Daniel 8

Bible Study Guides – “How Long Shall Be the Vision?”

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August 18, 2001 – August 24, 2001

MEMORY VERSE: “And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.’ Daniel 8:14.

STUDY HELP: Early Writings, 250–253.

Introduction: “Our people, who are expecting such great and important events soon to transpire, should know the reasons of their faith, that they may be able to give an answer to every man that shall ask them a reason for the hope which is in them with meekness and fear. In His word, God has revealed truths that will benefit His church. As a people, we should be earnest students of prophecy; we should not rest until we become intelligent in regard to the subject of the sanctuary, which is brought out in the visions of Daniel and John.” Review and Herald, November 27, 1883.

‘A Vision Appeared unto Me’

1 When and where was Daniel given a deeper insight into coming events? Daniel 8:1, 2.

NOTE: Two years have elapsed since Daniel’s previous vision.

“Daniel was now an old man. He had been in captivity from 605 to this year, or a total of about fifty-five years; and as he was probably around sixteen or eighteen years of age when brought to Babylon, he would now be well over seventy.” Price, The Greatest of the Prophets, 159. (See also 553, 554.)

2 What was Daniel first shown in his vision? Daniel 8:3, 4.

NOTE: “This is a clear and accurate statement of the relationship between these two peoples. The Persians became the dominant members of the union; but the Medes were never treated as inferiors or a subjugated people, but rather as confederates. The empire is always known as the Medo-Persian Empire.” Price, The Greatest of the Prophets, 161.

“Like a bully, the Medo-Persian ram charged ‘westward, northward and southward.’ In 547 BC Cyrus pushed west to conquer Lydia and take Babylon in 539. Driving south, Cambyses overran Egypt and Ethiopia in 525. Darius Hystaspes rushed northwards to overthrow the Scythians in 512.” Hardinge, Jesus Is My Judge, 164.

3 How was this part of his vision explained to Daniel? Daniel 8:20.

NOTE: “Gabriel explained that ‘the ram . . . having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.’ Now Daniel was on familiar territory. This fitted into the outline of history he had viewed from two perspectives. Like the bear’s hunched back, the ram’s lopsided horns—one higher than the other—pointed to Persian domination. The Medes were the older, and had been the stronger, and had co-operated with the Persians for years.” Hardinge, Jesus Is My Judge, 164.

‘And as I Was Considering . . .”

4 What was the next development in Daniel’s vision? Daniel 8:5–7.

NOTE: “It is significant that many of the Greeks used to speak of themselves as the goats’ people, using the goat as a national or tribal symbol. On the coins of Lysimachus, one of the generals and successors of Alexander, the latter is represented as deified, with a horn on his head and a diadem. No words are needed to point out how the picture of great swiftness given in the prophetic description of the he-goat . . . exactly fits the astonishing speed and completeness of Alexander’s conquests.” Price, The Greatest of the Prophets, 162.

5 What then happened to the he-goat? Daniel 8:8.

NOTE: “At the height of his powers and conquest, Alexander died in 323 BC. He had a son, but this son did not inherit the kingdom (see Daniel 11:4). Instead Alexander’s kingdom was divided among his generals. There was fighting among them for a period of about twenty years. But by 301 BC, four kingdoms had emerged from the political chaos that ensued after the death of Alexander. These were 1. Macedonia under Cassander; 2. Thrace and north-western Asia Minor under Lysimachus; 3. Syria and Babylonia under Seleucus; and 4. Egypt under Ptolemy.” Shea, Daniel 7-12, 93.

6 How was the aspect of the vision explained to Daniel? Daniel 8:21, 22.

NOTE: “The goat represented Grecia and its ‘notable horn’—pointed, aggressive, direct—its premier king, Alexander the Great. This remarkable young man, with a small and dedicated army of Macedonians, lunged from the west with such rapidity that he seemed hardly to touch the ground. This had already been signaled by the leopard made swifter with the addition of two pairs of wings. His contemporary Apian wrote: ‘The empire of Alexander was splendid in its magnitude, in its armies, in the success and rapidity of its conquests, and it wanted little of being boundless and unexampled, yet in its shortness of duration, it was like a brilliant flash of lightning.’” Hardinge, Jesus Is My Judge, 165.

“It Waxed Exceeding Great”

7 What next appeared in Daniel’s vision? Daniel 8:9.

NOTE: The phrase ‘out of one of them’ could refer to either “the four notable ones” or “the four winds of heaven.” Both Dr William Shea and Dr Gerhard Hasel have shown that the Hebrew grammar requires the little horn to come from one of the four winds of heaven, rather than from one of the four horns, a division of Alexander’s empire. Those requiring more detail may consult: Shea: Selected Studies On Prophetic Interpretation,41–43 and the article by Hasel in Holbrook ed., Symposium on Daniel, 387—394. Those who teach that the little horn is Antiochus Epiphanes, an obscure and largely unsuccessful king of the Syrian portion of Alexander’s empire, teach that the little horn came from one of the four horns.

The sequence in the visions of Daniel 2 and 7 has Rome following Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece. This is what we should expect here. The sequence of ram = Medo-Persia, described as “great” (verse 4); he-goat = Greece, described as “very great” (verse 8) prepares us for the little horn = Rome, described as “exceeding great” (verse 9).

8 How did Gabriel describe the little horn? Daniel 8:23–24. Compare Deuteronomy 28:49–53.

NOTE: “By the Spirit of Inspiration, looking far down the ages, Moses pictured the terrible scenes of Israel’s final overthrow as a nation, and the destruction of Jerusalem by the armies of Rome: ‘The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand; a nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young.’ The utter wasting of the land and the horrible suffering of the people during the siege of Jerusalem under Titus, centuries later, were vividly portrayed.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 467.

“He Magnified Himself Against the Prince of the Host”

9 What was Daniel told about Rome’s military conquests? Daniel 8:9, 24. (For “the pleasant land” see Zechariah 7:14, Psalm 106:24.)

NOTE: “The little horn waxed great toward the south. . . . Egypt was made a province of the Roman empire BC 30, and continued such for some centuries. The little horn waxed great toward the east. This also was true of Rome. Rome conquered Syria BC 65 and made it a province. The Little horn waxed great toward the pleasant land. Judea is called the pleasant land in many scriptures. The Romans made it a province of their empire BC 63.” Smith, Daniel and the Revelation,1918 ed., 176.

10 How is the next phase of Rome’s activity described? Daniel 8:10–13, 25.

NOTE: “I saw in relation to the ‘daily’ (Daniel 8:12) that the word ‘sacrifice’ was supplied by man’s wisdom, and does not belong to the text.” Early Writings, 74.

“We see that there are two rebellions mentioned: a. the continuance in rebellion (Daniel 8:12); (often called the ‘daily’) and b. the desolating rebellion (Daniel 8:13). These two rebellions (revolts) involve not only the earth, but also the forces of heaven, even the ruler of the forces of heaven (Daniel 8:10, 11). These two rebellions are two successive stages of the great spiritual war being described: First, that which is the ‘continuance in rebellion’, and then the prophet sees an army given to the little horn power against the ‘continuance in rebellion’ (Daniel 8:12).” Grosboll, God Predicts Your Future, 40.

In each portrayal of Rome in the visions of Daniel, two successive phases are described. In Daniel 2, the legs of iron are succeeded by the feet, partly clay and partly iron. In Daniel 7, the emphasis shifts from the fourth beast itself to the horns growing from its head and in particular the little horn. Here in Daniel 8:13 we are shown the “daily” or continuance in rebellion, followed by the desolating rebellion.

“Against the Prince of Princes”

11 Who are the host of heaven? Daniel 8:10. Compare Daniel 8:24, Exodus 12:41.

NOTE: “When the angel explained the vision in Daniel 8:17–26, he explained that the mighty and holy people were to be destroyed by this power. The people of God are spoken of in the Bible as the Lord’s army. (See Exodus 12:41, Joshua 5:14, 15.)” Grosboll, God Predicts Your Future, 42

12 Who is ‘the Prince of the host’? Daniel 8:11. Compare Daniel 8:25, last part.

Note: The Prince of the host is called “the Prince of princes” in verse 25. The term “Prince” is applied to Christ in many places in the Scriptures, for example, Isaiah 9:6, “The Prince of peace,” Daniel 9:25, “Messiah the Prince,” Daniel 10:13, marginal reading, “Michael, the first of the princes,” Daniel 10:21, “Michael, your Prince,” Daniel 11:22, “the Prince of the covenant,” Daniel 12:1, “Michael, that great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people,” Acts 3:15, “the Prince of life,” Acts 5:31, “A Prince and a Saviour,” Revelation 1:5, “the Prince of the kings of the earth.” Only Jesus Christ can be regarded as “the Prince of the host.”

