06 The Time of the End pt 1

Good evening, and welcome back to Discovering Revelation.

Before we dive into Questions, I’m going to ask the Ushers to pass out an envelope. Now, I don’t want there to be any pressure — not even a tiny bit — but a few have asked when or where they can give a donation to help cover the costs of this seminar. I want to be clear, there is no obligation for you to contribute. This is a free event, and we want you to feel free to come even if you don’t have the ability or desire to give a donation.

If you do want to give a donation, you can simply tuck that envelope into the questions box tonight or tomorrow night, and we’ll make sure it goes to the right place. And, just to be clear, I don’t personally have anything to gain by your donation—it will strictly go to defray the costs of hosting this special event.

Questions and Answers

Question 1: I have confessed my sins to God, as I’ve been told to do. And yet I find no peace, and I struggle to believe that God has forgiven me. I feel as if God will still reject me.

Let’s look at what the Bible promises:

[1Jo 1:9 NKJV] If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Let me ask you: was there a list of exceptions in that promise? Did it say that God will cleanse you from all unrighteousness except murder, or theft, or adultery? Not at all. It simply says “all” unrighteousness.

What God is asking you to do is accept that promise by FAITH. He’s telling us that we are not saved because of what we can do for Jesus, but because of what He can do for us. And He asks us to believe that, even on days when we don’t particularly feel it.

And that’s an important distinction. Listen to what the Bible teaches:

[1Jo 5:13 NKJV] These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may [continue to] believe in the name of the Son of God.

Did you catch that? It doesn’t say that you may “feel” like you have eternal life . . . it says “know!” The fact is that feelings change. If you miss a night’s sleep, or you eat the wrong thing at bedtime, or you have a fight with your spouse, your feelings are going to change, and it’s easy to start projecting our feelings about every day life onto God. Feelings come and go, but the knowledge God gives us in the Bible stays the same.

And so God asks you to stand by faith on what you know, not on what you feel. And in the modern world of religion, this is really important to understand, because so much religion today is feelings-based, to the point where some people start to wonder, if they don’t “feel” it, whether or not God still loves them.

And the answer is yes. He does love you, and that’s not going to chanbe.

Tonight, we’re really going to be digging deep into Bible prophecy, and we’re going to be looking at Daniel’s longest time prophecy - and it’s one that we’re going to spend a couple of nights studying, because it’s such a big topic. And I think, by the time we’re finished, you’ll be amazed at just how relevant this prophecy is to the moment we’re living in right now.

So on Saturday night, we’ll pick up and finish that study - which is actually going to cover two chapters of the book of Daniel, with quite a bit of detail.

Then on Sunday, we’re going to look at the highlight of Bible prophecy, the second coming of Christ. And remember: what we’re going to do is deal in absolute certainties. I know that a lot of people have a lot of different opinions about how the Second Coming works, but what you and I are going to do is look at what the Bible says for sure.

We’re off on Monday, and then on Tuesday night, we’re going to look at some of the biggest themes in the book of Revelation, starting in chapter 12, and we’re going to examine one of the most difficult questions Christians have ever been asked: if God is good (the way the Bible says), and God is love (the way the Bible says), then why do we still have pain and suffering? Why would a good God allow so much evil?

Our subject will be Revelation 12, so you might want to read ahead a little bit to get ready.

Then on Wednesday night, we’ll be looking at the Ultimate Mind Game, which will take us into the opening verses of Revelation 14 - and we’re going to look at why it’s so difficult for so many people to simply live good lives. All of us struggle with temptation and bad habits, so we’re going to pull back the curtains and expose what’s going on behind the scenes.

We’re off on Thursday and on Friday night, “The Coming of the Lawless One.” We’re going to go to Second Thessalonians 2 and look at the “mystery of iniquity” in the last days - and THAT will take us to the rest of the Bible . . . where we’ll get the background we need to understand one of the most important themes in the book of Revelation.

Then on Saturday night, we’re going to look at the “Revelation’s Sign of God.” Before Jesus comes, most of the planet will find out about a special sign that God has given the people who choose to follow Him - and those people have a special last-day message found in Revelation 14. This is a subject you probably won’t find anywhere else, so you’re going to want to make sure you clear your calendar and plan to join us.

