The Second Advent Manual
TWO THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED DAYS
The second of the prophetic periods, which are considered main pillars in Mr. M’s calculations, is found Daniel 8:14. TSAM 42.2
The objections on this period are, 1. “It is not to be understood as years. 2. And if it be so understood, the cleansing of the sanctuary is not the end of the world. 3. There is no evidence that it begins with the seventy weeks. 4. If it does begin with the seventy weeks, we do not know with which of the several decrees it begins.” TSAM 42.3
1. Should the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14, be understood as years? TSAM 42.4
The difference of opinion which exists upon this question appears to arise from the use of the words “evening-morning,” which specify the portions of time enumerated, and which are translated days in the text, (2300 evenings and mornings, it is contended, make only half that number of whole days;) and, from the supposition that the question, in answer to which they are given, refers only to some particular pollution of the sanctuary which might occupy but a small portion of the time comprehended in the whole vision. That the marginal and original reading, evening-morning, is the Hebrew expression of the natural day, is admitted by the most respectable Hebrew scholars. Professor Stuart, as a witness, will not be suspected. TSAM 42.5
“On the whole, then, we must consider these 2300 evening-mornings as an expression of simple time, i. e., of so many days, reckoned in the Hebrew manner. So Gesenius, Rosenmueller, Haverniek, and others.”—Hints, p. 100. TSAM 43.1
On the other point, whether the question and answer refer to a part of the vision or the whole of it, there seems to be less room for dispute. TSAM 43.2
In determining the true application of any particular portion of prophecy, we should refer, 1st, To the views of standard writers on the prophecies; and, 2nd, In a difficult case, we should make use of the following rule. It is quoted from Macknight, and may be found in Dr. Clarke’s notes on 2 Thessalonians 2. We regard it as a complete “counterfeit detector,” and have no doubt its value will be appreciated at the present time. TSAM 43.3
Rule.—“In every case where different interpretations of a prophecy have been given, the proper method of ascertaining meaning is, to compare the various events to which it is thought to relate, with the words of the prophecy; and to adopt that as the event intended which most exactly agrees, in all its parts, with the prophetic description.” TSAM 43.4
These criteria will commend themselves to every enlightened and candid mind. TSAM 43.5
The Jewish writers appear generally to have understood this and the other periods of Daniel as years. TSAM 43.6
“Rabbi Isaac Abarbanel proves that the days are to be interpreted as years, when shall be the days of our redemption, and so have explained them all our other interpreters.”—Political destiny of the earth,—Preface. TSAM 43.7
Bishop Newton, who may be considered a host of himself, and whose works on the prophecies have been considered equal to any other for nearly a hundred years, expresses himself on the point before us as follows:—“The days, without doubt, are to be taken, agreeably to the style of Daniel in other places, not for natural, but for prophetic days or years; and as the question was asked not only how long the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the transgression of desolation continue, but also how long the vision shall last, so the answer is to be understood, and these two thousand and three hundred days denote the whole time from the beginning of the vision to the cleansing of the sanctuary.—Newton on Proph., p. 259. TSAM 44.1
Fletcher, the devout and eloquent vicar of Madeley, in a letter on the prophecies, dated 1775, says, TSAM 44.2
“Chronologists may mistake a few years, but cannot err upon the whole, and as God is true and faithful, so it is manifest that the prophecy of 2300 years must, be fully accomplished in our days, or those of the next generation.” See also Dr. Clarke’s notes on Daniel 8:26. TSAM 44.3
We might fill a volume of similar quotations from the best and most able men who have ever lived; but we pass to “the words of the prophecy.” TSAM 44.4
The first thing attempted in the interpretation of this vision, is to show that it extends to “the end,” (v. 17,) the exact meaning of which is explained to be “the last end of the indignation,” (v. 19,) and, that “the vision,” and the time given in it, terminate together,—“at the time appointed the end shall be.” (v. 19.) All this was said by Gabriel before a word was said about the historical emblems of the vision—the ram, goat, etc.,—evidently implying that these points were the most important to be understood. TSAM 44.5
What, then, is “the time appointed?” It must be the time mentioned in “the vision;” for it was “the meaning” of “the vision” Daniel sought, (v. 15,)-it was the vision Gabriel was sent to “make” him “understand,” (v. 16,) and it was the vision Gabriel “came” to explain to him, (v. 17;) the time appointed, therefore, must be the time given in “the vision,” or Daniel’s prayer was answered with mocking, Gabriel forgot his commission, and directed his attention to something foreign from the matter to be attended to. No other time is given in the vision but the “2300 days,” (v. 14,) and that this was specially designed to be communicated to Daniel is evident from this fact: when the question was asked, “How long the vision!” though it does not appear to have been proposed by Daniel, the answer is addressed to him,—“And he said unto me,“ etc. TSAM 44.6
This, then, is “the time appointed,” at the end of which “the vision” is to end,—“then shall the sanctuary be cleansed,” “the last end of the indignation” come, and the power represented by the “little horn” “shall be broken without hand.” TSAM 45.1
It is sufficient to settle the question whether this period is to be understood literally or not, to know that 2300 days, literally, will not cover the history of the power which continued for the shortest time of any one in the vision-the “king” represented by “the great horn” of “the goat”—Alexander. TSAM 45.2
If anything more were needed, the fact that all who have attempted to apply it literally, have failed to do so, many of them confessing it unequivocally, puts it forever to rest. It must, therefore, be understood symbolically, as equal to 2300 years. TSAM 45.3
2. If the period is understood to be years, does the cleansing of the sanctuary bring us to the end of the world? TSAM 45.4
What are we to understand by the “cleansing the sanctuary!” To “understand” this correctly we must ascertain what is meant by “the sanctuary.” The word sanctuary is used by the inspired writers in the following significations. (1) It is the name of a particular part of the temple. Hebrews 9:2. (2) The different apartments of the temple. Jeremiah 51:51. (3) The temple itself. 1 Chronicles 22:19; 28:10 (4) Places of worship generally, true or false. Amos 7:9; Ezekiel 28:18; Daniel 8:11. (5) Heaven is called the sanctuary. Psalm 102:19. (6) The promised land. Exodus 15:17; Psalm 78:54; Isaiah 63:18. (7) The tabernacle of God in the heavenly state. Ezekiel 37:26, 28. These are the principal significations of the word sanctuary, in the word of God. According to which of these significations is the word to be understood in the text before us? I think the most obvious sense is that which points out the promised land; for it must be evident to every one that the sanctuary here spoken of must be capable of being “trodden under foot,” and of being “cleansed,” and, as I think we shall see, of being cleansed at the coming of Christ and the resurrection of the righteous dead. The text should also be understood in a sense that will harmonize with other cases in which the word is used by Daniel in particular, with the views of the other prophets, and the word of God generally. TSAM 45.5
The promised land, of which old Jerusalem was the metropolis, was given to Abraham, (Genesis 17:4-9,) and to his seed after him, for an everlasting possession, in a covenant established with Abraham, and to be established with his seed after him in their generations. And this seed are thus to possess it as a peculiar inheritance when the promise to Abraham that he should be the heir of the habitable earth (kosmou) shall be realized. There will be the “city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God,” to which they have “looked” while “strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” There “the king shall be seen in his beauty,”—“upon the throne of David, to order and to establish it with judgment and with justice, from henceforth even forever.” “For the Lord hath chosen Zion: he hath desired it for his habitation.” “this is my rest forever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it.” Psalm 132:13, 14. “This is the hill which God desireth to dwell in; yea, the Lord will dwell in it forever.” Psalm 68:16. See also Exodus 15. 17, 18; Isaiah 60:13; Ezekiel 37:24-28; Revelation 22:3. TSAM 46.1
On this territory the great battle is to be fought, which will make an end at once of the desolator and the desolations. “The Lord of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass: and as I have purposed, so shall it stand; that I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountain tread him under foot: then shall his yoke depart from off them, and his burden depart from off their shoulders. This is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? and his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back!” Isaiah 14:24-27. See also 29:5-8; 31:4, 5; 34:1-8; 63:1-4; Joel 3:9-16; Zechariah 14:3; Revelation 16:13-16; 19:11-21. TSAM 47.1
“Then shall the sanctuary be cleansed,” “and the host” of “the ransomed of the Lord,” delivered from the power of death and the grave, and their oppressors on earth, “shall return and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head.” TSAM 47.2
This cleansing is to take place at the last end of the indignation. A remark or two will show that this is to come, at the time of Christ’s coming to judge the world, to raise the righteous dead, and to enter upon his glorious and everlasting reign. If there were any doubt whether this indignation were God’s general indignation against a guilty world, or against the wicked and unworthy occupants of His “heritage”—the promised land,—it would make no difference as to the events which are to take place at the last end, or termination of it. In the most general sense it must bring the last manifestation of God’s wrath against sinners, and that we know will not be till “the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” TSAM 47.3
