A CHRONOLOGICAL

ANALYSIS
OF THE
PROPHECY
OF
REVELATION 9
BY: THEODORE JAMES TURNER
 INTRODUCTION
We have addressed the fulfilment of Revelation 9 in other places. Here, we seek to give a detailed
analysis of the chronology of Islam in connexion with the prophecy. More specifically, we will examine
the dates as they relate to the various calendars – Julian, Gregorian, biblical, Islamic, and even Mayan.
Much of this analysis may seem esoteric. That is, it requires a great deal of knowledge of calendars and
may be inaccessible to the average reader. Here, we will try to remove the mystery. In laying out this
history, we have provided the reader with several resources – charts, calendars, diagrams, etc. – and
have provided links to internet resources. None of this will make this paper an easy read. It will take
time for the reader to absorb this information. We do, however feel that it will be rewarding to the
patient and persevering student.
This study is meant to be comprehensive, in regards to the chronology. No stone is to be left
unturned. However, we do not believe that everything that can be found has been found. In fact, nearly
every day some new detail is noticed or some connexion is seen in a new light. It is our hope that more
will be discovered by those who study this paper.
While Josiah Litch saw something in Revelation 9 that had not been seen by others, his
interpretation, in the broadest sense, was not new. Even Litch’s application of Revelation 9:15 was not
new, at least, in its referring to a period of time. His particular contribution was finding the precise
starting and end dates. We also do not have a new interpretation of Revelation 9. Our contribution is in
recognising the significance of the dates and their relationship to the various calendars. Our findings
support Litch’s understanding of the prophecy; it strengthens what he has done.
Our approach to this study is chronological. That is, we start from the beginning, lay out the
history and the dates and then show the structure. This study is not an exposition of Revelation 9,
neither is our approach apologetic. For those who are unfamiliar with Seventh-day Adventist
understanding of Revelation 9, we suggest that they read Uriah Smith’s treatment of it. Modern
scholarship has mostly rejected Litch’s interpretation. We will not address their arguments. However,
the evidence we present shows that Josiah Litch’s understanding, and our Church’s historic
understanding, of Revelation 9 is correct.
 THE ASTRONOMICAL BASIS OF THE CALENDAR – 1
THE PURPOSE OF CALENDARS
Calendars are conventions that help us compare the cycles of the sky with those of earth. That is,
calendars recognise the relationship between the seasons, which for the most part regulate the timing
of religious festivals and agricultural life, and the various astronomical cycles created by the apparent
movement of the sun, moon and stars in the heavens. Some calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian,
follow the annual solar cycle. The months in the Gregorian and Julian calendars are not based upon the
lunar cycle, while they retain the etymology from earlier practices, in that the word month is
linguistically connected to moon. Some calendars, such as the Islamic calendar, are purely lunar based,
with no connexion to the yearly solar cycle. The Egyptian calendar is based upon the Sothic cycle - the
length of time for the star Sirius to visually return to the same position in relation to the sun. The Mayan
calendar uses various cycles; some that reach back millions of years. Whatever the cycle chosen, it
usually relates to the various gods, forces or beliefs around which the society is based. We will examine
each calendar in detail, noting their relationship to each other, to the sky and to prophecy.
While calendars, for the most part, are manmade, we believe that all of them have prophetic
significance that God has ordained. For one, these calendars are based upon various natural cycles of
which God is the author. Also, for those nations that are subjects of Bible prophecy, it is fitting that
prophecies relating to them incorporate symbols based upon their economy. As we examine the
prophecies relating to the various nations, we will demonstrate that the coincidences of these various
calendars with prophetic events are astronomically impossible to have occurred by chance.
To understand the significance of these calendars fully, we must have a thorough knowledge of
how these calendars work. In this chapter we will look at both the structure and the significance of the
various calendars. These calendars cannot be properly understood if we have little understanding of
astronomy, as it relates to the sun-earth-moon system and the various cycles that exist in the sky. What
follows is a detailed explanation of these relationships.

THE FIRST CALENDAR

On the fourth day of creation, God clearly gives us the sun, moon and stars as our first time piece.1
In doing so, he gives “the greater light [the sun] to rule [have dominion over] the day” and “the lesser
light [the moon] to rule the night.” In Hebrew, there is a parallel with rule and ruler, as there is in
English. That is, a ruler can either be a king or an instrument to measure something. 2 The sun and the
moon were given both to rule over their respective dominions as well as to measure the time of the day
and the night.
More than this, they are for “signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.” To understand this
more fully, seasons are not a reference to winter, spring, summer and fall but to the religious feasts or
mo’edim, which properly translated would be appointed times. In the Hebrew economy, these are
determined by both the sun and moon. What they are and how specifically they are determined, we will
address in greater detail.
Days [yomim] are self-explanatory, in that we all accept that the day is determined, in some way or
other, by the rising and setting of the sun. However, different cultures and calendars mark the start and
end of the day in various ways. In Genesis we are told that the evening marks the beginning of a day -
not the rising of the sun, or midnight, or some other point. What exactly evening is will be examined in
more detail, as we look at each of the various calendars.
Years [shanim] are a little more problematic. The Hebrew idea of a year comes from the idea of
folding or duplicating. The year returns [shuv] when it begins. It does not start. It is considered a

1
See (Genesis 1:14-19)
2
“Mashal (‫ )מׁשל‬I. Rule: II. Compare: To compare one thing to another in the sense of a rule of measurement, often a proverb or
parable.” Jeff A. Benner, The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible, 372.
 repeating cycle. We will see that originally, there was not a beginning to the biblical year. The months
were not numbered. This was first given at the time of the Exodus, when Abib (Nisan) was made the
first month of the year.3 Prior to that, any event could mark that start of a particular year. We still can
use a year in this way, when we mark anniversaries or significant events.
Signs [‘othoth, marks] are of particular interest to us prophetically. The idea here is that events can
be marked. There is no doubt that this is done throughout the Bible. Time prophecies are marked by the
time piece that God has given. While we may mark these on our calendars, it is the movement of the
celestial objects in the sky that mark out the timing of the prophetic events. It is here that we can
understand the distinction between the predictions of astrology and that of biblical prophecy. It is not
the particular arrangements of the sun, moon and stars that determine our destiny. Our destiny is
determined by our cooperation with God’s purposes and plans.

THE LENGTH OF THE YEAR

There are various ways in which the length of a year can be represented. As noted, each calendar
has a different basis for the length of the year, depending upon the astronomical cycle that is used and
their ability to measure it accurately. For one, the year cannot simply be represented in whole units. Our
year, the Gregorian, is 365 days long, except that we add an extra day every four years to compensate
the fact it is closer to 365 ½ days. Even then, since the year is closer to 365.242 days, we do not add an
extra day in years that are divisible by 100, except when they are divisible by 400. This makes the
Gregorian year 365.2425 days long, on average, while the mean tropical year is closer to 365.242189.
At the time of Christ, it was closer to 365.242310.
Many ancient cultures have understood the length of the year to be 360 days, even when their
calendar never has a year of 360 days. For instance, the Hebrew calendar has years that are either 354
or 384 days long (give or take a day) but still think of the year as 360 days. Some have used this fact to
suggest that this might have been the original length of a year, either prior to the flood (circa 2390 BC),
Joshua’s long day (circa 1492 BC) or the day the sun went back ten degrees on Hezekiah’s staircase
(circa 712 BC), and with a month that was fully 30 days. Since this is also the prophetic length of the
year and month, this is often accepted without a great deal of examination. Also, the cursory reading of
the chronology of Noah’s flood seems to support this assumption, considering that there appear to be
150 days from the 17D 2M to the 17D 7M. 150 days divided by 5 months equals 30 days per month. We
will examine this in more detail, when we address the biblical calendar.
Year Basis Length in days
Julian Julian calendar 365.25
Gregorian Gregorian calendar 365.2425
Islamic Islamic calendar 354.37
Rabbinic Metonic cycle (6940 days in 19 years) 365.2631578947368
Egyptian 1/1461 of the Sothic cycle 365
Astrological 360 degrees or 36 decans 360 “days”
Biblical Lunisolar observed calendar 353, 354, 355, 383, 384 or 385
Sidereal Fixed star 365.256363004
Tropical Equinox to equinox 365.242189
Anomalistic Time between perihelion 365.259636
Draconic Lunar nodes (eclipse cycle) 346.620075883
Full moon cycle Sun with respect to moon’s perigee 411.78443029
Lunar Twelve full cycles of the phases of the moon 354.3672
Vague 12 months of 30 days plus 5 additional days 365
Heliacal Interval between the heliacal risings of a star ~365.25
Sothic Interval between the heliacal risings of Sirius 365.25
3
This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. (Exodus 12:2)
THE LENGTH OF THE MONTH
While we often think of a month as being 30 days, though on the Julian and Gregorian calendars
the month length can be 28, 29, 30 or 31 days in length. The average month, over the whole 1461 day
leap year cycle, is 30.4375 days. Over a millennium there is an average of 365242.5 days in the
Gregorian calendar, since the average Gregorian year is 365.2425 days in length, making the average
Gregorian month 30.436875 days in length.
Calendars that have a month that is based on the moon usually have months that are either 29 or
30 days, since the average length of a month is 29.5306 days – very close to 29 ½ days. Of course, that is
the average length of a month. Due to the moon’s elliptical orbit, the actual length of the month can
vary. Whether or not the month is counted from full moon to full moon or first visible crescent to first
visible crescent, the actual time between lunations may vary from about 29.18 to about 29.93 days.
Month Basis Length in days
Julian Julian calendar 30.4375
Gregorian Gregorian calendar 30.436875
Islamic Islamic calendar 29.5305
Rabbinic Metonic cycle (6940 days in 19 years) 29.53191489361702
Biblical Lunisolar observed calendar 29.530587981
Synodic Period of the lunar phases 29.530587981
Sidereal With respect to apparently fixed star 27.321661
Tropical Due to earth’s precession of equinoxes 27.321582
Anomalistic Due to the moon’s anomaly 27.554551
Draconic Lunar nodes (eclipse cycle) 27.212220

THE LENGTH OF A DAY

Everyone knows there are 24 hours in a day. However, according to Wikipedia, “A day is
approximately the period of time during which the Earth completes one rotation around its axis.”4 This
is known as a sidereal day. We also have a solar day, which is “the length of time which elapses between
the Sun reaching its highest point in the sky two consecutive times.”5 For anyone who has taken the
time to measure the length of a day, they have found that the day does not appear to be exactly 24
hours. Measuring the length of the day depends on what and where on earth you are measuring. If we
measure the length of the day from sunset to sunset, for instance, we can find some variation in the
length of the day, over the course of the year.
Let us look at the length of the day from sunset to sunset in Jerusalem on March 20-21, June 20-21,
September 20-21 and December 20-21, 2019. The length of the day is respectively, 24:01, 24:01, 23:59
and 24:00. If we measure from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, for those dates, the length of the day is
respectively, 24:02, 24:00, 23:57 and 24:01. We can see that the day gets longer as we move between
the equinox from spring to fall and shorter from fall to spring. This is more noticeable the farther north
we go from the equator. Of course, the average length of the day over the course of the year would be
closer to 24 hours.
If we look at the drift that occurs with astronomical noon, it is much less than the shift that occurs
with sunset. This is due to the fact that the variation is the result of the eccentricity of the earth’s orbit
and also the result of the earth’s tilt. While the rotation rate of the earth is constant, its orbital velocity
changes in its path around the sun, from 29.29 km/s at aphelion (farthest) and 30.29 km/s at
perihelion (nearest). Also, the length of the solar day is affected by the tilt of the earth, in that the sun
moves more slowly in latitude and thus more steeply in longitude at the equinoxes, while at the
solstices the sun’s latitude changes little, while it moves more rapidly in longitude.6 The result is that

4
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day
5
Ibid.
6
For a more detailed explanation see: https://thesciencegeek.org/2015/08/24/september-18-the-shortest-day/
 the shortest day of the year (23:59:38) is mid-September and the longest day of the year (24:00:30) is
actually around Christmas Day.
Another fact that you will often hear is that the day is 23:56:08 in length; less than 24 hours by
about 4 minutes. This is a reference to the sidereal day - the length of the day as measured by the earth
rotation in respect to the stars. The simple explanation is that since the earth rotates around the sun
once per year, a day is lost when we measure the number of days in a year. Another way to put it is that
the nearly 4 minutes per day times 365 days equals 24 hours. That is, there are 366.242 sidereal days in
a year, while there are 365.242 solar days in a year. We are already prepared for the longer explanation,
if we have understood that the solar day is the length of the day from noon to noon. With each sidereal
day the earth travels 1/366 of its orbit, while in a solar day it travels 1/365 of its orbit. That is, after one
rotation the earth it is nearly 4 minutes behind noon and it must rotate for that amount of time for the
sun to reach the same point in the sky than it did one solar day before.

DID THE BIBLICAL CALENDAR HAVE A YEAR OF 360 DAYS?

Understanding the length of the year, month and day gives us insight into understanding biblical
dates, since the biblical calendar is a product of these three elements and their interpretation
throughout history. We often speak of the biblical calendar but we must not assume that this is a
uniform calendar that has existed since the creation of the world. Calendars, and the dates that
they produce, are abstract representations of the sky. They are analogous with musical notes upon a
staff. Calendars relate to the positions of celestial objects, just as musical notes relate to the positions of
the hand upon an instrument. Whatever calendar is being used, it gives us information about the
positions of the sun, moon and stars in the heavens. Some calendars tell us this information more
directly, just as guitar tablature is a more direct representation of the notes upon the guitar than
standard musical notation would be. However, if the calendar is understood, as well as the movement
and cycles of the celestial objects, any calendar can give us much the same information.
As noted earlier, some have suggested that the original calendar consisted of a 360 day year with
twelve months of 30 days each. While this sounds plausible (indeed the author had believed this
himself for most of his life), there is contrary biblical evidence to this assumption. An examination of
the chronology of the flood will show that the calendar for that year was a lunisolar calendar of 385
days in length and that it could not be a year of 360 days. The first date that we are introduced to in the
Bible is in the story of the flood.

