Sunday
May 3
1. THE VISION OF DANIEL 8
a. What was the prophet Daniel shown about the unfolding of world events? Daniel 8:3–14. What was the explanation given by the angel Gabriel? Daniel 8:20–25.
“Light was thrown upon the events of the future. . . . Earnestly [Daniel] sought for the meaning of the vision. He could not understand the relation sustained by the seventy years’ captivity, as foretold through Jeremiah, to the twenty-three hundred years that in vision he heard the heavenly visitant declare should elapse before the cleansing of God’s sanctuary.”—Prophets and Kings, p. 554.
“[Daniel] was being taught by God to read the mysteries of the future and to record for coming generations, through figures and symbols, events covering the history of this world till the close of time.”—Ibid., p. 485.
b. The angel explained the symbols of the ram, the goat, and the horns. What part of the vision was not explained to the prophet? Daniel 8:26, 27.
“The angel had been sent to Daniel for the express purpose of explaining to him the point which he had failed to understand in the vision of the eighth chapter, the statement relative to time—‘unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed’ (Daniel 8:14).”—The Great Controversy, p. 326.
Monday
May 4
2. GABRIEL EXPLAINS
a. After the prophet’s fervent prayer, what did the angel say to Daniel—and why is this important for us today? Daniel 9:20–23; 12:3, 4, 9, 10.
“As we near the close of this world’s history, the prophecies recorded by Daniel demand our special attention, as they relate to the very time in which we are living. With them should be linked the teachings of the last book of the New Testament Scriptures. Satan has led many to believe that the prophetic portions of the writings of Daniel and of John the revelator cannot be understood. But the promise is plain that special blessing will accompany the study of these prophecies. ‘The wise shall understand’ (Daniel 12:10), was spoken of the visions of Daniel that were to be unsealed in the latter days.”—Prophets and Kings, pp. 547, 548.
b. How are the 2300 days to be reckoned in prophetic time and subdivided into distinct portions? Ezekiel 4:6; Numbers 14:34; Daniel 9:24–27.
“The angel then outlined in detail the period of the seventy weeks.”—The Review and Herald, March 21, 1907.
“The 2300 days had been found to begin when the commandment of Artaxerxes for the restoration and building of Jerusalem went into effect, in the autumn of 457 B.C. Taking this as the starting point, there was perfect harmony in the application of all the events foretold in the explanation of that period in Daniel 9:25–27. Sixty-nine weeks, the first 483 of the 2300 years, were to reach to the Messiah, the Anointed One; and Christ’s baptism and anointing by the Holy Spirit, A.D. 27, exactly fulfilled the specification. In the midst of the seventieth week, Messiah was to be cut off. Three and a half years after His baptism, Christ was crucified, in the spring of A.D. 31. The seventy weeks, or 490 years, were to pertain especially to the Jews. At the expiration of this period the nation sealed its rejection of Christ by the persecution of His disciples, and the apostles turned to the Gentiles, A.D. 34. The first 490 years of the 2300 having then ended, 1810 years would remain. From A.D. 34, 1810 years extend to 1844. ‘Then,’ said the angel, ‘shall the sanctuary be cleansed’ (Daniel 8:14). All the preceding specifications of the prophecy had been unquestionably fulfilled at the time appointed.”—The Great Controversy, p. 410.
Tuesday
May 5
3. FOUR HUNDRED NINETY YEARS
a. For what purpose were the 70 prophetic weeks separated from the 2300 days? Daniel 9:25, 27 (first part).
“After bidding Daniel ‘understand the matter, and consider the vision,’ the very first words of the angel are: ‘Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy Holy City’ (Daniel 9:23, 24). The word here translated ‘determined’ literally signifies ‘cut off.’ Seventy weeks, representing 490 years, are declared by the angel to be cut off, as specially pertaining to the Jews. But from what were they cut off? 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 seventy weeks were declared by the angel to date from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem. If the date of this commandment could be found, then the starting point for the great period of the 2300 days would be ascertained.
“In the seventh chapter of Ezra the decree is found. Verses 12-26. In its completest form it was issued by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, 457 B.C. But in Ezra 6:14 the house of the Lord at Jerusalem is said to have been built ‘according to the commandment [‘decree,’ margin] of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.’ These three kings, in originating, reaffirming, and completing the decree, brought it to the perfection required by the prophecy to mark the beginning of the 2300 years. Taking 457 B.C., the time when the decree was completed, as the date of the commandment, every specification of the prophecy concerning the seventy weeks was seen to have been fulfilled.”—The Great Controversy, pp. 326, 327.
b. When and how was Jesus anointed? Luke 3:1–3; Acts 10:38; Matthew 3:16. (Messiah [Mashiach, Hebrew], Christ [Christos, Greek], mean “an anointed one.”)
