Participants: Charles Byrd (Host), Andrea Endries, Levi Longoria, Stephen Fowler
Series Code: THL
Program Code: THL000018
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00:01 In the desolate waste land
00:02 on the north-west shore of the Dead Sea, 00:05 a group of aesthetics formed a community. 00:09 Between trying to survive and purifying their lives 00:12 in their ceremonial baths, 00:14 it appears they spent a great deal of time 00:17 copying scriptures at their stone tables. 00:22 For over 200 years before Christ was born, 00:24 this act of Judaism called "Essenes" 00:28 continuously to carefully copy scriptures 00:30 for future generations. 00:32 This community was most likely destroyed by the Romans, 00:36 some time between 68 A.D and 70 A.D. 00:40 But before this happened, 00:42 they took many of those precious scrolls, 00:44 wrapped them in linen, 00:46 place them inside fired earthen jars, 00:49 sealed them with clay, 00:51 and placed them for safe keeping in 11 caves, 00:54 both natural and man-made in the surrounding hills. 00:59 As these ancient documents were discovered 01:01 from 1947 to 1956, 01:05 we learned that at least a handful of those scrolls 01:08 were copies of the Book of Daniel. 01:12 This Book of Daniel has come under great critical scrutiny. 01:16 And some assume that it was not written by Daniel at all. 01:20 But even if as some suggest, 01:23 the book was not written until about 165 B.C. 01:26 still the pre-telling of history, 01:29 the incredible detail in these prophecies has been 01:33 so accurately fulfilled that, if this were a crime scene, 01:37 these prophecies would pass the equivalent of a DNA test. 01:41 History corroborates these prophecies. 01:44 The Book of Daniel clearly bears the hallmark of divinity. 01:49 As such the prophecies of Daniel 8, 9 01:52 are now the demarcation between uncontestable truth 01:56 and willful ignorance. 01:58 And this line is set to cause a great deal of thunder, 02:03 in more than just the holy land. 02:57 There are two conclusive proofs, 03:00 markers if you will of the divine nature of the God 03:03 found in the pages of sacred scriptures. 03:07 The first is his "matchless love," 03:09 in that he would send his own Son to die 03:12 in place of simple humanity, 03:14 so that we could obtain eternal life. 03:18 The second is "Prophecy." 03:21 Every creature of earth is bound by time. 03:25 We cannot fly into the future or sail into the past. 03:29 We must plough through this life in a very linear fashion 03:33 but part of the DNA of deity is the fact 03:36 that time is no restraint. 03:39 The past, present, or future, it is all-- 03:43 now as for as he has concerned. 03:46 That's why he can say 03:49 "Remember the former things of old, 03:51 for I am God, and there is none else, 03:54 I am God, there is none like me. 03:58 Declaring the end from the beginning 04:01 and from ancient times the things 04:04 that are not yet done." 04:06 This is an over the top amazing claim. 04:10 For if this claim is true, 04:12 it removes God from the pantheon of infant deities, 04:16 and sets them squarely 04:18 on the throne of an absolute divinity. 04:21 So does he know the future, 04:23 before it even happens, like he claims? 04:26 To answer that question, 04:28 we must compare prophecy with history. 04:32 This is where critical 04:34 and careful thought is welcomed and advised. 04:38 Because if the timing is off, if the prophecy fails, 04:41 then the whole Godhood thing is called into question 04:45 for the Jews, Muslims, and the Christians. 04:49 For all three of these faiths, 04:50 claim Daniel as a true prophet of God. 04:54 And should the prophecy fail, 04:56 the skeptic also has a reason to mark the believers. 05:00 Perhaps, that's why the enemy of our souls 05:03 has caused a storm of confusion regarding 05:06 this simple to understand 05:08 and powerfully revealing prophecy. 05:11 Because when we compare Daniel 8, 9 with history, 05:15 the revelation is as illuminating as 05:17 a bolt of lightning on a dark night. 05:21 Indeed it is, Charles. 05:23 Our topic today is critical for a whole litany of reasons. 05:26 But in this study we're gonna just focus on three. 