"For several reasons, the suggestion sometimes offered that the “seven times” of Leviticus 26:18 (KJV) refers to a prophecy of 2,520 years cannot be accepted.
The following study is a response to the teachings of Jeff Pippenger, 
leader of an independent ministry and proponent of the 2520 time prophecy.
The 2520 non-prophecy is based on Leviticus 26 where presumably God promised to punish
Israel seven times for her apostasy. The seven times are interpreted according to the year/day
principle with each time or year having 360 days. Thus, 7 X 360 = 2520.
principle with each time or year having 360 days. Thus, 7 X 360 = 2520.
An examination of Leviticus 26:18 in its context shows that it is not a
prophecy but conditional statements of blessing and cursing depending on
Israel’s response to God. Statements made by James and Ellen White
support this interpretation.
The King James Version of Leviticus 26:28 reads: “I will walk contrary
unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for
your sins.”
Misunderstanding the term “seven times,” they believed that
the word time refers to a prophetic year, and by multiplying 360 x 7
they came to 2520 years.
*The KJV rendering can be misleading; the New
American Bible, therefore, correctly translates “‘“I . . . will chastise
you with sevenfold fiercer punishment for your sins.”’”
The Hebrew text
has only the word seven; there is no reference to a time period. “Seven
(fold or times)” is a proverbial expression for the full, complete
measure of discipline. (It is also used in Leviticus 26:21, 24, 28; and
Psalm 79:12.) Seven was an appropriate number of completeness in view of
the importance of seven in the Israelite religion.
According to the Millerites, 677 B.C. was the year in which King
Manasseh (696-642 B.C.) was taken as a prisoner to Babylon (2 Chron.
33:11) and the 2520 years of punishment of God’s people 
began.
There is
no historical evidence, however, that Manasseh was taken to Babylon in
677 B.C.
Yet, even if the date 677 B.C. were correct, it would not indicate the
beginning of the punishment of God’s people, because only the king was
taken to Babylon, and only for a short time. He returned to Jerusalem,
destroyed all the idols he had erected, and restored the worship of God
(2 Chron. 33:15, 16). The kingdom of Judah continued another 80 years,
until in 586 B.C.
That the expression “seven times” cannot refer to seven time periods is indicated by the following:
1. The Hebrew only has the word seven; the word time does not appear in the text.
2. The year-day principle is valid only in the apocalyptic books of
Daniel and Revelation or in texts where it is specifically explained.
Leviticus 26 is not an apocalyptic book. The year-day principle,
therefore, cannot be used. There are only two texts in non-apocalyptic
books where the year-day principle is used (Num. 14:34; Eze. 4:6), and
both times God explains that a day stands for a year. In apocalyptic
books this is not stated but assumed.
3. The Millerites saw only the last “seven times” in verse 28 as a time
prophecy. If they had used all four “seven times,” the time period would
have extended to 10,080 years.
In 1864, James White published an article in The Review and Herald
titled “The Seven Times of Lev. Xxvi.” In this article he asked the
question, “Is there any prophetic period brought to view at all in Lev.
xxvi?”
In response he says, “We claim that there is not, and will offer a
few of what are to us very conclusive reasons for this position.”
He
asks, “What is meant by this repeated expression of seven times? We
reply, It denotes, not the duration of the punishment, but its intensity
and severity."
He concludes that portion of the article by stating, “So then, there is
no prophetic period in Lev. xxvi; and those who imagine that such a
thing exists, and are puzzling themselves over the adjustment of its
several dates, are simply beating the air. To ignore, or treat with
neglect, a prophetic period where one is plainly given, is censurable in
the extreme. It is an equally futile, though not so heinous, a course,
to endeavor to create one where none exists.”
James Rafferty/ BRI/Gerhard Pfandl/Stephen Bohr
