The 2000-year plan (updated 11-20, 07-22, 01-24)

Lu 21:24 “And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”

 Rev 11:2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

Rom 11:25: For I would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. {11:26} And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: {11:27} For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins. {11:28} As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sakes.

From the verses above it is apparent that there is a pause in God’s plan with Israel. That there is an opportunity, called the ‘time of the Gentiles’ whereby the unbelieving nations, the gentiles, may hear about God’s plan and may become part of God’s family. At the same time a blindness amongst the Jews concerning the gospel seems to set in. God’s specific dealings with Israel are temporarily suspended until a future time when it resumes when he restores them to populate the millennial Jerusalem and the millennial Israel. (Hosea 6:2)

We seem to have been living in this period, the ‘times of the Gentiles’, ever since that time. Ever since the time that the apostle Paul was appointed to the Gentiles, by God (Acts 9:15), and the subsequent vision given to Peter (Acts 10:10). Only then the gospel started to spread to the Gentiles, where the seed of God’s word, the seed of salvation through Jesus Christ, has fallen on fertile ground.

God instructed Peter through his vision shortly after Paul’s conversion that He no longer considered the Gentiles as ‘unclean’, that there was no more difference between Jewish and Greek believers, Christ is in all who believe. Peter was instructed to bring the gospel to the house of Cornelius, a Gentile. Peter obeyed and Cornelius and his house were saved, the first recorded gentile salvation in Acts.

Thus, at some point between the start of Jesus’ ministry up to the first Gentile believer in Acts, we enter into the ‘time of the Gentiles.’

This period will continue until Jesus comes again. At that point, after the ‘time of ‘Jacob’s trouble’ (Jer 30:7), a purified Jewish remnant’s eyes are opened. Then Jesus personally, together with the believing remnant (Zech 12:5-10), makes war with the Antichrist armies at Armageddon, defeats him and casts him in the Lake of Fire. (Revelation 19). God’s plan with the Jews resumes at that time, which is simultaneously the closure of the ‘time of the Gentiles’.

Note this is also coincident with the completion of the 70h week of Daniel 9’s 70-week (490 year) prophecy. Daniel 9 contains a prophecy of Israel’s future. History shows us (covered in detail below) that the last ‘week’ of this prophecy starts with time of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus’ ministry opened up the whole world to his plan of salvation. The gospel of God’s forgiveness and the free gift of eternal life ‘in Christ’ is to reach and is to be heard by all the gentile nations.

The time afforded for this to happen is not a random period. God has a plan, and there is a schedule attached to it. For this plan to play out, it may just be that the duration of his plan with the Gentiles is the same duration as God’s dealings with Israel. The duration assigned for the Israel might just also apply to the duration of His dealings with the Gentiles.

What then, is the duration of God’s dealings with Israel as found in scripture?

The duration of God’s dealings with Israel, from Jacob (called Israel at the time he moved to Egypt with his whole family and possessions) to the start of Jesus’ ministry, seems to be approximately 2000 years, according to biblical chronology. His plan with the Jewish nation then resumes after the ‘time of the Gentiles’ is complete.

God renamed Jacob to Israel at the Jabbok river, which is the likely start of the nation of Israel. However, God also made a covenant with Jacob (Israel) some years later, as he moved to Egypt and was about to re-unite with his sons (Genesis 46:2-3). This Gen. 46 covenant could well be the ‘start date’ for the nation of Israel.

{46:2} And God spoke unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. {46:3} And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation:

Thus Jacob, now called Israel, being re-united with his 12 sons  in Egypt, is also a very plausible ‘start date’ for the nation of Israel, and should be kept in mind.

Approximately two thousand years later, Jesus stands in the temple and proclaims the start of His ministry to set captives free, preach the Good News to the poor and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. (Is 61:1 and Luke 4:18) . Three and a half years later the temple curtain to the Holy of Holies was torn, by God’s hand. This opening of the curtain is a significant sign for the Gentiles, after the crucifixion, demonstrating the new and open access into the presence of God through Jesus’ sacrifice. This event may have marked the end of the ‘Time of Israel’ and the start of the ‘Time of the Gentiles’.

There are a number of options to consider for the timing of the start of the ‘Time of the Gentiles”.

1. ~30AD : The tearing of the temple curtain and the 3 hours darkness at the crucifixion symbolically represents the opening up of the gospel of salvation to the Gentiles, and the darkening of the hearts of the Jews. The open curtain signifies the open access to God the Father, through the work of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Salvation has come to ‘all men’ ( All men)! Lining this up with Daniel 9 this means that there is still 3.5 years left for God’s dealings with Israel.
2. ~27AD: The start of Jesus’s ministry: An outside possibility is that the “time of the Gentiles’ overlaps with Jesus’s 3.5-year ministry in Israel as Jesus’ message equally applies to believers of all races. Jesus seems to indicate the Old Testament (Law and Prophets) terminated with John the Baptist.
3. ~30A.D. (b) Another possibility is that the 3.5 years of Jesus’ ministry is excluded from both the ‘time of the gentiles’ and the ’70-week-Time of the Jews’ as per Daniel 9. Lining this up with Daniel 9 this means that there is still 7 years left for God’s dealings with Israel.
4. ~33AD: The conversion of Cornelius as recorded in Acts. (see above). This is most likely to be 3.5 years after the resurrection, as may be derived from Daniel 9:25-27 as a possible interpretation, i.e. that the Daniel 9 70-week prophecy is complete in ~33AD. (see the Option 4: Cornelius heading below for this interpretation.)
5. The ‘hold’ in the history of God’s dealings with Israel may also possibly have commenced with the first Jewish Martyr, Stephen, whose stoning confirmed the Jewish rejection of the Messiah. This option is not pursued in this post.

