6) The 2300 Evenings and Mornings
The longest time prophecy in the Bible
The prophecy of the 2300 evenings and mornings is the longest time prophecy in the Bible. It reveals when the heavenly sanctuary would be cleansed and points to crucial events in the plan of salvation.
The Question of the Saints
What question was asked in the vision of Daniel 8?
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Answer: How long will the vision about the continual and the desolating transgression last?
Daniel 8:13: "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?"
What was the answer given?
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Answer: Until 2300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be cleansed
Daniel 8:14: "And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed."
The Day-Year Principle
In apocalyptic prophecies, what does one prophetic day represent?
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Answer: One literal year
Ezekiel 4:6: "And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year."
How many years are 2300 prophetic days?
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Answer: 2300 years
Daniel 8:14: "And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed."
“Miller learned that a day in symbolic prophecy represents a year.” — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 324, par. 1.
This principle, supported by Numbers 14:34 and Ezekiel 4:6, allows the 2,300 prophetic days to be understood as 2,300 years.
The Connection with Daniel 9
What did Daniel not understand after the vision of chapter 8?
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Answer: The vision, especially the part about the evenings and mornings
Daniel 8:27: "And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it."
Who came to explain what Daniel did not understand?
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Answer: The angel Gabriel
Daniel 9:21-22: "Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding."
The 70 weeks are understood as what in relation to the 2300 years?
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Answer: Cut off (determined) from the 2300 years
Daniel 9:24: "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy."
The Starting Point
When did the 70 weeks (and the 2300 years) begin?
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Answer: From the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (457 B.C.)
Daniel 9:25: "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times."
If the 2300 years began in 457 B.C., when did they end?
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Answer: 1844 A.D.
Daniel 8:14: "And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed."
“Consequently the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14 terminate in 1844.” — Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 328, par. 2.
Ellen G. White connects this calculation with Artaxerxes’ decree in 457 B.C. and the conclusion of the 2,300 years in 1844. In another chapter, she explains that at that time Christ entered the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary to perform the final work of atonement before His coming. See Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy, p. 421.
What should happen in 1844?
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Answer: The cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary
Daniel 8:14: "And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed."
And Now?
The prophecy of the 2300 years is crucial:
- Longest prophecy: Covers more than 2 millennia
- Clear starting point: 457 B.C., the decree of Artaxerxes
- Ending in 1844: Beginning of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary
- Investigative judgment: Christ ministers as High Priest
My Decision
I understand that the prophecy of the 2300 years points to 1844 as the beginning of the investigative judgment in the heavenly sanctuary. I desire to be prepared for this solemn time, trusting in the intercession of Jesus, my High Priest.