Regarding the Correct
Interpretation of Daniel's 70 Weeks - The Most Important
Prophecy Given to Man
Dan Bruce posted on
January 13, 2013, an article entitled, "The correct
Interpretation of Daniel's 70 Weeks."
In it he states.
The
prophecy of the “seventy weeks” in Daniel, chapter 9, has
been one of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted
prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures. The primary
interpretive challenge has always been to locate the
proper starting point for calculating the weeks. The Bible
says that the “seventy weeks” are to start after a decree
to restore Jerusalem to an anointed one, who is also a
prince. Traditional interpretations have assumed the
reference to a “decree” is referring to a decree by a
Persian king, and that the phrase “seventy weeks” is a way
of saying 490 years (a week being seven years). Both
assumptions are incorrect, and using either leads to an
incorrect interpretation of Daniel 9.
Thank you for
your consideration,
To Dan's "most misunderstood
and misinterpreted prophecies" I would heartily
agree. I would also add, this
is indeed the most important prophecy God has
given to Man! No other prophecy hints at promising
to reveal to us when Messiah will come again.
Therefore, no other prophecy is more important for us
to properly understand. In like manner, no other
prophecy is more important for the enemy to keep us
from understanding.
Three Interpretation
Groups
Today, most of Christiandom can
be broken down into three groups regarding the
interpretation of Daniel's 70 weeks. Some believe
all of Daniel's 70 weeks were fulfilled by the end of the
first century. Others believe 69 1/2 weeks of
solar years were fulfilled by the end of the first century
leaving 1/2 of a week to be fulfilled in the future.
Still others believe 69 weeks of 360-day years were
fulfilled by the end of the first century leaving 1 week
to be fulfilled in the future. This covers the
majority interpretations in Christiandom today. Each
of these interpretations have their supporters
and each of these interpretations are mutually
exclusive of each other. And, in my opinion, each of
these interpretations is wrong.
Now, in
Dan's exposition of Daniel on his website
from the link above, on page 87, he discusses Sir
Robert Anderson's chronology. This is the
famed Scotland Yard investigator knighted for
his detective work in the field of crime brought to
the forefront by the infamous "Jack the
Ripper". In defense of a proper
understanding of this chronology I would say I did
not find it "quite
complicated". The starting date
is in 445 BC with granted, one
of several decrees one could pick concerning
Jerusalem by Persian Kings, this one
giving Nehemiah the right to pursue rebuilding
the wall in Jerusalem. Since there is no
0 BC or 0 AD in the Julian calendar and the
Gregorian calendar did not exist at that time, to
make counting easier, let us consider this date
in the Gregorian as -444. Now Sir Robert
Anderson ends his chronology at the triumphal entry
of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem starting Passion
Week. He culminates at 69 weeks of 360 day
years with one week being in the future.
So, 69 weeks times 7 years per week times 360 days
per prophetic year divided by 365.2422 days per
solar year yields 476.06766 years. Subtracting
444 brings us to 32 AD. One does not add
7 years to 32 AD because this is in the future with,
wait for it, "The Coming Prince". While some
have said Sir Robert Anderson's chronology is
accurate to the exact day starting Passion Week, a
careful reading of his book shows that he does not
have evidence of a starting date for the Persian
King's decree within 445 BC but only surmises the
date with God should be accurate to the
exact day.
But before we go too
far, I too reject Sir Robert Anderson's
chronology which has now been with us for over 100
years. He contends that Jesus Christ was
not Messiah until He triumphantly entered Jerusalem
during Passion week. However, Jesus Christ was
Messiah well before his triumphal entry.
Now two
older chronologies use basically solar years
and contend that Jesus Christ became Messiah when He
was baptized with water or when He was baptized
right after with the Holy Spirit. They
then place the Crucifixion at roughly 3 1/2 years
into what is called the 70th week of Daniel.
One chronology takes the last half of the 70th week
and places it between 66 AD and 70 AD. The
other chronology places the last half still in the
future.
But thou, O Daniel,
shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the
time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and
knowledge shall be increased. Daniel
12:4
The book of Daniel has been
called a sealed book. If we
are to truly believe Daniel 12:4, and how can we not
seeing as it records the Word of the LORD
spoken directly to Daniel, then the correct
understanding of the 70 weeks has
been sealed until the time of the end. All
of the current major interpretations of Daniel's 70 weeks
are over 100 years old, some well over 1,000 years
old. No one can deny that knowledge
has increased tremendously in the past 100
years. We are in the end times. Which means we
should not be surprised and even accept as indisputable
fact based on Daniel 12:4 that all of the
long-standing major interpretations of Daniel's 70 weeks
are wrong.
To Dan's "correct
interpretation", I would add that I understand
how frustrating it can be to have what you feel is
the correct interpretation of Daniel's 70
weeks revealed to you through diligent study and
what you believe is the inspiration of the Holy
Spirit and to realize most of Christiandom
has never heard let alone accepted your interpretation.
Seven Events in 70
Weeks
For the record, the Bible
does not state that the seventy weeks are to "start
after a decree to restore Jerusalem", nor does it state
they will end with the coming of "an anointed one, who is
also a prince." The Bible does
list seven events the seventy
weeks will include. One would think that
list would at least include the first and the last events
in ones interpretation of those 70 weeks.
However, as one will notice, "a decree" does not make this
list.
Seventy weeks are
determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city,
to (1)finish the transgression,
and to (2)make an end of sins,
and to (3)make reconciliation for
iniquity, and to (4)bring in
everlasting righteousness, and to (5)seal
up the vision and (6)prophecy,
and to (7)anoint the most Holy.
