Vindic

ating the Year-Day Principle of

Prophetic Interpretation
MARCOS C. SCHROECKENTHALER·FRIDAY, JANUARY 10, 2020·

by Marcos C. Schroeckenthaler
It is important to realize that more than ever in these last days, Futurists as well as
Preterists alike have been assailing Historicists with an untold number of reasons as to
why the Day-for-a-Year principle is unbiblical, and that we must interpret the time
prophecies as being literal time units of days rather than symbolic days of literal years.
What is Futurism and Preterism? They are certain rules of interpreting the prophecies of
the Bible, by which Futurism places the bulk of Daniel and Revelation exclusively into
the future during a literal 3.5 years with the reign of a single individual man as the
Antichrist, and Preterism takes the bulk of these prophecies and places them in the past
during the time of Antiochus Epiphanies, a king of the Seleucid empire, or the reign of
Nero over the Roman Empire. Both views see the reign of Antichrist outside of the reign
of Papal Rome during the Dark Ages. Both of these interpretations find their roots in the
Roman Catholic Jesuits in the 16th century, who essentially repackaged these outdated
ideas from the early Church Fathers who existed in the early centuries long before the
temporal reign of the Papacy, and were influenced by extra-Biblical psuedepigraphal
writings written by Hellenistic Jews who mixed Judaism with Paganism, and foretold an
“anti-Messiah” man who would come on the scene and possess all the power of the devil.
However, these views are wholly at variance with the sacred declarations of prophetic
writ. These fanciful extra-biblical views gave the Jesuits the ammo they needed to try and
counter the Reformation during the 16th century.

The Waldenses and the Reformers were Historicists in their interpretation of the
prophecies, recognizing a continuous fulfillment of prophecies of the Bible in Daniel and
Revelation, covering the past, the present, and the future in a continuous chain of
unbroken events, reaching all the way down to the consummation of all things. They saw
the identity of Antichrist in the Roman Catholic Papacy, and recognized that the 1260
days of Daniel and Revelation were symbolic for 1260 years. And we will see from the
Bible alone why they had every good reason for believing this.

When one does an investigation as to why the day-for-year controversy is becoming so

heated within Christian circles, it is because this hermeneutic bears immense
ramifications on prophetic and eschatological interpretation. If the time prophecies
require the day-for-year principle, it must also be necessary to reframe and rewrite your
entire prophetic outlook, because now you will be required to thoroughly examine and
check history to discover clear fulfillments in the prophetic declarations rather than
resorting to the lazy and popular approach of relegating the bulk of Daniel and Revelation
into the future---releasing all responsibility to compare the prophecies with history. Many
are unwilling to adapt this principle because such a principle will upset ones entire
eschatological construct of prophetic interpretation. As such, most will look on the
surface and conclude that “God means just what He says”, and ignorantly declare that
there is no reason to “spiritualize” away the time units. But God’s sacred prophetic
declarations are never thrown before the swine to walk and be rolled upon in the mud.
God encodes His prophetic mysteries in a manner to arouse inquiry and cause the hungry
truth seekers to seek after truth as for hid treasure. And this is precisely why God says
that in the last days, “none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall
understand” (Dan. 12:10).
Historicists who adapt the year-day principle are charged of spiritualizing away the
prophecies rather than taking them literally. However, what they are doing is not truly in
harmony with a literal interpretation of prophecy, but a literalistic one. Literalism
unfortunately fails to recognize clearly perceived symbolism in scripture, and ignores the
Biblical principle which requires scripture to be its own self-interpreter. A literal
interpretation of the prophecies is keen in identifying symbolism, and recognizing that
those things which are symbolic always stand for something that is literally true.
Prophetic symbols should never be interpreted without allowing the scripture to define its
own rules in understanding how those symbols are to be interpreted. For example, in
Daniel 7:23 and Daniel 8:20-22, Beasts and Horns are identified as “kingdoms” or
“nations”. Once this precedent is set, we have no reason to redefine this principle in the
book of Revelation, and isolate the Beasts or Horns to single individuals.

It is for this reason that we will carefully take out the time to examine the basis for the
day-for-year principle, and we will discover why this principle of prophetic interpretation
is grounded upon one of the most solid, immovable platforms, the Christian world has
ever seen---for which most students of prophecy in this day have yet to be exposed to.
This God-ordained principle of interpretation was held for approximately 800 years by
the Waldenses and Protestant Reformers, and even by a great number of Protestant
expositors up until the late 19th century when Futuristic teachings slowly began to take
over and permeate Protestantism and its schools.

