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Identifying True Worshipers in the Time of the EndPay Attention to Daniel’s Prophecy!
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21. (a) The time period foretold at Daniel 12:11 would begin when what conditions had been brought about? (b) What was “the constant feature,” and when was it removed? (See box on page 298.)
21 Daniel was told: “From the time that the constant feature has been removed and there has been a placing of the disgusting thing that is causing desolation, there will be one thousand two hundred and ninety days.” So this time period would begin when certain conditions had been brought about. “The constant feature”—or “the continual sacrifice”a—had to be removed. (Daniel 12:11, footnote) What sacrifice did the angel mean? Not the animal sacrifices offered at any earthly temple. Why, even the temple that once stood in Jerusalem was a mere “copy of the reality”—Jehovah’s great spiritual temple, which went into operation when Christ became its High Priest in 29 C.E.! In this spiritual temple, representing God’s arrangement for pure worship, there is no need of continual sin offerings, for “Christ was offered once for all time to bear the sins of many.” (Hebrews 9:24-28) Yet, all true Christians do offer sacrifices at this temple. The apostle Paul wrote: “Through [Christ] let us always offer to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips which make public declaration to his name.” (Hebrews 13:15) So this first condition of the prophecy—the removing of “the constant feature”—was brought about in mid-1918 when the preaching work was virtually suspended.
22. (a) What is the desolating “disgusting thing,” and when was it installed? (b) When did the time period foretold at Daniel 12:11 begin, and when did it end?
22 What, though, about the second condition—the “placing,” or installation, of “the disgusting thing that is causing desolation”? As we saw in our discussion of Daniel 11:31, this disgusting thing was first the League of Nations and reemerged later as the United Nations. Both are disgusting in that they have been heralded as the only hope for peace on earth. Thus, in the hearts of many, these institutions actually take the place of God’s Kingdom! The League was officially proposed in January 1919. At that time, then, both conditions of Daniel 12:11 were met. So the 1,290 days began in early 1919 and ran until the autumn (Northern Hemisphere) of 1922.
23. How did God’s holy ones progress toward a cleansed standing during the 1,290 days foretold in Daniel chapter 12?
23 During that time, did the holy ones make progress toward becoming whitened and cleansed in God’s eyes? They certainly did! In March 1919 the president of the Watch Tower Society and his close associates were released from prison. They were later exonerated of the false charges against them. Aware that their work was far from over, they got busy immediately, organizing a convention for September 1919. In the same year, a companion magazine to The Watch Tower was first published. Originally called The Golden Age (now Awake!), it has always supported The Watchtower in fearlessly exposing the corruption of this world and in helping God’s people to remain clean. By the end of the foretold 1,290 days, the holy ones were well on the way to a cleansed and restored standing. In September 1922, right about the time when this period ended, they held a landmark convention at Cedar Point, Ohio, U.S.A. It gave tremendous impetus to the preaching work. However, there was still a need for making more progress. That remained for the next marked period.
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Identifying True Worshipers in the Time of the EndPay Attention to Daniel’s Prophecy!
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1,290 days: January 1919 to
Daniel 12:11 September 1922
(Anointed Christians awaken and
progress spiritually.)
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