Daniel 9:24
It does list "anoint the most
Holy". It has been argued, who is more Holy
than God? Who but God Himself is MOST Holy? So
technically we are not talking about the coming of someone
who is already "anointed" but to "anoint" God
Himself. Now, because this event
is listed as the last of the seven can we assume it
happens last? However, it would then follow
that the first on the list, "finish
the transgression" would start the 70
weeks which makes no sense. The second, third, and
fourth also do not carry meanings of the beginning, with
respectively the words "end", "reconcile", and
"everlasting". Only the fifth and sixth can be
thought of beginning something by sealing up the vision
and prophecy to be revealed later. And we know the
book of Daniel was sealed during Daniel's life as recorded
in the last chapter of Daniel which would indicate
this has to be the two items in the list that
start the 70 weeks regardless of how that affects our
timeline.
There are also many who
state linguistically in the Hebrew the term "anoint the
most Holy" here cannot refer to a person but must refer to
an object being anointed. Which means that the last
event of Messiah is also missing. In that
case the most obvious fulfillment would have been in 516
BC when the rebuilding of the temple was finished.
It is intruguing to many that the temple would have been
built before the wall around Jerusalem and before the
city. But then, Darius declared that the God of
Abraham had appointed him to rebuild the temple.
Rebuilding the wall could have been seen as the Jews
wanting to regain their freedom and defend themselves.
After the temple was rebuilt,
the Holy temple and with it the rocks of Jerusalem were
anointed with the blood of animals as recorded in Ezra 6.
And the
children of Israel,
the priests, and the Levites, and the rest of the
children of the captivity, kept the dedication of
this house of God with joy. And offered at the
dedication of this house of God an hundred bullocks,
two hundred rams, four hundred lambs; and for a sin
offering for all Israel, twelve he goats, according
to the number of the tribes of Israel. Ezra
6:16-17
Which
also means that the first and second event to
occur in 533 BC of the book of Daniel being
sealed as listed as the fifth and sixth items,
were followed next by the seventh item which
was the anointing of the rebuilt Holy
Temple of God in Jerusalem in 516 BC.
Anointed at
Conception
The fatal flaw in all the
main interpretations is that Jesus Christ was
the Christ before His triumphal entry, before He was
baptized with the Holy Spirit, and before He was baptized
with water. Yes, the word "Christ" is the Greek form
of the word "Messiah" which means
"anointed". But Jesus was indeed anointed
with the Word of God by the power of the Holy Ghost at
His supernatural conception. Mary, the mother of
Jesus Christ, was not the mother of someone who
would later in His life have the potential to
BECOME Christ. What blasphemy! She
gave birth to Christ, the Messiah, THE Anointed One.
Now the birth of Jesus
Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was
espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was
found with child of the Holy Ghost. Matthew
1:18
And when he had gathered
all the chief priests and scribes of the people
together, he demanded of them where Christ should be
born. Matthew 2:4
For unto you is born this
day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the
Lord. Luke 2:11
Amen!
Now another
witness that the coming of Messiah was at the
conception of Christ and not near the end of His human
life is the witness of those who would have best
understood the correct timing of Daniel's 70 week
prophecy. Those would have to be the ones
educated directly by Daniel. Remember,
Daniel was master of the magicians in Persia and
their descendants were the Magi who visited Jesus Christ
shortly after His birth. Let me say that again, they
visited Jesus Christ shortly after His birth, not some
thirty years later at His water baptism nor right before
His death. These wise men from Persia showed
up to pay homage to the Christ child who already was
the Messiah, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, God with
us, the anointed one.
Correct
Interpretation
Let us now look at some of
the main issues that must be dealt with in any correct
interpretation.
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. Daniel
9:24
Very simply, the seventy week
prophecy deals with Daniel's people, the
Jews, in relation to their Holy city,
Jerusalem. Daniel was an exile in Babylon and
would open up his window in the direction of
Jerusalem and pray three times a day toward
Jerusalem. This exile from Jerusalem, Daniel
understood through reading the prophet Jeremiah, was
supposed to last 70 years. It
was punishment for 70 sabbaths of years, the
Shemitah's, spanning 490 years, which were not
observed by Daniel's people. Daniel wonders
whether his people and his Holy city, Jerusalem, would
cease to exist. God assures Daniel that his people
and Jerusalem would not cease to exist. God assures
Daniel that after 70 years was not to be
their end as a people and as having a Holy
city. They had 70 weeks.
Now we can speculate what is
meant by 70 weeks. As Dan Bruce has speculated,
the correct interpretation is that the word "weeks"
would be better translated "Pentecosts" so "70 weeks"
reduces to 70 Hebrew calendar years. The same
amount of time Daniel's people had just spent in
exile. That would be all the time Daniel's
people and Jerusalem had left on earth.
To make this fit, a decree was
found by Julias Caesar in 44/43 BC to start the 70 years
and it ends around the water baptism of Jesus Christ in
27/28 AD.
Again, this suffers from making
Jesus Christ not "Jesus Christ" until His water
baptism. But it is admirable in that this is an
attempt to recognize the shortcomings of the majority
views for the past 2,000 years which start at one or
another of the Persian King's decrees regarding Jerusalem.
Restore and
Build
Know therefore and
understand, that from the going forth of the
commandment (1)to restore and (2)to
build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
Prince shall be (1)seven weeks,
and (2)threescore and two weeks:
the street shall be built again, and the wall, even
in troublous times. Daniel 9:25
God is first telling Daniel
"that from the going forth of the commandment to
restore" Jerusalem, there shall be a certain
period of time. It is most important to Daniel when
or if Jerusalem would be RESTORED to the Jewish
people. When would the Jewish people once again be
restored to ruling Jerusalem?
Did any King of the
Babylonian Empire issue a decree where Jerusalem was
restored back to the Jewish people and no longer part
of the Babylonian Empire? No. The head of
gold of Daniel 2 issued no such decree. Did any King
of the Medes and the Persians who ruled from 539 to 331 BC
likewise issue a decree where Jerusalem was no longer part
of their empire and restored to the Jews?
No. The chest of silver with two arms where all
taxes were paid in silver issued no such decree. Did
any King of the Greece, the belly and thighs of brass,
issue any such decree? No. Did any King of
Rome, the legs of iron, issue any such decree?
