Daniel 70 Weeks Prophecy

Daniel chapter 9 gives a prophecy that tells the time that Jesus would die for Israel. It is a very difficult passage of scripture. Almost everybody agrees on the general timeline from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem to the death of Christ. Much disagreement is over thrle last week, or 7 years. Below is the dating of the first 69 weeks, or 477 years from the time the decree went out to the time Christ died.

Daniel 9:24-27 KJVS

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. [25] 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. [26] And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. [27] And he 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, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

445 BC minus 484 years (69 "weeks"), or 477 gregorian years, is about 33 AD give or take.

20th year of Artaxerxes as seen in Nehemiah 1 is when the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem seems to have been given. Historians typically date the beginning of this Artaxerxes reign to 465 BC. This would mean the clock of the 70 week prophecy would start in 445 BC.

It is widely reported that a "year" in the bible, or at least in the prophecy of the bible, refers to a 360 day year. The usage in Revelation, Daniel, and Genesis of time matches this usage in several places.

It is widely agreed that the the 70 "weeks" refer to 70 sets of 7 (the Hebrew literally reads 70 sevens). Each "day" of each "week" is believed to be a year. Thus, 70 "sevens" or 70 "weeks" is actually 70*7 years or 490 years. As Messiah is said to be cut off in the 69th week. It is generally agreed that 483 years are to pass from the going forth of the commandment to rebuild jerusalem and the death of the Hebrew Messiah.

445 BC -483 modern years = 39 AD (there is no 0 year, so going from 5 BC to 5 AD is only 9 years rather than 10 many would count).

However as stated we must use the 360 day year, or is generally agreed upon.

483 years using 360 day years is 173880 days.

483 years using 365 days is 176295

That is a difference of 2415 days. Or in 6.6 years in 365 day years.

So 483 becomes 477 years. 445 BC -477 modern 365 day years gives us around 32 or 33 AD, which is commonly said to be when Jesus died.

The exact dates are not known with certainty. we don't know if Jesus died in 30 AD or 34 AD. Ranges and estimates vary. But we do know he died somewhere around this time, as we are told he started his ministry in the 14th year of the emperor (commonly dated to 28 AD but some disagree), and are reasonably safe to say his ministry was about 3.5 years (based on 3 passovers mentioned in the book of John and tradition).

Keeping in mind that we don't know the exact year (of any historical event this far back), but being reasonably well assured we are close enough (in both the matters of Artaxerxes' reign and Christ's ministry timetables, and using the basic idea that 69 "sevens", or "weeks", or 483 Jewish years (which is 477 modern years) we get the astoundingly perfect prediction that from the time Nehemiah 1 takes place to the time Jesus died for the sins of the people was written before he was ever even born into this world.

The Jews, while not understanding this prophecy in full, were told that their messiah would come and die, and the timeline of these events would start counting from the time they were sent back to build Jerusalem and end with the cutting off of the Messiah. The 483 years from Artaxerxes to the death of Jesus Christ is not only the sole moment in history that fits this, it is a perfect fit without any real disagreement. Scholars disagree on the final 70th week, or 7 years. But almost everybody agrees that the timeline from Artaxerxes giving the decree to Jesus Christ's death is perfectly recorded here.

https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1208&context=eleu

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