But the indignation is evidently that which is so often spoken of by the prophets, which was poured out upon the covenant people of God on account of their sins; which first subjected them to the dominion of foreign masters, and afterwards removed them from the land of their fathers, to be fugitives among all nations. See Isaiah 5:5-7, 13; 10:5, 6; 42:24, 25; Jeremiah 7:17-34; 9:13-16; 44:2-6; Ezekiel 36:17-19; Daniel 9:7-12, 16. TSAM 47.4
Now we have the clearest proof that this condition of “the sanctuary”—“the holy mountain,” which “the Lord hath chosen for his habitation, to dwell in it forever;” and which without doubt is to be the location of “the city of the great King,” “when the Lord of hosts shall reign in Mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously,” “King over all the earth;” and which “the heirs” are “to possess as an everlasting inheritance,” together with “the kingdom and dominion under the whole heaven,”—we have the clearest proof, I repeat, that this condition of the sanctuary is to terminate at the coming of Christ, and not till then. Daniel, in the 9th chapter, the appendix to the 8th, where he gives us the fate of “the city and sanctuary,” says “for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation.” And also 7:1-7, the accomplishment of the predicted “scattering of the power of the holy people”—in other words, the desolation, or “treading under foot,” of the inheritance—is the point at which the “wonders” stated in the preceding verses, are to “be finished.” What are “these wonders?” TSAM 48.1
1. “At that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people.” Michael is one of the names which is applied to Jesus Christ. It means, “Who is like God?” To “stand up,” means, in this prophecy, to reign. 6:2-4. The first of these wonders, then, is the reign of Jesus Christ; which is always stated to commence with the destruction of all earthly kingdoms. See Daniel 7:9-14; Revelation 11:15-18. When “He whose right it is” to reign takes the throne, his kingdom will be “all the earth;” and “the throne” of every usurper shall be “cast down” Psalm 2.; Zephaniah 3:8-18; Luke 19:11-27. TSAM 48.2
2. “And at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” There no other “time” in which the “deliverance” of “people” is to be determined by referring to “the book” but in the judgment scene. Daniel 7:10; Revelation 20:12, 15; 21:27. The second of these wonders is, therefore, the judgment scene, which brings “trouble” to the wicked and deliverance to the righteous. TSAM 49.1
3. “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” This a clear statement that the resurrection, particularly of the righteous, will take place when the predicted scattering of the holy people is “accomplished.” It takes place “at his (Christ’s) coming.” 1 Corinthians 15:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17. We would remark upon this text, which has been supposed to be difficult to reconcile with the theory of two resurrections, a thousand years apart, that it certainly supposes an arrangement of the process which gives it a double character. And if the angel intended to have said that all would come forth at once, he could hardly have spoken as he has—“many of them,” etc.; but, them that sleep, or, all that sleep. The intention, evidently, is not to go into the details of the resurrection, as John has done, (Revelation 20.,) but to state the fact so as to place the righteous dead “who are written in the book,” among them who are “delivered” at the time referred to, and yet so as not to clash with what was to be more fully communicated as to the order of the resurrection at a subsequent period. “Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake”—and then, lest the “many” should be understood, as in some other cases, to include the whole, he immediately adds—“some” of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake “to everlasting life, and some” of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake “to shame and everlasting contempt.” The order is implied here. John tells how long a time shall intervene between the resurrection of the two classes. But if all were to rise at once, it must take place “at the time” here referred to. The third of “these wonders,” therefore, is the resurrection. TSAM 49.2
4. “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament: and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever.” This can mean nothing less than the glorification of the righteous. Paul uses similar language in speaking on the same point. 1 Corinthians 15:41, 42. The Saviour uses very similar language in his parable of the tares and wheat. Matthew 13:37-43. And he assures us that “at the end of this world” the righteous “shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” TSAM 50.1
Now “all these wonders” are to “be finished,” “when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people.” The testimony of Christ, (Luke 21:24-27,) is equally clear, that the desolation of” the sanctuary, the holy mountain,” is to end at his coming to judge the world, and to reign forever. “And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. And there shall be signs in the sun, etc. And then shall they see the son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Here the coming of Christ is intimately connected with the fulfilment of the times of the Gentiles, the period during which Jerusalem shall be trodden under foot. Of course the whole country follows the condition of its capital. It must continue in this condition till Christ comes. “And in that day thou shall say, O Lord, I will praise thee: though thou wast angry with me, thine anger is turned away, and thou. comfortest me.” Isaiah 12:1. “Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, that her warfare, (appointed time, margin,) is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received at the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.” Isaiah 40:1. “For your shame you shall have double, and for confusions they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double; everlasting joy shall be unto them.” Isaiah 61:7. See also Isaiah 66:13-16. TSAM 50.2
