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[0:00] Daniel chapter 9 verses 20 through 27. Now while I was speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God, while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering.

[0:45] And he gave me instruction and talked with me and said, O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding.

[0:57] At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed, so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision.

[1:14] Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place.

[1:44] So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.

[2:01] It will be built again with plaza and moat even in times of distress. Then after the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the Prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary, and its end will come with a flood.

[2:28] Even to the end there will be war, desolations are determined. And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week.

[2:42] But in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering. And on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction.

[2:59] One that is decreed is poured out on the one who makes desolate. Thank you.

[3:11] And I would be the first to admit that to read this passage over in Daniel chapter 9, particularly for those who are uninitiated and unaccustomed to Bible prophecy, it just sounds like a lot of strange gobbledygook.

[3:27] What in the world is this all about? These weeks and all of this stuff. Well, let me emphasize, if I may, the absolute critical nature of it.

[3:39] It is very, very important. Because what is incorporated in this prophecy of 70 weeks, which in reality is 490 years, what is incorporated in these 70 weeks of sevens is the entire plan and program of God, beginning with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

[4:11] Actually, it's going to begin with the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem and the construction of the wall, etc., under Nehemiah. It is going to begin with that and incorporate all of the hundreds of years up to the coming of Christ the first time that will be culminated in his initial coming, the first advent in Bethlehem.

[4:36] And then 32 years later, he will go into Jerusalem riding on that donkey and face crucifixion at the hands of the Romans.

[4:47] And that is what is going to transpire in the first 69 of the 70 weeks. The 70th week is not going to follow immediately after the 69th.

[5:03] And that is where the confusion comes in. But it is that gap between the 69th and the 70th week that is so critical.

[5:14] And the reason it is critical to you and to me is because we are in that gap. We, as the body of Christ, living in the dispensation of the grace of God, we do not belong to the 69th week of Daniel.

[5:31] We do not belong to the 70th week of Daniel. We don't belong to the time of Daniel at all. We are a parenthesis that is sandwiched in between the 69th and 70th week.

[5:44] What we are saying, in essence, is this. There is a gap between the fulfillment of the 69th week and the fulfillment of the 70th week that so far encompasses about 2,000 years.

[6:04] That's a big gap. 2,000 years of time. Legitimate question may well be asked, well, where does that come from? And what gives you the right to even suggest that there is a gap?

[6:16] And why should we not think that the 70th week follows hard on the heels of the 69 weeks? You see, all of these 70 weeks are divided into three segments.

[6:28] The first is in segment one, and it incorporates 49 years. In fact, let's take a quick look at this, if we may. Okay, and let's just take a quick look here if you overheat.

[6:45] We've got seven weeks equals... I don't have my other... Well... All right, I'll just...

[7:01] I'll do it without the numbers. You're going to have to crank up your gray matter. All right. Let's say seven weeks of sevens. And by the way, it is also confusing, admittedly so, because this term weeks is used, and we tend to think of a week as being seven days.

[7:21] But in the Hebrew language in which Daniel was spoken, it doesn't say seven weeks. It says seven sevens.

[7:31] And if we take those seven sevens to mean actual literal weeks, then seven weeks would be, what, would be 49 days.

[7:44] Well, that doesn't make any sense with anything that happened that transpired after that. So you have to excuse that kind of math and go by what Gabriel is revealing to Daniel.

[7:58] And the seven sevens are actually 49 years. And if you do the math, seven times seven is 49 years. And if you do the math, and that's the first segment of the seven years.

[8:12] There's three segments. The first is 49 years. And that's the seven weeks, seven sevens. The second segment is 62 weeks.

[8:24] And when you multiply that by the seven, you get 434 years. Add the 49 and the 434 together. And you've got 483 years.

[8:39] But the total is 490. And that's where the third segment comes in, which is just one week. That is seven years.

[8:51] That is the tribulation period. That's the week that is missing. That's the week that has never yet occurred. That is the time of which Jesus is speaking in the Olivet Discourse when he talks about the time of tribulation coming upon the earth.

[9:10] This, in essence, this seventh week the 70th week is in essence what the entirety of the book of Revelation is talking about. And I'm excited to get to it, but I feel that we have to lay this foundational material first.

[9:25] So the whole thing incorporates 490 years altogether. And we noted that there are six things that are going to happen in connection with this period of time.

[9:39] And they are all enumerated here in Daniel chapter 9. The first has to do with finishing the transgression. We'll look at that in more detail later. This is finishing the transgressions.

[9:54] Israel's transgression. Israel's sin as a nation above all other sins that the nation committed was realized in the rejection of their Messiah.

