- Gabriel was commanded to make Daniel understand the vision.
- He explained in chapter 8 the symbols of the kingdoms represented therein.
- He did not explain the time of verse 14.
- Daniel said he did not understand the vision, which, of course, refers to that part not explained —the time.
- In chapter 9, Gabriel said he had come to give him understanding, and commanded him to “consider the vision.”
- No vision had been mentioned since chapter 8, which shows that Gabriel had reference to the same vision which, he was commanded to make him understand in that chapter.
- In chapter 9, he commenced instructing Daniel on time, the only thing in the “vision” not hitherto explained.
- He said, Seventy weeks are determined (Heb. literally cut off) upon thy people.
- The seventy weeks commence with the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem, B. C. 457. See Ezra 7.
- The seventy weeks are evidently “cutoff” from the 2300 days, the only period given in the vision. Therefore the time of the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem must be the commencement of the 2300 days. And if the seventy weeks are not cut off from the 2300 days, that is, if the seventy weeks do not mark the beginning of those days, then no explanation of the days was given, and Gabriel never did what he was commanded to do.
(Continued…)
In the
prophecy of Daniel are three chains of prophetic symbols, each giving
information whereby we may know when the end is near.
In
chapter 2 is the image seen by Nebuchadnezzar in his dream, which gives a
brief history of the great kingdoms of the world from the time of Babylon to
the dividing or breaking up of the Roman Empire. In chapter 7 is a series of
consisting of wild beasts, which covers exactly the same ground as that of
chapter 2, but supplementing that chapter with later events, reaching down to
the very close of the eighteenth century. The same symbols are presented in
Rev. 13, with still later events, reaching down to the last message, and the
advent of the Lord. Compare Rev. 13:11-18 with chapter 14:9-14.
Rev
13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had
two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
Rev
13:12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and
causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast,
whose deadly wound was healed.
Rev
13:13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from
heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
Rev
13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those
miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them
that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which
had the wound by a sword, and did live.
Rev
13:15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that
the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not
worship the image of the beast should be killed.
Rev
13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and
bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
Rev
13:17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or
the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Rev
13:18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number
of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred
threescore and six.
Rev
14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any
man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or
in his hand,
Rev
14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is
poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be
tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in
the presence of the Lamb:
Rev
14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and
they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and
whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev
14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the
commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Rev
14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are
the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that
they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.
Rev
14:14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat
like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a
sharp sickle.
By
studying these prophecies, and the history of the nations which shows the
progress of their fulfillment, we may learn definitely where we are in the
chain of events which reaches down to the coming of the Lord. True, we cannot
tell how long it will take to complete the fulfillment; we cannot learn from
the prophecies the time of the Lord’s coming; but we may learn from these, and
also from other scriptures, when “he is near, even at the doors,” as Jesus
himself has given assurance in his own words. Matt. 24. Another series of
symbols is given in the 8th chapter of Daniel, and to this we must give more
particular attention. It relates more particularly to our subject than do the
others, and the interpretation is given in plain and unmistakable terms. The
first symbol is a ram having two horns; this was explained by Gabriel to mean
the kingdom of the Medes and Persians. Verse 20. The ram was succeeded by a
he-goat, having a notable horn between his eyes. When that was broken four
horns came up for it, and these in turn were succeeded by a little horn which
“waxed exceeding great.” It
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Atonement - 144
became
stronger than all the kingdoms which preceded it. And of this Gabriel said:
“And the rough goat is the king [kingdom] of Grecia, and the great horn that
is between his eyes is the first king [Alexander]. Now that being broken,
whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation,
but not in his power.” Grecia was divided into four kingdoms upon the death of
Alexander. But a power came up, small in its beginning, which conquered the
world and held all in its iron grasp. The Persian and Grecian Empires appear
before us, great by sudden conquest. Not so with Rome. She gradually became
exceeding great by successive conquests. It was this power that “magnified
himself even to the prince of the host” of heaven; verses 10-12; or stood up
against the Prince of princes. Verse 25. Daniel said he heard one holy one ask
another how long this vision should be, even “to give both the sanctuary and
the host to be trodden under foot.” The answer is made to Daniel in these
words: “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be
cleansed.” Now it has been seen, by Lev. 16, that the cleansing of the
sanctuary, and making the atonement, mean precisely the same thing; for the
atonement was made by the high priest sprinkling the blood upon the mercy-seat
and altar, and cleansing them from the sins of the people. Hence, this
expression of Dan. 8:14 is equivalent to saying, “Unto two thousand and three hundred days, then shall the atonement
be made.” And again, to understand this time is to understand the
fulfillment of the message of Rev. 14:6, 7, “the hour of his judgment is
come,” for the Judgment sits when the Atonement is made. Thus we see that the
time was appointed and announced for making the Atonement. This is in
conformity to the type, where the tenth day of the seventh month was set apart
to that work. While this text stands as a part of that “scripture” which is
“profitable for instruction,” it is both interesting and profitable to inquire
where these two thousand and three hundred days terminate. But to understand
this, we must trace the connection between chapters 8 and 9 of Daniel; for
chapter 9 is in part explanatory of chapter 8, the explanation of the time
(2300 days) being given in the latter, not in the former. Note the following
points:—
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J. H. Waggoner
But such a supposition will not be urged. Therefore, we must
admit that in Dan. 9 we have a clue to the 2300 days of Dan. 8, and to
understand the seventy weeks of Dan. 9, is also to understand the 2300 days of
Dan. 8, the two periods commencing together. In regard to the nature of these
“days” no argument can be needed. The “seventy weeks” of Dan. 9, marking the
manifestation of the Messiah, which took place at the time of his baptism, see
Matt. 3:16, 17; John 1:32-34; Mark 1:14, 15, were not weeks of days, but weeks
of years.
