Dear friends:

In years past, people have speculated that the “seven good years” before the seven bad years (paralleling Joseph’s time in Egypt) began with the Oslo Agreement in 1993.  That would have made the seven good years 1993-2000 and the seven bad years 2000-2007.

The year 1993 and Oslo were certainly significant and probably prophetic, and the first seven years worked out in that 1993-2000 were certainly good years.  However, the next part has not worked out.  So far, the years 2000-2005 have been generally prosperous and peaceful, even seeing the evil Taliban and Saddam regimes toppled, plus the demise of master terrorist Yassir Arafat.

If there is to be a modern-day parallel with Joseph, there is reason to believe that the seven good years really have been 1998-2005, and the seven bad years will be 2005-2012.

Why 1998 as the beginning of a possible 14-year countdown?  Several reasons…

First, back in about 1994, through Christian author Betty Malz and her book, “Touching the Unseen World," I first learned about a preacher by the name of Noah Troyer who lived in the 1800s and who had an unusual prophecy experience.  While not new to some, this may be new to many of you.

Through some investigation, I was able to contact Betty, also a pastor’s wife, in Florida.  She told me the unusual way she first discovered Noah Troyer.  She had gone to a Christian retreat center for privacy and to write -- the retreat center in north central Florida founded by the late evangelist Roxanne Brandt.  While there, she discovered an archive of old Christian materials.  In this archive were documents describing Noah Troyer’s experience in the 1880s and even included a secular newspaper article about it.  Because it was such an amazing phenomenon, it brought public attention.  I contacted the retreat and they graciously copied the stack of material and mailed it to me.

Noah Troyer was an Amish minister, born in 1831. He became seriously ill, causing him to have repeated periods of unconsciousness, during which time he would stand and prophesy. He spoke almost the same basic message over and over again while unconscious, someone counted 19 times. His wife called friends and family members to witness what he was saying.

The message was that just as with Noah before the flood, God was warning him, also named Noah, that He was giving America 120 years to repent before it will be destroyed.

These words were prophesied by Noah Troyer in 1878. And 1878 + 120 years = 1998.

"Just as it was in the days of Noah" is how Jesus described His return (Luke 17:26, NIV). If "just as it was," could this not also mean that there would, indeed, be a God-given 120-year warning as many interpret was given in Noah's day (Genesis 6:3)?
 
When I first discovered this story about Noah Troyer, I asked myself, "Could we really now be in such a 120-year countdown? If so, when did the countdown really begin?" Then I remembered that Israel is "God's time clock." Israel is the key to prophecy. I wondered, "Could there have been some significant historical event about Israel in 1878 that might confirm such a countdown beginning in that specific year?" Then I remembered a certain book on my shelf that lists all significant historical/biblical events, by exact year, since recorded history began. I grabbed the book and anxiously flipped to 1878, curious if there would be any entry at all. To my shock, it read: "1878 -- Establishment of Petah Tikvah in Judea and Rosh Pinnah in Galilee. These were the first Jewish villages in Palestine in our times."

This was the planting of modern Israel, God's time clock -- in 1878, the same year Noah Troyer gave his 120-year warning! This seemed like amazing confirmation.

Later, I was studying about the "times of the Gentiles" as spoken of by Jesus (Luke 21:24). I discovered that some Bible scholars believe the "times of the Gentiles" actually began in 606 B.C. when Babylon captured Jerusalem, and would extend for 2,520 years, based on God's promise to punish Israel seven times (Leviticus 26: 18,21,24,28), with "times" meaning 360 years (7 X 360 = 2,520), and/or based on Nebuchadnezzar's madness for 2,520 days. If true, 606 B.C. + 2,520 biblical (360-day) years = yes, exactly 1878!

I later discovered that respected scholar and author Grant R. Jeffrey had written that 1878 did, indeed, signal the beginning of the end of the Gentile Age and the beginning of a 120-year countdown. If the conversion to biblical years is not proper, there is another interesting possibility. Adding 2,520 modern years to 606 B.C. = 1914, the beginning of World War I. Scholars say the "nation against nation" phrase Jesus spoke of as a sign of the end of the age is an idiom for world war, the first of which began in 1914, possibly signaling the beginning of the end.

See Part 2 next...