Hello!

Below is an article posted at http://watchfortheday.org/thedome.html. Diagrams are on the web site.

The re-establishment of Israel in 1948 was significant. It has been shown here numerous times that the time between Israel’s return from the Babylonian Captivity in 537 BC to their return as a nation in 1948 was 2,520 360-day years (2,483.83 solar years). It is one of six timelines of 2,520 years from the events surrounding the Babylonian Captivity. Concerning the timeline to 1948, the construction of the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount come into play.

Construction on Islam’s Dome of the Rock went from the years AD 688 to 691. Half of 2,520 years (1,260) would span from the Dome’s construction in AD 688 to none other than the year 1948 (1260 + 688). Therefore, there have been conclusions made that this might actually represent the 70th Week of Daniel.

There are, of course, many problems with this view. One problem is that 1,260 days must be converted to 1,260 years when there is no indication in the related passages to do so. Another problem is that though 1,260 years do impressively fit in the proposed second half, the first half of 1,260 years leads to an arbitrary point in history at 573 BC, which was 14 years after the Destruction of Jerusalem. It would be better to conclude that the construction of the Dome of the Rock at such a fitting time of 1,260 years, may at most mean that it is an abomination on the Temple Mount with only one portion of significant time at 1,260 years. However, the previous findings here have shown the use of 2,520 360-day years from 537 BC to AD 1948. This converts to two periods of nearly 1,242 years. What one will soon find is that the mid-point would then shift to AD 705/706, which is the year of that construction was completed on the Al-Aqsa Mosque. This Mosque is also on the Temple Mount.

It is interesting that both increments of years (360 & 365.2422) can span 1,260 years from the Islamic buildings on top of the Temple Mount. It would seem that their construction on the mount can properly be labeled as an abomination, but not THE ABOMINATION. It may also be true that these sites are the location of the future Abomination of Desolation. Consider the following Scriptures:

And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not, for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot for forty and two months. —Revelation 11:1

And upon a wing (of the temple) he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. —Daniel 9:27b

The reconstructed temple will then one day be built before the Abomination of Desolation. The outer court will be controlled by the Gentiles and in fact the Court of the Gentiles was to the south, where the Islamic buildings now stand. Granted, these buildings will probably not survive the great earthquake of the Magog Invasion described by Ezekiel, but the location of these abominations is in the same place regardless. The “wing” is more properly understood as the ‘extremity” of the temple site. The outer court would be the extremity.

The implications of the timing seem to at least support the significance of Islam and the significance of 1948. However, people are still trying to grasp a timeline that might stem from 1948 until the time of the Second Coming. Some have begun to shift away from 1948 after failed hypotheses. However, as of the end of 2011, we are still just 63.5 years from that time. Considering that Abraham was born 1948 years after Creation (by one reading), then it was when he was 75 years of age that he heeded the word of the Lord and departed Haran to go to the Promised Land. By the time he makes it to the land via Egypt, it has here been hypothesized that Abraham may have been about 76 years of age. Advancing from 1948, this would come to 2024, which be the conclusion to the 70th Week. This would put 2017 at the beginning, marking 70 years from Israel’s founding, 120 years from the founding of Zionism, 100 years from the freeing of Jerusalem from the Ottoman Empire, and 50 years from when Israel gained control over Jerusalem in the Six-Day-War.

The use of 75 years is provocative because it is also 75 more days to the day of blessing given as day 1335 in Daniel 12:12, if this parallel continues. With the re-establishment of Israel at 1,260 years from the abominations now sitting on the Temple Mount, the pattern would be 75 more years until the time of blessing. This then seems to fit into a nice parallel with Abraham’s 75 years. Another thing to possibly consider is that though Israel was established as a nation at the end of May 14, 1948, Israel’s War of Independence began the next day and lasted until March 10, 1949 with the capture of Eliat and the raising of the Ink Flag. Israel as a nation did not know peace then until 1949, which was still in the same Jewish year as May 14, 1948. If 75 years are applied from there, it would lead to 2024.

Of course, this is speculation that a pattern of years and events might parallel the day counts of the Tribulation. At the minimum, it seems clear that the abominations on the Temple Mount and the re-establishment of Israel are no accident. According to the Psalmist (who was Moses, Psalm 90:10), we have 70 to 80 years marked out as the period of a generation. If applied from 1948, then the latest start time would be 2020-2021 for the 70th Week. And if 70 years is still a factor, it may be that it could mark the beginning in the fall of 2017.

Time is indeed short and 2011 has passed quickly. Now comes 2012, but it will probably soon pass along with the anticipation in the much unfounded and heralded Mayan Calendar that will turn into more scoffing (2 Peter 3:3-4). However, as we continue to keep our eyes open in watching for our Lord’s return, we will continue to see the Day approaching and it will become much clearer to those who have guarded the truth in their hearts (Revelation 3:3, 1 Thessalonians 5:4-9, Hebrews 10:25). Clearly Israel’s becoming a nation in 1948 was an important marker in time and we have advanced nearly 64 years from that day. We are in the final stretch...

Daniel,

Hmmm, interesting, but but I'm not convinced of this timeline. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, something to think about.

Blessings in Christ,

Valerie