Here's Fruchtenbaum's teaching on the 75 day interval:
Footsteps of the Messiah by Arnold Fruchtenbaum pg 361-372
The Seventy-five-Day Interval
The thousand-year reign of Messiah, called “the millennium,” “the Messianic Age,” or “the Messianic kingdom,” will not begin immediately after the last day of the great tribulation. Rather, there will be a seventy-five-day interval, during which a number of events will occur. The existence of this interval is demonstrated in Daniel 12:11-12:
11 And from the time that the continual burnt-offering shall be taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. 12 Blessed is he that waits, and comes to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.
In previous discussions, the figure of 1,260 days has often appeared. Being equivalent to 3½ years, it sometimes refers to the first half of the tribulation, from the signing of the seven-year covenant to the takeover of the Jewish temple and the commitment of the abomination of desolation. Other times, it refers to the second half of the tribulation, from the abomination of desolation to the second coming, during which time the Antichrist will rule the world. The demise of the Antichrist and the end of the tribulation will come 1,260 days after the midpoint of the tribulation.
In the above Daniel passage, two other figures are given. The first is 1,290 days, an addition of thirty days, during which time the abomination of desolation remains in the temple before its removal. The second figure is 1,335 days, which is 45 days beyond the 1,290-day period and 75 days beyond the 1,260-day period. A special blessing is pronounced on those who will make it to the 1,335th day. The blessing is that those who survive until the 75th day of the interval will enter the Messianic kingdom. That this is indeed a blessing will be seen in this chapter. There will be many who will fail and die before the 1,335th day comes, although they did survive past the 1,260th day.
A number of events will transpire during the seventy-five-day interval, but it is impossible to determine the chronological sequence of these events. Therefore, they will be studied thematically rather than chronologically.
A. The Removal of the Abomination of Desolation
When the Antichrist takes over the Jewish temple in Jerusalem, it will signal the beginning of the second half of the great tribulation. From the temple, he will declare himself to be the almighty god. He will then have the false prophet set up his image in the temple and thus commit the abomination of desolation. The Antichrist will retain control for 1,260 days, before he is killed by Messiah. But the image which had been made alive will be allowed to continue another thirty days, as Daniel 12:11 states:
And from the time that the continual burnt-offering shall be taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
The desecration of the temple is allowed to remain for thirty days beyond the end of the tribulation. Then it will be destroyed, bringing the abomination of desolation to an end.
B. The Antichrist
Regarding the Antichrist, Revelation 19:20 states:
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that worshipped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone.
It is declared that the Antichrist will be cast alive into the lake of fire. In the previous chapter, passages were cited that state that the Antichrist will be killed as one of the first casualties of the second coming. Therefore, this verse requires that the Antichrist be resurrected at this time and then be cast alive into the lake of fire. It is for this reason that Isaiah 14:20 declared that the body of the Antichrist will never see burial.
There is some irony to be found in this fact. As will be seen later in this chapter, the term “the first resurrection” applies to the resurrection of all the righteous, although it comes in stages. The term “the second resurrection” applies to the resurrection of all the damned, and this, too, will come in stages. Yeshua was the firstfruits of the first resurrection. The irony to be found here is that he who would be the counterfeit son will be allowed to act out the counterfeit role to completion by becoming the firstfruits of the second resurrection. But the result of his resurrection will be the lake of fire.
C. The False Prophet
As mentioned, the false prophet is the counterfeit holy spirit, who will have a counterfeit gift of miracles by which he will do his work of deception, calling men to worship the Antichrist, to take upon themselves the mark of the beast, and to worship his image. According to Revelation 19:20, he, too, will be cast alive into the lake of fire. For the first one thousand years that the lake of fire will be inhabited, the Antichrist and the false prophet will be there all by themselves.
D. Satan’s Fifth Abode
As for Satan, the counterfeit father, he will be cast into his fifth abode,[53] as described in Revelation 20:1-3:
1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished: after this he must be loosed for a little time.
