The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;
By understanding He established the heavens.
Prov. 3:19


Appendix: The 2300 days of Daniel

Daniel's Five Time Sequences

The book of Daniel contains five time sequences given to Daniel that span the time from the Jewish captivity in Babylon, of which Daniel was a part, to the coming of the Messiah and His everlasting kingdom.

These are parallel accounts with much in common, but each gives unique details. Some of the accounts emphasize particular time periods and do not mention others. But together they supplement each other to complete a picture.

Daniel Chapter Two

King Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon when the split kingdom of Israel and Judah was taken captive. The king had a dream of "a great image" that troubled him, and no one could give its interpretation. But God gave Daniel both what the dream was and the interpretation of it. The great image represents four succeeding kingdoms, at the end of which the Messiah's eternal kingdom will be set up on earth. Four parts of the image are described:

  1. The Head of Gold – Representing King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
  2. Chest and arms of silver – An "inferior" kingdom will arise next. This was the Medo-Persian Empire.
  3. Belly and thighs of bronze – This shall "rule over all the earth." Greece under Alexander the Great next conquered the world.
  4. Legs of iron with feet and toes partly of iron and clay – The Roman Empire arose next. At the end of this empire are ten kings (which the ten toes represent) that are strong in power (iron) yet will be of a fragile coalition (ceramic clay).

Daniel then told the king the end of the dream, "You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces ... And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth" (Dan 2:34, 35).

The stone strikes in the last days, for the Scripture says, "And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever" (Dan. 2:44).

Daniel Chapter Seven

Next Daniel was given a vision of four great beasts rising out of the sea. Daniel was told these represented four succeeding kingdoms. These are:

  1. A lion with eagle's wings – This corresponds to the head of gold of King Nebuchadnezzar's dream, and represents Babylon.
  2. A bear with three ribs in its mouth – This corresponds to the chest and arms of silver of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, and likewise represents Medo-Persia that devours the surrounding nations.
  3. A leopard with four wings on its back, with four heads – This corresponds to the part of Nebuchadnezzar's image that had a belly and thighs of bronze, representing Greece. The leopard with wings represents the speed with which Alexander the Great conquered the known world. The four heads represent his four generals who succeeded him.
  4. A dreadful beast with iron teeth and ten horns – This represents the Roman Empire that followed the Grecian Empire, with the ten horns corresponding to the ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar's image.

From the ten horns came up a little horn and prevailed until the "Ancient of Days" came. The little horn represents the Antichrist who will dominate just prior to the Messiah's coming.

Then "One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven" was "given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion" (Dan. 7:13, 14).

Daniel Chapter Eight

Another vision was given to Daniel in the time of the Babylonian Empire. An angel explained to him, "Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; for at the appointed time the end shall be" (Dan. 8:19). Daniel is then given a sequence that ends with a terrible and mighty king who dominates. This king is only stopped by the coming of the Messiah: "He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without human means" (Dan. 8:25b). The vision shows:

  1. The current kingdom during Daniel's vision is Babylon with King Belshazzar.
  2. Following is a ram with two horns—"the kings of Media and Persia."
  3. Next is a male goat with a "notable horn between his eyes," then it is replaced with four horns. This is the kingdom of Greece.
  4. "Out of one of them," (the four horns) came a "little horn" that grew exceedingly great. This skips the ten horns at the end of the Roman Empire and jumps immediately to the following little horn. This is the "little horn" spoken of in Daniel's second vision in chapter seven.

The emphasis in this vision is the final world ruler, the Antichrist, for "the vision refers to the time of the end" (Dan. 8:17b). It is here, just prior to the coming Messiah, that a period of 2300 days is mentioned. This king shall arise against the "Prince of princes" when He comes, but shall be broken without human means. This corresponds to "the stone" of Daniel's first vision.

Daniel Chapter Nine

The next time sequence given to Daniel is different from the first three. Those spoke of four significant empires leading to the coming Messiah. This sequence emphasizes God's dealing with the nation of Israel, but nevertheless ends with the anointing of "the Most Holy," the establishing of the Messiah's earthly reign.

Seventy weeks (or literally "seventy sevens," or group of seven years) are determined for Israel and Jerusalem to:

"To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy" (Dan 9:24)

The prophecy continues, "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate" (Dan. 9:25 - 27).

  1. The time sequence starts with the command "to restore and build Jerusalem." Issued in the time of King Artaxerxes of Persia.
  2. Seven weeks (49 years) are designated to restore and build the streets and walls of Jerusalem.
  3. Then sixty-two weeks (434 years) will pass to the time of the Messiah, who will then "be cut off."
  4. This is the time to the first coming of Christ. This will fulfill part of the determination: "to make reconciliation for iniquity"—this through the atoning sacrifice of Christ through His death on the cross.
  5. Then the city and sanctuary will be destroyed. This occurs in a time gap between the sixty-ninth week and seventieth week. This time gap is the church age. Since the seventy weeks are the time of God's dealings with Israel, the church age is not counted. This is a time where both Jew and Gentile are called to be reconciled to God through His Son Jesus Christ.
  6. Then the seventieth week (7 years) occurs. This is what Scripture calls the "time of Jacob's troubles." This begins with a nation that has rejected Jesus as the Messiah but ends with national repentance. At the end of this week Jesus will come a second time as the glorious King and Messiah.

This will fulfill the entire determination: "to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, ... to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy." Here Israel's relationship with God will be made right, and the Messiah will be anointed King.

Daniel Chapter Ten, Eleven, and Twelve

The time sequence of chapter eleven begins in chapter ten and ends in chapter twelve. Chapter ten opens with Daniel receiving a vision during the reign of King Cyrus of Persia. At this point the first part of the vision of chapter two is already fulfilled where the kingdom of Babylon is succeeded by the kingdom of Medo-Persia. A heavenly messenger tells Daniel, "And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come" (Dan. 10:20).

Chapter eleven opens with the transition from the kingdom of Persia to the kingdom of Greece.

  1. The Babylonian empire had already passed when the vision of chapters ten, eleven, and twelve was given. So Babylon is not mentioned.
  2. The Medo-Persian Empire was currently in power during the vision and is mentioned.
  3. The bulk of the vision of chapter eleven speaks of the coming kingdom of Greece. It says "a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with a great dominion." This is Alexander the Great. It then speaks of this kingdom being divided up "toward the four winds of heaven." Four generals of Alexander then each ruled over a portion of the kingdom after Alexander died. However two dominated and then warred against each other, the Seleucid and Ptolemaic dynasties. These are the kings of the North and South that much of chapter eleven speaks of.
    • The Seleucid king toward the end of these wars was Antiochus IV, who entered Jerusalem, defiled the sanctuary, took away the daily sacrifices, and placed there the "abomination of desolation." This is a foreshadowing of what will happen by the last king of the following Roman Empire, as spoken of next as chapter twelve continues the vision. That this is a foreshadowing is seen by Jesus' statement that the "abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet" is still in the future at Jesus' time.
  4. Chapter twelve continues, speaking of "a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation." Jesus spoke of this: "For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be" (Matt. 24:21). This is the time of the "little horn" of the Roman Empire. The time of trouble will last "a time, times, and half a time," meaning three and one-half years. This begins when "the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up" (Dan. 12:11). Until: "... when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished." (Dan. 12:7). The vision says after this "your people will be delivered," and there will be a resurrection, "some to everlasting life" and "some to shame and everlasting contempt."

The Coming Messiah

Jesus said, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days ... they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matt. 24:29, 30).

