Daniel 8:13-14 Revisited:

The Daily, the Logical Connection and Implications

Samuel Wang

“Unto 2300 days, then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” (Dan. 8:14), is not only “the foundation and the central pillar of the Advent faith” and “watchword”  of the Millerites’ faith, it also is most crucial to the Seventh-day Adventist. Adventists inherited the calculation of the 2300-day prophecy from the Millerites, but saw new light in the sanctuary, and consequently, have come to a different understanding of the cleansing of the sanctuary. However, over the years, some individuals have felt that the traditional interpretation of Dan. 8:14 does not necessarily provide a logical answer to the question raised in verse 13. Therefore they have sought diverse approaches, resulting in a new view on “the daily” and wherefore a new twist on the cleansing of the sanctuary. As a result, variant interpretations exist today in the Adventist church. What is the correct view of the daily, and how can we find a logical connection in the answer given in Dan. 8:14 to the question in verse 13? These are the burden presented in the present paper to consider.

To do this, we will first look at the background of Daniel 8, and then, examine the components of the question raised in Dan. 8:13, with a focus on the daily. Thirdly, we will compare two different interpretations on verse 14, resulting from two different views on the daily, and look for an interpretation that is not only true to the text, but also logically addresses the question in verse 13, and thus help us to arrive at Biblical conclusion.

Relative Motion in Two Dimensions

The book of Daniel opens with the historical disastrous heart-breaking tragedy, Jerusalem was besieged and defeated, the people of Israel taken into captivity and “the vessels of the house of God” brought into “the treasure house” of Nebuchadnezzar’s god (Dan. 1:1-2). All of these set the stage for the book of Daniel. Questions pertaining to the city of Jerusalem, the temple of God and the Israelites would have haunted the minds of Daniel and his fellow countrymen, immediately and constantly.

Needless to say, when could they be able to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple and city would have been the often asked questions. Although these questions were most dear to the hearts of Daniel and his fellow countrymen, God did not particularly address them. Instead, He only used it as a point of reference and a situation which He utilized to illustrate His plan of redemption, to highlight the kingdom of heaven. While Daniel was concerned mostly about the earthly Jerusalem, what was revealed to him was different aspects of the heavenly Jerusalem, the kingdom of God. These parallels of thinking pervade the entire book of Daniel, as repeatedly shown in the confused and puzzled reaction of Daniel.

It could be helpful to borrow the terms from kinematics to look at the two dimensions in the book of Daniel, one on earth, viewing the motion of events from the location and time of Daniel, and one in heaven, describing motion of events from the heavenly perspective, to be more specific, mainly from the time, location and motion of Christ. Together they constitute relative motion in two dimensions, each serving as the reference frame for the other to determine the time and event of object in the other dimension. It would be beneficial to remember when interpreting the motion of objects in one dimension, not to mix it with the objects in the other dimension. In this way, confusion can be been neatly avoided.

Background of Daniel 8: Overview of Daniel 1-7

Before considering the question and answer presented in Dan. 8:13 and 14, it would be conducive for us to have a quick review of the previous chapters, especially chapter 7.

Chapter one started with Babylon’s conquest of Jerusalem. King Nebuchadnezzar ordered to give his food to Daniel and his friends. Reminiscent of the LORD telling Adam what to eat after placing him in the newly planted garden of Eden, the kingdom of God on earth, Daniel and his friends chose to have “pulse to eat, and water to drink” (Dan. 1:12), showing their loyalty to the principles of the kingdom of God.

In chapter two, God in His mercy gave King Nebuchadnezzar a vision, but he forgot it.  Then God revealed the dream to Daniel with the proper interpretation that all the earthly kingdoms will pass and finally be broken into pieces, and only the kingdom that is set up by the God of heaven will never be destroyed (Dan. 2:44), sending out a strong message of invitation for one to enter that kingdom. Notice the motion on earth, the changes of earthly kingdoms, is used as a reference frame to usher in the timing for the setup of the kingdom of God, an event in another dimension.

In chapter three, the experience of Daniel’s three friends serves as an outstanding example for those who desire to enter the kingdom which will never be destroyed, especially to the last generation who will be confronted with the worship of the image of the beast and face the same threat of death (Rev. 13:15), but protection will come from the kingdom of God.

King Nebuchadnezzar’s waking and repentance came in chapter four where he learned “that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men. ”(Dan. 4:17). Nebuchadnezzar was deprived not only of the earthly kingdom, but was sickened because of his pride. The natural lifestyle helped to restore him back to physical and mental health, and eventually he was converted and believed in God. It shows that, when probation lasts, those who come out of Babylon can find acceptance in the sight of God, and health reform goes before or along with true repentance. Only the humble and poor in spirit can inherit the kingdom of God (Matt. 5:8).

In chapter five, we see how the wine of Babylon made the hundreds of officials drunk, this foreshadows the wine of the wrath of the spiritual Babylon which made all nations drunk. However, the repentance of King Belshazzar right before the fall of historical Babylon brings hope to those who desire to come out of her before probation closes.

Daniel’s personal experience in chapter six may typify the Lord Jesus who would also be arrested while praying but later be resurrected like Daniel coming out of the lion’s den. The remnant church living at the end could also find their shadows in Daniel who was not allowed to pray except to a man-made power, in the same way the remnant at the end of time will not be able to buy or sell except they receive the mark of the beast. However, they will also be protected by angels during the great time of tribulation like Daniel in the lion’s den. Daniel prospered with King Cyrus, king of Persia, also typifies how the remnant will prosper with the King of kings.

It is chapter seven that addresses questions raised from the fall of Jerusalem.  Here we have a fuller relative motion in two dimensions, the timeline of motions in the heavenly dimension, such as the timing and events of the setup of the judgment seat, the opening of the books, the coming of the Son of man, the receiving of the kingdom, the coming of the Ancient of Days, the receiving of the saints of the most High, etc., are brought to view through the motions on the earthly dimension, the changes of empires and more specifically the activities of the little horn. On the other hand, the timeline for the destruction of the earthly kingdoms is also introduced through the motion of heavenly events. It ends with the wicked being destroyed, and the people of God forever serving God in His kingdom.

