It's About Time

In the Bible, as well as other extra Biblical literature and historical documents from the past 2500 years, there is mounting evidence that our Creator has established cycles of time by which we can reasonably prepare for the great time of trouble coming upon all men. In 2 Peter we are told that there would be scoffers in the last days. First, there would be scoffers who were "willingly ignorant" of the fact that Yahweh created the heavens and the earth, and this has clearly been fulfilled through the "uniformitarianism" teaching as mandated in the public schools through the false teaching of evolution. [Please see more comments in this regard in my Questions and Answers section called Creation Verses Theistic Evolution. ]

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 [the Almighty] the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: . . . But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:3-5, 7-9)

But Peter then directs his attention to another group of scoffers who were ignorant of something else. He says that we were not to be ignorant of just one thing? We should not be ignorant of the idea that 1000 years is like a day. What does this mean? First, it means that last day scoffers will, indeed, be ignorant of that fact. And second, it means that the righteous will not be ignorant of that fact. Why is it that ignorance about this subject is something to be avoided? Well, maybe it could cause us to believe the day of judgment is either too soon or too late, and that could cost us our lives. Yes, there are those that do not believe Messiah is coming at all. But Messiah did not speak of that. He was not concerned that people would not believe in his coming, but that they would think that his coming was delayed so that they could live as if the world had no end.

But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? (Luke 12:45-49)

The first time Yahweh destroyed the earth, it was with water. In these last days He will destroy it with fire. When will it happen? According to Revelation 19, the kings of the earth will gather to do battle with Messiah, after which the beast and false prophet will be cast into the lake of fire. In Revelation 20, it says that the millennium will begin soon after that with the devil being cast into a bottomless pit for 1000 years, during which time he will not be able to deceive the nations until the 1000 years are finished. So, it will begin just before the 1000 years begin - and conclude with both the wicked and the elements being destroyed after the 1000 years, followed by a new heavens and new earth.

If a thousand years is like a day, is it not consistent to think that 7000 years is like a week? And if this is true, does that support the validity of the 7000 year plan of Yahweh? The reason for this will become clear once we examine the historical evidence related to the establishment of both the 7000 year plan and the Jubilee Calendar.

In the first three chapters of Genesis we learn of the creation week. It basically says that Yahweh created the world in six days, and rested on the seventh day?the Sabbath. In Leviticus 25, it tells us that there are Sabbatical cycles (seven years) and Jubilees (the 50th year after a seventh Sabbatical cycle). And finally, based upon this text of 2 Peter 3, Yahweh is preparing to bring a 1000 year time of peace. Could this 1000 years be almost here? Could it be a reference to a 7000 year plan of Yahweh, which will usher in the new Messianic kingdom sometime soon - when the 6000 years allotted to mankind for doing "his" work (works of mostly evil) come to an end?

In the ancient book the Secrets of Enoch (also called II Enoch) which is over 1900 years old, it says:

And I appointed the eighth day also, that the eighth day should be the first-created after my work, and that the first seven revolve in the form of the seventh thousand, and that at the beginning of the eighth thousand should be a time of not-counting, endless with neither years, nor months nor weeks nor days nor hours. . . . (Secrets of Enoch 32:1, 2, 4; 33:1)

In the Epistle of Barnabas, written sometime prior to about 300 CE, it says this:

Moreover concerning the Sabbath likewise it is written in the Ten Words, in which He spake to Moses face to face on Mount Sinai; And ye shall hallow the Sabbath of the Lord with pure hands and with a pure heart. And in another place He saith; If my sons observe the Sabbath then I will bestow My mercy upon them. Of the Sabbath He speaketh in the beginning of the creation; And God made the works of His hands in six days, and He ended on the seventh day, and rested on it, and He hallowed it. Give heed, children, what this meaneth; He ended in six days. He meaneth this, that in six thousand years the Lord shall bring all things to an end; for the day with Him signifyeth a thousand years; and this He himself beareth me witness, saying; Behold, the day of the Lord shall be as a thousand years. Therefore, children, in six days, that is in six thousand years, everything shall come to an end. And He rested on the seventh day. this He meaneth; when His Son shall come, and shall abolish the time of the Lawless One, and shall judge the ungodly, and shall change the sun and the moon and the stars, then shall he truly rest on the seventh day. (Epistle of Barnabas, 15:1-5).

Another Christian author, Ireneus, from about the second century CE, wrote this:

For in so many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded . . . and God brought to a conclusion upon the sixth day the works He made . . . in six days created things were completed: it is evident, therefore, that they will come to an end after six thousand years. (Adversus haereses, Book V, Chap. XXVIII)

Jewish Rabbis of the temple and post temple era also wrote about this idea of 6000 years for man followed by a millennium of relative peace. The Talmud (compiled from the second to fifth centuries CE) has this to say:

R. Kattina said: Six thousand years shall the world exist, and one, it shall be desolate, as it is written, And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.

Abaye said: it will be desolate two thousand, as it is said, After two days will he revive us: in the third day, he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

It has been taught in accordance with R. Kattina: Just as the seventh year is one year of release in seven, so is the world: one thousand years out of seven shall be fallow, as it is written, And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day,' and it is further said, A Psalm and song for the Sabbath day, ³ meaning the day that is altogether Sabbath — and it is also said, For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past.

The Tanna debe Eliyyahu teaches: The world is to exist six thousand years. In the first two thousand there was desolation; two thousand years the Torah flourished; and the next two thousand years is the Messianic era (Babylonian Talmud: Tractate Sanhedrin, Folio 97a).

1. Isaiah 2:11
2. Hosea 6:2
3. Psalm 92:1
4. Psalm 90:4

Since James Ussher published his chronology of the Bible, many Christians have (over the course of time) accepted his chronology as accurate, even to the point of publishing his dates within popular Bibles. His chronology indicates 4004 BCE is the year of Creation. However, the Messiah came and has left again for almost 2000 years?and according to Ussher, the 6000th year (1995) has come and gone. So, have we really passed the year 6000 or is it possible that we still have more time? Is it a myth, or could there be something to this 7000 year plan? And, if so, is there some way to confirm that Yahweh implements certain events to correspond with certain cycles of time?

If Yahweh really does work on a 7000 year plan for mankind, is it possible that we can look at the chronologies of the men of the Bible to see how exactly those cycles fit in with that plan? Returning again to Leviticus 25, we find that when the children of Israel came into the land of Canaan they were to start counting Sabbatical cycles (every seven years) and Jubilee cycles (which is based on counting seven sabbatical years, for a total of 49 years) followed by a year of Jubilee (the 50th year).

Are these Jubilee cycles (49 year cycles) present in the history of the world, especially as presented in the chronologies of Scripture? Can those same Jubilee cycles even be found in secular history, all the way into our own modern era? Here is a Synopsis of the Jubilee Calendar

by which to examine this question in more detail. Take a hard and close look at all of the amazing mathematical alignments, and ask yourself the question - can this all be just some sort of strange coincidence? After you look this over carefully, go to The Jubilee Code in Ancient Times and I will have some more very interesting questions for you.