None would dare to say that Iesous’ Revelation is not true in our youth! Today each and all joins in the blasphemous chorus. Only the papists, and a select few Protestants, believed in the Preterist doctrine. Protestantism was alive and popery was dead. Today popery is alive and Protestantism is dead.
But then, Praise the Lord, Iesous said that this would happen! God is even glorified by atheism. The more perfect way, as you know, is that pure hearts and sound speech would be more pleasing to God. We should learn from the men who fought the battles for the Lord. They were the men of God!
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THE YEAR-DAY PRINCIPLE
Since the invention of Preterism by the Jesuit priest, Alcassar, in AD 1614, the “Year-Day Principle” had been hotly debated continuously until AD 1948. The Ecumenical Movement ended all dialogue at that time, and this moratorium on open discussion has continued to the present day. But, in the interest of truth and light, we would be deemed wise to resume the dialogue. We will enter into the discussion with an open mind, and demonstrate our love for Iesous by our reciprocal respect for one another. We will observe: 1) Casual Hints, 2) Dogmatic Example, 3) 70 Weeks, 4) Unspecified Periods of Time (Day & Night), and finally: 5) Preterism.
1) CASUAL HINTS.
Iesous and the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah used the words “year” and “day” interchangeably.
Multitudes of examples may be brought forth, but a few will do.
(1) “To proclaim the acceptable ‘year’ of He Is (
hwhy
), and the ‘day’ of vengeance of the Gods (myhla
)of us (AD 77)” - Isa 61.2.
(2) “For the ‘day’ of vengeance (AD 66) is in the heart of Me, and the ‘year’ (AD 77) of the ‘redeemed’
of Me has come” - Isa 63.4.
(3) “From the thirteenth ‘year’ of Josiah (611 BC) ... even to ‘this day’, ‘this’ is the twenty-third ‘year’
(589 BC) in which the word ... has come to you” - Jer 25.3.
(4) “Now it came to pass in the fourth ‘year’ of Jehoiakim (606 BC) ... from the ‘days’ of Josiah (611 BC) even to ‘this day’” - Jer 36.9.
These are examples of what we call the “double-definitive.” This is how Gods identified symbols in prophecy. “Because the abundance of the ‘Sea’ shall be turned to you, the wealth of the ‘Gentiles’
shall come to you” (Isa 60.5). Here the “Sea” is equated to the “Gentiles.” This is how we discern the message of Gods. Gods had equated the “year” of He Is with the “day”” of vengeance (1), and also, the
“day” of vengeance with the “year” of the redeemed (2). Jeremiah mentioned “this day” as the time for hearing the prophecy of Gods, and it is stated to be the “23rd year” that the “word has come to you” (3).
So then, “day” and “year” are employed interchangeably. Also he has equated the “fourth year” to “this day” (4). Iesous did the same maneuver in the New Testament.
(5) “Look, I cast out demons and perform cures ‘today’ and ‘tomorrow,’ and the ‘third day’ I shall be perfected” - Lk 13.32.
Luke mentions six separate days following this verse, and before Iesous was “perfected.” (See:
14.1, 19.5, 21.37, 22.7, 22.66, 23.12). Therefore, by this we are assured that the Lord was speaking as Isaiah and Jeremiah spoke, and equating “one day” to “one year.” For, He certainly was not “perfected”
(raised from the dead) two literal days later. The Anointed (Christ) seemed to be saying (5), “... perform cures today (AD 30) and tomorrow (AD 31), and the third day (AD 32) I shall be perfected.” Added to these examples are the “days of Lot,” and the “days of the Son of man,” and the “days of Noah.” (Luke 17.26, 17.28, and many more.) Even today, we speak of the “days of our youth,” meaning years, and the
“days of our retirement,” also meaning years. These samples all equate the words “days” and “years.”
(Our speech is governed by the Bible to a great extent.) But then, God is not the author of confusion, for He states the case dogmatically.
2) DOGMATIC EXAMPLES.
