Opening Statement

ACHARITH: THE LATTER DAYS

A compilation of articles from the now defunct Differentiator Magazine, edited by R. B. Withers and Alexander Thomson; with a special emphasis on articles by J. G. H. Steedman relating to Acharith (Hebrew for Latter Days); also includes a Chart of the Latter Days by Rick Farwell and an article by Ted McDivitt entitled "Two Days Distinguished". Acharith is that time associated with the restoration of Israel to the land that was once promised to them by God. That restoration has not yet taken place. It can only occur sometime after, but not immediately after, the Body of Christ has been snatched away to meet Christ in the air (I Thessalonians 4:13-17). It is a precursor to the Millennium, not the Millennium itself, but rather a fulfillment of the prophecy in the Book of Daniel relating to the Seventy Sevens.

INTRODUCTORY NOTE (Rick Farwell)

Commander J. G. H. Steedman: His association with the Differentiator was quite brief (from April, 1964 till his death on Dec. 26th, 1968) compared to Mr. Alexander Thomson and Major R.B Withers, but his research proved to be complementary and in my opinion, quite revolutionary. His findings in the area of prophetic truth cleared the way for us to rid ourselves of the burden of trying to fit the Seventy-Sevens of Daniel 9:24-27 into a semi-preterist mold (that is, only one Seven is yet future). His logical and Scriptural arguments allowed us to see a strong case that the entire prophecy of the "weeks", or better heptads of years, has yet to begin. He credited his understanding to a Mr. Otis Q. Sellers from some articles in the latter's magazine The Word of Truth of which Commander Steedman said:"...a series of articles on the restoration of Israel to the land of their fathers and drew the readers' attention to the Passages in Leviticus and Deuteronomy that have been referred to at the beginning of this short exposition on the same subject. I was very interested in these articles and could not see anything wrong in his exegesis. I examined it closely and found that it met most, if not all the objections that I had encountered in my studies of the orthodox pre-millennial and other interpretations that I had previously come across. These earlier interpretations were studied, followed, yet with reservation, always hoping that some firmer ground would be found on which to take my stand than was hitherto forthcoming. I read, re-read, checked and cross-checked all these articles and became convinced that he had certainly received considerable light on the subject and that it was well worth while pursuing. Before doing so, however, a preliminary study was undertaken of the promises and covenants and all prophetic utterances made to Abraham from his call out of Ur of the Chaldees, and to his descendants throughout the Pentateuch. This was done without resorting to reading commentaries or any other books, save the Companion Bible, Young's Analytical Concordance and a few other reference books at my disposal. In other words, apart from anything that might have been retained in my memory from past reading, what was learned was first-hand, and, with the help of, and depending upon the Spirit of God for guidance, considerable notes were made over a period of more than a year. Each section was gone through carefully by a friend, who also was a keen student of the Scriptures, a believer in the full inspiration of the Word of God in the original languages. He was extremely critical and jealous that nothing should be written that had not full scripture support. Sometimes I had to abandon an idea that had occurred to me on this account. At other times I was able to convince him that there was sufficient support for a statement that had been made or conclusion that had been reached."