1) Latter Days and End Time

God that made the world and all things therein.. has determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; (Acts 17:26)

In the Bible there are many predictions relating to the 'end time' or 'last days', or 'latter days'. All these terms refer to a period of time preceding the open revealing of the power of the God of Israel, Yahweh, to the nations. We must be wary, however, as the God of Israel's judgements on ancient Israel and Judah resulted in a few 'end times', or 'last days', of the Jewish nation.

The phrase 'last day' always refers to the resurrection and the judgement (John 6:39,40, 44, 54, 7:37, 11:24). There is one reference to 'latter day'

For I know that my redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: Job 19:25

The redeemer elsewhere refers to Yahweh (Isaiah 43:14), so Job here says Yahweh will stand on the earth at this 'latter day'. Again this speaks of the open revealing of the power of God on earth.

The Bible is written with simple words. It needs to be approached with the simplicity of the words, but also with deductive intelligence. Isaiah condemns those in Israel who refused to read the vision saying it is sealed and can't be understood!

the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he says, I cannot; for it is sealed: (Isaiah 29:11)

Therefore what is to occur in the 'last days' can be understood. Fullness of comprehension, of course, will come when it is fulfilled.

In addition, we have been given some specific time periods, so that not only are we told what is going to happen, we have a reasonable idea of when it is going to happen. We are not told the exact hour or the day, or even the month of the 'last day', but we are given a general time period.

To understand the time periods related to Bible prophecy, passages need to be put together and a bit of history added.

That the times appointed can be understood is shown by those who have examined them in the past. A famous example is Isaac Newton. Recently many of his documents have been released. Newton shows he is familiar with other's understanding of the time periods in Daniel. He knew Joseph Mede, who thought that the 1260 years prophecy of Daniel 7 began in 476AD and would therefore end in 1736 with the establishment of the Millenium. William Lloyd had made a public announcement for the 1260 years to end in 1716, which clearly had passed by the time Newton wrote the following.

So then the time times & half a time are 42 months or 1260 days or three years & an half, recconing twelve months to a yeare & 30 days to a month as was done in the Calendar of the primitive year. And the days of short lived Beasts being put for the years of (long) lived kingdoms, the period of 1260 days, if dated from the complete conquest of the three kings A.C. 800, will end A.C. 2060. It may end later, but I see no reason for its ending sooner. This I mention not to assert when the time of the end shall be, but to put a stop to the rash conjectures of fancifull men who are frequently predicting the time of the end, & by doing so bring the sacred prophesies into discredit as often as their predictions fail. Christ comes as a thief in the night, & it is not for us to know the times & seasons wch God hath put into his own breast. (Newton, Yahuda MS 7.3 Fragments on the rise of the papacy, with draft fragments on Revelation)

We note two things. Newton wrote 'if dated' as if making a scientific proposition, and he notes it is the 'complete conquest', indicating that he knew his start date is the end of an era.

Newton examined the time periods of the Bible and postulated many start dates and never settled on an end date. For the 1260 period of Daniel 7 ending with coming of the Kingdom, he suggested start dates of 609, 774, 788 and 841 A.D (Cambridge University Library MS. Add. 9597). Newton wrote regarding 774 “the Pope gained his temporal Estate dominion by the grant of Charles the great & thereby became a king” (Keynes MS 5). Adding 1260 to 609 and 774AD gives 1869 and 2034. Newton wrote confidently of start dates but did not generally write down the end dates, as if unsure. In Newton's day (he died in 1727) nobody could see the end of the Papacy's dominance. He knew it was not for him to know the times. He looked to the time when the wise would understand (Daniel 12:10). However, by thinking about the times appointed Newton affirmed that he valued the political reality of the revelation given in the Bible and waited for its fulfilment.

2) It was not for the Apostles to Know the Times of the Return

The Apostles were expecting that Yeshua (Jesus) would right then and there in 31AD begin the kingdom, however, he was leaving for a long time.

When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, “Lord, will you at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?”

And he said unto them, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in his own power. But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth”. (Acts 1:6-8)

This does not say no-one is to know when the kingdom will come, rather that the apostles would not know its beginning. Note the specific question they ask is “will you at this time”, or in other words, “is it now?” Yeshua says the disciples are to be witnesses unto the end of the earth. In other words they will die before the kingdom. They will not see the time, it is therefore not for them to know the time of the return.