(1) “According to the number of the ‘days’ in which you spied out the land, ‘forty days’, for each ‘day’
you shall bear the guilt of ‘one year’, namely ‘forty years’ ...” - Num 14.34.
(2) “And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah ‘forty days.’ I have laid on you ‘a day’ for each year’” - Eze 4.6.
God has laid down the law! In prophecy, “days”, or “one day”, represent “years’, or “one year”
more often than not. Israel wandered forty years because they searched out Canaan forty days, and then refused to take the land; even though Gods had promised the victory. Ezekiel was for a sign to the Israelites captive in Babylon, bearing the sin of Israel 390 “days”, and the iniquity of Judah 40 “days.”
The majority of the Protestant expositors of Revelation were governed by this “Year-Day Principle”
(while Protestants lasted). The papist commentators preferred the days in Revelation to be understood literally, creating a schism between Protestants and papists. We have examined “Casual Hints” and
“Dogmatic Examples” of the “Year-Day Principle” in the Bible; but now let us direct our attention to the
“70 Weeks.”
3) 70 WEEKS.
“Seventy weeks are determined for the people of you (Israel) and for the holy city of you (Jerusalem), to finish the transgression ... Then He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering ...: - Dan 9.24, 27.
Matthew Henry (1714) described the 70 Weeks like this: “In His mercy, God preserved the nation seven times as long as the 70 Years captivity.” E. W. Hengstenberg (1832) and Robert Milligan (1868) and Andrew Fausset (1881), and hundreds more, all state their belief that 70 Weeks was 490
“years.” Therefore, “one day” is seen to represent “one year” in prophecy. (70 Weeks: 455 BC - 35 AD.) And there are no gaps in the periods of prophecy, as the 1900 years between the 69th and 70th Week, or between the first and second half of the 70th Week; which have been suggested by heretics. Iesous impresses us with symbolism in prophecy in a different manner.
4) UNSPECIFIED PERIODS OF TIME (Days and Nights).
(1) “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is ‘day’; the ‘night’ is coming when no one can work” - Jn 9.4.
(2) “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world” - Jn 9.5.
Iesous has identified periods of unspecified lengths of time by the words “day” and “night (#1).
Then He adds that “day” is while He is in the world (2). This “day” was temporary and “night” followed after Iesous ascended to Heaven. The papists cannot interpret these verses literally without “foaming out their shame.” The hymnist represents the Bible, “a mine with jewels rich and rare.” (Amen, brother.
Amen.) The apostles tell us what “night” consists of in this theme.
(3) “So the Evening (Darkness) and the Morning (Light) were the first Day” - Gen 1.5.
(4) “The ‘night’ is far spent, the ‘day’ is at hand” - Rom 13.`12.
(5) “For you yourselves know perfectly that the ‘day’ of Lord (Kuriou) comes as a thief in the ‘night’” - 1Thes 5.2.
Now we have a second, and third, Scripture where an “Unspecified Period of Time” is declared to be “day”. “Day & Night (1); Day & Night (3); Day & Night (4); Day & Night (5).”
Amid all of this apparent confusion, “What meaneth this?”; the fool will ask; the answer is the Teacher’s task. This is the “Parable of Creation” beginning in Genesis (1.1-2.3). A parable is a true story in simple terms with a hidden spiritual meaning. The literal account of Creation is also in Genesis (2.4-25), and in Exodus (20.11), which reads: “He Is (
hwhy
) made the Heavens and the earth, the Sea ...” The days of Creation are “evening and morning”, or “darkness and light.” This is why the Jewish day began at sundown, because “evening” was first. Iesous was the “Morning” (Light) of the Sixth Day, in which Gods (myhla
) said, “We will make man in Our image”; see: Gen 1.26, 2Cor 5.17, Rom 8.29, 1Cor 15.49, 2Cor 3.18. Please read all of these references.
