Greg
Wilson (20 Jan 2019)
Thoughts
on these 70 Years (1949-2019) and Daniel's Week
The phrase "he is just and having
salvation" is part of the Zechariah 9:9 quotation which was
omitted from the New Testament quote of Zechariah 9:9.
(Matthew 21:5) Jesus omitted parts of Isaiah 61:2b,c as
well. These phrases were intentionally omitted because
they refer to His Second Advent, not His First Advent.
God is very precise in His use of prophetic quotations in
the New Testament using Jesus and the Apostles to speak with
precision and accuracy rightly dividing the First and Second
Advent prophecies. These are not drafting or
translation errors as some deceivers would have the
uninformed believe. Please note all quotations and
citations are from the majority text (95% of all
archeological manuscript evidence) contained in the King
James Bible. All modern bibles originate from the
Alexandrian, or minority text.
Both verses contain First and Second
Advent phrases. Both Second Advent phrases were
omitted from His first Advent revelations. Jesus is
the "spirit of prophecy" and He knew He was going to be
rejected by His people, the Jews. He knew He would
return a second time for His inheritance in Jacob.
The greatest prophetic event of the 20th
Century was the appearance of the nation state of
Israel! It was a nation born in at once on May 14,
1948. (Isaiah 66:8) It was a nation recognized by the world
as sovereign and independent on May 11, 1949 when it was
admitted to the commonwealth of nations, the U.N. as the
59th member.
Let us use our resolving power, at this
late date, to focus in on Jesus' omitted Second Advent
prophecies and see if we are able to view into the future,
by the Spirit of Prophecy, and locate the year of Daniel's
70th week. Afterall, Daniel's prophecy invites a
counting of years. Christ's First Advent was divined
in Daniel 9:26. There is surely an invitation to count with
a view to find the years associated with the Israel's just
judgment and vengeance.
During these 70 years commencing in 1949,
the nation state of Israel, has become the 8th most powerful
nation on the planet. Eight is the number of new
beginnings with God. A male was circumcised on the 8th
day. Jesus was resurrected on the 8th day.
Israel is about to experience a new beginning. What
will it be? Will it be the restoration of the
covenant, the deferred covenant, the covenant confirmed to
Abraham (Genesis 22:16), the covenant confirmed Isaac and
Jacob (1 Chronicles 16:16-17; Psalm 105:9-10), the covenant
confirmed at Moab (Deuteronomy 29). The promises to
Abraham have been confirmed so many times that it is "the
confirmed covenant". There is no other covenant which
has been associated with the word "confirmed" so obviously
and frequently. Paul made it clear that Jesus' atoning
work, the fulfillment of the Law, DID NOT annul this
covenant. (Galatians 3:17) This covenant was suspended and
deferred by God and thereby salvation has come to the world.
(Romans 11:15). But this salvation by faith alone will
end in the "twinkling of an eye". (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1
Thessalonians 4:17; Isaiah 55:6) Then, God will
turn His attention, once again, on the nation of
Israel. For not all Israel is Israel. (Romans 9:6)
Remnant Israel will be delivered and saved. (Romans
11:26-27; Isaiah 59:20-21) Paul in Romans 11:26-27
interprets Isaiah 59:20-21 placing the event in Daniel 9:27.
There can be no other conclusion as this analysis and
conclusion considers the whole counsel of God in regard to
the "perfection of His redemption and salvation" plans for
remnant Israel. (Matthew 18:21-22) This is wisdom, count the
number of divine perfection for it is "seventy times
seven". Do you know that the Hebrew language is a dual
character language in that each letter has a numeric
value. The Hebrew word for "perfect" is
"thamin". Its numeric value is 490 or 70 x
7. The Hebrew phrase "let your heart therefore
be perfect" in Hebrew is "lebab shalem" (1 Kings 8:61) and
it has the same 490 numeric value. This is just a
sampling in order to make the point that the seventieth year
following 1949 should be very interesting for all prophecy
watchers.
This brings me to my musings on the 70
years 1949-2019. We should expect God will exercise
perfection in regard to Israel in the 70th year.
