Introduction to the Seventy Weeks

Question:  What is the vision of Seventy Weeks? Answer:     God's redemption and restoration plan for His people. Introduction to the Seventy Weeks The vision of "Seventy Weeks" found in the book of Daniel is one of the most important prophecies in all scripture. Here we find God's master plan for Gentiles and Jews; the preservation, redemption and restoration of Israel, a last days temple, sacrifices, the image of the Beast, and the Messiah. All this set against a backdrop of successive gentile kingdoms that culminate with a last days Empire ruled by ten kings, the Antichrist, False Prophet, and Satan. And this ends with the establishment of God's promised millennial kingdom on earth. What makes this prophecy stand out from many of the others in scripture is that this vision gives us a specific timetable for key events. This is not a vague prediction full of generalizations that could be fulfilled by chance. The Seventy Weeks prophecy actually spans a period of thousands of years during which time some very unique people, places and events must all come together. Only by the power of God could this be possible. To understand this chapter in the book of Daniel you must stay fully aware of these two messages, that is national salvation for Israel and personal salvation for all mankind. It is written in Revelation, "Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." Nowhere is that more perfectly illustrated than here in the book of Daniel.
Important Biblical History Genesis covers the story of how mankind fell into sin. But to understand how the Jews fell into the Babylonian captivity it helps to go over a bit of history. The first three kings of Israel (Saul, David and Solomon) ruled over a United Kingdom. David defeated the surrounding pagan nations in a series of great military battles. Solomon built up the kingdom into the leading power in Mesopotamia by around 926 B.C. After the reign of Solomon the kingdom split into two factions. The Northern Kingdom of Israel was comprised of ten tribes. The Southern Kingdom of Judah was comprised of two tribes centered around Jerusalem. By 721 B.C. Israel was completely destroyed by the Assyrian Empire and the population deported to Assyria. The ten tribes have never been heard from again. Thus the phrase "the lost ten tribes." However, there is no shortage of people claiming to be a descendent of the lost tribes. In 612 B.C. a change of power took place in Mesopotamia when Nabopolassar of Chaldea destroyed Nineveh the capital of the Assyrian Empire. Babylon then became the center of a great Babylonian Empire. In 605 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar, King of the Chaldeans, defeated Egypt and extended his control over Judah. This is when the first deportation of Jews to Babylon started: "Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king's descendants and some of the nobles, young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king's palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans." Daniel was in this first group of deportees along with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. These four shined above the rest. And Daniel's reputation for knowledge, wisdom, and understanding earned him a position of authority and recognition during the reign of many kings. In 597 B.C. a Jewish revolt led to a Babylonian siege of Jerusalem which ended in surrender and more deportations. Ten years later another revolt ended after a two-year siege in which Nebuchadnezzar entered Jerusalem, burned the temple, and deported more Jews. This brought an end to the Kingdom of Judah in 586 B.C.
The Vision of Seventy Weeks Now that we understand how Daniel came to be in Babylon let's turn to the vision of Seventy Weeks. This can be found in the ninth chapter of Daniel and reads as follows:
	Daniel 9:1-27     1    In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans--     2    in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the LORD through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.     3    Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes.     4    And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments,     5    "we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments.     6    "Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land.     7    "O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day-- to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.     8    "O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.     9    "To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him.   10    "We have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets.   11    "Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him.   12    "And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.   13    "As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the LORD our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth.   14    "Therefore the LORD has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice.   15    "And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day-- we have sinned, we have done wickedly!   16    "O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us.   17    "Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord's sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate.   18    "O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies.   19    "O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name."   20    Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God,   21    yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.   22    And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.   23    "At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:   24    "Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.   25    "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.   26    "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.   27    Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate."
Key Points About The Seventy Weeks What an example Daniel is for us all. Once again in chapter nine we see Daniel praying and confessing his sins and the sins of Israel to God. Look at his situation and how he conducted himself. Daniel saw firsthand the Babylonian invasion of his homeland. He was taken captive and found himself in a foreign city far from Jerusalem. There he was trained for three years so that he may serve the very king that was destroying Israel. But how did this man of God react? He let nothing, not even the threat of death stop him from worshiping the one true God. He went about his duty serving foreign kings without compromising his faith in God. Daniel accepted the work that God had sent him to Babylon to do. Daniel knew that God was in control of everything. Nothing happens without His knowledge. Kings like to think that they are the conquerors. But they could do nothing if it did not serve God's purpose. That is the message of Nebuchadnezzar being put out to pasture to graze like a cow for seven years. And God does have a purpose for things that seem to us to be inexplicable, such as Nebuchadnezzar destroying Jerusalem.
