It is inevitable that a Peace Plan of the magnitude that President Trump has presented to Israel, the Palestinians, and the world, would be attributed to the seven year Tribulation described by Daniel 9:27.

The question as to whether the presentation of this Peace Plan, constitutes the beginning of the Tribulation, is not only important, it is highly relevant considering the events that are taking place currently in the world.

Everything Centers On Israel

The important premise of Daniel’s prophecy is the focus of this prophecy on Israel and the Jews. Whatever happens to Israel throughout history, also affects the rest of the world. Few people notice that a country the size of New Jersey, often holds the attention of billions of people. God told Abraham that this would happen:

I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” ~Genesis 12:2-3 (NKJV)

When we study the historical record we find that the words of this prophecy that God spoke to Abraham, have come true throughout the course of human history. Every nation that has helped and blessed Israel, has themselves been helped and blessed. The greatest nation to experience the fulfillment of this prophecy is the United States of America.

In 1492 Columbus discovered America, which made it possible for Israel to exist as a nation once again in 1948. Had the United States not began as a nation, it is likely that Israel would not have been able to come back into the land after being scattered over the face of the earth during the past 2,000 years.

The founders of our Nation often stated that it was their opinion that the only way that the United States could have become the nation that it is, including the construction of the Constitution, was orchestrated by the sovereignty of the God of the Bible.

Signer of the Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Rush: I do not believe that the Constitution was the offspring of inspiration, but I am as satisfied that it is as much the work of a Divine Providence as any of the miracles recorded in the Old and New Testament.[A] 

See the words of 52 Men who founded the United States

The Nation Of Israel, The Jews, And Every Nation Are Directed By The Sovereignty of God

Jesus displayed the power that God has over the Jews, Israel, and the world, when He predicted that because the Jews had rejected Him when He came to reveal the salvation of God, their nation would be left to them desolate.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ” ~Matthew 23:37-39 (NKJV) 

“For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” ~Luke 19:43-44

“Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.” ~Matthew 24:34

The context of Jesus’ revelation of Jerusalem’s destruction, to the disciples, in Luke 19:29-21:24, is spoken directly after Palm Sunday, 32 A.D. Jesus is describing the judgment that will come upon Israel for her rejection of Him as the Messiah. The fulfillment of this prophecy occurred within one 40-year generation, in 70 A.D. [1] Titus brought his army against Jerusalem, sacked the city and destroyed the Temple, burning it to the ground. Literally, not one stone was left upon another, just as Jesus had predicted.

Matthew Chapter 24 is essentially the same account that Luke records, as Jesus is seen at the Temple with the disciples when He tells them that not one stone shall be left upon another. This occurred during Titus’ siege of Jerusalem, just as Jesus had predicted.

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” ~Matthew 24:1-2

Just 38 years after Jesus spoke these words, the Roman general Titus, sacked Jerusalem and left “not one stone upon another,” at the Temple. Jesus said this would happen, and it took place precisely as He spoke this prophecy. The Jews were deported to the farthest reaches of the earth after that time, and remained disbursed until the words of Ezekiel’s prophecy were ready to be fulfilled.

Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. Ezekiel 37:21-22 (NKJV)

• The 7 Nations Of The Beast Are In Place: What Comes Next?
• Explaining The Prophecies Of Daniel 9

God Tells Us the Precise Day Israel Would Become a Nation and Jerusalem Her Capital

For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the LORD their God and David their king. They shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the latter days. ~Hosea 3:4-5

The last king of Judah was Zedekiah who ended his reign in 586 B.C. Israel’s final king was Hoshea who died in 712 B.C. From that time to the present day, there has been no king over the nation of Israel. In 517 B.C., the second temple was completed. It was destroyed in 70 A.D. by Titus and the Roman army. In nearly 2,000 years, there has been neither a king nor a temple to make a sacrifice in Israel. According to the prophet Hosea, after a long time, Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their king.

