Are the 1,290 and 1,335 days of Daniel 12 Literal or Figurative?

Introduction

“From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.

Daniel 12:11-12

The durations of 1,290 and 1,335 days in these verses are some of the most perplexing in all of the Bible. Countless commentators have tried to match these durations with significant events or milestones in Israel’s history with disappointing results. Candidates for events being referenced in these verses include Israel’s return from the Babylonian captivity, Israel’s persecution under Antiochus Epiphanes and the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in the first century AD. But try as they may, commentators just can’t seem to find any precise correspondence between these numbers and any significant events in Israel’s history. Some come close, but the numbers never work out exactly.

One wonders, if the intent of these passages was to give us literal measurements of time and if any of the events identified to-date by commentators are the events that are truly in view in the prophecy, why were such specific and precise measurements chosen in Daniel 12 if, in the end, they were still just approximations? This gives us adequate reason to suspect that these numbers have a less obvious purpose and their values have some symbolic significance.

In this post, we try our hand at deciphering the elusive meaning of these verses by taking a look at some intriguing properties of these numbers and how they compare to other observations we have made regarding other numbers that are used in prophetic portions of Scripture.

The Career of Revelation’s Beast from the Sea

The most plain observation regarding these numbers is that they are approximations for another fairly specific number that is found in Scripture. That number is 1,260 and is found in some contexts that have much in common with the context of Daniel 12.

The beast in Revelation 12 has a career that lasts for 1,260 days/42 months (Revelation 11:2; 13:5). We are told that this career will also begin after 42 months/1,260 days (Revelation 11:3,7). The beast’s counterpart, the dragon, is prevented from harming the woman in the wilderness for 1,260 days/time, times and half a time (Revelation 12:6,14). The expression “time, times and half a time” is also found in the book of Daniel in similar contexts, one being Daniel 12, our immediate area of interest (Daniel 7:25; 12:7).

It doesn’t take much imagination to appreciate that this 42-month period is exactly half of 7 years. Apparently, the 42 months is parallel to 1,260 days because they are depicted as equivalent measures of the same duration. From this, we can conclude that the years being alluded to are not quite the normal 365 days in length. This is because, for half of 7 years to work out to 1,260 days, the years can only be 360 days long. This has been noticed by other commentators and is important in some calculations concerning the timing of the 70-weeks from Daniel 9.

For our purposes though, this 360-day year is important for another reason. The difference between the 1,335 days and the 1,290 days is 45 days. 45 days is exactly one-eight of a 360-day year. As Daniel 12:12 points out, the person who reaches the 1,335 days is ‘blessed` (H835 – esher). This word is related to the Hebrew name Asher who was the 8th son of Jacob. This accounts for the word-play used by his mother Leah when she named him (Genesis 30:13). Asher was also considered most blessed out of all the other tribes in another context (Deuteronomy 33:24-25). The very Hebrew word for the number eight [H8083] is related to the concept of prosperity and fatness [H8082] due to its relationship to the number 7. Strong’s tells us that 8 is related to the concept of plenteous or richness “through the idea of plumpness; a cardinal number, eight (as if a surplus above the ‘perfect’ seven)”.

The number 8 is extremely important in biblical prophecy and is significant throughout Scripture as covered in many of my articles. Eight is particularly significant in Daniel and in the book of Revelation. It’s probably no coincidence that the 8th king of Revelation 17 appears to be related to the 8th king who is implied in Daniel 7:7-8 (i.e. the 11th little horn who uprooted 3 before it effectively making it the 8th). It is Revelation’s 8th king who is identified as a Beast, appears to be the Sea Beast of Revelation 13, and is a rebirth of all of the beasts in Daniel 7.

Clearly, the fact that the difference between the 1,335 days and the 1,290 days is 1/8th of a 360-day year is no small coincidence. This observation begins to highlight the symbolic element to these numbers and their connection to the Sea-Beast of Revelation. Similar to the significant fraction of 1/8th determined in connection with the 45-day difference earlier, it can also be noted at this point that the 30-day difference between the 1,290 days and the 1,260 days which Revelation equates to the period of “time, times and half a time” found in Daniel is 1/12th of a 360-day year. 12 is a symbolic number central to Scripture, especially as it concerns Israel and the Messiah as well as the 12 months in the yearly cycle of the earth around the sun. Both differences result in fractions of a year that have eschatological significance.

Given the close association of the Beast and these numbers, it’s worthwhile to take a look at another very specific number associated with this beast and his career. That number is 666 (Revelation 13:18). We are about to see that the connection between 666 and 1,260 predates the association found in Revelation in a different but closely related context. That context is in the account of Solomon and his misuse of power and wealth.

Solomon’s Wealth

In this context, we find that Solomon was eventually accumulating 666 talents of gold yearly (1 Kings 10:14; 2 Chronicles 9:13). In these very same passages, we also find that the wisest man ever to exist was king Solomon (1 Kings 3:12; 4:30; 10:23). It cannot be coincidence that we are told that both 666 and the eighth king requires a mind with wisdom to understand (Revelation 13:8; 17:9). And immediately before our perplexing numbers in Daniel 12, we are told that the wise would understand (Daniel 12:10) . Again, these elements point us back to this section of Solomon’s reign. But, these 666 talents of gold were not Solomon’s sole source of gold.

He also received 120 talents of gold from the Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:10; 2 Chronicles 9:9) and the same amount from Hiram the king of Tyre (1 Kings 9:14) plus an additional 420 talents from the same king (1 Kings 9:27-28; note that 2 Chronicles 8:18 instead records 450 talents). Notice, the multiple of forty-two in this context and its parallel in the 42-month period of Revelation concerning the Beast. Coincidence?

What’s more, the total of all of these amounts is 1,326 (120 + 120 + 420 + 666). This is another very specific number that is obviously quite close to 1,335. Since the difference of Daniel’s approximations of 1,260 appears to be significant and points to the symbolic number 8 already in focus in our correlation between Solomon and eschatological symbols of the NT and focal points throughout Daniel and the OT, we might wonder if there is some significance to the differences between the numbers in Daniel 12 and the grand totals of Solomon’s documented wealth. What we find is that there certainly is significance in those differences too.

Indeed, in the case of 1,326 and 1,335, the difference is 9. 9 just happens to be a perfect square. Likewise, the difference between 1,326 and 1,290 is 36, another perfect square. If there were no intentional link between the numbers in Daniel 12 and Solomon’s gold, it’s highly improbable that these differences would share such an unlikely property as being perfect squares.

While my main point is captured in the table above, there are a few incidental observations that may be worth noting as well. 1,326 itself is also special because it is a triangular number. 1,326 is the triangular of 51. In like fashion, 666 is also the triangular of 36, the perfect square of 6 as mentioned previously. The number 6 itself is the triangular of 3 and also its double. Like perfect squares (cf. 1,600 – Revelation 14:20, 144 – Revelation 7:4; 14:1,3; 21:17), triangular numbers have special significance in Scripture. And for good reason. I explain some of this significance in my article “The 8th Scarlet King-Beast of Revelation 17 and the Octavii Rufi” in the section concerning the anti-messianic character of Pythagoras and his connection to Emperors Nero and Octavian and the 10 horns of Revelation 17. (Note also, that 10 is the triangular of 4, being half of 8). Notice also the double-occurrence of 120 in these passages. It’s not surprising that 120 is also a triangular number – the triangular of 15. But 120 is recursively triangular because 15 itself is the triangular of 5. The number 5 also just happens to be half of 10 (cf. the relationship between 10, 4, and 8 previously mentioned).

An Odd Discrepancy

Earlier we mentioned that in the parallel passages in 2 Chronicles, the alternate figure of 450 talents from 2 Chronicles is used in place of 420 from 1 Kings. This alternate value brings the total concerning all of Solomon’s gold to 1,356 (120 + 120 + 450 + 666). This is just 21 over 1,335. 21 is the triangular of 6. It is also just 66 over 1,290. 66 is the triangular of 12. So, in place of the differences of perfect squares above, we end up with differences that are both triangular numbers instead. As in the case of the perfect squares, if there were no intentional link between the numbers in Daniel 12 and Solomon’s gold, it’s highly unlikely that these differences would share such an improbable property as being triangular numbers.

Again, while my main point is captured in the above table, there are a few incidental observations in this case that also suggest that there is a special significance to these numbers. In the case of the difference of 21, we can note that this is also half of 42. The number 21 also occurs in Daniel 10:13, the chapter that opens the section ending with the chapter containing our cryptic numbers. This 21 occurs in connection with Michael who is seen again in Daniel 12:1. Further, in the case of both 21 and 66, each of these differences bear a special relationship to 6, just as in 666.

