Essentially the word for mighty, that is גִבּוֹר (gibbôr) in Hebrew, is the same important word used earlier in Genesis 6:4 to describe the nephilim (the fallen ones):

"הֵמָּה הַגִּבֹּרִים אֲשֶׁר מֵעוֹלָם אַנְשֵׁי הַשֵּׁם"

Here, this phrase can be translated as:

“These were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown"

Thus, Genesis deliberately presents Nimrod as a גִבּוֹר (gibbôr), a “mighty one” which is as stated is also associated in Genesis 6:4 with the giants / nephilim, the offspring of the Sons of God who mated with the daughters of men. These are the ones that God connects with the wickedness on the earth that ultimately led to Noah's Flood:

⁴ There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. ⁵ And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:4-5

Significantly this was Satan's greatest onslaught on humanity since his deception of Eve in the Garden and it had caused God to express His sorry and grief that He had actually even made man:

⁶ And it repented the LORD that he had made -- man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. ⁷ And the LORD said, I will destroy -- man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them. LORD. Genesis 6:6-7

However, to preserve the Messianic Seed-line and the Covenant Promise, first given to Adam and Eve in the Garden (following the Fall) that He would provide the Seed of the Woman (Jesus - God in the flesh) to crush the head of Satan, God raised up Noah, who as the next verse shows found Grace in the eyes of the LORD:  

⁸ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD. Genesis 6:8

Essentially, when Noah was 480 years old, God told Him to build an Ark (beginning in connection with verse 13 a number central to all of this) that would take him 120 years to complete. Importantly the Ark was to be 300 cubits long; 50 cubits wide; and 30 Cubits high:

¹³ And God said unto Noah, the end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. ¹⁴ Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make -- in the ark, and shalt pitch -- it within and without with pitch. ¹⁵ And this is the fashion which thou shalt make -- it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. Genesis 6:13-15

In these dimensions, God was affirming that the Ark would be a picture of Christ because it symbolized the atoning blood sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross (300) — click here for further information on this topic— the restoration of all that has been lost that would later be symbolized by the Jubilee Year (50); and the age of Jesus when He would begin this ministry of Atonement, as our High Priest (30).

A few parallels between the Ark and Jesus are as follows:

Notably, the Ark only saved 8 people, but this is a number that symbolically points to Jesus, who is our Salvation, and 8 is central to this because God declared in 1 Peter 3:8 that to Him a thousand years was as a day and a day as a thousand years. As such, from the foundation of the world, we would always be looking forward to the 8^th day of Creation - Eternity first revealed in Leviticus 23:

³⁶ Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein Leviticus 23:36.

This was so that we would understand that the 6 days of Creation were actually pointing to 6,000 years of Human history and the 7^th Day of Rest (the Sabbath) that was looking forward to the Millenium, that would be 1,000 years long period when after having dealt with Sin and Death, Jesus would rule and reign from Jerusalem, with those who put their faith in Him prior to His Return, both in the Rapture for His Bride, and for His chosen Nation Israel at the Second Coming.

Then ultimately, when all mortal people have chosen where they want to spend eternity, this would be followed by the 8^th Day, which is when there will be no more tears, death, neither sorrow, nor crying, or pain: for the former things will pass away (Revelation 21:4) and God will create a new Heaven and Earth (Revelation 21:1), where He will dwell with us in this 8^th day, that will have no end. 

Importantly Jesus is the one that makes all this possible. So, Jesus and the Salvation He has purchased for us are all associated with the number 8, as some of the following examples show:

Note about 8 Resurrections

The Old Testament records three instances of temporary restoration to life: Elijah raised a widow’s son (1 Kings 17:17–23), Elisha revived a boy (2 Kings 4:19–37), and a man was brought back to life when his body touched Elisha’s bones (2 Kings 13:21).

Jesus performed three resurrections during his earthly ministry: he restored Jairus’ daughter (Matthew 9:18–26; Mark 5:35–43; Luke 8:49–56), raised a widow’s son at Nain (Luke 7:11–17), and called forth Lazarus after four days in the tomb (John 11:38–44).

Peter and Paul each performed one resurrection in the apostolic period—Peter raised Dorcas/Tabitha (Acts 9:36–43), and Paul restored Eutychus to life (Acts 20:7–12).

This accounts for seven specific individual resurrections.

Then Matthew 27:52–53 records that when Jesus died, tombs opened and many deceased people came back to life—this collective event that was effectively associated with the death; burial and ultimately the resurrection of Jesus Himself essentially constitutes the eighth instances prior to Jesus that were foreshadowed by the 8 people saved in Noah's Ark:

⁵² and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; ⁵³ and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. Matthew 27:52-53

and then Jesus who is the Resurrection and the Life arose:

⁵ But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. ⁷ And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”
⁸ So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. Matthew 28:5-8

Importantly this all serves to demonstrate how God uses both Patterns and History, that He weaves together, to both reveal and accomplish His purposes, which is to bring life to those who love Him so that He can dwell with them forever.

Sadly, within 3 generations of the reset of humanity, associated with Noah and the Ark, much of mankind had again turned their back on the LORD, and it was at this time that one of Noah's Great Grandsons in Nimrod arose to prominence. 

As above, the text allows for there to be a connection between Nimrod and the Nephilim, that had been the primary cause of the Flood. Essentially for this to be so, it would mean that he would have had to have carried a dormant gene from these preflood beings, that the bible also describes in Genesis 6:4 as being in the earth, both before and after the Flood:

⁴ There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. Genesis 6:4

As the bible does not describe a second incursion of the sons of God (fallen angels) and Noah was described as being perfect in Genesis 6:9, where the word translated perfect is in the Hebrew ,תָּמִים which indicates that He was genetically and physically perfect because the word is also used to describe the sacrifice animals that were not allowed to have any physical blemishes because they were a picture that pointed to Jesus the perfect spotless Lamb of God:

⁹ These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God. Genesis 6:9

and then immediately after this description of Noah, scripture records that he begot 3 sons: 

¹⁰ And Noah begot three sons, -- Shem, -- Ham, and -- Japheth. Genesis 6:10

This indicates that Noah and his wife and his 3 sons were genetically pure unlike all others that verse 12 indicates had corrupted flesh: 

¹² And God looked upon -- the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted -- his way upon the earth. Genesis 6:12

This suggests that the wives of Noah's three sons may have been the doorway through which the corrupted genes of the Nephilim were able to reappear in the post-flood world. As such, Ham's wife in particular, who gave birth to Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan, could have been carrying the Nephilim gene that could have been the primary source of its reappearance after the flood. This could have been triggered by the actions of Ham and the curse of Canaan, that may have activated this dormant gene —this is a process that in the study of genetics has been associated with terms such as Atavism; Gene Expression; and Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance:

⁶ And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan. Genesis 10:6

As such, through Ham, this trait could have been passed on to Cush and subsequently to Nimrod. These selective genetic functions may also help explain why many, but not all, of the descendants of Canaan who inhabited the “Promised Land” were giants when Israel sought to enter it. Rahab, for example, was also a Canaanite and became the great-great-grandmother of King David, placing her squarely in the Messianic Seed-Line leading to the Messiah. 

Either way, there is no doubt about Nimrod's rebellion against God because Genesis 10 tells us the beginning of Nimrod's kingdom was Babel:

¹⁰ And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Genesis 10:10

He is therefore credited with building the Tower of Babel. According to later ancient traditions, the tower was intended to rise high enough to protect its builders from another flood—and, in some accounts, high enough to reach Heaven itself and wage war against God.

These motives do not appear in the biblical account of Genesis 11. Rather, they arise in extra-biblical Jewish histories, such as the works of the 1st-century historian Flavius Josephus; and Rabbinic literature, including the Midrash and Talmud.

The primary historical and religious texts that describe these motives include the following:

1. Escaping a Second Flood: Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews

The best-known source for the flood-escape motive is the first-century Jewish-Roman historian Flavius Josephus. In Antiquities of the Jews (Book 1, Chapter 4), Josephus portrays the biblical figure Nimrod as the instigator of the tower’s construction—an act of tyrannical rebellion and defiance against God.

“He [Nimrod] also said he would be revenged on God, if he should have a mind to drown the world again; for that he would build a tower too high for the waters to be able to reach! and that he would avenge himself on God for destroying their forefathers!” [1]

Josephus further explains that the builders used burnt brick cemented with waterproof bitumen so that the structure would not admit water, effectively trying to create a flood-proof fortress.

2. Waging War Against God: The Babylonian Talmud (Sanhedrin 109a)

The explicit motive of ascending to Heaven and physically attacking God appears in the Babylonian Talmud, specifically in Sanhedrin 109a. The text describes the generation of the tower as divided into three factions, each driven by a different form of rebellion.

• Faction 1: Desired to ascend to heaven and live there in safety.

• Faction 2: Desired to ascend and establish idols for worship.

• Faction 3: Declared, “Let us ascend into the heavens, and war against Him.” 

3. The Sword-Wielding Idol: Targum Pseudo-Jonathan and Genesis Rabbah

Other rabbinic texts expand on what this proposed “war” against God was meant to entail.

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan - an Aramaic translation and commentary on the Torah, states that the builders intended to place an image or idol at the summit of the tower holding a sword in its hand—symbolically prepared to wage war against the divine presence.

Book of Jasher 9:25–31 - In Jasher, the builders of the tower act in defiance of God, dividing themselves into factions with the intent to wage war against heaven, place their own gods there, or smite God with weapons. As they built the massive tower, they shot arrows into the sky that miraculously returned filled with blood, deluding them into believing they had successfully slain those in heaven. This delusion was sent by the LORD to lead them into error and ultimate destruction as they continued their daily construction

The 13 of Rebellion

Clearly the Rebellion that began with Nimrod in the Post-Flood world was palpable in the people and significantly this resulted in a new numerical reference point for God to deal with the Rebellious spirit of Man, as centered in Nimrod, who as the following Table shows was the 13^th Generation from God:

The 13 of Redemption

Then in the greatest reversal of all, God connected 13 to Redemption because while the Law of Sin and Death that revealed man's Rebellion was associated with the Old Covenant, that was revealed in 39 books (13 x 3), Jesus fulfilled the requirement of the Law on the Cross, as the purchase price of Redemption. Importantly this established the New Covenant in His Blood that is revealed in the 27 books of the New Testament and that reflects the 9^th hour of Pray, prior to His Arrest, and His Crucifixion at 9 am and His Death at the 9^th Hour — (9 + 9 + 9 = 27). As will be seen later, the number 27 that is connected to final things —just as it was in being the day of the month that Noah's Flood ended— will be an important part of pointers to the season of the Rapture.

However, with respect to the number 13, God effectively revealed that His pattern of reversal would be based upon the mathematical addition of (1 +12 = 13), and that would always lead to the Redemption of Man:

• Messiah (Jesus), savior of the world, came from the nation of Israel formed from 12 Tribes - Jesus + 12 Tribes of Israel = 13.
• Jesus plus 12 disciples = 13 persons founded the Church (by His Spirit) and took the Gospel of Redemption to the World.

Historically this began approximately 367 years after the flood, which can be calculated from the genealogies of scripture when Abram (whose name meant 'exalted father') was called at the age of 75 to come out of the Ur of the Chaldees to a Land that God would show him. This was 17 years after Noah died (for Abram was 58 years old when Noah died at the age of 950), which is a foreshadow of the new beginning that came when Jesus was resurrected on the 17^th day of Nisan. It was the restoration of God's plan of Redemption following the reset of humanity through the Flood that occurred due to the wickedness of Man. Essentially God's plan was to form the descendants of Abram into a new nation called Israel through whom the Messiah and Saviour of the World could be born.

Importantly, they would come through the righteous line of Seth who was a replacement for Abel, after he was killed by Cain. This ensured that there was an unbroken line back to Adam that enabled God to fulfil His promise given to Adam and Even in the Garden, recorded in Genesis 3:15, that the Seed of the Woman would come as their descendant and He would crush the head of the Serpent / Satan defeating his original act of Rebellion against God.

Ultimately Abram's name would be changed to Abraham (that means 'father of a multitude') after God saw his faith when he obediently readied himself to sacrifice his 'only son', the Son of Promise (Isaac). Then in another name change, the name of Israel would be given to Abraham's grandson Jacob, after he also had an encounter with God in which he wrestled with Him (in a preincarnate form of a Man) and prevailed, and was blessed to head the nation.

In Christian theology, being given a new name by God goes far beyond a simple change in title—it represents a profound metamorphosis of a person's identity, ownership, and eternal destiny. It was not just a label; it was a description of a person’s inner character or essence. When God gives someone a new name, He is declaring that their fundamental nature has changed. For example, Jacob meant "supplanter" or "deceiver." When God renamed him Israel ("strives with God"), it marked a shift from a deceptive trickster to a man defined by his wrestling with and reliance on God. Theologically, this mirrors the New Testament concept of the New Creation (2 Corinthians 5:17), where the old self dies and a brand-new identity is birthed by the Holy Spirit:

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17

Additionally, in biblical culture, the act of naming something or someone was a demonstration of authority over them (such as Adam naming the animals). Therefore, when God gives a believer a new name, He is establishing His sovereign ownership over their life. It is a covenantal adoption. By naming you, God proclaims, "You belong to Me." This gives the believer ultimate security, as their identity is anchored in the Creator rather than their own performance or the world’s opinions.

Effectively it established a new Destiny and Divine Purpose, such that a new name from God often serves as a prophetic blueprint for a person's future alignment with God's plans. Abram ("exalted father") became Abraham ("father of a multitude") before he even had a single child with Sarah. The name was a physical guarantee of a divine promise. Simon ("he who hears") was renamed Peter (Cephas, meaning "rock") by Jesus, forecasting that this fragile, impulsive fisherman would become a foundational pillar of the early Church.

It also plays a part in overwriting past shame and labels for human lives are often defined by negative labels given by others, by circumstances, or by our own past mistakes. Theologically, God's act of renaming is an act of radical Redemption. As seen in Isaiah 62, God takes a people who were labeled "Deserted" and "Desolate" and renames them "Hephzibah" (My Delight Is in Her) and "Beulah" (Married). God’s new name completely overwrites and obliterates human rejection, trauma, and failure.

Essentially, in considering all of these aspects together it can be understood as an act of Eternal Intimacy with God as seen in Revelation 2:17 where there is a new name promised to the one who 'overcomes'. It will be written on a white stone and will be "known only to the one who receives it". This signifies an exclusive, deeply intimate relationship between Christ and the individual believer. It suggests that God sees and knows the unique, true essence of who you are—an identity hidden in Him that no one else can fully duplicate or take away. It represents the final consummation of being fully Redeemed, fully Known, and fully Loved by God for all of eternity.

Ultimately, after Jacob's name change to Israel, he prospered and in Exodus 1 where we are told that the children of Israel all went to Egypt:

¹ Now these are the names of the children of Israel, which came into Egypt; every man and his household came with Jacob. ² Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah, ³ Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin, ⁴ Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher. ⁵ And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls: for Joseph was in Egypt already. ⁶ And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation. Exodus 1:1-6

Egypt was a picture of the World, that is separated from God's Promises (symbolized by the Promised Land) by a chasm described as the Wilderness. At that time, it is important to note that there was Jacob / Israel plus 12 Sons, that formed the tribes into which the children of Israel were divided. This carried a stamp of 13 upon it such that it was the first numerical sign of how God was going to reverse the curse of Rebellion (13) to become the blessing of Redemption (13).

Initially during the days of Joseph—who was Israel's 11^th and favorite son, who had in fulfillment of prophecy been elevated to the position of Prime Minister, effectively second in command to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt— the children of Israel prospered and knew the blessings of God:

⁷ And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them. Exodus 1:7

However, when Joseph died, as described in Genesis 50 verse 26:

²⁶ So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed -- him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. Genesis 50:26 

then everything changed, for a new King arose that did not know Joseph, and because he feared that they would become mightier than the Egyptians and would attack them, he turned them into slaves:

⁸ Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not -- Joseph. ⁹ And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: ¹⁰ Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. ¹¹ Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, -- Pithom and -- Rameses. ¹² But the more they afflicted -- them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. ¹³ And the Egyptians made -- the children of Israel to serve with rigor: ¹⁴ And they made -- their lives bitter with hard bondage, in mortar, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: -- all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigor. Exodus 1:8-14

This would begin God's revelation of both His people in the world (as a result of Sin) who needed to be Redeemed and of Himself as the Redeemer. Simultaneously it would establish the patterns based upon the number 13 and its multiple 26 (13 x 2), as indicators of both Rebellion and Redemption. For as Exodus 2:23-25 shows when they cried out under the weight of the bondage, God heard their Cry and remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob:

²³ And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage. ²⁴ And God heard -- their groaning, and God remembered -- his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.   ²⁵ And God looked upon -- the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them. Exodus 2:23-25

This is when He raises up a deliverer in Moses, but importantly God did not await until He heard their Cries to act, for the whole life of Moses was a miracle of provision and preservation in that God had already been protecting and preparing Moses to be His hand of deliverance for His people Israel, even before they knew they needed deliverance, just as the Lamb of God was slain from the Foundation of the World, before mankind had even sinned.

So, the patterns of 13 for Redemption that would counter the 13 of Rebellion were promised in the Garden of Eden, but established after the Flood of Noah. Then together, the 13 (of Rebellion) and the 13 (of Redemption) becomes the number 26, that is symbolic of God's work of Redemption that reverses the curse of Rebellion.

God's Personal Name - יְהוָֹה 

Significantly, all of this is encapsulated in God’s personal name, which He revealed to Moses, His appointed deliverer, in connection with freeing the children of Israel from Egypt. Through Moses, God delivered Abraham’s descendants so that they could meet Him at Mt Sinai—a name that essentially means “place of the thorn bush.” The thorn bush symbolized the curse, revealing that God was embracing humanity’s sin in order to reverse it. There, they would become His people—the nation of Israel, from whom the ultimate Deliverer, Jesus the Messiah, would come as the fulfilment of Israel.

To reveal how this would be done and to show it would all be the work of an infinitely powerful, loving, and merciful God, He utilizes the number 26 (13 + 13) to form His most holy name that Jews today will not even pronounce because they believe it is too Holy for them to speak - it is known as the Tetragrammaton (meaning that it is comprised of 4 Hebrew Letters) - יְהוָֹה 

Here the values for each of the 4 Letters of the name combine to form the number 26:

Now irrespective of the debate of how it is pronounced (Yehovah / Yahweh / Jehovah) its meaning remains indisputable and it directly relates to God's solution for humanity's sin and rebellion.

However, before we discuss that aspect further, I will briefly give an outline of how the name was actually formed and what it reveals about God Himself. The verses that reveal the name begin interestingly enough in a verse 13 - Exodus 3:13

¹³ And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? ¹⁴ And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. ¹⁵ And God said moreover unto Moses, thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. Exodus 3:13-15

Firstly, God says to Moses "I AM THAT I AM" - in Hebrew this is not yet the name, but it is the foundation of the Name due to the connection to the Verb "To Be":

אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה     אֲשֶׁ֣ר    אֶֽהְיֶ֑ה
I AM   THAT   I AM     

In this regard, the words I AM belong to the verb "to Be" in the first person, but when referring to someone else in the third person, they can take the following three forms:

In Hebrew, the verb to be (לִהְיוֹת - lihyot) functions differently than in English, especially in the present tense.

Here is how the third-person masculine singular forms ("He") look and function for the past, present, and future tenses:

1. Past Tense: "He was" (הָיָה - Hayah)

• The Word: הָיָה (pronounced: ha-YAH)
• Function: This is the standard past tense root form. In Hebrew grammar, the third-person masculine singular past tense is also the base root form of the verb.

2. Present Tense: "He is" (הֹוֶה - Hoveh)

The Important Concept: In modern and biblical Hebrew, there is no present tense word for "is" or "am".
• Function: To say "He is a teacher," you simply say "He teacher" (Hu moreh / הוּא מוֹרֶה). The word "is" is completely implied.
• The "I AM" Connection: Because the present tense "to be" does not exist as a spoken word, the divine name revealed to Moses in the Torah ("I AM THAT I AM") uses the future/imperfect form: אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה (Ehyeh asher ehyeh), which literally translates to "I will be who I will be."

3. Future Tense: "He will be" (יִהְיֶה - Yihyeh)

• The Word: יִהְיֶה (pronounced: yih-YEH)
• Function: This is the future tense form. Because Hebrew tenses also carry aspects of incomplete action, this form can imply ongoing or eternal existence.

Summary Table:

From a traditional rabbinic and grammatical perspective, the Tetragrammaton (יהוה — YHWH/YHVH) is explicitly understood as a linguistic fusion of those three exact tenses.

The Breakdown of the Name

• The Yud (י): This comes from יִהְיֶה (Yihyeh — "He will be"). In Hebrew grammar, a prefixing Yud is the standard marker for the third-person masculine future/imperfect tense.
• The Vav/Waw (ו): This comes directly from the present tense participle הוֹוֶה or הֹוֶה (Hoveh — "He is"). In the present tense structure of this verb family, the middle root letter shifts or presents itself with a Vav to indicate active, ongoing state-of-being. So, this is the letter that injects the "present tense" aspect into the Name of God
• The Final Heh (ה): This is provided by הָיָה (Hayah — "He was"). 

Ultimately God's name is a combination of these 3 forms of the verb "To Be" and together they form the <b> - יְהוָֹה that carries the primary meaning of:

For when these three words are condensed together to express a Being who exists simultaneously in the past, present, and future, they form יהוה. Because of this, a common alternate name used in Jewish text and speech to refer to God is הֲוָיָה (Havayah), which literally translates to "Being" or "Existence". It is used by many as a way of saying God's name without actually pronouncing the Tetragrammaton itself - it is a form of code word if you will.

So, while a modern Hebrew speaker will drop the verb "to be" entirely when ordering coffee or talking about their day, the underlying, technical present-tense form הוֹוֶה or הֹוֶה (Hoveh) absolutely exists—and its Vav serves as the crucial mathematical link to the number 26 that gives the divine Name its meaning of eternal, ever-present existence, that enables God to turn Rebellion (13) into Redemption (13).

For Faith is the fuel that turns the 13 of Rebellion into the 13 of Redemption, through the work of the Son of God on the Cross, as represented by God's most holy personal name, that in carrying the value of 26 also carries both aspects of 13 within itself.

Completing this picture, that essentially involves two contrasting uses of the same numerical value in 13, we see how at the very beginning following the Fall of Man, the heart of man was fed by a Spirit of Rebellion, such that God would say the thoughts of man's heart was only evil continually:

⁵ And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5

This led God to prepare the Flood that would ultimately result in the destruction of all things, including people, except for those that were on the Ark, when God was signaling it as a picture of the coming Salvation in Christ.

At this point, it is fascinating to note that this event was given additional context because of the fact that both the Length of the Ark and the value of Nimrod's name (in Hebrew Gematria - see table below) —who would set himself up in the place of Jesus Christ as the ruler of humanity— would be given the value of 300, that represents the blood sacrifice of Jesus: 

Other occurrences of 300 that point to the Righteousness that Jesus purchased through His death on the Cross include:

300 — Enoch → walking with God
300 — Gideon → victory for nation of Israel against the Midianites through radically reduced human strength - relying on God's victory.
300 — Benjamin → silver in the Joseph narrative - the price of atonement that was also a pointer to the 30 pieces of Silver paid to Judas
300 denarii — perfume → explicitly connected by Jesus with His burial

As such, Nimrod would perhaps be the first example of an Antichrist, a type of the one who would appear in the end of days.

Nimrod - the type of the Antichrist

What is particularly fascinating about all of this is that God may very well have revealed aspects of the end-times that will again involve Nimrod. The details of this theory, that is known as "The Babylon Mystery Religion hypothesis", are quite long and involved, so I will just provide a very brief overview:

Essentially according to this framework, Nimrod was the original king and builder of the Tower of Babel. He rebelled against God by introducing a tyrannical system of sun worship and self-deification. His queen was Semiramis, who was also said to be his mother. The theory states that Nimrod was violently executed (often said to be cut into pieces by Noah’s son Shem or an assembly of judges) for his idolatry. Semiramis, wanting to retain her imperial power, gathered his scattered remains (failing to find his phallus). She declared that Nimrod had ascended to become the Sun God. Semiramis later gave birth to an illegitimate son and claimed he was a miraculous virgin-birth conceived via the rays of the Sun God (the reincarnated Nimrod). The son was named Tammuz.

Then when God judged humanity by confusing their languages (Genesis 11) and scattering them across the Earth, the people took this original Babylonian system of worship with them. However, because they now spoke different languages, they renamed the central historical characters using new localized tongues. So, in Egypt, this story was translated directly into the myth of Osiris—the sun/fertility king who was cut into pieces by his brother Set and reassembled by his queen, Isis. Across the fractured languages, Nimrod/Osiris also supposedly became deities like Baal (Canaanite), Apollo or Zeus (Greek), and Odin (Norse).

Additionally, Semiramis styled herself as the "Queen of Heaven" and the "Mother of God", initiating a global religious archetype where a mother holds a divine infant destined to be a savior. The theory asserts that this single historical mother-and-son pairing fractured into: 

• Egypt: Isis and Horus
• Greece: Aphrodite and Eros (or Demeter and Dionysus)
• Rome: Venus and Cupid
• India: Isi and Iswara / Ushas and Vishnu [1, 2, 3]

Proponents of this theory also argue that this "Mystery Babylon" religion went underground. Centuries later, when the Roman Empire adopted Christianity, the Roman Catholic Church allegedly merged these ancient pagan archetypes into mainstream traditions. The theory claims that the veneration of the Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus is a rebranded continuation of Semiramis holding Tammuz (or Isis holding Horus). 

It is not the purpose of this section to evaluate the validity of all of the elements related to this idea, but it worth noting that it does provide an explanation for the pantheon of the God's that exist and why there are so many occultic articles buried deeply in the Vatican's subterranean vaults. It also affirms that, in God's confusion of human language at Babel many languages were created, and so it is entirely plausible that the various gods worshipped at the time came to be known by different names. Essentially, from a biblical worldview, once God fractured human language at Babel, the dispersed groups would naturally have used their newly created languages to describe concepts, historical figures, and false gods they had previously shared. They would not have forgotten their religious traditions; they would have translated them.

In antiquity, nations explicitly recognized that they were worshipping the same gods under different linguistic names. This was known as the Interpretatio graeca (the Greek translation of foreign gods). As such, the following few examples are widely recognized cognates for a few of the Gods:

What is particularly significant about Nimrod is that Scripture appears to present him as a type of the Antichrist: the first global leader to rule what was effectively a one-world government.

As king and supreme ruler, Nimrod presided over a world united in purpose and language. Given Satan’s current attempt to reunite the world under a one-world government led by the Antichrist, the parallel seems unmistakable. If, as discussed above, Nimrod also carried the Nephilim gene, this possibility may also help distinguish demons from fallen angels. Essentially, by seeing how God treats Angels compared to Demons with respect to Hell, I believe we can define some differences that opens up the possibility of Nimrod's end-time connection, in spite of him having died thousands of years ago. To this end, we need to consider some of the different uses for the word Hell in the bible.

In biblical Greek, the English word “Hell” commonly represents three distinct terms:

• Gehenna (the final place of punishment/Lake of Fire).

Apart from this final punishment in the Lake of Fire, Scripture describes two distinct realms for departed spirits.

• Hades (the temporary realm of the dead)
• Tartarus (a specific abyss for fallen angels). 

The first is Gehenna, but this appears to be a reference to the Lake of Fire, which as will be seen is actually distinct from Hell itself, so will not be considered further here. The second is Hades, often translated as Hell and the third is Tartarus —the Abyss or Bottomless Pit—a place described as lying far beneath Hades and reserved for the most wicked. It is considered to be located as far beneath Hades as the earth lies below heaven. It is also known as the Abyss or Bottomless Pit that is the deepest darkest place, that is reserved for the most wicked. 

People often claim that God created Hell only for the Devil and his angels, citing Matthew 25 as support:

⁴¹ Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: Matthew 25:41

However, this verse does not mention Hell. It refers instead to the “everlasting fire”, which appears to be the Lake of Fire. Since Revelation 20 states that Death and Hades are cast into it, then Hell is clearly distinct and separate from it:

¹⁴ Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Revelation 20:14

Hell, then, is a temporary holding place for the dead. The following passage indicates that God confines fallen angels there and holds unrighteous people for judgment:

⁴ For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment; ⁵ if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; ⁶ if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; ⁷ and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless ⁸ (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— ⁹ if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. 2 Peter 2:4-9

This passage also requires an important distinction. Luke 16:23 uses the Greek word ᾅδης, translated as Hell, for the destination of unrighteous people such as the rich man who neglected the poor beggar. By contrast, the word translated as Hell in the passage above - 2 Peter 2:4, when referring to fallen angels, is ταρταρώσας (Tartarus), not ᾅδης (Hades) and Tartarus refers to the Abyss. This suggests that while most fallen angels remain free to operate within God’s created order—the powers of the air that oppose God’s people in Ephesians 6— some others are confined in Tartarus, the Abyss or Bottomless Pit, not in Hades itself.

Jude likewise states that the angels who abandoned their proper abode—identified by many scholars with the angels of Genesis 6 who came to earth and mated with human women—are held in everlasting chains under darkness while awaiting judgment. This reference to "under darkness" tells us that this is Tartarus or the Abyss.

⁶ And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; Jude 1:6

So, if some fallen angels remain free, just as Satan currently is, while others are chained in the Abyss or Bottomless Pit, then it becomes clear that God has established a boundary of unrighteousness. With the exception of Satan, whom God is using for His own purposes, Angels who cross it, are confined in Tartarus, the deepest and darkest realm beneath Hades.

