We begin with the three sections of 14 generations. What is the significance of this?
First, the section of the fourteen generations of Adam is defined as Israel. To see this we will compare this genealogy in Matthew with the one given in Luke, then we will explain this. Next the second section of the fourteen generations of Israel is defined as Israel in preparation for the Son of Adam. This is until the exile into Babylon. Then the third section of fourteen generations Israel is defined as Israel being brought to Mashiach and presented to Mashiach to become the bride of Mashiach as the Last Adam.
In summary, the three periods are:
1) Adam defined as now being comprehended in the nation of Israel.
2) Israel is given the definition of being a nation in preparation for Mashiach.
3) Israel is given the definition of being a nation being presented to Mashiach.
These three periods represent three principles of the history of redemption. If two generations are taken off of each generation, or six off of one, etc., the three periods can be doubled to yield a number that is equivalent to 72. (3x24). 72 is a number which has great significance in the revelation of God as the God of Israel. As well, it has a unique relationship with the number, 70.
In summary, the three periods are:
1) Adam defined as now being comprehended in the nation of Israel.
2) Israel is given the definition of being a nation in preparation for Mashiach.
3) Israel is given the definition of being a nation being presented to Mashiach.
These three periods represent three principles of the history of redemption. If two generations are taken off of each generation, or six off of one, etc., the three periods can be doubled to yield a number that is equivalent to 72. (3x24). 72 is a number which has great significance in the revelation of God as the God of Israel. As well, it has a unique relationship with the number, 70.
There is a relationship between 42 (3x14) and 70 that is fundamental to the history of redemption. In terms of "weeks" or sevens, 42 is 6 sevens and 70 is 10 sevens. We will talk about this at a later point in connection with the 70 weeks appointed for the redemption of Israel from beginning to end. It is sufficient here to say that the genealogy of Yehoshua as the Messiah of Israel is written in a manner to make allusion to the redemption of Israel from beginning to end. The 28 "weeks" (2x14) remaining in the history of the redemption of Israel are enfolded or encoded into the 42 in a manner that reflects the nature of the concealment of the Messiah of Israel from Israel at the time of his death, resurrection and ascension into heaven.
As to the connection of the 42 generations from Abraham to Mashiach and the understanding of them as being in reference to the appointed period for Jerusalem and Israel's redemption - or the 70 weeks - we have the following from the K&D commentary which highlights the importance of the three sections of the 70 weeks:
Hoppolytus and Apollinaris of Laodicea, who, having regard to the prophecy of Antichrist, Dan 7:25, refer the statement of Dan 9:27 of this chapter, regarding the last week, to the end of the world; and the first half of this week they regard as the time of the return of Elias, the second half as the time of Antichrist. This view is for the first time definitely stated in the Berleburg Bible. But Kliefoth, in his Comm. on Daniel, was the first who sought to investigate and establish this opinion exegetically, and Leyrer (in Herz.'s Realenc. xviii. p. 383) has thus briefly stated it: - "The seventy שׁבעים, i.e., the καιροὶ of Daniel (Dan 9:24.) measured by sevens, within which the whole of God's plan of salvation in the world will be completed, are a symbolical period with reference to the seventy years of exile prophesied by Jeremiah, and with the accessory notion of oecumenicity. The 70 is again divided into three periods: into 7 (till Christ), 62 (till the apostasy of Antichrist), and one שׁבוּע, the last world - ἑπτά, divided into 2 x 3 1/2 times, the rise and the fall of Antichrist."
In Barnes Notes on this chapter we have:
"Of these periods of seven weeks, sixty-two weeks, and one week, the close of the first is distinguished by the completion of the rebuilding of the city; that of the second by the appearing of the Anointed One, or the Messiah, the Prince; that of the third by the finished confirmation of the covenant with the many for whom the saving blessings designated in Dan_9:24, as belonging to the end of the whole period, are designed."
In Barnes Notes on this chapter we have:
"Of these periods of seven weeks, sixty-two weeks, and one week, the close of the first is distinguished by the completion of the rebuilding of the city; that of the second by the appearing of the Anointed One, or the Messiah, the Prince; that of the third by the finished confirmation of the covenant with the many for whom the saving blessings designated in Dan_9:24, as belonging to the end of the whole period, are designed."
For our purposes we do not need to enter into the question of the historical or future interpretation of the 70 weeks. It is important to see that for either side of this question there is something about the three sections of weeks that characterizes them in a way that corresponds to the principle meaning of the three periods of the genealogy of Israel's Messiah. First, there is a period before Mashiach, then, secondly a period after Mashiach but before the last Judgment of Israel and the world, and then, finally, thirdly, a period of the last Judgment of Israel and the world when the conflict between Mashiach and the imitator of Mashiach will be open and direct.
When this is understood, it is possible to see that Matthew, by making it clear that the generations from Abraham to Mashiach Yehoshua (Jesus) are formed by design, made the meaning of this design to be understood as a key picture of this same redemption of Israel and the world. By understanding the relationship of the picture given in Daniel and that given here we will be able to gain insight into the mystery of manner of Mashiach's coming to Israel - that is, through revelation, concealment in Heaven and revelation again.
