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The first 490 years of the 2,300-year prophecy relate to the Jewish people, and to the First Coming of Christ. In the verse Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, the word in the original Bible manuscript that is translated as "determined" is the Hebrew word chathak. Some of the meanings of this word are "to cut," "to divide," and "to be marked out." These 490 years, then, are to be "marked out" of the 2,300-year period. (14:40) After this time period, the time of the Jews was fulfilled. But both Jesus and Gabriel state that "2,300 years" refers to the time of the end-the Second Coming. And 2,300 years after the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem brings us to March 21, 1844. This is the time that Christ said He would appear, and the year the Baha'i Faith began. Thus, with these extraordinary prophecies, Daniel links Christ and Baha'u'llah together. (1 See Strong's Lexicon Hebrew reference number 2852) (For a fuller discussion of these prophecies, see Every Eye Shall See, Chapter 3: When Shall These Things Be?) see also (14:41) 51 12 We see that all three of these promises Jesus made to His disciples point to the year 1844: 1) The Gospel would be preached to all nations, 2) The times of the Gentiles would be fulfilled, and 3) The words of Daniel regarding the abomination of desolation would be fulfilled. (14:42) As the year 1844 approached, based on these three promises of Jesus, over a thousand Christian ministers in Great Britain and the United States alone were preaching the imminent Return of Christ. They eagerly awaited His Coming. Some of their followers gave away all of their possessions. When Christ did not return with the great outward signs that they were expecting, this led to what is known today as the Great Disappointment. (14:43) Prophecies are rarely given in an open, unequivocal, and easy-to-understand manner. They are almost always couched in symbols, metaphors and mysteries, and are only understood after they have been fulfilled. In response to the questions posed to Him about the time of His Return, Jesus could have told His disciples: I will return 1,844 years after my birth. But the Bible never gives such plain signs of things to come. This is why Matthew states, after Christ's response to His disciples, whoso readeth, let him understand. Just as it did upon Christ's First Coming, it takes a searching heart to recognize Him at the Second Coming.
(14:44)
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