2300 Days Without Sacrifice

The prophecy of the 2300 days comes from Daniel 8. In the following verses Daniel is told repeatedly that the vision is one concerning the end of time.

Da 8:17 Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.

Da 8:19 And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.

23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.

26 And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.

Even though the vision is for the end of time, it begins with the Medo-Persian Empire coming to take over Daniel’s part of the world, and then moves to the division of the Greek Empire just after it’s very conception. The goat with the great horn represents Alexander the great and his empire. At his death the kingdom was divided into four parts between four of his generals­the four notable ones. That is symbolized by the horn breaking into four new horns. The anti-Christ is the little one that comes out of one of the other four. That simply means that he came out of one portion of the divided Greek Empire, that portion being the Syrian portion. Just like Daniel’s seventieth week, there is a span of thousands of years between the fall of the Greek Empire and the rise of the anti-Christ empire. The rest of the prophecy is about the anti-Christ who will arise in the latter days.

Daniel 8

8 Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.

9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.

10 And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.

11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.

12 And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.

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?

14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

The most plausible reason for making the leap from the divided Greek Empire to the anti-Christ of the end is that Antiochus Epiphanes, of the Syrian portion of the Greek Empire, seemed to fulfill much of the prophecy of Daniel 8, but he did not fulfill completely or accurately, and in particular, the 2300 days of suspended daily sacrifice. Antiochus conquered Israel and dedicated the Jewish temple to Zeus Olympus. For two days short of three full years the sacrifice was stopped and the temple was used in pagan worship. Antiochus was, at the very least, a type of the anti-Christ. The liberation and cleansing of the temple at that time is what the Jews celebrate during Hanukah.

Using thirty day months, three years minus two days is 1078 days, which falls way short, less than half, of the 2300 of Daniel 8. Daniel 12:11-12 tells us that the anti-Christ will put a stop to the daily sacrifice 1335 days before that great blessing which we refer to as the Rapture. If you add the 1335 to the 1078 of Antiochus you come up with 2413 days, which is too much. Likewise, if you add only the 1290 days from when anti-Christ stops the sacrifice to the time that the abomination is set up you have 2368 days, which is still too much. The 2300 days was not fulfilled in the past, nor is it fulfilled by combining the past with the future. Revelation 11:7 and 17:8,11 all tell us that the beast is bound in the bottomless pit until he is released in the end to try the earth. The beast appears to have some connection to Antiochus by the way the Scriptures point a weak finger at him before revealing the end times anti-Christ. Either Antiochus or a spirit being that motivated him was cast into the pit after desecrating the temple in the past, and will again be released to do the same in the future.

11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.

13 But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

The anti-Christ of the end times will be the one to take away the daily sacrifice for a full 2300 days and fulfill the prophesy. Here's how the math works. the Great Tribulation is 1260 days long. We see that in numerous places. (Revelation 12:6 & 14, Revelation 13:5, Daniel 12:7) Daniel 9:27 tells us that the anti-Christ will make a seven year covenant of peace and then turn around and break it in the middle of the seven years. We understand that he is making the covenant of peace with Israel because it speaks of the sanctuary and the city of the sanctuary in the same context. from the Verses above we see that he does not break the covenant right in the very middle, but 75 days before the mid point. We get that by simply subtracting the 1260 days from the 1335 days without sacrifice above. Jesus said that He would come immediately after the Tribulation. That means at the end of the 1260 and at the end of the 1335.

The 1290 of Verse 11 simply tells us that the image of the beast will be set up only 45 days before the end of the Tribulation. 1335-1290=45.

2 Thessalonians 2:4 Tells us that “he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” Jesus spoke of the time just prior to the anti-Christ seating himself in the temple. Matthew 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place...16-20 Warnings, Flee, Don’t look back...21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.

Sometime within that first 75 days after the daily sacrifice is taken away, the anti-Christ will enter the temple. He may even walk in and personally put a stop to it. That gives the believing Jews a 75 day window of opportunity to flee the city. Presumably, on the very day that marks the beginning of the 1260 day Great Tribulation the ant-Christ will seat himself and make his boast of deity. The Tribulation will rage on from that point, and in the last 45 days the image of the beast will be set up for worship. On the last day Jesus will come in the clouds to rescue His New Testament elect.

