Christ’s 1st and 2nd Coming – Pt. 1

Ron Weinland

February 18, 2012

Since the beginning of the year, starting with the sermon on the first Sabbath of January, we’ve been focusing on various aspects of the book of Daniel; and the day that followed the first Sabbath in January was when we entered into the final ‘Half a Time’, the 140 days before the return of Jesus Christ.  I thought it would be good to go back and do a little bit of a review of what we’ve covered since we started that process but before we do there is something I want to read to you.  I’m going to read it because I’ve taken some time to think about this and get it all together. I want to make sure I cover it well.  It concerns last Sabbath’s sermon; there have been some questions.  But there’s a good lesson in here that we need to focus upon as we continue to go forward and especially today in this sermon when we go into more of the things in the book of Daniel.

So again, a good lesson here in this, something that sometimes we just... it just doesn’t hit us as deeply as it does with time, and in time God helps us to learn lessons in a deeper way.

Over the past week there have been several who have been asking the same question concerning last Sabbath’s sermon.  It’s about Revelation 9 and the five-months time that is mentioned there.  Some are still trying to figure out when this all begins and ends, and candidly, toward the beginning of last week there were things that I still wasn’t certain of but as we’ve gone on and as those questions have been asked it’s a process that God has used to help drive the point home.  There are some very good lessons in this.

At first I was of the thought that we really don’t know the exact beginning or ending, but due to the question being asked it’s led to God more fully revealing what He desires that we understand about this.  So, as was mentioned in the sermon, “We are in that time.  We are now in that time.”  But, in some cases, because we are curious, we want to know more, we want to know more perhaps about the beginning and the end and so forth.  It was also stated clearly, “...that this period of time does not end until the very end when Jesus Christ intervenes on that last day of Pentecost.”  That’s when the process ends.

As I mentioned those things about that portion there are two things that we covered there, that which has to do with what happens when the 5th Trumpet actually blows, when Europe acts and destruction follows.  There is that other portion that is about the five-month period and those whom God is going to begin drawing, calling, working with, and that’s what those inset verses were all about.

That process goes all the way through to the very end, till this is all over with.  We’re being shown as a result of going through this now that this period that’s stated as five-months is the final time that is 140 days to the very end of ‘Half a Time’ as this period will work up to the very end of what it accomplishes to the very time of Christ’s return.  And indeed, God is showing that this period is the final 140 days - that it cannot be stated that, if you look at this - this period of a final 140 days - cannot be stated as the exact period of time.

In other words, God didn’t put it in there that it’s only 140 days, or that it’s exactly 140 days, neither did He say that it’s the ‘Half a Time’ because that would have revealed more than God intends to reveal except by inspiration.  It isn’t for people to be able to work at or to figure out various things as time went along.  God chooses to reveal those things.  I hope that makes sense as we go along here.  In other words, He didn’t state that it’s a 140 days because then we would have come to more easily be able to see the periods of time.  If a ‘Half a Time’, if we came to understand that, the 280 days, and so forth, or that it is a specific period of time like this.  It is something for God’s Church to understand.

Just like in the book of Daniel when it says ‘the wise will understand’.  Who are the wise?  The ones to whom God gives His holy spirit, the ones to whom He reveals things, and the rest of the world doesn’t see, doesn’t understand until their time comes, until they’re able to see.  They can’t see until it’s their time, until God opens their mind, but it’s for us to see – but only by revelation!  You can’t figure these things out!  I can’t figure these things out!  That’s the way it’s been through time.  But we still try to.  That’s just our human nature – because we want to know.  But there are some good lessons in that as I mentioned.

So again here, there’s a reason why God said five-months...five-months.  It’s more than four months, it’s more than four and a half months, but less than five months by ten days, if you want to be exact in the sense of five times thirty, if that’s what you want to pick and look at; which has its flaws as well.

So using the term ‘five-months’ is prophetically fine and fully permissible, especially in the context here of Revelation 9, as it happens in or within that period of time.  That’s the primary thing to understand, because what is accomplished in that period of time, it’s not torment of people all that time at all, it’s something that takes place that they’re given power to do within a specific state of time, period of time; speaking of those that come out of the pit and their influence upon the world and what they do.

We have to be careful because it’s not for the full length of time of five-months at all, it’s not for the full length of time but in or within that period of time, and it just so happens to be by Revelation that that’s a 140 days or ‘Half a Time’.  God’s making that very specific.

So, it was given in that sermon concerning the expression, ‘and to them it was given that they should not kill them but that they should be tormented five months.’  Who are ‘they’?  Those of whom God is drawing and calling.  It’s within that period of time that people can be tormented to bring them to the purpose – repentance – but not death.  Death can’t touch them.  That’s what it says, you cannot kill them, they cannot be killed.  Others are going to be dying, we know that.

And by God’s revelation that period is limited to 140 days that these things can be done within, but that the actual torment that one receives may be a day, for some people, it may be two days for others, it may be five days for some, it may be a week, it may be two weeks, it may be a month, etcetera, etcetera, because not everyone is the same, nor does this happen to everyone at the same time.  It’s within that period of time that these things can happen, that’s the point of it all, and so when it happens to different people it can be up to the very end, because God knows whom He’s calling.  He knows how to work with people; He knows how to bring people to repentance - you’re evidence of that.  Okay?  Now, not everyone responds, and that’s another matter, and God will deal according to those things directly, that’s how God works when He called us and others as well.  ‘Many are called and few are chosen’ – how that fits into the very end, I don’t know, but God knows.

So again, there’s a great lesson here that needs to be repeated: Let God give His own definitions to His own prophecies.  That’s the lesson.  ...and don’t read into them, because it’s so easy to do, it truly is.  And those things can trouble people sometimes because we tend as human beings to read into things our own interpretation or what we think that it’s saying, because of our own definitions.  God has to give what those are.  So again, a good lesson.

Going back here again, we’re going back to January 7th to when this whole process began.  Today we’ve already entered into the third day, in essence, of marching around (symbolically so) Jericho.  It’s symbolic for us.  It has great meaning for us, obviously, that we’ve entered into the third day.  It’s going to be nice when we can say we’ve entered into the last day.  It seems like the more you focus on something the more exciting it becomes, the fullness of it, it’s almost like it takes longer.  I don’t know if it’s the way it feels to you, but it feels that way to me, because we so anticipate it it’s almost as though time is slowing down a little bit.  But it’s not.

So again, going back and looking at that first sermon; in that sermon we built up to Daniel 9 in a broadened understanding of the seventy-weeks prophecy spoken of in that chapter.  We actually went through some of the things in Daniel 9, but in that sermon we went through several things leading up to specifically things in Daniel 9 about the seventy years and then finally the seventy-weeks prophecy. The first part of that prophecy; and those things about the seventy-weeks has to do with Christ’s first coming, and then what God revealed on that day was also His second coming, which we didn’t know.  The Church has never known that until then and yet God gave it to us.  Awesome what God’s giving to us, because He’s speaking more directly to us – actually Jesus Christ is – and that’s what becomes more exciting as we go forward because that’s where it’s coming from and it’s going to mean a lot more as we continue on here.

Then we completed the rest of the month by covering a three part sermon series concerning Daniel’s commission, which was a matter of establishing the kingdoms that would rise and fall, that would lead up to the establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth when Jesus Christ returns.  And in the midst of this the establishment of the Messiah’s first coming as Passover and His second coming as King of kings in God’s Kingdom.  In that particular series we covered much of what was contained in the first seven chapters of the book of Daniel.

We’ve gone through a lot of the book of Daniel, not everything totally, but we’ve covered a lot of it and there is a lot there to cover, indeed, and a lot more that God’s giving at this particular time.  And even that first chapter I just mentioned, on that first day back in January 7th when we covered Daniel 9, the things that are there even that we covered in that sermon about the seventy-weeks, God’s giving more and more all the time.  It’s like when you build something  out of cinderblocks, you can’t get up to the fourth layer until the first, second, and third are there, and that’s the way it is.  And the greater the structure the more awesome it becomes as you see it coming together, and that’s what we’re going through on a spiritual plane.

After all this, in the first two Sabbaths of February, we had a two part sermon about the rise of Europe which was a deeper look at Daniel 7, those things contained in Daniel 7 along with the scriptures in Revelation 9 and 13 that we just finished, that focus on the rise of Europe.  And so we ended that series last Sabbath as God revealed the deeper meaning of events that lead up to the war that’s a result of Europe’s rise and the blowing of the 5th Trumpet; because the blowing of the Trumpets are about destruction.

So today we’re going to continue to focus on the book of Daniel at a time that we have just entered that day that I mentioned now, the third day of symbolically marching around Jericho.  This sermon today is entitled Christ’s 1st and 2nd Coming – Part 1.  The farther we get into this, to me, they’re more dumbfounding, the more exciting, and the things that just jump out at you it’s absolutely... almost makes you speechless when you go through some of this and how inspiring it is.

Let’s turn over to Daniel 9.  Although we’ve read through most of these scriptures in that first sermon it’s important that we do it again; going back through these scriptures again, and that you be reminded of those things contained in that first Sabbath of January, because there’s a lot there.  Again, sometimes focusing on a particular area we start to see certain things, but focusing again it’s going to help you to see even more as we delve into the subject matter here.  And so it’s good to review this.

