The 360-Day Prophetic Year

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A big part of the historical dating of fulfilled prophecy presented in the HIStory, Our Future Bible studies is tied to the following details. As to modern prophetic fulfillment, this is a pretty short and sweet introduction to the details of why the 70th week of Daniel is 2520 days long, which is seven 360-day years as opposed to our current 365.2422-day year. How and why did it change? This answers the questions Biblically.

The 360-day Prophetic Year In the Books of Daniel, Revelation, and Genesis

Revelation 11:2a-3b
They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. ...And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days

Divide 1,260 days by 42 months and you will get a 30-day month. Twelve months of 30 days equals 360-days in a year. What is the meaning of this divine number in contrast with the fact that we know the time required for the earth to circle the sun is approximately 365.25 days?

When 1,260 Days = a time, times and half a time

In the Book of Revelation

Revelation 12:6
The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days

Revelation 12:14
The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach

In verse 6 above, the time given is 1,260 days. But in verse 14, the time given is described as a time, times and half a time. This is most often interpreted as 3 and one-half years or 42 months. So verses 6 and 14 as noted above yield a 30-day month. Twelve months of 30 days equals 360-days in a prophetic year. The answer is that the Bible has been written with a "PROPHETIC YEAR" defined as 360 days in length. This is only applied to biblical prophecy. And it is important that to attain the 360-day year, you must let the Bible interpret the Bible.

When 1,260 Days = a time, times and half a time

In the Book of Daniel

Daniel 7:25
He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time

Daniel 12:7
The man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, lifted his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by him who lives forever, saying, "It will be for a time, times and half a time"

In both Daniel 7:25 and Daniel 12:7, the time given is described as "a time, times and half a time." This is most often interpreted as 3 and one-half years or 42 months. When the prophecy of the 70-weeks is interpreted using the 360-day prophetic year, divine guidance appears to be revealed in human events from ancient history into the 21st century. In each 42-month period foretold, the earth is to be directed by unrestrained evil. The 360-day year makes for a good relationship between the books of Daniel and Revelation.

Genesis Supports the 360 Days per Year

Based on the book of Genesis, the calendar at the time of Noah consisted of 12 months of 30 days. At the beginning of the flood, the water came forth on the 17th of the month. Five months later on the 17th day of the month, the book of Genesis reveals that 150 days had passed. Dividing 150 days by 5 months supports that the early calendar contained 12 months of 30 days length. Therefore, the book of Genesis supports the 360 days per year calculation. Here are the supporting Scriptures.

Genesis 7:11
In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month--on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened

Genesis 8:3
The water receded steadily from the earth. At the end of the hundred and fifty days (150 days)the water had gone down, and on the seventeenth day of the seventh month (5 months later)the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat

Since the book of Genesis is attributed to Moses by conservative scholars, it is credible that the 360 days per year was in use at the time of Moses.

Egyptian Calendar used the 360 Days per Year

The Egyptian calendar used at Elephantine, Egypt in the 5th century BC consisted of 12 months of 30 days length. However, in the 5th century BC, the Egyptians knew this was not acceptable and simply added and additional 5 leap days each year. So the total calendar year was 365 days in length in the 5th century BC. But it is important to understand that the initial Egyptian calendar was most likely based on 12 months of 30 days length for a total of 360 days per year. When Moses led Israel out of Egypt, it was the 15th century BC, or about 1,000 years before the calendar used at Elephantine, Egypt. It is assumed that the use of the 365 days per year Egyptian calendar began in the 8th century BC. The foundation of 12 months of 30 days length in the Egyptian calendar infers that a 360 days per year calendar was in use in ancient history before 1000 BC.

360 vs. 365: Fact or Fiction by Guy Cramer

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Did the earth have a 360-day year with a 30-day lunar month within the last 3,000 years?

Our year is actually 365.2422 days and our lunar month (from new moon to new moon) is 29.531 days.

So why did early civilizations around the world use calendars with months of 30 days and years of 360 days? These calendars seemed to function well until sometime in the 8th century BC when suddenly it became necessary to change them. Most civilizations around the world began to modify their calendars to allow for 5 extra days for the year and 6 fewer days for a lunar year. A lunar year is 12 full months; a modern lunar year is 354 days (12 months x 29.5 days).

Were these early civilizations incapable of accurately measuring the astronomical cycles that governed their calendars prior to the 8th century?

The 8th century BC was a time between 799 BC - 700 BC. Let's look to the Bible in that period of time to see if we can find any changes mentioned. There are a number of books in the Bible that were written during this time. 2nd Kings, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah... In the book of Isaiah we find the story of the sundial going backwards. continue reading...