For consistency, all verses are quoted from the Authorized King James Bible. We will continue to make every effort to aid all who are searching for the truth of Jesus Christ our Savior.
You may find the Greek Dictionary helpful in your studies, see left hand column.
Novel by Phillip LaSpino 10-22-27 IS AVAILABLE ON eBook at the following online retailers (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, and others) 10-22-27 may also be purchased at barnesandnoble.com — Bookshop.org — Hoopla — Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com — Epub Book- Kobo.com. Read the book if you want to know what the Lord has prepared for the world.
E-mail address: philliplaspino@outlook.com
Congratulations Donald Trump on your victory. With both the House and Senate, we can get back to normalcy. A warning to the Republican party, don’t blow it this time! Thank you for watching over us Lord.
Kamala Harris’s concession speech will begin as follows. “Let me start with this, I was brought up in a middle-class family—.”
Before you read this, please read the article below concerning Hosea’s prophecy of “Two and three days.” The focus of this article will be on Daniel 12:11-12. We can begin with the question, when and where do the following three verses fit in prophecy? Have they been fulfilled or are they yet to be fulfilled? I believe they have not been fulfilled.
Jeremiah 30:7-8, “Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he (Israeli) shall be saved out of it. For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his (Israel’s enemies) yoke from off thy neck, and will burst your bonds, and strangers shall no more serve (enslave) themselves of him:”
Daniel 12:1, “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the prince which stands for the children of your people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to the same time: and at that time your people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”
The following verse in Revelation remains unfulfilled. John is told in Revelation 11:2 to measure the temple and the altar, but “The court (at the top of Mt. Moriah) which is outside the temple leave out and measure it not: for it is given unto the Gentiles, and the holy city (Jerusalem) shall they (the Gentiles) tread under foot forty and two months (3 ½ years).”
Matthew tells us a war called the time of Jacob’s trouble is coming that will be like no other before it. It will be a war to end all wars. Matthew 24:21, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there shall no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.”
So, what war is Matthew talking about? It cannot be past wars that the Kings of Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome, the Catholic church, the Ottoman, or Muslims waged against Israel. Why, because of World War Two, the Nazi’s war against the Jews surpassed the brutality of all the above.
Let’s return to the days when King Nebuchadnezzar reigned. In B.C. 586, Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the Temple and the city of Jerusalem. Four hundred years later in 167, Antiochus Epiphanies 4th invaded Jerusalem, then desecrated the temple, and Jews were murdered. One hundred years later, the Roman legions led by Titus in AD 70 destroyed Herod’s Temple and Jerusalem, killing over a million Jews. The Catholic Church with their persecution of the Jews and their inquisitions prevailed for hundreds of years. The Islamic nations for the past 500 years beginning with Mohammad have killed tens of thousands of Jews.
But what Adolph Hitler and the Nazis did to the Jews was far worse than all the above. Hitler’s war against the Jews began in 1933 and lasted until 1945. Half the Jewish population of the world, six million Jews were killed and millions of other Jews were displaced, tortured, and imprisoned.
Daniel tells us in 12:1, his people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book. The book of life will not be opened until after the 1000 years are finished, Revelation 20:11-12.
My whole point is, every word in the above verses and the context of these verses, points to long periods, not 24-hour days. So, when we read,
Daniel 12:11, “From the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days (or is it years?)”
Literal, 24-hour days in the context of the verse make no sense. There is no historical event that fulfills this prophecy. Some have stretched the facts to make them fit. Stretching facts leaves questions concerning their fulfillment. Doubt brings no glory to the LORD. When he said 1260, 1290, or 1335, or 2300 be they days or years, that’s exactly what they have to be. To solve the mystery of these numbers, we need to examine with great care, both the context in which these numbers lay and our history books.
So, how is the word day or days used throughout the Bible? The answer is, ‘In many ways.”
I have written about Hosea 6:2. It reads, “After two days will he (God) revive us (the Jews): in the third day he will raise us (the Jews) up, and we shall live in his sight.”
Two 24-hour days would be a meaningless interpretation of Hosea’s prophecy. Two thousand years, a thousand years for each day makes far more sense. Two thousand years from Christ’s baptism in October of 27 AD brings us to 2027. Or 2000 years from the day Jesus ascended into heaven in late May or early June of 31 A.D., two thousand years would bring us to 2031.
In Numbers 14:34, it is written, “After the number of the days in which you searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities.” (Each year for a day, 40 years)
Ezekiel 4:6, “And when you have accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed you each day for a year.”
