Does Daniel's 70 Week Dual Prophecy predict the date of Jesus's return?

 

A good friend of mine sent me this article which I'm posting below. A brother in Christ and fellow Watchman, T.W. Tramm, posted this on his Website. I will provide links below so you can check him out and read his other articles. I'm not familiar with him, but if this article is any indication of how good he is, I know you'll want to head over there. It's a bit long, but I think you'll find it fascinating. Enjoy!

Do Jerusalem’s Walls Predict the Year of Messiah’s Return?

By T.W. Tramm

In Daniel’s 70 Weeks Prophecy, a count down to Messiah begins with a rebuilding of Jerusalem:

“From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem until the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks and sixty two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times” (Dan. 9:25).

 

Counting the 7 and 62 weeks (483 years) from Artaxerxes’ commandment to rebuild Jerusalem in 457 BC, we arrive at 27 AD, the year Jesus was anointed Messiah. Thus, Daniel’s prophecy straightforwardly predicts the year of Messiah’s first coming. As remarkable as it is that Daniel foretells the year of Jesus’ first advent, there is reason to suspect a second layer of foretelling. Since there are two comings of Messiah, and the prophecy addresses Israel’s final redemption in the last days (v. 24), it would make sense for the timing of His second advent to be addressed as well.

THE WALL SHALL BE BUILT AGAIN

Daniel mentions the walls around Jerusalem being rebuilt in troublous times. The walls surrounding modern-day Jerusalem were ordered rebuilt by the Ottoman Sultan “Suleiman the Magnificent” in 1536-37 AD, during troublous times. The story goes that Suleiman’s order to rebuild the walls was prompted by a series of dreams in which he was being chased by lions who seemed intent on devouring him. In one dream the Sultan finally stopped running and faced the lions, asking what he should do to save his life. He was told he should build the wall of Jerusalem.While we don’t know precisely when Suleiman gave the original order to rebuild, inscriptions on the fountains(sabils) and walls indicate he ordered their particular construction in 1536 and 1537. This is where things get interesting. When we add Daniel’s 7 and 62 weeks (483 years) to 1536-37, we arrive at the present time: 2019-2020

 

Is it possible Daniel’s 483 years have a dual application, that similar to how Messiah appeared 483 years after the first rebuilding of Jerusalem in 457 BC, He will make a second appearance 483 years after the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls in 1536-37 AD? 

 

SEPARATING THE WEEKS 

 

Since no word of Scripture is without meaning, we understand that Daniel’s 7 weeks and 62 weeks are mentioned separately for a reason. Taking the weeks separately, when we add the 62 weeks (434 years) to 1536-37 AD, we arrive at 1970-71 AD. This is interesting because 1970 is the year in which another order to rebuild Jerusalem went forth following the recapture of the Holy City by Israeli forces in 1967. Articles and documents from the time show  that while the planning and clearing of rubble in preparation for the rebuilding of Jerusalem began soon after the Israeli takeover in 1967, the plan to rebuild the Holy City, composed by a team of architects, engineers, and administrators, was not approved and publicly communicated until late August, 1970.

That two historic orders to rebuild Jerusalem—1536-37 AD and 1970-71 AD—are separated by exactly 62 weeks (434 years) suggests that both are integral to Daniel’s prophecy. Counting the remaining set of weeks—the 7 weeks, or 49 years—from 1970, we, again, arrive at 2020. While speculative, it’s awe-inspiring to consider that the two sets of weeks, 7 and 62, together and independently may reveal the years of two appearances of Messiah following two historical restorations of Jerusalem.

 

CONVERGENCE 2020 

 

2020 is an auspicious year for multiple reasons. First, adding 7 years, the span of the tribulation period to this year, 2027 becomes the time of Israel’s final redemption,when the “everlasting righteousness” referred to in Daniel is realized (v. 24). What’s fascinating is that 2027 also marks exactly 2,000 years since Jesus’ anointing as Messiah in 27 AD. Israel’s final redemption occurring after 2,000 years, or two (thousand-year) “days,” is alluded to in Hosea: “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him” (Hos. 6:2). Another reason 2020 is pivotal is that it marks the 3-year anniversary of major prophetic signs:

• The Great American Eclipse(August 21, 2017).
• Jared Kushner’s first trip to the Middle East to start work on a plan to achieve “peace and security”(August 21, 2017).
• The Revelation12 Sign (September 23, 2017)

 That 2020 marks the third anniversary of the above signs is significant because the number 3 is associated with key rapture themes and typologies such as weddings, resurrection, a period of warning, and the Lord descending in a cloud with the sound of a trumpet:

  

• Jesus attended a wedding on the third day (John 2:1) 
• Jesus was resurrected on the third day (1 Cor. 15:4). 
• It took Jonah 3 days to warn the Ninevites of impending judgment (Jonah 3).  
• At Sinai, God told the Israelites to sanctify themselves for the third day, on which He would descend in a cloud and,with the sound of a trumpet,call Moses up to meet Him(Ex.19:10-20).
  

