Gabriel began the explanation of the 490-year prophecy with an event that was extremely important to Daniel and to the Jews — the command to restore and build Jerusalem. Though various decrees had been passed regarding Jerusalem, in Ezra 7:1-28, we discover that the decree passed in 457 B.C. allowed the Jews not only to return to their homeland but also to establish themselves as a religious community (see Ezra 7:13, Ezra 7:27).

It is significant to note that Artaxerxes’ decree was issued in the autumn of 457 B.C. From this decree, in 457 B.C., until the Messiah, according to Daniel, would be 69 weeks, or 483 years. If we begin at 457 B.C. and move forward on history’s timeline, we arrive at A.D. 27.

The word Messiah means “the anointed one.” In A.D. 27, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, was baptized. (See Matthew 3:13-17.) Daniel predicted hundreds of years in advance the exact year for the baptism of Christ, the time at which Jesus would begin His three and a half years of ministry.

Read Romans 5:6-9 along with Daniel 9:26. What great truths are revealed here?

“And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself” (Daniel 9:26, NKJV). The Messiah would be “cut off,” or crucified. The verse adds “but not for Himself.” In other words, the death of Christ on Calvary’s cross was for us, not for Himself, which is why Paul could write: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, NKJV).

In Daniel 9:27, we read that in the middle of the week, the last seven years, Christ would “bring an end to sacrifice and offering.” In the middle of this seventieth week, in A.D. 31, Christ confirmed the everlasting covenant with His blood by dying on the cross, and the sacrificial system lost any and all prophetic significance.

These prophecies reveal that Christ, the Messiah, would be crucified and cause the sacrificial system to cease its prophetic importance in the spring of A.D. 31. These predictions were fulfilled in every detail. Exactly at Passover, when the high priest was offering the Passover lamb, Christ was sacrificed for us.

With what has been written above in mind, read Mark 15:38 and Matthew 3:15-16. How do these verses help us understand the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27?

<–Tuesday Thursday–>

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When people ask me why Adventists do not keep the feast days, I tell them we do – literally! At the cross we had the literal Passover. Ever since 1844 we have been living in the literal Day of Atonement. When Jesus returns it will literally be the Feast of Trumpets. As Colossians 2:14-17 points out, we do not need to keep the feast sabbaths which were a shadow of things to come, because now we had the literal Passover when Jesus died on the cross. Now we are living in the literal Day of Atonement.

I have heard people say there is no such thing as a literal Day of Atonement, but that makes no sense to me, because how can there be a shadow to something that doesn’t even exist? Also the sanctuary building itself shows me there has to be a literal Day of Atonement and cleansing of the sanctuary. The sanctuary is an illustration of the gospel. Many try to tell me the gospel ended at the cross. If that is so then the sanctuary would have ended in the courtyard where the sacrifice was slain. The fact that the sanctuary continues to a holy and most holy place, tells me the gospel goes beyond a literal cross into a literal holy and most holy place. Besides, if the Passover had a literal cross and the Feast of Trumpets has a literal second coming then reason tells me the Day of Atonement must have a literal Day of Atonement as well.

A friend pointed out to me that there was no reason for a literal Day of Atonement beginning in 1844 because sins were forgiven and cleansed right away. There was no need for a cleansing of the sanctuary. Yet Peter refers to a future day of refreshing or cleansing of sin still to come.

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19 KJV

Still I have heard people say there is no reason for a Day of Atonement or investigative judgment because God already knows everything and does not need to investigate. However in Genesis 3 God comes into the Garden of Eden to investigate after Adam and Eve disobeyed. Again in Genesis 18:21 God investigates Sodom and Gomorrah. So we cannot say there is no investigation because God already knows. Besides, all arguments aside, Daniel 8:14 says after 2300 days (a day for a year Ezekiel 4:6) the sanctuary shall be cleansed. The prophecy of Daniel 8 and 9 mesh together. If you try to make the cleansing of the sanctuary in 2300 literal days then you have to make the coming of the Messiah in 483 literal days which would make it impossible for Jesus to be our Messiah and Savior. But as Daniel 8 and 9 clearly teach, in A.D. 27 at the beginning of the 70th week, Jesus came as our Messiah and in 1844 He entered the Most Holy Place in heaven to complete the Gospel with the Day of Atonement and Cleansing of the Sanctuary.

Since the Old Testament Day of Atonement was a shadow or illustration of what would occur during the literal Day of Atonement when Jesus entered the Most Holy Place for us, let’s review what happened in that service:

What was to happen at the end of the 2300 days?

The other replied, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the Temple will be made right again.” Daniel 8:14 NLT
And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. Daniel 8:14 KJV

Note: The Bible refers to two sanctuaries, one on earth and the other in heaven.

After what, was Moses to build the sanctuary?

“Have the people of Israel build me a holy sanctuary so I can live among them. You must build this Tabernacle and its furnishings exactly according to the pattern I will show you. Exodus 25:8- 9 NLT

Where is the location of the original?

Here is the main point: We have a High Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God in heaven. There he ministers in the heavenly Tabernacle,the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and not by human hands. Hebrews 8:1-2 NLT

They serve in a system of worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: “Be sure that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the mountain.” Hebrews 8:5 NLT

How many apartments did it have?

Hang the inner curtain from clasps, and put the Ark of the Covenant in the room behind it. This curtain will separate the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place.Exodus 26:33 NLT

When these things were all in place, the priests regularly entered the first room as they performed their religious duties. Hebrews 9:6 NLT

How frequent was it in the second apartment?

But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for his own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance. Hebrews 9:7 NLT

When did the high priest do this?

“On the tenth day of the appointed month in early autumn, you must deny yourselves. Neither native-born Israelites nor foreigners living among you may do any kind of work. This is a permanent law for you. Leviticus 16:29 NLT

What was he doing?

On that day offerings of purification will be made for you, and you will be purified in the Lord’s presence from all your sins. Leviticus 16:30 NLT

How did he do it?

Then he must take the two male goats and present them to the Lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle. He is to cast sacred lots to determine which goat will be reserved as an offering to the Lord and which will carry the sins of the people to the wilderness of Azazel. Aaron will then present as a sin offering the goat chosen by lot for the Lord. Leviticus 16:7-9 NLT

What did he do with the blood?

“Then Aaron must slaughter the first goat as a sin offering for the people and carry its blood behind the inner curtain. There he will sprinkle the goat’s blood over the atonement cover and in front of it, just as he did with the bull’s blood. Through this process, he will purify the Most Holy Place, and he will do the same for the entire Tabernacle, because of the defiling sin and rebellion of the Israelites. Leviticus 16:15-16 NLT

What did he do with the sins?

“When Aaron has finished purifying the Most Holy Place and the Tabernacle and the altar, he must present the live goat. He will lay both of his hands on the goat’s head and confess over it all the wickedness, rebellion, and sins of the people of Israel. In this way, he will transfer the people’s sins to the head of the goat. Then a man specially chosen for the task will drive the goat into the wilderness. As the goat goes into the wilderness, it will carry all the people’s sins upon itself into a desolate land. Leviticus 16:20-22 NLT

Note: For more on the scapegoat click here.

What were the people to be doing?

“Be careful to celebrate the Day of Atonement on the tenth day of that same month—nine days after the Festival of Trumpets. You must observe it as an official day for holy assembly, a day to deny yourselves and present special gifts to the Lord. Do no work during that entire day because it is the Day of Atonement, when offerings of purification are made for you, making you right with the Lord your God. All who do not deny themselves that day will be cut off from God’s people. Leviticus 23:27-29 NLT

What happened to those living willfully in open sin?

All who do not deny themselves that day will be cut off from God’s people. And I will destroy anyone among you who does any work on that day. Leviticus 23:29-30 NLT

Note: Jesus has begun the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary or the blotting out of the record of confessed sins there, as well as from our lives here.

What pronouncement will Jesus soon make?

Let the one who is doing harm continue to do harm; let the one who is vile continue to be vile; let the one who is righteous continue to live righteously; let the one who is holy continue to be holy.” “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. Revelation 22:11- 12 NLT

What happens to those still sinning willfully?

And God will provide rest for you who are being persecuted and also for us when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from his glorious power. 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 NLT

What happens to the righteous?

For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 NLT

Which group will you be found in?

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.” Matthew 7:21-27 NLT

What should we be doing in this time of judgment?

“Fear God,” he shouted. “Give glory to him. For the time has come when he will sit as judge. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and all the springs of water.” Revelation 14:7 NLT

What assurance do we have?

So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin. So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most. Hebrews 4:14-16 NLT

Related reading: Was the atonement made to appease an angry God or an angry race?

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Read Daniel 9:23. What specific instruction does the angel give to Daniel? Why is this significant in understanding the meaning of the cleansing of the sanctuary in Daniel 8:14?

The angel plainly instructed Daniel to “consider the matter, and understand the vision” (Daniel 9:23, NKJV). What matter, and what vision? Because there is no vision recorded in Daniel 9:1-27, the angel Gabriel must be speaking of the portion of the vision in Daniel 8:1-27 that the prophet did not understand — the vision of the 2,300 days (Daniel 8:27).

Gabriel continues in Daniel 9:24-27. What events in the life and ministry of Jesus is this talking about?

The first portion of this prophecy relates to God’s people, the Jews. “Seventy weeks are determined for your people” — the Jewish nation (Daniel 9:24, NKJV). In Bible prophecy, one prophetic day equals one literal prophetic year (Ezekiel 4:6, Numbers 14:34). In Daniel and Revelation when you have symbolic imagery, you usually have a symbolic time prophecy, as well. One of the ways we can be certain that the day-year principle of prophecy applies here is that when we use it in Daniel’s prophecy, each event on the time line comes out perfectly (see tomorrow’s lesson). If we apply this principle, 70 weeks are composed of 490 days. Since one prophetic day equals one literal year, 490 days are 490 literal years.

