Since this is a book concerning Bible Prophecy, it would probably be a good idea to reveal early in the book how to decipher the many different time variables we find in the Word of God. If one does not know the time equivalent of 1260 days, it will be just a little bit short of next to impossible to interpret the events it defines. We need to know how to calculate the exact length of time every prophecy of the Bible is conveying because it is these prophecies of time that will validate whether or not our interpretations are correct. It would probably be a pretty sure bet that you have never discussed this subject at any time during however many years you have attended Sunday school or church. The topic of prophecy goes virtually unexplored because Bible Prophecy is thought to be insignificant when compared to other aspects of the Word of God. We are about to find out how far off that concept has taken us.
A quick internet search will tell you there are 31,124 verses in the Word of God, and 8,352 contain prophecy. When the math is complete, 26.8% of the Bible is prophecy. I believe these figures are low because there are numerous prophetic verses you will not recognize as such until you begin to grasp prophecy. Even this does not take into consideration all the verses you will need to understand before you can decipher the metaphors found throughout Bible Prophecy. To be safe, let’s agree that somewhere between 26 and 50% of the Bible is prophecy. With this being the case, shouldn’t we be spending at least one-third of our time studying it? Believe it or not, by the time you finish this book you are going to see what our Lord meant when he commanded us to watch, and you are going to understand why we should have been devoting a lot more time to the study of what our Lord has foretold us.
The Word of God does provide us with a key that can be used to unlock the time duration’s of all these prophecies. It is quite simple, and works with every calculation, with only a few minor exceptions which are explained by other passages in scripture. By minor exceptions, we are referring to the out of the ordinary lengths of time. An example of these would be the prophecies of a “time, times, and the dividing of time,” or prophecy which uses the word season. One cannot solve prophecies such as these in the same manner, but that is not to say one cannot solve them. If we are going to decode these types of prophecies, the value will have to be determined by other hints and examples found in the Bible. The answers are there, but it will take prayer, study, and the Holy Spirit to make them known.
However, before we go any further, there is another topic we must not ignore that ties in with the subject of time in Bible Prophecy. There are those who believe we should be using the Hebrew calendar when attempting to compute prophecy. They may be correct as everything in the Bible revolves around the Hebrew people, and the guidelines and customs the Lord laid out for them. Even the structure of the Rapture of His saints is that of the Jewish wedding ceremony, and the Hebrew calendar is, in reality, God’s Calendar. However, even though the Hebrew calendar and the Gregorian calendar are quite different, they do equalize every 19 years, and the difference is never more than a year. Actually it is much less than that, but because the Hebrew calendar changes the year four months before the Gregorian, it can make it look like it is a year off.
The Hebrew calendar month uses the moon, which revolves around the earth once every 29½ days. Because of this, the Hebrew year only has 354 days, leaving it 11 days short of the Gregorian year. For this reason, an extra month is added seven times every 19 years to keep the Jewish year in sync with the Earth’s position in orbit around the Sun. An additional month is added at the end of every 3rd, 6th, 8th, 11th, 14th, 17th, and 19th year. In a 19 year cycle, the Jewish calendar has 12 years with twelve months and seven years with thirteen months. This practice keeps the seasons in sync, so springtime events are performed during spring months and not during the winter months. It also keeps the Hebrew calendar in sync with the Gregorian calendar.
However, if you are using the Gregorian calendar, a calculation could be anywhere from a few months to a year off, depending upon the starting and ending date of the calculation. However, most of the inaccuracy is due to the Hebrew calendar changing years four-plus months before the New Year on the Gregorian calendar.
For all but a couple of calculations, this is not a problem, but there are a couple of prophecies where this can cause a problem that requires a little more effort to see. However, you are still never going to be more than a year off, and that year you are off will have more to do with the difference in the start of the Hebrew New Year than it will because of the length of the year or months being different.
In addition to those that want to calculate everything according to the Hebrew calendar, which is not all that different and completely synchronized every 19 years with the Gregorian, we have some that want to be ultra-precise. These are those that want to take a year and make it more than 365 days because technically, there are 365.242199 days in a year. So if you have a prophecy of 1,335 years, they want to multiply 1,335 x .242199, which equals 323.335 days and add it to the prophecy. It isn’t necessary because of the way our Lord quantifies the prophecies.
