Please forgive us for not responding sooner. B’Ann is trying to begin her new school year (She is a teacher.). Her load is tremendous right now, but she is planning to write you soon.

In all of this, the Lord made real to me the brevity of this life and the reason for our existence down here. It settled in my spirit that this life is only a preparation period—not unlike the time that we spend in school preparing for life. When we are in school we understand that the education years are only for a period of time. We do not fight to stay in school always, but we look forward to using what we have acquired to do the best that we can with our later years. In the spiritual realm, our educational years can be compared to our lives down here. The wise man will use his allotted time being "rich towards God" and laying treasures up in heaven for the rest of eternity.   The wise man does not use his God-given life making his life comfortable as though he will live forever. God had something to say to a man that tried this.

Luke 12:
15: And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
16: And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18: And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19: And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20: But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
21: So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
22: And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.
23: The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.
24: Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?
25: And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?
26: If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?
27: Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
28: If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
29: And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
30: For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
31: But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
32: Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
33: Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
34: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
35: Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;
36: And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.
37: Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.

I am confident that your elder sister and my youngest brother are together now in heaven. This is the blessed hope that God has given His Church, and this hope is even greater than the faith that God has given to us.

I Cor. 13:
8: Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
9: For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
10: But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
11: When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.
12: For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

Even now, I am confident that your elder sister and my younger brother are fellowshipping at the foot of Christ. It would not surprise me but that they often converse about you and I and our efforts to serve our Savior. In fact, I'm convinced that they are looking forward to the day which you and I believe and teach: i.e., the day that Jesus returns to this earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the day of which Paul wrote:

II Cor. 5:
1: For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
2: For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
3: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
4: For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
5: Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit.
6: Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
7: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
8: We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

I Thes. 4:
13: But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep*, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14: For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15: For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16: For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Let me leave you with these words of Paul:

*The use of "asleep" and "sleep" in this passage does not suggest that the soul of man will be in a state of sleep or unconsciousness when they are present with the Lord, but to the state of the dead body which will not be conscious of anything.  We know from the story of the rich man and Lazarus that in death, both the rich man and Lazarus were conscious and capable of feelings (See Luke 16:19-31).
The following is from Strong's Exhaustive Concordance: ...koimaomai (Greek) is used of natural "sleep," Mat 28:13; Luk 22:45; Jhn 11:12; Act 12:6; of the death of the body, but only of such as are Christ's; yet never of Christ Himself, though He is "the firstfruits of them that have fallen asleep," 1Cr 15:20; of saints who departed before Christ came, Mat 27:52; Act 13:36; of Lazarus, while Christ was yet upon the earth, Jhn 11:11; of believers since the Ascension, 1Th 4:13-15; Act 7:60; 1Cr 7:39; 11:30; 15:6,18,51; 2Pe 3:4. Note: "This metaphorical use of the word sleep is appropriate, because of the similarity in appearance between a sleeping body and a dead body; restfulness and peace normally characterize both. The object of the metaphor is to suggest that, as the sleeper does not cease to exist while his body sleeps, so the dead person continues to exist despite his absence from the region in which those who remain can communicate with him, and that, as sleep is known to be temporary, so the death of the body will be found to be. ... "That the body alone is in view in this metaphor is evident, (a) from the derivation of the word koimaomai, from keimai, to lie down (cp. anastasis, resurrection, from ana, 'up,' and histemi, to cause to stand); cp. Isa 14:8, where for 'laid down,' the Sept. has 'fallen asleep;' (b) from the fact that in the NT the word resurrection is used of the body alone; (c) from Dan 12:2, where the physically dead are described as 'them that sleep (Sept. katheudo, as at 1Th 5:6) in the dust of the earth,' language inapplicable to the spiritual part of man; moreover, when the body returns whence it came, Gen 3:19, the spirit returns to God who gave it, Ecc 12:7. "When the physical frame of the Christian (the earthly house of our tabernacle, 2Cr 5:1) is dissolved and returns to the dust, the spiritual part of his highly complex being, the seat of personality, departs to be with Christ, Phl 1:23. And since that state in which the believer, absent from the body, is at home with the Lord, 2Cr 5:6-9, is described as 'very far better' than the present state of joy in communion with God and of happy activity in His service, everywhere reflected in Paul's writings, it is evident the word 'sleep,' where applied to the departed Christians, is not intended to convey the idea that the spirit is unconscious. ... "The early Christians adopted the word koimeterion (which was used by the Greeks of a rest-house for strangers) for the place of interment of the bodies of their departed; thence the English word 'cemetery,' 'the sleeping place,' is derived." * [* From Notes on Thessalonians, by Hogg and Vine. p. 172.]

