THE “SEASONS” REVEALED IN

“DANIEL’S SEVENTY WEEKS”

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven… A time to search and a time to quit searching…”

Ec 3:1,6 NLT

“…Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.” Jer 5:24 KJV

“But now I will take back the ripened grain and new wine

I generously provided each harvest.” Hosea 2:9 KJV

The Bible clearly teaches anyone who will see and hear that the Lord has overlaid His prophetic plan for the nation of Israel and the world upon the agricultural calendar year of Israel . The past, present and future events in this magnificent plan cannot just occur at any time haphazardly, at random or on an arbitrary basis. As taught in the Biblical texts above, “for everything there is a season,” an “appointed harvest” in which to begin and end God’s judgment against national Israel and the world. These “appointed weeks” cover two harvests- the “grain harvest” which always begins in the season of spring time at the end of “the latter rain” and four months later, in the season of “grape harvest” at the end of summer, just before “the season of former rain” begins to open.

You remember the great prophetic promise that the Holy One of Israel made to His people, Israel , in Hosea 6:1-3:

“Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.”

This is a telescoping prophecy, a recurring promise, the last half of which has already been fulfilled…and yet…waits…to be fulfilled again. It is a “seasonal” promise! Proper understanding of this text reveals an appointed “seasonal year”…in appointed “seasonal month(s)” for Y’shua’s coming to His people, Israel . Also by understanding Scripture, the particular appointed “harvest(s) seasons” in which these events will occur may also be clearly discerned.

By understanding Zacharias’ appointment to the “eighth priestly course of Abijah,” it is possible to know that Elizabeth , his wife became with child (John the Baptist) around the end of June or early July. Scripture tells us that Elizabeth “hid herself for five months” before she visited Mary who was with child, who obviously was “overshadowed” by the Holy Spirit in the season of winter when “the WORD became flesh” in Kislev (late November-December). Nine months later, Y’shua, the Savior and the King of Israel, was born in the month of Tishri, in the season of fall at the time of the “early/former rain.” About 30 years later, Y’shua appeared to Israel in the spring season at the time of “the latter rain” when He was immediately “announced and anointed” as the Messiah of Israel at His baptism by His Heavenly Father, followed immediately by His 40 day “trial” in the wilderness. Y’shua the Messiah of Israel was anointed at the beginning of His ministry, NOT at the Cross!

You will notice that three of the four annual agricultural “seasons” have already been fulfilled by Y’shua on His own “prophetic calendar.” The fourth season, summer, yet remains to be fulfilled in the future. This will be “the season of wheat harvest” preceded by the barley and flax harvest a little earlier in the spring. The grain harvest reveals the time of the opening of the first half of the Tribulation, known as “the travail of the woman,” when the called-out remnant of Judah and Israel begin to be judged along with a remnant of Gentiles. This “appointed” season of wheat harvest covers a real and a symbolic time of “four months” during the summer time when the Jewish and Gentile remnant are gathered in the first half of the Tribulation as “wheat,” brought to the “threshing floor” of Y’shua’s judgment, where they must be “threshed out and fanned” in order that the “wicked chaff” can be separated out and blown away by the summer breezes. Daniel 2:35 says this: “Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.”

Y’shua spoke about the wheat harvest in John 4, representing the first 3.5 years of the Tribulation, and then mentioned the second harvest “four months later” in verse 35, as a symbol of time that begins the last half of the Tribulation, in the middle of the Tribulation as the “appointed” season of grape harvest at the end of summer. The grape harvest opens the time of the full, unrestrained outpouring of the wrath of God upon the wholly wicked of Israel and the Gentiles, and represents the last 3 ½ years of the Tribulation, “the times of the Gentiles” and will also be the terrible time of ‘Jacob’s Trouble.’

Now we can understand what was meant by God’s prophecy to the nation of Israel about the beginning of their final Day of Judgment in Hosea 2:9-11, when He said:

“Therefore do I turn back, And I have taken My corn (grain) in its season, And My new wine in its appointed time, And I have taken away My wool and My flax, covering her nakedness. And now do I reveal her dishonour before the eyes of her lovers, And none doth deliver her out of My hand. And I have caused to cease all her joy, Her festival, her new moon, and her sabbath, Even all her appointed times…”

Young’s Literal Translation

Surely, “for everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.”

But wait, there is something so exciting to realize and recognize about the wondrous prophecy and puzzle of Daniel’s “Seventy Weeks,” which concerns the “determined time” for two subjects…“upon thy people” and “upon thy holy city.”

In Daniel 8:13, “that certain (S)aint” whose transliteration in Hebrew is “Palmoni,” the “Wonderful Numberer”…the “Numberer of Secrets” who is none other than Y’shua, Himself, tells Gabriel to go forth and give Daniel “skill and understanding” in order “to show” Daniel what the future held for his own “thy people.”

There are ‘4’ revealed, progressive steps to Daniel’s prophecy, with one step implied, which makes a total of ‘5’ steps or parts. The number ‘5’ in Scripture represents the number of “Grace” and “God’s Goodness” to His people, according to Ed Vallowe’s ‘Biblical Mathematics, Keys to Scripture Numerics.’

In addition to the seasons of the appointed harvests in their appointed months revealed in the prophecy, there is an additional recurring “season” which is, inside “the Sabbatical year” of the nation of Israel ! A repeatable pattern for this “season” is able to be documented from history and from Scripture which pertains to 3 parts of the puzzle, implied for the 4^th, with absolute Scriptural proof for the 5^th.

To begin, the Lord allowed a most important historical date to be recorded in II Kings 18/19, which awaited discovery for thousands of years in the future. This involved the important attempted destruction of the city of Jerusalem by “the Assyrian,” king Sennacherib, in “the fourteenth year of Hezekiah.” Hezekiah’s “fourteenth year” is a historically documented date of 701 b.c.,* as that attempted invasion was recorded on a stone “stele” by Sennacherib himself. But the very important fact about this date is…through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord gave His reassuring message to king Hezekiah in II Kings 19:29 , that all would be well, when He said… “And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such things as grow of themselves, and in the second year that which springeth of the same; and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruits thereof.”

