The Bible’s Anti-Christ Equation
Not long ago an email was sent to me from a brother on my Facebook Biblical Astronomy Group page regarding an application of Prophetic Bible numbers. While reviewing these numbers, it came to mind that one common thread in God’s Word tied these three numbers together was the Beast, or Anti-Christ. This study pertains to an equation that rises from these 3 numbers, and the time periods of Biblical Prophecy linking them. A deeper look revealed a numerical basis for these 3 numbers was evident not only in the Bible but also in secular mathematics, called the sexagesimal, or Base 60 number systems.
Any numerical sequences revealing aspects of the Anti-Christ must be understood in light of how this evil spirit, opposes the true and genuine Lord and Christ, the anointed Savior sent by the Heavenly Father, especially in these last times, as the Scriptures tell us in 1 John 2.
1 John 2:18
18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
The enemy has stood against Christ even before his arrival, as Satan rebelled against God’s purposes ever since his unsuccessful coup in heaven. The enemy also knew of prophecies concerning the birth of Christ, with numerous unsuccessful attempts made to wipe out his bloodline. Thus we can see how the spirit of anti-Christ is not only embodied in one person in the end-times, but also includes any general opposition to Jesus Christ. It is logical to expect the number of the Beast, to turn up in various forms, like time periods related to the Beast, seen many times in Old Testament forerunners of the Beast.
Historically sexagesimal numbers have been most evident in ancient cultures like Sumeria, Babylon and Egypt, because 60 is the smallest integer divisible by all digits 1-6. The utility of Base 60 numbers has survived into modern times with temporal and geometric measures with 60 seconds per minute, 60 minutes per hour/degree, and 360 degrees [6 x 60] in a circle, all traceable to this ancient Babylonian system. For similar reasons, 12 (with factors of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6) also remains popular historically, (12 months, 12 inches, 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 pence, 2 x 12 hours, 144, etc).
One of the numbers we will trace related to its Base 60 origin is the number 666, which we will view both from its Biblical roots, along with its astrological history. Regrettably, the Babylonians were also the primary developers of astrology, and its foundations practiced in modern times. The Zodiac is a narrow band about 18 degrees wide completing its circuit of the sky. A pagan symbol of the zodiac was a serpent swallowing its tail ostensibly representing eternal life. This also relates to the lunar nodes–two points where the Moon crosses the ecliptic monthly, determining solar and lunar eclipses. These lunar nodes were anciently conceived as the head and tail of a dragon, swallowing the Moon or Sun on its tail. The axis of lunar nodes retrogrades around the ecliptic in 18.618 years. As the Sun meets a lunar node once every 173.3 days, it completes an eclipse year of 346.62 days or [11.738 full moons] every second crossing. Since the eclipse year is 18.618 x 18.618 days, the Saros can also be understood as 19 x 18.618 x 18.618 days to [99.99%] accuracy. 1 This not only reveals the numerical basis of the marriage of luni-solar cycles numerically [Gen. 37:9-10], but also shows us the influence of the phi ratio in these cycles since 19 eclipse years divided by 11.738 full moons= 1.618, or phi accurate to 4 digits! Thus we can see the the Hand of the Almighty working in the design of the celestial cycles, since there is no way the Phi Ratio could be seen in the numeric and geometrical Intelligent Design of the Cosmos by accident! Astrology teaches a fatalist dogma that people’s future was determined by the position of the stars at birth. The chief idols of the Zodiac were these 7 fatalistic planets winding their way through the 36 rooms of the Zodiac. In Astrology the 7 planets moving through the band of the zodiac, represented the 7-headed serpent, (Rev. 12:3). The Zodiacal band was divided into 12 houses, one for each month of the year, with each of the 12 houses divided into three rooms, producing 36 decans of ten degrees in the 360 degrees of the Zodiac circle. Thus the Zodiac was seen as the origin of a sacred temporal order, a Heavenly Clock to measure time.
Six hundred sixty six is the well known number of the “beast” in the book of Revelation, and also the first number in our “Anti-Christ Equation.” Six is the number of man, or human/secular perfection, “and 666 is a concentrated expression of this-the trinity of human pride independent of God, in opposition to His Christ, culminating in the Anti-Christ.”2 As the trinity of man’s number, it is the essence of 6 being the sum of all numbers making up its square=36 [6×6], also the sum of all digits from 1-36=666. 3
In this study our main focus is on the Scriptures and history regarding the trials of Jerusalem and how historical figures like Nebuchadnezzar, Titus and Antiochus IV, have conquered the holy city, since the Bible’s Anti-Christ Equation reveals a key link to prophecies related to the Gentiles treading Jerusalem under foot. For example we find that Jerusalem was trodden down by the Roman Empire exactly 666 years, from the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, unto the Saracen conquest in 636. 4 There is also a 666 year cycle covering the period of the captivity of Jerusalem by Babylon in 597 BC, to its destruction by the Romans in 70 AD. Thus we can see at least two 666 year periods linked to the Gentiles treading Jerusalem under-foot. These two captivity periods also agree with the four beast kingdoms of Daniel’s vision, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome.
Revelation 13:18
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number {is} Six hundred threescore {and}six.
This verse views the Anti-Christ in numerical terms, providing a Biblical basis for this study. As a key number we will consider in this study, 666 reveals central traits of the Anti-Christ. He is symbolically called a “beast,” in reference to a king or the Kingdom of the beast. The Greek word for “beast” is therion: a wild beast. The Hebrew word is חיוה cheva, used symbolically in Daniel in a negative sense. 5 We find an example of this from Daniel where the four beasts of Daniel’s prophecy are also kings.
Daniel 7:17
These great beasts, which are four, {are} four kings, {which} shall arise out of the earth.
Another example of the beast as a kingdom is seen later in Daniel 7:
Daniel 7:23-25
Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom {are} ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings. 25 And he shall speak {great} words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
This image in Nebuchadnazzer’s dream, representing the beasts of these kingdoms according to Dan. 3:1, was 60 cubits high, 6 cubits broad, and was worshiped when music was heard from 6 specific instruments [666]. 6
Daniel’s prophecy indicated that following Babylon’s Lion and Persia’s bear, the next empire after the winged leopard of Alexander the Great and Greece, was the Roman Empire, as seen in the iron legs of the image. According to Daniel, the feet of the image would be “divided” in two, one part iron and the other clay. What is interesting is that the Hebrew word for “divided” above in [Dan. 7:25] “time and times and the dividing of time,” [Palag=dividing,] 7 is the same root word used for “dividing” the 4th Beast kingdom in the feet of the image in Nebuchadnazzer’s dream; mixed of iron and clay, [Dan 2:41]. Since the 4th beast in this dream is prophesied for the last days, we can glimpse the timing of the “dividing” of times and kingdoms, [Daniel 10:14]. The dividing of time also implies God’s original temporal order where the scriptural basis is seen in Genesis 1.
Gen. 1:14-18
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
As we consider the details of the Heavenly Father’s temporal order, we find the two great lights of the Sun and Moon, in their solar and lunar cycles ruling over and dividing the day and night. We note that He made the Stars also, which we know in astronomy as sidereal cycles. A Sidereal Month for example, is the time it takes the Moon to move around the sky with respect to the stars. The mean lunar sidereal month is 27.3 days. The Sidereal year of 365.25636 days is widely used by astronomers. In this foundation of the Creator’s temporal order we find the Almighty laying the basis of time-keeping with Solar, Lunar and Star [sidereal] cycles.
As we view the elements of the Bible’s “Anti-Christ equation,” we need to take our pointers from God’s Word to ensure we are on solid biblical footing to proceed in this study. The equation in reference to the title of this blog post came to my attention from my friend Michael Hearns, who is part of my Facebook Group–the Biblical Astronomy Fellowship. The equation has three basic numerical elements including the number of the beast, along with two Bible numbers from the books of Daniel and Revelation. Thus with 666, we also include the numbers, 1260 and 2300. We find these three numbers at the base of the Eclipse cycle of 18 years and 11 days, called a Saros, each holding about 70 eclipses. Of these 70 eclipses about 42 are solar and 28 are lunar on average. 8 For example, the 1260 year period breaks down into two shorter spans based on the 18 year eclipse cycle. In our study of the eclipse cycle related to the 1260 year period, lunar cycle measures conform to the 666 pattern, as 66 lunar cycles +6 years. (60 cycles + 6 cycles + 6 years). A principle in these periods of Biblical Prophecy related to the luni-solar cycles is that the longer the cycle, the more error is eliminated from the Saros. This pattern is established as seen in De Cheseaux’s cycle of 315 years, which is 1/4 of the 1260 yr. Biblical cycle, (Dan. 8:14; 12:7; Rev. 12:6, 14), 10 times more accurate than the 19-year Metonic cycle. The Saros eliminates most of it’s remainder in the longer 2,300 year Biblical cycle. Every 1260 years the Sun and Moon return, within less than 1/2 a degree, to the same point of the ecliptic precisely, within an hour of each other. If we subtract 1260 from 2300 we get 1040 which is a long-awaited solar-lunar cycle harmonizing all three measurements: the Year, Month and Day “with a nearly imperceptible error” (of .11 of a day). 9
The breakdown of the 1260 year period pairs the number of the beast as a multiple of the 18 year eclipse [Saros] cycle; since 1260 years is 18, 70-year eclipse cycles [6 + 6 + 6 such cycles] as seen below.
