Intro Note: This article is a revision of a draft I sent to some of you a week ago. Many thanks to those who provided feedback. The article is longer than normal. Some email providers will truncate the text but the full article will be on Substack; just click the email link or this link or visit my website. If you have any problems let me know. Many of you, like me, will find it’s a fascinating topic but because it’s a journey through unfamiliar territory you may want to divide it into more than a single reading session.
James Ussher’s study of Bible chronology, first published in the mid-17th century, was, for many years, considered to be the most accurate reckoning of Old Testament chronology. Even today, 370 years later, it is viewed as good scholarship despite some inaccuracies that have since come to light. His calculation of the date of creation is still widely accepted among many Christians as a reasonable estimate. Wikipedia states:
Ussher's proposed date of 4004 BC differed little from other biblically based estimates, such as those of Johannes Kepler (3992 BC) or Sir Isaac Newton (c. 4000 BC).. . . The date of 4000 BC as the creation of Adam was at least partially influenced by the widely held belief that the Earth was approximately 5600 years old (2000 from Adam to Abraham, 2000 from Abraham to the birth of Christ, and 1600 years from Christ to Ussher), corresponding to the six days of Creation, on the grounds that "one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day" (2 Peter 3:8). This tradition [aka the great week of time] was believed to indicate that Jesus would return in AD 2000, more than six thousand years after 4004 BC.
With the approach of the 2000th anniversary of Christ’s baptism (27 AD), the great week of time (GWT) has again captured the attention of many Adventists. Recently a friend of mine who shares my view on the GWT claimed he could prove that Christ will return in 2027. His proof went like this: 2027 will be the 2000th anniversary of the baptism of Christ and the 6000th anniversary from the fall of Adam. As God told Noah there would be 120 years before the flood, our generation is on divine notice that probation ends after 120 jubilees of 50 years. 50 x 120 = 6000 years which expire in 2027 at the start of the seventh millennium.
He thought his case was solid. I disagreed but I liked the simplicity of his rationale so I differed with him without being dismissive.i Because of this conversation, not long afterward I revisited whether the biblical jubilee is 49 or 50 years, and in the process, I came across new information that helps establish the date of the Exodus, 1457 BC in my reckoning, and the jubilee cycle. The evidence was strong enough that I thought I should test my date, (and the cycle), by looking at whether it cross-referenced with secular Egyptian records.
In Old Testament chronology, the biggest problem that Ussher faced and that all scholars and Bible students grapple with still is the ambiguity in the chronology of the kings. Secular historians have not been able, so far, to cross-reference important biblical dates before the sixth century BC, and the Exodus is much earlier.
But do such records exist? I believe so because there is no lack of records. The problem has been accurately cross-referencing them and the reason for the difficulty is that most secular archaeologists and historians start from the wrong premise, putting more weight on the records of heathen civilizations than they do the only reliable source, the holy scriptures. This is not to discount the effort and genius that they have expended in deciphering ancient languages and reconstructing past eras. We’re indebted to the excellent work of these professionals. But it’s time the Christian community, like Isaac Newton, humbly stood on their shoulders and drew on their works, basing our understanding on the solid foundation of the word of God.
The Egyptian Evidence.
And so, after studying the Bible’s Exodus chronology, I reviewed the history of the 18th Egyptian Dynasty which, according to Egyptologists, ruled at that time. I found some interesting leads, but one in particular caught my attention because it appeared to cross-reference to scripture not only pinpointing a year for the Exodus but the exact month and day. Could it really be possible!?
It seemed too good to be true, but, in scripture, I found a unique time prophecy, Ezekiel 4, that clarifies the ambiguity of the kings, which corroborates this record. In addition, the same prophecy is linked to a scriptural cross-reference, the sabbatical cycle, which serves as a second verification tool.
