Events of the 75-day Interval. Daniel 12:11-12

 

The verses in Revelation chapter 19 don’t go into all of the detail that Scripture does, and there is a tremendous amount of information given on the day of the Lord, both in terms of its broad sense referring to the final end-time scenario in Daniel’s seventieth week and also the specifics of the great and terrible day of the Lord, which focuses our attention on the last part of the seven-year Tribulation period when all of the armies of man come together, fighting first against one another and then against Israel and ultimately against the Lord. And the Lord returns to rescue Israel and to defeat Satan, the Antichrist, the false prophet, to destroy the armies of man and to begin to clean up the planet, to cleanse the planet in preparation for the Millennial kingdom.

 

That is where we come to now. There is another transition period between dispensations. Remember a dispensation is a period of time in human history where God administers human history according to certain aspects of what He has revealed to man. When the dispensation of the Law ended it ended at the cross. But the cross occurred on the day of Passover, and the next major feast day after the week of His crucifixion was fifty days after Passover, the day of Pentecost which was the birth of the church. The day that Christ died on the cross ended the Law—all of the sacrifices in the Old Testament looked to the cross—in terms of its spiritual significance, and from that point on there is a transition phase that enters in which is not really the age of Israel anymore, not the dispensation of the Law anymore, but it is a fifty-day transition period which continues until the church begins on the day of Pentecost. The same kind of thing will occur at the Rapture which ends the church age. The last seven-year period or the period of Daniel’s seventieth week doesn’t begin the Tribulation until the Antichrist, the prince who is to come, enters a covenant or peace treaty with Israel. That starts the clock ticking down to the end of the seven-year period which culminates with the second coming of Christ. When the Lord Jesus Christ returns at the end of that seven-year period there is another transition stage that comes along, a transition stage of seventy-five days. Since we have a fifty-day transition between the Law and the church and a seventy-five day transition between the end of the Tribulation and the Millennial kingdom it is suspected that the transition between the end of the church age and the beginning of the Tribulation would be rather short as opposed to years and years. Other transitions that we see in history are somewhat less than a few months, but we can’t be hard and fast about it.

A number of things are going to take place during this 75-day interval. The central passage that teaches us about this interval is Daniel 12:11, 12 NASB “From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, {there will be} 1,290 days. How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days!” The taking away of the daily sacrifice and the setting up of the abomination of desolation occur at the same time. From that point, which occurs three and a half years into the Tribulation period, there will be 1290 days. Remember, the Tribulation period is a seven-year period. Half of the seven-year period is three and a half years. If we were to multiply those numbers out by a 365-1/4 day year (solar year) this would not work out. What we observe from Scripture is based on the calendar which the Israelites used which was a lunar calendar—30 days per month, a 360-day year—is that three and a half years is 1260 days. This 1260 days is used in Revelation 11 and 12:13, and is parallel to another phrase, “time, times and a half a time.” Time would be one year, times would be two years, and a half a time added it would be three and a half years. Then there is another designation of 42 months, equivalent to that same breakdown.

Now we have a period from the mid point of the Tribulation to the end of the cleansing of the temple which goes beyond the 1260 days to 1290 days. This introduces a thirty-day period after the second coming for the cleanup of the temple and the clearing out of the abomination of desolation. But then verse 12 says, “How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days!” So 1260 from 1335 leaves 75 days. The first 30 days of the 75 are related to the cleansing of the temple, and then there are another 45 days after that. That is where we get this gap of 75 days between the conclusion of the Tribulation and the beginning of the Millennial kingdom.

The 8 events of the 75-day interval

1.       The cleansing of the abomination of desolation from the temple.

2.      The Antichrist will be resurrected to be sentenced with the false prophet to the lake of fire.

3.      The false prophet and the Antichrist are then sent to the lake of fire.   

4.      Satan is caught and bound and cast into the abyss where he stays for 1000 years.

5.      The judgment of the Gentile nations that are still living. This involves the separation of the sheep from the goats.

6.      The resurrection of the Old Testament saints.

7.      The resurrection of the Tribulation martyrs.

8.      The marriage supper of the Lamb.

The cleansing of the abomination of desolation must take place for the temple mount to be cleansed, and that begins to prepare for the future temple. It is during this time that the temple mount is cleansed that it is believed there will be changes in the topography of Jerusalem. We have already seen that when the Lord Jesus Christ comes to the Mount of Olives the Mount will split from west to east. This occurs during the final battle between the Lord Jesus Christ and the armies of the Antichrist. Out of that split that occurs fresh water will flow, some to the east into the Dead Sea, bringing it to life, and the other half will flow towards the Mediterranean. Then there is going to be another shift in the topography as a result of an uplift that occurs for the new temple. It will raise Mount Zion to a new level and a new size. This is where the temple described in Ezekiel 40ff will be constructed covering one mile square. It will be much larger than anything that would fit on the Temple Mount as it currently exists.   

The next thing that happens is that the Antichrist has to be brought back from the dead because he is clearly killed, according to Isaiah 14. The false prophet, though, isn’t killed. The two of them will stand before Christ’s judgment before they are then cast into the lake of fire. In Isaiah 14 we have a description of the destruction of the Antichrist and the power behind the Antichrist. Most of the time when people come to this passage they focus on vv. 12-15 in terms of the fall of Lucifer, which it is. But we have to be careful about how we read the text. This is one of those odd texts that has a sort of double reference in terms of the timeline. If you are Isaiah writing this in the 7th century BC then what is happening is you are looking way down the line to the future, the time of the second advent and what happens when the Antichrist gets thrown into the lake of fire. Some of the specifics in terms of how they are structured aren’t as clear to Isaiah as they are to us, so when he talks about Sheol he is using that term in a general sense the place of judgment for the dead. He is looking forward to this event that occurs at the end of the Tribulation period.

 

At the end of the Tribulation this human figure, the Antichrist, is then empowered and indwelt by Satan for the last at least three and a half years, and he is the one in terms of the human body gets thrown into the lake of fire. He is the human personification of Satan. When he arrives in the lake of fire those who are present take up this taunt. They begin to ridicule him because of his ambition that he expressed and the promises that he had made that he would provide everything for everybody and would be the ruler of the earth. What they do in their taunt is remind him of what his original ambition was. That throws us back into the past, so it can be confusing and we have to watch that timeline. When those in Sheol see the Antichrist they take up the taunt directed at him but really it goes to the power behind him, Satan his original ambition, which of course had occurred way back before the creation of Genesis 1:1.

 

In Isaiah 14:3 there is a time given. NASB “and it will be in the day when the LORD gives you rest from your pain (sorrow; he is addressing Israel)…” When is that time? It is a time of “rest,” a key word in Old Testament theology. God rested at creation on the 7th day, and that rest of God is a depiction of Millennial rest that will come to Israel. That is the theme of Hebrews chapter four: the rest of God which comes with the kingdom. This places the time of Isaiah 14:3 as the Millennial kingdom is about to dawn. “…and turmoil and harsh service in which you have been enslaved, [4] that you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon, and say, ‘How the oppressor has ceased, {And how} fury has ceased! [5] The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked, The scepter of rulers [6] Which used to strike the peoples in fury with unceasing strokes, Which subdued the nations in anger with unrestrained persecution.”

 

Isaiah 14:9 NASB “Sheol from beneath is excited over you to meet you when you come; It arouses for you the spirits of the dead, all the leaders of the earth; It raises all the kings of the nations from their thrones.” Sheol is generally the place where the dead go before they are either resurrected to eternal life or are resurrected to judgment. Remember that Old Testament saints went to a compartment in Sheol called Paradise, but that is not revealed in the Old Testament, we don’t get that until we get to Luke 16. There was this general sense of a place called Sheol where the righteous go, the unrighteous go there, and they probably had a vague sense they were not in the same place, but it is not spelled out anywhere in the Old Testament about compartments in Sheol. So this is just speaking generally here in verse 9. [10] “They will all respond and say to you, ‘Even you have been made weak as we, You have become like us.” Those who are already inhabiting Sheol are saying this to the one who is being cast into Sheol. [11] “Your pomp {and} the music of your harps Have been brought down to Sheol; Maggots are spread out {as your bed} beneath you And worms are your covering.”

Then verses 12-14 is an address to the real power behind the human figure and addresses the fall of Satan. Isaiah 14:19 NASB “But you have been cast out of your tomb Like a rejected branch, Clothed with the slain who are pierced with a sword [the manner of his physical death], Who go down to the stones of the pit Like a trampled corpse.” He was trampled under foot, his body was abused when he died. [20] “You will not be united with them in burial, Because you have ruined your country, You have slain your people. May the offspring of evildoers not be mentioned forever.” He is not buried, he is just killed when Jesus returns and has to be brought back to life in order to be judged along with the false prophet.

Third, the Antichrist and the false prophet will be cast directly and alive into the lake of fire. Revelation 19:20, 21 spell this out. NASB “And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone. [21] And the rest were killed with the sword which came from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse, and all the birds were filled with their flesh.”

The fourth event is that Satan is somehow caught, bound and cast into the abyss. This is described in chapter 20. Revelation 20:1 NASB “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.” The angel is just an ordinary angel, not a seraph, not  the archangel. Here we have the mightiest of all the angels, the most intelligent, the most power, and the leader of this great rebellion, and God is going to humiliate him; he is just arrested by a common, ordinary messenger angel. [2] “And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.” John doesn’t want us to miss at the end of the Bible the identification of who the serpent was at the beginning of the Bible. [3] “and he threw him into the abyss, and shut {it} and sealed {it} over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.” The word that is translated “nations” is the Greek word ethnos [e)qnoj] which also is translated “Gentiles.” Basically what this is saying is that one of the major elements of evil and deception in the world—2 Corinthians 4:4, Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers to the truth—is Satan. Satan and his demonic hordes prevent human beings from clearly seeing the truth through various means of deception. That won’t be true during the Millennial kingdom, so that excuse is not going to be available. What God will be doing in the Millennial kingdom is show that man deceives himself from his sin nature; Satan’s deception is merely a secondary deception, not the real reason. Man can’t blame Satan for his own faults.

Then there is going to be a judgment, several judgments because now there are different groups that have survived and it is time to decide whether they go into the Millennial kingdom or to Sheol. So the next event is the judgment of the living Gentiles: the sheep and the goat judgment. This is specifically a Gentile judgment, according to Joel 3:1-3; Matthew 25. We might add another element that occurs here in this period of time, and that would be the retrieval of the surviving Jews at the end of the Tribulation. In Matthew 13, the last parable, Jesus talks about sending forth the angels who will gather the elect from the four corners of the earth and bring them to Israel. This is the second return that is spoken about in Isaiah 11:11. At this time they will all be saved, will be part of the remnant, and they return as saved. The first return (occurring now) is of unregenerate, but this second will be the return of saved Jews. In Joel chapter three we see the location of the judgment. Joel 3:1 “For behold, in those days and at that time, When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, [2] I will gather all the nations [Gentiles] And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel…”  Joel chapter three indicates that the basis for this judgment has to do with Israel. Jesus expands on that in Matthew 25 where we see that the attitude of the Gentiles toward Israel becomes a major issue in this judgment.

“… Whom they have scattered among the nations; And they have divided up My land.” That certainly resonates in a way today that did not resonate up until there was the land of Israel divided after World War I. Initially the decision was made that all of the land that what is now Israel and the kingdom of Jordan which was to go to Israel under the Balfour Declaration. Then as the 1920s progressed there were various uprisings by Arabs and reassignments of land, and the kingdom of Jordan had to be given to the Hashemites as a reward for their support during WWI. So it was decided that the Jews would only get the land on the west side of the Jordan. Eventually that was pared down and pared down until it really didn’t amount to much by 1948 and it really would not have been very defensible. Because of the Arab assault when Israel declared her independence and the consequent war for independence, Israel was able to secure a better potion in the land. Until the end of the Tribulation the land of Israel is never going to be fully theirs, it is going to be constantly fought over and divided by the Gentile powers. [3] “They have also cast lots for My people, Traded a boy for a harlot And sold a girl for wine that they may drink.” The judgment has to do with the oppression and anti-Semitism that occurs during that time. So the basis for judgment, then, is going to have to do with whether someone has been anti-Semitic or philo-Semitic. Because Israel is going to be the focal point of the warfare and the focal point of the controversy it will become clear that only those with any kind of biblical understanding or background who are the ones who support the Jews. Everybody else will be pushed to be anti-Semitic; it will be part and parcel of taking the mark of the beast. Matthew 25 makes this clear.

