Jehovah God wants humans to be aware of time, so they can connect particular events with particular times. In Genesis 1:14 we read:
14 Then God said: “Let there be luminaries in the expanse of the heavens to make a division between the day and the night, and they will serve as signs for seasons and for days and years.
Jehovah wants that humans shall be able to count the general time of days months and years, as well as the prophetic time.
THE CALCULATION OF THE TIME OF THE COMING OF JESUS TO THE EARTH
In the Hebrew Scriptures, there are many prophecies about the coming Messiah and about different things he will do and experience. All these prophecies are put into one time frame in Daniel 9:24-27:
24 “There are 70 weeks that have been determined for your people and your holy city, in order to terminate the transgression, to finish off sin, to make atonement for error, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision and the prophecy, and to anoint the Holy of Holies. 25 You should know and understand that from the issuing of the word to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem until Mes·siʹah the Leader, there will be 7 weeks, also 62 weeks. She will be restored and rebuilt, with a public square and moat, but in times of distress.
26 “And after the 62 weeks, Mes·siʹah will be cut off, with nothing for himself. “And the people of a leader who is coming will destroy the city and the holy place. And its end will be by the flood. And until the end there will be war; what is decided upon is desolations. 27 “And he will keep the covenant in force for the many for one week; and at the half of the week, he will cause sacrifice and gift offering to cease. “And on the wing of disgusting things there will be the one causing desolation; and until an extermination, what was decided on will be poured out also on the one lying desolate.”[1]
The 70 weeks of years started in the 20th year of the Persian king Artaxerxes I, which is 455 BCE.[2] They ended 490 years later, in the year 36 CE, when Cornelius, the first believer from the nations was baptized. The Messiah should come after 69 weeks, which ended in the year 29 CE. In the middle of the 70th week, after 3 1/2 years, he would die. The Jewish people heard the Word of God be read in the Synagogue, and occasionally in the temple. And even though the individual Jews did not possess scrolls with the text of one or more of the Scriptures, many had a good knowledge of these Scriptures.
Jesus knew all the Hebrew Scriptures, and in Mark 1:14, 15 we read:
14 Now after John was arrested, Jesus went into Galʹi·lee, preaching the good news of God 15 and saying: “The appointed time (kairos) has been fulfilled (pleroō), and the Kingdom of God has drawn near. Repent, and have faith in the good news.”
The word Greek word kairos has the meaning “appointed or proper time; season, age.” (UBS Lexicon) One of the definitions of Mounce is “a limited period of time marked by a suitableness of circumstances.” The Greek word khronos refers to time generally but kairos refers to a particular time period that is appointed or limited. The real nuances must be construed on the basis of the context.
The word that can help us find the real meaning of kairos is the verb pleroō with the meaning “to fill; make full; fill up.” (Mounce) Because of this verb, kairos in this verse, cannot refer to time in general, or to a season or an age. But it must refer to a particular time period that has come to its end. The rendering “appointed time” is excellent, and the only appointed time that refers to the Messiah and the Kingdom of God is the 70 weeks mentioned in Daniel chapter 9, especially to the end of the 69th week when the Messiah should come.
Jesus spoke Hebrew, and he probably used the word ‘ēt. This word can refer to “time (in general); a unit of time (of various lengths): season” (Kohlenberger and Mounce). In Daniel 12:9, we find the words ‘ēt kets (“time of the end”), which refers to an appointed time. If Jesus used the word ‘ēt, Mark interpreted the meaning to be “appointed time” because he used the Greek verb “fulfill.”
Jesus used the Hebrew word ‘ēt many times, and in the Gospels this word probably is translated with kairos. Jesus used the Hebrew word ‘ēt (Greek: kairos) in the plural according to Matthew 16:2, 3: (above).
2 In reply he said to them: “When evening falls, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is fire-red,’ 3 and in the morning, ‘It will be wintry, rainy weather today, for the sky is fire-red but gloomy.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but the signs of the times (kairos) you cannot interpret.
In connection with “the signs of the times,” in Matthew 16:4 Jesus refers to the sign of Jonah. Because the plural of kairos is used, I would have used the rendering, “the signs of the appointed times.” The “sign of Jonah,” that Jesus was three days in hadēs, just as Jonah was three days in the belly of the fish, was not “the signs of the appointed times.” However, the only times that had been appointed, according to the Hebrew Scriptures, were the 70 weeks of Daniel chapter 9. And there were a number of signs connected with these 70 weeks, including that the Messiah should die. This may have been “the signs of the appointed times” that Jesus referred to.
Even though khronos refers to time in general, it can also refer to a fixed time with a marked end when it is determined. We read in Galatians 4:4:
4 But when the full limit (plēroma) of the time (khronos) arrived, God sent his Son, who was born of a woman and who was under law.
The Greek word plēroma has the meaning “that which fills up; full measure; entire content; complement; full extent; full number.” Because the word refers to time in general without different units of time, the rendering “full limit” is an accurate rendering. However, in connection with kairos, which refers to a particular unit of time, the rendering of plēroma would be “full number,” as in Ephesians 1:10. But the words of Paul to the Galatians confirms the fact that the exact time for the coming of the Messiah was marked and could be calculated.
APPOINTED TIMES RELEATED TO THE FIRST AND SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST
The words in Daniel chapter 9 about the 69 weeks until the coming of the Messiah show that calculating time periods in connection with the purpose of God was something that God’s servants should do. I will now discuss different time periods that are found in the Holy Scriptures.
After his resurrection, Jesus became visible to his disciples on several occasions. Immediately before his ascension to heaven, he said something that is important in our context. We read in Acts 1:7:
6 So when they had assembled, they asked him: “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” 7 He said to them: “It does not belong to you to know the times (khronos) or seasons (kairos) that the Father has placed in his own jurisdiction (eksousia).
