This article, now the first in an emergent three-part series, initially stood alone, conceived in two major sections: a foundational exploration “for students” and a more scholarly development building upon it. The subsequent papers (Paper 2: “Indirect Words that follow a Timeline…” and Paper 3: “Unveiling Revelation’s Prophetic Chronometry…”) evolved organically from the principles and patterns uncovered here. Thus, this series represents a journey of discovery rather than a pre-planned, three-volume treatise. While each paper was drafted without full foresight of the next, a coherent thread of inquiry has unfolded, revealing progressively deeper layers of Revelation’s temporal architecture.
This first paper focuses on the direct textual evidence of specific time-related keywords in Revelation—such as “hour” (ὥρα), “day” (ἡμέρα), and “month” (μήν). By meticulously counting these words and observing their placement, a foundational understanding of Revelation’s numerical and calendrical symbolism begins to emerge. The 21 occurrences of “day” (ἡμέρα), in particular, will be shown to form a significant structural unit. This initial investigation into Revelation’s explicit temporal language serves as the crucial starting point for the broader explorations of its more encompassing token-based timelines in the subsequent papers, where units of days, then weeks, and finally months (each scaled by the “day for a year” principle) will be examined. Despite the evolving nature of this research, each part, and the series as a whole, aims to present a logical and compelling case for Revelation’s intricate design.
1 Why Count These Little Words?
Most people notice the big numbers in Revelation—7 seals, 144,000 sealed servants, 1,000-year reign, and so on.
But hidden in plain sight are special time-related words: hour (ὥρα), day (ἡμέρα), month (μήν), year (ἐνιαυτός), and seasons (χρόνος/καιρός).
By counting the number of times that John writes these temporal (time) words, and where each lands in the text, the mystery of Revelation is solved.
Think of Revelation as a prophetic calendar using these seven Greek words
| Clock-word | Greek lemma | Tokens in Revelation | Why that number matters | Quick Bible link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour | ὥρα (+ ἡμιώριον) | 10 (+½) | A perfect decade of “hours.” | Ten horns / ten kings (Rev 17:12). |
| Day | ἡμέρα | 21 | Three full weeks. | Daniel’s 21-day fast (Dan 10:2-3). |
| Month | μήν | 6 | Half a solar year. | “Five months + five months + 42 mths + 42 mths” chiasm. |
| Year | ἐνιαυτός | 1 | Tops the ladder of the four units above it. | “Hour-Day-Month-Year” quartet (Rev 9:15). |
| Span | χρόνος | 4 | One for each quarter of the compass / seasons. | Four corners of the earth (Rev 7:1). |
| Time / Season | καιρός | 7 | Classic “time, times, half-time” hides inside 7. | Rev 12:6, 14; Dan 7:25. |
| Night | νύξ | 8 (7 + 1) | 7 nights lie inside the 21-day grid; the 8th abolishes darkness (Rev 22:5). | “There will be no more night.” |
Step-by-step sums you can check yourself
- Add the first five rungs (Hour → Day → Month → Year → Span)
10 + 21 + 6 + 1 + 4 = 42
Why 42? Antichrist is given forty-two months (Rev 13:5). - Now add the seven “kairoi” (appointed times)
42 + 7 = 49 (seven sevens)
Why 49? That is classic Jubilee mathematics. - What about the eight “night” tokens?
Revelation ends with the promise, “There will be no more night” (22:5).
Is this a hint not to count the nights into the running total (cf. John 21)?
So we leave the grand sum right where the text itself seems happy to rest—a jubilee of 49.
Bottom line: John is not scattering words at random.
He is nailing the whole prophecy onto a visible, calculator-friendly set of numbers—and then inviting the reader to explore the pattern for themselves.
2 The 21-Day Grid (Three Prophetic Weeks)
Imagine laying the 21 “day” tokens into a 3×7 chart, like a classroom calendar that shows three weeks:
| Week / Day | Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 1 (1:10 “Lord’s Day”) | 2 (2:10 “ten days”) | 3 (2:13 “days of Antipas”) | 4 (4:8 “day & night” praise) | 5 (6:17 “great Day of wrath”) | 6 (7:15 serve “day & night”) | 7 (8:12 “third of the day” dark) |
| Week 2 | 8 (9:6 “in those days men seek death”) | 9 (9:15 hour-day-month-year) | 10 (10:7) | 11 (11:3) | 12 (11:6) | 13 (11:9) | 14 (11:11) |
| Week 3 | 15 (12:6) | 16 (12:10) | 17 (14:11) | 18 (16:14) | 19 (18:8) | 20 (20:10) | 21 (21:25) |
- Red-starred box = our focus, Days 10-16.
3 Days 10-16 – The “Thunder Week”
3.1 What are the Seven Thunders?
In Revelation 10, an angel roars, and seven thunders answer. John starts to write, but a voice says, “Seal up what the seven thunders said; do not write it down” (10:4).
Whatever those thunders mean is “top-secret.”
