A Study on Biblical Time in Prophecy
D
o you remember long car rides as a child, before you knew how to tell time or read maps? Do you remember getting frustrated when time seemed to move so slow, and you had no idea when it would end? Chances are, at least once, you asked your parents, “Are we there yet?” Once you developed a grasp of time, your parents could give you more helpful answers. “Three more hours.” It is easier to wait when we know what to expect.
Now, here is a Biblical example. King Nebuchadnezzar took captives from Judah and brought them to Babylon. Naturally, these folks were depressed. Prophets rose from among their number offering hope that their exile would be short. But the word of the LORD came to the exiles in a letter from God’s prophet Jeremiah: the duration of their exile would be seventy years. He urged them not to believe the false prophets. The people were surely grieved when they heard this prophecy, yet it offered perspective, which is helpful for endurance. Moreover, in this letter, God affirmed His good will towards them.
Does He give us the amount of time for the Tribulation, too? I believe so. I will show you how I have come to understand it.
The Seventy Weeks Prophecy
According to Daniel 9, during the first year of Darius, Daniel calculated the seventy years of exile in Babylon would soon end. So, Daniel fasted and prayed on behalf of his people.
Daniel 9:20-29 (NKJV)
20 Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God, 21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. 22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. 23 At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:
24 “Seventy weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy.
25 “Know therefore and understand,
That from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem
Until Messiah the Prince,
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The street shall be built again, and the wall,
Even in troublesome times.
26 “And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.”
The Number Seven in Biblical Time
God created the world in six days, and on the seventh day, He rested. The words for seven (שֶׁ֫בַע), the seventh day (Shabbat) (שַׁבָּת), week (שָׁבוּעַ), and seventy (שִׁבְעִים) all contain the same root. A week is a period of sevens, either days or years. In Leviticus 25, the LORD told Israel to work the land for six years, and then let the land have a sabbath for a year. After seven sabbaths of years, forty-nine years, they were supposed to have a special sabbath year on the fiftieth year, the year of Jubilee. You can see seven is key in the way God accounts time.
These seventy weeks (or seventy periods of seven years, 490 years) are for Daniel’s people, that is, the people of Israel, and for the holy city, Jerusalem. It seems to reflect the 49 years before Jubilee.
The Ancient Calendar
I have learned the ancient cultures used 360-day calendars, with adjustments to align with the planets. The Gregorian calendar (~365.25 days/year) was not put in place until centuries after Christ, by Pope Gregory. Noah’s use of a 360-day calendar can be inferred from the Biblical account of the Flood:
Genesis 7:11 (NKJV) In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
Genesis 7:24 (NKJV) And the waters prevailed on the earth one hundred and fifty days.
Genesis 8:3-4 (NKJV) And the waters receded continually from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters decreased. 4 Then the ark rested in the seventh month, the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.
So, from the seventeenth day of the second month to the seventeenth day of the seventh month is 150 days. Therefore, 5 months is 150 days, and each month is 30 days. I wonder if at the beginning of Creation, there were 360 days in a year, with 12 moon cycles of 30 days each. Also, a full circle is 360 degrees. The math is much easier that way. I wonder if the catastrophic Flood had something to do with the solar clock being different now.
Because the ancients used a 360-day calendar, we should do the seventy weeks calculations from there. (There is another compelling reason for using a 360-day calendar, which I will explain later.)
Sixty-Nine Weeks: Restore and Rebuild Jerusalem, to Messiah
At the end of seven and sixty-two weeks, or sixty-nine weeks, Messiah “shall be cut off, but not for Himself.” The Jews who were familiar with the prophecy could have calculated it and known the promised Messiah was among them.
The clock starts from the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. According to Nehemiah 2:1, it was “in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes” when Nehemiah revealed his sorrow to the king and received permission, letters and provisions to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. According to historical records, Artaxerxes was king of Persia from 465 BC to 424 BC. His twentieth year was 445 or 444 BC, depending on how it is accounted.
69 weeks x 7 years / week = 483 years
We need to calculate the total number of days in 483 years.
483 years x 360 days / year = 173,880 days
To convert to our calendar, we divide the total days by the number of days in our year.
