DANIEL’S SEVENTIETH WEEK – THE CALENDAR OF RECOKONING
When I began this chapter, I debated about whether or not to discuss some of the foundational premises of the tribulation. My rationale was that since you and I will not partake of its horrors, why bring attention to it if it will never affect us?
However, I decided to explore the topic as a learning tool for my readers. Christians have varying degrees of knowledge about the tribulation. Therefore, I felt an urging to communicate specific points about Daniel’s seventieth week, aka tribulation, that is necessary to help you understand the nature this horrid period of time.
The Christian world calls the seven year period of unparalleled violence and unimaginable terror the “tribulation.” Its technical designations are actually “Daniels seventieth week” and the
“time of Jacob’s trouble.”
The Tribulation and the Nation of Israel
The horrors of the seventieth week are for Israel and all permanent “earth dwellers” who refuse to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. These earth dwellers are those who were deceived by the antichrist and accepted the mark of the beast.
Let us take a hard look at Daniel 9: 24-27, which provides a clear understanding of Daniel’s seventieth week. It also presents an outline for the future of Israel. I would like to remind you that nowhere is the “Church” mentioned in the following scripture because its existence was far in the future and unrevealed by God.
The Nation of Israel had essentially become slaves in Babylon in about 606 B.C. They were forced to leave Israel and enter into their captivity in Babylon. This scripture was written during this period. It begins with the angel Gabriel telling Daniel of “end times” prophecy: 71
“Seventy weeks (490 years) are determined upon thy people (Israel, not all of humanity), 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 (Jesus’ first coming). Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the prince (Jesus) shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah (Jesus) be cut off (killed) but not for himself: and the people of the prince (antichrist) that shall come shall destroy the city and sanctuary;(70A.D.) and the end thereof shall be with a flood (of soldiers) and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he (antichrist) shall confirm the covenant (treaty/peace agreement) with many (all Arab nations and Israel) for one week (seven years): and in the midst (the end of the first three and one half years) of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease (in the Temple) and for the overspreading of abominations (sacrifice hogs, etc. in Holy of Holies) he shall make it desolate (unclean), even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
(Daniel 9: 24-27)
This seven-year “tribulation” period is based upon the old Jewish calendar that relied on 360
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days per year -not 365. If we multiply 360 days by 7 years, we get a total of 2,520 days. The Bible counts one “week” as seven years.
By breaking down the seven years, we can better understand the specific events associated with each period, of which there are three. The first period consists of seven weeks, or forty-nine years, which was devoted to the restoration and building up of Jerusalem.
The second period is sixty-two weeks in duration, or 434 years, which foretold the precise time of Jesus the Messiah’s death. If we add the forty-nine years from period one to the four hundred thirty-four years of period two, we come up with 483 years.
As the reader can observe , seven years remain to complete the entire 490 years, as detailed in Daniel 9: 24, “Seventy weeks (490 years) are determined upon thy people.” What remains is the third period of seven years of “tribulation” needed to complete the prophecy.
Our Lord Jesus warned about this terrible time in Matthew 24: 9, 21, 22:
“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, (Israel) and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake…For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days be shortened, there should no flesh be save: but for the elects sake (Israel’s) those days shall be shortened.”
Only A Remnant of Humans Will Survive the Seventieth Week of Daniel
God in His great mercy will stop all killing at the end of the tribulation before the nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction can kill all humanity. Jesus emphatically told his disciples that in order to save a remnant of humanity, He would have to stop the horrors of 72
war before all humankind would be extinguished.
“And except those days (end of the tribulation) should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved (survival-not salvation): but for the elects (Israel) sake those days shall be shortened.”
(Matthew 24: 22)
The word “shortened,” according to Strong’s Concordance # 2856, means “to curtail,”
“cut off.” Some Bible teachers proclaim that God will somehow reduce the twenty-four hour day to make the days shorter.