In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of
the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the
windows of heaven were opened. (Genesis 7:11)

The format of this date is typical of most biblical dates. It gives us the epoch, the month within the
year and the number of days in the month. We will note here that the Hebrew mind thinks of time
slightly differently than does the western mind. While we often think of a date as marking a point in
time, the Hebrew mind thinks of a date as marking a span of time. The difference is subtle but
important, as we will see when we examine that spans of time in biblical prophecy. One detail that can
then be missed is that the date is marking Noah’s age. The epoch begins with his birth. Noah is 599
years, 1 month and 16 days old, when the flood commences. It is the seventeenth day of the second
month of his six hundredth year. We learn later, in Genesis 8:13, that the roof of the ark was removed
when Noah was 600 years old. This is on the first day of the first month of his six hundredth and first
year. It is not until the twenty seventh day of the second month that the earth is dried enough for them
to leave the ark.
It is the relationship between two dates in the story of the flood that people often see the 30 day
month. Since the flood commences on the 27D 2M, it is assumed that the period of 150 days in which
the waters prevail upon the earth is from that date to the 17D 7M mentioned in Genesis 8:4. If it is 150
days from the 17D 2M to the 17D 7M, this would seemly give us equal months of 30 days each. However,
the problem is that this assumption does not bear out when we try to lay all of the dates and the spans
given in Genesis 7 and 8 on a line.

First, we would see that the spans are counted ordinally. When we tried to lay the dates out
cardinally, the spans did not add up. If the months were thirty days each, Moses would have referred to
a period of 151 days from the 17D 2M to the 17D 7M. Also, it is not often noticed that there are two
periods of 150 days being mentioned. The first span of 150 days is the number of days the waters
prevail upon the earth. The second span of 150 days is the time that the waters abate from off of the
earth. There two periods of time are sequential. Together they make a period of 299 cardinal days or
300 ordinal days. There is no reason to assume that the period of 150 days begins with the rain, since
the language itself indicates that this is the period when the water is at its highest point. That period
begins when the rains stop. When the entire chronology is laid out using a calendar similar to that used
by the Jews at the time of the Exodus, we find that there is perfect harmony between the dates given
and the spans of time. In fact that year of the flood would have been what is known as a complete
embolismic year or leap year of 385 days. This is the longest year that the Hebrew calendar can
produce.
Second, there is simply no evidence that a 360 day year has ever existed. Some people have
appealed to the Egyptian year; however this is a year of twelve thirty day months with five epagomenal
days added each year. Ussher assumed such a year in his chronology, arguing that the lunisolar calendar
was not used by the Jews until the Babylonian captivity. There are also problems in trying to change the
idealistic 360 day years into what we have presently. While God could just snap His fingers and make it
happen, this does not seem to be how God has operated throughout the Bible. Also, why would He
change His clock, the sky? For one, there are properties that the present system has that indicate
design. Also, the sky is the timepiece for measuring prophetic periods. God has given us this clock from
the beginning, as we have seen. A disruption of this timepiece would be a disruption of the times and
the seasons.
Regarding the particular problems in changing the year from a 360 day one to a 365 day year, it is
not that simple. First, this would require a change in all of the relationships that exist that make up the
year, month and day. For instance, if we increased rotational speed of the earth, which could be done by
decreasing its radius, a 360 day year could become a 365 day year. We would simply need five more
rotations for every revolution of the earth around the sun. Of course, this would also affect the number
of “days” for the month. While the actual time between the phases of the moon would not change, the
number of rotations of the earth would increase proportionally, just as it did with the year. That is, if
this was the cause of the change from a 360 day year to a 365 day year, the 30 day month would also
have increased to be more than 30 days. However, it is now less than 30 days.
Some theorise that a large gravitational object passing close to the earth-moon system could have
been the cause of both the flood and a disruption of the orbits of the earth and moon resulting in the
365 day year and 29.53 day month. It is a nice theory but how would it actually happen? No one has
been able to show the math that would make this possible. For one, it must retain the relative distance
between the earth and moon, which makes solar eclipses possible. It would also have to retain the tidal
locking of the moon that causes the same side of the moon to always face the earth. That is, it would
have to retain a rotation rate for the moon that matched its revolution rate around the earth. Also, how
could it change the rotational rate of the earth but not the moon? The moon would be more susceptible,
since it is the smaller object.
Some have argued that the earth was pulled to a larger orbit, which would have caused a longer
period for its revolution about the sun. This would have also changed the earth’s orbit from the perfect
circle to the present elliptical orbit. The eccentricity of the earth’s orbit is 0.0167%. This is practically
circular. The present orbital velocity is determined by dividing the circumference of the earth’s orbit by
either the length of the tropical or sidereal year. The circumference is determined by multiplying 2 pi
(6.283185) by the mean radius of the earth’s orbit, known as an astronomical unit, which is
149,597,870,700 metres. 6.283185 x 149,597,870,700 m = 939,951,097,214.1795 m. For the sidereal
years of 365.2631578947368 days the orbital velocity is 2.978588989117058 x 10^4 m/s. For the
tropical years of 365.242189 days the orbital velocity is 2.978473403088936 x 10^4 m/s. We can use
this equation to show that, with the present orbital velocity, one astronomical unit would have to be
reduced to 147,445,024,704 metres from 149,597,870,700 metres – a difference of 2,152,845,996
metres. This would mean that the earth would have had to have been more than 2 million kilometers
closer to the sun than it is now. Though this seems like a lot, it is not as far as the nearest point that the
earth already comes to the sun in its present elliptical orbit. If this could have occurred without
affecting the earth moon system significantly, then this is a possibility.
This would, however, affect the phases of the moon. In trying to explain this, it presents a very
complex visualisation. Related to this is the fact that the length of the sidereal day would be affected as
well. If we remember from our description of the sidereal day, in the 360 day-year scenario every day
the earth would move 1 degree of the 360 degree circumference of its orbit. Each day would require
one extra degree of rotation, which is 4 minutes. A year would then be exactly 361 sidereal days, since 4
minutes x 360 is 24 hours. Let us now move to the moon, if its orbit of the earth was relatively
unaffected, it would still have the same velocity around the sun, since it travels around the sun with the
earth in the earth moon system. However, the distance that it would travel would be shorter. How
would this affect the timing of its phases? Presently the sidereal month is 27.321661 days. We should
not confuse this month with the phases of the moon. The sidereal month is simply one orbit of the
moon around the earth with respect to the stars. It is the synodic month that is determined by the
moon’s phases. We must remember that the theory looks for a thirty day synodic period. The sidereal
month would not change in our scenario. The sidereal measurement sees the stars as fixed. However,
the moon’s phases are caused by the sun. The same side of the moon always faces the earth but not the
sun. If it did always face the sun, we would not have moon phases.
Can we imagine a scenario where the same side of the moon always faced both the earth and the
sun? In this scenario the moon would be stuck in the same phase. The simplest to visualise is where the
moon is always following behind the earth’s orbit. In this instance, we would see, every night, a half
moon. The sidereal month and the period of the earth’s orbit of the sun would be the same. If the
sidereal month was 27.321661 days, this would be the same period of the earth’s orbit. We should then
be able to recognise that if the period of the earth’s orbit was twice the length of the sidereal month, we
would experience one synodic month on earth. A synodic month, in this scenario would be 54.643322
days, double a sidereal month. If the length of the earth’s revolution around the sun was three times the
length of the synodic month, we would experience two synodic months per year. The synodic month
would then be 40.9824915 days. Each time we increase the length of the earth’s orbit, the synodic month
becomes shorter. In fact, whatever the length of the month or year, you will always have one more sidereal
month than synodic months, just as there is always one more sidereal ‘day’ per year than there are solar days –
and for the same reason. With the present length of the sidereal month, we would need only 11 sidereal
months per year to have a synodic month of 30 days, of which there would be 10. To have twelve 30 day
synodic months per 360 day year, you would need a sidereal month of 27.69230769230769 days. However, in
 this scenario, we would not have the same side of the moon facing the earth at all times, unless the rotational
rate of the moon changed proportionally. Also, the moon and sun would not appear to be the same size in the
sky. Eclipses of the sun and moon would not be what they are today. It is an intriguing theory. However,
God’s timepiece would have been altered.
In support of this, Kenneth C. Hermann, in his paper entitled Historical Record of a 360 Day Tropical
Year, shows that all of the historical astronomical records accord with the present astronomical reality. More
than this, he shows that ancient calendars have a basis that reaches back to the pre-flood world. For instance,
the Mayan calendar uses a cycle than commences in 3114 BC, more than 700 years prior to the flood. There is
no evidence that some other arrangement of the heavens has ever existed. All of the evidence shows that the
sky, God’s timepiece, has run consistently and accurately since creation.
Hermann also has an intriguing theory that has resulted from his extensive study that explains the
existence of a 360 day cycle. While we always think of the term day as a reference to the solar day, the
ancients recognised different types of days. One of these days represents one degree of the circle. That is, the
ancients understood the sky as divided into 36 decans, made of ~10 solar days each. In a year, there are 360
of these smaller divisions.
Another interesting point that is often overlooked, in that it is not obvious on our calendar, is that from
the vernal equinox to the autumnal equinox is ~186 days, while from the autumnal equinox to the vernal
equinox is ~179 days. This is an interesting fact, since we will see that from the 1D 1M to the 10D 7M on the
biblical calendar is 186 days.
As hinted at earlier, at present, the sidereal year is 20 minutes longer than a tropical year due to the
precession of the equinoxes. If we were to model the ideal 360 day year 30 day month system, would we have
a sidereal year of 360 days? At present the sidereal year is 20 minutes longer than a tropical year. For the
sidereal and tropical year to both be 360 days, we would simply have to have a perfectly circular orbit with no
precession of the equinoxes or, if there was no axial tilt, no equinoxes at all and no seasons. In our solar
system, perturbations of earth’s orbit are inevitable, due to the gravitational forces of the planets on each
other. We cannot really say what an ideal solar system would look like, since it would be ever changing.
We say all of this to help us understand biblical dates better. Biblical dates tell us about the sky at the
time of events. All calendars, to some degree, are about the sky. The signs in the sun and moon and stars are
not just about exceptional astronomical events. These signs are prophetic dates. As we look at the dates given
us in Scripture, these are a part of the structure of prophetic chronology. These are not random. In the next
chapter we will examine in detail the various calendars that God uses for His prophetic symbols or signs. We
will then be able to compare the various calendars in their relationship to the entire structure of prophecy.

UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLICAL CALENDAR

We have already noted that the biblical calendar is based on both the phases of the moon and the
tropical year. The moon passes through its phases, from new moon to full moon and back, once every
month. That is, the name month comes from its relationship to the moon, though in the Julian and
Gregorian calendars that distinction has disappeared, while it has retained this in its nomenclature. A
month was simply a moonth. In order to know what phases of the moon we will experience on any
particular date on our calendar, we must have those phases written in. In a biblical calendar, the
particular dates are tied to the phases of the moon. If it is the fifteenth day of the month, for instance,
you know it is a full moon, even if you cannot see the sky.
To keep track of the year as it relates to the sun, the ancient Hebrews and most ancient peoples
observed the equinoxes and solstices. For the Hebrews, these were measured at sunset, at the margin
between the end of one day and the beginning of another. In simple terms, the equinox is determined by
observing the places on the horizon where the sun would set each day. The extreme points north and
south were the winter and summer solstices, respectively, while the centre point between them would
be the equinoxes. More specifically, an equinox is commonly regarded as the instant of time when the
plane of Earth's equator passes through the centre of the Sun. The centre of the visible Sun is directly
above the equator at the moment of the equinox. However, this was not how the ancient Hebrews
determined the day of the equinox, since they would have to observe the equinox at sunset. It would
only be at sunset that the day of the equinox would begin. This distinction is important in
understanding how the start of the biblical year is determined.
In the diagram below, we show the sun’s apparent orbit around the earth as G; the vernal equinox
(VE), summer solstice (SS), autumnal equinox (AE), and winter solstice (WS), while, λ, Π, A, and C are
the ecliptic longitude, perigee, apogee, and geometric centre of the orbit, respectively. The lengths of the
seasons (in days) are indicated. It is interesting that from the vernal to the autumnal equinox is a period
of 186 cardinal days. Ordinally, it would be 187 days. Keep this in mind, when we look at the timing of
the feasts.

As we have suggested, the biblical calendar varied throughout its history. While we think of a
calendar as a well-defined system with strict rules that guide it, this was not the case in the distant past.
Many types of calendars existed, all for different purposes. The individual would observe the sky. His
personal observation would be all that was needed to decide when to plant or harvest. People did not
have a calendar on the wall of their home. Their calendar was the sky itself. It did not matter if their
count was off by a day from their neighbour’s. It did not need to be that precise. For civil purposes
(contracts and other legal documents), the calendar and the dates would have been determined by
consensus. We can imagine that at times, it would be discussed much like the weather is today. As well,
a person would be aware of other calendars around him. While in Egypt, the Israelites would have been
using, for civil purposes, the Egyptian calendar of 365 days. In this calendar, Months would always be 30
days long and did not align with the months observed in the night sky. This would not have bothered or
confused anyone. People had several systems at hand to mark the timing of events. These were all
practical and taken for granted by those using them.
At the time of the Exodus, God instituted calendar reform that would place the feasts of the LORD
in their season. That is, they were placed within a religious calendar that was predetermined.

This month shall be unto you the beginning [rosh]of months: it shall be the first
month of the year to you. (Exodus 12:2)

The word rosh, which is translated as beginning, means head, chief or, by implication, first. There is
a great deal of disagreement on how and when the start of the year was determined, prior to the
Exodus. Many argue that the ancient Hebrews had a year that began in the fall, while some think it was
always in the spring. We do not know when the expression the return of the year first came into use for
the spring; nor do we know when the start of the seventh month was first called Rosh Hashanah (head
of the year). We do know that during the period of the kings, these expressions were common. We think
 that it is most probable that there was no start to the year, as we would think of it. The months were
named, though only several of these were preserved in Scripture.
The month that would commence the year, is the month of Abib. That is, that was the month of the
Exodus. The determination of the months is connected to their names. The present biblical names are
those that the Israelites adopted during the Babylonian period.

