Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: ASTPP
Program Code: ASTPP000015
|
00:15 Okay, welcome once again.
00:18 Are we all having a good time? 00:20 Ah, the study of the Bible is wonderful. 00:22 It's better than real food. 00:24 Well it is real food, let me put it that way. 00:27 It's better than material physical food 00:29 that we partake of. 00:30 At least I enjoy it more. 00:33 We're going to study now principle number eight 00:36 in our syllabus. 00:38 We are on page 22 of our syllabus. 00:41 And basically, this principle states in a nutshell, 00:46 the year/day principle must be applied 00:50 to the time periods in apocalyptic prophecy. 00:55 When I say apocalyptic prophecy, I'm referring primarily to the 00:58 books of Daniel and Revelation. 01:01 And you have the handout, it has 11 pages. 01:05 And I'd just like to say that those who are listening 01:09 or watching this on the streaming, 01:13 and those who will watch this programming later on 01:16 on television, these materials area available 01:19 from Secrets Unsealed. 01:21 So those who are not here right now, you can contact 01:26 Secrets Unsealed and these handouts, as well as 01:29 the presentations, will be available. 01:32 So I just want to make that clear. 01:34 Now let's go to our, Introductory Matters. 01:37 As we begin our study, we need to underline 01:42 two very important facts. 01:45 First of all, the Bible month consists of 30 days. 01:52 Now I don't have the time to go into the text 01:56 that prove that the biblical month has 30 days, 01:59 but you can do that. 02:00 I'm just going to give the references. 02:02 You need to compare Genesis 7:11 02:05 with Genesis 8:3-4, and then compare Deuteronomy 21:13 02:11 with Deuteronomy 34 verse 8. 02:15 And then you can also look at Esther 4:11, 02:18 and Daniel 6 verse 7 and verse 12. 02:22 So if you look at those verses, you're going to find that the 02:25 biblical month consists of 30 days. 02:30 Also, the Bible year consists of 12 months. 02:36 And the text for that are 1 Kings 4 verse 7 02:40 and 1 Chronicles chapter 27 and verses 1 through 15 02:44 where the months are actually named. 02:47 And so, we need to know from the get go 02:50 that the biblical month has 30 days and the biblical year 02:53 has 12 months. 02:56 That's crucially important. 02:58 The year/day principle basically means that when the time periods 03:02 are used in the context of apocalyptic events, 03:07 that's primarily Daniel and Revelation, 03:09 which occur between the year 34 and the second coming of Christ, 03:16 they are to be understood by applying the principle 03:19 that one literal calendar day is equivalent to 03:23 one literal calendar year. 03:26 This is known as the year/day principle, 03:30 or the day/year principle. 03:33 Day for a year. 03:35 The preterist and futurist schools, 03:38 which we've taken a look at already, 03:41 adamantly deny the year/day principle. 03:45 Most preterist interpret the little horn of Daniel 7, 03:51 as well as the little horn of Daniel chapter 8, 03:54 as a nasty individual called Antiochus Epiphanes 03:59 who ruled from 171 BC to 164 BC. 04:05 And basically, he was a Macedonian ruler 04:09 who desecrated the Jewish temple from 167 to 164 BC. 04:15 And preterist believe that the three and one half years 04:19 and the 2300 days are literal time and they apply 04:24 to the period of dominion of Antiochus Epiphanes 04:28 towards the end of the Old Testament period. 04:30 So in other words, these periods have no relevance for us today 04:33 because they were fulfilled in the distant past. 04:37 On the other hand, most futurist teach that the 04:41 little horn of Daniel 7 represents a future 04:44 personal antichrist who will sit in a rebuilt Jewish temple 04:51 in the Middle East for three and one half literal years 04:56 at the end of the Christian dispensation. 04:59 Or towards the end of the Christian dispensation. 05:02 They also believe that the little horn of Daniel 8 05:06 represents Antiochus Epiphanes, and that the 2300 days 05:11 are literal time. 05:14 The common denominator of both systems 05:19 is that they believe that the three and one half times 05:23 and the 2300 days are to be taken as literal time. 05:31 In contrast, historicism, or the historical flow method, 05:36 as I prefer to call it, has always held that 05:40 days, weeks, months, and years in an apocalyptic context 05:49 should be understood symbolically 05:52 by applying the year/day principle. 05:55 So do you understand the contrast 05:56 between these systems of interpretation? 05:59 Preterism and futurism says that the time periods 06:03 are literal time, whereas the historical flow method 06:08 teaches that these time periods are to be understood 06:11 on the basis of the year/day principle. 06:13 That each literal day stands for a literal year. 06:18 Now I want to share with you 20 reasons for applying 06:23 the year/day principle. 06:25 And some of these reasons are quite complex. 06:30 I've tried to simplify them as much as possible. 06:33 And I hope that you've read this material in advance, 06:37 because it will be very, very helpful 06:40 in our going through this material. 06:43 Reason number one; the expression, 06:47 "time, times, and the dividing of time," 06:51 "42 months," "1260 days," and "70 weeks," 06:57 are very peculiar. 06:59 Would you agree? 07:01 They could have been expressed in literal language, 07:05 but instead they are given a symbolic flavor. 07:10 Notice, for example, that Luke 4:25 and James 5:17 07:17 refer to the period when there was no rain 07:20 in the days of Elijah as three years and six months. 07:27 This is the normal way of expressing time. 07:31 Isn't it? 07:32 Three years and six months, or three and a half years. 07:35 That's the normal way. 07:37 But the apocalyptic passages do not use the normal way 07:41 of expressing time. 07:44 They use peculiar expressions. 07:47 It is significant that every measurement 07:51 of calendar time in prophecy is given a symbolic flavor. 07:57 "Hour," Revelation 12:17 and 9:13. 08:01 "Day," Revelation 12 verse 6. 08:04 "Week," Daniel 9:24-27. 08:08 "Month," Revelation 13 verse 5. 08:12 And "year," Daniel 7:25. 08:15 Do you notice all of the measurements of time 08:17 use this principle? 