What if one of the clearest clues to when Jesus Christ will return to earth has been hiding in two familiar Bible stories? Why was Joseph betrayed by Judah for 20 pieces of silver, but Jesus was betrayed by Judas for 30 pieces of silver? Why were both stories marked by betrayal, blood, silver, and something being dipped? Why is Judas called the son of perdition? And why does Paul use that same title for the final man of sin who is revealed before the coming of Christ? Could the difference between twenty and thirty be the key? Could those two silver amounts point us directly to 2030? Not as the return of Christ, but as the revealing of the final betrayer before the return of Jesus Christ. In this study, we’re going to follow the Silver Key from Joseph to Jesus and to the final son of perdition. And by the end, you may never read those 30 pieces of silver the same way again. Hi, my name is Scott Clarke, and if you just take a moment to like this and follow me, I’d very much appreciate it. And while we’re studying, think of someone to share this with. This is … The Silver Key There are some patterns in scripture that do not reveal themselves all at once. You see one piece and then another and then another, and at first, the pieces seem related, but incomplete. That’s how the study began. Four years ago, I did a study on the silver pieces relating to Joseph and then Jesus. The numbers are stunning. They equal twenty and thirty—but I didn’t have the full picture. But now I think I do. This is that study. Joseph was betrayed by Judah for 20 pieces of silver. Jesus was betrayed by Judas for 30 pieces of silver. Both stories involved betrayal. Both involve silver. Both involved blood. Both involved something being dipped. Both involved a beloved son being delivered into the hands of wicked men. But there was one question that remained, why are the amounts different? If Joseph was a picture of Christ, then why was Joseph sold for 20 pieces of silver but Jesus for 30? Why not the same amount? Was the difference random? Was it only historical? Or was the difference itself the clue? That question may be The Silver Key. Joseph: the beloved son betrayed by JudahThe first picture begins with Joseph. Joseph was loved by his father. Joseph had dreams of future rule. Joseph was hated by his brethren, and Joseph was betrayed by his brother Judah. Genesis 37: 26-28 KJV ”and Judah said unto his brethren, what profit is it if we slay our brother and conceal his blood? Come, let us sell him to the Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him, for he is our brother and our flesh, and his brethren were content. Then there passed by Midianites, merchantmen. And they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver. And then they brought Joseph into Egypt.” Notice the language. Judas says, what profit is it? Joseph is sold for silver. The beloved son is delivered up by his own brethren. Then comes the blood sign. Genesis 37:31 KJV ”and they took Joseph’s coat and killed a kid of the goats and dipped the coat in blood.” So the first pattern is clear. Judah, betrayal, 20 pieces of silver, a beloved son, a garment dipped in blood. But in Joseph’s case, the dipped garment is used to hide the truth. It conceals the betrayal. Joseph’s brethren used the blood dipped coat to make Jacob believe that Joseph, his beloved son, is dead. So, the first dipped garment becomes a false report. The beloved son is alive, but the father is shown a bloody garment and believes he’s dead. Jesus: the beloved Son betrayed by Judas Then we come to Jesus, and the pattern returns. Only now Judah becomes Judas. Judas is the Greek form of Judah, and that matters because the betrayal pattern does not move away from Judah. It intensifies through Judas. Matthew 26:14-15 KJV “Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said unto them, what will ye give me? And I will deliver him unto you. And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.“Again we have silver, again we have betrayal, again the beloved son is delivered into the hands of wicked men. But this time, the amount is not 20. It’s 30. Why? That question waits. Then Jesus exposes the betrayer through another dipped sign. John 13:26-27 KJV “Jesus answered, he it is to whom I shall give a sop when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop, Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, that thou doest, do quickly.” This is where the pattern becomes stunning. In Genesis, the dipped garment concealed the betrayal. In John, the dipped sop reveals the betrayer. The first dipping hides. The second dipping exposes. Joseph’s coat was dipped in blood. Jesus dips the sop and hands it to Judas. And after the sop, Satan enters into him. This is not ordinary betrayal anymore. This is Satanic betrayal. Judas becomes the vessel through which Satan himself moves against Christ. But the dipped sop does more than identify Judas. It also points to Jesus. A sop is bread dipped. And in the supper context, the symbols are already established. Bread represents Christ’s body. Luke 22:19 KJV “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them saying, this is my body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me.” Jesus is the bread. John 6:35 KJV “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life. He that cometh to me shall never hunger, and that believeth on me shall never thirst.” Wine represents blood. Luke 22:20 KJV “Likewise, also the cup after supper saying, this cup is the New Testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” So the dipped sop is more than a dinner detail. It’s bread dipped in wine, body dipped in blood, the bread of life marked by blood. At the table, the dipped bread reveals the betrayer. At the return, the dipped vesture reveals the betrayed King. Revelation 19:13 KJV “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood, and his name was called the Word of God.” There is the full circle. Joseph’s coat dipped in blood. Jesus’ sop dipped at supper. Christ’s vesture dipped in blood at his return. The coat concealed the betrayal. The sop revealed the betrayer. The vesture reveals the king. But there’s one title that unlocks the whole study. The Son of Perdition Jesus calls Judas the son of perdition. John 17:12 KJV “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled.” That title is rare, but Paul uses it. Not for Judas historically, but for the final man of sin in the future 70th week (Daniel 9:27). 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 & 8 KJV “Let no man deceive you by any means. For that day (the day of Christ, his return) shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he as God sitteth in the temple, showing himself that he is God, and then shall that wicked be revealed.” This means Judas was not merely a betrayer. Judas was a pattern. He was the first son of perdition connected directly to Christ’s betrayal. The final son of perdition is the man of sin, the antichrist as some call him. And he is revealed before the coming of Christ, before the day of the Lord. This matters because the son of perdition does not mark the return of Christ, he marks the event that comes first. Paul says, “for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first.” So, the revelation of the man of sin is a prior event. It comes before the day of Christ. The betrayer is revealed before the king is revealed. Satan entered Judas; the dragon empowers the beast Now, watch the connection deepen. When Judas received the dipped sop, Satan entered into him. John 13:27 KJV “And after the sop, Satan entered into him.” But in Revelation, the beast is also empowered by Satan. Revelation 12:9 KJV “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world.” Then: Revelation 13:2 KJV “… and the dragon gave him (the beast, the man of sin, the son of perdition) his power and his seat and great authority.” So, Judas and the beast are connected by more than betrayal. They are connected by satanic empowerment. Judas was entered by Satan. The beast receives power, seat, and authority from the dragon. The first son of perdition betrayed Christ personally. The final son of perdition betrays Christ publicly. The first worked through one man at a supper. The final works through a kingdom, a beast, a temple claim, and a strong delusion. The Midpoint: why 2030? Now we come back to the question, why 20 silver for Joseph? Why 30 silver for Jesus? At first, the difference seems to prevent a clean parallel, which is what I thought at first—but what if the difference is the point? The midpoint. Joseph gives us the 20. Jesus gives us the 30. Together, they form the Silver Key, the key to this whole thing! Twenty and thirty. 2030. Not as a loose number game, not as a date pulled from nowhere, but as a confirming marker inside of a much larger timeline. Because according to the framework we’ve been building, the final seventieth week runs toward terminus 2033, with Christ’s return after two days from AD 33. This is how it works. Hosea 6:1-2 KJV “Come and let us return unto the LORD, for He hath torn, and He will heal us… After two days He will revive us, and in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight.” This pertains to Israelites and when they will be resurrected from the dead to rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years. After two day