It stands to reason that Daniel should have been happy with such a glorious ending, but why did he respond so pessimistically as to say “my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me”? A quick look at the last three verses of the chapter may give us a clue.

Verse 25 reveals that the people of God would suffer persecution at the hands of the little horn, but the wicked power would come to an end at the end of the “time, times and half a time” (Dan. 7:25).  What troubled Daniel was not “the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High”(Dan. 7: 27), but it appears that after “the judgment shall sit”, the little horn power could come back to life again to be consumed and destroyed at an unknown time (Dan. 7:27).

Daniel was taken to Babylon with the anticipation that the Israelites would go back to Jerusalem after seventy years (Jer. 25:11,12; 29:10). However, in the visions of Daniel 2 and 7, nothing is mentioned about this anxiously-waited for return. Instead, the vision in chapter 7 shows that the people of God would be persecuted far beyond seventy years. So the question in Daniel’s mind was when would the earthly powers be eventually halted, punished and completely destroyed? To address this specific concern, another vision was given just two years later, which is recorded in Chapter 8.

With this in mind, we now move on to Daniel chapter 8.

The Daily and The Question in Daniel 8:13

Daniel 8 mostly describes the motion of events on the earthly dimension. It moves from the ram (Media and Persia, Dan. 8:3-4, 20) to the he-goat (Greece, Dan. 5-8, 21-22) and eventually ended with the little horn power in its two phases (Dan. 8:9-12, 23-25). A question would naturally arise, when will the evil powers and their evil activities be halted? That is exactly the key and only question asked in verse 13. In verse 14, the answer is provided through measuring the motion of events in the heavenly dimension. Here the heavenly dimension is being used as the reference frame to locate the timing of an earthly event.

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

• 8:13,14.
• Let us reemphasize the main point of the vision in Daniel 8. It reveals at what time action will be taken to halt the earthly powers. For that reason, the motion of the object in the heavenly dimension is given as the reference frame to determine the motion of the object on the earthly dimension.  More specifically, the time when the sanctuary is cleansed is time for “the daily sacrifice, the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot” to be halted.
• Due to the different understanding of “the daily”, Adventists do not have a unified understanding of verse 13, which also affects how verse 14 is understood. Since the daily is part of verse 13, we will now look at it along with other components of the question asked in this text.
• How Long
• Three opinions are presented among the Adventist commentators regarding the length of the vision in Dan. 8:13. Uriah Smith sees in this phrase “the length of time the desolating powers previously brought to view were to continue. How long shall they continue their course of oppression against God’s people?”  William Shea further clarifies that the question asked refers to “the length of the vision, not about the length of the activities of the little horn.”
• However, Stefanovic sees the emphasis is placed on a definite point in time:
• “The interrogative Hebrew phrase ‘admatay’, ‘until when?’ relates not so much to the duration of the sacrilegious actions by the little horn as to the point in time that marks the definite end to those actions.”

Yet, there is yet a third view which combines the previous understandings:

“This question is especially concerned with what will happen at the end of that prophetic period, as well as the duration of the entire vision. In addition, such a period cannot be limited only to the duration of the actions of the little horn, because the term vision includes everything from the ram to the actions of the little horn. So this must be a long period of actual historical time.”

In fact, it does not make much difference how this is understood, because time is linear, once the ending point is determined, the length of the time is inherently encompassed, even though the emphasis may be on “the point in time that marks the definite end to those actions.”

The Vision

In fact, many do not realize that Daniel actually used two different words for vision, “chazown” (the whole vision) and mareh (partial vision), that can be well seen in Dan. 8:26, “And the vision (mareh) of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision (chazown); for it shall be for many days.” (Dan. 8:26).

The Hebrew word for “the vision” in verse 13 is the same word that appears in Dan. 8: 1, the panoramic or whole vision (chazown).  As stated above, the word “vision” in verse 13 actually “includes everything from the ram to the actions of the little horn.”

It is important to keep in mind that the Hebrew word translated “vision” in verse 13 refers to the whole vision, not a portion of it, because our interpretation of “the daily” needs to be in harmony with it.

Two Views on The Daily

Part of the vision in verse 13 concerns “the daily and the transgression of desolation.” Generally speaking, there is an agreed interpretation on “the transgression of desolation” in the Adventist church. It is understood as using a specific characteristic to denote papal Rome. However, a vast difference exists in the understanding of “the daily”. The pioneers and most early Adventists understood “the daily” to mean paganism, while most modern Adventists see it as Christ’s heavenly ministry. Many papers have been written on the daily controversy, our burden here is simply to present the two opposite views and bring them back to the text to see which one fits better, as one would do to check whether a solution is correct by bringing it back to the mathematical equations. In addition, we will try to present a possible reason why “the daily” is being used in Daniel.

William Miller and Adventist Pioneers

William Miller was the first one who identified the “daily sacrifice” as “Rome pagan” abomination, or paganism. Notice how he relates his conclusion as he explains the daily in Dan. 12:11,

“I have come to this conclusion: that this power, called “daily sacrifice,” is Rome pagan abomination; the same as Christ has reference to in Matt.xxiv.15.  Luke xxi.21.……This agrees with Paul, 2Thess.ii.3-10 quoted. ……Here Paul shows plainly, that there was one abomination then at work, which would hinder the rise of the last abomination, until the first was “taken out of the way.”  Then the second would be revealed, whom the Lord would destroy with the brightness of his coming.”