That still leaves 965 days where the daily sacrifice is not being offered and the temple is polluted by the presence of the anti-Christ. Everything that has happened to this point is Tribulation. After Jesus removes His church the Wrath of God will begin. The anti-Christ will continue to control, and possibly occupy the temple during the Wrath of God. The Wrath of God lasts approximately 7 years while the wedding feast of the Lamb is taking place in heaven. It is during this time that God sends His two witnesses as a part of the Wrath of God to torment the earth with their testimony. They are the ones who cleanse the temple 965 days into the Wrath of God as they take up residence in the temple, which would bring the total days without sacrifice to 2300. 1335 days before the Rapture and 965 after.

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Many conflicting theories have been put forth to explain away the 2300 days without sacrifice as a thing of the past. None of those theories is serious enough to carry any weight, and the fact that there are so many theories in itself shows that there is no one towering event that so radically fulfills the prophecy that it is beyond debate. Many of the theories revolve around Antiochus who did arise out of one of the four divisions of the divided Greek Empire, and who did interrupt the daily sacrifice for 1078 days, but did not literally fulfill the prophecy of Daniel 8.

One variation of the theories brings into question a single word which was translated from the combination of two words. When Daniel was told that the sacrifice would be stopped for 2300 days he was literally told 2300 evenings and mornings. The passage from Daniel could, and probably should read like this.

Daniel 8:14

And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

The theories then split the 2300 days right down the middle allowing for only 1150 evenings and 1150 mornings. However, even with that even split the theorist continue to lack cold hard historical data to make their theories work. There is a lot of fudging, stretching and hypothecating that takes place under the protective cover of scholarship. It is important to look at what the Bible has to say about the subject.

The Hebrew word tamiyd that was translated as daily in Daniel 8:11, 8:12, 8:13, 11:31 and 12:11 in reference to the daily sacrifice was used 103 times in the Old Testament. It actually means continual, nonstop or perpetual, as opposed to the word yowm which refers to time, as in day or daily. Yowm was used less than 35 times in the Old Testament to mean daily. Tamiyd was used only two other times besides the five mentioned above from Daniel to mean daily. In each of those cases it was in reference to the daily sacrifice. Besides the word daily, the words always, continually, continual and ever were used most frequently in conveying the Hebrew word Tamiyd into English usage. The word means to continue something perpetually as in the daily practice. When used in regards to the burnt offering of the Lord the word was frequently translated as continual.

Below are a few places where the continual sacrifice is mentioned in the Scriptures. As we read we discover that the continual sacrifice was not something that occurred continually all day long, but rather, it took place twice a day, in the morning and in the evening, but was meant to continue forever, from generation to generation. Also, as we read we get the sense that it is the day by day aspect that is important, with each morning and evening sacrifice combination making one day. Furthermore, there is an emphasis on keeping the fire burning even through the night when most other activity has ceased. It is a daily routine that was to continue forever.

Numbers 28:1-8

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2 Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, My offering, and my bread for my sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet savour unto me, shall ye observe to offer unto me in their due season.

3 And thou shalt say unto them, This is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer unto the LORD; two lambs of the first year without spot day by day, for a continual burnt offering.

4 The one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer at even;

5 And a tenth part of an ephah of flour for a meat offering, mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil.

6 It is a continual burnt offering, which was ordained in mount Sinai for a sweet savour, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD.

7 And the drink offering thereof shall be the fourth part of an hin for the one lamb: in the holy place shalt thou cause the strong wine to be poured unto the LORD for a drink offering.

8 And the other lamb shalt thou offer at even: as the meat offering of the morning, and as the drink offering thereof, thou shalt offer it, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.

Exodus 29:38-42

38 Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually.

39 The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even:

40 And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.

41 And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

42 This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.

Leviticus 6:8-13

8 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

9 Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering: It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning, and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it.

10 And the priest shall put on his linen garment, and his linen breeches shall he put upon his flesh, and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed with the burnt offering on the altar, and he shall put them beside the altar.

11 And he shall put off his garments, and put on other garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place.

12 And the fire upon the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not be put out: and the priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and lay the burnt offering in order upon it; and he shall burn thereon the fat of the peace offerings.

13 The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.

Even the candlesticks were to be daily or perpetual.

Exodus 27

20 And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.

Ex 27:21 In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.

One of the most telling portions of Scripture in the Bible which combine the evening and morning into one day is found in the beginning of Genesis. God call each evening and morning combination a single day just as the King James translators did in calling the continual sacrifice of one lamb in the evening and one in the morning a daily sacrifice.

Ge 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.

Ge 1:8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.

Ge 1:13 And the evening and the morning were the third day.

Ge 1:19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day.

Ge 1:23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Ge 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.