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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
June, 1939
the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (vs. 29, 30). Now the argument is very simple and clear: Whatever the “abomination of deso lation” may be, there can be no doubt that Daniel put it exactly in the middle of the 70th week, and our Lord put it at “the end" just before His second coming in glory. Therefore, the 70th week must also come at the end of the present age just prior to Christ’s coming in glory. This is the inter pretation of Christ Himself, and it should settle the matter. Our Lord has not yet come in glory, the 70th week is still future, and there is a great parenthesis of time between the 69th and 70th weeks of the prophecy. Thus far we are on solid ground. Advantages of the Gap Interpretation If we see clearly and accept the existence of this great parenthesis of uncharted time between the 69th and 70th weeks, and understand that the 70th week is still future, we shall be effectively guarded against some of the dangers which constantly beset the interpreter of prophecy. First, we shall be kept from the confusion and despair which are so common even among devout scholars when they come to the 70th week and attempt to unravel the chronology of events beyond the First Advent of our Lord. Second, this important principle of inter pretation explains why the whole of our present age, so great in many respects, is passed over by the prophets with comparar tive silence. And it constantly keeps us on our guard against attempting to find things in Old Testament prophecy which are not there. In the third place, if we see this principle and understand that the 70th week lies in the future, we shall be saved from that popular but pernicious fallacy which assumes that God is finished with the nation of Israel. "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people,” said the angel Gabriel to Daniel, and if the last week is yet future there is still a place for Israel in the divine plan. In fact, the whole plan will be con summated in that final week. And the error of putting the 70th week in immediate con nection with the 69th has undoubtedly made no small contribution to the erroneous theories of both Postmillennialism and Amillennialism. Fourth, the acceptance of the Gap inter pretation of thé 70th week makes utterly impossible all date-setting schemes for the present age and for the second coming of our Lord. For the entire parenthesis of time between Jhe 69th and 70th weeks is both unrevealed and elastic, from the human standpoint. Every scheme of date setting requires for its basis a continuous prophetic chronology covering the present age. Without this the date-setters are helpless. And according to the Gap prin ciple, there can be no such chronology. Only an omniscient God could have given such a continuous chronology, and He for good and wise reasons did not give it. Therefore, we need not waste any time even discussing the possibility of setting a date for the Lord’s return. It simply cannot be done.
The Character of This Present Age In concluding this article, one more ques tion should be discussed. Does the proph ecy of Daniel shed any light at all upon the nature of the present age which lies between the 69th and 70th weeks? The material is scarce but very significant. The rather amazing thing is that in all this vast chasm of over nineteen centuries, Daniel identifies clearly only two events: the death of Messiah and the destruction of Jerusalem. Outside and beyond these two events, he mentions nothing. All the pomp and glory and boasted achievements of the so-called Christian Era are passed over with com plete silence. There is something very humbling about this silence, if we have eyes to see. But if the prophet mentions only two events, he does not altogether ignore the general character "of the age. Sweeping through our centuries of “progress” with the eye of divine inspiration, he sums up the whole period in two statements, very startling for their ominous brevity. The first is: "Unto the end shall be war” (R.V .). And the second is: "Desolations are deter mined" (cf. v. 26). The first statement declares the abysmal failure of unregen erate man, while the second affirms the decree of a sovereign God to permit the failure and use it for His own wise and holy ends. From these two statements we may learn some valuable lessons. In the first place, there will be war on earth among men until the Lord returns. Of course, there are some modern prophets who think otherwise, but we shall do well to stick by Daniel in these matters. The prophet Daniel has an established reputa tion. Over two thousands years ago Daniel said that “unto the end shall be war,” and no one can deny the accuracy of his predic tion thus far. Any prophet who has been right for two thousand years is worth listen ing to. Of course, Daniel's prophecy does not mean that all efforts against war in the present age are futile, It is a matter of commmon knowledge that some threatened wars have been stopped in the past, and doubtless others in the future can be stopped. But the point is, no matter how successful the nations may be in avoiding a war here and there, we are to remember that no permanent peace can come to this sinful world till the Prince of Peace comes down to earth again in glory. “Unto the end shall be war." W e may not like the prophecy: it may humble our rebellious pride, but God hath spoken. The other lesson is still more important: The God o f heaven is in control over the events of this sinful age of ours. If war continues to the end, bringing destruction and desolations, we are not to forget that these "desolations are d e t e r m in e d Man is responsible for his failure, but man's fail ure never takes God by surprise. What man does, God has determined. The pres ent age, even at its worst, is not running out of control. An infinite God sits upon the throne of Providence, and He always has the last word in human history. And through all the mystery and confusion of human failure, the great Providential formula holds good: "Ye meant evil . . . ; but God meant it for good” (Gen. 50:20, R. V .) [ T o be Continued]
—Courtesy, Union Oil Co. "All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord; and thy saints shall bless thee" (Psa. 145:10).
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