THE GREAT CONTROVERSY SERMON SERIES
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Last time we looked at the 2300 day prophecy. William Miller, reading the Bible verse by verse arrived at the conclusion that Daniel 8:14 pointed to Jesus’ second coming.
Daniel 8:14 And he said to me, "For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed."
The expression “days” in this verse in the Hebrew is literally “morning evenings” and is so rendered in the Kutsal Kitap translation. It is not the normal way to express days in Hebrew. 2300 days would normally be rendered six years, 3 months and 20 days. This expression shows to the reader that he or she can expect something different. When we consider that Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6 are indicators for using a day for a year in symbolic prophecy it is understood that the 2300 day period is 2300 years.
But Miller did not find in Daniel chapter 8 a starting point for this prophecy. When Daniel saw the vision he fainted. Thus the explanation had not yet come to Daniel.
Later, an angel came to Daniel and gave more information. We find this in the 9th chapter of Daniel.
Daniel 9:24 " 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.
The word translated “determined” here means “cut off” in Hebrew. From what was it cut off? The angel had been sent to Daniel to explain the vision in chapter 8. In Daniel chapter 8 there is no other time period mentioned so the 70 weeks must be cut off from that time period and be a part of it. The two time periods begin together.
How many days does 70 weeks make? Seventy times 7 makes 490 days. When we apply the day-year principle 490 years were allotted to Daniel’s people and the holy city.
Thus the 2300 years are separated into two. The first part is the 490 years and the last part is 1810 years.
O.K., what was the 490 years allotted for? “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.”
When did the 2300 year time period begin?
Daniel 9:25 "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; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.
The beginning point was the command to restore and build Jerusalem. Miller found that the command was completed in the fall of 457 B.C. by the decree of the Persian kings Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes.
Along with this in Daniel 9:25 the verse predicts that the Messiah would come 69 weeks, that is 483 years after 457 B.C. In the year 27 A.D. in the fall of the year, Jesus was anointed as the Messiah by the Holy Spirit.
The 69 weeks brings us to the last week of the 70 week prophecy, that is, there is one more week. O.K., what would happen in that week?
Daniel 9:26 "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;…
The Bible tells us that the Messiah would be cut off. Did this happen? Yes, it happened.
Many people claim that Jesus didn’t die on the cross. But hundreds of years before the event, the prophet Daniel predicted that Jesus would be an atoning sacrifice for everyone’s sins. Do you not see how the Scriptures show Jesus as the Messiah, Lord and Savior? Do you see this and still not accpet the Old and New Testaments as an unchanged and reliable source? What are you waiting for? Will you reject the truth and lose eternal life? Don’t do it! I beg you, accept this wonderful salvation!
The Scriptures don’t stop with that. They give more detail.
Daniel 9:27 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…
That is, for one week, that is the 7 year period, the covenant that God made with Abraham and his offspring would be confirmed. Jesus preached for three and a half years the message of eternal live in Himself. In the middle of the week with Jesus’ death, the sacrifice and offering system came to an end. In 27 A.D. Jesus was appointed as Messiah and 3.5 years later in 31 A.D. He would die.
After Jesus died, for 3.5 years the gospel was given to the Jews by Jesus’ disciples. In the end, in 34 A.D. as the Sanhedrin stoned Stephen and the Jewish people persecuted Jesus’ disciples, they formally rejected the gospel.
Afterwards, the gospel went to the Gentiles. The 490 year period began in 457 B.C. and extended to 34 A.D.
When Miller saw how this prophecy was fulfilled in the life of Jesus, he trusted in the day-for-a-year principle. You too can trust it.
When Miller added the remaining 1810 years to the year 34, he came to 1844. Miller thought according to the popular view that the cleansing of the sanctuary would be the return of Jesus to this world. So he expected Jesus to come back to this world in 1844.
Miller felt responsible to warn the world. Jesus would come! But Miller was not a preacher. For years he hesitated but inside he was burning. All day long the following verses ran through his mind:
Ezekiel 33:8 "When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you shall surely die!' and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 9 "Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.
At first, Miller shared his views with a few people hoping some preacher would hear it and proclaim the message. But he still felt personal responsibility to preach the message. At last, with the encouragement of a few friends he publicly shared his views.
At his first sermon, except for two people, 13 families were converted. Miller immediately received invitations to preach elsewhere. Sinners were converted. Christ showed a deeper spiritual experience. Those who were indifferent to spiritual things confessed the validity of the Bible. Miller saw great revival as he went from city to city preaching. Clearly the Holy Spirit was blessing his efforts and the message.
In a short time he could not fulfill all the invitations. Some, though they did not agree with the exact timing, accepted that Jesus was coming soon. In 1833 Miller received a license to preach from the Baptist church. Protestant churches opened their doors wide to Miller. Miller was constantly on the road preaching. He met his own expenses and his own money was dwindling.
Two years after Miller received a license to preach, in the year 1833, the falling stars event happened that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24:29. Many people believed that Jesus was coming soon.
But many people opposed the message. Surprisingly the greatest resistance came from the religious leaders. They could not disprove Miller’s calculations but they put him down. The religious leaders said to the people that it was a sin to investigate these prophecies.
Despite great opposition many people were coming to the churches. But in time the church members began to behave badly toward these newcomers. The preachers said to people that the prophecies in Daniel and the Revelation were mysteries that could not be understood.
Thus the religious leaders tried to draw the attention of the people away from the subject of Christ’s second coming.
But Jesus said,
Matthew 24:15 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand),
Yes, you can understand the prophecies.
The message did not go well with church members who were chasing after the world, earning money, worldly honor and entertainment. Where are our hearts? Are we trying to understand the prophecies or do we love the world?
