“And for the overspreading of abominations He shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” Remainder of verse 27.
Note.—Seventy weeks would be four hundred and ninety days; and as a day in prophecy represents a year (Num. 14:34; Eze. 4:6), this period would be four hundred and ninety years. The commandment to restore and build Jerusalem was brought to its completion by Artaxerxes Longimanus in the seventh year of his reign (Ezra 6:14; 7:7, 8), which, as already noted, was b.c. 457. From this date the sixty-nine weeks, or four hundred and eighty-three years, would extend to the baptism of Christ in 27 a.d., and the whole period to 34 a.d., when the martyrdom of Stephen occurred, and the gospel began to be preached to the Gentiles. Before the end of that generation Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, 70 a.d. The twenty-three hundred years would extend from b.c. 457 to 1844 a.d., when began the great second advent movement, which calls upon all to come out of modern Babylon, and to prepare for the next great event, the coming of Christ and the destruction of the world by fire.
16. What question was asked in the vision of Daniel 8?
“Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said unto that certain one which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the continual burnt offering, and the transgression that maketh desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden underfoot?” Dan. 8:13.
Notes.—Literal Jerusalem was given into the hands of ancient Babylon, and the typical service in the earthly sanctuary was thus taken away. Dan. 1:1, 2. This was prophetic of the experience of spiritual Jerusalem in modern Babylon, foretold in the prophecies of Daniel and John, and of the taking away of the mediation of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. Dan. 7:25; 8:13. These two visions expose the work of modern Babylon, the Papacy, and determine the limit of its permitted power over the people of God, and of its perversion of the gospel of Christ in substituting another mediatorial system for the work of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary.
The general theme upon which the book of Daniel treats is Babylon, both ancient and modern. Chapters 1-6, inclusive, present certain historical facts leading up to the fall of ancient Babylon, and an attempt to destroy the prophet Daniel himself and the final attempt to destroy the people of God,—a brief historical outline, which is in itself a prophecy of modern Babylon. Chapters 7-12, inclusive, contain prophecies relating especially to modern Babylon, which supplement the historical prophecy of the previous chapters, and which enable us to draw a very exact and striking parallel between ancient and modern Babylon. A brief outline of this parallel may be stated thus:—
(1) In the religion of ancient Babylon, image-worship found a prominent place. The same is true of modern Babylon.
(2) Ancient Babylon affirmed that the gods (or God) dwelt not in the flesh. By the dogma of the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mary (that is, that she herself was born without the taint of original sin), modern Babylon teaches that God, in the person of His Son, did not take the same flesh with us; that is, sinful flesh.
(3) Ancient Babylon persecuted those who refused to accept her dogmas and worship according to her laws. Modern Babylon has done the same.
(4) The king of ancient Babylon set himself above God, and attempted to make his kingdom an everlasting kingdom. So does modern Babylon.