One of the most adamant arguments of theirs is that if we are going to be consistent in
employing the day-for-year principle for the 42 months of Revelation 13, then we must
do the same for the 1000 years of Revelation 20. The following analysis, however, will
not only reveal this argument to be completely worthless once we know how to properly
understand when to interpret things symbolically, and when to interpret them literally, but
also will solidify and vindicate the day-for-year principle, and help to put the arguments
of the critics to rest. Please take the time to digest the following information and carefully
evaluate the arguments:
 1. According to Ezekiel 4:4-6 and Numbers 14:33,34, God presents clear symbols
concerning the nation of Israel in regards to their disobedience, and as a consequence will
have to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. He declares that for the 40 days of them
searching the land, each day will be for a year. Likewise, Ezekiel becomes a symbol for
Judah, lying on his side for 40 days as the Lord commanded him, and bearing the iniquity
of the sins of Israel, each day for a year. This principle can be easily seen in the prophetic
declarations of the books of Daniel and Revelation as we shall continue to see in the
following points. There are approximately 78 other passages in scripture where the year-
day principle can be perceived. But these two present the clearest example.

2. In light of Numbers 14:33,34, concerning Israel wandering in the wilderness for 40
years, each day for a year, my friend Bob Pickle brought out some interesting insight. It
is interesting to note that Revelation 12 has the woman fleeing from the face of the
serpent. In the Exodus story, Israel fled to the wilderness from Egypt, from the
persecution she was receiving from Pharaoh. Thus, the church fleeing to the wilderness
where she is to be fed for 1260 days, fled from persecution at the hands of Rome. “And
the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God,…” (Rev.
12:6). The Waldensian valleys certainly qualify as being a place that was prepared by
God to be a safe haven for his people. They were a natural fortress. In the valley called
the Pra del Tor, six Waldensians held off an entire Papal army.

There are two details from Numbers that we can import into Revelation 12 based on the
many parallels between the Exodus story and Revelation 12’s symbols:
 - Since the 40 days were 40 years, the 1260 days are 1260 years.

 - Since we have hardly any information about what Israel was doing during those
40 years in the wilderness, Numbers being entirely silent about what happened between
Korah’s rebellion and the arrival back at Kadesh near the end of the 40 years, we should
not be surprised if there is very few records about what God’s true people were doing
during the 1260 years.
3. Whenever a time unit is tied to "symbols", such as Beasts, Horns, Winds, a Woman
named “Jezebel”, a Harlot Woman, Lions, Seven Churches (representing 7 phases in time
of Church history) as being represented by Seven Golden Candlesticks, Olive Trees (as
Two Witnesses), an Angel Standing on the Sea etc. etc., then, the time periods associated
with such symbols, especially if spoken in an unnatural expression, are to be recognized
as containing symbolism as well. An example would be that according to Daniel 7:23 and
8:20-22, beasts and horns in Bible prophecy represent “kingdoms” or “nations”, not
exclusively single individuals. But beasts are animals with limited life spans, and do not
dominate for centuries as do kingdoms. Then consistency would also demand that the
time units associated with these beasts and horns would be shrunk down to a symbolic
form consistent with the life of animals representing a greater time period consistent with
the life and reign of kingdoms.

4. Whenever an "unnatural" use of the time period is employed, in connection with these
symbols, it is to be understood as symbolic. For an example of a plain and natural
expression, we find "three years and six months" (Luke 4:25; James 5:17)--this is a
"natural" and literal expression of the time unit. These passages tell us that in the time of
Elijah, it did not rain for exactly “three years and six months”. No reason whatsoever is
provided to interpret it any other way, but literal. But an "unnatural" or “unordinary” use
would be "a thousand two hundred and threescore days" or "forty and two months" or "a
time and times and the dividing of time" (Dan. 7:25; 12:7; Rev. 11:2,3; 12:14; 13:5). All
these expressions designate a symbolic use of the time period in question. These
expressions are not according to standard calendrical speech. The fact that both Daniel
and John exhaust this time period a total of 7 times using unordinary grammar, and not
once using ordinary grammar, is in itself an indicator that they are employing symbolic
time units.

5. The expression "seventy weeks" in Daniel 9:24-27 is also an "unnatural", “unordinary”

expression of speech for time. If it were "natural", the angel would have told Gabriel "one
 year and four months.” This is a prophecy that pertained especially to the Jewish nation,
giving them yet another chance to turn to God and repent after their 70 years in
Babylonian captivity. One week is 7 days, and 70 weeks would be 490 days. This time
prophecy predicts the arrival, anointing, and death of the coming Messiah during the last
week or seven years of the given time period. Daniel 9:25 declares that this time
prophecy commences from the “going forth of the commandment to restore and to build
Jerusalem”. According to history and archaeological evidence, this decree was issued by
King Artaxerxes I of Persia in the autumn of the year 457 B.C., and recorded in Ezra
chapter 7 and 9:9, to allow the Jews to return to their homeland and commence rebuilding
the city of Jerusalem and restoring its governance, judiciary, and priestly services in the
temple. If we count 70 literal weeks, which would be a year and a quarter, from that time,
nothing significant in history transpired to account for the prophecy. Only when we arrive
at 27 A.D. do we find Jesus Christ the Messiah, being anointed by the Holy Ghost at His
baptism, and commencing His ministry which would last for 3 ½ years until his death on
the cross in the “midst” of the week in 31 A.D. For 3 ½ more years the apostles preached
to the Jews, until the stoning of Stephen when the gospel turned to the Gentiles. This
sealed the fate of the Jews as a Nation forever, but all Jews could still repent as
individuals and join the body of Christ—the Church. With this in mind, we know that the
70 weeks can only be 490 years. And if this is the case, consistency demands the same
rule be applied for the other prophetic time units as well given in unnatural speech which
are all couched in symbolism.

