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The False Prophet | Copyright | Dedication | Contents | List of Illustrations | Preface | The Great Detective | When Are We? | 69 Weeks | 1290 Days | The Wrong Rock | Two Witnesses | Time, Times & a Half | Mounting Evidence | One More Time | Timeless Covenant | Leopard-Bear-Lion | Two-Horned Beast | The Big Lie | Scarlet Beast | Wherefore, Come Out | Last Trumpet | Hour, Day, Month & Year | Bifids & Chiasms
The False Prophet - Skolfield
69 Weeks
CHAPTER 3
Remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is none else;
I am God, and there is none like me,
Declaring the end from the beginning,
and from ancient times
the things that are not yet done.
ISA 46:9-10
DURING the last two thousand years, many schools of prophetic
thought have been proposed, but the Jews returning to the Holy Land in
1948, and Jerusalem being freed of Gentile domination in 1967, open the
door to a new understanding of the prophetic Scriptures that was hidden
from the Church throughout the Christian Era. Since Daniel wasn’t
opened until the end-times, every one of those earlier views are at best,
questionable. The popular view, that a great tribulation will come at the
end of this age began with an 18th Century Jesuit priest’s studies in
Daniel. He based his conclusions on the prophecies in Daniel 9 and 12
that contain time frames of weeks and days.
But the question is this: Are the prophetic “days” in Daniel and
Revelation actually 24-hour days, as some suppose, or do they represent
a totally different duration of time? There are sound reasons to believe
these “days” and “weeks” actually symbolize Hebrew or solar years. We
can prove the argument from the 70 Weeks of Daniel 9 where both the
starting and fulfillment points of a prophecy are events that have already
taken place. Events that we can read about in history.
DANIEL RECEIVES A MESSENGER
Darius the Mede conquered Babylon in 536BC. By that time, Daniel
and his people had been captive in Babylon for 70 years. Daniel knew
from a prophecy in the book of Jeremiah that their time of captivity
should be over:
Jer 29:10 For thus saith the LORD, “That after seventy years be
accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good
word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.”
The night Babylon fell must have been some kind of night. Earlier
that evening, Daniel had interpreted the handwriting on the wall and
King Belshazzar promoted him to the post of third ruler of the empire.1
What did it matter that Darius’ army was right outside the walls? The
walls of Babylon were impregnable and there was plenty of food in
store. The Babylonians couldn’t run out of water because the whole
Euphrates River ran right through the city, under the city walls. They
were so confident in their defenses that they never even imagined the
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1 Belshazzar, son of Nabonidus, reigned as co-regent of the Babylonian Empire under his
father (552-536BC). During the Medo-Persian invasion, Nabonidus was traveling in
Arabia and Belshazzar was ruling the city during his absence. So “third ruler of the land”
was the highest post to which Daniel could be elevated as long as both Belshazzar and
Nabonidus were alive.
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69 Weeks 27
possibility of an invasion. The Babylonians were feasting and drinking
and having a fabulous revel, or so they thought (Dan 5:1-4).
But upriver from the city, Darius dug a canal that diverted the whole
Euphrates River and he marched his army into the city on the dry
riverbed. It was an easy victory and King Belshazzar was slain (Dan
5:30).
In this new Medo-Persian Empire, Daniel was again just an ordinary
citizen. So what would happen to his people under this new regime?
They had now been captives in Babylon for 70 years. Daniel’s night in
the lions’ den and his promotion to the post of chief satrap were still
some time in the future.
Daniel went home to read Scripture and pray. That prayer of
Daniel’s wasn’t some little routine kind of prayer like: “Oh Lord, thank
you for our food, in Your Name we pray, Amen.” He fasted and sat in
sackcloth and ashes, probably for days (Dan 9:3). He must have thought
for a long time about what he was going to say, and then written down
his prayer, for surely, this is one of the most eloquent prayers in all
Scripture. Here is part of what Daniel prayed:
Dan 9:16-19 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech
thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city
Jerusalem, thy holy mountain. Because for our sins, and for the
iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a
reproach to all that are about us. Now therefore, O our God, hear
the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face
to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake. O
my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold
our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do
not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses,
but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord,
hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy
city and thy people are called by thy name.
Daniel confessed his sins and the sins of his people. This elderly
man of God knew that he and the rest of the Jews deserved nothing from
the Lord, any more than we do. But considering the Lord’s great mercy,
and because of His word through Jeremiah, weren’t the 70 years of
captivity over?
69 Weeks 28
While Daniel was praying, God sent the angel Gabriel to comfort
him, and because the 70 years of captivity were indeed over, to tell him
of a new and different 70: a future seventy of sevens. Here is what
Gabriel told him:
Dan 9:24-26 Seventy weeks [or sevens] are determined upon thy
people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to
make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to
bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and
prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 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 [or sevens], and threescore and two weeks [or sevens]:
the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
And after threescore and two weeks [or sevens] shall Messiah be
cut off, but not for himself.
