BOOK OF REVELATION
Lesson 22 - Chapter 11
As we opened Revelation chapter 11 last time I mentioned that this was a pretty difficult and
complex chapter, and indeed it is especially challenging when we take the time to actually
analyze and question the point or the symbolic meaning or the literal interpretation of the
numbers that are given to us. It is common in Western Christianity, especially among so-called
Evangelical Christians, to make some broad assumptions about these numbers; however in
reality these assumptions can generally be traced to the tacit acceptance of the Pre-Tribulation
Dispensational doctrine and its offshoots that were only established in the early 1800's; such
an approach was unknown to the Early Church Fathers. Thus we tend to see the numbers, but
in another sense to read right over them without too much consideration as to their
connection, order, or purpose. I suppose this may be because to examine them more closely
can be a bit tedious, and perhaps give us more information than we want. Or it could shoot
holes through a particular interpretation that you are already settled and confident in.
My conundrum is just how much information to present to you in our attempt to discern how to
understand these numbers. Why are numbers important in the Bible and especially in
Revelation? Because they go beyond generalities and principles and give us more concrete
and tangible information in our quest for understanding what is in store for us and for the world
in a not too distant future.
However my goal is not necessarily to provide firm answers to all the questions that naturally
arise from reading a Bible book that is mostly about prophecy that has yet to be fulfilled. Rather
my goal is to allow God's Word to open before us like a flower with its many petals that unfolds
to reveal its complete beauty step by step, and only so far as the season we are in will allow it.
So it seems we have little choice but to be patient in order to discover the intent of these
numbers and where and to what they apply. I'll need all of your focus and attention today, but I
think in the end it will be worth your while.
At the end of last week's lesson I told you that for the sake of trying not to become too
confusing that we should assume that from the broad view the biblical use of the time periods
of 42 months, 3 1/2 years, and 1260 days should be seen as more or less equal to one
another. At the same time I showed you that the common statement among Bible
commentators that a Jewish calendar month is 30 days, and therefore a Jewish calendar year
is 12 months times 30 days, which equals 360 days, is not technically accurate. Hebrew
months are based on lunar cycles, and this is ordained by God. An actual lunar cycle is 29 1/2
days so a Hebrew month ought to be 29 1/2 days. But since you can't have months with half-
days in them, then as a practical solution the Jews alternated between a month with 29 days
and then the next month set at 30 days. When you average 29 and 30, you get 29 1/2. Thus a
Jewish calendar was not a calendar with 12 months of an equal 30 days each, but rather it
alternated between a 29 day month and a 30 day month such that in the course of a 12 month
lunar year you wound up with 6 months of 29 days and another 6 months of 30 days. However
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that equals 354 days and NOT 360 days. And yet, that isn't the full story of the Jewish calendar
either.
Long before John's era the Jews learned that out of practicality they had to adjust their 12
month lunar calendars based on the cycle of the sun. That is, just as in modern times when we
define a year as the time it takes for the earth to make one complete orbit around the sun (365
days plus a fraction of a day), so the Jews were aware of this reality as well. And since a lunar
year is 354 days and a solar year is 365 days then there is an approximately 11 days
difference between the two (a lunar year is 11 days shorter than a solar year). So clearly a
calendar based on cycles of the moon won't line up with a calendar based on the cycles of the
sun. And since the seasons of the year (spring, summer, fall, winter) are dependent upon the
solar cycle and not the lunar cycle, then the Hebrews had to make adjustments to their lunar
calendars to keep them in tune with the sun cycle and thus with the seasons.
I won't get deeply into the variations of how this was done, but only so far as to say that at
regular intervals they would add some extra days to their lunar calendar, and even add an
extra month every few years, in order to keep their lunar calendars aligned with the seasons.
Why was this so important for them? Because the agricultural aspect of their society was of
course dependent upon seasons; not on moon cycles that have no bearing on seasons. And
even more, several of the 7 Biblical Feasts commanded by God were, at their core, agricultural
festivals that celebrated the harvesting of certain crops; and these crops grew and ripened at
different times of the year.