05:29 First, this prophecy in Daniel 8, 9 will confirm that 05:32 God is God, because he knows the future, 05:35 the end from the beginning. 05:37 Second, this prophecy confirms unequivocally, 05:40 who the Messiah is with hard dates. 05:42 And it also reveals what God did his life, 05:44 while here on earth. 05:46 And last, the prophecies of Daniel 8, 9 opens 05:49 to us the very year, the judgment begins in heaven. 05:53 Now perhaps the close as we can get to Daniel 05:55 is right here in Qumran. 05:57 Since all this copies of Daniel that we possess 05:59 were found here in these caves. 06:02 So as you begin to unpack this prophecy, 06:05 the longest time prophecy in the entire bible, 06:08 let's put it in a historical context. 06:10 "Daniel" a young Hebrew captured from Jerusalem 06:13 is carried off to Babylon in 605 B.C. 06:16 With the direct intervention of God, 06:18 Nebuchadnezzar promotes Daniel to ruler 06:20 of the whole province of Babylon 06:22 and makes him chief wise man of the kingdom. 06:24 Over 58 years go by, and Daniel is now in his 70's. 06:28 To date, he's had three different dreams, 06:31 but they all met the same thing, 06:33 the image of different metals representing 06:35 four world kingdoms. 06:36 The four beasts that represented the same four kingdoms 06:39 and finally the ram, 06:41 the goat and the horn that also the parallels 06:43 the previous two. 06:45 And we know from inspiration in history 06:47 who those kingdoms were? 06:49 Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, 06:53 and Rome, both Pagan and Papal. 06:55 But now in his vision of Chapter 8, 06:57 Daniel hears one angel asking another, 07:00 "How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, 07:03 and the transgression of desolation, 07:05 to give both the sanctuary 07:07 and the host to be trodden under foot?" 07:09 For the Jews, life centered around the sanctuary of temple. 07:13 The sacrificial system was integral 07:15 to their faith and experience. 07:17 And now he hears the angel say it would be 2,300 days 07:21 till the sanctuary will be cleansed. 07:23 Daniel had no idea what this meant. 07:26 But it didn't sound good to him, 07:27 to have The Sanctuary and The Host Trodden Underfoot 07:30 for any length of time seemed insufferable. 07:32 I can hear Daniel wondering, 07:35 "How long till the sanctuary will be restored in Jerusalem?" 07:38 "How long will they be trampled and trodden 07:40 by the enemies of God?" 07:42 And then in verse 14, 07:44 comes an answer that shakes him up, 07:46 "And he said unto me, 07:47 unto two thousand and three hundred days, 07:50 then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." 07:53 This vision was too much for Daniel. 07:55 And he fainted and was sick. 07:58 Daniel was sick, for days he languished, 08:01 he's astonished by the vision he had seen. 08:03 Now what did that mean? 08:05 He read the words of Jeremiah the prophet. 08:07 His people, the Jews were supposed to be in captivity 08:11 for only 70 years. 08:13 Now would the children of Israel not be allowed 08:15 to go home after all? 08:16 Would the prophecy of Jeremiah fail? 08:20 So he sets himself to seek the Lord. 08:23 What did the vision mean, he wanted to know. 08:26 There were 2,300 days, were those literal days? 08:30 Now that could mean over six more years of further delay. 08:33 Or were those prophetic days, 08:36 then the delay would be 2,300 years. 08:39 And so in Daniel Chapter 9, he commends us to pray, 08:43 and for 15 verses he pleads with God for mercy. 08:46 Then in Daniel 9:20 Gabriel shows up 08:49 for the express purpose of giving Daniel 08:52 understanding of the vision of the 2,300 day prophecy. 08:56 Starting in Daniel 9:22, "And he informed me, 09:00 and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, 09:03 I am now come forth to give you skill and understanding. 09:07 And I am come to show you for your greatly beloved. 09:10 Therefore understand the matter and consider the vision." 09:16 Now the only vision Gabriel can be talking about 09:18 is the one in Chapter 8. 09:20 The one that made Daniel sick, 09:21 the one he couldn't understand. 09:24 It's amazing how many Christians are almost afraid 09:27 to study prophecy or they misinterpret it. 09:30 When we use the whole bible 09:31 to get our information and not tradition, 09:34 Jesus will send his Holy Spirit to guide us in the truth. 09:38 It's his desire for us to understand. 09:41 After all, we can't refuse the words 09:43 of the highest angel in heaven. 09:45 "O Daniel, I am now come forth 09:47 to give you skill and understanding." 09:51 Our Lord wants us to understand as well. 09:54 He wants us to have a solid foundation for our faith, 09:57 and he wants us to be ready for his judgment 10:00 and for his second coming. 10:01 So in the next four verses, 10:03 Gabriel outlines a time prophecy that will set up weigh points 10:07 or mile markers along the 2,300 day prophecy. 10:11 So we'll accurately know step by step 10:14 where we are in the prophetic walk through literal time. 10:19 We start then with Gabriel's 10:21 Revelation to Daniel in Chapter 9:24. 10:25 "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people 10:27 and upon they holy city. 10:29 To finish the transgression. To make an end of sins. 10:33 To make reconciliation for iniquity. 10:35 To bring in everlasting righteousness. 10:38 To seal up the vision and prophecy. 10:40 And to anoint the most holy." 10:43 The first thing on this list says 10:45 "Seventy weeks are determined." 10:47 That word 'determined' means cutoff. 10:50 These 70 weeks is cutoff of or a section 10:53 of the 2300 day prophecy. 10:56 The 70-week portion of the longer 2300 day prophecy 11:00 is set aside for six things to take place. 11:03 For six tasks to be accomplished. 11:06 These six tasks could only be fulfilled in 11:09 and through the work of the Messiah. 11:12 Who else, for example could possibly make reconciliation 11:15 for iniquity or bring in everlasting righteousness. 11:20 Now there are two important keys 11:22 to understanding time prophecies in bible. 11:25 First, the bible prophecies, 11:27 literal time periods are often a symbol 11:29 of much longer time period. 11:32 A 24-hour day, for example stands for a year 11:35 so one prophetic day would equal one literal year. 11:40 A second key important to know is it that 11:43 while our years today have 365 days, 11:46 in Daniel's time, the Jewish year had only 360 days. 11:51 So applying these keys, 11:53 we realize that the 2,300 days of Daniel 8:14 11:58 are really 2,300 years. 12:01 In the same way the 70 weeks here in Daniel 9:24 12:05 are actually 490 years. 12:09 That's 70 weeks times seven days per week, 12:12 which equals 490 literal years. 12:17 This means that the first 490 years 12:20 of the longer 2,300 years are determined 12:23 or cut off or set aside for several important things 12:27 to be accomplished. 12:29 But none of this does any good 12:31 if we can't establish a starting point 12:33 for this prophecy. 12:34 So in verse 25, Gabriel gives Daniel 12:37 and us the beginning date, 12:39 the anchor point for not only the 70-week prophecy, 12:43 day prophecy. 12:46 Daniel 9:25 "Know therefore, 12:49 and understand that from going forth 12:51 of the commandment to restore 12:52 and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince 12:56 shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks." 12:59 History tells us exactly when this command was decreed. 13:03 Recorded in Azures 7:13-16, 13:06 this decree was sent out by the Persian king Artaxerxes, 13:10 in the year 457 B.C. 13:13 With this information now in hand, 13:15 we can begin to move through prophetic and literal time, 13:19 watching along the way from the mile post to see 13:21 if we're on track 13:23 for an accurate fulfillment of prophecy. 13:26 We now have the beginning date for that 13:29 "2,300 prophetic day" literal year prophecy. 13:33 This is important because this is leads us to one, 13:37 the real and long looked for Messiah. 13:40 And two, the day the judgment begins. 13:44 But how can we be sure if all this is true? 13:47 We simply look for the mile post along the way to see 13:50 if the prophecy is laid out 13:52 on the timeline happen as foretold. 