Continued: Chapter XXI-Messianic Speculations

How long are these 3½ years? The eleventh chapter of Revelation speaks of events which occur in the middle of Daniel's seventieth week--in the middle of the great tribulation. The prediction of verse 2 says that the Jewish Temple, which will be rebuilt in Jerusalem, will be trodden down by the nations for 42 months. This prediction refers to the latter half of the tribulation. Verse 3, however, speaks of 1260 days, during which the two witnesses give forth their testimony in Jerusalem. A study of this verse in the light of all the facts of the context shows that this period refers to the first half of the tribulation. In Revelation 13 we read of the ravings of the beast, who continues his mad career against God and man for 42 months--evidently the latter half of the tribulation. The woman of Revelation 12, who in verse 1 is called a symbol, flees into the wilderness, or into a place prepared for her, and there remains for a "time, and times, and half a time." This statement refers to the latter half of the great Tribulation. The first part of it is called 1260 days; the latter half is also spoken of as a period of 42 months, or "a time and times and half a time." From these facts it is concluded that a time is a year of twelve months, each of which has 30 days. The so-called prophetic year, therefore, is said to contain 360 days.

Having arrived at the conclusion that a prophetic year contains 360 days and believing that a day in prophecy foreshadows a year in history, the proponents of this theory tell us that the times of the Gentiles is a period of 7 X 360 or 2520 years. This conclusion is accepted without any further investigation.

What are the facts in the case? Does the word times, which occurs four times in Leviticus 26, refer in this chapter to years? An examination of the context alone can determine this question. In verses 14-17, the Lord called attention to the punishment that would come upon His people in case of disobedience. Following this warning He declared, "and if ye will not yet for these things hearken unto me, then I will chastise you seven times more for your sins." The word rendered seven times is שֶׁבַע. This is the same word that is translated week in Daniel 9:24, the only difference being that, in this instance, it is in the singular, whereas in the latter it is in the plural. As we have seen, it simply means seven or seven-fold as it is sometimes rendered. One must look at the context to ascertain what is meant. No one will say that every time it occurs it means 7 prophetic years. This position is ridiculous.

In Leviticus 26:21 the same word occurs after מַכָּה, which means "stroke or plague." Our numeral, therefore, modifies this noun in this place.The clause might be rendered properly: "And I will add upon you a stroke or plague sevenfold on account of your iniquities." In this verse there is no element of time, but of intensity of the punishment. In verses 23 and 24 it appears the third time. This last clause may correctly be rendered, "And I will smite you, even I, seven-fold on account of your iniquities." Here there is no thought of a period of years, but rather as above, of the intensity of the punishment. The fourth and last time it occurs is in verse 28. Here it has the same connotation.

Let us assume that this word indicates a period of years, and that its number is 2520. A careful study of Leviticus 26 shows that for the initial disobedience and disloyalty to covenant relationships God threatened to punish Israel with certain diseases. If these judgments, Moses declared, should prove ineffective, then God would adopt other measures of punishment. Should this, likewise, fail to bring the correction, He threatened to administer a third type of chastisement. Finally He warned that, if they would not be corrected by the fourth stroke, God would punish them by casting them out of their land. A plain simple reading of the text shows these facts. It is, therefore, impossible for us to accept the facts at their face value and at the same time read into the record the idea of a period of time presented under symbolic form. Furthermore, if this expression seven times means a period of 2520 years--since it is used four times--it would indicate a period of 10,080 years. Can we accept this legitimate and logical conclusion? Such a thought is absurd. It is utterly impossible, therefore, that this expression in Leviticus 26 can have the time element in it.

But what is the meaning of time, times, and half a time in the book of Revelation? Obviously in the light of all the passages of that book bearing upon the issue, it means a year the length of which is 360 days. About this position there can be no question, but our years are now 365½ days long. Is there to be any change in the calendar? Absolutely. Daniel 7:25 foretells that in the middle of the tribulation the world dictator will think to change the times and the seasons. He will do this. There has been and will continue to be much agitation for the changing of the calendar. This will eventually be accomplished in the middle of the tribulation, if not before. But the year of 360 days mentioned in the book of Revelation is that which is the result of the changing of the calendar of the world at that future time. In view of all these facts I am unable to accept the theory of a prophetic year of 360 days. There will be, as just stated, a year of 360 days adopted by the final world dictator. It is illogical for us to take the facts of Revelation relative to the changed calendar in the future, and to read this idea into such a passage as Leviticus 26. Since Daniel 7:25 is talking about this future decree, which the world dictator will make in his changing times and seasons, it is proper to interpret it in terms of the explanation which is given by John in Revelation--it is a prophecy of the same thing about which John was speaking. There is, therefore, as far as I have been able to learn by consistent search for the truth, no such thing as a prophetic year of 360 days.