“The decree of Artaxerxes went into effect in the autumn of 457 B.C. From this date, 483 years extend to the autumn of A.D. 27. At that time this prophecy was fulfilled. The word ‘Messiah’ signifies ‘the Anointed One.’ In the autumn of A.D. 27 Christ was baptized by John and received the anointing of the Spirit. The apostle Peter testifies that ‘God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power’ (Acts 10:38). And the Saviour Himself declared: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor’ (Luke 4:18).”—Ibid., p. 327.
Wednesday
May 6
4. THE SEVENTIETH WEEK
a. According to prophecy, what would happen after the anointing of Jesus and the end of the seventieth week? Daniel 9:27.
“The ‘week’ here brought to view is the last one of the seventy; it is the last seven years of the period allotted especially to the Jews. During this time, extending from A.D. 27 to A.D. 34, Christ, at first in person and afterward by His disciples, extended the gospel invitation especially to the Jews. As the apostles went forth with the good tidings of the kingdom, the Saviour’s direction was: ‘Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel’ (Matthew 10:5, 6).
“ ‘In the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease’ (Daniel 9:27). In A.D. 31, three and a half years after His baptism, our Lord was crucified. With the great sacrifice offered upon Calvary, ended that system of offerings which for four thousand years had pointed forward to the Lamb of God.”—The Great Controversy, pp. 327, 328.
“In the midst of the seventieth week, Messiah was to be cut off. Three and a half years after His baptism, Christ was crucified, in the spring of A.D. 31. The seventy weeks, or 490 years, were to pertain especially to the Jews. At the expiration of this period the nation sealed its rejection of Christ by the persecution of His disciples, and the apostles turned to the Gentiles, A.D. 34.”—Ibid., p. 410.
b. After Christ’s death in 31 A.D., the Jewish nation still had a time of probation for 3½ years. When did the 70 weeks expire? Acts 13:46–48.
“The seventy weeks, or 490 years, especially allotted to the Jews, ended, as we have seen, in A.D. 34. At that time, through the action of the Jewish Sanhedrin, the nation sealed its rejection of the gospel by the martyrdom of Stephen and the persecution of the followers of Christ. Then the message of salvation, no longer restricted to the chosen people, was given to the world. The disciples, forced by persecution to flee from Jerusalem, ‘went everywhere preaching the word’ (Acts 8:4).”—Ibid., p. 328.
“The door that many of the Jewish converts had closed against the Gentiles was now to be thrown open. And the Gentiles who accepted the gospel were to be regarded as on an equality with the Jewish disciples, without the necessity of observing the rite of circumcision.”—The Acts of the Apostles, p. 136.
Thursday
May 7
5. THE SANCTUARY TO BE CLEANSED
a. Until when did the 2,300 days extend? What then took place? Daniel 8:14.
“The seventy weeks—490 days—having been cut off from the 2300, there were 1810 days remaining. After the end of 490 days, the 1810 days were still to be fulfilled. From A.D. 34, 1810 years extend to 1844. Consequently the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14 terminate in 1844. At the expiration of this great prophetic period, upon the testimony of the angel of God, ‘the sanctuary shall be cleansed’ (Daniel 8:14). Thus the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary—which was almost universally believed to take place at the second advent—was definitely pointed out.”—The Great Controversy, p. 328.
“Instead of coming to the earth at the termination of the 2300 days in 1844, Christ then entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary to perform the closing work of atonement preparatory to His coming.”—Ibid., p. 422.
b. What is taking place now in the heavenly sanctuary? Hebrews 4:14–16; 7:25; 9:11, 12, 23, 24; Revelation 3:7, 8.
“The end of the 2300 days in 1844 marked an important crisis. But while it was true that that door of hope and mercy by which men had for eighteen hundred years found access to God, was closed, another door was opened, and forgiveness of sins was offered to men through the intercession of Christ in the most holy. One part of His ministration had closed, only to give place to another. There was still an ‘open door’ to the heavenly sanctuary, where Christ was ministering in the sinner’s behalf.”—Ibid., pp. 429, 430.
Friday
May 8
PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS
a. Why is the prophecy of Daniel 8:14 so important?
b. What evidence shows that the 2300 prophetic days are literal years?
c. How does the Christ’s time on earth vindicate the year-day principle?
d. Why is the year A.D. 34 significant in prophecy?
e. Since 1844, what has been increasingly crucial to the Christian’s life?