no knowledge to speak of and no discernment with which to hear. We need to see God and His presence and His speaking to us.

There is an entire book in the Bible called “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” God wants to reveal, unveil, take away the hiddenness of Christ and become personal. I wrote a four-part study on the one word of “Revelation” you can read (see the link below).

Yes, I believe God will speak to us in a personal relationship with us, primarily through the Bible, through prayer, through discernment of His spirit, through other believers, through nature, through studies with others, through sermons, through experiences. In fact, there are very few things that we experience in life that is not a revealing of God’s desire to be in relationship with us.

So, I ask again, "Have you asked Jesus to be your PERSONAL Lord and Savior?"

"Flee and pursue."

2 Timothy 2:22 could be translated as "Run away and run after!"

Flee means to escape, like Mary and Joseph did in fleeing to Egypt (Matthew 2:13) or Moses did when he fled from Egypt after he killed an Egyptian (Acts 7:29).

Pursue, on the other hand, means "to chase after in order to catch", says Dr. Rusty Womack of Rocky Hock Baptist Church (don't ya love that name of the church?).

Pursue can also be translated as persecute. Persecute? Yeah, like hunt it down, track it down, be on the prowl, but not for evil, but for good.

You don't have to be a youth to be chased by youthful lusts. I met a guy almost my age the other day who is still living like he was a teenager, stuck in youthful sins.

And a person of any age can chase down righteousness, faith, love and peace. Not that we'll catch them but we can pursue them, can't we?

How? First, stop chasing youthful lusts, or middle age lusts, or old people lusts! Be brave enough to "run away"!

Second, call on the Lord. Ask Him to purify your heart.

But be warned: it's not a one and done deal. Paul had told Timothy something similar in his previous letter. "But as for your, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness." (1 Timothy 6:11).

It's time. It's time to grow up, stop chasing the wrong things. Flee from them! Be a Man or Woman of God. Lace up your shoes and start chasing those things.

People get ready, Jesus is coming

     I hate being pulled over by a police officer when I have been speeding. But I breathe a sigh of relief when I get a warning. Being pulled over is justice. Getting a warning is mercy (not receiving the punishment we deserve). Not being pulled over at all is grace (getting something good that we don't deserve). But if all we got were warnings, or not getting pulled over at all, there would be mercy and grace, but ultimately there would be no justice.

     The following was in response to someone asking me what to do in preparation to the End Times. We can pray for grace

    You are asking the right questions, but unfortunately there are very few right answers. Although the Bible teaches that the end times are going to have famine, it does not say to stockpile food. The Bible talks about violence, it doesn’t say to load up with guns. It talks about pestilences, but the solution will not be vaccines or doctors. There will be meteors causing world-wide calamity, but God does not say build bomb shelters, although he does allude to people hiding in caves but their prayer is “fall on us.”

     It definitely does not say to be alarmed about godless people like the Hollywood elite, like those whom you mentioned. (She had mentioned some elite showing themselves eating bugs in times of famine). No you are not to “panic”, but the Bible says be prepared. So how? Not with self-sufficiency but spiritually with God.

     Luke 18 has Jesus questioning on whether or not He will find true believers trusting in Him before the Rapture: “⁷ And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? ⁸ I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”

     In speaking of the Great Tribulation, Mark 13:20 states that unless the Rapture comes for the elect, no one would be spared (the word saved can mean spiritually “going to heaven” or as in this case “physically spared”). “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened.”

     So how do we prepare?  “pray that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass.” That means to be living a life of repentance (I repent every day, meaning I stop going the way that is against God), godliness (don’t just stop doing wrong but start doing right. I try to do the things that are with God and for God), faithfulness (not just having trust in my mind and heart, but acting on my faith), moral purity (not because I have to but because I want to), true worship with other Bible-based believers (it is REALLY HARD to find a Bible believing church).

    The Bible says “Watch and pray”.

     Luke 21:36 says, ^{“Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy[fn] to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”}

^{“Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy[fn] to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”}

^{“Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy[fn] to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”}

^{“Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy[fn] to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”}

^{“Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy[fn] to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.”}

³⁴ “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. ³⁵ For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶ 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.”

³⁶ “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. ³⁷ But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ³⁸ For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. ⁴⁰ Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. ⁴² Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

     For three years or more before I left Killeen, every messageI preached was on Christ’s return, in some form or another, except for the last one. But very few churches do I see preaching on repentance, preaching on Christ’s soon return. They are out there I am sure, but as I visit around, most are praising and preaching but without much urgency or conviction.

     It’s not just having good worship, but good prophecy. Revelation 19:10 says, “And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”“Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

     We should not be lulled to sleep. We should not be merely preaching “peace and safety” (perhaps because of the Rapture). No, we should be ready, “watch” and behave, “be sober”. Paul had urgency when writing to the Thessalonians, chapter 5: ¹ But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. ² For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. ³ For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. ⁴ But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. ⁷ For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. ⁸ But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. ⁹ For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁰ who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.

     Christians are divided on whether or not believers will go through the Tribulation. Perhaps Matthew 25 has an answer:

¹ “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. ³ Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ⁵ But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.

6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming;[fn] go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

11 “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ 12 But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’

13 “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour[fn] in which the Son of Man is coming. 

Daniel's 70th Week

 Revelation 11: 

John’s Revelation and Daniel’s 70^th Week

Many people teach that there will be a “Seven Year Tribulation,” with the last three-and-a-half years being the “Great Tribulation.” 

Where does the teaching of a seven-year tribulation come from? 

Surprisingly, nowhere in Revelation does it say that the time span from Rev. 4 through 19 is seven years. However, since Revelation 11 - 13 mentions a three-and-a-half year time-frame of “one thousand two hundred and sixty days” twice (See Revelation 11:3 & 12:6 below):

“And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
(Revelation 11:3)

Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. (Revelation 12:6)

 and “42 months” twice (See Revelation 11:2 & 13:5 below): 

“But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months."
(Revelation 11:2)

And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. 
(Revelation 13:5)

 this is a good time to discuss “Daniel’s 70^th week.”

Daniel 9:24-27

 

²⁴ “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. ²⁵  “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. ²⁶ “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. ²⁷ 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.”

 

In Daniel 9:24-27, the prophet wrote that Israel had “70 weeks” to “finish the transgression.” What did Daniel mean by 70 weeks? The word “weeks” was actually the word “sevens” and literally meant “70 sevens.” 

Most interpret this to mean 70 periods of seven prophetic years consisting of exactly 360-days[1]. A week of prophetic years is seven 360-day years (or 2,520 days), so seventy weeks would be 490 “prophetic years,” or more exactly, 176,400 days. This can be seen this way:

Daniel divides the first 69 “weeks” into two sections: seven and 62 “weeks” (or a little more than 476 years on our calendar). The first seven “weeks” was the time that it took for the city to be rebuilt and for the Old Testament to be completed in the year 396 BC. 

Following that were 62 “weeks” to total exactly 69 “weeks” from the time that King Artaxerxes gave the “command to restore and build Jerusalem,” (Dan. 9:25a, fulfilled in Nehemiah 2:7-8) in the year 444 B.C. until Jesus rode into Jerusalem in what is known as the Triumphal Entry (Matt. 21, Mark 11, Luke 19:29) in the year 33 A.D. 

Many have gone so far as to say that the prophecy was fulfilled to the very day, that being March 30, 33 A.D. (See The Popular Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy by Tim LaHaye, pg. 358, article written by Randall Price and Thomas Ice).

Because of His rejection, Jesus wept over Jerusalem, saying “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation,” (Luke 19:42-44). 

This is interpreted as when “Messiah shall be cut off,” (Dan. 9:26a), followed by a time when “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,” (Dan. 9:26b). 

That destruction occurred by the Roman army in 70 A.D.

On Palm Sunday when Jesus arrived at Jerusalem, the “prophetic clock” stopped, and the counting of the 69 weeks was completed.  

“And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

(Luke 21:24)

Daniel’s 70^th week was postponed until “he (the prince who is to come; i.e., the antiChrist) shall confirm a covenant with many for one week (7 years); 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,” (Dan. 9:27).

 

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[1] A prophetic year=360 days; our calendar year=365.2485 days.