I now consider the 2018-2025 model formally debunked.

At the start of Spring I made a post laying out what I felt needed to happen, even allowing some wiggle room on the details.

http://midseventiethweekrapture.blogspot.com/2018/03/ill-be-keeping-eye-out-this-spring.html

And it's June now and nothing happened.

So let it not be said I'm someone who denies when a theory I made turns out to be wrong.

I'll be keeping an eye out this Spring.

I'm not predicting it will happen, I still think it most likely will not.  But in case something does happen this Spring, I want to be on record that I did have reasons to suspect it.

So the history of my 2018-2025 70th Week Model began with my post Suleiman and the 70-weeks of Daniel.  Then I made a post about possible other reasons for it.  Then I did a post how some very specific things have to happen for it to be true.  Then I made a post where I pretty much abandoned it.

The main reason for that abandonment was the impossibility of The Temple being rebuilt by then.  However last year I decided I no longer necessarily considered a "Third Temple" necessary.  Which was supplemental to my post I Don't think there will be a Millennial Temple.

Interestingly I've found there popped on the net Pre-Tribbers predicting the "Tribulation" to being in Nisan of 2018, for much more convoluted reasons then what lead me to this theory.  I'm not Pre-Trib so I am NOT Predicting The Rapture, if my theory is True then I expect The Rapture to happen in September or October of 2021, on the 1st of 10th of Tishri.  Or if the Mid-Seventh year theory I'd considered were true, then that same point in 2024. 

A Post Tribber believing same 7th Week model would be placing the Rapture in Spring of 2025.  I think the Fulfillment of Revelation 19 could happen anywhere between Hanukkah and late Adar, second Adar if there are two.  But I also expect a possible second Triumphal Entry on the 10th of Nisan, and the Resurrection of Revelation 20:4 I think will happen on First Fruits (Sunday Morning following Passover) and/or the 17th of Nisan.

The official Hebrew Calendar is going to observe Passover around the end of March this year.  However those Pre-Trib sites I just mentioned say the Hebrew Calendar is a month off this year, and the First of Nisan will be April 18th.  My personal beliefs about the Biblical Calendar would pretty much not allow Nisan to ever start that late.  But there is a change Karaites might up agreeing with that April 18th calculation, it depends when the Aviv happens, but either way I don't strictly agree with the Karaite view on this anymore, but I do agree the Rabbinic calendar can sometimes be off.

At least one of the following has to happen for me consider this theory vindicated.

1. Some invasion or disaster destroys the Wall of Jerusalem that Suleiman built.

2. The Two Witnesses begin their Ministry in Nisan, possibly on the 7th but the exact day doesn't matter.  This could happen before Nisan begins, or as late as the 28th of Nisan (traditionally the date Jericho's walls fell).

3. A possible Antichrist or Decoy-Antichrist (perhaps as a Messiah Ben-Joseph and/or Mahdi claimant) does his own Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, possibly on the 10th of Nisan.  Fulfilling the First Seal of Revelation 6.

3a. Perhaps soon after said False Messiah is killed, maybe by a literal Sword wound, by an enemy, possibly tied to the Second Seal.  Perhaps on the 14th of Nisan, or maybe the 26th.

4. The Sixth Seal of Revelation 6 is fulfilled on the 14th of Nisan, or maybe 15th.  But that would need to be not just any Earthquake, it would probably have to be by a large margin top any Quake that has happened since well over a century ago.  And be accompanied by Meteors or Asteroids hitting the Earth. And most importantly the Sun being Darkened and Moon looking Blood Red at the same time!

4a. Something could happen in Iyar, the second Month, possibly on Second Passover.  But I'm not sure what.  It could work as a second possible date for the beginning of the Ministry of the Witnesses.

5. The 144 Thousand being Sealed on Pentecost (Hebrew Calendar not Catholic or Orthodox Pentecost).  Which I believe will look a lot like Acts 2 but on a larger scale.

5a. Not sure how long after that it'll take the disasters associated with the Golden Censor to happen.

5b. A high probably that the First of the Seven Trumpets will sound either on that same Pentecost, or on one of the Tishri Holidays this Fall.

But I'm not gonna wait till Fall to decide whether or not I can consider this debunked.  If nothing happens by the end of Nisan I'll declare it to probably be debunked.  And if nothing happens by the time Pentecost is past I'll declare it definitively debunked.

Again, I'm not predicting these things to happen.  Right now I consider unlikely.  I'm not even going to promote this unless something happens.

When The Bible records what day a Prophecy is given, is that a clue to what day it'll be fulfilled?

This is something I've been thinking about, especially as sometimes even in the same book from the same Prophet there is no consistency to if we're told what day the Prophecy was given.  So I think when a date is given, it must be given for a reason.

I've already talked about this in regards to Haggai 2.  How I think the first part of that chapter places the Seventh Bowl of God's Wrath on the 21st of Tishri aka the 7th day of Tabernacles.  And that the second part is relevant to Hanukkah, and perhaps also to the ultimate Eschatological destiny of Hanukkah.

But Haggai is consistent, he dates all of them, and both dates given in Chapter 1 are about the Sixth Month, Elul.  And in this context I wonder if they might tell us about events that will lead up to the Midway point drama.

Ezekiel dates some but not all, 16 isn't dated.  But 26 is, 27 and 28 seem to be more given on that same day.

I've already in key posts of my Egypt tag paid close attention to chapters 29-32 and how they might be the key to unlocking the mystery of the Beast out of the Sea.  Those are all dated.

Ezekiel 40:1 dates that massive vision of the Messianic Kingdom to the 10th of Nisan.  Which I think argues against the common notion of thinking End Times prophecy will involve Tishri years.

Zechariah also dates some of his Prophecies.  Like Chapter 7, which is dated to the 4th day of the Ninth month (Kislev) in the fourth year of Darius.  It seems it is estimated this fall on December 4th 518 BC.   Which makes that a year in which he 25th of Kislev fell on the 25th of December.

Yom Teruah is coming up

Nehemia Gordon did a study just recently called "How Yom Teruah became Rosh Hoshanna".  Which is informative.

He also talks about how the sounding of the Jubliee on Yom Kippur was not during the Jubilee year but to announce it was coming in the middle of the 49th Year, a fact I'd already heard, but not from a source as reliable as him.  I find that intriguing on a number of levels.

Overlap that with aspects of my Time of Jacob's Trouble post, and maybe I should leave my Mid-Trib variant view and consider founding a Mid Seventh Year Rapture view.  That would affiliate the Seventh Trumpet and Last Trump of The Rapture with the Jubliee Trumpet, making the end of Revelation 11, all of 12 and start of 13 about Yom Kippur, the rest of 13 and all of 14 and 15 between Yom Kippur and Tabernacles, and the Seven Bowls of God's Wrath poured out on the seven days of Tabernacles, with Haggai 2 supported the 7th Bowls being the 21st of Tishrei.  This would adjust my Fall Feasts hypothesis.

The Seventh Trumpet account mentions God's Temple in Heaven being opened and The Ark of His Covenant being seen.  That kinda fits Yom Kippur.

Then I would really have to change this blog's URL.

There are other factors I still have to consider.  There is already a Pre-Seventh year view, but they're under the false impression that Nehemia is refuting, that Tishrei can begin a year.

I watched awhile ago a Prophecy Club video called The Chronological Order of the Prophecies in The Jubilees.  There is much of this person's views that are clearly wrong, from his supporting the Britam view of the Lost Tribes, to trying to make the 120 years of Genesis 6 point to 6000 years.  But his evidence for a reckoning of the Jubilees that would have the next jubilee year starting in Spring of 2045 AD (with the Jubilee Trumpet then in fall of 2044) is compelling.  Here is a still I took regarding the Sabbatical Years.

The view of the 70 Weeks I've been favoring had the Decree of Artaxerxes in Nissan 454 BC putting the 70th week in 30-37 AD.  But many have, using much of the same evidence, argued for the Decree being Nissan of 455 BC, and a 70th Week that is 29-36 AD.  I need to look into that more, but if so that would make both the beginning and ending of the 70 weeks the start of Jubilee years in the above Jubilee model, which makes sense.

I've seen people argue for both 29 and 36 AD Crucifixion models.  For the latter that includes Nikos Kokkinos who's theories I may talk about more in a future post.  My personal bias remains 30 AD for the moment however.  But The Resurrection and Acts 2 Pentecost being Jubilee years has a certain symmetry to it.

This makes the latest Jubilee year to happen Spring 1996-Spring 1997.  And before that 1947-1948 which many see as Biblically significant.  Before that 1898-1899, and before that 1849-1850.

