Jesus rebuked the religious leaders of his day because they didn't know the time of their visitation (Luke 19:44). The prophecy showing the exact day of their visitation was foretold in the Book of Daniel, chapter 9:25, which Jesus expected the religious leaders to know:
“Know therefore and understand,Note:
that from the going forth of the command
to restore and build Jerusalem
until Messiah the Prince,
there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
the street shall be built again,
and the wall, even in troublesome times.
And after the sixty-two weeks,
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself;"
Daniel 9:25-26
In Biblical language, a "week" denotes a period of 7 years, in the same sense that a "decade" denotes 10 years or "dozen" denotes 12.
"...from the going forth of the command
to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince,
there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;"
Artaxerxes Longimanus gave the decree on Nisan 1 in 445 B.C.
When we break down the prophecy, we understand that 69 weeks of years or 173,880 days after the command is given to restore and rebuild the city of Jerusalem, the Messiah will come. That command was given by Artaxerxes Longimanus in 445 BC.
If we count forward 173,880 days from the day Artaxerxes gave the command on March 14th, 445 B.C. we arrive at April 6th 32 A.D. This is "Palm Sunday," the date that Jesus Christ rode into the city of Jerusalem on a donkey, the date he expected them to recognize.
Therefore, if we are looking for Biblical patterns, is it not clear that just as they were EXPECTED to know the time of the Messiah's first coming (Luke 19:44), does Almighty God likewise expect us to know the time of his Son's next coming, the day of OUR visitation?
Some say that we cannot know the day or hour of the Rapture, based on Matthew 24:36. But was he referring to the Rapture? In context, is it possible that he may have been referring to the start of Daniel's 70th week, also called the Tribulation period, rather than the date of the Rapture of the church? Because Matthew 24 is all about the great Tribulation, not the Rapture.
To further support this theory, 1st Thessalonians chapter 5 tells us that that day will NOT overtake the believer as a thief:
"For you yourselves know perfectly that the Day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say,“Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape."1 Thessalonians 5:2
This passage is obviously referring to "the Day of the Lord," which is the Tribulation period which will come upon them suddenly and while they're focusing on peace. BUT...
vs 4:"But you, brethren, are not in darkness,Those who are not walking in darkness will not have that day overtake them as a thief. They will know the time. Just as the Jews would have been able to figure out the time of the first coming of the Messiah, is it possible that we also should be able to know the time of his coming for the church?
so that this Day should overtake you as a thief."
If so, then how can we know that time? Can we now know it by following the prophetic pattern we see in his first coming? We need a start date, and that has to start with a decree, just as the Jews would have had to start their day count from the decree specified in Daniel.
In our generation, Israel was reborn as a nation on May 14, 1948. What many Christians today don't realize is that two years after the 1967 Six-Day War when the Jewish people regained possession of Jerusalem, a decree was given for the rebuilding of the city even in troublesome times, just as it happened in the day of Artaxerxes, and where the prophetic pattern for our generation was established. The decree from the Knesset to rebuild Jerusalem went forth on April 1, 1969, and there is our suggested start date.
Now that we have a possible start date for the decree in our generation, we need to establish a day count. In going back to the Daniel 9:24 prophecy, should we be considering the starting point of 7 weeks, the 49-years part of this prophecy? In breaking this down further, this is 49 prophetic years, which is 17,640 days. If in fact this is correct, we now have a start date and a day count for our generation. Putting this all together, from April 1, 1969 we can add 17,640 days to get an end date, completing the prophetic pattern we see in the first coming of Jesus. In adding 17,640 days to our April 1, 1969 start date, we come to July 18, 2017!
In no way am I stating that July 18, 2017 is the Rapture date. However it's a day we might watch in consideration of the possible prophetic pattern we have seen before.
We can also see an interesting repetition of the number "7" in the unfolding of Israel's prophetic story. Is this another prophetic pattern revealing time markers for this end-time generation?
1917 The Balfour Declaration, the agreement for Jews to establish
a national homeland in the land of "Palestine."
1947 UN Resolution 181 granting the same.
1967 The Six-Day War in which Jerusalem was restored to Israel.
2017 Perhaps the beginning of the last "week" of Daniel, as the "great sign" suggests.
5777 Rosh Hashanah, 2016-2017
5777 Five is grace. And seven is completion. By the grace of God, the completion indicated by a triple seven just might begin in the year 5,777, which on our calendar is 2017.
In light of the above, as end-time believers we also can see some interesting patterns for church-age saints. For example, add the numbers up to and including 17:
1 +2 +3 +4 +5 +6 +7 +8 +9 +10 +11 +12 +13 +14 +15 +16 +17 = 153
153 is the number of the "great fish" the disciples brought in when following Jesus's directions.
9 x 17 = 153
9 = finality
17 = victory over your enemies
Jesus told his disciples that he would make them fishers of men. In that great catch they pulled in 153 "great fish," "153" possibly reflecting the large number of souls to be saved.
Another "great" is mentioned in the Book of Revelation:
"Now a GREAT SIGN appeared in heaven,Interestingly, this very sign is going to appear in the skies on September 23, 2017. This constellation has never been seen before, nor will it ever again afterward. Could this "great sign" be the signal of the beginning of Daniel's last, or 70th, week?
a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet,
and on her head a garland of twelve stars."
Revelation 12:1
If so, the Rapture of the Church will take place before that date.
Here's a possible 3-month scenario:
July 18, 2017 possible Rapture
Aug 21, 2017 a total solar eclipse, as foretold in Joel 2:31
Sept 23, 2017 the "great sign" possibly declaring the beginning of the Tribulation
Notes:
. More in-depth information concerning the year 2017 HERE.
. Prophecies that came to pass, with one more to take place, given by Rabbi Judah
ben Samuel who died in the year 1217. HERE
