Author: Persecution Live News

How Can We Grow in This Practice?

Some may say that Christians should only confess their sins to God, since he’s the one who forgives and is ultimately the one we sinned against. Yet this isn’t what the Bible teaches. Some church traditions have taken confession to another person too far. But we read in James 5:16, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

We do need to confess our sins first to the Lord. But he also made us to walk in community with other believers, and part of that community is being open with one another about our sin struggles so we may have accountability and support to fight them.

Confessing sin is painful and vulnerable. We fear how others’ perception of us will change, and we also fear what they might do with that information. This is why all of us as a church must treat this process with the utmost care and humility.

I hesitate to speak up about my sin because it disgusts me. But when a patient shows up in the emergency room with a festering wound oozing blood, he needs a doctor who won’t flinch away from it or quickly put a bandage on it so it can’t be seen. He needs a doctor who calmly wades into the mess so he can bring full healing.

We need these kinds of doctors for our souls as well. The ones who look straight into the ugliness of our sin and patiently work through it with us so we can be healed. This is hard work. Bearing one another’s burdens is messy and anguishing. But if I’ve learned anything, it’s that I need my faithful people to walk beside me. And when we grow in vulnerability, it invites others to be vulnerable, too. Because I confessed my sin to a friend, she felt safe a year or so later to confess her sin to me, knowing I would not be put off by it. So how can we grow in this practice?

For those confessing, consider:

Find the right people. Some sins are not meant to be shared with the whole small group. Some are meant to be shared with one or two trusted people—mentors or friends who will walk by your side and pray with you. The mentor I mentioned earlier has been so gentle with me. I remember one time tearfully saying I didn’t want to disappoint God. She said, “He’s not disappointed with you. He loves you, and he’s giving you the strength to fight against this sin.” That’s the kind of person who you need on your side.

If you don’t have people like that in your life, find a Bible-believing church where you can start building those relationships. Seek out a biblical counseling ministry so that a counselor can walk you through your struggles. Pray that God might bring a friend or mentor like that into your life.

It might feel terrifying to admit your sin but remember that fear is a tactic of Satan. God is a God of light, not darkness. Bringing your sin into the light will bring healing; keeping it in the dark will only make it fester.

Confessing Sins Helps the Gospel Shine Brighter

Several years ago, I listened to an interview with Mike Donehey, lead singer of the band Tenth Avenue North. He said that if we refuse to talk about some sins, we are not believing the gospel because those sins are the very ones Christ died to save us from. Those temptations are the ones his sacrifice gives us power to overcome.

This was life-changing for me. I had given in to the lie that there were some sins that were too “big” for believers—and believing that lie gave those temptations power over me. Yet Christ is more powerful. He’s canceled the debt of every sin through his atoning death and resurrection; therefore I don’t have to fear when temptation comes my way.

When I humble myself before fellow believers and confess where my heart has wandered to, grieving over my sin, I’m acknowledging that this is why I need a Savior. If I refuse to admit my guilt and try to solve it on my own, I’m saying I can be my own savior. But the gospel shines brighter when we acknowledge our need for it and put our trust in what Christ has done for us. And this gives hope to fellow strugglers to find relief from their secret shame.

Confessing Sins Helps to Avoid Shipwrecking Our Faith

Isolation and self-dependency will bring great ruin in a believer’s life. The tending of shame and guilt will result in storms of chaos if we don’t do something about it. But we’re afraid. Afraid of what people will think if we admit we fell prey to that sin—the sin we never thought we’d be capable of.

In 1 Corinthians 10:12–13, Paul warns us of this, though: “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.”

Our pride gets in the way of confessing seeds of sin in our hearts. We’re upstanding church members, Bible study leaders, and parents. How could we possibly have given in to that thought or secret habit? So we nod and smile in small group prayer times, asking for more patience and wisdom while skirting around the things we don’t want to admit.

