Time, Times, and Half a Time - Part 1

Some partial preterists believe all the prophecies of Daniel 9:24-27 have been fulfilled. They think all 70 weeks were fulfilled when Jesus was crucified and resurrected. Some believe the 70 weeks (490 years) of Daniel 9:25 were from 458 BC to 33 AD. The start was when King Artaxerxes of Persia, during his seventh year of reign, sent Ezra to Jerusalem, as recorded in Ezra 7. These partial preterists believe the end of the 69th week (483 years) of Daniel was in the year 26 AD before Jesus began his 3.5-year ministry in the fall of 29 AD.

Daniel 9:25 says the 69 weeks were “from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince.” Was Jesus Christ (Messiah) the Prince at this time? I suppose one could say Jesus was also the Messiah Prince during the 67th and 68th weeks (and beyond) and even since his birth. Is this verse in Daniel saying the 69th week was just the last seven years of the Messiah’s life, or is this a title given to this person because of a specific prophetic event that occurred in his life, such as when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah 9:9? I believe it is the latter.

These particular partial preterists believe that Daniel 9:26, “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself,” refers to the 70th week or 490 years after Ezra was sent to Jerusalem. Yes, 70 weeks does occur after 69 weeks, but so does 69 weeks plus a day, week, year, etc. The remaining part of verse 26 refers to Titus and the Romans destroying the city and temple in 70 AD.

They believe Daniel 9:27, “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,” refers to Jesus when he died on the cross for the sins of mankind. Even though the temple sacrifices continued after Jesus’s death (until 70 AD), they weren’t necessary anymore because of Jesus’ sacrificial death.

In their view, Jesus’ sacrificial death and subsequent resurrection fulfilled the six objectives mentioned in Daniel 9:24 for the Jews and Jerusalem: “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.” I believe this could have been the case if the Jews had accepted Jesus as their Messiah and King, but since they didn’t, these six objectives or accomplishments will only be realized during the millennial kingdom of Jesus Christ.

In other words, the partial preterists believe Daniel’s prophecy of 70 weeks has been fulfilled, and nothing else needs to occur in the future regarding this prophecy. The last seven years of the 70 weeks or 490 years (26-33 AD) consisted of 3.5 years of Jesus working as a carpenter and 3.5 years of Jesus’ ministry. Some of them believe there will be a time of tribulation for the Jews during the end times before Jesus returns; however, most do not think it is possible for the Jews to build a temple on the existing Temple Mount. Here is a peer-reviewed paper highlighting the partial preterist point of view with the 458 BC to 33 AD timeline for Daniel 9:24-27. https://rcyoung.org/articles/70%20weeks.pdf

The main point in Mr. Young’s and other partial preterists’ favor is the 490 solar calendar years (70 weeks) from 458 BC to 33 AD. However, I believe the decree given to Ezra is not the one Daniel was referring to, as there is no mention of rebuilding the city and walls of Jerusalem, only directives concerning the newly built temple, enforcing the Law of Moses in Judea, and appointing magistrates and judges.

I believe the decree given to Nehemiah in 444 BC, during the 20th year of Artaxerxes, is the correct start of the 69 weeks of Daniel 9:25. The end date is when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Nisan 10, 33 AD, as the Messiah Prince. This timeline is only for 476 years, not 483 years. How can this be? Most Bible scholars believe it is because of Sir Robert Anderson’s (and others before him) theory of a 360-day prophetic calendar to explain the seeming discrepancy of seven years. By using a “prophetic” 360-day calendar there are 483 years from 444 BC to 33 AD. Likewise, there will be a future seven years (the 70th week) or 2520 days reckoned by the prophetic calendar.

I believe these years (444 BC-33 AD) are correct for the timeline of Daniel 9:25. I used to accept the 360-day calendar as the correct calendar the Jews used for reckoning timelines in specific prophecies. I no longer believe this, as the Jews have only used one calendar throughout their history (until modern times with the Julian and Gregorian calendars). They use a lunisolar calendar, especially for reckoning dates for their religious holidays (Feasts of the Lord), which aligns with our modern solar calendar over time. The Jewish lunisolar calendar was used to reckon the timeframe between prophetic events in Daniel’s prophecies and John’s prophecies in the Book of Revelation (IMO).

The first step in deciphering the 69 weeks is to replace the word “weeks” with “sevens” as the correct translation. In this scripture in Daniel, I believe “sevens” refers to the seventh year of the Shemitah cycle as described in Leviticus 25:3-7. The next step is to realize that Daniel was not counting years (483 years) or days (173,880 days), or even weeks or cycles (69-70 cycles), but only the Shemitah years themselves. From 445-444 BC (first Shemitah seven) to 32-33 AD (69th Shemitah seven) is 476 years. See Sevens (rev310.net) for more details.