The New Testament Reveals That The Schedule For The Restoration Of Israel Will Occur In The Last Days

For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved… ~Romans 11:25-27

Prophecy 309 reveals that Ezekiel predicted the precise day that the nation of Israel would be born again as a new nation. Although the following information was given in Prophecy 309, for the sake of clarity in understanding Hosea’s prophecy of Israel returning to seek the Lord in the last days, I repeat the amazing details of Ezekiel’s prophecy of Israel and Judah:

In the Book of Ezekiel, the Lord tells the Jews that because they have continually disobeyed Him, He is going to judge Israel 390 days, and Judah, 40 days.

Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity. 5 For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6 And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year. ~Ezekiel 4:5-6

In the last line of the above verses from Ezekiel, the prophet defines how long each day will last: one year.

• 390 Days for Israel.
• 40 Days for Judah.
• A total Judgment of 430 years

If we take these 430 years in which the Lord says he is going to judge Israel and Judah, and subtract the 70 years that He puts them into captivity in Babylon, we are left with 360 years.

This number 360 years, has puzzled Bible scholars for years because it doesn’t fit with any other numbers in the prophecies of the Bible. What is interesting about 360 is that all Bible prophecy is always centered around 360 days, making one year, the number of years that Babylon used in their calendars.

The Question Is: Where Do The 360 Years Fit Into The Entire Plan Of Bible Prophecy?

There is an interesting statement that the Lord makes in Leviticus chapter 26, where He warns Israel that if they continually disobey Him, he will “Punish them seven times more for their sins…”

And if you despise My statutes, or if your soul abhors My judgments, so that you do not perform all My commandments, but break My covenant, 16 I also will do this to you: I will even appoint terror over you, wasting disease and fever which shall consume the eyes and cause sorrow of heart. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17 I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies.Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you. 18 “And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. ~Leviticus 26:15-18

We know from history that after the 70 years of captivity in Babylon, the Jews did not obey the Lord. The entire nation did not continue to walk with the Lord in obedience and sincere worship. Therefore, the Lord fulfilled his promise to add “seven times” more judgement to their former judgment.

After the 70 years of captivity that the Lord declared for Israel—this leaves 360 years remaining for their total judgment to be complete.

• 390 years Israel.
• 40 years for Judah.
• A total Judgment of 430 years
• Minus the 70 years for time already served in Babylon.
• Leaves 360 years.

If we take the remaining 360 years of Judgement declared by God in Ezekiel 4:5-6 and multiply this number by the “seven times” the Lord stated in Leviticus 26:15-18, we get:

• 360 years X 7 = 2,520 years.
• 2,520 years till Israel’s punishment ends and they are restored to the land, times: 360 days per year by the Babylonian calendar, equals 907,200 days.
• (2,520 days X 360 day year = 907,200 days)

At the time these prophecies were written, a 360 day per year calendar was being used all over the world. This is often the case in computing prophetic events in the Bible. The prophecy of Daniel uses a 360 day year calendar.

To convert 2,520 days to our current 365.25 year calendar, we simply take 907,200 days and divide this number by 365.25, which gives us 2,483.8 years.

According to history, the “captivity” and the “servitude’ of Israel both ended in the spring of 536 B.C. (2,483 years and 4 months)

Calculating from 536.4 B.C., we can discover the exact day that Israel’s punishment from God will end and the date He will allow Israel to become a nation again.

• -536.4 B.C.
• +2,483.8 years by our 365.25 day calendar
• +1 year added because there is no “0” from −1 B.C to +1 A.D., we come to the date:
• 1948.4

According to the prophecy of Ezekiel, Israel should be restored to their land about the first quarter of the year 1948.

We Know From History That Israel Became A Nation Once Again On May 14, 1948. Prophecy fulfilled!

If we use 517 B.C, for the date when the temple was completed, then add 2,520 years* (2,483.8 years at 365.25 days per year), the time period required from Ezekiel 4 and Leviticus 26, we come to June 7, 1967, the day Jerusalem became the capital of Israel again for the first time in 2,000 years.