18 x 37 = 666 years, added to
18 x 33 = 594 years
————————-
18 x 70 = 1260 years
totaling = 70 Saros cycles. 10
Putting this into perspective, I think it fitting that we quote from the Witness of the Stars, by E.W Bullinger, in his discussion of the Saros: Bullinger shows the periods of Jerusalem under the Gentiles in two 1260 years cycles, totaling 2520 years. 11 He depicts the domain of Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece as 594 years, and the Roman Empire’s dominion of Jerusalem at 666 years; totaling 1260 years. Both of these periods are calculated in eclipse cycles. The second 1260 year period consists to the Mohammedan conquest of Jerusalem that began in 636-37 AD. 12
“Saros cycles breakdown into two cycles, one of 666 years and the other of 594 years totaling 1260 years. We know that 1260 years is a soli-lunar cycle, so exact that its epact or remainder is only 6 hours. Bullinger stresses not only these aspects of the 1260 year period but also its double-2520 years. 13 Bullinger believed that these 1260 year periods would foreshadow 1260 day periods in the end-times, when the final Abomination of Desolation was to be fulfilled, before and during the Great Tribulation. [2 Thess. 2:1-3].
As we include the conversion rate of Solar and Lunar cycles with the calendar year according to these cycles seen in Biblical Prophecy, from Daniel and Revelation, we gain a panoramic view of Biblical history and an incisive view of end-times prophecy, related to the activities of the Anti-Christ and his final desolation of the Temple at Jerusalem. This view is afforded us in the numbers of the Bible’s Anti-Christ Equation.
In this equation we take the initial product of; the number of the beast times 1260 days:
1260 days x 666=839,160 days
The second part divides the product of the first part by 2300 days:
839,160 days/2300 days=364.852.17 days
This product of 364.852.17 days is a fraction short of a Sidereal year of 365.256 days, the time it takes the Earth to fully revolve around the Sun, in its position against the stars. The key to the fractional difference between 364.852.17 days and the sidereal year of 365.256 days is amazingly found in a combination of time periods stated in Rev. 9:15, also relating to the Anti-Christ. 14
Rev. 9:12-15
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter. 13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
Concerning these 4 time periods, from the [J-F-B Commentary] quote on this verse, we should look more to the listed time periods as opposed to the sum total of these periods; “for an hour, and a day, and a month, and year rather as Greek, “for (against) THE hour, and day, and month, and year,” namely, appointed by God. The Greek article (teen), put once only before all the periods, implies that the hour in the day, and the day in the month, and the month in the year, and the year itself, had been definitely fixed by God. The article would have been omitted had a sum-total of periods been specified, namely, three hundred ninety-one years and one month.” [391 years] [Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary] 15
The temporal periods seen here are not only fixed by God, where these angels of the 6th trumpet are linked to a 200 million man army; appointed in the future, where they will destroy a third of earth’s population as punishment for their evil actions, [Rev. 9:20]. If these periods are viewed in a symbolic biblical sense, an hour, is the twenty fourth part of a day or year, a day is a year, and a month is thirty years, and a year is three hundred sixty five years and a quarter, or ninety one days; in all, 391 years, viewed in total. These periods added like this may not appear logical until we consider these cycles in their luni-solar context, in light of how the Creator set them in their courses in His Temporal order. This is a key aspect of the Mystery of the prophetic numbers we are considering. In his studies of the Temple and Tabernacle, Hearne also found biblical units of talent and shekel measures matching luni-solar cycles, [Ex. 38:24–29]. One number was the equivalent of the lunar month, a second equaled two solar years of 365 + 365 days, and a third was the equaled 5 lunar years, which implies a year-month-day cycle. In this light, there is an interesting relation to a total time period of 706 years as the sum 391 (Rev. 9:15-Hour, Day, Mo. & Year) and 315 (1/4 of 1260). No other cycle shorter than 1040 years so nearly approaches being a year-month-day cycle except only the cycle of 706 years whose greatest error is .10 of a day. 16
391 + 315=706
This hyper-accurate year-month-day cycle is made up of 3 of the 4 time periods listed in Rev. 9:15, harmonized to the luni-solar cycle. These four time periods of verse 15 listed in decreasing order, break down in the Anti-Christ equation as follows:
364.852.17 days
+ 1 Year 365.242– Solar year
+ 1 Solar Month 30.43
+ 1 Week 7 [the week is the only period omitted in this verse, but where it comes up in other verses related to the Anti-Christ tells the story.]
+ 1 Day 1
+ 1 Hour 0.04
Total 365.255.88 or a nano-error of .12 of one day short of a Sidereal year = 365.256 days. 17
This total when rounded up to the nearest sidereal cycle of 365,256 days, amazingly bridges the gap to make up one sidereal year, with the primary calendar time periods of one year, one month, [a week,] one day and one hour. Furthermore, all of these periods were listed in the [Rev. 9:14-15] with four of these periods appearing in the same sentence. But the period of one week was cited separately in the context of 3 ½ years/42 months, which was listed twice in [Rev. 11:1-3] in reference to the two witnesses who will also preach for 1260 days. 18 Viewing the context we not only see that 42 months=1260 days, in bible time measures, but also when John is told to measure the temple, altar and worshipers, he is told to omit the measures of the outer court, which are given to the Gentiles who tread it underfoot 42 months. Here we have another key measure linked to the Temple in God’s Word, related to this equation. “The period of 2,300 days also includes the Tabernacle, and its surface areas of the tent and outer fence according to Hearne, measured 2,300 square cubits.”19 This matched the time period the Temple Sanctuary was trodden underfoot with the square cubits of the Tabernacle Sanctuary, the predecessor of the Temple.
The product figure of our equation [364.85217] is a fraction short of a star [sidereal] year of 365.256 days. This is an ideal Solar year against the Stars both giving light upon the earth. It is the Sun of Righteousness [Mal. 4:2] with the stars reflecting their light in the world. Another way to view this problem is via the lens of geometry. A geometric view of the Anti-Christ is a facsimile of the anointed Christ-minus a fraction. The power of a counterfeit lies in its closeness in appearance to the original. We must be experts in the field to be able to differentiate between the two, [2 Thess. 2:11-12]. As the Sun of God in the 19th Psalm declares the glory of God the Father, moving along the path of the ecliptic, it takes a Solar year to complete its celestial circuit. If we fail to discern the different prophetic time periods in light of Luni–Solar cycles, we miss a major category of truth the Creator has included in His celestial revelation, while opening ourselves to the deception of a strong delusion.
The geometric view of the Anti-Christ is a very close copy of the original–minus a fraction, also fits the measure of what is known geometrically as a gnomon. The gnomon is something fragmentary, diminished from its completed shape. The gnomic growth of the Nautilus shell [https://www.geogebra.org/m/waR6eVCQ] is a classic example of the way teeth, bones and DNA develop in the human body, based on the additive Fibonacci number series. The Phi ratio is also an example of number patterns that dictate growth and progression in Nature.
Christ is called the Capstone or Chief Corner Stone of the Great Pyramid, or the Pyramidion, a model of the Great Pyramid in miniature, resting a top the Pyramid’s apex, completing its full structure. The dimensions of the Pyramidion determine the measurements of the full Pyramid. As individual believers, the faithful make personal pilgrimages in life to the High Priest-the headstone, in whom we gain access to the joyous freedom in fellowship and atonement with God the Heavenly Father, via the High Priest Jesus Christ. This is the Pyramid’s witness, embodied, culminating and represented in Jesus Christ as the Chief Cornerstone. This is witnessed in the Great Pyramid’s structure, in both its descending and ascending passages that terminate at the Pyramid’s central apex line, prophesying of its missing capstone at the summit. [Figure A.]
We should be mindful that Capstones of the grandest Egyptian Pyramids were gold plated to represent the Sun. If the designers of the Great Pyramid, whose dimensions embody the planet Earth on a 1 to 43,200 scale, deliberately omitted the missing cap-stone, then this omission would symbolize our planet in darkness, until the missing light of the world and Sun of God returns, [Mal. 4:2]. Why is the capstone still missing today? Jesus answers this in the gospel of Matthew.
Figure A. Missing Capstone of the Great Pyramid
Matt. 21:42-44
42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes. 43 Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. 44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.
Thus the symbolism of The Great Pyramid, the last remaining of the original Seven Wonders of the World, still echoes the message of its Biblical prophesy in Isaiah [19:19-21] that; “He shall send them a Savior, and a great one, and he shall deliver them. 21 And the Lord shall be known to Egypt…” The meek ones who embrace the Lord are rewarded in his kingdom, but those rejecting him get the strong delusion in the kingdom of the beast the [anti-Christ], seen in Rev. 17.
Rev 17:9-14
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sits. 10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he comes, he must continue a short space. 11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goes into perdition. 12 And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. 13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. 14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. [17 and’s]
Verse 12 links the “power of these 10 kings” in their one hour with the beast. This hour is part of the first part of the solution of the Bible’s Anti-Christ equation in Rev. 9:15, as one of four time periods; “hour, day, month and year.”
