interpretation of the above passage of Scripture is crucial to Seventh-day Adventism's identity and to its chosen separation from the rest of the Christian Church. Some other branches of Christianity share Seventh-day Adventism's concern for a biblically based diet. Others even share their view on the sabbath and ritual foot washing, but the Seventh-day Adventism (SDA) view that sets the movement apart from the rest of the Christianity is its unique interpretation of this Bible passage in Daniel – which gives rise to what they call the 'Doctrine of the Sanctuary'.

Their teaching hangs essentially upon the meaning of the angel's phrase –

In order to make the conclusion of this prophetic period coincide with the year 1844, as the SDA assert, various fallacious arguments are applied to the rest of this chapter of Scripture. But untangling these is unnecessary, if this pivotal verse is understood as originally understood. It is not the number 2300 which is contentious, but the term 'days' – which Seventh-day Adventism insists really means 'years', counting forward from 457 BC to get to their October 1844 'Great Disappointment'.

SDA's prophetess, Mrs Ellen G White, explains these errors as –

And so blasphemously, God is blamed for these calculation antics!

The Bible's statement giving the length of this prophetic period is the answer to the question –

The answer then given is –

A comparison of translations of this key verse of SDA doctrine, which were unfortunately not available to these Adventists in their beginning, is very significant.

A strange inconsistency in SDA doctrine appears here. Where this same phrase 'evening and morning' occurs in Genesis Chapter One, it is insisted that it must mean days of 24-hours each. But when exactly the same phrase occurs in Daniel it is insisted that it means 'years'.

It should therefore be obvious that the period is not years represented by 'days' as the SDA movement has adamantly maintained, but it is what it actually says in its original language – 2300 evenings and mornings – that is, real twenty-four-hour days – exactly 2300 of them. A period which then ends with the Israel's sanctuary being made acceptable to God again.

Because this misinterpretation leads to so much confusion on other issues it is also necessary to deal in detail with this prophetic passage to show how the SDA interpretation compromises and twists the pure Word of God which leads to judgment, even if this is done however sincerely and ignorantly.

The direction referred to in holy text to describe the military expansion of the aggressor is used in SDA literature to support Ellen White's identification of the 'little horn' with the Roman Empire. The expansion of this 'little horn' is described as toward the 'south, 'east', and 'the glorious land' (Palestine to the west of Daniel). These directions are cited by the SDA as indicating the expansion of the Roman empire. A closer look however shows up their error immediately –

For instance: the 'Ram' (Medo-Persia, Dan. 8:4) expands towards the 'west', 'north', and 'south'. East is not mentioned here because the Medo-Persians came from the east of Daniel.

However, this 'little horn' expands his rule towards the 'south', 'east', and 'glorious land' (Palestine, west of Daniel). North is not mentioned here because the conqueror came from that direction!

The only northern oppressor of Israel after Daniel's time was the Seleucid (Greek-Syrian) empire which, as Dan. 8:9, says came "out of one of them" (from Alexander's Greek ruled territories). This 'little horn' that does such terrible things to Israel, specifically its Covenant, desecrates the Sanctuary of God in Jerusalem, prohibits Israel's religion, and burns her Holy Scriptures.

Unfortunately, the SDA insist that 'east' in Dan. 8:9 means Macedonia and Asia Minor. Perhaps this is so on American maps, but it was certainly not true for Daniel to whom the prophecy is directly addressed.

The holy text's directions are described from Daniel's position as specifically spelled out in 8:2.

The SDA could be correct only if directions were described from Rome, but then 'south' would not be toward Egypt, as they do acknowledge in their teaching. To twist this 'little horn' oppressor then to mean the Roman empire is unworthy of the sincere Christian as it plays games with text of Holy Scripture.

The SDA confusion is a logical consequence from their two errors of –

Consequently, cleansing or re-consecrating the Sanctuary fits nothing in history, and so the SDA needed to find some alternative explanation.

Their explanation was that something in the unseen must therefore have changed on their 2300-year date – so it was something in Heaven! Christ's priestly ministry of intercession before God's throne had therefore changed. Changed to what? To some divine judicial process of investigation that needs time!

