Is the Tribulation 3½ years or 7 years—What Changed My Mind

 Is the Tribulation 3½ years or 7 years—What Changed My Mind

In 1980 I received Christ in a church that taught the tribulation was 3½ years. I understand their position well and also where this doctrine’s roots are in Scripture. As the years have passed and my knowledge of end-times has increased, I now see a 7-year tribulation in Scripture. So changed my mind?

Daniel 9 is really the headwaters of nearly all eschatological views. Whether you are Amillennial, Partial Preterist or full, Postmillennial, Historic Premillennial, or Dispensational nearly all boil down to how one handles Daniel 9.

First a little background on Daniel: The setting for Daniel 9 is Babylon where Daniel, as a young man, had been taken captive during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. Now as an old man he was reading the Book of Jeremiah. As he read he understood that there were to be 70 years of captivity due to the sin of Judah—the Southern Kingdom of Israel. (The Northern Kingdom, referred to as Israel, had already been taken captive by Assyria under Sennacherib.) Daniel’s response when realizing there were only a couple years left of the 70-year captivity are in verses 9:3-19. Verses 3-4 read: So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek [Him by] prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed…Gabriel shows up while Daniel is praying. He came to give Daniel instruction, to talk with him, and to give insight with understanding. (21-22).

A week in Jewish culture was either a week of days or years (7 days or 7 years). Daniel’s 70-week prophecy is weeks of years or 490 years. They are not consecutive years, rather they are prophetic years where the clock only ticks when certain conditions are met. (Likely when Israel is in the land, they have jurisdiction over Jerusalem, and the temple is functioning: Mike Bickle.) Following is what Gabriel said and is referred to as Daniel’s 70-week prophecy: (Verse 26 is what changed my mind on the 3½-year tribulation versus a 7-year tribulation.)

24"Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy [place]. 25"So you are to know and discern [that] from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince [there will be] seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. 26"Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end [will come] with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. 27"And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations [will come] one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate." Daniel 9

Verse 26 clearly says that Messiah will be cut off (die) after the 69^th week. That is clear. This means that after Jesus died there was still one full week of years left (or 7 years). He didn’t fulfill ½ of the last 7 years of the 70 during His ministry years. But let’s look at why people assume He did. Daniel 9:27 says:

27"And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering.

I was taught that it was Jesus in verse 27 who made a firm covenant for one week and who put a stop to sacrifice and grain offerings by the His blood in the New Covenant half way through the last week (Luke 22:20, Hebrews 9-10). Thus, fulfilling the first ½ week in His ministry years and the last ½ week during the 3½-year tribulation. But how can Jesus be the one spoken of in both verses 26 and 27? The math doesn’t work, and when verse 26 is so clear that Messiah is cut off after the 69^th week—not after the 69½ week! Furthermore, Jesus’ Covenant is eternal and not for a week!

I conclude, along with many others, that the tribulation is the last week of years—7 years. And that the one who confirms a covenant with the many in verse 27 is the anti-Christ. Isn’t it odd that the dispute is whether verse 27 is speaking about Jesus or the anti-Christ!

Following is some further study, if you’re interested:

During these 490 years it is important to understand these basic points. The 70 Weeks have been decreed for:

Verse 24:

1. Your people (the Jews) and your holy city (Jerusalem)
2. to finish the transgression,(likely their rejection of Messiah)
3. to make an end of sin,
4. to make atonement for iniquity,
5. to bring in everlasting righteousness,
6. to seal up vision and prophecy and
7. to anoint the most holy [place].

Verse 25:

1.  … from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince [there will be] seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;(For a total of 69 weeks, leaving one 7-year week left. Jesus rebuked the leaders of Jerusalem for not knowing the time of their visitation in Luke 19:41-44. All they had to do was add the years for a definitive time a Messiah’s (first) coming.)
2. it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.(Nehemiah)

Verse 26:

1. “Then after the sixty-two ((7 + (62 × 7))or after the 69^th week)weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing,(Messiah will die.)
2. and the people of the prince(anti-Christ; likely ancient-Roman descent) who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary(Rome destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD).
3. And its (Jerusalem’s) end [will come] with a flood (flood usually means peoples—nations);
4. even to the end (another end distinct from the destruction of the city above) there will be war; desolations are determined.

Verse 27:

1. “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week,(Jesus’ Covenant did not last a week—it lasts eternally. This is why I believe it is the anti-Christ making a 7-year covenant with the nations at the beginning of the 7-year tribulation. Some translations say that “he will confirm a covenant with the many for a week.” So there could already be a covenant that is confirmed by the anti-Christ or one that the anti-Christ makes firm for 7-years. At this time he is allowing (probably prompting) the Jews to sacrifice in the yet-to-be-built Temple.)
2. but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; (Many believe that this is Jesus fulfilling the Old Covenant Law of sacrifice, but as stated above, it is not. It is the anti-Christ breaking his covenant with the nations and forcing the Jews to stop sacrificing in the yet-to-be-built Temple.)
3. and on the wing of abominations [will come] one who makes desolate,(Jesus spoke of the Abomination of Desolation standing in the holy place (Matthew 24:15, 21) and that at that time …)“there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will.” Therefore this cannot be 70 AD.)
4. even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.” (This is the complete end of the anti-Christ and his kingdom at the end of the 1290 days Daniel prophesied about in Daniel 12:11. Here God says that instead of only 1260 days, as stated in the Book of Revelation, there is actually another 30 days. These extra 30 days are where the bowls of wrath are poured out on the anti-Christ and his kingdom; the church is raptured at the end of the 1260. She is not on the earth during the last 30 days or at least has new bodies so the bowls of God’s wrath does not touch her.)

 

The following chart if from IHOPKC: