This is yet another amazing bible study titled, Prophecy of Daniel Chap 8 Commentary – The Cleansing of The Sanctuary Pt.2
13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. Daniel 8:13, 14 KJV
Daniel gets his answer as he listens to this conversation. The angels direct his mind to the services of the Hebrew sanctuary. There Daniel will find the meaning of world history and God’s plan of salvation. There will be an end to the rule of sin! There is a time determined by God when His truth shall be justified before angels and before the world. Judgment is to be given to those who follow Jesus by faith, and the cause of truth will triumph. Satan and all the ‘transgression of desolation’ will come to an end. All this included in the ‘cleansing of the sanctuary’. But before we consider the meaning of the time (the 2,300 days), we must consider what the sanctuary is, and then what its cleansing means.
What is the sanctuary?
When Daniel heard the angels talking about the ‘sanctuary’, his mind immediately went back to the beloved Hebrew sanctuary at Jerusalem, which at the time was desolate and defiled. The true worship of God had been carried forward there in ‘types’ and ‘shadows’, something like children playing with toys to teach them about grown-up life.
A High Priest, chosen from among men, led out in the services. He was a type (symbol) of Jesus Christ, the true High Priest. All that he did in the sanctuary, through ceremonies and ‘types’, was to teach the people of Israel the meaning of God’s great plan of salvation.
Let us remember that this earthly sanctuary with its offerings of the blood of animals was always only a ‘type’ of ‘shadow’ of the heavenly sanctuary. ‘For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.’ Hebrews 10:4. No Israelite was ever saved by the blood of animals, nor by the ministry of human high priests who were sinful as he was. The true Israelite always looked by faith to Christ as his High Priest, and to the blood which He shed on the cross of Calvary for our forgiveness. The ceremonial law of Moses came to an end at the cross of Christ.
It was an object lesson, a picture of the work of Jesus as Saviour of the world, a ‘shadow of good things to come’ (Hebrews 10:1). Its services, directed by the high priest and his assistant priests, were an ‘example and shadow of heavenly things’ (Hebrews 8:5). You cherish a picture of a loved one when the loved one is absent. But when the loved one finally comes, you no longer look at the mere picture, for you can see your beloved face-to-face. So, when Jesus, the High Priest, came in person, the ‘picture’ or ‘types’ of the Hebrew sanctuary were no longer needed.
Like a shadow which comes to an end when we see the sunlight itself which made the shadow, so the ‘shadow’ of the earthly sanctuary met its fulfillment when Jesus died upon the cross, and the function of the earthly sanctuary itself came to an end. That is why there is no earthly ‘temple’ or ‘sanctuary’ on earth today like there was in the days of Moses and Daniel. Today we have something much better.
When Jesus ascended into Heaven after His resurrection, He began His work as High Priest in a better sanctuary than the old one. His followers no longer cared about the old sanctuary in Jerusalem but followed Christ by faith as He entered the sanctuary above. We can easily understand that if Jesus as our High Priest has passed into the heavens, then the real, eternal sanctuary is also in Heaven. (Hebrews 4:14.)
The New Testament makes it very clear. ‘We have such a high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which is the Lord pitched, and not man.’ Hebrews 8:1, 2.
Thus our minds are directed away from the old earthly sanctuary to the true one in Heaven, of which the earthly was a mere pattern.’….the first tabernacle was … a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;… But Christ being come a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building…’ Hebrews 9:8-11.
Therefore, we can easily understand that since the vision given to Daniel was for ‘the time of the end’ (see Daniel 8 verses 17 and 19), the sanctuary to be cleansed is the heavenly one, and not the earthly one.
What is the ‘cleansing of the sanctuary’?
There was an annual service of ‘cleansing’ the earthly sanctuary which was a shadow or type of the ‘cleansing’ of the heavenly one. It was not a mere cleansing from dust or mud, as when we do a ‘house cleaning’. It was a spiritual cleansing or purification from the sins of God’s people. ‘And almost all things are by the law purged with blood, and without shedding of blood is no remission [of sin]. It was, therefore, necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens [the earthly sanctuary] should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:’ Hebrews 9:22-24.
