What are the 1260 days in Revelation 11 verse 3, and 12 verse 6?

The 1260 days represented a 1260 year (a year for a day, Numbers 14:34) period from AD539 to AD1799 which led to the beginning of the Times of the End (Daniel 12). The 1260 years is the period of Papacy’s power. Papal domination kept the masses in ignorance, superstition and servility. The 1260 year period started when the Popes began to exercise civil authority and power in 539 and ended in 1799. The French Revolution was the rise of the people, who were demanding civil rights and were rebelling against domination.

1799 marked the beginning of the time of the end. Daniel 12:4 gives two signs of the end times, “…the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” Increased travel (many running to and fro) began with the steam boat in 1807, steam locomotive 1830, and has led up to our modern automobiles, jet planes, and rocket ships. All knowledge began to multiply in the early 1800s. Specific Bible knowledge was also increased with the establishment Bible Societies in the 1830s. Today, mankind’s knowledge is doubling every five years.

The Woman (True Church) of Revelation 12:6 was in hiding (wilderness- away from Papacy) during the 1260 years and began to manifest herself with the reformers after 1799. The two witnesses in Revelation 11:3 are the Old and New Testament which sustained the True Church.

Please explain Jeremiah 33:10, 11. Is this referring to Babylon?

Jeremiah 33 is a beautiful chapter, full of glorious promises to Israel and to all the world! Verses 6-11 read, "Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security. I will restore the fortune of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first. I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me. And this city shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and a glory before all the nations of the earth who shall hear of all the good that I do for them. They shall fear and tremble because of all the good and all the prosperity I provide for it. Thus says the LORD: in this place of which you say, 'It is a waste without man or beast,' in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are desolate, without man or inhabitant or beast, there shall be heard again the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the voices of those who sing, as they bring thank offerings to the house of the LORD: 'Give thanks to the LORD of hosts, for the LORD is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.'"

Some of this prophecy is being to be fulfilled i.e., Israel was a desert, a wasteland without men or beasts inhabiting the land. But today, the deserts of Israel grow abundant crops, orchards, and vineyards. New cities have been constructed where there were once malaria-infested, mosquitoed marshes.  However, the best is yet to come. For when Jesus and His bride reign, sins will be forgiven, and peace, mirth, and prosperity will crown the land.

There might be a question as to whether this prophecy is linked to Rev. 18 and the judgment of Babylon. Babylon is neither Judah nor Israel. In Rev. 18:23, "the voice of the bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more," whereas in Jer. 33, the bridegroom and bride are heard along with singing, gladness and mirth! No, the two chapters are not referring to the same events.

Who are the four horns?

We will assume that you are referring to Zech 1:18-21.

Zech 1:18-21  "Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four horns. And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. And the LORD shewed me four carpenters. Then said I, What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn over the land of Judah to scatter it."

In verses 18-21, Zechariah beheld four horns and four carpenters. In the Scriptures, a “horn” is a symbol of power (whether on an altar, on an animal, or used figuratively), and a “carpenter” is a symbol of one who builds up. Therefore, the four horns in this vision are four powers, but what powers? The effect of these powers was to scatter (punish) Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem. The implication in verse 21 is that Gentile powers did the scattering. 
 
In this particular context, the sequence is Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem (the city). Judah, the southern kingdom was scattered by the Gentile powers of Egypt and Babylon. With Israel, the northern kingdom, the scattering Gentile powers were Assyria and Syria. But since the Old Testament prophecies are written for the Christian’s admonition, it is likely the primary application pertains to a greater picture with a different starting point than either Egypt or Assyria.
 
The four universal empires listed in Scripture are Babylon, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Consider King Nebuchadnezzar, an enemy of Israel, who was called a “lion” that would come down from the north and scatter Israel (Jer. 4:7). God also called him “my servant” (Jer. 25:9). Nebuchadnezzar was permitted to come down against Israel to destroy Jerusalem and Solomon’s Temple because of the nation’s previous disobedience and waywardness. And even when Cyrus, the king of Persia, allowed the Israelites to go back to their homeland, they were a subject people.  Therefore, these four horns in Zechariah most likely picture the four major Gentile powers, or empires, starting with Babylon and corresponding with the image in the second chapter of Daniel. After Babylon was Media-Persia, then Greece, then Rome.

Who are the beasts of Revelation 13?

To understand the book of Revelation you need to be very familiar with the books of Daniel and Ezekiel.

Daniel shows us that empires or civil powers are pictured as beasts. Daniel 7:17,  “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.” This representation is still a common practice today, as the USA pictures itself by the bald-eagle and Russia as a bear. 

Now, we must compare Revelation 13 to Daniel 7 to find the identity of the 10 horned beast in Daniel.

Revelation 13:1, “And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.”

Daniel 7:7, “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.” Therefore, both Daniel and Revelation are describing the same beast.

Revelation 13:5, “And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.” (1260 days)  Revelation 13:7,  “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

Daniel 7:21, “I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;”.  Daniel 7:25, “And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.  (1260 days)  In both contexts, the beast blasphemes God and persecutes the saints for 1260 days.

History shows the fourth universal empire was Rome. When we look at the image, we see there is iron mixed with clay. This pictures the Pagan Roman Empire transitioning into the Holy Roman Empire—that is the Papacy.

The other beast is a little harder to identify. The 2 horned beast can do many signs and wonders in the future and will cause the world to worship the Papal beast. This beast or civil power is a lot like the Papal beast and even makes an image of the Papal Beast which it also gives power to.

Revelation is a history of the Christian church throughout the Gospel Age and though Islam is very much like the Papal beast in that it is both church and state, we don’t think Islam is pictured here in the book of Revelation.

