Alan T (31 Dec 2011)
"RE: The command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem"

 
Steve W (17 Dec 2011) 
"2015 :  The Only Logical Fit....And Here's Why"
Dear Doves,
 
 
First of all, thanks to Mathman for the incredible analogous post yesterday with reference to the return of Christ being September 23, 2015, the Feast of Atonement. It was clearly,simply,and beautifully illustrated
to give us a logical reason for the return of Christ on the Feast of Atonement in the year 2015. 
 
As Mathman,Ron Reese, and others have illustrated, the fundamental reasoning of the 2008-2015 timeframe is Daniel 9:24-27 and the 7 weeks. On June 7,1967 the "command to restore and build Jerusalem" commenced. We then add the required 17460 days, and we arrive at Feast of Atonement/Yom Kippur Sept. 23, 2015. 
 
There is no other date by which you can count the 7 weeks, thus no other date for Christ's return other than Sept. 23, 2015. Of course, we can always add our own spin to things by attempting to count from May 14, 1948 when Israel became a nation, or maybe guessing the Jubilee year, but this is not logical. You can't use May 14, 1948 as a starting point because  the 7 weeks of Dan 9:24-27 was to commence from the command to restore and build Jerusalem, not when Israel became a nation. As for the Jubilee, it has to be based on something concrete. We can't just pull it out of thin air. And the most reliable source for determining the Jubilee is to consider the Shmita year which is currently observed by Rabbis in Israel. As it turns out, the past 2 Shmita's were 2000-01, 2007-08, and the next one is 2014-15....with the next year most likely being that 50th year starting September 23, 2015! and running through to the day before Atonement 2016.
 
If you do not believe the date of September 23,2015 as when Christ returns, what other date is there? The date  has to be based on something. The Jubilee , 7 weeks, or 17460 days from Jerusalem being captured by Israel on June 7, 1967,  takes us to feast of Atonement September, 23, 2015!  As it turns out, based on the current counting of Shmita,  the 49th year ends on Sept. 22, 2015, making September 23, 2015 the first day of Jubilee...and lasts into 2016.
 
As Mathman, Ron Reese, and many others have stated, no other date seems to fit. Lets now look at Atonement 2018 as some have speculated Christ may return. September 19, 2018(Atonement) minus 17460 days and we come to November 30, 1970. What happened on this date...absolutely nothing!  This is where we must start to think outside of what we have been taught, specifically, a seven year tribulation. If you will allow scripture to interpret itself, you will see the tribulation being 3.5 years ,not seven years.
 
Ultimately, the only time, and truly as I see it, the ONLY time you can apply the 7 weeks of Daniel, which start from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince comes, is when you use June 7, 1967 as a starting point...and you end up 17460 days later at the feast Atonement Sept 23, 2015. It all fits logically,perfectly,and scripturally.
 
Blessings to all,
 
Steve W.


To Steve W, Mathman , Ron Reese and Doves,
Although I am exited and in some agreement with Ron's findings on an imminent January Rapture possibility, I wanted to throw a little cog into the mix. There have been actually 4 different occasions where a command/ decree has been given to restore Jerusalem per Daniel 9: 24-27.

The preterist position:
1st decree
In the first year of Cyrus the king the same Cyrus the king made a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof threescore cubits; Ezra 6:3 ( circa 457 B.C.)
69 x 7 sabbatical weeks =483 yrs.

483 years later, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt day of Palms and declared Messiah. But is this the correct decree? The math does not match.
2nd decree
from above link:

A. It was the Persian King Artaxerxes Longimonus who issued the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem in 445 BC (Nehemiah 2). On the 483rd anniversary of this decree Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on what we know as the first Palm Sunday, fulfilling the prophecy of Daniel 9:25. Then in 68-70 AD the city was destroyed by the Romans.  After centuries of being rebuilt and then torn down by various conquering groups, the walls around Jerusalem were finally rebuilt under the direction of Suleiman the Magnificent beginning in 1535 AD, and during his reign the city enjoyed an exceptional period of peace and religious tolerance.  For the most part, these are the walls that surround the Old City today.

Based on my understanding of Matt. 24:34 and Psalm 90:10, Jesus should return in 2018, 70 years after the re-birth of Israel.  If so, it will have been 483 years since Suleiman ordered Jerusalem’s walls rebuilt, the same span of time given in Daniel 9:25 . If this is merely a coincidence, it is truly a remarkable one. By the way, if you use the 360 day year we believe God uses, 483 years on His calendar equals 476 on ours.  Add 476 years to 1535 and you come to 2011, the year I believe the rapture will occur

.   This could get interesting

.

So an Ottoman(Turk) King in 1535 also issued a decree to rebuild jerusalem....so then 483 years later(69 weeks of Daniel ch.9) is 2018....This is  The 3rd decree
But this still does not account for the 70th week..it says in Dan 9:26 " after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off..." the preterist view holds this to be the crucifixion in 33 A.D....The Ottoman decree theory would place the cutting off( to be 1969)
This does not fit.
This Prophecy of Daniel could be mixed, out of order and (sealed), as some believe the Book of Revelation to be out of order, i.e. , 4 accounts of the same time frame ..but that is a subject for a future letter.

4th decree

Then there is the Nov.29, 1947 UN decree to restore Jerusalem to the Jews, which uses solitary years in place of sabbatical weeks, which is the most popular. 1947 + 69 =2016..still not a precise fit..this does not, however, account for the cutting off of the Messiah after 62 weeks( years? ), which comes to 2009..if this was the rapture( cut off), then it's no fit... we're still here .

I do not believe that we have the answers yet, because this Prophecy is sealed obviously for a reason...we must wait for major fulfillment to pick up the Prophetic trail IMO.
But the bloggers figures on the link ARE impressive and it's still 2011....Have a great New Year Doves

YFIC, Alan T