Daniel's Strange 1260, 1290 and 1335 Days!
What are the mysterious sequences of days mentioned in Daniel
12? What does the 1260, 1290 and 1335
days have to do with this END TIME generation?
How do they correspond to the Seventh Trumpet of Revelation? Here is NEW
INSIGHT on the historical and future fulfillment of these amazing prophetic
periods of time! Truly God is beginning
to make clear these cryptic, strange, and mind-boggling prophecies of Daniel!
William F. Dankenbring
In
the book of Daniel we read these mysterious words, fraught with significance
for the end-time generation living just before the coming of the Messiah: “Then I, Daniel, looked and saw two others
standing, one on one bank of the river, the other on the other bank of the
river. One said to the man clothed in
linen, who was above the water of the river, ‘How long until the END
of these awful things?’ Then I heard the man dressed in linen, who
was above the water of the river, swear by the Ever-Living One as he lifted his
right hand and his left hand to heaven: ‘For a time, times, and half
a time; and when the breaking of the power of the holy people comes to an
end, then shall all these things be fulfilled.’”
Daniel
continues:
“I
heard and did not understand, so I said, ‘My Lord, what will be the outcome of
these things?’ He said, ‘Go, Daniel, for these words are SECRET AND SEALED to
the TIME OF THE END. Many will be
purified and purged and refined; the wicked will act wickedly and none of the
wicked will understand; but the knowledgeable will understand. From the time the regular offering is
abolished, and an appalling abomination is set up -- it will be a thousand
two hundred and ninety days. Happy
the one who waits and reaches one thousand three hundred and thirty-five
days’” (Dan.12:5-11).
What
are these mysterious 1260, 1290, and 1335 days?
These periods of prophetic times have perplexed, dumbfounded, and
stumped generations of students of Bible prophecy!
Students
of Bible prophecy know that the prophetic year is 360 days in length. Apparently, the original length of the year
was 360 days (whence we get the 360 degree circle), as the book of Genesis
implies. During the time of Noah 5
months equaled 150 days (thus 30 days per month; this would extrapolate out as
360 days in 12 months – see Gen.7:11; 8:3-4).
Also, in Biblical language one “time” equals one year. In Daniel
How,
how do these mysterious dates figure into the END-TIME SCENARIO of Bible
prophecy? How are they to be reckoned?
When
does the period of 1260 days or three and one half years commence? And when does it end? And what about the 1290 days, and the 1335
days?
A
simple key to the beginning of the 1260 days is that it begins when the
appalling abomination -- or “abomination of desolation” -- is set up in the
Notice! Mid-way through the final “week” of years,
this prince or king will stop the sacrificing and offerings performed at the
This
signal event is also mentioned in Daniel 11.
Notice again! “So shall he return
and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. And forces [arms] shall be mustered by him,
and they shall DEFILE the sanctuary fortress [that is, the
These
two passages are discussing the same event.
It occurs in the MIDST of the final week of years of this age, leading
up to the END of the age!
What
great event will END this age – and terminate this 3 1/2 year prophetic period?
This
period of conquest and end-time Great Tribulation, during which God’s Temple is
defiled, and the saints are persecuted, which lasts for 3 1/2 times (Rev.13:5,
11:2), or 42 months, or 1,260 literal days, will only be terminated by the
intervention of the Messiah from heaven – the coming of Yeshua in clouds of
glory! (Rev.19:11-19;
The
wicked king who does these things will have “power” for three and one half
times or years at the very end. “He will
think of changing times and laws, and they will be delivered into his power for
a time, times, and half a time. Then the
court will sit and his dominion will be taken away, to be destroyed and
abolished for all time” (Dan.7:25-26).
Immediately
after this “appalling thing” – the “abomination of desolation” -- is set up in
the Temple of God, many of God's people will FLEE to a place of safety to be
spared from the coming invasion, captivity, and tribulation (Matt.24:16-22).
They will be protected during this 1,260 day period of tribulation, distress
and captivity on
When
does this vicious persecution stop? When
is the coming king or tyrant finally conquered, and his kingdom brought to an
end?
As
we have seen, Daniel and John tell us he will reign for 3 1/2 times. What will terminate his reign? “But the court shall be seated, and they
shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it forever. Then the kingdom and dominion and the
greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people,
the SAINTS of the Most High. His
kingdom is an everlasting kingdom” (Dan.7:26-27).
His
kingdom will come to an abrupt end when the Messiah Yeshua returns, and gives
rulership of the earth to the resurrected SAINTS (Rev.2:26-27;
When
will THIS occur?
John
tells us in the book of Revelation, these fateful words: “Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying,
‘The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His
Christ, and He shall reign for ever and ever!’” (Rev.11:15). This is the last of the seven trumpet plagues
which God will pour upon mankind (Rev.8-9).
It pictures the coming of the Messiah!
John
goes on to describe it: “We give You
thanks, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is, and who was, and who is to come,
because You have taken Your great power and reigned. The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come,
and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You
should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear
Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth” (Rev.11:17-18).
Thus
the 42 months of the reign of the Antichrist will terminate with the SEVENTH
TRUMPET – and the return of Christ, when the saints will be resurrected, or
changed into immortality, and will receive the kingdoms of the world to rule
over (see I Cor.15:50-52; I Thess.4:16-17).
Therefore the period of 42 months, or
1260 days, or 3 and one half times comes to its fulfillment and termination
when “everlasting righteousness” is ushered in (Dan.9:24) – that is, when the
Messiah returns in glory and power.
But
what then about the 1290 days of Daniel 12?
What do they refer to? What will
happen next?
As
should seem obvious, both periods of time BEGIN at the same point. Therefore, the 1290 days simply goes 30 days
further into the future! The 1,290 days,
then, must extend another 30 days or one month AFTER the return of the Messiah,
when He completes conquering His enemies around the earth, and BRINGS HIS
PEOPLE OUT OF CAPTIVITY, BACK TO JERUSALEM.