By “the sanctuary,” then, I understand to be meant, “the place which the Lord made for himself to dwell in, the mountain of his inheritance,”—the land given to Abraham, “the land wherein he was a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession;” of which he received, during his life, according to the apostle, (Acts 7:5.) “none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on:” for it was the “place which he should after receive for an inheritance” Hebrews 11:8. TSAM 51.1
In this sense Daniel seems to have used the word in the 9th chap, verse 17. He had just prayed, “O Lord, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain,” etc., and continues in this verse, “Now, therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplication, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate.” Can “Thy (God’s) sanctuary” mean anything else here but “Jerusalem, thy holy mountain,” including the territory to which Moses applies the word the first time it occurs in the Bible? Exodus 15:17. TSAM 51.2
By the cleansing the sanctuary I understand to be meant, 1. Its purification from the wicked agents of its desolation, and, 2. The removal of the curse which is upon it, at the termination of its predicted desolation. Isaiah 1:27, 28; 49:13-17, 19. TSAM 51.3
It may be asked, perhaps, how can this particular land be possessed in the eternal state? Will it survive the conflagration? To what extent the geological and geographical features of the earth will be affected, when “changed,” or “melted” by the fire unto which it is reserved, we do not pretend to say. That it will exist in the same form in which it now exists, a globe, is evident from the fact that there is to be day and night, though “the city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it;” (Revelation 7:15; 20:10;) and if it exist in its present form there must be the same diversities of latitude and longitude; and a portion of the new earth which corresponds with the latitude and longitude of the promised land in this old earth, may be selected for the location of the heavenly Jerusalem, “the city of the great King.” TSAM 51.4
But from the repeated assurances that “the land promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob,” “the mountains of Israel,” “the holy mountain,” “Mount Zion,” etc. etc., are to be “possessed forever,” “stand for ever,” “never to be removed,” etc., we may suppose that some of the present features of the earth will survive the conflagration. TSAM 52.1
It may be asked again, Will not the process of cleansing—“the great battle,” and “the burning flame,” etc., require a long time for its accomplishment? We cannot tell how long a time it will require to complete the work; it may be but a few days, it may be as many years as the Israelites were in conquering the Canaanites, after they entered the land—seven years; it may be more or less; but that it will be commenced suddenly, and by the personal interposition of the “King of kings and Lord of lords,” and that its commencement will be decisive upon the hopes of mankind, is clearly stated in the word of God. See Zephaniah 1:18; Isaiah 60:22; Luke 21:35; 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 3; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Jude 1:14, 15. TSAM 52.2
The vision ends when the sanctuary is cleansed, (or justified, as the margin reads,) and the last end of the indignation comes, at the time appointed-the end of the 2300 days. TSAM 52.3
3. What reasons are there for supposing that the 2300 days, or years, of the 8th of Daniel, begin with the 70 weeks of the 9th? TSAM 52.4
1. It must be, in the nature of the case, that the matters contemplated in the 9th chapter are included in the 8th, just as a part of a thing must be included in the whole. The vision of the 8th surveys the whole field from Persia to the end; the 9th, though its special burden is the 70 weeks, also reaches “even to the consummation.” TSAM 52.5
2. But the nature of the view taken in both cases points out the special bearing of one upon the other. The vision of the 8th shows the particular relation of the kingdoms of this world to the church—“the host,” and her inheritance—“the sanctuary.” This, with what is said of the time, character and results of the mission and death of Messiah, is also the whole burden of the 9th. TSAM 53.1
3. The great question of interest to Daniel in the vision of the 8th, was, as we have seen, “How long the treading under foot of the sanctuary and the host” was to continue? It was this also which led him to the acts—“to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes”—which introduce the 9th, and which called forth the communications contained in it. Read chap. 9th, verse 3rd to the end. TSAM 53.2
4. From all the circumstances of the mission of Gabriel, as recorded in the 9th chapter, it is plain that Daniel labored under some mistake in the case. TSAM 53.3
