Regarding:
I've had to rethink my own
views regarding Daniel 9 in the last couple of years
regarding the question:
When did Jesus become
Messiah?
There are two schools of
thought which dominate those Christians who study Prophecy
and Daniel 9.
One quite old school of thought
holds that Jesus became Messiah when He was baptized at
the start of His ministry. Three and a half years
later He was cut off from God the Father when He was
crucified with the sins of the world. That
leaves three and a half years in the future to
be fulfilled at some unknown time. Counting
backward 62 weeks plus 7 weeks of solar years from 30
AD brings us to a year a Persian King made a proclamation
taken as fulfilling prophecy.
Another school of thought,
still over 100 years old proposed by Sir Robert
Anderson holds that Jesus became Messiah when He
triumphantly entered Jerusalem on what we call Palm
Sunday. Half way through that week, He was cut off
from God the Father when He was crucified with the sins of
the world. That leaves seven years in the future to
be fulfilled at some unknown time. Counting backward
62 weeks plus 7 weeks of 360-day years from 32
AD brings us to a year a Persian King made a
proclamation taken as fulfilling prophecy.
These two schools are obviously
different and the merits of each can be debated to drown
out those who hold a third school of thought which
the key principle was first proposed by Sir Isaac
Newton. But let's not get too far ahead of
ourselves.
For those Christians who do not
study Christian Prophecy, when asked when Jesus became
Messiah it has been my experience that they either say,
"when He was born" or "when He was conceived".
These Christians have not been
"burdened" I should say with choosing one of the two
schools, above so make their opinion on what seems most
logical to them.
Did Mary give birth to Jesus
who had the potential to become Christ near the very
end of His life? The mere question is
blasphemous to many. Of course Mary gave birth to
the Christ child. Mary gave birth to Messiah.
The wise men from Persia who
studied under the descendants of Daniel who best would
understand Daniel 9 were led to come to His birth.
The Word became flesh at the supernatural conception of
Jesus Christ. The flesh of man was anointed with the
Word of God
Counting backward 62
weeks of 360-day years from 5 BC brings us to
the year Nehemiah as Governor of Jerusalem commanded His
fellow Israelites to rebuild Jerusalem.
Daniel 9 declares that after 62
weeks, not after 62 and 7 weeks, Messiah will be cut
off. This literally means the cutting off of flesh
and in particular the foreskin in the covenant
relationship between Israel and God. This happened
after 62 weeks on the eighth day of Messiah being
born. This cutting off to confirm the covenant was
not for the benefit of Himself, Messiah, to enter a
covenant relationship with God. Messiah was
God. Messiah is God.
However, it can also be said
that Messiah at the end of His life also had His flesh cut
off which also confirmed the same covenant with His death
as the perfect sacrifice.
Now the first two schools of
thought hold that Messiah will not come after 62 weeks and
after 7 weeks, but only after 62 weeks plus 7
weeks. These two schools of thoughts deny that
Daniel 9 knows and predicts that there will be two comings
of Messiah, a first coming and a second coming.
Sir Isaac Newton had noted that
many before him had indeed added together the 62 weeks and
7 weeks. He declared that there was no scriptural
basis for adding these two numbers together but it would
be for a later time that the 7 weeks would be fulfilled.
Since the 62 weeks from the
rebuilding of Jerusalem to Messiah has already been
fulfilled, that leaves the 7 weeks from the restoring of
Jerusalem to Messiah to be fulfilled. It is my
contention that this restoring of Jerusalem occurred on
June 7, 1967. It is also my contention that we
should use 360-day years in our count of 49 years to reach
September 23, 2015, Yom Kippur, the Holiest date on the
Hebrew calendar, as the expected date for
Messiah.
Others may have other
contentions as to both the starting date and the type of
years they wish to use. It can be argued that the
shortening of days before Messiah to two thirds of before
means that time will not be measured the same to count
backward 1260 days from September 23, 2015. It can
be argued that just as Jesus came in a secret conception
the first time to the exact count, He will come again in a
secret Rapture the second time to the exact count, then
will come great tribulation. It can also be argued
that time, times, and half a time that the woman, taken as
the Christian Bride of Christ, will be hidden from
the serpent, satan, during the time of great
tribulation does not translate into 1260 days but 900
days.
 Rev 12:14 |
And 2532 to the woman 1135 were given 1325 two 1417 wings 4420 of a great 3173 eagle 105, that 2443 she might fly 4072 into 1519 the wilderness 2048, into 1519 her 846 place 5117, where 3699 she is nourished 5142 for a time 1563 2540, and 2532 times 2540, and 2532 half 2255 a time 2540, from 575 the face 4383 of the serpent 3789. |
As
one will notice the Greek word for "time" is Strong's
2540 and for "times" is also Strong's 2540. They
are the same word. There may be no "Western
Understanding" basis for equating "time" to one year
and "times" to two years in the Greek so
we are talking about two and a
half years, not three and a half years.
Subtracting two and a half 360-day years which is 900
days from September 23, 2015 brings us to April
6, 2013. Not long to wait!
Regardless
of what happens or does not happen April 6, 2013, or
what happens or does not happen September 23, 2013, it
does not mean that the underlying prophetic structure
leading us to these dates for understanding Daniel 9
are wrong. It just means that one or more of my
three contentions leading to April 6, 2013 or my two
contentions leading to September 23, 2015 are wrong
and we should continue watching and studying the
scripture.
-
Shalom!
Ted Porter