13:55 Armed now with a starting date of 457 B.C. 13:59 let's look and see. 14:01 The most exciting part of this prophecy to me is Daniel 9:25. 14:07 "Know therefore and understand that 14:09 from the going forth of the commandment to restore 14:12 and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince 14:15 shall be seven weeks, 14:16 and the threescore and two weeks." 14:19 The word Messiah means anointed. 14:22 This prophecy tells us the very year Messiah 14:25 would be anointed. 14:27 It would be seven weeks plus threescore weeks, 14:31 a score is 20, and three 20s is 60, 14:34 plus another two weeks. 14:38 So 7 weeks plus 60 weeks, 14:41 plus another 2 weeks is 69 prophetic weeks. 14:45 69 weeks times 7 days a week equals 483 literal years. 14:53 So on the historical timeline, 14:56 we move forward from 457 B. C. to 483 years. 15:02 And it brings us to A.D. 27. 15:05 Did anything significant happen on this date? 15:09 Fortunately for us, we do have a keen advantage "History." 15:15 We find Jesus, the Messiah, 15:17 being anointed by the Holy Spirit 15:19 at his baptism in 27 A.D., a perfect fit. 15:25 But this is just 69 weeks of the 70 week prophecy, 15:30 what about the last week, or the last seven years. 15:34 So we look now at verse 26. 15:38 Sometime after the 62-week portion of the timeline, 15:42 it says the Messiah will be cut off. 15:46 And verse 27 tells us exactly when? 15:50 "And he shall confirm the covenant 15:52 with many for one week, and in the midst of the week 15:56 he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease." 16:01 In the midst or in the middle of the week. 16:05 And so it came to be that after 3 1/2 years of ministry, 16:10 right in the middle of the last prophetic week, 16:13 Jesus the Messiah, the anointed one, 16:16 was cut off or crucified bringing to an end, 16:20 the need for earthly sacrifices. 16:23 The type had met its anti-type in the person of Jesus. 16:28 The Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. 16:33 God in His love and mercy had promised 16:37 the children of Israel, 490 years. 16:40 "A generous amount of time to set 16:42 their spiritual house in order." 16:45 And yet we find this chosen and blessed people, 16:48 rejecting the very Messiah, 16:51 they had longed and waited for. 16:54 The final appeal came 3 1/2 years later, 16:57 when Stephen, one of the first deacons 17:00 of the Christian faith rebuked the priest 17:03 for rejecting the prophets, 17:05 who foretold the coming of the "just one." 17:08 Of whom they were now the murderers. 17:12 The leaders of the Jewish people were determined 17:15 not to believe or obey the prophets like Daniel 17:18 who foretold the very year of the Messiah. 17:22 They stoned Stephen and started a prosecution 17:25 that drove the believers out in to the world. 17:28 This rejection in A.D. 34 fulfilled the prophecy of Christ 17:34 "Behold, your house is left unto you desolate." 17:40 You see, a saved relationship with God 17:43 was never based on a blood line. 17:46 This was the teaching and doctrine of Jesus 17:48 as well as the prophet John. 17:51 God's chosen people were no longer just Jews, 17:55 but anyone who accepts Jesus as the Messiah 17:59 and the Lord of their lives. 18:01 Now this has been a rather a abbreviated overview 18:04 of the 70-week prophecy 18:06 but to finish the larger picture, 18:08 that began in Daniel 8:14, 18:10 the 2,300 day prophecy about the cleansing 18:13 of the sanctuary in heaven, 18:14 we need to complete the prophecy timeline. 18:18 We started with a 2,300 day prophecy in Daniel 8. 18:23 And then the angel cut off 490 days 18:26 of that prophecy in Daniel 9. 18:29 This leaves us a balance of 1,810 prophetic days. 18:36 Add 1,810 prophetic days or literal years to 34 A. D. 18:42 And you come to the year 1844 18:46 then the sanctuary was to be cleansed. 18:50 But what does it mean to cleanse the sanctuary? 18:53 Because we are short on time, 18:55 we're going to unpack this in much greater detail 18:58 in our next study. 19:00 For now let me say the Day of Atonement 19:02 or Yom Kippur is symbolic for the Day of Judgment 19:07 when Jesus will judge the whole world. 