08:19 It is also significant that non apocalyptic prophecies, 08:24 that is classical prophecies and typological prophecies, 08:29 express time in literal language. 08:32 Like for example, 70 years of Babylonian captivity. 08:37 400 years that Israel would spend in Egypt. 08:41 120 years at the time of the flood. 08:45 So when you're dealing with literal persons 08:48 performing literal actions, you have literal time periods. 08:53 Does that make sense? 08:55 Reason number two; the symbolic time periods are always found 09:00 within the context of apocalyptic passages 09:04 where symbols predominate. 09:08 Are you understanding this point? 09:10 In other words, the time periods are used with a host of other 09:13 symbols in the same context. 09:16 For example, the three and one half times 09:19 are found in the context of four symbolic beasts, 09:22 a symbolic sea, symbolic winds, symbolic clouds, symbolic horns, 09:28 and a symbolic little horn. 09:30 So would you expect the time period to be symbolic? 09:33 Of course. 09:34 Similarly, the 1260 days are found in the context 09:39 where a symbolic woman clothed with a symbolic sun 09:43 stands on a symbolic moon 09:45 with twelve symbolic stars on her head. 09:47 She is persecuted by a symbolic dragon 09:50 who has seven symbolic heads, ten symbolic horns, 09:53 and who casts a third of the symbolic stars to the earth. 09:56 So why would the time period not be symbolic? 10:00 In Revelation 13, the 42 months are found within a context 10:05 where a symbolic composite beast with ten symbolic horns 10:10 receives its power from a symbolic dragon. 10:13 It also arises from a symbolic sea, raises a symbolic image 10:21 beast to impose a symbolic mark. 10:25 So once again, the time period is expressed within a very 10:29 symbolic context where symbols predominate. 10:33 The same could be said about Daniel 8 10:35 where the 2300 day prophecy is found. 10:38 We have a symbolic ram, a symbolic he goat, 10:42 and a symbolic little horn. 10:45 It only stands to reason that if the scenes 10:48 where these time periods are found in are symbolic, 10:52 then the time periods must also be symbolic. 10:57 Now does that make sense? 10:59 Absolutely. 11:01 Reason number three. 11:02 We're on a roll. Praise the Lord. 11:05 The little horn of Daniel 7 arose among the ten horns 11:10 on the head of the fourth beast. 11:12 It is clear from history that the Roman Empire 11:16 was fragmented when the barbarians came from the 11:19 northern sector of the Empire and carved it up. 11:23 Daniel 7 makes it clear that there are no gaps 11:26 in the historical flow of nations. 11:29 The lion is succeeded immediately by the bear. 11:32 The bear is immediately succeeded by the leopard. 11:35 The leopard is immediately succeeded by the dragon beast. 11:38 The dragon beast then sprouts the ten horns. 11:41 And the little horn then rises among the ten. 11:44 Are you following the sequence? 11:47 Now, if the little horn arose among the ten, 11:52 and the ten were complete in 476 AD, 11:56 and the little horn ruled until the judgment... 12:02 Are you understanding me? 12:03 When does the judgment begin? 12:05 In 1844. 12:07 ...then the three and one half times of the dominion 12:09 of the little horn must be 1260 years and not literal days. 12:15 Are you catching the point? 12:18 If the days were literal, then the little horn would 12:22 have ruled only from 476 to 479 AD. 12:27 But the fact is, that the Roman Catholic Church 12:30 ruled for 1260 years. 12:34 Does that reason make sense? 12:37 Reason number four; Daniel 8 makes it crystal clear 12:43 that the 2300 day prophecy was for the time of the end. 12:50 Is that clear? 12:52 Several times, Daniel 8:14, Daniel 8:17, 12:56 and Daniel 8 verses 26 and 27 say that this prophecy is 13:00 for the time of the end. 13:02 Daniel 12 verses 4 and 7 underscore the fact 13:07 that the book which contains the 2300 day prophecy 13:11 would be closed and sealed until the time of the end. 13:15 And therefore, could not be understood until then. 13:18 This being the case, those who believe that Antiochus 13:22 is the little horn of Daniel 8 find themselves 13:25 in a serious dilemma. 13:28 Assuming that Antiochus is represented by the little horn 13:32 of Daniel 8, and that the 2300 days was the literal 13:36 time period of his dominion, a question immediately 13:40 comes to the fore. 13:42 Why would we have to wait until the time of the end 13:45 to understand this? 13:47 Are you following me? 13:48 Because it says this aspect of the 2300 days 13:52 could not be understood until the time of the end. 13:55 But if it was fulfilled by Antiochus Epiphanes, 13:57 why would we have to wait until the time of the end 14:00 to understand it? 14:02 You could have understood it already. 14:06 Now continuing. 14:08 Yet we know that they were not living in the time of the end 14:11 because over 2000 years of history have 14:13 transpired since that time. 14:15 We're talking here about Porphyry when the first 14:18 centuries of the Christian era believed that 14:21 Antiochus Epiphanes was the little horn of Daniel 8. 14:26 Now if they were right, then they were living 14:29 in the time of the end, right? 14:31 If Porphyry is right and the little horn represents 14:34 Antiochus Epiphanes, then they were living 14:37 in the time of the end, because this prophecy 14:38 is for the time of the end. 14:41 Now the next paragraph. 14:43 The simply reality is that Antiochus did not fulfill 14:47 the little horn prophecy. 14:49 Josephus and others mistakenly identified 14:53 Antiochus as the fulfillment. 14:55 They could not have comprehended the little horn prophecy 14:58 because they did not live in the time of the end. 15:01 Are you understanding this point? 15:03 Very important point. 15:04 If the prophecy, folks, is for the time of the end, 15:07 the 2300 day prophecy is for the time of the end, 15:10 then Antiochus Epiphanes could not have fulfilled it. 15:15 Because you would have understood that it was 15:16 fulfilled in his time. 15:20 So we continue. 15:21 Josephus and others mistakenly identified 15:23 Antiochus as the fulfillment. 15:25 They could not have comprehended the little horn prophecy 15:28 because they did not live in the time of the end. 15:31 It is clear that this prophecy was not present truth 15:34 in the days of Daniel or of Josephus, 15:37 or even of Martin Luther. 