The Geneva Study Bible notes on Daniel 8 prove that the 2,300 days were just that, six years, and three and a half months; instead of 2,300 years, which Seventh Day Adventists say ended in 1844 A.D.
Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, Feast of Dedication, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire of the 2nd century BC.
Why did they need to rededicate it? Because Antiochus Epiphanes defiled the sanctuary and caused the daily sacrifice to be taken away for 2,300 days. His persecution of the Jews began in 171 B.C. and the temple was cleansed on December 25, 165 B.C., which is 2,300 days.
The Temple was liberated and rededicated. The festival of Hanukkah was instituted to celebrate this event. Judah ordered the TEMPLE TO BE CLEANSED, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one and new holy vessels to be made.
That fulfills the 2,300 days prophecy in Daniel 8 “Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; THEN SHALL THE SANCTUARY BE CLEANSED.
SDA, Seventh Day Adventist, Pastors teach that the prophecy in Daniel 8 is about 2,300 years, which occurred from 457 B.C. – 1844 A.D.
They apply the 1 day = 1 year to the prophecy to say it was 2,300 years, but that principle doesn’t always apply. In Daniel 12, the 1,290 and 1,335 days were actual days, not years, which has caused SDA’s and others to stumble.
They proclaimed that 1844 was the year that the Messiah would return, but when that didn’t happen, they said that it was the beginning of His Investigative Judgment.
Originally printed in 1560, believers can read the Scripture along with study assistance unashamedly rooted in the theology of Calvin, Luther, Zwingli, and other Reformation leaders.
8:1 In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, [even unto] me Daniel,(a) after that which appeared unto me at the first.
(a) After the general vision, he comes to certain particular visions with regard to the destruction of the monarchy of the Persians, and Macedonians: for the ruin of the Babylonians was at hand, and also he had sufficiently spoken of it.
8:2 And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I [was] at Shushan [in] the palace, which [is] in the province (b) of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.
(b) That is, of Persia.
8:3 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a (c) ram which had [two] horns: and the [two] horns [were] high; but one [was] (d) higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
(c) Which represented the kingdom of the Persians and Medes, which were united together.
(d) Meaning Cyrus, who after grew greater in power than Darius his uncle and father-in-law.
8:4 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no (e) beasts might stand before him, neither [was there any] that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.
(e) That is, no kings or nations.
8:5 And as I was considering, behold, (f) an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat [had] a notable (g) horn between his eyes.
(f) Meaning Alexander that came from Greece with great speed and warlike undertaking.
(g) Even though he came in the name of all Greece, yet he bore the title and dignity of the general captain, so that the strength was attributed to him, which is meant by this horn.
8:7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and (h) smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.
(h) Alexander overcame Darius in two different battles, and so had the two kingdoms of the Medes and Persians.
8:8 Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great (i) horn was broken; and for it came up four (k) notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.
(i) Alexanders great power was broken: for when he had overcome all the East, he thought to return towards Greece to subdue those that had rebelled, and so died along the way.
(k) That is, who were famous: for almost in the space of fifteen years there were fifteen different successors before this monarchy was divided to these four, of which Cassander had Macedonia, Seleucus had Syria, Antigonus had Asia the less, and Ptolemeus had Egypt.
8:9 And out of one of them came forth a (l) little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the (m) south, and toward the (n) east, and toward the (o) pleasant [land].
(l) Which was Antiochus Epiphanes, who was of a servile and flattering nature, and also there were others between him and the kingdom: and therefore he is here called the little horn, because neither princely conditions, nor any other thing was in him, why he should obtain this kingdom.
(m) That is, towards Egypt.
(n) By which he means Ptolemais.
(o) That is, Judea.
8:10 And it waxed great, [even] to the (p) host of heaven; and it cast down [some] of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.
(p) Antiochus raged against the elect of God, and tread his precious stars underfoot, who are so called because they are separated from the world.
8:11 Yea, he magnified [himself] even to the (q) prince of the host, and by him the (r) daily [sacrifice] was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.
(q) That is, God, who governs and maintains his Church.
(r) He laboured to abolish all religion, and therefore cast Gods service out of his temple, which God had chosen as a little corner from all the rest of the world to have his name there truly called upon.
