The 2300 Day Prophecy and the Sanctuary

[reddogs]

Here is a great study by Adventist pioneer John Nevins Andrews on the 2300 Day Prophecy and the Sanctuary.

'..The eighth chapter of Daniel is a prophecy of wonderful interest; for it gives the prophetic history of the world from the rise of the Persian Empire till the final destruction of all earthly kingdoms by the God of Heaven. The succession of earthly empires was presented to the prophet under the symbols of a ram, a goat, and a little horn that became exceeding great. And when these had been shown to him, he was told by the angel Gabriel that the ram represented the kingdom of Media and Persia; and that the goat was the kingdom of Grecia; and the horn which became exceeding great, though not called by name, was identified by several decisive facts, among which are these: That it should be the great destroyer of the people of God, and that it should put to death the Prince of princes. These facts show that the Roman power is intended.

In connection with these symbols which represent the great empires that have since arisen, the prophet learned the duration of his vision. For he heard Gabriel ask Michael, "How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And Michael, who answered the question to Daniel, said: "Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." Verses 13,14.

Now, it is plain that the period of twenty-three hundred days cannot be understood to mean so many literal days; for this would not make quite seven years, and would cover only a very small part of the duration of one of the three great empires of this vision. But we should remember that in this vision the great empires of the world are represented by symbols, and thus are given on a scale which brings them distinctly before the eye of the observer. It is necessary that the time should be given on a scale that corresponds with this in order not to involve an absurdity. For the Persian, Grecian, and Roman Empires have in all continued between 2000 and 3000 years. Now when these empires were represented by beasts, if the time that the empires were to continue was given without a corresponding abatement, then we should have these beasts living a thousand years apiece! This would be absurd. But it would not be absurd to represent them as living and acting that number of days.

The days must therefore represent longer periods of time. If we compare spiritual things with spiritual, we shall find the key to the interpretation of these days. For the different inspired writers were all led by the same Spirit of truth. They were like so many workmen engaged in building a temple. If we can find the rule which governed one of them, we shall find that same rule governing all the rest in like circumstances. Now God gave this rule to Ezekiel in the interpretation of the symbols of his own vision: "I have appointed thee each day for a year." Eze.4:6. We shall find in Gabriel's explanation of this vision of Daniel given in the ninth chapter, that the days in Daniel's prophecy are so many years.

This period of two thousand and three hundred days was certainly given for the benefit of the people of God. But it cannot benefit them unless they are able to understand it. We have indeed ascertained that it must be two thousand and three hundred years. But if we do not know when this period commences, we shall be none the wiser for having the period given in Daniel's prophecy. But there is a certain great event to take place when this period expires, and God designed to give his people knowledge of the time. The event is called the cleansing of the sanctuary. We shall find the subject one of very deep interest when we come to examine the Bible to learn what it teaches respecting the sanctuary and its cleansing.

 

[reddogs]

But the date of this great period is not given in the eighth chapter of Daniel. In that chapter, however, the commandment is given by Michael thus: "Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision." Verse 16. And yet, in verse 27, he tells us that he "was astonished at the vision, but none understood it." The angel in explaining to him this vision set before him the destruction of the mighty and the holy people, and the cruel death of the Son of God. The prophet could bear no more, for he "fainted, and was sick certain days;" so Gabriel reserved the remainder of the explanation till another time.

But in the ninth chapter we find Daniel earnestly seeking God with reference to his sanctuary. Verses 3,17. He seems to have connected his own vision of the sanctuary with that of Jeremiah respecting the desolation of the temple of Jerusalem. Verse 2. His mind was upon the subject of time. He knew that the seventy years of Jeremiah's prophecy were just expiring, and he was intently studying that period, doubtless in connection with the period which Michael told him marked the cleansing of the sanctuary. It was necessary that he should now be made to understand the reckoning of the great period revealed to him in his vision of the eighth chapter.

