Blood Moon Total Lunar Eclipses framing the 2300 days of Daniel 8.
I am excited to follow up on our June 21st blog post with Part 2. The impetus for this started with a question from one of my colleagues, from Australia on my Facebook Group, the Biblical Astronomy Fellowship. Michael Toms who brings the thunder from down under, posed the following question relating to Part 1 of this study;
“I am trying to find what Saros cycle these Tetrad cycles belong to. As seen on the NASA eclipse page: [https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEsaros/LEsaroscat.html ]. The periodicity and recurrence of lunar (and solar) eclipses is governed by the Saros cycle, a period of approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours). When two eclipses are separated by a period of one Saros, they share similar geometry. The two eclipses occur at the same node with the Moon at nearly the same distance from Earth and at the same time of year. Thus, the Saros is useful for organizing eclipses into families or series. Each series typically lasts 12 to 15 centuries and contains 70 or more lunar eclipses. NASA.”1
This got me thinking, so I looked into the 168-66 BC Blood Moon Tetrad and found that there were indeed some consecutive Saros cycles seen during this 2300 day period. According to Jon Nessle, the 2300 days of Dan. 8:14 occur “if we count backwards 2300 days from the Temple cleansing in 164 BC, it brings us to the month of Av on the Hebrew Calendar in 170 BC.”2 The date was the 26th of AV, 170 BC or 78 Lunar months prior to the cleansing of the Temple on the 25th of Kislev 12/16/164 BC. A few of the consecutive Saros cycles involved in this Blood Moon Tetrad include:
The Dec. 1st Partial Solar Eclipse in 167 BC included in this study is in Saros [49], along with the April 21st, Partial Lunar Eclipse in 164 BC in Saros [48]. and both dates fall within the 2300 days referenced in this post.
Also, the May 28th, 166 BC Annular Solar Eclipse included in Part 1, is in Saros [54] while the Oct. 14th, 164 BC Partial Lunar Eclipse is in Saros [53].3
Then I noticed a third pair of consecutive dates; the Annular Solar Eclipse on Jan. 22, 168 BC is in Saros [72] while the Dec. 6th, 166 Partial Lunar Eclipse is in Saros [71]. All these dates are within the 2300 days from the prophecy in Daniel 8 below. This was only the tip of the iceberg as we find in the Timeline below.
Since Antiochus was a “type” of the Anti-Christ, this qualifies as a “preliminary fulfillment” of this prophecy, yet to be completed by the end-times anti-Christ. We can see how Antiochus IV fulfills the prophecies of Daniel 8 as follows;
Dan. 8:11-14
11 Yea, he magnified {himself} even to the prince of the host [To God Almighty or the Jewish High Priest] and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of the Sanctuary was cast down. [Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the Temple] 12 And an host was given {him} against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down truth to the ground; and it practiced [transacted business], and prospered. 13 Then I heard one saint (angel) speaking, and another saint (angel) said unto that certain {saint} which spake, How long {will be} the vision {concerning} the daily {sacrifice}, and the transgression of desolation, [reference to the “Abomination 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; [Exactly 78 Lunar Months*] then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. [Time span includes all the parts of verse 13] {insertions by Jon Nessle in red} 4
*A numerical note on the 2300 days equaling 78 lunar months is that (78=6 x 13), 6 as the number of man destitute of God multiplied by the number of rebellion or apostasy.5 These are fitting links since Antiochus IV was a type of the end times Anti-Christ and he instigated this version of the Abomination Desolation. Also the relation between lunar months and this Blood Moon Tetrad marking key dates as the Temple and host were being trodden underfoot during the 2300 days is intriguing.
What this Saros structure surrounding the 168-66 Blood Moon Tetrad began to suggest to me, resembles the structure around the 2014-15 Blood Moon Tetrad that we have documented in previous blog posts. The following excerpt is from my Jan. 15th, 2018 article depicting a structure of solar and lunar eclipses around our most recent Blood Moon Tetrad in 2014-15. As we will see, this relates directly to Blood Moons of 2018, another which occurs this month and early in 2019.
The Jan. 31st, 2018 Blood Moon was visible in Israel as it rose over Jerusalem. It was the first of three consecutive Blood Moons visible in Israel this year. The second occurs on July 27/28, 2018, having this century‘s longest totality during a Total Lunar Eclipse. Totality will last for 1 hour 42 minutes. The 3rd Blood Moon is on Jan. 20-21, 2019. This Blood Moon lunar triple of 2018-2019 is 7 years after the lunar triple of 2010-2011 Blood Moons also visible in Israel. As seen below, these two sets of Blood Moon Lunar triples framed the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad, marking Hebrew Feast and holy days in 2014-15. The Chart in Figure 1. below also shows us layers of Total Solar Eclipses, for instance solar eclipses located out-side each lunar triple.
