The book of Daniel presents the
world with a very unique prophecy--one that predicts the arrival of the
Messiah, suggests the “cutting off” of that Messiah, and foretells the actions
of a future evil prince--the antichrist.
The prophecy is given to Daniel directly from the angel, Gabriel (Daniel
9:20-23), and is constituted as follows in Daniel 9:24-27:
“24
Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to
finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity,
to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to
anoint the most holy place. 25 So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to
restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built
again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. 26 Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and
have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city
and the sanctuary. And its end will come
with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. 27 And he will make a firm covenant
with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to
sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even
until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who
makes desolate.” [Unless otherwise indicated, references are to the NASB.]
Messianic
Prophecy
This prophecy is significant in that it clearly involves the Millennial
reign of the Messiah who will “make an end of sin” and “bring in everlasting
righteousness.” Amazingly, the date of
the coming of the Messiah, as described in this prophecy given to Daniel, is
substantially calculable, and the Messiah’s being “cut off” is similarly
determinable:
1. Consider,
first, the very unique time frame set forth in Daniel 9:25a - "So you are
to know and discern that from the
issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks ...." In this statement, we are provided a starting
point, an ending point and a calculated period in between.
a. The starting point. Daniel 9:25a tells us the starting point is
“the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.” The book of Nehemiah and other historical
records enable us to pinpoint this date:
i. Nehemiah
2:1-10 - And it came about in the month
Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, that wine was before him,
and I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his
presence. So the king said to me, "Why is your face sad though you are not
sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart." Then I was very much afraid.
I said to the king, "Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be
sad when the city, the place of my
fathers' tombs, lies desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?"
Then the king said to me, "What would you request?" So I prayed to
the God of heaven. I said to the king, "If it please the king, and if your
servant has found favor before you, send
me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it."
Then the king said to me, the queen sitting beside him, "How long will
your journey be, and when will you return?" So it pleased the king to send
me, and I gave him a definite time. And I said to the king, "If it please
the king, let letters be given me for
the governors of the provinces beyond the River, that they may allow me to pass
through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's
forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress
which is by the temple, for the wall
of the city and for the house to which I will go." And the king granted them to me because
the good hand of my God was on me. Then I came to the governors of the
provinces beyond the River and gave them
the king's letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and
horsemen. When Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite official heard
about it, it was very displeasing to them that someone had come to seek the
welfare of the sons of Israel.
ii. King
Artaxerxes I of Persia reigned from 465 to 424 BC. Artaxerxes I of Persia. (n.d.) In
Wikipedia. Retrieved October 27, 2014,
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artaxerxes_I_of_Persia. Thus, the 20th year of his reign would have been
between 446 and 445 BC, depending, too, on the month on which his reign
started.
b. The calculated period. Daniel 9:25a tells us the calculated period
is “seven weeks and sixty-two weeks."
i. The
use of the word “weeks” here really means (and is actually translated in some
versions as) “sevens.” So, we are
talking about 69 periods of 7.
Contextually (see e.g., Daniel’s contemplation of Jeremiah’s prophecy
regarding Jerusalem as encompassing a period of years in Daniel 9:2), we are
permitted to understand the 69 periods of 7 to mean periods that are
approximately each a “year.”
ii. 69
periods of 7 years is 483 years.
iii. However,
the text doesn’t really say “years,” which is important; it just says “sevens”;
further, additional passages in Daniel and in Revelation refer to prophetic
periods as “times,” and the context suggests that a “time” equates to a period
of 360 days. It’s not exactly clear why
these periods are not full years; they are God’s specially calculated
“prophetic years.”
A. Daniel
7:25 - [referring to the antichrist] “He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the
Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and
they will be given into his hand for a
time, times, and half a time.”
B. Daniel
12:7 - [referring to the Day of the Lord] “I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters
of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore
by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they finish
shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed.”
