Numbers are used in prophecy for time and cycles and sets of actions.
The meaning of these numbers can only be discovered through their use by God in Israel.
Therefore, the sanctuary, feast and legal systems will be used to determine how God uses numbers.
Other use of numbers in the bible may only reflect the facts of what has happened.
There is no special meaning that can be attached to them and it does not shed light on the symbolic meaning of the number.
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Time Cycles.
Numbers are used in prophecy for giving a series of events and for expressing the limits of time.
We find that the basis of all of these is the number seven.
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Probationary Time. Within the period of the perfect time is the concept
of a probationary time that is set aside for the actions for man or the enemies of God.
They get six parts and God gets the seventh or the Sabbath portion.
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Sabbath.
God claims one seventh of a period as His time. During this time His people have rest.
By default His enemies have no rest and are undergoing the judgment.
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Judgment.
Judgment occurs in relation to the assumption of rulership by God.
When God's time arrives, He takes over and a judgment process occurs.
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New Beginnings.
After judgment ends and the Sabbath rest is over, the time cycle begins again.
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People.
Twelve is another prominent number that represents the people who are the foundation of God's kingdom.
Therefore, this number appears in association with the people and with the city of God.
On earth one out of twelve was set aside for God. The tribe of Levi performed the duties of the priest.
In heaven, all belong to God. It may be that we are the one in twelve in the entire universe.
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Property, Wealth and Ownership.
Wealth is divided into a series of ten with one tenth belonging to God.
The Use Of Numbers At Creation
What is the source of the meanings of these numbers. It appears to begin with creation.
| Summary Of The Numbers |
| Day | Created | Seven | Multiples of 10 | Squared | Multiply |
| x7 | x7+1 | x10 | x100 | x1000 | N2 | N2+1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 12 |
| 1 | Light and Dark | 7 | 8 | 10 | 100 | 1000 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 12 |
| 2 | Sky, Sea | 14 | 15 | 20 | 200 | 2000 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 24 |
| 3 | Sea, earth, trees | 21 | 22 | 30 | 300 | 3000 | 9 | 10 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 21 | 24 | 36 |
| 3.5 | 24.5 | 25.5 | 35 | 350 | 3500 | 12.25 | 13.25 | 3.5 | 7 | 10.5 | 14 | 17.5 | 21 | 24.5 | 28 | 42 |
| 4 | Sun, moon, stars | 28 | 29 | 40 | 400 | 4000 | 16 | 17 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 32 | 48 |
| 5 | Fish and birds | 35 | 36 | 50 | 500 | 5000 | 25 | 26 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 25 | 30 | 35 | 40 | 60 |
| 6 | Man, Animals | 42 | 43 | 60 | 600 | 6000 | 36 | 37 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 30 | 36 | 42 | 48 | 72 |
| 7 | Sabbath, time | 49 | 50 | 70 | 700 | 7000 | 49 | 50 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 28 | 35 | 42 | 49 | 56 | 84 |
| 28 | 1 lunar month | 196 | 197 | 280 | 2800 | 28,000 | 784 | 785 | 28 | 56 | 84 | 112 | 140 | 168 | 196 | 204 | 336 |
| 30 | 1 solar month | 210 | 211 | 300 | 3000 | 30,000 | 900 | 901 | 30 | 60 | 90 | 120 | 150 | 180 | 210 | 240 | 360 |
| 12 | 12 solar months | 84 | 85 | 120 | 1200 | 12000 | 144 | 145 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 48 | 60 | 72 | 84 | 96 | 144 |
| It is clear that the numbers that consistently appear in prophecy are related to the first, fourth, sixth and seventh period and the multiples of ten.
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The most prevalent number in prophecy is the number seven.
Its use is clearly related to time and a complete number of a set.
This usage first appears in the creation. Therefore, we will see if there is any relation to creation and the prophetic use of numbers.
The only clear concept we can come away with is the following.
- Order. God divides His activities into seven sets of actions.
The first six sets belong to the actions of man.
The seventh is the exclusive time for God.
- Space and Time. 4, 7, 12
- Space (4). All four directions or corners. The four corners of heaven were created.
- Time (7). The perfect time. The week and the concept of rest were created.
- Feasts. Religious time based on cycles of seven.
- Israel (People). 6 and 12.
- Wicked People (6). Six is for judgment of the wicked.
- Righteous People (12). 12 is for people at rest.
- Sanctuary and Covenant. Redemption and wrath were paid in sets of 5 and 10.
- Tithe. Tithe was 10%.
- Taxes, Redemption of a Vow . These tended to be in fractions of 5.
- Curses (5 and 10). The curses were applied in a series of five and two sets of chances.
- Judgment or Preliminary Examination. These come at exactly at the half way point.
- People (6). This is half of the perfect number of righteous (12).
- Time (3.5). This is half of the perfect length of time (7).
- Covenant (5). This is half of the perfect number of the covenant (10).
- Space (2). This is half of the distance (4). Judgment divides into two.
The Meaning of Numbers
- Two. Minimum to make a legal agreement or form a covenant.
- Angels on the ark of the covenant.
- Writing on two sides of the covenant (blessings and curses).
- Witnesses to condemn someone to death.
- Two believers gathered are assured of God's presence.
- The continual was offered two times each day. Morning and Evening.
- A righteous reward. Joseph received a double portion of the inheritance. (Genesis 48: 22).
The firstborn receives double the inheritance (Deuteronomy 21: 17). The wicked received double their punishment. (Revelation 18: 6)
- Three. The Trinity.
- Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit)
- Three gates on each side of the New Jerusalem. Three walls in the sanctuary.
A shorter period of punishment. While forty is more for testing of the chosen, three is for punishment or testing of God.
Jonah in the belly of the whale. Jesus in the bowels of the earth.
David was given a choice of being pursued for three months, plague for three days or famine for seven days. (2 Samuel 24: 13).
- Four. All directions. Omnipresence.
One reason why 12 is the total number of people could be that 4 x 3 = 12.
That would mean those everywhere who belong to the Trinity.
- Joel 2: 1-4 - War horses bring fiery judgment on the day of the Lord. Zechariah 1: 8-10
- Blood was applied to the four horns of the altar.
- Four living creatures with four faces around the throne of God.
- Five. Covenant judgment time.
- There were five chances given to be disobedient to the covenant. (Leviticus 26)
- There were five bars which held up the 48 boards on the sides of the sanctuary.
- There are five knots in the tzitzit.
- Six. Man and his portion.
- Six days belongs to man to do work in each week.
- Six cities of refuge set aside to protect those who killed accidentally (Numbers 35: 6)
- Seven. A perfect cycle of events and the rest.
The first six periods belong to man, the last belongs to God.
God was on Mount Sinai for six days before He called Moses to meet Him on the seventh day.
Again, God establishes the Sabbath as the time to meet Him personally.
- Ten. Two sets of five. A double portion of what belongs to God.
- 10 Commandments
- Tithe (10%)
- Twelve. The number of tribes in the righteous nation that forms the foundation of God's kingdom.
It is also a unit of time. Twelve months in one year.
In heaven, we will go to worship God every month and every Sabbath.
Is this time related to the people of God?
We find that the division of the work for the priests was for twelve groups of priests serving twice each year.
So the division of time is related to the work of the people.
This is the same principle we find in the Sabbath cycle.
Six days and twelve months for people.
One of seven days of the week and one of twenty eight days of the month for God.
How is the weekly cycle related to the annual cycle?
We find that the religious calendar occurred in the first seven months. Five months are just left over.
There is no evidence if this is relevant or if it is related to some unknown event.
We know that sin existed before the human race was created. We do not know how long this rebellion lasted before it was transferred to the earth.
But the five periods are strangely related to the five chances we see in the covenant.
There is also five months between Passover and Tabernacles. As if there are five chances for the human race after God keeps the covenant by His death.
So, here is a possible explanation that is based mainly on speculation.
The problem of sin will last for twelve periods of time. Seven of those periods involve sin on earth.
The first five might involve sin in heaven. Or it might represent the time from Adam to the crucifixion.
| The Era of Sin and Righteousness |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
Before Adam Rebellion in Heaven | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Sabbath |
| 6000 Years on Earth | Millennium |
| Outer Court |  | Holy Place | Most Holy Place |
Before Christ Law on stones |  | Passover | Yom Kippur | Tabernacles |
| Justification | Righteousness by faith | Law in the heart |
| Outer Court | Holy Place | Most Holy Place |
- Thirteen And Fourteen.
The severely tested serve 14 years. They get no rest in the seventh year.
- Abraham And Isaac. Isaac was born when Ishmael was 14. (Genesis 16: 16 and 21: 5)
- Jacob. He worked 14 years to get Rachel (Genesis 29: 18,20,27,30).
- Joseph. He was captive about 13 years before he gained power. (Genesis 37: 2 and 41: 46)
- Solomon's Temple. He dedicated it for 14 days (Tishri 10-23). (1 Kings 8: 55-56; 2 Chronicles 7: 8-10)
- Thirty. Number of days of mourning for Aaron (Numbers 20: 29).
Israel spent 430 years in Egypt. 400 as slaves and 30 years as free men.
Christ spent 33 years on earth. 30 years as a free man and 3 ½ years as the Messiah to fulfill the covenant.
- Thirty Three. The time when cleansing or restoration occurs.
- Jesus was 33 when He died.
- A woman was unclean for 33 days after the birth of a son.
- Leah had 33 descendants of Israel.
- Forty.
This is the length of time spent in the presence of God.
Forty days for an individual, forty years for a generation and four hundred years for a nation.
- Personal. Forty days to test a child of God. During this time no food or drink is eaten.
- Forty weeks for a child to be in the womb. The ideal time for a birth.
