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# The Book of Daniel - Number Fifty-Five

Unveiling the Prophetic Tapestry: Gabriel’s Revelation to Daniel

Author

Jeff Pippenger

Published

January 19, 2024

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Key Takeaways

- The Interplay of Prophecies: Gabriel’s revelation to Daniel connects the seventy years of Jeremiah’s prophecy, Moses’ oath and curse, and the concept of “seven times,” shedding light on their symbolic unity.
- Mental Separation of Visions: Gabriel advises Daniel to mentally separate two visions presented in the book and explains the significance of understanding their relationship.
- The Unsealed Knowledge of 1798: Explore the prophetic importance of the “increase of knowledge” unsealed in 1798 and its relevance to interpreting the visions.
- Decoding the Prophetic Timeline: Analyze the timeline from the decree in 457 BC to the stoning of Stephen in 34 AD and its connection to the desolating powers of paganism and papalism.
- The Messiah’s Role: Understand the Messiah’s role in confirming the covenant and the cessation of the sacrificial system in the midst of the prophetic week.
- The Significance of Desolations: Explore the impact of the trampling down of Jerusalem by pagan Rome and the subsequent role of the papacy as the “overflowing scourge.”
- The Quarrel of God’s Covenant: Delve into the historical context of “the quarrel of the covenant” and the role of the “seven times” in understanding this period.

Gabriel came to Daniel after he had come to understand the seventy years of captivity of the prophecy of Jeremiah, and the oath and curse of Moses.

> In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. . . . Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. Daniel 9:2, 11–14.

The word that Daniel used that is translated as “the oath,” is the same word Moses used that is translated as “seven times,” in Leviticus twenty-six. Sister White informs us that in chapter nine, Daniel was seeking to understand the relationship of Jeremiah’s period of seventy years and the period of twenty-three hundred years. Gabriel had been commanded in chapter eight to make Daniel understand the vision of the twenty-three hundred days, and Gabriel is finishing his work when he returns in chapter nine, and informs Daniel to mentally separate the two visions that have been the theme of chapters, seven, eight and also nine. Those two visions are the theme of the “increase of knowledge” that was unsealed in 1798.

Jeremiah’s seventy years and the “curse” of Moses are both symbols of the “seven times,” as represented by Moses’ “oath,” but Gabriel is going to present the breakdown of the period of twenty-three hundred years. It can only be rightly divided when the relation of the vision (“chazon”) of the trampling down, and the vision (“mareh”) of the appearance are rightly divided. Gabriel began by identifying that a probationary period of four hundred and ninety years was given for the Jews. That period was the same as the four hundred and ninety year period of rebellion which had produced the seventy years of captivity.

The word “determined” in verse twenty-four addresses the period from the going forth of the third decree in 457 BC, until the stoning of Stephen in 34 AD, but the word “determined” in verses twenty-six and twenty-seven is identifying the desolating powers of paganism and papalism.

> And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. Daniel 9:26, 27.

Gabriel informs Daniel that “after” the “Messiah” was “cut off” the “people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.” Pagan Rome destroyed the “city and sanctuary” in the siege that lasted exactly three and a half years from the year 66 to 70 AD. Gabriel identifies that “the end of the war” would be “with a flood,” and that the war would consist of “desolations.” The war that was accomplished against Jerusalem and the sanctuary was the trampling down that was accomplished by paganism and papalism. The pagan power that would destroy Jerusalem in the beginning was Babylon, but the pagan power that would destroy it after the Messiah was crucified was pagan Rome. But the war against the sanctuary and host was accomplished by two desolating powers, and the second of the two desolating powers in the Scriptures is the papacy.

The papacy is the power represented as the “overflowing scourge,” it is the power in verse forty of Daniel eleven, that “overflows and passes over.” The trampling down of Jerusalem that began with Babylon, and continued with the iron nation that spoke dark sentences as represented by Moses in Deuteronomy, was followed by the papacy. Until the end of the trampling down “desolations” were “determined.” In verse twenty-seven, Christ confirms the covenant with many for one week. In the middle of that week, the earthly sacrificial system would cease as Christ began his high priestly ministry in the sanctuary in heaven. Because of the Jews’ disobedience during the probationary time that had been cut off for them, the sanctuary and city were again to be made desolate.

The verse says “for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” When the Jews finally filled their cup of probationary time to the brim, the city and sanctuary were to be desolate until the end of the war. At the “consummation” of the trampling down in 1798, it had been “determined” that the papacy would receive a deadly wound. Then the city and the sanctuary were to be restored and rebuilt, as typified when the Jews came out of literal Babylon under the three decrees.

