15. The Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks, Pt 1 - Pastor Stephen Bohr - His Way Is In The Sanctuary

[Music] [Music] shall we pray father in heaven what a privilege it is to call you father we thank you for the awesome opportunity that we have of coming together once again to open your word and understand the message that you have for us at this awesome period in human history father we cannot understand your word without divine help and that's why we come before your throne in humility expressing our need of wisdom from on high we ask father that you will bless us by your presence through the ministry of the angels that you will make things absolutely clear to each one of us and we thank you father for your presence and for hearing our prayer because we come to your throne boldly in the name of jesus amen i'd like to begin by reminding all of you who are present here that the 70-week prophecy is the smaller portion of the prophecy of the 2300 days in other words the 2300 days are the complete prophecy and the 70 weeks are cut off from the prophecy of the 2300 days the 70 weeks are the first portion of the prophecy of the 2300 days i'd like to begin by reading the prophecy of the 70 weeks as it is written in daniel chapter 9 and verses 25 through 27. daniel chapter 9 and verses 25 through 27. immediately after gabriel comes back and says to daniel understand the monray he goes on to speak immediately about the 70 weeks the 70 weeks are related to the marae they help explain in other words the time factor of the 2300 days and so we find in daniel 9 25 know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and build jerusalem not only to build but to restore and build jerusalem until messiah the prince there shall be seven weeks and 62 weeks the streets shall be built again and the wall even in troublesome times and after the 62 weeks messiah shall be cut off but not for himself and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary the end of it shall be with a flood and till the end of the war desolations are determined then he that is the prince who is to come shall confirm a covenant with many for one week but in the middle of the week this is the last week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering and on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes what desolate don't forget two key words it uses the word on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate even until the consummation which is determined is poured out on the desolate this is the famous prophecy of the 70 weeks and now we want to interpret the meaning of this magnificent prophecy we're not going to be able to finish our study in the lecture today we're actually going to study two parts of the 70 weeks today we are going to study up to the point of the cutting off of the messiah and then in our lecture tomorrow we are going to deal with the remaining portion of the prophecy of the 70 weeks so let's begin at daniel chapter 9 and verse 25 where it says know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and build jerusalem question is there a beginning point to the 70-week prophecy yes it says from is there an ending point to the first 69 weeks at least of the 70-year prophecy 70-week prophecy absolutely because it says from two so there's a clearly defined beginning point and what an ending point now it's interesting to notice the word command from the going forth of the command that word command is used a little bit earlier in daniel chapter 9. it's actually used in verse 23 where the bible tells us that god gave the command to gabriel to explain the marae to daniel in other words what we have here is a decree or an order or a command now you notice that this command contemplates two things number one it contemplates the idea of restoring jerusalem and also of what building jerusalem now i don't have time to get into all of the details on this but they are not the same thing they are related one to another but they're not the same restoring and building are two separate things although they are related now in order to understand what it means to restore and build jerusalem we not need to understand what is meant by jerusalem now we usually think of jerusalem as a city composed of buildings and walls and a temple but jerusalem means much more than that jerusalem not only means the physical city composed of buildings and walls it also refers to the social religious and political order of the city the institutions the political and the religious institutions of the city that is to say jerusalem means the commerce the rulers the magistrates the judges and the civil and the religious laws now it is a fact that jerusalem lost its sovereignty not when the city was destroyed it lost its sovereignty in the year 605 when king nebuchadnezzar came and he took all of the royalty and all of the princes and all of the rulers away to babylon from jerusalem in other words jerusalem lost its political autonomy in other words now the city belonged to someone else and not only that the institutions by which the city had functioned came to an end because there were no legitimate rulers in the city of jerusalem in fact let's notice second kings 24 verses 14 through 16 where we find this idea of what is meant by