What Portion of the Book of Daniel Was Sealed?
By Geo. Manuel
The first mention of definite prophetic time in the book of Daniel is in chapter 8:14: “And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” R.V. This is in answer to the question, How long shall these persecuting powers (the daily and the transgression of desolation) tread the sanctuary and the host (people of God) under foot? Or, in other words, How long shall the reign of sin continue on this earth? An all-important question, surely. From other parts of the Scriptures, not necessary to quote here, we learn that the cleansing of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment are identical, and that the second coming of Christ immediately follows. This answer, then, is equivalent to saying that at the end of the 2,300 days the judgment of sinners will take place, and their reign will come to an end soon after. To the same effect we read, “Of that day and hour knoweth no man” (Matt. 24:36), but we may “know when He is near, even at the door.” Matt. 24:33, margin. In the vision recorded in the eighth chapter of Daniel, four symbols are introduced; namely, The ram, the he-goat, the little horn, and the 2,300 evenings and mornings (days). Let the fact be noted that while the prophecy clearly describes the character and succession of the different kingdoms of earth, no clue is given as to the time each is to continue. The angel explained the first three of these symbols, but deferred the explanation of the 2,300 evenings and mornings to some future time, simply saying, “And the vision of the [2,300] evenings and mornings which hath been told is true: but shut thou up the vision; for it belongeth to many days to come.” Dan. 8:26, R.V. “And I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.” Verse 27. Note that in this vision it was the time question, the 2,300 evenings and mornings, that was not explained, but was to be shut up for many days (verse 26), and “none understood” (verse 27). The next chapter records the visit of the same angel, Gabriel, who addresses Daniel in these words: “Therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision” (of the 2,300 days). Dan. 9:23. He begins his explanation at the point where he had previously left off, at the time question, saying: “Seventy weeks are determined [cut off] upon thy people and upon thy holy city.” Verse 24. He makes no further mention of the ram, the he-goat, and the little horn, as they had already been explained. The last vision of Daniel is recorded in chapters 10 to 12. In chapter 12:9 we read: “And he said, Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.” “And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?” Dan. 12:6. Still the same time question, shut up, sealed up, closed up, and not explained. The Saviour gives a very important comment on the book of Daniel in Matt. 24:15: “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, whoso readeth let him understand.” This shows conclusively that the book of Daniel or that portion of it (Dan. 9:27) referring to the destruction of Jerusalem could and should be understood at that time. In Mark 1:14 we read: “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled” (verse 15); or, in other words, the end of the sixty-nine weeks reaching to the anointing of the Messiah had come. The prophetic periods referring to that time were then to be understood, but not those periods that were closed up and sealed to the time of the end. In Acts 1:6 the question is asked of Christ, “Lord, wilt Thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” The reply is given, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power.” From this we may learn that there were some things relating to the time question which were not to be understood by the church at that time. “Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you; searching what, or what manner of time the spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the Gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.” 1 Peter 1:10–12. A careful consideration of this text will show that some things about the time question had then been made known by the “Holy Ghost sent down from heaven,” but there were some things still future “which things the angels desire to look into.” The reason for this is probably found in Dan. 10:21, where it is stated that Michael (Christ)8and Gabriel only understood these things. “There is none that holdeth with me [Gabriel] in these things, but Michael your Prince.” If we are correct in our conjecture that it was the portion relating to time that was “sealed up” till the time of the end, we should expect that when that time came the seal would be removed. From Dan. 11:35 we learn that the “time of the end” began in 1798, at the end of the papal persecution. In the tenth chapter of Revelation, verse 2, it is stated, “And he [the angel] had in his hand a little book open,” not sealed up. Here is a proclamation relating to time: “Time shall be no longer” (verse 6). The book contained “the mystery of God which He hath declared to His servants the prophets.” This can only refer to the time portion of the book of Daniel. Compare this angel with the one mentioned in Dan. 12:7, who is also speaking about time. It can be easily shown by a comparison of scripture texts that the time message of Revelation 10 is identical with the time message of Rev. 14:6, one declaring “that [prophetic] time shall be no longer,” and the other that “the hour of His Judgment is come.” A careful study of the Scriptures will show that this proclamation is made in the latter days of the sounding of the sixth and the beginning of the sounding of the seventh angel. The sixth angel ceased his sounding in August, 1840, and the seventh angel began his sounding soon after. The seventh is the last of the series, and begins his sounding just previous to the second coming of Christ. At this time a peculiar message which had never been proclaimed before relating to prophetic time and the ending of the 2,300 days was preached all over the world. It showed the connection between the seventy weeks of Dan. 9:24 and the 2,300 days of Dan. 8:14. This connection had never been seen before and constituted the unsealing of the book of Daniel. From a careful consideration of the above scriptures, we are driven to the following conclusions: (a) That the greater part of the book of Daniel was never sealed, but was to be understood from the time it was written to the end of time. This is declared to be so by Christ Himself in Matt. 24:15, “Let him that readeth [the book of Daniel] understand.” R.V. (b) That portion relating to the time of the seventy weeks was understood. See Mark 1:14, 15. “The time is fulfilled.” (c) The portion that was sealed related to the 2,300 days and the cleansing of the sanctuary, and was not to be unsealed or understood until the time of the end, when the seal was removed by showing the connection between the seventy weeks and the 2,300 days. This had never been understood before except by Michael (Christ) and Gabriel. “There is none that holdeth with me [Gabriel] in these things but Michael your Prince.” Dan. 10:21.