Yet John still marks seven consecutive “day” tokens (Day 10 to Day 16). That hidden week is the sealed message. To crack it, we compare it with another seven-day stretch John already wrote—the Passion Week in his Gospel (John 12-20).
3.2 Matching Table – Revelation vs. Gospel of John
| Grid Day | Revelation text | Gospel of John | What ties them together? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 (Tue ≈ Nisan 10) | 10:7 “In the days of the seventh angel the mystery will be finished.” | Jn 12:12-31 Triumphal Entry. Voice from heaven: people say “It thundered!” – Jesus replies, “Now the ruler of this world will be cast out.” | Same calendar date (Nisan 10). Both have a heavenly voice & thunder. Both announce a big turning point. |
| 11 (Wed ≈ N 11) | 11:3 Two Witnesses start 1,260-day ministry. | Jn 12-13 Jesus teaches publicly in the Temple. | Both stress open witness right before the crisis. |
| 12 (Thu ≈ N 12) | 11:6 “During the days of their prophecy they shut the sky… and strike the earth with plagues.” | Jn 12:37-50 Jesus warns of unbelief; fig-tree curse in Synoptics fits here. | Plague language echoes Moses (Passover), sky-shut echoes Elijah; Jesus alludes to same judgments. |
| 13 (Fri ≈ N 13) | 11:9 Corpses of the witnesses lie in the street 3 ½ days. | Jn 13:27-30 Judas leaves; “It was NIGHT.” | Both fall on “Friday.” Jewish lore links Nisan 13 & Friday-13 with original fall of Adam—betrayal & apparent victory of evil. |
| 14 (Sat, N 14 / Preparation) | 11:11 “After 3 ½ days breath entered them; they stood up.” | Jn 19:31-42 Jesus in tomb, Sabbath rest begins. Synoptics place crucifixion on Nisan 15; John shows Nisan 14 preparation. | The 2⁄3 point of the 21-day chart; mirrors Christ resting in death before bursting out of the grave. |
| 15 (Sun, Nisan 15 – Passover main day) | 12:6 “The woman fled into the wilderness 1,260 days.” | Israel left Egypt N 15 (Ex 12:37-42). | Same date: nation flees Pharaoh; Woman (Church) flees Dragon. |
| 16 (Mon, N 16 – Pharisee First-fruits) | 12:10 “Now the accuser… is thrown down, who accused them DAY and NIGHT.” | Jn 20:1-18 Resurrection morning counted by Pharisees as First-fruits (Lev 23:11). | Satan’s eviction = proof Christ’s first-fruits victory. |
Result: Seven “day” tokens line up perfectly with John’s Passion Week and with Israel’s first Passover––yet John never says so out loud. The sealed thunders are “spoken” by this hidden calendar!
Memory aid: 10 Thunder → 16 Accuser thrown down; numbers 10-16 form the sealed week.
3.3 Why Days 14 & 15 are the Pivot
- Day 14 (Saturday) = 2⁄3 mark of the 21-day grid.
- Witnesses breathe again → foreshadows Christ’s Resurrection.
- Links to Nisan 14, preparation day in John’s Gospel: “It was the Day of Preparation of the Passover” (Jn 19:14).
- Day 15 (Sunday) = Israel’s literal Passover day (N 15).
- Exodus 12 says they left Egypt that night.
- Revelation 12 puts the fleeing Woman into the wilderness on the same symbolic date—the new Exodus!
Synoptic Gospels place Jesus’ death on Nisan 15 (since they measure Passover sunset-to-sunset).
John, counting Roman style, places the cross on Nisan 14 before sunset.
Revelation politely includes both: Day 14 shows resurrection breath (John’s reckoning) while Day 15 marks Passover proper (Synoptic reckoning).
3.4 “Thunder Week” Summary Chart
| Day-token | Revelation scene | Gospel / Exodus echo | Thunder meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Seventh-angel “mystery finished”; 7 thunders sealed | Triumphal Entry, voice “thundered” | Clock starts. |
| 11 | 1,260-day prophecy begins | Jesus teaching openly | Public witness. |
| 12 | Sky shut, plagues | Fig-tree curse; warning parables | Judgment foreseen. |
| 13 | Corpses lie 3½ days | Judas’ betrayal night | Darkness wins—briefly. |
| 14 | Breath returns | Christ in tomb / Synoptic crucifixion day | Victory seed germinates. |
| 15 | Woman flees 1,260 days | Israel leaves Egypt | New Exodus. |
| 16 | Accuser cast out | Resurrection proves first-fruits | Thunder-week ends in triumph. |
4 Road Map of the Remaining Time-Words
(hours → days → months → years → spans → times → night)
Big idea for students: Every scale of clock-word in Revelation is counted—then God “presses” those counts into the story like the gears inside a watch. When you add the counts together you get 42 or even 49 (7 x 7), the exact number of months the beast rules (13:5). Nothing is random. Even the number of temporal words used here amounts to seven, with “years” in the middle.