Let’s show an example:

 - 70 weeks = 490 days = 490 years (Daniel 9:24-27)

 - 42 months = 1260 days = 1260 years (Dan. 7,12, Rev. 11,12,13)

 - 2300 evening-mornings = 2300 days = 2300 years (Daniel 8:14)

 - 10 days = 10 years (Rev. 2:10 – ten years of persecution beginning under

Emperor Diocletian from 303-313 A.D.)
 - 3 ½ days = 3 ½ years (Rev. 11:9-11 – three and a half years from 1793-1797
when the Bible was banned from France).

Thus we see the crucial importance of consistency! In order to get around this, there are
some who try and argue that the year-day principle is not required for the 70 weeks
prophecy, as the Hebrew word for “weeks” means “sevens”. In response to this objection,
scroll to the bottom for the factual evidence by Pr. Stephen Bohr entitled, “Does the
Year-Day Principle Apply to the 70 Weeks?”

6. In Daniel 8:14 we read, “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the
sanctuary be cleansed.” The word “days” here in the Hebrew is “ereb-boqer”. This
means “evening-morning”. Genesis 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31, all testify that an “evening”
(ereb) and a “morning” (boqer) = a day. Keep in mind that the 70 Jewish scribes who
translated the Hebrew Bible into Greek, making the Septuagint, unanimously qualified
the “evening-mornings” by using the Greek word “days”. The term “evening-mornings”
was used by Daniel because he was using artistic “sanctuary language” concerning the
lamps that burned “always”, or “daily” in the sanctuary from evening to morning (See
Ex. 27:20, 21; Lev. 24:2,3). And we already know that according to Ezekiel 4:6 and
Numbers 14:34, each “day” stands for one year. But as we shall soon see, we do not need
the year-day principle to prove this point. Concerning the 2300 evening-morning
prophecy of Daniel 8:14, should it be interpreted as literal days, they would have been
written as being "six years and a quarter", or "three years, two months, two weeks and six
days" (the latter being based on the 1150 day version, which most scholars reject). There
is absolutely nothing in Bible prophecy during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanies that fits
these numbers with precision. It is important to note that the "seventy weeks" of Daniel 9
are also tied to the symbolic vision with symbols given in Daniel 8 as alluded to in Daniel
9:20-23, because Daniel 9 is simply a continuation of the audition given of the vision
seen in Daniel 8 (Dan. 9:19-27; cf. 8:2, 14, 17, 26, 27). Daniel 9:24 says “seventy weeks
are determined for thy people” (YLT). The Hebrew word “determined” is châthak, which
numerous Hebrew dictionaries give the primary meaning of “cutting off”, “dividing”, or
“marking out”. Hebrew literature employed this word in the case of amputating the limbs
from animals. In other words, the 70 weeks are “cut off” or “marked out” of a larger time
prophecy. And the only obvious one is the previous time period mentioned—the 2300
days of Daniel 8:14. Out of the 2300 days, 70 weeks of that time period are determined
for the Jews. But since Daniel fainted in chapter 8 verse 26, and the Angel Gabriel could
not finish the vision, he picked up the same vision with Daniel in chapter 9 and continued
the explanation. Ultimately, if the 70 weeks are the first portion for the Jews out of the
2300 days, and the 70 weeks represent 490 years, then the 2300 days have to be 2300
years. The following illustration helps to put it in perspective:
7. The 2300 day prophecy of Daniel 8:14 is not solely covering the activities of the Little
Horn, contrary to what most Christian teachers believe and teach today. Rather, a careful
reading of Daniel 8 reveals that this time period covers the activities of the a) The
Ram, b) The Goat, c) The Notable Horn, d) The 4 Horns, and e) The Little Horn. For the
question given in Daniel 8:13, the Hebrew reads, “Until when the vision (chazon), the
daily (tamid) and the rebellion (pesha’) that causes desolation to give both the sanctuary
and the host a trampling?” The original Hebrew does not include the word “concerning”
the daily. Unknown to the vast majority in the Christian world, the question is concerned
with three separate aspects:

- Until when would it be when the entire vision (chazon) of Daniel 8 is fulfilled?

- Until when would it be that the work of the Messianic Prince (tamid) in the holy place comes to an end?

- Until when would it be that the rebellion (pesha’) of the little horn in attacking the sanctuary come to an end?