“While he was speaking in prayer. Gabriel, being caused to fly swiftly, touched him and talked with him, and said unto him, O Daniel. I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.” And again, “I am come to show thee.” There must have been something that was not understood by Daniel, or Gabriel would not have been sent thus, on express, as it were, “to show” him about it. But what could have been Daniel’s mistake? It was not in supposing that the “70 years” predicted by “Jeremiah the prophet” had come nearly or quite to an end; no, that was understood. “I, Daniel, understood by books the number of the years.” v. 2. From Daniel’s prayer, and the course taken by Gabriel, the mistake seems to have been this: Daniel supposed that “to accomplish 70 years in the desolations of Jerusalem” would make an end of her desolations. Mark the words as they fell from his lips in prayer. After confessing the sins of the “kings, princes, fathers and all the people of the land,” and that “the curse poured upon them” by “the Lord their God,” was “righteous”—being also a fulfillment of “his words,” he proceeds—“I beseech thee, 1. Let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain.” 2. “Open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name.” 3. “And cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.” 4. “O Lord, hear, O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God.” Such importunity brought Gabriel from heaven,—not to tell him his prayer should be answered, but to show him that “the city and sanctuary” should be “destroyed,” and continue “desolate even until the consummation.” But why should Daniel make such a mistake? There does not appear to be anything in “the books” of Jeremiah, to which he refers, to warrant such an expectation. The most obvious reason which can be assigned is, that Daniel supposed that the vision of the 8th chapter, which brought to view the time when “the sanctuary should be cleansed, or justified,” run out at the same time with the 70 years of Jeremiah. This appears still further evident from the first attempt of Gabriel “to show” Daniel. “I am come forth to show thee; therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.” How could he “give” him “skill and understanding,” and “show” him, by telling him to “consider the vision?” Daniel could not but see that the vision had not run out with the 70 years, and of course there was no reason to expect the sanctuary to be cleansed, for it was to be “trodden under foot” until the vision should end. “Consider the vision!” Daniel. Has the ram—the kings of Media and Persia, been conquered by the rough goat—the king of Grecia? Has Greece, after being a unit, been divided into “four kingdoms?” And have these been followed by a “king of fierce countenance,” who was to arise “in the latter time of their kingdom—and who should “destroy wonderfully, and destroy the mighty and the holy people—stand up against the Prince of princes?” etc. Consider the vision! So far is it from having run out, that “70 weeks (sevens) of the vision are determined, or cut off, 11 upon thy people, and thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, [fill up their iniquity by putting to death their Messiah, the event which shall] make reconciliation for iniquity, and bring in everlasting righteousness, [and by this also] to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.” TSAM 53.4
Now the point to be settled is, what “vision” did Gabriel refer to? It must be evident to all that he refers to what is stated in the 9th chapter, or to some previous vision. This must be admitted, or Gabriel spoke nonsense. If what is said in connection with the 70 weeks may, with any propriety, be considered a vision, it is, to say the least of it, quite singular that Gabriel should call Daniel to “consider and understand” a vision before it had been given. In all other cases the vision is first unfolded, and then, after special prayer for its meaning, in most cases, the interpretation is given; but in this case, that uniform and natural order is departed from, unless some other vision besides that in the 9th chapter, (supposing it to be a vision,) is the one intended by Gabriel. Well, what other vision could it be? Why, the one speaking to Daniel in the 9th chapter is “the man Gabriel, whom he had seen in the vision at the beginning,” but we have no account of his being seen in any other vision than that of the 8th chapter, verse 16; and there he is commanded to make Daniel understand the vision. TSAM 56.1
Here, then, is the same messenger, Gabriel, seen in the previous vision. His work is the some—to make Daniel “understand.” The manner of his address implies that he had come to finish up the work assigned him in that, vision—“to show” Daniel its commencement, the only point before omitted. The words declare it. “Consider the vision,” Daniel, to “understand the matter.” TSAM 56.2
