Up to this point, we have mostly covered the part Islam plays in end times Bible prophecy.  Because Islam plays such a significant role in Bible Prophecy, you have not heard the end of it yet, but the remaining chapters will mostly pertain to the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Just as one can find our Lord Jesus Christ throughout the Word of God, so it is with Bible prophecy.  Our Lord commanded us to “watch” many times, and it is Bible prophecy that tells us when to watch, where to watch, and for what we should be watching.  Many today believe and teach we should take His warning to watch to mean that we must be attentive to our works and to make sure that we are Holy even as He is Holy.  While there can be no argument that we should indeed strive to that end, it is not what our Lord meant when He told us to watch

According to Strong’s Greek Dictionary, the Greek word used for watch is “grēgoreō,” which is the very same word used to be vigilant.  In Greek, not only are the words watch and vigilant interchangeable, but the meaning remains the same in both the literal and figurative definitions. According to Webster’s 1913 Unabridged English Dictionary, vigilant means “Attentive to discover and avoid danger.”  That should be an eye-opener to many, and it is one command our Lord gave us that we will indeed be sorry we did not pay more attention.  The reason for this should become quite evident to you as you go through the remaining chapters of this book.

That makes up a large part of the reason why the 70 Weeks of Daniel 9 was chosen to explore.  This chapter should add to the evidence and further demonstrate how far off track our understanding of prophecy is because we accept without researching them.  We don’t take the time to question, study, or research what our teachers have told us.  At times we even accept things that make no sense and things that have no basis in the Word of God.  It is much the same type of error made in both the Jewish and Catholic experiences of old, and it is the same problem you find in the teaching structure of Christendom today.  The Rabbi, Priest, Pastor or Professor is always right.  We are not supposed to question them no matter how strong a case we can make for another interpretation.

The conventional interpretation of the 70 weeks of Daniel 9 is an excellent example of how false teaching becomes accepted even though it has no Biblical foundation.  The wrong interpretation of this prophecy along with the incorrect interpretation of the 4th Kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, continues to take us down the wrong road and continue to lead many followers of Jesus Christ astray.  The Bible Prophecy taught today is so distorted that what today’s disciple of Jesus Christ believes regarding Bible Prophecy does not even resemble what the Word of God is saying.  Today’s prophecy teaching is either non-existent or so far out of phase that it has Christendom looking for things that will never be.  Because of this, our Lord will come upon them as a thief in the night.  We give so little attention to Bible Prophecy that today’s Christian is not aware that it is the dead church that He will come upon as a thief in the night.  Neither do they understand the “Parable of the Ten Virgins” or the “Letter to the Church at Laodicea” which tells us the church of today is going to miss the Rapture of His saints.  That will probably not sit well with many reading this for reasons previously mentioned, but this will be proven thoroughly in the upcoming commentaries on Matthew 24 and Matthew 25.

End Times Bible Prophecy

One of the ways to verify the interpretation of End Times Bible Prophecy is to know and decipher the prophecies of time.  Before we can even attempt to interpret these prophecies, we need to know the length of time each prophecy is referring to.  Knowing what the meaning of 1260 days, 42 months, a year, an hour, and even “about the space of half an hour,” is a necessity when studying Bible prophecy.  Without knowing how to decipher the different measurements of time the scriptures are referring to, you cannot confirm your understanding of the Bible Prophecy to be correct.

Conversely, if you do know these time values and can match the dates with the events, you will then know that both your time values and interpretations are correct.  However, it must work consistently with all the prophecies of time throughout the Bible, and not just here or there.  If it does not, either your time key is wrong, your interpretation of events is incorrect, or both are wrong.

A common teaching that must be coming out of the seminaries of today is that there have been too many calendars making it impossible to ever figure out any of these prophecies. I have been told this more than once by people I would not have expected this belief. Do you really believe that the same God that has told us all that would happen before it happened, is not able to make it possible for us to know these things by making the dates fit right? Hopefully, they don’t really believe this and it’s just an excuse for not having to sit down and study Bible prophecy.

Our omniscient God has provided us with a self-checking mechanism that is built right into His Word.  You may or may not have noticed that most lengths of time are used more than once in Word of God.  He uses the “time, times, and dividing of time” in both Daniel and Revelation.  We find a forty-two-month prophecy in both Revelation 11 and Revelation 13.  Like everything else in the Word of God, there is a good reason for this.  They serve as a second witness to both your understanding and accuracy of the time calculation.  The Word of God always provides a second witness.

