THE DATE OF ARMAGEDDON.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20918, 27 July 1933, Page 15

THE DATE OF ARMAGEDDON.

TO TUB EDIIOH 07 THE I'ItISHS. Sir, Under the above heading some letters have appeared in "The Press," some of which arc merely conjecture and speculation. The only Correspondent who has appealed to Scripture is Mr P. H. Pritchett, who says that the persecution of the Jews will end towards the end of this year, and that Scripture also makes the end of this persecution culminate at Armageddon. With your permission I will try to show from Scripture when the battle of Armageddon is to take place. For a definite starting place, take Daniel 9: 24-27: "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make atonement for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. 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 streets shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, and shall have nothing; and the people of the Prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary: and the end thereof shall be with a f d, and unto the end wars and desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the" sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolator."—Scofield Bible. These weeks really are 70 weeks of seven years each, equalling 490 years, divided into three parts, viz., seven weeks or 49 years, 62 weeks or 434 years, and one week or seven years. The commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem was given to Nehemlah by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, about 446 B.C. (Nehemiah ch. 2). This date is approximate. Counting from this date, 49 years and 434 years, equalling 483 years, brings us to A.D. 37. After this 483 years the Messiah was to be cut off, but as Christ was crucified in A.D. 33 or 34 there aD-

pears to be a discrepancy of three or lour years. However, the fixed point is the time of the crucifixion of Christ at the end of the 483 years. The Jews rejected and crucified their King; the city and sanctuary was destroyed A.D. 70. The last week, or seven years, is yet future. Figures, such as in this subject, refer to the Jews only. This is the Church age, in which "Blindness in part is happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in."—Romans 11: 25. Vcr.-es (j-tf of chapter one of Acts are very significant. They read: "When they therefore were come together, I hey asked of Him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And He said unto them, It is not for you to know (he times or the seasons, which tile Father hath put in His own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto mc both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and In Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of Ihe earth."

The Church is not mentioned hi the Old Testament, and therefore it may not be easy to discern that the whole Church age comes between the words, "and after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off," and 'He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week." ("He" refers to the Prince that shall come, who confirms the covenant with many for one week.) Before the Church era closes this man will be revealed: 2 Thessalonians, 3: 4, 7, 8. This era is consummated thus: "For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first; Ihen we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." After this, the Jews will re-establish the law of Moses, and offer sacrifices. The person mentioned in Dnniel 9: 27 will, it appears, be a dictator, and will grant the Jews license to offer sacrifices. as of old, for one week, i.e., seven years. In the midst of the week (three and a half years) he shall break this agreement, forbid the offering of sacrifice, and demand that he himself bo worshipped. This is the abomination of desolation —Mathew 24: 15. The Jews will refuse to worship him, and then shall begin the great tribulation: Matthew 24: 21, Jeremiah 30: 7, Revelations 13: 11-17. This tribulation will continue for three and a half years, and will culminate in the battle of Armageddon—Revelations 15: 13-16, 19: 17-20. Chapters 24 and 25 of Matthew, and chapters 11-19 of Revelations all deal with this period. Persons who are interested in this subject will, of course, read these passages for themselves.

The date of Armageddon depends upon the date of the end of this (the Church) age. But it is nowhere revealed when this will take place. Matthew 24: 36 states: "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." Although this verse applies primarily to the time of the end, i.e., Armageddon, it must also apply to the end of this age, which will be the starting point for the seven years mentioned above. How foolish, then, it is for men to attempt to fix dates in the light of Mathew 24: 36.—Yours, etc., C. H. LIDDINGTON. Rakaia, July 26, 1D33.