definition of abomination of desolation

Previously: Daniel 11, the abomination of desolation, part five

Just what is an abomination of desolation, anyway? We have seen two historic examples, with the Greek king Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 BC, and the Roman emperor Caligula, in 39 AD. In each case, an idol, an object of false worship, was set up or was sought to be set up, in the place where the Lord caused His name to dwell (Deu 12:5, Eze 43:6-7). Of course, one difference between the Lord God, Creator of heaven and earth, and idols, is that the Lord does not dwell in houses made with hands (Act 7:48), for heaven and earth cannot contain Him. But, in the case of the Temple in Jerusalem, He voluntarily caused His name, His presence, His shekinah glory, to rest there.

The second half of the abomination equation, is the sacrifice. In the Temple in Jerusalem, there was an altar which had been built according to the Lord's specifications, dedicated to the Lord, and upon which sacrifices to Him were made. Sacrifices to Him were not just made willy nilly to try to garner His favor. They were offered for a specific purpose: to atone for sin, to express thanksgiving, to reaffirm YHVH as the One deserving of and receiving worship. Sacrifices began with Adam and his family, and from the beginning, there were acceptable sacrifices to a Holy God, and unacceptable sacrifices to a Holy God (Gen 4:3-5). The fact that every pagan religion also made sacrifices on altars to their gods shows that paganism is a twisted copy of the true worship of the One True God which was from the beginning.

Antiochus first built an altar to Zeus on top of the Lord's altar in the Temple in Jerusalem, then sacrificed to Zeus, not to YHVH, a pig on it. The Lord had declared pigs one of a class of unclean animals (Lev 11), and even from the beginning, the difference between clean and unclean animals was known (Gen 7:2). Sacrificing something unclean to YHVH was an abomination. YHVH is holy and separate, set apart. Those things which are His are also holy, separate, and set apart. His holy people are set apart from the other peoples of the earth. His holy day is set apart from the other days of the week. His holy name is exalted higher than any name which is named, in heaven, on earth, or under the earth. His holy Word is set apart from words uttered by men. And on and on. Those things which have to do with Him, are clean, or need to come into a state of cleanness by purification. Their cleanness reflects His holy nature and His sinlessness. Those things which are not clean, cannot be associated with Him, because they do not reflect His holy nature and His sinlessness.

(People can be brought from a state of uncleanness to cleanness through purification. If someone desires to worship YHVH, but hesitates because of their uncleanness, they do not need to despair. The blood of the Spotless Lamb purifies every spot, wrinkle, or any such thing, and brings a person from a state of uncleanness to cleanness.)

Pigs are fundamentally, intrinsically unclean. They cannot be brought into a state of cleanness or acceptability through purification. There is just no way to make a pig a fit animal as either a sacrifice to the Holy God, or to consume as food. Therefore, they are an abomination as a sacrifice and as a foodstuff. If you go through the Torah, God calls a few other things abominations as well. Not everything that is unclean is an abomination. But those things which are an abomination, cannot be made clean by ritual purification. They can only be repented of and turned from altogether.

Only clean or acceptable sacrifices can be offered to the Holy God. The book of Leviticus describes in detail the difference between clean and unclean, set apart and common, and the processes of purification required to bring something from a state of uncleanness to cleanness, and likewise, what can happen to bring something clean into a state of uncleanness. The first sacrifice described in the first chapter, is the olah - the whole burnt offering (Lev 1:3). If you look this word up in a Hebrew dictionary such as Strong's, this is what you will read:

a step or (collectively stairs, as ascending); usually a holocaust (as going up in smoke): - ascent, burnt offering (sacrifice), go up to.

Let's just remember when Strong's was written. It was first published in 1890.

So an abomination of desolation is not only an idol set up in the place where God has caused His name to dwell forever, but also, an abominable sacrifice, burnt whole, whether to the Lord or to another god, is also an abomination of desolation.

To sacrifice a pig on an altar to Zeus, in the one place on the vast earth where YHVH chose to place His name, is an abomination of desolation. It is a deliberate, intentional, malicious slap in the face to Him who created heaven and earth.

Caligula, as well, wanted to set up a statue to a false god - himself - within the Temple, and have sacrifices offered to it. That is an abomination.

Today, a temple to another god stands on the one place on the vast earth where YHVH chose to place His name. That too is an abomination.

Tuck this info in the back of your brain, because we will need to pull it up and look at it again when we examine the next and last place in Daniel where he speaks of the abomination of desolation ...

daniel 11, the abomination of desolation, part five

Previously: Daniel 9, the abomination of desolation, part four

Read Daniel 11 at Bible Gateway.

We find the next mention of the abomination of desolation by Daniel the prophet in Daniel chapter 11. This entire chapter is a vision, a prophecy, of what will transpire in the kingdoms of the world, the four kingdoms which Nebuchadnezzar saw when he had the dream of the statue with the head of gold (Dan chapter 2); the same four kingdoms which Daniel saw when he saw the vision of the four beasts (Dan chapter 7).

The dream of the statue with the head of gold, and the vision of the four beasts, are telling the same information in two different ways. There will be four kingdoms, which are kingdoms of man, kingdoms of this world. The first kingdom is Babylon. Babylon began at Babel (Gen 11:1-9), the first time a kingdom of man exalted itself in rebellion against the kingdom of God and against God's commands. Babylon, we must remember, is the head of gold (Dan 2:37-38). Upon Babylon, the final plagues, the seven bowls of God's wrath, are poured out, which destroys the head of gold and the kingdoms of this world (Rev 16-18), and ushers in the kingdom of our Lord and of His Messiah, who shall reign for ever and ever (Rev 19-20)! Amen! Come, Adonai Messiah!

Nebuchadnezzar reigned as the head of gold (605-562 BC). Shortly after him, the second kingdom arose: Media- Persia, which became the sole kingdom of Persia. Persia overthrew Babylon. The detail in the prophecy of Dan 11 is so accurate, that most scoffers believe it was written down by the Jews after the events transpired. Of course, Daniel, the author, held positions of authority in the Babylonian and Media-Persian Empires from 604-538 BC, so the vision necessarily dates from that time. It is also true that the translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek, which includes Daniel in its entirety, was made between 283-246 BC, before the main events of this prophecy transpired on the stage of history; so the scoffing of the scoffers is easily refuted.

The third kingdom is Greece, and the fourth is Rome. Rome, in fact, still reigns, in our worldviews of Western Civilization, in our civil laws and political institutions which all come from Rome. (Ancient Rome: How it Affects You Today by Richard Maybury will help bring historical clarity to understand how Rome still rules the kingdoms of this world today).

Daniel is told in vs. 2 that the fourth king of Persia will be by far the richest, who will stir up the kingdom against Greece. Cyrus is the first king of Persia; Cambysus his son is the second; the third is the usurper; and the fourth is Darius the Great, not of Cyrus' family, who overthrew the usurper and restored Persia to lawful rule. This is the Darius who instigated the war against the Greeks beginning in 492 BC.

