Thursday: The Longest Prophetic Time Line
Daily Lesson for Thursday 16th of May 2024
Read Ezra 7:7-13. When was the decree issued to allow Israel’s captives in Persia to go free to rebuild their temple?
The decree was issued by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, in 457 b.c. This decree was the last of three decrees to allow the Jews to return to rebuild Jerusalem and restore temple worship services. This third decree was the most complete and marks the beginning of the 2,300-day prophecy.
Read Daniel 9:25-26. When would this entire prophetic period begin? What major events do these verses predict?
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In this remarkable prophecy, Daniel predicted that from the “going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem” to the Messiah would be 69 prophetic weeks, or 483 prophetic days, or literal years. Since the decree went forth in the fall of 457 b.c., 483 years extend to the fall of a.d. 27. The word “Messiah” signifies “the Anointed One.” In the autumn of a.d. 27, Christ was baptized and received the anointing of the Spirit (Acts 10:38). After His baptism, Jesus went into Galilee, “preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled’ ” (Mark 1:14-15, NKJV).
In the spring of a.d. 31, in the middle of this last prophetic week, three and a half years after His baptism, Jesus was crucified. The system of offerings that pointed forward to the Lamb of God ended with Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary. Type had met antitype, and eventually all the sacrifices and offerings of the ceremonial system ceased.
Read Daniel 9:27. How would the 70-week prophecy end?
The 70 weeks, or 490 years, especially allotted to the Jews, ended in a.d. 34 with the rejection by the Sanhedrin of the gospel message (Acts 6:8-15; Acts 7:1-60).
Subtracting 490 years from the 2,300-year prophecy leaves 1,810 years for the completion of the prophecy. This leads us to a.d. 1844. William Miller and the early Adventists believed that the sanctuary in Daniel 8:14 was the earth, and they assumed that Christ would come to purify the earth by fire in 1844. (See the chart on Friday.)
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The problem in trying to project the importance of this prophecy to others is that there is nothing physical that we can point to and say, There it is! There's the proof. Christ's ministry is unseen. It does not appear in the news, social media does not have any photographs of it, and there are no peer-reviewed academic articles evaluating measured data for us to consider. And in the sceptical mind, if you cannot hear, see, touch, taste or smell the evidence, it does not exist.
There are two significant scriptures that throw light on providing the sort of "touchable" evidence that convinces the skeptical minds.
Peter says:
...and the author of Hebrews wrote:
The prophecies make sense when we who claim them live in a relationship with Christ that is "touchable".
Prophecies are evidence to those who believe in the Word of God. Other than that, prophecies are just a pile of nonsense metaphors. Today's graphic image summarizes all of the 2300-day prophecy events. It points to the most important event that ever took place in the Universe, the death of a God for His creatures. And while on earth, God openly announced the second most important event: His return. Why would He fail? Prophecies can only be evidence to those who believe in the Word of God.
It's clear that the Holy Spirit was guiding William Miller as he searched the scriptures. I am puzzled as to why the Spirit didn't reveal to him that the sanctuary to be cleaned was not the earth but the heavenly sanctuary? I believe there is a warning here for those of us who have the tendency of thinking that our understanding of biblical truth is perfect and every other explanation is wrong. We must remain humble whenever we are in the divine realm, there is always more to learn.
God doesn't overwhelm us with light. He reveals to us as much as we can take, by His grace. What William Miller discovered in his Bible study is huge.
And there's also this: Perhaps God did not want His last-day movement to depend on the study of just one man.
Pastor Mark Finely (author of this quarterly) recently delivered a very good summary sermon on this topic.
Link below: https://youtu.be/xMJky8elDHA?si=LlfYjcEVe7DWo-op
Thank you all for the nice comments.
Good night.
I read Acts 7:1-60 with fresh eyes and greater appreciation of its place in the history of time. In light of its fulfillment, it greatly moved me to read Stephen's account how God appeared to Abram when he was still in Mesopotamia to lead him on the long journey into the Promised Land, and how God's prophecies/promises have come true.
When Stephen spoke to the leaders of the Sanhedrin, he was able to clearly describe how by the Hand of God the non-existing nation of Israel was already formed in God’s mind until it became established as He fulfilled His promise to settle them in the land He had promised Abraham that it would be his to inherit.
I think it is very important that we do not neglect to keep God’s fulfilled prophecies in our hearts as a reminder of those yet to be fulfilled; acknowledging with deep gratitude God’s faithfulness to His promise of the redemption of mankind.
I believe that keeping the prophetic Word of God in heart and mind provides an important perspective when going about our daily life. Reflecting on faithful Abraham, fervent Saul who became the apostle of God’s ‘Good News’ to the gentiles, feeling Stephen’s joy as he shares from his heart his love for God and His Word, can change 'prophecy' into the precious testimony how God’s loving providence reaches man’s heart and soul with its powerful Light.