Steps to Life

Prophecy Seminar

Session 17: God’s Final Message to Earth

In different ages, God has had special life and death messages of warning for different groups of people. To Pharaoh and the Egyptians He said, "Let My people go, for Israel is My first born, and if you do not let Israel go, I will bring My plagues upon Egypt, culminating in the death of all the first born of Egypt" (Exodus 5–12). But Pharaoh and his lords did not heed the warning. The rejection of that warning resulted in the death of all the first born of the nation, the destruction of the entire army in the Red Sea, and the death of Pharaoh himself (Exodus 14).

Jeremiah came with a message from God for Jerusalem to repent of their idolatry (Jeremiah 3:12), or be destroyed (Jeremiah 11:11), but Jeremiah was contemptuously thrown into a pit of mud (Jeremiah 38:6). As in Egypt, the message of God was spurned and the nation met disaster.

John the Baptist came with a message to the Jewish people, to repent of their pride and bigotry. "Do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father!’ " John the Baptist warned. "For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees" (Matthew 3:9,10). But Judah did not heed the message, therefore they did not recognize their Messiah when He came, and Jerusalem was destroyed in a carnage of blood a few years later.

Yes, in different ages God has sent messages of warning that could not be rejected without serious consequences. Usually the messages were scoffed at, derided, rejected, and the consequences encountered. These messages were sent to individuals, groups, or nations, but twice in this earth’s history, God has sent a message to the entire world—to every inhabitant.

The first of these two worldwide warnings came in the days of Noah.

Genesis 6:5 "Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the Lord said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ "

As the earth followed the example of Cain, it became increasingly more wicked, until "every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." It must have been something like it is today: In order to have a party they had to serve alcohol. In order to sell children toys they had to be associated with killing and violence. As they went along during the day they must have sung songs of lust. Maybe their magazines also had to feature tales of lust in order to sell. Yes, their "thoughts," the Bible says, were evil continually, until mankind became so corrupt that God had to destroy them.

But God is merciful. He gave mankind 120 years to repent of their evil ways, during which time God sent His Spirit to plead with men to accept His mercy.

Genesis 6:3 "And the Lord said, ‘My Spirit shall not strive with man forever, for he is indeed flesh; yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years.’ "

But God’s message and messenger were derided and made fun of. He and his boat were the subject of ridicule, jest, and cartoons. For a good laugh, a Noah joke would do. But the Flood came anyway and all of those jesters died.

Population studies indicate that by the time the Flood came, 1,656 years after Creation, there must have been well over a billion people on earth. They were not ignorant people. The very fact that Noah could build a boat able to house all the animals and birds (along with food, water, and waste facilities for each), which could survive the greatest upheaval of water this earth has ever seen, proves that they had skills and abilities. Undoubtedly their minds, fresh from the hand of the Creator, were far superior to ours. Yet, among all those millions of people, only eight were saved. God’s message was rejected.

The world was destroyed by the Flood. Many people rebelliously and stubbornly refuse to believe the Bible account of the Flood, and yet the witnesses are all around us. God will visit the vain, proud men who refuse to believe His Word in spite of overwhelming evidence. I grew up on a farm below the Colorado Rockies, and there, when we plowed the ground, we still overturned sea shells. Those sea shells can even be found in the soil of the highest mountains—how did they get there? Colorado is 1,000 miles from the nearest sea coast.

Men drill down 50,000 feet and strike oil—the product of forests, animal life, and vegetation put under sudden and tremendous pressure—the pressure of miles of gigantic rocks, sand and dirt piled on top. How did those animals and trees get ten miles below the surface of the earth all at one time? When animals die they don’t turn into oil, they decay. In order for oil to be formed, they had to be buried suddenly. The Flood was a tremendous display of divine power.

Yes, friends, when the fury of God was released, it was an awesome sight—no one lived except those within the ark. All of man’s plans came to a sudden, thundering halt, and thus it will be again.

Matthew 24:37 "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark."

At various times and in various places, God has had messages for people, cities, and nations. Twice in the history of this earth He has had a message for the entire world. Once in Noah’s day when the world was destroyed by water, and now, before Jesus’ second coming when the earth will be destroyed by fire. And yet, as in Noah’s day, men will scoff at the message.

2 Peter 3:3 "Knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.’ 5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 7 But the heavens and the earth which now exist are kept in store by the same word, reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."

As it was in the day of Noah, so today there will be scoffers—but that will not change the facts. The end of all things is at hand. A catastrophe is coming that is going to engulf and destroy every man and woman on earth except a small remnant who accept God’s last warning message. A man may be an atheist, but it is going to engulf him as well. He may be a Christian who rejects the message; he will be destroyed, too. Whether he believes the message or not will not matter. Avoiding the subject or hiding one’s head in the sand will not change coming events. Whole nations may declare themselves for atheism or some other ideology that scoffs at the idea of Christ’s coming and the end of the world—but they and their weapons of warfare will be destroyed together. It doesn’t matter what a person believes or doesn’t believe. It doesn’t matter how well he can argue his point, how many degrees he may have, or how many other people he may convince, the end is still coming the way the Bible says it will. If every person in the whole wide world rejected the message and made fun of it, the end is coming just the same.

With this coming event inevitable, don’t you think God should have a special warning message for the world again, as He did in Noah’s day?

Amos 3:7 "Surely the Lord God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets."

The Lord would not bring a worldwide destruction without giving a worldwide message before it came of how to escape that destruction. The harvest time of this earth is coming at which time the whole earth, like a field of wheat, is going to be reaped.

Revelation 14:14 "And I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat One like the Son of Man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, ‘Thrust in Your sickle and reap, for the time has come for You to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ 16 So He who sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped."

At Jesus’ second coming, all the world is going to be divided into two groups—those who follow Christ and keep God’s commandments and those who receive the mark of the Beast.

Revelation 14:9 "Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. And he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.’ 12 Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus."

Revelation 14 is probably the very climax of the book of Revelation. After describing the 1,260 years of persecution during the Middle Ages, and the great conflicting powers in the struggle between good and evil, Revelation 14 climaxes the events of the previous chapters by bringing us right up to the final event of this earth as we know it, the second coming of Christ with its harvesting of souls.

Revelation 14 reveals three very important things: 1) the coming of Christ and the purpose of His coming—to harvest the earth; 2) those who will be saved and those who will be lost; and 3) God’s final warning message to all the people of earth. Yes, God does have a final, worldwide message before the final, worldwide destruction of the earth.

Revelation 14:6 "Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people 7 saying with a loud voice, ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’ "

These messages of the three angels in Revelation 14:6–12 are God’s final messages to Planet Earth. It is so important it is symbolized by angels flying through the midst of heaven and crying out with a loud voice. God wants it to be heard. He wants it to be "preached" to "every nation, tribe, tongue, and people." He wants the message given clearly so that those who hear may heed, for their eternal destiny depends upon their acceptance or rejection of the message. What is the message? The Bible summarizes it into the first angel’s message into three parts:

1. It includes the everlasting gospel. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation Paul says. It involves the power of God first of all to save you from the guilt of your sins which otherwise would cause your eternal death. And secondly, it involves the power of God to save from the habits, the power of sin. Jesus said, "He who commits sin is the slave of sin and the slave does not abide in the house forever but the Son abides forever. If therefore the Son shall make you free you shall be free indeed." John 8:34–36. If you have not been set free from evil habits John says you do not yet know God (I John 2:3,4; 3:6), and to have eternal life we must know God (John 17:3). That is the first part of the final message God sends to this world; but then there are two more parts in the first angel’s message:

2. "Fear God. . . for the hour of His judgment HAS come."

3. Therefore "worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."

The third part of this message is readily discernible. It is quoted directly from the fourth commandment: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. . . For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it" (Exodus 20:8–11). The way we are told to worship God, recognizing Him as the Creator of all, is to keep the Sabbath as the memorial of His creation. If we recognize God as the Creator we must keep the Sabbath, for that was a part of His creation (Genesis 2:1–3; Mark 2:27).

At the end of creation God created a special day of rest and He did three things: first of all He himself rested on that day the Bible says, and then He made this day holy, and also He blessed that day. The Sabbath day, the seventh day of the week, is the only day of the week that God rested on, it is the only day of the week that He explicitly blessed and it is the only day of the week that He made holy. Remember, only God can make anything holy. A person can keep Sunday, they can rest on a day that God commanded them to work on, but they cannot keep Sunday holy because God did not make Sunday or Friday or any other day a holy day except the seventh day of the week. The Sabbath "according to the commandment" (Luke 23:56) is that day of the week that comes between "good Friday" and "Easter Sunday."

We have already noted that the keeping of the commandments, especially the Sabbath commandment, is the thing that distinguishes God’s true followers in that last days. We have also noted that the Beast power would seek to elevate himself above God by changing His Sabbath law, replacing it with his own law. We have also noted that this is the mark of his authority and that those who persist in following the laws of the Beast in defiance of the laws of God will thereby receive his mark, called the mark of the Beast.

These items we have already noted from Scripture in previous lessons. The point here that should be noted is that this Sabbath message is to be preached "to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people. . . with a loud voice." In the last days the Sabbath message is to be clearly preached to all the world, though it will be rejected by most. Most will continue to follow the Beast.

The Hour of His Judgment Has Come

However, the message that even precedes the Sabbath and gives importance to the Sabbath message, is the announcement that "THE HOUR OF HIS JUDGMENT HAS COME." In our last session we studied about the judgment and how important it is. Let’s review a few points from that lesson:

1. The judgment decides the eternal destiny of every soul.

2. Accurate records are kept on every individual in preparation for the judgment. These records detail every action of life, including our very thoughts.

3. We are judged on the basis of our character development, which is determined by our works.

4. The standard of character is God’s law, which is to be written in our hearts, our minds, our characters.

5. When Jesus comes, He comes with His rewards with Him, which have been decided in the heavenly judgment.

Revelation 22:12 "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work."

The judgment is nearly the climax of earth’s history and just precedes the second coming of Christ. In fact, Christ’s second coming is for the purpose of giving eternal life to all those who have been awarded such in the judgment. The second coming of Christ is for the purpose of carrying out the decisions of the judgment. No wonder the preaching of the judgment caused men to fear when Paul preached:

Acts 24:25 "Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid."

Paul preached about the "judgment TO come," but Revelation 14:7 tells about a message that proclaims that "the hour of His judgment HAS come." That is, it has already started. Will the inhabitants of earth actually know when this judgment process starts? This text says that not only God’s true Sabbath-keeping messengers know, but they will "preach" when the very "hour of His judgment has come" "to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people." This is very interesting indeed. It is also very sober. For when this last message of God goes forth to the world that "the hour of His judgment has come," that means that the end is very near. Has God really appointed a specific time for the judgment to come, which time can be determined by His true followers?

Acts 17:31 "He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead."

God has "appointed a day on which He will judge the world." It is an appointed, prophetic day. Not only so, but that appointed, prophetic day will be preached to all the world.

It is true that no one knows the "day and hour" of Jesus’ second coming (Matthew 24:36). We don’t know when the judgment is going to be finished and when Jesus is going to come back to earth. BUT, the Bible assures us that we can know when the judgment hour is going to begin. In fact, God’s last message to earth is that IT HAS STARTED, therefore "fear God and worship Him."

Jesus said that although we cannot know the very day and hour of His second coming, we can know when it is near:

Matthew 24:33 "So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the very doors."

Has The Judgment Started Yet?

As we study these things, the next logical question we might want to ask is: Has that hour of God’s judgment started yet? If God "has appointed a day on which He will judge the world," and if "God does nothing, unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7), and if the message is going to be preached with a loud voice to all the world, then somewhere in the prophetic writings is hidden the very time for the starting of the judgment in heaven that just precedes the second coming of Christ. If we could find that date, we would know whether or not we are living in the time just preceding Jesus’ second coming.

To find that date, we must go to the sanctuary. Jesus is today ministering for us in the heavenly sanctuary (Hebrews 8:1–5; 9:24). That is where the judgment takes place. Within the earthly sanctuary, God had a service once a year which symbolized the judgment.

Of all the yearly ceremonies of the sanctuary, two were the most significant. The first of these two ceremonies, which came in the spring of the year, was the Passover. The Passover pointed forward to and represented the death of Jesus. Jesus is called "our Passover" (1 Corinthians 5:7), and He was crucified on the very day of the Passover. If the Jews would have accepted Jesus’ application of the prophecy of Daniel 9, which pointed forward to the very year of Jesus’ death, and combined that with a proper understanding of the Passover service, which pointed forward to the very day of the year on which Jesus would be crucified, they could have known exactly the foretold time of Jesus’ crucifixion.

