The Danielic Imperative, Episode 20

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Justification by Faith Alone and Polemical Christian Witness

The anathema of God was for those who denied justification by faith alone. When that is at stake, we need to be on the battlefield, exposing the ear and combating the ear.

We are unabashedly, unashamedly Clarkian. And so the next few statements that I'm going to make, I'm probably going to step on all of the Vantillian toes at the same time. And this is what we do at Simple Riff around the radio, you know.

We are polemical and polarizing Jesus style.

I would first say that to characterize what we do as fashion is itself fashion. It's not hate. It's history. It's not fashion. It's the Bible.

Jesus said, Woe to you when men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way. As opposed to blessed are you when you have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness.

It is on. We're taking the gloves off. It's time to battle.

Daniel 2, Daniel 7, and the Rise of Roman Catholicism

Welcome back to our listeners. And I just want to say that I appreciate all who have been listening to the previous 19 episodes of the Danielic Imperative. A podcast that explores Daniel's eschatological timeline as the foundational precept of New Testament and times revelation.

It takes a lot of work to prepare each episode, but I know it also takes a lot of work to listen to each episode. So I certainly appreciate those who have put in the time and effort to listen. In the previous two episodes, we corrected the universal assumption that the stone of Nebuchadnezzar's vision in chapter 2 of Daniel only hits the statue once.

And showed rather that the stone strikes the statue twice. That was episode 18. And we identified from the scriptures the transition point from legs of iron to feet of iron and clay. In 69 A .D. with the death of the 7th emperor of the Roman Empire.

And the transition from the feet of iron and clay to the toes of iron and clay in 293 A .D. When Emperor Diocletian divided the empire into 12 diocese. And by 381 A .D. after some modest administrative reorganizations to Diocletian's initial arrangement over the course of the 4th century.

The Roman Empire was finally divided into 13 diocese. That was episode 19. As we have insisted from the beginning of the series, the scriptures when Daniel 7 is harmonized with Revelation 17. In fact point us to a 13 way division of the empire as the harbinger of the rise of the little horn Antichrist of Daniel 7.

Because if Daniel saw 10 horns and knew the little horn had removed 3 of the first horns. But Antichrist still has 10 horns in his retinue when Christ returns to destroy him at the end. Then there must have been 13 to begin with.

And Daniel had simply picked up the narrative in Daniel 7 after the 3 horns had been removed. Just like he picked up the narrative on the four headed leopard of the Greek Empire after Alexander was already long gone.

Thus while the world has awaited a 10 way division of the Roman Empire as the harbinger of Antichrist. And the great apostasy of Paul's admonition to the Thessalonians. We should have been looking for a 13 way division all along.

And that 13 way division occurred by 381 A .D. And in 382 A .D. we have our first record of the Roman Catholic claim. That the Roman Catholic religion is founded upon the 3 apostolic sees of Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch.

Which by then were the 3 chief metropolitan cities of 3 of the 13 dioceses of the Roman Empire. And sure enough the same year the emperor declares Roman Catholicism to be the religion of the empire. Naming Pope Damasus of Rome as the pontifex of the new religion.

And shortly thereafter the emperor gives up that title. And to summarize our observation looking back. At the transition from legs to feet. Our Lord set up a heavenly kingdom that was not of earth. In accordance with Daniel 2 .44.

And at the transition from feet to toes. Antichrist Roman Catholicism set up an earthly kingdom that was not of heaven. In accordance with Daniel 7 .12 and 24. If we do not recognize those 2 strikes of the stone in Daniel 2.

And we scour the history books in search of a 10 way division of the Roman Empire. We are led headlong into an interpretation of history in which the church has an earthly empire. And Roman Catholicism is the name that is attached to that kingdom.

Confusing the heavenly kingdom of Christ with the earthly kingdom of Antichrist. That is the reason many Protestants revert back to Rome. Thinking that they must connect themselves to the earthly manifestation of Christ's heavenly kingdom.

And that is why otherwise intelligent Protestants finally capitulate. And bow the knee to relics, images, slivers of wood, the Eucharist. The Pope and the apparitions of Mary. And accept the sacrifice of the mass, prayers to and for the dead.

Baptismal regeneration and clerical celibacy. And even those who do not revert back to Rome are nonetheless led to the assumption. That Antichrist did not rise until late in the 5th century. Or perhaps not even until 800 AD.

