THE HOLY PLACE BEING BROUGHT INTO ITS RIGHT CONDITION

THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF THE ABOMINATION CAUSING DESOLATION

Two factors place the 2,300 evenings and mornings in the correct time frame: words about the time of the end and the transgression causing desolation in the context. I quote Daniel 8:17:

¹⁷ So he came beside where I was standing, but when he came I got terrified so that I fell upon my face. And he proceeded to say to me: “Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of [the] end.”

According to the angel, the period of 2,300 evenings and mornings will be fulfilled in the time of the end. Daniel mentions the action called “the transgression causing desolation” and its result, “the abomination causing desolation,” four times, and connects them with the 2,300 evenings and mornings (8:14) and 1,290 days (12:11).

To understand the relationship between the time periods, we need to identify “the abomination causing desolation,” also called “the disgusting thing causing desolation.” My book The Presence of Jesus Christ Leading to the Jubilee — the Chronology and Prophecies, pages 106-115, has the following identification:

• A comparison between Matthew 24:15-20 and Luke 21:21-23 shows that the abomination causing desolation was the Roman armies that surrounded Jerusalem in 66 and 70 CE.

The armies were disgusting because they stood on the holy ground of the temple with their banners, to which they sacrificed. They caused desolation when they destroyed Jerusalem in 70 CE.

• Daniel 12:11 shows that the prophetic antitype of the abomination causing desolation would exist in the time of the end. To find this antitype, we must find a political entity that corresponds to the Roman armies, which will cause desolation for a religious unity corresponding to Jerusalem.
• Revelation 13:1-8 describes a wild beast with seven heads and 10 horn, whom all humans support. This wild beast symbolizes all human governments that refuse to transfer their power to God’s kingdom, established in 1914.
• According to Revelation 13:11, 14, another wild beast with two horns like a lamb tells all humans on the earth to make an image of the wild beast with seven heads and ten horns.
• Revelation 17:3 identifies this image as a color picture of the wild beast mentioned in chapter 13. It has seven heads and ten horns, and it is scarlet-colored. The humans of the earth made an image of all the governments that refused to transfer their power to God’s kingdom. This is the organization the United Nations has 193 member states.

It is an abomination because it stands on the holy ground of God’s kingdom. It represents the human governments under the leadership of the Devil (Matthew 4:8, 9) that refuse to transfer their power to God’s kingdom. It will cause desolation when it destroys Babylon the great, the religious counterpart to Jerusalem. (Revelation 17:16-18)

THE SCARLET COLORED WILD BEAST THAT WILL BE PRESENT TWO TIMES

When we now read Revelation 17:8-11, we have a background for the antitypical fulfillments of the abomination causing desolation.

⁸ The wild beast that you saw was, but is not, and yet is about to ascend out of the abyss, and it is to go off into destruction. And when they see how the wild beast was, but is not, and yet will be present, those who dwell on the earth will wonder admiringly, but their names have not been written upon the scroll of life from the founding of the world.

⁹ “Here is where the intelligence that has wisdom comes in: The seven heads mean seven mountains, where the woman sits on top. ¹⁰ And there are seven kings: five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet arrived, but when he does arrive he must remain a short while. ¹¹ And the wild beast that was but is not, it is also itself an eighth [king], but springs from the seven, and it goes off into destruction.

The seven heads symbolize seven world powers. In the days of John, five have fallen: Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, Medo-Persia, and Greece; one existed: Rome; and one would come in the future: Anglo-America. The wild beast, the United Nations, is an eighth world power, and it springs from the seven, because the remnants of the seven world powers are members of the United Nations.

Now comes what is particularly important in our context with the time periods (the red text in the quotation above): the scarlet-colored wild beast existed, then it went down into the abyss and did not exist, then it would ascend out of the abyss and exist for the second time.

The fulfillment was that from 1920 to 1939, the scarlet-colored wild beast existed as the League of Nations. During the Second World War, the League of Nations did not exist, but in 1945, it ascended out of the abyss as the United Nations.

To find the right time frames, the issue is whether the four texts about the abomination causing desolation in the time of the end refer to the League of nations or to the United Nations.

Daniel mentions the abomination causing desolation four times, and because the abomination existed in two different periods during the time of the end, our challenge is to determine which period each of the four examples refers to.

THE ABOMINATION CAUSING DESOLATION OF THE FIRST CENTURY CE

Daniel 9:24-27 is a prophecy of 69 weeks of years after which the promised Messiah would come. It tells about his death in the middle of the 70th week, and after that about the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. I quote Daniel 9:26-27:

²⁶ “And after the sixty-two weeks Mes·siʹah will be cut off, with nothing for himself.

“And the city and the holy place the people of a leader that is coming will bring to their ruin. And the end of it will be by the flood. And until [the] end there will be war; what is decided upon is desolations (shomēmōt) . ²⁷ “And he must keep [the] covenant in force for the many for one week; and at the half of the week he will cause sacrifice and gift offering to cease.“And upon the wing of disgusting things (shiqūtsīm) there will be the one causing desolation; and until an extermination, the very thing decided upon will go pouring out also upon the one lying desolate.”

The desolations of Jerusalem will be caused by “the people of a leader” (the Roman general Titus). The armies are symbolized like a “flood” (verse 26) and as coming so fast as on wings of flying birds (verse 27). The catchwords of “the abomination causing desolation” are shōmēm (“desolation”), verse 26, and shiqquts (“abomination”), verse 27.

The Roman armies under general Titus were “the abomination causing desolation” that destroyed Jerusalem in 70 CE. The context shows that the prophecy in Daniel 9:26, 27 refers only to the first century CE, not to the future time of the end. Daniel’s words were the reference Jesus used when, according to Luke 21:20-23, he showed that the Roman armies were the abomination causing desolation.

THE TIME PROPHECY OF 1,290 DAYS IS RELATED TO THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS

I will now focus on the time of the end and quote Daniel 12:11:

¹¹ “And from the time that the constant [feature] (hattāmīd) has been removed and there has been a placing of the disgusting thing (shiqqụts) that is causing desolation (shōmēm), there will be one thousand two hundred and ninety days.

The setting of Daniel chapter 12 is the time of the end, and “the time of the end” (‘ēt qēts) is mentioned in 12:9. My book, The Presence of Jesus Christ Leading to the Jubilee — The Chronology and Prophecies, pages 215-218, discusses the prophecy of the 1,290 days.

It shows that “the constant feature was removed” when eight leaders of the Bible Students were jailed on June 21, 1918, and the sacrifice of praise stopped because of this; the work of the Bible Students had “died.” (Revelation 11:2-8)

The literature of Jehovah’s Witnesses applies the start of the 1,290 days to January 18, 1919, when the peace conference that led to the formation of the League of Nations, started. The words “a placing” are rendered from the infinitive construct of the verb nātan (“put, set, place”). The form is time-neutral, and it mentions no subject. Political and Christian leaders supported the peace conference that led to the creation of the League of Nations, and this can be said to be “a placing of the disgusting thing that is causing desolation.”

THE REMOVAL OF THE CONSTANT FEATURE (11:31) REFERS TO THE UNITED NATIONS

One thing that could indicate that the three occurrences of the expression “the abomination causing desolation” refer to the same event is that all three texts speak of removing “the constant feature” (hattāmīd), the daily sacrifice. However, the surrounding circumstances for removing the daily sacrifice differ, excluding a reference to the same event.

The events in Daniel 11:31 are set in a context indicating that “the disgusting thing that is causing desolation” refers to the United Nations, not the League of Nations.

Daniel chapter 11 describes the hostilities between the king of the north and the king of the south, and the kings’ identities have changed many times through history. The last part of Daniel 11 refers to the time of the end, and I refer to the book Pay Attention to Daniel’s Prophecy and its explanation, which I find logical. I quote from Daniel:

11:27

²⁷ “And as regards these two kings, their heart will be inclined to doing what is bad, and at one table a lie is what they will keep speaking. But nothing will succeed, because [the] end is yet for the time appointed (qēts mō‘ēd).

The two kings refer to the king of the north, the German Reich with Kaiser Wilhelm II, and Great Britain. The two kings attended the peace conferences in The Hague in 1898 and 1907. But they did not have the right intentions, and “a lie is what they will keep speaking.”

The last clause is interesting. Although the two kings had bad plans, nothing violent happened between them because it was not yet God’s appointed time of the end, which began in 1914.

11:28

²⁸ “And he [the king of the north] will go back to his land with a great amount of goods, and his heart will be against the holy covenant. And he will act effectively and certainly go back to his land.

The German Reich rearmed and built a strong army and navy, and it intended to expand its empire. The king of the north should not do anything actively. But his heart was against the holy covenant. For 40 years, the Bible Students had written about the great war that would come in 1914 and God’s kingdom that would be established. By refusing to transfer their power to God’s kingdom, the king of the north showed that his heart was against the holy covenant.

11:29, 30:

²⁹ “At the time appointed (mō‘ēd) he will go back, and he will actually come against the south; but it will not prove to be at the last the same as at the first. ³⁰ And there will certainly come against him the ships of Kitʹtim, and he will have to become dejected…

When the king of the north and the king of the south sat at the same table speaking lies, the appointed time of God had not yet come. However, verse 29 says that the appointed time for the end and the establishing of God’s kingdom had now come.

The king of the north first became part of the conflict that led to World War I, and later the king of the south, Great Britain and the United States, became part of it. As a result, he, the king of the north, was disheartened. World War I ended with the German Reich losing and becoming a republic.

11:30, 31:

30…“And he [the king of the north] will actually go back and hurl denunciations against the holy covenant and act effectively; and he will have to go back and will give consideration to those leaving the holy covenant. ³¹ And there will be arms (zerōa) that will stand up, proceeding from him; and they will actually profane the sanctuary, the fortress, and remove the constant [feature] (hattāmīd).“And they will certainly put in place the disgusting thing that is causing desolation.

The first part of verse 30 shows that the German Reich would lose the war.  The second part of the verse must refer to the time after the war. Kaiser Wilhelm was in exile in the Netherlands, and Adolf Hitler took over as the king of the north.