Sometime, perhaps following May 11, 2019, the sovereign
nation of Israel will be PERFECT for God to consider
resuming His redemption plan for Israel. Keep in mind
that Daniel's prophecy covers 490 years with the last 7
years yet to be completed. It seems in line with
God's patterned usage of 70 years in the context of Israel,
to use the 70-year period as a measure of divine time or
perhaps "covenant time" to commence Daniel's 70th
week. See below for a sampling of the "covenant time"
hypothesis. If God chooses to use these 70 years to
resume Daniel's 70 weeks prophecy, then the body of Christ
will be removed before Daniel's 70th week.
Although, only a remnant of Israel shall
be saved during Daniel's 70th week; (Romans 9:27; Isaiah
10:21-23; Ezekiel 14:21-22) that remnant will represent a
new form of Judaism, one which will embrace the commandments
of God and the testimony of Jesus. (Revelation 12:17, 14:12,
20:4-5) The stumbling block will have become the
Rock of Salvation to the remnant Jewish nation, the seed of
Jacob in Christ. He is the ROCK, his work is perfect..."
(Deuteronomy 32:4)
The Second Advent of Jesus has been
reserved for the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to exercise
two of His preeminent character traits: justice, judgment
and salvation as we discern truth from the two omitted
phrases "he is just and having salvation" and "the day of
vengeance".
God, in His unfathomable wisdom and
mercy, exercising His divine judicial orders, may very well
deem Israel ripe for justice, judgment and salvation (for
the remnant in Christ) on, or after the passage of these 70
years. Seventy years is a patterned theme of
God's dealing with His redemption plans, Israel and
Jerusalem.
God, in his exercise of justice, may well
have given Israel a 70-year period, so that in her great
wealth and military might she may exercise, once again, her
form of righteousness, apart from the God of her
fathers. Justice and judgment are the habitation of
[God's] throne: mercy and truth shall go before [the Lord's]
face. (Psalm 89:14)
A Sample of Covenant Time:
(Footnotes did not cut and paste properly from my book
text) Full details of this and other hypotheses
and others are available on Amazon Books in Kindle and print
format at:
https://www.amazon.com/Day-Thy-Visitation-Jacobs-Trouble-ebook/dp/B07D1GCVDQ
This Book, "The Day of Thy
Visitation: The Time of Jacob's Trouble" focuses on
the 70-year prophecies and patterns in the context of Israel
and Jerusalem. The purpose of the book is to "search
what manner of time" that God would remove Christ's own and
commence Daniel's week. The work includes over 1,000
biblical citations in support of the various propositions.
Abraham To the Law: 490 Years
With the birth of Abraham, God's
redemption plans for Israel would develop with greater
specificity. The full scope of the Abrahamic promises
encompassed the goals of Daniel's 70 Weeks prophecy[i]. This
covenant necessarily contemplated the Mosaic and Davidic
promises.
God's revelation is progressive, built by
precept upon precept, line upon line, a little here and a
little there[ii]. God
builds his doctrines in these manners for the purpose of
building up and establishing all who would inquire with the
right motives.
God was going to introduce His own
unilateral[iii] promises to
Abraham and his seed. These promises were based on the
oath of God[iv] and did not
require Abraham's
performance.
These
promises were everlasting[v]. They
are forward-looking in that they extend through all 490-year
periods into the Millennium and eternity. Each
of the subsequent 490-year periods are key components of the
Abrahamic covenant. It is a covenant which looks
forward to the King ruling His kingdom in Righteousness and
Peace forever.
From Abraham to the Law of Moses was 505
years. The law was given 430 years[vi] after Abraham
departed out of Haran at the age of 75[vii]. We
need to add 75 years to 430 years which totals 505
years. However, in order to calculate God's Covenant
Time we need to deduct 15 years[viii]. You
ask why ? Because God did not count the years from the
time that Abraham had sexual intercourse with Hagar[ix] , a
bondwoman, until Isaac's birth[x]. This
was during the fifteen-year period when Ishmael represented
the seed of Abraham. God did not count this time
because Ishmael was not the promised seed. If we
deduct 15 years from 505 years the result is 490 years.
