Within a few months of the murder of Stephen by the Jews, a prominent
Jewish zealot named Saul (later to be known as the Apostle Paul), a great
persecuter of the Christians, was himself converted to Christianity and
called by God to take the gospel to the Gentile world. Acts
9:1-15 And while the New Testament assigns no specific
date to the martyrdom of Stephen and conversion of Saul, various
Bible commentators have placed these events around 34 A.D.–the end
of the 490 year prophecy! See our chart.
Once the Jewish nation as a whole officially rejected Jesus as the Messiah,
they continued to look for the "real" messiah who would lead them, as they
hoped, in a victorious armed rebellion against Rome. And as self-proclaimed
messiahs arose and instigated political rebellion against Rome, Rome responded
with force. Finally, in 70 A.D. and 135 A.D., Roman armies leveled
Jerusalem and expelled the Jews from their sacred city once again–"desolating"
and "destroying" Jerusalem as had been predicted by both Daniel and Jesus.
Daniel
9:26,27 & Matthew 24:15 It was a phased-in destruction which
began with the Jews' final rejection of Jesus in 34 A.D. and continued
in stages through Jerusalem's ultimate desolation in 135 A.D.
Were the Jews destined to reject the Messiah and have their city destroyed
because Daniel had prophesied that it would turn out this way?
No! God would have loved to have had the results turn out differently.
True to the "if...then" formula, such prophecies of doom are to
be understood more as warnings than as guaranteed outcomes. The ultimate
purpose of such prophecies is to bring about the desired change, without
which the prophetic warning of doom will indeed come true. Jeremiah
18:7-11 God's total commitment is to our salvation, and only
if we reject His every effort to save us will He then reluctantly and grievingly,
based on His respect for our free choice, release us into the path of sin's
ultimate, destructive consequence. Matthew
23:37-39
God's love for us is unconditional; His purposes for our best interests,
uncompromising; His commitment toward our ultimate salvation, unrelenting.
But He will not force us. We are free to accept or to reject His
love for us, His willingness to forgive us, His invitation for us to be
in an ever deepening relationship with Him, His offer for us to play an
important role ourselves in His commitment to share His love with others.
Would you like to respond to that opportunity
right now?
