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by Richard Drake Have you ever stopped to wonder at the order in God's creation? Have you ever gazed into the vast heavens at night and wondered how each tiny speck of light out there could have its own orbit and not collide with another tiny speck of light? What about the order that we find here on our own planet that we call natural law? Could we even survive an instant if there was no order in the universe? Sometimes it is interesting to entertain these and many more questions about God and the way that He runs His universe, but that is not the purpose of this article. One question seems to keep coming around and around. If God is in fact a God of order, then would it be too much to expect that the Bible is also a book of order that spells out a calendar or timetable that God has predetermined will take place? Consider the following thoughts in this paper carefully and prayerfully. Scientists can easily and accurately tell how long a day is by observing a physical phenomonem that occurs approximately every 24 hours. The earth makes one complete rotation on its axis. Likewise scientists can determine the length of a year by measuring the length of time the earth takes to make one trip around the sun. A month is determined by measuring the length of time that the moon takes to make its journey around the earth. Have you ever wondered what determines that a week has seven days? It cannot be matched to any natural phenomenon observable by scientists. It does not fit neatly into a month or year. A rather astounding fact emerges when different cultures are studied around the globe. Every culture has a week of seven days and all of the days in each culture are in synch. Day 1 of the week in Europe is also day one of the week in the remotest parts of Africa. How could this possibly happen, particulary since the week is not obviously tied to any natural phenomonon? There is only one answer that makes any sense--God said so. Genesis 1:1-31 records how God created our planet and everything on it in six days. Notice how the narrative ends in Genesis 2:1-3. 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth
were finished, and all the host of them. The week is the critical foundation that God builds His calendar on as we shall soon see. In order for God to truly be a God of Order, He must follow patterns in a consistent manner, which He does throughout the Bible. Start looking for these patterns and you will be amazed at what you will discover. Exodus 20:8-11 records the fourth commandment which sets forth man's work week and worship pattern. 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep
it holy. Sounds like a repeat of Genesis 1:1-2:3 doesn't it? Notice that God worked for six days and then rested on the seventh day. He then commanded (the 4th commandment) that man should use the same pattern that He established. In order that His people would never forget this pattern, God did a rather interesting thing. The story is recorded in Exodus 16:23-30. 16:23 And he said unto them, This is
that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest
of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye
will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and
that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept
until the morning. Every week for forty years God's people were reminded that they were to work for 6 days and then rest on the seventh day. Keep in mind that a double portion of manna fell on the 6th day. Man had six days to work and do his pleasure, but the seventh day was God's day that He made holy. The sabbath was to be a day of rest for man. Notice that the number 6 is man's number and that 7 is God's number. The number seven means perfect or complete. Man was created on the sixth day and was given 6 days to labor. Interestingly, Satan is referred to as a man in Isaiah 14. 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down
to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! Notice in verse 17 that God says that Satan "opened not the house of his prisoners." Satan is not only referred to as a man, but as someone who has prisoners. You will soon see the significance that Satan is binding man in sin and that Christ will release man from sin. All of this is pointed out in the sabbatical and jubilee system that we are studying. Another interesting note is that if 6 is man's number and Satan is referred to as a man, then that gives the reason why the number 666 is Satan's number. He wants to be like God, Whose number is 7, but as a man he can never make it, thus his number of 666. Another pattern is ready to surface. Notice what Leviticus 25:1-7 says. 25:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses
in mount Sinai, saying, The pattern of 6 days of work and 1 of rest is now applied to 6 years of work and then 1 year of rest. What a God we serve! He is not an unfair taskmaster that requires us to labor under a life of toil and care. He not only has given us the Sabbath day to rest on every week, but He also planned a sabbath year every seventh year for the land to rest. It is no coincidence that Matthew recorded Jesus' words: 28 Come unto me, all ye that labour
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. God says that we must do as God did in order to enter His rest. 8 For if Jesus had given them rest,
then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. Environmentalists are saying that if all of the factories in this world would shut down for one day in seven then the earth would heal itself! It is true that if man had followed God's instructions then the earth would not have "waxed old". However, keeping one day in seven misses the whole point. God set aside one particular day in seven to be kept holy--the seventh day itself. Satan wants us to believe that God is not particular about which day we worship so long as we worship Him. People can only enter God's rest on His terms and people who are destroying the earth certainly are not following God's terms. It is no coincidence that God says that He will destroy those who destroy the earth. 18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. Revelation 11:18 God uses the number 7 in some rather interesting ways. The number 7 means perfection. We will soon see that God uses seven to multiply blessings and curses upon His people. Moving up God's calendar we can see that He often sets up a period of time and then multiplies it by seven to denote another period of time. This point will become rather significant as we shall see. Take a look at Leviticus 25:8-12. 8 And thou shalt number seven sabbaths
of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the
space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee
forty and nine years. Notice that the Jubilee year was not only a year of rest, but also of release and restoration. Slaves were freed and property was returned to the original owners. Ellen White states in 6BC 1095: "The gospel of Christ reflects glory upon the Jewish age. It sheds light upon the whole Jewish economy, and gives significance to the ceremonial law. The tabernacle, or temple, of God on earth was a pattern of the original in heaven. All the ceremonies of the Jewish law were prophetic, typical of mysteries in the plan of redemption." If this statement is to be taken at face value, which it should be, then we can say that this whole system of sabbaticals and jubilees pointed forward to the plan of redemption which includes what Jesus is going to do at the second and third comings. He is going to release us from our slavery to sin, give us a perfect nature, give us a sabbatical millennium of rest, and then restore the earth to its state of perfection at creation. We have so much yet to learn from the study of the Jewish economy. Consider the following quote: "The significance of the Jewish economy is not yet fully comprehended. Truths vast and profound are shadowed forth in its rites and symbols. The gospel is the key that unlocks its mysteries. Through a knowledge of the plan of redemption, its truths are opened to the understanding. Far more than we do, it is our privilege to understand these wonderful themes. We are to comprehend the deep things of God. Angels desire to look into the truths that are revealed to the people who with contrite hearts are searching the word of God, and praying for greater lengths and breadths and depths and heights of the knowledge which He alone can give." Christ Object Lessons p. 133 Another interesting point is made in Leviticus 25:20 and 21. 20 And if ye shall say, What shall
we eat the seventh year? behold, we shall not sow, nor
gather in our increase: God did not require the Israelites to follow Him without giving them sufficient reasons. He provided food for them in advance of the years that they would not till the land. In fact He provided them with enough food to last until the harvest after the sabbatical year was completed. What a God we serve! God made a covenant or contract with His people. If they would follow Him and obey His commandments then He would pour out tremendous blessings on them. Blessings: Can you think of a better way to live life on this sinful earth than to follow God and receive these blessings that He promised? All the food, shelter, protection, and love that only God could provide were to be given freely to His people! The other side of the agreement contained a terrible price to pay if the people chose not to follow God. Retributions: God said that He would send all of these retributions on the people if they did not repent of their sins. Notice that God multiplied the punishments seven times each time the people walked contrary to Him. He says this four times in verses 18, 21, 24, and 28. Nebuchadnezzar used the number seven in a similar way: 19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated. Daniel 3:19 Leviticus 26:20-25 records that God would use four punishments against His disobedient people: famine, plagues, wild beasts, and a sword. God uses the number four to mean "fully prepared". After being warned of four judgments to be carried out seven times more, the people were fully prepared to meet the consequences of their foolish choice. God does not punish His people without first telling them in advance the consequences of their choices for evil. He even makes life miserable for them along the way in order to bring them back to Him. People must repeatedly choose to reject God, against all evidence of His Providence, in order to be lost. The astounding thing is that most people reject God in spite of everything He does to try to save them! The land would eventually get its rest regardless of the choice that God's people made. Notice verses 34 and 35 of Leviticus 26. 34 Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths,
as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies'
land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths. Revelation 6:8 makes a rather interesting
prediction of what is going to happen in the very last
days. God uses the same punishments today that He said He would use against the Hebrews if they did not keep their end of the contract with Him. The world has refused to keep the commandments of God and He is going to destroy the world with these same four judgments. A fascinating story is told in Ezekiel 4:1-6. 4:1 Thou also, son of man, take thee
a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it
