Biblical Prophecy Fulfilled
Timeline of Events
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THE KING IS COMING
31 AD, April 17, Thursday, Abib 8 daytime - (5th day of the week)
- Jesus tells His disciples they are going to Jerusalem.
- James and John ask to sit at Jesus’ right and left hand in the kingdom.
- Jesus heals a blind man on the way to Jericho.
Thursday, Abib 9 nighttime - (6th day of the week)
- Jesus spends the night at Zaccheus’ house.
Friday, Abib 9 daytime - (6th day of the week)
- Jesus leaves Zaccheus’ house in Jericho, after spending the night.
- Jesus heals blind Bartamaeus on His way out of Jericho.
- Jesus walks approximately 20 miles from Jericho to Bethany.
- Jesus went up to Jerusalem with a large group of people who were also making the pilgrimage to the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They walked uphill from the Jordan River valley to the heights of Jerusalem and sang the “Songs of Assent (Psalms 120–134) as they went.
- Jesus arrives at the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha in Bethany before sundown.
- According to John 12:1, Jesus arrived six days before the Passover of the Jews, which began on Abib 15.
Friday, Abib 10 nighttime - (7th day of the week)
- The weekly Sabbath (Rest) begins.
- Mary anoints Jesus’ feet with perfume.
- Anointing someone indicated that they were being dedicated to God and being set apart for a special work. By pouring perfume upon His feet Mary was behaving prophetically when we consider the passage in Isaiah 52.
- Jesus spends the night at Lazarus’s house.
Saturday, Abib 10 daytime - (7th day of the week)
- Shabbat Hagadol
- Shabbat Hagadol means “the great Sabbath” or “Sabbath of greatness”. It is the Sabbath, which immediately precedes Passover and is so named because it was historically the day when the King of Israel entered Jerusalem for the Feast. The last king of Israel, Zedekiah had died more than 600 years before.
- Jesus leaves Bethany, which is about 2 miles from Jerusalem.
- A Sabbath’s days journey was considered to be about one mile however the Rabbinic ruling states that Bethany is within the environs of Jerusalem, therefore it was permissible for someone to travel from Bethany to Jerusalem for the purpose of going to Temple and not break the prohibition against traveling on the Sabbath.
- At Bethphage (House of Figs) Jesus mounts a donkey and rides the rest of the way into Jerusalem.
- Even though by rabbinic ruling Jesus was permitted to walk to Jerusalem, as if to fulfill the Law of Moses completely, He walked only one mile to Bethphage where He mounted a donkey and rode the rest of the way: Zechariah 9:9
- The triumphal entry into Jerusalem.
- If Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem were on Palm Sunday according to “Christian” tradition, it would mean that He made His journey from Jericho to Bethany (20 miles) on the Sabbath (Rest), definitely a violation of Mosaic Law. Jesus did not break the Law but fulfilled it completely.
- Each family chooses a Passover lamb.
- According to Exodus 12:3, each family was to select its Passover lamb on the 10th of Abib, then it was subjected to inspection for blemishes by the priests for four days. If the lamb were without defect it would be killed on the 14th of Abib, the Lord’s Passover. Jesus, the true Lamb of God was continuously examined by different groups of people from the time of His entry into Jerusalem on the 10th of Abib until His crucifixion four days later on the 14th of Abib, the Lord’s Passover. These groups included priests, scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, Sanhedrim, the current and previous High Priests, the Jewish governor, the Roman governor and the multitudes themselves.
- Palm branches.
- Palm branches were a symbol of triumph and victory in pre-Christian days. For Jewish people they are connected to the concept of salvation and represent peace and plenty. Compare this to Revelation 7:9-10.
- Hosannas.
- The word Hosanna means, “Save, please” or “Please, deliver us”.
- Stones crying out.
- As Jesus began His descent of the Mount of Olives some Pharisees approached Him demanding that He silence the multitudes that were praising Him. Jesus replied, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out,” Luke 19:40. Jesus was not talking about the rocks lying on the ground being able to speak but something entirely different. The more than a mile-long Mount of Olives is covered with the tombstones of Israelites who believed that when the Messiah came He would descend on the Mount of Olives and they would be the first to be resurrected from the dead. In essence Jesus was telling the Pharisees that if His disciples didn’t praise Him that those who were buried on the Mount of Olives would rise up out of their graves and give Him praise.
- Jesus spends the entire day in Jerusalem.
SPOTLESS LAMB OF GOD
They shall be without defect – Numbers 28:31
Saturday, Abib 11 nighttime - (1st day of the week)
- Jesus returns to Bethany for the night.
Sunday, Abib 11 daytime - (1st day of the week)
- Jesus returns to Jerusalem the second time and curses the fig tree.