13 What was to be the ultimate fate of the little horn power? Daniel 8:25. Compare Daniel 2:45.

NOTE: The phrase “without hand” clearly refers to God’s final intervention on behalf of His people.

“How Long?”

14 What question is asked concerning this vision? Daniel 8:13. Compare Daniel 12:6, 8, Revelation 6:10 and Genesis 4:10.

NOTE: “Daniel, if time had been given, might perhaps have asked this question himself, but God is ever ready to anticipate our wants, and sometimes to answer even before we ask.” Smith, Daniel and the Revelation,1918 ed., 178.

“The questioner was identified as Gabriel [verse 16]. The Other, designated as ‘One holy Palmoni’ [Daniel 8:13, margin] ordered, ‘Gabriel, make Daniel understand. . . . This name is formed from two words, pele and mene. Pele indicates things that are extraordinary or miraculous, including God’s ‘wonderful’ dealings with His people. It is a name of God. [Isaiah 9:6]… The mysterious hand twice wrote mene on the wall of Belshazzar’s banquet hall to record how thoroughly ‘numbered’ and sealed up was Babylon’s fate. The meticulous accuracy of the seventy weeks of years and the cleansing of the sanctuary day 2300 and other time lines in Daniel display the precision of the Divine Chronologer. He is the Scorekeeper, judge and Timekeeper of Eternity.” Hardinge, Jesus Is My Judge, 173.

15 How is the question answered? Daniel 8:14.

NOTE: Previous visions ended with divine intervention. Daniel 2 concluded with the Stone, which destroys all earthly kingdoms before filling the whole earth as God’s eternal kingdom. Daniel 7 concluded with the judgment in heaven, which pronounced in favor of God’s people and against the powers that had oppressed them. These powers lose their kingdom and the saints possess it instead. It is to be expected then that this vision will relate to the same events. Here, however, this divine intervention is described using sanctuary symbolism, which would be familiar to the prophet.

“Erev boqer, ‘evening-morning,’ are singular nouns which when used together mean ‘day.’ Jesus answered Gabriel that on ‘day 2300,’ or the ‘2300th day’ the sanctuary would be cleansed. Since this service occurred once a year, the phrase measures anniversaries of Yom Kippur. The 2300th Day of Atonement would therefore fall 2300 years after some starting point. In their next encounter, the Wonderful Numberer (Palmoni, Daniel 8:13, margin) sent Gabriel to tell Daniel to begin numbering these anniversaries of Yom Kippur from the year 457 BC.” Hardinge, Jesus Is My Judge, 175.

16 Why was this part of the vision not explained to Daniel by Gabriel at this time? Daniel 8:26, 27.

NOTE: “He was now an old man. He had been serving as a virtual slave nearly all his life, even though he was considered a trusted official in high position: and he had grown old with the confident hope that the seventy years of the predicted captivity (Jeremiah 25:11) were soon to expire, and that a restoration to Jerusalem was then to take place. . . . Now this legitimate hope seemed rudely dashed to the ground. No wonder he fainted. Also no wonder, considering the kind of man he was, that we find him, as soon as he could get around again, and could find some relief from pressing official duties, entering upon a definite program of prayer and seeking God to learn the plain truth about it all.” Price, The Greatest of the Prophets, 214, 215.

Stones to Remember, Part II

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Last month we learned that when Joshua led the children of Israel into the land of Canaan, God instructed that one man from each of the 12 tribes carry a stone from the midst of the Jordan River to the shore of Canaan. There an altar was to be built as a reminder of the Lord’s leading. (See Joshua 4:1–9.)

Every one of us should know that the Lord has been leading us. We should also know that the Lord has been leading in the second advent movement and in the revival and reformation movement in Adventism. If God is leading us, He will always, without fail, be leading us in harmony with His law.

After Ellen White died, in 1915, did the Lord continue to lead the advent movement? Yes! Is He going to lead us until the end? Yes! So, we need to study and to remember—just as the children of Israel put up a memorial when they went across the Jordan River—how the Lord has led us, not just up until 1915 but up to today.

In the development, in the understanding, and in the proclamation of the three angels’ messages, the Lord has been leading. We should know how the Lord has led, and we need to recognize how the devil has attacked and what the Lord has done in return. Our faith, as Adventists, must be grounded in the Bible.

Dropping the Bombshell!

In 1979 I was invited to teach health science, food and nutrition at Southwestern Adventist College in Keene, Texas. Prior to that time I had been a pastor for the Seventh-day Adventist Church and had worked in public evangelism. My family and I arrived in Keene during the summer of 1979 for the beginning of the 1979–1980 school year. At the beginning of the school year a bombshell dropped on Adventism that has had repercussions around the world, and we are still affected by it.

In California at Pacific Union College at that time was a visiting professor from Australia by the name of Dr. Desmond Ford. He gave a lecture at an Adventist Forum, the essence of which was that, as a church, we were mistaken in regard to what happened in 1844. He also espoused that we were mistaken in regard to our concept of the investigative judgment.

Although I was not on the Theology Department staff, I obviously was mingling with people from all of the departments. As we mingled, we talked about these things, and I found out something shocking.

I learned that the faculty was divided. Some of the faculty thought that Desmond Ford was right! Some of them thought that he was dead wrong. A flurry of publications began to be issued. Some people, whom I had always thought were pillars in the Adventist Church, our theologians, were writing things like, “We cannot find anything about the investigative judgment in the Bible.”

Our Doctrines Still Stand

I was amazed! I can find things about the investigative judgment in the Bible! For example: “I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of days was seated; his garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire; a fiery stream issued and came forth from before him. A thousand thousands ministered to him. Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. [That is a hundred million.] The court was seated [or the judgment was set in place] and the books were opened.” Daniel 7:9, 10.

These verses are talking about a court, or a judgment. Notice that in the last sentence it says, “and the books were opened.” I do not know how much more plain you could write it. If you have a judgment and books are being opened, some kind of investigation is occurring.

If you look at the context of these verses, they take place while the little horn power, the antichrist, is still in existence. This is not talking about after the millenium, or after Jesus comes, because when Jesus comes, the antichrist power is going to be destroyed. (See 11 Thessalonians 2.) This takes place before the antichrist power is destroyed—check the context in your Bible. This is talking about a judgment which includes an investigation. You do not have to be a scholar to understand this. It is in plain language.

Revelation 14:6, 7 talk about a judgment that takes place while the gospel is still being preached. Is the gospel going to be preached after Jesus comes? No, the gospel is all finished being preached before Jesus comes.

If you study Revelation 14:6, 7 carefully, you will see, from the context of the verses, that your conduct is going to make a difference in regard to the decision made in this judgment. It says, “The hour of his judgment is come” and for that reason you need to “fear God and to glorify him.” The Bible is very clear—there is a judgment that takes place in heaven before Jesus comes, while the antichrist power is still in the world and the gospel is still being preached.

But in 1979–1980, we started to have all of these things dropped on us. In fact, it was such a bombshell that it was decided that all the leaders in the Adventist Church would gather the next year at Glacier View Camp in Colorado to study out this topic. After this gathering, many more than before of the scholars in the Seventh-day Adventist Church were even more convinced that Desmond Ford was right. But they decided not to say anything about it, because they were afraid they would lose their jobs. Many of those people are still teaching our ministers.

Checking it Out

The people said, “Well you just do not know. You cannot tell from the Greek text in Hebrews that Jesus went into the holy place instead of the most holy place in 31 a.d.”

I decided to check this out further. I thought I already knew what was truth—I had been teaching it for many years. I thought all Adventists knew. But some of the leading scholars in our church said that we were wrong and that we had been wrong since the beginning of the church. It was time to do some very diligent study.

It was said that if you looked in the Greek text at Hebrews or if you looked in the Hebrew text at Daniel, you would find out that we were wrong. In the providence of God, I had studied Greek at Walla Walla College (College Place, Washington) and at the Seventh-day Adventist Seminary in Berrien Springs, Michigan. At the Berrien Springs Seminary I had also studied Hebrew. In fact, I often preach from my Hebrew Bible.

I bought a new Hebrew Bible and secured some new Greek Bibles, and I determined to check out this teaching. If we had been wrong in Adventism for almost 150 years, it was high time that we found out what the Bible really said. If you have studied the history of Adventism and know where we come from, you know that Seventh-day Adventists are Protestants. A Protestant is a person whose faith is anchored in the word of God. So if the word of God should prove us wrong, we would have to just accept that we were wrong.

I determined to check every word. I was going to check the declension of every single noun. I was going to check the conjugation of every single verb in these disputed passages and I was going to find out if we were wrong. And, of course, if we were wrong, we would have to change; we would have to acknowledge that we were wrong. I spent a number of years checking all of those things out very, very carefully.

