In
the end of book of Daniel it is said that the book is sealed (Dan.12:4,9). It is obvious that is not the story of Daniel’s life is sealed, it is speaking about prophecies. Besides of the prophecies about the next kingdoms, including
prophecy about the image and about 4 beasts, which can not be considered as
sealed, because they all are coming through, Daniel has prophecies about 70
weeks, about tree, and about 2300 days. In previous chapter we saw that 70 weeks
prophecy is sealed only for those who is not careful with scriptures, because
scriptures clearly show when 70 weeks is started and when they will be finished.
We saw the prophecy about the tree was not sealed either. The only
prophecy which was given to Daniel was sealed is prophecy about 2300 days.
Let see the prophecy.
In
Daniel’s vision (ch.8) he saw «
there stood before the river a ram which had two horns
(Media and Persia): … I saw the ram
pushing .. so that no beasts might stand before him… he … became great; and
he goat came (Greece) from the west … and the
goat had a notable horn between his eyes (Alexander
the Great) . And he came to the ram that had two
horns…, and ran unto him in the
fury of his power … he
cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could
deliver the ram out of his hand (By
332BC Alexander the Great subdued the Persian empire).
Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn
was broken; and for it came up four notable ones (Alexander’s 4
generals divided the empire after his death) toward the
four winds of heaven”.
“And
in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the
full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall
stand up (the
little horn – Vatican ).. And his power shall be
mighty, but not by his own power (by
power of the governors of the empire): and he shall
destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the
mighty and the holy people (inquisition).” (8:23-24).
“Yea,
he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily
sacrifice was taken away, and the place of the sanctuary was cast down. ... and
it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and
prospered…and
another saint said unto that certain saint which spoke, 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 he
said unto me, unto
two thousand and three hundred (2300) evenings
and mornings; then shall the sanctuary be
cleansed» (8:11-14).
As
we know the prophecy says not about the sanctuary on the Earth, because at the
appointed time of the Ram's government the sanctuary in Jerusalem was destroyed
and even later it was rebuilt it never existed during 2300 years.
The prophecy
is about the heavenly sanctuary (Heb.8:1-5).
The picture of the struggle between the Ram and the Goat gives us the
understanding according to what terrestrial events we can know, when the 2300
years began , when Satan and his
angels began cast down the
Heavenly sanctuary. In Dan.8:9-12 we again see the parallelism: in
v.9 it's
talking about the little horn - Vatican, in v. 10-12 –
about Satan, that he by
casting down the truth had carried away many angels (Rev.12:4).
The sanctuary was cleansed after the heavenly war and the Heavenly judgment
after it, when Satan and his angels were cast down to the earth (Rev.12:9).
When the sanctuary was
cleansed, the service began: the angels began to decide who is worthy of opening
the holy book with 7 seals.
In Dan. 7:21, 22 it is said: «I
beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints… Until the Ancient
of days came, and judgment was given (in favor) to the saints of the most
High; and the time came that the saints
possessed the kingdom».
"But the judgment shall sit, and they shall
take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And
the kingdom…,
shall be given to the people of the saints
of the most High" (Dan.7:26,27).
Hence
the little horn –Vatican
made war with saints until the judgment was
passed on Satan and the horn.
Judges took away horn’s power, Satan and his angels were thrown down to the
earth and the Heavenly Kingdom began to belong to the saints
only. Thus, the heavenly sanctuary was cleansed.
So,
when was the sanctuary cleansed?
In the prophecy about 2300 days we have starting point – the Ram –
Media Persia and ending point – the end of the power of the little horn –
Vatican. Daniel didn’t see in this prophecy that the little horn was plucked out, therefore the ending point is the time when the little horn
was still in power but just before its fall.
How to
define when these 2300 years began?
Media-Persia (the Ram) came to authority in 539 BC, Greece (goat) established
its domination since 331BC. The period between these two empires is 208 years.
From what year should
we start the reckon?
Adventists
counting it from 457BC as from the year when the commandment to rebuild
Jerusalem was given, and they are coming to 1844. However besides of the fact
that Bible doesn't say that the reckon has to start from the time the
commandment was given, now we know that the commandment was indeed given
in 446BC.
So what we can do about it?
We
have starting point in the prophecy -
the Ram – Media-Persia, which was in power from
539-331BC. It is a big time period and for counting 2300 days we need to
know exact year. Angel didn’t tell us from which year we need to count. In
order to understand it we needed to find out by which date the prophecy was
sealed.