And thereby legitimize all of the idolatries and abominations that arose from 350 onward. As if they were merely unfortunate distortions to Christianity but not fatal to it. That is why even intelligent Protestants accept some of the grossest violations of God's law.

As compatible with Christianity. Embracing Teresa of Avila, Thomas Aquinas, Francis of Assisi, Mother Teresa, John Paul II and others. As our brethren in Christ. But if we recognize the two strikes of the stone in Daniel.

And the 13 way division of the 4th empire. And the fact that Roman Catholicism claimed 3 of the 13 dioceses as her own. And came up among the remaining 10. We can not only identify the great falling away in the latter part of the 4th century.

As the fulfillment of Paul's admonition to the Thessalonians. But we can also distinguish between Christ's heavenly kingdom and Antichrist's earthly kingdom. And avoid the temptation to confuse the two and walk away from the true apostolic faith.

But what happens after the rise of the earthly kingdom of Antichrist. Which is the earthly kingdom of Roman Catholicism. And actually I should ask what happens prior to it. What constitutes the first strike of the stone in Daniel 2 .34.

That causes the feet to break into pieces. Causing the toes to materialize in the form of a fragmented Roman empire. As I mentioned in the previous episode. The first strike of the stone in Daniel 2 .44.

And the judgment against the 4th empire in Daniel 7 .11. Correspond to the courtroom scene that takes place in Revelation 5. When the lamb begins to open the seals of the scroll. And notably that judgment is administered from heaven against the 4th empire of Daniel's visions.

The second strike of the stone in Daniel 2 .35. And the judgment against the little horn in Daniel 7 .26. Correspond to the judgment scene in Revelation 19. When the Lord comes to smite the nations and rule them with a rod of iron.

And destroy the beast and the false prophet. And notably the judgment is administered on earth against Antichrist. We will begin our analysis of the seals, trumpets and vials of Revelation. Or bowls depending on your translation.

Very soon. But for now let us turn our focus back to the toes of Daniel 2. And the horns of Daniel 7. As Daniel's angelic interpreter observed. That sure sounds like three and a half years. And in fact some of the early writers assumed that the wicked one of prophecy.

That man of sin. Would rise when the Roman Empire divided ten ways. And then would rule for three and a half years. And then it would all be over. Some of the early writers interpreted those three and a half years as a literal 1260 days.

That constitute the second half of the 70th week of Daniel. Other later eschatologists interpreted time, times and the dividing of time. As prophetic days of years. Just as the 70 weeks of Daniel chapter 9 have been interpreted as 70 weeks of years.

Or what about the 2300 days of Daniel chapter 8? Are they 2300 years? Some creative eschatologists have even interpreted the 2300 evenings and mornings. Through the lens of 2300 evenings and mornings of sacrifices.

That is two sacrifices per day. For a total of 2300 sacrifices over the course of 1150 prophetic days. Which are to be interpreted as 1150 years. But that raises one of the most puzzling questions in eschatology.

How on earth are we to recognize when we are supposed to interpret days as years? And when are we supposed to interpret days as literal days? Well, the answer is in the scriptures. The practice of interpreting a prophetic day as a year.

Is in accordance with the day for a year principle of prophecy. Stated in Numbers 1434. Which says,. And you shall know the breach of my promise. And Ezekiel 4 .6 which says,. But obviously, we cannot simply assume that every reference to a day in prophecy is a reference to a solar year.

For example, Jesus said,. Even though he was prophesying something, clearly he was not speaking in terms of prophetic days of years. After all, he was not three years in the ground. It was a reference to his resurrection which was three days after his crucifixion.

How do we know this? From context. John 2 .21 says,. And besides, Jesus said this was the sign of Jonah. And Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale. According to Jonah 1 .17 and Matthew 12 .40.

Clearly from context, we know that Jesus was prophesying three literal solar days in the ground until his resurrection. In another case, when the Lord said to Abraham, We do not immediately assume that because this is prophecy, it must have been a year of prophetic days.

And therefore, Sarah would give birth to a son 360 years later. No, the context shows that we are talking about a year of ordinary time. For Abraham was 99 years old when the Lord promised a son, according to Genesis 17 .24.

And he was 100 years old when Isaac was born, according to Genesis 21 .5. So let's be careful not simply to assume that every reference to days in prophecy is a reference to days of years. As the listener may have guessed from our examples so far, Jesus' resurrection and Isaac's birth were prophecies that are understood in ordinary solar days or years because the context requires it.

