THE BIBLICAL TIMELINE

THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES

On February 7 we determined that the last day of the world's existence, October 21, 2011, falls on 23 Tishri, 5772. To verify this date and under- stand its significance we have to look at the main feast days of ancient Is- rael, particularly the feast of tabernacles and the dedication of Solomon's temple.

Three main feast days of ancient Israel pointed to significant events in the N.T. Exodus 23 gives us an outline: ¹⁴Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year. ¹⁵Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread (the feast of the Passover): (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib (Nisan); for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:) ¹⁶And the feast of harvest (The second feast, the feast of weeks or Pente- cost), the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering (The third feast, the feast of tabernacles or booths), which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.

The Passover (Leviticus 23:4-16) began on the 14^th of Nisan and lasted for 7 days. It represented Christ freeing His elect from the bondage of Egypt that represented sin. They crucified Christ, as the Passover lamb, on A.D. 33, Nisan 14.

The next feast day occurs fifty days after the seventh day Sabbath fol- lowing the Passover (Leviticus 23:17-22). On Pentecost—A.D. May 22, 33—God ushered in the church age by saving 3 thousand souls (Acts 2:41). Both the Passover and Pentecost point to Christ as the savior of His elect.

The third feast day, the feast of tabernacles (or booths), begins on the 15^th of the seventh lunar month (Leviticus 23:33-43) and runs for 7 days. It ends on the 22^nd day, which, as we'll see, includes the 23^rd day. Though the feast of tabernacles occurs in the 7^th month, it raps up the final har- vest and therefore comes at the end of the year agriculturally speaking and as God refers to it in Exodus 23:16.

This final harvest has spiritual meaning both for the unsaved and the saved. Matthew 13 tells how God annihilates the former and harvests the latter into His kingdom: ³⁰ …in the time of harvest I will say to the reap- ers, Gather ye together first the tares (the unsaved in the churches; see July 7), and bind them in bundles to burn them (in the lake of fire of Rev-elation 20:14, 15): but gather the wheat (the saved) into my barn. So the feast of tabernacles or booths celebrates the final harvest of the elect that God raptures at the end of the year (Exodus 23:16).

Matthew 17:1-9 (also Luke 9:28-36) describes what happens on the Mount of Transfiguration and associates the feast of tabernacles with the Rapture: ¹And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, ²And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his rai- ment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him.⁴Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

Here we have four Disciples of Christ from the N.T. as well as Moses and Elijah from the O.T. These six represent those whom God has saved throughout time. The mountain refers to God's kingdom for the elect. So Matthew 17:1-9 and Luke 9:28-36 give us a picture of the rapture on May 21, 2011. That Peter says, let us make…three tabernacles associates the rapture with the feast of tabernacles.

In the third month of B.C. 1447, after the Israelites fled Egypt, they came to Mount Sinai in Arabia where God commanded Moses to build a taber- nacle (Exodus 19:1). 1 Samuel 1:9 shows that God can refer to this porta- ble tent as the temple: ⁹…Now Eli the priest (in Shiloh: Joshua 18:1) sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD. This tabernacle/tem- ple typifies the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:16 see also January 17). The ark in the most holy place (Exodus 26:33; 1 Kings 8:6; 2 Chronicles 5:7) signified that God resided there (Leviticus 16:2). Without the ark the tabernacle was just another tent with no spiritual significance.

When we consult our calendar we get

9945 to 9946:…. …….Philistines capture ark in…...……..1068;
                                        The tabernacle ends…………...…..1068 - 1067

When the Philistines took the ark, they in principle destroyed the temple because God no longer dwelt there. (See supplement: February 10.) Therefore this tabernacle lasted for 380 (= |-1447 – (-1067)|) years. In 1 Samuel 6:1-18 the Philistines, having had more trouble than they bar- gained for with the ark, return it to the Israelites.

Then a 100 and 380 years later we get from our calendar,

10046 to 10053……..…Solomon builds the temple…..........967 – 960
10426………..................Babylon destroys Jerusalem,
                                          Including the temple and the ark…..587

Everything about the tabernacle (except the dates) pertains to Solomon's temple. It too contained the ark in the most holy place, where only the high priest could enter once a year on the day of atonement (10 Tishri). Because Babylon destroyed the ark in B.C. 587, the temple built by Ne- hemiah and Herod (The Great) later on did not contain the very essence of God. So the temple no longer represented the body of Christ. That hon- or fell on the churches beginning in A.D. 33. As with the tabernacle, Solo- mon's temple also lasted 380 (|-967 – (-587)|) years. Like so many other "coincidences" we've stumbled over, these 380 years in both cases doesn't hurt the conditional of our hypothesis: that God created time as a grid work for significant events.

The tabernacle and Solomon's temple represented the kingdom of God. The feast of tabernacles commemorated the final harvest of the elect at the end of the year. Therefore the completion and dedication of Solo- mon's temple occurred during the feast of tabernacles. ¹Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished: and Solo- mon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God. ³Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month (2 Chronicles 5).

The silver and… gold represent all the elect brought into the body of Christ. The feast refers to the marriage feast of Revelation 19:7-9: ⁷Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb (Christ) is come, and his wife (God's elect) hath made herself ready. ⁸And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. ⁹And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called (elected to salvation before the foundation of the world: Ephesians 1:4) unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Recall we got October 21, 2011 by adding the five months of Revelation 9:5, 10 to May 21, 2011. Given all the above, we'd expect October 21, 2011 or Tishri 23, 5772 to fall on the last day of the feast of tabernacles. So we need to determine when the feast of tabernacles actually ended. According to 2 Chronicles, ⁹…in the eighth day they made a solemn as- sembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. So we have a total of 14 days: the dedication of the altar (Christ) from the 8^th day to the 14^th day, then on ³⁴The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD (Leviticus 23). Seven days for the dedication of the alter and seven days for the feast of tabernacles makes fourteen days total.

After the dedication of the temple, Solomon ¹⁰on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month…sent the people away into their tents (2 Chronicles 7). 1 Kings 8 also gives us the end of this feast: ⁶⁵ …Solo- mon held a feast… seven days and seven days, even fourteen days. ⁶⁶ On the eighth day he sent the people away… Since they began the feast on the fifteenth day the eighth day would fall on the twenty-second day that Solomon sent the people away (according to Kings 8:66). But according to 2 Chronicles 7:10, Solomon sent the people away into their tents…on the three and twentieth day. So we have an apparent contradiction in violation of Presupposition 1.

However in Leviticus 23: ³⁹ …in the fifteenth day of the seventh month …ye shall keep a feast…seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. So Scripture defines the fif- teenth and the twenty-second day of the seventh month as a Sabbath. And ³⁰…whatsoever soul…doeth any work in that…day (any Sabbath; in our case the 15^th and 22^nd day of the seventh month; not the seventh day Sabbath), the same soul will I destroy…³¹Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwel- lings (Leviticus 23).

This manner of work in Leviticus 23:30 includes traveling a long distance (Exodus 16:29). Acts 1 defines a Sabbath day's journey: ¹²Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusa- lem a sabbath day's journey. So Solomon sent the people away on the eighth day in 1 Kings 8:66 on a Sabbath day. But they could not return home—from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt (1 Kings 8:65)—because that would mean traveling much farther than the half mile to the mount called Olivet. The people couldn't leave until the three and twentieth day, according to 2 Chronicles 7:10, even though Solomon sent the people away on the twenty-second day (in 1 Kings 8:66).

Therefore though 1 Kings 8:26 defines the last day of the feast of taber- nacles as the twenty-second day, this "last day" includes the twenty-third day of Tishri.

