Those  “Certain”  Years  And  Days Of  ‘Daniel’s People’

 

 

Part Two

 

 

 

“About The Times of the End, a body of men will be raised up who will turn their attention to the prophecies, and insist upon their literal interpretation, in the midst of much clamor and opposition.”

Sir Isaac Newton, 1643-1727

 

 

 

“For I dipped into the Future, far as human eye could see, saw the vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be.”

Alfred Lord Tennyson, 1842

 

 

 

“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.”

Leviticus 19:23-25   KJV

 

 

 

“And the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion: the zeal of the LORD of hosts shall do this.”

II Kings 19:30-31

 

 

 

“And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not.”

Ezra 7: 25  KJV

 

 

After previously laying the foundation for the concept that the Holy Spirit superimposed Daniel’s ’70 weeks’ upon Israel’s Sabbatical cycle, and in recognition that the ’70 weeks’ of years are 490 literal years, we now can begin to arrive at the date that the Lord intended for the beginning of Daniel’s important prophecy.  The definition of ‘years’ used here is that of the nation of Israel, i.e. their years,  that begin in the month of Tishri, as the Bible commands for the counting of Sabbatical and Jubilee years.

 

 

Because of the necessary imposition of the Sabbatical cycle upon this prophecy,  and the fact  that 490 years equals ten Jubilee cycles of 49 years each, it is therefore an absolute fact that Daniel’s prophecy must BEGIN and must END in a 49th year !

 

 

***An important fact to remember :  Since ALL 490 years of the prophecy of Daniel 9, were given to the nation of Israel under the dispensation of LAW, and the 483rd year was completed at the end of the 69th Sabbatical cycle on Tishri 1, 3787, then the remaining 7 years must also be completed within the dispensation of LAW!  And, this will indeed be the  case, as Jesus already fulfilled the first 3.5 years of the last 7 years of the prophecy in which both He and the ‘years’ were cut-off at the Cross in the 486.5th year, which leaves the remaining 3.5 years to be fulfilled by the believing remnant of the Jews, after the close of the Day of Grace, and the resurrection/rapture of the true saints of the Church Age,  before the opening of the FIRST half of the 7 years of Tribulation, which will then return under the dispensation of LAW.

 

 

Daniel 9 is concerned about the time period in which the earthly sanctuary would be the center of worship with a return to the keeping of the Law of God and of Moses.

 

 

Daniel was told in 9:25 in the KJV…”Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince…” In other Bible versions, the word “commandment” is “decree” in this passage, and there are definitely three decrees that come into view with a ‘return to Jerusalem.’   The word decree in Hebrew is dabar  which means "word, speaking, speech."

 

 

The first decree was a proclamation in Ezra 1, at the exact end of the 70 years of the Babylonian captivity…”Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom…and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah…. Then rose up the chief of the fathers of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, with all them whose spirit God had raised, to go up to build the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem.”  Notice that this decree directed the rebuilding of the Temple. 

 

 

Bishop Ussher dates Nebuchadnezzar’s FIRST deportation of Judah, beginning with King Jehoiakim in II Chronicles 36:6 as 607 b.c.  70 literal years later was the date of 537 b.c.  There are 564 consecutive years between 27 a.d. which was Jewish year 3787, and 537 b.c.  Therefore, 537 b.c. was Jewish year 3223.   (3787 minus 564 =  3223).  By counting back consecutively by 7’s from the majority Sabbatical year of 27 a.d. (3787) we can know that 540 b.c (Jewish year 3220) was the closest Sabbatical year to 537 b.c.  In fact, from the beginning of that Sabbatical year in Tishri of 541 b.c.,  3.5 years later was the spring of 537 b.c. (Jewish year 3223) or 3223.5 which was the exact MIDDLE OF SEVEN, and the MIDDLE of that Sabbatical cycle. 

 

 

We are not told in II Chronicles or in II Kings which month Nebuchadnezzar first took Jehoiakim captive.  However, since Jeremiah’s prophecy was for 70 literal years, and since II Samuel 11:1 says that “after the year was expired, at the time kings go forth to battle,” (which would have been at the beginning of Nisan, because after Exodus 12:1, all biblical dating is on the Sacred calendar, from Nisan to Nisan), I believe the Babylonian captivity actually began in the spring of 606 b.c. (which would have been 607.5 b.c.) Again by counting back 70 consecutive years, the spring of 606.b.c. would have been Jewish year 3153 or 3153.5 (which had began in Tishri of 607 b.c.)   By counting back consecutively from the majority Sabbatical year of 540 b.c., (Jewish year 3220) we can know that 610 b.c. was Jewish year 3150, (which divides equally by 7) and was indeed a majority Sabbatical year.  Since Jewish year 3153.5 was the spring of 607.5 b.c., and 3153.5 divides equally by 3.5, this also proves that year was indeed in the MIDDLE of a Sabbatical cycle.

 

 

An extremely important point emerges here: …The Jews were taken captive by Babylon in the MIDDLE of SEVEN and they were set free from that captivity in the MIDDLE of SEVEN !

