WEBVTT 00:01:05.549 --> 00:01:12.549 Now, this question is going to become very important. Jesus: imposter or Messiah? 00:01:13.789 --> 00:01:20.789 It's a very important question, because this Jesus lays claims to some astounding things. 00:01:23.380 --> 00:01:30.380 He says, for example, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." How many come to the Father? 00:01:33.140 --> 00:01:40.140 "No one comes to the Father except by Me." That's what He says. And today this Jesus 00:01:44.310 --> 00:01:51.310 is being marginalized, and the critics—and especially what they call the "new Reformation 00:01:54.060 --> 00:02:01.060 movement"—is disseminating the Bible and ripping the heart out of the Messianic side 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:10.598 of the Bible. Jesus must, if we want to have world unity of religions, become one on a 00:02:13.130 --> 00:02:15.530 level with all the others. 00:02:15.530 --> 00:02:22.139 Isn't that right? He cannot stand out above anyone else; He has to come down to the level 00:02:22.139 --> 00:02:29.139 of all the others. But if this Jesus Christ is the Messiah of God, and is God, well then, 00:02:32.139 --> 00:02:36.290 we're going to come up to an impasse. So let's have a look what the Bible says, because I 00:02:36.290 --> 00:02:42.549 don't want to influence you. Jesus: imposter or Messiah? 00:02:42.549 --> 00:02:49.549 Jesus says in John 6:38, "For I came down from heaven." Well, that's not everyone who 00:02:49.989 --> 00:02:56.989 can say that, right? That's not something usual; I can't say that. So, either this is 00:02:57.699 --> 00:03:01.260 presumption, or it is truth. 00:03:01.260 --> 00:03:06.959 "Evidence that Demands a Verdict," a book by Josh McDowell. He says, "Some skeptics 00:03:06.959 --> 00:03:13.680 have suggested that these prophecies"—the prophecies about Jesus and the Messianic prophecies—"were 00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:18.900 accidentally or coincidentally fulfilled by Jesus. According to the science of probability, 00:03:18.900 --> 00:03:24.609 the chance of any one human being up until the present fulfilling a selection of just 00:03:24.609 --> 00:03:29.959 eight of these prophecies, including the one on the crucifixion, is 1 in 10 to the power 00:03:29.959 --> 00:03:36.959 of 17...And here we are considering only 8 prophecies. What if we were to consider 48 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:44.000 prophecies? The chance would then become virtually zero: 10 to the power of 157." And you must 00:03:44.660 --> 00:03:51.039 remember that the number of particles as defined by science in the entire universe is only 00:03:51.039 --> 00:03:57.430 10 to the power of 18. So this is the number of particles in billions upon billions "ad 00:03:57.430 --> 00:04:01.209 infinitum" universes. Wow. 00:04:01.209 --> 00:04:07.280 "What about all 61 prophecies?" I believe there are even more prophecies, and every 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:11.660 single one of them is fulfilled by Jesus Christ. 00:04:11.660 --> 00:04:18.660 Numbers 24:17 says, "There shall come a star out of Jacob." He would be preceded by a messenger. 00:04:19.319 --> 00:04:23.090 I'm just going to run through a few of them, I'm not going to make a big deal about them. 00:04:23.090 --> 00:04:28.180 I'm just going to come to a specific prophecy tonight. So we'll briefly run through some 00:04:28.180 --> 00:04:30.380 of these ancient prophecies. 00:04:30.380 --> 00:04:35.449 Isaiah 40:3: "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the 00:04:35.449 --> 00:04:37.979 Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." 00:04:37.979 --> 00:04:44.190 So the Bible predicts that He will be preceded—the Messiah—by a messenger. "In those days came 00:04:44.190 --> 00:04:48.130 John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea saying, Repent, for the kingdom 00:04:48.130 --> 00:04:55.130 of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 3:1-3). So he was preaching this very message predicted 00:04:56.349 --> 00:05:03.349 by the Messiah. In John 8:36 it says, "If the son therefore shall make you free, you 00:05:04.069 --> 00:05:06.759 shall be free indeed." 00:05:06.759 --> 00:05:13.759 It's a very important prophecy. So according to this statement by Jesus, freedom comes 00:05:15.690 --> 00:05:21.830 through Christ and through no one else, because He says, "no one comes to the Father except 00:05:21.830 --> 00:05:28.830 by Me." The Jews answered, "we are Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: 00:05:28.990 --> 00:05:35.990 How sayest thou, ye shall be made free?" He was talking of freedom from bondage, freedom 00:05:37.099 --> 00:05:37.960 from sin. 00:05:37.960 --> 00:05:44.939 "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 18:36). I mean, these are astounding claims. 00:05:44.939 --> 00:05:50.020 The miraculous birth: "Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call his 00:05:50.020 --> 00:05:57.020 name Immanuel." God with us—not just anyone, God with us—but you'll say He wasn't called 00:05:59.969 --> 00:06:06.439 Immanuel, He was called Jesus. Well, you see, in ancient times the name referred to something. 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:13.439 It had a meaning; it wasn't just an objective name. It had a meaning. So Immanuel means 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:21.319 "God with us." Joshua—which is translated in the Greek as Jesus—means Yahweh the Saviour, 00:06:24.120 --> 00:06:31.120 God the Saviour. And Jesus laid claim to being God; therefore, He is not on a par with anyone, 00:06:33.270 --> 00:06:38.930 in any religious system. That's Isaiah 7:14. 00:06:38.930 --> 00:06:44.309 And, "the angel said to her...you will be with child and give birth to a son, and you 00:06:44.309 --> 00:06:51.309 are to give him the name Jesus," which is exactly the same as Immanuel. Yahweh the Saviour 00:06:52.809 --> 00:06:59.809 is here—in other words, God with us (Luke 1:28-31). Then, the Old Testament says, "Bethlehem"—Beth-lehem—"out 00:07:07.960 --> 00:07:14.960 of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel" (Micah 5:2). 00:07:15.419 --> 00:07:22.389 And this particular Bethlehem, Bethlehem—Bethlehem Ephrata, which means the bread basket—the 00:07:22.389 --> 00:07:27.830 bread of life would come down and be born in Bethlehem. And of course, we know that 00:07:27.830 --> 00:07:33.919 was also fulfilled. Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the time of Herod. And He was 00:07:33.919 --> 00:07:39.469 given the name Joshua, Yahweh the Saviour. 