The second of the two most significant sanctuary celebrations was the final one of the ceremonial year—this one pointed forward to the end of earth’s history and was called the "Day of Atonement." It is still kept by Jews today and is known as Yom Kippur. This was the only day of the year that the High Priest went into the ``Most Holy Place" of the sanctuary, before those Ten Commandments which are the basis of the judgment, and symbolically cleansed the sanctuary from the sins of the people.

Throughout the year the children of Israel came to the sanctuary, confessing their sins on the head of a lamb that represented Jesus, and thereby transferring their sins to the lamb. The lamb was then slain, representing Jesus’ death for our sins, and the lamb’s blood taken INTO the sanctuary, representing Jesus’ blood covering the sinner’s sins which were registered in the books of the heavenly sanctuary.

On the Day of Atonement, every man’s case was symbolically reviewed (the judgment) and the sanctuary was then "cleansed" of all its recorded sins. This was the cleansing of the sanctuary and it represented the judgment. So important was the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) that it was preceded by ten days of soul searching. Ten days before the Day of Atonement, silver trumpets blew to inform the children of Israel that it was time to search their hearts and repent of their deeds. THOSE WHO FAILED TO DO THIS WERE CUT OFF FROM THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL FOREVER. This whole period of ten days is today called Rosh Hashana. Listen to the description of one Jewish authority on this sanctuary ceremony that took place in the fall of the year.

"The horn blast reverberates through the dark reaches of the universe. The angelic hosts, drawn up in array before the throne of God, shudder at the sound. It is Rosh Hashana, the day of judgment. The scrolls of fate roll open before the Lord. In these scrolls every man’s hand has written his deeds of the year past. God reads the entries and pronounces judgment, fixes the destinies of every human being for the year to come: who shall die, who shall live, who shall be rich, who shall be poor, who shall rise in the world, who shall fall, who shall live in peace, and who shall stumble in misery. This decree on the day of horn blowing is not final. Men have ten days in which to search their acts, repent of misdeeds, perform good works to alter the balance as it stands, pledge themselves to better conduct, and throw themselves on the judge’s mercy in prayer. Yom Kippur, the last of these days of grace, is a crisis of confession and repentance.

"As the sun sinks through the horizon, the scroll of fate rolls shut. The destinies of all men for the coming year are sealed. The annual judgment ends at sundown with a blast of the horn."—Herman Wouk, This Is My God, pp. 85, 86.

Leviticus 23:26 "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 27 ‘Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. 28 And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God. 29 For any person who is not afflicted of soul on that same day, he shall be cut off from his people. 30 And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.’ "

Leviticus 16:29 "In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who sojourns among you. 30 For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the Lord. 31 It is a sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever. 32 And the priest, who is anointed and consecrated to minister as priest in his father’s place, shall make atonement, and put on the linen clothes, the holy garments; 33 then he shall make atonement for the Holy Sanctuary, and he shall make atonement for the tabernacle of meeting and for the altar, and he shall make atonement for the priests and for all the people of the congregation. 34 This shall be an everlasting statute for you, to make atonement for the children of Israel, for all their sins, once a year."

As Jesus’ death was illustrated by the Passover feast, so the judgment was prefigured by the Day of Atonement, which was when the sanctuary was symbolically cleansed. Therefore, in prophecy the judgment can be referred to as either 1) the judgment; 2) the Day of Atonement; or 3) the cleansing of the (heavenly) sanctuary. Somewhere in prophecy, under one or another of these synonymous terms, the starting time for the judgment must be given. God enjoins us to find when this important date is and to preach it with a loud voice. Let us start our search in the time-honored prophecies of Daniel 7. After the little-horn reign of 1,260 years, which we have seen ended in 1798, Daniel was shown the following event taking place in heaven.

Daniel 7:9 "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; 10 a fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, and the books were opened."

Daniel 7:25 "He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time. 26 But the court shall be seated, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy it forever."

This is the heavenly judgment that we have been talking about, which judgment takes place in heaven just preceding Jesus’ second coming. Notice, this judgment takes place while there are still political powers ruling on earth.

Daniel 7:10 "A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, and the books were opened. 11 I watched THEN because of the sound of the pompous words which the horn was speaking; I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time."

