Continuous Weekly Cycle in Jeopardy

A Calculated Look at the Continuous Weekly Cycle

The Numbers Tell the Story!

Why is the date of the crucifixion of Christ so important to Seventh Day Adventists?

For Seventh-Day Adventists, the date of the crucifixion of Christ in AD31 is an important date, and critical to the foundation of the 2300 day prophecy and prophetic understanding of the church. (For those of you that are not Seventh Day Adventists, or have little or no knowledge of the SDA-AD31 connection, the same principles and calculations presented in this article can be used to confirm other historical dates). It is likely that no other date in history has been so extensively examined by scholars of SDA institutions, as well as many other interested researchers. The date of AD31 has been confirmed first of all by Ellen G. White, prophet to the SDA church. It has also been confirmed by esteemed scholars of Adventist institutions, including the Grace Amadon Research Committee of the SDA church in their research studies in 1938-39, as well as other independent researchers. But do the numbers add up when it comes to reckoning where we are in time? Let’s have a closer look at the AD31 crucifixion date. (See Grace Amadon committee research reports at www.4angelspublications.com )

A closer look at the timing and events of the Crucifixion

Let’s begin with Ellen White’s confirmation of the year AD31:

    "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week." The "week" here brought to view is the last one of the seventy; it is the last seven years of the period allotted especially to the Jews. During this time, extending from A. D. 27 to A. D. 34, Christ, at first in person, and afterward by his disciples, extended the gospel invitation especially to the Jews. As the apostles went forth with the good tidings of the kingdom, the Saviour's direction was, "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” [MATT. 10:5, 6.]  {GC88 327.2}

     "And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease."  In AD31, three and a half years after his baptism, our Lord was crucified. With the great sacrifice offered upon Calvary, ended that system of offerings which for four thousand years had pointed forward to the Lamb of God. Type had met antitype, and all the sacrifices and oblations of the ceremonial system were there to cease.”  {GC88 327.3-328.1}

   “The 2300 days had been found to begin when the commandment of Artaxerxes for the restoration and building of Jerusalem went into effect, in the autumn of B. C. 457. Taking this as the starting-point, there was perfect harmony in the application of all the events foretold in the explanation of that period in Dan 9:25-27. Sixty-nine weeks, the first 483 of the 2300 years, were to reach to the Messiah, the Anointed One; and Christ's baptism and anointing by the Holy Spirit, A. D. 27, exactly fulfilled the specification. In the midst of the seventieth week, Messiah was to be cut off. Three and a half years after his baptism, Christ was crucified, in the spring of AD31. The seventy weeks, or 490 years, were to pertain especially to the Jews. At the expiration of this period, the nation sealed its rejection of Christ by the persecution of his disciples, and the apostles turned to the Gentiles, A. D. 34. The first 490 years of the 2300 having then ended, 1810 years would remain. From A. D. 34, 1810 years extend to 1844. "Then," said the angel, "shall the sanctuary be cleansed." {GC88 411}

AD31 and the 2300 day prophecy

Now that we’ve reviewed the established year, let’s have a closer look at how the AD31 year was established in the 2300 day prophecy.

When the Millerites were examining and studying the 2300 day prophecy in the 1840’s, and leading up to Oct 22, 1844, they soon discovered they had to use the lunar-solar calendar of scripture. This calendar has long been established as the calendar of the feasts of God, outlined in the Bible. It is this calendar that Passover at the time of Christ is calculated and pinpointed on. The day of Christ’s crucifixion, death and resurrection are highlighted on this calendar. Hebrews have used this calendar and it’s reckoning since it was given to Moses around the time of the Exodus nearly 3500 years ago. It is still used today by much of the Jewish community, as well as other biblical feast and holy day observers to determine their calendar of holy days.

At the time of Christ’s death in the spring of AD31, the first month of the new year began in April; on April 12 (Julian Calendar) to be specific. April 12, 31AD corresponds to the 1st day of the 1st month of the year on the biblical lunar-solar calendar.

