Image by Hallmark Cards.

THE GAP BETWEEN THE FIRST 69 WEEKS AND THE 70th WEEK. THE FIRST AND SECOND COMINGS OF MESSIAH

Art used by permission of Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992. Visit her 'Revelation Illustrated' website.

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1. Introduction
2. Sir Robert Anderson
3. Nehemiah and the Edict of Artaxerxes
4. Biblical Time
5. Lunar Cycles and the Hebrew Calendar
6. 'Until Messiah the Prince' = 173,880 Days
7. The Gap between the 69th and the 70th Week.
8. Lunar Cycles measure out the 69 Weeks
9. A Future 70th Week
10. A Word of Exhortation
11. 32 A.D. was the Year of the Cross
12. Chart of the 70th Week
13. Metatonic Cycles and the 70th Week

The prophecy concerning the first 69 of the Seventy Weeks of Daniel was an electrifying Word from God. At the terminus of the 69 weeks a momentous day would dawn. It would present a public spectacle of enormous import. The day would bring nothing less than the coming of the Messiah into His holy city.

In His first prophesied entry into Jerusalem just how would He come? Would He enter in vengeance as the Deliverer, the Conquering King, riding upon a white horse with a sword to smite the nations? No. Not this time. Those other prophecies (- Isa.63:1-6, Rev.19:11-21 etc.) would have to wait for His later coming, - the second coming. In His first coming Jesus would make a more humble entrance. In all of His three and a half year ministry He would only present Himself as Messiah on just one special day. That day was Palm Sunday. On this day Jesus made His only Messianic and therefore political entry into Jerusalem. He had taught and ministered with us for three and a half years. But this day, this special moment in time, was the only time He was seen in His role as Messiah. On that auspicious day He entered Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, crossed the Kidron Valley, came through the Eastern Gate and passed on into the Holy City. It was a joyful parade. Those who loved Him were there and greeted Him with shouts of joy. Palm branches were thrown before Him in the manner of a king returning to his city in triumph. Alas this moment was short lived. The religious leaders were furious. In spite of it being Passover week they immediately plotted to kill Him. Four days later, just as Daniel's prophecy had stated, He was "cut off" or put to death.

Why is there a "gap" in the Seventy Weeks of Daniel? Why 69 weeks, ....a gap, and then the resumption of the 70 weeks with the final 70th week some 2,000+ years later? As it turns out the terminus of the 69 weeks would mark the day in which Messiah presented Himself to His covenant people and the world for the first of two comings. On this first occasion He would come as the Suffering Servant. A 'gap' period of two millennia would then pass by. During this time the message of the Gospel would go out to the nations. At the close of the age a final 70th week would usher in the climactic final seven years of this present age. The terminus of that 70th week would mark the Day of the Lord and herald the Second Coming of Messiah.

Why should our Messiah come twice? Why two comings, the first as a priestly suffering servant, lowly and riding on a donkey, and later as a deliverer and conquering King riding upon a white horse?
The rabbis as they read the scriptures in the old testament had pondered over this. They had even come to the point of speculating that there might be two messiahs, one a messiah of mercy and grace named "Mashiach ben Joseph" and another, a messiah of righteous rule of law, a deliverer which they named "Mashiach ben David".

This is all very interesting. Joseph was a key patriach of the 12 sons of Jacob. He was a suffering servant who faced death at the hands of his brothers. He went into exile in Egypt and re-emerged to minister the 'bread of life', bringing salvation to the world during a 7 year famine.

David was the royal family of the Jewish house of Judah. He carried the promised Seed of Abraham who would become the long expected King of Kings in a coming glorious Millennium of Messiah. -Isa.11:1-6, Isa.60, Hos.6:2

So why this split role for the coming Messiah? Here is a possible explanation. Our God is a God of "grace" and also a God of "righteous rule". As Christians we major on the grace ministry of Jesus. But we are loathe to embrace the "righteous rule" aspect which appears to be the burden of our Jewish brethren.. We tend to lump this in the category of "Mosaic law" which we have quite rightly considered as no longer binding to those who are becoming dead to the flesh and now increasingly being led by the Spirit. Nevertheless we are told that the New Covenant would still involve law. However that law would not be a system of legalism written down on clay tablets or lawbooks to be policed externally by self or others. Rather, the law in the New Covenant order would be written down in our hearts. We become one with the rule of Christ not by compulsion but in the bonds of love. This marvellous work comes by the inner working of God's divine grace, a grace that comes in by faith.