(Credits to Herb Kersten in his Fact Sheet 113011)

The question may be accurately paraphrased this way: “How long before the whole
vision is fulfilled, the daily in the sanctuary comes to an end, and the rebellion against
the sanctuary comes to an end?” The New Living Translation renders it as such: “How
long will the events of this vision [chazon] last? How long will the rebellion that causes
desecration stop the daily sacrifices? How long will the Temple and heaven’s army be
trampled on?” (Dan. 8:13, NLT). Therefore, the question is not “how long will the
desecration of the Little Horn in the sanctuary last”, as literalist Futurists and Preterists
interpret it, but “how long will the vision last, AND all these other events, including the
daily, the transgression of desolation, and both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden
under foot?”

In a nutshell, “how long are ALL these things in the vision [chazon] going to last?” The
answer is given in Daniel 8:14, where unto 2300 evening-mornings, then the sanctuary
will be restored, cleansed, made right, and vindicated. This has to do with a restoration of
truth in heaven’s sanctuary that was trampled down by the Roman Papacy for hundreds
of years through their counterfeit priesthood. This demands that the 2300 evening-
mornings must encompass around centuries of events. Verse 13 asks how long until all
the events take place in the vision in Chapter 8. And the “vision” begins with the Ram in
Daniel 8:2,3 which was standing before the River Ulai. Since the Ram represents Persia,
the Goat represents Greece, and the 4 horns represent kingdoms in Daniel 8:20-22, and
the 2300 days encompass ALL these kingdoms, the 2300 days can only represent 2300
years. Not 2300 literal days or 2300 literal half days. In closing this point, it is important
to note that approximately 75 expositors prior to the 1840s interpreted the 2300 days of
Daniel 8:14 as 2300 years. These men are tabulated in Dr. LeRoy Edwin Froom's,
Volume 4, of The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers, pp. 404 and 405. This interpretation,
therefore, is not private or hidden in a corner. “In the multitude of counsellors there is
safety.” (Prov. 11:14)

8. The scriptures demand the following facts concerning the given time units in regard to
the reign of the Antichrist power as spoken of in Daniel and the Revelation:

(1) That it be Exactly 42 months (Rev. 11:2; 13:5)

(2) That it be Exactly 1260 days (Rev. 11:3; 12:6)

(3) That it be Exactly 3.5 years (Dan. 7:25; 12:7; Rev. 12:14)

For 1260 days to be exactly 42 months, this must mean each year in this prophetic
formula be exactly 360 days.

But, there is no Solar Year that contains exactly 360 days, and there is no Lunar Year that
contains exactly 360 days either. Thus we have a real problem on our hands making this
literal time. If we go by the Solar Year of 365.2422 days, then we must multiply it by 3.5:

365.2422 x 3.5 = 1,278 days... not 1260. That's an 18 day discrepancy!

That being said, 1260 days (which the Bible also calls "42 months") is not actually 42
months, but less than 41 and 1/2 months. But let's assume we are using a Lunar Calendar
then:

A prophecy of 42 months or 1260 days requires that each month be exactly "30 days" in
length. But a Lunar Month is never exactly 30 days long. On average, it is 29.530588
days in length.

That would make each Lunar Year 354.367056 days in length. Not 360! Remember, 360
x 3.5 = 1260! But no, we must go by the Lunar Calendar as do Futurists, and see what we
come up to:

354.367056 x 3.5 = 1240.284696 days! Not 1260! It gets worse, it's now 20 days off! and less!

(You can arrive at this same calculation if you simply multiply 42 months x 29.530588 days)

We see now why God gave us this time period in three definite phrases, where the
specification of this prophecy requires the time to be:

(1) Exactly "forty and two months" (42 months)

(2) Exactly "one thousand two hundred and three score days" (1260 days)

(3) Exactly "time, times, and dividing of time" (3.5 years)

With this in mind, we see why symbolic time is the ONLY available option left to make
these time units work out with any real time period in Bible prophecy. There is no
existing month with exactly 30 days, and there is no existing year with exactly 360 days.
It can only be a symbolic time measurement.
The day-year principle, therefore, with this method of time, is demanded and forced upon
us. The expression "one thousand years" however, does not require this. It is a natural
expression. This we will discuss in the next point.
9. The expression "one thousand years" in Revelation 20 is a "natural" expression, not an
"unnatural expression". Just like the expression "seventy years" in Jeremiah and Daniel.
There is no need, reason, requirement, or purpose to interpret the 1000 years as 360,000
years. As perspicaciously demonstrated by a number of excellent Bible researchers, we
have the following formula:

Literal > Spiritual > Literal

What does this mean? Prior to the New Testament, the focus was on literal Israel, literal
Palestine, literal earthly Jerusalem. This was the literal earthly reign under the Mosaic
Theocracy. But what starts as literal ends up spiritual during the Christian dispensation,
but reverts back to Literal after the millennium. The 1000 years is that dividing line. At
the cross of Calvary, Type met Antitype, and the focus went from the literal priesthood to
the spiritual priesthood of believers with Christ as our High Priest, and from the Earthly
Sanctuary to the Heavenly Sanctuary, and from Earthly Jerusalem to the Heavenly New
Jerusalem.

