Questioning Amillennialism

One Lutheran Woman's Search For Truth

Back to Introduction

Back to Part 1 - Conversion of the Jews

Back to Part 2 - The restoration of Israel and earthly reign of Messiah

Back to Part 3 - Questions about the Antichrist - Already fully fulfilled in the Papacy?

 

 

Part 4. The Tribulation – a specific period?

Amillennial Position: It is really hard to pin down amillennialists on the Tribulation. Some say that we have been in the Tribulation for the last 2,000 years and that it will just continue to get worse. Some say that there will be a brief, unspecified period of "Great" Tribulation. They do agree that there will not be a seven year tribulation or a 3-1/2 year Tribulation. They also (seem to) agree that there is nothing left to fulfill. I couldn’t really find anything that addresses it directly. Every document that mentioned tribulation was just about the tribulations that we face as Christians. They say that seven years is not scriptural, but I couldn’t find anything that says why. They also all seem to agree that the numbers mentioned…3-1/2 years, 42 months, 1260 days (and 1,000 years, of course) are all symbolic of the New Testament age. My own Lutheran pastors have made the point that the world ends in an instant, unexpectedly. It also isn’t clear whether Lutherans think that Jesus will actually set foot on earth again. My pastors seem to believe that when the last person is added to the church, Jesus comes to get us and the world melts away in a fiery roar.

 What I think the Bible says: Again, I think that God says what He means and means what He says. I think the numbers mean exactly what they say. I think there are many prophecies that have not been fully fulfilled. I think that when there are seeming contradictions, there are things to be learned. I don’t think you take what fits your thesis and discard the rest. Somehow, it’s all true. Maybe we won’t know until it all actually happens. Maybe we’ll ALL be saying, "I told you so." And "Oops, I was wrong!"

To make this section make more sense, I’m going to divide it into these subsections:

 The place where it is most obvious that these numbers mean just what they say is in Daniel. Many of Daniel’s prophecies have been fulfilled so precisely that liberal theologians have tried to "prove" that they had to have been written AFTER the events. A previous LCMS pastor I had was one of those. I wish I had had the knowledge then to challenge him on that. Needless to say, he was all wet.

Here are some verses from Daniel about the Antichrist that you’ve seen already in other sections:

Dan 8:9 Out of one of them came forth a rather small horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land.
Dan 8:10 It grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down.
Dan 8:11 It even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down.
Dan 8:12 And on account of transgression the host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper .
Dan 8:13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, "How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, while the transgression causes horror, so as to allow both the holy place and the host to be trampled ?"
Dan 8:14 He said to me, "For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be properly restored."
Dan 8:15
When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it; and behold, standing before me was one who looked like a man.
Dan 8:16 And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, "Gabriel, give this man an understanding of the vision."
Dan 8:17 So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and fell on my face; but he said to me, "Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end."
Dan 8:18 Now while he was talking with me, I sank into a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me and made me stand upright .
Dan 8:19 He said, "Behold, I am going to let you know what will occur at the final period of the indignation, for it pertains to the appointed time of the end.
Dan 8:20 "The ram which you saw with the two horns represents the kings of Media and Persia.
Dan 8:21 "The shaggy goat represents the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
Dan 8:22 "The broken horn and the four horns that arose in its place represent four kingdoms which will arise from his nation, although not with his power .
Dan 8:23 "In the latter period of their rule, When the transgressors have run their course, A king will arise, Insolent and skilled in intrigue.
Dan 8:24 "His power will be mighty , but not by his own power , And he will destroy to an extraordinary degree And prosper and perform his will; He will destroy mighty men and the holy people .
Dan 8:25 "And through his shrewdness He will cause deceit to succeed by his influence; And he will magnify himself in his heart, And he will destroy many while they are at ease. He will even oppose the Prince of princes, But he will be broken without human agency.
Dan 8:26 "The vision of the evenings and mornings Which has been told is true; But keep the vision secret, For it pertains to many days in the future."

The angel said the vision of the evenings and mornings was "true." What does that mean – the rest of the vision was false? No, that’s silly. All of God’s Words are true. Than what does it mean? Here’s the meaning from the Hebrew:

0571 'emeth {eh'-meth}

AV - truth 92, true 18, truly 7, right 3, faithfully 2, assured 1,
assuredly 1, establishment 1, faithful 1, sure 1, verity 1; 127

1) firmness, faithfulness, truth
1a) sureness, reliability
1b) stability, continuance
1c) faithfulness, reliableness
1d) truth
1d1) as spoken
1d2) of testimony and judgment
1d3) of divine instruction
1d4) truth as a body of ethical or religious knowledge
1d5) true doctrine
adv
2) in truth, truly

Given these definitions, The Living Bible may actually have caught the meaning most accurately: And then in your vision you heard about the twenty-three hundred days to pass before the rights of worship are restored. This number is literal, and means just that. Here is the very next chapter of Daniel:

Dan 9:1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans --
Dan 9:2 in the first year of his reign , I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.
(Note that Daniel took the number from Jeremiah’s prophecy literally)
Dan 9:3 So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes.
Dan 9:4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, "Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,
Dan 9:5 we have sinned, committed iniquity , acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.
Dan 9:6 "Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land.
Dan 9:7 "Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day --to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You.
Dan 9:8 "Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.
Dan 9:9 "To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him;
Dan 9:10 nor have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets.
Dan 9:11 "Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him.
Dan 9:12 "Thus He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity ; for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem.
Dan 9:13 "As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquity and giving attention to Your truth.
Dan 9:14 "Therefore the LORD has kept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the LORD our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done , but we have not obeyed His voice.
Dan 9:15 "And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day --we have sinned, we have been wicked.
Dan 9:16 "O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those around us.
Dan 9:17 "So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary.
Dan 9:18 "O my God, incline Your ear and hear ! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion.
Dan 9:19 "O Lord, hear ! O Lord, forgive ! O Lord, listen and take action ! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name."
Dan 9:20 Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God,
Dan 9:21 while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering.
Dan 9:22 He gave me instruction and talked with me and said, "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding.
Dan 9:23 "At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed ; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision.
Dan 9:24 "Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city , to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin , to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.
Dan 9:25 "So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat , even in times of distress .
Dan 9:26 "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.
Dan 9:27 "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."

Pay particular attention to the last four verses. Daniel knew that the Jews were nearing the end of the 70 years in captivity and he was praying for his people. Most commentators, Lutheran and otherwise, agree that these are weeks of years. So, Gabriel is telling Daniel that there are 490 years that are particularly important for the Jews.

Here’s what our WELS People’s Bible commentary has to say about those verses:

The answer which God sent Daniel through the angel Gabriel must have surprised Daniel because it really didn’t refer to the seventy-year captivity at all. Instead, it spoke of a period of time called the seventy "sevens," which God had determined for the accomplishment of certain matters related to God’s people. The seventy "sevens" are divided into three periods of seven, sixty-two, and one, respectively.

