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Yesterday I mentioned that I read a book a few years ago called the Dying of Money by Jens O. Parsson. I mentioned Parsson’s case study of Weimar Germany’s hyperinflation and related that to some noticeable similarities that exist between Weimar Germany and the U.S. currently. Today I want to discuss a couple of important things that Parsson observed and relate that to Quantitative Easing 2.0 (QE2) which should be announced next Wednesday.
Parsson wrote about how there are several markets within a country’s economy. For instance, there’s a separate market for goods and services and a separate market for assets. Within these separate markets there are even smaller, distinct markets. For instance, within the goods market you may have a separate market for refrigerators or cars. Each of these markets and sub-markets are subject to the laws of supply and demand.
The quantity of money available (per unit of time) has the ability to impact the demand side of the picture of a particular marketplace by impacting how fast people who hold the money make it available to purchase items in the marketplace. In other words, the quantity of money available (per unit of time) has the ability to impact people’s willingness/reluctance to pay a certain price for items in the marketplace.
Parrson observed that the debt market and the stock market are relief valves of inflation. The money that enters into these markets helps to keep the money from impacting the goods market where it can drive good prices higher. In addition, this money is perceived as being “beneficial” for people who hold stocks and bonds because it helps drive asset prices.
Currently, the yields on U.S. government debt and some corporate debt are unprecedentedly low-so low that people are hardly being compensated for loaning money out for long periods of time (for instance, right now you’ll only get 2.62% for loaning the U.S. government money for 10 years). The unprecedented low interest rates are largely a result of the Federal Reserve’s own actions to keep interest rates historically low and major debt demand from those who are concerned about deflation, concerned about the direction of the economy, those who are trying to manage the value of their currency (foreign central banks like China), those who want a “safe” place to store their money, and those who are trying to profit from the Federal Reserve’s plans to buy up debt through quantitative easing.
However, a few days ago America’s and perhaps the world’s most preeminent bond investor Bill Gross lamented about how Quantitative Easing 2.0 could spell the end of a 30 year bull market in bonds. Gross suggested that there is not a lot of money left to be made in bonds and insinuated that QE2 could eventually lead to the slaughter of bond investors with its potential inflationary consequences.
I caution you that there are a lot of “ifs” in the above scenario. I could be completely wrong about what is going to happen as a result of QE2 in the long-run. In addition, even if I am right about the long-term adverse consequences of quantitative easing, I could completely mistime when the adverse consequences take place (for instance, the actual damage may not take place until after there's a major downturn in the U.S./global economy (a major downturn is still a real serious possibility) or if/when Fed launches QE3 or QE4). The Federal Reserve and other central banks have pulled rabbits out of their hats several times before so it’s possible that they may pull a “miracle” again. However, at some point policymakers’ luck has to run out because they are fallible like the rest of us.
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to borrow an original copy of Jens O. Parsson’s book Dying of Money: Lessons of the Great German and American Inflations from a local university library a few years ago during my summer vacation (the book is out of print today and usually sells for several hundreds of dollars at used book stores that have a copy). Parsson’s book essentially used Weimar Germany’s devastating hyperinflation in the early 1920s as a case study to analyze how paper money loses its value. It’s a must read book if you can get your hands on a copy…
I took copious notes when I read Parsson’s book because the feeling I had at the time was that the United States and perhaps the globe could eventually face a Weimar-style hyperinflation. Fortunately, I have my notes transcribed on my computer so I can easily reference them anytime I want to. After reviewing my notes last night and thinking about Quantitative Easing 2.0 (QE2) a few things have crossed my mind. I’ll share my thoughts with you in this blog post…
After World War 1 many of the world’s major economies experienced major inflation. Most countries stemmed the inflation by stop printing money, stop spending money that they did not have, and by accepting the subsequent recession that resulted from fighting inflation. The exception to this was Weimar Germany because it continued to spend money that it did not have and its central bank insisted on constant money printing; not allowing for the country to experience a recession like the rest of the world experienced. If the German economy experienced any signs of weakness the German central bank would quickly increase its money printing efforts to restore the economic boom.