In terms of the Abrahamic covenant,
Abraham had no performance obligations. God's promises
did not depend on Abraham's conduct. So, the
suspension of time represented by the 15 years cannot be
viewed as Abraham breaching the covenant. So, what
action caused God to suspend the counting of years
? Certainly, Abraham exhibited "unbelief" in
God's promise regarding an heir. He had lived in the
land ten years with no child. He and Sarah took
action, being unsatisfied with God's delay, by adding Hagar
as Abraham's wife for the purpose of producing an
heir. Ishmael, the product of the union, was not God's
planned heir. The heir, Isaac was to be the "son of
promise" not the "son of a bondwoman". God did
not count the time of Ishmael. Although Ishmael was
the seed of Abraham, he was not the heir of God's
choice. God began counting again when Isaac, the son
of promise, was born.
Beginning with Abraham, the first period
of "covenant time" totals 490 years.
Moses to King David: 490 Years
God established the Law on Mt. Sinai with
Moses. The purpose of the law was to establish
God's standard for righteousness. Before the law,
there was no transgression[xi].
Ultimately, the purpose of the Law was to lead all to
Christ. The Law was our schoolmaster leading us to
Christ[xii].
During the first 490-year period, we
learned that Abraham met Melchizedek[xiii], a priest
of the Most High God. The Book of Hebrews speaks about
this King of Righteousness and after, the King of Peace[xiv]. This
is a picture of Messiah Jesus who has become an eternal High
Priest after the order of Melchizedek. Messiah Jesus'
first appearance satisfied the righteousness requirements of
the Law.[xv]
Christ's atoning work confirmed the promises made to
Israel's fathers[xvi].
I point out this interesting fact about Melchizedek because
it joins the promises of Abraham to the Law and ultimately
Christ. Abraham was counted as righteous because he
believed God.[xvii] The
Apostle Paul teaches that "the scripture, foreseeing that
God would justify the heathen through faith, preached
before, the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all
nations be blessed".[xviii] The
Law was given to teach God's righteousness and lead all to
Christ through faith, apart from works of the Law.
The period of the Law lasted 601 years,
but God only counted 490 years because Israel was in exile
as a captive nation for 111 years. God did not count
the years of captivity. God had judged Israel for the
worship of false gods.
The 601[xix] years are
computed by adding the following periods of years:
40 years in the wilderness[xx]
20 years under Joshua
450 years under the Judges and Samuel[xxi]
40 years under Saul[xxii]
40 years under David[xxiii]
11 years under Solomon until the
dedication of the Temple[xxiv]
The years of captivity were 111 which
must be deducted from the 601 years:
8 years captive in Mesopotamia[xxv]
18 years captive in Moab[xxvi]
20 years captive under the Canaanites[xxvii]
7 years captive under the Midianites[xxviii]
18 years captive under the Ammonites and
Philistines[xxix]
40 years captive under the Philistines[xxx]
This total number of 111 years has a
deeper message even if it cannot be seen literally. It
may be read numerically in a manner consistent with the text
aligned with God's character traits. God chastens his
children toward obedience with a view to hasten repentance
and restoration in relationship. Captivity's purpose
was to cause God's people to repent and return to Him on His
terms. The gematria value (the numeric value of
the Hebrew letters) of the number 111 is
instructive. If we have understanding, we know
we can read this number as words. Scripture confirms
this methodology as understanding which produces wisdom.[xxxi]
The Hebrew phase "the beginning of
wisdom" has a numeric value of 111. Psalm 111:10
declares: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom:
a good understanding have all they that do his commandments:
his praise endureth for ever." Other words and phrases
which share this value include: wonderful[xxxii], the Lord
my God[xxxiii],
children of the Living God[xxxiv] and the
blood of Jesus[xxxv]
. What is the hidden message. The
captivities were God's judgment based on His wisdom
producing reverence and right living in His covenant
people. This wisdom would ultimately be expressed in
His love for the children as He would manifest divine
forgiveness as the gracious Passover atoning offer of His
only Son, Jesus, the Anointed Most Holy One[xxxvi].
Subtracting 111 from 601 produces 490
years. This is the second period of Covenant Time.
King David to Temple Rebuilding 445
B.C.: 490 Years
From David's dedication of the altar in
1005 B.C. on Mt. Moriah until Artaxerxes' command to restore
and rebuild the Jerusalem in 445 B.C. was 560 years.
However, we must deduct the 70 years when Israel was exiled
in Babylon. The third period of Covenant Time is
determined by subtracting 70 years from 560 years which
results in 490 years.