jerusalem jerusalem does not mean only the physical city it means the city composed of all of its magistrates its rulers its business people its military leaders etc now notice ii kings chapter 24 and verses 14 through 16. it says here speaking about nebuchadnezzar also he carried into captivity all jerusalem now i've always wondered how he could carry jerusalem into captivity he must have had some pretty heavy carts to be able to do that what is meant when it says that he carried all jerusalem into captivity is it talking about the city or is it talking about the leaders of the city the political and the commercial and the military leaders let's read it it continues saying also he carried into captivity all jerusalem all the captains notice all the mighty men of valor these are the the warriors the military ten thousand captives and all the craftsmen and the smiths none remained except the poorest people of the land and he carried jehoiakim captive to babylon the king's mother the king's wives his officers and the mighty of the land he carried into captivity from jerusalem to babylon now do you notice that jerusalem is used in two different ways in this passage first of all it says that he took jerusalem captive but then at the end of the verse it says he took all these into captivity from jerusalem to babylon so jerusalem means two things it means first of all the political and economic and military leaders of jerusalem that is the political structure of the city and it also means the physical city itself now i want you to notice also second kings 14 verse 22 where the words built and restored the very words are used so that you can see that build and restore though related mean different things second kings 14 verse 22 it's speaking about azariah and it says he that is azariah built eleth and restored it to judah what does that mean that he built it and he restored it it means that he gave it back to judah for judah to what to rule over it and so it says he built electh and restored it to judah after the king rested with his fathers so any decree that fulfills this command to restore and build jerusalem not only needs to include building the physical city but also what restoring its political military and judicial institutions so that the city can function as a political and economic and social entity now there were four decrees that were given with regards to jerusalem let's take a look at those four decrees that were given the first decree was given by cyrus and that was given in the year 536 bc you can find it in ezra chapter 1 verses 2 through 4. we're not going to read it we don't have the time and it's also found in second chronicles 36 and verse 23 now if you read those verses you'll discover that cyrus only gave permission to build the temple it had nothing to do with restoring and building jerusalem had only to do with the temple the religious institutions of israel now after this after the captivity uh several thousand jews fifty thousand actually returned to jerusalem and uh taking advantage of this decree that cyrus gave they began building the temple and they put the foundations of the temple down but then there was opposition by the people of the land and therefore they said it's not time for us to build the temple because we're having all sorts of problems and so basically they gave up the idea of building the temple and all of them started building their own houses and remodeling their own houses they went to their own thing you can find this in the book of haggai chapter one it says very clearly there what happened during this period so then a little bit later on darius the first who is darius the persian not darius the mede not the one who conquered babylon uh but uh this is driest the persian he gave a decree renewing the decree that was given by cyrus this decree you can read it it's found in ezra six verses three through 12 and it's also found in the books of nehemiah and hegei and basically darius the first simply ratified and confirmed the decree that had been given by cyrus and this happened as i mentioned in the year 520 nothing in this decree about restoring and building the city the only thing that you will find in this decree was rebuilding the temple and so this decree cannot fulfill the command to restore and to build jerusalem a third decree was given by king artaxerxes the first also known as longanimus it was given in the fall of the year 457 bc and if you read ezra 6 verses 14 and 15 it tells us that this was the third decree with regards to jerusalem which was given by persian kings it's the third decree the first was cyrus the second was darius and it says in ezra 6 14 and 15 that this was the third decree that was given i believe that this is the decree that fulfills the prophecy of the 70 week the command to build and restore jerusalem and in a moment we're going to go to that but before we do allow me to mention the fourth decree it was given in the year 445 bc and most evangelical scholars today believe that this is the decree that marks the beginning of the 70-week prophecy i disagree with this because the year 445 is really not a new decree at all you see basically what happened is that after artaxerxes gave his decree to restore and build jerusalem evil reports came from the