And the examples from Numbers and Ezekiel refer to prophetic days of years because the context demands. This caution we are offering for the consideration of our listeners is due to the propensity of eschatologists, especially historicists, we think, for assigning prophetic days of years to every time prophecy in Daniel and Revelation, assuming that every reference to time is a reference to prophetic time or prophetic days of years.

So we end up scouring the history books or worse, making prophecies about 2 ,300 years based on the reference to 2 ,300 days in Daniel 8 and searching for 1 ,290 years and 1 ,335 years based on the Daniel 12 references to 1 ,290 and 1 ,335 days.

And even searching for a 391 year and 15 day time period based on the reference to an hour, a day, a month, and a year of Revelation 9 .15 because a year equals 360 years, a month equals 30 years, a day equals 1 year, and an hour equals 1 24th of a year or 15 days.

If we are to understand a prophetic time period as prophetic days of years, the context has to tell us so. And what we are going to do today is evaluate some of the most significant of the prophetic time periods in Daniel and Revelation.

And there are quite a few. I'll read through them now. Daniel 7 .25. Daniel 8 .14. Daniel 9 .24. Daniel 10 .25. Daniel 12 .7. Daniel 12 .11. Daniel 12 .12. Revelation 11 .2. Revelation 11 .3. Revelation 11 .9.

Revelation 11 .11. Revelation 12 .6. Revelation 12 .14. Revelation 13 .5. Okay, that's a lot of time prophecy in Revelation and in Daniel. We are going to work through these times of prophecy today. There are others that will have to wait until we get to our discussion on the seals, trumpets, and bowls of Revelation and will require a discussion on the transition of civil power from the Roman Empire to the devil who enjoys a brief period of civil power on earth to Antichrist who receives his seat and power and great authority from the devil.

But let us begin today by stating that we cannot simply assume that every day refers to a year, that every time period can be interpreted as prophetic days of years, and we cannot assume that every time times and a half or 42 months or 1260 days is always referring to the same period.

Some of the prophecies like the 70 weeks of Daniel 9 can be immediately placed in the day for a year category not simply because there is such a thing as a day for a year in prophecy but rather because of what is revealed to us in Leviticus 26, Jeremiah 25 and 29, Zechariah 7 and Daniel 9.

The Jews were punished for 70 years and did not repent of their errors. So in accordance with Leviticus 26, when the Jews were punished and do not repent, their punishment is multiplied sevenfold. 70 years becomes 70 weeks of years.

That one was easy. The rest are not so obvious. But the scriptures provide considerable assistance to us, particularly in their references to the lunisolar calendar with its attendant implications regarding the concept called intercalation.

Once we get through intercalation, we will be able to tackle the biggest items on our list which are the 2300 evenings and mornings, the time times and a half, the 42 month periods, the 1260 day periods and the 1290 and 1335 day periods.

Those comprise the bulk of time periods in Danielic eschatology and we believe the listeners will probably be surprised at how easy it is to determine which ones fall into the category of a prophetic day equals a year and which ones fall into the category of a prophetic day equals a literal solar day.

Let's return now to the concept of intercalation, something we covered in episode 14. Second only to the day for a year principle of prophecy, the principle of intercalation is the most important concept in understanding prophetic times in Danielic eschatology.

By understanding intercalation as revealed to us in the scripture, we can discern which 42 month and 1260 day periods are literal and which are prophetic and then apply the day for a year principle only where the scriptures require it.

So what is intercalation? In our modern calendar, February 29 is an intercalary day added once every four years in order to keep our calendar aligned with the solar year. That intercalary day is necessary because the calendar year is 365 days but the solar year is about 365 and a quarter days.

So once every four years, we have to add a day back in to catch up. That is an intercalary day. The Jewish calendar has a similar but much, much larger problem. It is a lunar solar calendar which means that the Hebrew calendar goes by the motion of the moon for its months but by the motion of the sun for its years.

As such, each month can be 29 or 30 days long and thus a normal year can have 353, 354 or 355 days which can be more than 12 days shy of a solar year. After three years, such a calendar can be off by more than a month.

So just like we have to add an intercalary day every four years on February 29, about every three years the Jews had to add an intercalary month, something that takes place seven times every 19 years.