This model could place the beginning of the 21 year Time of Jacob's Trouble in Spring of 2024 AD.

Or maybe if someone could argue the above proposed Jubilee cycle is off by a year, to make my original 70s Weeks views match up to Jubilees, things would fit better.  Then it would be during a Jubilee year modern Israel was founded.

If I switched to a Mid 7th Year or mid 49th Year Rapture view.  How do I match up the time-frames?  The ministry of the Witnesses and consecration of the Rebuilt Temple would be around the Nissan that would start year 4 of the relevant Sabbatical cycle.  The 42 Months The Beast is allowed to continue would begin about 6 months later.  And the 1260 days The Woman is in the Wilderness would continue 3 years into The Millennium.  Why would that happen?  Who knows, perhaps I'll think of a reason later.

But I will still never accept a Non Chronological view of Revelation.

The Day-Year theory

This theory is pretty much vital to Historicism as traditionally understood, that model largely can't work without it.

The cited Biblical precedent comes from Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6.  In both cases a literal period of days did happen.  Numbers connected the 40 days of spying to the 40 years in the wilderness.  And Ezekiel is told to do something for a period of days to represent a period of years.

This is not consistent with how the theory gets applied to the numbers in Daniel and Revelation.  Neither verse justifies saying when God predicts a period of days will happen it really means years.

Even IF I conceded that flawed argument, that doesn't change the verses that refer to 42 months or a "time times and half a time".  You don't get to just say "a month is 30 days" because it actually isn't universally.

In both Hebrew and Greek the words used for month were also forms of their words for Moon.  While I believe the 42 months and 1260 days are referring to roughly the same periods, I don't believe what's specifically said of the months (one of which is the time period of the Beast's reign) has to be calculated to the day, it just means 42 New Moons will happen.  The Bible would not have used this terminology if it didn't want us keeping the Moon in mind for deciphering it.

What I'm saying is, unless you can find a way to make 30 years or about that also relevant to The Moon, the Historicist position on 42 months simply can't work.

And it is 42 Months that Revelation 13 defines the reign of The Beast as lasting, as well as the Holy City trodden under foot of The Gentiles in Revelation11.

Of the three ways this time frame is described in Revelation/Daniel, I think the "time times and half a time" is the easiest to interpret differently.  But Daniel 4 uses a similar concept where if the "seven times" aren't years they are probably shorter periods rather then longer ones.

And even if I conceded all that.  It doesn't change that the clear chronology of Revelation does not allow the 1260 days of Revelation 11 to be the same as the 1260 days of Revelation 12, the latter can't begin till the former ends, and that transition point is where The Rapture happens.

But even following all of that flawed logic.  Every model I've seen (which are all The Papacy is the Antichrist models) has the mortal wounding of the Beast ending the 42 months (usually with Napoleon's conquest of the Papal States).  While I feel the logical reading of Revelation 13 is that 42 months is the time the Beast is allowed to continue following the Wound being healed.  As well as that the wounding was specifically to one of the Heads.

This Historicist argument tends to be the only time when the fraudulent Donation of Constantine is actually treated as real by Anti-Catholics, as it is sometimes used to determine the start date.

Interestingly enough though, the Day-Year theory doesn't remove Three and a Half years from Bible Prophecy altogether, because Revelation 11 gives us Three and a Half days from the Deaths of the Two Witnesses till their Resurrection and Rapture.

Has any Historicist ever addressed the Five Months affiliated with the 5th Trumpet in Revelation 9?  I believe their purpose is partly to echo the timeline of The Flood narrative.

I can't entirely condemn their desire to see the 6th head as not actually contemporary with when John wrote Revelation since I've argued for that myself in the past though it's not my current main view on the Seven Heads.  But I've never seen a strong Papal View argument for why this was expressed to the John from that viewpoint.  Mostly it seems to be expressed now days with Pope John Paul II as the 6th head, the contemporary Pope while many modern Day-Year theorists defined their views.

I feel if we accept that 6th Head as not actually when Revelation was written it must be either a time already in the Past when John wrote, something contemporary readers could have seen as significant.  Or the 6th is during the Eschatological Week, perhaps reigning as it starts.  As far as an already past modern historical time goes, only the founding of Israel in 1947-1949 is a remotely viable option.

The Papal fixation is dependent on the "Temple in II Thessalonians 2 is really The Church" error.

It's interesting how Historicism seems to have the least variety in it's Antichrist views.  Even Preterism occasionally has options besides being a Roman Emperor.

I could hypothetically devise a Non-Papal view that can be just about as consistent with all the flawed arguments made above.  It focuses on the Eastern Roman Empire rather then Western, and thus on Eastern Orthodox Christianity as the Harlot.

It begins with arguing that the Split of the Empire really happens in 193 AD in April when Pescennius Niger was proclaimed Emperor in Syria.  Then the 1260 days ends with the fall of Constantinople in 1453 AD.  Then, since Modern Greece views itself as a successor to that state, it's Seven Kings were the Seven Heads, and in that case the 6th was reigning in 1948.  I considered that idea from my purely Futurist perspective here.

But again, that view would have mostly the same problems.

Historicists tend to share the bias Futurists have for wanting to believe the Millennium will start within our lifetime.  And since they tend to feel the start of these periods needs to be after Revelation was written.  It'll be awhile before any are willing to suggest there are two 1260 years periods, with the second starting about where the first will end.  To me the plain reading of Revelation does not allow the two periods to be happening at the same time.

Historicism is not as inherently objectionable to me as Full Preterism, or Amillenialism.  Since it does not require denying a literal Bodily Resurrection of believers.

And I am kind of rejecting the Individual Antichrist as it's usually defined.  But the Abomination of Desolation I will always see as a specific event three and a half or seven years before the Millennium starts.

If you want to convince me of an Historicist model, you need to find a way to make it work without the Day-Year Theory.

UFO Activity and Israel

In 2 Kings 6:17 Elisha prayed to God and He briefly allowed his servant to see beyond our normal 3 dimensional perception and glimpse the Heavenly armies that were there to fight for Israel.  Note that Israel was not in obedience at this time, this was the Northern Kingdom.

Daniel 10 likewise shows us that political upheavals in the Terrestrial realm seem to have corresponding conflicts in the Heavenly realm.  And tells us Michael fights to defend Israel.  See also Ephesians 6.

In the Apocryphal Second Maccabees Chapter 5 we are told that before Antiochus Epiphanes attacked Jerusalem, chariots were seen for 40 days fighting in the heavens above the City. Daniel 8 does seem to also imply heavenly warfare going on at this time.  But 2 Maccabees is less reliable then 1 Maccabees, for example I don't know if this was before his first or second sacking of Jerusalem since 2 Maccabees seems to merge the two together.  The second one is what resulted in the Abomination of Desolation in Kislev 167 BC.  1 Maccabees 1 and Josephus Antiquities of The Jews Book 15 Chapter 5 makes clear there were two attacks but the first was over 2 years earlier and was relevantly bloodless.

In Wars of The Jews Book 6 Chapter 5 Section 3, Josephus informs us of similar visions seen in the heavens before the War started in 66 AD.

Besides these, a few days after that feast, on the one and twentieth day of the month Artemisius, [Jyar,] a certain prodigious and incredible phenomenon appeared: I suppose the account of it would seem to be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals; for, before sun-setting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities. 

Thing is the events he describes both before and after this I have reasons for suspecting actually happened in 30 AD the year of the Crucifixion/Resurrection and Birth of The Church.  Either way important dates in Israel's History. 

If you look at a Time-Line of Early modern UFO Sightings, and a Time-Line of the development of modern Israel, you'll see a lot of correlations between key milestone events.  A third Timeline to consider is the biography of Aleister Crowley.

The decade of the first Zionist Congress was the 1890s, same decade when people were seeing Jules Verne style Airships.  1909 in which Airship sightings occurred in New Zealand was the same year Tel-Aviv, the secular Capital of modern Israel was founded.

1917 was the year the Sun Miracle was performed in Fatima, and of the Balfur Declaration.  In occult History that is the year Aleister Crowley performed the Alamantra Working.  And in the following year he conjured Lam, the entity that resembled the Greys.

Crowley also performed some key rituals in 1923, same year as the British Mandate for Palestine.

1933 was the year of the Transfer Agreement, and the year of some key UFO sightings also.  There were also a lot of interesting UFO occurrences during WWII.

1947 was the year of the Babalon Working, and right after that was Roswell and the other events that are considered the full beginning of the modern UFO craze.  1947-49 also marks the birth of modern Israel.

"Those UFOs weren't seen in Israel" you might object.  We're dealing with a conflict that is actually going on beyond our 4 Dimensional perception, but spilling over into it.  At any-rate there have been UFO sightings in Israel, I remember just last year or the year before there was a big buzz about one sighted just over the Temple Mount.