Even though these lengths of time appear more than once, they do not necessarily speak to the same events.  In other words, the forty-two-month length of time used in Revelation 11 is not the same forty-two-month length of time used in Revelation 13.  By making the lengths of time the same but the events different, our Lord has provided us with a second witness, so we can confirm both our length of time and our understanding of the text are correct.  However, that does not mean it is not possible to connect a length of time to a beginning and ending event that looks to be correct but is not.  There are many examples of this type of error taking place in Christendom for hundreds of years.  We have come up with prophetic interpretations that sound very good and are accepted by the vast majority of Christians, but they are entirely wrong.  Remember, all the dates must fit together correctly and fit history correctly, or there is an error in the interpretation.

We find a premier example of what is meant by this in the widely accepted theory of a coming seven-year tribulation period at the end of time.  An overwhelming majority of our present-day Bible teachers and books on Bible prophecy proclaim this seven-year tribulation period, which then is divided into two 3½ year periods.  The first 3½ years is a period of tribulation with the second 3½ years being a time of great tribulation.  They base this false interpretation on the last week of Daniel’s 70 weeks, which is further endorsed by an incorrect interpretation of the first three verses of Revelation 11.  They take the 1260 days of Revelation 11 and make that 3½ years of tribulation and the 42 months of Revelation 11 to be the other 3½ years of tribulation.   There are a whole lot of problems with these interpretations that need to be understood correctly, or you will be looking for things that will never happen, even though our Lord has furnished us with everything we need to know regarding the correct interpretation.

The first problem with this interpretation is 1260 days are not 42 months.  Yes, 42 months is 3½ years, but 1260 days is not.  If you take 1260 days and divide it by 30 days, which is an average month, you do come up with an answer of 42 months or 3½ years.  While this works out in this manner, do not forget we are talking specifically about 1260 days.  There are absolutely no instances in which one can count off 1260 days and come up with a value of exactly 42 months.  You will be almost three weeks off every time you do the calculation.  However, one can find many instances where there are 1279 days in 42 months.  So while one can assign a 30-day value to a month, one cannot assign 1260 days to 42 months.  It just does not work out.  If our Lord meant the two periods to be the same, He would have used the 1260 days or 42 months twice.  To do anything else would cause great confusion, which is what we have now because of our lack of knowledge.  Remember, chapter 3 demonstrated that whenever the Bible uses ordinary time values such as hour, day, week, month, and year, you must first convert them to days, and the days then to years. (Unless the conversion leaves you with a time value that is less than a year.)

A second problem with this seven-year tribulation period theory as interpreted from the 70 weeks of Daniel 9 is that its foundation is nowhere in the Bible.  This theory puts forth the teaching that the final week of the 70 weeks is missing, so they take this missing week, split it in half and put it at the end of time.  They then take these seven years (1 week) and build end times Bible prophecy around them, which many believe takes place throughout much of the book of Revelation.

The problem with this is there is not a week missing.  If you read this portion of scripture carefully, it does not come out and say the 70th week specifically, but it does read; “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week.” What week?  It has to be the 70th week because the previous 69 weeks were previously accounted for and explained.

The third problem with this theory is that it is not backed up by any other portion of scripture.  As mentioned previously, our Lord requires more than one witness.

Matthew 18:16 (KJV)
But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 

Our Lord requires two or three witnesses to establish any matter.  The Bible even repeats the need for two or three witnesses a second time in II Corinthians 13:1.  While the Word of God calls for a second witness to establish a matter, there is no second witness to the way they define this seven-year tribulation anywhere in the Bible.  There is no second witness, which means there is no first witness.  There is no other place in Scripture where God takes a segment of time from one place and places it in another.  There is no second example in the Bible of the Lord working in this way.

The fourth problem with this is that if one stops to think about it, it is ridiculous.  While there are examples in the Bible of our Lord slowing down or speeding up time, there is no place in scripture where He takes a segment of time from one place and puts it in another.  There are no other prophecies of time where He names a beginning time, then skips over a length of time that is not counted in with the prophecy before coming to the concluding time.  If He were to do this, it would make it impossible to work out or even hope to understand any of the timed prophecies in scripture.

