There have been many attempts to identify the time of Messiah's return.  It's connection in time to the abomination that desolates as spoken by Daniel the prophet and as mentioned by Messiah Yahusha is well known.  But all previous attempts to calculate this time have failed.  None of the attempts are based in understanding of what must take place in history and in the last days - they are just guesses.  But the time of the end is upon us and the spirit of Elohim is bringing clarity to the meaning of prophesies to prepare his people for the trouble to come.

(Note: The following interpretation of the Daniel 12 prophesy is a calculation.  I did not hear a voice from heaven, nor did I have an inspired dream.  Elohim did not appear to me and reveal this in such a fashion.  What follows is a calculation based on the prophesy and historical accounts.  It is what I have put together based upon information that has come to my attention and much meditation upon the Scriptures.  This should not be regarded as "prophetic utterance" or "setting a date" - although I have some degree of certainty about it, otherwise I would not be publishing this! 

(Nevertheless, this interpretation is more sound than anything else I have heard about or read concerning the time of the return of the Messiah.  Many other theories have been disproved by the simple fact that they didn't happen when the predictor expected.  We may not know with absolute certainty whether this interpretation of Daniel 12 is true or not until the actual time of the resurrection!  So read and respond to the following and decide whether it make good Scriptural sense or not.  You decide.)

Daniel's Prophesy of the Resurrection

In a well known but never understood prophesy in Daniel 12, we are told when the blessed time of the resurrection of the righteous will take place:

At that time Michael, the great prince who watches over your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress unlike any other from the nation's beginning up to that time. But at that time your own people, all those whose names are found written in the book, will escape.  Many of those who sleep in the dusty ground will awake-- some to everlasting life, and others to shame and everlasting abhorrence.  But the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavenly expanse. And those bringing many to righteousness will be like the stars forever and ever (Daniel 12:1-3).

This prophesy tells us the time of the resurrection.  There is nothing hard to understand about these words spoken to Daniel.  Very clearly, the resurrection of the righteous is described (and the 3rd resurrection is mentioned).  Many "wise" will awake from their sleep in the grave and will shine because they brought many to righteousness on account of their testimony to the truth of the Torah and their witness of the Messiah.

This resurrection of the just which occurs at the return of the Messiah is called "the blessed hope (expectation)" by Sha'ul in his letter to Titus:

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great Elohim and our Savior Yahusha Messiah (Titus 2:13).

This is the event which culminates the history of human struggle with sin.  At this time, all sin will be eradicated and all wrongs will be set right.  Those who are dead in Messiah will be raised to life to live and reign with the Messiah in the Messianic age.

(Note: In association with this study of Daniel 12, I recommend you read our study on Yom Teruah: The Day of the Awakening Shout, because this lays the foundation for understanding the precise calendar day of Messiah's return as pictured and foreshadowed in the prophetic Appointed Times.)

But we are not left hanging out there by the messenger from heaven.  We are told precisely what events and time intervals to expect leading to the resurrection event:

He said, "Go, Daniel. For these matters are closed and sealed until the time of the end.  Many will be purified, made clean, and refined, but the wicked will go on being wicked. None of the wicked will understand, though the wise will understand.  From the time that the daily sacrifice is removed and the abomination that causes desolation is set in place, there are 1,290 days.  Blessed is the one who waits and attains to the 1,335 days.  But you should go your way until the end. You will rest and then at the end of the days you will arise to receive what you have been allotted" (Daniel 12:10-13).

Here, Daniel is told that "blessed" is the one who reaches the end of the 1335 days.  Then Daniel is told that he would "rest" (a reference to death) for now until the end of these days when he is to "arise (come back to life)" and inherit those things which were to be his.

It is important to see here that the time of the resurrection was going to be made known in the latter days.  Daniel is first told that no one is to understand these time prophesies in his days:

At the time these things were told to Daniel, the understanding of them was to "be sealed" or kept from his and our understanding.  But at the time of the end, these things were to be understood:

He also emphasizes that "none of the wicked" will understand.  The wicked are those who stand in rebellion against Elohim and refuse to live according to his instructions.  But later, the "wise" were to understand the meaning and interpretation of these things.

