Disclaimer:
I am not stating that anything of prophetic significance will definitely happen in 2030… I am stating that there is reason to believe that there might be. In A Chronological Revelation I do not set dates and I will not in any posts.
The significance of the year 2030 has recently come to my attention. I’m not one to focus on dates, but I believe there are three passages that may point to 2030 as being the year the remnant of Israel turns to Jesus as their Messiah.
Time of Israel’s Punishment and Restoration (Leviticus):
In Lev. 26: 14-46 concerning God’s punishment for Israel’s disobedience, it is stated that Israel’s initial punishment (vv. 14-17) for disobedience would be followed by four sevenfold punishments (vv. 18, 21, 24, 28) if they continued their disobedience. If we interpret the initial punishment as Israel’s 70 year (Jer. 25:11) (Dan 9:2) exile in Babylon, then can we assume that the extended punishment might be those 70 years x 7 (sevenfold) x 4 (sevenfold punishment four times) equaling 1960 years? Since the first punishment commenced with the destruction of the first temple, it seems apparent that the more severe punishment commenced with the destruction of the second in 70 AD. Adding 1960 years to 70 AD places the spiritual restoration of Israel (vv. 40-42) at 2030 AD:
Lev. 26: 14-46:
14 “But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, 15 if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, 16 then I will do this to you: I will visit you with panic, with wasting disease and fever that consume the eyes and make the heart ache. And you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it. 17 I will set my face against you, and you shall be struck down before your enemies. Those who hate you shall rule over you, and you shall flee when none pursues you. 18 And if in spite of this you will not listen to me, then I will discipline you again sevenfold for your sins, 19 and I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your heavens like iron and your earth like bronze. 20 And your strength shall be spent in vain, for your land shall not yield its increase, and the trees of the land shall not yield their fruit.
21 “Then if you walk contrary to me and will not listen to me, I will continue striking you, sevenfold for your sins. 22 And I will let loose the wild beasts against you, which shall bereave you of your children and destroy your livestock and make you few in number, so that your roads shall be deserted.
23 “And if by this discipline you are not turned to me but walk contrary to me, 24 then I also will walk contrary to you, and I myself will strike you sevenfold for your sins. 25 And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall execute vengeance for the covenant. And if you gather within your cities, I will send pestilence among you, and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. 26 When I break your supply[b] of bread, ten women shall bake your bread in a single oven and shall dole out your bread again by weight, and you shall eat and not be satisfied.
27 “But if in spite of this you will not listen to me, but walk contrary to me, 28 then I will walk contrary to you in fury, and I myself will discipline you sevenfold for your sins. 29 You shall eat the flesh of your sons, and you shall eat the flesh of your daughters. 30 And I will destroy your high places and cut down your incense altars and cast your dead bodies upon the dead bodies of your idols, and my soul will abhor you. 31 And I will lay your cities waste and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your pleasing aromas. 32 And I myself will devastate the land, so that your enemies who settle in it shall be appalled at it. 33 And I will scatter you among the nations, and I will unsheathe the sword after you, and your land shall be a desolation, and your cities shall be a waste.
34 “Then the land shall enjoy[c] its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate, while you are in your enemies’ land; then the land shall rest, and enjoy its Sabbaths. 35 As long as it lies desolate it shall have rest, the rest that it did not have on your Sabbaths when you were dwelling in it. 36 And as for those of you who are left, I will send faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a driven leaf shall put them to flight, and they shall flee as one flees from the sword, and they shall fall when none pursues. 37 They shall stumble over one another, as if to escape a sword, though none pursues. And you shall have no power to stand before your enemies. 38 And you shall perish among the nations, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up. 39 And those of you who are left shall rot away in your enemies’ lands because of their iniquity, and also because of the iniquities of their fathers they shall rot away like them.
40 “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me, 41 so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, 42 then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land. 43 But the land shall be abandoned by them and enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them, and they shall make amends for their iniquity, because they spurned my rules and their soul abhorred my statutes. 44 Yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not spurn them, neither will I abhor them so as to destroy them utterly and break my covenant with them, for I am the Lord their God. 45 But I will for their sake remember the covenant with their forefathers, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their God: I am the Lord.”
46 These are the statutes and rules and laws that the Lord made between himself and the people of Israel through Moses on Mount Sinai.
Time of Israel’s Punishment and Restoration (Hosea):
In Hosea 6:1-2 Israel’s punishment (“torn us”, “struck us down”) comes with a promise of restoration (“heal us”, “bind us up”).
Hosea 6:1-2
“Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
This revival occurs after 2 days with Israel being raised up on the 3rd day to live before him. Using 2 Peter 3:8 to determine the meaning of day (since it obviously cannot be literal):
“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” 2 Peter 3:8
We can surmise Israel’s restoration occurring after 2,000 years (2 x 1,000) with the 3rd day being the 1,000 year reign of Christ. If you start the 2 days at Jesus’ crucifixion (when the veil in the temple was torn – note torn reference in verse 1) and IF he was crucified in 30 AD (I know we don’t know) then we end up at 2030 AD again (2,000 + 30).