No. Did any or Kings of the divided kingdoms of the
last empire before the return of Jesus Christ, the
feet of iron and clay, issue any such decree? No,
but they did issue a "decree" that made it
possible. On November 29, 1947, thirty three
"kings" of the United Nations General Assembly voted over
the objections of ten other "kings" with ten others
abstaining, to allow the former Kingdom of Israel now
called Palestine, currently ruled under the British
Mandate, to be partitioned as to allow a
place for the Jewish people. In accordance with
this vote, the Nation of Israel was formed on May 14,
1948. Nineteen years later on June 6, 1967 the
Nation of Israel was attacked and in response the command
was given by an Israelite to RESTORE Jerusalem to the
Jewish people. In the early hours of June 7, 1967,
Jerusalem again belonged to the Jewish people for the
first time since before the time of Daniel.
Hmmm! Seems like
something prophetic just happened.
When
we pair up (1)restore with (1)seven weeks in Daniel 9:25
we see the prophecy revealing to us the return of Messiah
seven weeks of years from the commandment to restore
Jerusalem when Moshe Dayan changed his mind about
recovering Jerusalem and commanded the recapture of
Jerusalem on June 7, 1967. When we pair up
(2)rebuild with (2)three score and two weeks we see the
prophecy revealing to us the conception of Jesus Christ 62
weeks after the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem
by Nehemiah in 433 BC. Just like no non-Jewish
person commanded Jerusalem to be restored to the Jewish
people in 1967 AD, no non-Jewish person commanded
Jerusalem to be rebuilt in 433 BC.
From the commandment by an
Israelite to BUILD Jerusalem until the Messiah's
conception was 62 weeks. From the commandment
given by an Israelite to RESTORE Jerusalem until the
Messiah shall be 7 weeks. This interpretation
allows itself to be proven or disproven in just a few
years.
Now using prophetic or 360-day
years from June 7, 1967 and counting 7 weeks of years
brings us exactly to the date September 23, 2015, Yom
Kippur, the most Holy day on the Hebrew
calendar. Since 2003, when this date was first
proposed as the correct interpretation of Daniel 9:25
for the return of Messiah, the Prince of Peace, other
seemingly confirming events have occurred
at exactly 7, 5, and 3 1/2 prophetic years
before September 23, 2015 and have been discussed at
length on Five Doves. In addition it has been
explained how using the starting date of June 7, 1967 as
the fulfillment of the times of the Gentiles and counting
back exactly 2,000 prophetic years one arrives at the
expected conception of Jesus Christ between the census tax
decree issued by Caesar in 6 BC and the death of Herod in
4 BC.
And they shall fall by the
edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into
all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the
Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Luke 21:24
Beginning and End of
70 weeks
Now there are exactly 7 items
mentioned to occur in the 70 weeks determined upon
Daniel's people.
Seventy weeks are
determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city,
to (1)finish the transgression,
and to (2)make an end of sins,
and to (3)make reconciliation for
iniquity, and to (4)bring in
everlasting righteousness, and to (5)seal
up the vision and (6)prophecy,
and to (7)anoint the most Holy.
Daniel 9:24
The problem is some of these
events appear to have occurred during the life of Daniel
while others describe events that will not happen till
after Judgment Day at the end of days when this Heaven and
Earth will pass away. There is
seemingly no way to fit all these 7 events
into just 70 weeks of years. Regarding items 5
and 6 as to sealing up the vision and the prophecy, isn't
this recorded as occuring during Daniel's life in the last
Chapter of Daniel?
But thou, O Daniel, shut up
the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the
end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be
increased. Daniel 12:4
Now after Jesus Christ
reigns for 1,000 years when the government of the World
will be upon His shoulders, the dragon will be
released out of the bottomless pit to deceive Man one
last time.
1. The transgression
of sin will not be finished
till after Judgment Day at the end of days
2. The end of
sins will not occur till after Judgment
Day
3. Most of Mankind will
sleep till Judgment Day when reconciliation
of us to God will be made for Man's iniquity
by the blood of Jesus Christ for all who have accepted
Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
4. Everlasting
righteousness will not occur till after the end
of days and the old heaven and the old earth has passed
away and the new everlasting heaven and earth appear for
all who have eternal life.
Figurative 70 Weeks
So, do we take these 70 times 7
years as figuratively spoken to mean that Daniel's
people and Daniel's Holy city will not pass away till the
end of time? Remember, Daniel is crying out to God
for his people and his city because as he had figured, the
70 years of punishment should be over. Were his
people never to return to Jerusalem and end up being
absorbed into Babylon? Were his
people cease to exist as a distinct people and their
holy city be forever desecrated? God answers Daniel
by telling him that after 70 years his people
and city will not cease to exist. They, in
fact, will continue to exist for 70 times 7.
Could this 70 times 7
response figuratively stand for time from Daniel's
prayer until eternity? Was God telling Daniel his
people and his Holy city would not pass away till time
itself passed away? Can we make a case for this 70
times 7 to be figurative? Now, before you decide, ask
yourself whether this response by God in the form of Jesus
Christ to a question posed to him could also
be figurative.
Then came Peter to him, and
said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and
I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto
him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until
seventy times seven. Matthew
18:21-22
Jesus cannot be telling Peter
to count up seventy times seven times and stop
forgiving his brother once he reaches 490 times.
Jesus must be telling Peter one is to continue to forgive
your brother without ceasing. Jesus must be
unsealing the meaning of "70 weeks" in Daniel for
us. So does 70 times 7 figuratively mean till
the end of time as we know it? Yes, it appears a
very strong case can be made that it does.
Literal 70
Weeks
However, while figuratively may
be the primary meaning, at the same time 70 times 7 can be
taken literally in two different ways. The
first way is to recognize there are gaps in the 70 times 7
years not accrued to the Jews and Jerusalem.