However, as in God’s previous dealings with Israel in the Old Testament, there will be a remnant, at the end, who are reserved by God and who are found to be willing to repent and return to the Father and embrace the true Messiah.

Option 1: Passover ~30AD

Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection and ascension is the centrepoint of all history. All the Old Testament foreshadowing of the Saviour restoring us to God are fulfilled by Jesus’ work on the cross. Jesus’ sacrifice is an obvious option for a dividing line between the ‘Time of the Gentiles’ and the ‘time of blindness amongst the Jews’. Hereafter there is no difference between Jewish and gentile believers. (Gal 3²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.)

Option 2: Until John…

The commencement of the ‘time of the Gentiles’ may have been the start of Jesus’ ministry.  Jesus seems to indicate the Old Testament (Law and Prophets) terminated with John the Baptist:

¹⁶ The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presses into it. Luke 16:16 , and….. “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.” Matt 11:13 

It seems that the ‘time of the Jews’ could have terminated with the start of Jesus’ ministry.

Option 3: ~30A.D. (b)

Alternatively the 3.5 year duration of Jesus’ ministry is excluded from both the time of the Gentiles and the time of the Jews. Jesus’ ministry applies to both groups, and it seems to be plausible that it stands separately from both.

Refer to the detailed calculation, towards the middle of this post, for a plausible 2000 year duration as measured from Jacob’s covenant to the start of Jesus’ ministry.

Option 4: Cornelius: ~33AD

The 33AD ‘Cornelius’ option, whereafter which the ‘time of Israel’ terminates, and the ‘Time of the Gentiles’ starts, is confirmed by the 490-year prophecy of Daniel. The 490-year prophecy of Daniel 9 terminates in ~33AD. At the start of the chapter 9, Daniel pleads earnestly with God about the future of Israel. God responded (through an angel’s message) to show Daniel that there were only 490 years left of God’s specific dealings with Israel. These 490 years were to have a specified start date.  That start date was the ‘commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem’, mentioned in Daniel 9 verse 25.

The start date of the 490 year prophecy is 458 BC. (Refer J.Hilburn in Cyrus_and_Darius_(Jason_Hilburn))

Subtracting 458 BC from 490 allocated years yields 32. Adding 1 year for the omitted year 0AD yields the year 33AD.

In particular it mentions that ‘Messiah the Prince’ will be revealed 483 Years after the start date, i.e. 7 years before 33AD, in ~26AD.

Adding 3.5 years for Jesus’ ministry to this prophecy provides ~30AD as the prophesied crucifixion date.

This prophecy is confirmed by history, where a 30AD crucifixion year is most generally accepted date. Jesus’s prior ministry period of 3.5 years was thus most likely from ~September 26AD to Passover in ~April 30AD. Note Daniel 9v25 reads ‘until’ Messiah the Prince. hence this refers to the start of His public ministry. Then, 3.5 years later, after ‘confirming a covenant with many’, (refer his ministry in the 4 Gospels), He causes ‘the sacrifice and the oblation to cease’ by His work on the cross.

27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

That leaves still 3,5 years remaining till 33AD. There is no scriptural precedent for the popular opinion that we may inset a gap in the 490 years and move the last 3.5 years to the ‘end times’. True, it seems tempting to do so as a 3.5 year end time period (1260 days,1290 days and 1335 days) is mentioned in Daniel 12 and also in Revelation 11 and 12. In addition, the ‘he’ in verse 28 may easily be misapplied to the ‘people of the prince that is to come’. However, the theme remains ‘Messiah the Prince’ who terminated sacrifices and oblations by the ultimate sacrifice of Himself. Hence the Daniel 9 interpretation of the ’70th week gap’ has some serious shortcomings.

‘he shall make it desolate’: Jerusalem has gone through many desolations, and there is one still to come prior to the ‘consummation’. The Old Testament prophets make it clear that the Jews/Israel will be smitten and stricken right up to the end (Zech 13:8,9 & Hos 6:1,2), when they finally accept the Messiah.

The ‘Times of the Gentiles’

As discussed above, the start of the ‘Times of the Gentiles’ would most likely be either the tearing of the temple curtain at the crucifixion, the start of Jesus’ ministry or 3.5 years after at the first gentile conversion in Acts.  Each of these are separated by 3.5 years. That seems self-evident.

What is not so easy to determine is the end of the ‘Times of the Gentiles’. However, the three verses at the start of this post provide a plausible solution. We are told in Luke 21 that ‘ Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” That seems a very clear statement about the end of the ‘Times of the Gentiles’!

‘Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled’

The treading down of Jerusalem by the Gentiles is also referred to in Rev 11:2  ^‘.., and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months’. The Gentiles will be treading Jerusalem underfoot for forty two months, after the antichrist takes control of the world and Jerusalem at the Matt 24:15 abomination. Hence it seems fairly clear, from these two verses, that the ‘Times of the Gentiles’ ends at the end of antichrist’s reign, just before Armageddon. (refer to post Appendix J; Revelation study session 3b for the 42 months ending just before Armageddon)

Further evidence is provided by the third verse at the start of this post. This links the lifting of the ‘blindness’ of Israel to the fullness of the Gentiles being reached: ‘that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in’. At the end of the ‘Times of the gentiles’ the Jews will finally see and recognize Jesus as the Messiah. Appendix I of this blog describes this event, from Old Testament prophecy. Refer to this post (App I) explaining why this repentance of the Jews, the lifting of their blindness, is just before Armageddon, when they see Jesus appearing in power.

Hence we have three clear verses which have helped us to locate the end of the ‘Times of the Gentiles’. It is shortly before Armageddon.

The 2000-year theory’

Now note what follows is a theory only. There is no direct evidence anywhere in the bible that God has decided to work in 2000-year time slots. However, there are many hints. A helpful summary of these is presented in the “Messiah 2030” YouTube video (the ‘2030’ date in our opinion being only one of the options, of course). I consider some of these hints as dismissively marginal, however, we do have a substantial hint in Hosea 6:2

“Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.² After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.”

After two millennia Israel is revived, and in the third she is restored, this is what it seems to say. Therefore the timeline below is merely an exploration of a possibility, based on the premise that Father God has a schedule by which events unfold, according to patterns which He has previously revealed. You can decide whether such an exploration has any merit.

If this is the case, then we can postulate the following: (Scenario 1)

• The ‘2000-year time of the Jews’ seems to be up in ~26AD, as calculated from scripture below, in detail. (**See ‘times of Israel’ below)
• Jesus’ ministry starts in approximately ~26 AD, if his birth date is taken as 5-6BC**.
• Adding 2000 years, this may dismiss the end of the ‘time of the Gentiles’ as one option, as 2026 seems too close to for all the prophesied events to transpire. Alternatively, Jesus’ ministry may be considered as separate from either ‘times’.
• The two remaining ‘time of the Gentiles’ alternatives are that it starts at the crucifixion (add 3.5 yrs), or another 3.5 years later with the first recorded Gentile convert, Cornelius.
• The 2000-year Time of the Gentiles should then be up in approximately 2030 AD at the earliest, with the great tribulation well before that with Christians all over the world being persecuted.
• This time is ‘cut short’ by God at a ‘day nor hour’ not prophesied and indeterminate. Jesus comes in glory. No one knows when the rapture within this final 3.5 years will be. (see previous post on the 7-7-7 timetable.)
• God’s wrath is poured out on the unbelieving world after the rapture. The final 3.5 years thus has two stages: First the great tribulation, then the pouring out of the ‘wrath of God’.
• At the end of the 3.5 years we have the battle of Armageddon and the establishment of Jesus’ millennial reign. (~2030)

Alternately, if we use the conversion of Cornelius (the first Gentile saved) as the start of the ‘time of the Gentiles’.

• The ‘2000-year time of the Jews’ seems to be up in 33AD, as derived from Daniel 9:25-27.
• This also marks the start of the ‘time of the Gentiles’.
• The 2000-year Time of the Gentiles should then be up in approximately ~2033 AD.
• 3.5 years before this is approximately 2030 AD
• This marks the start of the final 3,5 years.  Daniel 9 & 11’s ‘Abomination of Desolation’ is erected at approximately 2030 AD.
• This also marks the start of the ‘Great tribulation’, with Christians all over the world being martyred.
• No one knows when the rapture within this final 3.5 years will be. (see previous post on the 7-7-7 timetable.).
• At the end of the 3.5 years we have the battle of Armageddon and the establishment of Jesus’ millennial reign.

Here we interpret the 490 years of Dan 9 as a continuous time period. We hold that inserting a gap between the first and second half is invalid, and therefore this 3.5 years (second half of Daniel’s 70th week) is the time of ministry of the apostles in Jerusalem, before the stoning of Stephen and Peter’s vision of the unclean animals in Acts 10. This is the time that we encounter the first recorded Gentile convert, Cornelius. Paul was called to be the apostle to the gentiles about this time too.

Daniel 9’s 490 years thus most probably ends with the conversion of the first Gentile: Cornelius, probably ~3.5 years after the ‘cutting off’ of the Messiah. That is more likely than the ’70 the end time week’ which is what I previously had understood. I, like most, incorrectly thought that in Dan 9 v26 ‘the prince to come’ referred to the Antichrist. However, Daniel 10 makes clear that there is a demonic ‘prince of Persia’, and a demonic ‘prince of Greece’. Thus the next demonic ‘prince to come’ would be the ‘prince of Rome’. So ‘the prince to come’, in Daniel’s timeframe, was Rome. It makes perfect sense that ‘the people of the prince to come’ refers to the Romans which would destroy the temple and Jerusalem.
Thus the prince to come is not the antichrist, and a gap between the 69th & 70th week thus invalid.  Daniel’s 70th week actually terminated 3.5 years after the crucifixion/resurrection..