After the fourth king, will rule a mighty one, whose kingdom will be broken up to the four winds (Dan 11:3-4). This mighty one is Alexander the Great, who overthrew Persia in 330 BC. Alexander's kingdom broke up into four kingdoms, north, south, east, and west. These four were headed by four of Alexander's generals, in regency for his infant son, but that didn't last long. The infant son and his mother were soon killed, and before long the four generals and their descendants proclaimed themselves kings over their territories, and spent a great deal of time in warfare with each other. None of Alexander's descendants or his family ever reigned in any of the four kingdoms.

The kingdom of the south was Egypt, ruled by the descendants of Alexander's general Ptolemy. Egypt controlled Israel for a long time. The kingdom of the north was Asia Minor, ruled by descendants of Alexander's general Seleucus, and this kingdom was constantly at war with Egypt in one way or another for a long time. Dan 11:5-28 provides many intricate details of this long war, all of which are historically accurate.

“So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” Dan 11:30b-31

Then in 198 BC, a descendant of Seleucus, Antiochus the Great, the king of the north, wrested Israel away from Ptolemy. In 168 BC, his son, Antiochus Epiphanes, arose to the throne. His title “Epiphanes,” in fact, means, “the manifest god,” i.e., god incarnate in flesh. He is a type of antichrist. In the course of his wars with the Ptolemies, he set up an abomination of desolation in the Temple: he had an altar built on top of the altar of the Lord, and sacrificed a pig on it to Zeus. He forbade the keeping of the Law: resting on the Sabbath, celebrating the feast days, offering the sacrifices, and circumcising the baby boys on the eighth day. He sought to establish Greek paganism throughout Israel.

The family of the Maccabees, of the line of Aaron the priest, revolted against this turn of events, and, with a small band of followers, fought a guerrilla war against the Greek king's forces until they had retaken Jerusalem, purified the Temple (in 165 BC; this event is celebrated at Hanukkah every year), and freed Israel from Grecian rule. Thus the people who knew their God were strong, and carried out great exploits!

“At the time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with any ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon. He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow at his heels. But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.” Dan 11:40-45

Now in 170 BC, the king of the south, the regents for Ptolemy VI who was still a minor at the time, demanded from Epiphanes a return of their Israelite province. Epiphanes responded by attacking Egypt with a great army, and overcame all; only allowing the Ptolemies to continue ruling as puppet kings through the intervention of Rome. Thus, even though he did not technically conquer Egypt, Epiphanes gained power over all Egypt's treasures of gold and silver.

Then, being preoccupied with Egypt, and the revolt of the Jews in Israel, the Parthians, to the east, rebelled against Grecian rule (167 BC). Antiochus Epiphanes left the Judean war in the hands of a general, and went east himself to quell the rebellion, but succumbed on this campaign to a mysterious disease, and died, in 164 BC. Thus news from the east (and north) troubled him, yet he came to his end, and no one helped him.

daniel 9, the abomination of desolation, part four

Previously: Daniel 9, the abomination of desolation, part three

Last time we saw that the seventy weeks' prophecy is tied to the first coming of the Messiah by the rebuilding, beginning in 538 AD, and destruction in 70 AD, of the city of Jerusalem and the Temple. Continuing on:

“Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.” Dan 9:27

The big question is, who is “he”? I know many Bible teachers teach he is the prince of the people who is to come; but I don't believe he is. It is a grammatical principle that if a pronoun is used, then it must refer to a noun which has already been introduced, and furthermore, the pronoun must match the noun it refers to in gender, case, and number. Since the pronoun used is “he,” not “it,” or “them,” we know that the noun to which it is referring is singular and masculine.

There are two singular masculine nouns in the previous passages: Messiah the Prince in vs. 25, and the prince of the people who is to come in vs. 26. And I believe “he” is referring to Messiah the Prince, because of the grammatical construction of the sentence. Let me explain.

The subject of the one doing the destroying of the city and the sanctuary, is people, not prince. The Hebrew says, The people shall destroy the city, not the prince. The prince is only in the sentence to clarify which people are being talked about. “People” is a plural noun. The pronoun referring to it would be “they,” a plural pronoun, not “he.” So if the “he” was to refer to the destroyer of the city and the sanctuary, which is the assumption many Bible teachers make - leaping to the conclusion of the antichrist - then the Hebrew would properly read, Then they shall confirm a covenant with many.

I just believe God knows His own language and uses it accurately so as not to be confusing or to be misunderstood. It is not His fault that English is not taught properly in schools anymore. But it is incumbant upon us that we do know exactly what is being said and are careful to read exactly what the Scripture says and no more, not injecting our biases into the text, if we want to be found to be not mistaken, not knowing the Word of God (Mar 12:24).

So if “he” refers to Messiah the Prince, then what is this sentence in Dan 9:27 saying?

“Then Messiah shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week Messiah shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.”

In my NKJV, they even captitalized the second “He,” understanding the pronoun to refer to Messiah! But they leave the first “he” lowercase, because the bias of the Church at present is that the first “he” is referring to the prince of the people who is to come! But the Hebrew and the English of the sentence is most simply understood to mean that the two “he”'s are referring to the same antecedant - Messiah the Prince!

How does Messiah confirm a covenant with many for one week, and how, in the middle of the week, does Messiah bring an end to sacrifice and offering?

One week refers to a seven- year period which follows the 69 weeks. The 69 weeks takes us up to the Messiah's anointing, His being marked as Messiah. The subject of the one week is the same as the subject of the 69 weeks, as the angel shows by saying 70 weeks in the opening sentence of this discourse (vs. 24) - which is the first coming of the Messiah, and His mission in that coming, to make an end of sins, and to confirm vision and prophecy. The rebuilding and destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the Temple are event markers so that Daniel's people would know with certainty when Messiah came the first time.

How does Messiah confirm a covenant with many over the course of one week, or seven years? Going back to Jeremiah, we read:

“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jer 31:31-34

I looked up the Hebrew for “new,” as in new covenant (vs 31). Because if the covenant Jesus makes is new, as in never been seen before, then what covenant is being confirmed? What vision and prophecy is being confirmed? Only something that is pre-existing can be confirmed.

In order to understand the Hebrew word for new, we have to understand something about Hebrew. It is an incredibly beautiful and versatile languge. Every Hebrew word can be used as a verb, to mean an action; as a noun, to mean a concrete object; or as an abstract concept, which the verb and the concrete object help to explain. For example, the Hebrew word which means the abstract concept of “faith” is also the Hebrew word for the concrete noun of a tent peg. Do you see the beauty? Faith is to our relationship with God, as the tent peg is to our house - the thing which secures it in place.

The concrete noun, then, for the Hebrew word for the abstract concept of "new" as it is used in this verse, is the new moon. The first sliver of the moon that is seen after a period of darkness lasting three nights, when the moon is looked for in the sky to see if the new month has begun or not. This is not referring to something that has never been seen before; but rather, to something which was old and waned (Heb 8:13), and which has now been renewed; which has been freshened or restored.