Daniel 8:14 And he said to me, "For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed."
The expression “days” in this verse in the Hebrew is literally “morning evenings” and is so rendered in the Kutsal Kitap translation. It is not the normal way to express days in Hebrew. 2300 days would normally be rendered six years, 3 months and 20 days. This expression shows to the reader that he or she can expect something different. When we consider that Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6 are indicators for using a day for a year in symbolic prophecy it is understood that the 2300 day period is 2300 years.
But Miller did not find in Daniel chapter 8 a starting point for this prophecy. When Daniel saw the vision he fainted. Thus the explanation had not yet come to Daniel.
Later, an angel came to Daniel and gave more information. We find this in the 9th chapter of Daniel.
Daniel 9:24 " 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.
The word translated “determined” here means “cut off” in Hebrew. From what was it cut off? The angel had been sent to Daniel to explain the vision in chapter 8. In Daniel chapter 8 there is no other time period mentioned so the 70 weeks must be cut off from that time period and be a part of it. The two time periods begin together.
How many days does 70 weeks make? Seventy times 7 makes 490 days. When we apply the day-year principle 490 years were allotted to Daniel’s people and the holy city.
Thus the 2300 years are separated into two. The first part is the 490 years and the last part is 1810 years.
O.K., what was the 490 years allotted for? “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.”
When did the 2300 year time period begin?
Daniel 9:25 "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; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.
The beginning point was the command to restore and build Jerusalem. Miller found that the command was completed in the fall of 457 B.C. by the decree of the Persian kings Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes.
Along with this in Daniel 9:25 the verse predicts that the Messiah would come 69 weeks, that is 483 years after 457 B.C. In the year 27 A.D. in the fall of the year, Jesus was anointed as the Messiah by the Holy Spirit.
The 69 weeks brings us to the last week of the 70 week prophecy, that is, there is one more week. O.K., what would happen in that week?
Daniel 9:26 "And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;…
The Bible tells us that the Messiah would be cut off. Did this happen? Yes, it happened.
Many people claim that Jesus didn’t die on the cross. But hundreds of years before the event, the prophet Daniel predicted that Jesus would be an atoning sacrifice for everyone’s sins. Do you not see how the Scriptures show Jesus as the Messiah, Lord and Savior? Do you see this and still not accpet the Old and New Testaments as an unchanged and reliable source? What are you waiting for? Will you reject the truth and lose eternal life? Don’t do it! I beg you, accept this wonderful salvation!
The Scriptures don’t stop with that. They give more detail.
Daniel 9:27 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…
That is, for one week, that is the 7 year period, the covenant that God made with Abraham and his offspring would be confirmed. Jesus preached for three and a half years the message of eternal live in Himself. In the middle of the week with Jesus’ death, the sacrifice and offering system came to an end. In 27 A.D. Jesus was appointed as Messiah and 3.5 years later in 31 A.D. He would die.
After Jesus died, for 3.5 years the gospel was given to the Jews by Jesus’ disciples. In the end, in 34 A.D. as the Sanhedrin stoned Stephen and the Jewish people persecuted Jesus’ disciples, they formally rejected the gospel.
Afterwards, the gospel went to the Gentiles. The 490 year period began in 457 B.C. and extended to 34 A.D.
When Miller saw how this prophecy was fulfilled in the life of Jesus, he trusted in the day-for-a-year principle. You too can trust it.
When Miller added the remaining 1810 years to the year 34, he came to 1844. Miller thought according to the popular view that the cleansing of the sanctuary would be the return of Jesus to this world. So he expected Jesus to come back to this world in 1844.
Miller felt responsible to warn the world. Jesus would come! But Miller was not a preacher. For years he hesitated but inside he was burning. All day long the following verses ran through his mind:
Ezekiel 33:8 "When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man, you shall surely die!' and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand. 9 "Nevertheless if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.
At first, Miller shared his views with a few people hoping some preacher would hear it and proclaim the message. But he still felt personal responsibility to preach the message. At last, with the encouragement of a few friends he publicly shared his views.
At his first sermon, except for two people, 13 families were converted. Miller immediately received invitations to preach elsewhere. Sinners were converted. Christ showed a deeper spiritual experience. Those who were indifferent to spiritual things confessed the validity of the Bible. Miller saw great revival as he went from city to city preaching. Clearly the Holy Spirit was blessing his efforts and the message.
In a short time he could not fulfill all the invitations. Some, though they did not agree with the exact timing, accepted that Jesus was coming soon. In 1833 Miller received a license to preach from the Baptist church. Protestant churches opened their doors wide to Miller. Miller was constantly on the road preaching. He met his own expenses and his own money was dwindling.
Two years after Miller received a license to preach, in the year 1833, the falling stars event happened that Jesus spoke about in Matthew 24:29. Many people believed that Jesus was coming soon.
But many people opposed the message. Surprisingly the greatest resistance came from the religious leaders. They could not disprove Miller’s calculations but they put him down. The religious leaders said to the people that it was a sin to investigate these prophecies.
Despite great opposition many people were coming to the churches. But in time the church members began to behave badly toward these newcomers. The preachers said to people that the prophecies in Daniel and the Revelation were mysteries that could not be understood.
Thus the religious leaders tried to draw the attention of the people away from the subject of Christ’s second coming.
But Jesus said,
Matthew 24:15 "Therefore when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" (whoever reads, let him understand),
Yes, you can understand the prophecies.
The message did not go well with church members who were chasing after the world, earning money, worldly honor and entertainment. Where are our hearts? Are we trying to understand the prophecies or do we love the world?