 

 

But, the angel Gabriel did NOT say “from the going forth of the commandment to REBUILD THE TEMPLE...”

 

 

After the return of the people into Judah with the priests, Zerubbabel and Yeshua, Ezra 3:1-2 says: “And when the seventh month was come,…and (they) builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.” Please note that the Jews began their return to sacrifices with only an altar, BEFORE the foundation of the Temple was even laid two years later in Ezra 3:10.  Trouble began to arise with the attempt at temple building and Ezra 4: 4-5, says the following:  “Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, And hired counsellers against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.”  The beginning work on the Temple was stopped from 534 b.c. until the second year of the reign of Darius I.  Ezra 4:24 says:  “Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.”

 

 

The whole theme of the book of Haggai deals with the Lord’s disgust directed towards His people because of the fact that they had all built their own houses but had neglected work on “His house” which had ceased !

 

 

Ezra 6 talks of the second decree, that of King Darius I.  Verses 11-2 say: “Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this. And the God that hath caused his name to dwell there destroy all kings and people, that shall put to their hand to alter and to destroy this house of God which is at Jerusalem. I Darius have made a decree; let it be done with speed.”

 

 

A majority of scholars agree that the date of the ‘second year’ of King Darius I was 520 b.c.  Counting back consecutively from the majority Sabbatical year of 27 a.d. (Jewish year 3787) by 7’s,  brings one to 519 b.c., which was a majority Sabbatical year, and is confirmed by scholars who study Sabbatical years.  519 b.c. was Jewish year 3241. That Sabbatical year began in Tishri of 520 b.c. which opened the Jewish year 3241.

 

 

The O.T. books of Haggai and Zechariah are the two most exact dated books in all of Scripture.  Haggai 1: 1 begins with the words: “In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month...”  We know the sixth month, the first day would have been Elul 1, Jewish year 3240, 29 days before the ‘turn of the (civil)  year’ on Tishri 1, of New Year 3241.  From the first verse of Haggai 2, thru the end of the book, all verses were written in the Jewish Sabbatical year of 3241 !

 

 

Zechariah 1:1 says:  “In the eight month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord….” We know this eight month would have been Heshvan, after the turn of the New Year, Jewish year 3241.  Therefore, the first six chapters of Zechariah were written in the Jewish Sabbatical year of 3241, 519 b.c.!

 

 

Because we know that the “second year of Darius” was within the beginning of the Sabbatical cycle which started on Tishri 1, 520 b.c. (Jewish year 3241), 3.5/4 years later would have been “the sixth year of Darius” and indeed, this is confirmed by verse 15 of Ezra 6.  “And this house was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.”

 

 

Therefore, THE BUILDING OF THE SECOND TEMPLE  WAS COMPLETED IN THE MIDDLE OF SEVEN, which was in THE MIDDLE of a Sabbatical cycle in Adar of 515 b.c., the spring of Jewish year 3244 (3244.5).

 

 

But, the angel Gabriel did NOT say “from the going forth of the commandment to RESTART THE BUILDING OF THE TEMPLE...”

 

 

The fourth and final ‘return to Jerusalem’ involved that of Nehemiah, but there was NO ‘decree’ as such  issued for his return.   Nehemiah had received word from Hanani, who had come from Jerusalem back to Babylon, to report 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.”   After much prayer to the Lord concerning this grave matter, in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, the king noticed the very sad face of Nehemiah, his cupbearer. In 2:2, the king asked Nehemiah if he was sick and Nehemiah became “very sore afraid.”  He replied to the king in verse 3: “And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?”  Then Nehemiah made this request to the king in verse 5:  “And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.”  Artaxerxes asked how long the trip would take and then he agreed to Nehemiah’s return…” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.”

 

 

Then Nehemiah asked king Artaxerxes for “letters” to be given to him granting safe passage, and for a letter written to Asaph the keeper of the forest, in verses 7-9.  Please note…there is NO decree given, only the King’s permission for Nehemiah to return ….” 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; 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. Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters.”

 

 

Most scholars date Nehemiah’s return to Jerusalem between 445 b.c. to 444 b.c.  Counting forward consecutively from majority Sabbatical year 519 b.c. by 7’s,  brings one to majority Sabbatical year  449 b.c., Jewish year 3311, exactly 70 years from 519 b.c. Ussher dates Artaxerxes’ letters as Nisan of 445 b.c., Jewish year 3314, which had begun in Tishri of 446 b.c.   Therefore, the spring of 445 b.c. was Jewish year 3314.5, which was the exact MIDDLE OF SEVEN and the MIDDLE of that Sabbatical cycle.

 

 

But, the angel Gabriel did NOT say “from the going forth of the commandment to REBUILD THE BROKEN DOWN WALL, NOR THE GATES, NOR THE TEMPLE...”