We see the Image of the Beast as the creation of a false Christian church-civil government union. This union will exercise great power such that any who refuse to honor that system will be persecuted and killed. (However, this is another topic which requires more space to explain than provided for this question.)

What are the 4 winds mentioned in Revelation 7:1?

Jesus shared His revelation vision with the Apostle John so that John could share that message with the church. Revelation 2:7, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”  Chapters 2 and 3 describe the seven churches (seven historical periods of the church through our Lord’s second advent) and their unique messages. Revelation 4 symbolically represents the throne scene in heaven.  Chapter 5 symbolizes Jesus as the Lamb of God holding a sealed scroll. Jesus is identified as the only one worthy to break the seals and unroll the scroll.  Since our Lord’s first advent, He has broken each seal in order (Revelation 6), slowly revealing the plan of salvation for mankind, and identifying the mystery of God (the Lamb’s wife). When the last seal is broken (the 7th), the Lord is present and the scroll is open to all who love and follow the Lamb.  

Chapter 7 describes the breaking of this final seal (albeit the announcement is found at the end of the chapter in Rev. 8:1).   The scene opens with the four angels, holding back the four winds (preventing a whirlwind), so that the remaining earthly saints can be sealed in their foreheads and the full number of the sealed ones established (144,000). These remaining saints are still on the earth at the return of the Lord.   

The four angels are not necessarily spirit beings, but may represent mighty spiritual forces having control over and restraining the four winds.  These mighty spiritual forces are controlled by the four attributes of God, namely Justice, Wisdom, Love and Power (the four living creatures of Revelation 4:8).  

The four corners of the earth would represent the foundations upon which earth’s civilization rests. These may be identified as the financial, religious, social and political parts of society.  The four winds refer to forces that cause trouble in each of these areas. The trouble could be punishments, wars, anarchy, famine, and pestilence (see Ezekiel 5:17 & 14:21.) We should not be surprised that the prince of the power of the air, the adversary, has an interest and control in these earthly institutions. Consequently, he and his angels may well be involved.

The winds are prevented from harming the final members of the church (the servants of our God, Revelation 7:3) until they have obtained a seal in their foreheads. The earth (organized society), the sea (the restless masses) or any tree (the household of faith) are also spared for that period of time.  

In the Old Testament, we are told Elijah was taken away in a whirlwind.  Was that a preview of the saints in Revelation 7:3 who are finally taken in the whirlwind when the four winds are loosed? 

Danial chapter 2 talks about kingdoms. What does Head, shoulders, knees and toes represents?

The Head represents the Kingdom of Babylonia lead by King Nebuchadnezzar. The chest and arms of silver represent the Medo-Persian Empire whose last leader was Darius III. The belly and thighs of bronze represents the Grecian empire lead by Alexander the Great. The legs of iron represent the Roman Empire. And the feet of iron and clay could also represent the Roman Empire, or the Holy Roman Empire.

The first three interpretations are taken straight from the bible. There are two other visions in Daniel (in Ch. 7 and Ch. 8) that follow this same exact pattern and are explicitly interpreted:

1. In Dan 2:37-38, the head of gold (which corresponds to the lion in chapter 7) is identified as Babylon.
2. In Dan 8:20, the chest and arms of silver (which corresponds to the bear in chapter 7 and the ram in chapter 8) is identified as Medo-Persia.
3. In Dan 8:21, the belly and thighs of bronze (which correspond to the leopard in chapter 7 and the goat in chapter 8) are identified as Greece.
4. The legs of iron and feet of clay and iron can be identified as Rome when you look at the history of who took over after Greece fell.

How will I know of the second coming of Jesus?

In the “Lord’s Great Prophesy” of Matthew 24 & Luke 21, our Lord outlined both the historical events that would lead up to his return as well as the signs that would indicate he was here. He also referred to the book of Daniel in Matthew 24:15. Hence, more corroborating prophecies about Jesus’s return may be found in Daniel. The following are some highlights of Jesus’s second presence:

1.  The nation of Israel restored.  Matthew 24:32, “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near……Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place.”  The fig tree is symbolic of the nation of Israel.  The nation of Israel was cast off by our Lord at his first coming, and the passage indicates they will be regathered and restored at his second coming.  (See Jeremiah 24:4-7.) 

2.  Jerusalem no longer occupied. “Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled,” Luke 21:24. The capital of Israel, Jerusalem, is now in the hands of the Jews after centuries of foreign occupation.

3.  A time of trouble never before seen.  “For then will be great tribulation such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.  And if those days had not been shortened, no human being would be saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.”  Matthew 24:21-22   With the advent of the nuclear age, man is now in the position to completely destroy himself. Thank God we are promised that this will not be permitted although the trouble will be unparalleled in human history.

4. Many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased. The events of Daniel 12:4 take place when Michael the archangel stands up in the time of the end. 1 Thessalonians 4:16 also mentions “the voice of the archangel” which is heard at the time of Jesus’s return.  Thus, Thessalonians links the prophecy of Daniel with the return of the Lord. Two signs of Jesus’s return would be great knowledge and travel. Remarkably, no other time in human history has seen exponential increases in knowledge. Today, mankind’s knowledge doubles every five years.  Additionally, man’s ability to travel, traverse the globe, and venture into space is astounding.

5.  Most humans will not have any faith in God.   Luke 18:8 says, “Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?”  We live in a time when blind creedalism steeped in superstition and arrogant higher learning reject the Bible. People want concrete evidence. Or people behave according to “what feels right.” (See also 2 Timothy 3:1-8.)

 As was said, these are just a few highlights.