However, they preached about another time and season, which some of them did live to see. It is recorded in three gospel records, Matthew, Mark and Luke and it is repeated twice in Matthew.

This Generation to AD70

The disciples were told about a 'time and season', which they did preach as coming soon: that of the end of the Jewish presence in Jerusalem.

Behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you (Jerusalem) may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth,..

Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that kill the prophets, and stones them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together,..and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. (Matthew 23:34-39)

And again,

Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. But of that day and hour knows no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. (Matthew 24:34-36)

The Jewish ruling class, (the “heavens”) and the people (the “earth”) were totally removed by 70AD, with the last stand at Masada in 73AD. The disciples were told that though they would not know the exact day or hour, they could know for certain it was within their generation.

Peter, who knew he was not to be alive to see the kingdom, writes “the end of all things is at hand” (1Peter 4:7). As he wrote between 60 and 65AD, it is likely he meant the end of Jewish rule. Peter wrote,

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? (1Peter 4:17)

Peter could see that the generation was soon to be finished and the “house of God” was to be judged as Yeshua had told him,

Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: (Matthew 24:29)

After the time of tribulation Peter and his generation experienced, the political “sun” in Jerusalem was extinguished and the religious “moon” was darkened with the end of the temple worship. It is this day when the sun would be darkened that is called “the day of the Lord” by Peter,

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens (Jewish rulers) shall pass away with a great noise (tumult), and the elements (the laws) shall melt with fervent heat, the earth (people) also and the works that are therein shall be burned up . (2Peter 3:10)

The end of Jerusalem in 70 AD was God's judgement and “the day of the Lord”. The leadership “passed away” with a great noise of war and all the people and their works were literally “burned up” in the fire. There will be another day when the non-Jewish ruling class or “heavens” shall pass away, but it was to first affect the 'house of God', the temple at Jerusalem (see Matthew 12:4, Hebrews 10:21), and the Jewish “heavens”.

Paul's letter to the Thessalonians shows the knowledge that “the day of the Lord” was coming in their day was well understood,

But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them ..and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. (1Thess. 5:1-4).

From Yeshua's words at Olivet, this 'sudden destruction' is on Judea, and this 'day of the Lord' is one of judgement not redemption. True believers escape but are not removed. In the lead up to the destruction of Jerusalem the Jews gained a victory in 66AD and in the confusion of the year of four Emperors at the death of Nero they achieved peace and safety, briefly. Paul describes the events in Judea of 66-73AD.

3) The latter days of the nations

The“day of the Lord” was the judgement on Jerusalem, on those who cried, “His blood be on us, and on our children” (Mat 27:25) which occurred in AD 70. This 'day of the Lord' was brought about by,

“the people of the commander that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined” (Daniel 9:26).

The 'people of the Commander' were the Romans, just as Nebuchnezzar was the servant of Yahweh (Jeremiah 27:6). Mark and Matthew's record of the Olivet prophecy focuses on this dreadful day, but Luke's record focuses more on events after that. Yeshua saw a period of down-treading of Jerusalem “until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:24). When these times are fulfilled the latter days have already begun.

Ezekiel says in “the latter days” Israel will exist as a nation.

And thou (Gog) shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days... . (Ezekiel 38:16)

Jeremiah further enlarges on this,

For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it. .. Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble; but he shall be saved out of it. For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them. (Jeremiah 30:3-9)

Daniel revealed,

But there is a God in heaven that reveals secrets, and makes known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days; (Dan 2:28)

The vision covers time until the image stands with kings who are partly weak and partly strong.

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. (Daniel 2:44)

Therefore the latter days refers to the era just before the establishment of God's kingdom on earth. Daniel is told also what would happen to Israel,

Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days. (Daniel 10:14)

Daniel is then given a history of the king of the South and the king of the North until the time Michael– meaning 'One like God (El- Mighty One)' comes in a 'time of trouble' to deliver his people. Hosea adds,

For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days. (Hos 3:4-5)

Since 1948 there is a nation of Israel. They do not, as their neighbour Jordan, have a king. They also don't have a temple or the sacrifices as they had at the return of the captivity from Babylon. This prophecy says that they shall be like this for 'many days'. These are the latter days.

