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Turn your Bibles with me to the book of Daniel at chapter 9, and this is a fascinating passage of Scripture. Now, we don't, as a church, usually look at prophecy. We preach through the Bible, so this is not our obsession at all, and I understand this is also not an easy kind of a message for general church-goers, because it can get technical, it can have some figures and facts that you may feel it's a little bit cumbersome. But let's look at this with a hungry heart, because, as we look at the prophecy here in Daniel 9, I believe God has a message for you that will bless your life as well.

00:45
So, today let's begin with a little story, all right. There's a little boy, his name is Johnny. Johnny asks his Daddy, "Daddy, can I have a baby brother, please?" And Daddy says, "Johnny, if you want a baby brother, pray, pray for 4 months, I guarantee you, God will give you a baby brother."

And so Johnny religiously prayed. He prays for one week, he prays a two weeks, he prays for one month, he prays for two months, and he got tired and he stopped at that. Four months after Daddy told Johnny to pray, Daddy and Mummy came home from the hospital and invited Johnny into their room, and as Johnny stepped into the room, he realized there's this bundle wrapped up in a blanket, and Daddy removed the blanket and says, "Johnny, look at this. You have been praying for baby boy, and God gave us a baby boy, not just one, but we have two baby boys, we have twins! Aren't you glad you prayed?" Johnny says, "Yes, I'm glad I prayed. But aren't you glad I stopped at 2 months?"

Sometimes, when we pray, we get more than we asked for, isn't it?

Now Daniel had a simple prayer. Daniel prayed, "God, it is time, bring us out from the Medo-Persians, bring us to Jerusalem, bring us back to our homeland." And that is the prayer of Daniel. But God says, "I'm going to do more than what you've asked for. I'm not just going to bring you out of Jerusalem; I'm going to bring sin out of you. I'm not just going to bring you back to Jerusalem; I'm going to bring you back to God. I'm not just going to deal with you physically, I'm going to bless you spiritually as well."

And that's what God said to Daniel via Gabriel the angel. After Daniel prays, "God, bring us back to Jerusalem." God says, "I'm going to bring something more than that, far greater." This is a grander answer - 70 weeks. Therefore Daniel's "Seventy weeks are decreed about Your people and Your holy city, [mind you, this is about the Jews, and this is going to be about Jerusalem,] to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place." (Daniel 9:24 ESV)

Wow! Daniel could only say, "God, bring us back, because 70 years is up. Bring us back to Jerusalem!" God says, "I'm going to do far beyond that, I'm going to bring in everlasting righteousness. I'm going to anoint a most holy place." This is a cosmic prophecy. It is going to impact the whole world. Though it centers in Jerusalem, it's a wide impact that will be, that would be the result of this great prophecy.

3:58
So today we're going to look at Daniel's 70 weeks. People look at this passage and said this is the backbone of all prophecy, this is the basis.

There're some in our church will say, "Pastor, when are you going to preach on Revelation (you know, that “cheem” [difficult in Hokkien] book that everybody avoids)?" Erm, well, we can't really preach Revelation until you understand Daniel. Daniel gives you the basis.

Revelation, in a sense, is organized based on Daniel's 70 weeks. Some people say this is the key to unlocking the New Testament prophecies, and some even say this is the greatest prophecy of all time.

Let me quote to you Isaac Newton, he said, "We could stake the truth of Christianity on this one prophecy alone." He is saying this prophecy is so great that the whole of the Bible, the whole of Christianity hinges on this. If this prophecy fails, Christianity fails. That's how important and highly regarded Daniel chapter 9 is.

05:12
So let's look at this passage on Daniel's 70 weeks. In verse 25, we are told, now, "Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moats, but in a troubled time. And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator." (Daniel 9:25-27 ESV)

Let's look at Daniel's 70 weeks. First of all, what is this 70 weeks? Is this 70 times 7 days? I mean, a week is 7 days right? But not quite, because, in the Hebrew, the word "weeks" is a word that simply means 7. So, Daniel is saying, this prophecy is about 70 sevens. Most of us read it as 70 seven days, but you will realize, soon, that this is about 70 times 7 years, not 7 days. So this is a prophecy that encapsulates some 490 years for the Jews, 70 times 7 years.

That's why in the NLT, it says, "A period of seventy sets of seven has been decreed for your people and your holy city..." (Daniel 9:24 NLT)

Now this 70 sets of 7 is further subdivided into 3 portions; Number 1, there will be a portion of 7 sevens. Then, number 2, there will be a portion of 62 sevens. And finally, there will be a period of 1 seven.