(6) “Extremely Loving (agaphtoi) [ones], now we are the children of God (Qeou) (Seventh Evening);
and it has not yet been revealed what we will be (Seventh Morning), but we know that when He is revealed (AD 77), we will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He Is (esti)” - 1Jn 3.2.
So then, Iesous was the Sixth Morning, and the apostles were the Seventh Evening; and -- “the
‘day’ is [was] at hand.” (Or, the Seventh Morning was near.) We may observe from these “jewels” that literalism would lead to total darkness. Iesous is a Teacher of Parables! He speaks to us through parables
and visions, and “these things are spiritually discerned” (1Cor 2.14).
(7)“Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the Darkness (Night) is passing away, and the true Light (Day) is already shining” - 1Jn 2.8.
Why was John writing here? You are right! He writes here for the same reason that he wrote Iesous’ Revelation, which was, because he was banned to the Isle of Patmos. Why was he banned to Patmos? This was because the Jews’ war with Rome had already commenced. All Jews were fair game.
This was true whether they were Christians or Judaizers. How did John know that “the true Light (Morning) is already shining”?
(8) “... the Holy Spirit indicating this, that ‘The Way’ (Jn 14.6) into the Holiest of All (Heaven) is not yet made manifest while the ‘first tabernacle’ (Holy Place - vs 2) is still standing” - Heb 9.8.
Therefore, we may assume that “the true Light is already shining” refers to the war with Rome being underway, and the destruction of the temple was not far off. The students already knew “The Way”
(Iesous) into the “Holiest of All” (Heaven), but the unbelieving Jews would know the Lord when the temple was actually destroyed, and the servants of God were resurrected.
God employed four methods to teach us that “days” are sometimes “years” in prophecy. These were: Casual Hints, Dogmatic Examples, Unspecified Periods of Time, and Preterism.
5) PRETERISM (How to Spot a Liar!)
Observe how several Preterist commentators explain periods of prophecy.
A) “FIVE MONTHS. The siege of Jerusalem.” CONTRA: All periods of prophecy have an exact ratio of prophetic days to literal days in the text; as 70 Weeks equaled 490 Years. Five Months cannot equal the 42 Month (1260 Days/Years) siege of Jerusalem. This violates Iesous’’ rules.
B) “THE HOUR, AND THE DAY, AND MONTH, AND YEAR. Time was suspended.”
CONTRA: Again, all periods of prophecy have an exact ratio of symbolic days to literal days. This period represents something! Periods of prophecy begin with an historical event and end with a subsequent historical event. The 70 Weeks began with “from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem” (Dan 9.25, Neh 2.6-7). The 70 Weeks ended with the “one week confirming the covenant with many” (Dan 9.27, Acts 11.15-17). [455 BC - 35 AD.] The 430 Years began with the promise to Abram [2056 BC] and ended with the law; or, Exodus [1626 BC].
C) “42 MONTHS. From the emperor’s command to Vespasian to go to Judea (AD 66) until the fall of Jerusalem (AD 70).” CONTRA: There is no historical record of the emperor’s date of sending Vespasian to Judea, and no historical date for his arrival there. Tacitus is silent. Suetonius omits this date. Josephus is mum on this subject. This is pure speculation. Besides that, the war began before Vespasian ever began his journey to Judea. Even Josephus, the famous Jewish historian, did not know when to date the beginning of the war. But the 42 Months in Revelation had been declared, and the record preserved for us today. The “Primacy of the Pope” [AD 600] began the “Dark Ages.” The Fall of Babylon in “One Day” [AD 1859-1860] ended the 1260 Days.
D) “THE THOUSAND YEARS. This is not a period of time.” “Ho, ho! That’s rich!”
CONTRA: The statement above is from ecumenical expositors (No fooling!), and they got it from the Pope. A) “Every word of God is pure” [Prov 30.5]. B) “Surely the Lord God does nothing unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets” [Amos 3.7]. Iesous is a Prophet of God! C) “... and if anyone takes away from the words of ... this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the book of Life” [Rev 22.19]. The “fear of He Is (
hwhy
)” prohibits the servants of God from removing the “thousand year reign” from the Bible, but the Pope and the churches today are not so fortunate.E) “HALF AN HOUR (Rev 8.1): The sign of a short time.”