Jeremiah 31
31. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

32. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day [that] I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:

33. But this [shall be] the covenant that I will make with
the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD,
I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

This matter of the law being the inner righteous rule of Christ that comes by love is a stumbling block for many Christians. Our minds have been Hellenised and we handle abstract spiritual realities like we handle "things", that is in terms of Greek logic. We say "if A then not B" and "if B then not A". We pigeon hole theological concepts as we do for mathematics and geometry. But this does not work well for spiritual realities. Oftentimes they are actually interconnected complementary truths and not totally independent as we think they are. Then we proceed to do violence to God's precepts by jamming them into locktight abstract ideological categories in our minds. This is the case for "law and grace". In our thinking we are inclined to think of them as being mutually exclusive. To us they are "either-or" instead of "both-and". For evangelicals especially, grace is "in" and law is "out". Unfortunately this false dichotomy of "law and grace" is leading to a deadly spiritual poison called antinomianism. In divorcing God's law/righteous rule from the precincts of God's grace we end up twisting grace into something that it is not; i.e. a license to sin. This is a modern form of the "indulgences" that were sold in the church 500 years ago. And if the western church today is asleep like Sleeping Beauty, then this antinomian hostility to God's Law, even our selfist hostility to His peaceful rule in our hearts, is the religious poison which has been injected into the apple. And as the church sleeps on in a toxic swoon pieces of that poisoned apple still lie within her mouth. And so the Church sleeps.

But the Old Testament is more than jus a book of Mosaic legalism. All throughout the Old Testament God was calling Israel back to Him at a heart level. The covenant was always a personal matter even in the moral code of the ten commandments. The saints have always obeyed God because they Love Him. Salvation has always come by Grace through faith. No-one, old testament saint or New Testament saint has ever been saved by the law. No one! And for us in the church/eklesia today we also should realise that after we are born again and have invited Jesus into our hearts to rule that He is still drawing us into that love relationship. His righteous rule in our hearts will flow out of that heart devotion. This is not a grievous or legalistic thing. In our walk of faith with Him down the pilgrim pathway we find ourselves progressively surrendering more and more of our own inner self-rule over to Him. This is not primarily a matter of law but rather it is a work of grace. Nevertheless the law and the righteous rule of Christ are established. And graciously so.

As premillennialists this matter of "the law" should not be a problem for us. We know that at His second coming Jesus will bring His righteous rule, His imposed governmentallaw, if you will, to earth. This will only be appropriate after the outrageeous and abominable rulership of the Antichrist during the Great Tribulation. The fostering and nurturing of God's righteous rule is the God given burden of our Jewish brothers and sisters. They can't help being what they are. Judah is the royal tribe in which is found the Throne of David upon which Jesus, our coming Jewish Messiah will come to rule. It was twisted by Judaic legalism into something else. A gnostic partitioning of God and man based on law. It was never meant to be that way. And the Jewish nation, until recently, has not found grace and not found peace in Holy City of Jerusalem. But that is destined to change, and gloriously so at the end of the age. (Zech.12:7-13:1) They will repent and be saved as a nation, entering the flows of salvation by grace through faith just like everyone else. They will be a great blessing to to us, especially in the royal Kingdom offices of Messiah during His coming Millennium. So much for law as legalism. It sounds good but it leads nowhere; except to bondage and defeat. We have had our share of it too in the western church.

Grace and the Gospel has been the main burden of the church (when it has been behaving). This complements the burden of the Jewish tribe of Judah, (Southern Kingdom), which is God's righteous rule, His precepts, yes, His law, if you will. This is the law/grace dichotomy that Francis Schaeffer spent a lot of time wrestling with. But this false dichotomy is destined to pass away with the coming of Christ. And why? Because our coming Messiah embraces both of these!

This is indeed wonderful news, not only for mankind but for this ruined cosmos as well. Jesus Christ/Yeshua Hamashiach is the Anointed One, the Holy One of Israel. He in Himself is the point of reconciliation between law and grace. In His first coming He brought His peace into the hearts of men by the Gospel. In His second coming He will bring peace peace in Jerusalem and peace on earth.