C. Revelation
11:2b-3 - [referring to the Great Tribulation period] “and they will tread under foot the holy city for
forty-two months. And I will grant authority
to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for twelve hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
D. Revelation
12:6 - [referring likely to the nation of Israel during the Tribulation] “Then the woman fled into the
wilderness where she had a place prepared by God, so that there she would be
nourished for one thousand two hundred
and sixty days.”
E. Revelation
12:14 - [referring to the nation of Israel during the Tribulation] “But the two wings of the great
eagle were given to the woman, so that she could fly into the wilderness to her
place, where she was nourished for a
time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent.”
F. Revelation 13:5 - [referring to the
beast] “There was given to him a mouth speaking arrogant words and blasphemies,
and authority to act for forty-two
months was given to him.”
When trying to analyze these periods, it
is important to note that (A) 1,260 days / 3.5 “times” = 360 days/”time”; (B)
42 months of 30 days = 1,260 days; and (C) 3.5 times = 3.5 “prophetic years.”
iv. Some scholars also point to the
Genesis account as acknowledging a 30-day month: compare Genesis 7:11 - "In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life,
in the second month, on the seventeenth
day of the month, on the same day all the fountains of the great deep burst
open, and the floodgates of the sky were opened"; to Genesis 8:3-4 “And
the water receded steadily from the earth, and at the end of one hundred and fifty days the water
decreased. In the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, the ark rested
upon the mountains of Ararat.” This is
interesting as a side note to this analysis, but not necessarily critical.
v. Converting
Daniel's 483 periods from God's 360-day prophetic year to our Gregorian
calendar 365.25 day year requires some math:
A. 483
x 360 days = 173,880 days on God's “prophetic years” calendar
B. 173,880
/ 365.25 = 476.06 years on the Gregorian calendar
C. 445
(i.e., BC) + 476 years (i.e., 365.25-day years) = 31 (i.e., AD)
D. Curiously,
the Gregorian calendar does not have a year "0." 0 Year. (n.d.) In Wikipedia. Retrieved October 28,
2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/0_(year). Zero wasn't understood at the time the calendars
precedent to the Gregorian calendar were developed. Thus, because our
calculation crosses over the transition period from BC to AD, we must add 1
year to 31 AD, making the correct year for purposes of our calculation: 32 AD.
[Note, too, that if we use 446 BC as the starting point, we end up at 31 AD.]
c. The ending point. Daniel 9:25a
indicates that the ending point is identified as the time of "Messiah
the Prince.” Thus, the question is
whether the above calculated year of 32 AD [or 31 AD] comports with the actual
date of the arrival of Messiah the Prince.
i. The
Jewish month of Nisan starts on the day after the the new moon of spring (i.e.,
the new moon closest to the vernal equinox). Nisan-Years. (n.d.) In Wikipedia.
Retrieved October 29, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisan-years.
ii.. Passover
begins on the evening of the 14th day of the month of Nisan and continues for 7
days. Exodus 12:1-28. The first day of Passover is the first day
following the first sunset of Passover.
Passover. (n.d.) In
Wikipedia. Retreived on October 30, 2014
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passover. Thus, the
first day of Passover is Nisan 15. Ibid.
iii. Thus,
taking the above information together, it appears the prophecy in Daniel 9, in
effect, indicates that the Messiah would be evident to Israel approximately in
the month of Nisan in 32 AD.
A. In
fact, it appears that the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem occurred in
the month of Nisan. See Mark 10:32-33,
Mark 11:1-11 and Mark 14:1, 12, as well as Luke 18:31-34, Luke 19:28-40, and
Luke 22:1-2, noting that all of these events occurred at about the same
time.
B. Interestingly,
Jesus picks up on Daniel’s prophecy as part of his discussion with his
disciples during this final week: See Matthew 24:3-31; Mark 13:3-27; Luke
21:7-33.)
C. Looking
at John 12:1-12, it appears that the Triumphal Entry would have occurred 5 days
before the Passover, which would have been on about Nisan 10 (depending on
whether they were counting from the sunset of Passover or the First Day of
Passover).
