In John chapter 12 verse 1, a passover is mentioned. This is the passover feast in which Jesus was to be crucified. In John chapter 6 another passover is mentioned, this is the one the year before. In John chapter 2 another passover is mentioned, this is the one the year before the one in John chapter 6. Now let's look at this chart to give us a better idea of what’s going on:
Now please remember that Jesus died on the passover which
is the 14th day of the first month. The lines on the chart represent
the end of the old year and the start of the new one, kind of like our
New Year's Day. Now the book of John does not record the 40 days in
the wilderness but it does record the first passover feast that Jesus
went to after he started his ministry. Starting in John chapter 2, let's
read verse 12 & 13.
"12 After this he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother,
and his brethren, and his disciples: and they continued there not many
days.
13 And the Jews passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem,"
Notice before Jesus went up to Jerusalem for the passover feast he went
to Capernaum. The book of Luke also records this event in chapter 4.
Verse 31 says,
" 31 And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and
taught them on the sabbath days."
The last few words are sabbath days. The sabbath days are 7 days apart,
so in order for him to teach on the sabbath days, he had to teach at
least 2, so I know that Jesus had to be there at least about 2 weeks.
But before this he was in Nazareth, according to Luke chapter 4 verse
16. And before this Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days. And before
he went into the wilderness he was in Cana 3 days after he was baptized.
So what we have is Jesus being about 14 days in Capernaum, 40 days in
the wilderness, 3 days between his baptism and Cana, not counting the
time he was in Jerusalem before the passover, not counting the time
he was in Nazareth, not counting his travel time between cities, not
counting his time between Cana and when he went into the wilderness.
There was a minimum of 57 days between the start of his ministry at
his baptism and the first passover during his ministry.
Now Jesus started his ministry when he was about 30 years old. With
this in mind I believe it would be safe to say that John the Baptist
started his ministry when he was about 30 years of age, or about 6 months
before Jesus started. As you can see, the passover is only 14 days into
the new year, so this would put John the Baptist and Jesus Christ starting
their ministries the year before the passover of John chapter 2, as
the chart indicates. So what we have is God calling Israel 3 years before
the cross. In Luke chapter 13 there is a parable that some of you might
be familiar with. In verse 6 it says,
"6 He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig
tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon,
and found none.
7 Then said he to the dresser of his vineyard. Behold, these three years
I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why
cumbereth it the ground?
8 And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also,
till I shall dig about it, and dung it:
9 And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt
cut it down."
In verse 6 "A certain man" is God the Father, "A fig
tree," the nation of Israel. In verse 7, the dresser of the vineyard
would be the Lord Jesus Christ. The parable is referring to God dealing
with Israel, and looking for fruit among the nation Israel. It says
he found none. Jesus Christ said, "Let it alone this year also,
till I shall dig about it, and dung it:" Now the digging and dunging
is referring to the Holy Spirit given to purge the nation Israel that
they may bring forth fruit. But notice how he said, "…let
it alone this year also…," indicating that God would give
them another year or finish out the year of the cross and if it didn't
bear fruit then he would cut it down. Let's add this to our chart.
God is going to allow them the same year of the cross
to bring forth fruit. One thing that I have learned since I have been
saved is that God is very merciful. But notice that it did not say,
"let it alone for 10 more years." He gave them 1 year, or
this year also. Please understand, after the cross, the 12 are still
going to only Israel. The scriptures show us that in Acts 5 that repentance
and forgiveness of sins was offered to only the nation Israel. Thoughout
the first part of the book of Acts there are a few that are saved, but
Israel as a whole was rejecting Jesus Christ. About a year after the
cross Stephen is stoned to death for his witness of Christ. As he was
about to be stoned he looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw Jesus
standing on the right hand of God. Now in the book of Isaiah in chapter
3 it says that the Lord stands to plead, and stands to judge. I know
that throughout Jesus' earthly ministry he pleaded with Israel to come
unto him. When he stands in Acts chapter 7, Jesus is judging the nation
Israel in unbelief. In Romans chapter 11, Paul says in verse 32,
"32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he
might have mercy upon all."
God did not conclude Israel in unbelief at the cross, because he said
he would give them another year. After that year was over, God struck
the nation Israel down and offered salvation unto the Gentiles. Jesus
Christ stood up in Acts 7 and judged the nation Israel in unbelief and
turned right back around in Acts 9 and gave the Church the Body of Christ,
(the one new man) so that the uncircumcised Gentiles might be saved.
From that point, God was not dealing with Israel as a nation, but he
was dealing with the remnant, or the elect of Israel and the rest were
blinded, according to Romans chapter 11. As you know God is still dealing
with the remnant of Israel today, there are Jews that are still getting
saved.
But when Stephen was stoned, it was at this time that Jesus Christ stood
up to judge the nation Israel, and God concluded them all in unbelief
that he might have mercy on all. At this point the door is opened and
salvation is offered unto the Gentiles. The bible says, "…through
their fall, salvation is come unto the Gentiles…"
Before I go on to my next point, I would like to tell you what happened
at a bible conference I had attended. Many years ago, sometime after
I had received Jesus as my Saviour, I was sitting in study, listening
to the teaching, and God used a preacher to open my eyes to some truth.
The verse of scripture was 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 7. It says,
"7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only
he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way."
Now as I was brought up I went to school like everyone else. I was taught
the word, "let", meant to allow, of course this was our modern,
up to date, mixed up language. But back in the old days this preacher
said it meant something quite different. He gave an example of when
he was a little boy he had to go to a well to draw water. He said that
you could not drop the bucket into the well, because it would make the
water muddy. He said you had to "let" it down. The word, "let",
meant to restrain, hinder or hold back. What a wonderful feeling it
was as my eyes were opened to this verse of scripture! It also made
me realize how ignorant I was to the meaning of everyday words I took
for granted. Somehow I have never forgotten this experience, but now,
whenever I have trouble with a word, I look it up in a dictionary or
a concordance to get the true meaning. I praise God for his teachers
that he gives us.
Anyway, one day I was studying on the subject of the fall of Israel
when I came across a problem. I was stopping the 483 years of Daniel
chapter 9 at the cross. Then I started counting. I saw 483 years from
the going forth of the commandment to the cross, 1 year from the cross
to the fall, and 7 years of tribulation. I added them up and came up
with 491 years. I said, "This can't be right, something is wrong."
I ended up with something that looked like this.
Now I knew in Daniel chapter 9, God said seventy weeks were determined
upon Israel, and I knew this was 490 years. But yet I kept coming up
with 491 years. In Daniel chapter 9 verse 26 it says,
"26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be
cut off, but not for himself:..."
As far as I could see Jesus was going to die after 483 years were completed.
I knew God gave Israel another year after the cross. And according to
Daniel 9 and the Revelation the tribulation would last 7 years. I was
puzzled. This didn't make sense. I dwelt on it for a while, then I remembered
the Lord said, " if any lack wisdom let him ask of God." Boy,
I felt if anyone lacked wisdom it was me. I prayed to my Father to give
me wisdom on this thing and I waited. Sometime later, these thoughts
of the 491 years were going through my head again and I was telling
myself, "There is something I don't understand," and that's
when the Lord opened my eyes. The Lord allowed me to remember the time
when he used a preacher to open my eyes about the word, "let".
Then I realized my ignorance of the meaning of words, and told myself,
"There are some words here that I don't know the meaning of them."
The Lord was showing me to find out the meaning of the words. Right
away I gave God the glory and got back into the scriptures. And sure
enough there was a word there that changes the whole situation. Please
let's read Daniel chapter 9 verse 26 again,
"26 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 there shall
be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
The second word of the verse, the word "after" is what I want
to talk to you about. As I was growing up I was taught the word "after"
meant at the end of something. But I found out the word "after"
has different meanings. First of all, I don't know anything about Hebrew,
but I did notice that there are several Hebrew words translated "after".
The one in Daniel 9:26 is the Hebrew word "ACHAR." There is
another Hebrew word translated to "after" and it is the word
"KEHTZ". Both the words "achar" and "kehtz"
are translated to the word "after", but they have 2 different
meanings. For instance the word "achar" in 2nd Samuel 2:23
is translated "the hinder end". Notice in the verse,
"23 Howbeit he refused to turn aside: wherefore Abner with
the hinder end of the spear smote him under the fifth rib, that the
spear came out behind him; and he fell down there,..."
As you can see Abner took the back end of the spear and smote the other
man. It wasn't just the tip of the back end or the edge, but the hinder
part or the back half of the spear.
Another example of the word "achar" is in 1st Kings 14:10,
where it translated, "the remnant of." Notice it says,
"10 Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house
of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam, him that pisseth against
the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take
away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung,
till it be all gone."
As you know, a remnant is the little bit left over as in a small piece
of carpet that you may buy, or as in this case the few left over of
the house of Jeroboam. "The remnant of," means a little bit
left over. There are other verses we can go to explain what "achar"
means, but I'm sure you are starting to get the picture.
The word "achar" means the back part of something, the hinder
end, or the little bit left over. The word "kehtz" on the
other hand, has a different meaning, it means the very edge of, very
border of, or the utmost end. These 2 words have two different meanings
even though they are both translated as the word "after" in
various places.
Let me give you a couple examples of the word "kehtz". First
of all, in Isaiah chapter 23 verse 15 & 17, it is translated into
the words "after the end". Notice in verse 15,
"15 And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall
be forgotten seventy years, according to the days of one king: after
the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot."
