Grace Bible Church
Pastor Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Friday April 3, 2015
1. The Magi were ancient interpreters of dreams and were astrologers (monthly prognosticators), enchanters, sorcerers, and magicians, we call them today titles like prophets, warlocks, or witches, etc.
2. In the ancient world, any pagan king of that day who conquered another nation, would take their best young men and their best "Wise Men" to his court to advise him.
3. The Magi had always held Daniel in very high esteem, because he had saved the lives of the Magi in Daniel's day.
4. As the King's soldiers were rounding up all the Wise Men to put them to death, Daniel asked for a one-day extension.
That night, after much prayer from Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, God revealed the dream to Daniel.
God made the dream known to Daniel and King Nebuchadnezzar spared the lives of Daniel, his three friends, and all the Magi.
They did not become believers in God as the only god of the universe; but they did believe Him to be one of the most powerful gods of that time period.
They still remained pagan polytheists which again means a belief in more than one God.
They were worshippers of the legendary Zara-thus-tra, whom many Satanists consider to be the forerunner of the real Antichrist, including a lot of those in Iraq and Iran who follow the Sun god even up to this day.
The Magi knew of all Daniel's writings, and undoubtedly had copies of the Book of Daniel, and therefore, they knew of the prophecy of DAN 9:24-27.
At the time of the appearance of the Star, they knew they were within a lifetime of this prophecy coming to pass.
When they saw the Star, their knowledge of this remarkably precise prophecy, plus the promptings of the Holy Spirit, caused them to embark on the very long journey to Israel to pay their homage to the Jewish Messiah.
God foretold to the exact day when the Jews would be officially presented their long-awaited Messiah! [Fulfilled to the letter, MAT 21:1-11.
DAN 9:24 "Seventy weeks or 490 years have been decreed for your people [Daniel's people - the Jews] and [Daniel's] holy city [Jerusalem],
We need to be sure we understand the significance of the phrase in verse 24 "Seventy weeks" which according to other references is "Seventy Sevens" referring to 490 years.
Some have argued that the text is not speaking of years, but weeks or months.
shabuim = years even in the simple basic concordances such as the Strong's Concordance.
It is translated as years in DAN 9:2 as well as in the book of Jeremiah.
If I were to give you all the mathematical figures and all the details involved you would see that a 490-year period had been ‘determined’ or ‘decreed’ for the accomplishment of the final restoration of Israel and the establishment of the Messiah’s kingdom on the earth.”
1. First, the text says as Gleason Archer translates it that the fulfillment of the prophecy is “to finish or bring the transgression of the sin of rebellion to an end.”
DAN 9:24 "Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin,
To make "an end of sin" can refer to a few principles, the one I believe is that it refers to the climax of sin which is the rejection of TLJC.
The climax of sin is not the end of sin but the climax of sin is the rejection of the Jews toward their very own Messiah, JOH 1:11.
For the worse sin that a person can commit is not murder, lying, stealing, adultery, sexual sins or sins of immorality, but the worse one of all is rejection of TLJC.
That is the only sin that takes people to the eternal lake of fire, JOH 3:18, 36, 16:9.
They were shocked because He was fulfilling the works that the Old Testament said that the son of David would fulfill.
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit = rejecting what the Holy Spirit has to say about TLJC and also it is given credit to Satan and the
Kingdom of darkness for that which our Lord was doing.
The ultimate sin or the climax of sin mentioned in DAN 9:24 by means of the phrase "to make an end of sin" refers to the greatest of all sins, the rejection of TLJC as taught in JOH 1:11 when He came to His own, those who were His own did not receive Him.
That was the epitome or the quintessence of their sin and rebellion, - when they rejected their Messiah when He came to present Himself to the Jews as their redeemer.
LUK 19:37b the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice because of all the miracles which they had seen,
Part of the prophecy given in DAN 9:24, was to "make an end to sin" or, in reality, to reveal the ultimate sin of rejection of Him as the Messiah.
Reveal the epitome of sin or the ultimate manifestation of sin, which was not murder, or the SOT, or all of the different MAS, but the essential of the real problem of sin which is rejection of Him as the Messiah.
His appearance to the Jews and His rejection by the Jews revealed the ultimate sin or the worse sin of all, the sin of unbelief!!
REV 21:8 "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
The phrase "put an end to sin" could be translated that "to reveal the ultimate of sin" referring to their rejection of their Messiah on the exact day the prophets said that He would present Himself to Jerusalem.
They accepted one part of His ministry when they wanted the crown.....but they rejected the other part of His ministry which was their rejection of the cross.
ISA 59:20 "And a Redeemer will come to Zion, And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob," declares the Lord.
The second one is found in the phrase in DAN 9:24, to make an end of sin - This concept has Messianic overtones elsewhere in the Old Testament (ISA 27:9; EZE 36:25-27; 37:23; JER 31:31-34), all of which deal with the atonement or the payment for sin.
The first one dealt with the climax or the ultimate sin, which I believe is rejection of Christ, the only sin that takes people to the eternal lake of fire, JOH 3:18,36; 16:9.
JOH 3:18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
JOH 3:36 "He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."
JOH 16:9 they are judged "concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;"
2. DAN 9:24 "to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin," refers to the atonement or the payment for sin as was taught to the Jews in the Old Testament in passages like (ISA 27:9; EZE 36:25-27; 37:23; JER 31:31-34).
ISA 27:9 Therefore through this Jacob's iniquity will be forgiven; And this will be the full price of the pardoning of his sin:
3. The fulfillment of the prophecy would accomplish is to “make atonement for iniquity.”
4. There was the prophecy that says to “bring in everlasting righteousness.”
This most likely refers to “an age” since olam translated everlasting can have that meaning (ISA 1:26; 11:2-5; 32:17; JER 23:5-6; 33:15-18).
5. To “seal up vision and prophecy.” The phrase seal up literally means to shut up prophecy. It appears to indicate that the prophecy is going to be totally fulfilled.
6. “Anoint the most holy place or the holies of holies.” This appears to be a reference to anointing the temple, though others argue that it refers to Christ.
Those six principles reveal the Purpose of the Seventy Sevens in DAN 9:24 and this section lists six specific things that Israel is involve with and must understand, three of them are negative and three are positive.
1. The fulfillment of the prophecy is “to finish or bring the transgression of the sin of rebellion to an end or completion.”
2. To make an end of sin which deals with the payment for sin.
3. To “make atonement for iniquity,” which is expiation and propitiation
4. To “bring in everlasting righteousness” referring to the eternal kingdom beginning with the Millennial reign. 5. To “seal up vision and prophecy” which indicates that the prophecy will be totally fulfilled. 6. “Anoint the most holy place or the holies of holies” which appears to be a reference to anointing the temple, or as some others argue that it refers to the Christ.