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I am here, Jesus:
I am here tonight to write you concerning the prophecy of Daniel regarding my coming, and the time when this coming was to take place, for it shows that the Hebrews were not unaware of this time, but the unfortunate fact is that Daniel's predictions had no significance for them because of their lack of spirituality and their refusal to pay heed to the voice of their prophets. These things were not destined to be so, but merely the result of the materialistic conditions which prevailed among the leaders of the nation and Daniel foresaw that these conditions were to prevail for the period for which he prophesied.
Daniel predicted my coming in Chapter 9, verses 25-27, covering a period of 70 weeks of years, the first of which was the restoration and rebuilding of Jerusalem, to take place in seven weeks of years, or 49 years. Sixty-two weeks of years thereafter the Messiah would be cut off, followed by a final week of years, the end time. The appearance of the Messiah would be ushered in by a period known as the "time, times and division of times."
There has been much confusion as to what is meant by these periods, but the truth is that permission was given to the Jews at the time of the Babylonian captivity, to rebuild Jerusalem in 454 B.C., and the restoration of the city during the period indicated, seven weeks of years, was accomplished by 405 B.C., four hundred and thirty-four years later, the 62 weeks of years thereafter, I was cut off by crucifixion in A.D. 29, at the age of thirty-six.
The period covered by the expression "time, times and one half time" has been regarded erroneously as a great period of time which has not yet elapsed, but which according to various calculations, should have ended in the year one thousand, about the time of the discovery of America, and according to the Watch Tower Cult, in the Fall of 1914. The fact that this date coincides with a terrible period of wars as well as the invention of immense weapons of destruction lends color to this last supposition. Many people believe that this period is coming soon and that it will be followed by the last week of years, the end of the world and the Messiah coming in clouds of glory in the last days.
This expectation, however, is vain, for when Daniel spoke of the end of the world, he meant the end of the Hebrew world, which indeed, took place in A.D. 70 with the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple. This end time, to Daniel, was coincident with the coming of the Messiah and his untimely death, and they were linked in his mind as taking place together almost simultaneously. The puzzling "time, times and division of times," which Daniel referred to as covering 1260 days, referred to that approximate three and one-half period preceeding my death and simply meant my public ministry which Daniel's predicted time closely approximates. January, 26 A.D., to March 18th, 29 A.D., the small difference is due to the fact that my ministry did not last a full three and one-half years, but slightly less than 3 years and three months, according to your calendar.
Daniel's original period of 1260 days for this expression of time was later supplemented by 30 days to make it 1290 and finally by 45 days more for a total of 1335 days. As events actually took place, my ministry was 1172 days, plus 40 days up to the time of my ascension, plus 50 more days up to the Pentecost, a total of 1262 days, thus you see how close Daniel was in his prophecy; especially of his original figure of 1260 days.
The end of the Jewish dispensation, or the end of the Hebrew World, came with the Pentecost, for it was at that time that the Divine Love of the Father, which was first bestowed upon me, was granted to my followers in abundance, and the Mosaic Laws superseded by the New Covenant and the New Birth. As Daniel predicted, it was then that the Hebrew rituals of sacrifice and oblations were set aside as having no binding force, and the Son of Man was seen by many riding on the clouds of glory, Daniel's way of describing my appearance to my disciples following my death and at my ascension on the Mt. of Olives.
The prediction concerning the time of the abomination 1290 days before the end of my public ministry, referred not to that of Antiochus Epiphanus, who profaned the Temple in 175 B.C., nor that of Herod in 14 B.C., but that of Pontious Pilate, who, when he began to rule in Judea in A.D. 26, committed as one of his first acts, a deed of desecration of the Temple, ordering Roman soldiers to enter therein with their idolatrous standards and banners. Daniel's estimate of 1290 days, as I have already explained, was a little longer than the events themselves, which were 1212 days (1172 to the crucifixion and 40 more to the ascension), so that the profanation prediction occurred beginning January 1, A.D. 26, and lasted more than a week.
The final week of years, between A.D. 30 and 36, follows the cutting off of the Messiah, and ends with the persecution of the disciples in Jerusalem. Daniel, as I have said, thought that the destruction of the city would follow almost immediately after the Messiah's death, and perhaps it should have been so, but for the period of some decades which the Father in His Goodness and Mercy and Love bestowed upon His people as a time of grace to turn to the Father and His Love; and the Father is still seeking the opportunity to bestow His Divine Love upon those of His children to whom he first revealed through me, His Messiah, the great gift of His Immortality
I think I have written enough tonight to show the Importance and explain the meaning of the prophecy of Daniel, for besides indicating what were the expectations of the Jews with respect to my coming, it points to dates in my life and ministry which otherwise are not available, and it shows that, if interpreted correctly, more was known concerning me and the time of my coming than has been generally understood. I shall stop now, with my love to you and Dr. Stone and, urging you all who are working for the cause of the Kingdom, to pray in all earnestness of soul for the inflowing of the Father's Love and in faith that this Love of the Father will satisfy your needs, in this world as in the next, I shall say good-night and sign myself,
Jesus of the Bible
and
Master of the Celestial Heavens
