Subjects covered:       Prophecy Explains the Reason for Time Prophecy Explains the Reason for Time     The Bible does not go into detail in explaining the events, thoughts, and attitudes involved in the fall of Lucifer. So, I would ask that you please allow me a bit of freedom as I express how I believe things could have happened in the beginning of the great controversy of sin.     In past ages, far back into eternity, everything went along as usual in heaven—the dwelling place of God. There was order and harmony in heaven among the angels. All was done in love and the worship of God was a supreme desire.     Then the angels noticed that God and His Son were seen more often in council. Something big was about to happen, something that gained the attention of all heaven. No one knew exactly what, except that there was going to be a new order of beings created, a little lower than the angels. Lucifer was the closest of all the angels to God and His plans, but he thought this was not close enough. He wanted to be an equal with the Son of God and be included in all plans, for it was clear to him that the creation of man was going to be something very special. But Lucifer could not be included in the plans to make man, for man was made with forethought in which “time” might be a factor. Throughout eternity past, “time keeping” had never been an issue! Lucifer, the highest of angels—the angel of angels, could not be included because God and His Son could not explain to him, not yet a fallen angel, just how this new element might be involved. To explain “time” would be to explain “sin”, and Lucifer had not crossed that line.     Only the Son of God was admitted into the Holiest of Holies and somehow (it is a mystery) Lucifer became jealous because he, in all his wisdom, was not included in the secret councils of God. Lucifer harbored this feeling until it grew into full and complete jealousy for the position and the power of the Son of God. It is strange that one being full of jealousy, pride, and doubt could infect a third of the angels of heaven! These new feelings of Lucifer are contrary to the character of God, and cannot abide in His presence. There was war in heaven and Lucifer—now Satan—and his followers found themselves outside the gates of harmony.     Now it was time for man to be created and he, like the angels —would be given free choice. But along with free choice comes a test to act upon that choice. The forbidden tree in the middle of the garden was that test. First Eve, then Adam, chose to follow the false wisdom of Satan disguised as a serpent. From the very moment that sin entered the hearts of Adam and Eve, Satan began to see the secret plans of God unfold. If man was to sin, then deep from within the heart of God would come a plan of salvation. It would be simple, all man had to do was to use his power of choice again, —to choose God’s gift of salvation. If accepted, the gift of His Son’s death would be accounted in the place of the sinner’s eternal death.     Adam and Eve accepted! Satan stood by in horror as the Son of God revealed to Adam and Eve how salvation would take time. God’s love for the fallen sinner knows no bounds and the Son of God showed Adam and Eve that it was He that was to die their eternal death. It was called the “plan of salvation”. They were shown that their sin had caused a new element to be introduced into the workings of God. That element was time! For sin to run its full course and prove its true nature of “self-seeking”, time keeping would now be an intricate part of the plan of salvation for the fallen human race on earth.     This time was altogether new for the inhabitants of heaven, for all they knew was eternity, which was not a measurement of “time” as we know it. Sin had caused the plans of heaven to be altered so as to start marking time according to earth’s time; the earth’s rotation (a day), the earth’s revolution around the sun (a year) and the moon’s revolution around the earth (a month). But, the weekly cycle of the Seventh-day Sabbath is not measured astrologically, for it is God’s time and was put into place at the time of creation by the Creator Himself, that the love which Heaven shows mankind would not be lost. God wanted man to have proof of the plan of salvation and that He is in control. So, periodically, He came to men and women of faith and outlined the exact plan of salvation as it related to earth time. That is, He told them how sin and Satan would interact with mankind in a time line. We call these chosen people prophets and the events and time lines they foretell we call prophecy. Heaven is also bound by earth time, for the plan of salvation is based on giving to Satan (sin) an allotted amount of earth time, measured by earth’s revolution around the sun, in which to prove that his accusations are either correct or incorrect. Satan has taken advantage of this earth time by creating worship of the sun; even to have the first day of the week named in honor of the worship of the sun. (More about the changing of times by Satan in later studies.)     These human messengers, prophets, seers, became God’s voice explaining the plan of salvation. God’s plan showed in advance, even to the exact day, when the “Lamb of God” would be slain for the sins of mankind. Man had only to accept. Daniel was called to be such a prophet, and starting with Babylon, he foretold thousands of years into the future how the great kingdoms of the earth were to play a part in the great controversy between Christ and Satan. Many of God’s plans were foretold in time, such as the 2300 days, 70 weeks, 7 weeks, the midst of the week, 1260 days, 1290 days, 1335 days —these times and their events have been fulfilled exactly in God’s plan, and are even now showing us their last day setting.     Sin (Satan) is allotted an exact amount of time, seven thousand years, in which to prove his accusations. This seven thousand years of time allotted to sin follows the time allotted the creation of this earth. Six days were given for the creation of this earth and its contents and the seventh day God rested, giving the time created with it (the Sabbath) to Adam and Eve that they might give glory to their Creator. But when Adam and Eve sinned, time was taken from them (in a sense), and given to the new ruler of this world, —Satan. Now, fallen Adam and Eve were required to work for their existence six days and rest on the seventh. And so it was allotted to their descendants to work under Satan’s rule for six thousand years, but during the seventh millennium man would rest from the tyrannical rule of Satan. Six thousand years are now just about to end. At the end of the six thousand years the judgment will sit and the Heavenly Sanctuary will be cleansed of sin, concluding at Jesus’ Second Coming. At the end of the seven thousand years the earth will be purged of the results of sin, and a new earth will be created! Then there will be eternity again—uninterrupted—forever! Praise God for such a brilliant plan! Chart 1       We live in a time of great danger and Satan wants to destroy us. Heaven and earth are on the same time schedule in the plan of salvation, we can be assured of this, and God’s prophetic time plan is nearly finished. It is now that the last generation of man is on the stage of earth’s history, and the final events will soon take place!       We have prophecy to keep us from being deceived by the teachings of false christs and false prophets. We also have prophecy to show who is the true God and that He is in control. There are many reasons we have prophecy (which we will study further), but above all, prophecy shows how much God loves us! Jesus is the most prominent feature of Daniel and Revelation (in all of the Bible) and reveals what His Father plans to do for His people at this end of time—in our time—through Jesus Christ.