Chapter 9: Three Cycles of Forty

Preterists believe that the “tribulation” occurred when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D. This is based largely on Jesus’ discussion in Matthew 24, which speaks of the destruction of the temple (Matt. 24:2), “wars and rumors of wars” (Matt. 24:6), and Daniel’s “abomination of desolation… standing in the holy place” (Matt. 24:15).

Certainly, some (but not all) of these prophecies were fulfilled in 70 A.D. and, more broadly, in the 7-years from 66-73 A.D. The war properly began at Passover of 66 A.D. The actual siege of Jerusalem began on the morning of Passover in 70 A.D. The war ended on Passover morning of 73 A.D. when the Romans took Masada.

These three Passover events took place precisely 40 years after the important events in the New Testament in 26, 30, and 33 A.D.

The Years 26-33 A.D.

26 A.D. was the end of the 80^th Jubilee cycle (since Adam) and was also 490 years after the Persian king Artaxerxes took the throne in 465 B.C.—the 70^th Jubilee from Adam.

More importantly, Artaxerxes jumpstarted the 70 weeks of Daniel when, in his seventh year (458 B.C.), he sent Ezra to Jerusalem to make sacrifices in the restored temple (Ezra 7:6, 9). The king released the vessels of the temple (Ezra 7:19) and even paid for the expedition (Ezra 7:15-17).

Ezra left Babylon in the first month of 458 B.C., the month of Passover, and 490 years later, Jesus was crucified at Passover of 33 A.D., ending Daniel’s 70 weeks.

[Note: When our calendar was established in 527 A.D., the number zero was yet unknown in the west. So the calendar did not have a Year Zero. It went directly from 1 B.C. to 1 A.D. So in figuring the number of years from 458 B.C. to 33 A.D., one must add the numbers together to get 491, but then we must subtract 1 to remove the non-existent Year Zero.]

The dates for Christ’s birth and ministry are hotly disputed by many. To prove my chronology would take up too much space here, but I prove this thoroughly in my book, Daniel’s Seventy Weeks, chapters 3 and 4.

The main point is that when John died at Passover of 30 A.D.—just six months after he had baptized Jesus—his death marked the start of a 40-year grace period for Jerusalem to repent. This grace period ended at Passover of 70 A.D. Likewise, when Jesus was rejected and crucified at Passover of 33 A.D., it marked the start of another 40-year grace period that ended with the fall of Masada in 73 A.D.

The number 40 itself is the biblical number for trial or probation. See The Biblical Meaning of Numbers. Hence, Jerusalem received grace, but the city was also put on probation for 40 years.

Ezekiel’s Intercession for Judah

These two 40-year grace periods had been won by Ezekiel many years earlier, when the prophet interceded for Judah and Jerusalem. Ezekiel 4:6 says,

⁶ When you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah; I have assigned it to you for forty days, a day for each year.

The prophet was required to lie on his right side for forty days, each day representing a year of grace for Judah. This was fulfilled in a dual manner: 30-70 A.D., and 33-73 A.D. Because Judah and Jerusalem did not repent for rejecting Christ and His forerunner, the city and nation were destroyed.

Ezekiel’s Intercession for the Church

Ezekiel’s intercession had echo effects on other levels. His 40 days represented 40 years, according to his own revelation in Ezekiel 4:6, but history shows that it also represented 40 Sabbath years and 40 Jubilee cycles on ever-expanding fulfillments.

After 40 years, the city (Jerusalem) was destroyed, after the grace and probation period for Judah came to an end in 70 A.D.

The Pentecost church was established in Acts 2:1 in 33 A.D. It too was put through a time of trial, not for just 40 years but for 40 Sabbath (rest) years. During this time, the church was persecuted, first by the religious leaders of Jerusalem, and later by the Roman authorities.

Toward the end of 40 Sabbath cycles (40 x 7 = 280 years) the Roman emperor Constantine issued his famous Edict of Toleration in April of 311 A.D., which ended the persecution and changed the course of church history. This was followed by the Edict of Milan in 313, which gave the church legal status and the right to exist.

It is remarkable that this took place precisely 40 rest years after the church was established on the feast of Pentecost in 33 A.D.

Ezekiel’s Intercession for the Overcomers

The longest cycle that Ezekiel established by intercession is a day for a Jubilee. Once again, we may use 33 A.D. as our starting point, because it has to do with both the church and the overcomers. Forty Jubilees (40 x 49 years) from 33 A.D. brings us to 1993. This time period was foreshadowed by the 40-year reign of Saul, the king who was crowned on the day of “wheat harvest” (i.e., Pentecost). See Samuel’s speech in 1 Sam. 12:17.

In 1993, prophetically speaking, “Saul” died, and we entered the 7½ year transition into the reign of “David,” who represents the overcomers. We can say that these 40 Jubilees were a longer probationary period for the church and that 1993 launched a new era in which the overcomers began to be empowered with the authority of the Dominion Mandate.

I have already shown how the rise of the house of David progressed from Pentecost, May 30, 1993, until November 30, 2000. Then we saw the rise of the house of Joseph (2001-2009). Then we saw the rise of Elisha (2009-2010), followed by the rise of the saints of the Most High (2010-2017). Indications point to the year 2024 for the next great step in the authority of the overcomers.

Jerusalem’s Tribulation

When Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 A.D., it did indeed fulfill many prophecies that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24. However, Jerusalem was rebuilt, showing that those prophecies still required further fulfillment in the latter days.

The prophecy in Jer. 19:10, 11 was partially fulfilled in 586 B.C., when Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the city, and again in 70 A.D. But in each case, the city was rebuilt.

¹⁰ Then you are to break the jar in the sight of the men who accompany you ¹¹ and say to them, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Just so will I break this people and this city, even as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot again be repaired; and they will bury in Topheth because there is no other place for burial’.”

After 70 A.D. Jerusalem was again “repaired,” and it stands today as a witness that Jeremiah’s prophecy has yet to be fulfilled. This shows conclusively that the tribulation of Jerusalem was incomplete in 70 A.D. and still has a modern fulfillment.

This is important in order to have a clear Kingdom vision, because so many have been taught that Jerusalem will be the capital of the Kingdom and that Jesus will rule from a rebuilt temple. This cannot be the case, of course, because the earthly Jerusalem is “Hagar” (Gal. 4:25). Hagar-Jerusalem and her “son” (those who claim her and the Old covenant as their spiritual “mother”) must be “cast out” (Gal. 4:30) in favor of the saints of the Most High—the overcomers.