Daniel 9:1 – because this prayer... you know when you go through the Psalms and you go through the prayers of David, and so many of those are prophetic in nature anyway, but there are a lot of things when you go through those that they can be very personal to you, there are those things that are prophetic that have to do with the future, of things that have taken place through time and on into time.  That’s the way it is with this prayer here as well.  There are things here that didn’t just apply to what Daniel said, they’re prophetic in nature, just as with David.  David prayed things about Christ’s coming.  There are things in the Psalms that are stated there, that have to do with prophetic things.  David was a prophet and so many of the Psalms and things contained in them, there are a lot of prophecies there.  So yes, it applied to things that David was moved to by God’s spirit, that applied to him he felt then and there, but they also had to so with things in the future that have great meaning.  And so was the book of Daniel here.

Daniel 9:1 - In the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, the Babylonians.  So again here, Cyrus was king over all; this is talking about Darius, seed of the Medes, who was there, placed in that specific location, but Cyrus was king over all and was king, in that essence, the entire Persian Empire. Sometimes that causes people problems because they read about Cyrus at one point and Darius at one point and it’s like there’s a conflict.  There’s no conflict.

Verse 2 – In the first year of His reign, I, Daniel, understood by books the number of the years wherein the word of the Eternal came to Jeremiah the prophet that He would accomplish, that He would fill, or fulfill, seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.  Now, we’ve already gone through this and what it means, but again, it’s easy to read into this and it’s caused a lot of people a lot of problems through time, a lot of historians, especially Biblical scholars and so forth, this has caused problems because Jerusalem was not desolate for seventy years, but it’s understanding what it’s talking about that becomes more important.  It’s understanding a process that began after the Babylonians came into the area, or some of the things that actually happened as they came into that region there to conquer and fight with Egypt, because even the Egyptians came farther up north of Jerusalem in that region up there.  We talked about that earlier, how they were actually up in the area where the king of Judah also went to fight against them, because the Egyptians had formed together with the Assyrians to fight against the Babylonians.  And so first the Babylonians fell and then the Egyptians fled and went back, and actually in 608 BC they actually set up a different king in Judah and Judah really didn’t have the freedom after that point in time over their own say in the sense of what had taken place before that.  So, actually, this process did begin, not being flattened, not being destroyed, but there’s a process that began there of freedom that was taken away, and that lasted for the full seventy years.

Again, this did not say that Jerusalem would remain desolate for seventy years, as we covered in those things already.  But notice, accomplish, as it says here, to fill seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.  So, yes, this expression can also include the meaning that fully fits in the prophetic expression, as we’ve talked about, of seventy years of the desolations of Jerusalem.  And I’m not going to rehash all of that.

I want to back up here and just look into some of these words here, because it’s interesting even how some of this is stated where it is understood about how the word ‘desolation’ is used in the Hebrew as ‘waste’ or ‘wasting’ which is from the Hebrew word having to do with ‘dry’, ‘drought’, or ‘drying’.  So, to accomplish/fill seventy years in the desolation; so if you even look at this literally as to what the Hebrew says, in the wasting of/drying up of/drying out of, because that’s how these words are used.  And it literally did begin in 608.  So even there, if people understand what the process is and what was taking place, it is something that did begin in 608 BC literally, even though there’s more to the story that this doesn’t even have to fit into it.

Daniel 9:2 – In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood by books the number of the years wherein the word of the Eternal came to Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish/fill/fulfill seventy years in the desolations/the wasting away of Jerusalem.  And I set my face unto the Eternal God to seek by prayer and supplications with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: the exact same thing happened to God’s Church toward the time of the apostasy.  When we saw the things that were being destroyed, the examples that were used at that period of time as we were coming out of that period, and understanding prophecies in Amos and other places that talked about famine - there are prophetic things about a famine....

So in that expression there, of to accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem, where it’s understood about the word for ‘desolations’ that’s used.  It means ‘to waste’, or ‘wasting’, and also having to do with ‘dry’, ‘drought’, or ‘drying’.  And so again here, to understand what this is talking about here with that Hebrew word, to accomplish seventy years in the desolations/wasting of/drying up of/wasting away of Jerusalem.  In other words, it didn’t happen all at once by one siege.  It started in 608 when the Egyptians came through and set up a different king in power there; they lost their power at that point, it was taken away.  Their previous king, Josiah, had gone up to fight the Egyptians, shot by an arrow and died in the Valley of Megiddo, in the area of Megiddo.  So, again, we discussed all those things, and so that process began in 608 where they actually did begin wasting away, Jerusalem did, they began going down with power.  The Babylonians came in there, Nebuchadnezzar came in before he was even made king, he took the young people like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and a few others captive at that time, stripped the temple of the wealth and so forth, took it back to Babylon.  Then they came back later on two other times and two other, if you want to call them invasions or whatever.  They actually had conquered them anyway, they had power over them.  Anyway, it was a process that went on for a long period of time until finally Babylon was conquered by the Medes and Persians.

And so, in discussing that, continued on here reading this in Daniel 9; so again, this process that began in the wasting away of Jerusalem.

Verse 3 – And I set my face unto the Eternal God, to seek with prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.  Sackcloth has to do with humility, it’s about humility.  We’ve learned that; in understanding it’s symbolic of those things that have to do with an attitude of mind.  Fasting has to do with humbling ourselves before God, going without food and water – all reflective of an attitude of humility that God can work with.

Well, when you go through something of major proportions in life like Daniel did, he came to understand why they’d been in captivity for seventy years, he understood this because of the sins of Judah, the things they had done in polluting the Sabbath, God’s Holy Days, and so forth, bringing in other gods and so forth that some began to do as well, and the worship of those things.  Yet they still kept the right day, the seventh day of the week, they still observed, they still had certain times, but it’s how they observed them.  They polluted the Sabbaths of God, annual and weekly.  And so Daniel came to understand these things, he began to repent.

We did the same thing in God’s Church!  This is a ‘type’ of something that happened on a spiritual plane to God’s Church.  The prayer that’s contained here has a great deal to do with those things that happened to us, because as we go into Daniel 9 a little farther, as we go into it, it leads up to the prophecies having to do with the second coming of Christ which is about what we have experienced in God’s Church.  And so the things that Daniel prays about, very much about the things that affected us and the things that people must go through, especially those who are a part of the Body before the apostasy, to be brought back, what they have to address in their lives.

So, very powerful here, what Daniel is saying in the prayer of Daniel, because it’s inspired prophetically as well, just like the things that David wrote.  David was moved by God’s spirit, feeling that those things were personal to him – they were – but they also were inspired prophetically for things in the future that he did not know fully, and then not understand fully, just like Daniel when he’s praying this thing.  It’s prophetic in nature as we go through this.

And so he said, I set my face unto the Eternal God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting; a lot of that took place after the apostasy, things that people began to do, a humble spirit and attitude.  I remember the first service we had up in Monroe at that hotel, we didn’t have a piano, we were stripped down in size, we were puny in size.  It was a horrible feeling.  That first Sabbath was a horrible feeling when we finally came together separated from the Body, the other Body that had been spewed out of God’s mouth.  God had brought us to repentance and started the repenting process of change.

I remember Terry getting up there and leading songs – kind of like today, we have to have a makeshift podium here with a couple of briefcases.  This is actually a little nicer than the one we had that day, because on that day it was just an ice chest; I think it was a red and white ice chest and he put a song book up there, somebody else pushes the box in order for the music to play (his daughter did), and he starts leading songs.  It was a horrible feeling because we didn’t have what we had before, we didn’t have the large fellowship that we had before and that had been stripped from us.  I just can’t describe it, how we felt.

I gave a sermon that day and it was a good thing it was fully written out because I felt so bad that by the time I got through, if it hadn’t been for my notes and what was written there, I wasn’t sure what was being said, in essence.  I was hurting so much inside, I was so distraught inside, spiritually, and that’s a good thing.  That’s a good thing when people are in that place; at different times in your life when you’re so humbled by what’s going on around you, you’ve been so emptied of everything else that you’re crying out for God’s help and God’s guidance because you know He’s the only one that’s going to deliver you through whatever you’re going through.  He’s the only one that can deliver you through whatever you’re going through; and that’s an attitude of mind that’s very powerful.

And so again here, with prayer, supplications, fasting, sackcloth, and so forth...

Verse 4 - And I prayed unto the Eternal my God, and made my confession, and said... confession; the first part when you come to a point of humility in your life you begin focusing on self, because self has to change.  Why did this happen?  What did I do wrong?  What must I repent of? Why did this happen?  I am a part of this; it happened to me, it happened to others – Why?  And we begin to understand why.  It was that attitude and spirit that God gave to us that led us to a point where we began to realize we all sinned, we all fell asleep, we’re all guilty of what took place back then – and so we had to repent of that; not just that Sabbath, but over a long period of time because we really didn’t grasp all that.  God gave us a little bit at a time to begin to see ourselves, to begin to see we were lukewarm, we were that spirit that we used to so hate.  We had heard sermons about how everybody needs to be a Philadelphian.  To be a Laodicean... you low, down...  It was just a bad, bad thing!  Well, not a repentant Laodicean if you happened to live during that period of time, but if you’re unrepentant that’s a bad thing, lukewarm, that’s bad.  We had to come to understand we were lukewarm!

We couldn’t have seen those things and we couldn’t have come to that point in time, just as Daniel and others couldn’t have had this deep experience on a spiritual plane, except that he went through what he did – all this period of time and finally came to see why they were in captivity and that he was as guilty, they were all guilty of what had happened.  That’s how he took it and that’s the right way of taking it.

So he said, I made my confession and said, O Lord, the great and mighty God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them who love Him, and the farther you go along the more you learn about God’s mercy.  The longer you’re in God’s Church the more you come to understand God’s mercy, because you understand He’s been merciful to you!  It becomes a very personal thing, that if it weren’t for His mercy we wouldn’t be able to make one step forward, but by His mercy we can keep going forward.  And that’s His desire for us.  But it’s a humbling experience too, because we see our flaws, we know our flaws.  It’s people who don’t see them.  If you’re rich and increased with goods - that’s what happened to Laodicea – if you think you’re better than what you are you’re in for a big fall.

...and to them who keep His commandments; brought back to that – the importance of making sure we’re... what are we not doing as well as we should be?  What do I need to repent of in this area of my life?  It’s a constant battle!

We have sinned, so we began to understand in the Church, we have sinned; that’s why we have been spewed out of God’s mouth.  I have sinned...that brings you back to ‘I’ then.  ‘I’ have sinned, ‘I’ am guilty of these things.  We have sinned and committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments: That’s what happens when you begin to fall asleep, you begin to depart.  You don’t see it all, you don’t know it all, but it begins to happen, you begin to water down, you begin to let down.

Verse 6 - Neither have we listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers, and to all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongs to You: That’s powerful! ...but unto us Babylon, confusion of face: our way is not God’s way.  It’s to become God’s way through time; we’re to get rid of our ways, the things of confusion, the things that aren’t in agreement with God and seek to come into unity and harmony with God. That’s the process we go through our entire lives once God calls us, to draw closer and closer to Him to where our ways do become His ways and we become more at one with Him – at one with Him – but it’s a process, it’s a long, long battle until you’ve arrived.

So it says...but unto us confusion of faces as at this day; in other words, to this time; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and we can say the same thing.  We still have confusion!  Not within the Body as a whole, in essence, that God is helping to repent and giving us more and more all the time, but within that which is scattered – that’s what we see out there, we see the results of what sin and the scattering and the spewing out did and all the friends - that are still friends, that don’t know we’re friends – that are very, very close.  Do you feel the camaraderie when you come together in these meetings?  Yes!  We had that for years and years and years with hundreds – hundreds – of people, thousands at a Feast of Tabernacles site, people you would get to know through time, not necessarily all the thousands, but I’ve known some thousands through time in all the different areas, and I look forward to them being able to be a part again – some soon, some in a Great White Throne.  But we’re only at one when we’re at one with God.  We can only be close and share this when we share with God because God gives us this.

And so again, a part of this prayer here going on and on, it says here again: as of this day, to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel who are near, and who are far off, that’s just what I was talking about here – to those who are new and to those who are a far off - through all the countries wherein You have driven them, because of their trespasses that they have trespassed against You.  So, for the Church this is very much about the scattering and the scattered groups who are in captivity due to sleep, due to sin, and that’s going to be with us until this is all over with, until some are released and freed from that captivity or die and have to wait until a time they can be resurrected and freed from it then through a resurrection.

O Lord, to us belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, to our fathers, because we have sinned against You. Sick from the top to the bottom, that’s what God said about us.  Sick from the top to the bottom, have to repent, have to change.  To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness’s, though we have rebelled against Him; and that’s our hope, it is something you become stronger in through time, you come to understand the awesomeness of God’s mercy, to bless us with fruit, the ability to repent to be forgiven of sin.  That’s His love, that’s His desire for us, knowing full well what we are.  But we don’t quit that fight, you keep fighting.

Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Eternal our God, to walk in His laws, we have to see that in our own lives from time to time, from day to day, from week to week as we go through the week and certain things that come out of our mouth or our mind or whatever it might be.  We all have sin!  As long as you’re a human being you have sin, and if you ever get to the point you think that, “I don’t have sin in my life.” or “I’m not like that.” – then you’re right back there with Laodicea, rich and increased with goods and you don’t see what we are.  Because God says...  What does it say back there?  I love how it states it back there because it’s so powerful on a spiritual plane, what it states, that people need to see on a spiritual plane what is being said, that every person should always be able to acknowledge.

And it says there [Revelation 3:17] – Because you say that I am rich and increased with goods and have need of nothing, and know not... we can’t ever come to a point where we think we don’t have need of more!  What a horrible state to get into, to think that there isn’t more we can learn, more that we can overcome, more that we can grow in!  To just level off?  What a sick state!  And that’s happened in the scattered Body, they’ve not only leveled off but they’re going downhill and don’t even grasp it.  You begin to lose what you had!  You can never level off; it’s always a matter of growing!  God’s spirit demands growth, fruit in our lives.

And so it goes on to say here in Revelation 3:17 - ...and know not that you are wretched... I love that verse because it’s used in one other place, when Paul made the comment there in Roman’s where he said, “Oh wretched man that I am!”[1]   Twenty-five years after serving God in the capacity that he did, and he started off with a bang, Jesus Christ teaching him for over three years, and then going out to serve as an apostle to the Gentiles.  Powerful!  And yet he said after twenty-five years of serving God and learning and growing as he did, “Oh wretched man that I am!  Who will deliver me from the body of this death?” ...then he went on in saying, “I thank God through Jesus Christ...” goes on in chapter 8 telling all about the story and how you are able to conquer and overcome.  If we don’t see what we are, then we can’t see clearly spiritually.  We have to be able to see our nature.  Our nature is selfish!  And the more you grow the more you come to see how selfish human nature is; our motivations in human life apart from being motivated by God’s spirit can only be selfishness.  That’s the way we are!  And there’s great understanding in that.

[Revelation 3:17] ...and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked...without God we’re naked, we don’t have anything; we’re poor, we’re blind, wretched!  And that’s a part of our nature all the way to the end; it’s in us, that’s the battle.  That’s what Paul was talking about.  If those scriptures weren’t written by Paul I just don’t see my being here today, I truly don’t - just those verses alone.  God can do, give to us whatever we need, but He’s had to give me some understanding in those areas so I could know how to proceed forward in what to do, because otherwise without that understanding, with where we are spiritually and how much God has given us, I don’t see how it’s possible.  There are things we grow in with being able to see and deal with ourselves.

A part of Daniel’s prayer was an understanding.  So again here; Daniel 9:9 - To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgiveness’, though we have rebelled against Him;  Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Eternal our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets.

Verse 11 - Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law: Yes, the entire Church of God transgressed God’s law and had to be spewed out of His mouth!  And what an incredible thing to say about the Church, that it had to be vomited out of God’s mouth, meaning it was separated from God, no longer in God but outside.  Still God’s people, but no life anymore at this point, just that sleep that’s there, because when you’re severed in that way it’s a dangerous state, it truly is, until God’s spirit can begin to flow in us again and begin to make us alive spiritually again.

So he says, again here, Yes, all Israel has transgressed your law, even by departing, that they might not obey Your voice; therefore the curse is poured out upon us, that’s what happens, no blessings, everything begins to go haywire in life.  Now, that doesn’t mean you don’t have problems in life when you’re in God’s Church doing the right thing, because that’s a part of what we go through, but with understanding.  We know what’s taking place and we know the battles that are there.  This is talking about what takes place when you begin to lose ability to see and understand, when that which is there is not spiritual anymore and it’s motivated strictly on a physical plane; and again, things that are just being done by your own ability without God, apart from God.

Verse 12 - And He has confirmed His words which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us...Yes, He confirmed His word because that’s why He said that’s why we’re in captivity.  We understand those things that have happened to the Church, what the Church did, what we did in God’s Church during the period of Laodicea as we went into it, because Philadelphia ended when Mr. Armstrong died, then Laodicea began.  It’s a big problem with a lot of scattered groups because they will not accept that, because Laodiceans are low down, just despicable people – they’re lowly, they’re not like us, we’re better than that.  Rich and increased with goods.  Incredible!  That’s the attitude that’s out there.  I know, because I had part of it at one time; that’s the way I thought about Laodiceans until I knew I was one.  Okay?  Then thankfully God brought me to repentance.

And so again, that which You spoke against us, there are things that are recorded, what’s in Laodicea is written against us, things in Ezekiel that talk about a scattering at the end-time, things that would happen to God’s people at the end-time, and we’re evidence of those things in our life, we’re living those things in our life, and the Body that was scattered that’s out there, a lot larger than what we are, is evidence of those things, that indeed God has spoken those things, judgment is there, and we know why we’re going through what we are, what we’re experiencing.

...by bringing upon us a great evil: I didn’t finish my thought about the Church (mentioned it before), what Israel has done in times past when they were taken into captivity, when Judah was taken into captivity, or Israel in the north was taken into captivity, minor-minor-minor-minor-minor compared to what we did in God’s Church, because what we did was spiritual.  They didn’t have God’s spirit dwelling within them; we did.  Far greater, the sin that was committed in the Church, to have to be separated from God’s presence.

So again, these words which He has spoken against us, against our judges who judge us, and bringing upon us a great evil, for under the whole heaven there has not been done as has been done upon Jerusalem. So, to that point in time nothing had happened...and we could say that about the Church then, see?  Nothing ever happened in God’s Church like what happened when the apostasy struck and what happened to Laodicea.  These things are prophetic.  They’re about their time, what they experienced, why they’re in captivity, but it’s physical.  Their captivity is physical; what can happen to people spiritually should be of far greater concern - coming out of spiritual Egypt, receiving of God’s spirit, to be able to do that... etcetera, etcetera.

Verse 13 - As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil has come upon us: yet we, in other words, those who have not yet repented, which is the great whole, have not made our prayer before the Eternal our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand Your truth. That’s how it’s done.  We have to begin seeing ourselves first in order for change to take place, to be able to turn to God.  I think of that process of what we went through after the apostasy and how slowly but surely God began to give us more and more, we began to understand what it meant to fall asleep in the scriptures, we began to understand about the ten virgins.  We didn’t understand that before!  We finally started understanding that, that those who were wise fell asleep to, they were condemned by God, they weren’t watching. God told everyone to be watchful.  Misunderstandings of time’s past; those who were of a part of that understand if you know what the teaching was.

As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil has come upon us: yet we have not made our prayer before the Eternal our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand Your truth.  Therefore has the LORD kept watch upon the evil and brought it upon us: for the LORD our God is righteous in all His works; we had to come to a point in time where we saw in God’s Church that God is righteous.  If we’re His Church, why did this happen to us?  God’s fault?  God’s not powerful?  God can’t protect His own Church?  No!  We’re the ones that were guilty!  We have to repent!  Simple!  Not God’s doings – God is righteous in all His works – and the apostasy that came, allowing that to happen so that we could learn from what such things can do, how horrible, how horrifying human beings can be even with God’s spirit, if you begin to fall asleep.  ...for we did not obey His voice.  The scattering was our fault, each one of us, and everybody that ever becomes a part, everyone who comes back after the result of the apostasy, everyone who comes back into fellowship as a part of this Body again, awake, has to acknowledge this, they have to come to understand this, they have to repent and acknowledge this is true: we fell asleep... “I fell asleep! I was spewed out of God’s mouth! I have been wandering in the wilderness all these years spiritually, in captivity.”  Because they’re not free, they’re in captivity, they really are, every one of them.

...For we did not obey His voice.  And now, O Lord our God, who has brought Your people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, God does every one of us when He draws us, and have received renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. God made us who we were.  God has brought us to the point we did to accomplish all the things that were accomplished in the Church around the world, massively so, with such a small group compared to other religions, who didn’t even come close to accomplishing something of that magnitude in TV, in radio, in printed press!  Awesome what took place!  God did it.

O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I beseech You, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, that was his desire, but this has prophecy in it too, from Your holy mountain: it’s about the Church – Jerusalem is a city and Jerusalem, holy Jerusalem, that city is the Church, because it has God’s spirit.  ...Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach; it’s a word that means ‘a scorn’, ‘a taunt’, ‘a mocking’, ‘a disgrace’ to all who are about us. I couldn’t help but think of, when I was giving the sermon at that time back in January 7th going through this, thinking with greater compassion and mercy upon those who are scattered, that they are being mocked by others around them, by those who have no desire for the truth, who mock and make fun of Mr. Armstrong and anyone who tries to hold onto any of that kind of thing, they’re mocked and ridiculed and scorned as far as an attitude and spirit is concerned, written about out there on the internet.  We are; they are too.  There are people who hate!  There are people who are evil!  There are people who just have evil spirits and I’ve so looked forward to getting through all this, for that kind of thing coming to an end, one way or another, either through repentance and receiving of mercy or just the end.  It’s merciful; God’s merciful.  So again, this not just happening to God’s Church, it’s happening to all who are around.

Verse 17 - Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and cause Your face to shine upon Your sanctuary that is desolate, for the Eternals/Lord's sake. A desire to have things right with God, to be right with God, that the Body be cleansed, that the Body grow in a right relationship with God, to become more at one.  That’s been hit hard over the last several years.  It began in a very powerful way starting in Colorado Springs and from then on; that’s when a big change came in that area, that we be at one with everything that God gives us, that we fight for that, because only in that can we accomplish more and be able to be of greater service to God.  The more we become at one with God the more He can use us.  That’s the way it is, that’s the way it works.

O my God, incline Your ear, and hear; open Your eyes, and behold our desolations, It’s not that He doesn’t see it, but that desire we have to be right with Him, that’s what Daniel had, that’s what Daniel was expressing; and the city which is called by Your name: for we do not present our supplications before You for our righteousness, in other words, you can’t go before God for your righteousness sake and expect God to give you something, to intervene, to answer you for your righteousness sake, because the righteousness is His.  It’s His to be shared.  We’re able to share in that.  We, on the other hand, have to repent of our unrighteousness – that’s what God’s concerned with, that’s how we go before Him.

That’s why I so often mention about asking God’s forgiveness very early on so He’ll hear the petition, so He’ll hear the prayer, so He’ll answer and give and bless.  Because we have sin.  Not a one of us can go without having something in our thoughts towards others that is just wrong, that needs to be changed, something that comes out of our mouth, whatever it is – sin is plentiful out there in this whole world, truly is.  Your best time of being cleared from that is when you’re in Sabbath services, because of the diet you’re receiving that’s from God, from God’s spirit.  It doesn’t take very long when you leave; things can happen, attitudes, thoughts about someone else that isn’t what they should be, the lack of love that so often we as human beings have just because we’re human beings, the judgment, the things that might be there. It’s a part of human nature and it’s not a pretty thing.

So when we go before God it’s not because... because some people go before God like that, it’s almost as if God owes them something because of their righteousness – rich and increased with goods – that was a horrible spirit that entered into the Church, that became a part of the Church.  People looking down upon others because they were ‘better’, they were ‘more righteous’ than others.  It’s a sick, perverted thing, it truly is, but we have to hate it to flee from it.  We have to hate it to repent of it.  We have to see it to repent of it.

And so again, these things that Daniel’s going through are prophetic in nature because it has very much to do, as we’re going to see as we go through this series, this end-time since the apostasy.  It’s powerful, truly is.  You can’t separate these.  This is not just a story that applied to Daniel; it’s a story that applies to the Church at the end-time.

...for we do not present our supplications before You for our righteousness, in other words, because of, or due to our righteousness, but for Your great mercies. That’s what we’re drawn to, God’s great mercies.  What does that mean?  To understand mercies is to understand yourself and your relationship, that He’s merciful, that He’s forgiving, that He brings you to see sin so you can repent of it and desires to help you to conquer and overcome it.  That’s God’s great mercy.

O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; over and over again it’s about forgiveness, O Lord, hear and do and don’t hold back, for Your own sake, O my God: for Your City and Your people who are called by Your name. More than ancient Israel, called by God’s name because it contains God’s name, but it has greater meaning because of that which is prophetic, because the Israel of God is about God’s Kingdom, and we, the Church of God.  Awesome!  We carry God’s name!  The expression, the commandment not to take God’s name in vain...when somebody first comes in the Church they begin to think of curse words or euphemisms that are sometimes used that have to be repented of, and we have to get it out of our vocabulary and our speech, and yet how we live our lives can do that.  To not take God’s name in vain; and yet when we sin we do on a spiritual plane.  That’s what we do.

Verse 20 - And while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Eternal my God for the holy mountain of my God; Yes, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening offering. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill and understanding. This has been repeated in God’s Church over and over and over again, becoming more and more powerful the more we’ve gone forward since the apostasy, on a spiritual plane, by faith, through faith, not by an angelic being.

In the beginning, God worked with prophets and different ones in different ways.  That’s why I marvel, especially in the time of Mr. Armstrong, that what He received was through this book, by God opening up this book in understanding, not because of an angelic being or that it was directly communicated to him by voice or whatever, it’s in the spirit, in the mind that he began to see and understand and live by things, and God just continued to give him more and more.  And that has only accelerated and been magnified as we’ve gone forward, because of where we are in time.  Because God’s bringing us to a point in time when Jesus Christ Himself and the God Family are going to be on this earth and things are going to be poured out in massive ways to people – but we’re being prepared for that, growing for that time, awaiting that time.

So again, going back here, he says, I have now come forth to give you skill and understanding. And during this period of time that we’ve been in.... I’ll come back to this later on.

Verse 23 - At the beginning of your supplications the commandment went forth, and I have come to show you; for you are greatly loved: therefore understand the matter and consider the vision. When God gives you His truth, when God opens up your mind, when God gives you understanding of things He’s saying the same thing to you on a spiritual plane: you are greatly loved.  God is pouring out His love upon you and sometimes it’s difficult for us to grasp the magnitude of that.  It’s an awesome thing that takes place when God calls you into His presence, to be blessed, to receive of the impregnation of His spirit, for Him to dwell in you and you to dwell in Him and in His Son and His Son in you – it’s a powerful thing, truly is.

Verse 24 - Seventy weeks... not years as we’ve talked about earlier, addressed in the beginning of the sermon there; that was seventy years to happen in a physical way of those things that had to take place, length of time that Babylon would be in power, the length of time, in essence truly that Jerusalem began to dry up, began to waste away through time.  Seventy weeks are determined upon your people and upon Your holy City: Powerful!  ...to finish the transgression, to make an end to sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and the prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. That’s a mouthful, truly is, and it says tons.  It’s incredible what it’s telling us.

So again, we covered the meaning of this in part because we didn’t know as much as what we’re going to be going into in that first sermon on January 7th, and we’re going to come back to this point later, because there’s a process we’re going through as to how God reveals this in a deeper way.  I know, because that’s how He’s revealed it – I’ve lived it.  And so we’re going to come back to this later on; I don’t know at what point, whether it’s today or next week, but we’re going to come back to this point here.  But first we need to skip this and continue on...but understand that this verse is fully about Christ’s second coming, 100%.  It is not about His first coming at all in essence.  What’s contained here in this description is about His second coming; and its like if you will, an inset verse, because now we’re going to go on and talk about His first coming.  So, it kind of has an inset verse here about His second coming and it’ll come back to that in part later on and we’ll build upon this.

First, in verse 24 a seventy weeks prophecy is given that we now understand is about Christ’s second coming, but the following verses break down a prophetic period of time, and it’s an awesome thing how this is broken down.  As you begin to go forward here it has a period of seventy weeks, it’s referred to as the seventy-weeks prophecy but is broken down in completely different terms than this first verse here in verse 24, and this begins to talk about Christ’s first coming.  It’s an awesome thing in prophecy.

Verse 25 – this is the breakdown of the seventy weeks, because it’s different.  The seventy-weeks we have gone into that’s about verse 24 about our time is about Christ’s second coming. This is broken down about His first coming and it’s unique in how it does it.  Verse 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 sixty-two weeks, so sixty-nine weeks in total, we’re still missing another week here; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troubled times.

So, rather than going through a lot of history and scripture background of all this we’re simply going to focus on what the Church has understood for some time concerning this particular verse.  And the section of prophecy is about a break up of this seventy weeks prophecy into specific stages of time, three.  It breaks it up into three periods; seven weeks, sixty-two weeks, and one week that make up seventy weeks total.  And it’s awesomely unique how it says it all.

So again, this section of prophecy is about a break-up of the seventy weeks prophecy and specific stages of time which are fully understood by the truth contained in the seventieth week where it’s discussed later concerning specific events surrounding the Messiah and those things He has fulfilled and will fulfill concerning both the first and the second coming.  You’ll see this later when we cover the other verses, but first we’re going to only address a period of the seven weeks and then the sixty-two weeks.  What we will clearly see later is that God has revealed that these are specific periods of time that equal a year for each day.  This is different than the seventy-weeks prophecy it states up there, but God makes it very clear here that this is a day for a year.

So, if you have seven weeks, that’s 7 times 7 days – that’s 49.  It’s talking about a period of 49 years.  So the seven weeks, again here, very clear about a period of years not weeks at all.  And again, the Church has always understood this; what we haven’t understood is about the second coming and what seventy-weeks is all about.

The Church has always understood this; from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem, began in 457 BC.  Just to tell you, I’m not going to go through all the history, I’m just going to tell you what it is and what the Church has always understood.  It happened in 457 BC in the seventh year of the reign of King Artaxerxes when he issued a decree giving Ezra permission to return to Jerusalem to complete the effort to rebuild the city.

I think back; there was a series, I think it was entitled ‘Rebuilding the Temple’[2] , five sermons a long time ago, (don’t even remember how far back), but it was about things contained in Ezra and Nehemiah, and the reason of that is because we saw a parallel of something we were going through in the Church of something that happened back then – rebuilding the Temple, rebuilding the walls and how God said it should be done.  And so very meaningful, what we went through in those sermons.  They’re mentioned in ‘Time is Running Out’.  But again, they meant so much to us, especially at that time and they still should mean a lot because it shows a period of time we went through.

Let’s go over to Ezra 1.  Now, this is not the same as when Daniel was addressing something here at the end of seventy years when it talks about a decree that went out and that some began to go back.  This is talking about another decree; this is a very specific decree because that first decree was about giving of the things of the temple and going back and working on the temple.  This is very specific about the walls and so forth of Jerusalem, or the area surrounding the temple and the like there.  So, anyway, again here, we’ll go back to Ezra.  (Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms, Proverbs – to give you an idea of where it is.  We don’t turn here every day.)  So let’s pick it up here, again, a scripture we read earlier, read at one time that was mentioned here already – verses 1 and 2 – mentioned this in another sermon...Ezra 1:1 - Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, so it’s giving a time period here relating to Ezra and his writings and this goes all the way back to 538 BC, farther back toward the end of the period of time.  This is the time that they were sent back and this is what it says.

Ezra 1:1 – Now, in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, that the word of the Eternal by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, God gave his very name over 150 years before he ever came on the scene as a human being, 170 years before, whatever it was where we come to this time here.  It said, the Eternal stirred up the spirit of Cyrus the king of Persia, he had these things read to him.  He saw things that God had said about him.  He had those things that were given to him, that the Great God had even mentioned him by name and what he would do, and he was moved by this and this was what it led to.

So it says here, the Eternal stirred up the spirit of Cyrus the king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all the kingdom, so again, this is 538 BC, and put it in writing, saying, Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, The Eternal God of heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; because God said; that’s what He said in the prophecy about him, and He has charged me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.  So again, we’ve gone through this, and this is about the first time that when Daniel came to understand and some began to go back, and it was about the temple, it was about sending back some of those things that had to do with the wealth of the temple and so forth that Cyrus was going to give back to them.  Very, very powerful what it’s talking about here.

This concerned a period of time that the altar was set up in Jerusalem.  If you go through the story of Ezra here and read it, it talks about the time that the altar was set up in Jerusalem and work began to restore things of the temple; and as you read through the first six chapters of Ezra you find the account of the struggle to rebuild the temple, and they finally hold a Feast of Dedication after many years here.    It was a long process and they eventually held this Feast of Dedication as you go through the chapters here, get into the sixth chapter, and then in the next chapter is an awesomely meaningful decree of Artaxerxes to rebuild Jerusalem, which directly concerns the prophecy here in Daniel 9:25, and this happened in 457 BC, this is when it all began, this is when this count begins of the seven-weeks prophecy, in other words, seven, sixty-two, and one.  The seven is about 7 times 7 = 49.  Forty-nine years; it begins right here, forty-nine years.

Ezra 7:6 - This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the Eternal God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Eternal his God upon him. So there’s this request that was made, there is this which Artaxerxes granted by decree, very much like the decree earlier to go back and rebuild, work on the temple.  This now is another decree having to do with the walls and the city and so forth of Jerusalem.

And it goes on to say then, verse 7 - And there went up some of the children of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, unto Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king. And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. For upon the first day of the first month he began to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came up to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Eternal, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments. So it’s about re-establishing everything in Jerusalem in a greater way.  They had the Feast of Dedication and now they need to do more, they want to do more to preserve what they have worked to accomplish.

You can go on through some of the story here of things that took place but through the period of 457 to 408 BC is 49 years, and it fulfills a period of time that it actually took from Ezra through Nehemiah to do the work of rebuilding on the walls; and it was in a time of great opposition because they had people constantly fighting against them and trying to thwart the construction of the walls and so forth.  So if you go through the story of Ezra and Nehemiah and you read about this it took a lot of years for them to go through this entire process and all the battles and things, the resistance that was there.  It’s a good story to go through and read about.

And so again, it continued all the way through the time of Nehemiah even after Ezra had died.  All this time fulfilled the declaration to rebuild in the first division of the seventy-weeks which is the 7 times 70, 49 years from 457 to 408 BC.  And a little bit later we’re going to talk about how we know that this is a day for a year, even though it’s recognized commonly by so many scholars and so forth, not just of the true Church of God.  Because these events are pretty simple to go back and understand and read; not all of it is understood, but this portion here is deeply understood.  Some get off a year or so but if you go through the various Bible dictionaries and so forth they’re off a year in some cases because they forget about the year zero and how to subtract, and then they get mixed up and then they realize, well, the timing of Christ’s death, what year it was makes a big deal, of what time of the week He died and so forth.  And of course that becomes an issue and an argument out there; but if you know the truth, it’s powerful.

So reading this verse again in Daniel 9:25 - Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, not the temple, that was done earlier in a very beginning after Babylon had been conquered, and you read what took place back there at the very beginning by Cyrus, that we just read in the beginning of Ezra there.  And this is later on, by Artaxerxes, a decree, because his is very specific about rebuilding Jerusalem, rebuilding the walls and so forth.  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment, the decree that was from Artaxerxes, to restore and to built Jerusalem, unto the Messiah the Prince... unto the Messiah the Prince... When He’s going to be on the scene...awesome – shall be seven weeks.  So we see a period that God divided up, shows 49 years, to show that it’s going to take this long to do that work, and then once it’s completed then you come to sixty-two.  Now we have sixty-two to add to this.

So, 62 times the 7 is 434 more years, unto the coming to the Messiah the Prince; that’s what it’s talking about.  And so if you go from this point in time in 408 BC and you add this up, awesome where it comes to.  The time, from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, unto the Messiah the Prince, was a total of seven prophetic weeks (or a day as a year – 49 years), and an additional sixty-two prophetic weeks (where a day is a year) – that’s 62 times 7; 438 years beyond 408 BC, unto the Messiah the Prince, which brings us to 27 AD.  Awesome!  That’s when He was baptized.  That’s when He began to preach, that’s when He began to teach; 27 AD.  Powerful!  Recognized by a lot of religions calling themselves Christian; always understood by the Church of God, especially the timing here, because some believe, if I get this right, they think it’s 26 because they didn’t realize there’s no such thing as year zero.  So when they add they don’t realize you have to add a 1 because there is no year zero.  When you’re going from 408 it brings you to 27 AD, which brings you to the proper calendar of when Jesus Christ died, which becomes important as we read some of this prophecy as we continue on. It’s awesome what God reveals in this.

So, very inspiring!  And so a lot of people understand that this is prophetic in Daniel about the first coming of Jesus Christ, unto the coming of the Messiah the Prince.

Now, let’s go on with the rest of what is stated, into the third division of the seventy-weeks prophecy.

Verse 26 - And after sixty-two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, awesome! ...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. You know, there are things that God has to give and reveal.

Going on, verse 27 - And He, speaking of the Messiah, shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: one prophetic week left; 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 out upon the desolate.  Whew!  A lot of language being used there, and if you don’t know what it means how in the world do you know how to translate it out of Hebrew?  Because they picked some words out of here that they threw around; there’s one word that’s used here that totally darkens the meaning of everything because they didn’t understand what was being discussed, and the only thing they could grasp is this must somehow fit only into His first coming, not understanding there are things contained in here that also have to do with His second coming.  But that’s all they could understand so they tried to figure out what these phrases mean,  That’s the natural inclination people have.  Awesome!  There is so much here it’s awesome and incredible!  That’s the only way I can describe it.

Let’s begin breaking this down: verse 26 – And after sixty-two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself;  So after the period of sixty-two weeks there’ll come a time when the Messiah will be cut off; but again, it is not for Himself, it’s for others, because He was to die as the Passover of all mankind.  He was to be cut off at a particular moment in time...about the rest of mankind. He lived a perfect life, but He died so that all the sins of mankind could be forgiven through Him, because He fulfilled the Passover in this.  That’s why it’s stated this way, not for Himself; what’s not stated is it’s because it’s for everyone else.  That’s why He died, that’s why He’s cut off in the midst of the week.

So again, when He is cut off is contained in the next verse, verse 27 – within this verse it says – and in the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease: What does that mean?  After He did what He did there was no purpose for the sacrificial system any longer, He fulfilled it.  He fulfilled everything about the sacrificial system.  It ceased.  There was no purpose for it anymore as far as Israel was concerned, or in this case, Judah was concerned, even though they continued on doing some of these rituals up to 70 AD or whatever it was, in through that period of time somewhere.  I believe that’s when Antiochus Epiphanes came along and slaughtered a swine on the altar and so forth, but literally at this moment in time is when this was fulfilled on a spiritual plane, not a physical one, because the Jews... the Levitical system and what was in force, they only went through these things as a physical type of ritual, all the sacrifices that were given never forgave sin.  We understand those things that are said in the book of Hebrews, and that is why this is about Jesus Christ at the midst of the week, literally in the midst of the week, prophetically in every way He fulfilled this, caused the sacrificial system, in essence, to end.  That’s what it’s talking about here.

So again, very inspiring what’s being shown here.  ...and in the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease: no meaning anymore, not any to be done in a physical way because now it’s spiritual, it’s about something else that God is doing.

So again, in the midst of the prophetic week, which in this case would last 1 week times 7 days is 7 years.  So, in the midst of the prophetic week was 3½ years; 27 AD in the autumn to the spring Passover is 3½ years.  That’s exactly what took place here, from the time He was baptized to the time He died and the time of His ministry was this period of time.  So Christ died as Passover in the midst of the prophetic week, in three years after His ministry began and He was also literally killed in the midst of the week on a Wednesday.  So in a two-fold way He fulfilled this, literally in the midst of a physical week He died.  That’s when He died.  That’s why people have to understand it was 27 AD and not 26 as Unger’s and others out there have it in some of the works that are done out there, because they messed up on the year zero.  Simple little thing but they tripped.  And people have done things like that, sometimes willingly so because they don’t want to acknowledge He died in the midst of the week because then it wouldn’t be Friday to Sunday that He died.  They want to get a day and a half in there not three days and three nights.

He only confirmed the covenant for half the prophetic week, for 3½ years.  And candidly, this event is the proof – it is the proof of what the seventy weeks is all about, that it has to be a day for a year.  This is the proof of what God is giving by His definition.  You can’t just plug things in, although I have never seen it written anywhere that this is the proof, but this is the proof of how it’s a day for a year. A lot of people try to go back to the scripture that talks about that, that’s why the seven day week, we talk about seven thousand years; some of the things there, a day for a thousand years.  They still try to quote the same scripture showing there are different periods of time that reveal various things, and I’ve seen some of the writings of the past and what some of the other groups have even written out there.  But this is the proof, 3½ years, in the midst of the week, and it says He’s going to confirm the covenant for many for one week.  Interesting! Awesome!

So again here, And He/The Messiah shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: He only confirmed the covenant for half of a prophetic week, or for the 3½ years, so when is the remainder of the week, the last half, if you will, or the final 3½ years when He is going to finish confirming the covenant with many?  When is that going to take place?  Well, in our literature in the past it’s basically believed and stated, and others state it too that they don’t really know but some believe and have believed that it’s going to be after Jesus Christ returns.  3½ years?  No, He’s going to be here a thousand years, so how does that fit in?  Doesn’t make any sense.  Why would He come and do something for 3½ years and maybe 144,000 are going to be whisked away for 3½ years and...anyway, some people believe different things.

So, anyway, in order to answer that we need to go back to what we covered in the first sermon on the subject of Daniel when we spoke of the seventy-weeks prophecy that applies to Christ’s second coming on May 27, 2012.

On January 7th, just as we were about to enter the final ‘Half a Time’ of the last 140 days we had a sermon entitled, ‘The Final Time’, and it is now time to go back and focus on the verse in Daniel 9 that this sermon built up to, going back here to verse 24 and the conclusion where it first begins to speak of the seventy-weeks prophecy here.  And this is going to really help you to better cement this verse and all of its meaning in your mind and your understanding, just like God had Gabriel come and touch his shoulder and said he’d come to give him understanding.  That’s what God does to us.

We’re going to look at this verse a little more deeply and in doing so it will help us to better understand the final verses of Daniel 9, because we have to come back to this now so that we can understand the rest of these verses, because we haven’t covered everything yet in verses 25, 26, and on.  There’s a lot there, truly is, it is absolutely incredible – awe inspiring - where we are and what God’s giving to us.  And so we have to do all this to understand the confirming of the covenant with many for one week.

I’m going to go through this step by step and I’m going to be doing a lot of reading because I want to make sure we stay very much on track in things covered, and some will be repetition but it’s needful.  Daniel 9:24 - Seventy weeks, not years, are determined upon your people and upon your holy City, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, all these terms are about His second coming; it has nothing to do with His first, in essence, it’s all about His second; and to seal up the vision and the prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. This timing at the end of this verse is different than what we covered in the verses which follow that speak of Christ’s first coming and it being cut off in the midst of the week.  This is different kind of terminology totally.

It ends with the phrase, ‘and to anoint the Most Holy.’ When Jesus Christ first came, although He was the Messiah, the Christ, He did not come to His Kingdom to reign at that time, He came to fulfill the role of the Passover, to come into His Kingdom would happen later.  Messiah, the word Messiah is all about an anointing to be King of kings, not to fulfill a role of Passover, but to be King of kings, and we know the timing of that.  He told Pilate that His Kingdom was not of that age for a reason, because it’s later.  His anointing to be King, His fulfillment of Messiah, the Christ, is later.  His second coming is the time when He will come in the Kingdom to be King of kings and this is the time for His anointing.  That’s what the word in the Old Testament is all about, it’s about an anointing.  It’s understood that it’s all about becoming a King and a ruler in God’s Kingdom.

This verse is very specific in that it’s about His second coming as King of kings, and it’s good to review the conclusion that we were guided to in that sermon and then go back and look at the specific things mentioned here, because I mentioned them but there’s a lot more here, there really is.

So, it was stated at the end of the January 7th sermon: “From the great rebellion, the apostasy in the Church on December 17, 1994 to the time of Christ’s return there are 6370 days.”  Awesome!  “That is 70 times 7,” and it’s important to understand how these numbers are used over and over again.  It’s the number in Daniel’s prophecy that concerns Christ’s coming, whether it be the first or the second, the seventy is used, and the 70 times 7 is used.  “...in this case here, coupled with 13, which is a number when used in religious meanings it’s commonly understood as being associated with and often meaning ‘rebellion and apostasy’.”  When you go out and look at this word, those are the two words that pop up over and over again, rebellion and apostasy, of which the source is Satan, we understand.  “So again, the 70 times 7, the number of Daniel’s prophecy that concerns Christ coming, coupled with 13, concerning the beginning of the apostasy, the rebellion, there is exactly 6370 days.”

That to me is an awesome thing.  I don’t know how...you know some people don’t like numbers and so forth but this one here just dumbfounds me and is inspiring to think how this is divided up, to think what its meaning is all about.

It was also noted that this is akin to the timing of the time of judgment given by God of 40 times 7, 280.  280 days when Joseph Tkach Sr. died – because of what started at a specific moment in time and what ended at a specific moment in time.  It was not just to the exact count and days (because I like repeating this, because God is awesome ), not just to the exact number of days but the death occurred at the time that followed the moment he was in the very midst of that apostasy sermon, if you will, to the hour.  Incredible how God works!

Then, from that time, or that same time of that sermon on December 17, 1994 it was stated that, “...the 6370 days is not only exact in days but also leads up to the same hour of Christ’s return at an hour in which Joe Tkach Sr. had already built up his case against the most basic truths of God, especially against the Sabbaths of God.”  And I was told of one thing that somebody had written at one point out there – totally foolish, backward, ignorant – they tried to go back and (someone not of the Church), and say, “Well, it’s like he can’t tell time because sundown on that year that he did this apostasy, it’s sundown at a certain time in Jerusalem and ha-ha-ha, they’re way off because it was a certain time of day and that couldn’t be at the same hour.”  Totally miss the mark!  How could you be so backward?  How could you not hear?  Anyway, it’s about when He returns!  Do you understand what I’m saying?  It’s not about the day that that happened being the same time in Jerusalem that we’re talking about, to the hour...  I don’t even want to... When something’s so messed up like that why even try to explain it?  It’s better just to tell the truth.

What I like pointing out here is before the sermon was over that he was giving, and still close to the very midst of it, a little bit farther into it by the time he’d gone through this, in the midst of that apostasy sermon, the timing of Christ’s return and appearance will follow 6370 days later, Jerusalem time, which is near 7:36pm Jerusalem time, sundown on the Sabbath in Jerusalem when Jesus Christ returns, right at that moment when Pentecost begins.  Sundown on that day is 7:36pm and if you go back to what time it was in Atlanta when the sermon was given, toward the latter part, toward the latter midst of it, it’s to the same hour again.  So, anyway, to me those things are dumbfounding, awesome!

So the sermon started in the morning, they had to be out of there (I think if I got the story right), I think they were supposed to be out of the hall by 1:30 or whatever; it was a very long sermon, I think it was over 3 hours long.  I think it was well beyond 3 hours if I remember rightly.  I’d have to go back and check with Johnny because he was there; he was witness of those things.  But anyway, incredible, the timing and the difference of time if you go back and look at the time zones and what it is with Jerusalem time when Christ returns and what it is when this event takes place and count this exact number of days it’s absolutely incredible.

So again here, we need to look more closely at this verse that contains this seventy-weeks prophecy.  Seventy weeks are determined upon Your people and upon Your holy City, now, it’s interesting here that the expression used here, ‘upon Your holy City’, which is not about the city of Jerusalem but is a prophetic expression for the future spiritual city called Jerusalem.  And there’s one other location where this is referred to in this same terminology and it is back in Isaiah 52, so we’ll go back to it and read that.  It’s the only other place that it’s used exactly like this here in the book of Daniel, because it’s for the end-time, it’s what it’s talking about; it’s talking about what God is building, it’s about what God is constructing, it’s about the Temple of God, it’s about the Kingdom of God, it’s about...well, let’s read this.

Isaiah 52:1 - Awake, awake; put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy City: What an incredible thing that there is coming a time when indeed it’ll awake, a great resurrection when Jesus Christ returns and all those who have slept through different periods of time going back to the beginning all the way to the end, and they’re going to be resurrected and God says, Now is the time, put on your strength O Jerusalem; put on your holy garments.  And part of this is in Daniel too and different expressions here as we go through it.  Very inspiring because the holy garments have to do with those who become a part of God’s Kingdom, the holy garments are when it’s truly holy, when it’s a matter of that which is referred to as white in Revelation and so forth and those things that reflect righteousness.  We’re not righteous until that time comes, until we’re a part of the Kingdom of God, God’s Family.

Awake, awake; put on your strength, O Zion; that’s what Zion has always been about; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy City: for henceforth there shall no more come into you the uncircumcised and the unclean. It won’t ever be in God’s Kingdom; never be in the Family of God.  It’s talking about that which is going to begin when the 144,000 are resurrected.  That’s when it starts, as soon as Jesus Christ returns, Pentecost.  Awesome!

This seventy weeks is not a day for a year as we talked about, and I’ve already explained this so I don’t need to go back to that.  But again here, it’s leading up to the very end.  I don’t want to repeat some of these things here either.

Seventy weeks are determined upon your holy City, to finish the transgression; What on earth are you talking about?  About His second coming?  ...to finish the transgressions; this is one of those words here, the word ‘finish’.  They didn’t know what they were talking about, they didn’t know what they were translating.  How do you translate something you don’t know about?  You know if something prophetic...that’s why so much of the Bible, even in the book of Revelation and so forth, when people have translated they’re doing it from their own understanding, and the people who have done translations are not in the Church of God.  There are others who have tried to understand what’s taking place and they give what they think it’s about, and sometimes they just pick words out of thin air that have no meaning with the original words whatsoever because of their thinking.

So in that sermon back on January 7th, the actual meaning of ‘finish’ here from the Hebrew was given as this...and I didn’t even know what it meant.  How incredible!  ‘To hold back’, ‘to keep back’, ‘to keep away’.  God was giving to show and know that this verse is about Christ’s second coming, that it’s about the time from the apostasy to the end, but to fill it all in, still didn’t know, it wasn’t there yet, and yet God was giving fairly clearly what it’s all about.

The Hebrew here literally means ‘to restrict’ – that’s what this word ‘finish’ here – ‘to restrict’, ‘to restrain’, ‘to withhold’, ‘to hold back’, ‘to keep back’, but translated as only this one time as ‘finish’ in this particular verse here in Daniel.  Now, some of those words if you start thinking about them might just pop out at you especially when you begin to realize this is talking about the end-time, this is talking about a time of an apostasy to the return of Jesus Christ.

Then the last part of the expression (I want to finish this then we’ll go look at some other verses), to finish what?  ...the transgression – in the same sermon this was what was stated about the Hebrew meaning of this word and its implication: “...the transgression in Hebrew, ‘the sin’, ‘the rebellion’.”  So again, as part of the origin of this word, for all sin has to do with rebellion and that’s what it’s about.  Some of it comes from the very expressions.  So this was followed up in that sermon by the statement: “The sin, the rebellion, as...”  (This was what was stated at that time).  “...as from the man of sin, the rebellion that was moved by Satan’s direct influence and power.”

Now, let’s go over to 2 Thessalonians 2 because it’s about the return of Jesus Christ.  When you read 2 Thessalonians 2 and you start going through it, it’s talking about His coming, it’s talking about events leading up to His coming, it’s awesome, it truly is.  2 Thessalonians 2:1 - Now we beseech you, brethren, by, in the Greek here meaning literally, ‘concerning’ or ‘about’ the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, so in the very beginning that’s what people have wanted to know, especially in the Early Church, they wanted to know when is He going to return.  They asked Him very early on, “Is this the time... Are You now going to take Your Kingdom?  Are You now coming in Your Kingdom?”  and He said, “it’s not for you to know the time, it’s only for My Father.”  That’s what He’s talking about here.  It’s for later on, it’s not for now.  Everybody’s wanted to know through time, all the Church eras have wanted to know, those who lived during the period of Philadelphia and during Laodicea.

Now we beseech you brethren, by, in other words ‘concerning’ or about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him; so what’s that all about?  Well, we know what that’s all about, our gathering together unto Him; we look forward to that time when we’re going to be gathered together unto Him, speaking of these especially in the beginning because later on it’s going to be a little different when that which passes the time of Christ’s return and when they’re resurrected.  But for the 144,000 and for all those spoken of in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and the beginning of the Church all the way up through Philadelphia and so forth, they’re looking for a time that this is going to take place – gathered together unto Him – at a great resurrection.

