Daniel 9 - 70 weeks complete version

The modern trend of theological thought had been to consider much of
the Bible as a collection of myths gathered together by an editor
centuries after the events occurred. The accounts of supernatural
miracles are regarded as fables, and the creation of the world in six
days is viewed as a primitive concept now superseded by modern
science.

However there have been a minority of Christians who have held to a
more conservative approach to the Bible. They believe the Bible is the
word of God, written by men moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy
3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21)

Archaeology had done much to validate the accuracy of the Bible and
has confounded the critics and caused them to reconsider their
theories. Many parts of the Old Testament which were once considered
incorrect have been shown to be accurate when more information came to
light. Minor details have been shown to accurately reflect the customs
and times of the patriarchs.

When I became a Christian having been moved by the Spirit to
understand that Jesus is my Saviour who died for my sins, I still had
a lot of "evolutionary" baggage to deal with. Who was right, the
scientists or the Bible? What I found on the one hand was that the
evolutionary theory has many serious flaws, and on the other hand that
the Bible contains amazing prophecies that validate its credentials as
they can be examined in the light of history.

One of the best of these prophecies is a Messianic prophecy which is
found in the book of Daniel chapter 9 and is known as the 70 week
prophecy. Simply put, the death of Jesus was predicted by the prophet
Daniel almost 500 years before he was born! Daniel was an exiled Jew
who had been taken to Babylon and became an important court official
under King Nebuchadnezzar. One thing that characterised Daniel was
that he always prayed three times and day, even when threatened with
being thrown into a lions den (Daniel 6). He would not compromise even
in the food he was allotted from the kings table. God honoured Daniel
with visions of the future which he was told to seal up because they
were for the end of time, when people would run to and fro and
increase in knowledge (Daniel 12). Today we are living in that time of
the end and the book of Daniel has been opened to those who by faith
can accept what is written therein.

For those who are sceptical I would encourage you to do as the Bereans
who were of more noble character and examined the scriptures with
eagerness to see if what Paul said was true (Acts 17:11).
First we need to look at the relevant verses of Daniel 9:24-27:

Verse 24
"Seventy weeks are cut off upon your people and upon your holy city:
to bring to an end the rebellion, to seal up sins, to atone for evil,
to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophet,
to anoint a most holy."

The Jews had been taken into exile to Babylon. The prophecy starts
with a decree to rebuild Jerusalem, and so therefore was future to the
time of Daniel. The Persians who overthrew the Babylonians had a
policy of being kind to those nations who had been subjugated by the
Babylonians. Under the Persians the Jews were allowed to return to
their homeland and rebuild their temple and cities.

The prophecy covers a period of 70 weeks which were for the Jews to
stop their rebellion and sins. In many parts of biblical apocalyptic
prophecy a prophetic day is equated with a year, therefore this
equates with 490 literal years. If we were to interpret it as 70
literal weeks it would have meant the Messiah would have been killed
hundreds of years before Jesus was born, we have to reject such an
interpretation. The short time spans which cover kingdoms and vast
events cannot practically be regarded as literal time. Apocalyptic
prophecy uses many symbols, and even time is represented symbolically!
One might ask why all this symbolism, why didn't Daniel just tell us
literally what was to happen? For one reason, the book was to be
sealed till the end of time, and then only the wise would understand
it. Jesus mostly spoke in parables to the crowd, but for those who
wanted to learn more, he would explain the meaning. Those who search
the prophecies and the scriptures will be rewarded. The book of
Revelation even pronounces a blessing to those who read the words of
the book! (Revelation 1:3)

The Jews had been warned by a number of prophets before the exile to
mend their ways, but finally they were taken into exile to Babylon.
The 70 years of exile had been prophesied by Jeremiah (2 Chronicles
36:21; Jeremiah 25:11-14; 29:10-14).
On returning from the exile, God granted the Jews a period of
probation so they could mend their ways.
God would bring atonement through Jesus and everlasting righteousness
if they were obedient. But because of their rejection of Jesus, vision
and prophecy would cease for the Jewish people, however Jesus would
anoint the heavenly sanctuary and begin his work of intercession in
heaven as described in the book of Hebrews (see Hebrews 9:21-24).