Our Anchor Holds!

Since I was working at a college, I had access to the Baptist Seminary Library in Forth Worth, Texas, which provided me access to historical and lexical aids. I checked out everything, and I want to tell you, the Adventist message that our pioneers taught is solidly anchored in the Bible. There is no mistake in it!

I am not saying that we know everything. I am not claiming that we can explain every verse of Scripture, but the message that Adventists have proclaimed about 1844 and about the investigative judgment and about the sanctuary is anchored in the Bible. The more deeply we study into it, the more solid we will find it to be.

When I started to study in 1980, I spent so many hours in my Hebrew Bible that I got a magnifying glass so I could enlarge the words and make it easier to read. I went down Daniel 8 word-by-word-by-word, over and over again, because that was one of the most disputed passages. There were people saying that they did not think that this passage even applies to the papacy; they thought that it applies to Antiochus Epiphanies. That is what other Protestant churches teach! Now church leaders claimed that what we had been saying for over 100 years was wrong.

Even a Child Can Understand

Let me point out some things.

  1. In the first part of Daniel 8 is the description concerning the ram. It says, in the Hebrew language, that the ram became great.
  2. It also talks about a he-goat with a horn between the eyes and about the ways that the he-goat became very great. The ram became great; the he-goat became very great. Daniel 8 tells us as well that the ram represents the kings of Medo-Persia; the he-goat represents Greece, and the great horn represents the first king.
  3. It then talks about the little horn becoming exceedingly great. That is more than very great! In the Hebrew language, it is very explicit and very clear. You cannot make a mistake. The ram became great; the he-goat became very great, and the little horn became exceedingly great, greater than Alexander the Great. Was Antiochus Epiphanes greater than Alexander the Great? No! That would be like saying that your state governor is greater than the President of the United States. It makes no sense at all. The little horn in Daniel 7 and Daniel 8 is exactly what the Adventist pioneers said—the papacy!

The 2,300 days are exactly what our pioneers said also. You can follow word-by-word-by-word in the Hebrew text, and you do not have to take anything out of context. When I was challenged about this, and when I saw theologians in our church saying that we did not know what we were talking about, I realized that what they were saying would not only make Ellen White wrong, but it would make us all wrong in our beliefs. If they were right, we would have to change.

People did change as a result of this theology. One of them, the associate pastor of the church that I had attended in Loma Linda, California, became the pastor of a Sunday-keeping church. That is where this theology led him.

God has led in the second-advent movement! There is not one Adventist in a hundred who knows how deeply this message is laid. The foundation goes deep; it is on the Rock. You cannot overthrow it unless you overthrow the Bible.

We have nothing of which to be ashamed when we talk to any person of any religious persuasion concerning what we believe about the prophecies in Daniel 7, 8 and 9. If we have studied it carefully, we can go through the verses word-by-word-by-word, in context, and they all fit together.

I did the same type of study in the book of Hebrews. I looked at the conjugation of every verb, the declension of every noun, and looked at every single word. They say that you cannot determine that Jesus went into the holy place in 31 a.d., but you most certainly can! You do not have to look at the writings of Ellen White to prove it, either. You can find it right in the Bible.

The Bible Alone—Our Foundation Stone

Our faith is based in the Bible. We should be able to teach every doctrine of belief that we have right from that Book. Now, please do not misunderstand me. I believe that Ellen White is a prophet. I do not have any question about that. But you and I should be able to prove everything that we believe from the Bible alone.

Ellen White told us that we should be able to do that. (See Manuscricpt Releases, vol. 2, 96.) The Adventist message came out of the Bible. That is why you do not need to take anything out of context. You do not need to twist anything. You just need to look and see what it says and what is the weight of the evidence.

What was the bottom line in all those new teachings that came to be called the New Theology? It all led to denial of 1844, to denial of the investigative judgment, and to denial of the sanctuary message. The people who accepted those new teachings, have been led from one heresy to another. A theology student came to me one day when I was teaching at Southwestern Adventist College. He said, “I have a theology teacher who told us in class that we are going to sin until Jesus comes.” That is the end result of this theology. The fact of the matter is, friend, that many, many Seventh-day Adventists as well as other people are going to sin until Jesus comes, but then they are going to get burned up.

The reason there has been so much opposition against what Adventists teach about the sanctuary is because of the devil’s hatred of that doctrine. That doctrine will lead you to understand that you and I must be purified to be ready for Jesus to come. Oh, friends, you and I cannot go to the kingdom of heaven the way we are right now. We have to be purified. We have to be cleansed. Our sins have to be blotted out.

Purified and Cleansed

Are you praying about this every day? Do you want to be purified and cleansed? Do not try to find some new message. The Bible teaches the Adventist message. Maybe I should say it the other way around—the Adventist message comes out of the Bible. The sanctuary message comes out of the Bible. The fact that we must be purified comes out of the Bible.

John said, “Everyone who has this hope in him [Jesus] purifies himself, just as he is pure.” 1 John 3:3. Do not look for a different message. We have the truth! I am not boasting. We have the truth because God gave it to us. Our spiritual forefathers searched the Bible through, and the Lord, through the Spirit of Prophecy led them to understand what these words mean.

You can go to those original texts in Hebrew and Greek, and you will find that they teach Adventism. God has led us. The big question is, are you and I going to come into harmony with what God wants to do for us individually and for us as a movement?

Before the end of time, one of two things is going to happen to every single person in Adventism, and eventually to every single person in the world, because this is the way that God is leading. We know it is going to happen because prophecy says so. There is going to be one group of people, a smaller group, who will come into harmony with everything in the word of God, every word!

Living by Every Word

Jesus said we should live by every word (see Matthew 4:4); that means that every word is important. I want to be among that group. That is the whole aim of my life. Those people are going to be purified; the Lord is going to blot out their sins. He is going to clothe them with the righteousness of Jesus Christ and take them to heaven.

But there is going to be a much larger group of people in Adventism, as well as in the world, who are not going to become purified. If you believe the New Theology, then you believe that you are going to sin until Jesus comes. Ellen White says, “Success in any line demands a definite aim.” Education, 262. If you are not aiming to overcome sin, you are not going to do it.

Have you ever seen an alcoholic who just quit drinking without even trying? Have you ever seen a chain smoker suddenly quit, and it just happened? You see, those things do not just happen. They do not happen unless a person decides they are not going to do those things any more. They decide to change.

A person does not quit sinning unless they decide, either, but you are not going to decide to stop sinning if you do not think that it is possible to stop. That is what is wrong with so much religious teaching today. People are not taught that it is possible. Even some Seventh-day Adventist preachers are telling their congregations to just do the best they can.

Not Good Enough!

I believe that it is good to do the best you can in all your activities all the time. But if you are talking about sin, you had better not just talk about doing the best you can, because God requires that we come up to a standard which He has set.

God is leading a people into a path of purification and holiness. The evidence for it is strong. The evidence is overwhelming that this is true. We know that He is leading because the deeper we study the Bible, the more evidence we find that this is what it teaches.

When it is all over, there will be only two groups. In which of those two groups are you going to be? The devil is attacking; he is trying to trip you up with any kind of heresy or false teaching that he can foist on you. The Lord is leading a people, and if you are willing for Him to lead you, He said, I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. (See Hebrews 13:5.)

If you depart from the truths of our church pioneers, it is because you choose to believe error. It is not because God or His message have changed. We see the evidence from history that He has led us up to this point and He is going to lead us into the kingdom.

Bible Study Guides – Daniel’s Prayer and the Explanation of the 2300 Days

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September 11, 2004 – September 17, 2004

Memory Verse

“And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Daniel 8:14.

Suggested Reading: The Great Controversy, 409–422.

Introduction

“The subject of the sanctuary was the key which unlocked the mystery of the disappointment of 1844. It opened to view a complete system of truth, connected and harmonious, showing that God’s hand had directed the great advent movement, and revealing present duty as it brought to light the position and work of His people.” The Great Controversy (1888), 423.

“These pillars of truth [the Three Angels’ Messages] stand firm as the eternal hills, unmoved by all the efforts of men combined with those of Satan and his host. We can learn much, and should be constantly searching the Scriptures to see if these things are so. God’s people are now to have their eyes fixed on the heavenly sanctuary, where the final ministration of our great High Priest in the work of the judgment is going forward,—where He is interceding for His people.” Review and Herald, November 27, 1883.