people that lived in judah and they said they wrote a letter to the king and they said king the jews are rebuilding the city and they're rebuilding the wall and these are a rebellious people they have a bad history and therefore if you allow them to continue building they're going to cause you all sorts of problems and so the bible tells us that artaxerxes put his decree on hold until he could investigate the situation and in the year 445 and by the way in the handout that you have in your hands you have all of the texts you can check this out uh what artaxerxes did after he checked out all of the information he renewed the decree to restore and to build jerusalem in the year 445 bc so this one does not fit now let's read the decree that does fit it's the decree that is mentioned in ezra chapter 7. go with me to chapter 7 of ezra and you're going to find the words of artaxerxes the first and there's a very interesting little detail here here are xerxes that's speaking and he says i issue a decree that word decree is the identical word that is used in daniel 9 25 the word command to restore and build jerusalem it's the identical hebrew word da bar so would we suspect that this might be the decree if it's the same word command that you find in daniel 9 25 absolutely and so artaxerxes says i issue a decree that all those of the people of israel and the priests and levites in my realm who volunteered to go up to jerusalem may go with you he's saying to ezra anyone who wants to go to jerusalem to restore and to build can now go now the question is why do we take this decree of artaxerxes in 457 bc as the decree that begins the 70 weeks there are three reasons the first reason is the one that i already mentioned the word which is translated command in daniel 9 25 is the very word that is used in ezra 7 13 where the king says i make a decree same word there's a second reason none of the three other decrees would fit the chronology of the messiah let's take a look at them let's suppose that we began the 70 weeks in the year 536 bc you go 70 weeks of years later which is 490 years what date would you end up you would end up in the year 46 bc could that be fulfilled with the messiah absolutely not well let's take the second decree the decree of darius driest the persian and see whether that one fits you go from the year 520 490 years forward where would that take you it takes you to the year 30 bc jesus hadn't even been born in the year 30 bc but let's take the one that was given in the year 445 bc the renewal of the decree by artaxerxes if you go from 445 bc forward it takes you to the year 45 a.d the problem is jesus christ was crucified in the year 31 a.d and so taking this decree it would be too late every scholar agrees that it would be too late and so the first two decrees would be too early and the last decree would be too late how many decrees does that leave us it only leaves us one decree now there's a third reason and this is the most important reason and that is that the decree of artaxerxes in the year 457 is the only one that not only gives permission to build but it also gives the authorization to restore the political structure of hebrew society notice once again ezra chapter 7 and verse 12. arno xerxes king of kings to ezra the priest a scribe of the law of god of heaven perfect peace and so forth verse 13 i issue a decree that all those of the people of israel and the priests and levites in my realm who volunteer to go up to jerusalem may go with you and whereas you are being sent by the king and his seven counselors to inquire concerning judah and jerusalem with regard to what what were they going to consult about with regard to what to the law of your god which is in your hand in other words was artaxerxes saying that you can reestablish society in harmony with the law of god absolutely but now let's go down to verses 25 and 26 where the reestablishment of the civil order of israel is clearly mentioned chapter 7 and verses 25 and 26 it says and you ezra according to your god-given wisdom set what hmm interesting would that have to do with restoring the city absolutely set magistrates and what and judges is he authorizing to reestablish the civil order as well as building the city absolutely that had been taken away by nebuchadnezzar in fact nebuchadnezzar had taken away the sovereignty of israel 19 years before the city was destroyed it was actually withdrawn in 605 the city was destroyed in the year 586. so it says and you ezra according to your god-given wisdom set magistrates and judges who may judge all the people who are in the region beyond the river all such and listen to this as no the laws of your god by whose laws is this area going to be governed now by the laws of god the theocracy is being re-established and notice and teach those who do not know them and listen punitive measures could be taken against anyone who did not obey these laws because it says whoever will not observe the law of your god and the law of the king let what judgment be executed speedily on him whether it be death or banishment or confiscation of goods or what or imprisonment is artaxerxes authorizing the civil order to be reestablished once again according to the laws of the god of israel absolutely it is the only decree that fits