The Duration of Christ's flesh ministry

[Watchman]

I have been pleased to find to my own satisfaction that the duration of Christ's ministry was 434 days, or 62 literal weeks just like Daniel says.

I had always 'heard' -- you know how that goes-- the paperback prophets exclaim 3 or so years, but once I realized this was key to their 'midweek' rapture theory, I decided that must be wrong too.

See what you think--

Isa 61:1-2
1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;
2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; (KJV)

Luke 4:17-21
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. (KJV)

Notice that Christ says "acceptable year", not acceptable 3 1/2 years.

The point is obvious that if man's idea of 3 1/2 years is correct there is error in the scriptures concerning both prophecy and Christs fulfillment of being the perfect sacrifice, which of course, these verses prove.

1 Cor 5:7
7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: (KJV)

Heb 10:4-10
4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (KJV)

Now, concerning this, the Law is specific on the Lamb to be used for sacrifice on the Passover:

Exod 12:5
5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: (KJV)

At the baptism by John, recall that Christ was annointed as the Lamb of God by God Himself.

John 1:29
29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. (KJV)

John 1:36
36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God! (KJV)

Thus, it must be a MALE of the FIRST year, ie a 'yearling'. Christ could not be 3 years a lamb and still be the perfect sacrifice according to the law, which Christ fulfilled. 3 years would not fulfill it.

We know and believe these words..
Matt 5:17-18
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.(KJV)

Finally, to this regard of fulfilling the law, we find written Deu chapter 16, where 3 feasts were given by God to fulfill the Law: These are Passover, feast of weeks (or Pentecost) and Feast of Tabernacles.

Dont you find it rather strange that only ONE feast of Tabernacles and weeks is mentioned in John? Jesus surely would not have missed a required feast, else the Law would have been broken with this action too.

Regarding this, He kept the Passover mentions of John 2:13 and 13:1, but with the one mentioned in John 6, notice He DID NOT keep it. This is because it was the passover of the second month. He went out and fed the folks instead.

Num 9:10-11
10 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD.
11 The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. (KJV)

Now, we know He was sacrificed on passover, so back up a year and you will find the one of John 2. One year.

Even if we say John 6 was a yearly passover, then we still only get 2 years, not 3, but we are then forced to say Christ did not fulfill the law as written.

Knowledge of this opens lots of scripture. The 62 weeks (434 days) of Daniel is from His Baptism until his Crucifixion on the second following Passover.

Now, lets dig into some more scripture.


Most people agree that according to three of the four canonized gospels, only one Passover is mentioned, and it can be concluded from these accounts that Jesus had a short ministry spanning at the most one year, beginning at His Baptism and ending with the Crucifixion.

The gospel of John does appear to indicate a longer ministry for there are three different Passovers mentioned in it's text. These are in verses 2:13, 6:4, and 11:55. All should agree without contention that the Passover of Jn 11:55 is the one where He was Crucified.

I should mention the obvious here. There is only one year (360 days) between Passovers, and even if there were three conventional Passovers here, that could only confirm two years. We know from the times mentioned in John's Gospel that the Baptism was only a few months at most prior to Jn 2:13.

So, with this obvious evidence in the gospel of John, there is no scriptural reason for a claim of a ministry length of three or three and a half years. Many, however, cling to such as if it were fact. As it turns out, the 3 and a half years ministry length is a necessary component the present confusion of some popular 'last days' prophecy, supposing to help explain the so-called missing 7 years of Dan 9:25. There is no missing time at all there in Daniel, but the proof is in another post.

In study of Daniel and the 'weeks' prophecy, it has come to light that, indeed, Christ's flesh ministry was in fact a total of 434 days. It began at His baptism and ended on the second following Passover at the Crucifixion. There is a lot of scripture which builds to this conclusion, and we will go there. Following this, we will see the fulfillment of Dan 9:24, the seventy weeks, written in the accounts of the New Testament.

Before we look at the Passover of Jn 6:4 in detail, which we will shortly do, lets look into the Prophets and the Law in the context of those things written in John's gospel, which were fulfilled by Jesus.


John 1:35-37

35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples;

36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!

37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. (KJV)

Now, we know Jesus was our Passover Lamb forever, the acceptable sacrifice, for Paul says :


1 Cor 5:7

7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: (KJV)

Jesus confirms: John 12:27

27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. (KJV)

We all know Jesus came to be the Passover Lamb, sacrificed for us. We know Jesus fulfilled all the Law and the Prophets. But do you remember what this Lamb was to be?

Exod 12:5-6

5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:

6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. (KJV)

Notice that according to the Law, the Lamb MUST be a male of the FIRST year. A lamb of more than first year age is not acceptable. Jesus, as the Lamb of God, as spoken by John Baptist, was indeed a male of the first year, beginning a year after his Baptism.

Quoting Isaiah the prophet, Jesus says:

Luke 4:18-21

18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.

21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. (KJV)

Notice he says acceptable YEAR, not any other time such as 2 or 3 years.

Let us now examine the 'passover' of Jn 6:4. This Passover mention is worded differently compared to the ones n 2:13 and 11:55. One may truly ask why this would be, but like all things, it is written for our admonition and instruction.

Here is where you have to be a little wise. The Word clues it for you. Notice that both in Jn 2:13 and in 11:55, the wording is "the Jews Passover". (This SAME wording is used before AND after the mention of this "passover" in Jn 6:4. But in Jn 6:4 it is called "the passover, a feast of the Jews". What’s the difference?