00:07:39.469 --> 00:07:43.990 Jesus said, "the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek," but this is an 00:07:43.990 --> 00:07:49.330 Old Testament prophecy as well, "bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the 00:07:49.330 --> 00:07:53.610 captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable 00:07:53.610 --> 00:07:59.659 year of the Lord...to comfort all that mourn" (Isaiah 61:1-2). So that's a prophecy that's 00:07:59.659 --> 00:08:00.930 fulfilled. 00:08:00.930 --> 00:08:07.930 Luke 4:18 and 19 tell us that that is exactly what Jesus claimed for Himself. Isaiah proclaims 00:08:12.580 --> 00:08:17.939 that the Messiah would work through miracles. "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, 00:08:17.939 --> 00:08:22.879 and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as a hart, the 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:27.830 tongue of the dumb shall sing..." And the New Testament—Matthew tells us, Luke tells 00:08:27.830 --> 00:08:31.709 us—"He went about healing all manner of diseases." 00:08:31.709 --> 00:08:37.870 "... to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of 00:08:37.870 --> 00:08:41.409 praise for the spirit of heaviness" (Isaiah 61:3). 00:08:41.409 --> 00:08:47.160 In the Psalms we read that the Messiah would open His mouth in parables, "I will open my 00:08:47.160 --> 00:08:54.029 mouth in parables." "All these things Jesus spoke in parables." The Bible predicts the 00:08:54.029 --> 00:08:55.649 triumphant entry. 00:08:55.649 --> 00:09:02.180 And we have it there in Zechariah: "thy king cometh to thee and he is just, having salvation; 00:09:02.180 --> 00:09:08.720 lowly and riding on an ass..." All these things are predictions in the Old Testament. "My 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:12.390 close friend whom I trusted and shared my bread with has lifted up his heal against 00:09:12.390 --> 00:09:18.750 me that he would be betrayed" is fulfilled, and we read it in Matthew that Judas Iscariot 00:09:18.750 --> 00:09:20.649 did precisely that. 00:09:20.649 --> 00:09:27.649 What about this one: Zechariah 11:12-13: "So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of 00:09:29.770 --> 00:09:36.770 silver." Even the price that was paid for this deception is listed in the Old Testament. 00:09:38.970 --> 00:09:43.029 And they "took thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the 00:09:43.029 --> 00:09:46.920 Lord." And that's exactly what they did. They bought the potter's field because they wouldn't 00:09:46.920 --> 00:09:52.500 take the money, which was death money. Judas went to the chief priest and he said to them, 00:09:52.500 --> 00:09:58.319 "what will you give me and I will give Him unto you," and they gave him 30 pieces of 00:09:58.319 --> 00:10:02.839 silver. And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed. 00:10:02.839 --> 00:10:09.470 And what did they do? They bought the potter's field. Every single little detail. "I offered 00:10:09.470 --> 00:10:16.470 my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard." The sufferings 00:10:17.050 --> 00:10:23.209 that Jesus went through—unbelievable. "I did not hide my face from the mocking and 00:10:23.209 --> 00:10:30.130 spitting." He was tried seven times, seven times. Once by Annas, and He was struck in 00:10:30.130 --> 00:10:35.940 the face right there. Caiphas, and Annas, the night trial, the morning trial, then the 00:10:35.940 --> 00:10:41.269 trials with the Roman officials, then He was sent to Herod, back to Pilate. Seven times 00:10:41.269 --> 00:10:42.720 He was tried. 00:10:42.720 --> 00:10:49.720 "I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting" (Isaiah 50:6). "They spit in my face." They 00:10:50.089 --> 00:10:57.009 buffeted Him, smote Him with palms. The Bible said they hit Him over the head again, and 00:10:57.009 --> 00:11:03.380 again, and again. "They hate me without cause" (Psalm 69). Then He would be rejected, predicted 00:11:03.380 --> 00:11:08.769 in the Bible. "They hated me without cause" (John). "He was oppressed and he was afflicted, 00:11:08.769 --> 00:11:14.949 he opened not his mouth, he was brought like a lamb to the slaughter." Everything there 00:11:14.949 --> 00:11:21.569 in the Old Testament. The Old Testament is a testimony to Jesus Christ. 00:11:21.569 --> 00:11:27.589 "And when he was accused of the chief priests and the elders, he answered nothing," just 00:11:27.589 --> 00:11:31.699 like a lamb to the slaughter (Matthew 27:12). 00:11:31.699 --> 00:11:35.329 And they wagged their heads—they shook their heads and said, "Look at this guy, where does 00:11:35.329 --> 00:11:41.550 he come from?" "He was numbered with the transgressors." "They gave him vinegar to drink" (Psalm 69:21, 00:11:41.550 --> 00:11:47.819 Matthew 27:34). "Crucified with thieves," you know that that was the case (Mark 15). 00:11:47.819 --> 00:11:54.470 Zechariah, "they will look on me the one they have pierced." Even the way of the crucifixion. 00:11:54.470 --> 00:12:01.470 "...and he bare the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors" (Isaiah 53:12)—beautiful 00:12:03.160 --> 00:12:06.569 prophecies in the Old Testament about Jesus. 00:12:06.569 --> 00:12:13.569 Luke 23:34: "Father forgive them; for they know not what they do." Every single aspect 00:12:17.870 --> 00:12:24.870 about the Messiah was predicted, and is fulfilled in Jesus Christ. "They divided my garments 00:12:25.240 --> 00:12:28.040 amongst them, and for my clothing they cast lots" 00:12:28.040 --> 00:12:34.019 People say, "why did He say, 'My God my God why did thou forsake me?'" Because it was 00:12:34.019 --> 00:12:41.019 predicted in Psalm 22:1: Jesus died the death of total separation for you and for me. "They 00:12:45.430 --> 00:12:52.430 pierced my hands and my feet," (Psalm 22:16). Even down to the detail, the predictions are 00:12:54.050 --> 00:13:00.459 there. Psalm 31:5—the last words that He would speak—"into thy hand I commit my spirit." 00:13:00.459 --> 00:13:05.339 Father, into thine hand I commit my spirit. Everything, there in the Old Testament. 00:13:05.339 --> 00:13:10.209 "He keeps all of his bones, not one of them is broken" (Psalm 34:20). That was already 00:13:10.209 --> 00:13:16.939 a typology with the lamb, with the Passover lamb. It was to be eaten, but not a bone was 00:13:16.939 --> 00:13:23.939 to be broken. Why? Because the Messiah's bones would not be broken. It was the Preparation, 00:13:26.389 --> 00:13:30.790 and the Jews were afraid that they would come down and run away. And they didn't want to 00:13:30.790 --> 00:13:35.449 have to chase them on the Sabbath day because they had hoards and hoards of rules written 00:13:35.449 --> 00:13:41.370 in their Talmud. So they gave the order that they should break the legs. That's what the 00:13:41.370 --> 00:13:46.529 New Testament says. But when they came to Jesus, He was already dead so they did not 00:13:46.529 --> 00:13:52.000 break His legs, fulfilling the prophecy (John 19:32-33). 