A preterist wine cup

According to most preachers who support preterism, the 70th week, in which Christ confirms his covenant with many, expired in the first century. Christ ceased to confirm his covenant,  a short three and a half years after his resurrection from the grave. This contrasts with dispensationalism, which says there was a parenthesis, or a gap, between the 69th and 70th weeks, which is the present age of the church.

These preterists say that the time when Christ confirmed his covenant was seven literal years, that were fulfilled either in about 34 AD, or after the city of Jerusalem was destroyed. They close their eyes to the fact that Jesus confirms his covenant with the saints for the whole age of the church.

I suggest that the last half of the 70th week is figurative, and represents the whole time of the church, in the present age. The prophetic numbers in Daniel and Revelation depicting three and a half years apply to the last half of the 70th week, as illustrated in the graphic below.

The cup contents represent the remaining time of the church

Throughout the church’s history, Christ has confirmed his covenant with the church. Paul wrote: “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers.”

Paul was probably alluding to Daniel 9:27, which says “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week.” The week spans all the present age. The ministry of Jesus was the first half week, and the last half-week is the symbolic “time, times and a half.

The numbers mentioned in Daniel 12:11-12, which are associated with the “time, times and a half” of verse 7, show that this prophetic time period cannot be a literal three and a half years. They do not correspond to a literal three and a half years in any calendar. Instead, when arranged as shown in the graphic above, they depict a diminishing period. This is the whole age of the church. The first three all represent the remaining time after different events, which all occurred in the first century. The cup at the right, with the label 3.5 days, is symbolic of events in the end of the age. The corpses of the two witnesses lie in the street of the great city, for three days and a half. This pictures the scriptures and the Spirit, at the end of the present age, which is a time of widespread unbelief and apostasy.