The 490 year prophecy began in the fall of 457
B.C. and extended to the fall of 34
A.D. So, between the time Jesus was crucified, in the spring
of 31 A.D., and end of the 490 years God had allotted the Jewish people
to reaffirm their privileged role as His missionary people, in the fall
of 34 A.D., was three and a half years. During that final time period,
how would a God great enough to create the galaxies treat those who had
crucified His eternal Son? His actions during that time are a remarkable
revelation of how He relates to every one of us.
After Jesus' resurrection, He sent His disciples back into the world
to proclaim a message of God's forgiving grace. Jesus instructed
them not to proclaim this message to anyone else before they first proclaimed
it to Jerusalem, to those who crucified Him. Acts
1:8 He could have retaliated with a vengeance, but He chose to
offer them forgiveness instead. Incredible! But then that is
the nature of God.
When those who crucified Jesus heard that instead of retaliating against
them He was actually offering them forgiveness, many of them repented of
what they had done and became devoted converts. Acts
2:36-47 Even some of the priests who had led the mob that clamored
for His death were themselves converted by His relentless love and offer
of forgiveness for what they had done. Acts
6:7
Sadly, the official response of the nation, and the response of the
majority if its citizens, was not favorable to Jesus or His followers.
God subsequently turned from them and established His church among the
Gentiles, not in retaliation for what they had done, but in respect for
their choice not to accept Messiah Jesus and be the bearers of God's message
of salvation through Him.
God does everything possible to attract us toward life with Him–life
with meaning, purpose, and hope–everything, that is, short of forcing us
against our will. His invitation is an RSVP in which your choice
is honored.