The five time sequences of Daniel all foretell the events leading to the coming Messiah, beginning with the Babylonian Empire. The Messiah's coming will be visible to all the world, as Jesus said: "Then if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or 'There!' do not believe it ... Therefore if they say to you, 'Look, He is in the desert!' do not go out; or 'Look, He is in the inner rooms!' do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be" (Matt. 24:23, 26, 27). Christ's return will not be secret, or invisible, or purely spiritual. It will be physical and as noticeable and obvious as lightning flashing across the sky. When Jesus' disciples watched Jesus physically ascend into heaven, two angels said to them, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11). As they saw Him physically ascend into heaven, even so, "in like manner" He will return.

A time gap

Since the Messiah has not come yet, there is a gap in the time sequences, most apparent in the seventy-week prophecy. This is between the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks. The sixty-ninth week ends with the cutting off of the Messiah, this being the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The final seven years end with the visible second coming of the Messiah. So a significant period of time elapses between the two. This time gap also exists in the other time sequences:

  1. Nebuchadnezzar's great image: A time gap exists between the legs of iron, the early Roman Empire, and the feet and toes of iron mixed with clay, a final set of ten kings during an end-time revived Roman Empire.
  2. Daniel's vision in chapter seven: The dreadful beast with ten horns jumps in time from the Grecian Empire to the final reign of the Roman Empire.
  3. Again in chapter eight, this vision skips from the Grecian Empire to the final "little horn" of the end-time Roman Empire.
  4. The vision of chapters ten, eleven, and twelve, likewise of the chapter eight vision, jumps from a final ruler of the Grecian Empire, Antiochus IV, to his typical fulfillment in the final "little horn" of the Roman Empire in chapter twelve.

These visions contain specific prophecies about a final worldly king, the "little horn," also called the Antichrist, immediately prior to the Messiah's appearance. It is during his time that the 2300 days of Daniel occur.

The message of the book of Daniel

The first vision of Daniel, the understanding of Nebuchadnezzar's dream, is an outline for the entire book. King Nebuchadnezzar's dream was that of a great image—a head of gold, a chest and arms of silver, a belly and thighs of bronze, and legs and feet of iron and clay. This image represents the idolatry of mankind, and four aspects of that idolatry. This idolatry began with the Fall of Adam and Eve in the garden and will only be "crushed" by the Messiah Jesus, whom the "stone" represents.

In the Fall, mankind lifted himself up to be equal with God, and thus worshipped his own heart, soul, mind, and strength. (See "The Fall and the Restoration"). It is this self-worship that the great image represents.

The lifting up of man's heart as god on the throne of one's life is seen in King Nebuchadnezzar. In rebellion to Daniel's message as to what the image represents, the king created a real-life image that was entirely of gold, not just a head of gold. All people were to worship this golden image, for the king knew it represented himself. God subsequently humbled the king by causing him to be as a wild animal for seven seasons. Daniel explained the reason to the king: "till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses" (Dan. 4:25b). The king learned his lesson: "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down" (Dan. 4:37). This correction of Nebuchadnezzar is described in Daniel's second vision: "The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it" (Dan. 7:4).

The lifting up of man's soul is represented by the second part of the image, the chest and arms of silver. The Medes and Persians were a culture that venerated the soul: a concept of the innate goodness of mankind, the pursuit of self-righteousness and virtue, self-resourcefulness, and the ability to exercise free will to make right choices. Scripture shows the soul of man is lost in sin and is captive to it, and needs redemption through a Savior.

The lifting up of man's mind is represented by the Greeks in the next part of the image. They elevated themselves through wisdom and philosophy. Scripture says, "Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (1 Cor. 1:20 - 25).

The lifting up of man's strength is represented by the Romans: "And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others" (Dan: 2:40). And again, "After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong" (Dan. 7:7a). An aspect of the Fall is mankind's reliance on his own strength, and pride in that. But God says, "But on this one will I look: on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word" (Isaiah 66:2). As the "stone" that smashes the "great image," the coming Messiah will show the strength of God: "Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God" (Rev. 19:15).

Only through the Savior Jesus Christ can mankind be restored to a right relationship with God. The image of mankind through the ages is one of idolatry against God in the worship of self. Deliverance from this by the Messiah is the message of the book of Daniel.