The Seventy-Five Day Interval

Removal of the Abomination of Desolation

Dan 12:11-12 "From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. 12 Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days. NIV

• Previously 1260 is used to describe the time until the middle of the tribulation, and the time to the end of the tribulation and the demise of the Anti Christ . Based on the use of 360 days as a prophetic year
• The author adds 30 extra days here (1290) for the end of the abomination that causes desolation
• The author adds 45 extra days (or 75 to the 1260 to make 1225) for additional events

Antichrist is Resurrected and/or only Cast into Lake of Fire with False Prophet

Isa 14:11-20 All your pomp has been brought down to the grave, along with the noise of your harps; maggots are spread out beneath you and worms cover you. 12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! 13 You said in your heart, "I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. 14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." 15 But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit. 16 Those who see you stare at you, they ponder your fate: "Is this the man who shook the earth and made kingdoms tremble, 17 the man who made the world a desert, who overthrew its cities and would not let his captives go home?" 18 All the kings of the nations lie in state, each in his own tomb. 19 But you are cast out of your tomb like a rejected branch; you are covered with the slain, with those pierced by the sword, those who descend to the stones of the pit. Like a corpse trampled underfoot, 20 you will not join them in burial, for you have destroyed your land and killed your people. The offspring of the wicked will never be mentioned again. NIV

Rev 19:20 But the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who had performed the miraculous signs on his behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped his image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. NIV

• The two passages seem to contradict each other. In the first passage, it is clear that the Antichrist is killed, yet in the second, he is captured. There are three possibilities
• One, Fruchtenbaum argues that the beast is killed and then resurrected as the first of the "second resurrection" (those who do not have eternal life), and then cast into the lake of fire
• Two, it could be that the casting into the lake of fire is the "death" of the Antichrist, later described in Isaiah
• Third, the Isaiah passage describes Satan, whereas Revelation 19:20 describes the Antichrist, not the person Satan

Casting of Satan into his fifth abode, the Abyss

Rev 20:1-3 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. 2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. 3 He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. NIV

• There are six abodes of Satan mentioned in the bible
• First, the throne of God
• Second, the mineral garden of Eden
• Third, the atmospheric heavens
• Fourth, the earth (in the middle of the tribulation, Satan is cast to earth)
• Fifth, the abyss
• Sixth, the lake of fire

Judgment of Living Gentiles

Matt 25:31-33 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. NIV

• Two groups are created. What are the requirements for entry into each group?

Matt 25:34-46 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

44 "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45 "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." NIV

• Fruchtenbaum argues that the groups are separated into pro- and anti-Semitic groups. And verse 40 does seem to support that view, but verse 46 would then raise the question of salvation by works. Fruchtenbaum argues that only believers would have risked their lives to protect the Jews. In which case, the dividing line really is salvation and Semitic views, or at least it is both

Resurrection of OT Saints

Dan 12:1-2 "At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people — everyone whose name is found written in the book — will be delivered. 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. NIV

• There are two resurrections mentioned here and they probably are separated in time because of one event still to come, the marriage feast of the lamb
• The OT saints are resurrected for the marriage feast
• The OT unbelievers are resurrected but not until the end of the millennial (during the "second resurrection") for judgment

Resurrection of Tribulation Saints

Rev 20:4-6 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. NIV

• Now, the martyrs during the tribulation are resurrected to participate in the marriage feast. At this point only believers will be alive
• Five resurrections
• First, Christ, the firstfruit
• Second, the NT dead in Christ (and then living believers raptured) (before the tribulation)
• Third, the two witnesses (during the tribulation)
• Fourth, the OT saints (after the tribulation)
• Fifth, the tribulation saints (after the tribulation)

Marriage Feast of the Lamb

Rev 19:4 9 Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!'" And he added, "These are the true words of God." NIV

Matt 22:1-14 Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying: 2 "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come. // 4 "Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.' // 5 "But they paid no attention and went off — one to his field, another to his business. 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them. 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. // 8 "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. 9 Go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.' 10 So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. // 11 "But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. 12 'Friend,' he asked, 'how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was speechless. // 13 "Then the king told the attendants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' // 14 "For many are invited, but few are chosen." NIV

Isa 25:6-8 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine — the best of meats and the finest of wines. 7 On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; 8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken. NIV

• Technically, the marriage feast is a double marriage
• The church as the bride of the Messiah
• Israel as the remarried wife of Jehovah

APPLICATION:

• Gratefulness. We do not deserve our salvation
• Purpose. We are nearing the end of the days, and many do not believe in the God of the bible. If they do not see a difference in us, they may never get another chance to hear / see the gospel. Your life might be the last light anyone sees. Is it different enough (ie, holy) that people will see Jesus? Or does it look like everyone else around you?

The Campaign of Armageddon

Most of the ideas for this section come from Dr Fruchtenbaum's book "The Footsteps of the Messiah." Many more verses are found in his book and a much more detailed explanation and argument. My notes do not do justice to his work. I would recommend his book for those wanting to go deeper into the subject

Sixth Bowl Judgment

Rev 16:12-16 The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the East. 13 Then I saw three evil spirits that looked like frogs; they came out of the mouth of the dragon, out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 They are spirits of demons performing miraculous signs, and they go out to the kings of the whole world, to gather them for the battle on the great day of God Almighty.

15 "Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed." // 16 Then they gathered the kings together to the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon. NIV [1]

• What is the sequence of events here?
  • River, Euphrates, is dried up. Why and where is it? To prepare the way for the kings of the east to mass their forces. Euphrates and Babylon are in modern day Iran
  • Evil spirits, who look like frogs (physically or in the spiritual realm), are sent to convince the other kings to attack Israel
  • A message of hope is sounded to the faithful
  • The armies gather at Armageddon (show on map). This is the gathering place, not the place of a final battle, nor is there one battle. It is more proper to call it the Campaign of Armageddon or the War of the great day of God
• Fruchtenbaum argues that as the armies of the Antichrist gather to destroy Israel, the first event is the destruction of Babylon. He argues that the prophecy against Babylon have never been fulfilled in the detail described and therefore refer to the future Babylon and not the Babylon of old. [I'm not convinced on the timing]
  • Jer 51:41-44 "How Sheshach // will be captured, // the boast of the whole earth seized! // What a horror Babylon will be // among the nations! // 42 The sea will rise over Babylon; // its roaring waves will cover her. // 43 Her towns will be desolate, // a dry and desert land, // a land where no one lives, // through which no man travels. // 44 I will punish Bel in Babylon // and make him spew out what he has swallowed. // The nations will no longer stream to him. // And the wall of Babylon will fall. NIV [1]
  • Rev 18:1-24 also deals with Babylon's final destruction
• The forces of the Antichrist next attack Jerusalem. They suffer extensive losses but succeed in taking the city
• Zech 12 This is the word of the Lord concerning Israel. The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the spirit of man within him, declares: 2 "I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. 3 On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves. 4 On that day I will strike every horse with panic and its rider with madness," declares the Lord. "I will keep a watchful eye over the house of Judah, but I will blind all the horses of the nations. 5 Then the leaders of Judah will say in their hearts, 'The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord Almighty is their God.' // 6 "On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place. // 7 "The Lord will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem's inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah. 8 On that day the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the Lord going before them. 9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem. // 10 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son. 11 On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, 13 the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, 14 and all the rest of the clans and their wives. NIV [1]
• In the next stage, the forces of the Antichrist head to Bozrah to destroy the remnant that is gathered there (we are now three days from Christ's return)
• Jer 49:13-14 I swear by myself," declares the Lord, "that Bozrah will become a ruin and an object of horror, of reproach and of cursing; and all its towns will be in ruins forever."  // 14 I have heard a message from the Lord: // An envoy was sent to the nations to say, // "Assemble yourselves to attack it! // Rise up for battle!" NIV [1]
• The fifth stage (using Fruchtenbaum's order of events) is the national regeneration of Israel
  • Rom 11:25-27 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: // "The deliverer will come from Zion; // he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. // 27 And this is my covenant with them // when I take away their sins." NIV
  • Ps 79 O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple, they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble. 2 They have given the dead bodies of your servants as food to the birds of the air, the flesh of your saints to the beasts of the earth. 3 They have poured out blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury the dead. 4 We are objects of reproach to our neighbors, of scorn and derision to those around us. 5 How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire? 6 Pour out your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge you, on the kingdoms that do not call on your name; 7 for they have devoured Jacob and destroyed his homeland. 8 Do not hold against us the sins of the fathers; may your mercy come quickly to meet us, for we are in desperate need. 9 Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your name; deliver us and forgive our sins for your name's sake. 10 Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Before our eyes, make known among the nations that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants. 11 May the groans of the prisoners come before you; by the strength of your arm preserve those condemned to die. 12 Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times the reproach they have hurled at you, O Lord. 13 Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will praise you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise. NIV