The payoff of knowing the true date of the Exodus, besides establishing solid dates back to creation, which, in itself, is a major reward, is the reestablishment of the long-lost jubilee, the great Hebrew year of liberty that symbolizes the end of the age and the liberation of the saints from their prisons and grave cells at the second Advent of Christ. We’ll look at Ezekiel 4 below, but before we go there, first we’ll look 1) briefly at the Egyptian chronology of the Exodus period; 2) we’ll examine an important battle during this time between Egypt and the Semite kings; 3) we’ll review the theater of Egyptian politics just before the Exodus and, 4) the purging of historical records by Thutmose III and in conclusion show how all these things point to 5) perhaps the greatest cover-up in human history and 6) how they confirm both the biblical Exodus account and Bible chronology.
According to Egyptologists who hold to the high view of Egyptian chronology, Thutmose III, reigned from 1504 to 1450 BC. Egyptologists who hold to the low view, and who are now in the majority, say 1479 to 1425 BC. These date ranges agree with both Ussher (1491 BC) and many modern Christian scholars (1446 BC) so that if Thutmose III was the Pharaoh in those years, he may have been the Pharaoh of the Exodus. This is corroborated to some extent by the fact that Egypt’s next ruler, Amenhotep II, was Thutmose’s second eldest son because his older brother predeceased him. If Thutmose III was ruling during the Exodus, then, according to scripture, his eldest was among the slain Egyptian firstborn.
Egyptologists reject these assertions pointing to the recorded date of this Pharaoh’s death, in 1425 BC, as proof that this man could not be the Pharaoh of scripture because he was alive two decades after the biblical Exodus account. They also point out that in this record, there is no mention of his drowning in the Red Sea.
However, the Egyptologists have overlooked an event regarding this same Pharaoh that matches the biblical Exodus account, not merely to the year but to the day. Egyptian hieroglyphs at the Karnak Temple Complex record a battle between Thutmose III and the “Canaanite kings,” a reference, in my view, to the Israelites who were from this region, which took place on the 21st day of the first month of Year 23 of the reign of Thutmose III. Egyptologists calculate this date as April 16, 1457 BC. This agrees with the biblical record that the armies of Egypt drowned on the last day of the Week of Passover, the 21st day of the first month, in the year 1457 BC.
According to the ancient chronicler, Thutmose began his battle against the “Canaanites” by besieging the city of Megiddo on that day for seven months but before the siege ended the King of Kadesh, leader of the rebellion, escaped. Summarizing the Egyptian record Wikipedia says: “Thutmose built a moat and a wooden palisade, eventually forcing its occupants to surrender. At Karnak it is recorded that the victorious army took home prisoners, mares, foals, stallions, chariots, and tent-poles of the King of Megiddo. The city and citizens were spared. . . Thutmose III required from the defeated kings that they each send a son to the Egyptian court. There, they received an Egyptian education. . . . . One unanticipated result came in the form of the word Armageddon, which took its root from Megiddo's name.”
Scholars specializing in Egyptology tell us that there is no record of Hebrew slaves or of a mass exodus of slaves in any Egyptian records for centuries before, during or after the reign of Thutmose III; that no record of the kind exists in all of the Egyptian annals. Rather than using the known and proven records of scripture to scrutinize Egyptian accounts, the majority prefer the historiographies of the Egyptians. However, if we do the opposite and take the Bible narrative as factual, we can readily see many parallels in the Egyptian rewrite. We’ve already seen that the dates of scripture and Egypt potentially match. How does the rest compare?
The King of Kadesh who escapes in the Egyptian version has his counterpart in Moses who escapes the pursuing Egyptians and triumphs with God’s people on the far shores of the Red Sea. Kadesh was on the southern border of Canaan. From here Moses sent spies into the Promised Land. It was not long after the Exodus that Moses and the Israelite “rebels” lived for a time in tents at Kadesh, on their journey to the Promised Land.
When Pharaoh pursued Israel into the wilderness however, he didn’t get as far as Kadesh. He intended to overtake them at the Red Sea, to take away their tents and return them to slavery, thus the Egyptian claim to have returned with the tent poles of the King of Megiddo. The claim to have built a moat to hem in the men of Kadesh is a rewrite of the Egyptian attempt to entrap and overpower Israel at the shores of the Red Sea.