And, to put the last query in the case to rest, he adds,—“Know, therefore, and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, unto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks” = 69 weeks, “and he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week,” which added to the 69 make out the 70. This makes out “the matter” plain. The 70 weeks are made a part of the 2300 days, or years, by telling us they are to be “cut off” from the vision referred to; and being a part of that period, they fix its commencement. For the 70 weeks cannot be cut off from the 2300 days, unless they were included in that period; and if cut off, they must be cut off so many weeks from the beginning of the period; and if cut off from the beginning, they must commence together. And from what we are told was to be done in the 70 weeks, they must have terminated at the death of Christ; and this settles the question that they are to be understood to express in days the number of years intended. There being 490 days in 70 weeks, we have only to go back that number of years from the death of Christ and we are brought necessarily to the year 457 B. C. 12 That year is the remarkable seventh year of Artaxerxes, when the ram did according to his will. That is the year in which the decree of Ezra 7. was issued; and when, according to the plain declaration of the vision,—the undoubted testimony of history,—and the evident connection of the 8th and 9th chapters of Daniel, the 2300 years commenced, and of course they terminate in 1843. 13 TSAM 56.3
They make sure, “seal up,” the vision; and they demonstrate “the manner” in which the whole period is to be reckoned. If the weeks are weeks, or sevens, of years, the days are of course to be understood in a corresponding manner. And you can no more cut 70 weeks of years from 2300 days literally, than you can cut 7 times 70 yards of broadcloth from 2300 inches of broadcloth. TSAM 57.1
5. From all these reasons, drawn from the most general character of the prophecy to the most minute particulars of the subject of the two chapters, we are assured of such a connection as we have supposed between them. TSAM 57.2
Again; without such a connection, one of the portions of the prophecy could not be understood, though an express command to “make” it understood was given and the other is involved in the strangest difficulties TSAM 57.3
We cannot therefore but regard the 9th chapter as a designed and indispensable appendix of the 8th chapter. As such, it gives the undoubted clue to the chronological period of the vision, both as to its commencement, and “the manner of time the spirit did signify” by that period. We also consider the exact fulfilment of the 70 weeks of the 9th chapter as a pledge, that the whole period, which reaches to the end, will be as exactly verified at the time appointed. TSAM 57.4
4. Admitting the 2300 years and seventy weeks begin together, can we tell at which of the decrees issued in favor of the Jews they began? TSAM 58.1
Such is the peculiar character of the prophecy of the seventy weeks, that one would suppose there could hardly be a doubt as to the time of their termination; and if a decree could be found which was issued four hundred and ninety years prior to their termination, it must follow that that is the decree referred to in the prophecy. Our views on this question are those of nearly or quite all the old evangelical writers upon the subject; and, as they cannot be suspected of any bias in favor of Millerism, they may settle the point for us. TSAM 58.2
“Many are the opinions concerning the beginning and end of these seventy weeks among chronologers. Some begin them in the first year of Cyrus, and end them in the nativity of Christ; others, from the second of Darius Nothus (successor to Artaxerxes,) and conclude them with the destruction of Jerusalem, by Titus Vespasian. Some make them commence from the 20th of Artaxerxes, and to conclude with the passion and death of Christ; and others will have them begin in the 20th year of Artaxerxes Mnemon, and end in the desolation of the city by the Romans. But many there are who, rejecting all these,—with best reason,—fix the beginning of them in the 7th of Artaxerxes Longimanus, and their conclusion in the death of Christ—in which termination most of the learned, both ancient and modern, agree. For if we seriously consider the account of time, and judge of it according to the best approved authors, the three former opinions will be found either to exceed or come short of the number. From the beginning of the Persian Empire to Christ’s nativity passed about 530 years. From the second of Darius Nothus, indeed, to the destruction of Jerusalem, near 490 years intervened; but concerning any edict made by that prince, there is not a word in scripture. From the 20th of Artaxerxes Longimanus, to the death and passion of Christ, are found 476, or 477, which come too short by thirteen of the 490; and betwixt the 20th of Artaxerxes Mnemon and the destruction of Jerusalem, are found but about 450, which come far short of the account; as also the chronology of such as would fetch the rise of the 490 from the first of Darius Medus, and the second or sixth of Darius the son of Hystaspes. TSAM 58.3
“But if we reckon from this 7th of Artaxerxes Longimanus, down by his successors in the Persian Empire the Ptolemics of Egypt, after that of Alexander the Great, and then by the Asmoncans or Jewish princes, till we come at length to Herod the Great, and so to Christ, the just number of 490 we shall find at his death, with such small difference as is pardonable to so many authors handling so many things. Or if we reckon the years of the Olympiads and the building of Rome, we shall find Christ to have died in the 490th year after the promulgation of this decree.”—[Institution of General History, vol. 1., p. 209; by Wm. Howell, LI. D., London, 1680. “See Dr. Clarke’s notes, Horne’s Int. Vol. 1., p. 336. Vol. 4, p. 191. Also Note D, in the Diagram.] TSAM 59.1