But the more we convince ourselves that such a sin isn’t possible for us, the more we quietly give in to it, convincing ourselves it’s not that bad. And unfortunately, before too long, that sin will break forth into the open, causing scandal and more hurt than we could have dreamed of.

If we had only been honest with someone at the beginning, we could have sought help to fight that sin in its cloudy stages. We could have found counsel and not felt like we were drowning in a sea of darkness.

The Healing Power of Confessing Sins to One Another

I sat with her that Sunday morning, my dear mentor, with tears welling up in my eyes, heart pounding. She slipped her arm around me and whispered in my ear her guess of what was tormenting me. I nodded, relieved that she had verbalized the sin I wasn’t able to confess. And then she drew me close and began praying for me—and didn’t stop praying for me throughout the battle that followed.

From that initial moment, the shame of darkness was lifted. I was able to confide in a few other friends as well, and together the accountability—however painful—brought the relief of knowing I was not alone in this struggle.

Accountability is raw and real. There are things we don’t want to say out loud, but the naming of them brings cleansing. When we choose to be accountable, we let another person in, choosing to be vulnerable and releasing any pretense of perfection. This is good for our souls. In order to be fully known, we have to trust others with our stubborn sins and wandering love. And in so doing, our faith is built up stronger.

Therefore, we will explore two main reasons why we need to confess our sins to one another in the church. Because this process is vulnerable, we also need to keep a few guidelines in mind so that more believers may be set free from the power of secret sin.

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Other Views of This Verse

There are many different views on what this seventy sevens could mean, but we might put them all under six major heads. The first view is the traditional messianic interpretation. This view holds that the final week is a reference to the ministry of Christ and the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. Jesus ultimately fulfills these seventy weeks.

Another popular view is the dispensationalist view. In this view there is a parenthesis between the 69th and 70th week. The first 69 weeks refer to the first coming of Christ and the 70th week is seen as the future seven-year tribulation period which culminates in the second coming of Christ. Almost the polar opposite of this view is the preterist view, which believes all of these events have already been fulfilled and relate to Jewish history, and likely terminated in 70 AD when the temple was destroyed.

The historical-critical interpretation views this as symbolic and figurative rather than a literal timeline. Many hold that the seventy weeks is symbolic of a complete period of judgment and restoration. Most in this camp will view the persecution of the Jews under Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the Maccabean revolt to be the fulfillment of Daniel’s words here. Many of the proponents of this view are modern critical scholars.

Another view is that these words here by Daniel are typological and foreshadowing prophecy that has multiple fulfillments. It might have a fulfillment in Antiochus IV, another fulfillment in the ministry of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem, as well as a future fulfillment in the end times. This is an attractive view in that it blends the best of historical and futurist perspectives.

Finally, one might take a covenantal interpretation of this passage. It is somewhat similar to the Messianic view but here it is focused upon covenants. In this view the seventy weeks are seen as a complete period marking the culmination of God’s redemptive plan for Israel. The end of these weeks signals the establishment of the new covenant through the work of Christ.

The Significance of Numbers in Scripture

The exact meaning of this “seventy sevens” or “seventy weeks” has been debated for years. In fact, even in the early church there was some debate and confusion about what exactly is meant by Daniel. I won’t pretend to have all of the answers, but one thing I do know – these numbers would have done for Daniel and his original audience what they don’t do for us. It is their “4th of July” or “9/11”.

For a Jewish person, 430 years would have held significant meaning. So would 49 years. And maybe so would 490 years. 430 years would connect to the Exodus story. You mention that and it’s a bit like saying “what are you doing on the 4th?” It was something which they celebrated every year at Passover. They’d have their kids up on their knees, telling them the story of how for 430 years they were in Egyptian bondage as a people and how God rescued them. You hear “430” and you think “rescue.”

‌But 430 isn’t in our text. Another number is 49. Or rather 490. Consider Leviticus 25:8, “You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty-nine years.” And what happened at the end of that 49 years? Leviticus tells us,

“Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan” (Leviticus 25:9).

‌After 49 years, there is Jubilee. A return, going back, no longer being captive, no longer being in bondage. Now add to this the biblical idea of something being “tenfold” to show abundant blessing and what do we have? What might be happening in Daniel? It is a tenfold Jubilee. As Jim Hamilton says,

“Just as liberty was proclaimed in Israel in the year of Jubilee, at the ultimate tenfold jubilee the captives will go free, the land inheritance will be enjoyed and clan fellowship restored.” (Hamilton, With the Clouds of Heaven, 126)

‌That is tracking with what we see in verse 24 when the angel says, “…finish the transgression, put an end to sin, atone for iniquity, bring in everlasting righteousness, seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place…” Most of what you read there happens in the year of Jubilee. It’s the end of captivity, the end of exile. The debt has been paid; you’ve been bought back.

‌I am convinced that rather than giving us some end times calendar, this “seventy sevens” is meant to encourage Daniel and show him that a tenfold year of Jubilee is coming. And I believe that this is ultimately fulfilled through the gospel of Jesus Christ. But my view is not the only view out there. There are a few other ways which people interpret this verse. I’ll give you a few and then circle back to how I understand this verse.

Symptoms

Symptoms depend on the type of dissociative disorder, but may include:

​A sense of being separated from yourself and your emotions.

​Thinking that people and things around you are distorted and not real.

​A blurred sense of your own identity.

​Severe stress or problems in relationships, work or other important areas of life.

​Not being able to cope well with emotional or work-related stress.

​Memory loss, also called amnesia, of certain time periods, events, people and personal information.

​Mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

What Are the Seventy Sevens in Daniel 9?

there are at least two great Veggie Tales flicks centering on stories from Daniel. Who doesn’t love the story of Rack, Shack, and Benny not bowing to idols? And how are we not inspired by the story of Daniel choosing the lion’s den over betraying God? The first few chapters of Daniel would make great children’s ministry sermons. But then it’d get more difficult.

The latter part of Daniel is…well…weird. He has dreams and visions of beasts and other creatures which correspond to world powers. He talks about events that will happen in his lifetime and in many years to come. He even talks about one angel getting held up in heavenly traffic having to fight another angel before he could get to Daniel. (Okay, there is no mention of traffic, but that is how it might read in our day.)

Then we come to Daniel 9 and it gets even more confusing. When is this referring to? What do all these numbers represent? Or, to answer our question today, what are the seventy sevens of Daniel 9? I’ll try to give you an answer and show you the significance of the meaning.

The Messiah Factors and Daniel 9

This background concerning shaba and seven brings me to Messiah Factors and Daniel 9. Remember Daniel 9 is the only prophecy in the Bible which provides a specific and datable timeline for the coming of the Messiah. It is my belief that these numbers, these prophetic messianic symbols are the means by which Yahweh intended the prophecy of 70 sevens to be calculated. What better way to ensure that His people (the Jewish People) understood that Yeshua is the Messiah of the Scriptures than connect the fulfillment of the prophecy of 70 Sevens with symbolism of Yahweh’s redemptive plan as found in the Torah of Moses?

Many well-meaning scholars and teachers on the other hand believe each “seven” of the 70 sevens represents either a day, a year, or even a so called “prophetic year”. The fact of this case is Daniel 9 simply does not provide a direct statement which tells us how long each of these sevens should be. Yahweh purposely withheld that information from the prophecy, or did He? Maybe be we just haven’t been paying attention.

If you’ve read my book Daniel’s 70 Weeks: Keystone of the Bible prophecy and the many articles I’ve written on the subject then you know that from Yahweh’s divine “commandment” (Hebrew – dabar) in 520 BC, using the Messiah Factors of 13 & 14 they give us the year of Yeshua birth (the coming of the Messiah) as well as the start of his ministry and the transfiguration. The astounding facts of the matter is that the Messiah Factors do in fact provide a solution which proves that Yeshua is the Messiah. They work, but the question remains, where they the intended solution?