The years mentioned in the Scriptures are the common ordinary years consisting of the four seasons, for "while the earth remaineth, seed time and harvest, cold and heat, and summer and winter, day and night shall not cease." The Hebrew years throughout the Scriptures are the common years consisting of the four seasons which are marked by the sowing, cultivation, and harvesting of the crops.

As has been seen, the accepted chronology places the issuing of the decree for the rebuilding of the temple by Cyrus in 536 B.C. It is generally supposed that Jesus of Nazareth was executed in 32 or 33 A.D. From 536 B.C. to 32 A.D. there were 567 years--if no mistakes were made in the calculation. Let us think of the 483 years, from the issuing of the decree for the rebuilding of Jerusalem to the cutting off of the Messiah, as a surveyor's chain consisting of 483 links. At the same time, let us also conceive of the years of the period under consideration as a distance of 567 units, the length of each of which is equal to a link in the surveyor's chain. If our imaginary chain is staked down at the point represented by 536 B.C. and is carried forward at the other end, it will cover 483 units, but will lack 84 links of reaching the point representing 32 A.D. Since the chain is not elastic, it cannot be made to reach the point 32 A.D. Neither can the distance separating these two points be contracted until there are only 483 units. Seeing the discrepancy, many expositors draw up their stake at point 536 B.C., go forward to the other point 32 A.D., stake their chain down, and go backward along this line. They reach the point represented by the year 452 B.C. They cannot make the chain extend any farther; hence they stop short of 536 B.C. by 84 years.

Believing that the Scriptures mean literally what they say, many sincere believers are confident that the terminal date is the execution of Messiah, which, as is supposed in the case under consideration, occurred in 32 A.D. They trace the history backward and cannot go beyond 452 B.C. They are confident, therefore, that the decree mentioned by Gabriel in Daniel 9 was issued at that date; but there was no decree for the rebuilding of Jerusalem made by anyone at that time. The nearest thing that could be compared to a decree or a proclamation is the permission which Darius gave to Nehemiah in the 20th year of his reign, which, according to the generally accepted chronology, was in 445 B.C.; but there is a difference of 7 years between 445 and 452. How is this discrepancy to be explained?

Resort is immediately had to the prophetic-year theory. Gabriel affirmed that there were to be 483 years from the issuing of the decree to the execution of Messiah, but from 445 B.C. to 32 A.D. was a period of 476 years and 24 days, as has been worked out by those holding to this position. But 476 years are not 483. The difficulty is usually removed by asserting that the 483 years are prophetic--a total of 173,880 days. It is also claimed by these expositors that the 476 years intervening between 445 B.C. and 32 A.D. are regular solar years of 365 days. By special calculation it is found that they also amount to 173,880 days. The calculation as presented by one of the exponents of this theory is as follows:

"The 1st Nisan in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes (the edict to rebuild Jerusalem) was 14th March, B.C. 445.

"The 10th Nisan in Passion Week (Christ's entry into Jerusalem") was 6th April, A.D. 32.

"The intervening period was 476 years and 24 days (the days being reckoned inclusively, as required by the language of the prophecy and in accordance with the Jewish practice).

"It may be well to offer here two explanatory remarks. First: in reckoning years from B.C. to A.D., one year must always be omitted; for it is obvious ex. gr., that from B.C. 1 to A.D. 1 was not two years, but one year. B.C. 1 ought to be described as B.C. 0, and it is so reckoned by astronomers, who would describe the historical date B.C. 445, as 444 (see note p 124 ante). And secondly, the Julian year is 11m. 10.46s., or about the 129th part of a day, longer than the mean solar year. The Julian calendar, therefore, contains three leap years too many in four centuries, an error which had amounted to eleven days in A.D. 1752, when our English calendar was corrected by declaring the 3rd September to be the 14th September, and by introducing the Gregorian reform which reckons three secular years out of four as common years; ex. gr., 1700, 1800 and 1900 are common years and 2000 is a leap year. 'Old Christmas Day' is still marked in our calendars, and observed in some localities, on the 6th January; and to this day the calendar remains uncorrected in Russia."

Since we have seen that there is no such thing as a prophetic year of 360 days in the Scriptures, the calculation breaks down.

We have already seen that the authority which Darius gave Nehemiah was not a decree in any sense of the word, but was simply permission granted him to return to the city of his fathers and there act as governor. We have also seen that Cyrus, according to the prediction of Isaiah, was to issue the proclamation for the rebuilding of the temple and city. Cyrus did exactly what God foretold that he would perform. In view of all the data presented in Chapter XVI relative to the days of the restoration, it is utterly impossible for one to accept all of the facts, to evaluate them properly, and still to believe the explanation that has just been set forth.

The initial date of the 483 years was the year in which Cyrus issued the decree according to the promise of Gabriel. At the expiration of the 69 weeks or 483rd year, Messiah was to be cut off and have nothing; that is, the Messiah was to be cut off at the end of the 483 years. The question has been raised by some concerning the significance of the Hebrew word אַחֲרֵי. It is contended that it simply means after without any implication as to whether or not some time intervened between the end of the 483rd year and the cutting off of the Messiah. What is the significance of this word? It is derived from אָחַר. Its fundamental meaning is "delay, tarry, cause one to delay," "hinder," etc. The adjective derived from it means primarily another. As a substantive it means the hinder or following parts. The same form is used as a preposition.

Daniel employed the plural construct form of this word אַחֲרֵי. It is used substantively in II Samuel 2:23 in the phrase בְּאַחֲרֵי הַחֲנִית "with the hinder end of the spear." It refers to the point of the spear. Our form of this preposition as used by Daniel occurs nine times in Genesis 5. It is used to indicate the years of each of the patriarchs after the begetting of his first-born. This period is dated from the time of the begetting of the son. This same form appears in Leviticus 16:1 אַחֲרֵי מוֹת. These words occur in the expression, "And Jehovah spake unto Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron." The entire contents of the book of Leviticus were spoken during the first month of the second year of the Exodus (See Exodus 40:17; Numbers 1:1). In the passage under consideration it is quite evident that the message came to Moses immediately after the death of Aaron's two disobedient sons. We see the same idiom in Joshua 1:1. "Now it came to pass after the death of Moses the servant of Jehovah, that Jehovah spake unto Joshua," etc. Moses died. Joshua became his successor. There was no time for delay; hence, the Lord spoke immediately to Joshua after Moses' death. These and other instances show that the ordinary meaning of the word when used in a temporal sense is immediately after the event mentioned. The beginning of the period was exact; so was the ending.

The angel Gabriel said that after the sixty-ninth week the Messiah would be cut off. He meant to indicate the fact that the execution of the Messiah was the terminal date of the sixty-ninth week--the 483rd year. We may, therefore, be certain that the Messiah was executed at the end of the 483 years after Cyrus issued his decree in the year 3589 A.H.

That the great pyramid at Gizeh was constructed by men who had a knowledge of astronomy and the principles involved in architectural engineering cannot be doubted. Its orientation and measurements together with many other elements reveal most clearly the fact that the builders of the pyramid were men who were very highly developed in the sciences of astronomy, mathematics and engineering.

While we admit that the builders of the pyramid understood many of the sciences, I am not prepared to concede all of the claims that are made in behalf of this great marvel. Some most excellent men have seen in its measurements an outline of history and have attempted to read into it chronological facts and data. After having studied the question considerably and having noticed carefully predictions which students of the pyramid have made relative to certain events, I have come to the following conclusion: If there is any chronological significance to the pyramid, man has not been able to discover it. The advocates of this theory have set the dates which they claim to be based upon accurate mathematical calculations, but none of them have thus far proved to be true. I see little hope of their being able to read or interpret that wonderful monument so as to bring forth any real contribution to the chronological question.

On the other hand, I have seen disastrous results coming from a misinterpretation and a misreading of whatever might be contained in the pyramid. I am, therefore, very skeptical of all attempts to set dates by the pyramid measurements.