15:40 None of these men lived in the time of the end, 15:42 and therefore, none of them could understand this prophecy. 15:46 It became present truth when the prophecy was fulfilled in 1844. 15:52 What was the central verse that was used 15:54 by the Millerite movement? 15:56 "Unto 2300 days, and the Sanctuary shall be cleansed." 15:59 Is that the time when this prophecy was understood? 16:03 Yes. 16:04 So it was not understood in the past. 16:05 So the 2300 days must have been what? 16:09 They must have been years. 16:11 Because they reach way back from the time that the 16:14 command is given to build Jerusalem and restore Jerusalem 16:17 all the way until 1844. 16:19 It has to be years. 16:21 It can't be days. 16:23 This is why the Millerites preached on this very text. 16:26 The book of Daniel was being opened. 16:30 And now the time period of the 2300 days 16:33 could be understood. 16:34 Is this point clear? 16:36 Let's go to reason number five. 16:39 The vision of Daniel 8... 16:41 This should be 1 through 12, incidentally. 16:45 ...covers the whole period of the ram, the he goat, 16:52 and the little horn until the cleansing of the Sanctuary. 16:54 This is a very important point. 16:56 The vision that is shown to Daniel 16:59 goes from the times of the ram to the he goat, 17:04 and then to the point when the judgment begins, 17:07 when the cleansing of the Sanctuary begins. 17:10 That's the vision. 17:12 And there's a particular Hebrew word that is used there, 17:15 which is the word, "chazon." 17:18 That's the word, "vision," that is used. 17:20 Now in Daniel 8 verse 13 the question is asked, 17:25 "Until when shall the vision be?" 17:28 What vision is it referring to? 17:31 The whole vision. 17:32 It's the same word that is used in verses 1 and 2 17:35 where Daniel says, "I saw a vision." 17:38 So it includes the ram, it includes the he goat, 17:42 and it includes the time when the judgment begins. 17:46 The context indicates that the word, "vision," includes the 17:49 totality of what Daniel had seen in Daniel 8 to that point. 17:54 Then in Daniel 8 verse 15, we are told that Daniel 17:58 wished to comprehend the vision. 18:01 Same word. 18:02 He wanted to comprehend the vision. 18:04 What does the vision include, folks? 18:07 It includes the ram, it includes the he goat, 18:10 all the way to the time when the Sanctuary 18:12 is going to be cleansed. 18:15 The answer is simple. 18:17 Which vision? That's the question. 18:19 Which vision is this talking about? 18:20 The answer is simple. 18:22 It must be the totality of the vision of Daniel 8, 18:25 because when the angel Gabriel comes to explain the vision 18:29 in answer to Daniel's request, he begins with Persia 18:33 and then continues with Greece, the little horn, 18:37 and culminates with the conclusion of the 2300 days 18:40 when the Sanctuary is to be cleansed. 18:44 So the word, "vision," includes the totality 18:46 of the vision, right? 18:47 It includes the ram, the he goat, the little horn, 18:52 up to the point when the Sanctuary is to be cleansed, 18:55 or the judgment is to begin. 18:58 Thus it is clear that the 2300 days, which cover 19:04 the whole vision of Daniel 8, must involve what? 19:09 Centuries, not literal days. 19:12 And literal days would be six and one half literal years, 19:17 approximately. 19:18 Incidentally, this explains the reason why 19:21 Daniel 8 begins with Persia and not with Babylon. 19:24 You know, usually we say, "Well the reason why Daniel 8 19:27 doesn't begin with a symbol for Babylon is because 19:29 Babylon is about to disappear from history. 19:32 That's not the real reason. 19:35 Because Babylon was still going to rule for 12 years. 19:39 So Babylon was not at the point of passing away. 19:42 There's another reason why Daniel 8 begins with Persia 19:47 instead of beginning with Babylon like 19:48 Daniel 2 and Daniel 7. 19:50 You say, "What is that reason?" 19:51 Let's continue. 19:53 The 2300 days begin when Persia gives a decree 19:56 to restore and build Jerusalem. 19:59 And that is why the vision begins with Persia. 20:02 Because if you had begun with Babylon, 20:04 it would give the impression that the 2300 days 20:06 have to begin with the kingdom of Babylon. 20:10 Are you following me or not? 20:12 Thus, Daniel 8 and 9 must be connected in order to comprehend 20:17 the 2300 day prophecy. 20:19 Is this point clear? 20:21 Now, notice this chart that you have at the top of page 4. 20:25 The chart at the top of page 4. 20:28 Do you see there, the vision equals what? 20:31 The ram, the he goat, pagan and papal Rome 20:36 which is symbolized by the little horn, 20:39 up to the point of the judgment. 20:43 So the question is, when the question is ask, 20:46 "Until when is the vision," 20:48 the answer is, 2300 days is the vision. 20:52 Can that be six and a half years? 20:54 Come on, be real. 20:56 It includes all of this. 20:58 So the 2300 days must be years. 21:02 They have to be years. 21:04 Because the 2300 days covered the entire vision. 21:07 And the vision includes the ram, the he goat, 21:10 pagan and papal Rome, up to the time when the judgment begins. 21:13 Is that clear? 21:15 Now let's go to reason number six. 21:18 What do conservative evangelical scholars 21:22 do with the prophecy of the 70 weeks? 21:24 See, here you have a fly in the ointment. 21:28 Don't they have to employ the year/day principle 21:31 to convert the weeks to years? 21:35 Are you understanding the question? 21:37 The answer is that they attempt to get off the hook 21:41 by saying that the expression, "70 weeks," 21:43 really means, 70 sevens. 21:46 Or even, 70 weeks of years. 21:50 In this way, they get rid of the year/day principle. 21:54 This they must do because if they employ 21:56 the year/day principle for the 70 weeks, 21:59 they would have to employ it for the other prophetic periods 22:03 in order to be consistent. 22:06 Let us now look at a few facts about the word 22:08 translated, "week," here in Daniel 9. 22:10 Is it true that 70 weeks is 70 sevens, 22:15 or 70 weeks of years? 22:17 Is that really what it means, so that you don't have to apply 22:19 the year/day principle? 22:21 That's not what it means at all. 22:23 Let's notice the evidence. 22:25 Is it true that the Hebrew word, "shabuwa," which is, "week," 22:29 should be translated, "sevens," or, "weeks of years"? 