Dear friends:

Back in the mid-1990s, I discovered a book by the great Sir Isaac Newton:  Newton's Prophecies of Daniel, republished in 1991 by the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, 2251 Dick George Road, Cave Junction, Oregon 97523.  It was accidentally found in the Library of Congress and was Thomas Jefferson's personal copy.  Jefferson's initials are in it.  I have an exact replicate of that book, including Jefferson's initials.  The book always fascinated me.

If the brilliant Sir Isaac Newton was correct in his interpretation of Daniel, the prophet to whom God gave specific timing, then the return of the Lord Jesus Christ will be very, very soon, indeed! We will soon know.

Newton, who lived 300 years ago (1642-1727), was one of the greatest geniuses in all history -- perhaps the greatest. He is called the father of modern science and the industrial revolution. He discovered many scientific laws. God chose Isaac Newton to impart many of His deepest secrets.

Newton is also said to be a devout believer in Christ and Bible scholar, fluent in ancient languages, and who translated directly from the Hebrew and Greek. He was unusually drawn to the prophet Daniel, which he began studying at age 12 and continued until he died at age 85. In fact, The Columbia History of the World, a secular history book, remarks, "At the end of his days he spent more time studying and writing about the prophecies in the Book of Daniel than he did in charting the heavens."

Did God Himself put in Newton's heart this burning desire to study Daniel, then give him the key to the timing of Christ's return? Could this be the final profound secret the Lord revealed to this godly genius near the end of his life -- a secret so simple that most have missed it?  (Genius is often simple.)

Newton's understanding of one key passage in Daniel chapter 9 is fundamentally different from that of most common interpretations. In about 550 B.C., God gave the prophet Daniel a view of history to the end. >From Daniel 9:25, scholars usually add the "seven weeks (of years, or 49 years) and 62 weeks (434 years)" to get 483 years and calculate the time of Messiah's First Coming. However, Newton says there is no linguistic basis for adding those two numbers (49 and 434), and to do so is "doing violence to the language of Daniel." Newton says the two numbers separately speak of both the First and Second Coming, both being counted from the "going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem." Some commentators agree.

Newton says the "62 weeks," or 434-year part was fulfilled at the First Coming, and the "seven weeks," or 49-year part will apply to the Second Coming. And three centuries ago he saw in the Scriptures and wrote about the rebirth of Israel at a time when such a thought was preposterous. By faith, he foresaw a "friendly kingdom" someday again issuing the "commandment to restore and build Jerusalem." Now, centuries later, that "friendly kingdom" may have been the United Nations, which decreed Israel's rebirth in November, 1947, causing Israel to be reborn in May, 1948. However,  Israel did not recapture and begin to rebuild Jerusalem until June, 1967.

So, if you take the historic 1967 date and add the 49 years (seven sevens), you arrive at 2016.  According to Newton's understanding, that may be the year of Christ's physical return to the earth -- after the Tribulation.

Further, if you back up for a 3 1/2-year Great Tribulation, you arrive at 2012, the year many prophecy students see as the year of the pre-tribulation Rapture and the beginning of the final 3 1/2-year Great Tribulation.

It is almost upon us.  Let us hope

Jim