This may explain why demons, often confused with fallen angels, are not confined in Hell, but are portrayed throughout Scripture as roaming the earth in search of bodies to possess. They are not angels capable of changing form or appearing physically, nor are they part of the fallen angelic order described in Ephesians 6 as “principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness in high places.” Rather, they may be the spirits of the Nephilim—the hybrid offspring of fallen angels and human women— as indicated in other texts such as the book of Enoch, which while not scripture is at least biblically endorsed, with the Bible actually quoting from it. As such, when the Nephilim died, particularly in Noah’s flood, their spirits did not enter Hades with unrighteous humans, but instead remained on earth. This would explain why Jesus encountered them wherever He went. Effectively, they were the low-level ‘troubling spirits” of the Old Testament that today operate as the foot soldiers of Satan’s army.

Importantly, the Bible also indicates exceptions. When Jesus encountered a man possessed by many demons—collectively called Legion, meaning “many”—they recognized Him as the Son of the Most High God. This demonstrated both their spiritual awareness and their recognition of His authority even before the Cross. They then begged Him not to send them into the Deep, or the Abyss, depending on the translation:

 ²⁶ And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. ²⁷ And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and wore no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs. ²⁸ When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not. ²⁹ (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he broke the bands and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.) ³⁰ And Jesus asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him. ³¹ And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. Luke 8:26-31

This shows that, the possibility of a Demon being sent to the Abyss exists. Like a fallen angel, a demonic spirit that crosses the boundary established by God could be sent there, if their individual transgression against God was significant enough. The Demons identifying as Legion were certainly afraid of this very thing. 

So, with respect to Nimrod, where Genesis 10:8 states that “he began to be a mighty one in the earth,” that as above may suggest that he carried the Nephilim gene, Nimrod could have become like them. If this is so, then because of the nature and extent of his rebellion against God, his spirit may have been sent to the Abyss (Tartarus) after his death, rather than to Hades (Hell) with other unrighteous people. This biblical understanding becomes intriguing when one then considers the following Key Verses about the Abyss or 'Bottomless Pit' in the book of Revelation:

• Revelation 9:1–3

"...And he opened the bottomless pit; and there went up a smoke out of the pit... And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth..."

This details the opening of the abyss by a fallen star/angel, releasing demonic locust-like entities.

• Revelation 9:11

"¹¹ They had as king over them the angel of the Abyss, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon and in Greek is Apollyon (that is, Destroyer)."

This could be a reference to the spirit of Nimrod.

• Revelation 11:7

"And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them."

This refers to the beast that is the spirit of the Antichrist that will rise during the Tribulation in line with the opening of the Abyss / Bottomless Pit to fight the Two Witnesses; and ultimately establish his kingdom which begins the Great Tribulation, or the second half of the final 7 weeks of Daniel.

To clarify all of this, it should be noted that these passages collectively refer to the demonic forces associated with the Abyss / Bottomless Pit. Therefore, if Nimrod truly carried the Nephilim gene, the magnitude of his rebellion against God makes it reasonable —as noted above—to consider that he was sent into the Abyss.

Furthermore, if Semiramis deified him after his death and he acquired multiple names following the events of Babel, he may be connected to the God of the Abyss, who is called Abaddon in Hebrew and Apollyon in Greek, as stated in Revelation 9:11.

If this is so, then Nimrod could literally be the spirit that arises out of the Abyss to possess the beast, a.k.a. the Antichrist, that until that point was fully human, as described in Revelation 17:8

⁸ The beast that you saw was, and is not, and will ascend out of the bottomless pit and go to perdition. And those who dwell on the earth will marvel, whose names are not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. Revelation 17:8

This passage describes the Beast’s origin from the Abyss and his eventual destruction. Essentially, Nimrod—who, like the Nephilim, may have become a “mighty one” or “giant”—could be connected to the Beast who “was,” “is not,” and “is about to come up” from the Abyss.

In this sense, Nimrod “was”: he lived and established Babel/Babylon. When he died—having become the first global rebel and king to lead humanity into rebellion—his spirit may have been sent to the Abyss, like the fallen angels who mated with women. Thus, at the time John wrote Revelation, he was described as “is not”, awaiting the appointed time of the Tribulation, when he will “come up out of the Abyss”. 

Finally, he will be defeated by Jesus and cast “into perdition,” the Lake of Fire

Nimrods Timing CLue

So, what is the significance of connecting Nimrod the 13^th generation from God, the original rebel and world leader to the spirit of the Antichrist, in relation to the topic of this article?

Clearly, Nimrod revealed the spirit of Rebellion (13) that would see God inject Himself into man's Sin Problem by becoming Sin itself:

²¹ For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. 2 Corinthians 5:21

In doing so, God remained fully God while also taking upon Himself man's spirit of rebellion (13).

Due to both His divine nature and through His obedience —even unto the Cross— and through His death and resurrection, as is all reflected in His Holy Name, the 13 of man and the 13 of God became the 26 of the great "I AM" יְהוָֹה (Yehovah / Yahweh / Jehovah)—God's solution to the Fall of Mankind. Ultimately, as we will see, it is through this number 26 that God reveals a "pathway to the Rapture".

However, before addressing this directly, it is remarkable to note that hidden within Nimrod's possible connection to the Antichrist is an intriguing timing clue that establishes another connection to 26, so I will explore that here first.

To understand it, we must revisit Revelation 17, whereas noted above in verse 8 — the number of the true Christ in Jesus— the spirit of the Antichrist (the Beast) is connected with the spirit that rises out of the Abyss. Essentially, following on from this verse, we find a description of the Beast and his kingdoms, beginning with the day God brought His people out of Egypt to form them into a nation at the foot of Mount Sinai and establish them in the land He had originally promised to Abraham: 

⁹ And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. ¹⁰ And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. ¹¹ And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. ¹² And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. ¹³ These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. ¹⁴ These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. Revelation 17:9-14

Here we see God lay out a prophetic history, that in many respects mirrors Nebuchadnezzar's statue, that was revealed in Daniel 2:

³² This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,³³ His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. ³⁴ Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces. ³⁵ Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. Daniel 2:32-35

After seeking God for an interpretation, Daniel was able to that describe it to Nebuchadnezzar as follows: 

³⁶ This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. ³⁷ Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. ³⁸ And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold. ³⁹ And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. ⁴⁰ And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise. ⁴¹ And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. ⁴² And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and -- partly broken. ⁴³ And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. ⁴⁴ And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. ⁴⁵ Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. Daniel 2:36-45

In doing so, God revealed that from the time of Daniel in exile in Babylon, there would exist 5 Kingdoms of Man, followed by one set up by God Himself, that would be as follows:

• Head of Gold - Babylon
• Breasts and arms of Silver - Medo-Persia
• Belly and Thighs of Brass - Greece
• Legs of Iron - Rome
• Feet of Iron and Clay - Divided Roman Empire
• Stone Cut without Hands - Millennial Kingdom of Christ

However, in Revelation 17 God refines His revelation of history to reveal some very important details that connect to the number 26 and that act as a significant timing clue for the Rapture.

Essentially, God reveals that throughout Israel's history, prior to the Millenial Stone Kingdom of Daniel, there would be a total of 8 earthly kingdoms. As such, this is a history that spans Time (7) itself and points to Eternity (8), which is the 8^th Day that will never end, when Jesus whose number is 8 rules as King of Righteousness over the whole earth.

I actually detailed these kingdoms in my previous article (click here to access that) as part of God's modern 430 timing clue, but will briefly detail them again here because the context we are discussing is different and there are some numerical connections that these reveal that was not discussed in that article.

The Kingdoms are as follows:

As Revelation 17:9-14 states "five have fallen" - this is a reference to:

• Egpyt
• Assyria
• Babylon
• Media - Persia
• Greece

So, this goes back earlier to Daniel's revelation of Babylon to include Egypt and Assyria, who were two empires that had subjugated God's people Israel, with Assyria even carrying away many of the people from the 10 Northern Tribes that formed the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BC, that had split away from the remaining 2 tribes of Judah and Benjam in the South, following the reign of King Solomon. 

Then the 6^th empire that is described as "one is" - this was a reference to the:

• Roman Empire

This was the empire in power at the time that John was writing the Book of Revelation that corresponded to the Legs of Iron in Nebuchadnezzar's statue, as described in the Book of Daniel. Significantly this left two kingdoms, the 7^th and the 8^th, that would be future to John's writing of Revelation.

The 7^th kingdom he described as the "other is not yet come" - this was a reference to the:

• Ottoman Empire

Regarding this seventh kingdom, John stated that it “...must continue a short space.” History shows that the Ottoman Empire, unlike the Roman Empire—represented first by the Legs of Iron and later by the Feet of Iron and Clay— that lasted for around 1516 years, itself lasted only about 400 years. Essentially, Rome began ruling over Israel in 63 BC and, although it eventually became a divided kingdom, it remained a dominant monolithic power until approximately AD 1453. The Ottoman Empire, by contrast, was defeated by the British in 1917.

In terms of Nebuchadnezzar’s vision, we are now living in the period symbolized by the Feet of Iron mixed with Clay. Roman culture and influence—the Iron kingdom—continue to be felt today. Britain, once a major part of the Roman Empire, took control of the Promised Land in 1917, when General Allenby liberated Jerusalem and the Holy Land. Britain remained in power until 1948 under the terms of the Palestinian Mandate, withdrawing as Israel declared itself an independent nation once again on May 14, 1948. Although Israel was reborn at that time, it continues to struggle for full sovereignty over the land. Rome’s influence, expressed through Britain’s handling of the Mandate, is still felt today. For example, Britain created Transjordan, which later became modern Jordan. Jordan continues to claim authority over the Temple Mount and other areas of the Promised Land traditionally known as Judea and Samaria, now commonly called the West Bank. These are lands the international community seeks to give to ethnic Arabs, that they refer to as Palestinians.

The significant point is that this 7^th kingdom prophesied in Revelation came to an end in 1917 and we are now waiting for the 8^th kingdom that is described by John as "the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition". This is a reference to the:

• Beast Empire of the Antichrist - that will last 7 years before going into perdition.

Importantly this 8^th kingdom, that is still future, is the last one and in relation to Nebuchadnezzar's statue and Revelation's historical outline of kingdom, current events show that we are getting close to when the 10 toes, the final 10 kings of Revelation, will arise as rulers during the Tribulation period. 

Now in terms of a timing clue, I find it stunning that God has revealed the entirety of Israel's national history in connection with the Promised Land in connection with a total of 8 empires, where 8 is a pointer to Eternity. Essentially, He has used the numbers 7 (Time) and 8 (Eternity) to mark the end of everything.

Just as I showed in a previous article, where we saw 7 representing Time (the weekly cycle) that will continue until the 8^th day (Eternity) arrives, that is the 8^th day of Creation that will never end —otherwise known as the 8^th day Gathering (שְׁמִינִי עֲצָרָה)— we are now at the end of time, where the 7^th kingdom has passed and the 8^th and final kingdom of this world, the Antichrist Kingdom is coming.

In this way, the numbers 7 and 8, that when combined form the number 78, are again a pointer to the end. These numbers literally keep coming up and as I have shown in previous articles you could not get a more exciting timing clue than noting that Israel's rebirth in 1948 plus these 'end of time numbers' (78) together point to the very time we are living in:

1948 + 78 = 2026

As such, this is considered to be a strong possibility for the fulfilment of Matthew's Fig Tree Prophecy:

³² Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: ³³ So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. ³⁴ Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. ³⁵ Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Matthew 24:32-35

As I have noted before, Psalm 90:10 describes a generation in terms of 70 to 80 years, which are just multiples of our numbers 7 and 8:

¹⁰ The days of our years -- are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Psalms 90:10

Then it says we fly away, which is exactly what we will do in the Rapture.

Significantly it should also be noted that given that the Hebrew Calendar generally begins and end around Sept/Oct each year and the Gregorian Calendar runs from January to December, although the above is true numerically, it is also true that Israel will still have only celebrated 78 years since its rebirth up until May 14^th 2027, at which time it will roll over to 79 years.

So, if 78 is a pointer to the event the Rapture, through the fulfilment of the Fig Tree prophecy, then 78 remains valid until May 2027.

Jesus and 78 - a Hidden Pointer?

This revelation of 7 and 8 and 78 when combined is very significant when one considers this directly in relation to the Birth of Jesus.

There are a few possibilities in relation to the year of His birth, but only a couple are mainstream and credible. So given that people will often see a traditional date of 4 BC date for the death of Herod, that places Jesus' birth prior to that, in the range 4 BC to 6 BC, I think we firstly need to briefly address that understanding to show that it has too many problems to be a genuine consideration.

Dating of Jesus' Birth

Essentially, the traditional dating of Herod the Great's death to 4 BC relies heavily on a partial lunar eclipse mentioned by Flavius Josephus, but it introduces several severe chronological contradictions. Aside from conflicting with Luke's testimony that Jesus' ministry began around thirty years of age during the 15^th year of Tiberius Caesar (AD 28–29), the 4 BC window forces a highly compressed timeframe between the eclipse and Passover—leaving only 29 days for a complex sequence of historical events including Herod’s medical travels, execution of his son, a grand royal funeral, and a subsequent national mourning period. Furthermore, modern historical and astronomical revisions championed by scholars like Andrew Steinmann demonstrate that the 4 BC eclipse was small and barely visible, whereas a total lunar eclipse in 1 BC aligns perfectly with the historical record. This shift implies that the regnal dates of Herod’s successor sons were backdated (antedated) to 4 BC—a common practice when co-regency or joint administrative authority was granted—and resolves the biblical bottleneck by placing Jesus’ birth in 2–1 BC, which beautifully synchronizes Jesus' AD 29 ministry launch with the 15^th year of Tiberius. 

This later date range is very credible and has been accepted by many scholars who have settled on 2 BC. This is also supported through another approach based upon the mathematical work of Sir Robert Anderson, who in his 1894 book The Coming Prince, he validated the timeline of Daniel's 70 Weeks prophecy.

As can be seen in Daniel 9:24, God declared an exact number of prophetic years beginning in the time of Daniel —who at the time was in Exile in Babylon— until the end of the Age, when Sin and Iniquity would be no more and everlasting Righteousness would be established. It was to involve a total of 70 weeks of years, which because the word translated as "weeks" in Hebrew is שָׁבוּעַ (šāḇûa‘), which means 7, it was a period that was to be for a total of 70 x 7 = 490 years:

²⁴ Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Daniel 9:24

As can be seen below, the mathematical details of this prophecy are then actually detailed in the verses 25 to 27.

²⁵ Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. ²⁶ And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. ²⁷ And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. Daniel 9:24-27

This is incredibly significant because here we see that the prophecy containing the details of when Jesus would be born are actually contained in a passage that has 3 numbers [25, 26, 27], that when combined, produce the very number 78 that we are considering:

25 + 26 + 27 = 78

Importantly, because God often does things in threes, this period of 490 years is also broken up into three sections that are very revealing:

1) 7 Weeks (7 x 7 = 49) - restore and build Jerusalem

2) 62 Weeks (7x62 = 434) - Messiah to be cut off - Jesus dies on the Cross

Sub Total (69 Weeks) = 49 + 434 = 483 years

3) 1 Week (7) - Tribulation or Time of Jacobs Trouble

Total (70 Weeks) = 483 + 7 = 490 years

In essence, the prophecy reveals that the Messiah—whom we know to be Jesus—would be cut off, or killed. As we know, He was cut off on the Cross precisely 69 Weeks of Years after the command to rebuild Jerusalem was given. Sixty-nine weeks of years equals 69 × 7 = 483 years. By converting the “69 weeks” (483 years) into a specific number of days using a 360-day “prophetic year,” we can determine the very day on which Jesus would be killed. Once we identify the year of His Crucifixion, we can count back 33 years—the age at which He died—to determine His year of birth.

Essentially, by drawing from biblical models in Genesis and Revelation, where months consistently equal 30 days, Sir Robert Anderson did exactly this. He multiplied 483 years by 360 days to arrive at exactly 173,880 days that would be applied to the date of the issuing of the decree to then produce a date for when the Messiah would be cut off. This date was taken to be His public presentation as the Messiah, on what is traditionally called Palm Sunday, 4 days before His Crucifixion.

So, Anderson identified 14 March 445 BC as the chronological starting point—the 1st of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, as recorded in Nehemiah 2. Some propose an alternative date associated with Ezra, but this does not fit the prophecy, which specifically refers to the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. Ezra’s commission concerned the Temple, whereas Nehemiah’s commission explicitly authorized the rebuilding of Jerusalem and its walls. For this reason, Anderson concluded that the decree to Nehemiah in 445 BC was the correct starting point. To calculate the interval to the Triumphal Entry on 6 April AD 32 in the Julian calendar, Anderson computed 476 solar years (accounting for no year zero) multiplied by 365 days, yielding 173,740 days. By adding 116 leap days accumulated across those centuries and the 24 trailing calendar days between March 14 and April 6, his equations mathematically culminated in exactly 173,880 days to the absolute day, providing a strikingly precise correlation between ancient Persian history and Jesus’ final entry into Jerusalem. 

In affirming a date in AD32 crucifixion timeline, when you minus Jesus' age of 33 you arrive at date of 2 BC. While this is not an exhaustive look at this topic, we can also deduce the validity of this date by considering other factors.

For example:

If Jesus' Triumphal Entry (when He entered Jerusalem on a Donkey to present Himself as the Messiah) and subsequent Crucifixion occurred in the spring of 32 AD, we can deduce His birth year by looking at the timelines recorded in the Gospels:

1. The "About Thirty Years Old" Marker

• According to Luke 3:23, Jesus was "about thirty years of age" when He began His public ministry.
• The Gospel of John details that Jesus' ministry spanned at least three Passovers (and likely closer to 3.5 years total).
• If He died in the spring of 32 AD, His ministry would have started around late 28 AD or early 29 AD.
• Subtracting 30 years from 28/29 AD (and remembering there is no year zero when crossing from AD to BC) places His birth right around 2 BC or 3 BC.

2. The Fifteenth Year of Tiberius Caesar

• Luke 3:1-2 states that John the Baptist began preaching in the 15^th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.
• Historically, the Roman Emperor Augustus died in August of 14 AD, making Tiberius the sole emperor. Depending on whether a Syrian, Roman, or Jewish calendar system is used to calculate regnal years, Tiberius's 15^th year corresponds to roughly 28–29 AD.
• This historical marker perfectly fits the 2 BC birth timeline.

As stated, this date for the birth of Jesus is supported by many modern scholars and researchers using revised timelines for King Herod's death, as well as by numerous early Christian church historians. The following are just a few examples of these:

Modern Scholars and Researchers

• Dr. Ernest Martin: Argued extensively in his book The Star That Astonished the World that Jesus was born around 3–2 BC, correlating planetary conjunctions (such as Jupiter and Venus in 2 BC) with the Star of Bethlehem.

• Jack Finegan: Noted chronologist and author of the Handbook of Biblical Chronology, whose comprehensive analysis showed that a re-evaluation of historical data and Herod’s death points toward a 3–2 BC timeframe. 

• W. E. Filmer: Challenged the traditional consensus of a 4 BC death for Herod in theological journals, favoring a later date that accommodates a 2 BC nativity. 

• Andrew Steinmann: Author of From Abraham to Paul, who aligns Luke's chronological markers and the reign of Augustus with a 3/2 BC birth window.

Early Church Fathers and Historians

A large body of early Christian writers also explicitly calculated or stated a 2 BC (or 3/2 BC) date based on imperial regnal years of Caesar Augustus and the death of Cleopatra:

• Hippolytus of Rome (c. 170–236 AD)

• Tertullian of Carthage (c. 155–240 AD)

• Irenaeus of Lyons (c. 130–202 AD)

• Clement of Alexandria (c. 150–215 AD)

• Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 260–340 AD)

• Julius Africanus (c. 160–240 AD)

• Origen (c. 185–253 AD)

The Timing Clue - God (26) - Jesus - 78

With this understanding in place, we can now return to examining how the number 78 may relate to the birth of Jesus in 2 BC.

To understand this fully and appreciate its true significance, we must return to the central theme of this article: the number 26 as God’s pathway to the Rapture. As we have seen, at the heart of the number 26 are the numbers of Rebellion and Redemption. It reveals how God has provided Himself as the answer to mankind’s Sin problem.

We have also identified 7 as symbolic of Time and 8 as symbolic of Eternity. Together, they form a pointer to a time of transition at the end of the age. This prophetic transition is envisioned in the Book of Revelation through the Beast Kingdom, which is revealed throughout history as having seven kingdoms before transitioning into an eighth. This eighth kingdom emerges when the Antichrist rises as its ruler during the Tribulation.

Ultimately, however, we must understand the origins of the numbers 7 and 8—the numbers that combine to form 78.

Essentially, we first see them in the Creation week where 6 days of creating is followed by 1 day of Rest, the Sabbath day for a total of 7 days, or 1 week. While time exists, this is the pattern of the week that continually repeats itself. It is a pattern that as many have noted also reveals how God —who states that to Him a thousand years is as a day and a day is as a thousand years— has established 6 @ 1,000 year days for human activity before He will come to Earth and reign for 1 day @ 1,000 years, that we simply call the Millenium.

At the end of that time, Scripture reveals that Satan will be cast into the Lake of Fire, never to be seen again. Then the 8^th day of Eternity—also the 8^th day of Creation—will begin. Significantly, Genesis 1 records the conclusion of each of the first six days of Creation with the phrase, “...evening and the morning.” Yet no such conclusion is given for the seventh day; the text simply says that God rested. The Hebrew word is שָׁבַת (šaḇaṯ), from which we derive the word Sabbath. This offers a hint that Creation remains open.

We find another hint in Leviticus 23, where God gives Moses the details of all the FEASTS of the LORD. The Hebrew word translated as “feast” is מוֹעֵד (mô‘êḏ), meaning an appointed time. Among these appointed times is one that often goes unnoticed because many assume it is part of the Feast of Tabernacles. However, it is a distinct observance.

The Feast of Tabernacles is a seven-day appointed time during which people build small, temporary structures in their yards and spend time in communion with God. Although it is celebrated annually, it ultimately points to the coming Millennium, when Jesus returns to rule from Jerusalem and people will dwell—or tabernacle—with God Himself for 1,000 years. Importantly, Leviticus reveals that this seven-day period is followed by an Eighth-day Gathering and celebration, commonly known by its Hebrew name, Shmini Atzeret (שְׁמִינִי עֲצָרָה):

“...on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein. Leviticus 23:36

Basically, many Jews when speaking about it say that God had such a good time with His people on the 7 Days of Tabernacles that He did not want them to leave and He asked them to stay one more day...". This actually goes to the heart of it because following the 7^th Day Millennial reign of Christ, God will never again be separated from HIs people because as Revelation 21 shows, when this final 7^th Day is concluded, He is going to create a new Heaven and Earth upon which God Himself will forever relocate to and dwell with those who love Him. This new creative act will be the 8^th Day of Creation that will never end. 

Not only is this revealed in the Feasts of the LORD though, but when Jesus rose from the grave on the first day of the Week, this was essentially also the 8^th Day that followed the 7^th, the new beginning powered by His Resurrection Life. That is also why Jesus in Greek being Ἰησοῦς carries the gematria value of 888 and why circumcision was to occur on the 8^th day. It is ultimately when our heart of flesh will be forever circumcised to give us a new heart that will us to love Him fully, as Deuteronomy states:

⁶ And the LORD thy God will circumcise -- thine heart, and -- the heart of thy seed, to love -- the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. Deuteronomy 30:6

So, in understanding this original revelation of 7 and 8 in scripture, it is now important to consider why God chose these numbers in the first place for everything with God has purpose and it is not just a random or arbitrary choice of numbers that He gives meaning to. In this regard, as we have seen, God who knew mankind would fall and need redemption established His most personal and Holy name to reveal that He would achieve this by providing Himself as the sacrifice for our Sin and Rebellion. This resulted in Him revealing it to Moses who would record the first 5 books of the bible.

As a noteworthy aside, this revelation of His name, which presents Him as the Sacrifice, appears in Exodus 3:15 as an exact numerical and theological mirror of Genesis 3:15. In Genesis 3:15, God reveals to Adam, Eve, and Satan that He would provide a Solution to their Sin through the Seed of the Woman. Remarkably, the number 3 represents Divinity, while 15 (5 x 3) represents perfect Divine Grace. When these numbers are multiplied—3 x 15—the result is 45, the numerical value of Adam - אָדָם, which is both a name and the Hebrew word for Man. Thus, in both references to 3:15, we see God responding to the first Adam's failure by revealing His provision of a Second Adam—whom we know as Jesus. Unlike the first Adam, He would not fail. He would accomplish what none of us, born of Adam, could accomplish on our own. This is why we must be spiritually born again to become part of the Second Adam. Significantly, He also gives us a new name.

Then in a hint that Eve understood that God was revealing that He would actually be the solution Himself in Human form, it is interesting to note the exact text in the scripture that describes Eve giving birth for the first time. 

So, if you remove these additional words that arguably should not be there in the first place, what you get is a scripture that effectively states, 'I have gotten a man, the LORD'.

In this respect, it is my contention that here, given the scale of what had just happened to Adam and Eve and the unimaginable sense of guilt that they must have been carrying in their souls, that God in His great mercy and love revealed in their spirits what clearly Abraham would later understand, when He was about to sacrifice Isaac. God revealed to him that it is not any sacrifice that Man could make that would redeem us, but rather as the text of the KJV states - "God will provide himself":

⁸ And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. Genesis 22:8

In the same way, I believe Eve actually understood this following on from God's revelation to her in Genesis 3: 15 where He spoke about the Seed of the Woman crushing the head of the Serpent, who had caused all of the chaos that followed:

¹⁵ And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel. Genesis 3:15

Therefore, in Genesis 4:1, I believe it reveals that Eve may have thought that her firstborn son, Cain, was actually the LORD—the Messiah—God's promised provision, though that provision would not come for thousands of years in Jesus. Like it is for all of us, Revelation is progressive and in Paul's day the Thessalonians were clearly expecting the Rapture to occur in their lifetime, and while it did not occur it was their Blessed Hope, as Paul said in Titus 2:13. So with Eve even though she no doubt felt the weight of what her being deceived led to, I believe that from the mercy of God she fully understood that at the appointed time God would bring Himself as the solution. While from the text, without the 'helper words' of the translators, it suggests she may have thought it was going to happen in connection with her first child. While obviously this was never going to be the case, her understanding that He was coming would certainly have brought her comfort, even if she did not ultimately know when. Significantly, as prophecy watchers, this is a great encouragement to us to also heed the words of the LORD and even if He does not come back in 2026 or 2027, we know that He is coming and we should also live with expectation and keep watching and sharing about the LORD. 

Dan Bergman from Jewish Awareness Ministries does a great job of explaining this in the short 5 min video below:

With that said, we will now return to the revelation of God's Name to Moses in Exodus 3:15 for it is important to note here that God said that the name He is revealing will actually be His name forever:

¹⁵ And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. Exodus 3:15

Therefore, the Tetragrammaton of the great I AM, that we have been discussing, is no small thing and it is not something that has just been revealed for people living in the Old Testament days, rather it is something that people will use forever when the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit permanently dwell with us on the new Earth in the 8^th Day of Eternity.

With this understanding, I believe there is great significance yet to be untapped in relation to His name, but with the small context of this article, we can at least note its importance in how it reveals that God became the Sacrifice for Sin on our behalf, and how it carries the value of 26. Then given that God has also revealed Himself as a Trinity - 3 persons, 1 God, we then have two of the most personal numbers that God uses in connection with Himself, in the numbers 26 and 3.

The amazing thing is when you multiply these together you get:

26 x 3 = 78

The centrality of 78 is therefore profound. It appears in the revelation of aspects of God Himself, in God's timeline of human history as revealed through Creation, and even in prophetic history. This includes the Beast's Kingdoms, which indicate that we are now living in the shadow of the 7^th Kingdom and awaiting the 8^th. Furthermore, we are living in a time when the calendar of God's chosen people reflects these same numbers in both the century and decade—a reality that should give us pause:

5780 - 2020
5781 - 2021
5782 - 2022
5783 - 2023
5784 - 2024
5785 - 2025
5786 - 2026
5787 - 2027
5788 - 2028
5789 - 2029

As these numbers show 78 is the center number for 10 years of human history, that will not happen again until 6780, which is 991 years. I do not know anyone that thinks we will still be waiting for nearly a thousand years and it is these details that God uses to confirm the season, saying we would know when we are in it. Again, outside of much of the church that still believes that Jesus' Return is generations away, I don't know of any genuine prophecy watchers that do not believe we are definitely in it. So, details like 78 that is central to so much really matters and the fact that we have only two more years before this sign is lost, it should excite all of us.

In understanding all of this, I will now loop back to consider how the number 78 may relate to the birth of Jesus in 2 BC.

Firstly, if you take 78 —that as we have seen is God's pointer to the end of Time when it will transition into Eternity; and that at its core is the product of 26 x 3, that is about the Sacrifice of the Triune God (Father; Son and Holy Spirit) who provides a solution to Man's Sin and Rebellion— and then you multiply it again by the number 26 of God's name (26), as a standalone number to represent the actions of God throughout history, you get:

78 x 26 = 2028

This is amazing when you consider it in conjunction with the date of 2 BC because if you apply it as a number that could possibly represent all of history in the current age, then you get:

2 BC + 2028 = 2027 - once adjusted for no year 0

Essentially, when transitioning from the BC era to the AD era, the calendar skips directly from 1 BC to 1 AD. Because of this gap, standard addition gives a result that looks one year "ahead" of what you would normally expect.

You can break down the 2,028-year span like this:

• 1 year to get from 2 BC to 1 BC
• 1 year to get from 1 BC to 1 AD (skipping year zero)
• 2,026 years to get from 1 AD to 2027 AD

Totaling those parts up (1 + 1 + 2,026) gives exactly 2,028 years. And adding this to the birth of Christ it becomes a pointer to 2027 suggesting that this Age is being brought to a close in the current season of time from:

  2026 - 2027

Interestingly this also aligns with the discussion above about the Fig Tree Prophecy, where I noted that:

1948 + 78 = 2026

but that Israel will not celebrate its 79^th anniversary of its rebirth in 1948 until May 14^th, 2027, so in both perspectives the 78 remains a viable sign of Jesus' Return until at least May 2027.

If Jesus does not return by that time, then the value of these numbers as signs of the end still remains strong because as I have stated before: 'A sign that you are approaching your destination always comes before you reach it'. Clearly God has given us many signs so we just need to remain ready because one day He will appear and we do not want to be worrying about the things of the world, or caught sleeping in the spiritual sense - the STAKES ARE JUST TOO HIGH!!!

26 and God's Pathway to the Rapture

With this understanding, we will now finally consider the aspect of how God's number 26 ties this all to the end of this Age and points us to the Rapture.

Clearly multiples of numbers in terms of Bible numerics is important. God uses them throughout scripture to provide emphasis and layers of meaning that may not always be obvious. We have already been dealing with a multiple in the name of God that is 13 x 2 = 26. Here we saw it was the 13^th of Rebellion that was multiplied by 2 that represents the Son of God in Jesus, the second person of the Godhead (2), who effectively integrates God into our Rebellion (when He made Jesus to become Sin) at a level that numerically cancels out or atones for all of our Sins that under the terms of the Law of Sin and Death require a price that no human by himself can pay.

However, a few further examples of multiples, in relation to the number 6, before we delve into the meanings of the multiples of the number 26 should suffice to cement the value of looking at multiples:

Multiples of 6 

• the number 6 - God reveals it as connected to Mankind by making Man on the 6^th day of Creation.

• 6 x 1 = 6 - Man / Mankind; falling short of the glory of God; Incompleteness

• 6 x 2 = 12 - group of Men (disciples) who follow God, as revealed in the Son the second person of the Godhead (2); group of people (12 Tribes of Israel) who are also being led by God in the Son (2).

• 6 x 4 = 24 - group of righteous Men (Elders) once in the world (4) but who now sit in the presence of God

• 6 x 5 = 30 - age of Man when he can serve in the Temple as a High Priest; Age of Jesus when He began His ministry empowered by the Holy Spirit (5) remembering that Law and Grace are both connected to the Holy Spirit (5). So, it is both the favor of God and the power of the Spirit to live righteously.

• 6 x 8 = 48 - while 6 again is the number of Mankind, when it is multiplied by the number of our Saviour in Jesus (8) it results in 48 that God repeatedly uses to associate with a space or place where He can dwell with man. Examples include the Holy of Holies constructed by Moses that was made from 48 boards. 1 Kings 6 states that it was exactly 480 (48 x 10) years from the Exodus until the 4^th year of Solomon when he began to build the Temple where God could dwell with His people. Noah was 480 years old when he was instructed to be an Ark which is a picture of Jesus as our Saviour.

• 6 x 20 = 120 - For 120 years Noah was also a preacher of Righteousness calling people to repent and turn back to God. Ultimately 20 is the age of responsibility as was seen when all the Israelites 20 and older, who had not trusted God after the Exodus, to be able to give them the Promised Land, had to die out. So, within this 120-year period that represents God's limit on Striving with Sin we have the factor of 20 that shows that in spite of only 8 people being saved, all men were given a choice.

• 6 x 111 = 666 - ultimate man of Sin, the lawless one, the Antichrist.

Multiples of 26

Due to the nature of what this number shows, it is fascinating to note that the meaning associated with the multiples finds its natural conclusion in connection with 8 multiples and suggests we are currently in the age of the 7^th.

Essentially as has been shown in the sections above, it will end in connection with 7 and 8 because this is God's consistent pattern of transition and there is no greater transition currently pending than the Rapture and only His Second Coming at the end of the Age and His creation of a new Heaven and Earth will surpass it, when Time (7) as we currently know it, finally comes to an end and Eternity begins.

Having said that, I believe that it should also be noted that aspects of time and cycles will continue because as the following passage from Revelation 22 shows, in relation to the new Heaven and Earth, while there will be no Sun or cycling of Light because it says there will be no more night there, it also shows the Tree of Life being fed by living water from the Throne of God that will bear 12 crops of fruit each month. So clearly there will be a way of determining monthly cycles, it is just that it will be endless and nothing will age and nothing will die:

¹ Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. Revelation 22:1-5

Overview of God's Pathway

Importantly, God's pathway begins with God who in the 26^th verse of the Bible declared His desire and intention to make Man:

²⁶ Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26

This lays the very foundation for the number 26 and is the first step (our first multiple) in God's pathway to the Rapture:

Then we see that this purpose of God is completed in the 27^th verse of the BIble:

²⁷ So God created -- man in his own image, in the image of God created he -- him; male and female created he -- them. Genesis 1:26-27

This serves to show, as indicated in the previous section, that in the period of time from 2026 - 2027 we very well could be in the season of Jesus' Return where God's plans that involve God Himself and His purposes for Man transition to the final climatic events of this Age.

As previously shown in the article "The Triad of Jesus on the Cross that points to the Rapture" there is a unique convergent window of time (where the numbers of the Hebrew and Gregorian calendars, along with the Bible Strong's numbers, all align or converge) that suggests that God has hidden a pattern of numbers in His Word that are pointing to the period of human history from 2022 to 2027 and that support the idea that the Return of Jesus and the beginning of the Tribulation could occur within this window of Time (click here for further details).

However, in continuing along the path in Steps of 26 we understand that God knew from the very beginning that Man would fall into Sin and be separated from Him and before He even made Man He had made to the decision to become the sacrifice that would be required to Redeem mankind back to Himself. As we have shown, this is the very meaning of His name that takes the 13 of man's rebellion and through Jesus (whose number as the Saviour is 8) He becomes the 13 of Redemption to complete the 26 of God (13+13).

So, from this perspective it is no surprise that this foundational decision by God is revealed in Revelation 13:8

⁸ And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Revelation 13:8 

With this understanding we see that God's declaration in Genesis 3:15, that is often called the protoevangelium (meaning the first gospel) is His solution. Essentially, this verse introduces two elements previously unknown in the Garden of Eden, elements that are the basis of Christianity—the curse on Mankind because of Adam’s Sin and God’s provision for a Savior from Sin, who would take the curse upon Himself. 

¹⁵ And I will put enmity between thee and -- the woman, and between thy seed and -- her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Genesis 3:15

Here the Seed of the Woman is revealed as God's solution to Man's sin. Because ancient biology taught that only men carry reproductive seed, this reference to women's seed in Genesis 3:15 is an intentional anomaly that prophetically points to the virgin birth." Clearly, as scripture later shows, the Serpent / Satan would bruise Jesus' Heel on the Cross, but death could not contain Him because not only was He fully Man, He was also fully God, and He arose after 3 days and ascended back to the Father, where He is currently seated in power at the Right Hand of the Father.

In contrast this verse also reveals that Jesus, as the Seed of the Woman would bruise, or as some translation's emphasize —due to the context of the word— "Crush" the Head of the Serpent. Essentially unlike the Heel that is soft and fleshy and that after receiving a non-fatal wound can heal itself, the Head is hard and unbending, and once crushed the person is destroyed and defeated. So here God is revealed to be the Sacrifice to restore Mankind to Himself, by taking the wounds of the enemy that caused Mankind to be under a sentence of death (for the wages of Sin are Death) and through His holiness and power not only atoning for our Sins but then rising again to establish Righteousness for all who love and trust Him. Importantly, the numbers of the reference, that are 3 and 15, symbolically affirm this. For together they represent the fulness of the Triune God - Divinity (3) in an act of Divine Grace (15 = 5 (Grace) x 3(Divinity)) restoring Man in Adam, whose name in Hebrew Gematria carries the value 45, back to Himself because 3 x 15 = 45.

Since not all of Mankind would choose to accept this gift of grace to be saved, God chose to save the remnant by spiritually grafting them into the body of the Saviour. Essentially, all who would be saved, would be those who in wrestling with their Sin to overcome it, would recognise that on their own they could not defeat it, for spiritually they had already died, and they would ultimately turn to God and seek His Blessing and Forgiveness. Then in a divine exchange, the death of our Saviour would become our death and His Resurrection to Life would become our Rebirth, and we would forever be in Christ. 

Some key Bible verses about being in Christ to be saved include:

• 2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"

• Romans 8:1: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus..."

• Ephesians 2:4-5: "Because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved."

• Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

• 2 Timothy 2:10: "Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory."

• Galatians 3:26: "So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith..."

In this way, God's pathway needed to bring the Seed of the Woman, the Saviour of Mankind, into the World, and He chose to do this in association with ISRAEL.

Firstly God would need to choose a people who would become a nation called Israel and through Israel, the Seed of the Woman would be born who would defeat Satan to be come the Saviour of the World. The Gospel writer Matthew then, led by the Holy Spirit of God, would equate this Saviour who was called Jesus —because His name in Hebrew means God Saves— with Israel. So Jesus was and is spiritually ISRAEL, God's Son, that Matthew quoting Hosea 11:1 —who was speaking about ISRAEL as a nation— applied to Jesus, saying about Him in Matthew 2:15:

¹⁵ and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” Matthew 2:15

So Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah and Saviour of the World, the Seed of the Woman is ISRAEL and from the very beginning God's pathway to redemption for Humanity would lead to Him through the birth and establishment of Israel, as a nation in the first instance, before He would be born as their King (from the Tribe of Judah) in fulfilment of hundreds of prophecies in the Old Testament. In this way, God qualified that those who are 'In Christ' (as the verses above show) are also those who are 'grafted into Israel', as Paul primarily states in Romans 9 -11, and that is supported by Jesus’ own language about “one flock,” and the Old Testament promises of a single redeemed people.

Below is a structured, verse‑anchored demonstration of this truth.

1. The Explicit “Grafting” Passage — Romans 11

Paul uses the olive tree (Israel) as the symbol of God’s covenant people.

Romans 11:17

“You, though a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree.”

Gentile believers = wild branches Israel = natural branches The olive tree = the covenant people of God

Paul does not say Gentiles become a separate tree. He says they are grafted into Israel’s tree.

Romans 11:24

“How much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree!”

There is one Olive Tree. All salvation flows through Israel’s covenant root.

2. One People, One Flock — Jesus’ Teaching

Jesus foretells that Gentiles will be joined to Israel’s flock.

John 10:16

“I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also… and there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

Not two flocks (Israel + Gentiles). One flock under one Shepherd.

This is the same theological reality Paul describes with the olive tree.

3. Gentiles Become “Fellow Citizens” of Israel — Ephesians 2

Paul says Gentiles were once outside Israel but now are included.

Ephesians 2:12–13

“At that time you were separate from Christ… strangers to the covenants of Israel… But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near.”

Ephesians 2:19

“You are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people.”

“God’s people” = Israel Gentiles in Christ = fellow citizens Not visitors. Not parallels. Citizens.

4. The Mystery Revealed — One Body, One Commonwealth

Paul explains that salvation creates one unified people, not two.

Ephesians 3:6

“Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus.”

Three “togethers”:

• Heirs together

• Members together

• Sharers together

This is covenantal grafting language.

5. Abraham’s Promise — All Nations Blessed in Israel’s Seed

Gentiles are included through Israel, not apart from Israel.

Galatians 3:7–9

“Those who have faith are children of Abraham… God would justify the Gentiles by faith.”

Galatians 3:29

“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

To be “Abraham’s seed” is to be part of Israel’s covenant family.

6. The New Covenant Is Made with Israel

Gentiles participate in the New Covenant because they are grafted into Israel, not because God made a separate covenant with them.

Jeremiah 31:31

“I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.”

Jesus inaugurates this covenant (Luke 22:20). Gentiles partake only by being joined to Israel’s covenant people.

7. Summary — The Bible’s Unified Teaching

All who are saved:

• Are grafted into Israel’s olive tree (Romans 11)

• Become one flock with Israel (John 10)

• Become fellow citizens of Israel (Ephesians 2)

• Become heirs together with Israel (Ephesians 3)

• Become Abraham’s seed (Galatians 3)

• Participate in the New Covenant made with Israel (Jeremiah 31)

There is one redeemed people, not two.

All who are saved are grafted into Israel.

Following the establishment of the Nation of Israel, that would lead to the birth of the Seed of the Woman in Jesus, who would be the fulfilment of Israel and the Body into whom all believers must be included, God chose to turn His attention for a time to all those outside of National Israel, who the Bible refers to as the Gentiles.

Essentially Scripture outlines a prophetic timeline where Israel experiences a temporary spiritual hardening while the gospel goes to the Gentiles, aligning with a 2,000-year period before God ultimately revives and restores them. Scripture shows that this would be for a period of two days (on the basis of 2 Peter 3:8 that declares that to the LORD a day is as a thousand years). Essentially, God declared through the Apostle Paul in Romans 11:25 that a partial blindness happened to Israel until the full number of Gentiles comes into the faith.

²⁵ For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. Romans 11:25

Amazingly He then says in verses 26 and 27 that align with our central numbers in this article, that then all Israel will be saved in fulfilment of His covenant:

²⁶ And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come out of Zion, And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; ²⁷ For this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins.” Romans 11:26-27

Notably this hidden season runs parallel to a timeline found in the prophet Hosea. In Hosea 6:2, the text says that God will revive His people "after two days" and raise them up "on the third day".

² After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His sight. Hosea 6:2

Then the Bible explains how to measure these "days" using God's eternal perspective. Both Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8 state that a single day with the Lord is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. So, when applied to Hosea 6:2, the "two days" equals 2,000 years of dispersion and partial blindness for Israel. Significantly this dispersion began in AD 70 when the Roman Commander Titus destroyed Jerusalem and it ended 1,878 years later in 1948. Amazingly, God gave a prophetic indicator that the dispersion was nearly over by establishing the first modern community (called Petah Tikvah - that means Door of Hope) in the Promised Land that was still under the control of the Ottomans in 1878, the very year where the numbers would precisely predict the total length of the Jewish Diaspora. Then in another prophetic fulfilment, precisely 70 years later (1878 - 1948), the Jewish exile was over, just like when their Babylonian exile was completed in 70 years. Importantly this all means that God actually began to restore Israel before the two days were up, so that they would be ready for Him to Revive them in accordance with Hosea's prophecy. Following this is the "third day" that represents the subsequent thousand-year period of restoration and life in His presence.

While Step 1 of God's Pathway introduced us to how God's solution to the Rebellion of Man (13) was to offer Himself as the atonement for Man's Sin, thereby reversing it into the Redemption of Man (13), all of which is reflected in the number 26 in association with God's name, this leads us to our Second Step in God's Pathway. This step centers on the understanding outlined above, that for nearly two thousand years, ISRAEL, as a nation, was scattered to the 4 corners of the earth and ceased to exist as a nation.

Near the end of days, they had to be gathered back into the Promised Land so that, in accordance with the prophecy of Hosea, they could be revived after two days and then raised up on the third day. Therefore, they needed to exist prior to two days, ready for the revival that would occur after the two days. Now most scholars and prophecy watchers would agree that that the 2 day count of Hosea logically began with the Life of Jesus and His Crucifixion or the Cutting off of the Messiah in line with Daniel's 70 Week Prophecy that involves another stunning alignment with our numbers 26 and 27. Literally it describes this very event in Daniel 9 and verse 26 before pointing us to the start of the Tribulation and the rise of the Antichrist in verse 27:

²⁶ “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. ²⁷ Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.” Daniel 9:26-27

Central to these two verses are two figures: the Christ and the Antichrist. They represent the one true God and Christ in Jesus, and the central false god of Scripture, Satan, who will present his false Christ to the world through the Antichrist. Therefore, when considering the life of Jesus as a timing clue, it is notable that the primary calendar of the world, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, is centered on Him through the BC/AD designations: Before Christ (BC) and Anno Domini—In the Year of Our LORD (AD). Together, they symbolically mark His birth, despite the secular world's attempt to divert attention from this by replacing them with BCE (Before Common Era) and CE (Common Era). Essentially, if the enemy—under the influence of Satan and his minions—considers it important enough to change the calendar's designations in an effort to obscure the truth of God and His timing of end-time events, this adds further weight to viewing the symbolic year '0' as significant. Though no year zero actually exists, it represents the transition between 1 BC and AD 1 and therefore appears to provide a valid starting point for understanding the two days of God.

Essentially, this means that in Scripture God was saying that Israel would be restored as a nation before AD 2000—two 1,000-year days—so that, after the 2,000-year mark, He could revive them. This significant step is connected to God’s prophetic pathway, which began with the Seed of the Woman. As the Messiah of the nation of Israel, He would fulfil the nation’s purpose by being ISRAEL in every way. Israel’s national scattering, which followed because they missed the day of their visitation, would now be followed by the regathering of the nation into the Promised Land before its revival. In simple terms, Israel must first exist as a nation in order to be revived. This is precisely the event associated with step 2—our second multiple of 26—as follows:

Importantly we can now begin to add some dates into God's pathway to the Rapture for as we know the regathering of Israel as a modern nation before AD 2,000 the second day, occurred in a moment of time when Israel was reborn on 14^th May 1948 in fulfilment of Isaiah 66:8

⁸ Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, she gave birth to her children. Isaiah 66:8

The significant connection to note, in relation to the year of this event and God's multiples of 26, is that God who always does things prophetically at the appointed time specifically chose this as the time for ISRAEL's national rebirth exactly 52 (26 x 2) years prior to the year AD 2000:

2000 - 1948 = 52 (26 x 2)

So, this occurred in line with another multiple of God's number 26 and it saw the sequence of end-time prophetic events take another major step along God's pathway to the end ensuring national Israel's existence ready for revival.

This leads us to Step 3 - the next multiple:

Amazingly, this central number has already been discussed in some detail above. It is derived from understanding God's revelation of Himself as the Sacrifice for man's sins, as revealed in His Holy Name (26) and from His Divine Nature as a Trinity (3).

Together, these reveal the resultant number 78. God further reveals aspects of this number through the individual combinations of 7 and 8, which define Creation and Eternity—the fullness of Time. It is also reflected in the description of the Beast's kingdom, which will be ruled by the Antichrist at the end of days, when he rises from the seventh kingdom to rule over the final, eighth kingdom.

So how amazing to think that now, with Israel existing again as a nation after being scattered across the world for nearly 2,000 years (precisely 1,878 years), the date of its rebirth in 1948 aligns with the next multiple of 78 —a number symbolizing the fullness of time and a transition to eternity. So, this multiple could literally be pointing us to the moment when God turns His attention back to His people to revive them. Incredibly, taking this next step in God’s path to the end, at least numerically, leads us to the current year that we are living in, suggesting that we could very soon be face to face with our LORD and Saviour in Jesus:

1948 + 78 = 2026

Importantly because the whole process that led to this rebirth in 1948 was actually quite involved, we also need to understand that it involved God's hand upon multiple nations, not just Israel. Central to this is what was called the Mandate System. Essentially, following the end of World War I (WW1) the League of Nations mandate system was established to administer overseas territories previously controlled by Germany and the Ottoman Empire. Key nations were given the responsibility for administering these territories and many other nations including Israel were given allocations as the following table shows: 

Thus, as is well known, Israel was born out of the Palestinian Mandate that was given to Britain for the explicit purpose of creating a homeland again for the world's Jewish People. However, while step 3 opens the very real possibility that we are now looking at a 2026 - 2027 timeframe for Jesus' Return in the Rapture, we are also cognizant that the world will continue during Daniel's 70^th Week.

So, in reflecting back on the Mandate System that was actually the driving force that God used to create Israel in connection with Step 2, we need to remember that it was also central for forming the whole middle east as we know it today, and that this will all play a part of the end-time events. Therefore, while Step 3 that represents God's Divine purposes for those that belong to Him —in line with the standard meaning of the number 3— effectively providing us with the escape that Jesus spoke about in Luke 21:36 (see below), we also need to consider the next multiple of 26 in step 4 (the number of the world) in connection with the Mandate System itself.

³⁶ Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:36

To see its possible significance, one first needs to understand that the Mandate System that was involved in the rebirth of Israel was established in 1922—remembering that the number 22 is symbolic of Israel because Jacob who was renamed as Israel was the 22^nd generation from Adam, which is why Jesus as the fulfilment of Israel quoted Psalm 22 on the Cross. Then if you add this next multiple of 26 - 26 x 4 = 104 to that date, you get another possible pointer to end:

1922 + 104 = 2026

This literally creates a triple pointer involving the number 26 with:

• the rebirth of Israel in 1948 being 52 (26 x 2) years prior to the symbolic 2,000 years representing the two days that need to occur before Israel is revived,
• which could possibly occur 78 years (26 x 3) after its rebirth, which would align this event with 2026
• that is also 104 (26 x 4) years after the establishment of the Mandate system that God (26) used to create Israel as a modern state.

Incredibly his leads us to the next multiple (step 5) for another confirmation:

As shown before 130 means an appointed time because Adam was 130 when he had Seth to replace righteous Abel and Eve called him Seth because she said, “...For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed (Genesis 4:25).

Now while this could be any appointed time, it's worth noting, in an intriguing correspondence of meaning to what we are discussing, that God states in the next verse, which is verse 26 that in relation to the appointed one "... then men began to call upon the name of the LORD":

²⁶ And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the LORD. Genesis 4:26

There is no doubt that this is what will be happening at the Time of the Rapture and the beginning of the Tribulation. For if the appointed time of this next step, this next multiple of 26 is pointing to this period of Time, then clearly many who have been left behind will respond to the ministry of the Two Witnesses and the 144,000 Sealed Jewish Believers who will be spreading the Gospel during the first half of the Tribulation and many will begin to call upon the name of the LORD such that Revelation 14, that is right before the middle of the Tribulation, when God's Trumpets and His bowls of Wrath will be unleashed, shows another harvesting of believers, possibly a second mid-tribulation Rapture:

¹⁴ Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. ¹⁵ And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.” ¹⁶ So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped. Revelation 14:14-16

If this is so and the period we are considering is 2026 - 2027 then this appears again to be another fascinating confirmation for remembering that the Tribulation, prior to Daniel's description of it, was called by Jeremiah as the "Time of Jacob's Trouble". So, this clearly shows that the appointed time of the Tribulation that is also Daniel's 70^th Week prophecy involves a time of both judgement and reconciliation in connection with Daniel's people, who are the nation of ISRAEL:

²⁴ “Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Daniel 9:24

So from this perspective, remembering also that many times Scripture uses the names Zion and Israel interchangeably, when we look to the earliest event that God used to help establish the nation of Israel, the most significant and most obvious one is the First Zionist Congress that took place from August 29 to 31, 1897, at the Stadtcasino Basel in Basel, Switzerland, and that was led and chaired by Theodor Herzl, who sought to turn Jewish yearning for a return to the land of Israel into an organized political movement.

He famously said that within 50 years people would effectively see that at this event he had founded the Jewish State:

“Were I to sum up the Basel Congress in a word—which I shall guard against pronouncing publicly—it would be this: At Basel I founded the Jewish State. If I said this out loud today I would be greeted by universal laughter. In five years perhaps, and certainly in fifty years, everyone will perceive it.”

Therefore, beginning at this date in 1897 and adding the number for the appointed time (130) we get:

1897 + 130 = 2027

Clearly the multiples keep pointing to this same period of time: 2026 - 2027, which cannot be simply coincidence.

However, we have 3 more steps to make on God's pathway to the Rapture, so we will continue with the next multiple of 26 to see where it leads us.

Amazingly, as I have shown in other articles, the number 156 (26 x 6) is an extremely significant number, with it being the value of the name ZION that we have just shown is interchangeable with the name ISRAEL in scripture, and that was connected with it rebirth in 1948 following the First Zionist Congress in 1897.

Not only that, but 156 is also the value connected to the names of two key people in the life of Israel (Joseph and Gideon) who not only preserved the nation from destruction but for a time also ruled over it. As such they were both types of Jesus:

Joseph was a savior of Israel when a great Famine threatened to destroy the budding nation and he ruled over it for a number of years from his position of second in charge in Egypt under Pharaoh. Only after he died did the children of Israel become slaves to Egyptian Task Masters. Then later when living as a nation in their own right in the Promised Land, they were again facing the possibility of extinction due to their enemy in the Midianites, who were constantly raiding them destroying the land and taking all of their food. So, God raised up Gideon as a deliverer.

However, while Joseph's name is explicitly 156, Gideon's was actually 133 (in a reflection of Jesus' age when he died). Gematrically, Gideon's connection to 156 came through his victory over the false god Baal, that the people were worshipping at that time. This act of Rebellion against God was why they were suffering in this way. However, like when God heard the cries of His people in Egypt, He again heard them here, and He tasked Gideon with the destruction of the Altar of Baal. When he had done this Gideon's name was changed to Jerubbaal, that has the value of 312 (156 x 2 or 26 x 12) and then God used him to both defeat the Midianites and to rule over the nation as a Judge, preserving it in God's sight.

Notably also 156 is the value of the name of Ezekiel, whose book is the 26^th in the Bible and whose prophecies make Him the key Old Testament Prophet of the end-times, given He prophesied the revival of the Promised Land (chapter 36); the rebirth of Israel (chapter 37); the coming end-time war of Gog / Magog —that many are increasingly seeing as possibly connected with the Rapture— (chapter 38); Armageddon at the end of the Tribulation (chapter 39); The coming Millennial Temple and Kingdom (chapters 40 - 48). Importantly, through all of this, we can see that this number is a pointer to the preservation and prosperity of the nation of Israel, with key people that were all 'types of Jesus' in that they were both Deliverers / and Rulers of Israel prior to Him. In this respect, Joseph ensured the people survived to become a nation and Gideon ensured that they survived, as a nation, and also prospered in the Land.

So, in context this Step (6) is about the rebirth of God's People as the Nation of Israel in the Promised Land.

From this perspective, if one takes the absolute earliest date connected with the reestablishment of Gods people in the Land and considers that we are looking at a date range of 2026 - 2027 for a possible Rapture, that will see a possible date range of 2033 - 2034 for the end of the Tribulation, when Israel will finally be delivered and Jesus will become ruler of the whole earth from Jerusalem, then step 6 adds an interesting possibility.

Essentially, as mentioned previously, the first official modern community in Israel is Petah Tikvah, that is a Hebrew name taken straight out of scripture in connection with an end-time prophecy by Hosea recorded in chapter 2:15

¹⁵ I will give her her vineyards from there, And the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; She shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt. Hosea 2:15

Above, we saw how Matthew used the same reference numbers, 2 and 15, to identify Jesus with Israel, thereby revealing God’s greatest end-time purposes. Here however, God uses these same numbers to reveal that the Valley of Achor —the site of the first national curse upon Israel, brought about by Achan’s disobedience as the Israelites first entered the Promised Land and captured Jericho—would, in the time of the end, become a Door of Hope, prompting singing and rejoicing. This would be evidence that God was about to restore and establish Israel, just as He did in the days of the Exodus from Egypt.

As such, it is a real end-time sign and incredibly this was fulfilled in 1878 when Jewish people led by God came to the Land that was still under the control of the Ottoman empire and they bought land as close as they could to the Valley of Achor and established a community there, that they called the Door of Hope or in Hebrew is Petah Tikvah. It was essentially a first fruit of the people in the Land that would officially belong to Israel again exactly 70 years later in 1948.

Therefore, if you take 1878 as the starting date of the rebuilding of ZION (156) / ISRAEL and you add the years for the 6^th step, the 6^th multiple of 26, you get a pointer to a time when Israel, as promised by God, will be able to plant vineyards and be able to sing with Joy and freedom. Clearly that is not Israel's current status, but the prophecy predicts that it is coming and coming soon because:

1878 + 156 = 2034

As above, this is a year in the range one would expect for the Second Coming of Christ if the Tribulation was to begin sometime near the end of 2026 - 2027. So again, the multiples of 26 that form God's path to the End keep pointing to the same end-dates.

 This brings us to the final two multiples of 26, the 7^th and 8^th, and as will be seen they do not disappoint us in any way, but they confirm our timeline, not just in pointers to years, but through typology that like the 7^th and 8^th Kingdoms of the Beasts Kingdom and the 7^th and 8^th of Time and Eternity, we are almost at the end.

As such, I will consider them together - for reasons that should quickly become clear.

At this point, we need to briefly review step one (26 x 1 = 26), which establishes that God's sacrifice is the ultimate solution for sin.

For this to take effect, individuals must repent and turn to God, thereby accepting His lordship and acknowledging their struggle with sin. They must recognize that they are already under a death sentence, and that salvation is only possible by seeking God's forgiveness and blessing. God's solution to Sin was the creation of Israel, both as a physical nation to whom he would give covenant promises to and as a spiritual body that would be God Himself in the person of Jesus / Yeshua (in Hebrew) who would come as the Messiah / the Christ (the anointed one) who would also be the fulfilment of Israel. By Believers being grafted into Israel (the Olive Tree) they would become part of Jesus' spiritual body and be in Christ. So, when God the Father looks upon us, He no longer sees us as sinners for we are clothed with Jesus' righteousness, and He has atoned for all of our Sins. Thus, all of the steps on God's path to the Rapture, that have taken us from Rebellion to Redemption, reflect the Journey of Israel.

