A Seven Year Week? TDD#35

A Seven Year Week?

Today's text is Matthew 24:15-22

15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

I am moving through this passage slowly because there is so much in this text.   I also know some of you don’t follow me every day so I am moving slowly to keep the audience up to speed and not get lost in the study.  Plus review and repetition is good for our minds.

One of the most difficult things to explain regarding the tribulation period  is the rebuilding of the Temple.  I spoke about this some episodes back!   I will include a link in this blog as well in case you missed it. Obviously the Temple sacrifices cannot be ended if they were never reinstated in the first place.   

But in Israel today there is no holy temple currently.   This poses a problem or does it now?  In the place where the temple is said to belong is the Mosque of Omar.   In order for Daniel's prophesied abomination of desolation to occur, there must be a Temple in operation in Jerusalem.  

There is a lot of discussion about how the temple will be rebuilt where it will be place and so forth.   I believe it is very likely that the covenant with the Antichrist makes possible for the rebuilding of the Temple to take place beside the dome of the rock, or even use the museum under the dome as the temple.   What you did not know there was a temple museum?  Neither did I, until recently, but there is!  

It is clear that the Antichrist,  who Daniel calls “prince”  and Paul refers to him as “man of sin,” and John describes him as “beast”.  However is is referred to the man will make a covenant with Israel for 7 years.  When you read Daniel 9:27 – the prophet said that the Antichrist would confirm a covenant with Israel for one week.

How is the 7 years John saw in Revelation the same as the week Daniel saw?

Well for starters, the Jews didn't have a term for a 7 yeas span,  so they used the word week.  The angel Gabriel approaches Daniel in the latter half of the ninth chapter after Daniel prays for Israel. Gabriel mentions “seventy sevens” will take place before God will put an end to sin and bring everlasting righteousness that is in Daniel 9:24.

Scholars agree that the sevens appears to mean years. Therefore, 70 X 7 = 490 years. Although Christians typically refer to the period of God bringing everlasting righteousness as 70 weeks, they really mean 70 X 7 years.

The prophecy divides up these 490 years in a handful of ways.

• 49 years (7 X 7): The time it takes to rebuild Jerusalem since the time the Babylonians had destroyed it (Daniel 9:25), which occurs in the Book of Nehemiah.
• 434 years (62 X 7): A time designated for waiting for the Anointed One to come (Daniel 9:26). The Anointed One  is the real messiah: Jesus Christ!  
• After those 434 years: They put the Anointed One to death and destroy the city. The first half of this alludes to Jesus’ death on the cross. The Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 A.D., including the temple, which had been rebuilt in Nehemiah.
• The last year (1 X 7): Usually referred to the tribulation period, which transpires in Revelation, when the antichrist comes, persecutes Christians, and Jesus returns for His second coming.  To be fair, theologians dispute whether this has already taken place or whether we have yet to see its fulfillment as we wait in the 69-70-year gap.  This gas as I see it is the church age, the age of grace, and I am working from the understanding that we have not yet reached the 70th week.

In short, and to keep it simple for this study, this Antichrist will make a 7 year peace covenant with Israel.  Now, in our day it is hard to imagine the Muslims in the Middle East ever allowing the Temple to be rebuilt, either alongside of or in place of the Mosque of Omar.  

But it is obvious that the Antichrist allows the rebuilding of the Temple; perhaps he even facilitates it.  He also reestablishes the animal sacrifices, for when he breaks the covenant, the sacrifices will cease.  

Why would the Antichrist allow the Temple to be rebuilt?   And why would he allow the sacrifices to commence?  What could this purpose be?  Here is one possibility: It may simply serve his purpose as a center of religious control. 

John sees in his vision a church that is a whore.  This is a false church that the Anti-Christ sets up to replace the true church.   Keep in mind that everything God did in a righteous way, Satan will try to copy and duplicate in a demonic way.  

Both the Old and New Testaments testify to the fact that the temple will be rebuilt. The temple must be rebuilt for other prophesied events to occur.   Paul tells us that the Antichrist will “sit in the Temple of God” When he declares to the world that he is divine. 

John explains that “all the world will worship him,” and that all mankind will be required to bow to his image under the pain of death.  There is no doubt in my mind that these things will occur, I just don’t know when.  I wish I did, but I don’t.  

As I understand Scripture Israel will be duped into believing that the Antichrist is her Messiah. It is only when the Abomination of Desolation occurs that the Jews realize they've put their hope and faith and a false messiah.  

Muslims will view him as their long awaited Imam Mahdi. All the world's religions will unite under this charismatic leader.  He will bring together all the world religions and economic powers.  He will be the one to break down this building tension in the Middle East.  Just long enough to get the covenant made, long enough to deceive, and long enough to rebuild the temple.   

In Matthew 24:21–28 Jesus describes what the world will be like after that day occurs. And in my prophetic opinion, all of this is done so that the anti-Christ can become the religious center for the entire world.

Is this the new Temple?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaXbN1RX8X0&feature=youtu.be