And so while he was engaged in importunate prayer for the people of God and for his sanctuary, the angel Gabriel touches him, saying, "I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. Verse 22. And calling attention to the vision which he had been commanded to explain to him, he says: "Therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision." Verse 23, compared with chapter 8:16.

Thereupon he gives to Daniel the key to the reckoning of his great period. "Seventy weeks," says he, "are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city," etc. Verse 24. The word determined does not express the full sense of the Hebrew word used by the angel. The word spoken by the angel was "cut off." The translators, not seeing the propriety of such a word in this place, for they did not note the fact that the ninth chapter is the key to the eighth, and so thought nothing of the long period in that chapter, could not understand how the seventy weeks could be said to be cut off, and so they departed from the literal meaning, and said that seventy weeks, were "determined," that is appointed, upon they people and thy city. But with the prophet, the case was different. The angel had bidden him "consider the vision." And nothing was more natural when told that seventy weeks were cut off than that he should recur to the long period revealed to him without a date in that vision.

This shorter period being cut off from that long period gives us the key to the reckoning of that period from which it is cut off. When we ascertain the date of the seventy weeks, we have also ascertained the point from which the twenty-three hundred days are to be reckoned. And this date the angel next gives us.

 

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"Know therefore," said Gabriel, "and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks." Verse 25. The commandment for the restoration of Jerusalem, which city then lay in ruins, is the event which marks the commencement of this period. Cyrus gave the Jews permission to return and build the temple, but did not say anything respecting the city itself. Ezra 1. This decree Darius renewed when the Jews were hindered by their enemies, and he provided means for the expense of finishing the temple., Ezra 6. But Artaxerxes added to the work of Cyrus and Darius the full restoration of the city to its ancient privileges, and the re-establishment of the law of God as the law of the city; and he authorized the rebuilding of its walls. Ezra.7:11-26; 9:9. The commandment is the prophetic commandment of the God of Heaven (Isa.44:26-28; 45:13), and was carried into effect by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, whose successive action is recognized as the legal establishment of that commandment by the authority of the Persian Empire. Ezra 6:14.

The decree of Artaxerxes, which marks the going forth of the commandment, was in the year B.C. 457 (see margin of Ezra 7), a date which has been established by the infallible testimony of many eclipses. Sixty-nine weeks, or 483 prophetic days, extend from this date to the Messiah, that is, to Christ. This period was fulfilled in exactly 483 years, which proves that we have made no mistake in reckoning Daniel's days as years, nor in fixing their date at B.C. 457.

It was in the fall of A.D. 27, just 483 full years from the going forth of the commandment in B.C. 457, that our Lord began his ministry. And this was the announcement which he made: "THE TIME IS FULFILLED." Mark 1:15. He did in these words refer to the sixty-nine weeks which marked the commencement of his ministry, and he announced the fulfillment of that period. For the period extends not simply to the birth of the Saviour, but to his annointing, which took place at his baptism, the word Messiah signifying the anointed one. See John 1:41; Acts 10:40,41; Luke 3:21,22; 4:14:21.

The sixty-nine weeks did, therefore end with the beginning of our Lord's ministry in the fall of A.D. 27. One week of the seventy remained in which the covenant was to be confirmed with many. Verse 27. In the midst of this week, the sacrifice and oblation were to cease. This must signify that he should take these away by becoming himself the great sacrifice for sin which these typified. Heb.10:1-13; Col.2:14-17. And so it was that our Lord preached during three years and a half, until the spring of A.D. 31, when he was crucified for the sins of men. This date, Dr. Hales, one of the moist distinguished of chronologists, establishes by conclusive evidence. See his "Analysis of Chronology," second edition, vol. 1. pp. 94-100. There remained of the period which was specially assigned to the Jews three and a half prophetic days to complete the seventy weeks. The termination of this period in A.D. 31 marked the close of the exclusive work for the Jews, and the commencement of the work for the Gentiles in the conversion of Saul, who was at once commissioned to them. Acts 26:15-17. Here ended the seventy weeks which were cut off from the 2300 days. When these 490 days were finished, there remained 1810 days before the time should come for the cleansing of the sanctuary. As the 490 ended in the fall of A.D. 34, the remaining 1810 days ended in the fall of 1844.

