Friday, June 12
Read Clifford Goldstein, 1844 Made Simple (Boise, ID: Pacific Press, 1988) as one place, of many, to find more material on the 2,300- day prophecy. See also 1844madesimple.org
Study this chart below:
The crucial point to see here is that the judgment scene in Daniel 7, which occurs after 1,260 years of persecution (Daniel 7:25), is the same thing as the cleansing of the sanctuary in Daniel 8:14. And this judgment scene in heaven is what leads, ultimately, to the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom at the end of this fallen earth’s sad history. Hence, we have powerful biblical evidence for the great importance that Scripture places on Daniel 8:14 and the event it signifies.
Discussion Questions:
1. Go back and review Daniel 2. See how clearly the historicist method is revealed here: an unbroken sequence of world empires, starting in antiquity and ending with the establishment of God’s eternal kingdom. God gives us the key to interpreting these prophecies. What does it say, though, about the state of the Christian world that very few Christians today employ the historicist method anymore? Why does this fact help establish even more the pertinence of the Adventist message for the world at this time?
2. How well do you understand the 2,300 prophecy of Daniel 8:14? If you don’t understand it, why not take the time to learn it and to share it with your class? You might be surprised at how solidly grounded our interpretation of that prophecy really is.
3. Read Daniel 7:18, 21, 22, 25, 27. Notice the focus on what happens to the saints. What does the little-horn power do to them? In contrast, what does the Lord do for them? What is the good news for the saints in regard to the judgment? What does the judgment ultimately give to them?