Since most of the Biblical Feasts are assigned actual calendar dates in the Torah that govern
exactly when they are to be celebrated, it wouldn't work well if, for instance, the summertime
wheat crop harvest celebration came during a time when their lunar calendar date for the
Biblical Feast that celebrated it (Bikkurim, the Feast of First Fruits) actually fell in the winter
time. That is, the calendar (which is based on lunar cycles) says it is time for the Biblical Feast
that revolves around special offerings of the wheat crop harvest (which is based on solar
cycles), but due to the differences between solar and lunar years in actuality it is the winter
season and the wheat harvest happened long ago. Thus there is both the practical and the
religious need for synchronizing the lunar months to the yearly sun cycle to keep the
agricultural seasons in tune with the Biblical Feast dates. All of these complex calendar issues
and more plays a role when as 21st century Bible students we attempt to understand just how
to comprehend these several numbers about the passing of time that we find in Revelation
about the End of Days.
So I want to begin by showing you the underlying reason for why Revelation presents the
numbers of 42 months, 3 1/2 days (and 3 1/2 years), and 1260 days as it does. And it is that
they follow a long standing Hebrew literary convention that we find in many places throughout
the Bible. The question is: why use all those different ways of expressing the passing of time if
from the practical sense they are all to be taken to mean exactly the same length of time? That
is, at least on the surface, 42 months, 3 1/2 years, and 1260 days are all exactly the same
length of time; it is only 3 different ways of expressing the same thing.
The Hebrew literary convention I'm referring to is called chiasm. To be clear this is neither a
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Hebrew invention, nor is it used only by Hebrews, nor is it found only in the Bible. But it is used
regularly in the Bible because the writers were Hebrews and it was a commonly used form of
expression among Hebrews. When we know that, then it helps us to understand why certain
words were chosen. When we know those things we don't try to assign a passage using
chiasm a meaning nor do we create an emphasis on a particular word, which was never
intended.
A chiasm (also called a chiasmus) is a literary device in which a sequence of ideas is
presented and then is repeated in reverse order. The result is a mirror effect as the ideas are
reflected back in a passage. That is, a mirror reverses the image. Each idea is then connected
to its “reflection” by a repeated word, often in a related form.
When trying to explain the structure of a chiasm it is usually through a series of letters, each
letter representing a new idea. For example, the structure ABBA refers to two ideas (idea A
and idea B) that are first written down (A and B) and then are repeated in reverse order (B and
A). Often, a chiasm includes another idea (that we'll call idea X) in the middle of the repetition.
The result is the ABXBA structure. In this type of chiasm the two ideas (A and B) are written
down and then repeated in reverse order, but a third idea is also inserted before the repetition
(X). By virtue of its position, the idea that is inserted is what is to be emphasized.
I realize that this may sound horribly complicated but it's not; we use chiasm in our everyday
English language. The common saying “When the going gets tough, the tough get going” is an
example of chiasm. The words going and tough are used in the first half of the saying, but then
are repeated in reverse order in the second half of the saying. The structure is ABBA. Another
example of a chiasm, also with the ABBA structure, is Benjamin Franklin’s axiom “By failing to
prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Other chiasms can be much more complex, even spanning
entire poems.
What can make chiasms more difficult to spot in modern Bibles is because of the standard use
of chapter and verse markings. That is, especially as concerns the way a Bible book is divided
into chapters (although it was not originally created that way), our minds operate in such a way
as to subconsciously put a start sign at the beginning of a chapter and a stop sign at the end of
that same chapter so we don't always recognize the original continuing flow of thought from the
preceding or following chapters. Rather we see each chapter as kind of a self-contained unit;
and therefore for a modern reader a Bible book is but a series of several self-contained units
that we call chapters. However when we remove those arbitrary chapter markings and just
read a Bible book as one continuous flow of thought, we can find all sorts of intended
connections.
As concerns our matter of the numbers 42 months, 3 1/2 years, and 1260 days: when we find
them in the order that they occur in Revelation, starting with their first appearance in
Revelation chapter 11, we see that in fact the author, John, used the literary technique of
chiasm to present them. Here's how it works: we have an A, B, C, C, B, A chiasm using those
numbers.
A = 42 is found in 11:2
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B = 1260 is found in 11:3
C = 3 1/2 is found in 11:9
Then, the mirror image of this order begins in Revelation 11:11.