It is filth and dirt which makes it necessary to ‘clean’ things. So, it was the sin and selfishness of Israel which made it necessary each year to cleanse the old sanctuary. In a most wonderful way, the loving God sought to teach the Israelites what a terrible thing sin is.
In fact, the sanctuary service taught them to hate sin and to love what is right. They saw that nothing could wash the terrible stain of sin from the heart except bloodshed. Often the innocent victim who had to die was a little lamb. In the daily sanctuary service, the sinner was told to take the knife himself and slay the little creature, as the blood spurted out, and the lamb died, the sinner was reminded that his sin had cost the life of Jesus, the true lamb of God. Tears came to his eyes as he thought of the suffering and anguish he had brought upon the innocent Son of God. He began to understand what a terrible thing sin is. He saw a ‘picture’ or type of Calvary which was to come!
The priest would sometimes take the blood into the sanctuary, and sprinkle some of it before the veil (curtain) as a witness that Someone innocent had died for the sinner, and that the sinner was truly repentant. The sinner’s heart was broken as he saw the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and how great God’s love is in seeking to save him from it. As he saw the place of Jesus’ cross in the sanctuary service, he went back to his home with a new understanding, a new heart, that now hated sin and loved righteousness. He was really a new man. Thus his sin was forgiven him.
But what about the record of his sin? Though the sinner was forgiven, the blood was still sprinkled inside the sanctuary as a witness to the sin. That ugly record of sin now defiled the sanctuary. The sinner was forgiven, but the sanctuary was not cleansed from his sin. There must be another service to cleanse the sanctuary of this and of all the sins of Israel. God’s name must be cleared of responsibility in this terrible evil. Also, the sinner’s heart must be fully reconciled to God. God’s purpose is to make an end of sins, and not let them go on forever.
Once a year, on what was called the ‘Day of Atonement’, the Israelites took part in a service that taught them the meaning of the great final judgment. On this day the high priest would choose a goat for the Lord, kill it, and take some of its blood into the second apartment of the sanctuary, which was called the ‘most holy place’. There before the mercy seat (which represented the throne of God), the high priest would sprinkle some of the blood to make a final atonement because of all the sins of Israel which had accumulated in the sanctuary for the whole year. The guilt and the record of these sins must be removed in order for the sanctuary to be cleansed.
The high priest, representing Jesus, would bear these sins himself as he came out from the most holy apartment. Then, having chosen a second goat, ‘Azazel’, or Satan’s goat, he would lay his hand upon its head, confessing all these sins upon the scapegoat. A strong man would then lead this scapegoat out into the wilderness that it might perish far away from the camp of Israel. ‘Azazel’ was not bearing the sin – only the ‘Lord’s goat’ could do that – it was symbolically bearing final and ultimate responsibility for the cause of sin! It was like casting their sins ‘as far as the east is from the west’. into the ‘depth of the sea’ (Psalm 103:12; Micah 7:19).1
Thus the old sanctuary was cleansed once a year. But, of course, the ‘blood of bulls and goats’ could never take away sin. Only the Lamb of God could do that. Therefore, this whole service re-enacted every year was just an object lesson to the people of the greater work of cleansing the heavenly sanctuary at the end of time. How wonderful that God has such a plan! Jesus taught us to pray, ‘Our Father which art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name.’ Matthew 6:9. God will be honored in the cleansing of the sanctuary, and His truth will triumph.
Here is the good news: ‘Unto two thousand and three hundred days [years]; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.’ Included in this great work will be the complete cleansing of the hearts of God’s people so that they will fully reflect the beauty of Christ’s character. When that work is completed, Satan, who was vanquished at the cross, will be vilified forever. Also included in the work of cleansing the heavenly sanctuary is the work judgment. In ancient Israel, those who did not humbly repent on the Day of Atonement were to be cut off from among God’s people (see Leviticus 23:29,30).
