Forty-Two Months - 1,260 Days
The “forty-two months” and “1,260-days” both refer to the same prophetic period when the saints are persecuted.
In
chapter 12, the source of the formula is clear. The “woman clothed with the
sun” was nourished in the “wilderness” for a “season,
seasons, and half a season from the face of the serpent.” This
alludes to the “little horn” from Daniel that “wore out the
saints of the Most-High” who were “given into his hand until a time
and times and half a time.”
In Revelation, this period is also enumerated as “1,260-days,”
confirming that the two figures refer to the SAME period - (Daniel
7:21-25, Revelation 12:6, 12:14-17).
Chapter
12 concluded with the enraged “Dragon” waging war with the rest of the “woman’s
seed…they who have the testimony of Jesus,” which is another allusion to
the passage from Daniel when the “little horn waged war against
the saints.”
The
“1,260-days” is mentioned first in the vision of the “two
witnesses.” They were to “prophesy” for the “1,260-days”
while “clothed in sackcloth.” When they completed their “testimony,”
the “beast” ascended from the “Abyss to make war with them…and to
kill them,” alluding again to the same passage from Daniel - (Revelation 11:3-7).
The
“1,260-days” connects the “two witnesses” to the “woman” kept
in the “wilderness” from the “Dragon.” Likewise, the “two
witnesses” were protected from “harm” until the completion of their “testimony.”
They were identified as the “two lampstands,” and elsewhere, “lampstands”
represent churches - (Revelation 1:20).
When
John was commanded to “measure” the sanctuary, the altar, and the company
serving in it. The “holy city” was handed over to the nations and “trampled
underfoot for forty-two months,” and forty-two months is the equivalent of 1,260
days.
The
clause “trampled underfoot” alludes to the “little horn”
of the “fourth beast” in Daniel that “trampled and broke in pieces,” and challenged the
“host of heaven and the stars, and cast them down
to the ground, and trampled upon them.” The literary links to Daniel demonstrate that the “forty-months”
and the “1,260-days” refer to the same period, a time when the saints
endure persecution – (Daniel 7:21-25, 8:9-14).
What was “handed
over to the nations” and “trampled” was the “holy city” that
contained the “sanctuary,” the “altar,” and the priests that were
“rendering divine service” in the “sanctuary.” This was not Ancient Jerusalem
since it is called “holy,” whereas, the old city is described as “spiritually
called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified,” and the very
place where the “two witnesses” are slain – (Revelation 1:4-6,
5:9-11, 11:8).
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| Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash |
The “forty-two months” is mentioned again when John sees the “beast” ascending from the sea, which is the equivalent of its “ascent from the Abyss.” Just as the “Beast from the Abyss” waged “war” against the “two witnesses…and overcame them,” so the “beast from the sea” wages “war on the saints and overcomes them.” And just as the “holy city” and its “sanctuary” were handed over to be “trampled underfoot,” so the “beast from the sea” attacked the “tabernacle, those who are tabernacling in heaven.”
The same “war against the saints” is in view in each passage, though seen from different aspects. Likewise, whether delimited as “forty-two months,” “1,260-days,” or the “season, seasons, half a season,” the same prophetic period is in view.
The
citation of the “season, seasons, half a season” makes the connection to
the passage in Daniel clear. The two different formulas - “forty-two
months” and “1,260-days” - are not for stylistic purposes. While
they do refer to the same period, the “forty-two months” links the
visions of the “measured sanctuary” and the “beast from the sea”
more closely, and likewise, the “1,260-days” with the visions of the “two
witnesses” and the “woman” preserved from harm for “1,260-days.”
Whether the figure is literal or symbolic, it evokes the story of the “little
horn” and its persecution of the “saints” for a “time, times, and
half a time.” A specific but limited period is in view. However long it
lasts, it will come to an end. In each case, however it is delimited, it is the
time when the saints are persecuted severely, especially by the “beast.”
Each vision emphasizes specific aspects of this final assault by the “Dragon”
and his vassals.
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