C = 3 1/2 is found in 11:11
B = 1260 is found in 12:6
A = 42 is found in 13:5.
This is not magic and it is not some mysterious Bible code. It is normal and customary literary
structure that Hebrews (Jews) used in their thinking and in their writing. It is intended to be
noticed and a careful Jewish student reading John's Apocalypse would have caught on. What
we must understand is that words and numbers were chosen to make the chiasm operate
properly, just as when creating a poem words are chosen as much for their ability to rhyme as
they are for their meaning. The use of chiasm has much to do with providing a memorization
technique since most of how the contents of the Bible was passed around was orally; not by
reading. So the underlying reason these numbers are used in the way and presented in the
order that we find them in this section of Revelation has to do with making them fit into a
literary structure called chiasm. But there's more.
If you look at the use of the numbers in this chiastic structure of Revelation 11 - 13, sometimes
the numbers refer to months and sometimes to days. When we write down not just the number
but also the corresponding name of the time period associated with it we get:
A = 42 months
B = 1260 days
C = 3 1/2 days
And then in the mirror image of this order that beings in Revelation 11:11:
C = 3 1/2 days
B = 1260 days
A = 42 months
So this is a well constructed chiasm in every respect and cannot be doubted as mere
coincidence.
Now, it is my contention that we need to avoid getting overly technical or precise when defining
the lengths of a day, month, and year as we find them recorded in the Bible. For one reason
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calendars operated slightly differently depending on if one was Jew living in the Holy Land, or if
one was a Jew living in the Diaspora. If we assume that out in the Diaspora in John's day
(which is where he was) that Jews generally used 30 days to define a month (and there is
evidence that they did because it was just too complex to try to operate under a Hebrew
calendar in a gentile world without that minor compromise), and if we assume that therefore
their unadjusted lunar calendars gave them a 360 day year, then the numbers 42 months, 3
1/2 years, and 1260 days all line up as meaning exactly the same length of time. But are we to
take these as absolutely precise numbers? Perhaps. However I think these are not meant to
be precise but rather are meant as "round" numbers.
Let me give you an example of why I think that way. The Bible tells us that the Jews were in
exile in Babylon for 70 years; but does that mean 70 years to the day? And if the answer is
yes, exactly what days are counted as the beginning day and the ending day of their exile?
The 70 years could be exact according to a certain calendar but that doesn't mean it would
precisely agree with another calendar. Couldn't we say that they were in exile for 70 years, but
maybe by the calendar we use it was actually 69 calendar years and 11 calendar months? Or
70 calendar years and 1 calendar month? In our modern era we have dates that we choose to
commemorate the start and end of wars. But those dates depend on exactly when one
chooses to define the moment a war began and ended. For example: WWII was really two
wars: one with Germany and it's allies, and one with Japan and it's allies, and they each
started and ended on different dates. The war with Germany began as an intra-European war
before the USA entered the fracas, and during that time Japan was already battling China and
other countries before they attacked Pearl Harbor. Then how about the dates to commemorate
the ending of the war? Was it when German generals began surrendering their battle units? Or
was it when a formal ceremony occurred? Or was it something else?
So as for God's timing, it is hard to know exactly when God sees temporal events on earth
beginning and ending. It's also hard to know exactly how He defines those time periods. It's
one thing for God to announce a particular and specific calendar date (as He does with most of
His Biblical Feasts), or announces a particular day of the week as the appointed day of rest,
Shabbat (the 7th day). But it's quite another when he announces longer periods of time that
don't have well defined beginnings and endings; that is, no dates are provided. Even more, is
He giving us these time frames in terms of a purely lunar calendar, a purely solar calendar, a
Hebrew calendar, or a Roman calendar, or is it something else? And if it is one of these
calendars from exactly what era is it based on, and in what geographical location, because it
makes a difference? Is He thinking in terms of the extent of time that will pass when a specific
event is supposed to occur, and so the numbers generally define the beginning and completion
of that event that is His point?