The "wise" are those who obey the Torah and listen to the voice of Elohim.  The Spirit of Elohim is to reveal the meaning of this and other time prophesies in the last days to those who understand and obey the Torah.  That time is now!

The "Day for a Year" Principle of Interpretation

The first key to unlocking the mystery of this prophetic revelation is to understand the scriptural principle of prophetic interpretation that a day sometimes can represent a year of time.  The first example of this is found in the account of Israel in the wilderness.  We are told that Mosheh sent out spies to survey the land and the people living in it.  The spies spent 40 days looking about.  After the 40 days, ten of the twelve spies brought back to Israel a pessimistic report.  Their recommendation was not to try to enter the land because it would be too difficult to overcome the giant people who lived in the land.

Yahuwah was angry with the spies and with the people who accepted their report and balked at going forward to take possession of the land.

For each day the spies walked the land in unbelief, they have to wander a year in the wilderness.  A day for a year.

The second example of this principle has Ezekiel laying on his side one day for each year the nation of Israel was in rebellion against Yahuwah:

So we find this same principle used in prophesy.  A day represents a year.  And thus it is in Daniel 12.  The time prophesy is actually quite simple.  As with a number of other time prophesies, a "day" represents one "year."  We are told that there will be 1290 days (years) and 1335 days (years).  At the end of these 1335 years, the resurrection will occur (Daniel will arise to take possession of his inheritance).  That's it!  Very simple.

Hebrew Terminology

The second key to unlocking the mystery of this prophetic revelation of Daniel 12 is to identify the event that starts the prophetic timeline.  This is the hard part of interpreting this prophesy.  What then are the events in history the prophesy is referring to.  We must begin this investigation by defining terms.  The Hebrew of verses 11 and 12 literally reads:

`~y[iv.tiw ~yIt:am' @l,a, ~ymiy" ~mevo #WQvi ttel'w> dymiT'h; rs:Wh t[emeW

`hV'mix]w: ~yvil{v. tAame vl{v. @l,a, ~ymiy"l. [:yGIy:w> hK,x;m.h; yrEv.a;

Daniel 12:11,12 (BHS Hebrew Old Testament 4th edition).

The Hebrew verb rWs  ("sur") "to turn aside" in the Hophal stem means "to be taken away, removed."  And the word dymiT' (pronounced tamid) means "continuity" and is a reference to the ongoing daily routine of the temple service.  A simple word lookup of tamid will bear this out.  Additionally, the "from...to" sequence in verse 11 (in Hebrew, Þl' ... me) indicates that the 1290 years begins with the "removal of the tamid" and ends with the "setting up of the detested thing."

Here, then, is my literal translation of these two verses with those grammatical points underlined:

And from the time of the removal of the "tamid" and to the setting of the detested thing which desolates will be one thousand two hundred ninety days (years).  Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches to the one thousand three hundred and thirty five days (years).

We thus need to identify when the tamid was (will be?) removed.  This would be the time of the ending of the ongoing and continuousness of the work of the priests in the set-apart place where Yahuwah dwells.  Next we need to identify when the "abominable thing" was placed on that same set-apart place.  These two events, the prophesy tells us, are separated by 1290 days (years).

Another point to be emphasized is that each of the marking points in this prophesy will be fulfilled at the temple site.  The tamid is a reference to the work in the temple.  The abomination, we are told, is the desecration of the temple site.  And the resurrection has to do with the return of the presence of Yahuwah in person (i.e. the Messiah) to his temple.  Thus, we have to look at what has happened at the temple site to recognize the fulfillment of each marker in this prophesy.  If we want to identify the details of this prophesy and see these things being fulfilled, we must keep our eyes on the temple site in Yerushalayim.

The Removal of the Tamid

Now, let's find out when the tamid was removed.  In 70 C.E. Titus destroyed the temple built by Herod.  But even prior to that, Antiochus Epiphanes in about the year 133 B.C. defiled the temple and halted the service by sacrificing a pig on the alter and he thereby halted the daily temple ritual.

But there was a removal of the tamid even earlier than that.  At or around the time of Nebuchadnezzar's invasions of Yerushalayim and the destruction of the temple, the tamid was removed.  It is the first removal of the tamid which must be in view here, because the temple ritual and all its corollary activities were truly tamid or "continuous" until the very first time it was stopped.  After that, technically speaking, it was no longer "continuous."

