ASTRO-CORRECTED BIBLICAL TIMEINE FOR ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
Much confusion exists for archaeologists for dating Biblical events
because
a revised Greek timeline is used for dating. Astronomical events were also
revised but when corrected completely agree with the strict Biblical
timeline. The following provides the astronomical adjustments for
correcting
both the secular and Biblical timelines. When corrected, we discover the
archaeological timeline in better agreement. JW timeline issues also
compared and discussed.
531 BCE Solar Eclipse dating the first year of the Peloponnesian War is
redated to early 402 BCE, which dates the beginning of the war to 403BCE.
The 10th year of the war ends a 30-year peace agreement dated to Xerxes'
invasion, redating the Battle of Salamis and his invasion to 424BCE. Ten
years earlier in 434BCE is the Battle of Marathon and the death of Darius
I
(per Herodotus). Ezra 6:14,15 dates the death of Darius in his sixth year,
followed by "Artaxerxes" who would attack Greece sometime later in his
reign
(Dan 11:2); this confirms that Artaxerxes I and Xerxes were actually the
same king per the Bible, now confirmed by archaeological evidence at
Persepolis. The temple at Jerusalem was completed the last month of this
same year (433BCE), which was begun 22 years earlier in the 1st year of
Cyrus now dated to 455BCE and becoming a critical dating checkpoint for
all
Biblical events both historical and prophetic. Greek notes: Socrates was
32
when the war began would die at age 69 in 366 BCE, when his male
lover-protégé "Phaedo" is 18. Aristotle born in 384BCE would be 18 in
366BCE, thus the identity of Phaedo and Aristotle are combined. Plato was
born in 428BCE making Socrates only 7 years older, which matches the
history
that Socrates knew Plato in his youth and was a companion to Plato's older
brothers. Before the correction Socrates and Plato's brothers are over 40
years older than Plato. "The Delian Problem" was a mathematical challenge
created to stop the plague that broke out during the first year of the PPW
for which Plato was consulted. Before the correction the war in 431BCE
occurs 3 years before Plato is born; after the correction Plato is 25
years
of age.
---
Predicted Thales Eclipse - Per Herodotus Thales predicted an eclipse
during
the reign of Nabonidus. Cyrus conquered Persia 20 years before his rule in
Babylon began in 455BCE. This dates the 6th year of Nabonidus to 475BCE
and
the 2-year sole rule of Nabonidus in 480-478BCE. An eclipse search during
those two years for Ionia confirms the rare predictable eclipse of Thales
occurring in early 478BCE based upon a previous eclipse in the same
geo-centro-sequential predictable eclipse pattern occurring in 532BCE in
Egypt where Thales studied astronomy for 7 years. The 585BCE eclipse is
not
predictable nor does it occur during the reign of Nabonidus.
---
VAT4956 - This is a key text for dating the 37th year of Nebuchadnezzar
II.
It has over 70 astronomical references matching 568BCE but two "errors" in
the text both belong to 511BCE, confirming the original dating and the
revision to 568BCE. Using this reference, the 23rd year of Nebuchadnezzar
is
dated to 525BCE which per Josephus is 70 years before the rule of Cyrus,
again confirming the 1st of Cyrus to 455BCE.
---
Assyrian Eponym Eclipse - This eclipse occurring in the 10th of Bar-Sagale
is now dated to 763BCE and used as an anchor date for the entire Assyrian
Period. The eclipse occurs in the third month "Simanu" but also in the
same
rare geo-centro-sequential predictable eclipse pattern as the Thales
eclipse. These eclipses which are 54 years and 1 month apart can be dated
to
the third month in either 763BCE or 709BCE, but the 709BCE eclipse being
the
third in the series occurring in Assyria would have made it the first
predictable eclipse in ancient history and likely why it was the only
eclipse recorded in the eponym. The offset during the reign of
Nebuchadnezzar is 57 years so dating the eponym eclipse to 709BCE corrects
the offset by 54 years at this point. From this dating the Battle of
Karkar
is redated to 799BCE during the reign of King Ahab and the critical
invasion
by Shishak is down-dated from 925BCE to 871BCE, 54 years later. This
completely resolves the archaeological evidence suggesting Shishak's
invasion should be dated to a later period. Radiocarbon dating quote:
"Although radiocarbon dating of the Iron Age period can be treacherous,
due
to the wide margins of error involved, short-lived grains of wheat,
barley,
and other plants can often be dated with reasonable accuracy. At Tel Rehov
there is a major destruction layer associated with hand-burnished pottery.
Radiocarbon dating of charred grains from this layer, which Mazar believes
corresponds to the Shoshenq invasion, gave dates ranging from about 916 to
832 B.C." (Volume 287, Number 5450 Issue of 7 Jan 2000, pp. 31 - 32 ©2000
by
The American Association for the Advancement of Science) Of course, 871BCE
is right in the middle of this range!
