God's Great Jubilee

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“GOD’S GREAT JUBILEE”
(Daniel 9:20-27).
By Pastor J.P.S. Templeton.

Most people have misunderstood this prophecy because they have failed
to understand the fact that its theme is Atonement. Daniel is praying
about atonement necessary to put away the sins of Israel as described
by Jeremiah under the terms of the New Covenant.
The New Covenant.
This description is in Jeremiah 31:31-34, “Behold, the days come, saith
the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and
with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with
their fathers in the day [that] I took them by the hand to bring them
out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was
an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this [shall be] the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the
LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their
hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they
shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother,
saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of
them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive
their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Understanding the Torah or Old Testament.
This subject is so important that in New Testament there are more than
1,300 references to it. However, unless we understand the Old
Testament teaching on this subject, it is impossible to comprehend the
meaning of Daniel’s prophecy. The Year of Jubilee came at the end of
every forty-nine years, in the fiftieth year, and in this prophecy
Daniel is writing about God’s Great Jubilee, giving the exact time
period for the final fulfilment and enactment of jubilee through the
Atoning death of Christ.
Restoration in the Year of Jubilee.
In this prophecy, atonement was to come at the end of seventy sevens,
which are literally heptads or hebdomads. This is in fact ten jubilees
or 490 years. In Israel, after 49 years, the fiftieth year was called
the jubilee. Israelites who had become slaves were released. Families
who had experienced adversity, were all restored to all their
inheritance. All debts were cancelled, and the nation was delivered,
Leviticus 25:8-10 & 13, “And thou shalt number seven Sabbaths of years
unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven Sabbaths
of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. Then shalt thou cause
the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth [day] of the seventh
month, in the Day of Atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound
throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and
proclaim liberty throughout [all] the land unto all the inhabitants
thereof: it shall be a jubile unto you; and ye shall return every man
unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family … In
the year of this jubile ye shall return every man unto his possession.”
The Fulfilment of God’s Great Jubilee Foretold by Daniel.
This is the meaning of Daniel 9:24 which states, “Seventy weeks are
determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the
transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation
for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up
the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy (One).”
Last Week Fulfilled by the Death and Resurrection of Christ.
This was all accomplished among the people of Judah, in Jerusalem, by
the death of Christ, especially with reference to these phrases, “to
finish the transgression; to make an end of sins; to make
reconciliation for iniquity; to bring in everlasting righteousness.”
These are summed up in a statement by the apostle Paul, in 2
Corinthians 5:18-21, “And all things [are] of God, who hath reconciled
us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of
reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world
unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath
committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are
ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech [you] by us: we pray
[you] in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him
[to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him.”
All Scripture Fulfilled.
The sealing up of the vision and prophecy refers to the fulfilment of
all the Scriptures referring to the birth and death of Christ including
this vision and prophecy, and the anointing of the Most Holy (One)
refers to Christ’s anointing. This wonderful anointing commenced His
ministry in the midst of the last week of years will be discussed when
dealing with that aspect of the prophecy.
Names for this Period of Seventy Weeks.
Prophetic students have given various names to this prophecy. They
have referred to it by its most widely known title of “The Seventy
Weeks,” but it has also been called “A Prophetic Yardstick,” and “The
Great Watershed of Prophecy.” These are all very accurate and correct,
but the best title and one which is generally overlooked, is the title
we have given it, namely “God’s Great Jubilee.” The prophecy divides
naturally into five headings, The Decree, The Duration, The Deliverer,
The Death, and The Desolation.
The Decree.
First we will examine The Decree. Daniel realised that the seventy
years of captivity proclaimed by Jeremiah was about to end, Jeremiah
25:11-12 & 29:10, “And this whole land shall be a desolation, [and] an
astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy
years. And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished,
[that] I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the
LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make
it perpetual desolations … For thus saith the LORD, That after seventy
years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good
word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.”
How was the Decree was Fulfilled?
We know that this was fulfilled in 534 BC, which was seventy years from
the first captivity by the Babylonians in 604 BC, and Zerubbabel
returned to Jerusalem to restore the daily sacrifices and rebuild the
temple, which work was completed in 516 BC, which was also seventy
years after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC The whole
congregation which returned numbered 42,360, including 7,337 servants
and 200 singers (Ezra 1:64-65).
The Command to Restore and Rebuild Jerusalem.
The date when this decree was issued is described in Daniel 9:25, “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 threescore and two weeks: the street
shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.”

It must be understood that there are three historical methods of
calculating this date, Imperial Babylonian reckoning from Nisan to
Nisan, Jewish reckoning from Tishri to Tishri, and a reckoning which I
have called literal reckoning, from the death of the usurper who
succeeded Xerxes. It is the first and last methods that concern us in
this article.
The Decree Issued by King Artaxerxes of Persia.
The first decree of Artaxerxes, in his seventh year, has to be dated
from the accession year of his reign according to Babylonian reckoning,
from his father’s death in Nisan 458 BC, which commenced on Thursday
6th April. Ezra with a small party of Jews left Babylon to return to
Jerusalem. They held a letter from the king authorising them to take
money to buy offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem. Ezra was
engaged in repairing both the temple and the walls of the city.

Enactment of Original Decree by Cyrus as foretold by Isaiah.
This meant the original decree of Cyrus was enacted as prophesied by
Isaiah in Isaiah 44:28, “ (The Lord That saith of Cyrus, [He is] my
shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem,
Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.”
Cyrus is Named in Isaiah’s Prophecy about 200 Years before his Birth.
After the fall of Babylon in 539 BC, this prophecy naming Cyrus, which
had been written about 200 years before its fulfilment, was shown to
King Cyrus himself, and he immediately determined to bring about its
fulfilment. His own story is very interesting, for when he was a baby
his grandfather, Astyages, heard a message from an oracle stating that
the child would one day take the Persian throne from him. He called
his servant and charged him to take the baby away and destroy him.
Instead of killing the child, the servant gave him to a childless
shepherd living in a distant province.
The Turning Point in the Life of Cyrus.
Cyrus grew up supposing he was only a shepherd’s son. One day he
learned that he was a prince of the royal blood and an heir to the
throne of Persia. After that there was no minding of the sheep for
him, for he immediately began to fit himself to rule the kingdom, and
eventually became King of Persia. The turning point in his life was
when he realised whose child he was, and that was the first great step
toward the fulfilment of God’s purposes for him. Before his birth God
had chosen him to issue the decree concerning Jerusalem, in preparation
for Christ’s birth, death and resurrection, all at the end of the
appointed period of 490 years.
The Exact Length of the 490 Years.
The total period on the Julian Calendar for the 490 years, ending with
Christ’s death on the cross is 178,939 days. Some prophetic students
may like to add on another 51 days to end the period on the Day of
Pentecost, which was Sivan 6, or Sunday 24th of May in AD 33. This
makes the whole period up to 178,990 days.
How is this Period is Calculated on the Julian Calendar?
The method used to calculate this exact number of days is as follows:
490 X 365 = 178,850 days, plus 122 days for those leap years during the
490 years, less 60 days for those two months of April in 458 BC and AD
33, plus 24 days in April 458 BC because Nisan 1, the first day to
commence the whole period was on Thursday 6th April, leaving 24 days to
be counted, and 3 more days to the crucifixion which was on Nisan 14 of
3793 i.e. Friday 3rd April AD 33.
The Infallible Mathematician.
Our Great God who is the Holy One of Israel is an infallible
mathematician, and He has given us a double witness of this period that
can be calculated in Lunar Years. In order to understand this, we
begin our count from the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, which I have
termed the literal method, from the death of his father’s assassin, the
usurper Artabanus, who died in 463 BC This means that the commission
given to Nehemiah on Nisan 1 of the twentieth year of Artaxerxes was
443 BC, (i.e. 463-20=443). This period of 490 Lunar Years is
equivalent to 475 Solar Years. (Note that a Lunar Year is 354.3 days.)
Therefore 354.3 X 490 = 173607 days, divided by 365.24219 [days in a
Solar Year] = 475.32023 Solar Years.) In the calculation an extra year
in the crossover from BC to AD must be added on, because BC 1 and AD 1
are separate years. Therefore this period also ends in 33 AD, (443-
475-1 = -33, i.e. AD 33).
The Duration of the Whole Period.
Having considered the decree, which commenced the 490 years, we will
now examine The Duration of this period. This is stated in Daniel
9:25, “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 threescore and two weeks: the street
shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.”

Nehemiah as Governor.
This first period of seven sevens of 49 years commenced as we have
shown on Nisan 1 of 458 BC, according to Babylonian Imperial reckoning,
and therefore brings us to Nisan 1 of 409 BC, (458-49 = 409).
Eliashib became High Priest soon after Ezra’s arrival, and held office
for forty years.

