SACRED CHRONOLOGY
VERSION 7.7.7
For the Scriptures to be of practical value and meaningful, they must be understood in the context of the 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 five and one half years. In Version 7.7.7 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 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. 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 a New Heavens and a New Earth.
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 CEATION 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.
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 CEATION 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. Was Abram’s life prophetic? Yes!
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 is. 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 dates in Sacred Chronology. And guess what, 2525, the year of the Exodus, just “happens” to be a year 1 in the Sabbatical year cycles. Coincidence? I don’t believe so. We simply rightly divided the Word of Truth.
What is the significance of 2525 being a year 1 in the known Sabbatical year cycles? Well, I’ve built many chronology spreadsheets over the last five 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, just two years later, 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. This is the first timeline that I have built that naturally and logically fulfills the requirements of Leviticus 25.
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. 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 up to 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
17
82Cushan-Rishathaim
8
90OTHNIEL
40
130EGLON/MOABITES
18
148EHUD
80
228JABIN/CANAANITES
20
248DEBORAH/BARAK
40
288MIDIANITES
7
295GIDEON
40
335USURPER ABIMELECH
3
338TOLA
23
361JAIR
22
383AMMONITES
18
401JEPHTHAH
6
407IBZAN
7
414ELON
10
424ABDON
8
432PHILISTINES includes Samson 20
40
472SAMSON (DURING PHILISTINES)
0
472ELI
40
512SAMUEL and SAUL (until Samuel died)
38
550SAUL (first 18 years overlapping in Samuel)
22
572DAVID 40 1/2 YEARS
40
612SOLOMON
4
616 TOTALS
480
136
616
Apparently, Yahweh did not count 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 616 solar years onto creation year 2525, we arrive at creation year 3141, as the 4th year of Solomon’s Temple construction start date. 3141 is another solid anchor date in the Sacred Chronology. And guess what? Solomon laid the Temple foundation during a Sabbatical year (3140-3141), 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.
Now, we need to back up just a bit to discover the gem found in Ezekiel’s prophecy in 4:1-8, “You also, son of man, take a clay tablet and lay it before you, and portray on it a city, Jerusalem. 2Lay siege against it, build a siege wall against it, and heap up a mound against it; set camps against it also, and place battering rams against it all around. 3Moreover take for yourself an iron plate, and set it as an iron wall between you and the city. Set your face against it, and it shall be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel. 4“Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity. 5For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days; so you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year. 7“Therefore you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem; your arm shall be uncovered, and you shall prophesy against it. 8And surely I will restrain you so that you cannot turn from one side to another till you have ended the days of your siege.” In this prophecy of Ezekiel, we see 390 years of iniquity for the house of Israel, as opposed to the 40 years of iniquity for the house of Judah. When did this 390 years of iniquity begin? Read 1 Samuel 8-10, when Israel rejected Yahweh as their King and decided they wanted a human flesh king, like all the other nations around them. 1 Samuel 8:7, “And Yahweh said to Samuel, “Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.” So Samuel anointed Saul as the first king of Israel. Well, guess what happened after 390 years of Israel’s iniquity? Right, Assyria captured Samaria and carried off the 10 northern tribes of Israel! So, if we back up to Saul’s 1st regnal year, creation year 3058 and add 390 years, we arrive at creation year 3448, another significant anchor date in Israel’s redemption story found in our Sacred Chronology.
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 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 3448 is equal to Hezekiah’s 6th year. I bring this into our Sacred Chronology essay to arrive at another anchor date found in the Scriptures. When we add 8 years to Hezekiah’s 6th year in 3448 we arrive at creation year 3456, Hezekiah’s 14th year, when Isaiah prophesied to Hezekiah, during the attack by Assyrian Tartan 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 3455-3456 was a Jubilee year, but we would not have known this if Isaiah had not declared that to us through his message to Hezekiah, king of Judah. It just so “happens” that this 49th year Jubilee (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.
Now all we have to do is add up the years of the remaining Kings of Judah to arrive at the next major anchor date in our Sacred Chronology. We know Hezekiah was sick during his 14th year, but Yahweh healed him and awarded him another 15 years of life. So we add up the regnal years of the final kings of Judah, and we arrive at creation year 3583, the fall of Judah and Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon’s Temple! Here’s a chart to show how we calculated the final years of Judah:
JUDAH’S FINAL KINGS HEZEKIAH (last 15 years)
15MANASSEH
55AMON
2JOSIAH
31JEHOAHAZ
1JEHOIAKIM
11JEHOIACHIN / JEHOIAKIN
1ZEDEKIAH
11 TOTAL YEARS
127
Creation year 3456 + 127 years = creation year 3583. 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 3583, 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 3583 equals Zedekiah’s 11th year, which equals Nebuchadnezzar’s 19th year (Hebrew reckoning, 18th year Babylonian reckoning).