 

[reddogs]

In the great Advent movement under the preaching of William Miller and his fellow laborers, the evidence was brought out with great clearness that the 2300 days would end in 1844. He believed that the sanctuary to be cleansed is our earth. He found no testimony in the Bible that the earth is the sanctuary, but he did find that the earth is to be purified, by fire (2Pet.3:7-13), and so he inferred that this was the sanctuary which Michael said should be cleansed at the end of the 2300 days. He therefore concluded that this period was given to mark the time of Christ's coming. And as it was sufficiently evident from the several great lines of prophecy in Daniel and Revelation, and from the signs of the times, that the advent of Christ was at the doors, the time was preached in connection with the signs with very great solemnity and power.

But though it could be clearly shown that the 2300 days actually ended in 1844, the Advent people were doomed to a great disappointment. The ending of the 2300 days was not the time appointed of God for the coming of Christ, nor for the burning of the earth. But the great Advent disappointment made it necessary that two important questions should be carefully studied.

1. What is the sanctuary of the Bible?

2. What is meant by the cleansing of the sanctuary?

The fact that the cleansing of the sanctuary is an event located in prophecy in the very conclusion of one of Daniel's great prophetic chains, shows that it is an event of deep interest to mankind. And as we live at a time when the 2300 days are in the past, we are most deeply concerned to understand the nature of the work called the cleansing of the sanctuary.

The Bible is full of the subject of the sanctuary, and we shall find it a theme of intense interest if we give it careful study. The Bible doctrine of the sanctuary is this: That the sanctuary is the place where the High Priest stands to offer blood before God for the sins of those who come to God through him. The central subject in the sanctuary is the ark which contains the law of God that man has broken. The cover of this ark was called the mercy-seat, because mercy came to those who had broken the law beneath it, when the high priest sprinkled the blood of sin-offering upon it, provided they accompanied his work by repentance and faith. Last of all was the work of cleansing the sanctuary when the high priest by blood removed the sins of the people from the sanctuary into which they had been borne by the ministration of the priests before God. We now invite attention to the testimony of the Bible respecting the sanctuary.

1. There are two covenants; the first, or old covenant, extends from the time of Moses to the death of Christ; the second, or new covenant, begins at the death of Christ and extends forward to the consummation. Gal.4:24-26; Heb.8:7-13; Luke 22:20.

2. The first covenant had a sanctuary, which was the tabernacle erected by Moses. Heb.9:1-7.

3. The new covenant has a sanctuary which is the temple of God in Heaven, into which our High Priest entered when he ascended up on high. Heb.8:1-5.

4. When Moses erected the tabernacle, he was commanded by God to make it according to the pattern which he showed to him; and this pattern must have been a representation of the temple of God in Heaven; for the earthly sanctuary is declared to be a pattern of the heavenly. Ex.25:9,40; Heb.8:5; 9:23.

5. The earthly sanctuary consisted of two holy places; the first of which contained the table of shew-bread, the candlestick with seven lamps, and the golden altar of incense; and the second contained the ark of God's testament with the tables on which the ten commandments were written by the finger of God, and over which was the mercy-seat with the cherubim of glory overshadowing it. Ex.40:18-28; Heb.9:1-5.

6. The temple of God in Heaven is not only spoken of as the original from which the earthly sanctuary was copied (Heb.9:23,24; 1Chron.28:11,12,19), but it is also spoken of as consisting of holy places, in the plural. See Heb.8:2; 9:8,12,24; 10:19, in each of which verses the original is holy places, in the plural, and they are so rendered in various translations.

The word sanctuary in the Bible, except in the few cases where it is used figuratively, refers always to the place where the high priest ministers before God for the sins of the people. It was first the tabernacle erected by Moses; then it was the temple built by Solomon, which was a more glorious structure than the tabernacle, but with the same two holy places; and when the typical sacrifices ended in the death of Christ, who is the true sin-offering, the earthly sanctuary, or holy places, ceased to be the center of God's worship, and Christ entered the temple in Heaven as a great High Priest - the minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. The temple of God in Heaven is the sanctuary from which the psalmist says the Lord beheld the earth (Ps.102:19), and which Jeremiah speaks of as being where the throne of God is found. Jer.17:12; Rev.16:17.

The ministration in the earthly sanctuary could not actually take away sins; for it had only the blood of bulls and goats to offer. Heb.10:4. It was ordained for the purpose of instructing men with reference to the work of Christ, and of encouraging them to look forward to his work. It is a shadow or representation of the service of Christ in the sanctuary of God in Heaven. Heb.8:5; 10:1; Col.2:17. It took one year to complete the round of service in the earthly sanctuary, at the end of which the cleansing of the sanctuary took place. The round of service was repeated each year, even as a shadow is renewed each day. But the ministration of Christ which casts this shadow fills out each part of the work once for all, and is not repeated. We shall therefore find the study of the service in the earthly sanctuary full of instruction as to the work of Christ in the sanctuary above.

The ministration in the first apartment occupied the entire year, with the exception of one day, which was devoted to work in the second apartment, or most holy place, to close up the work which had been wrought in the first apartment. The work in the first apartment was on this wise: When a man repented of his sin, he brought a sin-offering to the priest to the door of the sanctuary. Then he confessed his sin to the priest and put his hand upon the head of his offering to indicate the transfer of the guilt from himself to his offering. Then, the victim was slain because of that guilt thus transferred to it, and the blood, representing the life of the victim, was taken by the priest and carried into the sanctuary, and sprinkled there before God. This act was the offering of the life of an innocent victim in the place of the life of him who had broken the law of God, and it was the transference of that man's guilt from himself to the sanctuary of God. See Lev.4 and the parallel scriptures. This was the most important feature of the work in the first apartment, and by it the guilt of the penitents was transferred from themselves to the tabernacle.

 

[reddogs]

On the tenth day of the seventh month, which was called the day of atonement, the ministration was transferred to the second apartment, or most holy place. Lev.16. By God's direction, the high priest on this day caused two goats to be brought to the door of the sanctuary. On these he was to cast lots. One was for the Lord, the other was for Azazel. The he slew the goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, and took his blood to present it before God as a sin-offering in the most holy place, sprinkling it upon the mercy-seat. He did this for two purposes: 1. To make atonement for the people. 2. To cleanse the sanctuary by removing from it the sins of the people of God. Lev.16:15-19.

The sanctuary being cleansed, the high priest comes out of the building, and having caused the other goat to be brought which was for Azazel, he lays both his hands upon his head, and confesses over him all the transgressions of the children of Israel in all their sins. These he puts upon the head of the goat and sends him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness. And it is said that "the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited." Verses 20-22.

The work of the high priest on this great day of atonement was for the purpose of completing the work which had been partially accomplished in the first apartment. By the work in that apartment, the sins had been transferred to the sanctuary through the blood of sin-offering. By the work in the second apartment, the sanctuary is cleansed and the sins of the people of God blotted out. Such was the work in the earthly sanctuary, and such was the cleansing of the sanctuary as set forth in the example and shadow of heavenly things.

The earthly sanctuary was only made as the pattern of the sanctuary in Heaven. Heb.8 and 9. Itself and its services pertained only to the first covenant. Heb.9:1. With the introduction of the new covenant came the real sanctuary of God, the tabernacle which the Lord pitched, and not man. Heb.8:1,2. While the first tabernacle stood, it signified that the way into the holy places of the heavenly temple was not opened. Heb.9:8. But when our Lord ascended on high, he became a great High Priest, and by his own blood he entered the temple of God. Verses 11,12. The order of his ministration is clearly indicated by the service in the two apartments of the earthly sanctuary. Heb.8:5; 9:8-12; 10:1. And we are able to trace the ministration of Christ in these two apartments of the temple above in the New Testament.