Note 1: The expression "qodes qodasim" or most holy is used more than
40 times in the OT and always refers to the sanctuary or something
connected with it, not necessarily the Most Holy Place. As the temple
on earth ceased to have any function at the death of Christ, this must
be referring to the temple in heaven which was inaugurated when Christ
ascended to the right hand of God where he now intercedes on our
behalf on the basis of his shed blood.

Note 2: the translation of the word "shabua" as "week" has been
disputed, some claim it should be translated sevens or heptads.
However the Hebrew vowel pointing which was added by the Masoretes
clearly distinguishes it from the word for seven, and even without the
vowel pointing it retains the letter waw for the "u" sound.
Three examples of the used of "shabua" in the Bible are Genesis 29:27,
Deuteronomy 16:9 and Daniel 10:2 all which refer to a literal week.
The word is also used for the "feast of weeks" or Pentecost seven
times in the OT, where it is used to refer to a literal week.
The best linguistic evidence leads to the translation of "shabua" as
week, and Daniel uses it that way in Daniel 10:2 to describe his fast
of three weeks.
Some have suggested that the 70 weeks of Daniel 9 should be translated
as a literal 70 weeks of years. The problem with this interpretation
is that all the time prophecies of Daniel and Revelation are short: 70
weeks, 1260 days, 2300 days etc. the longest is the 2300 days, so a
time prophecy of 490 literal years would be out of place.
Because Daniel later refers to weeks of days some assume he meant
weeks of years in Daniel 9 but this is a misunderstanding of the
Hebrew idiom, a week of days means a full or complete weeks. A month
of days is used in Genesis 29:14; Numbers 11:20-21 and Judges 19:2, a
year of days is used in Genesis 41:1; Leviticus 25:29 and 2 Samuel
13:23; 14:28.

Note 3: The translation of the word "chathak" as "cut off" has been
disputed, however this is the basic root meaning of the word, an
extended abstract meaning of the root is "determined" is attested in
Mishnaic Hebrew but this dates a millennium after the time of Daniel.
We don't know if the word was used with the extended meaning of
"determined" in the time of Daniel. The basic meaning of "cut off" is
more common in Mishnaic Hebrew. This point is relevant when
calculating the 2300 days and does not directly affect the 70 weeks,
either translation supports the prophecy.

Verse 25
"From the going forth of the word to restore and build Jerusalem unto
Messiah the prince shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks, it shall
be built again, square and moat, but in troubled times."

The decree to restore Jerusalem would mark the beginning of the 70
weeks, the city was rebuilt in troubled times, there was opposition
from the people who lived in the surrounding area according to Ezra.

From Ezra and Nehemiah we find four decrees, the first two allowed the
temple to be restored and completed, the second two allowed the city
and its wall to be restored.
The first decree allowing the walls to be rebuilt and giving the Jews
a measure of autonomy was by Artaxerxes I in 457 BC, a date which can
be established by various ancient records including Olympiad dates,
Ptolemy's Canon, Elephantine Papyri and Babylonian Cuneiform tablets.

From this date we are told the Messiah shall come after 69 weeks which
comes to AD 27 when Jesus was baptised and began his mission. This
date is confirmed by Luke 3:1, 21 with the reference to the 15th year
of Tiberius, assuming an autumn to autumn calendar and a non accession
year system this takes us to the autumn of AD 27. The Jews had a civil
autumn to autumn calendar, and the non accession year system was
common in the Near East in the early period of the Roman Empire. I
will go into more details about this later.

The basic mathematics is:
457 BC + (69*7) 483 years = AD 27 (Note: there was no year zero)

Note 1: some translations put the comma after seven weeks based on
Masoretic punctuation, but the older versions like the LXX have the
comma after 62 weeks. The older punctuation fits in with the structure
of the passage which alternates between Messiah/weeks and the city/
decree/trench. The "weeks" belong to the first part of verses 25-27
which speak of the Messiah.
If we were to follow the Masoretic punctuation then it would mean the
Messiah was to come after seven weeks rather than 69 weeks.

The structure of the verses clearly shows that the punctuation of the
LXX is correct:

A. To restore and to build Jerusalem
B. Unto Messiah the Prince

A. Seven weeks
B. Sixty-two weeks

A. (Seven weeks for the) Rebuilding of Jerusalem
B. Sixty-two weeks to the Messiah

Verse 26
"Then after the sixty two weeks, the Messiah shall be cut off, but no
one shall be for him. And the people of the prince who is to come
shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a
flood, at the end of the war desolations shall be decreed."

After AD 27 Jesus would be crucified, and no one would support him, He
would die alone, forsaken by God and man for our sins.
The thoughts echo Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 which speak of the suffering
servant who would make atonement for the people by bearing their sins.

Then the city and the temple would be destroyed which occurred in AD
70.
The prince who is to come could be Jesus if we interpret the passage
to mean the people brought destruction on themselves or it could refer
to a Roman ruler.
The destruction of Jerusalem was sudden and violent when the Romans
finally breached the wall. From verse 25-27 the prophecy alternates
between the Messiah and the city in each verse which explains why the
destruction of the city is included here even though it did not occur
until AD 70.

The word Messiah means "anointed one", there are many Messiah's in the
Old Testament but they are only shadows of The Messiah, Jesus. Cyrus
is a type of Jesus who delivered the people from Babylon.
The question is, is the Messiah of Daniel 9 talking about Jesus?
In Daniel 9 the Messiah is associated with the end of the sacrificial
service verse 27.
He would be "cut off" and be rejected in death verse 26, he would
strengthen the covenant with God's people verse 27.
He made atonement and brought in everlasting righteousness verse 24.
After His death Jesus anointed the heavenly temple verse 24-25.
No one else could do these things except Jesus. He arrived at a
certain time in history, was killed and rejected, made a strong
covenant with many and had an impact on the sacrificial system by
rendering it obsolete.

Verse 27
"He will make a strong covenant for many one week, and for half of the
week he shall cause sacrifice and offering to cease. And upon the wing
of abominations shall come a desolator, and at the end what is decreed
concerning desolation shall be poured out."

This could be a reference to the Old or the New Covenant as it is said
to be strengthened for one week AD 27-34.
On the Sermon on the Mount Jesus affirmed the eternal nature of the
law, and deepened our understanding of it, then on the cross the
covenant was strengthened by His death on the cross, at this time the
sacrificial system ceased to have any significance.
After this the Romans would come, setting up their standards in the
temple and quickly destroy the temple and the whole city.

The middle of the last week AD 27 - 34 is AD 31 which is a likely date
for the crucifixion. John records three Passovers (John 2:13, 6:4,
12:1) and another unnamed feast (John 5:1) which probably is a
Passover. So we have a 3 - 4 year ministry, three and a half years
would take us to the spring of AD 31. According to astronomical
calculations the most likely dates for the crucifixion would have been
March AD 30 or April AD 31.

At the end of the 70 weeks in AD 34 Stephen was martyred and the
gospel spread rapidly to the Gentiles. We can calculate the time of
Paul's conversion which occurs shortly after the stoning of Stephen
because of a reference to a proconsul (Acts 18:12) which can be dated
to AD 51-52, and various time periods listed in Acts 15-17, Gal 2:1;
1:18 to approximately AD 34. The stoning and the conversion of Paul
must have occurred in the same year.
Stephen's speech takes on the form of a covenant lawsuit, the people
are charged with rebellion, their history is recounted and finally
they reject their last prophet and cease to be God's chosen people.
However there are indications in Scripture that there will be
spiritual revival among the Jews at the end of time such as in Hosea
3:5; Zechariah 8, 12:10.

To give a summary of the meaning of the seventy week prophecy:
The 70 week prophecy was given through Daniel was a time of probation
for the Jewish nation. It was a period of 70 weeks of years = 490
years which was to begin with the decree to rebuild Jerusalem. The
last week (last seven years) would see the arrival of the Messiah, and
His death in the middle of the last week (about three and a half years
before the end of the 490 years).

457 BC + 490 (70 * 7) = AD 34 (no year zero)
I am working on the principle that one prophetic day = one literal
year.

Arrival of the Messiah = AD 27
His death = AD 31
End of probation for the Jewish nation = AD 34