This prophecy introduces the judgment message, and gives us the approximate date—sometime after 1798—but it does not specify the exact time. However, remember this principle, that each prophecy builds upon the one before, giving more details than the previous one. Could it be that in the next prophecy God becomes more specific as to the starting date for this judgment to take place? In fact, that is exactly what God does. After again describing the activities of the little-horn power, God zeros in on the exact time of the judgment.

Daniel 8:14 "And he said to me, ‘For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.’ "

Daniel 7 gives us the approximate time for this judgment period that cleanses the sanctuary from sin, but now God gives an exact time—in 2,300 days. As we have already noted in previous lessons, a day in prophecy equals a literal year (see Ezekiel 4:6; Daniel 9:24–26). Thus, after 2,300 years the sanctuary would be cleansed.

Daniel 8:15 "Now it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, ‘Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.’ 17 So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, ‘Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.’ "

This was, of course, the heavenly sanctuary that was to be cleansed, for it refers to "the time of the end." There has been activity in the sanctuary for thousands of years, but at the close of the judgment, business is going to cease. When the judgment is finished the books are going to be closed, the recorded sins of the righteous are all going to be blotted out of the books of record, and the names of those who have remained in rebellion are going to be blotted out of the book of life. Their sins will be placed back on their account. God is going to clean up the books of the sanctuary. When the judgment is finished and the sanctuary is cleansed, Jesus is going to come. This work would begin in 2,300 years.

We are getting close. The only thing we need now is to find out when the 2,300 years begins.

When Does the 2,300 Days (Years) Begin?

Yes, we are close to finding the time that God says is to be proclaimed to the world. But to tell us that this time-cleansing judgment would take place in 2,300 days doesn’t do any good unless we know when the 2,300 day/year period is to begin. There is a problem here, for the prophecy does not tell us when to start counting.

Daniel 8:26 " ‘And the vision of the evenings and mornings which was told is true; therefore seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the future.’ 27 And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king’s business. I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood it."

The only part of the whole vision that wasn’t explained was the most important part—when did the 2,300 days (literally, evenings and mornings) begin?

Daniel 8 gives the time prophecy pointing forward to the judgment but does not give a starting date anywhere. And yet, God MUST give the starting time some place, or why would He have given the prophecy in the first place? How else could the hour of His judgment be preached? The starting date for the 2,300 days is given in the next chapter. Daniel, who did not understand the vision, prayed earnestly, confessing his sins, until the angel Gabriel came back to finish explaining the vision.

Daniel 9:20 "Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God, 21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in THE VISION at the beginning (that is the vision of Daniel 8 which ended with the 2,300 day prophecy), being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. 22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, ‘O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. 23 At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand THE VISION:"

Gabriel came back to finish explaining "the vision," which explanation had been cut short. The only part of that vision which had not been explained yet was the part referring to the time of the 2,300 years—when would it begin? Since Gabriel had already explained every other portion of the vision, he begins his explanation with reference to the time. Now notice carefully, and we need to get this point, Gabriel is NOT primarily giving a new vision, but is finishing the explanation of "the vision at the beginning," at which Daniel had seen "the man Gabriel." that was the vision of Daniel 8 which ended with the 2,300 day/year prophecy. Thus, Gabriel immediately begins with the explanation of the time.

Daniel 9:24 "Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy."

"Seventy weeks are determined for your people."

The word "determined" is an incorrect translation. The Hebrew word is "chathak," which specifically means to "CUT OFF." The Bible translators, not recognizing that this was a part and extenuation of the previous vision of the 2,300 days, could not figure out what these seventy weeks were cut off from, so they came up with a different word. Whenever we try to improve on the Bible, we always fail. A literal translation of this verse would be as follows:

"Seventy weeks are cut off for your people."

"Daniel," the angel said, ``the first 70 weeks, or 490 years, of the 2,300 year prophecy, is cut off for your people, the Jews." We had a whole lesson on this seventy-week prophecy and noted at that time that this prophecy started with the decree of Artaxerxes to restore and build Jerusalem, as re- corded in Ezra 6:14; 7:8–28 (see verse 25 of Daniel 9). This decree went forth in the fall of 457 B.C. In that lesson on the seventy weeks, we found that when we take this 457 B.C. starting date, the prophecy points forward to Jesus’ baptism and death and to the beginning of the gospel among the Gentiles.

But this first 70 weeks, or 490 years, was merely "cut off" from a much longer time prophecy—the 2,300 year prophecy (the longest time prophecy in all the Bible). The first 490 years of that prophecy was during the Jewish dispensation and ended in A.D. 34. Four hundred ninety years from 2,300 years leaves 1,810 years for the gospel to go to the Gentiles in a special way. Thus the prophecy predicts that the Jewish dispensation would last for another 490 years after the decree to restore and build Jerusalem in 457 B.C. Then the Gentiles would have special privileges for 1,810 years, and then the sanctuary would be cleansed.

I urge you to go back and study the lesson on the seventy weeks to make sure you understand this important prophecy. It is important for two reasons: 1) it predicts the coming of the Messiah; and 2) it predicts the starting time for the cleansing of the sanctuary.

The prophecy of Daniel 8 and 9 is one of the most important prophecies in all the Bible. It gives the exact time period for both the first coming of Christ and for the beginning of His work of judgment in preparation for His second coming. (There is no date to be given for the second coming.) It is the ONLY place in all the Bible that the date for either of these two events is given. Other places, such as Daniel 7, give an approximate time, but this is the only exact time. Yet, Jesus clearly stated after His baptism that the time period for the first part of this prophecy—the sixty-nine weeks that pointed forward to His anointing at His baptism—was fulfilled.

Immediately after His baptism He preached, "Saying, ‘The time is fulfilled’ " (Mark 1:15). The only prophetic time period in all the Bible that predicted that event and that could have been fulfilled was the first 69 weeks of the 2,300 day/year prophecy. Just as the first portion of this prophecy was fulfilled, so we can know that the last part of the prophecy has been fulfilled also.

Daniel 9:24 "Seventy weeks are determined. . . to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy."

The vision (which always refers to the whole vision, the one about the 2,300 days) was sealed by the fulfillment of the first part. We can verify the first part (the seventy week part), because it took place on earth. The second part of the vision must be taken by faith because it takes place in heaven. At the end of the seventy weeks, Jesus went into the Most Holy of the sanctuary and anointed it. That was the heavenly sanctuary. (The word "Most Holy" in Daniel 9:24 is in the neuter tense in He- brew and must refer to a place, not a person.) The heavenly sanctuary is where Jesus went to minister, at the end of which ministry He would begin the work of judgment. Before His second coming, the books of record would be opened, an investigation of each individual would begin to see who would be saved or lost. As we noted last night, this investigation is not for God’s information, but for the records, and to show to mankind and the universe that justice has been kept.

According to the prophecies of Daniel 7, 8, and 9, the court of heaven is today, at this very moment, in session. As Jesus died on the very day of the Passover (the fourteenth day of the first Jewish month, which comes in our springtime), on the very year specified in the prophecy, A.D. 31, so He also entered into the final work of judgment on the very Day of Atonement today’s Yom Kippur (which was on the tenth day of the seventh Jewish month) in 1844. In 1844 this day fell on October 22.

God Has An Appointed Day

If it is true that God "has appointed a day on which He will judge the world" (Acts 17:31) and that this specific time would be preached "to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people. . . with a loud voice" (Revelation 14:6,7), then there can be no doubt about this prophecy, for there is no other prophecy in all the Bible that points forward to the beginning of the judgment. You can search the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and there is no other prophecy that even suggests a specific date for either the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry or the beginning of His judgment—and yet this very time is to be preached to all the world. We can be just as sure of the fulfillment of the October 22, 1844, judgment portion of the prophecy as we can of the fulfillment of the portions dealing with Christ’s first coming.

Yet, though this is the only specific prophecy of the exact time of either Christ’s first ministry or of His judgment ministry, in BOTH CASES there are many other corresponding prophecies that help to confirm the validity of the occasion. For example, at Christ’s first coming it was predicted that He would be born in Bethlehem, would be rejected by most people, and would preach a message of deliverance from sin. All these helped to confirm the fact that the time prophecies pointing forward to Christ were correct.

Corresponding Evidence

Just so, the Bible gives many corresponding prophecies of events that would be associated with the beginning of the judgment period begun in 1844 that helps to confirm that date also. We don’t have time this evening to look at these corresponding prophecies, but we will have one whole lesson covering just these prophecies and events that give evidence that 1844 is indeed "the hour of his judgment" that it "has come."

