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2300 days?
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Ron Corson
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Dec 08, 2004 21:06 PST
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I am just wondering how this 2300 years of Christ's mediatory ministry
in the heavenly sanctuary could begin in 457BC and running to 1844 when
Rome in any form did not even have any empire till at best 201 BC, they
did not even control Italy till 260 BC. Remember the lesson is telling
us that it was Rome both pagan and papal but mainly papal that was
blocking from people’s view Christ true activities as mediator.
The verses in Daniel seem to indicate that during the 2300 evening and
mornings the power would be trampling the sanctuary.
Dan 8:24 He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will
cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He
will destroy the mighty men and the holy people.25 He will cause deceit
to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel
secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of
princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power. 26 “The
vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but
seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future."
How could that horn power trample truth to the ground during these 2300
years when that would also include the years of Christ actually earthly
life as well as the Foundation and expansion of Christianity.
Something smells very fishing about this explanation and the SDA
quarterlies lessons this quarter.
Of course one easily realizes the problem when you see how the SDA
tradition assumes that Dan. 9 is a continuation of the earlier vision
recorded in Dan. 8 which occurred some 13-15 years earlier. There is
indeed no given start date for the 2300 evening and mornings. And the
material in Dan. 9 begins with the seventy years of Jeremiah’s prophecy.
Notice that the SDA tradition does not try to make the 70 years of
Jeremiah’s prophecy into the beloved year for a day prophecy formula.
There is no mention of the previous vision in Dan 7 or 8 only a
reference to Gabriel who Daniel had seen before in vision.
However since verse 23 says understand the vision, SDA tradition assumes
that it is the vision of ch. 8 of which the angel already provided an
interpretation.
DAN 9:23 As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have
come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the
message and understand the vision:
Clearly what Daniel was praying about was the 70 years of Jeremiah.
2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the
Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the
prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.
It would seem that the understanding of the vision is not the vision of
Dan 8 which Gabriel already explained but it is about the vision of the
prophecy that Jeremiah gave.
11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these
nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 "But when the
seventy year are fulfilled, I will punish the king of Babylon and his
nation, the land of the Babylonians, for their guilt," declares the
LORD, "and will make it desolate forever. 13 I will bring upon that land
all the things I have spoken against it, all that are written in this
book and prophesied by Jeremiah against all the nations. 14 They
themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will
repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands."15 This
is what the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: "Take from my hand this
cup filled with the wine of my wrath and make all the nations to whom I
send you drink it. 16 When they drink it, they will stagger and go mad
because of the sword I will send among them." 17 So I took the cup from
the Lord's hand and made all the nations to whom he sent me drink it:
Verses 16-17 indicate that the prophecy most likely delivered to
Jeremiah in some type of vision form and that is the vision and
understanding that Gabriel was referring. In fact Gabriel very much
continues from Jeremiah’s prophecy by continuing with the theme of the
70.
Dan. 9:24 "Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy
city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for
wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and
prophecy and to anoint the most holy.
Far more then the original 70 years, but there is indeed far more to
happen.
To get out of this predicament the SDA tradition treats the reference
about the 2300 evenings and mornings to be only a trampling of the
sanctuary during the time times and a half of time the so called 1260
days/years of
Dan 7:25 He will speak against the Most High and oppress his saints and
try to change the set times and the laws. The saints will be handed over
to him for a time, times and half a time.
So it would appear that these are different things.
My theory is that these visions are not referring to the same events but
rather different events at very different times throughout history with
the commonality being the general beginning times as referenced by Media
Persia and Greece. Which probably range from the time of Antiochus to
Christ to the very end Anti-Christ. As the 2300 evening and morning
prophecy refers to the distant future. As Daniel refers to the “time of
the end” 6 times from chapter 8-12.
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