 

 

You will have noted by this time that the “two returns” just noted, commanded by Cyrus and Darius, and the return of Nehemiah with letters written by Artaxerxes, were all accomplished IN THE MIDDLE OF SEVEN, in the MIDDLE of a Sabbatical cycle, not at the beginning of a Sabbatical cycle, a ‘7th’  year,  and of course, surely not in a 49th year.

 

 

Now we come to the return of Ezra, which is listed third in order in Scripture.  Remember, that the angel Gabriel’s key words to Daniel as the beginning date of the 490 years…”from the going forth of the commandment TO RESTORE and rebuild Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince….”

 

 

For some background on Ezra, from Bible Teaching Notes.com: 

 

The first introduction to Ezra’s priestly pedigree was is Ezra chapter 7. “This was an important matter to the Jews because it linked Ezra with Aaron, Israel’s first chief priest, thus establishing Ezra’s authenticity and credibility.  Although greatly abbreviated, Ezra’s genealogy is a ‘who’s who’ of important priests in Hebrew history.  God used a man named Ezra to set the people back on course.  Ezra was a man who was prepared for what God had prepared for him.  He was a man prepared for a purpose.  Ezra 7:6 tells us of Ezra’s qualifications and the decree, which authorized his return to Jerusalem.  Ezra’s priestly pedigree, preparation and piety gave him the credibility and uniquely qualified him to do God’s work.  Notice that Ezra was an expert in the Mosaic Law.  He was an interpreter and teacher of the Law who had been trained to the point of proficiency.  The Jewish historian Josephus tells us of Ezra’s piety.  Josephus wrote that Ezra enjoyed a reputation in society for his integrity and the high qualities of his character. Ezra 7: 7-10 is a summary statement of Ezra’s journey from Babylon to Jerusalem.  Ezra 7:10 reveals the key to Ezra’s success in life and in service. Notice that Ezra set his heart “to study the law of the Lord.” The word “study” means “to seek.”  Ezra put forth effort to study God’s Word.  Notice also that Ezra was determined to “practice” what he had learned through his study of God’s Word.  Ezra was a doer of the Word.  He translated his discoveries into deed! Ezra was also determined to teach God’s Word in Israel.  The  order  is important:  Study, practice, and then teach!”  [end of quote]

 

 

Ezra 7: 12-14 says:  “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.  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. Forasmuch as thou art sent of the king, and of his seven counsellers, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thine hand;”

 

 

“Ezra 7:11-26 is a record of the decree of King Artaxerxes.  This decree spelled out the scope of Ezra’s power and purpose.  First, it authorized the return of Ezra, and any Jews who wanted to accompany him to Jerusalem.  Second, it authorized Ezra to investigate the state of affairs among the Jews in Judah.  Third, the decree provided for the needs of the Temple.  Fourth, Ezra was authorized to obtain whatever else he needed for the Temple at the expense of the royal treasury. Fifth, those who worked in the Temple were granted a tax-exempt status.  Finally, Ezra was authorized to set up both a judicial and educational system” [end of quote]

 

 

Ezra the priest, Ezra the scribe was authorized to RESTORE JERUSALEM AND ITS PEOPLE!

 

 

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?

 

 

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

 

Quote:  “Historians compare many things in history to make up a historical calendar we can relate to. 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.”

 

 

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.  Yet, Artaxerxes actually ascended to the throne in late December, 465 b.c.  This means that the seventh year of Artaxerxes’ reign would have taken place from about September, 458 until September, 457 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.” [end of quote]

 

 

“Basically, from 536 b.c. to 457 b.c., 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 to legislation to stop Israel, for they were ‘building a rebellious and evil city.’ 

 

 

So we see Ezra receiving his decree from Artaxerxes in 457 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 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 b.c., 27 a.d. and 34 a.d. (of 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).

 

 

Truly, Ezra the scribe, was the appointed man, in the appointed year, sent under the appointed decree, issued by the appointed King, to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, which would mark the beginning date in which to calculate the EXACT year that Y’shua the Messiah would come to the nation of Israel to begin His ministry!

 

 

Just as Daniel was beseeching the Lord in his humble prayer for forgiveness of Israel’s national sin in Daniel 9:5-6…”We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:  Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land”…of course the Lord already had in mind the pious and holy man Ezra, who would attempt to restore the city of Jerusalem and its people back to the faith of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!

 

 

One final word about the biblical text which reveals the divine decree which begins the wonderful count of the ’70 weeks’:  one cannot escape noting the 7’s and factors of 7 contained in it:

 

1.                  Ezra’s decree and departure from Babylon with his company is found in the 7th chapter and the 7th verse. 

2.                  This event occurred in the 7th year of King Artaxerxes’ reign

3.                  King Artaxerxes had 7 advisors.

4.                  The ‘restoration of Jerusalem and its people  began in a 7x7th year- a 49th year

 

 

Also, from Ezra 5:13 to Ezra 7:21:  in the KJV and the NASB, the word ‘decree’ is used a total of 9 times.  Also, in both versions, the word ‘decree’ is only used regarding Ezra, never regarding Nehemiah.  

