I’m not going to post the videos from the third class. I hate them. I don’t think I presented the information very well, and I rambled too much. I’ll post my notes from it, and I’ll write a little bit out. You can leave a comment if you want something clarified or more information, etc. I’m happy to oblige.

Basically lesson three is a foundation for the Hebrew calendar and its feasts. If you remember anything remember this: The Feasts God commanded the Israelites to keep in Leviticus 23 were dress rehearsals they were to practice for generations to prepare for appointments God was going to keep. God set them up as dry runs for the real thing, basically. And because God keeps a seven thousand year calendar, and humans live but a mere dot of that time, they have been put in place so that each generation can know and participate in the appointments of God.

PART ONE:  The Spring Festivals

Building from the templates laid in the last lesson, we’re going to take a good look at the feasts in the Hebrew culture, given by God Himself.  Remember that the word for “feast” means “to keep an appointment” and that they are rehearsals.  Here are the seven feasts/festivals we’re going to look at:

14 Nisan – Pesach   {Passover}                                                                                                   (Mar/Apr)

15-21 Nisan – Hag HaMatzot   {Feast of Unleavened Bread}                                         (Mar/Apr)

16-17 Nisan – Yom HaBikkurim  {Feast of First Fruits)                                                       (Mar/Apr)

6 Sivan – Shavuot  {Pentecost or Feast of Weeks}                                                             (May/June)

1 Tishri – Rosh Hashanah  {Feast of Trumpets or New Year}                                         (Sept/Oct)

10 Tishri – Yom Kippur   {Day of Atonement}                                                                       (Sept/Oct)

15-21 Tishri – Sukkot   {Feast of Booths or Tabernacles}                                                 (Sept/Oct)

A good online resource for studying the feasts/festivals is the website by Alf and Julie Saunders, “Pray for Zion”, which can be found at http://www.pray4zion.org/index.html.

They have a number of charts and articles to help educate about Jewish matters.

Remember the two calendars:

Jewish Calendar Year^*                                                   Jewish Religious Year^**                                                                               

Tishri (Sept/Oct)                                                               Nisan (Mar/Apr)

Heshvan (Oct/Nov)                                                         Iyar (Apr/May)

Chislev (Nov/Dec)                                                           Sivan (May/June)

Tevet (Dec/Jan)                                                                   Tammuz (June/July)

Shevat (Jan/Feb)                                                             Av (July/Aug)

Adar (Feb/Mar)                                                                 Elul (Aug/Sept)

Nisan (Mar/Apr)                                                               Tishri (Sept/Oct)

Sivan (May/June)                                                            Heshvan (Oct/Nov)

Tammuz (June/July)                                                       Chislev (Nov/Dec)

Av (July/Aug)                                                                     Shevat (Jan/Feb)

Elul (Aug/Sept)                                                                 Adar (Feb/Mar)

^*Counting of years and chronology                          ^**counting of reigns of kings and kingship years in Israel

Nisan (also called the month of the Abib or Aviv) is their first month on their religious calendar, which is the calendar they keep for their “Holy Days” (holidays).  The first day of Nisan is considered their New Year’s Day.  It was instituted as such to Moses in Exodus 12:2:

Ex 12:2 NASU

This month shall be the beginning of months for you; it is to be the first month of the year to you.

God instituted the Passover in that same passage of Exodus 12.  It is to occur in 14 Nisan every year, [Exodus 12:6].  Known in its Hebrew as “Pesach”, “to pass over, to exempt or to spare”.   I’m assuming most of my readers are familiar with the Passover (from Exodus 12), and if not, will familiarize themselves with it.  It tells of God’s deliverance for Israel from the death angel and the tenth plague.

Immediately after the Passover is the Feast of Unleavened Bread 15-21 Nisan.  Originally the Israelites did not have time to let their bread rise as they had to leave Egypt at night, in a hurry, and made unleavened bread to eat.  For the Feast, the people were to remove all leaven (yeast) from their homes.  Yeast/leaven symbolized sin.    The unleavened bread was called “Matzah” (Matzo), and was pierced and striped by its preparation methods.  The first and last days of this feast (15 and 21 Nisan) are considered “high holy days” and are treated like Sabbaths where no work is done and the people rest.

During the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the third feast, the Feast of Firstfruits begins. This feast is a celebration of the spring barley harvest.  (See Leviticus 23:9-14)  It is set off with a wave offering by the priest “on the day after the Sabbath”, according to Leviticus 23:11.  Only after the priest makes the wave offering for the first fruits of the spring harvest can the crop be used (see vs. 14). 

Fifty days after the Feast of the First Fruits is the Feast of Pentecost, or Shavuot.  Pentecost occurs fifty days after the first fruits feast.   The Israelites were to count out seven weeks (Shavuot means week) and one day from the wave offering.  While the Feast of the Firstfuits represents the spring harvest, Pentecost represents the summer harvest (traditionally the wheat harvest) and is a larger harvest than the spring harvest.  New grain offerings are made at Pentecost.  This day is also considered a Sabbath.