Now we can begin to understand the significance of October 21, 2011. On February 5 we went to our calendar converter and got,

21 October 2011 corresponds to 23 Tishrei, 5772
Simchat Torah
Friday

Tishri 23 is the last day of the feast of tabernacles when everyone can return home after the Sabbath (Tishri 22). Solomon's dedication of the temple represents the harvest of true believers on May 21, 2011 (accord- ing to Revelation 11:11-12). The following five months spells death for anyone remaining on earth (according to Revelation 9, 14:11, as de- scribed in Deuteronomy 28:15-68; see also September 10). The elect do not have to witness the holocaust and wait until October 21, 2011. On Tishri 23, 5772, at the end of the year (Exodus 23:16), God burns up the universe (2 Peter 3:7, 10) in the lake of fire (of Revelation 20: 14, 15), which of course includes the non elect (according to Matthew 13:30).

We now have the Biblical timeline: from B.C. 11013 to A.D. October 21, 2011 (now confirmed) for a total of 13023 years (= |-11013 – 2011| – 1). On February 11 we show how the parable of the fig tree corroborates our conclusion that the Rapture comes so soon rather than several thousand years from now.

THE END OF THE TABERNACLE

From February 9 and our calendar we have,

9945 to 9946….Philistines capture ark in………….1068 
                            the tabernacle ends…………...…....1068 - 1067

Exactly one hundred years would pass before Solomon began building the temple that would house the ark. The ending of the tabernacle repre- sented the finishing off of the church age and a period of great tribulation.

Back in 1068, in 1 Samuel 4:1-2, the Israelites go up against the Philis- tines and lose about four thousand men. That night, while licking their wounds, the Jews get a bright idea: to ³…fetch the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of Shiloh unto us, that, when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.

The Jews thought that by bringing the ark to the front line of battle they couldn't lose. But like the Bible, the ark represented God Himself and was to be treated accordingly. The ark belonged behind the veil in the most holy section of the tabernacle. No one could go in there except the in- cumbent priest on the Day of Atonement. Even then strict rules applied (see July 30). They weren't allowed to touch the ark (2 Samuel 6:6-8) or even look into it (1 Samuel 6:19), more less remove it. The Bible doesn't go into how the Jews could have carried out such an outrageous sacrilege. But they did and the worst possible outcome followed: ¹⁰…the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten, and they fled every man into his tent: and there was a very great slaughter; for there fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen.¹¹And the ark of God was taken; and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain.

Having been a judge for forty years, Eli died on hearing what happened. Samuel would then act as the last judge for the next 20 years.

The Philistines take the ark to Ashdod and many die from emerods—either hemorrhoids or malignant boils. Attributing such misfortune to the ark, they remove it to Gath (1 Samuel 5:6-8) with the same consequences. They had good reason to blame their troubles on the ark. When in Ash- dod they brought it into the house of their god, Dagon. Over the next two nights the idol winds up destroyed (1 Samuel 5:1-5). The Philistines then bring the ark to Ekron (1 Samuel 5:10) about 11 miles away, again with the same fatalities, only more severe with outright panic. After seven months of this misfortune they return the ark to the Israelites.

The ending of the tabernacle in 1067 represents a period of great tribula- tion. When the Philistines took the ark they destroyed the tabernacle because in principle God no longer dwelt there. In the land of Canaan Jacob and his family represented those God saved. During the first great tribulation in B.C. 1877 they left that land to the heathen or tares, which was a picture of God and the wheat leaving the churches beginning in 1988. In B.C. 587 Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple and the ark for the gold. Those representing God's people had to leave for Babylon. In 1988 God no longer remained in the congregations as the Savior but as the judge and the true believers had to leave. Therefore this theft of the ark and end of the tabernacle in B.C. 1067—like the end of Canaan, the temple and churches—mirrored a period of great tribulation.

THE FIG TREE

On February 7 we verified that the last day of the world lands on October 21, 2011. The parable of the fig tree corroborates our conclusion—that the end arrives so soon.