Thus, when John looked into the temple of God in Heaven, he saw the Father sitting upon the throne, and before the throne were seven lamps burning. Rev.4. In this place also he saw the Son of God. Rev.5. Before the throne also stood the golden altar of incense. Rev.8:3. These things do clearly mark the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, and show that this was the place where our Lord began his ministration as our High Priest.

 

[reddogs]

But there is a time when his ministration is to be within the second apartment. This is marked in John's statement of the events under the seventh trumpet: "And the temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament." Rev.11:19. The ark marks the second apartment as the seven lamps and the golden altar of incense mark the first. The second apartment is therefore opened under the seventh angel, and the days (or years) at the beginning of his voice constitute the period in which the mystery of God or work of the gospel for fallen man is finished. Rev.10:7; Eph.3:4-6. It is certain therefore, that as there was a time each year devoted to the finishing up of the round of service in "the example and shadow of heavenly things" so is there such a period in the conclusion of Christ's ministration, when once for all our High Priest finishes his work of priesthood; and as this work in the former dispensation took place in the second apartment, so also under the new covenant does this work find its accomplishment within the second vail by the ark of the ten commandments. The work in the second apartment of the earthly sanctuary does not therefore represent the work of the whole gospel dispensation, but only of that part of it devoted to the finishing of the mystery of God.

The work within the second apartment was for the cleansing of the sanctuary, and this was performed by the high priest with blood, and when it was accomplished the sins of the people were blotted out. It was, therefore, an event of the greatest importance to the people of God. The heavenly sanctuary is to be cleansed, and for the same reason that the earthly sanctuary was cleansed. So Paul testifies in Heb.9:23. The same word which Paul uses to express the purification in this text is used in the Septuagint version of Daniel 8:14, for cleansing. The prophecy of Daniel shows us that the sanctuary of God is cleansed in the last days of the new covenant dispensation. The sanctuary of the new covenant is in Heaven. Heb.8:1,2. This heavenly sanctuary is to be cleansed; for Paul affirms it. Heb.9:23. The time marked for its cleansing is that fixed by John for the opening of the temple in Heaven and for the finishing of the mystery of God. Rev.11:19; 10:7. The cleansing of the sanctuary is the removal from it of the sins of the people of God that had been borne into it by the High Priest, and their blotting out from the record that stands against the saints, preparatory to their being placed upon the head of the scape-goat, or Azazel.

Now this Azazel, as the word is in the original, or scape-goat, as some translations render it, can be no other than Satan. For the being that receives the sins of the righteous after the High Priest has finished his work in the sanctuary, can be no other than Satan, the author of sin. The word Azazel was understood by the ancient people of God to mean Satan. When, therefore, the goat was sent into a land not inhabited, it represents the fact that Satan at the conclusion of Christ's work as priest shall be cast into the bottomless pit. Rev.20.

The treading under foot of the sanctuary is not performed by literally trampling it in the dust. It is trodden under foot in the same manner that men are represented as treading under foot the Son of God who ministers in that sanctuary. Heb.10:29.

But does Daniel's vision really take in the heavenly sanctuary? We know that the earthly sanctuary as understood by him was the temple of God. Dan.9:17,26. His view was in exact harmony with that of Paul in Heb.9:1-5. And ought we not to understand that the entire 2300 days belong to the temple in old Jerusalem? Such is the view taken by some, and yet it is not at all in harmony with the statement of Gabriel. The entire period of 2300 days does not belong to old Jerusalem; for Gabriel said, "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy city."

The books are examined before the deliverance of the saints. Dan.12:1. The opening of the books is described in Dan.7:9,10. The book of life shows who have ever set out in the service of God. Luke 10:20; Phil.4:3. The book of God's remembrance shows the record of their faithfulness in his cause, and whether they have made clean work in overcoming. Mal.3:16. Other books contain the record of men's evil deeds. Rev.20:12,13.

As the object of this final work in the sanctuary is to determine who are worthy of everlasting life, no cases will come before this tribunal except those who have had their names entered in the book of life. All others are left out of this investigation as having never become partakers in Christ's atoning work. The investigation will determine who have overcome their sins; and these will have their sins blotted from the record, and their names retained in the book of life. It will also determine who have not overcome; and these will have their names blotted from the book of life. Rev.3:5, and their sins will be retained in the record, to be visited with retribution in the resurrection to damnation.

The righteous need a high priest until their sins are blotted out. They cannot be blotted out till the Judgment; for God has decreed to bring every work into judgment whether good or evil. Eccl.12:13,14; 3:17. He certainly cannot bring any record into judgment, after he has blotted it out. The blotting out is therefore the last act of our High Priest, and is done when the Father has accounted each person worthy of this; which will only be when the High Priest has shown from the record in the book of God's remembrance that he has actually overcome. The blotting out of sins (Acts 3:19) is therefore the great work which brings our Lord's priesthood to a conclusion. As this is an individual work, it evidently begins with the first generation of the righteous, and so comes down to the last, that is, to those who are alive at the coming of Christ. It is the time of the dead that they should be judged. Rev.11:18,19. The first angel gives notice to the inhabitants of the earth that the hour of God's judgment has come. Rev.14:6,7. The living are still on probation when this solemn announcement is made to mankind.

The proclamation of the third angel, which is made while Christ is closing up his work in the sanctuary, is designed to prepare the living for the decision of the Judgment. When the cases of the living are reached, probation closes up forever. The decree goes forth from the throne of God, "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; ... and he that is holy, let him be holy still." Rev.22:11. The sins of the overcomers being blotted out, and the sanctuary cleansed, the Son of God is no longer needed as a great High Priest. He therefore ceases from the office forever and becomes a king for the deliverance and glorification of his people, and for the destruction of all transgressors. Dan.7:13,14. Satan, the author of sin, receives its dreadful burden when the work in the sanctuary is closed, and will bear it with him to the lake of fire.

It is of infinite consequence to us who live in the time when Christ is closing up his priesthood, that we understand the work which he is performing, and that we so walk in the light as to share in his great salvation.

Elder John Nevins Andrews
Pioneer of the Seventh-day Adventist Church..

 

[peterlindner]

Full moon of Cheshvan (October 19th 2013)...
The goats are the moon in its different stages. It starts from the feast of trumpets. The Goat with the 2 horns is the new moon of Trumpets followed by the new moon of cheshvan. The goat with the horn between the eyes is the full moon between these two new moons. Finally there is the next full moon. This happens to be 2,300 from Tammuz 17...the anniversary of the day that the daily sacrifice was taken away.

 

[reddogs]

Full moon of Cheshvan (October 19th 2013)...
The goats are the moon in its different stages. It starts from the feast of trumpets. The Goat with the 2 horns is the new moon of Trumpets followed by the new moon of cheshvan. The goat with the horn between the eyes is the full moon between these two new moons. Finally there is the next full moon. This happens to be 2,300 from Tammuz 17...the anniversary of the day that the daily sacrifice was taken away.

Are you SDA?

 

[Castaway57]

Are you SDA?

Don't know if that really matters or not - what he posted sure was not Seventh-day Adventist. The 2300 days of Bible prophecy is always and only about Jesus. This guy has missed the boat on that one.

 

[Castaway57]

It is of infinite consequence to us who live in the time when Christ is closing up his priesthood, that we understand the work which he is performing, and that we so walk in the light as to share in his great salvation.

Elder John Nevins Andrews
Pioneer of the Seventh-day Adventist Church..

