The 7 Day Prophecy in Early Writings

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The Epistle of Barnabas, chapter 15:

Further, also, it is written concerning the Sabbath in the Decalogue which [the Lord] spoke, face to face, to Moses on Mount Sinai, “And sanctify ye the Sabbath of the Lord with clean hands and a pure heart.” And He says in another place, “If my sons keep the Sabbath, then will I cause my mercy to rest upon them.” The Sabbath is mentioned at the beginning of the creation [thus]: “And God made in six days the works of His hands, and made an end on the seventh day, and rested on it, and sanctified it.” Attend, my children, to the meaning of this expression, “He finished in six days.” This implieth that the Lord will finish all things in six thousand years, for a day is with Him a thousand years. And He Himself testifieth, saying, “Behold, to-day will be as a thousand years.” Therefore, my children, in six days, that is, in six thousand years, all things will be finished. “And He rested on the seventh day.” This meaneth: when His Son, coming [again], shall destroy the time of the wicked man, and judge the ungodly, and change the sun, and the moon, and the stars, then shall He truly rest on the seventh day. Moreover, He says, “Thou shalt sanctify it with pure hands and a pure heart.” If, therefore, any one can now sanctify the day which God hath sanctified, except he is pure in heart in all things, we are deceived. Behold, therefore: certainly then one properly resting sanctifies it, when we ourselves, having received the promise, wickedness no longer existing, and all things having been made new by the Lord, shall be able to work righteousness. Then we shall be able to sanctify it, having been first sanctified ourselves. Further, He says to them, “Your new moons and your Sabbath I cannot endure.” Ye perceive how He speaks: Your present Sabbaths are not acceptable to Me, but that is which I have made, [namely this,] when, giving rest to all things, I shall make a beginning of the eighth day, that is, a beginning of another world. Wherefore, also, we keep the eighth day with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead. And when He had manifested Himself, He ascended into the heavens

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Irenaeus, Book V, Chapter 28, verse 3:

For in as many days as this world was made, in so many thousand years shall it be concluded. And for this reason the Scripture says: Thus the heaven and the earth were finished, and all their adornment. And God brought to a conclusion upon the sixth day the works that He had made; and God rested upon the seventh day from all His works. Genesis 2:2 This is an account of the things formerly created, as also it is a prophecy of what is to come. For the day of the Lord is as a thousand years; 2 Peter 3:8 and in six days created things were completed: it is evident, therefore, that they will come to an end at the sixth thousand year.

Hippolytus of Rome writes on commentary for Daniel 4:23:

"And 6,000 years must needs be accomplished, in order that the Sabbath may come, the rest, the holy day 'on which God rested from all His works.'"

Then:

"For the Sabbath is the type and emblem of the future kingdom of the saints, when they shall reign with Christ, when He comes from heaven..."

And:

"For a day with the Lord is as a thousand years. Since, then, in six days God made all things, it follows that 6,000 years must be fulfilled."

Lactantius (Divine Institutes, Book VII, Chapter 14)

"The world must continue in its present state through six ages, that is, six thousand years."

Then:

"At the end of the sixth thousandth year all wickedness must be abolished from the earth, and righteousness reign for a thousand years; and there must be tranquillity and rest from the labours which the world now has long endured."

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From Sanhedrin 97a:

§ Rav Ketina says: Six thousand years is the duration of the world, and it is in ruins for one thousand years. The duration of the period during which the world is in ruins is derived from a verse, as it is stated: “And the Lord alone shall be exalted on that day” (Isaiah 2:11), and the day of God lasts one thousand years. Abaye says: It is in ruins for two thousand years, as it is stated: “After two days He will revive us; in the third day He will revive us, and we shall live in His presence” (Hosea 6:2).​

It is taught in a baraita in accordance with the opinion of Rav Ketina: Just as the Sabbatical Year abrogates debts once in seven years, so too, the world abrogates its typical existence for one thousand years in every seven thousand years, as it is stated: “And the Lord alone shall be exalted on that day,” and it states: “A psalm, a song for the Shabbat day” (Psalms 92:1), meaning a day, i.e., one thousand years, that is entirely Shabbat. And it says in explanation of the equation between one day and one thousand years: “For a thousand years in Your eyes are but like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night” (Psalms 90:4).

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1 Enoch, in the Apocalyse of Weeks, from chapters 91 & 93:

The First Week (93:3)

And Enoch began to recount from the books and said:

' I was born the seventh in the first week,

While judgement and righteousness still endured.

The Second Week (93:4) 

And after me there shall arise in the second week great wickedness,

And deceit shall have sprung up;

And in it there shall be the first end.

And in it a man shall be saved;

And after it is ended unrighteousness shall grow up,

And a law shall be made for the sinners.

The Third Week (93:5)

And after that in the third week at its close

A man shall be elected as the plant of righteous judgement,

And his posterity shall become the plant of righteousness for evermore.

The Fourth Week (93:6) 

And after that in the fourth week, at its close,

Visions of the holy and righteous shall be seen,

And a law for all generations and an enclosure shall be made for them.

The Fifth Week (93:7)

And after that in the fifth week, at its close,

The house of glory and dominion shall be built for ever.

The Sixth Week (93:8)

And after that in the sixth week all who live in it shall be blinded,

And the hearts of all of them shall godlessly forsake wisdom.

And in it a man shall ascend;

And at its close the house of dominion shall be burnt with fire,

And the whole race of the chosen root shall be dispersed.

The Seventh Week (93:9-10)

And after that in the seventh week shall an apostate generation arise,

And many shall be its deeds,

And all its deeds shall be apostate.

And at its close shall be elected

The elect righteous of the eternal plant of righteousness,

To receive sevenfold instruction concerning all His creation.

The Eighth Week (91:12-13)

And after that there shall be another, the eighth week, that of righteousness,

And a sword shall be given to it that a righteous judgement may be executed on the oppressors,

And sinners shall be delivered into the hands of the righteous.

And at its close they shall acquire houses through their righteousness,

And a house shall be built for the Great King in glory for evermore,

14d And all mankind shall look to the path of uprightness.

The Ninth Week (91:14)

And after that, in the ninth week, the righteous judgement shall be revealed to the whole world,

And all the works of the godless shall vanish from all the earth,

And the world shall be written down for destruction.

The Tenth Week (91:15-16)

And after this, in the tenth week in the seventh part,

There shall be the great eternal judgement,

In which He will execute vengeance amongst the angels.

And the first heaven shall depart and pass away,

And a new heaven shall appear,

And all the powers of the heavens shall give sevenfold light.

“Many Weeks” (91:17)

And after that there will be many weeks without number for ever,

And all shall be in goodness and righteousness,

And sin shall no more be mentioned for ever.