These would fall between the divisions of 62, 7, and
1 week we are given in the verses directly after
Daniel 9:24. The 62 weeks of prophetic years take us
from the command by Nehemiah in 433 BC up to the
conception of Christ in 5 BC, falling between the tax
decree of Caesar Augustus in 6 BC and the death of Herod
around the beginning of April, 4 BC. The 2,000
prophetic year dispensation of grace takes us
from there to the end of the Times of the Gentiles on
June 7, 1967. The 7 weeks of prophetic years takes
us from there to the expected return of Christ on Yom
Kippur, the Fall Equinox of 2015. The 1,000
prophetic year dispensation of the Kingdom Age takes
us from there to when Kingdom Age ends with the
release of the dragon from the bottomless pit. The
remaining 1 week of prophetic years takes us from
there when the dragon deceives the world for a
season till Judgment day, the end of time as we know
it. So the total is 434 + 2000 + 49 + 1000 + 7 =
3490 prophetic years.
Or in solar years this would be
427.771 + 1971.295 + 48.297 + 985.647 + 6.900 = 3439.909
solar years. Although it may be meaningless to try
to use solar years as we know that during the time of
great tribulation for at least one year and 5 months the
day will be shortened to 2/3rds of its former
length.
The second way 70 times 7 can
be taken literally is the 490 years represent the
Shemitahs, the 7th year of rest the land was supposed to
receive. Taking 490
times 7 growing season years or basically solar years
gives us 3,430 years. Converting these to
360-day or prophetic years we have 3,430 x 365.2425 /
360 = 3480 prophetic years. Amazingly,
this number is just 10 prophetic years from exactly
matching the 3,490 year number calculated including
the gaps. Perhaps the meaning of these 10 years will
be revealed to someone shortly.
Also amazingly, 3,490 years is
10 years from exactly matching 3,500 years. As we
know with God a day is like 1,000 years. Which
makes a week equal to 7,000 years and half a
week equal to 3,500 years. And 3,500 years
is exactly half of the week of 7,000 years God has
given Man on Earth.
But then maybe we
need to consider whether to add around 100 years to
go from when Daniel Chapter 12 was thought have been
received by Daniel in 533 BC within a year
of his death and the start of the 62 weeks in
433 BC?
Which brings us full
circle back to realizing God has told Daniel whether
or not we can figure it out literally, then
definately figuratively which we can figure
out, that Daniel's people and Daniel's city, which
are really God's chosen people and God's
chosen city, will never perish from the earth until
the earth ceases to exist.
Gap Theory
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, and
threescore and two weeks: the street shall be
built again, and the wall, even in troublous
times. Daniel 9:25
Now just because there is an
"and" between 7 weeks and 62 weeks does not mean they
happen right after each other or even in that order.
Notice the first "and" in the following scripture.
For unto us a child is
born, unto us a son is given: and the
government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name
shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Isaiah 9:6
From the time of the first
coming of Jesus Christ when He was born to the time of His
second coming when the government of the whole World shall
be upon His shoulders during His millennial reign, will be
over 2,000 years. That first "and"
joins the first event, Christ's birth, with the next
event, Christ's reign, while at the same time they are
separated by just over 2,000 years.
Now consider Jesus Christ
during His life on earth, reading the following from the
Old Testament.
And there was delivered
unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had
opened the book, he found the place where it was
written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he
hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he
hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach
deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to
the blind, to set at liberty them that are
bruised, To preach the acceptable year of
the Lord. And he closed the book, and
he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the
eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were
fastened on him. And he began to say unto them,
This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
Luke 4:17-21
As many have noted, Jesus
stopped reading in mid-sentence, right before an
"and". That is because the next event was far in the
future. To finish what came after:
To proclaim the
acceptable year of the LORD,
We find:
and the day of
vengeance of our God; ..... Isaiah 61:2
So this "and" separates an
event at the beginning of the ministry of Jesus with an
event at the end of time as we know it, Judgment
Day! We're talking around 3,000 years separating
these two events with just an "and" in the same sentence.
7 or 62 Weeks First
In scripture, the 7 weeks
is mentioned before the 62 weeks. Why doesn't
scripture tell us that the 62 weeks happens first leading
up to the birth of Christ so we aren't confused as to
possibly think there might be 7 weeks before His
birth and then 62 weeks before His second coming? It
does.
And after threescore and
two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for
himself:.... Daniel 9:26
The term "cut off" which
happens after 62 weeks is literally the cutting off of the
foreskin of Messiah as an infant of 8 days. Dan is
right when he states this same "cut off" phrase means
"covenant". It was through the cutting off of the
foreskin that God's covenant was established with the
descendants of Abraham.
And when eight days were
accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name
was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before
he was conceived in the womb. Luke
2:21
Now Daniel 9:26 records that
this cutting off of the foreskin of Jesus Christ was "not
for himself". How could it be? A covenant
is between two different parties. God would be
the party on both sides as God the Father and
God the Son are one. So the entering in of a
covenant signified by Christ's circumcision was "not for
himself" exactly as Daniel 9:26 predicted.
And after threescore and
two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:
and the people of the prince that shall come shall
destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof
shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war
desolations are determined. Daniel
9:26
Messiah was cut off, that is
circumcised, in 5 BC. Exactly seventy years later in
66 AD the Jews of Judea revolted against their Roman
masters. Remember, seventy years is also the same
exact length of time the Jews were in captivity to fulfill
Jeremiah's prophecy in Babylon.
The Romans under the General
Vespasian then came and surrounded Jerusalem in 68 AD
and would have undoubtedly wiped out every man, woman, and
child at that time. However, the Emporer Nero died
suddenly and in the resulting chaos General Vespasian
was declared Emperor. The General then took his army
and proceeded back to Rome, thus uniquely fulfilling
the following prophecy and giving the followers
of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem and Judea time to
escape.
And when ye shall see
Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the
desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which
are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which
are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that
are in the countries enter thereinto.
Luke 21:20-21
It then fell to Emporer
Vespasian's son, Prince Titus, who returned to Jerusalem
and in 70 AD his people, his army, laid siege and utterly
destroyed both the city and the sanctuary, the blood it
was said, flowed so much as to reach the horse's
bridles. The land in and around Jerusalem was then
made desolate by the clearing of all trees and the
spreading of salt so nothing would grow.
Sir Isaac Newton
Back in 2003 in a post to
Five Doves, the author proposed that the 7 weeks to
Messiah segment of Daniel's 70 week prophecy could
see fulfillment counting from June 7, 1967 to
September 23, 2015. It was realized at the time
that suggesting the 7 weeks to Messiah had not already
been fulfilled flew in the face of the major recognized
interpreters of Daniel's 70 week prophecy for the
past 2,000 year. One interpreter it did not fly in
the face of was Sir Isaac Newton, often called the
greatest scientist who ever lived. The
following, written by Sir Isaac Newton, the author
had included in his post which was taken
from Newton's book first published in 1733, "The
Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse".
Know
also and understand, that from the going forth of
the commandment to cause to return and to build
Jerusalem, unto the Anointed the Prince, shall be
seven weeks. The former part of the
Prophecy related to the first coming of Christ, being
dated to his coming as a Prophet; this being dated to
his coming to be Prince or King, seems to relate to
his second coming. There, the Prophet was
consummate, and the most holy anointed; here, he that
was anointed; comes to be Prince and reign. For
Daniel's prophecies reach to the end of the world, and
there is scarce a prophecy in the Old Testament,
concerning Christ, which doth not in something or
other relate to his second coming. If divers of
the ancients, as Irenaus, Julius Africanus, Hippolytus
the martyr, and Apollinaris Bishop of Laodicea,
applied the half week to the times of Antichrist, why
may not we, by the same liberty of interpretation,
apply the seven weeks to the time when Antichrist
shall be destroyed by the brightness of Christ's
coming.
Sir Isaac Newton recognized many of the
"ancients" including Irenaus and Hippolytus interpreted
Daniel's 70 weeks as all but a half week being left
to be fulfilled in the future. At that time, Sir
Robert Anderson had not yet written his interpretation of
a full week to be fulfilled in the future. By what
Sir Isaac Newton called the same liberty of
interpretation, he proposed there were seven weeks of
years at that time instead of a half left to be
fulfilled. I agree.
At the end of these seven weeks, Sir Isaac Newton
proposed that the antichrist would be "destroyed by the
brightness of Christ's coming." For much of the past
10 years I have thought the same. Counting back from
September 23, 2015 by half a week though, one would expect
various events to be happening by now as described in
the book of Revelation. Well, unless
the previous time before the last half a week is
lengthened to make up the difference with how long we are
told the last half a week is shortened. We know
there are 1260 days that are shortened by one third
for at least one year and five months for the sake of the
elect. At the most, all the 1260 days are shortened
to 840 days. That gives us only a relatively short
window between December 22, 2012 and June 5, 2013.
Granted, there is no indication that Sir Isaac
Newton believed Jesus Christ would return in the air
for a secret rapture of the believers before the time
of Jacob's troubles. Granted, no where in the Bible
does it allude to counting back from some perceived event
to arrive at the start of the time of great tribulation or
any event for that matter. We are told only that He
will come as a thief in the night for those who are not
watching. So we are told time and again to
diligently watch.
We believe we are on the right track. How
else can we explain the amazing, seemingly
prophetic events that have occurred to the exact
day, counting from June 7, 1967 to 23, 42, 44, and 45.5
prophetic (360-day) years. These events have
all been discussed and many in depth on Five
Doves. Counting backward from September 23,
2015 these counts to the day would fall respectively at
26, 7, 5, and 3.5 prophetic years. In addition,
counting backward from June 7, 1967 exactly 2,000
prophetic years brings us amazingly to the year of
Christ's conception in 5 BC. Now while we arrive at
5 BC, the exact count for His conception brings us to
February 22 on the Julian calendar of the day which would
have been a full moon, Adar 14, 3756 on the Hebrew
calendar. But let's not get hung up
on going forward for how long Jesus Christ was
in the womb and when we were taught He was born.
Yes, normal gestation from Adar 14, 3756 would have Jesus
Christ born right around Hanukkah in Bethlehem right
outside Jerusalem. Where there was no room found for
Him in the Inn for Him to be born with His mother laden
with child. When His light would for the first time
no longer be hidden from the
world. When Jerusalem would have been
filled with pilgrims for the celebration of the Festival
of Lights but no one was willing to give up their room for
a nine month pregnant woman. Likewise, when the Lord
knocks on your door, will you find room in your heart
to let Him in?
Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if
any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in
to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Revelation 3:20
Then, counting backward from the apparent time of
Christ's conception exactly 62 weeks or 434 prophetic
years, which is 427.77 solar years, we arrive at the
commandment to rebuild by Nehemiah on Iyyar 20 in 433
BC. How do we know this was the date when the
Bible does not apparently record the date? We cannot
independantly verify this date to the day, but we can say
that 72 days later it is recorded in the book of
Nehemiah they started building the wall and on the
52nd day, Elul 25, 433 BC, they finished.
So the wall was finished in the twenty and
fifth day of the month Elul, in fifty and two days.
Nehemiah 6:15
Moreover from the time that I was
appointed to be their governor in the land of
Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the two
and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that
is, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten
the bread of the governor. Nehemiah
5:14
It is easy to see it would be in the ballpark of
taking 72 days to organize all the resources and manpower
so the Jewish people could come together in
Jerusalem at the same time and dedicate 52 days in
which time they were able to rebuild the wall.
Now, all these proofs pointing to the same
conclusion may have been given to us by God
just to show we are indeed in the last seven years before
Messiah. And at the end of these seven
years Messiah will come in the Hidden Rapture.
Even though we had hoped these would be the last
seven years before Messiah came in brilliance for all
to see, to establish His millennial kingdom.
Rabbi Jonathan Kahn
Rabbi Jonathan Kahn rose to nation-wide
attention because of his book, "The Harbinger, The Ancient
Mystery that Holds the Secret of America's Future".
