Long before the invention of the modern calculator, Almighty God had devised His own Divine scheme of Chronology, in relation to world events and systems. Just as we can never have a full understanding of Bible Prophecy until we can learn to correctly identify the nations, similarly we need to have a basic grasp of the meaning of God's Divine Time Measures, if we are to place prophetic events and their fulfilments in their correct historical context. Before we go on to examine the major time factor prophecies of the Bible there are two principles which need to be established. Firstly Biblical calenders and secondly TIME.
1. Introduction
2. Biblical Calendars and The Year/Day Principle
3. 2520, Israel's Punishment and Babylon's Mandate
4. 1290 and 1335 - Moslem Desolations
5. The First and Second Woes - The Five Months - The Hour, The Day, The Month and The Year
6. Papal Persecution - 1260 Days, 42 Months, Time, Times and Half a Time
7. The Witnesses Slain for 31/2 Days
8. Hoseas 3 Days
9. 2300 The Sanctuary Cycle
10. 666 The Number Of The Beast
11. Daniel's 70th Week
12. Some Significant Numbers
13. Conclusion
14. Appendix - The Greek and Hebrew Alphabets
INTRODUCTION
Firstly BIBLICAL CALENDARS
There are two basic calendars in Biblical Chronology, the Lunar and the Solar. The Lunar Calendar is based upon the Moon and has 355 days per year. The Solar Calendar is based upon the Sun having 365.24 days per year. However in addition to these many of the ancient people of Bible days used an Intercalated Calendar of 360 days per year. This is the Prophetic Year used in the Bible and made up of twelve months each of thirty days.
Having clarified this point we must go on to determine:
Secondly THE LENGTH OF A BIBLICAL TIME
In seeking to understand Scriptural Time, Almighty God has given us a two-fold
key in the Old Testament Books of Numbers and Ezekiel.
A) "And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years...... each
DAY FOR A YEAR shall ye bear your iniquities." NUMBERS 14 v 33-34
B) "I have appointed thee each DAY FOR A YEAR." EZEKIEL 4 v 6
Having thus established that a day equals a year, we see that a thirty day month would equal thirty years, and a three hundred and sixty day year, or one full complete cycle or prophetic time would be three hundred and sixty years in duration. So the foundation for our understanding of most of the Time Prophecies is as follows:-
1 DAY = 1 YEAR
30 DAYS = 1 MONTH = 30 YEARS
360 DAYS = 1 FULL YEAR or PROPHETIC TIME = 360 YEARS
Having established the year/day principle of interpretation and the length of a prophetic "time" let us now examine the outworking of these principles and measurements in relation to the Covenant People, Israel.
In Leviticus 26 v 14-18 we read this message of warning from God to Israel:-
"But if ye will not hearken unto Me, and will not do all these commandments. And If ye shall despise my statutes, or if your soul shall abhor my judgements I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption and I will set my face against you and ye shall be slain before your enemies And if ye will not for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you SEVEN TIMES more for your sins."
This warning of a SEVEN TIMES PUNISHMENT is repeated again three times, in verses 21, 24 and 28. "I will chastise you SEVEN TIMES for your sins." Now the question arises as to the actual length of this period of punishment and chastisement, and the answer is simply obtained.
I PROPHETIC TIME = 360 YEARS
7 PROPHETIC TIMES = 2520 YEARS
The Scriptures record that both the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the Southern Kingdom of Judah sinned and disobeyed God, and as a result came under the SEVEN TIMES PUNISHMENT. By measuring a period of 2520 years from the key dates in the story of the downfall and deportation of these two Kingdoms, unto Assyrian and Babylonian captivity, remembering to count one year in the passing over from B.C. to A.D., we reach some amazing terminal dates, which in the history of Great Britain and the United States demonstrate that they are indeed Ephraim (Britain) and Manasseh (USA) and that Anglo-Saxondom is regathered Israel.
THE SEVEN TIMES FULFILLED
A 745 B.C. - Tiglath-Pileser - King of Assyria begins a series of aggressive raids against Israel-
2520
1776 A.D. American Declaration of Independence
B 740 B.C. - Assyrians capture Arpad.
2520
1781 A.D. - Decisive American victory at Yorktown
C 738 B.C. - Assyrians capture Calno.
2520
1783 A.D. - Peace Treaty ends American War of Independence
D 732 B.C. - Assyrians deport Manasseh and the other tribes on the
east of the River Jordan, Reuben and Gad.
2520
1789 A.D. - George Washington, becomes first President of the
United States under its new Constitution
E 723 B.C. - Shalmaneser of Assyria begins the siege of Samaria the
capital city of Israel.