Prophecy in The News had done an episode years ago on correlations between UFO Flaps and Israel's Wars.  They didn't cover much of what I laid out above, but did cover stuff about later wars I don't feel like getting into myself.

Hopefully those stay up on Youtube.  It was called Israel's Wars and UFO Flaps.

Nothing anyone predicted happened during the September 2015 Blood Moon.  But my brother did catch a UFO taking pictures of it.  And moves were made towards dividing Israel during September's UN Meetings.

In the study I did on This Generation Shall Not Pass, I mentioned 120 years as a potential number to use, with one Biblical reason for it being Genesis 6.  Now one may object "the context of this is about the Nephilim Activity and The Flood".  Well Jesus said "as the days of Noah were" so shall His return be.  And many have seen that as among their reasons for connecting the modern UFO Phenomenon with Fallen Angels.

Right now I'm leaning towards, though am by no means predicting, a 2030-2037 End Times model, with a 2033 Rapture.  2037 is 120 years from 1917, and 70 years from the Six Days War.  And 2030 would be Two Thousand Years from The Crucifixion.

But remember the Generation is a maximum time limit, not an exact calculation.

I've decided the 2018-2025 theory is unlikely

I blogged last month on how my standards for it were pretty high and specific.  And now I've decided the odds of the Temple being up and ready in less then two and a half years is a stretch.  So I'm abandoning that theory for now, but if suddenly big news happens with The Temple I will consider returning to it.

My mind has again returned to the 2030-2037 theory.  And not for the reasons I had mentioned that theory a few times in my last 2018-2025 post, including a recent update of it.

I don't like how my first post on that theory put the Blood Moon connection right in the title.  That's something I mentioned only as a hook to get people with a Blood Moon fixation interested.  I included in that post Chris White's video debunking the Blood Moon theory.  The Lunar eclipses are useful because it helps me be certain when the Full Moons of those months are, and thus to deduce the Lunar Cycles from there.

I had also made that post back when I more or less trusted the Rabbinic Calendar, and before I decided to agree with the Karaites.

What happened was earlier today, October 10th 2015, I was thinking about observations I made in my Pagan Holidays and Christmas posts.  And Developed a hunch that Maybe the Resurrection of the Witnesses, and soon after The Church might happen on September 25th, which would put their Execution at about Sunrise on the 22nd, the Autumnal Equinox.  Because they will be dead for three and a half days.

And the next day the Beast may declare a Global Holiday celebrating his defeat of them, like how Augustus made his Birthday September 23rd a new Holiday dedicated to Apollo(Apollyon).

And I had firmly already determined that their Resurrection, and the Seventh Trumpet, revolves around the Sunset that starts Yom Teruah.  At the midway point of the Finale Week.  Backed up by timelines suggested here.

So I decided to look using Stellarium for a year when the Sunset the begins Yom Teruah could likely be the Sunset of September 25th.  And the best date in the near future I found just so happened to be 2033, the Yom Teruah that would mark the midway point in the 2030-2037 model I'd thought of before.

A Solar Eclipse is supposed to happen on the 23rd of September 2033.  And the Rabbinic Calendar likely has Yom Teruah either that day or the 24th.  But I've concluded using Stellarium that when the Crescent of the New Moon will likely first be visible in Israel is most likely Sunset of September 25th.

Now if that New Moon is Biblically Yom Teruah or not depends on when the Barley Harvest happens in Spring of 2033.  But when it's that late already I doubt the Harvest could be late enough to delay it, in fact the Rabbis already expect 2033 to have a second Adar. The Kariate reckoning usually only has everything a month later in years there isn't a Second Adar for the Rabbis.

The Lunar Eclipse in October happens on what would if this is correct be the 14th of Tishrei.  I have realized lately that it's not even true Full Moons happen on the 15th of Hebrew Months, the Biblical New Moon is the Crescent not when the moon is completely hidden.  The Full Moon more likely falls on the 14th, there was a Full Moon probably when Jesus was in Gethsemane.

I have pointed out before how only the Resurrection happens "In the Twinkling of an Eye", at the Last Trump.  I think we may very well walk the Earth Resurrected briefly before the actual Rapture, like those Resurrected soon after Jesus in 30 AD.

The Moon will be under the Feet of Virgo within 24 hours, by Sunset of September 26th 2033.  The Rapture of the Man-Child happens either while the Moon is under The Woman's Feet, (but if that Woman is Virgo or not is uncertain), or sometime soon after based on Revelation 12.

Revelation 14 I have a feeling is Yom Kippur, it's certainly before Tabernacles.  I believe the Zion in Revelation 14 is the Heavenly Zion, and that the 144,000, and thus the whole Church are Raptured when this happens.

Once again, a link for the people who think Date Setting is inherently wrong.

Tying in Rob Skiba's theory about 20 years of Jacob's Trouble, would begin that time in 2017 AD.

More on my 2018-2025 Theory

I don't want this theory to ever become like the Blood Moon or Smeitah fads we see now.  I want awareness of my research to increase, but I don't want Christians radio shows getting people all riled up and frightened over it.  We who are in Christ have nothing to fear, because we cannot die.  And Satan can't touch us unless God allows him to.

I'm not dogmatic on this.  And I'm not playing games with it, I have very specific things I expect to see happen by Pentacost (Karaite reckoning) of 2018 if this is true or I will fully admit to being wrong and that Suleiman's decree has no Biblical relevance.

I'm never gonna try to make money off this either, as much as I want to become more financially independent, the Spirit is leading me to make everything I know about this available to the Public for Free.

First of all, before we even reach the time in question The Temple needs to be rebuilt.  Now modern technology could allow them to build a Temple (or it could be just a Tabernacle) pretty quickly.  And while I'm certain of where Solomon and Herod's Temples were, I'm not so sure the next Temple will be built on the exact right spot.  And Revelation 11 is the only reason I'm certain it has to be in Jerusalem, not somewhere else like Shiloh where I believe Ezekiel's Temple will be.

Even if The Temple is built by then, there are still things (at least 3, maybe 4) I expect to happen in Nisan of 2018, maybe the idea of some happening in Iyar, on Second Passover could be possible, but that's it, once Spring of 2018 is over my time for being vindicated is past.

This theory being wrong will not throw out most of how I interpret Bible Prophecy, the only significant change it would make I'll discus latter, but how I view the events of Revelation playing out over 7 years, and how I view the first fulfillment of the 70 Weeks, remain in tact.

If some of what I'll discus below happens but not all then maybe I could say I'm part right and just need to rethink some things.  In fact being part right on what would happen in 2018 would probably change my overall view of Bible Prophecy more then being completely wrong on this time frame would.

Properly speaking the 70th Week would begin on the Rosh Codesh of Nisan (Karaite reckoning) of 2018.  But the events that will single we're now in it will happen latter, but will happen probably in Nisan, and by Pentecost on the absolute latest.

I'll list what I expect to happen in basically the order I expect them to.  Reasons for why I view the Chronology of the 70th Week this way are explained here.

1. The Two Witnesses will begin their Ministry.  Possibly on Nisan 7.  Now this is tricky because I do feel counterfeit Witnesses are possible, so we need to show discernment if anyone makes such claims for themselves.  But I also have a feeling no counterfeit could do the exact same miracles they can perform.  The False Prophet can call fire down from heaven, but the Witnesses shoot fire from their mouths.

2. The Sixth Seal events will happen, probably on the 14th of Nisan, (or maybe Second Passover a month latter) in fact I think they'll correlate to the same time Jesus was on The Cross.  All of Revelation 6 I expect to happen when The Week starts, but the 6th seal has the most unmistakable identifying events.

Now on this I'm far less certain because of my shifting Antichrist views.  But it could be at about the same time as 2 or 3 that a person who is either a leader or ally of Israel will be killed and heralded by the Jews and maybe also Christians as Messiah Ben-Joseph.  This individual would be the White Horseman, and possibly his killer the Red Horseman who might be a Mahdi claimant. It may be that when he's resurrected 2.5-3.5 years latter he'll turn out to be the First Beast, the Eight King, the Little Horn.

3. Jerusalem will be invaded by an enemy, maybe a Muslim army, the Walls Suleiman had rebuilt will be breached and maybe even brought down completely in a manner that parallels the Walls of Jericho (perhaps even on the same day).  And from that point all of Jerusalem but the Temple itself, including everyplace settled by Jews now, will be under Gentile Control, hence trodden under the foot of the Gentiles for 42 months.