with the criteria both chronologically and with the duties and the work that needed to be performed to restore and to build jerusalem now somebody might be asking pastor bohr how accurate is the date 457 as the date for this decree of artaxerxes the fact is the bible says that this was given in the seventh year of the reign of artaxerxes this date is one of the most firmly established dates of antiquity in fact there were there was a book written several years ago it's called the chronology of ezra 7 by siegfried horn an archaeologist and by kenneth wood and in this book which unfortunately it's out of print they draw on historical biblical archaeological and astronomical data to prove shadow of a doubt that 457 the fall of 457 was the date when artaxerxes gave his decree to restore and to build jerusalem this date is set in history it is a certain date so we can know that the 70 week prophecy begins in the fall of the year 457 in a moment you're going to see the reason why we know it was in the fall now our study of the prophecy of the 70 weeks it says there in daniel chapter 9 in verse 25 from the going forth of the command to restore and to build jerusalem until when until messiah the prince there shall be what seven weeks and 62 weeks now the question is why didn't dad why didn't gabriel just say 69 weeks why does he divide this period into seven weeks and 62 weeks which we know are what 69 weeks he could have said 69 the reason why is because he actually is going to state that the first seven weeks 49 years have to do with the restoring and the building of what of jerusalem in fact let's notice what we find in daniel chapter 9 and verse 25 until messiah the prince there shall be seven weeks and 62 weeks now notice the last part of verse 25 says the street the street of what of jerusalem and by the way that's a mistranslation i won't get into that because that's another half an hour the street shall be built again and the wall also mistranslation very clearly a mistranslation and the wall even in what trouble sometimes so during those seven weeks or 49 years the restoring and the building of jerusalem was going to be done how in very troublesome what in very troublesome times and if you read the book of ezra you will all sorts of opposition to the rebel building and restoring of jerusalem those who had stayed back in the land fought tooth and nail so that it wouldn't happen they certainly were troubleless times but now notice that it says that from the going forth of the word to restore and build jerusalem until messiah the prince there shall be seven weeks which has to do with the reestablishment of the civil lord order and religious order of israel and after 62 weeks you come to whom you come to the arrival of the messiah now the question is what does the word messiah mean the hebrew word meshiach means anointed it means anointed and so we need to find out what was the act that anointed jesus christ now you notice that it says until messiah the prince right so he has two names he's called messiah and he's called what the prince there's no doubt whatsoever that the prince is jesus christ he's called by different names in the book of daniel he's called the prince of the host we already studied that he's called the prince of the covenant he's called michael the great prince and in daniel 8 he's called the prince of princes do you know something very interesting in the prophetic chapters of daniel excluding the historical chapters where it talks about the princes that serve nebuchadnezzar but in the prophetic chapters of daniel every single time that the word prince appears it applies to jesus christ there is no exception to the rule in other words this prince is none other than whom than jesus christ in fact isaiah also called him the prince of peace and peter in the early chapters of acts called jesus the prince twice so there's no doubt whatsoever about who this messiah the prince is now the question is the word messiah means anointed when was jesus anointed well let's go to john chapter 1 and verse 32 john chapter 1 and verse 32. here it's speaking about the baptism of jesus which marks the beginning of his ministry john 1 and verse 32 and john bore witness saying i saw the spirit descending from heaven like a dove and he remained upon him is this referring to the baptism of jesus when the holy spirit fell upon jesus absolutely now i want us to go down to verse 30 41. just a few verses after this andrew speaks to his brother peter and i want you to notice what andrew says to peter this is immediately after it speaks about the holy spirit john speaking about the holy spirit descending upon christ it says in verse 41 one of the two who heard john speak and followed him was andrew simon peter's brother he first found his own brother simon and said to him we have found the interesting same word right after the baptism of jesus we have found the messiah and now listen what it continues saying we have found the messiah which is translated what the christ you see in greek the word christ is exactly equivalent to messiah have you ever heard the word christened it comes from christ and it means to anoint doesn't it so christ means the same as messiah the anointing immediately after the baptism of jesus we find andrew saying