Then on Sunday night, we’ll look at “Revelation’s Forgotten History.” There’s a passage that most people are absolutely SURE is in the Bible, and so on Sunday night, we’re going find out if that’s true - because if it’s not, it might actually mean that you have some thinking to do.

Our subject tonight: The Time of the End, Part One.

Prayer

“Father in heaven, tonight, it’s obvious that Bible prophecy is not just information. It’s not just something that fascinates us - You gave us prophecy to draw us closer to You, to give us a sense that You are still in control, and that our lives are best lived under Your care. Tonight, we ask that You would open our hearts and minds - that You would forgive our sins and purify our hearts so that nothing would stand in the way of hearing Your voice. And again, when You speak, we will listen - for we ask it in Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Tonight, I thought we’d begin with a little bit of review - and go back to our first night together, when we looked at Daniel chapter 2. Let’s see how much you remember:

The head of gold represented what empire? * Babylon

The chest and arms of silver? * Persia, or the Medes and the Persians

How about the belly and thighs of bronze? * The Greeks - under Alexander the Great.

The legs of iron? * The Romans, or as Edward Gibbon put it, the “iron monarchy of Rome.”

And then what about the feet of iron mixed with clay? * It’s Western Europe, or the divided Western Roman Empire.

By show of hands, how many of you got them all right?

OK - tonight’s prophecy is going to cover the same ground from a different perspective, so this is one of those nights when we’re definitely going to build on material that we’ve already covered.

The vision of the statue from Daniel 2 was a dream that God gave King Nebuchadnezzar. But tonight, we’re going to look at Daniel chapter 8, and we’re going to see a vision that God gave to DANIEL:

Daniel 8:1 KJV 1900

1 In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.

In Daniel chapter 8, Belshazzar is on the throne, and that means that many years have passed since Daniel chapter 2, and Daniel is now an old man. And it also means that the Babylonian Empire is getting close to the finish line - in very short order, it’s going be replaced by the Persians, which is what God said to Nebuchadnezzar back in chapter 2.

Let’s read verse three:

Daniel 8:3-4

Then I lifted up my eyes and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns:

and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.

OK, let’s analyze this: This is a ram with how many horns? Two.

And are those horns the same size, yes or no? No - the Bible says one is bigger than the other.

stress the directions mentioned here to draw attention to them.

I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward, so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any

that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.

OK, let’s pause for a minute and think about this: How much do we know so far?

This is a ram with two horns, but the horns are not the same size. They’re uneven - one is bigger than the other. And this ram with uneven horns pushes to the west, to the north, and to the south.

And of course, the big question:

What does this represent?

Well, should we check with the National Enquirer - or go do some research on youtube? What do you think? How do we figure out questions in the Bible?

Remember the principle: we want to go line upon line, precept upon precept. We have to allow the Bible to speak for itself and define its own terms - we have to read the whole thing.

And in this case, our job is going to be really easy, because later in this same chapter, the angel Gabriel actually comes and explains what the ram represents. Listen to this:

The ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia.

It doesn’t get any easier than this! Back when we were studying Daniel chapter 2, we had to compare the prophecy to the pages of history - but now, the Bible spells it out in detail. There can be no mistaking what the ram represents: it’s the Medes and the Persians.

This time, it doesn’t start with Babylon, because Babylon is just about finished. It starts with the Medes and the Persians - a coalition government, made up from two nations, so the ram has two horns, representing two political powers combined into one kingdom.

Now that gives us a new principle. In Bible prophecy, animals are often used to represent political powers or kingdoms, and so are horns. So in this case, you have one animal - the Medo-Persian Empire - with two nations, or two horns. And as we keep moving further through the books of Daniel and Revelation, you’re going to see those symbols again: animals (or sometimes “beasts”) and horns, representing kingdoms.

Now you’ll notice: this ram has UNEVEN horns, which matches history perfectly. The Medes and the Persians were a coalition government, but they weren’t equal partners. The Medes were there first, and later the Persians joined them . . . and before long, the Persians overshadowed the Medes and became the bigger half of the empire.

