The 1260 Day Prophecy of Daniel and Revelation

“And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time” (Daniel 7:25).

PopeThis prophecy reveals the identity of papal Rome as well as how long she would persecute the saints of the most High. We know that when the Ostragoths abandoned their siege of Rome in 538 AD, it left the Bishop of Rome free to exercise the prerogatives of the universal decree of Justinian. All we need to know is how many years “a time, times, and the dividing of time” are.

There are seven (yes, 7!) places in the Bible that tell of the extremely special amount of time that the anti-Christ power would wage war on God’s true church.

  1. Daniel 7:25 (above)
  2. Daniel 12:7 “And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.”
  3. Revelation 11:2 “But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.”
  4. Revelation 11:3 “And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.”
  5. Revelation 12:6 “And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”
  6. Revelation 12:14 “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.”
  7. Revelation 13:5 “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.”

All seven verses refer to the same amount of time in three different ways: 1260 days, 42 months, and “time, times, and a half a time.”

A Day for a Year

Scholars throughout the ages have used the day-year principle. “I have appointed thee each day for a year” (Ezekiel 4:6). “After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even 40 days, each day for a year…” (Number 14:34). Also, in Bible prophecy, a time equals a year.

Using the day for a year principle and a biblical calendar of 360 days with twelve 30-day months, it is easy to see how 42 months and 1260 days equal 1260 years. It’s not too much harder to extrapolate “a time, times, and half a time” to three and a half years. Three and a half years multiplied by 360 equals 1260 years.

Reckoning the Prophecy

If we add 1260 years to 538 AD, we come to 1798 AD, the very year the Pope was deposed by Napoleon. The Pope died in exile and the 1260 year rule of the papacy was finished until her wound was healed. This prophecy is important because it identifies—beyond a shadow of a doubt—just who this persecuting power is. When God mentions a time prophecy seven times in the Bible, we know that it is of great significance.


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