In certain contexts, such as Micah 4:4, Luke 21:29 and John 1:48 the fig tree represents Christ. But Mark 13, Luke 13 and Matthew 24 use the fig tree to mean national Israel as defined in Hosea 9: ¹⁰I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time… Joel 1:7 refers to Israel as a fig tree under judgment: ⁷He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: Jeremiah 24:2, 3 refers to good and evil figs that can only refer to the Israelites: ² One bas- ket had very good figs, even like the figs that are first ripe: and the other basket had very naughty figs, which could not be eaten, they were so bad. ³Then said the LORD unto me, What seest thou, Jeremiah? And I said, Figs; the good figs, very good; and the evil, very evil, that cannot be eat- en, they are so evil (Jeremiah 24).

Matthew 24 and Mark 13 concern the end times: i.e., after ²there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down ( Mark 13:2. See July 21 concerning the end of the church age). In Mark 13 the apostles come to Christ imploring him to ⁴Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled? Christ obliges them: from verses 5 to 13 He warns of false prophets, here- sies and suffering. In verse 10 He prophesizes that ¹⁰…the gospel must…be published among all nations. Verses 14-23 warn of Satan ruling in the churches and eliminating the true believers. Verses 24-27 jump ahead to the final 153 days, then verses 28-29 backtrack to the fig tree coming into leaf once more.

Matthew 24:32, Mark 13:28-29, and Luke 13:6-9 predicts the end times shortly after Israel reemerges as a nation.

Matthew 24: ³²Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves (becomes a nation in 1948), ye know that summer (the harvest beginning September 6, 1994 and ending May 21, 2011) is nigh: ³³So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Mark 13: ²⁸ Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near: ²⁹So ye in like manner, when ye shall see these things come to pass, know that it is nigh, even at the doors. Luke 13: ⁶…A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. ⁷Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? ⁸And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also (for 1948), till I shall dig about it, and dung it: ⁹And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

The Roman Titus wiped Israel out in A.D. 70. For the Jews to again put- teth forth leaves near the end times means Israel would have to regroup almost two thousand years later; otherwise they could not fulfill the pro- phecies of Mark 13:28-29 and Matthew 24:32-33. But nowhere do we read of a displaced population, vanquished and dispersed abroad, be- coming a nation in their own homeland after such a long time. But on May 14, 1948 Israel did just that—in spite of Arabian, Lebanese, Syrian, Egyptian, Transjordan and Palestinian neighbors trying to eliminate them from day one on. Their efforts only brought into Israel tens of thousands more to defend their homeland. Indeed Israel grew into full leaf.

Matthew 24: ³²Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: Since history proves the first part right—that Israel would again become a na- tion—we might as well look at the rest of Matthew 24:32; i.e., …that summer is nigh

Jeremiah 8:20 defines summer (beginning in 1994) as the time of harvest: ²⁰The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved. But Christ returns right after the final harvest (Exodus 23:16, 34:22; 2 Samuel 21:9; Proverbs 20:4; Isaiah 17:11; Jeremiah 8:20). In fact in Matthew 13: ³⁹…the harvest is the end of the world… As prophesized in Ecclesiastes 8:5 and 1 Thessalonians 5:4, once the elect see the fig tree in leaf, they will know the encroaching end because they …are not in darkness, that that day should overtake…(them) as a thief.

After 1948, when summer is nigh, we would anticipate the next Jubilee year as most significant. The previous Jubilee, before Israel became a nation, was 1944 (|-1407 – 1944| – 1 = 3350 = 67 x 50). So the next Ju- bilee year, 1994 (= 1944 + 50) begins the harvest and supports what we've already figured out on January 31: the 1290 days of Daniel 12:11 determined 1994 as the year that ends the half hour of silence in Revela- tion 8:1 and God begins saving the great multitude of Revelation 7:9, 14.

