Daniel’s 70th Week - Part B

Everything the Antichrist is, Jesus Christ is not. Everything the Antichrist is not, Jesus Christ is. The Antichrist is false and deceptive.

Jesus Christ is called faithful and true. The Antichrist is a politician. Jesus Christ is the potentate, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. The Antichrist promises peace, but he brings war. Jesus promises peace and delivers it. Only Jesus can deliver on the promise of peace. And today on Connect with Skip Heitzig, Pastor Skip looks at the great liar, the Antichrist, who promises peace but brings only destruction.

He'll show you why this counterfeit Savior is no match for Jesus our Lord. Now, here's an offer for the new resource that covers all 26 messages in the End is Near series. This 100-page study guide will help you go to a deeper understanding of biblical prophecy. Here are some of the titles in the End is Near series by Pastor Skip Heitzig. Israel Must Survive, Rapture Ready, and Russia's Coming Invasion. Surely the Lord God does nothing unless he reveals his secret to his servants, the prophets.

So when God is going to do something, he warns his people, he sends a sign so his people will know that he's going to do something. Skip Heitzig's teaching series now has a companion study guide available to you. The End is Near guide covers all 26 messages that Skip recently presented. We can just look at the chessboard. The pieces are all lining up in interesting fashion. The End is Near study guide includes notes, summaries, and questions for group or personal study.

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That's 1-800-922-1888 or connectwithskip.com. Now let's hear what Skip has for us today. We're going to be in Daniel chapter 9. Jesus picks up the scroll of Isaiah.

Remember this? He's in a synagogue, his hometown, and he starts reading Isaiah chapter 61. 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 bring glad tidings to those who are in prison, the opening of prison doors to those who are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. And then Jesus closed the book and said to the crowd, today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. He claimed that he was fulfilling that text. What's the problem with that sermon?

Well, there is a problem. Jesus didn't finish the prophecy, didn't finish the sentence, actually. He's quoting Isaiah, but he stopped and closed the book at a comma. It's as if he put a period instead of a comma. Actually, there's a comma in Isaiah 61. This is how it goes. Listen to the whole text.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good tidings or preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives, the opening of the prison doors to those who are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, comma, and the day of vengeance of our God. He left that out. You know why he left that out? That's future. That's future. That's the 70th week of Daniel. That's the great tribulation period. That's the day of wrath and vengeance. So Jesus said, today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.

This is what it means. We're living in the gap. You know how long the gap's been lasting? Two thousand years.

Two thousand years. It's a long gap. That's a long comma.

We are the people of the comma. The comma, the gap, is called the church age. So from the Artaxerxes Longimonus, March 14th, 445 BC, until the end of the 69th week when Jesus came, it stopped. Gap. Gap of two thousand years.

At some point in the future, the 70th week of Daniel will kick in and it will finish out what God said he is going to do with the Jewish people. Now Paul, do you know what he calls the formation of the church, the church age? You know what he calls it in the New Testament? A mystery. A mystery.

He says that a few times. Now a mystery in the Bible isn't like a murder mystery or a mysterious movie or mystery book. Eerie.

Spooky. That's not a mystery in the Bible. A mystery in the Bible is simply something they didn't know about back then but now they know about right now. It was something kept hidden in the Old Testament but now revealed in the New Testament. He calls the church a mystery. One of those texts is Ephesians chapter 3 verses 5 and 6. It says, this was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets.

This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. So 69 weeks gap. Gap's been 2,000 years at some point. The 70th week of Daniel is going to come to pass. Now something about what happens during this gap. During this gap Messiah is killed. Verse 26, sanctuaries and city is destroyed. And notice what it says right after that. The end of it shall be with a flood.

It's a very descriptive word. It does not mean a flood of water, a literal flood. It's a flood-like assault. In 70 AD the Romans overwhelmed the city of Jerusalem. Overwhelmed?