Constructing the Temple:
Next, we will apply these same time references from 2 Peter 3:8 to John 2:18-21 and Luke 13:31-35. But first we will discuss the meaning of the temple and body references in John 2:18-21, revealing a second, less obvious, meaning to Jesus’ response to the Jews:
“So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body.” John 2:18-21
In this exchange Jesus not only foretells His death by the hands of the Jews and resurrection three days later, but He also equates His body to the temple of God (although not the physical structure the Jews perceived). We also find this same language used to describe the body of believers:
“…For we are the temple of the living God; as God said,” 2 Cor. 6:16
“Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”
1 Cor. 3:16
We should not make the same mistake as the Jews, thinking this only refers to a physical temple by thinking He was only referring to His physical body. God’s Spirit dwells in the very essence, the soul, of the believer with the body as simply the physical manifestation of the believer.
Paul takes this concept even further in his letter to the Ephesians, describing believer’s corporate relationship to God as analogous to a temple:
“built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” Eph. 2:20-22
Here he describes believers and Jesus as structural elements forming a holy temple. This holy temple is currently under construction by the Spirit with Christ as its cornerstone (beginning) and serving as connections to all the elements comprising the temple with the apostles and prophets as its foundation.
The construction of this temple by Christ (the Branch) was prophesied by Zechariah:
“And say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.”’ Zech. 6:12-14
This analogy continues in Rev. 3:12 where Jesus is addressing the church in Philadelphia:
“The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name.” Rev. 3:12
Yet the temple in the new heaven and new earth is described as consisting of the Lord God and Son:
“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.” Rev. 21:22
Reconciling the description of the temple being constructed of believers yet being God can more clearly be understood in light of John 14:20 and 1 Cor. 15:28:
“In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” John 14:20
“When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things in subjection under him, that God may be all in all.” 1 Cor. 15:28
This holy temple therefore consists of the Father, Son and Spirit which includes all believers indwelled by the Spirit. Just as the physical temple was a symbol of God’s holiness and our separation, it now becomes a symbol of our holiness and inclusion. Our selfish choices separated us but by choosing Christ we are made holy. Continuing to choose to follow Christ is our temporary state of holiness, like the physical temple. Our eternal state of inclusion in God’s temple precludes any choice contrary to His holiness in perfect conformity to His image. Our holiness comes from God as a gift, dwelling within us. Corporately, those that are holy then become the temple in which God resides. God makes the temple holy; the temple does not make God holy.
Returning to John 2:18-21, the statement “the temple of His body” can now be clearly understood by referencing the following passages connecting this temple and the body of Christ:
“so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.” Rom. 12:5
“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.” 1 Cor. 12:12
“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” 1 Cor. 12:27
“This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.” Eph. 3:6
So just as believers are part of the body of Christ, so too, believers are part of this temple Christ refers to when speaking to the Jews. Therefore, understanding that Jesus was not only referring to His bodily resurrection but also the construction of this eternal temple, His statement that He would raise it up in 3 days describes how long its construction will take as well. Since this temple is currently under construction as believers are being added, it has not yet been completed and will not be until the end of the 3rd day.
Once again using 2 Peter 3:8 “…with the Lord one day is as a thousand years…”, the construction of this temple should be completed 3,000 years from the setting of the cornerstone. IF the resurrection represents the setting of the cornerstone, the 3 days would start at Jesus’ resurrection and IF he was resurrected in 30 AD (I know we don’t know) then we end up at 3030 AD (3,000 + 30). However, this date represents the completion of the temple which occurs at the end of the millennial reign of Christ and final judgement. Since the millennial reign commences at the 7th Trumpet (“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” Rev. 11:15), coinciding with Israel’s salvation 1,000 years earlier (3030-1,000) we once again arrive at 2030.
This concept is also reinforced in Luke 13:31-35:
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” Luke 13:31-35
Jesus speaking to the Pharisees reveals His ministry as having two parts: casting out demons/ performing cures and finishing His ministry. He also states He will not be seen by them until they say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (accepting Him as messiah). This occurs at the 7th Trumpet, the end of Daniel’s 1,335 days: “Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days.” Dan. 12:12, demarcating the first two days from the 3rd day when He finishes His course during His millennial reign.
Timing:
These three passages all point to the same period of time in which to expect the events they describe. Obviously, there are uncertainties regarding dates, as there always are when using scripture to attempt to determine the exact timing of prophecy. However, it is apparent we can conclude we are approaching the general time frame in which we can reasonably expect to see the fulfillment of these passages.
“But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober.” 1 Thess. 5:4-6
Copyright 2020 David K. Kidd
Reproduction is encouraged without permission if this author is cited as the source and A Chronological Revelation is referenced as a companion resource for this subject.