---
Biblically dating the Exodus - The most direct means of dating the Exodus
Biblically is via the jubilee method. The three major events where the
Jews
are being freed from bondage or returning from exile occur on their
jubilees
during a "covenant week" of seven days of ten jubilees each (490 years
each,
3430 years total). The jubilee celebrates the 50th year of each 49-year
period, but is also the 1st year of the next 49-year period. The return
from
Babylon in 455BCE is the first jubilee of the third day, which anchors the
entire week. The final restoration of the Jews to their homeland in 1947
is
the last jubilee of the week, exactly 50 jubilees from 455BCE. The Exodus
is
the first jubilee of the first day which begins 980 years earlier in
1435BCE. But since the first year of the first day is not a jubilee, the
first day only has 9 jubilees with the first jubilee being the Exodus,
thus
19 jubilees (rather than 20) before 455BCE. Thus the Exodus is dated
specifically to 1386BCE. From this point we can date the 4th of Solomon to
906BCE, dating his 40-year reign from 910-870BCE. Note that Solomon was
still ruling in 871BCE, the year of Shishak's invasion. This is a critical
point missed both by archaeologists and Biblical chronologists who don't
realize that both Rehoboam and Jeroboam (whose reigns are parallel) began
counting their rulership from the time of their divine appointment which
occurred during Solomon's reign. Thus the 5th year of Rehoboam is a
co-rulership year corresponding to the 39th year of Solomon. Since the
cities Shishak lists conquering were primarily Northern Kingdom cities, it
makes a big difference whether Shishak was attacking Rehoboam and Solomon
or
attacking his friend Jeroboam. Comparing 2 Chronicles 12:1,5 and 6
confirms
that Rehoboam was still king over the entire 12 tribes as he is still
meeting with the "princes of Israel" right after the invasion. Thus the
Biblical dating of the Exodus in 1386BCE coordinated with the redated
eponym
eclipse dating the invasion by Shishak in 871BCE is deemed quite reliable
since the invasion must fall late during the reign of Solomon and during
just a 6-year co-rulership!
-----
KTU 1.78 - This text is a "circumstantial" eclipse reference included here
only because the Bible requires the Exodus to occur at the end of the
reign
of the current pharaoh who dies in the Red Sea. 1386BCE occurs during the
reign of Amenhotep III whether you use early or late dates. Since it seems
more than apparent that Akhenaton's focus and conversion to monotheism was
directly related to experiencing the ten plagues, it is fairly safe
Biblically speaking to end the reign of Amenhotep III in 1386BCE. The KTU
1.78 eclipse reference is circumstantial because the face of the text was
charred in a fire at Ugarit and a fire was reported at the palace there to
Akhenaton in his 12th year. The eclipse occurs in 1375BCE. If the eclipse
text is presumed to have been current with this particular fire, perhaps
explaining why it is the only eclipse text found at Ugarit, then it would
date the first year of Akhenaton to 1386BCE, the same year as the Exodus.
Since the date of the Exodus is set to 1386BCE along with the beginning of
Akhenaton's reign, the dating of the Exodus suggests that this eclipse
text
was current at the time of the palace fire. While this reference doesn't
critically confirm the rule of Akhenaton beginning in 1386BCE, its
application is clearly not contradictory.
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CHRONOLOGY ADJUSTMENTS FOR JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
Jehovah's witnesses are likely the most date-oriented and
chronology-oriented modern Christian sect. As a result they have published
much information regarding the Bible's timeline, astronomical texts,
archaeological comparisons and related prophetic significance. Since they
use both secular and Biblical references alternatively, they have
developed
their own unique Biblical timeline. The following compares the updated
astro-Biblical timeline with their current chronology starting with the
Persian Period and going back to the Exodus.
----
Jehovah's witnesses date the 20th of Artaxerxes to 455BCE to match the "70
weeks" prophecy, which specifies an interval of 483 years from the "word
going forth to rebuild Jerusalem" until the baptism of the messiah in
29CE.
Thus the rebuilding of the walls by Nehemiah, which took just 52 days is
used to fulfill that prophecy rather than in the 1st of Cyrus when the
Jews
first returned from Babylon to begin rebuilding. Of note to coordinate
this,
a co-rulership between Xerxes and Darius I was established based upon the
bas-reliefs at Persepolis, which show Darius and Xerxes together as kings.
The co-rulership observation is correct, but it was only four years, not
ten. Further, of note, Xerxes and Artaxerxes were the same king. The
Persian
kings adopted a new name when they took the throne and Xerxes adopted the
name Artaxerxes, which he later used to fool the Greeks into thinking he
was
another king. These ten years are reinserted into the timeline at the end
of
the reign of Artaxerxes I to make his rule 51 years rather than 41 years
thus JW and secular dating are in sync at the end of the reign of
Artaxerxes
I. The dating of the 20th of Artaxerxes to 455BCE is based upon a single
secular date of 539BCE, which they considered reliable and "pivotal" for
the
fall of Babylon. Trusting that date, which turns out to be erroneous
causes
an 82-year error in their chronology at the time the Jews return from
Babylon in the 1st of Cyrus (455 vs. 537). At this point JW chronology and
secular chronology are in sync but share the same 82-year error. Then the
Bible's reference to 70 years of desolation following the destruction of
Jerusalem is used to redate the fall of Jerusalem to 607BCE based upon the
return in 537BCE. Both the Bible and Josephus, though, insert these 70
years
not at the fall of Jerusalem in year 19 of Nebuchadnezzar but at the last
deportation in his 23rd year, 4 years later. (Jer. 52:30; 2 Chron.