But there is a problem in the Egyptian narrative: The royal historiographer overlooks the fact that whenever a siege is employed in warfare, the aggressor always cuts off the enemy’s water and food. Building a moat would ensure a water supply to the enemy and aid as a defense to the besieged city. In the Dark Ages, the moat was a standard defense for a castle. Nevertheless, this implausible version of events was carefully chiseled in the stone monuments of Karnak. But let’s continue.
The Egyptian claim that Thutmose III required the defeated Canaanite kings to each send a son to be educated in Egypt reflects the scripture account that Moses, leader of the revolt, was educated in the Egyptian royal court. The claim that Thutmose rounded up the young male rebels for this purpose corroborates the scripture that his eldest son, like all Egypt’s eldest, had been slain by the angel of God, creating a severe male shortage throughout Egyptian society.
But the greatest irony is the battle location selected by the historiographer: Megiddo, the place declared by all of the later prophets of God as the place of the final battle and deliverance of God’s people at the end of human history of which the Exodus was the prototype.ii
Ezekiel 4 Corroborates The Egyptian Date
Besides the ambiguity in the Bible's chronology of the kings, a similar problem exists in the record of the judges – overlapping periods that make firm dating impossible. However, in the case of the judges, as Ussher observed, there is a single text of scripture that completely solves the problem. That text is I Kings 6:1 which gives us the exact number of years from the Exodus to the laying of the foundation of the temple - 480. If only there was a similar overarching text for the kings, Old Testament chronology would be solved and complete.
It turns out there potentially is such a scripture. Bible students have suspected it for centuries but so far no consensus has emerged on how to apply it. That passage is the acted prophecy of Ezekiel 4.
In the final days of Judah when the kingdom was mired in apostasy and the judgment of God was about to fall, God, faithful as always, forewarned His people through His servant Ezekiel of their impending doom in an acted parable, calling them to repentance. God instructed Ezekiel to make a clay model of Jerusalem and personally besiege it, not leaving the model for a moment, day or night, for 430 days with each day representing a year of the sins of the nation. In doing this God not only warned of the coming calamity, He also informed them why He was about to do this. The “why” is the period in question, 430 years of national apostasy,iii which inspiration divided into two periods, 390 years of iniquity for the northern tribes and another 40 for the iniquity of Judah.
This period is validated in II Chronicles 36:21 which says Israel and Judah went into captivity because they had profaned 70 sabbaticals, the number contained in 430 years.iv In 589 BC, Nebuchadnezzar besieged Jerusalem just as Ezekiel had depicted a few years before. After a grueling ordeal of many months, in the summer of 587 the starved and exhausted city fell, and the magnificent temple built by Solomon was burned and destroyed, along with the rest of the city.
This event fulfilled the prediction of the parable. It is, therefore, a solid ending point of the 430 years. Modern historians are agreed that Jerusalem fell in either 587 or 586 BC. We can identify which of those years is correct using the established sabbaticals which we’ll do below. Our only remaining task is to select the correct starting point. If we can determine this, we will have solved the chronology of the kings and of the Old Testament.
Over the centuries, many minds have grappled with how Ezekiel’s prophecy should be applied. Knowing that I’m no equal to the intellectual giants who have tried to solve this such as Johannes Kepler and Isaac Newton, I feel my need all the more to rely on the promises of scripture. Fortunately for us, God has a tender regard for the weakest intellects and we who live at the end of time are in that class. But the lapse of the centuries has shown that it is far beyond any human ability to solve these great mysteries. The solutions for such things belong only to God. If I am right in my conclusions, I can take no credit. Conversely, if I’m wrong, the credit is all mine. With that said I propose that the starting point of the 430 years is the coronation of King David.
At first blush, it may seem doubtful to start the 430 years of transgression here because this period was a high point in Israel’s devotion to God. But, it is a good fit, in my opinion, for five reasons:
When Israel demanded a king, God told the people plainly they were rejecting Him. It is true that when David ascended the throne he was a righteous man, and it is equally true that he was also a type of Christ. But the rightful king of Israel was still Christ Himself, and in choosing a king, Israel had rejected Him.
By selecting King David’s coronation as the beginning point, the period covers a specific epoch, the rule of the house of David from its beginning to its fall.