Number Hebrew name Length Babylonian analog Pre-Babylonian name notes

1 Nisan / Nissan 30 days Nisanu Abiv or Aviv
2 Iyar 29 days Ayaru Ziv or Zif
3 Sivan 30 days Simanu
4 Tammuz 29 days Du`uzu
5 Av 30 days Abu
6 Elul 29 days Ululu Ululu II added occasionally
7 Tishri 30 days Tashritu Ethanim
8 Heshvan 29 or 30 days Arakhsamna Bul Or Marcheshvan
9 Kislev 30 or 29 days Kislimu
10 Tevet 29 or 30 days Tebetu
11 Shevat 30 or 29 days Shabatu
12 Adar 29 or 30 days Adaru
13 Ve’adar 30 or 29 days Adaru II Adaru II and Ve’adar in leap years

While the month’s names were adopted by the Hebrews during the Babylonian period, differences
still exist between the two calendars. The most major difference is that the Babylonian calendar can
have the leap month added between Ululu and Tashritu (the sixth and seventh months), though this
happens rarely. Also, the start of the year is inconsistent until circa 300 BC, when the Metonic cycle is
adopted to regulate the start of the year. While the Hebrews always have the 1D 1M follow an equinox,
the Babylonian calendar can sometimes commence prior to the equinox.
In Parker and Dubberstein’s reconstruction of the Babylonian chronology,7 for instance, they show
that the Babylonian year commenced in 457 BC on March 27, while the biblical reckoning produces
April 26. The vernal equinox occurs in that year on March 26 8 at 7:14 a.m. in Jerusalem but it would not
be until that evening that the day of the equinox would be counted by observation. It would also be the
same evening that the new moon would be sighted, meaning that a thirteenth month would need to be
added, according to the biblical calendar. Of course, this is an instance where it is a close call. A similar
situation arises in 571 BC, where the new moon and the equinox would both have been observed at
sunset on March 27. In that year, the Babylonian calendar commenced on April 26. Oddly, in 593 BC the
Babylonian calendar commenced on April 30, while the Biblical calendar would have commenced one
month earlier. In 592 BC (the year of Ezekiel’s first vision), they both commenced on April 19, which for
the Hebrews followed a thirteenth month and for the Babylonians followed a twelfth month.
This brings up another feature of the biblical calendar. The calendar at the time of the Exodus also
had a new added feature. Prior to this, the start of each month was observed by the visible crescent. For
the feasts to fall in a predictable date, the first six months of the year needed to follow a strict 30, 29 day
pattern. This would make the 10D 7M always the 187th day of the year and Pentecost always Sivan 6

7
Babylonian Chronology 626 – 75 AD, Parker and Dubberstein, Brown University Press (1956), p32.
8
These are the dates on the Julian calendar. In 457 BC, the vernal equinox fell on that calendar 5 days later than it does on the
Gregorian calendar, which is adjusted to the equinoxes.
 (6D 3M). The Babylonian calendar, during the time of the Exile, still observed the visible crescent to
start each month. On the biblical calendar, only the seventh to twelfth months (thirteenth if need) could
be either 30 or 29 days, based on observation.
These features make it difficult to reconstruct the biblical calendar with 100% accuracy. For one
thing, atmospheric conditions may delay the start of the year (or month) by a day. For instance, on the
29th day of the month, if the visible crescent was seen at evening, the first day of the next month had
then begun. Even if this was astronomically possible, conditions may occur (dust, excessive humidity,
cloud) that obscured the first visible crescent. If this was the case, a thirtieth day would then be added
and the following day would then be the first day of the month. If this occurred in connexion with the
start of the year being very close to the vernal equinox, this might result in a thirteenth month not being
added, in that the visible crescent would have been sighted after the equinox, where if it had been
observed the day before, it would have been observed before the equinox.
There exists another problem. There is strong evidence that at different times in biblical history
different rules for observing the crescents and the start of the year may have been followed. It is hard to
know, for instance, how much the Jewish exiles were affected by or followed the Babylonian calendar.
For one, they were not in Jerusalem to observe the crescent there. Did Ezekiel follow the Babylonian
calendar in the dating of his vision, since he was in Babylon, or did he follow the biblical rules? The
author has worked through the possibilities with both calendars for Ezekiel’s visions. Only for a few of
the visions, is there a difference by a day but none of this affects the symbolism of those dates.
Of course, the real problem is that we can never be 100% certain about any particular date in the
past, unless we have two or three witnesses to those dates. We believe that prophecy is one of those
witnesses.

THE FEASTS OF THE LORD

There are three pilgrimage festivals [moedim] of the LORD; Passover [Pesach], Pentecost [Shavuot],
and Tabernacles [Succoth].
The Passover is the spring feast and commences with the sacrifice of the Passover lamb on Nisan
14. In modern Jewish practise, the Passover lamb is killed in the afternoon of the fourteenth and the
meal is eaten that evening. Jesus ate the Passover with His disciples on the evening commencing Nisan
14. While there is a great deal of disagreement regarding the Passover in 31 AD, the Spirit of Prophecy
clearly shows that that was the actual Passover meal. Confusion is the result of a misunderstanding of
the terminology used in the New Testament.
Passover on the fourteenth is followed by the feast of unleavened bread [hamatzot] for eight days
(Nisan 15 to 22). On the second day of the feast is first fruits [Bikkurim], commonly referred to as the
wave sheaf offering. Christ arose on the morning of the sixteenth.
It is from Nisan 16 that fifty days are counted to Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks, which is seven
weeks. Here we see that the count is ordinal, in that the 16th is the first day of the fifty day count. The
cardinal count is forty-nine days from Nisan 16 to Sivan 6. It should be noted that one of the main
differences between Karaite and Rabbinic practise is that the Karaites always have Pentecost on a
Sunday, whereas the Rabbinic Judaism follows the biblical practise.
It is commonly understood, based upon late Rabbinic tradition, that Pentecost marks the giving of
the law at Sinai. In fact, we have argued in other places that the law was given fifty days after the
Israelites left Egypt.9 There are reasons to question this conclusion. For one, it is a late tradition, with
no Inspired statements supporting it. Second, there are some good arguments that place the giving of
the law a full two weeks later.10

9
In the paper The Structure of Prophetic Chronology, we give the Julian date for the Exodus that occurred on the 15D 1M as April 26,
1533 BC, with the 6D 3M (Pentecost) as June 15, a full fifty days later, placing the giving of the law on that date.
10
The first good argument for this is Exodus 19:1, which reads, “In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of
the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.” Many commentators argue that the expression the same day
is here a reference to it being the third day of the third month, matching the number of the month with the day of the month as being
the same. While this seems to be a very unnatural expression, in English, many argue that this is a regular Hebrew expression, though
 In the fall, Tabernacles is connected with the feasts of Trumpets, which commences on the first day
of Tishri and is now known as Rosh Hashanah.

It is interesting here to note that the Censorinus wrote that the heliacal rising of Sirius in 139 AD,
happened on July 19 on the Julian calendar. As the cycle of the heliacal rising of Sirius is equal to 365.25
days, it can be said that during the whole time the Egyptian civilization, the event has always been
verified on July 19th of the Julian calendar. In 139 AD July 19 aligns with July 18 of the Gregorian
calendar.11 The biblical calendar and the Rabbinic calendar are lunar-solar, though the latter is done by
calculation and only approximates the relationship of the sun and moon, while the former is done
through observation. There are also several other calendars that use various astronomical cycles. One
such is the Mayan long count calendar that commences on August 11, -3113 (Gregorian).12 All of these
various calendars have their purposes and seem to be ordained by God, prophetically speaking, even if
they are of man’s invention.
Further, we cannot ignore the relationship of any calendar to God’s timepiece - the sky. The biblical
calendar is to be calculated or determined based upon the sun, moon and stars. It is these that mark the
passing of the prophetic periods. We conveniently place their fulfilment upon our calendars. At times,
our calendars can be misleading. For instance, William Miller first calculated the end of the 2300 days
as being fulfilled sometime in the Gregorian years from January 1, 1843 to December 31, 1843. It was
not until December of 1842 that he first established that the 2300 days ended in the biblical year which
ran from the spring of 1843 to the spring of 1844. It was this recognition of a biblical calendar that
allowed the Millerites to correct the timing of the ending of the prophetic periods and to mark October
22, 1844 as the start of the antitypical Day of Atonement, which we are presently still in.
As well, we are to note that the several dates have symbolic significance. We believe that they are
in God’s providence. The alignment of these dates on the various calendars allows us to objectively
measure the likelihood of each occurrence and to establish the significance of events.

Most historical sources use the Julian calendar to mark dates prior to October 15, 1582, when the
switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar occurred.13 By that time, the Julian calendar had
drifted behind the solar year by ten days, due to the Julian adding and extra day on a regular basis every
four years. This was based upon a solar year of 365.25 days, while the actual length of the solar year is
closer to 365.24219878 days. The Gregorian calendar adjusts for this by avoiding the extra day on years
divisible by 100, except when they are divisible by 400, making that average Gregorian year 365.2425
days.

The present Islamic calendar is purely lunar and consists of twelve months that alternate between

we have seen no examples given to support this claim. Others argue that the arrival is being marked as the 1D 3M, with many
translations supporting this interpretation. The same day here marking the start of the month and not the third day. The third option is
seeing the same day as a reference to the fifteenth day of the month.
11
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sothic_cycle
12
It is interesting that the confluence of these calendars occurs on significant dates in the predictions for Islam. While researching
calendars, a paper entitled Historical Record of a 360 Day Tropical Year by Kenneth C. Hermann states that the Mayan long count
calendar “has its zero marker Friday August 11 (Julian) 3113 B.C.” This date is the 26D 4M on the biblical calendar. However, he had
confused the Gregorian and Julian dates. When I examined the correct date, it aligned with the 10D 5M. Both the 26 D 4M and the
10D 5M align with the July 18, 2020 prediction for a nuclear strike on the USA, the former being the Gregorian date and the latter the
Julian date. When we include the fact that the Islamic calendar also begins on July 18, as we will see, we have a probability of
alignment that is 1:1.8 x 10^10.
13
For American and British colony dates, this is September 14, 1752.
 30 and 29 days, with the final 29 day month extended to 30 days during leap years. Leap years follow a
30 year cycle and occur in years 1, 5, 7, 10, 13, 16, 18, 21, 24, 26, and 29. 14 The calendar begins on
Friday, July 16th, 62215 in the Julian calendar, with sunset on the preceding day reckoned as the first day
of the first month of year, since days are considered to begin at sunset. 16 The first year is designated as
1 A.H. or “Anno Hegiræ”, (the year of the flight). The present year (which began at sunset on September
11, 2018 and will end at sunset on August 31, 2019) is 1440 A.H. That is, the Islamic calendar counts
1440 years since Muhammed’s flight from Mecca, while the solar calendar shows only 1397 years. This
means that the Islamic calendar drifts one year behind the Gregorian one full year every thirty two
years and seven months. That is, there are thirty-three years and seven months that pass in the Islamic
calendar for every thirty-two years and seven months that pass on the Gregorian calendar.17
It is interesting, in the context of the prediction regarding Islam, that, if we apply the start of the
Islamic calendar to the Gregorian date, the Islamic calendar begins at sunset on the evening of July 18,
622. However, this is only a proleptic application of the Islamic calendar. One scholar suggests that the
leap month from 622 to 632 were placed as follows.

In the first decade of higra calendar, in fact, three leap months were inserted
immediately after du l-higga of 1/623, 3/625, and 6/628. On the occasion of the
pilgrimage lead by Abu Bakr in 9/631, the leap month was not inserted, and in the
following year at the Farewell Pilgrimage, Muhammad formally abolished intercalation.
The day that Muhammad arrived in Medina was, if the account reported by Ibn Ishaq is
correct, 28th June 622, and the battle of Badr was 2 months earlier than in the standard
correspondence.18

If this is the case, the first day of the first month in 622, as Muhammad would have known it, was
April 19 (Julian), instead of July 16. We can now more accurately place the dates of the life of
Muhammed on our calendar, though we can still not be 100% certain that we are correct. What we can
know is that the Islamic calendar is off by three months, prior to 632. The charts below are based upon
the suggestions of Islamic scholars. They are very similar. The first chart places the leap months in the
years 622, 624 and 627, while the second chart places them in the years 622, 625 and 628. That is, the
dates for the start of each of the years for the two charts would be the same, except that 4 AH would
commence on May 15, instead of April 15 and 7 AH would commence on May 11, instead of April 12.

14
Each cycle of 30 years thus contains 19 normal years of 354 days and 11 leap years of 355, so the average length of a year is
therefore ((19 × 354) + (11 × 355)) / 30 = 354.365… days, with a mean length of month of 1/12 this figure, or 29.53055… days,
which closely approximates the mean synodic month (time from new Moon to next new Moon) of 29.530588 days, with the calendar
only slipping one day with respect to the Moon about every 2520 years. Since the calendar is fixed to the Moon, not the solar year, the
months shift with respect to the seasons, with each month beginning about 11 days earlier in each successive solar year..
15
This is often mistakenly attributed as being the day of Muhammad's flight from Mecca to Medina, the date of which we will address
later.
16
The Islamic day, like the Hebrew day, is from sunset to sunset.
17
More specifically, a period of 142810 days is 403 Islamic years and 391 Gregorian years. That is, the Gregorian year is 365.242
days in length, while the Islamic year is 354.37 days in length (the .37 is due to the Islamic year being 354 days, with 11 leap days
added to every 30 years – 11/30 = 0.37). Both the Gregorian and Islamic calendars have 12 months per year. Thus, a Gregorian month
is 33.44 days in length, while an Islamic month is simply the lunar month of 29.53 days in length. If follows that every period of
33.583 Islamic years has 403 Islamic months, while the same period that is expressed as 32.583 years has 391 Gregorian months.
Another way to express it is that 391 Gregorian years are twelve cycles of 32.583 Gregorian years (32.583 x 12 = 390.996), while 403
Islamic years are twelve cycles of 33.583 years Islamic years (33.583 x 12 = 402.996).
18
Arabica, Volume 61: Issue 5; The Calendar in Pre-Islamic Mecca; Author: Hideyuki Ioh; Online Publication Date: 22 Jul 2014.
 Year A.H. Week day Julian date Julian year AD Embolism (nasi’)
1 Monday April 19 622 yes
2 Sabbath May 7 623
3 Thursday April 26 624
4 Monday April 15 625 yes
5 Sabbath May 4 626
6 Thursday April 23 627
7 Tuesday April 12 628 yes
8 Monday May 1 629
9 Friday April 20 630
10 Tuesday April 9 631
11 Sunday March 29 632

In either case, Muhammad’s date for the death of Muhammad is the same, expressed in the Julian
date of June 8, 632.

OTHER PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

The chief difficulty that arises from understanding the chronology of Islam is the complexity of
reconstructing the calendar that was in use at the time. The evidence suggests that for the duration of
Muhammed’s life he would have used a lunisolar calendar similar to the biblical calendar. That is, it was
a lunar calendar that was adjusted with an occasional leap month to align with the solar year.
Muhammad, during the farewell sermon, which was delivered on 9 Dhu al-Hijjah AH 10 (Julian date
Friday 6 March, 632)19 on Mount Arafat, forbid this intercalation (nasi’ or postponement).20 This means,
that given Islamic dates for Muhammad’s life do not correctly align with Julian dates. I have adjusted
these dates from the standard dates given by most Islamic sources. Umar21 in 638 established an epoch
based on the Hegira (Hijra or flight from Mecca to Medina) in 622.
As we have already noted, there are many discrepancies between the Julian dates produced by the
modern Islamic calendar and dates attributed to these dates by Islamic sources. Some authors have

19
According to Sherrard Beaumont Burnaby’s The Jewish and Muhammadan Calendars p. 370, the ninth day of the twelfth month,
corresponds to Saturday, March 8, A.D. 632. We will address these discrepancies of the Islamic calendar later, when we address the
Islamic day.
20
This is a rather complex problem. Nasi’ refers to the postponement of forbidden months. That is, there are certain months in which
fighting was forbidden - Rajab and the three months around the pilgrimage season, Dhu al-Qa‘dah, Dhu al-Hijjah, and Muharram.
These are the seventh, eleventh, twelfth and first months, respectively. The debate is over whether or not these aligned with particular
seasons or merely with the month names that drifted with the seasons. While it is interesting, it is too complex of a problem to address
in detail here.
21
“Umar… was one of the most powerful and influential Muslim caliphs in history. He was a senior companion of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad. He succeeded Abu Bakr (632–634) as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate on 23 August 634.” Wikipedia
 tried to adjust these dates to what they consider were the actual observations. That is, there seems to
be a difference from the calculated calendars and what actually occurred for many historic dates. One
such attempt to reconcile these dates that I have utilised is the work of Thomas Djamaluddin that is
presented in Calendar Conversion Program Used to Analyze Early History of Islam. He lays out what his
conclusions are in the Abstract.

A simple program to convert Hijri (Islamic) calendar to Julian/Gregorian Calendar

has been made. This can used to analyze early history of Islam, to verify the date, the day,
or the season any event during the life of Prophet Muhammad PBUH. Some important
events can be concluded as follows. The date of descending of the Quran either on 17
Ramadhan 13 BH (before Hijrah) (Monday 25 August 609 AD) or 12 Rabiul Awal 13 BH
(Monday 24 February 609 AD). It is confirmed that the day of hijrah was 12 Rabiul Awal
0 AH on Monday 5 October 621 AD. The day of Badar war 17 Ramadhan 2 AH was not
Friday as mentioned in history book, but on Tuesday (13 March 624). There was 9 times
fasting of Ramadhan during the life of the Prophet, mostly (6 times) 29 days per month.
This confirms hadith from Ibnu Mas'ud and Aisha that the Prophet fasted in Ramadhan
mostly 29 days rather than 30 days. The Prophet passed away on 12 Rabiul Awal 11 AH.
It was not Monday as written in history book, but Saturday 6 June 632 AD. Was there two
days delay of crescent observation due to public sadness during sickness of the prophet
that causing Monday 8 June 632 considered as 12 Rabiul Awal?

UNDERSTANDING THE ISLAMIC DAY

One of the most confusing aspects of the conversion between the Julian/Gregorian calendar and
the Islamic calendar is understanding the Islamic day and how it relates to the given Islamic dates. We
have a similar problem with the Hebrew calendar, in that the Hebrew day begins at sunset and not at
midnight. Also, the night belongs to the day that follows it and not to the day that precedes it. That is,
our Friday night, while being the sixth day of our week, is all part of the Hebrew seventh day. In that
sense, it is Sabbath night or the night of the seventh day.

THE BIRTH OF MUHAMMAD

In trying to determine the exact date of Muhammad’s birth, several factors come into play. First,
there is a disagreement among Sunni and Shi’ite Muslims as to the date of his birth. Muhammad was
born either in 570 or 571. His date of birth is given variously as the 2, 8, 10, 12, 17 and 22 of Rabi-I
(3rd month) and is supposed to be on a Monday. The date of his birth is 17, Rabi' I according to the
majority of Shi'a scholars, and 12, Rabi' according to Sunnis. We can conclude that whatever date
Muhammed was born, it is impossible to determine with any kind of certainty. Even when we address
Muhammad’s age at particular events, there is a degree of uncertainty, since we do not know the basis
for determining his age. Was it based upon solar years or the shorter year of the strictly lunar calendar?
His birth can be as early as April 24, 570 and as late as May 4, 571. If Muhammad’s birth was in 570, we
would suggest the 12 of Rabi’ I as Monday, June 2, 570 Julian. One other major source places
Muhammad’s birth as the 9, Rabi’ I in 571. This source also takes into account the nasi’ and gives
Muhammad’s birth as Monday, April 22, 571 Gregorian, which is April 20, Julian.

MUHAMMAD’S IMPOSTURE
The Millerites marked the rise of Islam at 606. This is based upon the idea that Muhammad began
his religious imposture when he first began to spend time in the caves of Hera. This is also the date on
the 1843 chart for the rise of Islam. However, Muhammad did not reportedly receive his first “vision”
 until c. 610. In trying to understand how this date was arrived at by the Millerites, it has taken a great
deal of research. We do not fully understand their reasonings. Litch first gives his argument thus.

“"The fifth angel sounded, and a star fell from heaven unto the earth." A star is a
fallen minister. The sounding of this trumpet took place about A. D. 606, when the
Mahommedan [sic] imposture took its rise. This imposture was more the work of a Jew,
whom he met in his Syrian journeys, and a Nestorian monk who had been expelled from
his cloister, than the work of Mahommed [sic] himself. His system is a confused medley
of Judaism, Christianity, and heathenism. The exiled monk was probably the principal
agent in the work of forming this imposture, and might with propriety or without
violence to the figure, be denominated a fallen star.” 22

The suggestion is that Islam was initiated by Muhammad and a fallen monk. Uriah Smith in his
Thoughts on Revelation has abandoned this view and date. Smith chooses 629, the year of Muhammad’s
first battle against eastern Rome, as the starting point for the fifth trumpet. The fallen star is not a
Nestorian Monk but is Muhammad himself. So far, we have been unable to determine if the 606 date has
any merits. Some writers date the placing of the Blackstone in the eastern corner of the Kaaba in 606,
though Wikipedia gives the year 605. The date 606 was also chosen due to the initial application of
commencing the 1260 years with the decree of Phocus that gave the Roman Bishop the official title of
“Pope”. Since there is no time prophecy attached to the rise of Islam, we do not see how it matters
which date is chosen. The first time prophecy, in regards to Islam, is the period of 150 years (five
months) that begins in 632 with the death of Muhammed and the command of Abu-Bakr.

MUHAMMAD’S FIRST REVELATION

Most Islamic sources place Muhammad’s first revelation, a supposed visit from the angel Gabriel
(Jibril), as sometime in the month of Ramadan, when Muhamad is forty years old. However, one source
is very specific.

Late one Monday night, just before sunrise on the twenty-first of Ramadan (August
10, 610 C.E.), an event transformed the life of the man chosen to deliver Allah's message,
just as it would change the lives of countless beings, most of whom were yet to be born.
According to the lunar calendar, Muhammad was forty years, six months and twelve days
old, and according to the solar calendar, he was thirty-nine years, three months and
twenty-two days old.23

While the author is highly specific, his assertion creates a number of problems.
First, Ramadan 21 is not August 10, 610 on either the Julian or Gregorian calendar. It is August 17
and 20, respectively, though it is a Monday. I would assume that the calculation was derived by an
incorrect conversion of a Gregorian date to a Julian date. This would have come from a mistaken belief
that the two calendars are always ten days apart. This mistake is quite common, due to the introduction
of the Gregorian calendar in 1582, where ten days were removed from the calendar to make October 5
Julian to be October 15 Gregorian. They would have assumed that August 20, 610 Gregorian would be
August 10, 610 Julian. Of course, he is not taking into account that the Islamic calendar yields faulty
dates prior to 632. Ramadan 21 in 610 would have been December 14, Julian. This would also support
Muhammad’s statement that his first revelation (as was his birth) was on a Monday.
Second, Muhammad’s age being 40 years, six months and twelve days at the time of his first
revelation would place the birth of Muhammad as Rabi’ I 9, 571, 24 which the writer consistently agrees

22
Josiah Litch, Probability of the Second Coming of Christ about the Year 1843, 150.
23
Safi Ar-Rahman Al-Mubarakfoury. (1998). When the Moon Split, 31. As referenced in the Wikipedia article Jabal al-Nour
24
“Muhammad was born in She'eb Banu Hashim in Makkah. It was a Monday morning in spring, the ninth day of Rabi' Al- Awwal
 with. However, he gives the Gregorian date of April 22, 571, which is the correct date for Rabi’ I 9. Why
would he get this date correct but the previous date wrong? Of course, he has not accounted for the fact
that the Islamic calendar does not yield correct Gregorian dates prior to 632. As well, his calculation of
thirty-nine years, three months and twenty-two days from April 22, 571, for Muhammad’s age yields
August 14, 610 Gregorian, which is August 11, Julian. Whatever the case, the writer is consistently
inconsistent. Also, we cannot depend upon his date for Muhammad’s first revelation.
If we accept the Ramadan 21 date, we can have either August 20, 610, (which seems unlikely) or
December 14, 610.

THE FLIGHT FROM MECCA

In researching Muhammad’s flight from Mecca, some interesting, though confusing, dates
appeared. The Wikipedia article Hegira gives some rather interesting bits of information.

ْ ‫ه‬, Hijra) is the migration

The Hegira (medieval Latin transliteration, also Arabic: ‫ِجرَة‬
or journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Yathrib,
later renamed by him to Medina, in the year 622. In June 622, after being warned of a
plot to assassinate him, Muhammad secretly left his home in Mecca to emigrate to
Yathrib, 320 km (200 mi) north of Mecca, along with his companion Abu Bakr. Yathrib
was soon renamed Madīnat an-Nabī (Arabic: ‫مَدينة النّبي‬, literally "City of the Prophet"),
but an-Nabī was soon dropped, so its name is "Medina", meaning "the city".
The Hijrah is also often identified with the start of the Islamic calendar, which was
set to 19 April 622 in the Julian calendar.

Everything here is pretty standard. We do have the interesting date of April 19, 622 for the Islamic
calendar, which I had noted earlier. We learn later in the article that there are some common
misunderstandings regarding the date.

The hypothetical dates in the retro-calculated Islamic calendar extended back in

time differ from the actual dates as they were on the Julian calendar. Annual celebration
of the Hijrah has long been assigned to 1 Muharram, the first day of the Muslim year,
causing many writers to confuse the first day of the year of the Hijrah with the Hijrah
itself, erroneously stating that the Hijrah occurred on 1 Muharram AH 1 (which would be
19 April 622 in Fazlur Rehman Shaikh's system) or even the hypothetical Gregorian date
from retro-calculating 26 Rabi' I in AH 1 to 16 July 622 (not to be confused with Julian 16
July 622, the retro-calculated start date for of the regular Hijri calendar system) even
though the first visit to Medina for Friday prayers actually occurred on 16 Rabi' I (i.e., 2
July 622).

It took some time to unravel this puzzle. First, people often claim that the Hegira occurred on July
16, 622 Julian, based upon the false assumption that the start of the Islamic calendar marks the date for
the actual flight. Wikipedia supplies this chart below that shows two different suggestions for the
events around the Hegira. The most common date is September 24 is shown in the first column, which
marks Muhammad’s entry into Medina. This is based upon applying Rabi’ I 12 as the date for
Muhammad’s entry into Medina using the Islamic calendar and not adjusting for nasi’ (leap months).
These are the dates that you would find in any Islamic calendar converter. The second column adjusts
the dates taking into account the nasi’ that occurred from 622 to 632. This moves the dates three
months earlier. It also has to align these with the correct day of the week, which accounts for the

(according to some sources it was the twelfth of Rabi ' Al-Awwal), fifty to fifty-five days after Abraha's failed attack on the Ka'bah. In
Arabic, the word for elephant is "Feel" and hence the year came to be known as 'Amm Al-Feel (the Year of the Elephant). In the
Gregorian calendar, the date corresponds to April 22, 571 C.E.”
 different Islamic dates for the same events. This gives Rabi’ I 16 as the Friday that Muhammad arrived
in Medina. This would also mark
.
Julian and Islamic Julian and Islamic
Day dates dates Events
by Fazlur Rehman
by F. A. Shamsi[8]
Shaikh[1]
17 June 622
Day 1 9 September 622 conference of the Quraysh leaders and Muhammad's
1 Rabi' al-Awwal AH
Thursday 26 Safar AH 1 departure from Mecca
1
Day 5 13 September 21 June
departure from the Cave of Thawr
Monday 1 Rabi' al-Awwal 5 Rabi' al-Awwal
Day 12 20 September 28 June
arrival in Quba'
Monday 8 Rabi' al-Awwal 12 Rabi' al-Awwal
Day 16 24 September 2 July
entry into Yathrib (Medina)
Friday 12 Rabi' al-Awwal 16 Rabi' al-Awwal
Day 26 4 October
finally settles in Medina
Monday 22 Rabi' al-Awwal

THE BATTLE OF BADR

The date for the Battle of Badr is Tuesday, 13 March 624 AD (17 Ramadan, 2 AH in the Islamic
calendar). Again, this date is not adjusted for the nasi’. Ramadan 17 would have occurred on December
16, 623. This battle is considered a turning point in Islam, since it is the first military “victory” in Islam.
One of the interesting problems in understanding the Islamic calendar is the nature of “forbidden
months” mentioned earlier. If the battle was on the March 13, 624 date would have been in the month
Dhu I-Hijjah, one of the forbidden months. Since, at the time, this month was forbidden, the Ramadan
17 date must be understood as December of 623.

THE BATTLE OF MU’TAH

According to the Wikipedia article, “the Battle of Mu'tah was fought in September 629 C.E. (1
Jumada al-awwal 8 A.H.), near the village of Mu'tah, east of the Jordan River and Karak in Karak
Governorate, between the forces of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and the forces of the Byzantine
Empire.” Again this would be according to the modern Islamic calendar. Though, at this time, there is
only one month discrepancy. The battle most likely took place in August of 629.
Quoting Alexander Keith, quoting Edward Gibbons, it is this battle that Uriah Smith uses to mark
the rise of Islam.

" 'The spirit of fraud and enthusiasm, whose abode is not in the heavens,' was let
loose on earth. The bottomless pit needed but a key to open it, and that key was the fall
of Chosroes.25 He had contemptuously torn the letter of an obscure citizen of Mecca. But
when from his 'blaze of glory' he sunk into the 'tower of darkness' which no eye could
penetrate, the name of Chosroes was suddenly to pass into oblivion before that of
Mahomet; and the crescent seemed but to wait its rising till the falling of the star.
Chosroes, after his entire discomfiture and loss of empire, was murdered in the year 628;
and the year 629 is marked by 'the conquest of Arabia,' and 'the first war of the
Mahometans against the Roman Empire.' 'And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a
star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
And he opened the bottomless pit.' He fell upon the earth. When the strength of the

25
Khosrow II (Chosroes II in classical sources; Middle Persian: Husrō(y)), entitled "Aparvēz" ("The Victorious"), also Khusraw
Parvēz (New Persian: ‫)خسرو پرویز‬, was the last great king of the Sasanian Empire, reigning from 590 to 628. Wikipedia.
 Roman Empire was exhausted, and the great king of the East lay dead in his tower of
darkness, the pillage of an obscure town on the borders of Syria was 'the prelude of a
mighty revolution.' 'The robbers were the apostles of Mahomet, and their fanatic valour
emerged from the desert.' "26

Though this is not a commentary on Revelation 9, we believe that this is a rather weak
interpretation. The death of Khosrow II in 628 cannot, in any way, be the key that unlocks the bottomless
pit. The weakening of the Persian Empire cannot be the key that unlocks the bottomless pit, since this be
inconsistent with the same symbol being used in Revelation 20:1.

And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to
him was given the key of the bottomless pit. (Revelation 9:1)

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit
and a great chain in his hand. (Revelation 20:1)

This key was given to Muhammad. It symbolises the destruction that Islam would bring upon the
earth. This destruction parallels that that will occur after Christ’s return. It is the destructive force that
was to be brought against the Eastern Roman Empire. That history is laid out in the rest of Revelation 9.
If we were to interpret the first few verses of Revelation 9, we would mark the falling of the star as
Muhammad’s. The key would have been given him, during his first revelation in the cave of Hira.

THE DEATH OF MUHAMMAD

Wikipedia gives 12 Rabi’ I, A.H. 11 (Monday June 8, 632), for the date of Muhammad’s death. The
Islamic calendar gives June 8 as 13 Rabi’ I, for 632. Since Muhammad had removed the nasi’
postponement not long before his death, no adjustment is need. Suggestions are that the Islamic
calendar can vary by one day, due to observation. This would make Muhammad 62 years and six days
old at the time of his death. His reported age was 63 years. This would have been according to an
Islamic count, based upon a calendar that was not in use during the life of Muhammad. That is, if we
apply the retroactive Islamic calendar and say Muhammad lived for sixty three years, his birth would
have been in April of 571. If you count his age as 63 solar years, you would have to mark his birth as
June 14, 569. It must be concluded that the age of 63 years is due to calculation using false assumptions.
We place Muhammad’s age as 62 years at the time of death.

THE DECREE OF ABU BAKR

It is interesting that the date given for the birth of Muhammad’s first successor, Abu Bakr is
October 27, 573. This is the 15D 8M on the biblical calendar.
The decree of Abu Bakr was given, according to modern tradition, April of 632, about two months
before Muhammad’s death and the rise of Abu Bakr as the first Caliph (Successor). It occurred prior to
the Expedition of Usama bin Zayd in May 632. We have this account from Wikipedia.

Muhammad invited Usama ibn Zayd (son of Zayd ibn Harithah) to a mosque and
ordered him to act as the commander of an army that was to invade Palestine, and attack
Takhum of al-Balqa (which was in Palestine). Usama ibn Zayd was the son of Zayd ibn
Harithah, a slave that was very close to Muhammad whom he had freed. Zayd ibn Haritha
was killed in the Battle of Mutah.
In addition to attacking Balqa, he was ordered to attack Darum. Some weeks later,
Muhammad fell ill, and from his seat (the Minbar) in the mosque, he ordered that Usama
ibn Zayd should lead the expeditionary force. Muhammad also rebuked those that
26
Alexander Keith, Signs of the Times, Vol. I, p. 298. As found in Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith.
 claimed he did not merit such an honour, or that he was too young, while the best of
Muhammad’s commanders were available.
Usama visited Muhammad before he went into battle. The next day he set out for his
expedition and learnt Muhammad had died on 8 June 632. He was told by Abu Bakr to
continue the expedition.
According to Tabari, before Usamah headed out, Abu Bakr advised Usamah with "10
things", which were like his rules of war.

These “ten things’ are what we commonly refer to as Abu Bakr’s decree. The recounting we are
familiar with comes from Gibbon’s The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Gibbon is
quoting from The Islamic Conquest of Syria by Al-Waqidi, though we do not know what edition or
translation.

“Remember,” said the successor of the prophet, “that you are always in the presence
of God, on the verge of death, in the assurance of judgment, and the hope of paradise.
Avoid injustice and oppression; consult with your brethren, and study to preserve the
love and confidence of your troops. When you fight the battles of the Lord, ac quit
yourselves like men, without turning your backs; but let not your victory be stained with
the blood of women or children. Destroy no palm-trees, nor burn any fields of corn. Cut
down no fruit-trees, nor do any mischief to cattle, only such as you kill to eat.
When you make any covenant or article, stand to it, and be as good as your word. As
you go on, you will find some religious persons who live retired in monasteries, and
propose to themselves to serve God that way: let them alone, and neither kill them nor
destroy their monasteries;” And you will find another sort of people, that belong to the
synagogue of Satan, who have shaven crowns; be sure you cleave their skulls, and give
them no quarter till they either turn Mahometans or pay tribute.”

The harshness of this command is softened in the later translations of the account.

Then (Abu Bakr) said, "Oh army, stop and I will order you [to do] ten [things]; learn
them from me by heart. You shall not engage in treachery; you shall not act unfaithfully;
you shall not engage in deception; you shall not indulge in mutilation; you shall kill
neither a young child nor an old man nor a woman; you shall not fell palm trees or burn
them, you shall not cut down [any] fruit-bearing tree; you shall not slaughter a sheep or
a cow or a camel except for food. You will pass people who occupy themselves in monks'
cells; leave them alone, and leave alone what they busy themselves with. You will come
to a people who will bring you vessels in which are varieties of food; if you eat anything
from [those dishes], mention the name of God over them. You will meet a people who
have shaven the middle of their head and have left around it [a ring of hair] like turbans;
tap them lightly with the sword. Go ahead, in God's name; may God make you perish
through wounds and plague!"
According to al-Sari — Shu'ayb — Sayf ; and according to 'Ubayd-allah — his uncle
— Sayf — Hisham b. Urwah- his father: Abu Bakr went out to al-Jurf and followed
Usamah and sent him off. He asked Usamah for 'Umar [b. al-Khattab], which he agreed
to. He told Usamah "Do what the Prophet of God ordered you to do: Begin with the
Quda'ah country, then go to Abil. Do not fall short in anything that the Apostle of God
commanded, but do not hurry because of what is not [yet] attained of his injunction.
So Usamah advanced quickly to Dhu al-Marwah and the valley and ended up doing
what the Prophet had ordered him to do, dispersing horsemen among the Quda'ah tribes
and raiding Abil. He took captives and booty, and his completion [of the mission] was
 within forty days, excepting [the time of] his return.27

“Tap them lightly with the sword” is quite a bit different than “cleave their skulls”. We have found a
modern translation of Al-Waqidi’s work.

That is to say, when you encounter the army of Disbelievers then do not flee for
whoever flees, loses the battle. When you have obtained victory do not slay any small
children, old people, women or pre-adolescents. Do not approach the harvests of trees.
Crops should not be burnt nor fruit trees cut. Do not slaughter any animal which is
impermissible. Do not break any agreement which you make with the enemy and after
peace do not tear up your treaties. Remember that you will also meet such people who
have undertaken monasticism in their monasteries, thinking this to be for the sake of
Allah. Do not interfere with them for as long as they choose this isolationism - do not
destroy their monasteries and do not kill them. You will also meet such a Satanic people
who worship the Cross. They shave their heads in the middle to expose their skulls. Cut
off their heads until they accept Islam or pay Jizyah disgraced. Now I place you in Allah's
hands; may He protect you.28

Setting aside the differences in regard to the harshness of Abu Bakr’s command, there is a
disagreement as to when the command is given. One tradition places it shortly before Muhammad’s
death and the other after. Also, according to one line of thought the command was given prior to a battle
against the Byzantine Empire (Gibbon). The other tradition places this command prior to an excursion
into Palestine. While, in a technical sense, these describe two different geographical locations, the
excursion into Palestine (Levant, Syria) is connected to the larger conquest of the Byzantine empire.
If we are to give a date for the commencement of the first period of five months mentioned in
Revelation 9:5, it would have to be the command given by Abu Bakr in 632, even if this occurs prior to
the death of Muhammad. It is this command that gives the characteristic of this period of Islamic
conquest, as laid out in scripture. We are unable to give an exact date. It is either May or June of 632,
most likely prior to the death of Muhammad.

THE FIRST TREATY OF CONSTANTINOPLE

One hundred and fifty years after the death of Muhammad, in 782, the first treaty of
Constantinople was enacted.
Wikipedia sums it up thusly,

The Abbasid invasion of Asia Minor in 782 was one of the largest operations
launched by the Abbasid Caliphate against the Byzantine Empire. The invasion was
launched as a display of Abbasid military might in the aftermath of a series of Byzantine
successes. Commanded by the Abbasid heir-apparent, the future Harun al-Rashid, the
Abbasid army reached as far as Chrysopolis, across the Bosporus from the Byzantine
capital, Constantinople, while secondary forces raided western Asia Minor and defeated
the Byzantine forces there. As Harun did not intend to assault Constantinople and lacked
ships to do so, he turned back.
The Byzantines, who in the meantime had neutralized the detachment left to secure
the Abbasid army's rear in Phrygia, were able to trap Harun's army between their own
converging forces. The defection of the Armenian general Tatzates, however, allowed
Harun to regain the upper hand. The Abbasid prince sent for a truce and detained the
high-ranking Byzantine envoys, who included Empress Irene's chief minister, Staurakios.

27
Tabari, Vol 10, The conquest of Arabia, 16-17.
28
The Islamic Conquest of Syria by Al-Waqidi, translated by Mawlana Sulayman al-Kindi
 This forced Irene to agree to a three-year truce and pay a heavy annual tribute. Irene
then focused her attention to the Balkans, but warfare with the Arabs resumed in 786,
until mounting Arab pressure led to another truce in 798, on terms similar to those of
782.29

The treaty was signed on 17 Muharram A.H. 166, which aligns with August 31 (some suggest
September 1), 782.30 From then on, there were a series of treaties between Islamic forces and the
Byzantine Empire. It is this first treaty that marks the end of the first period of “five months”.
We are not the first ones to recognise this period of one hundred and fifty years. In fact, it is often
the only period of five months recognised by commentators in interpreting Revelation 9. One thing that
may confuse some readers is that the Islamic year is 166. From 632 to 782 is 155 lunar years, while
being only 150 solar years, since 632 is the 11 A.H.. This is consistent with one year drift every 32 1/2
years.

