SACRED CHRONOLOGY – VERSION 7.0

SACRED CHRONOLOGY

VERSION 7.0

For the Scriptures to be of practical value and meaningful, they must be understood in the context of the real-time history in which they were written. The Scriptures out of context are just a pretext. Yahweh’s Sacred Chronology allows us to see the Scriptures through the eyes and lives of the great men and women of faith who lived during Bible times. It is time to write up my Scripture chronology research of the last six years. In Version 7.0 of my Sacred Chronology spreadsheet, I believe I’ve covered every major anchor date needed to follow Yahweh’s Scriptural chronology through the dimension of time. My humble work stands on the shoulders of some of the greatest chronology researchers and scholars in Christian history. The Scriptures are the inerrant Word of Yahweh and provide a unique chronology of human history unparalleled in the secular realm of literature. No other book on earth declares the truth of the future from the factual truth of the past. The Scriptures are the ultimate authority for faith and practice, including chronological truth. All other profane, pagan, or secular chronologies must submit to the authority of the Scriptures. If there is a conflict of dates between the profane and the sacred chronologies, the profane must submit and come into alignment with dates in the Holy Scriptures.

One thing you will notice in the Sacred Chronology, the Scriptures speak of a span of time to the end of 7,000 years of human history on earth. Yahweh has divided man’s history into lengthy blocks of time, beginning with blocks of approximately 2,000 years each. 2,000 years from Adam’s creation to Abram, the age of the Patriarchs. About 2,000 years of the tribes or nation of Israel to our Master Yeshua’s life. About 2,000 years to the beginning of the Millennial reign of the Messiah on earth, known as the Christian or Gentile dispensation or age of grace. Our history on earth ends with the 1,000-year Millennial reign of Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus Christ, from Jerusalem. After about 7,000 years of human history, Yahweh promises New Heavens and a New Earth.

CREATION TO THE FLOOD

So, let’s start at the beginning, the Book of Genesis, with the creation of the first Adam, in creation year 1, to the Flood of Noah in creation year 1657. The early genealogies are found in Genesis chapter five. Let us keep in mind that the Bible deals only with completed years and not with fractions of years. Also, there is no such thing as a year zero in any calendar system, neither at the creation nor between BCE and CE years. Most scholars from Archbishop Ussher forward add up the patriarch’s age at the birth of their son to come up with the Flood occurring in 1656. In order for their chronology to appear to work, they must make a creation year 0 equal Adam’s year 1, which breaks a basic principle of calendars, no year zero. I declare that we cannot make Adam 1 year old until year 2 of creation. See my spreadsheet, year 1, for further explanation of birthdays, but for now let me tell you why. If you make creation year 1 equal Adam’s year 1, and continue that method with each of the early patriarchs, where Seth’s birth year equals his 1st year, etc., on through Noah, this method fails in that Methuselah ends up dying 2 years AFTER the Flood, instead of in the year of the Flood!! Also, using this faulty concept results in the Flood occurring in the year 1647. One way to FORCE the Flood to occur in 1656 is to make a creation year 0 equal Adam’s year 1, but then for the other early patriarchs, revert to them turning 1 year old in the year AFTER their birth year, which apparently is the method used by Ussher, which again, breaks the principle of no year zero. I’ve pressed for consistency in my application of creation and birth years for the early patriarchs; they all turn 1 year old in the year after their creation/birth. Using this logical and consistent method, the Flood naturally occurs in 1657, without twisting or forcing the Scriptures to say something they don’t actually say. Let’s show a little chart to demonstrate the difference between Archbishop Ussher’s method versus my method:

PATRIARCH

USSHER’S CREATION YEAR

PER USSHER, PATRIARCH’S AGE AT SON’S BIRTH

GENE’S CREATION SOLAR YEAR

PER GENE, PATRIARCH’S AGE AT SON’S BIRTH

ADAM CREATED

0

1

ADAM

130

130

131

130SETH

235

105

236

105ENOSH

325

90

326

90CAINAN

395

70

396

70MAHALALEL

460

65

461

65JARED

622

162

623

162ENOCH

687

65

688

65METHUSELAH

874

187

875

187LAMECH

1056

182

1057

182NOAH’S AGE AT FLOOD

1656

600

1657

600     YEAR OF FLOOD

1656

1656

1657

1656

Ok, so we’ve made it to the Flood of Noah without twisting Scripture or breaking basic principles. Noah was in the big boat for 1 year, taking us to 1658. Then, we must consider when Shem’s son Arphaxad was born. Arphaxad was born when Shem was 100 years old, Genesis 11:10, “This is the genealogy of Shem: Shem was one hundred years old, and begot Arphaxad two years after the flood.” Eugene Faulstich interpreted Genesis 11:10 to mean two years after the Flood ended. I agree with the logic of Mr. Faulstich, because the Bible deals with completed years only, meaning the Flood ended in 1658, so Arphaxad was born in 1660 and turned 1 year old in 1661.

May I insert another interesting anchor date here? Adam turned 930 years old in creation year 931. 931 divided by 49 = 19 Jubilee Years. Adam died in the 19th Jubilee Year from his creation! Was Adam’s life prophetic? Yes!

FLOOD TO ABRAM’S BIRTH

The next major step in the Sacred Chronology is getting to Abram’s birth year from two years after the Flood ended in 1658. To do that we simply continue the genealogy of Shem, found in Genesis 11:10 and following. Here’s a little chart to bring us to Abram’s birth:

PATRIARCH

GENE’S CREATION SOLAR YEAR

PER GENE, PATRIARCH’S AGE AT SON’S BIRTHARPHAXAD BORN

1660

35SALAH

1695

30EBER

1725

34PELEG

1759

30REU

1789

32SERUG

1821

30NAHOR

1851

29TERAH

1880

130ABRAM

2010

     YEARS

2010

350

Notice, we show Terah is 130 years old at Abram’s birth. Uh oh, what does Genesis 11:26 say? “Now Terah lived seventy years, and begot Abram, Nahor, and Haran.” How do we come up with 130 years of age for Terah when Abram is born when the Scriptures clearly show he was only 70? Well, that is Archbishop Ussher’s greatest contribution to Sacred Chronology. You must read and understand Genesis 11:30 – 12:4 as one contiguous story, “But Sarai was barren; she had no child. 31And Terah took his son Abram and his grandson Lot, the son of Haran, and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and they went out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to the land of Canaan; and they came to Haran and dwelt there. 32So the days of Terah were two hundred and five years, and Terah died in Haran. 1Now Yahweh had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. 2I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing. 3I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 4So Abram departed as Yahweh had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.” If Abram was 75 when his dad Terah died at the age of 205, then Terah was 130 when Abram was born. One of Abram’s brothers was born when Terah was 70, just not Abram. For further confirmation of this, read Stephen’s sermon in Acts 7:2-4, “And he said, “Brethren and fathers, listen: The Mighty One of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Haran, 3and said to him, ‘Get out of your country and from your relatives, and come to a land that I will show you.’ 4Then he came out of the land of the Chaldeans and dwelt in Haran. And from there, when his father was dead, He moved him to this land in which you now dwell.” Now we are 2010 years into the Sacred Chronology, without twisting or misinterpreting the Scriptures, but only rightly dividing the Word of Truth. Abram’s birth year is another anchor date in Sacred Chronology. Abram was born after 2009 completed creation years. 2009 divided by 49 = 41 Jubilees. Abram was conceived during a Jubilee year! Was Abram’s life prophetic? Yes!

ABRAM’S BIRTH TO THE EXODUS

Now, we must follow the Hebrew history from Abram to the Exodus, the next major anchor date in Sacred Chronology. Many believe that we should count the 430 years to the Exodus and Mosaic covenant from Abram’s 75th year when Yahweh promised him the land. But I disagree. Yahweh had made promises to Abram in Genesis 12. Abram obeyed Yahweh and even built altars to Yahweh and called on His name, but ABRAM WAS NOT YET IN KINGDOM FAITH with Yahweh. You don’t see Abram’s faith exhibited until Genesis 15, when the Abrahamic covenant was truly instituted, and Abram was declared righteous by Yahweh. So, Abram was 85 years old in Genesis 15 when he finally believed Yahweh! In Genesis 15, Yahweh DID NOT cut the covenant of blood with Abram, until Abram believed in Him. Verse 6, “And he believed in Yahweh, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.” How do we know Abram was 85 when the blood Covenant was cut by Yahweh? Just follow the redemption story to Genesis 16:3, “Then Sarai, Abram’s wife, took Hagar her maid, the Egyptian, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan.” Abram left Haran when he was 75, sojourned in Canaan for 10 years, then Yahweh cut the blood Covenant with Abram, then Abram impregnated Hagar in his 85th year. Ishmael was then born in his 86th year, per Genesis 16:16, “Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.” Since the Kingdom life is by faith and the covenant with Yahweh is by faith, this is when I begin the 430-year countdown to the Exodus, Abram’s 85th year. Galatians 3:17, “And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by Yahweh in Messiah, that it should make the promise of no effect.” The promises of Yahweh do you no good if you don’t believe Him and believe in His Son, Yeshua, the Messiah. Exodus 12:40-41, “Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived (sojourned) in (Canaan and) Egypt was four hundred and thirty years. 41And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years—on that very same day—it came to pass that all the armies of Yahweh went out from the land of Egypt.” As clarified in the Septuagint, the sojourn of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the land of Canaan is included in the 430 years sojourning of the children of Israel to the Exodus.

Is there a way to confirm the year of the Exodus? Yes, there are actually a couple ways. Read Genesis 15:13, “Then He said to Abram: “Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years.” Again, what did Stephen add to this? Acts 7:6, “But Yahweh spoke in this way: that his descendants would dwell in a foreign land, and that they would bring them into bondage and oppress them four hundred years.” How do we know when this 400-year period should start? Abram was born in creation year 2010, plus 85 years to the faith covenant, plus 430 years sojourn to the Exodus, brings us to creation year 2525 as the year of the Exodus. 2525 minus 400 years takes us back to 2125, when Abraham was 115 and Isaac was 15 years old. Why is this year of 2125 important? Read Genesis 22, Abraham’s test of faith when he “sacrificed” Isaac!! Isaac was a young man, strong enough to carry the wood for the burnt offering. Both Abraham and Isaac exhibited faith that day! Since the 430 and 400 years must end at the Exodus, we see that the Genesis 22 story of sacrificial covenant faith fits the Sacred Chronology perfectly! Many thanks to Noel Rude, for his insight regarding where the 400 years of affliction enter into Sacred Chronology. Now, we have arrived at the Exodus in creation year 2525, one of the most argued over anchor years in Sacred Chronology. And guess what, 2525, the year of the Exodus, just “happens” to be a year 7 in the Sabbatical year cycles. Beginning on Yom Kippur, 2525, Israel was going to enjoy a Sabbath rest year, in the wilderness!! Coincidence? I don’t believe so. We simply rightly divided the Word of Truth. The first 70 years in Egypt were good, blessed years for Israel, until Joseph died. Then they endured about 155 years of slavery! After that, they needed to re-learn the Sabbath days and 7th-year Sabbatical rest years in the wilderness!!

What’s another way to confirm the year of the Exodus? What Yahweh has recently revealed to me, as a friend piqued my interest in restudying the book of Joshua, is that the beginning and ending days of the MANNA miracle actually confirm the year 2525 as the year of the Exodus. You may want to read my recent blog post titled Exodus – Absolute Dates to find out how Yahweh confirmed the year of the Exodus to me. Go here to check it out: http://ourdailydrink.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/exodus-absolute-dates/ For more insight and detail on Yahweh’s revelation to me about the Exodus dates, see my blog article The Second Sunday, referred to in the article above: http://ourdailydrink.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/the-second-sunday/