What do you mean? 30,000 Roman soldiers attacked it. Josephus, the Jewish historian, said 1.1 million Jews were killed during that flood-like assault. 1.1 million Jews were slaughtered.

Another 95,000 Jews were taken captive, including by the way Josephus. So there's an obvious gap. Let me take in out of verse 27, which really is the purview of this study, what I'm calling the ominous governance.

Because look what it says. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. Okay, tell me. One week is how long? Seven years. Seven years.

In the middle of the week, what's half of seven years? Three and a half. Three and a half years.

If you are interested, Revelation is more specific. It says 42 months. It's three and a half years. It also says 1,260 days.

It's pretty precise. So in the middle of the week, three and a half year mark, he, the he who confirmed the covenant, will bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abomination shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation which is determined is poured out on the desolate. Now we need to identify who the he is in verse 27. Who is he? Well, first of all, would you just look back at the text, and would you note with me that there are two princes that are named? Two princes. First prince is Messiah. Messiah the prince is in verse 25.

Mashiach Nagid is the Hebrew. Messiah the prince. Messiah the ruler. Messiah the king. Second prince is, verse 26, the prince who is to come. Now, don't naively assume that we're speaking about the same person. The prince who is to come is not Messiah the prince.

How do you know that? Well, Jesus didn't destroy the city. Jesus didn't tear down the sanctuary.

Jesus didn't break any covenant with the Jews that he had made. You say, okay, it's not Jesus it must be the general Roman general named Titus. He must be the prince who is to come. Well, Titus didn't make a covenant with Israel either.

So what I want you to notice even a little more closely than that is notice the phraseology of these sentences. Notice it talks about the people of the prince, not the prince. It's not the prince who's going to destroy the sanctuary. It's not the prince. It's not the prince who's going to destroy the sanctuary. It's the people of the prince. And we know that to be historically the Romans who tore down the temple. The people of the prince who is to come, and then it speaks about the prince. So I and many other commentators, and for that matter many scholars, I was going to say many other scholars.

I'm not in that category. Many scholars, most conservative scholars, believe that he or this prince who is to come is a future ruler somehow tied to the Roman system, the Roman Empire. Let me unravel that. Rome ended as an empire in 476 A.D. A couple hundred years before that it split into east and west. There were two legs of the Roman Empire, east and west, east and west, just as Nebuchadnezzar saw and Daniel interpreted in chapter two. Remember he saw the statue that represented world governing empires and there was one great empire that had two legs of iron. That was the last after Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece was Rome split into two sections.

Then in the vision he saw feet partly of iron, partly of clay, with ten toes who were ten rulers of ten nations who formed a confederacy. So Rome ended 7 or 476 A.D. But Daniel saw some kind of re-emergence in the end of days of the Roman Empire.

The scholars have been trying to figure that out for years. Daniel, I'll add another tidbit so bear with me, I need your attention. Daniel a few chapters later sees the same succession of world empires but doesn't see it as a big beautiful statue.

That's from a worldly perspective. He sees it from God's perspective, ravenous beasts that destroy things that destroy things on earth. The last beast has iron teeth and it's ferocious and he keeps looking at it and he notices a little horn growing out.

And the little horn is a ruler turns out because he has a mouth speaking great things and he becomes the ruler of this ten-nation confederacy. So the little horn of Daniel chapter 7 is the prince who is to come of Daniel chapter 9. We call him the Antichrist. Paul calls him the man of sin. Here he is called the prince who is to come. Evidently he makes a covenant.

Verse 27, he shall confirm a covenant, a pact, an agreement with many many for one week. Okay who's the many? Who's the many? Any guesses? The Jews, has to be the Jews.

Why? Verse 24, 70 weeks are determined for your people, the Jewish people and for your holy city. So many are many Jewish people and I know it's that because it involves the building of a holy place and the desolation of that holy place by ending sacrifices. So it's the abomination that causes desolation. Okay turn in your Bibles like one or two pages. Go to Daniel chapter 11 for one verse.