Until the consummation of that war Jerusalem was to be trampled down by the papal power. The prophetic periods that make up the distinct periods within the twenty-three hundred years can only be understood correctly when the relation of the vision of trampling down of the seventy years is understood in connection with the vision of the restoration of the sanctuary and host. To reject the vision of the scattering of Moses curse is to reject the vision of the gathering. The vision of the seventy years is the vision of the scattering. The vision of the twenty-three hundred years is the vision of the gathering. The vision of the seventy years is the “chazon” vision of the scattering, and the vision of the twenty-three hundred years is the “mareh” vision of the gathering.

> What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. Mark 10:9.

The two visions have been prophetically joined together, and to reject one is to reject them both. This fact identifies that in spite of Adventism claiming that they uphold the twenty-three hundred year prophecy, they have rejected the central pillar of Adventism, as certainly as they rejected the “seven times” in 1863. Did not the Jews profess to keep the law of God? Did not ancient Israel profess to be looking for the Messiah? Profession is meaningless if it does not uphold the Word of God.

The Millerites eventually identified October 22, 1844, as the termination of the period of twenty-three hundred days, but their understanding was limited. It was not until after the great disappointment that light came concerning the heavenly sanctuary and Christ’s appearance in the Most Holy Place on that date. Not until after that date, did they see the third angel’s message and the law of God.

The Lord intended to increase the prophetic light associated with the twenty-three hundred years, and in 1856, he opened the door to further light, and over the next seven years Adventism closed that door. It was not until after September 11, 2001, that the Lord led students of prophecy back to Hiram Edson’s articles, and the light of the “seven times,” once again began to increase.

Refusing to see the relation between the twenty-three hundred year prophecy and the prophecy of twenty-five hundred and twenty years, Adventism came to understand October 22, 1844 in a stunted and incomplete fashion.

Once S. S. Snow locked-in the date for the crucifixion, the date of October 22, 1844, was ascertained.

> 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: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. Daniel 9:25–27.

The Millerites recognized the correct date for the crucifixion and then the end of the period of twenty-three hundred years was identified. The “cutting off of the Messiah” in “the midst of the week” in which Christ confirmed “the covenant” because of the Jews filling their cup of probationary time to the top, as represented by the “overspreading of Abominations”, was also identified. The cross became the historical waymark that was essential in the recognition of the message of the Midnight Cry.

In spite of the light located in the verses that produced such a powerful manifestation of God’s power, the Millerites never reached an understanding of those verses which was represented by Daniel’s desire to understand the relationship of the two visions. The week in which Christ confirmed the covenant was divided into two periods, which Sister White later identified as representing Christ’s personal ministry of three and a half years, followed by his ministry as represented by the disciples. They saw that the historical waymark of the cross became the anchor to ascertain the date of October 22, 1844, but they did not see that it also represented the center of two identical periods of three and a half years, and thus represented the “seven times,” which God through Moses called the “quarrel of his covenant.”

> Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy. Leviticus 26:24, 25.

When Christ was confirming the covenant with many, it was the covenant that he had a quarrel over with the disobedient Jews. The “quarrel of his covenant,” began in 723 BC, when the Assyrians took the northern kingdom into captivity, and then for twelve hundred and sixty prophetic days, paganism trampled down literal Israel. That trampling down was then followed by another twelve hundred and sixty prophetic days, of papalism trampling down spiritual Israel.

The prophetic week in which Christ confirmed the covenant, in fulfillment of the vision of twenty three hundred years, also represented the vision of twenty-five hundred and twenty years. The Millerites recognized enough of the prophecy of twenty-three hundred years to correctly proclaim the message of the Midnight Cry, but they chose to reject some of the light which Gabriel’s interpretation in chapter nine was meant to convey.

Gabriel had instructed Daniel to rightly divide (mentally separate) the two visions, represented as “matter” and “vision,” and in fulfillment of that counsel Sister White informs us that this was the very burden of Daniel as he sought to understand the relation of the seventy weeks (a symbol of “seven times”), and the twenty-three hundred years.

Adventism’s rejection of the “seven times,” placed them in a position where they could not understand that the first period of four hundred and ninety years, which was cut off from the twenty-three hundred years, represented the rebellion of the covenant that Moses identifies as the “quarrel of his covenant”.

They were also prevented from recognizing that the crucifixion in the midst of the week did more than simply identify the date, for it identified the very center of Christ’s quarrel with Israel’s disobedience with the blood of the covenant. They were blind to the fact that the blood that was shed for many at the cross, that was confirming his covenant, was also confirming the covenant set forth in Leviticus twenty-five and twenty-six.

Ancient Israel took upon themselves a covenant where they defined the covenant as their proclamation “that all that the Lord has said, we will do,” totally unaware that the covenant which Christ was offering required that His law be written upon the heart. Their pharisaical definition of the terms of the covenant prevented them from understanding and accepting the true covenant.

