EDante, AIT home 26 December 2017
Daniel in the lion’s den is one of the old testament bible stories I loved so much when I was young. The story tells how Daniel, a Jew slave, was promoted to high office in Babylon by king Darius, but jealous rivals tricked Darius into issuing a decree which condemned Daniel to death (Daniel 6). Against his will, king Darius ordered Daniel to be cast into the lion’s den hoping that Daniel’s God would save him. The next day the king hastened to find Daniel alive giving him immense joy. Because of Daniel's holiness and faith, God gave him the gift of “understanding of all visions and dreams” (Daniel 1:17) and revealed to him the high prophecies of Christ and of the Antichrist, which are a key to present and future times. Daniel lived around 500 years before the birth of Christ. The most significant of Daniel’s prophecies is the “seventy weeks” period for establishing the time of the birth of Jesus. This prophecy opens with these words; “Seventy weeks have been declared for your people and your holy city…” (Daniel 9:24). The word “weeks” is a translation from a Hebrew word “shayuim” which means “sevens”. It is like the English word “dozen”, which refers to a dozen of anything. The word “weeks” in Daniel’s prophecy also refers to a seven of anything. Therefore, the “seventy weeks” is understood as seventy sevens of years, i.e. 70 x 7 years, which is equal to 490 years. This is the period given to establish the year of the birth of Christ from the time when the rebuilding of Jerusalem was announced (Daniel 9:25). This prophecy was well understood by the Jews in the old testament times and even during the time of Christ’s birth. Knowing Daniel’s prophecy very well, the Jews had anticipated the time of the coming of the Messiah. This is evidenced in the Gospels. For instance, Luke observes that “the people were filled with expectations, and all were asking in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah. For this, John adamantly answered them, saying, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming, I am not worthy to loosen the thongs of his sandals” (Luke 3:15-16). In the same Gospel, Luke tells of a man called Simeon who received a revelation from the Holy Spirit that he should not die before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord (Luke 2:25-26). Maria Valtorta’s Poem of Man-God further reveals that the Jews had anticipated the coming of the Messiah. From that book, an interesting question is asked by the child Mary when she was a little less than three years old to her old mother Anne: “How long will it be before we have the Emmanuel?” For this, Anne responds: “About thirty years, my darling.” In the same book, Gamaliel is seen speaking with fellow Pharisees and their followers about the coming of the Messiah according to Daniel's prophecy. He states that the Messiah must had already been born, because the seventy prophesied weeks, from the time the decree of the reconstruction of the Temple was issued, expired some ten years before that time. Fellow Pharisees objected strongly believing that the Messiah, known as the Prince of Peace, would come only when Israel is free from the slavery of the Roman Empire. The boy Jesus at twelve years old interrupted the conflict and confirmed that Gamaliel was right. What follows was a heated discussion between the child Jesus and the group of Pharisees that we read in Luke 2:46, "Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions." Later in the same book, it is shown that the time of birth came much earlier than anticipated owing to the prayers of Mary asking God for the grace of sending the Messiah sooner. How can God respond to such prayer? Can God make wrong the prophecy made several hundred years ago? Because of the prayer of Mary and perhaps of other just people as well, God indeed shortened the prophetic period of seventy weeks, while keeping the number of years (490 years) unchanged. This was possible by taking the measure of the prophetic time according to the course of the moon, not of the sun. A lunar year has 11 days less than a solar year. Mary’s prayer hastened the birth of Christ by 11 days for each of the prophetic year. This amounts to a total of 5,390 days or about 15 years over the period of 490 years. Mary therefore waited for only 15 years, and not 30 years according to the original idea of the prophecy of Daniel, to become the Mother of Jesus at the age of 17 or 18 years old. As we celebrate Christmas, let us thank God for listening to the prayers of His people by sending Jesus to the world sooner. Let us also thank Mary for offering herself to God as a virgin to bring Jesus to the world. The child Mary herself explains that being a virgin means one does not want to know human love, but only the love of God. It means that one has no other thought but for the Lord. It means to remain children in the flesh and angels in the heart. It means that one has no eyes but to look at God, and ears to listen to Him, and a mouth to praise Him, hands to offer oneself as a victim, feet to follow Him fast, and a heart and a life to be given to Him. Mary did all these to obtain the grace of God for saving His people. |
Authorfather of countless children Archives
January 2024
Categories |