Don Wrote:

Don

Bill

I applaud you on your study habits, it is obvious that you spend a lot of time contemplating the things of the Lord. You say that there are many interpretations of the passage in question (Ezekiel 40:1-47:12).  For our visitors I am putting up the particular part of the passage in question .

Ezekiel 47
1 Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar.
2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.
4 Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
5 Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over.
6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.
7 Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.
8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
9 And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.
10 And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
11 But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt.
12 And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.
13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.
14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.

(For my comments on the passage, go to booklet one, chapter two of our on-line book THE CLOCK OF THE AGES.)

I would be curious to read some of the comments that you have mentioned for I have found none that makes sense to me.  Doesn't mean there isn't any, just that I haven't come across one.

Bill

Again, let me applaud you for taking time to study. But let me say that I can see how it would be easier for someone who has just begun studying prophecy to grasp what's in our book than it would for someone who has done a lot of reading.   This is because those who have done a lot of reading about prophecy, other than from the Bible, have repeatedly encountered the Scofield Study Bible's version of Daniel's 70 Weeks as found in its footnotes.

You say you read our comments on Daniel's 70 Weeks from the third chapter of our book, but either you didn't read it all or, as is more likely the case, you read it trying to make it agree with what you have read from other sources.  If you will look at our teaching, you will see that we concur that the 70th Week is for the descendants of Abraham through Isaac.  This is because the Church will have already gone up in the Rapture just before the first half of the 70th week begins.  And by the way, although Daniel's 70th Week is part of the prophetic package given to the Hebrews, don't forget that the Gentiles on the earth at the time will be the primary target for God's wrath.

Let me also say that if you are determined to stay with the teaching that sets forth an erroneous "seven years of tribulation," to do so will probably do you no harm personally, except to block your understanding of the prophetic portions of the Bible.  I say that for the following reason. We agree that there will be approximately 7 years of events prophesied to take place at the end of our age.   Those who ascribe to the Scofield Bible footnotes call this the "Seven Years of Tribulation"; saying that in the middle of this seven years, the Church will be Raptured.  However, our understanding divides this approximate seven-year period of time into

1) a time of tribulation like the world has never known which will last close to 3 and 1/2 years (the actual time will be shorten by God lest no flesh be saved, so we know that the period was assigned a time--see the chapter on Jesus' teachings on the prophetic watches.  This duration of time will end with the Rapture of the Church.) and

2) a three and one-half year period during which time the wrath of God will be poured out upon the inhabitants of the earth--this time of God's wrath we consider to be the first 1/2 of Daniel's 70th Week. 

Let's look now at the verse in Daniel that mentions the prophetic seventy weeks.

Daniel 9:24
Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

There are some serious problems with the Scofield Bible's approach to this verse. 

1. It wants the seven-year period that it labels "The Seven Years of Tribulation" to fulfill Daniel's 70 Weeks.   For it to do so, then the transgression would be finished and there would be an end to sins at the end of the Age of Grace.  This cannot be, for at the end of the 1,000 years of peace (The Kingdom Age) Satan will be released from his confinement in hell to once again transgress and cause men (and women) to transgress and sin against the God that made them.

2. Because the Scofield Bible's approach cannot see past the end of our age, many who accept it feel that when Jesus returns for His Church, it will be the end of the world. 

3. Those who accept the Scofield Bible's approach as fact will find the prophetic portions of the Bible (including the Book of Revelation) closed to their understanding.

In this age when every wind of doctrine is blowing from so many pulpits and soap boxes, I do understand how you are reluctant to consider a new concept.   So if you don't read our book(s), I understand.  But let me leave you with this verse from the Apostle John and a word of personal testimony.

