Israel’s Prophecy of the End Times – Q&A – Part 2

Blessings to Israel presents Discerning the Times, a program committed to encouraging you to view current events through the lens of the Bible. Now, in honor of the one and only true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, please join us for today's program. Welcome to Discerning the Times.

My name is Brian Thomas alongside cohost, Dr. Bruce Logan. And this week we're going to continue to answer listeners submitted questions concerning Israel's prophecies of the end times. But before we get into that, I want to remind you as we always do that your eternal state is far more important than your current state. And if you have already received Jesus Christ as Lord and savior, but you may be saying to yourself, life is not played out the way you had hoped for or dreamed of. Maybe your job has been a disappointment.

You haven't reached that dream status. Maybe your marriage, maybe your children, even ministry, maybe all of these things have not played out the way you had dreamed of. But I want to encourage you that the best is yet to come because we are going to spend eternity in a perfect kingdom in the presence of our Lord. So don't be discouraged.

Don't be dismayed. Don't grow weary, continue working for the Lord. And he is going to reward you openly in eternity. But for those of you out there who have not received Jesus Christ as Lord and savior, I want to forewarn you that the worst is yet to come because you are going to exist eternally separated from God in the lake of fire. And so I encourage you to receive the gift of Jesus Christ, that he died at Calvary, shedding his innocent blood for the sins of mankind. And all you have to do is confess your sins, profess him as Lord and savior, repent, and you too can have eternal life. So please will you receive that gift and come to Jesus Christ on today?

All right, folks. So we're continuing this week with part two of our question and answers concerning Israel, the prophecies of the end times, as it relates to the nation of Israel. And we put a lot of emphasis in this ministry on Israel because the Bible, the old Testament, our faith is founded through the nation of Israel. And what I mean by that is in Genesis chapter 12, verse three, God told Abraham, I will bless those who bless you and I will curse those who curse you. And in you all families of the earth shall be blessed. And now we focus on Israel, not for the purpose of receiving a blessing, although that is a great by-product, but we do it because God says, bless the nation of Israel. And the reason that all peoples of the earth, all families of the earth will be blessed because of Israel is because it is through that nation that our Messiah Jesus Christ came to die for our sins. So last week, where we left off as Abraham Hamilton says that disrespectful clock cut us off right in the middle of Dr. Logan answering a question. So I want to repeat that question and then we'll pick up with where we left off from last week. The question reads Daniel 12, four, it says knowledge will increase. Many believe this relates to increase in people's intelligence, technology, et cetera, because there's also referred to many Jews eyes beginning to open, meaning veil beginning to lift and beginning to understand the scriptures, scriptures such as Daniel's prophecy.

So doc going to toss it back to you and have you pick up where you left off last week concerning the increase of knowledge in the last days in this prophecy of Daniel chapter 12, verse four. Every, everybody has YouTube and Instagram and Facebook. I mean, all around the world. And so it's like, I mean, we don't even think twice about how that's going to come to pass. And then the fact that we have nuclear technology, we have the ability to really destroy on a just an unprecedented level. And now we're hearing things about AI, all the technology available. Here's another question that nobody is asking that used to be debated all the time. I remember at least the debate whether or not the bar code was going to be the 666, but since the advent of the barcode technology has advanced so much since then that the barcode almost seems obsolete.

And we literally have chips that they can place under the skin. And it's really, really incredible the advancements in technology that have taken place. But with that being said, the Bible also says to those, as we addressed in the last question, those who are coming for after the three and a half after or when the Antichrist reveals himself as to who he really is, the Bible says, or Jesus says, he who understands let him flee to the mountains. So that would be an indicate that knowledge will increase. In other words, the knowledge will increase from a human standpoint or from a natural standpoint when it comes to the nation of Israel because when the Antichrist reveals himself as to who he really is, their eyes are going to come open and they're going to realize what Daniel's prophecy was saying that they were caught up in.

And Daniel was right all along. And the Messiah who they crucified 2000 plus years ago was their true Messiah. Their eyes are going to come open.

They're going to flee. And so knowledge of who Jesus really is will increase at that moment. So again, to make a long story short, I mean, we can talk about human technology and so forth and that type of thing. But I believe that the answer of the question is a dual yes to both. Absolutely.

