- Goal: Breaking down the 2300 days mentioned in Daniel 8 and aligning the prophecy with history
- Focal Books & Chapters of the Bible: Daniel 8
- Other Verses/Helpful Books: None
At the end of Daniel's vision in Daniel 8:13-14, two saints are having a conversation. The first saint asks about the length of time spanning the vision, which he tells us concerns "the daily sacrifice and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot." To which the second saint responds with 2300 (prophetic) days. Note that in Daniel 9, Gabriel tells Daniel in verse 26 that "the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary" and "unto the end of the war desolations are determined." In reference to the 70th week, Gabriel tells Daniel in verse 27 that "he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate." Note further that in Daniel 9:23, Gabriel tells Daniel that he has come to show him so that he may understand, at which point he tells Daniel to "consider the vision." What vision?
The last vision Daniel has mentioned is the one in Daniel 8 concerning the 2300 days. In the last verse of Daniel 8 we are told that Daniel fainted and was unable to understand the complete vision. Therefore, it makes sense that Gabriel (who was explaining the 2300 days vision per Daniel 8:16) comes back to finish explaining the 2300 days. That means that the 70 weeks are part of the 2300 days.
Alright, now lets do some math! 2300 prophetic days is 2300 years. We've already established that the 70 weeks equals 490 prophetic days, or 490 literal years. Therefore we know what happened in 490 of the 2300 years. The question is what happened in the other 2300 years and where do those 490 years fit in the timeline. The earliest the 490 years could have occurred is at the onset of the 2300 years, which means the prophecy would take place from the beginning of the 70 weeks (in 457bc) to the 2300th year (in 1844ad). The latest the 490 years could have occurred in the timeline is at the end of the 2300 years, which would mean the prophecy ended in 34ad. and began in 2267bc. The last option makes no sense because it is estimated that the book of Daniel was written in the 6th century bc (i.e. sometime between 600bc and 500bc). If that the prophecy began in 2267bc, most of the events would have already occurred by the time Gabriel told Daniel and thus it wouldn't be a prophecy. We have to assume the 2300 years either started at the onset of the 70 weeks in 457bc or that the it started sometime between Daniel's vision and 457bc... However, we have to keep in mind that the prophecy is quite useless if we don't have a starting point. Let's look at the order of events so that we can figure this out.The Vision
First, Daniel sees a ram with two horns by the river and no beast can stand before the ram. Then, out of the west comes a goat that doesn't touch the ground and has one horn (between his eyes). The goat attacks the ram, and succeeds in braking (note that Daniel 8:7 actually says brake not break) the two horns of the ram. The horn of the goat is broken while the goat is strong, but four "notable ones" come up and from these four comes a little horn. Then it says "he" magnified himself and caused the daily sacrifice to be taken away. The sanctuary is cast down. Then the truth is cast down, which prospers. This brings us to the saints discussing the length of time in which this will occur.Gabriel's Explanation
Gabriel tells Daniel that the two horns of the ram are the kings of Media and Persia, the goat is the king of Grecia, and the great horn of the goat is the first king. Four kingdoms come out of the first king's kingdom ("but not in his power"). Near the end of this kingdom there will come a king who understands "dark sentences." He will prosper in destroying, specifically holy people, but he will come by peace. He stands up against the Prince of princes (Jesus), but will be "broken without hand." Between Daniel 8 and 9 the only starting point Gabriel gives is in Daniel 9 with the 70 weeks prophecy.Aligned With History
Medo-Persia fell in 330bc to Alexander the Great, who was the king of ancient Greece (also called Macedonia or Grecia). After Alexander the Great died, his kingdom collapsed into chaos and war, because he didn't have an heir (who would have taken rule in Alexander's power). Once the area was stable again, there were four kingdoms: Ptolemaic Egypt, Seleucid Syria, Attalid Pergamum, and Antigonid Macedonia[1]. This period is known as the Hellenistic period in history and lasted until 31bc, when Rome conquered those territories[2]. The final king Gabriel speaks of comes from Rome—Rome stood up against Jesus (they crucified Him, actually) and it was during Rome's reign that the temple was destroyed.The Timeline
With all of this in mind, we see that the 2300 "days" begins with the 70 weeks set aside for the Jews during the reign of Medo-Persia and continues up until 1844ad. Thus according to prophecy the sanctuary was supposed to be cleansed in 1844ad.The 2300 "Days"
| Historical Year | Prophetic Time | Action/Event | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 457 BC | the ram with 2 horns | Medo-Persia is the prevailing kingdom | |
| 330 BC | the goat/first king | Alexander the Great/Greece | |
| ~323 BC | 4 kingdoms | Ptolemaic Egypt, Seleucid Syria, Attalid Pergamum, Antigonid Macedonia | |
| 31 BC | the king of fierce countenance | Rome | |
| 34 AD | the end of the 70th week | Word of God preached to the Gentiles | |
| 1844 AD | the end of the 2300 days | Sanctuary cleansed |