As I already have shown, the noun khronos refers to time generally and kairos refers to an appointed time. The translation kairos as “seasons” in NWT13 is in my view unfortunate because of the noun eksousia. This noun has the meaning “authority; right; liberty; ability; capability; supernatural power; ruling power; government; official; jurisdiction.” (Mounce) The object is “times and appointed times, and it is important to see exactly what is said about this object. The last sentence begins with the relative pronoun ous (“who, what, which) as masculine plural accusative. This shows that the relative pronoun ous refers back to khronos and kairos, which also are masculine plural accusative. I translate the last clause in 1:7 this way: “which the Father has appointed (or, “put in place”) by his own authority.”
The important point in Acts 1:7 is the existence of appointed times that God has arranged. We find one of these appointed times in Luke 21:24:
24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the nations until the appointed times (kairos) of the nations are fulfilled.
The word kairoi in Luke 21:24 is in the plural, and in my article, The importance of the year 1914— Understanding the appointed times of the nations (Part III), I show that these appointed times started in the year 607 BCE and ended in 1914 CE when Jesus became king in the Kingdom of the heavens and his presence started.[1] This means that both the time of the coming of Jesus to the earth, and his coming as king could be calculated on the basis of concrete numbers in the Scriptures. This is also confirmed by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-5:
[1]. https://mybelovedreligion.no/2025/06/07/the-importance-of-the-year-1914-understanding-the-appointed-times-of-the-nations-part-iii/
1 Now as for the times (khronos) and the seasons (kairos, “appointed times”), brothers, you need nothing to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that Jehovah’s day is coming exactly as a thief in the night. 3 Whenever it is that they are saying, “Peace and security!” then sudden destruction is to be instantly on them, just like birth pains on a pregnant woman, and they will by no means escape. 4 But you, brothers, you are not in darkness, so that the day should overtake you as it would thieves, 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We belong neither to night nor to darkness.
When Paul says that there is no need to write to the Thessalonians about the times and appointed times, does that mean that the appointed times do not exist? Absolutely not! Paul speaks about the day of Jehovah that will come as a thief and not about particular appointed times. We can draw home this point by quoting Matthew 24:32-36
32 “Now learn this illustration from the fig tree: Just as soon as its young branch grows tender and sprouts its leaves, you know that summer is near. 33 Likewise also you, when you see all these things, know that he is near at the doors. 34 Truly I say to you that this generation will by no means pass away until all these things happen.35 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away. 36 “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.
The time period mentioned by Jesus is his presence and the conclusion of the system of things (the time of the end). The followers of Jesus could know when this time period, this generetion, was because of the fulfillment of the sign that he gave in Matthew chapter 24 and because of the calculation of the appointed times of the nations (Luke 21:24). But the day and the hour of Jehovah’s day no one should know. Paul makes the point that no one should know when Jehovah’s day would come. But because of the knowledge of the followers of Jesus of the time of the end, this day should not “overtake them as it would thieves.” But the important point of Paul’s words in our context, is that he used the same words as Jesus used and shows the existence of “times and appointed times.”
THE APPOINTED TIMES LEADING UP TO THE BEGINNING OF THE THOUSAND-YEAR REIGN OF JESUS CHRIST
In the two previous sections, I have shown how there were appointed times, expressed by the Greek word kairos, that led to the first and second comings of Jesus Christ. In this section, I will show that there are appointed times, expressed by the word kairos, that lead up to the great tribulation and the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ. These appointed times can also be calculated.
But because we only know the approximate year for the beginning of these appointed times, and not the exact year, we cannot know the day and hour for the beginning of the great tribulation and the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ.
The apostle Peter used the Greek word kairos (“appointed times”) several times, and I quote 1 Peter 4:17 (above), 1:10, 11 (middle), and 1:3-5 (below):
17 For it is the appointed time (kairos) for the judgment to start with the house of God. Now if it starts first with us, what will the end be of those who are not obedient to the good news of God?
10 Concerning this very salvation a diligent inquiry and a careful search were made by the prophets who prophesied about the undeserved kindness meant for YOU. 11 They kept on investigating what particular season (kairos, “appointed time”) or what sort of [season] the spirit in them was indicating concerning Christ when it was bearing witness beforehand about the sufferings for Christ and about the glories to follow these. 12 It was revealed to them that, not to themselves, but to YOU, they were ministering the things that have now been announced to YOU through those who have declared the good news to YOU with holy spirit sent forth from heaven. Into these very things angels are desiring to peer.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, for according to his great mercy he gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an incorruptible and undefiled and unfading inheritance. It is reserved in the heavens for YOU, 5 who are being safeguarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last period of time, (kairos, “apponted time”).
The words in 4:17 show that at the appointed time (kairos) the house of God (anointed Christians) will be judged. I have quoted these words to show that kairos refers to a specific appointed time.
The words in 1:10-12 show that the prophets spoke about the salvation of the humans. They prophesied about “the suffering for Christ and about the glories that would follow these.” And they inquired and searched to understand the appointed time (kairos) for these things. Even the angels were interested in understanding this. The point here is that both the prophets and the angels knew there was an appointed time or appointed times (kairos) for the suffering of Jesus and for the salvation (glories) that these sufferings would lead to.
The words in 1:3-5 speak of the salvation of those to whom Peter addressed his letter. They were anointed Christians looking forward to reigning with Jesus Christ in heaven. The nature of their salvation was clear, but when their salvation (their resurrection) would happen, should be revealed in the last appointed time (kairos). The words “the last appointed time (kairos)” must either refer to the appointed time (kairos) ending with the great tribulation and the beginning of the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ or to the last part of this appointed time, which is the time of the end “the conclusion of the system of things.”
