Preparing for the Messiah

2 Peter 1:16-21 (NIV) 

    We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. [17] For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased." [18] We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

    [19] And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. [20] Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. [21] For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Luke 24:44 (NLT) 

    Then he said, "When I was with you before, I told you that everything written about me by Moses and the prophets and in the Psalms must all come true."

Daniel 9:20-27 (NIV) 

    While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill-- [21] while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. [22] He instructed me and said to me, "Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. [23] As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision:

    [24] "Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.

    [25] "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. [26] After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. [27] He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."

7 Weeks          =          70 Weeks  

62 Weeks        =          49 Years

+ 1 Week         =         + 7 Years

434 Years        =          490 Years

Ezra 7:7-9 (NLT), 11-13; 9:9 (NIV) 

    … in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes' reign.  Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in August of that year.  He had left Babylon on April 8 and came to Jerusalem on August 4, for the gracious hand of his God was on him…This is a copy of the letter King Artaxerxes had given to Ezra the priest and teacher, a man learned in matters concerning the commands and decrees of the Lord for Israel: Artaxerxes, king of kings, To Ezra the priest, a teacher of the Law of the God of heaven: Greetings. Now I decree that any of the Israelites in my kingdom, including priests and Levites, who wish to go to Jerusalem with you, may go…Though we are slaves, our God has not deserted us in our bondage. He has shown us kindness in the sight of the kings of Persia: He has granted us new life to rebuild the house of our God and repair its ruins, and he has given us a wall of protection in Judah and Jerusalem.

The decree is given to Ezra in 457 B.C.

69 Weeks = 483 years

When we add 483 years to 457 B.C., we arrive at 27 AD.

Daniel 9:24-27 (NIRV) 

    "The Lord has appointed 70 'weeks' for your people and your holy city. During that time, acts against God's law will be stopped. Sin will come to an end. And the evil things people do will be paid for. Then everyone will always do what is right. Everything that has been made known in visions and prophecies will come true. And the Most Holy Room in the temple will be anointed.  25"Here is what I want you to know and understand. There will be seven 'weeks.' Then there will be 62 'weeks.' The seven 'weeks' will begin when an order is given to rebuild Jerusalem and make it like new again.  "At the end of the 62 'weeks,' the Anointed King will come. Jerusalem will have streets and a water system when it is rebuilt. But that will be done in times of trouble. 26 After the 62 'weeks,' the Anointed King will be cut off. His followers will desert him. And everything he has will be taken away from him. The army of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the temple. The end will come like a flood. War will continue until the end. The Lord has ordered that many places be destroyed.   27 "A covenant will be put into effect with many people for one 'week.' In the middle of the 'week' sacrifices and offerings will come to an end. In one part of the temple a hated thing that destroys will be set up. It will remain until the Lord brings the end he has ordered."

Daniel 9:24 (NIV) 

    "Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.

1.  Jesus finished transgression by bringing rebellion, waywardness, and the principle of evil within human to an end by his death.
2.  Jesus would make an end to sin by being the final sacrifice.  He destroys the origin and source of sin. See Hebrews 5: 9. One righteous man can be exchanged for many and end all sin. This is fair because one disobedient man brought this punishment on the world.

3.  Jesus atones for wickedness.  When we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5: 8-11 (Verse 10)

4.  Jesus brought an everlasting righteousness by dying on the cross and introducing righteousness by faith through grace alone.

5.  Jesus seals up vision and prophecy by demonstrating and fulfilling 490 years or 70 weeks of prophecy.  The prophecy all points to Him and ends with Him.  He "sealed" or authenticated and validated the vision and the prophecy for us.

6.  Jesus is the ultimate anointed one.  We see this at his baptism, where the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of Heaven. "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased" (Luke 3: 22.).

1. Prophecies paint a picture of Jesus so that He is unmistakable to us when He comes. 

2 Cor. 1:20 (NLT)

   For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding “Yes!” And through Christ, our “Amen” (which means “Yes”) ascends to God for his glory.

2. Prophecies tell us that the promises and of God are trustworthy and secure, even if we do not see His results immediately

Hebrews 4:12 (NIV) 

    For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

Rev. 3:7-8 (NIV)

    …What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.

3. Prophecies tell us that God knows the end from the beginning and that He is truly in control of everything. 

Job 25:2 (CEV) 

   God is the one to fear, because God is in control and rules the heavens.

Job 34:13 (CEV) 

   From the very beginning, God has been in control of all the world.

Isaiah 55:8-9 (NIV) 

    "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.  "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.