As
Isaiah foretold, “And in that day, the LORD will beat out [the peoples like
grain] from the channel of the Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt; and you shall be
PICKED UP ONE BY ONE, O children of Israel!
And in THAT DAY, a great ram’s horn shall be sounded; and the strayed
who are in the land of Assyria and the expelled who are in the land of Egypt
shall come and worship the LORD on the holy mount, in Jerusalem” (Isa.27:13).
When
Christ returns, WAR will be waged against the kingdoms of the world. His return is pictured by the seventh
trumpet. But notice! How long will this trumpet sound?
We
read, “But in the DAYS of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about
to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His
servants the prophets” (Rev.10:7). It
will sound for a number of “DAYS”!
When Christ returns, His presence
will be accompanied by the pouring out of SEVEN LAST PLAGUES. They are mentioned in Revelation 15-16. The pouring out of these plagues will take
TIME! Notice!
Revelation 16 Examined
The apostle John writes, “And I heard a great voice out of
the temple saying to the SEVEN ANGELS, Go your ways, and pour out the VIALS OF
THE WRATH OF GOD upon the earth.”
Notice, first of all, these vials contain the undiluted WRATH OF GOD --
that is, they ARE, they CONSTITUTE, the wrath of God!
Now, continue: “And the first went,
and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a grievous sore upon the
men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshipped his image”
(v.2). This is, of course, a mighty
plague of God. It is important to note,
at this point, how these end-time plagues of God parallel, and were typified,
by the ancient plagues of God on Egypt, just prior to the Exodus of Israel!
In Exodus 9 we read of one of those
ancient plagues: “And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you
handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven
in the sight of Pharaoh. And it shall
become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil with blains breaking
forth upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt. And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood
before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a BOIL
breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast. And the magicians could not stand before
Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon ALL
THE EGYPTIANS” (Exo.9:8-11).
Now notice!
This plague upon ancient Egypt was
not merely of a few hours duration.
Undoubtedly, it lasted for several days, while the Egyptians suffered
pain and torment from this noisome disease and its excruciating pain. Then, the next morning God told Moses
to tell Pharaoh He would smite his people with additional pestilence (verses
13,14, and 15) and plagues. Moses was to
tell Pharaoh, “Behold, TOMORROW about this time I will cause it to rain a very
grievous hail. . .” (v.18).
So, just from the time the plague of
boils was sent till the coming of the plague of hail, was at least three
days duration! Yet, these plagues
were TYPES or FORERUNNERS of the end-time plagues! Therefore, this implies that the end-time
plagues will also cover a span of time lasting at least many days and several
weeks, and will not all be poured out in one single day, as some have
erroneously concluded!
Let us proceed through the chapter
of Revelation 16, and discern exactly what God is telling us through His
servant John. John writes, “And the
second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a
dead man: and every living soul died in the sea. And the third angel poured out his vial upon
the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood” (Rev.16:3-4).
God also caused water to turn into
“blood” when He smote the Egyptians! (Exodus 7:17-24). How long did that plague last? “And seven days passed after the LORD
had struck the river” (verse 25).
Obviously, all the plagues were not poured out in one single day!
Let’s continue. John records: “And the fourth angel
poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men
with fire. And men were scorched with
great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these
plagues: and they repented not to give him glory” (Rev.16:8-9).
This coming plague of scorching heat
from the sun is also prophesied in the book of Isaiah. The prophet declares, “Moreover the light of
the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be
SEVENFOLD, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord bindeth up the
breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound. Behold, the name of the Lord cometh from
afar, BURNING with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are
full of indignation, and his tongue as a DEVOURING FIRE: and his breath, as an
overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift the nations
with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws of the
people, causing them to err” (Isa. 30:26-28).
“And the fifth angel poured
out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of
DARKNESS; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, and blasphemed the God of
heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds”
(Rev.16:10-11). This plague, also, was
paralleled by the plagues upon ancient Egypt.
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven,
that there may be DARKNESS over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be
felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand
toward heaven; and there was a THICK DARKNESS in all the land of Egypt three
days: they saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three
days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings”
(Exo.10:21-23).
This darkness lasted three
days. Similarly, the plague of darkness
which will be poured out in the future will also last several days. Of what point would a plague of darkness be
if it were only a few hours in duration?
It makes no sense whatsoever for the
rivers and water to be turned to blood for only a few hours; and the sun to
scorch men for only a few hours; to be followed by a plague of darkness for
only a few hours! It should be obvious,
by now, that each of these plagues is of several days duration, or even
longer. Remember, these plagues are all
poured out during the sounding of the seventh trumpet -- a period of “DAYS” (Rev.10:7). How many days?
The Time Element of the Sixth Plague of
Revelation
An expanse of time is obviously
indicated by the sixth plague of Revelation 16.
Notice!
“And the
sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the
water
thereof was dried up, that the way of the KINGS OF THE EAST might be
prepared. And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs
come out of the mouth of the
dragon,
and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false
prophet.
For
they are the spirits of devils (demons), working miracles, which GO FORTH
UNTO
THE KINGS OF THE EARTH, AND OF THE WHOLE WORLD, to
gather
them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. . . . And he gathered
them together into a place called in the
Hebrew tongue Armageddon” (Rev.16:12-16).
This sixth plague signifies WAR and
the convergence of armies to do BATTLE.
It involves the gathering of nations, their mobilization, and marching
across hundreds, or even thousands of miles, to come together at Armageddon, or
Har Megiddo, to the north of Jerusalem.
This plague along would very likely involve at least many days of time
-- not just a few hours!
These “kings of the east” represent
the vast hordes of Asia and Russia, and their allies, including Japan and
China! But notice the FINAL plague which
accompanies the return of the Messiah!
“And the seventh angel poured out his vial
into the air; and there came a great
voice
out of the temple of heaven, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and
thunders,
and lightnings; and there was a GREAT EARTHQUAKE, such as was
not
since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the
great
city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and
great
Babylon
came in remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine
of
the fierceness of his wrath. And every
island fled away, and the mountains
were
not found. And there fell upon men a
great hail out of heaven, every stone
about
the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of
the
hail; for the plague of it was exceeding great” (Rev.16:17-21).
A light talent equaled 60 manehs,
and a maneh was equivalent to a Roman pound.
Thus a light talent, used in weighing metals, was about 60 pounds. A heavy or double talent was 120 pounds.
Thus these hail stones will weigh
from 60-120 pounds! As in the case of
ancient Egypt these hail stones could also refer to meteorite showers peppering
the earth at the time when Christ returns!
An example of such a meteorite shower, which destroyed an army fighting
against God's people, occurred in the days of Joshua. We read: “And the Lord discomfited them
before Israel, and slew them with a great slaughter at Gibeon, and chased them
along the way that goeth up to Bethhoron, and smote them to Azekah, and unto
Makkedah. And it came to pass, as they
fled from before Israel, and were in the going down to Bethhoron, that the Lord
CAST DOWN GREAT STONES FROM HEAVEN UPON THEM unto Azekah, and they DIED;
they were more which died with HAILSTONES than they whom the children of
Israel slew with the sword” (Josh.10:10-11).
This final mind-defying plague will
include a massive, earth-wrenching earthquake that will cause the entire planet
to shake like a house in a hurricane.
Mountain ranges will be leveled; islands will sink beneath the waves of
the sea; new islands will rise up.
Volcanoes will outflow lava on massive scales.
The
Awesome Return of the Messiah
Christ Himself will return in glory, and punish the
rebellious nations gathered against Him, who will be assembled at Armageddon
and then march toward Jerusalem! God
says through Zechariah, “Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, and thy spoil
shall be divided in the midst of thee.
For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city
shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half the city
shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut
off from the city. Then shall the Lord
go forth, and FIGHT against those nations, as when he fought in the day of
battle” (Zech.14:1-3).
“And his feet
shall stand in that day UPON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES . . .
and
the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and
toward
the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the
mountain
shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. And
ye
shall flee toward the valley of the mountains . . . yea, ye shall flee, like as
ye
fled from before the EARTHQUAKE in the days of Uzziah king of Judah:
and
the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee” (vs.4-5).
Again, it should be obvious that
this final plague -- which includes meteor showers, massive tectonic upheavals
around the globe, disappearing islands, enormous tsunamis or tidal waves, and
tremendous warfare between the armies of the earth and the returning Christ --
also describes events which will last much more than merely a few hours
duration. Days, weeks, even a month
could well be described here! How long
will it require for the armies of the Lord to march through the land, and
punish the wicked?
The wicked will be cast “into the
great winepress of the wrath of God. And
the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the
winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six
hundred furlongs” (Rev.14:19-20) -- a
distance of 184 miles, extending from the east side of Jerusalem, the Kidron
Valley, down to the Dead Sea, and southward to the Gulf of Aqaba!
How long will pouring out these plagues, and the final WAR
that Christ will wage against the nations of the earth, require? Can we know?
Yes, we can! Notice!
“Then I saw another
angel flying in the midst of heaven, having
the everlasting gospel
to preach to those who dwell on the earth –
to every nation, tongue,
tribe and people – saying with a loud
voice, ‘Fear God and
give glory to Him, for the HOUR of His
judgment is come . . .” (Rev.14:6-7, NKJV).
“The ten horns which you saw are
ten kings, who have received
no
kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for ONE HOUR
AS
KINGS WITH THE BEAST. These are of one
mind, and
They
will give their power and authority to the beast. These will
MAKE
WAR with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them,
for
He is Lord of lords, and King of kings;
and those who are with
Him
are called, chosen, and faithful” (Rev.17:12-14).
God’s
period of “judgment” will last “one hour.”
These ten kings give their power to the Beast for precisely “ONE
HOUR.” How long is “one hour,” speaking
prophetically?
Jesus Christ said that there are
“twelve hours in a day” (John 11:9).
Since a “day” equals a “year” in being fulfilled (Num.14:34;
Ezek.4:4-6), and since there are 12 months in a year, this means that “ONE
HOUR” equals ONE MONTH in being fulfilled! One month equals 30 days!
Thus this final “alliance” refers to
a final union of the nations of the world.
The fifth and sixth Trumpet Plagues (Rev.9) depict nations at war with
each other. But when the seventh trumpet
sounds, the nations will UNITE one final time to wage war against the New
“intruder” or “invader” from “outer space” – ten final “kings,” representing
ten regions of the world, will FIGHT AGAINST CHRIST! How long will this “union” last? One “hour” – that is, one month – that is, 30
DAYS!
Here is the 30 days which goes
beyond the 1260 days and extends to 1290 days (Daniel 12:11)!
During
this period of 30 days, Yeshua will begin regathering the scattered people of
Israel and Judah from around the world, and will WAGE WARFARE against the
wicked nations of the earth, and the seven last plagues will be poured out in
His presence!
How clear!
This war, and the sounding of the seventh trumpet, will
last for 30 days. This is represented by
extra 30 days tacked on to the end of the 1260 days!
Interestingly,
another prophecy also mentions this final period of “one hour” prophetically
speaking --- or one MONTH – or 30 days!
Notice!
“Therefore
her plagues will come in one day [that is, one “year” – the
“day
of the Lord,” the final year of this age when God intervenes to
punish
the wickedness of men] – death, and mourning, and famine.
And
she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who
judges
her. The kings of the earth, who
committed fornication and lived
luxuriously
with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the
smoke
of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment,
saying,
‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in
ONE
HOUR your judgment has come’” (Rev.18:8-10).
“The
merchants of these things, who became rich by her, will stand
at a
distance for fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, and saying,
‘Alas,
alas, that great city that was clothed in fine linen, purple, and
scarlet,
and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! For
in
ONE HOUR such great riches came to nothing.