Some critics claim that the year day principle was invented by
Christians in the seventh century AD, however the understanding that a
day in apocalyptic prophecy equates to a year goes back to Jewish
interpreters of the second century BC. They realised that the 70 weeks
of Daniel 9 could not be literal weeks and as the time grew nearer for
the fulfilment of the prophecy they incorporated it into their
writings until the first century AD.
We find evidence of this in the Book of Jubiliees, Testament of Levi,
1 Enoch, 4 Ezra, the Assumption of Moses and in Qumran literature such
as 11 Q Melchizedek, 4 Q Psuedo-Ezekiel and Ages of Creation.
In Post Qumran literature there is an exposition of Daniel 9:24-27
attributed to a Jewish Rabbi of the second century AD called Seder
Olam. He refers to 10 jubilees = 70 sabbatical cycles = 490 years from
Nebuchadnezzar overthrowing the temple to the destruction of the
temple by Titus.
Clearly the year / day principle was understood by Jewish scholars and
there was much speculation as to when the Messiah would arrive from
the second century BC to the 1st century AD, this principle was
derived from Daniel 9.

Some critical scholars claim the book of Daniel was written in the
second century BC rather than the sixth century when Daniel actually
lived. Some of the reasons given are the Aramaic portions of Daniel
and certain Persians words which were claimed to be of later origin.
The critics claimed the book had historical inaccuracies, however
modern archaeological evidence had proved the accuracy of the book of
Daniel.

1. The Aramaic portion of Daniel

Probably the best explanation for this is that it was a language
Daniel had learned and was used by the wise men in their speech to the
king, so in the "political-religious" portion 2:4b-7:28 he uses
Aramaic, then switches back to Hebrew in chapters 8-12 where the focus
is primarily religious.
Aramaic was the language which was used for business and commerce at
that time.
The Aramaic used in Daniel corresponds to the Imperial Aramaic which
was used from 700 BC - 300 BC and would not have been used in the
second century, any more than a modern writer would use Shakespearean
language.

2. No record of Nebuchadnezzar building the new Babylon

Ancient writers such as Herodotus, Ctesias, Strabo and Pliny do not
refer to Nebuchadnezzar as the builder of a new Babylon contrary to
Daniel's record.

The discovery of the Grotefend Cylinder shows that the book of Daniel
was correct, it states, "Then built I [Nebuchadnezzar] the palace the
seat of my royalty, the bond of the race of men, the dwelling of joy
and rejoicing." It goes on to report that he built various walls, huge
city gates, palaces, temples, channels, dams, and so on. He created an
inner city nearly a square about five miles in circumference through
which the Euphrates ran and which was protected by a double wall.
Excavations of ancient Babylon in 1899 brought to light sun baked mud
bricks with an inscription that Nebuchadnezzar was the builder of
Babylon.
The boasting and building recorded in Daniel fits well with the
archaeological material, of which the ancients had no knowledge in the
centuries following.
This historical accuracy is puzzling to those who claim a second
century authorship for Daniel. How could someone in the second century
know these details when for centuries they had been lost?

3. Belshazzar as king of Bablyon?

This was regarded as a grave historical error as the last king of
Babylon is known to be Nabonidus.
However the existence of Beltshazzar appeared in Cuneiform records as
the firstborn son of Nabonidus, and although not called a king, it
says he was entrusted with kingship.
This was why Daniel was offered the third and not second highest place
in the kingdom.

4. Persian and Greek loan words

It has been thought that these loan words used in Daniel showed the
book written at a late date. However continued study and new
archaeological materials have shown this is not correct. The Persian
words have been shown to be Old Persian and the Greek culture had
already reached the Near East before the Neo-Babylonian period.

5. The Dead Sea scrolls

These shed light on the book of Daniel, showing it was a well
established book, and one of the most popular among the Qumran
community, and was considered canonical. This would not be the case if
it had been written in the second century by a pseudonymous author.

6. The prophetic accuracy and endorsement by Jesus

Turning now to evidence for the Exilic thesis (6th century
authorship), perhaps the best evidence is the fact that it predicts
four world empires including Rome. Three of these are named in the
book as Babylon, Medo-Persia and Greece. The fourth in found in the
New Testament as Rome, Jesus described the "abomination of desolation"
as a future event connected with the destruction of Jerusalem, this
was fulfilled in AD 70 (Matt 24:15; Mark 13:14; Luke 21:20). Luke
21:20 tells us that the sign to flee Jerusalem would be when the city
was surrounded by soldiers.
According to tradition the Christians took Jesus' warning seriously
and fled to Perea when the Romans surrounded Jerusalem, the Romans
withdrew for a time allowing the Christians to escape, none of them
perished in the siege.
The references to the abomination of the temple in Daniel have nothing
to do with Antiochus IV, a Greek king who lived in the second century
and profaned the Temple. Antiochus never destroyed the temple and did
not defile it for 2300 days. So if this is meant to be a second
century history it is not very accurate. Rather it is speaking of
something completely different, the destruction of the temple by the
Romans, and later the spiritual attack on the heavenly temple where
Jesus mediates for us, when truth was thrown to the ground during the
Middle Ages.