1 What definite promise as to time was given in Daniel 8:14?

note: “The 2300 days had been found to begin when the commandment of Artaxerxes for the restoration and building of Jerusalem, went into effect, in the autumn of b.c. 457. Taking this as the starting point, there was perfect harmony in the application of all the events foretold in the explanation of that period in Daniel 9:25–27. . . . The seventy weeks, or 490 years, were to pertain especially to the Jews. At the expiration of this period, the nation sealed its rejection of Christ by the persecution of His disciples, and the apostles turned to the Gentiles, a.d. 34. The first 490 years of the 2300 having then ended, 1810 years would remain. From a.d. 34, 1810 years extend to 1844. ‘Then,’ said the angel, ‘shall the sanctuary be cleansed.’ ” Maranatha, 247.

2 What physical condition prevented Daniel from receiving full explanation of the beginning and ending of the time period? Daniel 8:27.

note: “As the terrible persecution to befall the church was unfolded to the prophet’s vision, physical strength gave way. He could endure no more, and the angel left him for a time.” The Great Controversy, 325.

3 Where did the prophet turn for light after his recovery? Daniel 9:1–3.

note: “Still burdened in behalf of Israel, Daniel studied anew the prophecies of Jeremiah. They were very plain—so plain that he understood by these testimonies recorded in books ‘the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.’ Daniel 9:2.

“With faith founded on the sure word of prophecy, Daniel pleaded with the Lord for the speedy fulfillment of these promises. He pleaded for the honor of God to be preserved. In his petition he identified himself fully with those who had fallen short of the divine purpose, confessing their sins as his own.” Prophets and Kings, 554, 555.

4 What did Daniel confess as the causes for the trouble that had come upon Israel? Daniel 9:5–12. What requests did he make? Verses 16–19.

note: “Daniel did not seek to excuse himself or his people before God; but in humility and contrition of soul he confessed the full extent and demerit of their transgressions, and vindicated God’s dealings as just toward a nation that had set at nought His requirements and would not profit by His entreaties.

“There is great need today of just such sincere, heartfelt repentance and confession. Those who have not humbled their souls before God in acknowledging their guilt have not yet fulfilled the first condition of acceptance. If we have not experienced that repentance which is not to be repented of, and have not confessed our sin with true humiliation of soul and brokenness of spirit, abhorring our iniquity, we have never sought truly for the forgiveness of sin.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 636.

5 What answer was given to his supplication? What had the angel come to bestow upon him? To what was he asked to give consideration? Daniel 9:21–23.

note: “God had bidden His messenger: ‘Make this man to understand the vision.’ That commission must be fulfilled. In obedience to it, the angel, some time afterward, returned to Daniel, saying: ‘I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding;’ ‘therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.’ Daniel 8:27, 16; 9:22, 23, 25-27. There was one important point in the vision of chapter 8 which had been left unexplained, namely, that relating to time—the period of the 2300 days; therefore the angel, in resuming his explanation, dwells chiefly upon the subject of time.” The Great Controversy, 325.

6 How much was to be cut off from the period of the vision for Daniel’s people? Daniel 9:24.

note: “The word rendered ‘determined’ means also ‘cut off.’ The period of seventy weeks, or 490 years, could be cut off only from the longer period of 2,300 years, the part of the vision which the angel had not before explained.” Sabbath School Lesson Quarterly, Pacific Press Publishing Association, Mountain View, California, April 1918, 30.

7 From what was Daniel to begin the calculation of the time periods, both the seventy weeks for the Jews, and the remainder of the 2300 days? Daniel 9:25.

note: “The 2300 days had been found to begin when the commandment of Artaxerxes for the restoration and building of Jerusalem went into effect, in the autumn of 457 b.c.” The Great Controversy, 410.

8 Who was the Persian king that gave the last installment of the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem? Ezra 6:14. What year did the proclamation go forth? Ezra 7:7, 11–13.

note: “Ezra’s faith that God would do a mighty work for His people, led him to tell Artaxerxes of his desire to return to Jerusalem to revive an interest in the study of God’s word and to assist his brethren in restoring the holy city. As Ezra declared his perfect trust in the God of Israel as one abundantly able to protect and care for His people, the king was deeply impressed. . . . He made him a special representative of the Medo-Persian kingdom, and conferred on him extensive powers for the carrying out of the purposes that were in his heart. . . .” Conflict and Courage, 261.

9 By what event was the period of seventy weeks terminated? Acts 8:4, 5; 22:21. Compare Matthew 10:5, 6.

note: “The commandment to restore and build Jerusalem, as completed by the decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus (see Ezra 6:14; 7:1, 9, margin), went into effect in the autumn of b.c. 457. From this time four hundred and eighty-three years extend to the autumn of a.d. 27. According to the prophecy, this period was to reach to the Messiah, the Anointed One. In a.d. 27, Jesus at His baptism received the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and soon afterward began His ministry. Then the message was proclaimed. ‘The time is fulfilled.’ [Mark 1:15.]

“Then, said the angel, ‘He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week [seven years].’ [Daniel 9:27.] For seven years after the Saviour entered on His ministry, the gospel was to be preached especially to the Jews; for three and a half years by Christ Himself; and afterward by the apostles. ‘In the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.’ Daniel 9:27. In the spring of a.d. 31, Christ the true sacrifice was offered on Calvary. Then the veil of the temple was rent in twain, showing that the sacredness and significance of the sacrificial service had departed. The time had come for the earthly sacrifice and oblation to cease.

“The one week—seven years—ended in a.d. 34. Then by the stoning of Stephen the Jews finally sealed their rejection of the gospel; the disciples who were scattered abroad by persecution ‘went everywhere preaching the word’ (Acts 8:4); and shortly after, Saul the persecutor was converted, and became Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles.” The Desire of Ages, 233.

10 In what year did the remaining 1810 years expire?

note: “The seventy weeks, or 490 years, were to pertain especially to the Jews. At the expiration of this period the nation sealed its rejection of Christ by the persecution of His disciples, and the apostles turned to the Gentiles, a.d. 34. The first 490 years of the 2300 having then ended, 1810 years would remain. From a.d. 34, 1810 years extend to 1844. ‘Then,’ said the angel, ‘shall the sanctuary be cleansed.’ [Daniel 8:14.] All the preceding specifications of the prophecy had been unquestionably fulfilled at the time appointed.” The Great Controversy, 410.

11 What searching question comes to each one who expects deliverance from sin while the Judgment work is going on? Malachi 3:1–3.

note: “Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God and their own diligent effort they must be conquerors in the battle with evil. While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God’s people upon earth. This work is more clearly presented in the messages of Revelation 14.” The Great Controversy, 425.

12 What is the basis of confidence in our great High Priest? Hebrews 7:25, 26.

note: “God is approached through Jesus Christ, the Mediator, the only way through which He forgives sins. God cannot forgive sins at the expense of His justice, His holiness, and His truth. But He does forgive sins and that fully. There are no sins He will not forgive in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the sinner’s only hope, and if he rests here in sincere faith, he is sure of pardon and that full and free. There is only one channel and that is accessible to all, and through that channel a rich and abundant forgiveness awaits the penitent, contrite soul and the darkest sins are forgiven.

“These lessons were taught to the chosen people of God thousands of years ago, and repeated in various symbols and figures, that the work of truth might be riveted in every heart, that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. The great lesson embodied in the sacrifice of every bleeding victim, impressed in every ceremony, inculcated by God Himself, was that through the blood of Christ alone is forgiveness of sins; yet how many carry the galling yoke and how few feel the force of this truth and act upon it personally, and derive the blessings they might receive through a perfect faith in the blood of the Lamb of God. . . .

“Justice demanded the sufferings of man; but Christ rendered the sufferings of a God. He needed no atonement of suffering for Himself; all His sufferings were for us; all His merits and holiness were open to fallen man, presented as a gift.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, 912, 913.

“For eighteen centuries this work of ministration continued in the first apartment of the sanctuary. The blood of Christ, pleaded in behalf of penitent believers, secured their pardon and acceptance with the Father, yet their sins still remained upon the books of record. As in the typical service there was a work of atonement at the close of the year, so before Christ’s work for the redemption of men is completed, there is a work of atonement for the removal of sin from the sanctuary. This is the service which began when the 2300 days ended. At that time . . . our High Priest entered the most holy, to perform the last division of His solemn work—to cleanse the sanctuary. . . .” The Faith I Live By, 207.

These lessons are adapted from Sabbath School Lesson Quarterly, Pacific Press Publishing Association, Mountain View, California, 1918.

Bible Study Guides – The Message of the Sanctuary and Its Cleansing

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September 4, 2004 – September 10, 2004

Memory Verse

“And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Revelation 22:12.

Suggested Reading: The Great Controversy, 49–56; 428–434.

Introduction

“As a people, we should be earnest students of prophecy; we should not rest until we become intelligent in regard to the subject of the sanctuary, which is brought out in the visions of Daniel and John. This subject sheds great light on our present position and work, and gives us unmistakable proof that God has led us in our past experience. It explains our disappointment in 1844, showing us that the sanctuary to be cleansed was not the earth, as we had supposed, but that Christ then entered into the most holy apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, and is there performing the closing work of His priestly office.” Evangelism, 222, 223.