Our coming Messiah will rule for a literal thousand years upon this earth. His two offices, His two anointings, will be according to the Order of Melchizedek He will minister as priest and rule as king. In His priestly role He will minister as priest to bring God and man together. In His royal kingdom office as Messiah/King He will bring His righteous rule. Both of these two offices are part of who our Messiah is. They may be symbolised as well by the "two sticks" of Ezekiel 37 and the two olive trees of Zechariah 4. And on the sabbath the Hebrew ladies light two candles.

The two offices of Messiah are a way to understand His two comings and also understand the necessity of the gap between His first and second comings. The 69 weeks would terminate with Messiah coming as the minister of grace, the Suffering Servant. In His first coming 2,000 years ago we saw Jesus operate primarily in His priestly ministry office. As the Bridegroom, the Kinsman Redeemer, he came in humility. He was bringing His betrothal gift of salvation to present to His Elect Bride. Upon His return He is to function as Messiah under the dual offices of the Order of Melchizedek. So the two comings are also linked to the two offices of the Messiah. He is to be both priest and king. Jesus/Yeshua is to head up both the the priestly and the royal kingdom offices in the glorious Millennium to come.

Five centuries before that first coming, the prophet Zechariah, had seen the Messiah enter Jerusalem in this very humble way. He saw Him come to the City of Shalom/Peace in lowly manner, riding upon a donkey. In this first coming He was not pursuing earthly conquest. Rather, He was presenting an endowment to His covenant people, - His bride to be.
He was bringing the gift of salvation.

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout in triumph, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
He is just and endowed with salvation,
Humble, and mounted on a donkey,
Even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
- Zechariah 9:9

At Messiah's first coming He would bring His grace in the form of His payment to cover the Bridal price. The cost of this endowment was His very life. This was the Gospel, offered first in His city Jerusalem, then to Judea and Samaria, and then out amongst the gentiles to the uttermost parts of this world. The purpose of the gap between those two comings is to provide a grace period. His sacrificial death on the cross would usher in a period of time that would in fact come to be called the "Age of Grace". That grace period would extend right up to His second coming at the end of the 70th week. At the Battle of Armageddon Jerusalem is surrounded by the armies of the nations and even in this awful time "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved". (See Joel 2:28-32)

We are yet to see Him come in the office of His kingdom authority. After the coming Great Tribulation all the inhabitants of this earth will witness His second coming. -Mat.24:29-31 The Day of the Lord will see Him come with His angelic host. -Jude 14-15
He will execute vengeance on His enemies -Isa.34:8, Isa.63:1-6, Rev.19:11-21
and bring deliverance to His covenant people. -Mic.2:12-13, 1Thes.4:13-18 He will bring righteous judgement and rule to this uncared for, polluted and war ravaged earth with its poor, sin-sick and distressed people.

So just as His first coming occurred right on schedule at the end of the 69th week.
His second coming will come at the end of the 70th week.
The glorious Millennium of Messiah will follow. -Rev.20:1-9 There our Messiah will preside over both the politics and the religion of this earth. He will rule and minister from His Holy City, Jerusalem, the city of shalom/peace, - just as Melchizedec did.

"And Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine.
And He was the priest of God Most High."
-Gen. 14:18

And speaking of the coming Messiah;

"The Lord has sworn, and will not change His mind:
You are a priest forever,
after the manner and Order of Melchizedek."
- Psalm 110:4

So Yeshua Hamashiach/Jesus Christ/Messiah, like Melchizedek, is both high priest and king. In His first coming He would declare His arrival in His priestly office and authority as the Suffering Servant, the promised Sacrifice Lamb of God. Later, at the end of this evil age, will He come back again in His kingdom office and authority as the Conquering King.

Dear saints, we are now in the 21st century. Nearly 2000 years have passed since Messiah made His first epic entry into His holy city on Palm Sunday back in 32 A.D. The prophet Hosea in his prophecy of the "two days" also speaks of a gap and a revival that would follow.