Certainly Jesus can shorten the standard twenty-hour day by adjusting the axis and rotation of the earth. However, having a shorter day won’t produce fewer deaths. It seems that by actually collapsing the duration of the tribulation a remnant of humanity will be able to survive.
Another word that perplexes Christians is the word “elect,” found above in Matthew 24:22.
The book of Matthew was written for Jewish converts, which, as Smith’s Bible Dictionary states, was written “to show them, (Jewish converts) in Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah of the Old Testament (was) whom they expected.” (4)
God ordained and chose Israel to be a “peculiar” people . Israel is the elect. It cannot refer to Christians (the Body of Christ) because the future establishment of the Church was still a secret held by God the Father when the book of Matthew was written:
“For Jacob my servant’s sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, thought thou hast not known me.”
(Isaiah 45: 4) 73
Our Lord God tells us the elect is Israel. Many of today’s Christians believe they are these
“elect.“ We must remember for whom the book of Isaiah was written - the Nation of Israel.
The book of Matthew was written to introduce Jesus as Jehovah’s King and Israel’s Messiah. It has nothing of the Rapture in it because it was still 2000 years in the future.
The Rapture is not involved in any way with the Old Testament covenants.
In addition to the book of Matthew introducing Jesus as King and Messiah, Matthew also introduces the teachings of Jesus’ earthly ministry, none of which dealt with the Rapture.
Matthew, like all the other disciples, was waiting for the tribulation to begin, followed by the return of Jesus Christ to set up His earthly kingdom. With his expectation of Jesus’ soon arrival upon the completion of the tribulation, how could Matthew hint or write about the Rapture if he expected Jesus to come within his lifetime?
God always has a remnant of people to continue life. Let us look at what God tells us about the remaining humanity on earth after the tribulation:
“Behold, the LORD (Jesus) maketh the earth empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down, and scattered abroad the inhabitants thereof.”
(Isaiah 24:1)
Along with the destruction and judgment of earth, as directed by God, it is also apparent that a cataclysmic nuclear war will take place in the future. Isaiah is a book of prophecy. What else can make the earth empty and make it waste? The next scripture, Isaiah 24:6, presents proof positive that a nuclear war will indeed make earth desolate and poisoned by radiation:
“Therefore hath the curse devoured the earth, and they that dwell therein are desolate: therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned (nuclear war), and few men left.”
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The Remnant of Israel Flees to the Wilderness
God has promised that He will supernaturally protect the surviving remnant of the Nation of Israel through the last half of Daniel’s seventieth week. However, Isaiah 1: 9 presents a severe picture of Israel’s future plight:
“Except the LORD (Jesus) of hosts had left us (Israel) a very small remnant, we should have been as Sodom, and we should have been like unto Gomorrah.”
Similarly, Revelation details how the Jewish remnant will escape the plans of satan:
“And to the woman (Israel) were given two wings (a supernatural escape) of a great eagle (God’s protection), that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time (one year), and times (2 years), and a half a time (½ year), from the face of the serpent (satan).”
(Revelation 12: 14) Many Bible scholars and teachers claim the remnant of Israel will flee to Petra, in Jordan, and remain there for three and one-half years. However, nowhere in scripture is Petra noted. The area of Petra, to where the remnant is supposed to flee, is a best guess. When John penned the word “wilderness,” Strong’s Concordance # 2048 simply defines it as “desert” or “waste.”
In the fullness of time, the span of “Jacob’s (Israel’s) trouble” (Jeremiah 30: 7) will conclude ultimately with God’s remnant leaving their wilderness of protection and entering the prophesized “Kingdom” of the one thousand year millennium.
It has been emphasized, and re-emphasized, by design throughout this book, that the tribulation, or Daniel’s seventieth week, is not for the Body of Christ. We will learn of several purposes of this period, the primary of which was to arrange for Israel to receive her Messiah 75
after rejecting Jesus during His earthly ministry.
Zechariah 14: 9 tells us “…the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD and his name one.” Israel’s Messiah, our Jesus, will finally be seated on His own throne and will rule the world with a rod of iron.