After the New Testament was inaugurated by Christ's blood, we entered the Dispensation
of Holy Spirit. The Kingdom of Grace at this time was established by the death of Christ.
This kingdom is spiritual, based on the Davidic Covenant, as Christ Jesus sits on His
throne in heaven ruling this Kingdom of Grace. Now everything went from a literal
earthly reign centered in Old Jerusalem, to a spiritual global reign in Christ's Church.
However, the moment Christ comes crashing through the clouds, the Kingdom of Grace
will be terminated (there will be no more grace), and the Kingdom of Glory (a literal
kingdom) will be established. Christ will visibly and literally appear, and the kingdom
will be literally realized from that point forward. Thorough Bible studies cover this topic
separately, but if we go into it now, we will miss our point.

Beginning in Revelation 20, the bulk of the events described go back to literal. In
previous passages, you have the persecution of God's people, which represent Spiritual
Israel and Spiritual Jerusalem. It is global-and-world-wide. Beginning in Revelation 20,
however, there will be a literal siege of a literal city.

Louis F. Were insightfully states: "The same principle that things apply literally after the
millennium have a spiritual application before the millennium is seen to operate in the
prophetic descriptions concerning Armageddon. As nothing in the Revelator's post-
millennial descriptions pertaining to Jerusalem, Israel and her enemies has a literal
application before the millennium, the teaching of a pre-millennial literal gathering of
nations to Palestine is out of harmony with the teaching of the Scriptures.The belief of a
literal, military gathering to Palestine for a literal "war" before the millennium violates
the principle of interpretation which shows that the "war," or "battle," against the literal
city of God after the millennium has its spiritual counterpart before the millennium in the
gathering of spiritual forces against God's spiritual city, the church. The Revelator's
descriptions link together the events concerning spiritual Israel (the spiritual Jerusalem)
before the millennium and those concerning the saints in the New Jerusalem after the
millennium. 
The 1,000 years between the events associated with the spiritual Jerusalem at the time of
the second advent and those associated with the literal Jerusalem at the third advent are
not symbolic years--not 360,000 years, reckoned by the day for a year principle
employed in prophetic symbolism--because the spiritual dispensation ends at the second
advent….Confusion prevailing all throughout the religious world to-day concerning last-
day prophecies is caused by a failure to understand the prophecies pertaining to "Israel."
The Third Angel's Message gives the spiritual meaning of "Israel" and those things
pertaining to her, thus showing the spiritual application before the millennium and the
literal application after the millennium. What the "Babylonian" theologians expect to
literally transpire on earth during the millennium is now being spiritually fulfilled: the
literal fulfillment on earth of the prophecies pertaining to Israel takes place after the
millennium.” (Louis F. Were, The Certainty of the Third Angel’s Message, pp. 327,328)

Conclusion:

In closing, no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation. 2 Peter 1:20. To

depend on our own private interpretation, simply because we "think" we see some
"inconsistencies", we end up committing theological suicide, and end up violating the
principle of "in the multitude of counsellors, there is safety" (Proverbs 11:14).

More than just praying and asking guidance from the Holy Spirit in our studies---and also
being careful to not rely on our own private interpretation, we must also make sure to let
God speak to us by taking into consideration what our forefathers taught over many
centuries of the past. We have a great "cloud of witnesses" over the centuries who have
experienced the ire of the dragon, and suffered intense persecution. Many Protestant
Reformers as well as other Christian sects in the mountains, such as the Waldenses,
perished as a result of suffering the horrors of the stakes, guillotines, dungeons, racks,
and many other brutal torture devices. They died for their faith. Many of them were
"witnesses" to the fierce persecutions whom they themselves identified as the Antichrist
power, and testified to the horrors they experienced. How foolish, it would be then, to
allow the early Church Fathers, who lived before the Papal ascendancy, to become our
witnesses for understanding the identity of Antichrist. There could be no greater
witnesses than those who suffered persecution, and had the privilege of hindsight looking
back retrospectively over the unfolding prophetic scroll of history over 1000 years. If we
just read the scriptures and came only to our own personal interpretations without
considering the viewpoints of all these great men and women who gave their lives for the
Bible and the truth during these many centuries of persecution and tribulation, we would
be placing our judgment and interpretive skill as superior to everyone else's over the great
span of centuries. Yet we must know that the same Holy Spirit who is guiding us in our
study of the scriptures is the VERY same Holy Spirit that guided them as they earnestly
prayed during those years of suffering, sweat, and great agony. An understanding of truth
is always progressive, but new light never "eclipses" or "erases" or “contradicts” the old
foundations laid through the receiving of old light. New light increases the brightness of
Old Light. It does not erase. It "adds" and "expands", and brings to view a clearer, and
more comprehensive understanding of truth. It is like a puzzle. At the beginning stages,
few pieces are put together. Over the centuries, more pieces are added. But never does
God come along and say "here is a new puzzle, now throw away ALL the old pieces!".
Sadly, many in these last days are doing just that. They say, "forget all that! This is how it
is!"---and now, as Paul predicted, we have "every wind of doctrine flying to and
fro!" (Eph. 4:14). But as we know, "the path of the just is as the shining light, that
shineth MORE and MORE unto the perfect day!" (Prov 4:18) It shines more and more. If
the early stages of "light" were false, then it could not properly be considered "light".
Thus, old light is truth. New light only expands upon that old light, and makes it clearer
and brighter! “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye
take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day
star arise in your hearts.” (2Peter 1:19)

