The World's Greatest Time Prophecy
Lesson 14
You are about to study the longest and most
significant time prophecy in
the Bible. Given more than 500 years before the death
of Christ, it
accurately pinpoints the time of His sacrifice. And as
the only place in
the Old Testament that speaks of a coming "Messiah" by
that term, it
ranks at the top of all Messianic prophecies. Yet this
prophecy, found in
the eighth and ninth chapters of the book of Daniel,
moves beyond the
earthly ministry of Christ to provide a panorama of
His present work for
us in the courts of heaven.
We will cover the prophecy in three lessons. In the
first we will
concentrate on establishing the time elements
involved. The next two
lessons will take us into the throne room of God,
opening to our
understanding the special work of Jesus for us in
these last days.
You will remember from lesson 2 that the prophecy of
Daniel 8 begins with
a ram and a goat. After discussing the goat's horns,
the vision then
turns to the activities of the little horn, which
magnifies itself to
defy heaven, casting truth to the ground and trampling
upon the sanctuary
and the host.
1. How long would the sanctuary and the host be
trodden upon?
Daniel 8:13, 14
2. Who was commissioned to make Daniel understand the
vision?
Daniel 8:16
The angel began to explain the vision. He told Daniel
that the ram
represented Medo-Persia; the goat and its horns
represented Greece. He
enlarged a little on the activities of the little
horn, but said nothing
more about the time factor involved.
3. When Gabriel stopped short of a full explanation,
what happened to
Daniel?
Daniel 8:27
"Afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and
I was astonished
at the vision, but none understood it." Daniel 8:27.
4. When Gabriel finally returned to explain the time
portion of the
vision, how much of the 2300 days did he say was
designated for the
Jewish people?
Daniel 9:21-24
Seventy weeks is 490 days. Subtract that from the
total 2,300 days, and
1,810 days of the prophecy are left.
5. In Bible prophecy, God has appointed a short unit
of time to
represent a longer time period. What scale does He
use?
Ezekiel 4:6
"Each day for a year." Numbers 14:34.
Applying this rule, 2,300 prophetic days is actually
2,300 literal
years, the first 490 of which pertained to the Jews.
6. The time period would begin when what command went
forth?
Daniel 9:25
7. In fulfilling God's command, what three kings of
Persia would need to
make decrees regarding the rebuilding of Jerusalem?
Ezra 6:14
The final decree, that of Artaxerxes, is recorded in
Ezra 7, and went
into effect in the autumn of 457 B.C.
8. Who would appear after seven weeks and sixty-two
weeks?
Daniel 9:25
Sixty-nine weeks is 483 prophetic days(which is 483 literal years). From the
autumn of 457 B.C., 483
years takes us to the autumn of A.D. 27. According to
the prophecy, that
is when the Messiah would appear. "Messiah" is the
Hebrew word for
"Anointed one". The Bible tells us that "God
anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and
with power." Acts
10:38.
That anointing took place at His baptism (John 1:32).
Jesus was baptized
in the autumn of A.D. 27, the precise time foretold in
Daniel's prophecy.
9. After Jesus was baptized, what did Andrew tell his
brother Simon?
John 1:41
10. As Jesus began His public ministry, what did He
say that reveals His
awareness of His prophetic dateline?
Mark 1:15
11. Indicating that Jesus came right on schedule,
when did Paul say the
Saviour appeared?
Galatians 4:4
12. What would Jesus cause to cease in the midst of
the seventieth week?
Daniel 9:27
That "week" would be the last seven years of the
"70-week" portion of the
prophecy. It extended from the autumn of A.D. 27 to
the autumn of A.D.
34.
In the spring of A.D. 31, exactly half way through
that seven-year
period, Jesus brought to an end the whole system of
sacrifices and
oblations by offering Himself as the Lamb of God, to
whom the whole
sacrificial system had pointed.
13. What happened in the temple in Jerusalem when
Jesus died which
signified that its ritual services would never again
have any meaning?
Matthew 27:51
14. Seventy weeks were determined upon the Jewish
people to do what?
Daniel 9:24
To finish the
To make an end of
To make reconciliation for
To bring in
To seal up
And to
The "seventy-week" portion of the 2,300 years ended in
A.D. 34. In that
year Israel's probationary time ceased, and they
sealed their rejection
of Christ by stoning Stephen. With the Jews no longer
God's chosen
people, the gospel began to be proclaimed to the
Gentiles, and the
Christian church inherited all the privileges promised
to the descendants
of Abraham (Galatians 3:29). The temple and the city
of Jerusalem were
destroyed by Roman armies in A.D. 70 (Daniel 9:26, 27;
Mark 13:14).
15. The vision of the 2300 days pointed to what
period of earth's
history?
Daniel 8:17
From the autumn of A.D. 34, 1,810 years of the
prophecy remained. Add
1,810 to 34 and it brings us to the autumn of the year
1844, which the
prophecy refers to as "the time of the end".
16. What does the Bible say would happen at the end
of the "2300-day"
period?
Daniel 8:14
17. What instructions did the angel give which show
that the vision was
not given for Daniel's day?
Daniel 8:26
18. When would knowledge of the prophecies of Daniel
finally be
increased?
Daniel 12:4
Below is a link where you can see the prophetic time line. Print it out for future reference.
http://www.oocities.org/barabbas_ii/diagram2.htm
In the Light of God's Word....(Please respond with YES
or NO)
I understand that the 70-week portion of the 2300-day
prophecy was
accurately fulfilled in the earthly ministry and
sacrifice of Jesus.
I understand that the 1,810 remaining years of the
prophecy point to an
important cleansing work which was to take place near
the end
of time.
Additional comments:
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