THE 1260 DAYS OF DANIEL 7


The number 1260 is not just a rough figure because it is mentioned seven 
times in the Bible in various different ways:

	Daniel 7:25		"a time, times and half a time"
	Daniel 12:7		"a time, times and half a time"
	Revelation 11:2		"42 months"
	Revelation 11:3		"1260 days"
	Revelation 12:6		"1260 days"
	Revelation 12:14	"a time, times and half a time"
	Revelation 13:5		"forty-two months"

It can be shown that all these texts are referring to the same period of 
time:

	A time is one year		=  360 days
	Times are two years		=  720 days
	Half a time is half a year	=  180 days
	-----------------------------------------
	Therefore the total		= 1260 days

A month in prophecy is equal to 30 days, therefore forty-two months is 
equal to 42 x 30 = 1260 days.

So we can see that these seven texts are talking about the same period of 
time, but what does it mean?

First of all, the prophecy is not referring to literal days. In prophecy a 
day is sometimes used to represent a year, and that seems to be the case 
here. (See Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6) So the prophecy is talking about 
a period of 1260 years.

If we now go back to Daniel 7:25 we can see that it is the power of the 
Little Horn which will control the "saints" for this period of time. We 
have already suggested that the Little Horn represents "Papal Rome" so does 
our figure of 1260 years fit in with the records of history?

Papal Rome defeated the last of its major enemies (the Ostrogoths) in the 
year 538 A.D. when Emperor Justinian's decree came into effect. Throughout 
the Dark Ages the Catholic church was the most powerful political force in 
the whole world, and it used its power for political and financial gain as 
well as for religious purposes. Many millions were persecuted and put to 
death - "oppressing the saints of the Most High" as Daniel puts it.

However the power of the Papal Church came to an end when the armed forces 
of Napoleon, under general Berthier marched into Rome and took the Pope 
captive. This happened in the year 1798 A.D. surprisingly (or perhaps not 
so surprisingly) exactly 1260 years after the Papacy came to power in 538 
A.D.