We present a new rapid expansion method (REM) for the time integration of the acoustic wave equation and the equations of dynamic elasticity in two spatial dimensions. The method is applicable to spatial grid methods such as finite differences, finite elements or the Fourier method. It is based on a Chebyshev expansion of the formal solution to the appropriate wave equation written in operator form. The method yields machine accuracy yet it is faster than methods based on temporal differencing. Its disadvantages are that it does not apply to all types of material rheology, and it can also require much storage when many snapshots and time sections are desired. Comparisons between numerical and analytical solutions for simple acoustic and elastic problems demonstrate the high accuracy of the REM.