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Introduction

The 2300-year, 490-year and 1260-year prophecies have been previously discussed in this book. Here we will present an overview of all of the above apocalyptic time prophecies and mention details about the 1290 and 1335-year periods that have not been previously covered. If you have not already done so, please study Chapter Four, The hour of His judgment is come, Appendix Two, The day-for-a-year principle and Appendix Five, The Cleansing of the Sanctuary or Pre-Advent Judgment.

As can be seen from the above diagram, all the time prophecies link together to form a harmonious whole. The best way to grasp the significance of these five major time periods is to consider them as an overview of the battle between the true and false sanctuary systems. In this regard it is most assuring to remember that, since God has predicted the battle so perfectly beforehand, the ultimate victory will certainly be His. The origins of the true sanctuary ministry go all the way back to the burnt offerings instituted at the time of Adam and Eve. These offerings and services revealed God’s plan of salvation and were powerfully presented in a beautiful system of types at the time of the Exodus (for more detail please see Introduction to Revelation). The earthly sanctuary services in the wilderness tent and later in the temple at Jerusalem prefigured and anticipated the true and effectual ministry of Jesus Christ who would die as the true sacrifice and then ascend to Heaven to minister in the tabernacle (sanctuary) that the Lord had pitched and not man (Hebrews 8:2). The earthly sanctuary revolved around two main cycles, the daily Holy Place services and the yearly Most Holy Place ministry (Hebrews 9:1-7). The apocalyptic time periods are very important in understanding the function of the true sanctuary system as it relates to the history of mankind.

The false sanctuary systems of Satan are a counterfeit of the true and have taken various forms at different times in earth’s history. These various forms have included the false religions of ancient Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Pagan Rome. The masterpiece of deception, however, is Satan’s counterfeit of Christ’s heavenly ministry as presented by the Roman Catholic religion or Papacy. The long reign of this masterpiece of wickedness is the subject of three of the apocalyptic time periods.

When Daniel was given his visions he was a captive in the land of Babylon. The sanctuary or temple at Jerusalem lay in ruins, having been laid waste by the armies of ancient Babylon. The false system of Babylon had been permitted to attack and seemingly destroy the true sanctuary ministry of Israel. But Daniel was given the cheering message that the temple and city of Jerusalem would be rebuilt. He was instructed that from the time of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem there would be seventy prophetic weeks or 490 years of probationary time for his people. Toward the end of this 490 years Messiah would die, put an end to the earthly system of types, and inaugurate the heavenly sanctuary for the beginning of its Holy Place ministry (Daniel 9:24-27). The decree to rebuild Jerusalem was put into effect in 457 BC¹ and Jesus ascended to heaven to inaugurate the sanctuary above in the middle of the seventieth week (AD 31). The 490-year period closed in AD 34.

Was there a specific event that happened at the close of the 490-year period, or did it just finish in AD 34 at an unspecified point? We believe that the stoning of Stephen fits the criteria for being the specific time when the 490-year period ended. Marvelous was God’s grace to the Jewish people. Even after they had crucified His Son He gave them another 31/2 years of probationary time during which they had opportunity to accept their Messiah. But alas, their Messiah was never recognized as such by His chosen nation. He was only honored and served by individual Jews. When the nation’s leaders chose to persecute and reject Christ’s ambassadors they were closing the door of opportunity. And when they shed the blood of the first Christian martyr they sealed the nation’s doom. The 490 years of probation had ended and the nation had not embraced her Saviour. Stephen made an inspired speech before the Sanhedrin reviewing all the main events of Israel’s past. He gave one last appeal to these stubborn hearts. But it was refused in the most violent way. Immediately after the stoning of Stephen we read of the scattering of the Jewish Christians, the ministry to the Samaritans and the conversion of Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles. The focus shifts away from the work among the Jews and centres on the giving of the gospel to the non-Jewish world. For information on how we can date the stoning of Stephen, please see the footnote, How accurately can we date the stoning of Stephen? in The hour of His judgment is come.

In addition to receiving the message about the 490 years, the much longer 2300-year period was revealed to Daniel. We have already discussed in some detail how these two time periods have the same starting point.² As mentioned in The hour of His judgment is come, the 490-year period was cut off from the beginning of the 2300-year time span. While the 490 years from BC 457 to AD 34 was probationary time for the Jews, the 1810 years between AD 34 and 1844 represent the "times of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:24; c.f. Revelation 11:2). The great 2300-year time prophesy takes us from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem up until the time when Jesus would begin His Most Holy Place cleansing ministry in Heaven (Daniel 8:14 c.f. Leviticus chapter 16). The Most Holy Place ministry of the heavenly sanctuary had been prefigured by the yearly services of the earthly sanctuary (for more detail please see Appendix Five, The Cleansing of the Sanctuary or Pre-Advent Judgment).

Thus the 490-year and 2300-year periods are concerned especially with the true sanctuary service involving the Messiah. The 490 years relates to the probation of the Jewish nation (but not to Jews as a race³) and the beginning of the heavenly Holy Place ministry. The 2300 years relates to the probation of the Gentiles and the beginning of Jesus’ Most Holy Place ministry. When Jesus has completed His Most Holy Place work probation will have closed for the world.

These two time periods concern themselves with the most deceptive and destructive of all counterfeit sanctuary ministries, that of the Roman Catholic Church or Papacy. This organization, sad to say, has done more that any other to turn the eyes of the people away from the true ministry of Jesus in Heaven. The Papacy has a counterfeit high priest, priesthood, sacrifice, altar, incense, confession and temple.⁴

We have previously discussed in some detail the 1260-year period.⁵ The 1260 years refer especially to the Papacy’s role as the great persecutor of God’s faithful (Dan. 7:25; 12:7; Re. 11:2-3; 12:6, 13-14; 13:5-7). The Papacy was able to persecute so effectively because of the way it combined the Church with the arm of the state. The Papal ecclesiastical hierarchy considered all civil powers to be under their jurisdiction. Those in charge of the national courts, prisons and armies were to do the bidding of the church dignitaries (see Appendix Four, The Papacy Fulfils Prophecies of Daniel Chapter Seven). As previously mentioned in The hour of His judgment has come, 533-538 AD marks the beginning of the 1260 years. Justinian made his famous decree exalting the Pope in 533, and in 538 the power of the Papacy was finally assured when Justinian’s army broke the dominion of the Ostrogoths in Italy. Following 538 AD persecution of faithful Christians began in earnest.

Although the Papal church-state union was fully established by 533-538 AD, a key religio-political development took place in 508AD. It was prophesied that three anti-Catholic horn powers would be uprooted to make way for the advancement of the Papacy (Daniel 7:8). The first horn-power to go was the kingdom of the Visigoths. The Catholic monarch Clovis, King of the Franks, overcame this tribe in the year 508. The second tribe to be subdued was the Vandals. They were defeated in 533 by the armies of the Catholic Emperor Justinian. The third and final horn was uprooted in 538 AD when Justinian’s forces defeated the Ostrogoths. So the period 508 to538 was very important in the development of the Papacy. For more details please see, Appendix Eleven, The Plucking up of the Three Horns by the Papal Power.

The date 508 AD introduces us to the 1290-year period. Daniel 12:11 says, "And from the time that the daily⁶ shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days." The power designated as the "abomination that maketh desolate" (Daniel 11:31; 12:11 KJV) is also the "transgression of desolation" of Daniel 8:13 (KJV). This evil entity is again mentioned in Daniel 9:27: "on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate"(NKJV). Furthermore, in the New Testament Jesus gave special attention to this enemy calling it the "abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet" (Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14). Who or what is this power? It is Rome, Imperial and Papal. Let us consider the evidence for this:

First, by comparing Daniel 8:11-13, 11:31 and 12:11 we can see that this abomination is associated with the taking away of "the daily". In fact, the abomination of desolation is "set up" at the same time the daily is removed (11:31; 12:11 marginal reading⁷). Daniel 8:9-11 informs us that it is the exceedingly great horn power that takes away the daily. We have previously gone to some detail in identifying this exceedingly great horn of Daniel chapter eight (see The hour of His judgment is come). It represents Rome, both Imperial and Papal, but with emphasis on the Papal phase. And what does the daily represent? It has to do with the sanctuary, as indicated by Daniel 8:11-13:

Yea, he [the exceedingly great horn, representing Rome] magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him [literally from Him⁸] the daily was taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down…How long shall be the vision concerning the daily, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? (Emphasis and pronoun capitalisation has been added and the supplied word "sacrifice" omitted)

The Hebrew word translated daily is tamid. Elsewhere in the Old Testament tamid is used as a modifier, referring to something that goes on daily or continually. But in Daniel 8:11 it is used as a noun and has no word following it for it to modify -- although several Bible versions do supply the word "sacrifice". Tamid is used in reference to sanctuary sacrifices in the Old Testament. In Exodus 29:38, 42 it refers to the sacrifices burnt daily on the altar in the courtyard. However, many other sanctuary activities are also described as going on "daily" (tamid). These include the burning of the lights on the lampstand (Exodus 27:20, 21), the burning of incense on the alter in the Holy Place (Exodus 30:8), the presence of bread on the table in the Holy Place (Exodus 25:30) as well as other activities (Exodus 28:29, 38; 1 Chronicles 16:6). Thus it is necessary to translate tamid using a word that comprehends all of these sanctuary activities. Such a word would be "ministry".⁹

Both the tamid and the sanctuary belong to the prince of the host. This is indicated by the personal pronouns used with these objects in Daniel 8:11. This prince who owns the heavenly sanctuary and its tamid (ministry) is obviously Jesus Christ. Papal Rome took away the ministry of Jesus from the people when it set up its great counterfeit. The eyes of the people were turned from the heavenly realities and focussed on an earthly counterfeit. Thus "the place of His sanctuary was cast down".

Another line of evidence supporting the truth that Rome is the abomination of desolation comes from comparing the words of Jesus in Matthew 24:15-20 and Mark 13:14-18 with His comments in Luke 21:20-23. In each of these accounts Jesus is warning His followers to flee to the mountains when a certain sign occurs. In Matthew and Mark the sign is the "abomination of desolation" standing "in the holy place" or "where it ought not". In Luke the sign is armies surrounding Jerusalem. Before Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70 the Roman armies surrounded the city and then mysteriously withdrew. This gave the Christians opportunity to flee, and they did. So by comparing these passages in the Gospels we can see that the Roman armies are equated with the abomination of desolation (and Jerusalem is equated with "the holy place").¹⁰

The destruction of Jerusalem was foretold in Daniel chapter nine in the following words: "And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.... And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate." (vs. 26, 27, NKJV). Thus again the "abomination" and "desolation" terminology is used to describe the power of Rome, the destroyer of Jerusalem and its temple. "Abomination" (Hebrew, shiqquwts) is commonly used as a reference to pagan idol worship and means "detestable thing or idol".¹¹ The pagan idols of Imperial Rome and the pagan images, symbols and rituals of Papal Rome are an abomination. The Hebrew word and Greek words translated "desolation" mean "to be appalled, to be made desolate" and "to lay waste, to ruin" respectively.¹² Pagan Rome desolated literal Israel and it temple when it destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70. Papal Rome made desolate spiritual Israel and its temple by persecuting the saints during the 1260-year period and obscuring the truth about the heavenly sanctuary.

So in 508 the false sanctuary system of Roman Catholicism was set up and the "daily" ministry of Christ obscured. But in 508 all we have is a military victory relating to church-state amalgamation. True it was a milestone in the history of Papal supremacy, but it does not point directly to any false claims being made to the effect that the Papacy was a mediator in the place of Christ. Was any such claim made around this time? Yes, in 503 AD there was an official decree made at Rome declaring "that the Pope was judge as God’s vicar, and could himself be judged by no one".¹³ The dogma that the Pope stands "as the vicar" or "in the place" of God on Earth is the cornerstone of the Papacy’s claim to be the only way to salvation. In other words, it forms the basis of the Papal claim to provide the only effective mediation and priestly services for sinners. The decree of 503 AD would have had little impact if it were not for the decisive battle in 508 AD that resulted in the plucking up of the first of the three anti-Catholic tribes standing in the way of Papal advancement.

"And from the time that the daily shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days." (Daniel 12:11, 12). The grammatical positioning of the 1335 prophetic days or literal years makes it obvious that this time period must begin at the same time as the 1290-year period. He that "waiteth" after the expiration of the 1290 years "and cometh" to the end of the 1335 years is to be "blessed". From 508 AD, 1335 years takes us to 1843.

In the 1830’s an international Christian movement proclaimed that Christ’s return would occur in the 1840’s. They based their teaching on Daniel 8:14. In the U.S.A the most prominent person advocating this was William Miller. The Millerites, as they were called, initially calculated 1843 as the year when they expected Jesus’ return. But they eventually settled on 22 October 1844 as being the end of the 2300 years.¹⁴ This was the correct date. As mentioned, the 1335-year time period ends in 1843. But why would it end in 1843 and not 1844? Actually the 2300-year and 1335-year time periods overlap in their final year.¹⁵ The last year of the 2300-year period extends from the northern autumn (October) of 1843 to the autumn of 1844 according to the Jewish autumn-autumn calendar. But the 1335-year period should be calculated using Roman time because of its starting point in 508 AD. Roman years (Julian or Gregorian) start and end in the northern winter (December/January). This means that the last four months (October to December) of the closing year of the 1335 time prophecy overlap with the first four months of the final year of the 2300-year period. In giving the 1335-year prophecy to Daniel the heavenly messenger used to the best number. 1336 years would have gone behold the October 22 date when the blessing was to commence.

What was the blessing that was to begin in 1844? At this time attention was called to the "cleansing of the sanctuary" mentioned in Daniel 8:14, and through a renewed study of the sanctuary subject the great truth of Christ’s heavenly ministry was rediscovered. This is the truth that had been obscured for so many centuries by the Papal counterfeit. The daily was taken away in 508 AD, but it was restored in 1844. A fuller comprehension of the heavenly ministry of Christ is a great blessing, and so is the personal experience that flows from this clearer understanding. A similar blessing is announced at a similar point in time in the book of Revelation: "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them" (Revelation 14:13). This blessing comes after the three end-time angel messages of this chapter and just before the second coming of Christ. The first of the three angels is the one who announces that the hour of judgment has come. As mentioned earlier in this book,¹⁶ this is a reference to the pre-advent judgment that began in 1844. As we have also discussed before, the pre-advent judgment begins at the same time as the "cleansing" of the sanctuary of Daniel 8:14.

The Hebrew word for "cleansed" in Daniel 8:14 encompasses several matters relating to the heavenly sanctuary. We believe this word was especially chosen so as to convey these different aspects. This Hebrew word translated "cleansed" in the KJV of Daniel 8:14 is the niphal stem of tsadaq which means "to be put or made right, be justified"¹⁷ The idea of being put right or justified can include, not only cleansing, but also vindication. Vindication for God’s people results from the decisions of the heavenly judgment and the cleansing away of their sins recorded in the sanctuary. But there is also vindication for the heavenly sanctuary itself. The true sanctuary system that had been suppressed for so long by the papal counterfeit comes up in 1844 as the winner. Despite all the efforts of the powers of Hell, God opens to the understanding of His people the true sanctuary ministry – and they are blessed. Praise the Lord! Let us immerse ourselves in the benefits and truths of this true ministry of Jesus and give glory to Him for what it does in our lives.

Footnotes

2. Please see The hour of His judgment is come.

3. Individual Jews will still be free to accept Christ up until the close of probation for the world.

4. By studying the true and false sanctuary systems we can detect who the real antichrist is. Consider the following: Inasmuch as the Pope claims to be the one who takes the place of Christ on earth and, inasmuch as he stands as the great counterfeit high priest reigning in opposition to and against Christ, it can be truly said that he is the antichrist. True, there are "many antichrists" (1 John 2:18), as the Greek word "anti" simply means "over against" or "opposite to" (Online Greek Lexicon). But the Greek word "anti" also means "instead of, in place of" (Ibid.) which is exactly the claim made by the Papacy of its leader: "The Pope is considered the man on earth who represents the Son of God, who ‘takes the place’ of the Second Person of the omnipotent God of the Trinity" (Crossing the Threshold of Hope by pope John Paul II, New York, Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1994, emphasis supplied). The Pope is the antichrist in the sense of being, in the most powerful and outstanding way, the counterfeit high priest. He is "opposite to" and "over against" Christ. He presents himself as the one "in place of" the Son of God. The leader of the Papacy has been uplifted for centuries before the people like no other figurehead. He has consistently been proclaimed to be the exclusive and authoritative "vicar of Christ".

5. Please see The hour of His judgment is come.

6. Sacrifice is a supplied word.

7. The KJV marginal reading of Daniel 12:11 without the supplied "sacrifice" is, "And from the time that the daily shall be taken away, to set up the abomination that maketh desolate, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days."

8. As in the NAS, NIV, RSV, Darby and Amplified versions. "Literally, the second clause in verse 11 reads, ‘And from him was taken away the continuance’... The Hebrew expression mimmennu is not to be translated ‘by him’ but ‘from him’. Who is the antecedent of ‘him’? Grammatically, the nearest and most natural antecedent is ‘the Prince of the host’" Hasel G, in Symposium on Daniel, Holbrook F Ed., Daniel and Revelation Committee Series, Vol. 2, Biblical Research Institute, Review and Herald Pub. Hagerstown, 1986, p. 404. "The tamid was ‘taken away’ from him (8:11b)" Shea W, Ibid., p.204.

9. Shea W. H., The Abundant Life Bible Amplifier, Daniel 7-12, Boise, Idaho, Pacific Press, 1996, p. 104.

10. That Jerusalem is being referred to in Matthew and Mark is apparent by the associated advise, "let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains". But we could ask, why would Jesus refer to Jerusalem as "the holy place" in AD 70 when probation had closed for the Jewish nation in AD 34 and Jesus had already said, "Your house [i.e. the temple] is left to you desolate" (Matthew 23:38)? We believe that Jerusalem was still a "holy place" in AD 70 because of the presence in that city of the Christian church headquarters. When the pagan Roman armies with their idolatrous standards encircled Jerusalem they were standing on ground hallowed by the presence of God who dwelt with and in His true church. Having said this, we must mention the fact that most things in Matthew chapter 24 appear to have more than one application. Jesus used language that blended the description of the fall of Jerusalem and the events of His second coming. In a sense the destruction of Jerusalem is a type of the worldwide judgment at the time of Christ’s return. Could there then be a second application of this prediction? Taking into account that the abomination of desolation refers to Rome, Pagan and Papal, we would suggest the following. When Papal Rome stood "in the holy place" "where it ought not" in AD 503-508 (c.f. 2 Thessalonians 2:4) by claiming to be Christ’s vicar and man’s mediator, it would be a signal for God’s people to flee for refuge from the coming persecution and to head for the wilderness. This is exactly what is portrayed in Revelation chapter 12 where the woman, symbolising the church, flees into the "wilderness" for "a thousand two hundred and threescore days" (1260 years, from 538 to 1798). Thus the establishment of the Papacy’s counterfeit sanctuary ministry in 503-508 could have been seen as a warning to escape the coming persecution that would commence in earnest following 538. In addition to all this, there may yet be a third application. When the Papacy is revived again (see Appendix Six, Identifying Other Characters of Revelation Chapter 17) it will again stand "in the holy place" "where it ought not" by enforcing worship of itself through the mark of the beast. Fleeing to solitary places could then again be the best thing for God’s people to do.

11. Online Bible Lexicon.

12. Ibid.

13. Hardouin’s Councils, Vol. II, p. 983; Labbe and Cossart’s Councils, Vol. IV, col. 1364; Bower’s History of the Popes (three-volume edition), Vol. I, pp. 304, 305. In the words of Wylie, "We find the council convoked by Theodoric demurring to investigate the charges alleged against Pope Symmachus, on the grounds set forth by his apologist Ennodius, which were, ‘that the Pope, as God's Vicar, was the judge of all, and could himself be judged by no one.’ [Footnote: Mosheim, cent. vi. part ii. chap. ii. "Vice Dei judicare pontificem, a nullo mortalium in jus vocari posse docuit." Adopted by the Roman Synod, under Symmachus, A.D. 503. (Harduin, vol. ii. p. 983.)] ‘In this apology,’ remarks Mosheim, ‘the reader will perceive that the foundations of that enormous power which the popes of Rome afterwards acquired were now laid.’" Wylie J A, The History of the Papacy, Book One, Chapter 2.

14. This was the date of the Jewish Day of Atonement in that year.

15. Shea W. H., The Abundant Life Bible Amplifier, Daniel 7-12, Boise, Idaho, Pacific Press, 1996, p. 222.

16. Please see The hour of His judgment is come.

17. Online Bible Hebrew Lexicon.