to peter we have found the anointed one now notice luke 4 and verse 14. we're still talking about messiah the prince luke 4 and verse 14. it says here then jesus returned in the power of the spirit to galilee how did he return to galilee and what in the power of the spirit he returned to galilee and news of him went out through all the surrounding region now what comes immediately before this text if you look in luke 3 it describes the baptism of jesus then chapter 4 verses 1 through 11 describe the temptations of jesus and then the last part of chapter 4 describes the beginning of the public ministry of jesus in galilee and it says after his baptism after the temptations when he begins his ministry it tells us that he returned in the power of the spirit to galilee now notice with what words jesus began his ministry it's in the synagogue in nazareth notice luke chapter 4 and verses 18 and 19. here jesus says the spirit of the lord is what is upon me because he has what when did jesus receive the holy spirit when he was what baptized so it says the spirit of the lord is upon me because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind to set at liberty those who are oppressed to proclaim the acceptable year of the lord so when was jesus anointed as the messiah he was anointed as the messiah when he received the holy spirit and when did that take place at his baptism if anybody has any doubt let's read acts chapter 10 and verses 36 to 38 acts chapter 10 and verses 36 to 38 the word which god sent to the children of israel preaching peace through jesus christ he is lord of all that word you know which was proclaimed throughout all judea and began where from galilee after the baptism which john preached how god what there's the key word anointed jesus of nazareth with what with the holy spirit and with power when was jesus anointed with holy spirit and with power at the moment of his what of his baptism and so it says here in verse 37 that word you know which was proclaimed throughout all judea and began from galilee after the baptism which john preached how god anointed jesus of nazareth with the holy spirit and with power who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil for god was with him so when is the moment that the 69 weeks come to an end it's when jesus becomes what the anointed one and that refers to his what to his baptism now do we have a date for the baptism of christ we sure do luke chapter 3 and verses 1 and 2. this date refers to the year 27 a.d now i want you to notice it gives us several historical markers i think god wants us to know when this date is because notice all the historical markers that god gives luke 3 1 and 2. now in the 15th year of the reign of tiberius caesar we know that this is the year 27 a.d pontius pilate being governor of judea herod bean tetrak of galilee his brother philip tetrak of etherea and the region of trachonitis and lysania's tetrarch of abilene while anas and caiphus were high priests does god give us all kinds of historical markers here he most certainly does the word of god came to john the son of zacharias in the wilderness and then jesus is baptized this is the year 27 a.d when jesus begins his ministry now let me ask you to whom did jesus preach jesus went all over the world and preached to the gentiles didn't he who did he preach to only to the jews why because the prophecy of the 70 weeks says 70 weeks are determined for your city and your people so jesus had to preach to the jews until this time was finished are you with me notice what we find in matthew 10 5 and 6 it's explicit matthew 10 verses 5 and 6. these 12 jesus sent out and commanded them saying do not go into the way of the gentiles when the 70 weeks ended is that when the gospel was supposed to go to the gentiles according to what we studied this morning when the when at last he sent his son and they rejected the son is that when the gospel was going to go to the gentiles the kingdom taken from you and given to a nation that produces the fruits thereof yes but at this point the 70 weeks had not ended so what is the focus of the ministry of jesus it says do not go into the way of the gentiles and do not enter a city of the samaritans but go rather where to the lost sheep of the house of israel because the 70 weeks were not up and the 70 weeks were for the city and before the people of daniel are you with me how the bible harmonizes all these things is simply marvelous now let's go on in our study it says in the prophecy of the 70 weeks daniel 9 26 and after the 62 weeks notice it doesn't specify when after it simply says after the 62 weeks at some point messiah shall be what cut off but not for himself now let's go to isaiah 53 and verse 5 to see if this is an accurate statement isaiah 53 and verse 5 did jesus die for himself no he didn't die for himself notice isaiah 53 and verse 5. it says here for he was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities that chastisement for our peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed so the suffering and death of jesus was it for himself no it was for us now what does the expression cut off mean it says the messiah shall be cut off but not for himself we notice that what jesus did he did for us but what does cut off mean well