This period mirrors the 430 year epoch of the patriarchs from God’s covenant with Abraham to the birth of the nation at the Exodus (Exo. 12:40 and Gal. 3:17).
It suggests that the northern tribes quit observing the sabbaticals forty years after the coronation of David - after his death – which prepared the way for their rebellion and apostasy under Jeroboam.
It agrees well with sacred history that Judah apparently profaned about 5 or 6 sabbaticals (the number of sabbaticals in 40 years) under the 430 year rule of David’s dynasty.
From the reign of David, 1017 BC (587 BC + 430 yrs) it is a matter of simple math to arrive at the date of the Exodus, bypassing the chronology of the judges and kings. We know David reigned 40 years, and that Solomon began building the temple in the fourth year of his reign shortly after his father’s death and this occurred 480 years after the Exodus. This means the Exodus occurred in 1457 BC. (I Kings 6:1 See the table below.) The Exodus was followed one week later by the drowning of the Egyptians on the 21st day of the first month according to both Hebrew scripture and Jewish tradition. (Exo. 12-14.) This is precisely the same date in Egyptian records, as the Battle of Megiddo in which the tent-dwelling king of the Kadesh – Moses – escaped. If the proud Egyptians concealed their utter defeat, how likely is it that they would admit that the rest of the Hebrews not only escaped but triumphed over the Egyptian host, or that Pharaoh met his doom on that very day in the “moat” of the Red Sea?
Thutmose III Rewrites History
The main objection by Egyptologists to making Thutmose III the Pharaoh of the Exodus is that there are many Egyptian records confirming that he outlived that event by more than two decades. This objection is valid, so we must concede to the evidence and see if there isn’t another ruler who was commanding the armies of Egypt during the Exodus. It turns out there is a series of well known historical facts and circumstances converging on this window of time, and, fortunately, on these facts, most Egyptologists are agreed.
The first of these is that up until the time specified by scripture for the Exodus the ruling monarch was a woman named Hatshepsut who died about the time of the Exodus. Notice the italicized parts in the following article and, from a biblical perspective, let’s ask some questions – 1) How would Egypt be able to build its most extensive and magnificent architecture and enjoy such prosperity without a large force of slave labor? 2) Why did the most powerful female monarch in Egyptian history, the superpower of the day, along with two of the most prominent contemporary figures in the royal court (see below) vanish at the same time? 3) Most importantly, why was their death and/or disappearance followed immediately by the most systematic erasure and redaction of historical records known in human history? Could this be one of the greatest cover-ups of all time?
Regarding Hatshepsut Wikipedia states:
Hatshepsut (c. 1507–1458 BC) was the Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Thutmose II and the fifth Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, ruling first as regent, then as queen regnant from c. 1479 BC until c. 1458 BC (Low Chronology). . . Upon the death of her husband and half-brother Thutmose II, she had initially ruled as regent to her stepson, Thutmose III, who inherited the throne at the age of two. Several years into her regency, Hatshepsut assumed the position of pharaoh and adopted the full royal titulary, [titles, honors and privileges] making her a co-ruler alongside Thutmose III. . . .
Hatshepsut's reign was a period of great prosperity and general peace. One of the most prolific builders in Ancient Egypt, she oversaw large-scale construction projects such as the Karnak Temple Complex, the Red Chapel, the Speos Artemidos and most famously, the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut at Deir el-Bahari.
Hatshepsut died probably in Year 22 of Thutmose III [1458 BC]. Towards the end of the reign of Thutmose III and into the reign of his son Amenhotep II, an attempt was made to remove her from official accounts of Egyptian historiography. Her statues were destroyed, her monuments were defaced, and many of her achievements were ascribed to other pharaohs.
A second prominent person at this same period was the beautiful Princess Neferure, Hatshepsut’s daughter. Again, notice the unusual aspects of her life and death. From Wikipedia:
Neferure (Ancient Egyptian: meaning The Beauty of Re) was . . . the only known child of Thutmose II and his great royal wife Hatshepsut. She was the granddaughter of Thutmose I and the half-sister of Thutmose III. Neferure was born during the reign of Thutmose II. In Karnak Neferure is depicted with Thutmose II and Hatshepsut. . . .
