The 3 Angel’s Message, God’s final warning to the world declare “…Fear God, and give
glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come…”. We are living in earth’s final judgment hour – stay tuned!
Hi, this is Dustin with Hope Through Prophecy.
We are here to help you better understand Bible prophecy, and be prepared for the soon
return of Jesus. In this video, you will learn the longest, most important prophecy in the
entire Bible! We will see clear Bible evidence that we are living in the day of judgment
- the final period of earth’s history to proceed the soon return of Jesus Christ. First,
I want to quickly discuss a way that you can support this channel so we can continue to
share the gospel with the world. For your support of Hope Through Prophecy on Patreon,
you will receive behind-the-scenes footage and even be able to listen to my weekly sermons!
Just click on the Patreon link in the description below to check it out! Now, let’s jump right
in! Our study today takes us back to that apocalyptic
book of Daniel – a book with special significance for the end times. Daniel was written in the
6th century BC, long before the events described in this prophecy.
In chapter 8, Daniel receives a prophetic vision in which a goat charges towards a ram,
collides with it, and overpowers it. It is later revealed that this ram represents the
kingdom of Medo-Persia, while the goat embodies Greece, the nation that would conquer Medo-Persia.
This event is then followed by the rise of a little horn, which we will cover in a future
video. This dreaded little horn power would gain great influence, persecute God’s people,
and defile God’s sanctuary. “How long would this continue?” “How
long would God’s people and His sanctuary be trampled on?
The answer is given by the Angel Gabriel in Daniel 8:14: “And he said unto me, Unto
two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”
This “cleansing of the sanctuary” is related to an event that took place in the sanctuary
service – a system that God gave to His people to help then understand His plan of
salvation. Throughout the year, the people confessed their sins, and these sins were
symbolically transferred into the sanctuary through the blood shed by lambs, which represented
the coming Messiah. Once per year, on the day of atonement, also known as the day of
judgment, the high priest would enter into the most Holy Place of the sanctuary, bringing
the blood of the Lord’s goat, and interceding between God and the people. This yearly service
would symbolically cleanse the earthly sanctuary from all of the sins which had been accumulating
throughout the year. We will discuss more of this event, and it’s significance, in
a future video. However, this cleansing of the sanctuary described
in Daniel 8:14 could not be referring to the earthly sanctuary; For the earthly sanctuary
was to be cleansed once per year, and this passage in Daniel is describing a cleansing
that would happen many years in the future. In fact, Daniel 8 reveals to us that this
cleansing of the sanctuary, or judgment day, would take place during the end times:
…for at the time of the end shall be the vision.
So, what sanctuary could it be referring to? The book of Hebrews speaks of another sanctuary!
In fact, it speaks of God’s true sanctuary, which is located in Heaven itself! Hebrews
8:2 refers to it as “…the sanctuary, and…true tabernacle,
which the Lord pitched, and not man.” So, we can see that Daniel 8:14 refers to
a cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, a judgment day, which would take place in the end times.
However, Gabriel does not yet explain the precise timing of the vision - when it would
begin, and when it would end. Because of this confusion over the timing of the vision, chapter
8 ends will Daniel fainting and getting sick, saying “I was astonished at the vision,
but none understood it.” Daniel 9 is a direct continuation of Daniel
8. As Daniel is pouring out his heart to God in prayer, the same angel Gabriel returns
to help him to further understand the vision! Specifically, the missing time element of
the vision. Daniel states Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even
the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly,
touched me about the time of the evening oblation. In Daniel 9:23, Gabriel states that he has
come to help Daniel to understand this mysterious vision:
At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew
thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.
Now, Gabriel begins to address the only part of the prophecy that Daniel was missing – the
specific timing of the vision. Speaking to Daniel, he states:
“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city..”
This first 70-weeks section of the prophecy is “determined” or cut off specifically
for Daniel’s people, the Jews. It is part of the overall 2300 day prophecy that was
described in chapter 8. Please pay careful attention to this first
70 week period, as it describes a magnificent prophecy of the Messiah, and provides the
key for unlocking the larger 2300 day prophecy. So, this prophecy would last for 70 prophetic
weeks or 490 days. It’s Important to note that, when dealing with time in symbolic prophecy
such as Daniel 9, 1 day equals a year. This principle is seen throughout Scripture,
and I will provide 2 notable examples here: We read in Numbers 14:34 “After the number
of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall
ye bear your iniquities, even forty years…” And Ezekiel 4:6 states “…I have appointed
thee each day for a year.” But perhaps the greatest evidence for the
day-for-year principle is the simple fact that it works! When we apply this principle
to Daniel 9, you will see an amazing prophecy of the Messiah perfectly fulfilled.
So, we know that this prophecy will last for 70 weeks, or 490 literal years. But in order
for us to understand when this prophecy would end, we must first know when it began.
Gabriel gives us the clue in verse 25 Know therefore and understand, that from the
going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
Prince… So, the starting point for this prophecy would
be the command to both restore and rebuild Jerusalem.
Fortunately, the Bible tells us EXACTLY when this happened!
The Old Testament book of Ezra describes several decrees, but chapter 7 of Ezra describes the
only decree that commanded both the restoration and rebuilding of Jerusalem. Verse 7 reveals
to us that this decree, made by King Artaxerxes during the Autumn season, took place in the
7th year of the king, which was 457 BC. Now, we have the starting point of the prophecy
– 457 BC. Gabriel now describes what will happen next,
and when it will happen: 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: the street shall be built again,
and the wall, even in troublous times. 7 weeks, plus threescore and 2 weeks, equals
69 prophetic weeks. These 69 weeks, or 483 days, using the day-for-year principle, equal
483 literal years. So, according to the angel Gabriel, Messiah
the Prince would arrive 483 years after 457 BC, the starting point of the prophecy. This
would bring us to the fall of 27 AD. Did anything significant happen in 27 AD? Did the Messiah
truly come on this date? Yes – He did! The Bible actually uses the
word Messiah to refer to the “anointed” one.