isaiah 53 which is that great messianic prophecy verse 8 tells us what it means to cut off speaking about the messiah it says he was taken from prison and from judgment and who will declare his generation for he was what interesting he was cut off from the land of the what of the living does that mean that he was that he died does cut off mean that he died yes he was cut off from the land of the lot of the living did he do it for himself no because it continues saying for what for the transgression of my people he was what he was stricken did jesus do this for himself no was he cut off or did he die he most certainly did who fulfills this specification where it says that after 62 weeks the messiah would be cut off that is he would be killed but not what but not for himself but for others there's only one it has to be jesus christ because the messianic prophecy of isaiah 53 is in perfect harmony with the prophecy of daniel chapter 9. now let's go on to the next phrase it says in daniel 9 verse 26 after speaking about the cutting off of messiah prince not for himself after his death it says listen carefully and the people of the prince who do you think this prince is is there any change between between the previous phrase and this one to indicate that this is a different prince evangelical scholars today say that this is this is the antichrist prince there's no evidence in the sequence of this prophecy that this is some kind of anti-christ prince who is going to rise in the future notice it says and the people of the prince who is to come will what shall destroy the city and the sanctuary question was jerusalem going to be destroyed again this is interesting because god had told daniel you know jerusalem is going to be what restored and what built but then after 69 weeks the messiah the anointed one is going to come and after at some points after the 69 weeks the messiah is going to be cut up cut off and he's not cut off for himself and then he says the sanctuary in the city are going to be destroyed again are you following me or not they're going to be destroyed again now does the cutting off of the messiah have anything to do with the destruction of the city it almost certainly does messiah's cut up not for himself and then it speaks about what it speaks about the destruction of the city and it continues saying once again and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary the end of it that is of the city and the sanctuary shall be with a what a flood in scripture invasions of armies are represented by the flood for example read isaiah 8 7-8 it's not on your list but you might want to write it down isaiah 8 verses 7 and 8 and then i continue saying till the end of the war here comes the key word what's the key word desolations don't forget that word desolations are what are determined now we need to interpret who this prince is there are three views concerning the prince the first view is the traditional seventh-day adventist view of the prince basically the idea is that the prince is titus and the people of the prince are the are the roman armies that's the traditional point of view a second view is that the prince is a nasty antichrist that is going to arise in the future after the rapture of the church that does not fit at all as we're going to study along the 70 weeks the third view is the one that i espouse and that is that the prince is jesus and the people of the prince are the jews and you see pastor that doesn't fit well let's examine it to see if it does fit first of all let's talk about view number one listen carefully view number one is that the prince is titus and the people of the prince are the roman armies this view is not sustainable and you say why is it not sustainable for the simple reason that in verse 27 we are told that that prince would do three things what would he do first of all he would confirm the covenant with many for one week did titus do that did titus confirm a covenant with with israel for the last week no he lived in the year 70. secondly in the midst of the last week he would cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease did titus do that he did cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease but in the year 70 not in the middle of the last week and then finally he would make jerusalem desolate that's the only one that fits are you understanding me and so titus does not fit because the people of the prince would actually be those or the prince of the people rather would confirm the covenant for a week in the midst of the last week he would cause the sacrifice of oblation to cease and in the third place his death would lead to the desolation of jerusalem now the question is who is this prince and who are the people of the prince you're saying pastor bart you're a little bit crazy you're saying that the jews destroyed their city the people of the prince destroyed jerusalem that's exactly what i'm saying let me talk first of all to provide you with an analogy what happened with the first destruction of jerusalem let me ask you who destroyed jerusalem the first time there's three explanations given in the bible i'm going to give you only the references they might they're probably on your list daniel 9 verse 14 i'll quote it says the lord brought this disaster