These closing verses of the chapter provide one of the most difficult problems of biblical interpretation. Although no single interpretation solves all the problems which the passage raises, in general there are three different interpretations of the passage.

The first is the most ancient and the one favored by most Lutheran interpreters. This interpretation calculates the period of the seventy "sevens" from the time of the edict that permitted the Jews to return and rebuild Jerusalem and its temple, and concludes with the time when Christ came and finished his redemptive work. According to this view – and it is the one favored in this commentary – the seventy "sevens" represent a period of about 500 years.

The second interpretation is the traditional Jewish interpretation, as well as the one held by negative critical interpreters. This interpretation calculates the period of the seventy "sevens" from the same starting point as the first, but extends the period only as far as the Maccabees (165 BC). The king referred to is Antiochus Epiphanes, whom we met in Daniel chapter 8. According to this interpretation, there is no reference here to the Messiah.

The third interpretation views the period of the seventy "sevens" as extending from the time of Daniel all the way to the end of the world. According to this view God responded to Daniel’s prayer by saying: "Yes, Daniel, you are correct in concluding that the seventy years of exile Jeremiah wrote about are at an end. Now another period of seventy "sevens" is beginning, during which I will bring all my work to a successful conclusion." Bible students who believe in a millennium, a 1,000-year earthly reign of Christ, usually favor this third interpretation.

Since this commentary does not find the teaching of a millennium in the Bible, this third interpretation is unacceptable. Briefly, this interpretation divides the seventy "sevens" as follows:

The seven "sevens" represent the period from the return and the rebuilding of Jerusalem until the time of Christ.

The sixty-two "sevens" represent the period during which the New Testament church will be built, in the face of persecution.

The one "seven" is the period of the great tribulation. The antichrist will come, who will cause the sacrifice to cease and will usher in the final judgment.

The view he says is favored by most Lutheran commentators is NOT the most ancient. The earliest church fathers recognized that there is one week still remaining. The view he says is the "millennial" view is very obscure and not the one most "millennial-believing Bible students" believe. I'll explain the view that many premillennialists DO favor.

Serious difficulties have been found with this interpretation. It ignores the fact that Gabriel’s prophecy properly refers to the rebuilding of Jerusalem and to the coming of the Messiah, not to the building of the New Testament church and the entire New Testament era. Another difficulty with this interpretation is that the time division (7 + 62 + 1 "sevens") seems disproportionate. Why should the New Testament period up to the appearance of the antichrist cover sixty-two "sevens" while his rule extends over only one "seven?"

This commentary supports the first of the three interpretations as the most faithful to the clear sense of the Scripture, and that is the one which will be presented here. Accordingly the time between Daniel and Christ (a little more than 500 years) is divided into the following three periods:

The seven "sevens" represent the period during which Jerusalem’s temple and its city walls were rebuilt at the time of Ezra and Nehemiah.

The sixty-two "sevens" represent the period from Jerusalem’s rebuilding to Messiah’s coming and death.

The one "seven" is the time in which the Messiah will confirm a covenant of grace with many. Many will be saved through faith in the Messiah before the enemy comes, who will destroy Jerusalem.

Now to the details of the information Gabriel brought to Daniel in answer to his prayer. Gabriel announced that God had decreed a definite period of time (seventy "sevens") to accomplish his great work of rescuing the human race from the consequences of sin. The number seven represents completeness: seventy "sevens" cover the time it would take for God to fulfill and complete his plan of salvation.

God’s magnificent rescue operation is described in six terms, three negative and three positive. In his prayer Daniel had confessed sin – his own and Israel’s – and had repeatedly asked God to forgive. Viewed negatively, God’s redemptive work will "finish transgression," will "put an end to sin," and will "atone for wickedness." This work, to be accomplished during the period of the seventy "sevens," points to Jesus Christ. He is the one who "has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself" (Hebrews 9:26). As a result of Christ’s work, sin’s ruthless advance has been checked, the damage sin has done has been undone, the guilt of a whole world of sinners has been atoned for.

Gabriel’s answer to Daniel also views Christ’s work positively. Christ not only removed an evil that threatened to separate us from God; in its place he introduced something wonderful, again described by Gabriel in three different terms. Christ will first of all "bring in everlasting righteousness." "Righteousness" is the Bible word for "being right with God." It describes the right relationship with God which comes to the sinner through the faith in the Savior.

A second work Christ achieved was "to seal us vision and prophecy." During the many centuries of the Old Testament God spoke through chosen men called prophets. By means of vision and prophecy he let them see and describe the work the Savior would do for sinners. When Christ came there was no longer any need for such visions and prophecies. Since Christ’s coming had fulfilled them, they were discontinued.

The third and final purpose of the Savior’s coming is the most difficult to explain. He will come to "anoint the most holy." In the period of the Old Testament, the Most Holy was an inner room in the temple where God met his people. Does Gabriel mean to say that in Christ God – not symbolically now but actually – comes to meet his people with his love and his pardon? Or does "the most holy" refer to God’s love and his pardon? Or does "the most holy" refer to God’s people, who are solemnly set apart by God’s Spirit to be God’s temple of living stones? "You," wrote Peter, "like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house" (1 Peter 2:5). "It is not unreasonable to conclude that the founding of the Holy Christian Church is envisioned in this final objective" (Concordia Self-Study Commentary, p. 583). I’m sorry – I just have to interject here – why can’t it just mean "anoint the most holy?" Just the way the Jews who Daniel was writing for would take it? You won’t understand until later what I’m talking about, so I’ll leave it at that for now.

The six terms all point to the work the promised Savior will do. This fact lends support to the view that the seventy "sevens" terminate not a the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, and not at our Lord’s second coming, but at his first coming. When Christ left this earth after completing his work here, not one of the six items prophesied by Gabriel was left undone.

The period of the seventy "sevens" begins with the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, to restore it as a place where people could again live and where they could worship Jehovah in his temple. This is the work later accomplished under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah despite bitter opposition, or, as Gabriel explained to Daniel, "in times of trouble." This activity occupies the first seven "sevens."

The next sixty-two "sevens" extend from the time of Ezra and Nehemiah to the time of Christ, the Anointed One. The Hebrew word for "the Anointed One" is Messiah; the equivalent word in the Greek language is Christ. He is the ruler, the king who comes to deliver his people.

At the end of the sixty-two "sevens" two important events will occur.