"He has cut us to pieces,
but after two days He will revive us,
and in the third day we shall live in His sight." -Hos 6:2

This is very interesting. Hosea is alluding to a gap period of "two days" after the last prophetic "cutting" words are given into holy scripture. Could this "two days" be two millennia or 2000 years? And what can we say about God's mention of a revival? Well it seems that the 70th week, and the coming of those final 7 years of God's determined dealings with His Judeo-Christian covenant people may open up with a great revival. This is a bit different from what we have been told by our popular endtime preachers. They have painted the 70th week as little more than a hellish wrath zone with no Holy Spirit, no heavenly grace extended and no elect people of God. Our prophecy teachers speak of horror in the last days and little else. And yet the Holy Spirit here in scripture is speaking of glory, an endtime revival of all things! This is not surprising since the prophet Joel saw the Holy Spirit outpouring at its peak very late in the 70th week. Joel saw the Holy Spirit being poured out in a climactic blaze of glory just before the second coming amidst the cosmic signs the 6th seal. -Joel 2:28-32

The identification of these "two days" as two millennia is given further credence by Hosea's reference to the "third day" and His people "living in His sight". Surely this speaks of the 1000 year Millennium of Messiah. This would fit the outline seen by the ancient sages of Israel. They saw six millennia of man's rule followed by a glorious rest, a sabbatical 7th Millennium of Messiah. Not only that, Hosea may in fact be giving us an accurate measurement of the timespan that would connect the years from from Palm Sunday to the year of a great revival in the last days. Such a revival may open up in an impending year,
a difficult yet awesome year when all things would change. In what year might that revival come?

In speaking of "two days" the prophet Hosea may actually be referring to this gap between the 69th and 70th week. Hosea actually said "two days" but elsewhere in scripture we read that

"a day with the Lord is as one thousand years
and a thousand years as one day......" -2Pet.3:8

The phrase "on the third day we shall live in His sight" sounds distinctly millennial. So reckoning each day as a thousand years and the "two days" as 2,000 years after the last cutting prophetic words were given is something that may deserve looking into. Let us do some math and see. Just out of interest let us first look at the jubilee cycles.

One jubilee = 50 years
2,000 years divided by 50 = 40 jubilees.

The number 40 is an auspicious number, the number of trial. It would fit for the church in the wilderness, out among the gentile nations for 40 jubilees just as it fit for the children of Israel on trial in the wilderness for 40 years.

Let us now look further into this possibility of the gap period between the 69 weeks and the 70th week being paralleled by Hosea's "two days" and being a timespan of 2,000 years. Again we need to ask ourselves what sort of years would they be? Are they our solar years of 365.2422 days? Or are they 2,000 prophetic or biblical years of 360.00000 days each? Well again we will understand that this prophecy was issued to us from the throne of God up in the third heaven. As we discussed in Section 4 the decrees of years that come to us from God's throne are perfect holy years of 360 days. That being the case, what time period would we be looking at for 2,000 biblical/prophetic/holy years?

2,000 x 360 = 720,000 days

If our gap is to run for 720,000 days then how many of our earthly solar years would that be?

One solar year = 365.2422 days
720,000 divided by 365.2422
= 1971.29466 solar years
=1971 solar years plus 0.29466 x 365.2422 days
=1971 solar years plus 108 days
or approx. 1971 years plus three and a half months.

So if the last year in which God sent His cutting prophetic word to His people was with the words of Jesus in the Olivet discourse in early April of 32 A.D. and if the 720,000 days began at that point in time then in what year would these 720,000 days terminate?

32 + 1971 = 2003

This is an interesting possibility. I am writing this on New Year's Eve, 2003.
1971 years plus 108 days beyond the April 9th date of the Olivet Discourse would bring the revival date to late July, in the summer of 2003.

Awesome times may well lie ahead quite soon for the Judeo-Christian people and for the world at large. But we need not be concerned about the final outcome. Jesus is the One who opens the seals.-Rev. ch.5 He alone is in control of holy history. And He has set its limits. Messiah will put a stop to the rampage of evil, just in the nick of time. -Mat.24:22. As the 70th week ends He will come a second time to Jerusalem. This time He will come as the Deliverer, the Conquering King, riding upon a white horse. In this coming as the Lion of the Jewish house of Judah He will bring His righteous rule to this earth as the long expected Son of David. Indeed He will rule this earth from the Throne of David.-Luke 1:30-33. The crowds of this present evil age do not like His rule. That is why they have in most cases refused Him entry into their hearts. They shout, "away with Him!" just as the crowds shouted before Pilate 2,000 years ago. This explains the raging of nations, (-Psalm2) against the coming rule of Messiah. The Amillennialist doctrine seen in state licensed christianity also denies His future literal 1,000 year earthly Millennial rule. It also explains the awful antisemitism (anti-Judah-ism) seen in modern history in our western nations as the endtime drama approaches.

Grace and peace to all who love his appearing.