The Greatest Prophecy Ever Fulfilled

The Greatest Prophecy Ever Fulfilled.

The 70th Week of Daniel.

By L.R. Shelton.

Message #6.

As we continue our study in Daniel 9, let us go on to verse, 25 thru26 and see how the time table of 70 weeks of years unfold before our eyes, and how all the things mentioned in verse, 24 would be fulfilled in the earthly ministry of the Messiah, the Prince. All of this would be accomplished in the 70th week of Daniel, 9, or during the 3 and one half years of our Lord's ministry.

The thing we need to determine is, what was the event or occasion in the earthly lifetime of our Blessed Lord, the Messiah, the Prince, the Anointed, when the 69th week or 483 years ended and the 70th week or the last seven years of this prophecy began?

Now, we are told very definitely in verse, 25 that all of this would and could be understood by us, and that there would not and should not be any confusion as to when this prophecy began, and when it ended. This was the reason why the angel Gabriel was sent by God to Daniel in answer to his prayer (verse, 19); so that Daniel and all of God's people could understand God's mind and will in the Matter,

The very words themselves in verse25 thru 26 leave us in no doubt that the time of the beginning of this prophecy would be when the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem would go forth, and the children of Israel were allowed to go back to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity.

This commandment or decree is recorded both in 2nd Chronicles, 36,22 thru 23, and in Ezra 1,1thru4. Listen to this decree "Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, [Jeremiah, 29,10], the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, the Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The Lord his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem." This was the commandment to rebuild the city of Jerusalem with its temple and wall.

We know that this took place, as verse, 25 of Daniel 9 tells us, even "in troublous times" under Ezra the priest, as recorded in the Book of Ezra; under Nehemiah, the cup bearer to the king, as recorded in the Book of Nehemiah; under Zerubbabel, God's anointed, as recorded in the book of Zechariah; and all of this work was urged on by the prophets, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. Dear friend, all of this is a Matter of fulfilled Scripture in the Old Testament and took place in the first seven weeks or 49 years.

Then the next 62 weeks or 434 years are plainly shown in verse 25 thru 26 to be till the Messiah, the Prince, would come and this would take us to the end of 69 weeks or 483 years. To me there is nothing hard to understand about this if we will only let the Scriptures speak for themselves. And they do very plainly. Just as the starting point of this GREATEST PROPHECY EVER FULFILLED is clearly defined, so is the ending of it, verse 25 thru 26 tell us that there would be 69 weeks or 483 years to the coming of the Messiah, the Prince.

The question is asked then, At just what point in our Lord's earthly life did this prophecy take place? Just where did the 69th week end and the 70th week begin? When was the Messiah, the Prince, revealed unto Israel?

We have the answer in His very name, MESSIAH! The word "Messiah" means "THE ANOINTED ONE." This is what the word means in the Hebrew. So in the Greek he was called "the Christ," which means the same thing—"the Anointed One." Therefore we have only to ask, Where was Jesus presented to Israel as the Anointed One? There is only one answer—AT HIS BAPTISM IN JORDAN, Yes, it was at His baptism by John the Baptist in the river Jordan that our Lord was "anointed" for His ministry; for it was then that the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily shape as a dove. Peter bears witness of this in Acts 10,38,"God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power."

When did this take place? Let us read Matthew, 3,13 thru 17, "Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. Then he suffered him. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water, and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him, and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

Here we have the Father bearing witness—"This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased;" and this was in fulfillment of Psalm 2,7 which reads, "I will declare the decree, the Lord hath said unto me, Thou are my Son; this day have I begotten thee." Yes, the Father bore witness in His anointing at His baptism that—"This is my beloved Son [my only begotten Son] in whom I am well pleased." Also in Psalm 2,2, Christ is set forth as God's "anointed."

John the Baptist is also a witness to Christ's anointing. Listen to his words in John 1,29 thru 34, "The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me, for he was before me. And I knew him not, but that he should be manifest to Israel, therefore am I come baptizing with water. And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. [His anointing] And I knew him not, but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Spirit. And I saw and bare record that this is the Son of God."

Again, our Lord's own words bear witness of His anointing when He was presented to Israel at the waters of Jordan, After His baptism, upon His return to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, He came to Nazareth where He had been brought up, and going into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, He read from the prophet Isaiah these striking words, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed n e to preach the gospel to the poor." And after he had closed the book, he said, "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears" (Luke 4,18,21). There the Lord declared Himself to be, at that time, the "Anointed One," that is, the "Messiah."

Therefore with this witness of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and of John the Baptist as the human instrument used of the Lord for Christ's anointing, we are shut up to this event in our Lord's earthly ministry as the time when the prophecy of Daniel, 9,25 was fulfilled. And what was the Prophecy? It was that Messiah, the Anointed, would be presented to Israel at the close of the 69th week or the termination of the 483 years.

It was when the Lord had been "anointed" with the Holy Spirit and had been "made manifest to Israel" by the testimony of John the Baptist, that the words of the prophecy unto "the Anointed One," the Messiah, were completely fulfilled. From that great and wonderful event down to the day of His death, He was constantly before the people in His Messianic character, fulfilling His Messianic mission, going about doing good, healing all that were oppressed of the devil, preaching the glad tidings of the kingdom of God, manifesting the Father's name, speaking the words His Father gave Him to speak, and doing the works the Father gave Him to do.

Therefore with all this clear evidence of Scripture, we understand that the 483 years or 69 weeks "Unto the Messiah'' terminated at the Lord's baptism when His ministry as "the Messiah" began.

This brings us now in our study to the very important question, When did the 70th week or the last seven years of this prophecy begin? Are we to understand, like so many teach today, that these weeks are not consecutive and that the last seven years are yet to be fulfilled in the future tribulation period? If this is so, then where is the point of the prophecy? To whom does it apply, and why would God send the angel Gabriel to give such a prophecy if we could not understand it?

But, dear friend, our God is not the author of confusion, but the One who gives His people light, knowledge and understanding. And so He does in this GREATEST PROPHECY EVER FULFILLED. He tells us plainly in verse, 26 that it was after the 69th week ended that the 70th week started and during this week, the 70th week, that Messiah was cut off, that is, He was slain as God's Substitute for His people at Calvary's cross.

You see, dear friend, our Lord's personal ministry lay entirely within the 70th week and to deny this is to deny the cross of Christ, for this is the whole focal point of this prophecy, Christ and His substitutionary death for sinners. This feature stands out above all others when we understand that it was by the cutting off of the Messiah that the six predicted things of verse, 24 were to be accomplished; that it was by the cutting off of the Messiah that the covenant with many (verse, 27,) was to be confirmed and the sacrifice and the oblation caused to cease; and that it was because of the cutting off of the Messiah that the devastating judgments foretold in the prophecy were to fall upon the city, the temple, and the people.

To me, dear friend, the prophecy given here in Daniel, 9 is one of marvelous unity. All its details CENTER AROUND THE CROSS.