Adventist pioneers inherited Miller’s view and saw “the daily” to be paganism, yet not limited to Pagan Rome alone, but also including paganism in Media-Persia and Greece as well. Uriah Smith clearly articulated this understanding in his book, when he said the following:

“From a religious point of view, the world has presented these two strong phases of opposition against the Lord’s work in the earth. Hence, although three earthly governments are introduced in the prophecy as oppressors of the church, they are here ranged under two heads: ‘the daily’ and the ‘transgression of desolation.’ Medo-Persia was pagan; Grecia was pagan; Rome in its first phase was pagan. These were all embraced in the ‘daily.’ Then comes the papal form, the ‘transgression of desolation,’ a marvel of craft and cunning, an incarnation of cruelty.”

To Smith, the question in verse 13 is “how long shall they (the people and the worship of the Most High) be trodden underfoot?”. In this question,  Smith sees  not the glory of earthly kingdoms but “all heaven’s interest and sympathy” .

Conradi and the New View on the Daily

Smith’s interpretation did not satisfy the inquisitive mind of one of the German brethren, Ludwig Richard Conradi (March 20, 1856 – September 16, 1939), and it was this understanding that Desmond Ford (February 2, 1929 – March 11, 2019) later referenced as the reason behind his new quest on the daily.

“Particularly the relationship between the question and answer to Dan. 8:13-14 worried our German leader. After all, verse 14 was an answer to a specific question, and that question said much about the sins of antichrist, but nothing about the sins of true believers, and apparently nothing about the Day of Atonement. From Conradi we obtained, through this mental tumult, our present denominational teaching on the daily which spread from him to A.T. Jones, A.G. Daniells, W.C. White, W.W. Prescott and other leaders. Conradi revived the teaching of the reformers that Dan. 8:13 pointed to the papal counterfeits of Christ’s gospel and mediatorial work.” 

As Ford pointed out that Conradi’s new view on the daily is not really new, but a revival and revised version of the reformers’ understanding. In fact, before Adventists came on the scene, many thought that Antiochus IV Epiphanes (215 BC – November/December 164 BC) was the little horn in Dan. 8:9-12, as a result the word “sacrifice” was added to “the daily” by the Bible translators, thinking it was Antiochus IV that contaminated the earthly Jewish sanctuary, resulting in taking away the daily sacrifice in Dan. 8:11, 12. For this consideration, the meaning of “the daily” is closely associated with the earthly sanctuary.

While this identification of Antiochus IV Epiphanes as the little horn is absent in the Adventist circles, a similar way of thinking is embraced by the new view. It also associates “the daily” with the sanctuary, only not with the earthly Jewish but with the heavenly sanctuary.  Instead of supplying the word “sacrifice”, the proponents of the new view replaces it with “ministry”.

“It is necessary then to translate tamid with a word that comprehends all of these activities connected with the sanctuary, not just the one idea of sacrifice. A word that is more broad and inclusive, encompassing all of these activities, is ‘ministry.’ All these activities which tamid is used to describe are activities carried out by the priest in the courtyard and the holy place of the sanctuary. They were part of his daily ministry there. It is this type of ministry that Jesus carries out in the heavenly sanctuary (see Hebrew 8:1) and which the little horn power attempted to counterfeit. It attempted to turn the eyes of mankind from Jesus’ true, original ministry in heaven to an earthly, human substitute. This is the tamid which the little horn power attempted to take over and control.”

Essentially, they are the same. Indeed,  the issue here is exactly what the Chinese would call,  “changing the liquid, but not the medicine.”  Both the word “Sacrifice” and “ministry” do not belong in the original text. It is an addition of human wisdom, as Ellen White would call it. Nevertheless, the new view needs this concoction of human wisdom to make sense of its purport of “the daily”.

When the Rubber Meets the Road

Academic or scholastic arguments have never been an effective way to tell right from wrong. In some cases, it only serves to worsen the already confused situation, like the Chinese say, “the beauty of scholarship is to make minds confused.” To check whether a solution is right or wrong, the simplest way is to apply the solution back to the original mathematical problem. If it fits all the conditions and the equations stand, then, it is the right solution. If it does not fit all the conditions, and the equations fail to stand, it is a wrong solution. It is just as simple as that. This also applies to “the daily” issue in Daniel.

The word “the daily” appears five times in the book of Daniel. All one needs to do is to apply the old and new views to the five verses to see which one fits better.

Dan. 8:11 refers to pagan Rome and its activities, the old view fits, the new view does not fit. If the daily truly is Christ’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary, pagan Rome did not take it away, for it did not get involved in the spiritual realm.

Dan. 8:12 refers to papal Rome and its activities. Either view could fit this time frame. Otherwise, the new view has to answer the question how would an earthly power be able to take away the ministry of Christ in heaven? After all, Satan was cast out from heaven when Jesus died on the cross (Rev. 12:10,13). We will take a deeper look at this point later.

Dan. 8:13 involves the whole vision, represented by “the daily and the transgression of desolation”, including the ram [Media-Persia], he-goat [Greece], and the little horn and its actions [pagan and papal Rome]. It follows that “the daily” must start from the period of the ram [Media-Persia], the old view fits. Christ’s ministry in heaven, according to the new view, was taken away by priests in the papal system, which happened several hundreds of years after Jesus’ ascension, even if counted from 31 A.D., together with papal Rome, they do not constitute the whole vision, which begins from Media-Persia and extends to papal Rome. The new view on the daily ruins the whole vision in verse 13.

Furthermore, in verse 13, “the daily and the transgression of desolation” were mentioned together as the subject that carry out the evil action over the sanctuary and host. How could Christ’s ministry in heaven trodden down the sanctuary and host under foot? In this regard, Stefanovic admits the terms in verse 13 are “detached from one another, and it is not very clear how they relate to each other.” And he continues to say “the list given here is a summary of the statements found in verses 10-12 of this chapter.” However, what he fails to realize is that he is self-contradictory in that he recognizes  “the entire vision” goes beyond the activities of the little horn, yet at the same time limits it to verses 10-12, which is not part of it.