I'm in the weeds just for a little bit here. Daniel chapter 11 verse 31. And forces shall be mustered by him and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress. Then they shall take away the daily sacrifices and place there the abomination of desolation. There's that phrase.

Now turn the page again. Daniel chapter 12 for one one more verse. The last verse in Daniel. Daniel 12 verse 11. And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away and the abomination of desolation is set up there shall be 1290 days.

I don't have time to uncover the meaning of all of that except for you to notice three times in the book of Daniel is this idea. Abomination of desolation. Abomination of desolation. Abomination of desolation. Abomination of desolation. Abomination of desolation. Jesus comes along a few hundred years later. Matthew chapter 24 verse 15 says to his disciples and when you see the abomination of desolation. Listen. Spoken of by Daniel the prophet.

Now just just a side note. By that phrase Jesus just did you a great service. He saved you hours of painstaking research.

Because there's been this in-house argument. Who really wrote the book of Daniel? Daniel wasn't a prophet. Daniel didn't write the book of Daniel.

Well if you believe Jesus problem solved. If you don't believe Jesus you got bigger problems than the authorship of the book of Daniel. When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the holy place whoever reads let him understand.

Here's that word again. Gabriel said Daniel you need to understand this stuff. Jesus said guys you got under when you read understand this then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains let him who's on the housetop flee to the mountains let him who's on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. Daniel predicted that Jesus said when you see it do this.

Okay push the pause button for just a moment. Did you know that many Jews believe the abomination of desolation already happened in their history? It happened in their history.

They will take you back to the events that precede their national festival of Hanukkah. In 167 BC a Syrian king by the name of Antiochus the fourth Antiochus the fourth came against Jerusalem surrounded the temple mount. By the way Antiochus the fourth gave himself a name. He called himself Theos Antiochus Theos Epiphaneus which means God manifested in the flesh.

You think the guy had an ego problem? Oh yeah just call me God in human flesh and I'll be good with that. So this guy attacks the Jewish people 167 BC places guards around the temple so nobody can come in and worship stops the daily sacrifice. On one Sabbath he sent soldiers into the city to kill all the babies all the infants then kill their mothers.

So the last visual memory they would die with is the death of their child. He made idolatry mandatory. He put a statue of Zeus in the temple.

He killed a pig on the altar of sacrifice and forced the priests to eat the meat of the pig. That happened in 167 BC and so you hear that and go okay so it's history it's over with abomination desolation like Daniel said it's over. Well the only problem with that is you got the words of Jesus who came and said when you see the abomination of desolation that's spoken of by Daniel the prophet. So he pointed to it as something yet future.

It's not over. It's coming. And Paul gives you more details of what that's going to look like. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2.

I won't turn to it just mark it in your notes and go back to it. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 speaks about the man of sin who is coming. He said the man of sin who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped so that he sits in the temple of God and claims that he is God. John gives you more details about the abomination desolation. Revelation chapter 13. I saw a beast rising out of the sea and the dragon gave power to the beast and the world worshiped the beast and said who is like the beast who is able to make war with him and the world marveled after him. So there's going to be a worship system going on where this prince who makes a pact with the many the Jews puts an end to that pact. The mask comes off and he is revealed for the sinister person that he is.

Now obviously almost goes without saying you have to be very persuasive to be able to make a covenant for seven years with the Jewish people. That's why Revelation 6 shows him coming in on a white horse you know sort of like the old westerns you know guy in the white hat on the white horse and you think oh that's Jesus Christ. No it's the anti-christ. But you know what it's like if I wanted to make fake twenty dollar bills would I put President Biden on the front of the twenty dollar bill or Trump or or Obama?

No I would put Andrew Jackson because he's on the real one and I would try to make it as authentic looking as I can. So if you're the anti-christ and you want to make a covenant with the many you come in wearing the white hat and being Mr. Dapper and like I'm a man of peace. When Adolf Hitler came to Europe the western allies especially including Neville Chamberlain the British prime minister said Adolf Hitler is a man of peace. There's only one man who saw through all the charade his name was Winston Churchill. He's not a man of peace he's the worst thing that could happen to this planet.

Well he wasn't but this guy coming is and he will show his true colors in the middle of the week in the middle of the week and on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate. Okay let me take you to the last little segment and that's the last part of verse 27. I'm calling this the overwhelming glory I love this part even until the consummation which is determined. Consummation means end.

Consummation of what? End of what? End of the 70th week. You know how the 70th week ends? It ends with Jesus coming from heaven to earth with us. It's a victory parade. It's the return of Jesus Christ. It's revelation 19.

Here's a snippet. On a white horse. Now this is not the antichrist this is the Christ because you'll see why.

He's on a white horse. He who sat on him was called faithful and true and in righteousness and in righteousness he judges and makes war. Then the beast was captured, the antichrist captured, and with him the false prophet.

These two were cast into the lake of fire and brimstone. Ding dong the witch is dead. That's the consummation.

That's the end of it. The antichrist, the prince who is to come, the man of sin, all the different titles he bears, comes to an end when the real Christ appears. So what a difference between the antichrist and Jesus Christ.

What a difference between Messiah the prince and the prince who is to come. Everything the antichrist is Jesus Christ is not. Everything the antichrist is not Jesus Christ is. The antichrist is false and deceptive.

Jesus Christ is called faithful and true. The antichrist is a politician. Jesus Christ is the potentate, the king of kings, the lord of lords. The antichrist promises peace but he brings war. Jesus promises peace and delivers it. The antichrist comes in on a white horse, Revelation 6, but he brings famine and war. Jesus said, I am the bread of life.

Whoever comes to me will never hunger. So the antichrist will be everything the world says it wants. Jesus Christ is everything the world really needs. Messiah the prince. What you and I have done in the last two weeks is get a glimpse at the future history of the nation of Israel. And all of it was triggered on March 14 445 BC when Artaxerxes gave a command to restore and build Jerusalem. And then Jesus came right on schedule. If that event was on schedule this one will be on schedule as well. Now the first time Jesus came was on the Mount of Olives.

We talked about this last week. Everybody said, Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna. A few days later they killed him. But there is coming a day when the hosannas given by the nation of Israel will be authentic hosannas. They will look on him whom they have pierced and Israel will be saved. There is coming a day when every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. That's coming. The day is coming. The day is coming. You don't have to wait until that day to bow your knee.

You can do it voluntarily before that day. Make this your day of salvation. Don't make the mistake Donald Haley made as he's sitting there scratching his dirty shirt, beer belly, looking at the President of the United States. Be prepared.

How? Read the signs. Recognize the urgency. Ready your heart. And if need be, repent.

Turn. That's Skip Hytech. With a message from his series, The End is Near, find the full message, as well as books, booklets, and full teaching series at connectwithskip.com. God's desire is for all humanity to know Him intimately and personally, and He's revealed Himself in the pages of Scripture so we can do that. That's why we share these messages, to help you connect to God through His Word and grow in your relationship with Jesus. And when you give to support this ministry, you keep these teachings you love available to you and so many others around the world, helping others grow and connect with God. Just call 800-922-1888 to give a gift today. That's 800-922-1888. Or visit connectwithskip.com slash donate. That's connectwithskip.com slash donate. Thank you.

We hope you'll come back tomorrow to hear Skip's message, The Role of Israel in Prophecy. To tell a man who's 75, and infertile, by the way, his wife is also old. She cannot have children.

She has never born children. To tell this old couple, hey, you're going to have a baby. You're going to have a baby. Not only that, you're going to have a family.

Not only that, it's going to be a great nation. Connect with Skip Hyten is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.