And we can see, in Jeremiah, God does not in fact abolish the Law which He established with Israel in the making of the first covenant, the Law which He called the covenant (Deu 4:13); His covenant which they broke. But when He renewed the covenant, He changed the place where the Law is written - that is what is new or renewed about the new or renewed covenant. Instead of the Law being written outside the man, on tablets of stone, as in the first covenant; in the renewed covenant, the Law is written inside the man, on the tablets of his heart.

Obedience to the Law has not been done away with in the renewed convenant (Mat 5:19), but obedience as a means of salvation, and as a religious obligation through fear of punishment, has been done away with (1 Joh 4:17-18). In the renewed covenant, obedience flows with joy from a heart which is in love with the One whose will the Law expresses (Joh 14:15, 1 Joh 5:3)!

So Messiah confirms the covenant (by renewing it) with many for one week, or seven years. In the middle of that week, i.e., at the 3-1/2 year point, He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.

In fact, when Jesus was anointed as Messiah at His baptism, it was in the late summer, on the first day of the 6th biblical month. The first day, or new moon, of the 6th biblical month, in biblical culture, is followed by 40 days of teshuvah, or repentance. Thirty days following the 6th month new moon is the 7th month new moon, the first day of the 7th month, the Feast of Trumpets. Ten days after that, for a total of 40 days, on the 10th day of the 7th month, is the Day of Atonement, a day of fasting and repentance for sins, in which the high priest made atonement by entering the Holy of Holies on only this day in the entire year.

Five days after Atonement, the seven- day Feast of Tabernacles begins, a joyful time of feasting and celebration. Israel was in fact commanded to celebrate and rejoice before the Lord for His goodness during this time.

Now because it was the month of teshuvah leading up to the Day of Atonement, this is why so many were coming out to John the Baptist in droves, to be immersed in a mikvah - the running water of the Jordan River, to wash away uncleanness. Knowing as we do, that Jesus fulfilled the Law in every particular, and knowing that immediately after His baptism He spent 40 days in the wilderness fasting (Mar 1:9-13), we know that His fasting had to be over before the Feast of Tabernacles. And I believe the 40th day of fasting and the day of His great temptation, coincided with the Day of Atonement, the only holiday of the Lord's which is a day of fasting and affliction and not feasting and rejoicing.

He was anointed as Messiah at His water baptism and baptism in the Spirit, on the first day of the 6th month. This is why John was told that the One on whom the dove would descend and stay, would be the One Israel was looking for (Joh 1:32-34). Jesus was given the title “Messiah” at His baptism.

He was cut off or crucified 3-1/2 years later at the Feast of Passover, which is always in the beginning of the spring. Passover is in fact 6 months, or a half year, following teshuvah and the fall feasts in the 7th month every year. And we know from reading the Gospels that He ministered for three years. So His crucifixion occurred 3-1/2 years after being anointed Messiah.

Once His blood had been offered, once for all, no more animal sacrifices and offerings were necessary (Heb 9:12). In the middle of the week, after 3-1/2 years, Messiah brought an end to sacrifice and offering. So we understand how Messiah confirms the covenant with many for the first half of the 70th week, and how, in the middle of the week, He brings sacrifice and offering to an end. But what about the last half of the 70th week?

Do you realize that the incident with Peter and Cornelius, which is recorded in Acts 10, takes place 3-1/2 years following Pentecost recorded in Acts 2? Up until that day, the only people who could benefit from the death and resurrection of Messiah, to bring an end to their sins, were the Jews. But on that day, the Holy Spirit fell on the Gentiles as well. So at the exact end of seven years, Messiah confirmed the renewed covenant with many.

“And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”

This is the last sentence in the discourse on the first coming of Messiah and the destruction of the city and the sanctuary which accompanied it. It follows the 70th week of the Messiah. In real historical time, the abomination of desolation in 39 AD, instigated by the Roman emperor Caligula as we saw yesterday, followed the outpouring of the Spirit on the Gentiles by only a few years. The prince of the people who is to come, the prince of the Romans, was the one who made desolate on the wing of abominations. And we recounted some of the abominations and some of the desolations that he perpetrated on Daniel's people and on Daniel's holy city yesterday. Just file in the back of your mind, that in the seventy week prophecy passage at least, the abomination of desolation had to do with the first coming of the Messiah, and the destruction of the city and the Temple which followed. But chapter 9 is not the only place in Daniel where he prophesies of the abomination of desolation ...

daniel 9, the abomination of desolation, part three

Previously: Daniel 9, the abomination of desolation, part two

Last time we saw that 69 weeks, or 69 x 7 which is 483, were to transpire from the going forth of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, until the coming of the Messiah. We discussed that this refers to 483 years, and the adjustments that need to be made to our BC calendars, for the years alloted to the Persian kings are too many. We are still on track for the entire seventy weeks prophecy to concern the first coming of the Messiah, and the events which immediately surround His coming. Continuing on:

“And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.” Dan 9:26

The angel told Daniel that from the time of the decree, to Messiah, there would be 7 weeks and 62 weeks. In other words, a 7 x 7 or 49 year period would first transpire, in which work would begin on rebuilding the Temple and the city, and then a 62 x 7 or 434 year period would follow it, in which work would begin on rebuilding the walls and the city.

The traditional chronology has Cyrus issuing the decree to rebuild the Temple in 538 BC, and the first return of the exiles under Zerubbabel following shortly after. They finished and dedicated the Temple in 515 BC. According to the traditional chronology, a second decree to rebuild the walls and the city was issued by Artaxerxes in 458 BC. This expedition was led by Ezra, with Nehemiah appointed as the new governor of Judea leading another shortly after. This would put the time between the two decrees at ~80 years rather than the ~49 years told by the angel.

We already have seen that there are too many years for the Persian kings, and that the Persian chronology, beginning with Cyrus at 538 BC, is inflated. The time between Cyrus' decree and Artaxerxes' decree is a prime example. I believe that in fact 49 years separated these two events, rather than 80, and this is one place where the Persian chronology can be shortened.

So when the angel says that after 62 weeks, Messiah will be cut off, I believe he means Messiah would be cut off after the completion of the 62 week period, which followed the completion of the 7 week period. He does not mean 62 weeks from the going forth of Cyrus' decree.

The angel has given Daniel several significant events to use as time markers. First, the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. Second, the coming of Messiah, at the end of the 62 weeks, followed by His cutting off, but not for Himself. I think almost all Bible scholars believe the angel is talking about Messiah's execution, which, from Heaven's perspective, was not for Himself. He was crucified for the sins of the world, not His own sins.

It is not necessary for Messiah's execution to take place exactly in the 483rd year from the decree. It just means, after the 62 weeks have been completed, Messiah will be cut off. That will be the next event marker. There was a reason Judea was in great expectancy for the coming of Messiah all through the lifetime of Jesus and the apostles, as Josephus records. They knew Daniel, they knew when they returned to Jerusalem, and they knew what year it was.

The next event marker is the destruction of the city and the sanctuary, by the people of the prince who is to come. Messiah was cut off or crucified in approximately 30 AD, and the city of Jerusalem and the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans.