1 In the year that Babylon fell, what appeared to Daniel? Daniel 8:1, 2.

note: “Shortly before the fall of Babylon, when Daniel was meditating on these prophecies and seeking God for an understanding of the times, a series of visions was given him concerning the rise and fall of kingdoms. With the first vision, as recorded in the seventh chapter of the book of Daniel, an interpretation was given; yet not all was made clear to the prophet. ‘My cogitations much troubled me,’ he wrote of his experience at the time, ‘and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.’ Daniel 7:28.

“Through another vision further light was thrown upon the events of the future.” Prophets and Kings, 553, 554.

2 What do the ram and the he-goat symbolize? Daniel 8:3–8, 20, 21.

note: “The angel . . . identifies this symbol [ram] as representing the kings of Media and Persia. . . .

“[The goat is] identified as representing Greece, . . . that is, the Macedonian Empire of Alexander.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 840.

3 In what form was the Grecian Empire to exist for a time? Daniel 8:8, 22.

note: “Prophecy predicted that Alexander would fall while his empire was at the height of its power. At the age of 32, still in the prime of life, the great leader died of a fever aggravated, no doubt, by his own intemperance.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 840.

“Alexander left no heir capable of ruling the kingdom, and in less than twenty years of strife, his four leading generals succeeded in dividing the empire among themselves.

“Ptolemy had Egypt to the south; Seleucus took Syria and the eastern division; Lysimachus had Asia Minor and territory to the north; while Cassander had Greece or the western division. These four had not the power of Alexander.” Stephen N. Haskell, Story of Daniel the Prophet (1904), TEACH Services, Inc., Brushton, New York, 1995, 109.

4 What power was represented by the other horn of Daniel 8:9, 23, 24?

note: “In the division under consideration, the prophet sees a little horn coming forth from one of these divisions. Here is brought to his view the power symbolized by the fourth beast of Daniel seven. In his first vision the fourth beast was so terrible and had such a strange appearance that Daniel asked for a clearer explanation of its work. . . . The little horn is not named, but its work as a kingdom is still further portrayed. One feels when reading both the vision and the interpretation that he is coming into the presence of a power greater and more terrible than any which had hitherto existed. The accumulated force of the evil of past ages is concentrated in this rising power, which waxed exceeding great. It is in truth the masterpiece from Satan’s workshop.” Haskell, op. cit.

“ ‘The interpretation already given to this vision shows plainly that the power represented by the little horn is the successor of Medo-Persia and Grecia. In the vision of the seventh chapter of Daniel, which is closely related to this vision, the fourth beast represented the fourth kingdom, or Rome, in its entirety, special attention, however, being given to the “little horn” phase of its history. As shown by the work attributed to it, this little horn, which arose among the ten kingdoms into which Rome was divided, was to be a religio-political power, which was to change the times and law of God, and persecute the people of God. In the vision of the eighth chapter, the ecclesiastical features of this fourth world power are especially noticed and emphasized, and hence the only symbol there used to represent it is the “little horn” which waxed “exceeding great.” . . . The little horn of the eighth chapter represents Rome, both pagan and papal, in its ecclesiastical aspect, with its union of paganism, and later of apostate Christianity, with the secular power; with its antichristian persecutions of the saints of God; with its perversion of the priesthood of Christ; and with its assertion of both temporal and spiritual power over all the world. It is evident . . . that the emphasis is to be placed upon the fulfillment of the prophecy in the work of papal Rome. A careful comparison of Daniel 7:21, 25, with Daniel 8:10–12, R.V., and 11 Thessalonians 2:3, 4, will amply justify this conclusion.’ Bible Readings, edition of 1916, page 227.” Sabbath School Lesson Quarterly, Pacific Press Publishing Association, Mountain View, California, April 1918, 27.

5 What could this power do to God’s faithful people? Daniel 8:10, 24.

note: “The Scriptural ordinance of the Lord’s Supper had been supplanted by the idolatrous sacrifice of the mass. Papal priests pretended, by their senseless mummery, to convert the simple bread and wine into the actual ‘body and blood of Christ.’—Cardinal Wiseman, The Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Blessed Eucharist, Proved From Scripture, lecture 8, sec. 3, par. 26. With blasphemous presumption, they openly claimed the power of creating God, the Creator of all things. Christians were required, on pain of death, to avow their faith in this horrible, Heaven-insulting heresy. Multitudes who refused were given to the flames. . . . In their secret councils, Satan and his angels controlled the minds of evil men, while unseen in the midst stood an angel of God, taking the fearful record of their iniquitous decrees, and writing the history of deeds too horrible to appear to human eyes. ‘Babylon the great’ was ‘drunken with the blood of the saints.’ The mangled forms of millions of martyrs cried to God for vengeance upon that apostate power.” The Great Controversy, 59, 60.

6 What would this power do to Christ and His heavenly sanctuary service? Daniel 8:11. Compare Revelation 13:6.

note: “Rome first deprived the Jews of the right to worship, grinding that nation beneath the heel of oppression. Then Christ came, when the oppression was the most severe, that Rome might see God in human flesh. He came to identify himself with that downtrodden people, and to show to men that God is always with the oppressed and enslaved. He came to illustrate the workings of the Spirit in the human heart, and to prove that it is possible to have a heaven within, although outward circumstances are to the contrary.

“But Rome crucified him whom Heaven sent.” Haskell, op. cit., 111.

7 To what time would this power be allowed to continue to desecrate the Holy Place? Daniel 8:13, 14.

note: “As Jesus died on Calvary, He cried, ‘It is finished,’ and the veil of the temple was rent in twain, from the top to the bottom. This was to show that the services of the earthly sanctuary were forever finished, and that God would no more meet with the priests in their earthly temple, to accept their sacrifices. The blood of Jesus was then shed, which was to be offered by Himself in the heavenly sanctuary. As the priest entered the most holy once a year to cleanse the earthly sanctuary, so Jesus entered the most holy of the heavenly, at the end of the 2300 days of Daniel 8, in 1844, to make a final atonement for all who could be benefited by His mediation, and thus to cleanse the sanctuary.” Early Writings, 253.

8 By what event would God’s people and law be freed from the domination of the papacy? Daniel 7:26. What, then, must constitute the cleansing of the sanctuary?

note: “God will most assuredly call the world to judgment to avenge the death of His only-begotten Son, the One who stood at the bar of Pilate and Herod. That One is now in the heavenly courts making intercession for the people who refused Him.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 139.

“In the great day of final award, the dead are to be ‘judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.’ Revelation 20:12. Then by virtue of the atoning blood of Christ, the sins of all the truly penitent will be blotted from the books of heaven. Thus the sanctuary will be freed, or cleansed, from the record of sin. In the type, this great work of atonement, or blotting out of sins, was represented by the services of the Day of Atonement—the cleansing of the earthly sanctuary, which was accomplished by the removal, by virtue of the blood of the sin offering, of the sins by which it had been polluted.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 357, 358.

9 At the time of the Judgment, what change in ministration did Jesus, our great High Priest, make? Revelation 11:18, 19.

note: “ ‘The temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament.’ Revelation 11:19. The ark of God’s testament is in the holy of holies, the second apartment of the sanctuary. . . . Those who by faith followed their great High Priest as He entered upon His ministry in the most holy place, beheld the ark of His testament. As they had studied the subject of the sanctuary they had come to understand the Saviour’s change of ministration, and they saw that He was now officiating before the ark of God, pleading His blood in behalf of sinners.” The Great Controversy, 433.

10 At the conclusion of the Judgment, what will be given to God’s faithful children? Revelation 11:18.

note: “In the account of the judgment scene, when the reward is given to the righteous, and sentence is passed on the wicked, the righteous are represented as wondering what they have done that they should receive such reward. But they cherished an abiding faith in Christ. They were imbued with His Spirit, and, without conscious effort, they performed for Christ, in the person of His saints, those services that bring a sure reward. But their motive in working was not to receive compensation. They regarded it as the highest honor to be allowed to work as Christ worked. What they did was done from love to Christ and to their fellowmen, and He who has identified Himself with suffering humanity accredited these acts of compassion and love as tho done to Himself.” The Signs of the Times, August 9, 1899.

11 What incentive is held out to those who, by a study of the priestly work of Christ, are being drawn near to Him? Revelation 22:12.

note: “Not all who profess to be Christians are true disciples. Before the final reward is given, it must be decided who are fitted to share the inheritance of the righteous. This decision must be made prior to the second coming of Christ in the clouds of heaven; for when He comes, His reward is with Him, ‘to give every man according as his work shall be.’ Revelation 22:12. Before His coming, then, the character of every man’s work will have been determined, and to every one of Christ’s followers the reward will have been apportioned according to his deeds.” Christ’s Object Lessons, 310.

12 What is the crowning blessing that is to come to those who are delivered from the deceptions and bondage in modern Babylon? Revelation 22:3–5.

note: “Is your name written in the book of life? Only by looking to Jesus, the Lamb of God, and following in his steps, can you prepare to meet God. Follow him, and you will one day walk the golden streets of the city of God,—you will see him who laid aside his royal garments and his kingly crown, and, disguising himself with humanity, came to our world and bore our sins, that he might lift us up, and give us a revelation of his glory and majesty. We shall see him face to face if we now give ourselves up to be molded and fashioned by him, and prepared for a place in the kingdom of God.

“Those who consecrate their lives to the service of God will live with him through the ceaseless ages of eternity.” The Youth’s Instructor, August 20, 1896.

These lessons are adapted from Sabbath School Lesson Quarterly, Pacific Press Publishing Association, Mountain View, California, 1918.

Parallel Prophecies of Daniel, Part I

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In this article, I want to study with you some of the most critical, serious items having to do with the Adventist faith; items in which we are under attack by our theological opponents; items in which former Seventh-day Adventist ministers, who have left the Adventist faith, think that they can destroy our faith and make us look like we are foolish and do not even believe what the Bible teaches.

That is by way of introduction. We, unfortunately, cannot cover everything in the limited space of this article. Since we can cover just a few things, you need to study and know thoroughly this subject for yourself. I hope that you are on a Bible study program of your own. Do not think that you will be able to go to the end of time and be ready for the Second Coming of Christ just by attending church and studying whatever is studied there. You cannot do it. You have to study the Bible at your own home every day. I would rather see a Christian that studies the Bible every day for 20 minutes than to see a Christian that only studies the Bible for 3 hours on Sabbath. You will get more good out of it if you study it every day. A few points will be covered briefly in this article. Hopefully, they will stimulate your thinking so that you can study them out more in detail.

Ellen White says that we are all called to be students of prophecy. (Testimonies, vol. 5, 708.) You do not have to have the Spirit of Prophecy to know that, because Jesus said to His disciples, “When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet standing in the Holy Place, whoever reads, let him understand.” Matthew 24:15. We have a Divine command that we are to understand prophecy. Particularly are we to understand the prophecy of Daniel. That is a Divine injunction. Jesus is the Son of God, the Majesty of heaven. When He says, “You are to study and you are to understand,” we should take that to heart and really study to understand. The early Adventists took that to heart. They began to study prophecy. Adventism is a result of those Protestant Christians. There were even some Roman Catholic Christians that engaged in the study of prophecy in the late 1800s and the early 1900s. Adventism is the result of the study of prophecy—particularly the prophecies of Daniel, as Jesus commanded us that we were to do.

Dismantling Adventism

Ellen White wrote, “The scripture which above all others had been both the foundation and the central pillar of the advent faith was the declaration: ‘Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.’ Daniel 8:14.” The Great Controversy, 409. The devil today has not only attacked Adventism, but he is trying to dismantle Adventism by destroying its very foundation. The devil started this demolition work hundreds of years ago. It was well under way by the Council of Trent, which was the Roman Catholic Council that met between 1545 and 1563. Adventists today are specifically under attack concerning Daniel 8:14.

The controversy over the six things that we will study did not begin in the last ten years with these new attacks by former Seventh-day Adventist ministers who are trying to destroy the Adventist faith. It began a long time ago and really erupted in Adventism nearly 25 years ago, in October 1979, at Pacific Union College [Angwin, California]. A teacher there by the name of Desmond Ford presented a lecture in which he said that he was going to debunk the whole idea of 1844 as a mistake. All of the attacks now are actually reruns of attacks made in 1979 and 1980.

The leadership of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists gave Desmond Ford several months to outline his views, and then the top scholars of the Seventh-day Adventist Church met together at Glacier View Camp in Colorado during the summer of 1980, and they reviewed with Desmond Ford these different things. If Desmond Ford was correct with these different charges, there would be no reason for a Seventh-day Adventist Church.

My wife and I were living in Texas when those meetings took place. I was teaching at Southwestern Adventist College in Keene, Texas. I remember the discussions that were taking place among the faculty during this time. Some people used to say, “If you really knew what the Greek language says in Hebrews 6 and if you really knew what the Hebrew words mean in Daniel 8, then you would know that the Adventists are wrong.” I was hearing things like this, and such thoughts were even being published. A leading Seventh-day Adventist theologian published as fact the idea that a two-apartment sanctuary is not taught in the Book of Hebrews.

Others were saying, “If you could read the texts in the Greek or in the Hebrew, you would find they do not say exactly what we have thought they said,” and I thought to myself, “If that is so, I am going to find out.” I was an ordained Seventh-day Adventist minister at that time, and I decided to find out for myself what these Scriptures say.

Study of the Original

I happened to have studied Greek between three and four years at Walla Walla College [Walla Walla, Washington] and at the Adventist Seminary [Berrien Springs, Michigan]. I also studied Hebrew at the Adventist Seminary. I got my books, and I obtained more lexicons, additional analytical materials, and interlinear Bibles, and I bought a new Hebrew Bible. I wanted to find out if I had been confused my whole life. I now have a Hebrew Bible and a Greek Bible, which I use regularly. If it had not been for the Ford controversy, maybe I would not know Hebrew and Greek as well as I do today.

Do Not Stumble

The Adventist faith is anchored in the Greek and Hebrew texts of the Old and New Testaments. Do not let someone tell you that, because you have to read the Bible in English, you do not know what it says. There are a few mistakes in the best English translations. Ellen White acknowledges that in Selected Messages, Book 1, 16: “Some look to us gravely and say, ‘Don’t you think there might have been some mistake in the copyist or in the translators?’ This is all probable, and the mind that is so narrow that it will hesitate and stumble over this possibility or probability would be just as ready to stumble over the mysteries of the Inspired Word, because their feeble minds cannot see through the purposes of God. . . . All the mistakes will not cause trouble to one soul, or cause any feet to stumble, that would not manufacture difficulties from the plainest revealed truth.” Notice that she says those few mistakes will not cause one soul to be lost! If we take the Bible, read it, and study it, there is no mistake in the translations of the Bible that will cause us to be lost.

Nobody will be able, in the Day of Judgment, to say, “Lord, I am lost because I read the King James Version of the Bible, and there was a transcription error in Romans 14:6, and because of that transcription error, I did not know that the seventh day was the Sabbath, so now I am lost.” There is a bad mistake in Romans 14:6 in the King James Version, but that will not cause any honest soul to be lost. Why? Because there are hundreds of texts in the King James Version that point out what the true Sabbath is. Even if there is a mistake in the translation in Romans 14, nobody will be lost over that, if they look at the whole Bible.

No one will be able to come to the Lord in the Day of Judgment and say, “Oh, Lord, I read the New American Standard Bible and now I am lost, because it translated from a different text or manuscript in Revelation 22:14.” (The two different texts or readings in the Greek manuscripts for Revelation 22:14 are almost certainly the result of a scribal hearing error since they rhyme.) Why cannot anyone use that as an excuse to the Lord in the Day of Judgment? Because in the New American Standard Bible or in the New International Version, there are many other texts that show exactly what the commandments are, what the Sabbath is, and that we should keep them.

The fact that there is a mistake in translation here or there will not cause anyone to be lost, unless they choose to base all their doubts on that one mistake. We are to look at the whole Bible, and if we take the evidence of the whole Bible, there is no mistake in the King James Version, there is no mistake in the New King James Version, there is no mistake in the New American Standard Bible, and there is no mistake in the New International Version that will cause us to be lost—if we look at the whole Bible.

Back to Basics

My faith was challenged in 1979 and 1980. I was told, “If you knew what the Greek and Hebrew said, you would know that we are wrong.” I decided that if that was so, I would find out. I found out! I read the whole Bible in the original languages—Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. Let me tell you, friends, the Adventist faith is anchored in exactly what the prophets wrote.

It is true that in the Book of Daniel there are a few translation difficulties. Daniel is one of the most difficult books of the Old Testament to translate, because the translators did not understand what they were translating. If you have ever translated from one language to another, you know that sometimes you could translate something more than one way. When that occurs, you look at the context to determine whether the word should be translated this way or that way. That is true with all translation. If you do not know the meaning of what you are translating, it makes the translation much more difficult.

The translators did not know the meaning of what they were translating in the Book of Daniel, so they made a few mistakes. Ellen White refers to that. She talks about the fact that the word sacrifice was added in Daniel 8 and also in Daniel 11 and 12. She says that was added by human wisdom and that it is not part of the Word of God. She makes that very clear. (See Early Writings, 74, 75.) That is a critical point to our understanding of the Book of Daniel.

