Thursday, August 10, 2023

Debunking 2520 "Prophecy" SERIES: Intro

"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.
 
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