Purified and Refined

One of the mysteries of the Bible that is interesting to study is when God swears. The highest form of taking an oath or judicial swearing is when a man swears by God. He swears that God is his witness, and that what he is saying is the truth. There are many instances in the scriptures where holy men swore by God concerning an important issue. (See Genesis 24:3; II Chronicles 36:13; Nehemiah 13:25; Psalm 15:4.)

Although it is awesome when a human being takes an oath with God as his witness, it is much more awesome when the Creator of the heavens and the earth decides to say something under oath. When God swears, He swears by Himself. (See Jeremiah 22:5 and Exodus 32:13.)

Any time God swears, something exceedingly important is being communicated, and especially important when it is recorded that God swore not to a human being, but to another member of the Godhead.

In the latter part of the book of Daniel, God the Son swore something in the name of His Father. This is recorded in Daniel 10:6: “I lifted my eyes and looked and behold a certain man clothed in linen whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz. His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.” Ellen White says in The Sanctified Life, 49, 50, after she quotes Daniel 10:2–6: “This description is similar to that given by John when Christ was revealed to him upon the isle of Patmos. No less a personage than the Son of God appeared to Daniel.”

Daniel received this great vision which describes and predicts what would happen from the time in which he received the vision up until the time of the end, and even beyond. Daniel 11:32–34 describes the great Papal persecution. In verse 35, he says, “And some of those of understanding shall fall, to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end.” This Papal persecution was to go on until the time of the end—the last epochal period in earth’s history. Daniel is told in Daniel 12:4: “Shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end.” Until the time of the end, these prophecies were not going to be comprehended, especially the prophecy in regard to time.

Let us look at this vision more deeply starting with Daniel 12:5, 6: “Then I, Daniel, looked. And there stood two others, one on this riverbank and the other on that riverbank. And one said to the man clothed in linen [Jesus Christ], who was above the waters of the river, ‘How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?’ ” What wonders is he talking about? He is talking about all that has been described in this vision that started clear back in chapter 10 and goes all the way through chapter 11. He wants to know how long it is going to be until the time of the end.

This is an important enough question that the Son of God answered it by taking an oath. “Then I heard the man clothed in linen [Jesus Christ], who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time, and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.” Daniel 12:7.

Notice what Daniel then says in Daniel 12:8, 9: “Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, ‘My lord, what shall be the end of these things?’ And He said, ‘Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.’ ”

Daniel understood chapters 10 and 11, but he did not understand about the three and a half times or three and a half years. But this period of time was important enough in the plan of salvation and in working out the mystery of God that the Lord Jesus swore in the name of His Father.

If it was that important, then we need to understand this time period, the 1260-day prophecy. In the Jewish calendar, a month had 30 days, and a year had 12 months. So a year was 360 days. Three and a half years would be 1260 days.

This 1260-day period of time is so important that it is mentioned over and over again in the books of Daniel and Revelation. It is even referred to by Jesus Christ himself in Matthew 24 and in Mark 13. Without this time period, many of the prophecies in Daniel and Revelation would be impossible to comprehend or interpret. It is extremely important!

We are going to go over a number of facts concerning the 1260-day prophecy. First of all, this prophecy is in prophetic time because it was to extend until the time of the end. It could not possibly be literal days. This period of time anchors the events in Bible prophecy, and it forces only one type of interpretation of Bible prophecy, the historical interpretation. If you understand the 1260-day prophecy, you cannot be led astray by futurism or by any of these other interpretations of Bible prophecy.

In Daniel 7, Daniel has been enumerating and explaining the characteristics of the little horn power which makes war against the people of God. He says: “He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.” Daniel 7:25.

Notice, this little horn power is going to have the power to persecute for three and a half times, or 1260 literal years. For that period of time, the little horn power is going to have the power to persecute the saints. Other characteristics of the little horn power can be seen in the prophecy of Daniel 7. Daniel has been describing the four world empires in the beginning of the prophecy—Babylon was represented by a lion, Medo-Persia by a bear, Greece by a leopard, and the Pagan Roman Empire by a great and dreadful beast.