What the Lord repeated to Judah and king Hezekiah at that time was the Sabbatical and Jubilee principle found in Leviticus 25: 1-13,22. We can be assured by using the phrase “this year,” the Lord was not only referring to a Sabbatical year that year for the nation of Israel, but that it was also their ‘49^th’ year of a ‘Jubilee cycle with its 50^th year to follow (the eighth year that followed the seventh year), which is actually year 1, of the next 49 years. {*pgs 174-176, “The Mysterious Numbers of the Hebrew Kings,” by Edwin R. Thiele. Only one of several reference sources available}

The Bible does not tell us in what month or harvest “season” Sennacherib made his attempt to invade Judah . But we can surmise that it most likely was in the spring time, at the end of “the latter rain” in order for the chariot wheels not to become stuck in the mud. Also, there is an over-arching principle laid down in II Samuel 11:1, that says this: “And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel ; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem .” From Exodus 12:1 through to the end of the Bible, all Bible dating is recorded as beginning on the Sacred year, from Nisan to Nisan, from spring to spring.

From that very critical Sabbatical year which began on Tishri 1, 702 b.c. of which the majority year was 701 b.c., telescoping forward 245 years, (or five Jubilee cycles, 5x49), one comes to 457/456 b.c.

The Bible student is able to verify from several sources that 457/456 b.c. was the historically documented “seventh year of king Artaxerxes,” who gave Ezra, the prophet and priest, his decree. Ezra was a lineal descendent of Eleazar, son of Aaron, the high priest, and from Seraiah, the chief priest.

11: Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to Israel .
12: Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time.
13: I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee. Ezra 7

Note how the Bible describes Ezra, a man well qualified to “restore and build Jerusalem ”…as to the judicial system, the levitical system, the society of Judah in general…

6: Thus Ezra went up from Babylon ; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the LORD God of Israel had given: and the king granted him his entire request, according to the hand of the LORD his God upon him.
7: And there went up some of the children of Israel , and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, unto Jerusalem , in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king. Ezra 7

[ Many try to say that it was Artaxerses’ “decree” to Nehemiah that began the count-down of Daniel’s ‘70’ weeks. But by close reading of the text of Nehemiah 2, you will note from the KJV that a “decree” was NEVER given to Nehemiah by Artaxerxes. Nehemiah only received “letters” upon which were written the king’s instructions and guarantee for safe passage through various territories through which Nehemiah had to travel in order to reach Jerusalem . Note again carefully, what the Bible says:

7: Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;
8: And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me. Nehemiah 2

Nehemiah, the cupbearer to the king, was only appointed to rebuild the WALL of Jerusalem . Note this verse in Nehemiah 1:

3: And they said unto me, The remnant that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.

Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem between 445-444 b.c. This was 12-13 years AFTER the beginning of the countdown of Daniel’s ’70 weeks’ in 457/456 b.c. Neither 445 b.c. nor 444 b.c. were Israel ’s Sabbatical year, and therefore could never qualify for the beginning of Daniel’s “seventy sevens!” (449 b.c. and 442 b.c. were the nearest Sabbatical years. ‘69 weeks’ or 483 years forward from 449 b.c. would have put Y’shua’s arrival in Israel at 34 a.d., and 442 b.c. plus 483 years would have been 41 a.d, for His arrival, both of which are completely out of the realm of possibility for the date of the beginning ministry of Y’shua to the nation of Israel! ) Nehemiah was a ‘political’ figure, as he later became the governor of Judah . Ezra was a ‘priestly, Levitical figure who was the one qualified to “set up” the society on all levels in Judah . Again, only 457/456 b.c. is the historically documented date for “the seventh year of Artaxerxes” in Ezra 7. Ezra was the “appointed man” for the “appointed hour” in order to accomplish the “appointed task.”

Another absolutely important point to make is the following: The Holy Spirit means EXACTLY what He says…when He writes the phrase: “Seventy weeks are determined…” He expects us as Bible students to understand this as written. This is a mathematical computation written in words: “70 7’s,” 70 x 7 ! Not parts of 70...based upon “fractional counting” in order to make a preconceived pattern fit properly! He has written simple and straight forward “baby mathematics”…70 x 7 = 490 years! “Seven weeks” = 49 years. “Sixty-two weeks” = 434 years. “Seven weeks + sixty-two weeks = “sixty-nine weeks” = 69 x 7 = 483 years!

As this prophecy is written exclusively to Daniel’s “thy people,” which are to be understood as the Jewish people, and Judah, in particular, it is absolutely clear that the Holy Spirit meant for this puzzle based on “seventy sevens”…to be interpreted in terms of Israel’s own God-given 7 year Sabbatical cycle. To attempt to calculate this very key Bible prophecy apart from that ongoing, consecutive Sabbatical schedule of the nation of Israel , will ALWAYS lead the Bible student into faulty interpretation based upon gross error! This is the reason God allowed particular and key dating to be known and preserved throughout history in order to establish His correct anchor points marked out all along the way in order to lead the Bible student and the believing Jew…into the true interpretation of this prophecy, from the beginning to the end!

Daniel’s chapter 9 prophecy:

Step 1: Verse 25 says: “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem …” This was the beginning of Daniel’s ’70’ weeks. On Tishri 1, 457 b.c.** the “appointed season” of Israel’s Sabbatical year opened, which was not only a ‘7^th year’ but was also ‘a 49^th year’ of a Jubilee cycle! While the Bible does not clearly state exactly what month Artaxerxes issued his appointed “decree” to Ezra in Ezra 7, the Bible clearly does tell us what “season” the “70 Weeks” begins! It was the season of spring time in the year 456 b.c. Ezra 7:9 says: “For upon the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon , and on the first day of the fifth month came he to Jerusalem , according to the good hand of his God upon him.”

Please note that “the appointed season” for Year 1, 457/456 b.c., of Daniel’s ‘Seventy Weeks’ prophecy…BEGAN in the appointed month on Nisan 1, during the spring- inside the Sabbatical year, and Ezra’s journey to Jerusalem covered the major portion of summer time until his arrival on Av 1! This would have been in the season of the barley and the wheat harvest!

**How can we truly determine the date of King Artaxerxes’ decree to Ezra to calculate if indeed, this would fulfill the requirements of the angel Gabriel’s instructions? Remember: In Judaism…the Civil year and the new Sabbatical year, begin in the fall of one (Gregorian) year…on Tishri 1, for 3 months, with the majority of that same Jewish year continuing over into the following (Gregorian) year, which I refer to as “the majority year,” which then ends on Elul 29, in late summer.

