The 2300 Days
& the 70 Weeks
Confirming the prophecy of Daniel 8:14 and Daniel 9:24–27 — from the sanctuary, to the decree, to 1844.
Before We Begin
This study walks through the sanctuary God gave to Moses, the prophecy God gave to Daniel, and the history that confirms both. Each question carries its own scripture reference — open your Bible, read the passage, and write what you find.
One of the primary purposes of the sanctuary service is to teach us how to gain victory over sin and to dwell with Jesus eternally. Keep that purpose in view as you work through the forty points that follow.
“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
Five dates carry this prophecy. Each one is established from scripture and history in the lessons below.
What did the Lord instruct Moses to do?
Exodus 25:8What separates us from God?
Isaiah 59:1,2One of the primary purposes for the sanctuary services is to teach us how to get victory over sin and to dwell with Jesus eternally.
What other instruction did the Lord give to Moses regarding the building of the sanctuary?
Exodus 25:8,9,40The heavenly sanctuary is the pattern and the great original.
Read Hebrews 8:1-5; Hebrews 4:14-16The Bible teaches that the sanctuary on earth had three compartments: the Court, the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place.
Into which apartment of the heavenly tabernacle did Jesus enter to begin His work as high priest?
Hebrews 9:11,12Jesus died on the cross on this earth — the Court represented the earth. He rose from the tomb and ascended to heaven.
After Christ’s resurrection and ascension, into which apartment did John see Jesus as He stood before the Father in heaven?
Revelation 4:5; Revelation 5:1,5-7,9The Holy Place. Read the passages above to confirm. Compare Hebrews 9:2 and Exodus 26:33-35 — the seven lamps and the candlestick are the same.
In this Bible study we want to discover the date when Jesus, as high priest, entered the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary to begin the work of Investigative Judgment. Bear in mind that Jesus was crucified in the year A.D. 31 and ascended to the Holy Place that same year.
Which book of the Bible does Jesus say that we should understand in these last days?
Matthew 24:14,15What prophecy did Jesus give to Daniel?
Daniel 8:14What does a day represent in Bible prophecy?
Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:62300 prophetic days represent 2300 literal years.
On what day was the sanctuary cleansed of sin?
Leviticus 16:15-22,29,30Before the sanctuary was cleansed there was an examination or investigation done to see who was found repentant or unrepentant. The unrepentant person was cut off from God’s people and lost.
Read Leviticus 23:27-29The Cleansing of the Sanctuary, the Day of Atonement, and the Investigative Judgment are all synonymous.
The 2300 years began at the same starting date as the 70 prophetic weeks (490 literal years). Let us confirm that fact.
Since Daniel did not understand the 2300 years, what was said in his hearing?
Daniel 8:15-17What did the angel Gabriel say to Daniel when it was time to explain the 2300 years?
Daniel 9:21-2470 prophetic weeks represent 490 literal years. 70 weeks × 7 days = 490 days, and 490 days represent 490 years, because a day represents one year in Bible prophecy.
See Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6The starting date for the 490 years is the same as for the 2300 years.
What event is the starting point for the 490 years and the 2300 years?
Daniel 9:25The king who gave the commandment — the decree for the Jews to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem — was Artaxerxes.
During what year of king Artaxerxes’ reign was the decree given?
Ezra 7:7-13,21-27According to history, king Artaxerxes began his reign in 464 B.C.
“In (Nehemiah 2:1) we have another Artaxerxes. We may safely identify him with Artaxerxes Macrocheir or Longimanus, the son of Xerxes, who reigned 464–425 B.C.”
Smith’s Bible Dictionary1
Count seven years forward from 464 B.C. and you arrive at 457 B.C.
Using 457 B.C. as the starting point for the 70 prophetic weeks — 490 literal years — A.D. 34 is the ending date.
Daniel 9:24 states that the Jews had 490 years to put an end to sin as a nation and accept Jesus. However, as a nation they rejected and crucified Him.
The Jewish nation finally rejected Jesus after the cross, when they stoned Stephen. The stoning of Stephen is the primary event showing that probation closed on the Jews.
What did Stephen say to the Jewish leaders, and what did he see in heaven while they were stoning him to death?
Acts 7:51-56Jesus sat at the right hand of the Father after His ascension.
See Acts 2:32-34; Hebrews 1:3; Hebrews 10:12Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father means that He is interceding for His people.
See Romans 8:34However, when Jesus was seen by Stephen “standing at the right hand,” the context tells us that probation closed on the Jewish people.
The following scriptures confirm that Jesus standing up or rising up represents judgment and the close of probation — the closing of the door of salvation. In Ezekiel 9:3-6 the phrase “gone up” means the Lord rose up or stood up.
Luke 13:24-28; Ezekiel 9:3-6; Isaiah 3:15; James 5:9Jesus mentioned the close of probation for the Jewish nation in connection with the Jewish leaders stoning His messenger.
Read Luke 13:25,34,35; Matthew 21:35-41Stephen was stoned to death in the year A.D. 34.
“On Dec. 26, the universal Church commemorates the death of St. Stephen in 34 A.D., the first man to give his life in witness to the faith. He is sometimes referred to as the ‘protomartyr.’”
Catholic News Herald2
At the supreme Jewish law court, the Sanhedrin, Stephen recounted the many mercies God had given the children of Israel, and the ungrateful way in which they had repaid Him. He accused them of murdering Jesus, whose coming, he said, had been foretold by Moses. This angered the crowd and he was dragged out onto the streets, then stoned to death according to the law at that time — an event witnessed by Saul of Tarsus. It is believed he died around the year 34 C.E.3
Therefore A.D. 34 is the completion of the 70 prophetic weeks, or 490 literal years. This confirms that the starting date for the 70 prophetic weeks of Daniel 9:24 is 457 B.C. — and that the starting date for the 2300 prophetic days of Daniel 8:14 is likewise 457 B.C.
Use 457 B.C. as the starting date for the 2300 prophetic days and continue 2300 years into the future, and you arrive at A.D. 1844. In this year Jesus moved into the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary to begin the work of cleansing the heavenly sanctuary — the work of investigative judgment on the antitypical Day of Atonement.
Read the following scripture and write down your thoughts.
Matthew 18:21,22Carefully analyse the conversation between Jesus and Peter. How does Matthew 18:21,22 connect with Daniel 9:24?
Your Answers
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Sources
- Smith’s Bible Dictionary, “Artaxerxes.” biblehub.com/topical/a/artaxerxes.htm
- Catholic News Herald, “St. Stephen, the first martyr, remembered Dec. 26.” catholicnewsherald.com
- BBC Religions, “Stephen.” bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/christianity/saints/stephen.shtml