In 1978, our family acquired a new technology in the form of cable television. This was a quantum leap in the quality of reception, and availability of channels. For the first time, we could watch movies without commercials. Despite the R rated movies my dad let me watch, such as Escape From Alcatraz, Up In Smoke, and The Gong Show Movie, there was one movie which wasn’t rated, whose previews caught my attention, but my mother wouldn’t let me watch it for some unexplained reason. It was called, The Late Great Planet Earth by a man named Hal Lindsey.
The movie disappeared from memory until 1992. After moving to Arizona that summer, I read the Bible, and one of the conclusions I drew from that reading was that I would be alive to witness the fulfillment of its prophetic writings, including the return of Christ. I was also convinced that I was one of the 144,000 mentioned in the book of Revelation, which was fairly easy considering I was one of the only believers I knew of with the name of Benjamin-- a name of one of the twelve tribes of Israel which compose the 144,000.
Right after finishing that reading, I took a walk around the local mall, and noticed a copy of The Late Great Planet Earth on the clearance table of the bookstore. Not only did that trigger my memory, but the fact that it was coupled with another book by the same author entitled, Satan Is Alive And Well On Planet Earth sounded really intriguing. After all, it was the origin, and objective of Satan that was a primary reason for reading the Bible.
After reading the Late Great Planet Earth, I was convinced of a prophetic interpretation called the premillenial tribulation. This is to begin with an event that is popularly referred to as the rapture. That is, the physical removal of Christians from the planet so that the 144,000 can complete the work of taking the message of Jesus to the world. This work is to occur over a seven year “tribulation” that is to culminate with the return of Christ with all the believers who have been resurrected or raptured. After that, there is to be a 1000 year reign of Christ on the earth before the wicked of all ages are resurrected, and condemned.
At first it all seemed somewhat paradoxical because my original conclusion about being one of the 144,000 was now in question because these people are to be literal Israelites according to this interpretation, and I am a conglomeration of western European nationalities. At the same time, I didn’t want to take a position against the plan of God if this were the true interpretation.
After living life in the light of this concept for the next seven years (ironically), something came across my path that exposed the mathematical error at the foundation of the entire premillenial tribulation eschatological outlook. That foundation is a time prophecy in the book of Daniel.
“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” Daniel 9:24-27.Each of the weeks of this prophecy is understood to represent a seven year period. The first sixty-nine weeks are said to terminate with the death of Jesus, thus beginning the times of the gentiles, i.e. the church age. When the church age ends, which is not disclosed, the church will be raptured, and the seventieth week will commence. The book of Revelation is assumed to describe the events of this week. So, what’s the problem?
It all has to do with the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem, which is the event that begins the prophecy. According to the seventh chapter of the Biblical book of Ezra, this commandment was issued the seventh year of Cyrus. That would have been 457 BC. Premillenialists however, refer to the second chapter of the book of Nehemiah, which states is the king’s twentieth year, for the commandment.
Doing the math, 483 years (69 weeks) from 457 BC takes you to the year 27 AD since there was no year zero. According to the third chapter of Luke’s gospel, that was the year Jesus was baptized. That in turn would make Jesus the one who confirms the covenant with many for one week. And, it would also mean that Jesus was the one who causes the sacrifice and oblation to cease in the midst of the week. Therefore, the prophecy was concluded at one time, and is finished. Meaning, there is no seven year tribulation period.
But if one starts at 444 BC (the twentieth year of the king), 483 years takes them to 39 AD, which has no Biblical significance. So here is the catch, it is assumed that since Daniel was a captive in Babylon when he was given the prophecy, the time needs to be interpreted according to the Babylonian calendar instead of the Hebrew calendar. This would turn 483 years into 476 years. That would take a person to 32 AD, an accepted year for the crucifixion of Jesus. This would take Jesus out of the picture, and leave the seventieth week to be fulfilled after the church age, with the antichrist being the one who confirms the covenant for seven years.
If there is no seven year tribulation period, how do things unfold in the final generation is the question that came to me after seeing this discrepancy. The present act of aggression by the United States may cause some to think that we are on the verge of finding out. For me at that time in 1999, my mind was directed to re-read another book on prophecy that I had discovered on a bookshelf at a church in Arizona called The Great Controversy by an Ellen G. White. Since then, the character one must have in order to experience translation (the Biblical term used to describe the rapture) has become more and more plain every day. Character is who we are as the result of how we have responded to those things which are true.
It is all too common to assume that it is a simple matter of belonging to the right group, making the right profession, with a mixture of believing and doing the right things is all that there is to getting out of this life alive, and becoming immortal with a new body to match. Nothing could be further from the truth.