Part 1

Two Thousand Three Hundred Days

Memory verse: “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.” Daniel 9:24

We will look at Daniel 8:14 “And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Daniel had been given a vision; He did not understand the meaning. The prophet was studying and praying to God for understanding, when Gabriel an angel sent from God, came to him again, in vision. He wanted to know more about the earlier vision the text of Daniel 8:14. “And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”

1.      Who came to Daniel? Daniel 9:21 “Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man ____________, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.”

2.      Why did the angel Gabriel come? Daniel 9:22 “And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee __________ and __________________.”

3.      The Jewish people were given seventy weeks. Daniel 9:24  “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy ____________ (Jews) and upon thy _______ ______________, (Jerusalem) to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”          

            What were they to do during this time? See the text about.

A.    To ____________ the  __________________,

B.     And to make an ___________ of ____________,

C.     And make ______________for iniquity,

D.    And bring in _______________ ______________,

E.     And to _____________up the _____________ and prophecy,

F.     And to ___________ the __________ holy.

4.      Let’s review the year for a day – How it was use in prophecy.

Numbers 14:34 “After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, _________ __________ for a __________, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.”

Ezekiel 4:6 “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 _________ each ________ for a ____________.”

                                    70 WEEKS

                                      7 DAYS IN A WEEK

                                   490 DAYS OR YEARS

Daniel 9:24 “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”

5.                          So how long would the two thousand three hundred days be? A day for a year would be 2300 years. Daniel 8:14. “And he said unto me, Unto _______ ____________ and ________ ___________ days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”

6.                          When did Gabriel say the time was to start? This time period was given to the Jews to prove themselves as we saw in question three. Gabriel pinpointed the beginning date for the 490 days as the “Going forth of the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.” This 490 day is part of the time prophecy of 2300 days.

Daniel 9:25  “Know therefore and understand, that from the __________ ____________ of the commandment to _________ and to _________ __________ unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.” We will see more about this in the next lesson, so remember this text. They had to build with a sward on their side, and other men guarding on the walls.

There were three decrees issued concerning Jerusalem.

A.    The decree of Cyrus to rebuild the house of God 536 B.C. See Ezra 1:1 – 4

We know from history this happened in 538 B.C.

B. The decree of Darius for the prosecution of the work that had been hindered 519 B.C. See Ezra 6:1 – 12.

C.     The decree of Artaxerxes to Ezra 457 B.C. (See Ezra 7.)

The decree of Artaxerxes is the only one of the three that could be considered an answer to the “Restore and … build Jerusalem. The others were simple commanded to build the temple and restore the Jewish system of worship. So the date 457 B.C. is the date taken as the beginning of the 490 year period. The command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem was completed by the decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus. This is history, read Ezra 6:14 and 7:1, 9 the decree went into effect in the autumn of 457 B.C. This gives us a starting time for Daniel’s prophecy. From 457 B.C. (remember the years B.C. takes you to Christ birth and A.D. takes you on after his birth.).

7.   This text in Daniel 9:25 takes us to Christ birth. Daniel 9:25 “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the _____________ to restore and to ___________ ____________ unto the __________ the __________ shall be ________ _________, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be ________ again, and the __________, even in _______ ___________.”

(A score is 20, so three score equals sixty.)

Here we have                  7 Weeks

                                    60 Weeks

                                    +2 Weeks

                                    69 Weeks or years

We have 69 weeks from the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah.

                                     69 Weeks

x 7 Days in a week

483 Days or years

     History tells us the walls were finished in 408 B.C.

8.      We see another time prophecy here. Daniel 9:26 “And after _______________ and __________ __________ shall ____________ be _________ ___________, but _______ __________ ________: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”

 His death on the cross was not for him but for us.

3 Score             60

2 Weeks             2

            62 Weeks

 62 Weeks

x 7 Days in a week

434 Weeks or years

There was 434 years from time the walls were built unto “The Messiah’s death on the cross. He was cut off, in the midst of the week or 3 ½ days or years of ministry. The Lamb was slain for our sins.

9.      The angel Gabriel said in Daniel 9:27 “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for ________ _________ (7 Years): and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

    1 Week                                         

X 7 Days

   7 Days or years

For seven years after he began his ministry, the gospel was especially preached to the Jews. Jesus for three and a half years preached the gospel and afterward three and three and half years by the apostles.

10.   Daniel 9:27 “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the _________ of the __________ he shall cause the ____________ and the ____________ to ___________, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” In the spring of A.D. 31 Christ, the true sacrifice was offered on Calvary’s cross. We all know the story of how at his death the veil of the temple was rent in twain, the sacredness and sacrificial service had come to an end. It all pointed forward to Christ, to come and die for our sins. It was time for the earthly sacrifice to end at his death.

11.   The one week or seven years ended in A.D. 34 with the stoning of Stephen. This finally sealed the rejection of the gospel, read the story in Acts 7:55 – 60. Acts 8:4. “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.”

After the stoning of Stephen, the disciples went abroad preaching Jesus Christ, His death, and Resurrection, the plan of salvation. The gospel now went to the gentiles; and to all the then known world.

. Do you see another prophecy in Daniel 9:26 “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the _______ and the ____________; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.” We know this took place in history about 70 A.D. Most of Jesus disciples were put to death. The Romans, under Titus, burnt the sanctuary and took the gold. The walls were covered with gold. I have made you a chart of this entire lesson. Jerusalem and the sanctuary was destroyed in 70 A.D.

“The question, What is the sanctuary? is clearly answered in the Scriptures. The term sanctuary, as used in the Bible, refers, first, to the tabernacle built by Moses, as a pattern of heavenly things; and, secondly, to the "true tabernacle" in Heaven, to which the earthly sanctuary pointed. At the death of Christ the typical service ended. The "true tabernacle" in Heaven is the sanctuary of the new covenant. And as the prophecy of Daniel 8:14 is fulfilled in this dispensation, the sanctuary to which it refers must be the sanctuary of the new covenant. At the termination of the 2300 days, in 1844, there had been no sanctuary on earth for many centuries. Thus the prophecy, "Unto two thousand three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed," unquestionably points to the sanctuary in Heaven.       But the most important question remains to be answered: What is the cleansing of the sanctuary? That there was such a service in connection with the earthly sanctuary, is stated in the Old-Testament Scriptures. But can there be anything in Heaven to be cleansed? In Hebrews 9 the cleansing of both the earthly and the heavenly sanctuary is plainly taught. "Almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these [the blood of animals]; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these," Hebrews 9:22, 23 even the precious blood of Christ.       The cleansing, both in the typical and in the real service, must be accomplished with blood; in the former, with the blood of animals; in the latter, with the blood of Christ. Paul states, as the reason why this cleansing must be performed with blood, that without shedding of blood is no remission. Remission, or putting away of sin, is the work to be accomplished. But how could there be sin connected with the sanctuary, either in Heaven or upon the earth? This may be learned by reference to the symbolic service; for the priests who officiated on earth, served "unto the example and shadow of heavenly things." Hebrews 8:5       The ministration of the earthly sanctuary consisted of two divisions; the priests ministered daily in the holy place, while once a year the high priest performed a special work of atonement in the most holy, for the cleansing of the sanctuary. Day by day the repentant sinner brought his offering to the door of the tabernacle, and placing his hand upon the victim's head, confessed his sins, thus in figure transferring them from himself to the innocent sacrifice. The animal was then slain. Great Contraversy 417