Okay. So the next question actually ties back to question number two concerning the great tribulation. It asked the question, what does time times and half a time mean? So this time period is actually referenced seven times in scripture. And the, this specific question is the reference to Daniel chapter 12 verse seven. That verse reads, then I heard the man clothed in linen who was above the waters of the river when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it shall be for a time, times and half a time. And when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all of these things shall be finished. So as you were talking about, this is something that ties back to the previous two chapters. This, this is a continuous vision and what Daniel was being given as to what was going to happen in the last days. And so it is at this point where the question is being asked, how long are these things going to take place?

And that is the answer that is given time times and half a time. The other six references in the scripture is Daniel chapter seven verse 25. It says there a time and times and half a time revelation chapter 11, verse two, and they will tread the holy city underfoot for 42 months, talking about the Gentiles. Then if we move down in the same chapter revelation chapter 11, verse three, they will prophesy 1,260 days. That's a reference to the two witnesses that God is going to send during the tribulation revelation 12, six, they should feed her there 1,260 days. This is referring to the nation of Israel, how she's going to be protected during the tribulation. And then if we come down to, um, revelation chapter 12, verse 14, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time. And then the last reference chapter 13, verse five of revelation, he was given authority to continue for 42 months.

Speaking of Antichrist, these are all the same time periods, but just, but just worded differently. Remember that the Jews operate on a lunar calendar, which averages 30 days per month. So they have a 360 day calendar year, not like our Gregorian calendar where we have 365 days and 366 on a leap year.

So that is what they operated under. So when you do the math, 1,260 days divided by 30 days is 42 months. We saw that reference in revelation 11 to 42 months divided by 12 months is what three and a half years. So that is referring to the time period of the great tribulation 1,260 days divided by 360 days is also three and a half years. So when you look at all of these texts as a whole, you come to the conclusion that a time is one year times is two years and half a time is half a year.

So when you do the math, one plus two plus a half is three and a half years. That is referring to the great tribulation. All right, doc. So what do you have for the last question to wrap us up today? Okay. The last question is another doozy and I'm going to try to make this a lot shorter or my answer a lot shorter than my previous answers. But the final one that we have for this episode is, can you please explain 1,290 days and the 1,335 days that's referred to in Daniel chapter 12 verses 11 and 12? Okay. So in order to address that, let's just first take a look at the two verses.

And basically you have already kind of touched on it, so let's just make my answer a lot quicker. And it says in verse 11 of Daniel chapter 12, it says, and from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away. Now make note of that. If you're at home, you have your Bible open and you have a pen or a tablet or a handy where you can make a note or you have a highlighter, you will highlight this passage in your Bible or this portion of the passage. It says from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away. And it says, and the abomination that make of desolate set up. So that's going to be the time when the antichrist that we've already referred to, that we saw that narrative that began in Daniel chapter 11, we started reading at verse 36. So this is referring to the same time when the same person and the same event right here in verse 11.

So let me read it again. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away and the abomination that make of desolate set up. And I need to stick a pen right there just for a second because I get excited whenever I read that because there are multiple layers in just that portion of the verse. And one of the things is we know that currently the Jews don't have a temple and that currently they're not doing their Old Testament mosaic sacrifices and offerings. But this passage tells us that there's going to come a time in the future where the temple is going to be constructed and their mosaic sacrifices and offerings are going to be reinstituted because I believe that's going to be part of the treaty that the antichrist is going to sign at the beginning of that first three and a half years. But that aside, it says from the, at the middle, so in other words, from the time the daily sacrifice shall be taken away and the abomination that make of desolate set up. In other words, at the middle of the seven and a half year mark, all right, it says, the verse goes on to say, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days, one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Now you need to make a note there because Brian just mentioned one thousand two hundred and sixty days, so there may seem like there's a discrepancy there.

So just stick a pen right there and just sort that in the back of your mind. So in fact, there's a thirty day difference between what he read, what Brian read, and what the verse says here. Okay, so now let's move on to verse thirty, I'm sorry, verse twelve. The next verse it says, blessed is he that waits.

Make a note of that in your Bible. Blessed is he that waits and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days or the thousand three hundred and thirty five days. And that's Daniel chapter twelve. So now we have three different numbers here and there's a difference of seventy five days. So in other words, we have one hundred and thirty five, I mean, I'm sorry, one thousand three hundred and thirty five days after the abomination of desolation begins. And then you also have, what Revelation records is one thousand two hundred and sixty days. So that's going back to what was read earlier, in Revelation eleven and three, it says, and I will appoint my two witnesses and they will prophesy for one thousand two hundred and sixty days, close the sackcloth. And then so again, specifically mentioned, Daniel eleven and three specifically mentions one thousand two hundred and sixty days. So and then Daniel mentioned one thousand three hundred and thirty five days. So due to math, there's a seventy five day difference.