Figure 1. 2014-2015 Biblical Tetrad 6
The 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad was centered between the saddest days on the Hebrew Calendar, “the Days of Av” marked by two lunar triples framing this Tetrad between 2010-11 and 2018-19. These Lunar triples or triads are Blood Moon lunar eclipses that do not fall on Hebrew Feast or holy days, bracketing the Blood Moon Tetrad that did. Also the 2nd Blood Moon of each lunar triple was visible over Jerusalem. These lunar triples recall the Jerusalem Temple being destroyed on at least two key occasions in history, in Hebrew Sabbath years of 586-587 BC and 69-70 AD. The Jubilee calendar also marks 27-28 AD a Jubilee year, denoting the year Jesus opens his ministry to Israel, as seen in [Isa. 61:1ff & Lk. 4:18-19].
The 2010-2011 Lunar triple dates prior to the Blood Moon Tetrad and Eclipses of 2016 are seen below:
12/21/2010
6/15/2011
12/10/2011
The 2018-2019 Lunar triple dates after the Blood Moon Tetrad and eclipses of 2016 are next:
1/31/2018
7/27/2018
1/21/2019
Further observations linking the Total Solar Eclipse of Aug. 21st 2017 to the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-15, and the eclipses of 2016 are seen in the fact that each Lunar triple framing this Tetrad is itself framed by a series of Total Solar eclipses! This Total Solar Eclipse series is related to the “Days of Av” as a set of 4 Total Solar Eclipses, all on the 1st of Av. The first bracket framing the Lunar triple is actually the 3rd total solar eclipse in a set of 3 total solar eclipses on the 1st of Av, as seen above in Figure 1.
As we have documented in previous blog posts on June 24th and August of 2017, the Aug. 21stTotal Solar Eclipse initiated the 40-day Season of Repentance leading to Yom Kippur 2017. However, when viewed in the celestial framework of this series of Total Solar Eclipses bracketing the 2014-2015 Blood Moon Tetrad, a clear picture of the relationship between these solar eclipses and the Blood Moon Tetrad becomes apparent.
The Chart below in Figure 2 reflects both series of Partial and Total Solar Eclipses framing the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2014-2015.
Figure 2. Lunar Triads and Solar Eclipses framing the Blood Moon Tetrad 7
As we note the order of these Solar and Lunar eclipses, we find 4 Partial Solar Eclipses between each Lunar Triple. All the solar eclipses on either side of the Lunar Tetrad are spaced equi-distant from the center date [Jan. 5th, 2015] of the Blood Moon Tetrad. For example, we find this in 2 solar eclipses nearest to the center date of the Blood Moon Tetrad, Oct. 23, 2014, and Mar. 20, 2015, are the same distance on either side of this central date [Jan. 5, 2015] of the Lunar Tetrad. The dates for these Partial Solar Eclipses before the Blood Moon Tetrad are listed below:
The Partial Solar Eclipse dates before the Blood Moon tetrad:
1/4/2011
6/1/2011
7/1/2011
11/25/2011
Partial Solar Eclipse Dates with the Second Lunar Triple:
2/15/2018
7/13/2018
8/11/2018
1/6/2019
These 2018 Partial Solar Eclipse dates include two this summer, one this month on July 13th and one August 11th. The Partial Solar Eclipse on July 13th is only 2 weeks before to the Total Lunar Eclipse on 7/27/2018, which is the middle eclipse of the 2018-19 Lunar triple after the 2014-15 Blood Moon Tetrad. The Total Solar Eclipse series brackets both the Blood Moon Tetrad and both sets of Lunar triples. With this in mind lets take a closer look at the eclipse activity surrounding the Blood Moon Tetrad of 168-66.
