Daniel The Prophet, a “Date Setter” who was Wrong
First More Confirmation of Christmas Eve
“Thus says the LORD of hosts: The fast of the fourth month and the fast of the fifth and the fast of the seventh and the fast of the tenth shall be to the house of Judah seasons of joy and gladness and cheerful feasts. Therefore love truth and peace.” — Zechariah 8:19
The fast of the 10th month occurs on the 10th day of the month. The Jewish fast of the 10th month is called Asarah B’Tevet, which is Hebrew for “Tenth of Tevet”. It is a minor fast day that takes place on the 10th day of the Hebrew month of Tevet. The fast commemorates the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylonia, which began on the 10th of Tevet. The siege led to the destruction of the First Temple, the fall of the Kingdom of Judah, and the Babylonian exile of the Jewish people. The 10th day of the 10th month is Christmas Day this year, December 25th. If we are raptured December 24th then Babylon the Great would fall on December 25th.
Having Babylon the Great fall on the very day Ancient Babylon started the Siege of Jerusalem would be the kind of poetic inversion that we see in the story of Esther.
Context of Zechariah 8
Thus says the Lord of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe (kanap, wing, ends, corner of garment, tzitzit) of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’” — Zech 8:23
Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes (tzitzit) in the borders (kanap) of their garments (beged) throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. — Numbers 15:37–41
Daniel the Date Setter who was Wrong
In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes,a a Mede by descent, who was made ruler over the kingdom of the Chaldeans — in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood (incorrectly) from the sacred books, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem (Place of Peace) would last seventy years (until destruction of Babylon). So I turned my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and petition, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. (Because something wasn’t lining up!)…for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all around us… O my God, and hear; open Your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears Your name.
Darius’ first year was 522 BC, and Daniel was taken into captivity 598 BC (7th year of Neb), so at the time Daniel was praying it had been 76 years and Jerusalem was still desolate! He was confused, because they were supposed to be back in Jerusalem after 70 years (and Babylon was supposed to be destroyed completely).
At this time Jerusalem was still desolate even though Babylon fell without destruction in 539 BC (after just 59 years of captivity) and a decree to rebuild had been issued after just 60 years (not 70). It took many decrees before things actually started happening. Nehemiah didn’t get to building the wall until almost 150 years later and the second temple took longer still.
We see that even the Prophet Daniel gained wisdom and knowledge by studying prophetic texts (Jeremiah) and comparing them to “current events” and found himself confused. This is when the angel was sent to give him wisdom and understanding.
He instructed me and spoke with me, saying: “O Daniel, I have come now to give you insight and understanding.” — Daniel 9:22
This is when Daniel learns that 70 years described in Jeremiah 25 are really 70 x “2 or more 7's” or “70x7x7” or 70 jubilees. In this case a “year” was a unit of time other than a calendar year.
Since Daniel was one of the greatest prophets of the Old Testament with some of the most astoundingly detailed and fulfilled prophecies, it is comforting to know that even Daniel required an angle to explain and give him understanding.
When people give dates based upon their understanding of scripture and then nothing happens on those dates it does not make them “false prophets” it means they are just honestly confused like Daniel was. Was Daniel wrong to study scripture, derive an understanding, and set an expectation that failed? Surely Daniel was sharing his understanding with others (He was head of the wise men in Babylon) to give them hope in their captivity and/or gain wisdom from others. His conclusion was that they were still in captivity because they had not turned back to God, but in reality Scripture did not mean what Daniel thought it did.
We are now coming to the end of the 70x(7x7) years and looking around at events that suggest Babylon the Great could fall any day. So when dates pass like Atzeret of Tabernacles (October 9th), and Atzeret of Hanukkah (December 17th) it leaves me searching for understanding just like Daniel. So I pray and ask for insights on how I might have misunderstood scripture, just like Daniel misunderstood Jeremiah.
Would it have been considered a stretch at that time for Daniel to claim that 70 years meant something other than solar years? Probably.
For the past 2000 years People have been confused when they thought that 70 weeks meant 490 years and then everything wasn’t fulfilled in that time. People present all kinds of “innovative” explanations about an “undefined gap” going to the last 7 years as “Daniel’s 70th week”. These people are not accused of “stretching” things simply because it is the “traditional” view.