So, if you're lost, just look at this again. Daniel's 70 weeks is about 70 sevens, where the 1st part is 7 sevens, 2nd part is 62 sevens and then 1 seven. This is where your maths come in.

First one, how many years? 49, okay, not too bad. 62 sevens? GLCC mathematics not so strong. Okay, 434 years. And the last one? Wah, so confident. All right, so you have 49, 434 and 7 years, all right.

Now, let's look at this chart. This will be a very important chart (I'm going to update this, increase in the number of details along the way), but I hope to give you a picture that you can hang Daniel's 70 weeks on. So, this 70 weeks began with the first part of 7 years that makes it 7 seven years, that makes it 49 years. The second one of 62 weeks is 434 years. The 3rd one of one week is 7 years. And we are going to start by looking at the first part, of course.

8:55
And in this first part, it begins in verse 25, saying, "Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass [you see, 7 + 62 is 69. So he is saying 69 sets of 7 will be] from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler - the Anointed One - comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, despite the perilous times." (Daniel 9:25 NLT)

The word "ruler" is the Hebrew word "nagiyd", "anointed" is the word "mishchah", "mashiyach" or, that is, the anointed King, or the Messiah King, comes.

So, Daniel is saying 69 weeks is what it takes for the issue of the command to rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah King comes. But in between, Jerusalem will be built with streets and strong defences, despite the perilous times.

Therefore, the 69 weeks are divided into the command to rebuild Jerusalem, and then to Jerusalem rebuilt. And then for the next 62 weeks is from Jerusalem built to the time the Messiah King comes. So the first 7 weeks is about the command given to the time Jerusalem is successfully rebuilt.

10:17
So when did the command to rebuild Jerusalem get issued? This will start the prophetic timeline. It's important. And the Bible actually gives us the answer.

It's very simple, if you have been studying Nehemiah, it says in chapter 2 verse 5, "And I [that is, Nehemiah] said to the king, "If it pleases the king... that you send me [back to my homeland, send me back] to Judah, to the city of my father's graves, that I may rebuild it."" (Nehemiah 2:5, ESV)

Most of us, when we read Nehemiah, we miss this detail. This is so significant in a prophetic timeline. "And the King [that is, Artaxerxes, he] granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me." (Nehemiah 2:8 ESV)

God has so worked in the king's heart to say, "This is the right time."

Charles Swindoll, he says, "As Artaxerxes hands over the letters clearing Nehemiah's way to rebuild the holy city, the prophecy clock starts ticking!" Things are going to move as it is dictated or determined by God.

11:34
So now, the question is, when is this event? What is the precise day that we can track?

The Bible also tells you in Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 1, it says "In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes..." (Nehemiah 2:1 ESV)

Now, when is this? You can historically trace the exact date because it tells you when Artaxerxes became king. It's on the month of Nisan, and we are told by scholars that this is on the 14th of March, 445 BC.

So, very simple, "Nissan March", ok you get it, all right. "Honda Accord", I don't know, but Nisan, March, and 445 BC, 14th of March.

You say, "What's so significant about this day that you should put it up?"

Well, you will see that in a moment's time. So this is how it begins, at 445 BC. By the way, when Daniel received this prophecy, it is about 539 BC. So this is about a hundred years later. It did not occur in Daniel's lifetime; it occurred about a hundred years later. But the prophetic blueprint is given to Daniel way of time to show this is indeed God's work.

So about a hundred years later, King Artaxerxes writes the letter, issues the command, "Nehemiah, you can go back and rebuild Jerusalem."

How long did it take to rebuild Jerusalem? If you're thinking very hard, you're thinking wrong. How long did it take to rebuild Jerusalem? 49 years, that's right, and it took 49 years to rebuild Jerusalem.

Now of course, we read of Nehemiah building the city in 52 days, but that is not a complete rebuilding of the Temple and the walls and so on. It took a full [thank you, KC] It took a full 49 years for the, for the city to be built up, and that would make this which year? You all know how to calculate from BC. BC is decreasing one, that's why it's a bit difficult. That will be about 396 BC. All right, So the city will be built up at 396 BC.

14:15
Now, what is after the rebuilding of the city? The next prophetic event will be the coming of the Messiah King, and this is given in the 62 weeks after the first 7 weeks, or, first 7 sevens.