upon us so who caused the first destruction of jerusalem the lord second chronicles 36 verses 17 17 to 20 says that god used nebuchadnezzar to destroy the city of jerusalem it says in fact he brought against them the king of the chaldeans and daniel 9 11 and verses 14 and 15 says very clearly that it was israel's sins that brought the destruction of jerusalem so the question is who destroyed jerusalem was it god was it nebuchadnezzar or was it the people all of the above you see the people the rebellion of the people led god to use nebuchadnezzar to punish the people for the rebellion are you understanding me or not in fact the bible says this notice what jeremiah said to king zedekiah this is in jeremiah 38 and verses 21 and 23 jeremiah 38 verse 21 and verse 23 jeremiah saying submit to the king of babylon or else notice but if you refuse to surrender he says to king zedekiah if you refuse to surrender this is the word that the lord has shown me you shall cause this city to be burned with fire who is going to cause the city to be burned with fire zedekiah the king why because he was not obeying the lord he was being rebellious and he was not subjecting himself to king nebuchadnezzar now let's talk about the second destruction of jerusalem did you notice that each time that the destruction of jerusalem is addressed in the prophecy of the 70 weeks there's something that the messiah did immediately before he's cut off and jerusalem is destroyed then it says he causes the sacrifice and the oblation to cease and once again jerusalem is destroyed does the rejection of the messiah and the death of the messiah have anything to do with the destruction of jerusalem absolutely go with me to psalm 118 and verses 22 and 23 psalm 118 verses 22 and 23 psalm 118 is a messianic prophecy notice what it says the stone which the builders rejected you immediately recognize this as a messianic prophecy right the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone this was the lord's doing it is marvelous in our eyes now to whom does this prophecy appeared who was apply is is this referring just to anyone or is it referring to jesus christ as the messiah it's referring to the messiah notice matthew 21 and verse 42 jesus quotes this verse he's saying this psalm belongs to me matthew 21 and verse 42 jesus said to them have you never read in the scriptures the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone this was the lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes to whom does jesus apply this prophecy of psalm 118 he applies it to himself do you know that a little bit uh a little bit later on in this psalm in verse 26 we find a very interesting verse that was sung listen carefully it was sung by those who were accompanying jesus in the triumphal entry into jerusalem you see it says the prince the people of the prince who is what who is to come now let's notice that expression who is to come go with me to psalm 118 verse 26 we've already shown that this is a messianic psalm the people were singing what blessed is he who what who comes in the name of the lord we have blessed you from the house of the lord so who is it that comes in the name of the lord according to psalm 118. it is none other than jesus christ now let's go to an interesting passage that puts all of this together luke 19 and verses 37 to 30 to 44. and i want you to see that there are three things in this passage three key things luke 19 verses 37 through 44. three main ideas the first idea is that jesus comes into jerusalem and the people are saying blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord this is the prince who is to come the second idea is that jesus speaks about his rejection by the jewish nation and the third idea is that jesus speaks about the destruction of jerusalem three ideas first idea jesus comes into jerusalem they sing blessed is he who comes in the name of the lord second idea jesus is rejected third idea jesus speaks about the destruction of jerusalem let's read this passage luke 19 37 4 to 44. then as he was now drawing near the descent of the mount of olives the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise god with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen saying blessed is the king who comes in the name of the lord is this the prince who is to come absolutely peace in heaven and glory in the highest and now notice and some of the pharisees called to him from the crowd teacher rebuke your disciples but he answered and said to them i tell you that if these should keep silent the stones would immediately cry out now as he drew near he saw the city and wept over it saying if you had known even you especially in this your day the things that make for your peace but now they are hidden from your eyes is jesus speaking about his rejection by the city of jerusalem he most certainly is and what is the result going to be because the jewish nation has rejected him notice what we find in verse 43 the destruction is spoken of for days will come upon you when your enemies will what will build an embankment around you surround you and close you in on every side and level you and your children within you to the ground and they will not leave in you one stone upon another and what is the reason why because you did