First: from dedication.www3.50megs.com/456.html:

Quote: “Historians compare many things in history to make up a historical calendar to which we can relate. One of the more reliable ways is to compare the Egyptian calendar with the Ptolemy's Canon or history record. The Egyptian's did not adjust their calendar. They had exactly 365 days in each year and didn't seem to worry if the calendar got ahead of the stars. Sir Isaac Newton studying this historical evidence concluded that Ezra took the Artaxerxes' decree to Jerusalem in 457 B.C. This was placed in the margin of the King James Version in 1701.” [end of quote]

The Holy Spirit gives us clues to the answer of this question. First, Ezra 7:7-8 says: “And there went up some of the children of Israel , and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, unto Jerusalem , in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king. And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king.”

[ If Artaxerxes ‘7^th’ year began in the fall of 457 b.c., the following spring of the new year, 456 b.c. would STILL be ‘Artaxerxes 7^th year’ according to the Jewish calendar! ]

A majority of scholars agree that the ‘Artaxerxes’ of Ezra was the Persian king Artaxerxes I, who was also known as ‘Longimanus.’ It is a documentable, historical fact that his father, King Xerxes, was King Ahasuerus of the book of Esther. King Xerxes died in December of 465 b.c. At the time his son Artaxerxes I came to the throne, the Persians determined the year of their kings’ reign from spring to spring. The months preceding the first spring of their reign were considered to be the ‘ascension year.’

restoredcog/articles/witswo.html says the following:

“According to the Jews, the first year of Artaxerxes’ reign was from September, 464 b.c., to the following September, 463 b.c. This means that the seventh year of Artaxerxes’ reign would have taken place from about September, 457 until September, 456 b.c. Since the trip of Ezra and his company took five months to complete and they arrived at Jerusalem during the fifth month (Ezra 7:8), therefore, the return still would have fallen within the seventh year of Artaxerxes’ reign.”

(**Ezra 7: 9 says: “For upon the first day of the first month [Nisan, spring time] began he to go up from Babylon , and on the first day of the fifth month [Av] came he to Jerusalem .” 457.5 b.c. would have been the spring of 456 b.c. )

“Basically, from 536 b.c. to 456 b.c., (80 years), the Israelites were a struggling group of people with no real government, city or well-defined country. They built themselves houses and managed to build a temple. It wasn’t until Artaxerxes came to the throne in 464 b.c. that we actually see them rebuilding the city. It was during Artaxerxes’ reign that the adversaries (on the other side of the River Euphrates ) appealed for legislation to stop Israel , for they were ‘building a rebellious and evil city.

So we see Ezra receiving his decree from Artaxerxes in 457.5 b.c. (in the spring of 456 b.c., in the seventh year of Artaxerxes). The decree gives further help in establishing the temple, but it also gives Israel the right to self-government. Up until 457(.5) b.c., the leaders in Judea were no more than county commissioners. They could look after local problems but they did not have judicial or executive authority. Now they did! They could set up their own magistrates and judges to carry out their laws. Now, they were recognized as a nation. This is why this decree is so important to the reestablishment of Jerusalem!” [end of quote]

Bible Teaching Notes.com

“In recent years scholarly study has produced ten pieces of evidence for the sabbatical cycle in postexilic times. Plotting these particular years on a graph, they have extrapolated the placement of each sabbatical year for the era of the second Temple . On this basis, it can now be determined that 457(.5) b.c. (the spring of 456 b.c. inside the majority Sabbatical year…that began in the fall of 457 b.c.) and 27 a.d. and 34 a.d. ( the 70-weeks prophecy in Daniel 9:24 -27) were sabbatical years (see William H. Shea, “Unity of Daniel,” Symposium on Daniel [ Washington , D.C. : Biblical Research Institute, 1986], pp. 226, 252-255).”

Step 2, is found in verse 25: “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks…” “Seven weeks” = 7x7 years which is 49 years, a Jubilee cycle. 457/456 b.c. minus 49 years = 408/407 b.c. which was in the “season” of the Sabbatical year. The Lord also allowed this date to be recorded in history and found later by archaeology. A letter was written on papyri from the Egyptian community of Elephantine to Sanballat, the governor of Samaria .

http://www.studylight.org/enc/isb/view.cgi?number=T7624

Quote: Renewed interest has been awakened in Sanballat from the fact that he is mentioned in the papyri I and II of Sachau (Die aramaischen Papyrusurkunden aus Elephantine, Berlin, 1908, and in his later work, Aramaische Papyrus und Ostraka, Leipzig, 1911; compare Staerk's convenient edition in Lietzmanns Kleine Texte, Number 32, 1908) as having been the governor (pachath) of Samaria some time before the 17th year of Darius (Nothus), i.e. 408-407 BC, when Bagohi was governor of Judah. His two sons, Delaiah and Shelemiah, received a letter from Jedoniah and his companions the priests who were in Yeb ( Elephantine ) in Upper Egypt . This letter contained information concerning the state of affairs in the Jewish colony of Yeb, especially concerning the destruction of the temple or synagogue (agora) which had been erected at that place,” End of Quote

Step 3: Verse 25 says: “…unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.” “62 weeks x 7 weeks” = 434 years. 408/407 b.c. minus 434 years = 26/27 a.d. That Sabbatical year opened on Tishri 1, 26 a.d. Y’shua came to Israel at the time of the “season of the latter rain,” in the spring of 27 a.d., inside the Sabbatical year, in the “season of the barley harvest.”

[ The Law of Moses mandates that the lamb selected as the Passover lamb must be selected out on the “the tenth day of the first month” (Nisan/Abib: Exodus 12:3). The lamb was to be held and inspected by each family for four days, “until the fourteenth day,” at which time it was to be slaughtered on “the fourteenth day” “at the evening” or “betwixt the evenings” which is always 3:00 p.m., “the ninth hour” in Judaism (Exodus 12: 6). Y’shua told Israel that the only sign they would receive would be as “Jonas… and so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth” (Matt 23:40 ). Y’shua meant exactly what He said. From sundown to sundown- for three days - is exactly 72 hours. We can know for sure that according to John 12:1 and 12, that Y’shua rode into Jerusalem to present Himself as the Passover Lamb to the House of Israel…on Sabbath, Nisan 10, which then means He was crucified four days later, on Wednesday, Nisan 14, and rose again from the dead at the end of the following Sabbath, on Nisan 17, which was the beginning of Nisan 18, the “feast of Firstfruits,” on the “morrow after the sabbath.” Lev 23:11

According to three ancient Hebrew calendars, there were only TWO years from 25 a.d. thru 36 a.d. in which Nisan 10 fell on a Sabbath (which ALWAYS occurs in a year of ‘perfect order’), which years were 27 a.d. and 30 a.d. only. ]

Verse 24 clearly states that the six requirements of Daniel’s prophecy MUST be accomplished INSIDE or WITHIN the full “seventy weeks” of the prophecy and not OUTSIDE the full “seventy weeks.” Only Y’shua could accomplish and finish all of these six requirements within the “70 weeks,” and He did, at the Cross, with His death, burial and resurrection. The six requirements are:

“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.”

