Olde Tymer
Well-known member
~
For quite a few years I was under the impression that Jesus popped up unexpected
in Israel, but later discovered that the Jews were alerted in advance by his cousin
John.
● Matt 3:1-3 . . In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the desert of
Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." This is he who was
spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, "A voice of one calling in the desert: Prepare
the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him." (cf. John 1:19-27)
Plus, there was the prophecy in Daniel 9:25-26 where it's said:
"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."
A technicality to be aware of is that those sixty-nine weeks are not heptads of days,
rather, of years; which total 483.
A further technicality to be aware of is that they aren't normal years, rather, they're
prophetic years, which are only 360 days each. So 483 x 360 = 173,880 days
which is roughly equivalent to +/- 476 normal years.
Also where it says "unto Messiah the Prince" refers not to Messiah's birth in
Bethlehem but instead to Palm Sunday in Jerusalem (Matt 21:1-5, Luke 12:19-42,
& John 12:12-15)
Turning to Neh 1:1-2:18, we find our hero depressed and upset because his home
town, the very city where his relatives are buried, was in ruins; its wall broken
down, and its gates ashes. So, with a goodly amount of butterflies in his stomach,
Nehemiah petitioned his boss for a leave of absence to go and rebuild Jerusalem.
Artaxerxes gave him permission, supported by official memorandums, in the month
of Nisan, in the twentieth year of his reign. So it is in Neh 2 that we find the only
actual Bible record of a royal permit to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. This, then, is
our choice for the beginning of Daniel's prediction.
* If perchance someone out there feels like calculating the date of Palm Sunday on
their own: just be sure to begin your dating with the commission to rebuild the city
of Jerusalem under Nehemiah rather than the Temple under Ezra because those
two projects were not taken up simultaneously.
Fortunately, the date of Artaxerxes reign can be easily and definitely ascertained--
not from the elaborate investigative treatises of biblical commentators and
prophetic writers; but from ordinary history books. Artaxerxes-- a.k.a. Artaxerxes 1
--reigned from 465-425 BCE.
According to Nehemiah, the Persian edict, which gave him permission to rebuild
Jerusalem, was issued during the Jewish month of Nisan in the twentieth year of
Artaxerxes. Unfortunately the exact day is not given. It is very possible the decree
was dated the 1st of Nisan; but that's not really important as long as we come
close enough for practical consideration. The 476 normal years then, within reason,
and close enough for our purposes, will therefore be calculated from the 1st of
Nisan 445 BCE.
Counting 476 normal years forward from 445 BC drops us off at +/- 31 CE which, if
correct, becomes the year that Daniel predicted Messiah would be cut off. That figure
appears to be in the ball park; and here's why:
According to Luke 3:1-3, Tiberius was the emperor in Rome when John the Baptist
began his public ministry.
Tiberius' reign spanned 14 CE to 37 CE and according to Luke, John's ministry
began sometime in 29 CE. Precisely on what day Jesus was baptized by John we
don't know for sure, but we do know that he was +/- 30 years old at the time.
(Luke 3:21-23)
Jesus' own ministry ran about three years before he was cut off. So if we add 3 to
29 we get +/- 32 CE.
NOTE: We're not trying to prove that Jesus was the Messiah predicted by Daniel
9:25-26. We're only explaining why we believe he's a reasonable candidate due to
the fact that his life and times coincide remarkably well with Daniel's prediction.
_
For quite a few years I was under the impression that Jesus popped up unexpected
in Israel, but later discovered that the Jews were alerted in advance by his cousin
John.
● Matt 3:1-3 . . In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the desert of
Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near." This is he who was
spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, "A voice of one calling in the desert: Prepare
the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him." (cf. John 1:19-27)
Plus, there was the prophecy in Daniel 9:25-26 where it's said:
"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."
A technicality to be aware of is that those sixty-nine weeks are not heptads of days,
rather, of years; which total 483.
A further technicality to be aware of is that they aren't normal years, rather, they're
prophetic years, which are only 360 days each. So 483 x 360 = 173,880 days
which is roughly equivalent to +/- 476 normal years.
Also where it says "unto Messiah the Prince" refers not to Messiah's birth in
Bethlehem but instead to Palm Sunday in Jerusalem (Matt 21:1-5, Luke 12:19-42,
& John 12:12-15)
Turning to Neh 1:1-2:18, we find our hero depressed and upset because his home
town, the very city where his relatives are buried, was in ruins; its wall broken
down, and its gates ashes. So, with a goodly amount of butterflies in his stomach,
Nehemiah petitioned his boss for a leave of absence to go and rebuild Jerusalem.
Artaxerxes gave him permission, supported by official memorandums, in the month
of Nisan, in the twentieth year of his reign. So it is in Neh 2 that we find the only
actual Bible record of a royal permit to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. This, then, is
our choice for the beginning of Daniel's prediction.
* If perchance someone out there feels like calculating the date of Palm Sunday on
their own: just be sure to begin your dating with the commission to rebuild the city
of Jerusalem under Nehemiah rather than the Temple under Ezra because those
two projects were not taken up simultaneously.
Fortunately, the date of Artaxerxes reign can be easily and definitely ascertained--
not from the elaborate investigative treatises of biblical commentators and
prophetic writers; but from ordinary history books. Artaxerxes-- a.k.a. Artaxerxes 1
--reigned from 465-425 BCE.
According to Nehemiah, the Persian edict, which gave him permission to rebuild
Jerusalem, was issued during the Jewish month of Nisan in the twentieth year of
Artaxerxes. Unfortunately the exact day is not given. It is very possible the decree
was dated the 1st of Nisan; but that's not really important as long as we come
close enough for practical consideration. The 476 normal years then, within reason,
and close enough for our purposes, will therefore be calculated from the 1st of
Nisan 445 BCE.
Counting 476 normal years forward from 445 BC drops us off at +/- 31 CE which, if
correct, becomes the year that Daniel predicted Messiah would be cut off. That figure
appears to be in the ball park; and here's why:
According to Luke 3:1-3, Tiberius was the emperor in Rome when John the Baptist
began his public ministry.
Tiberius' reign spanned 14 CE to 37 CE and according to Luke, John's ministry
began sometime in 29 CE. Precisely on what day Jesus was baptized by John we
don't know for sure, but we do know that he was +/- 30 years old at the time.
(Luke 3:21-23)
Jesus' own ministry ran about three years before he was cut off. So if we add 3 to
29 we get +/- 32 CE.
NOTE: We're not trying to prove that Jesus was the Messiah predicted by Daniel
9:25-26. We're only explaining why we believe he's a reasonable candidate due to
the fact that his life and times coincide remarkably well with Daniel's prediction.
_