This is precisely why Historicism, as held firmly by our Protestant fathers of old, is so
solid, and so powerful. It is not built on flimsy research of only 150 years as was the
Jesuit-originated Dispensational-Futurism, Preterism, and allegorizing Idealism. It is built
on layers and layers of solid foundations that have been constructed over the last 2
millennia and has withstood the test of time. It is not a "re-write" of the unanimous
testimony of our forefathers, rather an elaborate expansion. Today, there are very few
Historicists left. But this is only to be expected, as we are told that “all the world”’ will
wonder after the Beast in Revelation 13. Most modern Protestant theologians have indeed
abandoned the Historicist Hermeneutic in favor of the Preterist and Futurist
hermeneutics, concocted by the Jesuits But the VAST MAJORITY of Protestant and
Reformation theologians and scholars in past centuries have interpreted the Little Horn of
Daniel 7 and the Beast of Revelation 13 to be realized in the Papal System over a period
of 1260 long and bloody years. Such men include John Wycliff, Martin Luther, John
Calvin, William Tyndale, John Huss, Ulrich Zwingli, Matthias Janow, Philipp
Melanchthon, John Oldcastle, John Purvey, Nicolaus von Amsdorf, Thomas Cranmer,
John Hooper, Nicholas Ridley, John Knox, Newton, John Wesley, Charles Wesley,
Roger Williams, Hienrich Bullinger, William Fulke, John Bradford, John Jewel, John
Napier, Isaac Newton, Samuel Lee, Cotton Mather, Samuel Cooper, Thomas Goodwin,
Jacquis Philipot, Thomas Newton, George Bell, Drue Cressner, Christian Gottlob Thube,
David Simpson, Richard Valpy, Edward King, Robert Fleming, John Adolphus, George
Kearsley, David Benedict, E. B. Elliot, Henry Grattan Guinness, George Trever, Rev.
Joseph Tanner, etc. etc.

Unfortunately, when Dispensationalist and Futurist authors of today come along and
erase the day-year principle, they are essentially violating every major principle of
prophetic interpretation imaginable (relying on private interpretation), sweeping under
the proverbial rug virtually ALL the spiritual illumination and insight given by our
forefathers, throwing away the old puzzle, and recreating their own puzzle rather than
adding to the puzzle. It's basically saying, "forget what the unanimous voices of our
forefathers said over the centuries---we are more right then they, so we will rewrite ALL
of prophecy".

I was once told by a Dispensationalist-Futurist author that I had fallen into "Roman
Quagmire", because he believed Historicism came from Romanism. This reinforced my
positions even more, that these men have truly been deceived by the enemy, for the very
Roman power they think they detest is the very power that invented their perfidious
Roman Jesuit doctrines of Futurism and Preterism. I will close with two sobering quotes
from two great expositors.
Well has Tanner remarked:

"So great a hold did the conviction that the Papacy was the Antichrist gain upon the
minds of men (who held the historicist view), that Rome at last saw she must bestir
herself, and try, by putting forth other systems of interpretation, to counteract the
identification of the Papacy with the Antichrist.

"Accordingly, toward the close of the century of the Reformation, two of the most learned
(Jesuit) doctors set themselves to the task, each endeavoring by different means to
accomplish the same end, namely, that of diverting men's minds from perceiving the
fulfillment of the prophecies of the Antichrist in the papal system. The Jesuit
Alcazardevoted himself to bring into prominence the preterist method of
interpretation,...and thus endeavored to show that the prophecies of Antichrist were
fulfilled before the popes ever ruled in Rome, and therefore could not apply to the
Papacy.

"On the other hand, the Jesuit Ribera tried to set aside the application of these
prophecies to the papal power by bringing out the futurist system, which asserts that
these prophecies refer properly, not to the career of the Papacy, but to some future
supernatural individual, who is yet to appear, and continue in power for three and a half
years. Thus, as Alford says, the Jesuit Ribera, about A.D. 1580, may be regarded as the
founder of the futurist system of modern times.