But, aside from the various incidental observations mentioned above, the main point is that regardless of whether 420 or 450 is used in the calculations, the resulting symmetry concerning the types of differences in each pair is striking. If we were not meant to connect the 1,290 and 1,335 from Daniel 12 with Solomon’s accumulation of gold, these differences would certainly not exhibit this pattern in the differences. The odds of this pattern occurring by pure chance are practically 0%. Therefore, the pattern was deliberately placed here for a purpose and providing a link between Daniel 12 and Solomon’s gold appears to have been that purpose.

Building on the link between the 1,260 days of the beast’s reign of Revelation 11-13 and the1,290/1,335 days in Daniel 12, it’s also no coincidence this beast’s number (666) occurs in the verses immediately after the accounts of the Queen of Sheba’s visitation to Solomon and her gift of gold (1 Kings 10:14; 2 Chronicles 9:13). It’s not the specific amount of gold that she gave Solomon but it’s referenced right in her immediate context. Compare this to the mark of the Beast (Revelation 13:16-18; 17:3,7-8,11; 19:20). It’s also strange that a multiple of 12 (i.e. 120) should show up in connection with the gold contributed by the her since she also has an important eschatological role. That role can be found in the words of Jesus in the Sign of Jonah (Matthew 12:42; Luke 11:31).

“The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.”

Matthew 12:42; Luke 11:31

The Queen of the South here is unquestionably the Queen of Sheba who visited Solomon in the aforementioned context. Sheba is most likely a Hebrew word-play for the number seven. Observe that she would rise in the judgment to condemn “this generation”. After the mention of the Queen in this “Sign of Jonah” is given, a mere four verses later, Jesus directly parallels His statements in Matthew 23:13-39 concerning the judgment on the “wicked generation” (Luke 11:37-52). Preterists generally identify “this generation” as the Harlot found in Revelation 17 who is judged by the 8th King-Beast and the 10 horns (Revelation 17:16-17). Surely it is of paramount symbolic significance that both a Queen so strongly associated with the number 7 and a king identified as the 8th in a sequence of kings arise to judge the same entity. Further, both royal judges are directly linked to separate instances of the number 666 which only occurs in one other place in scripture! These numbers are all clearly symbolic of something. The same likely applies to the 1,290 and 1,335 days as well. The question remains, what exactly are they meant to tell us?

Also, the second 120 talents came from the King of Tyre who incidentally was very displeased with the towns Solomon had gifted him in response. This king Hiram called the region that these towns were in the Land of Kabul [H3521 – כבול] (1 Kings 9:13). Kabul is rooted in words meaning clothed and restraints like cuffs for wrists and ankles. Kabul was also the name of a city on the border of the territory of Asher (Joshua 19:27). It could also be a word-play on buwl [H945 – בול], the eighth month of the Hebrew calendar in which Solomon finished building the temple (1 Kings 6:38). Compare בול to כבול. Kabul is also significant as a word-play on the phrase “good for nothing”. Word-plays like these are significant as expressions that have dual-meanings and are closely associated with the confusion of languages at Babel/Babylon.

Notice also that the king of Tyre also collected gold for Solomon every three years from the land of Tarshish (2 Chronicles 9:21). For the messianic significance of Tarshish, Jonah and the Queen of Sheba, see the subsection “Eight-Linked Chain Between The Queen of Seven and Jonah” from my post “The Great Tribulation of Full Preterism: Condemned by the Queen of ‘Seven’ and an ‘Eighth’ King“. For astounding connections between the kings of Tyre, Babylon, the 8th judge of Israel and the number 42, see the section “The King of Babylon” in “Finding Satan in the Kings of Tyre and Babylon“.

Conclusion

The 1,290 and 1,335 days do not appear to deviate from 1,260 for the simple purpose of demarcating significant milestone events to occur after the 1,260 days. Rather, they were approximations which differed from 1,260 for the purpose of drawing our attention to Solomon’s accumulation of gold. When we follow those hints, we find that the events surrounding Solomon seemed to have typological significance foreshadowing eschatological events and the NT confirms this with its usage of the Queen of Sheba/Seven and 8th King Beast as symbols of two co-judges of the Harlot/wicked generation.

