Palm
Sunday Surprise:
The Unexpected
King
by Chuck Missler
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The Triumphal Entry
involves one of the most astonishing
passages in the entire Bible!
On March 28 most
churches will celebrate Palm Sunday, the
Sunday before Easter. This event, also known
as "the Triumphal Entry," involves one of
the most astonishing passages in the entire
Bible.
Irrefutably Documented
To fully appreciate
the remarkable significance of the
following, it is essential to realize that
the Book of Daniel, as part of the Old
Testament, was translated into Greek prior
to 270 b.c., several centuries before Christ
was born. This is a well established fact of
secular history.1
The Septuagint
After his conquest
of the Babylonian Empire, Alexander the
Great promoted the Greek language throughout
the known world, and thus almost everyone -
including the Jews - spoke Greek. Hebrew
fell into disuse, being reserved primarily
for ceremonial purposes (somewhat analogous
to the use of Latin among Roman Catholics).
In order to make
the Jewish Scriptures (what we call the Old
Testament) available to the average Jewish
reader, a project was undertaken under the
sponsorship of Ptolemy II Philadelphus
(285-246 b.c.) to translate the Hebrew
Scriptures into Greek. Seventy scholars were
commissioned to complete this work and their
result is known as the "Septuagint" ("70")
translation.
(This is often
abbreviated "LXX".)
The Book of Daniel
is actually one of the most authenticated
books of the Old Testament, historically and
archaeologically, but this is a convenient
short-cut for our purposes here.
It is critical to
realize that the Book of Daniel existed in
documented form almost three centuries
before Christ was born.
Gabriel's Zinger
Daniel, originally
deported as a teenager (now near the end of
the Babylonian captivity), was reading in
the Book of Jeremiah. He understood that the
seventy years of servitude were almost over
and he began to pray for his people.
The Angel Gabriel
interrupted Daniel's prayer and gave him a
four-verse prophecy that is unquestionably
the most remarkable passage in the entire
Bible: Daniel 9:24-27.
These four verses
include the following segments:
- 9:24The Scope
of the entire prophecy;
- 9:25The 69
Weeks;
- 9:26An
Interval between the 69th and 70th Week;
- 9:27The 70th
Week.
The Scope
9:24: "Seventy
weeks are determined upon thy people and
upon thy holy city, to finish the
transgression, and to make an end of
sins, and to make reconciliation for
iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
righteousness, and to seal up the vision
and prophecy, and to anoint the most
Holy Place."
The idiom of a
"week" of years was common in Israel as a
"sabbath for the land," in which the land
was to lie fallow every seventh year.2
It was their
failure to obey these laws that led to God
sending them into captivity under the
Babylonians.3
When did the
Messiah present Himself as a King? On one
specific day, Jesus arranges it!
Note that the focus
of this passage is upon "thy people and upon
thy holy city," that is, upon Israel and
Jerusalem. (It is not directed to the
church.)
The scope of this
prophecy includes a broad list of things
which clearly have yet to be completed.
The First 69 Weeks
A very specific
prediction occurs in verse 25:
9:25: "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."
This includes a
mathematical prophecy. The Jewish (and
Babylonian) calendars used a 360-day year;4
69 weeks of 360-day years totals 173,880
days.
In effect, Gabriel
told Daniel that the interval between the
commandment to rebuild Jerusalem until the
presentation of the Messiah as King would be
173,880 days.
The "Messiah the
Prince" in the King James translation is
actually the Meshiach Nagid, "The Messiah
the King." (Nagid is first used of King
Saul.)
Bull's Eye!
The commandment to
restore and build Jerusalem was given by
Artaxerxes Longimanus on March 14, 445 b.c.5
(The emphasis in the verse on "the street"
and "the wall" was to avoid confusion with
other earlier mandates confined to
rebuilding the Temple.)
But when did the
Messiah present Himself as a King? During
the ministry of Jesus Christ there were
several occasions in which the people
attempted to promote Him as king, but He
carefully avoided it. "Mine hour is not yet
come."6
The Triumphal Entry
Then one day He
meticulously arranges it.7
On this particular day he rode into the city
of Jerusalem riding on a donkey,
deliberately fulfilling a prophecy by
Zechariah that the Messiah would present
Himself as king in just that way:
"Rejoice
greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O
daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King
cometh unto thee: he is just, and having
salvation; lowly, and riding upon an
ass, and upon a colt the foal of an
ass."
