Not that Daniel's prophecy of seventy weeks is any small matter, and I know you have summarized, but are you able to summarize further...perhaps with bullet points?
I could read it all and perhaps address with a thousand points of discussion until the sun goes down, but I should think it better, noting the times, if you got down to the brass tacks of it.
Thanks!
Dear ScottA,
Many say that I am "too wordy" but I do try and keep it as simple as I can. The problem is that the "church" is spiritually blind and is eating a leavened loaf of bread (Mat 13:33). As far as I am aware, there is not one doctrine of Orthodox Christianity that is true. Some have a little truth mixed into them but the key doctrines are all completely false (Free Will, Hell and Trinity).
With this in mind, when I write a paper, I have to expand what I am teaching to help a person overcome the other errors in their beliefs.
Like with Daniel's Seventy Weeks prophecy, a person must understand that
Christ will save all mankind when His work is completed. If a person does not believe that truth, how are they going understand and believe what Daniel 9:24 teaches?
Here is my shortest version of the prophecy without supporting scriptures:
The prophecy teaches the fulfillment of the promises made to Abraham. Christ is the one who will fulfill them. 69 weeks of years pass before Christ begins His work of fulfilling the promises. When Christ comes in the flesh and is baptized by John the Baptism, the last week begins (the 70th week). This week starts off under the Old Covenant and is literal and physical. Then after 3 1/2 years of earthly ministry, Christ is "cut off" at the cross. This event causes the sacrifices and oblation to cease because Christ's death fulfilled the Old Covenant of Law. Upon Christ's resurrection, the New Covenant began.
The New Covenant though is
vastly different from the Old Covenant. Most believers have a great deal of difficulty in understanding this difference. Under the New Covenant, the "works" come from Christ. His works are
inward and spiritual and can't be seen in the world with human eyes. The Old Covenant is the exact opposite. The "works" come from mankind and they are outward and physical. The world can witnesses these works.
When reading scripture, we are told to rightly divide the Word by these two covenants. For example: prophecies which are fulfilled under the time of the Old Covenant are fulfilled outwardly and physically. They can be witnessed in the world. In contrast, the prophecies which are to be fulfilled under the New Covenant are fulfilled within (spiritually) a person and cannot be witness out in the world.
Improperly dividing the Word by these two covenants is one of the
biggest problems for a believer in learning the truth of what a prophecy teaches.
Since we are now under the New Covenant, all the "end-time prophecies (like Daniel's prophecy) must be applied spiritually to a single person. All end-time prophecies are fulfilled in this manner. To make it even more difficult to understand, scripture uses
spiritual symbols to teach these prophecies. However, once a person realizes that the prophecies all teach on certain aspects of the Pathway to Salvation, they become much easier to understand. For example, when the end of the ages come to a believer, they will receive the Latter Rain and will be saved. For them, the end of the ages come to them and Daniel's prophecy is fulfilled.
At the commencement of the New Covenant, Christ had only 3 1/2 years left to fulfill Daniel 9:24. However, since the New Covenant is spiritual, the remaining 3 1/2 years are also spiritual and
are not bound by literal time.
The last 3 1/2 years will be fulfilled by Christ's work
within each person who has ever lived. His work begins when Christ comes a person and gives them the Early Rain of the Spirit. This is the same as the
Holy Spirit of Promise (Eph 1:13-14) and is only an
earnest amount (a down payment). This down payment amount of the Spirit will give a person a measure faith but it will leave them carnally minded and spiritually blind. For that reason, the believer is susceptible to "falling away" and losing their salvation. In fact, in accordance with the Pathway to Salvation, a new believer will fall away under the deception of Satan EVERY TIME. This is the apostasy Paul mentioned and was caused by the "wolves" coming into the church after the Apostles died. John referred to it has the coming of the spirit of anti-Christ. With Satan's spirit indwelling the church, the entire church became harlot.
The only solution for a believer in this condition is for Christ to "come again" to the believer and give them the Latter Rain of the Spirit. This is the baptism Paul received in Damascus and is the same baptism the Apostles received on the Day of Pentecost. With this baptism, it will heal the believer's spiritual blindness and they will no longer receive their truth from this world (sun & moon are darkened). Now with "eyes that can see", the believer will suddenly realize that they are the Man of Sin and they will see the Abomination of Desolation which occurred within themselves. Once they "see" this truth, judgment will fall on the Man of Sin and he will be removed from the believer and cast into the Lake of Fire. With this judgment, the believer is converted and will be "born again" as a child of God. They will then be saved and can NEVER fall away again. This is the conversion event and it will complete the last 3 1/2 years of Daniel's prophecy for that particular believer. Christ will then repeat His work within all mankind until every person who has ever lived is saved. Only then will Daniel's prophecy be fully accomplished.
I hope this is not too confusing for you. It also probably isn't any shorter than my summary, but I did my best to shorten it.
If you have any specific questions, I will be happy to respond. My time today is short though so I may have to reply tomorrow morning.
Joe
