In 1704 Sir Isaac Newton Mathematically Predicted the Return of Jesus, and the Year He Identified Is Fast Approaching

Sir Isaac Newton — best known for his exploits in science and math — was also a Christian who put his analytical mind to work to calculate when he thought the current age would end with the return to earth of Jesus Christ.

For guidance, Newton looked to the Bible’s books of Daniel and Revelation, which both use the language “time, times, and half a time” when speaking of the events that will take place during the Great Tribulation which will proceed Christ’s return.

For Newton, 1,260 days, or “time, times and half a time” is important in calculating not just events during the seven-year Tribulation period, but the end of the current age.

“So then the time times & half a time are 42 months or 1260 days or three years & an half, recconing twelve months to a yeare & 30 days to a month as was done in the Calendar of the primitive year,” Newton wrote in a 1704 letter concerning the Tribulation, the U.K.’s Daily Mail reported.

He was pulling his numbers from Daniel and Revelation regarding the Tribulation, according to the Bible answer site Got Questions.

In fact, Revelation 11:3 specifically references 1,260 days or three and a half years through the seven-year Tribulation period will be the moment the Antichrist will enter the Jewish temple in Jerusalem and commit the abomination of desolation, of which both Daniel and Jesus spoke.

The Antichrist will stop allowing sacrifices in the temple and desecrate it in some way with a sacrilegious object.

There is not currently a temple in Jerusalem, but there is a strong interest in rebuilding one among some rabbinic movements, including the Temple Institute. It would be the Third Temple. The first was built by King Solomon and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C., and the second one was razed by the Romans in 70 A.D.

So Newton’s reference to the events regarding the temple and the Antichrist is pretty mainline Christian theology.

However, he also put his mind to calculating when the end of the age may be, and concluded it to be the year 2060.

“Newton used math and dates in biblical history to land on the apocalypse, employing days mentioned in scripture as years to interpret the prophecy,” the Daily Mail said.

He determined a day represents a year and 800 A.D. marked a turning point in the current Christian church age. It was the year the Holy Roman Empire was founded. The scientist saw this as the beginning of the corruption of the Christian church and then tacked on 1,260 years to get 2060 A.D.

“It may end later, but I see no reason for its ending sooner,” Newton wrote.

The parallel in his thinking can be seen during the Tribulation, when the corruption, so to speak, of the Antichrist controlling the Jewish temple lasts 1,260 days until Christ returns.

Newton’s calculation making a day equal to a year is novel, and certainly should not be accepted as Gospel truth.

He did not see it that way, either.

Newton wrote regarding his 2060 calculation, “This I mention not to assert when the time of the end shall be, but to put a stop to the rash conjectures of fanciful men who are frequently predicting the time of the end, [and] by doing so bring the sacred prophecies into discredit as often as their predictions fail.

“Christ comes as a thief in the night, [and] it is not for us to know the times [and] seasons [which] God hath put into his own breast.”

Many Bible prophecy experts believe the world is likely nearing the end of the current age, which will culminate with Christ’s return to establish a 1,000-year reign on earth, which will then be followed by God creating a new heaven and a new earth.

Nations are aligning against Israel in recent years in the Middle East in a way consistent with the end times Battle of Gog and Magog, which is predicted in the book of Ezekiel.

As mentioned above, there is growing interest in rebuilding the Jewish temple, which must be present for end times prophecies to be fulfilled. One Christian leader recently reported that construction could start as early as this year, with completion by 2030 or so.

Jimmy Evans — founder of Endtimes.com and host of the “Tipping Point” podcast — said last year that events that will unfold at the end of the age, according to the Bible, include the rapture of the church (when Christians are taken up to heaven), which could happen at any time; the seven-year Great Tribulation with the rise of the Antichrist, who will seek to impose a one-world government; the Battle of Armageddon, ending with the second coming of Jesus Christ, who will defeat the Antichrist’s forces with an army from heaven, and then Jesus’ reign on earth for 1,000 years.

Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.