| 104 of numbers; when will they be fulfilled? Ah! here is the jar. Miller says in 1843. Faber 1866, Priest 2000, Woodworth 2100, &c. Miller dates his 1260 years A. D. 583, Faber 606 Priest, 770 & Woodworth 840. Now let the fearful take courage, for one of these scientific numberers is as likely to make correct calculations as another of them, and further, scripture and history condemns the whole art. It is wholly assumption to assert that the above numbers express years, because there are a few special instances where days were symbolical of years, as Eze. 4:5, 6, &c. But says the numberers, it will demonstrate, for the 70 weeks, Daniel 9:2, multiplied by 7, give 490 days, each a symbol of a year, which was the exact time from the commandment issued by Artaxerxes Longimanus to rebuild Jerusalem, to the day of Pentecost; the last week commencing with John's ministry, and Messiah being cut off in the midst of it, &c. This is a nailing argument, and especially as we have been taught to receive this interpretation (as the index of our bibles will show) almost as a part of inspiration. If the reader is not too much shocked at the idea of criticising [criticizing] upon this interpretation, let him proceed with me. "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to annoint [anoint] the Most Holy. Now it is as obvious from the above, that all the events mentioned, must transpire within the 70 weeks, as that any one of them will be accomplished within that time. Then the time of the people to be rejected for transgression, und [and] the holy city destroyed by reason of its pollutions, are as plainly pointed out, as that Messiah should be anointed, bring in everlasting righteousness, and make reconciliation for iniquity: and to this agree the following verses, and carry the 70 weeks down to the destruction of Jerusalem. I supply the words included in brackets. 26th verse, "And after three score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people [the Romans] of the prince [Titus, son of Vespasian the Emperor] that shall come, shall destroy the city and the sanctuary:" 27th verse, "And he [Titus the Prince] shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: [a covenant of peace to such as would flee out of Jerusalem] shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations, he [Titus] shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations, [Titus] shall make it [Jerusalem] desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate," [desolators] i. e. Jerusalem shall be desolated by the Gentiles, who lifted up their horn over Judah and Israel to scatter, tread down. &c. until that which is determined shall be poured upon the desolators, [the Gentiles] the horns of the Gentiles be cast out, the Jews return, and Jerusalem be rebuilt. Thus we find the 70 weeks do not demonstrate.
We will now examine the 2300 days found in Dan. 8:14, and show their fulfilment [fulfillment]. "And he said unto me, unto two thousand and three hundred days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." This number is allowed to extend to the second coming of Messiah, to cleanse the christian church, or sanctuary, &c. I will now ask three questions: 1st. What is meant by the sanctuary, referred to? 2d. Who defiled it? and 3d. When and by whom is or was it cleansed? 1. The sanctuary was the first inner court of the Temple, Heb. 9:2. "For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called sanctuary." 2. Antiochus defiled it. 1 Mac. 1:20, 21, "And after that Antiochus had smitten Egypt, he returned again in the hundred forty and third year, and went up against Israel and Jerusalem, with a great multitude, and entered proudly into the sanctuary, and took away the golden alter, and the candlestick of light, and all the vessels thereof," &c. Verse 54, "Now the fifteenth day of the month Caslen, in the hundred forty and fifth year, they set up the abomination of desolation upon the altar, and builded idol altars throughout the cities of Judah on every side. 59th. Now the five and twentieth day of the month they did sacrifice upon the idol altar, which was upon the altar of God." We have now found who defiled the sanctuary, and took away the daily sacrifice, according with Daniel's vision. 3d. "So he [Judas Maccabees] chose priests of blameless conversation, such as had pleasure in the law: Who cleansed the sanctuary, and bare out the defiled stones unto an unclean place," &c. 1 Mac. 4:42, 43.-Let the reader turn and read to verse 52d.-"Now on the five and twentienth [twentieth] day of the ninth month, which is called the month Caslen in the hundred forty and eight year, they rose up betimes in the morning, and offered sacrifice according to the law upon the new altar of burnt offerings, which they had made," &c. The sanctuary lay desolate just three years.-the length of time of the vision, from the third year of Belshazzar to the cleansing of the sanctuary was 387 years, and the 2300 days end B. C. 165, and consequently are not symbols of
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