83 Generations

In the first chapter of John, Jesus is given many names. In His pre-incarnation, He is the Word (and the Word was God), as mentioned four times in the first 14 verses. The Word was made flesh (vs. 14) and is identified as Jesus Christ in verse 17. He is called the Lamb of God in verses 29 and 36, and the Son of God in verse 34. Andrew told his brother Simon (Peter) that they had found the Messiah (or Christ in the Greek) in verse 41. Philip told Nathaniel they had found the Prophet (like Moses) that Moses had written about in Deuteronomy 18:15-19. Nathaniel, in verse 49, told Jesus He was the Son of God and King of Israel. Jesus calls himself "the Son of man" in verse 51.

God had commissioned John the Baptist to baptize with water. John did not know who "the Christ" (the Messiah or anointed one) was, but God had told him that the Messiah would be the man whom John baptized, who came out of the water with the Holy Spirit descending and remaining on him. John 1:33-34 says, "I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God." Jesus wasn't anointed with oil (as a priest, prophet, or king) by a man, but was anointed with the Holy Spirit by God Himself.

The baptism of Jesus is recorded in Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:8-11, and Luke 3:21-22. "Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased" (Luke 3:21-22). Here we see the Trinity, with Jesus as the Son of God, the voice from heaven is coming from God, the Father, and the dove-shaped entity is the Holy Spirit. In Luke 3:16, John the Baptist told the people, "I indeed baptize you with water; but one mightier than I cometh, the latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to unloose: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire."

The Holy Spirit that Jesus would baptize with that John spoke about in John 1:33 is fulfilled in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost (Shavuot to the Jews), which occurred 50 days after Jesus' resurrection. "And when the day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance" (Acts 2:1-4).

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, stood up and preached about the death and resurrection of Jesus and its fulfillment of prophecy, and the gospel of salvation on this day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2:14-40. Peter spoke about how Jesus fulfilled his promise to send the Holy Spirit to the Jews and those of faith, "Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear" (Acts 2:33). 

"Therefore, let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." (Acts 2:36-38,41).

This indwelling by the Holy Spirit amongst the believers in Christ is the fulfillment of Jesus' words in the Book of John. "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" (John 14:26). "Nevertheless, I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you" (John 16:7). The first verse indicates the Father sends the Holy Spirit, while the second verse indicates the Son sends the Holy Spirit. This is just another example of the Trinity at work. Jesus said, "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30).

LUKE'S GENEALOGY OF JESUS

Now, allow me to back up to the baptism of Jesus in Luke 3. After Luke records the baptism of Jesus, he believes it is essential to give the genealogy of Jesus at this point. He lists 77 names from Jesus to God. Some of the more prominent human names listed are Joseph (actually Mary), Nathan (David's son who never became king), David, Abraham, Noah, and Adam. The genealogies of the Jews only allow male patriarchs to be mentioned as heads of the families and not female matriarchs. So, Luke doesn't mention Mary. 

Luke merely states, "And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli" (Luke 3:23). Mary is the daughter of Heli; which accords with this genealogy of Luke's, who traces it from Mary, under her husband Joseph; though she is not mentioned, because of a rule with the Jews that says, "the family of the mother is not called a family.'' Luke probably received this lineage from Jesus' mother, Mary, after Jesus' death.

Luke affirms Jesus’ divinity, but the real emphasis of the Book of Luke is on his humanity. Jesus, the Son of God, is also the Son of man and the kinsman-redeemer of all mankind. Luke’s descending genealogy traces all the way back to Adam, showing Jesus is related to all human beings, Jews as well as Gentiles. This is consistent with Luke’s picture of Jesus as the Savior of the whole world. Luke's genealogy begins in Luke 3:23 and ends in Luke 3:38. There are 77 names (counting God) in Luke’s genealogy. 

Unlike Matthew’s ascending genealogy, Luke’s descending genealogy starts with Jesus and works back to Adam (actually, God is listed as the first name). There is one human name in Luke’s New Testament genealogy that is not in the Old Testament genealogies of 1 Chronicles (1:18,24) and Genesis 11 (11:12,13). It is number 64 on Luke's list (Luke 3:36), and his name is Cainan. Ironically, it is number 14 on the list if you start in the reverse order from God to Jesus. He is listed between Sala (Shelah) and Arphaxad. Luke was either following the Septuagint text (Greek translation of the Old Testament), which does list this particular Cainan, or a pre-Masoretic Hebrew text that differed (at least in the genealogies) from the Masoretic text we have today. This Cainan (not the Antediluvian one) is not included in the Masoretic text. This is just one of many variants between the Masoretic and Septuagint texts. See The Septuagint Vs. the Masoretic Text – Part I

As a result of Luke listing "post-flood Cainan" (#64 on the list) and God (#77 on the list), there are 77 names on the list and not 75. The 77 names are apparently arranged in 11 groups of 7, although he never calls attention to this. Once again, we see the significance of the number 7 and its multiples in the history and lineage of the Jewish people. The 77 generations to the appearance of the Messiah also agree with the 70 generations from Enoch (the seventh from Adam), which is recorded in the non-canonical book of Enoch, which Luke probably knew. 

However, if you go by the Masoretic Old Testament Bible (like I do) and don't add the "Septuagint post-flood Cainan" and God, there are 75 human names from Adam to Jesus. In the Hebrew Masoretic genealogies, there are 33 names from Adam (#1) to David (#33). In Luke 3, there are 42 names from Nathan (#34) to Jesus (#75), for a total of 75 names. See Jesus' Family Tree for the lineage and chronology of Adam to Abraham (#20). See Jesus' Family Tree: Part II for the lineage and chronology of Isaac (#21) to Jesus. 

MATTHEW'S GENEALOGY OF JESUS

On the other side of the coin is the genealogy of Jesus that Matthew records in Matthew 1:1-17. This genealogy only goes back to Abraham but shows how Jesus, through his stepfather Joseph, is descended from Abraham, David, Solomon, and eventually Joseph and then Jesus. The two New Testament genealogies (Luke and Matthew) are identical from Abraham to David but then diverge at the next generation (the two sons of David, Nathan and Solomon).

The ascending genealogy of Matthew (from Abraham to Jesus) is not a complete record of all the generations involved but rather is a condensed version with some kings of Judah (and some non-kings) not listed. With this genealogy, Matthew is merely telling the historical story of how Jesus is descended from Abraham (the father of the Jews), David, Solomon, the kings of Judah, and eventually Joseph (Jesus' stepfather) and Jesus. Joseph is the adoptive father of Jesus and his legal guardian; therefore, Jesus inherits Joseph’s ancestry as well. 

Matthew compresses his genealogy into 3 sets of 14 generations. “So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the carrying away into Babylon until Christ are fourteen generations” (Matthew 1:17). The number 3 represents divine perfection in the Bible, and 14 (7 X 2) represents spiritual perfection doubled, i.e., Jesus through David through Abraham. Coincidentally (or not), 14 is the gematria of David’s name in Hebrew. The number 14 is a well-known number throughout Israel’s religion and history. 

It appears Matthew is emphasizing the number 14 (seven doubled) to such a degree that he intentionally leaves out multiple generations of the line of David. When names are intentionally left out of genealogy, it is referred to as “telescoping.” In a telescoped genealogy, only the highlights are given, usually the names of the most important and relevant people. As an example, in Matthew 1:1, the genealogy of Jesus Christ starts out with “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham.” In English, this genealogy would be considered erroneous as Jesus was not literally the son of David, and David was not literally the son of Abraham. In Hebrew (and similarly Greek), this telescoped genealogy would be perfectly acceptable because the Hebrew word (transliteration) 'ben' can be translated as 'descendant' as well as 'son.'

Matthew lists only 42 (7 X 6) generations from Abraham to Jesus, whereas Luke lists 56 (7 X 8) generations. Actually, Matthew only lists 41 names, as Jechoniah is listed twice. Matthew wanted to show Jesus’ genealogy in such a way as to leave no doubt that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah) and eternal King of the Jews, as the prophets of the Old Testament spoke about.