We can further corroborate Biblical prophecies concerning Israel. Be- sides those of Mark 13:28-29 and Matthew 24:32-33, Scripture predicted that Israel would always reject Christ as God. Again Scripture proves it- self true. Despite the influence Jesus had on the world, the Jews don't even accept Him as one of their own.

Mark 13:28-29 and Luke 13:6-9 proclaim Israel will bear leaves, but not fruit. In Mark 11: ¹²And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he (Christ) was hungry (for Israel to turn to him for salvation (Matthew 23:37; Luke 19:41 – 44)): ¹³And seeing a fig tree afar off (some 1900 years in the future) having leaves (i.e., Israel was a viable nation in 1948) he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs (1994) was not yet. ¹⁴And Jesus answered and (repeating the curse al- ready given in Isaiah 6:10, 11) said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it. Also in Mathew 21: ¹⁹And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered (xērainō) away.

Scripture defines the word, wither (xērainō), as damnation. In Mark 4: ⁶…when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root (Christ), it withered (xērainō) away, meaning the plant represented an unsaved condition. Also in Mark 9:17, the son (unsaved) which hath a dumb spirit would pineth away (xērainō) in Mark 9:18. In Ezekiel 24: ²³ …ye shall not mourn nor weep; but ye shall pine away for your iniqui- ties… We find this conclusion backed up in Jude 1: ¹²These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves with- out fear: clouds they are without water (the Gospel), carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth (xērainō), without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots.

Isaiah 6 gives us more of the same sad news concerning Israel: ¹⁰Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and under- stand with their heart, and convert, and be healed. ¹¹Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered, Until the cities be wasted without inhabi- tant, and the houses without man, and the land be utterly desolate (i.e., until the end of the great tribulation on May 21, 2011).

Matthew 13:14-15 refers back to Isaiah 6:10-11, assuring us that the latter doesn't refer to just the O.T. Israel will remain in unbelief until the end of time, which precludes any thousand year reign: ¹⁴And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: ¹⁵For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

We have the same prediction in Acts 28: ²⁵And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, ²⁶ Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:

A thematic analysis of Mark 11:11-21 shows Israel will never turn to Christ, receive any more blessings, and that 1948 points to end time events.

In Mark 11:11 Christ leaves the temple and the city at evening, i.e., in darkness, when ¹⁰…if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him (John 11). That suggests that Christ gave up on the Jews such that He won't ¹⁸…open their eyes, and…turn them from dark- ness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may re- ceive forgiveness of sins (Acts 26).

When Christ hung on the cross in three hours of darkness, God kicked Satan out of heaven (John 12:31; Luke 10:18; Revelation 12:9). Also in Luke 23: ⁴⁴…it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth… ⁴⁵And…the veil of the temple was rent in the midst, which means God no longer dwelt in the temple. Therefore that Christ left Jeru-salem in spiritual darkness means He would never give the Jews a new heart and spirit (Ezekiel 36:26) such that they would honor Him, which explains why Christ weeps over Jerusalem in Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34.

In Mark 11:15-17 Christ kicks the money changers and sellers of doves out of the temple, i.e., out of the body of Christ (John 2:21) thus He leaves them in damnation.

In Mark 11:19 Christ again goes out of the city at evening.

In Mark 11:20-21 we read that the fig tree had withered (xērainō) away.

So Christ walks out on the Jews, leaving them in spiritual darkness, i.e., without God; in fact He kicks them out of the body of Christ (the temple) with a curse such that national Israel (the fig tree) will never acknowledge the true Gospel. Therefore God cursing the fig tree is only one element of the same theme running throughout Mark 11:11-21.

That Israel will never accept Christ refutes the belief that God will some- day reign from Jerusalem for a thousand years. We deal with that myth on February 14.

A THOUSAND YEAR REIGN?

Some Bible students interpret the thousand years of Revelation 20:1-7 as a literal number. They think Christ will reign during some future millenni- um from Jerusalem. Because such an interpretation doesn't square with our timeline, we need to look at it.

