The 2300 days of Daniel 8:14

Some friends in South America have asked me recently why I no longer believe in the 2300 day prophecy as traditionally interpreted by the Seventh-day Adventist church. As you can imagine, that's a long story.

My friend, Dr. Raymond Cottrell, who recently passed away at the ripe old age of 92, in 2002 gave a lecture at the Adventist Forum in San Diego in which he explained my position much better than I could. A word of caution. Dr. Cotrell delves into in-depth Bible study. This presentation is not for the feint of heart. His entire presentation is found here:

http://www.ellenwhite.org/1844rc.htm

In my other blog El Evangelio Eterno, www.evangelioeterno.blogspot.com I am currently translating into Spanish significant parts of that lecture. I am including the original of those translated sections here:

8. "Rightly Explaining" Daniel 8:14

The first imperative for comprehending the prophecies of Daniel in the sense Inspiration intended is an objective frame of mind divested of every personal, subjective, modern presupposition with respect to their import.
The second imperative is to identify the circumstances set forth in Daniel 1 to 6 and 9:1-23, which provide the historical background within which Inspiration set its five prophetic passages and from which it intended Daniel and his intended readers to understand them. Accordingly, in order to understand those passages as Inspiration intended them to be understood we must do so with that historical perspective in our minds, and from the same perspective of salvation history as Daniel and his intended readers did. Any interpretation that ignores or controverts that historical perspective and / or the salvation history perspective of their time is automatically suspect and imposes an alien, uninspired interpretation on those prophecies.
The first six chapters of the Book of Daniel recount the exile of Daniel and his compatriots to Babylon "in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim of Judah," which is dated to 606/5 B.C., and their experiences during the seventy years of exile foretold by Jeremiah in chapter 29:1-14. According to Daniel 9:1, in "the first year of Darius" (which is dated to 537/6 B.C. by Jewish inclusive reckoning), Daniel had been in exile for exactly seventy years. But as yet there was no visible evidence that release from exile was imminent. Accordingly, Daniel prayed the importunate prayer for release from exile and for restoration recorded in chapter 9:4-19.
While Daniel was still praying the angel Gabriel reappeared75 and said, "I have now come out to give you wisdom and understanding. At the beginning of your supplications a word went out [obviously in heaven], and I have come to declare it, for you are greatly beloved. So consider the word and understand the vision." Gabriel thereupon repeats that "word" verbatim (verse 24), as he had promised, and proceeds to explain it in verses 25 to 27.
It is of crucial importance to note that Gabriel explicitly identifies the "word" that "went out to restore and build Jerusalem" at the commencement of the seventy weeks of years as "the word" that "went out"---in heaven---while Daniel was praying.76 That "word"77 was obviously one that only God Himself (and not an earthly monarch) could possibly have issued! On the authority of no less a person than the angel Gabriel, the "seventy weeks" of years thus began in 537 B.C., not eighty years later in 457 B.C.!
Gabriel's explanation of that "word" in verses 25-27 very briefly sketched the future of God's covenant people during the seventy weeks of years, and its climax in the ruthless oppression of "the prince who is to come" during the seventieth of the seventy "weeks," which he had already foretold in chapter 8:9-13 and explained in verses 19 to 25.78
As already noted, Daniel 9:23-25 begins the seventy weeks of years at the time the "word" was issued in heaven, in 537 B.C. In the same way, contextual identification of the "he" of verse 27 identifies events of history that mark their close in the seventieth of the seventy "weeks." It is universally accepted that the immediate antecedent of a personal pronoun identifies the person to whom it refers unless the context unambiguously specifies otherwise. Accordingly, verse 26 identifies the immediate antecedent of the pronoun "he" in verse 27, who "make[s] a strong covenant with many" for the seventieth of the seventy "weeks" and "make[s] sacrifice and offering cease" during the last half of the "week," as the evil "prince who is to come"---not the "anointed prince" of verses 25-26!
Chapter 11:23 confirms the fact that his alias, the last king of the north, does, indeed make such a covenant with people in "alliance" with him. Also, his fate set forth in verse 27, "the decreed end is poured out on the desolator," is equivalent to the horn-king of chapter 8:25 being "broken, and not by human hands," and to the last king of the north in chapter 11 who "come[s] to his end, with no one to help him."79
Chapter 9:24-27 thus provides an exact but much more complete explanation of chapter 8:13-14's question and answer about events between Daniel's time and "the appointed time of the end" "many days from now" when "the vision of the evenings and the mornings" was to meet its fulfillment.80 Isn't that exactly what Gabriel said the audition of 9:24-27 was supposed to do?81
Such is Daniel's perspective of salvation history. In order to understand chapters 8 and 9 as heaven intended them to be understood, we must imagine ourselves in Daniel's historical circumstances and view them from his perspective of salvation history in order to form an accurate understanding of what was revealed to him.

Daniel's Perspective of Salvation History

Daniel's perspective of salvation history was a composite of the visions of chapters 2 and 7, each with its explanation, and chapter 8 with its three-fold explanation in chapters 8, 9, and 11-12. It consisted of a series of universal kingdoms82 followed by a period of disintegration and fragmentation,83 which Gabriel told Daniel would be a "troubled time" (9:25)84.
At the "appointed time of the end ... many days from now"---after sixty-nine of the "seventy weeks of years"85---there would be an unprecedented "time of anguish" for God's people in which they would be "trampled," their power shattered,86 their land and city devastated,87 their loyalty and faithfulness to God tested,88 their covenant with Him and its prescribed system of worship abolished,89 and an idolatrous system of worship enforced.90 As a result of this attempt to obliterate the knowledge and worship of the true God, many Jews would apostatize and enter into a "covenant" with their oppressor.91
The duration of this time of anguish for God's people is given variously as (1) "a time, two times, and half a time" = three and a half years,92 as (2) the last half of the seventieth of the seventy "weeks" = also three and a half years,93 and as (3) the time during which 2300 evening and morning sacrifices would normally have been offered = 1150 literal days = three years, two months, and 10 days94 within the three and a half years of "anguish."95
At the close of this time of anguish the Ancient of days would sit in judgment and "the decreed end" would be "poured out upon the desolator," who would thus "come to his end with no one to help him" and be "broken" but "not by human hands."96 Simultaneously, the sanctuary would "be restored to its rightful state," the Ancient of Days would vindicate His faithful people and award them an "everlasting kingdom," Michael would arise to deliver them, the righteous dead would be raised to life eternal, the "wise," including Daniel, would enter upon their eternal reward and shine like the brightness of the firmament for ever and ever.97
The prophecies of Daniel locate this time of anguish (1) during the "time, two times, and half a time" of Daniel 7:25, (2) at or near "the end" of the "rule" of the four horn Greek era of chapter 8:8, 21-23, (3) during the last half of the seventieth of the seventy weeks of chapter 9:24-27, and (4) during the reign of the last king of the north of chapter 11:20-45.
Obviously Daniel's perspective of salvation history was vastly different from ours---by more than two thousand years! But by the sure word of his angel mentor that was the perspective from which he and the angel Gabriel then viewed the future. It is the identical format set forth in the Old Testament.35 To ignore or deny it is a major violation of the sola Scriptura principle, and to say that neither Daniel nor Gabriel knew what they were talking about! It is an important part of in-depth study of the Bible to read it from its own historical and salvation history perspectives, in order to understand and appreciate its message for us in our time!
Daniel's perspective of salvation history thus explicitly invalidates the historicist concept of predictive prophecy. Furthermore, his perspective was identical with that of the Old Testament as a whole.98