Prior to Ezra’s reforms, the work had been hindered by the Samaritans
who had even persuaded King Darius to order it to cease (Ezra 4:24),
and it would appear that things were also made so difficult for Ezra,
that in the king’s twentieth year Nehemiah learned that the wall was
broken down, so that his reforms during the twelve years from 445 to
433 BC became essential, (Nehemiah 5:14).

Later Nehemiah returned for a second term of office in about 431 BC,
(Nehemiah 13:6-7). The city was not completely restored until the
forty-nine years ended in 409 BC, which may have been when Nehemiah’s
second term of office ended. An Elephantine letter indicates that in
BC 407 the Governor of Judća was Bigvai.
The Sixty-Two Weeks of Years.
This brings us to the next period of sixty two weeks, Daniel 9:25 “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 threescore and two weeks: the street
shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.”

If this period is taken as commencing in 409 BC, it approaches the
commencement of the last week of years in AD 26, (409-434-1=-26).
Persian rule now favourable to the Jews continued until the rule of
Alexander the Great, who also showed favour to the Jews, reigning from
336 BC to 333 BC
The Jews decided not to support Alexander the Great.
During Alexander’s siege of Tyre the Jews furnished supplies to the
garrison as fellow subjects of Persia, but infuriated Alexander by
refusing to supply him. He marched in great wrath to Jerusalem
determined on conquest. He was met by Jaddua, the High Priest, dressed
in full ceremonial attire; wearing the High Priestly garments, followed
by all the priests in procession, accompanied by a multitude of people
dressed in white. They advanced to Sapha where the temple could be
seen, and waited for the conqueror.
The Jews are Delivered because of Alexander’s Vision.
When he saw them, Alexander was overwhelmed, for in Macedonia he had
seen this procession in a vision, in which Jaddua had promised him
that in the Name of the God of Israel, he would conquer all Asia. He
advanced to meet the High Priest, and saluted him with deep religious
veneration. Alexander entered Jerusalem as a friend, and the priests
offered up sacrifices for him to Jehovah in the temple.
Antiochus Epiphanes Desecrates the Temple.
Unfortunately, after Alexander’s death, the Jews were subjected to the
less tolerant rule of the Seleucids over Syria and Palestine, and it
was Antiochus Epiphanes who desecrated the temple by offering up a pig
on the altar for a sin offering in 167 BC. The outcome of this was the
rebellion by the Maccabees, which established Hasmonean rule in
Palestine and Syria, whereby all the Idumćan Syrians were compelled to
become Jews. This continued until the advent of Roman rule in 63 BC,
which also permitted the Hasmonean kings to rule in Palestine under
Rome, until King Antigonus was executed in 37 BC by Antony, to make
way for King Herod the Great who was an Idumćan.
The True Date of King Herod’s Death.
Most Historians claim the King Herod died in BC 4, for they insist that
an eclipse mentioned by Josephus was in that year, and not BC 1, as we
will prove. According to the Jewish Scroll called the Magillath
Ta’anith, Herod died on the 1st of Shebat BC 1, which was Monday
January 26th of that year. This date was after the eclipse which is
now known to have occurred on Friday January 9th BC 1, on the same day
King Herod burned Rabbi Matthias, who had ordered young men on Friday
December 5th BC 2, to tare down the golden eagle which had been erected
on the Temple portal. Matthias was sentenced to be burned alive on
January 6th, and the sentence was carried out on January 9th, the
evening of the eclipse of the moon. It is known that Herod died when
he was aged seventy, and began his reign at 25 in the year 47-46 BC,
and therefore died in the year BC 2 to BC 1.
Four Witnesses who tell us the Year of His Birth have been ignored.
Tertullian, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Eusebius all give us
this information. The birth of Jesus according to Tertullian, who
himself was born in 160 AD, was in the forty first year of Augustus and
