How Close Are We? (Part 3)

Friday, February 8, 2013
Paul Schneider

Dear Friend,

INTRO

Israel is often referred to as "God's Time Clock" by students of Bible Prophecy. The 7 year Tribulation is also referenced as "The Time Of Jacob's Trouble" and Daniel's 70th Week." The book of Daniel is called the ABC's of Bible Prophecy and the book of Revelation the XYZ's, the culmination of both O.T. and N.T. prophecies. As you see on the news, the Middle East is a powder keg and this correlates with Bible Prophecy for the ENDSTIMES, in which we live.

70 YEARS

AND 70 WEEKS

The 9th chapter of Daniel is one of the most amazing passages in Scripture. It begins with Daniel gaining insight (from reading the prophecy of Jeremiah) into a very precise and important date that was immediately on Israel's horizon. The Babylonian captivity was to last exactly 70 years. After that period had been fulfilled, the Jews would be free to return to their land. The reason for this precise period of 70 years was no mystery. God made a covenant with Israel, a binding contract that carrid a penalty for its violation. Yahweh had done His part, but Israel had failed to fulfill her obligation. Therefore God's judgment came upon her as He had warned it would from the beginning. He had been patient, but at last the time for judgment had come. "And the Lord hath sent unto you all His servants the prophets, rising early and sending them; but ye have not hearkened, nor inclined your ear to hear. They said, Turn ye again now every one from His evil way...and dwell in the land which the Lord hath given you...Yet ye have not hearkened unto Me, saith the Lord; that ye might provoke me to anger....Therefore...this whole land shall be a desolation (and ye) shall serve the king of Babylon 70 years. And when 70 years are accomplished, I will punish the king of Babylon (Jeer. 25:4-14).

ISRAEL'S VIOLATION

What had Israel violated? When God first brought the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel) into the promised land, He instructed them: "Six years shalt thou sow thy field...but in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the Lord: thou shalt neither sow thy field nor prune thy vineyard" (Leviticus 25:1-7). Every seventh year all Hebrew slaves were also to be released and debts owed by Hebrews to one another were to be forgiven. (Exodus 21:2; Deuteronomy `15:12) Jeremiah reminded his people even as the invading armies of Nebuchadnezzar were in the process of executing God's retribution: "Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel; I made a covenant with your fathers in the day I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying,...let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath been sold unto thee...when he hath served thee six years, thou shalt let him go free from thee: but your fathers hearkened not unto me, neither inclined their ear. (Jeremiah 34:13-1`4).

490 YEARS

For 490 years Israel had failed to obey these ordinances of the seventh-year Sabbath. She had neither let the Hebrew slaves go free nor allowed the land to lie fallow. Thus, she owed God 70 years (490 divided by 7) of sabbaths that she had failed to keep. For 70 years the Jews would themselves be slaves, and the land would enjoy the 70 sabbaths that were owing to God. The purpose of prophecy is not only to tell us in advance what will happen, but to move our hearts to prayer, repentance, and readiness to play our part in its fulfillment. An important part of the role we are to play is to engage in earnest prayer for God to fulfill in our day the prophecies He has made.Especially we should be in prayer for the return of Christ. "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come....Surely I come quickly. Even so come Lord Jesus" (Rev. 22:17,20). Cont'd. next week.

I have excerpted this from the book HOW CLOSE ARE WE by Dave Hunt.

To access this article on the web and share it with others, go to http://sites.google.com/site/lookingforhiscoming

Your friend,

Paul Schneider

Respond to this story

Posting a comment requires free registration: