What is the stated purpose of Daniel's 490-year prophecy?
The 490 years were determined upon Israel and the holy city Jerusalem to finish the transgression, make an end of sins, and make reconciliation for iniquity. These purposes were accomplished in the work of the cross, where Christ's death defeated sin and made reconciliation possible.
Les explains that Daniel's prophecy is directed to the nation of Israel in a prophetic timetable of 490 years. The 490 years are determined upon Daniel's people and upon the holy city, Jerusalem, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity. He teaches that all of this was accomplished in the work of the cross. When Christ died, reconciliation was made possible, as Paul brings out in 2 Corinthians chapter 5: "Be ye reconciled to God." Now there is the ministry of reconciliation, and believers can tell a lost world that they have already been reconciled; believe it, and God will reckon them as reconciled. In this 490-year prophetic timetable, there is going to be the end of sins as man's overpowering victor, because sin was defeated at the cross. That is where Satan was utterly defeated. He is still alive and well, but for the benefit of the believer, his power has been broken as a result of the work of the cross.