the twenty eighth after the death of Cleopatra, which was BC 2 in each
instance (Tert.adv. Judaeos c.8). Augustus began his reign in 43 BC,
and Cleopatra died in 30 BC. Christ’s birth as being twenty eight years
after Cleopatra’s death is also confirmed by Irenaeus, born about 133
AD (iii.25), and Eusebius (c. AD 264-340), who is called the Father of
Church History, also confirms both dates given by Tertullian (Eccles.
Hist. Book 1, section 5). Clement of Alexandria (born c. 150 AD) dates
the Nativity as the fifteenth year before the death of Tiberius
Augustus in AD 14, which is also BC 2 (14-15-1=2). Jesus was born on
the Feast of Trumpets in BC 2, which is Tishri 1 on the Hebrew
Calendar, and occurred on Monday 29th September. It was the Hebrew Year
3760 and therefore Tishri 1, 3760.
The Metonic and Sabbatic Cycles.
This was the first day of the 77th Sabbatic Cycle since the return from
the Babylonian captivity in 534 BC It completed a great Paschal
cycle, the Metonic Cycle of (19) and the Solar Cycle of (28), i.e.
19 X 28 =532 years, for 534-532 = 2 which is BC 2.
The Deliverer is the Messiah.
The next part of this vision deals with The Deliverer, who is
Messiah, Dan.9:26, “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah
be cut off, but not for himself.” This reference to the Messiah is
after sixty two weeks which is 62 + 7 sevens, for this includes
counting the first seven or 49 years, making 69 sevens. This adds up
to 483 years, i.e. 69 X 7 = 483. If this period of years is counted
from 458 BC, it ends in AD 26 (458-483-1=-26).
The Example of Messiah begins the New Covenant.
It can be seen that this last week, which is seven years, commences
when the Lord Jesus was 27 years old, still the Carpenter or Builder
of Nazareth, living a blameless life as the Perfect Man, reading the
Scriptures, keeping all the laws and statutes, as well as God’s
Sabbaths and Festivals. This is a revelation of Christ’s perfect
humanity.
The Jews no longer The Chosen People.
The phrase “but not for himself” in reference to the crucifixion
means “he shall have nothing.” This indicates that the kingdom would
not at that time become Christ’s in the sense that He would begin rule
from King David’s royal Throne. In some Bibles the marginal note
renders the rest of this verse as follows: “And the Jews, they shall
be no more his people, and the people of the prince that shall come
shall destroy the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a
flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”
The Romans Destroy the City and the Temple.
This was fulfilled and refers to the Roman war against Jerusalem by
Titus from the spring of AD 68, to the fall of Masada in the spring of
AD 73. The city was destroyed, and the temple burnt, and many of the
Jews perished in AD 70.
These Events foretold by Jesus.
These events were foretold by Christ in Mt.21:42-43, “Jesus saith unto
them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the
builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is
the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? therefore I say
unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a
nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whosoever shall fall on
this stone shall be broken (to pieces): but on whomsoever it shall
fall, it will grind him to powder.”
In the A.V. this text (vs.26-27), reads as follows: “And after
threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, 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. And he
shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of
the week he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease.”
Messiah is the Messenger of the Covenant.
Here The Deliverer, who is the Messiah, is revealed to us as
being “the messenger of the covenant,” for it is the covenant He is to
confirm during the last week of years. This event was also revealed to
the prophet Malachi, Mal.3:1, “Behold, I will send my messenger,
and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek,
shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the
covenant, whom ye delight in: behold he shall come, saith the Lord
of hosts.”

