The 2,300 Day Prophecy
The Tribulation & The Judgment Hour
Prophecy Study 18 Part 1
In this lesson, we are going to study the longest time prophecy in the Bible. The accuracy of God’s Word is wonderful and astounding! The Bible predicted hundreds of years in advance the baptism of Jesus, His death, and His beginning hour of judgement, proving for any reasonable mind the validity of the Bible and Jesus Christ as the Messiah.
This prophecy centers around the sanctuary, so we want to first look into the sanctuary system itself and some past history. Paul, as he wrote the New Testament, summed it all up, and said this subject was most important. Hebrews 8: 1-2, “Now of the things which we have spoken THIS IS THE SUM: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true
tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.” When Adam and Eve sinned, God had to have a way to deal with sin, so the sacrificial system was set up. When a person sinned, a lamb was brought to the sanctuary, and the sinner then confessed his sin on the head of the lamb, transferring his sin to the innocent victim. The lamb was then killed. God’s Word says in Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death.” And Hebrews 9:22 says “without shedding of blood is no remission” for sin.
God then broadened this sacrificial system in the time of Moses and the children of Israel. Exodus 25:8-9, “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.” God said to build a sanctuary after the pattern. That was the pattern of the sanctuary in heaven. Hebrews 9:1-6 tells us about this earthly sanctuary Moses made. “Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of
divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. For there was a tabernacle made; the first, herein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary. And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; Which had the
golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; And over it the cherubim of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly. Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.”
There was a DAILY ministry in the HOLY PLACE, but the MOST HOLY PLACE was occupied only once a year. Verse 7, “But in the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people.” So when the man sinned, he took a lamb, confessed his sin over it – symbolically transferring his sin to the innocent lamb. The lamb was then slain. The priest took some of the blood and sprinkled it before the veil, and on the altar of burnt offering, and put it on the horns of the altar. Thus the sin was transferred to the sanctuary. This was a DAILY work. But then there was the YEARLY work. Once a year they had to cleanse the sanctuary of all the sin. We read of this in Leviticus 16:16, “And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of the congregation, that remaineth among them in the midst of their uncleanness.”
First they had to make atonement for sin. Verse 18, “And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the Lord, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.”
Secondly, they made atonement for the altar. Verse 19 tells us how atonement was made. “And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.” This yearly cleansing was on the tenth day of the seventh month of the religious year. Ten days before, silver trumpet warned the people it was coming. They had 10 days to search their hearts, repent and confess their sins. The Day of Atonement was very solemn for open sin could not be left unconfessed. It was a day of JUDGMENT. The sins of the entire year had to be taken care of, the sanctuary had to be cleansed of all sin.
After cleansing the Holy Place on the Day of Atonement, Leviticus 16:7-10 tells us the next step. “And he shall take the two goats, and present them before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the LORD, and the other lot for the scapegoat. And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the LORD’S lot fell, and offered him for a sin offering.” Two goats were selected, the Lord’s and a scapegoat. Aaron sacrificed the Lord’s goat and sprinkled its blood seven times before the mercy seat in the MOST HOLY PLACE. Verses 15, 19, “Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat: And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the children of Israel.” Thus it was cleansed.
The priest then took the other goat, laid his hands on its head and confessed all the sins of the people over it – symbolically transferring the entire year’s sin to the victim. This goat then, with the year’s sin, was taken into the wilderness to die. Verse 20-22, “And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar, he shall bring the live goat: And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.”
This system of cleansing the sanctuary each year went on for hundreds of years. Then Jesus came. And you remember that as He came to be baptized John said, “Behold the Lamb.” We all know Jesus was the Lamb that was slain. That’s why the veil was split in the earthly sanctuary when Jesus died – the real Lamb had come! When Jesus went back to heaven, He went into the heavenly sanctuary, and became our High Priest. Hebrews 9:24, “For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.” Isn’t that a wonderful thought!
Revelation 11:19 confirms this again. “And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.” Jesus’ death took care of all sacrifices. He died once and for all. Hebrews 9:12, “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in ONCE INTO THE HOLY PLACE, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” Christ stands before the Father, bearing our sins in the heavenly sanctuary. Our sins are transferred to the sanctuary. First John 2:1, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” This is typical of the daily sacrifice the priests performed for Israel.
John in vision saw Jesus in the sanctuary in the holy place. Revelation 1:11-18, “Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches wchich are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead, and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”
So Jesus is our High Priest, and He is bearing our sins in the sanctuary. Now when you pray to the Father you know what Jesus your High Priest looks like! But now notice this, Hebrews 9:26-28, “For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this is judgement: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.” Three steps:
- “Once in the end of the world” He will put away sin.
- “After this the judgment.”
- For those who look for Him, “He will appear the second time without sin.”
Then there must be a cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary also just as there was for Israel’s earthly sanctuary. All our sins that Christ is bearing must be blotted out. And so in God’s great time clock, He ordained an hour in which He would cleanse the heavenly sanctuary of all its sin and begin the judgment. We can know from Scripture exactly when Christ will begin the cleansing for it is clearly revealed in the Bible prophecy. Let’s begin the study of the longest prophecy in the Bible.
2300 Day Prophecy
The prophecy begins in Daniel 8:14, “And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Two thousand and three hundred days until the sanctuary is to be cleansed. When Daniel heard this, the angel Gabriel came and said something very significant, verses 17-19, “So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for AT THE TIME OF THE END shall be the vision. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright. And he said, 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.” It was to be in the time of the end! So this prophecy will actually take us to the date that marks the time of the end! Verses 26-27, “And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision, for it shall be for many days. And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.”
Put yourself in Daniel’s place. Daniel is a captive Israelite working for the king in Babylon. The Babylonian kingdom had conquered the Israelites a few years earlier, destroying the city of Jerusalem, the sanctuary, and killing thousands of Israelites. Those who were not
killed were taken as slaves. All this takes place 500 years before Jesus even comes the first time as a babe in Bethlehem. So Daniel is astonished when the angel tells him it will be 2,300 days (or prophetic years) till the sanctuary is cleansed and the time of the end would begin. Daniel is concerned about his people, his city, when the Messiah will come, and is anxious to know.
The angel Gabriel in verse 16 was going to make Daniel understand the vision, but poor Daniel was so shocked by the vision he fainted! And the interpretation was left incomplete. But Daniel 9 opens up with Daniel’s recovery and his long prayer for
understanding. In Daniel 9: 21-23, Gabriel returns to continue his explanation from where he left off in chapter 8:14. So he pick up now in Daniel 9:21-23, “Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.”
Don’t miss next week when we look into this prophecy deeper, see what it says about the time of trouble or tribulation and the hour of judgement!
