While there is much controversy about whether Christians should even be concerned with attempting to date Jesus’return, I believe it’s essential for our preparedness for the soon coming great tribulation. Jesus castigated Israel for not discerning the time of His first coming (Luke 19:44), as prophecy and recent events had clearly shown. It will be the same concerning His second coming. Jesus gave us many signs along with bible prophecy and commanded us to watch and study so that we would become ready for His arrival. For a discussion on whether we can determine the “day and hour” please watch the “Day and Hour Video” listed in permanent links. In this article, I’m going to discuss four biblical constructs that, taken together, present a strong case for a specific soon coming season for the time of Jesus’ return to establish His kingdom.
Millennial Sabbath
The first eschatological framework concerning the timing of Jesus’ 2nd advent I’m going to briefly discuss is called the “Millennial Sabbath”. Simply stated it is the idea that the period from creation to the eternal state is a span of seven thousand years, with the last one thousand years constituting Christ’s Kingdom here on the earth. The most reliable Bible chronologists (IMO) agree, noting creation to Abraham as 2000 years, Abraham to Christ’s crucifixion as 2000 years, the crucifixion to Christs return another 2000 years, followed by a Kingdom reign of 1000 years, a seventh or sabbath millennium. It is beyond the scope of this article to detail this chronology, but I will provide links to the internal Bible documentation upon request. This millennial sabbath is based on the statements in Psalms and Peter that a day with the Lord is as a thousand years. This is confirmed in Genesis where Adam was warned that he would die in the “day” he ate of the forbidden fruit. Obviously, he didn’t die in that 24 -hour day, but returned to dust just prior to 1000 years of life. It’s also based on Paul’s writing in Hebrews chapter 4 about entering God’s rest which is compared to God’s seventh day of creation where He rested. Paul states that there remains a sabbatical (rest) for god’s people where they will cease from their works. This rest is equated to Christ’s coming Kingdom in 2 Thess. 1:5. Revelation states clearly that His Kingdom is for 1000 years. (Revelation 20:2,3,4,5,6) If the seventh “day” rest is 1000 years in length, it follows that the first six were also 1000 years in duration. Early church Fathers had a near consensus on this issue. I’ll give you one quote from Hippolytus: “And six thousand years must needs be accomplished in order that the Sabbath may come, the rest, the holy day on which God rested from all His works. For the sabbath is the type and emblem of the future kingdom of the saints, when they shall reign with Christ, when He comes from heaven, as John says in his Apocalypse. ‘For a day with the Lord is as a thousand years.’ Since, then, in six days God made all things, it follows that six thousand years must be fulfilled.”
Based on the above, we can simply add 2000 years to the year of Jesus’ crucifixion to find the year of Jesus’ coming. It’s commonly believed that Jesus died between AD 27 and AD 33 with a probable date of AD 30. This would mean Jesus is returning in 2030. However, while the AD 30 date is reasonable, it is not certain. There is also the caveat that Daniels 70th week might be an add-on, which would make it seven years later. Nonetheless, it should be sobering to note that 2030 is less than eight years from now. Next, I’ll discuss the Jubilee calendar that results in a similar chronology.
Jubilee Calendar
God’s proscribed timekeeping for the Jews includes the Jubilee Calendar, another internal biblical confirmation of a 6000- year period preceding the millennium. In Genesis 6:3 Moses records “And the Lord said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years’.” Bible expositors typically connect this verse with God limiting man’s lifespan, or the time span to the flood. Neither suffice, however, as man’s life expectancy never settled on 120 years, and God’s statement was given between Noah’s 500th and 600th year, short of 120. What, then, was God stating? The word “man” in this verse is Adam in Hebrew which means “mankind”- all the human race in general. It is clear, then, that the period of time God is referring to is the span of time He continues to “strive” (contend) with mankind. He was striving with man in Noah’s day and continues to strive with man to the present. And He will continue to contend with mankind until His Son sets up His Kingdom. To understand what time period God is referring to, we need to look at the standard for timekeeping given to Moses and the Israelites. In Leviticus 25 God commanded Israel to farm their land for 6 years, then rest on the seventh (sabbath year) and repeat this for seven cycles. After seven cycles (49 years) they were to celebrate an additional sabbath, a 50th year, or as He called it, a Jubilee year. This Jubilee year was the longest time cycle (50 years) commanded by God to be kept. Knowing that, let’s assume that back in Genesis God was speaking of His future Jubilee cycle when He spoke of 120 years. If that was the case, 120 x 50 equals 6000 years ! Fits perfectly ! In fact, it fits so perfectly that use of this chronology results in: Noah’s death and Abraham’s birth in the 2000th year (40th jubilee year), the exodus on the 50th (jubilee of jubilees), Cyrus’ decree to release the Jews on the 70th(beginning of Daniels’70 weeks prophecy), along with other “coincidences”.
