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Israel’s 70 Weeks
The Seventy Weeks of Israel and the Lord’s Coming!
Let us start off with this physical illustration holding a physical Bible;
Gentiles: Hold Genesis 1 to Genesis 11 in your hand. Here we have a period of 2000 years of documented human history where God’s dealing with the Gentiles.
Jews: Pinch Genesis 12 to Acts 8 between two more fingers. Here we have God dealing with the Jews.
Church: Notice the remaining section is Acts 9 through Revelation. Here we have God dealing with the Church.
Now look at the difference between the amount of documented information that we have with each group. What we are holding in our hands is mostly a Jewish book! God’s Word not only puts an emphasis on the nation of Israel, but tells us that they are the key to the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter 23, that He will not return until Israel corporately as a nation acknowledges Him as Messiah.
(Matthew 23:37-39), O Jerusalem, Jerusalem…for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
One of the most amazing chapters in God’s Word is found in the Book of Daniel which tells us when both the first and second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ will occur. And once again, we find Israel in the heart of this Bible prophecy.
To understand what we are about to see in the Book of Daniel, we must first take you back in time to a love story.
In Genesis 29, we have the story of Jacob and Rachel. Jacob loved Rachel so very much. He agreed to serve Rachel’s father, Laban, seven years but, instead of getting wages, he asked Laban to give his youngest daughter Rachel to him, to be his wife. And so, Jacob served Laban seven years but when the time came to give him Rachel, Laban tricked Jacob and wound up giving him his oldest daughter Leah. When morning came and Jacob saw that it was Leah, and not Rachel, he confronted Laban and wound up agreeing to serve him an additional seven years for Rachel. Now, watch what he says;
(Genesis 29:25-28), So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, “What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?” And Laban said, “It must not be done so in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. Fulfill her week, and we will give you this one also for the service which you will serve with me still another seven years.” Then Jacob did so and fulfilled her week. So he gave him his daughter Rachel as wife also.
- Question: According to Jewish terms, her 1-week results in how many years?
Answer; 7 years
Now, with this answer in mind, let us continue.
As time went on, the descendants of Jacob became the nation of Israel and were chosen of God to be a light and witness to the world so that all the people of the earth may know that the God of Israel is the one true God. The Lord promised wonderful blessings upon this nation of people as long as they loved Him and stayed faithful to Him and His Word. But God also warned them that if they become disobedient and stop believing in Him and go after false gods, they will be punished by being removed from their own land, be brought into captivity by other nations, and be scattered around the world.
And so, around 600 BC, God raised up king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon to conquer Israel because of their unbelief and disobedience. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the walls surrounding Jerusalem and destroyed the city and temple within, and brought the children of Israel into captivity to Babylon.
During this time, there was a man called Daniel who loved God so very much. Daniel was heartbroken to see his people away from their homeland and held in captivity in a strange and foreign land. Daniel greatly desired to know when God would allow the children of Israel to return back to their homeland under the leadership of the Messiah that was prophesied to come to protect the children of Israel for evermore. And so, one day when Daniel was praying, the Lord answered Daniel’s prayer.
(Daniel 9:24), 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.
- Question: How many “weeks” will it be before the people of Israel can return safe and sound to their homeland under the protection of their beloved Messiah, the most Holy?
Answer: 70 weeks
Let us continue reading;
(Daniel 9:25), 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.
- Question: At what point does the “clock start ticking” for the 70 weeks?
Answer: When the command to restore and build Jerusalem is given
- Question: When the children of Israel are allowed to go back to their land and rebuild their beloved city Jerusalem, how many “weeks” will it be from that moment when their Messiah will come?
Answer: 69 “weeks”
- Question: Going back to our love story of Jacob and Rachel, since 1 week = 7 years, how many years will it be from the time Israel returns to the land unto the time that her Messiah will come?
Answer: 69 weeks X 7 years per week = 483 years
Let us continue reading;
(Daniel 9:26), And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself
- Question: When the Messiah comes, what will happen to Him?
Answer: He will be “cut off” (killed)
- Question: If He is going to be killed, but not for himself, who is He going to be killed for?
Answer: Us
(Isaiah 53:5), But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
Now let us look and see when the commandment was given to the children of Israel to return home and rebuild their city of Jerusalem;
(Nehemiah 2:1-8), And it came to pass in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but sorrow of heart.” So I became dreadfully afraid, and said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?” Then the king said to me, “What do you request?” So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.” Then the king said to me (the queen also sitting beside him), “How long will your journey be? And when will you return?” So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. Furthermore I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given to me for the governors of the region beyond the River, that they must permit me to pass through till I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he must give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel which pertains to the temple, for the city wall, and for the house that I will occupy.” And the king granted them to me according to the good hand of my God upon me.
- Question: What year was this command given to restore and to build Jerusalem?
Answer: 444 BC
- Question: After 483 years from the time the children of Israel were allowed to go back to their own land and rebuild Jerusalem, what ONE man came and fulfilled all of the hundreds of prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah and was then killed for our transgressions?
Answer: Jesus
By this prophecy alone, the people of Israel should have known the long-awaited time had come and Jesus was the Messiah! The main reason why they did not recognize Him was because they did not know their own Scriptures concerning the coming of their Messiah!
Now, let us get back to the 70 weeks.