    1. The Messiah "will be cut off and will have nothing." When the expression "cut off" is used in the Old Testament it refers to a violent death. Here, surely, is a reference to Christ’s crucifixion. You may recall that Isaiah also predicted that the Messiah would be "cut off from the land of the living" (53:8). Furthermore he was utterly rejected, by both God and man. On the cross he had nothing; he was totally alone.
    2. An enemy will come and destroy the city and the sanctuary. As a result, "the end will come like a flood." The coming of this enemy (the Romans) would not be an ordinary invasion. Gabriel explained to Daniel that this would be a special judgment of God causing complete destruction of the city and the temple of the Jews. Jesus himself describes the destruction, which would take place about forty years after his crucifixion, as an act of judgment so awesome that he compares it to the judgment at the end of the world (Matthew 24:15-27).

The final verse of the chapter is again not an easy one and has been variously interpreted. Those who believe the seventy "sevens" extend to the end of the world place a tremendously long period of time between the sixty-ninth and the seventieth "seven." (If the sixty-ninth "seven" came to close with Christ’s ministry and the seventieth "seven" takes us to the end of the world, then that time span has already lasted 2000 years!) The natural assumption is, however, that the time periods referred to in the prophecy are consecutive. Gabriel here tells some details of what will happen after the death of the Messiah.

"He will confirm a covenant with many for one "seven"…he will put an end to sacrifice and offering." Some have take this to mean that an enemy of Christ and of his church, perhaps the Antichrist, would forcibly suspend the temple sacrifices and forbid the worship of the true God. "As he (i.e., the Antichrist) seeks to take the place of Christ, so he shall imitate him,… He will inaugurate a covenant…but a covenant of terror, compulsion, and violence" (Leupold, Exposition of Daniel, p. 432) According to this view, the prophecy closes with the message of doom which is reserved for this destroyer.

In seeking to interpret this closing verse, we need to remember the main emphasis of Gabriel’s message. This messenger of God consistently pointed forward to the fact that during the period of the seventy "sevens" Christ would make atonement for sin and would replace it with his perfect righteousness. This closing verse may therefore also be understood as referring to Christ. With his perfect life and his innocent death Christ fulfilled the covenant which centuries earlier God had made with Abraham, "all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" (Genesis 12;30). The worship ceremonies God instituted at Mt. Sinai also found their perfect fulfillment in Christ. During that final "seven" he put an end to the Old Testament worship ritual involving priesthood and blood sacrifices. On the basis of his work all of the blessings promised in the Old Testament are given to a world of sinners: membership in God’s family, forgiveness of sin and a place at God’s side forever.

Many will be saved through faith in the Messiah before a destroyer comes (perhaps Titus and his Roman legions). He will set up some abomination, perhaps an idol image in the temple, which had been an empty shell ever since the curtain had been torn in two on the first Good Friday. After the enemy has done his work, he himself will come under God’s judgment.

The text says nothing about the exact time when the seventy "sevens" will come to an end, just as it was deliberately vague about exactly when they were to begin. It is clear, then, that the emphasis in not on the beginning and the ending of this remarkable period of time, but rather upon the mighty events which were to take place during this period. These events have achieved our peace with God. Despite all the difficulties this chapter presents to the reader, one fact remains clear: the central figure is the Messiah. We can therefore afford to turn away from precise dates and mathematical calculations and instead focus our attention on Jesus Christ. He alone has made reconciliation for sin. Only through him can sinners call God "Father."

OK – did you get all that? Whew! There’s a lot of really good church talk here. It’s all good stuff, but I think we lost what the verses were actually SAYING. Let’s start with this: "just as it was deliberately vague about exactly when they were to begin." Was it?

Dan 9:25 "So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress .

That’s not vague. The commandment to restore and build Jerusalem was given by Artaxerxes Longimanus on March 14, 445 b.c. How do we know that? In the book of Nehemiah, it says, "And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of the reign of Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. Therefore, the king said to me 'why is your face sad, since you are not sick.'" Nehemiah 2:1-2 (NKJ)

Nehemiah said he was sad because he had heard that Jerusalem was still in ruins. Nehemiah asked King Artaxerxes if he could go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the city. King Artaxerxes told him he could go and even gave him documents to help him get through. This happened in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes Longimanus' reign.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica (1990 edition), Artaxerxes became king of the Medo-Persian empire in July, 465 B.C. The twentieth year of his reign would have begun in July 446 B.C. He gave the decree in the month of Nisan (March/April by our calendar) about nine months later, which would make it the year 445 B.C. It's an ancient Hebrew tradition that when the day of the month is not stated, like in Artaxerxes' decree, it is considered to have happened on the first day of that month. So, Artaxerxes' decree was on the first day of the month of Nisan in 445 B.C. According to the British Royal Observatory, the first day of Nisan in 445 B.C. is the 14th day of March.

The NASB says "Know and discern." The KJV says "Know and understand." The Hebrew is yada and sakal. Here are what they mean:

03045 yada` {yaw-dah'}

a primitive root; TWOT - 848; v

AV - know 645, known 105, knowledge 19, perceive 18, shew 17, tell 8,
wist 7, understand 7, certainly 7, acknowledge 6, acquaintance 6,
consider 6, declare 6, teach 5, misc 85; 947

1) to know
1a) (Qal)
1a1) to know
1a1a) to know, learn to know

1a1b) to perceive
1a1c) to perceive and see, find out and discern
1a1d) to discriminate, distinguish
1a1e) to know by experience
1a1f) to recognise, admit, acknowledge, confess
1a1g) to consider
1a2) to know, be acquainted with
1a3) to know (a person carnally)
1a4) to know how, be skilful in
1a5) to have knowledge, be wise
1b) (Niphal)
1b1) to be made known, be or become known, be revealed
1b2) to make oneself known
1b3) to be perceived
1b4) to be instructed
1c) (Piel) to cause to know
1d) (Poal) to cause to know

1e) (Pual)
1e1) to be known
1e2) known, one known, acquaintance (participle)
1f) (Hiphil) to make known, declare
1g) (Hophal) to be made known
1h) (Hithpael) to make oneself known, reveal oneself

07919 sakal {saw-kal'}

AV - understand 12, wise 12, prosper 8, wisely 6, understanding 5,
consider 4, instruct 3, prudent 2, skill 2, teach 2, misc 7; 63

1) to be prudent, be circumspect, wisely understand, prosper
1a) (Qal) to be prudent, be circumspect
1b) (Hiphil)
1b1) to look at or upon, have insight
1b2) to give attention to, consider, ponder, be prudent
1b3) to have insight, have comprehension
1b3a) insight, comprehension (subst)
1b4) to cause to consider, give insight, teach
1b4a) the teachers, the wise
1b5) to act circumspectly, act prudently, act wisely
1b6) to prosper, have success
1b7) to cause to prosper

In other words, you need to understand this – this is important. There are echoes of that thought in this New Testament statement which relates to the same thing:

Mat 24:15 "Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand ),

So what are we supposed to "yada" and "sakal?"

Dan 9:25 "So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat , even in times of distress .
Dan 9:26 "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.