not know the time of your visitation who caused the destruction of jerusalem titus would titus have destroyed jerusalem if the people were faithful no would god have destroyed jerusalem if the people had been faithful absolutely not so who brought destruction upon jerusalem you know there's a text in the old testament where god says ephraim or israel you have destroyed yourself what is it that led to this destruction of jerusalem it was the rejection of the messiah by the people now let's review something that we studied this morning you remember matthew chapter 21 jesus arrived in the temple right and then you have the fig tree episode everything he deals with after matthew 21 has to do with the history and the rebellion of the jewish nation the fig tree episode that has no fruit jesus curses the fig tree and it dries up from the roots and jesus says you're never going to produce fruit ever again and it represents the jewish theocracy as a nation it's not saying that all jews are lost it's talking about the jewish theocracy as god's chosen vessel to proclaim the gospel you remember also the parable of the vineyard workers the three stages there he sends messengers they reject them so he sends more messengers and they reject them and then he says last of all i'm going to send what i'm going to send my son and what did they do they rejected him as well and then jesus after he tells this parable we find jesus saying the kingdom will be taken from you and given to a nation that produces the fruits thereof who is that nation that produces the fruits thereof it will become absolutely clear if it isn't already tomorrow when we deal with the second part of the 70 weeks that it has to do with the preaching of the gospel in the gentile world and then you notice that after he gives the parable of the vineyard workers he pronounces the woes on the scribes and the pharisees and he says fill up the cup the cup is full but as we notice jesus said i'm still gonna send you wise men and i'm still gonna send you prophets because the 70 weeks don't end when jesus is rejected they end three and a half years later are you with me or not so they're still three and a half years of grace for the hebrew nation even after this and then jesus after he pronounces the woes on the scribes and the pharisees in matthew chapter 23 and verse 38 he departs the temple the shekinah is departing the temple and he says your house is left unto you what is that a word that's used in daniel chapter 9 absolutely your house is left unto you desolate in other words the shekinah has abandoned the temple and now where does god jesus go to sit um just like in the first destruction he goes to sit on the mount of olives and what does he begin talking about he begins talking about the destruction of what of jerusalem because of the rejection of the messiah are you following me or not is this prophecy talking about some future antichrist after the rapture listen carefully to what the christian world has done first of all they have absolved the jewish nation from the guilt of the death of the messiah and how have they done that they have done that by projecting this prophecy to a future antichrist after the rapture so the jewish nation has nothing to do with the fulfillment of the rejection of the messiah the second thing that they have done is by saying that the prophecy of the little horn applies to the future antichrist they have absolved the roman catholic church from the guilt of killing the body of jesus christ his church and so basically by directing these prophecies to the future they have lost sight of the guilt of the jewish nation as a nation and the guilt of the roman catholic papacy in persecuting the saints of the most high because they're projecting these things to the future and they do not see how these things have been fulfilled in the past notice how ellen white described the destruction of jerusalem the reason in great controversy page 35 the jews had forged their own feathers what had the jews done they had forged their own feathers they had filled for themselves the cup of vengeance in the utter destruction that befalled them as a nation and in all the woes that followed them in their dispersion they were but reaping the harvest which their own hands had sown who destroyed jerusalem they did by rejecting the messiah says the prophet now she quotes that verse it's found in hosea 13 verse 9 says the prophet o israel thou has destroyed thyself for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity their sufferings now listen carefully their sufferings are often represented as a punishment visited upon them by the direct decree of god it is thus that the great deceiver seeks to conceal his own work by stubborn rejection of divine love and mercy listen carefully the jews had caused the protection of god to be withdrawn from them and satan was permitted to rule them according to his will so which of the three options makes more sense was it titus and the armies of rome no is it some future antichrist no who is it referring to the people of a prince are the jews the people of jesus christ who brought rejection against the city for the rejection of jesus [Music] me [Music] you

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Published: Thu Apr 15 2021