19:11 True Christians are followers of Christ or the Messiah, 19:15 the anointed one. 19:17 And he certainly believed in the prophecies of Daniel. 19:20 More than once, Jesus' actions and activities 19:23 were guarded and timed by Daniel 8, 9. 19:27 I'm especially confident of this because of something 19:29 Jesus himself said in Mathew 26:18, 19:33 just before His crucifixion, 19:35 he greatly desired to spend the Passover celebration 19:38 with his disciples. 19:40 So we sent two of his disciples to arrange a room in Jerusalem, 19:43 where they could be together. 19:45 Listen to his cryptic instructions. 19:48 "And he said, Go into the city to such a man, 19:51 and say unto him. 19:53 The Master saith, My time is at hand, 19:58 I will keep the Passover at thy house with my disciples." 20:02 And what time he was talking about? 20:04 The time announced, in Daniel 9. 20:07 You see, Jesus knew the command to restore 20:11 and build Jerusalem in 457 B.C. 20:14 He knew that the holy spirit had anointed him, 20:17 right on time in 27 A.D. and he knew that 20:21 he was now in the midst or middle of the week. 20:26 That's how he knew the time was at hand 20:30 for the Messiah to be cut off. 20:32 The prophecies are not merely prophecies about time, 20:36 these two prophecies in Daniel 8, 9 20:39 are all about Jesus in our time. 20:42 So this date of 1844 is also about Jesus 20:46 because it's the date that the sanctuary 20:49 was to be cleansed. 20:51 And anyone who knows anything about the sanctuary knows that 20:54 it's all about Jesus, every step of the way. 20:58 According to Hebrews 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 21:03 and 13, Jesus is our high priest in the heavenly sanctuary, 21:08 reconciling the world to God. 21:11 And part of the priestly role was to officiate 21:14 once a year on the Day of Atonement. 21:17 Symbolic judgment. 21:19 Some people have a hard time thinking about the judgment, 21:22 but we need to point out two things here both 21:24 from the teachings of Jesus. 21:26 Jesus said, "For judgment I am come into this world." 21:31 The reason He came was to bring judgment. 21:33 You can't have salvation without it, 21:35 it's not optional. 21:36 The second reason we need judgment 21:38 is to get rid of Satan and sin. 21:41 Jesus said, "Now is the judgment of this world, 21:45 now shall the prince of this world be cast out." 21:48 You can't get rid of Satan without a judgment. 21:51 This is what the earthly sanctuary 21:52 was designed to teach. 21:54 You see all year day after day priest would offer, 21:57 sacrifices in the courtyard of tabernacle 21:59 on behalf of those who sinned. 22:01 After the burnt offering was made they moved 22:03 on to the laver and washed their hands and feet. 22:06 Then the priest would carry the blood into the sanctuary, 22:08 and place it upon the horns of the Altar of Incense 22:11 and sprinkle it before the veil, 22:13 between the holy and most holy place. 22:16 Symbolically those sins would be in transferred 22:18 to the sanctuary. 22:19 It was kept as a diary of sorts, 22:21 a book of remembrance written in blood, 22:23 until the last day of the year on the Day of Atonement, 22:26 the symbolic Day of Judgment took place. 22:28 These services of the sanctuary were symbolic foretelling 22:32 of the work of Christ in our behalf 22:34 in the heavenly sanctuary. 22:36 Did you know that Daniel saw this judgment 22:37 and prophetic vision? 22:39 Check it out in Daniel 7:9, 10. 22:42 "I beheld till the thrones were cast down 22:44 or put in place and the Ancient of days did sit, 22:47 whose garment white as snow, 22:49 and the hair of his head like the pure wool, 22:51 his throne was like a fiery flame 22:53 and his wheels as burning fire. 22:55 A fiery stream issued and came from before him, 22:58 thousand thousands ministered unto him, 23:01 and ten thousand times ten times stood before him, 23:04 the judgment was set, and the books were opened. 23:09 And in Daniel 8:14, God and his great love for us, 23:12 told us the very year the judgment would begin. 23:15 "Unto two thousand and three hundred days, 23:18 then shall the sanctuary be cleansed?" 