Wednesday evening brought the start of the Jewish Holiday of Hanukkah, which commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple after Antiochus Epiphanies IV, the fifth king of Revelation 17:10, and his forces were defeated during the Maccabean revolt. I suspect that most people believe that Hanukkah is a holiday whose significance is connected solely to past events. Today I hope to disprove that notion by showing that Hanukkah is going to have future meaning as well.
In my most recent post about the Day of the Lord I described why Daniel 12:11 mentioned a 1290 day period when the second half of the seventieth week of Daniel is scheduled to last only 1260 days.[i]
- Dan 12:9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
- Dan 12:10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
- Dan 12:11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
I demonstrated that the 1290 day period refers to the length of time that the abomination that causes desolation will persist rather than the length of time that the second half of the seventieth week of Daniel will last. The extra thirty days (the time between 1260 and 1290 days) is a time period when the desolator (Antichrist) is consumed (Daniel 9:27, Revelation 19, 2 Thessalonians 2:8).
Daniel 12 mentions another time period beyond 1290 days from the time that the abomination that causes desolation is established. Daniel wrote that “bless is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days”.
- Dan 12:11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
- Dan 12:12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
We can deduce from the blessing of those who survive to 1335 days that something good is going to happen 45 days after the end of the abomination that causes desolation/the desolator is consumed and 75 days after the end of the seventieth week of Daniel.
In order to understand what might happen 75 days after the end seventieth week of Daniel, we must first understand when might the seventieth week of Daniel end on the Jewish calendar. I believe the seventieth week of Daniel is going to end on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur (Tishri 10) because the significance of Yom Kippur (seeking atonement and reconciliation) aligns perfectly with what is going to take place at the end of the seventieth week of Daniel. Two of the main purposes of the seventy weeks of Daniel is to atone for the sins of Jerusalem and the Jewish people and to make reconciliation for iniquity (Dan 9:24).
- Dan 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.
Since Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement on the Jewish calendar (Leviticus 16:29-30 and 23:27-28) and a day of reconciliation it is fitting that the final atonement of sins and reconciliation is completed on the Day of Atonement at the end of the seventieth week of Daniel...
In addition, there is evidence that a Jubilee Year will begin immediately after the end of the seventieth week of Daniel (Isaiah 61, Isaiah 58, Luke 4:18-21). Jubilee Years begin on Yom Kippur. For more access this link...
If you add exactly 75 days from the start of Yom Kippur (Tishri 10) you will reach the start of Hanukkah (Kislev 25). Therefore, Hanukkah is the special time period that Daniel 12:12 is referring to.
It is likely that the dedication of the Millennial Temple is likely going to take place at this future Hanukkah. Haggai 2:7-9 appears to describe the dedication ceremony:
- Hag 2:7 And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith the LORD of hosts.
- Hag 2:8 The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts.
- Hag 2:9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.
Before I close I want to note some major parallels between the original Hanukkah and this future Hanukkah. The future Hanukkah is going to be celebrated after the fulfillment of similar conditions that preceded the celebration of the original Hanukkah. Like the Antichrist, Antiochus Epiphanies IV declared himself as god, established his own abomination that causes desolation, and persecuted the Jewish people. Like Antiochus and his forces, Antichrist and his forces will be defeated with God’s intervention. The similarities between Antiochus and the Antichrist have caused some people to label Antiochus as a “forerunner Antichrist”.
Happy Hanukkah to all my Jewish readers!
Note
[i] The Length of the 70th Week of Daniel and Prophetic Years
Gabriel told Daniel that 70 weeks have been given to the people of Israel and the city of Jerusalem to end their disobedience, atone for their sins, and to be saved.
- Dan 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.
- Dan 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.
- Dan 9:26 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 thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Most Christians who study Bible prophecy agree that the first 69 weeks of this prophecy was fulfilled over a several-hundred year period with a call to rebuild Jerusalem in the 20th year of Artaxerxes Longimanus’s reign (Nehemiah Ch. 2:1-5) and the death and ascension of Christ. Therefore, Gabriel did not mean 70 literal weeks where each week is 7 days in length. The Hebrew translation of the word “week” in Daniel is shâbûa‛, which actually means “seven”. Therefore we can also refer to Daniel’s prophecy as “the 70 sevens”. The length of a prophetic week can be determined by analyzing the structure of the 70th week of Daniel. Daniel’s 70th week is divided into two halves. In the first half Antichrist will make and keep a covenant with Israel, but will break it halfway through the seven.
- Dan 9:27 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.
The 2nd half of the week is a period of severe persecution. This period of time will last for “time, times, and a half”. The Hebrew word for “time” is “mô‛êd”, which also can mean “a year”. Nearly every commentator who analyzes Daniel’s 70 week prophecy agrees that “time, times, and a half” means 3 ½ years. Therefore, a prophetic week is a seven year period.
- Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
In Revelation 12:14 we learn that 3 ½ prophetic years is the equivalent of 1260 days. If we divide 1260 days by 3 ½ years we will find that a prophetic year is 360 days long.
- Rev 12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
- Rev 12:6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
Similarly, 3 ½ years is also defined as 42 months since seven years is the equivalent to 84 months. Therefore a prophetic month is 30 days long since 1260 days divided by 42 months equals 30 days/month.
- Rev 11:2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
- Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
Given this information, we can confirm that the 70th Week of Daniel will be 2520 days long three different.
- 30 Days (in a Prophetic Month) x 42 Prophetic Months (in Half a Prophetic Week) x 2 Halves = 2520 Days
- 7 Prophetic Years (in a Prophetic Week) x 360 Days (in a Prophetic Year) = 2520 Days
- 1260 Days in “Time, Times, and Half” x 2 Halves = 2520 Days.
For more about the 70 Weeks of Daniel you can access my research study where I provide a completely new explanation of the prophecy by clicking this link.