[10:09] That was the transgression. And that will be finished at the conclusion of these 490 years.

[10:21] And the thing that will finish it is that Israel, the nation, will embrace this same one whom their forefathers rejected over 2,000 years ago.

[10:34] they will embrace him and the transgression of Israel, the transgression, will be finished. It will come to an end.

[10:46] And for now, it is ongoing. Israel as a nation continues to live in rebellion to the Messiah who was sent for their benefit.

[10:58] And they are in a rejection mode to this day. Secondly, to make an end of sin, that is, those behaviors, attitudes, and actions that issued forth from unbelieving Israel that were produced in the rebellion, they will come to an end as well.

[11:18] And three, to make atonement for iniquity, that will be the application of Christ's death to Israel, which of course has never been applied. And four, Israel will have repented and embraced their Messiah, indicated in Jeremiah 31-31 as the new covenant.

[11:36] And five, to seal up vision and prophecy. And that means all vision, future vision, and all prophetic pronouncements will come to an end.

[11:46] They will be sealed because there will be no further prophetic revelation simply because everything that was prophesied has come to completion.

[11:57] It's been fulfilled. There will be no more prophecy. And then six, to anoint the holy of holies in the temple. And of course, that refers to the time when Jesus Christ returns for the second coming and he is established in Jerusalem in a rebuilt temple and there he will rule and reign from the throne of David throughout the earth for the thousand year period, the millennial reign of Christ.

[12:24] Those six things enumerated here by Gabriel will cover the entire span of 70 weeks as in 924 from the beginning to the end.

[12:38] And then we've got this indeterminate, well actually it is an indeterminate period of time in which we are living right now.

[12:49] we have no idea how long this gap is going to be between the 69th and the 70th week. All we know is we are that gap.

[13:01] And the gap began with the crucifixion of Christ. That's when that 69th week ended. When the 70th week begins will be in connection with the Antichrist signing the agreement.

[13:23] This is what Daniel was telling us in chapter 9. He will sign the agreement with Israel that will guarantee the peace and security of Israel. It will be a seven year pact.

[13:34] And when that is signed the clock starts ticking again. The clock hasn't even ticked for 2,000 years. It will begin ticking again and it will tick off seven years.

[13:49] That will commence at the time the Antichrist signs this pact with the nation of Israel guaranteeing their security and their freedom. And then the text goes on to say that in the middle of the week and sometimes this is rendered as 1260 days which is literally three and a half years.

[14:09] Sometimes it is referred to as a time times and a half a time. And in the Greek and in the Hebrew time means one, times means two, and a half a time, add the first and the second together and a half a time and you get three and a half.

[14:29] So sometimes it is 1260 days, sometimes it is three and a half years, sometimes it is 42 months.

[14:39] and each of those refers to the halfway period of the seven year Great Tribulation period. Now, what I really want to try and establish today is the legitimacy of this gap because it has been brought to our attention more than once over the years, particularly those who do not embrace dispensational theology as we do.

[15:06] What gives us the right to insist that there is a gap and how do we know that these times don't just run concurrently and that it is, as some Bible scholars believe and teach, already passed.

[15:20] These things are already finished. Maybe not literally, but spiritually they've already happened, and yet, even spiritually it's impossible to identify when they could possibly have occurred.

[15:32] So what we do want to do, and I think this is really important, is for you to understand not only the legitimacy of this gap, but the fact that there are numerous gaps that are found throughout Scripture, and I want to point out to you that this is not a new thing, and it is not a singular thing.

[15:51] There are numerous instances where this has occurred, and we will see it time and time again. And while, if you've got your Bible still open, and you're in the book of Daniel, I would ask you to turn to Daniel chapter 8, just right next door.

[16:12] Daniel chapter 8, and let's see, we've got different segments here. I'm not going to read these verses, but if you would be so kind as to read them at your leisure, you will find that verses 1 through 22 are already fulfilled.

[16:34] Verse 20 refers to the Medes and the Persians. Verse 21 refers to Alexander the Great, who was a Greek. Verse 22 refers to the four generals that inherited the reign of Alexander the Great upon his demise, and eventually became known as the Roman Empire.

[16:54] And by the way, you do not have to look exclusively to the Bible in order to determine this, because what I have just shared with you regarding the Medes and the Persians, Alexander the Great, and the four generals, this is all secular history, and any reputable encyclopedia or history will reveal these same things to you.

[17:15] These are not up for debate. They are historical occurrences. They have already passed. But I do want you to notice that in verses 23 through 25, guess what we have?

