Hello John and Doves,
It seems we are all nearly on the same page now. I
believe we should know the time; the wise men knew
the time of His first coming. He would do no less for us.
I also wish to give credit to Ray Schultz for his article
on Isaac Newton's correct interpretation of Daniel's 70
weeks.
This one by Ray on Five Doves back in 2009 will really
get you to thinking...
http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/nov2009/rays1130.htm
[broken link?]
Ray
Schulz (30 Nov 2009)
"What did Isaac Newton believe about Daniel
9:24-27?"
To the Five Doves,
What Did Isaac Newton Believe About Daniel 9:24-27?
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), the renowned English
physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and theologian
is probably most remembered for his work in universal
gravitation and the three laws of motion. He was also
profoundly interested in understanding Bible prophecy,
particularly Daniel's prophecies. Consider Daniel
9:25,
Daniel 9:25. Know therefore and understand,
that from the going forth of the commandment to
restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two
weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall,
even in troublous times.
In Daniel
a week represents 7 years. The 7 weeks and 62
weeks are traditionally added together to get 69
weeks. This is one week short of the full 70-week
decree of Daniel 9:24, so it has long been assumed
that the leftover week will be the tribulation.
Yes, the doctrine of a 7-year tribulation hangs by
a thread on this assumption! There is no other
verse in the Bible to support the notion of a
7-year tribulation.
Isaac Newton understood Daniel 9:25-26 in very
a different way. Newton took it upon himself to
re-translate the original Hebrew, and he adamantly
held to the position that the 7 weeks and 62 weeks
should not be added together. Quoting Newton,
"We avoid also the doing violence to the language of
Daniel, by taking the seven weeks and sixty two weeks
for one number. Had that been Daniel's meaning, he
would have said sixty and nine weeks, and not seven
weeks and sixty two weeks, a way of numbring used by
no nation."
Instead, Newton saw the 62 weeks to be the time
leading up to the Advent of Christ, and the 7 weeks to
be the time leading up to the second coming of Christ.
In other words, he was convinced that this verse
prophecies both the first and second coming of Christ.
Notice that the time leading up to the second coming
of Christ, the tribulation, becomes 49 years instead
of the customary 7!
In another twist, Newton viewed the six objectives of
God's decree listed in Daniel 9:24 as having
been completely accomplished by Jesus Christ on the
cross, which conflicts with the customary
interpretation that assumes at least some of these
objectives will remain unfinished until the end times:
Daniel 9:24. Seventy weeks are determined upon
thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the
transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make
reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in
everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision
and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
Newton's interpretation of Daniel 9:27 also
contains some fascinating surprises for us, and his
understanding once again runs counter to the customary
interpretation:
Daniel 9:27. And he shall confirm the covenant
with many for one week: and in the midst of the week
he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to
cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he
shall make it desolate, even until the consummation,
and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
He saw Daniel 9:27 as a prophecy of events
that had all been fulfilled in the first century AD,
in the days following the Crucifixion up to the Roman
destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Newton believed all
three instances of the word "he" in Daniel 9:27
refer to Jesus Christ, not to a coming Roman prince.
The "covenant" Christ confirmed was the Old Covenant,
the Law of Moses. That is, Christ did not set aside
the Old Covenant until one week (7 years) after the
Crucifixion, presumably to allow time for the Jews to
respond to their Messiah. The event that terminated
this week, according to Newton, was the conversion of
Cornelius, the first Gentile to receive Jesus Christ (Acts
10:1-45). Newton's interpretation of Daniel
9:27 has nothing whatsoever to do with
confirming a peace treaty, a Roman Antichrist or a
7-year tribulation. It only concerns events that
happened between the Crucifixion and the 70 AD
destruction of Jerusalem.
I have attempted to keep this posting as brief as
possible, which meant that several supporting details
have simply been left out. I recommend two links that
contain more complete accounts of this topic:
Isaac Newton, Observations upon the Prophecies of
Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John, Part I,
Chapter X: Of the Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks,
London, 1733: The Newton Project - University of
Sussex, East Sussex... http://www.isaacnewton.ca/daniel_apocalypse/
ps. Ray, If you are still out there, Thanks you
and God bless
pps. Marilyn and Lauren, Thank you too and may
God richly bless you