How long?

An exhortation to keep watching and patiently waiting for Yahweh

How long?

Saints through time have all pondered this question: “How long?”.

• The apostles asked, How long until … the kingdom is restored again to Israel? (Acts 1:6)
• The souls under the altar asked, How long, O Lord, holy and true dost thou not judge and avenge our blood? (Revelation 6:10)
• Daniel the prophet asked, How long? “What shall be the end of these things? (Daniel 12:8)

Mark 13:32-33 records that our Lord taught, “But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.”

So, whilst the saints want to know, the exact details have been hidden for our good—that we might remain watchful, and prayerful. As Matthew’s gospel puts it, “Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come” (Matthew 24:42).

To watch

The meaning of “watch” in these passages per Strong’s Concordance is “to keep awake, that is, watch (literally or figuratively)”. Thayer defines the Greek word:

1) to watch
2) metaphorically, give strict attention to, be cautious, active
2a) to take heed lest through remission and indolence some destructive calamity suddenly overtake one.

Watching, therefore, is an essential part of our spiritual life, and although this might sound obvious, it is essential that we know what we are watching for! In other words, we need a sound scriptural basis for our watching. Hence, an exhortation to watch is simultaneously an exhortation to apply ourselves to reading God’s Word and to practise the principles learnt.

Sometimes brethren, in their eagerness for the return of the Lord, have forecast very specific dates for his return. Setting dates that have proved incorrect has disheartened some brethren and sisters in the past and has also been a cause of derision by scoffers. So, I am not in favour of setting hard-and-fast dates. However, even though we don’t know the day nor the hour, we are blessed with prophecies and signs that help us to appreciate that in 2020 we must be close to our Lord’s return and that encourage us, therefore, to redouble our efforts to fill our minds with the oil of God’s Word, and come to know Him who hath called us to become a people for His name.

This attitude of knowing that one lives in momentous times but not exactly when the predicted events will occur has a precedent. A little over two thousand years ago, there were people in the land of Palestine, as it had become known, who were watching and waiting. They lived 400 years after the sun had gone down over the prophets—there had been no prophet since Malachi. The Land had been overruled by the Persians and then the Greeks who had imposed their false religious ideas upon the children of Abraham. Sadly, many had been influenced by Greek philosophy and had abandoned the true teaching of God. Finally, the iron power of Rome had crushed all before it, “breaking in pieces and subduing all” (Daniel 2:40). For many, the light had been extinguished and darkness settled over the land. For them, the promises would seem an impossible dream—how could they ever be real? But there was a remnant, watching and waiting, and their hope was realised when the fulness of time had come (Galatians 4:4).

When the fulness of the time was come…

When was this? Was it when the Jewish nation had reached a pinnacle of Godliness and virtue, so that they were ready to meet their Messiah? No. “For when we were yet without strength, in due time (Strong, “set or proper time”) Christ died for the ungodly” (Romans 5:6). (As we live in an increasingly godless age, surely this is another sign that the second advent is nigh!)

What contributed to the faithful remnant maintaining their watchfulness in those days? The prophecy of the 70 weeks in Daniel 9 clearly influenced them.

The Seventy Weeks Prophecy

Who delivered the 70 weeks prophecy?
— The angel Gabriel (Daniel 9:21).

As the end of the 490 years pre-figured by the prophecy drew closer, who appeared to Zechariah the priest to announce the coming of John to be the forerunner of Messiah?
— The angel Gabriel (Luke 1:19).

A little later, who announced to Mary the glad tidings of the conception of the Son of God?
— The angel Gabriel (Luke 1:26).

No wonder that, when the appearance of Gabriel was mentioned, “all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea” (Luke 1:65). Can we not imagine the faithful remnant of brethren and sisters including Zechariah, Elisabeth, Mary, and Joseph discussing these things, considering where they were on the 490-year timeline? Ten months later Luke’s gospel introduces two more of them.