- The season for figs is the beginning of summer yet springtime had just arrived. Jesus used the illustration of the fig tree in His Olivet discourse on the following day concerning the future. Therefore, He cursed the fig tree because it was giving a false and misleading sign. It was prematurely putting forth leaves, which would indicate that it was about to bear fruit. This issue will be covered in a future lesson.
- He drives the moneychangers out of the Temple for the second time.
Sunday, Abib 12 nighttime - (2nd day of the week)
- Jesus spends the night in Bethany.
Monday, Abib 12 daytime - (2nd day of the week)
- Jesus returns to Jerusalem the third time.
- The fig tree has withered.
- The Pharisees examine Jesus.
- The widow’s mites.
- Jesus answers two of the disciple’s questions about the future as they leave the Temple Mount area.
- Jesus answers three more of the disciple’s questions about the future while seated on the Mount of Olives (Olivet Discourse - Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21).
- The high priest, Caiaphas and the leaders plot together to seize Jesus before the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which began at evening on the 15th of Abib.
Monday, Abib 13 nighttime - (3rd day of the week)
- Jesus returns to Bethany and spends the night at Simon, the Leper’s home.
- A woman anoints Jesus’ head with perfume and Judas become indignant.
Tuesday, Abib 13 daytime - (3rd day of the week)
- Judas consorts with the Jewish leaders and is paid thirty pieces of silver.
- Thirty shekels. This amount is equivalent to 120 day’s wages. The prophecy concerning this payment and its use is found at Zechariah 11:12-13.
- Jesus spends the day with His disciples but does not return to Jerusalem.
OUR PASSOVER LAMB
Tuesday, Abib 14 nighttime - (4th day of the week) - The Lord's Passover
- According to Leviticus 23:5 the 14th day of Abib is the Lord’s Passover (Peh-sakh). It should not be confused with the Passover of the Jews, which commences immediately following the Lord’s Passover.
- The Lord’s Passover is also known as the Day of Preparation for the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which begins the following evening. At the start of 14th (6:00 pm) Jewish people remove all the leaven from their homes. A search is conducted with a candle to check all the nooks and crannies where leaven might exist so that it can be removed. The day concludes the following afternoon when the Passover lambs are slain. The people then commence the celebration of the Feast by eating their Passover lamb and unleavened bread after sundown (6:00 pm) at the start of Abib 15.
- The Feast (“appointed time”) of Unleavened Bread (Mats-tsaw Lekn-em) commences on Abib 15 and lasts for seven days during which time Jewish people eat nothing that contains leaven. The first and seventh days of the feast are Sabbath days. The first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is called Passover.
- The use of the term Passover confuses many Christians since there are two Passovers, so I’ll try to explain it here:
1. The Lord’s Passover is on the 14th of Abib. It is also called the “day of preparation” as Jewish people remove all leaven from their houses (hence the term “the first day of unleavened bread”) and it is the day on which Passover lambs are slain (Exodus 12:3-11). It is not a Sabbath day.
2. The 1st day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which lasts for seven days, is on the 15th day of Abib. It is referred to as Passover or the Passover of the Jews. On this day Jewish people eat the Passover lamb and unleavened bread in commemoration of the death angel passing over their houses and their deliverance from Egypt. It is a Sabbath day.
- Jesus eats the Lord’s Passover with His disciples. The events surrounding the meal indicate that it follows the pattern of a typical Passover Seder, although it needn’t have. The implications of the events concerning this meal will be discussed in future lessons.
- Gethsemane means, “Oil press”. The garden itself lies at the foot of the Mount of Olives directly across the Kidron Valley from the Eastern (Golden) Gate of the Temple.
- The third of the Roman night watches known as “cockcrowing” ended at 3:00 am.
- This was generally reckoned to be around 4:30 am.
Wednesday, Abib 14 daytime - (4th day of the week)
- Judas hangs himself.
- Jesus is tried before Pilate.
- Jesus is tried before Herod Antipas.
- Pilate sentences Jesus.
- Jesus is crucified at 9:00 am.
- The image of Jesus hanging on the cross should evoke memories of the first Passover. God through Moses commanded the Israelites to smear the blood of the Passover lamb on the lintel and doorposts of their homes. After this the Israelites were to enter through that doorway into their homes were they would be spared by the death angel that went through the land of Egypt that night killing all the first-born. As Christ hung on the cross we can clearly see the blood caused from the crown of thorns as the blood on the lintel. The blood flowing from his outstretched nail –pierced hands would have marked the doorposts. Jesus referred to this image in John 10:9.
- Darkness comes over the land at noon.
- Being the true Lamb of God, Jesus dies at 3:00 pm on Golgotha just as the Passover lambs are being slain.
