The 70 weeks a part of the 2300 days.
By Editor
[The evidence presented on this subject by Bro. Andrews is conclusive. We give the following extract from the exposition of Dan. viii, by Geo. Storrs, published in 1843. It shows the position then taken by the whole Advent body.] "WE will now give you the 13th and 14th verses of the eighth chapter of Daniel, leaving out what our translators have supplied:—'Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long the vision, the daily and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand three hundred days: then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.'" The inquiry, 'How long the vision,' clearly related to the 'Ram' and 'Goat,' as well as 'little horn'—and, the 2300 days are given in answer to the question,—'How long the vision?' It was the meaning of the vision Daniel sought—verse 15: 'It came to pass, when I had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning,' &c. It was to make Daniel understand the vision, Gabriel was sent—verse 16: 'I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.' It was to make Daniel understand the vision, Gabriel came—verse 17: 'So he came near where I stood, and said unto me, Understand, O son of man.' The first thing Gabriel would have Daniel understand, was, that the vision was down to the end,—verse 17: 'At the time of the end shall be the vision.' He would have Daniel understand that the end intended was the last end of indignation,—verse 19: 'Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation;' and he would have Daniel know that, 'at the time appointed, the end shall be.' The 2300 days is the only time appointed. That time cannot be applied to a particular agent or event, without violence to the whole subject Now let us inquire what Daniel did understand, and what not. The angel explained every thing to him respecting the ram, he-goat, and little horn. But Daniel tells us in the last verse, 'I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.' What did not Daniel understand? There were, evidently, three things he did not understand: 1st. What 'sanctuary' was intended in verse 13; 2d. He did not understand how to reckon the days; and 3d. Where to commence his reckoning. As Gabriel is not to be charged with disobedience to the command to make Daniel understand the vision, and as he has not fulfilled that command in this chapter, we must look elsewhere to see if he ever did what he was directed to do, and what he promised Daniel he would do. Let us now look into the 9th chapter. Daniel there informs us that he found out 'by books, the number of years whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.' We might here inquire, Why did not Daniel 'find that out before?' It was written in the book, but he did not discover it till now. Our opponents seem to think it is a conclusive argument that we are wrong, because the time of the end of the world has not been found out before now. But is it any more marvelous than that Daniel did not learn that the captivity of the Jews in Babylon was to be seventy years, till those years were accomplished? When Daniel discovered this fact, fifteen years had passed since the vision of the eighth chapter, and he had all that time been in uncertainty about the points that were not explained to him in that vision. He now seems to catch at the thought, that it must be the sanctuary at Jerusalem, to which the vision related, and he at once commences praying accordingly. He, at the 17th verse, prays especially about the sanctuary. '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.' Daniel's mind is evidently on the vision, and he seems to suppose he has got the clue to the sanctuary that is to be cleansed; but Gabriel comes flying swiftly, to stop Daniel in the midst of his prayer. See verse 21: 'Yea, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.' Gabriel, why this haste? Why, I see Daniel is wrong—he don't understand the matter—he thinks the vision related to the sanctuary at Jerusalem, and I must stop him, for he is going astray. 'Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision,' says Daniel. What vision? Where had Daniel seen Gabriel in vision? Evidently nowhere but in the vision of the 2300 days. Well, says Gabriel, 'I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding—therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.' How is it possible that anything can be plainer than that both Daniel and Gabriel have the vision in mind, that 'none understood,' at the close of the eighth chapter? Now, says Gabriel, 'understand the matter, as by your prayer I see you did not, and consider the vision—direct your attention to what I have now to say of it. 'Seventy weeks are determined155[cut off, so the word signifies] upon thy people.' Cut off from what? Surely not from the indefinite space; but from some time previously given. What time had Daniel given him before? None, except the 2300 days. The natural inference, then, is that the 70 weeks were cut off from those days: there is nothing else to cut them off from. For what are they cut off? Several objects are specified; but one especially, viz., to seal up [or as the word signifies, see Dan. vi, 17, make sure] the vision.'"