The Bible is a historic book. Each book within it was written at a
specific time and records events that took place in history. In the same
way, Bible prophecy was written at a given time in history, to be
fulfilled at a specific time in the future. Those points in time are usually
stated in Scripture, as they were in the 70 Weeks. “From the going forth
of the commandment” is the definite starting time for that prophecy, and
“and after the three score and two weeks” is the definite fulfillment time.
If we wish to understand how long those weeks are, we need to see if the
events prophesied have taken place, and measure the time that passed
between the issuing of the prophecy and its fulfillment.
The 70 Weeks is divided into three sections: Seven Weeks, Sixtytwo
Weeks and One Week. Let’s look at the 69 weeks first. To whom
are they addressed and what are they about? They are to the Jews, and
about Jerusalem. What does v. 24 tell us will be accomplished in those
69 sevens?
1. “Finish transgression.”
2. “Make an end of sin.”
3. “Make reconciliation for iniquity.”
4. “Bring in everlasting righteousness.”
5. “Seal up vision and prophecy.”
6. “To anoint the most Holy.”
69 Weeks 29
When will they take place, and what is the time frame? We are told
to start counting time after a decree is sent out to restore Jerusalem, and
that it will be a time of trouble.
There were four restoration decrees granted by the Medo-Persian
Empire. But almost 100 years after Gabriel spoke to Daniel, a special
decree was granted by Artaxerxes I to Nehemiah (445-444BC). This is
the ONLY decree recorded in the Bible that gave the Jews permission to
“restore Jerusalem and rebuild its walls,” and since Scripture relates to
Scripture, we should start counting time from that biblical decree. Just
as Daniel predicted, Nehemiah had a terrible time wall-building.1 The
people living around Jerusalem tried to stop him every way they could
(Neh 4:1-23). They even tried to get the government to come down on
him, just as the unsaved and pseudo-Christians try to come down on true
Christians today. The Messiah is Jesus, of course, and He was crucified
in 32 or 33AD. He didn’t die for Himself, but for the sins of the whole
world (1Jo 2:2), but are those 69 weeks 69 sevens of years? If so, then
we have 69 x 7 or 483 Hebrew years.
The Lord usually spoke to His prophets in a language they could
understand. Daniel was a Jew, probably of the royal family (2Ki 20:18),
and the Jews had their own 360-day Levitical year. Since our history is
recorded in solar years of 365.24 days, we need to convert 483 Hebrew
years to solar years:
483 x .9857 = 476 solar years. 2
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1 The whole book of Nehemiah is about events following the Artaxerxes I decree.
Furthermore, the events recorded in Nehemiah perfectly match Daniel’s prophecy of them.
The dating of this decree is firm at 445-444BC.
2 From I Maccabees and the Book of Jubilees (circa 150BC), the Jews of inter-testamental
times generally considered a month to have 30 days, and a year to have12 months. So a
year of 360 days was probably the calendar with which Daniel was familiar. That is why
a year of 360 days should be used when calcu-lating O.T. prophecies.
The moon circuits the earth in about 29.12 days, forcing a vacillation between a
30-day and a 29-day month. Twelve of these lunar months equal 354.14 days, or about
eleven days short of the solar year. From the Babylonians the Hebrews learned to add an
extra month every two or three years. In rabbinical times this "intercalary" month was
inserted seven times in nineteen years. From Calendar, (Holman’s Bible Dictionary).
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69 Weeks 30
Artaxerxes’ decree, 444BC + 476 years = 32AD, the cross right
to the year!
The cross, right to the year. But what about those six points that were
supposed to be fulfilled during these 70 weeks? Aa-ha! All but one were
fulfilled at the cross. Did not Jesus (1) finish transgression eternally, (2)
make an end of sin, (3) make reconciliation for iniquity, (4) bring in
everlasting righteousness, and (6) anoint the Most holy with His own
precious blood.1 Of course, praise the Lord! Point (5), however,
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1 Incredible as it may sound, it appears that the archeologist Ron Wyatt may have found
the Ark of the Covenant. According to Wyatt, the Ark was hidden in a cave under
Golgotha – Gordon’s Calvary. From the Word of the Lord to him, Jeremiah knew that
Jerusalem was about to fall, so he appears to have placed the Table of Showbread, the
Altar of Incense, and the Ark of the Covenant in that cave and walled them up. The cave
was forgotten, and these articles have remained secreted ever since. This explains a
previously inexplicable prophecy: “and He shall anoint the Most Holy.” During the
crucifixion, Jesus’ side was pierced, and the rocks beneath the cross rent (Mat 27:51).
According to Wyatt, the Ark is about 20 feet under where the Lord was crucified. It
appears that Jesus’ blood ran through a fissure in the bedrock and fell on the Mercy Seat.
