Chapter One
                                                     Watch and Be Ready


   Many celebrity preachers rightly teach that since we cannot know the hour or the day our Lord will return, we must
always be ready. They further teach that the way to be ready is to understand God’s grace and His love for all people and
this shall be sufficient. The study of Bible prophecies is relegated to a lower level and is said to be subject to “manifold
interpretations,” and “allegorical, symbolic, apocalyptic language that cannot be understood in a true and literal sense.” Yet
as true as God’s grace and love are in the lives of  the children of light, so also are we commanded to watch and be sober,
and not despise prophesying in darkness as are those that sleep and are drunken in the night (I Thess. 5:1-7, 5:20). In
Matthew chapter 24 we are again commanded to “watch” and be “ready” for we know not what hour that the Son of
man will come (Matt. 24: 42-44). But we must understand what it means to “be ready” and “to watch”:

   WATCH- To be attentive; to heed; to be on the lookout.

  READY- Prepared or supplied with what is needed for some act or event.

   What is needed to be ready for Christ’s return is to be born again, indwelt with the Holy Spirit through the grace and love
of our Lord Jesus as many churches now teach. But to be on the lookout, we must be able to read the signs of the times
given to us only through the diligent study of Bible prophecies. We must keep in mind both to be ready and to watch at the
same time. Make no mistake, the current focus of doctrinal teaching on only being ready and diminishing the importance of
knowing the season, will lead the unwary into the same trap that befell those who followed after the ways of the Pharisees.
Yet they did not know the times or the seasons in which our Lord first came. My beloved brethren, take heed as Jesus
Himself has warned us to be on the lookout, to “watch” and to know the times and the season, but yet not the hour or the
day (Matt. 24:32-39, Mark 13:32-37, Luke 21:36).

  Secondly, what greater test of faith is there than to place our trust in the Word of God alone, given to us by men of old as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost (II Peter 1:20-21). To know and believe and diligently examine the myriad of “end
time” prophecies is also, in itself, a form of worship and praise unto our Lord. Yet so few born again believers today will
partake of the blessing the Lord promises unto all who will read and hear and keep the things that are written in the Book of
Revelation alone (Rev. 1:3). Bible prophecy is important to God in that it is one of the most fundamental ways in which He
declares unto every man that He is the one and only true God. Perhaps nowhere else is this better announced than in Isaiah
46:9-10:

“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,

Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My
counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:”

   Are you “ready” to be a lookout for the signs of the season of our Lord’s return? Can you stand before men and God
and proclaim what the Lord’s pleasure is to fulfill with his second coming? If your answers to these questions are no, then
the counsel of the Word of God is that we be workmen that need not be ashamed, and to rightly divide the Word of God (II
Tim. 2:15). Mohammed, Buddha and Confucius are dead and buried in their graves. These men did not declare from ancient
times anything that will come to pass at our Lord’s second coming. Let us therefore worship our Lord and Savior in spirit
and truth by devoting as much of our energy in “watching” as we do in “being ready.” Let us understand the warnings
given to the church so that none would be caught unawares. Let us all, most especially be ready to be watchmen for
the sword coming upon the land (Ezekiel 33: 1-6).

   The Bible tells us that the things which happened to Israel in the wilderness were for our examples that we should not fall
as they fell (I Cor.10:1-12). They are written for our admonition, to warn us lest any would be filled with pride and not listen
to the Lord’s full counsel. We are not to forget any of the ways that Israel was displeasing to God. Therefore, how better
may we prepare for our Lord’s return than to know and understand what He who is the same yesterday, and today, and
forever (Heb.13:8), expected of the children of Israel at His first coming?  Indeed, John the Baptist came in fulfillment of the
prophecies of the voice of one crying in the wilderness, saying, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”
(Matt. 3:1-3). His message was in two parts. First, to repent or be “ready,” and second to “watch” for the one that is
mightier than he, who was soon to come, bringing with Him the keys to the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 3:4-12). Likewise, to
the prophet Daniel, the Lord gave a timetable to the nation of Israel that none would be caught unawares. Moreover, the
message of Daniel 9:24-27 is first to make an end of sin, to finish the transgression, to make reconciliation for iniquity and to
bring in everlasting righteousness for those that were “ready.” And second, the Bible gave a precise timetable to Daniel so
those that were “ready” could “watch” or be on the lookout for the coming of their Messiah. In fact, as we shall see, not
only did the Lord give a timetable, but he actually told all who would listen the exact day He would come as Messiah the
Prince. It is therefore no small wonder why Jesus sharply rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees for not being able to discern
the signs of the times (Matt. 16:1-4). Let us now turn to a brief study of this time table  keeping ever mindful of the example
that Christ gave as we ourselves become ready and watch for His second coming. Daniel 9:25-26 declares to those who
have ears to hear:

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build
Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be
built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

And after threescore weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself . . .”

   In these verses, the timetable given to Daniel is specified in exact terms. It has a precise starting point: “that from the
going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem . . .” And it has a sharply defined period of time
stating when the Messiah would come: “. . . unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and
two weeks . . .” Here again the terms used are not vague or equivocal, but precise directions to the people of Israel to
understand when to look for their Deliverer. The term “weeks” refers to a  period of time equal to seven years.  We know
this from the week of Daniel 9:27 and from the events of what happens in the midweek with the abomination of desolation.  
These are recorded as years (Daniel 12:7), months (Revelation 11:2) and days (Revelation 11:3) thus clearly defining this
term as a seven year period of time with three hundred sixty day years. For the prophecy of the coming of the Messiah to
Jerusalem there were seven, and threescore and two, or simply sixty nine “weeks”(Daniel 9:25-27). This equals a total of
four hundred and eighty-three years to pass in fulfillment of this prophecy. Therefore, it is not so much the time period that is
disputed, but at which decree from the time of the Babylonian captivity, did our Lord begin to count the days until He would
declare before all men that He was and is the LORD GOD of ISRAEL. There are four decrees given in the Bible to restore
the temple and the city after the Babylonian captivity:

   The decree of Cyrus, 536 B.C. (Ezra 1:1-4)

  The decree of Darius, 519-518 B.C. (Ezra 5:3-17)

  The decree of Artaxerxes to Ezra, 457 B.C. (Ezra 7:11-28)

  The decree of Artaxerxes to Nehemiah, 444 B.C. (Nehemiah 2:1-8)

   The question then is which of these decrees declares the start of the seventy weeks. The Seventh Day Adventists
erroneously use the third decree by Artaxerxes to Ezra in 457 B.C. Multiplying sixty-nine (7 & 62) times seven “weeks”
equals 483 years. This places the Messiah the Prince coming in 27 A.D. (you must correct A.D. and B.C. calendars by
adding “1" since there is no “0" B.C.) Therefore, with the chronological date, “confirmed by numerous authorities,” who
place Christ’s birth at four B.C., Jesus would have been 30 years of age at the start of his ministry in 27 A.D. His crucifixion
is dated in 30 A.D. which is taught by Adventists to be halfway through the seventieth week. They state it ends by the
stoning of Stephen in 33 A.D. Interestingly, many fundamentalists also accept the date of 457 B.C. for the starting point of
the seventy weeks. There are several reasons why the Seventh Day Adventists have reasoned incorrectly:

   The Bible only gives 360 days for a year, not our modern 365.25 days. (Gen. 7:11 & 24, 8:3&4, Rev. 11:2&3,
Rev. 12:6&14)

  It is a contradiction to say Christ was born four years before he was born (4 B.C.) no matter how many
“authorities” confirm it.

  The decree in Ezra (7:11-28) makes no mention of rebuilding the walls.

  The seventieth week will not be completed by the stoning of a Saint, but by a flood, which has not yet been
fulfilled. (Daniel 9:26-27, Rev. 12:15-16)