4.1 Quick reference chart
| Scale | Greek lemma | Total tokens in Revelation | “Where the gears click” | Memory hook |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour | ὥρα | 10 (+½ if you include the “half-hour” silence in 8:1) | Warnings to churches (3:3, 3:10) → ½-hour pause (8:1) → 6th-trumpet quartet (9:15) → quake before Trumpet 7 (11:13) → double harvest (14:7,15) → beast’s flash-rule (17:12) → triple Babylon laments (18:10,17,19) | Ten horns / ten kings (17:12). Half-hour gives a tidy 10 ½ = 3½ × 3. |
| Day | ἡμέρα | 21 | Full walk-through in §3 | 3 weeks = Daniel’s fast |
| Month | μήν | 6 | 5 m → 5 m → (pivot) 1 m → 42 m → 42 m → 12 m (Tree of Life) | 2 + 1 + 2 + ending-12 << pivot at the 6th trumpet |
| Span/duration | καιρός | 7 | 1:3; 11:18; 12:12; 12:14 (×3); 22:10 | “Time, times, half-time” lives here (12:14) |
| Span / duration | χρόνος | 4 | 2:21 patient delay; 6:11 martyr wait; 10:6 angel swears “no more delay”; 20:3 Satan’s “little while” | Four corners of Earth / four seasons |
| Year | ἐνιαυτός | 1 | Stands at the top of the 6th-trumpet quartet (9:15) | Summit of the calendar ladder |
| Night | νύξ | 8 | Paired with praise (4:8), service (7:15), darkness (8:12), accusation (12:10), no-rest (14:11), torment (20:10), then abolished (21:25; 22:5) | 7 inside the 21-day grid + 1 that erases night |
Teacher tip: Ask students to mark these counts in the margin of their Bible. Seeing the “10 hour-ticks” march across the chapters makes the pattern unforgettable.
4.2 How the counts interlock
- Hour (10) + Day (21) + Month (6) + Year (1) + Chronos (4) = 42.
That equals the beast’s reign (42 months, Rev 13:5) and the witnesses’ testimony (1,260 days = 42 × 30, Rev 11:3). God is saying, “My whole prophetic clock fits inside that same 42-month frame.” - Half-hour option:
- If you treat the silence of Rev 8:1 as +½, hour-total = 10.5.
- The first 3½ hours (warnings + half-hour pause) appear before the 6th-trumpet quartet. So 3 ½ is exactly one-third of 10 ½—another wink to the “one-third” theme.
- a) A Bible-style numeric mirror:
Jewish writers loved chiasms—palindromes where you walk into a middle point and then back out in reverse order:5 → 5 → 1 ← 42 ← 42
b) Why the hinge gets “double credit:”
When you trace the path you cross the single “one month” twice—going in and coming out.¹ (See fascinating endnote!¹ )
So the mirror really spans:5 + 5 + (1×2) + 42 + 42 = 96 months (8 prophetic years)
That inner doubling also creates a tidy 1 + 7 + 1 rhythm:
12 months in the “little” section (5 + 5 + 2)
84 months in the big middle (42 + 42)
12 months added at the end (tree of life)
c) The forever add-on:
Rev 22:2 isn’t random—it caps the mirror with a perpetual 12-month harvest, pointing to eternal life in the New Creation. - Seven καιροί create a 3 + 3 + 1 rhythm:
- three at the start (1:3), middle (11:18), warning (12:12)
- three packed into one phrase (“time, times, half-time,” 12:14)
- the 7th near the end (“time is near,” 22:10).
Perfect seven: God’s complete schedule.
- Four χρόνοι trace the story’s compass: patience → martyr cry → “no more delay” → Satan’s short release. Four beats, four corners.
- Night tokens: Seven “day & night” pairings map darkness through history; the 8th removes night forever. It’s the flip side of the Day-grid.
4.3 Visual: the “clock tower” of Revelation
┌─ Year (1) ─┐
↑ ↓
┌─── Seasons (7 Kairoi) ───┐
↑ ↓
Months (6) Spans (4 chronoi)
↑ ↓
└──── Hours — Days (10 & 21) ──┘ ← ground floor
Sum of ground-floor bricks = 42 → matches rooftop banner “42 months”
4.4 Why include “night”?
- Count = 8. Seven inside history, plus one that erases darkness.
- Proportion: 7 nights inside 21 days = exactly one-third. John ties night-tokens to the 1/3 judgments: Trumpet 4 darkens 1/3 of the day (8:12), Day-token 7.
For students: Whenever you see “day & night” in Revelation, ask,
“Is this praising God, accusing saints, or punishing evil?”
Track the chain—its last link is no more night (Rev 22:5).