D. There
is little question that Jesus was hailed as a “Prince” during the Triumphal
Entry. See John 12:12-15 (crowd
shouting, “Blessed is the
king of Israel!”).
2. Consider,
too, the additional information in the prophecy regarding the Messiah: “After
those 62 weeks the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing.” Daniel 9:26a.
Many scholars agree that this passage suggests death. Daniel may have been wondering how the
Messiah could both appear and then be suddenly “cut off” and “have
nothing.” The answer lies in the rest of
the week after the Triumphal Entry.
a. The
Passover meal (the “Last Supper” seder) would have been conducted approximately
on the evening of the 14th day of Nisan.
b. Since
Jesus was arrested during the night of the Last Supper, Jesus had to have been
arrested on the evening of the 14th or the early morning of the 15th of
Nisan. Matthew 26:18-31 and John
18:1-13. Peter would have denied Jesus
for the 3rd time in the break of day on the 15th of Nisan. Matthew 26:57-74; Luke 22:54-62; John
18:15-27.
c. On
the morning of the 15th of Nisan, Jesus was taken to the sanhedrin (Luke 22:66)
and Pilate (Matthew 27:1-2; John 18:28).
d. Jesus
was crucified that very day, on Nisan 15.
Matthew 27:62-65 and Luke 23:54 and John 19:14,31 indicate that Jesus
was also buried on that day, Preparation Day, and “the day after Preparation
Day” the chief priests obtained orders from Pilate to guard the tomb.
e. Thus,
it appears that Jesus was “cut off” during the month of Nisan.
3. Thus,
Jesus was hailed as the King of Israel and crucified in the month of
Nisan. The question is whether these
events all occurred in 32 AD [or 31 AD, depending on the calculation start
date]. The time frame of 32 AD is
substantiated (although not necessarily pinpointed) by a variety of collateral
facts:
a. Pilate
was the prefect of the Roman province of Judaea from AD 26–36. Pontius Pilate. (n.d.) In Wikipedia.
Retrieved October 30, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontius_Pilate.
b. John
the Baptist started his ministry in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius
Caesar. Luke 3:1-20. Tiberius reigned from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius.
(n.d.) In Wikipedia. Retreived on
October 30, 2014 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberius. The 15th year
of the reign of Tiberius would be about 28-29 AD. Jesus appears to have started his ministry at
about the same time, at age 30. See Luke
3:21-23.
c. There
are only a few Passovers mentioned in the Gospels as occurring during Jesus’
ministry--the final one occurring at his crucifixion. Thus, he would have been about 33 years old
at the time of his crucifixion. Thus, at
age 33, the year would have been about 31-32 AD.
d. It
is nearly impossible to try to sync our calendar with the calendar used back at
this time. For some notes regarding the
complicating factors of the analysis, see Espenak, Fred. (January 24, 2007).
Calendar Dates. NASA Eclipse
Website. Retrieved from http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhelp/calendar.html. Being even 1
year off in the analysis completely alters the dates, considering that the
analysis begins with the identification of the new moon of spring, and that
date moves around the Gregorian calendar.
This is likely why Jesus said of His Second Coming, “But of that day and hour no one
knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.” Matthew 24:36.
e. Notwithstanding the calendar
synchronization issues, my best guess of the timetable would look something
like this [again, this is based on 32 AD]: Starting with the NASA phases of the
moon tables [see Espenak, Fred. (March 27, 2007). Phases of
the Moon: 1-100. NASA. Retrieved October
30, 2014, from http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/phase/phases0001.html]--
Gregorian
|
Hebrew
|
Day of Week
|
Comments
|
March 29
|
-
|
Thursday
|
The NASA Phases of the Moon:1-100 table shows the new moon closest to
the vernal equinox of 32 AD, appearing at 8:00 p.m, in Universal Time, which
would equate to 10 p.m. in Jerusalem; the Sanhedrin would thus most likely
have considered the spotting of the new moon on this evening to have caused
the following day to be Nisan 1.