173,880 days / 365.25 days / year = 476 years
We are ready to calculate 69 “weeks” from Artaxerxes’ command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem:
445 BC + 476 + 1 (because there is no year 0) = -445 + 476 + 1 = 32 AD
444 BC + 476 + 1 = -444 + 476 + 1 = 33 AD
If you were a Jew living near the times of Jesus, using a 360-day calendar, these calculations would have been easier, of course. As Daniel calculated that the seventy years of exile were almost up, I wonder if there were any God-fearing Jews who calculated that Messiah was near (even if they did not completely understand what He would do). The Bible does not say precisely, but I believe Simeon probably did this. For it is written: “And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ” (Luke 2:25-26). Simeon blessed and held Jesus in the temple, when He was a baby.
The date for Jesus’ crucifixion is constrained by biblical and historical records:
- Caiaphas was high priest (Matthew 26:3) [18-36 AD]
- Pilate was governor of Judea (Matthew 27:2) [26-36 AD]
- John the Baptist’s ministry began in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar (Luke 3:1) [some account this to be 26 A.D.; others, 29 A.D.]
- Jesus’ ministry began after John the Baptist’s (Lk 1:76), and included three Passovers (Jn 2:13, 6:4, 19:14).
As a result of these factors, most choose either 30 AD (using the 26 AD date with respect to Tiberius Caesar) or 33 AD. I hold 33 AD to be most compelling, as it appears to line up with the 70 weeks prophecy.
The Seventieth Week
So, the sixty-nine weeks leads to Messiah cut off1, but not for Himself. You might be asking, “How does this relate to the length of the Tribulation?” I am going to argue that the seventieth week is unfulfilled, and it comprises the Tribulation. How a person interprets the seventieth week can have a significant impact on the way they approach end times prophecy.
Let us look more closely at what comes next:
Daniel 9:26-27 (NKJV)
26 “And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.”
After the beginning of verse 26, it shifts to destruction of the city and sanctuary, which occurred in 70 AD, under Emperor Titus. The way it is written, there appears to be a natural interlude between the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks.
I believe “he” who confirms the covenant with many for one week, who brings an end to sacrifice and offering, is the prince who is to come referenced in Daniel 11:26—whose people destroyed the city and the sanctuary.
Prophetic belief systems called Preterism2 and Historicism3 consider the seventieth week fulfilled in the first century. They think “he” in Daniel 9:27 refers to Messiah; that the covenant is about Jesus’ new covenant in His blood; that the first half of the week is Messiah’s ministry; that Jesus brought an end to sacrifice and offering with His death4. Even though Jesus’ sacrifice was once and for all, His death did not physically stop sacrifices from occurring. These continued until Rome stopped them in 70 AD. And Jesus’ new covenant is forever, not only seven years.
Besides the natural reading that indicates a gap between the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks (since the city and the sanctuary not destroyed until 70 AD, is described before the seventieth week), when I consider the purpose of the seventy weeks, there is no way I can believe it to be totally fulfilled.
Daniel 9:24 (NKJV)
24 “Seventy weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy.
Transgression by the people of Israel and in Jerusalem continues today, as much as ever. The only item in this list which is clearly fulfilled (by Messiah) is “to make reconciliation for iniquity.”
Seeing the purpose of these weeks, I believe the seventieth week is meant to lead to the earthly reign of Christ, when the survivors of Israel will know the LORD and He will reign from Mount Zion in Jerusalem. I believe the seven years of the seventieth week is the seven seals of Revelation, and corresponds to the fulfillment of Revelation 6-18.
Some I have interacted with have demanded I offer proof from early Church extra-biblical writings for the idea that there is a gap between the sixty-nine weeks and the seventieth week, and that the Tribulation of Revelation is the seventieth week of Daniel. From the beginning of my [adult] research in end times prophecy, I resolved not to appeal to the authority of men from extra-biblical works. It is God’s authority that matters. The prophetic Scriptures are a work of the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). We who belong to Christ have the same Holy Spirit to help us understand His Scripture, as any have had before us (John 16:13).
Personally, I believe a gap between the sixty-ninth and seventieth week is sound. If you are uncomfortable with prophetic gaps, I want to tell you that they are not unprecedented. I would encourage you to study Isaiah 61:1-3, which has an unannounced gap between the first and second comings of Jesus. Jesus only quoted the part He had fulfilled so far when He read from this passage in the Nazareth synagogue (Luke 4:16-21). Also, have a look at Isaiah 9:1-7, which goes back and forth from Messiah’s first and second coming, twice—also, with no explanation. There are more examples, but this should be sufficient.
