The prophet Ezekiel proclaimed the end of the line of the kings of Judah to his fellow exiles in Babylon. This was no surprise to his audience, as they knew that any remaining kings and their children were now captive in exile with them in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar had ravaged Jerusalem, its walls, and it’s Temple, and there now seemed to be no future hope left for the people or their nation. They were totally powerless against the strongest of empires on earth.
But Ezekiel had an additional message from the Lord: Israel WILL one day be restored under a new King, a Messiah, who will reign forever and His kingdom will be without end or limit. The failed princes of Israel, whose kingly line had almost continuously led the people away from God, would now be punished and stripped of their rights and authority. But a new, worthy Prince, also from the line of David, was coming, and would bring Israel’s restoration.
24 “Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: ‘Because you have made your guilt known, in that your offenses are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins are seen—because you have come to mind, you will be seized by the hand. 25 And you, slain, wicked one, the prince of Israel, whose day has come, in the time of the punishment of the end,’ 26 this is what the Lord God says: ‘Remove the turban and take off the crown; this will no longer be the same. Exalt that which is low, and humble that which is high. 27 Ruins, ruins, ruins, I will make it! This also will be no longer until He comes whose right it is, and I will give it to Him.’ Ezekiel 21:24-27 (NASB)
Jesus, the Messiah, whose right it is, will come. He will emphasize that those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves before God will be exalted.
But when will this Messiah come? How long will Israel have to wait for its salvation?
About the same time that the prophet Ezekiel was giving these messages from the Lord to the exiles in the countryside of Babylon, another prophet, Daniel, had been placed by God right in Nebuchadnezzar’s palace in the city. It was Daniel who was given the prophecy about WHEN Messiah would come.
25 So you are to know and understand 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; it will be built again, with streets and moat, even in times of distress. 26 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; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. Daniel 9:25-26 (NASB)
Most Bible scholars interpret each of these “weeks” as a group of seven lunar years, with each week totaling seven times 360, or 2,520 days. Daniel’s time period of “seven weeks and sixty-two weeks” adds up to the equivalent of 173,880 days. Using a modern calendar, this equals 476 years. Messiah would be coming almost five hundred years after the exile.
Daniel’s prophecy states that Messiah the Prince will come 476 years after the decree is given to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. Most Bible scholars link this event with the commission by King Artaxerxes for Nehemiah to return from Babylon to Jerusalem to rebuild its walls, which happened around 445 BC.
Thus, this prophecy foretells that Messiah the Prince will be coming around the time of Jesus’ ministry, 30 AD. It also tells us that Messiah will be “cut off”, or killed, which refers to Jesus’ crucifixion. Though Jesus was resurrected from the dead and ascended into heaven, His physical reign as King on earth would not begin at this time – He will be installed at His return, still in our future. In the meantime, Jerusalem would also experience Daniel’s prophesied destruction, both the city and its sanctuary in the rebuilt Temple, during a siege by the Roman Titus in 70 AD. These represent the people of the prince to come, Satan’s Antichrist, who will one day reconstitute remnants of this Roman Empire to globally oppose the authority of Almighty God.
What about today? Like many other prophets, Daniel tells us that Messiah will return one day to rule and reign, but only after a time of great trial which will cover the earth like a flood. After seven years of tribulation, occurring during Daniel’s prophesied seventieth and final “week”, Jesus will return to fully restore Israel and to establish it as the seat of His global kingdom of God, a worldwide kingdom of peace, healing, and restoration.
Reflection
Although Jesus’ physical kingdom has not yet been set up on earth, His spiritual kingdom is alive and well here. He is inviting each one of us to join Him. When we surrender our will and our lives over to His care and salvation, His Holy Spirit resides in our hearts. We find that His yoke is easy, His burden is light, and as He promised, Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us.
Lord Jesus, thank You for waking us to a new day. We depend upon You for life and breath each moment. Thank You for being there in love, with new mercies and comfort each morning. Help us to walk in the Light today and to experience Your goodness, joy, and forgiveness as we seek to fulfill the good works You have prepared for us. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Have a blessed and beautiful day in the Lord today.
1 Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh, 4 who was declared the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles in behalf of His name 6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ. Romans 1:1-6 (NASB)
Daily Meditations from the Genealogy of Jesus 