22:33 This word is used a total of 19 times in the Hebrew Scriptures, 22:38 the word, "shabuwa," which is, "week." 22:41 And in every single instance, it refers to a literal week 22:46 of seven days. 22:48 And you have all of the references there. 22:50 I put them in parentheses for you. 22:53 Evangelicals frequently use Daniel 10:2 and 3 22:58 as an argument for translating the word, "shabuwa," 23:01 as, "weeks of years." 23:04 They point out... 23:05 And this is an important point. 23:06 They point out that in these verses, the word, "weeks," 23:10 is qualified by the word, "days." 23:13 In other words, "weeks of days." 23:17 Daniel is speaking about his period of fasting. 23:19 He said, "I fasted for three weeks of days." 23:22 That's what it literally says in the Hebrew. 23:23 So they say, "See, if this is weeks of days, 23:26 then the other one is weeks of years." 23:29 But there are problems with that interpretation. 23:32 They then imply that if these are weeks 23:35 with the qualifier, "days," then the other weeks 23:39 without the qualifier, "days," must mean, "weeks of years." 23:43 Are you catching their argument? 23:45 It's pretty crafty. 23:47 But it don't work. 23:50 For example, the New International Version 23:53 translates the word, "week," with, "seven" or "sevens," 23:58 in Daniel 9:24 to 27, but then translates the very same word 24:03 as, "weeks," in Daniel 10 verses 2 and 3. 24:08 Isn't that interesting. 24:10 The problem with such an explanation 24:12 is that it ignores the meaning of the Hebrew idiom, 24:16 "weeks of days." 24:18 What is meant by Daniel when he says that he 24:21 fasted for three weeks of days? 24:23 Let's notice. 24:24 When the word, "week," in Hebrew is qualified 24:27 by the word, "days," it simply means, "full weeks." 24:33 Three full weeks when it says, "weeks of days." 24:38 Notice the following examples in Genesis 29:14, 24:44 and Numbers 11:20-21, and Judges 19 verse 2. 24:48 The Hebrew literally reads, "month of days." 24:54 Is there a month that does not consist of days? 25:00 Furthermore, in Genesis 41 verse 1, Leviticus 25:29, 25:05 2 Samuel 13:23 and 14:28, the Hebrew literally reads, 25:11 "years of days," but the translators have recognized 25:15 that this means, "full years." 25:17 And they translate it that way. 25:20 Are you understanding the point? 25:22 But they have to get rid of the year/day principle 25:24 for the 70 weeks, because if they don't, they say, 25:26 "Uh-ho, we've got to apply it to the 2300 days, 25:30 we have to apply it to the 1260 days." 25:32 They run into trouble. 25:34 So they have to find a way to explain away 25:36 the 70 weeks without having to apply the year/day principle. 25:40 The fundamental reason why futurist and preterist 25:45 scholars refuse to translate, "shabuwa," in Daniel 9 25:49 as, "weeks," is because they would then have to admit, 25:54 in order to be consistent, that the year/day principle 25:57 must be applied to the other prophetic periods as well. 26:01 Furthermore, if they apply the year/day principle 26:04 to the 70 weeks, they would have to apply it to the 2300 days, 26:08 of which the 70 weeks constitute the first part. 26:11 And this would force them to admit that prophecy 26:14 was fulfilled in 1844. 26:16 This would then make them Seventh-day Adventists. 26:25 Incidentally, the Septuagint translates the Hebrew, 26:28 "shabuwa," with the Greek, "hebdomas." 26:32 This word is consistently translated, "week." 26:38 So much for the idea of trying to explain away 26:41 the 70 weeks and say, "We don't have to use 26:43 the year/day principle." 26:44 You do have to use the year/day principle with the 70 weeks. 26:47 And if you use it for the 70 weeks, you have to use it 26:50 for the other prophetic time periods as well. 26:52 Reason number seven; a comparison of 26:56 Daniel 8:11-13 and 23:25 with Daniel 11:31-45 27:04 also reveals why Antiochus cannot be represented 27:08 by the little horn. 27:10 As we compare these two passages, it becomes 27:14 crystal clear that the king of the north of Daniel 11 27:18 represents the same power as the little horn 27:21 of both Daniel 7 and Daniel 8. 27:23 And by the way, futurist scholars agree. 27:27 And preterist scholars agree. 27:28 They say, "Yes, that's right." 27:31 The power in Daniel 8:11-13 and 23:25, and Daniel 11:31-45, 27:37 represents the same power. 27:39 Only they believe that it was Antiochus Epiphanes, 27:42 and some believe that it's a future antichrist. 27:45 Now particularly in Daniel 11, but also in Daniel 7 and 8, 27:51 it is clear that the king of the north 27:53 is the last power to rule earth before Christ sets up 27:57 His everlasting kingdom. 27:59 You can notice that in Daniel 11, it says, 28:02 "He shall come to his end, and none to help him." 28:05 In other words, the last power to rule on earth is going to be 28:09 the king of the north. 28:10 And we also know that it's going to be the little horn. 28:13 Because he's destroyed by the brightness of Christ's coming. 28:16 Now, this is also true of the little horn of Daniel 8. 28:20 He is broken without hands; an expression that is used 28:24 in Daniel 2:34, Daniel 8:25, and 11:45. 28:29 The little horn, or king of the north, is destroyed 28:32 by Christ at His coming. 28:36 Obviously, this makes it impossible for 28:38 Antiochus Epiphanes to be the little horn. 28:44 Unless Antiochus Epiphanes resurrects. 28:48 And I don't think anybody would stand for that. 28:52 Not even liberal or conservative dispensationalist scholars. 28:56 Let's continue, Daniel 11:31-45 also contains many elements 29:03 which are in common with the little horn of Daniel 7. 29:06 These considerations leave no doubt that the little horn 29:11 of Daniel 7, the little horn of Daniel 8, 29:15 and the king of the north of Daniel 11 29:17 symbolize the same power. 29:19 Thus, those who see the little horn of Daniel 7 29:22 as a future antichrist and the one in Daniel 8 29:26 as Antiochus Epiphanes are at a lost to explain 29:30 why Daniel 11 blends the description of the 29:33 little horn of Daniel 7 with that of the 29:36 little horn of Daniel 8. 29:38 Why would Daniel 11 blend the two descriptions 29:41 if they represented two different powers; 29:44 one past and the other future? 29:48 Reason number eight. 29:50 In the book of Daniel, the word, "days," can mean, "years." 