*2,520 years are based on 360 days per year.

• -517.2 B.C. The the temple in Jerusalem was complete.
• +2,483.8 years by a 365.25 day per year calendar.
• +1 year added because there is no “0” from −1 B.C to +1 A.D.

We come to the date; June 7, 1967.

1967.6 The day Jerusalem Became The Capital Of Israel

From the day that Israel became a nation once again, after having been disbursed throughout the entire world for 2,000 years, the prophetic time clock began a countdown to the return of the Messiah for the second time. Until the Jews were once again back in their own land the temple could not be rebuilt and there could be no sacrifices offered. Until there were sacrifices offered in the temple, that antichrist would not be able to make his entrance into history.

…the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4. who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. ~1 Thessalonians 2:3-4

The Third Temple Will Be Built In Three Years

It is interesting that when the seven year peace plan is signed by Israel and the surrounding Arab nations at the beginning of the seven year Tribulation, the antichrist will allow Israel to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem on the original site. This entire construction project will take just 3 years. We know this because at 3 1/2 years, the antichrist will go into the newly built temple and command the world that they should worship him as their God. This will begin the 21 judgements that are described in the Book of Revelation, chapters 6-18.

The Second Temple Also Took Just Three Years To Build

The “Desolation’s of Israel” ended on December 17, 520 B.C. According to Haggai 2:18-19—seven days later on the 24th day of the 9th month (December), of the 2nd year of Darius the King of Persia, the Temple Foundation was Laid.[2]

Consider now from this day forward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, from the day that the foundation of the LORD’S temple was laid—consider it:  Is the seed still in the barn? As yet the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have not yielded fruit. But from this day I will bless you.” ~Haggai 2:18-19

Just Three Years Later, The Second Temple Was Finished, In 517 B.C

When the antichrist orchestrates the signing of a seven-year peace plan between Israel and the surrounding nations, the rebuilding of the temple will be a great priority. The Temple will be completed in just 3 years, just as the second temple was built so quickly from 517 to 520 B.C. At the three and one half-year mark of the newly built temple, the antichrist will command the world to worship him as God. Jesus warned the Jews living in Jerusalem that during the time of this event—which is called by Jesus and the prophet Daniel: the “abomination of desolation” —they should flee Jerusalem to the mountains.

Therefore when you see the “abomination of desolation,” spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. ~Matthew 24:15-22

The “Great Tribulation” is distinguished by the last three and one half years of the seven-year Tribulation. The events described by the Book of Revelation Chapters 6:3-chapter 18, will occur during this brief period of time. Jesus said that unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

The elect, describes the Jews who will be living in Jerusalem during the time of the seven-year Tribulation. The Lord will supernaturally deliver those who flee Jerusalem from the grasp of the antichrist, as they make their way into the mountains.

… let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains…

Many of those who study these events believe that the place of refuge from where the Lord will protect Israel during the final three and one half years of the Great Tribulation will be the rock city of Petra in the present-day nation of Jordan. Through all of the conflicts that have occurred between Israel and the Palestinians, Jordan has consistently stayed out of these conflicts and has remained neutral.

There is an interesting statement by Daniel in chapter 11 of his prophecies: When the antichrist returns to the glorious Land (Israel), he will overthrow all the nations in his path, except one: Jordan which contains Edom, Moab, and Ammon—the ancient cities of Jordan where the fortress of Petra is located.

He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon (cities inside the nation of Jordan). ~Daniel 11:41

There is an obscure verse of scripture located in Isaiah in which the Lord requests that the nation of Jordan, specifically Moab, near the location of Petra—that they would be a shelter to His outcasts until the devastation of the spoiler is at an end.