Numbers 14:34, “After the number of the days in which you searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall you bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.”
The book of Daniel begins with Nebuchadnezzar’s dream in chapter two. He dreams of kingdoms that cover centuries in time.
From Nebuchadnezzar to Belshazzar, 68 years passed: From Cyrus the Great to Alexander the Great, 206 years: From Alexander to Rome 262 years. From Rome to the end of the 10 kingdoms (toes of iron and clay) over 1500 years. So, I do not accept that the words “day and days” speak of 24-hour days in Daniel 12:11-12.
In Daniel 12:11 he writes about the daily sacrifice being taken away. So, what was the daily sacrifice for the Jews and when was it taken away?
Twice each day, the priests would make a ‘daily sacrifice,’ a burnt offering to the LORD. Every morning and evening a one-year-old lamb without spot or blemish was offered by the Temple priests. The offering was to be made outside the curtain of the Holy of Holies.
Now, here’s the problem. All Temple sacrifices were to be instituted by divine appointment, prefiguring the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. God alone prescribes his worship and he regards as vain and presumptuous every pretense of honoring him in a way he has not commanded. The sacrifices God commanded represented grace and purity, but, these sacrifices did not communicate grace and purity.
The plan for the people of Israel’s redemption has been divinely designed. And the order of sacrifices in its perfect form is made clear. The LORD decreed to Moses the proper order and presentation of all sacrifices. It was to be God’s way or no way.
The sin offering on the day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) occupied the most important place; this was followed by the burnt offering (or Daily sacrifice), then the meat offering or peace offering. Of course, the Passover was of extreme importance to the Jews. The Passover is a solemn festival of the Jews, instituted in celebration of their coming out of Egypt.
Now, the Daily-Sacrifice and Peace offering could not be offered until the High Priest first accomplished the sacrifice on the Day of Atonement, that may be why it’s referred to as the first day of the year for the Jews, Yom Kippur. Only the High Priest of the tribe of Levi was permitted into the Holy of Holies on that one holy day as prescribed by the LORD. The Priest was to go behind the curtain where the Ark of the Covenant and Mercy seat were set between two Cherubim.
Leviticus 16:2, “The LORD said to Moses, — I will appear in the cloud (smoke of incense) upon the mercy seat.” It was only on the mercy seat that Jehovah showed himself to the High Priest.
Before the Priest entered behind the curtain, his prescribed duty was to fill the Holy Place with the smoke of incense. Why? Because if he were to look upon the person of God, he would have been struck dead.
Habakkuk 1:13, ‘You (LORD) are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look at iniquity.’
Exodus 33:20, “You cannot see my face: for there shall no man see me and live.”
On the Day of Atonement, the High Priest had to procure forgiveness first for himself. Then, he would cleanse the Tabernacle and make an offering for the sins of the people.
After the incense filled the room, the blood of the offering was sprinkled on the Mercy Seat to atone for, first the sins of the Priests, and the people. If accepted, the LORD showed himself in what is called the Shekinah Glory come down from heaven. This one blood sacrifice of the high priest protected the people and the Priests from the wrath of God because of their sins.
The Day of Atonement is to take place once each year on the tenth day of October by our calendar and on the seventh month the tenth day according to the Jewish calendar. Only by this one sacrifice on this one holy day could other sacrifices be made, and accepted by the LORD. It was on the Day of Atonement that all other sacrifices, including the Daily Sacrifice, were rebooted.
But for 2600 years a stumbling block stood before the Jews, one they could never overcome. Without the Levitical Priesthood, without the Ark of the Covenant, Mercy Seat, and eternal flame there could not be any acceptable Daily sacrifice because the Day of Atonement was not first instituted as prescribed.
Why couldn’t the priests fulfill their duty on that holy day? In B.C. 599, King Nebuchadnezzar went into the temple and removed the Ark of the Covenant, Mercy seat, and sacred vessels of the temple. He either destroyed them by cutting them up or brought them to his temple in Babylon. There are no records concerning what was destroyed and what was taken to Babylon. Scriptures do tell us that the drinking cups taken from the temple were used by Belshazzar and his guests, Daniel 5:3.
Now, the following occurred in the eighth year of Jehoiachin the king of Judah, 2 Kings 24: 12. Verse 13,
2 Kings 25:13-14. He (Nebuchadnezzar) took the pillars of brass, the bases, and the brazen sea, cut them in pieces, and carried the brass to Babylon.
