Daniel’s Vision of Our Times, the
Antichrist and Israel
By Sandy Livoti
As a child, I used
to sprawl out on the
bed at night with my
King James Bible and
read about strange
visions and the
wonders of heaven
before dropping off
to sleep, mystified.
Daniel, Revelation
and other curious
books of the Bible
weren’t discussed
much in my Christian
Science Sunday
school class, so in
the privacy of my
room I would ponder
the intriguing pages
that had been
missed.
But what on
earth did all those
numbers mean in
Daniel 9:24-27? I
saw numeric
associations in
other parts of
Daniel and
Revelation, but
still couldn’t
decipher the
passages. I figured
the weeks were
years, but when
doing the math, the
months were a couple
days short. Were the
days in a month
rounded off, or were
the number of days
supposed to equal an
average month?
Neither solution
seemed right.
And
what did those
disturbing phrases
about abominations
and desolations
mean? Would these
things happen in my
lifetime? More
important to me at
the time, since the
events would take
place in
Israel,
how could they
possibly, personally
affect me?
It took over
45 years of
spiritual wandering
before I returned to
the questions and
learned the answers.
Along the way I also
discovered that one
phrase in a sentence
of prophecy can be
fulfilled at one
time, while the next
may not be fulfilled
until many years
later. The verses in
Daniel 9:24-27,
written in 536 B.C.,
are like that. God’s
plan for the ages is
laid out in entirely
specific time
periods. It is
likely that,
according to this
schedule, we are now
very near the end.
See for
yourself …
SEVENTY WEEKS
490 years
The Hebrew word for
“weeks” is actually
“sevens.”
HAVE BEEN DECREED
Have been ordered by
God
Decreed by the God
of Israel, known by
Jews and Christians
as the eternal I AM.
(Exodus 3:14)
FOR YOUR PEOPLE
For the people of
Israel,
the Jews
This is a literal
ethnic group, not
referring
symbolically to the
Christian church.
AND YOUR HOLY CITY,
And for Jerusalem
TO FINISH THE
TRANSGRESSION,
To end the people’s
sin of unbelief
To
stop
Israel’s
skepticism,
agnosticism, atheism
and rejection of
their Messiah.
TO MAKE AN END OF
SIN,
To remove sins
Payment
(atonement) through
the Messiah will be
credited (imputed)
to Jewish believers
by the end of the 70
weeks.
TO MAKE ATONEMENT
FOR INIQUITY,
To pay for sin
Sin
has costly
consequences.
The perfect
sacrificial Lamb
bore our sin and its
punishment on the
cross (Colossians
2:13-14). Payment
for sin is already
credited to all
Jewish and Gentile
believers in Jesus
Christ. But for most
of ethnic Israel, that application remains to
be made in the
future.
TO BRING IN
EVERLASTING
RIGHTEOUSNESS,
To establish righteousness
on earth
This refers
to the Millennial
kingdom, the
1,000-year reign of
the Messiah and His
saints on earth.
(Revelation 20:6)
TO SEAL UP VISION
AND PROPHECY
To conclude,
complete and fulfill
the whole prophetic
vision
Two final
prophets will
prophesy during the
Tribulation.
(Revelation 11:3)
AND TO ANOINT THE
MOST HOLY PLACE.
And to make holy the Millennial Temple
for service during
the Millennial age
(Ezekiel 40-44)
SO YOU ARE TO KNOW
AND DISCERN
So that you can
understand and
determine
THAT FROM THE
ISSUING OF A DECREE
That from the time
of the edict
given by Persian
King Artaxerxes on
March 5, 444 B.C. to
Nehemiah (Nehemiah
2:1-8)
TO
RESTORE AND REBUILD JERUSALEM
To
restore and rebuild
the stone walls and
bolted gates around
the City of
Jerusalem
Reconstruction
of the walls and
gates for the
protection of the
City is described in
detail by Nehemiah.
(Nehemiah 2-3)
UNTIL MESSIAH THE
PRINCE
Until the coming of
the Anointed One,
the ruler of the
future kingdom
The Hebrew
word Messiah means
“Anointed One,” the
One endowed with the
Spirit of the Lord
to preach the gospel
to the afflicted.
(Isaiah 61:1)
THERE WILL BE SEVEN
WEEKS
There will be
49 years
AND SIXTY-TWO WEEKS;
And an additional
434 years
IT WILL BE BUILT
AGAIN,
The City of
Jerusalem will be
rebuilt
It took 49
years to fully
complete the
rebuilding of the
City.
WITH PLAZA AND MOAT,
With a city
courtyard and moat
Archaeological
remains of the moat
have been found on
the Temple Mount
Esplanade
surrounding the Dome
of the Rock, a
Moslem shrine built
in the City of
Jerusalem
more than a thousand
years later (A.D.
687) over the site
of the Second
Temple
of the Jews.
EVEN IN TIMES OF
DISTRESS.
Despite
opposition from its
neighbors
The
rebuilding was
opposed by the
Samaritans
(mixed-blood Jews),
Arabs and others.
(Nehemiah 4)
THEN AFTER THE
SIXTY-TWO WEEKS
Then, after
434 years
The triumphal
entry of Jesus
riding into the City
of Jerusalem on a
foal marks the end
of the 49 years (7
weeks) plus the 434
years (62 weeks),
fulfilling the 483
years—the time
period of 69 weeks.
TWO
PROPHESIED EVENTS
FULFILLED
Two specific events
are prophesied to
occur after the end
of the 69th
week, but before the
70th
week begins—the
crucifixion of the
Messiah and the
destruction of the
City of
Jerusalem
and the Second
Temple.
THE MESSIAH WILL BE
CUT OFF
The Anointed One
will be violently
killed
Jesus Christ
was crucified in
A.D. 33.
AND HAVE NOTHING,
And have
no honor, lacking a
kingdom
AND THE PEOPLE OF
(the prince who
is to come)
The
Roman Empire
The people of
the Roman Empire
were any who came
from areas of
Europe, east through
Turkey and Russia to the Caspian Sea, through Iran, Iraq
and
Syria,
south to Saudi Arabia, east across Israel and Lebanon,
to
Egypt
and North Africa.
THE PRINCE WHO IS TO
COME
The end-time world
ruler, called the
“man of lawlessness”
or “man of sin” (2
Thessalonians 2:3)
Satan will enter the
person of the
arrogant “man of
lawlessness,” whose
ethnicity could be
from any of the
above culture
groups. This man,
indwelt by Satan, is
the Antichrist. (2
Thessalonians 2:4)
WILL DESTROY THE
CITY
Will destroy
Jerusalem
(Luke 21:20-22)
The
City of
Jerusalem
was demolished by
Roman legions under
the ruler Titus in
A.D. 70.
AND THE SANCTUARY.
And the
Second
Temple
The
Second Temple was burned and destroyed by Roman
legions under Titus
in A.D. 70.
Interestingly,
the
Second
Temple
(completed in 516
B.C.) had been in
existence for 586
years before its
destruction by
Rome.
The
First
Temple
(Solomon’s
Temple,
completed in 960
B.C.) had been
destroyed by the
Babylonians in 586
B.C. Its destruction
occurred 70 years
before the
completion of the Second Temple.
In addition, the
Hebrew month and day
of the burning of
the Second Temple
are traditionally
the same month and
day that the First Temple
was destroyed—Tisha
B’av, or the 9th
of Ab (our 10th
of August).
AND ITS END WILL
COME WITH A FLOOD;
And the destruction
of the City and the Second Temple
will be overwhelming
and deadly (Luke
21:23)
Foretells
the great carnage
of the Jews by the
Romans—thousands of
dead piled in the
Kidron Valley,
thousands of
unspeakable
crucifixions and
other atrocities
described in the
writings of
historian Flavius
Josephus, a Pharisee
priest born in A.D.
37 or 38 (birth name
“Joseph ben
Matthias”), who
lived in Jerusalem
and was an
eyewitness.