"...It is a matter for deep regret that those who advocate the futurist system at the present
day, Protestants as they are for the most part, are really  playing into the hands of
Rome, and helping to  screen the Papacy from detection as the Antichrist. It has been
well said that "Futurism tends to obliterate the brand put by the Holy Spirit upon
Popery." More especially is this to be deplored at a time when the Papal Antichrist seems
to be making an expiring effort to regain his former hold on men's minds. Now once
again, as at the Reformation, it is especially necessary that his true character should be
recognized, by all who would be faithful to "the testimony of Jesus." Rev. Joseph
Tanner, Daniel and the Revelation, pp. 16, 17. (emphasis mine)

Dispensationalists try to excuse themselves by saying that the Jesuits were not the ones to
invent Futurism, rather, it was our “early Church fathers that held such a teaching”. This
is nothing more than a hopscotch attempt to smooth down the dirty work these Jesuits
produced in rejoining the Bible with the Jewish-Hellenistic, pseudepigraphal writings,
which were permeated with paganism. The Reformers were smarter than this. They were
well aware of how corrupted prophetic ideas became with these pseudepigraphal
paganized doctrines that became fused with the Biblical works of the early Church
fathers.

As corrupted as the Early Church fathers were from the extrabiblical writings, they still
all unanimously agreed that the Antichrist would arise at the end or shortly after the fall
of the pagan Roman Empire.

Christian Edwardson succinctly puts it:

“To undermine the work of the Reformers, these Jesuits, Alcasar and Ribera, gathered a
mass of material from the writings of the Church Fathers concerning Antichrist. This
gave their works the appearance of scientific research, which appealed to many
Protestant leaders. (An example of this can be seen in Encyclopedia Biblica, art.
"Antichrist.") But statements from the Church Fathers which speak of the coming of
Antichrist as an event then in the future, could be no proof for Ribera's "futurist" theory,
for the reign of the papal Antichrist was then still in the future. The 1260 years of papal
persecution, called the Dark Ages, had not yet begun when these Fathers wrote. The
theories of Ribera and Alcasar were diametrically opposed to each other, and yet both
were taught as Catholic truths, taken from the Church Fathers. From this we see how
untrustworthy are these sources. Dr. Adam Clarke is evidently right when he says of the
Fathers:

‘We may safely state, that there is not a truth in the most orthodox creed, that cannot be
proven by their authority; nor a heresy that has disgraced the Romish Church that may
not challenge them as its abetters. In points of doctrine, their authority is, with me,
nothing. The Word of God alone contains my creed.’” - Commentary on Proverbs 8.
{1943 Christian Edwardson, Facts of Faith, The Antichrist – Jesuits Undermine the
Truth, p. 202)

H. Gratten Guiness wrote these memorable words of burning truth:

“From the first, and throughout, that movement [the Reformation] was energized and
guided by the prophetic word. Luther never felt strong and free to war against Papal
apostasy till he recognized the pope as antichrist. It was then that he burned the Papal
bull. Knox’s first sermon, the sermon that launched him on his mission as a reformer,
was on the prophecies concerning the papacy. The reformers embodied their
interpretations of prophecy in their confessions of faith, and Calvin in his
“Institutes.” All of the Reformers were unanimous in the matter, even the mild and
cautious Melanchthon was assured of the anti-papal meaning of these prophecies as was
Luther himself. And their interpretation of these prophecies determined their reforming
action. It led them to protest against Rome with extraordinary strength and undaunted
courage. It nerved them to resist the claims of the apostate church to the utmost. It made
them martyrs; it sustained them at the stake. And the views of the Reformers were shared
by thousands, by hundreds, of thousands. They were adopted by princes and peoples.
Under their influence nations abjured their allegiance to the false priest of Rome. In the
reaction that followed all the powers of hell seemed to be let loose upon the adherents of
the Reformation. War followed war; tortures, burnings, and massacres were multiplied.
Yet the Reformation stood undefeated and unconquerable. God’s word upheld it, and the
energies of His almighty Spirit. It was the work of Christ as truly as the founding of the
church eighteen centuries ago; and the revelation of the future which he gave from
heaven-that prophetic book with which the Scripture closes-was one of the mightiest
instruments employed in its accomplishment. (Henry Grattan Guinness, Romanism and
the Reformation (Hodder and Stoughton, 1887): 250-251)
May God equip us in these last days to effectively deal Voice of the False Prophet, so that
he may not be able to gainsay nor resist that God will put in our mouths (Luke 21:15)

May Truth Triumph and Reign Supreme!