29:56 That shows that the Hebrews used this principle. 30:00 They used the word, "days," to express years. 30:03 And this is found in the book of Daniel. 30:05 Let's notice. 30:07 Daniel 1 verse 5 refers to three years. 30:11 But in Daniel 1:18, the same period is described as what? 30:16 As days. 30:19 The seven times of Daniel 4:25 are referred to as days 30:25 in Daniel 4:34 30:29 Daniel 5:11 speaks of days of Nebuchadnezzar. 30:34 That means, the years of Nebuchadnezzar. 30:36 These days were obviously years. 30:39 And then you can compare Daniel 2:28 and 44 30:42 where, "latter days," and "days of these kings," 30:46 means what? 30:47 Years. 30:48 So Daniel itself uses interchangeably, 30:52 "days" and "years." 30:54 Reason number nine. 30:56 The historical books of the Old Testament 31:02 use, "days" and "years," in parallel fashion. 31:06 Notice the following examples. 31:10 And we're not going to read all of these. 31:13 But you can look them up. 31:15 Exodus 13 verse 10 literally reads in Hebrew 31:20 that the Passover was to be celebrated from days to days. 31:25 That's the way it reads in Hebrew. 31:27 The Passover was to be celebrated from days to days. 31:30 What does that mean? 31:32 From year to year. 31:33 And that's the way that it's translated, 31:35 even though the Hebrew says, "from days to days." 31:40 In 1 Samuel 20 verse 6, the Hebrew literal reads, 31:45 "sacrifice of the days." 31:48 But the context clearly shows it refers to the yearly sacrifice. 31:54 So for the Hebrew thinking, days is interchangeable with what? 31:59 Interchangeable with years in the historical books 32:03 of the Old Testament. 32:05 In 1 Samuel 2:19, literally the Hebrew says, 32:08 "from days to days." 32:10 And it's translated, "from years to years." 32:13 1 Samuel 1:21 literally reads in the Hebrew, 32:15 "sacrifice of the days." 32:17 Translations render it, "sacrifice of the years," 32:20 or, "the yearly sacrifice." 32:23 You find the same thing in Judges 11 verse 40. 32:26 It literally reads, "from days to days, four days each year." 32:31 It means, from year to year, four days each year. 32:35 1 Samuel 27 verse 7 literally reads, "days and four months." 32:42 What does that mean? 32:44 It means, a year and four months. 32:47 1 Kings 1:1 says that David was stricken in days. 32:51 But what does that mean he was stricken in days? 32:54 He was stricken in years. 32:56 Genesis 47 verse 9 is an interesting verse, 33:00 in that Jacob speaks of, "the days of my years." 33:03 Literally in Hebrew it says, "the days of my years." 33:07 In Genesis 5 verse 5, we find that the days of Adam 33:11 were 930 years. 33:14 And in Genesis 6 verse 3, you have once again 33:19 days linked with years. 33:20 It says, "His days will be 120 years." 33:25 So is it common in the Hebrew way of expressing 33:28 to use days and years interchangeably? 33:31 Yes, it was common among the Hebrews to do this. 33:34 Now let's go to reason number ten. 33:37 Not only do we find Daniel using days and years 33:42 in a similar fashion, not only do we find the historical books 33:46 of the Old Testament also using days and years interchangeably, 33:51 we also find that in Old Testament Hebrew poetry 33:55 days and years are employed in synonymous parallelism. 33:59 You know what synonymous parallelism is? 34:02 Hebrew poetry is characterized by parallelism. 34:05 And there are three basic types. 34:06 There are variations, but there are three basic types. 34:09 One is called synonymous parallelism. 34:12 That's where the first line in the verse 34:16 is repeated in the second line, but in different words. 34:20 It's parallel to the first line, but different words are used. 34:24 Then you have antithetical parallelism, 34:27 which is the first line, the opposite 34:30 is said in the second line. 34:31 And then you have what is called synthetic parallelism, 34:34 which is where the thought of the first line is completed 34:38 in the second line. 34:40 Now a synonymous parallelism is where the first line 34:42 and the second line are synonymous, 34:45 but in different words. 34:47 In Hebrew poetry, you find, "days," and you find, "years," 34:52 used in synonymous parallelism. 34:56 Let's notice for example... 34:57 And you can look up all of these text. 34:59 A very interesting text is Psalm 90 verses 9 and 10, 35:04 where the translation reads, "years of our lives." 35:09 But literally in Hebrew it reads, "the days of our years." 35:15 In every place, listen carefully, in every place 35:18 where the Old Testament couples days with years, 35:22 the word, "day," is in the A line and the word, "year," 35:27 is in the B line. 35:29 You understand what I'm saying? 35:31 In other words, in the first line you have the word, "day." 35:35 In the second line, which is parallel or synonymous, 35:39 you have, "year." 35:40 In other words, the day is equivalent to what? Year. 35:42 Just check out these verses. 35:44 It is so interesting. 35:46 William Shea, who was my teacher at the seminary, 35:49 wrote a very interesting book called, 35:51 Selected Studies in Prophetic Interpretation. 35:53 And on page 69 he says this... 35:56 And a good share of this material he has in this chapter 35:59 that he wrote on the year/day principle. 36:01 He says this, "When we come to the occurrence 36:04 of the word, 'days,' in time prophecies, 36:07 therefore, an ancient Semite..." 36:11 Do you understand what he means by an ancient Semite? 36:14 Someone... Yeah, Jew. 36:15 Somebody who has a Semitic background. 36:19 "...an ancient Semite whose mind was steeped in this 36:22 parallelistic type of thought would naturally have made 36:26 an association of years with the days 36:29 found in a symbolic context, just as he naturally 36:34 would have identified years as the B word 36:36 that would follow the A word, "days," in its occurrence 36:41 as part of a well known parallel pair." 36:46 So you can check out these verses. 36:48 And, you know, I'll mention some of them. 36:50 Job 10 verse 5, Job 15 verse 20, 36:54 Job 32 verse 7, Deuteronomy 32 verse 7, 36:58 and Psalm 77 verse 5. 37:00 And you know what's interesting is that the 37:02 first book of the Bible to be written was the book of Job. 37:06 So very, very early it was written by Moses in the 37:10 desert of Midian while he was tending Jethro's sheep, 37:13 according to the spirit of prophecy. 