I believe
there is a definite connection
between the number
“seventy” and 1994, and
there is also a definite connection
between the number
“seventy” and the duration
of sin. We can see that from
Creation, God allotted a total of
7,000 years for sin. I call
this time period, the Grand Week
(each day of the week translates as
1,000 years[21]). From
the beginning, God foreknew the
limits of His patience with sin and
He deliberately set the duration of
sin to be seventy (7 x 10) centuries
or 7,000 years! When God’s
use of seventy is further
synthesized, I believe that
God’s forbearance with mankind
ended in 1994. Seventy Jubilee
cycles ended in 1994 and there is no
further need to translate apocalyptic
time as a day for a year. In
1994, God gave the seven angels the
seven trumpets and they are armed and
ready, waiting for the divine command
to harm Earth.
Because the
second and third trumpets involve
asteroid impacts, I do not think it
is coincidental that God gave the
whole world a “prophetic
sample” of coming events in
1994. You may recall the
implosion of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9
into Jupiter during July 1994.
That marvelous event was televised
and published worldwide. Those
impact craters on Jupiter for the
past fifteen years have been a
harbinger of coming asteroid impacts
on Earth. The comet,
Shoemaker-Levy 9, broke up into a
string of twenty-one chunks as it
approached Jupiter and as these
chunks accelerated into
Jupiter’s gravity, they created
the most powerful explosions ever
witnessed by mankind. In fact,
one impact crater is so large that
three planets the size of Earth can
fit in it!
Summary
When I
conclude that 1994 is the date the
seven angels were given the trumpets,
a fair amount of skepticism is
appropriate. Nevertheless, I
believe that a synthesis of the
topics just discussed will rule out
any other date. In summary,
here are five major points:
Two
Different Ways of Measuring
Time –
There has to be a valid rule
governing the interpretation
of apocalyptic time because
it is clear that some
prophetic time periods are to
be translated as a day for a
year and other time periods
are not. Based on the
information presented
previously, I believe the
dividing line is 1994.
Consequently, prior to 1994,
an apocalyptic day should be
translated as a year.
After the Jubilee Calendar
expired in 1994, the
translating time as a day for
a year is not permitted or
justified.
The
Jubilee Calendar –
The Jubilee Calendar did not
end at the cross for two
reasons. First, Jesus died
in the middle of
the seventieth week;
therefore, the seventieth
week was unfinished at the
cross. Second, the
2,300 days of Daniel 8:14 operate
both before and after the
cross; therefore, the Jubilee
Calendar and the translation
of a day for a year exist
before and after the
cross. In this case,
the 2,300 day year prophecy
extended from 457 B.C. to
A.D. 1844.
The
Great Week – The
time between the Exodus in
1437 B.C. and the date
Solomon’s temple was
dedicated in 947 B.C. was 490
years. Later, the time
between the dedication of
Solomon’s temple and the
decree of King Artaxerxes in
457 B.C. was another 490
years. In addition to
this, the seventy weeks in
Daniel consisted of 490
years. Since these
three units are 490 years
each, it suggests an ongoing
pattern is present.
Today, we know that God gave
the Jews exactly thirty
Jubilee cycles of grace to
the very year. It also
appears that God gave the
Gentiles forty Jubilee cycles
of grace (A.D.
34-1994). These two
periods of grace total
seventy Jubilee cycles in
all. Using the weekly
template and aligning each
unit of 490 years as a Great
Day, we find the presence of
a Great Week. When the
Great Week ends, so does the
translation of apocalyptic
time.
Full
Cup Principle – Evidently,
God uses the numbers seven
and ten to express the limits
of divine forbearance. When
Israel violated seventy Sabbath
years, God exiled them to
Babylon for seventy years.
When God gave Israel a second
chance, He gave the
nation seventy weeks.
We also see God’s use of
seven and ten used during
Israel’s annual judgment
day, the Day of
Atonement. This special
day occurred on the tenth day
of the seventh month.
Furthermore, the dragon and
the leopard-like beast in
Revelation 12 and 13
have seven heads and ten
horns. The heads and
horns represent the sum of
religious and political
powers on Earth.
Finally, the whole drama of
sin fits neatly into seventy centuries
(7,000 years). In other
words, when the millennial
Sabbath rest ends (the
seventh millennium), Earth
will be made new and life
will resume!
God’s
Timing Is Perfect – We
find throughout the Bible
that God’s timing is
always perfect. He knows no
haste or delay. Given
this fact, two things stand
out very prominently.
First, if we translate the
apocalyptic prophetic time
periods prior to 1994
according to God’s
calendar (a day for a year)
and if we treat all
apocalyptic time periods
after 1994 as literal time
periods, everything written
about timing in apocalyptic
prophecy harmoniously aligns
with a 7,000 year picture for
the duration of sin.
(Sin is destroyed at the end
of the 1,000 years in
Revelation 20.) Second,
now that we understand what
the seven trumpets are all
about, we can align Revelation 8:2 with
the end of seventy Jubilee
cycles. This seems
likely because Jesus could
give the seven trumpets to
the seven angels because
God’s patience with
mankind ran out at that
time. This means we are
now living on borrowed
time. In fact, to
my knowledge, there is no
other way to determine a date
for the delay imposed on the
four angels in Revelation 7.
When all of
the items discussed in this appendix
are aligned with a working knowledge
of God’s Jubilee Calendar and
the precision of God’s actions,
there appears to be only one
“biblically reasoned” date
for Revelation 8:2 and 1994 is that
date. I believe these
conclusions are accurate, because
there appears to be perfect harmony
coming from the sum of the parts.