 

 

In Part  One of this paper, it was shown how the attempted invasion by king Sennacherib, ‘the Assyrian’ is historically documented in Jewish history as having taken place in the majority Sabbatical year of 701 b.c.  And, it was pointed out that because this is recounted in II Kings 18/19, in which God told king Hezekiah…”this shall be a sign unto you” and then proceeded to reiterate His own provision principle of ‘four years’ from the 6th year, which is the law of the Jubilee Year, that this provides strong evidence that 701 b.c. was not only a 7th year but was also a 49th year, the beginning of a Jubilee Year!

 

 

Since the Sabbatical year of 701 b.c. (Jewish year 3059) began in Tishri of 702 b.c., counting forward consecutively by 7’s, one comes right to Tishri of 457 b.c. (Jewish year 3304) which is exactly 245 years.  245 years equals 5 Jubilee cycles of 49 years.  Therefore, 456 b.c. was not only the majority Sabbatical year but was also a 49th year!   Because of this fact, the beginning of the prophecy of Daniel’s ’70 weeks’ began in a 49th year!  After the passage of ten additional Jubilee cycles, the ’70 weeks’ will come to end for ‘Thy People, Daniel” in another 49th year, which will be the final 490th year of the prophecy!

 

 

Now that we know the beginning date of Daniel’s wonderful prophecy, let’s begin to decode the ‘puzzle’:

 

1.         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…”

                                    7 x 7 years  = 49 years

 

 

From 457/456 b.c.  +  49 years  =  408/407 b.c.   a 49th year

 

 

Seven ‘weeks’ or 49 years, a Jubilee cycle, forward from 457/456 b.c. (Jewish year 3304) brings us to another documentable, historical date, that of 408/407 b.c. (Jewish year 3353).  Historians have found a preserved, written documented dated 408 b.c.

 

 

From  newadvent.org/cathen/o8193a.htm:   (and other historical sources)

 

“It had long been the opinion of most historians that the Artaxerxes of Nehemiah was certainly the first of that name, and that consequently the first mission of Nehemiah fell in the year B. C. 445. The Aramaic papyri of Elephantine, recently published by Sachau, put this date beyond the shadow of a doubt. For in the letter which they wrote to Bahohim, Governor of Judea, in the seventeenth year of Darius II ( B. C. 408 ), the Jewish priests of Elephantine say that they have also made an application to the sons of Sanaballat at Samaria. Now Sanaballat was a contemporary of Nehemiah, and the Artaxerxes of Nehemiah, therefore, was the predecessor, and not the successor, of Darius II. “ [end of quote]

 

 

From Bible Basics- Nehemiah:

 

“The book of Nehemiah, like Ezra, Ruth, Job, Esther, and others is named after it's principle character. The Jews considered it to be one book with Ezra, but the repetition of Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7 may indicate it was originally two works. Although the author is not mentioned, it may have been an autobiography by Nehemiah. It was possibly written by Nehemiah looking back on his administration. The accuracy of the history told in the book has been well established by the discovery of the Elephantine papyri which mentions many of the same names and events with dates. It can be also learned from these papyri that Nehemiah ceased to be governor of Judea in 408 B.C.” [end of quote]

 

 

2.         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, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times….

           

                                    62 x 7 years = 434 years

 

 

                                    408/407 b.c.  +  434 years  =  26/27 a.d.   (Jewish year 3787)

                                                                                                                        a Sabbatical year

 

 

3.         Verse 26:  “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:….”

 

49 years + 434 years  = 483 years  or ’69 weeks’

 

 

From Tishri 457 b.c. to Tishri 1 of 26 a.d.  = 483 years or the end of the ‘7 weeks’ + the ’62 weeks’ which totals the ’69 weeks’ !

 

                                   

Messiah was to be cut-off AFTER Tishri 1, 26 a.d…and He was...3.5/4 years after, at the Cross, in the spring of 30 a.d.  (Jewish year: 3790 or 3790.5 )  in the middle of a Sabbatical cycle

 

 

Y’SHUA MESSIAH WAS CUT OFF IN THE 486.5th YEAR OF DANIEL’S 490 YEARS !

 

 

Just as Gabriel’s words required:  the Messiah as the anointed one, fulfilled the 7 essentials of verse 9:24   INSIDE   THE SEVENTIETH WEEK OF DANIEL    NOT OUTSIDE THE FINAL WEEK !

 

 

“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.”

 

 

This leaves ONLY 3.5 years of the total 490 years to yet be fulfilled by “Daniel’s PEOPLE”…the judged, redeemed and forgiven JEWISH remnant during the first half of the 7 years of the Tribulation!  These 3.5 remaining years will be known as the time of “Jacob’s Trouble!”

