The third declaration of Elena White can be found recorded in the book “The Great Controversy,” page 372, where the following is stated: “There was an important point in the vision of chapter eight, which had not been explained; specifically, the one referring to time: the period of the 2,300 DAYS… The angel had been sent to Daniel with the EXPRESS PURPOSE OF EXPLAINING THE POINT HE HAD NOT MANAGED TO UNDERSTAND IN THE VISION OF CHAPTER EIGHT, the time-related information… The angel’s first words are: Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city… The angel states that seventy weeks, representing 490 years, were to be deducted because they pertained especially to the Jews. But where were the seventy weeks deducted from? Since the 2,300 days are the period of time mentioned in chapter eight, THEY MUST CONSTITUTE THE PERIOD FROM WHICH THE SEVENTY WEEKS WERE DEDUCTED.” The aforementioned statement by Mrs. White presents the same problem as the two previous statements already considered; it is a literal transcription of two phrases from the original source from which they were copied, without her realizing that SAID SUPPOSED EXPLANATIONS DO NOT EXPLAIN ANYTHING REGARDING THE 2,300 EVENINGS AND MORNINGS, nor the desecration and vindication of the sanctuary. What she transcribes are two conjectures: on one hand, by affirming that the phrase “THY PEOPLE AND THY HOLY CITY” IS REFERRING TO THE 2,300 EVENINGS AND MORNINGS, a conjecture divorced from a sound biblical interpretation; and, on the other hand, given the proximity of the prophetic time period in Daniel eight with the account in Daniel 9; IN THIS LATTER CHAPTER, THE EXPLANATION OF THE 2,300 EVENINGS AND MORNINGS IS REVEALED. It is important to highlight that in Appendix on page 373 and other pages, entitled PROPHETIC DATES in the book The Great Controversy, we find that the names of prestigious English theologians and scholars are recorded, who were the sources of information that Ellen White used to establish the prophetic dates that she recorded in the book we are considering. These scholars wrote: “ON THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT”; “CHRONOLOGY OF THE PROPHECIES,” and other works; sources which were then considered CLEAR EVIDENCE INDICATING UNDOUBTEDLY THAT THE DATES PROPOSED BY THESE AUTHORS WERE CORRECT. For more information, we invite you to read the article titled: “Do we really find in Daniel 8, an informed explanation of the prophecy of the 2,300 evenings and mornings?” Other statements that we will consider can be found recorded in the book “The Great Controversy,” pages 373 and 450, where the following is mentioned: “The decree of Artaxerxes was put into effect in the autumn of the year 457,” and “… counting from the autumn of 457 B.C., the 2,300 years concluded in the autumn of 1,844.” The previous statements are completely opposed to what is revealed in the prophecy of Daniel 9:25, where it is categorically stated that the seventy weeks, or alternatively the 2,300 years; WOULD BEGIN WITH THE ORDER TO GO BACK AND REBUILD JERUSALEM; as stated in Ezra 7:9, confirming that it was the first day of the month of Nisan. It is important to highlight that the Reina Valera and King James versions do not offer the best translation of Daniel 9:25, because in both versions, it is recorded as “the DECREE to RESTORE,” when in reality the correct translation should be “the DECREE to RETURN.” The word “restore” is derived from two Hebrew terms: “kjazac,” primarily meaning to repair, rebuild, or restore; and “rafa,” meaning to mend, heal, restore, terms that do not appear in verse 25. What we do find in this text is the Hebrew word “shub,” whose primary meaning is TO RETURN OR GIVE BACK; thus the correct translation of this text should be: “… from the command to RETURN and rebuild Jerusalem…”; as correctly translated by the Peshitta Bible, which is a more reliable translation of ancient Aramaic writings. If the prophecy began in the first month of the year 457 B.C., which fell in spring; the 2,300 years should have ended in the spring season of the year 1,844, as correctly calculated by William Miller, and not in autumn as erroneously proposed in the statement under consideration. Our problem lies in accepting that the prophecy began and ended in spring, as it poses the question: How did the sixty-nine weeks end in the autumn of the year 27 A.D. with the baptism of the Lord Jesus? This situation would not arise if we accept what is mentioned in the book of Nehemiah, which reveals that the seventy weeks started in the spring of the year 444 B.C., and that 483 lunar years later, the Lord was baptized in the autumn of 26 A.D. Claiming that the 2,300 years began and ended in the autumn of the aforementioned years is another convenient conjecture formulated by Samuel Snow, after the first disappointment experienced by the Millerites in the spring of 1844. Snow, who refused to acknowledge that the Millerites had been mistaken in pinpointing the end of the prophecy in Daniel 8, associated the yearly sanctuary purification that took place on the Day of Atonement with the “sanctuary cleansing” mentioned in Daniel 8:14. The problem with Snow, like that of our sincere pioneers, is that lacking knowledge of ancient languages, they formulated and accepted interpretations based on deficient translations of the Bible. Marvin Moore in his book THE Investigative Judgment, pages 219-220, admits that Adventists, lacking preparation in biblical languages, concluded that the words “purified” in Leviticus 16:19 and Daniel 8:14 must refer to the same event; namely, that the “purification” of the sanctuary in Daniel 8:14 was related to the ritual purification of the sanctuary in Leviticus 16; thus ending the prophecy of the 2,300 evenings and mornings. The problem with this association is that verse 14 was mistranslated in some Bible versions; because in the original text, as recorded in the Hebrew-Spanish Interlinear, it states that the SANCTUARY SHALL BE VINDICATED. The Peshitta Bible translates it as: THE RIGHTEOUS SHALL PREVAIL. The Hebrew Bible mentions that THE SANCTUARY SHALL BE VICTORIOUS; from the unjustified desecration perpetrated by the little horn. The correct translations mentioned above make it clear that what is recorded in verse 14 of Daniel 8 has no relation to the sanctuary purification that took place in the seventh month of the year on the Day of Atonement, but with the vindication of the sanctuary after the little horn removed the regular sacrifice and cast down the place of the sanctuary, for 2,300 evenings and mornings. Blessings.
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