Parsson wrote about how spending, profit, speculation, riches, and poverty were in all excess as the inflation in the German economy bubbled up from all the money printing. Meanwhile, German speculators and foreigners had complete faith in the German Mark because they naively believed that an economy like Germany could not fail. Unsurprisingly, Weimar Germany ran major trade deficits as foreigners gladly sent Germans their goods in exchange for inflated Marks.
Eventually German investors and foreign investors realized that the Mark was backed by essentially nothing. This was a major turning point because investors then sought to rid themselves of their Marks as quickly as possible. Foreigners sought to buy up anything that had any real value from Weimar Germany before the Mark became more debased. The money returning from overseas caused domestic prices to rise further as money returned to the domestic German economy to chase a limited supply of German goods and assets.
The German government tried all sorts of wage, price, and exchange controls to stop prices from rising further. The German government also labeled anyone who tried to protect their purchasing power by ridding themselves of their Marks as “traitors”. However, all these measures were ineffective because Germany continued to print money. Eventually, ordinary citizens lost faith in the German government’s ability to stop inflation.
Ordinary Germans eventually took similar actions as investors by ridding themselves of their Marks as quickly as possible when they lost faith in the German government and in the Mark. This phenomenon of people bidding up the value of assets and goods and the continuous flow of new money into the German economy caused prices to skyrocket out of control. The process literally fed upon itself as people tried to spend their money before prices increased even further and the German government tried to print more money to compensate for the rapidly decreasing purchasing power of its tax revenue.
The end result was a devastating hyperinflation that left virtually every German middle class saver impoverished. Parsson wrote about how many elderly people had to spend the rest of their lives going back to work and about how doctors and university professors were broke. The hyperinflation did not end until the German government stopped printing money.
U.S. policymakers remind me of the policymakers in Weimar Germany prior to its hyperinflation. Like Weimar German officials, U.S. policymakers believe that recessions are something that must be prevented at all cost. They believe that it is the government’s and/or the central bank’s responsibility to intervene with stimulus/money printing to boost economic growth back to “normal” as soon as they detect a sign of economic weakness (recessions are a plague… there must only be economic growth and economic booms in U.S. policymaker’s eyes). In addition, like the Weimar government, the U.S. government does not have the courage to make difficult decisions because decision makers are afraid to negatively impact the voters who they depend on to maintain their power. Rarely does a person hear a U.S. politician vow to reduce spending and to reduce entitlements during an election campaign.
I focus on QE2 a lot in my latest news headlines and commentary section of my blog because it represents another major attempt by the Federal Reserve to prevent an economic downturn at all costs. Many people question the wisdom of engaging in a new round of money printing because commodity prices have already risen significantly in recent months. Some fear that the new money created from QE2 could trigger an inflation that is difficult to control in the long-run (we may not see so much in the short-term because there is some expectation among some investors that the stock market may drop following the announcement of QE2). If inflation becomes difficult to control we have the potential of repeating the kind of hyperinflation seen in Weimar Germany.
I'm not sure if Parsson is still alive, but I’m sure he would admit that there are some differences between the U.S. today and Weimar Germany. One thing that is different is that the U.S. economy is far more complex today than Weimar Germany’s economy ever was. Another difference is the U.S. is probably less prone to seeing a run on its currency than Weimar Germany because the global economy is far more interconnected than it was in the 1920s.
Nevertheless, if the Federal Reserve continues its money printing ways the end result inevitably will be the dying of money because ordinary people will eventually figure out their money is really backed by nothing. Once ordinary people figure this out the Federal Reserve and the U.S. government may be powerless to halt the resulting frenzy...
One week from today the Federal Reserve is very likely going to announce the start of a new round of money printing known as Quantitative Easing 2.0. For those who are unfamiliar with the concept of quantitative easing, the process involves the Federal Reserve crediting itself money (“printing money”) and then using that money to buy up financial assets, including debt. The Fed’s goal with quantitative easing is to increase inflation/inflation expectations to overcome what it perceives to be a deflationary mindset in the mind of companies and consumers. The Fed is attempting to justify this new round of money printing by claiming that inflation is too low and that action is needed to improve the employment situation in the U.S.
The Wall Street Journal had an excellent article today describing the context that the Federal Reserve finds itself in as it prepares to embark on a new round of money printing and how there is doubt that a new round of money printing is the right move. Link
Even though the Wall Street Journal article was great, the article of the day is a commentary by Bill Gross, Managing Director at PIMCO. Gross is perhaps the most high-profiled bond investor in America and often appears as a special guest on financial news programs. Gross typically does not rock the boat when he is on television, so it was a complete shock today to discover that Gross wrote a commentary on PIMCO’s website that would probably get him banned from television if he dare repeat some of the items he wrote in his commentary live on television. Gross’s full commentary can be read here: Link
I actually had a complete article written about Gross’s commentary but I came to the conclusion moments before publishing the article that quoting from Gross’s commentary may not be the wisest thing to do.... However, the writers at ZeroHedge have decided to quote and highlight key points of Gross’s commentary so I’ll refer you to their website for an in-depth analysis of Gross’s comments. You can read their analysis of Gross’s comments at the following Link
A few weeks ago a poll found that many Americans were unsure about Barack Obama’s religious beliefs. Coincidentally, Barack Obama suddenly began talking openly about his religious beliefs to the point that some media outlets reported about his sudden openness. Some believe, including me, suspect that Obama’s sudden openness was a direct reaction to the poll…
Last week there were news reports about Obama’s strange omission of the word “Creator” when he recited the Declaration of Independence at multiple speaking engagements. Since the criticism Obama has made sure that he’s mentioned the word “Creator” when he recites the Declaration of Independence. The sudden use of the word “Creator” has not gone unnoticed. One of the most read stories today is about how Obama is suddenly using the term “Creator” in his speeches.
Obama’s sudden openness about his religious beliefs after a poll showed that many Americans’ were uncertain about them and his sudden usage of the word “Creator” after being criticized for not using it suggests that Obama is very sensitive when it comes to religious issues. Obama’s sudden change in behavior after being questioned on religious issues twice in four weeks illustrates that Obama tends to overcompensate when he is questioned on religious issues. In this blog post I answer why Obama overcompensates when he is questioned on religious issues.
The main reason why Obama tends to overcompensate when he is questioned on religious issues is that he is very vulnerable on this issue. Obama is vulnerable because there is a large group of people who are skeptical about his overall values and beliefs, especially religious values and beliefs. Skeptics point to Obama’s upbringing and/or his attendance of a radical church for two decades as reasons to question whether Obama’s beliefs are aligned with ordinary Americans. In addition, Obama’s stance on certain social policy issues and instances like last week’s omission of the word “Creator” when reciting the Declaration of Independence give people more reasons to question him…
It is important for Obama to give people the perception that his religious beliefs are aligned with ordinary Americans’ religious beliefs because the issue of religion is a key proxy issue (or one key way) where Obama can show that his values are aligned with ordinary Americans’ values. Obama does not have many other issues where he can do this because his economic and political beliefs are not aligned with the beliefs of ordinary Americans.[1]
Thus, Obama must address questions about his religious beliefs swiftly and forcibly because he risks losing his appeal and support with his remaining supporters if he allows those questions to go unanswered for an extended period of time.
To make myself clear, I am not trying to criticize Obama on his religious beliefs. I am just attempting to explain why Obama reacts suddenly when he is questioned on religious issues as he was four weeks ago and last week.
Note
[1] I would characterize Obama’s economic and political beliefs as being consistent with what you would expect from left-wing European politician.
This is a guest post by Dr. Steve Gallop. Steve sends his thoughts to a group of online friends via email, one of whom sends them on to me. His observations are trenchant and articulate and often quite original. Today I offer you his excellent comparison of the Tea Party to Sixties Hippies and Anarchists of old. It's a fascinating read.
