In the early days of naval exploration there was a problem of navigation caused by the lack of accurate instruments. The compasses were crudely made from a naturally magnetic mineral called lodestone and clocks were controlled by the timing of a pendulum swing. The compasses were unshielded from surrounding magnetic interference and frequently pointed in the wrong direction. Pendulum clocks worked fine on stable ground, but on a ship tossed by the waves of the sea, they were practically useless. So, much of the navigation in those early days was done by what is called 'dead reckoning.' This is a method in which the position of a ship is determined by an estimation of its speed and time and certain celestial observations. In fact, it is commonly believed that Columbus was lost; he chose the wrong star for the North Star, so he didn't know his latitude, and he had no idea of his longitude. All he knew was that he was travelling west toward the sunset, and figured that sooner or later he would make a landfall.

As man began to explore his world and the countries of Europe expanded their empires, navigation became a primary problem. More accurate compasses and navigational instruments evolved, but there still existed the problem of longitude. The search for longitude involved the necessity for accurate clocks that would function on a reeling ship Since the British Empire depended a great deal on shipping, the British led the way in this search. The breakthrough came with the invention of the spring-driven balance wheel to replace the pendulum. This has been the basis of all clocks and watches until the advent of the modern digital electronic watch. All that was needed was that they be wound periodically. Such clocks were constructed to be accurate to a few seconds during a long voyage. The clocks were set for the time at the point of departure, and by observing the time that the sun reached its zenith as one travelled east or west, it was possible to accurately calculate the longitude and to locate one's position on a map

According to certain lines of Bible prophecy we are living in the 'time of the end.' At the beginning of this'time of the end' an angel announced that time should be no more. This means that our prophetic clocks are no longer any good. We are like hikers in a wilderness who are dependent on landmarks and other natural phenomena to determine their location. We know that we are close to our destination, but we don't know for sure the day nor the hour; only God the Father knows, for He is the divine timekeeper. So we must be guided by signs in the sun, moon, and stars and by events on earth that have been given to us so that we will be able to navigate in these last days by "dead reckoning."