Every shipmaster,
all
who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood
at a
distance, and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning,
saying,
‘What is like this great city?’ They
threw dust on their heads
and
cried out, weeping and wailing, and saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great
city,
in which all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth!
For
in ONE HOUR she is made desolate” (Rev.18:15-19).
Notice! Here again, the PUNISHMENT of the great
end-time BABYLONIAN EMPIRE – the New World Order – the WORLD SYSTEM – will be
“ONE HOUR” – that is, one month in duration!
During this period of time, she will be utterly destroyed –
obliterated – and wiped off the face of the earth!
This is referring
to the SAME HOUR – the same MONTH! As we
read in Revelation 16, at the conclusion of the seven last plagues, “Now the
great city was divided up into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And great Babylon was remembered before
God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath” (verse
19).
But then another
wonderful event is prophesied to occur at the end of 1335 days -- or the end of
another 45 days! Daniel is told,
“Blessed is the one who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and
thirty five days” (Dan.12:11). Those
who come to this time, Daniel is told, are indeed, “HAPPY” or “BLESSED”!
What is this
event? Let us notice once again the time
sequence of events as they are portrayed in Scripture!
During
this time leading up to the completion of these extra 45 days, or the
fulfillment of the entire 1335 days, Christ will conquer His enemies around the
world and bring His people, Israel, back out from captivity.
We read
in Isaiah's prophecy: “In that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for
the peoples; the nations will rally to him, and his place of rest will be
glorious. In that day the Lord will
reach out his hand a SECOND TIME to reclaim the remnant that is left of
his people from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Upper Egypt, from Cush, from
Elam, from Babylonia, from Hamath and from the islands of the sea. He will raise a banner for the nations and
GATHER THE EXILES OF ISRAEL; he will ASSEMBLE THE SCATTERED PEOPLE OF JUDAH
from the four quarters of the earth” (Isa.11:10-12, NIV). Again, this will require some time. But within two months or so, most likely, all
Israel will be re-gathered, as God intends.
God
says, “Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from
the ends of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, the woman with child
and the one who labors with child, together; a great throng shall return there. They shall come with weeping, and with
supplications I will lead them” (Jer.31:8-9).
Isaiah
further tells us: “For behold, the LORD
will come with fire and with His chariots like a whirlwind, to render His anger
with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire.
For by fire and by His sword the LORD will judge all flesh; and the
slain of the LORD shall be many. . . . It shall be that I will gather all
nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see My glory. . . Then shall they
bring all your brethren for an offering to the LORD out of all nations, on
horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy
mountain in Jerusalem” (Isal.66:15-20).
“And it
shall come to pass in that day that the LORD will thresh, from the channel of
the River to the Brook of Egypt; and you shall be gathered, one by one, O you
children of Israel. So shall it be in
that day: the GREAT TRUMPET will be
blown; they will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, and they
who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy
mount at Jerusalem” (Isa.27:12-13).
This
great EXODUS back to Israel will occur after the Messiiah returns, after
Babylon is conquered, and the nations are subdued, during the time extending
from the end of the 1260 days till the 1335 days – a total period of 75
days. All will be brought back to
Jerusalem, to worship the LORD of Hosts, and to worship the Messianic King,
Yeshua Ha Moshiach!
“And it
shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to
another, all flesh shall come to worship Me, says the LORD. And they shall go forth and look upon the
corpses of the men who have transgressed against Me. For their worm does not die, and their fire
is not quenched. They shall be an
abhorrence to all flesh” (Isa.66:23-24).
What
will occur next, in the unfolding of Biblical prophecy? What great event is foretold for the time
shortly after Israel is regathered – and the END of the 1335 days?
The Tremendous Ceremony
Shortly after Yeshua returns to this
earth, subdues His enemies, re-gathers His people, and SITS ON HIS THRONE in
Jerusalem, He will MARRY HIS BRIDE, the Church of God! The apostle John tells us,
“Then
I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters
and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: ‘Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty REIGNS. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him
glory! For the WEDDING of the Lamb has
come, and his bride has made herself ready.
Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear’ (fine linen stands
for the righteous acts of the saints)” (Rev.19:6-8, NIV).
The
period of 1335 days, the extra 45 days, following the 30 days of war and the
subsequent regathering of Israel, brings us up to the MARRIAGE feast of the
Lamb and His bride, the Church of God, the “firstfruits” (Rev.14:1-4; James
1:17).
Truly,
a more “blessed” and “happy” event can scarcely be imagined!
It
is possible that since God married (made a marriage covenant with) Israel, on
the very day of Pentecost, in the year when Israel was delivered out from
Egypt, that also when Christ returns in power from heaven, He will deliver His
people from captivity, and then MARRY HIS BRIDE, the Church -- perhaps once
again on the very day of Pentecost!
This
could occur on Pentecost, the feast which celebrates the “firstfruits,” a time
of great joy and rejoicing!
Pentecost
occurs 50 days after Passover – it is counted from the wave sheaf offering,
offered on the 16th of Nisan or Abib.
Interestingly,
the book of Esther tells us of the tremendous deliverance God gave His people
during the Persian Empire, when a certain Haman sought to slay all the
Jews. God intervened and spared His
people, and gave them vengeance on their enemies. This occurred on what is
today celebrated as the Feast of “Purim” – counting “lots.” It occurs on two days – Adar 14 and 15. (See Esther 9:19-22.) In a regular year, this falls exactly 30
days before PASSOVER!
Consider this! Christ could begin His return, the seventh
trumpet could begin to blow, on the anniversary of the great deliverance known
as Purim, and blow for 30 days, culminating on the Festival of Passover – the
GREAT Festival of Freedom and Liberty!