I think it is better that for our purposes we take these numbers as closely approximate in the
same way a doctor says that you'll be over your cold in 10 days. Maybe it'll be 9, maybe 11;
but who would quibble? But by saying 10 days we also instinctively know he doesn't mean it as
absolutely precise, although neither does he mean it to indicate as little as 3 days nor as much
as 15 or 20. So as we watch for these events foretold in Revelation to come about, let's not
mark off days on our calendars and then be surprised if the 1260 days turns out to be 1251 or
1268 according to the way we mark time today. Nor should we assume that 3 1/2 years means
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precisely 1277 1/2 days by our modern calendars (goodness, there could even be a leap year
in there!) Nor should we necessarily seek to convert 1260 days as defined in John's era to the
Julian dating system. This exhaustive precision of numbers and time that Westerners seek in
our day is simply not what the biblical point is, in my opinion. But neither are the time periods
expressed by numbers that we read about in Revelation wildly indeterminate nor are they
symbolic as opposed to literal; however they may be both symbolic and literal.
OK. We've dealt with numbers, but now let's deal with the phrase "a time, times, and half a
time". Found in Revelation 12:14, the CJB translates it as "a season, two seasons and half a
season". I think while technically one could make a case for using the word "season" instead of
"time", it merely confuses the matter since either way it alludes to the same words found in
Daniel chapters 7 and 12. In the New Testament the Greek for "time" is kairos and it means
due measure, a measure of time, a large or small portion of time, or season. So this term is
quite general and is not at all specific. In Daniel 7 where this phrase is first used, the word is
iddan and it is Aramaic that means time....non-specific time much like kairos in Greek. The
question that I think we ought to ask, especially of Daniel chapters 7 and 12, and is why the
phrase is expressed in such a mysterious way. Why not use numbers instead of just an
ambiguous word description? If what God meant was 3 1/2 why not just say 3 1/2 years (or 42
months or 1260 days)? I don't know why but my speculation is that God was fine with giving
Daniel a mysterious hint because He wasn't ready to get more specific. But in John's era He
was ready to reveal more.
Sometimes it is possible to let the Bible define itself, and I think we can probably do that with
the phrase "a time, times and half a time". If we look to Revelation 12:5 and 6 we read:
CJB
Revelation 12:5-6
5
She gave birth to a son, a male child, the one who will rule all the
nations with a staff of iron. But her child was snatched up to God and his throne;
6
and
she fled into the desert, where she has a place prepared by God so that she can be
taken care of for 1,260 days.
Later in chapter 12 we read this in verses 13 and 14.
CJB
Revelation 12:13-14
13
When the dragon saw that he had been hurled down to the
earth, he went in pursuit of the woman who had given birth to the male child.
14
But the
woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly to her place in
the desert, where she is taken care of for a season and two seasons and half a season,
away from the serpent's presence.
Thus we have verses 5 and 6 directly connected to verses 13 and 14; the two passages are
speaking of the same event. In verses 5 and 6 the time that the woman (Israel) will be cared
for is 1260 days, and in verses 13 and 14 the same woman is cared for "for a season, two
seasons, and half a season" (or "for a time, times, and half a time" depending on the Bible
version you use). So verses 5 and 6 tell us that the time, times and half a time of verses 13
and 14 equals 1260 days.
That said, sometimes a number can be literal but also carry a larger symbolic meaning.
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Remember that the number 3 1/2 is half of the divine and ideal number 7. While 7 indicates
perfect wholeness, the number 3 1/2 indicates something that is imperfect and not whole. So I
want to offer a possibility that when 3 1/2 is offered as specific number it is meant to symbolize
imperfection and/or a process that has been interrupted and never completed. But when the
phrase "a time, times and half a time" is used (perhaps as a substitute for the number 3 1/2), it
intentionally avoids assigning the specific number 3 1/2 because while the number 3 1/2 has
an understood symbolic sense, the phrase "a time, times, and half a time" has no symbolic
sense (at least no symbolic sense that we're currently aware of). Thus in Revelation 12:14
when the woman (Israel) finally does go into the desert to be protected for a time, times, and
half a time, even if that passing of time might amount to 3 1/2 years, this does not also
symbolize something that is imperfect or not whole; that's why the mysterious phrase time,
times, and half a time is used but the actual number 3 1/2 is avoided. Again; this is my opinion
so take it for what it's worth.
Now that we've finished talking about these numbers and how we ought to think about them,
let's resume with our study of Revelation chapter 11. It is best that we re-read this in smaller
chunks as we talk about it.