As we detailed above, the ancient Babylonian Base 60 number system has survived into modern use, as the system we use for timekeeping because it allows the accurate calculation of many more fractions than our Base 10 system. The application of these trigonometric principles is found in the 3700-year old Plimpton 322 tablet, as the oldest and most accurate tablet of trigonometry in history, working the precepts of the Pythagorean theorem over 1000 years before Pythagoras. Otto Neugebauer argues, each line of the tablet can be generated by a pair of regular numbers, integer divisors of a power of 60. “This property of p and q being regular, leads to a denominator that is regular, and therefore to a finite sexagesimal fraction in the first column.” 20 These columns can also be seen as numbers in the sides of a series of right triangles including the 3-4-5 triangle.
Figure B. The 3-4-5 triangle in the Great Pyramid’s King Chamber
Its origin goes back to Abraham who was well versed in the ancient astronomy of Babylon, having taught its principles in his native Ur of the Chaldees, and later in ancient Egypt. This knowledge would have been accessible to Daniel later in Babylon, who taught the Magi. This provided the ancients all they needed to calculate complex equations of trigonometry through the first Century, as we find in this equation. Below we see where the prophet John is told to omit the measures of the outer court, which are given to the Gentiles who tread it underfoot 42 months.
Revelation 11:1, 2
1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. 2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty {and} two months. 3 And I will give {power} unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred {and} threescore days, [1260] clothed in sackcloth.
The Anti-Christ is here first linked with the Gentile Dominion of Jerusalem, second the number 42 [Rev. 11:2, 13:5]. He also called the “man of the earth,” [Ps. 10:1, 18]. As both numbers along with 1260; [30 x 42] are factors of 6 and 7, depicting a link between “7“-Christ and the “6“-Anti-Christ. Thus 42 is a key to working out of man’s opposition to God. 21
In reference to the period of a “week” from Dan. 9:24-27; Bullinger states; “This “one week” must be future, since the Messiah was “cut off,” [when he sacrificed himself], no prince has come and made a covenant with the Jews in “the midst of the week” causing “the sacrifice and oblation to cease.” This is specifically stated to be the work of a “Prince that shall come” [Dan. 8:11], where it is done by the “little horn” [Dan. 11:31, 12:11], and is the work of the “vile person,” [different names for the same person],” not the Messiah. 22
Both of these princes; Christ and the Anti-Christ divide this “week,” Christ when he became the perfect sacrifice for all mankind, Wednesday in the middle of Passover week in 28 AD, and the Anti-Christ when he removes the Temple sacrifices in the future Jerusalem Temple. The “week” Jesus Christ divided was of seven days, while the “week” of the Anti-Christ is one of seven years. The Biblical precedent for these various “weeks” is found in Genesis 29.
Genesis 29:20-30
20 And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her. 21 And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. 22 And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast. 23 And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her. 24 And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid for an handmaid. 25 And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me? 26 And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. 27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. 28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also. 29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid. 30 And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.
The words for “seven” [H7651] and “week” [H7620] come from the same Hebrew root word [H7650], “to complete or swear with an oath. It is apparent that the word is related to [H7651] sheba, or shibah-seven as this number was sacred. Oaths and contracts were confirmed by seven sacrifices [Gen. 21:28ff], or seven witnesses/pledges.” 23 According to [1 Sam. 20:17], Shaba refers to human pacts confirmed by an oath. This is what we find here between Laban and Jacob. We also see references to the feast of [seven] weeks- Pentecost [Ex. 34:22, Deut. 16:9-16] counted from Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread as a week of seven days. The 7-day Feast of Unleavened Bread always included a Sabbath, after which the first day began the counting of 7 weeks [49 days] towards Pentecost, the 50th day, [Levi. 23:15-22]. This is the same system of counting years providing the basis for Sabbatical years and the Jubilee. 24 Which application of “seven” [days, years, Sabbaths, Jubilees] must be determined from the context.
Jesus Christ confirmed the New Covenant based on his perfect sacrifice for mankind in the midst of Passover Week in 28 AD. But, the Anti-Christ will break a covenant confirmed by him with Israel concerning the restitution of their Temple services and sacrifices. Jesus paid the full price “blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us” [Col. 2:14], as the only man fully qualified, and willing to release humanity from this debt of our sins and bondage representing our exodus from death in the OT Law, that composed the spiritual Cross [1 Cor. 1:17-18], he bore because of his matchless love for us. Christ’s sacrifice for us opened up the first fruits of the gift of holy spirit that was manifested on the Day of Pentecost in 28 AD [I Cor. 15:20-23, Rom. 8:23], beginning of the Grace Administration-the Church Age in which we live today. Based on this ultimate act of love we can walk in the spiritual freedom of the new man-[Col. 3:10], the risen Christ in us, and enjoy our complete deliverance, sharing this “good news” gospel with all who cross our paths. With this background information, we have a Biblical basis for how these two “princes” of Daniel’s prophecies, divide the “week” of Dan. 9:24-27. Revelation 13 below depicts another aspect of how the “beast” kingdoms relate to Daniel’s end-time prophecies.