- The term Golgotha means the “Place of the Skull”. The place is also called Calvary from the Latin word “calvaria” which also means “bare skull”. It was so named for the shape of the hill, which resembles a skull.
- Women prepare the spices before the Sabbath (Luke 23:50-56).
HE IS ALIVE
Wednesday, Abib 15 nighttime - (5th day of the week)
- The first day of Feast of Unleavened Bread begins (Passover of the Jews).
- The Passover lambs are eaten.
- The Sabbath day begins.
- Jesus spends His first night in the grave.
Thursday, Abib 15 daytime - (5th day of the week)
- The first day of the feast of Unleavened Bread continues.
- It is still the Sabbath day.
- Jesus spends His first day in the grave.
Thursday, Abib 16 nighttime - (6th day of the week)
- Jesus spends His second night in the grave.
Friday, Abib 16 daytime - (6th day of the week)
- The women prepare the spices after the Sabbath (Mark 16:1).
- Jesus spends His second day in the grave.
Friday, Abib 17 nighttime - (7th day of the week)
- The weekly Sabbath begins.
- Jesus spends His third night in the grave.
Saturday, Abib 17 daytime - (7th day of the week)
- The weekly Sabbath continues.
- Jesus spends His third day in the grave.
- This is to fulfill Jesus prophecies: Matthew 12:40 - Matthew 27:63. If Jesus had been crucified on Friday as tradition holds He could not have fulfilled the prophecies accurately.
Saturday, Abib 18 nighttime - (1st day of the week)
- The first day of the week begins.
- The Feast of First Fruits begins.
- It is the Feast of First Fruits, the day on which Christ was raised from the dead that Christians celebrate and call Easter Sunday. According to Leviticus 23:11 this feast day always fell on the first day of the week following Passover.
- The priests cut down the first sheaves of grain harvested from the fields and make a wave offering of it before God.
- During the night the sheaves of the grain offering are ground into fine flour for the wave offering of “the Omer” the next morning.
- An earthquake occurs during the night, when the angel rolls away the stone from Jesus’ tomb (Matthew 28:2-4). Jesus rises from the dead.
Sunday, Abib 18 daytime - (1st day of the week)
- The women arrive at the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body with the spices they had purchased after the Sabbath but He is not there . . . the tomb is empty.
- Peter and John go to the empty tomb.
- Mary encounters Jesus at the tomb but thinks he is the gardener until He speaks to her.
- At about 9:00 am in the Temple the priests are making the wave offering of “the Omer” of flour to God. This is the offering of the First Fruits. Up to this point in time no one in Israel is allowed to eat anything made out of grains.
- Wave offering of the unleavened bread.
- That afternoon Jesus walks with two of His disciples on the road to Emmaus. One of them is Jesus’ uncle Clopas, the brother of Joseph. Neither of the disciples recognizes Jesus until He breaks bread with them.
MYSTERY OF THE THREE IN ONE
One of the great mysteries of Christianity is the concept of the Trinity. In other words, how can God who is one, also be distinguishable as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Yet this mystery is unveiled in the Feast of First Fruits and Jesus demonstrated it perfectly.
During the Feast of First Fruits, the priests made three separate wave offerings to God:
- During the early evening hours of First Fruits, the Sanhedrim went out to a pre-selected barley field and cut down the sheaves of barley within three pre-selected areas of that field. Then they took the sheaves of barley back to the Temple where the priests made a wave offering of them to God.
- Next, the heads of the barley sheaves were beaten with canes to remove the grain, which was then roasted with fire and ground into extremely fine flour. From the flour that was produced, one omer (equivalent to about five pints) was set aside in a container as an offering to God. At the morning service (The morning Temple service was conducted at the third hour or about 9:00 am) of First Fruits, the priests made a wave offering to God of the flour in its container. No Israelite could partake of any food made from grains before the wave offering of the omer was completed.
- Later that day, the priests would make a wave offering of unleavened bread made from the flour.
Jesus Christ, the first fruits (1 Corinthians 15:20, Romans 11:16) also appeared in three different forms. 1) Before He died (was cut down) Jesus had one appearance (the sheaf). 2) After He had been raised from the dead he had another appearance. Mary Magdalene who knew Him well did not recognize Him at the garden tomb, thinking He was the gardener. She did not recognize Him until He spoke with her. He had appeared to her as the offering of the omer of flour. This is evidenced by the fact that Jesus told her not to cling to Him, as he had not yet ascended to the Father (The women had come to the tomb early in the day and the wave offering of the omer of flour had not taken place in the Temple yet). No one was permitted to partake of anything made of grain until the omer was offered. 3) Jesus appeared differently, this time as the offering of the unleavened bread, to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. One of those disciples was even Jesus’ Uncle Clopas who did not recognize Him until He broke bread with them.
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