These four feasts [Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, Pentecost/Shavuot] make up the spring feasts.  Keep in mind the feasts were “rehearsals” that the Israelites kept/practiced for generations, passed down from one family to another.  They were each symbolic of the coming Messiah.  The Passover Seder is full of symbolism of the coming Messiah. 

Christ fulfilled the spring feasts.  He partook of an early Passover Seder on 14 Nisan in the evening (a Wednesday night), in what we now call the Last Supper. 

It looks something like this:

14 Nisan Wed/Thurs:  the Lord’s Last Supper (early Seder)/Preparation Day (for Passover), Christ is flogged, sentenced and crucified, dying Thursday afternoon at the same time as the Passover Lamb.  He is placed in the tomb. This is the first night.

15 Nisan Thurs/Fri:  The first day of Unleavened Bread Feast, also a Sabbath.  Christ is in the tomb.  Passover has commenced. This is the first day and the second night.

16 Nisan Fri/Sat:  The weekly Sabbath begins (back to back Sabbaths).  Christ is in the tomb for the second day and third night.

17 Nisan Sat/Sun:  The “morrow of the Sabbath” marks the wave offering (waving of the omer), which begins the counting of the seven weeks and a day until Pentecost.  Christ is resurrected on this third day in the morning of the day, Sunday. 

So as you can see, Christ is the Passover Lamb, and the leaven/sins of the world were atoned for during the Feast of Unleavened Bread while He was in the tomb.  Christ is also the First Fruits offering to the Father, rising from the dead at the time of the wave offering for the Feast of the First Fruits.  He became the first fruit of the dead, the first that the grave could not hold, the first to conquer death and the grave.  And He produced first fruits at His resurrection,

Matt 27:52-54  NASU

The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;  and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.

Surely God was forthright when He told us to “remember the former things long past” (Is. 46:9).  Surely this was meant for us to gain understanding.  And when He says He “declare(s) the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done,” (vs. 10) could He be speaking of the ancient feasts and their future fulfillments?  Can He not easily declare, “My purpose will be established and I will accomplish all My good pleasure.”? (again vs. 10)

[There’s so much I have to leave out here for brevity, but I highly encourage you to delve into on your own!  Just the process of the calendars and how we’ve gotten them over the eons is a fascinating study that demonstrates the progression of how much the world has run its course apart from God.  The shortcomings and missing parts of days, months, years over time is indicative of how our current year isn’t aligned with Biblical time.  It’s worthwhile to pursue greater understanding.]

PART TWO:   The Fall Festivals

If the Spring Feasts were fulfilled by the first advent of the Messiah, then it’s not much of a logical stretch to predict the Fall Feasts will bring His second advent.  Let’s take a brief look at the remaining three feasts.

Remember that in the Jewish religious calendar, Tishri is the seventh month, but in the civil calendar it is the first month. 

The first fall feast/festival is the Feast of Trumpets, known as Rosh Hashanah, on 1 Tishri.  Rosh Hashanah means “head of the year” – hence first day of the other keeping of days.  It’s considered another New Year’s Day.  Rosh Hashanah is a holy day that is celebrated with trumpet blasts.  The Israelites celebrated the New Year with feasting and celebration.

The ten days that follow Rosh Hashanah are called the “days of awe”.  For ten days the Israelites were to repent, seek and give forgiveness and restitution.   Then on the tenth of Tishri comes the supreme Holy Day:  the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur.  The high priest enters the Holy of Holies to offer a complex set of sacrifices, which you can read about in Leviticus 23:27-32.  They take a goat outside the city walls to die/atone for the sins of the people.  The High Priest invokes the Aaronic blessing on the people, which is the only time in the year in which the holy name of YHWH (YHVH) is spoken.  The day is spent in the synagogue repenting, asking forgiveness and petitioning for another year to be written for one’s self in the Book of Life.

Five days later, 15 Tishri, is the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Booths, or Sukkoth.  It entails a seven day festival of rejoicing where the Israelites dwell in three-sided booths or tents.  The Feast of Tabernacles is considered a harvest feast, and in some ways, a celebration or party.  The appointment being kept in this, is that God will once again live with His people.   The people build tabernacles as symbols of this, and they rejoice that God has promised to live with His people once more.  This feast celebrates the provisions of God, and is full of thanksgiving and even offerings for the poor.

While the Spring Festivals were fulfilled with Christ’s first advent, the Fall Festivals will be fulfilled with Christ’s second advent, at His return.

This is the overview of the timeline, how the days of creation lay the template for humanity on earth. I feel like I wasn’t very clear that the things that happened in each thousand year span on the earth weren’t in an actual creation day. Creation was both an actual event consisting of seven 24-hour days, and also a template foreshadowing how life on earth was going to play out. So try not to let me confuse you. (I’m putting it in book form and thankfully I write better than I speak; it should be clearer.)

Simply put: there have roughly been six thousand years of humanity (as we know it) on the earth. Each thousand year segment is representative of a single day of creation. Creation is a 24-hour day. It was a model or template of the eras to come.