The differences between the numbers in Daniel 12 and the totals of Solomon’s gifted talents of gold suggests ‘pairing’ on two major levels. These were the differences that resulted alternatively in extremely unlikely pairs of rare and special numbers, specifically squares and triangulars. There were several other suspicious suggestions of pairing (42 being a number of duality, two gifts of 120 talents of gold, two gifts of gold from the king of Tyre). Having seen all of this, it may be compelling to point out now that even 666 is half of 1,332 which is just 3 shy of 1,335. Thus, even in the number 666, we have a likely allusion to this duality. If not duality itself, inferring that duality is already being highlighted by the other correlations and applying that duality to 666 results in another correlation between the numbers in Daniel 12, the 1,260 day persecution of the Beast and Solomon’s gold.

Therefore, this supports what has been my contention throughout several articles. That is that 1,260 days is suggestive of half of a seven-year period and since 7 is suggestive of pertinence to final things, then half of seven in an eschatological context implies that there are two major historical components to which those final things apply. Said another way, contexts that set our focus on half of seven likely describe events that will have the aspects that are described in the context manifest as parallel events in both of these historical components. The context in which allusions to half of 7 occur is very probably simultaneously describing events that will take place at two distinct periods in history. These components are not necessarily successive, mutually exclusive events. As we’ve seen in the case of the prophetic concept of a “generation”, the two components in view were actually one within another. That is, one prophetic entity foreshadows events involving an encompassing superset which includes the minor prophetic entity. The local, wicked generation contemporary to Jesus was merely a subset or representative of the wicked people from all of human history, from its beginning to its very end.

The numbers 1,290 and 1,335 are given as hints that there are to be two phases to what was being described in the context of Daniel 12. This manner of expression is more explicit about this duality than the singular mention of 1,260 alluded to by the “time, times and half a time” earlier in the same chapter. 1,260 merely alludes to a description of two events with parallels as described in the text. On the other hand, the approximations 1,290 and 1,335 are two totally different numbers that each explicitly apply to two different yet related periods of time. Each period would seem likely to exhibit these same parallels, but they would be more intense in some sense in the second phase resulting in greater characteristic blessing.

This is all consistent with observations documented elsewhere in our studies on duality in the eschatological prophecies of the New Testament which have several parallels to the messianic prefigurement found in Solomon and his accumulation of wealth. When we identified the real-world counterparts symbolized by both the Queen of Sheba and the 8th king in my article “The Great Tribulation of Full Preterism: Condemned by the Queen of ‘Seven’ and an ‘Eighth’ King“, we discovered that the Queen of ‘Seven’ and an ‘Eighth’ King” each judge the “wicked generation” but they each apply to a different aspect of its dual-nature. I also covered a great deal of independent evidence that Christ used the term “generation” primarily in an apocalyptic sense that had a demonstrable dual meaning in my posts “The Dual-Nature of Christ’s Generation” and “How the Judgment on Christ’s “Generation” Contradicts Old Testament Prophecies of the Final Judgment“. The number 42 played an important role in demonstrating this duality.

As with 1,260 days, 42-months is exactly half of 7 years. Seven is a number of finality and is associated with predictions concerning final things. Contexts that contain numbers like 42 that are associated with half of 7 likely pertain to two different prophetic events that share many parallels described in the text. Such splitting is actually quite common in Scripture and is the fundamental principle underlying the concept of typology. Therefore, like the 1,260 day parallel to 42-months, the 1,290 and 1,335 days of Daniel 12 would seem to be credible indicators that there are two prophetic events simultaneously in view in the surrounding verses.

Further, the second phase of these events would be far more significant than the first. Hence, the ‘blessing’ promised to those who made it beyond the 1,290 days to the 1,335 days. They also draw our attention to the typological portions of Solomon and his encounter with the Queen of the South/Sheba/Seven, particularly his connection to the mark of the beast (i.e. 666) and hints that this Queen and King would be reunited with even greater significance in a messianic context. And that’s exactly what we find in the NT depictions of the judgment of the Harlot of Revelation 17 and the wicked generation in the Sign of Jonah.

As we’ve seen on other occasions within Daniel, especially concerning the partial destruction of the 4th beast of Daniel 7, the preservation of the first 3 beasts and the anticipated reconstitution of them all which was realized in Revelation 13, we are given the expectation in Daniel 12 that there are likely two aspects to many of these events. Some of them pertain to the near future, some to the far future and some that will have parallels in both. Some potential examples for these parallels include the raising of Michael, the time of distress, the breaking of the power of the holy people, the abomination of desolation, and resurrection of the dead. And we see similar sorts of evidence of these things in other areas of Scripture. We’ll explore those in future articles.