The Little Book chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

When Shall These Things Be?

“…Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Matthew 24:3. These are the questions the apostles asked Jesus. He told them many things in response to their inquiry. He warned there shall be false Christs, false prophets, wars, famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in many places. He stated that these were the beginning of sorrows, not to be troubled but that these things must come.

We see these prophecies or the harbingers of them in this day. Some have been fulfilled. Let’s see how Jesus responded to the disciple’s question.

Matthew 24:15

15) When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)

Jesus points us to Daniel to a time closely related to his return to receive us unto Himself. He further pinpoints for us the specific time by naming a notorious event, “the abomination of desolation” in Daniel. As we read these scriptures note the above-mentioned ’abomination’ is always connected to the ‘taking away of the daily sacrifice’ (public worship).

Daniel 9:27

27) And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Note in this verse the ‘abomination’ that makes desolate is preceded by the ‘causing oblation and sacrifice to cease’. This will occur either by an order, decree or a new law. So when the law is passed, order or decree is given that the daily sacrifice (worship) cease, this act marks for us then, the midst of the ‘one week’. This is important. The Lord builds more on this as we go on into another vision of the same event.

Daniel 11:31

31) “And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.”

The sanctuary of strength is polluted as the daily sacrifice is taken away and they place the abomination. Jesus put it this way, (Matthew 24:15) that he will come when we see the ‘abomination of desolation stand in the holy place.’

Since we shall see more of the “he” that causes the sacrifice to cease, and the “they” that place the desolation, we should identify them. We are speaking of anti-christ and those who do his bidding. Anti-christ is Satan. Over centuries, he has worn the faces of many men. This is important to know. The abomination scripture is recorded this way in Mark:

Mark 13:14) But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:

And it is recorded in Luke this way:

Luke 21:20-21

20) And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.

21) Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out.”

In each of these gospel scriptures we see a warning to flee from Judea. As of now, we have been told: anti-christ will come and take away the rite of public worship. He will cause the abomination of desolation to stand in the holy place. At that time armies will surround Jerusalem and the desolation thereof is nigh. This almost reads like a newspaper of today.

Remember, it is Jesus who projected us into the midst of Daniel’s seventieth week. He was answering the question about his return. There is a point of information that is necessary before we can continue.

The weeks referred to in the prophecy of the seventy weeks are weeks of years. Each ‘week’ is seven years long. The chronological sequence of events historically demonstrates this also. The concept is set forth in:

Leviticus 25:3-4

3) Six years thou shalt sow thy field…

4) But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.

We can consider only one part at a time, so we’ll back track from Daniel 9:27, then draw it all together.

Daniel 9:24

24) 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.

The angel Gabriel was sent to Daniel when he prayed to declare to him these promises of God.

1. Finish transgression.

2. Make an end of sins.

3. Make reconciliation of iniquity.

4. To bring in everlasting righteousness.

5. Seal up the vision and prophecy.

6. To anoint the most Holy.

At the end of all of the seventy weeks of years all these promises shall be fulfilled. No more sins. Everlasting righteousness. This is good news. God said it and he cannot lie. Hallelujah!

Keep these prophetic promises in mind while we see what happens during the first sixty-nine weeks of years. These weeks ran consecutively according to history of the period.

Daniel 9:25-26

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.

26) 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.

The commandment to rebuild Jerusalem went out. Students of Bible history way the commandment was given three times. So the city was rebuild, and after the city was rebuilt, Messiah, Jesus came into the world. At that time sixty-nine weeks of years were past. He was cut off (crucified) but not for himself. For he had no sin. He took our sins on himself and paid our sin account with his blood, I Peter 2:24. When we claim Jesus as personal Saviour and repent of every sin, his shed blood cleanses us. At that moment we are sinless! We are free. This is a gift from God that can not be earned or deserved. The ransom God paid in the blood of his own Son is as great a price that it cannot be fully understood by man. God’s love is real.

So the first sixty-nine weeks of years were fulfilled after Messiah was cut off, “and the people of the prince (anti-christ) that shall come shall destroy the city and sanctuary…”

As Jesus prophesied (Matthew 24:2) Jerusalem was destroyed about the year seventy A.D. Any discrepancy in time is due to man’s error not God’s. This much, sixty-nine weeks, of the prophecy were fulfilled over nineteen hundred years ago. There remains only the one final week of the seventy weeks of years to consider in this earth. Jesus tells us that in the ‘midst’ of the last seven years we can expect Him to come for us.

Note one more thing from verse 26, ‘the prince that shall come,’ is the ‘he’ in verse 27, and that ‘he’ takes away the daily sacrifice in the midst of the week. This prince is head of the anti-christ kingdom in the world.

I John 2:18

18) “Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.”

This anti-christ was doing much hideous work in the time of the apostle John’s life. In fact, Satan, became anti-christ and began his evil program on earth when Christ was born. He had all the little baby boys under two years killed in an effort to destroy the salvation prepared of God from the beginning (Matthew 2:16-18).

The apostle, Paul, gives a deeper insight into the last days and the rule of anti-christ, as he sets the ‘abomination that maketh desolate.’

II Thessalonians 2: 3-4

3) “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

4) Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”

This is the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION of which Jesus spoke. Satan briefly fulfills his ambition. (Isaiah 14:12-14). He comes in by peace. But just note the Bible says anti-christ has been in operation from the time of Christ. The restriction on him was that for one thousand years, he could not deceive nations. That is all. But praise God, it was enough. The gospel of salvation in Christ went out.

Now back to Daniel. This vision of the seventy weeks was given to Daniel after he became burdened over the prophecy of Jeremiah.

Daniel 9:2

2) “…the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.”

Daniel began to pray and repent for himself and for his people. In answer to Daniel’s prayer God sent Gabriel from heaven and gave the revelation of the seventy weeks. Jerusalem was destroyed in the year 70 A.D. The destruction of Jerusalem represented the first sixty-nine weeks of the prophecy. It is as though the count down in the seventy weeks was suspended for the Jews for these two thousand years while they were scattered. The Jews returned only in this generation.

So we are right back where Jesus pointed us as he spoke in Matthew 24:15. In the midst of the seventieth week of years, as the daily sacrifice is taken away and the abomination of desolation is set.

Now we look at another vision. This is the first of the three visions which are centered specifically around the ceasing of the sacrifice and the abomination of desolation.

Daniel 8:13-14

13) “Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?

14) And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”

This view of the seventieth week of years does not measure out to a full seven years according to our calendar. But where the end time is concerned, remember God has retained the exact moment unto himself. He holds the option of shortening or prolonging the time of the end. While He is not willing that any should perish but that all should be saved, we read in Matthew 24:22, “but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.” Even the angels of God do not know the day or the hour.

It is sufficient that we have God’s promise that at the end of all this sin, when Satan sits in the temple of God as though he was God, then the sanctuary shall be cleansed of this occupancy. Gabriel tells Daniel when this shall be, Daniel 8:17, “for at the time of the end shall be the vision.” Praise the Lord.

We can tie it all together at this point. In each of the three successive visions, we focus in more closely on the end time as though with a zoom lens on the seventieth week. The first of the three, Daniel 8:13-14, is a more nebulous, less defined vision, with one exception: it contains the nucleus of the abomination or transgression of desolation in the sanctuary.

In Daniel 9:27, we have seen around the nucleus of this vision are some clearly defined lines. This time it is measured off as seven years. An in the midst of the time we find that nucleus.

And finally in Daniel 11:31, the nucleus becomes expanded and we are shown people performing specific acts.

Daniel 11:31

31) “And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.”

We will come back to chapter eleven later. But this way of tying certain points together helps to strip away some of the veil of mystery of Daniel.

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