Applying the relative motion in two dimensions. Christ’s ministry is in the heavenly dimension, while the transgression of desolation is in the earthly dimension. To ask a question with these two objects in two different dimensions in association with an evil act of giving “both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot” on the earthly dimension is just technically impossible. From verses 3 to 13 of Daniel 8, all the events described take place in the earthly dimension. The heavenly dimension kicks in only in verse 14.

Dan. 11:31 associates the act of “taking away the daily” with “arms”, the old view fits, understanding “arms” were fulfilled in the French army, while the new view does not, for Christ’s heavenly ministry was taken away or obscured by priests in the papal system, not by “arms”, according to the new view interpreters.

Dan. 12:11 locates the taking away of the daily at a specific time, which the old view pins down 508 A.D. as the time to give way to “the abomination that maketh desolate” to be set up, “there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.” To put it in mathematical equation, it is “508+1290=1798”. It seems that the old view fits this verse. The new view does not fit here either, for there is no definite time when Christ’s heavenly ministry was taken away by the Catholic priests. SDA Bible commentary admits that the old view fits better while the new view still needs to find a way out sometime in the future.

“The daily” in Daniel 8 Is Rooted in Daniel 7 Contextually

In chapter 7, Daniel was shown four animals: lion, bear, leopard and a dreadful fourth beast. The first three are animals that can be found in nature. Though “diverse from all the beasts that were before it,” (Dan. 7:7), the fourth entity is still labelled as “an animal”, showing something similar to the first three animals. In other words, there is something “continual” in all these four animals. What differentiates the fourth animal from the other three is not the animal part with ten horns, but the little horn. (Dan. 7:7, 20). The diversity of the little horn phase of the fourth beast lies in that “he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws”, meaning he shall move into the spiritual and religious realms, not only military and political conquests like “all the beasts that were before it”.

In other words, from lion, to bear, leopard and all the way down to the ten horns of the dreadful beast, they are all similar, if not exactly the same; or to put it another way, there is something constant, or “the daily”,  in these powers. This constant aspect is also reflected in verse 12 which says, “As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives [constant aspect, the spirit of the beasts] were prolonged for a season and time.”(Dan. 7:12, emphasis added). While this constant element continues to stay with the little horn, there is, however, something different in the little horn, which makes it diverse from the rest.

It is also noteworthy that Daniel continues to use the word “animal” to name the fourth entity even though he could not find any animal in the natural world to identify it. The very fact he still chose the word “animal” indicates there is a continual aspect in all these earthly powers till it shifted to another phase, the phase of the little horn.

In a similar way, when Daniel saw the second vision two years later, he chose two animals to name the first two earthly powers, but “the little horn” for the third power. As it is known that this little horn has two phases, of which the first one is similar to the first two animals, but yet no proper animal name can be found for it as in Daniel 7, so he employed the word “the daily” to describe the continual spirit of the first phase of the little horn.

It should also be noted that Daniel used “the little horn” in both chapter 7 and 8, but their connotations are different. In the same way, “the daily” is used in verse 11 & 12 and in verse 13, but the connotations are also different. As mentioned above, “the daily” in verse 11 & 12 refers to pagan Rome, but in verse 13 it includes paganism in Media-Persia, Greece and the pagan Roman Empire.

Ellen White Affirms the Old View and Condemns the New View

Concerning the daily in Daniel, the often quoted Ellen White passages read as follows:

“Then I saw in relation to the “daily” (Daniel 8:12) that the word “sacrifice” was supplied by man’s wisdom, and does not belong to the text, and that the Lord gave the correct view of it to those who gave the judgment hour cry. When union existed, before 1844, nearly all were united on the correct view of the “daily”; but in the confusion since 1844, other views have been embraced, and darkness and confusion have followed. Time has not been a test since 1844, and it will never again be a test.”{EW 74.2}

The above statement in the Early Writings was an edited version. The original article was published on The Present Truth, November 1, 1985.

“Then I saw in relation to the ‘Daily,’ that the word ‘sacrifice’ was supplied by man’s wisdom, and does not belong to the text; and that the Lord gave the correct view of it to those who gave the judgment hour cry. When union existed, before 1844, nearly all were united on the correct view of the ‘Daily;’ but since 1844, in the confusion, other views have been embraced, and darkness and confusion has followed. （PT November 1, 1850. par. 12）

“The Lord showed me that Time had not been a test since 1844, and that time will never again be a test. （PT November 1, 1850. par. 13）

Obviously, these are two separate paragraphs. Paragraph 12 talks about the daily, and affirms the correct view was given to those who gave the judgment hour cry. All were united on “the correct view of the ‘daily’” before 1844. That also explains why she said later that the Lord did not give her light on this issue, for it was already given to someone else before her. Should this primary source was consulted, all the arguments to say that Mrs. White is concerned the “time” of the ending of the 2300 days, “not the specifics of the theology concerning the daily” would have been graciously avoided.

Others have gone so far as to do grammatical studies when ignoring  its immediate context. Concerning the pronoun “it’ in Ellen White’s 1850 statement as quoted above, one writes:

“The “it” on which they unitedly held the correct view could refer grammatically to either (1) “the ‘daily'” itself or (2) the fact “that the word sacrifice was supplied. . . and does not belong to the text.” Against (1) is the fact that she later wrote that she had “had no instruction on the point under discussion”-the point, as mentioned five lines earlier (1 SM 164) being “the true meaning of the daily.”

And in favor of (2) is the fact that the Millerites had unitedly and repeatedly insisted that the word “sacrifice” was not in the text. They used this argument to refute many of their opponents who contended that the taking away of the “daily” was the taking away of the Jewish sacrifices by Antiochus for a period of 2300 (or 1150) literal days.”

The above argument can be wisely avoided if the author would only continue to read the very next sentence in the 1850 statement, which reads, “When union existed, before 1844, nearly all were united on the correct view of the ‘Daily’”. You would think that is the end of the story. But no, others hasten to build upon it and go even further.

“Therefore if the pronoun “it” or the phrase “correct view” in her 1850 statement would refer to the paganism interpretation of the “daily,” Ellen White would have contradicted herself, for the Lord would have shown her the “correct view” of the “daily” while later she denied such a fact.”

Ellen White never denied that and never altered anything she wrote in 1850. The truth is that Ellen White did not contradict herself. The light she received was on who had the “correct view”. The Lord did not give her any light on this subject. Should anyone want to know what is the “correct view of the daily”, check with “those who gave the judgment hour cry” and find out—end of discussion.

The debate regarding “the daily” became a heated controversy at a time when the church needed unity the most, having experienced two big fires that burned down the Battle Creek Sanatorium and the publishing house, and the split due to Dr. Kellogg’s separation including A.T. Jones and E.J. Waggoner, the two 1888 champions. Mrs. White counselled both sides to cool them down, not to be side-tracked. The church could not afford another split over something that was not really essential. However, in private, she firmly stressed her negative attitude on the new view in 1910.

At this stage of our experience we are not to have our minds drawn away from the special light given [us] to consider at the important gathering of our conference. And there was Brother Daniells, whose mind the enemy was working; and your mind and Elder Prescott’s mind were being worked by the angels that were expelled from heaven. Satan’s work was to divert your minds that jots and tittles should be brought in which the Lord did not inspire you to bring in. They were not essential. ……But I am charged, Silence is eloquence. {20MR 17.1}

And I was shown from the first that the Lord had given neither Elders Daniells nor Prescott the burden of this work. Should Satan’s wiles be brought in, should this “Daily” be such a great matter as to be brought in to confuse minds and hinder the advancement of the work at this important period of time? It should not, whatever may be. This subject should not be introduced, for the spirit that would be brought in would be forbidding, and Lucifer is watching every movement. Satanic agencies would commence his work and there would be confusion brought into our ranks. You have no call to hunt up the difference of opinion that is not a testing question; but your silence is eloquence. {20MR 18.1, emphasis supplied.}

Ellen White clearly wrote that the proponents of the new view, Brother Daniells and Elder Prescott’s minds were “being worked by the angels that were expelled from heaven. The burden of bringing in the new view on the “daily” is not given by the Lord. Emphatically, she equals the bringing in “the daily” issue as “Satan’s wiles”. To completely ignore the plain 1850 statement, not considering the challenging situation the church was facing when the daily controversy was heavily debated from 1900 onwards, especially between 1907-1910, and to keep insisting that Mrs White had no position on the “daily” issue,  all of this went on and on for over a century. That is truly mind-boggling. This letter should have settled the issue, at least regarding Ellen White’s position on the daily issue. But strangely enough, it is somehow omitted or avoided when discussing Mrs. White’s position on the daily, as can be seen in the book “Ellen White and the ‘Daily’ Conflict”, referred to above.

1. To Give Both the Sanctuary and the Host to Be Trodden under Foot

The sanctuary is called “the tabernacle of testimony”(Ex. 38:21; Num.1:53, 9:15; Act. 7:44; Rev. 15:5). The host refers to the people of the most High. “To give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot”, therefore, means to sin against the testimony of God, namely, the commandments of God and to persecute the people of the most High.

Having gone over the different parts of Dan. 8:13, we can sum up the question in verse 13 now. It asks: When shall the sinning against the law of God as hidden in His sanctuary and of persecuting the people of the most High powers of “the daily”,  paganism, from the ram [Media-Persia], the he-goat [Greece], all the way to the little horn at its first stage [pagan Rome], and the transgression of desolation [the papal Rome the second stage of the little horn] be halted? Simply put, at what point will the evil acts of the pagan powers and the papal power be terminated?

Before we leave the daily and question in verse 13, let us come back to the relative motion in kinematics. The measurement of the motion of an object is usually taken in consideration of the observer’s time and location. That is exactly what had happened to Daniel. Each vision was given to him in consideration of his time and place. In like manner, the key question in Daniel 8 which involves the daily also follows this rule. The question was asked from the time the observer (Daniel) could relate to, not a point far into the future. Therefore, the daily must refer to paganism from the ram to the little horn, not Christ’s ministry in heaven in the little horn period,  a point in time Daniel could not relate to.

Interestingly, the answer given in verse 14 is a point in time which Daniel could not relate. That is one of the reasons he was puzzled. Gabriel was sent to explain part of the 2300 day vision to him in chapter 9, locating the starting point with an event Daniel was deeply concerned about, that is, something related to the returning  of the Israelites to Jerusalem and rebuilding the city, so that he could relate to it even though the starting point is further removed to the future.

2. The Answer Given in Verse 14 and Its logical Connection to the Question Raised in Verse 13  

To the question asked in verse 13, the answer is given in verse 14, “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”  (Dan. 8: 14). This can be further simplified as “Question: when will the evil powers be halted and punished? Answer: at the time when the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”

However, this seemingly clear connection is not well captured and presented. Strangely enough, historically, the understanding of Dan. 8:14 has gone through at least three stages before the modern era.

The First Disciples Stage

First, it was the disciples who preached about the 70 weeks, which is a part of 2300-day prophecy, but failed to recognize the part foretelling how the Messiah would be cut off.

“They [the disciples] preached the message which Christ had committed to them, though they themselves misapprehended its meaning. While their announcement was founded on Daniel 9:25, they did not see, in the next verse of the same chapter, that Messiah was to be cut off. From their very birth their hearts had been set upon the anticipated glory of an earthly empire, and this blinded their understanding alike to the specifications of the prophecy and to the words of Christ.” {GC 345.2, emphasis supplied.}

The disciples’ blindness was opened after the resurrection of Jesus. “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” (Lk. 24:27).

The Second Millerites Stage

The second stage was the Millerites who preached their message from Dan. 8:14. They correctly interpreted the 2300-day prophecy, but misconstrued the sanctuary, mistaking it as the earth, resulting in the great disappointment.

