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I suppose the easiest way one could make money on the name of Christ is to write a book on the Second Coming, set a few dates when crucial events would occur, and dress it all up in a good looking cover for your book. Lots of folks will buy it, some out of fear, some out of a desire to know what’s going to happen, but in reality it all adds up to a fleshy way to express one’s faith, both in the selling and in the buying.
I could never be considered an expert on the books sold that predict the return of Christ, but of those that I have read, and of those I’ve heard about through the writings of others, there isn’t very much that is said about Christ, crucified (1Corinthians 2:2). There may be a great deal written about Christ the Judge and the wrathful Christ, but not a whole lot about mercy, forgiveness or the vindication of the righteous. Instead, we get a strong dose of ‘vengeance’ or ‘payback’ — hence the rising sales of the books. Folks simply love a good ‘payback novel’ or movie.
We were warned about setting dates (Acts 1:7), and we were warned by Jesus that there would be those among us who would tarnish his name by what they preached (or wrote). Sure, they call him LORD, but he tells us he really doesn’t know them in that relationship – i.e. they never really act as though he were their own Lord (Matthew 7:21-23). They simply do what was right in their own eyes, usually viewed from a financial perspective.
They keep telling us about a final 7-year period, but did you ever wonder where this so-called 7-year period comes from? For those who don’t know, it comes from Daniel’s 70 Weeks Prophecy (Daniels 9:24-27). All in all, it was a prophecy of 490 years, but it concerned the Jews, not the gentiles. It would take 69 weeks (of years) or 483 years from the time the Jews, returning from captivity, began to rebuild the Temple and the city of Jerusalem to the coming of the Messiah. This leaves 1 week or 7 years unexplained. Problem is, the best sellers of prophecy try to capitalize on that 70th week or 7-year period. They claim that the 483 years ended with the crucifixion of Jesus or some say Palm Sunday and within the week Jesus was rejected and crucified. But, is this time scheme true? Not really, but this is what sells, so this is what is preached (or written)!
I noticed an oddity concerning this mysterious 70th week in Daniel’s prophecy—but is it really a coincidence. According to Daniel 12 (when compared with Revelation 12, the 70th week is divided up into 1260 days + 1290 days with 1335 days thrown in there somewhere in such a way that it brings a blessing to some. I like puzzles, so I moved the pieces around on the Jewish calendar, until I found how they **could** fit and actually mean something significant about Christ and those who believe in him. Problem is—this won’t sell a single copy of a book, unless I would titillate interest in a title, because it is not for our day—none of it. All 490 years or the 70 Weeks Prophecy has been fulfilled in Jesus’ lifetime and immediately thereafter—if one would take the puzzle seriously.
Here’s how it works out. The key to knowing how the pieces fit together is to know the Jewish Holy Days and where they fit in the Jewish calendar. There are exactly 1260 days between the Last Great Day of the Feast of Tabernacles (22nd day of the 7th month) to the Passover Day (the 14th day of the 1st month) 3 ½ years later [the annual Holy Days are found all together in Leviticus 23]. If we take the Jewish authorities rejection of Jesus and request for a sign into consideration—i.e. Jesus told them no sign would be given but that of the prophet Jonah’s 3 days and 3 nights in the fish— and conclude it occurred on the Last Great Day of 27 AD, we come to Jesus death 1260 days later on Passover Day, 31 AD. Jesus spent 3 days and 3 nights in the grave and was then resurrected on the following Sunday, the day of the Wave Sheaf Offering, which blessed the rest of the harvest (in this case of souls).
The 1290 days is figured from this date (the Sunday within the Passover week) when Jesus ascended to his Father at the time of the Wave Sheaf Offering to be accepted by the Father for all of us. It ends on the Day of Atonement 3 ½ years (or 1290 days) later when I believe Stephen was killed, and blood was spilt for the second time in Jesus’ name. This assumes the abomination that brought desolation to the Temple and the city was set up—i.e. the complete rejection of Christ by the Jewish authorities, especially Annas and his high priestly family. They chose the temple built by hands over the Temple built without hands.
The 1335 days begin with Jesus’ very first day of public ministry, when he first offered himself as Messiah. It was in Nazareth on the Feast of Trumpets in 27 AD. These days begin with Jesus saying “The Spirit of the LORD is upon me…” and they end 1335 days later with the Spirit of the LORD upon the disciples on Pentecost.
Now this won’t sell a lot of books, but the pieces do fit. They don’t tell us beans about when Jesus will return to this earth, but they do emphasizes certain days of Jesus’ ministry as significant and worthy of a second look—and all this was prophesied by a man called Daniel at least 490 years in advance. The only difference between Daniel and our modern prognosticators is that every one of them have been proved wrong, but Daniel was correct to the very day. How about that![1]
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[1] This study has been slightly revised and renamed from “Setting Dates Sells Books”
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