A Missed Prophecy
Did you know that more than 1/4th of the Bible is prophecy? Over 300 of those prophecies pertained to the first coming of the Messiah, all of which were fulfilled in Jesus Christ. (The chance of that happening coincidentally is statistically impossible!) This past Sunday was what we call Palm Sunday. It marks the day when Jesus rode humbly into Jerusalem on a young donkey, and his followers laid palm branches at his feet crying, “Hosannah!” (Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:38-44; and John 12:12-19). The word “Hosannah” means “save us” or “deliver us”. The Jews of that day were heavily oppressed under the Roman government, and they were looking for their Messiah to come and overthrow that government. They were looking for Jesus to become their earthly king. Only days later, Jesus would be tortured and killed, and their hopes were shattered. Many then turned away and looked for a different Messiah, and sadly, so are many Jews today.
In truth, they could have known that this is what needed to happen if they had read and understood prophecy. Granted, the scripture available to them contained prophecies about both the first and second coming of Christ, and the information they had about Jesus could have caused some confusion. Regardless, if they had read the book of Daniel carefully, they would have known that Jesus was the Messiah, because Daniel told them the exact day that Jesus would be there. Here is what the angel Gabriel spoke to Daniel:
“A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, despite the perilous times.
Daniel 9:24-26, (NLT)
“After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end.”
The “sets of seven” above are periods of 7 Jewish years. (Jewish years were based on a lunar calendar and had 360 days each.) Gabriel broke up the 70 sets of 7 years into 7, 62 and 7. The first seven (49 years) would be triggered by the giving of the order to rebuild Jerusalem which did in fact occur during “perilous times”. The end of that period marks the end of the Old Testament. When you add the additional 62 sets, you get a total of 483 Jewish years of 173,880 days from the decree. Numerous scholars have researched this topic, utilizing the works of ancient historians to determine specific dates. They found that from the day the order was given to rebuild Jerusalem until the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the colt was exactly 69 sets, or 173,880 days. The Magi (who most likely studied the works of Daniel) used similar math to understand when to look for the Star of Bethlehem. Had the people at the first “Palm Sunday” done the math, they would have known that Jesus was their Messiah, but they missed the prophecy. And just as the prophecy said, soon after, Jesus was killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and in 70 AD, the temple was destroyed.
We said earlier that there were over 300 prophecies of the first coming of Jesus, all of which were literally fulfilled. There are over 1,000 prophecies of the second coming of Jesus, and there is no valid reason to believe that they will not be literally fulfilled as well. Gabriel mentioned one final set of 7 years that has not yet occurred. In between set 69 and 70, the Jewish timeline was put on hold as the resurrection of Jesus ushered in the “Age of Grace”. During this time, Jews and non-Jews alike are offered the gift of forgiveness of sin and eternal life — free from the ugliness and pain of sin — in Heaven. Also, during this time, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit who lives inside everyone who has accepted Christ as their personal savior. He is our conscience, guide, interpreter and comforter.
But this age will not last forever. The final 7-year period will come as God opens the eyes of the Jews and makes a final plea to all humanity to turn away from sin. This is the period referred to as the tribulation period where evil will be unleashed on the world, proving how painful sin really is.
Based on the study of scripture and the tradition of the Jewish wedding that was practiced at the time of Christ, I believe, as do many Bible scholars, that all true believers will be taken out of this world before the tribulation occurs. This is, in fact, the only option that “works” with the whole of scripture. This is a wonderful promise that Christ makes to his church, also called his bride. Know this — it can be very tempting to simply go on with life and not worry about the other 1,000+ prophecies of his second coming, but that would be a mistake. For the Christian, being aware of the signs of the times gives us a sense of urgency to share the message of the Gospel with those who are not saved. It also spurs us to live each day in a way that honors our Savior. And the Bible tells us that we will be blessed when we study prophecy. But it is also an act of obedience. Jesus tells us in several places that we should be vigilant and watch for his return.
He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; 3 red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times!”
Matthew 16:2-3 (NLT)
“Look, I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed.” (Revelation 16:15, NLT)
Revelation 16:15 (NLT)
“So you, too, must keep watch! For you do not know the day or hour of my return.” (Matthew 25:13, NLT)
Matthew 25:13 (NLT)
“Be dressed for service and keep your lamps burning, as though you were waiting for your master to return from the wedding feast. Then you will be ready to open the door and let him in the moment he arrives and knocks. The servants who are ready and waiting for his return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat! He may come in the middle of the night or just before dawn. But whenever he comes, he will reward the servants who are ready.”
Luke 12:35-38. (NLT)
Next Sunday is Resurrection Sunday. On that day we celebrate the day that Jesus conquered sin and death, forever defeating Satan once and for all, and we look forward to the day when Jesus calls his bride to live with him in paradise! This week, take some time to focus on the great sacrifice that Jesus made for us and how amazing the gift of grace really is. Let us all renew our desire to live for Christ and be a bright light in a dark world. Don’t miss the prophecy like the people of Jesus’ time.
If you have never accepted Christ as your personal savior and truly given your life over to him, please consider doing that now. This world is changing rapidly, and signs of the end times are everywhere! Although there will be many who will accept Christ during the tribulation, they will still suffer greatly and be put to death by the coming world ruler. You can accept Christ right now by praying something like this:
Dear God,
I know that I am a sinner in need of a savior. Jesus, I believe that you came to earth as a human being, you led a sinless life, you died to pay the penalty for my sin, and you rose to life again, defeating sin and death once and for all! I choose to turn away from sin and to follow you, making you the Lord of my life. I know I won’t be perfect, and I know that life won’t magically get better, but I know that, through everything, your Holy Spirit will be with me. Jesus, you are Lord. Thank you for saving me.
Songs of Victory
Resources
For a description of how the Jewish wedding suggests a pre-tribulation rapture, please see this article: “The Wedding Model” by Chuck Missler.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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