Does HISTORY Record 2520 Years of Punishment?

In Leviticus 26:14-18 God warned all Israel, "But if ye will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these COMMANDMENTS. And if ye shall despise my STATUTES, or if your soul shall abhor my JUDGMENTS ... I also will do this unto you ... I will punish you SEVEN TIMES more for your sins (cp. vv.21, 24, 28). This warning is dual. It applied historically and also applies prophetically to us today. The ancient historical fulfillment consisted of 2520 YEARS of PUNISHMENT before the BRITISH EMPIRE and the UNITED STATES were restored and given the unconditional birthright. But the modern prophetic fulfillment will consist of only 2520 DAYS of PUNISHMENT before the true KINGDOM of HEAVEN is restored to this earth. In other words, if Britain and America don't REPENT, they will suffer a future SEVEN-YEAR captivity similar to the historical ASSYRIAN invasions.

God said he would "DESTROY thy CITIES" (Micah 5:10-14) and "In all your dwelling places the CITIES shall be LAID WASTE" (Ez.6:6-7). But the CITIES were never DESTROYED before. Check it yourself. In 2 Kings 17:24 we read that Babylonians were placed "in the CITIES of Samaria instead of the children of Israel." So these prophecies are for ISRAELITES in the last days. Ezekiel wrote about 130 years after the TEN TRIBES went into Assyrian captivity. Yet his prophecy was against the "mountains of ISRAEL" (Ez.6:3).

"If my people, who are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and TURN FROM their WICKED ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land" (2 Chr. 7:14). "Turn ye from your evil ways, and KEEP my COMMANDMENTS and my STATUTES, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers" (2 Ki. 17:13).

A 360-day Year is a "TIME"

A "TIME" is a YEAR of 360 DAYS because in Genesis 7:24 we read that "the waters prevailed upon the earth an HUNDRED and FIFTY DAYS" and this period of time is said to be exactly FIVE MONTHS (cp. Gen.7:11 with 8:3-4). Five 30-DAY months are precisely 150 days. (Therefore, before the flood, the solar and lunar years were 360 DAYS long each. That is why a circle has 360 degrees. Ancient GREECE (En. Brit. 14th Art. "Calendar") , SUMERIA (Cambridge Anc. Hist., 1928, 1:168), EGYPT and ISRAEL (ibid. 1:168) all had a calendar year of 360 DAYS with 12 months of 30 DAYS each. An inscription of the 12th dynasty of Egypt contains the expression "A temple day means one 360th part of a year." (Cambridge Anc. Hist., 1931, 2:213).

Also, if we compare Revelation 12:6 with 12:14 we find that "a thousand two hundred and three score days" are the same as "a TIME, and TIMES, and HALF a TIME" showing that THREE-AND-A-HALF TIMES equals 1260 DAYS. Thus each TIME must be 360 DAYS. Furthermore, Revelation 13:5 speaks of "FORTY and TWO MONTHS" which also add up to 1260 DAYS or THREE-AND-A-HALF YEARS if we use 30-DAY MONTHS. Revelation 13:5 can be compared to Daniel's "TIME and TIMES and the dividing of TIME" (Dan.7:25) since both verses are describing the same event (also see Dan.12:7, Rev.11:2 and Dan.9:27). Thus we know that "SEVEN TIMES" punishment (Lev.26:14-18) equals seven times 360 or 2520 DAYS.

"Mene, Mene, Tekel U Pharsin"

Also, the Hebrew-Aramaic weights used in Babylon define the punishment: "a SHEKEL is twenty GERAHS" (Ex.30:13; Num.3:47) and a "MINAH shall be 50 SHEKELS" (Ez. 45:12; RSV), and GERAHS are the least common multiple of MENES (1000 gerahs each), TEKELS (or shekels -- 20 gerahs each) and PHARSINS (or peres's -- 500 gerahs each) (Dan.5:25-28), the words "MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PHARSIN" -- 1000, 1000, 20, 500 -- numbered, numbered, weighed, and divided -- total 2520 GERAHS of punishment when Israel would be divided -- 7 x 360.

In Daniel 12:7 an angel holds both hands to heaven in swearing to the three-and-a-half times as he divides a river in half. This implies that from his midpoint to the bank on either side is equal, making "SEVEN TIMES" total (cp. Rev. 10:5-7 where an angel only raises one hand). Jacob bowed "SEVEN TIMES" before Esau. Israel marched in silence "SEVEN TIMES" round the walls of Jericho before the walls fell flat. Elijah's servant had to go "SEVEN TIMES" before he saw the cloud bringing rain to Israel. Daniel's companions were cast into the burning fiery furnace heated "SEVEN TIMES." Nebuchadnezzar's beast-like madness lasted "SEVEN TIMES" and Judah's captivity lasted SEVENTY YEARS.

A Day Equals A Year

Now according to Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6, a DAY is a YEAR in prophecy. In Luke 13:32-33, Jesus the Messiah confirmed the day for a year principle of Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6 by describing his THREE YEAR ministry as "TODAY, TOMORROW and the THIRD DAY." So instead of "SEVEN TIMES" being SEVEN YEARS of punishment, we have 2520 YEARS punishment of Israel.

Spanish Armada Defeated in 1588 A.D.

Let us count Israel's "SEVEN TIMES" punishment which coincides with the "times of the Gentiles" when wild beast gentile nations would rule the world (Luke 21). Solomon's reign ended in 931BC. The Kingdom of Israel split into two kingdoms under Rehoboam and Jeroboam. Jeroboam separated from the House of David in 931 B.C. and established the worship of the golden calves about 930 B.C. (1 Kings 12:25-29). Now 2520 years from 931 brings us to 1589 + 1 = 1590. The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 began the decline of Catholicism or idol worship. Puritans fled from Britain to Holland in 1593.

When Did The "Times of the Gentiles" Begin (Lev. 26:28; Luke 21:24)?

The first king of the Babylonian Empire represented by the image was Nabonassar who ascended the throne at noon, February 26, 747 B.C. This date has been determined with certainty through a series of exact astronomical observations given by Ptolemy. This is therefore the earliest date from which to measure the "seven times." If we add 1222.5 solar years or 446,503 days, to 747 B.C., we arrive at the fall of Romulus Augustulus, August 22nd, 476 A.D; while 1260 lunar years (or 15,120 lunations) contain 446,502.5 days, so that the difference, if any, is merely one of hours. Can any thinking mind regard this fact as mere chance coincidence? Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Pagan Rome all fit perfectly within the first 1260 LUNAR years. If we add 2520 SOLAR years to 747 B.C., we arrive at 1774 A.D. when Louis XVI ascended the throne in France in western Europe -- the beginning of the anti-Catholic French Revolution according to many history books. Also on July 21st, 1773, Pope Clement XIV banished Jesuits from the Church and the world by a Bull. In eastern Europe crushing defeats were inflicted on the Moslem Turkish armies in 1774. The Russians surrounded the vizier and his troops near Shumla, in Bulgaria, and dictated terms of the humiliating Peace of Kainardje, by which Russia obtained free navigation of the Black Sea besides large cessions of territory. Thus began the dismemberment of the Turkish Empire.

The duration of the four kingdoms of Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome, from the era of Nabonassar B.C. 747, to the deposition of Romulus Augustulus and the end of the Western Roman Empire in August 22, 476 A.D., was exactly 1260 LUNAR years (1,222.5 solar years). The interval from the fall of the Western Empire in A.D. 476 to a time 1260 LUNAR years later brings us to 1698 (1,222.5 solar years). What happened in 1698? The completion of the Protestant Revolution at the Peace of Ryswick in September 20, 1697 (commemorated at the opening of St. Paul's Cathedral on December 2nd of that year) and the Peace of Carlowitz in January 26th, 1699 A.D. The significant date of 1698 bisects the two treaties that limit the two "little horns." By the Peace of Carlowitz Turkey lost Hungary, Transylvania, the Morea, Dalmatia, Podolia, the Ukraine and Azov -- making Turkey no longer a threat to Europe.. The Turkish empire has eroded ever since.