If the millions whose prayers are heard before God do not strain Heaven's resources, it is passing strange that a dedicated period of time in our absence would be needed for the divine mind to investigate the worthiness of believers.

Sadly, the real fulfillment of God's grace in history that this passage points toward in Israel's experience is thus overlooked. The sacrifice of the faithful under the oppression of Antiochus IV goes completely un-noticed!

The momentous cleansing of the Temple Sanctuary by the warrior-priest Judas Maccabaeus in 165 BC/BCE, after 2300 days of oppression (from the murder of the godly High Priest Onias) is ignored.  This victory is still celebrated today at Chanukah, mostly, by those who do not know Jesus as Christ. Whereas, we who do ought to have an even greater appreciation of God in history!

According to the context, the term 'end' is a reference to the end of Israel's suffering 2300 morning and evenings of 'indignation'/'wrath', and her wait for her Messiah (8:17-19). This is ignored, however, and it is interpreted as meaning the end of all things. 

If the SDA interpretation were correct it would certainly be most strange for God to refer to the end of a 2300-year period, unmarked on earth, and completely passing over the miraculous coming of Jesus, His death and His resurrection, without even mentioning Him or these unique and universe changing events. But this is the foundational Seventh-day Adventist dogmatic interpretation!

According to the Bible, Gabriel said to Daniel –

That is beyond Daniel's time not beyond our time!

But in contradiction of this, SDA teaching says that because Daniel became ill under the impact of the vision –

that is, until the first year of Darius the Mede – 13-years-later.

This theory of Gabriel's interrupted explanation is a SDA device to connect two different prophetic time periods about different issues given in different circumstances.

SDA teaching tries to use Gabriel's message in 538 BC (the first year of Darius the Mede, in Daniel 9), to explain Gabriel's earlier message in 551 BC (the third year of Belshazzar in Daniel 8). A thirteen-year interruption in the explanation of the same vision is more than strange, especially as the prophet Daniel is used by God during this 13-year interim to interpret Belshazzar's demise and the conquest of Babylon by the Medo-Persians.

The SDA interruption-theory does violence to the basis of Daniel's vision recorded in chapter 9. In Chapter Nine, thirteen years later than his experience in Chapter Eight, Daniel petitions God for the restoration of Israel's Temple and city,  Jerusalem, because the 70 years of judgment which Jeremiah had prophesied were coming to an end. Gabriel then brings God's answer to this prayer, by saying the level of restoration which Daniel has asked God for would take 7 times the 70 years of Jeremiah.

This detailed answer to his particular prayer gives the basis for Israel knowing the date of Jesus' first coming – to the very day (Lk.19:44). This 490-year period (70x7) has absolutely nothing to do with chapter 8's 'vision of evenings and mornings' (given thirteen years earlier in 551 BC – which described the transition from Medo-Persian empire to Hellenistic kingdoms, and the resultant unparalleled oppression of Israel's religion in consequence).

"2300 evenings and mornings"

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The transition from Medo-Persian to Hellenistic rule over Palestine (with its later tragic consequence to Israel for 2300-days) is given in greater detail in the closing vision to Daniel (Chapters 10 to 12). It is not a continuance after an 'interruption'! This is specifically given to Daniel in response to his 21-day fast after a revelation which is never described (Dan.10:1-3). 

Three days later, Daniel is overwhelmed by a vision that gives him insight into spiritual forces behind these coming political changes, and spells out to him in greater detail what was summarized in Daniel 8 – the time of the 'four horns'. A time in which Palestine is caught in continuing intrigues and conflict between two of these four, the rulers of –

Hellenistic Syria (Seleucids, the kings 'North' of Palestine)
and
Hellenistic Egypt (Ptolemies, the kings 'South' of Palestine).

Chapter ten sets the scene for God's own explanation of the vision of '2300 mornings and evenings' in chapter eight of Daniel.

The following parallel shows the relationship between these two visions. (For those new to this passage, my comments are added in brackets).

Click for a historically integrated time-frame of the '2300-Days'.

Bibliography:

Ministerial Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists 1988: 'Seventh-day Adventists Believe ...A Biblical Exposition of Fundamental Doctrines'. Hagerstown, Maryland, USA: Review and Herald Publishing Association.

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