4. On Pentecost of 2018 would be when Revelation 7 is fulfilled, and I expect it's fulfillment to be like a massive global repeat of Acts 2.

If none of that happens I'll drop this issue, look for other possible dates but fully admit that my logic for this model was wrong, there is no other model I can build based on the entire 70 Weeks prophecy having a second fulfillment.

Here is the big thing.  They way I've redefined how I look at the 70 Weeks, and reject much Dispensationalist logic I used to buy into.  I will then if this theory is wrong reject the idea of the 70th Week being End Times relevant at all.

Now I can and have already proven that Revelation implies a 7 year time period, appealing to Daniel isn't needed.  Revelation 11 describes 3.5 years that must end before the 7th Trumpet sounds, while 12-13 describes 3.5 years that can't begin till after the 7th Trumpet sounds.  The 7th Trumpet I'm convinced is The Rapture Trumpet.

Seven Year time periods are a theme throughout Scripture, I don't need Daniel to prove that point.

And I'll still unlike most who view the 70th Week as fulfilled in the first advent reject the whole Crucifixion being the halfway point idea.  He was Crucified when the 69th Week ended and the 70th Began.  I explain somewhat a 30-37 AD 70th Week model here.  Jesus ministry was about 1 year not three.

A lot of this puts me on par with some of Rob Skiba's recent views.  His point about why Jacob's Trouble should be 20 years is interesting.  But he's assuming those 20 years can't have started yet, or at most started 3 years ago.

My current theory has the 7 years ending in 2025, 20 years before that is 2005, when Israel was forced to pull out of Gaza, evicting many Jews from their homes, and turning Gaza into a launching pad for terrorist attacks on Israel.  This was really Israel's first set back since they got their Nation in 1948.  Now that didn't happen in Nisan but still.

Now I am critical of how Israel has dealt with the Gaza situation recently, I do consider Israel's government as corrupt as any other.  But it's not the Israeli government who suffered, it's the Israeli people.  Just as the Cuban Embargo hurts the Cuban people, not it's Government.

Or if we view the 20 years of affliction as ending with The Rapture which I put at the midway point, which in this model is Yom Teruah in 2021.  That's about 20 years from 9/11.

Rob still makes the mistake of viewing the "Great Tribulation" as only the last half of the 7 years.  As I've argued firmly the Great Tribulation is all Church Age persecution.  If it's a time period at all then it began when Stephen was stoned and will end at The Rapture.  The "After the Tribulation" reference in Matthew 24 Post-Tribbers obsess over only proves that the Church's Tribulation by definition ends at the Rapture, no matter when The Rapture happens.  God's Wrath is still after and that and spans 42 months as a face value reading of Revelation proves.

The Woman of Revelation 12 who is national Israel still has tribulation however hiding in the Wilderness.  I agree with Rob that the Church is grafted into Israel in a sens,e but we're still distinct and National/Biological Israel still matter, the Woman of Revelation 12 is a mother not a bride, she can't be the Church.

Some Preterists have argued Stephen was stoned 1290 days after The Crucifixion (Tishri of 33 AD).  They made that argument equating that to the first half of the 70th Week, not the last, but still it's interesting, though different from the date for Stephen's stoning I speculated on originally as being around Hanukkah of 36/37 AD.

I'm not the biggest fan of allegorizeing numbers, especially the Day=Year method of Historicists.  But when the reference is an allegory to being with, like connecting Jacob's 20 year Affliction to the Eschatological Time of Jacob's Trouble, then to some extent why not.  Maybe 20 years can become 20 Centuries, Two Thousand years from the Stoning of Stephen till The Rapture.  That could certainly fit the 2030-2037 model I'd speculated on long ago. For this 2018-2025 model it'd work to say about 2000 years but not exactly.

If this theory is proven wrong, and I may consider it most likely wrong before the Nisan in question even starts if Temple progress isn't made.  I may consider a theory that while there is certainly a 7 year period in Revelation, it may not cover everything in Revelation 6-19 but rather only 11-19.  And maybe the proceeding 13 years could be where the Seals and first 6 Trumpets happen.  But I'd have to put a lot of thought into that.

Or maybe we should consider that a 20 year Time of Jacob's trouble refers not to before the Millennium but after it.  That it begins with Satan's getting let out of the Abyss.

The biggest inconvenience abandoning an Eschatological 70th Week would have for me is that I'd have to change the name of this Blog (Which was MidSeventitWeekRapture when I first made this Blog post).  The issue there is I've linked to this Blog in so many places, as references in many blog posts on this and my other blogs.  That I could never find and change all of them.  I'll have to check with Blooger on if it's possible to change the name but keep the old URLs in tact.

I may change the name even before abandoning this view, just for other reasons.  The new name for my Rapture model (which is distinct from traditional Mid-Trib) would be The Midway Point Rapture.
I may abandon having my rapture model as the name of the Blog at all, since it's a constant pain when I link to it in certain Facebook groups and people just respond to my Rapture model and not the subject of the actual post.

Update:

The ONLY think that could allow me to adjust this theory to a different timeline is if the Date for Suileman's decree is wrong.  And if I become convinced it is I will hope to do so and renounce this 2018-2025 timeline well before it become nigh.

The January 14 1546 Earthquake provides the only reason suspect something amiss there.  It is an odd coincidence that it seems Construction projects had started in Jerusalem less then 15 years before this Earthquake demanded further construction.

And it would be interesting if one cold re-date the Decree of Suileman to a year a couple months after the Earthquake, to the Nisan of 1547 AD, then that could cause line up with the 2030-2037 Model I'd already argued for awhile ago for completely unrelated reasons.  And it would mean Suleiman's decree was exactly 2000 years after Artaxerxes.

But in order for any of that to work one would have to argue against the reasons the rebuilding of the Walls is dated to 1535-1538.  And if that is solid it could be the usual date for the Earthquake that is wrong.

Another Update: I've for now abandoned this theory as explained here.

2018-2025 Seventieth Week Theory

The basic reasoning behind my developing this theory I have laid out in my Suleiman The Magnificent post.  Of course one needs to understand my reasons for disagreeing with those who say Date-Setting is inherently wrong.  At any-rate I'm not saying I know, it's a theory.

I'm not making any money off talking about this theory, I'm not writing a book about it, everything I have to say on it is up for free on this Blog.  And I do not have any kind of advertising arrangement that allows me to make money off of the clicks I get.

The gist is, it seems that the entire 70 weeks could have a double fulfillment not just the first.  And Sulieman's decree was issued possibly in Nisan of 1535.  490 years latter is 2025 putting the last week beginning in 2018.  Potential support for this comes from it being more then 70 but less then 80 years since 1948.

This puts the Mid-Way point and sounding of the Seventh Trumpet on Yom Teruah/First of Tishri 2021 AD.  Because the 70 Weeks all begin and end in Nisan.  Now we can't know for certain when Yom Teruah falls in 2021 because of what I explained about the Biblical Reckoning not always agreeing with The Rabbis.  At any-rate though, the Rabbis currently expect Yom Teruah of 2021 to fall on September 7th or 8th, the moon will be under Virgo's Feet on September 10th.

(Update: On further Stelarium study, I think 2021 is likely one of those years the Rabbinic Calendar is a month off.  So I think Yom Teruah will be October 6th or 7th, the Moon will be under Virgo's feet on the 7th.)

I speculate on how the 70th Week could play out here.

I recently explained why I feel The Rapture of The Man-Child is The Rapture of The Church.  That view is not at all dependent on adding any Virgo related speculation for the signs, but I decided to use Stelarium and take a look.

When The Moon is under Virgo's Feet on September 14th 2021, Venus will be between The Moon and Spica.  And the time Venus will be visible will be less then an hour.

Now in the Man-Child study I felt Revelation 2:27 and it's Rod of Iron reference was important, well the very next verse Jesus also says "I will give him The Morning Star".  How linked are those?  Could Venus represent the Rod of Iron in some way?

I don't know if this model will happen, but I will be paying attention.  I have an important follow up here.

I'm kind of annoyed

That currently the post poplar post of this Blog is the Lunar Tetrad of 2032-33 post.

I'm not dogmatic about any of my date setting theories.  And currently that one happens be my least favorite of the ones I've suggested in the history of this blog.

But I guess until this years Fall Feasts come and go the Blood Moon theory will remain the hot topic in Bible Prophecy, and so anything even vaguely related to it will get a lot of clicks.

Some Calculations for the 70th Week of Daniel

Drawing on theories I laid out in the 1290 days post and Messiah The Prince post.

Jewish tradition says Elijah will return on Passover, that is part of the reason for the Elijah Cup.  I would never build doctrine on Rabbinic tradition, but that happens to correspond towith many reasons I have for believing the 70th Week begins in Nisan.

