The Sanctuary doctrine: answering objections 

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Objection 6:  If the 2300 days prophecy applies to the Papacy, there is a mismatch with the years of the prophecy - 2300 v 1260 (see the Introduction) 

If this objection is valid the 2300 days prophecy (Da 8:13,14) is misinterpreted. The 2300 days would then be literal days, which many objectors believe, and apply to Antiochus Epiphanies, who ruled from 175 to 164 BC (see study ‘The 2300 days prophecy: the end time in History’,3), and/or to a literal period of tribulation at some future time.

As we have seen in the studies on Daniel chapter 8, three sequential powers appear on the world scene: Medo-Persia, its successor Greece, and the ‘little horn’, which ‘came out of’ the Grecian power, and which we identify as the Papacy. 

Thus the little horn (the Papacy) incorporates the main attributes and purposes of the first two powers. For instance, the belief in eternal punishment in hell is a central doctrine of all three powers, which the Papacy disguises under a cloak of (apostate) christianity, rendering it more deceptive.

Medo-Persia and Greece were dominant in the post-Babylonian-exile era before the Cross.  Thus Israel were influenced by Zoroastrian and Hellenistic beliefs.

The rot had set in at beginning of the post-exilic period. Malachi, writing about 450 BC (the last book of the Old Testament), condemned the corrupt priesthood, and called the nation to repentance.  After Malachi, there followed (approximately) 450 years of ‘silence’, during which no prophet was sent to Israel (until John the Baptist) - an indicator of the extent of Israel’s apostasy. 

The 'little horn' (the Papacy')

The prophecy places emphasis on the ‘little horn’ power (the Papacy) because it is the dominating power at the time of the end, when the prophecy is intended to be understood (Da 8:17;12:4).  Also, because of its cloak of (apostate) christianity it is the most dangerous of the three powers, deceiving many.

Papal apostasy.  The apostasies of the Papacy were established in Christianity soon after the Cross (2Th 2:7), well before its formalisation in 538 AD (see study: ‘Confirming the identity of the antichrist beast’,3.1). Furthermore, the little horn (the Papacy) is the resurgent power that lasts to the very end of time.

Thus the influence of the Papacy began well before, and continues well after, its formal dates (538-1798 AD).

The 2300 days.  The prophecy is given in the broader context of all three powers (Medo-Persia, Greece, and the Papacy), and therefore the pure religion of God was ‘trodden underfoot’ throughout the whole 2300 year period of the prophecy, beginning in 457 BC.

The main thrust of the 2300 days prophecy is not to identify the years of the Papacy’s power - that is done elsewhere, e.g. in Daniel chapter 7. The main thrust is to identify the time when Christ will deal once and for all with the confessed and forgiven sin of the redeemed, and also to announce, and date, the time of the end in Heaven.

Objections 5 and 6 together are an attempt to cast doubt on God’s ‘timetable’ for Salvation.  In so doing, objectors undermine the certainty of al/ prophecy, which is Satan’s intent.

In summary, we have seen that the 2300 days are correctly regarded as literal years, and are correctly calculated as running from 457 BC to 1844 AD.  It is the prophecy that informs today’s generations of the nearness of Christ’s second advent, which will be, along with the Cross, the second of the two greatest events in Human history.

Objection 6, therefore, is not valid.