Here’s the link to part one of lesson two: https://vimeo.com/359650456/222751525c

Here’s the link to part two of lesson two: https://vimeo.com/359653406/ce162754b7

Here’s the link to the conclusion of lesson two: https://vimeo.com/359656061/20d32cf2da

And here are the notes in written form…

I can only upload two videos a week, so my goal is to post two lessons a week.

This is a preparation lesson. It has a little bit of an overview of the class/timeline, but a lot of introduction and laying groundwork for receiving revelation.

The video of the class is in three parts. Just know this: 1.) I hate seeing myself, so I loathe that this is out on the internet but I couldn’t figure out how else to get the class out in a more timely manner. 2.) I’m a writer before I’m a speaker, so I realize I have redundant phrases and talk with my hands. In mercy, please don’t critique me on presentation, but you’re welcome to comment/critique on content.

Part one is here, and here is a breakdown of the time markers for your reference:

Start at :51 — INTRO
5:19 – overview intro
7:47 – 7:53 – prayer
8:28 – Acts 17:30-31, the cost of ignorance
14:52 – 1 Cor. 3:1-4, flesh prevents maturity
17:41 – Hebrews 5:11 – 6:3, Maturity/Growth required
20:51 – Eph. 4:11-15, maturity vs. immaturity (traits)
22:15 – Acts 17:30-31, Repentance
25:45 – Obstacles to receiving new revelation

Part two is here, and here is a breakdown of the time markers for your reference:

[Con’t Obstacles to receiving revelation]
0 – false teachings/doctrines
4:18 – religious spirit & pride
6:15 – Mark 9:30-32, religious spirit blocks comprehension
**10:44** don’t miss this!
12:25 – Mark 8:9-13 – entertaining the religious spirit causes Christ to leave without ministering
15:38 – examples of religious spirit
16:31 – Rom. 12:2, 2 Cor. 4:16-17, Eph. 4:22-24, Col 3: 1-4, unrenewed mind
19:25 – REPENT (remove obstacles to revelation)
19:16 – change your mind, think differently
19:45 – Acts 17:30-31 an appointed day
20:52 – Matt. 24:37-44, Days of Noah
24:35 – Mark 13:33-37, Be on the Alert
27:40 – Luke 21:34-36

Part three, (small conclusion) is here, with its time markers:

0 – Luke 21:34-36, be guarded/beware of being weighted down
1:43 – Acts 17:30-31 recap, overview of timeline
4:30 – challenge to gain perspective, personal testimony
12:08 – concluding prayer

And for those who like written notes, here are my notes from teaching the lesson.

I am ridiculously slow at all of this technical stuff — totally not my forte. So I will be posting all the lessons along with the videos asap. Also, I will have the timeline in a spreadsheet document very soon, and I have a cool story about how that happened from a total stranger 🙂 Thanks for your patience over these five years of getting this together.

This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.

Luke 2:12 NASU

The political climate at the birth of Christ was more volatile than we know it today in America. If someone wanted to make an accurate movie about the times Christ was born in, it would be a fascinating movie full of war, espionage, national and personal struggle. Rome was the terrible beast of Daniel’s vision, and had devoured most of Europe into the Middle East. The Jews left in Judea were under the rule of Roman governors whose primary aim was to keep the captive nations in relative peaceful submission.

Just before Christ’s birth were the days of Julius Caesar. The Roman Empire was being ruled by a triumvirate of Caesar, Pompey and Crassus, until Julius Caesar’s adopted son/nephew Caesar Augustus became the emperor of Rome in 27 B.C. Julius Caesar, Pompey and Crassus had been busy extending the Roman Empire and conquering more kingdoms, nations and lands, so that by the time Julius Caesar was killed and Caesar Augustus inherited the rule, the Roman Empire was a prolific world power. Their subjugated territories generally loathed their very oppressive rule, and the land of Judea was no exception.

What’s suspiciously missing in most accounts of this world history is the equally powerful Parthian Kingdom. In fact, from (about) 64 B.C. to 225 A.D., Parthia and Rome were considered co-equal world powers. (Think world superpowers akin to USSR/USA.) This matters to the Christmas story, and it matters in history. It’s important we grasp the dynamics of this to some extent, but it’s hard to find an accurate expounding of it.

Rome’s aggressive kingdom’s eastern boundary vacillated along the Euphrates River, with Armenia being a hot spot of contention for dominion. I’m going to expound on this a little because it’s quite important. The Scythian Kingdom was north of the Parthian Kingdom, above the Black and Caspian Seas. Parthia was akin to the ancient Persia Empire in geography, and in its early days was in the Persian Empire. Rome had moved across Europe and northern Africa and had taken dominion through the Middle East up to about the Euphrates River, and was constantly trying to subjugate Armenia.

Because Rome was the terrible beast of Daniel’s vision, you have to envision a formidable adversarial empire bent on conquest. They had brutally overthrown Carthage in the famous Punic Wars and expanded across north Africa, through Egypt and into the Middle East. They were still trying to expand east beyond Judea into what was Parthian territory.