He “hurled denunciations” against the holy covenant by a fierce persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses. But those who left the holy covenant, the religious leaders, supported Hitler.

The king of the north will let “arms stand up,” meaning “armies,” as in Daniel 11:15:

¹⁵ “And the king of the north will come and throw up a siege rampart and actually capture a city with fortifications. And as for the arms (zerōa) of the south, they will not stand (‘āmad), neither the people of his picked ones; and there will be no power to keep standing.[1]

This clause refers to the armies that Hitler mustered to fight World War II. The Hebrew verb ‘āmad means “stand, stand up, stand up against.” Daniel’s focus is not on how the armies stood up against other armies during the war. Instead, he focuses on the armies standing up to profane the sanctuary and remove the daily sacrifice.

Hitler systematically persecuted the anointed remnant, for whom the sanctuary was a prophetic antitype, as we see in Hebrews chapters 8 to 10. He also persecuted the companions and arrested the Witnesses in the thousands, and the result was that the “constant feature,” the daily preaching of the kingdom of God, almost stopped.

The last part of the verse refers to the disgusting thing that is causing desolation. The one acting in verses 28-31 is the king of the north—the German Reich before and including World War II, and Adolf Hitler after the war. But we note that the verb “place” is 3rd person plural. The king of the north did not create the United Nations after World War II, but the plural verb shows that several unidentified actors created this organization.

Now we can return to our original question. All three references in Daniel (8:11; 11:31; 12:11) say that “the constant feature” (hattāmīd), the daily offering, will be taken away. The question is whether all three references relate to the same situation. We see now that this is not the case. The daily offering, or preaching the good news of the kingdom, was taken away in 1918 when the leaders of the Bible Students were jailed, and the organization stopped functioning. This was connected with the placing of the disgusting thing that is causing desolation, the League of Nations, at the beginning of the 1,290 days. The daily offerings mentioned in 11:31 refer to the persecution of Hitler under World War II, when the preaching work almost stopped. This is also connected with the disgusting thing that is causing desolation. And because of the time setting, this must refer to the United Nations and not to the League of Nations.

THE REMOVAL OF THE CONSTANT FEATURE (8:13) REFERS TO THE UNITED NATIONS

The next question is whether the transgression causing desolation mentioned in Daniel 8:11 refers to the League of Nations or to the United Nations.

8:9-13:

⁹ And out of one of them there came forth another horn, a small one, and it kept getting very much greater toward the south and toward the sunrising and toward the Decoration. ¹⁰ And it kept getting greater all the way to the army of the heavens, so that it caused some of the army and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it went trampling them down. ¹¹ And all the way to the Prince of the army it put on great airs, and from him the constant [feature] (hattāmīd) was taken away, and the established place of his sanctuary was thrown down. ¹² And an army itself was gradually given over, together with the constant [feature], because of transgression; and it kept throwing truth to the earth, and it acted and had success. ¹³ And I got to hear a certain holy one speaking, and another holy one proceeded to say to the particular one who was speaking: “How long will the vision be of the constant [feature] (hattāmīd) ¹¹ and of the transgression causing desolation, to make both [the] holy place and [the] army things to trample on?” So he said to me: “Until two thousand three hundred evenings [and] mornings; and [the] holy place will certainly be brought into its right condition.”

As in the prophecy in Daniel 12:11 and 11:31, “the constant feature” is also taken away in 8:10. The daily sacrifice was taken away by one action: the jailing of eight leaders of the Bible Students in 1918. But in 8:11, there are a number of actions leading to the removal of the daily sacrifice, as was the case in 11:31. Therefore, the removal of the daily sacrifice mentioned in 8:9-13 must refer to the difficulties during World War II, and “the transgression causing desolation” must refer to the United Nations from 1945 and not to the League of Nations.

The persecution that Jehovah’s Witnesses experienced during World War II, as it is described in Daniel 11:30, 31, was caused by the king of the north, Adolf Hitler. In Daniel chapter 8, the king of the north and the king of the south are not mentioned. But the persecution described in 8:9-12 is caused by the litle horn that becomes greater. A detailed identification of the little horn is outside the scope of this book. And I refer to the book, Pay Attention to Daniel’s Prophecy! Chapter 10 identifies the litle horn as the Anglo-American world power, which chapter 11:27-30 identifies as the king of the south.

This means that both world powers who fought in  World War two, Germany and Great Britain and USA, persecuted Jehovah’s Witnesses during this war. The persecution of the little horn implied that preaching the good news of the kingdom was banned in almost all countries in the British Commonwealth. There was also much persecution in the United States.

In all three prophecies about the removal of the constant feature, the daily offering of praise, the abomination causing desolation is mentioned. In 11:31 and 12:11, the words “the disgusting thing that is causing desolation” are mentioned. But in 8:11, “the transgression causing desolation” is mentioned. Is there a difference in meaning?

Daniel 11:31	shiqquts meshōmēm	Abomination causing desolation
Daniel 12:11	shiqquts shōmēm	Abomination causing desolation
Daniel 8:11	happæsha‘ shōmēm	Rebellion causing desolation

THE REBELLION CAUSING DESOLATION (8:11)

A Hebrew root can be expressed both as a noun and as a verb. The verb describes the action, and the noun describes the result of the action. For example, the verb shir means “to sing,” and the noun shirā means “song.” However, there is no semantic relationship between the noun pæshā (sin, rebellion”) and shiqquts (“abomination”).

The prefix me in meshōmēm does not give the word a different meaning from shōmēm. So, in all three instances the meaning is “causing desolation,” and they must refer to the same object. The difference is that Daniel 11:31 and 12:11 focus on this object as an abomination, while 8:11 focuses on the act of placing the object that causes desolation.

The mentioned act is described in the following way in The Watchtower of December 1, 1971, page 28:

³⁸ The “transgression causing desolation,” particularly the steps that the Anglo-American Dual World Power took even during World War II to lift the “abomination of desolation” out of the “abyss,” did not deceive the remnant of “holy ones” or turn them aside from their theocratic worship of Jehovah at his sanctuary.

How the Anglo-American World Power took steps to lift “the abomination causing desolation” out of the abyss during World War II is described on pages 723 and 724:

²³ However, that idolatrous “image” for international worship was not left out of calculation by those who were putting on great airs against the Prince of princes, Jehovah the great Theocrat. On Sunday, December 7, 1941, the American member of the Seventh World Power was forced into World War II alongside the British member of the Anglo-American World Power. Then note what happened with regard to these idolatrous worshipers of a man-made organization for world peace and security. The so-called “Axis Powers” of Nazism, Fascism and Oriental Imperialism were still moving forward aggressively, when a significant event took place on Friday, January 2, 1942. What? According to the Chronology of events of 1942, as published in The Americana Annual “all twenty-six nations at war with the Axis powers pledge themselves not to make a separate armistice or peace and to employ full military or economic resources against the enemy in a ‘Declaration by United Nations’ signed in Washington.”​—Americana Annual for 1943, page 737.

²⁵ Beyond all denial, then, there was “transgression” on the part of the symbolic ‘small horn,’ the Anglo-American Dual World Power, in working for the restoring of the idolatrous “image” of the political “wild beast” to be worshiped by all peoples after World War II. In this way it was using insight and causing deception to succeed “in his hand.” This was occurring at the same time that it was hindering the sacrificial “constant feature” and trampling on Jehovah’s “holy place.” Here was “transgression” indeed. It was nothing less than a standing up against the Prince of princes, Jehovah, whose worshipers at his “sanctuary” were being opposed, oppressed and persecuted.

Table 1.2 The timeline of the abomination causing desolation

TEXT	THE INSTIGATOR	THE ABOMINATION CAUSING DESOLATION	THE CONSTANT FEATURE
Daniel 9:27		The Roman armies surrounded Jerusalem in 66 CE and 70 CE.
Daniel 12:11	The wild beast — all the governments of the world in opposition to God’s kingdom	The League of Nations 1920	Ending the constant feature by jailing Bible Students and causing the preaching work to stop.
Daniel 11:31	The king of the north — the German Empire and the Sovjet Union	The United Nations 1945	Ending the constant feature by persecution Jehovah’s Witnesses under and after World War II.
Daniel 8:11	The seventh World power — Anglo-America	The United Nations 1945	Ending the constant feature by persecution Jehovah’s Witnesses under and after World War II.

[1]. Regarding zerōa (“arm, shoulder”) ‘The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew III, page 136, refers to Ezekiel 17:8, Daniel 11:6. 15, 22. 31 as possible meaning “army.”

UNDERSTANDING THE PROPHECY IN DANIEL 8:9-13

The world organization for peace and security appeared as the League of Nations in 1920, and as the United Nations in 1945. The 1,290 days mentioned in Daniel 12:11 relate to the League of Nations. The context of the 2,300 evenings and mornings in Daniel 8:11-14 shows that this prophecy is related to the United Nations. Therefore, the 2,300 evenings and mornings are connected to World War II, not World War I.

I will now identify the parts of the prophecy in Daniel 8:9-13:

⁹ And out of one of them there came forth another horn, a small one, and it kept getting very much greater toward the south and toward the sunrising and toward the Decoration. ¹⁰ And it kept getting greater all the way to the army of the heavens, so that it caused some of the army and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it went trampling them down. ¹¹ And all the way to the Prince of the army it put on great airs, and from him the constant [feature] (hattāmīd) was taken away, and the established place of his sanctuary was thrown down. ¹² And an army itself was gradually given over, together with the constant [feature], because of transgression; and it kept throwing truth to the earth, and it acted and had success. ¹³ And I got to hear a certain holy one speaking, and another holy one proceeded to say to the particular one who was speaking: “How long will the vision be of the constant [feature] (hattāmīd) ¹¹ and of the transgression causing desolation, to make both [the] holy place and [the] army things to trample on?” So he said to me: “Until two thousand three hundred evenings [and] mornings; and [the] holy place will certainly be brought into its right condition.”

IDENTIFYING THE PARTS OF THE PROPHECY

The prophecy as a whole is the sum of all its parts. We need to identify these parts and the actions that are related to them.

 THE HOLY PLACE

The temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in the year 70 CE, and because the prophecies of Daniel would be fulfilled in the time of the end, “the holy place” must refer to the antitype of this temple. This antitype is mentioned in 1 Peter 2:4-10:

⁴ Coming to him as to a living stone, rejected, it is true, by men, but chosen, precious, with God, ⁵ YOU yourselves also as living stones are being built up a spiritual house for the purpose of a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For it is contained in Scripture: “Look! I am laying in Zion a stone, chosen, a foundation cornerstone, precious; and no one exercising faith in it will by any means come to disappointment.”

⁷ It is to YOU, therefore, that he is precious, because YOU are believers; but to those not believing, “the identical stone that the builders rejected has become [the] head of [the] corner,” ⁸ and “a stone of stumbling and a rock-mass of offense.” These are stumbling because they are disobedient to the word. To this very end they were also appointed. ⁹ But YOU are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for special possession, that YOU should declare abroad the excellencies” of the one that called YOU out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ For YOU were once not a people, but are now God’s people; YOU were those who had not been shown mercy, but are now those who have been shown mercy.

The words of Peter refer to several prophetic types that were fulfilled on the anointed Christians to whom he wrote:

• The temple was a prophetic type of the anointed Christians, who were like living stones built into a spiritual house (a spiritual temple).
• The priests in the temple were prophetic types of the anointed Christians who should serve as priests for the world.
• The sacrifices in the temple were prophetic types of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ of spiritual sacrifices, which, according to Hebrews 13:15, are “the fruit of lipswhich make public declaration to his name.” This parallels verse 9: “declare abroad the excellencies of the one that called you out of darkness.” The expression “the constant [feature]” in Daniel 8:13 refers to these spiritual sacrifices.

On the basis of Peter’s words, we better understand that the people of God are called “the holy people” in Daniel 12:7.

THE CONSTANT FEATURE

This refers to the sacrifices that were placed on the altar every day in the temple. The antitype is “the fruit of lips which make public declaration to his name” (Hebrews 13:15), which is a daily feature in the lives of anointed Christians.

THE ARMY — THE STARS

Daniel 8:12 speaks about “the army” and verse 10 speaks of “the stars.” These expressions are synonyms. Deuteronomy 4:19 says:

and that you may not raise your eyes to the heavens and indeed see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the army (tsābā’) of the heavens.

We can see what “the army” and “the stars” refer to in Daniel 12:3:

³ “And the ones having insight will shine like the brightness of the expanse; and those who are bringing the many to righteousness, like the stars to time indefinite, even forever.

Daniel 12:10 shows that “the ones having insight” are those who will understand the book of Daniel in the time of the end. These are called “your people” in 12:1 and “the holy people” in 12:7. And 11:33 says that they “will impart understanding to the many.” This means that both “the army” and “the stars” are figurative expressions for the members of the holy people that exist in the time of the end and who preach the good news of the kingdom.

THE LITTLE HORN

To identify this litle horn, we must study the context with the different symbolic beasts, and particularly the beast on which the litle horn grew. This is outside the scope of this study. So, I only say that I agree with the Watchtower literature that identifies this little horn as the Anglo-American Empire.

IDENTIFYING THE ACTIONS OF THE PROPHECY

The little horn performs the actions, and the text refers to it three times as “it.” The object of the actions is the holy people. They are mentioned collectively as “the holy place” and “his sanctuary,” and the individual members are symbolized as “the army” and as “the stars.”

The little horn caused some of the army and some of the stars to fall to the earth; it threw down his sanctuary. It kept throwing the truth to the earth. The holy place and the army were trampled upon.

Because of the actions of the little horn the constant [feature] was taken away, and there was transgression or rebellion — the transgression causing desolation.

What is described in Danial 8:9-14 is an attack on the holy people. Some of the holy people will fall to the earth, and the holy place that is a prophetic antitype of the holy people as a whole and will be thrown down and will be trampled upon.

THE APPLICATION OF THE PROPHETIC PERIOD OF 2,300 EVENINGS AND MORNINGS

During World War I, there was an attack on Jehovah’s Witnesses, and they were killed after a period of 1,260 days, which means that the organization stopped functioning. The only other situation where the people of God were attacked was during World War II. But the organization was not killed; it was only severely restricted.

Two events occur during the 2,300 evenings and mornings: 1)    The constant feature is taken away. 2)   The transgression (rebellion) causing desolation is performed.

THE BEGINNING OF THE 2,300 EVENINGS AND MORNINGS

The Jewish day began in the evening, and each day had an evening and a morning. This means that 2,300 evenings and mornings are the same as 2,300 days. Regarding the time of the fulfillment of the prophecy, the angel said to Daniel according to 8:17:

¹⁷ “Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of [the] end.”

In my article “Prophetic time periods identify the people of God,” I showed that the 3 1/2 time, 1,290 days, and 1,335 days that are mentioned in Daniel chapter 12 refer to important events in the history of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the time of the end.[1] Because of the words of the angel this is also the case in the fulfillment of the 2,300 days. I quote Daniel 8:13, 14 one more time:

¹³ And I got to hear a certain holy one speaking, and another holy one proceeded to say to the particular one who was speaking: “How long will the vision be of the constant [feature] and of the transgression causing desolation, to make both [the] holy place and [the] army things to trample on?” ¹⁴ So he said to me: “Until two thousand three hundred evenings [and] mornings; and [the] holy place will certainly be brought into its right condition.”