Jesus had come, and now at 27 He entered the temple, most likely on
His birthday, to celebrate the Feast of trumpets, for that Sabbatic
Year AD 26 -AD27. This was the first day of Tishri on the Hebrew
Calendar which was Monday 30th September AD 26.
Preparation to Inaugurate the New Covenant.
This was not the commencement of Our Lord’s ministry, and He did not
at this time cleanse the temple. The usual interpretation is that
Jesus was crucified in the midst of the week, and the seventy weeks
ends with the gospel going to the Gentiles. In this article we intend
to show that this view is untenable.

First of all, if Our Lord was crucified in the midst of the last
week, it would be impossible for Him to confirm the covenant with many
for one week or seven years. Then it must also be acknowledged that if
a truly honest study is made of the gospels, the only possible
conclusion is that it took place on a Friday. A great deal of nonsense
has been written about the first day of Unleavened Bread being a
Sabbath, in order to make the crucifixion on a Wednesday, so that the
evening began the preparation for that day, but as far as Scripture is
concerned, only the Seventh day, which was the Sabbath, required
that the day before it was called the Preparation Day.

It is idealistic to think of the crucifixion as being on a Wednesday,
in the midst of both the week of years, and the actual week. This
could have been the case in the years AD 30 and AD 31, when according
to the Hebrew Calendar, Nisan 14 was on a Wednesday. The actual dates
were in AD 30, Wednesday 5th April, and in AD31, Wednesday 25th
April.

This was the first day of the 77th Sabbatic Cycle since the return from
the Babylonian captivity in 534 BC It completed a great Paschal
cycle, the Metonic Cycle of (19) and the Solar Cycle of (28), i.e.
19 X 28 =532 years, for 534-532 = 2 which is BC 2.
Now we will consider The Death. First we must understand what is meant
by our text, “And in the midst of the week he shall cause the
sacrifice and oblation to cease.” Only an understanding of the Hebrew
Calendar and the Feasts or Festivals of the Lord will clarify this
passage. This is a reference to Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement.
It was on this day that Our Lord was baptised. It was that occasion
when the High Priest chose between the two goats by lot, one for a sin
offering, and the other as the scapegoat. After a bullock was
sacrificed to atone for his own sins, he brought the blood into the
most holy place where it was sprinkled on the mercy seat.

He then killed the goat chosen for a sin offering for the people, and
applied the blood in the same way to make atonement for the holy
place. The blood of both animals was then placed on the horns of the
sacrificial altar. The atonement was not completed until the High
Priest confessed the sins of the nation with both hands on the live
goat, symbolically transferring their transgressions to it. It was
then taken away by a fit person into the wilderness where it was set
free, bearing away the sins of the people, (Lev.16:1-34).

We know from history the exact date of Christ’s baptism, but
unfortunately modern Biblical Scholars have changed facts into fables,
invented to fit in with their futuristic prophetic schemes. They have
made up a theory that there are two methods of calculating this date,
one which they have invented called Provincial Dating, but there is no
real evidence for this, and they used this imaginary method to obtain
the date AD 27.

The Bible tells us when Our Lord was baptised, after John began his
ministry according to Lk.3:1, “in the fifteenth year of Tiberius
Caesar.” We know as did great scholars like Albert Barnes, that this
was AD 29. Coins have been discovered minted at this time showing
infallibly that the fifteenth year of Tiberius was AD 29. Yom Kippur
or the Day of Atonement in AD 29 according to the Hebrew Calendar began
in the evening of Thursday 6th October, and continued until the
evening of Friday 7th October, AD 29. On this day Our Lord fulfilled
the ministry of both goats, for baptism typified His death and
resurrection.

God accepted Christ’s sacrifice, and from this moment, as far as God
was concerned, the sacrifice and oblation ceased. Having fulfilled the
role of the sacrificial goat in symbolism, Our Lord went on to fulfil
that of the scapegoat, by going into the wilderness, Lk.3:21-23, &
4:1, “Now when all the people were baptised, it came to pass, that
Jesus, also, being baptised, and praying, the heaven was opened,
And the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him,
and a voice came from heaven, which said, thou art my beloved Son;
in thee I am well pleased. And Jesus himself began to be about (or
precisely) thirty years of age ... And Jesus, being full of the Holy
Spirit, returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the
wilderness.”

God had accepted Christ’s sacrifice, and His Atoning death. Speaking
of Calvary which was as we have shown, typified by Christ’s baptism,
Dr. Sidlow Baxter writes, “that which makes Calvary, our great
sacrifice of atonement and redemption is that conjoined with the
boundless Godhead of Christ, there is His sinless manhood. In His
sinless manhood and boundless Godhead, one for all and once for all,
with absolute fulness and eternal completeness, He made a foundation
upon which a Holy God can remain righteous and yet pardon the penitent
and believing sinner.”

When Jesus returned from the wilderness, after forty days during which
he was tempted by Satan, He cleansed the temple for the first time,
which He repeated again at the end of His ministry, fulfilling in
detail Mal3:1-2, “And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to
his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in:
behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide
the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he
is like a refiner’s fire, and like a fuller’s soap.”

At the beginning of His ministry He read Isa.61:1 declaring scripture
to be fulfilled, Lk.4:16-21, “And he came to Nazareth, where he had
been brought up: and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on
the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered
unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the
book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord
is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the
poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach
deliverance (or to proclaim release as in the year of jubilee) to the
captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them
that are bruised. To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he
closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down.
And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on
him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture
fulfilled in your ears.”