Don't suppose you can give a book/page no for what you posted, can you? I would like to look this up and research it further.

here is something that applies to the OP:

(2)The 2300 evenings-mornings:

The time frame for the vindication is given by the phrase “until 2300 evenings-mornings.” The phrase “evenings-mornings” is used in Genesis 1 to designate each day of Creation week. In the sanctuary services certain activities were referred to as taking place evening and morning, that is, every day (Ex. 27:20, 21; Lev. 24:2, 3). The 2300 evenings-mornings are a period of 2300 prophetic days, which, according to the year-day principle, represent 2300 years. (See Judgment III. B. 1. a; Remnent/Three Angels V. B.)

The beginning of this prophetic period is suggested in Daniel 8:13, which may be translated as follows: “Until when [will] the vision, the daily/continual, and the transgression causing horror, make both the sanctuary and the host a trampling?” This literal translation separates the noun “vision” from “daily.” Most versions translate “the vision of the daily,” limiting the question to the period during which the little horn was active. But the Hebrew does not allow for this. The first noun is in the absolute state (it has an article and long vowels), which suggests that a comma should be placed after it. The term ḥazôn is used in verses 1 and 2 to refer to the vision of the different animals. The question in verse 13 is about the time for the completion of the vision of verses 1–12: the emphasis is on the termination of the vision and what is to follow.​

Because the 2300 days/years begin during the activity of the ram, that is, from the time of the Medo-Persian empire (verse 20), the vision would run from then until the beginning of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary. A more specific date for the beginning of the 2300 years is provided by the connection between Daniel 8 and 9. There are clear terminological connections between the two. In 9:23 Gabriel tells the prophet, “Understand the vision.”

The term for “vision” (mar’eh) is the same one used in 8:26, 27 to refer to “the vision of the evenings and the mornings,” the part of the hāzôn (vision) of chapter 8 that had to do with the time period. Gabriel interpreted to Daniel the vision but did not explain the part concerning the 2300 years. At the end of chapter 8 Daniel stated that he did not understand the mar’eḥ

In chapter 9 Gabriel came to assist Daniel in understanding the mar’eh, the “vision” of the time period. In both chapters the verb “understand” is used (Dan. 8:23–27; 9:22, 23) and both concern the sanctuary. In 9:24 the sanctuary is dedicated and its services begin, while in 8:14 the same sanctuary is cleansed. These relations connect the time prophecy of the 70 weeks to the 2300 years. The verb “decreed” in 9:24 also means “to cut off,” as is seen in Mishnaic Hebrew and in texts found in the city of Ugarit (1300 B.C.).

The implication is that the 490 years were “cut off” from the 2300 years. The 490 years began with the decree to rebuild Jerusalem made by Artaxerxes in 457 B.C.; that decree is also the starting point for the 2300 years. The end point of that period would fall in A.D. 1844. Then the sanctuary would be cleansed/vindicated. At this particular time within salvation history Christ would begin the second aspect of His mediatorial work in the heavenly sanctuary, as described in Hebrews 9:23.​

Dederen, R. (2001, c2000). Vol. 12: Handbook of Seventh-Day Adventist Theology (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; Commentary Reference Series (396). Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association.

 

[Castaway57]

D.Adventist Understanding

During the nineteenth century there was in North America a great interest in the second coming of Christ. One of the most influential leaders of this revival was William Miller (1782–1849). His studies of the prophecies of Daniel led him to conclude that the “purification of the sanctuary” of Daniel 8:14 referred to the return of the Lord (the cleansing of the earth from sin), and that the 2300 years would end in 1843/1844. He and his followers finally established that Jesus would come back on October 22, 1844. The failure of the prediction resulted in the Great Disappointment.

Some Millerites searched for an explanation of the disappointment. They carefully examined the chronology of the 2300 days and concluded that it was correct, and that the mistake was in the event. Hiram Edson suggested that at the end of the 2300 years Christ entered the Most Holy Place to perform a special work before returning to earth. Owen R. L. Crosier developed that idea through a study of the Israelite sanctuary services in conjunction with the book of Hebrews. He concluded that there were two sanctuaries: one earthly and the other heavenly. Daniel 8:14, he argued, was a reference to the heavenly sanctuary and Christ’s work in it.