We may also note that Jesus ministry on earth, when He ministered for 3.5 years, applies to both the Jews and the Gentiles. Jesus words of truth and his work applies to both. So also apparently is the ‘ministry’ of the dragon, Satan, which is also 3.5 years. Satan, through the antichrist’s actions, terrorizes both the Jews and the Gentiles for 3.5 years, the last 3.5 years before Jesus sets up His millennial kingdom.

 

The calculation of the ‘times of Israel’.

Lets first see what chronology the Old testament provides us with for ‘the times of the Jews/Israel’, and whether that is 2000 years.

1. A)  FROM EGYPT TO EXODUS (430 YEARS):

Sojourning of children of Israel in Egypt is 430 years (Ex 12:40-41), also Gen 15:13-14, Acts 7:6-7, Gal 3:16-17, Gen 46:2-5

Confirmation of God’s covenant with Jacob as he goes into Egypt.

{12:40} Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years. {12:41} And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.(Ex 12:40-41)

1. B) FROM EXODUS TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE (520 YEARS):

1 Kings 6:1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel  were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord.

‘Were come’ – arriving into the promised land. Add 40 years of wandering in wilderness

Therefore 480 years + 40 years = 520 years

1. C)FROM CONSTRUCTION OF TEMPLE to CHILDREN OF JUDAH  INTO CAPTIVITYIN THE LAND OF BABYLON (420 YEARS):

All kings in the post-temple era, as listed below, reigned a total of 419½ years, as calculated below by adding up all their individual reigns.

Note Solomon started building the temple 4 years into his reign and he reigned 40 years. (2 Kings 24). Therefore Solomon thereafter reigned 36 years, after he started building the temple.

Also note how Kings and Chronicles agree on these dates:

• 1023BC – Solomon reigned 36 years after he started building the temple.
• 987 BC – Rehoboam reigned for 17 years. (1 Kings 11:43 to 14:31, 2 Chron 9:31 to 12:16)
• 970 BC – Abijah reigned for 3 years. (1 Kings 14:31 to 15:8, 2 Chron 13:1 to 14:1)
• 967 BC – Asa reigned for 41 years. (1 Kings 15:8-24, 2 Chron 14:1 to 16:14)
• 926 BC – Jehoshaphat reigned for 25 years. (1 Kings 15:24 & 22:41-50, 2 Chron 17:1 to 21:1)
• 901 BC – Jehoram reigned for 8 years. (2 Kings 8:16-24, 2 Chron 21:1-20)
• 893 BC – Ahaziah reigned for 1 year. (2 Kings 8:24-9:29, 2 Chron 22:1-10)
• 892 BC – Athalia (queen) reigned for 6 years. (2 Kings 11:1-20, 2 Chron 22:10-23:21)
• 886 BC – Joash reigned for 40 years. (2 Kings 11:2-12:21, 2 Chron 22:11-24:27)
• 846 BC – Amaziah reigned for 29 years. (2 Kings 14:1-20, 2 Chron 25:1-28)
• 817 BC – Azariah reigned for 52 years. (2 Kings 15:1-17, 2 Chron 26:1-23)
• 765 BC – Jotham reigned for 16 years. (2 Kings 15:32-38, 2 Chron 27:1-9)
• 749 BC – Ahaz reigned for 16 years. (2 Kings 16:1-20, 2 Chron 28:1-27)
• 733 BC – Hezekiah reigned for 29 years. (2 Kings 16:20 & 18:1 to 20:21, 2 Chron 29:1 to 32:33)
• 704 BC – Manasseh reigned for 55 years. (2 Kings 21:1-18, 2 Chron 33:1-20)
• 649 BC – Amon reigned for 2 years. (2 Kings 21:18-26, 2 Chron 33:20-25)
• 647 BC – Josiah reigned for 31 years. (2 Kings 21:26 to 23:30, 2 Chron 33:25 to 35:27)
• 616 BC – Jehoahaz reigned for 3 months. (2 Kings 23:30-34, 2 Chron 36:1-4)
• 616 BC – Jehoiakim reigned for 11 years. (2 Kings 23:36 to 24:6, 2 Chron 36:5-8)
• 605BC – Jehoiachin reigned for 3 months. (2 Kings 24:6-15 & 25:27-30, 2 Chron 36:8-10)
• Jehoiachin is taken captive, where after Israel remains in exile for 70 years. Zedekiah appointed governor.

Adding up the table above, we see that the Kings of Judah reigned for ±419½ years from the temple building starting up to the exile.

• 594 BC – Zedekiah removed after 11 years.

