Greg Wilson
Re: Luis Vega “Shemitah’s of Israel”
Lu: Great observation and
analysis. I would like to add that this 2022 view is
in line with Theordor Hertzl’s vision expressed by his
Second Zionist Congress held in Basel, Switzerland in 1898
which will be 120 years ago in 2022. Interesting that
Noah had a 120 year advance notice of the flood. Now,
Israel will have had a 120 year period since Hertzl’s vision
of Israel as a Jewish nation. Hertzl had said in 1898
that he would expect to see a Jewish state within 50 years
and so it was 50 years later in 1948 that Israel was formed
as an independent nation. Now, it would appear
that we have a repetition of the 120 year advance notice
pattern just as Noah. As Jesus said the end would be
associated with the days of Noah. (Matthew 24:37; Luke
17:26)
The fact that Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy
(490 years or 70 shemitahs) was clearly modeled on the
Shemitah cycles, it makes sense that Daniel’s 70th
week, a Jewish dispensation, would begin on a Shemitah.
I offer the following analysis of
shemitah cycles in my article titled “Covenant
Time”. A PDF copy with the footnotes is
attached. This article was originally posted on five
doves May 8, 2016.
COVENANT TIME: God's 490-Year Pattern
Introduction
This is a study of the 490 Year periods
from Abraham to Daniel's 70th Week. These periods of
years, beginning with Abraham, teach an order about God's
administration of His redemption plans for Israel.
These years form a pattern which may contain keys for
understanding the time of the end.
This article will focus on the pattern of 490-year periods
generally.
There are four 490 year periods
totaling 1,960 years in Israel's redemption plan beginning
with Abraham and ending with Daniel's 70 Weeks
prophecy. These four periods utilize God's method of
counting the years. These four periods may be
associated with God's promises to Abraham, Moses, David
and Daniel's prophecy. They can be
termed God's measure of covenant or determined
time ("Covenant Time").
God counts time differently than
man. We will see that God deducted days and years
for unbelief and disobedience. It would appear that
God reckons covenant time according to Israel,
exclusively. As Jehovah,
He is known as the Covenant God of Israel who keep His
promises.
In the Book of Numbers, there is an
example of God's counting method. It is in the context of
the Nazarite vow to God. Numbers 6:12 states:
"And he shall consecrate unto the Lord
the days of his separation, and shall bring a lamb of the
first year for a trespass offering: but the days that were
before shall be lost, because his separation [unto God]
was defiled."
[Words added for clarification]
We may infer that God counts Israel's
time when Israel and God are in a right covenant
relationship or in the case of Daniel's 70 Weeks a
"determined" or "prophetic time". It appears that
these 490 year periods may be associated with a covenant
relationship suggesting intimacy as in a marriage, or in
the case of Daniel, restoration and fulfillment of
Abraham's promises.
However, when Israel acts in a manner
unbecoming, according to God's standards, God does not
count time. God declares a timeout in His
plan. Presently, we live in one of the timeout
periods, which Paul describes as a "mystery".
We are going to notice that time was deducted from each of
these four periods as an expression of a 490-year period
of right and determined
relationship.
For students of gematria who enjoy
reading God's words as numbers,
you may know that the numeric value of the Hebrew word
"covenant" is 612. Is it a coincidence that the word
"covenant" may be associated with Numbers 6:12 ? The
word of God is perfectly ordered.
This verse speaks to the defilement of an exclusive
relationship with God. Could this be a
confirmation that God's counting is associated with
aspects of a covenant and determined relationship ?
Is anything too hard for God
?
It seems appropriate to label these
490-year periods as Covenant Time. Who is our Lord
but "the strength of the covenant".
Abraham To the Law: 490 Years
With the birth of Abraham, God's
redemption plans for Israel would develop with greater
specificity. The full scope of the Abrahamic
promises encompassed the goals of Daniel's 70 Weeks
prophecy.
This covenant necessarily contemplated the Mosaic and
Davidic promises.
God's revelation is progressive, built
by precept upon precept, line upon line, a little here and
a little there.
God builds his doctrines in these manners for the purpose
of building up and establishing all who would inquire with
the right motives.
