Phoneman777
Member
Revelation is filled with Sanctuary symbolism, yet most Christians completely ignore this crucial, integral aspect of prophecy necessary to correctly establishing the prophetic timeline in Revelation in the same way they ignore the equally crucial, integral aspect of Hebrew Chiasms which keeps us from losing our place on that timeline. In order to do so, we must go back to Daniel before we even begin to approach Revelation:
In Daniel 8, the prophecy "Unto 2,300 days then shall the sanctuary be cleansed" caused Daniel extreme psychological distress. Why? He well understood the "day for a year" principle in prophecy (Ezekiel 4:6, Numbers 14:34, Luke 13:32) and he also knew they'd spent around 50 years in Babylon of what would end up being a 66+ year exile from Jerusalem (and anyone who points out that God told Jeremiah it would be 70 years need only see anything less as God's wonderfully characteristic desire to show mercy toward toward us). Now, if Daniel thought the 2,300 days were literal days, so what? What's another 6 1/2 years more of sanctuary trampling after enduring 50 years of it in captivity. That doesn't explain his extreme psychological duress. Obviously, the reason for Daniel's eschatological nervous breakdown was because he understood these were "symbolic days" representing "literal years". So, another 2,300 years of trampling the sanctuary underfoot? No wonder the man passed out, fell sick for days, and then ran to every sage he could find for an explanation that would only come later by an angel.
After seeking the Lord in prayer, Gabriel appears to Daniel in chapter 9 to clear up the 2,300 Days confusion via the 70 Weeks prophecy, which was great encouragement to him because it spoke of the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the wall, the temple, and the coming of Messiah - a process which would commence very soon, long before the end of the 2,300 Days! This is seen by the fact that the 70 Weeks were "cut off" from the 2,300 Days, making both prophecies begin at the same time -- the "going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem" -- which Ezra 7 pinpoints as Artaxerxes' decree in 457 B.C. and is why old Bible margins have this irrefutable, archaeologically established date of Artaxerxes' 7th year reign. Counting from 457 B.C., we come to 1844 A.D. when the only sanctuary that has any eschatological significance anymore is the heavenly sanctuary in which our High Priest Jesus ministers (if you think a "rebuilt temple in Jerusalem" has eschatological significance, I'd love to show how that is absolutely not the case).
So, how does all this establish an eschatological timeline in Revelation? Again, it has to do with the sanctuary.
Revelation's prophecies which are revealed as Jesus ministers among the furniture of the Holy Place must begin BEFORE 1844 because He has yet to move to the Most Holy Place and begin cleansing the sanctuary. Likewise, those prophecies which are revealed after He's gone behind the veil into the Most Holy Place begin AFTER 1844. That's why the 7 Churches, 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets are parallel - not successive - prophecies which deal with the spiritual, political, and militaristic impact on the church, respectively, that begin in the days of John which is before 1844 - because Jesus is in the Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary; a fact which disproves Jesuit Futurism. Conversely, the 7 Last Plagues and the Mark of the Beast, for instance, are given in connection with Jesus having moved to the Most Holy Place, which is why these things can't happen until after 1844 - which disproves Jesuit Preterism.
Protestant Historicism is once again firmly established by Scripture that is neglected or ignored or misinterpreted by proponents of Jesuit Preterism and Jesuit Futurism because such Scripture doesn't fit into their prophetic interpretation. A "cleansing of the Sanctuary" that follows a literal 2,300 Days after 457 B.C. is impossible for at least two reasons: (1) you can't slice off a prophetic 70 Weeks (literal 490 years) from a literal 2,300 days, and (2) the earthly sanctuary in Jerusalem was still very much being trampled underfoot 2,300 literal days after 457 B.C. with no "cleansing of the sanctuary" in sight for at least another 100 years or so when the post-captivity sanctuary would be completed. Praise God that His prophecies don't require inconsistent interpretation and application in order to make them work!
In Daniel 8, the prophecy "Unto 2,300 days then shall the sanctuary be cleansed" caused Daniel extreme psychological distress. Why? He well understood the "day for a year" principle in prophecy (Ezekiel 4:6, Numbers 14:34, Luke 13:32) and he also knew they'd spent around 50 years in Babylon of what would end up being a 66+ year exile from Jerusalem (and anyone who points out that God told Jeremiah it would be 70 years need only see anything less as God's wonderfully characteristic desire to show mercy toward toward us). Now, if Daniel thought the 2,300 days were literal days, so what? What's another 6 1/2 years more of sanctuary trampling after enduring 50 years of it in captivity. That doesn't explain his extreme psychological duress. Obviously, the reason for Daniel's eschatological nervous breakdown was because he understood these were "symbolic days" representing "literal years". So, another 2,300 years of trampling the sanctuary underfoot? No wonder the man passed out, fell sick for days, and then ran to every sage he could find for an explanation that would only come later by an angel.
After seeking the Lord in prayer, Gabriel appears to Daniel in chapter 9 to clear up the 2,300 Days confusion via the 70 Weeks prophecy, which was great encouragement to him because it spoke of the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the wall, the temple, and the coming of Messiah - a process which would commence very soon, long before the end of the 2,300 Days! This is seen by the fact that the 70 Weeks were "cut off" from the 2,300 Days, making both prophecies begin at the same time -- the "going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem" -- which Ezra 7 pinpoints as Artaxerxes' decree in 457 B.C. and is why old Bible margins have this irrefutable, archaeologically established date of Artaxerxes' 7th year reign. Counting from 457 B.C., we come to 1844 A.D. when the only sanctuary that has any eschatological significance anymore is the heavenly sanctuary in which our High Priest Jesus ministers (if you think a "rebuilt temple in Jerusalem" has eschatological significance, I'd love to show how that is absolutely not the case).
So, how does all this establish an eschatological timeline in Revelation? Again, it has to do with the sanctuary.
Revelation's prophecies which are revealed as Jesus ministers among the furniture of the Holy Place must begin BEFORE 1844 because He has yet to move to the Most Holy Place and begin cleansing the sanctuary. Likewise, those prophecies which are revealed after He's gone behind the veil into the Most Holy Place begin AFTER 1844. That's why the 7 Churches, 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets are parallel - not successive - prophecies which deal with the spiritual, political, and militaristic impact on the church, respectively, that begin in the days of John which is before 1844 - because Jesus is in the Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary; a fact which disproves Jesuit Futurism. Conversely, the 7 Last Plagues and the Mark of the Beast, for instance, are given in connection with Jesus having moved to the Most Holy Place, which is why these things can't happen until after 1844 - which disproves Jesuit Preterism.
Protestant Historicism is once again firmly established by Scripture that is neglected or ignored or misinterpreted by proponents of Jesuit Preterism and Jesuit Futurism because such Scripture doesn't fit into their prophetic interpretation. A "cleansing of the Sanctuary" that follows a literal 2,300 Days after 457 B.C. is impossible for at least two reasons: (1) you can't slice off a prophetic 70 Weeks (literal 490 years) from a literal 2,300 days, and (2) the earthly sanctuary in Jerusalem was still very much being trampled underfoot 2,300 literal days after 457 B.C. with no "cleansing of the sanctuary" in sight for at least another 100 years or so when the post-captivity sanctuary would be completed. Praise God that His prophecies don't require inconsistent interpretation and application in order to make them work!
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