I will first analyze the rendering “be brought into its right condition.” The Hebrew verb is tsādaq, and the nifal stem means “be brought to its justice, justified.” (Koehler and Baumgartner). The Septuagint uses the verb katharizō in the future passive, meaning “will be cleansed.” The rendering “be brought into its right condition” in NWT84 is excellent.

No particular event is mentioned as a beginning of the period of 2,300 evenings and mornings. But because the period ends when the holy place is brought into its right condition, and it was not in the right condition when World War II began due to fierce persecution, it is logical that the period begins when the holy place was last in its right condition.

Shortly before World War II, a major event occurred for Jehovah’s people. The congregations were democratic, and all members voted in the elders of each congregation. This system contradicted the Bible and caused many problems. In June 1938, this changed, and Jehovah’s Witnesses had a theocratic organization from then on.

I quote from The Watchtower of December 1, 1971, page 719:

⁸ In the June 1, 1938, issue of The Watchtower appeared the first part of the article entitled “Organization.” It was thrilling for worshipers at Jehovah’s sanctuary to read these sentences of the opening paragraph: “Jehovah’s organization is in no wise democratic. Jehovah is supreme, and his government or organization is strictly theocratic. This conclusion is not open to successful contradiction.” The June 15, 1938, issue of The Watchtower published the second part of “Organization,” and it set out a resolution for adoption by the congregations of Jehovah’s witnesses, the opening paragraph of which said: “We, the company of God’s people taken out for his name, and now at ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐, recognize that God’s government is a pure theocracy and that Christ Jesus is at the temple and in full charge and control of the visible organization of Jehovah, as well as the invisible.” (Page 182) This called for appointment theocratically, from the top down, for all officiating servants in all congregations.

The articles of June 1 and 15, 1938, marked the time when the Christian organization came into its right condition — it became theocratic

One of the two important events that would occur during the 2,300 evenings of morning was the persecution of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

“THE ARMY ITSELF WAS GIVEN OVER, TOGETHER WITH THE CONSTANT FEATURE”

What is the meaning of the words in the heading from Daniel 8:12? The expression “was given over” is ambiguous. However, verse 10 says that some of the army and some of the stars fell to the earth and were trampled upon, and this must be the meaning of “was given over.” Thus, some of the Christians were “trampled upon” and were persecuted.

There is a contrast between the destiny of the constant sacrifice (tāmīd) in connection with the period of 1,290 days (Daniel 12:11) and the 2,300 evenings and mornings (8:12). At the beginning of the 1,290 days the constant sacrifice was removed (the verb sūr in the hofal stem means “be taken away, removed” BDB). But the constant sacrifice in connection with the 2,300 evenings and mornings was “cast down” (the verb shālak in the hofal stem means “be thrown, thrown down” BDB; Ezekiel 19:12: “thrown to the earth”) and “given over.” And it is not said that it was removed. This shows that the preaching of the kingdom was restricted in this period but not completely stopped.

This situation with persecution and restriction on the preaching work fits what happened with Jehovah’s Witnesses during World War II. The Watchtower of December 1, 1971, included two articles: “Bringing Holy Place Into Right Condition” and “What Its ‘Right Condition’ Means for Us Today.” These are good articles that I use as a basis for the following discussion.

The persecution that Jehovah’s Witnesses experienced during World War II is described in the following way on pages 721 and  222:

¹⁶ The record plainly shows the extent of the wrath of the “king fierce in countenance.” He struck hard against Jehovah’s witnesses worldwide during the dark days of World War II, especially so in countries associated with the British Commonwealth of Nations. On July 4, 1940, the Dominion of Canada, a part of the Commonwealth, banned the work of Jehovah’s witnesses. In that same year New Zealand banned the public declaration of Jehovah’s name. About that same time the work in Gold Coast (Ghana) was banned. From then on the sacrificial “constant feature,” the fruitage of the lips, was indeed interfered with. The work was banned in Australia and Fiji in January of 1941. South Africa, the southernmost country of Africa, took official action against the work in 1941. Bans spread throughout practically all of the British possessions in Africa, including Nigeria on June 17, 1941. The British possessions of Asia also took similar actions. The work was banned in Burma, Ceylon and India in 1941. In 1942 in Great Britain the question of neutrality came to the forefront. When conscription came into force young Christian witnesses of Jehovah refused to engage in war. The British Tribunals hearing the cases convicted 1,593 men and women, sending most of them to prison. Of these, 334 women served prison sentences. This had the effect of taking many active proclaimers from the service of offering the sacrifice of praise to God publicly.

¹⁷ Just a few years before this the Nazi-Fascist-Catholic war drive stampeded throughout Europe. Legal restrictions and imprisonment came upon Jehovah’s witnesses, crushing branch office after branch office of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. The pressure was on to throw down “the established place of his sanctuary.”