As you will see in the upcoming Bible Prophecy Time Increment Values Chart, Bible Prophecy makes a day equal to a year. So if a prophecy were to be for 1,335 days, you must take each day and count it as one year. That makes our prophecy of 1,335 days to be a prophecy of 1,335 years. There is no need to multiply .242199 times the number of years and add it to the prophecy because this fraction of time is already included as part of the year in the calculation. We are dealing in years, so you don’t have to count the individual days. Neither do you have to worry about the 11 days that are missing from September of 1752 when the switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar occurred. It is difficult enough to understand why you must add one year to prophecies going from BC to AD; why further complicate the process by adding additional calculations when it is entirely unnecessary?
One must also consider there is a reasonable chance that some of the BC events archeologists believe they know the date of, could be a year or even more off. When it comes to dates, archeology is not the most precise science, but the Word of God is much more accurate. Try to search out the first year of the reign of King David. Better yet, find the year that Israel fled Egypt. You will find figures that in some cases vary more than 200 years, not to mention all the so-called archeologists, who claim it never happened in the first place!
While reading the balance of this book, please take special note of the prophecies that take place Anno Domini. You will find they are right on the money, yet these prophecies were made at least 1900 years ago. Then ask yourself, what are the chances that anyone could not only accurately predict a specific event in general, but then tell you exactly when it would happen. Most would consider it a miracle for someone to predict one event in the distant future by indicating what would occur and who would be the participants. But to say exactly when it would happen is another miracle in itself.
However, it is not a miracle to our Lord, who knows the end from the beginning, just as He told us in the beginning. For this reason, if you find a time calculation that occurred BC, you should take our Lord’s word for it. If you don’t already, by the end of this book, you will know on whose part the error is! With that said, let’s lay out the key to determining the lengths of time of most prophecies in the Bible, and afterward, we will take on the more exotic ones.
Deciphering Prophecy
All of the prophecies in the Word of God that use specific lengths of time, such as an hour, day, week, month, and year can be solved using a straightforward formula or key. One can find examples or witnesses as to what this formula is in many different places in the Word of God. Here are just a few verses that spell it out quite clearly.
Numbers 14:34 (KJV)
After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.
Ezekiel 4:6 (KJV)
And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
Both of these verses reveal a clear formula that each “day” is equal to 1 year. We can also see this in the story concerning Jacob and Rachel. Jacob served Laban seven years for Rachel’s hand in marriage, but when the seven years were up, he was given Leah to wed. He was then told by Laban to work another seven years for Rachel. The way this is expressed will be further validation of the previous examples. Here is the verse that conveys this:
Genesis 29:27 (KJV)
Fulfill her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
In this verse, a week is demonstrated to be equal to seven years. Since there are seven days in a week, this would make the value of each day to be one year.
These examples demonstrate one should calculate prophecies of time on a one day = 1- year basis. One should convert other prophetic time increments such as hours, weeks, months, and years to days to compute the correct time values. An example of how this works is that of an hour. Since an hour is 1/24th of a day and there are 365 days in a year, 24 must be divided into 365 to find its value. The solution works out to be 15 days no matter which calendar you use. Now you know that when our Lord mentions an hour in a prophetic verse, he is referring to a period of 15 days. By using the day as the key, we can solve most of the prophecies of time in the Bible.
There is some debate among people that study Bible Prophecy as to what the time value of a year should be. Some believe it should be the 354 days of the Hebrew calendar, but the Hebrew calendar year is inconsistent in that the amount of days in the year varies depending upon what year it is. Then, some believe we should use the prophetical year of 360 days, which is 12 times the 30 day month. This solution would be okay, except there is one (and only one) prophecy that will not work out correctly when using this value. It is the only prophecy that uses the increment value of one year only. It is the hour, day, month, and a year prophecy of Revelation 9:15, which we will go into later.
The truth of the matter is that except for that particular prophecy, it doesn’t matter much which value you assign to a year. Because the Hebrew calendar justifies itself with the Gregorian calendar every 19 years. With this being the case, one can calculate the year as being 365 days/years. Also, when calculating the time in your research, you are merely adding years, you are not in any way considering the number of days in any given year. Below is a chart that can be used to solve every prophecy in the Bible that uses the time increments listed in the table.