God was going to introduce His own
unilateral
promises to Abraham and his seed. These promises
were based on the oath of God
and did not require Abraham's
performance.
These
promises were everlasting.
They are forward-looking in that they extend through all
490-year periods into the Millennium and
eternity. Each of the subsequent 490-year
periods are key components of the Abrahamic
covenant. It is a covenant which looks forward to
the King ruling His kingdom in Righteousness and Peace
forever.
From Abraham to the Law of Moses was
505 years. The law was given 430 years
after Abraham departed out of Haran at the age of 75.
We need to add 75 years to 430 years which totals 505
years. However, in order to calculate God's Covenant
Time we need to deduct 15 years.
You ask why ? Because God did not count the years
from the time that Abraham had sexual intercourse with
Hagar
, a bondwoman, until Isaac's birth.
This was during the fifteen year period when Ishmael
represented the seed of Abraham. God did not count
this time because Ishmael was not the promised seed.
If we deduct 15 years from 505 years the result is 490
years.
In terms of the Abrahamic covenant,
Abraham had no performance obligations. God's
promises did not depend on Abraham's conduct. So,
the suspension of time represented by the 15 years cannot
be viewed as Abraham breaching the covenant. So,
what action caused God to suspend the counting of years
? Certainly, Abraham exhibited "unbelief" in
God's promise regarding an heir. He had lived in the
land ten years with no child. He and Sarah took
action, being unsatisfied with God's delay, by adding
Hagar as Abraham's wife for the purpose of producing an
heir. Ishmael, the product of the union, was not
God's planned heir. The heir, Isaac was to be the
"son of promise" not the "son of a bondwoman".
God did not count the time of Ishmael. Although
Ishmael was the seed of Abraham, he was not the heir of
God's choice. God began counting again when Isaac,
the son of promise, was born.
Beginning with Abraham, the first
period of "covenant time" totals 490 years.
Moses to King David: 490 Years
God established the Law on Mt. Sinai
with Moses. The purpose of the law was to
establish God's standard for righteousness. Before
the law, there was no transgression.
Ultimately, the purpose of the Law was to lead all to
Christ. The Law was our schoolmaster leading us to
Christ.
During the first 490-year period, we
learned that Abraham met Melchizedek,
a priest of the Most High God. The Book of Hebrews
speaks about this King of Righteousness and after, the
King of Peace.
This is a picture of Messiah Jesus who has become an
eternal High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.
Messiah Jesus' first appearance satisfied the
righteousness requirements of the Law.
Christ's atoning work confirmed the promises made to
Israel's fathers.
I point out this interesting fact about Melchizedek
because it joins the promises of Abraham to the Law and
ultimately Christ. Abraham was counted as righteous
because he believed God.
The Apostle Paul teaches that "the scripture, forseeing
that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached
before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all
nations be blessed".
The Law was given to teach God's righteousness and lead
all to Christ through faith, apart from works of the Law.
The period of the Law lasted 601 years,
but God only counted 490 years because Israel was in exile
as a captive nation for 111 years. God did not count
the years of captivity. God had judged Israel for
the worship of false gods.
The 601
years are computed by adding the following periods of
years:
40 years in the wilderness
20 years under Joshua
450 years under the Judges and Samuel
40 years under Saul
40 years under David
11 years under Solomon until the
dedication of the Temple
The years of captivity were 111 which
must be deducted from the 601 years:
8 years captive in Mesopotamia
18 years captive in Moab
20 years captive under the Canaanites
7 years captive under the Midianites
18 years captive under the Ammonites
and Philistines
40 years captive under the Philistines
This total number of 111 years has a
deeper message even if it cannot be seen literally.
It may be read numerically in a manner consistent with the
text aligned with God's character traits. God
chastens his children toward obedience with a view to
hasten repentance and restoration in
relationship. Captivity's purpose was to cause God's
people to repent and return to Him on His
terms. The gematria value of the number
111 is instructive. If we have understanding,
we know we can read this number as words. Scripture
confirms this methodology as understanding which produces
wisdom.