To further show how ridiculous it is to take a length of time from one place and place it in another, try to do it in real life.  Try it with your 60-month car loan.  Don’t make your last payment. When the bank calls to find out when you will be making that final payment, tell them you are saving that last month’s payment and making it in a month that will occur 20 years in the future.  You will not only get a lecture on how that is not the way a 60-month contract works, but you will also awaken in the middle of the night and hear the sound of the repo-man towing away your car!  It is not how time works, and neither is it a way God works.  If the 60-month term does not end at the end of 60 months, then it is not a 60-month term.  If a 70-week prophecy does not stop at the end of 70 weeks, it is not a 70-week prophecy.  He created everything, and it’s true He can do and does what we consider impossible, but He has never given us an example such as this as being a way that He works.  He uses nature.  He created nature, and we have a whole lot of examples of how He manipulates nature, but we have no examples of His abusing it to the degree required for this theory to be given any credence at all.  It’s not that God could not act in this way, but if there is not another witness to this type of interpretation, the word of God tells us this cannot be accepted.

A fifth problem with the widely accepted interpretation of this 70th-week relocating to the end of time is the purpose of the 70 weeks.  This 70 week period was much like a trial or probation period in our judicial system.  Because of Judah’s sin and rebellion against God, they were sentenced to hard labor as slaves in the Babylonian Empire.  While they were serving their sentence Daniel prayed and confessed their sins and asked for forgiveness.  Clemency was given, and the 70 weeks prophecy essentially put Judah on probation.  They were given 70 weeks to put an end to their sinful and rebellious ways.  If at the end of the 70 weeks they did so, their freedom, as well as their kingdom, would be restored to the prominence it once had.  If they did not, they would be returned to serve out the rest of their sentence spelled out previously.  All probationary periods are for a specific amount of time.  There would be nothing to gain by assigning a criminal 70 weeks of probation with 69 weeks to be served immediately and the last week to be served after the remainder of the sentence is carried out.  Once the convicted has served a sentence, his debt is paid and his freedom granted.  The need for a final week of probation does not exist and would be ridiculous.

The sixth problem with today’s interpretation of this last seven-year period before “time shall be no more” is something that needs to be made quite clear.  What follows is not written to confuse, so please pay attention because the following statement could be confusing to you.

Of course, there will be a seven-year period of time at the end of time, just before our Lord returns.  However, it is not the same period taught today, and it is not the same period expressed in Daniels 70 weeks.  As will be explained later, had Israel accepted Christ as the Messiah, He would have returned at the end of the 70th week and restored Israel to her former glory, and fulfilled the remaining prophecies.

There is a one week (7 year) period at the end of time, but it is not Daniels 70th week.  Instead, it can be supported by a good number of examples given in the Word of God.  Seven is the number of completion, and it is used 735 times in the Bible.  God finished creation in 7 days.  Noah was given a seven-day warning before entering the ark.  Here we are looking at a final seven day (year) warning Judah received.  So there is a good amount of precedent that there will be a final seven day (year) period before Christ returns, but it is not the 70th week of Daniels 70 weeks!

Even the arrangement of this last week is backward or opposite to what the Bible tells us.  As mentioned previously, They teach a last week at the end of time is divided into two 3½ day periods which one can interpret from Revelation 11, which is chapter 11 of this book.  These two periods are not the 1260 day prophecy or the 42-month prophecy.  However, since days = years in prophecy, they are the two times that 3½ days are mentioned in Revelation 11.  Today’s Christian believes the first 3½ years to be the tribulation period and the second 3½ years to be a period of the great tribulation.  It sounds logical, but this is not the correct order the Bible teaches.  Revelation 11:9 says the first 3½ years is the time of greater tribulation as this is the time the Man of Sin was slaughtering every Christian and Jew He could find in His domain.  He then left their dead bodies to rot in the streets just as Revelation 11 said he would.  Not to mention the Christians and Jews his followers killed in the rest of the world.  It is the second 3½ years where the tribulation falls off because ISIS goes into perdition, which means they are destroyed but not with a total destruction.  This length of time is found in Revelation 6:11, Revelation 11:11 and Revelation 17:11.  (Notice how they are all found in the 11th verse!)  So the first 3½ years is the period of “greater” tribulation.

REMINDER: It also should be pointed out that both Revelation 9:5 and Matthew 24:15-21 tell us that the time of greatest tribulation His saints ever experienced was from the time the Dome of the Rock was set up in 688 A.D. and lasted for five months (150 years) until 838 A.D.