One reason that I showed you the People’s Bible commentary is so that you could see that even Lutheran commentators see these as weeks of years. Now, it says there are seven weeks and sixty-two weeks, for a total of 69 weeks. After that time, the Messiah would be cut off. So, 69 x 7 = 483 years. All through the Bible, a year is considered 360 days – 12 months of exactly 30 days each. For example, 42 months = 1260 days = 3-1/2 years. You can see this by comparing Genesis 7:24; 8:3,4; Revelation 11:2; 12:6, 13:3,4; etc.(NASA scientists have a theory that at one time, the solar year was 360 days – not because of a belief in any Bible thing, but because of some kind of earth axis change phenomenon a few thousand years ago).

OK, 483 years x 360 days = 173,880 days. So, Gabriel is telling Daniel that there is going to be 173,880 days until Messiah the Prince comes. There was only one day that Jesus allowed himself to proclaimed the awaited Messiah – the day he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey’s colt on the 10th of Nisan (the same day the lambs for Passover were selected and presented for testing). Is there a way to know what day that was?

Luk 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
Luk 3:2 in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.
Luk 3:3 And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;

Tiberias became emperor in September, 14 AD after Ceasar Augustus died. His 15th year was 28 AD. So, John began baptizing in 28 AD. Jesus entered Jerusalem to the shouting of "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord" on the 10th of Nisan, 3-1/2 years later – April 6, 32 AD. (You can count how many Passovers there were during Jesus’ ministry in the Gospels) How many days are there between March 14, 445 BC and April 6, 32 AD? Interestingly enough, there are exactly 173,880 days. That’s quite a coincidence! (Sir Robert Anderson is the first to have figured this out in modern days. He reported it in his book The Coming Prince, published in 1894)

You can double check this a couple of other ways, too. The first Passover after Jesus was baptized, some of the Jews commented that Herod’s Temple had been 46 years in the making. The Temple was begun in 18 BC, according to the Bible Dictionary. 46 years later would put you at 29 AD, with the crucifixion again at 32 AD. Also, a pagan historian named Thallus mentioned in his writings that there was a mysterious darkness that fell across the land during the Jewish Passover of 32 AD.

Jhn 2:13 And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,
Jhn 2:14 And found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting:
Jhn 2:15 And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;
Jhn 2:16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.
Jhn 2:17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
Jhn 2:18 Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
Jhn 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
Jhn 2:20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?

OK, so on the EXACT day that Gabriel told Daniel that the Prince would come, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. The day that the Jews were supposed to know and discern, here’s what happened:

Luk 19:38 shouting: "BLESSED IS THE KING WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest !"
Luk 19:39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples."
Luk 19:40 But Jesus answered, "I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!"
Luk 19:41 When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it,
Luk 19:42 saying, "If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace ! But now they have been hidden from your eyes.
(Remember Romans 11 & the hardening [blinding in KJV]?)
Luk 19:43 "For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side,
Luk 19:44 and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation."

So, Jesus wasn’t just saying "this general time period." He was saying THIS DAY. Because the Jews didn’t recognize their Messiah on THAT DAY, Jerusalem was destroyed (70 AD) and the Jews were blinded.

Here is verification of some of this:

The Unexpected King, (A Precise Mathematical Prediction)
By Chuck Missler, (From his Book "The Creator Beyond Time and Space")
For a more complete exposition of this, see his Briefing Package,
Daniel's 70 Weeks.

Confirming the Prophetic Date of 445 B.C.

Reign of Tiberius (Roman emperor 14-37 ad)

Eastons Bible Dictionary, Tiberius Caesar

Tiberius Caesar - i.e., as known in Roman history, Tiberius Claudius Nero, only mentioned in Luke 3:1. He was the stepson of Augustus, whom he succeeded on the throne, A.D. 14. He was noted for his vicious and infamous life. In the fifteenth year of his reign John the Baptist entered on his public ministry, and under him also our Lord taught and suffered. He died A.D. 37. He is frequently referred to simply as "Caesar" (Matt. 22:17, 21; Mark 12:14, 16, 17; Luke 20:22, 24, 25; 23:2; John 19:12, 15).

Eastons Bible Dictionary, Herod's Temple

Temple, Herod's - The temple erected by the exiles on their return from Babylon had stood for about five hundred years, when Herod the Great became king of Judea. The building had suffered considerably from natural decay as well as from the assaults of hostile armies, and Herod, desirous of gaining the favour of the Jews, proposed to rebuild it. This offer was accepted, and the work was begun (B.C. 18), and carried out at great labour and expense, and on a scale of surpassing splendour. The main part of the building was completed in ten years, but the erection of the outer courts and the embellishment of the whole were carried on during the entire period of our Lord's life on earth (John 2:16, 19-21), and the temple was completed only A.D. 65. But it was not long permitted to exist. Within forty years after our Lord's crucifixion, his prediction of its overthrow was accomplished (Luke 19:41-44). The Roman legions took the city of Jerusalem by storm, and notwithstanding the strenuous efforts Titus made to preserve the temple, his soldiers set fire to it in several places, and it was utterly destroyed (A.D. 70), and was never rebuilt.

Thallus speaks of mysterious darkness

A pagan historian by the name of Thallus, who lived shortly after the resurrection of Christ (about A.D. 52) wrote concerning a miraculous darkness that covered the earth at the Passover of A.D. 32 and attempted to explain it as an eclipse of the sun. Julius Africanus, a christian teacher in North Africa in A.D. 215, wrote concerning this historian's assertions, "Thallus, in the third book of his histories, explains away this darkness as an eclipse of the sun - unreasonably as it seems to me." Julianus contends, and modern astronomers confirm, that the Paschal full moon in which the Passover occured (the Passover in which Christ was crucified) could not have been eclipsed. Thus, no known natural explanation can be presented to explain the darkness referred to in the bible as occurring during Christ's resurrection.

OK, let’s get back to Daniel. You’ve seen that the sixty-nine weeks were EXACTLY sixty-nine weeks of years. Verse 26 says that AFTER the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah will be cut off, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Jesus was crucified 4 days later, and Jerusalem was destroyed 38 years later. So, there is at least 38 years between the first part of verse 26: Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing and the second part and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.

Dan 9:24 "Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city , to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin , to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.
Dan 9:25 "So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat , even in times of distress .
Dan 9:26 "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.
Dan 9:27 "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."