Forty periods of time is the ideal time for any testing before a birth of a child or a nation can be expected.
- Jesus fasted and was tempted in the wilderness. (Matthew 4: 2; Mark 1: 13; Luke 4: 2)
- Jesus was on the earth for forty days after His resurrection. (Acts 1: 3)
- Joshua searched the land 40 days (Numbers 14: 34). Joshua 14: 7 He was 40 years old.
- Moses was in the presence of God when he received the ten commandments. (Exodus 24: 18; 34: 28)
He lived to be 120 years old. He spent 40 years as an Egyptian prince, 40 years as a shepherd and the last 40 years in the exodus.
- Elijah fasted after he ran away from persecution. He lived forty days on the strength of the bread and water that he received from an angel. (1 Kings 19: 8)
- Noah was in the protection of God while it rained forty days and nights. (Genesis 7: 12)
- Forty lashes were the maximum punishment. Deuteronomy 25: 3
- Ezekiel 4: 6; Ezekiel 29: 11
- The kings chosen by God reigned for forty years. David, Solomon.
- A woman was unclean for 40 days (7 + 33) after the birth of a son. (Leviticus 12)
- National. Forty years for a rebellious generation after they have rejected a personal visit from God.
- Israel wandered in the desert before they entered the Promised Land. (Numbers 32: 13)
- Forty years after Christ was rejected and crucified (31 AD), the temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
- Israel ate manna forty years (Exodus 16: 35)
- Judges 13: 1. Israel subdued by the Philistines forty years.
- 1 Kings 2: 11. And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.
- Universal. It was 2800 years (40 x 70) from the division of the kingdom in 957 BC to the cleansing of the sanctuary in 1844.
In both cases a remnant was called before the conquest by Babylon.
Abraham bargains for Sodom and Gomorrah 50, 45, 40, 30, 20, 10 (Genesis 18: 28).
- Forty Two, 3½ and 1260.
This is the amount that is given to the wicked or for people to bear fruit. Judgment occurs at the end.
It is based on the law that God only expects results after the third year of planting (Leviticus 19: 23-25).
This time period appears in many prophecies as 1260 days, 42 months or 3½ years.
It is the period that God allows the beast to operate.
Notice that this is equal to 6 x 7 months. It is man's portion of the jubilee cycle.
Notice that it is also 3 x 2 x 7. Three for punishment, two for double punishment and seven for complete punishment.
Two female bears kill forty two children after they ridiculed the prophet of God. 2 Kings 2: 24.
Again we have the idea that forty two is a human portion.
42 Cities are given to the Levites in addition to six cities of refuge (Numbers 35: 6).
Again, groups of six are given to man. Perhaps the forty ninth city of refuge is the New Jerusalem. The city of rest.
- Forty and Forty Two.
The twin numbers of 42 and 40 appear in several places.
Israel camped 42 times in the wilderness during the 40 year exodus.
The goat's hair and linen curtains covering the sanctuary have a length of 42 and 40 cubits.
Jesus was forty two generations from Abraham. (Matthew 1).
He was also seventy seven generations from Adam. (Luke 3)
Generations.
We learn from the two accounts of the ancestors of Jesus in Matthew and Luke that a generation
is not simply a set number of years. It is the number of parents.
The record in Luke traces the ancestors through Eli. He was the father of Mary and Joseph was his son or son-in-law.
This record lists 56 generations since Abraham, while the account in Matthew lists 42 generations.
Jesus had no children but the church which comes out of Him.
Revelation lists seven series of churches. The eight, or fiftieth generation is the perfect Israel.
Notice the numbers 77 and 84.
Jesus was seventy seven generations from Adam. That is eleven sets of seven.
The twelfth set of seven are the seven churches.
Seven and twelve are the combination of two perfect numbers for time and the people of God.
| 84 Generations since Adam (Luke 3: 23-38) | - |
| 10 | 20 | 35 | 77 | 84 | 85 |
Adam - Noah (10 generations) | Shem - Terah (10 generations) | Abraham - Jesse (15 generations) | David - Jesus (42 generations) | Seven churches (7 generations) | Global Israel (1 generation) |
| Fifty Generations since The Covenant with Abraham (Matthew 1) |
| 42 | 49 | 50 |
Abraham to David (14 generations) | David to Jeconiah (Babylon) (14 generations) | Jeconiah to Jesus (14 generations) | Jesus to Second Coming (The Seven Churches) | Global Israel |
Journeys.
While they were under the protection of God during the Exodus, they moved to temporary locations forty two times when the cloud moved.
After they entered Israel and entered into apostasy, both Israel and the Christian church were captured and forced to move seven more times as God gave them over
to the power of the beast.