1 John 2: 27
But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

When the Lord called me to preach and to serve Him, I earnestly sought of Him what seminary to attend.  He spoke to my spirit that if I would try to forget all that I thought I knew about the Bible and let Him teach me, He would be my seminary. In this manner, I devoured the Bible for four years before I began my ministry in earnest.  (Later, to serve in a church, I had to attend a seminary.  To my dismay, I found that I was one of the few there who actually believed the Bible to be the Word of God.  In fact, except for one professor, all of my teachers felt the Bible to have errors; and, of course, they would tell us of the errors and what to really believe.)     I say that to say this.  Put your confidence in God, not in man; and this you can do by applying I John 2:27.  Paul put it this way: "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (II Timothy 1:6-7). 

PS

Our comments on the Lord's teaching concerning the four night watches during Israel's night can be found in booklet seven, chapter 29.

_______________________________________________

For the sake of continuity, I will put my comments (in brown) between Bill's comments. If our comments "cross your eyes" --as they might, being taken out of context-- let me suggest that you go to the on-line book CLOCK OF THE AGES and begin at the beginning.  Hopefully, you will find the book inspirational and enjoyable. 

Again, Bill Wrote: 

Thanks Don,

I would like to say that I think part of my problem lies in misunderstanding your ideas that you are presenting; possibly due in part just by communication, or wording. Either way, I think it mostly revolves around the use of the time period of 3 1/2 years (as related to the church).

I can tell that you're having problems grasping my understanding of the three and one-half year time periods.  Perhaps it would help you to turn to the chapter on Jesus' teachings concerning the four watches of Israel's night (booklet seven, chapter 28).  In that chapter we observed how that the watch that the Church will go through at the end of our age will be the "midnight watch."   This will be the time of tribulation of which Jesus spoke.  This tribulation period (midnight watch) will end with the Rapture of the Church and then the first one-half of Daniel's 70th Week will begin.  It will be the "the cockcrowing."  Note that the Church will be Raptured out of the earth before "the cockcrowing" (the first one-half of Daniel's 70th Week) begins.

As to when any part of Daniel's 70 Weeks are in effect, let me quote from the third chapter of our book THE CLOCK OF THE AGES.

Due to the interludes of unspecified times between the divisions, the seventy weeks determined upon Israel cover a very large number of years. This being so, is there anyway that we can determine when the seventy weeks are in effect? Well, there are at least three things that we can look for. First, there must be a remnant of Israel in her homeland. Second, her will must be in accordance with God's as to His prophetic goals. Finally, Israel must embrace the covenants given to her during the Age of the Law and they must be the only Biblical covenants being observed by man at the time. These three conditions were in effect during the sixty-nine "weeks" up to the Messiah—so it only stands to reason that they will hold sway in the final or seventieth "week."   (Remember, as to the Kingdom Age, Israel will not be under the law of Moses, but under the Rule of Jesus Himself.)

It's also noteworthy that because these things have been "determined" upon Israel, her heart being right with God is not a condition. For example, let's consider the generation that brought forth the "male-child" Jesus. Prior to His birth, the nation's prophetic will was in agreement with God's—they wanted their Messiah, their Deliverer, to be born. After He was born, it was a different story. The Jews wanted a king who would act like the kings of the earth. They expected a king who would set up an earthly kingdom there and then, a kingdom wherein they could rule with Him in their unregenerate state. It was God's will, though, for Jesus to be born in a stable, to be born to die for the sins of His people that they might one day rule with Him in sinless perfection in His future kingdom.

The presentation of the last two halves of Daniel's 70th Week as "one week" is one of the tools used to hide the mysteries of God from the descendants of Abraham--whose "hearts were far from God."  But it shouldn't be so for the Church.  If you'll remember, Jesus said that God has blinded their eyes to the glorious Gospel because of their rejection of His Son.  Consequently, although each individual Jew can accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, for the duration of the Age of Grace, the nation has not been acceptable to God.  

That said, simply state why I disagree with your understanding of a division in the final week of Daniel's 70 weeks. We know for a fact that there is a "parentesis" in the 70 weeks, correct? After all, we have history to tell us that the first 7 weeks and the 62 weeks have already occured. So there is a definite break in the weeks, just as you claim there is to be for the final week.

However, we must first look at why we know there was a break, or division, to begin with; otherwise, we would have the tendency to believe all 70 weeks have already occured (and I know some ascribe to this, sadly). So, to start, let's look at the beginning.