23:20 Throughout the prophetic timelines 23:22 with precise mileposts, 23:24 we can absolutely confident when this judgment began. 23:28 You know, I would guess that almost every culture 23:31 that worships a deity incorporates 23:33 a judgment into its eschatology. 23:36 They envision the time when the important decisions 23:39 are made regarding those who are saved 23:40 and those who are lost. 23:42 This is true for the Muslim faith. 23:45 Here at the Dome of the Rock. 23:47 The third most holy site for Muslims are seven arches. 23:52 It is said that on the judgment day, 23:54 scales will be hung from each of the arches 23:57 on each set of steps surrounding the square. 24:00 And these will be used to weigh the souls of the dead. 24:04 Well, I have no way of confirming that claim. 24:07 But thanks to the accountability of prophecy in the bible, 24:10 I have confirmed my belief in Jesus. 24:13 Thanks to the inspired prophecies of Daniel, 24:16 I can be absolutely certain that 24:18 Daniel's prophecies are true and accurate. 24:22 Though I cannot see in the heaven 24:24 through the prophetic teachings of Daniel, 24:25 I can know where Jesus is and what He's doing. 24:29 He's working in the judgment that began in 1844. 24:33 This allows me to see the great significance of 24:36 Jesus' message through His angel in Revelation 14:6, 7. 24:41 "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, 24:44 having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them 24:47 that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, 24:49 and kindred, and tongue, and people. 24:53 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him, 24:57 for the hour of his judgment is come, 24:59 and worship him that made heaven, 25:01 and earth and the sea, and the fountains of waters." 25:05 So if this prophecy can be trusted 25:07 and I'm certainly satisfied that it can. 25:10 Then we can also trust the rest of the book 25:12 that tells us about of a God 25:14 who loved us enough to die for us. 25:17 This is the creator God. 25:19 The one who formed the heaven and the earth 25:21 and created all of humanity. 25:24 Right now, the investigated judgment is going on. 25:27 Right now we have time to make our decision 25:31 to accept His love and live for Him. 25:35 Thanks, Andrea. 25:37 The fact that there is a judgment, 25:39 a day when all our actions, words and thoughts, 25:42 and motives will be examined 25:43 by God is made clear in the teachings of Jesus. 25:48 And this doctrine of Jesus, 25:50 certainly affirms the prophetic words 25:52 of the prophet Daniel who predicted it. 25:55 Now some might ask, "But how can I be sure, 25:58 the prophecies found in Daniel are genuine?" 26:01 "How can I be certain this book wasn't 26:03 ghost written in 165 B.C. like the critics suggest? 26:08 Well, consider this. 26:10 Among the scrolls found in Qumran, 26:12 no less than five were copies of the Book of Daniel. 26:16 One of the five manuscripts is dated 26:18 at or before 125 B.C. 26:23 165 to 125 is just 40 years, 26:27 that's 40 years for the book of Daniel to be 26:30 hand written enough times, 26:33 read and studied enough for this book, 26:35 these prophecies to gain wide spread acceptance 26:39 throughout the Jewish nation. 26:41 There just isn't enough time and besides 26:44 we have no historical examples of such an amazing feat. 26:49 These prophecies of Daniel, 26:51 once again proved to be a valuable tool 26:54 in anchoring our faith on a solid rational footing. 26:59 And remember these prophecies were embraced 27:02 and affirmed by Jesus Christ, 27:04 so we would be wise to take this knowledge to heart. 27:08 God clearly knows the future, the end from the beginning. 27:14 He knows your future and he offers you and I, 27:17 a way out, a way out of our present pain, 27:21 a way out of that certain guilty verdict, 27:24 we're sure to receive in the judgment. 27:26 God bless you as you consider these 27:29 important teachings of Jesus. 27:32 And I look forward to being with you again next time 27:35 as we visit the Tabernacle in the wilderness 27:38 or God revealed His solution to the sin problem 27:41 and foreshadowed His in time Judgment. |
Revised 2014-12-17