The interval from the era of Nabonassar in 747 B.C. to 1774 A.D., the year of the accession of Louis XIV -- the initial date of the French Revolution is 2,520 SOLAR years. or "seven times." The PROPHETIC period ended in 1736 A.D. when war again broke out between the Ottomans and Russia, allied with Austria. The Russians recaptured Azov and won a spectacular success in Moldavia, where General Münnich entered Jassy (1739). However, Austria became alarmed by Russian ambitions in the Balkans and concluded the separate Treaty of Belgrade (1739), in which Russia was forced to join. Russia agreed to demilitarize Azov and not to build a Black Sea fleet

The struggle in western Europe was between Popery and Protestantism. The turning point came in 1697 with the Treaty or Peace of Ryswick and the decline of the "little horn" of the Papacy.. The struggle in eastern Europe was between Christianity and Islam. The turning point came at almost the same time in 1699 with the Treaty or Peace of Carlowitz and the decline of the "little horn" of Islam. Is it mere coincidence that both "little horns" begin a clear-cut decline at the end of 1260 years? But there is more. Reuben, Gad and half-Manasseh (1 Chr. 5:26) were taken captive in 745 B.C. If we add 2520 LUNAR years (2445 solar years) to this date, we arrive at this significant date of 1699 A.D. -- Peace of Carlowitz.

If we add 75 years to 1774 A.D. -- or the difference between 2520 lunar and 2520 solar years -- we will add it in two portions, 30 years and 45 years (Dan. 12:11-12). In 1804 (1774 + 30 = 1804). Napoleon was crowned emperor and at the same time degraded the Pope. The Emperor commanded Pius VII to attend the ceremony, obliging the old man to cross the Alps in mid-winter, not to confer a crown, but merely to adorn a ceremony. Napoleon himself placed the crown on his own head, purposely slighting the Pope. Napoleon then forced him to sign a concordat by which he renounced his temporal authority and all claim to Rome for ever, and agreed to reside in France in future, as a salaried servant of the Emperor. In 1849 (1774 + 30 + 45 = 1849) the Pope had to flee Rome again, driven away by his own dissatisfied subjects. Pius IX was deposed, his prime minister was killed, and an Italian Republic proclaimed under Mazzini. The previous year of 1848 saw violent anti-Papal revolutions which shook nearly every throne in Europe. Old despotic monarchies were replaced by constitutional governments. If we add 30 lunar years to 1698 (29.107 solar years), we arrive at 1727.107. If we add 75 lunar years to 1698 (72.766 solar years), we arrive at 1770.766. If we add 30 prophetic years to 1736 (29.569 solar years), we arrive at 1765.569. If we add 75 prophetic years to1736 (73.923 solar years), we arrive at1809.923. In 1810 Naples expelled the Jesuits

American Declaration of Independence in 1776 A.D.

In 745 B.C., Tiglath-Pileser (called "Pul" in the Bible -- 2 Kings 15:19; 1 Chr.5:26), the king of ASSYRIA, began the first invasion against Israel in the reign of Menahem (2 Ki.15:19-20). As Putnam's Dictionary Of Events, copyright 1927, page 6, states, "745, Accession of Tiglath-pileser III of Assyria, who wages war against Chaldea, Syria, and the kingdom of Israel." Langer says, "Tiglath-Pileser III of ASSYRIA (745-727) forced Menahem (744) and Pekahiah (738) to pay tribute" (p.31, An Encyclopedia Of World History).

From 745 B.C. we add 2520 YEARS to get 1775 plus one is 1776 A.D., the very year the American Declaration of Independence was signed and Americans no longer paid tribute. (When crossing from B.C. to A.D. dates it is necessary to add a year to the figure since there is no year "0.")

U.S. Constitution Adopted 1781 A.D.

In 740 B.C., Tiglath-Pileser began the second invasion against Israel in the reign of Pekah (2 Ki.15:20). He invaded the northern region of the land (Naphtali & Galilee -- 2 Ki. 15:29), coming down south to the level of the Sea of Galilee, where he turned eastwards and invaded the eastern portion of Israel, Transjordania, which reached southward nearly to the level of the Dead Sea. "The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh" were brought "unto Hala, and Habor, and Hara and to the River Gozan, unto this day" (1 Chr.5:26). They didn't return to Palestine after the 70 years captivity of Judah since 1 Chronicles was written after that event.

From 740 B.C. we add 2520 YEARS, getting 1780 plus one is 1781 A.D. This was the year that the Articles Of Confederation were ratified and adopted by the original 13 states making the first Constitution of the United States. Americans (Manasseh) were now united. They had been divided exactly 2520 YEARS before. Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown October 19, 1781 also which rapidly brought the war to a close soon after. "After two days (2000 years) he will revive us; in the third day (520 years) he will raise us up" (Hos.6:2), that is 2520 years.In these first two invasions of Israel were fulfilled Isaiah's words: "at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali (the first invasion) and afterwards he did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations" (the second invasion) (Isa.9:1). Also, in 1801 the Act of Union of Great Britain and Ireland was passed, uniting the British Isles under one Parliament.

Washington D.C. Built in 1800 A.D. & Louisiana Purchase Occurred in 1803 A.D.

From 721 to 718 B.C., Shalmaneser, whose commander-in-chief was Sargon, beseiged Samaria three years in the reign of Hoshea (2 Ki.17:3-5). "In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of ASSYRIA took Samaria, and carried Israel away into ASSYRIA, and placed them in Halah and Habor by the river of Gozan, in the cities of the Medes" (2 Ki.17:6). This invasion terminated the Kingdom of Israel. 27,280 Israelites were led captive (see Sargon's Assyrian inscription). But Sargon didn't remove the entire nation of Israelites (see 2 Ki. 18:9-12; 2 Chr.30-31 & 34; cp. Hos.1:4 with 1:6).

From 721 B.C. we add 2520 YEARS to get 1799, plus one is 1800 A.D. Samaria the capital city was destroyed in 721 B.C. and 2520 years later saw the building of Washington D.C. in 1800. It was this very year (Oct.1, 1800) that Spain gave France the Louisiana Territory. The U.S. (Thomas Jefferson) purchased it in 1803 (from Napoleon) which equals 718 B.C. + 2520 years. Thomas Jefferson bought 827,987 square miles of land from France for about $15 million. That's just under 4 cents per acre. Israel's land had been lost to ASSYRIA exactly 2520 YEARS before. Just as Reuben anciently lost the birthright, so again in 1803 he sold to Joseph the birthright of rich farmland. This very year 1800 was also when England, Scotland and Ireland united to become "Great Britain." These Ephraimites and Judahites had been divided in 721 B.C. because the ASSYRIANS left the Kingdom of Judah alone and only invaded the Kingdom of Israel. Except for "gleaning grapes" from the ten tribes (Isa. 17:6; 2 Chr. 34:9), "There was none left but the tribe (Kingdom) of Judah only" (2 Kings 17:18). The Act of Union of Great Britain and Ireland occurred January 1st, 1801 to become the United Kingdom ruled over by a descendant of King David. England's war with France ended in 1801 also after General Abercrombie defeated the French army at Alexandria.

Alexander's Victory Over Darius in 331 B.C.
At Gaugamela

From 721 to 718 B.C. Israel was besieged by Shalmaneser of ASSYRIA and taken captive. Ezekiel, over a century later in 593 B.C. (Ez.1:2), prophesied that this captivity would last 390 YEARS (Ez.4:3-5) which brings us to 331 B.C. when Medo-Persia was conquered by Alexander the Great who defeated Darius first at Granicus (334), then Issus (333) and then at Gaugamela (331). The House of Israel gained its freedom as a Scythian nation after 390 YEARS of slavery to successive gentile powers and started migrating to Scotland.

Economic Union of Great Britain & Ireland
in 1821 A.D.