There seems to be a gap here. You’d think that the 70 weeks would be consecutive, but they apparently aren’t, unless you consider the fulfillment of the first 69 to the very day a meaningless coincidence. It’s not the only time in the Bible that there is a gap like that. One of the most interesting is in Luke:

Luk 4:16 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.
Luk 4:17 And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,
Luk 4:18 "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE 1752a> HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED,
Luk 4:19 TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD."
Luk 4:20 And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him.
Luk 4:21 And He began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Jesus was quoting the first two verses of Isaiah, Chapter 61. Here they are below. Look where Jesus stopped and what the very next words are:

Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, Because the LORD has anointed me To bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted , To proclaim liberty to captives And freedom to prisoners;
Isa 61:2 To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD
(where Jesus stopped) And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn,

To just read Isaiah, you’d think that the events were consecutive, but we can see that nearly 2,000 years have passed in that space between the word "LORD" and the word "And." Here’s another one, covering exactly the same time period:

Isa 54:7 For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee.

Remember the hardening? The blindness that set in because Israel did not recognize the day their Messiah presented himself? That was the moment that that God forsook Israel. There will come a day when that hardening/blindness is removed, as you’ve seen previously. Again, so far, there has been nearly 2,000 years between these two statements.

In the next couple of examples, it is spelled out that there will be a "gap."

Hsa 3:4 For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without ephod or household idols.
Hsa 3:5
Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.

(Some try to say that this is referring to the return after the Babylonian captivity. During the 70-year captivity there had been no king in Israel or sacrifice. However, the time period following that, beginning about 536 BC, is no where called "the last days". You could argue that the last days began with Jesus' first coming, but that was over 500 years later, and the "sacrifice" was not missing. The daily sacrificing in the temple continued until 70 AD, when the temple was destroyed. Since 70 AD, there has not been a king or prince or sacrifice, so these verses must have to do with this current period.)

Luk 21:24 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.

Israel was led away into "all nations" following the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. You can see that Jerusalem is still "trodden down" by gentiles. The Temple Mount itself is controlled by the Palestinians.

Now, back to Daniel:

Dan 9:26 "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.
Dan 9:27 "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."

Pastor Jeske in the People’s Bible: Daniel says that verse 27 is about Jesus, that he will make a covenant to save his people, and that he put a stop to the sacrifice and grain offering by his death on the cross. That doesn’t make any sense to me for a bunch of reasons.

    1. Grammatically – The people of the prince who is to come are the ones who destroy the city and the sanctuary. Those were the Romans under Titus in 70 AD. The "he" of verse 27 refers back to the "prince who is to come." If that is Jesus, than the pagan Romans were his people.
    2.  

    3. One week should be literal if 69 weeks were – If the first sixty-nine weeks were fulfilled so precisely, than it would seem that the seventieth should be also. Jesus did not make a firm covenant for only seven years. The only way this could be Jesus would be if the seven years were symbolic for the entire New Testament period.
    4.  

    5. Parallel verses – In Daniel, Chapter 11:31 (NIV), it says, His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. This is the same type of event described in Daniel Chapter 9:27. As we talked about before, this was somewhat fulfilled as a "type" of antichrist by Antiochus Epiphanes. In The People’s Bible Daniel, Pastor Jeske admits that this verse, Daniel 11:31, was fulfilled by Antiochus Epiphanes. So, why is 9:27 Jesus?

For these reasons (and also how it matches up with other Scripture), I think 9:27 is talking about the Antichrist, not Jesus. If so, what is it saying that Antichrist will do?

Dan 9:27 "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."

 

This is where the idea of seven years comes in. As you can see, the seven years is NOT unscriptural. There is disagreement as to whether there is Tribulation for seven years or just Great Tribulation (called that because Jesus called it that) for three and a half years. OK – this is what I think the Bible says: The Antichrist makes (or confirms in KJV) a covenant (probably a peace covenant- given all the verses that say things like "when they say peace, peace then shall sudden destruction come upon them") that’s good for seven years. In the middle of the "week" or 3-1/2 years later, he puts a stop to the offerings in the Temple and sets up the Abomination of Desolation referred to by Jesus.

Now, this is important. Watch the parallelism very carefully, here:

Mat 24:15 "Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION (3-1/2 years after the enforcing of the covenant, as in Daniel 9) which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand ),
Mat 24:16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.
Mat 24:17 "Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house.
Mat 24:18 "Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak.
Mat 24:19 "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days !
Mat 24:20 "But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.
Mat 24:21 "For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.
Mat 24:22
"Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.

 

Dan 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation [even] to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

Dan 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame [and] everlasting contempt

 

Joe 2:2 A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains: a great people and a strong; there hath not been ever the like, neither shall be any more after it, [even] to the years of many generations.

 

Jer 30:7 Alas! for that day [is] great, so that none [is] like it: it [is] even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.

 

Amo 5:18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end [is] it for you? the day of the LORD [is] darkness, and not light.

 

You can see from the parallel references above that the Great Tribulation, that great day, the day of the Lord, etc. all refer to the same time period. Going back to Daniel – if the first 69 weeks were completely literal – to the very day, then in my mind, the last week ought to be literal also. If the last week (7 years) is literal, then the 3-1/2 years is literal. If the 3-1/2 years are literal, then there is a specific period of Tribulation, and that idea is NOT unscriptural.

In my reading of the whole Bible, that idea hangs together perfectly. For example, you remember in the "All Israel will be saved" section, all the verses about the Jews believing after the Tribulation? Remember this verse and others like it?

Jer 50:20 'In those days and at that time,' declares the LORD, 'search will be made for the iniquity of Israel, but there will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.'

 

Now, go back to Daniel:

Dan 9:24 "Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city , to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin , to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.
Dan 9:25 "So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat , even in times of distress .
Dan 9:26 "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.
Dan 9:27 "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."

This prophecy was for Daniel’s people, the Jews: your people and your holy city. This is what he was told would happen within the 70 weeks: finish the transgression, to make an end of sin , to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.

Pastor Jeske says that all of these were complete with Jesus’ first coming and within 7 years of the 69th week. (In other words, the 70th week was completed within 7 years of Jesus death and resurrection). I’m not a Bible scholar, but I don’t think that’s what this says. For example, here is "transgression" in the Hebrew:

06588 pesha` {peh'-shah}

AV - transgression 84, trespass 5, sin 3, rebellion 1; 93

1) transgression, rebellion
1a1) transgression (against individuals)
1a2) transgression (nation against nation)
1a3) transgression (against God)
1a3a) in general
1a3b) as recognised by sinner
1a3c) as God deals with it
1a3d) as God forgives
1a4) guilt of transgression
1a5) punishment for transgression
1a6) offering for transgression

Did Jesus finish the rebellion against God? He paid for it, but remember who this prophecy was for – the Jews. The Jews have NOT finished rebelling against God, and 2/3 of them are going to pay for it with their lives. What about to make an end of sin? Again, Jesus paid for the sin, but he didn’t put an end to it – not yet. That day is coming, though, as the verse in Jeremiah describes: at that time. . .search will be made for the iniquity of Israel, but there will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found. What about to make atonement for iniquity? Absolutely! That’s exactly what Jesus did for us, so this is fully, completely fulfilled. To bring in everlasting righteousness? Not yet, right? To seal up vision and prophecy? Well, let’s look at that one:

 

02856 chatham

AV - seal 18, seal up 6, marked 1, stopped 1, variant 1; 27

 

Pastor Jeske says,

A second work Christ achieved was "to seal up vision and prophecy." During the many centuries of the Old Testament God spoke through chosen men called prophets. By means of vision and prophecy he let them see and describe the work the Savior would do for sinners. When Christ came there was no longer any need for such visions and prophecies. Since Christ’s coming had fulfilled them, they were discontinued.