The picture given to Daniel of the 70 weeks is in answer to his prayer for Israel. As his prayer is for the nation, the corporate Israel, all 12 tribes as one, the answer must also be understood in this way. Only on this basis should it be understood as extending to the redemption and salvation of all the world.
According to one school of interpretation, the picture of the whole 70 weeks is from the end of the Babylonian captivity to the time of Yehoshua the Mashiach and up to the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem. Thus it would be a reference to the same period as the third period of the 42 generations from Abraham to Mashiach. If we fold this perspective back and look at how the 70 weeks can be, and have been, interpreted more strictly as a picture of the past or of the future, we can look at the way also, then, that the picture of the generations of time that led from the Babylonian captivity to Mashiach speak about the past and its relationship to the future. This method of looking at these pictures as different pictures of the same thing and as bringing out different facets of the same subject can then be employed to look at the whole 42 generations in their three fold manifestation in comparison with the 70 weeks in their very different three fold manifestation.
According to one school of interpretation, the picture of the whole 70 weeks is from the end of the Babylonian captivity to the time of Yehoshua the Mashiach and up to the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem. Thus it would be a reference to the same period as the third period of the 42 generations from Abraham to Mashiach. If we fold this perspective back and look at how the 70 weeks can be, and have been, interpreted more strictly as a picture of the past or of the future, we can look at the way also, then, that the picture of the generations of time that led from the Babylonian captivity to Mashiach speak about the past and its relationship to the future. This method of looking at these pictures as different pictures of the same thing and as bringing out different facets of the same subject can then be employed to look at the whole 42 generations in their three fold manifestation in comparison with the 70 weeks in their very different three fold manifestation.
Now, the 70 years of devastation prophesied by Jeremiah for Jerusalem and the Temple is the basis of these considerations. We see from Daniel how that such prophecy is to be understood in spiritual perspectives that are other than literal and their literal aspect is to be understood from first understanding the spiritual perspective of interpretation. There would be a recovery of Jerusalem and of the Temple after 70 literal years but it would only a change in heavenly decree that would be much longer than 70 literal years in manifesting. When that considerably longer time frame was finally fully manifest it would become apparent that the literal 70 years from the destruction of the first Temple to the decree for the rebuilding of Jerusalem that would lead to the building of the second Temple was only a period that was figuratively representative of the whole history of Israel’s redemption. This period clearly goes back to Egypt and in fact on another level it goes right back to Abraham himself. It then goes forward to the final resurrection. Once we see this we can also see that the 42 generations from Abraham to Mashiach have the spiritual attribute of the period of preparation in the overall history of the redemption of Israel and of the salvation of the world through the redemption of Israel. We can learn from these considerations, then, that when presented in an organic and whole picture of 3x14 generations there are keys of understanding that can be learned for how the whole history of Israel from beginning to final salvation is to be understood. This is the same knowledge in a different form that the angel brought to Daniel in the form of the 70 weeks revelation in answer to his prayer about the 70 years of Jeremiah’s prophecy.
So what are the keys given to us for understanding the past and future redemption of Israel in the 42 generations of Mashiach’s genealogy as recorded by Matthew? As in verse 17 of chapter one we read:
“So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Messiah are fourteen generations.”
We can read this not as three sections but as three movements of redemption, or of the preparation for Mashiach. We have first the movement from Abraham to David. Then we have the movement from David to Babylon. Then we have the movement from Babylon to Mashiach. What is it that has transpired in these movements?
From Abraham to David we have the development of the prophetic definition of Mashiach. Various aspects of this can be unfolded. From David to Babylon we have the movement toward the complete failure of the House of David to bring about the realization of the Messianic Kingdom. There are also many aspects of this that could be unfolded. In the movement from Babylon to Mashiach we have the portrayal of the development of the process of the dying of Israel and of Mashiach. But here, above all, there are many aspects that need to be unfolded, for this dying of Israel is an aspect of the covenant of God with Abraham and is to lead to resurrection from the dead. This dying is itself a life-producing action and therefore a deep spiritual knowledge of it can lead to a knowledge of how the future of Israel’s redemption is to unfold.
Let us go back to the revelation of the 70 weeks to Daniel. Many different views have been expressed about how the words spoken by the angel to Daniel are to be understood. They are spoken to Daniel in response to sincere prayer for Jerusalem and for Israel and should only be studied with the same prayer. An analytical approach to ascertain the time of the end or the time of Mashiach in terms of years, etc. requires a different mind set than the mind of prayer and listening. If we are truly listening to what is being said, even if we do not at first understand the reason for many things that are said, we will hear that it is really only elements of death and dying, of sacrifice, of purging and cleansing that are revealed - but altogether what is revealed is that it is eternal life that is revealed in this prophecy of death and purging.
