The prophecies in Daniel intrigue me.
I noticed Daniel 8 includes another number: 2300 days. In this case, because it's convenient for WTBTS to do so, they take this number literally, unlike most other numbers in the Bible that are for "days" (where they use the day-for-a-year rule). However, their explanation is just bizarre:
Daniel's Prophecy p. 177-178 par. 26:
Quote:
26 For “the holy place” to be “brought,” or restored, to what it should be, the 2,300 days must have begun when it previously was in the “right condition” from God’s standpoint. At the earliest, this was on June 1, 1938, when The Watchtower published part 1 of the article “Organization.” Part 2 appeared in the issue of June 15, 1938. Counting 2,300 days (6 years, 4 months, and 20 days on the Hebrew calendar) from June 1 or 15, 1938, brings us to October 8 or 22, 1944. On the first day of a special assembly held at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., on September 30 and October 1, 1944, the Watch Tower Society’s president spoke on the subject “The Theocratic Alignment Today.” At the annual corporate meeting on October 2, the Society’s charter was amended in an effort to bring it as close to a theocratic arrangement as the law would allow. With the publication of clarified Biblical requirements, theocratic organization was soon more fully installed in the congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Notice the following:
Quote:
For “the holy place” to be “brought,” or restored, to what it should be, the 2,300 days must have begun when it previously was in the “right condition” from God’s standpoint.
Say what? According to Daniel 8:13, the question was: "How long will the vision of the constant feature and of the transgression causing desolation continue, to make both the holy place and the army things to trample on?" What was Daniel referring to? Verse 11 clues us in: "It exalted itself even against the Prince of the army, and from him the constant feature was taken away, and the established place of his sanctuary was thrown down."
Now, every time this "constant feature" is discussed, it refers to when Christ was put to death, and thus the daily sacrificed ended. But not here. In this instances, WTBTS moves it, perhaps unwittingly, all the way up to June 1 or June 15, 1938. Very interesting.
But even more interesting is what they are saying without saying it. Are they actually saying here that from June 1 or 15, 1938 through October 8 or 22, 1944, the organization was trampled on and not in "the right condition"?
Something more in this prophecy. In verses 23-25, speaking of a king who is "fierce-looking", it says of him:
“And in the final part of their kingdom, as the transgressors act to a completion, a fierce-looking king who understands ambiguous sayings will stand up. 24 His power will become great, but not through his own power. He will bring ruin in an extraordinary way, and he will be successful and act effectively. He will bring mighty ones to ruin, also the people made up of the holy ones. 25 And by his cunning he will use deception to succeed; and in his heart he will exalt himself; and during a time of security he will bring many to ruin. He will even stand up against the Prince of princes, but he will be broken without human hand.So, this "king" will understand ambiguous sayings. WTBTS has never addressed this phrase. However, it is interesting that WTBTS claims to know what all these prophecies mean, no matter how ambiguous.
Also, notice "during a time of security he will bring many to ruin". This is interesting because the Hebrew word, shalvah (Strong's 7692) means ease, complacency, quietness, prosperity, time of tranquility. A literal reading says "and by peace shall destroy many". I wonder, have translators taken too much liberty with this one to make it say "during a time of security" or "during a time of peace"? It would seem oxymoronic to say that many are destroyed by peace, but that's exactly what it seems to say here (or, perhaps "by complacency many are destroyed". I find this phrase interesting.