Eschatology in the Old Testament

Eschatology, or the study of the end, began in the Old Testament, primarily in Daniel; and in the New Testament, primarily in Revelation, although Paul does extensive writing on eschatology to the church at Thessalonica. As such we must refer to each book and derive a biblical eschatology. We must do this without adding or taking away Scripture, which has eternal ramifications.

In the Old Testament, the promise of a Messiah is a theme that could possibly be the center of its theology. Beginning in Genesis 3:15, the promise of Messiah runs throughout most of the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament. Perhaps most striking regarding this is the timetable given in Daniel 9, telling the nation of Israel exactly when they could expect their Messiah.

Remember, Daniel was in the Babylonian and the Medo-Persian empires, and wrote his book there. This could explain why the wise men traveled from the East when they saw His star of Jesus’ birth. They may have had a copy of the book of Daniel to consider. Although referenced before, the need to look more closely at the passage in Daniel 9 is in order.

Daniel 9:20-27

During the ‘70’s, there was a lot of preaching and teaching and seminars on the “end times.” This has dwindled down to almost nothing, because pastors today are afraid of losing congregants if they teach anything regarding prophecy. A seminary student, who was also a pastor, commented that he didn’t preach on prophecy because “prophecy distracts people from the present.” One of his professors observed, “Then there is certainly a lot of distraction in the Scriptures!” That is the problem, isn’t it? If we are going to teach the whole counsel of God, we have to stress prophecy. Prophecy is the believer’s hope. Paul writes to the church in Colossi Christ in you, the hope of glory! (Col 1:27). 

Prophecy is not escapism nor distraction from the present, but a true motivation for the present. Peter writes in  2 Pet 3:10-13:

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Daniel means “God is My Judge” and Daniel 9 is “The high point of the Book.” This prophecy is an answer to prayer. Daniel had been reading Jeremiah’s prophecy of the captivity and was confused over the fact that if the 70 year captivity was nearly over, why did the vision in Daniel 8 include more suffering for Israel? He feared a delay in Israel’s release from captivity. He was also concerned with the question: “Will Israel survive?”

A few years ago, a suburban area began a very exclusive residential community. Many Jews began to buy and the people were agitated. A nearby church advertised its sermon topic for the coming Sunday as “How to get rid of the Jews.” This caused an unbelievable furor! The Jewish officials took their protests all the way to the state governor. On Sunday, the church was jammed. A Jewish rabbi and two reporters appeared and stalked to the front of the church. The Pastor read his text in Jeremiah 31:35-37:

Thus says the Lord, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—the Lord of hosts is his name: “If this fixed order departs from before me, declares the Lord, then shall the offspring of Israel cease from being a nation before me forever.” Thus says the Lord: “If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth below can be explored, then I will cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done, declares the Lord.

The rabbi turned to the reporters and said, “It’s all right, boys!” Israel will survive! God’s will for Israel is revealed in Daniel 9. Daniel’s prayer came in 538 BC about the time of his experience in the lion’s den. Daniel’s attention was focused on Jeremiah’s prediction of the captivity.  It is Interesting that Daniel believed in the literal interpretation of prophecy from Jer 25:11:

“This whole land shall become a ruin and a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then after seventy years are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their iniquity, declares the Lord, making the land an everlasting waste.”

 Jeremiah 29:10: 

“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.”

This prophetic revelation caused Daniel to pray. Daniel 9:3-19 refers to points in Daniel’s prayer: v. 3 refers to humility, v. 4 refers to worship, vs. 5-14 the great bulk of his prayer is confession of sin (emphasis upon the sin of the Jews as this revelation was for them specifically, the church not referenced at all as it was still a mystery), and vs. 15-19 include Daniel’s petition. 

Does God answer Daniel’s prayer? Yes! Taking into consideration the length of Daniel’s prayer, the archangel Gabriel’s trip took less than three minutes! There is no space and distance for God, Who is always near.

The Provision of God’s Revelation  Daniel 9:20-23

First, what was Daniel’s perception? In Dan 9:20-22 Daniel writes: 

While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the Lord my God for the holy hill of my God, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding.”

Daniel 9:20 is a summary of Dan 9:3-19. The four verbs for “speaking, praying, making confession, and laying my supplication” were used earlier in Daniel’s prayer and are repeated here to give a full characterization of the prayer; so as to summarize all that he had intended. Daniel is emotional, but he also understood the purpose of his prayer. 