the city, even Jerusalem: Imagine a full-grown man laying in the dirt in front of city hall in your town playing with the dirt and building a dirt city, erecting a fort against it, and then laying siege to the city! We would think that he was a nut, but he definitely would get our attention. Poor Ezekiel laid out there for 390 days on his left side and then for 40 days on his right side for a total of 430 days. Each day represented a year that the Jews had disregarded God's commands. Ezekiel's trust in God and his willingness to do whatever God asked, even in the face of derision and ridicule, is an object lesson of what we must be willing to do for God in our day. What was the significance of Ezekiel's object lesson and were the numbers given simply random numbers? Consider Jeremiah 29:10. 10 For thus saith the LORD, That after
seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit
you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing
you to return to this place. Jeremiah 29:10 Remember that God had warned His people in Leviticus 26 of disasters that would occur if they did not keep up their end of the contract and that the land would get its rest one way or another. If we apply the 430 years of Ezekiel 4 with this text in 2 Chronicles 36 we should end up with 70 sabbaticals that the Jews violated. Follow the math closely and you will see a beautiful picture beginning to emerge. Leviticus 25 pointed out that there were 7 weeks of years in a Jubilee cycle or 49 years with the 50th year actually being the Jubilee year. However the 50th year was also the first year of the next Jubilee cycle. Notice that there are actually 8 sabbath years in a Jubilee cycle--years 1, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, and 49. Follow the math in the box to the right and you will see that the Jews violated 70 sabbath years in the 430 years spoken of in Ezekiel 4. God's prediction came out exactly to the year! The Jews violated 70 sabbaths of years and they were in captivity for 70 years, which allowed the land to have its rest for 70 years. The prediction in Leviticus 26 was exactly fulfilled down to the very year! Another issue to consider is that the number 70 appears to be the limit of God's patience. We have just seen that the land was desolate for 70 years due to the fact that God's people had violated 70 sabbath years. Consider Daniel 9:24-25 for more evidence to support this point. 24 Seventy weeks are determined upon
thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression,
and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation
for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness,
and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint
the most Holy. Notice that 70 weeks of probation were given to God's people to get their act together. 70 weeks is actually 70 x 7 = 490 years because prophetic time is reckoned as a day for a year (Ezekiel 4:6--"I have appointed thee each day for a year."). God's people were given 490 years (70x7) to finish transgression, make an end of sins, make reconciliation for iniquity, and bring in everlasting righteousness. At the end of 490 years they were to anoint Jesus (the Most Holy) and to seal up the vision and prophecy. If they had done as God desired for them to do, then Jesus' first coming would have also been His last. Prophecy of the end times would have been sealed up forever because there would have been no need for it. Revelation would never have been written and history would have been totally different from what it is. God had big plans for His people if they would only have followed Him. From the decree to rebuild Jerusalem in 457 B.C. to the stoning of Stephen in 34 A.D. is 490 years. The stoning of Stephen in 34 A.D. is the point in time when the Jews probation finally ran out and the gospel then went to the Gentiles. Note again the limits of God's patience--the number 70. Jesus and His disciples were familiar with the time frame given in Daniel 9:24-25 so it is no great surprise that Jesus gave the famous reply to Peter's question found in Matthew 18:21-22. 21 Then came Peter to him, and said,
Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I
forgive him? till seven times? The limit of God's patience (70) keeps surfacing. Remember that blessings and curses are often given in multiples of 7. We explored that concept earlier in this paper. Here again is God's patience (70) multiplied 7 times for a total of 490, which ties directly back to the 70x7 concept used in Daniel 9. The final piece in God's great calendar is rather interesting because it pulls the parts of the calendar together and makes sense out of each piece. 8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 2 Peter 3:8 If all of creation took 6 days with the 7th day being a day of rest, then it makes sense that the sin problem on this earth is also given 6,000 years (6 days to God) of toil under sin with the 7th millenium being a 1,000 years (1 day to God) of rest and release from sin. Remember that the Jubilee was for rest, release, and restoration to the rightful owners of the property that they had lost. In like manner Satan has kept us in slavery to sin for six thousand years (6 days to God), but Jesus' 2nd coming releases us from slavery to sin. We then enjoy the millenium sabbath of rest in heaven with our Redeemer. At the end of the 7,000 years God finally erases sin from the universe and restores the earth to its original perfection and then returns it to its rightful owners. Note that 7,000 years is 70 centuries--the total limit of God's patience. God's calendar presents such a beautiful picture of God and what He is doing for us! Understanding this picture also puts the emphasis back on the weekly cycle of six days of work with the 7th day being a day of rest. This mini model of God's calendar is a weekly reminder that God has set a limit on the length of time for the sin experiment to take place in His universe. It also highlights the Sabbath, the 7th day, as being extremely important in this contest with Satan. This explains why Satan is working