Life
Neferure was tutored by some of Hatshepsut's most trusted advisers, at first Ahmose Pen-Nekhebet. . . Neferure’s next tutor was Senenmut. Senenmut is known from many statues depicting him with his young charge. In all these statues Senenmut is shown wearing a long cloak. Seven statues are block statues in which the head of Princess Neferure pokes out of the block. . .
Historian Kara Cooney has argued that in Neferure's assumption of the post of God's Wife of Amun, a dramatic increase in political authority thanks to Hatshepsut's kingship had upset the balance of patriarchal power in a drastic way. Neferure's presence has been all but obliterated from the material record, however one Egyptologist has attributed a large relief in the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut originally depicted Neferure but was later modified to depict Hatshepsut's mother Ahmes.
Death
It is possible that Neferure died during the reign of her mother. She is mentioned in Senenmut's first tomb, which he had built in Regnal Year 7. . . . A tomb thought to be constructed for her was found atop a sheer cliff by archeologist Howard Carter in Wady C of Wady Gabbanat el-Qurud. . . . The archaeologists who inspected the tomb were certain that Neferure had not outlived her mother, Hatshepsut.
Notice the pattern that is emerging: There is an apparent power struggle between the Queen mother and her stepson, Thutmose III, the designated heir. The Queen had skillfully assumed the role of Pharaoh as head of state during the child’s infancy and Egypt was prospering, but like all parents, she had a preference for her own flesh and blood, Neferure, as the next monarch. Her preference was shared by an equally prominent member of the royal court, Senenmut, her consort who, although a commoner, she had invested with the titles and status of a Pharaoh. From Wikipedia:
Senenmut (Ancient Egyptian: sn-n-mwt) . . . was of low commoner birth, born to literate provincial parents, Ramose and Hatnofer (or "Hatnefret") from Iuny (modern Armant). . .
Career
Senenmut first enters the historical record on a national level as the "Steward of the God's Wife" (Hatshepsut) and "Steward of the King's Daughter" (Neferure). . . After Hatshepsut was crowned pharaoh, Senenmut was given more prestigious titles and became high steward of the king (Hatshepsut).
Senenmut supervised the quarrying, transport, and erection of twin obelisks, at the time the tallest in the world, at the entrance to the Temple of Karnak. Neither stands today though they were commemorated in the Chapelle Rouge. . .
The Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut
Senenmut's masterpiece building project was the Mortuary Temple of Hatshepsut, also known as the Djeser-Djeseru, designed and implemented by Senenmut on a site on the west bank of the Nile, close to the entrance to the Valley of the Kings. The focal point was the Djeser-Djeseru or "the Sublime of the Sublimes" mortuary temple-('Holy (of) Holiests'), a colonnaded structure of perfect harmony built nearly one thousand years before the Parthenon. Djeser-Djeseru sits atop a series of terraces that were once graced with gardens. It is built into a cliff face that rises sharply above it. Djeser-Djeseru and the other buildings of the Deir el-Bahri complex are considered to be among the great buildings of the ancient world. . .
Senenmut's importance at the royal court under Hatshepsut is unquestionable. . . Some Egyptologists have theorized that Senenmut was Hatshepsut's lover. Facts that are typically cited to support the theory are that Hatshepsut allowed Senenmut to place his name and an image of himself behind one of the main doors in Djeser-Djeseru, and the presence of graffiti in an unfinished tomb used as a rest house by the workers . . . .[Other evidence that Senenmut was not merely a lover but husband and co-ruler with Hatshepsut includes 1) the more than 80 titles of royalty that Hatshepsut conferred on him including “hereditary prince [the title belonging to Tuthmose III], chief steward who conducted all the works of the king [Hatshepsut is called “king” in Egyptian records], one who heard the hearing alone in the privy council, chief of the whole land, steward of Amun, [the chief Egyptian god] Chief of the peasant-serfs of Amun, overseer of the temples of Neit, chief steward of the Princess, Neferure, chief steward who conducted all the works of the king [Hapshetsut], real confidant of the king [Hapshepsut], privy councilor of the right hand [of Hapshetsut],”v 2) the sarcophagi (stone coffins) of Hatshepsut and Senenmut matched. Both were made of quartzite, a stone harder and more stain-resistant than granite, that was reserved for royal sarcophagi, 3) the great number of statues, which were an important tool of state authority, showing Senenmut in a father-like role holding the Princess Neferure, a clear sign that the couple were working to place the Princess on the throne, usurping the hereditary prince, Tuthmose III.]
