How a prophecy remarkably points to events in history and the Christian faith. We unravel the secret of the 70 weeks and the meaning of the 2300 years. By Kai Mester
Reading time: 5 minutes
The decree establishing Jerusalem was issued by the Persian king Artaxerxes in 457 BC. given (Ezra 7,7:7,25). Although the construction of the Temple had already been completed, the order to establish Jerusalem as the provincial capital was only now given (Ezra 6,14:XNUMX; XNUMX:XNUMX).
The Messiah
From that point on, 69 weeks would pass until the Messiah would come. Short language course: Messiah (משיח mashiach) is Hebrew and means anointed one. This term is found in Daniel 9,26:XNUMX. In Greek, the anointed one is called christos (χριστος).
In ancient Israel, priests (Exodus 2:29,7) and kings (1 Samuel 16,13:61,1) were anointed with oil. The oil was a symbol of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 4,2:3.6.11; Zechariah 14:4,18-10,38-3,16; Luke XNUMX:XNUMX; Acts XNUMX:XNUMX). Jesus received this spirit at his baptism (Matthew XNUMX:XNUMX).
Again it becomes clear that the times in Daniel are not to be interpreted literally. Because from 457 B.C. Otherwise, with 483 days (69 weeks) you would only get a little further than a year. With the year-day principle, however, we arrive exactly in the autumn of the year 27 AD, in which Jesus was baptized, since Ezra was only able to announce the decree after his arrival in Jerusalem in the "fifth month" (August/September). (Ezra 7,8:XNUMX).
Exactly three and a half years after Jesus' baptism, Jesus was crucified in the spring of 31 AD. The curtain in the temple was torn (Luke 23,46:10). The sacrifices and meat offerings no longer had any meaning; they had found their fulfillment in the sacrificial death of Jesus. This is how the first Christians saw it (Hebrews 9,27), and this is how Daniel predicted it in this prophecy: "In the middle of the week he will stop the sacrifice and meat offering." (Daniel XNUMX:XNUMX)
The amputation
The entire time chain of the 70 “weeks of years” was “destined” for God’s people. Here the word chatakh (חתך) means “cut off” in Hebrew. It appears only once in the Bible, but is well known from non-biblical sources. Ancient Jewish teachers (the rabbis) used the word in the sense of "amputate" or "cut off" when preparing the sacrificial animals. Here in Daniel 9, the 70 weeks were to be "cut off" or "amputated" from a longer period of time. In addition, these 70 weeks were intended to serve the well-being of the Jews in a special way and include the earthly life and death of the Messiah Prince Jesus Christ.
If the 490 days of the 70 weeks are symbolic annual weeks, then the 2300 days are also to be understood symbolically and represent 2300 years, from which the 490 days are "cut off". After all, you can only amputate something shorter from something longer: a finger from your hand, a leg from your body, not the other way around.
Where should we cut off the 490 years from the 2300 years? Front or back? If we cut them off at the back, then the 2300 years end in the year 34 and begin in 2267 BC. XNUMX BC, a date far removed from any event discussed in the book of Daniel.
If we cut them off at the front, we come to the year 1844. That makes sense, because the 1260 years of the Middle Ages and the Inquisition would only end in 1798. The handover of the empire, the judgment and the cleaning of the sanctuary could hardly take place before then.
What happened in 1844?
In the third vision we only learn that the sanctuary would be cleansed again in 1844 (Daniel 8,14:70). However, the earthly temple has been destroyed since 19 AD. It can't be meant. Most Protestants in the early 11,19th century believed that the earth was the sanctuary. She must be purified by fire. But in this they were mistaken. In addition to the destroyed Jerusalem Temple, the New Testament only knows three sanctuaries: the heavenly sanctuary (Revelation 2,21:1), God's church (Ephesians 3,16:17) and our body as a temple of the Holy Spirit (6,19 Corinthians 20:2-XNUMX; XNUMX ,XNUMX-XNUMX). Also read our Special XNUMX with the title longing for paradise.
The guesswork is unnecessary. The parallel vision makes it clear that purification takes place through judgment in heaven (Daniel 7,9:9,3ff). Like all of Israel on the Day of Atonement, Daniel prays for cleansing and forgiveness of sins for his people in chapter 19:1,8-16. In chapter XNUMX:XNUMX-XNUMX it is also clear that Daniel also sees his body as a temple of the Holy Spirit.
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