Modern Israel has defined the blood of the cross in the midst of the week in terms which cause the same blindness for modern Israel that was upon ancient Israel when they rejected the Messiah and proclaimed they had no king but Caesar.

Modern Israel is blind to the fact that the history which Gabriel outlined for Daniel not only includes the confirmation of the covenant, but also the scattering that is brought upon those who reject that covenant, for the verses identify that pagan Rome (the prince that was to come), would destroy the city and the sanctuary, and that unto the end of the war (which trampled down the sanctuary and the host) “desolations,” in the plural, were determined.

In the history where Christ shed his blood to confirm the covenant with many, the two desolating powers of pagan and papal Rome are specifically identified. The blood shed upon the cross is what Christ brings into the heavenly sanctuary, and is a symbol of His work represented by the “mareh” vision of twenty-three hundred years. That history is woven in with the history of the “chazon” vision of twenty-five hundred and twenty years, as represented by the two desolating powers that would trample down the sanctuary and the host.

The truths which were represented in Miller’s dream as jewels shone as bright as the sun, but they were incomplete. In the last days, when the Midnight Cry is repeated to the very letter, those very jewels will be cast into the new, larger casket by the “dirt brush Man”, and they will then shine ten times brighter than they originally did. They become the test of the final Midnight Cry message. Those jewels were specifically identified by the two witnesses prophesied by Habakkuk, as tables. When the two tables of the 1843 and 1850 pioneer charts are laid upon each other “line upon line”, Miller’s jewels are specifically identified, and in so doing those jewels represent the message of the final Midnight Cry.

Most of the truths upon the two charts illustrate prophecies that were fulfilled prior to 1844, such as the identification of the beasts of Daniel seven and eight. The image of Daniel two is represented. The argument over whether it is Rome or Antiochus Epiphanes which establishes the vision is there. The first disappointment and the tarrying time of Habakkuk and the ten virgins is there. The arrival of the third angel is there, as is the heavenly sanctuary. “The daily” as a symbol of paganism is there. And of course, the three Woes of Islam are there. When brought together the charts represent an illustration of the “increase of knowledge” that takes place when the Lion of the tribe of Judah unseals a prophetic truth.

As we wind down our consideration of the vision of the Ulai River as the symbol of the prophetic knowledge that was unsealed at the time of the end in 1798, which increased to make up the jewels in the new, larger casket of William Miller’s dream, we will revisit the Millerite truths which were incomplete in their history. Some were left in an incomplete state because of the time in history in which the Millerites were living, and others were left incomplete through the disobedience of those who refused to keep up with the advancing light of the third angel.

We will continue these things in the next article.

> “Those whom God has sent with a message are only men, but what is the character of the message which they bear? Will you dare to turn from, or make light of, the warnings, because God did not consult you as to what would be preferred? God calls men who will speak, who will cry aloud and spare not. God has raised up his messengers to do his work for this time. Some have turned from the message of the righteousness of Christ to criticize the men and their imperfections, because they do not speak the message of truth with all the grace and polish desirable. They have too much zeal, are too much in earnest, speak with too much positiveness, and the message that would bring healing and life and comfort to many weary and oppressed souls, is, in a measure, excluded; for just in proportion as men of influence close their own hearts and set up their own wills in opposition to what God has said, will they seek to take away the ray of light from those who have been longing and praying for light and for vivifying power. Christ has registered all the hard, proud, sneering speeches spoken against his servants as against himself.

> “The third angel’s message will not be comprehended, the light which will lighten the earth with its glory will be called a false light, by those who refuse to walk in its advancing glory. The work that might have been done, will be left undone by the rejecters of truth, because of their unbelief. We entreat of you who oppose the light of truth, to stand out of the way of God’s people. Let Heaven-sent light shine forth upon them in clear and steady rays. God holds you to whom this light has come, responsible for the use you make of it. Those who will not hear will be held responsible; for the truth has been brought within their reach, but they despised their opportunities and privileges. Messages bearing the divine credentials have been sent to God’s people; the glory, the majesty, the righteousness of Christ, full of goodness and truth, have been presented; the fullness of the Godhead in Jesus Christ has been set forth among us with beauty and loveliness, to charm all whose hearts were not closed with prejudice. We know that God has wrought among us. We have seen souls turn from sin to righteousness. We have seen faith revived in the hearts of the contrite ones. Shall we be like the lepers that were cleansed who went on their way, and only one returned to give glory to God? Let us rather tell of his goodness, and praise God with heart, with pen, and with voice.” Review and Herald, May 27, 1890.

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