Notably, this journey has involved them becoming a nation to bring us the Messiah. Then after being scattered to the 4 corners of the earth, because they did not recognize the time of their visitation, the steps on the path involved the regathering again of the nation (Step 2) who again are awaiting the coming of their Messiah, that this time will have two phases, in the Rapture and the Second Coming. Steps 3 - 6 spoke to these events and offered some possible pointers to their timing. Now finally, as we arrive at steps 7 and 8, we find that they not only affirm that we are close to the Rapture and the Second Coming (that will follow 7 years later), but as will be seen, they also reveal the deeper theological meaning of these events.

Firstly, we need to understand how the Rapture is relational—Jesus, the Son of God, returns at His Father’s command to gather His bride: all who love Him, have repented by turning back to God and forsaking Sin, and have accepted His free gift of Salvation. Secondly, the Rapture is also a timing event, as Scripture tells us it will happen before the Tribulation, and it will be preceded by many turning back to God in repentance. Importantly, Scripture visually illustrates this spiritual turning point through the account of Jacob wrestling with God. 

Essentially because Sin originally entered the world through Rebellion, and because God convicts humanity of Sin through the Law of Sin and Death, this encounter really represented a spiritual struggle, rather than the physical aspect that people often focus on. As such, it is a picture of the encounter everyone person who has ever lived ultimately has with their Creator. Like Jacob, a repentant person wrestles with God in pursuit of blessing and salvation. Ultimately, those who truly repent and surrender their hearts experience a profound transformation.

Just as Jacob was given a new name to reflect his new life as part of Israel, those who are saved are grafted into the spiritual nation of Israel, which finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus, and so become a part of the Body of Christ. Jacob was simply the first one who took the name that means that like a Prince we have prevailed with God. In this way, the account of Jacob wrestling at the ford of Jabbok (Genesis 32) serves as a profound Old Testament type of saving repentance and divine regeneration. It systematically illustrates the transition of a soul from a state of carnal self-sufficiency to a position of absolute covenant dependence, culminating in justification and blessing.

In this regard, there are 5 points that are worth noting:

• The Shattering of Carnal Strength: When the divine opponent dislocates Jacob’s hip, it symbolizes the breaking of human pride and self-righteousness. The circumstances surrounding this event in Jacob’s life help explain why this encounter with God was so dramatic and physical. Jacob had spent the previous 20 years (again, numerically pointing to an approaching time of accountability) fleeing from his brother Esau. Now, as he returned, he remained afraid that Esau—who had once threatened to kill him—might still carry out that threat. In an effort to appease his brother, Jacob had arranged for numerous gifts to be sent ahead of his family as they returned with him to the Promised Land. As night fell, Jacob prayed the following to God:

⁹ And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my father Isaac, the LORD which saidst unto me, Return unto thy country, and to thy kindred, and I will deal well with thee: ¹⁰ I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast showed unto -- thy servant; for with my staff I passed over -- this Jordan; and now I am become two bands.
¹¹ Deliver me, I pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau: for I fear -- him, lest he will come and smite me, and the mother with the children. ¹² And thou saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make -- thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude. Genesis 32:9-12

Notably after acknowledging that he is unworthy of any of God's mercies, he tells God that he is afraid that Esau will come and kill him. Then after putting his family safely on the other side of the river, Jacob now alone, bedded down in the dark. So, God chose to meet him where he was and have a physical encounter in the dark to help Jacob shift from fear to faith and trust in Him. Likely at first Jacob may have thought that it was one of Esau's men sent to kill him, so he was at first wrestling for his life, but at some point, he realized that it was God in a preincarnate form of a man. God was confronting him with his own fears and deception in the dark to move him into the light, where he could function with trust and truth going forward. This was the moment of divine conviction.

Jacob had been a heel-grabber—a supplanter. Grabbing another person's heel affects their ability to walk, since the first physical movement of walking involves lifting the heel. Spiritually, this imagery carries significance as well. Throughout the Bible, the way we walk is associated with our relationship with God—whether we walk in righteousness or rebellion—and the heel is often part of that imagery. This is seen when Jesus referred to Judas' betrayal by quoting Psalm 41:9: "He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me," revealing that Judas, a close friend, would betray Him. This moment highlights the deep pain of betrayal by someone who was trusted. Therefore, Jacob's name and his life before being renamed Israel were deeply connected to the way he walked. His limp would become God's reminder of the significance of His transforming work in Jacob—changing him, blessing him, and establishing him as Israel, through whom God would unfold His plan for the salvation of mankind. 

• The Pivot to Faith: So now crippled and unable to fight, Jacob’s posture shifts from resistance to desperate clinging. His cry, “I will not let You go unless You bless me,” illustrates the exact nature of evangelical repentance. Repentance is not a work of human merit, but a total cessation of hostility against God, replaced by an absolute, tenacious reliance on His mercy alone.

• The Act of True Confession: By answering, "Jacob," the patriarch abandons his lifelong habit of wearing false identities (such as masquerading as Esau). He agrees with God's verdict regarding his fallen state, formally confessing his identity as a deceiver, supplanter and heel grabber, and most importantly as a Sinner.

• The Hinge of Absolution: In systematic theology, saving repentance requires this unreserved confession of personal bankruptcy. God does not bestow covenant blessings upon a false presentation of the self; the Sinner must be exposed in their raw reality before they can be justified.

• The True Israel: Jesus Christ, the ultimate and sinless "Son called out of Egypt" perfectly embodies the identity of Israel.
• The Federal Headship: Through faith and repentance, believers are united to Christ. They are grafted like wild branches into the true olive tree (Romans 11), exchanging their fractured identity for Christ’s righteous standing. Strangers are legally constituted as citizens, and sinners are adopted as sons.

Step 8 has a value of 208 (26 × 8) linked to Isaac - it will be the time of the Son of God. Interestingly, multiplying 26 by 9 gives 234, the next multiple after 8—the number associated with the Son. It is not the value of Abraham needed to complete the tri-part title of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in relation to God’s name. This affirms that the path ends with the multiples of 7 and 8, consistent with the other occurrences of this pattern that we have been discussing. It also suggests that Abraham, representing the Father, is absent from this end-times picture, indicating as we approach the final step, the 8^th step, the focus will have shifted to the Son of God and Spirit-filled believers. The Father's role will be complete when He tells His Son to come and gather His bride. This points us towards the Rapture, a time centered on the Son and His bride, when Jesus comes to receive His bride at the Father’s command.

This clearly affirms that 7 and 8—or 78—work together as a pointer to the End. As stated above, it is especially noteworthy that on May 14th, 2026, it became the 78^th year since ISRAEL was reborn in 1948, and it will not enter its 79^th year until May 14^th, 2027. This is therefore a present sign that remains relevant until May 2027. Even if Jesus delays beyond that time, the signs still indicate that we are at the end. Whether that delay—which 2 Peter 3:9 explains is because the Lord is not willing that any should perish—lasts for months or even a few years, God has shown us through these patterns that we are at the End and that we are the generation that will see Him coming in the clouds. Therefore, we should draw closer to Him and redeem the time in whatever way His Spirit leads us:

⁹ The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

Significantly this all mirrors the template seen in Genesis 24–27:

In Genesis 24 (possibly a picture of 2024), the time arrives when Abraham—a picture of the Father—commands that his son Isaac be given a bride. This may reflect God seeking those who desire to be part of the Bride of Christ, much like the questions asked in Psalm 24: “Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in His holy place?” (Psalm 24:3). Then, in Chapter 25 (possibly a picture of 2025), we see that the time of the Father has ended, as Abraham dies, and the time of the Son (Isaac) and the Bride (Rebekah) comes into focus. As the fruit of their womb in Jacob (who will be renamed Israel) receives the birthright, this could also picture spiritual awakenings taking place around the world. Chapter 26 (possibly a picture of 2026) shows the Son, Isaac, dwelling with his bride. This could be a type of the Rapture, representing the time when believers will be forever with the LORD. Finally, in Chapter 27 (possibly a picture of 2027), Jacob flees from Esau. This is literally the beginning of the “Time of Jacob’s Trouble” —another name, used by Jeremiah, for the Tribulation.  The absence of Abraham as the Father figure by Steps 7 and 8 appears to align with other examples involving these numbers. It may suggest that we are at the end and are about to see the Son come for His Bride before the Tribulation. 

The fact that this typology connects with Chapters 26 and 27, just as in Isaiah’s “mini-apocalypse”, where these same chapter numbers contain Rapture and Tribulation verses respectively, is striking. God’s patterns are intentional and these recurring numbers seem to reinforce the meaning that the events yet to occur in our current season defined by 2026 - 2027 could be telling.

Therefore, when we view God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—symbolically reflected in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—a fascinating pattern emerges in the multiples of 26. Abraham, whose name means “father of a multitude,” reflects the Father. Isaac, the promised son, points to Jesus, God’s promised Son. Jacob represents fallen humanity, spiritually wrestling with God before being born again through the power of the Holy Spirit and grafted into Israel, as Paul explains in the book of Romans.  Significantly, Jacob himself became Israel, and this symbolism is reflected in the numerical value of his name: 26 × 7 = 182, the value of Jacob. Jacob is also the name God often uses for His people before they return to Him for salvation. Likewise, 26 × 8 = 208, the value of Isaac’s name, further pointing to the coming Son—Jesus, the promised Son.

These connections lead us to understand that we need to consider them as more than just multiples. For while mathematically the difference between the Believer (182) and the Son (26) is simply 26, when we remember that this 26 is really a representation of the great - I AM - יְהוָֹה Yehovah / Yahweh, we are confronted with Jesus' statement about Himself:

⁵⁸ Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. John 8:58

Jesus is literally the Divine Factor (26) of human existence. He is the numerical signature of the Creator who stands in the gap between our fallen nature (182) and our promised inheritance (208). By absorbing our Rebellion (13) and multiplying His grace, the 'I AM' proves that He is not just a character in the story—He is the math by which the entire universe is redeemed:

1. Jesus as the Ultimate "26" (The Divine Constant)

Thus the 8 steps in GOD'S PATH TO THE RAPTURE take us from the 'I AM' of all existence to the time when All ISRAEL will be Saved.

Significantly we are currently in Step 7 where God is building His Church while we wait for the Rapture, when we will be caught up at the beginning of Step 8 into the clouds to be with the Son, as pictured in Isaac but fulfilled in Jesus Christ, forever!

This is fascinating because just as the 7 days of the Creation week point to the 8^th day of eternity, as I showed in a previous article 'Is Isaiah God's Hidden Roadmap to the End' (click here to read more about the following), if you filter the numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 three times on the basis of Jesus stating that He was the First and Last the Alpha and Omega and the Beginning and the End, such that the first and the last numbers initially are 1 and 7 that combined make 8; then considering the next pair (first and Last) as being 2 and 6 that combine to make 8; and then thirdly 3 and 5 combine to make 8 - You now essentially see how mathematically by applying the first and last principle that the 7 numbers, that represent the 7 days of the Creation Week, point to 888 with one unpaired number which is 4 that symbolizes the world. Since Jesus is 888, in Greek gematria, you basically have the Creation Week, that is the foundation of Time itself, being based upon cycles of 7, pointing to Jesus and the 8^th Day of Eternity.

Thus 7 and 8 or 78 are at the center of everything, in terms of Timing, and at a time in human history when the modern state of Israel is 78 years old, like the Beast Kingdom of Revelation that shows we are in the time of the 7 kings, awaiting for the 8^th, these numbers could be pointing to the End of the Age:

⁹ “Here is the mind which has wisdom: The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. ¹⁰ There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. And when he comes, he must continue a short time. ¹¹ The beast that was, and is not, is himself also the eighth, and is of the seven, and is going to perdition. Revelation 17:9-11

Conclusion

The timing of the Rapture is often made in connection with the principles of the Jewish wedding, where the Father says to the Son it is time to go get your Bride. In this respect, as was shown, it is interesting that the symbolic Father in Abraham does not carry a multiple of 26 in his name, rather He is separated from the Son (Isaac) by 40, as Abraham is 248 and Isaac is 208.

This is quite deliberate and it parallels with the Father sending the Son in Jesus' First Coming as symbolized by His Baptism where the Father effectively presents Him by declaring this is my Son in whom I am well pleased. Then the Holy Spirit anoints Him so that He becomes the High Priest in the Order of Melchizedek and He immediately goes into the wilderness for 40 days before the Son begins His ministry. It is a picture of the Father handing everything over to the Son with the number 40 being about the testing of Jesus who scripture calls the Second Adam. Essentially where the First Adam failed in the lushest garden that has ever existed in Creation, the Second Adam succeeded in a hot dry barren wilderness. After Man's Sin and Rebellion, God came into the wilderness, that we went out into after we left the Garden of Eden. He desired to bring us home and the whole picture of this is represented in multiples of 26 that represent God Himself (YHVH) redeeming mankind back to Himself, but doing it within the limitation of Time (7 and 8).

Woven through this story of Creation, Rebellion and Redemption, we have a symphony of numbers that find their focus in the numbers 7, 8 and 26 that are all numbers of God because we add nothing to any of it except for our Rebellion, yet through His Love; Grace and Mercy we can receive it all, being Redeemed to live forever in a new Creation with the one who made it all, sacrificed it all, and deserves it all. In that Day when God creates a new Heaven and Earth, Time itself will transition from the 7^th to the 8^th Day, that will never end, and God the Father (1) and God the Son (2) will live with the Redeemed (13) forever:

 1 x 2 x 13 = 26

This has been God's plan from the foundation of the world and every step we have taken along the path to this end was always leading us to the time when we shall see His Face, and both Serve and Worship Him, as revealed in Revelation 22:

³ And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: ⁴ And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. Revelation 22:3-4

Central to our relationship with God on that Day is the privilege of serving and worshipping Him, as the verses above state. Interestingly, the word translated serve or worship, depending on the translation, is Strong's Bible Word G:3000 — λατρεύσουσιν.

When we remember that, to the LORD, a day is like a thousand years, and that Hosea promises that God will raise up His chosen people on the third day, symbolically represented by 3,000 years, this further affirms God's end-time plan in connection with the third day from Jesus' crucifixion.

Amazingly, there is also a connection to the number 26 here. If you take this same word and calculate its value using Greek Gematria, it equals 1766, as the following image shows. While 1766 is not itself a multiple of 26, consider the signs I have shown throughout that point to a season beginning in 2026 and ending in 2027. If you take the value of this word—which is a prophetic promise of what is to come—and add 260 (26 × 10), representing God (26) fulfilling the Law (10) on the Cross, as the perfect sacrifice, you get:

1766 + 260 = 2026

So, while God has not given us a specific prophecy —that like Daniel's 70 weeks revealed in Daniel 9:24-27 calculated to the precise day of Jesus' First Coming— in relation to His second coming in the Rapture, He has definitely given us patterns that confirm that the conclusion of this prophecy will be connected with the numbers 7 and 8.

