Our Faith and Hope, No. 1

SERMON NINE

THE TIME

TEXT: Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. Daniel 8:13, 14. OFH1 107.2

The text is important, or it would not be in the Bible. The text may be understood; otherwise, it is not a portion of God’s revelation to man. What God has revealed, he designed should be understood. It is true that “the secret things belong unto the Lord our God.” We have no business with them. “But those things which are revealed belong unto us, and to our children forever.” Deuteronomy 29:29. OFH1 107.3

Time is revealed in the sacred Scriptures. Time is important, or it would not be in the Bible. To class the prophetic periods with non-essentials is an insult upon the God of the Bible. In giving man a revelation, our gracious God gave the essentials, and left the non-essentials out of the book. OFH1 108.1

The definite time of the second advent of Christ is not revealed in the Bible. This fact, however, does not take from the prophetic periods any of their importance. They were designed to serve an important purpose; and just what purpose is the object of this discourse to show. OFH1 108.2

We will first briefly define the terms employed in the text. OFH1 108.3

1. The two saints in conversation are Christ and Gabriel. OFH1 108.4

2. The vision embraces the three empires of Persia, Grecia, and Rome. OFH1 108.5

3. The daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, represent Rome in its pagan and papal forms. OFH1 108.6

4. The sanctuary is that of the new covenant, or of the Christian age, and is in Heaven. It is the sanctuary of which Paul speaks in the book of Hebrews. OFH1 108.7

5. The host are the true people of God, who direct their worship to the heavenly sanctuary. OFH1 108.8

6. Both the sanctuary and the host are trodden under foot in the same sense that men now tread under foot the Son of God. Hebrews 10:29. OFH1 109.1

7. The days are prophetic, meaning 2300 years, and their commencement and termination can be distinctly defined. OFH1 109.2

8. The cleansing of the sanctuary is not from physical uncleanness, but from the sins of the people. Much may be learned of the nature of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary at the close of the 2300 prophetic days, by the manner in which the typical sanctuary was cleansed on the tenth day of the seventh month of each year. OFH1 109.3

We will now notice each point stated, and give our reasons for the positions taken. OFH1 109.4