Therefore, Y’shua already fulfilled the first half of Daniel’s ‘70’^th week, the first half of the last week of the prophecy, which was “upon thy people,” beginning in the season of the grain harvest.

This initial fulfillment by Y’shua of the first half of Daniel’s 70^th week, was an absolute necessity “upon thy people” with His 3 year ministry and His sacrifice on the Cross of His own body. By accomplishing and fulfilling the six requirements of the prophecy in the first half of the ‘70’th week, Y’shua, the Messiah made it possible by believing on Him, for Daniel’s “thy people” and the Gentiles to first enter the Kingdom of Heaven spiritually, in order that they might enter the Kingdom of Heaven physically, beginning in the MIDDLE of the Tribulation, at which time the “the last half” of Daniel’s ‘70^th week’ will open, and then at the end of the last half of the ‘70’th week, at the end of the Tribulation.

From Tishri 1, 26 a.d. to the spring of 30 a.d. = 3.5 years, one half of that Sabbatical cycle, which was the first half of the ‘70’^th week of Daniel.

If the nation of Israel had accepted Y’shua as their Messiah-Redeemer, 3 ½ years after the Cross in 30 a.d. would have been the last year of Daniel’s prophecy, as well as the next Sabbatical year in 33/34 a.d., and would have been the final 490^th year of the prophecy. Then, on Tishri 10, 34 a.d., on the Day of Atonement, the ‘50’^th year would have opened ( the 1st year of the next 49 years) which would have inaugurated the opening year of Millennial Kingdom on Earth, the first Jubilee year of the next 1,000 years.

But, because of the nation’s refusal to accept Him, the Lord obviously cut-off Israel’s scheduled Jubilee cycle at the Cross, at the same time as the “cutting off of the Anointed One, until the end of the future 490^th year, as the ending year of the Tribulation, at which time the Jubilee cycle will then be picked up and reinstituted, resulting in the first Jubilee year of twenty, in the Millennial Kingdom on Earth. However, He graciously allowed Israel to maintain their continued 7 year Sabbatical cycle, exactly on perfect course, at least from 702/701 b.c. through to the present date today in order, so they and we as Bible students could always be able to know where we are on God’s prophetic calendar according to His “appointed seasons.”

[ The Lord carefully “marked out” a pathway thru history, preserving dates by document, which lead the Jewish as well as the Gentile Bible student though His prophetically-timed plan, which is based upon and overlaid on the nation of Israel’s on-going Sabbatical cycle: beginning with 702/701 b.c. to 457/456 b.c. to 408/407 b.c. to 26/27 a.d. How gracious and thoughtful of Him ! ]

Y’shua, the Messiah-Redeemer, already fulfilled the first half of Daniel’s ‘70^th week’, at the end of the latter rain, “upon thy people” at the time of the grain harvest, beginning with the barley harvest.

Step 4: (Implied) Because the final year of the prophecy is not only a ‘7’^th year, but a ‘49’^th year as well as the final ‘490’^th year, that final year absolutely must fall in Israel ’s Sabbatical year. Therefore, since the Tribulation is 7 years long, then of course, we can know for sure that the beginning year of the 7 years of Tribulation must also begin in “the season” of the Sabbatical year.

But with careful study, there are additional “seasons” which need to be recognized in Scripture surrounding the beginning of the Tribulation.

First of all, our key verse above in Hosea 2:9 opens with the words…“But now I will take back the ripened grain…” This verse is clearly to be understood in the context of the beginning of final judgment against the nation of Israel and the Gentiles. Jeremiah 5:25 goes further to state that the Lord … “reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest…”

When one compares these two verses with Revelation 14:14-16, we see that “the Son of man” puts in the first sickle into the “ripe” (grain) harvest of the Earth. The term “Son of man” is a Jewish name for Y’shua. He is never called by that name in the General Epistles to the Church. The last time it is used before the Jewish book of Revelation, chapter 1, is in Acts, as well- a Jewish book- in chapter 7, when Stephen is stoned. Looking into Heaven he views “the Son of man standing on the right hand of God,” Acts 7:56 .

The word “ripe” in Revelation 14: 15 (“the harvest of the earth is ripe” ) in Greek is Strong’s #3583 and #3584, which is Xeraino and Xeros, means “dry, withered, deprived of juice/fluids.” The only harvest in Israel that is ready to sickle when ‘dry’ is the grain harvest, beginning with barley in the spring, followed by flax and finally wheat, which extends throughout the nation of Israel’s summer months (Jer 15:7, Hab 3:12; Hosea 9:2; Matt 3:12; Luke 3:17).

Contrast the Greek word “ripe” two verses later in Revelation 14: 18, when the angel puts in the second sickle… (“for her grapes are fully ripe”), is Strong’s # 187, “Akmazo” which comes from #188 which means “the point of a weapon,” “ to flourish, ripen, be in one’s prime” i.e. as in “fully ripe and full of juice”…as it is an ANTONYM- just the opposite- of #3583/3584 “Xeraino” (“dried up and withered”) in verse 15!

How much clearer could it be? The Lord has “appointed the grain harvest” when He plans “to take back His ripened grain,” beginning with the barley, followed by the wheat as the beginning of the Day of Judgment against the nation of Israel which will commence with her “travail with the birth pangs of the Messiah.” Moreover, this harvest occurs at the end of “the season of the latter rain.” Additionally, as the Sabbatical year will have opened that previous fall on Tishri 1, this will allow that “appointed” spring time grain harvest to again be “inside the Sabbatical year.”

I personally believe that we now can know that it is at the time of the “barley harvest” which the Lord has “appointed” in order to “take back His ripened firstfruits” of the “Bride of Christ,” just as the Bible unmistakably teaches that the nation of Israel and the Gentiles represent the wheat harvest, beginning with the “firstfruits” of the 144,000 of Israel, which must be “taken back” and brought to the “threshing floor,” “threshed out” and “processed” in the first half of the Tribulation. The act of “threshing” is a symbol of judgment. The Bride does not have to be “threshed out in judgment.”