 

 

*Note:  IF the nation of Israel would have accepted Y’shua as their Messiah at the time of His ministry to them, after His death on the Cross in 30.5 a.d, 3.5 years later, Tishri 1 of 33 a.d., began the next Sabbatical year, making 34 a.d. not only the majority 7th year, but also the 49th year, and the 490th year that would have closed Daniel’s 70th week!  Then Tishri 10, of 34 a.d. would have opened the Jubilee year of Israel, and the millennial Kingdom would have begun immediately!  But of course that was not to be, as the plan of God called for the bringing in of His ‘other flock,’ the New Testament Church.   John 10:1 says…”And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”

 

 

Now, we can prove that 701 b.c. was indeed a 49th year…because by consecutively counting back by 49s from 34 a.d. of course one will come right to 701 b.c., which is a total of 735 years which is 15 cycles of 49 years !

 

 

Let’s see how this will all work out with what we are told in the book of The REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST…

 

 

The book of Revelation is composed of 22 chapters. The MIDDLE of the book is chapter 11, one of the most important chapters of the whole book!  With chapter 10 on one side and chapter 12 on the other side, these three chapters begin to FINISH the 490th year of ‘THY PEOPLE, DANIEL”

 

 

The definition of ‘THY PEOPLE’ Daniel is:  The believing Jewish remnant, who have come to faith and trust in their Messiah Y’shua by the end of Jacob’s Trouble, by the MIDDLE of the Tribulation.  

 

 

The remaining Jews who never come to faith by the MIDDLE of the Tribulation in the Lord’s eyes, are no longer “His people” or “Thy people, Daniel” by inference.  John the Baptist said in Luke 3:7-9:  “Then said he to the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”

 

 

“THY People” Daniel, will begin to bring forth good fruit during the last 3.5 years of his prophecy. In fact, the 144,000 are even called the “first fruits unto God and the Lamb” in Revelation 14:4.  We will come to see that this redeemed remnant will also become the “first fruits” of the Kingdom Age !  They will include the remnant that is escaped of the house of Judah (that) shall yet again take root downward, and bear fruit upward. For out of Jerusalem shall go forth a remnant, and they that escape out of mount Zion!

 

 

“Thy people, Daniel,” the Tribulation Jewish martyrs will have begun ‘to bear fruit upward’ in the 4th year, after having been ‘circumcised’ for the 3.5 years of Jacob’s Trouble!

 

 

The definition of “thy people, Daniel” is also  the Old Testament saints, who trusted in the Holy One of Israel and faithfully followed His commandments, of which Daniel was certainly one, who have waited and come to the end of their days!

 

 

The Book of Revelation was written and meant to be understood in unfolding, progressive ORDER, with each new event following after the last one other than for  a couple of exceptions, that  of the ‘parentheticals.’ The proper understanding of the unfolding of a scroll and the opening of its subsequent and consecutive seals is a requirement for proper exegesis of this book!  With the remembrance of this MOST important principle, all begins to fall into place and proper sequence.  The Holy Spirit aids the reader in this with His important and crucial placement of the simple phrase, “after this” and “after these things.” There are 10 of these phrases strategically placed throughout the book.  In the KJV, they are found in the following passages:

 

1.         1:19:    “things which shall be hereafter”

 

2.         4:1       “After this”

           

3.         4:1       “things which must be hereafter”

 

4.         7:1       “And after these things”

 

5.         7:9       “After this”

 

6.         9:12     “hereafter”

 

7.         11:11   “And after three days and a half”

 

8.         15:5     “And after that”

 

9.         18:1     “And after these things”

 

10.       19:1     “And after these things”

 

 

When studying both the Old Testament, and the book of Revelation, one begins to notice that for the nation of Israel, God has “numbered their days” throughout their history, and therefore their future which is to come!   Beginning with the first chapter of Genesis, Abraham’s vision of the Egyptian bondage in Genesis 15, the Children’s wilderness wandering, Jeremiah’s prophecy of the Babylonian captivity, Ezekiel’s “lying on his sides” for both Israel and Judah and Daniel’s prophecy, are just some examples whereby the believing of that nation could “count.”  Moses prayed his wonderful collective prayer for the nation in Psalm 90:12-17 where he said…

 

”So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Return, O LORD, how long? and let it repent thee concerning thy servants. O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, and the years wherein we have seen evil. Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children. And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.”

 

 

In the last chapter of Daniel, chapter 12, some most important and enlightening statements are made, which shed light upon the middle three chapters of Revelation, and Matthew 24.  The majority of the prophecy contained in Daniel 9-12 has to do with the final ‘70th week’ of his prophecy and the events contained therein.  At times when the facts of the last half  of the ‘70th week’ are described to Daniel,  he can barely stand to hear about it and know  the horror and affliction that awaits his people during this future time.  Finally, in chapter 12, two angels downriver, ask a question of a certain “Man” …dressed in linen…who has the answers to their questions.  That “Man” is none other than Jesus, Himself !  “And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long   shall it be to the end of  these  wonders?”

 

 

With this question, the angels were seeking specific knowledge about how long it would be until THE END of ALL the wonders during this future horrific time, of which the previous three chapters had just enumerated.   Notice the answer of the ‘Man’, who again emerges as ‘Palmoni, the Wonderful Numberer.’  “And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.”

