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About Jesus Steve Sweetman The
70th Week Of Darkness Biblical
Prophetic Futurists believe that the 70th week spoken of in
Daniel 9:27 is in reference to the last 7 years of this age. I
find it intriguing that Jesus' last week on earth seems to parallel the 70th
week of Daniel in many respects. At
the risk of making more out of this than I should, here are a few
similarities between the two weeks.
Just
hours before Jesus was executed, He spent one last Passover meal with His
disciples. Up until this
moment in time, this might well have been the most intimate evening Jesus
had ever spent with these men. In
the midst of many painful and conflicting emotions, Jesus announced that
"he who shares my bread has lifted up his heal against me".
(John 13:18) This
is how I imagine this time of sharing.
The twelve are suddenly silenced by Jesus' announcement.
They can only wonder what comes next.
Jesus glances over to Judas, then He slightly turns His head and
stares directly into the eyes of satan, whom only He can see.
Thinking this is his 15 minutes of fame, every fiber of Judas' body
quivers. With eager
anticipation, satan taps Judas' shoulder.
Judas now knows it's time to make his move.
In a loving gesture, Jesus then offers Judas a piece of bread that
represents His body that would soon be decimated for all mankind,
including Judas. For a brief
second or two Jesus hesitates, glances over to satan, and then releases
the bread into Judas' hand. Satan
immediately enters the body of Judas who lays the bread aside in rejection
to Jesus' offer of salvation. The
process of betrayal begins with the incarnation of satan into humanity.
(John 13:18-30) A
myriad of frenzied emotions must have been frantically maneuvering their
way through every soul in that upper room, and that includes the soul of
satan. Jesus
then says, "what you are about to do, do quickly". (John 13:27) You
might think Jesus was speaking these words to Judas, but to be specific, I
believe He was speaking to satan, giving him permission to leave the room
and begin the process of betrayal. Obviously
satan failed in his attempt to thwart the plan of God.
Not learning from his failure, he'll try again at the end of this
age, as seen in the words of the apostle John.
"I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals.
Then I heard one of the four living creatures say, 'Come'.
I looked and there before me was a white horse. It's
rider held a bow and was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror
bent on conquest." (Revelation 6:1-2) Most
Prophetic Futurists believe the rider on this white horse is the
anti-Christ. Here's how I
picture this event. After
Jesus opens the first of the seven seals, He gives a nod of His head to
the living creature. The
living creature turns to face the anti-Christ, who like a bronco bucking
cowboy on a wild horse, eagerly awaits the word to be let loosed.
As the living creature steps aside to clear the way for the horse
and his rider, he says, "come".
Like a lightning bolt from hell, the anti-Christ is allowed to
explode out of the gate and onto the world scene as a madman bent on
conquest. It's
important to know that only at the invitation of the living creature, as
seen in the word "come", can the anti-Christ begin his conquest.
Satan, either within Judas or within the anti-Christ, is powerless
until Jesus gives the all-important nod of His head. Once
Judas left the upper room he incorporated both the religious and civil
authorities in his attempt to execute Jesus.
In like fashion, the anti-Christ will use a blend of his religion
and politics in his attempt to prevent Jesus from ruling the world from As
the temple soldiers came to arrest Jesus, satan, using the lying lips of
Judas, kissed the Lord Jesus Christ. Just
a few hours earlier, the intimate act of sharing bread began the process
of betrayal. Now, the intimate
act of a kiss cements the betrayal into human history.
Jesus thus tells satan that "this is your hour, when darkness
reigns. (Luke 22:53) Can one
ever begin to imagine how Jesus felt in this dark Hour?
However you imagine it, be assured, satan will darken a few more
hours before this age ends. Literal
darkness did reign over the earth while Jesus was on the cross. (Luke
23:44) There will be times of
literal darkness during the 70th week of Daniel as well.
(Revelation 8:12, Acts 2:20) The
anti-Christ's empire itself will fall into darkness. (Revelation 16:10)
Of course the darkness that smothered the earth when Jesus hung on
the cross didn't last. Jesus
rose from the dead. As He
disappeared into the clouds an angel said, "this same Jesus who has
been taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you
have seen Him go into heaven". (Acts 1:11)
The darkness that is the 70th week of Daniel will not
last, "for as lightning that comes from the east is visible in the
west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24:27)
Here's
another prophetic point to ponder. Jesus
offered His soon to be broken body as seen in the bread to His betrayer.
Was Jesus simply offering Judas just a piece of bread.
I don't think so. Judas
turned down Jesus' offer of salvation for a mere moment of satanic
inspired fame. If there's any
validity to what I've been saying, the man who eventually becomes the
anti-Christ will also turn down Jesus' offer of salvation in exchange for
another satanic inspired moment of fame.
I
suspect that if you dig your way through the fine details of Jesus' last
week on earth, you may find that Jesus' last week resembles Daniel's 70th
week more than you ever thought.
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