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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
June, 1939
destruction of the city took place nearly 40 years "after” the close of the 69 weeks. Yet in the record of the prophecy, the destruc tion of the city is placed before the last week! Therefore, the very historical fulfill ment of this one detail of the prophecy, upon which practically all are agreed, demands a gap of at least 38 years, and thus provides an infallible clue to the prob lem which has puzzled so many interpreters. For if even so much as one year is allowed between the last two weeks, the principle of the “Gap interpretation” is admitted. And if, as we have seen, there must be at least 38 years, we have no a priori reason for denying that there may be 1900. 3. The fulfillment o f the tremendous events in verse 24 cannot be found any where in known history. Notice again what they are: “to finish the transgression”: “to make an end of sins”: “to make reconcilia tion for iniquity”; “to bring in everlasting righteousness”; “to seal up the vision and prophecy”; “to anoint a most holy place" (R.V. margin). And remember two further things: first, all these great events have to do with the Jewish people; and second, they are included within the reach of the Seventy Weeks prophecy. Now if the whole 70 weeks are con tinuous, then as we have already seen, the 70th week must have ended not later than seven years after the crucifixion, or some where early in the Book of Acts. But the history of those years contains nothing that in any reasonable way corresponds with what Daniel saw at the end of the 70 weeks. Where in the history of Acts, for example, can you find any finishing of Jewish trans gression or an ending of Jewish sins? On the contrary, the transgression of the chosen nation increases by leaps and bounds until the crisis comes in chapter 28 where thé Apostle Paul turns definitely to the Gentiles. Or where in the period of the Acts can we find any sealing up of vision and prophecy? On the contrary, it is during this very period and beyond that we find in the pre diction of the New Testament documents the greatest loosing of “vision and proph ecy” in all the history of revelation. But at the second coming of our Lord in glory, which will take place at the close of the 70th week, vision and prophecy will no longer be needed. The Word of God Him self will be present in visible manifestation. His law will go forth from Jerusalem. The Gap Principle in Prophecy 4. An unseen gap in prophetic time is not at all an unusual phenomenon in Old Testament prophecy. There are many in stances outside of Daniel. The great Mes sianic prophecy of Isaiah 9:6 is an interest ing example. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.“ The whole Chris tian world rejoices in the knowledge that this prophecy was fulfilled nineteen centuries ago. But read the next clause: “and the government shall be upon his shoulder.” Here we have something still future. Be tween these two clauses, separated only by a colon, there is a break in time which has already extended 1939 years. One more example must suffice, attested by our Lord Himself. Isaiah 61:1, 2 is quoted in Luke 4:16-21. Rather strange to say, when our Lord had finished die clause.
SPANISH CLASS DEMONSTRATES GOSPEL METHODS Though Spanish is not scheduled as a regular course at the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, the school has utilized the aid of Miss Teolinda Contreras, a student now in her second year at the Institute, as teacher of a group of prospective missionaries. Miss Contreras, who is pictured at the extreme left of the group above, comes from Honduras, Central America, where, being of a family of the higher class, she was given unusual educational opportunities. It was while she was a public school teacher in Honduras that she found Christ as her Saviour. She recently directed a unique all-Spanish program at the Institute in which the young women pictured above participated. With clarity and ease, these students— all of whom had had some previous training in Spanish— showed practical means of revealing Christ to America s southern neighbors.
Messiah was to be “cut off” after the 69th week but before the 70th week. It is equally certain that Daniel saw also the “glories” of Christ—they are to be ushered in at the close of the 70th week (9:24). But it seems quite evident that the intervening time prob lem was beyond the prophet’s understand ing, for this very problem is discussed briefly in 12:6, 7 by the two angelic mes sengers, and Daniel confesses, “I heard, but I understood not” (v. 8 ). That this failure to understand was not due to any lack of spiritual discernment in the prophet, but rather to the sovereign plan of God, is clear from the words of verse 9: “Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time o f the end.” Christ's Own Explanation 5. As the final argument in favor o f the Gap interpretation, I offer the testimony o f our Lord Himself to show that the 70th w eek is still future. Verse 27, R. V., of the Seventy Weeks prophecy contains a most peculiar expression: “Upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate." The Hebrew is confessedly diffi cult. Luther rendered it, “Upon the wings stands the abomination o f desolation." The same general expression occurs also in Daniel 12:11, “the abomination that maketh desolate." Without attempting to fix its precise meaning, the thing we should notice is that Daniel connects it with the stopping of the daily sacrifice which takes place in the middle of the 70th week. Let the reader keep this fact clearly in mind and turn to Matthew 24 where our Lord refers to the same thing. In verse 15 He warns His Jewish hearers to flee from their houses to the mountains "when ye . . shall see the abomination o f desolation, spoken o f by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place.” The reason for this warning is indicated in verse 21, “For then shall be great tribula tion.” But they are not to be utterly disheartened, for “Immediately after the tribulation of those days . . . they shall see
"to preach the acceptable year, o f the Lord," He closed the book and said, "This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.” Now the amazing thing is that H e stopped at a comma (in the English Version). Why did He stop squarely in the middle of a sentence? The answer is that the next following clause, “and the day o f venge ance o f our God “ was not to be fulfilled for over nineteen hundred years and is still future today. By this one single act of His, our Lord as the infallible Interpreter laid down the principle of the “Gap interpreta tion,” apart from which the chronology of Old Testament prophecy is an enigma. As a matter of fact, it is well known that there is often little or no time perspective in the visions of the Old Testament prophets. They saw events together on the screen of prophecy which in their fulfillment were often separated by centuries of time. This curious characteristic, so strange to West ern minds, was in complete harmony with the Oriental mind which was little con cerned with a continuous chronology. As the late Dr. Kyle used to tell his students, the Oriental was interested in the next important event, not in the time which might intervene. And the Bible is an Oriental book, humanly speaking. How ever, we do find the prophets themselves perplexed by this lack of time perspective: "Searching what time or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did point unto, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow them” (1 Pet. 1:11), R .V .). Evidently the prophets saw clearly both the “sufferings” and the "glories" of Christ. Furthermore, they had the order right—-first, the sufferings;- after that, the glories. But the one thing which was not clear to them was the time element-^ 'what time or what manner of time.” Now this is precisely the problem in the prophecy of the Seventy Weeks. Daniel saw clearly the "sufferings" of Christ—
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