Let’s see if I can summarize my recent findings. Using the excellent astronomically accurate calendar conversion program developed by the Chronology History Research Institute, I began looking for Hebrew years wherein the 16th day of the 2nd month, a Sunday, in the Exodus year found in Exodus chapter 16, synchronized with the 16th day of the 1st month, a Sabbath, in the year of the Jordan River Crossing found in Joshua 5:10-12, the beginning and ending of the Manna miracle. It took many hours to check double dates. The combination of years had to be adequate to go from the Exodus, through the wilderness wanderings, Joshua’s judgeship, Elders rule, many judges, many oppressors, Samuel, Saul, David, and the first 3 years of Solomon’s reign to get to the building of the first Temple in Solomon’s 4th year as king of Israel!!! Those requirements really narrowed down the possible combination years. I only found one combination of years that worked for the Exodus, and the Manna beginning on 2-16-2525, required to be a Sunday, or first day of the week, to help Israel get re-synchronized with Yahweh’s Sabbath day, and 1-16-2565, 40 years later, had to be a Sabbath, or 7th day, when Manna ceased, according to the Scriptures. I found that creation years 2525 and 2565 are the only combination of years that work!! The Exodus occurred in 2525, or 1584 BCE, and Joshua and the children of Israel crossed the Jordan River in 2565, or 1544 BCE. Yahweh hid the clues in His Word, I just had to dig those nuggets up and reveal them to the world!!

What is the significance of 2525 being a year 7 in the known Sabbatical year cycles? Well, I’ve built many chronology spreadsheets over the last six years and one of the greatest stumbling blocks I’ve had was what year did the children of Israel celebrate the first Sabbatical year in the Promised Land? Most chronologists’ timelines just did not offer an adequate year for the first Sabbatical year in the Land, according to Leviticus 25:1-4, “And Yahweh spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, 2“Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a sabbath to Yahweh. 3Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard, and gather its fruit; 4but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a sabbath to Yahweh. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard.” Well, in Joshua 14:10 we see that Caleb turned 85 years old in the 7th year in the land, “And now, behold, Yahweh has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since Yahweh spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old.” What this tells us is that the first 6 to 7 years in the Land were spent in warfare, not agricultural activity. But, after just three more years, during which there was plenty of time to build houses and organize and clear some farmland, we come to the 49th year after the Exodus, the FIRST Jubilee after the Exodus!! That year I declare would be the most logical 7th year Sabbatical rest year in the land, which of course was also the first Jubilee Year, from which to begin counting official Sabbatical Year cycles. It would be very unlikely for the Israelites to have produced food for 6 years before that first Jubilee after the Exodus, because of warfare while conquering Canaan. Year 1 of the first recognized and observed Sabbatical cycle would logically begin the year AFTER this FIRST Jubilee Year! It would have been a simple matter to count 49 years from the Exodus, so the Israelites would have known which year was the FIRST Jubilee year. The 7th year, which was also the FIRST Jubilee after the Exodus, would not qualify as the first Sabbatical year, according to the Torah teaching of Leviticus 25, because they had not produced crops for the previous 6 years, but they certainly would have begun counting Sabbatical years the year AFTER that FIRST Jubilee! Does that not make sense? And we do not have to force the Scriptures or the timeline for this to naturally occur. Seven years after that first Jubilee from the Exodus would then be the first officially observed Sabbatical year in the newly conquered Holy Land! This is the first timeline that I have built that naturally and logically fulfills the requirements of Leviticus 25.

EXODUS TO THE TEMPLE CONSTRUCTION

The next major step in the Sacred Chronology of redemption takes us from the Exodus in 2525 to the building of Solomon’s Temple, our next anchor date. You will notice that 2525, or 1584 BCE, is 604 years before 3128, or 981 BCE, the 4th year of Solomon, when he began to build the first Temple. 1 Kings 6:1, “And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house (Temple) of Yahweh.” Inside that 480-year period, you must have 40 years in the wilderness after the Exodus, 6 or 7 years of Joshua and Israel conquering Canaan, and then about 450 years of judges, including elders that ruled Israel right after Joshua died, plus all the judges including 20 years of Samson, 40 years of Eli, and 20 years of Samuel, not to mention 40 years of Saul, 40 years of David, and 3 years of Solomon, to get to Solomon’s 4th year, when he laid the foundation of the Temple of Yahweh. Paul explained the 450 years in Acts 13:17-20, “The Mighty One of this people Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm He brought them out of it. 18Now for a time of about forty years He put up with their ways in the wilderness. 19And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land to them by allotment. 20“After that He gave them judges for about four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the prophet.” Obviously, 480 solar years is not enough time for all that Israeli history to happen. Here’s a little chart to show you how I arrive at the 4th year of Solomon:

NAME OF JUDGE

RECKONED JUDGE YEARS

UNRECKONED YEARS

SUM OF SOLAR YEARS

EXODUS IS YEAR 1

MOSES

40

40JOSHUA (WARS & INHERITANCE)

25

65ELDERS’ RULE

5

70Cushan-Rishathaim

8

78OTHNIEL

40

118EGLON/MOABITES

18

136EHUD

80

216JABIN/CANAANITES

20

236DEBORAH/BARAK

40

276MIDIANITES

7

283GIDEON

40

323USURPER ABIMELECH

3

326TOLA

23

349JAIR

22

371AMMONITES

18

389JEPHTHAH

6

395IBZAN

7

402ELON

10

412ABDON

8

420PHILISTINES (40-20 of Samson’s years)

20

440SAMSON (DURING PHILISTINES)

20

460ELI

40

500SAMUEL

20

520SAUL (Not reckoned after Amalekite failure)

10

30

560DAVID 40 1/2 YEARS

40

600SOLOMON

4

604     TOTALS

480

124

604

Apparently, Yahweh did not reckon years to Israel unless they were in submission to Him in faith. Remember, the Covenant is by faith through grace. Faith exhibited by Yahweh’s people seems to be the thread that binds the redemption story together. So, if we add 604 solar years onto creation year 2525 and subtract 1 year for inclusive dating, we arrive at creation year 3128, as the 4th year of Solomon’s Temple construction start date. 3128, or 981 BCE, is another solid anchor date in the Sacred Chronology. And guess what? Solomon laid the Temple foundation during a Sabbatical year (3127-3128), when many agriculturally bound Israelis were freed up to help with construction projects! Logical right? and without compressing events or forcing the Scriptures at all.

ISAIAH / HEZEKIAH’S JUBILEE

Let’s back up a few years and take a look at another significant anchor year. In 2 Kings we learn what year it was in King Hezekiah’s reign when Yahweh destroyed the 10 northern tribes of Israel, 18:10-11, “And at the end of three years they took it. In the sixth year of Hezekiah, that is, the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was taken. 11Then (Shalmaneser V) the king of Assyria carried Israel away captive to Assyria, and put them in Halah and by the Habor, the River of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes.”  So now we know that creation year 3386 is equal to Hezekiah’s 6th year, 723 BCE. I bring this into our Sacred Chronology essay to arrive at another anchor year found in the Scriptures. When we add 21 years to Hezekiah’s 6th year in 3386 we arrive at creation year 3407, Hezekiah’s 27th year, in 702 BCE, when Isaiah prophesied to Hezekiah, during the second attack by Assyrian King Sennacherib, declaring that year was a Jubilee Year! Isaiah 37:30, “This shall be a sign to you: You shall eat this year such as grows of itself, and the second year what springs from the same; also in the third year sow and reap, plant vineyards and eat the fruit of them.” Hezekiah knew that the year 3407-3408 was a Jubilee year, but we would not have known this if Isaiah had not declared it to us through his message to Hezekiah, king of Judah. This is the 17th Jubilee from the time Israel began counting Sabbatical and Jubilee years, during Joshua’s judgeship over Israel, in 2575, or 1534 BCE. It just so “happens” that this 49th year Jubilee of Isaiah and Hezekiah (which is also a 7th year Sabbatical year) perfectly synchronizes with all other known Sabbatical years discovered in the Scriptures and profane records! Coincidence, absolutely not, Yahweh’s sovereign plan, absolutely.

Many thanks to Eugene Faulstich for astronomically nailing down 723 BCE, as the year of the fall of Samaria and the 10 northern tribes of Israel, another solid anchor year in Sacred Chronology. It was also Mr. Faulstich who straightened out Dr. Thiele’s confusion over Hezekiah’s 14th year and Sennacherib’s 3rd year. Hezekiah’s 14th year, tied to Sennacherib’s 1st attack on Judah, occurred in 715 BCE, when Sennacherib was Tartan for his father, Sargon II, then king of Assyria. Hezekiah’s 27th year, tied to Sennacherib’s 2nd attack on Judah, occurred in 702 BCE, Sennacherib’s 3rd year as sole King of Assyria. The 715 BCE attack was NOT a siege, the 702 BCE attack WAS a siege, when Yahweh killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers, sending Sennacherib back home in shame.

TEMPLE BUILD TO TEMPLE DESTRUCTION

Let’s go back again to Solomon’s day, so we can spring forward to our next anchor year. From Solomon’s 4th year in 3128, or 981 BCE, when he started the Temple building project to the end of his reign, we count to 3164, or 945 BCE, when Solomon died; the united Kingdom of Israel was divided between the 10 northern and 2 southern tribes of Israel, in what has become known in the Hebrew world as the Great Schism. Also, you can add up the reigns of the kings of Judah after Solomon and arrive at the Fall of Jerusalem in 3521, or 588 BCE, in the 11th year of Zedekiah, another solid anchor year in Sacred Chronology. 3128 plus 393 years of the reigns of the kings of Judah brings us to 3521, or 588 BCE. Here’s a little chart showing how many reckoned years the kings of Judah reigned:

NAME

YEARSREHOBOAM

17ABIJAM/ABIJAH

3ASA

41JEHOSHAPHAT

25JEHORAM

8AHAZIAH

1ATHALIAH

6JOASH/JEHOASH

40AMAZIAH

29UZZIAH / AZARIAH

52JOTHAM

16AHAZ

16HEZEKIAH

29MANASSEH

55AMON

2JOSIAH

31JEHOAHAZ

0JEHOIAKIM

11JEHOIACHIN / JEHOIAKIN

0ZEDEKIAH

11     TOTAL YEARS

393

2 Kings 25:8-10, “And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month (which was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon [Hebrew reckoning]), Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9He burned the house of Yahweh and the king’s house; all the houses of Jerusalem, that is, all the houses of the great, he burned with fire. 10And all the army of the Chaldeans who were with the captain of the guard broke down the walls of Jerusalem all around.” We have arrived at year 3521, the fall of Judah and the first Temple’s destruction, without twisting or misinterpreting any Scriptures and have seen several significant anchor dates revealed in the Scriptures. So, now we know that creation year 3521, or 588 BCE, equals Zedekiah’s 11th year, which equals Nebuchadnezzar’s 19th year (Hebrew reckoning, 18th year Babylonian reckoning [See Jeremiah 52:29]).

NEBUCHADNEZZAR TO CYRUS II

Beginning with Nebuchadnezzar’s 1st year, in Jehoiakim’s 4th year, we find the redemption story in Scripture synchronized with the reigns of pagan kings. Jeremiah 25:1, “The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon [1st year per Hebrew reckoning, accession year per Babylonian reckoning]),” From creation year 3503 (606 BCE) we can add on the years of Nebuchadnezzar, until his insanity in 3532 (577 BCE), which became Belshazzar’s 1st year (Daniel 4 and 7:1). Belshazzar was slain in 3535 (574 BCE), his 4th year (Daniel 5:30-31), which became Darius the Mede’s 1st year (Daniel 9:1-2). So, now we know creation year 3535 (574 BCE) equals Nebuchadnezzar’s 33rd year (Hebrew reckoning), Belshazzar’s 4th and final year, and Darius the Mede’s 1st year.

Now, we add 23 years to Darius the Mede’s reign, until Cyrus the Great conquered Media and deposed Darius the Mede, Cyrus’ grandfather, which brings us to creation year 3558. Creation year 3558, or 551 BCE, is the year Cyrus became king of both Persia and Media, so this is considered his first year, as far as our Sacred Chronology is concerned. What did Cyrus do in his first year? Ezra 1:1-4, “Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, 2Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: All the kingdoms of the earth Yahweh Mighty One of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house (Temple) at Jerusalem which is in Judah. 3Who is among you of all His people? May his Mighty One be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem which is in Judah, and build the house (Temple) of Yahweh Mighty One of Israel (He is Almighty), which is in Jerusalem. 4And whoever is left in any place where he dwells, let the men of his place help him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, besides the freewill offerings for the house (Temple) of Yahweh which is in Jerusalem.” We know Isaiah prophesied of this day about 150 years before Cyrus’ first year. Isaiah 44:28, “Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, and he shall perform all My pleasure, saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,” and to the [second] temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”’”

DANIEL’S 70 WEEKS TO YESHUA’S CRUCIFIXION

Now we come to the greatest chronological link to the future through the 70-weeks prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27. Virtually all Scripture scholars and students of Bible prophecy believe Daniel’s 70 weeks comprise 490 years of human history. This is because Daniel 9 relates how Daniel prayed concerning the 70-years captivity of Judah in Babylon. The 70-year captivity resulted from Israel and Judah not observing 70 of the 7th year Sabbatical rest years for the land during the previous 1,000 years. We believe that since Daniel is talking about the 7th year Sabbatical, 70 sevens, or shabuas, is talking about 70 X 7-year Sabbatical cycles = 490 Hebrew years. From this first year of Cyrus II, the Great, in 3558, or 551 BCE, Yahweh gave Israel another 490 years to believe Him and follow the Sabbatical rest year law. Never say that you cannot find grace in the Old Testament.

Let’s digress just a little and take a look at a piece of Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy. Daniel 9:25, “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.” Well guess what happened after Daniel’s first 7 weeks, after 49 years in his prophetic timeline? Nehemiah was commissioned in the 20th year of Persian King Darius I Hystaspes, Artaxerxes, in Nehemiah 2, to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall! Creation year 3558 + 49 years = creation year 3607, 502 BCE, Darius I’s 20th year, another solid anchor year that just flows in the Sacred Chronology of Yahweh’s rightly divided Word of Truth.

We understand that the 62 weeks come after the first 7 weeks, making Yeshua’s crucifixion happen after Daniel’s 69th week. Yeshua’s crucifixion is the ultimate anchor date in Sacred Chronology. But it appears we have a problem! 62 weeks is 434 years, but we’re only at creation year 3607, or 502 BCE, so we’ll be well shy of Yeshua’s life and crucifixion in 30 CE, without a chronology solution! What is the solution? Yahweh’s reckoned and unreckoned years in His redemption plan. The years of the oppressors during the age of the judges of Israel were unreckoned. The last 30 years of Saul’s reign were unreckoned, after he disobeyed Yahweh in the matter of the Amalekites, and then Yahweh rejected him. So what years between 502 BCE and 30 CE are unreckoned? Well, how about the 12 unreckoned years of the Greek king Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who tried to Hellenize the Jews and destroy Judaism from 175 – 164 BCE, and desecrated the Temple with his swine sacrifice? How about the 85 unreckoned years from 61 BCE to 26 CE, when the Romans, beginning with Julius Caesar, took self-rule away from the Jews again, during the time of prophetic silence between the Testaments, until John the Baptist began his ministry in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar in 26 CE? Let’s see, 12 + 85 = 97 unreckoned years. 502 + 30 = 532 years to account for. 532 – 97 – 1 for inclusive reckoning (or BCE/CE conversion, if you prefer) = 434 years, or 62 weeks of Daniel!! From Cyrus’ decree in 551 BCE, we have 49 years, or 7 weeks, and 434 years, or 62 weeks, for a total of 69 weeks to bring us to Yeshua’s crucifixion. As I said, Yeshua’s crucifixion year is the ultimate anchor year in Sacred Chronology. For a more in depth review of my current understanding of Daniel’s 70 weeks and the reckoned and unreckoned years involved, go to my blog article at: http://ourdailydrink.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/daniels-70-weeks-reckoned-and-un-reckoned-years/

Personally, I believe Yeshua died and was raised and ascended in 30 CE. The reason I say that is because Yeshua was baptized 5/7ths of the way through Daniel’s 69th week, in 27 CE. After John’s first Passover in John 2:13 in the spring of 28 CE, around Pentecost, Yeshua made His famous statement about four months until harvest in John 4:35, “Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!” That statement only makes sense in the context of 28 CE being a Sabbatical year, which it was, from the fall of 27 CE to the fall of 28 CE. The Israelis had fields white unto harvest, but they could not harvest them, because it was the Sabbatical year! The disciples knew exactly what Yeshua was talking about. Yeshua was using the physical example of the ripened wheat fields to get across His point about soul-winning. Yeshua was then condemned and crucified right after the end of Daniel’s 69th week, or 483rd year, in 30 CE. At Pentecost 30 CE, the Messianic Jewish Church was born of the Holy Spirit. Cornelius, the first Gentile believer, was converted in 33 CE. Thus the Gentile Christian Church was born, and, as we say in chronology, the rest is history. . . Most believe Daniel’s 70th week will be completely fulfilled during a 7-year tribulation period in the end times. We’ll just have to wait to get raptured before that 7-year tribulation, which will be the final 7 years of Torah law for our Jewish brethren and the final 7 “reckoned” years in Yahweh’s redemption plan for Israel!

