The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, vol. 2

VII. Growing Concern Over End-Date of the 1260 Years

The Christian Era was now far advanced. It therefore became a matter of increasing concern with all expositors, in considering the probabilities of the future, to determine if possible the beginning and ending dates of the prophetic periods. This was especially true of the 1260 days, as their ending might well fix the great consummation. BENEDICTUS ARETIUS of Berne (1505-1574), teacher of theology at Marburg, reckons the 1260 years possibly from 312 (Constantine’s legalization of Christianity) to 1572. ⁴⁹ Not only the Swiss but practically all the German and English expositors held to the year-day principle except on the 2300 days. Chytraeus of Germany, for example, set forth two possible dates for the 1260 days-from 412 (Alaric’s sack of Rome) to 1672, or from 606 (Phocas’ decree) to 1866. ⁵⁰ Others usually chose a single dating, or were less definite. PFF2 348.1

The significant feature in it all is that, irrespective of national or geographical variations or theological differences among the Reformed groups, similar views were held on the basic features of the symbolic outline prophecies, and increasingly so on the prophetic time periods. They generally felt that the bulk of the 1260 years was in the past. This was the consensus, but not for another century did their views come to a focus on the dates. For example, note two variant views: PFF2 348.2

1. BROCARDO PLACES 1260 YEARS BETWEEN 313-1573

JACOBO BROCARDO (James Brocard) (16th century), Italian Protestant of Venice, was reputed to be of “a visionary turn” because he sought to show that the principal events of his time had been predicted in the Bible. Writing on Bible prophecy, he contended that the 1260 years of papal tyranny extended from 313 to 1573. ⁵¹ PFF2 348.3

2. DANEAU MAKES No ATTEMPT TO LOCATE PERIOD

LAMBERT DANEAU (c. 1530-1595), Protestant jurisconsult and theologian, and pastor at Geneva, in his tract on the Antichrist, likewise contends that Antichrist is the pope, not Mohammed, with Rome as his seat, and that he appears only after the fall of Rome. ⁵² He does not locate the 1260 years, but applies 666 to the time when the Roman bishop reached the peak of his power, which he places at 666 years after John’s prophecy, or, allowing for differences in computation, in A.D. 666, followed by the thousand years of Revelation 20, from 666 to 1666. ⁵³ Thus he breaks somewhat with Augustine. He appends the attacks of Bernard of Cluny, Petrarch, and others on the apostate condition of the papal church. ⁵⁴ PFF2 349.1