2300 Days and 1844

 

The Seventh-day Adventist church teaches that the year 1844 was prophetically significant. This is drawn from the belief in the 2,300 days prophecy as interpreted by Willam Miller, later adopted and expanded by Ellen White and other Adventists. This prophecy interpretation was the very beginning and foundation of Ellen's claim to have been given supernatural visions and revelations from God. When these interpretations are compared with scripture, contradictions or departure from scripture points to the probability that she may have simply adopted William Miller’s beliefs, claiming that she had visions which verified those beliefs, or her visions may have been given to her by another spiritual entity apart from God. One might ask that if there was in fact any dishonesty in what Ellen was climing, what might she have personally gained from this? The evidence shows that her visions enabled her to convince others she had prophetic insight, which placed her in a position of popularity, power, and authoritative control. This is not a direct accusation towards Ellen's motives. Nevertheless, these personal benefits must be taken into consideration by those who decide to test Ellen with intellectual honesty, acknowledging that she was human and humanity has many times been tempted to embrace actions of deception in order to obtain fame and power.

The first section below outlines Daniel chapter eight in close comparison with historical events. The following section thereafter explores the current Adventist teaching on Daniel eight and the explanation for the year 1844 as prophetically significant. The reader can then contemplate which interpretation they believe is aligned more closely with scripture and scripture alone.

 

Overview of Daniel Chapter Eight

 

In the vision given to Daniel in chapter eight, Daniel saw a ram with two horns butting towards the north, west, and south. Then he saw a goat with a single prominent horn who came from the west and conquered the ram. The angel in Daniel's vision explained to him that the ram with two horns represented the Empire of Media Persia. The Goat represented the Empire of Greece, and the large horn on the goat was the first king who would conquer the ram. The large horn of Greece would magnify himself greatly, but as soon as he was at the height of his power the large horn would be broken. After this, four horns would sprout from the place of the large broken horn on the goat's head. The angel said these four horns represented four kingdoms coming to power. In the latter reign of these four horns/kingdoms, the angel said that out of one of these another small horn/king would arise. This small horn on the goat's head illustrates that this king comes from within one of the four kingdoms of Greece.

The angel explained that the little horn/king would grow into the southeast, beautiful land, and into the host of heaven. He would equate himself to the commander of the host, would fling truth to the ground, remove the regular sacrifice, trample on the holy place, and persecute the holy people. Daniel specifically asked how long this vision would apply "regarding the regular sacrifice" during the horror of the holy place and people being "trampled." The angel answered him by saying that this horror and trampling “will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.” Since the angel specifically said “2,300 evenings and mornings” and not “days,” and since this time period was said to apply directly to the "regular sacrifice," this time period could represent the daily sacrifices that took place at the temple each evening and morning. 

The section below will examine specific verses in Daniel chapter eight in comparison with historical events. These events align so accurately with this prophecy that many secular scholars, who deny the divine authorship of scripture, use this to claim the book of Daniel could not have possibly been written by Daniel himself and had to have been written after Antiochus. After examining scripture along side history, the next section will explore the Seventh-day Adventist interpretation. 

 

Scripture and History Side by Side

 

Daniel 8:1-7, 20-21

  • "In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had already appeared to me. In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa in the province of Elam; in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal. I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. I watched the ram as it charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against it, and none could rescue from its power. It did as it pleased and became great. As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between its eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. It came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at it in great rage. I saw it attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering its two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against it; the goat knocked it to the ground and trampled on it, and none could rescue the ram from its power." (Daniel 8:1-7)
  • "The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. 21 The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king." (20-21)
    • Cyrus the Great was a Persian King who had overthrown his Median grandfather, Astyages. He united the Medes and Persians into one empire, which was subsequently often referred to as the Medo-Persian Empire. Cyrus came from the east and conquered the Babylonian Empire, overtaking the city of Babylon in 539 BC. The Kings of Medo-Persia expanded their empire towards the west, north, and south.
    • Alexander the Great was born in 356 BC in Macedon, the son of King Philip II of Macedon who had built a unified Macedonian state. Alexander was tutored by Aristotle and became king at about the age of 20 in 336 BC after his father's death. He began his first campaigns from Macedon, crushing internal revolts and uniting Greece. Then in 334 BC, he launched his first invasion from the west against the Medo-Persian Empire in the east. Alexander expanded his empire quickly, conquering the Medo-Persion Empire within four years.

 

Daniel 8:8, 20-23 

  • "The goat became very great, but at the height of its power the large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven." (8) 
  • “The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king. The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power." (20-22)
    • Only seven years after defeating the Persian Empire and at the height of his power, Alexander died just shy of age 33 in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. His death came before his heir was born, and his reign was replaced by his four most powerful generals. His Greek Empire was subsequently divided into four prominent Hellenistic Kingdoms:
      • Ptolemaic Empire - General Ptolemy (began rule around 305 BC) - Egypt, North Africa, parts of the Levant
      • Macedonia/Antigonid Empire - General Cassander's rule (305-297 BC) was replaced by General Antigonus' rule - Macedonia and Greece
      • Seleucid Empire - General Seleucus (began rule around 312 BC)- Mesopotamia, Persia, Syria, parts of Asia Minor
      • Lysimachus Kingdom/Attalid Kingdom - General Lysimachus' kingdom (323-281 BC) was mostly absorbed by Seleucid Empire in 281 BC and the remaining land transferred to Lysimachus' officer Philetaerus, who founded the Attalid Kingdom (283-133 BC) - Western Asia Minor and Pergamon
    • hellenistic kingdoms map - Google Search

 

Daniel 8:9

  • "Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land." (9)

 

Daniel 8:23

  • In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise." (23)
    • The four Hellenistic kingdoms reigned from 323-30 BC, the time from Alexander the Great's death until the Roman conquest. Antiochus IV Epiphanes ruled the Seleucid Kingdom from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC, which places his rule during the latter part of the reign of the Hellenistic Kingdoms.

Daniel 8:10

  • "It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. It set itself up to be as great as the commander of the army of the Lord." (10)
    • Antiochus IV Epiphanes esteemed himself so highly that he assumed the name Antiochus Epiphanes, meaning God Manifest, and he trampled on the Jews in the holy land with severe persecution.   
    • "Thus he who previously, in his superhuman presumption, thought he could command the waves of the sea, and imagined he could weigh the mountaintops in his scales...Shortly before, he had thought that he could reach the stars of heaven..." 2 Maccabees 9:8,10

 

Daniel 8:10-14, 24

  • ..."it took away the daily sacrifice from the Lord, and his sanctuary was thrown down. Because of rebellion, the Lord’s people and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground." Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled—the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, the surrender of the sanctuary and the trampling underfoot of the Lord’s people?” He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.” (10-14)
  • "He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people." (24) 
    • Antiochus lV Epiphanes entered Jerusalem in 169 BC, took wealth and killed those who opposed him. Then he entered Jerusalem again in 167 BC, this time specifically to persecute the Jews. He plundered the entire city, forbade obedience to Mosaic law, desecrated the temple, forbade sacrifices to YHWH, and murdered thousands of Jews.
      • “But I shall give a detailed account of this king, how he became master of Judaea and the temple ; for since in my first work I mentioned these things only in summary fashion, I have thought it necessary now to go back and give a more exact account of them. King Antiochus, then, returning from Egypt, through fear of the Romans, marched against the city of Jerusalem, and entering it in the hundred and forty-third year of the Seleucid reign { 169 B.C. }, took the city without a battle, for the gates were opened to him by those who were of his party. And having become master of Jerusalem in this way, he killed many of those who were in opposition, and taking large sums of money as spoil, he returned to Antioch. Two years later, as it happened, in the hundred and forty-fifth year { 167 B.C. }, on the twenty-fifth day of the month which by us is called Chasleu, and by the Macedonian Apellaios, in the hundred and fifty-third Olympiad, the king went up to Jerusalem, and by pretending to offer peace, overcame the city by treachery…And so he stripped the temple, carrying off the vessels of God, the golden lamp-stands and the golden altar and table and the other altars, and not even forbearing to take the curtains, which were made of fine linen and scarlet, and he also emptied the temple of its hidden treasures, and left nothing at all behind, thereby throwing the Jews into deep mourning. Moreover he forbade them to offer the daily sacrifices which they used to offer to God in accordance with their law, and after plundering the entire city, he killed some of the people, and some he took captive together with their wives and children, so that the number of those taken alive came to some ten thousand…. The king also built a pagan altar upon the temple-altar, and slaughtered swine thereon, thereby practising a form of sacrifice neither lawful nor native to the religion of the Jews. And he compelled them to give up the worship of their own God, and to do reverence to the gods in whom he believed…He also ordered them not to circumcise their children…Indeed, they were whipped, their bodies were mutilated, and while still alive and breathing, they were crucified, while their wives and the sons whom they had circumcised in despite of the king's wishes were strangled, the children being made to hang from the necks of their crucified parents. And wherever a sacred book or copy of the Law was found, it was destroyed ; as for those in whose possession it was found, they too, poor wretches, wretchedly perished.”  Josephus: Jewish Antiquities, Book 12, section 246-256 
      • https://www.attalus.org/translate/aj_12b.html#225 
  • On December 25, 167 BC, Antiochus erected an alter to Zeus in the Temple and sacrificed a pig. After driving Antiochus out of Jerusalem, the Maccabees rededicated the Temple to YHWH on December 24, 164 BC, exactly three years after Antiochus had erected the idol of Zeus in the temple.
  • Since the holy one in the vision states that the "2,300 evenings and mornings" is regarding the regular sacrifice, it is possible that this time period is referring to the regular sacrifices which took place every evening and morning at the temple. According to Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian, Antiochus IV Epiphanes held Jerusalem by force for "three years and three months," during which time he abolished the daily sacrifice of YHWH and desecrated His temple. Josephus, although writing in Greek as the most universal language of his time, as a Jewish historian he would likely have been using the Jewish lunar calendar in order to describe Antiochus' persecution. The Jewish lunar calendar ascribed 29-30 days to each month, with a normal years of 12 months. Occasionally a leap month would be added in order to keep aligned with the solar year. However, since Josephus did not specify a leap month, it is most probable that when he said "three years and three months," he would have meant 3 regular years consisting of 12 lunar months per year in addition to 3 more lunar months, or 39 total lunar months. With each month having an average of 29.5 days, this is exactly 1150.5 days, the exact time period of 2,300 evening and morning temple sacrifices.
  • “Antiochus, who was named Epiphanes, took Jerusalem by force, and held it for three years and three months, and was then ejected out of the country by the sons of Asamoneus.” The Wars of the Jews, Preface, number 7
  • Once the Jews succeeded in ejecting Antiochus out of Jerusalem, the Jews cleansed the temple, officially re-dedicating it on December 24, 164 BC. This re-dedication of the temple has since been celebrated every year in an eight-day festival called Hanukkah, which translated to Hebrew means "Dedication." The feasts of YHWH given through Moses consist of Spring and Fall feasts. This is the only feast celebrated by the Jews in Winter, and was even celebrated by Jesus himself: "Then came the Festival of Dedication (translated "hanukkah" in hebrew) at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade." John 10:22-23.

 

Daniel 8:25

  • "He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power." (25)
    • Antiochus died of disease, not by human power.
      • "About that time Antiochus retreated in disgrace from the region of Persia. He had entered the city called Persepolis and attempted to rob the temples and gain control of the city. Thereupon the people had swift recourse to arms, and Antiochus’ forces were routed, so that in the end Antiochus was put to flight by the people of that region and forced to beat a shameful retreat. On his arrival in Ecbatana, he learned what had happened to Nicanor and to Timothy’s forces. Overcome with anger, he planned to make the Jews suffer for the injury done by those who had put him to flight. Therefore he ordered his charioteer to drive without stopping until he finished the journey. Yet the condemnation of Heaven rode with him, because he said in his arrogance, “I will make Jerusalem the common graveyard of Jews as soon as I arrive there.” So the all-seeing Lord, the God of Israel, struck him down with an incurable and invisible blow; for scarcely had he uttered those words when he was seized with excruciating pains in his bowels and sharp internal torment, a fit punishment for him who had tortured the bowels of others with many barbarous torments. Far from giving up his insolence, he was all the more filled with arrogance. Breathing fire in his rage against the Jews, he gave orders to drive even faster. As a result he hurtled from the speeding chariot, and every part of his body was racked by the violent fall. Thus he who previously, in his superhuman presumption, thought he could command the waves of the sea, and imagined he could weigh the mountaintops in his scales, was now thrown to the ground and had to be carried on a litter, clearly manifesting to all the power of God. The body of this impious man swarmed with worms, and while he was still alive in hideous torments, his flesh rotted off, so that the entire army was sickened by the stench of his corruption. Shortly before, he had thought that he could reach the stars of heaven, and now, no one could endure to transport the man because of this intolerable stench. At last, broken in spirit, he began to give up his excessive arrogance, and to gain some understanding, under the scourge of God, for he was racked with pain unceasingly. When he could no longer bear his own stench, he said, “It is right to be subject to God, and not to think one’s mortal self equal to God.” ...(28) So this murderer and blasphemer, after extreme sufferings, such as he had inflicted on others, died a miserable death in the mountains of a foreign land." 2 Maccabees 9: 1-12, 28

 

Additional Biblical interpretation of Antiochus IV Epiphanes as the small horn in Daniel eight:

 

 

Seventh-day Adventist Interpretation of 2300 Days and the Year 1844

 

The belief that 1844 is prophetically significant is based on William Miller's interpretation of Daniel 8:14, “for 2,300 evenings and mornings, then the holy place will be restored.” William Miller was a Baptist who predicted that Christ would return in 1844, and used the prophecies in Daniel to come up with this date. He studied the various visions in Daniel, and believed that the starting date of the prophecy in chapter nine, which was given in the first year of King Darius, was the same starting date for the prophecy in chapter eight, which was given years prior during the third year of King Belshazzar. It is accepted by many Christians that the starting point for the prophecy in Daniel nine is 457 BC, for valid reasons which will be explained below. Miller interpreted the "2,300 evenings and mornings" to mean "days" which he further interpreted to represent prophetic years. The belief that "days" is equal to "years" in this prophecy is based on the scriptures Ezekial 4:6, Numbers 14:34, Mark 1:15, Matthew 26:18, Luke 12:56, 21:18, Romans 5:6, and 1 Timothy 2:6.

When he applied the year 457 BC from the vision in chapter nine to the "2,300 evenings and mornings" in chapter eight, he added 2,300 years to 457 BC which landed on the year 1844. Miller believed this represented the year of Christ's second coming and preached that the event would occur on October 22, 1844. Many Christians were swept up in this movement, including Ellen White. They were known as Millerites or Adventists. When Jesus did not return, this caused a crisis of faith for many Millerites. Miller himself admitted he was mistaken with is calculations and withdrew from further date setting. A small group of Millerites, however, speculated that Miller's date was off by seven years. This group included Ellen and James White. These early Adventists formed a 7-year theory, teaching that Jesus would return in 1851. When Jesus still did not return, they still held on to the belief that 1844 was prophetic, but that the interpretation of the date was wrong. Instead, the formulated the belief that 1844 represented the time in which Jesus entered into he most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, and began his work of "Investigative Judgment," where the works of every believer in history were being looked over as a final judgment on their salvation. Adventists have since held on to the belief in the year 1844 as prophetic.

The "little horn" mentioned in Daniel eight has also been interpreted by Adventists to represent Rome, specifically the Roman Papacy. This is drawn from the assumption that the little horn mentioned in the chapter seven vision is the same little horn mentioned in the chapter eight vision. And since the little horn in chapter seven is interpreted to be Papal Rome, the little horn in chapter eight must also be Papal Rome. 

