Month And Forty-Two Months In
Scripture Introduction † When people read Revelation they often assume
the time statements refer to our future. But the Bible itself
explains these time periods. The phrase forty-two months appears
several times in Revelation and it is connected to the trampling of
Jerusalem and the final judgment of the old covenant system. † The prophets used several expressions for the
same time span. Forty-two months, 1,260 days, and time, times, and
half a time all describe the same prophetic period of three and a
half years. † Scripture also shows that prophetic months
are counted as thirty days. This doesn't mean the number is
meaningless. It means the prophets used a prophetic calendar pattern
to describe a real historical period that would occur during the
destruction of Jerusalem. † Revelation often describes the same
historical event more than once using different symbolic images,
which is why the same prophetic timeframe appears repeatedly in
different visions. † Some people try to separate these time
references and make them end at different moments in history,
suggesting that one 1,260 day period ends in AD 68 while another ends
in AD 70. But the text of Revelation does not divide them into
separate clocks. † Revelation repeats the same prophetic
timeframe several times using different expressions. The forty-two
months, the 1,260 days, and the phrase time, times, and half a time
all come from the same prophetic pattern first given in Daniel
(Daniel 7:25; Daniel 12:7). † Revelation 11:2 speaks of forty-two months
when the nations trample the holy city. † Revelation 11:3 speaks of 1,260 days during
the testimony of the witnesses. † Revelation 12:6 again speaks of 1,260 days. † Revelation 12:14 calls the same period time,
times, and half a time. † Revelation 13:5 again speaks of forty-two
months. † These are not separate timelines. John is
repeating the same prophetic season while describing different
aspects of the same historical crisis. † For that reason the 1,260 days cannot be
split so that one ends in AD 68 and another ends in AD 70. They
describe the same prophetic season during the Jewish War that
culminated in the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. Genesis 7:11 † The flood account gives us the biblical basis
for understanding prophetic months. The timeline of the flood shows
that five months equal 150 days. † That means a prophetic month is counted as
thirty days. This same calculation is used later in prophetic
literature when time periods are expressed in months and days. † This establishes the biblical foundation for
the prophetic calendar used by Daniel and Revelation (Genesis 7:24;
Genesis 8:4). Genesis 7:24 † Genesis records that the waters prevailed for
150 days. When compared with the five months mentioned in the
narrative, the calculation becomes clear. † One hundred fifty days divided by five months
equals thirty days per month. This becomes the prophetic reckoning
used later in Scripture. † This is why forty-two prophetic months equal
1,260 days. Revelation 11:2 † Revelation 11:2 speaks of forty-two months
when the nations trample the holy city. † Jesus described the same event when He warned
that Jerusalem would be surrounded by armies and the city would be
trampled by the nations (Luke 21:20-24). † The phrase tread under foot is the same idea
Jesus used when He said Jerusalem would be trampled by the nations
(Luke 21:24). Revelation is describing the fulfillment of that
warning. † Jesus made it clear that the destruction of
Jerusalem would occur within the generation that heard His words
(Matthew 24:34). This confirms that the trampling of the holy city
described in Revelation belongs to the same first century judgment. † This places the prophecy squarely in the
first century during the events leading up to the destruction of
Jerusalem. Revelation 11:3 † Revelation 11:3 speaks of 1,260 days during
the testimony of the witnesses. † The same prophetic period appears here using
a different expression. † This shows that the numbers are not separate
timeframes but different ways of describing the same season of
conflict and warning before Jerusalem's fall. Revelation 12:6 † Revelation 12:6 again says 1,260 days. † The same prophetic period appears again
describing another aspect of the same historical crisis. † John is retelling the same events using a
different symbolic picture. Revelation 12:14 † Revelation 12:14 calls it time, times, and
half a time. † This language comes directly from Daniel's
prophecy. † It again describes the same three and a half
year prophetic pattern. Revelation 13:5 † Revelation 13:5 again says forty-two months. † The beast is allowed authority during the
same prophetic timeframe. † This shows that John is describing the same
season of persecution and turmoil from another perspective. Daniel 7:25 † Daniel first introduces this prophetic
timeframe using the phrase time, times, and half a time. † This equals three and a half years. † The same prophetic pattern is repeated in
Revelation using the expressions forty-two months and 1,260 days. Daniel 12:7 † Daniel 12:7 again repeats the same prophetic
