THE BIBLICAL TIMELINE

GOD'S COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM

On February 14 we looked at Revelation 20:1-7 and saw how it attributes two different meanings to the thousand years. The thousand years in vers- es 2, 3, 5, and 7 is symbolical and refers to the 1955 years of church his- tory; the thousand years in verses 4 and 6 is infinite and refers to what goes on eternally in heaven. In Revelation 20:

¹...I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottom- less 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, 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 thou- sand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. ⁴And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded 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. ⁵But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thou- sand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. ⁶Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: 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. ⁷And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.

As stated on February 14: some Bible students challenge our timeline by attributing to Revelation 20:1-7 a thousand year reign on earth. As God rules from Jerusalem this alleged millennium supposedly fulfills what they call an "Abrahamic covenant." Genesis 12:7, 15:18-21, 24:7, 13:14-16, Ezekiel 37:21-25 and Romans 11:25-26 may seem to confirm this false notion. Therefore we deal with these verses here and on February 18.

Genesis 12:7, 15:18-21 and 24:7 refers to the physical land of Canaan. The land in Genesis 13:14-16 pertains to the elect in heaven, not anything going on in our world.

In Genesis 12:7, 15:18-21, and 24:7, God promised the physical land of Canaan to Abram's progeny—not to Abram himself: ⁷…the LORD ap- peared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land (Genesis 12). ¹⁸…the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land (Genesis 15). ⁷The LORD God…sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land (Genesis 24). These verses refer to the physical land of Canaan.

While the seed in Genesis 12:7, 15:18 and 24:7 refer to Abram's progeny (not Abraham, Isaac or Jacob), Genesis 13 defines Abram's seed as Christ and the elect in their inheritance of God's eternal kingdom. Note that in this case God gives the land to Abram himself and his seed for ever—not to the Israelites: ¹⁴And the LORD said unto Abram…Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: ¹⁵For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. ¹⁶And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

That this kingdom lasts for ever in Genesis 13:15 refers to the infinite thousand years of Revelation 20:4, 6. That Abram and his seed (Christ) inherit the land… for ever has to mean God's eternal kingdom, i.e., the new heaven and new earth of Revelation 21:1. Galatians 3:16 defines this seed in Genesis 13:16 as Christ, ¹⁶…And to thy seed, which is Christ. Galatians 3:29 defines the seed as the elect. ²⁹And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise (that God makes in Genesis 13:14-16). So Abraham's seed in Genesis 13:14-16 refers to Christ and the elect, not all of the Israelites as in Genesis 12:7, 15:18 and 24:7. Therefore Genesis 13:14-16 can't mean anything by the eastern Mediterranean that the Jews acquire forever, or even for a thou- sand years.

Genesis 17 begins with God's covenant with Abraham and the elect—not a return of Christ to glorify Israel. ¹…I am the Almighty God; walk be- fore me…²And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. Romans 4:11 designates Abraham, the first one circumcised, as the father of all them that believe; i.e., the elect, after God circumcises their heart (according to Deuteronomy 30:6) and draws them to the faith of Christ (John 6:44). Therefore Genesis 17:1 refers to the elect—not the Israelites—that God will multiply.

We find the eternality of Genesis 13:15 (¹⁵For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.) emphasized as ever- lasting in Genesis 17: ⁸And I will give unto thee (Abraham), and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Ca- naan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.

Canaan in Genesis 17:8 stands for God's eternal kingdom that …is not of this world (John 18:36). Genesis 17:8 refers to Abraham as a stranger be- cause he never inherits the physical land. In Genesis 23:4 Abraham, in order to bury his dead wife, Sarah, tells the sons of Heth, ⁴I am a stranger and a sojourner with you: give me a possession of a buryingplace (in the land of Canaan) with you.

In Genesis 14 God tells Abraham, ⁴As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Abraham's many nations refer to God's elect through the righteousness of faith (Christ) in Romans 4:13. These elect come from everywhere, not just Israel: in Gen- esis 28 God tells Abraham, ¹⁴…thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: …in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

This spiritual inheritance remains unconditional in contrast to God's stip- ulations on the Jews in Canaan. The Assyrian destruction of Israel in B.C. 709, that of Judah by Babylon in B.C. 587, and that of Jerusalem by Rome in A.D. 70 testify to the Hebrews' precarious status.

