Know and understand this

Daniel 9:24 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, vision and prophecy ratified and the Most Holy place anointed.
Daniel 9:25-27 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 drains, but in troubled times. After the 62 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 sanctuary. The end will come like a flood. War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with the many for one ‘seven’. In the middle of the seven, he will put an end to the sacrifice and offering. In the Temple, he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out upon him.
Reference REB, NIV, KJV.

My comments: Verse 24 - The Angel Gabriel’s message for the end of this age:
1/To complete and finalize the transgressions of the wicked peoples.[Time of the Gentiles]
2/ To make an end to disobedience against God. [Punishment of His enemies]
3/ To make reconciliation for iniquity. [Forgiveness for His people]
4/ To usher in the age of Righteousness. [The Israelites – ‘a light to the nations’]
5/ To fulfil prophesy. [The promises to the Patriarchs and to Israel]
6/ To sanctify the Temple. [The Third Temple, built by the people of New Israel]
Verse 25: 70 times 7 = 490 prophetic years of 360 days. The first 7 ‘weeks’ = 49 years, starts from the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem in the 20th year of the reign of Artaxerxes. This was in 445BC. Jerusalem’s walls, streets, etc were built ‘even in troublous times’, in approx. 48/49 years.
Verse 26 Then another 62 ‘weeks’ = 434 years, plus the 49, makes a total of 483 prophetic years until ‘Messiah, the Prince, is cut off’. Careful calculation of 360 day years, multiplied by 483, brings the date to 32/33AD, the date of the Crucifixion.
‘There shall be nothing for Him’, means that at that time He did not receive the Millennium Kingdom. ‘The people of the ruler to come, will destroy Jerusalem, including the Temple’, refers to the Roman destruction in 69/70AD. This gives us the clue to the origin of the Anti Christ, who will lead a restored Roman Empire.
Then, there has been a gap of nearly 2000 years, till the present day.
The end period; the 70th of the 7 ‘weeks’ = 7 years will be made up of 2 periods of 1260 days each. It will be the closing time of this age, ‘the end shall be with a flood’. Flood is better translated as – overflowing. 2 Thessalonians 2:8
Verse 27 The Anti Christ will make a 7 year treaty with the ‘many’. That is, the people of Israel, all 12 tribes, living in their own Land. There will be a faithful remnant who will oppose this agreement, so this treaty is made with many, but not all of His people, Israel. Daniel 11:32, Isaiah 28:15. The Anti Christ will break this after 1260 days, which will commence the Great Tribulation. He sets up his own image in the Temple, then after the final 1260 days, he will meet his end. Daniel 11:45, Revelation 19:20.
Bruce McKerras March 2011

Long have I restrained Myself:

Long have I restrained Myself..........
Isaiah 42:14-15.......I kept silence and held Myself in check. I shall lay waste to mountain and hill, dry up the trees and fields. I shall dry up the rivers and empty the lakes.
Y’hovah is about to act once again in His creation – The Lord’s day of vengeance and wrath - the next prophesied, worldwide event. The first of a series of judgements and punishments to His enemies and blessings to His Righteous people, Isaiah 44:1-3 - leading to the culmination of this age – the Return of Jesus.
Isaiah 42:13 Y’hovah will go forth as a warrior; He will shout His battle cry and will triumph over His enemies.

Isaiah 42:16-17 I will guide the blind along unfamiliar paths and will make the way smooth for them. But those who do not trust Me, they will be put to shame.
This is the regathering and settling of His people into the Land of New Israel.
Isaiah 42:10-12 Sing a new song to the Lord – throughout the world, you on the seas and you that inhabit the coasts and islands. Let all people give glory to Y’hovah!

Isaiah42:18-20 Hear now: you deaf people, you My servants that are blind: look and see! Who is so blind as My servants? So deaf as the messengers that I send? You have seen much, but perceived little. Your ears are open but you hear nothing.
Y’hovah’s servants – those who love Him and obey His Laws, fail to see or listen to the truths that are prophesied about these end times. Why is this?
Isaiah 29:9-12 If you confuse yourselves, you will stay confused. For the Lord has poured on you a spirit of deep stupor, the prophetic vision of it all has become like the words in a sealed book.
How can we really understand what the prophets are telling us?
2 Peter 1:19 We have the word of the prophets, you do well to pay attention to it, as a light shining in a dark place and when the day dawns, it will illuminate your minds.
Isaiah 29:22-24 This is no time for Jacob [Righteous Israel] to be afraid, when they see what I will do for them, they will regard their God with awe. The confused will gain understanding and the obstinate will accept instruction.
So, it may not be until after Y’hovah has acted against His enemies, that His people will finally realize and understand His plans and purposes for them. Psalm 60:1-5

