On the Chronology of Prophecy

“There are many other numbers which the Bible student can study carefully: one, three, four, seven, ten, forty, seventy, etc. The apocalyptic expressions ‘time, times and half a time,’ ‘1260 days,’ and ‘forty-two months’ all designate a period of three and one half years. This expression has both a temporal as well as a symbolic import” (A. Berkeley Mickelsen, Interpreting the Bible, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984, p. 274).

The study of biblical prophecy has often been seriously derouted by the introduction of a 1260 year period of time. Daniel and Revelation are largely concerned with the famous 1260 DAY period. Hunting through the history books for periods of 1260 years is not profitable from the biblical point of view. What Scripture reveals is a critical period of 1260 days, just before the future return of Jesus in power and glory to gather the elect of all nations and appoint them to rule with him in the coming Messianic Kingdom (Rev. 5:10).