8:12 And (s) an host was given [him] against the daily [sacrifice] by reason of transgression, and it (t) cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.
(s) He shows that their sins are the cause of these horrible afflictions: and yet comforts them, in that he appoints this tyrant for a time, whom he would not allow to utterly abolish his religion.
(t) This horn will abolish for a time the true doctrine, and so corrupt Gods service.
8:13 Then I heard one (u) saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain [saint] which spake, How long [shall be] the vision [concerning] the daily [sacrifice], and the transgression of (x) desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the (y) host to be trodden under foot?
(u) Meaning that he heard one of the angels asking this question of Christ, whom he called a certain one, or a secret one, or a marvellous one.
(x) That is, the Jews sins, which were the cause of its destruction.
(y) That is, which suppresses Gods religion and his people.
8:14 And (z) he said unto me, Unto (a) two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
(z) Christ answered me for the comfort of the Church.
(a) That is, until so many natural days have passed, which make six years, and three and a half months: for the temple was profaned this long under Antiochus.
8:15 And it came to pass, when I, [even] I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me (b) as the appearance of a man.
(b) Who was Christ who in this manner declared himself to the old fathers, how he would be God manifest in flesh.
8:16 And I heard a mans voice between [the banks of] Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, (c) make this [man] to understand the vision.
(c) This power to command the angel, declared that he was God.
8:17 So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for (d) at the time of the end [shall be] the vision.
(d) The effect of this vision will not yet appear, until a long time after.
8:19 And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last (e) end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end [shall be].
(e) Meaning that great rage which Antiochus would show against the Church.
8:22 Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up (f) out of the nation, but not (g) in his power.
(f) That is, out of Greece.
(g) They will not have similar power as Alexander had.
8:23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of (h) fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
(h) Noting that this Antiochus was impudent and cruel, and also crafty so that he could not be deceived.
8:24 And his power shall be mighty, but not (i) by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the (k) mighty and the holy people.
(i) That is, not like Alexanders strength.
(k) Both the Gentiles that dwelt around him, and also the Jews.
8:25 And through his (l) policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify [himself] in his heart, and by (m) peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the (n) Prince of princes; but he shall be broken (o) without hand.
(l) Whatever he goes about by his craft, he will bring it to pass.
(m) That is, under pretence of peace, or as it were in sport.
(n) Meaning, against God.
(o) For God would destroy him with a notable plague, and so comfort his Church.
8:26 And the vision of the (p) evening and the morning which was told [is] true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it [shall be] for many days.
(p) Read ( Daniel 8:14 ).
8:27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick (q) [certain] days; afterward I rose up, and did the kings business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood [it].
(q) Because of fear and astonishment.
To summarize:
Antiochus Epiphanes, the vile person, surrounded Jerusalem with his armies (the abomination of desolation) and killed 10’s of thousands of Jews. They defiled the sanctuary and caused the daily sacrifice to be taken away for 2,300 days (Daniel 8:14). His persecution of the Jews began in 171 B.C. and the temple was cleansed on December 25, 165 B.C., which is 2,300 days.
For a more detailed explanation, John Gill’s Exposition of the Bible is an excellent resource, which was written in the 18th century.
Here is the link to his study on Daniel 8 http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/daniel-8/
The 2300-day Dilemma is a great study that covers the topic in-depth. http://www.ellenwhiteexposed.com/2300.htm
In Daniel 8:14, the word “two” is not in the original text… there is no 2,300 days. It is 1,300 days at best, or “a company of 300” evenings and mornings/days. I’ll just paste my notes here:
Daniel 8:11-14
11 He magnified even to the Prince of the host [Jesus] on account of continuity [of the old law] being exalted, and foundation of his building being cast down. [This is speaking of the literal physical temple that was rendered useless in 31 AD when God tore the veil revealing He was no longer there. Jesus stopped the LITERAL animal sacrifices upon His death in the middle of the 70th week, and made the sanctuary desolate/useless, just like Daniel 9:27 says.]
12 A [holiness] host was given over to the continuity [old law]; rebellion cast down true doctrine [of grace/Gospel] to the ground and it practiced and prospered.
