According to Daniel 12:1 tells of a war and a time of trouble like no other period in Jewish history, since they became a nation. When was that? If we consider what the scriptures say about this period. It is a time when “everyone found written in the book” will be delivered, vis-à-vis a time of salvation. It was a time when the righteous would turn many to righteousness (Daniel 12:3). Didn’t the apostles do this and don’t their writings continue to do so even today? And, when did Jesus deliver us? Wasn’t it when he was crucified, and doesn’t his life dwelling within us today guarantee our eternal salvation? Is there anything that needs to be added to what Jesus had done to complete the work of salvation or wasn’t this matter finished long ago? If this is logical and true, why would we put these days into our future? Can anything be added to Jesus’ work of salvation to make our future more certain, or can anything be taken from it to put our salvation in jeopardy?
Daniel’s “time, times and half a time” is referred to in the Apocalypse as well (Revelation 11:3). It concerns the period of the ministry of the Two Witnesses, which is said to be 1260 days or 3 ½ prophetic years. Moreover, Revelation 12:6 also shows this time period is 1260 days and describes it as a time of war, when Michael casts the dragon (Satan, the devil) out of heaven (cf. Luke 10:18). This period is also a time, when God’s people are protected. When Jesus prayed to his Father in John 17:12, he said that he kept everyone he was given safe (cf. John 18:9). No one was lost except Judas that the scriptures might be fulfilled.
The problem concerning any prophecy like this one, where an exact number of days is given, is in knowing when to begin counting. I could say I found the answer to this particular problem by accident, but I was praying about these matters, so I don’t really believe it was coincidence that I came by this understanding! God helped me to see that there are exactly 1260 days counting from one of the autumn Jewish Holy Days found in Leviticus chapter 23 to the Passover day three- and one-half years later — the very day upon which Jesus was crucified. I counted 1260 days from the Last Great Day (22nd of the 7th month of the Jewish calendar) in AD 27, which was near the beginning of Christ’s public ministry counting to his crucifixion on Passover Day, the 14th of Nisan 31 AD. The Last Great Day was the day on which he was accused of casting out demons by Beelzebub (Matthew 12:24). When Jesus refuted their claims, they sought a sign (Matthew 12:38). Nevertheless, Jesus told them no sign would be given but the sign of the prophet, Jonah. Just as he was in the belly of the whale for three days and three nights, so too Jesus would be dead for the same period of time, but would rise again to fulfill the sign (Matthew 12:39-40).
The Seventy Weeks Prophecy (Daniel 9:27) says the Messiah would confirm the (New) Covenant for one week (of years), but he would be cut off in the midst of that week (of years). In other words, he would die 3 ½ years into the 70th week of the prophecy. Jesus confirmed the covenant for 1260 days from the Last Great Day—the 22nd of the 7th month, AD 27, to Passover Day—the 14th of the 1st month, AD 31.[1] Anyone who wishes to count the days against the Jewish calendar may do so in the graph provided below. May God open our hearts and minds to his holy word and give us understanding as we consider these things that point to Jesus and our salvation.
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| Month | 27 AD | 28 AD | 29 AD | 30 AD | 31 AD | Total |
| 1st | 30 | 30 | 30 | 14th day of Nisan or Passover Day | ||
| 2nd | 29 | 29 | 29 | |||
| 3rd | 30 | 30 | 30 | |||
| 4th | 29 | 29 | 29 | |||
| 5th | 30 | 30 | 30 | |||
| 6th | 29 | 29 | 29 | |||
| 7th | Last Great Day – 8 days left in the month | 30 | 30 | 30 | ||
| 8th | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | ||
| 9th | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | ||
| 10th | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | ||
| 11th | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | ||
| 12th | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | ||
| 13th | 29 | |||||
| Totals | 155 days | 383 days | 354 days | 354 days | 14 days | 1260 days |
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The 1260 days begin with Jesus accused of being a servant of Satan, just as the people began to recognize him as their Messiah (Matthew 12:23-24). Jesus denied the charge (Matthew 12:25-37), but certain of the scribes and Pharisees desired a sign. Jesus had already given several “signs” of his office as Messiah, but the Jewish leaders wanted a “sign” of their choosing. Jesus, however, would not dance to their tune and said no sign would be given to that evil generation but that of the prophet Jonah. This sign pertained to this death and the length of time he would be in the tomb. The 1260 days count from the Last Great Day of the Feast of Tabernacles (22nd day of the 7th month) AD 27 to Passover day (14th day of the first month) AD 31 when Jesus was crucified.
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[1] Concerning the remainder of the week (1290 days), that study can be found HERE.
14 responses to “The 1260 Days of the 70 Weeks Prophecy”
That is odd, since John 7 comes after John 6 and Jesus celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles in John 7-9 and later the Feast of Dedication (Chanukah – John 10). A simple reading of the four chapters would leave one believing the fall and winter festivals came after the spring festival. Why do you believe this is not the case here?
Because the Sympotics are not chronological ambiguous, they tell us when the things depicted in both happen.
Since your into Preterist views, what do you think of my Blog’s latest post?
http://midseventiethweekrapture.blogspot.com/2015/06/daniel-1136-45-is-about-octavian-caesar.html
We agree on some things, but not all. I have a blog-post concerning this HERE.
Why do you think John is chronologically ambiguous? The flow of events seem clear to me. It seems you may be reading ambiguity into John and it isn’t there. Just because you cannot understand how they fit together is not a reason to force John into a mold that contradicts the context.
The second story of John 2 cannot be explained any other way. The Cleansing of The Temple is presented as the finale straw on the Sympotics, so to suggest he did the same thing two or 3 years earlier is ridiculous. It was also what Jesus says here that is misquoted by the false witnesses at his trail and presented as something said just recently.
It is difficult for me to ignore the arrogance in your statement: “The second story of John 2 cannot be explained in any other way.” In other words it can be explained **only** your way! :-)
The truth be known it is clear (at least to me) that Jesus cleansed the Temple no less than four times. Each recording of the event is a different cleansing. After the 3rd cleansing in the final week of Jesus’ life, the chief priests were so livid they had to do something to get rid of him. He was gaining too much power with the people. Your understanding or “ridiculous” for the cleansing at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry is out of character with your own claim on your website, namely, “I’m a Christian, I take the Bible literally…” The easiest way to understand John is to see three Passovers, and that a cleansing of the Temple occurred during the first of the three.