These were the four great empires of the world, and the Bible teaches all the way through the Book of Daniel that there is not going to be another world empire. It teaches that the fourth kingdom would be divided or broken up. This is exactly what it teaches in Daniel 7, where this dreadful beast has ten horns. Notice what it says in verse 8: “I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.”

What does a horn represent? It represents a king or a kingdom. (Daniel 7:17, 24.) So the Western Roman Empire was to be divided up into ten kingdoms. This happened between A.D. 351 and A.D. 476. The Bible also predicted that a little horn was to arise that would uproot three of these ten kingdoms.

This little horn power could not arise until the ten kingdoms were in place, which was not until A.D. 476. It is interesting to note that the little horn power could not possibly be Antiochus Epiphanes, as many believe. He existed 600 years before that time.

Somebody may question, how then do you understand this power applying to the papacy, because it existed long before the sixth century, or long before A.D. 476? That is not hard to explain. What is a horn? A horn is a king, someone who has civil, governmental authority. The papacy existed before these ten horns existed, but it did not exist as a horn; it did not have a civil government.

In the days of the apostle Paul, the bishop of Rome did not have a kingdom. Caesar was the king, and anyone else who claimed to be king would be crucified. The apostle Paul talks about this very thing in II Thessalonians where he talks about the papal power, the man of sin. Notice what he says in II Thessalonians 2:6: “And now you know what is restraining, that he [the papacy] may be revealed in his own time.” What was then restraining? The Pagan Roman Empire. The papacy could not develop its real power until the Caesar was taken out of the way. You see, II Thessalonians 2 agrees perfectly with Daniel 7. The mystery of lawlessness already existed, the antichrist power was already there, but Paul says that he could not really be revealed yet.

Even when the Roman Empire was divided up, and there were no more Caesars, there was still someone who had civil authority in Rome. His name was Odoacer, and he ruled the kingdom of the Heruli, who were Arians. They controlled the whole country of Italy. No one could even be chosen as Pope without his permission. This power kept the papacy in check.

Something had to be done to get Odoacer out of the way. So an alliance was made, and Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, came down with his army and defeated Odoacer in A.D. 493. Actually though, that did not help very much, because Theodoric and the Ostrogoths were Arians too. The Pope still could not have his way, because he was still under the control of the Ostrogoth’s power right there in Rome.

One Down, Two to Go

Now the Ostrogoths were in control. They had enemies in northern Africa called the Vandals. These people built great ships, and every year they would go to one of the port cities in the Roman Empire and loot the city, taking its wealth. One year they looted the city of Rome for 14 days and took all the wealth that they could find and many prisoners. Understandably, this made the people in Rome very unhappy.

The papacy could never exert its power as long as the Vandals and the Ostrogoths were in control of Italy. Something had to be done. The papacy contacted Justinian, the head of the Eastern Roman Empire in Constantinople. They needed help. Justinian sent the armies of the Eastern Roman Empire, and the Vandals were destroyed around A.D. 534.

There was still one kingdom left, and that was the Ostrogoths. They were driven from the city of Rome in A.D. 538. That was the earliest time that the papacy could exert civil power and authority and be called a little horn power. It now had become the little horn that would persecute the saints for 1260 years.

From A.D. 538, if you extend the 1260-year period, you come to 1798. A few decades before that, John Wesley was preaching the gospel, both in America and in England. He realized that something important was about to happen, and he wrote and taught that the time of papal persecution was about to end.

Persecuted and Broken

We learned from Daniel 12:6, 7, that during this period of time, the power of the holy people would be broken, or graphically translated, shattered and destroyed.

This is a mystery that I cannot explain and do not understand. Why would God allow His people to be persecuted, and broken? We will not fully understand this until we get to heaven, but we have been given a few hints in the Spirit of Prophecy as to why and how God allowed this to happen. In The Desire of Ages, in the chapter “It Is Finished,” Ellen White says that Satan was not then (at the cross) totally destroyed. She said that both for the sake of angels and for men the devil must be allowed to live to more fully develop his principles so that both angels and men could understand what his character was like.