However, the Biblical grain harvesting involved the process of cutting with the sickle, gathering into bundles which were then brought to the threshing floor where the heads of grain where then “winnowed.” Winnowing involved throwing the barley heads into the air with a shovel or a fan, which then allowed the air to separate out the good grain from the “chaff,” causing the chaff to fall to the ground for later collection and burning in the furnace ! Winnowing usually took place in the evening in order to catch the maximum evening breezes. Note that Ruth 3:2 says: “And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the threshingfloor.”

Wheat was also winnowed in the Bible, as evidenced by what is said in Isaiah 41:16, Matthew 3:12 and Luke 3: 17 , (in the Holman Christian Bible and inferred in the KJV).

In the Bible days, barley was the most humble and universal of grains, grown in universal locations on the Earth, consumed by universal people and animals, and was the staple food of the universally poor and the humble. Barley was referred to as “slave’s bread.”

I believe that Y’shua will fulfill the barley harvest ( Ruth 3) with the resurrection/rapture of the Bride as His own “firstfruits” as James 1:18 says, and will occur on the “appointed” day of “Firstfruits,” which always is to fall according to Leviticus 23:10-11, on “the morrow after the sabbath” after the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Did you know that the word, “firstfruits” in Greek, contains encoded “clues” for proper understanding that fits perfectly with not only revealing the nature and function of the Bride, but also her “disappearance?”

In James 1:18 , the word “firstfruits” is Strong’s # 536 ‘ Arpache’ a feminine noun, which means:

to take away the firstfruits of the productions of the earth which was offered to God. The first portion of the dough, from which sacred loaves were to be prepared. Hence term used of persons consecrated to God for all time.
persons superior in excellence to others of the same class

from Strong’s # 575, which is ‘ Apo ’ a preposition, meaning:

of separation

a. of local separation, after verbs of motion from a place i.e. of departing, of fleeing, ...

b. of separation of a part from the whole

1. where of a whole some part is taken

c. of any kind of separation of one thing from another by which the union or fellowship of the two is destroyed

d. of a state of separation, that is of distance

1. physical, of distance of place

2. temporal, of distance of time

of origin

a. of the place whence anything is, comes, befalls, is taken

from Strong’s # 756, which is ‘Archomai’ a verb, meaning:

to be the first to do (anything), to begin
to be chief, leader, ruler
to begin, make a beginning

from Strong’s #757, which is ‘Archo’ a verb, meaning:

to be chief, to lead, to rule, ( as in reign over )

It is truly amazing to think about the choice of the word “firstfruits” by the Holy Spirit, with all its Hebrew and “Greek shadings” to depict Y’shua, the Son of God, “the firstfruits of them that slept,” then the Bride of Christ, “a type of first fruits,” followed by the 144,000, “the firstfruits of God and the Lamb,” at the beginning of the Tribulation, which follows “after these things” (Rev 7:1) …the breaking open of the first Six Seal judgments!

One last point about the day of “Firstfruits” must be made: In any one year, beginning on “the morrow after the Sabbath,” the “counts of days” which Y’shua revealed to Daniel in chapter 12, regarding the first half of the Tribulation, i.e. the 1260^th, the 1290^th and the 1335^th day, always fall out on the same day of the year!

Example:

From: “the morrow after the sabbath”:

+ 1260 days = Tishri 10/11 (Rev 11:3; 12:14 )

+ 1263.5 dys = Tishri 14/15 ( Rev 11:11 )

+ 1290 days = Heshvan 10/11 (Dan 12:11 )

+ 1335 days = Kislev 25/26 (Dan 12:12 )

Remember what our apostle Paul, said to us, the Bride in Romans 6:5:

“For if we have been joined with Him in the likeness of His death, we will certainly also be in the likeness of His resurrection.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible

The word “likeness” is Strong’s #3667 ‘Homoioma,’ a noun

that which has been made after the likeness of something
1. a figure, image, likeness, representation
2. likeness i.e. resemblance, such as amounts almost to equality or identity

Derived from: #3666 ‘Homoioo,’ a verb

to be made like
to liken, compare
1. illustrate by comparisons

Derived from: #260 ‘ Hama ,’ an adverb

at the same time, at once, together

Preposition

together with

Y’shua will come again, this time for His own Bride, at the end of the latter rain, in the season of the grain, in order to first harvest His own ‘firstfruits’ of the barley, and then begin the Tribulation with the harvest of the ‘firstfruits’ of the wheat- the 144,000 of Israel, followed by the calling-out of the remaining remnant of Israel and the Gentiles during the first half of the Tribulation.

To summarize the “implied” part ‘4’ of Daniel’s puzzle: We can know for sure from Scripture itself as to the “appointed year,” the “appointed season and appointed month”- at the end of the latter rain,” the “appointed harvest”…and I believe, the very “appointed day” when this next… to the last part of Daniel’s prophecy will begin!

Step 5: The final part of Daniel’s prophecy is an “absolute.” Verse 24 begins with the overall, required assessed time for ALL to be fulfilled. “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city…”

As already stated above, “seventy weeks” are “70 7’s,” seventy Sabbatical years, which is a total of 490 years. 490 years also is 10 x 49 years, which represents ten Jubilee cycles. Therefore, it is an absolute that the final year of the prophecy MUST be completed inside Israel ’s Sabbatical year, just like the previous four steps before it. Additionally, as it will also be a 49^th year, ten days after that final year closes, the Jubilee year will open, the 50^th year, ( the 1^st year of the next 49 years) on Tishri 10, (Lev 25:6-10). That new year will then be the first of twenty Jubilees of the coming Millennial Kingdom age (20 x 50 = 1,000 years). The Lord has commanded that Sabbatical and Jubilee years be counted on Israel ’s civil calendar, from Tishri to Tishri, in the fall.

Daniel’s prophecy of the “seventy weeks” BEGAN in the nation of Israel ’s 49^th year, and it will END in the nation of Israel ’s 49^th year!

The Bible refers to this wonderful Jubilee year as … “the acceptable year of the Lord,” in Isaiah 61:2 and is repeated in Luke 4:19, and this first Jubilee year of the Millennial Kingdom will be the absolute and ultimate fulfillment of the whole chapter of Isaiah 61, which bears a repeat reading!