Acts 10:38 tells us “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power…”
And we can see that this anointing with the Holy Ghost took place at Jesus’ baptism:
Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized,
and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape
like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son;
in thee I am well pleased. In Luke 3:1, The Bible reveals that this event
happened during the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar, which was, you guessed it, AD 27.
Yes, amazingly, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one, was baptized right on time,
fulfilling the prophecy exactly! Friends, we can have confidence that the Bible
is inspired and that Jesus Christ is indeed the promised Messiah!
So far, we have covered 483 years of this 490 year prophecy. What would happen next
during the final prophetic week, or 7 literal years, of this prophecy?
Let’s read about it in Daniel 9:26-27: And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah
be cut off, but not for himself…And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:
and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease…
So, according to the prophecy, Jesus, the Messiah, would be “cut off” in the midst
of this final prophetic week, or literal 7 years, of the prophecy. The middle of this
week would be 3 ½ years after Jesus was anointed as the Messiah, which would bring us to the
spring of AD 31, which was the time of Jesus’crucifixion – His sacrifice for the human race.
Here we see a glimpse of the gospel – a beautiful portrait of the sacrificial death
of our Savior! Notice the verse says that the
Messiah be cut off, but not for himself… Jesus died not for His own sins, but for your
sins, and mine. Isaiah 53:5 reveals But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes
we are healed. The verse says that He would
“cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease…”
The entire sanctuary service had been designed to point forward to the coming Messiah. For
example, the lambs that were slain each day represented the Lamb of God, who would take
away the sins of the world. Jesus Christ fulfilled these sanctuary symbols,
and His death on the cross caused the sacrificial system to end. In fact, when Jesus died, the
elaborate curtain that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary
literally ripped in half. This was a symbol that the earthly sanctuary was no longer the
place for God’s presence, and that, because of Jesus’ sacrificial death, a way has been
opened for us to come to God. Jesus died so that you and I can be saved,
and have eternal life. For more information on the plan of salvation, watch the powerful
video “Jesus Christ, the Lamb of Bible Prophecy”. As we return to the prophecy, we can see that
there is just 3 and ½ years remaining – the second half of the final prophetic week.
Remember, the 70 weeks of this prophecy were designated for Daniel’s people the Jews,
who were in captivity at that time. Jesus was to
“confirm the covenant with many for one week”.
During this final week of the prophecy, Jesus would confirm the covenant not only by his
perfect life, death, and resurrection, but by giving the nation of Israel an opportunity
to repent, even after he died. How did Jesus do this? Through the apostles.
Notice how Jesus directed his disciples to first preach the gospel to the Jews, before
sharing the good news with the rest of the world:
These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles,
and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of
the house of Israel. So, God gave the nation of Israel every opportunity
to accept Jesus as the Messiah, but unfortunately, they rejected Him.
In AD 34, Stephen, a deacon and follower of Christ, was filled with the Holy Spirit and
preached a powerful sermon to the Jews, in which he revealed to them that they had crucified
the promised Messiah. Rather than repent, the Jews were filled with raged and stoned
Stephen to death. This event in AD 34, the final year of the
prophecy, marks the ultimate rejection of the Messiah by the Jewish nation, and the
end of the 70 weeks. This first 70-week, or 490 year section of
the prophecy, is proof-positive that the day-for-year principle is accurate, and that Jesus is the
Messiah. No human mind could have ever devised such incredible precision and fulfillment
of prophecy. Now we will return to the 2300-day prophecy,
of which the 70 weeks was just a portion. “…Unto two thousand and three hundred
days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” When we apply the day-for-year principle,
which has already been established, we can see that 2,300 prophetic days = 2,300 literal
years. Beginning at 457 BC, the starting point of the prophecy, 2300 years brings us to the
year 1844 AD. It was in 1844 that the cleansing of the Heavenly
sanctuary began. Just like the cleansing of the earthly sanctuary, this event is known
as the judgment, is happening right now in the courts of Heaven, and will last until
the soon return of Jesus Christ. In the earthly service, which was a shadow
of the cleansing of the Heavenly sanctuary, this event was known as the Day of Atonement.
The word atonement can be best understood by breaking the word down: AT ONE MENT
-The purpose of the judgment is to bring us back into harmony with God. To make us AT
ONE with Him. To bridge the gap that sin has caused. To make us more like Jesus.
On this day, the Israelites were to to refrain from working, and search their heart for any
sins. Their attention was drawn to the high priest who interceded with God on their behalf.
So it with us today dear friend. We must avoid trusting in our works for salvation. We must
search our hearts, confessing and forsaking any sins, and finally, we must keep our eyes
on Jesus – our great high priest, who intercedes in our behalf before the Father above.
Friend, we are living in a remarkable time of earths history! The hour of God’s judgment
has come! I urge you to give your heart to Jesus today, and surrender anything in your
life that displeases Him, letting Him be your advocate in the judgment. If this is your
desire today, and it’s clear to you that we are living in God’s judgment hour, please
write in the comment section below: “Jesus, you’re my High Priest!”
To learn more about the judgment and many other critical topics for these end times,
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been helpful to you. Most importantly, keep your eyes on Jesus, the author, and finisher,
of your faith!