Bible Prophecy Numbers:
The Writing on the Wall
Chapter Two, Part A
"How Long?"
"One said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river,
"How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?"’"
(Dan. 12:6)
The General Meaning of the
Time-Periods in the Bible
"A mighty angel" (cf. Rev. 10:1) radiating the glory of Christ stands above the river (of time?) with two witnesses{1} down below either side. In the hearing of these two witnesses, the answer to "How long?" thunders from this mighty one:
"It will be for a time, times and half a time. When the power of the holy people has been finally broken, all these things will be completed" (Dan. 12:7).
When carefully compared with the rest of the Bible (esp. Rev. 10), the answer from the angel points to the time when the Jewish people will once again be engrafted into the "olive tree;"{2} that is, into God’s kind purposes covenanted to their forefathers––to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Rom. 11:24).
Just as Israel was "broken" off from the olive tree when the majority of Jews rejected Messiah due to the hardness of their hearts, so again they will be "broken,," but this time leading to brokeness and contriteness of heart; "And so all Israel shall be saved" (Rom. 11:26).
However, the text applies generally to all men too, especially those "of the faith of Abraham"––whether Jew or Gentile (Rom. 4:16), "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23); all are born in sin and slaves to it, even as the Israelites of old who were delivered from the bondage of Pharaoh at the exodus. The numbers greatly reflect this exodus motif, and the exodus reflects the ministry of Christ who frees us from our sins:
"Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins by his blood; and he made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen" (Rev. 1:5,6, , cf. Ex. 19:6 cf. Ex. 19:6).
To summarize then, this is the general meaning of the various time-periods in the Bible: A period determined upon a people or person for the purpose of glorifying God in the display of both His power and love in their humiliation and redemption––by breaking and making them fashionable unto His purposes, no matter how long, many, or varied, the trials––to the intent that they might be conformed into the image of Jesus Christ and mirror His glory.
Exactly what form these trials take is reflective of both man’s decisions and God’s predetermination. This, then, is the answer to the age-old question of "How long?" (I.e., "As long as it takes to be broken!" and also, "As long as He has predetermined!")
Someone might wonder: "But how does this answer give comfort in my question "How long will my trial last?"’"
The comfort appears when one explores the awesome thought and care put into every trial from above––be it our fault or not––as we shall discover in the numbers. "Behold, the very hairs of your head are numbered," Jesus consoles (Matt. 10:30); "He causes it to rain on the good and the bad" (Matt. 5:45). Therefore, if God cares for His enemies, how much more His friends! Let us look, then, at the goodness of God toward His enemies, which He would make His friends.
Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery––as good as dead. At any rate, certainly in Israel’s mind he was presumed dead. But really he was alive in Egypt––the savior of the world!
God orchestrated a seven-year famine that followed on the heels of seven good years. The famine impoverished the world and brought them to their knees. Joseph alone had the keys of life and death––he alone had the keys to the storehouses of grain.
Numerical Patterns for Isa. 52:4
"At first my people went down to Egypt to live;
lately, Assyria has oppressed them."
(Isa. 52:4)
From
the seven-year "world-wide" famine of Joseph,until
the falls of Egypt, Israel, Assyria, Judah, and Babylonia…Table 1
|
1878–1871 Enter Egypt in 1876 BC |
|
1446 BC |
722 BC |
612 BC |
586 BC |
539 BC |
|
Joseph’s seven-year world-wide{4} famine |
|
Fall of Egypt{5} (i.e., exodus) |
Fall of Israel |
Fall of Assyria |
Fall of Judah |
Fall of Babylon |
|
Total years later from famine --> |
|
430 yrsfrom famine |
1150 yrs from famine |
1260 yrs from famine |
1290 yrs from famine |
1335 yrs from famine |
"…therefore in that day they will know
that it is I who foretold it. Yes, it is I."
(Isa. 52:6b)
Before examining the above chart, let us define each of the numbers and where they are found in the Bible.
- "A Day For Each Year"
Theologians{6} prior to the 20th century commonly understood the prophetic time-periods of "days" as figurative for "years." This day-for-year principle is especially evident in the Book of Ezekiel.
God told the prophet Ezekiel to lay on his side, "a day for each year," after the pattern of when Israel came out of Egypt. At that time, Israel had been sentenced to 40 years of wandering in the desert according to the 40 days that they had spied out the land––"a day for every year" (Num. 14:34). Likewise, God told Ezekiel:
"I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the house of Israel…and bear the sin of the house of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year" " (Ezk. 4:5,6b).
Dan. 9:24-27 is another indisputable example of where a day can symbolize a year.{7} Though the text literally reads "70 weeks," yet scholars universally understand "weeks" here as symbolic of "70 times ‘seven’-years."