¹⁸ In the United States, while the work of Jehovah’s witnesses was not officially banned, there were many attempts made to silence the witnesses. Throughout the then 48 states mob action was employed in many places. To fan the fires of violence and hatred, on June 3, 1940, the Supreme Court of the United States by a decision of 8-1 determined that the flag-salute ceremony was compulsory for citizens of the country. Any schoolchild refusing to perform the act was subject to being expelled from school. Persecution of Jehovah’s witnesses after that ran rampant. On June 16, 1940, the Solicitor General, in a broadcast over a coast-to-coast network of the National Broadcasting Company, said: “Jehovah’s witnesses have been repeatedly set upon and beaten. They had committed no crime; but the mob adjudged they had, and meted out mob punishment. The Attorney General has ordered a immediate investigation of these outrages.” It was not until June 14, 1943, when the Supreme Court of the United States reversed itself in the flag-salute matter that the intense persecution began to subside in the United States.c

¹⁹ It is also very interesting to note that in 1938, the year before the outbreak of World War II, the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society had 39 branches established throughout the earth to give oversight to the work of Jehovah’s witnesses. By 1942 there were some 106,000 witnesses of Jehovah preaching the Kingdom good news around the earth, but the number of branches had dropped to 25. By then the pressures were great and the ban was on in most parts of the earth. The next three years of the most violent war in history saw the persecution against Jehovah’s witnesses further intensified. Because of the banning of the work more branch offices were closed, until by 1943 there were only 21 branch offices operating throughout the world. Jehovah’s witnesses were tenaciously holding fast to their God-given assignment of preaching the good news, but from 1942 when they had 106,000 publishers they only increased by about 4,000 by the end of 1944. Truly the ‘offering of the constant feature’ was restricted.

It is clear that the persecution during World War II did not “kill” the Witnesses (stop their work) as was the case during World War I. But persecution during World War II greatly restricted the Witnesses’ work.

THE TRANSGRESSION (REBELLION) CAUSING DESOLATION

We read in 8:12 that the constant feature (sacrifice) was gradually given over (thrown down) because of transgression (or, rebellion, pæsha‘), and 8:13 speaks of “the transgression (rebellion) causing desolation. I have already discussed this transgression or rebellion, and pointed out that it refers to the attempts of the seventh World power, Anglo-America, to revive the League of Nations during World War II.

In this section, I will say something more about the word “transgression” or “rebellion” and show how “the transgression causing desolation” occurred during World War II and is directly connected to the 2,300 evenings and mornings.

The Hebrew participles ‘shomem and messhomem (“desolating, causing desolation”) occur four times: in Daniel 8:13, 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11; each of these words is preceded by the noun shiqquts (“abomination”). However, in 8:12, ‘shomem is preceded by the noun pæsha‘. This is a verbal noun, which means that verbal action is included in the noun. The meaning of pæsha‘ is “rebellion, revolt, sin, transgression (against human or divine authority).” (Kohlenberger and Mounce).

Which of these meanings or references fit pæsha‘ in 8:13? We get a clue from 8:23:

²³ “And in the final part of their kingdom, as the transgressors (pasha‘) act to a completion, there will stand up a king fierce in countenance and understanding ambiguous sayings.

The verb pāsha‘ in 8:23 is a participle, and NWT84 takes it as “transgressor,” while NIV takes it as “rebels that have become wicked.” Therefore, I take the corresponding noun pæsha‘ in 8:13 with the meaning “transgression or rebellion.” So, I render the Hebrew words happæshsa‘ ‘shomem in 8:13 as “the rebellion that desolates,” alternatively “the transgression that desolates.”

Now we can better understand the relationship between 8:13 and the three other entries in Table 1.2. The words “the rebellion that desolates” point to a rebellion against God that will cause desolation, and 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11 point to the result of the rebellion, namely, the placing or setting up of the abomination causing desolation.

But can we point to events indicating a rebellion that would cause desolation (8:13) during the 2,300 evenings and mornings? At the beginning of World War II, the League of Nations died, and its successor, the United Nations, had not yet appeared on the scene.  But during the war, there were actions that attempted to revive the League of Nations, and I quote The Watchtower of December 1971, page 723:

²² As foretold in Revelation 17:7, 8, that beastly Eighth World Power went into the “abyss” of deathlike inability at the outbreak of World War II. Its chief backer and promoter, the British Empire, was unable to keep it alive in the face of military aggression by Nazism and Fascism backed by Catholic Action.

²³ However, that idolatrous “image” for international worship was not left out of calculation by those who were putting on great airs against the Prince of princes, Jehovah the great Theocrat. On Sunday, December 7, 1941, the American member of the Seventh World Power was forced into World War II alongside the British member of the Anglo-American World Power. Then note what happened with regard to these idolatrous worshipers of a man-made organization for world peace and security. The so-called “Axis Powers” of Nazism, Fascism and Oriental Imperialism were still moving forward aggressively, when a significant event took place on Friday, January 2, 1942. What? According to the Chronology of events of 1942, as published in The Americana Annual “all twenty-six nations at war with the Axis powers pledge themselves not to make a separate armistice or peace and to employ full military or economic resources against the enemy in a ‘Declaration by United Nations’ signed in Washington.”​—Americana Annual for 1943, page 737.