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:58.120 And they pierced His side. So the place of His birth is predicted. The manner of His 00:13:58.120 --> 00:14:03.470 birth is predicted. His betrayal is predicted, and the manner of His death is predicted in 00:14:03.470 --> 00:14:10.110 great detail. We've just flown over them, we haven't even gone into the detail. The 00:14:10.110 --> 00:14:13.579 nuances, the finer details—absolutely astounding. 00:14:13.579 --> 00:14:20.579 Here's a beautiful statement: "Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated 00:14:21.180 --> 00:14:28.180 as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be 00:14:28.339 --> 00:14:35.339 justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death, which 00:14:36.230 --> 00:14:42.910 was ours, that we might receive the life, which was His. 'With his stripes, we are healed.'" 00:14:42.910 --> 00:14:44.749 Beautiful statement. 00:14:44.749 --> 00:14:51.170 "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him 00:14:51.170 --> 00:14:58.029 should not perish, but have everlasting life." Isaiah 53 again says, "His grave would be 00:14:58.029 --> 00:15:04.149 with the wicked"—very interesting—"and with the rich in his death." So he died with 00:15:04.149 --> 00:15:11.149 the wicked and a rich man gave Him the grave, and Matthew 27:57, 60 confirms that very statement. 00:15:13.180 --> 00:15:18.569 So the manner of His death, the way He was buried—everything there in the Old Testament. 00:15:18.569 --> 00:15:24.439 Some of the critics said, "well hang on a second, maybe He wasn't a historic figure 00:15:24.439 --> 00:15:29.720 at all. Maybe the New Testament writers just wrote all that stuff down to make it look 00:15:29.720 --> 00:15:32.600 as if Jesus fulfilled the prophecies." 00:15:32.600 --> 00:15:39.060 Now, I hope you realize that the scribes and the Pharisees never understood the prophecies. 00:15:39.060 --> 00:15:44.350 Because otherwise they would have accepted the Messiah, right? So here we have a story 00:15:44.350 --> 00:15:50.959 that all these things were changed, and they said that individuals involved, like Pilate, 00:15:50.959 --> 00:15:55.610 weren't historic figures. Well, I have news for them, because here was a plaque that was 00:15:55.610 --> 00:16:02.610 found. It is on display at a museum in Israel, where the very names Tiberius and Pontius 00:16:04.029 --> 00:16:08.209 Pilatus are there—historic figures. 00:16:08.209 --> 00:16:13.980 Let's have a look at some of the historians. Tacitus, the Roman historian who lived AD 00:16:13.980 --> 00:16:20.980 115, speaks about Nero's persecution of the Christians of the year AD 46. Then, he says, 00:16:21.339 --> 00:16:26.240 "Christus, from whom their name is derived, was executed at the hands of the procurator 00:16:26.240 --> 00:16:29.490 Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius." 00:16:29.490 --> 00:16:36.490 So there's an extra-Biblical source, which says when these things happened. Then you 00:16:37.819 --> 00:16:43.220 have Suetonius the Roman Historian writing about AD 120. And he says, "Since the Jews 00:16:43.220 --> 00:16:48.829 were continually making disturbances"—remember that the Christians were counted as a Jewish 00:16:48.829 --> 00:16:54.899 sect, and so they were called Jews—"disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he (Claudius) 00:16:54.899 --> 00:16:56.860 expelled them from Rome." 00:16:56.860 --> 00:17:02.050 And the Talmud, which is the Jewish traditions, said, "on the eve of the Passover they hanged 00:17:02.050 --> 00:17:03.709 Jeshu of Nazareth." 00:17:03.709 --> 00:17:10.709 So there are sources outside the Scriptures, which confirm the very issue. Jesus Christ 00:17:12.010 --> 00:17:19.010 was always central; the Messiah was always central to the religion of Israel. If you 00:17:19.459 --> 00:17:26.459 look at the sanctuary that had to be built, every single item, every single practice that 00:17:27.089 --> 00:17:33.970 occurred within this sanctuary is a reference to Christ. The most beautiful story of the 00:17:33.970 --> 00:17:40.970 plan of salvation is enacted here in the sacrifice of the lamb, which stood for the Lamb that 00:17:42.900 --> 00:17:49.320 would take away sins of the world. If you go on into this sanctuary there was the laver 00:17:49.320 --> 00:17:56.320 of washing, where you are washed by the consequences of your action, of confessing your sins. 00:17:58.160 --> 00:18:03.550 Jesus Christ the Light of the world, Jesus Christ the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ the 00:18:03.550 --> 00:18:09.640 Intercessor, Jesus Christ the Mercy—everything is there. It's a beautiful story. We haven't 00:18:09.640 --> 00:18:11.260 got time to go into it. 00:18:11.260 --> 00:18:15.970 Even in the typology of the high priest, the high priest stood for Jesus Christ. It was 00:18:15.970 --> 00:18:22.970 a type because Paul says, "we have such a high priest." Jesus Christ was the one who 00:18:23.370 --> 00:18:29.540 entered into the majesty of heaven. Hebrews 8:1-2: "We have such an high priest, who is 00:18:29.540 --> 00:18:33.810 set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the 00:18:33.810 --> 00:18:40.420 sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not man"—very interesting 00:18:40.420 --> 00:18:41.090 stuff. 00:18:41.090 --> 00:18:44.790 "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of 00:18:44.790 --> 00:18:51.790 the true." So that was the figure of the real thing, this was just a type, "now to appear 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:58.520 in the presence of God for us." He has entered into heaven itself (Hebrews 9:24). 00:18:58.520 --> 00:19:05.520 The whole Old Testament was a typology of the very acts of Jesus. So now we are faced 00:19:07.060 --> 00:19:14.060 with a problem: the world is going to expect very soon that everybody acknowledges equality 00:19:16.410 --> 00:19:23.410 of all. But the Bible says there's only 1 way to salvation, and that is through Jesus 00:19:23.690 --> 00:19:30.690 Christ, and that Jesus was not 1 of many prophets in this world, but that He was the predicted 00:19:33.170 --> 00:19:40.170 Messiah, the God-Man, the One who would come down from heaven to pay the price for sin 00:19:40.650 --> 00:19:44.650 for your and my salvation. And we have to know where we stand. 00:19:44.650 --> 00:19:51.650 Well, there's a fantastic prophecy in Daniel, which has put this issue beyond a shadow of 00:19:52.950 --> 00:19:59.950 doubt—so much so that it is a nightmare for those who want to reject Jesus Christ 00:20:02.840 --> 00:20:09.770 as the Messiah. In Daniel chapter 8, we have also a flow through history like we did in 00:20:09.770 --> 00:20:16.770 Daniel chapter 2 now—where we did the head and the arms of silver, and the bronze, and 00:20:17.610 --> 00:20:24.610 the iron—but here the whole issue is repeated in terms of animals. And you have here a particular 00:20:26.290 --> 00:20:31.430 goat with 2 horns, 1 larger than the other. And the Bible tells us who it is. We don't 00:20:31.430 --> 00:20:37.810 have to guess. It's a reference to the Medes and the Persians. And it tells us that while 00:20:37.810 --> 00:20:44.390 these horns were there, another goat came along with a prominent horn between his eyes, 00:20:44.390 --> 00:20:49.480 and again we don't have to guess. In Daniel chapter 8 it tells us who the horn is. A horn 00:20:49.480 --> 00:20:56.040 is a king or a kingdom. It says the prominent horn between its eyes is the first king of 00:20:56.040 --> 00:20:56.580 Greece. 00:20:56.580 --> 00:21:02.430 So who is it? Alexander the Great. We don't have to guess, the Bible tells us exactly 00:21:02.430 --> 00:21:07.540 what these symbols stand for. And it says he approached, and he attacked the 2-horned 00:21:07.540 --> 00:21:14.540 one and broke off the horns. Medo-Persia was conquered. So then he comes flying, crashes 00:21:15.130 --> 00:21:19.810 into the other one, breaks off his horn, and Daniel 8:8 says, "Therefore the goat waxed 00:21:19.810 --> 00:21:26.810 very great, and when he was strong the great horn was broken." So Alexander the Great would 00:21:27.540 --> 00:21:34.540 come to his end. And in his place four notable ones would come up towards the winds of heaven. 00:21:34.650 --> 00:21:41.650 And we know that Greece was divided into four regions. Interesting there were 12 generals 00:21:42.730 --> 00:21:48.650 fighting over it, but after those battles there were just four regions. 00:21:48.650 --> 00:21:53.810 "And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, towards 00:21:53.810 --> 00:21:59.070 the south, and towards the east, and toward the pleasant land. And it waxed great, even 00:21:59.070 --> 00:22:03.120 to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, 00:22:03.120 --> 00:22:10.120 and stamped on it. Yea, it magnified himself even to the prince of hosts, and by him the 00:22:11.430 --> 00:22:17.140 daily..."—sacrifices there written cursively, so it wasn't in the original text. That's 00:22:17.140 --> 00:22:22.420 what it means in the King James Version when they write it cursively. It means it's not 00:22:22.420 --> 00:22:28.590 in the original. So, "...by him the daily was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary 00:22:28.590 --> 00:22:35.590 was cast down." Now this whole sanctuary stood for the Messiah. And Rome came along and crucified 00:22:38.260 --> 00:22:39.410 the Messiah. 00:22:39.410 --> 00:22:45.650 "Then I heard one saint"—now he's in vision and he's hearing an angel speak to another 00:22:45.650 --> 00:22:52.650 one—"speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall 00:22:53.210 --> 00:23:00.210 be the vision concerning the daily"...sacrifice added by the way. The daily, which is the 00:23:02.970 --> 00:23:09.140 "tameed." The "tameed" is the continual. That was that fire that was burning. When they 00:23:09.140 --> 00:23:15.760 looked at it the fire meant that it was the sacrifice was always available, the atonement 00:23:15.760 --> 00:23:21.240 of Christ. We can come to that in a later lecture..."And the transgression of desolation, 00:23:21.240 --> 00:23:26.470 to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot. And he said unto me"—and 00:23:26.470 --> 00:23:33.470 now we have a time prophecy—"unto two thousand and three hundred days, then shall the sanctuary 00:23:34.370 --> 00:23:38.420 be cleansed" (Daniel 8:13-14). 00:23:38.420 --> 00:23:45.280 We have a time prophecy. Now, we're not going to deal with this prophecy tonight, this 2300-day 00:23:45.280 --> 00:23:51.870 prophecy. We'll deal with it in another evening, in detail. So I don't want to go into this 00:23:51.870 --> 00:23:58.870 into detail, but he is discussing a particular time prophecy. And I want to look at a portion 00:24:00.350 --> 00:24:06.910 of this time prophecy. Daniel 8:23-26: "And in the latter time of their kingdom...a king 00:24:06.910 --> 00:24:11.910 of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up...he shall also 00:24:11.910 --> 00:24:18.260 stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand." There you 00:24:18.260 --> 00:24:23.330 have the "without hand" again—thunderous prophecy. We're going to deal with it, and 00:24:23.330 --> 00:24:28.420 we're going to see who's going to be in control just before Christ comes. "And the vision 00:24:28.420 --> 00:24:32.440 of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut up the vision; and 00:24:32.440 --> 00:24:36.260 it shall be for many days," for the future. 00:24:36.260 --> 00:24:41.710 "He said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be 00:24:41.710 --> 00:24:46.530 cleansed." So here is a vision that Daniel is given and he doesn't understand it, doesn't 00:24:46.530 --> 00:24:51.250 understand it at all, and he's told, "Don't worry. You don't have to understand it. It 00:24:51.250 --> 00:24:55.500 concerns the distant future and it will be unsealed at a later stage but not now." And 00:24:55.500 --> 00:24:59.790 we're not going to deal with this in this lecture. In another lecture, we'll come to 00:24:59.790 --> 00:25:01.910 it. 00:25:01.910 --> 00:25:06.060 So he's thinking about this vision. And he doesn't understand it, so here he's standing. 00:25:06.060 --> 00:25:10.530 Daniel 8:17: "So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and I fell 00:25:10.530 --> 00:25:17.530 on my face"—so he was in vision and he sees this heavenly being, falls on his face—"Understand, 00:25:17.760 --> 00:25:23.790 thou son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision." So the vision concerns 00:25:23.790 --> 00:25:30.790 the future; it concerns the time of the end. And it has so many aspects to it that bother 00:25:31.110 --> 00:25:38.110 Daniel. And then in Daniel chapter 9 from verse 20 onwards we have an explanation of 00:25:40.360 --> 00:25:45.520 part of the vision. So, "while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel"—this is now 00:25:45.520 --> 00:25:52.520 the angel Gabriel—"came to me in swift flight, and he said to me, O Daniel, I have now come 00:25:52.720 --> 00:25:58.450 out to give you wisdom and understanding." So now he's going to explain something to 00:25:58.450 --> 00:26:04.610 him, and we want to know what it's about. And here we go. Fasten your seatbelts. 00:26:04.610 --> 00:26:11.610 "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city..." How many days in 00:26:14.540 --> 00:26:21.540 a week? Seven. So 70 weeks would be 70 times 7. We'll come to that: days. So, "Seventy 00:26:22.950 --> 00:26:29.950 weeks are determined upon thy people"—that's the Jews—"and upon thy holy city"—which 00:26:32.310 --> 00:26:39.310 one is that? Jerusalem—"to finish transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation 00:26:41.530 --> 00:26:48.530 for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision and the prophecy, and 00:26:49.080 --> 00:26:54.630 to anoint the most Holy" (Daniel 9:24). 