( My thanks to Dennis for providing this document for us. )
In the book of Daniel is an amazing prophecy revealing precisely WHEN the Messiah was to appear-as well as exactly WHAT He was to accomplish! Study this article carefully.
The Old Testament is FULL of detailed, plain prophecies referring
to the coming of the "Messiah" or Christ, the "Anointed One." From
Genesis to Malachi, prophecies reveal many facets of both the first
and second comings of Jesus Christ. But, no Old Testament prophecy
pinpoints the EXACT TIME of the coming of Christ, and what would
occur, as specifically as the book of Daniel.
Turn in your Bible to Daniel 9, and read the prophecy for yourself.
The prophet Daniel lived during the days of Nebuchadnezzar, king of
Babylon, and on into the reign of Darius the Mede and Cyrus the
Persian. "In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the
seed of the Medes" (Dan. 9:1-2), Daniel set his face to seek God,
seeking Him through prayer and fasting (verses 3-4). Daniel confessed
his sins, and the sins of the people, and besought God for His
forgiveness. While Daniel was praying, God sent the archangel
Gabriel, who told Daniel, "O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee
skill and understanding... therefore understand the matter, and
consider the vision" (Dan. 9:21-23).
What was this vision - this prophecy?
Beginning in verse 24, "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy
people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to
make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to
bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and
prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy."
"Seventy weeks" - how are they to he understood? The day-for-a-year
principle of Bible prophecy is understood by many students of the
Bible. In Numbers 14:34 God told the Israelites, "After the number of
the DAYS in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day FOR
A YEAR, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years. Thus, a day
in Bible prophecy is often a YEAR BEING FULFILLED!
This same prophetic principle is found in Ezekiel 4. Prophesying
about the punishment and siege of Israel, God told Ezekiel, "This
shall be a sign to the house of Israel. Lie thou also upon thy left
side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according
to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear
their iniquity. For I have laid upon thee the years of their
iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and
ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side,
and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I
have appointed thee EACH DAY FOR A YEAR" (Ezek. 4:3-6).
Therefore, the seventy weeks in Daniel 9 represent 70 times 7 or 490 days - that is, since days stand for prophetic YEARS, a total of 490 YEARS. What was to happen at the end of these years? Let us continue the prophecy.
Daniel 9:25 explains, "Know therefore and understand, that from
the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem
UNTO the MESSIAH the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and
two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in
troublous times."
What decree was this? When was it given? In the seventh year of
Artaxerxes, king of Persia, Ezra came to Jerusalem (Ezra 7:1, 7-9).
With him he had a letter containing the DECREE of Artaxerxes,
permitting the rebuilding and restoration of Jerusalem!
"Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave
unto Ezra the priest. . . Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the
priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and
at such a time. I make a decree, that all they of the people of
Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded
of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee. Forasmuch
as thou art sent of the king, and of his seven counselors, to inquire
concerning Judah and Jerusalem. . ." (verses 11-14).
In this decree Ezra was given authority to take with him all the Jews
wishing to return to Jerusalem and to REBUILD THE CITY, and beautify
the house of God, and to do whatever else God commanded (verses
15-26).
What year was this decree given? What year was the "seventh year of
Artaxerxes"? In recent years an abundance of documents, business
records, and astronomical tablets, from the time of Ezra and
Nehemiah, have been translated, and help us determine when the decree
of Artaxerxes was written. These records reveal that Xerxes died late
in December, 465 B.C. His death could not have occurred earlier or
later, because documents dated in the last month of his reign, and in
the first month of his successors have been found. Thus, his son,
Artaxerxes, came to the throne in December, 465 B.C; (Langer,
Encyclopedia of World History, p. 53).
Since the Persians reckoned the years of their kings from spring to
spring, Artaxerxes' first year was from April, 464 B.C. to April, 463
B.C. The preceeding months of his reign are simply called his
"accession year."
The Jews in Palestine in Ezra and Nehemiah's day, however, counted
civil years from FALL TO FALL. They always postdated the reigns of
Gentile rulers- that is, counted from the fall after the first year
officially began. Therefore, according to Jewish reckoning, the first
"year" of the reign of Artaxerxes would have been September, 464 to
September, 463 B.C. This information may be corroborated in The
chronology of Ezra 7 by Siegfried Horn and Lynn H. Wood, as well as
other thorough books on archaeology dealing with this period.
The SEVENTH YEAR of Artaxerxes, therefore, was September, 458 to
September, 457 B.C., according to Jewish reckoning. Ezra left Babylon
and came to Jerusalem in Artaxerxes' seventh year, the year of the
decree, his journey lasting four months (Ezra 7:8-9), and occurring
during the first five months of the year - from Nisan in 457,
corresponding to our April, to the month Ab, corresponding to our
August.