“The preaching of the disciples in regard to time was based on the seventy weeks of Daniel 9. The message given by Miller and his associates announced the termination of the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14, of which the seventy weeks form a part. The preaching of each was based upon the fulfilment of a different portion of the same great prophetic period.” {GC 351.1}

However, the hand of the Lord was guiding these two stages. The phases of their experiences were well described by Mrs. White:

“Those who proclaimed this warning gave the right message at the right time. But as the early disciples declared, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand,” based on the prophecy of Daniel 9, while they failed to perceive that the death of the Messiah was foretold in the same scripture, so Miller and his associates preached the message based on Daniel 8:14 and Revelation 14:7, and failed to see that there were still other messages brought to view in Revelation 14, which were also to be given before the advent of the Lord. As the disciples were mistaken in regard to the kingdom to be set up at the end of the seventy weeks, so Adventists were mistaken in regard to the event to take place at the expiration of the 2300 days. In both cases there was an acceptance of, or rather an adherence to, popular errors that blinded the mind to the truth. Both classes fulfilled the will of God in delivering the message which He desired to be given, and both, through their own misapprehension of their message, suffered disappointment.” {GC 352.3}

It should be noted that Miller’s interpretation on Dan. 8:14 not only correctly calculated the beginning and ending of the 2300-day prophecy, but also logically addressed the question raised in verse 13, namely, when will the evil powers be halted and punished? The answer Miller gave was to cleanse the earth-sanctuary by fire at the second coming of Christ. It is true that Miller had a wrong concept of the sanctuary, but his interpretation of cleansing the sanctuary logically addressed the question in verse 13.

The Third Early Adventist Stage

The third stage came right after the great disappointment on October 22, 1844. Faithful Adventists discovered that the sanctuary in verse 14 was not the earth, but the true tabernacle in heaven. Christ was not to come to this earth but pass from the holy place into the most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary, to begin the investigative judgment on the saints from Adam, at the end of the 2300 days prophecy, namely 1844.

During the third stage, the misconception of the Millerites on the sanctuary was corrected, the focus on what had happened on October 22, 1844 was modified from the second coming to Christ entering the most holy place to start the investigative judgment. However, the logical link between Dan. 8:13 & 14 which existed in the Miller’s interpretation has become blurry. How the new interpretation of verse 14 logically addresses the question in verse 13 gave way to  the explanation and vindication of the correctness of 1844, the authenticity of the heavenly sanctuary and the investigative judgment.

It is true that a chain of truth was discovered, such as the investigative judgment, the finishing of the mystery of God, the three angels’ messages, the seal of God, the mark of the beast, Babylon is fallen, the Sunday law, the latter rain, the cleansing of the sanctuary, the close of probation, the seven last plagues, the second coming, the millennium, the second death, and the new heaven and the new earth.

However, some fine lines of distinction among these truths are not clearly articulated. The difference between the investigative judgment and the cleansing of the sanctuary is often unnoticed, and in most cases, treated as the same. This can be seen in the work of Uriah Smith and A.G. Daniells.

“This is the finishing of the mystery of God, brought to view in Revelation 10:7. The mystery of God is the gospel to all nations. Ephesians 3:3 compared with Galatians 1:12; Ephesians 1:9; 3:9; Romans 16:25, 26; Colossians 1:25, 27. The finishing of this mystery, must be the close of the gospel work which will cease when Christ’s work as priest is done. Therefore the cleansing of the sanctuary, the investigative Judgment, and the finishing of the mystery of God, are all one and the same work.” (emphasis supplied).

“That is a very definite statement. It gives us a definite period of time, two thousand three hundred days, prophetic days, which mean literal years to us. At the end of that period the sanctuary must be cleansed. We at once begin to ask some questions about this. What is the sanctuary? What is its cleansing? When does this prophetic period end? And still another question. When does this period begin? As we study, we find that this period begins in 457 B. C. Having found this beginning, we can easily find its termination, 1844. And further study reveals to us the Scripture teaching regarding the sanctuary. We find that it is the sanctuary in heaven, where our Lord Jesus Christ ministers, and that the cleansing of the sanctuary is the work of the investigative judgment, deciding the destiny of the human family, at the closing of which Christ comes. And so we are brought, to this statement, ‘Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come.’”

As can be seen in the above quotations, while Uriah Smith and A. G. Daniells held different views on the daily, their understanding on Dan. 8:14 was similar. At the same time, how the investigative judgment over the saints of God is logically related to the question to terminate the evil activities of the earthly powers was not directly or clearly addressed. As mentioned above, this missing link troubled Conradi. He then brought in the new view of the daily, and consequently, the new interpretation of the cleansing of the sanctuary, which he thought could logically answer the question in verse 13. That brings us to the fourth stage.

The Fourth Modern Stage

Regarding Dan. 8:4, Ford wrote the following, “Therefore, deduced Conradi, in company with the reformers, to a restoration of the long obscured gospel.” Denis Kaiser made a similar observation, “they argued that a taking away of the knowledge of Christ’s continual ministry in heaven made a restoration of the heavenly sanctuary (Dan 8:14) necessary.”

Others who see no connection between the investigative judgment on the saints and the termination of the evil activities choose to either negate or avoid it in Dan. 8:14.

“But looking as hard as I can at the text, I find no investigative or pre-Advent judgment of the saints in that passage. What I do find is judgment on the little horn and a restoration, justification, and cleansing of the sanctuary in relation to that power at the end of the 2300 days.”

A point needs to be made here. Knight accepts the Adventist understanding of a pre-Advent judgment, but thinks the problem is “the wrong use of Daniel 8:14 to prove a point that comes out of chapter 7.”

Zdravko Stefanovic avoids mentioning both 1844 and the investigative judgment on the saints of God, shifting his emphasis from the fate of the saints to “the fate of the sanctuary” . To him, the cleansing of the sanctuary is, through divine intervention, to restore “all that the little horn had reversed and destroyed” “to its rightful state.”(emphasis by the author), rather than blotting out the sins of the saints.