This passage records the binding of Satan into his fifth abode. The binder will be a member of the rank of common angels (v. 1), the lowest order of celestial beings; yet, he will be able to bind an angel of the highest rank who, according to Ezekiel 28:14, was the anointed cherub and sealed up the sum in wisdom and beauty (Ezek. 28:12). The duration of Satan’s confinement will be one thousand years (v. 2).
Verse 3 spells out the place, purpose, and promise regarding the binding of Satan. As to the place, it will be the Abyss, the temporary place of confinement for fallen angels. As to the purpose, it is that he should no longer be free to do his work of deception among the nations. But the binding is done with the promise that he will be released for a short while to test mankind one more time.
E. The Judgment of the Gentiles
Though a great many Gentiles will be killed through the course of the tribulation and Gentile armies will suffer slaughter in the Campaign of Armageddon, a number will still be alive during the seventy-five-day interval. They will now be gathered for a judgment described in two passages of Scripture. The first passage is in Joel 3:1-3:
1 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring back the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will execute judgment upon them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations: and they have parted my land, 3 and have cast lots for my people, and have given a boy for a harlot, and sold a girl for wine, that they may drink.
The timing of this judgment is given as being in conjunction with the final restoration of Israel (v. 1). All the Gentiles will be gathered into the Valley of Jehoshaphat for the judgment (v. 2a). The very place where the Campaign of Armageddon will end is the site where the Gentiles will be judged. A judgment of this nature, resulting in a destiny of eternal life or eternal hell, cannot be taken as a national judgment, but as an individual one. The word translated “nations” also means “Gentiles,” and this is the way it should be rendered here. The basis for this judgment will be anti-Semitism or pro-Semitism (vv. 2b-3). The Gentiles will be judged based on their treatment of the Jews during the tribulation. The sins committed against Israel listed in this indictment are as follows: first, scattering the Jews (in the middle of the tribulation); second, parting the land (Campaign of Armageddon); and third, selling the Jews into slavery (Zech. 14:1-2). Each Gentile living at that time will be judged based on his involvement in or his refusal to participate in these deeds.
The results of the judgment are given in the second passage, Matthew 25:31-46. The judge, the judgment, and those judged are identified in 25:31-33:
31 But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: 32 and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
The judge (v. 31) will be none other than the Messiah, who will sit on a throne encompassed by His glory in the Valley of Jehoshaphat. All the Gentiles still living will be gathered before Him (v. 32). Again, the Greek word translated as “nations” is also the common word for “Gentiles,” which is the way it should be taken, for this is an individual judgment on the basis of anti-Semitism or pro-Semitism. In this judgment, the Gentiles will be divided into two camps: the pro-Semitic sheep camp and the anti-Semitic goat camp (v. 33).
Matthew 25:34-40 concerns the pro-Semitic sheep:
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; 36 naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we you hungry, and fed you? or athirst, and gave you drink? 38 And when saw we you a stranger, and took you in? or naked, and clothed you? 39 And when saw we you sick, or in prison, and came unto you? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.
The pro-Semites are those who will provide help for Yeshua’s brethren, the Jews, during the tribulation, a time when it will be very dangerous to do so. The Jews who will have to flee into the wilderness without taking any of their belongings will often receive food, clothing, and shelter from the sheep Gentiles. These Gentiles will identify themselves with the Jews by visiting them in prison and will perform other acts of kindness to the Jewish people. Because of these acts, they will be allowed to enter the Messianic kingdom (v. 34). It is the sheep Gentiles who will be involved in the destruction of Babylon (Isa. 13:1-5). They will attain the 1,335th day and will be the ones who will populate Gentile nations in the Messianic kingdom.
As for the anti-Semitic goat Gentiles, Matthew 25:41-45 states:
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand. Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink; 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when saw we you hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto you? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto me.
The anti-Semites, who will aid the Antichrist in the program of Jewish destruction, will be killed and sent to hell (v. 41). They are the ones who will fail to attain the 1,335th day and, consequently, lose out on the millennial blessing. The basis of the judgment will not be salvation or lack of it, but anti-Semitism or pro-Semitism. This fact stirs up a question when compared with Matthew 25:46:
And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life.
The goats will be sent to hell, while the sheep will not only enter the kingdom (v. 34), but they will also inherit eternal life. Is their salvation, then, based on their works, be they anti-Semitic or pro-Semitic? Not at all. The Scriptures make it quite clear that salvation is always by grace through faith totally apart from works. During the tribulation, the Jews will become the dividing line for those who are believers and for those who are not. Only believers will dare to violate the rules of the Antichrist and aid the Jews. Their pro-Semitic acts will be the result of their saved state. As James would say it, they will show their faith by their works (Jas. 2:18). But the unbelievers will demonstrate their unbelief by their anti-Semitic acts. The judgment of the Gentiles, then, will determine who among the Gentiles will be permitted to enter the Messianic kingdom. Only believing Gentiles will be allowed in, and the evidence of their faith will be their pro-Semitic works.
F. The Resurrection of the Old Testament Saints
The rapture will include only the church saints, and it will occur before the great tribulation. Later, during the seventy-five-day interval, the Old Testament saints will be resurrected. This is stated by two verses, the first being Isaiah 26:19:
Your dead shall live; my dead bodies shall arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust; for your dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast forth the dead. This is a general statement of the fact that a resurrection will take place at some time.
A clearer picture is found in the second verse, Daniel 12:2:
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
In the context of Daniel 12, the prophet is speaking of events after the tribulation; therefore, this is the time that the Old Testament saints will be resurrected. A more literal rendering of the verse would read as follows: “And at that time, many of your people shall awake [or be separated out] from among the sleepers in the earth’s dust. These who awake shall be unto life everlasting, but those [meaning the rest of the sleepers who do not awake at this time] shall be unto shame and contempt everlasting.” The verse draws a clear distinction between the resurrection of the righteous and the resurrection of the unrighteous. Only the first group will be resurrected at this time in order to partake of the blessings of the millennial kingdom. These are the friends of the bridegroom (Jn. 3:29) who will be invited to the wedding feast with which the millennium will begin.
G. The Resurrection of the Tribulation Saints
Not only will there be a resurrection of Old Testament saints, but also a resurrection of those saints who will be killed in the course of the great tribulation. This fact is brought out by Revelation 20:4, where John reports:
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Yeshua, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Messiah a thousand years.
In this verse, John sees two groups of saints co-reigning with Messiah. First are those to whom judgment was given. The judgment spoken of here relates to the judgment seat of the Messiah. These saints, then, will be the church saints who will be resurrected at the rapture and will receive their rewards in the course of the judgment.
The second group of saints John sees are identified as those who have been beheaded because they did not worship the Antichrist or his image, nor were they willing to consent to receiving the mark of the beast. Obviously, then, these cannot be anyone else but the tribulation saints, and they, too, will be resurrected at this time.
H. The First Resurrection
The first resurrection involves the resurrection of believers only. It is recorded in Revelation 20:5-6:
5 The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: over these the second death has no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Messiah, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
According to verse 5, the resurrection of the tribulation saints completes the first resurrection, and it is separated from the completion of the second resurrection by one thousand years. The point of verse 6 is that the first resurrection involves believers only, and that is why it is blessed and holy to be a participant in the first resurrection.
However, the first resurrection is not a single event, but comes in stages in an orderly progression, according to I Corinthians 15:20-23:
20 But now has Messiah been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of them that are asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Messiah shall all be made alive. 23 But each in his own order: Messiah the firstfruits; then they that are Messiah’s, at his coming.
After declaring that a resurrection of the righteous will occur (vv. 20-22), Paul states that the righteous will each be resurrected in his own order (v. 23). The word translated as “order” is a military term used for a sequence of troops of soldiers marching in a procession or in battle. There is one division of troops followed by another division of troops, and so on. The point is that the righteous will not all be resurrected at the same time, but rather in a definite sequential order. The first resurrection includes the following five stages: The first stage was the resurrection of Yeshua (v. 23). He is the firstfruits of the first resurrection. The second stage is the resurrection of the church saints at the rapture of the church (I Thess. 4:16) prior to the tribulation. The third stage will be the resurrection of the two witnesses in the middle of the tribulation. Fourth will come the saints of the Hebrew Scriptures (Isa. 26:19; Dan. 12:2) during the seventy-five-day interval after the tribulation. The fifth and last stage will be the resurrection of the tribulation saints (Rev. 20:4). It will complete the first resurrection.