Jesus’ first coming was announced by humble shepherds. The proud all scoffed at their testimony. So today, God’s message is to go forth in a humble way to all the world. It is not to go forth with pomp and ceremony, but God would have all men and women decide by the testimony of His Word, and by the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, as to its truth.

As In the Days Of Noah

Jesus said, "As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man" (Luke 17:26). In Noah’s day there was a message that went to all the world, a message of coming judgment. God gave 120 years for that message to be given. Those that heeded the message were saved, those that did not were lost.

Today there is a similar message of judgment that is going to all the world. The only difference is that this message states that the judgment has already begun, and when this judgment is over the eternal destiny of every man and women on earth will be forever fixed. Then will be heard that pronouncement that rumbles through the courts of heaven, as the last case is decided:

Revelation 22:11 "He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still."

This pronouncement is made at the close of the investigative judgment, just before the second coming of Christ.

Revelation 22:12 "And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work."

In Noah’s day the door of the ark closed seven days before the Flood came (Genesis 7:7–10). When the door of the ark closed, the probation of every man and woman on earth was eternally decided—probation’s hour had closed. Yet mankind went on "eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. . . and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be" (Matthew 24:38,39). Today, again, probation’s hour is going to suddenly close when the investigation of every case has been completed, but the world will not know. At that time ONLY THOSE WHO HAVE HEEDED THE WARNING OF GOD WILL BE SAVED!

In Noah’s day the final warning message from God was preached for 120 years until everyone had an opportunity to hear and to make a decision for God if they chose. Today, the message has already been given longer than in the days of Noah. How much longer will God wait? Surely He has completed the judgment of all the dead and is even now lingering over the records of the living—over your record and mine. Surely He could have come ere this, but He is waiting, waiting for one more person to hear His final message and heed its warning.

Even now He is waiting for you, for He died for you. He is loathe to close the judgment books until YOU have yielded to His warning cry, but He will not wait forever—He cannot wait forever. The graves of all the dead cry out to be opened. The graves of all the martyrs cry out for justice. The inhabitants of all the universe cry out to the Lord, "How long until you end this carnage of sin?"

"Not much longer," God answers. "But I want to save one more person." "The Lord is not slack concerning His promise. . . but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9).

Today the last great message is being given to all the world—to you. Where you will be, or not be, a million years from now depends on your response to God’s final message for earth. That is why God has waited this long—He has waited just for you.

In Noah’s day, those who made a definite decision to heed the message were saved. Those who did not make a decision one way or another had already made their decision. They did not have to choose to be outside of the ark, they were there already. They had to choose to be in the ark to be saved. Today God is calling with a loud voice, because, in order to be saved, a definite choice must be made in regard to His last warning message of judgment and Sabbath-keeping.

When the judgment closes, all the world will be divided into two classes just as it was in the days of Noah. In Noah’s day everybody in the world was either inside the ark or outside the ark. Today God is sending this message all over the world, you have just heard it tonight and what is this message? It is not just the gospel—it is that the hour of God’s judgment has come and that you and I are to worship Him as the creator. We are to come to the cross and ask for grace to overcome so that our character will be righteous and holy, ready for the judgment to close.

In order to be ready for the judgment to close and to live to see Jesus come and to be ready to go home with Him, we must keep all the commandments including the Sabbath commandment. In past ages there were many people that did not know any better and their sins of ignorance were forgiven by the blood of Christ; they will keep their first Sabbath in heaven. But when the judgment closes and Christ ceases to be our mediator and comes back in glory, not as a priest but as King of kings and Lord or lords, if you are breaking any part of God’s law you will be lost. That is why before that time God is causing a message today to go throughout the world.

Revelation 14:7 "The hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."

Notice what is to happen very soon?

Revelation 22:11 "He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still. 12 And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work."

When those words are spoken friend, if you are alive, you will either be a person who is obedient to all of God’s commandments (since God’s law is holy (Romans 7:12) and righteous (Ps. 119:172), nobody can be called holy or righteous who is breaking it—especially if they are willfully breaking it), including the Sabbath, or you will be lost. The law of God and especially the Sabbath is the test in the last days that will separate the whole world into two groups: those that keep it—the holy ones (saints) who will be saved (Revelation 14:12); and those who break it—the unrighteous ones who will be lost (Revelation 14:9–11). Your decision determines your destiny. What choice will you make?

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Last Updated: 06/18/03