In addition to that, Daniel's time prophesies should be understood in light of the events of his day.  The Daniel 9 prophesy that "from the going forth of the command to restore and rebuild Yerushalayim...." is understood to refer to the decree which happened in Daniel's time and which resulted in the return from the Babylonian captivity.  Likewise, the chapter 12 prophesy which says, "from the time that the daily sacrifice is removed" should be interpreted as that event that happened in his lifetime (rather than to the later removals of the tamid).  So the question that begs for an answer is: "when does the time prophesy begin?"

Many have suggested that the temple services didn't end until the complete destruction of the miqdash (set-apart place) during Nebuchadnezzar's second wave of attacks against Yerushalayim in or about the year 587 B.C.  The Scriptures record that event:

So King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came against Yerushalayim with his whole army and set up camp outside it. They built siege ramps all around it. He arrived on the tenth day of the tenth month in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign.  The city remained under siege until King Zedekiah's eleventh year.  By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city was so severe the residents had no food.  The enemy broke through the city walls, and all the soldiers tried to escape. They left the city during the night. They went through the gate between the two walls that is near the king's garden. (The Babylonians were all around the city.) Then they headed for the Yarden Valley.  But the Babylonian army chased after the king. They caught up with him in the plains of Yericho, and his entire army deserted him.  They captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, where he passed sentence on him.  Zedekiah's sons were executed while Zedekiah was looking on. The king of Babylon put out Zedekiah's eyes, had him bound in chains, and carried him off to Babylon.  On the seventh day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Nebuzaradan, the captain of the royal guard who served the king of Babylon, arrived in Yerushalayim.  He burned down Yahuwah's temple, the royal palace, and all the houses in Yerushalayim, including every large house.  The whole Babylonian army that came with the captain of the royal guard tore down the walls that surrounded Yerushalayim (2 Melakim 25:1-10).

It was at that time that Nebuchadnezzar burned down the miqdash.  But this text doesn't say that it was at this time that the temple services were halted, including the "turning aside" or "removal" of the tamid.  While it is certain that the tamid was stopped at this time, it is just as certain that the stoppage happened before this time.  In fact, we are told that Nebuchadnezzar attacked Yerushalayim in several waves over a period of more than 20 years, culminating in his burning down the miqdash in 587 BCE.  So which attack is the prophesy referring to?

The account of Yehoiakim's reign as recorded in 2 Melachim (Kings) 23-24 asserts that Nebuchadnezzar first invaded Israel during Yehoiakim's reign:

Daniel clarifies this chronology of events for us.  The identity of the time when the tamid was removed is revealed very plainly by Daniel!  Daniel himself gives us the information we need to know how to correctly identify when this time prophesy begins - when the tamid was removed.  Chapter one of Daniel tells us:

In the third year of the reign of King Yehoiakim of Yehudah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon advanced against Yerushalayim and laid it under siege.  Now Yahuwah delivered King Yehoiakim of Yehudah into his power, along with some of the vessels of the temple of Elohim. He brought them to the land of Babylonia to the temple of his elohim and put the vessels in the treasury of his elohim (Daniel 1:1,2).

Daniel pinpoints the time of Nebuchadnezzar's first invasion as occurring during the third year of Yehoiachim's reign.  This apparent discrepancy with the record of Yirmeyahu, who says Nebuchadnezzar ascended the throne in the fourth year of Yehoichim's reign can be easily reconciled when we realize that there is some overlapping in chronologies.  For example, one year of a king's reign may overlap parts of two years - the reign of the preceding king, and the reign of the king to follow.

This account of the removal of the vessels from the temple of Elohim is a subtle hint that this is the time when the daily temple services (the tamid) was first interrupted.  In addition to articles which were taken from Yahuwah's temple, Nebuchadnezzar also took some of the royal family, including Daniel and his 3 friends, and brought them into exile in Babylon.