00:26:54.630 --> 00:27:01.630 Thunderous vision, thunderous prophecy. So 70 weeks are determined—cut off for this 00:27:04.920 --> 00:27:11.920 particular time period—and all these things must be accomplished. End of sins, reconciliation 00:27:13.140 --> 00:27:20.140 for iniquity, bring in everlasting righteousness—now who did all that? Who brings in everlasting 00:27:22.160 --> 00:27:26.890 righteousness? Who can make an end to sin? Only Jesus. 00:27:26.890 --> 00:27:33.890 This is a Messianic prophecy. Now let me tell you, the Jews are very upset about this prophecy. 00:27:36.260 --> 00:27:43.260 Listen to this, this is the Rabbinic Curse, and you will find it in Talmudic Law (page 00:27:45.210 --> 00:27:50.010 978, section 2, line 28). Let me read it to you. 00:27:50.010 --> 00:27:57.010 "May the bones of the hands and the bones of the fingers decay and decompose of him 00:27:58.330 --> 00:28:05.330 who turns the pages of the book of Daniel, to find out the time of Daniel 9:24-27. And 00:28:08.140 --> 00:28:15.140 may his memory rot from off the face of the earth forever." Wow, these guys mean business. 00:28:15.880 --> 00:28:22.880 Would you agree? So now I have to ask you something, or what do the Americans say? Ask 00:28:25.620 --> 00:28:32.620 you something? Are you willing to go on in spite of that curse? Because if you are going 00:28:33.530 --> 00:28:40.530 to number with me Daniel 9:24--27, then this curse should theoretically stick to us. But 00:28:42.510 --> 00:28:48.120 let me tell you something, I serve someone greater than this curse. I have no fear of 00:28:48.120 --> 00:28:52.920 this curse. And I know why they've got this curse, because if this curse were not there 00:28:52.920 --> 00:28:59.920 somebody might number that prophecy and find out whom they really should serve. Let's see. 00:29:02.690 --> 00:29:09.690 Cut off. Determined. Separated from. Seventy weeks cut off from the bigger prophecy for 00:29:13.330 --> 00:29:14.020 the Jews. 00:29:14.020 --> 00:29:21.020 Now let's take a look at it. In prophecy, a day counts for a year. A week counts therefore 00:29:24.320 --> 00:29:31.320 for 7 days. So a day for the year—the day-year principle—means that it counts for 7 years. 00:29:31.850 --> 00:29:38.720 Now can I say that just by myself? Nope, that would be arrogance, so let's get some Biblical 00:29:38.720 --> 00:29:45.720 support. Ezekiel 4:6: "I have appointed thee each day for a year," talking about a prophetic 00:29:48.910 --> 00:29:55.390 sense. Or Numbers 14:34: "After the number of days in which you searched the land, even 00:29:55.390 --> 00:30:01.470 forty days, each day for a year." So now, the proof of the pudding is always in the 00:30:01.470 --> 00:30:08.470 eating, so let's apply the day-year principle, and number the 70 weeks and see where we get. 00:30:11.610 --> 00:30:18.610 Seventy weeks are appointed on your people. Seventy weeks—well, a week has 7 days. So 00:30:19.120 --> 00:30:26.120 how many days is that? That's 490 days, and that is therefore 490 prophetic years, which 00:30:27.580 --> 00:30:30.920 are cut off. 00:30:30.920 --> 00:30:37.920 Cut off from what? Obviously, the 2300-day prophecy, which he was talking about. So that 00:30:38.780 --> 00:30:45.780 would bring us to 2300 years—490 years cut off for the Jews. That's what it means. All 00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:54.230 right, let's have a look a little further. Then the sanctuary would be cleansed at the 00:30:54.230 --> 00:31:00.210 end of that period. Now I'm going to deal with only this part of the prophecy, only 00:31:00.210 --> 00:31:07.210 this 70 week. In order to find out what this is about, we have to know when the prophecy 00:31:07.790 --> 00:31:14.790 starts, right? So when do these 2300 years begin? From when do we start counting the 00:31:17.120 --> 00:31:22.300 70 weeks, which the Rabbinic code says we're not allowed to study? 00:31:22.300 --> 00:31:29.300 Well, Daniel 9:24 gives us the answer. There is a curse upon this verse. Interesting that 00:31:29.360 --> 00:31:36.240 Rabbis should curse a part of Daniel. Does that puzzle you tonight? It would certainly 00:31:36.240 --> 00:31:42.610 puzzle me if I were you, because it puzzled me like crazy. "Seventy weeks are determined 00:31:42.610 --> 00:31:45.610 upon thy people." 00:31:45.610 --> 00:31:51.830 "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore 00:31:51.830 --> 00:31:58.830 and rebuild Jerusalem"—unto what?—"Unto the Messiah." So from the going forth of the 00:32:00.510 --> 00:32:07.240 decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem—remember Daniel is in captivity, Jerusalem is destroyed, 00:32:07.240 --> 00:32:14.240 and now is told 70 weeks. And you start counting when? From the time when the decree goes forth. 00:32:16.110 --> 00:32:22.590 "From the going forth of (the decree) the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem 00:32:22.590 --> 00:32:29.590 unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks and three score and two weeks." And, 00:32:29.950 --> 00:32:36.950 "the streets shall be built again, and the wall, even in troubles times" (9:25). Wow. 00:32:37.660 --> 00:32:44.660 He just received a Messianic prophecy, telling Daniel precisely when the Messiah would come. 00:32:48.790 --> 00:32:55.790 Did you know that's in the Bible? Did you know that? Well let's work it out. 00:32:56.000 --> 00:32:59.530 7 weeks. 49 days. 00:32:59.530 --> 00:33:03.070 49 years. 62 weeks. 00:33:03.070 --> 00:33:06.600 434 days. 434 years. 00:33:06.600 --> 00:33:13.600 Where does that bring us? The decree to rebuild and to restore Jerusalem, and then there would 00:33:14.370 --> 00:33:21.370 be 7 weeks—temple restored—and then Messiah the Prince. So what do we need? We need a 00:33:25.120 --> 00:33:32.120 date over here, and we can work it out. Is that right? We need a date. 00:33:32.150 --> 00:33:39.150 Artexerxes, king of Persia, issued the decree in the year 457 BC. This decree was total 00:33:43.160 --> 00:33:50.160 political freedom again for the Jews. There was a Cyrus decree, previously, which pertained 00:33:50.490 --> 00:33:57.490 only to the temple. But this decree—Artexerxes, 457 BC—pertains to the restoration of Jerusalem. 00:34:02.140 --> 00:34:06.070 There we go. So we have a starting date. 00:34:06.070 --> 00:34:13.070 So 457 plus 483, that's the 49. Plus the 434, brings us to the year AD 27. Now what happened 00:34:20.290 --> 00:34:27.290 in AD 27—69 weeks, 483, 1 day for a year. "I have appointed you a day for a year"—remember? 