Counting
the days, this could account for the last 30 days which stretch from the 1260
to the conclusion of the 1290 days. The
next 45 days – or the end of the 1335 days -- brings us to just five days
before Pentecost! Could this mean, then,
that the great celebration of the marriage of the bride and groom, the Church
and the Lamb, begins on this day and culminates on Pentecost? Very likely, as well, the Messiah will at
that time also enter into the New Covenant with the regathered tribes of Israel
and Judah – once again a symbolic “marriage” covenant, in which all Israel will
once again vow to OBEY the laws, statutes, and judgments of the Lord, the
Torah, the Word of God – Yeshua!
Thus
the end of the 1335 days could refer to the beginning of the WEDDING FEAST
preparations, which includes the WEDDING itself, on the day of Shavuot,
“Firstfruits,” or Pentecost!
Following
the wedding of Christ and the Bride, we read in the book of Revelation: “Then the angel said to me, Write: ‘BLESSED ARE THOSE who are
invited to the WEDDING SUPPER OF THE LAMB!' And he added, 'These are the
true words of God’” (Rev. 19:6-9).
What great event occurs after a
wedding ceremony? What great
event would occur next? Why, the
“wedding reception” -- that is, the WEDDING FEAST!
Notice! Those who come to this event -- that is, who
endure till it occurs, and who come up to attend it -- the invited
guests -- will be “BLESSED.” This is a parallel to Daniel 12:12 -- the same
“blessing” is mentioned. This is
speaking of the marriage FEAST of the Bridegroom to the Bride -- of Christ
Jesus and the Church of God (the saints, who compose the body of the “bride” of
Christ!).
This
blessed event will likely occur, then, 75 days after Christ returns from heaven
and delivers His people, and 45 days after He has re-gathered Israel and
conquered His enemies around the world.
At that time, real true PEACE will break out worldwide. And many will be invited to attend the great
wedding feast of Christ and the Church -- the official wedding “feast”!
If
the final 7 years of this present age begins in the Spring of 2001, with the
beginning of “Jacob’s Troubles,” then their conclusion would be Spring of
2008. If the final 7 years begins with
the “Intifada” which began Tishri 1, 2000, then the 7 years would be up in the
Fall of 2007.
If
the Messiah returns at Purim-Passover, 2007, Abib 15, ending the 1260 days
(Purim) and the 1290 days (Passover), then the 45 extra days of the 1335 would
be conclude about Sivan 1 – five days before Pentecost. But if the return of the Messiah would begin
7 days later, or about Adar 21, then the end of the 30 days would be Abib 21,
the Last Day of the Feast of Passover – truly a day of great deliverance and salvation,
pictured by the passing of the children of Israel through the towering walls of
water of the Red Sea!
If
this were the case, then 45 days later would bring us to a truly blessed event
-- Shavuot, or Pentecost, on Sivan 6th
– the day of the Covenant and Marriage of God to the children of Israel
(Jer.3:1, 8, 14) which then would be a TYPE of the marriage of the Messiah to
His Bride, His Church, the Israel of God (Rev.19:6-9; Gal.6:16).
One
Great Remaining Event!
When the Temple of God was rebuilt,
during the days of Ezra, after the return of the Jews from Babylonian
captivity, the people celebrated with great joy. “Then the people of Israel -- the priests,
the Levites and the rest of the exiles -- celebrated the dedication of the house
of God with JOY” (Ezra 6:16).
Could
it be, also, that the end of the 1335 days will also see the FOUNDATION STONE
being laid for the new Messianic Temple of God?
Could the end of the 1335 days also be the beginning of construction of
the NEW MESSIANIC TEMPLE of GOD?
No
doubt that this will be a time of GREAT, DELIRIOUS JOY and profound
HAPPINESS! Consider! The 1260 day prophecy, the key to the whole
end-time scenario as it unfolds, BEGINS with what? -- the desecration of the
Temple of God (Dan.9:27; 7:25; Matt.24:15). Therefore, it would be very
consistent with the overall prophecy that this period of time would also END or
TERMINATE -- after the passage of 1335 days -- with the REBUILDING or
RESTORATION of the Temple!
A
“Day for a Year” -- the DUALITY of Prophecy
This
end-time scenario then pictures the final fulfillment of Daniel's amazing
prophecies, leading on into the World of Tomorrow. But is there also another, more tangible
meaning to this prophecy, that is being fulfilled right before our very eyes in
this twentieth century?
Remember,
Bible prophecy is often DUAL in nature -- that is, there are often TWO
different interpretations! The
interpretation we have looked at thus far is a “literal” interpretation of a
day equaling a day in fulfillment!
However,
many Bible prophecies are also given cryptically as a “day for a YEAR” in being
fulfilled (Num.14:34; Ezek.4:6). How would this theological truth refer to the
prophecies of Daniel, chapter 12?
According to this vital key to
understanding many Biblical prophecies, a day in the prophetic scenario
actually equals a YEAR in actual fulfillment!
Is there a “day for a year” revelation of this vital prophecy of Daniel
12? The answer is an astounding YES!
Isaac
Newton, a faithful and zealous student of the Scriptures, as well as the man
who discovered the law of gravity, the laws of motion, and laws of optics, in
1697 gave a lecture at Cambridge which was published by the title “The
Observations on Apocalypse of the Prophet Daniel and Saint John.” In the tenth
and twelfth chapters of Daniel, he discusses the “last days,” the coming of the
Messiah, and the world events that transpire to bring about Israel's final
glory. In this context, three periods of
days are revealed to Daniel -- 1260, 1290, and 1335. Newton referred to them as “the days of
1260,” “the days of 1290,” and “the days of 1335.” According to Isaac Newton,
“the days of 1260” refer to a time when a world kingdom or power would give occasion
to bring about the return of the Jews to their promised land. Newton wrote:
“When, at some future time, you see a
major world power give occasion to the return
of the Jews to their land,
write by that date, 1260. All subsequent
events and times
will be pivotal to that
occasion.”
If
we use this approach, it was on November 3, 1917, when the world's most
prominent power of that time, the British Empire, issued the Balfour
Declaration, permitting the Jews to go home to their original home-land in
Judea. This was shortly after British
General Allenby defeated the Turks in the Middle East and conquered Jerusalem,
putting an end to the world's longest surviving empire of that time -- the Ottoman
Empire.
However,
the crisis of World War II prompted many more Jews to flee and emigrate to
Palestine, and the new British leadership was negative to Jewish
immigration. Nevertheless, 30 years
after the Balfour Declaration, in 1947-48, the United Nations passed a
resolution establishing a Jewish homeland or nation in Palestine -- and in May
1948 Israel once again became a literal nation, although it was forced to
defend its newfound frontiers from massed Arab armies which immediately
attacked on all fronts!
1917
was the termination point of the “seven times” punishment God placed upon
ancient Judah in 604 B.C., beginning with the Babylonian captivity. A “time” equaling a “year,” and a “year”
equaling 360 “days” – and each “day” equaling a literal “year” in fulfillment,
7 x 360 gives us 2,520 years. Counting
from 604 B.C., 2,520 years brings us to 1917 – the year of the Balfour
Declaration, encouraging Jews to return to Palestine, their homeland. Interesting, 1260 is one half of 2520.
If,
as Newton declared, the termination of 1260 years occurred when a great power –
Britain – encouraged the Jews to return to Israel, then the 1290 years would
have been 30 years later -- the year 1947-48.
That is the year when the United Nations voted to establish the state of
Israel in the Middle East, and Israel fought off Arab invasion and became a
nation.
This
would mean that the 1335 years would be an additional 45 years later -- or
1992-93. That was the year of the
beginning of the Oslo Peace Accords, with their signing at the White House by
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. At that time, a peace opportunity was begun –
but due to bad faith and hatred and a spirit of terrorism, on the part of the
Palestinians, it collapsed after seven years.
Nevertheless, peace could have begun at that time. Obviously, it has been postponed. Perhaps Newton was right – but due to the
hatred of men, the peace which could have come in 1992-93 collapsed in the intifada
and Palestinian terrorism!
But
what about the date that the 1260 days or “years” begins? Is that not also significant? If we count backward from 1917 A.D., 1260
years, we come to the year 658 A.D. What happened that year that would be
significant to the Jews?
The
Time of Julian the “Apostate”
After the Bar Kochba rebellion in 132-135
A.D., the Jews were banished from Jerusalem.
In the days of Constantine, Jews were repressed with new restrictions
and exactions. Christians were forbidden
to associate with them; rabbis were banished from the Roman Empire (337 A.D.).
Constantine made it a capital crime for a Christian to marry a Jew. Amidst persecution, the Jews committed the oral
law to written form, lest it be lost.
Judaism was in danger of perishing from the earth.
It must have appeared as the dawning of a new epoch to the Jews when Julian followed Constantine on the throne of Rome. He reduced their taxes, revoked discriminatory laws.
“[Julian] acknowledged
Yahveh as ‘a great god.’ He asked Jewish leaders why they
had
abandoned animal sacrifice; when they replied that their law did not permit
this
except in the Temple at Jerusalem, he ordered that the Temple
should be rebuilt with
state
funds. Jerusalem was again opened to the
Jews; they flocked to it from every
quarter
of Palestine, from every province of the Empire; men, women and children
gave
their labor to the rebuilding, their savings and jewelry to the furnishing, of the new
Temple;
we can imagine the happiness of a people that for three centuries had prayed
for this
day
(361). But as the foundations were being dug, flames
burst from the ground, and burnt
several workmen to death. The work was
patiently resumed, but a repetition of the
phenomenon -- probably due to the explosion
of natural gas -- interrupted and
discouraged the enterprise. The
Christians rejoiced at what seemed a divine prohibition;
the Jews marveled and mourned.
Then came Julian's sudden death; state funds were withdrawn;
the
old restrictive laws were re-enacted and made more severe; and the Jews, again
excluded
from Jerusalem, returned to their villages, their poverty, and
their prayers. Soon thereafter
Jerome reported the Jewish
population of Palestine as 'but a tenth of their previous multitude.
In
425 Theodosius abolished the Palestinian patriarchate. Greek Christian churches replaced
the synagogues and schools; and after a brief outburst in 614,
Palestine surrendered its
leadership
of the Jewish world” (Durant, The Story of Civilization, “The Age of
Faith,” vol.4,
pages 347-48).
God obviously did not approve of the Jews rebuilding His
House in 361 A.D. He put a stop to the
process by divine intervention. Durant
says the fire bursting from the ground may have been a natural gas
explosion. Whatever the cause, it
happened twice -- and seemed like a divine prohibition to those involved and to
onlookers.
Jerusalem
was ruled by the Byzantine Romans till 614, under “Christian” control; till
629, it was ruled by Persians, when the Christians re-conquered it and ruled
till 637, when it fell to the Moslems who ruled till 1099.
Jews
remained numerous in Moslem Syria, Babylonia, and Persia, and developed a
vigorous economic and cultural life. The
rabbinical colleges at Sura and Pumbeditha provided religious and intellectual
leadership for the Jews of the Islamic world.
In 657-8 A.D., the Caliph Ali freed the Jewish academy from any
political control by Jewish political leaders, and the leader took the title
Gaon, or Excellency, and began the epoch of the Gaonim in Babylonia. From the seventh to the eleventh century,
questions of Jewish or Talmudic Law were referred to these Rabbinical Gaonim
from all the Jewish world. Stability was
restored, and the Jewish cultural, historical and religious legacy were no
longer threatened with extinction.
While
persecution raged in the fragmenting Roman Empire, and in Catholic Europe, the
Jews prospered in the Arab dominated, Muslim regions of the Middle East and
Africa. Thus the vital intellectual,
spiritual independence of the Jewish colleges was crucial to the continued
faithfulness and existence of Jewish religious life, culture, and the
Scriptures and holy calendar. The year
657-8 A.D. is significant indeed -- it is the BEGINNING of 1260 years of
“safety” under God’s protection, “in the wilderness” (Rev.12:6).
