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April, 1939
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
of the prophecy. And as we begin, it should be remembered that the period of sixty- nine weeks begins with the “going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem,” and that it ends with the mani festation of Messiah as the “Prince” of Israel. Our purpose will be to discover the nature and length of these “weeks,” to fix in history the dates of their beginning and end, and then to see whether the prediction fits the history from a chronological stand point. For the one point in the prophecy upon which all interpreters agree is that the first sixty-nine weeks have been fulfilled and are past. About four questions will cover the field of this investigation. [T o be continued]
upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make rec onciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. "25. Know therefore and under stand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, unto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. “26. And after (the) threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off (and shall have nothing): and the peo ple of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary? and the end thereof shall be with a flood, (and even unto the end shall be war); desolations are determined. “27. And he shall (make a firm cove nant) with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease: (and upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate: and even unto the full end, and that deter mined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate)." Details of the Prophecy With the prophecy now before us, we shall begin the study with a careful analysis of its main features. Because of their im portance, and as an aid to the interpreta tion of the passage, the reader should note carefully and keep in mind the following points: 1. The entire prophecy has to do with a special people and a special city, the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem (v. 24). 2. Two different princes are mentioned, who should not be confused: the first is named " Messiah the Prince" (v. 25); and the second is described as “the prince that shall come” (v. 26). 3. The entire time-period involved is ex a c tly specified as “ S e v e n t y W e e k s " (v. 24): and these seventy weeks are fur ther divided into two lesser periods: first, a period of “seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks,” or sixty-nine weeks; and second, a period of "one w eek” (vs.25,27). 4. The beginning of the whole period of the Seventy Weeks is definitely fixed at “the going forth o f the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem" (v. 25). 5. The end of the first sub-period of six ty-nine weeks will be marked by the ap pearance o f Messiah as the “Prince” o f Is rael (v. 25). 6. At a later time, “after” the first sixty- nine weeks, Messiah the Prince will be “cut off," and Jerusalem will again be destroyed by the people of another "prince” who is yet to come (v. 26). (Verse 26 reads “aft er the threescore and two weeks,” but the preceding verse makes it clear that these sixty-two weeks follow the first “seven weeks.” ) 7. After these two great events, we come to the last or seventieth week, the begin ning of which will be clearly marked by the establishment of a “firm co v en a n t" or treaty between the Coming Prince and the
Jewish nation, and to be in force for the period of “one week” (v. 27). 8. In the "midst” of this S e v e n tie th Week, evidently breaking his treaty, the Coming Prince will suddenly cause the Jewish sacrifice to cease and precipitate upon this people a time of wrath and desola tion lasting to the “full end” of this week (v. 27, R. V .). 9. With the full completion of the whole period of the Seventy Weeks, there will be ushered in a time of great and unparalleled blessings for the nation o f Israel (v. 24). With this much by way of introduction to a study of the passage, I shall undertake to consider the first sixty-nine weeks
Views and Reviews of Current News By D AN GILBERT Washington, D.C., and San Diego, California
and taxation. It is pointed out that virtu ally all denominations now have retirement and relief plans which are more adequate than the government’s. Capitol observers believe that this inva sion of the rights of churches can be de feated if Christian public opinion makes itself felt with sufficient force. A RISING GODLESS GENERATION: The American Institute of Public Opinion, whose “straw” polls have been proved ac curate by subsequent elections, recently polled the generations on their opinion of the Bible. The results showed that, of peo ple under thirty years of age, the Bible was the favorite book of only 6%. Thus 94 young people out of every 100 place the work of some human author above the inspired Word of the Living God. Nothing so reflects the ghastly results of a system of education which, in most states, ignores or neglects the Holy Scrip tures, while exalting pseudo-science. In most cases, the young people have not "re jected” the Word of God: they simply have no knowledge of it—no opportunity to appreciate it. Young people today tend to mirror, in a mental way, the attitude of those who have had most to do with the shaping of their tastes and standards of thought. Some time ago, a questionnaire was sent to the most influential leaders in the realms of educa tion, science, and literature. Those who have the most to do with the intellectual or ientation of youth were asked to list the dozen or so books they would most desire to have, if they were cast ashore on a des ert island, cut off for life from access to all other literature. In their carefully pre pared lists, fewer than 10% of them even mentioned the Bible! The great body of young people today seem to be reflecting the indifference to the Scriptures so appallingly apparent among that little group of “intellectuals” who, though insignificant in number, have gained [Continued on page 152]
“CHURCH R IGHTS”: The issue of “state rights” has been raised frequently by those who are alarmed about the growing tendency to extend and increase the powers of the federal government. The current ses sion of Congress is the occasion for the emergence of a new issue: "church rights.” Like the states and the individual citi zens, the churches are guaranteed certain rights under the Constitution. Many ob servers believe that the rights of the churches would be seriously endangered, if not diminished, were Congress to enact into law the recommendation of the Social Security Advisory Council. The Council has recommended that the Social Security Act be so amended as to subject religious bodies to the regulations and tax levies of the law, from which they are now exempt. Under the amended Act, old-age pensions would be extended to em ployees of religious bodies, and taxes for this purpose would be imposed upon all churches having these employees. (Per sons receiving salaries of $3,000 per year or more would remain outside the provi sions of the Act.) The tax, which must be paid by the em ployee as well as by the employing body, would increase from year to year. In 1949, it would amount to three per cent of all salaries paid during the calendar year.’ Three per cent would be deducted from the salary of the employee, and an equal amount would be collected from the church. The taxing of the church would, of course, involve also the inspection and supervision of church financial accounts by the govern ment. In addition to the tax for old-age bene fits, many churches would be obliged to pay a tax for Unemployment Compensation Insurance. By 1949, the unemployment in surance and old-age pension taxes on the churches would total six per cent per year. Religious bodies and individual Chris tians throughout the country are flooding Congress with protests against the placing of churches under government paternalism
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