Luke 3:1-2 says, “Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.”
Tiberius Caesar ruled from September 18th A.D.14-to A.D.37. So, his 15th year would be A.D.28/29. John the Baptist began his ministry in the month Tishri 10th (September 18th A.D.28 but the new year of the Civil calendar of A.D.29). Jesus the Messiah is Baptized by him during that time.
Jesus then reads Isaiah 61 a few months after in the Synagogue. Luke 4:18, says “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord…” But let’s look at the rest of this verse in Isaiah 61:2, which says “…and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;” Jesus purposefully didn’t say this because he knew it wasn’t time for this to be fulfilled. This part of the verse was going to be fulfilled in A.D. 70.
Jesus was crucified in middle of the 69th week (after 62 weeks) of Daniel. So, immediately after Christ is crucified shouldn’t the 70th week begin? The 70th week doesn’t begin in 30 A.D. But it began in 65 A.D to 72 A.D. Luke 21:20 says “…when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.”
Daniel makes it seem as though the destruction of the temple is before the 70th week of Daniel. But Luke places the destruction of the temple in the last 3 ½ years of the seven-year Sabbatical cycle of 68 A.D. to 72 A.D. In the book of Matthew, Jesus speaks to his disciples of the destruction of the temple, and his coming at the end of the age. It is important that we understand what Jesus is speaking of in this passage regarding the ‘abomination of desolation’.
Matthew 24:14-16 says “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:” The word ‘world’ in verse 14, means ‘the Roman Empire’ so the verse is telling us the gospel would be preached to the Roman world then the ‘end’ would come. This is not speaking of the end of the world in this passage; but the end of Jerusalem. The synoptic gospels of Matthew and Mark agree; and their gospels are similar regarding the ‘abomination of desolation. Jesus tells the Pharisees that because they missed the hour of their visitation the temple would be brought to desolation.
Matt. 23:37-39, says: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” Jesus foretells of the desolation that was coming.
The Hebrew Tanach says in Daniel 9:27 “And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week; and for half of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease, and upon the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator.” It is very important that we break the verse into parts: Daniel 9:27a says “And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week; and for half of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease…” What happened? The Messiah confirmed the Abrahamic covenant with many for one prophetic week which is seven years, but Daniel 9:26 let’s us know that in the middle of the week which was 3 ½ years the Messiah was cut off through his death on the cross. And by his death on the cross, he became that once and for all sacrifice to end all temporary sacrifices by the levitical priesthood. We must understand that verses 26 and 27 run parallel together. NOW, we must NOT confuse chapter 8 of Daniel with chapter 9 of Daniel, because it’s talking about Antiochus IV. This is why Yeshua says in Matthew 24:15 which says “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)” Let’s review, the 62nd week of years (69th week) began in A.D.29/30 and was supposed to last to A.D.37, however it lasted to A.D.33 when the Messiah was crucified. Notice how the Tanach makes a difference from the one who makes the covenant from the one who makes desolate: Daniel 9:27b “…and upon the wing of abominations shall come ONE who makes desolate, until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator.
-Anthony Booker
The GATHERING Place 