  • Ps 80:16-19 Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire; at your rebuke your people perish. 17 Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand, the son of man you have raised up for yourself. 18 Then we will not turn away from you; revive us, and we will call on your name. 19 Restore us, O Lord God Almighty; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved. NIV
    • Who is the man at your right hand, the son of man? He is Jesus, the messiah
    • Zech 12:10 makes a similar argument
• The sixth stage is Jesus' return. Fruchtenbaum argues that Jesus returns first to Bozrah
• Isa 34:1-10 Come near, you nations, and listen; pay attention, you peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that is in it,the world, and all that comes out of it! 2 The Lord is angry with all nations; his wrath is upon all their armies. He will totally destroy them, he will give them over to slaughter. 3 Their slain will be thrown out, their dead bodies will send up a stench; the mountains will be soaked with their blood. 4 All the stars of the heavens will be dissolved and the sky rolled up like a scroll; all the starry host will fall like withered leaves from the vine, like shriveled figs from the fig tree. 5 My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens; see, it descends in judgment on Edom, the people I have totally destroyed. 6 The sword of the Lord is bathed in blood, it is covered with fat — the blood of lambs and goats, fat from the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in Edom. 7 And the wild oxen will fall with them, the bull calves and the great bulls. Their land will be drenched with blood, and the dust will be soaked with fat. 8 For the Lord has a day of vengeance, a year of retribution, to uphold Zion's cause. 9 Edom's streams will be turned into pitch, her dust into burning sulfur; her land will become blazing pitch! 10 It will not be quenched night and day; its smoke will rise forever. From generation to generation it will lie desolate; no one will ever pass through it again. NIV
• Isa 63:1-6 Who is this coming from Edom, from Bozrah, with his garments stained crimson? Who is this, robed in splendor, striding forward in the greatness of his strength? "It is I, speaking in righteousness, mighty to save." 2 Why are your garments red, like those of one treading the winepress? 3 "I have trodden the winepress alone; from the nations no one was with me.I trampled them in my anger and trod them down in my wrath; their blood spattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing. 4 For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption has come. 5 I looked, but there was no one to help, I was appalled that no one gave support; so my own arm worked salvation for me, and my own wrath sustained me. 6 I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath I made them drunk and poured their blood on the ground." NIV
• Matt 24:30 "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. NIV
• Acts 1:9-11 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. // 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven." NIV
  • Note that it doesn't say the same place but rather in the same way or manner
• In parallel, Rev 19 describes the Lord's return in more detail. There is a four-fold hallelujah
• The seventh stage is the battle from Bozrah to the valley of Jehoshaphat
• Joel 3:12-13 'Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side. 13 Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow — so great is their wickedness!' NIV
• The eight stage is the victory ascent up the Mount of Olives
  • Zech 14:3-4 Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. NIV
  • It is at this point that the seventh bowl judgment is exercised

  Seventh Bowl Judgment

  Rev 16:17-21 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, "It is done!" 18 Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since man has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. 19 The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. 20 Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. 21 From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible. NIV [1]

• The seventh trumpet is the end. A number of geographical changes occur as well as the falling of very heavy hail stones
• Also the fifth worldwide blackout occurs. Fruchtenbaum places it after the tribulation, but it could be argued prior as well
• Zech 14:3-4 Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. 4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. NIV

APPLICATION: Everything in the bible that has been prophesied to take place has occurred with 100 percent fulfillment. There is a strong reason to believe that the remaining prophecies will come to fruition as well. The world wants to destroy God, to come up with rationalistic explanations for life. But they are just following Satan's plan, and their rationalistic explanations do not improve life or answer the big questions of life. We need to hold firm to truth, to not shrink back, and to offer to those around us a compelling reason for a change. If our friends and the people we meet in life don't see it within us, they may never see it

[1] The Holy Bible : New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996, c1984.