Israel had fallen to Assyria in stages, with their capital Samaria falling in 721 B.C. This is really important and most of what I’ve observed in western Christianity doesn’t get this right. Israel and Judah were two different countries since the days of King Rehoboam, Solomon’s son. They never merged again, and the northern kingdom of Israel was ten tribes, while the southern kingdom of Judah was two. Israel fell to Assyria in 721 B.C., and while the Assyrian king took Israelites into captivity, it was in no way the entire nation of Israelites.

In fact, there were waves of captivity along with waves of mass emigration. In 745 B.C. Israelites were carried into captivity, and then five years later Tiglath-pileser, the Assyrian King, invaded Israel and took captive three and a half tribes: Naphtali, Reuben, Gad and the ½ tribe of Manasseh. [See 2 Kings 15:29; 1 Chron 5:26] At this time scores of Israelites could see the writing on the wall and fled Israel over the next decade. Spain, Iberia and the Black Sea region were territories the Israelites resettled. The Israelites who migrated to the Black Sea region were known as Scythians. This is such a big deal, so big that I want to sidebar on it…

The Scythians derive their name from “Sacae” or “Saka”, which in Hebrew terms refers to the ancestor Isaac. [Hebrew drops the vowels, and variances are run accordingly. For example: iSaaC becomes variances of S-C with any combination of vowels inserted. Hence, the SaCae named themselves according to their ancestor patriarch Isaac. The Persians called the Scythian tribes the “Sacae”. The Encyclopedia Britannica called the Saka and Scyths “synonymous”.] This is equally a big deal when you realize that Latin writers (think Rome again) use “x” for “c”. So Rome referred to the Scythians as “Saxoi” or “Saxones”, from where we get “Anglo-Saxon”. The reason this is such a big deal is part of the scattered Israelite tribes can be traced quite easily to the Scythians/Saxons.

More sidebar: When Paul wrote in Colossians 3:11, “Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free, but Christ is all, and in all.” He is writing contrasts, opposites. And he places Scythians opposite of Barbarians. “Barbarian” literally means foreigner or alien, which clearly implies Scythians were NOT foreigners. They were in fact, fellow Israelites.

We discover that roughly 27,000 Israelites were taken captive when Samaria fell in 721 B.C. [2 Kings 17:6] One-third of Israel were taken captive thirteen years earlier in 734 B.C. That roughly leaves about two-thirds of the Israelites as migrants, or refugees to other lands.

End sidebar.

The reason this migration of Israelites is so important is because we need to realize they didn’t die and they weren’t in Judea; they simply moved and renamed themselves. Scythia and Parthia were neighbors sharing a north/south border.   The Jews in Judea in the days of Christ’s birth in Bethlehem were Jews of the tribe of Judah.

Parthia was established in 521 B.C., about 200 years after the fall of Israel and Samaria. It was a 500 year kingdom under ONE dynasty: Arsacid. They were known to be of common origin with the Scythians and were subjects to King Darius under Medo-Persia until they revolted and placed themselves under Scythian protection for a period of time.

I need you to connect the dots to really gain understanding here. If they were common origin with the Scythians, they were most likely in part or whole Israelites. The indicators of this are many. Arsaces was the first king of Parthia, and from where they get the Arsacid dynasty name. The Parthians used an Aramaic title for king, known as MLKYN, which literally means “king of kings”. It is derived from the Hebrew word for king used 2500 times in the Bible: MLK.

Parthia was ruled by what was called a “Council of Parthians” which consisted of two primary groups: Kinsmen and Wise Men. The Kinsmen were the royal house of the royal Arsacid male bloodline, while the Wise Men consisted of the Senate (secular leaders) and the Magi (priests). The Wise Men and Magi were known jointly as Megistanes.

Kings were elected by a concurrent vote of the two houses. The Parthian empire was based on a feudal system that foreshadowed medieval Europe’s feudal system. Parthian rulers were well-educated and multi-lingual. The Magi (priests) numbered upwards of 80,000 and were considered a hierarchy of priests descended from ancient times.

I’m going to skip a lot of history here and nutshell that Parthia was under Greek’s rule during the days of Alexander the Great, but revolted and declared their independence in 256 B.C. Parthia actually won their independence in 237 B.C. and shortly thereafter eastern Scythians merged into Parthia.

There were a series of famous Parthian kings from the line of Phraates and a long line of battles for territory and sovereignty over the next several decades, which eventually culminated in a series of battles with Rome. I’m going to go over some of the history of this because it is so very important, and try to stay with me, even if it seems irrelevant. As I continue, keep in mind that one of the primary roles of the Wise Men and Magi is the anointing, placement and deposing of the kings.

The Parthians suffered loss by the Seleucids in 129 B.C., which is the time of the Maccabees. This is significant because the Maccabees gained independence in Judea for a short-lived time here.