Ruling and Reigning With Jesus in the Millennium
The one thousand year millennium of Christ’s earthly rule is mentioned several times in Revelation 20: 2-7. The word millennium does not appear in the Bible. However, the word is translated to mean “one thousand.“
All the redeemed (including us) will rule and reign in Christ’s earthly government, starting with the millennium, and then extending out into eternity at millennium‘s end.
Revelation 20:6 tells us,
“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection (living and dead Christians at the Rapture): on such the second death hath no power (Great White Throne Judgment), but they (us) shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”
Yet another purpose of the tribulation is for God to carry saved Gentiles into the millennium, to join those of Israel who similarly accepted Jesus as their Messiah. Millions of redeemed survivors will populate the earth after the end of Jacob’s trouble.
Life will continue, babies will be born, schools will be re-built, people will work, garbage will have to be picked up, and electricians will run wires - all under the perfect theocratic control of Jesus Christ. There will be no employment opportunities for the police and lawyers.
Jesus will rule the world in perfect peace and justice.
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Mentioned earlier was another purpose of Daniel’s seventieth week. God will sadly have to dispense His wrath and judgment upon Israel and the earth dwellers. Similarly, individual nations that followed the antichrist and worshiped the beast, as well as those who hated and persecuted the Jew, will be judged. Isaiah 26: 21 details God’s plans:
“For behold, the Lord cometh out of his place (heaven) to punish the inhabitants
of the earth (not the Body of Christ) for their iniquity…”
Saint of God, make certain that you are living the kind of life that brings honor and glory to Jesus Christ. Commit yourself to pleasing God every second of your life. Monitor your thoughts.
Pray continually. Do not just “read” your Bible - study it!
The Apostle John Wrote About the Tribulation - Not the Rapture Realize the power and conviction of 1 John 3: 2-3,
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear (at His second coming) we shall be him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.”
Do not confuse 1 John 3: 2-3 with the Rapture. The book of 1 John was written for the Nation of Israel in approximately 50 A.D. Paul’s epistles, which detail about 27
separate verses about the Rapture of the Church, were written from 52-66 A.D.
John couldn’t have read Paul’s epistles and learned about the Rapture because he wrote 1 John in 50 A.D. John was still abundantly Jewish, as seen in Acts 3:1:
“Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.”
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Peter and the disciples still forced converts to practice circumcision. They continued with the practice of baptism. The converts received the Holy Spirit after repentance and baptism. They offered animal sacrifices in the temple. The disciples remained fully Jewish.
Remember, and I will unapologetically repeat myself throughout this book, that Peter and the apostles knew nothing of the Rapture because they believed that the tribulation was fast-approaching and that Jesus was soon returning to set up His kingdom.
In contrast, Paul’s converts forsook worship in synagogues and the temple; instead meeting together in each other’s homes to worship God. Salvation consisted in believing in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. No baptism; no speaking in the tongues of other languages, no circumcision, no animal sacrifices.
God introduced an entirely new spiritual economy, and actively recruited Paul to administer it. It is to the glory of our great God that He loves us so much that He reached out to the Gentiles.
1 John 3: 2-3 was written to reflect Jesus’ earthly “Kingdom of Heaven” dispensation.
Permit me to repeat what I spoke of earlier: how could 1 John 3: 2-3 speak of the Rapture if Jesus was teaching the disciples that if all of Israel accepts Him (which they did not) as Messiah, Jesus would shortly set up his earthly Kingdom and introduce the millennium?
In the verses of 1 John 3: 2-3 noted above, “but we know that, when he shall appear
(at His second coming) we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is,” refers to the disciples’ being a spiritual mirror of Jesus Christ‘s glory and His matchless purity.
Upon His coming, the disciples would have truly seen Jesus as He was. Jesus would appear in His blazing glory, and the only way they could endure His presence was for 79
them to be transformed by Jesus in the perfection and exact likeness of their Lord.
