Seventy is a big Bible number. Being a multiple of seven, which is generally accepted as being a number of completion (seven day week etc.), when a multiple is used we should also be paying attention. We are not dealing with the author of confusion.
The modern state of Israel is apparently the bellwether sign given in the Bible for us to watch to know where we are in relation to the “last days.” It is generally agreed, (but not 100%) that Matthew’s verse concerning the fig tree is indicative of what is to come. When the fig tree begins to put forth leaves we are getting close to the summer season described as when things begin to happen:
Mt 24:32 ¶ Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:
Many commentators relate the “re-founding” of the state of Israel in May of 1948 to the above verse and maintain that at that point the countdown to Judgment began. The Blue Letter Bible summarizes that point as follows:
“These three trees are particularly fit symbols of Israel, for in Palestine the "Vine," the "Fig-tree," and the "Olive," stand for the fruitfulness of the land. And the "Vine" and "Fig-tree" prefigure the Millennial days when every man shall sit under his own "Vine" and "Fig-tree." Micah 4:3-4. When Jacob (Israel) was about to die he summoned his sons, and prophesied their future. Of Judah he said that his portion of Canaan should be so full of vineyards that asses should be tethered to the vines, and that the juice should be so plentiful that they would wash their clothes in it as in water. Gen. 49:9-12.”
We are now approaching the 70th anniversary of the founding of the modern state of Israel. As it draws close, almost everyone, if you ask will agree, “something is in the air.” There is a universal feeling of “big things coming down.”
he Dow Jones Average at this writing is off about 200 points of an all time high and commentary by those who are normally bullish on Wall Street are sounding notes of caution. Cracks are beginning to appear, the high point in financial markets may have been reached and it’s possible a large, perhaps huge correction could occur in the near future.
Are we on the edge? Some have noted that May of 2018 will be 70 years since the re-gathering of Israel back to the Promised Land, in the form of re-establishment of the state of Israel. And, because God’s number of completion is seven (7) there is either great apprehension, or great anticipation, that sometime between now and next May the world will undergo a convulsion unlike anything it has seen to date. Another harbinger could be “the days of our years.”
Ps 90:10 The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. (emphasis added)
Do the signs point to “threescore and ten (70)” or perhaps they point to “fourscore years (80)?” No man can answer with authority though many will try, it may start next May or we may be ten and a half years too early to see it all come together. Or perhaps we should say, “all come apart.”
When God spoke of the fig tree in Matthew 24, two verses later the warning of impending events is spelled out by continuing, “Truly I say to you, This generation shall not pass until all these things are fulfilled.(Vs 34)” Ominous words indeed for those who are prophecy watchers and who wonder if the fulfillment of prophecy is at hand. It’s interesting to note the use of the word “generation” used here (if indeed the fig tree can be linked to Israel), and to wonder if it can indeed also be joined to the apparent length of a “generation of our years.” In other words, does a generation of a lifetime of a man also apply to a generation in the life of Israel?
Another indicator that we are getting close to “end-times” is the fact that the world is lately witnessing a dramatic rise in anti-Semitism, i.e. hatred of the Jewish people. In an article dated February 23, 2017, writer Ian Tuttle notes:
“On Monday, for the fourth time since the beginning of the year, bomb threats shut down multiple Jewish Community Centers across the country. The calls are the latest in a series: Sixty-nine threats have been called into 54 Jewish Community Centers in 27 states and a Canadian province since January 1, according to the JCC Association of North America. Meanwhile, also on Monday, vandals toppled nearly 200 tombstones at a Jewish cemetery in St. Louis."
It was also noted on CNN in April, 2017 that “In the first three months of this year, the number of anti-Semitic incidents in the US was 86% higher than the same period last year.”
Of course none of this can be nailed down and finished, simply because it is not given to men to know the future outside of God’s word. But why are there even anti-Semitic incidents to be reported? Why does the world seem to hate the Jews? They’re all about average height, a mix of complexions, and about as moral as the rest of the world. They do seem to have a larger than average proportion of patents, indicating that perhaps that if they are not smarter than average, maybe they just work harder.
Why the hatred? One theory is the fact that in the eyes of unsaved people, the Jews (along with the Christians) represent God on earth and/or the Bible. Though most men won’t admit it, an unsaved man harbors a deep resentment, if not an outright hatred of God, because God claims sovereignty over all men. That is reason enough for many to hate, for those who want to be “…the master of my fate, the captain of my soul,” as William Ernest Henley bragged in his poem “Invictus.” The prime reason for Jewish hatred of course is the decree of God when he scattered the Children for disobedience:
De 28:65 And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the LORD shall give thee there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: 66 And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life: 67 In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see.
As a consequence, in his rebellion against God, man will attack (sometimes overtly, sometimes covertly) the Jewish people in a disguised attempt to strike out against God. Few would admit to such a motivation but if we consider the evidence it’s hard to draw any other conclusion.
Other reasons include perceived character traits of Jews that are undesirable. Hitler for example claimed the Jews were “less than human, being ‘lower-evolved’ people.” He went on to attempt the extermination of the entire race, killing about 13 million people with about 6 million of them being Jews. The enemies of God also characterize the Jews as “controlling the wealth of the world”. These folks conveniently overlook the thousands of non-Jews who are also involved in international banking.
In Daniel 9:24 the prophet speaks of seventy weeks, (69+1 weeks of years) to bring it all to an end, to “finish the transgression and to make an end of sins.” Are the seventy weeks about up? Many think so, indeed careful calculations have been made that seem to indicate the 70 years since bringing Israel back may kick off the 7 years yet to come that will indeed be a culmination of Bible prophecy that men have studied for 3,500 years. Are we a “chosen generation?” One that will see prophecy not just studied, but one that will see a lightning series of events that will leave no doubt that the Eastern sky is about to split? For serious students Joel Richardson teaches.
Or perhaps prophecy students have missed the mark completely. Will there ever be a time when the Creator will turn His back on the Jews and prophecy will go unfulfilled? No, because the Scriptures plainly testify,
Jer 31:35 ¶ Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: 36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. 37 Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.
If the Bible is true then we may well be the generation that will see the culmination of all history. If nothing comes to pass between now and next May then we perhaps can dismiss or delay such questions that are raised in this article and look for another time later on down the road to see the fireworks begin.
It behooves us then to simply read and believe what God has written in the Bible. If we want to be blessed, obey God. If you want to be cursed, attack the Jews.