00:34:27.819 --> 00:34:33.569 Day for a year, and let's look at the decree. Ezra 7:12-13: "Artaxerxes, king of kings, 00:34:33.569 --> 00:34:38.339 unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of God of heaven...I make a decree, that all 00:34:38.339 --> 00:34:43.869 they of the people of Israel...which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, 00:34:43.869 --> 00:34:49.619 go with thee." That was the decree. "And I...Artexerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers 00:34:49.619 --> 00:34:54.230 that are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest...shall require of you, it 00:34:54.230 --> 00:35:00.819 be done speedily" (Ezra 7:21). And by the way, an archeological tablet has been found 00:35:00.819 --> 00:35:06.220 confirming the date 457 BC. So it's beyond the shadow of doubt. There can be no argument 00:35:06.220 --> 00:35:13.220 about the date. It's found, written in stone. Four-fifty-seven, 490 years: The total prophecy 00:35:15.530 --> 00:35:21.740 is 2300 years. "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment 00:35:21.740 --> 00:35:28.740 to rebuild unto the Messiah the Prince there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks." 00:35:30.040 --> 00:35:37.040 Now, 7 plus 62 is how much? That's 69 weeks. The total prophecy concerns how many weeks? 00:35:38.770 --> 00:35:45.340 Seventy, so there's another week to go. But the prophecy says that Messiah, which means 00:35:45.340 --> 00:35:52.340 "Anointed One," will come after the 69 weeks, and that worked out to which year, do you 00:35:54.340 --> 00:36:01.340 remember—27 AD. So the decree went out: 457, 69 times 7, 483 days. And total restoration, 00:36:09.040 --> 00:36:15.240 that was only that particular decree, unto the Messiah. So 27 AD unto the Messiah. Now 00:36:15.240 --> 00:36:22.240 how old was Jesus when He started His Messianic ministry? He was 30. Now why 27 AD? Here's 00:36:25.700 --> 00:36:32.700 a problem. Thirty and 27 they don't add up. But go to any little encyclopedia, even a 00:36:33.010 --> 00:36:40.010 children's encyclopedia, and you will see that our time has been shifted, and that the 00:36:44.490 --> 00:36:51.490 whole period is really out by these 4 years. You don't count the 0 year, and that Jesus 00:36:52.550 --> 00:36:59.550 was actually 30 in the year 27 AD. The word Messiah means "Anointed One," and when Jesus 00:37:01.030 --> 00:37:08.030 was anointed, that happened at His baptism. "Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of 00:37:09.710 --> 00:37:16.380 Tiberius Caesar," this is quoting the Scriptures, "when all the peoples were baptized, it came 00:37:16.380 --> 00:37:22.030 to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying to heaven, praying, the heaven was 00:37:22.030 --> 00:37:27.400 opened" (Luke 3:1,21). 00:37:27.400 --> 00:37:34.400 Now that year of Tiberius was 27 AD. Now how many Messiahs can there be? Only 1. Only 1 00:37:41.870 --> 00:37:48.870 that fulfills every single prophecy. The 15th year of Tiberius Caesar was 27 AD, and Jesus 00:37:52.520 --> 00:37:59.520 was anointed with the Holy Spirit precisely on time. Now can you imagine now why the Rabbinical 00:38:02.310 --> 00:38:09.310 Talmud said, "cursed be the one who numbers the 7 weeks," because Judaism would come to 00:38:10.040 --> 00:38:17.040 an end. If they accepted what Daniel said, Judaism would come to an end. 00:38:18.210 --> 00:38:24.370 "And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came 00:38:24.370 --> 00:38:31.370 from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased." Now, listen 00:38:33.150 --> 00:38:40.150 to what it says in Mark 1:15. Jesus was just anointed, the year was 27 AD. And He says, 00:38:43.760 --> 00:38:50.760 "And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye and believe 00:38:52.330 --> 00:38:59.330 the gospel" (Mark 1:15). Which time is fulfilled? John 1:29: "Behold the lamb of God, which 00:39:02.090 --> 00:39:09.090 taketh away the sins of the world." The Anointed One, the Messiah, was He there? "God anointed 00:39:09.120 --> 00:39:15.610 Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power" (Acts 10:38). That took place 00:39:15.610 --> 00:39:22.030 at His baptism. So the going forth of the Messiah who would take the sins of the world 00:39:22.030 --> 00:39:29.030 upon Him was predicted precisely in the Bible. The date, Galatians 4:4 says, "when the fulness 00:39:30.360 --> 00:39:37.360 of time was come, God sent forth his Son." Which fullness of time? There was a prophecy 00:39:37.880 --> 00:39:44.800 that had to be fulfilled. And only Jesus fulfills it, nobody else. And I'm going to put it straight 00:39:44.800 --> 00:39:51.290 out to you: nobody else, no Shiva, no Brahma, no Vishnu, no Buddha, no Muhammad, no nobody. 00:39:51.290 --> 00:39:58.290 Jesus fulfilled it, no one else. So there is only 1 Biblical Messiah. And no one comes 00:40:02.640 --> 00:40:05.560 to the Father except through Him. 00:40:05.560 --> 00:40:12.530 Now, I was giving a lecture in Germany, and I said that, and somebody got up in the audience 00:40:12.530 --> 00:40:18.390 and said to me, "but that's arrogance, how can you say that 'nobody comes to the Father 00:40:18.390 --> 00:40:20.690 except through Jesus Christ.' That's arrogance, what about all the others?" 00:40:20.690 --> 00:40:27.690 And I said, "yeah you're right. It sounds arrogant to say nobody does it except through 00:40:31.360 --> 00:40:37.960 this 1 particular individual. But if somebody comes up to me and he says to me—and I'm 00:40:37.960 --> 00:40:43.010 sitting there with my daughter—and he says to me, 'are you the father of that child?' 00:40:43.010 --> 00:40:47.240 And I say, 'yup, I'm the father of that child.' And he says, 'hey, out of all the billions 00:40:47.240 --> 00:40:53.420 of people on this planet, you say you're the father? That's arrogance.'" Well, you know 00:40:53.420 --> 00:41:00.420 folks that might be arrogance, but it could also just be a fact. Right? Although my sister 00:41:02.800 --> 00:41:09.800 does say that fatherhood is an opinion, and motherhood is a fact. So we could perhaps 00:41:09.800 --> 00:41:16.110 argue the issue, but the fact of the matter—the point that I'm making—is if Jesus is the 00:41:16.110 --> 00:41:23.110 Messiah, and if Jesus is Immanuel, and if Jesus is the Joshua, the Yahweh, the Saviour, 00:41:24.390 --> 00:41:27.140 then no one else qualifies. Right or wrong? 