Gabriel tells Daniel that 490 years are “cut off” (the literal meaning of the Hebrew word chathak, sometimes translated “determined”). Cut off from what? It could be the only other time prophecy alluded to here: the 2,300 days of Daniel 8:14. These 490 years, a time prophecy, is directly linked back to the time prophecy of Daniel 8:14, the only part of the vision left unexplained in Daniel 8:1-27 and the only time prophecy in Daniel 8:1-27, as well. Thus, we can see that Gabriel with this prophecy is coming to help Daniel understand what he didn’t understand in the previous chapter: the 2,300 days.

<–Monday Wednesday–>

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Read Daniel 8:17, Daniel 8:19, Daniel 8:26. What time period does the angel declare that the vision of Daniel 8:1-27 and the 2,300 days apply to, and why is that important to understand?

Some argue that the 2300 days are literal days.

They also believe that this little horn of Daniel 8:1-27 applies to the Seleucid military leader Antiochus Epiphanes (216 B.C. – 164 B.C.), who attacked Jerusalem and defiled the Jewish temple, even though 2,300 days does not fit even his time frame. This interpretation, however, is contrary to the angel’s clear instruction that the vision applies to the “time of the end.” Antiochus certainly did not live at the time of the end.

In Daniel 8:1-27, Gabriel begins his explanation of the 2,300-day prophecy. He names the ram as representing Media-Persia and the male goat as representing Greece (Daniel 8:20-21). Though not named, as were the two powers before it, the next entity, the little horn, is obviously Rome (Daniel 8:9, Daniel 8:23-24). He then depicts a kind of religio-political phase of Rome, which would “cast down the truth to the ground” (Daniel 8:10-12, Daniel 8:25) and interfere with Christ’s heavenly ministry (Daniel 8:10-12). The cleansing of the sanctuary in Daniel 8:14, the climax of the chapter, is God’s answer to the challenge of earthly and religious powers that have attempted to usurp the authority of God. It is part of God’s divine solution to the sin problem.

Gabriel is ready to explain the details in God’s prophetic timetable. At the end of Daniel 8:1-27, we can clearly see that Daniel did not understand the part of the vision about the 2300 days (Daniel 8:27). The earlier part about the ram, the goat, and the little horn had all been explained, even with the first two powers outright identified by name (Daniel 8:20-21). The cleansing of the sanctuary was, however, not explained.

The angel Gabriel, who appeared in Daniel 8:1-27, appears now in Daniel 9:1-27 and says to him: “At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision“ (Daniel 9:23, NKJV). What vision? As we will see tomorrow, the vision of the 2,300 days, the only part of the previous vision, in Daniel 8:1-27, that he hadn’t explained yet to Daniel.

Gabriel called Daniel “greatly beloved.” What does this tell us about the intimate link between heaven and earth?

<–Sunday Tuesday–>

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“Three Cosmic Messages” encourages us to 
Watch, Ye Saints – Hymn 598 as we near the end of this old world’s history to witness the Second Coming of our Lord, and Saviour, Jesus Christ. This is a wonderful hymn to give courage, dear people, and is our theme for this quarter.

 We will be noting at times throughout the quarter that “Tis Almost Time For The Lord To Come – Hymn 212 
and we should be proclaiming the message that 
Jesus Is Coming Again – Hymn 213.

Our Memory Verse this week tells us it is “time to awake out of sleep”: 
Hymn 611 – Awake My Soul and 
Hymn 210 – Awake, Awake For Night Is Flying knowing that we are safely 
Under His Wings – Hymn 529 because 
Jesus, Your Blood and Righteousness – Hymn 177.

Revelation 14:7  says “The hour of His judgment has come” as does
Hymn 416 – The Judgment Has Set (Sunday).

 Monday and Tuesday remind us very clearly to 
Dare To Be A Daniel in our old hymnal (pre-1985) which is number 497, if you have this available. A wonderful hymn for all of this week’s study time.

Daniel 9:26 is all about “Calvary’s cross was for us, not for Himself” and we can sing this in 
Hymn 476 – Burdens Are Lifted At Calvary along with 
Hymn 159 – The Old Rugged Cross all because of 
Wondrous Love – Hymn 162.

We are encouraged to accept the grace of Jesus as in 
Hymn 109 – Marvelous Grace and then go and live obedient lives (Thursday): 
Hymn 590 – Trust and Obey. This is all because of 
Jesus, Your Blood and Righteousness – Hymn 177 due to there being 
Power In The Blood – Hymn 294.

So, dear people, be encouraged to go forward and
“Lift up the trumpet and loud let it ring, Jesus IS coming again” – Hymn 213.

To learn unknown hymns, you will find the accompaniment music for each one at: https://sdahymnals.com/Hymnal/

Another great resource is for when there is a hymn you wish to sing but can’t find it in your hymnal. Go to https://www.sdahymnal.org/Search and in the search bar type a special word in that is in the hymn. I am sure you will be amazed at the help you will be given.

 2 Timothy 2:15 KJV – “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

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