Revelation 13:1-5
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as {the feet} of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast. 4 And they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who {is} like unto the beast? Who is able to make war with him? 5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty {and} two months.
Here we see a link in Rev. 13 to Daniel’s prophecies about the “beast kingdoms” with the leopard, the bear and the Lion, who are empowered by the Dragon. His kingdoms appear with a combination of traits of Daniel’s historical “beast kingdoms,” but ruled by the anti-Christ in the Tribulation period, who is diverse from all who went before him. Here power is given to him for 42 months.
Revelation 12:6
And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred {and} threescore days. [1260 days]
Revelation 12:6 speaks of the woman being nourished 1260 days. Then in verse 14 below it refers to this woman being nourished for “a time, times and half a time.” Since this phrase is mysterious, one way to gain a better understanding of it, especially where numbers are used, is to study Bible time periods with a common basis in numbers, to see what we can learn. In the context of the anti-Christ we have noted above, the common base 60 linkage between 42 months and 1260 days, so we can see how the period of “a time, times and half a time,” fits into this context as 3.5 years, or half/dividing of this “week” of seven years. [Gen. 29:27-29]
The numbers here depict two ways to divide this “week.” If we are looking at 42 months then we have a “week” of 7 years divided in half, seen also as 1260 days. This of course applies to the Anti-Christ, but with the true Lord Jesus Christ we are referring to the Passover week of 7 days. There is however another way to view this week of years, as both E.W. Bullinger and Guinness observed that if we multiply 1260 by 2 we get 2520, the lowest common multiple of the first 10 digits; the numbers 1-10 will all divide it without remainder. As a result it is the first in the entire series of numbers, that is exactly divisible by all the first ten numerals. 25 This 2520 year period is known as the great “seven times” of prophecy, perhaps because the periods of Gentile dominion over Jerusalem and its Temple in history are “divided” into 2 spans of 1260 years, forming another kind of “week.” They also point to the future fulfillment of the various 1260 day, 42 months and a time, times and half a time periods of this week we have listed above, during the Great Tribulation. Since 1260 x 2= 2520, this totals a period 35 days short of 7 years; [2555 days]. Thus we find the basis of a key to unraveling this Gordian knot of prophecy in Daniel and Revelation.
Revelation 12:14-17
14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. 15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. 16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony [marturia; witness] of Jesus Christ.
By linking this 1 week period, [H7620] that is omitted from our equation, with the 42 months/1260 days [3.5 year period/time, times and dividing of a time] we observe how the one week relates to both “princes” below; the Beast and the Messiah, who shall confirm [make firm] the covenant with many for “one week”: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” The main record linked to the “Prince” referring to both the Messiah and the beast pertaining to a “week” is set in Daniel 9:
Daniel 9:25-27
25 Know therefore and understand, {that} from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince {will be} seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troubled times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that will come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof {will be} with a flood [military charge], and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 And he shall confirm [make firm] the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations [Shiqquts] he shall make {it} desolate, even until the consummation [completion], and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Jon Nessle explains how this relates to Daniel’s prophecy… of the prince;
“The first use of the word, prince, obviously is referring to the Messiah. However, the second cannot. How could the genuine Messiah destroy the city and sanctuary? So there have to be two different princes in this context. Just like verses 25 and 26 speak of each, verse 27 alternates between the two. Jesus, the Messiah confirmed the covenant during holy week by becoming our Passover. When he was raised from among the dead, the covenant was sealed and the restitution of all things made inevitable. In the midst of that week, on a Wednesday, the Messiah caused the sacrifice and oblation to cease. When he died, the veil of the Temple tore in two from top to bottom, making the way into the holy of holies possible without any more sacrifices or offerings, because the supreme one had occurred. The other prince was Titus the future Emperor of Rome, and his army desecrated the Temple with their abominations, so just like Antiochus IV was a type of the Anti-Christ, so also was Titus. So a first Century occurrence of Daniel’s prophecy is plausible.” 26
Here in reference to Christ, the “week” is a literal 7 days, but in the future the Anti-Christ will confirm a covenant for a “week” that is 7 years. Biblically, this word [H7620] for “week” is used in both senses among other places in [Dan. 10:2-3], it is a literal week of seven days, but with the first use of [H7620] in [Gen. 29:27-28] it is a “week” of seven years. This also provides unique Biblical confirmation that the Messiah was crucified “in the midst of the week” on Wednesday- NOT “Good Friday”!
Prophecies are mysterious, they can be fulfilled just once or alluded to many times. Prophecies coming to pass multiple times often involve different shades of meaning. Bullinger in his discussion of Gnome, the figure of speech; on quotations, mentions a critical point relating to the fulfillment of prophecy, specifically citing the Abomination of desolation
as an example. He concludes that this prophecy could apply to multiple future occasions. When a prophecy is said, therefore, to be “fulfilled,” that exhausts it. In other cases, where that final fulfillment is still future, the quotation is referred to in general terms— “as it is written.” 27 The common error related to prophecy that must be avoided is to take only a part of the prophecy that is fulfilled, while including the entire prophecy that remains open in the same category. The focus of the Bible’s Anti-Christ Equation is not only on its 3 key numbers, but also the omitted term for a “week” in [Rev. 9:15, Dan. 9:24-27], as it can mean seven days or seven years depending on which “prince” it applies to. With Christ it refers to a literal week of seven days, and in the midst of that week he was crucified, ceasing the sacrifices, becoming the once and everlasting perfect sacrifice for all mankind. But with the future Anti-Christ the “week” appears to be of 7 years during the Great Tribulation of the same period.
Daniel 8 below provides the details of the other numerical aspects of our Anti-Christ equation, being the 2300 days, relating to the time the Sanctuary was trodden under-foot by Antiochus IV in 170-64 BC, marked by a Blood Moon Tetrad. One of the traits of the beast, who is also called a “prince” is that he will magnify himself against the true anointed prince, as Daniel tells us:
Daniel 8:11-17
Yea, he magnified {himself} even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. 12 And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered. 13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? 14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; [2300] then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. 15 And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. 17 So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.
From what Dr. Bullinger taught us about prophecy, unless Scripture declares it was “fulfilled,-exhausting it,” there is still a potential for predicting similar future events. We find an example of this referenced by Jon Nessle; “The “Abomination of Desolation” refers to the pagan desecration of the Temple‘s altar. The Jewish temple has existed in two forms: Solomon’s Temple which existed until 586 BC when it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Even though the 1st Temple was destroyed, the term “Abomination” was not applied to its state of destruction. Nebuchadnezzar just destroyed the temple. He did not desecrate or pollute it. The prophecies said the Temple would be destroyed and there would also be “desolation.”28
Daniel 11:31
And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily {sacrifice}, and they shall place the abomination [Shiqquts] that maketh desolate.
After Nebuchadnezzar’s destruction of the temple, where he burnt it and Jerusalem lay desolate for 50 years, the 2nd temple was rebuilt and finished during the reign of the Persian king Darius. Nessle affirms “the prophecy in Dan. 11, was a reference to Antiochus Epiphanes, now past; but this neither fulfilled nor exhausted the prophecy; that waits for the yet future revelation of one who will fill it full: Each is true as part of the general fulfillment; but neither contains the whole truth embodied in the fullness of the prophetic record.”29 This is also the case with the 70 AD destruction of the Temple by prince Titus, the future Roman Emperor. As Rev. Nessle summarizes it:
“Thus Antiochus became a type for the Anti-Christ in the 1st desecration, Titus in the second, both of which will be echoed in the last.”28 “So Jesus’ prophesy in the Olivet Discourse involved a 3rd fulfillment which agreed with Daniel 9 and it did indeed happen within a generation. The Romans did desecrate the holy of holies on the day the Temple was destroyed as the legionaries sacrificed to their standards in the Holy of Holies.” 30
Matthew 24:1,2
1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to {him} for to shew him the buildings of the temple. 2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
The second Temple was destroyed in a flood, i.e. a military charge in 70 AD and the abomination of desolation occurred which persists still today. Jesus foretold that the Temple would be destroyed and not one stone upon another. That occurred in 70 AD in the Grace Administration. “So far we have seen that there are two occurrences of this prophesied event. The first involved Antiochus IV’s desecration of the second Temple and altar which ended in 164 BC. The Feast of Hanukkah celebrates this Temple cleansing. Another is still future just before the Great Tribulation.” Also, there appears to be a 3rd fulfillment. Daniel also prophesied about this in a future setting. 31
Daniel 12:11
And from the time {that} the daily {sacrifice} shall be taken away, and the abomination [Shiqquts] that makes desolate set up, {there will be} a thousand two hundred and ninety days. [1290]
We know that this must be referring to another fulfillment because the time span differs from Daniel 8. Here it is 1290 days, there it is 2300. So this reference appears to be still in the future in the Administration of the Revelation period. 32 There will be a 3rd Temple in the future as indicated by [2 Thess. 2:4 Rev. 11:1, 2] as Jesus implied in Matthew 24.
2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for {that day will not come}, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
In the future desecration of the Temple altar, unlike Antiochus IV, who sacrificed a pig, keeping it in an unclean state for 3 more years, the Anti-Christ himself will sit in the Temple of God portraying himself as God, as Jesus said would occur in the future before the Great Tribulation.