 

 

Do you see it?   Jesus specifically answered the question that “all things” shall be finished at the END OF 1260 DAYS, for ‘Daniel’s people’ at the time the antichrist  accomplishes the scattering of the power of the holy people!’  According to the answer, this ‘scattering of the power of the holy people’ will take place by the end of a period of time, at the end of the LAST 1260 days of Daniel’s prophecy in chapter 9!

 

 

You will see why ‘this 1260 days’ is the FIRST half of the 7 years of Tribulation, and NOT the LAST half !

 

 

This startling answer should get our attention IMMEDIATELY!  Daniel did not understand what Jesus was saying at the time because it was not for him to know, as an earlier verse says: “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.”

 

 

Then, ‘Palmoni’ gave two more strategic “counts of days” which we see are fulfilled in Matthew 24 and in the MIDDLE of Revelation.  The second “count” is:  “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”  The third and last “count” is:  “Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.”

 

 

Jesus then instructs Daniel to:  “But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.”

 

 

“At the end of what days?”…at the END of the ‘counts of days that’ the Man” just mentioned…at the END of the FIRST  1335 days of the Tribulation.

 

 

 

Therefore, “thy people Daniel” as the saved remnant of Israel are not subject to “the overspreading of abominations that make it desolate” (9:27) nor to “the people of the prince that shall come and destroy the city and the sanctuary”(9:26)….after the 1335th day!

 

 

Because we as Bible students can ALWAYS trust in fact that the Holy Spirit never becomes ‘out of order,’ and, most important of all, we should know and understood that  these three different ‘counts of days are to be  interpreted in the proper consecutive, sequential order in which they were given, each count following immediately upon completion of the previous one!  It is vital to understand this….because it makes all the difference in the world how one properly interprets Matthew 24 and chapters 10, 11 and 12 of Revelation!

 

 

In the light of this statement, we know that the Tribulation is 7 years long, or

 3 ½ years and 3 ½ years, which is a total of 2,520 days, which is divided into TWO parts:  1260 days and 1260 days, and/or 42 months and 42 months. 

 

 

The Bible clearly teaches that the WHOLE period of the seven years of ‘TRIBULATION’ is the outpouring of God’s wrath upon the Earth and her inhabitants!  Again, the recognition and understanding of the unfolding, progressive order as written by the Holy Spirit plainly reveals this.  The scroll containing the most ominous of words, “lamentations, mourning and woe” as written in Ezekiel 2:10, is the same scroll (or 7-sealed book) as in Revelation 5:1, and both are written upon both sides.   The first 4 seal JUDGMENTS  are the exact  SAME  TERRIBLE  PUNISHMENTS that are mentioned Ezekiel 14:13-22:

 

 

Please carefully note what this most overlooked and important text says: 

 

 “Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it:  Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, saith the Lord GOD.  If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts:  Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate.  Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it:  Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves.  Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast:   Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, saith the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness.  For thus saith the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast?  Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it.”

 

 

 AND THE SEAL JUDGMENTS ARE NOT THE WRATH OF GOD ?

 

 

Right here, let a most important point be made…that is…the book of Revelation is written within a Jewish framework, and is to be understood from the Jewish viewpoint, about the future time that the  “the Lion of the tribe of Judah” will pour out His wrath upon the wicked Gentile nations and upon the nation of Israel, just before He takes His rightful seat upon the Throne of God, as the Holy King of Israel when He opens the Millennial Kingdom Age!  This is evidenced by the fact that in chapter one, He calls Himself, once again in 1:13 and 14:14, by His Jewish title, “Son of man” which is only used in the Jewish Gospels to the nation of Israel, and in Acts 7, as Stephen looks into Heaven and sees the “Son of man standing on the right hand of God.”  This title is never used of Jesus anywhere in the Epistles to the Church, except as a quote from the Old Testament in Hebrews 2:6.

 

 

The phrase, “the coming of the Son of man” in the Gospels, ALWAYS refers to the Second Coming of Jesus to earth, and is NOT a reference to His coming for the Church in “our gathering unto Him,” the rapture!

 

 

The fact that Revelation is again a Jewish book,  provides another explanation why the Church is removed from the unfolding JEWISH scenario at the beginning of the narrative in 4:1, and does not reappear until chapter 19, coming back out of Heaven with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, as ‘the wife of the Bridegroom.’  Israel cannot be the virgin ‘wife’ of the Lamb, as she is referred to as ‘the woman’ who gives birth to the man child in Revelation 12.  She already was betrothed to the Lord at Sinai “as a young virgin girl” who was married to the Lord in the Old Testament, left Him and then committed ‘spiritual’ adultery with her three lovers, Egypt, Assyria and Babylon, by  “exchanging her Holy God for their gods.”  She was “put away” from the Lord in Isaiah 50:1.  She can never again return to being a ‘virgin bride” as she is already married to the Lord, as in Jeremiah 3:14, and bore the Child Y’shua, Messiah, King of Israel, Who is Shilo!