And the Bible tells us that this ram pushes in three different directions:

It pushes to the west, it pushes to the north, and it pushes to the south - and that’s exactly how the Persians conquered the world. They started in what is modern-day Iran, and they pushed their way in three directions in order to take the whole Babylonian Empire.

The prophecy is absolutely accurate. Years before it happened, Daniel saw it all.

But that’s not everything he saw:

Daniel 8:5-7

And as I was considering suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground.

and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing

beside the river, and ran at him with furious power. And i saw him confronting the ram, he was moved with rage against him, attacking the ram, and broke his two horns.

This goat attacks the ram!

There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand.

As Daniel watches, a goat with one BIG horn suddenly comes from the west and smashes into the ram.

So who is this goat? If you were to hazard a guess, who would you THINK it is?

It’s the Greeks - the belly and thighs of bronze back in Daniel chapter 2. Alexander conquered the Persians at the battle of Arbela back in 331 BC, and they formed the next Mediterranean empire.

And again, we really don’t have to guess, because Gabriel comes and TELLS us who this is:

And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes is the first king.

Do you see how easy this is? The goat is the kingdom of Greece - and who do you suppose the large horn is? It’s Alexander. If you just read the whole thing, the Bible almost always spells it out for you.

This goat moves so fast that its feet don’t even touch the ground, and that also matches Alexander the Great, who conquered the known world in four years flat: 2 million square miles, and 20 million people - all by the time he was 32 years old.

That much is all review. But then the prophecy adds some detail that we didn’t see in Daniel chapter 2:

Daniel 8:8

Therefore the male goat grew very great, but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven.

The great horn breaks off, and it’s replaced by four more horns. So what does THAT represent? Well, again, we don’t have to guess or speculate, because Gabriel explains that too:

Daniel 8:21, 22

As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.

Now this is absolutely fascinating.

Alexander led his armies all the way to India, and when he gets there, he assumes that he’s running out of world to conquer, and his men are getting fed up after YEARS on the road, away from their families - so he turns around and heads back home.

But he never makes it. He stops by the ancient city of Babylon, and one night, he suddenly dies. Most historians think that he actually drank himself to death - that his excessive lifestyle finally caught up with him.

So now the Greeks need a king, and there’s a power struggle after Alexander dies. When the dust finally settles, the kingdom is broken up into exactly four parts under four of Alexander’s generals:

You’ve got Cassander to the west, Lysimachus to the north, Seleucus in the east, and Ptolemy, who rules the north of Africa.

One horn becomes FOUR horns, exactly the way the Bible predicted. And then it gets even MORE amazing:

And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and

First we had one NOTABLE horn, and then we had FOUR horns, and now we have a little horn. It comes from one of the “four winds of heaven,” or the four directions of the compass. (Some people say that it came out of one of the four horns, but the original language is quite specific - it can only come from one of the four winds according to the Hebrew.)

Now you tell me, based on what we’ve already studied: what kingdom replaced the Greeks after the battle of Pydna in 168 BC?

It was the Romans. Now we’re going to slow down and read this very carefully, because this is very important.

Start at the beginning of the verse again, read through and click, keep reading but stop at Glorious Land.

toward the Glorious Land. And it grew up to the host of heaven; and it cast down some

Now you tell me - what place would Daniel consider to be the “glorious land”? It’s the Promised Land - in some of the older translations, it is called the “Pleasant Land.”

This is talking about the land of Israel. Now you tell me: did the Roman Empire ever occupy the land of Israel?

Absolutely. The entire ministry of Jesus happens under Roman occupation - in the Roman province of Palestine.

Finish reading the verse, click and keep reading.

Daniel 8:9-12

of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them.

Now, I wish we had more time tonight, so we could really dig into the amazing details found in this passage, but we have a lot of ground to cover, and I think that some of this will really amaze you once we’ve studied Daniel chapter 7.

But for tonight, we’re going to skim over the surface and read the whole prophecy, because we’re headed toward a very specific point.

He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host; and by him the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.

OK: who is the Prince of the host?

It’s Jesus. In Revelation 19, He leads the armies of heaven, riding a white horse.