Daniel 9:25
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

Here we have a decree or commandment to rebuild Jerusalem, and that will complete the first 7 sevens (49 years): the length of time it took to actually rebuild the city (in Haggai 1:2-4 they were already living in the city, and Ezra 4:12 states it was built in Ezra's day. These primarily are included for support of the decree coming from Cyrus and not Nehemiah). We also have the second segment, the 62 weeks which leads up to the first time Christ arrived. There is no division, no time inbetween these two sets of 'weeks', and truly, the did occur back to back.

I don't see how the verses you give can support your supposition that the two divisions are back to back.  I'm at lost to see how they have anything at all to do with Daniel's 70 Weeks.

Move now to verse 26:

And after threescore and two weeks shall Messaih 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 thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. (emphasis added)

What we have now is the division, or break, I mentioned earlier. This is a list of prophesied events that must happen after the 62 weeks and yet they will happen before the 70th week. This all goes back to my original point that we know there is a stoppage in the 70 weeks for a given, biblical reason: verse 26 is that reason. Now, let's look for the same breakage for the 70th week so that we know there will be one as you put forth:

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

There is no prophesy of events that will take place in the midst of the week as we had in verse 26. Yes, there is a distinction of a midpoint and things that will happen at that midpoint, but we do not have the distinction required to support your understanding. Continue on to the end of the verse which states how long the overspreading of abominations lasts: "even until the consummation", which is to say, until the very end of the 7 years. How then could the millenial reign take place in the middle of these seven years, when once the sacrifice and oblation ceases he (antichrist) makes it desolate until the end of the seven years?

Now, I'm having trouble following you.  Probably this is because you've encountered the preceding verse of Daniel as it is used  in the Scofield Bible's footnotes to support the "seven years of tribulation" theory.   Who is the "he" that shall confirm the covenant with many for one week.   When read in its context, this has to be the man of sin of the end time.  As you will see later on in our book, his making a seven year covenant will be simply a ruse to confuse.  He will know that Israel will be expecting the 70th Week to be fulfilled, so he will be playing on their blindness to the prophetic Word to work his deceptions.

You had commented in the preface, I believe, that the KJV should be used when studying end times (if not the entire Bible). I disagree. I believe to get this deep into study one must get to the Hebrew writings. The Hebrew writing was much more
structured than the English language, and understanding that as well as the translated words is vital to understanding what is being said. Just as Daniel did not say "weeks", but Shabuwa`, or 'heptads' which the translators turned to weeks, we can know by the way in which the ninth chapter of Daniel concludes that indeed there is a division of time between the 69th and 70th week; but there is no such structure for a division of time between the first half and secons half of the 70th week. Just as we know that the "he" that confirms the covenant is the antichrist because the pronoun goes back to its closest antecedent, which is the "prince" of verse 26. This, and not Scofield's footnotes, are why I do not believe in any stoppage or time gap in the middle of the final week.

The King James Version of the Bible has an interesting and pertinent history.  According to historians, King James was not necessarily a religious man.  However, during the time of his reign, religious factions in his kingdom were at each other's throats to the point that he felt he had to deal with their differences for the sake of His rule. One of the points of division among the religious was which Bible among the differing translations at the time was correct and should be followed. Consequently, he appointed 54 of the best-known scholars and theologians to the task of putting together a new Bible which would go all the way back to the oldest manuscripts available for its text.  The work was laid out so that all involved had to agree on the final work--at the risk of the king's disfavor for failure.  The differing opinions among the workers had to be laid aside so that the work could progress.   The King James Version has served the English speaking people of the earth for all the many years since its inception...and needless to say, God has put His stamp of approval upon it countless times.  If would be real scary for me to go to the Greek and Hebrew on my own and make up my own translation.  Even after years of Bible study, I'm the first to admit that it's a BIG book and I've got a little mind that has to continually deal with my prejudices and limitations.  That's why we named our site "doweknow"!  I think I'll stick with the King James Version.

God Bless,

Bill

I feel that your greatest problem with our book is that every time it disagrees with the commentaries from the Scofield Bible's footnotes, you hit a snag.  Hopefully you can set aside what you've heard long enough to read the book and let it speak for itself.  If you can, I think that you'll really enjoy what the Lord has given us.

Thanks for Wrapping with us,

Don

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