Ezekiel 45 makes the 7th of Nisan important for some reason.  Interpretations of the Chronology of Joshua often put the entry of the two spies into Jericho on the 7th of Nisan.  If that is the day the Witnesses begin their ministry, then the 25th or 26th of Elul could be the day they're martyred, depending on if we count them inclusively.  Placing their Resurrection on the Feast of Trumpets or the eve of it, and then the Seventh Trumpet probably that same day or the next.

If it does start on Passover, either the 14th of 15 of Nisan they begin their ministry on.  Which could be the same day the White Horseman is formally crowned.  Then their martyrdom could be the third of Tishri, which is the fast of the seventh month.

I also have a feeling The Image of Revelation 13 (which I don't view as linked to The Temple), could be set up on the 15th of Cheshvan.  1290 days before that could fall if they're counted inclusively on the 26nd of Nisan.  That day is considered by Jewish Tradition the day Joshua died.  If The Antichrist claims to be or is claimed to be Messiah Ben-Joseph, then Joshua  is one of the people he'll be claimed as a type of him.  And I now think it's possible his mortal wounding could be the same day the 1290 days begins.

That is assuming no Second Adar during the period, if there is a Second Adar, then that moves either the start of the 1290 days up to Iyar or the end of it down to Tabernacles.

If the Beast's resurrection (when I begin the 42 months he's allowed to continue) is in Tishri, 42 New Moons latter could put his demise probably in Adar.

If the 1260 days Israel is in the wilderness begins on the 25th or 26th of Elul it could end on the 17th of Adar.  The last of the days affiliated with Purim.  If it starts on the third of Tishrei then the 25th of Adar could be it's end.  Jeremiah 52:31 makes that date potentially significant, many interpret that as also being the day Nebuchadnezzar died.

If we start the 1335 days with The Rapture, and it happens on the First of Tishri.  Their end would be around the 10th of Sivan.  If that day happens to fall on a Sunday, then it would probably be the day that Biblically Pentecost is supposed to fall on.  Sounds like a pretty good day to start The Millennium.

My theory is that the 70th week formally begins on the 1st of Nisan, but the actual events that will make clear we've entered it will happen latter in that same Nisan.

The Seven Millenniums of Human History Theory

It's a very popular hypothesis, it makes sense in light of the thematic importance of the number 7 in Scripture.  But I feel the foundation of it is rather shaky.  Yet most people who aren't entirely against Date Setting base their calculations almost solely on this theory, or some variant of the This Generation shall not pass theory, or some contrived view of Revelation 12.

2 Peter 3 draws on a statement from one of the Psalms to say "A day is like a Thousand years and a Thousand years like a day".  The intent of this statement is merely a poetic idiom of God's Timelessness.

But it's popular from there to build a doctrine of the 7 days of Creation representing 7 Millennium of Human History.

It is interesting that this 7 Millenniums theory is expressed in The Talmud and other Rabbinic sources, and Christian supporters of these views keep pointing to the Rabbinic and Kabbalistic support of the idea to prop it up, since it lacks direct Biblical support.  Still Christian support for the idea goes back to Ireaneus.  But the Church Fathers who held this view believed Jesus first advent was around 5500 AM because they used the Septuagint, so they predicted about 500-5030 AD for the Millennium to start.

The core thing that makes it seem credible to Christians is the doctrine of The Millennium from Revelation 20., which becomes viewed as the Sabbath millennium.

One problem is the Revelation 20 Millennium is never Biblically defined as a period of rest or even of peace.  1 Corinthians 15, the only place outside Revelation that clearly addresses there being a period between the Second Coming and the full New Creation, says in verses 24-28.

"Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.  For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.  And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all."

It's defined sort of as a period of Conquest.  Zechariah 14 also seems to show it as a time when Jesus is ruling, but people are obeying him out of fear not love.  I've explained elsewhere how lots of passages people think are The Millennium are really the New Heaven and New Earth.  Those include Isaiah 65, Ezekiel 40-48 and Psalm 48.

But the greater death nail to the theory is that in fact there is more then a Thousand years between the destruction of The Beast and the Descent of New Jerusalem..

Revelation 20 has many conditions, but only one is defined as ending "when the Thousand years are over", Satan being bound in The Abyss.  The Beheaded Saints reign with Christ a thousand years, but it doesn't say their reign ends then.  The "rest of the dead" are not raised till after the Thousand years, but it doesn't say that happens immediately either.

Satan has to deceive the Nations before the Gog and Magog invasion can happen.  We have no idea how long he'll do that, it certainly could be very quickly, but maybe it could be a long time, years, centuries, maybe even another thousand years.

More important then that however is that I do agree with Chris White that the Gog and Magog invasion of Revelation 20 is the same as Ezekiel 38-39.  In which case we know their dead bodies will be buried for 7 years before being raised for the White Throne Judgment.  And the burying will take 7 months.

So I certainly think roughly 7 Thousand years is possible.  But I would highly advise against making needing exactly 6000 years pivotal to your chronology.  Though I have suggested one such theory in the past, but I had other reasons for that theory also, and now no longer support that chronology at all.

A stronger Biblical argument can be made for using the "Day like a Thousand years" idea with Hosea 5:15-6:2 for Two Thousand years from the Ascension.  Which refers to YHWH returning to His place for two days and coming back on the third day when Israel acknowledges their offense.  Hosea 5:15 is God talking.  Chapter 6 records what Israel will pray in their repentance, 6:2 has the time reference in mind.

Which based on my 30 AD date for the Crucifixion can back up a 2030-2037 model with a 2033 Rapture.

Because Hosea's statement was a Prophecy, that works better then looking at 7 literal days that did literally happen and saying that tells how long history will be when no Bible passage directly tells us that.

But it could be Hosea is also talking about literal 24 hour days.  Perhaps events that will transpire during the end times.

So I see Hosea as possibly implying about 2000 years from the Ascension to the Second Coming, but not necessarily exactly to the day or even exact year.

But I'm not gonna be dogmatic on that either, since I hate the Day=Year theory of historicists, I feel considering Day=Millennium definitive when the scriptural support for both is about equal is quite hypocritical.  The Day=Year theory does have a precedent in Ezekiel 4, but that is Ezekiel doing something for days he's told represents years, it does not justify saying every reference to days in Daniel and Revelation is really years.

Many people arguing for the 7 Millenniums theory incorporate the Hosea reference into it.  They argue Jesus was Crucified in the 4000th year from Adam, they provide no proper chronology to back that up, only asserting symbolic reasons it would make sense.  Then cite Hosea to support 2000 years from the first advent to the second.

Another argument for 6000 years is trying to say the 120 years of Genesis 6 refers to 120 Jubilees and 50x120=6000.  1. That is clearly about 120 years before the Flood, no mention of Jubilees, a second application to human life spans/what a generation is possible but not solid.  2. A Jubilee is actually 49 years, the 50th year is the first year of the next cycle.  3. The Jubliee was given to Moses to be instituted by Joshua, it's not relevant to any pre-Mosaic history.

I lay out a possible opinion on when the year 6000 was here.

Genesis 5-6 don't have anything happen on exactly the year 1000, Genesis 11-12 has nothing happen on exactly the year 2000 though there is a rabbinic tradition based on the wrong 1948 AM birth-date for Abraham that he first became a Believer at 52.  Ussher had the completion of The Temple in the year 3000 AM but if he was wrong on anything then that doesn't work.  Ussher's Creation date could also be used to make the proposed 3 BC Birth of Jesus date 4000 AM, but I no longer consider that date valid.

So I see no reason to think the year 6000 was or will be important.

This Generation shall not pass

From Matthew 24 is one of the most debated details of Bible Prophecy.

The Preterist view is the most obviously wrong, in saying Jesus must have meant the people currently listening to him, they ignore the entire context in which that quote is made.

What I want to discus here is the disagreement among Futurists about whether or not it's valid to see this statement as being about modern Israel.

Throughout history Christians have wanted to believe they are living in the last generation.  Those of us living post 1948 feel the main thing that makes our belief the End Times will happen soon more legit is that for most of that history the lack of a nation of Israel in the Holy Land forced Bible Prophecy believers to allegorize everything to make it fit their own time.  The Temple is clearly in view in Matthew 24, 2 Thessalonians 2 and Revelation 11.

But none of that makes Israel's founding in 1948 a specific fulfillment of Prophecy.  And I agree with the critics of Dispensationalism and Zionisism that the major Bible Prophecies we keep trying to make sound like they're about 1948 are clearly in their Biblical Context about Israelites returning in Belief, and from a Christian POV modern Israel is still in Unbeleif.  Those Prophecies are really mainly about either stuff that happens after Armageddon and/or during the Millennium, or the descent of New Jerusalem.