In Joshua chapter 5, Jesus appears to Joshua and describes Himself as the “Commander of the Lord’s host.”

Isaiah calls Him the “Prince of Peace.”

In Daniel chapter 9, Jesus is “Messiah the Prince.”

Jesus IS the Prince of the host - and did Rome ever attack Jesus? Absolutely: Jesus died on a Roman cross.

And did Rome ever put a stop to the sacrifices in Jerusalem? Yes, again: it was the Romans who sacked the temple in AD 70.

Now, that’s not the whole picture - not by a long shot - there are details here that you’ll want to look at again after we’ve studied some more subjects - but there’s no question that this is describing a conflict between Jesus and Rome.

It continues:

Because of transgression, an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast truth down to the ground. He did all this and prospered.

This is a description of Rome - and again, there are details that you might want to come back to and study again after we’ve covered a little more ground. But for right now, let’s go and see what Gabriel says, because for every other part of the vision, he gave us a lot more detail:

Daniel 8:23, 25

A king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes… He shall even rise against the Prince of princes.

Now, are you getting the sense that something really BAD comes out of this?

Is it possible that this is pointing us toward the antichrist of Revelation? Is this a hint that the antichrist will show up in the region where the Roman Empire was?

Well, MAYBE - and we’re going to study that on another night - but this much is clear: the next empire in this sequence is Rome.

So you’ve got to wonder: why doesn’t Gabriel just name names? Why not SAY Rome?

Well, we don’t know for sure, but think about it:

Who was in power when the early Christian church got started? It was the Romans.

And who persecuted the early Christian church? The Romans.

So maybe - and it’s just an idea - maybe it doesn’t name Rome by name in order to preserve the Bible as the first-century church is taking the Gospel to the whole Roman Empire. If the Bible had actually SAID “Rome,” life might have been even HARDER for those early Christians, who were already considered a threat to the security of the empire.

So let’s review what we have so far:

This prophecy covers the same period of history as Daniel chapter 2, but with different details.

It doesn’t mention Babylon, because Babylon is just about finished.

But then in Daniel 2, we had the chest and arms of silver, which represented the Medes and the Persians - and in Daniel 8, we have a ram with two uneven horns.

In Daniel 2, the belly and thighs of brass were the Greeks, under Alexander the Great, but then in Daniel chapter 8, the Greeks were a goat with one big horn - and then of course, that one big horn breaks off, and it’s replaced by four new horns, or the four generals who seized power.

In Daniel chapter 2, the legs of iron were the Roman Empire, and then something of that empire continues into the feet, which are part iron and part clay. It’s replaced by the DIVIDED Western Empire.

But Daniel 8 works a little bit differently. In Daniel 8, ALL of Rome is covered by the little horn - both the pagan Roman Empire, and then the divided Western Empire. It covers this whole period of history from the legs to the toes - and I think that will become more obvious on a coming night when we compare this passage with another passage in the Bible.

But for right now, here’s what I want you to see. In Daniel 2, the next thing after the feet was the stone that came from the sky - it was the second coming of Christ.

But in this prophecy, something ELSE comes next - and this might be the most incredible part of the prophecy by FAR:

Listen to this. So far we have a ram, a goat, and a little horn. And then we get one more thing:

Daniel 8:14

And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days, then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”

Now, THAT’S a little different. There is no animal - there is no horn - which means we’re NOT talking about a kingdom or a military power.

This is 2,300 days. Literally, in the original language, it says “2,300 evenings and mornings,” and that’s because back in those days, they measured days differently than we do.

You and I measure days from midnight to midnight - and we got that from the Romans. But in the Bible, people measured the day from sunset to sunset, or from evening to evening. When the sun set at the end of the day, the day was over - so sunset on Monday would actually be the beginning of Tuesday.

That’s why, when you read the creation account in the book of Genesis, it says “evening and morning were the first day,” and “evening and morning were the second day.” The day ended at sunset.

So what does this mean? Why do we suddenly have 2,300 days, or 2,300 evenings and mornings? Well, as with the other parts of the vision, Gabriel came back and gave us more detail, so let’s see what HE has to say:

Daniel 8:26

And the vision of the evenings and mornings which was told is true; therefore seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the future.

And that’s it! There’s nothing more. Gabriel says, “Daniel, the prophecy is true - but I want you to seal it up, because it refers to many days in the future.”

That’s it. No name, no horns, no beasts - no nothing. There is absolutely nothing in the way of explanation.

So maybe it’s not important. Maybe we don’t NEED to understand this part.

. . . except that DANIEL thinks it’s important - so important that it REALLY BOTHERS him:

Daniel 8:27

And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.

Now let me ask you: what didn’t Daniel understand? Did he understand the ram? Yes. The goat? Yes. The little horn? He had LOTS of detail.

There’s only one part he DOESN’T understand - and that’s the vision of the 2,300 days.

So maybe it’s not important. Maybe it’s just there because the angels convinced God to put something in the Bible just to confuse us. Do you think that’s true?

Of course not.

This prophecy IS important - and before we’re finished, you’re going to see that God doesn’t ACTUALLY leave us hanging.

Daniel DOES get an answer, and you’re going to get an answer, too - but I’m going to make you work for it.

What we’re going to do is use the principles we’ve learned. We’re going to search through the Bible, line upon line, to see what else we can learn. We’re going to read the WHOLE BOOK.

And the Bible gives us a number of VERY important clues. In fact, Gabriel DOES give us a few more details that we need to pay attention to:

Clue number one comes from Daniel 8:17.

Daniel 8:17

Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.

Now that’s why our subject tonight is called “The Time of the End” - it’s from this verse. The 2,300 days has something to do with the end of time.

Clue number two comes from Daniel 8:19, where Gabriel says,

“… for at the appointed time the end shall be.”

So we know that the 2,300 days point us to the end of time, and it’s also talking about a time that’s been appointed.

Now this is really remarkable, because there IS a time that’s already been appointed. It’s already on the prophetic schedule. If you go to the New Testament - a book that Daniel couldn’t read - you’ll find something really interesting about last-day events. Listen to what Paul says:

Read through the verse, emphasizing “appointed” and “judge the world.”

Acts 17:21

… He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained.

Now, did you catch that? There IS something that God has already appointed. It’s already on His calendar: the judgment day.

So let me ask you: does the 2,300-day prophecy have something to do with the judgment? Maybe!

Clue number three comes from the prophecy itself.

Daniel 8:14

And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”

This is a very important clue. What does it mean to “cleanse the sanctuary”?

Well, if you don’t know, then you have to go to the rest of the Bible to find the answer. You have to research “cleansing the sanctuary,” and sure enough, you can find it.

And I want you to pay attention carefully, because what we’re about to look at is one of the MOST IMPORTANT keys for understanding the book of Revelation. This is something you don’t want to miss:

The ancient sanctuary was a portable tabernacle the Israelites built and carried with them through the wilderness. It was the center of worship, and the center of their whole lives. Whenever they stopped moving and pitched camp, they would set up this portable tabernacle and pitch their tents around it.

And in later years, when they lived in the Promised Land, the tent was replaced by the temple in Jerusalem.

Now this was a very special building, because it was not actually designed by a human being. The Israelites weren’t allowed to build just anything they wanted: they had to follow a blueprint given to Moses by God Himself. Listen to God’s instructions, found in the book of Hebrews:

Hebrews 8:5

For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

They weren’t allowed to design the sanctuary themselves - Moses had to follow an exact pattern that God showed him on the mountain. Why? It’s because the sanctuary was not just a building; it was also a prophecy from God.

Let me take you on a little tour. Everything in the sanctuary pointed forward to some aspect of Jesus’ ministry.

In the outer courtyard, you had the altar of burnt offering, where the Israelites would come and offer their sacrificial animals - and one of the most common animals was a little lamb, who pointed forward to who? Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Then next to the altar was a large wash basin called the “laver,” where the priests had to cleanse themselves before they could go inside. It pointed forward to the cleansing that Jesus offers us so that you and I can step back into the presence of God, even though we’ve sinned.

In First Corinthians 6:11, Paul wrote, “you were washed … you were sanctified … you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

In First John 1:9, the Bible tells us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The laver represents the cleansing power of Jesus.

Now those two items were out in the courtyard, so let’s go inside, because everything on the inside ALSO points to Jesus.

The sanctuary was actually divided into two rooms - the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place. In the Holy Place, you had three articles of furniture:

You had a seven-branched golden candlestick, which was the only source of light - and of course, that pointed to Jesus, who said, “I am the Light of the world.”

On the other side of the room, you had a table with twelve loaves of bread - one loaf for each of the twelve tribes. It was called the * “table of showbread,” and of course, that also pointed to Jesus, who said, “I am the bread of life.”

And of course, the priest himself, who carried the blood of the lamb INTO the sanctuary - he was also a symbol of Jesus who is our great High Priest. Jesus was the sacrifice, AND He was the priest who OFFERED the sacrifice, because the Bible says that nobody TOOK Jesus’ life - He GAVE it.

And up here, against the curtain that divided the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, you had the altar of incense, where sweet-smelling smoke would go up over the veil into the Most Holy Place, into the very presence of God. According to Revelation 8, that smoke represented the prayers of God’s people - and of course, because you and I are sinners, our prayers have to be mixed with the beauty and righteousness of Christ in order to be acceptable. And the beauty is that Jesus is said to always live to make intercession for us—so he’s praying right along with us.

Now let’s move inside the Most Holy Place - the most sacred place in the camp of Israel. Whenever the Israelites pitched camp, the Bible says the presence of God would come down into this room and take up residence above the Ark of the Covenant, which represented the throne of God.

The whole thing was a prophecy of Jesus - and that’s why GOD had to design it. Moses could have never gotten this right - and if you study the Bible carefully, you’ll discover something absolutely remarkable: this whole earthly sanctuary was actually a copy of something in heaven.

When the Bible talks about the priests working in the temple, it says that they “serve the copy and shadow of heavenly things.”

In other words, the earthly temple was a shadow of something else - it was a copy of something in heaven.

And if you understand THAT - if you understand that the sanctuary on earth is a copy of something in heaven - a lot of the things you read in the book of Revelation just start to make sense.

Let me give you an example:

Revelation 11:19

Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple.

Read the verse, emphasize “temple,” “in heaven” and “ark of His covenant,” and “temple.” Have the audience fill in the blanks as you read your way through.

The sanctuary points us to Jesus - and more specifically, it points us to what Jesus does for us in heaven. Hebrews 8 says:

Hebrews 8:1-2

We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.

Who is our great High Priest in HEAVEN’S sanctuary? Jesus.


It says it again in the next verse:

A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.

Moses built the sanctuary here on earth, based on the blueprints that God showed him - it was a copy of the sanctuary in heaven, the REAL one that God built.

So everything that happened on earth actually mirrored something that would happen in heaven. Now follow me very carefully, because this is about to get really amazing:

There were seven special feasts held every year in the sanctuary. How many? Seven.

And what does “7” represent? It’s the number of perfection or completeness.

When you get a set of “7” in Bible prophecy, you’re getting a complete set of something.

And the seven feasts ALL pointed forward to the ministry of Jesus. Let me show you:

Early in the year, you had the Passover, which celebrated Israel’s escape from Egyptian slavery. If you remember the story, the Israelites had to take a perfect lamb and smear its blood on the doorposts of their houses - so the angel of death would “pass over” their home.

It was predicting the death of Christ, the Lamb of God, who gave His life so that you and I could escape the wages of sin, which is death. In First Corinthians 5:7, Paul says “Jesus our Passover is sacrificed.”

Then you had the feast of unleavened bread, which was really part of the Passover. On the second day, all of the Israelites had to remove every trace of leaven (or yeast) out of their houses.

Why? It’s because in the Bible, “leaven” represents sin. Jesus spoke of the “leaven of the Pharisees” in Matthew 16, and in First Corinthians 5:6, Paul reminds us that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump.” In other words, a little bit of yeast can quickly spread through a whole lump of dough.

This pointed forward to the fact that Jesus would not only die, but also remove sin from our hearts.