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 3583 we can add on the years of Nebuchadnezzar, until his insanity in 3597, which became Belshazzar’s 1st year (Daniel 4 and 7:1). Belshazzar was slain in 3600, 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 3600 equals Nebuchadnezzar’s 36th year (Hebrew reckoning), Belshazzar’s 4th and final year, and Darius the Mede’s 1st year.
Now we add 24 years of Darius the Mede, until Cyrus the Great conquered Media and deposed Darius the Mede, Cyrus’ grandfather, which brings us to creation year 3623. Creation year 3623 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 250 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 temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”’”
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 solar years. From this first year of Cyrus, 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 3623 + 49 years = creation year 3672, Darius I’s 20th year, another solid anchor date that just flows in the Sacred Chronology of Yahweh’s rightly divided Word of Truth.
Well, amazingly, we can now add 490 years to creation year 3623 and arrive at creation year 4112. We count inclusively, because Cyrus’ first-year DECREE starts 70 7-year Sabbatical cycles, the 490th year ending in 4112. Well, guess what year 4112 is on our Sacred Chronology, in terms of our Common Era? It is the year 33 CE! Depending on which year you believe Yeshua was crucified, He was either crucified in 33 CE during the last year of the 490 years, or in 30 CE, in the midst of Daniel’s 70th Week, according to Daniel 9:26-27, “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. 27Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.” We understand that the 62 weeks comes after the first 7 weeks, making Yeshua’s crucifixion happen during Daniel’s 70th week, either in the middle or at the end of his final week. Yeshua’s crucifixion is the ultimate anchor date in Sacred Chronology.
Personally, I believe He died and was raised and ascended in 30 CE. The reason I say that is because Yeshua was baptized just after the close of Daniel’s 69th week, in 27 CE. 27 CE was the first year in Daniel’s final 7 years of his 490-year prophecy, year 484 if you will. 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. 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 in the middle of Daniel’s 70th week, in 30 CE, year 487 of Daniel’s timeline. At Pentecost 30 CE, the Messianic Jewish Church was born of the Holy Spirit. Cornelius, the first Gentile believer, was converted in 33 CE, the 490th year of Daniel’s 70 weeks. Thus the Gentile Christian Church was born, and, as we say in chronology, the rest is history. . . Some believe Daniel’s 70th week may have a dual fulfillment, being completely fulfilled during a 7-year tribulation period in the end times. We’ll just have to wait and see about that.
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
4079BCE
931ADAM DIED
3149BCE
1657FLOOD OF NOAH
2423BCE
2010ABRAM’S BIRTH
2070BCE
2095COVENANT IS CUT, 430 YEARS BEFORE THE EXODUS
1985BCE
2125ABRAHAM OFFERS ISAAC IN “SACRIFICE”, 400 YEARS BEFORE THE EXODUS
1955BCE
2525EXODUS
1555BCE
2565JOSHUA CROSSED THE JORDAN RIVER
1515BCE
2580FIRST OBSERVED SABBATICAL YEAR
1500BCE
3058SAUL IS KING: BEGIN 390 YEARS OF ISRAEL’S INIQUITY
1022BCE
3141BEGIN SOLOMON’S TEMPLE
939BCE
3448DESTRUCTION OF NORTHERN 10 TRIBES OF ISRAEL
632BCE
3456ISAIAH/HEZEKIAH’S JUBILEE
624BCE
3565NEBUCHADNEZZAR’S 1ST YEAR
515BCE
3583JUDAH AND JERUSALEM FALL, TEMPLE DESTROYED
497BCE
3600NEB’S 36TH YEAR, BELSHAZZAR SLAIN, DARIUS THE MEDE’S 1ST YEAR
480BCE
3623CYRUS’ 1ST YEAR DECREE TO RESTORE JERUSALEM AND TEMPLE
457BCE
3672Daniel’s 49th year, Nehemiah begins wall rebuild
408BCE
4077YESHUA BORN
3BCE
4106YESHUA BAPTIZED
27CE
4107YESHUA STATES FOUR MONTHS UNTIL HARVEST
28CE
4109YESHUA’S DEATH, BURIAL, RESURRECTION, ASCENSION
30CE
41492ND TEMPLE DESTROYED, JUDAH DESTROYED
70CE
4214JERUSALEM PLOWED UP
135CE
6027ISRAEL BECOMES A NATION AGAIN
1948CE
6046ISRAEL RECAPTURES TEMPLE MOUNT
1967CE
????YESHUA RETURNS
????CE
Version 7.7.7 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
May 15, 2011 CE
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