The Hebrew phase "the beginning of
wisdom" has a numeric value of 111. Psalm
111:10 declares: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of
wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his
commandments: his praise endureth for ever." Other
words and phrases which share this value include:
wonderful,
the Lord my God,
children of the Living God
and the blood of Jesus
. What is the hidden message. The
captivities were God's judgment based on His wisdom
producing reverence and right living in His covenant
people. This wisdom would ultimately be expressed in
His love for the children as He would manifest divine
forgiveness as the gracious Passover atoning offer of His
only Son, Jesus, the Anointed Most Holy One.
Subtracting 111 from 601 produces 490
years. This is the second period of Covenant Time.
King David to Temple Rebuilding 445
B.C.: 490 Years
From David's dedication of the altar in
1005 B.C. on Mt. Moriah until Artaxerxes' command to
restore and rebuild the Jerusalem in 445 B.C. was 560
years. However, we must deduct the 70 years when
Israel was exiled in Babylon. The third period
of Covenant Time is determined by subtracting 70 years
from 560 years which results in 490 years.
Israel's exile was the result of
failing to keep God's commandments including the Sabbath
rest of the land.
Daniel's 70 Weeks Prophecy: 490 Years
The 70 Weeks prophecy of Daniel spans a
490 year period. It is comprised of 70 periods of 7
years, representing seventy Sabbath periods.
This 490-year period differs from the three preceding
490-year periods. Those periods were
associated with Abraham, Moses and David and their
respective promises. God's redemptive plan promises
were specifically addressed in these three men. All
periods were forward-looking to the first and second
comings of Israel's Messiah, Christ.
Daniel's prophecy is not directly
associated with the promises made to Abraham, Moses or
David. It is a prophetic promise given to Daniel
which would indirectly and ultimately fulfill the direct
promises to Abraham, Moses and David. It surely
follows the pattern of the prior 490-year
periods. Daniel's 70 weeks prophecy speaks to
the first and second comings of Israel's Messiah.
In Daniel 9:24 we find six items
addressed in the prophecy: (1) to finish the
transgression, (2) to make an end of sins, (3) to
make reconciliation for iniquity, (4) to bring in
everlasting righteousness, (5) to seal up the vision and
prophecy, and (6) to anoint the most Holy. It
appears as a summation prophecy. The period is
termed a "determined time".
It appears to be the last quarter, if you will excuse the
use of an athletic term. It unifies the promises of
Abraham, Moses and David, in Christ.
In Daniel 9:26 we see Christ crucified,
as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.
In His offer, having kept all the Law, He fulfilled the
Law.
He became an High Priest after the order of Melchizedek,
the priest which Abraham honored with his tithes.
Abraham had seen the type of future Christ during the
first 490-year period. The Law of Moses had been
fulfilled producing a new High Priest fulfilling another
"oath prophecy".
And the Davidic covenant of King David, is a type of
eternally enthroned Messianic king, the throne of
which, Messiah Jesus will ultimately ascend.
In Daniel 9:27 we learn of "the
covenant" which will be confirmed with many for one
week. What are we to make of this covenant and he
who confirms it ? The love story must
continue. God has not finished with His people,
Israel. Verse 27 is the end of Daniel's
prophecy. What happens to Abraham's promises ?
Did the fulfilling of the Law in Verse 26 annul God's
promises ? If these Abrahamic promises are not
fulfilled here, then where and when ? Do we just say
God will do it later in the Millennium or Eternity
? Surely the fullness of God's promises extend
into Eternity. We have to ask ourselves what
is the purpose of this last verse ? Obviously, the
Book of Revelation is the expanded version of Verse
27. So we must look there for the
answer. We cannot run off and create some private
interpretation which fails to align with the "big
picture".
Prophecy is of no private
interpretation. We must compare Scripture with
Scripture.
I see word pictures as I study and
search the Scriptures. In Verse 27, I see Christ
standing in front of the verse. I see Him standing
at the end of the verse. God invites this
vision. Christ, the Word of God, the Alpha and
Omega, the Aleph Tav, stands in Revelation 1:8 and
at the end in Revelation 22:13. He is the beginning
and the end.
Therefore, He stands, as previously stated, in Verse
27. Christ is the spirit of prophecy.
This means all prophecy testifies to Him. Daniel's
prophecy is the greatest prophecy in all Scripture because
it commences the "Genesis correction event".