The prediction of the Roman Empire is shown as follows:

Daniel 2
Gold = Babylon (identified by Daniel)
Silver = Medo-Persia (an inferior kingdom)
Bronze = Greece
Iron = Rome
Iron/Clay = Europe (divided powers)
Stone = God's Kingdom

Daniel 7
Lion = Babylon
Bear = Medo-Persia (the bear is humped on one side, the Persians were
stronger than the Medes)
Leopard = Greece (had four wings, representing the break up of power
after the death of Alexander)
Terrible beast with iron teeth = Rome

Daniel 8
Ram = Medo-Persians (had two horns one longer than the other =
Persians)
He-goat = Greece (the notable horn was Alexander the Great, after
which there were four prominent horn = the kingdom divided into four
parts)
(both symbols are identified by name by the angel interpreter)

Daniel 9
From the rebuilding of Jerusalem there will be 69 weeks before the
Messiah comes, he will be cut off in the middle of the last or 70th
week.
457 BC + 69*7 = AD 27
Messiah to be cut off in AD 31 which would bring sacrifices and
offerings to an end.

The critics say these prophecies must have been written after the
event, but someone making up a book in the second century would not
have been able to guess the Roman Empire and the precise date for the
death of Christ.

Returning to the seventy week prophecy I will look at the historical
evidence for the dates 457 BC, AD 27, 31 and 34.

1. Commencement date of the seventy weeks

Daniel 9:25 - from the going forth of the word to restore and build
Jerusalem

Four decrees were issued by three Persian kings

1. Cyrus in 538/537 BC granted return of the Jews from exile and
rebuilding of the temple (Ezra 1:1-4)
2. Darius I about 520 BC reaffirmed and expedited the order of Cyrus
to rebuild the temple (Ezra 6:1-12)
3. Artaxerxes I in 457 BC given to Ezra, re-established the autonomy
of Judah (Ezra 7:1-26)
4. Artaxerxes I in 445/444 BC to Nehemiah, granted permission to
repair Jerusalem (Nehemiah)

Ezra 4:7-23 favours the third decree as the fulfilment of the prophecy
as it was this one that allowed for Jerusalem to be restored, not just
the temple. This decree is the only one that comments on the
rebuilding of city - its walls and foundations.
Before this, full autonomy had not been granted to the city,
permission had only been given to rebuild the temple. Nehemiah went to
Jerusalem to help complete the restoration of the walls.

It's true that Isaiah (see Isaiah 44-45) said Cyrus was to be the one
to allow the temple to be rebuilt and for Jerusalem to be built. Cyrus
initiated the process but it was the decree of Artaxerxes I that
finally allowed for the restoration of the city walls and a measure of
independence.

Some critical scholars have questioned whether the Artaxerxes mention
in Ezra was Artaxerxes I or if it was a previous king called Smerdis
or a later one - Artaxerxes II.
I will give the outline of events and the reasons why the traditional
interpretation is correct.

The first edict by Cyrus permitted the Jews to return and rebuild the
temple (Ezra 1:2-4; 2 Chronicles 36:22-23).
This was issues around 538/537 BC, but the decree contained no
permission to rebuild the city of Jerusalem.

Jews slowly began to return to their homeland (Ezra 3), but some years
later Haggai and Zechariah had to rebuke the people for neglecting to
build the temple of God while building up their own homes. As a result
they had suffered crop failures and droughts (Hag 1:1-11). Their homes
had been built in and around the ruined city.

Seventeen years after the decree of Cyrus the temple was still in
ruins. But the rebuilding began with the support of Haggai and
Zechariah. Complaints were made by the enemies of the Jews and after
an inspection by the local governor, the decree of Cyrus was confirmed
by Darius I about 520 BC.
This decree also mentions the restoration of the temple but still no
mention of restoring the city.