|
March 30
|
Nisan 1
|
Friday
|
|
March 31
|
Nisan 2
|
Saturday
|
|
April 1
|
Nisan 3
|
Sunday
|
|
April 2
|
Nisan 4
|
Monday
|
|
April 3
|
Nisan 5
|
Tuesday
|
|
April 4
|
Nisan 6
|
Wednesday
|
|
April 5
|
Nisan 7
|
Thursday
|
|
April 6
|
Nisan 8
|
Friday
|
|
April 7
|
Nisan 9
|
Saturday
|
Jesus anointed in Bethany
|
April 8
|
Nisan 10
|
Sunday
|
Jesus’ Triumphal Entry
|
April 9
|
Nisan 11
|
Monday
|
|
April 10
|
Nisan 12
|
Tuesday
|
|
April 11
|
Nisan 13
|
Wednesday
|
|
April 12
|
Nisan 14
|
Thursday
|
Passover Seder on this evening: the
Last Supper
|
April 13
|
Nisan 15
|
Friday
|
1st day of Passover: Jesus arrested
very early, then taken to the sanhedrin
and Pilate and to Herod and back to Pilate; whipped; crucified; died; buried
before sunset; Preparation
Day (day before Sabbath); the NASA tables show a full moon as well as
a total lunar eclipse this night.
|
April 14
|
Nisan 16
|
Saturday
|
2nd day of Passover: Sabbath Day
|
April 15
|
Nisan 17
|
Sunday
|
3rd day of Passover: Resurrection Day
(earthquake on this day)
|
April 16
|
Nisan 18
|
Monday
|
4th day of Passover:
|
April 17
|
Nisan 19
|
Tuesday
|
5th day of Passover
|
April 18
|
Nisan 20
|
Wednesday
|
6th day of Passover
|
April 19
|
Nisan 21
|
Thursday
|
Last day of Passover
|
April 20
|
Nisan 22
|
Friday
|
[Note that the listing of the days of the
week was made to sync with the Scriptural account. A number of people have offered
day-of-the-week calculators, trying to account for all of the variations of
calendars over the years, but they all seem to yield a variety of answers when
estimating the precise day of the week for a given date in 32 AD. If you study
the complexities of calendar calculations, you will see that it is nearly
impossible to try to match the day of the week with a particular day that far back
in time.]
Thus,
there are corroborating elements indicating that 32 AD is a very realistically
probable year of the Triumphal Entry, crucifixion and resurrection of
Christ. This evidence makes Daniel’s
prophecy regarding the Messiah’s being both Prince and “cut off” 483 prophetic
years from the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem particularly amazing.
Antichrist Prophecy
We can
also see in Daniel’s prophecy some interesting considerations regarding the
antichrist.
1. First,
it is interesting to note Gabriel’s prophecy that “seventy weeks have been decreed” relating to Jews
and Jerusalem (Daniel 9:24), yet the prophecy regarding the Messiah encompassed
only 69 of the weeks (Daniel 9:25-26a).
The 69 weeks period ends when the Messiah is “cut off” (Daniel
9:26). There is, therefore, a remaining
week (7 prophetic year period) involving Jerusalem and the Jews to be addressed
after the Messiah’s being “cut off.”
