Daniel 8 [with some comments added in brackets]

8 Therefore the he goat waxed very great[ ALEXANDER THE
GREAT]: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken
[DIED AT 33 YEARS OLD IN 323 BC]; and for it came up four
notable ones toward the four winds of heaven. [FOUR GENERALS
OF ALEXANDER SPLIT HIS KINGDOM UP]
  9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which
waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the
east, and toward the pleasant land. [SOUTHERN REGION FOUGHT
FOR BY PTOLOMY LAGIDNES  - HE TOOK JERUSALEM IN 320 BC BY
DECEIT ON PRETENSE OF COMING FOR SABBATH SACRIFICE - DURING
THE OFFICE OF Onias I THE HIGH PRIEST]
  10 And it waxed great [DECLARED HIMSELF KING PTOLOMY SOTER
{"SAVIOUR"} IN 305 BC], 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. [MOVED EGYPTIAN CAPITAL TO
ALEXANDRIA; BROUGHT PLUTO STATUE TO EGYPT - MORE INFO HERE
http://sannion.livejournal.com/494501.html]
  11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the
host, and by him [OVER TIME BY HIS GRANDSON Ptolemy IV
Philopator CAUSES OUTRAGES AT THE JEWISH TEMPLE ACCORDING TO
3 MACCABEES - DESTRUCTION AS HE AND SCOPUS FIGHT OVER CITY]
the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of the
sanctuary was cast down.
  12 And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice
by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to
the ground; and it practised, and prospered. [JEWISH HIGH
PRIEST SIMON 1, AKA "SIMON THE JUST" DIES *MORE BELOW]
  13 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 sacrifice, and the transgression
of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be
trodden under foot?
  14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three
hundred days [2,300 DAYS]; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.



Let's assume 2,300 DAYS = 2,300 YEARS.  When do they start
and when do they stop? The Millerites got into a lot of
trouble assuming that the 2,300 ran at the same time as
Daniel's 70 weeks - they added 2,300 to 445 BC and assumed
Jesus would return in the 1850's. They've been confused ever
since.

But, just to look at this again from a different angle,
let's propose that the time of 2,300 years runs from the
death of this Simon the Just the High priest - he is a
rather interesting character.

Some information on him from the Jewish Encyclopaedia:

During Simeon's administration seven miracles are said to
have taken place. A blessing rested (1) on the offering of
the first-fruits, (2) on the two sacrificial loaves, and (3)
on the loaves of showbread, in that, although each priest
received a portion no larger than an olive, he ate and was
satiated without even consuming the whole of it; (4) the lot
cast for God (see Lev. xvi. 8) always came into the right
hand; (5) the red thread around the neck of the ram
invariably became white on the Day of Atonement; (6) the
light in the Temple never failed; and (7) the fire on the
altar required but little wood to keep it burning (Yoma 39b;
Men. 109b; Yer. Yoma vi. 3). Simeon is said to have held
office for forty years (Yoma 9a; Yer. Yoma i. 1, v. 2; Lev.
R. xxi.). On a certain Day of Atonement he came from the
Holy of Holies in a melancholy mood, and when asked the
reason, he replied that on every Day of Atonement a figure
clothed in white had ushered him into the Holy of Holies and
then had escorted him out. This time, however, the
apparition had been clothed in black and had conducted him
in, but had not led him out—a sign that that year was to be
his last. He is said to have died seven days later (Yoma
39b; Tosef., Soá¹­ah, xv.; Yer. Yoma v. 1).
[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=752&letter=S]



See also this info on pages 11-12 of Humphrey Prideaux's work:
http://books.google.com/books?id=r5c5yDLwnu8C&pg=PA12&lpg=PA12&dq=Simon+the+Just,+high+priest&source=web&ots=OPJBHwNkae&sig=CL9zIeV1ple5s-3v1rT1QYFiclQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=3&ct=result#PPA11,M1

And see this too William Smith's Bible Dictonary p 389:
http://books.google.com/books?id=YpBJAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA389&lpg=PA389&dq=+ptolemy+soter+jerusalem&source=web&ots=ayWyStttPj&sig=ulZZoUQOAs0phtpViGMf1t1H_uo&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result#PPA389,M1



So by all accounts this High Priest is obviously a very
special one, even miraculous, and his death must have marked
a very special event - given these signs accompanying. And
he lived during the period indicated by Daniel's prophesy
that we are looking at - trying to discover when the 2,300
days begin.

Another interesting note says this High Priest was so
special that it was written that, "After Simeon's death men
ceased to utter the Tetragrammaton aloud" (Yoma 30b; Tosef,
Soá¹­ah, xiii.).

And he is considered by the Jews as the last member of the
"Great Synagogue" - those who had true succession from the
Prophets.
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=1214&letter=S&search=Great%20Synagogue


His tomb is on the road to the Mount of Olives:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_Simeon_the_Just


So when did he die?? I'm not sure.

Two dates are given - either 270 BC or 291 BC. To add 2,300
years we add one extra year because there is no year "0" in
the switch from BC to AD:

270 BC + 2,301 = 2031 AD
or
291 BC + 2,301 = 2010 AD

I would like to hope it is year 2010, but year 2031 actually
makes more sense. That is because it would truly be "two
days" (two thousand years) after Christ's death and
resurrection in (presumably) 31 AD. ("After two days will he
revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we
shall live in his sight." Hosea 6:2).

So I think we have about 20 years left - with the final 7 to
10 being tribulation. That would schedule the rapture in
about 13 to 16 years away from now.

Or maybe not? Just something to think about:

"And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten
pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come."  Luke 19:13


~ M.