Now the Torah does not allow anyone in the set-apart place except those priests who are authorized and set apart through the cleansing ritual.  Any unauthorized visits into the set-apart place would defile the temple and require a ceasing of the ritual until the set-apart place could be cleansed (set aright).  Since it is clear that Nebuchadnezzar had entered into the temple (either himself or his men) and removed some of the articles which were used in the service, the tamid was necessarily halted due to the defiling presence of these men in the miqdash.  Repeating, the presence of these men in the temple defiled the miqdash (set-apart place).  Thus, the daily sacrifices, the burning incense, etc. (the tamid) had to be halted because the place had been defiled.

The Third Year of Yehoiakim

Daniel was an eyewitness of these things and reports to us what Nebuchadnezzar did.  And he reports to us that this happened in the "third year of the reign of  King Yehoiakim of Yehudah."  The preponderance of historical accounts places the third year of Yehoiakim's reign at 607 B.C. 

There is sufficient evidence from reputable sources which supports the year 607 B.C. as the 3rd year of Yehoiakim.  Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia online, in an article entitled "Jehoiakim" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehoiakim) states that

King Jehoiakim ("he whom Jehovah has set up", Hebrew language: יהוֹיָקִים) is a biblical character, whose original name was Eliakim. His name is also sometimes spelled Jehoikim. He was the son of Josiah by Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah, and king of Judah. He was also the husband of Nehushta and the father of King Jehoiachin. Both William F. Albright and E. R. Thiele agree on dating his reign to 609 BC-598 BC.

The Encyclopedia Britannica Online in an article entitled, "Jehoiakim" (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9043491?&query=jehoiakim&ct=), lists the beginning of his reign in 609 BC:

also spelled Joakim, in the Old Testament (II Kings 23:34–24:17; Jer. 22:13–19; II Chron. 36:4–8), son of King Josiah and king of Judah (c. 609–598 BC).

The CRI/Voice, Institute website (http://www.crivoice.org/othbabylon.html) lists Yehoiakim's reign as "Jehoiakim [Eliakim] (609-598)," indicting the beginning of his reign at 609 BC.

There are more sources which agree with the date of 609 B.C. and yet other sources which deviate slightly from this date - but not by much.  For example, the website http://www.aboutbibleprophecy.com/p78.htm records the beginning of Yehoiakim's reign at 608 BC:

Jehoiakim (King of Judah)

Jehoiakim was the son of Josiah and Zebidah. At age 25, he was made king by Pharoah Neco in place of his brother Jehoahaz, who was exiled to Egypt. Jehoiakim reigned for eleven years (608-598 BC) but his reign was an evil one. During his reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon attacked Jerusalem.

Though some accounts differ slightly from the 609 B.C. date, 609 B.C. still seems to have the strongest attestation and agreement as to the beginning of Yehoiakim's reign.

Let's remember to factor into the equation that in Hebrew reckoning the "3rd year" means anytime during the year following the 2nd year.  Thus, since Yehoiakim began reigning in 609 B.C., anytime during the year 607 B.C. would be considered the "3rd year" of his reign.  So, these sources seem to confirm that 607 B.C. is the first time Nebuchadnezzar entered into the miqdash, defiling it and halting its processes, and removed the articles from the temple.

The year 607 B.C. is the beginning date of the Daniel 12 time prophesy.  This was the time when the tamid was removed.

The Abomination of Desolation

Now, let's understand and identify the "detested thing" - the "abomination of desolation."  The Hebrew word is #WQvi (pronounced sheequts).  It can mean "abhorrence, an object to abhor, horror, monster."  In Devarim 29, it is used to refer to the idol gods of the pagans:

You have seen their detestable things and idols of wood, stone, silver, and gold (vs 17).

In 1 Melakim it also refers to "other elohim" which are described as "detestable, an abomination":

Shlomo worshiped the Sidonian goddess Astarte and the detestable Ammonite elohim Milcom.... Furthermore, on the hill east of Yerushalayim Shlomo built a high place for the detestable Moabite elohim Chemosh and for the detestable Ammonite elohim Milcom (1 Melakim 11:5, 7).

The transgression of the Torah is described by the prophet Yeshayahu as "disgusting" (Heb. "sheequts"):

The one who slaughters a bull also strikes down a man; the one who sacrifices a lamb also breaks a dog's neck; the one who presents an offering includes pig's blood with it; the one who offers incense also praises an idol. They have decided to behave this way; they enjoy these disgusting practices (Yeshayahu 66:3).