EVEN TO THE END
THERE WILL BE WAR;
The War of A.D. 70
will by no means be
the last anti-Jewish
war
DESOLATIONS ARE
DETERMINED.
Ritual worship of
the God of Israel
will cease, just as
it has since the
destruction of the
Second
Temple
in A.D. 70
The Dome of the Rock
on the Temple Mount,
called Haram esh-Sharif
(“The Noble
Sanctuary”) by
Moslems, prevents
ceremonial worship
of the God of Israel
at the site of the
destroyed First and Second
Temples.
EVENTS YET TO BE
FULFILLED
The remaining
prophecies refer to
the last 1 week, or
7-year period, of
Gentile world-rule
before the glorious
return of Jesus
Christ at His Second
Coming.
AND HE
And
“the prince who is
to come”
The
Antichrist—the
spirit opposing God,
embodied in the “man
of lawlessness.”
WILL MAKE A FIRM
COVENANT
The “man of
lawlessness” will
effect and (most
likely) sign a peace
plan that will
permit the Jews to
rebuild their
Temple
and start making
sacrifices again
according to Mosaic
Law
WITH THE MANY
With the Jews,
Palestinians and
others living in the
Middle East
FOR
ONE WEEK,
Spanning a future
period of 7 years
BUT IN THE MIDDLE OF
THE WEEK
But
3½ years into the
7-year covenant
HE WILL PUT A STOP
TO SACRIFICE AND
GRAIN OFFERING;
He will prohibit the
Jews from performing
sacrificial worship
at the Third Temple,
which will be
occurring then in
accordance with the
laws of the Torah (2
Thessalonians 2:4)
To
make sacrifices, a
temple (or at least
an altar) is
necessary. The
Temple Institute in
Jerusalem
is nearly finished
preparing all
articles needed for
Judaic worship in a
Third Temple, which
Orthodox Jews are
planning to build.
AND ON THE WING OF
ABOMINATIONS
And for spreading
out repugnant evil
This will be done
from the site of the
Third
Temple.
WILL COME ONE WHO
MAKES DESOLATE,
Satan, who opposes
God and the worship
of God, will enter
the “man of sin”
(the dictator of the
world)
The Hebrew
ha Satan means “the
adversary.” This
Satanic event will
happen 3½ years
after the
Tribulation starts.
(Revelation 13)
EVEN UNTIL A
COMPLETE
DESTRUCTION,
The career of the
Antichrist will last
for the remaining 3½
years and will be
brought to an end by
the personal return
of Jesus Christ at
His Second Coming (2
Thessalonians 2:8)
ONE THAT IS DECREED,
God has decreed a
complete destruction
of the “man of sin”
IS POURED OUT ON THE
ONE WHO MAKES
DESOLATE.
The
wrath of God will be
fully expressed
against the “man of
sin” who opposes
Christ (Revelation
19:20)
After this,
Jesus Christ begins
His 1,000-year
reign. (Revelation
20:4)
WHERE YOU ARE IN THE
TIMELINE
49
years (7 weeks) +
434 years (62 weeks)
= 483 years (69
weeks)
God speaks only
truth, He is
punctual, and
according to the
verses,
He has paused the
prophetic time clock
after the completion
of the 69 weeks. The
prophetic clock
stopped after the
Messiah made His
triumphal entry into Jerusalem as servant King and will not begin
ticking again until
the 7-year peace
plan is signed. The
evidence is:
1.
The triumphal entry
of Jesus into Jerusalem marks the end of
the 69th
week. This is the
major event that
stopped the time
clock. Two
specific events
prophesied to occur
after the 69th
week is completed,
but before the 70th
week starts, are:
(1) the crucifixion
of the Messiah, and
(2) the destruction
of the City of
Jerusalem
and the Second
Temple.
2.
The City of
Jerusalem
and the
Second Temple were both destroyed in A.D. 70.