Pre-Tribulation Rapture teachers point out that the focus of the seventy weeks prophecy is Daniel’s people, Israel. Then they assert that we believers will not be here, because what would be the point? If you would like to learn how I respond, I encourage you afterwards to check out “It’s Jacob’s Trouble” from the Answers section, and perhaps also The Mystery of the Olive Tree blog.
Prophetic Times in Daniel and Revelation
If a person is convinced the seventieth week is future, how does that relate to Revelation?
This part is going to get a bit technical, but there are certain timing terms in both Daniel and Revelation. I will show how they are equal and speak of the same future events. I am highlighting the timing terms for readability, but it is equally important to pay attention to what happens in the verses. I will begin in Revelation 12.
Revelation 12:6 (NKJV)
6 Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.Revelation 12:14 (NKJV)
14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.
You can see from comparing what happens in these verses about the woman fleeing to the wilderness, that “a time and times and half a time” equals 1,260 days. (The “woman” here is a subset of Israelite followers of Christ. I explain why in the blog/video, The Star Sign.)
In Daniel, a “time” is generally considered to be a year. You may remember that for seven times, King Nebuchadnezzar was mentally ill, and lived like an animal before the Lord restored his sanity. Then the king honored the Most High and acknowledged His dominion over all things (Daniel 4). I think it is interesting to consider King Nebuchadnezzar’s seven years as a precursor of the seventieth week, since it will cause the kings of the earth to know that the LORD is God, and that they are but men (Ezekiel 38:23, Ezekiel 39:21-29, Psalm 9:20).
Time, times, and half a time should be 3.5 years. Using 360-day years, that is:
(360 * 3) + (360 / 2) = 1,080 + 180 = 1,260 days
So far, we saw how 1,260 days and “time, times and half a time” are both given in Revelation and are equal. Time, times, and half a time is also found in Daniel, connected with the persecution of the saints:
Daniel 12:7 (NKJV)
7 Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.Daniel 7:25 (NKJV)
25 He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,
Shall persecute the saints of the Most High,
And shall intend to change times and law.
Then the saints shall be given into his hand
For a time and times and half a time.
You see this person is wearing out the saints for a time and times and half a time, which equals 1260 days. Revelation also uses another time measurement, 42 months, describing the same kind of behavior.
Revelation 13:5 (NKJV)
5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. 7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.Revelation 11:2-3 (NKJV)
2 But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.
3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
According to the seventieth week math,
42 months x 30 days / month = 1,260 days
I trust it is clear to you that “time, times and half a time” = 1,260 days = 42 months. We have read how during these days, the “woman” is protected in the wilderness, many saints are given over to slaughter, the Gentiles tread the holy city underfoot, and the two witnesses will prophesy. Daniel 11 and 12 confirm the saints are persecuted after the abomination of desolation, therefore, it would be during the second half of the seventieth week.
Daniel 9:27
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.”
According to 360-day year math, the seventieth week would be 2,520 days. Halfway through is the abomination that causes desolation Jesus warned us about. The middle of the week is 2,520 days / 2 = 1,260 days. I believe this reinforces the wisdom of using a 360-day calendar for our seventy weeks calculations.
Some say the Tribulation is 3.5 years, not 7, but I think it is an argument of semantics. I believe Daniel 11:21-45 describes the entire seventieth week, and the wicked king is active the whole time. While the severe persecution lasts 42 months (sometimes referred to as “great tribulation”), what happens before the abomination of desolation is also quite challenging. The first time (a year) of the king seems like peace, but after that is war (see Daniel 11:21-24). In later blogs, I will explain in more detail why I believe the seven seals of Revelation are the seven years of the seventieth week.
Pre-Tribulation Rapture believers sometimes argue that if Jesus comes at the end of seventy weeks, it would be easy to calculate the date of His return, and yet He says, “of that day and hour no one knows” (Matthew 24:36). However, the Scriptures do not allow for an exact calculation of His coming.
Daniel 12:11-12 (NKJV)
11 “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.
12 Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.
How I currently understand it is that Jesus will come back sometime between 1,290 and 1,335 days after the abomination of desolation and the stopping of sacrifices. Notice this is thirty to seventy-five days longer than the 1260 days, which I believe marks the official end of the seventieth week. The saints who are still alive at the end should prepare their hearts to wait, abiding in Christ, for 1,335 days after the stopping of sacrifices and the abomination of desolation.