The seventh problem with this widely accepted 70 weeks seven-year tribulation period interpretation is the interpretation itself.  It has evolved from a complete misinterpretation of this portion of scripture.  The primary purpose of this portion of scripture is the conclusion and termination of the first covenant and the beginning of the new.  It proclaims the coming of the Messiah and the important events during His life; but because this scripture includes prophecy concerning the antichrist, errors have been made by attributing too much of its content to the antichrist.  These errors come into play beginning with verse 27, where the last week is separated from the previous 69 weeks, which somehow makes its way to the end of time.  Let’s take a look at this portion of scripture and introduce you to a slightly different interpretation of these verses. This interpretation not only makes better sense than the standard interpretation, but it is validated by looking at the meanings of the words and by the history that has already happened!  Let’s take a look at this prophecy and do a verse by verse explanation of its interpretation.

Daniel 9:24 (KJV)
Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

Strongs Determined 2852“Seventy weeks are determined” Because of the widespread misinterpretation of this portion of scripture, the most important of these four words is “determined.”   In Strong’s Greek and Hebrew Dictionary, it is word #2852 ḥātak, which means to cut off, which tells us this 70 weeks is being cut off from the timeline, In other words, this period of time is being singled out.  A special set of events and requirements will be put forth and how you react to them will determine what will take place when this time period is over.  If the 70 weeks is divided into  69 weeks and one week, it would not be said these weeks were being cut off from a timeline, but instead they were being “cut out” of the timeline; which is the Hebrew word #1505 “gezar.”

The duration of this period cut off will be 490 years from beginning to end.  The key code that unlocks Bible prophecy is one day = 1-year; making a seven day week equal to 7 years.  Since there are 70 weeks in this prophecy, the equation will be 70 x 7 years, which equals 490 years.  If the last week of 7 years is interpreted as being the tribulation period and placed at the end of time, 70 weeks are not cut off. (Determined)  If one believes this last week comes at the end of time there will never be an amount of time that can be determined until everything is finished.  That would make this prophecy closer to 357 weeks determined so far and growing.  What would be the point of giving us a prophecy that could not be known until it’s too late to be of any benefit to us?  So why were 70 weeks chosen as the amount of time to be determined here?

Remember, Matthew 18:21, where Peter is asking our Lord if he should forgive someone who sins against him seven times?  Our Lord’s answer to Peter is not only seven times but seventy times seven.

In a way, this is our Lord doing what He always does; practicing what He teaches.  This 70-week prophecy comes while Daniel is praying to the Lord, confessing and asking forgiveness for both his sins and the sins of his people.  The result is our Lord showing mercy to Daniel and Judah with this 70 x 7 prophecy.  He is granting Judah another opportunity to stop their rebelling and sinning against Him.  Here He is willing to forgive them their sins and redeem them and set up His everlasting kingdom on Earth.  (All this because of the prayers of one righteous man.)

Another reason for this 70-week (7×10) prophecy is the number itself.  In the Bible seven is the number of completeness which is demonstrated by this verse saying “to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins.”  Ten is the number of testing and trials, which is precisely what this 490 year period is.  It is important to see this as a trial or probation period.  It is another chance our Lord is giving His chosen people.  This prophecy concerns the coming of the Messiah and the great things He would accomplish.  However, what the Messiah would do at the end of the 70 weeks was completely dependent upon His acceptance or rejection by His chosen people.

However, there is another very important reason why our Lord used the number 70.  In the Hebrew Language, numbers not only have a numeric meaning, they also carry a word meaning.  As we stated in the previous paragraph, 7 is the number of completion.  If you check out the meaning of the number 70 in Hebrew, you will discover the meaning applied to the number 70 is “to appear, to see, to make known.”  It is no coincidence that the 70th week of Daniels prophecy begins with the baptism of Jesus Christ which marked the beginning of His ministry.

“Upon thy people and upon thy holy city” Note this period of mercy and testing was not only for Daniels people, the Jews of Judah but also for Jerusalem.  This 70 weeks prophecy involved both the Jews and Jerusalem.  They failed the test and not only were the Jewish people scattered among the nations, but the city of Jerusalem was laid waste.  Note that it says “upon thy people;” and not upon my people; making it evident that Judah was not in good standing with the Lord at the time of Daniel’s prayer.

 “To finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins” One of the purposes of this 70 week (490 years) period would be to end Judah’s persistent rebellion against God and to blot out sin once and for all.

“And to make reconciliation for iniquity” This is a direct reference to Christ’s death on the cross, the only sacrifice there could be to make complete reconciliation and forgiveness of sin.

