The Day-Year Principle (the Prophectic Year) in the Bible

[hobie]

The day-year principle, year-day principle or year-for-a-day principle is a method of interpretation of Bible prophecy in which the word day in prophecy is considered to be symbolic of a year of actual time. In Biblical eschatology a 'Prophetic Year' is a time different than from an ordinary year, as it was referred to as a 'day' when it actually was a year. The three primary precedents in Scripture:

Numbers 14:34. The Israelites will wander for 40 years in the wilderness, one year for every day spent by the spies in Canaan.

Ezekiel 4:5-6. The prophet Ezekiel is commanded to lie on his left side for 390 days, followed by his right side for 40 days, to symbolize the equivalent number of years of punishment on Israel and Judah respectively.

Daniel 9:24-27. This is known as the Prophecy of Seventy Weeks. The majority of scholars do understand the passage to refer to 70 "sevens" or "septets" of years, that is, a total of 490 years.

We also see its use in the 360-year period of "time" composed of 360-day "years". So why isnt a year equal to 365 days like we hold today? Well in ancient times the year was held to be at 360 days, and you can see this was number of days in the text in scripture. Let's take a look at some verses that tell us how many days and months are in a year.

Genesis 7:11 ...'In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.'

Genesis 8:3-4 ...'And the waters returned from off the earth continually: and after the end of the hundred and fifty days the waters were abated. And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.'

So we can see from the above Bible verses that the flood waters started on the second month and seventeenth day. And after 150 days we come to the seventh month and seventeenth day. So this tells us that there are 30 days per month according to the Bible.

Now what about months per year?

1 Kings 4:7 ...'And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision.'

If you reference the above verse with 1 Chronicles 27:1-15, you will see that a year has 12 months. The fact that the prophets understood a year as 360 days is well attested, and can be seen in the prophecies of Daniel and Revelation as seen in the use of "time, times and half a time" (i.e. 1+2+0.5=3.5), "1,260 days" and "42 months". These references represent a period of 1260 years (based on the 360 day Jewish year multiplied by 3.5). Divide 1,260 days by 42 months and you will get a 30-day month, as 12 months of 30 days equals 360-days in a year

These time periods occur eight times in scripture:
Daniel 7:25, "time, times and a half".
Daniel 9:27, "half one set of seven".
Daniel 12:7, "time, times and a half".
Revelation 11:2, "42 months".
Revelation 11:3, "1260 days".
Revelation 12:6, "1260 days".
Revelation 12:14, "time, times and a half".
Revelation 13:5, "42 months".

We can see how it relates in the following Bible verses referring to the period translated, "time".

"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

"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 a half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished." Daniel 12:7

"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." Revelation 12:14

So its clear, the "time, times and half a time" (i.e. 1+2+0.5=3.5), "1,260 days" and "42 months" mentioned in Daniel and Revelation represent a period of 1260 years (based on the 360 day Jewish year multiplied by 3.5).

The fact that a day can signify a year is of crucial importance in the study of Bible Prophecy. This view was recognized by the Jews as seen in Daniel 9:24-27, and as seen in Jesus' use of the day-year principle in Luke 13 verses 31-33, and in the early church. Now this view was in both Jewish and Christian circles in the early centuries.

Rabbi Johanan, in the second century A.D., remarked: "It is written: 'After the number of the days in which you spied out the land.' Did they then sin forty years? Was it not forty days that they sinned?"'

Rabbi Dosa, in the fourth century A.D., said: "God's day of vengeance is a year, as in the case of the Spies on account of whom the Israelites were condemned to wander 40 years . . . —a year for each day."