“The Place
of Safety” and the 1260 Years
The Jewish heritage and the laws of God
were “protected” for a period of 1260 years, from 657-8 to 1917 – a fulfillment of the prophecy of Revelation
12:6! We read: “A great and wondrous sign appeared in
heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown
of twelve stars on her head [the nation of Israel]. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she
was about to give birth [to the Messiah, Jesus Christ]. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an
enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns [the Roman Empire], and
seven crowns on his heads [seven resurrections down through history --
Justinian, Charlemagne, Otto the Great, the Hapsburg Dynasty, Napoleon,
Hitler-Mussonlini -- with one yet to appear!].
His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the
earth. The dragon stood in front of the
woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment
it was born. She gave birth to a son, a
male child [Jesus Christ the Messiah], who will rule all the nations with an
iron scepter. And her child was snatched
up to God and to his throne. The woman
FLED INTO THE DESERT [the kingdoms of the Moslem world, Babylonia, Persia,
Syria, Arabia, etc.] to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be TAKEN
CARE OF FOR 1260 DAYS” (Rev.12:1-6, NIV).
This prophecy is DUAL! According to God's Word, the Jews were in this wilderness or desert, protected by God, for 1,260 YEARS, a “day for a year”! That time of protection in the desert or wilderness expired in 1917, when General Allenby conquered Jerusalem from the Turks, and the Balfour Declaration permitted Jews to return to their homeland!
This prophecy also refers to the Church. It, too, was protected in the “wilderness” for 1260 years – outside the boundaries of the resurrections of the “Holy Roman Empire” throughout the Middle Ages, from the Imperial restoration of Rome under Emperor Justinian in 554, through the restorations of Charlemagne, the Hapsburgs, Otto the Great, down till the fall of the Napoleonic Empire of France in 1814 – a period of exactly 1260 years.
The
Beginning of the 1260 “Days”
God protected both the Jews and His
Church during these periods of persecution and upheaval. What an amazing, incredible fulfillment of
Biblical prophecy!
The
year 657-8 A.D. is the beginning of the 1260 years ending in 1917, when the
Jews were permitted by the Balfour Declaration to return to Palestine. From the destruction of the Temple in 70
A.D., through the Bar Kochba rebellion, till the year 658 A.D., the Jewish
people, while in exile were severely persecuted and almost wiped out as a
distinct culture and race. But with the
establishment of the rabbinical colleges at Sura and Pumbeditha, with complete
academic freedom, the Jews were able to maintain their religious identity, and
ancient traditions and laws. Thus 658
was a vitally important benchmark year in the history and preservation of
Judaism, the Torah, the Mishnah, and the very ORACLES OF GOD (Romans 3:1-2)
which God gave to the Jews to preserve and safeguard through the centuries.
How
awesome it is that God fulfills His Word, and establishes His prophetic
purposes!
The
End-Time Treaty of "Peace"
The 1335 days refer to a “blessed” event
of some kind (Dan.12:11). It is most
significant, therefore, that on September 13, 1993, just before the Jewish new
year, a signing ceremony was held in Washington, D.C., with President Clinton
hovering in the background, on the White House lawn, with Yasser Arafat and
Yitzak Rabin signing a PEACE TREATY, designed to bring PEACE in the Middle
East! This came to be known as the “Oslo
Accords.” It was the peace process that
lasted seven years. Final status
talks on the rest of the outstanding issues -- including Jerusalem, the Jewish
settlements in the West Bank, Palestinian immigration, water division, etc.,
were to be settled by September, year 2000.
However,
the peace process collapsed in chaos, as Palestinians went on the warpath on
the Jewish New Year, and have been waging a form of war against the Jews ever
since – with sniper attacks, suicide bombings, mortar rounds, demonstrations,
and incessant violence. Peace has been
postponed! This also ties in with the
prophecies of Daniel!
The
prophet Daniel foretold of a “seven year” treaty in Daniel 9:24-27 -- that is,
a “final week” of years -- seven years -- during which time a “prince” would
“confirm a covenant with many” (v.26).
Could this be speaking of the Oslo Peace Accords, which began in
1993?
The Oslo Accords, originally called the
“Seven Year Peace Accords,” designed to bring peace to the Middle East within
seven years (or by the year 2,000 A.D.), was signed by Arafat and Rabin with President
William Clinton hovering like a “peace-maker” and “father-figure” behind the
signers of the accords. Oslo II followed
in 1995, and the Hebron agreements with the Likud Israeli government led by
Benjamin Netanyahu continued the process, signed on January 16, 1997. The Wye Accords followed in 1998, and the
Sharm El Sheik Accords signed by the Ehud Barak government of Israel in
1999.
The
literal translation of Daniel 9:27 from the original language is “He will confirm
a covenant” or treaty with “the many ones” and it will be “for
one week.” The Hebrew word for
“many” is rabim, a word very close in sound to Rabin. Could this be a “play on words”? The Hebrew word for “confirm” is gabar, and
means literally, “to be strong, by implication, to prevail, act insolently” (Strong's
Concordance, #1396). But all the
arm-twisting could not bring true peace.
Notice! This verse could imply, first of all, that
the one “confirming” the treaty is not himself necessarily a “signatory,” but
rather one in the background who brings pressure to bear to compel the
signers to “sign on” to the treaty -- economic pressure, political pressure, or
something similar.
Certainly,
the government of Israel benefits from the largess of the United States with
over $2 billion dollars in foreign aid each year, besides vast military
aid. Therefore Israel would be in a
position to rely heavily on the United States, and to agree to whatever terms
the U.S. President imposes or strongly suggests. There has indeed been a tremendous amount of
“arm-twisting” involved in this long, drawn-out “peace process”! Prime Minister Barak of Israel owed his
victory over Netanyahu in the Israeli elections to the vast support given to
his campaign by the American president and his staff! But alas!