“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”
All of these words have to do with the ultimate purpose of the Temple and its sacrificial services. It is for this reason that the focus of all these prophecies is upon Jerusalem. Because there is an aspect of all elements of atonement being accomplished for Israel while the Temple is in a state of destruction there is an aspect of revelation here that the destruction of the Temple is accomplishing the work of atonement that was not accomplished within it.
In our day and time when the city of Jerusalem is rebuilt in a most tremendous fashion, we must seriously examine this prophetic revelation given Daniel. How in the end will we come to understand these things in relation to the city with and without the Temple? How will we come to understand these things in relation to the resurrection of Yahoshua the Mahsiach of Israel form the dead and the new Jerusalem?
When Daniel prayed for understanding concerning the Final Redemption of Israel and the coming of Her Mature testimony to Hashem as the Creator of Heaven and Earth, he did so because it was evident that this knowledge should be concealed to all but those who had been made suited in the work of Godliness and who were called to this knowledge. Why then should anyone think that when the answer came to him it would be transparent to anyone? Rather, it is appropriate that it should come in a form that is obscure and requires a special position and relationship with the word of God to understand. When Matthew wants to allude to this very body of knowledge at the outset of his record of the good news of Israel and Her Messiah he does so in a way that only those who are paying the closest attention will recognize. We will not come to a certain knowledge and understanding of these things by scholarship alone. However that we are equipped with a broad training in the Scriptures and teachings of the Godly who have come before us is essential.
To begin, let us compare two things together, that which the angel, Gabriel said to Daniel about the message he brought on the one hand and the concept that this brief scroll of the genealogy of the Messiah of Israel is a representational reference to the whole of the Holy Scriptures on the other hand. What Gabriel said to Daniel is that there is an overall time frame or time period appointed for the full redemption and sanctification of Israel. This time frame is given the name of "Seventy Weeks", in order to reveal it to Daniel but keep it concealed from whom it needs be concealed. So we can on this level look at the whole history of Israel from beginning to completion of her purpose in the service of God as being called, "Seventy Weeks." In the same way we can the 42 generations from Abraham to Messiah as a representation of the whole history of Israel, because the generation of Messiah certainly did not end with his birth and it also did not end with his death, but rather continues by way of his resurrection from the dead unto eternity. However, the meaning of his messiahship is something that must ultimately be measured in terms of the full and complete redemption of Israel and the bringing of her to the place of the fulfillment of her purpose in the serving of God. Therefore with both measures we are talking about the same thing. Why then does Gabriel tell Daniel that the measuring of the 70 weeks should be counted from the time of the decree of the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Temple?
We can look at this statement as a statement that at the point of this decree we are stepping outside of the world's time and going back to the beginning of Israel, back to the call to Abraham to come forth out of the same land that Israel is now being called to come forth out of. Thus we see that one level of revelation and interpretation of the 70 weeks folds them all into the first 7 weeks - and on this level these are the same thing. There are 7 weeks from the decree, the call to come out of Babylon, as it were, until the coming of Messiah. And this will prove to be one with the last group of 14 generations or with the 42 generations over all on the deeper level of Abraham's call spiritually equals Israel's call.
We are then left with 62 weeks and one final week. We are already seeing that starting by looking at these weeks as only being literal years conceals them from us rather than reveals them to us. We will therefore not start by thinking of the 62 weeks or the 70th week in terms of only literal years. We observe with clarity that the time during which there is a building that takes place under Messiah's supervision but during trying times is much longer than any other section of time in the 70 weeks and that the final period when the adversary has power to destroy everything is much shorter than any other period. We are also to remember that the 70 weeks are a spiritual body of time like the 49 years that come before the 50th Jubilee year. The 49 years are symbolic of this whole period, once again. It is as if you took the idea of 7 x7 and expanded it to 70 x 7 but instead of only talking about literal years (which can still enter into the symbolism representationally), you are talking about a heavenly reckoning of measures that are outside of time. So after the 49 years is the 50th year that is representative of the final redemption of Israel and liberation of Creation, and after the 70th week there is an immeasurable period of Messianic Glory for Israel and liberation of Creation.
So the 70th week is clearly the most intense for Israel but the suffering is for a short period and afterward yields the peaceable fruits of righteousness. We can ask, then, why the first seven weeks are distinguished from the sixty-two weeks. We see from the representation of this period by the 42 generations that this is the aspect of complete redemption which takes place in first the revelation and then the concealment of Messiah. Since in his concealment there is the aspect of his suffering, the point which corresponds to this at the other end of the sixty-nine weeks, which is the end of the sixty-two weeks that follow, also represent the aspect of suffering. It is the culmination of the suffering of Israel due to Messiah's concealment. Messiah's concealment finally leads to his power to build Israel up being cut off and the adversary having freedom to come to power over Israel for a short time, but not without the power of the resurrection of Messiah being revealed at the end.
So we have now laid the foundation for understanding these things in greater detail. We can now understand the meaning of the Temple and the building of the Temple in this context of the ultimate redemption of Israel. We will return to this foundation of understanding in later chapters.
