SCRIPTURE CHRONOLOGY OF

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 21050, 29 December 1933, Page 6

SCRIPTURE CHRONOLOGY OF

THE JEWS TO Till! IDITOR OF THE I'ftESS. Sir, —Some tune ago, in answer to a letter in the correspondence columns 01 "The Press," I pointed out that the 2520 years' period of punishment by persecution of the Jews, according to Scripture chronology, appeared to be up by the end of this year, 1933. I based this conclusion on 2 Kings XXV., 8, because previous fulfilments in 1917, and in 1922, of the 2520 years' period r.s proved from 2 Kings XXIV., 2 and 12 respectively, showed also that the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, XXV., 8, when he took Jerusalem and burnt the Temple must have been in accordance with Usher's date, viz., in B.C. 588, and that therefore 2520 years later would bring us to 1933 A.IX The only point in doubt then left in my mind was as to in what year the sevent h day of the fifth month of 2 Kings XXV.. 8 might fall in. I had pointed out some four years ago in the Chronological Prophecies of Scripture, page 3, "as no day and hour or even month is given of many ancient events, no one can now say how near or how far from the beginning or ending of such and such a year now reckoned by solar time, one will see the fulfilment or completion of a prophecy which started in some far distant lunar year." And on page 24, "Allowing one year on either side of B.C. 588 for reasons above stated, a"e we to expect between 1932 and 1934 some great event in the national history of Judah?" But in 2 Kings XXV. 8, the month and day are given. The present-day Jews appear to still keep a very careful record of time, and as is well known, have a sacred as well as civil year. The question then resolved itself, under which way of reckoning would the seventh d:iy of the fifth month fall? A well-in-formed Jew told me that dates relating to Kings, according to the Talmad, fell

under the sacred year reckoning, and as the sacred year began 011 April 11 this year, the fifth month wouiu be in September. Now, though persecution of the Jews is at present abated, yet it lias not come to an end in the way Scripture represents it, nor nave their persecutors been brought to book. On further enquiries I And that heathen events in connexion with heathen kings fall under civil year reckonings and the Jewish civil year began on September 21 of this year, so the fifth month when things may begin to happen brings us to the end of the second month of 1934. x am writing all this in case some should imagine Scripture chronology has failed to justify itself, whereas the mistake has inadvertently been mine and may be theirs in counting by me sacred instead of civil year. Scripture r ~onology has not so far failed to vindicate itself. Nor will it.—Yours, etc., P. H. PRITCHETT. December 28, 1933.