Zechariah 10:6-12 I shall give triumph and victory to Judah and Joseph and in My compassion, I shall restore them as though I had never cast them off. My people will see and be glad, for I will deliver them. I will whistle to call them in and they will be as many as they used to be. Though dispersed among the nations and yet in far off lands, they will remember Me. I shall bring them home from wherever they are and will lead them into Greater Israel, until there is no more room. Israel’s strength will be in Y’hovah, they will march proudly in His name. Ref: REB, some verses abridged
Y’hovah’s righteous people, gathered and restored back into their own Land, after He judges and punishes His enemies. Jeremiah 12:14-17, Ezekiel 20:34-38, Isaiah 11:11-12
Unfortunately these events will come as a surprise to the secular world and to many Bible believers. Why should you be shocked and taken unawares by them?

LOGOS TELOS - The Word About the End Times

Hi folks,
My book - a study guide on Bible prophecy and related subjects, is now available for FREE at - www.logostelos.info

God will judge mankind - then His people are redeemed

Nahum 1:1-3 The Lord is a jealous and avenging God, slow to anger and of great power. He will not let the guilty go unpunished.
Isaiah 5:16 The Lord is exalted by judgement and by righteousness.
Exodus 34:7 The Lord does not leave the guilty unpunished.
Hebrews 10:26-27 For if we deliberately persist in sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there can be no further expiation for our sins, only a terrifying expectation of judgement in a fierce fire which will consume God’s enemies.
Isaiah 26:21 The Lord is coming from His dwelling place to punish the people of the earth for their sins. The sins of the guilty will be revealed.
Psalm 21:8-9 Your hand will reach all your enemies, fire will totally consume them.
Psalm 110:5-6 The Lord crushes kings on the Day of His wrath. He judges the nations.
Habakkuk 3:12 Furiously, You traverse the earth and trample the nations.
Isaiah 63:1-6 Who is this coming in His strength, from Edom, Bozrah, with his garments stained red? I trampled the nations in My anger, for the Day of vengeance and the year for redeeming My own had come. [Then, much later, in Rev 19:13 Jesus Returns, wearing blood stained garments]
Ezekiel 7:2-4 The end is coming to all the earth, I shall unleash My anger upon the Land of Israel. I shall neither pity nor spare you, I shall make you suffer for your conduct. Doom is upon you – the Day is near, a Day of panic and you will know that the Lord struck you. [the current inhabitants of Israel are judged. Jer. 14:12]
Isaiah 30: 26-28 On the Day the Lord saves His righteous people, the sun will shine 7 times brighter and the moon will be as bright as the sun. The Lord comes from afar, with burning anger and dense smoke. His breath is a consuming fire. He shakes the nations in a sieve of destruction. He places a bit into the mouths of the peoples.
Isaiah 30: 30-33 Then, the Lord will make His voice heard in majesty and reveal His arm descending in fierce anger with devouring fire and tempests of hail. Assyria will be punished [Isa 31:8] The Lord will set ablaze a fire pit in Topeth. [near Jerusalem]

Isaiah 30:29 But for you there will be songs, as on a feast day. Your hearts will rejoice, as you go up with music to the Mountain of the Lord, to the Rock of Israel.
Isaiah 29:17-20 In a very short time Lebanon [Eretz Israel] will return to garden land On that Day, the deaf will hear and the blind will see. The lowly and poor will rejoice and exult in the Holy One of Israel, but the sinners and arrogant will cease to exist.
Isaiah 29:22-24 Y’hovah says: This is no time for Jacob to be shamed or frightened, for his descendants will hallow My Name when they see what I have done, the work of My hand. They will regard God with awe and worship the Holy One of Israel.
Then the confused will gain understanding and the obstinate will accept instruction. Ref: REB, NIV, KJV. Some verses abridged.
My comments; These Bible passages, describing Y’hovah’s judgement of fire on His enemies, are paralleled by Rev 6:12-17 – the sixth seal event. THEN: “in a very short time”, for His righteous people, there will be rejoicing as they gather and settle in the Promised Land. Isaiah 30:15 In calm detachment lies your safety, your strength in trust.
There is no indication that any of these events occur at the time of the Return of Jesus in His glory. Therefore it all happens before then.

LOGOS TELOS - The Word About the End Times

Hi everyone, I have now completed my Bible study book. It consists of 244
'sight bites', and will be easier to read than this blog, as I have put it into the right sequence. Logos Telos is available as a free download at -
www logostelos.info.

I will continue to post on this blog, as I write further articles.
Thank you for your interest, Bruce McKerras

Escape all these things?