Since this event
happened in the
“gap” between the
triumphal entry (the
end of the 69th
week) and the
signing of the peace
treaty (the
beginning of the 70th
week), that means
the prophecy itself
indicates there is a
“gap” of at least 40
years between the 69th-
and 70th-week
time periods.
3.
The destruction of
Jerusalem
is to consist of
continual warring
between the Jews and
the world, with the
spiritual
wretchedness of Jews
persisting until the
7-year covenant is
made with
Israel.
This is still
happening.
Therefore, the 70th
week of Daniel must
still be in the
future.
We, then, are
living in the phase
between the 69th
and 70th
weeks!
483 years (69 weeks)
+ 7 years (1 week) =
490 years (70 weeks)
The 70th
week of Daniel is
the Tribulation.
This will be
followed by the
triumphal return of
Christ, the
imprisonment of
Satan and the
worldwide rule of
Jesus as King for
1,000 years—the
Millennium.
(Revelation 20:2)
ADDING IT UP
It took 49 years to
rebuild the walls
around
Jerusalem.
444 B.C. to 396 B.C.
= 49 years (Nehemiah
2:5-8)
These 49
years prove that the
“sevens” are Jewish
lunar years
consisting of 360
days, since seven
“sevens” = 49 years.
It took 483 years,
or 69 weeks, from
the beginning of the
rebuilding of
Jerusalem’s
walls
(March 5, 444
B.C.) to when the
Messiah was
presented to Jerusalem, riding in miraculously on an
unbroken foal (March
30, A.D. 33, the
first Palm Sunday).
444 B.C. to
A.D. 33 = only 476
years
How can the Hebrew
calendar record of
476 years reconcile
with the biblical
483 years?
The
Hebrew calendar has
a 30-day lunar
month, 360-day lunar
year. The 476
recorded years do
not include the
extra 5+ days/year
that the Hebrew
360-day calendar
excludes. This
calendar is missing
the extra 5
days/year it takes
for the earth to
circle the sun and
also the extra time
for leap year days.
To convert the
Hebrew calendar
years to actual
years, we need to
calculate the time
span by days:
69 weeks x 7 (days
in a week) x 360
(days in a lunar
year) = 173,880 days
The objective is
to prove that:
March 5, 444
B.C. to March 30,
A.D. 33 = 173,880
days (69 weeks)
We have already
calculated that:
The
360-day calendar
record from 444 B.C.
to A.D. 33 = 476
years
Now
include
the extra 5
days/year for the
earth to circle the
sun and extra time
for leap year days:
476 years x
365.2421989 days =
173,855 days
And add 25 more days
for the period March
5 to March 30:
173,855 days + 25
days = 173,880 days
Thus producing the
time to the EXACT
DAY that Jesus was
presented in
Jerusalem as Savior,
as foretold in
Daniel:
173,880
days = 69 weeks
Note:
Others have dated
the decree of
Artaxerxes at 445
B.C., the completion
of the rebuilding of Jerusalem at 395 B.C., and
the triumphal entry
of Christ on April
6, A.D. 32. All of
these dates still
allow for
accomplishment of
the 483 years.
Regardless, Jesus
knew the exact date
on which the Messiah
was to enter
Jerusalem
and fulfill the
prophecy.
THE NEXT PHASE IS
IMMINENT
69 weeks (483 years,
fulfilled) + 1 week
(7 years,
Tribulation) = 70
weeks (490 years)
Immediately
following the
Tribulation is the
Second Coming of the
Messiah.
SIGNIFICANCE
FOR YOU
Daniel’s
vision sets out the
plan of God in
segments of time.
Because the first
events happened
exactly on schedule,
you can be certain
that the last ones
will as well. If you
haven’t yet believed
that Jesus is the
foretold Messiah,
why do you wait?
Consider it TODAY.
Throw political
correctness into the
lake! Jesus was not
just a good man, as
some think. At the
First Coming of
Jesus, Jews and
other people groups
knew from Hebrew
Scripture that the
time for the Messiah
to arrive was near.