Let My outcasts dwell with you, O Moab; Be a shelter to them from the face of the spoiler. For the extortioner is at an end, Devastation ceases, The oppressors are consumed out of the land. ~Isaiah 16:4

When the Jews living in Jerusalem see the abomination of desolation occur, they will flee to Petra, where the Lord will shelter His outcasts for the final 1,260 days of the Great Tribulation. During this time, the 21 horrible judgments of the wrath of the Lamb will be poured out on the inhabitants of the earth. Seven Seals, Seven Trumpets, and Seven Bowl-judgements will grow in intensity and severity, until two-thirds of the people who dwell on the earth at that time will perish.

The Book of Revelation gives us a striking description of the antichrist’s response to the mass exodus of the Jews from Jerusalem to Petra. The language of this section of the scripture is very colorful and almost poetic in its description of how God will supernaturally protect the Jews who obey Jesus’ instructions to flee Jerusalem.

Then the woman (Israel) fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.~Revelation 12:6

Now when the dragon (satan) saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman (Israel) who gave birth to the male Child (the Messiah). 14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle (protection by God), that she might fly into the wilderness (Petra) to her place, where she is nourished for a time (1 year) and times (two years) and half a time (1/2 year), from the presence of the serpent. 15 So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood (a great army) after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. 16 But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. ~Revelation 12:13-16

Time, times, and a half time, are defined by the book of Daniel as years. A time is 1 year, times—two years, half time—one-half of a year.[3]

It will be during these three and one-half years, as God supernaturally delivers the Jews who are fleeing Jerusalem for Petra, that their eyes will be opened and they will understand that Jesus is their long-awaited Messiah.

At the end of the seven years, the final 1,260 days or “time, times and half time,” as they are variously described in the prophecies of the last days, Jesus will return to the earth with His church at the Mount of Olives. He will fight and destroy the antichrist and his waiting armies who are assembled at the Valley of Megiddo. The beast (antichrist) and the false prophet will be cast into the Lake of fire.

Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who worked signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. ~Revelation 19:20

Jesus will begin His one thousand-year reign—promised to David’s Son, the Messiah. All of the Jews who come out of the Great Tribulation, as they are sheltered by God at Petra, who have received Jesus as their Messiah, will be permitted to enter the one-thousand year kingdom. Then will come to pass the scripture that says: And all Israel will be saved.

And so all Israel will be saved… ~Romans 11:26

Israel will once again have a King ruling from Jerusalem and a brand new Temple built by the Messiah.

It is my opinion that the presentation of this Peace Plan, meets the requirements set forth in Daniel Prophecy. A key point of this plan is the acceptance of it’s principles by 52 nations. Daniel 9:27 is specific that the covenant will be accepted by “many” nations.

The Trump Peace Plan

Then he (antichrist) shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.” ~Daniel 9:27 (NKJV) 

For many years we have imagined that Jesus’ church would not be present when the seven year Tribulation began. We concluded this because of the wrath that will be poured out during the second half of the Tribulation Period, called  “The Great Tribulation.”

The following verse from 1 Thessalonians, follows immediately after the text in 1 Thessalonians 1:13-18, describing the Rapture of the church:

For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. ~1 Thessalonians 5:9-10 (NKJV) 

The second three and one-half years of the Great Tribulation, are described by Revelation chapter 6:verses 2-Revelation chapter 18. During this time, described as “the wrath of the Lamb,” two-thirds of the people on earth will be killed by the twenty-one judgments that come from Jesus, during these final three and one-half years. The time of Jesus’ wrath is described by Revelation chapter 6:

And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” ~Revelation 6:15-17 (NKJV)

Jesus died to save His church from the wrath, having taken the wrath for our sins, Jesus’ church is not appointed to experience this wrath of the Great Tribulation. Jesus’ church does not need to be “purified” by the time of Tribulation, we are already purified by Jesus death for our sins, and fully ready for heaven.

You were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. ~1 Corinthians 6:11 (NKJV)

Does The Bible Teach a Rapture Before the Tribulation?