When Jesus came and was crucified, the 69 weeks had been fulfilled. There remains one more week, the 70th week (the last 7 years) before the Messiah will return. In that return He will not come as the suffering sacrifice for our sins, but as the King of kings and Lord of lords!
If all the children of Israel would have accepted Jesus as Messiah when He first came, the 70th week could have started back then and the Kingdom of Heaven would have been established on earth with Jesus as King and Israel free and safe in her own homeland, no longer under the oppression of Rome or the other nations around her.
- Question: What did Jesus tell His disciples to proclaim to everyone around them?
Answer: (Matthew 10:7), And as you go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.
But the children of Israel rejected Jesus as their Messiah and had Him crucified. What did Paul the apostle then tell them?
Answer: (Acts 13:46), Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.
At this point, the 70th week is on hold. Jesus tells the children of Israel that He will not return until Israel does something. What must Israel do?
Answer: (Matthew 23:39), for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
So, one day, the children of Israel will acknowledge Jesus as Lord, God and Messiah but before Jesus returns, a very evil person will show up on the political scene and fool many into believing that he is the savior of the world and will want everyone to worship him. God’s Word calls him the Antichrist. This is important to know because he does something that starts the “clock ticking” for the last 70th week. And once again, Israel is in the center of this prophecy.
In the Book of Daniel, we have the prophecy of the Antichrist.
- Question: What does he do to get the clock ticking for the last “week?’
Answer: (Daniel (9:27), And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week
This “covenant” is referring to a “peace process” that is so desperately needed for Israel and her surrounding neighbors that are constantly at war with her. The “week” is referring to the 70th and last week of Daniel. The Antichrist will come with the “answer” and the world will look to him as the savior. He winds up conquering the world without firing a shot. Instead of war, he conquers the world by a false “peace”
(Daniel 8:25 KJV), And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
We see this also in the Book of 1 Thessalonians;
(1 Thessalonians 5:1-3), But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape.
Today, the people of Israel long for peace. They do not want to live in fear anymore. They are tired of all these years of war and uncertainty with their surrounding Arab neighbors. Unfortunately, they will grab at any chance for peace regardless of the great cost, even if it means turning their backs on truth in their own Scriptures! Jesus warned them of this in;
(John 5:43), I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.
The following is an actual world report concerning – “Israel Today Crying Out for A Messiah”
June 13, 1994 Headline News
Tens of Thousands Mourn the Death of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson
Tens of thousands of Chasidic Jews flocked to Brooklyn’s Crown Heights neighborhood to pay tribute to Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who died here early Sunday morning at the age of 92. A monumental figure in the modern-day Jewish world who headed the Chabad movement of Lubavitcher Chasidim, Schneerson was mourned by followers around the globe, many of whom believed him to be the Messiah.
According to police estimates, some 35,000 people were gathered outside Lubavitch head-quarters waiting for the coffin to be brought outside. When the pine coffin appeared, the scene became one of emotional mayhem, with women wailing and men pressing forward to touch it.
The 350 police who were on the scene could barely contain the surging crowds, and the pallbearers had difficulty getting the coffin into a waiting hearse.
‘THIS IS NOT THE END’
On Sunday morning, a stunned follower told Israel Radio: “This is not the end. The rebbe will return. He will be with us from on high. He is but dead in nature; in reality he lives forever.”
Caught up in the belief that the rebbe had messianic powers and potential…Within the last year, thousands of his followers at the 770 Eastern Parkway headquarters in Brooklyn would burst into singing “We want Moshiach now.”
Sometimes, in the rebbe’s presence, they would chant rhythmically, “Long live our master, our teacher, our rabbi, the King Messiah forever and ever.”
Note from Bob Battaglia – While doing missionary work in Montreal from 1987 – 1997, our church building was right in the middle of their neighborhood. They had billboards all over Montreal with this man’s picture and alongside it saying, “Welcome Moshiach with gladness…” I asked one of them, “What will it take for them to officially proclaim him Messiah?” Their response was, “If he succeeds in getting the Temple in Jerusalem finally built, and establish PEACE with Israel and her neighbors.”
Israel turned their backs on the true Prince of Peace of (Isaiah 9:6). When the antichrist comes and offers them peace, they will look to him as a “savior” and receive him and his offer. At this moment, God’s “prophetical clock” concerning Israel and its last 70th week, starts clicking!
It will be a MUCH-NEEDED PEACE ACCORD BETWEEN ISRAEL AND HER NEIGHBORS THAT WILL START THE BEGINNING OF “DANIELS 70th WEEK”. And we as believers have to take very seriously what we are seeing TODAY (March 5, 20225), as the NUMBER ONE world headline news, which is, the cry for PEACE between Israel and its Arab neighbors!
Jesus told His disciples the last 70th week is going to be a devastating time for Israel and the whole world!
(Matthew 24:21), For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
God’s Word describes it as “the time of Jacob’s (Israel’s) trouble”;
(Jeremiah 30:1-7), Alas! For that day is great, So that none is like it; And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, But he shall be saved out of it.
It is so sad that Israel must go through all this devastation when she had the wonderful opportunity to prevent all this and have their long-awaited kingdom and powerful Messiah 2000 years ago. If only they would have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ when He came back then. It is also so heartbreaking that many others around the world are following after the same manner of unbelief and willing ignorance of God’s Holy Word, the Bible.