Is it really that big of a stretch to interpret that prophecy as expanding to 3430 years (70x7x7). Like Daniel, we need wisdom to understand that a “year” can mean a symbolic unit of time and “weeks” plural can mean 49 or 70 and that “7” is not a legitimate interpretation of “2 or more 7s” when 7 is in the Hebrew plural form.
It is for this reason that I do not consider it “too big” a stretch to look at the biblical history of feasts twice being extended to 14 days with an atzeret at the end (once for Tabernacles, and once for Second Passover) and concluding it was a type and shadow that could explain a Hanukkah Atzeret on the 15th day. How many times was the feast of Tabernacles or second Passover described in great detail? Not many. The one and only “Second passover” recorded was a 14 day event. So it only seems reasonable that these stories are put there for a reason.
I could be wrong, but when you factor in all of the other constraints on the year and days that could plausibly be considered an Atzeret it becomes the best fitting theory short of angelic revelation.
Alternative Calendars
Now that all calendars are within 1260 days of their 80th Anniversary of Israel declaring Independence we are left to consider alternative calendars that were ruled out by the apparently incorrect interpretation of a 1260 day constraint to Israel’s 80th.
If the Jewish or Sliver moon calendars are correct, then there is a potential Atzeret on the 8th and 15th day of Hanukkah. This would place the evening of January 1st to the evening of January 3rd on the radar and then the evening of January 8th to evening January 10th.
But we cannot consider this Hanukkah in isolation, we must consider where it would place the end of 1260 and 2520 days. This would put 1260 days to June 14th, 2028 (22nd of 3rd month on Jewish calendar) or 29th of 3rd month on Jewish calendar. Neither of these dates are near an appointed time. The tribulation would then end on 11/26/31 the 12th of the 9th month, another meaningless day and month.
So while we would gain two more potential Atzeret dates this year, the midpoint would not align with anything and neither would the end. These atzeret also do not align with Christmas, a pagan feast to be turned to mourning.
Alternative Interpretation of Years
If we don’t like the “stretches” pointing to Christmas Eve, then we would be forced to consider other kinds of stretching to move all 5 year prophecies back 1 full year.
- Babylon could fall at Passover 2025 in alignment with Jericho falling after Passover. This would be 21 to 28 days after the 70 Jubilees was complete. Israel was considered to be “in the land” at first fruits before the attack on Jericho. What is a 30 day margin of error on a 3430 year prophecy?
- Assuming Yeshua died in 31 AD, you could start counting the first of the 2000 years in 32 AD (in violation of inclusive counting norms). This would make the 2000th year end in spring 2033 and make 2025 the first of 7 year tribulation that begins and ends in the spring. This violates the Shemitah cycle aligning with the 7 years though.
- You could assume that the Abomination could be Desolated within the first month after 1335 years is over instead of within the 1335 years.
- You could assume the second order to rebuild Jerusalem occurred 1 year later within the 60th Jubilee making the 490th year 2025/2026.
- You could assume that the first year of Israel was after winning their war of independence in July 1949, but this puts the date on a non-appointed time.
All of these stretches and compromises would have to be accepted in preference to assuming a 14 day second tabernacles with Atzeret. In just a few days we will find out if we have to start considering a different calendar or really bending the limits on interpreting years.
Correction
I previously stated that the Ark rested on the 17th of the 2nd month, but the text clearly says 7th month. Noah exited the Ark 40 days later, on the 27th of the 2nd month according to traditional Masoretic text.
The first Full Moon Day after Spring Equinox in 2031 is April 8th. The 8th Full Moon Day is October 31st, 2031. Adding 2520 days from December 24th at 6AM (the start of the Biblical day) takes you to November 18th, 2031 at 6AM (the end of the 2520th day). This is the 18th of the 2nd month.
My mistake was sourced from the Dead Sea Scrolls 4Q252 which is describing a completely different 364 day calendar, but showed up as the date Noah Left the Ark on the 17th of the 2nd month and then I misread the verse in Genesis as the 8th rather than 7th month.