The Tea Party phenomenon has captured the attention of Americans across the political spectrum. The thing I find most intriguing is their demands resemble what in the past was often reviled as those of angry, anti-American anarchists. Today’s Tea Partiers/Libertarians seem far more threatening in demeanor, rhetoric and signage.
In my last blog post concerning the length of the Day of the Lord I discussed the possibility that the Day of the Lord could last for a single day, one year, or potentially both. I argued that Isaiah 34:8 was compelling evidence to argue that the Day of the Lord will last one year and suggested that the reason why the Day of the Lord is referred to as a “day” is that it's a special prophetic day in the same manner that a prophetic week is seven years long.
In this blog post I seek to provide more clarification about the Day of the Lord theory I currently support and discuss some of the implications associated with this theory.
Clarifying the Timing of the Day of the Lord
First, I want to provide a graphic illustration that summarizes the timeline that I believe the Day of the Lord will occur in context of the End Times. Figure 1 illustrates the proposed timeline I have:
Figure 1: Proposed Day of the Lord Timeline (Link)
Some people are tempted to place the start of the Day of the Lord at the beginning of the seventh year of the seventieth week of Daniel. In effect, this placement causes the Day of the Lord to coincide with the entire seventh year of the seventieth week of Daniel. Figure 2 is a chart illustrating the placement of the Day of the Lord under this interpretation
Figure 2: Proposed Day of the Lord Timeline if it coincides with the Final Year of Daniel’s 70th Week (Link)
The logic some people use to argue why the Day of the Lord will coincide with the final year of the seventieth week of Daniel is the following: “One day in the prophetic week is one year long, so it makes sense to have the Day of the Lord to represent one day in the prophetic week-the final day”. In addition, some people argue for this particular placement because they believe the seventh year of the seventieth week of Daniel holds a special numerical significance and/or they believe the end of the seventieth week marks the end of God’s wrath.
As intuitive as the above idea is, I do not believe the seventh year of the seventieth week of Daniel coincides completely with the Day of the Lord. The reason for this is that I believe the Bible suggests that there will be an additional thirty days after the end of the seventieth week of Daniel where the Lord will inflict his final plagues on Antichrist and defeat Antichrist and his forces at the Battle of Armageddon. The following is why I believe there is an additional thirty days between the end of the seventieth week of Daniel and the Battle of Armageddon.
The Basis for 30 Extra Days between the End of the 70th Week of Daniel & Armageddon
Daniel 9:27 tells us that the Antichrist will stop regular sacrifice in the Third Temple in Jerusalem at the midpoint of the seventieth week of Daniel.
(Christ suggested that this is the time when the abomination that causes desolation is established-Matthew 24:15)
Daniel 9:27 also tells us that the abomination of desolation that Antichrist will establish shall remain “until the consummation [destruction], and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate”. In other words, the abomination of desolation will remain in place until the time when the desolater (Antichrist) is destroyed.
Daniel 12:11 tells us the abomination that causes desolation will remain in place for 1,290 days (some even argue that the abomination is the Antichrist himself-demanding the world's worship). The midway point to the end of the seventieth week is 1,260 days so the Antichrist has another thirty days beyond the seventieth week on Earth.
2 Thessalonians 2:8 tells us the consummation of Antichrist will come when Christ uses “the spirit of His mouth”:
The event when Christ defeats Antichrist and his forces with His mouth is at the Battle of Armageddon:
…
Therefore, the Battle of Armageddon must take place thirty days following the seventieth week of Daniel to remain consistent with the detail that the abomination of desolation remains in place for 1,290 days, the amount of time that it takes from its establishment until the desolator (Antichrist) is consumed.
The plagues that punish the armies at the Battle of Armageddon are associated with the final (seventh) plague of God’s wrath, which you recall signifies/completes the end of the Day of the Lord (Revelation 15:1 and Revelation 16:17).