13 …..How long vision of continuity [of old law] rebellion that desolates to give holiness host as a trampling place? [There is no physical “sanctuary” in this verse.]
14 He said to [me], up to thousand three hundred evenings and mornings [will] holiness be justified/made right. [There is no physical sanctuary here either. There is also no number “two” in the verse. This is 1,300 literal days, at best.]
No one seems to care about any of this… everyone just keeps plugging along, parroting the same old junk, enforcing what the apostate translators inserted into God’s inspired word. Surely we are near the end at this stage… people are too far gone.
Michele, the Hebrew word H505 eleph is used 43 other times in Scripture to describe ‘two thousands.’ It can also be used to point to one thousand. There may be a nuance in the Hebrew letters which differentiates one and two thousand, though the Strong’s Dictionary lumps them together.
The Englishman’s Concordance points to two thousand in many verses:
https://bibliaparalela.com/hebrew/alpayim_505.htm
Daniel 8:11 is not pointing to the temple in 31 AD, but rather to Antiochus Epiphanes taking control of the temple when the Grecian empire ruled.
Daniel 8:13 and Daniel 8:14 both include the word ‘sanctuary’ with word H6944 qodesh.
Keep learning and growing in The Way!
The Hebrew word אַלְפַּיִם is plural in Daniel 8:14. When אַלְפַּיִם is not preceded by a number, it is understood as 2000. If Daniel had wanted to say 1000, he would have written אלף, just as he did in Daniel 12:11, 12. So no, the text in Daniel 8:14 does not read 1000. I do believe that the text may have originally read 1000, but that’s not what we have in the Masoretic text. Your points about the holy ones being justified are correct – this verse is not talking about the sanctuary being cleansed. The attempts by translators to make these verses fit into their preconceived ideas is not the way the Scriptures should be translated.
Not a single Bible commentary has the 2300 “days” of Daniel 8:14 prophetic. The historical sources on the Feast of Dedication are overwhelmingly supportive of them being literal. Jesus
attended this feast (John 10:22) and understood it Himself. Why won’t SDAs? Because the
truth destroys their 1844 calculation, and Ellen White herself! We must be honest before God.
Thank you for sharing that insight C.W! It’s amazing that they still teach that Messiah started His supposed ‘Investigative Judgment’ 178 years ago. You would think that at some point they would understand that they got the prophecy wrong.
Hi Dave,
Love your site!
I’ve become a regular reader of it – it’s taught me very much!
I have a comment on the 2300 days …..
Note: CAPS are for emphasis – not shouting.
Be aware – To avoid a long post, I’m going to condense a ‘somewhat long and complicated’ study into just a few lines.
In verse 14, “days” is a bad translation.
The Hebrew “erev — boker,” translates to, “evening – morning”.
A close look at verse 13 tells us that the period being asked about STARTS from the taking away of the DAILY SACRIFICE.
Verse 14 should read, “2,300 evening morning” (both singular).
One evening sacrifice and one morning sacrifice per day = 1,150 days, consisting of 2,300 ‘evening and morning’ sacrifices.
We know exactly when the sacrifices were taken away….
I Maccabees 1:54-
“On the 15th day of the 9th month of the 145th year [of the Greek kingdom] king Antiochus set up the abominable idol of desolation upon the altar of God.”
The same book tells us the time of restoration –
“And they arose before the morning of the 25th day of the 9th month of the 148th year, and they offered sacrifices according to the law upon the new altar…”
Three Greek years = 1,080 days
Two intercalary months = 60 days
From 15th to 25th = 10 days
——————————————
Total ……………………… 1,150 days = 2,300 evening and morning sacrifices
I can find the link if you want to read the entire writing.
Your opinion is appreciated.
Thanks!
I forgot to add this to the above comment –
“To offer burnt offerings unto the Lord upon the altar of the burnt offering CONTINUALLY morning and evening, and to do according to all that is written in the law of the Lord, which he commanded Israel…”
– 1 Chronicles 16:40
Also note that the English “concerning” in Daniel 8:13 is translated from the Hebrew “continually” .