Matthew’s first set of 14 generations is complete. His second set is missing 3 Kings of Judah (Ahaziah, Joash, and Amaziah) that should be listed between Joram and Uzziah. Matthew’s third set is missing King Jehoiachin (Jehoiakim or Eliakim). There are probably many more names/generations that aren’t listed from the time of the Babylonian exile until the time of Jesus, but Matthew definitely made his point (with his genealogy and gospel book) that Jesus is the true King and Messiah of the Jews. Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament expectation that a son of David would reign on the throne of David forever (Psalm 132:11-18 and others), as Gabriel had announced to Mary (Luke 1:32-33). 

I believe both New Testament genealogies are telescoped, Matthew more than Luke. I also believe the genealogies of Luke 3 and Matthew 1 are not telescoped until the point where two women are named in the genealogy of Matthew 1. In my view, this is a clue to when telescoping the genealogies begins. This occurs in Matthew 1:5 (and Luke 3:32, although the women aren't mentioned here), "And Salmon begat Booz of Rahab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse." 

A SHORT HISTORY OF ISRAEL - FROM THE EXODUS TO THE KINGS OF ISRAEL

Most scholars and historians (and this author) believe the Exodus occurred in 1446 BC. Nahshon or Naasson (Salmon's father) lived during the time of the exodus and died in the wilderness (approximately 1422 BC) before seeing the Promised Land. He was the prince or leader of the tribe of Judah for most of the journey (see Numbers 1:7; 2:3; 7:12,17; and 10:14). I believe his son, Salmon (or Salma), could have replaced him at this time. Salmon would have been approximately 40 years old at this time (see part II of Jesus' Family Tree). Salmon was probably about 16 years old at the time of the exodus, so he would have probably lived to see the Promised Land. Only those Israelites who were under 20 years old (except for Caleb and Joshua) would live to enter the land of Canaan in 1406 BC.

Seven years after the Israelites entered the Promised Land, in 1399 BC, the land had peace from war for a brief time. This is possibly the year Salmon and Rahab (the ex-harlot of Jericho) were married. The marriage could have taken place approximately 7 years after the defeat and destruction of Jericho by the Israelites. Joshua was still the ruler of Israel at this time. The exact year of Joshua's death is not known, but he judged Israel for approximately 25 years according to Josephus. His approximate death would have occurred in the year 1381 BC.

After Joshua’s death, the LORD raised up judges to lead and deliver his people from slavery (Judges 2-16,18). The total time of the judges was about 326 years, from 1376 BC to 1050 BC (when Saul became king of Israel). See A Chronology of Mankind – 6000 Years of History. 

However, Acts 13:20 says the time of the judges was about 450 years. “And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land to them by lot. And after that, he gave unto them judges about the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet. And afterward, they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years” (Acts 13:19-21). The duration of 450 years for the judges eventually comes into conflict with the timeline of 1 Kings 6:1. However, there is a simple explanation.  

In Acts 13:20, Luke, quoting Paul, is merely giving a summary total of all the years of servitude (to other kingdoms) and peace as recorded in the Books of Judges and 1 Samuel. These years of servitude and peace look like this in the two O.T. Books:

8+40+18+80+20+40+7+40+3+23+22+18+6+7+10+8+40+20+40=450. The years in bold are the "servitude years." The rest are the "peace years." Each period of oppression overlapped with the time of peace that followed Israel’s deliverance by a judge. There were different judges (approximately 15) from different tribes who ruled their tribe or region, and some of the judges’ time overlapped with other judges in different regions at that time. So, the actual time of the judges was 326 years.

Sometime within this timeframe of the judges, Boaz and Ruth were born and lived (per Ruth 1-2). Boaz and Ruth had a son, Obed (Ruth 4:21, 1 Chronicles 2:12), in approximately 1110 BC (see Jesus' Family Tree Part 11). Obed's son, Jesse (Ruth 4:22, 1 Chronicles 2:12), was born in approximately 1080-1070 BC. Saul was Israel’s first king. He ruled for 40 years, from 1050 until 1010 BC. Jesse had a son, David (Ruth 4:22), who was born in 1040 BC. He ruled Judah and Israel for 40 years, from 1010 until 970 BC. In 970 BC, David's son, Solomon, became king of Israel after David died at 70 years of age. Solomon began building the Temple in Jerusalem in his fourth year of reign in 966 BC. 