Notice the three-day pattern. In Daniel’s 70 Weeks Prophecy, as well as other places in Scripture, a day is symbolic of a year of actual time. Thus 3 days is equivalent to 3 years. Additionally, the number 3, which is fundamental to the nature of a God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, denotes divine perfection and completion. 

 

According to E.W. Bullinger in his book Numbers in Scripture, the number 3 points to what is “real, essential, perfect, substantial, complete, and Divine .... all things that are specially complete are stamped with this number three.” With the three-day pattern in view, the third anniversary of major biblical signs—2020—is a logical time for the event signaled to occur

 

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

 

Having noted how 2020 marks a plausible second end point of Daniel’s 7 and 62 weeks, we understand that when cryptic prophecies, year-counts, ancient dating, and various calendars are involved,a degree of uncertainty exists as to exact times. That is to say, the Gregorian calendar year 2020 should not be seen as an absolute deadline or cut-off date for Jesus’ return. Nonetheless, the overall convergence of signs and timelines indicates we are indeed on the cusp of the final turning point in God's Program for the Church and Israel. The Rapture of true believers in Christ at the beginning of Daniel’s 70th week will be followed by a period of terror and chaos unlike anything seen before.

 

The upside of this terrible time is that it will culminate in Israel’s redemption via Messiah Jesus, conceivably a mere 7 years from now. Not only are we in a potentially pivotal year, we’re in a pivotal season. Numerous scriptures link summer to the end of the age and the onset of Judgment Day (Matt. 24:32; Amos 8:1, 2; Jer. 8:20; Mic. 7:1-2). Summer begins around Pentecost and ends at the autumnal equinox in September. While a popular view is that the Rapture will occur on the Day of Pentecost, it’s prudent to view the harvest festival with no fixed or assigned date as a “season.” The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Church’s first Pentecost in Acts 2 represented the planting of a “field,” the Church-field, which has been growing and maturing throughout a nearly 2,000-year long “summer.” Assuming the Lord plans to put off the reaping of the Church-field as long as possible to allow maximum time for repentance, it’s conceivable He could wait until late summer when the last of the spring-planted wheat is harvest able, and the summer fruits—representing Israel and nonbelievers—are likewise ready for harvesting and processing. With the “season” paradigm in view, Pentecost may not be considered fully come until summer's end on a day no one knows

The end of summer 2020 is thus a plausible time for the Rapture:

 

• It’s been 483 years (7 and 62 weeks) since the order to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls in 1536-37 (Dan. 9:25).
• It’s been 49 years (7 weeks) since a plan to rebuild Jerusalem in 1970 (Dan. 9:25).
• It’s been 3 years since major signs in the heavens (Luke 21:25; Joel 2:31; Rev. 12).
• Additionally—It’s been 6,000 years, or 120 jubilees,since biblical creation (Gen. 6:3; 2 Pet. 3:8).
• It’s been 70-plus years, the span of a biblical generation, since the “fig tree,” the Nation of Israel, began putting forth leaves (Matt. 24:32-34; Ps. 90:10). 
• The stage is set for the Ezekiel 38 conflict, the emergence of the 10-nation antichrist,or “beast,”governing system,and the global economic collapse alluded to in Revelation (6:6; 13:7; 17:12-14).
• Multiple peace deals between Israel and her Arab-Muslim neighbors are on the table or in the works (1 Thess. 5:3). 

 

All that remains to happen before the Church is suddenly snatched up into the clouds is the sounding of God’s trumpet. When that awesome trumpet sounds,there will be only two kinds of people on earth: those escaping judgment and those being left behind to face it (Luke 21:34-36).

 

To be part of the escaping group, one must be in a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. If you’re unsure of your standing with God, call on Him now. Tell Him you want to turn away from your sins. Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord; believe that God raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved (Romans10). 

 

Do it today.

Time is running out

 

T.W. Tramm Website   just click on Articles

He also has some cool charts you can look at