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Lesson 10

When Heavenly Indignation Comes

Daniel 9:26

Introduction

“but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;” Daniel 9:26b.

The word “destroy” in 9:26b is shachath (shaw-khath) – means simply to ruin – nothing is left.

• Jerusalem, with most of its walls, was ruined – demolished.

• The temple was sacked so severely that even the huge stones were pulled off each other.

• Jesus prophesied: Not one stone would be left “upon another” (Matthew 24:2).

“and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.” Daniel 9:26c.

Daniel says the end comes as a “flood” (sheleph). It is sudden and unexpected. It is a flood of wrath or judgment on the wicked (cf. Naham 1:8).

We noted back in Daniel 8:19 that God’s wrath [zaam] came at the end of time – at the appointed time [mowed].

• In another “city” application:

• Before ancient Babylon came onto the scene, its end was predicted – total ruin – never to rise again (Isaiah 21, Jeremiah 50–51).

• The “he-goat” and “little horn” representatives have a measured period of time in which to work (Daniel 12:7), then apostate Babylon falls.

• Details of when that ruin comes is in Revelation 6 and 10–18.

How does that occur?

• The first four Seals present the end-time players:

• 144,000

• Apostate Protestantism

• Those waiting to be called out

• Roman Catholicism

• The first four Trumpet plagues are under the direct hand of God – prior to probation’s close. Desolation comes to 1/3 of the wicked world at that time (Revelation 8:7–12). There is still time for repentance.

• Under the fifth Trumpet great stress comes to the wicked world (detailed in Revelation 18:1-19). Satan directs in this. That begins the first of three woes that lead to Babylon’s final end (Revelation 9:1-12).

• Under the sixth Trumpet Armageddon comes and another third part of wicked mankind is destroyed – desolation is everywhere (Revelation 9:13-21) – “At the end of the war desolations are determined.” (God’s prophetic decree) (Daniel 9:26c).

• Finally, under the seven last Plagues death and suffering is everywhere and Babylon comes to its complete and final end (Revelation 16:19)

What comes to an end?

• Babylon

• Representing apostate Christianity

How desolate is the world at this time?

“But the cloud of judicial wrath hangs over them, containing the elements that destroyed Sodom. In his visions of things to come the prophet John beheld this scene. This demon worship was revealed to him, and it seemed to him as if the whole world were standing on the brink of perdition....

“When the storm of God’s wrath breaks upon the world, it will be a terrible revelation for souls to find that their house is being swept away because it is built upon the sand.” – Testimonies, vol. 6, pp. 14-15.

“‘Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof.’ ‘The land shall be utterly emptied, and utterly spoiled: for the Lord hath spoken this word.’ ‘Because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned.’ Isaiah 24:1, 3, 5, 6....

“The whole earth appears like a desolate wilderness. The ruins of cities and villages destroyed by the earthquake [under sixth Seal], uprooted trees, ragged rocks thrown out by the sea or torn out of the earth itself, are scattered over its surface, while vast caverns mark the spot where the mountains have been rent from their foundations.” – Maranatha, p. 305.

Though Satan and his people persecute and even kill God’s people, they face, at the end, God’s retributive wrath.

• Daniel 9:25-26 is broken into two parts.

• One – when the Messiah is cut off.

• Two – when Satan’s people will be cut off.

The great theme of Daniel 8–12 is the “end” (eth qets) of the conflict between good and evil. It ties beautifully with the book of Revelation. It warns with unerring detail what is going to happen to the churches of Revelation 2 and 3, except for Smyrna and Philadelphia. All the others become Babylon. All the others fall, including Laodicea. This all happens at the “end” of time, at the end of the seventy weeks – and that is our next study.