Commandment Clocks

1229 words long.

Published on 2024-08-29

This article lists five prophetic clocks that are structured according to the Ten Commandments. They break a stretch of time into ten eras, one per commandment. Each era then has a key historical event that relates to that commandment. Some also relate to the corresponding Exodus plague. These clocks are especially concerned with God upholding His justice.

As a distinct kind of clock Commandment Clocks are not listed by Solomon in Ecclesiastes 1. These clocks fall under one of the other categories. Of the five Commandment clocks that have been discovered so far, four are celestial clocks (where each era is of the same duration) and one is an empire clock (where eras are of uneven duration and each follows the fate of a different world empire).

Matthew's Chapter Clock might be considered a Commandment Clock, since that gospel is structured according to the Ten Commandments. However, the mapping of commandment to chapter is not based on the commandments being given as a list of ten commands, but instead a list of fourteen imperative statements.

Moses' Commandment Clock for the Church

This was the first commandment clock discovered. It shows how God has disciplined the church, taking corrective action during church history consistent with the commandments. It was initially described in the chapter "Aftertaste: Donner & Blitzen" in Peace, like Solomon Never Knew. It was later paired with a similar clock that chronicles God's judgment against ancient Israel and Judah. That appearance was in "Exodus: Clocks of Judgment for Israel and the Church" in Plague, Precept, Prophet, Peace.

This clock matches a plague from Exodus 7-11, a commandment from Exodus 20 and an era of church history. The most striking matchup is this:

• The sixth Exodus plague (of boils)
• The sixth commandment (Thou shalt not kill)
• The Black Plague of the 14th century (which included boils on the skin)
• As judgment for the church's violence (Crusades, Inquisition and more)

The clock's definition:

• Timespan: 1 to 2280 AD
• Intervals: 10
• Period: 240 years

The rationale for a period of 240 years comes from the second commandment in Exodus 20:5, which says, "visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me". From Psalm 90:9-10 we are told that a typical life lasts seventy or eighty years.

• 3 x 70 years = 210 years
• 4 x 70 years = 280 years

A period of 240 years thus falls between three and four generations.

For details, see Seven Thunders, which reproduces "Aftertaste: Donner & Blitzen".

Moses' Commandment Clock for Israel

While writing Plague, Precept, Prophet, Peace, I discovered that God applied the same template for judgment against Israel. In "Exodus: Clocks of Judgment for Israel and the Church", the clock is defined as such:

• Timespan: 1447 BC to 33 AD
• Intervals: 10
• Period: 148 years

The rationale for a period of 148 years is that the whole generation of adults in Israel (all those over twenty) that participated in the Exodus died in the desert because of unbelief, save Caleb and Joshua. Thus for Israel, a generation was forty years.

• 3 x 40 years = 120 years
• 4 x 40 years = 160 years

A period of 148 years thus falls between three and four generations. Additional support for this length of time come from Psalm 148:

Praise the Lord from the earth,

you great sea creatures and all deeps,

fire and hail, snow and mist,

stormy wind fulfilling his word!

- Psalm 148:7-8

The psalm uses words that remind us of the Exodus, like fire and hail (the seventh plague), stormy wind (the parting of the Red Sea), and fulfilling his word (the giving of the Law to Moses). Verse 10 also mentions "Beasts and all livestock" (the fifth plague).

The prophetic parallels are striking. One is:

• The fifth plague against livestock
• The fifth commandment to honor father and mother
• The war where Judah and Israel fought against Moab in 2 Kings 3:11-27. The prophet Elisha prophesied that water would miraculously appear and water their cattle, as well as bring victory over Moab.

Elisha taunted the king of Israel to "Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother." (2 Kings 3:13) Had the king "honored" his mother and father, he would have consulted false prophets! Thus the commandment was inverted and the plague became a blessing.

Sadly, the most striking parallel is for the tenth plague, the death of the firstborn. Jesus is the first born and the only begotten Son of God. This plague fell on him.

Job's Empire Clock

In the Book of Job, all the speakers wrestle with the justice of God. Is He negligent? Will his justice come too late to help those who need it? Hidden in the words is a prophetic clock that shows how God has judged a series of nine empires, each according to one of the Ten Commandments. One future empire remains to be judged.

Each empire lasted for a different length of time, with the more recent empires lasting the longest. The list of empires that God has judged according to this pattern are:

• Babel
• Egypt
• Israel / Judah
• Assyria
• Babylon
• Medo-Persia
• Greece
• Rome
• Islam

The details of this clock were given in the chapters "Job: The Course of Empires" and "The Meaning of the Beasts of Job" in Plague, Precept, Prophet, Peace. Those chapters are reproduced in these articles:

• The Course of Empires
• The Meaning of the Beasts of Job

Hannah's Prayer Clock

After Hannah gives birth to Samuel, she utters a prophetic prayer. The prayer has ten verses and each matches one of the Ten Commandments. From that prayer one can construct a prophetic clock with these features:

• Starts in 1440 BC near the Exodus.
• Has eleven periods.
• The first three periods last 120 years each.
• The first six reversals last 480 years each, or 240 years per each half a reversal.
• The interlude with the pillars lasts 120 years
• The seventh reversal lasts 480 years
• The clock ends in 2400 AD (though the last period might be cut short by Jesus' return)

The intervals are of uneven durations. For the details of the clock, see Hannah's Song

Timothy's Freedom Clock

Paul's two letters to Timothy collectively have ten chapters. Each chapter matches one commandment. Four prophetic clocks (one of which is a commandment clock) are described in "Appendix I: A Clock for Timothy" in Peace, like Solomon Never Knew.

• Timespan: 1 to 2280 AD
• Intervals: 10
• Period: 240 years

The clue that establishes these features of the clock is in these verses:

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,

who is to judge the living and the dead, and by

his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word;

be ready in season and out of season;

reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete

patience and teaching.

- 2 Timothy 4:1-2

The appearing of Christ is his incarnation (the start of the clock) and the end of the clock is the arrival of his kingdom (his second coming).

The mention of "in season and out of season" brings to mind Ecclesiastes 3. According to Solomon's Celestial Clock, a "time" is 120 years and a season is a pair of times, so 240 years.

Additional information about the prophetic content in 1 & 2 Timothy may be found in Reconciliation.