Our Lord stopped reading very suddenly without completing the passage
of Scripture. This was to indicate that the remainder of the passage
and especially the next phrase found in Isa. 61:2 was yet to be
fulfilled. This portion reads, “and the day of vengeance of our
God.” This commenced in AD 70, and has continued to the present
time, being the tribulation referred to in Rev.7:14, “These are they
who came out of great (or better the great) tribulation, and have
washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”

Earlier in this study we stated that we would return to the last phrase
of Dan.9:24 when it was fulfilled during Our Lord’s baptism, which
states, “and to anoint the most Holy.” Futurists have endeavoured to
change the meaning of this passage to make it refer to a temple which
is to be built in Jerusalem by the Antichrist. It has been argued that
the Hebrew qodesh or qodashim, meaning “something most holy”
or “someone most holy,” always refers to a place rather than a
person. However their argument is false, for the same word is used in
1Chron.23:13 where correctly rendered the translation reads, “Aaron
was separated to anoint him a most holy one.” Most scholars agree that
the rendering in the A.V. “Aaron was separated that he should sanctify
the most holy things” is incorrect, and the N.A.B.. which is the New
Roman Catholic Version renders it “Aaron was set apart to be
consecrated as most holy.” As we would expect the futuristic N.I.V.
translation gets it wrong as usual. Many Jewish expositors along with
their Christian counterparts hold that in Dan.9:24 it is the Messiah
and therefore “the Most Holy One” who is anointed.

The other phrase dealing with predictions relating to Christ’s birth
and crucifixion, followed by His resurrection, which has not been
fully expounded is Dan.9:24, “and to seal up the vision and
prophecy.”

This expression is not here used in the sense of “shutting up,” but
rather that of “confirming,” or “ratifying.” It therefore refers as we
have indicated to the fulfilment of predictions concerning the first
coming of the Messiah, especially relating to His birth and
crucifixion.

After fulfilling a ministry of three and a half years which included
four Passovers, Christ was crucified at the end of seventy weeks, on
Nisan 14, which commenced at sunset on Thursday 2nd April, and ended
after the crucifixion prior to sunset on Friday 3rd April AD33. The
crucifixion was at the exact time the Passover Lambs were slain,
having been chosen on Nisan 10, Ex.12:3 & 6, “Speak ye unto all the
congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they
shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their
fathers, a lamb for an house...And ye shall keep it until the
fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the
congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.”

This expression “in the evening” according to the literal translation
reads “between the evenings.” Jesus died at precisely 3 p.m. which is
the ninth hour according to Roman Reckoning, Lk.23:44-46, “And it was
about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth
until the ninth hour. And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the
temple was rent (or torn) in the midst. And when Jesus had cried with
a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit,
and, having said this, he gave up the ghost (or better spirit).”

The apostle John describes the remarkable occurrence on the day the
Passover Lamb was chosen, Jn.12:27-30, “Now is my soul troubled; and
what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour. But for this cause
came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a
voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will
glorify it again. The people, therefore, that stood by and heard
it, said that it thundered; others said, An angel spoke unto him.
Jesus answered, and said, This voice came not because of me, but for
your sakes.” This day as we have noted was Nisan 10, which was Monday
30th March 33 AD.

Jesus was born on the Feast of Trumpets in BC 2, which occurred on
Monday 29th September. This date is entered in the British Book of
Common Prayer as the Feast of St. Michael and all Angels. Many
Prophetic Students regard Michael, whose name means “who is as or like
God” as being the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, especially with reference
to Dan.12:1, “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great
prince who standeth for the children of thy people, and there shall be
a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to
that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every
one that shall be found written in the book.”

Some prophetic students claim that Christ should have been born on the
Feast of Tabernacles rather than the Feast of Trumpets, but they have
failed to understand that this feast will only have its fulfilment when
the Lord returns, Rev.21:3-4, “And I heard a great voice out of
heaven (or the throne) saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with
men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and
God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no
more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any
more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

We have shown that Our Lord Jesus Christ was born on 29th September
BC2, and was crucified on 3rd April AD33, which means He lived
exactly 12,240 days on earth. This period contains multiples which are
special to Christ, for it works out at 153 X 8 X10 = 12,240. It is
also 34 Prophetic or Calendar Years. As most Bible students know, a
Prophetic Year has only 360 days, so that 360 X 34 = 12,240.

The number 153 is the number of the elect, and when the disciples drew
in the net at the Lord’s command, they caught 153 great fishes,
Jn.21:11, “Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of
great fish, an hundred and fifty and three; and for all (or although)
there were so many, yet was not the net broken.”

According to Bible Numerics the Greek word for the net, to dictuov,
adds up to1,224 which is a multiple of 8 X 153. Furthermore, the
Greek word rendered great fishes is Ichthyes, which also adds up to
1,224, i.e. 8 X 153. The number 8 is very significant, for the
numerical value of the name Jesus, Ięsous, in Greek, adds up to 888.

It can be seen how important the days Jesus lived on earth were. The
method used to calculate these days is as follows: 1 day for 30th
September BC2, plus 31 days for October BC2, plus 30 days for
November BC2, plus 31 days for December BC2, plus 12,045 days for 33
years (i.e. 365 X 33 = 12,045 days), plus 8 days for leap years of
that period, plus 1 more for BC1 which is also a leap year, plus 31
days for January AD33, plus 28 days for February AD33, plus 31 days
for March AD 33, plus 3 days to April 3rd AD 33, and the total number
amounts to 12,240 days. (1+31+30+31+12045+8+1+312+28+31+28+31+3=12240).

The last phrase of this remarkable prophecy relates to The Desolation,
Dan.9:27, “and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it
desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall
(wrath) be poured upon the desolate.” The first fulfilment of this
prophecy refers to the Roman Prince Titus. Here the desolater is
pictured as being carried along upon the wing of abominations, which
refers to the Roman Eagle Standard, and therefore relates to the
horrors and atrocities that were perpetrated upon the Jews by the
Romans in AD 70, because they rejected their Hope of Salvation and
indeed the Kingdom of God.

Howard Rand describes two fulfilments of this verse, that which we
have considered, and the devastation caused by World War II. He writes
in ‘Studies in Daniel:’ “Rev. Albert Barnes, in his commentary on
Daniel written in 1853 AD, states that the Hebrew word
rendered “overspreading” means properly “a wing,” like the wing of a
bird, and “he shall make it desolate” actually means “to lay waste,
to make desolate.” Rand points out that World War II fully established
the meaning of winged things pouring out desolation, for the bombing
from the air caused just such desolation.

This is also true with regard to the deliverance of Jerusalem by Israel-
Britain on 9th December 1917, with the help of No.14 Bomber Squadron
of the Royal Air Force. The Turks were bombed at Lista to the north-
west of Jerusalem, and the city was evacuated without a shot being
fired in it, fulfilling Isa.31:5, “As birds flying, so will the Lord
of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and
passing over he will preserve it.” The motto of No.14 Bomber Squadron
was “I spread my wings and keep my promise.”

It has been asked why God permits such desolations to come against His
Beloved Elect Nation. The reason is that they must be punished for
wilfully desecrating His Sabbaths, and disobeying His Commandments.
The purpose of such judgements is to stir them to seek Him, fulfilling
Isa.26:9, “With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with
my spirit within me will I seek thee early; for when thy judgements
are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn
righteousness.”

Winged desolations can be illustrated by the habits of eagles. The
eagle builds her nest in the tallest trees, or on the loftiest
mountain ledges. One who has watched her construct her nest relates
that she first lays down thorns, jagged stones, and all manner of
sharp objects, which is surprising to say the least. Then she covers
it thickly with wool, feathers, and fur animals she has killed. The
nesting place thus becomes soft and comfortable, a delightful home for
the birds which the mother will hatch.

However, the little creatures are not destined to remain in this
inviting cradle so laboriously prepared for them. The time will come
when the mother will stir up the nest. With her sharp talons she will
begin to point the sharp protrusions in their flesh. Up to this time
the tiny creatures have had their food delivered and dropped into their
mouths. After the nest has been stirred up, the eagles become so
miserable and unhappy, they are willing to get out, and go somewhere
else. This is the mother’s objective in picking out from the nest all
the downy material with which it was originally lined and casting it to
the wind. It is not cruelty on her part, but rather an effort to
produce discontent with the old life of ease, and to encourage them to
move on to maturity.

In exactly the same was God has to chasten our nation, and has done so
in two world wars. Sadly this is going to happen again, for both
Government and Nation are anti-God, so God will fulfil His word,
Ezk.39:6, “And I will send fire ... among them that dwell carelessly
(or securely) in the isles: and they shall know that I am the Lord.”

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