[17:28] we have a gap. A considerable gap. Verse 22 ends with the broken horn, the four horns that arose in its place represent four kingdoms which will arise from his nation, and his nation is Alexander the Great and what he had accomplished, although not with his power.

[17:49] And none of those four generals who inherited Alexander the Great's kingdom were able to achieve the power and prestige that he had. He was virtually alone in that.

[18:03] And then at the conclusion of verse 22 is where the gap begins and the gap continues with verse 23, and in the latter period of their rule, when the transgressors have run their course, a king will arise, insolent and skilled in intrigue, and his power will be mighty, but not by his own power, and he will destroy to an extraordinary degree, and prosper and perform his will, he will destroy mighty men and the holy people, and through his shrewdness he will cause deceit to succeed by his influence, and he will magnify himself in his heart, and he will destroy many while they are at ease.

[19:00] By the way, why would they be at ease? Because they are then under a peace and security pact, and their defenses will be down, they will be at ease, they will be relaxing, they will be dwelling in security when all hell breaks loose.

[19:21] he will destroy many while they are at ease, he will even oppose the prince of princes, but he will be broken without human agency, and the vision of the evenings and mornings which has been told is true, but keep the vision secret, for it pertains to many days in the future.

[19:42] Now what we are suggesting is that verses 23 through 26 have never been fulfilled, and there isn't any place in history that anyone can point to and say, well here it is right here, this is when all this stuff happened, no, there is no such place, this is all future.

[20:01] So what do we have between verses 22 and verse 23? A gap. This is just as if time stops at the end of verse 22, 22, and everything is held in limbo, in abeyance, until the events of verse 23 crank up and get started.

[20:24] They haven't yet. They still haven't. We don't know exactly when they will, but we do know that when they do, it will be during that 70th week.

[20:40] In Daniel chapter 7 and verse 23, 23, look at that if you will please. This is peculiar to prophecy.

[20:53] Daniel 7, I'm sorry, everybody's there. Yes, Daniel 7 23, thus he said, the fourth beast will be, this is in the vision that he is seeing, the fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth which will be different from all the other kingdoms, and it will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it.

[21:24] In other words, it will dominate the earthly scene, the world's supremacy. And as for the ten horns out of this kingdom, ten horns will arise. The horn in the Bible is always a symbol of power and of authority.

[21:37] And another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones, and will subdue three kings, and he will speak out against the Most High, and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law, and they will be given into his hand for a time, that's one, times, that's two, plus one is three, and half a time is three and a half.

[22:13] But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated, and destroyed forever. Then, the sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the highest one.

[22:34] His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey him. When did that ever happen? Of course, it never has. Never has.

[22:46] But it's going to. And what we are saying is that through verse 23, verses 20, I'm sorry, verse 23 is fulfilled.

[23:02] That's already historically come to pass. Verses 24 and 27, verses 24 through 27 are all yet remaining to be fulfilled.

[23:17] This has not come to pass. There isn't anywhere in history that anyone can point to and say that's when those verses came into fruition.

[23:28] They never have. They're all future, and they all belong to that 70th week of Daniel. This is, and we might as well, while we're still in Daniel in the neighborhood, come over to chapter 11.

[23:42] Daniel chapter 11. By the way, this is peculiar to prophecy. This is one of the enigmas of prophecy, and one of the things that the Spirit of God has built into it that cannot be learned or achieved from simply a cursory reading.

[23:58] It takes intense study, in-depth investigation, a lot of comparing Scripture with Scripture, going back and forth, in order to arrive at a consistent interpretation that really fits both history and prophecy.

[24:15] And that, of course, is what the student is inclined to do, or should be inclined to do. In chapter 11, verses 1 through 35, if you will read them at your leisure, we'll not take time to do it now because it's a lengthy passage, but I would simply say this, all of these verses, 1 through 35, are historical.

[24:38] They've already come to pass. They are registered in the annals of history, and they can be easily documented, as I mentioned, with any good encyclopedia. However, verses 36 through 45 of the same chapter are all future.

[25:01] They are all future. And the gap, which we've been speaking, is in between. So we are saying there is a gap between verse 35 and verse 36 that will be a seven-year gap before those things are actually fulfilled.

[25:22] I'm sorry, let me put it this way. Between verses 36 through 35, they are all future. The gap is between verses 35 and 36, and we are that gap.

[25:38] You can look at verse 35 and verse 36, and look in between those verses, and what do you see? Nothing. Nothing.

[25:50] Why is that? that is because the church, which is the body of Christ in the dispensation of the grace of God, is not a subject of prophecy.

[26:02] Never was. That's why it is called mystery. It just appears, it surfaces seemingly out of nowhere. And it began with the most unlikely individual in the whole world, Saul of Tarsus.

[26:19] and it was to him exclusively that God called to be the apostle to the Gentiles and to issue in the dispensation of the grace of God, which was completely unheard of.

[26:33] Never thought of, never imagined. In fact, the text says in Ephesians 3 that this was never before made known to the sons of men, but was hidden in the mind and heart of God from eternity past.

[26:48] It's never revealed. That's why you don't find it in the Old Testament. We are not prophesied. We are just, boom, here we are.

[27:00] And we are here because of the disobedience and the transgression of the nation of Israel. Because, listen now carefully, this is Romans 9, 10, and 11 stuff.

[27:14] It is because of the fall of Israel that salvation has come to the Gentiles. It is due to the transgression of Israel and the setting them aside that God is raising up a whole new thing that was never before even imagined.

[27:32] And he uses Saul of Tarsus to become Paul the apostle to spearhead the whole effort. that's what he means when he says that he was raised up of God to be the apostle to the Gentiles.

[27:52] And to him who is less than least of all the apostles was this grace given that he should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ.

[28:03] Folks, for too long, too many in the body of Christ, never understood nor acknowledged this dramatic twist, this change of events, this insertion of something that was never before dreamed of, thought of, prophesied, imagined or anything, and it's just here.

[28:26] And it is Jew and Gentile in one body, not prophesied anywhere. We are this gap.

[28:37] While we're still in the Old Testament, come back if you will, please, to Isaiah chapter 9. Prophecy of Isaiah chapter 9.

[28:47] And you need to realize, of course, that the Old Testament occupies a full two thirds of the entire content of the Bible. And apart from the Old Testament, apart from the Old Testament, the New Testament makes no sense.

[29:03] You've got to have the Old. Isaiah chapter 9, and let's look at this prophecy. Verse 6, one with which most are familiar.

[29:17] Isaiah says, for a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us. And the language here is very specific, and I'm sure most of you are aware that this is speaking of the theanthropic person of Jesus Christ, and by theanthropic we mean the God man of Jesus Christ, and it is only in his childhood that the son, that the child will be born to us.

[29:48] It is only the child that is born. The son is not born. The child is born. The son is not born. The son is given. And there is a huge difference, because Jesus in his humanity was born.

[30:05] But in his deity, he was given. He wasn't born. He is the eternal son of God, existing from all eternity past. And this child being born, and the son being given, of course, is a reference to Bethlehem, and the first advent.

[30:25] But I want you to continue reading. And the government will rest on his shoulders. really? Really?

[30:38] What does that mean? It simply means that the powers and the reality of government, not just a government, but all government, is going to rest on his shoulders.

[30:57] Does it? Does it? of course not. Is it even close? Let me ask you this.

[31:08] Upon whose shoulders does the governments of the world today rest? rest? They rest upon Satan's shoulders.

[31:20] He is the God of this age. Paul makes that quite clear when he talks about that in 2 Corinthians 4, when he says, if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, whose minds the God of this age has blinded.

[31:34] the governments of the world are resting upon his shoulders, Satan's shoulders. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 5, 8, be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary, the devil, walks about on the earth, seeking whom he may devour.

[31:54] Now, I know as well as you do, that in a very real sense, the God of heaven is sovereign and supreme over everything, and his will not be thwarted.

[32:06] And I have often likened the existence and activity of Satan as a mad dog on a long leash. And God is the one who holds the leash of the mad dog.

[32:19] And Satan can engage in no activities but what God is willing to allow him to engage in. And any time God wants to pull on his chain, he can, and sometimes he does.

[32:31] But let me make it very clear, if it isn't already clear to you, that Jesus Christ is not ruling and reigning in Jerusalem. The will of God is not being done on earth as it will be done in heaven.

[32:47] It is a satanic thing that is being done on earth now. Where do you think all of this violence and oppression and heartache and death and disease and everything, where does all this come from?

[33:02] Who is stirring up all of this stuff? It is none other than the adversary. So what we have here in verse 6, even within that one verse, we have got the reality of the child being born and the son being given, but the government resting upon his shoulders.

[33:20] That is not a reality. Do you see that there is a gap here between the birth of the Messiah and the rule and the reign of the Messiah?

[33:33] That's a gap so far that is 2,000 years old. And his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

[33:46] There will be no end to the increase of his government or of peace. on the throne of David and over his kingdom to establish it and uphold it with justice and righteousness and then on and forevermore the zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

[34:08] Now let me ask you, has the zeal of the Lord of hosts already accomplished this? Absolutely not. No. This is speaking of the future rule and reign of Jesus Christ and the distance that separates between the first coming and the second coming is so far about 2,000 years.

[34:28] That's that gap. And I think it's virtually undeniable. And I know some of our friends who love the Lord as we do like to say that well this is all being realized and it's all being fulfilled spiritually.

[34:47] Frankly I just don't buy it. The Son being given and the child being born was not spiritually fulfilled.

[34:58] It was literally fulfilled. He really did come. He really was born in Bethlehem and he really did die on a Roman cross and there's nothing spiritual about it.

[35:09] It's very literal and very real. And in the name of consistency and intellectual honesty we cannot jump from the literal and say well this is all spiritual. the throne of David and his kingdom to establish enough.

[35:22] Listen, let me make this really clear. If Jesus Christ is ruling and reigning on earth right now, you sure couldn't prove that by the vast majority of the world's population.

[35:39] I'm not even sure you could prove it by the population of the United States. people. But make no mistake about it, when Christ is ruling and reigning as Isaiah says he's going to, everyone is going to be fully aware of it.

[35:57] There will not be any question anywhere as to who the boss is or where he is. The whole world will know it and the whole world will acknowledge it and there will be no doubt nor any need to suggest any kind of a spiritual fulfillment.

[36:14] It will be quite literal on a literal earth with literal people during a literal reign. Isaiah 61 This business of the gap is terribly, terribly important and to ignore it unthinkable.

[36:40] Isaiah 61 Isaiah prophesying, and remember, Isaiah about 700 years before Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem.

[36:55] That's when Isaiah the prophet prophesied and lived. And in verse 1 of chapter 61, here is what Isaiah is prophesying.

[37:05] verse 1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me. Because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted, he has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, and freedom to prisoners, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting, so they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

[38:05] This is all future. This is not fulfilled. And one of the most electrifying comparisons to be found in all of Scripture is in Luke chapter 4, and we need to go there.

[38:21] Luke chapter 4. Remember, Isaiah prophesied what he did approximately 700 years before Jesus Christ was born.

[38:35] And in Luke's gospel, chapter 4, this is about 30 years after Christ was born. He has already been inducted into his official role as Messiah and inducted into the priesthood of Melchizedek when John the baptizer baptized him.

[38:56] The age at which a Jewish priest was inducted into the priesthood was at the age of 30. That's probably when Christ was baptized by John.

[39:07] In his 30th year, he will have about a three or three and a half year earthly ministry to Israel before he is crucified. Now, right after the baptism of John and right after the temptation in the wilderness, we read in verse 14 of chapter 4, Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through all the surrounding district.

[39:38] And he began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all. And he came to Nazareth, this is his hometown, where he had been brought up.

[39:50] And as was his custom, and I might add the custom of all Jews, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read.

[40:00] This was a privileged position that was afforded him because he probably had been away for some time. Now he is returning to Nazareth. And before he gets to Nazareth, word has already permeated the area about this boy, if you will, 30-year-old young man, having attained considerable notoriety.

[40:24] And it is noised abroad that he had been performing miracles and that he had been delivering messages that were just spellbinding to the people. And the common people heard him gladly.

[40:36] And now this local lad returns to his hometown, and all the people are glad to see him. And they honor him, which was often as their custom to do.

[40:47] When a stranger or someone new came to town, they would give them the privilege of reading from the scrolls. And the one who was in charge of the synagogue would go to the back, and in a large cabinet, he would take out the scrolls.

[41:01] It was all rolled up. And he took the scroll of Isaiah. And you roll up one side, and you roll up the other side, and you open it that way because the whole thing was continuous on these two rods.

[41:15] And he opened the scroll to the place in Isaiah where we were just reading. And the verse goes on to tell us the book, verse 17, the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.

[41:38] And he opened the book and found the place where it was written. That's the place we just read from in Isaiah 61.

[41:49] That's what Jesus found here in this scroll. And he read, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.

[42:02] He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.

[42:20] He stopped. Not only did he stop, he stopped short. He did not go on to read the next verse that Isaiah had written.

[42:39] Anybody remember what it was? Judgment. Judgment. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.

[42:54] Well, that's not what Isaiah said. And that's not where Isaiah stopped. And I've lost my place, but I'm going back to it. And you needn't, because I've already found it. And in Isaiah 61, it is to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God.

[43:15] Jesus didn't quote that. He stopped before he got to that. Now, if your minds are turning like I hope they are turning, what you are concluding is, is this another gap?

[43:38] Indeed it is. The gap between proclaiming the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God, the gap between those two verses is so far about 2,000 years old and counting.

[43:56] The day of vengeance has never come. Not yet. It will. That will be the judgment of God. But it has never fallen yet. This is really significant.

[44:09] Tremendously significant. In Luke 19.

[44:25] Luke 19. Luke 19. Jesus is going to Jerusalem.

[44:43] And. We are told. Let's see. Where am I? Beginning with verse 38.

[44:56] Let's just skip some of this. Jesus is riding into Jerusalem on the donkey. And in verse 39. Some of the Pharisees in the multitude said to him.

[45:09] Rebuke your disciples. And he answered. The stones will cry out and so on. And verse 41. Jesus. The text says. And when Jesus approached. He saw the city.

[45:22] And he wept over it, saying. If you had known in this day. Even you. The things which make for peace.

[45:33] But now. They have been hidden from your eyes. And in Matthew. He calls it. If you had only known. The day. Of your.

[45:44] Visitation. And what was that day? That was the very day that Jesus was there. And came into Jerusalem. They didn't know.

[45:56] There were a few of the faithful followers. Who shouted. Hosanna to the son of David. And they strew the palm branches. And all the rest. But the vast majority of the population. They were completely in the dark about this.

[46:09] And they succumbed to the judgment of the chief rulers. And the priests. Who were the ones shouting. Crucify him. Crucify him. And so on. Jesus came in fulfillment. To what Isaiah was saying.

[46:21] To. Deliver the captives. And to bring peace. And they didn't recognize him. They didn't see it at all.

[46:32] The judgment of God. Upon Israel. Was withheld. And the judgment of God. Fell instead. Upon Jesus Christ.

[46:44] His son. Wow. Think of that. God. He knew full well. Exactly. What was going to happen. When he went to Jerusalem.

[46:55] And he even told his disciples. Exactly. What was going to take place. That he would be crucified. By the Romans. And Luke tells us. And this saying. Was hid from their ears. But it would come home to them.

[47:06] In bold relief. After the event. That transpired. They would remember. That's. That's what he told. I remember him saying that.

[47:16] That's exactly what he said. But it didn't make any sense to us. At the time. It didn't compute. And we just couldn't put it together. There. But that is exactly what happened.

[47:29] And we've got. These gaps that are. All throughout here. I will have one more for you. And then. We'll. Open it for a quick Q&A. And that is in.

[47:43] Zechariah. Chapter 9. That's in connection with Zechariah's prophecy. About coming to Jerusalem. Zechariah. Zechariah 9.

[48:00] Rejoice greatly. O daughter of Zion. Shout in triumph. O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold. Your king is coming to you. He is just.

[48:12] And again. Zechariah. Like Isaiah. Written hundreds of years. In advance of the birth of Christ. Your king is coming to you. He is just. And endowed with salvation.

[48:24] Humble. And mounted on a donkey. Even on a colt. The foal of a donkey. And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim. And the horse from Jerusalem. And the bow.

[48:35] The bow of war will be cut off. And he will speak peace. To the nations. And his dominion. And his dominion. Will be from sea to sea.

[48:49] And from river. From the river to the ends of the earth. Do you not see. A gap. Before. 910.

[49:04] 917. Do you read verses 10. Through 17. Of chapter 9. None of which.

[49:15] Is fulfilled. But what about that. Leading up to. What about the first nine verses. What about the triumphal entry. Well that's all history. That's all occurred.

[49:26] It's found in Matthew. Mark. Luke. And John. Triumphal entry is all there. But what about the rest of this. Look at verse.

[49:40] 15. Well. Verse. 14. Then the Lord will appear over them. And his arrow will go forth like lightning.

[49:52] And the Lord God will blow the trumpet. And will march in the storm winds of the south. The Lord of hosts will defend them. What is this.

[50:04] This is Armageddon stuff. This is second coming. This isn't riding into Jerusalem on a horse. Or a donkey. This isn't the triumphal entry so called.

[50:16] The gap between the triumphal entry. And these events. So far. 2,000 years and counting. It's unmistakable.

[50:26] In my estimation. And all of these various gaps. Actually. They are all. The same gap. Appearing in all of these different portions of prophecy.

[50:38] And contrasted with what has been fulfilled historically. And what yet remains to be fulfilled. So. Whereas. We may think. That the logical way. Is to just follow these things in sequence.

[50:50] And forget the gap. Just have one thing. Logically follow immediately after another. That seems a lot more logical. Yes it does.

[51:03] It seems a lot more. Humanly. Logical. But please tell me. When has God ever done anything.

[51:14] In accordance with human logic. He has a logic. He has a logic. All his own. Human logic.

[51:26] Would never. Put. An innocent. Spotless. Son of God.

[51:37] On a Roman cross. To die. For the sins. Of undeserving. Vile. Reprobates. There isn't.

[51:47] A shred. Of human. Logic. In that. But it obviously. Was divinely. Logical. And we can be.

[51:58] Ever so thankful. That it was. God's ways. Are not our ways. Saith the Lord. It's amazing. Absolutely amazing.

[52:10] So. The gaps. Or the gap. I don't. See the singular. Necessity for it. There is just. The gap. And what I want you to understand.

[52:22] As grace believers. Is. That we are all. Part. Of this gap. It is. Not. Prophecy. We are not.

[52:34] Objects. Or subjects. Of prophecy. We belong. To the mystery. Element. Which is. Completely different. And that's what Paul. Is talking about. When he refers to.

[52:46] This being. A mystery. Not. Known before. But revealed. From the plan. And program. Of God. Hidden in God. From times past. Amazing.

[52:57] That. Absolutely. Amazing. Well. Is there a quick question. Or comment. Well. We've got five whole minutes. Anybody. Okay. Joe here. Has a comment. Or a question. Wait for the mic. The gap.

[53:13] The gap period. In. Isaiah. Isn't there a hint there. In some of the. I can't. Pick the verses up now. Where he's going to abandon his people. You're going to be abandoned.

[53:25] And I'm going to turn to the secular Gentiles. I'm going to do and deal with the Gentiles. Your enemies now. But I'm going to have something to do with them. And abandon you.

[53:36] For a period. Because of your sin. Isn't there some verses in Isaiah. That say that. Some type of thing is going to happen. Doesn't call it the church. Doesn't call it the body of Christ. But just says. He's going to deal.

[53:47] He's going to go to the Gentiles. Versus. And leave his people. The Jews. Yeah. Well. Actually. One of the reasons. One of the reasons.

[53:59] That God called. And established Israel. To be a peculiar people unto him. One of their roles. Was. To be. A light.

[54:10] To the Gentiles. But. They never fulfilled that role. In fact. They never indicated. That they really wanted to. Because.

[54:21] They. So. Prided themselves. And bathed themselves. In being. God's. Special people. They. Developed. I guess you would call it. A kind of a superiority attitude.

[54:33] And. They weren't all that eager to. Reach out to the Gentiles. In fact. They held the Gentiles. In extreme contempt. And. Referred to them. With a bunch of uncomplimentary words.

[54:48] The typical prayer. Typical prayer. For a long time. For a Jewish man. For a Jewish man. Was to arise in the morning. And say. I thank thee. Oh God. That thou hast not made me. A slave.

[55:00] A woman. Or a Gentile. And. It was a kind of superiority. Attitude. And. God did not appreciate it. You know. The story of Jonah. You recall.

[55:13] That when God called Jonah. Out of his compassion. He called Jonah. To go to the city of Nineveh. And warn them. That in 40 days. This was a.

[55:23] This was a really wicked city. I mean. They were. They were bad people. And. Jonah was called. To go to Nineveh. And warn them. That in 40 days.

[55:34] If they didn't repent. Of their sin. And turn from their ways. God was going to destroy them. He was going to level the city. And instead of saying.

[55:45] Wow. That's wonderful. I get to be a hero. I get to deliver this tremendous. Life-giving message. No. Jonah. Resented. God's care.

[55:56] And compassion. For the Ninevites. Why? Well. Because they didn't deserve it. They were wicked people. They were vile people. I'm not going to them.

[56:07] I'm not going to give them a message of salvation. And Jonah went down. Got on the boat. And he went in the opposite direction. As far as he could go. And the only thing that saved the day.

[56:19] Was God. Teaching Jonah. The advantages of being obedient. And he used a great fish to do that. And he put him through.

[56:30] A pretty rigorous. Set of circumstances. And then finally. Finally. When this great fish. Burped Jonah up.

[56:41] Seaweed and all. On the beach. He says. Okay. Okay. I'll go. I'll go. And he goes. And he preaches this message. And I'm sure his heart wasn't in it. Jonah had to be one of the most stubborn men.

[56:54] That ever lived. And he says. Yet. Forty days. And none of us shall be overthrown. And the people listened. And they got with the message.

[57:04] And they repented. And God spared the city. And didn't wreak destruction on it. And Jonah says. Damn. Damn. That was his.

[57:16] That was his result. What did you do that for? What did you save those wicked people for? And he goes. And he. Sits under this. Shade tree.