Israel was subjugated by three and a half beasts and the church by three and a half beasts.
| Fifty Journeys since the Exodus |
| 42 | 49 | 50 |
| 42 Campsites | Seven Headed Beast Ruled the People of God | Heaven |
| Israel | Church |
| Exodus - Israel | Babylon | Medo-Persia | Greece | Rome | Papal Rome | Communism | Babylon the Great | Israel |
Jesus was killed between the third and fourth beasts (fourth kingdom), between His third and fourth decade of life (33) and between His third and fourth year of ministry (3.5 years).
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- Forty Nine and Four Hundred and Ninety.
This is the amount that is given to God.
- This is the jubilee, or total freedom. (Leviticus 25: 8).
- 490 years or seventy weeks of years were given to the Jews. (Daniel 9: 24).
| The Jubilee |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 1 |
| Jubilee | 2-7 | 8-14 | 15-21 | 22-28 | 29-35 | 36-42 | 43-49 | Jubilee | 2-7 |
- Christ told the disciples to forgive 70 x 7 times. Matthew 18: 21-23
- Leah and her maid had 49 descendants of Israel.
- Fifty Two. Number of weeks in a year. The period of time for the plan of salvation.
This is a combination of 40 and 12. Forty is the maximum time for a birth to be expected.
12 is the age a girl becomes a woman of the covenant. Since a woman is a symbol of the church, it takes one year
for the woman to be redeemed.
- Seventy. There are seventy nations.
Numbers 11: 24; Exodus 24: 9. Seventy elders of Israel went up the mountain with Moses, Aaran, Nadab and Abihu
Luke 10: 1 - Jesus send out seventy to every place he would go
Jeremiah 25: 11.
| Descendants of Israel |
| Sons | Children | Mother |
| 1 | Reuben | 4 | 27 | Leah ( 33 ) |
| 2 | Simeon | 6 |
| 3 | Levi | 3 |
| 4 | Judah | 7 |
| 5 | Issachar | 4 |
| 6 | Zebulun | 3 |
| 7 | Gad | 7 | 14 | Zilpah ( 16 ) |
| 8 | Asher | 7 |
| 9 | Joseph | 2 | 12 | Rachel ( 14 ) |
| 10 | Benjamin | 10 |
| 11 | Dan | 1 | 5 | Bilhah ( 7 ) |
| 12 | Naphtali | 4 |
| Total | 58 | 70 |
Seventy direct descendants of Israel went to Egypt. Four were already there (Simeon, Joseph and his two sons) and sixty six came from the wilderness to join them.
(Genesis 46).
Leah and her servant had forty nine children. Rachel and her servant had twenty one children.
- 144,000. This perfect number is represented by the people of God and the height of the walls of the New Jerusalem.
It is 12 x 12 x 1000. This usage shows us a possible use of the number 10 as a multiplier for each of the prophetic numbers.
- 1. Individual time or trial. Since the age of a person is about 70 years, then any period of time cannot be more than this number.
So all curses, trials and temptations must be completed within this maximum time frame.
- 10. This is the time for a generation.
- 100. This is the time for a nation.
- 1000. This is cosmic time that can only be experienced by creatures who live a long time or who are living in eternal time.
- 1,000. The millennium is described as the period of rest for the people of God.
If this is the eternal Sabbath, the earth will last 6000 years.
- 666. This infamous number is associated with the evil one in a great persecution at the end of time.
We discuss this symbol in the lesson on the mark of the beast. In another lesson we list many of the accurate and inaccurate ways this number has been applied.
Here will be look at some other speculations.
Certain Greek phrases add up to this number.
Θεος ειμι επι γαιης. I am god on earth. (Isaiah 14: 14).
This announcement is reflected in the claim of the beast to be above every God and the papal claim of being like "god on earth".
However, when Isaiah was written it was in Hebrew not Greek.
το μεγα θηριον. The Great Beast.
| Number of Days | Value |
| Other | Lunar | Solar |
| 200000 | 224000 | 240000 |
| 225 | 252 | 270 | 888.8 |
| - | 288 | - | 777.7 |
| 300 | 336 | 360 | 666.6 |
| 360 | 403.2 | 432 | 555.5 |
| 450 | 504 | 540 | 444.4 |
| 600 | 672 | 720 | 333.3 |
| 900 | 1008 | 1080 | 222.2 |
| 1800 | 2016 | 2160 | 111.1 |
| The number of days is divided by the numbers in each row |
Other Origin. Here are some other coincidences that I have encountered on my own.
They are only significant if 666 will also be related to time.
For example, if the signs of the times will occur in the last generation when there is only 66.6 years, or 666 months or 666 days remaining.
- Millennium. I looked at the two types of time operating during the millennium.
I calculated the millennium as solar time of 30 days and lunar time of 28 days.
The difference is 24000 days. This is 66.6 solar years.
The difference between these times over a 6000 year period is 144000 days or 400 solar years.
- Calculations. In the table on the right I divided the number of days in the top heading with various numbers.
I obtained the number 666 when I used the number of days in a solar or lunar year.
This is of value only if the numbers 200,000 or 224,000 or 240,000 are significant.
- 200,000. In the sixth trumpet, when the mark of the beast is being issued, an evil army of 200 million kill one third of mankind.
- 224,000.
- 240,000. This is half the size of the city of the New Jerusalem and the same as the millennium calculation above.
- 666 Months. This is 55.5 years.
Solar and Lunar Time
Have you ever been frustrated with what appears to be two parallel time sequences that cause us to constantly readjust our calendars?
Well, there appears to be four kinds of time operating in the bible and the sanctuary reflects all of them.
- Day and night. As long as the earth remains this kind of time will exist.
- Solar. The length is 30 days.
- Lunar. The length is 28 days.
- Sabbath. Eternal time that intersects with the time in the old earth.
- Jubilee. A Sabbath time that appears to be a sample of eternal time.
- Eternal. When the old earth is destroyed, a new kind of time emerges.
God is the source of light and we will periodically celebrate lunar time and Sabbath.
The time is a perpetual jubilee and a perpetual lunar time in which solar day and night does not exist.
| Goat's Hair Covering (30 by 42 (44)) |
| 3 | 4 | 5 |
-o- |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| 3 | Linen Covering (28 by 40) | | | |
| 3 | 4 | 5 |
-o- |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | | | |
| 3 | Most Holy Place | | | | Holy Place | | | |
| 2 | 2 | | | | | | |
| 1 | 1 | | | | | | |
Representation of Time
The 4 cubits are 4 weeks or 4 quarters of the year.
Time of the Righteous.
The 28 cubits is 28 days.
The 40 cubits is 40 periods of time.
10 panels in groups of 5.
God's people get 2 periods to face the destruction of the curse of the covenant.
We see this in the two destruction experience of these groups.
- Israel. Destruction by Babylon and Rome.
- Church. The fall of the Papacy and Babylon.
- World. The flood and the Second Coming.
Time of the Wicked.
The 30 cubits is 30 days.
The 42 cubits is 42 periods of time.
It is shortened from a length of 44.
11 panels in groups of 6 and 5.
6 is man's time, the last 5 is God's time when they face the covenant.
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Sanctuary Time.
At the creation, God stretched a canopy over our space and within this container He created the planets
and defined day and night time with its conflicting solar and lunar scale.
In the sanctuary, God stretched two canopies over the structure, each had dimensions that reflect solar and lunar time.
- Sanctuary (52 and 32). The length was 32 cubits from the top back to the top front edge.
The length was 52 cubits from the bottom back to the bottom front. This is the number of weeks in a year
and the sanctuary represents the year of time given to sin and the plan of salvation.
- Goat's Hair Covering (44). The outer covering was composed of eleven panels joined in two groups of six and five pieces.
Each panel was 30 by 4 cubits.
The division into a set of six and five panels suggests a time fulfilled in two stages. The six belongs to humans and the five belongs to God
Of interest is the fact that the sixth panel was folded in half so that the total exposed length of the eleven Goat's hair panel was 42 cubits!.
From this we get an idea that solar time is human time. In fact, the lunar time has to be constantly adjusted to keep our calendars synchronized with solar time.
But from the images of the sanctuary, the Goat represents Satan and the number 42 represents time given to accomplish a task on earth that is associated with the reign of evil.
Folded Over Double. There is one other interesting observation. Is the eleventh panel folded over the tenth or is it folded in half over itself?
If so, we have two different total lengths.
- 42 cubits. This is the length when it is folded in half.
- 43 cubits. This is the length when the eleventh panel is folded in half two times.
Again these ratios fit another time prophecy ratio. In the prophecies of Daniel 12, the 1290 day prophecy is 43 months and the 1260 day prophecy is 42 months.
The 1290 days is also a period of domination for the evil forces.
- Linen Covering (40).
The inner covering was composed of ten panels joined in two groups of five pieces.
Each panel was 28 by 4 cubits.
The division into five panels suggests a covenant time fulfilled in two stages.
Lunar time is God's time. We will spend each Sabbath and each new moon with God.
- Fifty Clasps. Fifty clasps were used to join each group of panels directly over the separation between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place.
They represent the 49 Sabbaths plus the Jubilee Sabbath that occurs in the fiftieth year.
- Red Lamb's Skin. The dimensions were not given.
- Leather Porpoise. The dimensions of the outer covering were not given. This is because it served as a protection from the weather and
the specific dimensions could not be stated because God did not want any confusion as to their possible symbolic meaning.
By simple calculation, we know what it might have been, 52 by 30 cubits so that it is draped over the sanctuary.
The fact that one covering overlaps the other covering, demonstrates the overlapping nature of the solar and lunar time.
When the difference of both is compared, we see that solar time is two units longer than lunar time.
2/30 is equal to 1/15 which is 6.66%.
Again, we find the mysterious number 666.
Solar time is 6.66% greater than lunar time.
The Separation in the Curtain.
What does the separation between the two sets of curtains represent?
There are at least two possibilities.
- Second Coming of Christ. The time we physically cross from earth to heaven. Since there is only one thousand years of human time after this, the allocation of time does not fit this view.
- Death of Christ. The time God made the Most Holy Place open. This was symbolized by the tearing of the veil that separated both rooms.
Therefore the time cycle in the curtains illustrate this.
- Old Covenant. The curtain from the outer court to the division represents the time given to the Jews.
The extra piece in the goat's hair curtain probably represents the time from the flood until Abraham.
- New Covenant. The curtain from the division represents the time given to the Christian church.
| 11 Goat's Hair Curtains (44 cubits) | 4400 years |
| 10 Linen Curtains (40 cubits) | 4000 years |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
 |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | - |
| New Covenant | Old Covenant | Outer Court |
| Christians | Jews | Flood | World |
| Fall Feasts | Spring Feasts | Sin reigned |
| 2000 years | 2000 years | 400 | 1600 |
The world, Jews and Christians each got about 2000 years.
The forty four periods of time are from the Noah to the end of time.
The forty periods of time are from Abraham to the end of time.
The forty two periods of time are from Babel to the end of time.
Each panel represents about 400 years.
Sin. Law of the eyes. People followed their hearts.
Jews. One nation taught by the Law on stones.
Christians. Taught by the Holy Spirit. Law on the heart.
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The Christian church has lasted about the same length of time as the call to the Jews. Each gets a double set of five cycles of curses. One for each layer of curtain.
Time No Longer.
Revelation says that there will be "time no longer" during the sounding of the seventh trumpet.
This corresponds with the period known as the "time of the end" which involves God's
movement to the Most Holy place.
Notice that the arrangement of curtains over the most Holy place was equal. Five panels for each set of covering.
Does this represent the fact that the prophetic solar and lunar time have converged?
Time Cycles in History
God defines His activities in terms of the lunar time (multiples of seven and the jubilee).
He defines the activities of the people on earth in terms of solar time.
The prophetic designation called "time" is a 360 year period.
God takes actions for His temple in 490 year cycles.
The activity of powers who challenge the people of God occurs in 360 year cycles.
Coincidentally, the two cycles converged in 1798 with the wounding of the papacy at the end of seven times.
The times of the Gentiles ended at exactly 66 jubilees.
The emergence of the Messiah appears in the Jubilee cycle.
The birth of the man who would be Messiah, who would conquer all Gentile kingdoms
happened after two times.
The Covenant And The Temple Periods: The 490 Year Cycles
The Exodus marked the beginning of years for the Israelites and the start of the Jubilee cycle.
This outline is meant to show the pattern of events that occurred close to each cycle of 490 years (ten jubilees).
All are about 490 years apart, except for the second period which has about 65 extra years.
The time of the kings cannot be dated accurately.
Historical records indicate that the year 27/28 and 408/407 were probably sabbathical years.
So 34 AD is another sabbathical year. It is appropriate that a new beginning started this year.
If these dates are correct, then the exodus occurred in 1500 BC.
490 Years | Jubilees | Date | Temple | Event |
| 0 | 0 | 1502 BC? | Portable Temple | Exodus. Jubilee counting begins. Portable temple used. |
| 1 | 10 | 1012 BC? | First Temple | Solomon's temple is dedicated exactly 490 years after the exodus. |
| 2 | 20 | 457 BC | Second Temple
 | Third decree by Artaxerxes starts the 490 year prophecy of Daniel. New temple construction begun. |
| 3 | 30 | 34 AD | Stephen stoned - ends the 490 year prophecy of Daniel. The second temple is destroyed in 70 AD. The Messiah temple is destroyed in 31 AD and rejected in 34 AD |
| 4 | 40 | 524 AD | Heavenly Temple | Church starts ruling states |
| 5 | 50 | 1014 AD | Great church persecutions |
| 6 | 60 | 1504 AD | Reformation begins rest from false doctrines |
| 7 | 66 | 1798 AD | Pope imprisoned at about 66 jubilees |
| 70 | 1994 AD | The United States takes its place as the final world empire |
Between the third and the fourth time period God came looking for His fruit as specified by the law. This is the time Christ appeared.
The Times Of The Gentiles: The 360 Year Cycles
The prophetic times of the gentiles are calculated as solar months.
The times of the Gentiles begins with the apostasy of Israel and the rejection by God according to the terms of the curse in Leviticus 26.