The kingdom of God with Jesus Christ as king was established in 1914, and the holy place was on its way to being brought in its right condition. But instead of accepting God’s kingdom and Jehovah’s holy place, in the middle of World War II, the nations worked to establish a counterfeit of God’s kingdom that resembled the League of Nations. This was clearly a transgression and a rebellion against Jehovah God that eventually would cause desolation.

But that is not all. This “rebellion” continued at the end of the war. The 2,300 evenings and mornings ended on October 8 or October 22, 1944, and immediately after each of these dates, there were attempts to revive the abomination causing desolation, as we see in the quotations below from The Watchtower of December 1, 1971, page 725:

October 9​—United States, Great Britain, Soviet Russia, and China announce decision of Dumbarton Oaks Conference to recommend creation of an international security organization, to be called “The United Nations,” and to be empowered “to take such action by air, naval or land forces as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security.”

October 23​—Acting Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius, Jr., announces official American recognition of the French Provisional Government, raising France to a high place among the United Nations and preparing the way for rapid reconstruction; governments of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and Canada issue similar announcements.​—The Americana Annual for 1945, page 730.

The work of many nations to revive the League of Nations in a new garb, both in the middle of World War II and at the end of the 2.300 evenings and mornings, shows that the nations were guilty of “the transgression (rebellion) causing desolation.”

THE END OF THE 2,300 EVENINGS AND MORNINGS

In June 1938, theocratic leadership was introduced into the organization. During World War II, Jehovah’s Witnesses were persecuted, as I have shown above, and the constant feature, the preaching of the good news about the kingdom was “thrown down” and restricted. During the war, the leaders of the Watchtower Society marked a theocratic milestone as the end of the 2,300 evenings and mornings.

The theocratic milestone in 1938 of making the organization theocratic was related to two articles in the Watchtower of June 1 and 15, 1938. The interpretation of the 2,300 mornings and evenings is that either of the two dates, June 1 and 15, 1938, could be the starting point. The calculation of the 2,300 evenings and mornings is found in Watchtower of December 1, 1971, page 725:

²⁹ Remember, this is a prophetic period. So a prophetic year of 360 days is involved. (Rev. 11:2, 3; 12:6, 14) So 2,300 days would amount to six lunar years, four lunar months and twenty days. That amount of time counted from Sivan 2 (June 1), 1938, would end on Tishri 21 (October 8), 1944, or, counted from Sivan 16 (June 15), 1938, it would end on Heshvan 5 (October 22), 1944.

The fulfillment of the 2,300 evenings and mornings is particularly connected with the annual meeting ofthe Watchtower Society on October 2, 1944, when resolutions laid the foundation for amending some points in the charter of The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, in line with the theocratic principles that were accepted in June 1938. I quote from the Watchtower of December 1, 1971, page 726:

³¹ On September 30 through October 2, 1944, a special Service and business Assembly was held at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., where the registered offices of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society are located. On the opening day the Society’s president addressed the gathering of 5,000 on the subject “The Theocratic Alignment Today.” The following day the public address was on the subject “One World, One Government.” The Society’s annual business meeting was postponed from this day to the next day, Monday, October 2. This business meeting, which began at 10 a.m. was noteworthy. How so?

³² After the Society’s directors and its officers were elected by the shareholders there represented, consideration was directed to six amendments that were proposed for the Charter of the Society, which was a Pennsylvania corporation incorporated sixty years earlier, in the year 1884. These would amend Articles 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10. The first amendment resolution that was adopted proposed the enlarging of the purposes of the Society so as to assume properly the great worldwide work that lay ahead. Also, this amendment put God’s name, Jehovah, into the Charter. Amendment Three did away with the original charter’s provision that fixed one’s membership in the Society on the basis of one’s money contributions to the Society; henceforth the membership was to be limited to not more than 500, all of whom were to be chosen on the basis of their active service to Jehovah. As the Watchtower issue of November 1, 1944, said in its report: “This amendment will have the effect of bringing the charter as near to Theocratic arrangement as the law of the land permits.” All six amendment resolutions were adopted.

Different actions indicating that the holy place — the anointed followers of Jesus Christ — was brought into its right condition are found in the quoted article.

There are two possible calculations of the 2,300 evenings and mornings: From June 1, 1938, to October 8, 1944. From June 15, 1938, to October 22, 1944.

Many people will find it strange that a prophetic period in the Bible should be fulfilled based on articles in The Watchtower. How can we view this? We must remember that the articles themselves are not important, but the theocratic progress they mention and the resolutions of the annual meeting in 1944 point to very important actions

To see the logic more clearly, we should consider the expression “the holy place.” In the time of the end there was no literal “holy place,” no holy temple. But as I have shown, the anointed members of the holy people are “the holy place.” Therefore, the prophetic time periods mentioned in Daniel and Revelation must be fulfilled by important events in the history of the holy people, which are Jehovah’s Witnesses.

 

[1]. https://mybelovedreligion.no/2024/10/16/prophetic-time-periods-identify-the-people-of-god/