So the question then is, why is there a discrepancy and what's going to happen in that time frame? And now the interesting thing is that Daniel does not specifically say what is going to happen because we have seventy five days is going to occur after the conclusion of the tribulation period. So what is going to occur during that seventy five day period is really what we're, what the, what Daniel or what the angel is trying to get across to Daniel. And now there's been different speculations and different theories, but we, so we can piece together some events that's going to take place when we study the Book of Revelation. And first of all, we know that there is going to be a judgment.

We know that. Then there's going to be the establishment of the kingdom here, which is going to take place in Jerusalem. We also know that Jerusalem is going to pretty much be destroyed because we're going to be talking World War Three, which is going to center, I mean, directly with Israel is going to be at the epicenter of World War Three, you know, at the second half of the tribulation period. So there's going to be that process of reconstruction. There's going to be a judgment and there's going to be the establishment of Christ's millennial kingdom in that seventy five day window. And so the specifics of it in terms of how, in other words, you could say somebody might say, well, how can you completely rebuild a city in seventy five days? OK, well, we humans couldn't do it, but we've got to understand we're not entered into a human kingdom.

It's going to be establishing the millennial kingdom of Christ. So we've got to just think of it like that, because we're not going to be the ones doing it, OK, per se. So obviously, you know, if you were to tell a construction crew, OK, I need you to build a city and you only got seventy five days. That might be, you know, because it might take longer than that just to clear out the old rubble.

But we're not talking about human technology. We're talking about supernatural occurrences here. So that's basically in a nutshell, that's what's referred to here as you in Daniel chapter 11 and chapter 12. And basically is, well, I should say the apostle John on the isle of Patmos actually reaffirms and isn't it amazing just how these days just line up between the Old Testament? Because Daniel and John, obviously, they live like, what, a thousand, well, not quite 600 years apart, something like that, five, six hundred years apart.

So, you know, obviously they didn't know each other. But notice, isn't it amazing how that timeline mirrors each other basically perfectly? So, again, that's where we're at.

And I just wanted to add this addendum really quickly. And basically it kind of gives us a timeline or a summary of events. So basically what we have is that sometime after the rapture of the church, the Antichrist enters the treaty with Israel, which begins a seven-year tribulation. And at the midpoint of the tribulation, all of this is in Daniel chapter 7 and 12, which is amazing. At the midpoint of the tribulation period, at the 1260-day mark, the Antichrist will break that treaty and desecrate the temple and begin to persecute the Jews. And at the end of the tribulation, Jesus Christ will return to earth.

I mean, at the 1260-day mark, Jesus Christ will return to earth and defeat the forces of the Antichrist. And then during the next 30 days, leading up to the 1290 days after the desecration of the temple, Israel will be rebuilt and the earth restored. And during the next 45 days after that, which gives us 1,335 days after the desecration of the temple, the Gentile nations will be judged, which I had forgot to mention that earlier, because remember, in Matthew chapter 25, Jesus referred to there's going to be a judgment of the goats and the sheep and the goats. The goats I'll put on my left hand, the sheep on my right hand, and that's going to be the judgment of nations. The nations that fought with Israel is going to be on one side get judged, and then the nations that fight fought against Israel are going to get their just rewards.

So all of this is going to happen in that 75-day window. Then the desiccation of the millennium begins, and it will last for 1,000 years. So that's kind of a summary of what we have here in Daniel chapter 12, or actually chapter 11 and 12, but specifically in chapter 12. You know, as you were speaking, there's a lady in our Bible study that I lead, and she often makes the comments.

She says, the word of God is so rich, and it never stops giving. And what I mean by that is, for years, I have read this prophecy and studied about it, and there was something that I think the Holy Spirit just revealed to me as you were talking, because like you said, I've always looked at this and felt like, yes, Israel, Jerusalem is going to be in utter destruction when Christ comes back because of all the war going on. You know, the Bible talks about how the blood is going to run through the streets to the height of the horse's bridle, and just mass destruction. So it's going to be a period of cleaning up the city and repairing not just Israel, but really the entire world, because you know, when you go through Revelation, all the calamities that are happening, I mean, the world is going to be a mess. So I've always thought there's going to be that cleanup period along with, as you said, the judging of the sheep and the goats. And then along with that, also, Jesus setting up his administration for the millennial kingdom. But one thing I had not thought about in terms of when it comes to the cleaning up process is we are going, the Bible says rule and reign with him. And for those of us who were raptured before the, the, uh, tribulation, we're, we're coming back and we're going to be in glorified bodies, which means we are going to have some, some supernatural abilities, but not to the degree that of course Jesus has, because Jesus, if he wanted to, he could just speak it into being and everything could be cleaned up and everything. Perfect. But I think it may be an aspect of it is that in our glorified bodies, we will be able to do it at a much better and faster pace than mortal man can today.