Israel's exile was the result of failing
to keep God's commandments including the Sabbath rest of the
land.
Daniel's 70 Weeks Prophecy: 490 Years
The 70 Weeks prophecy of Daniel spans a
490-year period. It is comprised of 70 periods of 7
years, representing seventy Sabbath periods.
This 490-year period differs from the three preceding
490-year periods. Those periods were associated
with Abraham, Moses and David and their respective
promises. God's redemptive plan promises were
specifically addressed in these three men. All periods
were forward-looking to the first and second comings of
Israel's Messiah, Christ.
Daniel's prophecy is not directly
associated with the promises made to Abraham, Moses or
David. It is a prophetic promise given to Daniel which
would indirectly and ultimately fulfill the direct promises
to Abraham, Moses and David. It surely follows the
pattern of the prior 490-year periods. Daniel's
70 weeks prophecy speaks to the first and second comings of
Israel's Messiah.
In Daniel 9:24 we find six items
addressed in the prophecy: (1) to finish the transgression,
(2) to make an end of sins, (3) to make reconciliation for
iniquity, (4) to bring in everlasting righteousness, (5) to
seal up the vision and prophecy, and (6) to anoint the most
Holy. It appears as a summation prophecy. The
period is termed a "determined time"[xxxvii].
It appears to be the last quarter, if you will excuse the
use of an athletic term. It unifies the promises of
Abraham, Moses and David, in Christ.
In Daniel 9:26 we see Christ crucified,
as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world[xxxviii].
In His offer, having kept all the Law, He fulfilled the Law[xxxix].
He became the High Priest after the order of Melchizedek[xl], the priest
which Abraham honored with his tithes[xli]. Abraham
had seen the type of future Christ during the first 490-year
period. The Law of Moses had been fulfilled producing
a new High Priest fulfilling another "oath prophecy[xlii]".
And the Davidic covenant of King David, is a type of
eternally enthroned Messianic king, the throne of
which, Messiah Jesus will ultimately ascend.
In Daniel 9:27 we learn of "the covenant"
which will be confirmed with many for one week. What
are we to make of this covenant and he who confirms it
? The love story must continue. God has not
finished with His people, Israel. Verse 27 is
the end of Daniel's prophecy. What happens to
Abraham's promises ? Did the fulfilling of the Law in
Verse 26 annul God's promises ? If these Abrahamic
promises are not fulfilled here, then where and when ?
Do we just say God will do it later in the Millennium or
Eternity ? Surely the fullness of God's promises
extend into Eternity. We have to ask ourselves
what is the purpose of this last verse ? Obviously,
the Book of Revelation is the expanded version of Verse
27. So, we must look there for the answer.
We cannot run off and create some private interpretation
which fails to align with the "big picture", or the whole
counsel of God. Prophecy
is of no private interpretation. We must compare
Scripture with Scripture.
I see word pictures as I study and search
the Scriptures. In Verse 27, I see Christ standing in
front of the verse. I see Him standing at the end of
the verse. God invites this vision.
Christ, the Word of God, the Alpha and Omega, the Aleph
Tav, stands in Revelation 1:8 and at the end in
Revelation 22:13. He is the beginning and the end[xliii].
Therefore, He stands, as previously stated, in Verse
27. Christ is the spirit of prophecy[xliv].
This means all prophecy testifies to Him. Daniel's
prophecy is the greatest prophecy in all Scripture because
it commences the "Genesis correction event".
Christ stands in Genesis 1:1. He is named in Word 4, as the
"Aleph Tav", His proper name, as the Word of
God. Interestingly, this word is not translated in
English Bibles. It is omitted. Fortunately, we
have John to thank for helping us understand this
name.
It is in the Book of Revelation and John
1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God[xlv].
Then, in the sixth word we see Him again in His role as "God
Man". He is the "Vav Aleph Tav"[xlvi]. Vav
is the sixth Hebrew word representing man who was made on
Day 6. The Vav is the Hebrew pictograph symbol
of a nail meaning to connect or to bridge. Notice that
this image is of Christ holding out his arms with nail holes
in his hands as the bridge between the words heaven and
earth.
John tells us again about his
image. He says: "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way,
the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but
by me[xlvii]."