The 12th month of the Jewish calendar is Adar and it is 29 days long but in leap years, the 12th month is called Adar 1 and it is 30 days and the 13th month is called Adar 2 which is 29 days. In that case, a leap year can have 383, 384 or 385 days which can be as much as 20 days longer than a solar year.

So those are your two kinds of years in the lunar solar calendar. Either a year is about 354 days plus or minus or it is about 384 days plus or minus. Now there are three facts that necessarily follow and they are extremely important so I want to appeal to the patient attention of the listener.

You cannot understand Danielic eschatology without these concepts which is to say, you cannot understand Danielic revelations about days, weeks, months and years if you do not understand what God has revealed to us in the scriptures about His lunar solar calendar.

And remarkably, almost all of eschatology has been developed without that information. God revealed a lunar solar calendar to Moses and the logical implication of a lunar solar calendar is the intercalary month that has to be added to keep the lunar solar calendar in sync with the solar year.

And the necessary implication of that is something that unlocks the calendration of Daniel and John and shows us which time periods are days of solar years and which days are just solar days. Okay, here are the three main points.

First, about every three years the Jewish calendar has 13 months in it and even then the lunar solar calendar still drifts from the solar year. Second, every three and a half year period in the lunar solar calendar therefore has at least 43 months in it and that means a three and a half year period of 1260 days is always, always, always 43 months long, not 42 months long.

Because the Jewish month can be 29 or 30 days every 42 month period in the lunar solar calendar is about 1230 days and it takes a 43rd intercalary month, the month of Adar 1, to get it back to 1260. There is simply no such thing as a 1260 day period in a lunar solar calendar that is only 42 months long.

That fact is absolute and irrefutable. It is a mathematical certainty. There simply can be no such thing as a 1260 day period that is 42 months long in regular time in the lunar solar calendar. A three and a half year period of 1260 days is always 43 months which leads us to our third point.

Third, because one intercalary month every three years still does not synchronize the lunar solar calendar to the solar year every four to nine years a second intercalary month is added and that means that about 20 of the time a three and a half year period will contain two intercalary months making the three and a half year period 44 months long or 1290 days.

Okay, let's summarize these three points. First, every three years or so the Jewish calendar has a 13 month year. Second, because of that, every three and a half year period must have 43 months to make it 1260 days.

And third, because even one intercalary month every three years still does not synchronize the calendar to the sun another leap year has to occur. So about 20 of the time a three and a half year period will contain 44 months bringing it to 1290 days.

I can just imagine what our listeners are thinking. Wait, the scripture says that a 42 month period is 1260 days. Just look at Revelation 11, 12, and 13. It's right there in the scriptures. Yes, yes, indeed it is right there in the scriptures.

And that is exactly our point. And this is where the implications of the lunar-solar calendar will help us. Daniel and John used the lunar-solar calendar to convey something very, very important to us.

But if we carry our assumptions with us into the scriptures our assumptions will cloud the message, as we have shown repeatedly. When you think about all the three and a half year periods all the 42 month periods and all the 1260 and 1290 day periods we just heard from the scripture you can understand the significance of these principles of the lunar-solar calendar.

We cannot assume that in the Jewish calendar every month is 30 days. It is not. And we cannot assume that every year is 360 days. It is not. And we cannot assume that every three and a half year period is 42 months long or 1260 days long.

They are not. And we cannot assume that 1260 days is 42 months. In fact, it never is. All those assumptions have to be checked against these principles of the lunar-solar calendar. And these principles are derived from the scriptures because it is God's revelation to Moses that requires the use of the lunar-solar calendar in the first place.

We do not find this explicitly stated in the scriptures but we do find implicit references to it as in 1 Kings 12 .32 where Jeroboam ordained a feast in the 8th month on the 15th day of the month like unto the feast that is in Judah.

Normally that feast day would be on the 15th day of the 7th month but if an intercalary month had been inserted beforehand that would move the feast day to the 8th month. We do not know when the Jews formalized the addition of the 13th month but we can infer from the scriptures that intercalation was not only necessary because the calendar is lunar-solar but also practiced because we see that odd one month shift in a key festival and because when we get to Daniel we find an oddity that can only be explained by intercalation.

That is, we find a 3 .5 year period that is 1290 days long. And as we showed in episode 14 of the Danielic Imperative the only way to account for a 3 .5 year period that is 1290 days long is if there is a 3 .5 year period that has two intercalary months in it which is a scriptural and prophetic acknowledgement of intercalation in the Hebrew calendar.