“And to bring in everlasting righteousness” If at the end of these 70 weeks the Jewish people would have accepted Christ as their Messiah, Christ would have returned to earth, set up His eternal kingdom, and restored Israel to the prominence she once had.  The restoring of Israel to her former place of prominence is a prophecy and promise from the book of Hosea that the Jews have been hoping and looking for since well before the time of Christ.  Even His disciples questioned Him on this point in the first chapter of Acts:

Acts 1:6 (KJV)
When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?

“And to seal up the vision and prophecy” To seal up is to make an end, meaning the 70 weeks would be the termination point of this prophecy and the completion of the trial period for the Jewish people.  It may be this that gave someone the idea they could move this last week to the end of time.

“And to anoint the most Holy” The anointing of Jesus Christ (Christ means Messiah) will take place during this 70 weeks.  Without the anointing of the Messiah, the making an end of sins, the forgiveness of sin, and the bringing in of everlasting righteousness would not be possible.

Daniel 9:25 (KJV)
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

“Know therefore and understand” Read carefully, pay attention to every word and make sure you understand.  (Because if you don’t, it’s going to mess up your understanding and interpretation of Bible prophecy.)

“That from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.” From the time the word goes out to restore and build Jerusalem until the time of the anointed one, the prince will be seven weeks (49 years) and sixty-two weeks (434) years.  When added together they account for 483 years (49+434) of the 490 years.  In other words, 483 years after the order goes out to rebuild Jerusalem, the Messiah will be anointed; this points to the baptism of Jesus Christ and the beginning of His ministry.  During this 483 years, Jerusalem and its walls were rebuilt.

Daniel 9:26 (KJV)
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off” Previously in verse 24, you saw the Hebrew word #2852 ḥātak that means cut off was translated to the English word determined.  Here we have another Hebrew word #3772 karat where the Strongs Cut Off 3772English translation is to cut off, but in this case, a more accurate translation would be to make a covenant. The text box shows you what Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary says:

If you have any doubt as to the proper translation of this “cut off” to be to make a covenant, all you need to do is read the first six words of the next verse (9:27) “And he shall confirm the covenant.”  To what covenant does it refer?  It is the covenant made during the 70th week.  It begins with the anointing and baptism of Jesus Christ and ends when Stephen is stoned.

“But not for himself” These are the four most important words because they prove the covenant just mentioned was not that of the so-called antichrist making a seven-year peace deal that he will break in the midst of the week, but this is Jesus Christ the Messiah making a new covenant with His people.  Most Christians would say He came and suffered and died for us to pay the penalty of our sin which is true, but not the real reason why our Lord came down to earth for that most crucial 70th week.  You may disagree with this interpretation, but his coming is totally tied to this prophecy.  Matthew 15:24 confirms the REAL reason our Lord did all this: “But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

“And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary” The city and the sanctuary or temple were destroyed after the 490 years, but the fate of the city and the temple were determined by how the Jews responded to the Messiah and the new covenant put forth by this 70-week prophecy.

This phrase DOES NOT refer to Rome or the Roman Empire!  “The PEOPLE of the prince that shall come” refers to the nationality of the PEOPLE that destroyed the temple; not the Nation these people were serving at the time of the destruction of the temple.  According to Wikipedia It was the Legio X Fretensis which translates to the Roman 10th Legion called Fretensis that served the Roman Empire from 41 to 410 A.D.  It was sent from Antioch and positioned on the Mount of Olives when they destroyed the 2nd Temple.  The PEOPLE that comprised this legion were primarily Assyrians and Arabs.

NOTE:  The prince that shall come is speaking of the Man of Sin and the Lawless One.  He is the very evil being which most refer to as the antichrist.  In the Bible, he is called the Assyrian and The King of Babylon.  It was the King of Babylon that destroyed the first Temple, and here, our Lord tells us it will be the Assyrians and Arabs that destroy the second Temple.

“And the end thereof shall be with a flood” This is not talking about the end of time, which may be another reason why so many want to put this 70th week at the end of time.  It is saying the end result of this prophecy will be the destruction of the temple and the Jews dispersed throughout the nations.  A “flood” being a metaphor for the dispersing of a great many people from their land or home to another location, just as a flood occurs when a great deal of water overflows its riverbanks.  The Jews dispersed upon the destruction of the first temple by the Babylonians. This prophecy foretells their dispersal after the destruction of the second Jewish temple by the Assyrians.

“And unto the end of the war desolations are determined” This does take us outside the 490 weeks revealed in Daniel 9. The important words here are end of the war, desolations, and determined.