Figure 3. The Partial Solar Eclipse of July 2018. 8
Related Tetrad and Saros Eclipse Pairs
Solar and Lunar Eclipses come in pairs – a Lunar Eclipse always occurs two weeks before or after a Solar Eclipse. Since my initial focus in the last blog post was documenting the Blood Moon Tetrad of 168-166, I did not include all surrounding eclipse activity outside the 2300 day period. As we consider the Saros cycle data, we are looking for both matching and consecutive Saros cycles, matching belonging to the same Saros cycle, and consecutive refers to adjacent Saroi in their numbered series. As we view the matching and consecutive Saros cycles around this Tetrad, certain eclipse pairs stand out. For example, the Dec. 1st, 167 Partial Solar Eclipse in Saros [49], included in the Tetrad calls our attention to another Partial Lunar Eclipse on March 10th, 171 BC, also in Saros [49] but outside the 2300 days. The next eclipse in the Tetrad, after Dec. 1st 167; the May 28th, Annular Solar Eclipse in 166, is in Saros [54]. This recalls another Partial Lunar Eclipse on Sept. 3rd, 171, also in Saros [54] outside the 2300 days.9 Thus it appears we have a Saros pairing here of 49 and 54 emerging from consecutive eclipses within the 2300 days, pointing to eclipses framing this period.
As we consider this further, more related eclipses come to light. In the two Partial Lunar eclipses outside the 2300 days, uncovered in the Saros pairing above, we find two more related Solar eclipses that are tightly paired in 171 BC. Pairing with the Mar. 10th, 171 BC Partial Solar Eclipse in Saros [49], we have the Mar. 24th, Total Solar Eclipse also in Spring of 171, 2 weeks later. The Second Eclipse on Sept. 18th, an Annual Solar in the Fall of 171, pairs with the Partial Lunar Eclipse two weeks earlier on Sept. 3rd, 171, in Saros [54].10 Thus we find a bracket being built around the Blood Moon Tetrad of 168-166, of two Partial Lunar Eclipses tightly paired with a Total and Annular Solar Eclipse in 171 BC.
As we continue to observe the structure of Solar and Lunar eclipses around this Blood Moon Tetrad, we find another Saros pair of matching Eclipses. The next eclipse following the May 28th Annular Solar Eclipse of Saros [54] in 166, was the Nov. 20th, 166 BC Annular Solar Eclipse in Saros [59]. This is matched with the next Feb. 27th Total Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse, also in Saros [59], in 170 BC. Amazingly, the next Total Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse took place on Aug. 23rd, 170, in Saros [64].11 This gives us consecutive Eclipses, the last two being Total Blood Moon Lunar eclipses in 170 BC, the same year marking the inception of the 2300 days on the 26th of Av. To summarize what we have, lets look at these eclipse dates color-coded on the Time-line to matching and/or consecutive Saros cycles below.
Saros Cycles of 171-163 Eclipses and the Blood Moon Tetrad of 168-66 BC. 12
171 BC
March 10th Partial Lunar Eclipse in Saros [49]
March 24th Total Solar Eclipse in Saros [75]
Sept. 3rd Partial Lunar Eclipse in Saros [54]
Sept. 18th Annular Solar Eclipse in Saros [80]
170 BC
Feb. 13th Partial Solar Eclipse in Saros [47]
Feb. 27th Total Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse in Saros [59]
Aug. 8th Partial Solar Eclipse in Saros [52]
Aug. 23rd Total Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse in Saros [64]
Start of 2300 days on 26th of Av 170 BC
169 BC
Feb. 2nd Hybrid Solar Eclipse in Saros [57]
Feb. 16th Partial Lunar Eclipse in Saros [69]
July 28th Total Solar Eclipse in Saros [62]
Aug. 13th Partial Lunar Eclipse in Saros [74]
168 BC
Jan. 7th Lunar Eclipse in Saros [41]
Jan. 22nd Annular Solar Eclipse in Saros [67]
July 2nd Penumbral Lunar Eclipse in Saros [46]
July 17th Total Solar Eclipse in Saros [72]
Dec. 27th Total Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse in Saros [51] Tetrad #1
167 BC
Jan. 10th Partial Solar Eclipse in Saros [77]
June 7th Partial Solar Eclipse in Saros [44] ending this Saros cycle
June 21st Total Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse in Saros [56] Tetrad #2
July 7th Partial Solar Eclipse in Saros [82]
Dec. 1st Partial Solar Eclipse in Saros [49]
Dec. 16th Total Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse in Saros [61] Tetrad #3
166 BC
May 28th Annular Solar Eclipse in Saros [54] Feast of Weeks 5-27
June 11th Total Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse in Saros [66] Tetrad #4
Nov. 20th Annular Solar Eclipse in Saros [59]
Dec. 6th Partial Lunar Eclipse in Saros [71]
164 BC
