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Get the latest important news each day on our A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE Daniel 9:20-27
The Third Heaven As Daniel prayed, the angel Gabriel suddenly appeared before him, offering comfort and understanding to Daniel's troubled heart. Gabriel's purpose was to bring an end to Daniel's inner confusion by imparting to him a new revelation from God. The angel began his conversation by saying something you and I should want to hear more than any other phrase in our language: "For thou art greatly loved." Daniel was concluding his prayer when he was surprised by joyous words from God. To have a greater appreciation of this scenario, consider this: Gabriel had been in the third heaven (2 Corinthians 12:2-3). That's billions of light years away-farther than our minds can grasp-and yet Gabriel now stands before Daniel, arriving in a flash-in nanoseconds. Here's just how far Gabriel flew to arrive at Daniel's side. We're told that our astronauts would have to travel for forty thousand years at terrific speeds to get to the first star. But that would be just the first leg of their inter-galactic journey if they traveled onward to the third heaven-God's throne. There are billions, trillions, quadrillions, and quintillions of stars beyond that as we go higher and higher. To confound us yet furthest scientists have now discovered a new quasar that is some eighty-two trillion billion miles out in space. And it becomes even more mind-boggling. We know that light travels at a rate of 186,000 miles per second, so when a scientist talks about a "light year," that's the speed light travels at that velocity for twelve consecutive months, or a distance of six trillion miles. Now stay with me. You and I could travel thirteen and one-half billion light years and still not arrive at the third heaven-God's throne. It's incomprehensible. Just as Gabriel moved from the dimension of the third heaven to Daniel's side in an instant, so will we be able to move, at the speed of light, in our glorified bodies as we sweep through space-identical to the speed angels traverse the heavenlies. The Significance of the Seventy Weeks In this new revelation delivered by Gabriel, Daniel learned, sadly, that God would continue to punish Israel for at least seventy more sevens of years beyond the end of the Babylonian captivity-a number that gives us, as noted earlier, the only Old Testament prophecy that speaks of the precise hour of Messiah's first coming. It's fascinating that it was to be Gabriel who, several centuries later, would also deliver the good news of Messiah's conception and birth to a young virgin by the name of Mary (Luke 1:26-3 8). We now come to one the most important prophecies in all of Scripture-a prediction to be applied exclusively to Israel and to the holy city of Jerusalem. First, let's look at the meaning of the phrase, "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people." The amount of actual time covered by this prophecy is 490 years-literally, seventy sevens. The question from scholars has always been, Are these 490 "units" of time years, days, months, or weeks? The math only works if these units are seen as "years." So for this prophecy to be fulfilled, Messiah would have to arrive-for the first time- before the 490 "units" would end. Remember that the 490 years began in 445 B.C. Now this question: What was the purpose of the 70 weeks of chastisement? The Jews had a Sabbath day which they were to honor by law. They had the freedom to work for six days, and then rest on the Sabbath, just as God had patterned His work of creation. He created the world in six days (Genesis 1:31), and rested on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2). However, the Jews not only had sabbatical days on the seventh day of the week, but they also celebrated sabbatical years. According to Leviticus 25:1-7 they were to let their land lie fallow-unused, unplanted-every seventh year. But in their greed they said in their hearts something to the effect, "This is not a very good deal for us. We're going to lose money, so let's not listen to God. We'll go ahead and plow and plant and harvest on the seventh year, regardless of what God or the law tells us to do." Because of their spiritual treachery, the Jewish people paid dearly for their 490 years of disobedience. God chastened the Jews by sending them into cruel bondage for the equivalent of seventy sabbatical years-a total of 490 years- according to the 360-day Jewish calendar. Jeremiah predicted this judgment of seventy years falling on the Jews in Jeremiah 25:9-11 when he wrote: Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and will bring them against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and an hissing, and perpetual desolations. Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the candle. And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. The die was now cast. Israel would be punished during those seventy weeks (490 years)-a punishment that would be administered because of the following reasons (Daniel 9:24):