5 Days 17-21 – The Grand Finale Week
5.1 Cheat-sheet table
| Grid Day | Revelation verse | Plain-English scene | Why this date matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17 (Tue ≈ Nisan 17) | 14:11 – “Smoke of their torment goes up… no rest day & night.” | Angel warns: “Worship the beast and you burn forever.” | Nisan 17 = Ark rests on Ararat (Gen 8:4) and Sadducean First-fruits Sunday (Synoptics). Just before this, Rev 14:4 calls the 144,000 “first-fruits.” John places the warning right after the “good” first-fruits to show two harvests: wheat vs. weeds. |
| 18 (Wed) | 16:14 – Bowl 6. Three frog-like spirits rally the kings to “the great Day of God.” | 666 mirror: Day-token 18 = 6+6+6. Three evil mouths × three spirits = fake trinity (3 + 3 + 3). | Same evil river (Euphrates) as Day 9. Links to “quarter-fractions” and to the 6th judgment in each series (Seal 6, Trumpet 6, Bowl 6). |
| 19 (Thu) | 18:8 – “In one day her plagues will come… Babylon will burn.” | Falls the very next day after the Armageddon mustering. Echo of Egypt’s Passover night and Jericho’s seven-trumpet collapse (Josh 6). | |
| 20 (Fri) | 20:10 – Devil thrown into the lake of fire, “tormented day and night for ever.” | Completes the Day/Night chain that began with heavenly praise (Day 4) and honest service (Day 6). This is the “full measure”—20 of 20 + 1. | |
| 21 (Sat) | 21:25 – New Jerusalem: “Its gates will never be shut by day… no night there.” | Sabbath of sabbaths. Time-counting stops—no Day 22. Eternal light replaces night forever. |
5.2 Zoom in on Day 18 vs. Day 9 — “666 in the mirror”
| Day 9 | Day 18 | |
|---|---|---|
| Calendar slot | Mon of Week 2 | Wed of Week 3 |
| Day-token | 9 | 18 (exactly +9) |
| Judgment series | Trumpet 6 | Bowl 6 |
| River | Great river Euphrates | Same river dries up |
| Text hook | “Prepared for the hour, and the day, and the month, and the year” (9:15) | “Three spirits… gather them for the great Day of God” (16:14) |
| Running tallies at 9:15 | Hour token 3, Day 9, Month 3, Year 1 → 3-9-3-1 | Day token 18 → 6+6+6 |
| Big lesson | 9 days × 24 h = 216 h = 6×6×6 → the forecast of 666 | 666 fully shows its face; God says “All right, battle lines drawn” |
Why 3-9-3-1 matters?
- John has said, “Woe #1 is past; two more to go” (Rev 9:12). A woe is 1 of 3.
- The four time words in 9:15 have stacked counts that read 3 : 9 : 3 : 1.
- 1 is a third of 3.
- 3 is a third of 9.
- The whole verse is screaming “third, third, third!”—exactly what the 6th-trumpet armies do: kill one third of humankind (9:18).
- Add 3+9+3+1 = 16 = 4×4. Four evil angels at one evil river stand opposite four living creatures at God’s throne (Rev 4).
- After the quartet, John writes the army size: 200,000,000. Jewish readers would nod: Enoch says 200 rebel angels came down before Noah’s Flood.
So Day 9 is a neon sign: “The fake trinity (3+3+3) will really be 6+6+6.”
Exactly nine day-tokens later, Day 18 proves it—666 rallies the kings and walks into God’s trap.
6 Why Day 17 Lands Between Two “First-fruits”
In Leviticus the grain “first-fruits” had to be waved on the Sunday after Passover:
- Pharisee calendar (followed by most rabbis and, apparently, John’s Gospel):
- Passover killed on Thursday evening (N 14→15).
- “First-fruits” = Friday? No, Pharisees said “It is the day after the festival Sabbath,” so Sunday N 16.
- Sadducee calendar (followed by priests in the Temple and by the Synoptic Gospels):
- Always wait until the first Sunday after Passover week.
- That year it was N 17.
John’s Revelation politely honors both ideas:
- Day 16 (Rev 12:10) = Pharisee first-fruits: Satan thrown down, victory announced.
- Day 17 (Rev 14:11) = Sadducee first-fruits: angel warns “no rest day & night” right after the 144,000 are called “first-fruits to God” (14:4).
Even Noah fits: Gen 8:4 says the Ark rested on Ararat the 17th of the seventh month. Exodus later moved that same month to first place, making the Ark-rest date Nisan 17—same day!
Student takeaway: John shows three “first-fruits” signs in a row—Day 15 (Israelites march out of Egypt and eventually wonder in the wilderness 40 years, but which is “1260 days” in Revelation), Day 16 (Dragon defeated), Day 17 (final harvest warning). Different calendars, one message.
7 Quick Recap of the 21 “Day” Tokens
- Lord’s Day vision – resurrection anchor.
2-3. Match Churches #2, #3. - Living creatures praise day & night – Creation Day 4.
- Seal 6 preview – ¼ mark.
- 144,000 serve day & night – new humanity.
- Trumpet 4 darkens 1/3 of the day – the grid’s ⅓ point.
- Locust torture “in those days” – anti-Easter.
- 3-9-3-1 quartet – hidden 6×6×6 hours.
10-16. Thunder Week = John’s Passion Week + Exodus week. - No-rest warning – Ark / first-fruits link.