If so, then in accordance with Dan 9:24, Jesus did indeed “anoint the Most Holy” with His
own precious blood. Videotapes and various newsletters are available from Wyatt
Archeological Research, 713 Lambert Dr. Nashville, TN 37220. World Net Daily,
www.wnd.com also has information on Wyatt in its archives. Search Ron Wyatt.
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69 Weeks 31
GRAPH NUMBER 3
69 Weeks 32
was left out: “Seal up vision and prophecy.” This is where those peculiar
7 weeks and 62 weeks come in:
7 x 7 Hebrew years = 48.3 Solar years. 444BC - 48.3 is
395.7BC, Malachi written.
Malachi was inspired to write the last book of the Old Testament in
about 396BC. The Scripture to the Jews was complete, and no more was
written until the New Testament era! So Old Testament vision and
prophecy were indeed “sealed up.” As one dear Rabbi lamented in about
200BC, “The Holy Spirit has departed from Israel,” and until this very
day, the Jews, as a nation, have not been permitted to see any further.
The Lord has blinded their eyes so they could not recognize Jesus as
their Messiah (Rom 11:8, 2Co 3:15).
THE DAY=YEARS
So what have we learned so far? Not only that 69 Weeks were
fulfilled at the cross, but also that those “weeks” were not ordinary
weeks of days at all, but weeks of years. Every single day of those 69
weeks represented a Hebrew year, and we can prove it through known
historical events. There are even three verses in Scripture that back up
the day=year interpretation.
Captive with Daniel in the province of Babylon was a priest named
Ezekiel. He was the prophet inspired by the Lord to write the canonical
book that bears his name. We can see that Daniel read Scripture in his
devotions (Dan 9:2). He studied Jeremiah, so no doubt he also studied
the other Scriptures that were available to him, including the books of
Numbers and Ezekiel. Within those two books are three verses that gave
him the insight he needed to understand prophetic day=years:
Num 14:34 After the number of the days in which ye searched the
land, even forty days, each day for a year.
Eze 4:5-6 For I have laid upon thee the years... according to the
number of the days, three hundred and ninety days ... so shalt thou
bear the iniquity of the house of Israel ... and thou shalt bear the
iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee
each day for a year.
69 Weeks 33
A day for a year. Here, in the only two places it appears in the Bible,
the Lord showed Daniel that one prophetic day was equal to one of our
earthly years. ONE DAY = ONE YEAR! Using this day=year unit of measure
to interpret his prophecies, Daniel could not only understand the 69
weeks of Dan 9, but also the 1290 and 1335 days of Dan 12. If we use
the same unit of measure that Daniel did, we should be able to
understand those day=years as well.
This is not a new concept in the Church. In 1569, the great
Anabaptist theologian, Thieleman van Braght, wrote the following in
Martyrs Mirror, pages 21-24:
“a thousand two hundred and threescore days, which, reckoned
according to prophetic language means as many years ... let it be
reckoned as it may, say we, as a very long period of time.”
Two hundred years later, Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the
Whole Bible, came to the same conclusion (Vol VI, page 1157,
column 1, para. 2):
“ ... if the beginning of that interval could be ascertained, this
number of prophetic days, taking a day for a year, would give us
a prospect of when the end might be.”
So we can now understand the day=year, but the concept is so
important that it should be more fully explained. Daniel was raised
under the Levitical code and the Jews had a twelve-month calendar,
each of thirty days, for 360 day year. Consequently, it is correct to
use a 360-day year to interpret
69 Weeks 34
GRAPH NUMBER 4
69 Weeks 35
Old Testament prophecies like his.1 But since our records of ancient
history are all in Solar Years of 365.24 days, we do need to convert
those Hebrew 360 day=years to fit our historic record.2
The Apostle John, however, lived his whole life during the
Christian Era, under a Gentile Roman government, and his book is
primarily to the Gentile church. Consequently, it is proper to use the
Gentile (Roman) solar calendar of 365.24 days to interpret the
prophetic days in the book of Revelation.
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1 Footnote on pp 33-34 gives further details on the Jewish calender.
2 There is a generally accepted one to three year ambiguity in Babylonian empire dates.
The interpretations of Daniel’s prophecies proposed in this book fit within that window
and are in fact the conservative dates for those events. Conservative church scholars date
the 70 year Babylonian captivity from the beginning of the Jewish exile (606-605BC) to
their return to the Holy Land (536BC), while orthodox rabbinical scholars date the
Babylonian captivity from the destruction of the temple (586BC) to the building of the 2nd
Temple (516BC). Both were periods of 70 years. However, the starting times of Daniel’s
day=year and “time, times“ prophecies are tied to neither view of the captivity, but to the
accession years of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar as kings of Babylon (606BC and
552BC), and to the 3rd year that Cyrus reigned over that city (533BC).
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