Embracing Humility in Understanding the Second Coming

It is indeed of the greatest import that we should realize that when the mightiest and the Saint leest Men of God of the past centuries have of times disagreed with one another in matters of interpretation it ill behoves any of us to be dogmatic or certain or G and if these discussions and talks of ours Friday by Friday do nothing else than just cause us all to realize that I attender shall be more than satisfied if any who are attending here shall be a little less certain and dogmatic at the end than they were at the beginning I shall indeed be pleased because there is nothing it seems to me that is so sad and indeed often times sinful as an extreme dogmatism in this particular realm. [00:27:55]

The development of prophetic interpretation has been influenced by historical figures and movements, such as Edward Irving and J.N. Darby in the 19th century. Their teachings have shaped much of modern evangelical thought, highlighting the importance of understanding the historical context of interpretation. [07:29:00]

Now again I remind you that there have been many different interpretations of this chapter those of you who have got copies of this IVF Bible commentary which uh was printed you remember about 18 months ago will notice that I shall be following in the main the exposition given there by Professor Edward young of Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia in America who represents and gives a very fine interpretation and Exposition after the traditional Protestant understanding of this chapter I'm I'm reminded to tell you that because Edward young himself was a great old Testament scholar says that this is undoubtedly one of the most difficult passages in the entire Old Testament and there is no question at all about that. [13:43:44]

Now then what does 70 weeks mean well strictly speaking it shouldn't be translated 70 weeks it should be translated 77s oh but you may say seven days in a week all right but it doesn't follow of necessity that here it does mean a week it literally means 77 there is a period of time a seven and there are going to be 70 of those per particular seven now there are some people who say you shouldn't say that you should say that 70 weeks means 70 weeks uh 490 days and that in Prophecy a day always means a year so that 70 weeks means of necessity 490 years there's a great subject for discussion does a day in Prophecy always mean a year and you'll find that there are all sorts of disagreements and there are some who say yes it does in chapter 9 but it doesn't in the other chapters and so on and so for which leads me to this conclusion that it is unwise to regard these as exact terms. [15:29:32]

I suggest to you that in Prophecy numbers are symbolical that they're not meant to be exact but that they are meant to convey an idea now I want to was a phrase that was used by a man who was perhaps the greatest Evangelical commentator of the last century at in it he certainly was the greatest in Germany a man called hansenberg and if ever you see a book with the name of henin bber on it buy it and keep it and devour it a great biblical commentator honberg now he said and it's a very wonderful phrase I think that these numbers in scriptures can be described as having concealed definiteness now that's a wonderful phrase they are definite and yet they're not definite in the sense that you can say exactly when a thing begins and when it ends concealed definiteness yes there is a sort of certainty about them but there is an uncertainty also and it's because people haven't realized the concealed part of the definiteness that so many of the greatest names in the history of interpretation have arrived at definite absolute conclusions Which history has already proved to be absolutely wrong. [16:56:59]

God wants us to know that the time is definite in his mind it's going to happen at a definite time but you and I can never say exactly which is the date there are indications which should make us think and be ready but we can never say it must happen on such and such a date the whole history of Prophecy is stwn with a wreckage in a sense of the reputation of men who have forgotten this term about concealed definiteness exact and yet not exact the exactness is concealed from us I suggest to you therefore that a good way of facing this term semy and seven is this seven in biblical symbolism is always a perfect number and the same thing can be said also of 10 so 7 * 10 meaning 70 suggest a complete era a complete period divided again into perfect periods suggested by the figure seven and I do suggest to you that the more you take hold of this idea that you mustn't press these figures too far but regard them symbolically the happier you'll be in your reading of the scriptures and the less liable are you to error and to bring the whole of Prophecy into disrepute. [18:41:24]

Now the first thing we notice here is this phrase from the going forth of the Commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the prince what's meant by this going forth of the word well there of course comes in the disagreement and people who are anxious to make this an exact 490 years are bound to dis agree amongst themselves as to the exact way in which they interpret that some of them say that it happened in the first year of Cyrus which means BC 538 others say no it means the 20th year of Ares which means 445 BC but the fact of the matter is neither one party nor the other can prove it and there are still other ideas with regard to this all we know is this that from the giving or the sending forth of this commandment when was that well it seems to me the most obvious thing to believe is that it was from the time when God first gave his command to Cyrus with with regard to this matter it doesn't of necessity mean when the thing began to be carried out it rather suggests that when the thing was first moted when it was first indicated when God first showed that this was to be done but there I say we can't prove it and therefore how dangerous it is to try and fix exact dates. [24:37:78]

