16. Prophecies of Old God's Purpose for Man

Chapter 18
Prophecies of Old

To look at some of the ancient prophecies of the forth-coming Messiah, we need to go back to the Old Covenant (Testament) to see what happened to Israel – where they failed, why they looked for a Redeemer, and what the prophets had to say about the Messiah’s coming (Zech 14:4-5).

Let's first look at where Israel failed. 

Gen 12:7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land…" NKJV  

Gen 13:14-17 And the LORD said to Abram…"Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are--northward, southward, eastward, and westward; for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you." NKJV  

Gen 17:1-8 When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God…And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly. As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations…Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God." NKJV

Land As Their Inheritance

What was promised to Abraham belonged to him and his seed. He was to be the father of many nations. Their inheritance was the land of Canaan for an “everlasting possession.” God’s promise to the Jews was their land, and they were commanded to take care of it, protect it, guard it, and claim it as their own. God told His people that if they would diligently harken and be obedient to His voice, He would protect them and heal their land.

God’s people, however, were not faithful to Him in the preservation of their land. And whenever, they disobeyed God in one command, they disobeyed in others. Eventually, a famine was brought upon Canaan, along with all the nearby countries. God, in His mercy, used Joseph, son of Jacob, whom his brothers had sold into slavery in Egypt. In the course of time, and a turn of events, Joseph became 2nd in command to Pharaoh, preserving the grain of the land for the future famine. Through a series of events, Joseph was reunited with his family, bringing them out of Canaan into Egypt for survival in the midst of a famine. There the family of Jacob, which included 70 people, dwelt for 400 years. Over the years, their population expanded to millions. After Joseph’s death, however, they were taken into slavery by the Egyptians. In the fullness of time, God raised up Moses to deliver them out and bring them back to their promised land of Canaan.

Before they entered into their promised land, while wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, God set up His laws for them regarding their land (Lev 25:2-5).  The Israelites were to work their precious God-given land for six years. Then in the seventh year, they were to leave the land alone - give it a rest. They, in turn, were also to rest. 

Lev 25:6-10 And the sabbath produce of the land shall be food for you…And you shall count seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years; and the time of the seven sabbaths of years shall be to you forty-nine years. Then you shall cause the trumpet of the Jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement you shall make the trumpet to sound throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a Jubilee for you; NKJV

Seven Sabbaths of years = 7 x 7 = 49 years
50th year was the Jubilee year

Lev 25:10b-13…and each of you shall return to his possession, and each of you shall return to his family. That fiftieth year shall be a Jubilee to you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of its own accord, nor gather the grapes of your untended vine. For it is the Jubilee; it shall be holy to you; you shall eat its produce from the field. In this Year of Jubilee, each of you shall return to his possession. NKJV

God’s people, now known as Israel, was neglectful in fulfilling the Sabbath of the land. As such, they eventually came under the judgment of God. 

Lev 26:40-45 ‘But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me…if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt—then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land. The land also shall be left empty by them, and will enjoy its abbaths while it lies desolate without them; they will accept their guilt, because they despised My judgments and because their soul abhorred My statutes. Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, nor shall I abhor them, to utterly destroy them and break My covenant with them; for I am the LORD their God. But for their sake I will remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.’ “ NKJV

The People Cried Out For a King

After the death of Joshua, Israel was ruled by judges for around 400 years. The people, wanting to be like their neighboring nations, cried out for a king. After enough cries, God gave them their desire, and Saul became the first king of Israel, who disobeyed God, followed by King David, who had a heart for God. Throughout the history of the Jews, Israel had various kings that worshipped God. A few were good in His sight; however, most were very evil, serving after the idols of their pagan neighbors.

Depending on the discipline of the king, and his love and obedience to God, the Sabbath of the land was often ignored. It was not observed, along with a lack of obedience to God and abuses of their sacrifices. When a good king reigned, Israel obeyed God and prospered. When an evil king reigned, Israel became under a curse, and the people went into idol worship.

Israel Split Into Two Kingdoms

After the reign of King Solomon, Israel split into two kingdoms, or countries – Judah and Israel. In 722 B.C. Israel was overtaken by Assyria, and all survivors were taken captive to Assyria. At the time of their captivity, they were a very evil nation, worshipping the idol Molach. Part of Molach worship was the sacrificing of children. Their sacrificial worship involved throwing their children in boiling water or in the fire, sacrificing them to the pagan idols. Not only had they disobeyed God in the care of their land, they no longer worshipped God Almight and were in full disobedience to God's laws. They had become a very evil people. In 583 B.C. Judah received the same fate. This time their conqueror was Babylon, because Babylon had conquered Assyria and was considered the world power. All survivors were taken to Babylon.

When sin abounds, man loses his sensitivity toward the things of God. As such, both the people of Israel and Judah looked at their circumstances as natural, not spiritual. Their sins against God was in actuality the judgment of God, which brought about the desolation of their country and captivity into a foreign nation.