The important point is that Peter demonstrates the existence of a time or times (kairos) appointed by God. Peter describes what will happen at the end of these appointed times in Acts 3:19-21:
19 “Repent, therefore, and turn around so as to get your sins blotted out, so that seasons (kairos, “appointed times”) of refreshing (anapsyksis) may come from Jehovah himself 20 and he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus. 21 Heaven must hold this one within itself until the times (khronos) of restoration (apokatastasis) of all things (pas) of which God spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets of old.
I have discussed the words “refreshing” and “restoration” in detail in Part II, showing that they refer to the antitype of the Jewish Jubilee when there will be liberty and restoration for all humans. The important point is that Peter uses the word kairos (“appointed time”) in the plural for the period that ends when Jesus begins his thousand-year reign with the restoration of all the wonderful things the prophets had spoken about.[1]
Paul also speaks of “appointed times.” In his first letter to Timothy 6:13-15, Paul uses kairos. We read:
13 I give you orders 14 to observe the commandment in a spotless and irreprehensible way until the manifestation (epifaneia) of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which the happy and only Potentate will show (deiknymi) in its own appointed times (kairos). He is the King of those who rule as kings and Lord of those who rule as lords.
The word kairos (“appointed time”) is in the plural, and the verb deiknymi has the meaning, “to make known the character or significance of something by visual, auditory, gestural, or linguistic means.” (Louw and Nida) According to the context, the “only Potentate” is Jesus Christ, and when he is made manifest, he will reveal (deiknymi) his manifestation to all humans. When will his manifestation be? We read in 2 Timothy 4:1:
1 I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his manifestation (epifaneia) and his Kingdom.
Because the manifestation of Jesus is connected with his judging of the living and the dead, his manifestation must be the same as his revelation in the great tribulation, when he will destroy people who are like those who persecuted the Thessalonians, and when he after that will judge the living and the dead. We read in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9
7 But you who suffer tribulation will be given relief along with us at the revelation (apokalypsis) of the Lord Jesus from heaven with his powerful angels 8 in a flaming fire, as he brings vengeance on those who do not know God and those who do not obey the good news about our Lord Jesus. 9 These very ones will undergo the judicial punishment of everlasting destruction from before the Lord and from the glory of his strength.
There is one important point in 1 Timothy 6:15, namely, that the humans in the world will realize the situation when the manifestation of Jesus comes “in its own appointed times (kairos).” According to Matthew 24:36, Jesus said that the Father has appointed the time when the great tribulation will begin, but no one knows this time. However, Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 6:15 that this day will come “in its own appointed times (kairos in the plural). This shows that just like the appointed times of the nations that are mentioned in Luke 21:24, which God has appointed, there is also other appointed times that will end at the manifestation of Jesus. Paul shows this explicitly in 2 Thessalonians 6:15.
Paul also speaks about “appointed times” (kairos) in Ephesians 1:10:8-10:
8 This undeserved kindness he caused to abound toward us in all wisdom and understanding 9 by making known to us the sacred secret of his will. It is according to his good pleasure that he himself purposed 10 for an administration (oikonomia) at the full limit (pleroma) of the appointed times (kairos), to gather all things together (anakefalaioō) in the Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth.
I have discussed these verses in detail in Part II, and I demonstrate that the gathering all things together again in heaven and on earth will happen at the full limit of the appointed times, which is a reference to the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ.
[1] . A prophetic time period can be viewed collectively (in the singular), as Jesus viewed the 69 weeks to his first coming in Mark 1:15. Or it can be viewed distributively (in the plural), as he viewed “the appointed times of the nations” in Luke 21:24. This means that if kairos is plural, it always refer to units of time; if it is singular, it can refer to one or several units of time.
Table 1.2 The appointed times related to the antitypical Jubilee
| Appointed times ending at the beginning of the thousand-year reign. | 1 Timothy 6:15 |
| Appointed times ending at the beginning of the millennium. | Ephesians 1:10 |
| Appointed times ending at the beginning of the thousand-year reign. | Acts 3:19 |
Because the thousand-year reign begins after the great tribulation, we may assume that the appointed times that are said to end with the great tribulation and those that are said to refer to the beginning of the thousand-year reign refer to the same appointed times.
[1]. This prophecy is discussed in detail in my book, When Was the Book of Daniel Written? A philological. Lingusitic, and Historical Approach, pages 198-218.
[2]. The universal view is that the 20th year of Artaxerxes I is 445 BCE. I have studied the relevant Babylonian and Persian cuneiform tablets, and in my book, Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian and Persian Chronology Compared with the Chronology of the Bible — Volume I Persian Chronology and the Length of the Babylonian Exile of the Jews Second Edition (2012), I show there is strong evidence in favor of the year 455. See also the article, “The importance of the year 1914 — understanding the appointed times of the nations (Part I).” https://mybelovedreligion.no/2025/06/06/the-importance-of-the-year-1914-understanding-the-appointed-times-of-the-nations-part-i/
[3]. In my book, The Atonement Between God and Man (2023), pages 33-34, I discuss some linguistic evidence in favor of using “again” in the translation.
THE CREATION WEEK AS JEHOVAH’S APPOINTED TIMES LEADING TO THE THOUSAND-YEAR REIGN OF JESUS CHRIST
Paul wrote in Romans 15:4
4 For all the things that were written aforetime were written for our instruction, that through our endurance and through the comfort from the Scriptures we might have hope.
In the previous section, I discussed three texts that mentioned appointed times that refer to the great tribulation and the beginning of the millennium. When Paul says that all the things that were written, were written for our instruction, we must expect that it must be possible to identify the mentioned “appointed times.” He also shows that the instruction of the Scriptures is connected with hope. This supports the view that we must be able to identify the mentioned appointed times — hope is especially connected with the “gathering together” in the millennium mentioned in Ephesians 1:10.
THERE IS A FUTURE ANTITYPICAL SABBATH
But how can we make this identification? We have discussed the appointed times of the 70 weeks and the appointed times of the nations. We may get a clue in Matthew 12:5-8:
5 Or have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbaths the priests in the temple violate the Sabbath and continue guiltless? 6 But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 However, if you had understood what this means, ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless ones. 8 For the Son of man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
An explanation of the meaning of the words, “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath” is found in the study note of NWT13 below:
Lord of the Sabbath:
Jesus applies this expression to himself (Mr 2:28; Lu 6:5), indicating that the Sabbath was at his disposal for doing the work commanded by his heavenly Father. (Compare Joh 5:19; 10:37, 38.) On the Sabbath, Jesus performed some of his most outstanding miracles, which included healing the sick. (Lu 13:10-13; Joh 5:5-9; 9:1-14) This evidently foreshadowed the kind of relief he will bring during his Kingdom rule, which will be like a sabbath rest.—Heb 10:1.
Why must we conclude that this explanation is wrong? Galatians 4:4 (above) and Romans 6:16 (below) may help us to see that:
4 But when the full limit of the time arrived, God sent his Son, who was born of a woman and who was under law.
Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Paul says that Jesus “was under the law,” and he also says that when you obey someone or something, you are a slave of that one. Because the Law was still valid, Jesus had to obey the law. So, he was a slave of the sabbath and not the Lord of the Sabbath. When Jesus did miracles on the sabbath, he did not violate the Law, but he violated some extreme sabbath rules that the religious leaders had made. The words of Jesus about the temple in Matthew 12:6 may help us, and we read in John 2:19-22:
19 Jesus replied to them: “Tear down this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said: “This temple was built in 46 years, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was talking about the temple of his body. 22 When, though, he was raised up from the dead, his disciples recalled that he used to say this, and they believed the scripture and what Jesus had spoken.
The word “temple” in verse 19 is naos (masculine singular accusative) and the pronoun auton (3. person masculine accusative) is of the same gender, number, and case as naon. Linguistically, the English pronoun “it” must refer to the literal temple. Nevertheless, the reference of Jesus was not to the literal temple but to “the temple of his body” — he would die and be raised up after three days.
When Jesus in Matthew 12:6 says “that something greater than the temple is here,” he also had to refer to “the temple of his body.” Because Jesus was a slave of the Law, including the sabbath, it could not rightly be said that he was “the Lord of the Sabbath.” Therefore, “the sabbath” must be viewed as in the same class as “the temple.” It had to refer to something different from the literal sabbath. This means that there must be a future sabbath that Jesus was referring to, over which he was the lord. And the miracles he made on the literal sabbath would foreshadow bigger actions of the same kind that would occur on this future sabbath. Paul confirms this view in Colossians 2:16, 17:
16 Therefore, do not let anyone judge you about what you eat and drink or about the observance of a festival or of the new moon or of a sabbath. 17 Those things are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality belongs to the Christ.
A future “sabbath” must be the seventh period of a “week,” and the only place where the Scriptures speak of “a week” that may have a typical meaning is in the creation account in Genesis chapter 1.
THE SABBATH DAY OF JEHOVAH STILL CONTINUES
The first chapter of Genesis speaks of a creation week of six days (yom), where animals and plants were created. The Hebrew word yom is often used for a day of 24 hours, but it can also be used for different time periods. We are particularly interested in the length of the 7th day. Genesis 2:2, 3 says:
2 And by the seventh day, God had completed the work that he had been doing, and he began to rest on the seventh day from all his work that he had been doing. 3 And God went on to bless the seventh day and to declare it sacred, for on it God has been resting from all the work that he has created, all that he purposed to make.
Most of the verbs in chapter 1 are imperfects, and this means that the focus is on continuous action. Verbs in the imperfect can be translated as “he began to”, “he proceeded to”, and “he was…ing.” When Moses wrote Genesis, all the actions were historically completed. When NWT13 translates the imperfects in Genesis chapter 1 with English simple past, the nuances of the verbs are lost. Because of this, there is no linguistic reason to translate the verb shābat in the imperfect in 2:2 with “began to rest” and “has been resting” in verse 3. But the pattern of the translation would require simple past and the rendering “rested.” All verbs in the imperfect should be rendered in the same way, as is the case in NWT84.
However, the verb shābat is not an action but a state. And even if a translation uses simple past, such as “rested,” the state of rest would continue until it is said that it is finished. Thus, the verb shābatin the imperfect tells us that God rested but it does not tell us that the rest was completed. However, chapters 3 and 4 in Hebrews tell us that the day of Jehovah’s rest was still lasting in the middle of the first century CE when the letter was written and that Jehovah’s rest would continue into the future.