~Marcos
Additional resources vindicating the Year-Day Principle and Historicism against the
Jesuit-inspired literalistic Preterist and Futurist interpretations which gave rise to
the Dispensationalism:

- Twenty Reasons to Apply the Year/Day Principle (PDF) ~ by Pr. Stephen Bohr (I
encourage the reader to read the full thing, but to pay particular attention to Reason #6 on
page 4)  http://www.secretsunsealed.org/wp-
content/uploads/2014/06/yeardayprinciple.pdf

- The Day-Year Principle in Daniel 9:24-27 (PDF) ~ by Frank W. Hardy, Ph.D (Very

exegetical, and very in-depth--to this day has not been
refuted) http://www.historicism.org/Documents/Jrnl/Dan0924-27_DayYear.pdf

- "Seventy Sevens" or "Seventy Weeks"? (PDF) ~ by Frank. W. Hardy,

Ph.D.http://www.historicism.org/Documents/Heb_Sbcym.pdf
- Futurism’s Incredible Journey (PDF) ~ by Pr. Stephen
Bohrhttp://www.secretsunsealed.org/wp-
content/uploads/2014/06/futurismsincrediblejourney.pdf
- Study on Daniel 7 (PDF) ~ by Pr. Stephen Bohr (loaded with
references) http://www.secretsunsealed.org/wp-
content/uploads/2014/06/notesondanielseven.pdf

- The Year-Day Principle (PDF) ~ by Gerhard Pfandl,

Ph.D.https://adventistbiblicalresearch.org/sites/default/files/pdf/year-day
%20principle.pdf

- In Defense of the Year-day Principle (PDF) ~ by Gerhard Pfandl,

Ph.D.http://www.atsjats.org/publication_file.php?pub_id=509&journal=1&type=pdf

- Year-Day Principle - Part 1-2 (PDF) ~ by William H. Shea,

Ph.D.http://thesourcehh.org/pdf/Contributors%20Documents/William%20Shea/Year
%20-%20Day%20Principle%20-%20Part%201-2.pdf

- Eighty Year-Day Parallels (PDF) ~ by Frank. W. Hardy,

Ph.D.http://www.historicism.org/Documents/YearDay80.pdf (And for more articles
covering the "Year-Day Principle", click
here: http://www.historicism.org/TopicsYearDay.html and
here: http://www.historicism.org/BooksDaniel09.html)

Question: Does the Year-Day Principle Apply to the 70 Weeks?

What do conservative evangelical Christians do with the prophecy of the 70 weeks?
Don’t they have to employ the year/day principle to convert the weeks to years? The
answer is that they attempt to get off the hook by saying that the expression “70 weeks”
really means “seventy sevens” or even “70 weeks of years”. In this way they get rid of
the year/day principle. This they must do because if they employed the year/day principle
for the seventy weeks, they would also have to employ it for the other prophetic time
periods in order to be consistent!! Let us look at a few facts about the word translated
“week” here in Daniel 9.
Is it true that the Hebrew word shabuwa should be translated “sevens” or “weeks of
years”? This word is used a total of 19 times in the Hebrew Scriptures and in every single
instance it refers to a literal week of seven literal days (Genesis 29:27; 29:28; Exodus
34:22; Leviticus 12:5; Numbers 28:26; Deuteronomy 16:9 (used twice); 16:10; 16:16; II
Chronicles 8:13; Jeremiah 5:24; Daniel 9:24; 9:25(used twice); 9:26; 9:27 (used twice);
Daniel 10:2; Daniel 10:3).

Evangelicals frequently use Daniel 10:2-3 as an argument for translating the

word shabuwaas “weeks of years”. They point out that in these verses the word “weeks”
is qualified by the word “days”, in other words, “weeks of days”. They then imply that if
these are weeks (with the qualifier “days”), then the other weeks (without the qualifier
“days”) must mean “weeks of years”.

For example, the New International Version translates the word week with “seven” or
“sevens” in Daniel 9:24-27 but then translates the very same word as “weeks” in Daniel
10:2,3. The only problem with such an explanation is that it ignores the meaning of the
Hebrew idiom,”weeks of days”. When the word “week” in Hebrew is qualified by the
word “days”, it simply means “full weeks”. Notice the following examples: In Genesis
29:14; Numbers 11:20-21; Judges 19:2 the Hebrew literally reads, “month of days”. Is
there a month that does not consist of days? Furthermore, in Genesis 41:1; Leviticus
25:29; II Samuel 13:23; 14:28 the Hebrew literally reads “years of days” but the
translators have recognized that this means “full years”.

The fundamental reason why futurist and preterist scholars refuse to translate shabuwa in
Daniel 9 as “weeks” is because they would then have to admit, in order to be consistent,
that the year/day principle must be applied to other prophetic time periods as well.
Furthermore, if they applied the year/day principle to the 70 weeks, they would have to
apply it to the 2300 days (of which the 70 weeks constitute the first part) and this would
force them to admit that prophecy was fulfilled in 1844!!
Incidentally, the Septuagint translates the Hebrew shabuwa with the Greek
word hebdomas. This word is consistently translated “week”.
~ Source: Twenty Reasons to Apply the Year/Day Principle - by Pastor Stephen Bohr