Now verse 17,
"17 And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy
years, that the Lord will visit Tyre, and she shall turn to her hire,..."
These verses are telling us that the seventy years had to pass before
the Lord would visit Tyre, It did not say that he would visit Tyre at
the hinder part of the seventy years, but rather at the end.
Another real good verse to go to is in Exodus chapter 12. Here the word
"kehtz" is translated to the words, "the end of."
Notice in verse 41,
"41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred
and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the
hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt."
This verse shows a real good meaning of the word because it says, "even
the selfsame day it came to pass." It says that the 430 years transpired,
and the very day it ran out, they left Egypt.
Please don't get me wrong. I believe that the King James Bible is the
word of God with all my heart. I believe it means what it says, and
I don't believe in running to the Hebrew and Greek texts at every whim.
I believe God had it written in English, perfect. My problem is that
I don't understand the meaning of all the English words. This is not
God's fault. It's mine. So God showed me that there is nothing wrong
with looking up the meanings of words that he uses in his scripture.
Anyway, I gave you a few scriptures to show you that the words "achar"
and "kehtz" have two different meanings, even though they
are both translated as the word "after" in different places.
There are other verses, but I feel that these were sufficient to show
the difference. Another thing I have learned are the old terms used
to describe the front and rear ends of a boat. The front is known as
the "Fore" which came from the words “before or forward”,
and the rear is known as the "Aft" which came from the word
"after". You could be in the rear of a boat and be in the
Aft. You did not necessarily have to be at the very edge, or the very
end of the boat to be in the Aft, but just in the hinder part of the
boat.
Now if we were to take the words "Achar" and "Kehtz"
and apply them to a boat or a ship, it would be something like this.
The Achar would be the hinder part of the ship whereas
the Kehtz would be the very edge or the very end. I hope that you are
starting to see the difference. Now let's go back to Daniel chapter
9. In verse 26 again,
"26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be
cut off, but not for himself:..."
If the word "Kehtz" would have been used here, it would mean
at the very end of the threescore and two weeks Jesus would have died.
But the word used here is the word "Achar" which means that
Jesus died at the hinder end, or the hinder part of the threescore and
two weeks, not necessarily at the very end. So what we have here is
a big difference. Most people that study their bibles put Christ dying
for our sins at the “Kehtz”, or the very end of the 483
years. But the Hebrew words indicate that Jesus died at the “Achar”
or the hinder part of the 483 years, not the very end. With these things
in mind we can see that Christ died at the hinder end of the 483 years
and God casting away Israel at the very end of the 483 years. We can
now see that the 483 years ended with the fall of Israel when Jesus
stood up and judged Israel in unbelief. This brings us to exactly 490
years that God has determined upon the nation of Israel, just as it
says, in Daniel chapter 9, instead of the 491 that we previously counted.
In Daniel chapter 9, Gabriel told Daniel, “Seventy weeks are determined
upon thy people…”. These seventy weeks are a total of 490
years, not 489, not 491, but 490. God is still dealing with Israel as
a nation after the cross. He gave them a whole year to repent, and a
few did, but the majority rejected Christ as their Saviour and the Lord
cut them off.
Jesus, being the passover Lamb, died on the 14th day of the first month
of the 483rd year. He said, “…let it alone THIS YEAR ALSO”.
Notice that Christ did not say, give them another year, or give them
next year also, but he said, “this year also”, indicating
that it was the same year in which he died, and gave Israel the rest
of the 483rd year. At the end of the 483rd year, Jesus Christ stood
up and judged the nation of Israel in unbelief and gave the dispensation
of grace to the Gentiles so that they could be saved. Israel became,
“LOAMMI: not my people”, (Hosea 1:9)
Now lets look at this final chart and see how things are starting to
shape up.
We can now see how looking at Daniel’s 69th week
this way can really start to open up the scripture and start to answer
many questions that we might have.
And here is another little tidbit of information as we close this article.
In Joel chapter 2, it says,
"28 And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour
out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see
visions:"
Did you see the word, "afterward"? Guess what the Hebrew word
is? The root word comes from the word "achar", which we have
discussed, that it means the hinder end. Peter, when he quotes this
verse in Acts chapter 2, the word is translated from "afterward"
into "the last days." The time period of Acts chapter 2 is
definitely in the last days or the hinder end of the 490 years, even
though the 490 years was separated by the Grace period.
Now all this having to look up of words for their meanings is not God’s
fault. We start out as ignorant and we learn as we are taught. God’s
word is holy and true, just because we lack the understanding of words
does not mean the bible is at fault, we are. As our languages change
in this ever changing world, God’s word will always be the same,
holy and without blemish, as we see in Psalm 12,
“6 The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried
in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
7 Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation
forever.”
...Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved...