Pastor David B. Curtis
Pastor David B. Curtis
Last week we began to look at Daniel 12 and the time of The Resurrection. Most Christians look for The Resurrection to happen at some future day; at the end of time. I told you last week that when R.C. Sproul Sr. was asked, "What is it that keeps you from being a full Preterist? His answer was, "The Resurrection." To R.C. the Preterist view of the Resurrection happening at A.D. 70 didn't work. If you put the Resurrection off to the end of time, what do you do with Daniel 12? Daniel 12 puts the Resurrection in A.D. 70. Let's continue looking at Daniel 12 and see what it tells us about the time of the Resurrection:
"Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. Daniel 12:1 NASB
Last week I suggested that Michael was in fact the pre-incarnate Christ, and hopefully supported that position with the Scripture. This past week I received this question from Haviv, "I ask you what you mean in view of":
And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, Revelation 12:7 NASB
Haviv asks, "Who is the Dragon? And is Michael Jesus?"
In Revelation 12:7 we see that the angels in Heaven are Michael's angels and that Michael leads his angels in battle against the dragon, which is Satan! So, we can see that Michael is indeed the Captain of the angels. He is their leader.
If we compare Joshua 5 and Revelation 12, we see that Joshua saw a man who identified Himself as the Captain of the host of the Lord. That man was also identified as being the Lord in Chapter 6. Archangel means"the Chief of the angels." He is the Chief of the angels! He is their Commander, the Commander of the LORD'S army in Heaven, God's angels. This is Michael the Archangel, the Captain of the host of the Lord, who is also the Lord!
Now, in Revelation 19, we see a very interesting change in the leader of the armies of heaven. Michael will be called by a different name:
And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. Revelation 19:11-14 NASB
Who is the "Word of God"? It is Yeshua:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1 NASB
So the "Word of God" is Yeshua, and in Revelation 19 we see that the armies which are in heaven follow Him. Yeshua is leading the armies of heaven! In Revelation 12 we saw that it was Michael who was leading the army of angels, and in Revelation 19 it is the "Word of God" who is Yeshua. This is because Michael is the pre-incarnate Yeshua.
We saw last week that Daniel is talking about a time of Great Tribulation and we saw that this is the same time that Yeshua talked about in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. And Yeshua clearly said that this time of Great Tribulation was to happen to the generation to whom He was speaking, the 1st century generation.
We also saw that during this Great Tribulation those whose names are written in the book of life will be rescued. We talked about this book of life last week. During the question and answer time Robert from Utah asked about Revelation 22:19, which I really messed up. I said that I had already answered that question, but I had not, and I apologize to Robert. Your questions are important to me, and I want to try to answer them. Last week I said, "There is no explicit statement in Scripture that anybody will have his name blotted out of the book of life." Robert's question came from:
and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. Revelation 22:19 NKJV
This sure seems to contradict what I said. Textual critics say that the translation "book" is an error, what it should say is "tree of life." This is how the NASB translates it. This verse does not teach that Yahweh will take someone's name out of the book of life. Believers, our salvation is secure. Let me show you my favorite verse:
For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. Romans 5:19 NASB
It is through the perfect obedience of Yeshua that I am made righteous! Just like I disobeyed in Adam and was condemned, I have been perfectly obedient in Yeshua and I share His righteousness. I am eternally secure because I am in Yeshua.
"Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt. Daniel 12:2 NASB
This is clearly talking about The Resurrection and in this context it happens after this time of Great Tribulation. And after it happens, there will be believers leading many to righteousness:
"Those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. Daniel 12:3 NASB
The light of the kingdom is going out and many are coming to righteousness. If The Resurrection was at the end of time as many believe, how could many be coming to righteousness after it happened?