As for Matthew 24, the debate is if the "This Generation" just refers to the ones who see the Signs Jesus had been describing?  That seems like the plainest reading, but the Mystery is the Parable of The Fig Tree bares investigating.  Matthew 24:32-34

"Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.  Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled."

Why see the blossoming of this Fig Tree as about Israel?

First there was a curious incident involving a real live Fig Tree earlier in Chapter 21 after Jesus first arrived in Jerusalem for this Passover season.   In which Jesus curses a Fig Tree to never bear fruit again, and then it withers and dies.  At face value this story interprets itself as being just a demonstration of the power of Faith.  But why demonstrate it in such an odd way?  Why not demonstrate it by giving life rather then taking it?

Commentators of Mathew's Gospel like Chuck Missler like to view Matthew 13 as when Israel's leadership rejects Jesus as Messiah.  If the Fig Tree is in some way a symbol of Israel, Jesus unstated intent may have been for his disciples to realize it's up to them to use the power of their Faith to restore life the Fig Tree that Jesus just withered.

Is there a basis in the Hebrew Scriptures for using the Fig Tree symbolically in such a way?

The first reference in The Bible to a fig trees is in Deuteronomy, that passage like many others is just listing them among various trees.

Judges 9:10-11 uses the Fig Tree as a symbol of Gideon, symbols of national leaders often becomes symbols of the nation.

1 Kings 4:25 describes the nation's peace and prosperity by saying "And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon."  The Fig Tree is affiliated with Israel's prosperity.  2 Kings 18:41 repeats this imagery in the days of Hezekiah, the same situation is again repeated in Isaiah 36-39.  And it's used again in Jeremiah 5:17.  Later Jeremiah 8:13 says "I will surely consume them, saith the LORD: there shall be no grapes on the vine, nor figs on the fig tree, and the leaf shall fade; and the things that I have given them shall pass away from them."

So all this together makes a re-blooming of a Fig Tree a good symbol for Israel's restoration.

Now to show this interpretation is not purely the result of Darby and other Nineteenth Century Dispensationalists.  The apocryphal Apocalypse of Peter which was probably written in the Second Century and was considered canon by many early Christians.  Clearly states the Olive Tree is Israel.  That writer's agenda in that identification may have been different from anyone today.  But the point is it existed.

You might object "Even so, it's about Spiritual restoration not nationally in unbelief".  That is true, but the two are linked.  Israel's Spiritual Blindness discussed in Romans 9-11 did not fully overtake them over night.  It was there from the Birth of The Church, but still the Early Church was mostly Jewish when it started, and in the region remained predominately Jewish until well after the Bar-Kochba revolt.

After Suileman began rebuilding the Wall of Jerusalem from 1534-1541, Zionisim was born in 1561 thanks to Joseph Nasi.  And not long after in the wake of the Reformation, especially in the English Speaking world, Christian Zionism is born thanks to men like Thomas Brightman.

Likewise since 1948 Messianic Jews have gown in number greatly.  I'm a Dispensationalsit sort of but not a strict one like Pre-Tribers are.

However I will say the fact that it's first and foremost Spiritual means it may be an error to link it to some easily definable Geo-Political calendar date like 1948, or retaking Jerusalem in 1967, or even the yet Future rebuilding of The Temple.  It may be referring to the Spiritual Blindness being significantly lifted when the Abomination of Desolation happens. In which case a maximum number for a Generation is not needed.

But I refute the usual argument against Date-Setting here.

What number should be a Biblical Generation?

Hal Lindsay popularized 40 based on the wondering in The Wilderness.  F. Kenton Beshore has suggested 70-80 based on Psalm 90:10.  We could also use 120 based on Genesis 6, as well as that being about roughly the Maximum people can live to today, and it's how long Moses lived, and about the length of the combined reigns of Saul, David and Solomon.  But both Moses siblings were older then him and died earlier the same year.  And Jehoiada lived to 130.

There are also dates older then 1948 one could choose if they wanted to.  1897 is considered the Birth of the modern Zionist movement.  120 years from that is 2017, 2017 is popular in some currently trendy Speculation based on a flawed understanding of Revelation 12 which I've addressed before and am highly skeptical of.

1904 was an important year for reasons having to do with William Hechler's efforts and that being the beginning of a major wave of Jewish immigration to the region.  120 years from that is 2024.

In 1909 the city of Tel-Aviv the secular Capital of Modern Israel (or at-least the city the international community recognizes as it's capital) was founded by the ruins of Jaffa the ancient port city of Dan.  120 years from that is 2029.

The Balfour Declaration was in 1917, 120 years from then would be 2037.

1933 was the controversial transfer agreement, 120 years from that would be 2053.

1948+40 was 1988 which notoriously didn't happen. The 70-80 theory gives about 2018-2028 which lines up interestingly with some earlier numbers.  120 years from 1948 would be 2068.

1967 Israel recaptures Jerusalem, the Jewish construction in the Old City was officially allowed around Passover of 1969.  Adding 40 years was 2007-2009 which was nothing.  Adding 70-80 gets 2037/9-2047/9.  Adding 120 years gets 2087-2089.

So it'll be interesting to see how those possible dates line up with other speculative calculations.

Suleiman and the 70 Weeks of Daniel

I've argued on this Blog for why I believe the first 69 weeks of Daniel 9 were fulfilled from 454 BC-30 AD.  I decided later in response to those who are Futurists yet view the 70th Week as fulfilled, to investigate the possibility of the 70th week being fulfilled from 30-37 AD.  And then I came to the conclusion that the 70th Week is a Prophecy with a dual Fulfillment.

I eventually decided to contemplate in my mind the possibility of the first 69 weeks having a second fulfillment also.  This would require another decree to rebuild Jerusalem.  It need not seem identical to the one by Artaxerxes or any other Persian ruler.  It matters only that it fit what Daniel 9 says of it.  Interestingly Daniel 9's description of the Decree says nothing about Israelites returning to Jerusalem at this time, or anything about The Temple.  Only the City being restored and rebuilt with a specific emphasis on The Walls.

I decided to look at Wikipedia's Timeline of Jerusalem and saw that 1535-1538 AD Suleiman The Magnificent had Jerusalem rebuilt including The Walls which had been in ruin since at least 135 AD. Also The Dome of The Rock was renovated then.  These restored Walls are the Walls that stand to this day.  The story goes that he gave a decree to rebuild the Walls that was prompted by a divinely inspired dream he had.  Whatever prompted the Decree, we have archaeological evidence of it.

Building inscription commemorating the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem 

Jerusalem 

Ottoman period, 1535–1538 

Stone 

Israel Antiquities Authority 

Accession number: IAA 1942-265 

The Ottoman Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent ordered the construction of new buildings in Jerusalem and the renovation of existing ones. Among his most notable projects were the renovation of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount and the rebuilding of the Jerusalem city walls. The walls, reminiscent of those surrounding Istanbul, are the ones that still surround Jerusalem’s Old City today. This building inscription commemorates their renewal.

“Has decreed the construction of the wall he who has protected the home of Islam with his might and main and wiped out the tyranny of idols with his power and strength, he whom alone God has enabled to enslave the necks of kings in countries (far and wide) and deservedly acquire the throne of the Caliphate, the Sultan son of the Sultan son of the Sultan son of the Sultan, Suleyman.”

Digital presentation of this object was made possible by: The Ridgefield Foundation, New York, in memory of Henry J. and Erna D. Leir

I've already addressed the usual argument against Date Setting.  

Problem is we don't know exactly when this "decree" was, it was in the range of 1535-1538 AD.  In my view in order for it to fit perfectly it needs to have been made in Nisan.  

I did some searching and found that others had noticed this possibility before me.  A lot of them however seem to incorporate mistakes about the 70 Weeks Prophecy I addressed in my earliest posts on it.

I saw on one website someone arguing that only this Decree could fit Daniel 9 and not any of the Persian ones.  They base it on seeing Daniel 9:25 as saying that the Wall must continually stand at least during the entirety of the 62 weeks.  The Walls built during Persian times were breached at least once before the earliest possible date one could give for the 62 weeks ending (106 BC and that requires a few assumptions I view as wrong, I as you know see them as ending in 30 AD), by Antiochus Epiphanes forces, Josephus Antiquities of The Jews Book 12 Chapter 5 does say he destroyed the walls.  Suleiman's Walls meanwhile have stood without interruption unto this very day.