A Warning
On Twitter, I have noticed from seven or eight people in the past couple years, a doctrine of demons that Jesus changed the Tribulation to five months. They tie Matthew 24:22, “And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened,” together with Revelation 9:5, about the duration of the pain from the fifth trumpet plague.
The fifth trumpet is just one judgment within the scroll, not the whole scroll. I cannot imagine how dangerous it is to enter the days of great persecution after the abomination of desolation expecting only five months!
In Luke 18:7-8, Jesus implies many will be offended by the long wait and apostatize before He comes. Hard as it may be, we are His servants and do not get to tell Him what to do. Whatever Jesus means about shortening the days, Daniel and Revelation cannot be false prophecies. The two witnesses will prophecy for 1,260 days (quite a bit longer than five months!). And their deaths are in the days of the second woe, which is the sixth trumpet (see Revelation 11:14, 8:12-13)—not yet the day of His coming.
No Matter What, Let Us Endure
My heart is that we be mentally prepared to endure to the end, no matter when our end will be. I believe expectations can affect endurance, and that God’s Word and the Holy Spirit lovingly offer wisdom to help prepare us to overcome. I have shared how the number seven is integral to Biblical time, and how I calculate the sixty-nine weeks leading to Messiah being cut off. From that point, I looked at the seventieth week more closely. Finally, I shared from a comparison of timing terms in Revelation and Daniel to explain why I believe the events the Tribulation is the seventieth week of Daniel. Whether you agree with my conclusions or not, you can see how a person’s view of the seventy weeks prophecy greatly impacts their view of Biblical prophecy.
I pray these explanations were helpful to you. I know it is a lot of information, and may take some time to digest. Also, if you want more, please check out the footnotes. I invite you to leave a comment if you found it helpful or have a question about what I have presented.
May the LORD bless you.
Footnotes:
- My friend Wayne Croley [ProphecyProof.org] believes “cut off” refers to Jesus’ ascension rather than His crucifixion. He says he used special calendars that understand the Hebrew calendar and account for no year 0, in order to count back 173,880 days from an ascension in the year 33 AD to arrive within Nisan in the year 444 BC. He said similar calculations starting with a crucifixion date result in a start date prior to the month of Nisan. (The command to rebuild Jerusalem was issued in the month of Nisan, per Nehemiah 2:1.) I had never thought of calculating to that level of granularity. He explains here: Daniel 9 Proves that Jesus is the Messiah.
- People who ascribe to Preterism (which derives from a word meaning “past”) believe the seventieth week was fulfilled in the first century. They believe the seventieth week is about Messiah (as opposed to the prince who is to come, whose people destroy the city and sanctuary). They believe He was cut off in the middle of the seventieth week, as opposed to after the sixty-nine weeks; that the “covenant with many” refers the New Covenant; that the 3.5 years in the first half of the week was when Jesus did His ministry; and that His death brought an end to sacrifice and offering. Various suggestions have been offered for the latter half of the seventieth week, such as that it culminated with the stoning of Stephen (as far as I’m aware, the Bible does not give us enough information to know or calculate a date for Stephen’s death), or at the destruction of the temple, which would require a mid-week gap. There are two types of Preterists. Full preterists believe all prophecy was fulfilled in the first century and nothing remains (not even Christ’s bodily second coming and a bodily resurrection of the saints). Full Preterism is a heresy. Partial preterists believe the only prophecy that remains unfulfilled is Christ’s coming, with a bodily resurrection of all people, etc.
- Historicism is an end times system that believes Revelation 6-18 is fulfilled somewhat figuratively in the whole history of the Church. Historicists, like Preterists, believe that the seventieth week of Daniel 9 was fulfilled in the first century. They also interpret the 1,260 days from Revelation 12:6 as 1,260 years when Papal Rome heavily oppressed the saints. Because their concept of fulfillment is very fluid, I believe no two Historicists are alike in what parts they consider fulfilled so far. The Protestant reformers tended to be Historicists. Some Historicists believe Rome created Futurism as a means of taking eyes off their antichrist actions.
- I mention the idea shared by Preterists and Historicists that Christ stops the sacrifices in the seventieth week. If this is what you believe and you are willing to hear a challenge to it, or if you would just like to learn more, I have created A Supplementary Response to the Idea that Christ Stops the Sacrifices in the Seventieth Week.
