(54) ANSWERED! 8 Tough Questions on Whether the TRIBULATION Really Started - YouTube
In his own words, Nelson Walters describes his claim that the 70th week of Daniel began on October 2nd as "a brash statement". Walters: "There is a 95-99% chance the 'tribulation' began on October 2nd.2024." Walters consistently makes the error of referring to the 70th week of Daniel as the "tribulation". The tribulation begins at the midpoint of Daniel's 70th week following the “abomination of desolation” event. (Matthew 24:15,21 cf. Daniel 9:27).*
Strike 1: Misinterpreting Jesus' parable of the ten virgins
According to Walters, the reason people are unconvinced that the 70th week of Daniel has started is a sign based on the parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25:1-13. He claims that everyone will be asleep before the 70th week begins.
As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ (Matthew 25:5-7).
If "all became drowsy and slept" then how is it that Walters is awake? Apparently, Walters believes he is the exception because he is an Ezekiel-style "watchman" based on Ezekiel 33:6. The problem with this logic is that Ezekiel was a true prophet who brought forth the very word of God, Nelson Walters is not!
In context, the parable of the ten virgins is a continuation of Matthew 24 regarding the coming of the Lord. (Matthew 24:31,50). In other words, it refers to the prewrath rapture which occurs between the sixth and seventh seal of Revelation. Walters has detached this parable from its original context and has shifted the specific timeframe from the Parousia to the onset of Daniel's 70th week. From a prewrath rapture perspective, the time difference between the first and sixth seals of Revelation is significant. (Revelation 6:12).
Jesus' parables are fictional stories with a spiritual lesson. They convey literal truth, but they should not be pressed in every detail to force a connection of our own making. (2 Timothy 2:15). The message of the parable of the ten virgins is to watch. They all fell asleep (?) The parable is not intended to affirm as fact that no one will be ready for Jesus' return, rather it emphasizes the length of the delay. Jesus summarises this parable with a warning: "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour." (Matthew 25:13 cf. Matthew 24:50; Luke 21:34; 1 Thessalonians 5:2; Revelation 3:3). This parable ties in with Luke 17:22 ff. One will be taken and the other left. (Luke 17:34-35).
Walters claims that the jigsaw pieces all fall into place, but even on a cursory examination, they do not!
Strike 2: Walters: "The main impetus of this covenant was to force Israel to divide their land under the guise of a false peace." The United Nations Pact for the Future is not an imposed covenant upon Israel! The Pact is a broad non-binding agreement i.e. it does not impose legal obligations on UN Member States. Various global conflicts were mentioned in non-specific terms, but the proposed two-state solution and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were not directly mentioned at the summit.
Strike 3: Walters: "God's immediate reaction was to permit Hurricane Helene to devastate the USA." This is speculation. The pact was signed by more than 140 countries at the UN's headquarters in New York. Hurricane Helene did not significantly affect New York, and it did not touch most of the other countries that signed the pact. Beware of newspaper eisegesis!
Strike 4: Walters: "The world's immediate reaction to the covenant was an international alliance headed by Saudi Arabia designed to divide Israel in a two-state solution." Walters disproves his own claim by admitting that various nations continue to push for a two-state solution. This is evidence that the "strong covenant with many" did not come into existence on October 2nd. (Daniel 9:27).
DUBAI, Sept 27 (Reuters) : "Saudi Arabia has formed a global alliance to push for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the country's foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said on Thursday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York."2
Strike 5: Walters: "The exact day the 'tribulation' (70th week) must begin is on the feast of Trumpets." Rosh Hashanah is the first of three Fall festivals: the Feast of Trumpets, Yom Kippur (aka the Day of Atonement), and the Feast of Tabernacles. Rosh Hashanah is not mentioned specifically in the bible; rather it is referred to as the day of the blowing of the shofar or the Feast of Trumpets. (Leviticus 23:23-25). Walters' view is very odd since the onset of the 70th week and a covenant with the Antichrist hardly represents a "holy convocation" or a celebration. It is more likely that Rosh Hashanah will begin when the trumpet sounds at the rapture when Jesus returns. (Matthew 24:31; 1 Thessalonians 4:15).
