The 26th chapter of Leviticus records the covenant that God made with Israel. In general, it states that if they were obedient, they would be a blessed and prosperous nation. Should they become disobedient, they would receive punishment. History records the many times Israel turned from God and the many times God punished them. After repentance, God would restore His favor to them. Leviticus 26 warns that if after a series of these punishment if the people continued to break their covenant, He would inflict upon them a great punishment. This great punishment is the punishment of 7 times.
Scripturally a “time” is a year. Thus, we find in the book of Daniel “time, times, and a half time” to be 3 ½ years. (Daniel 7: 25) Prophetically a “symbolic day” equals a “year.” A year is based on a prophetic year of 12 months with 30 days each. (12 x 30 = 360) So,“7 times” would be 7 years x 360 days = 2520 days. These 2520 days would represent 2520 years of punishment that God would bring upon Israel for their disobedience and for breaking their covenant.
This 2520 years of punishment began when God removed the crown from Israel. In Ezekiel 21:26-27, God says “Remove the diadem, and take off the crown…I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be no more, until he (Jesus) come whose right it is; and I will give it him.” The removal of the crown was in 606 BC when Zedekiah, the last Jewish king to rule over Israel, was overthrown by Nebuchadnezzar. From that time on the nation of Israel was to be under gentile rulership for seven times of punishment. This period of punishment is also called the “times of the gentiles.” The Jews no longer had control over their land but were put under the dominion of gentile rulership. It was under the rulership of the Roman government in 133 AD that the entire nation of Israel was destroyed and its people were scattered throughout the world.
Christ spoke of this period of time in Luke 21: 24 saying, “And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” Historically, we note that 2520 years from 606 BC, there were signs of Israel’s punishment (seven times) coming to an end, or as Christ said the “the time of the gentiles” fulfilled.
Events preceding and World War l, itself, brought about conditions which gave the scattered Jewish peoples Palestine as the place for their regathering. The Gentile Church State empires spoken of by Daniel marched into World War I exactly at the end of the 2520 years, August 1st 1914. Bible Students recognized this coming date in 1878. Following the war, Israel, now under British protection, was promised independence. Israel became a nation in 1948. (see Jeremiah 23: 7,8; Amos 9:14,15)