Zechariah 9:9
Whenever we might
easily miss the significance of what was
going on, the Pharisees come to our rescue.
They felt that the overzealous crowd was
blaspheming, proclaiming Jesus as the
Messiah the King.8
However, Jesus endorsed it!
"I tell you
that, if these should hold their peace,
the stones would immediately cry out."
Luke 19:40
This is the only
occasion that Jesus presented Himself as
King. It occurred on April 6, 32 a.d.9
The Precision of Prophecy
When we examine the
period between March 14, 445 b.c. and April
6, 32 a.d., and correct for leap years, we
discover that it is 173,880 days exactly, to
the very day!
How could Daniel
have known this in advance? How could anyone
have contrived to have this detailed
prediction documented over three centuries
in advance? But there's more.
The Interval
There appears to be
a gap between the 69th week (verse 25) and
the 70th week (verse 27):
9:26: "And after
threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be
cut off, but not for himself: and the people
of the prince that shall come shall destroy
the city and the sanctuary; and the end
thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the
end of the war desolations are determined."
The sixty-two "weeks" follow the initial
seven, so verse 26 deals with events after
69th week, but before the 70th. These events
include the Messiah being killed and the
city and sanctuary being destroyed.
There is a
remaining seven-year period to be fulfilled.
Revelation 6-19 is essentially a detailing
of that climactic period.
As Jesus approached
the city on the donkey, He also predicted
the destruction of Jerusalem:
For the days
shall come upon thee, that thine enemies
shall cast a trench about thee, and
compass thee round, and keep thee in on
every side, And shall lay thee even with
the ground, and thy children within
thee; and they shall not leave in thee
one stone upon another; because thou
knewest not the time of thy visitation.
Luke 19:43-44
The Messiah was, of
course, executed at the Crucifixion. "But
not for Himself."
The city and the
sanctuary were destroyed 38 years later when
the Roman legions under Titus Vespasian
leveled the city of Jerusalem in 70 a.d.,
precisely as Daniel and Jesus had predicted.
In fact, as one carefully examines Jesus'
specific words, it appears that He held them
accountable to know this astonishing
prophecy in Daniel 9! "Because thou knewest
not the time of thy visitation."
The 70th Week
There is a
remaining seven-year period to be fulfilled.
This period is the most documented period in
the entire Bible. The Book of Revelation,
Chapters 6 through 19, is essentially a
detailing of that climactic period.
The interval
between the 69th and 70th week continues,
but it is increasingly apparent that it may
soon be over.
The more one is
familiar with the numerous climactic themes
of "end-time" prophecy, the more it seems
that Daniel's 70th Week is on our horizon.
Have you done your
homework? Are you and your family prepared?
As you celebrate
Palm Sunday this month, share with your
family and friends this incredible
demonstration of just who Jesus really was,
and what the significance of all this is to
all of us!
Amazing grace,
indeed!
For a more complete
exposition of this amazing passage, see our
DVD
Daniel's
70 Weeks.
Sources:
-
Anderson, Robert, The Coming Prince,
Hodder & Stoughton, London, 1894. The
classic work on the Seventy Weeks of
Daniel.
View article
- Missler,
Chuck, Koinonia House, 1993. (Also, the
Daniel DVD Commentary,)
**NOTES**
- Encyclopedia
Britannica, Volume 10, p.642.
- Leviticus
25:1-22; 26:3-35; Deuteronomy 15.
- 2 Chronicles
36:20-21.
- Genesis 7:24;
8:3, 4; Revelation 11:2; 12:6; 13:3, 4;
etc.
- First
identified in Sir Robert Anderson's
classic work, The Coming Prince, first
published in 1894. Now available in any
Christian bookstore.
- John 6:15.
Always in control: John 7:30, 44; 8:59;
10:39.
- Luke 19:28-40.
- Luke 19:39.
- Luke 3:1:
Tiberias appointed in 14 AD; 15th year,
29 AD; the 4th Passover occurred in 32
AD.
**ADDITIONAL RELATED RESOURCES**
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Daniel's
70 Weeks - DVD -
Chuck
Missler
Chuck Missler examines some of the
most provocative passages in the
Bible - the Messianic and end-times
prophecies in the book of Daniel.
All new updated version!
Click for more information - DVD- CD
Rom |
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The Agony of Love
- Chuck Missler
What really
happened at the crucifixion? How can
one who is immortal die? How can
eternity be compressed into six
hours? What really held Jesus' body
to the cross?
Click for more
information - CD Audio
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