FROM 782 TO 1299

This period of 517 years has been noted as being equal to 391 years plus 126 years, though it has
been divided by either events in 908 or events in 1173.
In a presentation in July of 2015, The author suggested that the 517 year period be divided with a
period of 126 years from 782 to 908, with the period of 391 years counting back from the first invasion
of Othman into Nicomedia on July 27, 1299.
There are two events we can mark in 908. The first is on May 15, when the three-year-old
Constantine VII, the son of Emperor Leo VI (the Wise), is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine
Empire by Patriarch Euthymius I at Constantinople. The ceremony is held in the Hagia Sophia. After the
rituals, Constantine is crowned (symbolically) and becomes Leo's successor. The second is on
December 17, when Husayn ibn Hamdan leads a revolt to depose the newly-appointed Abbasid Caliph
Al-Muqtadir in Baghdad. He installs his uncle Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz and kills vizier Al-Abbas ibn al-
Hasan al-Jarjara'i, but fails to murder Al-Muqtadir. This leads, finally, to the coup's collapse.
Whether or not one accepts these events as strong marker to end a period of 126 years and begin a
period of 391 years, there are some interesting chronological suggestions for this structure. The first is
that it is this structure that was discovered on October 13, 2018 and then seen to be the same structure
that is one of the connexions to Samuel Snow’s letters. Also the period of 517 years, plus either the first
or last (which we have not yet addressed) period of 150 years, is 667 years. More specifically, from
August 31, 782 to Othman taking the throne on January 6, 1449 is a period of 666 years, 4 months and
6 days. From his arrival to Constantinople on March 12, 1449 is a period of 666 years 6 months, and 12
days. If we consider from Jun 8, 632, with the death of Muhammad, to July 27, 1299, it is a period of 667
years 1 month and 19 days.
It has been suggested by others that 1173, with the establishment of the Ayyubid Dynasty, divides
this period of 517 years, with a period of 391 years followed by 126 years.31

Ayyubid dynasty, Sunni Muslim dynasty, founded by Saladin (Salah al-Dīn), that
ruled in the late 12th and early 13th centuries over Egypt and what became upper Iraq,
most of Syria, and Yemen….
Saladin’s father, Ayyub (in full, Najm al-Dīn Ayyub ibn Shadhī), for whom the
Ayyubid dynasty is named, was a member of a family of Kurdish soldiers of fortune who
in the 12th century took service under the Seljuq Turkish rulers in Iraq and Syria.
Appointed governor of Damascus, Ayyub and his brother Shīrkuh united Syria in

29
See Wikipedia article, Abbasid invasion of Asia Minor (782).
30
See Byzantion Vol. 47, 1977 Azantes’ Flight and the Byzantine-Arab Peace Treaty of 782 by Lawrence A. Tritle, 294.
31
We will see later that this division of the 517 years creates a day-for-a-year 2520 prophetic mirror that utilises the prediction
structure discovered in 2018.
 preparation for war against the Crusaders. After his father’s death in 1173, Saladin
displaced the Shīʿite Fatimid dynasty, further mobilized Muslim enthusiasm to create a
united front against the Crusades, and made Egypt the most powerful Muslim state in
the world at that time. The solidarity maintained under Saladin disappeared just before
his death (1193): following his distribution of his territories among vassal relations who
enjoyed autonomous internal administration of their provinces, the Ayyubid regime
became a decentralized, semi-feudal family federation.32

Whether or not one or the other or both are correct, it is compelling that the period of 517 years
can be divided in this manner, even if the suggested events seem arbitrary or insignificant. It has also
been observed that a period of 517 years is 6204 months (517 x 12 = 6204). The main chronological
symbol for Islam is the 26D 4M or 4M 26D. 6204 is understood as the mirror of 4M 26D. As we will see,
it is this date on the biblical calendar that marks each of the dates in Josiah’s Litch’s prophecy, except
the last one (August 11). One or two of these occurrences could be taken as coincidences. We will find
that they occur repeatedly. As such they must be taken as evidence of design.

THE CRUSADES (1095 -1291)

According to Wikipedia, “Traditionalists restrict their definition of the Crusades to the Christian
campaigns in the Holy Land, "either to assist the Christians there or to liberate Jerusalem and the Holy
Sepulcher", during 1095–1291.”33 For our purposes, this definition will suffice. Without much detail, I
list and relate significant dates below.

THE FIRST CRUSADE (1095–1099)

In a series of battles, the Catholic forces waged war against and defeated the Muslim forces. The
ultimate goal was the capture of Jerusalem. After the crusades were initiated by Pope Urban II at the
Counsel of Claremont on November 27, 1095, Urban had planned the departure of the first crusade for
August 15, 1096 but months before this, a number of unexpected armies of peasants and petty nobles
set off for Jerusalem on their own, led by a charismatic priest called Peter the Hermit. Peter gathered
his “army” on April 12, 1096 and left on April 19. This peasant mob killed upwards of 8000 Jews along
the Rhine. This People’s Crusade ended at the Battle of Civetot on October 21, when the Muslim armies
slaughtered most of the remaining 22,000 of the 40,000 who had initially set out.. The first official
military action was the Siege of Nicaea, which took place from May 14 to June 19, 1097. This was
followed by the Battle of Dorylaeum on July 1, 1097, between the crusaders and the Seljuk Turks, near
the city of Dorylaeum in Anatolia. The Siege of Antioch lasted from October 21, 1097 to June 2, 1098.
The Siege of Jerusalem took place from June 7 to July 15, 1099. The climax of the First Crusade, the
successful siege saw the Crusaders take Jerusalem from the Fatimid Caliphate and laid the foundations
for the Kingdom of Jerusalem. On July 22 a council was held in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre to
Godfrey of Bouillon as king for the newly created Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Battle of Ascalon took
place on August 12, 1099 shortly after the capture of Jerusalem, and is often considered the last action
of the First Crusade. The crusader army led by Godfrey of Bouillon defeated and drove off a Fatimid
army, securing the safety of Jerusalem.
It should be noted that Jerusalem fell to the crusaders on July 15 on the Julian calendar but this
was July 21 on the Gregorian calendar. Also, the date of July 22, 1099, for the establishment of the
kingdom of Jerusalem, was the 1D 5M on the biblical calendar.

THE SECOND CRUSADE (1147–1149)

The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the
forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusade (1096–1099) by King Baldwin of
32
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ayyubid-dynasty
33
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusades
 Boulogne in 1098. While it was the first Crusader state to be founded, it was also the first to fall.
Announced by Pope Eugene III, and was the first of the crusades to be led by European kings,
namely Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany, with help from a number of other European
nobles. The crusade in the east was a failure for the crusaders and a great victory for the Muslims. It
would ultimately have a key influence on the fall of Jerusalem and give rise to the Third Crusade at the
end of the 12th century.34

THE THIRD CRUSADE (1189–1192)

The third Crusade dates from May 11, 1189 to September 2, 1192, as a response to the fall of the
Kingdom of Jerusalem in July 1187 to the Ayyubid Empire, which united Syria and Egypt under the
Egyptian sultan Saladin. It should be noted that it was the beginning of Saladin’s reign that has been
marked in 1173, to divide the 517 years between the two periods of five months (150 years) into a
period of 391 years followed by 126 years. After the siege that began on September 20 1187, on
October 2 Balian of Ibelin surrendered the city to Saladin. With the capital taken, the Kingdom of
Jerusalem moved to Tyre and, after the third Crusade, to Acre. Wikipedia gives a concise account.

Spurred by religious zeal, King Henry II of England and King Philip II of France
(known as "Philip Augustus") ended their conflict with each other to lead a new crusade.
The death of Henry (6 July 1189), however, meant the English contingent came under the
command of his successor, King Richard I of England. The elderly German Emperor
Frederick Barbarossa also responded to the call to arms, leading a massive army across
Anatolia, but he drowned in a river in Asia Minor on 10 June 1190 before reaching the
Holy Land. His death caused tremendous grief among the German Crusaders, and most
of his troops returned home.
After the Crusaders had driven the Muslims from Acre, Philip - in company with
Frederick's successor, Leopold V, Duke of Austria (known as Leopold the Virtuous) - left
the Holy Land in August 1191. On 2 September 1192 Richard and Saladin finalized the
Treaty of Jaffa, which granted Muslim control over Jerusalem but allowed unarmed
Christian pilgrims and merchants to visit the city. Richard departed the Holy Land on 9
October 1192. The successes of the Third Crusade allowed Westerners to maintain
considerable states in Cyprus and on the Syrian coast.35

THE FOURTH CRUSADE (1202–1204)

THE RETAKING OF CONSTANTINOPLE

While this is not particularly an event in Islamic history, it is interesting to note that on the 26D 4M
of the biblical calendar the city of Constantinople was retaken from the hands of the Roman church that
had acquired it during the crusades. Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus (Greek: Μιχαὴλ Η΄
Παλαιολογος, Mikhael VIII Palaiologos; 1223 – 11 December 1282) having defeated the armies of
Epirus and Achaea during the Battle of Pelagonia in 1259, he turned his armies toward Constantinople
the following year to do what his four predecessors could not. The capture of the city occurred from
July 24 – 26, 1261 – the last day being the biblical date of the 26D 4M. On August 15th, Michael
proceeded through town on his way to Hagia Sophia. Witnessing the destruction wrought by the
Crusaders and his own army along the way, he took the crown triumphantly. After 57 years in exile, the
34
For more detail see; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Crusade from which our information is taken.
35
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Crusade
 Byzantine Empire had been restored to its rightful home – one it would lose once and for all when the
Sultan Mehmed and the Ottomans arrived in 1453.

THE RISE OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

While Wikipedia gives July 27, 1302 for the Battle of Bapheus, the battle which launched the
Ottoman Empire. Gibbon gives July 27, 1299. There is an excellent 1933 article in Ministry36 magazine
that upholds Gibbon’s date. It shows that the Gibbon depended on the work of Petri Possini (Petrus
Possinus). This date is verified by several synchronisms and eclipses of the sun and moon. There is also
Grace Amadon’s 1844 Ministry article.37 Heidi Heiks deceptively rejects the 1299 date for the Battle of
Bapheus, in his book Satan’s Counterfeit Prophecy. Dr. Alberto R. Treiyer gives a brilliant response to
Heiks’ book.38 Heiks’ response39 is simply to shift the argument, in an attempt to discredit Treiyer’s
review, while ignoring the crux of the argument. Treiyer responds with some thorough research that
establishes beyond all doubt that the battle of Bapheus occurred in 1299. 40 Here, we will attempt to lay
out his basic arguments that show July 27, 1299 is the correct date for the Battle of Bapheus. For a more
detailed analysis, we refer those interested to read his paper.41
The Julian date of July 27 is not in contention, nor the significance of the battle in marking the rise
of the Ottoman Empire. What is in contention is the year in which the battle occurred. The primary
source for determining the year is the contemporaneous historian George Pachymeres (1242 – c. 1310).
Pachymeres was born at Nicaea, in Bithynia, where his father had taken refuge after the capture of
Constantinople by the Latins in 1204. Upon the recovery of The City from the Latin Empire by Michael
VIII Palaeologus in 1261, Pachymeres settled in Constantinople. We would have to consider his account
very reliable. Pachymeres gave the day and the month of that battle, but not the year. It took place on
July 27th. Petrus Possinus in the 17th Century, and Edward Gibbon in the 18th Century, concluded that
the Battle of Bapheus took place in the year 1299. However, ever since the proposal of Joseph von
Hammer in the 19th Century, most historians have dated that battle first to 1301, and finally to 1302.
The almost standard historical view today is that Bapheus fell to the Turks on July 27, 1302.
Here we lay out the arguments, without going into detail for every piece of evidence.

FINISH THIS LATER

36
https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/1933/02/gibbons-july-27-1299-date-sustained
37
https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/1944/07/a-landmark-of-historyjuly-27-1299
38
http://www.adventistdistinctivemessages.com/English/Documents/MytworepliestoHeidiHeiks.pdf
39
http://www.heidiheiks.com/pdf/Revelation/A_Response_to_Dr_Alberto_R_Treiyers_Review_of_Satans_Counterfeit_Prophecy_by_Heidi_Heiks.pdf
40
http://www.ijhssnet.com/journals/Vol_7_No_8_August_2017/4.pdf
41
In laying out his argument, we have quoted some of his words, while not placing them in quotations. For this, we hope he can
forgive us.
 It must be very distinctly understood that such an expression as, for example, 7d.
3h. 540ch., when used to indicate the instant of time at which some event takes place on
a particular day of the week, means nothing more than that 3 hours 540 chalakim of the
seventh day of the week have elapsed. Thus, if any event, such as the time of a
Conjunction of the Sun and Moon, be noted as occurring at 7d. 3h. 540ch., this does not
mean that seven whole days, together with 3h. 540ch. Of the next day have elapsed since
some fixed time, but simply that the event takes place upon the seventh day of the week
when 3h. 540ch. Of that day have elapsed, the instant when the event occurs being
equivalent to 9h. 30m. p.m. on a Friday in our own Civil notation, because the seventh
Jewish day commences at 6 p.m. on our sixth day. If, however, it be expressly stated that
the interval of time since some fixed standard is 7d. 3h. 540ch., then it does mean that
seven whole days, together with 3h. 540 ch. of the eighth day have elapsed.42

“THE HOUR is not divided by the Jews into minutes and seconds, but into 1080
equal parts called Chalakim. These are the Ostenta, or Scrupulae of Scaliger and other
writers.”43

These, then, were the customs of the Nasi which were abolished by Muhammad. He
is reported to have said, in the course of an address delivered on the morning of the
ninth day of the twelfth month, being the last day but one of the yearly pilgrimage, the
day corresponding to Saturday, March 8, A.D. 632 : " Certainly the Nasi is an impious
addition, which has led the infidels into error. One year they authorise the Nasi; another
year they forbid it. They observe the divine precept with respect to the number of the
sacred months, but in fact they profane that which God has declared to be inviolable, and
sanctify that which God has declared to be profane. Assuredly time, in its revolution, has
returned to such as it was at the creation of the heavens and the earth. In the eyes of God
the number of the months is twelve. Among these twelve months four are sacred,
namely, Rajab, which stands alone, and three others which are consecutive."

