The Holy Spirit, through John the Revelator, and Daniel, the Prophet, presents eleven time passages concerning the Great Tribulation.

THE PASSAGES

1. Dan. 9:27.

This passage reveals the last week of Daniel's seventy weeks of years. The sixty-nine weeks have been fulfilled to the very letter¹, concluding on the day of the triumphal entry. By means of the Gap Principle,² shown to us by the Lord Jesus Himself, we see the seventieth week to be yet future. It is to be a week of years, seven years of trouble for Israel in particular and the nations in general. The week will be opened by Israel's making a covenant with the Antichrist for seven years. Under the provisions of the covenant, Israel will be permitted to resume, in Jerusalem, the orthodox Jewish Temple worship of Jehovah. In the midst of the week. Antichrist breaks the covenant, takes away the burnt offering from the Temple and, through his henchman the False Prophet, sets up an mage of himself in the Holy Place. This colossal and! idolatrous blasphemy is called the "abomination of desolation," or the "trangression which astoundeth." We learn from this passage when the abomination begins. The words are "in the midst of the week he '(the Antichrist) shall because the sacrifice and ablation to cease."

This plainly declares when the Antichrist breaks his covenant and forces the Jews to discontinue their daily sacrifices. Moffatt translates the latter part of this passage quite clearly:

"And instead of this (i. e., the daily sacrifice) there shall be an appalling abomination, till finally the appointed doom falls upon the sacrilegious abomination."

Thus we see that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away and the abomination of desolation set up in the middle of the week — that is three and half years from the signing of the treaty or covenant.

2. Rev. 13:5.

This passage stands in the midst of the Holy Spirit's prophecy of the religious sins of the Great Tribulation. The nations of the world shall be turning toward the Beast (the Antichrist) to worship him (vs. 8). His image is erected in the Holy place (Matt. 24:15) standing immediately connected with this prediction of "appalling blasphemy" we find the announcement which apprises us of the exact length of time which shall be crowned by the amazing power of the Antichrist. The time is 42 months. This harmonizes with the passage no. I, which shows us that the abomination is erected in the midst of the seven years, leaving the last half of the predicted week (or 3½ years) as the time of Antichrist's power. 3½ years contain exactly 42 months. Thus the last half of the seven years is the period of Antichrist's special blasphemy, sin, and power.

3. Rev. 12:6.

The woman who gives birth to a man-child and who shall be commanded to flee into the wilderness is Israel. The Great Tribulation is the time of Israel's troube — "Jacob's trouble." The immediate cause of this special outburst of persecution is the casting out of Satan from heaven (Rev. 12:9-13). The divinely arranged signal which will mark the beginning of Israel's future wilderness sojourn is the setting up of the abomination, because Jesus says, "When ye shall see the abomination . . . stand in the holy place... flee into the mountains . . . for then shall be great tribulation." (Matt. 24:15-21). Israel's being miraculously fed in the wilderness will be 1260 days (Rev. 12:6), beginning with the setting up of the abomination. 1260 days is 42 prophetic months of 30 days each. Thus the last half of Daniel's 70th week is the period of Antichrist's power and of God's special provision of food for Israel while she is hiding in the wilderness.

4. Rev. 12:14.

In this passage the woman who has fled (Israel) is not only "nourished," but she is also protected from physical dangers. The time of this protection is self-evidently synchronous with the time of the nourishing. It is said to be a "time, times and half a time." A "time" is one, "times" is plural. The first plural number is two. One plus two is three. Three plus ½ is 3½ The word "time" is used in prophetic writing to signify "years." The prophecy, consequently, declares that Israel's special protection is 3 ½ years. Since this protection is at the same time as the nourishing it is the last half of the 7 years of Daniel's prophecy.

5. Rev. 11:13

These two witnesses give their testimony in a terrible hour of sorrow, judgment, persecution, plague, and rebellion. By the context principle we conclude that the fearless and miraculously attended testimony of these two witnesses is a part of God's manifestation of grace to a testimony alive on the earth during the period of the Antichrist's power. Hence we conclude that they shall testify during the last half of the 70th week. The duration of their testimony is 1260 days.