The 605 BC exile date confirmed by J.Hilburn in Cyrus_and_Darius_(Jason_Hilburn)

1. D) DETAILED CHRONOLOGY: FROM CAPTIVITY TO RETURN:

Jeremiah 25:11  And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

Therefore items A), B), C) & D) add up to 430+520+420+70=1440 years.

Add this to 536BC, as shown below, which marks the return of the exiles, yields 1976BC as the start of the Nation of Israel. This is the year Jacob/Israel’s covenant (Gen 46:2-5)and his move to Egypt.

 

The start of ‘Times of Israel”

The above assumes that the start date for the calculation is Jacob (Israeli’s) arrival in Egypt. However, lets consider some other possible events. One possible event marking the start of God’s dealings with Israel could also be argued to be around the time of Abraham’s calling from his home in Ur or Haran.  Abraham’s obedient response was to move to Canaan. However, this move itself may be somewhat less significant than some other events in his life. Another encounter with God, the covenant of Genesis 15, experienced by Abraham later in life, may also be considered to have marked the start of the ‘time of Israel’. We can agree that this could also have been an especially significant event in Abraham’s life that would have started the clock ticking for the ‘Time of Israel’.

However, the name Israel was only introduced two generations later, by God himself. After Jacob has wrestled with the angel at the Jabbok river, he was re-named as Israel. Then towards the end of his life, God makes a covenant with Israel (Jacob). Just as Israel is about to journey to Egypt with his entire clan, leaving Canaan behind, God speaks to him. This is a significant event, where God specifically promises Israel to “make of thee a great nation”.

And Israel took his journey with all that he had, and came to Beer–sheba, and offered sacrifices unto the God of his father Isaac. And God spake unto Israel in the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said, Here am I. And he said, I am God, the God of thy father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation: I will go down with thee into Egypt; and I will also surely bring thee up again: and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. (Genesis 46:1-4 KJV)

The significant events that may be linked to the start of God’s plan with Israel could thus have been one of the following:

• Abraham’s calling form Haran.
• Gods promise to make him a father of a great nation.
• God’s covenant with Abraham.
• Abraham’s symbolic sacrifice of his only son, Isaac.
• Jacob’s naming as Israel.(Gen 32:28)
• God’s covenant with Israel. (Gen 46:3)

My preference is the re-naming to Israel, because it introduces a change in God’s plan. The time of the ‘Fathers of Israel’ is complete. God’s subsequent covenant with Jacob/Israel, however, is equally significant. (Gen 46:3) Can this be seen to have become the new episode, a new start with God’s plan for humanity, with Israel commencing as a nation around 1976 B.C. What is the significance of this date? What happens 2000 years later, in 25 AD?

We will confirm below, as meticulously as possible using biblical chronology, is that the year 1976 BC is the most likely year of the God’s covenant with Israel. By adding the 2000 years for God’s plan with Israel to this date yields 24 AD. Then, by adding 1 year due to the year 0 A.D. having been omitted in secular history timelines, we arrive at 25 AD. If Jesus’ birth date is taken as 5-6BC**, then Jesus is 30 years old at this time.

That Jesus’ ministry starts in 25AD is somewhat substantiated by Daniel’s 70 week prophecy. From Biblical Archeology a date for Ezra’s return to Jerusalem is set at 458AD. Adding 483 years according to the ’till Messiah the Prince’ prophecy, plus one year to allow for the year zero yields 26AD. (refer Re-building the walls and page 290 of https://books.google.com.au/books?id=haVoe4n0ifIC&pg=PA209&lpg=PA209&dq=darius+458+bc&source=bl&ots=4KpQz9YVcn&sig=ACfU3U0vPsbXxU4fWkRZOAExs9exxoJRuw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjmzM2Qo7rpAhVXxTgGHURzC-wQ6AEwCnoECAIQAQ#v=onepage&q=darius%20458%20bc&f=false)

Adding 3.5 years for Jesus’ ministry we arrive at 28-29AD as the final year of Jesus’ ministry, His resurrection and ascension.

The starting point for our calculation is 536BC.

Because the B.C./A.D. system did not exist in O.T. times, we need a link between the ancient dating systems and the current B.C./A.D dating system. The year 536B.C. is that link . This is the year which marks the end of the 70-year Jewish exile in Babylon. As recorded in the bible, Zachariah 1, Ezra 1 and Daniel 9 all describe the end of the 70-year Jewish exile.

Two years earlier, in 538B.C. Cyrus the great, King of the Persians, captures Babylon and appoints the sixty-two year old Darius as ruler in Babylon. Accepting that the ruler ‘Darius’ in Daniel chapter 9 is taken to be Darius the Mede, he is co-ruler with Cyrus for 2 years before Darius dies. Cyrus takes over sole rulership in 536B.C. We thus have a historically verifiable date for linking our O.T. chronology calculations, from the covenant with Jacob/Israel, to the commencement of Jesus’ ministry at around 25AD.

From secular history, the year 536B.C. is deduced as the ‘first year’ of Cyrus’ reign in Babylon, 2 years after he captures it.

Ezra 1:1} Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and [put it] also in writing, saying, {1:2} Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which [is] in Judah.