The term thousand years of Revelation 20:2, 3, 5, 7 is a symbolical and finite number; i.e., the 1955 years of the church age. The thousand years of Revelation 20:4, 6 is infinite in which the elect dwell with God in eter- nity. Note how you can interpret Revelation 20:1-7 from both viewpoints: (1) Christ will someday reign on earth for a thousand years; (2) verses 2, 3, 5, 7 refer to the church age while verses 4, 6 refer to eternity. We can only accept (2) because (1) won't square with the rest of Scripture.

Revelation 20: ¹And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. ²And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years (beginning in A.D. 33 according to (2); not at some future date, according to (1)), ³And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years (the church age, according to (2), not after some future millennium according to (1)) should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season (for the great tribulation ac- cording to (2); not at the end of some future millennium according to (1)). ⁴And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them (in eternity, according to (2); not in Jerusalem, according to (1)), and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded (so they can't still be physically alive in Jerusalem, according to (1)) for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years (i.e., for eternity, according to (2)). ⁵But the rest of the dead (the unsaved, spir- itually dead, but physically alive) lived not again (i.e., were not saved as yet) until the thousand years (the church age) were finished. This is the first resurrection. ⁶Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resur- rection (i.e., given a new soul while still physically alive): on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years (i.e., forever, accord- ing to (2)). ⁷And when the thousand years (church age) are expired (to expire means we're back in time, according to (2)), Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.

Revelation 20:1-3 deal with the binding of Satan for the duration of the church age. That the thousand years should be fulfilled in Revelation 20:3 implies an ending to something. To end something (the church age) means it must exist in time rather than eternity.

In Revelation 20:4 the souls of them that were beheaded no longer reside in time on earth, but in eternity. God has shifted ahead, beginning May 21, 2011; the thousand years refers to eternity when the elect lived and reigned with Christ (fore ever as in Genesis 13:15 or everlasting(ly) in Genesis 17:8). The number 10 in Scripture signifies completion; the num- ber 3 refers to God's purpose. The number 10³ in Revelation 20:4 refers to God's complete purpose regarding His elect in eternity.

That the thousand years were finished in verse 5 can't refer to eternity as does the thousand years of verse 4. The thousand years in Revelation 20:5 refers to that in Revelation 20:2, 3; i.e., the church age. The rest of the dead refer to those who haven't yet been saved in the churches, but will become saved during the latter half of the great tribulation; i.e., after the thousand years of the church age. When they become saved with a new soul they experience the first resurrection and join the great multi- tude of Revelation 7:9 that God saves between September 6, 1994 and May 21, 2011. That they lived not again refers to the time back in Eden, before man rebelled against God. At that time the whole human race in principle was alive (spiritually) in the loins of Adam. When Adam sinned man died: ²²For as in Adam all die (1 Corinthians 15). The elect become alive again at the first resurrection (of Revelation 20: 5-6); i.e., the mo- ment God gives them a resurrected soul before their physical death.

The thousand years of Revelation 20:6 is infinite, as in Revelation 20:4, because the saved reign with Christ in eternity.

That the thousand years (church age) are expired in Revelation 20:7 means we're back in time; i.e., the thousand years refers back to the end of the church age, when God allows Satan to infiltrate the congregations. Satan is loosed a little season for the period of the great tribulation.

Those who believe in this thousand year reign on earth confuse Genesis 12:7, 5:18, and 24:7 with Genesis 13. According to them God at some fu- ture date will pour out great blessing on Israel in fulfillment of what they call an "Abrahamic Covenant." This interpretation (1) of Revelation 20:1-7, if true, would shoot down our end time of A.D. 2011. Therefore to complete Part 2 we check out such verses. On February 16 we look at God's covenant with Abraham in Genesis 12:7, 5:18, 24:7 and Genesis 13.