966 BC was the 480th year after the children of Israel left Egypt  in 1446 BC, as recorded in I Kings 6:1. "And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord." (Masoretic text).

So, you see, Salmon couldn't have been the father of Boaz. They were separated by about 250 years. I believe there were 7-8 generations that weren't mentioned in the genealogy records of Ruth 4, 1 Chronicles 2, and likewise, Luke 3. These are all telescoped genealogies (like Matthew 1:1,5, 8,11). Instead of 75 generations (as reckoned by omitting post-flood Septuagint Cainan and God) in Luke 3, I believe there were actually 82-83 generations from Adam to Jesus. See Jesus' Family Tree : Part II :: By Randy Nettles - Rapture Ready for more detail. Are these numbers (82,83) significant in other ways as well? See below.

THE MAJOR SIGN OF THE END OF THE AGE  

In Matthew 24:15-22, Jesus spoke about the Great Tribulation, which will begin with the Abomination of Desolation (as prophesied by Daniel). In Seven Times More, I mention that there are 3430 (7 x 7 x 7 x 10) years between 1406 BC (when the children of Israel entered the Promised Land) and 2025 AD. That would make 2026 AD the 70th Jubilee year, if the Shemitah cycle (and Jubilee) is reckoned continuously regardless of the Jews leaving and re-entering the land, and if the 50th year is also the first year of the following Shemitah week/cycle.

In this article, I also write about how the global elites are determined to bring in a New World Order, and how the United Nations has set a deadline for achieving its Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development by the year 2030. It’s rather obvious to me that the year 2030 will be associated with Jacob’s Trouble, aka Daniel’s 70th Week, perhaps the start of the Great Tribulation (the last 3.5 years of the Tribulation), which begins with the abomination of desolation (as prophesied about in Daniel 12:11, Matthew 24:15, and Mark 13:14). 

For the abomination of desolation to occur, there has to be a Jewish temple in Jerusalem. The Antichrist, the man of sin, the 666 man, is the one who will commit this abomination in the newly built third temple, according to 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. From 70 AD (when the second temple was destroyed by the Romans) to 2030 AD is 1960 years, or (7 + 7 + 7 + 7) x 7 x 10. 

The modern nation of Israel began in 1948 and immediately went to war with its Muslim neighbors. Jesus said, "For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places" (Matthew 24:7). A few verses later, Jesus said, "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand): Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be" (Matthew 24:15-16, 21). 

From 1948 to 2030 is 82 (there is that number again) years. Luke recorded his genealogy immediately after mentioning Jesus' baptism (and the start of Jesus' ministry) in 29-30 AD. From 30 AD to 2030 AD is 2000 years or "two days" for the LORD.

The number 83 is interesting as well. Our current year is 2025 AD. Jesus was crucified, resurrected, and ascended to heaven in 33 AD. The Church was also born in this year. It has been 1992 years since these monumental historical and biblical events. 

Matthew 25:1-13 records Jesus' parable of the wise and foolish virgins. Many modern-day Bereans (who search and study the Scriptures) believe this parable is about the Second Coming of Christ to set up His Kingdom. They also believe that Matthew 24:36 is about the Second Coming. However, many others (me included) believe these passages of scripture refer to the pre-tribulation Rapture of the Church. "And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut" (Matthew 25:10). The marriage of the Church to Christ takes place in heaven, before the Second Coming, as recorded in Revelation 19:7. 

Matthew 25:6 is a very interesting verse. "And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him." At midnight is when a new "day" begins. There are 24 hours in a day, so midnight is associated with the number 24. Today, we are in the year 2025 AD. From 33 AD (when Jesus ascended to heaven and the Church was established) to 2025 AD is 1992 years. 1992 divided by 24 (8 + 8 + 8; the isopsephy of Jesus, in Greek, is 888) equals 83. 

Is it midnight yet? I know it's close. The 2025 setting of the Doomsday Clock is at 89 seconds to midnight. Maybe when the Doomsday clock strikes midnight, the Rapture will occur. I pity those left behind. "The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looks not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of. And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 24:50-51).

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 

Randy Nettles 

rgeanie55@gmail.com