Why we won't know the exact date of 'the last day'

The 'latter days' is an era of time. The 'last day' is a specific day. The length of time of the prophecy is often quite clear, however, the exact start date may not be obvious. In other cases the prophetic period is expressed in terms of “times and seasons”, so firstly it must be determined what is precisely meant. Another issue is that an event in history is very rarely encapsulated in one date or day. A point that should be made is that prophecy is written so it is seen as if looking through a telescope, the end always seems close.

So the dates in the work following must be understood as a speculation based on the best knowledge now. The future may reveal more.

4) Daniel 8: the 2,300 years

Daniel is given a vision he does not understand of a ram and a goat with a horn that becomes 4 horns. (Horns signify rulership as in a herd of goats, horns are used to estabish leadership). Then from one of those 4 horns,

came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land (Israel). And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.

Yea, he magnified even to the prince of the host,and by him the daily was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. And an host was given him against the daily by reason of transgression, and

it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered. 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, 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 evening / morning;...

then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. (Dan 8:9-14)

Normally 2300 days is a short period of 6.38 years, yet Daniel is told,

The vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days. (Daniel 8:26).

This indicates that the start time of the vision of the evening/ morning would be a long time in the future. A period of a mere 6.38 years of being 'trodden under' after a long time in the future is hardly worthy of comment, and it doesn't match a long period of trial. The 2300 days is therefore 2300 prophetic days (as Ezekiel 4:6 shows) which is 2300 years. They are years of sorrow as evening/ morning indicates a 'night'. The 'night' where the 'little horn' stamps on Daniel's people.

The 'vision' of the 2300 days is not the whole but only one part of what Daniel saw. Daniel was told the 'ram' he saw was the Persian Empire. This came into existence in Daniel's day, so it was not many 'days' (years) away. The 'goat' (Grecia) that takes on the 'ram'(Persia) is not the focus, but just one part of it- the 'little horn' that comes up is the focus. Note how the goat is introduced and within one verse it is fully described, however half the chapter is devoted to what the 'little horn' does.

In addition the 'vision' features 3 things: 1. the entity that takes away the daily, 2 the entity that causes desolation due to transgression and 3. the entity that treads the sanctuary (or holy) underfoot. From the time the entity is little to the time it waxes great until the end of its treading underfoot is 2300 years.

Some have thought to date the 'vision' from the coming of the goat with the great horn, that is Alexander of Macedon. He steps onto the scene 333BC with the success in the battle of Issus. Adding 2300 years gives 1967. This seems quite neat, being the end of the nations' rule of Jerusalem which occurred in 1967. However our calendar is not right.

From 1BC to 1AD there was a year lost as there was no year zero. So we could date the 2300 years from the year Alexander fought Tyre and Gaza in 332BC. But this is still not right.

In 525AD the Scythian scholar Dionysius Exiguus when making Easter tables for Pope John I, first dated events from the birth of the Lord, which he made the year 1. The scholar made a major error. As they used Roman numerals and zero was not used in mathematics, Dionysius missed out the twelve months of year 0 by starting at year 1. But the real error was that Dionysius calculated Christ's birth as 4 years after the death of King Herod! Historians agree Jesus was born between 6 and 4 BC. Therefore the 2nd millennium since the birth was in 1996 or 1997, not the year 2000.

Diagram showing the 4 lost years about the Gregian year 'AD'

Due to this fact being agreed, to find the number of years that have elapsed from an event in 333BC to a year in the in Gregorian calendar we must add 4 years. So the battle of Issus dated 333BC was 337 years before the Gregorian year 'AD' and the battle for Tyre in the following year was 336 years before the Gregorian year 'AD'. From those dates adding 2300 years comes to 1963 or 1964, years of no particular distinction.

The latest date for Alexander's campaigns relating to the Middle East is 329BC when he finishes his conquest of the Persians, that is when the Persian 'ram' has been 'cast to the ground and stamped on'. This is 333 years before our year AD, and 2300 years later is 1967. Interestingly, Alexander dies in Babylon in 323BC, which is 327 before Christ. Adding 2300 years to 327BC comes to the common year 1973, the year of the Yom Kippur war, the last war fought over the holy land. The start of the vision period is therefore when Alexander has finished his work. This opens the way for the 4 horns and the little horn that comes from one of them.

However, the prophecy requires that at the end of of the 2300 year period the sanctuary, or holy, be made righteous (as the word cleansed means).

There have now been many years since 1973 and the holy people have not been made righteous. If the start of the period is from when the 4 horns emerge, which is 301BC then the 2300 ends in 1985, a year of little significance.

What if the 2300 was dated from the emergence of the Roman power from the Macedonian/Greek horn? We note that by 301BC that Rome had already begun to rise. See table (The adjusted date takes into account the 4 years lost at AD. Greek events are shown in italics)

Year	Event	Adjusted	End Date
343 -341	First Roman war of expansion	347-345	1953-55
338	Latin war ends with states accepting Rome's rule. Historians date this as the start of Rome's rise	342	1958 -Parliament moves to Jerusalem (1957 treaty of Rome)
337	Plebian's rule in Roman senate	341	1959
334	Alexander battles Persians-Granicus	338	1962
333	Battle of Issus :Alexander arrives	337	1963
	The Prophecy Begins
330	Revolt quelled and City of Fondi added. Via Appia, began 312 BC, road from Rome to south Italy	334 316	1966 1984
329	Alexander's final conquest of Persians HERE the “ram” is dead!	333	1967
327-321 320-319	2nd Samnite war Rome declared war on the Greek city of Naples,	331-325 324-323	1969-(1973)-1975 1976-1977
323	Death of Alexander NOW the 4 “horns” begin	327	1973
301	4 generals divide up Alexander's Empire after battle Ipsus	305	1985 (Israel ends war with Lebanon)
307	Macedon:King”the besieger”	311	1989
311-304	Rome: war & diplomacy to gain allies to overcome the Samnites.	315-308	1985-1992 (intifada 1987/88 -91/93)
294	The Besieger and son Antigonus II conquer Athens and Greece. Antigonus II uses cunning dividing to rule with tyrants- leading to an easy capture later by Rome	298	2002 (battle for Jenin 2nd intifada 2002-6)
287	Rome Patrician/plebian aristocracy	291	2009
279	Death Ptolomy K King of Macedon Rome Battle of Asculum, Phyrrhic victory (Greekvirtual loss to Rome)	283	2017
277	AntigonusII takes over as King of Macedon after defeating Gauls	281	2019
275-273 270 275-271	End Phyrrhic war. 273 Rome's first colony built. Romanization of Greek Paestum. By 270 controlled Greeks in Italy & ruled all of Italy . Antiochus I overruns Judea	279-277 274	2021-2023 2026 2021-2025
260- 253	Antiochus II theos & Antigonus II 2nd Syrian war against Ptolomy	264-257	2036-2041
264- 254-241	Rome First punic war- 5 Greek cities join Rome (254)-end war	268-258 245	2032-2042 2055
168	Greece conquered by Rome Maccabean revolt from Antiochus Rome takes over from Antiochus	172	2128

We note there are many dates. But we see early, in 294BC, the emergence of a small power (or prophetic 'horn' as the horn of an ram or goat is used to establish its dominance).

Antigonus II who rules Macedon and who expands his empire, was a grandson of Antigonus, a general of Alexander (but not of the 4). Antigonus, after Alexander's death, claimed authority over Susa and Babylon. Antigonus was opposed by the four generals Cassander (son of Antipater the regent of Alexander's empire), Seleucus, Ptolemy and Lysimachus. Antigonus was defeated in 301BC, but his son Demetrius called 'the destroyer' survived and married Phila the sister of Cassander and daughter of Antipater (In 307 Demetrius was elevated to a tutelary deity by the Athenians and surnamed 'saviour' and in 294BC he killed the son of Cassander and assumed his role as one of the 4 horns). From this union of the descendants of Antigonus and Antipater comes Antigonus II.

Antigonus II, in effect, prepares Greece for the Roman takeover. He also defeats Rome's enemies. His reign is in parallel to the development of Rome and shares its character, the two powers together in the region later become one Greco/Roman power.

Returning to the passage to combine the information and the history:

The ram which thou saw having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia (one higher than the other, the higher came up last. And the ram pushing westward, Northward and Southward.. and he became great).