Matthew 24:15-22
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso reads, let him understand) 16 Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains: 17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: 18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. 19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! 20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day: 21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.
So then just like Daniel 9 and Revelation 12 were “composite” prophecies having portions coming to pass at three different times, it looks like Matthew 24 may be also. Here we see the context of Matt. 24, references both to Titus‘ destruction of the 2nd Temple, and the future abomination of desolation. 33
As we summarize this study, we have seen how the Bible’s Anti-Christ Equation consists primarily of three numbers; 666, 1260 and 2300. The key to deciphering these numbers seems to be bound up in their relation to the basis of the luni-solar cycles, specifically the eclipse cycle of the Saros. As the Almighty framed His Temporal Order on these cycles, in the five time periods found in Rev. 9:15, we gain amazing insight into His order as we compare the natural order of celestial cycles with the prophetic cycles of Bible’s Anti-Christ Equation. The idea that the hyper-accurate astronomical cycles prophesied here at a time before the precision modern scientific instruments existed, is proof of their divine inspiration, that has since been verified through modern technology. Since Daniel and the Apostle John prophesied these untraceable cycles long before the knowledge or ability to verify or even measure to these periods to this level of accuracy existed, we are left with the only logical answer that supports our Almighty Omniscient and Omnipotent Creator, Who designed it all. There is no human intelligence or coincidence of chance that can account for this.
As we can see the handwriting on the wall for the nearness of the end times in our last days, we need not have any fear, of the Tribulation, or the spirit of Antichrist, which has been at work for centuries. We have seen how active this spirit has been as it remains active today, since the Temple is still being trodden underfoot by the Gentiles as we speak. The Prophecies of the future Temple still need to be fulfilled before the future Anti-Christ can cause his abomination in this Temple prior to the start of the Tribulation. The purpose of this study is NOT fear motivation, but from a Biblical Astronomy viewpoint we can appreciate the accuracy of the celestial cycles the Creator set in the heavens at Creation, and trust with unshakable confidence that His Word always comes true. Through the irrefutable evidence inherent in His Prophetic Word, and the numbers linked to it, we have awesome evidence of the Mighty Hand of the Almighty and His Son Jesus Christ. As The Lord shared with his apostles when they encountered tribulation…
John 16:31-33
31 Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? 32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. 33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
As we stand victoriously in Christ, we are Over-comers also!!
Footnotes
- Sun, Moon and Earth, p.28 Robin Heath
2. Number in Scripture, ppg. 282-84, E.W. Bullinger
3. Ibid, p.286
4. Ibid. p.284
5. The Abomination of Desolation and other Prophetic Terms of Biblical Eschatology, Jon Nessle
6. Number in Scripture, p. 285, E.W. Bullinger
7. Strong’s Concordance, Palag=dividing, James Strong
8. Witness of the Stars, p.179, E.W. Bullinger
9. Parker’s Celestial Cycles, p.22
10. Witness of the Stars, p.179-182, E.W. Bullinger
11. Ibid, ppg. 190-92
12. Ibid
13. Ibid
14. Michael Hearn’s personal email
16. [Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary] on Rev. 9:15
15. Irish Astronomical Journal of June 1953, Vol. 2, No. 6 ‘The Mystic Numbers: Daniel and the Apocalypse” p. 155-56
16. Michael Hearn’s [http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/seven-bible-wonders-the-tabernacle-secret-unveiled-2/]
17. Ibid
18. Ibid
19. Ibid
20. Wikipedia on the Plimpton 322 tablet.21. Number in Scripture, ppg. 268, 152, E.W. Bullinger
22. Number in Scripture, fn p. 7, E.W. Bullinger
23. Strong’s Concordance on [H7620, H7650, H7651], James Strong
24. Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible. Lexical notes on [H7650, H7651], Spiros Zodhaites
25. Irish Astronomical Journal of June 1953, Vol. 2, No. 6 ‘The Mystic Numbers: Daniel and the Apocalypse” p. 155-57
26. The Abomination of Desolation and other Prophetic Terms of Biblical Eschatology, Jon Nessle.
27. Figures of Speech used in the Bible, on “Gnome”, E.W. Bullinger.
28. The Abomination of Desolation and other Prophetic Terms of Biblical Eschatology, Jon Nessle.
29. Ibid.
30. Ibid.
31. Ibid.
32. Ibid
33. Ibid
34. Ibid
Josephus, War, b. vi. chap. 6.
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Also if we add 75 years to 1260, we get the 1335 years of [Dan 12:11-12] expressed in Days, and 75 years is exactly the difference between 2520 lunar years and the same number of solar years. This shows the rate of Solar and Lunar cycle conversion to calendar years according to these numbers of Biblical Prophecy.
