Read Ezra 7:7-13. When was the decree issued to allow Israel’s captives in Persia to go free to rebuild their temple?

 The decree was issued by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, in 457 b.c. This decree was the last of three decrees to allow the Jews to return to rebuild Jerusalem and restore temple worship services. This third decree was the most complete and marks the beginning of the 2,300-day prophecy.

 Read Daniel 9:25, 26. When would this entire prophetic period begin? What major events do these verses predict?

 In this remarkable prophecy, Daniel predicted that from the “going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem” to the Messiah would be 69 prophetic weeks, or 483 prophetic days, or literal years. Since the decree went forth in the fall of 457 b.c., 483 years extend to the fall of a.d. 27. The word “Messiah” signifies “the Anointed One.” In the autumn of a.d. 27, Christ was baptized and received the anointing of the Spirit (Acts 10:38). After His baptism, Jesus went into Galilee, “preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled’ ” (Mark 1:14, 15, NKJV).

 In the spring of a.d. 31, in the middle of this last prophetic week, three and a half years after His baptism, Jesus was crucified. The system of offerings that pointed forward to the Lamb of God ended with Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary. Type had met antitype, and eventually all the sacrifices and offerings of the ceremonial system ceased.

 Read Daniel 9:27. How would the 70-week prophecy end?

 The 70 weeks, or 490 years, especially allotted to the Jews, ended in a.d. 34 with the rejection by the Sanhedrin of the gospel message (Acts 6:8-7:60).

 Subtracting 490 years from the 2,300-year prophecy leaves 1,810 years for the completion of the prophecy. This leads us to a.d. 1844. William Miller and the early Adventists believed that the sanctuary in Daniel 8:14 was the earth, and they assumed that Christ would come to purify the earth by fire in 1844. (See the chart on Friday.)