And the rough goat (came from the West) is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king (Alexander 336AD-). (he was moved with choler and smote the ram, and brake his two horns and set out to conquer the Achaemenid Persian Empire defeating Darius III in 333BC : and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, (conquering Persian territory in Egypt where he was proclaimed son of Zeus) and stamped upon him (returning to battle with Darius for Babylon and Susa: then capturing the Persian gates Persepolis and burning the palace of Xerxes) and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand (Alexander pursued Darius again but Darius was captured by his own kinsman, who killed him). The he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; (suddenly dying in Babylon 232BC)

Now that being broken, (for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven) whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power (after Ipsus 301BC Cassander [Grecian] , Seleucus [Persia], Ptolemy [Egyptian]and Lysimachus.).

In the next section we can see Daniel's concern, or why he fainted.

(out of one of them (the Grecian 4th) came forth a little horn (Rome), which waxed exceeding great, toward the south (Carthage in the Punic wars), and toward the east (Absorbing Antiochus and the Seleucid Empire), and toward the pleasant land, (Judea-Israel) And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven (Caesar); and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them (in conquering the holy). (Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down (in AD 70). And an host was given him (The Roman take over of Judea prospered) against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression (The ruling Jews had said let “his blood be upon us and our children”), and it cast down the truth to the ground (persecution of those that believed in Messiah); and it practised, and prospered.) (Rome prospered to become even greater, and this was taken over by Constantine)

And in the latter time of their (the little horn of the Grecian 'goat') kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full (of those who pervert the word of God who came out of but were not of the servants), king of fierce (strong) countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up (Constantine 'stood up' using oratory and his father's exploits after 306. In 310 he proclaimed he was descended from Emperor Claudius II as a hereditary king. He said he had seen vision of Apollo and Victory granting him laurel wreath, a saviour who would rule the world, as the poet Virgil foretold). And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power (he favoured the Christian Church who supported him): and he shall destroy wonderfully (Constantine claimed he saw visions, one to mark the sign of the cross on the shields in battle another of the cross in the sun, and another to make standards with the cross) and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people (He destroyed those who did not abide by the orthodoxy, upholding the Roman Church, warring against the Donatists. In 325 he summoned the Council of Nicaea, the first Ecumenical Council to defeat the 'heresy of Arianism' and he restricted the freedom of Jews prevented conversion to Judaism). And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand (He used propaganda); and he shall magnify himself in his heart (to determine the beliefs of Christianity), and by peace shall destroy many (his policy of conciliation to Christianity): he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes (He became an Anti-Christ); but he shall be broken without hand (Constantine died of sickness before he could go into battle against Persia- his successor will also be destroyed suddenly). (Daniel 8:20-25)

The 'king' in this passage is not a single king- Constantine was the first of many, as many others modelled themselves on him. He is credited with beginning the Holy Roman Empire, and no less than 10 emperors were called the 'new Constantine'. Charlemange used images of Constantine to imply he was his successor. The end of the little horn is the same as the end of the vision in Daniel 2, when the image is destroyed by the stone cut 'without hands'. This indicates that the 'king' is not destroyed finally until the return of Messiah.

Downtreading the Holy

The 'little horn' that Daniel sees arises attacks and stamps on the sanctuary. Alexander does not downtread the sanctuary or the holy land. He 'stamps upon' the Medo-Persian 'ram' (three times). He demolishes Tyre according to prophecy and also Gaza. However, according to Josephus when he comes to Jerusalem he is met by the high Priest and a company of priests who showed him the prophecies of Daniel predicting the rise and fall of the Persian Empire. Alexander therefore does not destroy Jerusalem. And it seems he did not devastate the Holy Land (Tyre and Gaza were not part of the Holy Land).

However, in the struggle for control of the empire one power in particular does down-tread the holy people. It does not emerge at first. The first of the 4 generals to occupy Judea was Ptolemy in 318BC. He did not fight to gain Judea, but rather became a protector ruler. He withdrew in 313BC rather than fight to retain it. He moves back in the next year when others defeat Antigonus, who had made a claim to the area, but withdrew again. He repeats this in 302BC. After Antigonus is defeated in 301BC and the 4 generals call themselves kings, one of the 4, Seleucus, though he was assigned Judea in the break up of the empire, he initially accepts that Ptolemy occupies Judea as he focuses on Babylon.