It says in v25, "sixty-two sets of seven...until a ruler - the Anointed One - comes." (Daniel 9:25 NLT)

So this is from the time Jerusalem is rebuilt to the time the Messiah King arrives. Now, when is this going to take place? What does it mean for the Messiah King to come?
Some people think, "Oh, it must be about the day Jesus is born." No, that's not about the Messiah baby; its about the Messiah King, introduced officially as King.

By the way, nobody knows exactly when Jesus was born. You say, "Isn't it Christmas Day?" No, sorry to disappoint you, it's not Christmas Day, it's not the 25th of December at all. Nobody really knows the exact day he was born. Nobody really knows the exact day he was in a manger, but everybody knows the exact day he was introduced as the King of the Jews, and that is the date that is being prophesied.

So, at 396 BC, the city was rebuilt, and now we're trying to figure out when is it that Jesus was introduced as King of the Jews.

This will take us to John chapter 12 verse 1 where it says, "Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany" (John 12:1 ESV). So, Passover is on which day? Is it Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday? What's the day? Passover is on Friday.

Jesus is crucified on Good Friday, all right, so Passover is on Friday. Jesus died on Friday. He is the Passover lamb, you see. Now, 6 days before Friday is what day? Don't worry, I did this myself. I had to do it; I'm not very good at this. 6 days before Friday is Saturday. Very good.

So, on Saturday, the Bible says Jesus came to Bethany. And then the next day (this is now obviously Sunday), so on Sunday, large crowds had come to the feast because they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him. That's why up till today, people celebrate Palm Sunday. It's the Sunday before Jesus would be crucified on the cross. It's on Palm Sunday they all came.

And look at what they said, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!" (John 12:12-13 ESV)

This is a direct quote from Psalm 118, and the people were anticipating the coming king. They knew that the king was coming, and so when Jesus came in, they celebrated and says, "This is our King."

17:48
The date, 6th of April AD 32. You say, "Why do I give you such a detail? Why do we elaborately work on this mathematics?" Well, because it is significant for this regard. Jesus enters the city of Jerusalem on a very specific time or date. 445 BC 14th of March is the start of Daniel's 70 weeks. And God said, for 69 weeks it will be the time taken before the Nagiyd, Mashiyach would come. And this is the timeline in between.

Now, this is where you need to put on your thinking cap. How many days is this? How many days is this, those who are super smart? By the way I didn't come up with this la. There are super smart people who had studied and researched and therefore came out with the numbers. Anybody can figure out what's the number of days?

It's very hard to predict or to work out the sums based on this calendar. Okay, one of the easy ways to do it is to use Daniel's 70 weeks. What do I mean by that? Daniel's 70 weeks tells us this is a time gap of about 69 sets of sevens, right? So 69 times 7 is what? 69 times 7 is 483 years, right? 49 + 434 is 483 years.

Now, the calendar used by Daniel, by the Jews, is that one year is not equal to 365 days, but one year is equal to 360 days. So if you multiply 69 times 7 times 360, it is 173880 days, correct or not? Eh do your own sums, and in fact verify for yourselves, all right? So, according to Daniel's prophecy, it's about 173880, but is it really 445 BC 14 March to 32 AD 6 April?

Now, let's do some maths. From 445 BC to 32 AD, how many years, this is a different calendar ah. This is a more modern calendar, this is the Jewish calendar. Now, for the modern calendar, how many years difference is this, from 445 to 32 AD? If you add up, it's about 470. Okay, most of us will say 477 because we assume there's a 0 AD. There's no 0 AD, therefore it's 476, 476 years, multiply by 365 days, what's the answer? 173740.

Eh, you say, "Pastor then “buay zhun” [incorrect in Hokkien] already la." There's a short - not bad, not bad, God is not bad, got 140 day difference, not bad, He's quite accurate. No no no, God is not in the business of about to be accurate. Don't forget that in our calendar of 365 days, you have something called the...? Wah, you all so smart ah, how come you all all know got leap years, it's like, to me, I didn't even realize it. So for the leap years, in 476 years, you'll have 116 leap years. So you've got to add to 173740, 116 days, and that's not all, you've got to factor in 14th March to 6th April is another 24 days. So if you add 173740 + 116 + 24, the answer is 173880.