This is two years after the year when Daniel has his vision after inquiring from God about Israel’s future. (Dan 9:1-3). Note Daniels says he ‘understood’ that the Lord ‘would accomplish’ seventy years, not specifically that the seventy years were already accomplished.

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king ( i.e. appointed by Cyrus in 538BC) over the realm of the Chaldeans; In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: (Daniel 9:1-3 KJV)

The first Median/Persian ruler over Babylon was Darius the Mede, uncle of Cyrus the Great (the general-king), and co-ruler for two years. Babylon fell to Cyrus in 538 BC. While Cyrus, the general-king, continued his conquest, he made his 62-year old uncle Darius the regent. Two years later, in 536BC, Darius died and Cyrus became sole ruler. For the history refer to https://bible.amazingdiscoveries.co.za/2018/04/14/darius-the-mede and http://www.sasserchurchofchrist.org/Cyrus_and_Darius_(Jason_Hilburn).pdf

Note if you try most academic internet sites they will deny that a person such as Darius the Mede ever existed. According to their reasoning Cyrus and Darius could not have co-ruled. They try to question the accuracy of the bible with a view to ignore it and then to propose their own timelines. The fact is that they won’t consider the simple solution that Darius the Mede was co-ruler with Cyrus for two years, before he died.

Seventy years earlier, when Daniel had been exiled to Babylon, king Jehoiachin was taken captive.

Thus the start date for captivity is as follows:

• The reference date is 536 BC
• The date at the start of captivity 70 years earlier = 536 + 70 = 606BC

Jehoiachin had only ruled for 3 months. Two genealogies of the kings of Israel, 2 Chronicles and 1 & 2 Kings, agree on a period of 424 years for the kings of Israel, starting with Solomon (see the list of kings below, under the heading ‘Detailed clculation…’).

Solomon reigned for 4 years before he started building the temple, thus making it 420+70= 490 years up to Ezra’s decree for the return from exile in 536 B.C.

• The year for the rebuilding of the Solomon’s temple is thus 536 + 490 = 1026BC.

How can we be sure Daniel’s vision (in Daniel 9) occurs when the 70 years exile is complete? Doesn’t Daniel say that “the first year of Darius”  is the year when “I Daniel understood…“. Understanding doesn’t necessarily come on the date, but could be before or after that date. Zechariah answers this question conclusively in Zech 1. It is clear that Israel’s 70 year exile was up at towards end of years of Darius’ second year:

On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo…… Then the angel of the Lord said, “ Lord Almighty, how long will you withhold mercy from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah, which you have been angry with these seventy years?” (Zechariah 1:7, 12 NIV)

Thus, in this passage, Darius is still ruling 1 month before his second year is up. He dies a few months later, having ruled two years. Note from the history websites above, that the end of the second year of Darius corresponds to the first year of Cyrus, confirming a two year interval.  From Ezra 1, in which the same reference to the 70 year exile is made, Cyrus’ first year (i.e. 2 years after Darius’ first year), is seen to be the end of the 70 year exile.

Hence 536B.C.+420+70= 1026 B.C. is the biblical date for the building of the Solomon’s temple. This is, however, not the only calculation by which this date may be derived. There is confirmation on this date, 1026 B.C., by way of Ezekiel’s prophecy (Ezek 1:1-3), explained later in this post. Continuing with the chronology:

1 Kings 6:1 gives the link between Solomon and the Exodus. This verse clearly states that the building the temple started 520 years after the Exodus. The Exodus was thus in 1546B.C.

Next, Exodus 12:40-41 states that it was 430 years for the sojourn of the children of Israel (Jacob) in Egypt.

Adding these 430 years to 1546 BC gives 1976B.C. This is the year Jacob arrives in Egypt with his clan. This is also the same year that the Gen 46:3 Covenant is made with Israel. This sets the clock ticking for ‘the time of Israel’. If the 2000 year theory is true, then this is the date from which the Time of the Gentiles, 2000 years later, should also be measured.

If your preference is that the clock started at the re-naming of Jacob, then one may then estimate that Jacob is renamed as Israel 14 years earlier in 1962BC. This is reasonable as Genesis records that Joseph was 17 when he was sent to Egypt. At the re-naming of Jacob, it is mentioned that Rachel and Joseph bent before Esau. It is thus reasonable to estimate Joseph as ten years old at the time, giving a 7 year interlude before he was sold into slavery. It is also reasonable to estimate his initial time in Egypt also as seven years. However, we will continue with the 1976BC date.

 

Detailed calculation of the timeline from the Gen 46 Covenant to the Exile in Babylon:

We repeat the calculation of the biblical timeline, which you can follow verse by verse, is as follows:

1. A) DETAILED CHRONOLOGY: FROM EGYPT TO EXODUS (430 YEARS):

Sojourning of children of Israel in Egypt is 430 years (Ex 12:40-41)

{12:40} Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, [was] four hundred and thirty years. {12:41} And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt.(Ex 12:40-41)

• Gen 15:13-14
• Acts 7:6-7
• Gal 3:16-17
• Gen 46:2-5 Confirms covenant with Jacob before he goes to Egypt.