Also, the king of Babylon in 599 B.C., “Carried out all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king’s house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD said.” Verse 15, And Nebuchadnezzar, “carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon.”
From that day in 599 B.C. to this day, even if the Jews had a Temple, they could not present any official sacrifices to the LORD because they remain to this day without the Ark, Mercy Seat, and eternal flame, the flame that was never to be extinguished. The priests in Jesus’ day, had substituted the Ark of the Covenant, and the Mercy seat with the foundation stone inside the Holy of Holies, a clear violation of the law.
Why did the LORD allow Nebuchadnezzar to take the sacred vessels and then destroy the city and Temple? Because of Israel’s sins. He sent him and later, Titus to punish Israel for their sins. The punishment for their sins was eviction, eviction from God’s house, the holy city, and the land.
Daniel 1:1-2 also reveals that Nebuchadnezzar in 606 BC, took a part of the vessels of the temple with him to Jerusalem. We have no idea what was taken in these early days. But we do know, that’s when Daniel and other young Jewish men were taken to Babylon.
Jeremiah 25:10, ‘And this whole land (Israel) shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.’ This began in 606 and ended in 536 B.C., exactly 70 years.
2 Chronicles 36:5-6-7, ‘Jehoiakim (not King Jehoiachin) was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, (610 BC), and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem (B.C. 599): and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God.’
Also, the Levitical priests were disbanded. So, in no way could there be an acceptable sacrifice on the Day of Atonement. Without this one offering, all other sacrifices were without meaning.
Let’s get back to Daniel 12:11 and Matthew 24:15. Daniel 12:11, “From the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”
To set up is to put something in place. Whatever it was, was to be an abomination to the LORD and a stumbling stone for the Jews.
The ‘abomination that makes desolate.’ How much time was prophesied to pass from the taking away of the daily sacrifice to the abomination of desolation being set up? The answer, one-thousand-two-hundred-and-ninety-days.
The word ‘day and days’ her in Hebrew is ‘yowm, or yom.’
The word is masculine singular and can mean one day, or a season of either a short or unlimited duration of time. The Jews were very particular in defining time. When the adjective “one” and the phrase “evening and morning” are connected to the substantive “day,” the time is made certain; and if not, it would be uncertain, therefore the event or events themself must clarify the meaning; Hence, the creation of the world is limited, without doubt, to six (6) ordinary days. “And the evening and morning the first day.”
Exodus 20:11, “For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth.” The Sabbath day has been kept by the Jews as a memorial of creation from that time of creation to the present, beginning at sunset and ending on the following day at the same time.
We can also speak of the “Day of Jehovah, meaning a season, either of judgment or mercy.
Joel 2:11, “For the day of the LORD is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?”
Also, Messiah’s Day is the time when He should appear to redeem mankind!
John 6:50, “Whoso eats my flesh, and drinks my blood, hath eternal life; and I (Jesus) will raise him up at the last day.”
From the days of eternity, Micah 5:2, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he (Jesus) come forth unto me that is the ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
The Rabbis say, “A Day with Elohim is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day!”
The word (Yamman) in Arab means to mix; or mingle. Yom, or day, when added is applied to twilight, which is a mixture of day and night. Twilight is therefore thought to be made up of light and darkness, day and night.
We read also, ‘From year to year”
Judges 11:40, “That the daughters of Israel went yearly to lament the daughters of Jephthah the Gileadite four days in a year.”
Exodus 13:10, “Thou shall therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year.”
So, we can see that the context plays a major part in defining the meaning of the word day. With all that said, our next question is, what is the abomination of desolation Daniel is speaking of? And how would 1290, if it does mean years fit into that prophecy?
In B.C. 599, Nebuchadnezzar removed the sacred vessels of the temple and brought them to Babylon. From that moment to the following year 598 B.C., we can count as one year. So, we can begin our count of years. 598 B.C. minus 1290 years would bring us to the year 692 AD. Question: What event happened in 692 A.D. that could possibly fit the following words made by Daniel?
Daniel 12:11, “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”
In 692 A.D., Islam’s shrine, the Dome of the Rock, was erected on God’s holy mountain where the Holy of Holies once stood. Completed in 692 A.D., exactly 1290 years after the vessels of the temple were removed by Nebuchadnezzar.
What can be more of an abomination unto the LORD than to set up a temple to a false god (Allah) on the land King David had purchased for the House of the LORD? This abomination is called the Dome of the Rock, it’s an abomination of desolation set up on God’s holy mountain, occupying the ground of the Holy of Holies, and the holy place. Nebuchadnezzar and Titus destroyed the two temples, but the Muslims went a step further, they built a house to their god Allah on God’s Holy Mountain.
Orthodox Jews go daily to the Western Wall to pray. They pray and cry because of the loss of both temples, Solomon’s and Herod’s. Both were destroyed because of Israel’s sins of idolatry.
Until this pagan shrine is removed and the place cleansed by the Lord, it will remain an ‘abomination that makes desolate.’
Now, let’s compare the words of Daniel with the words of Matthew 24:15, “When you therefore see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, whoso reads, let him understand:”
I will stop here. Next, I will cover Daniel’s prophecy of 1335 days, and the prophecy of 2300 days found in Daniel 8:14.
Hosea’s Prophecy:
Hosea 6:2, “After two days will he (the Lord) revive us (to revive is to make spiritually alive) us: in the third day (the 1000-year reign) he will raise us up (the Jews), and we shall live in his sight.” Two days, followed by a third day. Hosea’s words cannot possibly be referring to three 24-hour periods, it would make no sense.
2 Peter 3:8 and Psalms 90:4 may give us the clues to unravel this mystery. Peter wrote the following, “Be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”
Psalms 90:4, “For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past,” So the prophecy is based on how the Lord perceives not.
The only clear meaning to Hosea 6:2 and his reference to ‘Two days’ can only mean 2000 years. The third day would represent the 1000-year reign of Christ; “In the third day he will raise us (the Jews) up, and we shall live in his sight.” “Shall live with the Lord can only mean the Jews will be with the Lord for an extended period of one day, or 1000 years.
So, from the year 31 A.D. sometime late in May, forty days after his resurrection the Lord returned to his place in heaven and sat at the Father’s right hand. If correct, 2000 years would bring us to May of 2031.
The Emperor of Rome, Hadrian went to war with Israel from 132 to 136 B.C. He intended to eradicate all Jewish identity and religion. He would rename Judea, ‘Palaestina.’ This was a deliberate attempt to sever all historical and religious connections of the Jews to their land. His policies against the Jews were harsh, hoping to marginalize them with no hope of ever regaining their former glory. So, the Jews were left without a country and a name.
But the Lord throughout the Old and New Testament when he speaks of end-time prophecy, he speaks of a land called Israel, not Palaestina. So, until May 14, 1948, it appeared Hadrian had won. But we know who remains Supreme.
So, Matthew’s prophecy about a “Generation that shall not pass, until all these things be fulfilled,” is coming to pass. The generation that was born in Israel is now 76 years old.
Matthew also prophesied that, as a nation, the Jews would suffer through wars and rumors of war. Today Israel is in a fight for their very existence, without friends except the Christian America. Also, Matthew tells us there will be an “Abomination of desolation standing in the holy place.”
There is only one holy place on all this green earth. It’s where the Holy place in the Temple was on Mt. Moriah. But today there stands in God’s holy place an abomination, it’s called the Dome of the Rock. Prophecy fulfilled!
Also, the book of Revelation speaks directly to these final years in chapters 11 and 13. Revelation 11, mentions two holy men of God, or his two witnesses. They will “prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, (3 ½-years) clothed in sackcloth,”
Also, Revelation 13:1, and 13:11 speak of two other men, but these are not men of God. The first shall “come up out of the sea,” and the other shall “come up out of the earth.” Take note of the wording, they will not come out “from the earth, or from the sea, but out of the earth and out of the sea. Compare with, Revelation 11:7, “And when they (two witnesses) have finished their testimony, the beast that ascended out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them and kill them.”
End Time Prophecy:
I love to dabble in end-time prophecy because I find it interesting, and challenging. The following is what I have investigated and believe for the most part to be correct. I have read the conclusions of other writers and investigated their work against historical dates and events. End-time prophecy begins with Daniel 1 and ends with Daniel 12:13, with some 2629 years having passed.
Many books and other material have been written concerning end-time prophecy, much of which I agree with and some I don’t. I’ve attempted to remain flexible, and open-minded concerning the work of others. But the most important thing is to use common sense. Let’s begin with the following:
Daniel was taken captive in 606 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon.
In 606, Nebuchadnezzar co-ruled with his father Nabonassar who died in 605 B.C. It was then Nebuchadnezzar became sole ruler of Babylon.
In 603 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of future kingdoms was given to him by the LORD in the image of a man. That image, from the head of Gold to the feet and toes of miry clay, then to be followed by its destruction by a stone made without hands will cover more than 2600 years.
In 599 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar returns to Jerusalem and takes King Jeconiah of Judea captive with many others. He also took the vessels of the Temple with him to Babylon, 2 Chronicles 36:5-6-7.
In 586 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and the Temple.
In 559 B.C. Daniel is given a vision of coming wars, including the coming of the antichrist and his war against the Jews
In 556 B.C. in the third year of Cyrus, he was given a vision
In 555 B.C. Daniel has his vision of four great beasts, representing Babylon, Medeo Persia, Greece, and Rome.
In 552 B.C. Daniel is given another vision. His vision was of the city of Shushan or Susa, the winter palace of the King of Persia in the province of Elam. Here he has a vision concerning 490 years, see Daniel 8. This vision concerned the coming of the Medes and Persians 16 years before Babylon was conquered.
In 536 B.C., Babylon was conquered by Darius and Cyrus the Great.
In 536 B.C., Michael the Archangel comes to Daniel. The same year the Babylonians fell to Cyrus.
From Daniels’s captivity in 606, until his release from Babylon in 536 B.C., Jeremiah’s prophesy of Israel’s 70 years of captivity for not resting the land, ended.
In 521, in the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, Daniel is given another vision. This vision covers some of the most important end-time prophecies in Scripture. It covers the whole of Daniel 9.
In 519 Haggai is told by the Lord, “The people say, the time is not come, the time that the LORD’S house should be built.”
In 518 B.C., Darius the First ruled over the Achaemenid Empire (Persian Empire). At this time, Daniel is given visions of future wars, the coming of the antichrist, and the end of all things, see chapters 11-12.
Darius died in 486 B.C. He brought the empire to its greatest glory, controlled more land than any other ruler in history, and was responsible for converting the empire to the religion of Zoroastrianism.
Esther’s part in prophecy:
Esther came on the scene around 486 B.C. At that time, the Persian Empire had four capital cities, the two prominent ones were Persepolis and Susa. “Persepolis” is derived from the word “Parsa” which means “City of the Persians.” Persepolis was made into an administrative center having built roads, irrigation systems, and the world’s first postal service. The other two capitals may have been Nineveh and Hakmatanch/Ecbatana.
Susa was the winter capital for the King, who occupied it from January to March.
Xerxes father was Darius the First. Xerxes was crowned King in 486 and died in 465 B.C.
The King appears to have had several wives/Queens, Amestris and Vash-ti. Vash-ti resided in Shu-shan or Susa, see Esther 1:11.
In 483, Amestris, Xerxes’ wife/Queen lived elsewhere, I cannot pinpoint exactly where, but it wasn’t in Susa in the winter months.
The king’s winter capital:
Ahasuerus (Xerxes) occupied Susa in January, February, and March. The distance between Persepolis and Susa is 437 miles. A caravan traveling at a speed of 2 or 3 miles per hour for 12 hours, would have taken them two-and-one-half to three weeks to journey.
In the summer months, the temperature in Susa averages 113 degrees. So, in the nine summer months of the year, Persepolis, or one of the other two capitals is where the King resided with his other wife/Queen, and never seen in Susa.
The book of Esther opens in Susa in the year 483 B.C. That year, Queen Vash-ti sat at the King’s side. It appears the king had more than one wife/Queen, one of them was Vash-ti who resided in Susa, the other was Amestris. Xerxes, also known as Ahasuerus resided in Susa that winter with Vash-ti his Queen.
The story of Esther begins in 483 B.C. She was a young maiden and believed to be between twelve and fourteen years of age when first brought before the King as a possible successor to Vashti. Esther’s uncle, Mordecai raised Esther as his daughter. Mordecai was taken from Israel in 599 B.C. by Nebuchadnezzar. When the story opens, he is an old man and an old-school Jew.
Jewish law allowed young girls to marry when they turned twelve. Most likely it was about this age Mordecai allowed Esther to be brought before the king. According to Bible chronology Mordecai had to be over 120 years of age when these events took place.
After Esther’s first appearance before the King, she was taken away for 12 months, a period referred to as ‘The time of purification.’
After twelve months, in the year 482, she was brought back to stand before the King.
It is written in Esther 2:17, “And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight. — so that he set the royal crown upon her head and made her queen instead of Vash-ti.” I suppose when it said, “All the woman,” it would have included his other wife and Queen, Amestris.