His peace overtures to the Palestinians floundered on the rock of Yassir
Arafat’s stubbornness and refusal to accept Israel’s willingness to hand over
95 percent of the land in question.
Barak, in disgrace, was replaced by Ariel Sharon as Prime Minister of
Israel, to deal with the growing Palestinian insurgency. Peace, it seems, is still far off.
The Number 3,000
Another strange anomaly is the fact that
present at the original signing ceremony of the Oslo I Accord were 3,000
officially invited guests. As CNN news
announced, while broadcasting the signing ceremony on the White House lawn,
“For the first time in the history of the White House there are 3,000
officially invited guests to witness a signing ceremony.”
What is the significance of the number
3,000? When Moses came down from Mount
Sinai, and found the people worshipping a golden calf, at God's command, the
Levites slew 3,000 idol worshippers (Exo.32:25-28). The idolaters rejected God’s Covenant.
Conversely,
when the New Testament Church began, on Pentecost, 30 A.D., with the preaching
of Peter and the apostles, “the same day there were added unto them about three
thousand souls” (Acts 2:4 1).
These accepted the terms of God’s New Covenant.
The
number 3,000 seems to be an important number in terms of either acceptance or
denial of a treaty or covenant -- or the number of “witnesses” to a covenant or
treaty!
The "END OF DAYS"
The year 1992-3 was to be the beginning
of the final end-time “peace process” in the Middle East. It occurred precisely 45 years after the
founding of the state of Israel in 1947-8 -- which was exactly 30 years after
the Balfour Declaration, and General Allenby’s capture of Jerusalem in 1917 --
which, strangely enough, was exactly 50 years -- one Jubilee cycle --
before the “Six Day War” in 1967, when the Jewish forces annihilated the
surrounding Arab air forces, recaptured the Sinai from Egypt, the Golan
Heights, from Syria, the West Bank from Jordan, and the Old City of Jerusalem,
which includes the Temple Mount.
All
these years are interrelated, in terms of the fulfillment of Biblical prophecy.
What
do all of these things really mean?
It
all boils down to this awesome fact: -- We are now in the TIME OF THE END
-- the crisis at the close -- OF THIS GENERATION of mankind! The long-promised MESSIAH is coming very
soon!
When will He come?
All
the great deliverances of God's people throughout history, occurred in the
spring of the year. God's judgment on
the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah occurred around Passover time -- proven
by the fact that Lot was at that time eating “unleavened bread” (Gen.19:3). Of course, God intervened and delivered
ancient Israel out of Egypt at Passover (Exodus 12:18-29). Joshua's conquest of Jericho, and the
inheritance of the Promised Land, also occured at Passover (see Joshua 5:10;
6:1-21). Gideon’s conquest of the
Midianites also occurred in the spring (Judges 7:13).
Alfred
Edersheim, in The Temple: Its
Ministry and Service, writes:
“Jewish tradition has
this curious conceit: that the most
important events in
Israel's history were connected with the
Paschal season. Thus it is said to have
been on the present Paschal night that,
after his sacrifice, the 'horror of great
darkness' fell upon Abraham when God revealed to him the future
of his
race
(Gen.15). Similarly, it is supposed to
have been at Passover time that
the patriarch entertained the heavenly
guests, that Sodom was destroyed and
Lot escaped, and that the walls of
Jericho fell before the Lord. More than
that, the 'cake of barley bread' seen in
the dream, which led to the destruction
of Midian's host, had been prepared from
the Omer, presented on the second
day of the feast of unleavened bread;
just as at a later period alike the captains of
Sennacherib and the King of Assyria, who tarried at Nob, were overtaken
by the hand of God at the Passover
season. It was at the Paschal time also
that
the
mysterious handwriting appeared on the wall to declare Babylon's doom,
and again at the Passover that Esther
and the Jews fasted, and that wicked
Haman perished. And so also in the LAST DAYS it would be
the Paschal night
when
the final judgments should come upon 'Edom,' and the glorious deliver-
ance of Israel take place” (Edersheim,
p.180-181).
Will
Christ return around PASSOVER time? Why
not?
Truly, Passover pictures the deliverance
of God's people more than any other Festival of God, and symbolizes salvation
and redemption more than any other single Festival (the Day of Atonement being
the only exception). Passover is
intricately linked with the history of God's people Israel. The deliverance of Israel out of Egypt (a
type of this world system) was a TYPE of the future deliverance of Israel out
of end-time captivity (Isa.27:12-13; Isa.11:11; Zech.10:10; Jer.30:10-11;
31:7-12).
Of course, we do not know for certain either the “day or hour” of Christ’s return. Says the Messiah, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. . . . Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch, and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matt.24:36-44, NIV).
Again,
Christ tells us through Mark, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even
the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Be on guard!
Be alert! You do not know when
that time will come. It’s like a man
going away: He leaves his house and puts
his servants in charge, each with his assigned task, and tells the one at the
door to keep watch. Therefore keep
watch because you do not know when the owner will come back – whether in
the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you
sleeping. What I say to you, I say to
everyone: Watch” (Mark 13:32-36,
NIV).
Truly,
the signs of the end times are all around us, and our salvation is much nearer
than when we first believed. As Paul
wrote: “The hour has come for you to
wake up your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first
believed. The night is nearly over; the
day is almost here. So let us put aside
the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light” (Romans 13:11-12).
“Be very careful then, how you live
– not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the
days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15).
As
the New King James Version has this passage:
“See then that you walk circum-spectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming
the time, because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord
is. And do not be drunk with wine, in
which is dissipation. But be filled with
the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs,
singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for
all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting
to one another in the fear of God” (Eph.5:15-21, NKJV).
Let’s
redeem – buy back, utilize wisely -- the time, seeing that the END is
rapidly approaching! Even so, come,
Lord Yeshua!