Joshua 21:43-45 and Nehemiah 9:7-8 confirm that God has already ful- filled his covenant made in Genesis 12:7, 15:18-21 and 24:7 and owes the Jews nothing more. In Joshua 21: ⁴³…the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. ⁴⁴And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand. ⁴⁵There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.

And in Nehemiah 9: ⁷Thou art the LORD the God, who didst choose Abram… ⁸…and…madest a covenant with him to give the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Jebu- sites, and the Girgashites, to give it…to his seed, and hast performed thy words; for thou art righteous: In this case his seed refers to all of Israel.

We can still maintain that Revelation 20:1-7 does not predict a thousand year reign on earth. The year 1948 and the parable of the fig tree support 1988, 1994 and 2011 as end time events.

On February 18 we look at the prophecy of Ezekiel 37:21-25 and Romans 11:25-26.

THE PROPHECY OF ROMANS 11 AND EZEKIEL 37

This post will complete our discussion of the fig tree begun on February 11. Readers sometimes think Romans 11:26 and Ezekiel 37:21-25 show how God plans further blessings for Israel. While Mark 13:28-29 predicts the Jews will again form a nation (in 1948; see February 11), Romans 11:25 prophesizes they will never accept Christ: ²⁵For I would not, breth- ren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. ²⁶And so all Israel (the elect) shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.

Israel in Romans 11:25 (blindness in part is happened to Israel) refers to the nation as a whole. With few exceptions they will remain in blindness until May 21, 2011. Romans 11:26 appears to contradict Romans 11:25. While the latter says Israel will never accept Christ, the former says all Israel shall be saved. But Romans 11:26 doesn't refer to all Israelites, as does the term Israel in Romans 11:25. Romans 9 assures us God saves only a remnant: ²⁷Esaias… crieth… Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. In Mark 13:22 the scribes that blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never for- giveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: In John 8 Christ tells them, ⁴⁴Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. Except for Nicodemus in John 3 we have no evidence that God saved any of these scribes or Pharisees. Also Judas, one of Christ's disci- ples, was never saved (Matthew 26:24). Today the nation as a whole doesn't even admit Christ as one of their own. Therefore not all of na- tional Israel shall be saved.

Some readers take the phrase all Israel shall be saved to conclude God will heap future blessings on physical Israel. But we have to let the Bible define the word all (according to Corollary 3c; see June 12): in 1 Corin- thians 15: ²²For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. The first use of the word all includes the whole human race; in Adam's rebellion every human being died spiritually. The second use of the word all must refer to God's elect only; otherwise everybody would become saved contrary to Matthew 7:21, 8:12, 22:13, 24:29, Mark 13:25, Luke 13:28, Revelation 6:15-16, 20:12 and many other verses. We have the same structure in Romans 11:25-26. Romans 11:25 pertains to the nation of Israel as a whole; in Romans 11:26 the word all means either all of the elect or every Hebrew destined for salvation. We conclude Ro- mans 11:26 can't mean the nation of Israel will enjoy any future blessings.

Some Bible students argue that Ezekiel 37:21-25 claims Christ will return some day and bestow on Israel what we have yet to see. But they misin- terpret Ezekiel 37:21-25 the same way they do Revelation 20:1-7 (see February 14) and conclude the former complements the latter in describ- ing a thousand year reign on earth.

²¹…Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel (the elect, not the physical nation of Israel) from among the heathen (the non elect), whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land (heaven): ²²And I will make them one na- tion (the kingdom of God) in the land upon the mountains (God's king- doms) of Israel; and one king (Christ) shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations (the kingdom of Satan and that of God), neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: ²³Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols (false gospels), nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them (i.e., God will wash away their sins): so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. ²⁴And David (Christ) my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd (Christ): they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. ²⁵And they shall dwell in the land (heaven) that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell there- in, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David (Christ) shall be their prince for ever.

Ezekiel 37:21-25 doesn't mean the actual nation of Israel or their physical land. The phrase in verse 22—…neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms (or two nations) any more…—can't refer to the splitting of Is- rael back in B.C. 931; the two nations refer to the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God.

The word Israel in Ezekiel 37:21-25 means Prince of God; the term refers to those whom God predestined for salvation. The language of Ezekiel 37:21-25—such as, I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them—refers to the salvation of the elect. To bring them into their own land… doesn't mean the land of Canaan, but rather the land that I have given unto Jacob…where David (Christ) shall be their prince for ever. God didn't give the physical land of Canaan to Jacob; he died in Goshen, Egypt (See June 21, October 18 and Acts 7:15). Moreover that land by the Mediterranean can't last for ever; according to 2 Peter 3:10 God burns it up along with everything else on October 21, 2011 (see February 7).

Ezekiel 36:24-38 complements Ezekiel 37:21-25 in explaining what God does in saving His people. In Ezekiel 36:24, 28: ²⁴…I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land…. ²⁸And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. The use of the word land in verse 24 and 28 refers to heaven, as does the term in Ezekiel 37:21, 22 and 24. Again, God didn't give the land of Canaan to Abram, Isaac or Jacob, defined as your fathers in Ezekiel 36:28. God gave them salvation. Ezekiel 37:21-25 doesn't infer something God still owes the nation of Israel.

This completes Part 2 of our research. So far we've developed a timeline but proved nothing. In Part 3 we show arguments that confirm our calculations and Divinity, which implies there should exist one and only one correct timeline. We first have to demonstrate the parabolic meaning of numbers on February 21.

THE MEANING OF BIBLICAL NUMBERS

We've seen how Scripture assigns metaphoric meaning to words for spir- itual intent. For example the word church can refer to the physical build- ing, the congregators, God's elect, the body of Christ, or the wheat and tares of Matthew 13. Words like Mount Zion, Jerusalem, Israel can also refer to the churches, as well as the elect. The beast with seven heads and ten horns in Revelation 12, 13, and 17 demonstrates how numbers also have parabolic meaning; i.e., the numbers, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 17, 23, 37, 40, 43 as defined below.

The number 2 represents those responsible for publishing the Gospel (according to Ezekiel 37:7-9). In Revelation 11: ³And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. ⁴These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth... ¹⁰And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

The number 3ⁿ, n = 1, 2, represents God's purpose: We have three crosses in A.D. 33; three days and three nights Jonah spent in the belly of the giant fish (Jonah 1:17), which pointed to the three days and three nights Christ was in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40). We have three apostles with Christ during the transfiguration (Matthew 17:1; Luke 9:28); the three apostles Christ took with him to pray in the garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37; Mark 14:33); the three sons of Noah (Gen- esis 9:18-19); the three hours of darkness at the cross (Matthew 27:45). When Abram asks God how he will know of the land promised him, God answers in Genesis 15: ⁹…Take me an heifer of three years old, and a she goat of three years old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon. In Genesis 18 God appears to Abram in the form of three men.

The number 4 represents the furthest extent in time or distance. Revela- tion 7:1 shows the furthest extent in distance. ¹And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. Also Revelation 20: ⁸And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. In John 11:39 the four days signifies forever, since Christ could have resurrected Lazarus no matter how long he'd been dead. ³⁹Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.

The number 5 x 10ⁿ, n = 0, 1,  2… represents Christ's atonement and can refer to either salvation or damnation: we have the five wise (saved) and five foolish (unsaved) virgins of Matthew 25. In Luke 9:10-17 Christ feeds five thousand from five loaves of Bread that point to God bringing the Gospel, the bread of life, to the elect. The five sparrows of Luke 12:6 that are not forgotten before God points to those God saves. In the para- ble of Lazarus and the rich man of Luke 16:28 the latter tells Abraham, ²⁸…I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment (sorrow). In 1 Corinthians 15: ⁶…he (Christ after the crucifixion) was seen of above five hundred brethren at once…  After May 21, 2011 we have the last five months of the earth's existence, which points to the elect who are with Christ.