The Hebrew word for war used here is milḥāmâ.  According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, this means a confrontation between two opposing forces.  The war could merely be referring to the battle between good and evil or the conflict between Israel and the mixed peoples that have been going on ever since the times of Isaac and Ishmael and Jacob and Esau.  It essentially means that “unto the end,” there will be war.  However, because this portion of Scripture mentions the antichrist this would be a prophecy hinting at the coming of Islam, which by their doctrine is in a perpetual state of war with the rest of humanity.  In a figurative sense, this could be referring to the war Paul tells us about in his writings to the Ephesians: 

Ephesians 6:12 (KJV)
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

The word “desolations” here is important, but the original Hebrew word used here is difficult even for the linguistic experts to explain.  Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old Testament and New Testament Words state’s this about the meaning of “shāmēm.”

Strongs Determine 2782Just how the meanings “be desolate,” “be astonished,” and “be appalled” are to be connected with each other is not clear. In some instances, the translator must make a subjective choice. For example, after being raped by her half-brother, Tamar is said to have remained in her brother Absalom’s house, “desolate” (2 Sam. 13:20). However, she surely was “appalled” at what Ammon had done. Also, the traditional expression, “to be desolated,” sometimes means much the same as “to be destroyed.”

Since the words desolations and determined are used together, here is what Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary shows as to the ways the Hebrew words shāmēm and ḥāras are used throughout the Bible. 

To understand what desolations are determined means, you must keep in mind that the antichrist is Islam.  We also know that Man of Sin and Son of Perdition is called Apollyon and Abaddon, which both mean destroyer or destroying angel.  Destruction has always been associated with Islam.  Wherever Islam conquered, it involved many types of destruction.  The destruction was both physical and spiritual.  The whole world saw this with ISIS.  Knowing this means that one can make the case that either of the meanings you apply to the words for desolations will have merit.

Strongs Desolate 8074If you interpret desolations are determined as meaning destruction’s or devastation’s are decreed until the end of the war; you have a good case because the past 1400 years of Islamic conquest prove it.

If you interpret, desolations are determined as meaning there will be amazement or astonishment or people feeling destroyed, you can also make a good case for this in every location and every being where Islam is present. 

Daniel 9:27 (KJV)
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:” The 70th week, which immediately followed the 69th week, was the most crucial (7 years) in all human history.  This week began with the baptism of Jesus Christ in 27A.D. and was followed immediately by 3½ years of ministry in which He made the conditions of the covenant clear.  Oddly enough, this is the very same week that much of Christendom is still looking for because they wrongly believe it is the week of the seven-year tribulation period that they place at the end of time.  What follows next also shows this belief to be in error!

“And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease” In the midst of what week?  The 70th and last week of this prophecy of course! Immediately following the Baptism (anointing) of Jesus Christ, which was the beginning point of the 70th week, He had a ministry of 3½ years, which takes us to the midst of the week.   It should be evident that this is referring to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  When Christ shed His blood on the cross to pay the penalty for sin, He was the ultimate sacrifice.  His was the perfect sacrifice as He was without sin.  After His sacrifice there was and is no sacrifice for sin that could or would be acceptable to our Heavenly Father, thus making any other sacrifice unworthy, unnecessary, and unacceptable before God.  It was His sacrifice that caused the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.  The sacrifice refers to the animal offerings, and the oblation relates to the other required offerings that were bloodless.

“And for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate” When one reads this, it is tough to understand unless you pay close attention to everything that is happening in this verse.  It will also help to go back to the original meanings of the words overspreading and abominations and connect this passage with other verses in God’s Word that use these same terms.

According to the definition given by Strong’s, the word overspreading is referring to a physical location; but the location of what?  The definition seems to hint at the location of a building, but how can that be further substantiated?

This phrase begins with the words “and for,” which means it directly connects to “he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.”  Where were these sacrifices and oblations that were caused to cease offered?  In the Jewish Temple!  That means this overspreading of abominations somehow connects with the Jewish Temple; but how?

As you read previously, there is a building our Lord refers to as the abomination of desolation, and we find both these words used in this sentence.  In the Old Testament, God called the buildings that were built on top of hills by both the heathens and the Israelites abominations.  He called them this because they made the buildings for the worship of false gods. (Satan)  The building referred to here is once again, the Muslim temple Dome of the Rock which according to this verse will be sitting on a wing, edge, border, or corner of God’s rebuilt temple; which is the temple where He caused the sacrifice and oblation to cease.  In this short phrase, our Lord is telling us that because this temple of Satan is sitting on a wing or corner of the location where His temple once was, He is going to make the area desolate.  That is exactly what happened after the construction of the Dome of the Rock was initiated in 688 A.D.  The area became dry and desolate with little vegetation, which caused the people to leave the area.  The land was of little value to anyone until the Jews started returning and the land began to blossom once again.