Daniel is interrupted in his prayer (perhaps he was going to ask God for grace that the time of captivity would be shortened). God figured that Daniel had said enough! Daniel prayed for God’s “holy hill” centering his prayer in God’s will and for His Name’s sake. In verse 21, Daniel’s prayer is interrupted by the angel Gabriel. The Hebrew “while I was still speaking” is emphatic. Gabriel was God’s chief angel, at least in terms of divine communication. His name means “Mighty God.”

Daniel’s first two visions were two years apart, but it had been 13 years since the second vision. The Hebrew  יְעָף (ya’aph) can mean “to be weary” or “fly swiftly” (the latter best fits this context). This doesn’t refer to Daniel’s weariness. He was lit. “touched” by Gabriel at the time of the evening sacrifice, a time commonly used for prayer (Ps 141:2). God wants Daniel to understand events from God’s perspective. “Insight with understanding” refers to understandable revelation, not a mystery or a riddle.

Second, what was Daniel’s Priority? In Dan 9:23 he continues: At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word and understand the vision.

“Word” refers to Dan 9:24-27 which is an understanding of Israel’s history. Literally, Gabriel says, “Consider the word I am about to give and understand all concerned in connection with my appearance to you.” What is God’s motivation for giving this revelation? Daniel is “greatly beloved.” Literally, it refers to “one desired, counted precious.” God demonstrates His concern and care for His people. But notice that the answer to the prayer comes before the prayer is over!

I remember praying for a couple things in my pastoral ministry. First, when I was in my first senior pastorate, I had accomplished all my goals and was able to get accepted into the Doctoral program at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (Today Trinity International University). I had a total package of $17,000 per year in 1986 and had a wife and four kids; so that didn’t go very far. I wanted to pay the comprehensive fee for the entire program, because it would only cost me $3,800 that way. If I had paid for it week to week over eight years, it would have escalated the cost to about $17,000 (what I made in a year pastoring).

It was Sunday morning at 1 AM and my wife and I were just going to bed before a busy Sunday. I remember asking her to pray with me. We shared with God what He already knew, that I was in the program. We also shared with Him that if it was His will that I do this, then He needed to provide the money. If not, then just don’t provide the money and that would be His answer and His will.

After church, a new family that had only been attending for a couple weeks, Wayne and Xenia Winter, asked us if we would like to go out for brunch with them. We never turned down the rarity of getting to go out to eat; se we went. Later as lunch was winding down, Wayne turned to me and said, “Have you ever thought about getting your doctoral degree?” My lower jaw nearly hit the floor. I told him that my wife and I had just prayed about that that morning. After speaking about it for a while, Wayne looked at me and said, “Well what’s stopping you?” I told him that we couldn’t afford it. He said to me, “You can count on me for half.” It was beginning to look like God was going to quickly answer our prayer. Two days later I was talking to my Dad and Mom on the phone and they said, “We would like to pay for half of your doctoral studies.” In less than forty-eight hours, God had completely answered our prayer with $4,000.

God encourages Daniel because his heart was set on the will and the glory of God. Too often the Lord is more eager to answer our prayers than we are to ask. James says, You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions (Jas 4:2c-3).

The Purposes of God’s Revelation Daniel 9:24

First is God’s declaration. In Dan 9:24a “Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city,. . .” Lit. the Hebrew says “seventy sevens.” This is in the context of Daniel’s contemplation of Jeremiah’s 70 years of captivity based upon 70 weeks of years (490 years) of neglecting the Sabbath rest which was every seven years. The Hebrew  is a Hebrew participle meaning “be sevened,” or “made up of seven parts.” The Hebrew people were and are familiar with the idea of weeks of years because the concept of the sabbatical year was based on this. Daniel was thinking in terms of the 70 year captivity which was based upon the neglect of the 70 sabbatical years for a period of 490 years. 2 Chron 36:21 to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. All the days that it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years. (Also consider Lev 26:33-35; Jer 34:12-22).

Now if the period of 490 years is symbolic as the a-millennialists and post-millennialists claim, why would there be divisions into 7 weeks of years, 62 weeks of years, and 1 week of years? Why would this be necessary if it refers to an indefinite period of time? It makes no logical sense. “Decreed” is the Hebrew word meaning “to be cut off, decide, determine.” It is only used here in the entire Old Testament. What is Gabriel saying? God has cut out these 490 years from the rest of human history to accomplish Israel’s deliverance.

What is the relationship of God’s response to Daniel’s prayer in Dan 9:1-19? Daniel was hoping for an early return of the Jews from captivity back to the promised land, but God was more interested in their deliverance from a spiritual bondage to sin. He willed to work through Christ’s atonement and Israel’s deliverance from national oppression through Christ’s second coming.

God’s answer was the 490 years needed to accomplish deliverance. After 69 weeks of years, the cancellation of sin would be affected through Christ’s death. Following an indefinite interval of time, the 70th week would ensue with antichrist bringing terrible suffering. Finally the complete deliverance of Israel would be accomplished by the triumph of Christ over antichrist and his armies. “Your people” refers to Daniel’s people, the Jews. The “Holy City” refers to Jerusalem. Six parallel verses summarize the events of the times and encapsulate God’s purpose for all human history.

Second, God’s purpose in purging sins. In Dan 9:24b to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity. It would take 490 years to witness the end of sins: rebellion, immorality, wickedness. Three negative terms are given:

• “Finish the transgression.” Literally the Hebrew word  means  “to restrain, to close, to shut” The Piel here means  “to restrain firmly.”  means “transgression” or emphasizes Israel’s rebellion in sin. Rebellion is the root of all sin and is centered in rebellion against God. Literally the phrase means “To restrain firmly the rebellion.” This refers to our nature, who we are. God’s desire is to put an end to the sin nature.

• “Make an end of sins.” Literally the Hebrew word  means “seal up.” It’s usually used of sealing up sin for the purpose of judgment (Deut 32:34; Job 14:17). refers to sins of daily life. This Hebrew word refers to lifestyle, what we do. God’s desire is to end the practice of sin.

• “Make an atonement of iniquity.” The Hebrew  means literally “to cover or atone for iniquity,” from  “to cover.” This is the principle Old Testament idea for atonement and can mean “to pardon.” This is a reference to the crucifixion. God dealt with sin once and for all! The Hebrew  refers to “iniquity,” the perverse actions of immorality This refers to the degree of sin, how bad we really are. God’s desire is to take the utterly wicked and make them utterly holy.

All three negative terms refer to God’s riddance of sin. It is a progressive idea: The first introduces the end of sin, the second the degree of sin’s restraint, and third, sin’s end through the atonement. This will be applied to Israel after the 490 years. This is the promise of God. There can be no replacement of Israel with the church. Only 483 literal years are complete. Do you think God will leave out the last 7 literal years? Absolutely not!

Third, God’s provides righteousness. In Dan 9:24b to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. The purpose of the atonement of sins is to bring in righteousness, fulfillment, and anointing. When sin is eliminated, righteousness is possible. Now Daniel switch to three positive terms: 

• “Bring in Everlasting righteousness.” is from בֹּוא = “to bring in” or “to cause to come in” referring to the  sovereign God at work.   = (tsedeq) means “righteousness” and is the regular term in the Old Testament for righteousness. This refers to our nature, who we are.  (olamim) means “everlasting” or lit. “ages.” Israel’s final turning to God will be forever. Lit. “to cause the righteousness of the ages to come in.”

• “Seal up vision and prophet.”  (hatam) means “seal up” and so “to enclose something authoritatively, hiding it from view.” (hazon) means “vision” referring to revelation. means lit. “prophet” referring to the prophecy given by prophets. Both words refer to the final fulfillment of God’s revelation and prophecy. This refers to the way we live, no longer by faith, but by sight, in the total truth of God. 1 John 3:2b”. . . but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is! 3 And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure.”

•  “Anoint the most holy place.” Lit. “to anoint a holy of holies.”   (mashach) means “to anoint.” Lit. “to wipe the hand, anoint” and here means “to consecrate for religious service.” This refers to our actions, what we do.

• “holy of holies” is  (qodesh qadashim). Which occurs thirty-nine times in the Old Testament, always in reference to the Tabernacle or Temple. This may refer to the future restored temple complex during the Millennial Kingdom (Ezek 40-44), since no article is used to indicate that it is “the” holy of holies or a reference to Christ Himself. This may infer the utter holiness of each believer who becomes an inner sanctum of the Holy spirit, a “holy of holies.”

Of the six purposes, three negative and three positive, the first four are fulfilled in Christ’s first coming. Yet regarding Israel as a nation, they will not apply until His second coming after the 490 years of God’s wrath. 483 years have been accomplished leading up to Christ’s first coming and the last seven literal years occur in the future.

The Plan of God’s Revelation  Daniel 9:25-27

The second division of the prophecy tells the way in which the six items in the first division will be affected. This is seen in three phases:

Phase 1 in Dan 9:25 “Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time.”

The first 7 weeks equal 49 years of the 490 total years. Literally the text says, “keep on knowing and discerning.” The jussives indicate urgent obligation. God gives us prophecy for us to know and understand. It is not to be hidden, but to be made known. 

When was the edict to rebuild the motes and streets given? There were four edicts given allowing the Jews to return to Palestine:

• The Decree of Cyrus (Ezra 1:2-4; 6:3-5) was issued in 538-537 BC. They rebuilt the temple. For this to be the fulfillment, the presentation of Messiah the Prince would have had to take place in 54 BC.

• The Decree of Cyrus in 519 BC. For this to be the fulfillment, the presentation of Messiah the Prince would have had to take place in 26 BC.

• The Decree of Artaxerxes (Ezra 7:11-26) in 458 BC referring to the return of Ezra. This allowed temple services to resume. This would have taken us to 26 AD, before the time of Jesus’ baptism and public ministry.

• The Decree of Artaxerxes on March 14, 445 BC to Nehemiah. This is the only decree that refers to the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the walls (moats), which were the last stages of the city’s defense wall. That brings us to April 6, of 32 AD, the exact day of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem to present Himself as Messiah the Prince.

How does this work out mathematically. 483 prophetic years of 360 days each (luner calendar years as in 1,260 days referring to 3 1/2 years in Rev 11:2-3; 12:6; 13:5). If this is true,.. the 490 years would not begin for another 94 years after this revelation was given to Daniel (538 BC until 445 BC). 49 years takes us to 396 BC when Jerusalem would be rebuilt. “In Times of distress” probably refers to the external difficulties of Ezra and Nehemiah, and internal difficulties of Malachi’s time. There would also be 400 years of silence from God, when no new revelation would be given.

Verse 25 refers to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, or “ Messiah the Prince.” Messiah will have a right to Israel’s religious and political throne. Isa 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Zech 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. This was fulfilled on Palm Monday when Jesus Christ presented Himself as Messiah the Prince in Matt 21:1-11 and Luke 19:37-38 during the triumphal entry. This event occurred on Monday, April 6, 32 AD.

Leopold Cohn, A European rabbi, studied the prophecy of the 70 weeks and come to the conclusion based on v. 26, that Messiah had already come because His coming was to be before the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70! Approaching an older rabbi, he asked where Messiah was. The rabbi said, “Go to New York and you will find Messiah there.” Selling most of his belongings to buy passage to America, Mr. Cohn came to this country and wandered the streets of New York city, looking for messiah. One day he heard singing coming from a building and went in, only to hear a clear gospel message. That night he received the Lord Jesus Christ as Messiah and Savior. Shortly after, Mr. Cohn bought a stable, swept it out, set up some chairs, and began to hold gospel meetings. This was the first outreach of the American Board of Missions to the Jews.

Phase 2 in Dan 9:26 “And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.”

The 62 weeks refers to 434 years. After this the text speaks of an interlude, events that take place after the first 69 weeks. The first is a “cutting off of Messiah.” This refers to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ our Lord on April 10, 32 AD, what we now refer to as Good Friday. He would be  “Cut off” (used of carets in cutting diamons) is used of the execution of a person deserving the death penalty (Lev 7:20; Ps 37:9; Prov 2:22). There would be  “Nothing for Him” or lit. “nothingness.”  There is no mention of the resurrection and the length of time after because that refers to the church age, the veiling of Israel, and Gentile rule which are not highlights of OT prophecy to Israel. The church remained a mystery until Pentecost in 32 AD, 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, May 30, 32 AD.

The second interlude event refers to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD (38 years later). The “people of a prince” refers to three legions of Roman soldiers under Vespasian and Titus. According to a patron of Flavius, Josephus, a Jewish resistance leader turned Roman agent, wrote the Jewish history. “Flood” refers to war that would overrun Israel. Emperor Vespasian would butcher one million Jews and destroy many holy sites.

Phase 3 in Dan 9:27 “And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator”.

This refers to the last literal week of years of the 490 years prophesy. “He” refers to the  “prince” who will be the leader of the revived Roman empire. This man the Revelation of John refers to as antichrist. Antichrist will “make a covenant” () lit. “shall cause a covenant to be strong” with Israel.  This will be the first act of the tribulation period (the last 7 years of the 490 year prophecy). Antichrist will make a covenant with Israel for 7 years. And notice that together, the forces of Antichrist and Israel, will persecute and attempt to destroy those who follow Christ after the rapture.

Understand that Israel will have a great interest in a covenant with the leader of the world. Their chief concern will be for their defense, but also because of their belief that antichrist is the Messiah. Antichrist may be the first person to make a peace treaty in the Middle East! At least one that seems to lasts for 3½ years. 

But antichrist will break the covenant at the middle of the tribulation. He will stop sacrifices and set himself up as the abomination of desolation. A type of antichrist is seen in Daniel 8 of Antiochus Epiphanes who sacrificed a pig on the altar and set up an idol to Jupiter (Zeus) in the temple. (Matt 24:15; Mark 13:14). Paul writes in 2 Thes 2:4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

The final acts of the 70th week will be the destruction of Antichrist by Messiah (“one who is decreed”). This is seen in Rev 4. Only the Lamb that was slain could open the scroll and reclaim the earth for mankind. The Risen Christ will return and destroy antichrist by casting him and the false prophet into the lake of fire.

Israel as a nation is now blind to God’s redemption, veiled by God until the tribulation. At some point in the last seven years or tribulation, Israel as a nation will respond by believing that Jesus is their Messiah. Yet there is still a righteous remnant of Jews who are being saved today. The last 1,989 years, or the time thus far of the church age, has ushered in the redemption of those Gentiles who believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord (1 Cor 15:3-4).

There was an account of two Christians observing the model of Jerusalem in Jerusalem. A stranger stood by listening, and then introduced himself as a New York rabbi. The rabbi asked them, “Do Christians really believe in the rebuilding of a temple in Jerusalem?” One of the Christians responded, “Haven’t you read your prophets, Ezekiel and Daniel?” “No!” the rabbi admitted, “Because when I was studying to be a rabbi, I was told not to read Daniel and was particularly forbidden to compute the prophecy of the seventy weeks in Daniel chapter 9!” The reason for such a prohibition? Because the prophetic books demonstrate that the Messiah has come!

An ancient rabbi is said to have exclaimed, “Let the bones of those who reckon the times tremble.” But rather “Let the hearts of those who reckon the times rejoice!” The Messiah has provided salvation. John 1:11-13:

He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

Most Old Testament eschatological passages deal with the first coming of Messiah and the second coming of Messiah; totally ignoring the rapture of the church. Paul claims that the church was a mystery, and since the rapture of the church is completely tied to Christ’s church and not the nation of Israel, the rapture was also an Old Testament mystery.

There are many passages of Scripture, beginning with Gen 3:15 and continuing with Psalm 22 and Isaiah 7, 9, 52-53, and many other references to Christ’s first coming. Zachariah 12-14 may be the often overlooked quintessential scripture regarding the first and second coming of Jesus Christ. “In that day” becomes a catch phrase for the salvation of Israel, whereas “The Day of the Lord” refers to the Day of Christ’s coming in judgment.

Zechariah refers to the triumphal entry of Christ (Zech 9:9); Christ being sold for thirty shekels of silver (Zech 11:12); Christ being pierced and the nation mourning over Him (Zech 12:10); a fountain for impurity (Zech 13:1); the death of Christ (Zech 13:7); the second coming after the tribulation with His holy ones (Zech 14:5); Yahweh will be the only king (Zech 14:9); and Gentiles will seek Jews to worship Yahweh (Zech 8:23) and those who refuse to worship Yahweh will not receive rain (Zech 14:17-18).

Zechariah 14:5

And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; indeed, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then Yahweh, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!

Who are “all the holy ones” mentioned in this verse. Some say they are all the dead Old Testament saints. I believe it is a reference to the church returning to earth after the tribulation period. Only the church is raptured and only the church returns in the second coming of Christ. Christ is returning to save one third of Israel; He is not returning with Israel to save Israel. But there is absolutely no reference to the rapture in Zechariah, as thorough as His eschatology is. And you will not find the rapture mentioned anywhere in the Old Testament.