Below is a study into each of the Daniel visions that the Seventh-day Adventist church has connected together, which lead to the interpretation that 1844 is a prophetic year. Some of the connections between visions are not unique to Seventh-Day Adventists and hold credibility among other christians for being probable interpretations. In order for the reader to understand a fuller context of Adventist interpretation, we have outlined the major connections between the visions of Daniel, including those accepted by some other christians. The point of interest in this study is for the reader to examine the connection specifically between the little horn in Daniel chapter seven and chapter eight, and to examine whether the little horn in chapter eight could represent Papal Rome, as this interpretation is unique to Seventh-day Adventists and is a foundation for the 1844 date. 

 

Connections of Daniel's visions according to Seventh-Day Adventist Interpretation:

  • Daniel two and seven: The legs of iron/fourth kingdom in Daniel two and the fourth beast/kingdom in Daniel seven both represent the Roman Empire. 
  • Daniel seven and Revelation thirteen: The little horn in Daniel seven and the Beast from the sea in Revelation thirteen both represent Papal Rome. 
    • Daniel seven little horn rises among the ten horns of the fourth beast (Rome).
      • Speaks blasphemies against God
      • Wages war against the saints
      • Rules for "a time, times, and half a time."  In Hebrew tradition, a "time" is interpreted as one year of 360 days. Using this interpretation, "a time, times, and half a time" has been thought to represent a year (360 days), two years (720 days), and half a year (180 days)= 1260 prophetic days = 1260 literal years.
    • Revelation thirteen beast rises from the sea with seven heads and ten horns. (Vision given to John the apostle after the death of Jesus) 
      • Speaks blasphemies against God
      • The beast wages war against the saints
      • Has authority lasting "forty-two months," interpreted as 1260 prophetic days = 1260 literal years.
  • Daniel seven and eight: The little horn in Daniel seven and the little horn in Daniel eight both represent the Roman Papacy.
  • Daniel eight and nine: The starting point for the prophecy in Daniel eight (2,300 evenings and mornings) is believed to be the same starting point as the prophecy in Daniel nine (when a decree is given to rebuild Jerusalem): 457 BC.

 

Daniel Chapter 2:

  • “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth. This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold. After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay. In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces." Daniel 2: 31-45

 

  • This dream was given to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon in his second year of reign. He received a divine prophetic dream which was interpreted by Daniel. In the Dream was a statue with a head of gold, chest of silver, belly of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of iron mixed with clay. The dream prophesied the succession of Empires that would follow after Babylon. Daniel stated that the head of Gold was Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom, which was Babylon. According to history, the following Kingdoms demonstrate that the silver chest was Media Persia, the belly of bronze was Greece, and the legs of Iron was Rome. This is the first vision that leads to the interpretation that Rome was the kingdom prophesied to follow Greece.

 

Daniel Chapter 7:

  • "In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream. Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea. The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it. And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!' After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule. After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns. While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully. ...(11) Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. ... (14) He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this. “So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: ‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’ Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully. As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom. “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time. ‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’ This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts, and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.” Daniel chapter 7

 

  • This vision was given to Daniel in the first year of Belshazzar. In it were four beasts coming out of the sea; a lion, bear, leopard, and a fourth terrifying beast. The fourth beast had ten horns, three of them fell, and then a little horn came out of the beast which would persecute God's people. Since the first kingdom is interpeted by biblical scholars as representing Babylon, the following beasts are interpreted to represent the Kingdoms which succeeded Babylon, similar to the vision in Daniel chapter 2; the lion represented as Babylon, the bear as Media Persia, the leopard as Greece, and the terrifying beast as Rome. The probable interpretation is that Rome is represented by both the fourth kingdom/legs of Iron in Daniel 2, and the fourth kingdom/beast in Daniel 7.

 

  • The kingdom of Greece is followed by another empire in both Daniel two and seven, whih history shows was the Roman Empire. Since there is a "little horn" mentioned in the Daniel seven vision which comes out or the fourth beast (Rome), it is the SDA interpretation that this little horn is the same little horn mentioned in the vision of Daniel eight, and both come out of Rome. 
  • CONSIDERATION:
    • If the reader refers back at the prophecy in Daniel eight carefully, it can be noted that there are only two beasts seen in the vision: the ram (Media Persia) and the goat (Greece). The large horn on the goat was broken off and in its place on the head of the goat came up four horns, representing four smaller Greek kingdoms. Out of one of them arose another small horn. The fact that there is no other beast mentioned in the vision after the goat, and the only animal for another little horn to come out of remains the goat, this points to the conclusion that the small horn of Daniel eight is a horn on the goat and is still connected with Greece, not Rome. 