37:15 And there are some sections of the book of Job 37:19 that use such archaic Hebrew language that the Septuagint 37:22 translators, the translators of the Greek Old Testament, 37:25 had real struggles in translating 37:27 that Hebrew to Greek. 37:30 They leave whole sections untranslated 37:33 because it was such archaic old Hebrew. 37:37 And so it's interesting that you have these references 37:39 from Job where the A line has, "days," 37:42 and the B line, the parallel line has, "years." 37:44 Days are years. 37:46 Is that clear? 37:48 Reason number eleven. 37:51 The prophetic books also do the same thing. 37:54 The prophetic books of the Old Testament, 37:56 "days" are also used interchangeably with "years." 38:00 For instance, Ezekiel 30 verse 3 refers to the day of the Lord, 38:06 but Isaiah calls it the year of the Lord. 38:09 Isaiah 10 verse 3 speaks of the day of visitation, 38:12 but Jeremiah 11:23 refers to the same event 38:15 as the year of visitation. 38:18 Isaiah 34 verse 8 speaks of the year of recompense, 38:22 but Hosea 9 verse 7 refers to the days of recompense. 38:26 Do you see that the prophets, for them, "days" and "years" 38:29 had a very close and intimate relationship. 38:33 Of course, we would not want to leave out the traditional text 38:37 which have been used by Seventh-day Adventists 38:39 to corroborate the year/day principle. 38:42 In both Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4 verse 6, 38:47 God Himself employs the year/day principle 38:50 in the context of prophecy. 38:53 And if we have time, we'll deal with miniature symbolization. 38:57 That is a fascinating study. 38:59 It's a follow up to this study about the year/day principle. 39:02 Now let's go to reason number twelve. 39:05 We can also approach this subject from the perspective 39:09 of the sabbatical and jubilee years. 39:12 Have you ever heard of the sabbatical year? 39:14 That's every seventh year was a year of rest. 39:19 And then every 49th year was a year of rest, 39:22 followed by the jubilee, which was the 50th year. 39:26 Now where does this pattern come from, 39:28 the pattern of the sabbatical year and the jubilee? 39:31 Where does that come from? 39:32 It comes from the weekly cycle of days. 39:35 That's the pattern. Let's follow this. 39:38 It is obvious that the weekly Sabbath is the foundation 39:41 for both of these. 39:42 That is to say, the seventh day of the week becomes symbolic 39:46 of the seventh year. 39:47 And the 49th day becomes symbolic of the 49th year. 39:52 Leviticus 25:1-7 addresses the sabbatical year. 39:57 This passage contains the earliest biblical use 40:00 of the year/day principle. 40:02 It becomes clear when we compare verses 3 and 4 40:05 with verse 5 that the weekly cycle is being used 40:09 as a pattern for the seven year period. 40:13 In other words, each day of the week becomes symbolic of what? 40:17 A year in the sabbatical year and a year in the jubilee. 40:24 Now notice, we have six years which are followed 40:28 by the seventh year. 40:30 And the seventh year is one of rest. 40:34 This arrangement is patterned after six days of labor 40:38 followed by the seventh day, which is a day of rest. 40:42 Here, we clearly have an example of the year/day principle. 40:45 The same is true of the jubilee year. 40:48 Are you understanding this point? 40:50 The week of days is used as a pattern 40:55 for the seven year cycle of the sabbatical year. 40:59 The foundation is the literal days of the week. 41:04 Let's go to reason number thirteen. 41:06 If we accept the testimony of Jesus, the little horn of 41:11 Daniel 8 cannot represent Antiochus Epiphanes. 41:14 Jesus made it clear that the abomination of desolation 41:17 spoken of by the prophet Daniel was still 41:20 in the future in His day. 41:22 Did He do that? 41:24 Oh, you better believe He did. 41:26 How could Antiochus, who lived in the second century 41:28 before Christ, fulfill a prophecy which Jesus 41:31 clearly indicated was still unfulfilled in His day? 41:36 Furthermore, the little horn of Daniel 7 could not have 41:39 been fulfilled by Antiochus either, because the apostle 41:43 Paul specified that this horn was still future in his day. 41:48 The book of Revelation also places the fulfillment 41:51 of this prophecy in the future. 41:54 Do you understand that point? 41:57 Well some of you do. 42:02 Reason number fourteen. 42:04 As a rule of thumb, the shorter the time period 42:10 in apocalyptic prophecy, the more likely it is 42:13 to be symbolic of a longer time period. 42:18 For example, is it really possible to fit into 42:22 one literal week all the events spoken of 42:25 in the last of the seventy weeks? 42:28 Come on, be real. 42:29 There's no way you could fit all of those events 42:32 into one literal week. 42:34 Would ten literal days of persecution during the 42:37 period of Smyrna really be such a terrible ordeal? 42:42 Would three and one half literal days be enough 42:46 to fulfill all of the events of Revelation 11? 42:52 Impossible, folks. 42:53 If in Revelation 11 the two witnesses, the two olive trees, 42:57 the two lamp stands, the sackcloth, etc, 42:59 are all symbolic, then why isn't the time period also symbolic? 43:05 Reason number fifteen. 43:07 You thought we only had one reason, Ezekiel chapter 4. 43:12 We have a plethora of reasons that support the year/day 43:15 principle that the Seventh-day Adventist Church upholds. 43:18 Reason number fifteen. 43:21 Preterist and futurist who apply these prophetic 43:23 time periods literally encounter serious problems 43:27 in another sense as well. 43:30 In the Old Testament, God is presented as the one who 43:34 reveals the course of human history 43:36 and provides His divine evaluation of that history. 43:41 There we find a revelation of the continuous 43:44 and unbroken flow of human history from creation 43:48 until the first coming of the Messiah. 43:49 Is that true? 43:50 In the Old Testament we find every event, 43:53 the whole flow, from creation until the times of the Messiah. 43:58 The gospels then present the story of 44:00 Jesus' ministry on earth. 44:02 The book of Acts and the epistles continue the flow 44:05 by describing the history of the early church. 