A curious thing happened in 62 B.C. when Pompey made a promise to Parthia for territories in exchange for support in their war against Armenia. After the war, Pompey reneged his promise to Parthia and Rome grievously insulted Parthia by not calling the Parthian King Phraates III by his title, “king of kings”. From that point on, Rome and Parthia were adversaries and the Euphrates River became the recognized border between their empires. Note that this is about sixty years before Christ’s birth.

Crassus attacked Parthia in 53 B.C. and Rome suffered severe losses. Parthia retaliated three years later by attacking Rome’s eastern provinces. A series of battles form 40-37 B.C. caused Parthia to capture Judea and push Rome out of Asia Minor. Phraates IV captured 35,000 Roman soldiers. The Jews asserted their independence from Rome in this time and placed a Jewish prince, Antigomus, to rule Palestine as a Parthian satrap. (They would have been under Parthian rule at this time.) Note how close we are to Christ’s entrance.

In 37 B.C. Rome counterattacked and regained their territories. Mark Antony had the Jewish Vassal King Antigomus beheaded and King Herod replaced him. Now the dots should be connected. It was in this year, 37 B.C., that Mark Antony (yes, famous with Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt) invaded Parthia with 16 legion and 113,000 man army to try to recover the seven legions of soldiers captured under Crassus. Parthia dominated this battle. Rome lost 10,000 men and retreated in winter through Armenia. Rome recaptured the land west of the Euphrates at this time, and a sort of treaty was reached agreeing to a co-existence on their respective sides of the Euphrates. Rome had yet to win a significant battle against Parthia and Caesar ordered peace with Parthia at all costs.

I’m not going to join the ranks to declare exactly when Christ was born, as there seems to be credible evidence for a few different dates. However, we do know Herod the Great was the Roman King at the time of Christ’s birth. Now see what happens…

Matt 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

Remember that Wise Men was the proper title of Parthian Megistanes. The Greek word translated “wise men” is “magian”, which literally means “Persian astronomer or priest”. Parthia governed Persia at the time, so the wise men were Parthian nobles &/or priests.

Parthian Megistanes did not travel lightly. They would have traveled with an entourage of servants, family, animal handlers, etc. under a military company of troops. Because they were traveling with so much wealth, they would have had an impressive infantry around them. Josephus and other historians record such caravans into the tens of thousands. At the very least it would have been a company of a couple thousand, but more likely 20,000 or more.

Matt 2:2 Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

The Parthians were Scythians (who were part of the scattered tribes of Israelites). Therefore the Parthians were Israelites. The Magi were the priests of Parthia (who were of a hierarchy of priests who descended from ancient times). The Magi were none other than the Levitical priests! The Magi were responsible for keeping the line of the kings of Israel. The Magi (Persian priest) were responsible for following the kingly bloodline. While their first inclination would be the kingly bloodline in Parthia (the Arsacid dynasty), they would equally be familiar and aware of the bloodline of Judah, as David’s royal bloodline is heir to the throne over all Israel, and is the bloodline the Messiah was prophesied to come.

The bloodline of Judah resided in Judea, while the scattered tribes of Israel were in various places. Ample research indicates the Scythians/Parthians were predominantly of the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim*, of whom the priestly tribe of the Levites would be interspersed within. Their ancient knowledge and traditions would 1) know the prophecies and 2) would know the timing of Daniel’s prophecy and 3) would know how to watch and interpret the signs.

It was no small feat for the multi-thousand ensemble of priests, royalty, military and servants to pack up and travel to Judea! What would make foreigners even care about someone born in another country?? They wouldn’t! Unless it mattered to them personally! And of course the Israelites would care a great deal about fulfilled prophecy and the “King of the Jews”. They would risk national security to acknowledge the birth of the long-awaited “King”. They would bring gifts of frankincense (anointing oil), gold (royal treasuries), and myrrh (embalming oil, prophetic) because it would be entirely appropriate and fitting for the Megistanes to anoint and acknowledge the birth of the King.

Matt 2:3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Jerusalem is a trading city that would receive caravans regularly. Three travelers would not have caused the alarm of the entire city. But a massive military escort from their enemies under a peace treaty entering their territory inquiring of a King would greatly alarm both Herod and the city. Recall their peace treaty that neither empire would cross the Euphrates River, and now a military escort in the tens of thousands had entered town. Thirty years ago the Parthians had crossed the Euphrates and taken back Judea. To squash the revolution Mark Antony had the Jewish vassal king beheaded. This would have been in the forefront of Herod and Jerusalem’s thinking. Surely they were trembling at the fear of war!

The Parthian Megistanes had an immediate audience with King Herod and an inquiry was made. Herod feigned compliance, but it was probably more because he didn’t have the troops to defend should the Parthians have an aggressive intent. [He would have less troops because they were under a peace treaty.]