Only Jesus knew the
exact date that
would satisfy the
prophecy and He
appeared precisely
on time. Clearly, He
was and is the
Anointed One of God!
Other Bible
verses advise that
it is only by
Christ’s rank and
power that you can
be saved from the
same fate as the
lawless one who is
to come (Revelation
19:20). God is holy
and just, and the
penalty for
committing crimes of
sin against Him must
be paid, not
excused. Unless
adequate payment is
made, the punishment
for sin is eternal
separation from
God—spiritual death
(Romans 6:23). As
payment for sin,
Christ the perfect
Lamb, killed on the
altar of the cross,
was a wholly
acceptable and
pleasing sacrifice
to God. His precious
blood covered the
cost due for the
crimes of sin of all
people, for all
time. His
resurrection is the
tremendous proof
that He is the
Messiah who can save
you from your sins
and death, if you
would believe.
As Jesus once
presented Himself as
the servant King of
Israel, humbly
submit to be His
subject, asking Him
to forgive your sins
and take the lead in
your life. The case
against sin cannot
be dropped where
there is unbelief.
For this there is
only one
judgment—guilty.
Despite your merits
and good deeds, even
one sin that’s not
paid for prevents
friendship with God.
Believe in Christ
and appeal to Him to
rescue you from the
death sentence you
face. If you trust
in Christ to be your
proxy and Savior, He
will declare you not
guilty and give you
the priceless gift
of eternal life in
Him.
May these
plain truths help to
reveal more of
Christ to the unseen
readers, one and
all.
MEDIA
INTERVIEW AT THE
TIME
Now, there
was about this time
Jesus, a wise man,
if it be lawful to
call him a man, for
he was a doer of
wonderful works—a
teacher of such men
as receive the truth
with pleasure. He
drew over to him
both many of the
Jews, and many of
the Gentiles. He was
[the] Christ; and
when Pilate, at the
suggestion of the
principal men
amongst us, had
condemned him to the
cross, those that
loved him at the
first did not
forsake him, for he
appeared to them
alive again the
third day, as the
divine prophets had
foretold these and
ten thousand other
wonderful things
concerning him; and
the tribe of
Christians, so named
from him, are not
extinct at this day.
Flavius Josephus,
historian (A.D. 37
or 38 - ~A.D. 100)
Endnotes
Tim
LaHaye and Thomas
Ice, Charting the
End Times: A Visual
Guide to
Understanding Bible
Prophecy (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 2001), pp.
89-90.
Dr.
Larry E. Dyer,
Pastor and
Instructor,
Eschatology Class,
Big Sky Bible
Institute,
Montana,
unpublished notes,
2003, “Daniel’s
Outline of Prophetic
History: Revelation
of 70 Weeks – Daniel
9:24-27.” Used with
permission.
Rita
Bianucci, Giovanna
Magi and Giuliano
Valdes, Art and
History of Jerusalem: The Holy
City – 3000 Years, English Edition (Italy: Bonechi &
Steimatzky, 2002),
The Mosque of Omar,
pg. 98.
Charles F.
Pfeiffer, The Works
of Flavius Josephus
in Four Volumes,
Volume I, The Wars
of the Jews (Grand
Rapids, MI: Baker
Book House, 1977),
Foreword pp. 1-2.
William
Whiston, A.M.,
Translator, The
Works of Flavius
Josephus in Four
Volumes, Volume I,
The Wars of the Jews
(Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Book House,
1977), Books V and
VI, pp. 351-472.
William
Whiston, A.M.,
Translator, The
Works of Flavius
Josephus in Four
Volumes, Volume IV,
Antiquities of the
Jews (Grand Rapids,
MI: Baker Book
House, 1977), Book
XVIII, Chapter III,
pg. 11.
http://www.templeinstitute.org/main.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
Acknowledgments
Many
thanks to Dr. Larry
E. Dyer,
Pastor-Elder,
WestPlex Community
Church, Foristell,
Missouri, for his
clear teachings on
Daniel 9:24-27 and
for reviewing this
article.
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