Understanding today that the first three and one-half years will be a time of peace, we certainly may conclude that the church could be present during some of all of this time of peace.

According to 2 Thessalonians chapter 2, the ” man of sin,” the antichrist, the beast, will not be revealed until the beginning of the last three and one-half years.

Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. ~2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 (NKJV)

In order for the antichrist to sit in the Temple and be proclaimed as God, the third Temple must be built on the Temple Mount. According to the Trump Peace Plan, The Jews will maintain control over the Temple Mount. In an article I wrote concerning the building of this third Temple at the beginning of the seven year Tribulation, this temple can be built on the current Temple Mount, north of the Islamic Dome, without disturbing the Islamic site.

The Seven Year Peace Plan And Rebuilding The Third Temple In Israel

Whether the Trump Peace Plan has begun the seven year Tribulation, we will have to wait and see. In order for this Peace Plan to be the one described by Daniel 9:27, the Temple must be built, and this construction must begin in the next six months after the Peace Plan. It will take three years to build the Temple, and it must be completed by the midpoint of the seven years, so that the antichrist can sit inside and be proclaimed as God.

• The Incredible Prophecies of the 4 Temples at Jerusalem and the Messiah
• The Key to all Bible Prophecy: Daniel Chapter 9
• The Rapture Of The Church

See “These Things Were Written: An Expositional Treatise of the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus,” By Robert Clifton Robinson. 2,730 pages of detailed facts about Jesus and all He accomplished as Messiah.

NOTES:

[A] Benjamin Rush, Letters of Benjamin Rush, L. H. Butterfield, editor (Princeton, New Jersey: American Philosophical Society, 1951), Vol. I, p. 475, to Elias Boudinot on July 9, 1788
[1] Numbers 32:14, the generation of those who complained against the Lord in the desert is described as being 40 years.
[2] The Desolations End: George Pytlik, Author of Daniel, God’s Messenger to our times. http://www.pytlik.com/observe/daniel/timeline.html
[3] 1. The definition of “time, times, and a half time,” is understood by the book of Daniel where king Nebuchadnezzar was driven mad for “seven times,” a period of seven years. A time therefore, is a year. Daniel 4:25 They shall drive you from men, your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make you eat grass like oxen. They shall wet you with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.
2.“In the excavation of Qumran Cave 4 in 1952, an Aramaic fragment of a prayer of thanksgiving attributed to Nabonidus was discovered. The translation by Milik into French is approximately as follows: “The words of the prayer which Nabunai (d), king of Assyria and Babylon, the great king, prayed when he was smitten with an unpleasant skin- disease by the ordinance of God Most High in the city of Teima: I was smitten with an unpleasant skin- disease for seven years… But when I confessed my sins and my faults, he granted me a (favorable) verdict. And there was a Jew from…, and he wrote and told (me) to give honor… to the name of God Most High ‘” (this conjectural translation, dependent on several restorations of missing letters, was published by J. T. Milik in Revue Biblique, 63 (1956): 408; cf. Saggs, Babylon, p. 154, for the English version above). When this fragment was first published, many critics assumed that it represented an earlier form of the story of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel 4, which by a later tradition mistakenly attributed the experience to the most famous of the Chaldean kings rather than the last of them. On the contrary a careful examination of the Nabonidus fragment shows that it is far more likely to have been a late, garbled tradition of the illness of Nebuchadnezzar himself.” From The Expositor’s Bible Commentary on The Book of Daniel, chapter 7.

Categories: All Israel will be saved, Great Tribulation: Time of the End, How Salvation Occurs, Israel in the Last Days, Jesus is the Messiah, Robert Clifton Robinson, The Battle of Armageddon, The Historical Jesus, The Last Days, The Predictions of Jesus, The Rapture of the Church, The Second Arrival of the Messiah, The Seven Year Tribulation

Tags: Rapture before Tribulation, The beginning of the Tribulation, The seven year Tribulation, Trump Peace Plan