The prophet Haggai (2:23) said : “O
Zerubbabel, my
servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith the LORD, and will make thee as a
signet ring: for I have chosen thee, saith
the LORD of hosts” (AMP).
Therefore
Zerubbabel is the signet of Lord by which the Daniel's prophecies were sealed.
Zerubbabel was the one who rebuilt the temple. As we saw in previous chapter God
had sealed the actual date when the temple was rebuilt until the last time, that
is why many scholars still teach that it was Ezra who gave the commandment to
rebuilt Jerusalem, and Jerusalem and the temple were already built, when
Nehemiah came. Hence the year
the temple was rebuilt – 419BC
is the seal by which the prophecy about 2300 days was sealed.
2300
prophetic years (x360÷365), or 2268 years
in the standard calculation, begin from the year 419BC.
419 BC + 2268 (+1 see
p.6) = 1850 AD. This year after the heavenly
war and the judgment the heavenly sanctuary was cleansed.
Thus,
we know :
1. The little horn - Vatican – had
political power for 1260 years from 606AD until 1849AD;
2. At the end of the 1260
years the judgment was passed on the little horn (Vatican) and Satan. Vatican
lost its secular power worldwide in 1849, as the result of Italian revolution of
1848-1849. Satan lost his power in heaven and
was cast down to the earth, because "nor
was a place found for them in heaven any longer" (Rev.12:8).
3. In 1850AD the heavenly sanctuary was cleansed from all accusations of Satan,
and Heavenly Kingdom became the kingdom of the saints "Now
is come ... the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren (the accuser is Satan)
is cast down" (Rev.12:10; Dan.7:22,26,27). And Jesus was elected to be the King of Kingdom of heaven
"And there was given him dominion, and
glory, and a kingdom"
(Dan.7:14).
Rev.12:6,7
confirms that the war in heaven took place during the time of 1260 years of
Vatican temporal power, when he was
able to dictate his rules to all world. After the heavenly war the heavenly sanctuary was cleansed. As
we saw
in the previous chapter the heavenly sanctuary was cleansed after the
little horn-Vatican- lost its power. In Dan.7:21,22 and 7:25,26 it's told that
there the Judgment was passed on the little horn and the saints took over the
Heavenly Kingdom.
Daniel and John (Rev. 4,
5) saw the same vision of the Heavenly Judgment passed on the little horn -
Satan/Vatican.
Dan.7:9
“I beheld till the thrones were cast
down, and the Ancient of
days did sit”;
Rev.4:2 “and,
behold, a throne
was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne”. 4:4 “And round about the
throne were four and twenty seats”.
Dan.7:9-10 “his throne was
like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire”;
Rev.4:3 “and there was a rainbow
round about the throne” (Compare with Ezek.1:26-28 “And
I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it,..
as it were the appearance of fire,
and it had brightness round about. As the appearance of the rainbow”).
Dan.7:10 “A fiery
stream issued and came forth from before him”.
Rev.4:6 “And
before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal”. This is
the same “a sea of glass mingled with fire”(Rev.15:2).
Dan.7:10: “thousand thousands
ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him”;
Rev.5:11 “many angels round about the throne and the
beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten
thousand, and thousands of thousands”;
Dan.7:13
“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with
the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near
before him”;
Rev. 5:6,7 “in the midst of the throne and of the
four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been
slain” (John saw Jesus after He died for sins of the world)
… And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat
upon the throne”.
Dan.7:14 “And there was
given him (Son of man) dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people,
nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting
dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be
destroyed”;
Rev.5:12,13 “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to
receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and
blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying,
Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon
the
throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever”.
Rev.12:10 "Now is come ... the kingdom of
our God, and the power of his Christ".
Rev.5:5 "behold, the Lion of the tribe of
Juda, the Root of David has won! He can open the book and break its the seven seals".
So,
Jesus had defeated Satan, and Satan as the scapegoat (Lev.16:10,21,22), knowing
he has only a short time left (Rev.12:12), was cast down to the Earth together
with his angels (Rev.12:9). Thus the Heavenly Sanctuary was
cleansed. Jesus had
received Heavenly Kingdom in His dominion (Rev.12:10, Dan.7:14) and began to
open the seals.