‘Even until the consummation” By using the word even it gives the phrase a quality that suggests this desolation goes beyond the end of this 70 weeks prophecy and the until the consummation confirms this.  The Hebrew word used here is kālâ, and it can mean completion or destruction as in utter completion or utter destruction.

Interestingly, the King James Bible chose to use the word consummation to refer to the end, as this word is usually thought of or used in connection with a wedding involving a man and a woman.  According to God’s calendar, as revealed in the book of Revelation, it is between the Rapture of His Saints, also known as the Wedding of the Lamb and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ that the vials of the wrath of God are poured out.  It would be the time between the Feast of Trumpets which is Tishri 1 and 2; and the Feast of Atonement which is the Second Coming of Christ on Tishri 10 on the Hebrew (God’s) calendar.

“And that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” What did our Lord tell us would be poured out at the time of the end?

Revelation 16:1 (KJV)
And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.

Now that you have finished reading another interpretation of Daniel’s 70 weeks, the images that follow are the graphic timelines that demonstrate the widely accepted teaching of Daniels 70 Weeks along with the interpretation you have just read.

This first diagram shows the present-day teaching of Daniel’s 70 weeks.  The second diagram displays the interpretation presented here.  You can see that when it comes to the last week, the only thing these two graphs have in common is the colors used to design them.   The 70th week is wrongly separated from the previous 69 weeks in the present-day teaching, while the 70-week prophecy remains completely intact if correctly interpreted.  Even when you diagram these two interpretations, the interpretation that is widely accepted today looks ridiculous.  There is not another prophecy in the Word of God that would look anything like the chart diagramming what is accepted by most of Christendom today.

11-2 Not 70 Weeks Graph 1 b11-1 70 Weeks Graph 1

Note: When doing the math -457 + 490, the answer returned is 33.  The illustration above shows the answer to be 34 A.D. because when going from B.C. to A.D. you must add one year because the system we use came into being around 500 A.D. and they forgot to add a “0” year.  So when going from B.C. to A.D. you must add one year, and when going from A.D. to B.C., you must subtract one year.   Daniels 70 weeks prophecy validates that our Lord was crucified in the year 30 A.D.  Many believe it happened in 33 A.D. because Passover was on a Friday that year.  That is incorrect, and you will find the proof in the last chapter of this book.  This chart actually verifies the findings because it shows the year of our Lord’s crucifixion and resurrection to be in 30 A.D.  It was in 30 A.D. when the day or the Feast of Passover fell on Wednesday and not Friday.  In the last chapter, you will find solid proof that His crucifixion could not have taken place on a Friday.  This proof comes straight from the Word of God in the book of John.  It has been there since the book of John was written, but Christendom cannot see it because we have little interest when it comes to the Feasts of the Lord.  Instead, we have chosen to follow the traditions of men rather than the commandments of God.

The Stoning of Stephen and the End of the 70 Weeks

You may be wondering how or why the determination is made the 70-Weeks (490 years) prophecy terminates with the stoning of Stephen and not crucifixion of Christ.  The Lord provided this explanation, which should go a long way to convince you that this is the correct interpretation of Daniel’s 70 weeks. (If you’re not convinced already.)  However, like His parables, He did not just come out and tell us; you have to pay close attention to His Word by reading the small print and by doing some reading between the lines.

In Acts 6:8, it is made clear that Stephen is truly a man of God:

Acts 6:8 (KJV)  And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. 

Next, it tells us there arose some out of the synagogue that disputed with Stephen’s words, but were not able to withstand his words because of “the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake.”  Because of this, they resorted to lying about what he was saying to stir up the people against him to bring him up before the council of religious leaders.  Next, it states that as he sat before the council “all that sat in the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face of an angel.”     

Stephen then testifies against them by going through their history, starting with Abraham leading up to the then-present day.  He reminds them of their constant turning away from God and chasing after the false gods of the heavens.  He then rebukes the Jews for their rebellion and murder of the Just One Jesus Christ, whose coming was foretold by the prophets, just as it was in this prophecy of the 70 weeks.

Acts 7:51-53 (KJV)
51 Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. 52 Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: 53 Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.

As you can see the subject matter here is the same as Daniel’s 70 weeks, but the real proof can be ascertained by what Stephen says next.