This passage from the address of the prophet, preserved by tradition, is reproduced

42
Burnaby, Sherrard B., Elements of the Jewish and Muhammadan Calendars, With Rules and Tables and Explanatory Notes on the
Julian and Gregorian Calendars, London: George Bell and Sons, 1901, p.24.
43
Ibid. 21.
 in the Qu'ran, Surah ix. 36, 37 :44

44
Ibid. 370
• January 1-September 11, 2001 - The FAA issues 15 information circulars containing
generalized warnings about terrorist threats and hijackings.
• February 5-May 29, 2001 - Four defendants stand trial in New York for the 1998 embassy
bombings. Prosecution witnesses describe buying airplanes and learning to fly them at the
request of bin Laden.
• June 2001 - Al Jazeera broadcasts videotaped threats against the West from bin Laden.
• June 2001 - The State Department Consular Office in Saudi Arabia renews Almihdhar's
expired visa, unaware of the CIA's surveillance of him.
• June 22, 2001 - The FAA issues an informational circular with generalized warnings about
threats to US airlines.
• June 26, 2001 - The State Department issues a worldwide caution concerning possible
overseas terrorist activity.
• July 5, 2001 - The FAA issues another warning, specifically the threat of "using explosives in
an airport terminal."
• July 5, 2001 - President George W. Bush requests more information about the recent
upswing in terrorist threats and "chatter" from National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice.
• July 6, 2001 - The National Security Council's Counterterrorism Security Group meets,
concerned about the increased potential for attacks in Europe and the Mideast.
• July 10, 2001 - FBI Agent Kenneth Williams writes a memo about Arabs training at Phoenix
area flight schools, speculating that they could be al Qaeda. He requests that a canvass of
Middle Eastern men training at US flight schools be done.
• July 2001 - The CIA warns the White House of possible attacks against President Bush
during the July G8 Summit in Genoa, Italy.
• July 18, 2001 - The FAA issues another warning to airlines concerning possible terrorist
attacks.
• July 28, 2001 - Djamel Beghal is arrested in the United Arab Emirates for carrying a false
passport. Under interrogation he details his role in al Qaeda and its plans to blow up the US
embassy in Paris.
• July 31, 2001 - The FAA issues another warning to airlines advising that "terror groups are
known to be planning and training for hijackings."
• August 6, 2001 - President Bush receives a CIA report about al Qaeda and the possibility of
airline hijackings. The warning is passed on to embassies and other overseas facilities.
• August 15, 2001 - The Pan Am International Flight Academy in Minnesota alerts the FBI to
their suspicions about Moussaoui. He had paid for the training in cash and requested
instruction on flying large jets, even though he had little experience.
• August 16, 2001 - The FAA issues an alert about "disguised weapons." Airlines are alerted
 the terrorists might use common objects such as cell phones or clothespins as weapons.
• August 17, 2001 - Moussaoui is arrested on charges of overstaying his 90-day visa. The FBI
interrogates Moussaoui for two days before he requests a lawyer.
• August 23, 2001 - CIA Director George Tenet, concerned that an al Qaeda attack is
imminent, orders the CIA to search their files for leads. An urgent cable is sent to the FBI,
State Department, Customs and INS, alerting them to the CIA's concerns about Alhazmi and
Almihdhar. After the INS reports that Almihdhar re-entered the country on July 4, the FBI
begins searching for them.
• September 4, 2001 - The national security advisers to President Bush approve a draft
version of a plan to combat al Qaeda. It includes provisions for $200 million to arm the
enemies of the Taliban. The advisers plan to present the draft to President Bush on
September 10, however, the president is traveling and does not see it.
• September 10, 2001 - The National Security Agency intercepts two communications from
Afghanistan to Saudi Arabia. One says, "Tomorrow is zero hour," and the other says "The
match begins tomorrow." The messages are not translated until September 12.

APPENDIX

Byzantium delegation asks for Urban's help against the

March 1095
Turks
November 27,
Pope Urban II preaches the First Crusade
1095
1096 Fatimids retake Jerusalem from Seldjuks
spring,summer
massacres of Jews
1096
first wave (People's Crusade) leaves; 3 armies don't make
spring 1096
it past Hungary
Peter the Hermit and Walter Sansavoir reach
August 1, 1096
Constantinople
August 15, 1096 official start of First Crusade as set by Pope Urban II
armies under Peter and Walter destroyed at Nicaea by
October 6, 1096
Kilij Arslan
leaders (and armies) of the second wave (official First
Fall 1096 Crusade) arrive at staggered times at Constantinople.
Alexius I Comnenus asks for and receives oaths of fealty
 and promises to return lands formerly under Byzantine
control
April 1097 crusaders cross the Bosporus
crusaders arrive at Nicaea, Kilij Arslan is absent, fighting
early June 1097
Danishmend
June 19, 1097 Nicaea surrenders to Byzantium (not the crusaders)
June 26-28, 1097 crusaders head into Asia Minor
Turks under Kilij Arslan unsuccessfully attack the
July 1, 1097
crusaders at Dorlyaeum
October 21, 1097 crusaders reach Antioch, which is ruled by Yaghi-Suyan
early February Muslim relief force under Kerbogha (Karbuqa) of Mosul
1098 heading to Antioch
Baldwin reaches Edessa (al-Ruha to Arabs) whose prince
February 6, 1098
is Thoros
March 9, 1098 Thoros killed in riot
Baldwin takes control of Edessa. Start of the first Latin
March 10, 1098
settlement in the East
Firuz, a garrison captain of Edessa, lets crusaders into
June 2-3, 1098
city; Yaghi-Suyan flees; crusaders take city
Muslim army under Kerbogha arrives and besieges the
June 5, 1098
crusaders in Antioch
June 14, 1098 crusaders believe they have found the Holy Lance
crusaders attack besiegers and win; they then decide to
June 28, 1098
wait out the summer before continuing
Adhémar of Le Puy dies, exacerbating crusaders'
August 1, 1098
leadership problems
armies of Raymond of St. Gilles and Robert of Flanders
mid-November
arrive at Ma'arat en Nu'man (rank-and-file force the
1098
march)
December 11-2,
Ma'arat en Nu'man falls to the crusaders
1098
1098 (sometime) crusaders practice cannibalism at Ma'arra
January 13, 1099 rank-and-file force Raymond to continue to Jerusalem
February/March
rank-and-file at Antioch force continuance to Jerusalem
1099
February 14, 1099 crusaders start to besiege 'Arqah
crusaders give up on siege of 'Arqah and continue to
May 13, 1099
Jerusalem
June 6, 1099 Tancred seizes Bethelham
June 7, 1099 most of the crusaders arrive at Jerusalem
July 8, 1099 penitential procession of crusaders around Jerusalem
July 15, 1099 crusaders seize and sack Jerusalem
July 22, 1099 Godfrey elected ruler of settlement at Jerusalem
Pope Urban II dies, never hearing news of capture of
July 19, 1099
Jerusalem
August 11-12,
crusaders defeat Egyptian army at Ashdod
1099
al-Harawi of Damascus leads group of refugees to
1099
Baghdad to protest lack of action by leaders
1100 Baldwin becomes the first king of Jerusalem
summer 1100 Danishmend captures Bohemund
Pope Paschal II preaches crusade; threatens deserters and
November 15,
those with unfulfilled crusade vows with
1100
excommunication
1101 next wave of crusaders defeated in Asia Minor
1104 Baldwin takes Acre
Muslims defeat Franks at Harran, stopping (momentarily
1104
at least) their eastward drive
two coalitions, both of Franks and Muslims, fight near Tel
1108
Bashir
1109 Tripoli falls to the crusaders after 2000 days of siege
1110 Beirut and Saida seized by crusaders
riot in Baghdad organized by Ibn al-Khashab (Aleppo's
1111
qadi) to try to get help against the Franks
1112 Muslims prevent Franks from seizing Tyre
1113 Order of St. John (the Hospitallers) starts
Muslims and Franks in Syria together fight Muhammad
spring 1115
Ibn Malikshah, Seldjuk sultan
1119 Franks defeated at Sarmada by Ilghazi of Aleppo
1120 Order of the Knights Templar begins
July 1124 Franks seize Tyre and so occupy the coast to Ascalon
1125 in Beirut, peasants revolt
1125 Ibn al-Khashab killed by member(s) of the Assassins
1127 Zangi becomes ruler of Mosul
1128 Frankish attempt to seize Damascus fails
1128 Zangi gets control of Aleppo
nobles revolt in the Latin kingdom of Jerusalem (the first
1131
such revolt)
1135 Zangi unsuccessful in attempt to take Damascus
1137 King Fulk of Jerusalem captured by Zangi and released
1139 Zangi besieges Damascus
1140 Damascus and Jerusalem ally against Zangi
1144 Zangi seizes Edessa, ending the first (of four) crusader
 states in the mideast
Zangi murdered (reportedly by a slave), his son Nur al-
1146
Din inherits Aleppo
the Second Crusade, includes crusades in Spain, the
1147-1149
eastern border of Germany as well as the middle east
1147 crusaders in Spain take Lisbon
crusaders under Conrad of Germany and Louis VII of
1148 France besiege Damascus, giving up after Nur al-Din
arrives at the request of Damascus
Nur al-Din gets Damascus, unifying the parts of Syria that
1154
are Muslim
Nur al-Din's general Shirkuh fights for control of Egypt
1163-1169
for Nur al-Din
Shirkuh gets control of Egypt, becomes vizier, then dies
1169 within two months; he is succeeded by Saladin, his
nephew
1170 Nur al-Din gets control of Mosul upon brother's death
Saladin declares Fatimid control of Egypt is over and
1171 becomes sole ruler; start of Ayyubid dynasty; increasing
tension between Nur al-Din and Saladin
Nur al-Din dies, power struggle ensues for control of his
1174
son
1174 Saladin seizes Damascus
1183 Saladin seizes Aleppo, reuniting Egypt and Syria
Saladin officially controls Egypt and Damascus, Aleppo
1185
and Mosul
Saladin defeats armies of the Frankish states at the Battle
July 4, 1187
of Hattin
Saladin retakes Jerusalem and (about the same time) most
October 2, 1187 of the land the Franks had controlled, leaving the Franks
only Tyre, Tripoli, and Antioch
Third Crusade, major Franks were Richard I of England,
1189-1192 Philip II of France, and Frederick I (the Holy Roman
Emperor)
June 1190 Frederick I dies crossing the river Goksu
summer 1191 Richard and Philip arrive in the mideast, besiege Acre
Acre falls to Richard and Philip, who then decide who
will rule Jerusalem (between Guy and Conrad), Philip
July 1191
then leaves and Richard seizes Arsuf and Jaffa, refortifies
Ascalon
September 2, 1192 Richard and Saladin sign a treaty, ending their fighting
October 9, 1192 Richard leaves the mideast
Saladin dies, several years of civil war follow, until his
1193
brother al-Adil, takes control
spring 1197 Frederick I's son, Henry VI goes on crusade
September 28,
Henry VI dies
1197
July 1, 1198 Henry VI's nobles reach a treaty with Muslims and leave
Order of Teutonic Knights begins (Acre is their main
1198
base)
1202-1204 Fourth Crusade
some of the crusaders seize Zara from the king of
1202
Hungary, a fellow crusader, for the Venetians to earn fare
crusaders take Constantinople, put Alexius IV on the
July 17, 1203
throne
late January 1204 Murzuphlus seizes throne and tries to expel crusaders
crusaders seize and sack Constantinople, found Latin
April 12, 1204 Empire out of Byzantine lands; a government-in-exile
formed
Albigensian crusade in southern France against Cathar
1209-1229
heretics
1212 Children's Crusade
1213 Pope Innocent III begins planning the Fifth Crusade
1215 imposition of a crusade tax (on Church estates)
Innocent III dies, planning continued by successor, Pope
July 16, 1216
Honorius III
1217-1229 Fifth Crusade, consists of various attacks on Egypt
1217-1218 Andrew II of Hungary tries for Acre
crusade in Egypt led by Cardinal Pelagius; he seized
1219-1221 Damietta and tried to take Cairo but was defeated by al-
Kamil, Egypt's sultan
Genghis Khan dies; ensuing wars for succession lessen
1227
Mongol threat for a time
Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, while under papal
1228-1229 interdict, crusades in Egypt; al-Kamil gives him
Jerusalem under a treaty; Jerusalem then under interdict
Francis of Assisi fails to convert al-Kamil, sultan of
1219
Egypt
1230 Teutonic Knights start attacking Prussia
1235 Byzantines have retaken Asia Minor
1236 Ferdinand III of Castile begins attack on Cordova
1238 army of Aragon takes Valencia
Theobald of Champage and Richard of Cornwall lead a
1239-1241
small crusade
1244 Franks lose Jerusalem for the final time
Pope Innocent IV sends missionaries to Mongols; other
1245
negotiations follow
 Louis IX plans crusade; Frederick keeps al-Kamil's son,
1247
Ayyub, informed of plans
1248-1254 Sixth Crusade
Louis IX of France invades Egypt; he seizes Damietta,
1248-1250 but is defeated and captured at the Mansurah; released for
ransom (and Damietta)
1248-1250 end of Ayyubid dynasty, Mamluks now control Egypt
by 1251 Möngke, grandson of Genghis Khan, controls Mongols
Mongols under Hülegü (Genghis Khan's grandson) take
February 1258 Baghdad, kill the last 'Abbasid caliph; the population is
massacred
December 1259 Qutuz becomes leader of Egypt in coup
January 1260 Mongols under Hülegü take Aleppo
March 1, 1260 Mongols under Hülegü take Damascus
1260 Möngke dies; Hülegü returns to fight for succession
battle of 'Ayn Jalut: Mamluks under Qutuz defeat
September 3, 1260
Mongols
September 8, 1260 Mamluks take Damascus
Baybars kills Qutuz and becomes sultan; he controls
October 23, 1260
Cairo without a fight but there is some conflict
July 25, 1261 Byzantines recapture Constantinople, end of Latin Empire
1265 Hülegü dies
May 18, 1268 Baybars seizes Antioch (formerly allied to Mongols)
1268 Baybars seizes Jaffa
1270 Seventh Crusade: Louis IX attacks Tunis
August 25, 1270 Louis IX dies near Tunis
1277 Baybars is poisoned and dies; Qalawun becomes sultan
April 26 or 27,
Qalawun, the Mamluk sultan, retakes Tripoli from Franks
1289
November 1290 Qalawun dies; his son Khalil assumes power
Khalil retakes Acre, ending what we are defining as the
June 17, 1291
Great Crusades; crusaders fall back to Cyprus
The prophetic mirror is 742 - 19 years - 723 - 46 years - 677 - 220 years - 457 BC - 994 years - 538 AD - 1260 years - 1798 - 46 years - 1844 - 19 years - 1863. Each of the years in
the prophetic mirror follows an embolismic (leap year) with a thirteenth month. The chances that this occurs randomly is 1 in 2,946. More than this, if the equinox had been one
day later, the thirteenth month would not have been needed. the chance of this occurring with randomly chosen dates would be for each instance 1 in 29.53. For it to happen with
all eight dates is 1 in 578,239,260,834 or a probability of 1:5.78 x 10^11.
Show less
REPLY