The problem with that argument is that it removes the first Advent of Christ from the 70 Weeks.  Also Gabriel was clearly promising something in the near future, something at least some of Daniel's original readers would live to see.  What's said about the Walls standing has room for interpretation, Antiochus did not completely destroy them like the Romans did in 70 and 135 AD. 

It is a common feature of Double Fulfillment Prophecies that certain key details are not fulfilled in their truest sense till the second fulfillment, that's largely why we know it needs a second.  In the case of the 70 weeks we tend to see the 70th alone as what needs something yet future to be fulfilled.

But given what I argued already about my view of the 70th Week, the implication that perhaps the Walls could be torn down or breached when the Eschatological 70th Week starts is pretty provocative.  Since I am expecting the Nisan that starts The Week to include an Islamic conquest of Jerusalem in response to The Temple being rebuilt.  And a Decoy Antichrist will kill the true Antichrist who will be heralded as Messiah Ben-Joseph.

Most people believe if Jerusalem is conquered by a foreign enemy during the 70th Week it's at the midway point, at the same time as the Abomination of Desolation.  And I have other reasons for thinking an End Times deception could involve making people think the beginning of The Week was it's middle.  It was I think in Nisan that the Walls of Jericho fell.

If this theory is true, I think some discovery will be made before the 70th Week begins that will clarify exactly when Suleiman made his decree.  And if it was in Nisan on either the Rabbinic Hebrew, Kariete Hebrew or Samaritan Hebrew calendar, then I will start feeling this hypothesis is very possible.

The margin of error currently gives us Nisan of 2018-2021 for the start of the 70th week.  Tishri of 2021-2024 for the Midway Point, when I place The Rapture/Second Coming, and when we all place the Abomination of Desolation.  And Nisan of 2025-2028 for the end of the 70th Week.

People have independently of this seen reasons to look to that range for the end times.  Some of those I might get into in future posts.  I've offered two possible 70th Week theories on this blog before, neither of which are compatible with this.  I'm trying to consider many possibilities.

Update: It seems the 1535-1538 range is really the time the walls were under construction, though other construction in Jerusalem continued for awhile after, 1541 for the Golden Gate, and then additional renovations after the 1546 Earthquake.  Which means the Decree could have likely been Nisan 1535 placing the 70th week as 2018-2025, with the Seventh Trumpet sounding on the First of Tishri in 2021, marking the Mid-Way Point.

I've come to view the 7 and 62 weeks distinction as that the 7 weeks is how long the construction went on.  I know of no documentation that anything was exactly finished in 1584, but it's possible, that's 38 years after the earthquake.

Also a correction on something I said above, it was April 1st 1969 not 68 reconstruction in the Old City was allowed.  I've seen one website suggest that the second fulfillment perhaps switched the order of the 7 weeks and the 62 weeks.  I think that's torturing the text a bit, but that it is a full jubilee from then to Nisan 2018 is interesting.

Update May 2017:   If you want to learn more about Suleiman himself in an easy and fun way, I recommend watching Extra History: Suleiman The Magnificent.

Possibility of 2050-2057

I'm not dogmatic on any date setting.  But I have come to an interesting hypothetical theory.

If you take Ussher's Creation date (4004 B.C.) and correct him only on the 60 year dispute on when in Terah's life Abraham was born, you get 3944 B.C. Which then has 2057 mark the begging of the 6001st year of History, (remember that there is no year 0).

Meanwhile J.R. Church had his Hidden Prophecies in the Psalms theory, centered on the fact that Psalm 48 could be viewed as a Prophecy of Israel's restoration in 1948 (though it's ultimately about New Jerusalem). But he stopped viewing them as correlating to years with Book 5 (Psalm 107 and up) because he didn't want the end to be that far off.  With 150 Psalms, that puts the Period the Psalms document as ending in 2050.

There are reasons I've come to theorize that the Seventh Trumpet (which I view as the midway point of the 70th week) could correlate to a Solar Eclipse on the eve of the Feast of Trumpets (First of Tishri).  There will be one on September 12 of 53 AD.  This is similar to the August 2 2027 eclipse a certain website online sees as significant.  But that Eclipse is two months too early to be the Feast of Trumpets.  That site also uses historist day=year theory nonsense about Issac Newton's 2060 theory.

It will only be partial over Israel, but be Total over North Africa and Arabia. I think it only being Partial is fine, it's pretty rare any of the Solar Eclipses at the right time of year are visible in Israel at all, and the next century has none that are Total over Israel.  Jesus' description in Matthew 24 has the Sun and Moon darkened but still visible.  This one fits the best of any within the life time of people alive now.

I'm not a supporter of the Blood Moon theory as I've explained on this blog before.  If the Moon turning to Blood in Joel 2 and Revelation 6 has any natural explanation at all, volcanic eruptions can work just as easily.  And there is certainly no Tetrad needed, the Blood Moon references in Scripture are all a singular event.

However I have argued for unrelated reasons that I feel the Sixth Seal events could happen on the Passover of the Nisan that begins the 70th Week.  And at any rate I do think the moon turning to Blood would have the best dramatic effect if it's a Full Moon.

There will be a Total Lunar Eclipse visible in Israel on May 6 of 2050.  On the Calendar the Jews currently use that's a month too late to be Passover.  But some people think the Jewish calendar is in some years off by a month, and indeed the Samaritans and Karaites both do their leap months differently.  But if it is accurate then that May 6th would be Second Passover, which I have before argued for seeing as possibly eschatologicaly significant.  This Blood Moon is also the first of a Tetrad.

The Sixth Seal theory I've worked out before could easily be adjusted to that, the Horsemen would still ride in Nisan.

Back to the 2053 Solar Eclipse.  It will be at that time that Jupiter is leaving Virgo after having been in her for over 9 months.  Venus, Mercury, Uranus and Mars will all be in Virgo at that time too.  Which can be interesting in light of Revelation 12 theories.  The Moon will indeed be under the feet of Virgo just a few days later.

The top objection to this other then usual anti Date Setting sentiment would be the view that the end must come within a generation of 1948.  People are already beginning to more commonly live to 120, so some people born before 1948 could still be alive in 2057.

Edit Update : I was honestly unaware when I first came up with this of Frank J. Tipler and his reasons for predicting the second coming before 2057. (of course my model as a form of "Mid-Trib" places the Second Coming proper in 2053).

Lunar Eclipse Tetrad of 2032-33

Why doesn't Mark Blitz take an interest in this?  All 4 of these are Total.  And for that Tetrad 2 will be visible in the middle East (the second and third) not just the last one like the current Tetrad.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_21st-century_lunar_eclipses

I still consider the Blood Moon Theory bunk altogether.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v--qn0ZyZi0

The Sun being Darkened and the Moon turning Red at the same time means it's a lot more then just a Lunar Eclipse.  Lunar Eclipses do not always make the Moon look Red.  And it's been Documented that Volcanic Eruptions can cause the Sun to Darken and Moon to turn Red.  Also passages that are NOT Blood Moons but the Sun and Moon both being Darkened (like the Olivite Discourse), refer to Solar Eclipses if anything Astronomical.

The October 2032 Lunar Eclipse will be more visible in Israel then any of the 2014-15 ones.

The Reason Bltiz doesn't care about this Tetrad is only the 33 Blood Moons fall in Nisan and Tishrei on the current Hebrew Calendar.  In 32 they're a month latter.  But first many people theorize that in certain years the current Jewish Calendar is a month off (The Samaritans often observe the major Holy Days a month latter).  Second however is the dates those Lunar Eclipses fall on are Biblically significant.

The April 2032 Blood Moon is on Second Passover.  A date I've argued elsewhere may have more Prophetic significance then people realize.

The October 2032 Lunar Eclipse is on the eve of The Feast of Jeroboam.

What is interesting to me is, while I don't engage in dogmatic date setting, I've become attracted to theorizing the 70th Week of Daniel may be from 2030-237 AD.  And I am against the usual absolutely all Date Setting is wrong attitude of Pre-Trib and Pre-Wrathers, they misuse what Jesus said without the Context of Revelation 1.

First, since I date the Crucifixion to 30 AD that would make the Gap between the 69th and 70th Weeks exactly 2000 years.  Fitting the two day thing from Hosea.

I also observed how possibly the events of 30-37 AD could be viewed as a type of the End Times 70th week.  (And as part of that I mentioned the Blood Moon Tetrad Blitz points to in 32-33 AD. but I wasn't of aware of this Tetrad back then).

Also a Total Solar Eclipse happens on the Feast of Trumpets in September 2033.  There are reasons considering the Seventh Trumpet and Revelation 12 I've come to conclude that it's highly probable The Rapture will likely correspond to a Total Solar Eclipse on the First of Tishrei.

That year is also a rare year that the Sunset of the Feast of Trumpets falls on the Fall Equinox.  That correlation is significant because I believe when God originally created everything the Lunar and Solar cycles were in-synch, and the Fall Equinox always fell on the 1st of Tishrei.  And Nisan 1 on the Spring Equinox.

Also a little before that Eclipse, Venus has a near conjunction with Regulus, and Mercury with Spica.  Those may not mean anything, but I make note of them.

So I'm not saying any of this will matter.  But it's interesting to look at, as it fits my Mid-Seventieth Week view.

Update: I'm now leaning towards a different theory.

Further Update: I would not use the Karaites not Samaritans to suggest the Rabbinic calendar is sometimes wrong.  And i gave this model new thought here.

October 2015 Update:  I've made some new observation useful to this theory here.

Conjecturing on a possible secondary Astronomical significance to Revelation 12.

First and Foremost Revelation 12 is a symbolic summery of all History, where The Woman is Israel, the Man Child is Jesus and/or The Church, and The Dragon is Satan.  And the third of the stars The Dragon caused to fall to The Earth I don't think accounts for all Fallen Angels, but specifically those from Genesis 6.  Because the Angels fighting with The Dragon latter haven't fallen form Heaven yet, they're still up there with the Dragon.

But it's also possible, When John Says he saw a Wonder in heaven, that it could be referring to signs seen in the Heavens at this time.  The Greek Texts has no Chapter breaks, this is still the outcome of the Seventh Trumpet.

Kai (Strong# 2532) the Greek for "and" used at the start of Verse one, can also mean "also", even" "then" and so on.  This is a Wonder seen right after or during all the events of the Seventh Trumpet.

I'm well aware there are a lot of dangerous ideas linked to the Mazzaroth and Gospel in The Stars theories.  But I still think they're worthy of study.  And I think Jupiter's conjunction with Regulus on September 11th 3 B.C. was the Star of Bethlehem.

Thing is, unlike a lot of people delving into the possible Astronomical implications of Revelation 12, I don't think there is anything here sufficient to tell us what year it happens, just the time of year.

First question, why choose Virgo for The Woman?  Yes being a Virgin fits other Biblical themes but Revelation 12 itself uses no word for Virgin, and there are other Constellation that are represented as female personages.

The main reason is that Virgo is the only female one that is part of the Zodiac, so only she can have the Sun and Moon pass through her, that is what makes the Zodiac Constellations different from the others, they're the ones the Sun, Moon and Planets pass through.

The Sun and Moon both being in some way in the same constellation means it's an event on or near a New Moon, because the New Moon is when the Moon is as close as it gets that monthly cycle to The Sun, that is why Solar Eclipses always happen on New Moons.  Virgo is the longest Constellation, so generally two New Moons happen in Virgo every year.  The Moon being specifically under Virgo's Feet places it right at the end of the Moon's travel through Virgo, so generally 1 or 2, or maybe 3 days after the New Moon.

Almost always, the New Moon of Tishri (The Feast of Trumpets/Yom Teruah) occurs while they are in Virgo.  That fits with this following the Seventh Trumpet, because the First of Tishri is also affiliated with the Last Trump.

A day or two after the First of Tishri is interesting, this could be Tzom Gedalya, the Third of Tishri.  One of Four major Fast Days of the Jewish Calendar.  Zachariah 8:18-19 foretells that all four major Fast Days will become Joyous celebrations.  Maybe one of those will be the day of The Rapture.  Tishri is in the Seventh Month here, because God uses the Holy Calendar which begins with Nisan.

You may be thinking, "Virgo isn't even visible in the Night Sky when the Sun is in her".  Normally yes, but if we're at the time of the Rapture for this particular New Moon or soon after, Jesus said in Matthew 24:29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:".  Contrary to Pre-Wrath conjecture this is incompatible with the Sixth Seal.  But Stars fall from Heaven in Revelation 12 as well.  And if the Sun and Moon are darkened, then perhaps unlike normal circumstances the Constellations will be visible during Daytime hours.

Full Moons, as an interesting side note, are the opposite, they are when the Moon is farthest from the Sun, the other side of the Earth.  Why Lunar Eclipses are always on Full Moons.  The Full Moon that begins Tabernacles in Tishri generally happens while the Sun is in Virgo and the Moon in Aries, The Ram.  The Full Moon linked to Passover is while the Sun is in Aries and the Moon in Virgo, usually under her Feet.  I looked and the Passover of 30 AD when I believe the Crucifixion happened is no exception.  Rams are a Levitically clean animal, used in Temple Sacrifices.  They're related to Lambs, and I bet some less well known forms of the Zodiac have used a Lamb instead of a Ram for that Constellation.  So it's an interesting one to be linked to Passover.

Now one thing considered necessary to narrow this down is one of the Planets being in her (usually Jupiter is the favored one) and probably about to leave.  To represent the Man Child in her Womb.  But this isn't really rare at all, a planet (sometimes more then one) is almost always there when this happens.  This years (2014) Yom Teruah (which begins at Sunset September 24th), Mercury and Venus will both be there.  Venus will go through it rather quickly, Mercury will stay awhile.

Jupiter is favored because it's the Planet of Kingship.  The star that was in Conjunction with Regulus of Leo to be the Star of Bethlehem in one popular theory.  And it usually spends 9 months to a year in roughly the womb area of Virgo, depending on how you define when it enters and exits.  But Jupiter leaves Virgo every 12 years.  A lot of attention is paid to when Jupiter will leave Virgo in September of 2017.  But it will happen again 12 years later, only lacking certain details of the 2017 event deemed important by it's proponents, mainly Leo having 3 extra stars.

Leo is directly above the head of Virgo, and linked to Royalty.  But is today viewed as a 9 star Constellation, so the assumption tends to be that you need to add 3 planets to make it fit being Virgos 12 star Crown.  The overlooked historical detail is that Coma Berneicis was part of Leo in Ancient Times.  Though it was already refereed to sometimes as a distinct sub portion of the Constellation, like Orion's Belt, it was not separated from Leo until Renaissance times.

The Coma is 3 stars as defined by Ptolemy.  One of it's stars is even named Diadem, meaning Crown.  So in Fact Virgo's 12 Star Crown is always there, you don't need any other more distinct event.

As attractive as the September 2017 event may look.  I view The Seventh Trumpet as the middle of the 70th week.  And I believe The 70th Week can't begin until The Temple is fully reconstructed.  So it's too late now.  Still I will pay attention as we approach that date, I'm prepared to be wrong.

October 9th/10th 2029 fits equally as many valid qualifications.  I don't want to Date set on it either, but what's interesting is it's during the time when we will be living exactly 2000 years since the roughly year long ministry of Jesus Christ.  The Tishri of 2029 will be the 2000 year anniversary of John 7.

Thing is, I don't think Jupiter or any Star being in Virgo is required at all to fit what this describes.  The Man Child I don't think needs to be represented specifically by an astronomical object.  It's simply that from the Christian view of the stars, the Woman is always inherently pregnant with The Man Child.  In most views of the Mazzaroth, Spica is the Seed of The Woman.

So as I said before, these signs tell us the time of year, but not what year.  Once The Week begins we'll be able to calculate what year, but not yet.

Update September 26th 2015: My thoughts have Revelation 12 have been adjusted quite a bit.  Read this.

2 Peter 3, the real Biblical relevence of 2012, the boy who cried wolf

Verses 3-7

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation."

For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

Many things are foretold here. Including the Uniformitarian scientific heresy, which is the root of Evolution and the Big Bang Theory and all of that stuff. A denial of the both The Creation and The Flood.

But also hinted at is the notion that people will stop taking predictions of the End Coming seriously because people have always been saying the end is about to come. This is one of the reasons the signs of the end are compared to a Woman in Labor, because false alarms happen.

This attitude was emerging already even before the Y2K panic. Skeptics pointing out how Christians have always thought their Generation was going to be the last. The overlooked problem is during most of Church history it was impossible to do that taking the Prophecies literally at face value, with Israel not being a Nation. Now the only factor lacking is The Temple, and once the Rabbis accept that the traditional view of The Temple's location is wrong it can be rebuild immediately.

Before the end of 2011, there was one random Church predicting the Rapture would happen in May. Then when it didn't people starting wearing T-Shirts mocking the whole thing saying "I Survived The Rapture".

So I think 2012 may have been the last straw, the way the hype around that surpassed all the others, and sadly even many Christians jumped into it in-spite of it being based on a Pagan concept. They should have viewed Chris White's 2012 debunking videos on Youtube.

Perhaps the Blood Moon theory is one minor remaining hyped up date setting that has to pass first.  I also recommend Chris White's debunkings of that.