timeframe. † The prophecy connects the end of this period
with the shattering of the power of the holy people. † This fits perfectly with the destruction of
Jerusalem and the end of the old covenant system in AD 70. Historical References † Josephus records that the Jewish War began in
AD 66 and ended with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in
AD 70. † Eusebius records that Christians fled
Jerusalem before the final siege because they remembered the warning
of Jesus. † Tacitus also records the Roman campaign and
the devastation of Jerusalem during that same period. † Early Christian writers such as Eusebius also
connected the warnings of Jesus with the destruction of Jerusalem and
recorded that believers fled the city before the Roman siege. How It Applies To Us Today † Understanding the prophetic timeframe helps
us see that Revelation was written about real events that were
approaching the first century church. † The repeated use of the same symbolic
timeframe shows that Revelation is not laying out a chronological
timeline but describing the same historical crisis from different
perspectives. † When we see how these prophecies were
fulfilled, it strengthens our confidence that Christ kept His
promises and that Scripture is trustworthy. Q & A Appendix Q Are the forty-two months, 1,260 days, and three
and a half years separate time periods? Q Why does Revelation use both forty-two months
and 1,260 days? Q Are the forty-two months symbolic while the
1,260 days are literal? Q Why can't one 1,260 day period end in AD 68 and
another in AD 70? Q Where does this prophetic pattern originate? Q What historical event fits this prophetic
season? Q Why does Revelation repeat the same timeframe
in different ways? † This is the fulfilled perspective we proclaim at
Fulfilled Prophecies † Source Index † Genesis 7:11; Genesis 7:24; Genesis 8:4
By Dan Maines
In the six hundredth year of
Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the
month, on the same day were all the fountains of the great deep
broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened.
And the waters prevailed upon
the earth a hundred and fifty days.
and the court which is
without the temple leave without, and measure it not, for it hath
been given unto the nations: and the holy city shall they tread under
foot forty and two months.
And I will give unto my two
witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and
threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.
And the woman fled into the
wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that there they
may nourish her a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
And there were given to the
woman the two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly into the
wilderness unto her place, where she is nourished for a time, and
times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
and there was given to him a
mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and there was given to
him authority to continue forty and two months.
and he shall speak words against
the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High; and he
shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given
into his hand until a time and times and half a time.
and I heard the man clothed in
linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he lifted 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 they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the
holy people, all these things shall be finished.
A No.
They are different ways of expressing the same prophetic season
(Revelation 11:2-3; Revelation 12:6; Revelation 12:14; Revelation
13:5; Daniel 7:25; Daniel 12:7).
A Revelation is using different
prophetic forms to describe the same timeframe. Forty-two months and
1,260 days both equal three and a half years in prophetic reckoning
(Revelation 11:2-3; Revelation 12:6).
A The expressions are
symbolic prophetic forms, but they describe a real historical period.
The forty-two months and the 1,260 days both represent the same three
and a half year season during the Jewish War that ended with the
destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 (Daniel 7:25; Revelation 11:2-3).
A Because Revelation
repeatedly attaches the same timeframe to several visions describing
the same crisis. These references come from the same prophetic
pattern in Daniel and are not separate timelines.
A
The pattern comes from Daniel where the period is described as time,
times, and half a time (Daniel 7:25; Daniel 12:7).
A The Jewish War from AD 66 to AD 70
which ended with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple (Luke
21:20-24).
A Because the book describes
the same historical crisis from different symbolic perspectives
rather than laying out events in strict chronological order
(Revelation 11-13).
© Fulfilled Prophecies - Dan
Maines.
†
Revelation 11:2-3; Revelation 12:6; Revelation 12:14; Revelation
13:5
† Daniel 7:25; Daniel 12:7
†
Luke 21:20-24; Matthew 24:34
† Josephus Wars
of the Jews Book 5-6; Eusebius Ecclesiastical History 3.5; Tacitus
Histories 5.13
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