There will be no such thing as a resurrection of millennial saints for reasons to be discussed in Chapter 17 of this study.
I. The Marriage Feast of the Lamb
The Jewish wedding system used to comprise several stages. The fourth stage was the marriage feast, which lasted seven days. As noted earlier, while the church is the bride, the Old Testament and tribulation saints make up the friends of the bridegroom. Now that they have been resurrected, the wedding feast can take place. The invitation has already gone out, as described in Revelation 19:9:
And he says unto me, Write, Blessed are they that are bidden to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he says unto me, These are true words of God.
The result of the invitation is the resurrection of these saints followed by the wedding feast, which will also last at least seven days and will either conclude the seventy-five-day interval or may inaugurate the Messianic kingdom itself for its first seven days. The latter is perhaps the more likely scenario, since the wedding feast parable was connected with the kingdom. One such parable is found in Matthew 22:1-14:
1 And Yeshua answered and spoke again in parables unto them, saying, 2 The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a certain king, who made a marriage feast for his son, 3 and sent forth his servants to call them that were bidden to the marriage feast: and they would not come. 4 Again he sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them that are bidden, Behold, I have made ready my dinner; my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come to the marriage feast. 5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his own farm, another to his merchandise; 6 and the rest laid hold on his servants, and treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 But the king was angry; and he sent his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 8 Then said he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they that were bidden were not worthy. 9 Go ye therefore unto the partings of the highways, and as many as ye shall find, bid to the marriage feast. 10 And those servants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good: and the wedding was filled with guests. 11 But when the king came in to behold the guests, he saw there a man who had not on a wedding-garment: 12 and he said unto him, Friend, how came you in here not having a wedding-garment? And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and cast him out into the outer darkness; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. 14 For many are called, but few chosen.
The point of the parable is that those who were originally bidden to the wedding feast (the Pharisees and the Jewish generation of Yeshua’s day) will not partake of the feast (the kingdom) because they have committed the unpardonable sin. However, the Jews of the tribulation generation will. But this will include only the believers; the unbelievers will be cast into the outer darkness and excluded from the Messianic kingdom.
A second parable is in Matthew 25:1-13:
1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2 And five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 For the foolish, when they took their lamps, took no oil with them: 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 Now while the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6 But at midnight there is a cry, Behold, the bridegroom! Come ye forth to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are going out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, Peradventure there will not be enough for us and you: go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage feast: and the door was shut. 11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13 Watch therefore, for ye know not the day nor the hour.
The contrast here is not between two types of believers, but between believers and unbelievers. The believers are represented by the wise virgins, who had oil, a symbol of the Holy Spirit, while the unbelievers are seen in the foolish virgins. They did not take oil with them. Thus, they were excluded from the marriage feast (the Messianic kingdom), for the Lord knew them not, while the wise virgins went in with Him to the wedding. Based upon the application of the parable given in Matthew 25:31-46, these two sets of virgins represent believing and unbelieving Gentiles in the tribulation. The first parable deals with Jews who will or will not enter the kingdom, while this one deals with Gentiles who will or will not enter the kingdom.
Isaiah also connected a feast with the kingdom and with a resurrection from the dead. This is seen in Isaiah 25:6-8:
6 And in this mountain will Jehovah of hosts make unto all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined. 7 And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering that covers all peoples, and the veil that is spread over all nations. 8 He has swallowed up death for ever; and the Lord Jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people will he take away from off all the earth: for Jehovah has spoken it.
In a sense, then, there will be a double wedding feast: one for the church as the bride of the Messiah and one for Israel as the remarried wife of Jehovah.
These are the events of the seventy-five-day interval leading up to that long, special period of history the faithful look forward to: the Messianic Age.
gracethrufaith.com