F) “ONE DAY (Rev 18.8): Shortness of time.”
G) “ONE HOUR (Rev 18.10): (Not identified.)” CONTRA: Iesous identified “today and tomorrow and the third day” very clearly. But, the Preterist commentator is not really an expositor. The reader knows less after reading the commentary than when he began. Iesous’ Sixth Morning and the apostles’ Seventh Evening were not hard to comprehend. HALF AN HOUR (E) is seven and one-half years after the death of Theodosius (395) until the Goths invaded Italy (402). ONE DAY (F) was the loss of the Papal kingdom from June 1859 - May 1860. ONE HOUR (G) was the Fall of Papal Rome on September 20, 1870. [“One Day” usually designates “one year of 360 days (12 months X 30 days)”.
Then ONE HOUR would be one-twenty-fourth of One Day; of 15 days or years. HALF AN HOUR would be 7.5 days or years; such as: AD 395-402.]
We need to reopen the dialogue about the “Year-Day Principle.” When the men of God interpreted Revelation by history, and the “Year-Day Principle”, they could predict the future accurately for over 100 years into the future.
Matthew Henry, in AD 1714, wrote: “Some believe that Armageddon will be the defeat of the Turks.” The Turks surrendered to the British General, Edmund Allenby, on Oct 29, 1918. Belief in Iesous’ prophecies produced knowledge of future events, 204 years before the fact. Albert Barnes wrote the same thing in AD 1851, and B. W. Johnson did the same in AD 1891. How did all of these men know that the Turks would lose First World War? The Preterists know nothing about the future; and little about the past! But the children of God were certain about the future. The Matthew Poole commentary predicted the end of the 42 Months in AD 1866. This was published in AD 1680. The encyclopedias today all list the “fall of Babylon in One Day” to have been from the battle of Magenta, June 4, 1859 to the battle of the Two Sicilies, May of 1860. [One Day = June 1859 - May 1860.] The Preterists claim that God has not done anything since AD 70! They even deny the New Covenant Resurrection at the End of the World. See: Rev 14.12-13, 20.11-15, 21.7-8.
We will share with you one more example of the “Year-Day Principle.” This prophecy is happening now, and into the future! “... so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be loosed a little” (Rev 20.3). Iesous had already identified the symbol “Little.” John 16.16: “A Little 9Day #1), and you will not see Me, and again, a Little, and you will see Me; because I go to the Father.” Iesous ascended to Heaven 45 literal days after this prophecy was introduced (Jn 12.35; Day #2). He was “three days and three nights” (Days 3, 4, 5) in the earth. These were Thursday, Friday, Saturday. The Lord “showed Himself alive with many infallible proofs for 40 days (Days 6 through 45).
[2 Days + 3 Days + 40 Days = 45 Days.]
John 12.35 to 16.16 was 2 Days. In the tomb was 3 Days. From Resurrection to Ascension was 40 Days. Then in 45 prophetic Days (One Day = One Year) Iesous returned.
[AD 32 + 45 Days = AD 77.]
This day harmonizes with “quickly” and “this generation” and “ten days.” See: Rev 3.11, 2.10, Mt 24.34.
The Millennium was symbolism for 100 Years: AD 1859 - 1959.
AD 1959 + Little (45 Years) = AD 2004.
Then Gog and Magog will be devoured with fire from out of Heaven. The Devil who deceived the nations will be cast into the Lake of Fire and of holy God (Qeiou)* with the Beast and the False Prophet. See: Rev 20.7-10. The “Year-Day Principle” has been proven truthful.
NOTE *: This is a “double abbreviation”, which is one of several in the New Testament.
The[ou] [Ag]iou = “of holy God.” [Isn’t Iesous tricky?]
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