36:20,21)
Making this correction and comparing Zech 1 and 7 confirms a 6-year rule
for
"Darius the Mede" instead of just a 2-year rule, since the 2nd of DTM
occurs
70 years after the destruction of Jerusalem and his 4th year 70 years
after
the mourning for Gedaliah, which is still two years away from 70 years
after
the last deportation. Based upon this and the reign of Nabonidus beginning
in 480BCE, the fall of Babylon is redated 7 years earlier than 455BCE to
462BCE. This corrects the reign of Nabonidus to 19 years (instead of 17)
and
the reign of Darius the Mede to 6 years (instead of zero or 2). At this
point the JW chronology is now 20 years earlier than the secular dating.
During the divided kingdom Period the secular dating follows E.R. Thiele
who
coordinated co-rulerships for the kings of Judah and Israel during this
time
whereas the JW chronologists did not, choosing to end-to-end the Judean
kings leaving vacant periods of reign by the Israelite kings, sometimes up
to 12 years. The co-rulerships by Thiele reduces this period by about 47
years, thus with the 20 years from the Neo-Babylonian Period, JW
chronology
is now some 67 years earlier than the secular timeline, dating the Exodus
as
early at 1513BCE and the 4th of Solomon to 1033 BCE. Since the secular
timeline for this period is corrected by 60 years for the rule of Solomon
(910 vs. 970), the JW timeline is now 127 years out of sync with the now
coordinated astro-Biblical timeline.
1975 AD- This 127-year error is carried back to the time of Adam upon
which
their 1975 date is based. The suggested adjustments for 1975 would first
be
to add 127 years (2102 AD), make Adam 30 instead of 1 to arrive at the
relative date for the end of the 6th creative day just after the time Eve
was created. Since the millennium following the 1000-year reign of Christ
is
a jubilee (50th 1000 years after creation week of 49,000 years) and since
after Judgment Day Revelation 20:5 notes at this point that God is "making
all things new," which is an appropriate clue to the beginning of another
creative week, an adjustment for the period of Satan's test of the
post-millennial population as well as Judgment Day (which follows that
during which all the dead return to be judged) is inserted. For Satan's
test, the standard 40 years, and for the period of Judgment Day, a
"generation" of 80 years giving a net reduction of 120 years. Subtracting
120 years from 2132 AD gives us the date of 2012 AD, which might now be
considered the new and corrected "1975 JW equivalency" date. Of course,
this
is just a suggestion, many factors in this calculation are "highly" (in
more
ways than one) speculative. But the implied comparisons are there in
Scripture as guidelines, certainly.
1914 AD - 1914 is still a good date for the beginning of the "last
generation" ending 1994. The "end of the gentile times" though should be
moved to 1947 when the Jews were restored to their homeland. The date
Satan
is kicked out of heaven is coordinated with both 1947 and the fall of
Jerusalem in 529BCE. 1947 is the end of "1290 days" which fulfills "1335
days" (45 years later) in 1992. Of course, the "7 times" of 2520 years
applied to the corrected year for the fall of Jerusalem in 529BCE also
gives
you 1992, so we know that dating is Biblically correct prophetically. This
coordinates, likewise, with 1914 as the beginning of the "last generation"
of 80 years ending in 1994 since 1992 does occur before the generation
ends
in 1994.
With these adjustments, the primary "great tribulation" aimed at "god's
chosen people" who are both the Jews and JWs is fulfilled by the
Holocaust,
which specifically targets both groups. The "great tribulation" occurs
just
before the "end" meaning the "end of the gentile times" (1947).
1925 AD -- Of trivial chronology note for JWs, their 1925 date equivalency
now becomes 1996. 1925 was based upon a perceived 70 weeks of jubilees,
that
is 70 x 50 = 3500 years from when the Jews entered the Promised Land (1576
BCE, a date JWs later revised). The 70-jubilee period is actually 70
periods
of 49 years each (3430 vs. 3500 years), which is a "week" of 7 days, each
490 years long. This period is applied to the covenant "week" for the Jews
beginning in 1435BCE (Moses at age 30) and ending in 1996. As noted,
critical jubilees were the Exodus in 1386BCE (1st), the return from
Babylon
in 455BCE (19th) and final return in 1947 (69th). 1996 ends the special
covenant "week" between God for the Jews, but also the special covenant
between Jehovah and JWs (110-year Christian group "temple
covenant":1886-1996 )
1874 AD -- The former 1874 date based upon the "1335 days" prophecy now
occurs in 1992, but with the same significance with respect to dating the
"second coming" of Christ, which would be "invisible" and "in the clouds"
for the world at large.
_________________
Make sure of all things, hold fast to what is fine
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