Hippolytus, bishop of Porto, c. A.D. 160*235, wrote: " 'I shall make a covenant of one week. . . . By one week he indicates . . . seven years.' "

The Reformers and many others, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, John Wycliffe, John Knox, William Tyndale, Phillip Melanchthon, Sir Isaac Newton, Jan Huss, John Foxe, John Wesley, Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, Charles Finney, C. H. Spurgeon, Matthew Henry, Adam Clarke, Albert Barnes, E. B. Elliot, H. Grattan Guinness understood this to name just a few. http://www.1260-1290-days-bible-prophecy.org/day-year-principle.html

Even Sir Issac Newton who wrote. "“Three times and a half; that is, for 1260 solar years, reckoning as time for a calendar year of 360 days, and a day for a solar year. After which the judgment is to sit, and they shall take away his dominion, not at once, but by degrees, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.”(Sir Isaac Newton, Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse of St. John, part 1, chap. 8, p. 114. London: J. Darby and T. Browne, 1733).https://secretsunsealed.org/content/PDF_downloads/20-Reasons-To-Apply-The-Year-Day-Principle.pdf

Now we can easily see Christ's use of the day-year principle in Luke 13.

Luke 13:31-33 King James Version (KJV)

31 The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.33 Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

This is after John the Baptist is arrested and the Pharisees are saying "Herod will kill Thee". In other words, you’d better get out of here, you’re next. Jesus replies in verse 32, "Go tell that fox, behold I cast out devils and I do cures, today, tomorrow, and the third day I will be perfected." John died near the start of Jesus’ ministry of three years, so the "to day, and to morrow, and the day following" is shown by Christ as the time of His ministry, three years.

 

[hobie]

Bible scholars and historicists, see the Prophecy of Seventy Weeks in Daniel chapter 9, using the Day-Year Principle. The seventy “weeks” of years is understood to be a period of 490 years, which is an uninterrupted period starting from "the time the word goes out to rebuild and restore Jerusalem," of Daniel 9:25. Lets look at the relevant text in Daniel:

Daniel 9:21-27 King James Version (KJV)
21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.
23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.
24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

The weeks are not overlapping but sequential with the seventieth week immediately follows the sixty-ninth week. Daniel 9:25 states that “from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks” . So the question that must be answered is, what is the starting date of the 70-week prophecy? The text states that it will be from the time that the decree is given to restore and build Jerusalem.

There were a total of three decrees given regarding the restoration of the Jewish people. Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes all gave commands for restorations. However, only the one from Artaxerxes includes concern for the city of Jerusalem itself, and only this decree is associated with praising God for His intervention:

Ezra 7:27-28 King James Version (KJV)
27 Blessed be the Lord God of our fathers, which hath put such a thing as this in the king's heart, to beautify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem:
28 And hath extended mercy unto me before the king, and his counsellors, and before all the king's mighty princes. And I was strengthened as the hand of the Lord my God was upon me, and I gathered together out of Israel chief men to go up with me

So the beginning of the 70-week prophecy is from the year 457 B.C., the seventh year of King Artaxerxes I as mentioned in Ezra 7:7-26.
The decree by Artaxerxes I of 458/7 B.C. is to provide money to rebuild Jerusalem and its temple. The reference to an anointed one being "cut off" in verse 26 is identified with crucifixion of Jesus 3½ years after his baptism, and marks the midpoint of the seventieth week, and associated with the confirmation of Jeremiah's new "covenant" (verse 27) and making atonement for "iniquity" (verse 24). So we see the seventy weeks end with year A.D. 34, which is when the preaching of the gospel was enlarged and also went to the Gentiles, which was marked by the persecution of the early church and the martyrdom of Stephen. It clearly shows how middle of the last week would be the year A.D. 31, which is when Jesus died on the cross.

Christian historicism, which is what unveils these verses from scripture, interprets prophecy as an overview of the history of the Christian church, asserting connections between historical events and statements in the Bible, and distinguishing between prophecies considered already fulfilled and those still to come. The Jews of biblical times, had taught this view in the many prophecies to be fulfilled, which were pointing to the Messiah such as those by the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel. The early church and the precursors to the Reformation used it, Jerome in his 'Commentary on Daniel' went into the kingdoms that Daniel predicted. Many Protestant Reformers were interested in historicism and the day-year principle, and used it assigning prophecies in the Bible to past, present and future events. It was prevalent in Wycliffe's writings and taught by Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, and Sir Isaac Newton and many others.

 

[hobie]

The prophecies of Daniel and Revelation are some of the most misunderstood and misinterpreted especially the time periods to be found in scripture of the 'time, times and half a time' prophecy. Lets look at the text:

Daniel 7:25 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 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.