00:41:27.140 --> 00:41:34.140 And if He is the Creator, there's no one else, right? So can I accept the hodgepodge, or 00:41:36.810 --> 00:41:43.810 must I make a choice? What if I'm told to bow down to someone else? Well, I have interesting 00:41:45.810 --> 00:41:52.810 news. In my country, in South Africa, they're bringing out new laws and new curricula, and 00:41:54.920 --> 00:41:58.960 these are going to be filtered throughout the whole world. The whole world is going 00:41:58.960 --> 00:42:00.810 to get them. 00:42:00.810 --> 00:42:07.130 And in our school systems we have something called Curriculum 2005. Which means that in 00:42:07.130 --> 00:42:14.000 the future, our children must be trained in all religions, say all the prayers of all 00:42:14.000 --> 00:42:21.000 the other religions, and acknowledge the deities of all the religions as well. I have a problem 00:42:21.030 --> 00:42:21.630 with that. 00:42:21.630 --> 00:42:28.630 So soon, I don't know, maybe there'll be this image and I'll have to say, well, I'm sorry, 00:42:29.300 --> 00:42:35.350 I'm sorry I can't go along with that. When the fullness of time was come, God sent forth 00:42:35.350 --> 00:42:41.450 His Son (Galatians 4:4). And what happens in the 70th week? Did you know there are people 00:42:41.450 --> 00:42:47.400 that now—there are many prophetic ways that are out in the world—and some take this 00:42:47.400 --> 00:42:54.400 70th week and they throw it into the future, somewhere way out there, and they say that 00:42:56.170 --> 00:43:03.170 pertains to the Antichrist. Now hang on a second, the 70 weeks pertained to the Jews, 00:43:03.510 --> 00:43:10.510 to end transgression, to bring in everlasting righteousness. All of it was messianic. All 00:43:12.300 --> 00:43:19.300 of it was messianic. "After three score and two weeks shall Messiah be"—now what does 00:43:21.020 --> 00:43:28.020 it say there?—"cut off, but not for himself." What does that mean? He will die, but not 00:43:30.650 --> 00:43:37.650 for Himself, for whom? For us. Now it gets exciting, it gets thunderously exciting: "and 00:43:39.060 --> 00:43:46.060 the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city..." Now we have chiasm. A 00:43:46.540 --> 00:43:53.540 beautiful chiasm, talking about 2 forces at work: Messiah the Prince and another 1 that 00:43:53.650 --> 00:43:57.010 comes and destroys the city. Now who is he? 00:43:57.010 --> 00:44:04.010 It was Rome. Rome came and destroyed the city AD 70. So Messiah will "be cut off but not 00:44:05.180 --> 00:44:11.030 for himself: and the people of the prince shall come and destroy the city and the sanctuary; 00:44:11.030 --> 00:44:15.610 and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and the end of the war desolations are determined" 00:44:15.610 --> 00:44:17.690 (Daniel 9:26). 00:44:17.690 --> 00:44:24.690 Then, "he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week." This is now Messiah—the other 00:44:30.690 --> 00:44:37.690 ruler, Messiah. That's how the chiasm works. So the Messiah will confirm a covenant with 00:44:37.960 --> 00:44:44.960 many for 1 week. But now note this: in the middle of the week, He shall bring an end 00:44:46.010 --> 00:44:53.010 to sacrifice and offering. Wow. How did the Messiah bring an end to the sacrificial system? 00:44:58.510 --> 00:45:05.510 He became the sacrifice. He became the sacrifice. So now we have the 70th week. Now folks please 00:45:05.790 --> 00:45:12.790 think about this: the 70th week pertains still to the Messiah. It cannot be thrown into the 00:45:13.580 --> 00:45:20.580 future, because in the middle of that week—by the way, the middle of seven is how much? 00:45:21.280 --> 00:45:28.280 And how long was Jesus active after his anointing? Three and a half years—in the middle of 00:45:31.150 --> 00:45:38.150 that week He was cut off, but not for you and me. And He brought an end to the sacrificial 00:45:38.270 --> 00:45:44.130 system because he became the Lamb of God to take away the sins of this world. Is that 00:45:44.130 --> 00:45:49.910 right? So only He can fulfill this part of the prophecy. Therefore, can I throw it into 00:45:49.910 --> 00:45:55.150 the future, or does it pertain to the time of Christ? It pertains to the time of Christ. 00:45:55.150 --> 00:45:58.490 He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. 00:45:58.490 --> 00:46:05.490 There is 1 prophetic week or 7 literal years left in the prophecy. What is a half of 7? 00:46:07.070 --> 00:46:14.070 3 1/2 —3 1/2 from the fall of 27 AD leads us to the spring of 31 AD. So we have 27, 00:46:17.350 --> 00:46:24.350 3 1/2 , and the sacrificial system of the Jews—which the temple stood for—comes 00:46:26.810 --> 00:46:33.810 to an end. Shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself. It's phenomenal. This ancient 00:46:35.150 --> 00:46:42.150 prophecy points to Jesus and to no one else, much to the disgust of many religious leaders 00:46:44.060 --> 00:46:47.040 in the world today. 00:46:47.040 --> 00:46:54.040 Seventieth week—31 AD—Jesus died, but there's still a 3.5 left: 70 weeks were determined 00:46:54.770 --> 00:47:01.770 upon the Jews. What happened in 34 AD? Now let me tell you something. Jesus said to the 00:47:03.080 --> 00:47:10.080 Jews, to these disciples, "go ye first to the lost children of"—what?— "Israel.: 00:47:11.210 --> 00:47:17.910 "Go ye first to the lost children of Israel." He didn't reject Him even at His death. He 00:47:17.910 --> 00:47:24.360 said, "go ye first to the lost children of Israel." And they worked amongst the Jews. 00:47:24.360 --> 00:47:31.360 But then, in 34 AD something happened, something happened. They stoned Steven, they stoned 00:47:34.450 --> 00:47:41.450 Steven and the Christians fled, and who persecuted them? Who was sent after them? Do you remember? 00:47:42.040 --> 00:47:49.040 Paul. And Paul received a vision, and he was made the apostle to whom? The Gentiles. Peter 00:47:52.100 --> 00:47:59.100 received a vision of a sheet coming down filled with unclean things, and he's sent to Cornelius 00:47:59.240 --> 00:48:06.240 a Gentile, and he comes to Cornelius. He says, "God has shown me in vision that I must not 00:48:07.500 --> 00:48:11.310 call any man unclean or impure." 00:48:11.310 --> 00:48:17.770 "You know," he says to him, "it is unlawful for a Jew to associate with a Gentile, but 00:48:17.770 --> 00:48:24.770 God has shown me in vision I can come to you." So AD 34 Steven is stoned, the commission 00:48:25.580 --> 00:48:32.580 that the Gospel would be carried forth by the Jews comes to an end, and the Gentiles 00:48:33.800 --> 00:48:40.800 take the message further. They preach the risen Christ. Isn't that interesting? And 00:48:40.940 --> 00:48:47.380 any Jew that wants to be grafted into the vine can be grafted in, but he has to acknowledge 00:48:47.380 --> 00:48:53.390 Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour, and therefore become a Christian, and if you be 00:48:53.390 --> 00:48:59.850 in Christ then you become Abraham's seed. And that's how it works. 00:48:59.850 --> 00:49:06.690 Christ was crucified exactly on time, according to the prophecy. Exactly as the prophecy foretold 00:49:06.690 --> 00:49:13.690 it would happen. And in the middle of the week He was crucified, but still mercy lingered 00:49:15.130 --> 00:49:21.760 until they totally rejected not only Christ, but His followers as well. 00:49:21.760 --> 00:49:27.670 According to the prophecy of Daniel, God's covenant with the Jews would cease 34 AD, 00:49:27.670 --> 00:49:34.670 and henceforth you have to be grafted into the vine. They preached and they were rejected. 