Then the third feast was the feast of Firstfruits, which happened on the third day after the Passover Lamb was slain. They would go into the field and look for the first part of the spring harvest that was already ripe, and they would pick it and “wave it before the Lord” as an act of faith.

They were saying, “We believe the rest of the harvest will also ripen, thanks to You.”

And what happened on the third day after the Lamb of God was slain? He was raised from the dead.

So Paul writes, in First Corinthians 15:20, that Jesus is the “Firstfruits of them that slept.” And because JESUS rose from the dead, you and I can have faith that the rest of the harvest will also rise from the dead when Jesus comes again.

Then we had the feast of Pentecost, or the “feast of weeks,” which celebrated Israel’s arrival at Mount Sinai on the 50th day after leaving Egypt. And what happened on that day? Fire fell on the top of the mountain, and the people heard the voice of God speaking the Ten Commandments.

It was a powerful moment as God established His special covenant people, and there’s an old Jewish legend that says when God spoke the Ten Commandments that day, He did it in all the languages of the world, all at the same time.

Well, ok, that’s not actually in the Bible, it’s just one of those stories that people told each other through the years. But on the day of Pentecost in the New Testament, the Jews there would have KNOWN that story - so imagine the impact when fire suddenly falls on the heads the disciples, and they start to preach the gospel in the languages of everybody present - all at the same time.

The feast of Pentecost actually predicted the beginning of the Christian church.

Then came the summer, so you had a long break before the next feast. But in the fall, you had the feast of Trumpets, which was a very solemn occasion. They would blow trumpets in the camp of Israel to warn people that they only had TEN DAYS to get things right with God.

Why? Because in ten days, they would have the …

… Day of Atonement, which was the most solemn feast of the whole year. It was known as the day of judgment. You had to make everything right - you had to repent of all your sins - because if you didn’t, on that day, they would kick you out of the camp of Israel forever.

It WAS the day of judgment - and then came the last feast of the year …

… the feast of tabernacles.

Some people call this the “feast of booths,” because once a year, the Israelites would leave their homes and go live in temporary shelters to celebrate the fact that God had kept His word - He had led them through the wilderness and brought them safely into the Promised Land.

Now what’s really interesting is the language of Revelation 21:3, which happens AFTER the Second Coming. It says that after Jesus returns, “the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them.”

This is a celebration of the Second Coming. It points forward to the day when God will take up residence with the human race, and you and I will finally be in the heavenly promised land.

Now look at this list very carefully. You’ve got the death of Christ in the Passover, and you’ve also got the resurrection of Christ - on the third day, during the feast of Firstfruits.

You’ve got the day of Pentecost, or the beginning of the Christian church.

And then you have a long break - just like, in history, you had the Dark Ages fall across the planet not long after the church got started.

In the fall, you had a final warning, followed by the judgment, and then the second coming of Christ.

It’s the WHOLE ministry of Christ, predicted in an ancient structure that existed 1,500 years before He was born.

It’s absolutely astonishing.

So what does it have to do with Daniel chapter 8?

Everything.

Daniel 8 is referring us to the Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur. It was the most solemn of all the feasts, and it was considered the hour of judgment.

It was also the day that they literally cleansed the sanctuary.

All year long, animals were sacrificed for sin, and the blood was taken into the sanctuary, which symbolized Jesus taking our sins on Himself.

But that also meant that - symbolically - that sin was being transferred into the sanctuary, into the presence of God Himself. And can sin remain in the presence of God?

No, absolutely not.

So once a year, they had a special ceremony - on the day of judgment - when they cleansed the sanctuary from all the sins that had been transferred inside:

Leviticus 23:27-29

Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your

souls… for any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people.

This was your last chance to make things right with God - because if this feast was over, and you DIDN’T make things right? You DIDN’T repent of your sins? Then you were cast out of the camp of Israel forever.

You were removed from God’s people.

That might sound awful, but you should know that every measure was taken to ensure that everyone was covered by the blood of the lamb. There was no need for anyone to ever be thrown out of the camp. Except for in the case of rebellion against God and his law.

Now let’s go back to Daniel 8 and think about this very carefully:

We had three clues to help us understand the 2,300 days. First, we discovered that it was a prophecy about the “time of the end.” Then we found out that it was for a “time appointed,” and in the New Testament, Paul told us the JUDGMENT has already been appointed.