Although it is not known where he is buried, Senenmut had a chapel and a tomb constructed for himself. The chapel is at TT71 in the Tombs of the Nobles and the tomb is at TT353, near Hatshepsut's mortuary temple, and contains a famous star ceiling. They were both heavily vandalized during the reign of Thutmose III, perhaps during the latter's campaign to eradicate all trace of Hatshepsut's memory. Neither tomb by itself was complete, as would be expected of an Egyptian tomb for a person of high standing.
Commenting on the tomb and sarcophagus, Wally and Duke, in their blog write:
Senenmut’s tomb was left unfinished and sealed without his corpse. His sarcophagus was dragged up to his tomb chapel in the Theban hills — though his mummy was never put inside it. The sarcophagus, constructed of quartzite, a durable material, was found smashed into pieces, a task that “would have required extensive labor and great expense,” Cooney writes. “Someone really wanted him disgraced.”vi
The Bible indicates that the Egyptian priests, astrologers and magicians had great power and prestige in Pharaoh’s court and Egyptian records confirm this. Because the magnificent and fabulously expensive burial grounds and chapels of Hatshepsut were holy sites, it is unlikely that the priesthood would allow them to be defaced unless they shared the same hatred for her with the new monarch, Thutmose III. Egyptologists generally agree that the priesthood and Thutmose were confederated in erasing the memory of the royal couple and their daughter. Some suggest it was because they conspired to usurp the throne from the rightful heir. This is a very likely scenario but one that doesn’t account for 1) a sudden and drastic change of loyalty on the part of the priests from the royal couple to Thutmose III, 2) the sudden death and disappearance of Egypt’s three most prominent leaders, all about the same time.
There is general agreement based on forensic evidence that Hatshepsut died of poisoning, but the causes of the deaths of Neferure and Senenmut are unknown. In Senenmut’s case, if he was lying at the bottom of the sea, we can be sure this would never have been recorded by Egyptian historiographers. Although Tuthmose III was thorough in obliterating the records of all three, the drowning of his stepfather along with the Egyptian army was never recorded and needed no redaction.
But scripture fills in the blanks and solves, in my view, the unanswered questions. It was this Pharaoh, Senenmut, who allowed the Hebrews to plunder and despoil the Egyptians, or looking at it justly, to recoup a portion of their back-wages; this Pharaoh was the one who had ruined the nation in the plagues, allowed Israel to escape and then led the armies of Egypt to their burial in the Red Sea. With her husband and much of the royal court lying at the bottom of the sea, such national calamities and a guilty history of usurpation would inevitably mean the doom and termination of both the Queen and her daughter who also disappeared about this time and all three were soon after redacted from official Egyptian records, - c. 1457 BC.
From Egypt to Canaan
The scripture says Israel crossed the Jordan 40 years later, which brings us to 1417 BC. According to rabbis cited by the Talmud,vii it was another 14 years, (1403 BC), before God’s people had supplanted their enemies. At this point, the sacred record says that they divided the land among the tribes by lot according to the instructions of Moses and under the direction of the elders and Joshua. The land having been allotted, from this point forward they began to reckon the jubilees.
The rabbis’ 14 years of conquest before the allotment of the land seems to align well with scripture except on one point: Both the first and last years of the jubilee are always sabbaticals but the year,1403 BC, is not one, according to the reckoning of Daniel 9. (See spreadsheet.) However, 1401 BC, two years later, is a Sabbatical. If we increase the rabbis’ reckoning from fourteen to sixteen years, all of the dates align.
