1260 Days in Bible Prophecy

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The 1260 days is an important and repeating time frame in the Bible, revealing that many prophecies parallel each other. Compare the listing below of all the instances that the time frame is mentioned and how it is calculated in each.

Verse	Symbol	Calculation	Prophetic Time
Dan. 7:25	time and times and the dividing of time	1 "time" = 1 year 2 "times" = 2 years 1/2 "time" = 1/2 year 3-1/2 "times = 3-1/2 years (1260 days)	1260 years
Dan. 12:7	time, times, and an half	1 yr + 2 yrs + 1/2 yr = 3-1/2 yrs = 1260 days	1260 years
Rev. 12:14	time, and times, and half a time	1 yr + 2 yrs + 1/2 yr = 3-1/2 yrs = 1260 days	1260 years
Rev. 11:2	forty and two months	42 months X 30 days = 1260 days	1260 years
Rev. 13:5	forty and two months	42 months X 30 days = 1260 days	1260 years
Rev. 12:6	thousand two hundred & threescore days	1000 + 200 + 60 = 1260 days	1260 years
Rev. 11:3	thousand two hundred & threescore days	1000 + 200 + 60 = 1260 days	1260 years

Papal Ecclesiastical Supremacy

This important time period encompasses the time of Papal ecclesiastical supremacy. It is a time when the saints are "given into his [the Little Horn's / Papal Rome's] hand" (Dan. 7:21,25) and he "overcomes" them (Rev. 13:5-7). He is also allowed to "speak great words against the most high" (Dan. 7:25), cast down the "place of his [Jesus'] sanctuary" (Dan. 8:11), "cast down the truth" (Dan. 8:12) and "blaspheme" (Rev. 13:5). See the study guides for Daniel 7, Daniel 8, and Revelation 13.

538 to 1798 AD = 1260 Years

This time period began when the Ostrogoths withdrew from Rome in 538 AD, freeing the Pope to rule and implement the Justinian decree of 533 AD. The time period ended in 1798 AD when the pope was taken prisoner by Berthier, a French General under Napolean, and the papacy was considered at an end.

Criteria for Calculating Prophetic Time

One "Time" = One year: How do we know this? In Revelation 12, the same time period of the woman hiding in the wilderness is referenced in two different places, once as 1260 days (Rev. 12:6) and once as "time, and times, and half a time" (Rev. 12:14). Both refer to the same time period, clarifying that a "time" equals a year in prophecy.

1 year = 360 days: The Jews used a lunar calendar (each month began with a new moon), which had 30 days per month (Gen. 7:11, 7:24, 8:4). Multiple 30 x 12 to get 360 days in a Jewish year. This is confirmed in Rev. 11:2-3 where 42 months and 1260 days both refer to the same time period.

There is no zero year: The year 1 BC is followed by 1 AD.

1 prophetic day = 1 literal year: Precedence for using the "day for a year" principle appears in Num. 14:34 and Ez. 4:6. Also, the symbolism and internal logic within Daniel and Revelation reveal and necessitate this principle. For example, in Daniel 9, it was prophesied that Messiah would come 69 weeks after the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. The decree that enabled the restoration to occur was given in 457 BC. Sixty nine literal weeks (483 days) was less than two years later, and the time of the Messiah was still hundreds of years away. However, exactly 483 years later (69 weeks = 483 days), Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit at His baptism. The precise dating of this prophecy, using two well-known events, establishes a solid principle of prophetic interpretation.