KJV Luke 21:34-36 Take heed, yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with the surfeit and cares of this life, so that the Day comes upon you unawares. For as a snare, it will come on all those that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch, ye, therefore and pray always that you may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass and so stand before the Son of Man.
NIV Be careful or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation and the anxieties and that Day will close on you unexpectedly, like a trap. For it will come upon all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.
NET Be on your guard, so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and the worries of this life and that Day close down on you like a trap. For it will overtake all who live on the face of the earth. But stay alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that must happen and to stand before the Son of Man.
REB Be on your guard, do not let your minds be dulled by dissipation and worldly cares, so that the great Day catches you suddenly, like a trap. For that Day will come upon everyone, the whole world over. Be on the alert, praying at all times for the strength to pass through all that is coming and to stand in the presence of the Son of Man.

My comments: This interesting Bible passage requires careful examination. It is obvious that it refers to the great Day of the Lord’s vengeance and wrath – the next prophesied event, then eventually, how we will stand in the Presence of Jesus.
We are informed that ALL who live on the earth will experience this coming Day. Only those who are ‘accounted worthy’ or ‘have the strength’, will ‘pass (safely) through’ or ‘escape all these things’, ‘that shall come to pass’ or ‘that must happen’.
So, this great Day of vengeance and wrath, will happen and judging by the current world situation, especially in the Middle East, that may be quite soon.
This Day ‘will come upon everyone on earth’, so it is incorrect to say that it is possible to ‘escape all these things’. We will not be ‘raptured’, or taken to a ‘place of safety’ on that Day. We are told to pray for strength and stay alert during this terrifying time. Before it happens, in the short time that we have left of the present dispensation, we ‘must not let worldly cares weigh us down’, so that the Day does not catch us without fore warning and unprepared. If you know what is coming, you are not shocked and terrified, you make preparations, you stay calm, trusting in God to keep you safe.
To recap: many prophesies speak of this great and terrible Day of the Lord’s vengeance and wrath, which will come suddenly and unexpectedly upon the whole world. What best fits the descriptions?
Nuclear explosions? No, because even a large bomb only destroys up to a certain radius.
Comet strike? Possible, as that would cause worldwide effects. This will happen during the Tribulation period. Revelation 8:8-11.
Coronal mass ejection? Yes, a massive CME fits all the prophecies and does not leave radiation.
Isaiah 30:26a....the sun will shine with seven times its usual brightness.....
No other explanation that a CME can be inferred from that prophecy. But then;
Isaiah 30:26b... on the Day Y’hovah heals His people....
The promise is given that on this Day, Y’hovah will save and protect His righteous people.
Joel 3:16 The Lord roars from Zion and thunders from Jerusalem, so that the heaven and the earth shudder, but He is a refuge for His people, a defence for Israel.
Read Psalm 107 for encouragement.

I did not speak in secret

I did not speak in secret ........

Isaiah 45:19..........., in realms of darkness. I did not say to Jacobs people; Look for Me in the formless waste. I, Y’hovah, declares what is right and just.
Isaiah 45:22-25 From every corner of the earth, turn to Me and be saved. For I am God, there is none other. I swear by My life that to Me, every knee will bow and every tongue will say; In Y’hovah alone is victory and might. All who defy Him will stand ashamed in His presence. The descendants of Israel will be victorious and will glory in their God.

Isaiah 46:3-4 Listen to Me, house of Jacob, all who remain of the House of Israel; You have been a load upon Me from your birth. Till you grow old, I am Y’hovah, when white hair comes, I shall carry you still – I have made you and will uphold you, I shall carry you away to safety.

Isaiah 46:8-10 Remember this and abandon hope, all you rebels. I am Y’hovah, I will accomplish all I please.
From the beginning, I reveal the end, from ancient times, what is yet to be.

Isaiah 46:12-13 Listen to Me, you stubborn of heart, for whom victory is far off; I bring My victory near, it is not far off and will not be delayed. In Zion, I will grant deliverance for Israel, My glory.

My comments and matching verses;
His people, righteous Israel, still living in every corner of the earth, can seek and find Y’hovah for their redemption. Through Him, they will gain victory.
Y’hovah will uphold them and will plant them in a safe place. 2 Samuel 7:10 He promises protection for His people when they regather into Israel, one example of this is the destruction of Gog’s army.
This is not a ‘rapture ‘, firstly His people, righteous Israel will gather and settle in all of the land promised to their forefathers. Then, during the Tribulation, Y’hovah’s elect ones will be taken out of the way of the Anti Christ, to a far distant location on earth.
Take heed, all you people, the time for Y’hovah to act is near. In Zion, [Greater Israel] there will be deliverance for Israel, they will display His glory. [before the Return of Jesus] Ezekiel 39:27, Isaiah 43:10-13, 1 Peter 2:9.
Scripture does reveal to us “ what is yet to be” – it requires diligent study and careful discernment of the prophetic Word. Amos 3:7, 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6, Daniel 12:10.
Bruce McKerras March 2011