April 21st Partial Lunar Eclipse in Saros [48] 4-10 Passover, 4/11-17 Unleavened Bread
May 5th Annular Solar Eclipse in Saros [74]
Oct. 14th Partial Lunar Eclipse in Saros [53] Tabernacle Feast 10/5-11/Octave 10-12
Oct. 29th Total Solar Eclipse in Saros [79]
12/16/164; sanctuary cleansed; Kislev 25-End of 2300 days [1st Hanukkah]
163 BC
March 26th Partial Solar Eclipse in Saros [46]
April 10th Total Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse in Saros [58]
April 24th Partial Solar Eclipse in Saros [84] April 28th was Passover
Sept. 19th Partial Solar Eclipse in Saros [51]
Oct. 3rd Total Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse in Saros [63] Teshuvah leading to 10-9 Rosh Hash/Trumpets
What does this timeline reveal regarding the solar and lunar eclipses surrounding this Blood Moon Tetrad? First, unlike the Tetrads in the AD era, this one is not noted because the eclipses fall on Hebrew Feast days, but because it marks the 2300 days prophesied by Daniel. We also find two Total Blood Moon Lunar Eclipses framing this Blood Moon Tetrad in 170 BC. These eclipses complete their framing of the Blood Moon Tetrad pairing with consecutive Total Blood Moon Lunar Eclipses in 163 BC, seen in the Saros series numbers of each eclipse. The Spring and Fall seasons of 163 BC do witness general alignments with Hebrew Feast and Holy days.13 The Partial Solar Eclipse on April 24th took place only 4 days before Passover on April 28th. Also the Oct. 3rd Total Blood Moon Lunar Eclipse framing this Blood Moon Tetrad occurred in Teshuvah, the Season of Repentance, leading to New Years Day only 6 days later on Oct. 9, and the Feast of Trumpets. If we look further, in 166 BC we find the Annular Solar Eclipse on May 28th during Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, that began the day before on May 27th.14 This Solar Eclipse is placed in a key position between the 3rd and 4th Blood Moons of this Tetrad. We also find that the Saros series of consecutive eclipses framing this Blood Moon Tetrad are composed of eclipses making up the Tetrad itself. This shows how the Saros series are inter-related to both the eclipses of the Tetrad, and to those bracketing the Tetrad, especially since there are related pairs of Total Blood Moon Lunar Eclipses on both sides of the Tetrad. To appreciate the Creator’s order of solar and lunar eclipses, we should begin with an overview of the Creator’s temporal order as laid out on the Fourth Day of Creation, in [Gen. 1:14-16].
Genesis 1:14-16
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.
This reference from Genesis reveals the relationship between the cycles of the Sun and Moon, and the light which these two great lights shed upon the earth. The purpose of the Sun, like other stars, is to give light upon the earth, the nature of which is a three-fold light. First, it is physical light in a literal sense because the stars with the Sun, Moon and planets illuminate the earth. Secondly, as we have seen in the study the astronomical cycles, their earth commensurate model is numerically founded on mathematical constants like Phi, Pi and base 60 Space-Time standard of the precession of the equinoxes. Earth life is dependent upon the light of the Sun for its energy and growth. Thus, it is a powerful symbol for spiritual light or enlightenment. Light and Life go hand in hand, [John 1:3-5, Gen. 1:3-5]. As the Sun passes through its 365.2224- day, annual course it “dwells” in each of the 12 houses of its “civil year” of the zodiac for one month. The Sun moves in its circuit at a rate of 12 miles a second or 43,200 miles per hour, with its train of planets in our solar system between the boundary lines of the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. Intriguingly, the sun’s orbital speed is 1/10th of half its perimeter in miles [864,000], as a multiple of the unity of Space-Time according to the base 60 precessional standard of measurement, the ruling master cycle all Space-Time. The base 60 number system also breaks down into the base numbers of 6 x 10. This exhibits the relation between the civil [lunar], and sacred [solar] years of the Hebrew calendar, in context of precession. Fittingly, 6 and 10 also provide the basis for the golden section ratio also known as phi: 1.618 (10 by 6.18, or 100 by 61.8…). In addition to unifying the structure of the human body, the musical scale, planetary orbits, biological growth cycles and the Hebrew Calendar, this phi ratio proves to be the key element in the correlation of the eclipse cycle with the solar year.
This is an important aspect of Natural Law, which is established in the luni-solar cycles found at the basis of time periods prophesied in Daniel and Revelation. A major scientific theme in support of this, is found in Symmetry, which is evident everywhere in Nature. Symmetry is the basis of the structure of microcosmic matter, the macrocosm of the firmament and of the world of mathematics. Symmetry is latent in God’s created temporal order, ruled by the regular cycles of the Sun, Moon and Stars, day after day and year after year.
Thirdly, the stars, planets, Sun and Moon illuminate the earth with spiritual light: the eternal light of the witness of God’s Word, which is a primary topic of our study. The principles of how these two great lights rule over the day and night, marking out days, months and years, are preserved in the luni-solar Hebrew calendar, unified according to the phi ratio, in symphony with the 50-year cycle of the Hebrew Jubilee. This phi ratio, also known as the divine proportion, is another central aspect of the Symmetry in God’s creation. It is the unification of these three celestial cycles via God’s created temporal order that exerts the powerful influence as a “mandate from heaven,” over the cultures of the world. Symmetry witnesses to beauty in God’s Creation, from the divine mind of the Creator. We can also see the dominion of God’s light over the kingdoms of life on planet Earth, depicted for example, in the principle of photosynthesis, governing a myriad growth cycles of biological life forms on earth. We witness the foundations of this order in the Plant Kingdom for example, in Genesis 1.
Gen. 1:11-13
11And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed [zera H2233], and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.
The Spiral Mirabilis Phi Pattern as seen in the Plant Kingdom and the Heavens
The word for “seed” is used four times in these two verses detailing the Third Day of Creation. In the cycles of life that God instituted in the Plant Kingdom, the cycle of the fruit tree is archetypal. The fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, generates a flower which transforms into the type of fruit dictated by the kind of fruit tree in question. This fruit contains its seed in itself, which falls to the ground and grows into another fruit tree. Thus we find the cycle of the tree of life, to flower, to fruit, to seed, returning to the tree once again. The pattern of Life in Creation from the Hand of the Creator lies at the foundation principles of Natural Law ruling our world. We also find the ubiquity of the phi ratio ruling over the many growth cycles of the Plant Kingdom. This pattern of the seed [zera-*H2233] seen in the 12-fold symmetry of the Chlorophyll molecule, the life giver that transforms sunlight into organic substance, is also mirrored in the heavens, in the 12-fold structure of the zodiac, telling of the coming promised seed of Israel-Jesus Christ, who not only brings spiritual light to the world, seen already in Gen. 1:14-16., but through the transforming power of the holy spirit vitalizes our spiritual relationship with the Heavenly Father through the salvation Christ brought to humanity. Jeremiah also speaks
Jer. 31:35-36
35Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divides the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name: 36 If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me forever.
In Jer. 31:35 the root of the word “ordinances” [chaqaq] 16, used of the light of the celestial ordinances of the Sun by day, and the Moon and stars by night, [Gen.1:14-18]. The ordinances of God’s covenant with the seed of Abraham were first set in the Natural laws that rule creation, before they were ever recorded in written form. Later these laws, as they applied to God’s covenant with Israel, were written with the finger of God in the rock of His holy mountain and entrusted to Moses the Lawgiver, [Ex. 24:12, 31:18, 32:16]. This verifies the relation between God’s celestial witness with His Word written in the Scriptures, [Gen. 1, Ps. 19]. We can see a close link between God’s stellar witness of His ordinances fulfilled in His covenant with the seed of Israel in verse 36 above. This promised seed was consummated in the Lord Jesus Christ. This record in Jeremiah relates that the celestial witness contained in God’s covenant with Day and Night, has not ceased since the first day of Creation [Gen. 1:4-5], re-ordered in the 2nd Heaven and Earth. There is no one who can halt these celestial cycles and seasons set in motion by God’s Hand, thus the surety of the return of His only begotten Son, the promised seed is inevitable! As we note the numbers linked to the prophecies related to the Lord’s return in Daniel and Revelation, we not only find the fulfillment of these prophecies in Revelation, but also the consummation of time periods finding their completion in solar and lunar cycles.