That doesn’t make any sense, because it leaves out all mention of prophecies recorded in the Bible AFTER the time period Pastor Jeske is talking about. He says that the 70 weeks were completed within seven years of Jesus’ death and resurrection. What about the Book of Revelation – written by John around 90 AD, AFTER the destruction of Jerusalem? So, even if Pastor Jeske is accurate in what the "seal up vision and prophecy" means, he has stretched out that last "week" by at least 51 years.

You know, when a seal was placed on a document, it was so the receiver could be sure who it was from. It was authenticated. God authenticates His prophecies by bringing them to completion and making them come true. You can see that some of these are not yet complete. In any case, it wasn’t fulfilled within seven years of Jesus’ resurrection.

 

That last phrase, to anoint the most holy place, COULD be very straight-forward if you hook it back to Daniel 8:

Dan 8:13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, "How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, while the transgression causes horror, so as to allow both the holy place and the host to be trampled ?"
Dan 8:14 He said to me, "For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be properly restored."

So, what was all this about? It doesn’t seem like these things were fulfilled with 70 consecutive weeks of years (490 all together). You can see right in the text a gap of at least 38 years between the 69th and the 70th week. It makes sense to believe that there is still a future 70th week to be fulfilled. That’s where the "seven years" comes from, and it’s NOT an unscriptural idea.

It’s not a new thought, either. It was a common idea of the earliest Church Fathers. Both Ireneaus and Hippolytus wrote quite a lot about end times and both can be connected to the Apostle John who wrote Revelation. John personally discipled several men, including Papius, Ignatius, and Polycarp, the famous martyr. Polycarp was Bishop of the Church of Smyrna, and may even have been the one that the letter to Smyrna was addressed to in Revelation. Polycarp taught Irenaeus, who later became Bishop of the Church at Lyons, Gaul (France). Irenaeus' book, Against Heresies, Book V, was the earliest book (that survived, at least) to deal with end-time prophecy in any detail. Because of his connection to John through Polycarp, Irenaeus is a pretty credible source. Hippolytus, bishop of Portus, was a disciple of Irenaeus, and wrote even more about end times than Irenaeus did. Remember, only the Bible is without error, but here is some of what they had to say:

(Note – I’ve bolded & underlined some things for you to take particular notice of, but don’t skip any of it, as nearly all these quotes pertain to one or more of these sections that I’ve been writing. I have quoted small portions in other places, so some may sound familiar)

Irenaeus (AD120-202)
"In a still clearer light has John, in the Apocalypse, indicated to the Lord’s disciples what shall happen in the last times, and concerning the ten kings who shall then arise, among whom the empire which now rules [the earth] shall be partitioned. ... And they shall lay Babylon waste, and burn her with fire, and shall give their kingdom to the beast, and put the Church to flight. After that they shall be destroyed by the coming of our Lord." [Against Heresies, Book V, XXVI]

"This he does, in order that they who do [now] worship the devil by means of many abominations, may serve himself by this one idol, of whom the apostle thus speaks in the second Epistle to the Thessalonians: "Unless there shall come a failing away first, and the man of sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself as if he were God." The apostle therefore clearly points out his apostasy, and that he is lifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshipped — that points out his apostasy, and that he is lifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshipped — that is, above every idol — for these are indeed so called by men, but are not [really] gods; and that he will endeavor in a tyrannical manner to set himself forth as God. 2. Moreover, he (the apostle) has also pointed out this which I have shown in many ways, that the temple in Jerusalem was made by the direction of the true God. For the apostle himself, speaking in his own person, distinctly called it the temple of God. Now I have shown in the third book, that no one is termed God by the apostles when speaking for themselves, except Him who truly is God, the Father of our Lord, by whose directions the temple which is at Jerusalem was constructed for those purposes which I have already mentioned; in which [temple] the enemy shall sit, endeavoring to show himself as Christ, as the Lord also declares: "But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, which has been spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him that readeth understand), then let those who are in Judea flee into the mountains; and he who is upon the house-top, let him not come down to take anything out of his house: for there shall then be great hardship, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall be."" [Against Heresies, Book V, XXV,1&2]

"This is also the unjust judge, whom the Lord mentioned as one "who feared not God, neither regarded man," to whom the widow fled in her forgetfulness of God, — that is, the earthly Jerusalem, — to be avenged of her adversary. Which also he shall do in the time of his kingdom: he shall remove his kingdom into that city, and shall sit in the temple of God, leading astray those who worship him, as if he were Christ. To this purpose Daniel says again: "And he shall desolate the holy place; and sin has been given for a sacrifice, and righteousness been cast away in the earth, and he has been active (fecit), and gone on prosperously." ... And then he points out the time that his tyranny shall last, during which the saints shall be put to flight, they who offer a pure sacrifice unto God: And in the midst of the week, he says, the sacrifice and the libation shall be taken away, and the abomination of desolation shall be brought into the temple: even unto the consummation of the time shall the desolation be complete. Now three years and six months constitute the half-week." [Against Heresies, Book V, XXV, 2]

"But when this Antichrist shall have devastated all things in this world, he will reign for three years and six months, and sit in the temple at Jerusalem; and then the Lord will come from heaven in the clouds, in the glory of the Father, sending this man and those who follow him into the lake of fire; but bringing in for the righteous the times of the kingdom, that is, the rest, the hallowed seventh day; and restoring to Abraham the promised inheritance, in which kingdom the Lord declared, that "many coming from the east and from the west should sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."" [Against Heresies, V, XXX, 4]

"Moreover, another danger, by no means trifling, shall overtake those who falsely presume that they know the name of Antichrist. For if these men assume one [number], when this [Antichrist] shall come having another, they will be easily led away by him, as supposing him not to be the expected one, who must be guarded against. These men, therefore, ought to learn [what really is the state of the case], and go back to the true number of the name, that they be not reckoned among false prophets. But, knowing the sure number declared by Scripture, that is, six hundred sixty and six, let them await, in the first place, the division of the kingdom into ten; then, in the next place, when these kings are reigning, and beginning to set their affairs in order, and advance their kingdom, [let them learn] to acknowledge that he who shall come claiming the kingdom for himself, and shall terrify those men of whom we have been speaking, having a name containing the aforesaid number, is truly the abomination of desolation. ... It is therefore more certain, and less hazardous, to await the fulfillment of the prophecy, than to be making surmises, and casting about for any names that may present themselves, inasmuch as many names can be found possessing the number mentioned; and the same question will, after all, remain unsolved. ... But he indicates the number of the name now, that when this man comes we may avoid him, being aware who he is.