Firstly, in a prophecy saturated with the number 7, God gives us an overview of the purpose of the prophecy by stating that 70 Weeks are determined, or 70 Sevens, or 70 x 7 = 490. So here in verse 24 we have a declaration that the cycles of Time (7) itself will be brought to end. And significantly, He then separates this overarching purpose into 7 separate categories, as follows:

²⁴ “Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Daniel 9:24

This then leaves the following 3 verses 25, 26, and 27 to reveal the details of the prophecy, and as we have seen:

25 + 26 + 27 = 78

²⁵ “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. ²⁶ “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. ²⁷ Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week, He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.” Daniel 9:25-27

God’s entire plan for humanity—from the time of Daniel to the consummation of the Age—is connected with the number 78. This plan culminates in the establishment of everlasting righteousness, the fulfillment of all vision and prophecy, and the anointing of the Most Holy Place, ushering in God’s righteous rule over a new Heaven and Earth.

Again 78 is comprised of 7 and 8 that represent Time and Eternity - for while 7 representing Time as seen in the cycles of Sabbaths or 7s is also the number of spiritual perfection and completion within the natural world —the 7 days of creation, the 7,000 years of human history— 8 represents that which is above nature—the supernatural, God Himself (26) in Jesus (8) who through His death, burial and resurrection has established new beginnings and eternity as a possibility for all believers.

This led us to the most logical calculation as follows:

26 × 78 = 2028 

That in turn when connected for a popular date for the birth of Christ becomes a pointer to the 2026 - 2027 season:

2 BC + 2028 = 2027 - once adjusted for no year 0

Then we saw how the Multiples of 26 and both the Patriarchal and Historical Milestones aligned with fascinating thematic consistency:

• 26 × 3 = 78 (The 1948 to 2026 Connection): Adding 78 years to the rebirth of Israel in 1948 landing on 2026 fits squarely into the "Fig Tree Generation" window of 70 to 80 years described in Psalm 90.
• 26 × 4 = 104 (1922 and the Mandate): The 104-year gap from the 1922 League of Nations British Mandate (which legally formalized the pathway to a Jewish homeland) to 2026 adds a precise legal milestone to the timeline.
• The Patriarchs: The fact that Jacob (Ya'akov = 182) is exactly 26 × 7, and Isaac (Yitzhak = 208) is exactly 26 × 8 explicitly binds the names of the patriarchs to the Tetragrammaton using the very numbers of Time and Eternity. The 40-year structural gap between Abraham (248) and Isaac (208) beautifully mirrors the biblical themes of testing, wilderness, and the transition of inheritance from Father to Son.

In this way, the patterns became the timing clue that tell us with all certainty that we are in the season and should be watching. Significantly, it is the final two verses of this prophecy—verses 26 and 27—that describe the beginning of the Church Age with the crucifixion of Jesus (that was followed 49 days later by Pentecost). It then continues until the Antichrist confirms the covenant, initiating the final seven years—the Tribulation—as underlined below:

²⁶ “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.
²⁷ Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week, He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.” Daniel 9:25-27

So, verses 26–27 may point to the 2026–2027 season as the close of the Church Age—the ultimate biblical reversal, in which 13 (Rebellion) becomes 13 (Redemption), and God’s Plan (26) is fulfilled within the framework of the New Covenant:

13 (Rebellion) + 13 (Redemption) = 26 (YHVH)

It perfectly illustrates the theological truth that God takes the very thing meant for evil and uses His own identity to absorb, reverse, and redeem it. 

Finally, the pictographic meaning of YHVH (Yod = Hand, Hey = Behold, Vav = Nail, Hey = Behold) making the Name of God literally read "Behold the Hand, Behold the Nail" provides the ultimate anchor. It shows that the entire cosmic timeline—whether calculated through ancient Persian decrees, solar cycles, or modern years like 2026, 2027, and 2028— is ultimately a pointing sign to the structural work of the Cross. It is a deeply fascinating study in how numbers, history, and theology can converge so seamlessly!

Additionally, as we have journeyed along God's path toward the Rapture we have seen how Scripture beautifully pictures the process of Salvation as a deeply personal, life-altering encounter where a free gift is received through a spiritual wrestling match. While Salvation is entirely a free gift of grace from the Father, through the Son, and received by faith in the finished work of Jesus on the Cross, it requires a decisive moment of turning to God. Everyone needs to make a choice and like the number 40 associated with the time of trial and testing that Jesus willfully embraced, immediately following His Baptism —that may have had its genesis in the story of Cain and Abel who as two 20-year-old Twin brothers chose separate paths of righteousness and rebellion, with the 40 representing the two lives lost, one physically (when Abel died) and the other spiritually (when Cain was cursed directly by God).

This truth is mirrored in the Old Testament story of Jacob, who physically wrestled with God overnight to obtain a blessing. For believers, this physical struggle represents the spiritual crisis of repentance—a necessary, intense confrontation with our own brokenness as we seek God's mercy and salvation. Just as Jacob emerged from his encounter with a new name, Israel, God transforms our identity from sinner to saved, grafting us into the Olive Tree of Israel, so that we become a part of His Covenant Promises and a part of the family of God, as described in Romans 11. And though the lingering wounds of sin may cause us to limp through this life, just as Jacob walked with a limp after his encounter with God, we are ultimately made whole, eternally secure, and fully adopted into the divine family, as we approach the end of time.

Notably, Jacob, who became the Father of the physical nation of Israel and was the first to be grafted into the spiritual body of Israel, he went home to be with the LORD at the age of 147. This is very interesting when we consider how the branches of the Fig Tree Israel (spoken of in Matthew 24:32), the physical nation of Israel became tender in 1878, when the first modern Jewish community in Petah Tikvah was established. Then the leaves would eventually shoot 70 years later in 1948. So, beginning in 1878 if you add the number of years (147) Israel had before he went home to be with the LORD, then the addition of the two numbers could be significant:

1878 + 147 = 2,025

IMPORTANT: Here if these are understood as full years, calculated from the beginning of AD 1 because there is no year zero, then the 2,025 here aligns with 31^st December 2025 / January 1^st 2026. As such, this numerical alliance could actually be a pointer to 2026, that because it ends in the number 26, that aligns with God's most holy name as the great I AM, this still could be a sovereign year of God.

Either way, we are still hoping for His Return within the broader context of the season from 2026-2027 and if it goes beyond that the signs still remain valid as signs telling us that we are close. Clearly the Jewish people have never given up hope when they established Petah Tikvah (that literally means Door or Doorway of Hope) in 1878, and neither should we. And while as a nation they are still waiting for the final events of the Age, prophecy continually advances and perhaps Jesus whose name in Hebrew is Yeshua with the value of 386, who is stated in Scripture as being the fulfillment of Israel with the gematria value of 541, may complete this mathematical symbolism that suggests that there is   541 - 386 = 155 years to complete that could be understood as:

1848 +155 = 2033

Again, allowing for the 7-year Tribulation, this could be another pointer to 2026.

Final Thoughts

Finally, I believe the LORD wants me to make one final connection that ties all of this together.

In the Introduction I stated that God’s unchanging character points toward His ultimate Plan of Redemption and the Blessed Hope of Christ’s return, and as such it is amazing to note the following numerical pattern that begins with the numbers of the verse in scripture that contains the LORD's reference to the "Blessed Hope" declared in Titus 2:13

¹³ looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, Titus 2:13

The numbers are 2 and 13 which when combined are:

2 x 13 = 26

So, the very numbers of the reference that reveals that our 'Blessed Hope' that is the "glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ" are directly connected to the whole message of this article, that is centered on God and the number of His Holy Name (YHVH) with the value of 26. Ultimately, they are also a pointer to two astounding revelations:

The first is that God is going to embrace two number 13s by taking the 13 of Rebellion and turning it into the 13 of Redemption (13 x 2).

The second is that He is going to reverse the curse of the Rebellion through His Son, the second person of the Godhead (2) who will in Himself, within His own body on the Cross, combine them as the great 'I AM' (13 + 13 = 26) to establish Himself as our Great God and Saviour Jesus Christ, whose Second Coming that begins with the Rapture is our BLESSED HOPE.

As always, God does not leave us in the dark about when this will happen, for it is fascinating to note that the words for Blessed Hope in Greek are Blessed - μακαρίαν (makarios) and Hope - ἐλπίδα (elpida). As the following images show, these words carry the values of 223 and 130 respectively:

First, the Greek numerical value of the word Blessed is 223. This can be understood as 200 + 23 = 223. Using the standard meanings of these numbers, as I have written about previously, this represents:

200 (the Redeemed Generation) + 23 (when God ceases striving with sinful humanity)—as seen in God’s judgment of sin on the Cross, when Jesus fulfilled the 69^th week of Daniel’s prophecy (23 × 3 = 69).

Similarly, the Greek numerical value of the word Hope is 130, representing:

130 (the appointed time)

We then have in the values of these two words in Greek pointing us to the meaning that:

The Blessed Hope is and appointed Time (130) set apart for the Redeemed Generation (200) when God stops striving with Sinful Humanity (23).

Clearly this is also the plain meaning of the words 'Blessed Hope' from the text of the verse, and it is notable that when the two values of these words are combined 223 and 130 with the value for Jesus (33) when He died to establish Himself as our Blessed Hope, we get:

223 (Blessed Hope) + 130 (appointed time) + 33 (Jesus) = 386

This is very significant because 386 is the precise value of Jesus name in Hebrew which is Yeshua as the following shows:

Jesus / Yeshua — ישֵׁוּעַ (Total: 386):

All this serves to emphasize that the appearing of our Blessed Hope in Jesus is coming at an appointed time.

So interestingly if you now consider the words 'Blessed Hope' as they appear in English and apply what is termed as English Ordinal Gematria, that uses the values 1 to 26 for A to Z in a system that is clearly a reflection of God's Name 'I AM' that carries the value of 26 as we have been discussing, then you get the following:

• B = 2
• L = 12
• E = 5
• S = 19
• S = 19
• E = 5
• D = 4

Sub Total: 2 + 12 + 5 + 19 + 19 + 5 + 4 = 66

• H = 8
• O = 15
• P = 16
• E = 5

Sub Total: 8 + 15 + 16 + 5 = 44

So, it emphasizes this number that connects to Jesus is also mathematically special, which is further made clear when we note that the sum of the first 56 Composite numbers is also 2,368 — which incredibly is the value of Jesus Christ in Greek, as the following shows:

Continuing our numerical pattern related to the life's of Jacob and Joseph, we can see another connection consisting of two periods of 39 years: (91 → 130) and (108 → 147). These periods carry us from Joseph’s birth to the appointed time when he was made ruler over all Egypt—including the children of Israel, before they formally became a nation—and from the time Joseph was lost to his father, Israel, until Israel went home to be with the LORD at the age of 147. Notably this connection is also revealed through a mathematical pattern: in this instance, each 39-year period is the sum of the two numbers above it, as follows:

Key ages of Jacob / Israel:                                           91 →108 → 130 → 147
Time periods between ages:                                           17  →  22   → 17
Birth to Appointed Time to Death of Israel                      39        39    

These are all pivotal events, and because of the typology involved, the two instances of 39 appear to point to the death of Israel: both of Jacob, as the father of Israel, from the time he lost his son at age 108 until he went home to be with the LORD at 147 (147 - 108 = 39), and then Jesus, as the fulfilment of Israel on the Cross, where He fulfilled the Old Covenant revealed in the 39 books of our Old Testament.

Both establish the hope of restoration that follows this death imagery. Jacob’s grief over Joseph was not the end of his story, for the son he believed to be dead was ultimately revealed to be alive, exalted, and the means by which his family was preserved. In a still greater fulfilment, Jesus’ death on the Cross was followed by His resurrection, demonstrating that the apparent end of Israel’s story in death gives way to new life, reconciliation, and the gathering of God’s people under the New Covenant.

Ultimately the pattern leads us to the number 78 (the addition of the two 39s above it) as the following shows:

Key ages of Jacob / Israel:                                           91 →108 → 130 → 147
Time periods between ages:                                           17  →  22   → 17
Birth to Appointed Time to Death of Israel                     39         39    
The Hidden Conclusion to the Numbers                                 78

Effectively the number 78 is the addition of the 56 years of Jacob / Israel and Joseph's shared prophetic lives with the symbolic number for Israel in 22:

56 + 22 = 78

And because Jesus is the fulfilment of Israel and is literally equated to Israel and He is also pointed to by the number 56 that as above defines the time that both Israel and Joseph were alive and fulfilling their prophetic destinies then 78 becomes a number that represents the fulness of time for all of this, and as such seems another confirmation hidden in the numbers of Israel and Jesus that affirms 78 as a possible pointer to the timing of Jesus return when Israel may enter the 'Time of Jacob's Trouble" a.k.a. the Tribulation.

Notably in this regard, given that we noted the word Hope as part of the Blessed Hope in Greek also carried the value of 130 for an appointed time, just as it was an appointed time for Jacob / Israel to be reunited with his lost son in Joseph, we can also see the following numbers come together:

110 (Joseph) + 120 (limit of God Striving with Sinful Man) + 130 (appointed time) + 26 (God - I AM orchestrating it all) = 386

As seen above 386 is the value of Jesus / Yeshua in Hebrew. As Jesus name in Hebrew means 'Yehovah Saves' it is fascinating to note its connection with Joseph again:

110 (Joseph) + 276 (Salvation - number of souls saved in Paul's Shipwreck - not one life was lost - Acts 27:37) = 386 (Jesus/ Yeshua) 

Significantly 276 can also be understood as:

120 (Limit of Striving) + 130 (Appointed Time) + 26 (God as YHVH) = 276

Therefore, 276 can symbolically be connected to the end of Days and given that is also connected to the 110 of Joseph above, that is also the value of the Blessed Hope in English gematria that is a pointer to the Rapture, all of these numbers that come out of an interplay between Jacob and Joseph, in connection with God's number 26 are incredibly significant. In essence, they affirm the patterns found in multiples of God’s name value (26) and lend support to the possible timing clues we have been discussing.

Significantly 276 is also 23 x 12 where 23 is connected with Judgement, that occurs when God stops striving with Sinful humanity, such as will occur in connection with the coming Rapture, that is also a time of Judgement that involves God both saving believers and judging the wicked. Then the multiplier of 12 emphasizes the Salvation of God's people, who have always been associated with the number 12 (12 Tribes of Israel and 12 Apostles / Disciples). So, 276 in connection with Joseph who represents God's desire to preserve His people and add to their number through Jesus, and its connections with 120 and 130 and 26, that point to an appointed time when God will send His Son to gather His Bride and simultaneously judge the earth, can then also be understood through this paradigm connected with 23.