Simply said, if you want to get to heaven, you must accept
His hand and pass through Him. Grace, grace, it is all
grace[xlviii], an
expression of divine forgiveness. Forgiveness 490
times is the expression Jesus used to describe God's
gracious form of divine forgiveness[xlix].
Divine forgiveness happens in Daniel 9:27 unto them [all
Israel[l]] that turn
from transgression in Jacob[li].
Sixty-nine of Daniel's 70 Weeks had
transpired then Messiah Christ was "cut off[lii]" by a
crucifixion death. After the 69th week, God's counting
of Covenant Time was suspended. The rejection of
the Messiah was Israel's [Jacob's] greatest
transgression. Israel was blinded[liii] and set
aside for a time[liv].
Daniel's 70th week is in the future for
the nation of Israel. This week will also be known as
the Time of Jacob's Trouble[lv] and include
Great Tribulation as described in Matthew 24 and the Book of
Revelation.
This week will begin when God determines
the "fullness of the Gentiles[lvi]" has come
in and the covenant relationship, yet to be restored with
Israel, initiates on God's terms. God may simply
"confirm" the Abrahamic promises, yet once again or perhaps
a modern-day Daniel, a messianic Jew, will intercede for
Israel, in prayer and God will act. This is surely the
inference we are necessarily compelled to make given the
three preceding 490-year patterns.
God stopped keeping His covenant or
determined time when Israel nationally rejected
Christ. God intends to save remnant Israel as His
people[lvii]. He
will begin this work with Daniel 9:27. Remnant Israel will
return to the mighty God[lviii].
He is the "mighty God" of covenants[lix].
Jehovah or Yhwh is His personal covenant name, that he uses
with His friends, those who know him, who are in covenant
relationship with Him. His name is the Mighty God[lx].
Daniel 9:27, Daniel's 70th week begins
with the declaration: "And he shall confirm the covenant
with many for one week:"
This statement affirms that Covenant Time
will begin once again and be counted for the last seven-year
period. God's relationship with Israel will, after
some 1,989 or more years, be restored[lxi]. The
prophets declare this:
"18Who is a God like unto thee,
that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression
of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger
for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
19 He will turn again, he
will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our
iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the
depths of the sea.
20 Thou wilt perform the
truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou hast
sworn unto our fathers from the days of
old." (Micah 7:18-20)
P.S. I find it very interesting
that the verb "to confirm" in Daniel 9:27 is the Hebrew word
"gebar" (Strong's H1396) is only used once (in the KJB) in
association with the word "confirm". Daniel, as
a "shut and sealed book" until the times of the end, gives
us a clue as to the name of the ONE who will confirm this
covenant. His name is MIGHTY! (Strong's H1368)
He is the Mighty God of Jacob. (Isaiah 10:21, Psalm
132:2,5) The root of the verb "to confirm" shares the root
of the name Mighty which is "gibbor". Here we have a
clue to His name. The God Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is
mighty and awesome. His name is Wonderful, Counsellor, The
mighty God, The everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
P.S.S. Do you really think
that a satanic covenant (a covenant made with the AC) would
be the triggering event which would bring in, among other
things, "everlasting righteousness"? (Daniel 9:24) Surely,
the AC will set up the "overspreading of abominations" we
see in Daniel 9:27; and Matthew 24:15 in association with a
"league" or agreement. Daniel 11 fully establishes
this type of future event. It will be this "type of
league" (Daniel 11:23) which will give the AC access to the
Temple. The High Priest (the "Prince of the Covenant"
in Daniel 11:22 who was Onias III) as a "type of future High
Priest", will grant future Temple access to AC, not
the secular government of Israel via some illusory covenant
or treaty. The covenant of Daniel 9:27 is not the
league of Daniel 11:23. They are different.
P.S.S.S. Do you know that Daniel
used God's covenant name "Jehovah" seven (7) times in
chapter 9 only? He never used this name in any of his
other 11 chapters. The theme of Daniel 9 is that
the covenant God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob will save the
remnant seed of Jacob who find their Messiah during Daniels'
70th week. (Romans 9:27, 11:26-27; Isaiah 10:21-22, 59:21)
God is a God of patterns. He
invites us to search and study the Scriptures of
Truth. He says: "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."
(Ecclesiastes 1:9)
Blessings, Greg