So Daniel 12 talks about a time of great trouble, about The Resurrection and then about many coming to righteousness. Notice what Yeshua says in Matthew 13:
"So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. Matthew 13:40 NASB
So the time that Yeshua is talking about here is the "end of the age." This is the same time that Daniel 12 talks about:
"But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age." Daniel 12:13 NASB
There are only two ages talked about in the Bible, "this age," which was the Old Covenant age, and "the age to come" which was the New Covenant age. The New Covenant has no last days, no end time; so the end of the age must refer to the end of the Old Covenant. There is no newer covenant to end the New Covenant.
Back to Matthew 13:
"The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 "Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. Matthew 13:41-43 NASB
Yeshua tells us that at the end of the age the lawless will be cast into a furnace of fire and will be weeping and gnashing their teeth. This is The Great Tribulation that Daniel talks about. Then he says, "The righteousness will shine forth as the sun" quoting Daniel 12:3. So all this stuff; The Great Tribulation, The Resurrection, and the righteous shining forth as the sun all happens at the end of the Jewish age.
Both Daniel 12 and Matthew 13 are speaking about the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The Resurrection is an event that was to happen in A.D. 70.
"But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase." Daniel 12:4 NASB
Daniel is to seal up the book until when? "The end of time." This is a very bad translation. Young's Literal Translation translates this as, "the time of the end." So does the KJV and even the NIV. We know that this should not be translated "end of time" if we look at verse 7:
I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed. Daniel 12:7 NASB
Notice the end of this verse, "as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed." All what events will be competed? The Great Tribulation in verse 1; The Resurrection in verse 2; many being turned to righteousness in verse 3; and the shattering the power of the holy people. So all these events will be completed when the power of the holy people is shattered. So when does that happen? Is it at the end of time as verse 4 says? Who are the holy people? In context it is Daniel's people, which are the Jews. So when was it that the Jew's power was completely shattered? To understand this we need to go to Daniel chapter 9:
"Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place. Daniel 9:24 NASB
So here we see that "Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city." This is the Jewish people and Jerusalem. As I said last week, I don't see this "seventy weeks" as a literal block of time. Let me tell you why. When Daniel received the prophecy of the "seventy weeks," the children of Israel were in captivity in Babylon. After the Kingdom of Babylon fell in 538 B.C., the Persian king, Cyrus, issued a decree to rebuild Jerusalem:
Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying: Ezra 1:1 NASB
Let me ask you this? Could Cyrus not have issued this proclamation to rebuild Jerusalem? Could the word of the LORD gone unfulfilled? Did Cyrus have a free will to choose not to issue this decree? The answer to all these questions is No!
"Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, 'The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 'Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him! Let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel; He is the God who is in Jerusalem. Ezra 1:2-3 NASB
After this decree was issued, thousands of Israelites immediately packed their bags and began the journey back to Jerusalem. So the "seventy weeks" began in 538 B.C. with the issuing of the word of Cyrus to rebuild the Temple and the city. And they ended with the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70:
"Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. Daniel 9:26 NASB
Gabriel's prophecy begins with the statement in verse 24, "Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city." And then in verse 26 we see that the city and the sanctuary are destroyed. The city and the sanctuary were destroyed in A.D. 70.
So from 538 B.C. to A.D. 70 is 608 years, not 490. But from 538 B.C. to A.D. 70 was from the time of the fall of Babylon to the fall of Jerusalem, which is called Babylon in the Scriptures. So I see this "seventy weeks" as a figurative period from the fall of Babylon to the fall of Babylon.
The "seventy weeks" are like Yeshua's statement to Peter:
Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Matthew 18:21-22 NASB
Yeshua is not saying that you stop forgiving at 491. His answer is not to be taken literally! Jesus confronts Peter with the truth, that the spirit of forgiveness really knows no boundaries. He is saying, "Don't keep track." So Yeshua's "seventy times seven" is not to be taken literally, and neither is Daniel's "Seventy weeks."
The "seventy weeks" could not have been a literal chronology because they were consummated in the destruction of the Temple, the Parousia, and The Resurrection. If they were literal, it would have been possible to calculate the years to the Parousia. They could have counted 490 years from Cyrus' decree to rebuild the Temple and the city, and they would know exactly when Yeshua was to return. But Yeshua said:
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. Matthew 24:35-36 NASB
Many today use verse 36 to prove that we have no knowledge of the time of a future to us, Second Coming of Christ. But,"that day" refers to the passing away of the heavens and earth, which was the destruction of Jerusalem and the Old Covenant. Yeshua had already told them, in verse 34, that it would happen in their generation (forty years or so). But they did not know the "day or hour" that it would happen.
When a woman gets pregnant, we know that in about forty weeks she is going to have a baby. We don't know the day or hour, but we can know that it will happen in about forty weeks. That is exactly what Jesus is saying here. And it is quite interesting that the time prior to the consummation of the kingdom is often referred to as birth pangs.
Since no man knows the day and hour, the "seventy weeks" had to have been meant symbolically.
"Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. Daniel 9:26 NASB
Here we see in the seventieth week, which is the final week for the Jewish people, that "the people of the prince," which are the Jewish people, "will destroy the city and the sanctuary." This destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the Jewish temple would be that shattering of the power of the holy people. We know that this happened in A.D. 70 when the Old Covenant system that Yahweh gave to Moses was swept away.
Since this does not happen at the end of time, but at the end of the Old Covenant age, we know that the NASB translation "end of time" in Daniel 12:4, is wrong. Let me just say here that the Bible does not speak of "the end of time." The expression "the end time" or the "time of the end" is found in Scripture, but nowhere in the Bible can we find the expression "the end of time." The expression "the end time" or the "time of the end" speaks of the end of an age, but the end of an age is not the end of time. Scripture does not indicate that God has any plan to destroy this created world that we enjoy. Let's go back to verse 4:
"But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase." Daniel 12:4 NASB
Daniel is told to "conceal these words and seal up the book until the time of the end." These things were not going to be understood until the time of the end. When the end times arrived, Yeshua, referring to Daniels words, said:
"But when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Mark 13:14 NASB
Mark adds, "(let the reader understand)." This is designed to draw the attention of the reader of Daniel to the passages' true meaning. In other words, when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, that is the sign of the destruction of Jerusalem, the sign of His Coming and the end of the age.
He said, "Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time. Daniel 12:9 NASB
Again Daniel is told that these words are sealed until the end time, or the last days of Israel. We are told in Daniel 12:4 that this "time of the end" will be a time when "knowledge will increase." How many of you have heard this verse used to say that the knowledge here is science and technology, and that it refers to our time? This is not talking about the knowledge of science or technology. Remember this is talking about the end of the Jewish age.
When the Bible talks about knowledge, it is referring to the knowledge of Yahweh. Prior to Pentecost and the coming of the New Covenant the knowledge of Yahweh was limited to who? Israel:
who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises, Romans 9:4 NASB
Only Israel had the knowledge of Yahweh. But after Pentecost the knowledge of Yahweh began to go to the nations. This is the knowledge that Daniel was talking about--it was the knowledge of the Gospel, the knowledge of God in Christ. Isaiah spoke of this:
The word which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. Isaiah 2:1-3 NASB
This happens in the "last days," the same last days that Daniel is talking about. Nations, which is Gentiles, come to the mountain of Yahweh that "He may teach us concerning His ways." Here knowledge increases as Gentiles are taught Yahweh's ways.
Paul was used of Yahweh in the last days to increase this knowledge:
For God, who said, "Light shall shine out of darkness," is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6 NASB
Here Paul calls the Gospel the "Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." Paul lived in the last days, and he helped this knowledge to increase. This is what Daniel was talking about. In the last days knowledge would increase, the knowledge of the Gospel of our LORD Yeshua Ha'Moshiach.
Then I, Daniel, looked and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the river and the other on that bank of the river. And one said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, "How long will it be until the end of these wonders?" Daniel 12:5-6 NASB
This question seems to be asked for the sake of Daniel. The end of these things is the "end" that has been talked about from Daniel 11:40 to 12:3, with all that shall happen in i; The Great Tribulation, the salvation of the elect, The Resurrection, all of it. The answer to the question is in the next verse:
I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed. Daniel 12:7 NASB
"All these events" includes The Resurrection of verse 2. Daniel is told that The Resurrection will be when the power of the holy people (the Jews) has been completely shattered.
So, The Resurrection was to happen at the end of the Jewish age, the Old Covenant age. We know that this happened in A.D. 70 with the destruction of the Jewish Temple.
As for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, "My lord, what will be the outcome of these events?" He said, "Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time. Daniel 12:8-9 NASB
That is, till the time comes, or draws near, that they shall be accomplished; until then they would not be clearly understood. Then in the book of Revelation we read:
And he said to me, "Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. Revelation 22:10 NASB
What was sealed in Daniel is being revealed in Revelation. Back to Daniel:
"Many will be purged, purified and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand. "From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. Daniel 12:10-11 NASB
From the time the Abomination of Desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. How many years is that? Three and a half, which is how long the war against Jerusalem lasted. Yeshua referred to this in Matthew 24:15, in discussing the fall of Jerusalem:
"Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), Matthew 24:15 NASB
Walvoord, commenting on Matthew 24:15, says, "Such a Temple will be rebuilt and these prophecies literally fulfilled [like Jerusalem's destruction in A.D. 70 wasn't literal enough-- DBC]. If upon this revival of their sacrificial system such a future Temple is suddenly desecrated, it would constitute a sign to the nation of Israel of the coming time of great trouble just preceding the Second Coming."
Now, is that what Jesus is talking about in our text? No! Jesus is talking about something that would happen in His generation (Matthew 24:34).
Many commentators find an allusion to the standards of the Roman legions in the expression, "The Abomination of Desolation." The eagles were objects of worship to the soldiers. We know from Josephus that the attempt of a Roman general, Vitellius, in the reign of Tiberius, to march his troops through Judea was resisted by the Jewish authorities, on the ground that the idolatrous images on their ensigns would be a profanation of the Law.
But Luke really clears it up for us:
"But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. Luke 21:20 NASB
By reading the surrounding verses, you cannot deny that this is a parallel account to Matthew's Olivet Discourse. Parallel accounts cannot have a different meaning. By combining Luke's statement with secular history, it is clear that Cestius Gallus and his Roman army were the Abomination of Desolation. It was fulfilled in A.D.66 when the Romans surrounded the city of Jerusalem.
Chrysostom wrote: "For this it seems to me that the Abomination of Desolation means the army by which the holy city of Jerusalem was made desolate." (The Ante-Nicene Fathers)
"But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age." Daniel 12:13 NASB
The statements of verses 1, 7, 11, and 12 tie The Resurrection to the time immediately following the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Daniel was to arise at the end of the age, when the power of the holy people was shattered. How can you take this resurrection and separate it from the destruction of Jerusalem? How can you do it?
What Daniel had written was well ingrained into the thinking of the Jews. We see from Jesus' discussion with Martha that she had no doubt as to when The Resurrection would be:
Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again." Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." John 11:23-24 NASB
The last day of what? Human history? The last day of the planet? No, she is referring to the last day of the Jewish age. Yeshua taught that The Resurrection would happen soon, not thousands of years later:
"Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. John 5:25 NASB
Yeshua also said that the resurrection would be on the last day:
"This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." John 6:39-40 NASB
When is the last day? To the Jews, time was divided into two great periods, the Mosaic Age and the Messianic Age. The Messiah was viewed as one who would bring in a new world. The period of the Messiah was, therefore, correctly characterized by the Synagogue as "the world to come." All through the New Testament, we see two ages in contrast: "This age" and the "age to come."
For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you 1 Peter 1:20 NASB
Jesus came during the last days of the age that was the Old Covenant age, the Jewish age. That age came to an end with the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70. This is what Daniel 12 is talking about. The Resurrection happened at the end of the Old Covenant age, Daniel 12 makes this really clear.
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