But again, a particular harvest season is “appointed” for the Second Coming of Y’shua, back to His redeemed people of Israel and the redeemed Gentiles of the world. When day 1, of the Tribulation begins on “the morrow after the Sabbath” in the month of Nisan, the 2,520^th day always falls on or very close to Nisan 1, at the end of the “latter rain,” in the “spring time,” during the “harvest of the grain, beginning with the barley,” which is the beginning of the Jewish Sacred year! In fact, IF Y’shua chooses this sabbatical year in order to begin the next 7 years of the Tribulation and end Daniel’s 490^th year, from SABBATH, April 26, 2008, the beginning of the Feast of Firstfruits, EXACTLY 2,250 days later falls on SABBATH, March 21, 2015, which will be Nisan 1, 5775. Do you see Y’shua’s perfect Divine Order in this?

The prophecy of Daniel’s “seventy weeks” BEGAN and will END on the very same day, Nisan 1, with “the turn of the year” !

Moreover, as the final year of Daniel’s prophecy will not only be a Sabbatical year but also will be a 49^th year and the final 490^th year of the prophecy… as that Sabbatical year will have begun on Tishri 1, in the previous fall, that will allow Y’shua’s Second and final Coming to Israel to again take place in the spring, at the time of the latter rain, inside Israel’s Sabbatical year !

That appointment of Y’shua to return to His own, again, this time for the final time, in the spring, will allow Him to arrive at the “appointed season” for His “appointed people,” the redeemed of the whole house of Israel , whereby this prophecy will once again be fulfilled:

“For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Matthew 23:39

and this prophecy will be fulfilled:

“But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom.” Matthew 26:29

Y’shua, the Messiah, the Redeemer, the King and the ‘Son of David’ will return to Israel inside spring of Israel’s ‘49^th year and Daniel’s final 490^th year, just in time to “begin the order”…of the “Seder,” the Passover meal, in order to celebrate the first of Moses’ seven feasts, in order, with His own dear redeemed of the whole house of Israel.

The spring season will also allow Y’shua to lay the foundation of Ezekiel’s Temple “in the second month” (of Iyar/Zif) as both king Solomon and Zerubbabel did before Him. (I Kings 6:1; Ezra 3:8-1). Y’shua, “the Branch” will build the Temple (Ezekiel 40-48) and people will come from all around to help him in this marvelous endeavor (Zechariah 6:12 -18). I believe this activity will be taking place throughout the summer months and whether the Temple will be fully completed by the Fall feasts, I do not know. Assuredly, Y’shua is capable of doing such. But on Elul 29, of that year, 2015, 5775, Daniel’s 490^th year will come to an end. Then, on Tishri 10, 2015, 5776, the Day of Atonement, the following will occur…the Year of Jubilee will open:

“Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubilee to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land. And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of thy vine undressed. For it is the jubilee; it shall be holy unto you: ye shall eat the increase thereof out of the field. In the year of this jubilee ye shall return every man unto his possession.”

Leviticus 25:9-12

Because the ‘49^th year/490^th’ year is also the ‘7^th’ year, it will be just the same as “this year” of II Kings 19:29. Then, the following year, the ‘50^th’ year, is also just the same as “the second year” referred to in the same verse. That year is also sometimes referred to as “the eighth year” (as in Leviticus 25:22), as it follows the seventh year. Israel is commanded not to sow, neither reap or gather any grapes in that year, and of course, will not need to do so, until the third year/the ninth year, as again, the pattern is repeated in the same way as they “crossed over” into the Promised Land the first time… “And the manna ceased on the morrow after they had eaten of the old corn of the land; neither had the children of Israel manna any more; but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.” Joshua 5:12

The Lord will have already cleansed and restored the Promised Land of Canaan from the ravages of the ‘7 year holocaust’ of the Tribulation before He ever leads His people “over the Jordan” for the last time, through “the door of hope” and thru the “valley of Achor.” (Hosea 2) The crops will be fully mature, ripe fruit will be on the trees, and every provision will be waiting for “the whole house of Israel ” as they will surely again…“eat the fruit of the land of Canaan THAT year”!

The point must be made that besides Biblical revelation of such, the beginning of the 7 year Tribulation absolutely MUST take place inside the SPRING of the Sabbatical year, in order that the MIDDLE of the Tribulation can also fall in its “appointed season.”

There are several reasons why the MIDDLE of the Tribulation must begin in the season of Fall:

1. Jesus Himself talked about the harvest that would take place “four months” after the wheat harvest, at the “end of summer.” We know from Revelation 14:18-20, that harvest will be the grape harvest, which will ONLY impact the wicked- of both Israel and the Gentiles.

The Scripture says: “And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.”

Just in passing, it is interesting to note that ‘four months’ is a total of “120 days.” The Lord told Noah in Genesis 6:3: “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” Between these two “appointed harvests” of the Tribulation, wheat and grapes, is a symbol of the total time that “My Spirit shall strive with man.” 120 Jubilee cycles of 50 years = 6,000 years which is the time allotted for the “day of man,” symbolized by the first six days of the ‘Creation Week.’ From the middle of the Tribulation through to the end, there is no mention in Revelation of anyone coming to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, just the opposite is said… “Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts… And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.” Revelation 9:21 ; 16:11

Also, the Book of Revelation unfolds in progressive, chronological order, in the very same way a Scroll must open, save a couple of “parenthetical” passages that do not advance the narrative but are an overview of the rest of the narrative. It is in the middle of the book, chapters 10, 11, and 12 that contain these key phrases:

“And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer: But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. “ Revelation 10:6-7

“And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth… And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them… And after three days and an half, the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them, which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them.” Revelation 11:3, 7, 11, 12

“And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.”

Revelation 11:15, 16, 17, 18

“And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered… And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne… And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days… And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”

Revelation 12:2, 5, 6, 9, 10

According to proper exegesis of the Book of Revelation, it is in the MIDDLE of the book, which depicts the MIDDLE of the Tribulation, at the end of ‘the travail’ in birth of the Woman, Judah, “at the sounding of the seventh angel” that “time shall be no more,” that the ‘6,000 years of man”/the ‘6^th’ day closes, that “the mystery of God should be finished,” that “My Spirit shall no longer strive with man,” cutting off the possibility of anyone coming to salvation in the last half of the tribulation, that Y’shua the Messiah becomes crowned as the King of Kings, allowing the Millennial Kingdom of God to open first in Heaven, which makes it possible for the Old Testaments saints, “thy people, Daniel,” to be resurrected/raptured and rewarded in Heaven, inside their long-promised Kingdom, along with all the saints who died during the first half of the Tribulation, and “that great dragon, that old serpent the Devil was cast out into the Earth,” which opens the empire of the beast and the false prophet for the last 42 months of the Tribulation, all the while Y’shua, sits on the Throne of the Universe! In fact, the very middle verse of the total 404 verses of the book of Revelation is the 202th verse, which is Revelation 12:8 into verse 9, exactly where “the great dragon is cast out, (of heaven) that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan…” at midtrib !