44:07 Do we have a continuous flow method here? 44:09 Yes we do. 44:11 After this is where the preterist encounter 44:15 serious problems. 44:17 You see, in the preterist view there is no revelation 44:21 from God concerning the entire history of the Christian church. 44:25 There are almost 2000 years of silence. 44:29 Because they believe that these prophecies were fulfilled with 44:32 Antiochus Epiphanes and with Nero. 44:37 Revelation has nothing to do with the history of 44:39 the Christian church, they say. 44:41 So God has been silent about history for 2000 years. 44:47 There are almost 2000 years of silence. 44:50 According them, God's description and evaluation 44:53 of history ended with Antiochus Epiphanes 44:55 and the Roman emperors in the early church. 44:59 The futurist are not in much better shape. 45:02 According to this school, Revelation 4 through 19 45:05 refers to a short period of human history 45:07 at the very end of time. 45:10 Likewise, God's description and evaluation of 45:12 human history as found in Daniel, according to them, 45:16 ends with the Roman Empire and does not pick up again 45:19 until the last seven years of human history. 45:22 Thus, there is a 2000 year gap in God's description 45:26 and evaluation of human history. 45:29 With the brief exception of the seven churches, 45:31 God has been silent about the events of the church 45:34 for 2000 years. 45:35 Are you understanding this point? 45:38 Only the historicist method is able to reveal 45:42 a God who is concerned with His church during the entire 45:46 period of church history, including the period of 45:49 dominion of the little horn. 45:50 Only historicism is able to show the providential guidance 45:55 of God in human history and His loving care for His church 45:58 during the last 2000 years. 46:02 God is a God who is engaged. 46:06 Reason number sixteen. 46:09 The apostle Paul makes it absolutely clear that the 46:11 man of sin, this is an important reason, 46:13 was already working in his day. 46:17 Is that true? 46:18 Yeah. 46:19 And yet, this man of sin will not be destroyed 46:22 until Jesus comes. 46:24 Whoa. 46:26 How could this be a literal person if he was alive 46:29 in Paul's day, and yet is not destroyed until Jesus comes? 46:36 He's not a centenarian, he's a millenarian. 46:41 Is this one literal man who has lived over 2000 years? 46:46 The inevitable conclusion is that the man of sin 46:48 cannot be a literal man, nor can his period of 46:51 dominion be literal time. 46:53 It is also significant that Paul is getting his picture 46:56 of the man of sin from the little horn of Daniel 7, 47:00 and the little horn of Daniel 8, and the king of the north 47:03 of Daniel 11. 47:04 This being the case, the little horn and the king of the north 47:08 must have ruled for centuries, not for literal days. 47:14 Reason number seventeen. 47:17 The acid test of the year/day principle 47:20 is whether the events forecasted were fulfilled on schedule. 47:25 In other words, the pragmatic test of historical fulfillment 47:31 must be applied to the historicist interpretation 47:34 of these prophecies. 47:35 Does the historicist method pass the test? 47:40 Well, notice the following incontrovertible facts. 47:44 Did the papacy rule for 1260 years? 47:47 Absolutely. 47:49 Can these dates be corroborated by history? 47:52 Yes. 47:54 Did the church, during the period of Smyrna, experience 47:57 ten years of severe persecution? 47:59 Yes, the year 303 to 313. 48:03 Terrible persecution the church suffered 48:07 during the emperorship of Diocletian. 48:10 There, you have during the church of Smyrna, 48:13 the church that is persecuted by the Roman emperors, 48:16 you have ten days that are mentioned in 48:17 connection with that church. 48:19 Ten years; 303 to 313. 48:21 It can be proven. 48:23 Can it be proved that Jesus came in the year 27 AD 48:29 to be baptized, and He was baptized? 48:31 That He died in the middle of the week? 48:34 And that Stephen was stoned in the year 34? 48:38 Absolutely. 48:39 Was this prophecy of the 70 weeks fulfilled? 48:42 It was. 48:43 How about the prophecy of the 2300 days? 48:47 The Millerites did indeed preach from Daniel 8:14 48:50 that the Sanctuary was about to be cleansed. 48:53 And this preaching took place right before the 2300 years 48:57 came to an end. 48:58 Why didn't they preach from some other text? 49:01 Simply because God wanted to bring to the world's attention 49:04 that the 2300 years were about to end and a significant event 49:09 was about to take place in heaven. 49:11 The great second advent awakening in the 1830's 49:13 provides powerful evidence that the year/day principle 49:17 must be applied to Daniel 8 verse 14. 49:21 Historical fulfillment shows that this is the way 49:23 to interpret these time prophecies. 49:25 Finally, the churches were closed and Bibles were 49:29 forbidden in France during the French Revolution, 49:33 according to Revelation chapter 11, 49:36 for about three and one half years 49:38 from March of 1793 to November of 1797. 49:42 It did happen exactly the way it says in Revelation 11. 49:47 So the acid test of historical fulfillment shows 49:50 that these days are not days, 49:53 that these months are not months. 49:55 But these days and months are actually what? 49:59 Years. 50:01 Reason number eighteen. 50:03 I leave this till last because scholars are not always right. 50:07 Many great Bible scholars, both Seventh-day Adventists 50:10 and non Seventh-day Adventists, have understood and taught 50:12 the year/day principle. 50:14 Unfortunately, after the great disappointment of 1844, 50:18 and we've studied this in a previous class, 50:20 Protestants gave up on the year/day principle 50:23 that was used by the Millerite to calculate 50:26 prophetic time periods. 50:28 In other words, because Jesus did not come as predicted 50:31 in 1844, the protestant world threw out the method 50:34 which the Millerites had used. 50:37 Thus, they threw out the proverbial baby 50:39 with the bath water. 50:41 We will limit ourselves to comments which were 50:43 made by two men whose last name is Newton. 50:47 One is Sir Isaac Newton. 50:51 Have you ever heard of him? 50:52 Notice what he says. 50:54 "Three times and a half, that is, for 1260 solar years, 51:00 reckoning as time for a calendar year of 360 days 51:05 and a day for a solar year; after which the judgment 51:08 is to sit and they shall take away his dominion, 51:11 not at once but by degrees, to consume and destroy it 51:15 unto the end." 51:16 See, he had the year/day principle right. 51:19 Sir Isaac Newton. 51:21 And then there was another individual, 51:23 Bishop Thomas Newton, who said this, 51:26 "We must, therefore, compute the time according to the 51:30 nature and genius of the prophetic language. 51:33 A 'time and times and half a time' 51:35 are three years and a half; 51:37 and the ancient Jewish year consisting of twelve months, 51:41 and each month of thirty days. 51:43 A 'time and times and half a time,' 51:45 or three years and a half, are reckoned in Revelation 11:2-3 51:50 and 12:6 and 14 as equivalent to 'forty-two months,' 51:54 or, 'a thousand two hundred and threescore days.' 51:57 And a day in the style of the prophets is a year. 52:00 'I have appointed thee each day for a year,' 52:03 saith God to Ezekiel, 4 verse 6. 52:06 And it is confessed that the seventy weeks in the 52:09 ninth chapter of Daniel are weeks of years. 52:12 And consequently, 1260 days are 1260 years." 52:17 Interesting. 52:19 Neither of these individuals was a Seventh-day Adventist. 52:24 And yet, they believed in the year/day principle. 52:28 Let's go to reason number nineteen, 52:29 because time is running out. 52:32 Practically every futurist writer is willing to concede 52:35 that the seven churches represent seven periods 52:38 of church history. 52:41 Even conservative scholars, particularly, they say 52:45 the seven churches represent seven periods of church history. 52:49 Most see Ephesus as a symbol of the apostolic church. 52:53 Let's take a look at the fourth church, Thyatira. 52:57 It is obvious to any objective reader that this church bears 53:00 many similarities to the condition of Israel 53:02 during the period of Elijah. 53:04 Notice the following parallels. 53:06 In both cases, Jezebel instigated the apostasy. 53:09 In both cases, the cardinal sins were 53:11 fornication and idolatry. 53:13 In both cases, there was no rain. 53:15 In both cases, Elijah fled. 53:17 In both cases, Elijah was sustained in his 53:19 flight to the wilderness. 53:21 In both cases, the apostasy lasted three and a half years. 53:25 Church of Thyatira and the experience of Elijah. 53:28 These parallels indicate that the church 53:30 during the period of Thyatira is reliving the story of Elijah. 53:35 Yet the historical period of the church of Thyatira 53:38 does not last only three and one half literal years. 53:41 Not even by the calculations of conservative 53:44 non-Adventist scholars. 53:46 Are you understanding my point? 53:48 If in Revelation 2 Jezebel is not one literal person, 53:52 Elijah is not one historical person, 53:54 rain is not literal rain, 53:56 fornication is not literal fornication, etc, 53:59 then the three and a half years are not literal years either. 54:03 Time and space will now allow us to show that the 54:05 harlot of Revelation 17 represents the second 54:08 future stage of this Jezebel period of the church. 54:12 In the case of literal Old Testament Elijah... 54:14 Now this is interesting. 54:16 In the case of literal Old Testament Elijah, 54:18 the time period when there was no rain was expressed 54:22 in normal terms as three years and six months, 54:26 because the time period was literal. 54:29 But in the case of symbolic Elijah, the period is described 54:33 as 1260 days, and time, times, and the dividing of time. 54:39 Does that make sense? 54:42 Now reason number twenty is one that I mentioned previously. 54:46 The thousand years of Revelation. 54:48 You have this sheet, I don't have time to say much about it, 54:51 but you have this chart, "The Year/Day Principle 54:55 in Isaiah 24 and Revelation 20 to 22." 54:59 Some people say, "Well why don't you use the year/day principle 55:03 for the thousand years of Revelation 20 to be consistent? 55:06 That's an apocalyptic prophecy, right?" 55:09 So why don't we use the year/day principle 55:12 for the thousand years of Revelation 20? 55:14 Why don't we say that also needs to have the 55:18 year/day principle applied to it? 55:20 It's very simple. 55:22 We already studied this, remember? 55:24 Notice this chart. 55:26 It's a very interesting chart. 55:29 On the left side you have Isaiah 24, 55:31 on the right side you have Revelation 20 to 22. 55:34 You have all of the parallels between Isaiah 24 55:38 and Revelation 20 to 22. 55:40 Now you have capitalized one key word in the left hand column. 55:44 What is it? 55:45 The word, "days." 55:47 What is the equivalent word in the right hand column? 55:50 It is, "years." 55:52 You see, we don't have to apply the year/day principle 55:55 to the thousand years. 55:57 Because Isaiah already does that. 56:01 Remember we studied this? 56:03 Isaiah says that the kings of the earth 56:10 and the host of the high ones will be punished 56:15 for how long? 56:16 For many days. 56:20 Revelation, on the other hand, says that the kings of the earth 56:24 that will be destroyed when Jesus comes, 56:25 according to chapter 19, and the devil 56:29 will be bound to the earth for how long? 56:33 For one thousand years. 56:35 So "days" in Isaiah is interpreted as 56:39 "years" in Revelation. 56:42 The Bible itself, when you compare one text with another, 56:45 contains the year/day principle. 56:49 So my question is, do we have sufficient reason 56:52 from Scripture to believe that in Bible prophecy, 56:57 apocalyptic prophecies, a day is equivalent to a year? 57:01 We have an abundance of evidence, folks, 57:04 that that's what needs to happen. 57:06 But the Christian world says no, because if they said yes, 57:10 they would be Seventh-day Adventists. 57:13 Perish the thought, right? 57:17 And yet, the world is out there anxious to know the truth. 57:21 And I believe that when we share these things, 57:23 and I've found as I've shared these things with people, 57:25 they say, "Wow, you know, this makes so much sense. 57:28 I never knew these things." 57:30 People need to know that the year/day principle 57:34 is firmly biblical, because then we can show them 57:37 the career of the papacy, we can show them 57:39 the 2300 day prophecy. 57:41 And they will be proud to be members 57:44 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. |
Revised 2015-03-17