This is potentially a major discovery because it allows us to reestablish jubilee reckoning. If the fall of that year, 1401 BC marks the first year of the jubilee, then the next one in our lifetime is 2029 – 2030 AD. Can we somehow corroborate this?
It turns out that from 1401 BC to 2029 AD there are 3430 years (1401 + 2029 = 3430 = 70 x 49), which is 70 jubilees.viii Given that the great week of time is near its close, the jubilees provide further confirmation and insight into the timing. Notice that the 70 jubilees parallel the 70 weeks allotted to God’s people in Daniel 9:24. Significantly, in this text, the word translated “weeks” is generic; it does not mean week but instead means a group or unit of seven, whether weeks, sabbaticals or jubilees (7 sabbaticals). The word’s meaning must be derived from the context. Is it possible that Daniel 9’s primary application is to our day; that like the Jews, we also have been given a specific period of grace – 70 jubilees?
Let’s look at the context of Daniel 9 to test this. Notice the emphasized parts.
Seventy
weeks[sevens] are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be sevenweeks[sevens], and threescore and twoweeks[sevens]: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and twoweeks[sevens] shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for oneweek[seven]: and in the midst of theweek[seven] he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. (Dan 9:24-27 KJV)
Time Limits for the Jews and Time Limits for the Gentiles
Understanding prophetic time limits and being prepared for the divine transition was critical for the Jews at the end of their 490 year grace period. The Jews didn’t recognize that the door of grace was about to close and the results couldn’t have been more tragic. For them, the hour of judgment had come but, like Laodicea, most were in denial of their spiritual poverty and enslavement to sin. As a result, they rejected their liberator and Prince and with their own hands, crucified Him, murdered His servants and prophets, and closed shut the door of grace on themselves.
According to scripture, we gentiles are a scion that God grafted into the natural stock of Israel. Romans 11:17-24. This happened in 34 AD at the close of the seventy weeks when we were spliced in as a wild olive branch. When that occurred there was no longer any distinction between Jew and gentile; we are all of one blood. From the close of the 70 weeks, the church is the assembly of all the faithful children of Abraham. Since God doesn’t change, we shouldn’t be surprised to find that He has set a limit of divine grace, and given it to our generation with equal clarity; a period of 70 jubilees, a total of 3,430 years.ix
Daniel 9 covers the entire probationary period, the age of corporate grace, - from the time God divided the Promised Land by lot to the close of this age. The tribes of the 144,000 in Revelation at the end of the jubilees have their counterpart at the start of the jubilees when, after, the conquest of Canaan, the land was allotted among each of the twelve and the hands of the jubilee clock began marking time.
Between their start in 1401 BC and 70 AD when Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jews dispersed, there are exactly 30 jubilees. Add 40 jubilees more for a total of 70 and we arrive at the fall of 2029 AD, which marks the end of the grace period for all of Abraham’s children, Jew and gentile.
Furthermore, Daniel 9 contains other evidence of an end-time application. It includes a pointed warning to us regarding the abomination of desolation that Christ said we must study and understand before His return. But, friends, have you ever heard a sermon on the abomination described in Daniel 9? Notwithstanding the plain admonition of Christ, such sermons are rare in Adventism. I don’t recall ever hearing one. We have assumed that since Daniel 9 ended in 34 AD, the abomination must be linked to that time. Is that a safe assumption considering that 1) there was no abomination in 34AD and 2) that Christ says the abomination applies especially to final events?
Given the above, the only safe course is to allow for the possibility that the 70 unit time period of Daniel 9 does what it appears to do – this scripture places the abomination like all of the others in Daniel, primarily at the end of human history.
In the light of these powerful prophecies, we should prepare physically, emotionally and spiritually for both the latter rain and for the end-time events described in Daniel, Revelation, and Mathew 24 by Christ. It’s reasonable, in my view, to expect in the near future war, famine, pandemics, seismic and volcanic activity on a biblical scale as described in the seven seals, trumpets and thunders. Throughout all of this, we are privileged to discern the roar of the Lion-Lamb from Mount Zion and to co-operate with Him.
