Greg Wilson (20 September 2020)
Re: Garry B (13 Sept 2020) Ted Porter
letter Daniel’s 62 weeks
Garry: I have proposition
for you to consider. I have considered your
proposal that Paul’s inspired interpretation set out in
Romans 15:8 speaks to the Abrahamic covenant and its
“confirmation” in Jesus Christ. Romans 15:8
states:
“Now I say that
Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for
the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto
the fathers:”
Paul declares that
Jesus Christ was a minister of the
circumcision. The covenant of circumcision
was a sign to Abraham “as a token of the covenant”
between God and Abraham and his seed. (Genesis
17:10-11)
This seed was
anticipating Christ. Paul instructs us in
Galatians 3:16:
"16 Now
to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He
saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one,
And to thy seed, which is Christ."
This "token" was a
sign of the special relationship of God and Abraham
and his generations. It is associated with the
promise of “all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting
possession” and that God would be “their God”.
(Genesis 17:7-8)
“7 And I will
establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed
after thee in their generations for an everlasting
covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after
thee.
8 And I will give
unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein
thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an
everlasting possession; and I will be their God.”
This “their God”
is a personal God with a personal name. His name
is Jehovah. This is God’s covenant name first
disclosed to Moses. (Exodus 6:3-4; Genesis
3:14) This "God" is "God in Christ".
(Galatians 3:17)
Jesus Christ was
appointed as the minister to Abraham and his
seed. Ministration is the action of
administering an office or position of
authority. Paul is telling us in Romans 15:8
that Jesus was and is the minister of the truth of
God. In the context of the Abrahamic promises,
Jesus’ ministerial office includes implementing the
truth of God by confirming the Father’s promises to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
What is this truth
of God?
In the context of
Romans 15:8, Paul is interpreting a portion of the
Abrahamic promises and applying them directly to “the
nations” or in Paul’s terms “the Gentiles”.
Jesus, as the minister to the seed of Abraham,
following His resurrection, has an office of ministry
to the Gentiles. Paul cites four Old Testament
prophecies about the Gentiles “rejoicing, praising,
lauding and trusting” in the God of Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob. (Romans 15:9-13)
Paul states in
Galatians 3:6-8:
“6 Even as Abraham
believed God, and it was accounted to him for
righteousness.
7 Know ye therefore
that they which are of faith, the same are the children
of Abraham.
8 And the scripture,
foreseeing that God would justify the heathen [Gentiles]
through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham,
saying, “In thee shall all nations be blessed.”
What gospel was preached to
Abraham? The gospel of salvation “for by grace are
ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it
is the gift of God”. (Ephesians 2:8) And “that if thou
shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the
dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Romans 10:9) We see that
Abraham, by faith, offered his only son, Isaac, as a
sacrificial offering to God. And again, Paul tells
us in Hebrews 11:18-19:
“18 Of
whom it was said, that in Isaac shall thy seed be
called:
19 Accounting that
God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from
whence also he received him in a figure.”
Isaac, the son of promise, was a type
of Jesus Christ. However, our Jesus followed
through having offered Himself, once for all, as the
atoning sacrifice whereby we may all repent and receive
forgiveness for sin. Paul is instructing us
that the Gentile believers can share in the Abrahamic
promises through the atoning work of Jesus Christ by
faith. “Now to Abraham and his seed were the
promises made. He saith not, and to seeds, as of many;
but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ.”
(Galatians 3:16) Therefore, they [the
Gentiles] which are of faith in Christ are included as
the children of Abraham. (Galatians 3:7)
Which promises
were confirmed to the fathers in “Jesus Christ?
I think it is very instructive and
interesting that our KJB uses the verb “to confirm” in
the context of the Abrahamic promises of Romans
15:8. Paul intentionally refers us back to
Christ’s atoning work on the cross. What was
confirmed? The “minister of the circumcision” was
hung on a tree becoming a curse providing God’s solution
for sin. (Numbers 21:8-9) Taking Paul’s
instruction we move directly to Daniel 9:26a where we
observe that “And after threescore and two weeks shall
Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:” Israel’s
Messiah was cutoff or killed. Messiah was not cut
off for Himself, He was cut off for all who believe in
Him, as saving faith in His promises. The grave
could not hold Him. (Luke 24:6-7) He is the
ultimate blessing to the nations, aka Gentiles (and Jews
too in this age), Salvation in Christ included the
Gentiles, based on an Abrahamic type of faith in
Jesus. This salvation was only possible
because of Christ’s atoning work and resurrection as we
see in Daniel 9:26.
Why did Paul use the verb “confirm”
in the context of the Abrahamic promises in Romans
15:8? He did this under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit because the verb “to confirm” means that the
action was the subject of a Divine Oath! The
action was the promise of Christ and his offer of
salvation. Daniel 9:26, where Christ was cut off
was based on at least two oaths. First, God's
promise to Abraham following Abraham's obedient offer of
sacrifice of Isaac as in prefiguring Christ's atonement
offering, was by Divine Oath as we read in Genesis
22:16. God says: "By myself have I sworn", saith
the Lord for because thou hast done this thing [Isaac's
sacrifice in figure], and has not withheld thy son,
thine only son. Interestingly, the word "thing" in
Hebrew is "dabar". It also means "word".
Guess whose name is also "Word of God"? Jesus our
Christ.
Second, God declared Jesus to be made
the High Priest after the Order of Melchisedec. (Hebrews
5:5-6) Jesus' atonement offering and resurrection
installed Him into the position of this type of High
Priest. In support of this proposition, in Psalm
110:4-5 we see that God made another Divine Oath about
this High Priesthood.
Psalm 110:4-5 states:
"4 The Lord hath
sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever
after the order of Melchizedek.
5 The Lord at thy
right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his
wrath."
It is fascinating that this Psalm is
a matching counterpart for Daniel 9:26 and 27.
They both speak to the First and Second Advents of
Christ. And in the case of verse 5, it
follows Daniel 9:27 with the "day of his wrath".
The High Priest oath of God
originates in Psalm 110:4 and its place of prominence is
in Daniel 9:26. This is why Paul chose the word
“confirm” in Romans 15:8. He was telling us that
this portion of the Abrahamic promise was the subject of
an oath in the context of the Abrahamic promises applied
to Gentiles. Paul defines the word "confirm"
stating that it means that it was subject to an oath.
Hebrews 6:16 states:
“For men verily swear by the greater:
and an oath for confirmation is to them an end
of all strife.”
And he shall confirm the covenant
with many for one week: Daniel 9:27a
Now, it gets interesting. If a
portion of the Abrahamic promises were confirmed “in
Christ” in verse 26 where in Daniel’s prophecy would the
balance of the unfulfilled and unconfirmed Abrahamic
promises be confirmed? Do you think it could
be in verse 27? That verse is the end of
it. If it does not happen in verse 27, then God’s
truth would be under assault. We know that
God cannot lie. (Hebrews 6:18)
Let me take this thesis a step
further using the patterns of prophecy.
Daniel 9 had been sealed. (Daniel 12:9) God placed his
covenant name on Daniel’s 9th chapter as a
sign to the seed of Abraham. That name is
JEHOVAH. If you search every chapter in
Daniel’s twelve chapters, you will observe that God’s
covenant name is never used except in Chapter 9 and
there it appears seven (7) times. Do you
think that is important? It is exclamatory!
The theme of Daniel 9 is that the God of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob KEEPS HIS PROMISES! All of Daniel's
covenants are Divine Covenants based alone on this
theme.
This Genesis 22:16-17 oath also has
an application in Daniel 9:27 because Christ will
ultimately save the remnant nation of Israel. God
in Christ will bless that remnant during the Time of
Jacob's Trouble. Look at Revelation 12:6:
"6 And the woman fled
into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of
God, that they should feed her there a thousand two
hundred and threescore days."
The woman in this verse is the future
remnant nation of Israel, God's formerly divorced wife.
(Jeremiah 3:8) God will care for her 42 months, in
the wilderness. We have a picture of this care
during Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21). Take a
look at Daniel 3:25 in your KJB only. You will see
the one "like the Son of God" caring for Daniel's three
faithful Jewish friends. The apostate new age
bibles all say "like a son of the gods", an Alexandrian
perversion of God's word. Daniel's three friends
represent a type of future remnant Israel in Great
Tribulation. Isaiah describes it as the furnace of
affliction. (Isaiah 48:10) And we know how it ends.
(Daniel 12:7; Revelation 20:4-5) This remnant
nation of Israel will keep the commandments of God and
have the faith and testimony of Jesus. (Revelation
12:17, 14:12, 20:4-5)
And so part of that Abrahamic
blessing will fall on obedient Christ affirming remnant
Israel at the Second Advent of Christ. Genesis
22:17 confirms it:
17 That in blessing I
will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy
seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which
is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the
gate of his enemies;”
The Abrahamic promises have a history
of confirmation. God has emphasized this word in
the context of the Abahamic promises. In
addition to the oath of confirmation in Genesis 22:16
and Romans 15:8 here are some additional examples:
1 Chronicles 16:16-17:
16 Even of the
covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath
unto Isaac;
17 And hath confirmed
the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an
everlasting covenant,
Psalm 105:8-11:
8 He hath remembered
his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a
thousand generations.
9 Which covenant he
made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;
10 And confirmed
the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an
everlasting covenant:
11 Saying, Unto thee
will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your
inheritance:
Daniel 9:27:
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.
Because the Abrahamic promises were
not all confirmed in verse 26, we must know and
understand that God will keep his promises to Abraham
commencing in Daniel 9:27. He must confirm
His covenant as the event which commences the Time of
Jacob's Trouble and the Sabbath set of years which will
perfect the purposes of Daniel 9:24.
The House of Jacob is the Father’s
inheritance. (Deuteronomy 29:26-29) By the way, “the
many” of Daniel 9:27 describes the House of Jacob as
Isaiah's remnant Israel. (Romans 9:27, 11:27;
Isaiah 10:20-21) In Hebrew, the word
"many/rab" is spelled with the letters "Resh Beit"
in Hebrew. The Hebrew word pictures associated with
these letters is the head of a house. The letter
"Resh" is a picture of a head as in a leader and the
word "Beit" is a picture of a house. You do
not need to speak Hebrew to get a word picture if
you know how to read the symbols for each letter.
We see the oath of promises to
Abraham were based upon Abraham’s offer of Isaac
foreshadowing God’s only Son’s atonement offering.
The promises of the covenant were that God would make
Abraham great, that he and his seed would be a blessing
to all nations, that God would bless those who blessed
them and curse him that cursed him, that Abraham would
have innumerable offspring (physical and spiritual), and
that God would give Abraham and his offspring land–“from
the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river
Euphrates.” (Genesis 12:2-3, 6-7, 13-14, 15:5,7,
13:16, 17:2, 4-6, 7-8, 10-14, 22:17-18; Romans 9:7
)
These promises will flow to the House
of Jacob, the remnant of Israel, commencing with the
confirmation of "the covenant" to who will receive
Christ during Daniel’s 70th week. (Revelation
12:17, 14:12, 20:4-5; Romans 9:6-7, 27, 11:26-27)
And so, the remnant of Israel shall
be saved. "Esaias also crieth
concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of
Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be
saved:" (Romans 9:27, 11:26-27)
Conclusion:
Paul appears to interpret Romans 15:8
placing this Abrahamic confirmation into Daniel 9:26 in
the context of the blessings to all [Gentiles] in
Christ. I think this is the better contextual
application than limiting it to just Daniel 9:27.
It applies doctrinally in the Age of Pentecost
first. However, we cannot ignore the unconfirmed
or unfulfilled Abrahamic promises to remnant Israel
which necessarily must be confirmed and fulfilled in
Daniel 9:27.
It certainly does not preclude its
application Romans 15:8 in verse 27 because of the
remnant Jewish [and Gentile] salvation which will occur
during the Time of Jacob’s Trouble. This salvation
will certainly have foundation in Christ’s atonement
work on behalf of humanity prior to the Second Advent.
(Revelation 12:17, 14:12, 20:4-5)
For the Lord will have mercy on
Jacob, and will yet choose Israel, and set them in their
own land: and the strangers shall be joined with them,
and they shall cleave to the house of Jacob. (Isaiah
14:1)
P.S. I am working on a
more definitive and comprehensive bible study on
Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy. I am attaching a PDF
which is a comprehensive literary analysis
comparing of Daniel 9 with Isaiah 59 that I wrote about
6 years ago. It is essentially a literary equation
which solves for the "unknown and sealed covenant" of
Daniel 9:27.
I believe that Paul unseals Daniel’s
prophecy directing us to from Romans 11:26 and 27 to
Isaiah 59:20 and 21, which necessary speak to the First
and Second Advents of Christ in Daniel 9:26 and
27.
Garry, I hope I have piqued your
interest to dive into the details as I have. You
and I agree on these important doctrinal concepts.
We are not very far apart in these matters.
I did not address your view of 7
years versus 3.5 years. My view presumes that
Daniel’s 70th week is a Jewish week of seven
years, a Sabbatical set. I do not think that
Jesus’ ministry was in the 70th week.
Verse 26 says He was cut off after the 69th
[62] year. I do not believe that that statement
necessarily means the 70th week followed the 69th
chronologically. I believe that the age of
Pentecost and the seven mysteries belong to this gap
period. I have also attached a bible study I did
on "covenant time". God does take "time
outs" in his plans. God appears to suspend
counting based on His relationship with Israel.
When Israel is in a covenant relationship time
runs. When Israel is out of relationship, God
suspends His counting. I believe the time between
the 69th week and the 70th week is just such a "time
out" following Israel's rejection of her Messiah.
I think Daniel would have been led to
say he was cutoff in the middle of the 70th
year if that is what it was. However, Daniel says
something else happens in the middle of the 70th
year. I will address that matter later.
I want to thank you for your
letter. I did not give it the appropriate
attention on first reading. But, I was nudged a
couple of times to return to it and I was finally struck
by the possibility of Romans 15:8 application into
Daniel’s prophecy. I was shocked by my omission of this
incredibly important Scripture. Sometimes we
(I) get so focused on our (my) views that we (I) cannot
see clearly. I absolutely heard the instruction to
return to your letter and consider the proper place for
Romans 15:8 in my understanding matrix of Daniel’s 70
weeks prophecy. This prophecy has been my
principal focus for 8 years. I am still laboring
on it with a heart for “remnant Israel” in the Time of
Jacob’s Trouble.
Your Brother in Christ, Greg Wilson
Covenant
Time 4 22 17.pdf
Literary Architecture Daniel 9
ver April 2018.pdf