The Prophetic Timeline

Adding to what has already been shared, one more piece of information needs to be understood for one to know how the Lord counts time through the year, relative to prophetic time. Throughout Scripture, the Bible seems to have thirty-day months exactly. This is especially true when discussing Bible prophecy.

Twelve 30-day months would yield 360-day years. This of course would not be an accurate way of breaking up actual time as a solar year is about 365.25 days long. However, knowing how God determines when a new year begins, we can account for those discrepancies at the end of every year so that we can always be remarkably close in real time to the beginning of each new year, and then count prophetically within each year. In the table below, you will see an example of what I am talking about. Every Abib 1 can be accurately determined based on when the new moon is each month, in conjunction with the Spring Equinox, and the state of the barley harvest. Therefore, every 360-day prophetic year will correspond exactly with each new Jewish year and can be placed on a Gregorian calendar as such. Knowing which new moon is accurate is another thing entirely, but it can only be one of two. So, you can always have a good starting point. Then, using the Jewish calendar merely as a guide, you can count prophetically within a given year based on 30-day months. Obviously, the further in the year you get, the more off from the Jewish calendar you become, but the dates are still close.

Looking at the methodology used in the book for determining when the final three and a half years began, with the revealing of the Antichrist, it is apparent that the LAST trumpet date in the seventh month was the determining factor for all others. However, the tenth day of Abib is also loaded with prophetic significance. It was in fact the day that Christ rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, two thousand years earlier! It was the day that He wept over Jerusalem because they missed that He was there as their king, there to save them from their sins. On the exact same day, two thousand years to the prophetic day, He will touch down upon the Mount of Olives as the conquering King of the world and the Savior of the Jewish nation. Interestingly, this date is also the date Joshua led Israel into the Promised Land.

There are several numbers associated with the timing of the end that are given to us regarding the final half week of this age. Most are familiar with 1,260 days, which is associated with Daniel’s phrase, “a time, times, and half a time,” a phrase which also appears in Revelation.

• He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time. (Daniel 7:25)
• Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished. (Daniel 12:7)
• But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent. (Revelation 12:14)

 

Given Daniel’s context when using this phrase, along with the contextual appearance of it in relation to the time of the end, it is obvious that it is associated with the final three and a half years of the last week. Almost all prophecy scholars have connected it directly to the final three and a half years. A more careful reading finds this to be inaccurate.

The 1,260 days are found in only two places, both in the book of Revelation.

• But leave out the court, which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. (Revelation 11:2,3)
• Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days. (Revelation 12:6)

In both scenarios, the 1,260 days most certainly refers to the time of the end and a 3.5-year period; but it is NOT the final 3.5-year period, with the return of Christ following immediately after. It is just a 3.5-year period that occurs at the end. Note: During this 1,260-prophetic-day time period, the Jews are being protected from the wrath of the Antichrist.

According to the preceding passages, the two Witnesses are specifically preventing the Antichrist from gaining access to the temple sanctuary, following his defilement of it. Also, the woman, representative of Israel as a nation, is completely protected from the “wrath of the dragon” for this time period, so much so that he must instead concentrate on Christians!

• And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12:17)

Daniel NEVER mentions 1,260 days at all. He instead uses another number to describe the time, times, and half a time, and it is specific to his people—the Jews. I will give you the contextual scripture for all that comes in Daniel 12 to establish why I say this passage is a reference to Jewish people.

At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time YOUR PEOPLE shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. (Daniel 12:1)

• And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. (Daniel 12:11)

The reason it is so significant that Daniel references 1,290 days in conjunction with the time, times, and half a time, and his people, the nation of Israel, is that Revelation DOES NOT do this. The 1,260 days of Revelation includes the same key signifier of the opening of the 3.5-year period that Jesus said to watch for, namely the abomination of desolation, which is the revealing of the Antichrist, but it specifically indicates that the Jewish people are being protected from him and not given over to him. Revelation specifically connects the 1,260 days to the fall of Satan from heaven, and the Antichrist’s conflict with Israel follows. Daniel focuses on 1,290 days applicable to the Jews.

What gives? And why are the two numbers both being given to signify three and a half years? The answer is the “leap” month! One thousand two hundred ninety equals 1,260 across three and a half years of time, if you consider that one, equals a leap year of prophetic time, much like there are leap months in real time and the other does not. Furthermore, considering that the tenth day of the seventh month, at the end of this age, will be the LAST trumpet of this age, the extended month, that is Jew specific, would indicate that God’s grace toward His chosen people is “stretched,” if you will, in real time but is still three and a half years in prophetic time!