 

 

Again, by understanding the progressive and unfolding order of Revelation, please note that it is at the 6th seal, that takes place very near the beginning of the Tribulation, and occurs even BEFORE  the sealing of the 144,000 in their foreheads….because 7:1 says…” AND AFTER THESE THINGS”….. where this is said…. “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”

 

 

The FIRST part of the Tribulation is composed of 1260 days, or “time, times and half a time” which we now see will be the last half of the “70th week of Daniel.”

 

 

It is at the end of this first half, or 1260 days, that Jesus said, “all these things shall be finished.”  Finished for whom?  All things will be finished for THE PEOPLE TO WHOM THE PROPHECY WAS DIRECTED….”THY PEOPLE DANIEL.”

 

 

“Thy people” will be the redeemed remnant of Israel who have come to faith and trust in Y’shua as their own, dear Messiah!  Also, among that group will be many redeemed Gentiles that make up “the number that cannot be counted” which are standing around the Throne, dressed in white in Revelation chapter 7.    “Thy people” are also the Old Testament saints.

 

 

The “power of the holy people will be scattered or dispersed by the antichrist” during the ‘Time of Jacob’s Trouble,’ during the FIRST half  of the Tribulation, during the LAST half of the ‘70th week of Daniel !”

 

 

 

We know from Revelation 12:14, the expression “time, times and half a time” is exactly 1260 days, or 42 months…for that is the exact time the first group of Jewish remnant, “the woman,” will flee to the wilderness where she will be protected and nourished throughout  the LAST half of the Tribulation.

 

 

Next in Daniel 12, comes verse 11: “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”  Jesus plainly tells the exact day that the beast will set up the abomination of desolation.  Of course, the 1290 days are clearly meant to be understood as 30 additional days, following after the end of the first 1260 days !

 

 

For proof of this statement, we go to the cross-reference of Matthew 24: 15-21, of which Jesus speaks, which involves the second group of Jewish remnant who will flee to the Judean mountains….”

 

 

“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.”

 

 

Note the clues that can be gleaned from Jesus’ own words in this prophecy to the “Judean remnant” at the end of the first half of the Tribulation:

 

1.                  This “fleeing” is to take place on the 1290th day of the Tribulation, 30 days after the first 1260 days, on the very day the “abomination that makes desolate” is set in place.

2.                  This second group of remnant is to flee to the Judean mountains.

3.                  This group is to pray that their flight be not in the winter nor on the sabbath day, therefore, this escape will be precluded from taking place during either of these two times.

4.                  The 1290th day will begin a time of “GREAT tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time nor ever shall be!”

 

 

A very important inference is made here by Jesus that should be understood.  The Jewish remnant that flees to the Judean mountains will be protected from the GREAT TRIBULATION OF THE LAST 42 MONTHS OF THE TRIBULATION!  Therefore, we can assume and know for sure from Revelation 12:6 that ‘the woman’ is also protected from the GREAT Tribulation during the last part also! 

 

 

The Jewish believers that remain alive on the Earth after the middle of the tribulation are protected from the GREAT and TERRIBLE DAY OF THE LORD!

 

 

It is clear that this 1290th day takes place within the time of “the authority of the beast.” In Revelation 13:5, the text is clear to say that this “authority “was given to the beast to continue for forty and two months.”  His power and authority over the rest of the world, along with the ‘false prophet” is ONLY for 42 months, which will be the time of the LAST half of the Tribulation.  This means then, that Satan and his demons will be thrown to earth in the MIDDLE of the 7 years of Tribulation, just as is portrayed in the MIDDLE of Revelation, 12:3-4.  For it is Satan, the dragon, who gives his power to the antichrist, who then becomes ‘the beast’ that will reign on earth for the last 1260 days or 42 months.    More will be said about this later.

 

 

These “forty and two months” represent the same period of which is spoken in Revelation 11:2…regarding the “court which is without the temple….for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall be tread under foot forty and two months.”  Scofield has a margin note which cross-references this text with Ezekiel 8:5-9 where the prophet sees “the image of jealousy” standing in the gate of entry to the altar.  These forty two months are the last half of the Tribulation, referred to in Luke 21:22-24…”For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.  But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.  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.”   The beginning of these last 42 months will be the time that the armies of the earth will begin to gather and surround the city of Jerusalem, as in Zechariah 12.

 

 

The remaining Jewish people, all over the world who have not come to faith and trust in Y’shua as their Messiah Redeemer within the FIRST 1260 days of the Tribulation, as ‘Jacob’s trouble,’ will be subject to the Great Wrath of God and the Lamb poured out upon the Earth in the LAST 1260 days of the Tribulation, under the empire of the dragon, the beast and the false prophet !

 

 

We now come to the last ‘counts of days’ given by Jesus in Daniel 12, which could be viewed as an enigmatic statement by Him.  He says, “Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.”