The Importance of Finding the Day of the Lord’s End
As a result, we can mark the end of the Day of the Lord thirty days following the end of the seventieth week of Daniel. The importance of finding the end of the Day of the Lord is that we can subtract one year (360 days) from its end to find its approximate start. Here is some of the arithmetic (partially summarized by Figure 3):
Figure 3: Proposed Day of the Lord Timeline When Accounting for 30 Additional Days (Link)
Implications of a One Year Day of the Lord
There are some major implications if the Day of the Lord is only one year long and ends thirty days following the end of the seventieth week of Daniel:
1. The Great Tribulation can last no longer than 930 days, 2 years and 7 months, or 31 months because 330 of the 1260 days in the second half of the seventieth week of Daniel are associated with the Day of the Lord (illustrated in Figure 4).
Figure 4: Proposed Day of the Lord Timeline in Detail (Link)
2. The events during the Day of the Lord-the seventh seal, the sounding of all seven trumpets and the pouring of the seven (vials/bowls) plagues-must take place very quickly. This is actually very feasible because some events potentially will be the catalyst for other events.
3. Similarly, many events must take place in a short amount of time when you take the fact that the conditions associated with the fifth trumpet (Part 1, Part 2) will last for five months long (150 days) into account. There will only be 210 days for the sounding of the other six trumpets and pouring of the seven plagues.
4. The few people who believe in the Pre-Wrath Rapture could theoretically approximate the timing of the Rapture by looking at when the 6th seal is opened. The problem though is that a person would have to find the correct year when the End Times begins in order to do this, and still this may not be enough because not even Christ knew when the Rapture would take place (Matthew 24:36).
Again, I agree with those who believe the Day of the Lord is going to last for one year at this moment. Isaiah 34:8’s statement that the Day of the Lord is “a year of recompences for the controversy of Zion” is difficult to account for unless one views the Day of the Lord as a one year time period. However, this is a preliminary finding so it’s subject to change if someone is able to disprove it or if I find a way to disprove it. Feel free to disprove it if you can. The same applies to the implications of this study. If you can find a way to disprove them feel free to do so.
Notes/Appendix
[1] The Greek word for “consume” can also mean “destroy” while the Greek word for “destroy” can also mean “to render useless”. Christ will paralyze Antichrist with the brightness of His coming and defeat the Antichrist at the Battle of Armageddon.
The Length of the 70th Week of Daniel and Prophetic Years
Gabriel told Daniel that 70 weeks have been given to the people of Israel and the city of Jerusalem to end their disobedience, atone for their sins, and to be saved.
Most Christians who study Bible prophecy agree that the first 69 weeks of this prophecy was fulfilled over a several-hundred year period with a call to rebuild Jerusalem in the 20th year of Artaxerxes Longimanus’s reign (Nehemiah Ch. 2:1-5) and the death and ascension of Christ. Therefore, Gabriel did not mean 70 literal weeks where each week is 7 days in length. The Hebrew translation of the word “week” in Daniel is shâbûa‛, which actually means “seven”. Therefore we can also refer to Daniel’s prophecy as “the 70 sevens”. The length of a prophetic week can be determined by analyzing the structure of the 70th week of Daniel. Daniel’s 70th week is divided into two halves. In the first half Antichrist will make and keep a covenant with Israel, but will break it halfway through the seven.
The 2nd half of the week is a period of severe persecution. This period of time will last for “time, times, and a half”. The Hebrew word for “time” is “mô‛êd”, which also can mean “a year”. Nearly every commentator who analyzes Daniel’s 70 week prophecy agrees that “time, times, and a half” means 3 ½ years. Therefore, a prophetic week is a seven year period.
In Revelation 12:14 we learn that 3 ½ prophetic years is the equivalent of 1260 days. If we divide 1260 days by 3 ½ years we will find that a prophetic year is 360 days long.
Similarly, 3 ½ years is also defined as 42 months since seven years is the equivalent to 84 months. Therefore a prophetic month is 30 days long since 1260 days divided by 42 months equals 30 days/month.
Given this information, we can confirm that the 70th Week of Daniel will be 2520 days long three different.
For more about the 70 Weeks of Daniel you can access my research study where I provide a completely new explanation of the prophecy by clicking this link.
I’m having some major issues with my laptop’s screen that has really slowed me down. I’m in the process of finding a new laptop so I have had less time to write unfortunately. Nevertheless, I managed to find enough time over the past couple of days to put something together before the weekend.
I sometimes throw around the terms “fallen angel” and “demon” without actually defining what the difference is between them (as I did a few days ago with my post about an Alien/UFO interview). Some people believe there is no difference between the two terms and thus use the terms interchangeably. I believe fallen angels and demons are different spiritual entities and I’ll show you why I feel this way in this blog post.
Fallen Angel
I define a fallen angel as a spiritual being created by God which fell out of Heaven into a sinful/corrupted state. Revelation 12 records the first batch of fallen angels who fell from Heaven.
Fallen angels In the Bible are often referred to as the “sons of God” and as Satan’s ministers. The following is a short list of the capabilities of fallen angels:
Physical Visibility: Although fallen angels are spiritual beings, they appear to have the ability to physically appear to people (like their un-fallen counterparts in Genesis 19:1). Genesis 6 records the activities of the first batch of fallen angels that fell from Heaven. The sons of God (fallen angels) were able to marry human women (which strongly suggests the women were able to see them) and produced children (which further suggests that fallen angels were able to appear physically to women).
…
Extraterrestrial Travel: Fallen Angels apparently can travel out of this world. For instance, Satan and his fallen angels one day came to present themselves in front of God in Heaven.
Physical Transformation and the Ability to Deceive: 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 informs us that Satan’s ministers/fallen angels have the ability to transform themselves so that they can pose as ministers of righteousness.
As I’ve stated before, the Greek word for “transform” is metaschēmatizō, which means to “transform the figure of”. Therefore, fallen angels have the ability to deceive people by transforming themselves to resemble religious figures that many people believe in if they choose to do that (which they sometimes actually do).
For more on fallen angels, you can read my detailed analysis of Ephesians 6:12 at the following link.
Demon/Devil
I define a demon as an unclean spirit that seeks to possess, manipulate, and to deceive people. In the King James Version of the Bible demons are referred to as “devils”. Here are the abilities of demons...
The Ability to Control the Entity they Possess: A well-known event where Christ casted out demons from a man to a herd of swine suggest demons can control the entity they possess. The demons controlled the man’s actions and then the actions of the herd of swine.
Ability to Inflict Harm on their Victim(s): Matthew 4:23-25 and Luke 4:40-41 suggest that demons have the power to inflict mental illness and physical diseases on their victims.
(On a side note, I think it’s quite possible that some of today’s “miraculous healings” are engineered by the spiritual forces of evil to build up the reputations of some “healers” who provide or have the potential to provide false teachings to people and to condition people to believe in lying signs and wonders. For instance, I cited a woman who was supposedly given the power to “heal” after meeting an evil entity. The woman claimed she would be told which people were ill, what illnesses were inflicting them, and with a few words the illnesses would suddenly disappear…)
Unusual Physical Strength: The episode when Christ casted out demons into swine also suggests that demons can give an individual they possess unusual strength:
Limited Physical Movement: The Book of Revelation gives us a clue about the limitations that demons have. Revelation 9:20 tells us that people “of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk” even after being punished by plagues.
The question that some people wonder is: “Why would men be worshiping devils if they are supposed to worship Antichrist, his image, and his idols?” The theory which I think best addresses this issue is that the demons/devils actually will inhabit the images and idols of Antichrist. After all, Revelation 13:15 suggest that there is some form of “life” in the image of the beast.
By worshiping an image or idol of the Antichrist, people will also be worshiping the demon inhabiting the object.
The demon inside the image (or idol of the beast) will be greatly limited by the entity they will inhabit. They will only be able to communicate. They will be unable to see, hear, or walk. Nevertheless, the images will have the ability to kill those do not worship the image of the beast.
The Ability to Deceive: Revelation 16 and 1 Timothy chapter 4 suggest that demons have the ability to deceive people with false beliefs.
(it’s unclear how the demons will resemble frogs so it’s unclear if they will actually appear in physical form as frogs to the kings of the earth).
(it is possible that the teachings of devils could be provided to people by religious/spiritual teachers who were possessed by devils)
An Alternative Explanation
Some people cite the unbiblical Book of Enoch to understand who demons are. The idea suggested in Enoch is that demons are the disembodied spirit of the Nephilim (giants) that perished in the great flood of Genesis.
It’s possible that demons could be the disembodied spirits of the Nephilim, but without biblical evidence it’s impossible and unwise to treat this idea as a fact.
My Overall View on Fallen Angels vs. Demons
Overall, fallen angels and demons have some similarities. Both are evil entities that work to deceive people. I acknowledge that it’s quite possible that fallen angels and demons have even more similarities than what I recognize here. The main difference I see is that fallen angels appear to have more freedom of movement than demons do. Fallen angels do not seem reliant on having to possess something to get a task done. A fallen angel can physically transform and make themselves visible if they want to deceive a person. Meanwhile, a demon seems to have the need to possess a physical body in order to achieve a task.
Relating All of this to Aliens/UFOs
Since demons have some limitations in their movement and fallen angels appear to not have such limitations it’s far more likely that aliens are low-level fallen angels than demons. However, this may be semantics more than anything because both fallen angels and demons are formidable foes for the ordinary person. Nevertheless, if you encounter a demon or an alien/fallen angel, you can scare them away by using Christ’s name.
Over the past several days I’ve evaluated several arguments concerning the length of the Day of the Lord. I provided evidence that the Day of the Lord is likely going to begin following the opening of the sixth seal and is likely going to end after the pouring of the final seven plagues referenced in Revelation 15 and Revelation 16. In addition, I’ve shown why it is unlikely that the Day of the Lord is going to last for seven years, why it is unlikely going to last for one thousand years, and discussed what the Bible likely means when it says the Day of the Lord shall come as a “thief in the night”. Today I evaluate whether the Day of the Lord can be a single day, a year, or perhaps both.
Is the Day of the Lord One Year?
Isaiah 34 is one of the most descriptive chapters in the Bible about the wide-scale slaughter of the nations during the Day of the Lord. The first seven verses of the chapter describe a world similar to the one described in Revelation 6:13-14 following the opening of the sixth seal: Verse 8 is the first time in the chapter where the Day of the Lord is mentioned. The verse provides a very interesting detail regarding the Day of the Lord: it is “the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion”.[1]
Verse 8 implies that the Lord will spend a year repaying his enemies for Zion’s sake. The repayment in this context is not good for those who will receive the repayment. For instance, the Lord mentions that Tyre, Zidon, and “all the coast of Palestine” will be treated as harshly as they treated those in Judah:
Similarly, the song of Moses, a song that will be sung during the End Times (Revelation 15:3) includes a passage where the Lord mentions that He will “render vengeance” to his enemies and “will reward them” (recompense) those that hate him.
Moreover, Isaiah 59:17-18 further links the time when the Lord will enact His vengeance (the Day of the Lord’s vengeance) with the time when He recompences His enemies:
This detail about the Day of the Lord being “the year of the recompences for the controversy of Zion” stands out from a chapter like Zephaniah 1 which mentions the Day of the Lord as “a day” numerous times.
Is the Day of the Lord a 24 Hour Day?
I do not believe the Day of the Lord is a 24 hour period of time as I’ve described why the Day of the Lord appears to begin following the opening of the sixth seal and appears to end with the pouring of the last of the seven plagues (the seventh vial/bowl judgment in Revelation 16).
However, it seems odd for the Bible to label the time of God’s wrath as the “Day of the Lord’ when it does not appear to be “one day” long.
