So I'm kind of confused.
1) What year would you say Jesus started his ministry?
2) What year would you say he died on the cross?
3)What year would you say the 7 year timeline ended.
But this seems kind of strange. You say God stopped reaching out to the Jews? So what happened to the Jewish Christians who lived in Judea after the 70th week was over. You would probably say that was around 38 or 40 AD. So what did all Jewish Christians do living in the middle east for the next 30 years until 70 AD? Surely they sought to still be the light of the world and witness to those about them? It can't be that he continued to reach out to the Jews there for only 3 1/2 years.
So it seems you're making it 3 1/2 years to just make it fit your 70th week to be completed. But after the 70th week he was still reaching out to them. He would have to have been or the Christians there would be left with no mandate.
Dwight -You know, if you would simply look carefully at what I said, you will have the answers to all of your questions. Obviously, these are approximate times from historical information. My understanding is that He was crucified in about 30 A.D. If His ministry was 3 1/2 years long, then you should be able to figure out what year He began His ministry. It's just simple math. When did the 7 years end? I said it very plainly in my post:
"so we know the 70th week (or the 7 years) ENDED 3 1/2 years after Jesus was crucified, which historically would be around 34 A.D."
I never said He stopped reaching out to the Jews, even after the 7 years were over - those are your words. Don't put words in my mouth. Read my words again:
so it appears that God was STILL REACHING OUT FIRST TO THE JEWS during those last 3 1/2 years after Christ's crucifixion, which ended the 70th week. (But not the Jews opportunity to accept their Messiah and be saved)
During Christ's ministry, He was sent ONLY to the lost sheep of Israel, but did that stop Him from occasionally performing miracles for Gentiles, like a Centurion, the Syro-Phoenician woman etc.? NO
Daniel said that 70 weeks were decreed for the Jews. During that time, God dealt primarily with Israel, but did He ever accept a repentant Gentile? Of course he did. They were always allowed to convert to the God of Abraham.
After the 70 weeks were over, it appears it is now the time of the Gentiles, or the church age, where God is dealing primarily with Gentiles, but will He reject a Jew who accepts the Messiah? Of course not. God wants ALL to be saved - not just Jews. God told Abraham that He would be the Father of many nations - besides Israel.
You did not pay attention to what you I said. This is the 3rd time I'm telling you. I believe the 70th week was over at around 34 A.D., not 38 or 40.
What did the Jews do from 34 A.D. until 70 A.D.? Think about it. God gave them 36 years to repent of killing their Messiah, before He sent judgment on them. I assume many did, but probably the majority did not. Tell me, how is a Jew who rejected Jesus, his Messiah, going to be a light to those around him? There's no way. A blind man cannot lead another blind man. What about the Jews who believed Jesus? Of course, they were a light and a witness, both to their fellow Jews, and later to the Gentiles (After Peter received his vision in Acts 10 to no longer reject the Gentiles)
Here again, I told you what Jesus' mandate was for them:
the apostles were commanded to preach the gospel to "Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria and even to the remotest part of the earth. Acts 1:8
Even though Jesus gave them that mandate just before He ascended, which was at the beginning of the last 3 1/2 years, I never said that they stopped preaching after the 3 1/2 years, including to the Jews. What I said was that was a time when God's PRIMARY focus was no longer on the Jews, but on the Gentiles. He NEVER stopped instructing His apostles or His people to reach out to everyone.
I didn't make it 3 1/2 years - Daniel did. Or to be more precise, Gabriel did. Gabriel is the one who said that the Messiah would be cut off in the middle of the (70th) week. So the midpoint of 7 years is what? You got it - 3 1/2 years. I never made up 3 1/2 years. That's what Gabriel's message to Daniel explains to us.
Also Gabriel said that 70 weeks were decreed for Israel. So do you think that Gabriel was telling them that after the 70th week, God would no longer reach out to them? That doesn't agree with the character of God. Even though He shifted His focus to Gentiles gradually - none of us know the exact time for that, but the end of the last 3 1/2 years (which is the end of the 70th week) appears to be a pretty good guess - or about the time that Paul, the apostle TO THE GENTILES was saved and called - but He never forgot the Jews.
So Jesus ministered for 3 1/2 years (the start of His ministry began the 70th week) - then He was crucified (in the middle of the 70th week), then that stills leaves the last 3 1/2 years of Daniel's 70th week (the events of the book of Acts started during this time and the gospel was preached to both Jew and Gentile, but we know that God gradually was shifting His focus off the Jews and on to the Gentiles)
Remember Jesus told the Jews in one of His parables: "The kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation, producing the fruit of it." Matthew 21:43 That nation is the body of Christ. 1 Peter 2:9 "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, A HOLY NATION, a people for God's own possession, ..." In context here, Peter is speaking to the body of Christ, the church. The words of that verse were first spoken to Israel by Moses in Exodus 19:6 - but NOW Peter applies them to the church, which consists of both Gentiles and Jews.
Paul said that when God saved Gentiles, it made the Jews jealous, or at least some of them, and some got saved!! Romans 9:30-31
Sure