THE CHRONOLOGY OF ISLAM

THE COMPUTATION OF TIME AS ESTABLISHED BY MUHAMMAD
10. When the Prophet abolished the old Arabian Calendar the
Muhammadan year became exclusively Lunar. It was, and it still
is, governed by the Moon alone, without any regard to the length
of the Solar year, or to the seasons, which consequently "wander"
through the year, coming later and later, according to Calendar dates,
at every recurrence. For the Muhammadan Lunar year of twelve
months is, roughly speaking, eleven days shorter than the true Solar
year ; so that if at any given time the Spring season commences on
the first day of the Muhammadan year, it will not commence till the
twelfth day in the next year, the twenty-third day in the next, the
thirty-fourth in the year which follows, and so onwards, till it has
wandered through all the months. In fact, in every thirty-three
Muhammadan years there are only thirty-two occurrences of each
of the four seasons. This is according to the Civil, or established
reckoning of the Calendar. Of course it is not so practically ; the
agriculturist sows his seed and reaps his harvest not by the Calendar
of his religion, but under the influence of the Sun.
The Calendar itself is based on a Cycle of thirty years, each
consisting of twelve months. There are two different methods of
computing the commencement and the duration of these months.
These two methods may be distinguished as the Civil or chronological,
and the common or popular, sometimes called the practical, reckoning.
First, with respect to the Civil reckoning, by which all historical
events are dated. Every year consists of twelve months ; of these
months, those which when all are arranged in numerical order are
"uneven," as the first, the third, &c., have each thirty days ; those which
are "even," as the second, the fourth, &c., have twenty-nine days.
This arrangement would make the Cycle of thirty years to consist
of 360 months, containing 6 x 30 x 30 + 6 x 30 x 29, or 10620 days ;
but the months are intended to be Lunar, and to coincide as nearly
as possible, after avoiding fractions of a day, with the length of
a Lunation. Now, the mean length of a Lunation was estimated
by the Arabian astronomers at 29d. 12h. 44ni., and if this interval of
time be multiplied by 360 it makes the 360 Lunar months, or the
thirty years of the Cycle, to consist of 10631 days, indicating that the
former number, 10620, is too short by eleven days.
In order that the whole number of 10631 days might be contained
within the Cycle of thirty years it became necessary to increase
the length of some of these years. This was done by adding one day
to the length of each of eleven years. Those selected for the purpose are
numbered in the Cycle thus : 2, 5, 7, 10, 13, 16, 18, 21, 24, 26, 29.*
The additional day in each of these years is intercalated at the end
of the last month, which, therefore, has thirty instead of twenty-nine
days. The last month in each of the other nineteen years has only
twenty-nine days.
The intercalated day is called yaurn Kabisah, the intercalary year
is 'am Kabisah.
11. In order to judge how far the system of Kabisah years tends to
harmonise the Civil with the Lunar reckoning of time, it must be
noticed that at the close of the second year, when Twenty-four
Lunations are supposed to have elapsed, the mean Lunar time
which has passed is, according to Muhammadan computation, 708d.
17h. 36m. If, then, the Lunar years were all limited to 354 days,
there would be in two such years 708 days only, and nearly threefourths
of another day would be required to equalise this number of
days to the value of twenty-four Lunations. It is impossible to add
 three-quarters of a day, or any fraction of a day to a Calendar year,
and accordingly one whole day is added at the end of the second year,
making it Kabisah.
At the close of five years, or sixty Lunations, the mean Lunar
time that has elapsed is, by Muhammadan computation, 1771d.
20h. Om. But 5 x 354 days, together with the one day which was
added to the second year, make only 1771 days. Five-sixths of a
day more is required, therefore one whole day is added to the fifth
year, which becomes Kabisah ; and the first five years of the Cycle
have together 5 x 354 + 2, or 1772 days, being only four hours longer
than sixty Muhammadan Lunations.

The result thus reached attains to considerable accuracy. The

actual mean length of a Synodical month or Lunation . is, by modern
computation, 29d. 12h. 44m. 2*684s. ; so that 360 mean Lunations
contain 10631d. Oh. 16m. 6'24s. In other words, the Muhammadan
Cycle of thirty years terminates too soon by 16m. 6'24s., Lunar time,
an error which amounts to a whole day in 2683 Lunar years nearly.
It will therefore become necessary for the Muhammadans to reform
their Calendar by adding one day to their eighty-ninth or ninetieth
\j y(-/AC.
12. With respect to the common or popular reckoning the
beginning of each month is determined by actual observation ; that
is, by the first appearance of the crescent of the New Moon, which
would not be visible till the evening of the first, or second, perhaps
even of the third day after the actual Conjunction had taken place.
If, through obscurity caused by clouds, the crescent is not visible on
the third evening, no further postponement of the first day of the month
takes place. The consequence of this is that the popular commencement
of the month will differ in various places according to the time
when the Moon may first become visible. For instance, in one place
the crescent may be seen in the evening of the second day after the
Conjunction; in another place the heavens maybe covered with clouds,
and the crescent not be visible till the third day. The commencement
of the month may thus differ by a whole day in the same country.!
13. The Muhammadan day is reckoned from Sunset to Sunset. The
"
day-time
"
is from Sunrise to Sunset, and as it is divided into twelve
hours, these hours of necessity vary in length according to the season.
If the Sun set at six o'clock the Civil day will commence at that hour,
preceding the commencement of our own Civil day by six hours. The
night-time of the hours which constitute a day precedes the day-time. We are in the habit of
speaking of a day and a night as forming a
day, although it would be more strictly correct to speak of a halfnight,
a day, and a another half-night, namely, midnight to 6 a.m.,
6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and 6 p.m. to midnight. The Muhammadans would
say that a night and a day form a day. Thus, the night immediately
preceding our Sunday is commonly called by us Saturday night. By
the Muhammadans the same interval of time would be called Sunday
 night, or the night of Sunday. If any event happen here at 7 or 8 p.m.
on Wednesday night, a Muhammadan would speak of the same event
as happening on Thursday night.
14. The hours are reckoned from one to twelve, and then from one
to twelve again ; Sunset being the close of the last hour. One hour
after Sunset, which (when the Sun sets at 6 p.m.), we should call
7 o'clock in the evening, is with the Muhammadans 1 o'clock in the
night. Two hours after Sunset is 2 o'clock ; and so on. Our 6 o'clock
in the morning is 12 o'clock with them, and our Noon is 6 o'clock.
Lane says* that " the Egyptians set their watches, if necessary, at
Sunset ; or rather, a few minutes after ; generally when they hear the
call to evening prayer. Their watches, according to this system of
reckoning time from Sunset to be always quite correct, should be
set every evening as the days vary in length." This was written in
1833-35. The custom of setting watches at the time of evening
prayer still prevails.
Lane further states that " a pocket almanac was annually printed
at the Government press at Boolak. It comprises the period of a Solar
year, commencing and terminating with the Vernal Equinox. It
gives, for every day of the week, the day of the Muhammadan, Coptic,
Syrian, and European month. The Sun's place in the Zodiac, the
time of Sunrise, Noon, and 'asr, that is about midway between Noon
and nightf^Jl."
The 'asr, to which he refers, is the time of afternoon prayer. The
Prophet would not permit his followers to pray at exact Sunrise, Noon,
or Sunset, because, he said, infidels worshipped the Sun at those times.
Evening prayer is about four minutes after Sunset.
At the present time there is published a " Sudan Almanac, coni- piled at the Intelligence Division,
War Office." The calculations for
this Almanac are made at the office of the Nautical Almanac. It is
for the current Gregorian year, and gives, for each month, the Phases
of the Moon, the Arabic date corresponding to each day of the month,
the day of the week, the mean time at Wadi Haifa at which the Moon
rises and sets, the time of Sunrise and Sunset. It has a Column of
Kemarks, in which are noted both the Muhammadan and Anglican
Festivals and Fasts, and recent important events. At the end there
are added some useful Notes, with Tables of Distances, the Latitudes
and Longitudes of certain places in Egypt, and Measures, Weights,
and Currency.
15. In considering Muhammadan dates it is important to keep in
inind the difference between the commencement of their day and of
our own ; otherwise confusion will occur. Hence arises a cause for
dates which differ by a day being assigned to the same event, one
historian referring to the Muhammadan, another to the Christian
day. A second cause for this is found in the fact that the Muhammadans,
like ourselves, have an Astronomical as well as a Civil day.
The Astronomical commences earlier by six hours than the Civil day,
namely, at the Noon which falls within the twenty-four hours of the
preceding Civil day. With ourselves, on the contrary, the commencement
of the Astronomical day is twelve hours later than the commencement
of the Civil day, being reckoned from Noon of the Civil
 day.
As an instance of the discrepancy in dates which thus arises, nearly
all modern chronologists give Friday, July 16, A.D. 622, as the date for
the commencement of the Muhammadan Era. Abu al-Hasan * and
Uluigh Beigh t both give a day which corresponds to Thursday, July 15
in the same year. They are followed by Ideler. \
Upon this point the authors of
" L'Art de Verifier les Dates "
say :
" It (i.e., Hegira) was for the day that Muhammad fled from
Mecca to Medina; and this day responds, according to civilian usage, to the
Friday, July 16, the year of Jesus Christ 622; but astronomers, and some historians, put it on the
preceding Thursday, July 15;
which is one day ahead of the rest of the Hegira. This is an observation
that we must not lose sight of it, by reading the Arab writers. Sedillot, in his notes on Abu al-Hasan,
also explains the way in
which the difference arises. Speaking of an example of a rule given
by that author, in which Monday is found to be the initial day of a
certain given year of the Hijra, he says :
" The Art of Verifying the Dates
gives the Tuesday for the initial day of the same year, because in this
work is carried out by calendar years instead of in this one it is
by astronomical years, and that the astronomical year of the Arabs
begins one day earlier than the calendar year, or, to speak more
exactly, begins at the true south of the previous day. Thus
The Art of Verifying the Dates gives, with all the chronologists, for
the first day of the 1st day of the Hegira, on Friday, July 16th, 622 of J-X.,
at midnight, while this era begins civilly on Thursday 15 at night,
and astronomically the same day at noon. But it clears up
paying attention that the Arabs start counting on Friday,
or their sixth civil day, Thursday evening, and that noon of Thursday
which belongs to the fifth civil day begins the sixth day
astronomical. In a nutshell, Astronomies add a unit to
fourth without changing the day. "\
16, Suppose that some event occurred during the first twelve
hours, Civil time, of our Friday, July 16, A.D. 622, that is to say,
between the Midnight of July 15-16, and the Noon of July 16. These
same twelve hours, according to the Muhammadan Astronomical
reckoning, are the last twelve of the preceding day, Thursday,
July 15.
Now, in
" L'Art de Verifier les Dates," in Lacoine's " Tables de
Concordance des Dates des Calendriers," in Playfair's "Chronology,"
in Bees' "
Cyclopaedia," in Woolhouse's "
Measures, Weights, and
Moneys," in Bond's "
Handy Book," and in other books, as well as
in the Chronological Table herewith, dates are given according to
Common Civil, or historical time, unless it be otherwise specifically
stated. On the other hand, in the work of Abu al-Hasan, in Uluigh
 Beigh, in the text of Ideler, in the " Tabella Chronologica of the
Glossarium
"
of Du Cange, and by others, Muhammadan dates are
given according to Muhammadaii Astronomical reckoning of time. Thus it comes to pass that an
event which occurred, say, on Friday,
July 16, according to our common reckoning, is stated by these latter
writers to have occurred on day
5 (Thursday), July 15.*
Let it be quite understood that, under these circumstances, Chronologists
do not differ as to the actual day upon which the event in
question took place. They do but call the same day by different
names, just as we, making use of ordinary Civil time might say that
the Sun rises in the morning of July 13 at 4 o'clock, while our
astronomers would give the time as July, 12d. 16h. The same
Sunrise, the same day, the same hour, is identified, whichever of the
two methods for marking the occurrence be adopted.
17. With reference to the Tables of Muhammadan years, Woolhouse
says : t
" All the Tables which have hitherto been published of
this kind, which extend beyond the year 1900 of the Christian Era,
are erroneous, not excepting the celebrated French work ' L'Art de
Verifier les Dates,' so justly regarded as the greatest authority in
chronological matters. The errors have probably arisen from a
continued excess of 10 in the discrimination of the intercalary years,
and they have been faithfully transcribed by other writers."
This is sweeping condemnation, and it cannot be accepted without
inquiry, although it has received the endorsement of the "Encyclopaedia
Britannica." In that work the whole of Woolhouse's account of the
Muhammadan Calendar is transcribed word for word, together with
his Chronological Table of the years of the Hijra. The source of
this Table, but not the body of the text, is acknowledged by the
encyclopaedists.
In the first place the latter part of the statement is not put by
Woolhouse in the most intelligible form. His intention evidently is
to refer to the ten days which were nominally dropped, as days of the
month of October in A.D. 1582 by the Gregorian Calendar. He
points to the error of maintaining the difference between the Julian
and Gregorian reckoning as a constant of 10 days, instead of as a
variable and increasing quantity. It changes to 11 after February 28
in A.D. 1700 ; to 12 in 1800 ; to 13 in 1900 ; to 14 in 2100, and so
onwards.