[57:26] This. Big plant. And. The plant. Started. Wilting. This is. This is in. The prophecy of Jonah. Just four little chapters. It's just loaded. And this plant starts wilting.

[57:38] And withering away. And Jonah looks at the plant. And he's. Oh. Oh. Poor little plant. What did it do to deserve this?

[57:50] And God says. Jonah. You skunk. Here you are. Belly aching. And booing. About the death. The demise. Of this plant. Couldn't you have used.

[58:02] A little bit of that compassion. For the people of Nineveh. And Jonah. Was actually. Sulking. Because God spared the city.

[58:16] And if he had been. Any kind of a God at all. He would have zapped them. That I knew. I guess. I guess. You're a God of compassion. And a God of love. It's pitiful.

[58:29] And that was. That was the story of Jonah. My. Oh my. Oh my. Well. Any other comments or questions? Over here. Sandy has a comment or question.

[58:45] So. After listening this morning. It would. I would assume. The gap. Ends. At the rapture. You know.

[58:57] I have a problem with that. I think. I. It would. It would seem. In some respects. That the gap. Would end. With the rapture. But. There is an. There is an.

[59:07] Interdeterminant. Period of time there. I think. Because. I don't know. How soon. This covenant. Is going to be signed.

[59:18] After the rapture occurs. All we know is. It's the signing of the covenant. Daniel 9. That kicks off. The tribulation. That's when those last. Seven years.

[59:29] Begin ticking away. And I don't think. That that is at all. Going to be realized. With the rapture. So it may be shortly. After that. It may be.

[59:39] A longer period of time. After that. I've got an indeterminate. Period of time there. That I really can't. Account for. I just. I don't. I don't know where to put that. Wish I could give you. A better answer.

[59:50] But. If I had one. I would. Anyone else. I want you to. Really keep. In mind. In focus.

[60:01] This thing. That is the key. That. Which begins. The 70th week. Daniel makes it. Quite clear. It is the signing. Of the covenant.

[60:12] And that will be. Between the antichrist. Who is yet to be revealed. And no. I don't have. Any idea. Who it is. And even if I had. A suspicion. I probably wouldn't.

[60:23] Tell you. Because it would. Most likely. Turn out to be wrong. The antichrist. Has been. Incorrectly. Misidentified. Probably about. Forty times. In the last. Thousand years. And I'm not about.

[60:34] To add to it. So I have no idea. Who that's going to be. It's a fascinating. And you know. There's this. This. This gap thing. The gap.

[60:46] The gap. Is the gap. Of the dispensation. Of the grace. Of God. And in a way. It seems to me. Just so fitting.

[60:57] Just so fitting. That before. God. Brings. The curtain down. There is a huge. Period. Of the grace.

[61:09] Of God. That is extended. To the world. Throughout. And that's what we have a privilege. To share. And to live in.

[61:20] And to love. To this day. There is an effusion. A generous. Outpouring. Of the grace. Of God. All over this world.

[61:31] Before. That curtain comes down. And the 70th week. Gets underway. And then. It's going to be too bad.

[61:42] It's going to be too bad. It's only fitting. In connection. With the character. And the mercy. And the love of our God. That he provide. A real.

[61:53] Extended. Period of time. For people. To avail themselves. Of the grace of God. And those who refuse. To do so. Will have nothing.

[62:03] Left to them. But to face. The justice. Of God. Solemn thing. To think about. Would you stand please? Father.

[62:17] There is much. About what we have. Considered. That we don't understand. But we understand. Enough. To be forewarned. And we understand.

[62:27] Enough. To know. That. That. We are. Indeed. Wonderfully. Blessed. Gracious. Recipients. Of the grace.

[62:38] Extended to us. Through our Lord. Jesus Christ. Best way. We can express. Our gratitude. To you. For this grace. In which we are. Basking. Is to seek.

[62:49] To share it with others. However we can. And we recognize. That sometimes. This old gospel message. Of the grace of God. Falls upon deaf ears. Even as many of.

[63:01] Our ears. Were deaf. The first times. We heard it. But the spirit of God. Can take the truth of God. And apply it to hearts. Of men and women. And allow them.

[63:11] To experience. What we have. Through our Lord. Jesus. And we are. So grateful. For all that you've been. Pleased to reveal. And for whatever part. You allow us to play in it.

[63:23] We are. Privileged people. Thank you so much. For. This revelation. And thank you. For our. Inadequate. Understanding. Because it spurs us on.

[63:34]  To discover. More details. And more insight. For what has been written. We bless you. And thank you for it. In Christ's name. Amen.