The consequences for this are more profound than you might think because extending thirty days beyond the tenth day of the seventh month (± Tishri 10) will bring you to the tenth day of the eighth month (± Cheshvan 10). This day represents Methuselah’s last day on earth before he died! His death signified the coming flood, and seven days later, the floodwaters came upon the earth as recorded in Genesis.

So, 1,260 = 3.5 years and 1,290 = 3.5 years, and they overlap! We know this because they have the same starting point from Daniel and Revelation. So, when does this 3.5-year period begin? It is NOT at the very end of the final week because that would mean the day of the LAST trumpet would be the last day. It is Abib (Nisan) 10 that ends the 7-year period, when Christ returns.

Knowing that the last trumpet is when the rapture occurs, and yet knowing that this would not occur, in conjunction with the feasts of Israel, at the beginning of a Jewish year befuddled me for years. Yet every bible prophecy teacher split Daniel’s seventh week directly in half, with the final half ending with the Second Coming. Scripture says the Antichrist commits the abomination of desolation in the middle of the week, and 1,260 (1,290) is exactly half of that time. What to do? Look at what the Scripture says, not what you think it says or have been conditioned to think it must be. Daniel 9 says the middle of the week; it never mentions days at all. This is HUGE because if you look at a week, there is a middle day—day 4. No matter where you are on that day, you are on day 4, the middle day. Hence, given that each day in Daniel 9 equals a year, this means that the Antichrist can be revealed at any time in that year, and it will still be the middle of the week!

If we locate the 1,260 (1,290) days at the beginning of day 4 of the final week, that will leave a half year afterward to complete everything else. This enables us to place all the seals, trumpets, and bowls of revelation in a chronological order across the 7-year period as they appear and give each of them equal amounts of prophetic time to do so. It also allows us to place the events when they would occur in connection with the feast of Israel, and the cosmic calendar that the Lord established.

The Chronology of the Prophetic Timeline

Almost every prophetic teacher recognizes that Daniel 9 speaks of a final seven years of this age that will end in the establishment of the Messianic kingdom of righteousness on the earth. Knowing when that day begins is difficult, but I believe it can be done. I cover that in another blog. This will concern the chronological layout of that final seven years in general so that we can know when to expect the rapture and return of the Lord Jesus, which must occur in the final year of the seven.

Throughout the Gospels, and in Paul’s letters we are admonished to be looking for the signs to know WHEN the DAY of the Lord will arrive. What were those specific signs, and when would believers KNOW it was time to LOOK UP for their redemption which was drawing nigh (Luke 21:28)? Let us start at the beginning, with the prophet Daniel.

Daniel speaks of the Abomination of Desolation that occurs in the middle of the final week (seven years).

• Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he [the prince who is to come] shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate. (Daniel 9:27)

Daniel also gives a time frame connected to when deliverance from this evil prince would come.

• And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who waits and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. (Daniel 12:11,12)

Jesus confirms that the appearance of this prince, the Antichrist, is the key moment that starts the prophetic time clock for the three-and-one-half-year period regarding the end of the age.

• “Therefore, when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” [whoever reads, let him understand] …For then there will be GREAT TRIBULATION, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. (Matthew 24:15,21)

However, Christ went further and told us what would happen when He appeared and specifically referenced the Rapture as being a simultaneous event with that appearing.

• Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:30,31)

Jesus specifically says the sound of a trumpet shall call forth His elect from the earth. Also, he ties His coming with that “catching away” of the saints. They are simultaneous events! The same prophetic DAY. Apostle Paul uses the same theme of a trumpet to describe the Rapture of the saints who are alive to Jesus, yet he gives a great chronological addendum to what Jesus said.

• For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus, we shall always be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17)

The righteous dead will rise BEFORE those who are living when the Lord calls us to Him. Apostle Paul speaks about the resurrection of the righteous dead being at the LAST TRUMPET. This gives us another critical puzzle piece in determining the day of that event.

• Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the TRUMPET will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. (1 Corinthians 15:51,52)

When you go to Revelation, you see a strict chronological layout of the final events, starting with the seals and ending with the bowl judgments, and throughout a whirlwind of imagery, which has baffled many, and for which I do not claim any special knowledge. The chronology of the layout though is not seriously debated because it is so obvious, though there are a few that argue against this. Within the book, there are several trumpets mentioned, both at the beginning and later. However, there is a definite LAST TRUMPET in the book.

This is most important considering what we see the Scriptures clearly say about that and because Revelation represents not only the final prophecy of this age, but one given to Jesus and delivered to John about the end of the age. This final trumpet is of course the seventh trumpet found in Revelation 11:15. Now, if that is the LAST trumpet and if the LAST trumpet is connected to the Day of the Lord, then it follows, without question, from the chronology of Revelation itself that the Church will be here for what is declared to be the Great Tribulation, first referred to as such by Christ in Matthew 24. Further, it appears we will be here for ALL OF IT, all three-and-a-half years of time that make up this period.

Such a thought is NOT the majority view of those who believe in the reality of both the return of Christ and the Rapture of the Church, and it certainly does not seem to be comforting to consider. But the bulk of scriptures, when taken literally and without preconceptions, deliver no other available view. Further proof of this is that both Christ and Paul say clearly that the Rapture WILL NOT come until after the revelation of the Antichrist and the Great Tribulation.

• Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:29-31)
• Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day WILL NOT COME unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (2 Thessalonians 2:1–5)

There is simply no way to sustain the argument that the Rapture and Second Coming are totally separate from each other. There is also no way to retain the assertion that the Rapture happens before the revelation of the Antichrist occurs. And there is no way to avoid the truth that the Rapture happens AFTER the tribulation period is through. We know that the Rapture will occur AT the LAST trumpet, and we can place that trumpet as sounding on the Day of the Lord on the last day of the final week and that it will be BEFORE the bowl judgments. This means that there is indeed a separation of time between the Rapture and the physical return of Jesus to the earth, but they both occur on ONE prophetic day, which is the final year of Daniel’s final week.

2,300 Days

The 2,300 days of Daniel 8 are the most overlooked group of days mentioned in Scripture unless you are a Seventh-day Adventist. Their eschatology is quite different, and nothing I recommend or subscribe to. But at least they recognize that this time period is a part of end-time prophecy, whereas almost every other Bible prophecy scholar totally ignores it. This is done I believe because no one knows how to make sense of them when everyone is focused only on the last half of the final week, yet this length of time covers almost the entire length of it! To get around this, those who dismiss these days as being unimportant to the biblical timeline claim they were fulfilled with the work of Antiochus Epiphanes. There is no historical backing for such a suggestion and certainly no scriptural basis for dismissing a text that is so clearly talking about events of the end.

• And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Glorious Land. And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground and trampled them. He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down. Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered… “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?” And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.” … “And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. “Through his cunning, he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; and he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes, but he shall be broken without human means. (Daniel 8:9–14,23–25)

It is clear from the preceding text that the individual in question fits all the earmarks for the man of perdition. It is true that Antiochus performed all these things, and that is not surprising as he is the greatest Antichrist prototype of the historical record. However, when Daniel asks the angel showing him these things how long these things will occur, the answer he receives is “two thousand three hundred days [literally evenings and mornings].” This Antiochus did not do. All the things he did concerning the Jews happened in about three to three and a half years. This is history. There is simply no way to make this fit with Antiochus. There is no need to force it nor ignore it.

How does it apply then to the final week? Most likely it will be the beginning of a gradual opposition to the renewed animal sacrifices of the Jewish temple. The Bible prophecies state explicitly that a temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem (Revelation 11:1,2). Most think this means the Dome of the Rock Mosque and/or the Al Aqsa Mosque must be destroyed first since they occupy the area called the Temple Mount that many believe to be the site of Herod’s Temple. The Dome of the Rock is specifically thought to be sitting over the place where the Jewish holy of holies was located.

There are compelling alternative theories that place the holy of holies location in the center of the mound, where a fountain sits currently. This is intriguing in that it would mean the temple could be rebuilt without disturbing the other two buildings too much, perhaps as the result of a deal of some sort. This would also work well with the language of Revelation 11.

• Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court, which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles.” (Revelation 11:1,2)

Note how the measurements of the temple here expressly leave out the court area. It includes only the holy of holies, the altar, and the place for worshippers. It is rather a pedestrian temple in scope. It will suffice though. Now, when the Jews decide to rebuild, most imagine that they will wait to start offering the “daily sacrifices” until the temple is finished. There is no justification for such reasoning. It in fact makes much more sense that upon the call to rebuild, and once the holy of holies location is figured out, those offerings would begin immediately.