6. Rev. 11:2.

This passage predicts the down-treading by the Gentiles of' God's holy city. The period of that down-treading, the context indicates, will run parallel with the period of the witness-bearing of the two witnesses — that is the last half of the 70th week. The duration of the down-treading is 42 months.

7. Dan. 12:7.

When "the power of Israel is scattered," the tribulation is at an end. The King James translation of this is not good. Rotherham renders it, "When the power of the disperser of the holy people shall come to an end" it shall be a "time, times and a half." The Moffat translation reads, "It would be three years and a half a year, and that when the power of him who shattered the sacred people should be over, then the end of all should arrive." This passage is but another revelation of the duration of the power of the Man of Sin, the enemy of God's people, the Antichrist. It is a striking example of the agreement principle in the Word of God.

8. Dan. 7:25.

This is still another clear passage teaching that the period of the Antichrist's bigoted blasphemy will be 3½ years.

9. Dan. 12:11.

This declaration gives a and illuminating piece  of information. We know from passage no. 1 that the appalling abomination is set up in the middle of the 70th week. We know from Passages 2, 7, and 8, that the Antichrist's power covers exactly the same period of time. But from this passage we learn that the abomination itself, the horrid image erected in the Holy Place, shall outlast the Antichrist exactly 30 days. The Anti-Christ's power breaks down in 1260 days, but 1290 days; shall pass after the daily offering has been stopped and the appalling abomination has been set up.

10. Dan. 8:13.

This passage gives the duration of the daily offering! plus the duration of the abomination The combined duration of the two things is declared to be 2300 days. We already know from Passage no. 9 that the duration of the abomination is 1290 days, or 30 days more than the duration of the power of the Antichrist. If we would learn the duration of the daily offerings, all we need do is perform the subtraction of 1290 days from 2300 days — We find the duration of the daily offerings is 1010 days. From this we see in outline the outstanding events which shall befall Israel during the 70th week. The covenant is made at the beginning of the week. They hasten into the preparation of the temple for their worship. In exactly 250 days the daily offerings are resumed amid great rejoicing. The daily offering? are permitted to continue for 1010 days. Then "in the midst of the week" the offerings are stopped, and in their stead the abomination is set up. The entire period of offerings plus abomination is 2300 days. Surely God's Word is explicit enough!

11. Dan. 12:12-13.

This passage "carries on" to the end of 1335 days from the setting up of the abomination. It promises blessing to those who come to that wondrous and climacteric day, but it does not say what the blessing shall be. The prayerful student Will realize that the 1335 days must bring us very near to the actual coming of the Lord, but the passage does not say that the Second Coming will take place then but that those who come to that time shall find blessing. The eleven passages leave the subject UNFINISHED, and this is what we should normally expect, for 11 is the number of incompleteness in the Scripture and there are just eleven time covering the tribulation in the Bible. We have studied them all.

We believe that God will some day give forth, through His Jewish servants, the twelfth revelation on this subject. (12 is the no. of God manifest in human affairs.) That revelation will occur during the tribulation and will not come through gentiles like Joseph Smith, Mrs. McPherson, Mrs. Besant, Mrs. White and others. All supposed revelations coming through gentiles arc spurious, for God hath committed unto Israel the oracles of God. There are no gentile Scriptures.

And so God leaves the revelation on this subject unfinished. The one important point He leaves out is the date of the Lord's return. Meanwhile, man in his arrogance sets the date, and sets the date and sets the date again. But it is still evident that although God has told us the length of the 70th week, and the length of Antichrist's power, and the duration of Israel's nourishment and protection from the dragon, and the period of the down treading of the gentiles and the duration of the daily offerings and of the abomination, and though he has gone so far as to tell us that he who waits unto the 1335 days shall "be blessed," yet He fails to tell us what that blessing shall be, and He leaves out the long coveted date on which the gates of glory shall swing open to let the returning King come back to Reign.

It is still distinctly true that no man knoweth the day nor the hour.

1) See "The Coming Prince," by Sir Robert Anderson.

2) See "The Gap Principle," by the Editor, "Grace and Truth," 1923, page 297.