Meditation

Meditation for 09/18/2019

“’Seventy sevens’ are decreed for your people and our holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes there will be seven sens, and sixty-two sevens. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two sevens, the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolation’s have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one seven. In the middle of he seven he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of he temple, he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” (Daniel9:24–27)

This difficult passage has received many interpretations. The “seventy” may be related to Jeremiah 25:11-14; 29:10-14. It is a major focal point in spite of its difficulties for some people’s doctrine of last things. Three major interpretations include: 1) The historical—The period in view is from Jeremiah about 587 BC to Antiochus Epiphanes about 164 BC. The anointed one is either Cyrus (Isaiah 45:11, Zerubbabel (Haggai), or Joshua the high priest (Haggai 1:1); 2) The Messianic—The period in view is from 538 BC to AD70 or until the death of Christ. The first seven weeks were from 538 BC to Ezra and Nehemiah. The sixty-two weeks were from Ezra to Christ. 3)The Dispensational Premillennial—the starting point is the command to Cyrus to restore the Temple in 539 BC. Ezra (1:1-2) or from the decree of Artaxerxes to restore Jerusalem in 444 BC. Sixty-nine weeks were completed at the time of Christ’s death. The seventieth week is seen as a future tribulation period of seven years or a week of years.

The focal point of the tribulation is seen by many dispensationalists to be the Jews in Jerusalem with a restored Temple. Covenant protection will prevail for the first three and a half years. The Jews will be favored by the world ruler or Antichrist. However, the latter three and a half years will see a violation of he covenant and a time of great, unprecedented tribulation befall the Jews. All views would see that Christ gives a deeper meaning to these verses. Only In Him is there hope for putting an end to sin, atoning for iniquity, completing prophecy, bringing in everlasting righteousness, and anointing the most holy. The ultimate fulfill has not yet occurred. Only Christ’s final coming will totally fulfill the promises.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY:

Precious Abba, we can discuss and or argue the points of the days or weeks or when or who, but the Great Tribulation is coming. Christ will return to this world and set all things straight. People will be judged and some who have missed the point of God’s will, will find themselves headed in a direction they are not prepared for. Others will be allowed to enter the kingdom of heaven. Beloved the Bible is not just a “great book” to sit on your coffee table; rather it is to be picked up, read, and understood in order to prepare ourselves for the Antichrist, not to be confused with Jesus’ return. Help us all, Abba, to make time to read and understand the Bible for its intended purpose and help us to take it all in and understand how it affects us in our daily lives. This we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen

THOUGHT OF THE DAY:

“The ‘right time’ is now.”

KNOWING GOD:

“’At that time, Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a tie of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—-everyone whose name is found written in the book—-will be delivered.’” (Daniel12:1)

A time of unparalleled trouble is predicted. Fulfillment of such an announcement can be found within history, such as the atrocities inflicted by Antiochas in the second century BC or by the Roman army in AD70. The more distant reference is like that of Jesus in Mark 13 or Matthew 24, where end time tribulation announcements merged with the more immediate one about Jerusalem’s destruction. God’s people are not protected from distress but are delivered in the midst of it. God’s true people will be those whose names are in the book of life. The ultimate fulfillment will be in the coming of the messianic kingdom and its triumph.

I AM:

Last Things, Great Tribulation: (Ezekiel38:1–39:29)

The idea of an intense uprising of veil is described in a prophecy concerning Cog and Magog. Ezekiel pointed Israel to a new day in her land before showing hos God’s power would be revealed to the nations and Israel’s fear o international coalitions would be relieved. God would lead an otherwise unknown leader named Cog of an unknown place, Magog, to attack Judah. Then God would use His power and resources to destroy the attackers. This would fulfill earlier prophecies and let both the nations and Israel know of God’s holiness. A connection is made between this prophecy and end times events in Rev. 20:7-10 by a symbolic used of he ancient invaders from the north. The ultimate expression of organized evil is found in the concept of a future tribulation period and the New Testament idea of Antichrist, which many scholars believe will be personified in the last days.

Second Thought of the Day:

“For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—-and never to be equaled again. If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.” (Matthew 24:21-22)

In many passages “tribulation” refers to a great distress of a general sort, such as may be brought on by national catastrophies or unfortunate circumstances. Th amillennial view is that the tribulation refers to the constant and sometimes intense sufferings Christians face because of their faith.

Premillennialists believe in such a general application but insist that this reference refers specifically to a particular, intensified period of future distress. Historically, the time of Jerusalem’s destruction in AD70 was an unusual occasion of great distress for its inhabitants. Prophetically, a future time of great tribulation, unparalleled in human history, awaits the generations living at the time of Christ’s second coming.