	Daniel 2:20-22   20    Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His.   21    And He changes the times and the seasons; he removes kings and raises up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding.   22    He reveals deep and secret things; he knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him.
Point 1 - Daniel understood his condition. Daniel is one of the few characters in scripture for which nothing bad is ever mentioned. But Daniel was suffering the fate of all flesh regardless of how righteous or sinful his conduct. All flesh is born captive to sin and therefore under the penalty of sin which is death. And this state leads to spiritual death without Christ the Messiah. Look closely at how this chapter opens. Daniel is making "confession" to God. "And I prayed to the LORD my God, and made confession, and said, "O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments," Daniel did not blame God for his condition. How many times have you heard "if there is a God how can He allow children to die, or people to suffer?" Here we have a wise man in Daniel. He understood that our sin is responsible for our condition. "we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments." The message is don't blame God. God loves us. He did not want us to sin. He is faithful. God keeps His side of the bargain. He keeps his covenant. We suffer in this world because of our sinful nature. Sure, all have sinned and that includes Daniel. But this much we know that Daniel lived an exemplary life, a shadow of what it means to be a born-again Christian, and that pleased God. Point 2 - Daniel understood his captivity. In the first few verses we see that Daniel fully understood that Jerusalem would remain desolate for 70 years. And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.    2 Chronicles 36:20-21 Judah was not keeping the law of the Sabbaths. They were working the land without giving it a chance to rest on the seventh year called the sabbatical year. And to make things worse they were offering the fruits of their labors to pagan gods. 'Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; 'but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to the LORD. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard.    Leviticus 25:3-4 Also Judah was breaking another law of the Sabbatical year in which they were to set Hebrew servants free. "If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you. "And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed; "you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the LORD has blessed you with, you shall give to him. "You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today.    Deuteronomy 15:12-14 "Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying, "At the end of seven years let every man set free his Hebrew brother, who has been sold to him; and when he has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you." But your fathers did not obey Me nor incline their ear.    Jeremiah 34:13-14 Because of these sins God removed Israel and Judah from the land and made them servants to the surrounding pagan nations. Most people do not realize the full importance of the land of Israel. Israel belongs to God. This is where the Garden of Eden was located. This is where the Lord paid for our eternal freedom with His own life. And Jerusalem is where Jesus will set up the promised kingdom. The weekly Sabbath and Lord's Day, and the sabbatical year, are pointers to the 1000 year reign of Christ in which the whole earth will rest after 6,000 years of sin and tribulation. By keeping these we are acknowledging our faith in God's ability and promise to establish His Kingdom at the appointed time. It must have crossed Daniel's mind that 70 years is a lifetime. He would die captive in Babylon without ever seeing Jerusalem again. Still, Daniel had faith and hope in the future. Point 3 - Salvation comes by way of God's righteousness and mercy. We deserve death just as Israel deserved to be removed from the land. And Daniel understood that man's righteous deeds could not remove the captivity in Babylon, in other words our captivity in sin. It is only by the grace and mercy of God that we are given a new everlasting life and our sins erased forever. "Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord's sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate. "O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. "O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name." Daniel knew how to approach God. Daniel did not come with the works of his own hands. It is the righteous deed of Christ on the cross that covers our sins. God is forgiving, and merciful if we confess and repent as Daniel did here in this prayer. Point 4 - Daniel did not want God to delay the restoration of Israel. Daniel was fully aware that the captivity in Babylon would end after 70 years. And he was also aware of the promise of the Millennial Kingdom in which the Messiah would rule the world from the Temple Mount. Additionally, Daniel knew that there would be several more gentile kingdoms between these two events. So in this prayer Daniel petitions God to not delay in restoring Israel because as he remarked to God, "Your city and Your people are called by Your name." But God is working to His timetable. And God wanted this wise man to gain an even deeper understanding into the very important milestones leading up to the establishment of God's Kingdom on earth. Point 5 - God hears our prayers and He can respond quickly. Few people realize just how fast God responded to Daniel's prayer. Notice in verse 21 to 23 that God dispatched Gabriel the Archangel at the beginning of Daniel's supplication. And Gabriel reached Daniel before the end of the prayer. I do not know how far away heaven is but Daniel's prayer takes less than three minutes to recite. Gabriel, "being caused to fly swiftly," reached Daniel in less than 180 seconds! This shows that angels can really move when they want to because the physical laws created to constrain us do not apply to angels. And when God says go they hit the road without delay. Point 6 - God revealed the big picture, another "Seventy Weeks." The seventy weeks in Babylonian captivity were punishment from God for specific national sins committed by the children of Israel. But God has another important "seventy" after which all sin will be wiped away. "Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city:          1. to finish the transgression          2. to make an end of sins          3. to make reconciliation for iniquity          4. to bring in everlasting righteousness          5. to seal up vision and prophecy          6. and to anoint the Most Holy." This is God's redemption plan for mankind. And God felt it was important to relay this information to Daniel and to document this prophecy in scripture for all of us. Point 7 - The Seventy Weeks are translated to mean 490 years. The Seventy Weeks of this prophecy are actually translated Seventy Sevens, or 70 x 7 = 490 years. Although Israel would return to the land after 70 years there would still be another 490 years until God would fulfill all prophecy. Point 8 - It would be Sixty Nine Weeks or 483 years until Messiah the Prince. "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times." This was fulfilled to the letter. It was exactly 483 years from the decree by Cyrus allowing the return of Jews to start the rebuilding of Jerusalem until Jesus Christ. Who says of Cyrus, 'He is My shepherd, and he shall perform all My pleasure, saying to Jerusalem, "You shall be built," and to the temple, "Your foundation shall be laid."'    Isaiah 44:28 I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways; he shall build My city and let My exiles go free, not for price nor reward," says the LORD of hosts.    Isaiah 45:13 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah.    Ezra 1:1-2 Point 9 - Only Jesus could be the Messiah. The prophecy says that after sixty-two weeks Messiah would be killed. Many people do not realize that the Messiah had to come by the first century A.D. according to God's prophetic word. Only Jesus met all of the messianic qualifications and lived and died within the time constraints of this prophecy. So either Jesus was the Messiah like He claimed or there will be no Messiah. "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;" There was no need for the scripture to be repetitive by stating after the first seven weeks and then the sixty-two weeks. The meaning is clear, after the 483 years Messiah would be killed. Once again, that means that this prophecy could only be fulfilled around 30 A.D. by someone meeting all of the requirements for being the Messiah. And this prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus died on the cross. Notice that this verse says, "Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself." Jesus gave up His life - no one took it from Him. Jesus could have called down legions of angels to save Himself and destroy the Romans. But this was the reason that the Messiah came into the world. Jesus was the innocent and sinless sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Jesus gave up His life as the price set by the Father for redeeming us from our sins. Point 10 - The 490 years are not consecutive years. God did not tell Daniel everything, just what he needed to know at that point in time. As far as the Jews and Israel there are only 490 important years from the decree by Cyrus the King of Persia and the fulfillment of this prophecy. But God did not tell Daniel that these 490 years would run consecutively. In fact, God planned 483 years from the decree by Cyrus until Messiah was cut off. But after that God's clock for this prophecy was stopped. There is still one more week or seven years left to fulfill this prophecy of Seventy Weeks. Point 11 - God planned this "pause" for the benefit of the church. God planned a two-thousand year pause in this prophecy to bring salvation to the rest of the gentile world. "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come."    Matthew 24:14-17 I believe that missionaries have just about completed this task. Almost everyone on earth has had a chance to hear the message of Christ. The gentile church was a mystery even to the Apostles at first. Unknown to them, God's plan was to preach the gospel to the Jew first, then to the Gentile. So in the early days the Apostles and Disciples preached the Word in Jerusalem. Next they went out on missionary journeys to Jewish communities throughout the Roman Empire. They went into the typical meeting place of the day (a synagogue) to preach the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. Travel in those days was very slow and dangerous. But God made good use of the efficient Roman infrastructure to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Many Christians today do not consider the fact that in the early days of Christianity there were no churches and the New Testament did not exist. It wasn't until the invention of the printing press in the 15th century and translation of the Holy Bible into common language that the common man was able to acquire a copy of the Holy Bible. So when James the brother of Christ wrote the first book of the New Testament in 45 A.D. he addressed it "to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad." James used this greeting because the first Christians in early church were almost exclusively comprised of converted Jews, many scattered in foreign countries after the Assyrian and Babylonian captivity. This soon changed when God commissioned Paul, Peter, and the other Apostles to take the Gospel to gentiles. So