We read that "Sennacherib, king of ASSYRIA" came "up against all the fenced cities of JUDAH, and took them" (2 Ki. 18:13; Isa. 36:1). There were 46 fortified cities from which 200,150 Jews were taken captive around 700 B.C. Now if we add 2520 years to 700 B.C., we come to 1820 A.D. and then we add one year since there is no year "0" and come out to 1821 A.D. when there was a fiscal union and amalgamation of the currencies of Great Britain and Ireland. Scotland and N. Ireland are partly JUDAHITE. Also, JUTES had "settled in Kent and the Isle of Wight together with adjacent parts of Hampshire" (15:609).

Turkey Gives Religious Liberty To Jews and Christians in 1844 A.D.

In 677 B.C., Esar-Haddon, son of Sennacherib, invaded Judah (2 Chr.33:11) and the remnant of Israel when they were ruled by an Assyrian governor and replaced them with Samaritans (2 Ki.17:24; Ezra 4:2). If we add 1260 years to this date we come to 584 A.D. It was in 582 A.D. when Gibbon says that the Saxon Heptarchy in Britain was established. In 583 A.D. that Pope Pelagius first claimed the Divine attribute of Infallibility. Adding the 2520 years to the date, we come to the fulfillment for Judah in 1844 when the Sultan of Turkey was forced by the Powers to give religious liberty to the Jews 2520 YEARS from the overthrow of Judah. For Israel this invasion fulfilled Hosea 1:6 that said, "I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel, but I will utterly take them away." As Isaiah 7:8 states, "Within three score and five years shall Ephraim be broken that it be not a people." This was uttered about 742 B.C., making 677 B.C. 65 years later (cp. Hos.1:4). There was left in the nest "none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped" (Isa.10:14). From 677 B.C., we add 2520 YEARS to get 1843, plus one is 1844. One year later, in 1845, the United States annexed Texas territory which included large parts of New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas and Oklahoma as well as what is known as Texas today. In 1846 the Pacific Northwest was given to the U.S. by Great Britain via treaty. In 1848 the U.S. acquired California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona and more from Mexico. In 1853 the U.S. bought a relatively small slice of of land known as the "Gadsden Purchase." Then in 1867, Alaska was purchased from Russia for 7.2 million which was two cents per acre. In 1898 Hawaii was annexed. Just as 677 B.C. started a slow snow-balling cumulative collapse of Israel which took some time to accomplish, so the U.S. began a slow rise to great wealth beginning in 1844. In ancient times, it took years to besiege cities, transport armies and populations, and plunder and remove booty and take possession of the land.

Balfour Declaration in 1917 A.D.

In 604 B.C., Nebuchadnezzar's Babylonian Chaldean army took tribute from Jerusalem. Jehoiakim was taken captive (cp.Jer.25:1 & Dan.1:1-2). 2520 YEARS later on November 2, 1917, the Balfour Declaration gave Jews authority for "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people." On December 9th 1917, (during the Festival of Hanukkah which commemorates the recapture of the Temple by Judas Maccabeas) British General Allenby liberated Jerusalem from the Turks. It was the 24th day of the ninth month of the Jewish calendar. Jews lost their authority over Jerusalem for "SEVEN TIMES" punishment (Lev.26:28). Both Palestine and Mesopotamia were in that year freed from the Turkish yoke. Also we know that Benjamin was part of the Kingdom of Judah and so in 1918 Iceland (Benjamin) was granted full self-government a full 2520 YEARS later. Also in 604 B.C. the "Times of the Gentiles" began. Ferocious, merciless, aggressive Gentile Empires began to rule the world for 2520 years (Dan. 4:32; 7:17; Luke 21:24) after Israel was taken captive. Nebuchadnezzar was crowned king of Babylon. Babylon (the lion) lasted from 604 to 539 B.C. Then Medo-Persia (the bear) from 539 to 333 B.C., then Greece (the leopard) from 333 to 63 B.C., then pagan Rome (the dragon) from 63 B.C. to 476 A.D., then papal Rome (the dragon ridden by a woman) from 554 to 1814 A.D. By the end of the First World War (1917-1918 A.D.) these same Gentile Empires were all devastated and fell: Germany, Austro-Hungary, Turkey, Czarist Russia and Italy This Babylonian image had been smitten by the British Empire -- that "stone" that "became a great mountain, and with the United States filled the whole earth" (Dan. 2:35). On that day (24th day of ninth month), the word of the Lord came to Haggai saying, "I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen" (Hag. 2:20). Jesus said, "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" (Luke 21:24). This scripture alone should be sufficient witness that Britain is Israel.