Acts 7:55-56 (KJV)
55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, 56 And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

In all other such examples, Christ is always “sitting at the right hand of God;” but in these two verses Christ is “standing on the right hand of God.”  Also, please notice the fact Christ is standing and not sitting is repeated twice, in two consecutive verses.  Does not this suggest there is something here? Something He does not want us to miss?

It should be evident that He wants us to question why He is standing here but sitting in all other such scriptures.

He is standing here because Stephen’s dissertation is the endpoint of the 70 weeks.  Also take note that Stephen’s dissertation is given in a courtroom setting, a place of trial and judgment.  It is the very last chance His chosen people have to repent of their ways and accept Christ as their Messiah.  Christ is standing because what happens next will determine what He will do.  Christ is standing because if they should repent and turn to Him as their Messiah, He stands ready to return to earth, set up His kingdom, and restore Israel to the prominence she once enjoyed as is promised in prophecy.  Also, notice that Stephen saw the heavens opened, which is a very clear indication that the pathway was clear for Jesus Christ to return.

He was ready to “seal up the vision and prophecy.”  He had already fulfilled the Feast of Passover when He shed His blood on the cross.  He fulfilled the Feast of Unleavened Bread when he died and was placed in the tomb.  He fulfilled the Feast of Firstfruits when He arose from the dead and ascended up to heaven.  He fulfilled the Feast of Pentecost when He gave us the Holy Spirit to be our guide.  If the Jews would have realized their mistake and repented instead of killing Stephen, He would have returned right then and sealed up the prophecy by fulfilling the remaining “Fall Feasts of the Lord,” thus fulfilling every jot and tittle of the Law; doing all that He said He would do.

One more point to make regarding the timing of Christ’s return to fulfill the remaining Fall Feasts of the Lord.  Using the information from the diagram of Daniels 70 Weeks, it can be shown how the return of Christ would have worked out perfectly within the Fall Feasts framework, had He returned at the time of Stephen’s death.

According to Daniels 70 Weeks prophecy, Christ’s ministry would have begun in late 27 A.D., probably around mid to late October after His baptism by John the Baptist.  His crucifixion would have taken place 3½ years later “in the midst of the week” which would place it sometime in the April of 31 A.D.  When you add 3½ years onto April of 31 A.D, it brings you to September of 34 A.D., which is the year the solution of the 70 Weeks points to.  September of 34 A.D. is also the time of the Fall Feasts of the Lord, which is the Feast of Trumpets (Rapture of the Saints) and the Feast of Atonement. (Second Coming of Christ)

Next, we finally come to the Feasts of the Lord.  They were mentioned several times in the book already.  Chances are you are not familiar with the Feasts of the Lord, and even if you are, chances are you are not familiar with what you are about to find out.  In this next chapter, you will find out just how unique these feasts are.  They are God’s Master Plan, and they lay out the Lord’s master plan for Salvation, Prophecy, and Stewardship.

         The Sign of the Son of Man &

The Appointed Time of Christ’s Return

                    CONTENTS

Book Introduction (Read for more info contained in the book)

  1. The REAL 4th Kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream  (Daniel 2)
  2. The REAL King of Babylon  (Isaiah 14)
  3. The REAL Key to Deciphering Time Prophecy
  4. The REAL Secret Prophecy of Daniel 4
  5. The REAL Beast of Revelation 13
  6. The REAL 8th Beast of Revelation 17
  7. The REAL 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse  (Revelation 6)
  8. The REAL First 4 Trumpets of Revelation 8
  9. The REAL 4 Angels of Revelation 9 And the Plague of Islam
  10. The REAL Woman, Dragon and Flood of Revelation 12
  11. The REAL 2 Witnesses of Revelation 11
  12. The REAL 70 Weeks of Daniel 9
  13. The FEASTS OF THE LORD; The Appointed Time of Christ’s Return
  14. The REAL Appointed Year of Our Lords Return as Revealed in Daniel 12
  15. The REAL Sign of the Son of Man; and Signs of the End (Matthew 24)
  16. The REAL Parable of the 10 Virgins (Matthew 25)
  17. The Fall Feast Days as Revealed in the Book of Revelation  (Revelation 6,7,8,11)
  18. The REAL Warning to the Church of Laodicea; the Church of Today  (Revelation 3)
  19. Closing Thoughts & the REAL Day of the Resurrection of Our Lord
  20. Ready You Ain’t, Even if You’re a Saint  Not Part of Book 
  21. Main Page: The Appointed Time of Christ Return