Unpack the core message proclaimed by the Advent messengers, centered on the 2300-day prophecy of Daniel 8:14: “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Understand the Millerites’ initial belief that the “sanctuary” represented the earth, leading them to expect Christ’s return and the earth’s purification by fire at the prophecy’s end. Follow the explanation of how the angel Gabriel returned in Daniel 9 to clarify the starting point of this prophecy, revealing the “70 weeks” (490 years) cut off for the Jewish people. Trace this timeline from Artaxerxes’ decree in 457 BC, through Christ’s baptism (the Anointed One) in AD 27, His crucifixion in the “midst of the week” (AD 31), and the close of Jewish probation with Stephen’s martyrdom in AD 34. See how subtracting the 490 years from the 2300 days definitively pointed to the autumn of 1844, setting the stage for understanding the true meaning of the sanctuary’s cleansing.