Exodus 33: 20 speaks of Moses’ meeting with the Almighty God. This verse clearly shows us that no human can look upon God and survive:
“And he (God) said, Thou (Moses) cannot see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live.”
In order for the disciples, or anyone else, to see God face to face, a radical spiritual and physical “makeover” would need to performed by Christ see Him face to face. Once accomplished, they would have a glorified eternal body to match Jesus’ incomprehensible splendor.
If we examine what 2 Corinthians 3: 18 details about the supreme power of Jesus’
glory, we notice how the redeemed are dramatically transformed:
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
Therefore, 1 John 3: 2-3 refers to Jesus’ second coming - not the Rapture. I also rationalize that all those saved individuals entering the millennial reign of Christ, and then on into eternity, must have a body that is eternally perfect - thereby duplicating exactly Jesus’ perfection if they are to see him face to face.
A final look at 1 John 3: 2-3 helps us to understand that John and the disciples were indeed expecting Jesus the Messiah’s soon return from heaven at the completion of the
tribulation. Once again allow me to repeat; they expected Him to come and set up His earthly Kingdom. They never expected Jesus to lift them from the earth in the Rapture.
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The apostle John was expecting the soon appearing of the antichrist. James and Peter were expecting the return of Jesus after the tribulation. In addition to the disciples, Jude, the brother of James, was also looking for Jesus’ return - the second coming , not the Rapture:
“Little children (believing Israel), it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists (those who practice
evil works); whereby we know that it is the last time.”
(1 John 2: 18)
“And now, little children, abide in him; that when he shall appear, (second coming), we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.”
(1 John 2: 28)
“Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord (second coming) draweth nigh.”
(James 5: 8)
“Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.”
(1 Peter 1: 20)
“How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after own ungodly lusts.”
(Jude v.18)
“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh…” (Pentecost) (Acts 2: 17)
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They were clearly not anticipating the Rapture. They were expecting Jesus’ return to earth. This is what Jesus taught his disciples. The disciples used this doctrine to convert Jews to believe in Jesus as Messiah.
The Divergent Ministries of the Apostles Paul and Peter
Discussing the ministries of Peter and Paul often lends itself to debate – often heated debate. Many believe there is only one Gospel; that there have been no changes made in the Gospel which Jesus brought to earth during His first advent.
They disregard the epistles Jesus gave to Paul which presents a new Gospel – The Gospel of Grace. The Gospel of Grace testifies of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the only Gospel that brings salvation to people.
Dear reader, it is my prayer that you are understanding the different directions that God had Peter and Paul follow. Both programs were independent of each other, and no friction was manifested. God made certain that each flowed with purpose and power.
The scriptures clearly and uncompromisingly show us the diverse directions that Peter and Paul’s ministries took. Let us first observe Paul.
“But the Lord said unto him (Ananias), Go thy way: for he (Paul) is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles…”
(Acts 9: 15a) Who was it that commanded Paul was to go to the Gentiles? Jesus Christ. Was Paul supposed to go the Jew? No. Who was supposed to go to the Jew? Peter. Does Acts 9: 15
qualify as a different direction than what Peter was commanded by Jesus? It is vitally important to understand the difference in the target groups of Peter and Paul.
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Matthew 10: 5 shows us the differen t direction Jesus ordered Peter to follow:
“These twelve (disciples) Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.”
Many in Christendom will fight the notion that there were two distinct Gospels operating simultaneously after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ - the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven (which Jesus taught) and the Gospel of Grace (which Jesus gave to Paul).
Similarly, many Christians are aghast that serious attention has been paid to Paul. Many Christians avoid Paul’s epistles because of their errant belief that Paul has somehow replaced Jesus. He has not! There is, and shall always be, one Lord and Savior - Jesus Christ.
Certainly Paul was a brilliant man. But always remember that it was Jesus who gave Paul the new message of the Gospel of Grace - that all can be saved through believing in the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Two Directions. Two different commands of Jesus. Two different Gospels.