Phoneman777 said:
What verse in Scripture specifically says "7 years of tribulation"?
The commonly accepted story of the tribulation is based on a period of seven years. There is no specific verse that says this is so mostly because it's not true. Even if there were such a verse THERE'S A BIG GLITCH in the calculation.
The Hebrew calendar was based upon a lunar year (1 month) NOT a solar year. mostly....
The Gregorian calendar was not accepted until 1582. So when we talk about a "week of years" are we talking about 7 solar years or 7 months? Novelizations which subscribe to the tribulation as a theme DO NOT recognize this fact of history - that the Hebrews measured time by lunar years AND solar years! So which one are we talking about? The glitch is that NOBODY knows!
Novelists and those that dabble in eschatology have extrapolated the time period mostly from two books; Daniel and Revelation. However, those that seek more accurate calculations recognize that Hebrew Law has a huge impact on this sort of calculation. There is a lot more to consider. A lot more....
Daniel contains a series of predictions, most of which are interpreted differently according to scholarly works or grocery store novelizations. The latter type creates a greater cash flow for its authors such as Hal Lindsey, Eric Von Daniken, and so on. Both have been proven wrong, BTW.
The predictions of Daniel, as far as time periods are concerned, are based upon earlier Hebrew laws SOME OF WHICH ARE BASED UPON A LUNAR CALENDAR AND SOME ON A SOLAR CALENDAR. Its not restricted to the Gregorian solar calendar of the Christian era. 1 solar year = 12 lunar years. The time difference has often caused serious error in calculations of events and predictions. First because self-styled prophets do not recognize Hebrew law and second because 12 orbits of the moon around the earth do not exactly match 1 orbit of the earth around the sun. Certain adjustments must be made after a period of time has elapsed (a 50 solar year cycle was the usual elapsed time for adjustments of calculations).
If a haze is forming in your mind right about now, then you are getting the picture clearly.
According to Daniel, the prophetic clock is based upon weeks of years. As seven days make a week of days, so a period of seven years make a week of years. Chronology becomes muddy at this point because many festivals and observations begin and end a period of temporal reckoning. For example, A series of weeks of years may signify a particular observation, but not at the absolute conclusion of the final year. Observations are connected to festivals such as the feast of trumpets, which usually occurs in the fall (in 2015 it falls on Sept 23rd). Some misguided individuals, for example believe the rapture will occur this year on that date.
If this isn't enough to make time calculations fuzzy, then consider that the best Jewish scholars
have lost track of it. The best available cannot tell with certainty when the period of observations of events and festivals (and corresponding fulfillment of prophecy) actually
begins or
ends. Anyone who claims to have a handle on it is a liar.
IF and this is a big IF, anyone actually nailed down the historic beginning and ending of the prophetic clock - that person would literally have the ability to predict the greatest events in the future of mankind. As I wrote (as many others honestly also write), the actual historic placement of times and days has been lost. Nobody knows exactly when the calculations should begin or end. We can only guess.
Oddly Jesus seemed to predict just such a situation when He was asked when He would return. His now famous retort was that no one would know the day or the hour. Today we cannot know
because that information has been lost to us. You can't calculate the date when you don't know what year, month or day it really is in relation to the ancient prophetic Hebrew calendar. If it could be discovered it would be of greater importance than finding the lost ark of the covenant.
The best we can do today is identify a week of years as roughly, but not exactly, seven solar years. Or maybe its actually months. See what I mean?
Are the ancient prophecies referring to 7 solar years or 7 lunar years?
Bear in mind that the Gregorian SOLAR calendar was not invented until the year
1582. Prior to that time no nation
officially calculated the passage of the seasons in terms of solar years. In the book of Revelation, the rule of the anti-Christ is mentioned in terms of days but again this time period can be examined from several different points of view. But that is an issue for another post.
The most effective way to approach eschatology is that which Jesus suggested - to look for seasons or trends in events. That method has been used by historians for centuries and has been proven to be quite accurate. History usually continues in a predictable manner until factors impede its continuance. Changes in the status quo multiply until some event or circumstance forces a change to another trend. Such an event can change the course of history in a matter of minutes or hours. They are called "turning points" or "tipping points". For example, a turning point in the history of America happened on the morning of September 11, 2001. The course of the nation changed after that hour and day.
Biblical predictions about the second coming of Jesus Christ usually focus on a similar "turning point" or "tipping point". The tipping point or change in the affairs of man which will precede the 2nd coming will be the revelation of the son of perdition - the anti-Christ. Following that revealing, prophecy indicates that trends or seasons will accelerate to the point where divine intervention will be ultimately manifested in the physical reappearance of the Son of God on earth.
Notions of determining the beginning, middle or end of a time of trouble will only result in frustration as will attempts in calculating its length. Likewise, expecting early excusal from the events of those days in terms of a Star Trek type evacuation are neither logical nor Biblical (John 17:15). Christians are cautioned and encouraged to be ready regardless of the hour, month or year....or how long it takes.
that's me, hollering from the choir loft...
