The fundamental pillar of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is the sanctuary doctrine, “a key which unlocked the mystery of the disappointment of 1844” and which “opened to view a complete system of truth”.(1) Intimately associated with an unraveling of the time prophecy of Daniel 8:14 was an understanding of the “daily” (hattamid) in 8:11-13. Differing views of the “daily” have prevailed since the time of the Reformers to the present alternating initially from Christ’s High Priestly ministry to pagan Rome reverting to the current view, held by most Adventist scholars, of Christ’s ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. Following a brief historical overview of the interpretation of “the daily”, a statement of the exegetical problems and issues of Daniel 8:9-14 will be presented with primary emphasis on verses 9-13. Both internal exegetical evidence from 8:9-14 and external evidence from Dn. 9:23-27; 11:31 and 12:11 will be examined leading to a self-consistent understanding of “the daily” which confirms the historical roots of the foundational pillar of Seventh-day Adventism.
References:
1) E. G. White, The Great Controversy, Mountain View: Pacific Press, p. 423, 1950.
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