In the foregoing message we considered the three main schools of teaching concerning the coming of the Lord Jesus, His parousia, and our gathering together, our rapture, to Him. These are the schools of pretribulation, post-tribulation, and the school that considers the entire parousia in detail. We also saw that in 2:1-12 Paul gives a word of correction of the misconception concerning the day of the Lord’s coming.
In 2:1 Paul speaks of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him. In 2:2 and 3 Paul tells the believers not to be quickly shaken in mind nor alarmed, neither by spirit, by word, or by letter, as from the apostles, that the day of the Lord is present. He also charges them not to allow anyone to deceive them. Then Paul goes on to say that the day of the Lord will not come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness, Antichrist, is revealed in his own time. At present, although the mystery of lawlessness is already working, there is a restraining factor, but one day this factor will be removed. Then the lawless one will be revealed. However, the Lord Jesus will slay him by the breath of His mouth and bring him to nothing by the appearing of His coming (parousia, v. 8). The coming of the lawless one will be according to the operation of Satan, with all power, signs, and wonders of a lie and with all deceit of unrighteousness among those who are perishing, because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved. Because of this, God will send them an operation of error that they might believe the lie.
In the foregoing message we pointed out that the man of lawlessness, Antichrist, will be manifested in the middle of the last of the seventy weeks mentioned in Daniel 9. In this message I would like to give a further word regarding the seventy weeks in Daniel 9 in relation to Paul’s word of correction in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.
Daniel 9:24 says, “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 seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.” In this verse a week equals seven years. Seventy weeks, therefore, are seventy times seven years or four hundred ninety years. Daniel was told that these seventy weeks are determined upon “thy people and upon thy holy city.” This means that the seventy weeks are related to Daniel’s people, the children of Israel, and to the holy city, Jerusalem. This verse also speaks of finishing the transgression, making an end of sins, making reconciliation for iniquity, bringing in everlasting righteousness, sealing up the vision and the prophecy, and anointing the Most Holy. If we read this verse carefully, we shall see that it speaks of the ending of this age. The bringing in of everlasting righteousness refers to the millennium, to the thousand-year kingdom, when there will be righteousness on earth. Therefore, this one verse indicates that the seventy weeks will reach unto the end of this age and will bring in the thousand-year kingdom.
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