This line of interpretation has seemingly made up the logical connection between verse 13 and 14. For it sees in verse 13 the removal of Christ’s ministry in heaven from the people of God. In response, through divine intervention, all of these will be restored to their rightful state.  But it is not without difficulties either.

First, is it really true that the little horn power, the earthly hostile power was able “to eclipse the sanctuary, the Prince and his continual sanctuary service in heaven?” The answer is “No”! Even if that was true in the papal system, it cannot eclipse every church, for there are about the same number of Christians, if not more, outside of the papal church system. Christians outside of the papal system could still have direct access to all of Christ’s ministries in heaven by faith.

Again, Christ has been in the heavenly sanctuary ever since his ascension, why does He have to wait till the end of 2300 days to reverse what the little horn power did after the sixth century, and not have done it much sooner?

To honestly believe that an earthly evil power could take away Christ’s ministry in heaven is total unbelief, if not blasphemy.  After all, Daniel revealed clearly this evil power could only “think to change times and laws” (Dan.7:25), only in his self-deceptive thinking, not in reality. If truly the daily meant Christ’s ministry in heaven, Daniel would not have written “think to take away the daily” instead, for it can only happen in thinking, not in reality.

Lastly, what is fatal to this line of interpretation is that Christ was not to restore, but to enter a new phase of ministry as our High Priest at the end of 2300-day prophecy, something He had never performed before till that day. Even if the little horn has obscured Christ’s ministry in heaven, it was His ministry in the holy place. At the end of 2300 days, Christ was not to restore His holy place service, but to start anew the most holy place ministry.

Besides, Stefanovic quoted Doukhan additionally as saying the cleansing of the sanctuary “is in fact the sign of the total purification of the whole earth on the day of God’s judgment.” Doukhan is right in asserting the cleansing of the sanctuary goes before “the total purification of the whole earth.” One needs to understand that “the cleansing of the sanctuary” and “the cleansing of the universe” are two different events. Though on a typical day of atonement these two stages take place in a single day, yet in the antitypical day of atonement, it is a continual work of Jesus the High Priest, first cleansing the sanctuary at the end of the investigative judgment, then purifying the earth initially at the second coming in anticipation of “total purification” of the universe after the millennium.  Notice how Ellen White succinctly distinguished the two stages of cleansing:

“Since Satan is the originator of sin, the direct instigator of all the sins that caused the death of the Son of God, justice demands that Satan shall suffer the final punishment. Christ’s work for the redemption of men and the purification of the universe from sin will be closed by the removal of sin from the heavenly sanctuary [the cleansing of the sanctuary] and the placing of these sins upon Satan, who will bear the final penalty. So in the typical service, the yearly round of ministration closed with the purification of the sanctuary, and the confessing of the sins on the head of the scapegoat.{PP 358.2, emphasis supplied.}

So, we can see even though the new trend thinkers are not satisfied with the traditional interpretation of both the daily and the cleansing of the sanctuary, their own approaches present more challenging dilemmas. The seemingly logical connection found in verse 13 and 14 are problematic in both the interpretation of the daily and hence the question of verse 13, as well as the understanding of the cleansing of the sanctuary.

The Emerging Fifth Stage

The current situation calls for a new stage of understanding Dan. 8:14 so that it is both true to the text and logical to the question in verse 13. It is never too much to emphasize that it is not “Unto 2300 days”, but “then shall the sanctuary be cleansed” that provides direct answer to the question in verse 13. The 2300 days only indicate a date when a certain process would begin. It is the end of the process, or the result of the process that answers the question in verse 13.

Put it in Adventist terms, investigative judgment and the cleansing of the sanctuary are two closely related but distinctively different matters. The investigative judgment is the process which is necessitated by and leads to the cleansing of the sanctuary, the blotting out of the confessed and forgiven sins of the saints. Investigative judgment is the process, the cleansing of the sanctuary the result. Or to put it another way, the investigative judgment is the means, the cleansing of the sanctuary is the end. Ellen White well captures the delicate nuances of these two events when she wrote the following statement:

“And as the typical cleansing of the earthly was accomplished by the removal of the sins by which it had been polluted, so the actual cleansing of the heavenly is to be accomplished by the removal, or blotting out, of the sins which are there recorded. But before this can be accomplished, there must be an examination of the books of record to determine who, through repentance of sin and faith in Christ, are entitled to the benefits of His atonement. The cleansing of the sanctuary therefore involves a work of investigation–a work of judgment. This work must be performed prior to the coming of Christ to redeem His people; for when He comes, His reward is with Him to give to every man according to his works. Revelation 22:12.” {GC 421.3}

Ellen White clearly delineated that the cleansing of the sanctuary is the actual removal, or blotting out, of the sins recorded in the heavenly sanctuary, but that is done only after the work of the investigative judgment is accomplished. In the earthly type, the cleansing of the sanctuary does not happen when the high priest is still in the most holy place, but when he leaves. In the same way, the cleansing of the sanctuary does not happen during the investigative judgment, but when it is finished. Investigative judgment goes before the cleansing of the sanctuary. Investigative judgment is related to but distinctively different from the cleansing of the sanctuary. For the final atonement, the investigative judgment is the beginning, the cleansing of the sanctuary is the end.

How does the cleansing of the sanctuary answer the question when to punish the evil powers? The answer can be found in light of Daniel 7. The prophecy of 2300 days parallels Dan. 7:9, 10 and 13. The cleansing of the sanctuary is connected with Dan. 7: 14 when the Son of Man will become the King of kings to receive “dominion, and glory, and a kingdom”. Further details are given in Dan. 12:1-2, when the sanctuary is cleansed, the probation will be closed, Michael will stand up, “a time of trouble”, or otherwise known as the great tribulation, will hit the evil powers of the earth, “that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” (Dan. 12: 1)

Dan. 8:14 is further expounded in Rev. 14:6-12. To be more specific, “the hour of judgment has come”, the first angel’s message, elaborates the 2300-day prophecy, and “the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation” , the warning of the third angel’s message, corresponds with the cleansing of the sanctuary.