2. The
prophecy does, indeed, address the final “one week” period. Daniel 9:27a indicates that the antichrist “will make a firm covenant with the
many for one week.” Thus, the final week
is distinct from the 69 week period. And
we understand this prophecy to apply to a period in the future--far from the
death of Christ. To some dispensationalists,
this break in time periods is particularly coherent: Jesus’ death and
resurrection mark the end of the period decreed for the Jews as well as the
beginning of the church age, a time when Gentiles are given the opportunity to
accept Christ (see John 12:20-23 wherein the story of Gentiles wanting to see
Jesus appeared to be a marker for Jesus to know that the time of the Gentiles
was about to begin); that age continues until the start of the final “one week”
period. The final “one week” period, according
to Gabriel’s prophecy, is, after all, part of the 70 week period decreed for
the Jews and for Jerusalem. Thus, the
age of the Gentiles should end before the beginning of the final “one week”
period applicable to the Jews. Many
evangelicals see this transition being marked by a “Rapture” event, wherein
believers in Christ are removed from Earth prior to the playing out of the
final “one week” period. (See 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.) Certainly, if believers in Christ are removed
from the Earth, the focus of the plan of God should, theologically, shift back
to the Jews (who haven’t accepted Jesus as their savior but are still the
beneficiaries of the promises given by God to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob); they
would be given a final opportunity to embrace the plan of God--in the context
of a final, 7-prophetic-year period that precedes the Second Coming of Jesus
(which orthodox Jews currently understand, simply, as the Coming of the
Messiah). The Second Coming of Jesus
would mark the dawn of a new era--a 1000 year period of the reign of the
Messiah on Earth. (The Second Coming of
Christ and His millennial reign are not, however, encompassed by this prophecy
except as a marker for the bringing of “everlasting righteousness.”)
3. The fact that the final “one week”
period is distinctly applicable to the Jews is marked by the prophetic
statement: “in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain
offering” (Daniel 9:27b). After the death and resurrection of Jesus, there is
no need for sacrifices or grain offerings.
People saved in the church age understand this; orthodox Jews, however,
do not understand this; the only reason the orthodox Jews are not sacrificing
and making offerings is that there is no temple; there is no temple, because
the Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine, is situated precisely where the
orthodox Jews believe the temple is to be situated. See Dome of the Rock. (n.d.) In
Wikipedia. Retrieved on October 31, 2014
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dome_of_the_Rock. Thus, the prophetic
statement suggests that the Jewish temple is to be re-built.
4. The prophecy further indicates that
the antichrist will break his covenant with the Jews. As indicated in Daniel 9:27, “And he will
make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week
he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of
abominations will come one who makes
desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out
on the one who makes desolate.” Thus, in
the middle of the 7-prophetic-year period, started by the activation of a
covenant with the Jews, the antichrist will break the covenant, and destruction
and desolation will come. As noted
above, Jesus expressly refers to this part of the prophecy in Daniel during the
week of His crucifixion (see Matthew 24:15-31)--amazingly tying together the
prophecy from Daniel to Jesus to the antichrist.
5. In Daniel 9:26-27 there is a
curious triality with regard to the references to the antichrist: “the people
of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its
end will come with a flood; even to
the end there will be war; desolations
are determined. And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one
week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain
offering; and on the wing of abominations will
come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is
decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.” The triality arises from the facts that (a)
Jerusalem and the temple existing at the time of Jesus’ life on Earth was
destroyed in 70 AD by Rome through Titus (who wanted to convert the temple into
a temple for Rome) (see Siege of Jerusalem. (n.d.) In Wikipedia. Retrieved
October 31, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_(AD_70)), (b) Jerusalem
and the temple created following Daniel’s captivity were destroyed in 167 BC by
Greece through Antiochus Epiphanes (who insisted that the Jews worship Zeus and
referred to himself as god) (see Aniochus IV Epiphanes. (n.d.) In Wikipedia.
Retrieved on October 31, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiochus_IV_Epiphanes), and (c) the
antichrist will also act to desolate the temple. This is why the prophecy indicates
“desolations are
determined.”
6. The reference “people of the prince
who is to come” may carry a suggestion that there is a relationship between the
antichrist and the prior desolators. In
this regard, it is interesting to note that Antiochus IV Epiphanes was king of
the Seleucid Empire, which encompassed areas now known as Israel, Syria, Turkey,
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran and Iraq.
Titus was the emperor of the Roman Empire, which encompassed areas now
known as Europe, Greece, Turkey, Syria, Israel and Egypt.
In sum, the prophecy given to Daniel by
Gabriel encompasses a host of events involving the Messiah. It provided something amazing for Daniel to
look forward to, and it gives us an amazing opportunity to look both back and
forward in time with confidence that the Messiah came and will, indeed, come
again.
Mark Absher
California
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Mark Absher
California
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