The Importance of Time. History is one of our great lesson books. It provides us with the means to study the past in the light of the present, with a view to the future. In speaking of the history of God’s people the Spirit of Prophecy comments that “we have nothing to fear for the future, except as we shall forget the way the Lord has led us, and His teaching in our past history” (Selected Messages, bk. 3, p.162).
All the events of the past that remain in the historical record are preserved there so that you and I can learn lessons from the actions of those who came before us. In this new series of articles we will examine the nations, peoples and events of times past. We will answer questions like: Who were the Medo-Persians, the Romans, the people of Cush, and the Vandals? What was their experience? Did they redeem their time? What prophecies did they fulfill?
The Bible informs us that “to every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Solomon informs us that “the thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us” (Ecclesiastes 1:9, 10).
Before we can begin our studies into history, we must first begin by talking about dates. History is based on understanding when events of the past happened. To do this we must have a common reference point from which to conduct our study.
In ancient times, there was no set system for numbering years. Each kingdom and region had its own custom for telling time. In many places the years were numbered by the rulers of the kingdom or province. “In the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar” (Jeremiah 32:1). The Romans originally called the years by the names of the two leaders (called consuls) who held the position that year. “In the consulship of Gaius Marius and Catulus Caesar.”
Eventually the larger and more important nations found it convenient to find some important date in their early history and count the years from that. The Romans chose the date when they said the city had been founded and started counting the years from that date. (The traditional date of the founding of Rome is 753 b.c.) They would give a date like 260 as 260 years “ab urbe condita” (auc), meaning “from the founding of the city.”
Unfortunately other nations and cities used other systems of counting, and this makes for considerable confusion in trying to figure out when ancient events occurred. Still, when some particular event is recorded in the annals of two different regions under two different systems of dates, we can tie those two systems together.
Today we have a more universal system. This system is based on the birth of Christ. Around a.d. 535 a Scythian scholar, Dionysius Exiguus, produced evidence showing that Jesus was born in the year 753 auc. Today we know that this date is too late by at least four years, as Jesus was born while Herod was king of Judea and Herod died in 749 auc. Nevertheless, Dionysius’ date has become the standard. We use his calculation to determine these dates.
Starting with that year we call the years a.d. 1, a.d. 2, and so on. “A.D.” is an abbreviation for “anno Domini,” which is Latin for “in the year of our Lord.” The years before a.d. 1 are numbered b.c. 1, b.c. 2, and so on. “B.C.” is an abbreviation for “before Christ.” The important thing to remember about B.C. dates is that they run backward. That is, the smaller the number the later the year. Thus 200 b.c. comes after 201 b.c.
We will be using the system of Exiguus outline here in all our studies, so you must remember two very important points: 1) He was wrong on the date for the birth of Christ, so when we study prophecies concerning Christ later on, you will find that Christ was not born in the year b.c. 1, 2) There is no year 0. When the year 1 b.c. finished the year b.c. 1 began.
The study of history inevitably produces the desire for eschatology (the study of last events). And the Bible is full of prophecies, not the least of which is the prophecy that Christ will return. I am sure that you often hear the phrase “we are living in the time of the end.” Today, more than ever before we can see the validity of this statement, but it is not a new statement. Ever since Christ left the disciples and ascended into heaven, men have predicted His return and they have used dates as the primary means for making their determinations.
As time went on, waiting became a permanent feature of Christianity. History shows us that there were many people and groups which were waiting for this coming, and some even set dates for this event. Most of these specific dates for Christ’s return were based on time prophecies, especially those of Daniel and Revelation, such as the 1260 days or years, the 2300 days, 490 years, and other time periods found in the Bible.
Lactantius (a.d. 240–320) adopted the commonly accepted idea that Christ’s return would occur at the end of 6,000 years. According to his study of Old Testament chronology, he figured that Christ had been born 5,500 years after creation, thus putting His second coming around the year a.d. 500. Another early church father, Hippolytus of Rome, accepted the same logic. Others chose the year 1000 because it was a nice round figure. Still others said Christ would return in the year 1260, based on the 1260-year-prophecy. Christopher Columbus believed very strongly that Christ would come 155 years after his time, and this fueled many of his explorations.
Nicholas of Cusa (1401–1464), a prominent medieval scholar, set the date at 1734 based on the 2300 day prophecy of Daniel, but of course he was mistaken on the starting date of that period. William Miller used the same prophecy, but as he had more reliable historical dates he predicted 1843 or 1844. He had the correct date for the start of the prophecy, but a misinterpretation of the events at its conclusion. We will study this prophecy in detail later in this series.
Today we study the past to learn from it, and to prepare for the future, but we will not set any times for future events. “The great test on time was in 1843 and 1844; and all who have set time since this great period marked in prophecy, were deceiving and being deceived” (Life Sketches (1888), p. 222).
Today remember that everything you do is part of history. It is being recorded in the books of heaven. What are you doing with your time? Are you being an example to those around you.
Time is one of the greatest talents which we possess. “But time squandered can never be recovered. We cannot call back even one moment. The only way in which we can redeem our time is by making the most of that which remains, by being coworkers with God in His great plan of redemption”(Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 342).
It is my prayer that as we commence our study we will understand the deep importance of the time in which we are living. In the next issue we will begin to study the history of Egypt.