The Old Testament is very specific about the timing of when Jesus, Israel’s Messiah, would appear. This prophecy, which the angel Gabriel delivered to the prophet Daniel, rules out the possibility of mistaking an imposter for being the real Messiah. Jesus’ ministry perfectly fits the heavenly timeline.
The historical background of Daniel and his vision
Daniel was a prophet of God during the period of the captivity of the Jews in Babylon and Persia. He also authored the Old Testament book of Daniel. He was a very capable administrator and served as an advisor in the courts of foreign kings.
Daniel was a teenager when he was taken from Jerusalem into captivity by the Babylonians. He was in his 80s when he received the vision of the 70 weeks prophecy. Jeremiah prophesied that the Babylonian captivity would last 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11). At the end of this time, Babylon would fall into the hands of the Persians.
Cyrus the Great was the founder of the Persian Empire. In 559 B.C., he ascended to the throne. He defeated the Median King Astyages, then defeated Lydia around 546 B.C. and Babylon about 539 B.C.. Cyrus was humane and benevolent toward those whom he defeated. He was the Persian king who issued the decree restoring the Jews to their homeland.
Soon after the Persians conquered Babylon, Daniel knew, from Jeremiah’s prophecy, that the time of exile was complete. So, he prayed to the Lord to forgive and restore Jerusalem and His people. While he was still praying, the angel Gabriel came to him to deliver a message concerning the future for Israel.
The vision of seventy years
Gabriel’s message to Daniel
The angel told Daniel, “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.
“Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him” (Daniel 9:24-27).
The timeframes explained
The first time period of seven ’sevens” is the time of rebuilding Jerusalem that Nehemiah was put in charge of doing. The second time period of sixty-two ’sevens” lasts until Israel’s Messiah is presented to the people. This occurred at Jesus’ triumphal entry on Palm Sunday, the same week as His crucifixion. It is apparent that Jesus’ ministry perfectly fits the heavenly timeline
The vision speaks about the people who will “destroy the city and sanctuary.” This was fulfilled in 70 A.D. when the Romans destroyed the City of Jerusalem and the temple. Then, the vision picks up near the end of the time of the Gentiles when the Antichrist, a Roman, enters into a 7-year covenant with Israel, which he later breaks at its midpoint.
The time of Messiah’s coming
When the Messiah is coming
The time period covers a period of 490 years (70 x 7 =490). The annual unit of measure is based on other examples found in the Bible. For example, God decreed that the Israelites would wander in the desert for 40 years until the adult generation that sinned against Him had died. That amounted to 1 year for every day that the Israelite spies spent in the promised land.
One of the two most likely dates that have been assigned to Jesus’ triumphal entry has been Palm Sunday, April 2, 30 A.D. So, from 445 B.C. to 30 A.D. there are 475 solar years, not 483 years. How can we explain the difference?
Converting solar years to calendar years
We need to know how many days there are in a prophetic year since there are various kinds of calendars. In the account of the flood, the Bible uses a 360-day calendar to measure time. (Five months from the 17th day of the 2nd month until the 17th day of the 7th month are counted as 150 days.)
Therefore, the number of prophetic years is calculated by counting the number of solar years, inclusively, of 476 years, multiplied by 365 days = 173,740 days, adding 119 days for leap years, and adding 20 days inclusively from March 14 to April 2, for a total of 173,879 days. Then dividing 173,879 by 360 days = 483 years to the day, the exact number of days in 69 weeks, each day standing for a year.
Could there by anything more conclusive to prove that Daniel’s 69 weeks ran out on April 2, 30 A.D., the day Jesus rode in triumph into the City of Jerusalem? Jesus’ ministry perfectly fits the heavenly timeline.
How should the fulfillment of this prophecy affect you?
Only God could reveal the future with such absolute precision and certainty. God revealed this message to Gabriel, who then delivered it to Daniel. (Gabriel is the archangel who also appeared to Zacharias (Luke 1:19) and the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26-38)). There’s no doubt that this vision, written hundreds of years, before Christ was born, points directly to Jesus as the Anointed One, God’s Messiah. There’s no room for imposters to fit into this timeframe. And there’s no good excuse for any of us to disbelieve that Jesus is the Christ.
The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Ask yourself two very important questions. First, are you sure that you’ll go to heaven when you die? Secondly, are you certain why God should let you into heaven? If you don’t know for sure, you can settle that matter today. Visit my post, How to Begin Your Life Over Again and you’ll know where and how you’ll spend eternity.
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