When that final shaking begins (and I believe it has already for many of us) every man, woman and child, every nation, state, city, tongue and language on earth will be called to account through the revelation of the Lion-Lamb as the knowledge of God blankets the earth in the power of the latter rain. This will happen sooner than most think. For the saints, that prospect is both fearful and awesome. May God help us and transform us so that we will be accounted worthy to escape these things, to faithfully do our part in the glorious work of proclaiming the three angels' messages, and finally, to stand before the Son of Man.
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End Notes:
i Some Adventists assume, like my friend, that knowing the year of jubilee means knowing the year of Christ's return. While there is a close correlation, judging by our past history, we should be cautious and not assume that we understand exactly what the correlation is.
ii While most of the spring feasts, Passover, First Fruits and Pentecost, were fulfilled at the first advent of Christ there is one exception, the week of Unleavened Bread. This feast commemorates the seven days’ march of the Israelites out of Egypt, their entrapment at the Red Sea and their total deliverance on the 21st day of the month. In Revelation, we see this type meeting its fulfillment at the deliverance of the twelve tribes of the 144,000 who, like the Hebrews on the far shores of the sea, will sing the song of Moses and the Lamb for their miraculous deliverance when Babylon is thrown like a millstone and like the Egyptian host, into the sea.
iii This period, 430 years of grace, is similar to the 490 years of grace the Jews were granted on their return from Babylon.
iv Assuming a 49 year cycle, in 430 years there can be either 70 or 71 sabbaticals when the jubilees are reckoned with the sabbaticals.
v Wyatt, Mary Nell. Battle for the Firstborn (p. 86). Royal Hill Press.
vi https://www.thenotsoinnocentsabroad.com/blog/were-hatshepsut-and-senenmut-lovers
vii The Talmud, a compilation of rabbinical commentary on the Hebrew scripture, is often unreliable. In this case, it appears to be correct to within two years.
viii There is a difference of opinion among Bible students on whether the jubilee of scripture is 49 or 50 years. In my opinion, the evidence favors a 49 year cycle for the following reasons:
The text that describes the sabbaticals and the jubilees, Leviticus 25:2-22 says that whereas the sabbaticals began in the spring of the seventh year, the jubilees start in the fall of the seventh year of the seventh sabbatical, overlapping the final half of that year. During the jubilee, no sowing was allowed until the spring of the eighth year, (Lev. 25:22) which was the last half of the jubilee year and the first half of the next sabbatical. Nothing could be harvested until the next fall. There was no restriction, however, on the fall half of this year. This confirms a 49 year cycle because there is no farming restrictions in the fall of the 50th year. In this arrangement the jubilee year bound the two sabbaticals together, spanning the last half of the 7th year of the 7th sabbatical and the first half of the first year of the new sabbatical, preserving the 49 year cycle. See the table below and the spreadsheet for more on this.
The 70 week prophecy of Daniel is made up of 70 sabbaticals. A 50 year jubilee would interrupt the cycle every 50 years so that 457 BC, the start of the 490 year period, would not be a sabbatical if 27 and 34 AD are sabbaticals and visa versa. But according to the prophecy, these final years are sabbaticals.
If the 50 year cycle is used, the 70 profaned sabbaticals of II Chro. 36:21 will only fit into the 430 years of Ezekiel 4 in one way – if they start and end with a sabbatical. However, based on Daniel 9, we know that neither 587 nor 586 BC were sabbaticals.
Similarly, we know from Jewish historians that 69 AD was a sabbatical. This agrees with 27 and 34 AD as sabbaticals if the 49 year cycle is correct but not with the 50 year model.
The sabbaticals are the yearly equivalent to the uninterrupted cycle of the week. Resetting them every 50 years would be like resetting the week every month which is what a growing number of feast keepers do. These have abandoned the Sabbath of the Fourth Commandment which defines the Sabbath as the last day of the divine seven-day cycle.
ix There are some statements in the writings of Ellen White that many Adventists think categorically prohibit any time periods beyond 1844. These brothers and sisters are mistaken but the belief is often too entrenched for arguments based on inspiration to dislodge the perception. I’ll be glad to set out the scriptural evidence but for now, to those who hold this view, I’d say go back to her statements and to your Bibles for another prayerful look.