Use of this Jubilee calendar fits well with the millennial Sabbath theory described above. This chronology allows for a 2000 year period from Christ’s resurrection till the 120th Jubilee (2030 AD?). As the jubilee year was to be announced by the blowing of the trumpet (Lev. 25:9), the final trumpet of the cycle, I believe the trumpet blast starting the 120th Jubilee will be the “last trumpet” spoken of by Jesus and the apostle Paul declaring the start of the Jesus’ Kingdom here on earth. Next, I’ll discuss a prophecy in Hosea that will add credence to the first two concepts.
Hosea Prophecy
Let us now deal with a very concise and relevant passage in the book of Hosea. “For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue. I will return again to my place, till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek my face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me. Come and let us return to the Lord; for He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight.” (Hosea 5:14 – 6:2) Many bible commentators say that this refers to the Assyrian destruction of the northern kingdom (Israel) in Hosea’s day but notice that it concerns Judah as well. It clearly describes a time future to Hosea.
In my analysis, God, through Hosea, is saying this: I’m going to destroy Israel and Judah (Judea and Jerusalem) and I am going away, to my place. Total destruction came upon Jerusalem in 70 AD shortly after Jesus resurrection and ascension to heaven. He went back to His place (at the right hand of the Father). The Jews were carried off as slaves to the nations. There they still remain (in the diaspora) till they acknowledge their offense and earnestly seek Him. Note that they will do this in their affliction (great tribulation). God will revive them “after two days“. On the third day He will raise (resurrect) them to life in His sight (presence). This , of course will happen on the day of the Lord, when He returns and resurrects all His saints. According to this text, when will this happen ? After two days ! Two days here cannot mean 48 hours. We, again, must use the Lord’s reckoning of a day as a thousand years. The third day represents the seventh millennium , Christ’s kingdom on earth. The resurrection takes place on the last day of this age prior to the kingdom. So, it follows then, that 2000 years from the crucifixion is Jesus’ second coming. With the assumption that the crucifixion took place in 30 AD; 30 + 2000 = 2030.
Indeed, quite a detailed prophecy. Further confirmation of the general time period of Jesus second advent. This prophesied 2000- year period is most likely the “gap” between Daniel’s 69th and 70th week. Next, we’ll look at another description of this gap.
Time From the Second Exile
The prophet Daniel said two things must happen after the 69 weeks (when Messiah comes) but before the final or 70th week. (Daniel 9:26) The Messiah would be cut off (crucified) and Jerusalem would be destroyed and desolated. Hence the “gap” or desolation of Jerusalem between the 69th and 70th weeks. This gap, then, constitutes the second exile of the Jews from their homeland, the first being the Babylonian exile. The Babylonian exile was for 70 years while the land enjoyed her sabbaths (2 Chron. 36:21). Since the 70th week is yet future, the question is: how long is this current exile to last? If we can determine that, we can determine when the last seven years prior to the coming Kingdom of Christ will start. Leviticus 26 gives us a clue. God, through Moses prophesied the first exile judgment if they would not obey Him (Lev. 26:14-17). This resulted in the first exile of 70 years. He then says in the next verse “And after all this, if you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.” (Lev 26:18) This would mean 7 x 70 or 490 years. But, God does not stop there. He adds a second “seven times more” in verse 21, a third in verse 24, and a fourth in verse 27. All this also that the land could enjoy her sabbaths (verse 34).
So, what does this add up to ? 7 x 70 + 7 x 70 + 7 x 70 + 7 x 70 =1960 years total. The destruction and desolation of Jerusalem is well established to have occurred in 70 AD. Therefore adding 1960 years to AD70 comes to, you guessed it, 2030 ! However, note that under this calculation, the start of Jacob’s trouble (Daniel’s 70th week) begins in 2030. This would place the year of Jesus’ second coming in 2037.
Conclusion
I hope you’ve read and looked up the associated scriptures to verify what I have written above. While the general time frame arrived at is certainly not set in stone, it should alert you to how potentially close we are to end time events. Those four biblical scenarios, though circumstantial, build to a logical and realistic time frame when considered together. The secular dates used, AD30 for the crucifixion, and AD 70 for the destruction of Jerusalem, while not absolutely certain, are probably accurate to within three years. Simply adding 2000 years to AD 30 gives us 2030, + or – 3 years, or a range of 2027 to 2033. This means Daniels’ 70th week of 7 years would have already started in 2020 or will start by 2026. Close indeed ! If, however, the seventieth week is an add on to the 2000 years, the 2nd coming will be 2034 – 2040 with the seventieth week starting between 2027 and 2033. Still quite close !
Since I believe Jesus coming will be at the “last” trumpet, which will introduce the 120th Jubilee (the trump of God which He Himself will blow) and the Kingdom, it must be blown on Yom Kippur the Day of Atonement (Lev. 25:8-11). My favorite bible chronologist has gone so far as to propose a specific date and time with the assumption of AD30 and AD70 as accurate dates. His best proposal : The 120th jubilee, at sundown on Tishri 9, 2036. If this is accurate, Daniels 70th week will start in the autumn of 2029 six and one half years from now. In all my studies of end-time chronology I cannot dispute his timing. I think that’s the best we can do for now, and update as last days events unfold. I will provide a permanent link to this article below or in the left column for easy access.
Keep watching! Maranatha, Jim