The history of exegesis through the centuries is indeed interesting and at the same time very pathetic. Too often expositors read into the text their own thoughts and present them to the unsuspecting people as the very Word of God. Unfortunately for the world, this practice has not been altogether abandoned, but we may be thankful that, as the years pass, there is, in many circles at least, a saner and a more scientific approach toward the Scriptures. For this improvement let us praise God.

All of us are creatures of habit and prejudices. Our environment and experiences very often color our interpretation of the Word of God. All too frequently we accept that which is given us by our teachers without any question whatsoever. Their utterances are for us delivered in an ex cathedra manner, and we accept these pronouncements as truth itself. Using a figure, I would say that very frequently our instructors place glasses before our eyes with colored lenses, and we view the Scriptures through them. Should there be red lenses in my glasses, everything at which I look appears red to me; on the other hand, if green lenses are in them, all things appear green, because everything takes on the color of the lenses through which I look. If I accept the theories of men and view the Scriptures through them, I can in no wise understand what God has said. My interpretation will be colored by the theories through which I look when I study God's Holy and Sacred Word.

There is but one way to approach the Scriptures, which is the scientific method. It may be stated as follows:

Whenever we are careful to apply this rule and are searching the Scriptures for the truth and at the same time are praying God's blessings upon our quest for the same, we shall not go very far afield. God was honest in giving His Revelation and intended it to be understood. He said what He meant and meant what He said. Thus we should not seek for some veiled or mystical meaning in the Scriptures, but should study every word in the light of its context and thank God for the light which He has given us.

Every special, mystical, and symbolical interpretation should be discarded, and the plain sense of Scripture should be accepted unless there are clear indications in the context to indicate a departure from the normal, literal meaning. This general proposition is the logical deduction which we are forced to make from the survey of Messianic speculations made in this chapter.

An examination of the prophecies scattered throughout the Old Testament, studied in the light of their fulfilment, reveals the fact that prophecy is to be taken literally--at its face value. God said what He meant and meant what He said. Of course, the prophets like all others used metaphorical language on occasions. One must make the same allowances for figures of speech in their utterances as he does for similar language in secular writings. With this understanding of the situation, we are not to adopt what is usually called "spiritualizing" the Scriptures, but what has been properly designated as "phantomizing" them.

Jacob outlined in a rough sketch the times when the Messiah would make His first appearance upon the historic scene. The work which he began in his monumental prediction (Gen. 49) was filled in by other prophets of later dates. These predictions foretold the conditions which would exist at the time of Messiah's first coming. Obviously the angel Gabriel revealed to Daniel the very year when Messiah, the Prince, would be cut off and have nothing; namely, 483 years after Cyrus issued the decree for the Jews to return from Babylon. The date before which the Messiah was to appear was the time of the collapse of the Hebrew kingdom and the dispersion of its inhabitants throughout the world in 70 C.E. Those who believe the Scriptures to be the very Word of the living God are convinced that the Messiah came on scheduled time and likewise was cut off, according to the predictions found in Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53. Either He came prior to that time, or the Hebrew Scriptures have been broken. We can never believe the latter. We are, therefore, thoroughly convinced that God fulfills His Word literally. Since they foretold that Messiah would be cut off before that awful calamity of 70 C.E., we are absolutely certain that He appeared prior to that time and fulfilled the program to that date as outlined by the prophets concerning Him.

In this volume we have traced the chronological question from Genesis 1 to the end of the Hebrew Scriptures. We have likewise examined the special predictions bearing upon the time when the Messiah would appear the first time. All of the evidence shows conclusively that He came before 70 C.E., and we are absolutely convinced that He did come on scheduled time. The facts presented in this volume prove this contention conclusively.

The Messianic Series of which this book is Volume IV will contain the following treatise when completed:

Volume I, The God of Israel, which shows from the Hebrew text of the Old Testament that the one God who revealed Himself to Moses and the prophets is a Triune Being, consisting of three Divine Personalities, yet constituting a unity in the correct sense of the term.

Volume II, Messiah: His Nature and Person, presents the Scriptural evidence concerning the nature and the person of King Messiah, who according to predictions, entered the world by virgin birth, and who by His every action and word proved that He was God manifest in the flesh.

Volume III, Messiah: His Redemptive Career, sets forth the outline of Messiah's life and labors. In it I have not taken a passage from one connection and placed it with another in order to make out a case for Jesus of Nazareth. On the contrary, I expounded those passages which present the two comings of the one Messiah, the interval during which He is seated at the right hand of the Throne of God, having been rejected by His own people, and His future glorious reign upon earth.