• “Simeon … just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel.”
• “Anna, a prophetess” who “spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.”

These two “waste places of Jerusalem” (Isaiah 52:9) give us so much encouragement. I have highlighted the key words in the context of this exhortation, as they were wonderful examples of waiting and watching: Simeon waited on Yahweh and Anna looked (was watching) for redemption.

Another 29 years further on and the 490 years was almost expired. Luke records that “all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ or not” (Luke 3:15). There was an air of expectation. A little after this, John records that Andrew “first findeth his brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messiah” (John 1:41). The next day, “Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets did write” (John 1:45).

They found him because they, like Anna, were looking for him. And they were looking for him because they were aware of the times in which they lived in the context of the 70 weeks prophecy. They were students of God’s Word.

Picking up the spirit of Simeon and Anna

What of us today in 2020? Are we watching?

Our Lord told us that it is imperative that we are! Revelation 16:15 says,

“Behold I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments…”

We, too, have encouraging prophecies that show us that the second advent of our Lord is near.

The Jews are back in their ancient homeland. And, after much debate right up until the eve of the declaration of the state on 14th May 1948, that nation just happened to be named “Israel”, in accordance with Scripture: “I will…bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel” (Ezekiel 37:21–22). And, what is the next statement in the prophecy? “And one king shall be king to them all”.

Our Lord is coming—the one whose right it is, and God will give it him (Ezekiel 21:27).

The Russian power has been steadily growing in size and strength for centuries in the “remote parts of the north” (Ezekiel 38:15 Rotherham’s translation) and is now poised for its destined invasion of the Holy Land.

Consider Daniel 11:40:

“And at the time of the end…shall the king of the north push at him”.

A few years ago Russia moved into Syria, and has continued to strengthen her position there so that she might well now fulfil the requirements of being the occupying power known as “the King of the North” (the prophecy demands that the King of the North occupy the area of the Seleucid Kingdom). The preciseness of the identification of the King of the North at the time of the end is something that I had missed until a couple of years ago, where I discovered that decades ago, the Christadelphian Expositor on Daniel 11:40 clearly predicted Russia would come into Syria before taking Turkey! All that is left before Russia overwhelms the Holy Land is for her to “push against him”, that is, the king of verses 36-39, or, the remnant of the little horn of the goat power, which, today, is Turkey.

Daniel 12:11-12

Daniel, with a burning desire to know, asked, “Lord, what shall be the end of these things?” (Daniel 12:8). Driven by his great love for the people of God, Daniel wanted to understand their destiny (note: “thy people” Daniel 9:15,16,19,24; Daniel 10:14; Daniel 12:1—twice)¹. At the end of the book of Daniel, we read in chapter 12:11–12 (Rotherham):

“…and, from the time of the taking away of the continual ascending-sacrifice, and the placing of the horrid abomination that astoundeth, shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Happy! is he that waiteth, and attaineth to one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.”

Nebuchadnezzar first besieged Jerusalem in the third year of Jehoiakim (Daniel 1:1). By comparing Jeremiah 25, it seems likely the city fell in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, which would have been around 605 BC. Daniel chapter 1 reveals that Nebuchadnezzar took vessels from the temple at Jerusalem to Babylon. Notice that Rotherham’s literal translation does not put the taking away of the daily in the future tense (as in the AV), so, it is therefore quite possible that the verse is referring to when the daily sacrifice came to an end at the very time when Daniel himself was taken captive to Babylon. Adding 1,290 years to the epoch 605–599BC brings us to 685–691 AD. Impressively, the Dome of the Rock (a horrid abomination that asserts the supremacy of Islam, which, after it was built, was claimed to celebrate the supposed ascension to heaven of the prophet Muhammad from that place— see footnote²) was constructed on the site of Solomon’s temple between 687–691 AD. So, this time period fits very well.

When you add to 685-691 AD a further 1,335 years (v.12), it brings us to 2020–2026 AD.

This is a very exciting result, and one that should encourage us to pick up the spirit of those faithful ones long ago in Judaea—so that, “these sayings would be noised abroad” throughout all the ecclesias, encouraging each other to lift up our heads, to watch, and continue to wait patiently for Yahweh.

Blessed is he that waiteth

Daniel was told in verse 12 of chapter 12, “Blessed is he that waiteth”. The basic meaning of the Hebrew word translated “waiteth” is “to adhere”. We have to cling on to the hope that has been revealed to us. One other occurrence of this word translated “waiteth” I found particularly helpful in the context of this exhortation:

“For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” (Habakkuk 2:3)

There is an appointed time that the Father in Heaven knows. It will surely come. It is our privilege and also our challenge to “lay hold upon the hope set before us” (Hebrews 6:18), that by the grace of Yahweh, we might stand with Daniel at the end of the days, and hear those longed-for words, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).

The possibility of the 1290 years commencing in the time of Daniel himself is something that only recently came to me as we were pondering Daniel 12, and we sincerely hope that we are on the eve of our Lord’s return. But please remember what I stated near the beginning of this exhortation—we can’t be hard-and-fast about dates and times. Time periods, however, are in the Word and we can gain encouragement by giving attention to them and pondering how the Most High has framed the ages by the word of God (Hebrews 11:3) according to His timetable. We don’t know the day or the hour; it remains our duty to wait patiently for Him.

Finally, let us be mindful of the words of our Lord in Revelation 16:15. Watching scripturally involves applying ourselves to the Word and genuinely striving to “keep our garments” and following the Lord Jesus Christ in all aspects of our life.

Dear brethren and sisters, let us hold fast the profession of our hope without wavering, for He is faithful that promised. In the words of our hymn:

The vision tarrieth not;
At the appointed time
It speaks, by man forgot,
God’s purposes sublime.
Yea though it tarry long,
And seemeth not to grow,
Let faith and hope be strong,
The word of God ye know.

² More about the “horrid abomination that astoundeth”…

Parable of the abomination that astoundeth

There is an interesting parable to be found in the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.

Way back in Genesis 21:9 Ishmael mocked the seed of promise, and so commenced the affliction of the true seed of Abram predicted in Genesis 15:13.  Yahweh agreed with Sarah, and commanded Abraham, “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for he will not be heir with the seed of promise, even with Isaac” (Genesis 21:10). [The Jews, natural, represented by Hagar and Ishmael said to our Lord, “We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man…We be not born of fornication…” (John 8:33,41) thus mocking the Lord’s claim to be the Son of God and THE seed of promise. Paul clearly expounds this parable in Galatians 4:22-31 and, in particular, reflects upon “Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children”, thus clearly disproving the claims of the Jews recorded in John 8. I suggest, then, that the dome of the rock is an apt symbol of Jerusalem in unbelief of the seed of promise, and therefore it must be “cast out” of the way so that the true seed can take his rightful place.]

Historically the problem between the seed of Ishmael and the seed of Isaac continued, and eventually, Islam caused the dome of the rock to be built on the exact site where Abraham had offered Isaac (Genesis 22:2), and where, later, David made preparation for the construction of Solomon’s Temple (2 Chronicles 3:1) “…in the place which Yahweh thy God hath chosen to place His name there” (Deuteronomy 16:11). The dome of the rock structure dominates the skyline of Old Jerusalem and declares the sovereignty of Ishmael’s seed over the land promised to Abraham. When the true heir to the throne of Yahweh returns, this edifice (complete with a golden head, Daniel 2!) will be destroyed and the affliction of the seed of Abraham will finally come to an end. “An house of prayer for all people and nations” (Isaiah 56:7) will be built, and acceptable worship (in spirit and truth) will be based on accepting the principle that “salvation is of the Jews” (John 4:22).

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Image credits:

Feature image by NeONBRAND on Unsplash
Timeline graphic: WVP