2520
1798 A.D. - The Irish Rebellion of 1798
F 721 B.C. - Fall of Samaria, King Sargon of Assyria deports the
Israelites to captivity in Media
2520
1800 A.D. - Union of Great Britain and Ireland to form the United
Kingdom ruled over by a direct descendent of David King of Israel.
G 700/ Sennacherib of Assyria invades and deports more
701 B.C. - Israelites, plus 20,000 out of Judah.
2520
1820/ Fiscal Union and amalgamation of the currencies of
1821 A.D.- Great Britain and Ireland
Thus we see the Northern House of Israel carried away into Assyrian captivity to emerge 2,520 years later as Great Britain and the United States, the greatest Christian Empire and Republic, that the world has ever seen.
Now by using the same time-scale, 2,520 or SEVEN TIMES, from the downfall of the city of Jerusalem and the Southern Kingdom of Judah, we will arrive at the collapse of the Turkish Mohammedan Empire and the liberation of Jerusalem by British forces under General Allenby in 1917. So let us continue to measure and count.
H 605 B.C. - Babylonian victory at the Battle of Carchemish, opens the way to conquer Judah and Jerusalem.
2520
1916 A.D. - British victory over the Turks at Romani in Sinai desert, opens the way to liberate Palestine.
I 604 B.C. - Jerusalem comes under Babylonian domination - King Jehoiakim in chains before Nebuchadnezzar,
2520
1917 A.D. - British conquest of Palestine - Allenby liberates Jerusalem from the Turks.
J 597 B.C. - Nebuchadnezzar conquers Jerusalem
2520
1924 A.D. - The Caliphate abolished. Turkish power and influence ends.
Not only were the Israel nations and the city of Jerusalem to undergo SEVEN TIMES or 2,520 years of punishment, but Almighty God also decreed that a series of World Gentile Empires would exercise jurisdiction and control for a similar period of time. They are referred to by students of prophecy as the Babylonish Succession because the first, as seen in Daniel chapter 2 was Babylon:
"Thou 0 King (Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon)...... are this head of gold"
DANIEL 2 v 37-38
A few chapters later we read of this same Babylonish system:-
"And SEVEN TIMES (2520 years) shall pass over thee"
DANIEL 4 v 32
Furthermore on the night that Babylon fell to the armies of Cyrus the Mede, Belshazzar saw a hand write a message of judgement on his palace wall. Daniel the prophet explained that the cryptic phrase which had been written, "MENE, MENE TEKEL, PERES" meant:-
"GOD HATH NUMBERED THY KINGDOM AND FINISHED IT, Thou are weighed in the balances and found wanting. Thy Kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians." DANIEL 5 v 26-28
Now each of the words which had appeared on the palace wall had a numerical value as follows:-
MENE MENE PERES TEKEL
1,000 +1,000 + 500 + 20 = 2520
Thus was the duration of the Babylonish World System again revealed in sign and symbol. Now let us measure and count to find the fulfilments.
A 604/603 B.C. - Babylon established as the dominant World Empire of the day
2520
1917/1918 A.D- Downfall of the Empires of the Babylonish
Succession - Germany, Austria-Hungary Czarist Russia.
"I beheld until the thrones were cast down."
DANIEL 7 v 9
B 539 B.C. - Belshazzar - Supreme Pontiff of Babylon defiles the vessels of the Jerusalem Temple. In one night his kingdom fails to the Medes and Persians.
2520
1982 A.D. - Pope John Paul 11 - Supreme Pontiff of the Babylonish Mystery Religion, is received in Britain, offers up the idolatrous Mass Publicly in the cities of regathered Israel, the "appointed place" of 2nd Samuel 7 v 10.
C 534 B.C. - Decree of Cyrus that the captives of Judah and Benjamin, could return to Jerusalem, to restore the city and the worship of their God.
2520
1987 A.D. - "Black Monday" on World Stock Exchanges beginning of the shaking of Financial Babylon.
Thus we see in this series of amazing Time-Prophecies, the outworking of 2,520 Years or SEVEN TIMES, in the history of Israel, Jerusalem, and Babylon.
MOSLEM DESOLATIONS - 1290 AND 1335
In the Book of the prophet Daniel, in the final chapter we are given two cryptic time-measures which find their fulfilment in the rise and fall of Islam, the creed of Mohammed.
A) THE 1335 DAYS
"Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the one thousand three hundred and thirty five days." DANIEL 12 v 12
Now bearing in mind that these days represent years, we find ourselves dealing with 1335 Year/Days. The starting point for the Moslem calendar is 622 A.D. which marks the flight of Mohammed from Mecca to Medina and which is known as the Hegira. We also need to remember that the Moslems work on a Lunar Calendar of 354 days to a year instead of 365 and consequently it slips back three years in every century. Thus the Moslem year 1335 was 1917 on the Christian calendar, as can be confirmed by Turkish coins of that era which bear both dates. Now let us see the fulfilment in relation to the rise and decline of Islam:-
TIME MEASURE FULFILLED
A 622 A.D. - The Hegira or flight of Mohammed from Mecca to
Medina, where he was received as a prophet, and
+ from where Islam went forth to conquest.