In the seventh year of his reign, the consummation of Esther and Ahasuerus’s marriage occurred in 479 B.C. Esther would have been somewhere between 18 and 21 years of age. This was the year she was taken to the King’s house. The Lord put Mordecai and Esther in a position of influence with Xerxes and Artaxerxes Longimanus to fulfill Daniel’s prophecy, found in Daniel 9/25.
Some researchers believe Esther may have been the mother of Artaxerxes because of what’s written in Nehemiah 2:6, the year 445 B.C. “And the king (Artaxerxes Longimanus) said unto me (Nehemiah), (the queen also sitting by him,)”
The question is, who was the Queen sitting at the King’s side? If it was Esther, she would have been in her early fifties.
In the twentieth year of Artaxerxes, 445 B.C., in Shushan (Susa) Nehemiah went before the king. Now, let’s consider the following. If Artaxerxes Longimanus was Esther’s son, it would have given Nehemiah the courage to go before the king with his request to return to Israel. Artaxerxes does appear to be sympathetic toward Nehemiah’s cause. Nehemiah 2:6, “So it pleased the king to send me (Nehemiah);”
Xerxes’s son, Artaxerxes Longimanus was crowned in 465 B.C., he died forty years later in 425 B.C. Artaxerxes Longimanus was the author of two decrees. Both would have allowed the Jews to return to their homeland; to rebuild the Temple. The first came in 457 B.C., the second in 444. His first decree was the one that fulfilled Daniel’s prophecy found in Daniel 9:25. “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:”
So, the year 457 B.C. gives us a starting point for the 490-year prophecy found in Daniel 9:24-25. Verse 24, “Seventy weeks (490 years) are determined upon thy people and upon the holy city to finish the transgression, and make an end of sins,”
Verse 25, “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandments to restore, and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks (483 years).” Let’s test this by putting it on a timeline.
Daniel’s prophesy is broken down into four periods, the first 49 years were to be followed by 434 years, with seven years remaining. Now the seven years were divided into two 3 ½ years periods.
Malachi the last prophet of the O.T. begins his book in 436 B.C. According to Daniel’s prophecy, the first 49 years that began in 457 would have ended in 408 B.C. Israel would not hear from the Lord for the next 400 years, not until Gabriel came to Zacharias. From 408 B.C., a second period of 434 years would pass, that came in October, 27 A.D. So, 483 years of the 490 was now fulfilled. October 27 A.D. was the year and month John the Baptist, Andrew, and Peter announced “We have found the Messiah” fulfilling Daniel’s prophesy found in verse 25, “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment (457 B.C.) to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince (27 A.D.) shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks (483 years):”
So, the remaining two periods of 3 ½ years were yet future. Christ was declared Messiah sometime between the middle to the end of October, 27 A.D. The first 3 ½ years would end the day before Passover, in April of 31 A.D. after the Lord’s death. So, what remains to this day are last period of 3 ½ years.
The Bible is loaded with information concerning this last period of 3 ½ years. We can begin to fill in the gaps starting with Hosea 5:15 and Hosea 6:1-2, then Daniel, Matthew 24, and the book of Revelation beginning with chapter 4.
Following are the words of the Lord found in Hosea 5:15. “I will go and return to my place, until they (the Jews) seek my face: in their affliction (distress), they will seek me early (diligently).”
So, our first question should be, “When did the Lord return to his place?”
The only possible time is when he left his disciples on the Mt. of Olives some forty days after his resurrection. We read this in Acts 1:9-10. While the disciples beheld, “He (Jesus) was taken up; and a cloud (angels) received him out of their sight.” This fulfills Hosea’s prophecy, “I will go and return to my place,”
Jesus identifies the prophecy when he said to his disciples in, John 14:28, “I go away, and come again unto you.”
John 16:10, “I go to my Father, and you see me no more:”
John 16:16, “A little while, and you shall not see me: and again, a little while, and you shall see me, because I go to the Father.”
Verse 11, “This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come (return) in like manner as you have seen him go into heaven.” Compare that with,
Zechariah 14:3-4, “Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. And his (Jesus) feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east,”
So, the Lord leaves his disciples from the Mt. of Olives 40 days after his resurrection, and Zechariah 14:4 tells us he will return to the Mt. of Olives after 2000 years (two days). So, another question remains, when? When will he return? The answer is found in,
If you enjoy end-time prophecy, consider the above. Add it to what you already know, maybe you have a few gaps in your understanding. I’ll stop here and continue the story later.