A number of other places where this word occurs confirms the same.  The sheequts which Daniel is writing about is an idol of a foreign deity or a pagan practice which offends the Living One by standing at the location where his Presence alone is to dwell - "standing in the holy place."

Messiah Yahusha said,

"So when you see the abomination of desolation--spoken about by Daniel the prophet--standing in the set-apart place (let the reader understand), then those in Yehudah must flee to the mountains... (Mattityahu 24:15-16).

Messiah said, "When you see...:", inferring that this event was future to his day.  This offensive, despicable idol (or offensive thing) which was to "stand in the set-apart place" was yet future from the time of Messiah.  The "set-apart place" as described by the Messiah can be no other place than the temple mount in Yerushalayim, the place where Yahuwah's Presence was.

Has there ever been an "offensive, despicable thing" that was stood up on the site of the temple mount in Yerushalayim?  Yes.  And it still stands there to this very day!  It is the offensive Dome of the Rock, a building setup in honor of the moon god Allah.  Allah is a foreign, pagan elohim of which the word sheequts is appropriate.  And the building which was erected in his honor and for his worship on the very site of the ancient Temple of Yahuwah is also an abomination to Yahuwah.  This abomination which is the Dome of the Rock causes desolation for the worshippers of the true Elohim.  To this very day, 1320 some odd years since the beginning of its construction, none of the true worshippers of Yahuwah are allowed to walk in the abominable Dome, which is built on the very ground that Elohim calls "set-apart."

(Here is a pic of me standing in front of the desolating abomination during my trip to Yisrael during Sukkot 2006:)

Many have stumbled over the prophesy of the abomination of desolation.  They have confused this with another prophesy about a man of lawlessness "sitting" as Elohim in the set-apart place (cf. 2 Thess. 2).  The fact that the abomination is "standing" has been mistakenly thought to refer to the man of lawlessness who was to fulfill this Scripture.  But that identification is incorrect.  In fact, the abomination which desolates about which Daniel spoke "stands" in the set-apart place.  It is a reference to the building which was erected in honor of the moon god and the religion of Islam.

The Dome of the Rock fits perfectly the description of "abomination that causes desolation standing in the set-apart place."  But does it fit the time frame?  There is a general consensus among historical records that places the time of the building of the Dome of the Rock at 684 C.E.  The construction took about 6 to 7 years.

Great Buildings Online (http://www.greatbuildings.com/buildings/Dome_of_the_Rock.html) lists the beginning of the construction of the Dome of the Rock at 684 C.E. 

In an essay about the Al- Aqsa Mosque (http://www.123helpme.com/preview.asp?id=51579), the writer comments,

Al-Aqsa Mosque would not have been built if it were not for the building of the Dome of the Rock. The Dome of the Rock was begun in the heart of Jerusalem around 684 C.E and was finally completed in 691 C.E during the Umayyad Dynasty.

A Messianic source, First Fruits of Zion (http://ffoz.org/israelfocus/archives/catagory/history/000039.shtml), describes the setting of the Umayyad Dynasty and the building of the Dome of the Rock (the Abomination which causes Desolation):

The Umayyad caliphs, who resided in Damascus and in other towns and townlets of Syria and Erez Israel, shows a keen interest in Jerusalem.

In 684 CE the Ummayyad caliph Abd-al-Malik began to build the Dome of the Rock. Jerusalem extended and rebuilding of the walls and roads during rule of Abd el-Malik. Old wooden El Aksa Mosque constructed in 700 CE and Dome of the Rock built in 684-690 CE.

The Temple Mount in Jerusalem website (http://www.templemount.org/history.htm) explains when the Dome was built:

Islamic tradition alleges that Caliph Omar clears rubbish from temple Mount and prays there in 638 CE. Old wooden El Aksa Mosque constructed, 700 CE, and Dome of the Rock by Abd el-Malik, 684-690 CE.