Christ stands in Genesis 1:1. He is named in Word 4,
as the "Aleph Tav", His proper name, as the Word of
God. Interestingly, this word is not translated in
English Bibles. It is omitted. Fortunately, we
have John to thank for helping us understand this
name.
It is in the Book of Revelation and
John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Then, in the sixth word we see Him again in His role as
"God Man". He is the "Vav Aleph Tav".
Vav is the sixth Hebrew word representing man who
was made on Day 6. The Vav is the Hebrew
pictograph symbol of a nail meaning to connect or to
bridge. Notice that this image is of Christ holding
out his arms with nail holes in his hands as the bridge
between the words heaven and earth.
John tells us again about his
image. He says: "Jesus saith unto
him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by me." Simply said, if you want to get to
heaven, you must accept His hand and pass through
Him. Grace, grace, it is all grace, an expression of divine
forgiveness. Forgiveness 490 times is the
expression Jesus used to describe God's gracious form of
divine forgiveness. Divine forgiveness happens in
Daniel 9:27 unto them [all Israel] that turn from transgression in Jacob.
Sixty-nine of Daniel's 70 Weeks had
transpired then Messiah Christ was "cut off"
by a crucifixion death. After the 69th week, God's
counting of Covenant Time was suspended. The
rejection of the Messiah was Israel's [Jacob's] greatest
transgression. Israel was blinded
and set aside for a time.
Daniel's 70th week is in the future for
the nation of Israel. This week will also be known
as the Time of Jacob's Trouble
and the Tribulation as described in Matthew 24 and the
Book of Revelation.
This week will begin when God
determines the "fullness of the Gentiles"
has come in and the covenant relationship is restored with
Israel, on God's terms. God may simply "confirm" the
Abrahamic promises, yet once again or perhaps a modern day
Daniel, a messianic Jew, will intercede for Israel, in
prayer and God will act. This is surely the
inference we are necessarily compelled to make given the
three preceding 490-year patterns.
God stopped keeping His covenant or
determined time when Israel nationally rejected
Christ. God intends to save remnant Israel as His
people.
He will begin this work with Daniel 9:27. Remnant
Israel will return to the mighty God.
He is the "mighty God" of covenants.
Jehovah or Yhwh is His personal covenant name,
that he uses with His friends, those who know him, who are
in covenant relationship with Him. His name is the
Mighty God.
Daniel 9:27, Daniel's 70th week begins
with the declaration: "And he shall confirm the covenant
with many for one week:"
This statement affirms that Covenant
Time will begin once again and be counted for the last
seven year period. God's relationship with Israel
will, after some 1,984 or more years, be restored.
The prophets declare this:
"18Who is a God like unto thee,
that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression
of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger
for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
19 He
will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will
subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins
into the depths of the sea.
20 Thou
wilt perform the truth to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham,
which thou hast sworn unto our fathers from the days of
old." (Micah 7:18-20)
Conclusion:
We began the first period of 490-years
with God's promises to Abraham and end with God's
implementation of promises to Abraham and his "seed" in
Daniel's 70th Week.
Micah announces the covenant love story
between God and Israel bringing God's redemption plan to a
dramatic finish at the end of Daniel's 70th Week.
But, the ending is just beginning. God has big plans
for His people !
Jeremiah declares:
"And they shall teach no more every man
his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the
Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them
unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will
forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no
more." (Jeremiah 31:34)
From the foregoing discussion we can
discern that God measures time differently. It is a
measurement of time from the perspective of Israel.
This is God's Covenant Time. The clock only runs
when Israel is in a right or determined relationship with
God. This is not a hard concept. In
fact, most athletic games keep "game time" which excludes
"time-outs" for a variety of events.
We can know that unbelief and
disobedience results in judgment and exile when God
suspends the counting of His "Covenant Time" with
Israel.
Jesus came to tell Israel about God's
righteousness. They did not want God's
righteousness. They wanted to skip righteousness and
go straight to the head of nations in glorious peace and
dominion.
Israel rejected Christ at His first
coming. However, the remnant, the true and obedient
Israel, will receive Him during the Time of Jacob's
Trouble.
The love story continues. God rules.
God requires righteousness before He
will bring peace. The King of Righteousness, the
King of Peace is coming soon !