Welcome to the 35th week of the year. This is the last (7th) week in fifth 49 days (fifth seven weeks) of the year. The Bible patterns for understanding the 35th week are the seventh day of creation narrative, the 35th book of the Bible, the 35th chapters of the Bible, and the last four chapters (seventh section) of the fifth book of the Bible, Deuteronomy.
Week 35 is a seventh day of creation week. It is a Sabbath week. On the seventh day, God did not create anything. He ended His work, rested and blessed the day. He also sanctified the day. The seventh season is, therefore, a sacred season. It is the Creator’s Day! The mind of God is that the 35th week of the year would be (1) an end-of-work season; and a season of rest from toil, labor, trouble, and struggles. Pray that it would not be a week of unrest and troubles. (2). The other intention of the Creator is that the 35th week would be a blessed Holy Week. Pray that it would not be a week of sacrilege and curses.
Week 35 is a book of Habakkuk week. Habakkuk is the 35th book of the Bible; and so, is applicable to the 35th week of the year. In the book of Habakkuk, the prophet complained to the Lord about His seeming indifference to his cry against violence and breakdown of justice n the land. God promised He would tame the land with a wicked nation. The prophet protested; wondering how God would use a wicked and ungodly nation to punish His people. The prophet was afraid and prayed to God revive His people and show mercy amid justice. The 35th week is a week of divine judgment. In a 35th season, God may seem silent or absent but He is in His temple and will act.
Week 35 is a Deuteronomy 31-34 week. This seventh section of the fifth book of the Bible is applicable to the seventh week in the fifth 49 days of the year. Those four chapters are about the last days of Moses on earth. In Deuteronomy 31, he made Joshua his successor by the word of the Lord. In Deuteronomy 32, he spoke of the Lord and Israel in a song. In chapter 33, Moses blessed the tribes; and in chapter 34, he died.
Week 35 is a 35th-chapters-of-the-Bible week. In Genesis 35, God commanded Jacob to return to Bethel, dwell there, and build an altar to God. He obeyed and told members of his family to give up any foreign gods with them. They did. That move to Bethel required a clean up from idolatry in his house. Idols were not allowed to continue with them in this journey. He had a fresh encounter with God in this passage (verses 9-15). The 35th season is a time to return to roots and foundation. The season is for the Lord’s pleasure. It is a time to return to the place of divine encounter. Things that are not compatible with God’s ways and thoughts should not make it through the season. Genesis 35 was also a season of pain and tears in the life of Jacob. Deborah (Rebekah’s nurse) died here. Rachel died here after giving birth to Benjamin – the twelfth son of Jacob. Isaac, his father, also died here; at the age of 180. The other painful thing here is that Reuben had sex with his father’s concubine, Bilhah (Rachael’s maidservant – the mother of Dan and Naphtali). This would cost him his birthright. Reuben ruined his destiny here. Errors of the 35th season are costly. The 35th season is an endpoint. Child-bearing ended for Jacob in this chapter; after the son of his right hand was born. The 35th season is the time to birth ‘the son of the right hand’. Even Jacob’s story ended here. He was no longer active after the 35th chapter of Genesis. The 36th chapter is about Esau. The 37th chapter is about Joseph and his brothers. The 38th chapter is about Judah’s family. The rest of the book (39-50) is Joseph’s story. The 35th season is for the end of the old and the beginning of the new. The 35th season is a terminal season in so many ways. It’s both a season of revival and declension – whichever you choose.
In Exodus 35, Moses reminded Israel what God said about keeping the Sabbath. The 35th season is a Sabbath-season. Moses also took a free will offering from Israel for the construction of the tabernacle. He called Bezalel and Aholiab, by the word of the Lord, to be in charge of the work. In Genesis 35, God spoke about Bethel. In Exodus 35, God spoke about Sabbath and Tabernacle. Exodus 35 is about the Lord’s day and the Lord’s House. The 35th season is the Lord’s season. The season is for giving attention to the Tabernacle of God – not for destroying it.
In Numbers 35, God gave commandment concerning the cities of the Levites and the six cities of refuge. The Levites are those serving in the Tabernacle. The 35th season is a time to seek the good of the house of God and the custodians of faith. God also spoke about the common cities – to keep the land from bloodshed. The 35th season is a season to watch against vengeful bloodshed.
In Second Chronicles 35, Josiah led Israel to keep a landmark Passover as part of his reforms. Josiah and all Judah returned to the Lord and observed a ground-shaking Passover; such as had never happened since the days of Samuel. That was the last revival before captivity. The 35th season is a time for revival of faith. Josiah’s celebration of the Passover was like a return to the beginning. The Passover was the beginning of Israel’s independence and separation from Egypt. The Revivalists of the 35th season must also understand their boundaries. Josiah died in a battle he was not supposed to fight. After his great revival and reform, Josiah heedlessly entered into war with the King of Egypt and died in battle. He went to intervene in a battle that was not his own. He was warned against it but he did not listen. He died an unnecessary death. Errors of the 35th season are costly. The 35th season is a time to pay attention to God and boundaries.
The German nationalism that was wounded in the First World War revived in 1935. The world did not wake up to this phenomenon until 1939 when the Second World War began. On February 26, Adolf Hitler, who became Chancellor of Germany, and Fuhrer in 1934, ordered reinstatement of the air force, the Luftwaffe, in violation of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles. On March 16, he announced German re-armament in violation of the treaty of 1919. On May 21, he announced the reintroduction of conscription to the Wehrmacht, in violation of the same 1919 Treaty. On September 15, The Nuremberg Laws went into effect in Germany, removing citizenship from Jews. On December 12, the Lebensborn program in support of Nazi eugenics was founded by Heinrich Himmler in Germany and catered for kidnapped children until it became extinct in 1945. The 1935 revival of German nationalism did not end well for the nation. Hitler rose in the second 49 years of Germany (from 1871). He was like the Pharaoh that did not know Joseph in the second book of the Bible.
In Job 35, Elihu posited that the goodness or wickedness of men affects men and not God. He also teaches that God’s silence does not mean He does not care about what is happening. When judgment is delayed, both the wicked and the righteous misinterpret God. Elihu was neither for Job nor his friends. He stood for God. The 35th season is a time to speak for God instead of taking sides with camps.
In Psalms 35, the psalmist cried to God for vengeance, vindication, and deliverance. It is a prayer calling the Lord to battle. This chapter expresses the heart of God’s remnant in a season of oppression, when evil men thrive. Psalm 35 sounds like what Habakkuk must have prayed in his days. The 35th season is a time to cry out to God for intervention.
In Isaiah 35, the prophet spoke of a glorious return to Zion. The 35th season is the time for the ransomed of the Lord to return to Zion. It is a time to witness the glory of the Lord, the excellency of our God, and the vengeance or recompense of God. Verses 5-9 holds a great promise.
In Jeremiah 35, the sons of Rechab overcame the temptation to drink wine in the house of God. The remained loyal to their father. They became a reference point to all Judah. Judah would be punished but the house of Rechab shall prosper. Decisions of the 35th season will either bring blessings or curses. The 35th season is a time to refuse compromise. It is a time to remember roots.
In Ezekiel 35, the Son of Man is commanded to prophesy against Mount Seir. God vowed to make Mount Seir desolate. The word desolate is used eight times in this chapter; out of the about forty times it is used in the entire book. The 35th season is for the destruction of the enemies of God’s people. The 35th season is for the execution judgments.
The 35th year of the United States (July 4 1810-July 4, 1811): The First Bank of the United States died in this season. The 20 year charter expired in 1811 and was not renewed. The bank died in a season of renewal (when it should have been made stronger) because the people did not understand the times. This adversely affected the war of 1812 – America’s ‘second war of independence’.
Abraham Lincoln was President of the United States within the 35th seven years from America’s foundation in 1620. He was assassinated in 1865. The American Civil War that ended many lives happened in his season.
In the days of J. F Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, both state sponsored prayer and state sponsored Bible reading were taken out of Public schools. That was a season when the nation should have revived their faith in God or returned to God as Jacob returned to Bethel in Genesis 35; and as Josiah reformed Judah in Second Chronicles 35. His season also begged for the revival and recognition of racial equality in the United States. Assassination cut short his days as President of the United States. The 35th season is an end-season but precious lives do not have to end in this season. We must watch our boundaries in the season.
The 35th seven years of the US (July 4, 2014-July 4, 2021): This is the Obama-Trump season. The 35th season is a season of revival. It can be a season of the revival of evil or a season for the revival of good. What did the Obama administration revive in America in his part of the 35th seven years – between July 2014 and January 2017? What will the Trump administration have revived in America between January 2017 and January 2023? In which direction is America heading in her 35th week of years? Is she heading towards ‘Bethel’ or away from it? Is she giving up or keeping the foreign gods? The foreign gods are the ways and manners that did not proceed from the Founding Fathers of America. Understanding the times is key to knowing what needs to be done; but doing what needs to be done is something else entirely. This is the time to return to the foundation that the Founding Fathers laid. Trump faced two impeachment attempts in the 35th seven years from 1776. COVID-19 took its unfortunate toll from America in this season.
The 35th seven years of the U.K (1945-1952). The 35th seven years of the United Kingdom were the seven years following the Second World War. The war had ended but life was hard and the people wanted a change. The Labor Party won the election with Clement Attlee as Prime Minister. Winston Churchill, the war hero lost. On February 6, 1952, in the closing year of UK’s 35th seven years, King George VI died; ending his 16-year reign. Queen Elizabeth II succeeded him. The 35th season is an end-season; and the beginning of a new season.
In 1995, the 35th year of Nigeria, a seventh-season year when the nation ought to have rest, there was a revival of oppression and repression under the Sani Abacha regime. That was the year General Olusegun Obasanjo was jailed. In November of that year, Ken Saro-wiwa and eight others were hanged. Nigeria came under severe UN sanctions for abuse of human rights.
This 35th week, the Lord keep you far from sacrilege and unpleasant abrupt endings. This week in 2022 (August 28), the Noida Supertech Twin Towers in India came to an abrupt end by demolition. This also happened about the 35th year of founding Supertech. May this be a week of revival for you. May your story not end this week. It’s a new beginning. Happy 35th week!