Volume IV, Messiah: His First Coming Scheduled, the present work, sets forth the Scriptural truth concerning the conditions and the time when the Messiah would first appear upon the earth to carry out this pre-arranged scheme of atoning redemption.

Volume V, Messiah: His Historical Appearance, will present the four records of the Gospel in the form of a harmony. I shall make my own translation of the original text and shall present the testimony of the four witnesses in parallel columns in order that the reader may see at a glance the full testimony on the various points raised by the gospel writers. I shall endeavor to set forth the truth with reference to the different objections that are brought against the records. Furthermore, I shall show that the entire testimony is consistent and first rate evidence given by eye witnesses and credible people who had access to the original sources. This harmony of the Gospel will be followed by Acts of the Apostles, which continues the story of the beginning of Christianity. The notes which I shall add will show that we have a record that was given by a scientist and an eyewitness, who, after he had done thorough research work and acquired the facts, was led by the Holy Spirit to record those things that are essential for us to know in order to understand the beginning and the development of the marvelous movement that is known as Christianity.

Volume VI, Messiah: His Second Coming Imminent, will interpret in the light of prophetic predictions the present world situation and the modern trend of affairs, which are but the fulfilling of prophecy. It is admitted that world conditions are becoming more critical. There is occasion for grave apprehension that we are approaching the time that is known as Jacob's trouble. This volume, therefore, will present a sane and sound interpretation of predictions relating to the end time.

The last volume, Messiah: His Final Call to Israel, will interpret those statements throughout the Word which God made relative to Israel's renouncing her national sin, that her leaders committed 1900 years ago in their rejection of Jesus of Nazareth as their Messiah and Saviour.

With the completion of the present volume the first four of the series go forth. It is my earnest hope and intention to complete the three remaining books as quickly as possible in order that the full testimony of God's Seven Point Program for Israel may go forth, without money and without price, to His beloved Chosen People, to the end that they may see the truth as it is set forth in the Oracles of God.

Rabbi Silver has called our attention to the fact that the Hebrew people in every crisis which has come upon them have always sought for comfort and consolation in the Messianic expectation. This was natural. Israel's only hope is in her Deliverer and Messiah. In view of the present crisis that has become world-wide in its proportions, Israel, as the night darkens, will again seek comfort and deliverance in the Messianic hope. The principles of interpretation of Scripture adopted by her leaders in the past have misled her and brought untold disappointment and distress upon the nation. The golden rule of interpretation is the only infallible guide in expounding the Scriptures. I beg, therefore, my Jewish friends to read these volumes carefully and to pray God to open their eyes that they may see His truth. I do not wish any of them to accept one word that I say because of my having spoken thus, but I desire by their reading these books to draw their attention to their own Scriptures with one thought in mind--to ascertain what God has said. In every utterance which I have put in this series I have been sincere, calling attention to those things which I see in the Blessed Word of God. May the Spirit of God illuminate the eyes of every honest Hebrew in order that he might see the truthfulness of the positions herein set forth.

We are in this world as sojourners and pilgrims. Soon we who are here will pass into the Great Beyond. About that proposition there can be no doubt. That which should be uppermost in every heart is this: Where shall I spend eternity? Have I made my peace, with my Maker? The older I grow the more important these questions become. I believe that this is the experience of everyone.

My dear Hebrew friend, have you made your peace with the eternal God? One cannot enter into covenant relationship with Him for another. Each one deals with God individually. Have you, therefore, made your peace with Him?

May I speak the conviction of my heart in love and in the interest of every reader? Friend, there is but one way to make your peace with God and that is by accepting the atoning sacrifice which Jesus of Nazareth, the Hebrew Messiah and Saviour of the world, made for you on Calvary's Cross 1900 years ago. He declared, as we shall see in Volume V of this series, that man must be born again. He must have the experience of regeneration of the heart by the power of the Holy Spirit. The only way one can have that experience is in accepting by faith Jesus of Nazareth as Saviour, Lord, and Master of his life. Whenever one thus accepts Him in sincerity and truth, without any ulterior motives, the Lord regenerates the heart. O friend, accept Him today.

With the apostle Paul, I can say, "Brethren, my heart's desire and my supplication to God is for them (Israel) that they may be saved" (Romans 10:1).

The End.