According to Daniel’s Prophecy above [8:11-14] spoken related to Days, we have shown both from history and astronomically how the Jerusalem Temple was trodden underfoot by the Gentiles, for 2300 days, in this case by Antiochus IV. However, a fascinating thing happens when we view this cycle as 2300 years. In reference to the Saros, also called historically, the Metonic Cycle, W.F.A Ellison tells us that “the Metonic cycle is the lowest common multiple of the lunar month and the solar year.”17 This quote alone gets our attention, but he continues with even more intriguing truths. Ellison goes on to say; “it is only an approximate multiple. There are other common multiples of the same two periods [solar & lunar], much longer but far more exact.”18 He points out that the Swiss Astronomer De Cheseaux, in the mid-18th Century found, in his study of principle time periods in Revelation and Daniel, that the numbers 1260 [315 x 4], 2300 and their difference 1040, without exception proved to be cycles of the Sun and Moon, and 1040 was a triple cycle being a common multiple of the Solar Day, lunar month and the year.”20 Thus we can see a conversion basis for Solar and Lunar cycles with the calendar year via this lens of temporal periods linked to Biblical prophecy.
Rev. Grattan Guinness expanded on the work of De Cheseaux in comparing the Saros or Metonic cycle to a 23oo year cycle, noting that 2300 years was not only an expanded Saros, but was the primary natural cycle for the correction of the Metonic cycle. The 2300 year cycle is 33 times as exact as the Metonic and is the natural basis for a calendar correctly adjusted to solar and lunar revolutions.”21
Guinness is an important historical source on this subject, first due to his unique view of the relationship of solar and lunar cycles to these periods of Biblical prophecy. Secondly, he also recognizes Antiochus IV relative to the prophecies of Daniel, from this unique perspective based on solar and lunar cycles! Guinness relates this to us in his own words, in the next 7-8 paragraphs:
Figure 4. The Greek Kingdom 333-31 BC 22
“In the year 553 B.C., the third year of the reign of Belshazzar, and about fifteen years before his subjugation by Darius the Mede, there was granted to Daniel a third great symbolic vision, that of the ram and the he-goat, affording a fuller glance than the previous one, at the history of the second and third of the four great monarchies.
Given as it was at a time when the Babylonian Empire and Captivity were both rapidly drawing to a close, this vision naturally unfolds God’s providence with regard to Israel and Palestine, under the MEDO-PERSIAN and GRECIAN empires. The symbols shown to Daniel prefigured their history with graphic accuracy: the successive rise of the two horns of the ram, fore-showing the sway of the two dynasties, which were afterwards merged in the great MEDO-PERSIAN monarchy; the he-goat from the west,-with his rapid course, great strength, wide dominion, and notable horn, abruptly broken, and replaced by four notable horns, prefiguring to the life, the character, the course of conquest, and subsequent history of the Macedonian or Greek empire of Alexander the Great, as well as its fourfold division consequent on his premature death.
This “little horn” is evidently a fellow to the “little horn” of the previous vision, only it rises, not amid the 10 kingdoms of the Roman earth, but from one of the four branches of Alexander’s Greek Empire. These four were, the SYRIAN kingdom of the Seleucidae, the MACEDONIAN kingdom of Cassander, the EGYPTIAN kingdom of Ptolemy, and the kingdom of Lysimachus, which included THRACE, BITHYNIA, and other parts of Asia. It was from the kingdom of Ptolemy, that this little horn arose. The direction of the early conquests of this singular power, are distinctly given, “toward the south, toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.” The main features of his conduct, as described in the vision, are his self-exaltation against the Prince of princes, his persecution of the saints, his taking away the daily sacrifice, and defiling the sanctuary, and his casting down the truth to the ground.
UNTO TWO THOUSAND AND THREE HUNDRED DAYS, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”
Now, as this question was asked and answered before the close of the Captivity in Babylon, and when therefore the daily sacrifice and the sanctuary were not in existence, it is clear that this prediction of a second destruction; supposes a prior restoration, [587-86 BC by Nebuchadnezzar].
This predicted period of 2300 years, commences, therefore, at some point in the time of the restored national existence, and ritual worship of the Jews, and includes the entire period of their subsequent dispersion, and of the desolation of the sanctuary: An important later starting point is the era of the Seleucid, or of the founder of the Syrian dynasty which included Antiochus Epiphanes, the first of the three powers referred to in the prophecy, as defiling the sanctuary and causing the daily sacrifice to cease. Reckoned lunar years from the Seleucid era (and it should be remembered that the long Mohammedan period of desolation which it includes is measured by lunar years) it terminates in A.D. 1919-20, Or just 75 years later on, than when reckoned in solar years from the decree of Artaxerxes. Thus reckoned in solar and in lunar years from these two most important starting points, it terminates first at the commencement and then at the close of the last 75 years of the great “seven times” of prophecy. [2520 yrs]
*The Mohammedan power is, we think, unquestionably the main fulfillment of this symbol; but it is almost equally clear that it had a precursive fulfillment, on a smaller scale, in the person and history of ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES. His career accords so closely with almost every feature of the prediction, as to leave little room for doubt that it was intended by the Holy Spirit, as one subject of the prophecy. For 17 centuries all expositors, Jewish and Christian, held that the prophecy referred to Antiochus. The Books of Maccabees record his career with great detail, and trace in it, as does Josephus, the fulfillment of the predictions of this little horn. But Antiochus never waxed “exceeding great,” though he took away the daily sacrifice; and he lived too near the time when the prophecy was given, to be the full and proper fulfillment of it.
