Posted by Bibleman [Bibleman] on October 27, 1999 at 17:22:40 {dPkPwxsNJEMSSTtTA17sslyACFuF8c}:
In Reply to: *Jan/AL:Inspired Prophecy! posted by Al; on October 27, 1999 at 14:03:50:
Interpretation of prophesy has been getting "corrected" for 2000 years and will continue for another 2000.
You really need to read James Randi's "Mask of Nostradamus", the chapter on "The Prophesy Game".
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, my friend!
Here is where I see you need a Bicalist to sort things out. And this will be quick!
There is no convenient "corrections" involved because of one wonderful thing and that is CHRONOLOGY! You see, the signs are given to be fulfilled but the Bible is specific as to WHEN they will happen. So you have to have a certain thing happen at a certain time!
Now I agree, generally, you probably could find multiple scenarios to fit lots of prophecies over time, but that ignores chronology.
Frankly, the "7 times" prophecy must occur 2520 years from the fall of Jerusalem. Even with all the conflict and revisions during this period, the discrepancy is between 54-84 years max! So no matter what, the prophecies were not supposed to even be fulfilled until the 20th Century. 607, 587 and 529 yield 1914, 1934 and 1992!
So sorrrrrrrry, but the prophecies are much more specific than that because of the chronology and there is no convenient way out by claiming persons simply corrected them, say to fit their own time and scenarios.
I can see why you might want to ignore Bible prophecy, though, if don't understand this.
So let me just show you how specific and difficult it is based upon Biblical patterns that are FORCED upon the chronology. You decide how much weight they have.
JUBILEES:
The Bible focuses on the jubilee which is the 50th year, a year of freedom. Jubilees happen every 49 years. If you add up 50 of these jubilees then you have an implied "grand jubilee" after 2450 years (49x50=2450). The Messiah appeared in 29CE and the "70 weeks" prophecy began in 455BCE, 483 years earlier. 29 CE began the 70th week. The 490 years represents a temple-rebuilding period.
So 490 years is also a interval date we pay attention to. But note. 49x50 is the same as 5 x 490. So the grand jubilee which begins in 455BCE also ends 5 periods of 490 years. 2450 from 455BCE, thus is presumed to be a signfinicant date. That date is 1996.
2450-455=1995+1=1996
Now the Bible also has parallel fulfillments!
That is, the 490 years and the 70th week and the appearance of the Messiah are duplicated during the last 490 years. Thus based upon 1996, the 490 years began a significant time for the "freedom" from the oppression of the Catholic Church which was around 1506 which was around the time Martin Luther became a monk and began the Protestant movement. That's just background.
But essentially, you have the 70th week for the 1st Coming from 29CE to 36CE with the Messiah's last Passover in 33CE.
If the 70th week for the Second Coming ends in 1996, then it would be the period from 1989 to 1996 and the critical passover date for the Messiah's return, would be in 1993.
1335 DAYS:
Now here's something else critical. The Second Coming must not only fulfill the 2520 years from the fall of Babylon but also the 1335 days which is 45 years after the tribulation (HOLOCAUST) and the Jews begin to return to Palestine. Please note this took place in 1947 and that 1947 is 49 years prior to 1996. Therefore, 1947 is also a Jubilee year for the Jews as well. But 45 years after 1947 gives you 1992. That is when the Messiah's Second Coming would be, from 1992-93!
Thus if the Messiah arrived late in 1992, his first Passover would fall in the spring of 1993.
So you see, it's coordinated. The grand jubilee, the 1290 days and 1335 days as well as the 490-year pattern for the rebuilding of the temple, in this case, the spiritual temple.
7 TIMES, 1335 DAYS MATCH:
Now just to make things harder. The 1335 days and the end of the gentile times after 2520 years have to occur during the same year! The 1290 days don't end until after the trampling of the "holy ones" which means after the Holocaust, which we date, as I said, in 1947. So based upon modern fulfillment, not by chronology but by actual dating of events, 1992 should have been the date of the Second Coming. But also, it should have been 2520 years from the fall of Jerusalem. 2520 years from 1992 gives us the fall of Jerusalem in 529BCE! Of course, as you know, based upon the "SK400" and the "VAT 4956", the alternative double-dating in both texts date the fall of Jerusalem in the 19th of Nebuchadnezzar II in 529BCE. That is, you can get the original dating for the fall of Jerusalem in 529BCE from two astronomical texts which confirms that 1) the chronolgy was changed, and 2) the original dating for the 19th year was 529BCE.
End of story.
So it is more than just coming up with a corrected fulfillment. These things are all linked together with ancient dates and some of them have to fall on the same date. And they have!
Add to that all the other prophecies that have to be happening at the same time, and the result is a very impressed Biblicalist!
So before you dismiss the Bible's prophecies as completely vague and generalized, you must first understand all that is involved. Once you do, then the Bible becomes an incredible book of prophecy and chronology.
And just to remind you, even before the chronology was worked out, JIOR group members witnessed the sign of the Son of man appear in the clouds on December 26, 1992. That was before the 1335 days was worked out linked to the HOLOCAUST and the Jews' return to Palestine, and that was before the astronomical text, SK400, corrected the fall of Jerusalem from 525BCE to 529BCE. So this was AFTER the fact!
That is, even though we knew the Messiah had arrived in 1992, we thought that the technical "end of the gentile times" would occur in 1996 because we thought Jerusalem had fallen 70 years from 455BCE which was 525BCE. So we were four years off. But when supplemental research was done just to set aside and investigate the astronomical text reference the WTS had in the Insight Book, which was the excerpt of two eclipses found in the "SK400", the 541BCE/Year 7 references was discovered and the focus on 529BCE as the 19th year began. After some closer research into the scriptures, it was discovered that though Jerusalem fell in the 19th year, the last deportation from Jerusalem did not occur until the 23rd year! And that explained the discreancy.
After that was cleared up, of course, it was clear that the "end of the gentile times" and the Second Coming should have occurred at the same time. Later research helped to understand the 1335 days fulfilled 45 years after 1947 which gave us that fulfillment later on as well. So now, the Bible is confirmed and vindicated. The Messiah did arrive just exactly when the Bible said, and the research now confirms 529BCE as the correct dating. So everything is great.
That is, if you know the Bible, understand the prophecies, etc. There is that.
At any rate, the presumption of updating prophecies is incorrect since the chronology does not permit it. The chronology has specific date fulfillments and that's it. 2520 years from the fall of Jerusalem will always be just that. It's a do-or-die situation. And the Bible proved absolutely true!
Cheers,
Bibleman