And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a day of solemn rest, a memorial proclaimed with blast of trumpets, a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work, and you shall present a food offering to the Lord.” (Leviticus 23:23-25).
Strike 6: Walters: "God marked this day with signs in the heavens; a bright visible comet; a supernova; and a solar eclipse." This foolishness is comparable to the false speculations concerning the zodiac constellation Virgo in 2017 hailed by false teachers as the sign of "the woman in labour" based on Revelation 12:1. Walters regurgitates this so-called "sign" of "the woman in labour" to refer to October 2nd and the 70th week. We should not be relying on astrology for biblical evidence of end-time events. It is possible for anyone to employ Stellarium to justify this or that momentous "sign" as evidence for whatever they want it to signify.
Strike 7: Where is the Antichrist? According to Walters, the covenant doesn't have to have occurred on exactly October 2nd based on the Hebrew verb gābar (hiphil stem) which is causative.3 Walters theorizes that the Antichrist can cause the action to happen secretly behind the scenes without being revealed. This seems unlikely since the Antichrist will be the prime mover of the covenant. Walters confuses the issue by claiming that the 70th week has begun without any reasonable evidence that it actually has! No doubt this is why no reliable teachers are making the same claim.
And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. And he (Antichrist) shall confirm (gābar) 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 abomination ns he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. (Daniel 9:27 cf. Daniel 12:11).
Blue Letter Bible: "גָּבַר gâbar, gaw-bar'; a primitive root; to be strong; by implication, to prevail, act insolently:—exceed, confirm, be great, be mighty, prevail, put to more (strength), strengthen, be stronger, be valiant."1
Strike 8: According to Walters, the daily sacrifice and the temple are not tied to the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel. The daily sacrifice and the temple must be in place before the mid-point of the week since the Antichrist will stop the sacrifices and will sit in the temple and proclaim himself to be God at this point (the abomination of desolation event). (Daniel 9:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:4). It seems likely that the Antichrist will at least agree to the restoration of the daily sacrifice and the rebuilding of the temple as part of his "strong covenant" with Israel. In my view, these things cannot come into existence without the specific endorsement of the Antichrist.
Strike 9. Based on Daniel 11:22, Walters submits that "the prince who is to come" is not likely to be the Antichrist. He argues that the man who makes/renews the covenant will be destroyed by the Antichrist. Walters: "This prince seems to appear later, again in Daniel 11:22. I personally have never heard anyone else talk about this.." Then a flood of forces will be swept away before him and destroyed, along with a prince of the covenant. (Daniel 11:22). The reason no one else talks about Daniel 11:22 as a direct reference to the Antichrist is that Daniel 11:1-36 refers to the rise and fall of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Seleucid king who persecuted the Jews who is a type of the Antichrist. According to many expositors, a shift occurs in the narrative from Daniel 11:36 onwards from Antiochus IV Epiphanes to the future fulfillment i.e. the Antichrist "the wilful king". (Daniel 11:36). Walters' reference to Daniel 11:22 is therefore invalid because the destruction of the prince referred to is a past event.
Crying wolf!
According to Walters, even if he is wrong about October 2nd it doesn't matter because people will be prepared. What! Walters gives himself a convenient get-out with his 95-99% accuracy claim, but God is not mocked! (Galatians 6:7). Making end-time predictions is an extremely reckless, counterproductive and reputationally risky business. We have all witnessed the fallout from various false date-setters like the NAR "prophets" and the false Trump "prophets". These people are the scourge of Christianity! When the 70th week does actually begin and we bring the evidence, many people are likely to reject it on the basis that "prophecy experts" like Walters have been wrong in the past.
Wannabe prophets and their "brash" statements
Walters' admission to making a "brash" statement is a red flag. (Matthew 12:36-37).
WordHippo describes "brash" as: "Excessively or recklessly confident or bold." Synonyms for "brash" are: foolhardy, audacious, daredevil, madcap, overbod, reckless, temerarious, overconfident, rash, heedless, incautious, imprudent, irresponsible etc..4
There is one whose rash (reckless) words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. (Proverbs 12:18).
The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools. (Proverbs 15:7).