00:49:36.450 --> 00:49:41.970 Here at the Sheep's Gate, this is where they brought Him out, where they crucified the 00:49:41.970 --> 00:49:48.890 Saviour. They wanted Him as their King of kings and they wanted Him to destroy the Romans, 00:49:48.890 --> 00:49:51.040 but He came to destroy sin. 00:49:51.040 --> 00:49:58.000 "Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them up in my arms but they did not 00:49:58.000 --> 00:50:02.440 know that I had healed them" (Hosea 11:3). 00:50:02.440 --> 00:50:07.060 "I let them with cords of compassion, with the bands of love...And I bent down to them 00:50:07.060 --> 00:50:08.280 and fed them." 00:50:08.280 --> 00:50:13.060 "How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over O Israel?" 00:50:13.060 --> 00:50:18.350 "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often I wanted to gather you under my wings, like a mother 00:50:18.350 --> 00:50:25.350 hen, her chicks, but you would not. Therefore your house is left to you desolate." 00:50:26.570 --> 00:50:33.570 The time when they would be the carriers of the Gospel message would come to an end. As 00:50:34.500 --> 00:50:41.500 He approached Jerusalem He saw the city and He wept. He wept. "If you, even you had known 00:50:42.200 --> 00:50:46.950 on this day what would bring you peace, but now it is hidden from your eyes." Why? Because 00:50:46.950 --> 00:50:48.760 of the hardness of their hearts. 00:50:48.760 --> 00:50:53.450 "The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle 00:50:53.450 --> 00:50:57.140 you and hem you in on every side. And they will dash you to the ground, and your children 00:50:57.140 --> 00:51:02.600 within the walls," and, "they will not leave one stone upon another" (Luke 19). 00:51:02.600 --> 00:51:09.600 Was it fulfilled? Yes, "look, your house is left to you desolate." So the Gospel is carried 00:51:12.990 --> 00:51:19.220 by the Gentiles. By the way, what does desolate mean? Does it mean there's something left, 00:51:19.220 --> 00:51:25.760 or there's no light? Nothing. Nothing at all, nothing at all. 00:51:25.760 --> 00:51:30.480 In the midst of the week, Christ the Messiah would cause the sacrifice to cease. These 00:51:30.480 --> 00:51:36.240 verses tell that the Messiah would die by crucifixion on the 14th day of the first Jewish 00:51:36.240 --> 00:51:43.240 month in the year AD 31. And every single detail has been fulfilled by Jesus Christ. 00:51:44.300 --> 00:51:51.300 Now note this, the Bible says in Mark 15:38, "and the veil of the temple was rent in twain 00:51:51.970 --> 00:51:58.970 from the top to the bottom." Not from the bottom to the top. From the top to the bottom. 00:51:59.060 --> 00:52:06.060 Who rent it? God, He tore it. Now when that veil tore, then the way to the Most Holy was 00:52:07.170 --> 00:52:14.170 open, which meant any Jew could look into the Most Holy and live. Wow. Why? Because 00:52:16.520 --> 00:52:23.520 the sacrificial system had come to an end. Now think about this: Jesus fulfills the sacrificial 00:52:24.980 --> 00:52:31.980 system, yes or no? Because by one sacrifice He has forever made...? Perfect. One sacrifice. 00:52:33.369 --> 00:52:37.930 What if I was to build a little temple and start sacrificing again? What would I be saying 00:52:37.930 --> 00:52:44.930 if I did that? That Christ was not sacrificed and did not fulfill everything. So if they 00:52:46.680 --> 00:52:52.700 want to build another temple, let them do it, but it is not from God. Are you with me 00:52:52.700 --> 00:52:59.619 on this or not? So the veil of the temple was rent in twain from top to bottom. 00:52:59.619 --> 00:53:04.680 "And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom" (Matthew 00:53:04.680 --> 00:53:09.470 27:51). God saw to it that it is written down for us. So according to the prophecies of 00:53:09.470 --> 00:53:16.470 Daniel, God's covenant with the Jews would cease AD 34—so, at the end of the 70 weeks. 00:53:17.550 --> 00:53:24.080 And you cannot throw the 70th week into the future, because the sacrificial system was 00:53:24.080 --> 00:53:28.820 ended by Jesus himself. So it fits back into the past. 00:53:28.820 --> 00:53:35.420 AD 34, the stoning of Stephen, the Jewish leaders reject the Gospel and it goes to the 00:53:35.420 --> 00:53:36.460 Gentiles. 00:53:36.460 --> 00:53:43.460 Galatians 3:29: "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according 00:53:46.880 --> 00:53:53.880 to the promise." So in other words, everyone who accepts Jesus Christ is Abraham's seed, 00:53:55.890 --> 00:54:02.890 yes or no? Because Paul says the seed refers to the singular, which means it refers to 00:54:03.640 --> 00:54:06.109 Jesus Christ and to nothing else. 00:54:06.109 --> 00:54:11.820 "Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything. What counts is a new creation. Peace 00:54:11.820 --> 00:54:18.820 and mercy to all who follow this rule, even the Israel of God." Who's that? The ones who 00:54:19.720 --> 00:54:24.900 accept Christ, that's who it is. 00:54:24.900 --> 00:54:31.900 So I love the Jews, and I have many Jewish friends, and I really pray with all my heart 00:54:34.010 --> 00:54:40.600 that they will accept the Gospel, and I hope there are many Jews here tonight. I'm not 00:54:40.600 --> 00:54:47.600 hammering the Jews here tonight, I'm discussing the prophecy—a prophecy that points to Jesus. 00:54:48.190 --> 00:54:54.590 "And he said unto them, unto 2300 days then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." There's 00:54:54.590 --> 00:55:00.150 more to this prophecy, more to it. The cleansing of the sanctuary is a Jewish feast. And we'll 00:55:00.150 --> 00:55:07.150 have to look at it, it was a day of judgment, so it refers to judgment day at the end of 00:55:07.700 --> 00:55:08.890 time. 00:55:08.890 --> 00:55:15.890 End of the world—the prophecy will end 2300 days later, and then will come eternity. We 00:55:18.280 --> 00:55:25.100 all know that this earth was judged once before and destroyed by a Flood. And everybody that 00:55:25.100 --> 00:55:32.100 wasn't in the ark drowned. And in the same way, "search the scriptures, for in them you 00:55:32.119 --> 00:55:39.119 think you have eternal life: but they are they which testify of me" (John 5:39). 00:55:40.260 --> 00:55:47.260 In Jesus we have life. In Jesus we are saved, in Jesus we can go through to the Kingdom: 00:55:48.990 --> 00:55:54.990 in no one else. And I want to warn the people of this country and all the countries of the 00:55:54.990 --> 00:55:58.840 world that this showdown is soon to take place. 00:55:58.840 --> 00:56:05.840 Serve the Lord and nobody will be lost. Thank you for coming.