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Written by C. J. Lovik and published by Rock Island Books in 2019, The Berisheet Passover Prophecy claimed that the seventieth week of Daniel, also referred to as the tribulation period, would commence in 2023 followed by the establishment of the millennial kingdom of Christ in 2030.
Lovik’s calculations in The Berisheet Passover Prophecy were based on a symbolic and numeric understanding of the first Hebrew word in Genesis 1, b'reshit (בְּרֵאשִׁית) and the pattern of six days of creation followed by the one day of rest. Claiming to find several Hebrew words embedded in the first word of the Bible and using the creation week as a model of God’s timeline, Lovik mapped out the history of the world. According to Lovik, the word berisheet contains seven prophetic beginnings:
1) The beginning of creation (4004 BC)
2) The beginning of sin (3970 BC)
3) The beginning of the church age (the crucifixion of Christ, AD 30)
4) The beginning of the church’s time in heaven (the rapture, date unknown)
5) The beginning of Daniel’s seventieth week (the tribulation, AD 2023)
6) The beginning of Christ’s millennial kingdom (AD 2030)
7) The beginning of the new heavens and new earth (AD 3030)
Based on this chronology, the time of Jesus’ death on the cross (Passover, AD 30) marked exactly 4,000 years from the fall of Adam, and the second coming of Christ to set up His kingdom will take place exactly 2,000 years after His death and resurrection. This gives a total of 6,000 years for mankind’s “work,” and the final 1,000 years is reserved for “rest” in the millennial kingdom—seven prophetic “days.”
The credibility of The Berisheet Passover Prophecy hinged on several things:
• C. J. Lovik’s elaborate system of numerology being accurate.
• the earth’s being about six thousand years old.
• Adam’s having disobeyed God at the age of thirty-three years and six months.
• the book’s conforming to Jesus’ statement that “no one knows” the day or the hour of His return (Matthew 24:36).
C. J. Lovik has published many books, and his teachings support the deity of Jesus, the triune nature of God, the inerrancy of the Scriptures, and salvation by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. However, with The Berisheet Passover Prophecy he joined the ranks of foolish date-setters. No, C. J. Lovik did not unravel any eschatological mysteries. Yes, he failed in his prediction of the rapture.• the earth’s being about six thousand years old.
• Adam’s having disobeyed God at the age of thirty-three years and six months.
• the book’s conforming to Jesus’ statement that “no one knows” the day or the hour of His return (Matthew 24:36).
Let us always consider this warning against false prophets: “If you say in your heart, ‘How may we know the word that the Lord has not spoken?’—when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the word does not come to pass or come true, that is a word that the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously. You need not be afraid of him” (Deuteronomy 18:21–22, ESV).
