Appendix G: The 1,260-Year Prophetic Timeline

A narrative summary showing how Daniel 7 and Revelation 12–13 trace 1,260 years of papal dominance, from Justinian’s decree to the French captivity of 1798.

Prophecy foretold a power that would “think to change times and laws” and persecute the saints “for a time, times, and the dividing of time” (Daniel 7:25). Revelation repeats the span as forty-two months or 1,260 days (Revelation 12:6; 13:5). Applying the biblical day-for-a-year principle (Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6) yields 1,260 literal years. History identifies both the starting point: when the Roman Catholic Church gained uncontested civil authority, and the closing event: when that authority was forcibly removed.

Prophetic Framework

“They shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”
Daniel 7:25

“The woman fled into the wilderness… a thousand two hundred and threescore days.”
Revelation 12:6, 14

Daniel links this power with altering God’s law; Revelation shows the same power persecuting the faithful remnant. Once ecclesiastical decrees carried civil penalties, the prophetic clock began to tick.

Setting the Start

Two developments secure the papacy’s supremacy:

AD 508–533: Catholic France pledges military support, and Emperor Justinian recognizes the pope as “head of all the holy churches.”
AD 538: The Ostrogoths’ final siege collapses; the bishop of the Roman Catholic Church can now enforce Justinian’s decree without Arian opposition. The 1,260 years commence.

Highlights Across the Span (538–1798)

Sixth to Tenth Centuries

Church councils legislate Sunday observance and condemn Sabbath keeping. Canon law codifies penalties, blending civil authority with ecclesiastical rulings. Charlemagne’s capitularies fine laborers who work on Sunday and close markets.

Eleventh to Fifteenth Centuries

The papacy claims the right to depose kings and to command obedience under pain of excommunication. The Inquisition targets Waldenses and other Sabbath-keeping groups. Pilgrimages, indulgences, and mandatory holy days reinforce reliance on the Roman Catholic Church.

Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries

The Council of Trent (1545–1563) affirms tradition above Scripture. Sunday observance is cited as proof of the church’s authority to “change times and laws.” Even as Protestant nations emerge, the papacy retains broad diplomatic reach until revolutionary France challenges temporal power.

1798: The Deadly Wound

General Louis-Alexandre Berthier invades Rome, abolishes the Papal States, and exiles Pope Pius VI. The papacy loses its civil throne for the first time in 1,260 years. Revelation 13 describes this blow as the deadly wound.

After the Captivity

Prophecy also says the wound would heal (Revelation 13:3). The Lateran Treaty of 1929 restored Vatican sovereignty. The revival of influence sets the stage for the final conflict over worship described in Revelation 13 and 14, where the Sabbath–Sunday issue becomes the dividing line.

Source Notes

Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. III.
J. A. Wylie, The Papacy (London: Cassell, 1888).
Joseph Rickaby, The Modern Papacy (New York: Benziger, 1911).
F. T. Merrill, “The Capture of Rome in 1798,” American Historical Review 23, no. 4 (1918).
Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Vol. 4, on Daniel 7 and Revelation 13.