The vision of Zech 1:1-17 which was given probably during the twelve
months that followed, indicates that the cities of Judah and Jerusalem
still needed to be rebuilt.
Although the city still lay in ruins, God promised that the "measuring
line" would be stretched out over Jerusalem indicating it would be
rebuilt.

The temple was finished in 515 BC in the sixth year of the reign of
Darius the king (Ezra 6:15).
Some have wondered why the temple is said to have been constructed by
the decree of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes in verse 14 when Artaxerxes
did not come to the throne for another 50 years. Perhaps this is why
some think there are two Artaxerxes.
But it could be that the benefits that Artaxerxes was to bestow later
in 457 BC upon the temple was enough for him to be included in the
list with his predecessors. Ezra speaks of the temple being
embellished but not being rebuilt.

Ezra chapter 7 mentions the third decree by Artaxerxes I. Ezra and a
group of Jews went from Babylon to Jerusalem in the kings seventh year
(7:6-7, 11-17).
As the temple had been completed 50 years earlier, the decree says
nothing about the temple construction but allows for the Jews to
return to Judea if they wished, for the spiritual condition of the
people to be investigated and gifts to be taken for the temple and
officials. These gifts were to be used for sacrificial offerings and
to take care of expenses needed for the temple. The temple servants
were to be exempt from taxation, and Judea would be allowed to enforce
their own system of laws under Persia (vss 12-26).

The return of Ezra in chapter 7 appears to be linked to the events of
4:7-23, when enemies of the king complained about the rebuilding of
the city walls in the time of Artaxerxes I. The work on the walls had
to stop, and although no order was given to destroy what had been
built it appears they broke down some of the walls and destroyed the
city gates (Nehemiah 1:3).

Ezra 4 is not written in a chronological order which is no problem as
it was written a hundred years after the decree of Cyrus, so Ezra
could look back and summarise things as he wanted.
He describes the problems caused by the Samaritans under Cyrus and
Darius and also during the time of Ahasuerus who presumably was Xerxes
I (486-465), then the problems under Artaxerxes presumably Artaxerxes
I (465-423).
The complaint in verses 7-23 in the time of Artaxerxes implies a
migration of Jews from Babylon, royal consent to build the foundations
and walls of Jerusalem.
The phrase "from you to us" implies Artaxerxes had authorised the
migration. This description fits the journey of Ezra in chapter 7.
Ezra 4:12 is the first clear reference to the rebuilding of the city.
It is possible they did not have royal consent but assumed the decree
granting the autonomy allowed them to rebuild the city.
However it would have been unlikely that the Jews would have done
this, and in the complaint and response there is not mention of an
illegal rebuilding. The challenge was more about the wisdom of
allowing them to rebuild the city walls.
It may be wondered why Artaxerxes I would allow the rebuilding then
halt it and then thirteen years later allow the walls to be repaired.
Perhaps like his father Xerxes I he was a bit moody and had a tendency
to change his mind easily. One possibility is a rebellion in Egypt
(462-454) which may have led him to want to secure the loyalty of
Judea.
Another scenario would be that the governor of the region rebelled,
and the king turned to the Samaritans to manage the area. This would
account for the fact that he dealt directly with the Samaritans rather
than with the local governor, under normal circumstances he would have
given the order to his the governor of the province.
The Samaritans pretending to be concerned for the welfare of the crown
may have used this as a pretext for stopping the rebuilding of the
city walls.
We do know that Artaxerxes' brother in law rebelled against him and
had been governor of that region.

In the year 445/444 BC Nehemiah, a cupbearer to Artaxerxes I, received
a report about Jerusalem and how the walls were broken down and the
gates destroyed by fire (Nehemiah 1:3; 2:3).
Nehemiah was shocked by the news (1:4-11) and after prayer requests
permission to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and the walls
(Nehemiah 2:5).
This was not a decree but a journey to help repair the damage and
complete the walls. The work was completed in 52 days (6:15).
Nehemiah's journey was not a migration and his mission was kept secret
at first, the purpose was primarily to repair the walls and gates
damaged a few years earlier.

Neither the decree of Cyrus 538/537 or Darius 520 mention the
rebuilding of the city and the vision of Zechariah in 519 BC shows the
city was still not rebuilt at that time.
Although none of the decrees mention the rebuilding of the city, the
one granted by Artaxerxes I in 457 BC best fits the prophecy. It gave
the Jews a measure of autonomy and allowed them to begin rebuilding
the city.