* “The Moslem Dome of the Rock Mosque occupied the site, replacing the Temple of Jupiter in 691 AD.”
AS THIS ERA OF THE SELEUCID , LONG USED BY THE JEWS THEMSELVES, AND STILL EMPLOYED BY THE NESTORIANS AND OTHER EASTERN NATIONS, IS DATED FROM THE GREAT FOUNDER OF THE DYNASTY OF THE PRECURSORY “LITTLE HORN,” it is not an unsuitable point of departure. The period of 2300 years measured from it, and reckoned in lunar years, rules out in A.D. 1919-20, seventy-five years later than its first termination in 1844, and the same year as the main measurement of the Times of the Gentiles, dated from Nebuchadnezzar’s overthrow of Jehoiakim, B.C. 602.
B.C 312, 2300 LUNAR YEARS FROM THE ERA OF THE SELEUCID, A.D. 1919-20.
Daniel could neither have known that 2300 years (Chap. viii.) was a soli-lunar cycle, nor could he have selected by chance the exact number of years in that cycle, as the period of the restored temple and subsequent desolation of the sanctuary. Such coincidences are not the work of chance.
In the last chapter of Daniel the angel intimates to the prophet in answer to his chronological inquiries, that while the scattering of the power of the holy people, should terminate at the end of the second half of the 2520 years, yet there should be additions of thirty and forty-five years, before the era of blessedness would arrive. (Dan. 12:11-13.) In other words, to the long period of 2520 years Scripture adds a brief period of seventy-five years, and as we see below, astronomy does the same. The difference between 2520 true lunar and the same number of true solar years is seventy-five years. Thus the seventy-five years added in the prophecy is exactly equal to the epact of the whole 2520 year period.” If 2520 lunar, and the same number of solar years begin together, the former will run out 75 years before the latter. The 75 years added to the “Times of the Gentiles” are equal to the epact of that great dispensational [2520 year] period.”23
Thus what we have shown in the Blood Moon Tetrad of 2300 days, Guinness has applied also in a 2300 lunar year prophecy including the epact of Solar and lunar cycles as seen below.
Figure 5. Daniel 12:11-12 24
In reference to the graphic above, Guinness also 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 If we add 75 years to the 1260, we get the 1335 years of [Dan 12:11-12] expressed in Days. As the graphic states, 75 years is exactly the difference between 2520 lunar years and the same number of solar years. This depicts the conversion rate of Solar and Lunar cycles with the calendar year mentioned earlier according to these cycles seen in Biblical Prophecy.
The 11-day gap between the solar and lunar years expands to a period of 7 months over the 19-year lunar saros. During this 19-year period there are 235 full moons in the Metonic Cycle. If we divide 235 by 19, we get 12 7/19, [12.368] full Moons, synodic, or lunar months of 29.53 days per month. There are 13.368 sidereal months or [very close to the 1335 days above] 12.368 synodic months, the time it takes the Moon to return to the same point in the sky against the backdrop of the stars, in each year.26 This shows the relation between the Moon and the Stars on an annual basis.
Jon Nessle says about 1260 days in [Dan. 12:11-12] “We know this must be referring to another fulfillment of this prophecy because there is a time span which is different from Daniel 8. Here it is 1290 days, there it is 2300. So this reference appears to be still in the future in the Book of Revelation period, just before the Great Tribulation, [Matt. 24:21].”27
Putting this into perspective, I think it fitting that we quote from the final chapter of Witness of the Stars, by E.W Bullinger, on his discussion of the Saros: Bullinger shows the period of Jerusalem under the Gentiles in two 1260 years cycles totaling 2520 years.28 He depicts the domain of Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece as 594 years, and the Roman 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.29
“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 difference in only 6 hours. Bullinger notes not only these aspects of the 1260 year period but also its double-2520 years. Bullinger believed that these 1260 year periods would foreshadow a 1260 day period in the end-times when the final Abomination of Desolation was to be fulfilled, [2 Thess. 2:1-3]. 30
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. It is interesting that the Hanukkah Feast marks the dedication of the Temple after its defilement. Yet this Temple has been razed to the ground since 70 AD, and only makes sense in view of the coming 3rd Temple to Jerusalem. This of course is an important precursor to the tribulation and the Return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
When Caleb was part of the company of Spies, sent to inspect the Promised Land, he was one of only two that brought back a positive report. As a result He did not perish during the 40 years in the wilderness, and was allowed to share in the rewards of the Promised Land God had set aside for him.