*Notice there is one value that does not fit the one day equals one-year equation. It is the One Day Only prophecy. A “Day” is equal to 1000 years in any prophecy that directly relates to our Lord. If it is One Day Only, it is 1000 years. If it’s more than one day, but directly relates to our Lord, each day is equal to 1000 years. One can find the reason for this in ll Peter 3:8:
2 Peter 3:8 (KJV)
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.
Peter warns us that we are not to be ignorant of this one thing, which means it must be a matter of great importance. This verse in itself should be a wakeup call to all Christians as to the importance of Bible Prophecy. Just like the rest of the Word of God, Bible Prophecy points us to Jesus Christ. If prophecy were not essential to His people, it would not be in the Word of God, yet you will seldom if ever hear it discussed in today’s churches.
If one were to interpret this verse literally, it does not stand up to logic. The reason for this is our Lord is eternal, so if you try to equate his existence to a time value, it will not compute mathematically. In other words, since He is eternal a day cannot have a value of a thousand years or even a million years. One can only apply a length of time in regards to this earthly existence. So if you are speaking of the Millennial Reign (1000 years) of Jesus Christ, it would make sense to call it the Day of the Lord.
However, this verse is speaking to Bible prophecy, so one should apply it in a more figurative sense. It can be stated and proven by the verses that use the time variable of a day. It allows us to solve some prophecies that will not make sense unless you consider this verse and make the verses speaking of one day only equal to 1000 years.
This equation of a Day equal to 1000 years should apply to Hosea 6:2 and Revelation 9:15. This Day provides us with rather substantial evidence that our Lord has indeed put the earth on a one week time equivalent; 6 days or 6,000 years of unrest in which we should be working, followed by one day or 1,000 years of rest. Broken down the 6,000 years would be 4,000 years from the creation of Adam to the birth of Christ and 2,000 years from Christ to the start of the Day of the Lord, which is the Millennial (1,000 years) reign of Jesus Christ.
Time, and Times, and Half a Time
Next, we have the prophecies of a more unusual sort, such as the “time, and times and half a time,” as well as the “time, times, and the dividing of time.”
The interpretation of “time, and times, and half a time,” as stated in Revelation 12:14 is “one year, plus two years, plus half a year” for a total of 3½ years. (1 + 2 + ½ = 3½) A “time” is one year and “times” two years. The original meaning of the “time” refers to a “stated period” or a “set feast.” The amount of time from one set feast to its recurrence, which is one year.
NOTE: Understanding the words “time” or “times” in addition to the word “seasons” is of utmost importance in understanding Bible Prophecy. These words have multiple meanings depending upon the circumstances surrounding their usage. Their meanings are misused and misunderstood in current day teachings. When used in reference to a “set feast,” they refer to the Feasts of the Lord as revealed in Leviticus 23 and other places in the Old Testament. These feasts are mentioned numerous times in the New Testament, but because there is no word equivalent in the Greek Language, the meaning of these “times and seasons” are not understood correctly. These feasts are God’s (Complete) Master Plan, but the church of today does not in the least bit comprehend this. These Feasts of the Lord will be further explained and explored later in the book. It is impossible to overstate the importance of the Feasts of the Lord. They are God’s Master Plan of Salvation. They are multifaceted and are at the heart of Bible prophecy. They reveal our Lord’s plan for us as well as the whole world. They are of extreme importance, and yet you will probably never hear your minister, pastor, or Sunday school teacher spend a sermon or class dedicated to them. There is so much to them that they would require much, much more than an hour or two to cover.
Just as the known solutions to prophecies prove the prophetical time values accurate and correct, so can one prove the time, and times, and half a time. You will find its solution in chapter eleven, which covers Revelation, chapter 12. It refers to the amount of time the woman is “nourished from the face of the serpent.”
The time, and times and the dividing of time of Daniel 7:25 seems to be a little different, but it describes the same time value of 3½ years as the time and times and half a time. The word for dividing used in this passage for dividing is “pelag,” which is translated to “half” in Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary.
Please be aware that just as there seem to be dual-fulfillment prophecies, there may also be some dual-fulfillment time prophecies. Meaning that this time, times and half a time or dividing of time may serve to prophesy an event defined as 3½ years and another event that answers to the1279 days / years. The 1279 days is the amount of days in 3½ years which is then converted to 1279 years.
