August 24, 2023 | Silver Spring, Maryland, United States | Ted N.C. Wilson, President, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists
Hello, friends. Have you ever wondered if the Bible is really true? Can we really trust what it says? Fortunately, God has given us plenty of evidence on which we can base our faith.
Consider the Apostle Peter, who spent more than three years with Jesus Himself, walking with Him, talking with Him, even seeing Him glorified on the Mount of Transfiguration.
And yet, Peter tells us these physical manifestations are not the strongest evidence for faith. Instead, he writes, “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19).
Today, we will take a brief look at the longest time prophecy given in the Bible, and see how it has been remarkably fulfilled, and why it is important for us to understand today.
Continuing in our journey through the book, The Great Controversy, we will follow in the footsteps of William Miller, who was astonished as he carefully studied his Bible verse by verse. Coming to Daniel 8:14, he read where the prophet Daniel heard a heavenly voice saying, “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”
Determined to learn the meaning of this prophecy, Miller asked for God to guide him as he continued following his practice of comparing scripture with scripture with his concordance in hand. Using this method, Miller learned by reading Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6 that a day in symbolic prophecy represents a year. Applying this principle, he realized the period of 2300 prophetic days actually represented 2300 literal years. Therefore, the sanctuary referred to in Daniel 8:14 could not possibly be the Jewish sanctuary of the Old Testament.
Miller followed the generally accepted thinking of the time, that in the Christian age, the earth itself was the sanctuary. Therefore, he reasoned, the cleansing of the sanctuary must mean that the earth would be purified by fire at the Second Coming of Christ.
Becoming increasingly excited, Miller concluded that if he could find the correct starting point for the 2,300 days, he would know when that time period would end and when Jesus would come!
With a new and deeper earnestness, Miller continued studying the prophecies. He didn’t find any clue in Daniel 8 as to when the 2,300-day prophecy began. However, in chapter 9, the time sequence began to unfold.
Following Daniel’s beautiful prayer, we see the angel Gabriel flying swiftly to Daniel’s aid, telling him that he had come to help him understand the vision.
Beginning in verse 24, we read: “Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks . . . and after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself. . . . Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering” (Daniel 9:24-27).
What did it mean? Studying the passage carefully, William Miller understood the seventy prophetic weeks spoken of by the angel represented 490 literal years. He also realized that the word “determined,” in this verse literally means to be “cut off.” But from what were they cut off?
Ellen White explains, “As the 2300 days was the only period of time mentioned in chapter 8, it must be the period from which the seventy weeks were cut off; the seventy weeks must therefore be a part of the 2300 days, and the two periods must begin together” (The Great Controversy, p. 326).
Notice in Daniel 9:25 the angel declared that the seventy weeks began with the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem. Continuing his search, Miller found the answer to when this took place in Ezra 7:12-26. While there were preliminary decrees, history confirms that the most complete decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem was issued by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, in 457 B.C.
Now that we have the starting date of 457 B.C., the rest of the prophecy falls perfectly into place as we apply the prophetic day-year principle.
Just as the angel had explained in Daniel 9:25, there would be “seven weeks and sixty-two weeks” or 483 years, until the Messiah. The word “Messiah” means “the Anointed One,” and in the autumn of A.D. 27, Christ was baptized by John and received the anointing of the Spirit.
The angel explained that He, meaning Jesus, “shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering” (vs. 27), and He would do this by being “cut off, but not for Himself” (vs. 26). This represents the time of Christ’s ministry on Earth, followed by His crucifixion 3 1/2 years later. Again, this prophecy was fulfilled right on time, as Christ was crucified in A.D. 31. The remaining 3 1/2 years of this prophetic week ended with the Jewish leaders’ final rejection of the Gospel by the stoning of Stephen in A.D. 34. It was then that the message of the Gospel was extended to the entire world.
Amazed by the exact fulfillment of the prophecy thus far, William Miller realized that with this data in hand, it would take just a simple mathematical calculation to find out when the 2,300 days would end. Since the prophecy indicated that the seventy weeks, or 490 days, would be cut off from the 2300, that left 1,810 prophetic days, or literal years. From A.D. 34, 1,810 years extend to the year of 1844 A.D. Consequently, the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14 end in 1844.
Astounded, William Miller realized he had discovered far more than what he had first intended when beginning his careful Bible study journey. Of course, today, we realize that Jesus did not return to earth in 1844. So, did this amazing prophecy fail at the very end? Absolutely not.
As we continue to delve into this amazing prophecy, we will realize it is far more than just numbers, dates, or historical facts. We will see that God is speaking directly to us, reminding us that our times are in His hands (Ps. 31:15), that He is ruler over all (Ps. 103:19), and that “Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7).
I know that for some of you, this prophecy may be very new. Others may be familiar with it, and yet would like to understand it better. I want to encourage each of you, if you have not already done so, to download the book, The Great Controversy, at the URL shown at the bottom of the screen [Insert: greatcontroversyproject.org), where you can study this Bible prophecy more in-depth. Another excellent resource for studying Bible prophecy can be found at itiswritten.study. [Insert: itiswritten.study].
Friends, as we close, I invite you to pray with me just now.
Loving Father. Thank you for revealing special secrets and information to your people through prophets whom you have appointed. We ask that you will help us to realize we are living in the end of time. There are no more time prophecies. After 1844, we are living just before Jesus’ soon return. Help us to be interested in the Bible, in its prophecies, and in its practical application in our lives as we share with others the good news that Jesus has paid the price of eternal life for us through His death, through His resurrection, and his ministry of intercession in the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary right now, and that soon he will take off his priestly robes and put on his kingly robes and come to take us home at the time of his Second Coming. Thank you for hearing us and for revealing so much to us through the Bible. Help us to be Bible students focused on your Word. In Jesus’ name, we ask an Amen.