Herod conferred with Jewish hierarchy about their prophecies to ascertain Bethlehem from Micah 5:2. (Why would Persian priests care about Israeli prophecies??) The Jews and wise men would have been familiar with Daniel’s prophecy (9:25-26) and known the timing was upon them for the Messiah…

So this Christmas season marvel at the pinnacle of history in the birth of Christ! It is a story unparalleled in all of time! The Scriptures should come alive as we envision the Parthian Magi traveling with their tens of thousands to worship the newborn king! Marvel at the revelation of His Name, (which we now understand is the title of the Parthian kings):

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.   From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Revelation 19:11-16 (NASU)

 

*For a way better explanation and to increase your knowledge, consider reading Steven Collins’ thoroughly researched book Parthia, or especially his whole book series on the Lost Tribes of Israel. You can find them here: http://www.stevenmcollins.com/

 

 

Regarding the “tribulation of the saints”…  First of all, burden of proof usually goes with the statement.  Where does a seven year tribulation come from?  What scripture is it based on and what understanding of that scripture?

There is no passage of scripture that speaks of a “seven year tribulation”, just like there is no passage in Revelation about an “antichrist”.  If this be true, which when I search the Scripture I find it true, then a seven year tribulation is a (false?) teaching derived from interpretation of a passage(s).  When I ask people what they base it on, I get a couple different answers, so if you’ll tell me what you’re basing a seven year tribulation on, I can answer it better that way and more specifically.

For now, here are some of my notes and my understanding of timelines and the tribulation.

First, when days and timing sequences are given in prophecy, we have to learn to ask who said it, to whom, and about what.  From that we’re able to discern how to interpret it correctly.  For example, the prophecies of Daniel are given by the prophet Daniel, at the time of Judah’s exile, to the Jewish people, about Jerusalem and the Jewish people.  From that we have guidelines for interpretation that look something like this:

• The prophecies of Daniel concern the Jews. Why?  Because Daniel was a Jew living in exile, prophesying to the Jews.  This implies Daniel’s prophecy does not necessarily concern the whole world, in fact, probably does not concern the whole world.
  • This implies it deals directly with the people group of the Jews, which is the tribe of Judah, and the land of Jerusalem and perhaps the land around Jerusalem.
• This also means the terms for days and years must be converted to a lunar calendar. If it happened in the Old Testament when the Israelites kept a lunar calendar, then the timetable has to be converted to a lunar calendar, as this is the language of the Jews in the day of this prophecy.
  • This further implies that prophecies given in the New Testament (e.g. Revelation) are based on a solar calendar, because at that time, that is the calendar those (e.g. John) giving the prophecy were living in. This also means that New Testament prophecies are written to the Church of Christ, His disciples and followers, (not necessarily the Jews, and probably not the Jews).
• Please note: the book of Hosea is largely prophetic.  But Hosea was an Israelite, living in exile and prophesying to the Israelites.  So Hosea’s prophecies have to be understood for the ten tribes of Israel that are not Judah/Jews.  Please recall that the Hebrew/Israel nation was split from the days of King Rehoboam and everything from that day on is separated:  some things to Israel (the northern kingdom), and some things to Judah (the southern kingdom).  While their plights may be similar, they are not the same.

With these basic guidelines in place, let’s look at a prominent prophecy of Daniel’s, the seventy weeks of chapter nine.  We’ll highlight Daniel 9:24-27 from the KJV.

24 Seventy weeks 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.

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: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

So in this prophecy given through the words of the angel messenger, Gabriel, Daniel is given a timetable of sorts with three breakdowns:  Seven Weeks, Sixty-Two Weeks and One Week.  [This One Week is where one of the “seven year tribulation” theories comes from.]

*Remember this:  this prophecy was given to the Jews (“thy people”) about Jerusalem (“thy holy city”).  Don’t forget this point!

There were six things Gabriel told Daniel were supposed to be accomplished in the 69 sevens (see verse 24):

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. “anoint the most holy”

The next thing we’re given is the markers for the timetable.  (see verses 25-26)  The count is to start from “the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem”.  According to Scripture, the decree to restore Jerusalem was given by Artaxerxes I to Nehemiah, and the years would have been 444-445 B.C.

To get the years and math correct, we have to convert to the lunar calendar, which means a lunar year is .9857 of a solar year.  (lunar year is 360 days, solar year is 365.24 days, with a  difference of .9857)

Gabriel said there would be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks, for a total of 69 weeks. (7 plus 62)  He made a separation of these weeks instead of just saying 69 weeks, so we’ll have to see what that means in a minute.  In the meantime, the math looks like this:  483 x .9857 = 476 (solar years).  If we break down the 7 weeks + 62 weeks, it breaks down to 48.3 years (for the seven weeks) and 427.7 years for the 62 weeks.

The math shows like this:

444 B.C. plus 476 (solar) years = 32 A.D.  the Cross of Christ

444 B.C. plus 48.3 years = 395.7 B.C.  the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, was written in 396 B.C.

Now we have the first 69 weeks of Daniel’s prophecy accounted for, with the fulfillment of the prophecy happening through the sealing up of vision in prophecy after the first seven weeks with Malachi’s prophecy, and then the fulfillment of the other five points through the Cross of Christ.  We did this by applying the principle of a day equals a year.