- Bowl 6 rally – 666 unveiled.
- Babylon falls in one day.
- Devil tormented day & night – full measure.
- New Jerusalem, no night – counting stops.
Diagram—“Day ladder” at a glance
Week 1: [1 2 3 4 5 6 7] ⇦ Creation & churches
Week 2: [8 9 10 11 12 13 14] ⇦ Thunder Week sealed
Week 3: [15 16 17 18 19 20 21] ⇦ Exodus replay → Eternal Day
- Day 7 = ⅓ point
- Day 14 = ⅔ point
- Day 21 = finish line
Endnote:
End-note #: Why that lone “one month” matters so much
In the Bible’s 360-day (“prophetic”) year a leap month of 30 days must be added regularly to keep the seasons in sync. Ancient Jewish practice (reflected in Daniel 12) inserts that extra month every six years and, on rare occasions, after only four.
- 1260 days = 3½ prophetic years.
- A seven–year span can therefore come in two legitimate “sizes”:
- 1260 + 1260 days (no leap in the middle)
- 1290 + 1260 days (a single 30-day leap month)
- in exceptional cycles 1290 + 1290 days (double leap).
Revelation’s month-mirror (5 + 5 ⇢ 1 ⇠ 42 + 42) plants that “one month” exactly in the centre, giving it the option to act as the calendar’s leap insert—counted twice because the reader’s eye crosses it going in and out of the chiasm. In other words the structure silently allows both the common 1290 + 1260 pattern and the rarer 1290 + 1290 variant, all inside the same numeric mirror.
Over a 40-year span (six 6-year cycles plus one 4-year adjustment) the system yields 14,610 days—an average of 365.25 days/year, the exact length of a Julian year. That hidden precision explains why the single “one month” in Rev 9:15 carries so much theological and chronological weight.
A built-in “leap-month hint”
The same hinge-verse (Rev 9:15) lists a full time-ladder in one breath: hour → day → month → year.
- In prophetic reckoning a year is 360 days.
- Add one month (30 days) and you reach 390 days—exactly a 360-day year plus the leap month.
- Tacking on the single day and the single hour in the verse lifts the total to 391 days and one hour.¹
9:15 therefore highlights the leap-month idea twice:
- By placing the lone “one month” at the very centre of the mirror (so it is crossed twice).
- By spelling out a 360 + 30 pattern in the verse itself (year + month).
(The full 391 breaks down as 17 × 23—another number-pair that turns up often in Biblical chronology, but that exploration belongs to a future study.)
Appendix A
“Clock-Words” in the Gospel of John
(and how they dovetail with Revelation)
| Time-word | Greek lemma | Tokens in John | Where they cluster | How they match Revelation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | ἡμέρα | 31 | From the 10th-hour call to disciples (Jn 1:39) to Thomas-Sunday (Jn 20:26). | Rev has 21 → 21 + 31 = 52 weeks of the 364-day priestly year. |
| Hour | ὥρα | 26 | Begins with “about the 10th hour” (1:39); ends with “the hour is come” speeches (18-19). | 26 + 10 (±½) in Rev ≈ 36 (±½) hours = 1½ days (tomb motif). |
| Night | νύξ | 6 | Nicodemus (3:2), work-warning (9:4), stumble-warning (11:10), Judas (13:30), burial (19:39), failed fishing (21:3). | 6 + 8 Rev = 14 (two perfect 7s). |
| Sabbath / Week-day | σάββατον | 13 | Healing controversies (ch 5 & 9) + Passion week (19:31; 20:1, 19). | 13 weeks = one 91-day season on the 364-day calendar. |
| Appointed season | καιρός | 3 | “My time is not yet” (7:6, 8); “your time always ready.” | 3 + 7 Rev = 10 kairoi = full circle of feasts. |
| Span / duration | χρόνος | 4 | “Long time” at pool (5:6); “little while” sayings (7:33; 12:35); “so long with you” (14:9). | 4 + 4 Rev = 8 (new-creation octave). |
| Year | ἐνιαυτός | 3 | Repeated “that year” about Caiaphas (11:49, 51; 18:13). | 3 + 1 Rev = 4 (four seasons in a full turn). |
| Month | μήν | 0 | — | All 6 tokens are in Revelation. |
| Festival | ἑορτή / Πάσχα / Σκηνοπηγία / Ἐγκαίνια | 17 | 5 early (+ Hanukkah), 7 at Tabernacles, 5 in Passion week → 5 + 7 + 5 chiastic. | None in Rev, but pattern mirrors 5 + 7 + final-5 month pattern there. |
Key bridge: John’s 31 “days” span exactly the 1260 + 30 = 1290-day Daniel cycle (Tishri 16 AD 26 → Nisan 16 AD 30). Revelation’s 21 “days” flag Daniel’s 21-day fast. Together the two books give students a complete “Bible clock” in miniature.
Full token list (John) – for easy checking
| # | Greek phrase (bold = time-word) | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | παρʼ αὐτῷ ἔμειναν τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην | Jn 1:39 |
| 2 | τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ τρίτῃ | 2:1 |
| 3 | οὐ πολλὰς ἡμέρας | 2:12 |
| ⋯ | (list continues to #31 “μεθ’ ἡμέρας ὀκτώ πάλιν”, Jn 20:26) |
(Provide as downloadable worksheet or in blog appendix.)
Appendix B
Verse-by-verse indices of every temporal lemma
(Critical text: THGNT / SRGNT 2022. Where a verse contains the lemma twice, both tokens are numbered.)
B-1 Book of Revelation
| # | Verse | Greek context (lemma in bold) | Narrative setting |
|---|---|---|---|
| ὥρα – “hour” (10 tokens + optional ½) | |||
| 1 | 3 :3 | … ἔρχομαί σοι ὥραν | Sardis warning |
| 2 | 3 :10 | … τηρήσω σε ἐκ τῆς ὥρας τοῦ πειρασμοῦ | Philadelphia promise |
| 2½ | 8 :1 | σιγὴ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ὡς ἡμιώριον | Half-hour silence (optional ½) |
| 3 | 9 :15 | ἡτοιμασμένοι εἰς τὴν ὥραν … | Quartet to slay ⅓ |
| 4 | 11 :13 | καὶ ἐν τῇ ὥρᾳ ἐκείνῃ σεισμός | Pre-trumpet-7 quake |
| 5 | 14 :7 | ἥκει ἡ ὥρα τῆς κρίσεως | First harvest angel |
| 6 | 14 :15 | ἦλθεν ἡ ὥρα θερίσαι | “Hour to reap” (grain) |
| 7 | 17 :12 | βασιλεῖς λαμβάνουσιν ἐξουσίαν μίαν ὥραν | Ten-king flash-rule |
| 8 | 18 :10 | ἐν μιᾷ ὥρᾳ ἦλθεν ἡ κρίσις | 1st Babylon lament |
| 9 | 18 :17 | ἐν μιᾷ ὥρᾳ ἠρημώθη ὁ πλοῦτος | 2nd lament |
| 10 | 18 :19 | ἐν μιᾷ ὥρᾳ ἐρημώθη | 3rd lament |
| # | Verse | Greek context | Setting |
|---|---|---|---|
| ἡμέρα – “day” (21 tokens) | |||
| 1 | 1 :10 | ἐν τῇ κυριακῇ ἡμέρᾳ | Lord’s-Day prologue |
| 2 | 2 :10 | θλῖψιν ἡμερῶν δέκα | Smyrna test |
| 3 | 2 :13 | ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Ἀντιπᾶ | Pergamum martyrdom |
| 4 | 4 :8 | οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός | Four beasts praise |
| 5 | 6 :17 | ἦλθεν ἡ ἡμέρα ἡ μεγάλη | Seal-six wrath |
| 6 | 7 :15 | λατρεύουσιν … ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός | Redeemed serve |
| 7 | 8 :12 | ὁ τρίτος τῆς ἡμέρας ἐσκοτίσθη | Trumpet-four (⅓) |
| 8 | 9 :6 | ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις | Woe-locusts |
| 9 | 9 :15 | εἰς τὴν ὥραν καὶ ἡμέραν | Quartet release |
| 10 | 10 :7 | ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῆς φωνῆς | Mystery finished |
| 11 | 11 :3 | προφητεύσουσιν … 1 260 ἡμέρας | Two Witnesses |
| 12 | 11 :6 | τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς προφητείας | Drought span |
| 13 | 11 :9 | ἡμέρας τρεῖς καὶ ἥμισυ | Corpses exposed |
| 14 | 11 :11 | μετὰ τὰς τρεῖς ἡμέρας | Resurrection |
| 15 | 12 :6 | ἡμέρας 1 260 | Woman fed |
| 16 | 12 :10 | κατηγορεῖ ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός | Satan’s fall |
| 17 | 14 :11 | οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἡμέρας ἀνάπαυσιν | Beast-worshippers |
| 18 | 16 :14 | τῆς ἡμέρας τῆς μεγάλης | Bowl-six Armageddon |
| 19 | 18 :8 | ἐν μιᾷ ἡμέρᾳ | Babylon plague |
| 20 | 20 :10 | βασανισθήσονται ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτός | Devil tormented |
| 21 | 21 :25 | κλεισθῶσιν ἡμέρας | New-Jerusalem |
(Month, καιρός, χρόνος, ἐνιαυτός, νύξ tables omitted here for brevity; counts and references already listed in § I above.)
B-2 Gospel of John (for comparison)
1. Hour tokens (26)
| # | Verse | Greek snippet |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 :39 | ὥρα ἦν ὡς δεκάτη |
| 2 | 2 :4 | οὔπω ἥκει ἡ ὥρα μου |
| … | … | … |
| 26 | 19 :14 | ὥρα ἦν ὡς ἕκτη |
(Full 26-row table retained in research notes.)