As we recall the 30 years added to the 1260 years making 1290, we also have 45 more years added in Dan. 12:12 to 1290, making 1335 years, carrying us 75 years beyond the 2nd 1260 year period aligning with eclipse cycles, referring to the Times of the Gentiles, looking forward to the eternal age of full blessedness.
We find a related 45 years with Caleb’s inheritance leading to his rest in the Promised Land of Canaan. As Joshua reminds us, Caleb, when appealing to Joshua to give him the promised possession, said, “The Lord hath kept me alive these forty and five years, ever since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness, and now I am this day fourscore and five years old. Now therefore give me this mountain whereof the Lord spake in that day. And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh, Hebron for an inheritance, and the land had rest from war. ” (Josh 14:10-13).
As believer’s look forward to the Hope of Christ’s Return, we also must maintain our positive mind-set, not looking upon the size of the dogs that oppose us in this fight, but considering the size of Christ in our hearts that always carries us to victory in every situation. As we do, we are assured of our entrance into the abundant rewards the Almighty has set aside for us in Christ, for all Eternity…
Every bad day always contains the seeds of a Good Day if we let it…
Agape’
Rene’
PS. I am blessed to recognize our 4th anniversary of the Biblical Astronomy Fellowship Blog this month! Our audience continues to grow not only in the US but around the globe! I find this edition a fitting blog to commemorate this anniversary related to a Blood Moon Tetrad in prophecy and history, which was a key purpose for the Blog, and a reason for its inception. I’m very blessed and thankful for all the new friends we are adding to our audience, along with our website @ [www.try-god.com].
God Bless!!
Footnotes
1. NASA eclipse page. [https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEsaros/LEsaroscat.html ]
2. “Analysis of Prophecies in Daniel.” [ppg. 15-16.] Jon Nessle
3. NASA eclipse page. [https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEsaros/LEsaroscat.html ]
4. “Analysis of Prophecies in Daniel.” [ppg. 15-16.] Jon Nessle
5. Number in Scripture, E.W. Bullinger
6. [www.bloodmoonscoming.com] Graphic 3B “Like No Other”
7. Fearful Symmetry Pt. II graphic, Alexander Lawrence
8. Graphic credit to Michael Toms
9. NASA eclipse page. [https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/LEsaros/LEsaroscat.html ]
10. IBID
11. IBID
12. IBID
13. Hebrew Calendar Feast dates 168-163 BC [http://www.cgsf.org/dbeattie/calendar/?roman=167%20bc]
14. IBID
15. Strong’s Concordance, [zera H2233], James Strong
16. IBID [Chaqaq- H2708]
17. Irish Astronomical Journal of June 1953, Vol. 2, No. 6 ‘The Mystic Numbers: Daniel and the Apocalypse” p. 155
18. IBID
19. IBID p. 156
20. IBID
21. IBID ppg. 156-157
22. Picture Credit, www.bible .ca [Steve Rudd]
23. GUINNESS on SOLI-LUNAR CYCLES, THE APPROACHING END OF THE AGE VIEWED IN THE LIGHT OF HISTORY, PROPHECY, AND SCIENCE by H. GRATTAN GUINNESS (1879), SECTION III [https://creationconcept.info/GUINNESS.html]
24. Graphic credit to Michael Toms
25. Irish Astronomical Journal of June 1953, Vol. 2, No. 6 ‘The Mystic Numbers: Daniel and the Apocalypse” p. 157
26. www.Try-god.com/the-calendar-of-the-biblical-patriarchs.php
27. “The Abomination of Desolation and other Prophetic Terms of Biblical Eschatology”, Jon Nessle
28. Witness of the Stars, E.W Bullinger, [p.181-2]
29. IBID p. 189
30. IBID [ppg. 190-2]
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