"Time" is the essence in understanding Bible prophecy, but there are problems. The Bible is full of prophecies concerning things that are supposed to happen at future times, but only rarely do those prophecies include dates or time periods which would allow the reader to know when the fulfillment time has actually arrived. Thus the reader is frustrated with the task of trying to connect ambiguous prophetic statements with the proper historic events. Since a given prophecy is itself often subject to various interpretations, there is typically much controversy about which, if any, historic event is the correct one. The problem is compounded when attempts are made to explain ancient Bible prophecies in terms of modern-day events.
It is hard to imagine that prophecies given in a book that is thousands of years old could really be relevant to modern times.
Current events seem to be dictated by circumstances or governed by the decisions of men, so it warps the thinking to believe that the God of the Bible is in some way making them happen.
Past attempts to make such connections have usually proved to be false, adding to even greater skepticism about future attempts.
Such problems have caused many people to hold the study of prophecy in an attitude of despair or disgust, yet the Apostle Paul while speaking of the End Times said, "Do not despise prophecies" (I Thessalonians 5.20).
Therefore, the purpose of this section of COMING GLORY intends to show that Bible prophecy can work, by demonstrating that certain major world events in modern times have been prophetically related to the Bible in a way that may be objectively verified. The approach is designed to allow you to see the broad scope of these prophetic fulfillments in modern times, without immediately becoming mired in the detailed interpretation of specific Bible prophecies. The examples discussed here deal only with major events that have already happened, so they are well documented in the historic record, and the results easy to verify. The events initially considered occurred during Bible times, but the list of events is then expanded to include major world events that have occurred within the 20th century up to the present time. In this way it is hoped that the reader will become aware that the Bible provides a reliable comprehensive record of God's prophetic Plan for mankind, that we are presently living in the End Times very near to the Lord's return, and that the present State of Israel is playing a key role in that timetable.
The essence of this approach involves the use of "time" to demonstrate the prophetic nature of certain historic events. The connections between these events and the Bible are made through the use of three intermediate "prophetic calendars" that can be extracted from the Bible itself. When these calendars are overlaid upon the timelines of secular history from both ancient and modern times, they serve to highlight time relationships with the Bible that make apparent the prophetic significance of certain events within those historic records.
This approach might be likened to the use of a ruler to measure the positions of marks on a sidewalk. If the marks are simply the result of a careless worker during construction or someone who played in the concrete before it dried, their relative positions will turn out to be more or less random. However, if they were intentionally placed on the sidewalk for a purpose by someone who carefully measured their relative positions using the unit of measure on the ruler, then placing it against the marks will highlight the existence of that pattern.
The three intermediate prophetic calendars required to bring these patterns between the historic record and the Bible into focus are summarized below.
Most people are aware of the fact that the Jews have a different religious calendar than the Gregorian calendar commonly in use throughout the world. Fewer people understand that this Jewish calendar was not something that the Hebrews dreamed up but was rather one with special dates and seasons given to them by God in the Mosaic Law. Only a very few people realize that this same Levitical calendar also possesses distinct prophetic properties that have governed Israel’s destiny throughout their Biblical history.
It is the existence of calendars like this one that makes the study of Israel’s history an extraordinarily fascinating subject. When the Levitical calendar is superimposed over the secular Gregorian calendar developed in that section of OLIVE TREE STUDIES titled REDEMPTIVE PLAN, it will be seen here how God used events in the history of that little nation to highlight certain future dates of great prophetic significance. The Lord even used events that occurred on certain Old Testament Levitical dates to typify future New Testament events on those same Levitical dates, dates when Messiah would become the sacrifice for sin, be resurrected from the grave, and when the new Covenant of Grace would be presented first to Israel. Moreover, when this Levitical calendar is overlaid on the 20th century, it will be shown that it continues to be crucial to an understanding of God's prophetic timetable for the End Times. Therefore, a study of Israel’s past and future is sadly incomplete without spending some time trying to understand the subtleties of the Levitical calendar as it defines an integral part of the time metric for God's prophetic Plan.
The following link will provide more detail about the Levitical calendar.
The Sabbatic/Jubilee Calendar is really a part of the Levitical Calendar, but is dealt with separately here because it provides a unique method for spanning long periods of time in God's prophetic Plan. This calendar was to be initiated for the Hebrews' use when Israel entered the Promised Land at the time of Joshua. It was based on a system of (seven) seven year cycles each ending with a Sabbath year of rest for the Land. The resulting total of 49 years was then followed by a fiftieth "Jubilee" year that began on the day of Atonement, after which time the whole cycle was to be repeated.
When such a Sabbatic/Jubilee Calendar is constructed in this section, again based on the chronological work done by Edwin Thiele as explained in REDEMPTIVE PLAN, the surprising result shows that four epochal events spanning Biblical times apparently fell on Jubilee years, thereby giving it important prophetic properties throughout Biblical times.
Moreover, it is easily seen that if a credible Jubilee calendar can be constructed for Biblical times, it requires no great mathematical leap to simply project it into modern times. When this is done, it will be shown in the Timelines below that it serves to identify two very interesting years in the 20th Century, and provides a means whereby time segments can be highlighted when prophetic events might have been expected.
Just follow the link to the Jubilee Calendar to study its prophetic qualities in more detail.
Whereas the Levitical calendar is based on a 354 day Lunar year, and the Jubilee calendar conforms to a 365¼ day Solar year, this strange anomalous calendar is based on a 360 day year in which the twelve months are all exactly 30 days in length. Such a system for measuring time was never directly mentioned in the Bible, although Hebrew records from early Old Testament times do not show that calendar adjustments were ever required from a 30 day month, and contemporary Gentile records recovered from other nations like Persia, Babylon, Assyria, Egypt, China, Maya, and Peru up till the 8th century BC, apparently all employed such a 360 day system. However, those facts alone would be of little consequence to this prophetic study were it not for the additional fact that the Old Testament period of the Babylonian Exile was clearly timed according to such a 360 Day calendar. That fact takes on greater significance when it is realized that the Babylonian Exile itself had prophetic overtones. This is evident from a text in (II Chronicles 36.21) that directly connects the duration of the Babylonian Exile with the prophetic Sabbatic/Jubilee calendar.
The 360 Day calendar will play a key role in identifying prophetic events both in Biblical times and in the 20th Century, so it is very important to understand the rationale for its use. You may review the arguments for the employment of the 360 Day calendar in prophecy by studying the period of the Babylonian Exile at the following link.
A "Timeline" is defined here simply as a segment of recorded history. In this section of COMING GLORY, several different "timelines", i.e. segments of recorded history, will be selected for close examination, first from the Old and New Testaments of the Bible, then from the 20th century. One or more of the above three prophetic calendars extracted from the Bible, will then be overlaid on each of these timelines. Since the calendars themselves are prophetic, they should also serve to highlight any prophetic events governed by those calendars within those timelines. In this way, events so identified may be positively associated with the Bible as being prophetic. Although this technique does not immediately allow a 20th century event to be connected with a specific Bible prophecy, it will be discovered that there are many such events, so that it soon becomes possible to detect patterns with repeatable time intervals, thereby placing them in the context of key End Time happenings predicted in the Bible.
If your reactions are like mine were, you will find these Timelines to be exceedingly thought-provoking, and at times startling.
The full prophetic import of the 360 Day calendar does not become evident until we read about the prophet Daniel's Old Testament visitation by the angel Gabriel, who informed him of a period of "70 Sevens", i.e. "70 Weeks", to befall Israel. When this 360 Day calendar is overlaid on the timeline for Daniel's "70 Weeks" the following link will show how this calendar highlights the precise New Testament time when Messiah presented Himself as King in fulfillment of a prophecy in (Zechariah 9.9). It will also provide a credible basis for dating the Old Testament prophet Malachi's writing, and for the duration of the Intertestament period. Nonetheless, the result will leave the final "70th Week" unaccounted for during Biblical times, thereby creating an issue concerning the possible time for its fulfillment.
