46 Years, Then Christ Comes
to Cleanse the Sanctuary
Forty-six years of temple building bring us to A.D. 28 and the first Passover of Jesus’ ministry — and four Passovers measure the 3½ years from His baptism to the cross.
Before We Begin
This study takes the words of the Jews in John 2:20 — “Forty and six years was this temple in building” — and, with history, fixes the first Passover of Jesus’ ministry at A.D. 28 Spring. That confirms His baptism in A.D. 27 Autumn, exactly where the 69 prophetic weeks of Daniel 9:25 end, and four Passovers then measure the 3½ years to the cross. Each question carries its own scripture reference — open your Bible, read the passage, and write what you find.
The study has three parts: present truth and the last prophetic week (points 1–17), the 46 years and the four Passovers (points 18–32), and the cleansing of the temple — in Jerusalem, in heaven, and in the heart (points 33–39).
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
2 Timothy 2:15The Key Dates at a Glance
Seven dates carry this study. Each one is established from scripture and history in the lessons below.
What does Peter desire to establish us in?
2 Peter 1:12The word establish means to confirm, to seal, to settle, to set fast in a place and be immovable.
According to the following statement, what does the flock of God need now? What subjects comprise present truth?
“There are many precious truths contained in the Word of God, but it is ‘present truth’ that the flock needs now. I have seen the danger of the messengers running off from the important points of present truth, to dwell upon subjects that are not calculated to unite the flock and sanctify the soul. Satan will here take every possible advantage to injure the cause.
“But such subjects as the sanctuary, in connection with the 2300 days, the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, are perfectly calculated to explain the past Advent movement and show what our present position is, establish the faith of the doubting, and give certainty to the glorious future. These, I have frequently seen, were the principal subjects on which the messengers should dwell.”
Ellen G. White, Early Writings1
This Bible study is part five of our Study To Show Bible series.
How many prophetic weeks should elapse and then the Messiah should come?
Daniel 9:25What does the word “Messiah” mean?
Messiah means the anointed one, and the Christ. See Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Greek Dictionary number 5547.
How many years would 69 weeks represent? Calculate 69 × 7 =
Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6One day represents a year in Bible prophecy.
Use 457 B.C. as the starting date. Calculate 483 years in the future. [ 483 − 457 = 26 ] Your answer should be 26. Bear in mind that you must add one year once you cross over from B.C. to A.D. Therefore your final answer must be A.D. 27.
In this Bible study, we will confirm that Jesus was baptized in the autumn of A.D. 27 and was officially called the Messiah, the Christ.
What was prophesied to happen to Jesus in the middle of the last prophetic week, between A.D. 27 and A.D. 34?
Daniel 9:27When Jesus died on Calvary’s cross, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from top to bottom. This signaled that type had met antitype and that God would no longer accept the sacrifices of animals for man’s sins.
Read Matthew 27:50,51; Hebrews 10:4-6,12On which feast day was Jesus crucified?
1 Corinthians 5:7; Matthew 26:2; John 13:1; John 18:28,39; John 19:14What is the name of the month for Passover?
Exodus 13:3,4; Exodus 12:1-6,13Passover occurred in the Spring annually. Read the following.
“Passover is a major Jewish holiday that occurs in the spring on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan or Abib. One of the biblically ordained Three Pilgrimage Festivals. In the Bible, Passover marks the Exodus of the Children of Israel from Egyptian slavery, when God ‘passed over’ the houses of the Israelites during the last of the ten plagues.”
Wikipedia, “Passover”2
Jesus was crucified in the middle of A.D. 27 and A.D. 34 (Daniel 9:27). The middle point of those last seven years is A.D. 31, Spring.
A.D. 31 Spring to A.D. 34 Spring is 3 years. Add 6 months to A.D. 34 Spring and you get A.D. 34 Autumn. Stephen was stoned.
A.D. 27 Autumn to A.D. 30 Autumn is 3 years. Add 6 months to A.D. 30 Autumn and you get A.D. 31 Spring. Jesus was crucified.
A.D. 27 Autumn: Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. 3½ years later, Jesus was crucified in A.D. 31 Spring. 3½ years later, Stephen was stoned in A.D. 34 Autumn.
What did John the Baptist do to Jesus, and what did Jesus receive from His Father, that led Andrew and John to call Jesus the Messiah and the Christ?
John 1:32-36,40,41; Acts 10:36-38Write the following words beside John 1:32-36 in your Bible: Jesus was baptized in A.D. 27 Autumn.
During which feast did Jesus go up to Jerusalem? What did Jesus do in the Temple?
John 2:13-17According to the following statement, what season of the year is Passover?
“Passover is a major Jewish holiday that occurs in the spring on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan or Abib. One of the biblically ordained Three Pilgrimage Festivals. In the Bible, Passover marks the Exodus of the Children of Israel from Egyptian slavery, when God ‘passed over’ the houses of the Israelites during the last of the ten plagues.”
