Daniels vision indicated that Christs role as our high priest would be made especially prominent toward the time of the end (Dan. 8:17), when He would begin His special work of cleansing and judgment in addition to His continual intercessory ministry (Heb. 7:25).35 The vision specifies when Christ was to begin this antitypical day of atonement ministry—the work of the investigative judgment (Dan. 7) and cleansing of the sanctuary—Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed (Dan. 8:14, KJV).36 Because the vision refers to the time of the end, the sanctuary it speaks of cannot be the earthly sanctuary—for it was destroyed in A.D. 70. The prophecy must therefore refer to the new covenant sanctuary in heaven—the place where Christ ministers for our salvation. What are the 2300 days or 2,300 evenings-mornings, as the original Hebrew reads?37 According to Genesis 1, an evening and morning is a day. As we have seen in chapters 4 and 12 of this book, a time period in symbolic prophecy is also symbolic: a prophetic day represents a year. So, as many Christians throughout the centuries have believed, the 2300 days of Daniel 8 signify 2300 literal years.38 a. Daniel 9 the key to unlocking Daniel 8. God commissioned the angel Gabriel to make Daniel understand the vision (Dan. 8:16). But its impact was so shocking that Daniel became ill and Gabriel had to discontinue his explanation. At the close of the chapter Daniel remarked: I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it (Dan. 8:27, RSV). Because of this interruption, Gabriel had to delay his explanation of the time period—the only aspect of the vision he had not yet explained. Daniel 9 describes his return to complete this responsibility. Daniel 8 and 9, then, are connected, the latter being the key to unlocking the mystery of the 2300 days.39 When Gabriel appeared he said to Daniel: I have come forth to give you skill to understand. . . . therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision (Dan. 9:23). Here he refers back to the vision of the 2300 days. His desire to explain the time elements of the vision of Daniel 8 makes clear why he introduces his explanation with the 70-weeks prophecy. The 70 weeks, or 490 years, were determined, or decreed (RSV, NASB, NIV), for the Jews and Jerusalem (Dan. 9:24). The underlying Hebrew verb is chathak. Although this verb is used only once in the Scriptures, its meaning can be understood from other Hebrew sources.40 The well-known Hebrew-English dictionary by Gesenius states that properly it means to cut or to divide.41
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 17:15:59 +0000