Now when Daniel was receiving this vision, Jerusalem was a heap of ruins. There were no walls, no Temple, no streets, no houses to dwell in. No one lived there. The angel is telling Daniel, first, it will all be rebuilt; second, Messiah will come. Third, He will be cut off, and fourth, it will all be destroyed again. The first coming of Messiah is tied by this prophecy to the rebuilding and destruction of Jerusalem, between 538 BC and 70 AD.

The angel, continuing to speak of the event marker of the destruction of the the city and the sanctuary, tells that the end of the war will be with a flood, and that until the end of the war, desolations are determined. Here is a list of desolations recorded by historians -- the first desolation is the crucifixion of the Creator of heaven and earth -- until the end of the war:

28 to 30: crucifixion of Messiah.

39: The Roman emperor Caligula declared himself to be a deity and ordered his statue to be set up at every temple in the Roman Empire. For the Temple in Jerusalem, this order was delayed by the Syrian governor for nearly a year, fearing civil war if it were carried out, although the other temples in the Empire complied. The Jews' refusal enraged the already half- mad Caligula, who then threatened to destroy the Temple. A Jewish delegation was sent to pacify him, without avail. He raged at them: “So you are the enemies of the gods, the only people who refuse to recognize my divinity.” Caligula was planning reprisals against the Jews, when he was assassinated in 41 AD. During the course of these troubles, statues of the emperor were set up in various Jewish synagogues in the Empire, and in the decades following, other indignities against their monotheism were perpetrated, which were hard to bear.

66: The Roman procurator stole a large amount of silver from the Temple on his way out of Jerusalem. Some of the outraged Jews massacred the Roman garrison stationed in the city, in retaliation. The Syrian governor sent a larger force of soldiers to restore order. They were killed as well.

67-70: The Roman emperor Nero sent a large force of soldiers to quell the revolt -- 60,000 strong. Over the course of the next three years, these professional soldiers under Vespasian and Titus first overcame the Galilee, then the coastland, and finally surrounded Jerusalem.

The more zealous Jewish faction inside Jerusalem murdered the moderate Jewish leadership who desired to come to terms with Rome. Civil war broke out in the city among three rival factions, who killed each other, and innocents caught in the cross fire. One of the factions burned the city's stored food supply, as Jerusalem was being surrounded by Roman armies, which would have helped the city survive a siege of many years. Terrible famine and pestilence resulted.

Anyone trying to escape the insane civil war, if they were not killed by the Jewish factions inside the walls, were crucified by the Romans outside the walls. Josephus records up to 500 crucifixions per day around the walls of Jerusalem during the siege.

Once the Romans breached the walls, a flood, an orgy of violence followed, in which the emaciated survivors of the civil war and the famine were slaughtered wholesale. In this instance, it was not Rome's policy to take prisoners, even as slaves. The Romans were tired of the long siege and were determined to take their rage out on the Jews remaining inside the city. Over one million Jews were killed in the Jewish Revolt of 67-70 AD, most in the city of Jerusalem, and not all by Romans.

The beautiful Temple in Jerusalem was burned to the ground, as well as the general destruction of the city and its walls.

All of these things are desolations, which caused untold suffering, that continued until the end of the war. The war did not end in 70 AD. A group of insurgents maintained a resistance at Masada, and these were finally overcome in 73 AD. Two other revolts against Roman rule took place after these things, the last one in 135 AD, after which Rome expelled the Jews from Jerusalem and Judea, and they have not lived there in any numbers since that time, until they began to return home in the 20th century.

The angel takes up the 70th week in the next verse ...

daniel 9, the abomination of desolation part two

Previously: Daniel 9, the abomination of desolation, part one

Last time we saw from Dan 9 that seventy weeks were determined for the Jewish people and for Jerusalem, until the first coming of the Messiah, in which He made an end for sin and made atonement for iniquity. Continuing on:

“Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.” Dan 9:25

The angel says that the command will go forth to restore and build Jerusalem, which was lying in desolate ruins at the time that Daniel received this vision. From the time of the command, until the coming of Messiah, there shall be 7 + 62 weeks. Why didn't the angel just say 69 weeks? The command was first issued by Cyrus, then confirmed by one of his successors, Darius, later. The Temple was rebuilt first, then the wall and the city. So it was not accomplished all at once. Now doing some math, we understand that a week is seven days, so 69 weeks is the same as 69 x 7 days, or 483 days. The history books tell us the decree went forth approximately in 536 BC. 483 days later does not bring us to the time of Jesus the Messiah.

First of all, we have to understand, that this vision in Daniel reveals the principle, since we think we know when Cyrus' decree went forth, and we know when Jesus the Messiah came, that one day of prophetic time is the same as one year of historic time. This principle carries through and applies consistently to the days prophesied in Revelation as well.

Second of all, we have to understand that we have too many years in our BC calendar for the Persian kings. The information on the reigns of the Persian kings is taken from Ptolemy's king list, in which a list of kings and years of reigns are given. The years are added up, to the conquest of Alexander the Great, and the date for the first year of Cyrus at 536 BC is arrived at. However, there is evidence that in Ptolemy's list, there is either a confusion of kings (“Darius” was most likely a title, not a personal name, just as “Pharaoh” was a title and not a personal name, and it may be that too many kings were invented to fill every instance of the use of “Darius”), or years of reigns which were in fact overlapping, were taken to be sequential. And perhaps both errors were at work in Ptolemy's document. Please see this and this issue of the Biblical Chronology Newsletter which discusses the problem of Persian chronology in greater detail.

This means it could very well have been 483 years from the going forth of the decree until the coming of the Messiah. I believe it in fact was, because I believe that God knows exactly what year it is, and knew exactly what year it was then also. If it is true, that we have too many years for the Persian kings in our BC calendar, thus it was really only 483 years from Cyrus to the Messiah, this also explains another mystery:

The history recorded in Torah of the world and Israel is history, but also prophecy. It is a true historical fact that God judged the world for sin, and only His righteous family, Noah's, was saved through judgment by faith. This historical event is also a prophecy of the coming judgment of the world for sin. It is a true historical fact that Abraham offered up Isaac in obedience to God's command, but that historical event was also a prophecy of the Messiah, of the Father offering up His only Son. And every historical event recorded in Torah can be shown to also be a prophecy of Messiah and future dealings of God with man and the world.

The first historical event recorded in Torah is in six days God created the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day, He rested. The prophecy is that work in the form of the curse for sin (Gen 3:16-19) will rule in the earth for 6000 years, one millennium for each day, but that the 7th millennium will be the millennium of rest under the rule of Messiah Yeshua (Rev 20:4-6). (Why has the enemy attacked creation in six days, and Sabbath rest on the seventh day, so hard in our modern era? These things are prophecies of the reign of Messiah! When we rest on Sabbath, we proclaim with God that Messiah's Kingdom Comes!)