The count to Passover is begun on the 1st day of the month, April 12th. Counting 14 days to Passover, or the 14th day of the month, we arrive at April 25, which is Wednesday on the Julian calendar.

Below is a chart of astronomical data showing the various lunar events during the years that are considered for the crucifixion of the Saviour. The data in this chart also confirms the date and timing of events written by Ellen White for the year AD31.

The data in the above chart is taken from the website of the United States Naval Observatory, and reproduced in the chart at the following website:
http://www.judaismvschristianity.com/Passover_dates.htm

On the feast, or lunar-solar calendar of God, Passover is on the 14th day of the first month. Counting 14 days from April 12th, we pinpoint April 25 on the Julian calendar. This is the day of the Passover, the crucifixion, death and burial of Christ. It is the 6th day of the week, “preparation” day for the Sabbath. It is Wednesday on the Julian Calendar.

We can confirm the days and events in the chart above with statements from the writings of Ellen White. The 14th day of the month, is the Passover, and the preparation day for the Sabbath. This is the same sabbath of creation also confirmed by Ellen White. The 15th day of the month then, is the 7th day sabbath, the same one ordained at creation.


Here are some of Ellen White’s statements confirming the days and events surrounding the crucifixion;


“On the fourteenth day of the first Jewish month, the very day and month on which, for fifteen long centuries, the Passover lamb had been slain, Christ, having eaten the Passover with his disciples, instituted that feast which was to commemorate his own death as "the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."  That same night he was taken by wicked hands, to be crucified and slain. And as the antitype of the wave-sheaf, our Lord was raised from the dead on the third day, "the first-fruits of them that slept," [1 COR. 15:20.] a sample of all the resurrected just, whose "vile body" shall be changed, and "fashioned like unto his glorious body." [PHIL. 3:21.]  {GC88 399.2}

“In company with His disciples, the Saviour slowly made His way to the garden of Gethsemane. The Passover moon, broad and full, shone from a cloudless sky. The city of pilgrims' tents was hushed into silence.”  {DA 685.1}

“Before they came to Sinai, they understood the Sabbath to be obligatory upon them. After the giving of the manna, the people, of their own accord, gathered a double quantity on the sixth day in preparation for the Sabbath. And Moses, upon being consulted by the rulers, declared, "This is that which the Lord hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the Lord." Signs of the Times Feb 28, 1884; The Creation Sabbath

That was a never-to-be-forgotten Sabbath to the sorrowing disciples, and also to the priests, rulers, scribes, and people. At the setting of the sun on the evening of the preparation day the trumpets sounded, signifying that the Sabbath had begun. DA 775

When there shall be a "restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began" (Acts 3:21), the creation Sabbath, the day on which Jesus lay at rest in Joseph's tomb, will still be a day of rest and rejoicing. Heaven and earth will unite in praise, as "from one Sabbath to another" (Isa. 66:23) the nations of the saved shall bow in joyful worship to God and the Lamb.  {DA 769.2-770}

In the previous facts and statements, it is confirmed and pinpointed on the lunar-solar calendar of the bible that the Passover, crucifixion, death and burial of Christ is on the 14th day of the 1st month of the year AD31. It is Wednesday April 25 on the Julian calendar. Thursday April 26, the 15th day of the 1st month, is the 7th day sabbath, the same sabbath given by God at creation, confirmed by Ellen White.

The Continuous Weekly Cycle and AD31

Now, lets have a look at the “continuous weekly cycle” and how it relates to the 7th day Sabbath and the events described above in AD31. To determine the continuous weekly cycle back to the time of Christ, we’ll use the Julian Day numbering system*. This system assigns an ordinal number to every date in history, back as far as -4713BC, and to any date in the future. To find the number of weeks between any two given Saturdays, or 7th day Sabbaths (Julian/Gregorian), we need only to determine the number of Julian days between any two given Saturdays, and divide by 7 to find the number of weeks. An even number will confirm the accuracy of a Saturday to Saturday period of calculation. Each date chosen must be set or calculated from 12:00 hours as that is point of time of the day when Julian Day numbers are calculated from (zero hour).