On pages 52-54 of “The Mysterious Numbers Of The Hebrew Kings,” Dr. Edwin Thiele states that the kings of Judah ascended their thrones in their regnal year, in the Fall of the year, in the month of Tishri. Y’shua, ‘the Lion of Judah,’ will become King of Kings, over His own Tribe and His people, Judah first, just as king David did before him in Hebron (II Samuel 5:5). The kings of Israel ascended their thrones in their regnal year in the spring time, in the month of Nisan. This fact makes it a certainty that the middle of the Tribulation would always begin to fall in the month of Tishri!

Just as that “certain (S)aint,” Y’shua, promised Daniel concerning “thy people,” the righteous Jews, in Daniel 12:12: “Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.” Seventy-five days past the exact middle of the Tribulation, all trial and judgment is over for the righteous as by then, they are either safe in Heaven or safe all over the Earth, “hidden in the cleft of the Rock!”

There is something very important to see about the first 3 ½ years of the Tribulation. The fig tree has always been a symbol of national Israel . At the end of Y’shua’s 3 year ministry, this parable is recorded Luke 13:6-9: “He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.”

There are ‘4’ total years mentioned in this parable. The “model” presented here is that if “the fig tree of the nation of Israel ” does not bear fruit in ‘3’ years it is to be cut down in the ‘4^th’ year if there is still no fruit after fertilization. Another model is presented in Leviticus 19:23-25, which says, “And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of. But in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy to praise the LORD withal. And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I am the LORD your God.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has an established protocol for the raising of food crops, tree fruits included, that are to be deemed “pure, organic” foods. They require farmers to withhold all pesticides and fertilizers from the designated crops for ‘3’ years, and in the ‘4^th’ year, after, the fruit crop can be declared “pure” which allows the special label of “organic” to be applied. In other words, it takes “three and a half years for the fruit to be circumcised” and in the fourth year, it qualifies as a “praise offering withal to the Lord!”

This time, the called-out remnant of the nation of Israel will be subjected to the judgment of “circumcision by travail,” necessitating the undergoing the ‘birth pangs of the Messiah’ for the first 3 ½ years of the Tribulation. By the 1,263.5^th day, all those who humble themselves, repent and turn to Y’shua as their Messiah, who are killed, resurrected and raptured in the middle of the Tribulation will have become pure and will qualify as fruit, “holy to praise the Lord withal.” The remnant of Israel that remain alive throughout the ‘7’ years of the Tribulation will be gathered, brought to the “border of Israel ,” and will bow down and acknowledge Y’shua as their Messiah and “will mourn over Him who they have pierced.” This group will form another praise offering, “holy to praise the Lord withal,” in another ‘4^th year, (from the middle of the Tribulation to the end of the Tribulation) along with the residue of redeemed Gentile survivors of the Tribulation.

The wicked of Israel that do not come to faith in Y’shua their Messiah, during the first half of the Tribulation, will no longer be considered the seed of Abraham, ( Matt 3:9; Luke 3:9; Rom 9:6-7) but will be “cut-off” just as the residue that is left of the wicked Gentiles that have not repented in the first half, and will be subject to the full, unrestrained outpouring of the terrible wrath of God for the last 3.5 years of the Tribulation.

There is a name for the last half of the Tribulation. It is called “the times of the Gentiles” in Luke 21:24.

But most importantly, the last half of the Tribulation covers “the last half of Daniel’s ‘70’th week”…which is “upon thy holy city.” Revelation 11: 2 says: “But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.” Zechariah 12:2-3 says: “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem . And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.” Zechariah 14:1 says: “For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken…” Jeremiah 12:10-11 says: “Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness. They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart.”

This last 3.5 years of the Tribulation is also called in this in Jeremiah 30:7: “Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.”

We can know for sure by the verbiage used in Jeremiah 30:7 regarding ‘Jacob’s trouble,’ is the very same period of time of which Daniel 12:1 speaks: “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” Note, Y’shua Himself uses this very same description when speaking about the beginning of the last half of the 7 years of Tribulation, in Matthew 24: 15-21: “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.”

The last half of the Tribulation is: “The Great and Terrible Day of the Lord,” “the times of the Gentiles,” and “Jacob’s Trouble.” The redeemed, remnant of all Israel still living on the Earth, and the redeemed residue of the Gentiles hidden all over the Earth are not subject to this time of GREAT physical WRATH poured out upon all the Earth and all her utterly wicked peoples…but like Noah, are kept safe WITHIN …the midst of the storm…and one final name for the last half of the Tribulation, the last half of Daniel’s ‘70^th week.’

It is an absolute necessity that the last 3 ½ years of the Tribulation be the last half of Daniel’s ‘70’th week because the final year of the prophecy, the 490^th year, must end in the season of the nation of Israel ’s Sabbatical year. Secondly, as the previous four steps of the prophecy before it, the fifth and final step must end inside the Sabbatical year, in the season of spring time, at the end of the latter rain, at the time of the grain harvest, in order that Y’shua, the King of the whole house of Israel may ascend to His throne in His regnal year, in Jerusalem in the month of Nisan!

Y’shua the Messiah-Redeemer-King will open and begin the last half of Daniel’s ‘70^th week’ in the middle of the Tribulation, in the month of Tishri, beginning in the season of the grape harvest, which will be “upon thy holy city.”

Everything… in its perfect order! “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.” Ecclesiastes 1:9-10

In conclusion, in Y’shua’s day, there were some in Israel that “discerned the times.” Luke 3:15 says, “And as the people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not;”

The people of Israel in 27 a.d. were living under conditions very much like we are today. They were suffering severe oppression from their rulers in government who levied very high taxes upon all, even in order to be able to walk on certain roads. Many of their freedoms had been limited by the government which caused undue burden and hardship upon the poor, while the rich wallowed in their avarice and greed. This pervasive condition resulted in one of the main reasons why the nation of Israel refused to accept Y’shua, as their Redeemer and their Messiah. They demanded a political deliverer (Messiah Ben David) instead of their precious Suffering Servant (Messiah Ben Joseph)! So why were there still a few among the people who were able to be in a state of “expectation?” On what basis could they even formulate this immediate hope?

The answer is: Because they read and understood their own prophecies, written hundreds of years before, but especially Daniel chapter 9! They understood about king Artaxerxes’ command and decree, and obviously must have realized the prophecy was overlaid upon their own Sabbatical cycle. Most importantly, they understood about “how to count the years!” They also must have expected “the season” in which to look for their Messiah! They knew and understood Hosea 6. They knew “the Consolation of Israel” had been born in the fall, at the season of “the former rain,” and obviously were expecting Him to show up 30 years later to begin His ministry to them, as their Law commanded (Numbers 4:3, 23), during the season of the “latter rain” in the spring!

The nation of Israel ’s present Sabbatical year opened on Tishri 1, 2007, on September 12/13, which is Jewish year 5768. The majority ‘7^th year, inside the Sabbatical year will fall in the spring of 2008, at the end of the latter rain, during the season of the grain harvest, beginning with the barley. Seven years later, the Sabbatical will open on Tishri 1, 2014, Jewish year 5775, which will be September 24/25. The majority ‘7^th year, inside the Sabbatical year will fall in the spring of 2015, at the end of the latter rain, in the season of the grain harvest, again beginning with the barley.

Because of the present conditions “on the ground” in Israel and the greater Middle East, because of the immediate, world-wide threat of radical Islamofascism which seems even now to almost be in full bloom with its plan of world domination based upon its own malignant and festering “blood lust,” because of the breakdown of the infrastructure in all levels of societies everywhere- politically, socially, religiously, legally, culturally…even climate-wise all over the Earth, etc, and most importantly, because the free world has lost its resolve to stand and fight terror threats wherever they exist, but instead, insists on an attitude of total appeasement based on an attitude of impotent conciliation necessitating that political correctness be so graciously extended to the enemy…But most importantly… because of this one fact…

In Genesis 3:15, Jesus pronounced His third consequence against Satan the Serpent, for his original deceiving of Adam and Eve: Jesus said: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” The Hebrew word for enmity ‘eybah’ Strong’s # 342, means “hatred,” which comes from the root word of ‘ayab’ Strong’s #340, which means “to be hostile to, to be an enemy to, to treat as an enemy.”

The operation and promise of this eternal and original ‘enmity’ between Satan, the Serpent and the Seed of the woman, who is, firstly, Y’shua, the Messiah-the Redeemer of both Israel and all mankind, then to her seed, the nation of Israel… is alive and well today. In fact, this original hatred and hostility has come full circle, in the embodiment especially of the religion of Islam, with Lucifer-Allah as its god! This ancient religion has encompassed all “the peoples of the lands that surround the nation of Israel ” today, ranging from the west coast of Africa , easterly to the Philippine Islands. This geographical rectangle is referred to as the “10/40 geographical window.” This land mass is filled with Israel’s age-old, supreme enemy, composed of radical Islamists- led by her original ENEMY, who now can no longer contain his full, white-hot rage and sheer “enmity” against “the seed of the woman, Israel” and Y’shua, her God Almighty, the Everlasting Father!

Because of all these reasons and many, many more…I truly believe that Almighty God will begin His Day of Judgment in the season of spring time, at the end of the latter rain, yet again, beginning with another barley harvest, inside this Sabbatical year of 2008. If the Lord chooses NOT to fulfill this Sabbatical cycle, that would mean the world would have to go on for another 7 years, until the opening of the NEXT Sabbatical cycle in the spring of 2015, and then undergo the additional ‘7’ years of Tribulation until 2021/2022. Based on the ever-increasing emergency situation in the nation of Israel today and her surrounding neighbors, the nuclear threat that the whole wider world now faces, the overwhelming and utter wickedness present both in the world at large…and inside the church today…plus our myriad of other daily insurmountable problems, I believe that scenario is totally out of the realm of possibility… ALL the signs are for THIS cycle!

Again, remember that Ezra 7 says that Ezra left Babylon on the first day of the first month, Nisan 1, (in the Sabbatical year of 456 b.c) which was the opening day of ‘Daniel’s Seventy Weeks.’ If the Lord chooses to begin the ‘7’ year Tribulation on the “morrow after the sabbath,” “Firstfruits” on April 26/27, 2008, 2,520 days later, exactly, will be Nisan 1, Sabbath, March 21, 2015, the ending day of ‘Daniel’s Seventy Weeks’ prophecy (which plays out as an overall interval of 2,471 years, and an overall total of 353 Sabbatical cycles, between 457/456 b.c. to 2014/2015 a.d.).

Please note with me…the ‘7’s in Ezra, chapter 7:

1. ‘the 7th year of Artaxerxes, the king’ - verse 7

2. “in the 7^th year of the king” - verse 8

3. “his 7 counsellors” - verse 14

4. the 7 offerings - taken by Ezra to Jerusalem

gold

silver

bullocks

rams

lambs

meat offering

grain offering = 7

7 x 7 = 49 !

Year 2008, Jewish year 5768, will be “the Great Solar Year,” a 28^th year, when the Sun returns on its original position as it was on the day of Creation. It is very interesting to note that by entering 2008 or 5768 into a calculator, and going back by 28’s, it is revealed that 456 b.c., Jewish year 3304, the beginning year of Daniel’s ‘70’weeks, was also a 28^th year, the Great Solar Year. 2008 + 456 = 2464 years / 28, computes to 88 cycles of ‘the Great Solar year’! Also, because ‘28’ is a factor of 7, we see that the Great Solar year has also been tracking on Israel’s sabbatical cycle, as every 4^th sabbatical year from the beginning of the cycle is a 28^th year! Another interesting fact about the Great solar cycle is that in the first year following the 28^th year, or in year 1 of the next 28, April 8 always falls on Wednesday, (the 4^th day), which in 2009, will be Wednesday, Nisan 14.

‘7’ times in 19 years, the lunar Metonic lunar cycle adds an extra month, during 2 Adar, at the end of 1 Adar on the Jewish Calendar, in order to rectify the lunar calendar with the solar calendar, in years 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, 19. You will note that year ‘11’ is in the middle of the ‘7 Metonic years. Jewish year 5768, 2008, will be the ‘11’th year of the Metonic cycle. Year 2016, 5776, the first Jubilee year of the Millennial Kingdom , will be year 19, the final year of this present Metonic cycle.

Surely, surely….

1 For everything there is a season,
      a time for every activity under heaven.
2 A time to be born and a time to die.
      A time to plant and a time to harvest.
3 A time to kill and a time to heal.
      A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to cry and a time to laugh.
      A time to grieve and a time to dance.
5 A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
      A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
6 A time to search and a time to quit searching.
      A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear and a time to mend.
      A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to hate.
      A time for war and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3 NLT