The number 7 or 7 x 10ⁿ, n = 1, 2, 3… represents perfection or the per- fect fulfillment or cycle of God's purpose. In Revelation 11: ¹³And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand…. In Matthew 18: ²¹Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? ²²Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven, i.e., an infinite number of times.

The number 10ⁿ, n = 1, 2, 3… represents completion. The ten virgins of Matthew 25 represent all the saved and unsaved, i.e., the whole human race. The ten horns on the beast of Revelation signifies the complete rule of Satan until the end of time. In Luke 15 the ten pieces of silver repre- sents the elect in completeness: ⁸Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?

The number 11 refers to the first coming of Christ in B.C. 7, 11 thousand years after creation.

The number 12ⁿ, n = 1, 2, 3… refers to complete fullness: Revelation 7:1-8 names 12 tribes of Israel that designate completeness in all those des- tined for salvation during the church age. We have the twelve apostles. In Revelation 21: ¹⁶And the city (God's elect) lieth foursquare (to the fur- thest extent), and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal. ¹⁷And he measured the wall there- of, an hundred and forty and four cubits (12 x 12), according to the meas- ure of a man…

The number 13 refers to the end of the world and the return of Christ, i.e., 13 thousand years after creation. In Ezekiel 40: ¹¹And he measured the breadth of the entry of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits. Christ is the gate or door (John 10:7, 9).

The number 17 refers to salvation and heaven. Seventeen years from 1994 to 2011 point to all those saved during the great tribulation. In John 21 the 153 = 3² x 17 fish represent those saved between 1994 and 2011 (see August 13). From 1877 to 1860 Jacob lived for 17 years under the auspices of Joseph, a picture of Christ saving His elect from starvation (of God's Word). Jacob's sojourn serves as a picture of heaven and the final ingathering of the elect during the great tribulation. In Jeremiah 32:9 Jeremiah pays seventeen shekels of silver for a piece of land that pointed to God again bringing Israel into Canaan, which signifies heaven. In the 2nd month, the 17th day of the month, God shut Noah into the ark (Gene- sis 7:11). In Genesis 8: ⁴…the ark rested in the seventh month (after the perfect completeness of God's purpose), on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat (which represent the new heaven and new earth of Revelation 21:1).

The number 23 x 10ⁿ, n = 0, 1, 2… refers to judgment. In Daniel 18:14 the period of judgment, May 21, 1988 until September 6, 1994, is 2300 days. ¹⁴And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. In 1 Corinthians 10: ⁸Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.

The number 37 x 10ⁿ, n = 0, 1, 2, refers to God's wrath or judgment. No- ah remained in the ark for 370 days. In 2 Kings 19: ³⁵…the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: 185,000 = 5 x 37 x 10³. The 5 in this case represents the death of the unsaved; the 37 represents God's judgment on them; the 10 points to the completion of judgment; the 3 signifies God's purpose of that judgment. In Genesis Ishmael, the brother of Isaac, represents all those who never become saved. In Genesis 25: ¹⁷ …the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and seven years: and he gave up the ghost and died.

The number 40 refers to testing. During the Noachian flood it rained forty days and forty nights (Genesis 7:4). Moses remained on Mount Sinai for the same period to test the Israelites (Exodus 24:18; 34:28;); Elijah re- mained on mount Horeb for the same period (1 Kings 19:8) also Christ was in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights (Matthew 4:1, 2). Israel was condemned to wander in the wilderness for 40 years and Deu- teronomy 8:2 defines it as a period of testing: ²And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

The number 43 x 10ⁿ, n = 0, 1, refers to God's judgment or salvation. The stay in Egypt for 430 years pointed to judgment for the Egyptians and sal- vation for the Israelites.

According to Genesis 41:32 a number given twice can mean certainty. ³²And for that the dream was doubled unto Pharaoh twice; it is because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. So the number 3² would mean God's purpose will come to fruition with certainty.

On February 23 we show how time intervals factor into these numbers too often to be dismissed as coincidental. We then have to find an explan- ation.