BLOG

The Timing of the Haggai Ministry--Part 2

Haggai's prophecy is dated in the second year of Darius, king of Persia. We call it 520 B.C. today. His primary thrust was to finish building the Second Temple, which occurred in 515 B.C. It is my belief that his prophecy is applicable 2,520 years later from 2001-2006 A.D.

This is not, of course, the only 2,520-year cycle. There is a sequence of events beginning as early as 745 B.C., ending in 1776 with America's Declaration of Independence. Next is the year 1800, followed by 1909, 1914, 1917, 1987, and finally 2001 and 2006. At this point we seem to run out of dates in which to apply the 2,520-year fulfillment.

The only other possibility is if there is some parallel to the time of Nehemiah, who was sent to Jerusalem in 458 B.C. If this also established a 2,520-year cycle, the time to watch would be the year 2063. I'm too old to worry about that date.

If we focus upon the present, we are drawn to the year 2010. It is not based directly upon the 2,520-year cycle itself, but an enhancement of it, 13 x 210 years, or 2730 years. It is 210 years past 2,520.

The year 1800 was 2,520 years from the fall of Samaria, and we saw Washington D.C. built at that time. The 13th period of 210 years brings us to 2010.

Likewise, as we showed earlier, this time period of 13 x 210 years is equal to 7 x 390, a number specifically associated with the house of Israel in Ezekiel 4:5. By this way of reckoning, as I have shown, the seventh 390-year period is from 1620-2010. It appears that the Pilgrims, who landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 inadvertently fulfilled their role and helped to define this final 390-year period in American history.

The number 390 has to do with "No King in Israel," and reapplies the lawless time of the Judges to our modern experience. It suggests, too, that the American Church's problem with lawlessness (casting aside God's law) is a direct parallel--and with the same consequences--as our counterparts in ancient Israel. Not much has changed. Human nature still prefers to go its own way and reject the way of God.

Yet the key is to see that the original 390-year pattern, from Othniel to Solomon, ended with the glory of God filling Solomon's Temple. That is what ended the time of "No King in Israel" in ancient times. Will this also end America's time of "No King in Israel" in the year 2010?

If this occurs on Hebrew time, the year 2010 begins on Rosh Hashana, feast of Trumpets, on Sept. 19, 2009, and the feast of Tabernacles runs from Oct. 3-10. As I showed in my book, The Laws of the Second Coming, it is my belief that the eighth of Tabernacles is the time prophesied for the outpouring of the Spirit.

So mark October 10, 2009 as a watch date for next year. It may prove to be quite significant. Or God may wait until the following year. He always has the option of going by either calendar. Or perhaps a lesser event may occur at that time, as we have so often seen in the past.

Yet 2010 is the culmination of two very long time cycles. So far, since 1776 we have seen very important events come to pass on a simple 2,520-year cycle. The year 2010 is different because it is the first time that the 390-year cycles actually coincide with the 210-year cycles. This coincidence surely must mean something, but as always, no one knows all the facts until the day comes.

What I find most interesting is how this date coincides with Haggai's ministry and the building of the Second Temple. Especially if we compare it to Solomon's Temple. We know that the Second Temple was only a type of the true Temple, otherwise the glory of the Lord would have filled that place as it did Solomon's Temple. One of the problems that the people faced in Haggai's time was the simple fact that they had lost the Ark of the Covenant, which was supposed to be God's throne in the Most Holy Place. If God had filled that Temple, where would His glory rest? On the stone that they placed on the spot to mark where the Ark was supposed to be?

It appears to me that the REAL pattern for the final glorification of God's corporate Temple, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, is Solomon's Temple, not the Second Temple. The Second Temple provides us only with a time pattern, but Solomon's Temple is the real pattern overall.

Solomon's Temple was dedicated on the 8th day of Tabernacles after 390 years of No King in Israel. Is this what we will see at the end of our own 390-year pattern in 2010?

The Haggai ministry was from 2001-2006, followed by a time of building the vessels of the temple to prepare for the glory of the Lord. This time of building vessels is a reference to Solomon's Temple, not to the Second Temple. There is no record of vessel building in the Second Temple (for whatever reason). But there is such a record in Solomon's Temple. Here's what happened:

They started building Solomon's Temple 480 years after the Exodus (1 Kings 6:1). It took 7 years to complete the building of the temple itself (1 Kings 6:38). It was completed, therefore, 487 years after the Exodus.

In 1 Kings 7, while Solomon was building his own mansion, the vessels (furniture) of the temple were also being built (7:13-51). We are not told precisely how long it took to cast the bronze altar, the huge bronze sea, the 10 lampstands, the golden altar, etc. But it is my belief that it was finished in the 490th year from the Exodus, and that the temple was then glorified on a 490-year cycle.

This was also a 390-year cycle, because Othniel delivered Israel on their first Jubilee precisely 100 years after the Exodus. Israel had spent 40 years in the wilderness, followed by 42 years of peace in the land, and then they had an 8-year captivity to the king of Mesopotamia. Othniel then delivered them in their 50th year, their Jubilee year, beginning their time of the Judges, and 390 years later the Temple was glorified.

I find it interesting that Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the Church door on Oct. 31, 1517, sparking the Protestant Reformation. 490 years later was Oct. 31, 2007. But Luther was actually excommunicated from the Roman Church in 1520, and this was his "exodus" over the primary issue of justification by faith in the blood of the Lamb (Passover). 490 years later comes to 2010.

So 2010 is not only a 390-year period from 1620; it is also a 490-year period from Luther's Passover experience, where he came out of "Egypt."

The Second Temple's revelation shows that the year 2001-2006 is the time to "finish the work" of the true Temple of God. We are now in the time of building the vessels and furniture. This strongly suggests that the glorification of God's Temple is drawing near.

Will this coincide with the second coming of Christ? Or is that a separate event? There are some who argue that the second coming of Christ is actually the arrival of the fullness of the Spirit, and that we are to expect no "personal" fulfillment. My own belief is that Christ is the Head, who must come to the Body in the middle of the feast of Tabernacles in order to perfect the body and make them eligible as priests of God according to the law. These are also the Sons of God, and after being joined to the Head in the middle of Tabernacles, they will be presented to the Father on the 8th day of Tabernacles, according to the law. Then they will immediately return to be manifested Sons of God--that is, manifested to the rest of the people on earth.

Please keep in mind, however, that I am not prophesying anything. I am merely giving you my opinion and understanding of the Word. Paul says "we know in part" and we even "prophesy in part." Partial revelation means that we ought not to trust it fully, but be aware of it and be WATCHFUL.