Mat 3:16 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up
straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and
he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him:
Mat 3:17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Joh 1:32 And John bare record, saying, I saw the
Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.
Joh 1:33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to
baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit
descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy
Ghost.
Joh 1:34 And I saw, and bare record that this is the
Son of God.
Mar 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus
came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
Mar 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the
kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
To deny
this were to unsettle one of the clearest evidences in favor of the
Messiahship of Jesus of Nazareth. But as the seventy weeks are part of the
2300 days of the vision of Dan. 8,
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those
“days” were not solar days of twenty-four hours, but year-days, “each day for
a year,” according to a well-known method of counting time. Eze. 4:6. As the
Messiah was to be cut off, and cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease in
the midst of the last week of the
seventy, which was in A. D. 31, and the time that the apostles turned
to the Gentiles marks the close of that period, which was in A. D. 34, it is
easy to see that the 2300 days would extend 1810 years beyond that time, or to
A.D.1844.
And as
the angel said the sanctuary should be cleansed at the end of that period,
this must refer, not to the typical sanctuary which was destroyed by the
Romans in A. D. 70, but to the antitypical “sanctuary and true tabernacle,
which the Lord pitched, and not man.” Heb. 8:1, 2.
Some are
ready to object to this view, that the heavenly sanctuary where our High
Priest officiates cannot need cleansing—that there is nothing impure in
Heaven. The zeal of such to vindicate the honor of heavenly things is parallel
with that of Peter, who rebuked the Lord for speaking of his ignominious
death; he thought a victor’s crown only was becoming his Master. But God has a
plan appointed, and the death of his Son was in that plan; and the mistaken
zeal of his servants must not be suffered to interfere with it. In that plan
is also the Atonement which God’s now exalted Son as priest makes in the
sanctuary in Heaven; and it has been sufficiently shown that the Atonement is
made by cleansing the sanctuary. That this expression of the angel refers to
the heavenly, and not to the earthly, sanctuary, may be proved by several
considerations. The following we think is conclusive on this point.
1. The
sanctuary was not cleansed from any impurity of its own, nor from any
defilement from use, as ordinary habitations are cleansed, but from sin.
Therefore it was cleansed by blood. By referring further to Lev. 16, it will
be seen, and will be noticed hereafter, that the design was to take away the
sins from the presence of God, and remove them from the throne of judgment.
But Paul declares in Heb. 10:4, that “it is not possible for the blood of
bulls and of goats to take away sin;” but that was all the blood the priests
had to offer in the worldly sanctuary; therefore, as that blood would
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J. H. Waggoner
not
remove sin, it follows that the earthly sanctuary was never cleansed at all,
except in figure, and never could have been had it remained and the priests
still officiated therein till the end of the 2300 days. Nevertheless, the
necessity existed; for the people were actual sinners, and needed to have
their sins remitted or blotted out.
2. The
sanctuary, as before noticed, was defiled by the sins of the people, though
the people never came in contact with it. The high priest stood as their
representative; he bore their judgment. Ex. 28:30. And as he alone went into
the most holy place, it follows that it was defiled by his bearing their sins.
Now it is
plainly stated that Christ bears our sins—they were laid upon him—he is our
representative before his Father. And it seems evident that one of the
following positions is true: That Christ has taken the sins of his people, or
his people have their sins yet upon them. It will be admitted that the former
is true; that as the representative and substitute of his saints, he takes
their sins. But if he takes them, where does he take them? Certainly where he
is. Now it is by virtue of his priesthood that he bears the judgment of the
people; but his priesthood is in the heavenly sanctuary. Heb.8:1-4.
Heb
8:1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such
an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in
the heavens;
Heb
8:2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the
Lord pitched, and not man.
Heb
8:3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices:
wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
Heb
8:4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that
there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
There,
according to the type, is where our sins are taken. To show this is the object
of the type.
3. That
the heavenly sanctuary is cleansed, is proved by direct declarations of the
New Testament. Paul, in writing to the Hebrews respecting the types and their
fulfillment in the priesthood of the Son of God, says: “It was therefore
necessary that the patterns of things in the Heavens should be purified with
these [i.e., with the blood of calves and goats]; but the heavenly things
themselves with better sacrifices than these.” Heb. 9:23.
Accordingly
he says that Christ entered into the holy places, into Heaven itself, “by his
own blood.” Verse 12.This is the better sacrifice, or blood, by which the
heavenly things are purified or cleansed.
(To be
continued)
(Excerpt
from-) THE ATONEMENT PART SECOND:
THE
ATONEMENT AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE
(1884)
BY ELDER J. H. WAGGONER
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