Remember that the real issue in history for salvation is still faith alone in Christ alone; that doesn’t change. But for those who have understood that Jesus is the Messiah in the Tribulation period, they will understand what the real issues in life are, just as those who take the mark of the beast will fully understand what they are doing. This is not something that is accidental. It is going to come with an oath of loyalty to the Antichrist and, as we see in Revelation, there are going to be these angels who fly through the air proclaiming the gospel. It is going to be a different type of environment spiritually than what we see today and the issyes will be very clear to everyone: if they are a believer how they are to act, and if they are an unbeliever they will be acting in antagonism to God and to His people. 

Matthew 25:31 NASB “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.” The Son of Man is the title that is given the Messiah in Daniel chapter seven, so Jesus here correctly connects what He is talking about in terms of His second coming with Daniel 7 and the coming of the Son of Man who has just received the kingdom at that point. The important point to be stressed here is that the kingdom isn’t given to Jesus as the Son of Man until the second coming—“then He will sit on His glorious throne.” Now He is not on His throne, He is sitting on the Father’s throne, Revelation 3:21. He is like David was when David was in the wilderness in the Old Testament. He is anointed to be King but He hasn’t been crowned King yet and so He doesn’t have the authority of King, He is just, as it were, the King in waiting, waiting to be given a kingdom. So we are not in any form of a Davidic or Messianic kingdom at this point. Jesus isn’t sitting on the throne in heaven. When He does sit on His throne judgment is delegated to Him by God the Father, Matthew 25:32 NASB “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep [believers] from the goats [unbelievers]; [33] and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. [34] “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” This is when they receive the kingdom. Inheriting the kingdom is not entering into heaven, it is ownership in the Messianic kingdom on earth following the second coming. He is addressing the Gentile survivors of the Tribulation here.

Matthew 25:35, the qualification: NASB “For I was hungry, and you gave Me {something} to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me {something} to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in…” This is not talking about feeding the poor, this is talking about protecting Jews who are being persecuted during the Tribulation. Jesus is using Himself as the personification of His people Israel in this passage. Because they are believers, because they understand what the real issues are during the Tribulation period, that Jews who are being persecuted are seeking protection, the Gentiles who are believers will protect them. They will be the righteous among the Gentiles. [36] “naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.” It is not talking about a prison ministry here, a hospital ministry, or clothing the poor; it is talking about taking care of Jews who have been persecuted during the Tribulation period.

Matthew 25:37 NASB “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You {something} to drink? [38] And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? [39] When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ [40] The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine [Jews], {even} the least {of them,} you did it to Me.’”

Matthew 25:41 NASB “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.” This occurs at the end of the Tribulation. It addresses the surviving, unbelieving Gentiles, and they like the Antichrist and the false prophet are sent to the lake of fire. This is their judgment, they don’t come back at the great white throne. The lake of fire is already in existence. [42] “for I was hungry, and you gave Me {nothing} to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; [43] I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ [44] Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ [45] Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ [46] These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

The next thing that occurs is the resurrection of Old Testament believers. There are five different resurrections that make up what the Bible refers to as the first resurrection. The firstfruits of that resurrection is Jesus Christ who was raised from the dead. The second resurrection is the Rapture, the third is the resurrection of the two witnesses, and now here we have the resurrection of Old Testament believers. Then there is the resurrection of Tribulation martyrs as the fifth resurrection. It seems that the Old Testament saints are resurrected by the time of the scene in Revelation 20:4 NASB “Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I {saw} the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” So the first group who have judgment committed to them would be the church age believers; the second group are the Tribulation saints, and they, too, will reign with Christ for a thousand years. By the time that we see them in v. 4 they have already been resurrected.

The last event is the marriage supper of the Lamb. There is not a specific verse that tells us when the marriage supper of the Lamb takes place. We have one verse, Revelation 19:9, which mentions this and at the time of Revelation 10:9 it is yet future. NASB “Then he said to me, “Write, ‘Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.’” And he said to me, ‘These are true words of God.’” At that point the marriage supper is yet future. At the beginning of the Millennial period the marriage supper has occurred. Since it involves all those who have been invited to the marriage supper the Old Testament saints would need to be resurrected, the Tribulation saints would need to be resurrected, the Tribulation martyrs, and all the other judgments would need to be completed, and so the last event would be the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Illustrations