RE-READ REVELATION 11:1 - 6
First I'll remind you from last week that the Temple John is measuring is not the same one that
Ezekiel was observing being measured from Ezekiel chapters 40 - 48. The Temple John is
measuring is what I would label as the Third Temple; it is the one that will be built in the near
future before Christ returns, very likely at the behest of the Man of Sin who will be revealed as
the Anti-Christ. The Temple in Ezekiel is what I call the Millennial Temple; it is built according
to God's plan and it will essentially be Yeshua's palace. It will come after, and replace, the
Third Temple.
Since the Third Temple will come as a result of a human political compromise between the
government of Israel and a man inspired by Satan who later turns against them (he is the Anti-
Christ), then we get this notation that gentiles will trample down the holy city for 42 months. To
better understand this passage let's talk about an outer court in the Temple that in Herod's day
was called the Court of the Gentiles. From the far view the Temple and it's grounds were to be
fashioned after the pattern of the Wilderness Tabernacle. The Wilderness Tabernacle was not
to be a place for gentiles; it was only for God's chosen, the Israelites. Gentiles, even should
they want to, would not have been allowed entrance into the Tabernacle courts. Therefore the
Temple was also supposed to have been a place only for Israelites and not for gentiles. But
when Herod extensively remodeled and expanded the Temple built by Nehemiah (and
Zerubavel) after the Babylonian exile, Herod also expanded the outer Temple courtyard and
gentiles were invited to come in to see the greatness and lavishness of the Temple Herod had
built. It was so magnificent that the Temple was considered as one of the 8 Wonders of the
World and gentiles came from all over the Roman Empire just to visit it the same way people
come from all over the world to visit Disney World in Florida.
We read in the New Testament about how upset even the average Holy Land Jew was about
the hundreds of thousands of gentiles that came to visit Jerusalem every year. Although the
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gentiles meant no harm, and were merely tourists, the most zealous and militant Jews were
outraged that these gentiles were allowed inside the Temple grounds, even though they were
restricted to the Court of the Gentiles, so the Zealots regularly started riots.
This arrangement was never supposed to have occurred; it was nothing more than a
compromise with the illegitimate Priesthood and a political accommodation to please Herod. It
caused such constant trouble that a garrison of Roman soldiers was stationed nearby to
interrupt the disturbances before they got too out of hand. What we find in the Temple of
John's vision is that there is an outer courtyard, and gentiles will once again be allowed in.
However the main concern is that the amount of gentiles will be so great and will no doubt
have such an expanded role in both the running of the Temple and the governing of Jerusalem
(called here "the holy city") that God and John view it as gentiles trampling upon (defiling) not
just the Temple grounds but the entire city of Jerusalem. This will go on for 42 months,
meaning that at the end of this time period something happens to change the arrangement.
What, we are not told.
Apparently during this same time period two people suddenly appear who are here identified
as "my two witnesses" and they will prophesy for 1260 days (the approximate equivalent of 42
months), dressed in the garments of mourning.....sackcloth.....that was also typical Old
Testament garb for God's anointed Prophets. Is this the same 42 month time period during
which the gentiles are defiling the holy city? Probably. Why two witnesses? And please notice
once again we have a number and not just a word description so it is important that we pay
attention to that number. We have precisely 2 witnesses; not one, and not three or more. Here
is why:
CJB
Deuteronomy 19:15
15
"One witness alone will not be sufficient to convict a person of
any offense or sin of any kind; the matter will be established only if there are two or
three witnesses testifying against him.
God is going to judge the people and the city. God is one witness, and these 2 human
witnesses make the total number 3 witnesses. The people and the city are about to be
condemned; therefore a minimum of two witnesses against them (plus God as the 3rd) is
required by Torah Law. Verse 4 says that these 2 witnesses are also the two olive trees and
the two menorahs standing before the Lord. What does that mean? This is a strong allusion to
Zechariah chapter 4.
CJB
Zechariah 4:1 Then the angel that had been speaking with me returned and roused
me, as if he were waking someone up from being asleep,
2
and asked me, "What do you
see?" I answered, "I've been looking at a menorah; it's all of gold, with a bowl at its top,
seven lamps on it, and seven tubes leading to the lamps at its top.
