Day 214

“5 A mouth was given to him speaking [a]arrogant words and blasphemies, and authority to act for forty-two months was given to him.” Revelation 13:5 NASB

Forty-two months is the same as 1260 days (The Jewish monthly Calendar only had 30 days/month). This is also the same time period that is designated ‘a Times, times and half a time.’ A time is 1 years, a times is two years and dividing of times is half a year. Thus 3 ½ years. This can be established e.g. from Daniel 4:17 where 7 times were to pass over Nebuchadnezzar.

 The year-day principle is crucial for the correct interpretation of apocalyptic prophecy. In apocalyptic prophecy periods of time are symbolic, so that its fulfilment should be counted in years. This pattern is highlighted in several places in scripture. In Numbers 14:34 e.g., Israel’s 40 days that led to rebellion correspond to a predicted 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. In Ezekiel 4:5,6 the prophet is to lie down one day for each year of Israel and Judah’s disobedience. In Leviticus 25, the concept of a week with its Sabbath is extended from days to years. People would farm the land for 6 years and let the land “rest” during the 7th or sabbatical year. Daniel 9 contains the phrase “70 weeks of years,” which equates to 490 years, pinpointing the year of the crucifixion of Jesus precisely. So the concept of a year-day principle is well known in biblical times.  If we took the days of Daniel 8:14 literally we would only get about 7 years into the future, but the apocalyptic prophecy of the 2300 days is for “the time of the end.” (Day 8:17.) It stretches right up into our time.

But when should we apply prophetic days as years? There are several guiding principles. Firstly, because apocalyptic prophecies, such as those found in Daniel and Revelation, are full of symbols, symbolic meaning for any numbers in the prophecy should be considered. Secondly, Year-day numbers tend to be the kind one would NOT use in normal speech. E.g. No parent would say their child is 1260 days old, 42 months old, or 2300 evenings and mornings old! Thirdly, in a sequence of prophetic events, if the prophecy makes more sense when counting the days as years, one should do so. In both Daniel and Revelation, when the chief opponent of God appears, it rules for a time, times, and dividing of times. The word ‘time’ means a year. E.g. 7 “times” passed over Nebuchadnezzar when he went mad in Daniel 4. i.e. 7 years. A time = 1 year, times = 2 years, and the dividing of time = ½ a year. This is 1260 days or 42 months. Prophetically 1260years.

This time period appears, in its various forms, 7 times.  Such a reoccurrence of a time sequence is of significance in understanding the prophetic panorama that Revelation gives us. It is vital information for understanding Revelation 13.