Daniel Unlocked #61

Daniel Unlocked #61. So, What Happened in 34 A.D.?

When the angel Gabriel said, “70 weeks of years” are “cut off for your people” (Daniel 9:24) he revealed to Daniel that the 490 years was a probationary time for the Jewish nation that would culminate in the coming of the Messiah (which means the Christ (Grk) or the anointed one). The 490 years are cut off from the larger prophecy of Daniel 8 – the 2300 years. This Messiah would confirm the covenant for one week (Daniel 9:27). This is the last seven years of the prophecy that began with the Baptism (anointing Acts 10:38) of Jesus in A.D. 27. This is the last week of Gabriel’s announcement about Christ (a 7-year period) that rapturists like to obliterate. In the middle of this seven-year period, after three and a half years of ministry, Jesus was crucified causing an end of the sacrificial system because He had become the prophesied “Lamb of God.” Prophetic symbol had met reality. Daniel 9:27 says, “in the middle of the week he will put a stop to the sacrifice and grain offering.” NASB. But that left a further three and a half years for the covenant to be “confirmed.”

What was the covenant? Two thousand years before Christ God had called Abraham and had made a promise to him concerning his descendants and their eventual home. When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me and be blameless. I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.” “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.” Genesis 17:1-27. Note the plural!

God’s relationship with humanity marks a distinct turning point in history with the introduction of God’s covenant with Abraham.

In the first eleven chapters of Genesis, humanity is depicted in a continual backward spiral towards sin. Then in Genesis 12:1-3 the introduction of God’s plan for a path toward redemption is unveiled. There were three covenantal interactions between God and Abraham which build upon each other (Genesis 12:1–3; Genesis 15:1–21; and Genesis 17:1–27). Through these interactions, three overarching promises are made by God: He would be given land (12:1). Though his wife was barren, from him would come a great nation (12:2; 15:2). Through God’s blessing on him the whole earth would be blessed (12:3). Key aspects of this covenant are its unconditional elements, its universal benefit, and its everlasting nature.

The promises that God gave to Abraham (Genesis 12:1–3) do not require any righteous actions on Abraham’s part and are unconditional in nature. In the exchange in chapter 15 God bears the responsibility of covenant fulfillment by participating in a covenantal ceremony stipulating symbolically that he himself will bear the consequences should the covenant be broken by either party. God does, however, call Abraham to live in loyalty and faithfulness with him in response to divine grace (Genesis 17:1, 10–14).

This covenant also finds significance as it is established as an “everlasting covenant” (Genesis 17:7–8). The people of Israel across their history held onto the promises of this covenant and appeal to them (Exodus 32:13) and Yahweh himself remembers these promises and acts accordingly (Leviticus 26:42). In the New Testament, Mary and Zechariah saw Christ’s birth in terms of God’s covenant with Abraham (Luke 1:72–75).

The ultimate fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant comes in Jesus Christ, the true “offspring” of Abraham (Galatians 3:16). Those who are in Christ are now also considered “Abraham’s offspring” and heirs of the covenant promises through the new covenant. (Galatians 3:29).

So, what happened in 34 A.D? TBC