A SUMMARY OF SACRED CHRONOLOGY

And speaking of history, look at 70 CE and the destruction of the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem. That happened during a Sabbatical year, which synchronizes with all other known Sabbatical years. Talk about the sovereignty of Yahweh, Ezekiel’s prophecy in 4:1-8 included 40 years of iniquity for Judah also. That prophecy may have had a dual fulfillment also, once with the destruction of the 1st Temple in Ezekiel’s day, 40 years after Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law in Josiah’s 18th year. According to Jeremiah, even though Josiah brought about a great revival beginning in his 18th year, Yahweh was still determined to destroy Judah 40 years later, because of the sins of King Manasseh. The second fulfillment could have occurred in 70 CE, with the destruction of the 2nd Temple, 40 years after Judah rejected their Messiah! The parallels are too significant to be mere coincidence. Yahweh is in total control of human history . . . including ours.

Here’s a little chart summarizing some of our anchor dates:

ANCHOR DATE SUMMARY

CREATION YEAR

EVENT

YEAR

BCE/CE

1ADAM CREATED

4108BCE

931ADAM DIED

3178BCE

1657FLOOD OF NOAH

2452BCE

2010ABRAM’S BIRTH

2099BCE

2095COVENANT IS CUT, 430 YEARS BEFORE THE EXODUS

2014BCE

2125ABRAHAM OFFERS ISAAC IN “SACRIFICE”, 400 YEARS BEFORE THE EXODUS

1984BCE

2525EXODUS

1584BCE

2565JOSHUA CROSSED THE JORDAN RIVER

1544BCE

2581FIRST OBSERVED SABBATICAL YEAR

1528/27BCE

3054SAUL IS REJECTED BY YAHWEH FOR DISOBEDIENCE

1055BCE

3128BEGIN SOLOMON’S TEMPLE

981BCE

3386DESTRUCTION OF NORTHERN 10 TRIBES OF ISRAEL

723BCE

3407ISAIAH/HEZEKIAH’S JUBILEE

702/701BCE

3503NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S 1ST YEAR

606BCE

3521JUDAH AND JERUSALEM FALL, TEMPLE DESTROYED

588BCE

3535NEB’S 33RD YEAR, BELSHAZZAR SLAIN, DARIUS THE MEDE’S 1ST YEAR

574BCE

3558CYRUS’ 1ST YEAR DECREE TO RESTORE JERUSALEM AND TEMPLE

551BCE

3607AFTER DANIEL’S 49TH YEAR, NEHEMIAH BEGINS WALL REBUILD

502BCE

4106YESHUA BORN

3BCE

4135YESHUA BAPTIZED

27CE

4136YESHUA STATES FOUR MONTHS UNTIL HARVEST

28CE

4138YESHUA’S DEATH, BURIAL, RESURRECTION, ASCENSION

30CE

41782ND TEMPLE DESTROYED, JUDAH DESTROYED

70CE

4243JERUSALEM PLOWED UP

135CE

6056ISRAEL BECOMES A NATION AGAIN

1948CE

6075ISRAEL RECAPTURES TEMPLE MOUNT

1967CE

61??YESHUA RETURNS

20??CE

Version 7.0 of my Sacred Chronology spreadsheet is not perfect, but it is powerfully accurate. It is the culmination of thousands of hours of Bible study, chronology research, and spreadsheet building. Use it as a framework for your own Bible study and research. Order your copy today, while it is still free for the asking. Write to me at anapto2 at gmail dot com.

Blessings in Yeshua,

Gene Benjamin II

December 19, 2011 CE