Part 1: Edited 3/5/22.
Starting Point for Calculating Prophesy
After the great flood of Noah, in the year 2348 B.C., Nimrod, meaning “Rebel” the son of Cush would establish both Babylon and Assyria in the land of Shinar. Nimrod is said to have been, Genesis 10:9, “a mighty hunter before the LORD.”
The beginning of his kingdom was called Babel or Babylon. Nimrod would invade and conquer Assur, or Assyria east of the Tigris River, where he built Nineveh. The meaning of his name Nin, signifying, “a son,” the most celebrated of the sons of Cush. Here, Nimrod would establish his government, and introduce the Zabian idolatry, or worship of the heavenly host. After his death, he would be made a god by his subjects, then proclaimed to have been translated into the constellation of Orion. He may have been a mighty hunter of animals, but, a mighty persecutor in the sight of Jehovah God.
From that time forward, the two kingdoms of Assyria and Babylon would wage war against each other for control of the plains of Shinar, and the areas surrounding this territory. The Assyrians would eventually emerge victorious, taking control of the people in the region. Their rule would dominate the Chaldeans, the Medes and the people of Babylon.
From the Assyrian people, a man would arise, his name, Nabopolassar, who would become the first Babylonian king. After the death of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal in 627 B.C., and lasting some 22 years, a new dynasty would emerge led by Nabopolassar, the father of Nebuchadnezzar His name meant, “favored or chosen of Nebu.” He ruled until 605 BC.
King Nebuchadnezzar is first mentioned during the destruction of Assyria that had been the arch-enemy of Babylon. At that time, he was crown-prince, meaning heir to the throne. With his allies, the ruler of the Medes and Persians, Nebuchadnezzar would lead his armies against the Assyrians and Egyptians who were led by Necho ll, who had been occupying Syria. Nebuchadnezzar defeated them at the Battle of Carchemish. Their defeat brought Syria and Phoenicia under the control of Babylon.
The LORD called Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah 25:9, “my servant.”
In the year 606 B.C., Daniel was taken captive to Babylon as a young man, most scholars believe he was about seventeen years old. Nebuchadnezzar rule began in 605 and ended in 562 B.C., some 42 or 43 years.
Jehoiakim the king of Judea reigned from 609 B.C. to 598 B.C. He was appointed king by Necho II of Egypt. When the Egyptians were defeated by the Babylonians at the battle of Carchemish in 605 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem, and Jehoiakim changed allegiances to avoid the destruction of Jerusalem. He paid tribute from the treasury in Jerusalem, some temple artifacts, and handed over some of the royal family and nobility as hostages.
Daniel 1:2, “And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his (Nebuchadnezzar’s) hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his (Nebuchadnezzar’s) god.”
Now we need to establish a correct timeline for the rest of the story. The prophesy of empires begins in Daniel 2, they symbolized by an image of man having a head of gold. The image is said to have been, “terrible,” meaning awesome!
The LORD gave the king this dream in the second year of his reign, 603 B.C. Daniel was sent for by the king to interpret the dream.
The first kingdom whose head was of gold.
Daniel 2:32, “The image’s head was of fine gold.” Verse 37, Daniel said, “Thou, O King are a king of kings: for the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.” Verse 38, “Thou (King Nebuchadnezzar) are this head of gold.”
Now let’s fast forward three years to the year 598 B.C., when the king with his armies comes back to Jerusalem; where he carries away the sacred vessels of the temple and brings them back to the land of Shinar, putting them in the house of his god.
Read closely the following in order to get a good insight of what happened when Nebuchadnezzar entered Jerusalem in 598 B.C.
2 Kings 24:13-14, “And he (Nebuchadnezzar) carried out thence all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said. And he carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths: none remained, saved the poorest sort of the people of the land.”
2 Kings 25:14, “And the pots and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they (the priests) ministered, took they away. And the firepans, and the bowls, and such things as were of gold, in gold and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away.” He even took the brass pillars, verses 16-17.
From 599 B.C. until this day, we read or hear nothing more concerning the Ark of the Covenant, the Mercy Seat, the Urim and Thummim, as well as other sacred vessels of the Temple.
A year later, 598 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar moves on Jerusalem with his armies and besieges Jerusalem, destroying the Temple, thus ending the kingdom of Judah.
How sacred were these Temple vessels to the LORD God? So much so, that when king Belshazzar used these sacred vessels to throw a party for his friends, that very night, the LORD took away his kingdom and Belshazzar had to forfeit his life. That day was September 27th of 539 B.C.
So, here’s the question, “Could the Jews, from the year 598 B.C., when everything made of brass, silver and gold were removed from the temple, some cut to pieces and others carried off: have any sacrifice whatsoever that would be pleasing to God?
Two questions need to be answered, what was the “brazen altar?” and what was the “daily sacrifice?” We will cover the “daily sacrifice” later.
Remember, the Brazen altar, the vessels, pans and shovels were all either overlaid with, or made of brass.
When a person entered the court of the tabernacle, what they would see was the brazen altar. It was there to remind the priests and the people, they were not to approach God without first offering a blood sacrifice for their sins.
How did the LORD tell Moses to build this Brazen altar?
Exodus 27:1-8, “Thou shall make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad (about 7.5 feet by 7.5 feet): the altar shall be foursquare: and height thereof shall be three cubits (about 4.5 feet). —- make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass.”
Also, Moses was to make pans to receive the ashes, shovels, basins, flesh-hooks, firepans grate, four brazen rings on the four corners, all made of brass.
The altar measured seven and a half feet on each side by four and a half feet high, made of bronze. The LORD also ordered,
Leviticus 6:13, “The fire (in the altar) shall forever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.”
The LORD said in Exodus 29:42-43 concerning the fire of the brazen altar, “This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; where I will meet you, to speak there unto you. And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.”
The word continual concerning the fire in the altar means perpetual, always, forever, never to be extinguished.
Also take note, the altar of incense, inside the holy place in the tabernacle, was overlaid with precious gold.
We are told in II Kings, (see above) all the vessels and whatever was made of brass or covered with brass were cut up and carried off to Babylon, the year, 598 B.C.
Conclusion; without the brazen alter and all its implements, there could be no morning or evening burnt offering made unto the LORD. And without the brazen altar, the fire would have been extinguished. So, the question in Daniel 12: 6 concerning the daily sacrifice,
“How long,” can now be answered; it’s the year 598 B.C. when,
2 Kings 25:14, “the pots and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they (the priests) ministered, took they away. And the firepans, and the bowls, and such things as were of gold, in gold and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away.” He even took the brass pillars, verses 16-17.
Review: we are told, whatever was made of gold, silver and brass in the Temple was carried off to Babylon. Also, without the ark and the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies, both having been over-laid with gold, there was no place for the LORD to present himself to the high priest even if offerings were made.
Conclusion, without the Ark of the Covenant, without the Mercy Seat made of gold overlay, without the altar of incense, and without the brazen altar and its eternal fire, no daily sacrifices or yearly offering could be made unto the LORD; this began in the year 598 B.C.
This leads us to,
Daniel 12:11, “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.” Days, obviously mean years. We will cover what the daily sacrifice was and the abomination of desolation that has been set up and the numbers given in Daniel 12:11-12., in my next post.
After the year 598 B.C., what remained of the Holy of Holies was an empty stone room. So, we must conclude that this was the year when the people of Israel began their longest day of darkness, and that day of darkness continues to this day and will not end until the “Light of the world,” the “Sun of Righteousness” returns to once more shine upon his people, the Jews.
Phillip LaSpino www.seekfirstwisdom.com