 

Daniel Chapter 9:

  • “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.” While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill— while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision: “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed." Daniel 9:17-26 
  • The vision given to Daniel in chapter 9 was given in the the first year of the Medo-Persian King, Darius. This vision was a messianic prophecy which explained when the Jews were to look for the arrival of their Messiah. The angel said that the Messiah would appear 7 weeks and 62 weeks (which is 69 weeks = 483 prophetic years) after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem. According to Ezra 7:7, this decree was given in 457 BC in the seventh year of the reign of Artaxerxes the Mede, at the end of Jew’s Babylonian exile. This was during the reign of the Medo-Persian Empire which had just conquered the Babylonian Empire. Miller claimed that since 457 BC was the start of the Daniel 9 prophecy, he also believed it was the starting point of the "2,300 evenings and mornings" in Daniel 8. He added 2300 years from 457 BC which landed on the year 1844. 
  •  CONSIDERATION:
    • What evidence proves that the start of the 2,300 evening and mornings is the same starting point of the prophecy in Daniel nine? Without the angel explaining that the same date applies to both visions, this connection is an assumption made by Adventists, and the evidence for other interpretations must be considered if one is to have intellectual honesty. 

 

Daniel Chapter 8 and the 2,300 evenings and mornings:

  • "Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land. It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. It set itself up to be as great as the commander of the army of the Lord; it took away the daily sacrifice from the Lord, and his sanctuary was thrown down. Because of rebellion, the Lord’s people and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground. Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled—the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, the surrender of the sanctuary and the trampling underfoot of the Lord’s people?” He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.” Daniel 8:9-14

 

  • When the angel said the sanctuary will be "reconsecrated” or “cleansed,” Adventists first believed this represented the time when Jesus would return and cleanse the earth of all sin. When Jesus did not return in 1844, Miller abandoned his calculations. But a man named Hiram Edson, who was a Millerite, was walking through his cornfield the day after the Great Disappointment. He reported to having had a vision in which he saw Jesus enter from the holy place into the most holy place to begin a new phase of his ministry. He shared this with some of the other Millerites, and this led a small group to hold on to the belief that 1844 was still prophetic. First they embraced the 7-year theory and the shut door theory, but when Jesus still failed to return in 1851, they believed they had misinterpreted the meaning of 1844, but still considered the date to be prophetic. They ultimately embraced the interpretation that 1844 represents the year Jesus entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary in order to cleanse the sanctuary and begin the Investigative Judgment. This is the interpretation still currently listed in the Fundamental Beliefs of the SDA church. The "daily sacrifice" mentioned in Daniel eight is interpreted by the SDA church to represent the continual outpouring of sacrificial ministry of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary. 
    • CONSIDERATION:
      • Daniel 8:10 says that the little horn "took away the daily sacrifice from the Lord." The holy one then explains that the duration of the "2,300 evenings and mornings" is the length of time applying specifically to this "regular sacrifice." If the SDA interpretation is correct, and the daily sacrifice represents the continual outpouring of sacrificial ministry of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary, how was the ministry of Jesus taken away from the Lord? How was the ministry of Jesus as a continual sacrifice thrown down and trampled on beginning in 457 BC, before Jesus ever offered himself as the atonement sacrifice?

