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Welcome to another edition of the Bible in the News. This is Paul Billin...
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Welcome to another edition of the Bible in the News. This is Paul Billington speaking from the famous "wailing wall" in Jerusalem. The wall is what remains here of the massive platform built by Herod, and upon which once stood the temple. In the time of Jesus it was an amazing sight, so much so that one of his disciples pointed it out to Jesus saying (Mark 13:1) "Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!"
Jesus responded to the disciple telling him: "Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." And he went on to tell the disciples about the coming invasion of the city and its overthrow. In Luke 21:20-24 we can read his words. He told them:
A terrible time had been prophesied, and this was the time when those Scriptures (or writings) would be fulfilled. Jesus went on to say that there would be great distress in the land, and wrath upon the people.
With these words, Jesus referenced the prophecy of Daniel chapter 8. Here, the prophet had spoken of a power that he called "a little horn" (verse 9) which would become great, and (verses 11 and 12).
"He magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down."
The daily sacrifice was offered in the temple that once stood on the great Herodian platform, close to where I am now standing. It was taken away or discontinued following the Roman onslaught of AD 70. The sanctuary, the Kodesh, or holy place - that is, the temple - was cast down. As Jesus expressed it: "There shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." And so it came to pass as we can see from the great stones still lying where they fell almost 2000 years ago.
But in Daniel's prophecy, and at verse 13, the question was raised as to how long this desolation would continue. Daniel says:
"Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed."
Clearly, in this context, "the times of the Gentiles" is the period of the downtreading. So during all this time the Bible has been in the news because prophecy has been fulfilling. Yesterday's news is what we call history, and among the Gentiles that have trodden down this city, there was Constantine's mother - Helena. She came here along with other Roman Christians. Then there were representatives of Justinian's empire; the Byzantines. Many other conquerors came: the Crusaders, the Mohammedans or Moslems who built the golden domed mosque that we see here now. Then there were the Turks, and after them the British. All of them have visited this city and this wall.
The times of these Gentiles are included in Daniel's 2,300 days -- for in prophecy a day represents a year. So the vision is for 2,300 years.
Now several writers have taken this period from the time when the goat power - representing the Greeks (see Daniel 8:21) gained victory over the ram power (representing Media and Persia - Verse 20). History tells us that this was in BC 333-334. Working on that basis, Thomas Newton in 1754 concluded that the period would end in 1967. Also Milligan writing in 1868 concluded that the period would end in the Spring or early Summer of 1967. So it is a remarkable fact that the Jewish people regained control over Jerusalem - and this wall - in June 1967!
The Bible was in the news yet again!
Daniel's prophecy says that the period of downtreading would be for this 2,300 day-years, "then shall the sanctuary (or Kodesh) be cleansed." Not immediately -- the word "then" implies a new phase which would involve the cleansing, vindication or avenging of the sanctuary.
But as we look at the scene here today, we see Jews worshipping a wall and praying to it -- even writing their prayers on scraps of paper and putting them in between the stones. This wall has become a virtual idol. And we know that Israel herself has to be cleansed of all her superstitions and idolatry. So this wall must go.
So, as we might say, the writing is on the wall! The structure that we now see, built by Herod and then decorated by Islamic mosques, must all be wiped out of the way in order to clear the ground and make ready for the third temple which Ezekiel tells us about from his 40th chapter onwards.
You see, the temple of Ezekiel's prophecy is hardly likely to be built upon Herod's foundation. That just would not be fitting. Only Christ the true Messiah, can lay the foundation of the future temple. This is because it has a spiritual dimension that will be used in order to teach the nations the Truth. We learn this from Isaiah 2:2-5.
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