Simply put, the logical connection lies in that when the sanctuary is cleansed, the probation is closed. When probation is closed, the day of the Lord arrives, and the seven last plagues start to fall upon the evil powers. That is the time to halt the evil activities of earthly powers.

The cleansing of the sanctuary is then the tangible event which marks the beginning of the wrath of God which will be poured out over the evil powers at the end of the world. Therefore, it is true that the investigative judgment of the saints is not logically and directly related to the question in verse 13, but when this work is finished, when God has taken care of His loved ones, then it is time to deal with the evil powers. Thus, the cleansing of the sanctuary in verse 14 logically answers the question raised in verse 13.

The traditional understanding on the investigative judgment is not wrong, but it is not clearly differentiated with the cleansing of the sanctuary. What is needed is not to forfeit the investigative judgment in Daniel 8:14, but to understand that the cleansing of the sanctuary occurs at the end of the investigative judgment, and Dan. 8: 14 is not only connected with Daniel 9, but is well connected with Daniel 7 and Daniel 12. It is in the chain of the truth that the logical link between Dan. 8: 13 and 14 is found.

With this understanding, Daniel’s puzzled response arising from his first vision in Daniel 7 can be resolved. Dan. 7:25 foretells how the little horn power could come to an end after “a time and times and the dividing of time”, “then the judgment shall sit” at the end of the 2300-day prophecy,  “and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end” right after the sanctuary is cleansed. After that, the saints of the Most High will inherit the kingdom of God and serve him forever and ever.

Also, the cleansing of the sanctuary is one and the same with the restoration of the sanctuary. Take a hotel room for example. After the guests check out, room service is performed to cleanse the room. When it is done, the room is restored to its original state. In the same manner, when the sanctuary is cleansed, it is then restored to its original or rightful state. Jesus said He goes to prepare a place for His followers (John 14:3), when that preparation is done, the transferred sin of the saints is blotted out and removed, the sanctuary is then restored to its original state. The people of God are also vindicated before the universe. It is not necessary to be stuck on the different wordings.

The implications of the understanding during the fifth stage can be many. We should not stop at proving that the end of the 2300 days is 1844 and that there is the work of investigative judgment before the second coming; we need to move to the point when the sanctuary shall be cleansed, the probation will be closed at the same time, and there will be no more intercessor in the heavenly court for sinners. Our message will also be advanced from confession and forgiveness to repentance and victory, for after the sanctuary is cleansed, forgiveness will no longer be found. The cleansing of the sanctuary and the close of probation will be our focal point. From there we see the coming of the great tribulation, the necessity to be sealed and to be equipped with the latter rain to harvest and stand for the seven last plagues. The focus of our end-time message would then not revolve around 1844 but center on the close of probation. True reformation and revival will be accompanied by the return of the true Advent message! These are just a few implications I will mention here.

Conclusion

In this paper, we have reviewed and compared the two views of “the daily” and tested them by bringing these two views back to the texts, allowing the rubber to meet the road. It shows that the interpretation of the old view of the daily as paganism fits all the five places where the daily appears in Daniel, while the new view hardly fits even one. Inherent textual reason is explored to show why Daniel uses the word the daily to refer to the earthly pagan powers which provides additional support to the old view other than 2 Thess. 2, as proposed by William Miller. By going to the primary source and manuscripts released in 1988, clear evidences are presented showing Ellen White’s affirmation on the old view and her negative or condemning attitude towards the new view and its proponents. Well goes the Chinese saying, “Without comparison one is ignorant, but once comparison is done, one gets a shock.”

As to the logical connection between verse 13 and 14, it shows that William Miller was right in his calculation of the 2300-day prophecy, but wrong in his understanding of the sanctuary, and therefore wrong in his conclusion of the interpretation of Dan. 8:14. However, his interpretation stands logically correct in answering the question raised in verse 13.

The traditional Adventist interpretation corrected Miller’s view on the sanctuary and came to discover the truth regarding the investigative judgment starting at the end of the 2300-day prophecy. However, early Adventists were not quite clear on the distinction between the investigative judgment and the cleansing of the sanctuary, thus were not able to provide a convincing logic for their interpretation on Dan. 8: 14 as an answer to address the question raised in verse 13.

Seeing that the investigative judgment does not logically and directly answer the question in verse 13, modern Adventists have embraced the new view on the daily, and moved into a more confused arena, either negating or avoiding the investigative judgment interpretation on Dan. 8:14, and ending up with a more deviated and problematic interpretation of the cleansing of the sanctuary. The logical link between verse 13 and 14 based on these interpretations is established, but unfortunately, a false one. The purpose of the Son of man to come to the Ancient of Days is not to “restore all that the little horn had reversed and destroyed”, but to be the Defender of the righteous during the investigative judgment, and to receive “dominion, and glory, and a kingdom” after the cleansing of the sanctuary  (Dan. 7:14).

It is time now that we understand the investigative judgment is the process which leads to the cleansing of the sanctuary, the blotting out or actual removal of the sins forgiven. The cleansing of the sanctuary signifies the close of probation, which points to the beginning of the day of the Lord, the pouring out of God’s wrath over the evil powers on earth, as reflected in the warning of the third angel, thus bringing their evil act to a halt. Thus, the logical connection between the two verses is well established.

Accordingly, the Adventist message should shift its focus from preaching on what is to take place at the end of 2300 days, namely 1844 and the investigative judgment, or the cry for the hour of judgment has come alone; to the cleansing of the sanctuary, the very answer given to verse 13, the blotting out of the sins forgiven,  the termination of heavenly intercession and the close of probation, and the wrath of God through the seven last plagues. It is now high time to pray for the latter rain, to strive to be among the 144,000, and to be prepared for the coming tribulation and the glorious coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.