so hard to void God's Sabbath and to insert his own day of rest because if man can be kept from understanding this vital Sabbath issue then his mind can ultimately be diverted away from the Lord of the Sabbath and his destruction will be assured. The Sabbath issue will be the focus of attention in the battle between Christ and Satan at the very end of earth's history. In studying the Jewish economy we have found that the Sabbath has much more meaning behind it than we have realized. Ellen White makes some rather interesting comments about proclaiming the Sabbath more fully: "And at the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully. This enraged the churches and nominal Adventists, as they could not refute the Sabbath truth. And at this time God's chosen all saw clearly that we had the truth, and they came out and endured the persecution with us. I saw the sword, famine, pestilence, and great confusion in the land. The wicked thought that we had brought the judgments upon them, and they rose up and took counsel to rid the earth of us, thinking that then the evil would be stayed." Early Writings p. 33-34 This whole story that God has outlined with the Jews is just a mini model of what is to happen to the whole earth in the very near future. Read the following texts in light of the Jews' story and see if you find new meaning in these texts. 2 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the
God of Israel; Ye have seen all the evil that I have
brought upon Jerusalem, and upon all the cities of Judah;
and, behold, this day they are a desolation, and no
man dwelleth therein, 24:1 Behold, the LORD maketh the earth
empty, and maketh it waste, and turneth it upside down,
and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof. This text in Isaiah 24 shows the end results of the sin problem. Man has broken his covenant with God and as a result the curses spoken of in Leviticus 26 are poured out on the earth in the form of the 7 trumpets and 7 plagues spoken of in Revelation. 23 I beheld the earth, and, lo, it
was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they
had no light. The land is made desolate at Christ's second coming, but the end of the sin problem does not happen for another 1,000 years. No man is alive on the earth during this time and so Satan has plenty of time to contemplate the results of his bad choices. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that
old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound
him a thousand years, God revealed to David some of what would happen at the end of this world. 8 But thou, LORD, art most high for
evermore. 8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. Revelation 6:8 9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh,
cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land
desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out
of it. 18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. Revelation 11:18 Dear friend, the time for making a choice to serve God is nearly up. 6,000 years of sin is nearly upon us and God's coming is imminent. Yes, God's calendar is nearly complete. We are approaching sundown on Friday night of earth's history. Remember that Friday is the 6th day of the week and that sundown signals the second coming of Christ and the beginning of Great Sabbath in heaven. Probation closes a little while before the second coming--that is why we must be prepared for Sabbath a little time before sundown Friday evening. The sun is almost down and the world is getting ready for an exciting time on the town. The dance halls are filling, the bars are tuning up for an evening of fun, and the football stadiums are buzzing with anticipation. Matthew 24:37-39 is being fulfilled right before our eyes. 37 But as the days of Noe were, so
shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Noah preached for 120 years that God was going to destroy the earth with a flood. God gave the people ample warning of what was approaching. It was not a case of the people not being warned, but rather that they chose not to believe the warnings that were given to them. In the same way God is giving ample warnings that we are approaching the end of time here on earth. What we choose to do with that knowledge will determine our destiny just as the peoples' choices in Noah's day determined their destiny. Prayerfully consider the following verses. 5:1 But of the times and the seasons,
brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. Notice that verse 4 shows that we are not in darkness about the second coming of Jesus and that it will not overtake us as a thief--only the wicked will be caught off guard. 3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. Revelation 3:3 Jesus says that He will come as a thief on those who are not watching and they will not know what hour He is coming. This verse is stated in the negative. If we rephrase it in the positive the meaning for us becomes clearer. "If therefore thou shalt watch, I will not come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt know what hour I am come upon thee." God is such a God of love that He has given us a calendar that gives us ample warning that our time on this earth is about over. He has not yet revealed the day and the hour of His coming, but even that will soon be made known. Amos 3:7 says: 7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets. Amos 3:7 Can we believe God at His word? He says that He will do nothing, but He reveals his secret to His servants the prophets. God will give us the information and timing of His coming when He sees that the time is right. God has given us a clear warning and a clear choice. How we respond is up to us. Pray that we do not delay and that we will make the right choice! The end is truly imminent!
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