Wikipedia, “Passover”2
Write the following words beside John 2:13-17 in your Bible: Jesus went up to Jerusalem and cleansed the temple in the year A.D. 28 Spring.
What did the Jews require of Jesus in the year A.D. 28 Spring?
John 2:18What was Jesus’ response to the Jews?
John 2:19,21What statement did the Jews make to Jesus in the year A.D. 28 Spring?
John 2:20In what year did Herod the Great begin renovating the Jewish temple, according to the following statement?
“In 19 B.C. the master-builder, King Herod the Great, began the most ambitious building project of his life—the rebuilding of the Temple and the Temple Mount in lavish style.”
Biblical Archaeology Society, “The Temple Mount in the Herodian Period”3
Using 19 B.C. as your starting point, go forward 46 years in the future; you will arrive at A.D. 28.
Calculate the following: 46 − 19 =
Bear in mind that you must add one year once you cross over from B.C. to A.D. Therefore your final answer must be A.D. 28.
The Passover feast of John 2:13-21 occurred in the year A.D. 28 Spring, because Passover is always held in the Spring of the year.
The following statements will confirm that John 1:32-41 occurred in the year A.D. 27 Autumn and John 2:13-21 occurred in the year A.D. 28 Spring. Jesus’ earthly ministry from His baptism to His crucifixion lasted for 3½ years. Jesus encountered four Passover feasts.
a. Jesus’ first Passover feast after His baptism is found in John 2:13. A.D. 28 Spring.
b. Jesus’ second Passover feast after His baptism is found in John 5:1. A.D. 29 Spring. [“Feast of the Jews” means Passover. John 6:4]
c. Jesus’ third Passover feast after His baptism is found in John 6:4. A.D. 30 Spring.
d. Jesus’ fourth and final Passover feast after His baptism is found in John 13:1; John 18:28,39; John 19:14. A.D. 31 Spring.
Once you prove one date with its event, you can prove all the other dates with their events that comprise the 2300 prophetic days of Daniel 8:14 and the 70 prophetic weeks of Daniel 9:24.
What did Jesus do in the temple in the year A.D. 28 Spring?
John 2:13-17What was prophesied to begin at the end of the 2300 prophetic days of Daniel 8:14, in the year A.D. 1844 Autumn?
Daniel 8:14Name the sanctuary, tabernacle, or temple that is found in each of the following scriptures.
Hebrews 8:1,2“When Jesus began His public ministry, He cleansed the temple from its sacrilegious profanation. Among the last acts of His ministry was the second cleansing of the temple. So in the last work for the warning of the world, two distinct calls are made to the churches. The second angel’s message is, ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.’ And in the loud cry of the third angel’s message a voice is heard from heaven saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.’”
Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, Book 24
“The courts of the temple at Jerusalem, filled with the tumult of unholy traffic, represented all too truly the temple of the heart, defiled by the presence of sensual passion and unholy thoughts. In cleansing the temple from the world’s buyers and sellers, Jesus announced His mission to cleanse the heart from the defilement of sin,—from the earthly desires, the selfish lusts, the evil habits, that corrupt the soul. ‘The Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver.’ Malachi 3:1-3.”
Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages5
“‘Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.’ 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17. No man can of himself cast out the evil throng that have taken possession of the heart. Only Christ can cleanse the soul temple. But He will not force an entrance. He comes not into the heart as to the temple of old; but He says, ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him.’ Revelation 3:20. He will come, not for one day merely; for He says, ‘I will dwell in them, and walk in them; . . . and they shall be My people.’ ‘He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.’ 2 Corinthians 6:16; Micah 7:19. His presence will cleanse and sanctify the soul, so that it may be a holy temple unto the Lord, and ‘an habitation of God through the Spirit.’ Ephesians 2:21, 22.”
Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages5
“In the work of redemption there is no compulsion. No external force is employed. Under the influence of the Spirit of God, man is left free to choose whom he will serve. In the change that takes place when the soul surrenders to Christ, there is the highest sense of freedom. The expulsion of sin is the act of the soul itself. True, we have no power to free ourselves from Satan’s control; but when we desire to be set free from sin, and in our great need cry out for a power out of and above ourselves, the powers of the soul are imbued with the divine energy of the Holy Spirit, and they obey the dictates of the will in fulfilling the will of God.”
Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages6
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Sources
- Ellen G. White, Early Writings, p. 63. Reference as given in the study notes: {EW 63.1, 63.2}
- Wikipedia, “Passover.” en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passover
- Biblical Archaeology Society, “The Temple Mount in the Herodian Period.” biblicalarchaeology.org
- Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, Book 2, p. 118 (first printed in the Review and Herald, Dec. 6, 1892). Reference as given in the study notes: {2SM 118.2}
- Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 161. Reference as given in the study notes: {DA 161.1, 161.2}
- Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 466. Reference as given in the study notes: {DA 466.4}