Turkish Caliphate Abolished in 1924

In 597 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar overthrew Jehoiachin and conquered Jerusalem. 2520 YEARS later in 1924 the Caliphate was abolished and Turkish power and influence ended. Also the University of Jerusalem was opened in 1925 on Mt. Scopus, 2520 years after the deportation of many of Jerusalem's rulers, priests, and elders as mentioned in Ezekiel. The decree of Pope Vitalian enjoining the exclusive use of the Latin language in Divine Worship throughout Christendom, exhibiting the Papacy as Lateinos -- 666 -- or Latin Man. This decree was issued in 663 A.D., the midpoint of this "seven times" from 597-8 B.C. until 1923-4 A.D. and 666 years after the birth of Christ in 4 B.C.

From 597 B.C. until 1848 A.D. is 2520 LUNAR years (2445 solar years). In 1848 the French overthrew Catholic King Louis Philippe and the ruling House of Orleans and Pope Pius IX was divested of all his temporal authority and forced to flee from Rome. The year 1848 is called "the year of Revolutions." The historian Allison writes, "Before March the 5th, every country lying between the Atlantic and the Vistula had, in a greater or less degree, been revolutionized." The most notable of these revolutions was the Second French Revolution, during which 16,000 persons were killed or wounded. This and the following year witnessed the second notable downfall of the Papacy's temporpal power. On March 15th, 1848, a constitution was proclaimed at Rome; on November 24th the Pope fled; and on Feb. 8th 1849, his temporal power was again completely abolished, and a Roman Republic proclaimed.

German Jews Emigrate to Palestine in 1935  

In 586 B.C. the temple was destroyed and King Zedekiah was taken captive by these Chaldeans (Jer.39). Nebuchadnezzar "carried away all Jerusalem, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valour, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and smiths, And ... Jehoiachim ... And his officers, and the mighty of the land ... to Babylon" (2 Ki. 24:14-17). 2520 YEARS later we get 1934 plus one equals 1935. "With the ascent of Hitler to power in Germany (1934), a new type of Jew began immigrating to Palestine, propitiously timed with the country's economic development. By 1936 there were 60,000 German Jews in Palestine, providing her with much needed scientists, engineers, managers, chemists and research men to increase her productive capacity and to improve the quality of her goods." (p.403, Dimont's Jews, God and History) "The years 1933 and 1934 saw the rise of Hitler and the commencement of his persecution of the Jews which resulted in a large exodus of Jews from Europe to Palestine as the following statistics of Jewish immigration from 1917 to 1939 will show: 1917-1921:18,885, 1922:7,844, 1923:7,421, 1924:12,856, 1925:33,801, 1926:13,081, 1927:2,713, 1928:2,178, 1929:5,249, 1930:4,944, 1931:4,075, 1932:9,553, 1933:30,327, 1934:42,359, 1935:61,854, 1936:29,727, 1937:10,536, 1938:12,868 and 1939:16,406. It will be seen that more Jews returned to Palestine in the three years 1933-1935 than in the previous sixteen years, 1917 to 1932." (from American Jewish Year Book for 1940-1941 & The Jews Today by Conrad Hoffman, p.76).

From 587 B.C. when the complete overthrow of Judah took place and the Temple was burned by Nebuchadnezzar, we can add 1260 lunar years (1222.5 solar years) to arrive at 637 A.D. when Jerusalem was taken by Arabs under Caliph Omar.

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