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.

The word time in this context refers to a period of a year. In the story of King Nebuchadnezzar, because of his pride, he went crazy for seven years and ate grass as an ox:

Daniel 4:32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will.

So on a literal level, time, times and half a time means time (1 year), times (2 years) and half a time (1/2 year) or 3 1/2 years. Most people who study Bible prophecy stop at this point and accept the 3 1/2 years only at face value. The period that this is generally attributed to by most people, is the last half of the 70th week of Daniel and the reign of the Antichrist, which is proposed to be fulfilled at some time in the future.

The 70 week prophecy of Daniel 9:24, however as we can see, establishes the principle related to prophetic time of the 'Day Equals One Year'. Those study the text and Bible scholars acknowledge that the 70 weeks are not literally 70 weeks, but rather 70 weeks of years, or 490 years. The principle is recognized in that in Bible prophecy, you must substitute a period of a year in place of a day. Seventy weeks is 70 x 7 or 490 days, which will then equate to a literal 490 years in the fulfillment of the prophecy.

So now to apply this formula to the 3 1/2 times you must establish just exactly how many days this represents. The Jews did not use a solar calendar as we do today, they used instead a lunar calendar, as indicated in Psalms:

Psalms 104:19 He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down.

The length of the lunar month as we saw can be determined from Genesis:

Genesis 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, the same day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.

Genesis 7:24 And the waters prevailed upon the earth an hundred and fifty days.

Genesis 8:4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat.

You can see there were exactly 5 months from the point where the flood began and the ark came to rest on Ararat, and that this was a period of 150 days. This demonstrates that the lunar calendar set forth in the Bible has a 30 day month, so the year is counted as 360 days.

Now lets look at the 1260 Days and how it relates to the 'Time, Times, and Half a Time'. Returning to the 3 1/2 times, which we now know represents 3 1/2 lunar years of 360 days each, using the same methodology as is used for the 70 weeks of Daniel we calculate it to actually represent 1260 literal years. So, 'Time, Times and half a Time' in prophecy is really 1260 years. To confirm this formula we need only to look to the 12th chapter of the book of Revelation:

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.

Here the woman represents the faithful church, who flees into the wilderness for 1260 days. Again using the day=year formula, this actually speaks of 1260 years that the church would be persecuted. Now look at this next verse from the same chapter-

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.

Here the exact same time of persecution is referred to as 3 1/2 times, again meaning the same period of 1260 days/years as found in verse 6. In the book of Daniel, this exact same period of persecution in church history is found.

Daniel 7:25 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.

This verse in context is referring to a period of time that the little horn or Antichrist power will persecute the true believers or true church, again for 1260 years. The same is true for this next verse:

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.

Which Revelation also has:
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.

 

[hobie]

The exact same 1260 years is found in Revelation chapter 11:


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.
The commonly accepted interpretation of the verse is that the two witnesses are real prophets, perhaps Moses and Elijah. When you understand that the time period does not represent 1260 literal days, but rather 1260 years, it can be seen that it cannot be referring to real people as witnesses. One clue is in the next verse:

Revelation 11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

The two witnesses are also called two olive trees standing before God. This links us to the following text:

Zechariah 4:2-4
2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:
3 And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other upon the left side thereof.
4 So I answered and spake to the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?

Zechariah sees a candlestick and two olive trees and asks what they are. Note the answer:

Zechariah 4:5-6
5 Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me, Knowest thou not what these be? And I said, No, my lord.
6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.

The candlestick and two olive trees are the word of the Lord or Bible So the language used in Revelation 11:4 is prophetic and symbolic, the two witnesses actually representing the word of God, the Old and New Testament, that would "prophesy in sackcloth" or be suppressed during the very same 1260 years of persecution we are considering.

 

[hobie]

This same period of persecution is found in the following verses in Revelation:

Revelation 11:2-3
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.
3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

Again as in Rev 12, we have a strong relationship between this 42 months of verse 2 and the 1260 days of as we see in verse 3. Forty two months calculates as 42 x 30 (30 days in a lunar month) which equals 1260 days/years. This verse is saying that the gentiles or unbelievers would trample the people of God (the holy city) for 1260 years. Again this same time period of 42 months is found in Revelation 13:

Revelation 13:5-7
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.
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

This passage speaks of the great and terrible beast from the sea, which actually is the same as the little horn of Daniel, which is to say the Antichrist power that would persecute the people of God for 1260 years.

So, here is a listing of the passages that deal with the same 1260 year time period of persecution:
•3 1/2 Times - Rev 12:14, Dan 7:25, Dan 12:7
•1260 days - Rev 11:3, Rev 12:6
•42 Months - Rev 11:2, Rev 13:5

If you read up on the Dark Ages, then you will see who this persecuting power is, if you don't know already. So now you only have to look in history to find out exactly when this 1260 years is fulfilled, and the real identity of the little horn and beast from the sea in Revelation that persecuted God's people for those 1260 years.

 

[hobie]

So now lets look at the origin of the beast and the little horn that would persecute the people of God for 1260 years. We see it in Revelation 12:

Revelation 12:3-4
3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.

Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

The above verses make clear the origin of the Antichrist power which brings up the beast and little horn, that the 'great red dragon' is Satan. But there is another relationship that is not as readily apparent. Verse 4 is referring to the birth of Jesus, and Satan's attempt to kill the infant Jesus. Satan however, did not attempt this act of murder on his own but even then a king under the power of pagan Rome:

Matthew 2:13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

Herod the Great, the King of Judea and Palestine who had received his position from the Roman Empire, was the agent Satan used in his attempt to kill the infant Jesus.

Now notice again in Revelation 12:3 that Satan is described as having seven heads, ten horns and seven crowns. This is important because it is a key to identify Satan and his agents the prophecies in Revelation, and we now understand the origin:

Revelation 13:1-2
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.

Here another agent of Satan is shown, as it is not Satan, because verse 2 says this beast power gets his power from the dragon which we see is Satan. So as we see in Matthew, Satan used the power of the ancient Roman Empire to attempt the murder of Jesus. The dragon and Rome worked with the same mind toward the same goal.

You can see how animal described, " leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion" reference back to Daniel 7. John was connecting the previous empires to identify this Sea Beast in the stream of time. The Lion (Babylon) is referred to as the head of Gold in Dan 2, the Bear (Medo-Persia) which is also the chest of silver in Daniel 2, and the Leopard (Greece) the thighs of brass in Daniel2.

Now as we know, there is also a fourth beast in Daniel 7, to match the legs of iron in Daniel 2:

Daniel 7:7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

This fourth diverse beast with ten horns Bible scholars agree was ancient pagan Rome. Ancient pagan Rome, when it disintegrated, was followed by the divided kingdoms, which basically we see today in the country's of Europe, represented by the feet and ten toes of clay and iron in Daniel 2.

Now we see how in Revelation 12:4, the dragon's agent trying to kill Christ was ancient Rome (through Herod). With this relationship of the Dragon to Rome we can see that the beast from the sea of Revelation 13 should get his power and seat and great authority from the Roman Empire, through Satan, just like Herod did. This prompts the question, did ancient Rome formally bestow its power and authority on any existing power?

If you look in history it will reveal the successor to the Roman emperors. With the move of the Roman capitol to Constantinople, there was a political power vacuum that was quickly and willingly filled by the Bishop of Rome:

[p. 269] Whatever Roman elements the barbarians and Arians left … [came] under the protection of the Bishop of Rome, who was the chief person there after the Emperor’s disappearance… [p. 270] The Roman Church in this way privily pushed itself into the place of the Roman World-Empire, of which it is the actual continuation; the empire has not perished, but has only undergone a transformation … That is no mere “clever remark,” but the recognition of the true state of the matter historically, and the most appropriate and fruitful way of describing the character of this Church. It still governs the nations … It is a political creation, and as imposing as a World-Empire, because the continuation of the Roman Empire. The Pope, who calls himself “King” and “Pontifex Maximus,” is Caesar’s successor.(Adolf Harnack, What Is Christianity? trans. by Thomas Bailey Saunders (2d ed., rev.; New York: Putnam, 1901), pp. 269, 270)