Introduction
The most amazing prophecy in the Bible is Daniel 9:24-27, commonly referred to as “Daniels 70 Weeks” of Israel.  Yet what’s so amazing is the precision of verse 25 which is the crowning touch of this prophecy.  Because it specifically deals with the presentation of the Messiah of Israel.  It presents a formula which is mathematic, easily verifiable, and established over 300 years before the time of Jesus.  The Hebrew scripture, which includes the book of Daniel, is beyond question as having been written hundreds of years before the time of Christ.

And further vindication of this fact is that in 285 BC production of the Greek translation of the Hebrew scripture, commonly referred to as the Septuagint was begun and finished 15 years later in 270 BC.  It is an immutable historical fact that the book of Daniel which we possess in our current translations of the Bible was established hundreds of years before the time of Christ.

Pre-requisite – Earnest Consideration and Tabulation
Concerning this ninth chapter of Daniel, verse 25 states:

“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.”

The first word to note in this passage is the word:

“Know” – This English word for Know comes from the Hebrew “yada,” and means “to know.”  Generally speaking according to Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary it means “to ascertain by seeing.”¹ More specifically, according to Vine’s Hebrew Dictionary, this verb essentially means:

“(1) to know by observing and reflecting (thinking), and (2) to know by experiencing.”²

 This word, to know, is presented as a charge for the reader to investigate and therefore comprehend what the ongoing passage says.  It is not presented as subjective, vague, or an assumption.  In the Greek is understood as an imperative, a command to observe fully.

The second word to note in this passage is the word:

“Understand” – this English word to understand comes from the Hebrew “biyn” and means “to separate mentally (or distinguish).”  Generally speaking according to Strong’s Hebrew dictionary it means to diligently and directly discern or consider.¹ More specifically, according to Vines Hebrew Dictionary, this verb means:

“to understand, be able, deal wisely, consider, pay attention to, regard, notice, discern, perceive, inquire.” ²

 This word, understand, is a direction for the reader to pay diligent attention to and therefore discern and comprehend what the ongoing passage means.Though these two words may seem repetitious, they are not.  They are to advise the reader to diligently observe and work out; to mathematically calculate and conclude, to consider closely and perceive.  The idea is to very earnestly observe, and then carefully figure out the following information.  This should be a red light, flashing sign to the reader to carefully pay attention and earnestly figure out the following formula.  The reason why this is so Paramount will be discussed later.

Prophecy Anchor Point
Verse 25 goes on to say:

“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 verse lays out an anchor point, a position that is tethered to an event in such a way that is immutable to cross examination.  God fixes the foregoing prophecy to a historical event that is recognized within the known world, beyond Jewish affirmation, established in world history, and indisputable.  God ties the prophecy concerning the Messiah to the event of the command to restore and to build Jerusalem.  Due to the specificity of these words, this particular decree can be specifically tied to an exact event.  Whereas there were orders given to rebuild the Temple, the order to rebuild Jerusalem mandated the erection of the wall, as with out the protection and designation of the wall, Jerusalem would not be a city, simply a village of buildings.  It was the wall that created the identity as well’s the ability to construct the rest of the city.  With out the wall, there is no city.  Verse 25 referrers directly to “the wall,” as well as “the street,” which should settle the question of which rebuilding of the city this would referred to, as differentiated from other construction, and the building of the temple.

It is this historical fact that on March 14, 445 BC, King Artaxerxes Longimanus gave the order to rebuild Jerusalem and its wall as recorded in Nehemiah chapter 2.  Perhaps the best resource on this documentation can be found in Sir Robert Anderson’s 1894 book, “The Coming King,” currently under reprint, and available at most Christian bookstores.  It is Sir Robert Anderson’s work concerning the 360 day Hebrew calendar, as noted in:  Genesis 7:24; 8:3,4; Revelation 11:2; 12:6; 13:3,4, as well as 18 world calendars found to have also indicated a 360 day year prior to the sixth century B.C.⁵

The book of Daniel was written in the sixth century BC, 150 years before King Artaxerxes Longimanus had given this decree.  Many decades had passed since Daniel had left Jerusalem destroyed, and now penned this famous prophecy concerning its rebuilding some 150 years later.  Thus indicating that Jerusalem would remain desolate for over 200 years.

Calculation
The Hebrews (referred to as Jews after the Babylonian captivity), understood the importance of the number seven.  They understood weeks of days, concerning the Sabbath; weeks of years, concerning a “Sabbath of the land;”³ and weeks of weeks of years, concerning the Jubilee year.  Therefore when Daniel said that the time of the order given to rebuild Jerusalem and the wall until the time of the Messiah the Prince (the actual translation is “Messiah the King”), shall be 69 weeks, they understood that this mathematical equation represented 69 times seven, or 483 360 day years.  In consideration that we utilize a Gregorian calendar, it becomes simpler to understand this equation according to the days rather than the years foretold.  Therefore, 69 weeks (sevens) of 360 day years totals, 173,880 days.  This calculation of time starting at the order to rebuild of Jerusalem and it’s wall (given on March 14, 445 BC), would indicate that the Messiah the King would arrive in Jerusalem on April 6, in the year 32 AD⁴ (according to the Gregorian calendar).

According to Luke 3:1, Jesus started his Ministry during (in) the 15th year of Tiberius.  Tiberias was appointed during the year 14 AD (Augustus died August 19, 14 AD), therefore Jesus started his public Ministry in the year 29 AD.  We know that according to scripture Jesus was crucified on the fourth Passover after starting his public Ministry; therefore Jesus was crucified on Passover, the 14th of Nisan (Hebrew calendar) in the year 32, which would’ve been April 10 in the year 32 AD on the Gregorian calendar.  Therefore, four days before the crucifixion of Christ, on the sixth of April, in the year 32; according to the prophecy of Daniel, recorded in chapter 9, verse 25; the Messiah the King would present himself to Jerusalem.

