The 2520 Prophecy of Leviticus 26 Explained

Leviticus 26

1 You shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither raise you up a standing image, neither shall you set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down to it: for I am the LORD your God.

2 You shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the LORD.

3 If you walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;

4 Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

5 And your threshing shall reach to the vintage, and the vintage shall reach to the sowing time: and you shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.

6 And I will give peace in the land, and you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.

7 And you shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.

8 And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.

9 For I will have respect to you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.

10 And you shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new.

11 And I set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.

12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people.

13 I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.

14 But if you will not listen to me, and will not do all these commandments;

15 And if you shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that you will not do all my commandments, but that you break my covenant:

16 I also will do this to you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and you shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

17 And I will set my face against you, and you shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and you shall flee when none pursues you.

18 And if you will not yet for all this listen to me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:

20 And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.

21 And if you walk contrary to me, and will not listen to me; I will bring seven times more plagues on you according to your sins.

22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.

23 And if you will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary to me;

24 Then will I also walk contrary to you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.

25 And I will bring a sword on you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when you are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

26 And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and you shall eat, and not be satisfied.

27 And if you will not for all this listen to me, but walk contrary to me;

28 Then I will walk contrary to you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.

29 And you shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall you eat.

30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcasses on the carcasses of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.

31 And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries to desolation, and I will not smell the smell of your sweet odors.

32 And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.

33 And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.

34 Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lies desolate, and you be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.

35 As long as it lies desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when you dwelled on it.

36 And on them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursues.

37 And they shall fall one on another, as it were before a sword, when none pursues: and you shall have no power to stand before your enemies.

38 And you shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.

39 And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies’ lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.

40 If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary to me;

41 And that I also have walked contrary to them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:

42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.

43 The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lies desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes.

44 And yet for all that, when they be in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the LORD their God.

45 But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the LORD.

46 These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the LORD made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.

The 2520-year prophecy, often referred to as the "Seven Times" of Leviticus 26 is a significant prophetic period that details God's chastisement upon His people for their disobedience. This period amounts to 2520 years and marks the duration of Gentile supremacy over God's people.

Here's a detailed explanation of this prophecy:

Understanding the "Seven Times"

• Origin in Leviticus 26: The prophecy of "seven times" is found in Leviticus 26 where God outlines the consequences for Israel's disobedience. The phrase "seven times" is repeated four times in this chapter Leviticus 26:18, 21, 24, 28, signifying a period of prolonged punishment for their sins. Leviticus 26:18, 21, 24, 28HST October 15, 1840, page 105.2+2

• Prophetic Application: In prophetic interpretation, a "time" is understood to be 360 years, based on the year-day principle Numbers 14:34+1. Therefore, "seven times" equates to 7 multiplied by 360 years, totaling 2520 years.HF 413.2+3

• Duration of Punishment: This 2520-year period represents the duration during which the Jewish people would be in bondage to their enemies, experiencing a "treading down" or indignation.HST June 15, 1840, page 41.16+3

Commencement and Termination

• Starting Point: The commencement of the "seven times" has been a subject of careful study. One view is that it began with the breaking of the pride of Judah's power at the captivity of Manasseh, king of Judah, in 677 B.C.TRMC August 22, 1844, page 2.1+9 This date is assigned by many chronologers.TRMC August 22, 1844, page 2.1+2 It is specifically noted that Manasseh's captivity likely occurred in the autumn of 677 B.C., as warlike expeditions were typically in spring or summer, and the Assyrians would have first removed the ten tribes before invading Judah.TRMC August 22, 1844, page 2.1+2

• Alternative Starting Point: Another perspective places the beginning of the 2520 years from the shutting up and binding of Hoshea, king of Israel, in 723 B.C., when Ephraim was broken from being a people.ARSH January 10, 1856, page 114.1+1 This date is 65 years after Isaiah's prophecy in 742 B.C. Isaiah 7:8.ARSH January 10, 1856, page 114.1+1

• Termination in 1844: Regardless of the specific starting point (677 B.C. or 723 B.C.), the original calculations by early Adventists indicated the 2520 years would terminate around 1843 or 1844.TRMC August 22, 1844, page 2.1+8 The adjustment from 1843 to 1844 accounted for the precise autumn timing of the starting event in 457 B.C. for the 2300-day prophecy, which similarly influenced other prophetic periods.GC 398.4+9

Connection to Other Prophecies

• Harmony with 2300 Days: The 2520-year prophecy was seen by early Adventists as running parallel to and terminating at the same time as the 2300-day prophecy of Daniel 8:14.HST October 16, 1844, page 88.17+2 The 2300 days were understood to end in 1844, when the heavenly sanctuary was to be cleansed.CIHS 112.2+42

• Relationship to the Great Jubilee: The "Great Jubilee," a 2450-year prophecy (49 x 50 years), also terminated in 1844, further supporting the significance of this period.BDOC 39.9+5

• Daniel's Visions: Daniel's prophecies, particularly chapters 2 and 7, which describe the four great empires, are seen as covering the entire 2520-year period of Israel's dispersion and Gentile supremacy.ARSH February 14, 1856, page 154.15+1

Later Developments and Reassessment

• Pioneer Views: While William Miller utilized the 2520-year prophecy, Sabbath-keeping Adventist pioneers Bates, Edson, and Smith later wrote about it. Bates viewed it as evidence for the close of probation, Edson suggested changing its end date to 1798, and Smith argued it was not a legitimate time prophecy at all.BDOC 39.32+3 Smith's view became the standard, and it was generally not published as a legitimate prophecy afterward.BDOC 39.32+2

• Critique of "Seven Times": The phrase "seven times" in Leviticus 26 is grammatically an adverb, meaning "sevenfold," indicating a degree of severity rather than a specific period of time.BDOC 39.19+3 This linguistic analysis suggests that the passage was not intended to denote a chronological prophecy.BDOC 39.23+2

• Daniel's Silence: It's important to note that Daniel, despite his extensive prophecies and concern for the timing of events Daniel 9, did not proclaim the 2520-year prophecy.BDOC 39.86+1

In summary, the 2520-year prophecy, derived from the "seven times" mentioned in Leviticus 26 was understood by early Adventists as a significant period of God's chastisement and Gentile dominion, running parallel to the 2300-day prophecy and terminating around 1844. However, later analysis by Adventist pioneers, especially Uriah Smith, led to the conclusion that it was not an actual time prophecy.

I hope this comprehensive explanation is helpful to you! 🙏