Pioneers Understood

When I went through the Book of Daniel in Hebrew and Aramaic, I found something very interesting. This will give you encouragement. Every time that I found a mistake in translation and I went back to the Hebrew text, I found that the Hebrew text agreed exactly with what the Adventist pioneers worked out! The Hebrew text agrees exactly with what the Adventist pioneers worked out about what the Book of Daniel means. Now that is just astounding and amazing, because most of our pioneers did not know Hebrew and Greek. Surely the Lord led them to understand the truth.

The Attack

Now, let me tell you what the attack is about. Former Seventh-day Adventist ministers, through their web sites, videos, and published books, are spearheading this attack. As a result of their teachings, Adventists that are following them are becoming Sunday worshippers or Sunday-keepers. This is where the attack is focused.

These former ministers say that Adventists are a cult. I do not mind being called a cult, because Christians have been called a cult since the days of the apostle Paul. Act 28:22 talks about the Christians being a sect. We are going to be called a sect at the end of time, so I am not worried about being called a cult or a sect. All I want to know is, “Am I living according to the Word of God?”

Given here are six points upon which the attack centers:

  1. These former ministers say that the sanctuary of Daniel 8:14 is referring to the earthly sanctuary; we believe it is talking about the heavenly sanctuary.
  2. We are attacked over the 2300 days. First of all, the former ministers say that these 2300 days were fulfilled in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes, 200 years before Christ. He is the one that defiled the sanctuary; then it had to be restored after his defiling it.
  3. We are attacked on the day-for-a-year principle.
  4. This is one of the big ones! We are attacked on the identity of the little horn. These former Seventh-day Adventist ministers, along with many liberal Protest-ant theologians today, say that the little horn in Daniel 8 is Antiochus Epiphanes, who was a Greek and king of the Seleucid (Syrian) Empire. Do you remember, in Daniel 7, it says that the Greek Empire would have four heads and out of those four heads two would become predominant? In Daniel 11, reference is made to the king of the north and the king of the south. The king of the north was the Seleucid (Syrian) Empire, which was a division of Alexander’s empire. The eighth Seleucid king (there were 12 after him) was Antiochus Epiphanes. These former ministers say that Antiochus Epiphanes is the little horn power and that the Adventists are wrong in their belief. If Antiochus Epiphanes is the little horn, we are about as deluded as any people could be, and Ellen White would have to be a false prophet. So we need to under-stand this.
  5. We say that the timing of Daniel 8:14 has to do with the time of the end of the world. These former ministers say the timing has to do with the Second Century before Christ.
  6. We say that the meaning of the cleansing of the sanctuary is the investigative judgment. They say that just means the cleaning up of the temple after Antiochus Epiphanes defiled it.

Those are some of the main items that are under attack. We need to know what we believe about all of those things.

In this study, we will look at a few things in regard to context and then take an overview of the prophetic parts of Daniel—chapters 2, 7, 8, 11 and 12. We will skip chapter 9.

End of . . .

Let us first look at the end of Daniel 8:17. I will give this text a word for word translation from the Hebrew Bible, so if it does not agree exactly with the Bible version you are using, do not get upset. What is given here is very accurate. In Daniel 8:17, the angel says to Daniel, “Consider then, O son of man, that to the time of the end is the vision.” This is a critical point. End of what—end of Antiochus Epiph-anes? End of what? “To the time of the end is the vision.” We need to understand something about the time. The angel repeats this fact—that this vision has to do with the time of the end—in verse 19. So, this vision has to do with the time of the end.

Prophecies Built on Each Other

We are now going to look at the whole Book of Daniel, because I want you to see that, in the Book of Daniel, the prophecies are built on each other. Prophecy is first given in Daniel 2; then the same thing is given with more detail in Daniel 7; then the prophecy, with much more detail, is recorded in Daniel 8; then the same prophecy is given, with much, much more detail, in Daniel 11 and 12. The prophecies in Daniel are parallel. However you interpret these prophecies, remember they are parallel prophecies, and everything has to fit. Daniel 2 has to fit; Daniel 7 has to fit; Daniel 8 has to fit; and Daniel 11 and 12 have to fit. You cannot pull out Daniel 8:14 and apply it to something unless you also have made it fit with everything else.

Daniel 2

Let us look at how it works. Open your Bible to Daniel 2:36, 37: “This [is] the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. Thou, O king, [art] a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.” Notice three points in Daniel 2: 1) There are earthly powers. (See verses 37–43.) But these earthly powers come to an end. 2) There is a Divine intervention, and 3) All earthly powers come to an end. (See verses 44, 45.)

We learn that there are earthly powers, several earthly powers, but then there is a Divine intervention. How long do the earthly powers exist? Verse 44 says, “In the days of these kings.” “These kings” are the division of the fourth world empire, and “these kings” rule until a “stone is cut out without hands.” Verse 45. This is a stone that is cut out with-out hands. This is not a human intervention; this is a Divine inter-vention. This is a Divine intervention in human affairs, and the result is that all earthly powers come to an end. That should be simple enough that we could all figure it out.

Do you have the three points figured out in Daniel 2? You have earthly powers. These earthly powers continue until there is a Divine intervention, and the result of the Divine intervention is that all the earthly powers come to an end.

Daniel 7

Now look at Daniel 7. There you will see the very same thing that you saw in chapter 2, with some more detail added. In verses 17–25 of Daniel 7, you are going to see various earthly powers. Then, in verses 26 and 27, the specifics of the Divine intervention are given in more detail. As a result of the Divine intervention, all of the earthly powers are going to come to an end, and the saints of the most high are going to receive the kingdom.

So you see here in Daniel 7 the very same thing that is in Daniel 2. In Daniel 7:17–25 you have: 1) earthly powers with 2) Divine intervention in verses 26 and 27. As a result of that, 3) all of the earthly powers come to an end.

Daniel 8

In Daniel 8 we could go either to the first part of the vision or to the last of the vision where the vision is interpreted. The interpretation of the vision is given in verses 20 to 25. In these verses, you have the very same thing. 1) There is a series of earthly powers. 2) There are earthly powers, but then there is a Divine intervention.

Verse 25 says, “And by cunning, he shall cause deceit to prosper in his hand, and in his heart he shall magnify himself. And by peace he will destroy many, and against the Prince of princes he will stand up, but without hand he is going to be broken.” At the end, there are earthly powers, and then, as explained in the last part of verse 25, there is a Divine intervention. “Without hand,” he is going to come to an end. He does not come to his end because of something that human beings do. Did you see that in Daniel 2? In Daniel 2 there is a stone cut out without hand. In Daniel 8, there is intervention “without hand.” In other words, it is a Divine intervention. He is going to be destroyed. The Hebrew word shalvah means to be broken or destroyed. So without hand he is going to be broken or without hand he is going to be shattered or without hand he is going to be destroyed. All three translations are correct. What is the result? 3) The result is that all earthly powers come to an end.

To be continued . . .

[Bible texts quoted are literal translation.]

Pastor John J. 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.

Bible Study Guides – The Vision of Daniel 8

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October 16, 2004 – October 22, 2004

Memory Verse

“Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end [shall be].” Daniel 8:19.

Suggested Reading: Prophets and Kings, 547.

Introduction

“The light that Daniel received from God was given especially for these last days. The visions he saw by the banks of the Ulai and the Hiddekel, the great rivers of Shinar, are now in process of fulfillment, and all the events foretold will soon come to pass.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 112, 113.

1 When did Daniel have the vision that is recorded in Daniel 8:1?

note: “This vision was given to Daniel in the third year of the reign of Belshazzar, that being the year when Babylon was overthrown.” International Sabbath School Quarterly, Pacific Press Publishing Company, Oakland, California, January 1, 1904, 13.

2 To what place was Daniel taken in this vision? Daniel 8:2.

note: “Prophets in heavenly vision are often taken to places where the scenes opened up to them are to occur, so that they are living amid the very events predicted by them, even though those events may be thousands of years in the future.” International Sabbath School Quarterly, Pacific Press Publishing Company, Oakland, California, January 1, 1904, 13.

3 What did the ram symbolize? What was symbolized by the two horns and by the higher one coming up last? Daniel 8:3, 20.

note: “In his previous vision the second kingdom had been represented by a bear which raised itself on one side and had three ribs in its mouth. Both symbols apply to the double nature of the kingdom of the Medes and Persians, but the uneven horns of the ram give a more specific description; for while the Median kingdom was the older of the two, the Persian excelled it in strength.” Stephen N. Haskell, Story of Daniel the Prophet (1904), TEACH Services, Inc., Brushton, New York, 1995, 105.