There are the actual statements by which we are confronted now a upon the wing of Abominations or upon the Pinnacle of Abominations is surely a reference to the destruction of the temple starting at the very Pinnacle and going right through the temple is to be completely destroyed and abolished but now the great question that arises is this what is the interpretation of all this and as I've suggested to you there are two main schools and it all turns upon this when does this 70th week take place the prophet has told us about the seven and the 62 but that only comes the 69 there's a remaining week in the 7 when does that take place then another question we ask is this do the things which are described in verse 26 take place in the 70th week or not all we are told here is this that after three score weeks and two but remember that the three score weeks and two come after the seven so it's after the 69th the passage doesn't actually say it's going to happen in the 70th but it doesn't say that it isn't going to happen in the 70th all it actually says is that after the 69th does after the 69th mean the 70th or does it not mean the 70th that's a great question at issue and the third problem at issue is who is the he at the beginning of verse 27 and he shall confirm the Covenant with many for one week does that he refer to the Messiah in verse 26 or does it refer to the prince of whom we read in the second half of 26 now there's the problem. [33:03:39]

The View that gained currency and became popular and is very popular still amongst many originating from the conferences of uh of 1830 and there I can do nothing better than read you a statement of that view which puts it like this it says these are weeks or more ACC Le sevens of years 70 weeks of seven years each Within These weeks the national chastisement must be ended and the nation reestablished in Everlasting righteousness I wonder whether you notice the significance of that it says the nation must be reestablished in Everlasting righteousness but there at once some of us feel like raising a query we are not actually told that the nation shall be reestablished in Everlasting righteousness what we are told is that Everlasting righteousness shall be brought in which is not exactly the same thing I think you'll observe but you see if you start off with the theory and with the idea that the Jews are to have a special place in the kingdom of God and that God is still concerned about them in a special Manner and that they will enter into the kingdom in a special way and so on well then of course you've got to import that idea everywhere and here you see this interpretation brings it in at this point the scripture says Everlasting righteousness shall be brought in the interpretation says the nation shall be reestablished in Everlasting righteousness. [36:33:24]

The 70 weeks are divided into seven 49 years 62434 years 1 7 years in the 7 weeks the 49 years Jerusalem was to be rebuilt in troublous times there I told you we're all agreed this was fulfilled as Ezra and Nehemiah record 62 weeks equals 434 years thereafter Messiah was to come this was fulfilled in the birth and manifestation of Christ again we are agreed now then verse 26 is obviously an indeterminate period obviously we are told I wonder whether it's obvious to all of you that verse 26 must be an indeterminate period there one raises a query against the obviously the date of the crucifixion is not fix it is only said to be after the three score and 2 weeks it is the first event in verse 26 the second event is the destruction of the city fulfilled a70 then unto the end a period not fixed but which has already lasted nearly 2,000 years to Daniel was revealed only that Wars and desolations should continue the New Testament revealed that which was hidden from the Old Testament prophets that during this period should be accomplished the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven and the out calling of the church you see this view tells us that the Old Testament knows nothing about the church nothing about the Gentiles coming in and be blessed and being saved nothing about the church that is a part of the exposition when the church age will end and the 70th Week begin you see the implication that there is a great Gap at least 2,000 years between the end of the 69th week and the beginning of the 70th week a gap is introduced by this interpretation we are told then that at the end of that time when the church age is finished when the church age will end and the 70th week will begin is nowhere revealed we told it's duration can be but 7 years to make it more violat the principle of interpretation already confirmed by fulfillment then verse 27 deals with this last week and we are told dogmatically that the he of verse 27 is the prince that shall come of verse 26 whose people Rome destroyed the temple in ad70 he is the same we are told again with the with the little Horn of chapter 7even that we dealt with last week he will Covenant with the Jews to restore their Temple sacrifices for one week we are not told that as a matter of fact here but it's suggested in the interpretation he will Covenant with the Jews to restore their Temple sacrifices for one week but in the middle of that time he will break the Covenant and fulfill Daniel 12 and 2 Thessalonians 2 between the 69th week after after which Messiah was cut off and the 70th week within which the little Horn of Daniel 7 will run his awful C intervenes this entire church age verse 27 deals with the last three and A2 years of the seven which are identical with the Great Tribulation of Matthew 24 the time of trouble of Daniel 12 the hour of Temptation of Revelations 3 now then there I say is what is so commonly accepted today as the interpretation of this chapter now shall we try to think that out before I come to express criticisms of it and remind you in detail of the traditional Protestant interpretation prior to 1830 those I say are the questions which you must keep in your mind has the program outlined in verse 24 yet been carried out or not what about the things that are described in verse 26 who is the he at the beginning of verse 27 did the things that are described in verse 26 happen in the 70th week or in this supposed interval between the end of 69 and the beginning of 70 is there this great gap between the 69th week and the beginning of the 70th week think those things out for yourself it's a part of this whole scheme of interpretation which I say gives a special place to the Jews in God's Eternal purpose and even in the coming Kingdom which believes that the temple will again be rebuilt in Jerusalem that blood sacrifices will be introduced once more and so on and which would not have accepted my suggestion as an interpretation of the Antichrist last week but regards the Antichrist as entirely in the future and yet to come and which will link up with a similar kind of interpretation of the Book of Revelation. [38:33:24]