21:58


The astonishing thing about Daniel's prophecy - It is precise to the day Jesus enters Jerusalem. Isn't it amazing, God is not satisfied with just “agat agat” [“estimate” in Hokkien], give you plus minus one or two days. It is precise to the very day, and it may be lost on us today because we are not Jews, we are not Israelites, we didn't have the Torah, we didn't have the Bible, so something like this, to us, is, maybe a little bit irrelevant, but not for the Jewish nation's, Jewish nation doing Jesus' time.

The people were looking with anticipation and eagerness for the coming Messiah. For example, you have Simeon, "Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel." (Luke 2:25 ESV).

He's the “lau ah peh” [“old man” in Hokkien], he's going to die soon. But God has revealed to him, he will not die until the Saviour comes, and he sees him. But there is an air of anticipation.

Anna, the prophetess, likewise, "She began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem." (Luke 2:38 ESV)

They were all waiting for what? Not just that Jesus will come and save the people from sins, but to restore Jerusalem. Daniel. I'm going to anoint the most holy place. So they knew the prophecies, and they were anticipating, this is about the time.

And not only the Jews, even the Samaritans. "The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ)." (John 4:25 ESV)

Wow, they read their Bible, and so they were all full of anticipation. And so when Jesus, the great teacher, miracle worker, the man who says He is the Son of God, was coming in through the gates of Jerusalem, they came with Hosannas, they came with the palms, they said, "This is the king of Israel." It's not as if there is no background, no context, and they anyhow do their own things. They anticipated the coming king.

And that's why, early on in Jesus' ministry, the Bible tells us, "Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him King, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself." (John 6:15 ESV)

He wouldn't want them to be [be] able to bring him out and say, "This is the King of the Jews". He says, "No, you want to make me King, but this is not the right time." Therefore, he withdrew. And so he's waiting for AD 32, 6th of April, before he will be announced and arise as the Nagiyd Messiah, the Messiah King.

24:52
So this is a highly significant day, a day that Daniel could have seen, a day that Gabriel was telling Daniel, a day that the Jews were all looking forward to. They thought that when he comes in, he's going to cause a revolt against the Roman Empire and change everything. But there are still twists and turns in this prophecy.

But nevertheless, this is a very significant day. "The whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"" (Luke 19:37-38 ESV)

And this is exactly as God has prophesied. This King is not going to come in a white horse, but he's going to come humbly. The king we Christians worship is a humble King, when he came the first time. "... behold, your king is coming to you, righteous and having salvation... humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." (Zechariah 9:9 ESV)

This is prophesied by Zechariah hundreds of years before this would even happen, exactly as the Scriptures has prophesied. And so some of the Pharisees, they could not take this. They wouldn't want Jesus to be their Messiah. He's not part of our gang. He was raised in Nazareth. His father is a carpenter. And so "... they said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples." He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out."" (Luke 19:39-40 ESV) This is the day.

"And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, "Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace. But now they are hidden from your eyes."" (Luke 19:41-42 ESV)

Daniel's 69 weeks bring us from King Artaxerxes' command to the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem and temple, to the coming of Jesus Christ entering the city of Jerusalem.

27:24
But there's more. The prophecy doesn't just tell us that he comes; the prophecy tells us that he came to die, and we are going to see that he's going to be sacrificed on the cross. So the King is not going to come in and usher immediate conquest, he's going to die first.

In verse 26, after this period of 62 sets of 7, the anointed one will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing. It's almost like "What's the use of this King? if he came, and died, and we're still under Roman rule." Other translations put it this way, that he has got nothing for himself, or, it is not because of anything in him.

In either of these translations, we can accept and understand, because Jesus did come, not because he had any sin, but he came to die for the sins of the world. And he does appear like he has accomplished nothing, because he died, and the Jews were still under Roman rule.

But there are more twists. Not only did the king come and die, the city that he came to save was destroyed. The Bible tells us that Jerusalem will be destroyed inn AD 70, in verse 26, and he says here, "and a ruler will arise".

Now, this ruler, mind you, is not Jesus. If you come the next time we look at Daniel's 70, you realize the ruler here is none other than the antichrist, the ultimate super villain.

The antichrist belongs to a certain Empire. He does not belong to the Babylonians. He doesn't belong to the Medo Persians. he belong to the Romans. And he says that the antichrist will arise in the future, but, at this point, from the Romans, the armies will arise to "destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, [this is not a flood of water, but a flood of soldiers, the flood of war], and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end." (Daniel 9:26 NLT)

29:42
So this tells us about the siege of Jerusalem in AD 70. This, again, is another historical fact. Jerusalem was laid siege by the Romans in AD 70. This is about 40 years after Jesus died. It is said to be one of the most horrific of sieges ever to be seen.

Every day, 500 people are brought outside the city to be crucified. It is said that a total of about 1.1 million lives were killed, and that it was so bad, the starvation and the famine was so bad, that the mothers would eat their offspring just to survive. And this siege took place in AD 70.

So, this is weird. Daniel prophesies of a King who will deliver, but the King dies, and the city he came to save is ruined, just 40 years after he comes. Now, this is led by this man, Titus Vespasian, again, historical fact, go Google it, Wikipedia, whatever you want.

Titus Vespasian is a general who became a Roman Empire, the 10th Roman [Empire], or Emperor, sorry, and he led his troops to destroy Jerusalem. Even today, if you go to Rome, you can see this Arc of Titus, it's called. And the Arc of Titus has this inscriptions (that none of us can read), but it's supposed to mean "The Roman Senate and People (dedicate this) to the divine Titus Vespasianus Augustus, son of the divine Vespasian."

So he got his arc built by the Romans for him, because he conquered Jerusalem amongst other lands. And now, the Bible also tells us, and history also tells us, the temple walls were dismantled so that no rocks stone upon another.

You say, "Why?" Actually Vespasian was a rather, eh, he was not so angry against the Jews. He didn't really want to bring down the temple, but his soldiers inadvertently set fire on the temple, and what happens is that the fire melts the precious gold and metal in the temple, and the precious metals and gold just melt in between the crevices of the rocks.

So after it's melted, it's all there, and the soldiers wanted to retrieve those gold and those precious metals. And so they had to hack and break down those walls, thereby fulfilling the prophecy Jesus Himself gave, not just in Luke, but also in Matthew 24, in the Olivet discourse.

The disciples were asking, "What would happen to the temple?" Jesus says, "There is no rock that will be left on another." Because Jesus knew the prophecy. He knew that Jerusalem will be destroyed, "For the days will come upon you, [he said] when your enemies will set up a barricade around you [the siege] and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, [why?] because you did not know the time of your visitation." (Luke 19:43-44 ESV)

You didn't study the Scriptures, you didn't bother with the prophecy I've given to my servant Daniel.

33:35
So this is an amazing prophecy for 69 weeks. Starts with 49 years, 62 weeks of 434 years, one week or 7 years. The timer, start the moment, started the moment King Artaxerxes issues the command to rebuild; Midpoint is when the city is rebuilt after 49 years. The 69 weeks culminate in Jesus entering the city of Jerusalem as King.

Now, after this, there are still other two major events that are not part of the 69, they are after the 69. What are they? Well, Jesus is killed, and two, Jerusalem is destroyed some 40 years later.

Now, all this is building up to a climactic final week. I don't know about you, but when there's a good movie, it usually works like this, isn't it? Starts off slow, and then it gathers momentum, and then you have the final climax "Ping pang pang pong pang", and it's so spectacular you are wowed by it. And I tell you, the last week is a spectacular week, but like a good TV producer, you want to stretch the series longer to earn more money (but not for this la ah). I will not tell you the last week today. You want to find, like a cliffhanger, last episode, come next week la.

So, as a last episode cliffhanger, we will look at it next time we gather in Daniel's 70 weeks. Why do I do that? Not because I want to keep you in suspense, but there's so much to talk about in the 70th week that I think it can only be done the next time we meet. So, I'm going to leave you hanging there for a while.

35:35
But this is my point. As we look at the first 69 weeks, this is not an easy message to make application, but I think we will all be amazed, at the amazing accuracy of Scripture.

There is no book like the Bible, folks. There is no book like the Bible. Tell me any other book that gives prophecy to such detail and accuracy, and that it is fulfilled. There is none like the Bible.

Justin Martyr says, "To declare that a thing shall come to be, long before it is in being, and then bring about the accomplishment of that very thing according to the same declaration, this or nothing is the work of God."

The prophecy in Daniel is a clear evidence, that, what we have in our hands is the Word of God.

This is Ray Stedman, a pastor who has passed away. He said, this "definite timetable of events... one of the strongest evidences to prove the divine inspiration of the Bible," and if you look at the prophecy here, it is one of the great proofs that Jesus, indeed, is the Messiah.

