Appendix 4 - The precise calculation of the 7 TIMES

This is for those who want to check the calculation of the 7 TIMES ending on May 13th 1948 and June 12th 1967, predicting to the very day the ending of the Times of the Gentile Dominion over Israel. Thus right on time on May 14th Israel was reborn as an independent nation, and in June 1967 she regained dominion over her divinely ordained capital, the original Old City of Jerusalem!

1. First of all the initial dates have to be established which I will do in a more general book on Bible Chronology. Having established the starting years of 607 BC and 588 BC, the next step is to realise that the official years of the kings of Judah start in Tishri (the 7th month of their sacred calendar corresponding to our September-October). It is interesting that today the Jews celebrate their new-year (Rosh-HaShanah) on 1st Tishri. Therefore the logical starting point is 1st Tishri in each year. Now each new month starts at the time of the observed New Moon. Since Jewish days begin at sunset the month starts on the evening when the moon becomes visible. 

The lunar tables (see the NASA tables at the end of this Appendix) give us the dates of the astronomical New Moon, remembering that the observed New Moon is 2 or 3 days after the astronomical New Moon (it needs to be at least 30 hours old at 6pm for it to be observable that evening). Please note that the tables give the Julian (not the Gregorian) dates, and that for years before Christ you must make a one year adjustment (e.g: Year -606 = 607 BC). 

Thus for example the Tishri astronomical New Moon in 607 BC is September 27th (Julian) 13.45 GMT (or about 16.00 Jerusalem time). This is equivalent to September 20th (Gregorian Calendar). Therefore Tishri 1 was September 23rd (actually since Jewish days start at sunset, Tishri 1 actually started at 6pm of September 22nd). 

2. The type of year used to measure the 7 TIMES or 2520 years also needs to be established. I believe the logical choice would be the ancient Babylonian year based on the Time of 360 days. However in order to keep it in step with the seasons (as it is a solar year) an extra 30 day month was added about every 6 years. More precisely 7 months were added every 40 years. The reader can verify that over 40 years and any multiple of 40 years (such as 2520) this gives an average year length of 365.25 days (the same as the Julian year used by the Romans at the time of Christ). 

3. Then we need to know the exact time in days of the Life of Christ from His Birth in October 12th 2 BC (Tabernacles) to His Ascension on May 13th AD 33, because this period is not to reckoned as part of the Times of the Gentiles (= 12,268 days).

4. With this information you will be able to verify that the SEVEN TIMES of the Gentiles measured in Babylonian years from 1st Tishri 607 BC, omitting the Life of Christ, came to an end on May 13th 1948. This opened the way for the Rebirth of Israel as a nation the next day on May 14th 1948, showing that the Seven Times of the Gentiles had truly ended. 

Likewise, the 7 TIMES of the Gentiles measured from Tishri 1st 588 BC, omitting the Life of Christ, came to an end on June 12th 1967 (exactly 34 years after the cutting off of the Gentiles in 1933!) The Old City of Jerusalem was captured early on in the 6 Day War which started on June 5th 1967. Although the man action was over by June 10th, the last action of the war took place on June 12th. With the War successfully over, Jerusalem (the Old City) then came permanently and officially under the control of Israel. Thus we see that once the period of 7 TIMES was completed, Israel regained full dominion over her holy capital city Jerusalem. According to our key text, the prophetic words of Jesus in Luke 21:24, this event marked the end of the Times of the Gentiles.

I leave you with the pleasure of actually doing the calculation if you are that way inclined. There are various calendric tools online which will make the task less painful! The NASA Tables overleaf will help you verify the chronology of the Life of Christ and the satrt of the Times of the Gentiles (see page 34 for the website).

Glory to God in the Highest who sovereignly rules over the nations and the affairs of men. He surely will fulfil His purposes for the Church and for Israel in His perfect timing. His Word is true and trustworthy for everything He says will come to pass. His prophetic scriptures will all be fulfilled accurately, just as we have seen demonstrated in His typological prophecy of the 7 Times!