Daniel 7:25, is a good example of this. and it indicates the amount of time the little horn, who is the Man of Sin, will persecute and kill the saints of the Most High. This is the amount of time the Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi devoted all his energy to killing anyone that would not bow down to him. However, if you interpret this to be about the 4th Kingdom which is the Muslim Ottoman Empire, the 1279 years is the same time equation we find in Daniel 12 which defines the time the Muslims spent wearing out the Saints of the most High. It can be confusing because was a Muslim and was connected to the Ottoman Empire in that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was the wound to the head (of Islam) that was healed when they named him Khalifa of Islam. So many of the things that fit Islam as a whole can also be applied to al-Baghdadi.
Daniel 7:25 (KJV)
And he shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. (Same time prophecy that is answered in Daniel 12. Chapter 14 of this book.)
A (Long / Little) Season
The duration of time called a Season is a bird of another feather and is beyond a shadow of a doubt the most difficult to interpret. What makes it even more difficult is the fact there are examples that, at first glance, tend to de-legitimize any logical definition of seasons one might think possible. By this, we mean there are examples of a long season which are quite long, and there are examples of another long season being substantially shorter.
Joshua 24:7 says that the Israelites dwelt in the wilderness a long season, which we know to be a length of 40 years from other Bible passages. Then in the New Testament, Luke 23:8 reports that King Herod was exceedingly glad because he had desired to see Christ for a long season because he had heard many things about him and thought he might be able to see some miracle.
We know that Christ’s ministry did not begin until He was thirty years old, and its duration was approximately 3½ years. That means the miracles that King Herod heard of could not have happened more than 3½ years prior. Thus the long season that King Herod had desired to see Christ could not be more than 3½ years and would probably be considered to be even less than that. The difference between Israel’s long season and King Herod’s long season is a difference of 36½ years. That is a huge difference! How can this big a discrepancy ever be justified, and how could we hope to find a solution to a time value with such a broad range of possibilities???
Believe it or not, you will find the answer is in the two previous paragraphs. Hopefully, you noticed that both of the long seasons mentioned previously were defined in some other place or in some other way in the Word of God. With there being so many different lengths of time called a season, a long season, or little season, it is only logical the actual length of time will have to be revealed in some other place or in some other way in scripture. The answers are there; we only have to seek with diligence to find them.
The key to knowing what a “little season” means is to understand the definition of the word season. A season refers to a time appointed by our Lord. When you look at it in this manner, it drastically cuts down the number of possibilities. It means the time value to be determined here is going to be one of the smaller lengths of time our Lord appointed in His Word. In other words, it is one of the shorter prophecies of time. We will not reveal it here, but we will explain it later on in the commentary. Also, like all things in the Bible, there is another witness that will confirm the correct time value.
Hopefully, we have answered any questions you may have had regarding the deciphering of time increments used in Bible prophecy. You are now getting into the chapters and writings where we will discuss and solve prophecies using the time chart you previously viewed. Most places where there are prophecies of time should have a good explanation of their meaning and solution, but if they do not, you can always refer back to this chapter.
The Sign of the Son of Man &
The Appointed Time of Christ’s Return
CONTENTS
Book Introduction (Read for more info contained in the book)
- The REAL 4th Kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream (Daniel 2)
- The REAL King of Babylon (Isaiah 14)
- The REAL Key to Deciphering Time Prophecy
- The REAL Secret Prophecy of Daniel 4
- The REAL Beast of Revelation 13
- The REAL 8th Beast of Revelation 17
- The REAL 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Revelation 6)
- The REAL First 4 Trumpets of Revelation 8
- The REAL 4 Angels of Revelation 9 And the Plague of Islam
- The REAL Woman, Dragon and Flood of Revelation 12
- The REAL 2 Witnesses of Revelation 11
- The REAL 70 Weeks of Daniel 9
- The FEASTS OF THE LORD; The Appointed Time of Christ’s Return
- The REAL Appointed Year of Our Lords Return as Revealed in Daniel 12
- The REAL Sign of the Son of Man; and Signs of the End (Matthew 24)
- The REAL Parable of the 10 Virgins (Matthew 25)
- The Fall Feast Days as Revealed in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 6,7,8,11)
- The REAL Warning to the Church of Laodicea; the Church of Today (Revelation 3)
- Closing Thoughts & the REAL Day of the Resurrection of Our Lord
- Ready You Ain’t, Even if You’re a Saint Not Part of Book
- Main Page: The Appointed Time of Christ Return
The "REAL" Sign of the Son of Man; & 