Many Adventists say that they do not understand 1844 and the Investigative Judgment, that it is too complicated for them. Others confirm this by discussing technical details without end. The result is that many think that it is enough to believe the simple Gospel and leave such matters aside.

But the Gospel they nearly always refer to is far more difficult to comprehend than the 2300 days. It is difficult to see how the Jesus such people make out to be God Almighty is different from the pagan Roman emperor the Romans worshipped. It is difficult to see how the Atonement finished on the cross is different from the Roman crucifix and the stations of the cross. In fact, the pretence of Gospel simplicity is not only complicated and impossible to explain or understand, it is a return to Rome.

The true Gospel is clearly predicted in the book of Daniel, and outlined in the 2300-day prophecy in a simple, point by point way in Daniel 8 and 9. The book of Daniel is one of the most exciting books of the Bible because of the detail of prophecy. The series of empires in Daniel 2 is followed by more detailed visions showing the history of the Middle East and the world down to the end of the world. But the time visions of Daniel 8 and 9 are among the most remarkable.

The problems set forth in the book of Daniel appear in the first verses. (Dan 1:1)  In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. (Dan 1:2)  And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.

The entire book of Daniel focuses on the plight of Jerusalem and the temple in Jerusalem, the holy sanctuary, both of which were destroyed. But Daniel's view goes beyond the earthly situation to the heavenly in every event, and is the most detailed and yet simple explanation of the Gospel in the Bible. Keeping these two points in mind will help to understand everything in the book of Daniel, including the time prophecies of chapters 8 and 9.

(Dan 8:13)  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? (Dan 8:14)  And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

The point of the Gospel is the restoration of ”the sanctuary and the host”. The 2300-day prophecy outlines year by year when and how this takes place. Daniel recognized that each day represented a year. That is why he is so stunned at the length of time in Daniel 8. That is also why he recognized the closeness of fulfilment of Jeremiah's prophecy of the captivity at the beginning of Daniel 9:2. But he did not know when the 2300 years or prophetic days would begin, or what important events lay within that period of time. The explanation quite naturally comes in Daniel 9.

(Dan 9:24)  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.  (Dan 9:25)  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 troublous times. (Dan 9:26)  And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. (Dan 9:27)  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

From these verses we get first the starting point of the time prophecy: the going forth of the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. We need only find that historical date, and all of the other dates fall into place. In 457 B.C., a decree was granted to Ezra by the Persian emperor Artaxerxes Longimanus. A copy of the decree is found in Ezra 7. All ancient dates are confirmed by reference to the canon of Ptolemy, which is based on the dates of a score of eclipses, and so we know them for certainty. So the dates of Daniel 8 and 9 beginning at B.C. 457 can be easily calculated:

B.C. 457 2300 days and 70 weeks begin.

B.C. 408 the end of seven weeks (49 days).

A.D. 27 the end of seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.

A.D. 31 the middle of the seventieth week.

A.D. 34 the end of the seventieth week.

A.D. 1844 the end of the 2300 days. 

A review of the traditionally accepted dates for each of the events mentions shows them to have been fulfilled precisely. The city of Jerusalem was rebuilt in B.C. 408, the coming of Messiah the Prince was fulfilled at Jesus' baptism in A.D. 27, the Messiah was cut off by his crucifixion in A.D. 31, the 70 weeks cut off for the Jewish people ended when the Sanhedrin officially rejected the Messiah and in evidence of it stoned Stephen in A.D. 34, and finally Christ stepped into the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary to make atonement for sin in A.D. 1844. When that work of cleansing the sanctuary is finished, Christ will return as promised. But there is no date given for that event.

In the process of restoring the sanctuary and the hosts, that is the people, the following five  things had to take place. They fit simply on the fingers of one hand.

Jerusalem and the temple rebuilt.

The baptism of Jesus.

The crucifixion of Jesus.

The Gospel sent to the Gentiles.

The sanctuary cleansed.

God moves simply from the earthly and carnal to the heavenly and inner. Each of these five events is necessary to restore the sanctuary and the people. If we set up a different goal from that of restoring the sanctuary and the people, we are inventing a pagan religion. Those who merely desire personal salvation are imitating the mystery cults of the Roman empire, cults that promised personal salvation. That is not what the God of the Bible promises. He promises to restore the sanctuary and the people. Any faith or gospel that promises something else is simply false.

Each of these events is necessary. If we deny even one of them, we have invented a false system of faith, a pagan religion. If we focus on just one of them and forget the rest, such as the central one of all, the crucifixion, the result is to invent a religion that does not differ essentially from the Mithra cult or the Dionysian cult. Again, we have made ourselves pagans, outside the faith of the God of the Bible. Evangelical Christians make a great deal over the fact that Jesus, as contrasted with the man-gods of these pagan cults, is historical rather than mythical. But they take him out of his Biblical history by denying the equal importance, in its sphere, of each of the essential events in history that make up the plan of salvation, or the restoration of the sanctuary and the people.