After this time the Gentiles trampled on the sanctuary and the people.
| 360 Years | Modern Time | Kingdom | Duration | Curse |
| 0 | 0 | 721 BC | Assyria | 1 time | Sudden terror and fear |
| 1 | 360 | 361 BC | Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece | 2 ½ times | Wild Animals |
| 2 | 720 | 1 BC | Pagan Rome | Captured by enemies |
| 3 | 1080 | 359 AD |
| 3 ½ | 1260 | 539 AD | Papal Rome | 3 ½ times | Sword, disease |
| 4 | 1440 | 719 AD |
| 5 | 1800 | 1079 AD |
| 6 | 2160 | 1439 AD |
| 7 | 2520 | 1799 AD | French Revolution | False church destroyed |
| 8 | + 45 | 1844 AD | God takes His kingdom | 3 ½ times? | 1844, God judges the righteous favorably |
| 10½ | - | Millennium | Blessings |
| Wicked Judged | Second Resurrection. Satan is released for a short time. |
A time in prophecy is equivalent to 360 years.
When Leviticus 26 says that the church would be punished seven times, we can see seven empires and ideas
that challenged God and we can also see that this lasted seven prophetic times or 2520 years.
Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Pagan Rome, Papal Rome and the communist ideas born in the French Revolution
are seven kingdoms that conquered the church of God.
Interestingly, the papacy lasted for half of this period. Exactly three and a half times.
This 1260 year time period is the subject of many prophecies.
After this time of punishment was over, God would act and He would be challenged by the
last power, Babylon the Great.
According to Daniel 12, those who wait 45 years after they have finished shattering the power of the holy people will be blessed.
Daniel 2 and 7 support the idea that Christ takes formal and legal possession of the kingdom before He comes back to the world.
This chart supports the idea that the rival gentile kingdoms will rule for seven times before God takes possession.
Practically, this rule of God is not recognized on earth by the powers.
So we find the wounded power regaining control and making alliances with the whole world to defeat God.
At the end, Satan openly joins in the struggle.
It is not a coincidence that the millennium plus the amount of time that has elapsed since the 1798
is about 3 ½ times.
The Overlapping Time Cycles
Just as the two coverings that symbolized time overlapped in the sanctuary, let us see how history and the actions of God overlap in time.
| Sanctuary | Outer Court | Holy Place |  | Most Holy |
| Millennium | 3500 years | - | - | - | - | - | 4000 | 4200 | - | 5000 | - | 6000 | - |
| Dates | 1500 BC | 1012 | 721 BC | 605 | 539 | 457 | 361 | 197BC | 1BC | 34AD | 70 | 539 | 750 | 1079 | 1439 | 1798 | 1844 |
| History | Exodus | Israel | Assyria | Babylon | Persia | Greece | Rome | Papal Rome | 1798 | No time remains Sanctuary Restored |
| 360 Years | No Gentiles in Israel | Time of the Gentiles (Seven Times or 2520 years). |
| 1 time | 1 time | 1 ½ times | 3 ½ times |
| 490 Years | 10 Jubilees | 10 Jubilees | 20 Jubilees | 26 Jubilees | 1798 | Gospel Preached |
Covenant History | Covenant Given  | The Covenant is broken The Curse is applied | God keeps covenant | The New Covenant |
Covenant People | Israel | 10 tribes | Judah (Last 2 tribes rebel) The final Curse is applied | Christ  | Christians called | Remnant Judged |
| Obeys | Rebellion | Obedience | Rebellion | Faithful |
| Temple | Mishkan | First Temple | Second Temple | Heavenly temple | Cleansed |
| Some placements and dates are approximate |
2520 Years
| 721 BC | 605 | 539 | 457 | 361 | 197 BC | 1 BC |  | 34 AD | 70 | 539 | 750 | 1079 | 1439 | 1798 | 1844 | 1981 |
| Assyria | Babylon | Medo-Persia | Greece | Rome | Papal Rome | Curse ends
Papacy Falls | Sanctuary Restored
No time remains | Babylon the Great |
40 jubilees of Roman occupation | 4 Jubilees | 36 Jubilees |
| Time of the Gentiles (Seven Times or 2520 years). |
| Jews Conquered (3½ Times) | Christians Conquered |
| 1 time | 1 time | 1 ½ times | 3 ½ times |
| 2520 years of curses | 2300 years remain | 1260 years remain |
490 years remain for the Jews |  | 1810 years remain for the Gentiles | Remnant |
| Assyria | Babylon | Babylon lost power for Seven Times or 2520 years. It returns as Babylon the Great | Babylon |
2520 is (12 x 7 x 3 x 10). This is total people, total time, punishment time and total from God.
The 2520 years times of the Gentiles can be counted several ways.
- Seven Times (7 x 360). The duration of the curse when the sanctuary and the people would be trampled.
- 50 Jubilees and 70 Years (2450 + 70). 70 Years taken for the punishment of Israel in Babylonian captivity. 2450 years or 50 jubilees until God takes over.
Both time cycles converged in 1798. Seven times and 66 jubilees had been completed.
Just as there was a distinct division between the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, there appears to be
a clear distinction in time between the separation of the acts of God.
Millennial Week
Assuming that the earth will last for seven thousand years, these are the events that occurred during the millennial week.
The error is about 200 years. This is based on the chronology that I developed.
It differs from Ussher's chronology by about 215 years.
- 1700. Flood occurred after a quarter of the 7000 years. The world suffers the curse.
- 3500. Assyria invades the Northern kingdom in the middle of the 7000 year period. Israel suffers the final curse.
- 4000. Maccabean revolt. Rome takes over until the end of time.
- 4200. Christ appears. Sin has had 42 periods. Israel suffers the final curse for the second time and is rejected.
- 5000. Pope declares temporal power and approves idol worship. He breaks the covenant by idolatry and a formal challenge of God.
- 6000. Man's time is over after six millennia. Most Holy Place time after 1798.
- 7000. Satan is confined for 1000 years. Then the wicked suffer the final curse.
The millennial week can also be seen as a parallel to the days of creation.
During this time of the undoing of creation, the primordial abyss and the dragon who lives there slowly retakes possession of the earth until he is trapped in the abyss on the millennial Sabbath.
During this week God makes a way for His possession to escape the abyss.
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 (Millennium) |
| Creation | Dark | Light | Heaven, earth | Trees | Sun, moon | Fish, birds | Beasts | Man finished | Sabbath |
| Abyss | Night, day | Sea removed | Seed given | More light | Animals created | Man created | Rest given |
Abyss Returns | Darkness | Sea returns | Gentiles | Dragon | Beast rules sheep | Beast Killed | Dragon in the Abyss |
Salvation comes | Sin | Flood | Abraham | Jesus | Dove (Holy Spirit) | Glorification | Saints in Heaven |
- 360 Years (Time of the Gentiles).
They received exactly seven times from the time of the Assyrian invasion to the end of the papacy.
- 490 Years (Covenant Time).
This is the history of the covenant, the rebellion of the covenant people, God keeping his promises in the covenant and the judgment.
Long Prophetic Time Periods
Some time periods are discovered in prophecy.
Others are part of a covenant agreement.
Some are discovered by analyzing both after comparing history to the covenant periods of forty and forty two and Sabbaths.
| Time | Source | Text | Duration | Comment |
| 1000 | Prophecy | Revelation 20: 3 | Second to Third Coming | Millennium of rest |
| 6000 | Covenant | Leviticus 26: 34-35 | Sin to Second Coming | Analysis of the covenant in Leviticus 26 with Revelation 16 and 20. If the millennium period is part of the final curse, then the earth must have broken the Sabbaths for six thousand years. |
| 2520 | Prophecy | Daniel 4: 16 | 539 BC-1981 | A prophecy with a dual fulfillment. In the long fulfillment, it is the same maximum time given to evil governments. It is the second of two prophecies given to Babylon, not to Israel. |
| 2520 | Prophecy | Luke 21: 24 | 721 BC-1844 | Times of the Gentiles. We assume that it might be seven times because of the historical events. |
| 2300 | Prophecy | Daniel 8: 13-14 | 457 BC-1844 | This may have been the remaining time from the time given to the Gentiles. This prophecy is special because its major events can be traced as the prophecy proceeded. |
| 490 | Prophecy | Daniel 9: 24-25 | 457-34 AD | The Messiah comes |
Read about Salvation Algebra.
Summary
| Number | Meaning | Example |
| 1 | God, unity | God is one |
| 3 | The length of time God is on trial or tested | See also, 40, 42, 5. Jesus in the bowels |
| 3½ | Judgment. The length of time the wicked is on trial or tested | Years of drought |
| 4 | God's people's time | X 10 |
| 5 | Judgment. The number of times we are tested | Curses |
| 6 | Man's total time | 666 |
| 7 | God's time | Sabbath |
| 8 | 7 + 1. The beginning of a new cycle of seven | Eighth day. Day of circumcision |
| 10 | Complete righteousness | Commandments. 7 x 10 (Age) |
| 12 | People of God | 12 tribes and 12 disciples |
| 24 | People of God in heaven | 24 Elders |
| 40 | The length of time for the righteous to be tested | See 3 and 42. Noah, Moses, Israel |
| 42 | The length of time for the wicked to be tested | See 3, 3½ and 40. |
| 49 | God's time | Sabbath of Sabbaths |
| 50 | 49 + 1. The beginning of a new cycle of 49 (7 x 7) | Jubilee, Pentecost |
| 52 | 40 + 12. and 4 x 13. | Weeks in a year |
| X10 | Total time given to a person | 40, 70 |
| X100 | Total time given to a nation | 490 |
| X1000 | Eternal time | 1000 (millennium) |
| Squared | Freedom for the people of God. (Time and place) | Jubilee, 144,000 |
| Cubed | Heaven (Permanent place for people who are free) | Cubed city of the New Jerusalem |
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Study to show yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.
2 Timothy 2: 15
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Time: 60 minutes Print: 11 pages |
Copyright . September 2003.
Updated : January 10, 2004. February, September 2008
Credits: The Holy Spirit. Algebra (20 September 2008)
Author: Laverna Patterson Editor: Patterson (February 2008)
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