Daniel 9:25 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.
This was Ezra rebuilding the literal Temple, but also prophetic of the Spiritual Temple making it ready for Messiah to return.
Daniel 8:14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. (Full 70 weeks/ 490 years which end with the return of Christ)
God speaks to us in scripture of a 3 1/2 year tribulation period (not a seven year) as being time, times and half time which equals 1260 days = 3 ½ years or 3 ½ Times – Hebrew calendar only had 30 days for each month and this is where you get 1260 days or 3 ½ years. (First half and second half of the 2300 days)
[Scripture reference]
Revelation 12:14; Daniel 7:25; Daniel 12:7
1260 days – Revelation 11:3; Revelation 12:6
42 months – Revelation 11:2; Revelation 13:5
2300 days – Daniel 8:13, 14
The 70th week (490 prophetic years) begins with the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.
Ezra 1: 2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.
Messiah is cut-off at the crucifixion which is the 69th week (483 prophetic years). God set aside the wrath that will come in the 70th week (490 prophetic years) and revealed the revelation of the mystery to the apostle John and we will be in that gap between the 69th week and the 70th week until God pours out his wrath upon those who refuse to repent during the seven trumpet and seven vial judgments then will Jesus return and sends His angels out to the four corners of the earth to gather His bride to Him.
The command to rebuild Jerusalem was in 457BC. Daniel 9:25 says it took 7 weeks (49 years) to rebuild. This brings us to 408BC.
Daniel says 62 weeks later (434 years) Messiah will arrive. This brings us to 27AD which is the end of week 69 and start of week 70. (408 -343 = 26. Add 1 year for year “0” and you come to 27AD)
Daniel 9:26, 27 says Messiah is cut off and in the midst of week 70th Jesus shall confirm the covenant (grace) and that which is determined (judged) will be that of Gods judgment of those not found written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Note 1: There are different opinions on who “the people of the prince” refers to in Daniel 9:26 but the majority of scholars however do agree that the destruction of the city and the sanctuary applies to the second destruction of Jerusalem and the rebuilt sanctuary by Roman armies under Prince Titus in 70 A.D.
Note 2: Remember the 70 weeks or 490 years was the time God gave His chosen nation to end their rebellion where they would then be forgiven for their transgressions. Now note that Jesus references this prophetic time period while conversing with Peter on the topic forgiveness. 70 times 7 is of course 490.
Matthew 18:21 “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”
For those wondering, the well known and accepted day for a year rule is correct or otherwise the entire ministry of Jesus would have only been 3.5 days instead of 3.5 years and the entire prophecy would have only lasted about 1.3 years. That would be from 457 B.C. to approximately 455 B.C. The temple and the streets and the walls of Jerusalem etc would have had to have been rebuilt in 49 days. This would be an impossible task and it certainly did take every bit of the 49 years as one would expect.
So let’s just clarify these times again. Daniel 9:24 “Seventy weeks are determined upon your people” Seventy weeks is 70 x 7 days which is 490 prophetic days, which on the day for a year rule is 490 years.
Daniel 9:25 “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.”
Daniel 9:25 states that from the decree to rebuild the temple until the Messiah (means anointed one), which can only be Jesus, is 7 weeks and threescore and two weeks, Three score is 60, plus two equals 62 weeks. So this is 7 + 62 = 69 weeks from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until the beginning of Christ’s ministry. The ministry of Jesus began with His baptism around the age of thirty.
Luke 3:22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.
Luke 3:23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
So how do we get the year of baptism to be 27 A.D. when it states Jesus was about thirty years old? When the time of this was first calculated there was an error of 4 years made as many now know. Herod was still alive when Christ was born and did all he could to try and kill Jesus at that time. But History records Herod’s death to be in 4 B.C. After the error was recognized, the historic facts became even clearer. Jesus was born in 4 B.C. and then baptized in 27 A.D. at the age of 30.
The 7 weeks (49 days = 49 years) was the time it took to rebuild the Temple and streets etc and the remaining 62 weeks brings us to the Baptism of the Messiah. Note that Christ means the “anointed one” in Greek while Messiah means the “anointed one” in Hebrew.
Daniel 9:26 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.”
This leaves only the final 70th week, which is 7 years to complete the 70 weeks of Daniel, (7 + 62 + 1 = 70 weeks or 490 years). We are told that after the threescore and two weeks (60 + 2 = 62) that the Messiah would be cut off. In other words, cut off from the land of the living, that is, killed by crucifixion. This happens after the 62 week period which follows the 7 weeks, so this is 69 weeks into the prophecy. Note that is says “after” this time period and not at the end of the 69 weeks exactly. So how long after the 62nd week was it when Jesus was crucified?
Daniel 9:27 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.”
Daniel 9:27 shows us exactly when after the total of 69 weeks (483 days/483 prophetic years in the day as a year principle) Jesus was cut off, but not for Himself for He was cut off for us as He died for our sins. Note that it states that He, Jesus, caused the sacrifice and the oblation to cease in the middle of the final week (7 years), which is 3.5 years of course. When Jesus, the Lamb of God, died on the cross, He became our one and final perfect sacrifice and put an end to the temple sacrifices. This was signified by the temple curtain being torn from top to bottom.
Matthew 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent.
This still leaves 3.5 years before the end of Daniel’s 70 weeks (490 years) and the close of probation for Israel. The Gospel was still to go to the Jews exclusively for this remaining time. So what happened at the end of the 490 years? Stephen gave one immense and very significant speech before the Sanhedrin. This was God giving the Jews their final chance to repent. How did they respond and what did they do?