There is no mention of a 483 or 490-year timeline in Daniel’s prophecy, only 69 and 70 weeks. Regarding Daniel 9:26, Jesus Christ is cut off or killed on Passover, which is four days after Nisan 10 in the year 33 AD. The general timeline for this event is given in the second part of verse 26, which is when General Titus and the Romans destroy Jerusalem and burn the temple to the ground in 70 AD. That is 37 years between these two consequential events. 37 is a significant number in biblical gematria and isopsephy. See I AM, the Great Mathematician (rev310.net)

I believe Daniel 9:24-27 is a dual reference prophecy, with verses 25 and 26 occurring during the first advent of Christ, and verses 24 and 27 are yet future and will occur during the second advent of Christ. The person in verse 27 that “shall confirm a covenant with the many” is the same beast Daniel saw (in his visions) in Daniel 7:7 and the wicked king in Daniel 11:36-45. He is called the man of sin, the son of perdition, in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 and the antichrist in 1 John 2:18.

The ending of sacrifices and offerings and the mention of abomination and desolation spoken of in Daniel 9:27 are mentioned again in Daniel 12 in the future time of trouble (“such as never was since there was a nation” – Daniel 12:1). “And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days” (Daniel 12:11). This same future “abomination of desolation” is mentioned again by Jesus in Matthew 24:15-16 and also by John Mark in Mark 13:14.

Scripture is clear that there will be a third temple built in Jerusalem, and it will be desecrated by one who opposes Christ (the Antichrist). This is a hard fact for preterists to wrap their minds around. “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). This event never happened between when it was written by Paul and the Temple’s destruction in 70 AD. It is destined to occur in the (near) future time of great tribulation (Matthew 24:21) or Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7).

I have written several articles about the Hebrew calendar of old (based on observations of the stars, sun, moon, and crops compared to the calculated Jewish calendar put in place after the Jewish diaspora throughout the world. The last two articles, The Passage of Time (rev310.net) and The Flaw in the Calculated Jewish Calendar (rev310.net) demonstrate how the calculated Jewish calendar needs to be revised so the Feasts of the Lord can occur on the proper days and months as determined by Passover occurring on or after the vernal equinox (in the northern hemisphere). This means determining which new moon of spring (the first or the second) to use as the first month of the new year. It should be the one closest to the vernal equinox.

Based on the tables in AstroPixels - Six Millennium Catalog of Phases of the Moon for reckoning the moon’s phases throughout the millennia, I have written several articles regarding the timing (with hypothetical dates) of Jacob’s trouble or Daniel’s 70th Week, otherwise known as the Tribulation. The last article on this subject was called The 1290th & 1335th Day of Dan. 12:11-12 (rev310.net), in which the events that occur in “the midst of the week” in Daniel 9:27 occur in 2030.

2030 is not a random year pulled out of a hat. It has been in the news and a topic of conversation for some time now. It appears the global elites believe this will be the year to bring in the much-vaunted New World Order of the United Nations. Could 2030 be the year of the Antichrist? He will only be king of the world for 3.5 years, the same duration as Jesus’ ministry, but he will have gained enough power to “confirm a covenant with the many” 3.5 years earlier.

“The global elites who are determined to bring in a New World Order seem fixated on the year 2030. The United Nations has set a deadline for achieving its Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development by the year 2030. Agenda 2030 for S.D. has 17 goals for curing all of the world’s problems under the leadership of the unelected officials of the United Nations. All nations must follow their guidelines to bring about this new utopia on Earth. They are to relinquish their national sovereignty and become a member of the New World Order. All members will be required to submit to the authority of the one-world government of the United Nations.

I believe something significant will happen regarding the third temple of the Jews in the year 2030. It could be the year of the start of its construction or its completion. There are 1,960 years between 70 AD, when the second temple was destroyed, and 2030 AD. That is twenty-eight 70-year periods (28 x 70 ) or four 490-year periods (4 x 490). I believe this temple will be built before 2030, so I think it could be the year of the abomination of desolation and the ceasing of sacrifices and offerings mentioned in Daniel 9:27. 2030 could be the start of the 3.5-year “Great Tribulation,” whereas the Antichrist becomes the sole ruler of the world. This will not be the idealistic “great reset” and “new world order” envisioned by today’s global elites. It will be hell on earth.” {1} Seven Times More (rev310.net)

In the calculated Jewish calendar, four out of the 19 years of the current Metonic cycle begin in the wrong month due to intercalary months being added when they shouldn’t be (IMO). This is because those years are determined by the pre-calculated second month of spring when it should be the first month/s of spring, as these first new moons are closer to the vernal equinox (astronomical spring). This makes it more likely that the barley crops would be in a state of “aviv’ (and not overripe) during the first new moon of spring and would be harvest-ready within two to three weeks. If not too early in the season, the first new moon of spring should always be used, just like it was during the original Passover when the Hebrews left Egypt.