Hippolytus: (AD. 170-236)
"As these things, then, are in the future, and as the ten toes of the image are equivalent to (so many) democracies, and the ten horns of the fourth beast are distributed over ten kingdoms, let us look at the subject a little more closely, and consider these matters as in the clear light of a personal survey. The golden head of the image and the lioness denoted the Babylonians; the shoulders and arms of silver, and the bear, represented the Persians and Medes; the belly and thighs of brass, and the leopard, meant the Greeks, who held the sovereignty from Alexander’s time; the legs of iron, and the beast dreadful and terrible, expressed the Romans, who hold the sovereignty at present; the toes of the feet which were part clay and part iron, and the ten horns, were emblems of the kingdoms that are yet to rise; the other little horn that grows up among them meant the Antichrist in their midst; the stone that smites the earth and brings judgment upon the world was Christ." [Treatise on Christ and Antichrist, 27,28]


"When the times are fulfilled, and the ten horns spring from the beast in the last (times), then Antichrist will appear among them. When he makes war against the saints, and persecutes them, then may we expect the manifestation of the Lord from heaven." [Hippolytus, On Daniel, II, 7]

"For when the threescore and two weeks are fulfilled, and Christ is come, and the Gospel is preached in every place, the times being then accomplished, there will remain only one week, the last, in which Elias will appear, and Enoch, and in the midst of it the abomination of desolation will be manifested, viz., Antichrist, announcing desolation to the world...." [Hippolytus, On Daniel, II, 22]

"Thus, then, does the prophet set forth these things concerning the Antichrist, who shall be shameless, a war-maker, and despot, who, exalting himself above all kings and above every God, shall build the city of Jerusalem, and restore the sanctuary. Him the impious will worship as God, and will bend to him the knee, thinking him to be the Christ. He shall cut off the two witnesses and forerunners of Christ, who proclaim His glorious kingdom from heaven, as it is said: "And I will give (power) unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth." As also it was announced to Daniel: "And one week shall confirm a covenant with many; and in the midst of the week it shall be that the sacrifice and oblation shall be removed" — that the one week might be shown to be divided into two. The two witnesses, then, shall preach three years and a half; and Antichrist shall make war upon the saints during the rest of the week, and desolate the world, that what is written may be fulfilled: "And they shall make the abomination of desolation for a thousand two hundred and ninety days." [Hippolytus, On Daniel, II, 39]

"By the stretching forth of His two hands He signified His passion; and by mentioning "a time, and times, and an half, when the dispersion is accomplished," He indicated the three years and a half of Antichrist. For by "a time" He means a year, and by "times" two years, and by an "half time" half a year. These are the thousand two hundred and ninety days of which Daniel prophesied for the finishing of the passion, and the accomplishment of the dispersion when Antichrist comes. In those days they shall know all these things. And from the time of the removal of the continuous sacrifice there are also reckoned one thousand two hundred and ninety days. (Then) iniquity shall abound, as the Lord also says: "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." And that divisions will arise when the falling away takes place, is without doubt. And when divisions arise, love is chilled. The words, "Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days," have also their value, as the Lord said: "But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." Wherefore let us by no means admit the falling away, lest iniquity abound, and the abomination of desolation — that is, the adversary — overtake us. [Hippolytus, On Daniel, II, 43,44]

""And I inquired about the fourth beast." It is to the fourth kingdom, of which we have already spoken, that he here refers: that kingdom, than which no greater kingdom of like nature has arisen upon the earth; from which also ten horns are to spring, and to be apportioned among ten crowns. And amid these another little horn shall rise, which is that of Antichrist. And it shall pluck by the roots the three others before it; that is to say, he shall subvert the three kings of Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia, with the view of acquiring for himself universal dominion. And after conquering the remaining seven horns, he will at last begin, inflated by a strange and wicked spirit, to stir up war against the saints, and to persecute all everywhere, with the aim of being glorified by all, and being worshipped as God." [Hippolytus, On Daniel, III, 7:19]

"For the deceiver seeks to liken himself in all things to the Son of God. Christ is a lion, so Antichrist is also a lion; Christ is a king, so Antichrist is also a king. The Savior was manifested as a lamb; so he too, in like manner, will appear as a lamb, though within he is a wolf. ... The Savior raised up and showed His holy flesh like a temple, and he will raise a temple of stone in Jerusalem. And his seductive arts we shall exhibit in what follows. But for the present let us turn to the question in hand." [Hippolytus, Treatise on Christ and Antichrist, 6].

"But it becomes us further diligently to examine and set forth the period at which these things shall come to pass, and how the little horn shall spring up in their midst. For when the legs of iron have issued in the feet and toes, according to the similitude of the image and that of the terrible beast, as has been shown in the above, (then shall be the time) when the iron and the clay shall be mingled together. Now Daniel will set forth this subject to us. For he says, And one week will make a covenant with many, and it shall be that in the midst (half) of the week my sacrifice and oblation shall cease. By one week, therefore, he meant the last week which is to be at the end of the whole world of which week the two prophets Enoch and Elias will take up the half. For they will preach 1,260 days clothed in sackcloth, proclaiming repentance to the people and to all the nations. For John says, And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. That is the half of the week whereof Daniel spake. These are the two olive trees and the two candlesticks standing before the Lord of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire will proceed out of their mouth, and devour their enemies; and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed." [Treatise on Christ and Antichrist, 43, 47]

"Now concerning the tribulation of the persecution which is to fall upon the Church from the adversary, John also speaks thus, "And I saw a great and wondrous sign in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, ... And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent." That refers to the one thousand two hundred and threescore days (the half of the week) during which the tyrant is to reign and persecute the Church.... These things then, being come to pass, beloved, and the one week being divided into two parts, and the abomination of desolation being manifested then, and the two prophets and forerunners of the Lord having finished their course, and the whole world finally approaching the consummation, what remains but the coming of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ from heaven, for whom we have looked in hope." [Treatise on Christ and Antichrist, 60, 61, 64]

