by BoogerMan 8 Replies latest watchtower bible
w98 2/1 p. 22 par. 16 - "What of the dead who are resurrected on earth?...They also will have to love the name of Jehovah, ministering to him, offering acceptable sacrifices......"
(Daniel 9:26, 27) "And after the 62 weeks, Mes·siʹah will be cut off, with nothing for himself.....and at the half of the week, he will cause sacrifice......to cease."
“Who's got it wrong - Daniel or the evil slave?”
YES.
Depending on how you define "acceptable sacrifices." Jesus' sacrifice is once for all time, therefore animal sacrifices would be phased out (Hebr. 10:12). Now it is the sacrifices of lips and good deeds: "With such sacrifices God is well pleased." (13:15, 16).
They both can't be right but they can both be wrong.
The commentary from the following Bibles, namely The SBL Study Bible, The Catholic Study Bible, The Jewish Study Bible, and The New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha (using all the most recent editions) generally agree that the verses in Daniel refer to the Maccabean Revolt, the Jewish uprising against the Seleucid Empire that took place from 167–160 BCE.
They define the verses from Daniel 9:26-27 almost exactly the same as follows (the NRSV Updated Edition is being employed in the following):
After the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing,
Sixty-two weeks, a round number to describe the period down from the 70 weeks (9:24) that point to the arrival of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Anointed one, Onias III, the deposed high priest who was murdered in 171 BCE (see 2 Macc 4:32-34).
and the troops of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The prince, Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The city and the sanctuary, Jerusalem and the Temple.
Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. He shall make a strong covenant with many for one week,
He shall make a strong covenant with many, describing the falling away of many Jews to hellenizing practices at 1 Macc 1:11-15.
and for half of the week he shall make sacrifice and offering cease,
A description of when Antiochus stops legitimate sacrifices and Jewish practice in Jerusalem (see Daniel 7:25).
and in their place shall be a desolating sacrilege until the decreed end is poured out upon the desolator.
The desolating sacrilege was described as a pig sacrificed to the Greek gods on the altar to YHWH. This ignited the war for religious freedom fought under the command of Judas Maccabeus which would in turn lead to the desolator being defeated, the re-dedication of the altar and Temple, and the yearly celebration of Chanukah.
Jesus would also refer to the phrase “abomination causing desolation.” In both Matthew and Mark this expression is connected to the destruction of Jerusalem, and the demise of the Jewish system. In so doing, he refuted the interpretation found in the book of Maccabees, indicating that the verses in Daniel, which include the phrase “abomination causing desolation,” point to a future date.
In so doing, he refuted the interpretation found in the book of Maccabees, indicating that the verses in Daniel, which include the phrase “abomination causing desolation,” point to a future date.
Or, as the above Bible commentaries explain, the reference is that as the heathen Antiochus once caused sacrilege and desolation, stopping the sacrifices of the Temple, so would the pagan Romans.
Apocalypse is a genre that allows for multiple and even generational interpretation, states the editorial staff of both the Jewish and SBL Study Bibles.
These are not my personal views.
I do believe your commentaries got it wrong. Antiochus did not destroy the temple or Jerusalem: "And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed." (Dan. 9:26 ESV)
The information I posted is to give various options to counter the views of the Watchtower--and only against the views of the Watchtower.
I have nothing against anyone's personal views. There are various ways individuals who left the religion of the Jehovah's Witnesses can embrace and interpret the Bible.