The “daily sacrifices” would include the slaying of two lambs each day before the Lord. Therefore, finding the holy of holies is essential to this beginning. With this in mind, consider the text of Daniel 11 again. It says that the Antichrist will take away those sacrifices. However, it tells us that part of this effort will include “an army” that “was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices.” This resistance force will “oppose” those sacrifices. What if this opposition is the beginning of the 2,300 days?

Just think about the reinstitution of animal sacrifices in this modern world. Especially, consider the political ramifications for politicians saying it is okay to do it. Animal rights activists will go bananas! Almost immediately, hostility to it will form. If the Jews indeed begin to rebuild their temple at or around the beginning of the final week and animal sacrifice commences with the inauguration of the rebuilding effort, then that opposition to those sacrifices coming from forces politically connected to and secretly aligned with the Antichrist makes perfect sense from all the evidence given.

The Prophetic Timeline

Knowing where to place the main events of Revelation on a calendar can be challenging, and frankly most have never tried, because to do so, is to arrive at a “day and hour”, which is supposedly an impossibility. Well, I go through that in detail in the book. For now, let me proceed to fill out the body of the last week of Daniel 9 ending in the Day of the Lord.

Total time = 2,520 prophetic days (1260 × 2)—This is the number used in Revelation.

Six seals = 1,890 days (315 days each)

Seventh seal opens the seven trumpets (Revelation 8:1)

Seven trumpets = 75 days each. Seventh sounds ± Tishri 10, 2032, runs through ± Kislev 25, 2032.

Seven bowls = 15 days each. As we will find, the first bowl slightly overlaps with the seventh trumpet.

Two thousand five hundred twenty days = (315 × 6) + (75 × 7) + (15 × 7)

Let me explain how I arrived at these numbers.

A prophetic year is made up of 360 prophetic days. Daniel’s final week tells us that each day equals a year hence taking 1/24th of 360 gives you a prophetic hour within a prophetic day as 15 days. This is exactly what I came up with by accident! The total span of time for the seven bowls is 105 prophetic days, though, not 15. That is because we are talking about an entire week of the Antichrist’s coming to power. This is confirmed by the fact that he appears right at the beginning of the seals being broken and of course is the one orchestrating the “covenant with many” that is brokered at the start of the week. One twenty-fourth of 2,520 days is 105 prophetic days. This is the time when there are no believers on planet Earth as they all will be raptured, and this will be the “hour” of the Antichrist and his allies’ power. There is no one challenging his authority at all. Yet it is when the wrath of God is poured out on planet Earth, culminating in Christ, returning to consume the armies of the Antichrist. Not much of a reign if you ask me.

When considering the timeline setting up the prophetic time clock with the particular seven-year time period chosen in the book, the “hour” of power for the ten kings and the seven kingdoms overlaps and equal one another!

Seven bowls = 7 × 15 days = 105 prophetic days = 7 head’s hour of power

Ten horns of power = 10 × 10 = 100 days on prophetic calendar

First day of tenth month to tenth day of first month = 100 days on prophetic calendar

December 31, 2032, to April 9, 2033, = 100 days on physical calendar

Once you have the time frames for the trumpets and bowls, dividing the final 1,890 days at the beginning of the seven-year period by six yields the total number of days for each seal.

But how did I arrive at the 75 days allotted for each of the trumpets. It all goes back to that pivotal day of the LAST trumpet, as mentioned by Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15. From Revelation and Daniel, we know that this trumpet MUST cover 30 prophetic days. Why? Because Daniel 12 said that 1,290 days would be the time elapsed from when the abomination is set up and the daily sacrifice is taken away, and we know this time period is given as 1,260 days in Revelation. However, Daniel 12 goes further.

• And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who waits and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. (Daniel 12:11,12)

Daniel throws in 1,335 days! It says that “blessed is he who waits and comes to” that day. Something miraculous would be coming at that point that would be worth the wait. Notably, this chapter is talking about deliverance from the Antichrist for the people of Israel. Well, unless this is the return of Christ, the only other thing it could be is the Rapture! If this is true, that would mean the last trumpet would extend 75 prophetic days in total!

This should not surprise us that the seventh trumpet extends over days because that is exactly what the Bible says to expect.

• …but in the days of the sounding of the seventh angel, when he is about to sound, the mystery of God would be finished, as He declared to His servants the prophets. (Revelation 10:7)

Having 75 days for the seventh trumpet, it follows that every other trumpet must be the same prophetic time length; hence, you can get a complete length of time for the trumpets as 525 prophetic days. From that point, it is simply a matter of splitting up the remaining two sections of seals and bowls into equal time spans on the prophetic timeline.