The principle of using a day for a year is prevalent in Hebrew customs.  I won’t get into it here, but you can see it in Numbers 14:34, Ezekiel 4:5-6, Psalm 90:4, and 1 Peter 3:8.  Notable theologians have taught this for centuries (just not this modern century), such as Thieleman van Braght (1569) and the famous Matthew Henry.

Which brings us back to:

26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

Timeline is now 32 A.D. (by the math shown above).  At this time Messiah is indeed cut off when He is crucified.  Then “the people of the prince that shall come” refers us back to Daniel 7’s vision of the four beasts, and this refers to the fourth beast:  the dreadful and terrible beast.  Students of prophecy will know this is the Roman kingdom.  Indeed the Roman kingdom will “destroy the city and the sanctuary” (70 A.D.).

“The end thereof shall be with a flood” refers to a flood of people in the holy city that are not Jews or Israelites (historically accurate) and see Revelation 17:15.  Foreigners in Jerusalem is this reference.  The reference of wars and desolations (for Jerusalem) is accurate as well.

Which leads us to:

27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

This is where it gets a little tricky because there’s a word change that happens that doesn’t translate into the English correctly.  The Hebrew word for seven used for the 69 weeks is “shavuim”, while the word here in verse 27 for the seven (one week) is “shavua”.  Because they are different words, they should not be interpreted to mean the same thing.

[I didn’t figure this out, by the way.  I learned it from a very, very old man who has since passed away but taught it to me and countless others, Ellis Skolfield.]

Daniel was raised under the Levitical Code through the law of Moses, that depicts a numerical progression like this: one seven, multiple sevens, and then a unique seven called shavua, which is a Jubilee (shavua) year of 360 Sabbaths.  Ellis shows it like this:

THE LEVITICAL CODE

1^st:  One Seven (a shavua) of years

2^nd:  Seven sevens (shavua) of years

3^rd:  One unique Jubilee (shavua) year with 360 Sabbaths

DANIELS 70 WEEKS

1^st:  seven sevens of years, 7 Shavuim

2^nd:  62 more sevens of years, 62 Shavuim

3^rd:  one unique Shavua with 360 Sabbaths

 

I can already hear the critics!  It shouldn’t be this hard!  Except that the angel told Daniel in 12:9, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.”  The understanding of these prophecies has been sealed until the “time of the end”.  Which means at the time of the end, the understanding is unsealed.

The book of Daniel is written in Hebrew and Aramaic, and as I understand it even has some Chaldean phrases interjected.  Daniel’s “chapters” are out of chronological order.  Chronologically, chapter five was written between chapters eight and nine, and chapter six was written between chapters nine and ten.  Why?  Because it was written as a chiasm.  Its themes repeat and retell the same thing in different ways.

Daniel’s prophecy was written to the Jews about the Jews and Jerusalem.  It was written in the language and understanding of the Jews.  These concepts (chiastic structure and varying a word – shavua and shavuim) would not be complex to a Jew.  We just have to learn their language to understand it.  Ellis expounds this concept by teaching understanding from the writer’s point of view, not the reader’s!  (especially, I might add, something over 2500 years old)

So if we take the 360 Sabbaths of the shavua of Daniel 9:27 and multiply it by seven, we get 2520 prophetic years, which recalculates to 2484 solar years (2520 x .9857).  Now when we do the math for the “one week” of Daniel 9:27, we get the year 1948.  (536 B.C. + 2484 solar years)  Does it make sense now??  (Remember the prophecy was for the Jews about Jerusalem!)

So all of the things spoken of in Daniel 7:27 during the One Week are completed in 1948.  What happened in 1948?  The Jews returned to Israel.  Remember this prophecy is about the Jews and for the Jews!

Let’s look at the passage again:

27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

I’m going to quote Ellis’s interjections here to help break it down:

27 And he (a satanic prince) shall confirm the covenant with many (Jewish people) for one week:  (2520 prophetic, i.e. 2484 solar years) and in the midst of the week (the Jubilee week) he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, (by making the temple mount spiritually desolate) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

To really help us understand what’s being spoken of here, look at the word abomination and desolation.  Abomination is “shiqqots” in Hebrew and desolation is “shamen” in Hebrew.  These are the same words spoken in Daniel 12:11 as the “abomination of desolation”.  What is the chance these are the same things being talked about?

Now consider that “in the midst of the week” means in the middle of this time span.  What would be the middle by our math calculations?  706 A.D. would be the year after the Dome of the Rock was built.  (Remember this for later.)  The prophecy says the temple mount will become spiritually desolate and full of abomination at the time of the middle of the One Week – 706 A.D.

Remember that this prophecy is to the Jews and about Jerusalem?  Doesn’t 1948 historically represent Jerusalem??

Pause…  Let’s visit Daniel 12 for a minute.  Daniel 12 actually starts at 10:1 with:  “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.”

