What does Daniel 8:14 mean?

The second angel (Daniel 8:13) told Daniel about the eventual end of a terrible time of persecution. This passage predicts what was then centuries in the future: the rise of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. This infamous tyrant was violent and spiteful towards Jews, outlawing their religion and desecrating the temple (Daniel 8:10–12, 23–25). In the prior verse, even the angels seem to wonder how long the Lord would let such things continue.

Here, the given period is 2,300 days. Expositors vary in their interpretation of this point both as it relates to the fulfillment with Antiochus Epiphanes and as it relates to a yet-future fulfillment. Some believe 2,300 literal days are indicated, whereas others believe the period is 1,150 days. Those who see the period lasting 1,150 days believe it coincides with the three and a half years of the great tribulation prophesied in Daniel 9:27. However, there is a discrepancy of more than one hundred days with this interpretation. It would then seem best to take the number 2,300 as literally 2,300 days. The creation account in Genesis counts the evening and morning as one day, not two days.

In the first fulfillment, the end of the 2,300 days is considered by many expositors to be 164 BC: Antiochus IV Epiphanes' death and the return of Jewish worship. This would mark six years from the time he came to Jerusalem. Others interpret it "evenings and mornings" to mean the twice-daily sacrifices. Given that the temple was defiled in 167 BC, this timescale would also make an accurate prediction of the number of rituals prevented by the persecution.