In this book, among other events, he brings up the
law of the Shemitah as contained in the Bible and how it
applies to America. Every 7 years the land is to lay
fallow and not be cultivated. The 6th year God would
provide enough for two years. This is the law
the Israelites had broken for 490 years and so were
punished for each of the Shemitah's, the seventh year not
observed, by serving 70 years of captivity which included
when Daniel was in Babylon.
The end of each Hebrew year is Elul 29. On
that date every seven years, the land is to have its rest
to give back to it for what was taken out the previous
seven. Right after 9/11/2001, on the Elul 29,
America experienced the worst drop in its Stock
Market in the history of the stock market. The first
witness. Exactly seven Hebrew years later in 2008 on
Elul 29 the Dow Jones Industrial Average recorded an
even larger drop, it's largest drop in history, 777.7
points. A record that stands to this day. The
second witness. Another seven years brings us to
Elul 29, September 13, 2015. Will this be the
third and last witness against America?
Those who have studied the Bible know that there
is no verse in the Bible saying there will be 1260 days,
42 months, or three and a half years of
"tribulation". Nor is there any verse saying there
will be seven years of tribulation. While there are
22 verses in the Bible containing the word, "tribulation",
the only time period connected with the word
tribulation in a specific verse in the Bible is 10
days.
Fear none of those things which thou shalt
suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into
prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have
tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I
will give thee a crown of life. Revelation
2:10
In 2004, I had speculated that maybe these ten
days could mean ten years and possibly pointed to the
Rapture immediately preceeding this ten year
tribulation period. I then proceeded to count
back ten years from September 23, 2015 and found a couple
of dates in 2005 which looked promising. These were
May 5, 2005 and October 5, 2005. These were
dates one could also reach from interpretations of
other prophetic passages. For example, adding 14,000
days, (as the assumed length of a generation to pass
away), to 6/7/1967 one arrived at October 5, 2005.
However, the ten days did not mean ten
years. In fact, in 1922, the Church at Smyrna to
which these words in Revelation 2:10 were specifically
written to, experienced tribulation for exactly 10 days as
Smyrna was ransacked and burned. But often
God included passages like Revelation 2:10 which have
a specific fulfillment and a general fulfillment.
What if these ten days meant ten days of tribulation
from September 13, 2015 to September 23,
2015. While the thought had occurred to
me at the time, no other reason till
now pointed to September 13, 2015. This, from
the natural extrapolation of what Rabbi Jonathan Kahn had
noted in his New York Times bestseller book, "The
Harbinger, The Ancient Mystery that Holds the Secret of
America's Future". A possible third and final
witness against America.
January 21, 2013 - Presidential
Inaugural Prayer Breakfast
Rabbi Jonathan Kahn was the
keynote speaker at the Presidential Inaugural Prayer
Breakfast held in Washington D.C. the morning of
January 21, 2013. He gave one of the most
inspired speeches of all time and stole the show
from the festivities the rest of the day. If you
have not had the opportunity to watch all 35 minutes
of his speech, then please find it on the internet and
be blessed.
Around 30
minutes into his speech he uttered the following words:
Mr.
President, if you seek, if you look to Lincoln as your
model, then dare to follow him in his actions.
In Kahn's book,
"The Harbinger", he brings up how various United States
leaders on different occasions have quoted from an
obscure text in the Bible regarding the events of 9/11
what they, and the vast majority of those who heard
them, thought was a blessing.
The bricks
are fallen down, but we will build with hewn stones:
the sycomores are cut down, but we will change them
into cedars. Isaiah 9:10
However, from
the verses before and after it is clear these words
were said in the Bible from the arrogance of their own
hearts.
And all the
people shall know, even Ephraim and the inhabitant of
Samaria, that say in the pride and stoutness of heart,
Isaiah 9:9
And instead of
pronouncing a blessing upon themselves they had
uttered a curse.
Therefore
the LORD shall set up the adversaries of Rezin against
him, and join his enemies together; Isaiah
9:11
Likewise, has
Rabbi Kahn uttered what possibly for him
and definately for many who heard him appeared
to be a blessing, but actually was pronouncing
a curse upon the American people? Be careful
for what you pray for and what you wish
for. For I fear the President will
indeed look at Lincoln, the most bloodthirsty of all
American Presidents responsible for the deaths of more
American civilians as a model, and will
dare to follow and may even go farther.
As we speak, the
President is systematically eliminating top brass in the
military who have a problem with firing on the American
people. It is all over the internet with countless
corroborations about this "litmus test". Troops
are going through training to fire on civilian Americans
and those who have a problem with it, with numbers
ranging as high as 80%, are being removed or put in
harm's way.
Now, even
more distorted than the correct interpretation of
Daniel's 70 weeks is the lie that is Lincoln which has
been taught in Federally funded public
schools for many years. Although the
truth is out there for those who look. The truth
is that Lincoln has to go down as the most evil
President the United States has ever seen. He ran
roughshod over the constitution. He ignored
freedom of the press and closed Northern newspapers that
disagreed with him. He ordered the arrest of the
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court when the Chief
Justice declared Lincoln's suspension of Habeas Corpus
as unconstitutional. He censored telegraphs,
sermons, and even sheet music. But by far the
worse offense he did was use the military that was
supposed to protect us from foreign invasion to murder
civilians throughout the United States.
In fact it was
policy. The Lincoln government intentionally
targeted civilians from the very beginning of the
war. Instead of the "Civil" war it
should have been called the "Civilian" war.
The Lincoln government's original battle plan was known
as the "Anaconda Plan" as it planned to
blockade all Southern ports and tributaries to
starve the South into submission. Whole
towns in the South which were unprotected by any army
were raped, all property of any value stolen, what
couldn't be hauled off, broken, and any inhabitants
who hadn't escaped, murdered. And then the whole
town was burned to the ground. Sherman
may have been the most infamous for this "scorched
earth" policy but he was just one of many military
leaders following Lincoln's directions
to target unarmed civilians.