2. Day tokens (31) – verse list abridged
Token 30 = 20 :19; token 31 = 20 :26.
3. Sabbath tokens (13)
| # | Verse | Greek snippet |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 :9 | ἦν δὲ σάββατον |
| … | … | … |
| 13 | 20 :19 | μιᾷ σαββάτων |
4. Festival tokens (17) – all references shown earlier
(Tables for night 6, καιρός 3, χρόνος 4, πάσχα 10, etc., available on request; counts verified in § II.)
The 21 Occurrences of the Greek Word ἡμέρα (“Day”) in Revelation: A Correlation Grid (Main Chart)
| Week / Day # | 1 (Sun) | 2 (Mon) | 3 (Tue) | 4 (Wed) | 5 (Thu) | 6 (Fri) | 7 (Sat) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # Count | #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 | #6 | #7 |
| W 1 | 1:10 “Lord’s Day” Vision opens Ephesus/Ch 1 Creation Day 1 Nisan 1 era | 2:10 “ten days” test Smyrna/Ch 2 Creation Day 2 ½-cycle seed (10+10+1) | 2:13 “days Antipas” Pergamum/Ch 3 Martyr seed Creation Day 3 Dan 3 test | 4:8 “day & night” 4 creatures praise Creation Day 4 Luminary praise Day/Night start | 6:17 “great Day” wrath Seal 6 preview ¼-point (5/21) Creation 5 undone 13-day span start | 7:15 “day & night” 144 000 / multitude serve Creation Day 6 New humanity sealed Day/Night service | 8:12 ⅓ of “day” dark Trumpet 4 ⅓-point (7/21) Luminary blackout (Gen 4 echo) Night link |
| # Count | #8 | #9 | #10 | #11 | #12 | #13 | #14 |
| W 2 | 9:6 Locust “days” anti-Resurrection Anti-Eighth Day New week start | 9:15 “hour-day-mo-yr” Tr. 6 / Euphrates 3:9:3:1 pattern 4×4=16 sum 6x6x6=216 hrs 6th Judgement | 10:7 “days 7th angel” Mystery done 7 Thunders ½-way point (10.5/21) Nisan 10 pivot Hidden week start | 11:3 1 260 “days” Two Witnesses Witness lights (Gen 4) 3.5-yr ministry Ends 10-day cycle 1 | 11:6 “days prophecy” Drought (Elijah type) Creation Day 5 inv Heaven shut | 11:9 3½ “days” corpses Adam fall echo (Day 6+7) Judas/Nisan 13 3.5-day span start | 11:11 After 3½ “days” rise Witness resurrection ⅔rd-point (14/21) Resurrection hinge Easter dawn Sabbath link |
| # Count | #15 | #16 | #17 | #18 | #19 | #20 | #21 |
| W 3 | 12:6 1,260 “days” Woman/wilderness Exodus start/Nisan 15 Second 3.5-yr span Starts final siege | 12:10 “day & night” Accuser cast down Nisan 16 (Phar.) Victory shout Day/Night accuser | 14:11 “no rest day & night” Beast worshippers Nisan 17 (Sad.) Mt Zion/Ararat Day/Night no-rest | 16:14 “great Day” Bowl 6 / Armageddon prep 6+6+6 pivot Mid-week hinge 6th Judgement 13-day span end | 18:8 “in one day” Babylon judged Bowl 7 echo (“Done”) Execution of prep Exodus Plague 10 | 20:10 “day & night” Devil/Beast torment Full measure (20/21) Wrath finished Second Death Day/Night torment | 21:25 “by day” gates open New Jerusalem Eternal Day Sabbath-plus-One No Night |
(New Section Title – to be inserted into the essay draft, likely after the section on “Revelation’s ‘Year’ Tokens: Charting the Ages”)
Revelation’s “Time” Tokens (καιρός): The Sabbatical Ladder
The Greek word καιρός (kairos) in Revelation refers not simply to generic time, but to an “appointed time,” a “season,” or a “strategic moment.” It’s a term often used in prophetic contexts, and in Revelation, it functions symbolically to represent units of years, particularly within the famous phrase “a time, times, and half a time,” which equals 3.5 years. A count of every occurrence of this word in Revelation yields a total of seven.
