This document, along with its sub-pages and accompanying graph, will explore the entire historical timeline in which the Bible's time prophecies can be found. This includes the cycle of captivity and deliverance experienced by God's people, their subsequent reforms, and the introduction of the various Gospel ages, among other factors that contribute to the fulfillment of prophecy throughout history.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ, otherwise referred to as "the plan of salvation", "the kingdom of Heaven"
is the means by which mankind is educated on our identity (as given by our Creator), His nature and requirements,
our current condition, the naturally impending doom which come along with our condition, our need of reform and salvation, God's sacrifice and continual work by which we may be saved,
the nature and identity of all opposing forces to that salvation, and the strength to overcome all opposition and participate
in the work of saving ourselves and others.
In the beginning, God fashioned man after His image and likeness. The living purpose of mankind was to mirror their Creator; further revealing the depths of His nature.
In all that mankind was to do, say, think, and experience, we were designed to reveal God, and in doing so, benefit the Earth, which He gave to be our domain.
Along with the power of free will, God gave instruction which served to be a probationary test for mankind. With the instruction, God gave a conditional forecast of the future. If man sinned,
death would be their fate. If not, their fate would remain as it was (everlasting life, growth, and prosperity). Adam and his wife, making up all of mankind, chose to disobey God, and it is
in God's visitation of their sin that we first learn of the plan of salvation (the promise of Jesus in Gen 3:15).
In the meantime, the marred nature of God, in man, continued to develop, and multiply. Nevertheless, God always had (and always will have) a people, who, though born in, and surrounded by,
the bondage of sin, would choose to
know and obey Him. It was those faithful ones that have been, and will be, used by God to usher in, and carry forward, the Gospel. Abraham was one such faithful person. His obedience helped
to set the stage for God's promise (which He gave in the garden) to come to fruition; starting with deliverance from the civil bondage of Egypt, and the birth of a nation of faithful people
(called "the children of Israel"). Such deliverance from Egyptian bondage, by the hand of Moses, typified ultimate deliverance from the bondage of sin, by the hand of Jesus Christ. However,
just as there were requirements for continued life in Eden, there are, now , requirements by which we are to re-enter that life (perfect and eternal) which the garden afforded.
Before Israel reached the land, which God promised to Abraham, God gave them conditions by which they must preserve their stay in the land (See Exo 20:1-26 for example).
As in the garden, He gave a conditional forecast of Israel's
future, which was based on whether they kept His requirements or not. If Israel
chose to live according to the ways God laid out, they would be
blessed, made secure, caused to grow, and prosper as a nation. If they chose to walk
contrary to God's requirements, they would forfeit His protection and favor:
opening the door for impending woe, exile, captivity, and death. However, God would
not allow His people to face the worst outcomes immediately. As a Father, He would rather correct them in stages first.
Here is where we find the first reference to
the 2,520-year periods of resulting captivity and punishment (which became history after Israel walked contrary to
God in the promised land: where both Ephraim and Judah, the two groups of Israeli tribes, reached God's limit).
Through continued, and advancing, disobedience, Israel provoked God to action. This is where the list of
punishments begin (in
Lev 26:14). Ephraim and Judah reached such point of provocation at different times, and, thus, both received their own
2520 periods of chastisement.
But first, reference to the 2,520 year time periods (or "7 times", as is mentioned in scripture) can
be found in Leviticus 26:18 and onward.
Here is the full chapter below:
Lev 25:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses in mount Sinai, saying,
Lev 25:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land which I give you, then shall the land keep a sabbath unto the LORD.
Lev 25:3 Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;
Lev 25:4 But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
Lev 25:5 That which groweth of its own accord of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, neither gather the grapes of thy vine undressed: for it is a year of rest unto the land.
Lev 25:6 And the sabbath of the land shall be meat for you; for thee, and for thy servant, and for thy maid, and for thy hired servant, and for thy stranger that sojourneth with thee,
Lev 25:7 And for thy cattle, and for the beast that are in thy land, shall all the increase thereof be meat.
Lev 25:8 And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years.
Lev 25:9 Then shalt thou cause the trumpet of the jubile to sound on the tenth day of the seventh month, in the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet sound throughout all your land.
Lev 26:21, Lev 26:24, Lev 26:28, Dan 4:16, Dan 4:23, Dan 4:25, Dan 5:25, Dan 5:26
Lev 26:34 Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.
Lev 26:35 As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.
So: 30 days x 12 months is 360 days per Biblical year. 7 times 360 days is 2520 days. With the day for a year principle, 2520 days can be interpreted as 2520 literal years. As we put the other prophetic periods together, we will see even more that this is the case.
❗ As you go over the materials for the dates below, you will see the use of these time-reckoning principles confirmed. Also, seeing that the existance of the 2520 prophecy has been a point of controversy amongst some, check out this video (which gives a good overview, including more general detail, and explores arguments for and against the prophecy). Above all, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." 2 Tim 2:15.