What takes place at each of the historical events making up the restoration of the sanctuary and the people?

The rebuilding of the city and temple reinstated the temple service, which was a concrete and visible representation of what God was doing for humankind. Before the coming of Christ it presented the course of divine grace to those who participated in it and saw the annual cycle of feasts that represented what was happening in the plan of salvation. The feasts were the Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the feast of Tabernacles. These were all displayed as though in theater in the rebuilt temple in Jerusalem. Each of them represented something in the course of events by which the sanctuary and the people are restored. The spring feasts focused on Jesus' earthly ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension into the holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. The fall feasts focused on the later ministry in the heavenly sanctuary.

The second step in the divine plan to restore the sanctuary and the people was the inauguration of Jesus' ministry at his baptism. He was declared the son of God, in whom God is well pleased, by the very voice of God. That voice had not been heard publicly since the giving of the ten commandments on Mount Sinai. Jesus' work on earth began.  Jesus came to earth and brought truth and life to those around him by his teaching and healing. He was the word made flesh. What was known of God's will in the ten commandments verbally became visible in living flesh and blood.

The third step in the divine plan to restore the sanctuary and the people was the crucifixion of Jesus, his death, burial, resurrection and ascension. The life, death, and resurrection of Christ made it possible for him to step into the heavenly sanctuary as the true high priest of which the temple priest was a figure, following a law that was a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. This step was not only necessary to fulfill prophecy, but in this step Christ was qualified to fill the role of the hight priest in the heavenly sanctuary.

The fourth step in the divine plan was to remove the focus from an earthly sanctuary and a particular people and place it on the true sanctuary, the heavenly sanctuary, and for all people. At the condemnation of Stephen, the Jewish nation was not rejected, but all nations were given equal opportunity with the Jews to become a part of the people restored. Instead of an earthly priesthood, Jesus served as the priest for all people who had faith in him and even for many who did not know him, but turned to God by the action of the Holy Spirit that Jesus sent from the heavenly sanctuary.

The fifth and last step then comes. Following the model as portrayed by the annual feasts, the cleansing of the sanctuary, which began in 1844 refers to the priestly action that took place on the Mosaic Day of Atonement. The fall feast of the Day of Atonement was the only time the high priest went into the Most Holy Place of the temple to make an atonement for the sanctuary, for himself and for the people. Jesus likewise stepped into the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary beginning in 1844. There he does the work of Atonement. When the Atonement for the sanctuary and the people is completed, he will come out of the Most Holy Place and the work will be done. A few days will pass and then he will return to earth to receive those whose sins have been blotted out by his Atoning intercession in the sanctuary. Their sins are not merely forgiven. They are blotted out. With rejoicing they enter into the celebration of the heavenly Feast of Tabernacles.

The message of the 2300 days or prophetic years is simple and straightforward. God provided an object lesson to explain what he was about to do to restore the sanctuary and the people. Jesus, the son of God, came to live and die among humankind, was resurrected and ascended into the heavenly sanctuary to serve as the true priest for the people. As they prayed for forgiveness, their sins were removed to the sanctuary through Christ's intercession. In 1844 Christ has been engaging in the work of blotting out the sins from the sanctuary and the people. When this has been finished the sanctuary and the people will be restored.

This is the true plan of salvation. It is a far cry from the one found among the daughters of Babylon. Babylon holds that killing a man in the Middle East resolves all problems. That is an old pagan thought. In times of catastrophe, the people used to sacrifice an innocent victim to apease the gods and avert disaster. That is the same belief found in Evangelical Christianity today. It is a serious error, because it not only leads individuals into depravity and eventual loss of eternal life, but it affect political decisions. Today the most commonly believed political concept is that crucifying more people in the Middle East will solve the world's problems and make a new world order, a paradise on earth. It will not happen. That is because the basis is a pagan error that is not only opposed to God's plan of salvation, but it is grossly illogical and irrational as well.

The truth is the five great events of the plan of salvation. Each individual may participate in them. We read the Bible to understand the plan of salvation in word and type. We are baptized with Jesus and participate in his life and death and resurrection. God Himself declares that we are His beloved children in whom He is well pleased. We rely on Christ by faith to have our sins, the transgression of the ten commandments, forgiven. We rely on Christ by faith to have our sins blotted out forever. We await is second coming, when the sanctuary and people will be restored for ever.

This is the patience of the saints. Here are they that keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus.