The WOFOYO Podcast
The WOFOYO Podcast
70 Weeks Part 2: Prophecy, Rapture, and Jewish Perspectives on Scripture
An exploration of the Seventy Weeks of Daniel reveals the importance of understanding God's prophetic timeline and its relevance to the present church age. The episode delves into various calendar systems, the significance of the Antichrist, and the implications of the rapture, all while stressing the need for believers to remain watchful and engaged.
• Discussion of the Seventy Weeks of Daniel and its relevance
• Examination of different calendar systems for prophecy
• Insights into God’s prophetic timeline and its implications
• Transition from Israel to the current church age
• The nature of the “great parentheses” in biblical prophecy
• Various interpretations of the rapture and their implications
• Importance of Jewish context in understanding scripture
• Challenge to believers to be proactive in sharing their faith
#wofoyo https://wofoyo.org/
Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of the Wofo podcast. In this episode we are continuing our discussion of the 70 weeks of Daniel and, if you missed our last episode, we have been comparing notes Bones has done the legwork for this episode as far as the study and we've been comparing two scholars that were pre-1900s, clarence Larkin and Finnis Dake. And we are talking about this 70 weeks and we cover from the time of the Declaration for the Rebuilding up to the triumphal entry into Jerusalem of Jesus Christ, and that's where we're going to pick up this conversation. Wofo Yo.
Speaker 2:So, as we see all these start to wind up the end of the 69th week, the terminus we've got to look at now, let's do some math, let's start looking at the math, and this is where things really start to get dry. Uh, start looking at the math to see if, if we can fit, uh, 400 and what 483 years, I think is what it is 69 times seven. So can we fit the math in here? So if we start looking at the calendars, we find out that there's approximately four different calendars that we could possibly consider here. There's the Julian year, which is 365 and a quarter days to a year. There's a solar year, which is 365 days to a year that's what we're accustomed to. A calendar year which has 360 days, which is 30 day months. And then there's a lunar year, which is 28 day months, 354 days to make up a year, 28-day months, 354 days to make up a year.
Speaker 2:So we start trying to figure out what kind of calendar is God using for prophecy? Hey, of course we go back to Scripture. We'll see if we can find any reference to Scripture. Can we figure out anywhere in Scripture where God is using some sort of calendar that we could recognize? Well, we find out in Genesis, chapter seven and chapter eight, that there's a five month period. He says, from the seventh day on the second month until the 17th day of the seventh month are reckoned 150 days or 30 days to a month. So right there, we can kind of get the idea that there's 360 days to a year. And since we're dealing with prophetic events there, then this is God's prophetic timeline, the 360-day calendar. So that's what we're going to use here.
Speaker 1:Just a little aside. A couple years ago, when I went down the rabbit hole of reading about sacred architecture, it was all based upon a proportion between the solar year and the lunar year and it always had to do with ratios, but one of the things that was intimated was the solar year represented that which you could see the terrestrial, the natural world Whereas the moon and you will even find some Muslim teachings regarding this, you will even find some Muslim teachings regarding this but the moon represented what happened spiritually?
Speaker 1:Yeah, so you know there was also some. I don't want to get too far down that rabbit hole, but basically God's timeline is spiritual. You know he's working in the spirit and you see it manifest in the physical, in the natural. Rather than trying to work on the natural and be distracted by that, to try and get to the physical or to get to the spiritual, rather Right. Right, get to the physical or to get to the spiritual, rather Right.
Speaker 2:Right. So if we can go back and now we think we got a decent idea of what kind of calendar we're looking at Now we're going to go back and figure out how many, how many days have gone by from the what we figure might be the start of the 70 weeks to when we figure might be the end of the 69th week. Figure all that up 483 years. Basically, all that comes out to about and I'm going to save you all the figuring and the ciphering that I did along with Clarence Larkin, because he had a whole page just on that. It was dry Basically there came down to about 173,146 days between those two events, the starting of the 70th week and the end of the 69th week. Divided by 360, you come out to 481 years, just a little bit shy of 482. So, or?
Speaker 1:43.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you're basically two years and two weeks short of the 483 mark. So they got a little bit closer to it. But what we see is that this is close enough to where the students of prophecy, the scribes, pharisees, the people who are supposed to know at the time in Jerusalem, should have been looking out. They should have been watching, they should have recognized this was close enough that people the watchman on the wall, should have been watching Basically, is what should have happened. So it's okay if the math don't line up, because there's still a lot of unknowns that we have that we don't know about, but the fact is, I think some of that stuff still translate to us here in the church age.
Speaker 1:Yeah, while you were saying that, I was thinking about you know as someone, as you and I have both been called the watchman on the wall. Sometimes the watch watchman can be saying, but it's not being allowed to be heard. That's true too.
Speaker 2:That's true, and some of the way this kind of translates here into the church age now is we should be watching. We don't know the day or the hour, but we know that it's close. Therefore, we should be watching, we should be ready, we should have our witch trimmed and everything Like the scripture says. We should be paying attention, ready, we should be ready, so on and so forth. We should not be caught unawares when Messiah shows up a second time. So you know, I think that, of course, hindsight's 20-20. It's easy for us to say well, you know, god had a veil pulled across Israel's eyes and they just weren't going to see it. Regardless, and that's true, there was a veil that was pulled across the eye of Israel and they just weren't going to get it. However, also, they weren't looking either. I think they were so caught up on the specifics, they were so caught up in the minute details that they watched him blow right by them. Boy, don't we do that today, yeah.
Speaker 1:Everybody agreed on the general concept but they had so overdefined, with a lot of the writings, that because it did, because it don't fit the way, that I learned it in seminary. Well, this can't be it. And all of a sudden you're missing what God's doing, and it isn't till you probably fall on your face. On that, you step back and go, ah, you kind of get that uh bigger picture Right and you realize, realize it, it wasn't about you, it wasn't about your theology, it wasn't about the theology of the people that taught you about that. It was about what god was doing, exactly, exactly.
Speaker 2:Speaking from experience, man, so now we have what folks call the great parentheses or the parenthetical insert, and I don't know, I really don't know of any other way to explain this, but to say that God was dealing with Israel on a prophetic timeline and he did so up until the crucifixion.
Speaker 2:And at the point of the crucifixion, at about that time and I'm not going to point out and say at the crucifixion, but around that time frame God put Israel on hold, and I'm talking about Israel as a nation, okay, uh, not every individual Jewish person, israel as a nation. You put them on hold, spiritual, prophetic hold, and his attention is on the church, the church age, the age of grace and everything that becomes, exactly everything that that becomes. I'm not saying that the church replaced Israel, because I don't believe that at all. That's not what we're saying. But God's attention swung. He refocused, if you would, that's the only way my finite mind knows how to say it. So now the focus is on the age of grace and the church age where, even for a Jewish person to receive Christ, they become a part of the church, the body of Christ, so on and so forth. But there's coming a point in time and this age, right now, has been ongoing for about two millennia now.
Speaker 1:Going on it yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, going on 2,000 years. So this parenthetical insert, this parentheses, is continually expanding as time goes on. But we're told in the scriptures that this parenthesis is going to have a cap put on it at a specific point and, just like you said, it's expanding, it's getting ready to contract really, really, really quick.
Speaker 1:But if you don't mind me adding in there, the thing is, the whole idea of Israel is similar to the John Winthrop thing, the city on the hill. This was to be the light, the beacon of God's goodness to all the nations. What happens? And, like you said, if there ain't no Jewish believers, there ain't no church. So it's not like God's. If you're Jewish, God ain't dealing with you BS, he's using Jews. That even in Acts it talks about.
Speaker 1:There was a certain number of the priesthood who believed and I always thought that was amazing. Imagine being a priest and you're going through these rituals that have been prescribed for a couple thousand years now and you're seeing Jesus in every one of these rituals. So there was a segment there that believes. But it goes from the focus of hey, we're the light, to go and spread this light.
Speaker 1:Eventually, what you see in the middle of the book of Acts, which causes a big controversy, starts with Peter and really culminates in Paul's missions is to go out into the Gentiles to share the light. But you also read, you know, when Paul talks about the veil in that same chapter he talks about everybody's getting grafted back in and it's all going to be one thing before it's all said and done. One thing before it's all said and done. So that's why I said that when that cap gets puts on, you know just just like when the when the cap gets put back on, it's going to contract really quick and I and I think what you're getting ready to bring up is going to reaffirm that- All right, let's see.
Speaker 2:Let's see if that's the case reaffirmed that.
Speaker 2:All right, let's see. Let's see if that's the case. So we know from the reading of the original, our original reading here at the very beginning I'm talking about the 70th week and everything let's see here. Oh man Talks about one who will come and confirm a covenant with many for one week. That's the 70th week. That's 70th week. That's the one week. That's the 70th. The last remaining week is someone is going to come and confirm a covenant for one week In the midst of the week shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.
Speaker 2:This is basically a greater part of the book of Revelation. It's what's being talked about right here. Oh man, this is another two or three podcasts right there. So this 70th week is going to start right about the time that whoever this person is the Antichrist, whoever this person is, the Bible calls him the Antichrist that establishes a seven-year covenant with Israel, who breaks off the covenant halfway through the three and a half year mark. Then that's the start of the 70th week.
Speaker 2:Our Bible also tells us that there's something going to happen to the church, the body of Christ, all believers and saints before that time, and that we would all be caught up, be caught away, raptured out, even though the word rapture is not in the Bible, but we would all be caught away. This is our blessed hope. This is where the rapture theology or the rapture doctrine comes into play. So here's some things that are very important and all the reason I bring this into it. This is part of that parenthetical between the 69th and 70th week and, like I said, very beginning, understanding and knowing God, the prophecy in his word um helps. It helps our faith. It helps, it, helps reaffirm and strengthen our faith.
Speaker 2:So I don't know when the 70th week of Daniel is going to start. I don't know who the Antichrist is. I don't know when it's going to start. I don't know any of those things. But I'm pretty sure that the Bible tells me that the church is going to be yanked out of here at some point and then all that is going to be yanked out of here at some point. Okay, and then all that's going to happen. That's my blessed hope. So we could sit here and try to think or guess when that's going to happen, but the Bible already tells us that no man knows the hour or the time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that no man knows the hour or the time, yeah, and he also says that there's. Paul says that there's something withholding this revelation, and there's a lot of arguments I ain't even going to get into it, but there's something that's causing this full manifestation to be withheld. Now, what is that?
Speaker 2:Again, there's a lot of speculation on that.
Speaker 1:Yeah. But if it is the church, some people say it's the Holy Spirit, and I go. Well, the Holy Spirit's not being taken away, or else you'd have nobody get born again that was one of our first discussions or else there's nobody getting born again during that last week.
Speaker 2:But here's, here's where it comes. Here's where that goes, though, Because because, yeah, the Bible does tell us that that, um, the antichrist, that man of sin, uh, won't be revealed until he who hindereth is taken away. And if it is the Holy Spirit which is embodied in the church, the Holy Spirit has to come back, and I see that in the scriptures as well. And I see that in the scriptures as well. What I'm making kind of what I'm getting towards, is the rapture.
Speaker 2:Theology, or the concept of the rapture is kind of controversial among Christians as well. There are certain denominations that don't believe in it. There are denominations that believe that we're going to ride through the tribulation period just like everybody else. Y'all better hang on, because it's going to be hell on earth for us too. If it is, so be it. I mean, it really don't matter. But you know, if God says that he's going to take us away first, then so be that too. I'll go either way. I ain't got no choice.
Speaker 2:But there are scholars who see a rapture of the church before the tribulation period. There are scholars who see a rapture in the midst or the middle of the tribulation period, at three and a half year mark, midst or the middle of the tribulation period, at three and a half year mark. There are scholars who say that there is a rapture at the end of the tribulation period, just before the second coming of Christ. Honestly, I see all three of them in scripture. I don't see anything in scripture that says all three of them can't happen. So, but once again, it's not for us to get wrapped around the axle. Amen On those things. If God has revealed those things to you, then you've probably got some peace in your spirit about it. And man, ride, ride that train, ride it on out of here.
Speaker 1:I would also like to add, to be somewhat contrary, is you know, given what you said, there's debate, or there could be all three, but at the same time, there seems to be an exercise in futility in the whole thing, especially if it's a church that's withholding this spirit to try and pinpoint when it is Well, you ain't going to be around to deal with it if that's the case. But the whole idea is this Whenever and I believe, hey, pray for it, expect it, look forward to it, anticipate it, but do so. And I'm one that's been guilty, which is why I'm so passionate about this this do so knowing that, however that happens, it's not an excuse for you to sit on your ass and not do what the Lord's told you to do. It is not an excuse for you to hide your talent or your minus in the ground. Be a good steward of what he's blessed you with. Good steward of what he's blessed you with.
Speaker 2:I think if we truly believe that there was seven years of hell on earth, the Bible teaches that the first three and a half years is basically Satan's wrath unleashed against humanity. Then the last three and a half years, the great tribulation, god's wrath released on humanity. And if you can believe it that way, I mean, none of it sounds really all that pleasing. You know, none of it sounds. I don't want to be fair, but I don't want to believe none of it. But if you can believe it either way, whether it's Satan's wrath in the first half or God's wrath in the second half, if you truly believed it, why wouldn't you tell people? Why would you want your children to experience that? Why would you want your grandchildren to experience that, especially if there was an arc on the way out of here called the rapture? If there was a, if there was an escape uh, that that you could, as you could, get out of here on um, why wouldn't you tell people and that's what I like about pen and tell her oh man.
Speaker 1:You don't have to agree with them, but man they're funny.
Speaker 2:They're funny and and I'll tell you what the bigger guy I can't remember his name that's Penn Juliet. That's Penn Penn Juliet. And he'll say this he'll admit that he's an atheist, yep, and he'll tell you this about being a Christian. He says you know what, if you're really a Christian? I respect that and I'll tell you what, if you're really a Christian, you can't help but tell me about Jesus, because why would you hold that inside of you? He makes a hell of a point as an atheist. He gets offended by Christians who don't witness to him. Atheist, he gets offended by Christians who don't witness to him.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, I mean, if we can look back on prophecy and, you know, kind of take a ride through Scripture and history, because what I found for me going back and doing the research and doing the study, for me it's a historical thing. I go back and look in history and say, okay, xerxes, artaxerxes, cyrus, darius man, these guys really existed. And here they are in the Bible and we have other historical sources. These were real people. It's a confirmation of what I already know in my spirit, yeah, but I love going back and putting dates to things For me.
Speaker 2:I'm drawing that mental timeline in the back of my head and it helps me to see that it's a map, is what it is. It's what I'm doing. I'm drawing that map. So if I can go back and study and freshen up and that reminds me of God's faithfulness, well then that helps me. As I'm reading into the Gospels and into the book of Revelation and so on and so forth, I see that sometimes today things don't seem so chipper. I've got plenty of promises here in the New Testament to remind me that God is just as faithful now as he was back then.
Speaker 1:Yep, Hi everybody. We'd like to take this break from talking to you about doom and gloom and revelation to talk to you about my Patriot Supply. Sure, the waters might be turning to blood, Mountains might be falling out of the sky. You might be at the risk of losing your head, but where are you going to eat during those times? My Patriot Supply can provide you with a 90-day food supply with 2,000 calories per day. Promo code.
Speaker 2:Wofo'all just kidding folks. Don't try that. I'll ask you who the hell are they?
Speaker 1:like no mofo, yeah, but no, it's one of the things also that, looking at this, because I remember, you know that everybody talks about the seven-year period and then there's these prophecies about a seven-year covenant and I'm, you know, gonna look like a peace deal and it's gonna be broken in three and a half years, and all you know all the things that this alludes to, also known as a time of jacob's troubles, and I just remember, you know, and everybody's been pinpointing this and, and so anytime you see something like this knee-jerk reaction for me is like, don't do it. I mean, granted, there's a little bit of hypocrisy there, because I'm praying, even so, come quickly, lord jesus. But at the same time, I'm like, don't do it. I mean, granted, there's a little bit of hypocrisy there, because I'm praying, even so, come quickly, lord jesus. But at the same time, I'm like, don't do it, leave it alone.
Speaker 1:Leave it alone because I remember george w bush signing a seven-year peace deal. Yep, I'm like who the hell's planning this? You know, I ain't gonna lie. As much as I might espouse some of the stuff that Trump's doing, we're going to renovate, you just leave guys alone. You just leave the whole dang thing alone, dude, you know I don't know who told you to do this, but leave it alone.
Speaker 2:And there was a lot of folks screaming Antichrist when OG Dubb was making that peace deal. If we go back as students of prophecy and we start getting meticulous like old Clarence Larkin here, we can start analyzing this a little bit and we'll find out that, you know, gd couldn't have been. Could have been the antichrist.
Speaker 1:That would have been the vice president, but just kidding, that is a joke. Yeah, fbi, but uh, it was actually his daughter.
Speaker 2:No, uh, that too was a joke but the reason being is because there there are certain things that are said in scripture about the antichrist, and this is the antichrist, and this is the Antichrist the person, not the spirit, but it's the embodiment of the spirit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly Kind of like we were talking with strong men and principalities.
Speaker 2:It's a physical representation of a spiritual entity or overriding spiritual reality, right, and there's been some pretty decent books out there written to kind of list out some of these qualifiers, if you would. Perry Stone has done a pretty good job. Give him praise and glory in the house.
Speaker 1:John Hagee.
Speaker 2:John Hagee. He did a pretty good job.
Speaker 1:Give him praise and glory.
Speaker 2:He did a pretty good job of nailing down some of the specifics. You read their stuff with a grain of salt and understand that they're writing down their revelation as they receive it. It's not, it's not. It's not Bible, you know, but it's. It's not bad information to kind of have.
Speaker 1:Well, well, let me just throw this out there too, and and I'm not as much as when I start this sentence, it might seem like I'm picking read their stuff because perry stone or hagi, or there was another dude, uh, he's dead now grant jeffrey, or, uh, you know how, lindsey, any of these other folks, what was the other, jack van impy? Here's rick seller, you know, had that dude with the perm just announcing all the time and it was like who in the world does their makeup? I mean, basically what they do, seriously, they write books. That's what they do. They write books. And I remember reading one of John Hagee's books, final Dawn Over Jerusalem. Decent book, but what's a good comparison to do?
Speaker 1:And especially guys like these, they're going to focus on end times, but I'm saying this just as matter of fact. No motive behind this other than it's a study. They'll write books about every five to eight years and I guarantee you, all them guys have written at least four. Look at what they say in the first one, look at what they say in the first one, look at what they say in the second, third, fourth, and you'll see some changes.
Speaker 1:The book might've been something the Lord wanted you to write, but just cause he had you put pen to pad, you know, or typed it up, however you do, it doesn't mean that he isn't going to give you more and that revelation isn't going to give you more, and that revelation isn't going to get fine-tuned because, because you're going to find it and people oh well, that contradicts. Well, you might have a fuller understanding because I can guarantee you there's things that you and I are seeing that we had a general knowledge of and a genuine revelation from God 20 years ago, but over the years, as we've had to walk it out, now he's going okay. Now you got a little bit more of a working understanding of how this thing is.
Speaker 2:And that's just part of growth, right everything. And what I think is interesting too is that as these guys revisit these topics and and update them and whatnot, that's, there's some character in that. That shows character. It shows that you're willing to go back and readdress some things. I would be a little bit more concerned about someone who doubles down on the same thing and just beats a dead horse I would be more concerned about that and just beats a dead horse. I'd be more concerned about that. But what I enjoy about Perry Stone and John Hagee I've seen John Hagee progress but I really enjoy that Middle Eastern perspective in the way they write, which is foreign to us here, in the way they write, which is foreign to us here In the Western church we're so Western-focused, everything is viewed through a Western eye and we think everything revolves around us and it just don't. But when you can find some scholars, some smart people and they're looking at things through a Middle Eastern eye, man, take a look.
Speaker 1:That's one of the reasons and it's going to be a little bit different take. I actually don't view it as contradictory as much as I do. This is another piece of the puzzle. Yeah, type thing. But look at guys like jonathan khan or rabbi jason sobel. There's a messianic rabbi and even old goofy, sid roth if you've ever heard him actually teach and start talking about jewish messiah. Right, and start talking about Jewish Messiah. These are some perspectives that are needed that if we, especially in the Western church, are going to have a fuller understanding, especially when you get into things like timelines and God's timing, which is, you know. I've said several times on this program, that's one of the biggest issues I have is getting the timing right, right, right, but yet you had a lot of these old rabbis, even pre-Christ, that are getting these timelines pretty much nailed down.
Speaker 2:Mm-hmm. Yep, yeah, if you want to know Jesus and you want that relationship to get a little stronger and whatnot, if you want to know more about him, look at, look, look at the Bible through through a Jewish eye, and what I mean by that is man, go, go look at what a Jewish wedding ceremony is, you know. Go look at some of these Jewish customs and traditions. Go see what they were and how they are today and stuff like that. Number one you'll understand more of these stories a lot more clearly in the scripture. Number two, you might find out where we get some of our stuff as Americans, some things that we do. You know where it comes from, but, man, in some places I've tried to teach that and tried to explain that, and you get met with resistance, resistance. I can't understand why anybody would not want to learn more about a jewish jesus. Because you done slurred baptist, grandma, oh, my goodness, I guess so I done burnt the biscuits. Yeah, I don't, just, it just blows my mind.
Speaker 1:There is definitely and again, you take that with a grain of salt because, like we mentioned, you can get so bogged down in the details, kind of like they did, that all of a sudden you're missing the overriding picture of what's happening. But at the same time, if you think, oh, let's just, I'm going to answer an altar call and everything's going to be hunkydory, then it's a lot more complex than that. There's a lot more depth to walking in relationship with Jesus Christ than just that. And if you ever want evidence of that and as far as how deep that thing can go, yeah, start talking to some Jewish rabbis. They'll show you how deep that thing can go, yeah, start, start talking to some Jewish rabbis.
Speaker 1:They'll show you how deep that thing can go. And they don't, and they'll admit they don't have the full revelation of it.
Speaker 2:It really is like a, like an onion. I mean, you just peel back, layer after layer, that little little skin in between the layers and uh, you know just, it'll get it. You can get as deep as you want to go the layers and uh, you know, just, it'll get it. You can get as deep as you want to go. Um, spend a lot of time studying, reading or spend a lot of time watching TV, whichever you want to do.
Speaker 1:Hey everybody, thanks for listening. You can always check us out at wofoyoorg or subscribe on Apple podcast, spotify or Audible checks out on YouTube. We hope this challenges you, cause you to grow and even disagree with us, so that way you can pinpoint where you disagree. Listen to the Holy Spirit, and woe fo yo Get in the Word for yourself.