THE 360 DAY YEAR

The older I get, the more I realize that the ancients knew a thing or two. I have learned that we cannot suppose that just because something was thought of one hundred years ago, or one thousand years ago, that it is outmoded and wrong. The English common law system, upon which our own law was based, is a thousand years old.

There are many indications that at one time our year was 360 days long. This is supposedly the basis for the 360 degree circle, and the many ancient calendars based upon a 360 day year. The Hebrews, the Egyptians, the Mayans and several other cultures used a 360 day calendar. Most of the cultures that used such a calendar made changes around 700 B.C. King Hezekiah, according the Dr. Chuck Missler, made changes to the Hebrew calendar during his reign (about 715 B.C. to 686 B.C.) Theory has it that a large asteroid, or perhaps even a planet, came close to Earth about that time and caused the velocity of the Earth and Moon to change.

Some suspect a similar change of the yearly cycle in the End Times because the Revelation indicates a 360 day year. Evidence of the veracity of this supposition is found in Luke 21:25, “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;” The near proximity of an astronomical body would cause tremendous tides, and change the Earth’s velocity or orbit. The Revelation 12:14 speaks of “times, time and a half time.” This is thought to be three and one-half years. It is confirmed by the Revelation 11:2 which tells of 42 months (or three and one-half years), and the following verse, Revelation 11:3, speaks of 1260 days, indicating 360 days times 3 ½ years.

I said all that to say this; many Bible scholars believe a prophetic year to be 360 days long. Based upon this it appears the prophets Daniel and Ezekiel accurately showed us the establishment of Israel as a state on May 14, 1948. Here is how it works:

Because of the iniquity of Israel and Judah, the Prophet Ezekiel was instructed to lie on his left side for 390 days, and on his right side for 40 days, for a total of 430 days. The Lord told him that each day represented a year (Ezekiel 4:3-6). Israel ceased to exist as a nation, and Judah served in captivity for 70 years (Second Chronicles 36:21). When you reduce the 430 years by the 70 years served, that leaves 360 years. The Lord warned the Children of Israel if they still did not obey Him, He would punish them seven times more for their sins (Leviticus 26:21) . The remaining 360 years multiplied by 7 equals 2,520 years. Using prophetic 360 day years gives a total of 907,200 days. On our modern Gregorian Calendar, historians think the Holy Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians on July 15, 537 B.C. Adding 907,200 days to that date results in May 14, 1948.

Because of my experience that there is so much more to the Bible than meets the eye from casual reading, I am not surprised that this proved correct. Actually, there are several more instances of fulfillment of dated prophecy. Examples are; showing the capture of Jerusalem in June 1967 and the date Jesus entered Jerusalem on what we call “Palm Sunday.” The Word of God is amazing! May His name be praised forever.