It's interesting to see how much opposition they had, and how God
blessed the people to help them finish the work. "Not by might nor by
power, but by my Spirit says the Lord Almighty" Zech 4:6.

Some critical scholars have suggested that Ezra returned in the time
of Artaxerxes II after Nehemiah, other scholars think that the
Artaxerxes refers to a previous king called Smerdis.
Both these theories have problems, there were only three kings known
by the name Artaxerxes I, II and III, and Smerdis was never known as
Artaxerxes. The complaint in Ezra 4 is about the rebuilding of the
wall rather than the temple. Smerdis only ruled for 7 months making it
improbable for there to be enough time to issue a decree to stop the
building work and another to continue.
The arguments put forward that Ezra returned under a decree made by
Artaxerxes II does not fit the biblical data. Various arguments are
raised based on conjecture, however the biblical picture is of Ezra
being a contemporary of Nehemiah. Ezra must have been at least 40
years old in the time of Nehemiah when he read out the law. The idea
that he went back to Babylon and returned 47 years later doesn't fit
the biblical record.

So 457 BC marks the beginning of the 70 week prophecy, we can now turn
to the historical evidence to establish this date.

How to establish the seventh year of Artaxerxes I:

a. Olympiad dates
b. Ptolemy's Canon
c. Elephantine Papyri
d. Babylonian Cuneiform tablets

These four sources point unanimously that the seventh year of
Artaxerxes I ran from the spring of 458 BC to the spring of 457 BC.
The Jews at that time used an autumn to autumn calendar which began in
the month of Tishri, evidenced in Nehemiah 1:1 and 2:1.
Therefore by this reckoning the seventh year began in the autumn of
458 BC and ended in the autumn 457 BC.

2. AD 27

The last week of the prophecy points to the coming of the Messiah.

457 BC + 70 weeks of years = 34 AD (no year zero)

The last week = AD 27 - AD 34 (with the middle of the week AD 31)

The 15th year of Tiberius according to Luke 3:1, 21 is about the time
when Jesus began his ministry.
There are different ways of calculating this into a modern date, but
assuming an autumn to autumn calendar and that the part of the year
before the new year when Tiberius came to power is counted as year
one, we come to the autumn of AD 27. I will give a more detailed
explanation of this reasoning later.

3. AD 30/31

The middle of the last week points to the death of Christ

Daniel 9:26 says his death occurs after the 69 weeks, therefore
sometime in the last week. In verse 27 it is narrowed down to the
middle of the last week.

Jesus died on a Passover Friday (Luke 23:56) in the spring.
However to find the date is difficult, as we don't know the method
they used to calculate the lunar month at that time. The year is
likely to be in the range of 30-31 AD.

The spring of AD 31 would be the middle of the last week assuming it
began in the autumn of AD 27.

(Romans 5:6 / Mark 1:15 / John 17:1) Jesus died at the time appointed
according to the 70 week prophecy of Daniel 9 which points to the
spring of AD 31 (457 BC + 70 weeks = AD 34, middle of the last week =
AD 31). Jesus also died at the same time as the Passover lamb was to
be sacrificed.

4. AD 34

The end of the prophecy points to the end of probation for the Jewish
people to accept Christ as a nation. Although still open to
individuals to believe in Christ.

This seems to tie into the death of Stephen and the scattering of the
believers resulting in the Gospel going more fully to the Gentiles.

This is not an easy date to establish, however it can be attempted by
trying to determine the date of conversion of Paul which occurred
sometime after this event.
We need a fixed chronological point to work back from.
His appearance before Gallio gives us a date Acts 18:12. His
proconsulship is dated to AD 51-52 according to an inscription found
at Delphi which mentions him.

Working backwards through the second missionary journey Acts 16-17
brings us to AD 49 for the beginning of the journey that took Paul to
Corinth.
This would date the Jerusalem council of Acts 15 to AD 48/49.

In Galatians 2:1 Paul says that visit was after fourteen years which
takes us back to AD 35/36.

Galatians 1:18 refers to another period of three years which takes us
to AD 33/34.

And so it might be reasonable to conclude that Paul was converted
about AD 34 shortly after the stoning of Stephen.

One cannot prove all points in this prophecy but I believe there is
enough evidence given to establish faith in the Word of God, which
points to Jesus as the Messiah who died about AD 31 as prophesied in
the book of Daniel about 500 years before the event.