Most Bible versions have the holy one in verse 13 asking the question “how long,” but the Hebrew words מָתַ֞י עַד־ (‘adh-māthay) literally read “until when.” Check any interlinear Bible and you will see that this is the correct translation of these words. The preposition ‘adh means “unto, as far as, until,” and the adverb it is joined to, māthay, means “when.” Hence the real intent of the question was not an inquiry into the duration of these events (how long), but of when these events would terminate (until when). By incorrectly translating ‘adh-māthay as how long, the reader is given the mistaken notion that the emphasis is upon the entire 2,300 days, when in fact the question is only concerned with the very last day of this time period.
The Hebrew words ereb boquer (עֶרֶב בֹּקֶר) in verse 14 are singular nouns that mean “evening” and “morning.” Most Bible versions render these words in the plural (evenings and mornings), and some interpret them as “days” (KJV). Translators contend that the plural reading is legitimate because the nouns are modified by the numerical adjective 2300. This reasoning, however, is faulty because what most translators fail to see is that this number is a very large ordinal and should be translated as such. For those not familiar with ordinal numbers, ordinals tell us the position of something in a list, such as first, second, third, fourth, etc. Cardinal numbers, on the other hand, tell us how many of something there are, such as one, two, three, four, etc. Hebrew does not provide distinct terms for ordinals greater than the tenth place but uses cardinal numbers instead. In our verse the number 2300 is a cardinal number, but should be translated as an ordinal for reasons we shall now discuss.
The question “until when” (Heb. מָתַ֞י עַד־) is asked in verse 13, and is then followed with an answer in verse 14. The answer given also begins with the word “until” (Heb. עַד) and is then followed by a unit of time and a large number. Whenever a number is preceded by the word “until” in the Hebrew Scriptures, the number that follows is always translated as an ordinal. This is true even when the number is greater than the tenth place. The following examples are provided as proof:
Gen 8:5 הָעֲשִׂירִי הַחֹדֶשׁ עַד until the tenth month
Ex 12:6 יוֹם עָשָׂר אַרְבָּעָה עַד until the fourteenth day
Ex 12:15 הַשְּׁבִעִי יוֹם עַד until the seventh day
Ex 12:18 הָאֶחָד יוֹם עַד until the twenty-first day
Lev 19:6 הַשְּׁלִישִׁי יוֹם עַד until the third day
Lev 23:16 עַד מִמָּחֳרַת הַשַּׁבָּת הַשְּׁבִיעִת until the day after the seventh Sabbath
Lev 25:22 עַד הַשָּׁנָה הַתְּשִׁיעִת until the ninth year
1 Sam 20:5 הַשְּׁלִשִׁית הָעֶרֶב עַד until the third evening
2 Ki 25:2 שָׁנָה עֶשְׂרֵה עַשְׁתֵּי עַד until the eleventh year
2 Chr 15:19 וְחָמֵשׁ שְׁלֹשִׁים שְׁנַת עַד until the thirty-fifth year
Ezra 4:24 עַד שְׁנַת תַּרְתֵּין until the second year
Neh 5:14 וְעַד שְׁנַת שְׁלֹשִׁים וּשְׁתַּיִם until the thirty-second year
Neh 8:18 עַד הַיּוֹם הָאַחֲרוֹן until the last day
Jer 1:3 עַד-תֹּם עַשְׁתֵּי עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָהּ until the end of the eleventh year
Jer 52:5 עַד עַשְׁתֵּי עֶשְׂרֵה שָׁנָה until the eleventh year
Dan 1:21 עַד-שְׁנַת אַחַת until the first year
Dan 8:14 עַד עֶרֶב בֹּקֶר אַלְפַּיִם וּשְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹתuntil evening-morning two thousand three hundredth
The word “until” is defined as the “up to point in time.” In our verse, the 2300th evening-morning is the up to point in time. Bible translators have been very consistent in translating numbers as ordinals when they are preceded by the word “until,” even when they are larger than the ‘tenth’ place, but for some reason they have chosen not to do so in Daniel 8:14. Early Protestant Bibles, however, translated this number correctly as an ordinal.
… Vnto the euenyinge & the morninge, euen two thousande and thre hudreth dayes … (Coverdale Bible, 1535)
… Vnto the eueninge & the mornynge, euen two thousand and thre hundreth dayes… (Matthew’s Bible, 1537)
… Unto the euenynge & the mornynge, euen two thousande and thre hundreth dayes… (Great Bible, 1539)
… Unto the evening and the morning, two thousand and three hundredth…
(The Geneva Bible, 1560)
So why haven’t modern day translators translated this number as an ordinal? The reason appears to be that they are trying to force this prophecy to fit in with the known facts concerning the Greek king Antiochus Epiphanes, who, according to the book of 1 Maccabees, desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem on Kislev 15, 167 B.C., and then, three years and ten days later, cleansed it and resumed its services on Kislev 25, 164 B.C. Three years and ten days is equal to 1090 days on a 360-day calendar, or 1105 days on a 365-day calendar. These time periods are much too short for those wanting to attribute this prophecy to the works of Antiochus Epiphanes, because both time periods fall far short of the prophesied 2300 days. Many have attempted to reconcile this difference by suggesting that the number 2300 pertains to the number of morning and evening offerings that were performed daily in the Temple by the priests. Since there were two offerings per day, one in the morning and one in the evening, they say that the number 2300 should be divided in half, thus resulting in a period of only 1150 days. While this number is much closer to the timeline specified in 1 Maccabees, it is still 45 to 60 days too long. Therefore, we must reject this interpretation, because we know from other prophecies, such as the Seventy Weeks, that God’s prophetic times are not just close, but they are fulfilled to the exact day.
Another reason for rejecting this teaching is that the order of the burnt offerings was always stated, without exception, as “morning and evening,” and never as “evening and morning.” Hence, the language of the sanctuary service does not correspond with the specific word order of “evening-morning” as found in Daniel 8:14.
Last, and perhaps the strongest argument against dividing the number 2300 in half, is the observation we previously made about this number being an ordinal. Arithmetic cannot be done with ordinals because they show sequence only. As an ordinal, the 2300th evening-morning represents only one day, and it cannot be divided into a lesser number of days. If the text had read “2300 evening and morning sacrifices,” we might be able to make the case for every two units equaling one day, but this is not how the text reads. It simply reads: “Until evening-morning 2300th.” This means that the evening and morning together make up the 2300th day. We find support for this understanding in Genesis Chapter 1, where each of the days of creation consisted of an evening and a morning: “…So the evening and the morning were day one; …the second day; …the third day; etc.” (Gen 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31).
Daniel 12 is a sealed book…
Richard, Daniel 9 foretold that the city and temple would be desolated because the Jews rejected their Messiah and delivered Him up to be killed.
In the Olivet Discourse Messiah warned of the coming desolation of the temple. Luke records that the Abomination of Desolation was, an army surrounding Holy Jerusalem.
Daniel 12 describes that time of desolation which occurred from 66-70 A.D., which was in ‘this generation‘ as Messiah so clearly said in Matthew 24:34
The Abomination of Desolation, the Roman army, surrounded Jerusalem in 66 A.D.
The Romans were ready to invade the city, when for no reason they left.
The Early Church saw the sign and they fled to the mountains of Pella, as Messiah had told them.
The Jews stayed in Jerusalem.
The next division of the Roman army, the ‘people of the prince‘ from Daniel 9:26, were led by Prince Titus and they surrounded Jerusalem.
They stayed camped around the city for an extended period of time, as the Roman Emperor had died and they awaited further orders. They cut off the food supply to the city, causing problems.
During this time hundreds of thousands of Jews died from famine, pestilence, infighting, suicide and by crucifixion when they were caught outside the city walls looking for food.
Then 1,290 days after the Abomination of Desolation appeared in 66 A.D., the Roman army flooded the city, and killed hundreds of thousands of Jews by the sword.
The siege suddenly ended after 45 days, fulfilling the 1,335 days of Daniel 12, when the last group of Jews who were hidden in an inaccessible place suddenly surrendered.
Since the prophecy has already been fulfilled, it is not a sealed book.
It was only sealed during the latter days of the Jews, so that most of them remained blind and received their judgment.
Here is the verse by verse explanation and a more precise fulfillment timeline of Daniel 12.
http://christianitybeliefs.org/end-times-deceptions/daniel-12-prophecy-deception/