I mean, who else? who else enters Jerusalem on the day that was prophesied? Who else enters Jerusalem the way it was supposed to be on a donkey? Who else was cut off? and who else was there before Jerusalem is destroyed? There's none! Only Jesus!

It is said there was a Jewish convert, a Jewish Christian, who was debating with another Jew in Daniel chapter 9. And as they debate, the moderator, who is a Jewish rabbi, had to stop them and shut the books, and say, "If we continue to discuss this, if we continue to look at this prophecy, then you'll make all of us here Christians."

And he is right. If you are sincere and honest in looking into the Bible, looking at Daniel 9, you can't walk away but with this conclusion: Jesus is indeed the Messiah King. But by and large, today, blindness has in part, has in part occurred to the Jews, that they will not see. But if we were to look at the Scriptures, there is no doubt He is the King.

That's why Isaac Newton, I think, is right. "We could stake the truth of Christianity on this one prophecy alone."

I give you an illustration. A man had a field of watermelons, and there was a group of naughty boys who came to steal his watermelons. And so what he thought about was a brilliant plan to take some poison, inject into one of the watermelons, and put a sign nearby that says, "One of the watermelons is injected with poison."

And so for days, the young boys didn't come back to take the watermelons, until the young boy, young boys took revenge. They, in the silence of the night, came and injected poison in another watermelon, and put up a sign beside the original sign, "Now there are two." What happens is that the farmer had to give up the entire harvest of watermelons. What's my point? You just need one watermelon spoilt to spoil your whole harvest.

39:31
You just need one error in the Scripture and you can flush the Bible down your toilet. Just one. instead of 173880 days, just 173881 days, that's it, just one. And if you could find one fault in the Scriptures, don't come to church, don't read your Bibles, leave, forsake Christ; He is not worth following, because God is not true.

But if every detail comes into full fulfillment.  Think about how we should approach the Scriptures and look at our Christian lives, how we should take the Bible in our hands, and value it, because this is not man's word; this is God's Word.

How we need to read it, love it, believe it, trust it, obey it, hang on to it when times are tough, cling on to it and will not ever let it go, because this is the Word of God.

My friends, if you're here today and you do not know Jesus, don't say to yourself, "I’ll never be able to know Jesus." Go to the Scriptures, go to the Bible, the Bible is God's Word, it reveals to you Jesus, His Son, and he says, "My sheep will hear my voice." You can trust it. So many of us say, "I cannot come to know Jesus, I can never see Him." Go to the Bible.

And like the Rabbi says, "If you just keep looking at it, you can't help it but become a Christian," if you seek it and read it with all your heart. I say to you, one of the best ways to do evangelism - study the Bible with someone else.

We love quick fixes, we live in such a microwave society, everything must be fast. We think evangelism must also be one-hit wonders. No, sometimes people need to look into the Bible and see for themselves Jesus. So, take your Bibles, start, John chapter 1, Matthew chapter 1. Read the Bible with him, with her; trust God that his Spirit will speak through his Word.

As a church, I pray we will be loyal to the Scriptures. I pray it will never come a day where we would not teach God's Word but would just teach man's opinions, and say nice things to help people in their lives. It doesn't help people in their lives, if you do not give them truth. It's truth that sets God's people free. I've no greater ambition than to preach the most precious commodity of all - the Scriptures, the truth, the Word of God, and we can trust it.

42:35
Daniel chapter 9, what an amazing passage! And I pray as a church we will love God's Word. We will study God's Word.

Well, Jesus Himself said, "Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." (Luke 21:32-33 ESV)

Well, all that we've looked at is actually history. The first 69 weeks, to us, is history. But the 70th week is future, and we're going to look at it the next time we gather, and I pray God will give us a humble heart to receive all that he has. It is amazing, wonderful word.

Let's bow for a word of prayer together.

Father, we thank You for Your Word. It's so refreshing each time to come to the Scriptures, because we realize, as we come to the Bible, we are not echoing our own thoughts; we are hearing divine inspiration. We are hearing divine revelation. And I pray today, as a church, you will continue to create and cultivate, in Your people, a wonderful, healthy appetite for the Bible; to love it, to treasure it, to cling on to every single word, every jot and titter.

Keep us faithful. We thank You that Your Word today reveals Your amazing plans, grace, love and salvation. Thank You for Jesus, the King, who came to die, in order to set His people free. Lord, we worship You, bless Your Word to each and every heart today. We ask this in Jesus' Name, Amen.

 

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