Verse 2 - That you should not be soon shaken in mind, or to be troubled, neither by spirit, neither by word, nor by letter as from us, as that day of Christ is at hand. So don’t be shaken by that, that it’s about to happen, or somebody sent you something as though it’s coming from us, that that day is almost here upon us, because it’s not.  That’s what he was warning them; “Back off a little bit, there are things that must take place before this ever happens.”  In the beginning of Paul’s ministry there was the thinking by certain things that are said, a belief if you will, that He’s going to come back soon. But later on, especially starting here, he began to separate himself from that, that it is going to happen in the future and so don’t be shaken by anyone, by things that people say, or as a letter that might have come from us that that day of Christ’s return is soon at hand because it’s not.   That’s what he’s trying to warn them, tell them about.

That you should not be soon shaken in mind, or to be troubled, neither by spirit, neither by word, nor by letter as from us, as that day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, that’s what the context is here, except there come a falling away first, He said God gave to him that there first has... this is where the word ‘apostasy’ is.  There has to be an apostasy first in the Church!  It can’t happen in the world because the world doesn’t know the truth; it’s going to happen in the Church.  There is going to come a time when there’s going to be an apostasy, when people are going to have, as the English example is here, a falling away from the truth.  That’s what they would fall away from.  An apostasy has to do with leaving the truth that God has given to you.  You can’t leave it unless you have it.

So it talks about here, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin; awesome! be revealed, the son of perdition;  What’s it about?  Christ’s second coming, timing of when He’s going to come, of what must take place before He can come.  And then it goes on to say; Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; to have the audacity after knowing the truth and having the truth about God’s Sabbath and God’s Holy Days, even clean and unclean meats, and tithing, and all the things that he had to get up and to make himself equal to God as though he were God, to be able to say, “You don’t need to keep the Sabbath anymore!  You no longer have to keep the Holy Days!  You no longer need to keep tithing!  You no longer have to worry about clean and unclean...because basically we believe like the protestant’s do now, it’s all clean, it’s fine to eat, nothing unclean out there. You can eat whatever you want to eat.”  So people went out that night and started eating unclean food – right away!  They started going out and eating unclean food!  “We’re free!” It’s like, “You’re free, you can eat whatever you want.”  And so some people, “I’m free! I can go out and eat...its all clean now!”  What changed?  How moronic the human mind can be!  Incredible! I get worked up about it because it’s just like it happened yesterday in some ways.

So to do something like this, the audacity; it’s what Satan did.  That’s what began in the very beginning in the Garden of Eden, that’s what sin is like.  It’s like an obelisk, that which is raised up above God to be worshipped.  That’s what it is and it takes everything away from God.  He’s the only one that has a right, the authority, the power to say what things are.  Just like what I’ve been saying in prophecy, He can tell us what it means; He’s the only one that can tell us what it means.  Even definitions, He knows what He wrote; He knows what He inspired in Daniel and all the prophets all through time.  Only God knows, we have to learn it, even as I’m learning some things in the book that I didn’t know.  Incredible to go back and read your own writings and all of a sudden you begin to see, “That’s not really exactly what I thought it was.”  Incredible!

...Who opposes, exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, so that he as God sits; what an awesome thing when God revealed what the meaning of that was.  It’s like he’s sitting in a chair or something...that’s not what it’s about, it’s a word about authority, to sit in, it’s a word as you go through and look at it in the Greek there and how it’s used in the New Testament, it’s a word that has to do with being placed in a position of authority and power. And he was, he was placed at the head of the Church under Christ, on earth.  Incredible what took place!

So that he as God, in this case, sits in the Temple of God, showing himself/exhibiting/displaying that he is God. In other words, as God; has the right, where he was placed, where he was set in position of authority and power, but now this attitude of mind that he can change everything as God, as though he were God.  That’s what its saying.

Do you remember that when I was with you I told you these things? So Paul has told them this before and now he’s writing a letter confirming this, about all that he’s discussing about the coming of Christ and what would take place and so forth, an apostasy. And now you know what withholds; the Greek word that means ‘to hold back’, ‘to restrain’ – to restrain what?  The coming of Jesus Christ.  Something has to happen before He can come and that’s exactly what it’s talking about in Daniel 9:24.

And now you know what withholds, literally in the Greek it means ‘to hold back’ or ‘to restrain’ that he, speaking of the man of sin, might be revealed in his time. ...in his time, whatever that time is. For the mystery of iniquity is already working; because it’s about Satan, it’s about what Satan moves and works with in the minds of people and what God allows at certain times.  And so there came a time when there were ‘power, signs, and lying wonders’ that we’ve talked about in times past, in the Church of God and how people were able to be moved away from the truth in an apostasy.  Powerful thing that took place spiritually!  There were demonic spirits in those congregations, truly; experienced it, saw it, know it was there.  ‘Power, signs...’ When you give up the truth and you give away your mind and what God has given to you, it’s a dangerous thing indeed, and it happened in a very powerful way, what swept through the Church, very quickly so.

It shows when those beings are released to have power to do what they do, it should remind us of what we just went through last week in Revelation 9; when they are released to do certain things they’re going to do it.  They have power that we don’t comprehend and when they’re given that authority and power to exert it, things happen quickly.  That’s why when the 5th Trumpet takes place it will happen quickly; it will boggle the minds of people because now those spirits are involved with the individuals and the people who are making decisions, to sway them, to move them, powerfully so.  Not at the slow pace that we see taking place right now, see, that in time is going to lead to great problems later on down the road.  But God is in control of the timing of everything and things are going to have a moment in time where they’re going to be speeded up immensely so; that’s what God does.  What would already take place is going to be speeded up so that everything fits into a specific time frame that God gives the exact timing of.  God’s in control, God’s all powerful.

So again here, And now you know what withholds, holds back, restrains, that he, the man of sin, might be revealed in his time.  For the mystery of iniquity is already working; only he who now let’s, that’s the same word ‘to withhold’, ‘to restrain’, only he now who is withholding, restraining, holding back that time, the coming of Christ.  He mentioned it several times in the beginning of the chapter here in those verses, that His coming, ‘that you not be soon moved’ and so forth, and ‘our gathering together unto Him’ – it’s all about Christ’s coming.  And so it is in Daniel 9:24, it’s all about His coming the second time.

And so he who now let’s, holds back, restrains, will let, it’s added there but it’s the context, until he is taken out of the way. So, it introduces something else there, something that we just focused on in the sermon here, that taught us something about a timing, that within this...  When you go back and read, and we’re going to, Daniel 9:24, there are several things stated there all the way through the verse, every one of them, seven all together in essence, that have meaning, that have significance, that are to be understood separately by themselves, each one of them.

And this here, as well, has meaning.  It starts out talking about a time of an apostasy that must take place, a man of sin, and just by its very definition that what God is showing that’s important as well, from the moment of the apostasy till the time he’s taken out of the way – this verse.  ...until he’s taken out of the way.  It’s meaningful.  Now, we understand that looking back, we grasp that, 280 days, has tremendous meaning of things that God has revealed to us, things about ‘Time, Times, and a Half a Time’ that we came to understand prophetically for the end-time, that’s specific about the phases we’re going through and what’s taking place that we don’t fully even understand yet, but we’re going through it and we have a better understanding.  God’s showing us along the way things as He reveals them to us.

So again here, going back, Daniel 9:24 - Seventy weeks are determined upon the holy City, to finish – to hold back, to keep back - the sin: What sin?  It’s a very specific sin, a spiritual abomination of desolation that came upon the Church – a sin – so much so that he called the individual who brought it ‘the man of sin’.  It’s very specific in what’s being covered here and what’s being discussed, a specific transgression, a specific sin that he did that brought about a beginning of a count, a timing, the 1st Seal.

Incredible!  The 1st Seal of the book of Revelation that Jesus Christ opened was on that day.  You go back and read it, it’s awesome, things that God has led us to understand through time, and as we go along we just have a clearer and clearer picture all the way through this of what is being revealed.

Seventy weeks are determined upon the holy City, about the Church, to finish/to hold back/to keep back the transgression, a specific transgression as we talked about that’s prophetic to the coming of Jesus Christ, when something begins.  It can’t happen until that time so it’s being held back and when that happens it’s not going to be held back anymore; on the contrary, 6370 days later He’ll be here, but this is the beginning of the count.  Incredible!

So it shows here:

- Seventy weeks, the first part of this... are determined upon the holy City; it’s a multiple of 70 weeks that is a part of the prophecy,

- ...to finish the transgression, is the second part here,

- ...and to make an end to sins; What is that all about?  ...to make an end of sins...

- ...and the fourth part here, and to make reconciliation for iniquity...remember all this having to do with the end-time, having to do with the final time, having to do with what takes place at the end.

- ...and to bring in everlasting righteousness...beautiful.

- And six; ...and to seal up the vision and the prophecy;

- And seven...and to anoint the Most Holy.

That’s a good place to stop.

So think on those things.  We’re going to continue on.  It truly just becomes more awesome, more exciting as we go on in the things that God is revealing about where we are and what He’s giving to us and how, candidly, Jesus Christ is teaching us and speaking to us and showing us things in a more powerful way than has ever been done in God’s Church for a long, long time.

~~~end

1. Romans 7:24

2. 5 sermons, Dec. 12, 1998 thru Jan. 16 1999 – Sermon Archive Page: www.cog-pkg.org/audio/archive.aspx

Table of Contents

1

2

www.cog-pkg.org/audio/archive.aspx