The 2,300 Evenings and Mornings, the 1,290 Days, and the 1,335 Days

So how does this help us in our eschatology? Well, it helps a lot actually. Let's look at the 2 ,300 evenings and mornings of Daniel 8 .14. And he said unto me, Unto 2 ,300 days then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

Does this refer to 2 ,300 years? As we noted in a previous episode what gets translated as days here is actually evenings and mornings in the original. And that is why the angel Gabriel in Daniel 8 .26 says The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been told is true.

There are several reasons this 2 ,300 day period must be taken as true days or literal days or about six years and four months. First, the words translated as days in Daniel 8 .14 is actually evenings and mornings just like the seven literal solar days of creation.

Second, the events that are taking place during the 2 ,300 days are to occur during the 70th week of Daniel which concludes with the anointing of the Most Holy. As we have shown already in episode 14 the sanctuary and the altar are anointed top to bottom with oil when they are dedicated according to Exodus 40 verses 9 to 10.

And the 2 ,300 days and the 70th week conclude with the cleansing of the sanctuary and the anointing of the Most Holy. And since the 70th week has already been determined to be an actual seven years and the 2 ,300 days are known to occur within that last week those 2 ,300 days must be literal days.

Third, and this is where the lunisolar calendar comes in, the 2 ,300 days begins with the trampling of the sanctuary and the host and ends with the cleansing of the sanctuary. As we showed in episode 14 of the Danielic Imperative the trampling of the sanctuary and the host began on Rosh Hashanah of 170 BC and concluded on Hanukkah of 164 BC.

The time between those two festivals, six years apart, can be 2 ,268, 2 ,269, or 2 ,270 days if there are only two intercalary months during that period. However, when there are three intercalary months in that period the length of time between Rosh Hashanah in one year and Hanukkah six years later can be 2 ,298, 2 ,299, or, that's right, 2 ,300 days.

And finally, it is noteworthy that the only way you can get to 2 ,300 days between those two festivals is if you take intercalation into account. And intercalation is only necessary if literal solar days are in view.

So it is clear that the 2 ,300 days are literal solar days not prophetic days of years. Okay, let's move on to the 1 ,290 days of Daniel 12. There is an angelic conversation taking place and one angel asks to another, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?

Daniel 12, 6. And the answer is given, that it shall be for a time, times and a half, and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people all these things shall be finished. Daniel 12, 7.

After Daniel asks a clarifying question in 12, 8, Oh my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? The answer is given in 12, 11. From the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away and the abomination that maketh desolate set up there shall be 1 ,290 days.

When evaluated in context, the time, times and a half, refers to the 1 ,290 days that it takes to take away the daily sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation until the rededication of the temple at the end of the three and a half year period, which is a reference to Daniel 8, 13 concerning the daily sacrifice and the transgression of desolation and Daniel 9, 27 which says in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease and Daniel 11, 31 which says he shall take away the daily sacrifice and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

This establishes something very important. Not only does the time, times and a half of Daniel 12 refer to the little horn of Daniel 8 whom we have identified as Antiochus IV a Greek ruler of the Seleucid line after the division of Alexander's empire but it also shows that the 70th week of Daniel 9 the 2 ,300 evenings and mornings of Daniel 8 and the time, times and a half of Daniel 12 are all coterminous.

They end with the rededication of the temple on Hanukkah in 164 BC and that means just like the 2 ,300 evenings and mornings are literal solar days because they occur within the 70th week which is itself a literal seven year period the 1 ,290 days of Daniel 12 occur within the 2 ,300 literal solar days and therefore they too must be literal solar days.

Finally, based on what we know of the lunisolar calendar the fact that a three and a half year period has 1 ,290 days in the first place shows that the three and a half year period in view has two extra intercalary months in it as we discussed earlier on and as we noted intercalation is only necessary when literal solar days are in view and to the point we made when discussing the 2 ,300 days the only way to get 2 ,300 days between Rosh Hashanah in one year and Hanukkah six years later is if there are a total of three intercalary months in that period which is only possible if there exists within that 2 ,300 days a three and a half year period that has two intercalary months in it.

Thus not only are the 2 ,300 days and 1 ,290 days shown to be literal but the fact that we are even discussing a 2 ,300 day period from Rosh Hashanah to Hanukkah and a three and a half year period that is 1 ,290 days long shows that intercalation is a scriptural principle generally and an eschatological principle specifically.

And to wrap up our analysis of eschatological time periods in Daniel not only is the 1 ,290 day period literal but so is the 45 day extension which yields the 1 ,335 day period of Daniel 12 -12. Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the 1 ,335 and 30 days.

Revelation 11, the Two Witnesses, and the 42 Months of Jerusalem

Okay so let's move on to Revelation and start analyzing the time, times and a half and the 42 month periods and the 1 ,260 day periods that we find there we will look first at the prophetic ministry of the two witnesses in Revelation 11.

Revelation 11 2 -3 says. And there was given to me a reed like unto a rod and the angel stood saying rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and them that worship therein but the court which is without the temple leave out and measure it not for it is given unto the Gentiles and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months and I will give power unto my two witnesses and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days clothed in sackcloth.

So what are we to do with this. Are we talking about a 1 ,260 year period here. Well we know something very important from the seven kings of Revelation 17 and our analysis of the feat of Daniel 2 namely that Revelation must have been written during the time of Nero and thus this prophecy is looking forward from the time of Nero in the period of the iron legs to the destruction of Jerusalem that takes place in the period of the feat that is important.

Second we know that we are talking about the city of Jerusalem because we are told that the bodies of the two prophets shall lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt where also our Lord was crucified.

That's Revelation 11 8. Also Jesus said Jerusalem would be trodden down by the Gentiles in Luke 21 24 and he said it would take place within that generation in Luke 21 32. So obviously the 42 months of Gentiles treading Jerusalem under foot cannot refer to a prophetic period of days of years it has to be literal because it was to be accomplished within that generation and because it is a literal 42 months.

And because we understand from the lunisolar calendar that 1260 days is 43 months we can also conclude that the prophetic ministry of the two witnesses is not concurrent with the 42 months that the Gentiles tread the city under foot.

Remember in the lunisolar calendar 1260 days is always always always always 43 months it is never 42. And thus the 42 months of the Gentiles treading Jerusalem under foot and the 1260 day prophetic ministry of the two witnesses cannot refer to the same time period.

Additionally we also have the contextual evidence from the chapter that the 1260 day prophetic ministry of the two witnesses must precede the 42 months of the Gentiles treading Jerusalem under foot because when the two witnesses are murdered their bodies are left in the streets so there are still streets and the people make merry and celebrate which is not something you would do in the city that had just been leveled and shortly after their murder and resurrection 10 of the city falls according to Revelation 11 .13 which is not something that could happen if the Gentiles had already laid the city even with the ground such that not one stone laid upon another according to Luke 19 .44.

And thus the 1260 days must be literal too because they precede the 42 months and those 42 months are complete within one generation of Jesus' prophecy. So using the lunisolar calendar we conclude that the 42 months and the 1260 days cannot be the same time period.

Using Jesus' prophecy and our analysis of Daniel 2 and Revelation 17 we find that the 42 month period must take place within one generation and therefore cannot be a prophetic period of 1260 years. And finally we show from context that the 1260 day prophetic ministry of the two witnesses must occur prior to the literal 42 months which themselves must take place within one generation of Jesus' prophecy.

Now before we move on to the next time period we will observe that the prophet's dead bodies lie in the street for three and a half days after being murdered. So what we are looking for in the historical record is not merely a 1260 day period of literal days that precede the 42 month destruction of Jerusalem but rather a 1263 and a half day period of literal days.

And we have the evidence from history and from the lunisolar calendar to identify that exact 1263 and a half day period prior to the 42 month destruction of Jerusalem. And we will discuss that 1263 and a half day period in an episode in the very near future.

Revelation 12, the Devil Cast Down, and the Shift to Doctrinal Persecution

Ok, so that's Revelation 11. Now let us turn our attention to Revelation 12 in which the woman flees to the wilderness to be nourished by the word of God and protected from the face of the serpent. Revelation 12 6 says.

And the woman fled to the wilderness where she hath a place prepared of God that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days. And Revelation 12 14 says. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle that she might fly to the wilderness into her place where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time from the face of the serpent.

The context here is that Satan has been cast down to earth and the martyrs of the faith have victory over him by yielding to martyrdom. Here is the text of Revelation 12 verses 10 to 13. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven now is come salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ.

For the accuser of our brethren is cast down which accused them before our God day and night and they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they loved not their lives unto the death.

Therefore rejoice ye heavens and ye that dwell in them woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea. For the devil is come down unto you having great wrath because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.