Calculating Tiberius' 15th year:

1. There was no uniform calendar in the first century AD. Although the
Romans had adopted the Julian calendar, local people who had been
subjugated often used their local calendars.

2. The Jews used a lunar calendar, the religious New Year beginning in
the spring and the civil New Year beginning in the autumn.

3. There was two ways of reckoning the first year of a king, either as
the year in which he began his reign (non-accession system) or the
first full year of his reign (accession system).

4. The phrase "fifteenth year" used in Luke was not a Roman formula,
which would have been expressed as 29th (or 30th) year of tribunician
power (prior to this system, the consular year was used). Therefore
Luke is using a local dating system.

5. The non-accession system was the common system used in the Near
East in the early period of the Roman Empire. The system was used by
the Egyptians, Cyprus, probably Syria, and Palestine. Josephus
indicates this method was used for the reigns of Herod the Great and
his sons.

6. Jewish reckoning of foreign kings used the autumn to autumn
calendar.

As the non-accessions system and the autumn calendar were the two
methods used by the Jews for calculating the reign of kings, it is
reasonable to assume this was the system used by Luke, although it
cannot be proven.

This would mean the fifteenth year of Tiberius started in the autumn
of AD 27.

The year of the Crucifixion:

1. By taking the fifteenth year of Tiberius and adding the length of
Jesus' ministry we could get an idea of the year Jesus was crucified.

John records three Passovers (John 2:13, 6:4, 12:1) and one unnamed
feast (John 5:1) which probably is also a Passover.
This means His ministry would have been over 3 years long.
Assuming His ministry began in the autumn of AD 27, there would have
been three Passovers in AD 28, 29, 30 and the final Passover when He
was crucified would have been in the spring of AD 31.

2. Pilate's term of office was from AD 26-36

3. Jesus' death had to occur on a year when the Passover lamb was
slain on a Friday. The early church generally agreed that Jesus was
crucified on Nisan 14 (although a few said Nisan 15).
Modern astronomical methods have been used to attempt to locate the
possible years when in the months of March or April they would have
been a Friday 14th of Nissan.
This type of calculation cannot be verified as it has an error margin
of at least one day due to the fact that the month began when the
crescent moon was observed.
However it has been calculated that between AD 28 to AD 33 there are
three months which point to a Friday Nisan 14: March AD 30, April AD
31, March AD 33.
AD 33 is untenable as the lunar month in March AD 33 should be an Adar
II meaning Nisan would occur a month later and the 14th would not be a
Friday.

The evidence points to the most likely years of the Crucifixion as AD
30 or 31 although this cannot be proven.

In summary the prophecy was fulfilled by Jesus who died on the year
specified in the prophecy in AD 31.

The prophecy was Daniel 9:24-27 in its exact mathematical fulfilment
has done much to establish the truthfulness of the Holy Scriptures.
Daniel 7 reveals Jesus as King, chapter 8 as a priest, and chapter 9
as a sacrifice. In chapter 12 there is a time of trouble, those whose
names are written in the book are delivered, Michael stands up and the
dead are brought back to life. The judgment process started in chapter
7 when the books were opened is completed in chapter 12 with return of
Christ. The plan of salvation is complete, sin and sinners are no more
and the righteous will inherit the new earth.

I have focused on one part of Daniel 9, which is broadly non
denominational, but for more information about this or other chapters
of Daniel please see the list of sources below. The 70 week prophecy
helps to unlock the secret of the 2300 days which is directly relevant
to our time as it points to the start of the final judgment in heaven.
When that judgment process is complete Jesus will return to this earth
to reward each man according to his works (Matthew 16:27). No one
knows the day of the hour, but as Jesus said, when you see these
things taking place look up for your redemption draws nigh (Luke
21:28).

Sources of information:
www.adventistbookcenter.com
www.adventistbiblicalreasearch.org

From the book centre I would recommend "Daniel the Seer of Babylon" by
Gerhard Pfandl ISBN 0-8280-1829-4
For a scholarly in depth study: The Daniel and Revelation Committee
Series (7 volumes)
The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary vol. 4 also has a lot of
useful information but is not always up to date with the latest
interpretations.

The research centre has a lot of articles and documents on it that are
useful.

God Bless

Marc
.

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