 

 

In the past, most Bible scholars and teachers have placed this 1,335 days as the LAST half of the Tribulation, which necessitates adding on an extra 75 days over and above the revealed 1260 days and 1260 days (2,520 days)  for a new total of 2595 days.  But this interpretation violates the Holy Spirit’s order and His context.  For, if the first count of “time, times and half a time” is to be followed by an additional 30 days which only affects “thy people,” bringing them to the 1290th day, then it is only logical and proper to assume that an additional 45 days will follow after the 1290th day in which to bring “thy people” to the 1335th day in order!  In other words, the 1335th day extends 75 days beyond the ”time, times and half a time.” This is the only way to preserve the intended meaning of this text.  We will come to see the proof of this statement in Revelation 10, 11 and 12.   The subject, “he that waiteth” is referring to a group of selected people, that is, the precious, Old Testament saints that are raised in their resurrected bodies and go up to Heaven at the end of the 70th week of Daniel, and the precious Jewish redeemed “thy people” of Jacob’s Trouble, both the living and the martyrs who will “begin to bear fruit in the fourth year, as a praise offering to the Lord!”

 

 

Remember the ‘5th seal’ about which this is said?  “And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:  And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.”  Revelation 6: 9-11 KJV

 

 

Like Daniel and the angels down-river in Daniel 12, these Jewish Tribulation martyrs are asking the Lord the question, ‘how long until our blood is avenged,’ (the great wrath poured out upon the wicked of the nations in the ‘times of the Gentiles’) and the Lord tells them “to rest a little season” (time, times and half a time)  until their brethren (Jewish brethren) and their fellowservants  (the Gentile Tribulation believers) should be fulfilled’ i.e. by the end of the first 1335 days of the Tribulation !

 

 

We will see if Revelation 10, 11 and 12 bear out this conclusion. 

 

 

Bible students take note of different groups to which Scripture refers. For instance, have you ever noticed that different groups are mentioned as being in the heavenly city of Zion in Hebrews 12?

 

 

Along with the rest of Scripture, in the Epistles, written to the New Testament Church, the apostles use first person pronouns, ‘I’  ‘me’, second person pronouns ‘you’ and ‘us’ and third person pronouns ‘they’ and ‘them’ as some examples.  When the Apostles use the pronouns of “you” and “we” they are addressing us, the believers in Jesus Christ, as the redeemed “family members.”   When they use the words “they” and “them,” often the context is directed at the unsaved, the wicked as “those outside the family” of Jesus Christ, but also “they” is used when referencing the Old Testament saints! 

 

 

The writer of Hebrews in chapter 12 makes a contrast between Mount Sinai and Mount Zion, and between different groups in the heavenly Mount Zion.  For the sake of brevity, I will not post the text in this paper, but it is important to see the following: 

 

 

The writer, who I personally believe is Paul, starts chapter 12 with the pronoun "us" and “ye” which is directed to the WHOLE New Testament church...which will be brought to the heavenly Mount Zion at the resurrection/rapture…

 

 

Beginning with verse 22:  “But ye are come unto mount Sion…”   Note these 8 DIFFERENT things mentioned in the text to which “ye are brought” which are all separated by commas, and the word ‘and’, and then also NOTICE THE ORDER....

 

1.    Mt. Zion- city of the living God,

and
2.    the heavenly Jerusalem,

and

3.    myriads of angels,

and

4.    to the general assembly and church of the first born enrolled in heaven,

and

5.    to God, the Judge of all,

and

6.    to the spirits of righteous men made perfect,

and

7.    Jesus the mediator of the new covenant,

and

8.    sprinkled blood

 

 

 

Note, that the group who is “ye” are going to be brought to heaven altogether, which will make up the group …”the general assembly and church of the first born…..”  and note that group is who is ‘ye” is brought also to a second group,  “to the spirits of righteous men made perfect,” which are separated by the phrase…”to God, the Judge of all……”

 

 

I believe that the group that is “spirits of righteous men made perfect” is composed of the Old Testament saints that have not yet received their resurrected bodies at the time of the resurrection/rapture of the New Testament Church !

 

 

Note this verse:  “And this word, Yet once more, signified the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.”  

 

 

Mt. Sinai had nothing to do with God's outpouring of physical vengeance and wrath...and at Sinai...God ONLY shook the mountain (the earth) so WHY is the Holy Spirit connecting the "ye” who are brought to the '8' things above with... "yet once more" He will not only shake the earth but ALSO THE HEAVENS”?...Because this is clearly a reference to the outpouring of physical wrath upon the Heavens and the earth that awaits the time of the Tribulation!  This is the phrase the Lord also uses in Haggai 2:21 and 22 when He says….” Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother.”

 

 

The point is this, the New Testament saints are raised in the bodily resurrection and go up to Heaven BEFORE ‘the shaking of yet once more,’ at a different time than the Old Testament saints who are already  in the heavenly Mount Zion, still  in their spirit bodies !

 

 

 

Part Three will go into detail about how this all works out, according to Revelation 10, 11 and 12.

 

 

 

Miriam Howard

miriamhoward@bak.rr.com

November, 2004