     

    • The SDA church interprets the little horn in Daniel 8 as the Roman Catholic Church. The little horn's actions of removing the regular sacrifice, trampling the sanctuary, and casting truth to the ground is taught to equal to the actions of the Roman Catholic Church and its unscriptural teachings. This includes teachings such as that people must confess to a catholic priest who is able to act as an intercessor, people may have to perform acts of penance as conditions of forgiveness, people may have to spend time in purgatory to have their sins cleansed before entering heaven, people are saved through grace in additions of works, that the sacrifice of Christ is repeated daily in mass etc. The rise of the Advent movement, the teaching of Christ's mediation in the most holy place, and the proclamation of a return to the Ten Commandments is seen by the SDA church as the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy of "2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be properly restored."  
    • CONSIDERATION:
      • The "2,300 evenings and mornings" is said by the holy one to be the time period in which the little horn "causes horror, so as to allow both the sanctuary and the army to be trampled." If the "2,300 evenings and mornings" indeed began in 457 BC, then this means the little horn threw down the regular sacrifice and began trampling the sanctuary and God's people starting in 457 BC and ended this trampling and persecution in 1844. If the little horn is indeed the Roman Papacy as the SDA interpretation suggests, how is it possible that Papal Rome began to trample the sanctuary, holy people, and regular sacrifice in 457 BC? The date 457 BC took place during the reign of the Medo-Persian Empire, over a century before Medo-Persia fell to Greece, centuries before Greece fell to the Rome, and even more centuries before the birth of the Roman Papacy.

     

    • The SDA church interprets that "some of the stars it threw down to the earth, and it trampled them" represents the persecution of God's people in the Dark Ages by the Catholic Church and Papal crusades. The horn "exalted itself to be equal with the Commander of the army" is said to be represented by the Popes' exaltation of himself as the Vicar of Christ on earth. 
    • CONSIDERATION:
      • How can 457 BC be the start of Roman persecution of God's people and trampling of the heavenly sanctuary, when history shows this was the when the Jews were freed from their captivity in Babylon, and was the year in which the Medo-Persian Empire gave the decree for the Jews rebuild Jerusalem and renew their temple worship to YHWH? How can persecution of God's people begin at the same time His people were set free from captivity?  
      • What evidence does history show of Papal Rome trampling the sanctuary and God's people from 457 BC to 1844, when the Papacy was non-existant in 457 BC 
      • Centuries before 1844, the Papacy's deception had already been long rejected by Protestants since the scriptures were made available to laypeople. What evidence does history show of Papal Rome trampling the sanctuary and God's people until the 1844, when it had for centuries already lost authoritative power due to the Protestant Revolution, and people have since had access to the scriptures for centuries? 

    Sources for the Seventh-day Adventist interpretation:

     

      Conclusion

       

      The decree in 457 BC took place during the Medo-Persia reign, when the Jews returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity in order to rebuild Jerusalem and restart their regular sacrifices to YHWH at the temple. Scripture states that the "2,300 evenings and mornings" is a time of destruction of God's daily sacrifice, sanctuary, and people, which will be conducted by a wicked ruler represented as a small horn on the goat (Greece).  It seems near impossible to interpret that the start of the 2,300 evenings and mornings occurred in 457 BC as a Papal Roman persecutory power, as this was many centuries before the Roman Papacy.

      William Miller and others calculated that 457 BC plus 2,300 years landed on the year 1844. But since the angel direcely connects the 2,300 evenings and mornings to the horror caused by the little horn from Greece, then the year 457 BC appears to be too early for the start of the little horn's horror since this date is during the Medo-Persian Empire. It is the authors' conclusion that scripture does not point to 1844 as a prophetic date. If this is true, then Ellen’s visions regarding 1844 which she claimed were given to her directly from God, were not.

      Instead the authors believe scripture points to the following:

      • Alexander the Great as the great horn of the goat (Greece).
      • The four horns on the goat as the four prominent Hellenistic Kingdoms which arose after Alexander's death.
      • Antiochus IV Epiphanes as the little horn on the goat, which arose from one of the four horns.
      • The "2,300 evenings and mornings" which was said to regard the regular sacrifice and the horror caused by the little horn, represents the trampling of the temple and its sacrifices as well as the persecution of God's people for a time period equal to 2,300 evening and morning temple sacrifices. 
      • Antiochus IV Epiphanes' persecution and trampling of Jerusalem lasting "three years and three months" as recorded by the first century Jewish Historian Josephus, aligns to perfection with three years and three months in the Jewish lunar calendar used in the first century; exactly 1150 days; the time period of exactly 2,300 evening and morning temple sacrifices.