3
Next to it are two
olive trees, one on the right side of the bowl and the other on its left."
4
I then asked the angel speaking with me, "What are these, my Lord?" The angel
speaking with me said,
5
"Don't you know what these are?" I said, "No, my Lord."
6
Then
he answered me, "This is the word of ADONAI to Z'rubavel: 'Not by force, and not by
power, but by my Spirit,' says ADONAI-Tzva'ot.
7
'What are you, you big mountain?
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Before Z'rubavel you will become a plain; and he will put the capstone in place, as
everyone shouts, "It's beautiful! Beautiful!"'
8
This message from ADONAI came to me:
9
'The hands of Z'rubavel have laid the foundation of this house, and his hands will also
finish it.' Then you will know that ADONAI-Tzva'ot sent me to you.
10
For even someone
who doesn't think much of a day when such minor events take place will rejoice at
seeing the plumbline in the hand of Z'rubavel. So these seven are the eyes of ADONAI
that range about over all the earth."
11
I replied by asking him, "What are those two olive
trees on the right and left sides of the menorah?"
12
Then I asked the question again: "What are those two olive branches discharging
gold[-colored oil] through the two gold spouts?"
13
He replied, "Don't you know what they are?" I answered, "No, my Lord."
14
He said,
"Those are the two who have been anointed with oil; they are standing with the Lord of
all the land."
Verse 5 explains that these 2 witnesses are supernaturally protected by God as they observe
and do the job of Prophets, which is to chastise and to warn. And while they no doubt will be
warning and witnessing to Jews (they are in Jerusalem, after all), we have already been told
that the city is overrun with gentiles so gentiles, too, will be the targets of their message.
Clearly they are not popular among Jews or gentiles and, as it is with all biblical Prophets, that
puts them in constant danger. But if and when they are accosted fire comes from their mouths
to destroy those that attempt to harm them. Some Church doctrines say that the fire is not
actual fire but rather it is the Gospel; I doubt that. I think it is literal fire because it kills. Because
these two witnesses are actually Prophets, then this mention of fire cannot help but connect to
Elijah as he dealt similarly with armed messengers sent by the King of Samaria to threaten
him.
CJB
2 Kings 1:5-12
5
The messengers returned to Achazyah, and he asked them, "Why
have you come back?"
6
They answered him, "A man came to meet us. He told us to go and return to the king
who sent us, and tell him, 'Here is what ADONAI says: "Is it because there's no God in
Isra'el that you're sending to consult Ba'al-Z'vuv the god of 'Ekron? Therefore you will
never leave the bed you are lying on; you will certainly die."'"
7
He asked them, "The
man who came to meet you and told you these things, what kind of a man was he?"
8
"He was a hairy man," they answered him, "with a leather belt around his waist." He
said, "It was Eliyahu from Tishbe."
9
Then the king sent a commander of fifty to Eliyahu, together with his fifty men. Eliyahu
was sitting at the top of a hill. The commander climbed up to him and said, "Man of God,
the king says to come down."
10
Eliyahu answered the commander of fifty, "If I am in fact
a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and burn you up, along with your fifty
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men." Fire came down from heaven, and it burned up him and his fifty men.
11
The king sent him another commander of fifty, together with his fifty men. He said to
him, "Man of God, the king says, 'Come down immediately!'"
12
Eliyahu answered them,
"If I am in fact a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and burn you up, along
with your fifty men." Fire came down from heaven, and it burned up him and his fifty
men.
Revelation 11:6 says that the two witnesses also have the authority to stop the rain from
falling; yet another allusion to Elijah.
CJB
1 Kings 17:1 Eliyahu from Tishbe, an inhabitant of Gil'ad, said to Ach'av, "As
ADONAI the God of Isra'el lives, before whom I stand, there will be neither rain nor dew
in the years ahead unless I say so."
And finally the two witnesses can turn the waters into blood and strike the earth with plagues;
this of course refers to Moses doing battle for God's people with Pharaoh. So who might these
two witness be? It would seem likely that they would be people whom God has used in the
past; although nothing prevents Him from establishing two new witness/Prophets who behave
in the same manner as Elijah and Moses.
We'll begin the next lesson by addressing that matter.
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