Christ’s Lack of Public Proclamation
An issue that is curious to many Christians is Christ’s refusal to be acknowledged as the Messiah publicly during his three-year public Ministry.  John 2:4 is the account of the first miracle of Jesus, which takes place at a marriage feast in Cana.  What is unusual is that when His mother asked Him to intercede in performing the miracle, Jesus responds by saying, “my hour is not yet come.”  This is at the start of Jesus public Ministry, many have believed that He was referring to his crucifixion; yet if this was the case, what does a miracle and Him dying on the cross have in common, concerning fulfilling His hour.  What makes far more sense, in retrospect, is that the Jews would interpret a miracle as a sign of the authority of the Messiah, and that Jesus was indicating that it was not His time to make His declaration that He was the Messiah.  In fact on occasions those around him even seek to make him King by force as seen in John 6:14.  Dying on the cross is not a validation of the Messiah that the Jews would understand, and therefore His response of “not my hour” concerning doing a miracle, makes no sense. Yet, understanding that the Jews seeing this miracle, wherein the Temple water pots contents were changed from water to wine, would be received as a proof of His Messiahship does make sense.

Also, His repetitive reference to Himself as the Son of Man, as opposed to the Son of God.  This makes sense when one understands that Jesus had a specific time that He would announce His Messiahship, and that to do so prematurely would break a prophecy.

Christ’s Fulfillment
On the Gregorian calendar, the sixth of April in the year 32, also known on the Hebrew calendar as the 10th of Nisan; Christ not only breaks this behavior of refusing to publicly declare himself, but He orchestrates those activities that would be understood by the Jews to be a declaration of His Messiahship.  Obvious in the language, is the fact that Jesus prearranged to ride an unbroken colt of a donkey into Jerusalem four days before Passover.  In this, Jesus fulfilled Zachariah 9:9, which states:

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”

As well as Daniel 9:25 in declaring Himself the Messiah of Israel.  The people lay down their outer robes, as well as olive branches as he enters Jerusalem on the very road that Messiah is to enter Jerusalem through, while the people saying the messianic Psalm (Psalm 118), which is a Psalm that was to be saying as the Messiah rode into Jerusalem.  What is interesting is the Christian song: “this is the day that the Lord has made,” is what they were singing, this verse, we referred to as verse 24 of Psalm 118.  And whereas we should rejoice that every day is a day that God has made, in general; specifically this verse is referring to the day that God had made wherein the Messiah would ride and to Jerusalem. 

In fact a Zachariah 9:9, says: “behold thee King,” and in Daniel whole 9:25, it refers to: “Messiah the King” (the English translation of “the Prince,” is incorrect.  This word is used of Saul, who is never a Prince, only a King). In Luke 19:38, is a record of another song that they are singing at this time which is also taken from Psalm 118, where it says “blessed be the King…,” this reference to the King, displays the article concerning the word King; which indicates a specific King, which is known by all Jews to be the Messiah.  This is obvious to all the inhabitants that the people are proclaiming that Jesus Christ is the Messiah the King, and they are fulfilling Zachariah 9:9 states that they are to shout in jubilation to him entering Jerusalem.

This was a public declaration of His Messiahship, which is why the Pharisees sought to correct the people in their act of worship of him as the Messiah.  The Pharisees thought that Jesus would indeed stop them from this blasphemy, however, Jesus responded by stating these “rocks would cry out” if the people kept silent (Luke 19:40).  It is because when the Messiah would present himself to Israel by entering Jerusalem as the Messiah; there would be worship, even if there were no human voices to do so.

Conclusion
Of the over 8000 prophecies recorded in the Bible, over 300 are specific to Jesus’ first coming – of these over 300 this is no doubt the most remarkable prophecy concerning Christ’s Messiahship.  It is the ability to reference this prophecy according to secular history, that God stooped down to authenticate his Son as his Savior of mankind.

What is also worth noting, is that in Daniel’s prophecy, where the words “to know” and “understand,” are utilized; to the extent that the reader was expected to work out the mathematics of the prophecy, in which they would know with complete certainty the day of the arrival of the Messiah; is that Christ validated this responsibility when He foretold the destruction of Jerusalem because they did not recognize the day of their visitation, as recorded in Luke 19:43, 44, which states:

“For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”

“… For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required… ” (Luke 12:48)

Endnote
1.   STRONG’S EXHAUSTIVE CONCORDANCE TOGETHER WITH DICTIONARIES OF HEBREW 
       AND GREEK WORDS, James Strong, Baker Book House Company, Grand Rapids, MI 49546,
       USA, 1981, electronic media.
2.  VINE’S EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY OF OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT WORDS, W.E.
      Vine, Ellis Enterprises Inc., OK City, OK 73120, USA, 1988, electronic media.
3.  Leviticus 25:1-22; 26:3-35; Deuteronomy 15
4.  From 445 BC until 32 AD is 173,740 days (according to a 360 day calendar) from March 14
       until April 6 is 24 days, correction for leap years is 116 days, with a combined total of
       hundred and 73,880 days, which is exactly the amount of day stated in the prophecy
       which equals: 69 X 7 X 360 = 173,880.
5.   THE COMING PRINCE, Sir Robert Anderson, Kregel Publications, Grand Rapids, MI, 49501,
      USA, 1894, 1957, Page 94-105.  Special Thanks to Chuck Missler of Koinonia house

bb

“The difference between ‘involvement’ and ‘commitment’ is like an eggs-and-ham breakfast:
the chicken was ‘involved’ – the pig was ‘committed’.”

Taken from the “Resource Center” of: www.FaithBibleMinistries.com