113

THE

CHRONOLOGY OF DANIEL'S 2300 DAYS,

OR YEARS.

"It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter." (Prov. xxv. 2.)

66

And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." (Rev. v. 10.)

"It is the greatest wisdom to know times and seasons.'

"

"AND he said unto me, Únto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." "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 anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times....And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:

I

and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease." (Daniel viii. 14; ix. 24, 25, 27.)

The greatest and highest mark of wisdom in chronology, is the discovery in dating back from our present Anno Domini 1844 to the Crucifixion. For if there is any dependence on the correctness of our present chronology, A.D. 1844, if we date back 1810 years, it must bring us back to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, provided he was 33 of age years when cut off, (of which there cannot be the least doubt.)

This undoubtedly will bring us to the middle of Daniel's last week of the 490, which would be in the year 486, "from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem."

We have, beyond doubt, established the crucifixion of the Messiah, by dating back 1810 years, and forward from the going forth of the commandment to the middle of the last week 4861; here we can set up one stake for certain, that is, the cutting off of the Messiah.

Now let us prove this. If we add 1810 years to 486, we have 2297 years, which is three years short of 2300 days or years, when the sanctuary is to be cleansed, and which will bring us to 1847; or take 486 from 2300, we have 18133-just 31 more than back to his crucifixion, 1810, which will bring us again to 1847.

Or again: Luke says, iii. 23, "And Jesus himself began to be about* thirty years of age." He ministered 3 years, and was cut off or crucified in the midst of the week, or in the midst of the last seven years of the 70 weeks, or 490 years. Thirty-three and a half years are therefore to be taken from the 486 years, which leaves 453 from the going forth of the commandment to the birth of Christ, or first of the Christian era, which, being taken from 2300, leaves us the year 1847.

N.B. If the pronoun "He," mentioned in the 9th chapter of Daniel, 27th verse, does not refer to the Messiah, but to the Prince of the Romans, Titus, who, it appears from Tacitus' Annals, xxv. 23-31, confirmed a covenant with many, (viz. Parthians, Medes, and Armenians,) for one week, or in the one week, and who caused the sacrifice or daily oblation to cease in the midst of the week-then of course the above calculation falls to the ground.

But if, as Daniel says, "After three score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off," (Dan. ix. 26;) if he was cut off precisely at the end of 62 weeks

* By referring to this passage in our Polyglott Bibles, we shall find the margin headed A.D. 26; so that the four years mentioned in the margin, corresponding to the first verse of the second chapter of Matthew, are added, which make Christ just thirty years old when he was anointed by the Holy Ghost and began to preach, or 33 when he was crucified.

or years, the calculation will stand thus: 62 weeks

of years are 434 years; now we have established the crucifixion 1810 years back, (if our chronology be correct,) add 434 years to 1810, and we make 2244 years, which requires 55 years yet to come, and will bring us to the year A.D. 1899 before the 2300 days or years are up, when the sanctuary is to be cleansed.

But if "from the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince" is just 7 weeks and three score and two weeks, (Dan. ix. 25,) 69 weeks of years are exactly 483 years; take the Messiah's age, 331 years, from 483 years or 69 weeks, and we have 449 years; add 449 years to 1843, we have 2293, exactly 7 years short of the 2300 days when the sanctuary is to be cleansed, and which will bring us to about A.D. 1850, just seven years to

come.

I

I have now examined the different views taken by all those who have paid the deepest attention to the prophetic or sacred numbers. have examined the midst of the last week of the 490, viz. the 486 years. I have examined the "three score and two weeks," when Daniel says "the Messiah shall be cut off," (Dan. ix. 26,) and I am still inclined to believe it will take place about the year 1847.

I have examined the 69 weeks.

It is clear to my mind that we can never arrive

at the truth of the expiration of time given in Daniel's prophetic numbers by external evidence, or by calculation from external historical* facts.

We must obtain some clue from the internal wording of the vision itself. In proof of this, I would here mention, that among those chronologists that are thought the wisest and best, there is a difference of above 1400 years; they stand thus; as given by Mr. Cuninghame in his recent work on Chronology:

Now we may well despair of ever coming at the truth of chronology upon this ground, as there exists between the Jewish chronology of 5862 and Cuninghame's of 7321, a difference of 1459 years.

But there appears, from internal evidence-that is, from the wording of Daniel's second vision, given in the ninth chapter-great certainty of our arriving at the truth by dating back from the time there given, when Messiah was cut off, which I have noticed in the first page of this "Chronology."

There appears great wisdom in dating back to

*This is what I call external evidence.