On the 27th day of the 2nd/8th month the Noah exited the Ark according to the Masoretic timeline. This is 9 days after the the 18th.
Picking & Choosing Translations
I have previously made the case for the Septuagint accounting of the Day’s of Noah. In the Septuagint the rain starts on the 27th day of the 2nd month and Noah exits exactly 1 year later on the 27th of the 2nd month.
We now have a conflict in dates and durations between different translations and there may be a bit of truth and a bit of error in all of them so we don’t know exactly. We can try to fit the numbers into symmetrically and symbolically “nice” patterns, but that is forcing scripture to fit our aesthetic rather than forcing things to the truth. In fact, earlier translators and scribes may have done the exact same thing, especially if there was some oral tradition to bias their expectations of the text.
For example, if we assume Noah exited the self-same-day that the rain started, then he would be exiting on the 17th of the 2nd month and my presented timeline would be approximately consistent. If we assume the Septuagint was right about the flood starting on the 27th of the 2nd month, then 40 days of rain would place us 10 days later, around January 2nd, 2025 and would not line up with the Atzeret of a 14 day extended Hanukkah dedication.
If we stick with the traditional Biblical text (Masoretic) then we have the 1260 days in the wilderness ending the day after the flood started.
So where does that leave us?
When presenting a date as a potential watch date you must check some boxes. The more boxes you can check the higher confidence you can have in a date. A connection to the “Day’s of Noah” is one box. An Atzeret is another. The 8th day of the week is another. Winter is another. Connection to appointed times is good, thematically appropriate appointed times are even better. Connections to celestial signs described in the bible, such as Gemini or Revelation 12 is even stronger.
Dates that don’t check many boxes are unlikely. Dates that check them all are more likely. So a more accurate way of watching for the rapture is the “process of elimination”. Every day that goes by eliminates another day! “High Watch Days” are just days for which there are few, if any, missing check boxes.
As you can see, much will depend upon the calendar you adopt. Dates that have meaning on multiple calendars are more likely because people can arrive at them by separate and contradictory interpretations. Dates that only have meaning on one calendar have a confidence level reduced to the strength of the best calendar supporting that date. For example, October 9th was the Atzeret of Tabernacles on the Dead Sea Scroll calendar and the Full Moon calendar. Either way you arrive at the same destination.
All of this is to say that the connection to the “40th day of rain” and the “atzeret of extended Hanukkah” only checks two “boxes” in rapture BINGO. Then we have the “winter” checkbox that I have recently proven and the “day of fasting turned to joy” (10th of 10th) and a “day of pagan joy, Christmas, turned to mourning.”
There is no history of a 14 day Hanukkah, so we have to borrow from two examples of 14 day feasts (Tabernacles, and Second Passover) recorded in scripture. If an Atzeret can be called on the 15th day of these feasts even though the “Law” only describes them as 7/8 day events, then it is at least plausible that Hanukkah could be extended for an Atzeret. This may be a “stretch” but you didn’t think it would be easy would you?
What the Bible says about the 8th month
1 Kings 6:38: “And in the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house (temple) was finished IN ALL ITS DETAILS AND ACCORDING TO ALL ITS PLANS. So he was seven years in building it”.
In the eighth month of the second year of Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, [2] “The LORD has been very angry with your fathers. [3] Therefore say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Return to Me,” says the LORD of hosts, “and I will return to you,” says the LORD of hosts. [4] “Do not be like your fathers, to whom the former prophets preached, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Turn now from your evil ways and your evil deeds.”‘ But they did not hear nor heed Me,” says the LORD”. — Zechariah 1
Meanings Associated with 18
6+6+6 is 18, and 18 is associated with bondage (18 years of bondage to Moab, Judges 3:14). Yeshua healed woman with “spirit of infirmity” for 18 years (Luke 13:11). 18 were killed when tower of Siloam fell. Joshua was first judge for 18 years. There were 18 judges before the first King.
While interesting, none of these facts around the number 18 give any kind of confirmation that the end of the 1260 days in the wilderness falls on a precise appointed time. The best we have is that the month is right.
Once you allow for the possibility that the two periods of 1260 days are overlapped by some amount then there is no longer a direct 2520 day connection between the start and the end of the tribulation.