1335 Lunar Years
1917 A.D. - General Allenby and British forces deliver Jerusalem, from the Moslem Turks, using aircraft and thus fulfilling not only Daniel 12 v 12 but also
Isaiah 31 v 5 -
"As birds flying so will the Lord of Hosts defend Jerusalem, defending also He will deliver it, and passing over He will preserve it."
(Editors comment:) This is what the film Lawrence of Arabia is based upon; i.e. God delivering Jerusalem.
So the 1335 Time Measure, not only marked the rise and fall of Islamic power, but identified the delivering nation, Great Britain as being not a Gentile power, but regathered Israel.
B) THE 1290 Days
"From the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand, two hundred and ninety days."
DANIEL 12 v 11
Once again we are dealing with prophetic Year/Days in relation to the rise and fall of Islam. So let us see the fulfilment.
A 632 A.D. - Abu Bakr the prophet Mohammeds' uncle
+ succeeds him and establishes the Caliphate.
1290
1922 A.D. - The Sultan of Turkey abdicates - Turkey becomes a secular Republic.
B 634 A.D. - The Caliph Omar who subsequently conquered
+ Jerusalem, began to rule.
1290
1924 A.D. - The Sultan's cousin Abdul Mejid, sent into exile.
The Caliphate officially abolished.
The Ninth chapter of the Book of Revelation gives us a prophetic outline of the rise and fall of Islam, the creed of Mohammed, under the symbol of Two Woes. The first of these is in reference to the expansion of Islam under the Arabs, the second in reference to further advances under the Turks. Two specific durations of time are given in the chapter, the first of these being:-
FIVE MONTHS
"And their power was to hurt men for five months."
REVELATION 9 v 10
Using our scale of a year to a day, and once again taking a month to be thirty days we see that a period of Five Months in prophecy represents one hundred and fifty years. The following two time measures will show how this was fulfilled exactly in the Arab advance:
TIME MEASURE I
A 612 A.D. - Mohammed proclaims his mission.
+
150
762 A.D. - The Eastern Caliphate established at Baghdad by Caliph
Almanzar.
TIME MEASURE 2
B 632 A.D. - Death of Mohammed. The Arab armies move out of Arabia to begin their + conquests
150
782 A.D. - The Treaty of Constantinople by which the Eastern
Roman Empire of Byzantium agrees to pay regular tribute to the Caliph of Baghdad.
AN HOUR, A DAY, A MONTH AND A YEAR
The Turks having superceded the Arabs as the vanguard of Islam, we read of another time measure in reference to their advance.
"The " four angels were loosed...... for an hour, a day, a month and a
year. REVELATION 9 v 15
For a full explanation of this measurement we are indebted to the writings of the late Augusta Cook one of the greatest exponents of the Historical Interpretation of Prophecy. She showed that the Greek word translated 'year' in the verse, is used in no other part of the prophetic Scriptures and that in its exact translation it implies:-
"that which returns into itself...... a full year of three hundred and sixty five and a quarter days, in which time the solar orb returns to the same spot whence it set out."
Taking this as our basis for measurement, we need to remember that the Gregorian method deducts a day every 130 years in order to be accurate. We also need to recall that our Lord is on record as saying "Are there not twelve hours in a day,"so that a twelfth part of a 360 day period is 30 days. We can now set forth the explanation and fulfilment of this most complex of time measures.
THE TIME MEASURE EXPLAINED
A YEAR = 365 YEARS 91 DAYS
A MONTH = 30 YEARS
A DAY = 1 YEAR
AN HOUR 30 DAYS
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
396 YEARS 121 DAYS
LESS 3 DAYS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
396 YEARS 118 DAYS
FULFILMENT
JANUARY 18th 1057 A.D. - Togrul Beg and his Turkish cavalry crossed
the River Euphrates to wage war on Byzantium.
+
396 YEARS 118 DAYS
MAY 6th 1453 A.D. - The fall of Constantinople the capital city of
the Byzantine Empire to the Turkish armies
of Mohammed II.
PAPAL PERSECUTION, 1,260 DAYS, 42 MONTHS, TIME, TIMES AND HALF A TIME
The above measurements are to be found recorded in the prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse, in relation to the conflict between the Papacy and True Israel in the nations of Anglo-Saxondom, and the True Church of God. Thus we read:
"And he (the Little Horn) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High...... and they shall be given into his hand until, a time and times and the dividing of time." DANIEL 7 v 25
"But the Court which is without the Temple, leave out and measure it not for it is given unto the Gentiles, and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months and I will give power unto my two witnesses and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score (1260) days clothed in sackcloth." REVELATION 11 v 2-3
"And there was given unto him (the Beast) a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months...... to make war with the saints and to overcome them." REVELATION 13 v 5-7
Thus we see the Papal system spoken of as a Little Horn, a Beast, and Gentiles being given power to blaspheme and to tread down and to persecute True Israel and the True Church, who would continue to witness in the midst of this religious reign of terror, for a period described as:
A) 1260 DAYS
42 MONTHS
C) TIME, TIMES AND DIVIDING OF TIME.
Now we shall see using our key of interpretation that those three periods are one and the same era of time marked by Papal power, persecution and blasphemy.
A) 1260 DAYS = 1260 YEARS
B) 42 MONTHS = 30 x 42 = 1260 YEARS
C) TIME, TIMES DIVIDING (halving) OF TIME
360 + (360 + 360) + 180 = 1260 YEARS
Having established that the three time measures given are one and the same, a prophetic era of 1260 Year/Days let us see the outworking and the fulfilment,
TIME MEASURE 1
254 A.D. - Pope Stephen on becoming Bishop of Rome claimed the
+ universal primacy of the Papacy over all other churches.
1260
1514 A.D. - The 5th Lateran Council in Rome. The Papacy claims all
opposition to be at an end! - "No one opposes any more."
TIME MEASURE 2
431 A.D. - Papal Council of Ephesus declares Mary to be Mother of God.
+
1260
1691 A.D. - Treaty of Limerick - confirms the Protestant Succession to
the Throne of Britain, and breaks the power of Popery in
Ireland, as headed up in the Jacobites.
TIME MEASURE 3
529 A.D. - Justinians Imperial Code confirms the Papal Supremacy.
+
1260
1789 A.D. - French Revolution, France called "the eldest daughter of the
Church of Rome," breaks into revolt.
TIME MEASURE 4
533 A.D. - Decretal Letter, recognizes the Pope as "Head of all the churches".
+
1260
1793 A.D. - Reign of Terror in France - Roman Catholic Churches burned, thousands of priests, monks and nuns slain.
TIME MEASURE 5
606 A.D. - Decree of Emperor Phocas makes the Pope "Universal Bishop".
+
1260
1866 A.D - Last two Protestants burned alive by Papal Decree at Barletta in Italy.
Protestant Prussia defeats Roman Catholic Austria. Spain expels the Jesuits.
TIME MEASURE 6
610 A.D. - Death of the Papal benefactor, Emperor Phocas.
+
1260
1870 A.D. - The city of Rome captured and incorporated into the united
Kingdom of Italy. Pope loses his Temporal Power and declares himself the "Prisoner of the Vatican". The Decree of Papal Infallibility.
THE WITNESSES SLAIN FOR 3 DAYS
In the Book of Revelation, chapter 11 v 3-12 we read the story of Two Witnesses who would be slain by the Beast, and who would subsequently be dead for a period given as 3'/2 Days after which they would miraculously come to life again and stand upon their feet. We need to know therefore the identity of the Witnesses and the Beast, and the length of time symbolised by 3'/2 days, before we can begin to measure.
A) THE BEAST = PAPAL ROME
B) THE WITNESSES = FAITHFUL CHRISTIAN ISRAELITES WHO WITNESSED FOR THE TRUTH WITH THE OIL AND LIGHT OF THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES.
C) 3 '/2 DAYS = 3 '/2 YEARS.
Now we must ask ourselves if there ever was a time in history, when the voice of the witnesses was silent for exactly 3'/2 Years, and the answer is a resounding, YES! In December 1513 a Papal Bull was issued summoning the remaining Bohemian Protestants to appear and state their case before the ninth session of the Fifth Lateran Council to be held in Rome, and convened on May 5th 1514. On that day no witnesses appeared and the Church of Rome boldly declared:-
"This is an end of resistance to Papal rule and religion, no-body opposes any more."
Exactly 31/2 years later on October 31st 1517, Martin Luther, nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, the Reformation began, the Witnesses revived, and stood upon their feet never to be silenced again. The Pope of Rome declared:-
"The heretics Jerome and Huss seem now ALIVE AGAIN in the person of Luther."
Even the very name Protestant comes from a Latin word meaning Witness.
Thus we see the measurement fulfilled.
3 YEAR/DAYS FULFILLED
MAY 5th 1514 A.D - Lateran Council - All heretics silenced.
+
3 YEARS
OCTOBER 31st 1517 A.D. - Luther nails his 95 Theses to church door at Wittenberg - Reformation begins.
Now these 3 Year/Days also had an outworking and fulfilment in the context of the Reformation in the British Isles.
Next Month---The British Application
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