The End of Shadows

nosferatu

or Daniel’s 70th Week Postponed

“The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”  Isaiah 9:2

A great deal of time has been spent on the chronology concerning Daniel’s seventy sevens. Quite frankly, chronology is not my strong point [1], but perhaps the solution for this enigmatic problem is not chronological but theological.

Firstly, a quick definition of the “abomination of desolation.” Jordan observes that this is a crime that can only be committed by God’s priests. It is the “desolating sacrilege”, and the subsequent destruction of the Temple by Gentiles is the punishment, not the crime. When considering the deeds of Antiochus Epiphanes, many people think the sun shone out of the Jewish priests, but they need to remember the sons of Aaron and the sons of Eli. Antiochus was the punishment. The crime, as in Genesis 6, was the sin of the sons of God. [2]

Anyhow, some commentators believe that the abomination of desolation that Jesus refers to is His crucifixion. Slaughtering God-as-man outside the Temple should qualify for this like nothing else. Jordan observes that Jesus forgave His murderers, which actually put Daniel’s prophecy on PAUSE. Yep, after all that, there IS a gap. But it doesn’t stretch for  two millennia. It stretches for one generation. Of course, Jesus knew this even before He died.

“But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.” Luke 23:28

What we do see at the end of this “postponed” week is the glory departing. But is was inside people. It was the fire-filled saints of Pentecost. The centre of worship moved from Jerusalem to Antioch, and the reigning Herod became a human Gehenna. Both these events were “liturgical” symbols of what was to come in AD70.

The postponement is predicted typologically by Israel’s initial failure to enter the Land of Canaan due to unbelief. The first century situation was the same, hence the warnings in the book of Hebrews, only, this time it was a heavenly country. We see the giving of the new “Levitical” Law in Christ and the apostles. Then, in the early 60′s, there is a “Deuteronomic” repeating of the Law to the Jews of the diaspora, just before the destruction of Jerusalem as Jericho.

Revelation also shows this postponement. The four angelic army commanders, four winds of judgment, the four horns of the Altar looking for blood, are told to hold off until the saints are sealed.

So, the Messiah was “cut off” in the middle of the 70th week. Due to His grace, there would be a remnant. Israel would not be totally destroyed like Sodom (Romans 9:29). But when the unbelieving Jews started slaughtering Christians, the end was truly nigh. Guess when this happened? In the midst of the 70th week, the second giving of the Law. This is the subject of Revelation 14, the harvest of the saints as bread and wine. Their blood is symbolically spilled across the Land of Israel (the four-cornered Altar) and the avenging angels are finally let loose with seven bowls – the seven “sprinklings” to atone for this shedding of innocent blood. This time, there was no forgiveness. There was no more sacrifice for sins. [3]

This final week began with Nero’s torching of Rome and Herod’s COMPLETION of the Temple in AD64. Is there any wonder many saints were losing their nerve? Both tyrants would build their new world orders on the blood of Christians. For Nero, the saints were a helpless minority, the perfect patsy for his bloody crime. For Herod, the completion of the Temple proved that Jesus was a false prophet. The irony here is delicious. While the saints “filled up” the sufferings of Jesus, Jesus let the Herods “fill up” their sins.

Wonderfully, Revelation measures the last three and a half years of the apostolic witness in DAYS, but during the same period, the blasphemies of Herodian worship are measured in LUNAR months (Rev. 11:1-3). The Old Covenant festivals took place “during the night”, but the Sun of Righteousness had risen and the true shadows had fled. Those who preferred the shadows had replaced them with their own demonic traditions. In AD70 they were cast into outer darkness. [4]

The following three and a half years of hell on earth for Israel during the Roman siege are also measured in lunar months. The Old Covenant, like Jesus, like the Passover Lamb, like the blood on the Ark at Yom Kippur, was tipped out in the dark.

The whole idea is that the Law is given, the Lord postpones judgment for 40 years, then the Law is received by the next generation before conquest of the Land. Perhaps the “wilderness” between AD30 and AD70 solves the chronology problem.

The postponement allowed for the ascension of the whole sacrifice, head (Jesus) and body (the apostolic church).

_______________________

[1] Jordan is brilliant with chronology. Start here. For his comments on chronology concerning Daniel, see The Handwriting on the Wall, currently available as an ebook here. (Second printing is due in Sept-Oct.) This work took seven years and is indispensable.

[2] See Jordan on The Abomination of Desolation.
Part 1 (PDF)
Part 2 (PDF)

[3] See No More Sacrifice for Sins.

[4] Those terrifying scenes in the movie Ghost come to mind.

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4 Responses to “The End of Shadows”

  • Kelby Carlson Says:

    Great stuff, mike. Though there is one thing i’m curious about. When reading out of the NIV, it says that “on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation.” Now if we’re speaking of the Crucifixion as the abomination, what does the wing of the temple mean?

  • Mike Bull Says:

    Kelby

    In Jordan’s article, he writes:

    “The whole of Old Testament theology points us to this. The “wing of
    abominations” goes back to Numbers 15:37-41, where every Israelite was commanded to wear a blue tassel, called a wing, on his garments. (“Corner” is literally “wing.”) This was the “wing of holiness,” to remind Israel to obey the law (v. 40). Every Israelite was a member of a heavenly people, and “flew” about the throne of God on these blue (heavenly) “wings.” Naturally, an apostate Israelite would no longer have “wings of holiness” but “wings of abominations.” Their leader, the High Priest, would be the preeminent example of this.”

    It’s also on pages 743-753 of Totus Christus in the appendices.

    Jesus evidently knew He would forgive and postpone the destruction. So He refers to the massacre of the saints, not His own death.

  • Fred Says:

    I don’t understand why you are all allegorizing Scripture when there is no need to do so? Christ Himself referred to the Abomination of Desolation as something that is a throwback to the book of Daniel.

    Surely you folks have heard of the atrocities of Antiochus Epiphanes, who, in 168 B.C., walked into the Holy of Holies, and slaughtered a pig on the altar? He then sprinkled the pig’s blood around. Then, as if that was not enough, he set up a statue of Zeus, and some historians report that he placed a mask over Zeus’ face, that looked like his own face.

    It appears that Jesus was saying that this type of event will occur again. As I look through history since 168 B.C., I do not see any incident that even comes close to mirroring Antiochus’ stunt.

    Then again, I also note that this is a Preterist site, which explains why the allegorizing. Sorry, not trying to be rude. I just put two and two together.

    You folks should give Arnold Fruchtenbaum a shot. He has some wonderful material out there on this entire subject. He is a Jewish believer and understands the Bible from a Jewish perspective. Gee, what a concept…:)

  • Mike Bull Says:

    Hi Fred

    Don’t know about allegorising. It’s more about recognising repeated event-patterns. The New Testament writers do this constantly, and quote the Old Testament accordingly, hence the reference in Hebrews to the wilderness. These symbols are not up-for-grabs in any way.

    I suggest reading Jordan’s article on the Abomination of Desolation. By its very definition (a sacrilege that brings desecration), this sin was not something that could be committed by Gentiles. The destruction of the Temple, like the destruction of the Garden of Eden, was the last straw in judgment against God’s priests.
    The Roman standard, like the deeds of Antiochus, was a desolation, not a sacrilege. Like him, they were the instrument of God against an apostate priesthood. When the glory departs, the house is left open to attack, and the end comes with a flood (Dan 9:26).

    Thanks for your comment.