This count of seven for “time” tokens is significant, aligning perfectly with God’s pattern of sevens (Creation week, 7-day cycle, 7,000-year plan). The distribution of these seven tokens within the book also follows a clear, intentional structure:
The Seven “Time” Tokens: A 1+5+1 Pattern
| Token # | Verse (Rev) | Greek Phrase with καιρός | Narrative Context/Action | Significance in the 7-Token Sequence |
| 1 | 1:3 | ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς ἐγγύς | Prologue: Blessed are those who read… for the time is near. | Beginning Bookend: Sets the tone of urgency and imminence for the entire prophecy. |
| 2 | 11:18 | καὶ ὁ καιρὸς τῶν νεκρῶν | Seventh Trumpet sounds: God’s wrath has come, and the time for judging the dead has come. | Start of Middle Cluster: Links God’s judgment and the resurrection/judgment of the dead to a specific “time.” |
| 3 | 12:12 | ὅτι ὀλίγον καιρὸν ἔχει | Woe to the earth: Devil has come down with wrath because he knows he has only a short time. | Limited Duration: Explicitly links kairos to a restricted period for the forces of evil. Hints at “half a time” or less. |
| 4 | 12:14 | τρέφεται ἐκεῖ καιρὸν | Woman flees into wilderness: Nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. | Midpoint & “Year” Marker: The 4th token (middle of 7). First word in the “time, times, half a time” phrase. Explicitly defined as “a time” (= 1 prophetic year), emphasizing that each kairos in this sequence represents a year. |
| 5 | 12:14 | καὶ καιροὺς | Woman nourished: …for a time, and times, and half a time. | Part of 3.5 Units: Follows Token 4, continuing the definition of the 3.5-year period (2 years). |
| 6 | 12:14 | καὶ ἥμισυ καιροῦ | Woman nourished: …for a time, and times, and half a time. | Part of 3.5 Units: Follows Tokens 4 & 5, completing the definition of the 3.5-year period (0.5 year). |
| 7 | 22:10 | τούτου ὁ καιρὸς γὰρ ἐγγύς | Epilogue: Do not seal the words… for the time is near. | Ending Bookend: Repeats the urgency from the prologue, concluding the prophecy. Links final imminence to the “time” being fulfilled. |
“Time, Times, and half-a-time”: The Seven times that “Time” is Found in the Book of Revelation.
- Perfect Seven: The total of 7 kairos tokens aligns with God’s pattern of completion and reinforces the idea that these units mark out a divinely appointed timeline.
- Bookend Structure: Tokens 1 and 7 frame the entire book with the declaration “The time is near,” highlighting the prophecy’s ongoing relevance and ultimate fulfillment.
- Middle Cluster: Tokens 2 through 6 form a dense block in Revelation chapters 11-12, precisely where the key durations of 3.5 years (1,260 days, 42 months) are introduced and the devil’s limited time is emphasized.
- “Year” as the Intended Unit: The most significant token is the 4th (Rev 12:14). As the exact middle of the 7 tokens (3 before, 3 after) and the first word in the crucial phrase “a time, times, and half a time,” it is the only instance where a single kairos is explicitly identified as representing “a time” within this formulaic duration. This strongly confirms that each of the 7 kairos tokens in this sequence is intended to symbolically represent a year in the prophetic sense.
- The 3.5 + 3.5 Division: Viewing each kairos token as a symbolic year, the sequence of 7 tokens represents 7 prophetic years. The distribution of the middle cluster (Tokens 2-6), particularly including the “time, times, half a time” phrase (Tokens 4-6), underscores the repeated 3.5 + 3.5 division prominent throughout Revelation’s temporal structure (3.5 years of witness, 3.5 years in wilderness, etc.). The 7 kairos tokens provide another numerical ladder for understanding these “sevens” and their halving.
The concentration of these seven “time” tokens, particularly the explicit definition of kairos as “a time, times, and half a time” centered at the 4th token, confirms their role as symbolic “year” markers and reinforces Revelation’s intricate 7-based chronological design. This pattern complements the 21 “days” (3×7) and the 7 “year” (1+6) tokens, showing multiple layers of sevens charting God’s plan.
“1000 Years” in the Book of Revelation
| Verse & Greek term | Event snapshot | Thematic focus | Seq. # | Quick note (keep tight) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rev 9:15 — ἐνιαυτόν | Four Euphrates angels released | Bound → released; hour-day-month-year quartet | 0 / hinge | 1 yr token = “leap-month” hint; links 9:1–12 Abyss to 20:1-3 |
| Rev 20:2 — χίλια ἔτη | Satan bound in Abyss | Restraint | 1 | Start of 6-day work week (2000 yrs) |
| Rev 20:3 — χίλια ἔτη | Nations protected from deception | Sealed pit | 2 | Ends with “short χρόνος” (≤ ½) |
| Rev 20:4 — χίλια ἔτη | Martyrs reign with Christ | Royal rest | 3 | Middle of the millennial span (cf. two-witness 3½ days) |
| Rev 20:5 — χίλια ἔτη | “The rest” remain dead | Suspense | 4 | Parenthetical—negative resurrection |
| Rev 20:6 — χίλια ἔτη | Blessed priests reign | 1st resurrection | 5 | ‘Day-6’ saints enjoy ‘Day-7’ rest (Rev 14:13) |
| Rev 20:7 — χίλια ἔτη | Satan loosed; final deception | Release / Gog | 6 | No “Sabbath” for rebels (cf. Rev 14:11 “no rest”) |
Why the count is “1 + 6”
Normal creation logic is 6 days work + 1 day rest.
Here John inverts it:
single ἐνιαυτός + six χίλια ἔτη
hinge year ↘︎ “work-week” of millennia
—————————–