"For he says, I shall make a covenant of one week, and in the midst of the week my sacrifice and libation will be removed. For by one week he indicates the showing forth of the seven years which shall be in the last times. And the half of the week the two prophets, along with John, will take for the purpose of proclaiming to all the world the advent of Antichrist, that is to say, for a thousand two hundred and sixty days clothed in sackcloth; and they will work signs and wonders with the object of making men ashamed and repentant, even by these means, on account of their surpassing lawlessness and impiety. And if any man will hurt them, fire will proceed out of their mouth, and devour their enemies. These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of the advent of Antichrist, and to turn waters into blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will." And when they have proclaimed all these things they will fall on the sword, cut off by the accuser. And they will fulfill their testimony, as Daniel also says; for he foresaw that the beast that came up out of the abyss would make war with them, namely with Enoch, Elias, and John, and would overcome them, and kill them, because of their refusal to give glory to the accuser. That is the little horn that sprang up. And he, being lifted up in heart, begins in the end to, exalt himself and glorify himself as God, persecuting the saints and blaspheming Christ." [Appendix to the Works of Hippolytus, XXI]

"And at first, indeed, that deceitful and lawless one, with crafty deceitfulness, will refuse such glory; but the men persisting, and holding by him, will declare him king. And thereafter he will be lifted up in heart, and he who was formerly gentle will become violent, and he who pursued love will become pitiless, and the humble in heart will become haughty and inhuman, and the hater of unrighteousness will persecute the righteous. Then, when he is elevated to his kingdom, he will marshal war; and in his wrath he will smite three mighty kings, — those, namely, of Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia. And after that he will build the temple in Jerusalem, and will restore it again speedily, and give it over to the Jews. And then he will be lifted up in heart against every man; yea, he will speak blasphemy also against God, thinking in his deceit that he shall be king upon the earth hereafter for ever; not knowing, miserable wretch, that his kingdom is to be quickly brought to nought, and that he will quickly have to meet the fire which is prepared for him, along with all who trust him and serve him. For when Daniel said, "I shall make my covenant for one week," he indicated seven years; and the one half of the week is for the preaching of the prophets, and for the other half of the week — that is to say, for three years and a half — Antichrist will reign upon the earth. And after this his kingdom and his glory shall be taken away. Behold, ye who love God, what manner of tribulation there shall rise in those days, such as has not been from the foundation of the world, no, nor ever shall be, except in those days alone. Then the lawless one, being lifted up in heart, will gather together his demons in man’s form, and will abominate those who call him to the kingdom, and will pollute many souls." [Appendix to the Works of Hippolytus, XXV]

"As these things, therefore, of which we have spoken before are in the future, beloved, when the one week is divided into parts, and the abomination of desolation has arisen then, and the forerunners of the Lord have finished their proper course, and the whole world, in fine, comes to the consummation, what remains but the manifestation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Son of God, from heaven, for whom we have hoped; who shall bring forth fire and all just judgment against those who have refused to believe in Him? For the Lord says, "For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be; for wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together."" [Appendix to the Works of Hippolytus, XXXVI]

Didache: (1st Century)
"Watch for your life’s sake. Let not your lamps be quenched, nor your loins unloosed; but be ye ready, for ye know not the hour in which our Lord cometh. But often shall ye come together, seeking the things which are befitting to your souls: for the whole time of your faith will not profit you, if ye be not made perfect in the last time. For in the last days false prophets and corrupters shall be multiplied, and the sheep shall be turned into wolves, and love shall be turned into hate; for when lawlessness increaseth, they shall hate and persecute and betray one another, and then shall appear the world-deceiver as Son of God, and shall do signs and wonders, and the earth shall be delivered into his hands, and he shall do iniquitous things which have never yet come to pass since the beginning. Then shall the creation of men come into the fire of trial, and many shall be made to stumble and shall perish; but they that endure in their faith shall be saved from under the curse itself. And then shall appear the signs of the truth; first, the sign of an out-spreading in heaven; then the sign of the sound of the trumpet; and the third, the resurrection of the dead; yet not of all, but as it is said: The Lord shall come and all His saints with Him. Then shall the world see the Lord coming upon the clouds of heaven." [Didache, XVI]

Barnabas: (1st Century)
"The final stumbling-block (or source of danger) approaches, concerning which it is written, as Enoch says, "For for this end the Lord has cut short the times and the days, that His Beloved may hasten; and He will come to the inheritance." And the prophet also speaks thus: "Ten kingdoms shall reign upon the earth, and a little king shall rise up after them, who shall subdue under one three of the kings. In like manner Daniel says concerning the same, "And I beheld the fourth beast, wicked and powerful, and more savage than all the beasts of the earth, and how from it sprang up ten horns, and out of them a little budding horn, and how it subdued under one three of the great horns." Ye ought therefore to understand. ... We take earnest heed in these last days; for the whole [past] time of your faith will profit you nothing, unless now in this wicked time we also withstand coming sources of danger, as becometh the sons of God. That the Black One may find no means of entrance, let us flee from every vanity, let us utterly hate the works of the way of wickedness. ... Take heed, lest resting at our ease, as those who are the called [of God], we should fall asleep in our sins, and the wicked prince, acquiring power over us, should thrust us away from the kingdom of the Lord. And all the more attend to this, my brethren, when ye reflect and behold, that after so great signs and wonders were wrought in Israel, they were thus [at length] abandoned. Let us beware lest we be found [fulfilling that saying], as it is written, "Many are called, but few are chosen." [Epistle of Barnabas, IV]

These men all seem to take prophecy literally. Irenaeus and Hippolytus both specifically mentioned a future "week," with a three and one-half year reign of the Antichrist. We know that error came into the church very early, and what these guys had to say should be considered knowing that. However, it is interesting that this idea was brought out by men with a direct link to John the Apostle. John taught Polycarp who taught Irenaeus who taught Hippolytus.

Something else you may have noticed is that in addition to taking the times in Daniel literally, they also took the corresponding times in Revelation literally. That time period has been referred to as half the week, three and one half years, 42 months (42 divided by 12 = 3.5 years) and 1,260 days (1,260 divided by 360 days = 3.5 years). As it’s been said, the only thing the Holy Spirit didn’t do was break it down into minutes and seconds. Why would God give us the same time period in so many different ways if it was not to communicate to us that it should be taken literally?

Here are some of those references:

Dan 7:25 And he shall speak [great] words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time (one year) and times (two years) and the dividing of time (1/2 year).

Rev 12:12 "For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time."
Rev 12:13 And when the dragon saw that he was thrown down to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child.
Rev 12:14 But the two wings of the great eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her place, where she was nourished for a time (one year) and times (two years) and half a time (1/2 year) , from the presence of the serpent.

Rev 11:2 "Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months.
Rev 11:3 "And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth."

 

If you've been following this carefully, you should have this question on your mind: So, if the Tribulation IS a specific period, even to the number of days it involves, how can Jesus come like a thief?

 

Continue on to Part 5 - How can Jesus come like a thief? (Hints of Rapture)

 

Back to Part 3 - Antichrist - Fully fulfilled in the Papacy?

Back to Part 2 - The Restoration of Israel and the Earthly Reign of Messiah

Back to Part 1 - The Conversion of the Jews

Back to Introduction

 

 

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