1. B) DETAILED CHRONOLOGY:FROM EXODUS TO THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE (520 YEARS):

1 Kings 6:1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel  were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord.

‘Were come’ – arriving into the promised land. Add 40 years of wandering in wilderness

Therefore 480 years + 40 years = 520 years

1. C) DETAILED CHRONOLOGY: FROM CONSTRUCTION OF TEMPLE to CHILDREN OF JUDAH  INTO CAPTIVITY IN THE LAND OF BABYLON (420 YEARS):

All kings in the post-temple era, as listed below, reigned a total of 419½ years, as calculated below by adding up all their individual reigns.

Note Solomon started building the temple 4 years into his reign and he reigned 40 years. (2 Kings 24). Therefore Solomon thereafter reigned 36 years, after he started building the temple.

Also note how Kings and Chronicles agree on these dates:

1. Solomon reigned 36 years after he started building the temple.
2. Rehoboam reigned for 17 years. (1 Kings 11:43 to 14:31, 2 Chron 9:31 to 12:16)
3. Abijah reigned for 3 years. (1 Kings 14:31 to 15:8, 2 Chron 13:1 to 14:1)
4. Asa reigned for 41 years. (1 Kings 15:8-24, 2 Chron 14:1 to 16:14)
5. Jehoshaphat reigned for 25 years. (1 Kings 15:24 & 22:41-50, 2 Chron 17:1 to 21:1)
6. Jehoram reigned for 8 years. (2 Kings 8:16-24, 2 Chron 21:1-20)
7. Ahaziah reigned for 1 year. (2 Kings 8:24-9:29, 2 Chron 22:1-10)
8. Athalia (queen) reigned for 6 years. (2 Kings 11:1-20, 2 Chron 22:10-23:21)
9. Joash reigned for 40 years. (2 Kings 11:2-12:21, 2 Chron 22:11-24:27)
10. Amaziah reigned for 29 years. (2 Kings 14:1-20, 2 Chron 25:1-28)
11. Azariah reigned for 52 years. (2 Kings 15:1-17, 2 Chron 26:1-23)
12. Jotham reigned for 16 years. (2 Kings 15:32-38, 2 Chron 27:1-9)
13. Ahaz reigned for 16 years. (2 Kings 16:1-20, 2 Chron 28:1-27)
14. Hezekiah reigned for 29 years. (2 Kings 16:20 & 18:1 to 20:21, 2 Chron 29:1 to 32:33)
15. Manasseh reigned for 55 years. (2 Kings 21:1-18, 2 Chron 33:1-20)
16. Amon reigned for 2 years. (2 Kings 21:18-26, 2 Chron 33:20-25)
17. Josiah reigned for 31 years. (2 Kings 21:26 to 23:30, 2 Chron 33:25 to 35:27)
18. Jehoahaz reigned for 3 months. (2 Kings 23:30-34, 2 Chron 36:1-4)
19. Jehoiakim reigned for 11 years. (2 Kings 23:36 to 24:6, 2 Chron 36:5-8)
20. Jehoiachin reigned for 3 months. (2 Kings 24:6-15 & 25:27-30, 2 Chron 36:8-10)

Jehoiachin is taken captive, where after Israel remains in exile for 70 years.

Adding up the table above, we see that the Kings of Judah reigned for ±419½ years.

1. D) DETAILED CHRONOLOGY: FROM CAPTIVITY TO RETURN:

Jeremiah 25:11  And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

Therefore items A), B), C) & D) add up to 430+520+420+70=1440 years.

Add this to 536BC, marking the return of the exiles, yields 1976BC as the start of the Nation of Israel. This is the year Jacob/Israel’s covenant (Gen 46:2-5)and his move to Egypt.

Ezekiel’s confirmation:

The above item C) calculation of 420 years is separately and independently confirmed by Ezekiel. Solomon reigned 36 years after he started building the temple. After Solomon Rehoboam (Judah) & Jeroboam (Israel) are both sinful Kings. Therefore the ‘years of Israels idolatrous sins’ are 426-36=390 years, from when their idolatrous sins started during Jeroboam & Rehoboam started reigning. Jeroboam, son of Nebat, sinned by erecting idolatrous images of golden calves and worshiping there.

Amazingly, God told Ezekiel to layon his side for 390 days for the iniquity of Israel:

Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. ² In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, ³ The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him.Ezekiel 1:1-3

THEREFORE: Fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity = 5^th year into the 70 year Babylonian captivity

For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.⁶ And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year. (Ezekiel 4:5-6)

• Thus, in 5^th year of Jehoiachin’s captivity -> Ezekiel’s captivity.
• 420 + 1 + 5 = 426 Years from the temple is built until Ezekiel gets up
• Therefore we have 426-36 (of Solomon’s reign) =390 years when the sins started, after Jeroboam & Rehoboam started reigning

The chronology of the kings in 2 Chronicles (and Kings) above matches the three hundred and ninety days Ezekiel was told to lay on his side for the iniquity of Israel.

Thus:

We have confirmed above, as meticulously as possible using biblical chronology, that the year 1976 BC is a likely year of God’s covenant with Israel. By adding the 2000 years for God’s plan with Israel to this date yields 24 AD. Then, by adding 1 year due to the year 0 A.D. having been omitted in secular history timelines, we arrive at 25 AD. If Jesus’ birth date is taken as 5-6BC**, then Jesus is 30 years old at this time. Adding 3.5 years for Jesus’ ministry we arrive at 28-29AD as the final year of Jesus’ ministry, His resurrection and ascension.

Thus 25 AD could be the base date marking the end of the ‘time of Israel”…

The correct start date?

Note that none of the above is of course conclusive. There are many unknowns, we may never know if the Gen 46:3 covenant with Israel was when God started the clock for the “Times of Israel” or “the Jewish nation”. However, despite inaccuracies in the historical record, and some controversy in establishing the length of Israel’s stay in Egypt, the 2000 year theory remains a possibility. When seen together with the “Sabbath Millennium” concept and Hosea 6:1 & 2 (refer post 3.5), it will carry substantial weight.

The inclusion of the whole world in Jesus’ plan was too hard for the Jews to swallow. Their rejection of Jesus opened up the way for the Gentiles, for our inclusion into God’s plan.

If now the 2000 years or so of God’s dealings with the Nation of Abram, Isaac and Jacob is indicative of the possible duration of the time of the Gentiles, is there perhaps also 2000 years allocated to the Gentiles? And after this 2000 year time of the Gentiles has elapsed, are we not thus also getting very close to the tribulation and the second coming of Jesus?

 

Support from Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah for 26AD.

The 69 weeks ‘unto messiah the prince’ in Daniel 9:25-27 seems to support 26AD as the start of Jesus’ ministry.

Refer to the link Daniel-Ezra and Nehemiah for the description and fulfillment of this prophecy.

What is remarkable to me is that :
– In Ezra there is a clear decree/command, repeated twice, but only a reference to the temple , and not so much Jerusalem
– in Nehemiah, there is a clear reference to Jerusalem, but no command! Merely a permission to also go, with letters from Ataxerxes  to safeguard him.

So the ‘command to restore and build Jerusalem ‘ must apply to one of these, but neither meets the criteria.
My preference is Ezra, because of the clarity of the command and that the temple would be the first place to start the restoration. I’m not so convinced about the ‘360-day years’ used by Sir Robert Anderson in his book “The Coming Prince’, and prefer 483 days (years) added to 458BC. That takes us to 26 AD for ‘messiah the prince’

.

For interest sake:

Darius I and Darius the Mede are two different persons. Darius 1 was a later king of the Persians, well after Cyrus & Darius the Mede, Ahaserus and Ataxerxes I. This Darius I is the one Nehemiah refers to as issuing the decree to rebuild the city. The first decree was to rebuild the temple.

• *Note the above is a theory dependent on a number of assumptions, and will be wrong if the assumptions are wrong. The date of 538BC as the fall of Babylon, for example,  may have been tampered with by historians.
• ** Jesus birth date of 0AD is commonly assumed, but far from certain. Josephus links Herod’s death to an eclipse which could as easily have been 4BC as 0AD. To try and make sense of all the conflicting bits of history is difficult, so its wise to remain flexible with dates. Hence if Herod’s death was 2 years after Jesus’ birth, Jesus’ birth year could have been 6BC. His ministry at age 30 then starts in 24AD, plus the year to be added for year zero, hence Jesus is 30 years old in 25AD.
• ***This is a MAJOR departure from conventional interpretation. Conventional interpretation considers Jesus’ crucifixion as the end of the 69th week. However, this is NOT exactly what Daniel 9 states: Know therefore and understand, [that] from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince [shall be] seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. {26} And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;….“
• Hence  ‘until messiah the prince’ most likely refers to the start of Jesus’ ministry, when He first reveals himself when reading Isaiah in the temple, and saying that “THIS DAY” those words were fulfilled in their presence. The fact that he is ‘cut off’ after could equally well mean afterwards,  3.5 years later. The clock for the ‘time of Israel’ is thus stopped at the start of Jesus’ ministry, when Jesus starts teaching his disciples to be his witnesses to the world. Luke 4:17-21:“And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, {4:18} The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, {4:19} To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. {4:20} And he closed the book, and he gave [it] again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. {4:21} And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.“
• “{26} And after threescore and two weeks” After could mean any time after ‘messiah the prince’ was revealed. Just as the people of the antichrist destroy the temple afterwards, which happened in 70AD, so Jesus’ cutting off could have been afterwards. As an aside, if adopting alternative 2 above, by adding Jesus’ 3.5 years of ministry as separate both to Israel and the Gentiles, allows us to add 3.5 years both into Daniel 9’s 70th week and the time of the Gentiles. Thus in 2028-29, both the Gentiles and Israel would each have experienced 2003.5 years of God’s direct dealings with them. Alternative 2 then marks the crucifixion as the ‘mid-week’ point for Israel. At this stage the 70th week will only resume once the ‘time of the gentiles’ ends when the Abomination is set up. At this ‘mid-week point’ the Satan is allowed to do his best to destroy the saints and Israel.