Harmonizing the Details
The concept of time is sometimes different in Bible prophecy. For instance, the Bible describes a future time period as “one week” (the seventieth week of Daniel):
There’s not a lot of debate about how long the seventieth week of Daniel lasts because most people assume it is seven “prophetic years” long (2520 Days: 360 days in a prophetic year x 7 Years…see the appendix of this blog post for a complete explanation of how these numbers were derived). Given that the seventieth week of Daniel is seven prophetic years long, if we took the prophetic week and divided by the number of days in a week (seven) we would find that a “prophetic day” associated with the seventieth week of Daniel is one year long (360 days).
The concept of a prophetic day in relation to a prophetic week perhaps best harmonizes Isaiah 34:8 with the “day” part of the term “Day of the Lord”. The “Day of the Lord” is a special prophetic day which lasts one year long; in the same manner that a prophetic week is seven years long. Thus, the Day of the Lord is “one day” long, but it’s not an ordinary 24 hour long day.
At this moment I agree with those who believe the Day of the Lord is going to last for one year. Isaiah 34:8’s statement that the Day of the Lord is “the year of recompences for the controversy of Zion” is difficult to account for unless one views the Day of the Lord as a one year time period. However, this is a preliminary finding so it’s subject to change if someone is able to disprove it or if I find a way to disprove it. Feel free to disprove it if you can.
In the next blog post concerning the Day of the Lord I’ll probably provide more clarification about the one year Day of the Lord theory and may discuss the implications associated with the Day of the Lord potentially lasting for one year.
Notes/Appendix
[1] Some people also cite Isaiah 61:1-3 and Isaiah 63:1-4 as verses which suggest the Day of the Lord is one year long. I’m not so sure the one year time period mentioned in these verses are intended to describe the length of the Day of the Lord. The language used in Isaiah 61:1-3 and Isaiah 63:1-4 suggest that the “year” referenced in these verses is a Jubilee Year rather than a year of vengeance like Isaiah 34:8 references. However, I believe the beginning of the Jubilee Year will take place during the Day of the Lord. For more, click this link
The Length of the 70th Week of Daniel and Prophetic Years
Gabriel told Daniel that 70 weeks have been given to the people of Israel and the city of Jerusalem to end their disobedience, atone for their sins, and to be saved.
Most Christians who study Bible prophecy agree that the first 69 weeks of this prophecy was fulfilled over a several-hundred year period with a call to rebuild Jerusalem in the 20th year of Artaxerxes Longimanus’s reign (Nehemiah Ch. 2:1-5) and the death and ascension of Christ. Therefore, Gabriel did not mean 70 literal weeks where each week is 7 days in length. The Hebrew translation of the word “week” in Daniel is shâbûa‛, which actually means “seven”. Therefore we can also refer to Daniel’s prophecy as “the 70 sevens”. The length of a prophetic week can be determined by analyzing the structure of the 70th week of Daniel. Daniel’s 70th week is divided into two halves. In the first half Antichrist will make and keep a covenant with Israel, but will break it halfway through the seven.
The 2nd half of the week is a period of severe persecution. This period of time will last for “time, times, and a half”. The Hebrew word for “time” is “mô‛êd”, which also can mean “a year”. Nearly every commentator who analyzes Daniel’s 70 week prophecy agrees that “time, times, and a half” means 3 ½ years. Therefore, a prophetic week is a seven year period.
In Revelation 12:14 we learn that 3 ½ prophetic years is the equivalent of 1260 days. If we divide 1260 days by 3 ½ years we will find that a prophetic year is 360 days long.
Similarly, 3 ½ years is also defined as 42 months since seven years is the equivalent to 84 months. Therefore a prophetic month is 30 days long since 1260 days divided by 42 months equals 30 days/month.
Given this information, we can confirm that the 70th Week of Daniel will be 2520 days long three different ways.
For more about the 70 Weeks of Daniel you can access my research study where I provide a completely new explanation of the prophecy by clicking this link.
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