Sign up ×

Most people interpret the 1260 days in Revelation on a 30 day month.(Rev 12:6) The 1260 days= 42 months.(Rev 13:5) 1260 days divided by a 30 day month= exactly 42 months.

Why is this interpretation used?

share|improve this question

1 Answer 1

The Old Testament is based on a 30-day month. In this system, every two or three year the year would have 13 months instead of 12, resulting in a total of seven 13-month years every 19 years. Why this specific system was chosen, I do not know. The reason it is used in Revelation is easier: 1) The Jews still used their 30-day calendar when Revelation was written. 2) The Old Testament, to which Revelations contains several allusions and quotes, is based on the 30-day system. 3) The Millennium, for those of us who are millennialists, seems based on the Jewish calendar and Old Testament rituals. 4) Revelation is a continuation of the Old Testament prophecies. For instance, Daniel's prophecy of 70 weeks (Dan 9:24f) is just one of several prophesies assuming 30-day months, and, probably, 360-day years.

share|improve this answer
This answer is totally wrong. The Jewish luni-solar calendar has months fluctuating between 29 and 30 days. The average month-length is 29½ days. This is explained correctly in the Wikipedia article to which you refer. The fixed month of 30 days is Egyptian, not Jewish. – fdb Mar 16 '14 at 11:44

Your Answer