So we know that this vision was given in 533 B.C. because Daniel told us when he got it.  We also know that this revelation was true, but its fulfillment would be quite awhile, i.e.  “the thing was true, but the time appointed was long”.

The revelation ends with this key:

6 And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?

7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and swore by him that lives for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.

8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?

9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.

10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

11 And 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.

12 Blessed is he that waits, and comes to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.

13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shall rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

Let’s take the 1290 days of Daniel 12:11 and apply the same principles we did to Daniel 7.  To do that, we have to determine the year the sacrifices were abolished.  I’ll let you do your own research on that, but for simplicity now I’ll tell you that although Nebuchadnezzer destroyed the temple in 586 B.C., we know from Jeremiah (41:5) the Jews were still offering sacrifices after the temple was burned.  At the end of Jeremiah we read that the remaining Jews were carried away, and that would indicate the time the sacrifices ceased, which would be 583 B.C.

So if we do the math now, we’ll take 1290 lunar days and convert them to solar to get 1271.5 solar days, and then we’ll apply the days for years like this:  583 B.C. + 1271.5 days/years = 688 A.D.

Therefore, if we’ve done our math correctly and applied prophecy appropriately (to the Jews about Jerusalem), the abomination that causes desolation should have been set up in 688 A.D.  The short answer is that is when the Dome of the Rock was built in Jerusalem, on the Temple site.

[Abd el Malik ibn Marwan, Moselm Kalifah, built a memorial to Muhammad called the Dome of the Rock from 685-705 A.D.  You can look it up and get any number of dates in those years, but 688 is right in the  middle of that span and some sources cite it as the year it was started.]

So now we have the abomination of desolation prophesied and fulfilled with the Dome of the Rock in 688 B.C.  It’s spoken of in Daniel 7:27 in the middle of the “week”, and again in Daniel 12:11.  But to be sure, we can follow the next verse to its completion by doing the same math and applying the same principles.

12 Blessed is he that waits, and comes to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.

Before we get there, let’s remember Christ’s words in Matthew 24:15-22 (NASU):

15 “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.  17 “Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house.  18 ” Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak.  19 “But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!  20 “But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.  21 “For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.  22 “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 

If we understand Daniel’s “abomination of desolation” correctly, it’s the construction of the Dome of the Rock on the temple site in Jerusalem.  Now don’t Christ’s words make more sense???  When the Jews and Christians see the Dome of the Rock being built, they need to flee!! Why?  Because a Moslem conquest was coming!  Christ is warning them to get out of town!  Flee for your very lives because war and desolations are coming!  Look at the history.  That is exactly what happened!  The Moslem caliphates began their conquest through the Middle East and marched right up to and through Europe.

Now go back to Daniel for a minute, and the “blessed is he who comes to the 1335^th day”…

1335-1290 = 45 days

45 x .9857 = 44.3565

688 A.D. + 44.3565 = 732 A.D.

If we’ve applied everything correctly, something significant must have happened in 732 A.D.  Google “what happened in 732 A.D.?”  and you will get pages about the Battle of the Tours.  This is the Battle that ended the Moslem conquest across Europe.  Had this not been victorious by the infidels (France and the non-muslim people), Islam would have overcome Europe and so would have gone the world.

Now revisit Christ’s words with this history and perspective and see if they don’t make more sense.  When you see the Dome of the Rock being built, flee!!  Flee for your lives because war is on its heels!  Pray you aren’t pregnant or nursing!  Pray it’s not winter!  Pray it’s not on a Sabbath!  Flee!  And here’s where you have the “great tribulation” spoken of by none other than our Lord and Savior.  THIS tribulation, this war of Moslems against infidels will surpass all other historical tribulations and there will be none other like it.  (verse 21)  And then catch verse 22, “Unless those days had been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”  Not the hours in the day, but the number of days.  Otherwise the believers would have been slaughtered and the (still future) elect would not have been born.

Now look at that again beside Daniel 12:12:  “Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.”

There is not a seven year tribulation.  The great tribulation of Christ’s own prophecy has come and gone, and it was the horrific Islamic conquest of the Middle East into Europe.  Yes, there are plenty of tribulations for God’s people since then and will continue until Christ’s return, but there is not an accelerated seven year tribulation with an antichrist yet to come.  That is a false teaching.

 

 

October 13, 2013 I woke up after having two vivid dreams.  I’ll post the dreams elsewhere, but after prayer and interpretation I understood the Lord to tell me to teach.  After a process of figuring out who, what, when and where to teach, I began classes to a handful of volunteers who graciously sat through nineteen classes over five months time, from March 2014-August 2014.
These classes centered around a timeline of sorts I had made a few years earlier when teaching high school youth, and that has evolved over the years to include more detail.  A video producer taped the sessions and is in the midst of editing them for publishing, probably via YouTube.  This website was given to me to try to get some of the thoughts and teachings online in written form.
We’ll post the timeline in a pdf format when we get it done.  Right now it’s on a four by twelve foot banner and handwritten.  I’ll get the hand-out notes posted as I figure the technology out.