That is an incredible statement. The devil must be allowed to develop the true principles of his government, of his character. The 1260-year period of persecution was the period of time when that happened. The Bible says in Nahum 1:9, “What do you imagine against the Lord? affliction will not rise up the second time.” Why will affliction not rise up a second time? Because all humanity will have seen the consequences of sin, and it will be abhorrent to them.

We also cannot explain why it took so long. Daniel could not understand it, neither could Adam and Eve. They thought that the Messiah would come quickly. They did not realize that it was going to take thousands of years. God knew that the people of past ages could not bear to comprehend all of this, so He said, “The words are going to be sealed until the time of the end.”

Measuring the Temple

There is an amazing prophecy in Revelation 11 which some people think is still in the future. Notice, right in the middle of the prophecy, we are given some specifications. “Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God.’ ” Revelation 11:1.

What is the temple of God? Paul said over and over that it is the church. You can see that clearly if you study the following chapters: Ephesians 1, 2, 4, and I Corinthians 3, 6.

“Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there.” What altar is this? You remember Paul said in Hebrews 13:10: “We have an altar from which those who minister in the temple [that is, in the earthly sanctuary] have no right to eat.” This is the altar of the New Covenant.

“But leave out the court.” Revelation 11:2. In the New Covenant, where is the court? The court is this world, in the New Covenant. The altar was where the sacrifice was slain. Where was the sacrifice slain in the New Covenant? It was slain in this world. And then, after you come to the altar, before you come into the sanctuary, you come to the laver, and the laver is where people are washed and purified.

If you are going to be purified at all, you must be purified in this world. You are not going to be taken up to heaven and be purified there, like some people think. If you are ever going to be purified, you are going to be purified right here. The laver is in the court. Only the pure will see God. (Matthew 5:8.) Only the sanctified, only the holy, will dwell in His presence. (Hebrews 12:14.)

You must be washed, you must be purified. “Everyone who has this hope in him must be purified even as He is pure.” I John 3:3. Friend, do not let anyone talk you out of your birthright. Jesus died on the cross so that you could have eternal life, but He cannot give it to you unless you are purified.

“Leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles.” Who are the Gentiles? It is not talking about Jews and Gentiles by blood; it is talking about spiritual Israel versus those who are not part of spiritual Israel.

These Gentiles are professed Christians. They are professed Jews. Remember, a curse is pronounced twice, in Revelation 2:9 and 3:9, against those who say that they are Jews, but they really are not.

“It has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.” Here again you have the 1260-day period. What is the holy city? If you belong to Jesus, if you have given your heart to Him, your name is written down there already. The holy city is a representation of the church. They will tread it down, persecute it, for forty-two months.

“And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” Revelation 11:3. This is a mystery. I cannot tell you why God determined that it was going to take this period of time in order for the whole universe to see the full development of the character of Satan.

This is the period of time also when the woman would have to flee into the wilderness for 1260 days, prophesied in Revelation 12. We cannot explain the mystery of the 1260 days; it is one of the great mysteries of Bible prophecy.

In Daniel 12:9, 10, we are told something about this mystery: “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand.” None of the wicked shall understand these things that we are studying. However, there will also be many people who, despite the persecution and tribulation and the treading down of the city, will be purified and made white and tried. Many people will have washed their garments in the blood of the Lamb.

This is a number so great that the Bible says that it will be like the sands of the sea, like the stars of heaven. That number is not yet made up. God wants to use the young people of the present generation to help make up this number that will be as the sand of the sea and as the stars of heaven.

God wants to use you. Do you want to be a part of that group that will be purified and made white and tried? Do you want to receive an eternal inheritance, a birthright where there will not be anymore tribulation or pain? Do you want to be part of that?

[Emphasis supplied.]

Pastor John Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by e-mail at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.