From astronomical and calendar records, we know the Roman or Julian Saturday nearest the crucifixion on the Julian calendar is April 28, 31AD. (see Julian Calendar date in image below). Notice also the Gregorian date is 2 days different from the Julian calendar. Even though there are two days difference between the calendars, it is still Wednesday. The last attempt to correct this drifting problem was the shift from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar in 1582, in which 10 days were eliminated in order to reconcile things into their proper order. Today, in 2010, that difference between the two calendars is has grown to 12 days.

Also notice in the image the date on the Hebrew calendar. It shows the 14th day of the month of Iyyar, which is the correct day for Passover, but the wrong month. Iyyar is actually the 2nd month on the Hebrew calendar, and Passover should be pinpointed in the 1st month. The reason for the difference is due to the way the Jews reckon the beginning of the biblical year, at times a month early, or Iyyar 14 could well be the biblical 2nd Passover for the year, when the first one was missed.

In order to test our theory about the continuous weekly cycle, we then pick any Saturday in the future. For this example, we’ll use Saturday March 13, 2010. The difference between the two Julian day numbers is 722,771 days. If we divide 722,771 by 7, the result is 103,253; that is 103,253 seven day weeks between Saturday April 28 31AD and Saturday March 13, 2010. This result is an even number of seven day weeks, confirming the accuracy of the number of 7 day weeks of the continuous weekly cycle between the two dates; both Saturdays, or Julian/Gregorian 7th day Sabbaths.

Let’s see what happens when we calculate the days between Saturday, March 13, 2010 and Thursday, April 26, AD31. (April 26 is the corresponding Julian calendar day confirmed by Ellen White to be the 15th day of the month, or Sabbath). The number of days between April 26 AD31 and March 13, 2010 is 722,773, resulting in a calculation of number of weeks of 103,255.28. As you can see, this does not result in an even number, which it should if the continuous weekly cycle method were accurate.

Does this create a problem for the continuous weekly cycle theory?  In order to have confirmation of Saturday as the 7th day sabbath on the Gregorian calendar, and confirmation of the continuous weekly cycle, Saturday should theoretically be pinpointed on the 15th day of the month of the crucifixion. But it’s not. It’s pinpointed 2 days away on Saturday April 28 31AD. The sabbath of creation is confirmed by Ellen White to be on the 15th of the month, which is Thursday, April 26; not on Saturday the 17th day of the month, or April 28.

What does this mean for Seventh Day Adventists? It means that we’re faced with a dilemma; a choice between two calendars. If we want to cling to the crucifixion date of Christ, verified by the Millerites, Ellen White, and SDA scholars, as well as others, we have to consider that the continuous weekly cycle cannot be mathematically, astronomically or calendrically supported. If on the other hand, we are insistent on the continuous weekly cycle since creation, we have to consider tossing out the Millerites, Ellen White, and numerous SDA scholars and researchers, all of which have confirmed the AD31 date.

Given the apparent discrepancy between the two methods of reckoning, how does one reconcile this difference. How can we on one hand hold fast to a continuous weekly cycle, and yet uphold the crucifixion date of April 25 AD31, the 2300 day prophecy, the 70 weeks of Daniel, as well as one of the fundamental pillars of the Seventh Day Adventist church, October 22, 1844?

*Note on Julian Day numbering and converting; when searching for results in Julian calendar and numbering converters, one should not only familiarize themselves with the particular model they are using, but should also verify that the resulting data is accurate. 12:00 should be set as the zero hour if the converter allows the use of time of day. Otherwise the results will be an odd number even if you are using the same day of the week for conversion.

ALL DATA SHOULD BE VERIFIED BY THE READER FOR CONFIRMATION

Paul W Puckett March 16 2010
Rev April 10 2011