A detailed discussion of the prophecy of Daniel's "70 Weeks" is located at the following link.
Israel's Redemptive timeline initially makes primary use of the 360 Day calendar to show how ancient Israel's existence throughout Biblical times followed a distinct prophetic pattern, in which several time periods during its history were actually repeated centuries later. In particular, it shows some intriguing parallels between the Covenants of Law and Grace, when the relative timing of each is set side by side.
Then the Jubilee calendar, originally constructed and tested using Biblical dates from the REDEMPTIVE PLAN, will be extended into modern times to highlight the possible Jubilee years within the 20th century.
Once this has been done, Israel's Redemptive Timeline will also be extended into the 20th century and displayed in a way that shows a striking parallel between the 20th century State of Israel and the Old Testament kingdom beginning with Saul and David. This relationship is so congruent that it will become evident that the 1948 rebirth of Israel occurred in the precise year required to reproduce the time pattern associated with the formation of Israel's Old Testament kingdom. As a result of this congruence, it also becomes possible to resolve a one year ambiguity inherent in the above Jubilee calendar for Biblical times, so that the two specific Jubilee years in the 20th century can be positively identified.
When these steps are taken, they will highlight a particular span of time within 20th century history when prophetic events might have been expected to occur. They will also provide a firm basis for defining the beginning of the next Millennium from a Biblical perspective, and even highlight a possible seven year interval for that final "70th Week" of Daniel's prophecy.
You may review Israel's Redemptive Timeline, which begins in Israel's past but then transitions to Israel's present, at the following link.
The Levitical and 360 Day calendars are particularly relevant in understanding the prophetic nature of the 20th century. When these are overlaid on the 20th Century Timeline, they are able to show that a specific seven year time span within the 20th century was timed by these calendars to an accuracy of one day, and that those same calendars have also impacted the precise timing of other major historic events over a time span of at least 60 years!
The Levitical calendar highlights certain historic 20th century events in a way that can enable them to be connected with specific End Time prophetic texts that appear in the Old Testament.
It will become evident here that the use of the 360 Day calendar did not end with Biblical times, for it will also be shown that this particular calendar again became operative at a specific point in time late in the 20th century, and that it continues to govern important world events right up to the present time. Since that point in time also coincided with the start of the seven year interval highlighted independently in Israel's Redemptive Timeline, The whole issue of the timing of Daniel's "70th Week" is again punctuated.
It is hoped that a study of the 20th Century Timeline at the following link will make it abundantly clear that Bible prophecy is relevant to us today, while at the same time providing you with a good estimate about where we presently are in God's End Time prophetic Plan.
The life of one of the kings of Judah during the divided kingdom period would not appear to be of any prophetic significance, but I must testify that my personal understanding about how the Lord works prophetically in the lives of his people has been enhanced by this Hezekiah study as much as by any single study topic within Olive Tree Studies. The prophetic results of the Hezekiah study extend in an important way to the modern State of Israel, though that may not become obvious until your studies also lead you to investigate the prophetic material in The Prophets Speak.
This Hezekiah prophetic study is organized in three parts:
The history of Hezekiah's reign
This is an essential starting point, because critics of the Bible, and even
most conservative Bible scholars, believe that the Bible is in error in its
description of Hezekiah's reign. This conclusion seems unavoidable, because
the Biblical numbers for Hezekiah's reign simply do not appear to add up arithmetically,
and because the accounts of his reign in the books of (II Kings) and (II
Chronicles) appear to contain fundamental disagreements. Perhaps the
positive
resolution of these alleged Bible errors in this portion of the study will
give you a greater esteem for the Book which claims to be the Word of God.
The linkage between
Hezekiah's reign and the Jubilee Calendar
The underlying prophetic nature of the story of Hezekiah becomes evident
when it is learned that it is linked to the Jubilee Calendar in a way
that enables unique insight into just how God was working in the life of
this Godly man.
The linkage between Hezekiah's
reign and the Psalms
Many Bible scholars have opined that Hezekiah probably had much to do with
the organization of the Psalter. However, it will be shown in this portion
of the study that whole segments of the book of Psalms can be read
almost as a transcript of Hezekiah's life on a year-by-year basis, covering
all of the major events in his life.
The nature of this study requires that it be studied in the order just given, so the following link to "Hezekiah's Timeline" will access only the history portion. A separate link is provided to the next section at its conclusion.
Our study of the Bible usually restricts the subject of End Times prophecy to books like Daniel and the Revelation, or to specific verses in some of the other Old and New Testament prophetic books. However, it is discovered in this section of Coming Glory that entire books in the Bible, apart from those clearly identified as prophetic, may also be viewed from a prophetic perspective. That discovery will enlarge our understanding of the Bible, enabling a "three dimensional" view of its contents, i.e. not only historic and spiritual, but also "prophetic".
The Song of Songs is written in the classic form of a Hebrew poem. It has been studied from several points of view, most often from the perspective of a simple love story between a country girl whose home was in the Jezreel Valley in Israel, and a "lover" thought by most to be Solomon. However, there is a prevailing view among many conservative Bible scholars that the Song of Songs is more than just a love story involving two people who lived almost 3000 years ago. That view holds that Shulamith actually represents the New Testament Bride of Christ, and her "lover", none other than Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, it has confounded Bible students who have tried to make a solid connection with the New Testament.
This study follows the general conservative perspective that the Song of Songs contains a profound prophetic element, but has also been able to provide a positive linkage between Christ and the Bride of Christ that I believe you will find fascinating, for it has been developed in a way that is quite consistent with other prophetic findings in both Coming Glory and The Prophets Speak. In essence, the study shows that the Song of Songs traces all of the major steps in God's Redemptive Timeline for the Body/Bride of Christ from their inception in the first century, through their Rapture, until the setting up of the Millennial Kingdom. Hope you enjoy the study.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke constitute the Synoptic Gospels. They have been the subject of study over the centuries, because they provide details, not only about the life of Jesus, but also about the culture and secular history of the first century. Nonetheless, a serious study of the Synoptic Gospels poses difficulties when attempts are make to integrate the three synoptic accounts into a single unified chronology. In particular,
The three accounts related to the same event often contain apparent discrepancies.
There are numerous cases where the same events are recorded in these Gospels at different times.
These apparent discrepancies have been the source of much consternation by serious Bible students, and outright criticism from Bible critics. However, you will discover here that when the "prophetic" dimension is added, it becomes possible to present a unified harmony of the three Synoptic Gospels, while simultaneously resolving difficulties, like those just identified.
After the prophetic perspective is fully developed, this study continues by applying those findings in an examination of the many parables contained in those books.
It is believed that the net effect of this study will greatly enhance your view of the inspiration of the Bible, while revealing important information about the End Times.
Is the Bible really complete and does it reveal a Redemptive Plan that reached an epoch with the coming of Jesus the Messiah? Not only is the answer to this question a resounding "yes" when it's viewed chronologically as in the above section of COMING GLORY, but it's also "yes" as we will now see when it's viewed from an overall organizational perspective.
The Old Testament book of Genesis and New Testament book of Revelation, being the first and last, form "bookends" as it were to the Bible, enclosing all the other books therein. When the two are contrasted one against the other, we discover that the original problem created in Genesis, is somehow solved when we arrive at that final book of Revelation.
The particular organization of the Bible into 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament, creates an interesting prophetic curiosity with respect to the Gospel of Matthew, showing just how He revealed His Plan concerning the Messiah first to the Jews.
Bible genealogies are typically neglected items for study, about as emotionally stirring as a telephone book. However, there is more than meets the eye in Bible genealogies, for they can provide a contribution of unique importance to this study of Bible prophecy, and to proof that Jesus was the Messiah.