this long pause in the Seventy Weeks prophecy has given what was once a lost gentile world a chance to know God and gain eternal life. When this part of God's work is done He will start the prophetic clock on this prophecy again. He will turn His attention back to national salvation for the children of Israel. A remnant will go through the great tribulation and then they will come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Point 12 - The last 7 years of this prophecy is called the Seventieth Week of Daniel. So far 483 years of this 490-year prophecy in the ninth chapter of Daniel have been fulfilled. And God has delayed the coming of the last seven years to allow for the Gospel to be spread to every nation. The seven churches mentioned in Revelation represent seven distinct church dispensations from the time of Christ to the Second Coming. This describes God's plan for bringing salvation to gentiles. So that leaves one more period of seven years to complete this prophecy. And that period is known as the "Seventieth Week of Daniel." Most of Revelation and much of the prophecy in the Old Testament deals with events that will take place in the Seventh Week of Daniel. This last seven years will be left for another study where it can be covered properly. Point 13 - The Antichrist will come from the old Roman Empire. This gem of prophetic information can be gleaned out of the following: "and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined." The Roman army fulfilled this prophecy in 70 A.D. when they put down the Jewish revolt and destroyed the Temple and Jerusalem. And this prophecy says the prince (Antichrist) will come from the people who destroy the city and the sanctuary. Therefore we can conclude that the Antichrist will arise from somewhere in the old Roman Empire. Point 14 - The Antichrist will break a seven-year treaty after only 3.5 years. Here we are given some insight into the last seven years of this prophecy. The Antichrist will make a seven-year covenant with many nations. After only 42 months the Antichrist will break the treaty, stop the sacrifices on the Temple Mount, and set up an image in the Temple. "Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate." We know that the "one week" here means seven years and the "middle of the week" means after 3.5 years because this interpretation is supported by other prophecy. Those verses use terms like "time and times and a half a time," 42 months, and 1260 days to address events in these last seven years of this prophecy. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.   Revelation 12:14-15 "Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth."   Revelation 11:1-3 Many people claiming to be "Biblical Scholars" incorrectly teach that this part of Daniel's prophecy was fulfilled when Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) had a pig sacrificed on the altar in Jerusalem during the Seleucid dynasty, 175-163 B.C. But this is such a poor argument that it's hardly worth wasting time on. It was 30 A.D. when Jesus gave us this prophecy. So clearly Jesus was not pointing back to Antiochus, but forward to the Antichrist. "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains."   Matthew 24:15-17
Summary The prophecy of Seventy Weeks in the ninth chapter of Daniel is a fantastic example of how God weaves two key messages into the same passages of scripture. First, the ninth chapter speaks of prophecy concerning the literal future restoration and national salvation of Israel, the literal coming of the Messiah, the person called the Antichrist, and the literal future Kingdom of God on earth. The second key message here is the way to personal salvation as perfectly illustrated through the words and actions of Daniel. Eternal life comes only by faith in Jesus Christ. Faith is an action word. Daniel walked by faith. Like Daniel we must confess our sins, acknowledge the Lord as our Savior, and be born again unto a new nature. We must walk by faith regardless of the trials and tribulations of this world. We must be a reflection of the righteousness of the Lord. And if we are faithful to do this then God will be faithful to free us from the captivity and penalty of sin. When the children of Israel rejected God as their king they soon got on a path of destruction. When we put God out of our personal lives we inherit the same fate. The clear message is that without God at the center of our being we are lost. The same goes for the kingdoms of this world. God is patient. He will give us time to repent. If we do not then He has no choice but to take action. We should fear God. There are rules, boundaries, and limitations. And God has clearly laid out the boundaries for human conduct. Only if our name is found in the Book of Life will we inherit this kingdom. And that way is only found through Jesus Christ. We know that 490 years were established by God to finish His work. Of that 483 were fulfilled by the time Jesus went to the cross. There is one more prophetic week of seven years left to be fulfilled. It could start at any moment. By His grace God stopped the clock on this prophecy so that the whole world could receive the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The last seven years of prophecy will be preceded by the Rapture. Then God is going to put the children of Israel and the world through troubling times. When Satan, the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and the hundreds of millions of solders march on Israel, and all hope is lost, then the children of Israel will turn to their Messiah Jesus Christ. And the Lord will return to fight for His people and set up the promised Kingdom on earth. Until then, we should watch and be ready for the coming of the Lord. And let's not forget that God is not through with the children of Israel. Be ready, the time is near.