At this point I'm going to quote a verse that is the greatest prophecy ever recorded, proving that God alone could have written this book. Why? Because we now come to the exact day that is prophesied in these texts. Verse 25 reads, "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times." Let's review the significance of this verse in the context of Nehemiah 2:1-8 where we learn that some of the Jews who had visited their homeland were disturbed because their nation was in such disarray. That's why they requested that the city of Jerusalem-including the wall-be rebuilt. With that background, let's consider Nehemiah 2:1 to investigate the chronology of dates mentioned. "And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king. . . ." The Encyclopedia Britannica says this king came to power in 465 B.C. But now it's Artaxerxes' twentieth year of rule, which takes us down to 445 B.C. Here's the arithmetic: 465 minus 20 = 445 B.C. This is the month Nisan, but no date is given. That is not, however, an issue because Jewish custom tells us that whenever there is no date we are to assume it is always the first day. This means it is the first day of Nisan, 445 B.C. Translated into our modern calendar, that's March 14, 445 B.C. That is the beginning point of the rebuilding of the wall and city of Jerusalem-a task that had to be completed in "seven weeks" or, literally, forty-nine years. And it happened right on schedule. CHANGED LIVES-one at a time To the Van Impes I must say it is so good to see that someone still has the courage to stand up and speak in a way that befits a most holy and righteous God. I grew up believing that God's high righteous standards recorded in the Bible were and should always be the laws and principles that govern mankind's affairs while on this earth. God's Word regarding those laws and principles are fundamental to life. We are His creation and each of us have the very serious responsibility and duty to abide by His Word, to loyally defend it at all costs (Eccl. 12:13; Acts 5:29). The world of mankind is morally sick and terminally ill. The country you and I live in, i.e. the people of this country, is second to none in acts of moral corruption. God has never lowered His righteous and high standards and will never lower those standards to accommodate the sinful state of man. Please don't waver in your devotion to telling the truth of the Bible as it is written. You are to be commended, not by I or some person, but by God Himself as you continue your course of faithfulness. Have a great day! Floyd
Dear Dr. Van Impe, Let me begin by saying just how much I really enjoy your newsletter and website! I've been enjoying "Presents" since the late 70's. Dr. Van Impe I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being "the real deal" and for just being there. You see, there has been a few times in my life when I just wanted to completely give up on Christ, but the next thing I remember is I would be flipping through the TV channels and sooner or later I would run across Rexella and yourself and you would have one or two little insights about prophecy that really intrigued me and I would have a change of heart. I shudder to think just where I would be right now if not for your weekly encouraging word. Thank you. Steve H. HIGHLIGHTED PRODUCT OFFERS Creation: Remarkable Evidence of God's Design This book explains the powerful new evidence discovered in the last few decades by scientific research in astronomy, the nature of the atom and DNA. These discoveries have caused a revolution in the world view of thousands of scientists as they were confronted with compelling new evidence that our universe must have been created by a Supernatural Mind. Grant Jeffrey's latest book, Creation, will challenge readers with fascinating new information that confirms the Bible's claim that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" Contents include:
Has Jesus Christ already returned? Is the book of Revelation about the past or the future? How does God's prophetic timetable relate to the church today? These are questions more and more Christians are asking as the conflict over how to interpret Bible prophecy grows more intense. Futurists say the seven-year Tribulation and Christ's return are still ahead of us. Preterists, however, say these events took place in the past. So divergent are these views that many believers are confused about what we can or cannot expect in the future. In The End Times Controversy, the hard questions about prophecy are held up to the illuminating light of Scripture, providing you with a clear understanding of how God's prophetic plan has and will continue to unfold. You'll discover that serious errors are taught by preterists and that Christ's glorious return is a still-future event we can look forward to with great anticipation. An indispensable resource for anyone interested in Bible prophecy. WE ACCEPT PRAYER REQUESTS HERE We receive prayer requests from far and wide via the mail, fax, phone, email and now through the prayer section of our website. FEEDBACK: Please help us with your valuable input. Let us know if you enjoyed this electronic newsletter. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!! CONTACT INFORMATION: E-MAIL: jvimi@jvim.com PHONE: (248) 852-5225 (8am-4:30pm Eastern Time) FAX: (248) 852-2692 MAIL: Jack Van Impe Ministries JVIM FAMILY OF WEBSITES: JVIM PROPHECY PORTAL ON THE WEB Privacy Notice: Jack Van Impe Ministries is a non-profit, religious corporation registered in the state of Michigan in the U.S.A. and a registered charity in the province of Ontario in Canada. Our policy has been and will always be to never sell, rent, or barter the names and/or information about those who contact our international ministries. Stewardship: Independent CPA reporting confirms that only 5% of JVIM income is used for fundraising and only 7% is used for administrative costs, including all salaries. A full 88% or more of JVIM income is used directly to fulfill its non-profit mission to share the Good News of salvation and Christ's soon return with the world. |
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