This does not last, the Selucid Antiochus 1 (surnamed 'saviour' who marries Antigonus' grand-daughter) reasserts their claim to Judea in 275BC and in a rapid advance overran Judea. This began the first Syrian war against Ptolomy II who reconquered the area by 271BC. Whereas the Ptolomies seem to have accepted local customs, the Selucid Antiochus promoted a the Greek (Hellenic) culture and sought to rule by enforcing his culture on all his subjects.

Antiochus II unites with Antigonus II (both descendants of Alexander's general Antigonus, who until the 4 stood up claimed all Alexander's empire). They also represented two 'horns', Antiochus from Seleucus who controlled the Persian part and Antigonus from Cassander who controlled the Greek part. Together in 260-1BC they take on Ptolomy II pushing his area of influence back towards Egypt. Antiochus II accepts the surname Theos or 'god'. His Selucid kingdom had a Greek character.

After beginning a campaign for Judea 223BC Antiochus III finally gains control of Jerusalem and Judea from Ptolomy V in 198BC. Antiochus assumed the title Basileus Megas (Greek for Great King). Some Jews denied their heritage and became Hellenized. When Antiochus Epiphanies came to power he sought to turn Jerusalem into a Greek city, and the Jews revolted. In revenge in 167BC he executed the leaders and Jewish sacrifice and feasts were forbidden, circumcision and ownership of the scriptures outlawed. Altars to Greek gods were set up in the city and Zeus was placed on the altar of the Temple. But by 168BC Antiochus Epiphanies was attacked by the Maccabeans in Judea and was held back from Egypt by the Romans, who at this point stepped in as the power of the region. In 165BC the Maccabees ritually cleansed the temple and by 152 BC had won control. This relative Jewish autonomy (self rule) lasted until 63 BC, when Pompey the Roman general captured Jerusalem and instituted Roman rule.

The vision speaks quite clearly of the little horn that would do these things coming from the goat, identified as Grecia. Rome did not start as the little horn, this was Antigonus II whose father had replaced the general Cassander (who he murdered). As Rome grew it absorbed the Greek states on Italian soil, then absorbed Greece and so came out of that 'horn'. At the same time Rome took on the role of Antiochus, for Rome took the Greek culture wherever it went.

The most famous event marking the change from Greek dominance to Roman dominance is the battle of Asculum in 279(283)BC. An early date for the cleansing of the sanctuary is therefore 2017 (being 2300-283). By 270(274) BC Rome had united Italy and was ready to begin conquest. By 264(268) BC Rome had clearly emerged as the power in the region having absorbed the Greek character of the 'goat' and grown as a 'horn'. The latest date for the cleansing of the sanctuary is therefore the 2300 years minus the 268 years which elapsed before the common era, which equals the common year 2032.

If dated from the beginning Judea's down treading, when the Selucid Antiochus 1 claimed Judea in a rapid advance in 271(275)BC, adding 2300 years gives 2021.

What if there is a period of time as the start to a period of the end?

After 2300 years the Holy is made righteous

After the end of the 2300 years the sanctuary shall be cleansed. However this is not about the physical temple as the word sanctuary (קדשׁ qôdesh) could also be translated 'Holy' or 'saints'. The word cleansed (צדק tsâdaq) is 'made right' or 'righteous'. After the end of 2300 years literally Daniel is told “and be-made-right(eous) saints”. Compare Ezekiel,

For I will .. gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean;.. will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:24-26)

With regards to the people of Daniel this process began again in the mid 1960's with the revival of Messianic Judaism, with the years 1973-75 marking a name change and a renewed vigour. Since 2007 they are beginning to make a mark in Israel itself. Also since 2004 there has been an increase of Jews searching the Hebrew scriptures in Israel.

The start of the 2300 years to the cleansing may not be a date but a period where the 'horn' of Rome grows. It could not be a little horn from one of the 4 horns, until after Alexander's death. The period of the end of the 2300 years starts therefore after 1973. The end of this period dated from the emergence of a little horn from one of the 4 horns (that of the Greek/Antigonus II) should be 2017- 2019. Dated from the emergence of Rome 2017, 2021/3 or 2032.

To continue Times Appointed Part 2

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