Now notice! The prophecy was that FROM the year of the issuance of
Artaxerxes' decree there would be "seven weeks, and threescore and
two weeks" - till the appearance of the Messiah! Why this particular
breakdown, "seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks"? This is
explained as we read on: "The street shall be built again, and the
wall, even in troublous times" (Dan. 9:25). It took seven prophetic
weeks, or 49 years (a year for a day) to complete this rebuilding.
The troublous times are described in Nehemiah 4. This carries us from
457 to 408 B.C. After 62 more weeks, or 434 years (from 408 B.C.),
the Messiah is on the scene (verse 26).
In other words, from 457 B.C., in the fall, till CHRIST appeared on
the scene, there were to be SIXTY-NINE PROPHETIC WEEKS (7 + 62) - a
total of 69 times 7 or 483 years! To what year does this bring
us?
Figure it out yourself! Just 483 years after 457 B.C. brings us to exactly A.D. 27! Halley, for example, claimed, in his Handbook, the date the Messiah was to appear was 26 A.D. However, there is no year zero. Therefore, in crossing from B.C. to A.D. or vice versa, a year must be added to the total to arrive at the correct date! Notice:
483 years were to pass, beginning from
457 B.C. when the decree went forth, bringing us to
26 A.D. - however, one year must be added
1 in crossing from B.C. to A.D., bringing us to
27 A.D. since there is no year zero.
Notice carefully - there is no year zero - simply a year 1 B.C. and a
year 1 AD. Supposedly, between these two years the birth of Christ
occurred! This, however, is not true. The monk who gave us our
present dating system made a slight miscalculation in his figures.
But, notice - for example - if you want to count 30 years from 4
B.C., the year Jesus was born, simply by counting the number of
elapsed years, you come to 27 AD. However, if you subtract from the
number 30, 4 B.C. the result would, at first glance, seem to be 26
A.D. Obviously, this is wrong, as simple counting shows. Therefore,
you must ADD ONE YEAR to arrive at the correct answer when
subtracting - bringing you to 27 AD.! Therefore, the year the Messiah
was to appear was 27 AD.! What happened in 27 A.D.?
This was the historical year when Jesus Christ BEGAN His MINISTRY!
This was the very year He was baptized, was tempted by Satan the
devil in the wilderness, and BEGAN to call His disciples! Bible
chronology and history prove Christ began His ministry in 27 A.D. In
27 A.D. the MESSIAH appeared -JESUS CHRIST! No one else came upon the
scene in Palestine that year doing God's Work. Jesus Christ began His
ministry PRECISELY on schedule - exactly 483 years after the decree
of Artaxerxes! But that is not all. Now, notice the REST of the
prophecy!
Verse 26, Daniel 9, "And AFTER threescore and two weeks shall
Messiah be CUT OFF, but not for himself.
From the decree of Artaxerxes until the coming of the Messiah, Jesus
Christ, a total of sixty-nine prophetic weeks were to pass. That is,
483 years. This explains the first sixty-nine weeks of Daniel's
prophecy, but the mysterious seventieth week still remains to be
explained. Let's continue the thread of the prophecy. In Daniel 9:26
we read that AFTER 483 years the Messiah was to be "cut off." What
does this enigmatic statement mean?
Turn to Isaiah 53 for the answer. Prophesying about the Messiah,
Isaiah declared, "Surely he hath borne our grief, and carried our
sorrows. . . But he was wounded for OUR transgressions, he was
bruised for OUR iniquities. . ." (Isa. 53:4-5).
Further, Isaiah records, "He was taken from prison and from judgment:
and who shall declare his generation? For he was CUT OFF out of the
land of the living: for the TRANSGRESSION OF MY PEOPLE WAS HE
STRICKEN" (verse 8).
Christ, the Messiah, was "cut off." KILLED, CRUCIFIED not for
Himself, but for our sins! But how long "after" the sixty-nine weeks?
The last part of Daniel 9:26 shows that after Christ's crucifixion,
"the people of the prince" - that is, the Roman armies under Titus
and Vespasian - "that shall come shall DESTROY THE CITY and the
sanctuary." This was fulfilled in 70 A.D., when the Roman armies
besieged Jerusalem, destroyed the inhabitants, burned the temple, and
razed the city to the ground! "And the end thereof shall be with a
flood, and unto the end of the WAR desolations are determined,"
Daniel concludes (verse 26, last part). The Romans DESOLATED the city
and the surrounding area! But again, HOW LONG "after" the sixty-nine
weeks was the Messiah to be "cut off"?
Now read verse 27 of Daniel 9. "And he {Christ shall CONFIRM THE
COVENANT with many for one week; and in the MIDST OF THE WEEK he
shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease Here the
SEVENTIETH WEEK is mentioned! It represents seven years! But, in the
midst of this week Christ was to cause sacrifices to cease. How? Turn
to Hebrews for the answer.
"So Christ was ONCE OFFERED to bear the sins of many" - remember?
(Heb. 9:28.) He took our sins upon Himself, Isaiah prophesied; He was
to "make reconciliation for iniquity," and to "make an end of sins,"
Daniel wrote. "But this man, after he had offered ONE SACRIFICE for
sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God" (Heb. 10:12).
How clear! Christ caused the sacrifices to cease because they were NO
LONGER NECESSARY! "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and
of goats should take away sins" (Heb. 10:4). However, the blood of
Christ covers all sins!
When? When did Christ the, Messiah, accomplish this? "IN THE MIDST OF
THE WEEK "! That is dual
1) after fulfilling one half of the seventieth week - after preaching
the Gospel for THREE AND ONE-HALF YEARS- Christ died for the sins of
the world, after doing the Work of God for three and one-half years,
from autumn 27 A.D. until spring 31 A.D. And;
2) it also indicates that Christ died for our sins in the middle of a
literal week on a Wednesday! And He was resurrected three days and
three nights later near sunset on the weekly Sabbath (Matt. 12:40),
so that He HAD ARISEN already by sunrise Sunday morning (Matt. 28:6;
Mark 16:6; Luke 24:6). This is more fully explained in our free
booklet, The Crucifixion Was Not on Friday. It is available upon your
request.
Since Jesus died for the sins of man kind in the MIDST of the week,
the prophecy, "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one
week," has NOT YET been completely fulfilled. For three and one-half
years, during His ministry, He CONFIRMED THE COVENANT with His
disciples. By dying for our sins, He put the final stamp on the
covenant. Through Him, ALL PEOPLE can now enter into the covenant
which God made with Abraham (Gal. 3:29), and become heirs "according
to the promise."
But as Daniel 9:26-27 reveals there yet remains three and one-half
years of Christ's ministry to be FULFILLED! When will Christ fulfill
it? When will He once again CONFIRM the covenant?
When Jesus Christ returns to this earth, He will CONFIRM the
covenant He made with His people. He will confirm the covenant He
made with Abraham, promising that his seed would inherit the entire
WORLD (see Gen. 17:4-8; 22:16-18). Abraham and his spiritual seed
through Christ will inherit "THE WORLD" (Rom. 4:13). When Christ
returns, Abraham and the saints will RISE to meet Him in the air (I
Thess. 4:13-17). They will then REIGN with Him, over the nations of
the earth (Rev. 2:26-27; 5:10).
And, at that time, Christ will make a NEW covenant with His people
Israel, and write His laws in their hearts and upon their minds (Heb.
8:6-10). For three and one-half years, Christ will complete His
ministry to ISRAEL, teaching them His ways. Rebels will be purged out
from among His people, but the others, who repent of their sins and
loathe themselves for their evil deeds, will be forgiven and will
come to KNOW GOD (Ezek. 20:35-38, 43-44).
Daniel 9, the "seventy weeks prophecy," has already - for the most
part - been fulfilled. History proves that Jesus Christ - and NONE
OTHER - was the One who fulfilled the prophecies of Daniel 9:24-27.
He is the Messiah! No one else appeared at the time mentioned, or did
the things mentioned, DIED in the midst of the week, and caused the
sacrifices and offerings in the temple to CEASE!
Truly, Jesus is the Christ! Bible PROPHECY proves this fact beyond
the faintest shadow of a doubt. There is no need to vaguely "assume"
or "think" that Jesus was FOR REAL. The PROOF is incontestable -
irrefutable!
And soon, now, that very same Jesus Christ is going to RETURN to this
earth and complete the fulfillment of Daniel 9, finish confirming the
covenant with His people and usher in "EVERLASTING RIGHTEOUSNESS"
when He returns, "to seal up the vision and prophecy" (verse 24).
The prophecy given in Daniel 9:24-27 is truly one of the most
amazing, startling prophecies in the entire Word of God! It gives a
pinpointed, detailed explanation of the FIRST coming of Jesus Christ
- even giving us the EXACT DATE HE WAS TO BEGIN His MINISTRY! It
shows that after three and one-half YEARS, He was to be "CUT OFF"
crucified for our sins giving His life for us, thereby causing the
need for other sacrifices, given as a picture of our need for
forgiveness, to CEASE.
Soon, now, Christ will RETURN to complete this amazing prophecy
and finish the LAST three and one-half years. He will finish
confirming the covenant of God with many, all those who accept Him
and obey Him! The truth is overwhelming! How thankful we should be
that God is revealing the real meaning of Bible prophecy! How
thankful, that our faith is NOT merely empty superstition or
"belief," but is based on the proven and tested, SURE WORD OF
GOD!
Will you be ready when Christ returns to COMPLETE His ministry?