The Reason For the Exile Discovered

Daniel (author of the Book of Daniel) was one of the people who was taken captive into Babylon. He was a young man at the time of his captivity – around the age of 20 years. Unlike so many others, Daniel loved and obeyed God. He was very intelligent, of sound mind and body. As such, he was placed in the house of the king – for he was far more wise and skilled than many others.

Approximately 68 years following the exile of the Jews from Judah, Daniel, now as an old man, found the scriptures written by the Prophet Jeremiah to the Jews just prior to the exile. In the archives within the Babylonian temple Daniel read the warnings of the prophet. He then understood why the Israelites were taken into captivity. He also knew how long they would be there – 70 years (Jer 25:1-14). 

Daniel then interceded to God for his people by confessing their sinful pattern, and cried out for Him to intervene and restore their land back to them (Dan 9:2-19).

The Angel Gabriel Foretold Daniel of Israel’s Future

Daniel’s prayers were interrupted by a vision from the angel Gabriel. The angel came to tell Daniel of more than just the 70 years that God’s people would be held captive in Babylon. He also showed him God’s plan and purpose for world affairs in the ages to come “for Israel” (Dan 9:21-24). The Hebrew meaning for the word "weeks" in Scripture means 70 sevens. The Hebrew transliteration “shabua,” meaning “week of years.“ So then, it becomes 70 years times seven, which equals 490 years.

Gabriel told Daniel that it will take another 490 years to make an end to their sins and to make reconciliation for their land. Then everlasting righteousness would come, and the most Holy would be anointed (Dan 9:25).  These 490 years are broken up into three different parts. Remembering that weeks means seven, multiply the first seven weeks times seven (7x7=49 years).  It would take the Israelites 49 years to see the street and walls built when they returned to Jerusalem after the exile. The next set of weeks is 62 weeks or 434 years. (62x7=434 years)

The Jews Migrated Home

King Cyrus of Persia (who later conquered and ruled over Babylon) issued a decree for 50,000 Jews to go back home to Jerusalem right after the 70 years were up. He also issued a decree to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1-4).  When the Jews first migrated back home in 538 B.C., they rebuilt the temple, but did not get involved in restoring and rebuilding Jerusalem. They were disrupted by the local people who had moved on their land during the exile. Only a small portion of Jews migrated back to their land over the next several decades from the exile – most of them remained in Babylon, meshed into the Babylonian/Persian system.

King Darius (of the Medes) later conquered over certain Persian territories, which included the land occupied by the Babylonians. He sent a decree out allowing returning exiles back to Israel to continue their rebuilding of the temple. The king even helped financially with the rebuilding of the temple, telling the Jews to restore and rebuild the city as well. Artaxerxes, another king of Persia also helped in the restoration (Ezra 7:11-22). Nehemiah the Jewish cup bearer, serving in the Persian court, was given permission to return to Jerusalem and help build the wall around the city. It took Nehemiah and the people only 52 days to finally rebuild the wall to the city.

From the time of the building of the wall of Jerusalem, after the return of the exiles, until the day that Jesus rode on the donkey, being hailed as King of Israel (John 12:12-13), it was exactly 434 years.

62 weeks of years = 62 x 7 = 434 years
7 weeks of years = 7 x 7 = 49 years
(to return to Israel and rebuild their temple and wall)
483 years – Total

We are still short seven years – one week of years. There will be a lapse of time between the 69th and 70th week.

As a recap, the first seven seeks (or 49 years) was the time it took for the returning exiles to rebuild the temple, rebuild the city walls, and re-establish their worship. The next 62 weeks (or 434 years) reveals when Christ was hailed as “King of the Jews” (Dan 9:26)  In this verse, the death of the Messiah was prophesied. Jesus was crucified less than one week (meaning seven days) after He was hailed as King of   Jews. His death was prophesied; how He died, however, was not.  This was the victory that Satan was looking for. Since He could not corrupt the seed of the woman, meaning Jesus, He had God’s people - the Jews - turn against Him. Religious Pharisees, Sadducees, and scribes, who were suppose to know what the Scriptures had foretold about their Messiah’s coming and His death, were the ones who had Him killed.

The Jews Lost Their Land Again

Only a few years later (70 A.D.), Jerusalem was destroyed again - this time by the Romans, and the surviving Jews scattered. The purpose of the Roman army was not to take captive, as formerly done in Israel's history, but to kill any and all in their way. This time, it would be 1900 years before Jerusalem would be back in the hands of the Jews.

Jesus was crucified in 31 AD., and Jerusalem and its temple were destroyed 39 years later - 70 A.D. The Jews had come back to where they were 483 years previously, without their land, and still waiting for their Redeemer (Dan 9:26b).  

There is still one week of years, meaning seven years, left with the prophecy given to Daniel of the judgment of God’s people before their Messiah comes back.  Because the Jews rejected Christ, God looked for whomever – Jew or Gentile alike - who would receive His Son Jesus as the Messiah. Very few Jews received Him - thus, the focus went to the Gentiles who accepted Him. Thus, we enter another age - the Church Age - and we still have one week of years left from the prophecy given to the Prophet Daniel 483 years prior.

Click here to view Chapter #17 - The Church Age