And another - an online encyclopedia, Online.com (http://www.answers.com/topic/temple-mount) also attests to the date of the construction:

In 637 A.D. the City of Jerusalem was captured by the Saracens, led by Omar ibn al to Khatab. Between 684-691 A.D. the mosque, the Dome of the Rock, know in Arabic as Qubbat As-Sakhrah, was constructed on this site by Caliph Abd-al-Malik ibn Marwan.

With all these citations, it is rather well established that the Dome of the Rock began it's defiling of the set-apart place in the year 684 C.E., the year of the beginning of its construction.  From that point in time and forward, the site of the ancient temple of Yahuwah has been off limits for anyone who worships the Creator.  No one except moon god worshippers are allowed to enter the site of the Dome of the Rock.  Certainly the Dome of the Rock has been a great desolating force against the worship of the true Elohim.

The Time of Messiah's Return and the Resurrection

Returning to the prophesy of Daniel 12:

From the time that the daily sacrifice (Heb. tamid) is removed and the abomination (Heb. sheequts) that causes desolation is set in place, there are 1,290 days.  Blessed is the one who waits and attains to the 1,335 days (12:11,12).

According to this prophesy, there was to be 1290 days (or "years") from the removal of the tamid until the Abomination is set up.  The tamid was removed in the year 607 B.C., which was the 3rd year of the reign of Yehoiakim, king of Yehudah.  And the Dome of the Rock - that Abominable structure - was set up on the site of the miqdash (the temple or "set-apart place") in 684 C.E.  Those two events are separated by exactly 1290 years!!!

The prophesy has been decoded and verified!  The 1290 days (years) has been solved.  When you add 1290 years to the year 607 B.C., you come out to the year 684 C.E.  It was exactly 1290 years after the removal of the tamid by Nebuchadnezzar in 607 BCE that the Abominable Dome of the Rock was setup in 684 CE  This is the fulfillment of Daniel's prophesy in 12:11.

The only thing left to do to understand the exact time of the resurrection is to properly interpret that leftover 1335 days (years).  Since the first part of the "days" prophesy was established to have been fulfilled in years, then the second "days" prophesy must be interpreted the same way.  The question that begs us is, "Do the 1335 years run parallel with the 1290 years or do they begin after the 1290 years?"  Well, the answer is easy.  Did the resurrection of Daniel occur in the year 729 CE?  (That would be 607BC + 1335 = 729CE)  No.  Nothing happened in that year.  Messiah didn't return in that year and no resurrection took place.

Therefore, the 1335 days (years) must begin in 684CE, which is the endpoint of the first half of the prophesy.  They represent an additional 1335 years, after which the resurrection will happen.  We are told "Blessed is the one who waits and attains to the 1,335 days."

It is simple arithmetic to begin counting from the date of the Abomination that desolates (684 C.E.) and add to that 1335 years.  That brings us to the year 2019.  In the year 2019, the second part of the prophesy, that which is stated in verse 12, will be fulfilled.  This is the time when the Messiah will return and the resurrection is to take place.  It is just that simple.

            607 B.C.          the removal of the tamid

+          1290 years       the “1290 days” of Daniel 12:11

=          684 C.E.          the construction of the Abomination – the Dome of the Rock

+          1335 years       the “1335 days” of Daniel 12:12

=          2019 C.E.        the time of the return of Messiah and the resurrection of the dead

Conclusion

The appointed day of the teruah has been a mystery for centuries - yea - millennia.  We have discovered that this day was to be a rehearsal or foreshadowing of the great day when, at the blowing of trumpets and with a loud shout (teruah), Yahusha the Messiah is to come down from heaven and resurrect all those who have died after faithfully serving him in covenant relationship.

Daniel told us that the wise would understand these things.  Messiah told his talmidim that his coming would be like a thief in the night to those who walk in darkness.  And Sha'ul further explains that for those who are walking in the light, his coming would be known and understood.

Daniel, in fact, tells us exactly when the resurrection which takes place at Messiah's return will happen.  Only the wise will understand this, though.  Naysayers and scoffers will ridicule this explanation and will continue to walk in darkness and have that day overtake them as a thief.  But the wise will understand that Messiah Yahusha is coming soon - if my calculations are correct, exactly on Yom Teruah in the year 2019.

Published: July 2006