EXCURSUS ON JEHOVAH’S DAY OF REST ACCORDING TO HEBREWS CHAPTERS 3 AND 4The nation of Israel wandered about in the wilderness for 40 years. Because the nation did not obey Jehovah and put faith in him, none of them were allowed to enter the promised land, except Joshua and Caleb. We read in Hebrews 3:15-19:
The Greek word translated as “rest” is katapausis, and its meaning is “the act of giving rest; a state of settled or final rest” (Mounce). This is the first time God’s rest is mentioned after the creation account. And it shows that God’s day of rest had lasted for 2,500 years. The writer of Hebrews uses the situation in the wilderness as a point of departure, and he connects this situation with the situation among those to whom the Epistle was written. We read in 4:1, 2:
In verse 1, the writer shows that in the middle of the first century CE, “a promise of entering into his rest remains.” This shows that God still rested. In verse 2, there is a parallel between “the good news declared to us” and “the word that they heard.” What was “this word”? It was the good news those heard who went out of Egypt regarding the invitation to enter the promised land and rest with Jehovah. They did not achieve this because of lack of faith. The Hebrews had heard the good news of the kingdom, and this also included an invitation to enter Jehovah’s rest, which they did, as we read in 4:3-5:
The Jewish nation who was in the wilderness did not enter God’s rest because of lack of faith. Faith is one of the basic sides of the Christian life, and when the verb pisteuō is used, it often is in Greek present. Therefore, it is correct to render it as “to exercise faith,” which means actively showing faith. In verse 3, the verb pisteuō is in Greek aorist, so the rendering “have exercised faith” is inconsistent. The aorist does not signal actively showing faith. The NIV has the rendering “have believed,” which is an accurate rendering. However, the point is that Christians who have faith enter the rest of God. Verse 3 shows that Jehovah still was resting when the letter to the Hebrews was written. This rest continued, as we read in verses 6-10:
Verse 6 shows that during the sojourn in the wilderness, Israel heard the word of God, the good news about entering his rest in the promised land. But because of disobedience, they did not enter the promised land. Verse 7 shows that Jehovah’s rest did not end during the sojourn of Israel in the wilderness. But another opportunity remains. This is shown by the reference to Psalm 95:7.8:
Psalm 95 was written more than 400 years after Israel’s sojourn in the wilderness, and the words “today” refers to this time. This shows that entering the rest of Jehovah was still possible in the days of David. On the basis of the words of David, the writer of Hebrews draws the conclusion that this “today” still remains; God is still resting. The verse says, “So there remains a sabbath-rest for the people of God.” The rendering “sabbath-rest” is excellent, because the Greek word sabbatismos is an abstract substantive. This means that the word does not refer to a future time period, for example, to the Thousand-Year Reign of Jesus. But the word refers to the state of “resting on the sabbath”; the sabbath resting “remains.” The Greek word translated “remains” is apoleipomai, and according to Louw and Nida its basic meaning is “continue to exist.” This shows that Jehovah’s day of rest continued beyond the time of David, and it still continued when Hebrews was written.[1] This is also confirmed from verse 10 onward. We read in verses 10-13:
Entering into God’s rest means to believe in Jehovah God and Jesus Christ and to be obedient to God’s laws. By this, a Christian is resting from the Laws of Moses and the attempt to make oneself righteous. Becoming righteous is based on the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ and not on particular personal actions. Paul exhorts the Hebrews to do their utmost to enter God’s rest by showing faith and obedience. Then Paul refers to the penetrating force of “the word of God” (logos). The expression “the word of God” does not refer to the Bible, as many believe. But we can find the reference of “the word of God’” in 4:2. In this verse, “the word of God” (logos) refers to the good news Israel received about entering into God’s rest in the promised land, and to the good news about the possibility of entering the rest in the first century CE. So, “the word of God” that is mentioned in verse 12 refers to the good news preached in the wilderness, and in the first century about entering God’s rest. This message is like a penetrating sword, for the reaction to this “word of God,” this good news. shows whether the inner self of a person really believes in God and his Son and if the person by heart wants to obey the laws of God. |
THE LENGTH OF JEHOVAH’S DAY OF REST
As I have shown above, Hebrews chapter 4 shows that God’s day of rest continued in the first century CE, 4,000 years after it started, and that it would still continue. There is no evidence that God’s rest has ended. And because it still is possible to show faith in Jehovah and his Son and follow God’s laws, which means to rest together with Jehovah, we must conclude that the day of rest still continues. But how long will the day of rest continue?
The appointed times of the nations ended in the year 1914, and the presence of Jesus started. Today, we can see the sign of this presence and the conclusion of the of the system of things, and according to Matthew 24:34, the great tribulation will come within one generation. After that, the thousand-year reign of Jesus will begin. Paul says in Colossians 2:17 that the sabbaths were types and the antitypes were connected with Jesus. He also shows in 1 Timothy 5:4 and Ephesians 1:10, that there was “appointed times” that would end with the great tribulation. Peter also shows in Acts 3:21 that there are appointed times that relates to the millennium. When we see this in light of his words in Romans 15:4 that “all the things that were written beforehand, were written for our instruction,” and that this would give us hope, we expect to find the length of Jehovah’s day of rest in the Bible.
And it is interesting to see that all the information that we need to calculate the time from the creation of Adam is found in the Holy Scriptures. We may, for example, consider Genesis chapter 5. In this chapter, the age of ancient persons when they got sons are listed. When everything is written for our instruction, which kind of instruction can this chapter give us? There is only one possibility, that the ages are written to give us the possibility to calculate the time from the creation of Adam. this is supported by Luke 3:23-38 where there is a complete genealogy of Jesus back to Adam. The information in 1 Kings 6:1 also shows that God’s servants are given the tools to calculate the length of Jehovah’s day of rest:
1 In the 480th year after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year after Solʹo·mon became king over Israel, in the month of Ziv (that is, the second month), he began to build the house of Jehovah.
The only reason for such information as the text gives us, is that Jehovah wants to instruct us with chronological information.
I refer to the book Life Everlasting in the Freedom of the Sons of God, pages 33-37, where the time from Adam is calculated on the basis of the information in the Bible. And 6,000 years from Adam ends in the year 1975 CE. When we know, on the basis of the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:34, that the great tribulation will begin in “this generation,” and we know from Revelation chapter 20 that the thousand-year reign of Jesus follows, we know that Jehovah’s day of rest is 7,000 years long.
[1]. Very fine discussions of how to enter God’s rest are found in The Watchtower of July 15, 1998 and July 15, 2011.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN Between JEHOVAH’S DAY OF REST AND THE DAYS OF CREATION
I start with quoting Colossians 2:16, 17 one time more:
16 Therefore, do not let anyone judge you about what you eat and drink or about the observance of a festival or of the new moon or of a sabbath (sabaton). 17 Those things are a shadow of the things to come, but the reality belongs to the Christ.
We note that “festival” and “new moon” are singular. There were several festivals, and by not using the Greek article, the reference must be to any festival. There was only one new moon festival, but there were different sabbats, the weekly sabbath, the sabbath year, and the Jubilee year. The Greek word sabbaton is plural, and this shows that any sabbath is a prophetic type. But of course, different sabbaths do not represent different prophetic types. But all the sabbaths that are connected with the number seven, represent the same prophetic type.
I will now apply the words of Paul to the creation week. We have found that Jehovah’s day of rest is 7,000 years long. Because all the days in a week are of equal length, the six days of creation must each have the same length as the sabbath, conceptually speaking. What do I mean by the word conceptually? Paul says that a sabbath is a prophetic type, and because the sabbath is a part of the week, the whole week is a part of the sabbath type. This means that the week mentioned in Genesis chapters 1 and 2 is 49,000 years long — 7,000 times 7.
Is it possible that each creation day literally can be 7,000 years long? The sedimentary rocks on the earth with their fossils must represent days three, four, five, and six of the creation week when plants and animals were created. Geologists believe that these rocks are hundreds of millions of years old. The sedimentary rocks were formed by small pieces of igneous rocks, and possibly by material from space. The pieces of igneous rocks and the supposed material from space may be millions of years old. But there is nothing in the sedimentary rocks that would contradict the possibility that they —thesedimentary rocks that were created by igneous rocks and sand —are less than 49,000 years old, and the creation week consists of 49,000 literal solar years. Evidence in connection with the ages of rocks is presented in R.J. Furuli, Can We Trust the Bible? With Focus on the Creation Account, the Worldwide Flood, and the Prophecies, pages 26–102.
But regardless of how many solar years each creation day lasted, conceptually, each day is 7,000 years long conceptually speaking. How can we apply this in relation to the type of the Jubilee year? We may read Leviticus 25:8-10:
8 “‘You will count off seven sabbath years, seven times seven years, and the days of the seven sabbath years will amount to 49 years. 9 You will then sound the horn loudly in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month; on the Day of Atonement, you should cause the sound of the horn to be heard in all your land. 10 You must sanctify the 50th year and proclaim liberty in the land to all its inhabitants. It will become a Jubilee for you, and each of you will return to his property and each of you should return to his family. 11 A Jubilee is what that 50th year will become for you. You will not sow seed or reap what grew on its own from leftover grain nor gather the grapes of unpruned vines. 12 For it is a Jubilee. It is to be holy to you. You may eat only what the land produces by itself.
The arrangement with the Jubilee follows the pattern of the creation week. But it is unique compared with the arrangments in other nations. Something similar is not found in any other nation in the ancient Near East. And there is no necessity in the arrangement of 49 and 50 years. A Jubilee of liberty could have come every 40 years or every 70 years, or at another number of years. In view of Paul’s words in Romans 15:4, the arrangement of the Jubilee did not only serve the nations of Israel but the Jubilee was arranged for our instruction. When we also keep in mind that Paul in Colossians 2:17 says that a sabbath is a prophetic type, and both the 49th and the 50th year are sabbaths, there is strong reason to believe that the chronology of 49 and 50 years are prophetic types with a future fulfillment.
If we apply this chronology to the creation week, the 7,000 years of God’s rest is a sabbath in relation to the creation week. And here I am not speaking of a type and an antitype but I speak of the real situation because the 7,000-year long sabbath of Jehovah’s rest literally is a sabbath in the creation week, as Genesis 2:2, 3 says.
But if we now apply the Jubilee chronology to the creation week, we find that the year 49,000th is the last year of Jehovah’s day of rest and is the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ. According to the Jubilee chronology, the thousand-year reign of Jesus is a sabbath, and Jesus said he was the lord of the sabbath. Moreover, what will happen during these 1,000 years is the same that happened to Israel during the 49th and 50th years of the Jubilee cycle. Jesus will proclaim liberty for all humans on the earth! The parallels with the Jewish Jubilee really are striking.
Because the 50th year was a sabbath year when nothing should be sown or ripen, we can view the 50th year as a prolongation of the 49th sabbath year where all sides of the sabbath year would be amplified and heightened. Thus, the 50th year, the Jubilee is the same as the millennium, and it does not start after the millennium.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE YEAR 1975
During this discussion, some may have wondered whether my claim that we can know the appointed times ending at the great tribulation and at the beginning of the millennium is true, in view of the fact that Jesus said according to Matthew 24:36 that “that day and hour nobody knows.”
In order to understand this, it is important to understand what the chronology about the creation week shows and what it does not show. I quote Genesis 2:18-24:
18 And Jehovah God went on to say: “It is not good for the man to continue by himself. I am going to make a helper for him, as a complement of him.” 19 Now Jehovah God was forming from the ground every wild beast of the field and every flying creature of the heavens, and he began bringing them to the man to see what he would call each one; and whatever the man would call it, each living soul, that was its name. 20 So the man was calling the names of all the domestic animals and of the flying creatures of the heavens and of every wild beast of the field, but for man there was found no helper as a complement of him.
21 Hence Jehovah God had a deep sleep fall upon the man and, while he was sleeping, he took one of his ribs and then closed up the flesh over its place. 22 And Jehovah God proceeded to build the rib that he had taken from the man into a woman and to bring her to the man. 23 Then the man said: “This is at last bone of my bones And flesh of my flesh. This one will be called Woman, Because from man this one was taken.”
This account shows that Eve was created after Adam was created. But how much time elapsed between the creation of the two is not stated. Some have claimed that the words “was forming” in 2:19 suggest that some animals were created after Eve was created. However, the verb “to form” is Hebrew imperfect, just as most of the verbs in Genesis chapters 1 and 2. So, there is not linguistic reason to claim that some animals were created after Eve was created.
At the beginning of Part II, I showed that some Witnesses were disappointed when nothing happened in the year 1975, which is six thousand years after the creation of Adam. Today, the whole situation with the antitypical Jubilee and the year 1975 are viewed by most people as a failure. However, it is this viewpoint that ultimately fails. The year 1975 is the last definite landmark on the stream of time, and as I have shown in this article, it holds an important chronological significance.
After I had published this article for the first time, I got a letter from a reader in Brazil, who wrote:
I read the article posted on the website about the Great Jubilee and found the conclusion of the subject at the end of the article interesting. I would like to thank you for the post and make an observation on the subject.
Although we do not know the time that elapsed between the creation of Adam and the creation of Eve, and therefore we do not know exactly when the Jubilee begins, we do know that when Seth, Adam’s third son was born – who Eve saw as a replacement for Abel . (Gen. 4:25), Adam was 130 years old (Genesis 5:3). Then, within the period of 130 years, Adam was created, gave names to all the domestic animals, the flying creatures of the heavens and every wild animal. Also, within this period of 130 years, Eve was created, was expelled from paradise, had Cain and Abel, who grew up and acquired professions. Cain chose farming while Abel became a shepherd. This assumes the passage of a good number of years.
In summary, since Adam was 130 years old when Seth was born – after all the periods already mentioned – and since 48 years have passed since 1975, although we do not know the time that elapsed between the creation of Adam and the creation of Eve, we can to assert based on this data that the beginning of the Jubilee is imminent and even establish a time limit for it?
The observations of the writer are correct, and I will now demonstrate this.
The presence of Jesus and the time of the end began in 1914, marking the end of the appointed times of the nations. Today marks 110 years since that time. In my article discussing the meaning of “this generation,” I show that the Greek word genea and the Hebrew word dor both refer to the overlapping life spans of people who live at a certain moment of time.[1] I showed that the lengths of some generations that are mentioned in the Bible were more than 200 years.
Could it be that servants of God must wait as long as 200 years from 1914 to see the end of the generation that should not pass away? Here is the situation where the year 1975 is chronologically important. As I have previously shown, we expect that the thousand-year reign of Jesus is parallel with the last thousand years of Jehovah’s 7,000-year-long day of rest. Jehovah started to rest after his last creation, which was Eve.
We know that in the year 1975, 6,000 years had elapsed since the creation of Adam. However, since we do not know how much time elapsed between the creation of Adam and Eve, we cannot determine the day and hour when Jesus comes as the judge during the great tribulation. (Matthew 24:36)
But what do we know? There is a limit on the time that elapsed between Adam and Eve, as we see in Genesis 4:25 (above) and 5:3 (below):
25 And Adam proceeded to have intercourse again with his wife and so she gave birth to a son and called his name Seth, because, as she said: “God has appointed another seed in place of Abel, because Cain killed him.”
3 And Adam lived on for a hundred and thirty years. Then he became father to a son in his likeness, in his image, and called his name Seth.
Because Set was born when Adam was 130 years, Eve was created less that 130 years after Adam’s creation. This means the thousand-year reign will come less than 130 years after 1975. But this can be further restricted.
Today marks 50 years since 1975. Because the thousand-year reign has not begun, we know that at least 50 years passed between the creation of Adam and Eve. This opens a window of 80 years (to the birth of Set) during which Eve was created.
What happened after Eve’s creation and before the birth of Set? Cain and Abel were born, they grew up and became adults, and then Cain killed Abel. The time for this to happen must be subtracted from the mentioned 80 years to find the window in which Eve was created.
The conclusion is that the year 1975 is the last certain landmark we know of in the stream of time — 6,000 years after Adam’s creation. Because of this, we know that the Jubilee sabbath, which is the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ, will start much less than 80 years from now. And this means that the generation “that by no means will pass away” before the Jubilee sabbath begins also ends in much less than 80 years from the present.
[1]. «The sign 1:“This generation will by no means pass away Matthew 24:34.” https://mybelovedreligion.no/2025/06/28/the-sign-1-this-generation-will-by-no-means-pass-away-matthew-2434/
CONCLUSION
I have written this article because of my strong belief that the whole Bible is the inspired word of God. This means that all the accounts are included with a particular purpose and meaning, and all the nuances in the original text of the Bible are important. This was the view of the leaders of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1961 when I was baptised. However, the present members of the Governing Body no longer believe in the full inspiration of the Bible, as I show in my book, The Atonement Between God and Man (2023).
The New World Translation that was published between 1950 and 1960, and slightly revised in 1984, is in my view the most accurate Bible translation in the English Language. The Revised New World Translation of 2013 is an inaccurate translation because it is an idiomatic translation where the nuances of the original languages to a great extent are ignored. This translation was made under the leadership of the members of the Governing Body, and it illustrates that these men do not believe that the nuances in the original text are important.
The way the members of the Governing Body treat the translated text of the Bible shows that neither do they view the details of this text as important. They teach that great parts of the Hebrew Scriptures have no meaning for us today, and they even reject the words of Jesus regarding who will get a resurrection. And in connection with this study, they do not accept the words of Paul that the Jewish sabbaths are types whose antitypes will be fulfilled in connection with the thousand-year reign of Jesus.
The organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses today is very different from what the organization was in the 1960s, before the Governing Body for the first time was created in 1971. Today, I endorse everything that Jehovah’s Witnesses stood for in the 1960s, with two exceptions. Most of the doctrines from the 1960s are still taught, but there has been a downward trend both in connection with all the new laws and rules without a basis in the Bible that have been introduced, and in all the new doctrines that have been made, particularly in the 21st century.
Even the most basic doctrines of the Bible have been diluted by the members of the Governing Body. In my Book, the Atonement Between God and Man I show how they have rejected an important part of the ransom sacrifice of Jesus Christ. They have besmirched the name of Jehovah by teaching that he has annihilated and will annihilate forever billions of people who have not had the chance to learn the truth of God because the ransom sacrifice does not include these people.
Jesus gave himself as a corresponding ransom for all Adam’s descendants, and bought them all. But he gave himself as a corresponding ransom for all kinds of Adam’s descendants, according to the members of the Governing Body.
The three first chapters in Revelation shows that among the seven congregations in Asia, there were false doctrines and false practices. And Jesus through John asked the members of these congregations to repent. But still, these congregations were a part of the Christian community that God approved. We have a similar situation among Jehovah’s Witnesses today. Most of the teachings, and most of what happens in the congregations are good and fine and are based on the Bible. And I have no doubt that this is the only true religion that Jehovah approves.
But by their leadership, the members of the Governing Body are working to destroy the organization from the inside, in my view. In the 1960s and for three decades, most Witnesses had a great knowledge of the Bible. Several times when we preached from house to house, and we answered questions by quoting the Bible, the resident said: “You must have memorized the whole Bible.” Today, the Bible knowledge among the Witneses, including elders and pioneers, is extremely low, and very few can answer questions from a tenant by opening his or her Bible and read scriptures.
The reason for this is that the members of the Governing Body are diluting the message of the Bible. After World War II, the stress in the Watchtower literature and at the meetings was personal Bible study and accurate Bible knowledge. Today the stress is on meditation on the Bible to see what the text reminds us of, and on emotions rather than on accurate knowledge. This is also the reason for the articles I have published on my website and for this article. The antitypes of the prophetic types of the sabbaths and the Jubilee are rather dramatic, and they give us hope. Therefore it is important to study the fulfillment of these types.
ADDENDUM
Quotation from The Watchtower of January 1, 1987, pages 22 and 23:
In ancient Israel a cycle of 49 years was followed by a Jubilee year (50th year). Does that Jubilee correspond to the period following God’s creative week of 49,000 years?
Because the number 49 occurs in both cases, it might seem that the Jubilee would foreshadow the time following the end of a creative week of 49,000 years. But for mankind in general who receive God’s approval, what occurred during Israel’s Jubilee corresponds more with what will occur during the Millennium, the last thousand years of such creative week, not what follows after that week. Consider the basis for this:
First, the Mosaic Law required that every seventh year be a sabbath for the land; crops were not to be sown, cultivated, or harvested. After the seventh Sabbath year (the 49th year), there came a special Jubilee year, the 50th year. It was a sabbath during which the land was again to rest. More importantly, liberty was proclaimed. Hebrews who had sold themselves into slavery were freed from indebtedness and servitude. Also, hereditary land was returned to families who had been forced to sell it. So the Jubilee was a time of release and restoration for the Israelites.—Leviticus 25:1-46.
Second, a study of the fulfillment of Bible prophecy and of our location in the stream of time strongly indicate that each of the creative days (Genesis, chapter 1) is 7,000 years long. It is understood that Christ’s reign of a thousand years will bring to a close God’s 7,000-year ‘rest day,’ the last ‘day’ of the creative week. (Revelation 20:6; Genesis 2:2, 3) Based on this reasoning, the entire creative week would be 49,000 years long.
Noting the similarity in numbers, some have compared the 49 years of the ancient Jubilee cycle to such 49,000 years of the creative week. Reasoning this way, they have thought that Israel’s Jubilee (50th) year should prefigure, or foreshadow, what will come after the end of the creative week.
However, bear in mind that the Jubilee was particularly a year of release and restoration for people. The creative week largely relates to the planet Earth and its development. But with regard to the outworking of God’s purpose for man on earth, the globe itself has not been sold into slavery and thus is not in need of liberation. It is mankind that needs that, and humans have existed, not for 49,000 years, but for about 6,000 years. The Bible shows that some time after Adam and Eve were created, they rebelled against God, thus coming into captivity to sin, imperfection, and death. According to Romans 8:20, 21, Jehovah God purposes to liberate believing mankind from this slavery. As a result, true worshipers on earth “will be set free from enslavement to corruption and have the glorious freedom of the children of God.”—See also Romans 6:23.
While the small group selected to be taken to heaven have had their sins forgiven from Pentecost 33 C.E. onward and thus already enjoy the Jubilee, the Scriptures show that the liberation for believing mankind will occur duringChrist’s Millennial Reign. That will be when he applies to mankind the benefits of his ransom sacrifice. By the end of the Millennium, mankind will have been raised to human perfection, completely free from inherited sin and death. Having thus brought to an end the last enemy (death passed on from Adam), Christ will hand the Kingdom back to his Father at the end of the 49,000-year creative week.—1 Corinthians 15:24-26.
Consequently, for believing mankind with earthly prospects, the liberation and restoration that marked the Jubilee year in ancient Israel will find a fitting parallel during the coming Millennial Sabbath. Then liberation and restoration will be experienced. That will be under Christ’s rulership, “for Lord of the sabbath is what the Son of man is.”—Matthew 12:8.
[1]. «The sign 1:“This generation will by no means pass away Matthew 24:34.” https://mybelovedreligion.no/2024/08/20/this-generation-will-by-no-means-pass-away-matthew-2434/