Now chronologers, assuming that the decree of Cyrus went forward in 536 BC, have figured that God created the world in 4004 BC, because every bit of information needed to construct a reliable biblical chronology from the creation of the world until this event is present within Scripture itself. (Please read the excellent and thorough Chronology of the Old Testament by Dr. Floyd Nolen Jones to confirm this fact.) If God did create the world in 4004 BC, then today, in 2010, we are already over the 6000 years alloted for the curse for sin. But, if there are too many years for the Persian kings in our BC calendar, then we are in fact coming up on 6000 years, not over it.

My belief is that God knows what year it is, and the angel knew what year it was when Daniel received this vision, and we can rest assured that if the angel said it would be 483 years until the coming of the Messiah from the time of the decree, it was in fact 483 years.

So we see that so far, the context of this prophecy of seventy weeks, is the rebuilding of the Temple and Jerusalem, and the first coming of the Messiah which followed, within the space of seventy “weeks” of years. We are coming up to the abomination of desolation ...

abomination of desolation

daniel 9, part one
daniel 9, part two
daniel 9, part three
daniel 9, part four
daniel 11, part five
definition of abomination of desolation
daniel 12, part six

daniel

daniel 9, the abomination of desolation, part one
daniel 9, the abomination of desolation, part two
daniel 9. the abomination of desolation, part three
daniel 9, the abomination of desolation, part four
daniel 11, the abomination of desolation, part five
daniel 12, the abomination of desolation, part six


expert studies on the book of daniel at bible.org*

*There is a lot of valuable material at bible.org, so enjoy digging around! However, I do not agree with every premise made or conclusion drawn in every study. Many have a traditional, learned bias against the Torah which God is stripping away in His Church in these last days.

daniel 9, the abomination of desolation part one

Read Daniel 9 at Bible Gateway.

We are continuing with Mark 13. In Mark 13, Jesus begins explaining the time of His coming, in which He mentions the prophecies given to Daniel. So we must go back to Daniel and understand what it being referred to, to understand Jesus in Mark 13.

“So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” Mar 13:14

So let's look at what Daniel the prophet had to say about the abomination of desolation, one passage at a time:

vs. 24: “Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.”
vs. 25: “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.”
vs. 26: “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.”
vs. 27: “Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.” Dan 9:24-27

This is the most important reference in Daniel to the abomination of desolation, because while other passages in Daniel give further details about it, this passage places the event in the context of the big picture. And this passage does not even make it into the cross references in Mark 13! People, you do need to read and know your whole Bible! We should therefore understand this passage, before we go on to the next passages.

“Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.” Dan 9:24

Seventy weeks are determined for Daniel's people: Jews, and for Daniel's holy city: Jerusalem. When Christians apply this passage to the Church, they have already made a mistake. The angel tells what will be accomplished at the end of seventy weeks: transgression will be finished, sins will be brought to an end, reconciliation will be made for iniquity, and everlasting righteousness will be brought in. Also, vision and prophecy will be confirmed (the meaning of the Hebrew), and the Holy of Holies will be anointed.

So when was reconciliation made for iniquity? When Jesus was crucified on the cross.

When was transgression finished and everlasting righteousness brought in? When Jesus was crucified on the cross.

When were the visions and the prophecies comfirmed? We must understand, that all the prophecies recorded in the Hebrew Bible have to do with the coming and ministry of Messiah, in one way or another! He is the One who fulfills the Law and the Prophets (Mat 5:17), for all of Torah is also prophectic concerning Him!

When were the visions and prophecies confirmed? When Jesus came and fulfilled His ministry!

When was the Holy of Holies in the heavenlies anointed with His blood to make an end of transgression and sin? When He Himself took it there and presented it on the altar! (Heb 9:12).

All of these phrases in Dan 9:24 are describing the same event, which took place at the first coming of Messiah - this event which was prophesied of by Jeremiah and Ezekiel:

“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jer 31:31-34

“Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” Eze 36:25-27

Sin is lawlessness, John tells us (1 Joh 3:4). To which law is John referring? Man's law, or God's Law, which is recorded in Torah? To God's Law, for Torah provides God's definition of sin and righteousness. An end of sin is made, because by the Spirit of the Lord now indwelling us, an end has been made of lawlessness, torah- lessness, as Paul explains in Gal 5:18-24. (We have discussed before, that to be under the Law, as Paul uses the phrase, means to be under the indictment of the Law which requires the penalty of death for transgression. It does not mean to be obedient to the Law, or the will of God. By no means, for even Paul obeyed the Law (Act 21:24)!)

Back to Daniel. If this understanding is correct, then seventy weeks were determined for Daniel's people, until the end would be made for sin. And we are assuming at this point that the end the angel is speaking of refers to the death and resurrection of Jesus, which took place at His first coming. So tomorrow we will continue to verse 25 and see.

mark 12, the currency of the kingdom

Read Mark 12 at Bible Gateway.

“Then they sent to Him some of the Pharisees and the Herodians, to catch Him in His words. When they had come, they said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are true, and care about no one; for You do not regard the person of men, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Shall we pay, or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why do you test Me? Bring Me a denarius that I may see it.” So they brought it. And He said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” They said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And Jesus answered and said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they marveled at Him.” Mar 12:13-17

“Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. And many who were rich put in much. Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans. So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood.” Mar 12:41-44

While I was reading today's chapter, I was thinking about the things that are Caesar's, and the things that are God's, and how this widow rendered to God the things that were God's. That got me to thinking about the currency of the Kingdom - not the kingdoms of men, which are passing away, but the Kingdom of God.

The images and inscriptions on the money indicate whose kingdom the currency operates in. The denarius of Jesus' day was inscribed with Caesar's image and inscription, so the currency belonged to him. Our dollar bills and coins are inscribed with the portraits of our presidents, and “United States of America”, however the inscription still is, In God We Trust. Even with that, the currency still belongs to the kingdom of man.

Now God does not need to use the currency of the kingdoms of men in order to accomplish His work in the Kingdom of heaven. The widow put in, by the kingdom of man's reckoning, two copper mites worth a fraction of a penny, and yet this was greater than all the other offerings put in. That is because treasure stored up in the Kingdom of heaven is not reckoned as treasure is in the kingdom of man. She put in all she had, so the treasure she stored up in the Kingdom of heaven was great (Mat 6:19-21).

So what is the currency of the Kingdom of heaven? I think it is just this: when we give all that we are and all that we have to YHVH, and back up those words with actions, we store up currency in the Kingdom of heaven. The scribes, whom Jesus told us to beware of (vs. 38-40), talked a great talk, but then devoured widows' houses. Presumably, He meant that when the widows could not pay their rent, instead of forgiving their debt and providing for their need, the scribes took what they had and cast them out.

For those of us who are Abraham's children, it is all about how can we be a blessing today (Gen 12:2)? What can we give today? We have a rich Daddy, who is rich in mercy and who owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Eph 2:4, Psa 50:10), so we can afford to be generous, LOL. It means more than giving money, although money sure plays an important part, because our hearts can be tied to it. But also, time, food, labor, talents, mercy, forgiveness, listening, respect, as well as money - these things are the currency of the Kingdom. Let our Vinedresser receive His fruit when He sends someone to us to collect it (Gal 5:22-23)!

And when we trade in those things, God increases the Kingdom to us. When the children came out of Egypt, their clothes did not wear out for 40 years and God provided water from the rock in the midst of the desert and manna from heaven. They did not need the currency of the kingdom of man. When Elijah was delivering the word of the Lord to Ahab, God sent a raven with meat and bread for him twice a day for three years. He did not need the currency of the kingdom of man. And when 5000 men, besides women and children, needed to eat after hearing Jesus teach all day, the disciples fed them with five loaves of bread and two fish. They did not need the currency of the kingdom of man.

So what do we do? Do not fear, little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom (Luk 12:32). Give Him all that you are and all that you have, and He will take care of the rest.

mark 11

Read Mark 11 at Bible Gateway.

I saw a chiastic structure in this chapter, but in order to understand it, we have to understand what the fact of the riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey's colt, and the cleansing of the Temple, meant to the Jews. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the colt, vs. 1 tells us that when they came to Jerusalem, when they were still outside the city, they were at the Mount of Olives. This is significant information, because if you look on a map of Israel, you will notice that the Mount of Olives is due east of the Temple (what follows is from Ezekiel's vision of the Temple):

“Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. His voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shone with His glory.” Eze 43:1-2

“Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut. And the LORD said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the LORD God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut.” Eze 44:1-2

Do you realize the gate which faces toward the east, is the gate which Jesus entered Jerusalem and the Temple by, when He came riding in on the colt of a donkey from the Mount of Olives? For many centuries now, this gate has been bricked up, as Suleiman the Magnificent so ordered when the Ottoman Turks took the Holy Land from the Persians in 1541. My pastor in Colorado, who goes to Israel every year with a tour group, told us that they bricked up this gate, because they did not want the people of the Book (us and the Jews) thinking that someone who entered that gate was the Messiah, and thereby rising up in rebellion against their Ottoman overlords. Thanks to them, the gate has been shut up, and no man has entered by it, because YHVH the God of Israel entered by it, riding on the colt of a donkey!

“And in that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, which faces Jerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, from east to west, making a very large valley; half of the mountain shall move toward the north and half of it toward the south. Then you shall flee through My mountain valley, for the mountain valley shall reach to Azal. Yes, you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Thus the LORD my God will come, and all the saints with You.” Zec 14:4-5

The prophecy makes it clear in vs. 3 that it is YHVH Himself whose feet will stand on the Mount of Olives - and of course, YHVH manifest in the flesh is Jesus our Messiah! When He returns, He will return to the Mount of Olives, and He will again enter through the East Gate from the Mount of Olives just as He did the first time!

When He entered through the East Gate from the Mount of Olives the first time, the people cried out before Him:

“Hosanna! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Mar 11:9-10

Because they knew what Ezekiel prophesied about the coming of the Messiah, and because they knew what Zechariah prophesied about the coming of the Messiah, they were proclaiming the one coming in through the East Gate the son of David, the promised Messiah. They were proclaiming that David's kingdom was coming with Him, and that He would save them from the Romans (Hosanna means, save us!)

Here is the chiastic structure:

1A Mar 11:1-11 The Son of David enters the city and Temple through the prince's gate and is proclaimed to be the Messiah by the people;
  1B Mar 11:12-14 the fig tree
    --> X Mar 11:15-19 Jesus cleanses the Temple;
  2B Mar 11:20-26 the lesson of the fig tree;
2A Mar 11:27-33 Jesus' authority questioned.

Almost every covenant that God established with man carries with it its own sign. The sign of the Abrahamic covenant is circumcision (Gen 17:10). The sign of the Mosaic covenant is the Sabbath (Exo 31:13). The sign of the Davidic covenant, which is that the Seed of David shall rule the Lord's kingdom forever, is the house in which the Lord's name dwells (2 Sam 7, especially 2 Sam 7:12-14)! Now you know, when Jesus was cleansing the Temple, why He quoted Isa 56:7, in that the Lord's house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations!

So, that Jesus immediately went to cleanse the Temple, after entering through the East Gate and being proclaimed Messiah by the people, is an action taken in order to acknowledge the people's praises and establish that it is His right, as the Son of David, to do so.

The Pharisees and scribes, in asking by what authority Jesus entered the East Gate, and cleansed the Temple, were in essence asking Him whether He was the Messiah or not. They knew the Scriptures and knew that building the Temple/ restoring the Temple is the sign of the house of David! Why do you think a cruel and grasping king like Herod the Great built and beautified the second Temple? He did not care for God! He was trying to establish his claim to the kingship of Israel!

Jesus, in order to answer them, asked them a question in turn which revealed their heart. They did not acknowledge that the ministry of repentance of John the Baptist was from God! They thought that he just got the idea in his head one day to be a prophet and live in the desert, and that it was from his own flesh. Their answer revealed that if He told them the truth about His authority, they would not believe Him. Even a Roman centurion, a Gentile, recognized His authority before they did (Mat 8:5-13).

As to why they were so slow to acknowledge who He was: before Messiah came, they were the authorities on God. But from the beginning, Jesus showed them that they did not understand either the God or the Scriptures they claimed to be experts on. Because of pride, they resisted Him. And that is always the way. Satan resisted Him because of pride, and men resist Him today because of pride.

So now, we see that when Messiah comes, He will cleanse the Temple. That is one of His ministries - to restore to the people the pure worship of God, and to drive out the dross and impurities. Beloved, that is still His ministry! When He comes into our hearts, when we have acknowledged Him not only as Savior but also as King, then He begins to cleanse His Temple - which is us (1 Cor 6:19)! He restores to us the pure and unadulterated worship of God! Sometimes, what He wants to do, will bring us into the cross hairs of the professional experts on God. Thus it has ever been!

It is interesting that cleansing the Temple, in the chiastic structure, is wrapped with the fig tree incident. The fig tree represents Israel, into which us Gentiles have been grafted, so that we are not to consider ourselves Gentiles any longer, but partakers of the covenants of promise, which were all made with Israel (Eph 2:11-13, Rom 11:17). The lesson of the fig tree is a warning, I believe, to us who are called Israel, not be found without fruit when Messiah comes! For if He finds no fruit in us, then our place is forfeit.

We have learned before about the Seed of the Woman, who is Messiah, being planted in the ground of our hearts. In Gen 1 we learn the law that seeds reproduce fruit after their kind, so if the seed of Messiah is planted in our hearts, we will produce the fruit of Messiah in our lives, which is love, joy, peace, patience, meekness, self- control and the like (Gal 5:22-23). The fruit of Messiah is not first miracles, which I think some modern Christians misunderstand. Miracles accompany believers as signs to the world (Mar 16:17-18), but miracles are not the fruit of the Seed of Messiah - a changed life is! A sanctified life in holiness is (Mat 7:21-23)! That is the lesson of the cleansing of the Temple!

So beloved, let us not resist our Savior and King, but let us get in the habit now of submitting to His will in our daily life, of allowing Him to cleanse us from all sin and impurities, so that when He comes, He may say to us, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

mark 10

Read Mark 10 at Bible Gateway.

“Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’” And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.” Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” Mar 10:17-22

Treasure in heaven caught my attention today. What is it? This passage makes it seem as if providing for the needs of the poor is like making a deposit into a bank account in heaven. But I wanted to be sure, so I looked up “treasure in heaven” to see what the rest of the Scripture had to say about it:

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Mat 6:19-21

Jesus tells us here not to lay up treasure on earth, but to lay up treasure in heaven!

“Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” Luk 12:13-20

God calls the one who lays up treasure for himself without laying up treasure in heaven (“rich toward God”) a fool!

“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luk 12:32-34

Giving alms was giving to the poor, so Jesus is telling us to sell what we have, and instead of putting the money we have made from the sale, into our money bag, give it to the poor. When we do that, we will have treasure in heaven. This must be because Jesus said,

“And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” Mat 25:40

When we give to the poor who are His brethren, it is the same as if we are giving to the King, and that is how the treasure gets into heaven. Now something Jesus said in Luke resonated with me: He said, Do not fear, for it pleases the Father to give us the kingdom. The kingdom which is of heaven, which is where our treasure is stored! The reason we are reluctant to do this word of Jesus, is because what happens when the treasure which we have on earth is at zero, because we sold it all? What happens when it is time to provide for our needs? Jesus is saying, Don't be afraid to do My Word, because it makes your Father happy to provide for you out of His great treasure house which He has in heaven!

I looked up the Greek for “good pleasure” (Strong's G2106); do you realize this is the same word God uses when He says at various times throughout the Gospels, that Jesus is His beloved Son, in whom He is well pleased (Mat 3:17 and others)?

The Hebrew word, from whence the Greek is derived, is ratsah, Strong's H7521, which means to be delighted in. The ancient Hebrew pictographs are of the resh, the head of a man, and the tsaday, the path one walks. So it is painting the picture of the chief path, as in 1 Chr 29:17, where the Lord says that He has pleasure (ratsah) in uprightness. When someone is walking His path, He is delighted in that person.

Notice that in our passage in Mark, when Jesus learns from the young ruler that he has kept all His commandments from his youth? (Now we know why he was rich, for blessings are commanded upon the head of those who obey Him, Deu 28:1-2!) “Then Jesus looking at him, loved him ...” (vs. 21).

Didn't Jesus love Him before? Yes, but I believe Jesus shows us that while He loved everyone, and had compassion for everyone, He had a special place in His heart for a few. Even among the twelve, there was the disciple whom Jesus loved (John, Joh 13:23), and the three, Peter, James, and John, who were in His inner circle. Among the Jews, He spent time at the house of Lazarus, whom He loved, and his sisters, Mary and Martha (Joh 11:5).

God is not any different, of course, for Jesus is God, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Heb 13:8)! It says in the Scriptures, that God loved Jacob, but hated Esau (Mal 1:2-3). I believe this is the Scripture's way of saying that God has a special place in His heart for His own who walk His path, but for those who disregard Him completely, who do not give a fig whether they are on His path or not, as Esau did, they are not well pleasing to Him. He does not delight in them.

So that is the meaning of, It is our Father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom! He takes delight in doing so! When Christmas rolls around and you have spent the better part of a year searching for the perfect thing that you know will bring so much joy to your loved one, it gives you more pleasure to watch them open their gift than you get from unwrapping any of your own! So we know what it is feels like for God to take delight in giving us His kingdom!

Listen, if the days draw near for the Lord to return, and we are unable to buy, sell, or otherwise participate in the economy of the kingdoms of this world, let us take heart that we can participate in the economy of the kingdom of heaven, where we do not have to be afraid, because it is our Daddy who is the King - who also takes delight in giving us our inheritance in His kingdom! So if we have not been laying up treasure in heaven, now would be a good time to begin!

The other thing I was thinking about as I was reading Mark this morning, was how much of a gift of grace it is sometimes, from the heart of God, that we have not won the lottery, LOL. For His treasured ones, He wants to make certain that they enter the kingdom of heaven, and would not put a stumbling block before our feet, such as the temptation to trust in riches instead of in Him!

mark 9

Read Mark 9 at Bible Gateway.

vs. 1-7:

“And He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power.” Mar 9:1

Then the vs. 2-7 describes the Transfiguration. The vision of the transfiguration is the vision of the kingdom of God present with power. In the vision, Jesus' appearance becomes shining with white light, i.e., His glory as Messiah, as the Living Word, becames outwardly evident. Moses and Elijah appear with Him. Moses represents the Torah, the Word, and Elijah the Spirit. Moses represents the Judah, and Elijah represents Ephraim. Moses represents Jews and Elijah Christians. When the two are united in Israel's Messiah, then the kingdom of God will be present with power.

vs. 11-13:
Elijah coming first is a reference to the belief among the Jews that Elijah, who was taken up to heaven in a fiery chariot and did not taste death, will return and precede the coming of Messiah. Jesus said that Elijah had already come - Elijah preceded the first coming of the Messiah. When the angel announced the birth of John of Baptist, he said:

“But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” Luk 1:13-17

We have just read about the importance of turning a few chapters ago in Mark 4! The ministry of Elijah the prophet in the Old Testament, we can see (1 Kin 17-21 and 2 Kin 1-2), was to turn idolatrous Israel, the northern kingdom, back to the worship of YHVH, the one true God. And we see that this was the same ministry which was foretold for John even before he was conceived.

Jesus not only said that Elijah has come, in the person of John the Baptist, to prepare the way before the first coming of Messiah, but that Elijah will come. The spirit and power of Elijah will be poured out to prepare the way before the second coming of Messiah. The purpose of the ministry will be the same: to turn hearts back toward the Lord God. To turn the hearts of the fathers to the children; i.e., to restore homes with fathers in them who are fulfilling their designated role as the priest of their home!

This is why I believe a massive outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which will manifest as true repentance and restoration to the Lord our God, with revival worldwide, and signs and wonders following, will precede the second coming of the Lord Jesus. I guess I don't believe that Elijah will come this time as a single man. But as it is prophesied in Joel,

“And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.” Joe 2:28-31

Joel chapter 2 is fascinating, for it describes the events that will precede the great and terrible day of the Lord. Vs. 1-11 describe a terrible army which is coming upon Israel. Vs. 12-17 describe the weeping and mourning which will take place in Israel because of this army. It is a call to turn!

“Now, therefore,” says the LORD, “Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.” Joe 2:12

Vs. 18-27 describe the great deliverance the Lord will execute on behalf of Israel, and the great prosperity and blessing which will follow Israel's deliverance from all her enemies. Then comes vs. 28-32, and the great outpouring of the Spirit in signs and wonders. This whole chapter describes the coming of Elijah who will precede the coming the Lord Jesus, for the ministry of turning, of repentance, and the outpouring of the Spirit in power, are the characteristics of Elijah's ministry!

