THE SANCTUARY, ITS SERVICE, ETC.
The Date of the 2300 Days.
(Lesson 9—Sabbath, March 6.) INTO what portions does the angel divide the seventy weeks? "Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks; . . . and he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week." Dan. 9: 25, 27. The three subdivisions, seven weeks, threescore and two weeks, and one week, make up the seventy weeks (490 years) which were allotted to the Jewish people. What was to mark the beginning of this period of 490 years? The twenty-fifth verse, just quoted, says that the years were to begin with the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem. To know, then, when the years begin, and consequently when they ended, we have only to ascertain the date of the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem. What means had Daniel of knowing that such a commandment was to be given? In the second verse of this chapter, Daniel says: "I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet [Jer. 25: 11, 12; 29: 10], that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem." The prophecy of Jeremiah expressly foretold the punishment of Babylon and the restoration of the Jews to their own land. "For thus saith the Lord, that after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place." Jer. 29: 10. When did this captivity (of the Jews) begin? "In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand." Dan. 1: 1, 2. There is no question among historians but that this took place in B. C. 606. Cyclopedias, commentaries, and Bible dictionaries will confirm the date. By deducting seventy, the number of years of captivity, from 606, the date of its beginning, we find that the captivity would end in B. C. 536. The first year of Darius, which was the year in which the events recorded in Daniel 9 occurred (see verse 1), was B. C. 538; consequently when the angel Gabriel came to Daniel to complete the interpretation of the vision, it lacked but two years till the close of the captivity. What seems to have been the burden of Daniel's prayer? Concerning the promise of God to restore Jerusalem, the place of the sanctuary. Said Daniel in his prayer: "Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate for the Lord's sake. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name; for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies." Dan. 9: 17, 18. From the whole prayer it would seem that Daniel feared that the sins of his people would hinder the fulfilment of the promise, and therefore he especially pleads the mercy of God. The prophecy which the angel proceeded to unfold is one of the most interesting and comprehensive prophecies of the Bible. It foretold not only the complete restoration of the Jews to their own land, and the re-building of Jerusalem, but it fixed the exact date when the Messiah should begin his earthly ministry, and how long it should continue; when he would be offered for the sins of the people, and when he would enter upon the closing portion of the grand work for the salvation of sinners. The starting-point for all these dates is the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem. This decree will therefore claim our attention for a brief space. THE DECREE CONCERNING JERUSALEM.
Two years after the prayer recorded in Daniel 9, the seventy years of the Jewish captivity ceased. Darius the Mede reigned only two years, till B. C. 536, and then Cyrus took the throne in person. One of the first acts of his reign is thus recorded by the sacred historian:— "Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of Heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, besides the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem." Ezra 1: 1-4. From Ezra 2: 1-65 we learn that nearly fifty thousand Jews took advantage of this generous offer, and returned to their own land. This decree ended the captivity; for although many thousands of Jews still remained in the land of their captivity, all were free to go. But it will be noticed that the decree of Cyrus only contemplated the rebuilding of the temple, with, of course, such other building as would be necessary for the comfort of those who should engage in the work. The date of this decree, therefore, cannot be taken as the date for the beginning of the great prophetic period, for that was to begin only with the decree to restore and to build Jerusalem. We must therefore look further. THE third chapter of Ezra records the laying of the foundation of the temple. In the fourth chapter, we are told that when the adversaries of the children of Judah and Benjamin heard of the progress of the work, they "troubled them in building, and hired counselors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia even until the reign of Darius king of Persia." Ezra 4: 4, 5. The Darius here mentioned was Darius Hystaspes, who began to reign in B. C. 521. Before his reign, however, there were two other kings on the throne of Persia. Cambyses, the son of Cyrus, reigned from B. C. 529 to 522, and Smerdis, the impostor, reigned about seven months in the year 522. In Ezra 4: 6 Cambyses is called Ahasuerus, and Smerdis is the one who in the following verses is called Artaxerxes. From this account it appears that although the enemies "weakened the hands of the people of Judah," they did not succeed in stopping the work while Cambyses lived. But Smerdis was one of the Magi, and opposed to the Jewish religion. When complaint was made to him, he wrote the letter found in Ezra 4: 17-22, in consequence of which the enemies of Israel "made them to cease by force and power." "So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius [Hystaspes] king of Persia." Ezra 4: 23, 24. In the second year of the reign of Darius (B. C. 520), the prophets Haggai and Zechariah induced the Jews to again proceed to build the temple. As soon as the work was resumed, the enemies of the Jews resumed their old tactics. Ezra 5 records the letter which was written to Darius, asking him if the Jews had any authority for what they were doing. On receipt of this letter, Darius made search, and found the original decree of Cyrus, which he confirmed. See Ezra 6: 1-12. It will be noticed that this decree of Darius added nothing to the decree of Cyrus, but only confirmed it, giving the Jews liberty to proceed with the building of the temple. Therefore this decree cannot, any more than can that made by Cyrus, be made the starting-point for the prophetic period of Daniel 9. We now come to the seventh chapter of Ezra, and there we find a decree made by Artaxerxes Longimanus, which covers every specification required by the prophecy. Read Ezra 7: 11-26. Here we find (1) That all Jews had full liberty to go up to Jerusalem with Ezra; (2) That Ezra was to take the freewill offerings of the people; (3) That they were to build the altar of the house of the Lord; (4) That whatever further means might be required should be furnished from the king's treasury; (5) That whatever was commanded by the God of Heaven should be performed; (6) That no tribute should be imposed on any one connected with the service of the sanctuary; (7) That Ezra was empowered to appoint judges to teach the laws to the people; and (8) That full power was given to Ezra and the judges to execute their laws, "whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment." See especially verses 25, 26. Here, then, we have the full decree for the complete restoration of the Jewish polity. Before the time of Artaxerxes Longimanus, decrees had been made; but not until this decree could it be said that the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem had gone forth. We have now only to ascertain when this decree went forth, and we have the key to the prophecy in Dan. 9: 25. Artaxerxes Longimanus began to reign in B. C. 464. His famous decree was given in the seventh year of his reign, Ezra 7: 7, which would be B. C. 457. In the year 457, therefore, or 456 years and a fraction before the Christian era, the seventy weeks or 490 years of Dan. 9: 24, 25, began. As the seventy weeks were cut off from the 2300 days of Dan. 8: 14, of course this latter period began at the same time.