So we could do it in a 75 day period. Um, so that's, that's just an aspect of it that I never thought about before. And, um, but man, this is just going to be great when our Lord comes back and we're just going to be working and ruling and reigning with him. And so I love looking at these prophecies related to Israel. And of course our parent ministry of this podcast is blessings to Israel. So we stress the importance of Israel because I don't know about you doc, but I grew up in church and I didn't hear things about Israel. And when we know based on scripture that Israel is God's prophetic time clock. And the thing that troubles me today is I think so many in the church are unaware.

They don't discern the times because they are totally clueless about the nation of Israel. So what are your thoughts as we close out things for today? Well, I, I agree a hundred percent. In fact, you mentioned that, you know, you had never heard any, uh, any teaching like this and I like never heard like ever heard anything even remotely like it's not necessarily putting flowers on you and I, but just this topic in general, I just, I never heard it before. And then once I began digging in the scriptures and seeing how all the dots connect, all the prophetic dots and historic dots all connect and all the different prophecies that were given thousands of years ago that will fulfill later in time that, I mean, fulfill specifically and just point blank without any mistake or error. That only leads me to be confident that the future prophecies that we are, that we've discussed this today are going to happen precisely as God said.

And I'm just really looking forward to it and excited. And I just believe that more people, I just pray rather that more people in the body of Christ will, will, will really started to get a hunger or develop or a hunger to learn more about what, what the Bible says about the end times. Because regardless if we mentioned it or not, regardless if we address it or not, regardless if we dismiss this topic or not saying that we don't need to know it, it's not necessary for, you know, it doesn't matter because it's going to happen and it's going to happen how and when God said it's going to happen regardless if we as believers pay attention to it or address it or regardless if we discern the times or not. I just want to quote this one occurrence when Jesus was addressing one of his many confrontations with the Scribes and the Pharisees. And he mentioned that you, to paraphrase, that you can understand the seasons when it's time, when it's time to plant, when it's time to pick up, but you not able to discern the signs of the time. And likewise, and again, they had Jesus who the Old Testament prophets prophesied about standing there directly in front of them.

He had been performing miracles. He had, I mean, he had given every indication that he was the one. And they were the ones who should have recognized him if nobody else did. But they wanted to argue with him. They want to debate him. They later on called for his crucifixion and because they lack discernment.

But their lack of discernment did not stop him from coming at the appointed time. And that's the point that we need to understand. When the fullness of time comes, the trumpet is going to sound and Jesus is going to return in the clouds regardless if his church and his people are watching or not. And I just think that that alone should be enough to want to inspire us to want to learn more about what's happening in the world because things are happening in the world are not by accident. The COVID-19 pandemic, the move toward globalism, the hostility toward Israel, none of this, the advancements in technology, none of this is by accident. This is all part of an orchestrated plan to prepare and condition the world for the end time. And I just think that as believers, this should be like the number one on our priority list of things that we need to unpack and understand and kind of get our heads around.

Well said, well said. All right, so that's going to wrap it for this week to our listening audience. I just want to stress for any who this is new to you that there's more to Daniel, as I said, in the opening, more to it than the fiery furnace and the lion's den.

So dig into the book. There is so many great things that our Lord is sharing with us concerning the future concerning what is to come through the book of Daniel. Uh, and we should be looking forward to these times when our Lord will come back to rule and reign on the earth.

So I want to thank you all for tuning in today. Please come back and join us again next week as we continue to encourage you to discern the times by view and life through the lens of the Bible. Until then, remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Bless God's great nation of Israel until the only wise God be glory through Jesus Christ forever.

Amen. Thank you for tuning into discerning the times. Please come back and join us next week as we continue to encourage you to view current events through the lens of the Bible. Until next time, remember to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Bless God's great nation of Israel and seek first the kingdom of God. Discerning the times is presented by blessings to Israel.