Attempting to define Christ’s priestly work in a more precise way, he indicated that it had two phases: one began at the Ascension, corresponding to the work in the holy place; and the other, beginning in 1844, corresponding to the work in the Most Holy Place. This was a typological fulfillment of the work of the high priest in the Israelite sanctuary. The antitypical day of atonement was the time from 1844 to the end of the millennium, the consummation of salvation history.

Sacrifice for sin was made on the cross; the priestly mediation of Christ, through the merits of His blood, made atonement for the sins of repentant sinners. The Israelite sanctuary was defiled by open rebellion and through the confession of sin. Defilement through confession took place when sin was transferred to the sacrifice and, through its blood, to the sanctuary. It was concluded that the heavenly sanctuary was defiled by the confessed sins of God’s servants.

The study of the Most Holy Place in the earthly sanctuary led the Adventist believers to study the ark of the covenant in which the Ten Commandments were placed. Under the influence of Hiram Edson, E. G. White, and O.R.L. Crosier, a connection was established between the sanctuary ritual system, the Ten Commandments, and the Sabbath. As a result, a Sabbatarian Adventist group of believers came into existence.

The study of the sanctuary also resulted in a better understanding of the final judgment. Joseph Bates suggested that the judgment scene in Daniel 7 and the hour of God’s judgment in Revelation 14:6 were references to the work of Christ after 1844. This idea was developed by others, particularly by James White. It was concluded that the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary included the investigative judgment of God’s people, followed by the judgment of the wicked and the final disposition of Satan, represented by the figure of Azazel in Leviticus 16 (Damsteegt 85–92; Maxwell 119–157).

The connection between Daniel 7 and 8 and Revelation 14:6–12 provided for the early Adventists a sense of mission to the world, a mission prophetically represented in the messages of the three angels. But the doctrine of Christ’s priesthood also had an experiential dimension. While Christ was performing the cleansing of the sanctuary in heaven God’s people on earth were to cleanse their lives from sin through the work of the Spirit.

The study of the biblical evidence led Adventists to conclude that a theological definition of the atonement should include the cross as the place of the atoning death of Christ, as well as His priestly ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. Refinement in the understanding of the investigative judgment, also called the pre-Advent judgment, concluded that it does not inform God but reveals His justice. In fact, “God condescends to show them His justice and His righteousness in His dealing with sinners,” while at the same time the “investigative judgment is a revelation of love and loyalty to God at its best” (Heppenstall 209, 216).

The Adventist understanding of Christ’s priestly ministry in the heavenly sanctuary is significantly different from that of other Christians. There have also been dissenters on the topic within the church: Albion Fox Ballenger (1861–1921), W. W. Fletcher (1879–1947), Louis Richard Conradi (1856–1939), E. B. Jones (fl. 1919–1949), and during the 1980s Desmond Ford. At approximately the same time the General Conference was inaugurating a Daniel and Revelation Committee, assigned to reexamine the teachings of these books and the Adventist understanding of them.

Although the committee’s work was broad in scope, it included questions raised by Ford. They continue to be of interest for church members as evidenced by the publication and sales of popular books on the subject. Some of the writers put great emphasis on the symbolism of almost every detail of the ritual, while others concentrate on the typological significance of its services.

The doctrine of Christ’s priesthood, together with the prophetic interpretation of Daniel 8:14, provides the Seventh-day Adventist Church with a historical identity. Adventists see their movement, not as a historical accident, but as the result of God’s special intervention in human affairs. The fulfillment of Daniel 8:14 in 1844 validates the presence of Seventh-day Adventists in the world, and particularly in the Christian community. As the initiation of Christ’s heavenly ministry coincided with the outpouring of the Spirit on the fledgling church (Acts 2:33), so the beginning of the antitypical day of atonement coincided with the birth of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Dederen, R. (2001, c2000). Vol. 12: Handbook of Seventh-Day Adventist Theology (electronic ed.). Logos Library System; Commentary Reference Series (404). Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald Publishing Association.