Likewise, at the end of the world, those who have not confessed and repented their sinfulness and sin, who have not laid their sins upon the Lamb of God, and received forgiveness, will not share in the wonderful blessings of the cleansing of the sanctuary. Like the scapegoat, those who do not feel sorrow for their sin will have to bear the second death in the lake of fire, and be eternally lost.
It is a solemn thought. Now is the time to follow Christ in His work of cleansing the sanctuary, that He may make everything right in our lives. The angel does not tell Daniel in this chapter when the 2,300 days (years) begin or end. In chapter 9 we see him return to Daniel to explain that portion of the vision. The rest of this present chapter is the angel’s explanation of the first part of the ‘vision’.
Daniel 8:15, 16 Commentary
Just as Daniel the prophet sought for the meaning of what was revealed to him, so we, living in the last days (to which the vision applies), should seek earnestly, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to understand it. And God will help us, for it is His will that His people come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). The Lord will make you ‘to understand’! In Hebrew the name Gabriel means ‘the strength of God’, or ‘man of God’. This mighty angel has a special work to do for the sons of men. He appeared to the virgin Mary, and to Zacharias (Luke 1:19, 26). The ‘man’ whose voice commanded Gabriel to enlighten Daniel was probably none other than the Archangel Michael, or Christ (Jude 9). He is spoken of in Daniel 7:13 as ‘one like the Son of man’.
Daniel 8:17-19 Commentary
Here we are reminded that his vision applies to us who live ‘at the time of the end’, ‘in the last end of the indignation’. The command, ‘Understand, O son of man’, comes to each reader of this book, as it did to Daniel. The command can be accepted by us as a promise that will never fail. To what does the ‘indignation’ refer? Daniel already understands that God punishes His people for their sins, and that their captivity in Babylon for seventy years was permitted as the beginning of God’s ‘indignation’.
It was because of their unfaithfulness that Israel became subject to cruel, wicked, heathen kingdoms. Even God’s spiritual Israel, today, is often subject to this same ‘indignation’. When Jesus Christ returns, who alone has the right to the throne of Israel and Judah, God will give to Him the diadem and the crown, and He alone shall reign over His people. Then the ‘indignation’ will have ceased (see Ezekiel 21:25-27,31).
Daniel 8:20-23 Commentary
Pagan Rome spoke a language that was ‘dark’ to the Jews. Long before Daniel’s time, Moses had said that, should Israel be unfaithful, they would be subject to a people ‘whose tongue thou shalt not understand’ (Deuteronomy 28:49,50). They did understand the Babylonian, and even the Greek language. But Latin was ‘dark’ to them. This is another detail that makes clear that this ‘little horn’ is Rome. Even to this day, Latin remains the language of the Roman Catholic Church.
Daniel 8:24 Commentary
There was something strange about how Rome grew quickly to world power. Its conquests were made so easily that some power more than human seemed to be aiding the Romans. But when the great stone ‘cut out without hands’ (Daniel 2:34), the second coming of Christ, takes place, Rome will ‘be broken without hands’.
Daniel 8:26, 27 Commentary
We leave this chapter as though we had risen from the dinner table without our dessert. Something is lacking, not yet explained. The angel must come back again later. Daniel has suddenly become so sick he cannot understand any more, and the angel cannot therefore explain anything more to him about the 2,300 days, or ‘evenings and mornings’. But Gabriel is a faithful servant. He has been commanded to ‘make this man to understand the vision’. Gabriel will not fail to do his duty. When he returns, we may expect that he will begin where he left off, and tell Daniel what the 2,300 days mean and when they will begin. In chapter 9, Gabriel returns for this purpose.
Footnote
1 See Leviticus 16:1-34; 23:26-32 for the Bible description of the cleansing of the old sanctuary on ‘the Day of Atonement’.
Click here for the next study – Prophecy of Daniel Chapter 9: Daniel 9 Predicts Jesus’ coming.
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