Godly Living in the 21st Century

Our world is frantically searching for some message of hope. The book of Revelation reveals hope for today, tomorrow, and forever. Jesus is on the way. He is coming to take us home. Our lesson today unfolds one of the Bible's most amazing prophecies. In our last lesson we discovered God's special message in Revelation chapter 14 - a message to prepare a people for the coming of Jesus. Jesus' final, last-day message announces, "The hour of [God's] judgment has come" (Revelation 14:7).

In this lesson we will study where this judgment takes place and when it began. If we are living at the time of the end in God's judgment hour, it makes all the difference in how we live our lives.

Although Revelation reveals that the hour of God's judgment has come, it does not tell us when. To discover when the judgment began we must turn to the prophetic book of Daniel. The prophecies of Daniel unlock the mysteries of Revelation. These two Bible books are designed by God to be studied together.

01. According to the prophet Daniel, where does the judgment take place?
Daniel 7:9–10
09. “I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire;
10. A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened.
Note
The angel directed Daniel's attention to the throne room of the universe. There the prophet saw the setting up of the supreme court of the universe in heaven's sanctuary.

02. When does this heavenly judgment take place?
Daniel 8:14
14. And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”

03. What does the prophet Daniel say would happen to the sanctuary at the end of the 2,300 prophetic days?
Daniel 8:14
14. And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”

04. What did the cleansing or restoring of the sanctuary mean to each Israelite? What did God ask them to do? What would happen to anyone who did not "afflict their soul" in repentance for sin?
Leviticus 16:29–30
29. “This shall be a statute forever for you: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether a native of your own country or a stranger who dwells among you.
30. For on that day the priest shall make atonement for you, to cleanse you, that you may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.
Leviticus 23:27–29
27. “Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.
28. And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God.
29. For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people.
Note
Each day during the earthly sanctuary service the Israelites confessed their sins. They came to the sanctuary with their sacrificial animals. Each sacrificial animal represented Jesus. Day by day sin was transferred from the sinner to the substitute and through the blood of the sacrificial victim carried into the sanctuary by the Jewish priest. Each priest represented Jesus, our priest, who represents us in heaven's sanctuary. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the sanctuary was cleansed of all the guilt transferred in by the confessed sins of the Israelites. It was a day of judgment! At the end of the day the sins of the repentant Israelites were either confessed, forgiven, and renounced, or unconfessed, unforgiven, and cherished.
All Israelites who refused to confess their sins were banished from the camp. They were judged. The cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary takes place at the end of time. It is God's final judgment on sin.

05. When does the vision of the 2,300 days especially apply to?
Daniel 8:17, 19 (NKJV)
17. So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.”
19. And he said, “Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be.

06. Who was Daniel's guide to explain the vision, and what did God instruct the angel to do?
Daniel 8:16 (NKJV)
And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.”
Note
When the angel attempted to explain the vision, Daniel fainted (Daniel 8:27).

07. When the Angel Gabriel returns, what does he tell Daniel?
Daniel 9:21–23
21. yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering.
22. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.
23. At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:

08. What portion of the prophecy applies directly to Daniel's people, the Jews?
Daniel 9:24
“Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.
Note
Gabriel begins his explanation by stating that 70 weeks (490 days) are "determined" (cut off from the 2300 days) especially for the Jews (Daniel 9:22-24)

09. In the Bible what does one prophetic day equal?
Numbers 14:34
According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection.
Ezekiel 4:6
And when you have completed them, lie again on your right side; then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days. I have laid on you a day for each year.
Note
The entire 2300 days leads us to the time of the end and the opening of the judgment.

​10. When does this entire prophetic period begin?
Daniel 9:25
“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.
Note
The entire prophetic period begins with the command to restore and build Jerusalem. Jerusalem was attacked in 605 B.C. by the Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar. In 587/586 B.C. it was largely destroyed. The Medes and Persians overthrew the Babylonians in 539 B.C. In 457 B.C. the Persian king, Artaxerxes, passed a decree allowing the Jews to return to their homeland to rebuild Jerusalem. You can read about this decree in Ezra 7: 12-13.

11. How long would it be from the decree to restore Jerusalem to the anointing of Jesus as the Messiah?
Daniel 9:25
“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.
Note
The prophecies of Daniel predict that from the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem in 457 B.C until the coming of the Messiah would be 69 prophetic weeks, or 483 prophetic days (7 x 69 = 483). Since one prophetic day equals one literal year, 483 years from the going forth of the command to rebuild Jerusalem the Messiah would appear. The diagram below will clarify this prophecy. 
If the prophecy begins in 457 B.C. with the decree to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and proceeds 483 years into the future, we will arrive at 27 A.D. Look at the diagram below to calculate the prophecy:

Based on Daniel's prophecy, the fall of A.D. 27 is the calculated time of the Messiah's anointing (Christ's baptism).

12. What happened when Jesus was baptised?
Luke 3:21–22
21. When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened. 
22. And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
Acts 10:38
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.
Note
The word "Messiah" means the anointed one. Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit at His baptism in 27 A.D.

13. When would Jesus bring all sacrificial offerings to an end with His death on the cross?
Daniel 9:27
Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”
Note
The first 69 weeks of the 70-week prophecy ran out in A.D. 27 at Christ's baptism. One week, or seven years, remained. In the middle of this last prophetic week all animal sacrifices would cease. The Messiah would be cut off or crucified. According to the prophecy, Jesus would be crucified three and one-half years from His baptism in A.D. 27. This leads us to the spring of A.D. 31. Jesus was crucified in the spring of that year, on the day of the Passover, exactly as the prophecy predicted.

14. What event occurred in the Jewish temple when Christ was Crucified?
Matthew 27:51
Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split,
Note
The tearing of the veil in the Jewish Temple signified the end of the old sacrificial system. On Passover of A.D. 31, Jesus Christ, our Passover, was crucified for us. The sacrificial system lost its significance. Christ, our substitute, was sacrificed in our behalf. Historically the whole sacrificial system came to an end with the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in A.D. 70. In A.D. 34, as the prophecy predicted, the Jews finally sealed their doom as a nation. The Jewish high priest speaking on behalf of the Sanhedrin, the high Jewish Council, officially rejected Jesus. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, was stoned, and the gospel was preached to the Gentiles. The 490-year period is a smaller section of the 2300 days. The 490 years applies especially to the Jews and the coming of the Messiah. The longer prophecy of the 2300 days leads us to the end of time, the cleansing of the sanctuary and earth's final judgment.
Adding 1,810 years to our last date, A.D. 34, brings us to 1844. Just as surely as Christ was baptized in A.D. 27 and crucified in A.D. 31, the judgment in heaven began in A.D. 1844.

15. Should it make any difference in the way we live knowing we are living in the Judgment hour?
Romans 13:11–14
11. And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. 
12. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 
13. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 
14. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

16. What assurance does God give us in the Judgment? 
​Hebrews 7:25
Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Note
If any of us had to stand alone, we would have no hope. Jesus will stand in our behalf in the judgment. What assurance! We can rejoice in the hope of the Christ who is our best friend representing us before the throne of God.

​Concluding Question
Would you like to choose to surrender yourself to Jesus as your savior, that He may take your weak and sinful self to be fully His own?

FOR FURTHER STUDY ​read the following Bible passages: 
1 Chronicles 16:33; 
Psalm 58;11; 
Daniel 7:9, 10, 26-27; 
John 5:22;
2 Corinthians 5:10; 
2 Timothy 4:1;
2 Timothy 4:8;
1 Peter 2:23;
1 Peter 4:17.