The Day/Year Principle in Symbolic Time Prophecy

This is from "The Unsealed Book: An Unorthodox look at the Church, Islam and God’s Kingdom in Bible Prophecy" by Benjamin Breece available on Amazon

Protestant theologians historically used the day for a year principle in interpreting the apocalyptic time prophecies for centuries, although it has fallen out of favor in many churches today.  There are several very good scripturally based reasons for adopting this interpretation. 

One verse is Ezekiel 4:4-6,

ואתה שׁכב על־צדך השׂמאלי ושׂמת את־עון בית־ישׂראל עליו מספר הימים אשׁר תשׁכב עליו תשׂא את־עונם

ואני נתתי לך את־שׁני עונם למספר ימים שׁלשׁ־מאות ותשׁעים יום ונשׂאת עון בית־ישׂראל

וכלית את־אלה ושׁכבת על־צדך הימוני שׁנית ונשׂאת את־עון בית־יהודה ארבעים יום יום לשׁנה יום לשׁנה נתתיו לך

"Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity.  For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.  And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year."

In this passage, the prophet Ezekiel, himself, acts as the symbol.  He lies on his side one day for each of the literal years that he symbolizes.

Jesus used the day for a year principle when predicting the three years remaining in his ministry until his triumphal entry into Jerusalem and his final week there.

Luke 13:31-35

᾿Εν αὐτῇ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ προσῆλθόν τινες Φαρισαῖοι λέγοντες αὐτῷ· ἔξελθε καὶ πορεύου ἐντεῦθεν, ὅτι ῾Ηρῴδης θέλει σε ἀποκτεῖναι.

31 The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.

καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· πορευθέντες εἴπατε τῇ ἀλώπεκι ταύτῃ· ἰδοὺ ἐκβάλλω δαιμόνια καὶ ἰάσεις ἀποτελῶ σήμερον καὶ αὔριον, καὶ τῇ τρίτῃ τελειοῦμαι·

32 And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

πλὴν δεῖ με σήμερον καὶ αὔριον καὶ τῇ ἐχομένῃ πορεύεσθαι, ὅτι οὐκ ἐνδέχεται προφήτην ἀπολέσθαι ἔξω ῾Ιερουσαλήμ.

33 Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.

῾Ιερουσαλὴμ ῾Ιερουσαλήμ, ἡ ἀποκτείνουσα τοὺς προφήτας καὶ λιθοβολοῦσα τοὺς ἀπεσταλμένους πρὸς αὐτήν, ποσάκις ἠθέλησα ἐπισυνάξαι τὰ τέκνα σου ὃν τρόπον ὄρνις τὴν ἑαυτῆς νοσσιὰν ὑπὸ τὰς πτέρυγας, καὶ οὐκ ἠθελήσατε.

34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!

ἰδοὺ ἀφίεται ὑμῖν ὁ οἶκος ὑμῶν ἔρημος· λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐ μὴ με ἴδητε ἕως ἂν ἥξῃ ὅτε εἴπητε· εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου.

35 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

The Book of Revelation begins with special messages to seven churches, which are often understood to symbolize different time periods that Jesus’s followers would go through.  One of these messages contains a brief time prophecy.

Revelation 2:10

μηδὲν φοβοῦ ἃ μέλλεις πάσχειν. ἰδοὺ μέλλει βάλλειν ὁ διάβολος ἐξ ὑμῶν εἰς φυλακὴν ἵνα πειρασθῆτε, καὶ ἕξετε θλῖψιν ἡμερῶν δέκα. γίνου πιστὸς ἄχρι θανάτου, καὶ δώσω σοι τὸν στέφανον τῆς ζωῆς.

Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

Christians suffered a number of persecutions under pagan Rome.  The most severe was the systematic persecution begun under the emperor Diocletian in 303.  This persecution ended in 313 with the Edict of Milan issued by the emperor Constantine I, who later converted to Christianity.  Thus the worst, most widespread and systematic persecution of Christians by pagan Rome lasted for 10 years.  This matches the 10 days of persecution that Jesus warned the church about.

From clues such as these, scholars have taken this principle and tried applying it to the time prophecies.  It has consistently worked whenever applied to the highly symbolic time prophecies.  Now, more literal time prophecies, such as the 70 year prophecy in Jeremiah, it does not apply. 

One of the most interesting applications is the 2300 days in Daniel 8 and the 490 years of Daniel 9.  Daniel 8 is highly symbolic, while Daniel 9 is more literal.  Interestingly enough, we find that the 490 years in Daniel 9 is cut off from the 2300 days/years of Daniel 8.  See section on Daniel 8-9 for details.  This can only begin to make sense if we understand the day/year principle.