4 In what direction was the Medo-Persian Empire to extend its conquests? To what position did the ram attain? Daniel 8:4.

note: “The Medo-Persian Empire covered much more territory than its predecessor, Babylon. So successful were Persian arms that in the days of Ahasuerus (Esther 1:1) the empire extended from India to Ethiopia, the eastern and southern extremities of the then-known world. A frequent title of the Persian monarch was ‘king of kings’ or ‘king of the countries.’ ” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 840.

5 Of what was the goat a symbol? What was symbolized by the great horn between his eyes? Daniel 8:5, 21.

note: “[The goat is] identified as representing Greece.” Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 4, 840.

“[The great horn is] a symbol of Alexander the Great, the ‘first king’ of the Greco-Macedonian world empire that was destined to replace the Persian Empire.” Ibid., 845.

6 What was the attitude of this goat toward the ram? What did he do to the two horns of the ram? Daniel 8:7. (Choler means irritation or anger.)

note: “Alexander stands without a rival for the rapidity of his conquests. He was but a young man of twenty when, by the death of his father, Philip of Macedon, he fell heir to a small dominion. He united the Greek states, placed himself at the head of affairs, and led her armies in a series of wonderful victories. In the space of a few short years he was the recognized master of the world.” Haskell, 108.

7 To what position did the goat attain as compared to that of the ram? What happened to the great horn between the eyes of the goat? Daniel 8:8. What came up after this notable horn was broken? What was symbolized by the breaking of the great horn and four others coming up in its place? Verse 22.

note: “It is a fact noted in history that Alexander died in a drunken debauch, at the age of thirty-two years, and at a time when his kingdom was in the very height of its glory and greatness. Thus the kingdom represented by this horn was broken ‘when he was strong.’

“While Alexander lived he made no provision as to who would succeed him in his kingdom. About twenty years after his death it was divided among his four strongest generals. . . . Lysimachus had that portion lying to the north of Palestine, including Thrace, Bithynia, and some smaller provinces of Asia Minor. Ptolemy took that portion to the south, including Egypt, Libya, Arabia, and Palestine. Seleucus took the east,—Syria and all the country to the river Indus. Cassander had Macedon and Greece, lying to the west.” International Sabbath School Quarterly, Pacific Press Publishing Company, Oakland, California, January 1, 1904, 13, 14.

8 What did the prophet behold as coming forth from one of the four horns of the goat? To what position did this little horn power attain? In what directions were the conquests of the little horn power? Daniel 8:9.

note: “In the division under consideration, the prophet sees a little horn coming forth from one of these divisions. Here is brought to his view the power symbolized by the fourth beast of Daniel seven. In his first vision the fourth beast was so terrible and had such a strange appearance that Daniel asked for a clearer explanation of its work. In this second vision the little horn is not named, but its work as a kingdom is still further portrayed. . . . The accumulated forces of the evil of past ages is concentrated in this rising power, which waxed exceeding great.” Haskell, 109.

9 What characteristics are given of this little horn power by which it may be identified? Daniel 8:9, 24, 25.

note: “Rome extended her territory around the Mediterranean; there was no place where her arms were not victorious. Some of the greatest battles which history records were fought by the Roman armies. . . . Cities which dared resist the power of Rome were blotted out of existence. . . . But aside from the strong central government which was built up by Rome, which brought every other nation to her feet, and made slaves of the noblest of races . . . the great arrogance of Rome was displayed when the nation magnified itself against the host of heaven.” Haskell, 110.

10 What power, in the person of its rulers, stood up against “the Prince of princes,” Jesus Christ? Acts 4:27.

note: “Pilate, Herod, the Roman soldiers, were ignorant of Jesus. They knew not that he was the sent of God. They thought by abusing him to please the priests and rulers. They had not the light so abundantly given to the Jewish nation. They were unacquainted with Old-Testament history. Had they known what the Jews knew, they would not have treated Jesus as cruelly as they did.” The Youth’s Instructor, June 14, 1900.

“In the judgment hall of Pilate, the Roman governor, Christ stands bound as a prisoner. About Him are the guard of soldiers, and the hall is fast filling with spectators.” The Desire of Ages, 723.

“When he [Pilate] heard that Christ was from Galilee, he decided to send Him to Herod, the ruler of that province, who was then in Jerusalem. By this course, Pilate thought to shift the responsibility of the trial from himself to Herod. He also thought this a good opportunity to heal an old quarrel between himself and Herod. And so it proved. The two magistrates made friends over the trial of the Saviour.” Ibid., 728.

11 What subject is introduced in this vision, in addition to the ram, he goat, and little horn? Daniel 8:14.

note: “Such subjects as the sanctuary, in connection with the 2300 days, the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, are perfectly calculated to explain the past Advent movement and show what our present position is, establish the faith of the doubting, and give certainty to the glorious future. These, I [Ellen White] have frequently seen, were the principal subjects on which the messengers should dwell.” Early Writings, 63.

12 As Daniel sought for the meaning of this vision, who appeared to him and what did he say? Daniel 8:15, 19. Why was Gabriel not able to complete his commission to make Daniel understand the vision? Verse 27.

note: “The angel Gabriel, though commanded to make Daniel understand the vision, gave him only a partial explanation. As the terrible persecution to befall the church was unfolded to the prophet’s vision, physical strength gave way. He could endure no more, and the angel left him for a time. Daniel ‘fainted, and was sick certain days.’ ‘And I was astonished at the vision,’ he says, ‘but none understood it.’ [Daniel 8:27.]” The Great Controversy, 325.

These lessons are adapted from International Sabbath School Quarterly, Pacific Press Publishing Company, Oakland, California, January 1, 1904.

Editorial – 1843, Part II

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The 1843 (eventually corrected to 1844) date of William Miller’s message was derived from the study of prophecy, especially the prophecy in Daniel 8:13, 14. The critics of Adventism have taken advantage of the average person’s lack of knowledge about several terms to introduce confusion, instead of understanding, concerning the fulfillment of this prophecy. We will look at several basic points: 1) Who and what is the little horn in Daniel 8? 2) Daniel 8:12 and 13 speak of two separate rebellions, first the continuance in rebellion and second the desolating or depopulating rebellion. These rebellions are sometimes called “transgression(s),” but a look into any Hebrew lexicon, or just a casual reading of the Hebrew Bible, easily shows that the common word used refers to a deliberate or willful transgression or more accurately a revolt or rebellion. I have found only a few places in the entire Hebrew Bible where the word could not be more helpfully translated “rebellion.” What are these two separate rebellions of Daniel 8:12 and 13? 3) It would seem almost embarrassing to have to mention this elementary fact but, because of the tricky reasoning of our opponents, we will. This is a time prophecy. 4) This is a time prophecy having to do with end-time events, because the angel said to Daniel, in regard to the 2300 days, that the vision dealt with the time of the end. This is an important enough point that it is mentioned twice (verses 17 and 19).

We will begin with point #4. This point by itself makes it completely impossible for this vision to have anything to do with Antiochus Epiphanes iv. Antiochus was one of approximately 20 Seleucid kings who ruled the northern territory of Alexander the Great’s empire, called in Daniel 11 “the king of the north.” None of these kings were as great as Alexander the Great. (See Daniel 11:4.) A minor king of a division of Alexander’s kingdom who lived in the second century b.c. could not be described as fulfilling a prophecy clearly stated as having to do with the time of the end.

Next we come to point #3. Every imaginable device has been attempted in an effort to demonstrate a 2300-day period during the time of Antiochus Epiphanes. Any fulfillment of this time prophecy would have to involve a time period of 2300 days. There has been an effort to say that, since the wording in Daniel 8:14 is “evening and morning,” it refers to 1150 days. This interpretation will not stand up to any candid investigation of the Scriptures. (See Genesis 1.) (The literal wording of Daniel 8:14 in the Hebrew text is “and he said to me unto evening, morning, two thousand and three hundred and [or ‘the’] it shall be cleansed [or ‘restored to its rightful state’ or ‘made right’] the sanctuary [or ‘holy place’].) No period of 2300 days can be shown for Antiochus Epiphanes. Any real fulfillment of this prophecy must demonstrate a beginning event and a closing event which are separated by 2300 days. This fact destroys the possibility of Antiochus having anything to do with the fulfillment of this prophecy a second time.

Then we come to point #2. Daniel 8:13, 14 are not the only places in the Book of Daniel where these two rebellions are mentioned. Any interpretation of these two rebellions in Daniel 8:13, 14 must also fit contextually with their identity and historical position when also described in Daniel 11:31 and Daniel 12:11. Daniel 11:31 shows us that a future power will cause the continuance in rebellion to be removed and then the desolating rebellion will be set up in its place. This is an extremely important point, because it shows that these two rebellions are consecutive events, the one following the other.