Well if you look in 2 Chron 30, you will find that the second-month passover was re-established by king Hezekiah, a king of Judah, for those who couldn't keep the one on 15 Nisan. It was in the second month, (30 days after the regular passover). This is documented in the companion appendix 51 as well. This one was originally established by Moses < Num 9:10-11>, but apparently fell into misuse until it was reestablished by King Hezikiah. In Ezra 3:8, after the temple was reestablished (the 49 years) there is a feast of the second month mentioned. This one in Jn 6:4 is called a "feast of the Jews"- it was their tradition, the “tradition of the elders“. (ref Matt 15 and Mk 3)

Thus, it is simply that this ‘feast of the Jews’, perhaps began to be a traditional ‘substitute’ for the one true “Passover”, but in any case, it is obvious that Jesus did not keep it. Instead, He went and FED the folks. (See Jn 6:5-71). On the other 2 Passovers, (Jn 2:13 & Jn 11:55) He went to the Temple. Pay attention!! Notice in Numbers 9, the REASON that the second Passover was established. That this Passover was ignored by Jesus is obvious, for Chapter 7 mentions the feast of Tabernacles, which is 5 months later.

Certainly, Christ would never have failed to keep the required Passover as the Law stipulates that the keeping of the Passover is an ordinance forever. (Ex 12:14, many other places)

Finally, looking in Daniel, we see first that 70 week prophecy, in 9:24. Before we jump into proving the fulfillment of these 70 weeks by Christ, lets look at the length of the ministry, which I previously said was 434 days.

Dan 9:26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. (KJV)

(Notice that these MUST BE weeks of days, for Christ surely was not on earth for 62 weeks of years!!)

We can prove this 434 day time period from the Gospels, and a little help from knowing the Jew's feasts.

There is only one year (360) days between the two Passovers of Jn. (ch 2 and the one in ch 11). To this we add the forty days in the wilderness after His baptism, and the 3 days between Jn 1:32 and Jn 2:1, and the "not many days" of Jn 2:12.

But, instead of guessing, lets start at the termination of the ministry, which all know is the Passover preparation day (John 19:14, 31, 42> and accept the 62 week time as specified in Daniel 9:26, for after all Jesus has fulfilled the prophets up until now. So, 62 weeks are 7x62 or 434 days. There are 360 days between Passovers, leaving 74 days, 434-360=74. Since the Passover preparation day is always Nisan 14, two (30 day months) and 14 days ealier would bring us back to the first day of the month Sebat. Is the first of Sebat significant? Paul says in 1 Cor 10:1-4:

1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;

2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;

3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;

4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. (KJV)

We find, written for our edification:

Deut 1:3

3 And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake unto the children of Israel, according unto all that the LORD had given him in commandment unto them; (KJV)

Sebat is the eleventh month:

Zech 1:7

7 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the LORD unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, (KJV)

Deu 1:3 is an acceptable type, when taken with Dan 9:26 and the Gospel records, because Moses was a type of Christ to Israel, and Moses introduced the first Passover. This adds great meaning to the Words Christ quoted at the beginning. This is indeed the "acceptable year" of the Lord. Not, mind you, the acceptable "3 and a half years" as man says. (See Lk 4:19)

Coincidence or not, it is exactly 74 days from 1 Sebat to Nisan 14, and of course 360 days until the next Nisan 14. Thus, it is exactly 434 days, or the 62 weeks as prophesied in Dan 9:26 from the first day of Sebat, to the second following Passover preparation day, Nisan 14.


Now that I have also alluded that the full 70 weeks (of days) have been fulfilled, consider this. The 70 weeks (of days--Dan 9:25) were allotted to all. To both the Elect and to the Jews. Christ came to them (both) for 62 weeks, (434 days) as foretold in Dan 9, and He was loved by the Elect but crucified by Judah on the preparation day of Passover. Passover lasts for 1 week. (Ex 12:15). Now, 434 + 7 = 441 days. Pentecost (Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit was poured out) begins at sunset at the end of 7 weeks from passover. (49 days after Passover-see Lev 23: 5-16). It was immediately on Pentecost day, that Peter and John announced (Acts 3,4 and 5) to Judah that they had rejected their Messiah. NOW, 441+49 =490 days, or 70 LITERAL "weeks" of days.

Before some misunderstand, The prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27 must be addressed. The subjects of these 3 verses are different. The times are given in 'sevens' and the word used there is 'shabuas'.

All reading these verses should realize that the objects of verse 24 can never be satisfied by anything other than Christ. There is no was a 'city' or an animal sacrifice can fulfill them. Since these are fulfilled in Christ, they must be 'sevens' of days, or literal weeks. there are 490 days here, which were shown in the above.

The 69 weeks of Dan 9:25 are weeks of years, and were shown fulfilled in Ezra (49 years) and the remaining years until the Baptism (advent) of Messiah, Jesus.

Finally in Dan 9:26, the 62 weeks until the cutting off (crucifixion) of Jesus are weeks of days (434 total) as was shown above.

Now, it is sure that there is no final 7 years that is unfulfilled, for there never was. The problem was that man has brought in tradition to support other untruths, and has thus failed to see the truth as written.

A follow up post to this one will show the fulfillment of the 70 literal weeks from Christs baptism until the pentecost day when the Holy Spirit fell in Acts 2.

The conclusion is that the 70 weeks of Daniel are BOTH weeks of years and weeks of days. The weeks of years from the time Daniel prophecied until Messiah's advent, and 490 days from His baptism until the Pentecost day following His crucifixion.

Father Bless