The historian
James G. Randall stated, "No president has carried
the power of presidential edict and executive order
(independently of Congress) so far as [Lincoln] did....
It would not be easy to state what Lincoln conceived to
be the limit of his powers."
Thomas J. DiLorenzo, professor
of economics at Loyola College in Maryland, wrote in his
book, The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham
Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War.
Sherman
biographer Lee Kennett is among the historians
who bend over backwards to downplay the horrors
of how Lincoln waged war on civilians. Just
recently, he published an article in the Atlanta
Constitution arguing that Sherman wasn't such a
bad guy after all and should not be reviled by
Georgians as much as he is. But even Kennett
admitted in his biography of Sherman that:
Had
the Confederates somehow won, had their
victory put them in position to bring their
chief opponents before some sort of tribunal,
they would have found themselves
justified...in stringing up President Lincoln
and the entire Union high command for
violations of the laws of war, specifically
for waging war against noncombatants.
Now the "Civil
War" or the "War between the States" or the "War of
Northern Agression" remains the deadliest of all wars
for the United States. Let's rephrase that, of all
wars for the United States combined. From
estimates by the historian John Huddleston, the
death toll for all Northern males 20-45 years old was
10%, while the death toll for all Southern white males
18-40 years old was 30%. Let's rephrase
that. The blood of 30% of Southern
white males and 10% of Northern males cut down in the
prime of their life is on the hands of Abraham
Lincoln.
Now,
no real good estimates of the total civilian casualties
are available for the Civil War. But military
casualties according to Professor J. David Hacker range
from 650,000 to 850,000. To put this in
perspective with today, the population was
considerably less in the United States when Lincoln was
elected with 1,866,452 votes. The "North" had the
clear advantage as the population in the "South" was one
third that of the North when Lincoln initiated an act of
war by blockading "Southern" ports. What you were
not told in school about Lincoln may make you question
everything else you were told about each inch of his
immoral fiber to which they built a monument to in
Washington D.C.
But out of so
much evil, didn't good come with the freeing of the
slaves? While some believe you must destroy to
rebuild, or use this as an excuse to destroy, throughout
the rest of the world, slaves were freed without even
close to such a cost in human life. Many with
no bloodshed. But if we go down this path we
must recognize that Lincoln did not fomment this war to
free the slaves. He did not rise to power
even claiming to be an abolitionist. He was
on record for wanting homesteads or "free soil" for
white Americans only and have the African-Americans sent
to Liberia, Africa. He only put a moral spin on
the war by issuing an "Emancipation Proclamation", when
the tides of war looked like they were moving against
him and other countries such as France appeared they
would be entering the war on the side of the
South. From a legal standpoint, the "Emancipation
Proclamation" freed no slaves in states still
in the Union and had no legal standing in states
that had already declared their independence from the
Union.
Well, while we
are diverted on the subject, it seems like many
historians are at a loss as to why Lincoln invaded the
"South". The reason was strictly
financial. Of course, the reason the "South" left
the Union was strictly financial. Unfair
taxation. In this case the majority in the
industrialized North with two thirds of the population
was taking unfair advantage of the one third of the
population in the agraian South. At the time of
Lincoln's election, 95% of the Federal Government's
income came from tariffs. Forts were set up by the
Federal Government around major seaports to collect
those taxes and then deliver them to the Federal
Government. The South had by far the most
coastline and 80% of all seaports in the United
States. Recent law changes pushed for by the
Republican Party had greatly increased those tariffs to
as high as 47% for competing goods produced in the
industrialized North like textiles and iron. While
the South was paying the lions share of the tariffs, the
Federal Government was spending the money almost
exclusively in the North to build railroads and the like
and to basically "buy" votes.
Now unfair
taxation was the same basic reason the 13
colonies declared their independance from England.
We might want to watch to see if the same thing is
being planned for the United States today to foment
unrest as the Federal Government prepares the
military to murder civilians.
As Adolph Hitler
said, if you tell a lie, tell a big lie, and keep
repeating it over and over till the people accept it as
the truth. How can a President responsible for
using the military to murder by the war's end, 30% of
all white males in the South between the ages of 18 and
40 be considered great? Is it because the truth is
too horrendous to accept?
January
21, 2013 - He Shall Confirm the Covenant
He made with Many People
And he
shall confirm the covenant with many for
one week: and in the midst of
the week he shall cause the sacrifice and
the oblation to cease, and for the
overspreading of abominations he shall
make it desolate, even until the
consummation, and that determined shall be
poured upon the desolate. Daniel
9:27
A surprising number of
people are wondering
if January 21, 2013 will be a pivotal date in human
history. They see quite literally,
prophetic fulfillments of Biblical
proportions.
Renee Moses posted
an article passing on a
calculation she saw below a
video on the internet.
That comment
noted there are exactly 86,400 days
counting inclusively from July 4, 1776, the
day the Declaration of Independance was
signed in what is now the United States of
America, to January, 22, 2013. It
also noted there are 86,400 seconds in a day and
864,000 miles for the Sun's diameter.
It could also be
added, that one fourth of 864,000 is
also the same number as the product of multiplying
600 times 60 times 6, which is 216,000. It
should be noted that the number "666" as it
originally appeared in the book of Revelation is
actually the Greek letter representing the number
600, next to the Greek letter representing 60,
next to the Greek letter representing 6.
Most have added together these three
numbers. But an alternate interpretation
would be to
multiply.
Another post, written
by "Mathman", noted that from Jerusalem
Independance / Unification Day, which
is June 7, 1967, counting inclusively to
January 21, 2003, is exactly 16,666
days.
While this should be
enough to catch most people's attention,
it could be added that the
apocalyptic fever which gripped Europe
and greatly influenced Sir Isaac Newton was all
because the year 1666
AD approached. There are also those
who are convinced that June 7, 1967 is the
pivotal date separating the 2,000 prophetic
year "Times of the Gentiles" from the 7 weeks
of prophetic years or more precisely the
63rd through 69th week of
Daniel scheduled to end on September 23,
2015.
And they shall fall by the edge of
the sword, and shall be led away captive into
all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden
down of the Gentiles, until the times
of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Luke 21:24
Another
post numbers and shows the dates for every
confirming of the covenant with many by
the President of the United States.
This "covenant" or binding agreement is
different from most covenants made between two
parties. This covenant is made between
one person and many people, the many in the
Democratic Republic of the United States.
This post noted at the time that
the next confirming of the covenant with
many, expected on January 21, 2013, would be
the ominous 66th.
There is a
government website which affirms this number
by listing the official dates
for what is titles "Presidential
Inaugurations". However, it does not
number these "Presidential Inaugurations" but
leaves it up to the reader to count up to
discover there are 66.
There is
another government website which makes a
distinction between what it calls
"inaugurations" and what it calls
"swearing-in" ceremonies. It
skips over
counting every "swearing-in" ceremony
or what others have called "unscheduled
inaugurations" where the previous
President has either died in office or
resigned. From going by this
count one would not at first
notice this "inauguration" is
the 66th "confirming
of the covenant."
One Week
And
he shall confirm the covenant with
many for one week: and in
the midst of the week he shall cause
the sacrifice and the oblation to
cease, and for the overspreading of
abominations he shall make it
desolate, even until the consummation,
and that determined shall be poured
upon the desolate. Daniel
9:27
Bible scholars have debated for years
whether this scripture was speaking of the
Messiah, an anti-Messiah, or more than one
anti-Messiahs. They have also debated
whether it is speaking of the apparent remaining
week of the 70 weeks or another period of
time. This would be the remaining week
after subtracting the 62 and 7 weeks leading up to
the first and second coming of
Messiah. Perhaps the answer to all
these questions is "yes".
It is true
that the Messiah confirmed His covenant
with the many who have accepted Him as their
Messiah when He died on the Cross in the
midst of Man's 7,000 years on
earth. At the same
time can one dismiss that Daniel 9:27
speaks of the last week of Daniel in the same
units of time as the previous 62 and 7 weeks,
namely weeks of years? In this
regard, can one discount the actions
of both Antiochus Epiphanes and Titus
who in the physical sense both fulfilled
much of Daniel 9:27? We know thought that
Antiochus could not be the final fulfillment
from the words of Jesus Christ himself who spoke
of a future abominations of desolations.
In addition can Titus be the final
fulfillment? Shouldn't the one week be
after the 7 weeks that lead up to the second
coming of Messiah? And since the previous
two separated what have been called
dispensations, namely the Times of the Gentiles
and the Kingdom Age, shouldn't the one week be
after the Kingdom Age?
Is it not true though, the great imitator, satan, can
make many imitations of the last week of Daniel
and they all can be God's plan for fulfillments
of Daniel 9:27?
When Jesus Christ died
in the midst of one week, Man's
of 7,000 years on earth it should be noted
that the word "midst" does not mean exact
"middle". In other words, Jesus Christ
did not die at the exact 3,500 year
mark. The word "midst" means "among" or
"between". For example, "The deer stood
in the "midst" of the forest."
And in those
days Peter stood up in the midst of the
disciples, and said, (the number of names
together were about an hundred and
twenty,) Acts 1:15
Let's see if we can
approximate where in the midst of these
3,500 years was Christ's conception. If
we go in the future to the end of time
and count backward from Judgment Day,
when this heaven and this earth will pass away
and there will be a new heaven and a new
earth, we can get a sense. Let's
say there is a last week of Daniel's 70
that separates Christ's 1,000
year Kingdom Age when satan is loosed one
last time from the end of time.
Then we add the 1,000 year Kingdom Age.
Then lets say there is the 7 weeks or the 63rd
through 69th week of Daniel which separates
the Kingdom Age from the 2,000 year Times
of the Gentiles. That's a total of 3,056
years counting backward which would
mean 3,944 years counting forward.
Granted, the use of
"years" is problematic in that the "day" seems
to be the fundamental unit by which we are to
number our time.
So teach us to
number our days, that we may apply our
hearts unto wisdom. Psalms
90:12
It is thought that while
Man was in the garden of Eden the year from
fall equinox to fall equinox was 360 days and
the month from new moon to new moon was 30
days. Man's original lease on the earth
would have been set then at 7000 years times
360 days or 2,520,000 days. With the
fall and corruption of the whole universe the
number of days in the month and year have
changed slightly. That is one of the
reasons why many who write on Bible
Prophecy use 360 day years and 30 day
months in their calculations.
Garments of Praise
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is
he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments,
lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
Revelation 16:15
Then Jacob said unto his household, and
to all that were with him, Put away the strange
gods that are among you, and be clean, and change
your garments: Genesis
35:2
There are exactly 88 verses in the
Bible containing the word "garments".
These are the last and the first. The number 8
means "new birth". Blessed
is he who is
already watching to keep his garments,
not defiling them as he watches. For those not
already watching, blessed is he who puts away his
strange gods and changes his garments and is born
again.
Thou hast a few names even in Sardis
which have not defiled their garments; and they
shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy.
Revelation 3:4
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness,
that that day should overtake you as a
thief. Ye are all the children of light, and
the children of the day: we are not of the night,
nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep,
as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
I Thessalonians 5:4-6
But now for all the Five
Doves remarkable revelations regarding January 21,
2013, the 66th confirming of a covenant with
many. Is this the fulfillment of
scripture? Both parties to this contract, this
covenant, are confirming, not just agreeing for the
first time. Both parties, the many of the
Democratic Republic of the United States of America,
and the one, are entering into this covenant for
another 4 years for a total of 8 years. But as
scripture records, will this be a covenant that
will be cut short to only 7 years? Time will
tell.
To appoint unto them that mourn in
Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil
of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness; that they might be called
trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD,
that he might be glorified. Isaiah
61:3
Whenever Messiah returns, up until He returns,
let us be diligently
watching for His return!
May God Richly bless those who read this
post.
-Shalom!
Ted Porter