However, 2030 is not one of these four years, and the Jewish calculated calendar is most likely correct for this year, unlike what I wrote about in The 1290th & 1335th Day of Dan. 12:11-12 (rev310.net). In 2030, the choice of which new moon to use for the first month is March 4 or April 3. If you take the time that the new moon of spring is in conjunction for each date, April 3rd  is actually three days closer to the vernal equinox (March 20 at 5:06 pm Jerusalem time) than March 4th is. So, without knowing the barley crops state of aviv, the second new moon of spring would be used for reckoning Nisan 1. This means 2029 has an intercalary month, and Passover would indeed be on April 17, 2030, and not March 18, 2030.

Regarding the above-mentioned article, this revision for the date of Nisan 1 throws my hypothetical dates off for the biblical events that will transpire during Daniel’s 70th week, especially the last 3.5 years. It turns out that my earlier two-part article, The End of the Age – From Firstfruits to Hanukkah (rev310.net) and The End of the Age – From Firstfruits to Hanukkah: Part II (rev310.net), most likely contained the correct dates and didn’t need to be changed. Let’s review these dates, as I have slightly revised them and will include some new information.

I believe the starting date for Daniel’s 70th week (the Tribulation) can occur on any day, as it is not a “moed” or appointed time like the Feasts of the Lord (Nisan 14, Tishri 10, etc.), and It doesn’t have to occur on the first day of the month, Nisan 1 or Tishri 1. I think it will be “as the days of Noah were”(Matthew 24:37) in more than one way. Genesis 7:1-10 says it took Noah seven days to lead the animals into the ark. There went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female, as God had commanded Noah. And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened” (Genesis 7:10-11).

Before God had Moses change the start of the yearly calendar to the spring season, the original calendar of the Hebrews began in the fall. The first month was originally Tishri, and the seventh month was Nisan (these are not the original names…the original names were changed after the Babylonian captivity).

Today, the Jews have two calendars. The religious calendar begins in the spring, and the civil calendar begins in the fall. So, in Noah’s time, the calendar started in the fall. Genesis 7:11 states that the flood began “in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month.” This would coincide with Heshvan 17 on the modern Jewish lunisolar calendar. Seven days earlier would be Heshvan 10. This is the date for the start of Daniel’s 70th week in this possible scenario. Note: The dates used in this article are based on the astronomical new and full moons and not the Jews’ pre-calculated calendar.

Daniel’s 70th week (aka Jacob’s Trouble or the Tribulation) will last for seven years (2569 days) by the Jewish calendar’s reckoning. Jacob’s Trouble will not be reckoned by a so-called 360-day prophetic calendar, in which there are two equal halves of 1260 days, but by the Jewish lunisolar calendar, which they have always used.

DANIEL’S 70TH WEEK

Heshvan 10, or October 20, 2026, will be the start of Daniel’s 70th week when the Antichrist confirms a covenant with Israel and the many (Daniel 9:27). I believe Israel will make a covenant with the Antichrist for seven years in which the Jews will be allowed to build their third temple in exchange for giving up land for a two-state solution with the Palestinians. The end of the Tribulation will be 2569 days later on Heshvan 9, or November 1, 2033. 

Here is how Isaiah describes this terrible deal: “Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then you shall be trodden down by it” (Isaiah 28:17-18). The first seal will be loosened by the Lamb of God in heaven as described in Revelation 6:1-2. The rider of the white horse is the Antichrist, beginning his ride of world conquest.

The two witnesses of Revelation 11 appear upon the scene in Jerusalem fifteen days later on Heshvan 25, or November 4, 2026. According to Revelation 11:3, they will prophesy in the holy city for 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth. If they are clothed in sackcloth, they must be in mourning. They are in mourning because this covenant is unholy as it is not a covenant that God sanctioned, according to Isaiah 28:15. The Antichrist will enter Jerusalem approximately 3.5 years later on Nisan 14, the Passover.

Sometime earlier, the Antichrist had recently been killed and resurrected. He was killed in his wars with the ten kings. “And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him” (Daniel 11:45). “And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed.” (Revelation 13:3).

The 1260 days of the two witnesses prophesying will end on Wednesday, Nisan 14, or April 17, 2030, when the Antichrist kills them. Nisan 14 is the biblical Passover.  It is thought that the Antichrist and the false prophet (with the help of Satan) will be able to summon a beast from the bottomless pit to overcome and kill the two witnesses. “When they finish their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them” (Revelation 11:7). He will be able to kill the two witnesses on this day as their God-ordained 1260-day ministry has ended. The killing of these two powerful prophets by the A.C. will convince many people to worship him as a God.

The last 3.5 years, or “time, times, and half a time,” of Daniel’s 70th week will be reviewed in Part II. It includes the 1260 days of Revelation 12:6, the 1290 days of Daniel 12:11, and the 1335 days of Daniel 12:12. Isn’t it interesting that the number 12 symbolically represents Israel in the Bible and the two end-time bookends of the Bible, Daniel and Revelation, have these specific timeframes for Israel in the 12th chapters?

Randy Nettles

rgeanie55@gmail.com

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