Now Peter quoted this same passage in Joel on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2, when the Spirit fell upon the gathering of the believers, saying that that event fulfilled this prophecy (Act 2:14-21). In fact, it has been “those days” for the past 2000 years, and the work of the Spirit in the world, between the ascension of Jesus and His return, has been to testify of Jesus, to turn all flesh toward the Lord our God, and to prepare the earth for the coming of Messiah in power and glory. But as the time draws near, so will the ministry of the Spirit in repentance and power increase.

Back to Mark 9!

vs. 14-29:
We read a little further down that even those who were not following Jesus were casting out demons in the name of Jesus (vs. 38). Power is inherent in His name, because of the authority He has been given! But before someone decides to cast out demons in the name of Jesus, not having a relationship with Him, please read what happened to the seven sons of Sceva!

However, there is a kind of evil spirit which can only be cast out, Jesus said, by prayer and fasting (vs. 29). Jesus lived a lifestyle of prayer and fasting, where those disciplines were just part of His everyday walk with God. When He encountered the boy with the deaf and mute spirit, He did not have to go away for a week to fast and pray, and then come back to heal the boy. I believe the Spirit is calling those who have ears to hear, to do likewise, so that we will, as our Master was, be ready to help all those whom the Lord brings across our paths, for the glory of the Father!

vs. 33-37:
I think that if someone even desires to be first, he has missed the heart of Jesus, for He is humble and lowly in heart (Mat 11:29). And meekness is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23). Moses was the meekest man of his generation (Num 12:3), and we all know he had no desire to be first, and to be the leader that God called him to be (Exo 3-4)! But that is why meekness, humility, lowliness, is the necessary prerequisite in the leaders God raises up - for anyone who desires to be first, can have their hearts corrupted by pride once they acquire a following.

vs. 42-50:
What are the causes of stumbling and sin? Is it your hand, your foot, or your eye? James said:

“Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” Jam 1:13-15

The cause of sin, is the desire for that thing that is conceived in the heart of a man. Cutting off the hand will not change the heart. But Jesus, by saying something as radical as, If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off, is saying that whenever you find a cause of sin in yourself, don't make the mistake of thinking that you can give in to it once in a blue moon and the rest of the time resist it - but cut that cause completely off - sever it from you!

Obviously, a man's heart cannot be cut off from him. The heart can only be changed, made new, by the new birth in Jesus Christ! If the believer finds a desire for sin in his heart, then the only course is to turn! With prayer and fasting, bring your heart before the Lord, and do not leave His presence until His desires have incinerated the evil desire from you, and the flesh of your heart has been cut away, so that you have a circumcised heart toward the Lord!

“For everyone will be seasoned with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. Salt is good, but if the salt loses its flavor, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another.” Mar 9:49-50

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.” Mat 5:13

Because Jesus is continuing His same discourse on the causes of sin, He is teaching that His people retain their saltiness, as it were, by maintaining their holiness and their sanctification as the set apart people of YHVH. The world runs after sins, but if the Lord's people do so also, then they have lost their flavor, and are in danger of being thrown out and trampled underfoot.

mark 8

Read Mark 8 at Bible Gateway.

“When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” Mar 8:34-38

Jesus describes following after two opposite and diametrically opposed people and agendas. The first is, of course, Jesus. Following after Jesus means not following after (denying) self. The self's agenda is the agenda that is in opposition to Jesus!

From Webster's, we learn that to deny means to declare untrue. So to deny self, is to declare the self's wants to be untrue; i.e., not valid! Deny also means to disavow - to refuse to acknowledge. To deny self, is to disavow and refuse to acknowledge the self's rights, wants, or interests. Deny means to not grant or to not concede. To deny self, is to not grant the self's whims and desires. The deny self, is to not concede to the self's logic or manipulation.

The cross was possibly the most horrific form of execution devised by man. Burning at the stake was even kinder, because it was over quicker. Of course, the self runs from death of any kind, but especially a dishonorable and painful death on the execution stake (the literal meaning of “cross”). But to follow Jesus means to take up the execution stake, not run from it. Following Jesus, then, means even more than to deny the self - it means the self literally dies on the execution stake.

This means my goals, my agenda, my wants, my desires, my rights, and my interests, my honor, my prestige, my wealth and my acquisition of comforts to please my flesh and my sense of pride - all of these things that are about me me me, I daily nail to the execution stake. I have to make decisions on a daily basis, even and hourly basis: who am I going to gratify with my words, with my actions, with the attention of my heart and the expenditure of my time? Even if I have prayed a sinner's prayer, if the decisions I make every day gratify self, and do not glorify Jesus, then who I am following? Not Jesus!

If I seek to save for myself all the things that define the life of the self - success, family, status, money, reputation - then I may save the things of my outward life, but I will lose my eternal soul over it. But if I seek to nail to the execution stake all the things that define the life of the self, and lay down me me me, and take up Him Him Him, then I may lose the things of my outward life, but I will save my eternal soul.

If, in front of unbelievers, adulterers and wicked men, I am ashamed to acknowledge Jesus and deny self, or am ashamed to repeat His words in the face of the world, because I want to save the self from being ridiculed or shamed, then when He returns He will be ashamed to acknowledge me as His own in front of His Father and in front of the holy angels! I for one would much rather endure the temporary and short- lived shame from the world than to have to hear anything from His lips other than, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

deuteronomy 7:7, set His love upon

“The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples;” Deu 7:7

When I first began looking into the Hebrew of this verse, I assumed that “to set His love upon” would include ahab, Strong's H157, the strong love which reveals the heart of the father, of which agape is the Greek equivalent. Ahab is used in the next verse, vs. 8, when Moses says, “but because YHVH loves you;” but to my surprise, the word “love,” ahab, is not in the phrase, “set His love upon.”

In Hebrew, this is a single word, chashaq, q?j, Strong's H2836, chet shin quph. In the ancient Hebrew pictographs, the chet is the fence, thus outside, also divide or half. The shin is the two front teeth, so sharp, eat, or press; also two, again, second, both. The quph is the sun on the horizon, so circle, cycle, revolution, time, even condense, as light is condensed in the sun when it is at the horizon.

The primitive root chashaq is itself from the two letter root, chash, ?j, chet shin, which means to bind. As I was thinking about how chash could mean to bind from the pictographs, I wondered if originally it had been a chet sin or samech, the fence of thorns, as fences in those days were made of bundles of thorns joined together. It would not be the first time the sin had transposed to a shin because of their similar sounds, and vice versa.

So taking the root, chash, being bound together or joined together, and adding the quph and its meaning of condensed light, leads us to being bound together by a concentrated emotion. The meaning of the verb form is to attach or adhere; the meaning of the concrete form is unknown; and the meaning of the abstract form is desire.

Gesenius' Lexicon says of chashaq: “to adhere, to join together, to cleave; to be attached with a very great love, to burn with desire.”

YHVH cleaved to us (chashaq) and chose us (bachar), not because we were great, for we were least of all; but because He strongly loves us (ahab), and because He is faithful to His word that He promised to our fathers, He delivered us mightily, and redeemed us from the house of bondage!