Then it said that in 2,300 days, the sanctuary would be cleansed, and in the Old Testament, we discovered they actually cleansed the sanctuary on the day of judgment.

Are you starting to sense what’s going on?

Daniel 8 and the 2,300 days are talking about the judgment.

And then in Daniel 7 you find a description of the judgment itself. Now, we’re going to look at Daniel 7 on a coming night, but here’s what you’re going to discover: it has the same progression of kingdoms - and right after Rome, it describes this:

Daniel 7:9-10

I watched till throned were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated. His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His

throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire; a fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to him;

Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.

Now ask yourself: why in the world would God need BOOKS?

Doesn’t He know everything?

Of course He does.

But ask yourself: is there ANYBODY in this judgment scene who WOULDN’T know everything? Yes, there is - the angels. They don’t have perfect, unlimited knowledge, and the Bible says they are absolutely fascinated with the story of OUR salvation:

When the Bible talks about the plan of salvation, it says it has

“things which angels desire to look into.”

Paul says:

1 Corinthians 4:9

…for we have been made a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men.

The angels want to know. God knows everything, but they don’t. Fallen angels were kicked OUT of heaven, and now God is planning to bring you and me INTO His kingdom.

Don’t you think the angels might have a few questions?

Of course, because angels are ALSO thinking, feeling beings.

So God calls the judgment, and He opens the books. He says, “Here. I’m not afraid of anything. Have a look. Examine the evidence. I’m convinced you’re going to see that I’m doing the right thing.”

Now do you know what this means for you?

Your name WILL come up in the judgment. At some point, they’re going to consider YOU.

How do I know? Listen to what Paul says:

2 Corinthians 9:10

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Here’s another text:

Romans 14:10

For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

How many? ALL.

Another text:

Ecclesiastes 12:14

For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

And that’s the bad news. Your name WILL come up in judgment, and that’s not good.

You KNOW that’s not good.

But there IS good news:

Jesus is the Judge.

John 5:22

For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son.

Now think about this: the Judge is the One who gave His life to save you. How can you lose?

And there’s MORE good news:

Jesus is also the Defense Attorney.

1 John 2:1

…if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

Think about this: the Judge is the same Person as your Defense Attorney. If you’ve got Jesus, there is NO WAY you can lose.

You may say, “But I’m scared! I KNOW I won’t make it. I KNOW I can’t face the judgment.”

You’re right. By yourself, you don’t stand a chance. But with Jesus, you’re going to pass with flying colors.

2,300 days, and the sanctuary will be cleansed:

Is God trying to tell us something about the judgment?

Absolutely.

The warning goes out, the judgment begins, and then Jesus comes.

And sometime JUST before He comes, the judgment begins, and the world will know that it has started:

There is a final message - a final warning that goes to the earth:

Revelation 14:6-7

Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue and people—

saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of his judgment has come.”

Not WILL come, but HAS come.

The world will discover, at some moment - just before Jesus returns - that the judgment is already underway. The books are open, the angels are gathered, and judgment begins.

At some point, the world will KNOW that it’s started.

Does the Bible tell us when?

(Pause)

I’ll show you tomorrow night.

But for tonight, let me ask you this: why would you want to face God’s throne WITHOUT Jesus? When you see what He’s done for you - when you see Him as the Passover Lamb of God who gave His life to make sure you’d make it - what could possibly keep you from choosing Jesus?

Prayer

“Father in heaven, it is absolutely amazing how You told us the story of Jesus centuries before He was born. We can see it: He really IS the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And tonight, we know that Jesus is our only hope - so right now, in the quiet of this moment, we’re going to raise our hands to say, ‘Yes, Lord, we believe.

We WANT Jesus - we choose Him to represent US in the judgment.’ Lord, I know that as hands go up in this auditorium, You can see them all. And so can the angels, and for these people, there are no more questions: they are covered by the blood of Christ, and when He comes, He will come for these people. We give you the honor and the glory for what You have done, in Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Good night, folks, and don’t forget: on Saturday night, “The Time of the End, Part Two.”