   The question again arises as to how then we can know which decree declares the beginning of the seventy weeks. First, as
all things in Christianity, our solution must be Christ centered. Thus we will start with the prophecy that the Messiah shall be
“cut off,” or in other words, executed, but not for himself (Please take note of this Old Testament prophecy of the gospel,
that the Messiah died not for Himself, but for our sins that we might obtain salvation). The seven plus sixty-two weeks must
be completed before this prophecy is fulfilled. Christ was thirty years old when He began His ministry to fulfill the
requirements of the Law (Numbers 4:3, Luke 3:23) and preached for three years. He was therefore 33 years of age when
He died on the cross and took away the sins of the world. Using a Biblical year of 360 days, Daniel’s prophecy therefore
covers 360 days per year times 483 years, which equals 173,880 days. Converting this to our Julian calendar years, (by
dividing by 365.25 days/years) we obtain 476 “solar years.” Subtracting from the thirty-three years that Jesus lived on the
earth and by then adding one ( to correct for converting between A.D. and B.C. calendars), we have the date of 444 B.C.
as the time the decree would have to be, by starting with Christ alone as our point of reference. Therefore, the prophecy of
Daniel 9:24-27 was fulfilled precisely as written starting with the decree of Artaxerxes on Nisan 444 B.C., to the exact day
on Nisan 10 in 33 A.D. when He made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem 173,880 days later!
                                                                   
                     7 weeks + 62 weeks = 69 weeks

                    69 weeks x 7 years = 483 Biblical years

                    483 years x 360 days = 173,880 days

                    173,880 days divided by 365.25 = 476 years

                    33 A.D. - (476 years +1) = 444 B.C.!

    The Bible further confirms that the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 was fulfilled on the “selfsame day” of Christ’s entry into
Jerusalem as the King of the Jews.  First, it is not God’s nature to deceive us even by one day. Second, Exodus 12:41 & 51
records for an example, the captivity of Israel ending exactly on the appointed “selfsame day,” after fulfilling four hundred
and thirty years in Egypt. Third, Jesus admonished all not to tell He was the Christ until the day He entered Jerusalem on
Palm Sunday when Jesus Himself openly declared that He was the Messiah in fulfillment of the Scriptures by riding upon a
colt into the city and preaching salvation as the King of the Jews. (Zechariah 9:9, Matt. 16:20, Mark 9:2-9). Fourth, our
Lord Jesus Himself confirmed the fulfillment of this prophecy on the exact day, when he cursed Israel because they did not
recognize “thy day of visitation” (Luke 19:39-44):

“And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.

And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would
immediately cry out.                        

And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

Saying, if thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But
now they are hid from thine eyes.

For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round,
and keep thee in on every side,

And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one
stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation."


   Please take heed of the warning our Lord sends, that we would not fail to recognize the “season” of His second coming
and risk the same judgment. Let us therefore recognize the example Christ made of Israel “because thou knewest not the
time of thy visitation” as a warning to us. Let us rejoice and praise “the great and dreadful God” ( Daniel 9:4, Neh. 1:
5) for placing us in the time when He shall be revealed in all His glory and power and might unto all of the world. Let us most
of all fear greatly not being “ready,” “not watching” and not serving our master as He would have us serve Him. We are
warned in Matthew 24:48-51 to so serve Him. Here the Lord proclaims the curse against those of our time and age who are
not born again, who are not serving Him with all their heart, their mind and their soul, and therefore are neither ready, nor
eagerly watching for his coming. For those servants who are not looking for him to come, the Lord has appointed them to
the torments of hell fires:
                      
“But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;

And shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;

The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,

And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.”

   We should humble ourselves before Jesus Christ and seek his wisdom and understanding in order that we would be ready
and aware of the times that we live in, where our Lord is standing at the door and know that it is near( Matt. 24:32-35, Rev.
3:20). May we all who profess the Lord Jesus as our Savior have oil in our vessels and let our lights shine as a beacon
pointing to the Son of Man’s second coming. How else shall we escape the same fate as our Jewish brethren who “knewest
not the time of thy visitation,” and received the curse of God and not his blessing (Luke 19:44). How else shall we
escape being left behind and not only suffering the torments of the tribulation but more importantly of eternal damnation in the
lake of fire (Matt. 24:40-44). But for those who are the faithful and wise servants so doing all that Jesus has commanded,
they alone shall receive the blessing of God and be made rulers over all his goods    (Matt. 24:45-47 ). We pray in all
strength that we shall all be ready by first being born again and showing our faith through our works (James 2:14-26). May
we also pray that we shall all be watching through the illumination of Bible prophecies each hour of every day by the grace,
mercy and power of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, so that the blood of no man will be required at our
hands ( Acts 20:26 ).

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