Well, after that little side trip, it is time to return to the prophecies of Daniel to understand how God has laid out the timelines of human history as a means of proving that he is the only one who is in complete control of events that happen on this Earth. It is all his. I’m not going to argue with him.
Daniel wanted to know more about the 2,300 days/years prophecy that he had been told about in the previous chapter. He mistakenly thought it might have something to do with the prophecies in Jeremiah 25:11, 12; 29:10 where God had said that he would punish the kingdom of Babylon for what it had done to the Hebrew people after they had been held in captivity for 70 years. That prophecy in Jeremiah had begun in 608 B.C. when the people of Jerusalem were taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar and it was about to be complete just as God had said because the Kingdom of Babylon was going to be overthrown during the reign of Belshazzar in 538 B.C. by the Medo/Persian Empire.
The end of Jeremiah's time prophecy was nearly up so Daniel had decided to pray, fast and ask forgiveness for the rebellious ways of the Jewish people, of whom he was one. He was also praying that he might be given an understanding of the 2,300 days/years time prophecy mentioned in the previous chapter.
In the book of Daniel, the angel Gabriel is mentioned for the first time in chapter 8. Later, in chapter 9 he once again comes to Daniel’s assistance by explaining the 2,300 days/years prophecy. Beginning in Daniel 9:24 the angel Gabriel told Daniel:
“Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate." - Daniel 9:24-27.
Is all of that clear to you who are still reading? Is there anyone out there who is still awake? Hello?
Let me take this time to direct you to a little time-line that will hopefully help you keep all of these time periods in focus. I will flesh out all those time periods as we continue. It is not as confusing as it looks. See FIGURE 1 below.
FIGURE 1 (Not To Scale)
Now you at least have something to follow along with instead of my droning words. This timeline is an overall reference to what God has said was going to happen throughout the span of time on this Earth. As the angel Gabriel begins breaking down this main timeline into more manageable pieces you will be able to see a little more clearly what is actually happening in this time prophecy of Daniel's. Here is the story as we have it thus far…
In chapter 2, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream of a great image made of different metals, outlining the governments of this Earth’s history. There would be only four world kingdoms and then the final kingdom would be divided into ten.
In chapter 7, Daniel had a dream. He saw the same succession of four kingdoms come out of the world’s population, represented by the wind-tossed sea. A little more detail is added to this vision so you can begin to see how the nations of the world are going to shape up after the fourth and final kingdom falls into ruin and decay. We see for the first time where the ten kingdoms, formed from the Roman Empire and represented by the ten horns of the terrible beast that came out of the wind tossed sea, were not to remain in peace and harmony until the end of time. A religious/political world church would come onto the scene, represented by a little horn with the eyes of man and speaking boastful things and would uproot three horns, or political powers, that stood in its way of attaining religious/political power. That religious/political power then became the religious ruling power of the eight known world powers that were left after all the dust settled. The papacy was not the secular ruling power of the world because the world was still being governed by individual kings. However, the world did come under its power as the religious leadership of the Roman Catholic Church.
Daniel had been given a very good idea as to what was going to happen during this world's history. He was given three progressively detailed visions as to the circumstances and progressions of world history. The only thing Daniel does not know is when each of these world events would take place. The last part of chapter 9 is devoted to Gabriel placing what is known as the 70 weeks prophecy into the timeline chart shown in FIGURE 1.
Right now I want to place the horn power (the papacy) of Daniel chapter 7, the one who uprooted three other kingdoms to make room for itself, in perspective as far as our timeline is concerned and then we will go on to Gabriel's explanation of the 70 weeks prophecy.
Earlier, we had found that the horn power (the papacy) had come onto the scene in 538 A.D. after it had "uprooted" the last of the three powers that stood in its way.
Daniel was told in chapter 7:25 that this power would hold dominance over the nations of the world for 1,260 years and then it would receive a deadly wound.
The New King James Version says that this power would last, "For a time and times and half a time." - Daniel 7:25. Some translations say three and a half years, others say time, times and the dividing of time and still others say a year, two years and a half of a year.
Remember, a day is equal to a year when translating prophetic time. So, 3½ years X 360 days to an Old Testament year gives us a total of 1,260 days/years.
Going over the same ground again, we know that the papal Roman Church came into its religious/political power when the three kingdoms that stood in its way were "uprooted." The Heruli fell before the armies supplied by the papacy in 493 A.D.; the Vandals were forced out of Africa in 534 A.D. by those same Church sponsored armies; then the Ostrogoths were finally driven out of the city of Rome by Belisarius in 538 A.D. The papal Roman Church then inhabited the capital city of Rome and began its rule.
So, the beginning of the 1,260 year reign of power for the papal Church began when it destroyed the last of its opposition in 538 A.D. History tells us that its arrogant, bloody and persecutory reign lasted until the pope of Rome was taken captive by General Berthier in 1798 when the French army entered Rome and declared it an independent state. From 538 A.D. to 1798 A.D. is exactly 1,260 years. God said it would happen in just that way. See FIGURE 2 below.
FIGURE 2 (Not To Scale)
That takes care of one line in this multitude of time lines.
As a side note I want to point out, the papacy received a deadly wound, as the Bible calls it, in 1798 when its political power was taken away. Since that time it has again been granted political status among the world powers and its deadly wound has been healed as it said it would be in Revelation 13:3. (That however, is another study for another time and involves the most misunderstood book of the Bible.)
Now then, the 2,300 days/years; where did it come from again? Daniel 8 gives us a prophetic time period that at first does not seem to mean too much because there are no references as to when it starts or when it ends.
In Daniel 8:13, one angel asks another angel, "How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?" In other words, the angel wants to know how long everything will take, starting from the first of the time prophecies until the last.
In answer, the other angel says in verse 14, "For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary will be cleaned."
Here is where we have the 2,300 days/years mentioned for the first time, but as I said earlier, nothing specific is said yet about when it starts or when it ends.
God does not always make things easy for people. I think he does so because he really wants to know how serious we are about wanting to know something. Remember what I said about the reason why Jesus taught in parables? Do we really want to know, or are we just curious. If we are just curious then we will think about if for a while and then reach for the remote to see what is happening on the television. If we are serious in wanting to know the things of God then God will give us understanding so we will eventually figure it out. God likes puzzles. He also likes to keep us thinking.
While Daniel was praying, in chapter 9:22 the angel Gabriel came to him and told him, "O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand."
The angel begins explaining things in verse 24 by saying, "Seventy weeks are determined (cut off) for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy."
I emphasized that the word determined also means cut off. Cut off from what? From the 2,300 day/year prophecy I mentioned earlier. (It will all fall into place, just be patient.)
Because the angel mentioned it first the first period of time we will deal with is the 70 weeks. Once again, using a prophetic day as a year of real time, we can translate the 70 weeks into 490 days/years. So, a period of 490 days/years is cut off from the 2,300 days/years prophecy.
The angel now gives the starting date for all of the time prophecies. In verse 25 he says, "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;"
Notice those two time periods are mentioned separately with the 7 weeks coming first, followed by the 62 weeks. Using a prophetic day as a year of real time, we translate the 7 weeks into 49 days/years and the 62 weeks into 434 days/years.
The starting time for these two time periods is said to begin when the announcement is made to begin restoring and rebuilding Jerusalem. What we need to know then is, when was the announcement made to begin the restoration/rebuilding?
This starting date has to harmonize with quite a few periods of time. First we have to find, if we can, some kind of document or decree for the restoration and rebuilding of Jerusalem. The work of restoration was to last for 7 prophetic weeks, or 49 days/years. At the end of this time period, the construction of the streets and the walls are to be completed.
In the year 457 B.C., after a 70 year captivity, a royal decree from the Persian emperor Artaxerxes Longimanus was given to Ezra, a Jewish scribe. This decree gave Ezra the authority of the Persian Empire to go up to Jerusalem with as many Jewish people as wanted to go along with him. The commission gave Ezra an unlimited amount of money to beautify the house of God, to supply offerings for its service and to do whatever else needed to be done. The decree also gave him the power to ordain priests, appoint magistrates and judges and execute punishment; even the death penalty. In other words, Ezra was given the power to restore the Jewish state and its civil and ecclesiastical powers, according to the law of God and the customs of his people. God has preserved that original decree. A full and complete copy of it is given in Ezra chapter 7.
The book of Ezra is written in Hebrew until the decree by Artaxerxes is given, then the language changes to Chaldaic, the language used by the Babylonians. What we have then, is a copy of the original document given to Ezra, authorizing Jerusalem to be restored and rebuilt.
Now then, let's see how everything else fits with the year 457 B.C. as a starting date for: 1. The 7 weeks/49 years 2. The 62 weeks/434 years 3. The 1 week/7 years 4. The 70 weeks/490 years 5. The 2,300 days/years
Everything starts in 457 B.C. 7 weeks, or 49 days/years, were allowed for the building of the city streets and the walls.
Prideaux writes in Connexion, Vol. I, page 332, "In the fifteenth year of Darius Nothus, the restoration of the temple and the state of the Jews in Jerusalem and Judea was fully finished in that last act of reformation which is recorded in Nehemiah chapter 13, just 49 years after it had been begun by Ezra in the seventh year of Artaxerxes Longimanus." The seventh year of Artaxerxes Longimanus was 457 B.C. That takes care of the 7 weeks/49 years. So far there is harmony. See FIGURE 3 below.
FIGURE 3 (Not To Scale)
Next, after the 7 week/49 year period, 62 weeks/434 years were to stretch down to Messiah the Prince.
Because this time period begins when the 7 weeks/49 years period ends we begin it by using 408 B.C. as the starting date and that would take us to 27 A.D. What happened in 27 A.D.?
In Mark 1:9-11 we are told, "It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. Then a voice came from heaven. 'You are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.'"
All this, I will show in a little bit, happened during the autumn of 27 A.D.
After his baptism Mark goes on to tell us that Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days. When he returned, Mark 1:14, 15 says, "Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.' What time was Jesus talking about when he said, "The time is fulfilled!"? The only time period there is. That would be the end of the 62 weeks/434 years time period of Daniel that reached to Messiah, the Prince. The Messiah had come at the time that Daniel said he would, and with his own words he announced the end of that time period. Once again we find complete harmony. See FIGURE 4 below.
FIGURE 4 (Not To Scale)
In Daniel 9:26 it says that after the Messiah appears at the end of the 62 weeks/434 years period that he will be cut off. In other words, he would be killed. Daniel 9:27 goes into even more specific detail when he says: "Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering."
It is very important to determine the year that the crucifixion took place.
There is a record of every Passover Jesus attended during his public ministry, which lasted only 3 ½ years. There were four Passover's recorded since the beginning of his baptism until his crucifixion. These four are found in John 2:13, 5:1, 6:4 and 13:1. At the last mentioned Passover, he was crucified. Now, let's see where this would locate the crucifixion.
As I mentioned earlier, he began his ministry in the autumn of 27 A.D.; his first Passover would occur half a year later in the spring of 28 A.D.; his second Passover would be in the spring of 29 A.D.; his third would be in the spring of 30 A.D.; his fourth and last would have been in the spring of 31 A.D.
This gives us exactly 3 ½ years for his public ministry and matches up exactly with the prophecy that he would be cut off in the middle of the 70th week. That week of years began in the autumn of 27 A.D. 3 ½ years later, in the middle of the "week", in the spring of 31 A.D. Jesus was crucified. See FIGURE 5 below.
FIGURE 5 (Not To Scale)
The God of Heaven has also supplied us with a marker that tells us exactly when his son, Jesus was crucified. There was an unnatural darkness that occurred at the crucifixion; that darkness has been recorded in the books of history.
"Hence it appears that the darkness which 'overspread the whole land of Judea at the time of our Lord's crucifixion was preternatural, 'from the sixth until the ninth hour,' or from noon till three in the afternoon, in its duration and also in its time, about full moon, when the moon could not possibly eclipse the sun. The time it happened, and the fact itself, are recorded in a curious and valuable passage of a respectable Roman Consul, Aurelius Casiodorius, Senator, about 514 A.D.; 'In the consulate of Tiberius Caesar Aug. V and Aelius Sejanus (784 U.C., 31 A.D.), our Lord Jesus Christ suffered on the 8th of the calends of April (the 25th of March), when there happened such an eclipse of the sun as was never before nor since. In this year, and in this day, agree also the council of Cesarea (196 or 198 A.D.), the Alexandrian Chronicle, Maximus Monachus, Nicephorus Constantinus, and Cedrenus; and in his year, but on different days, concur Eusebius and Epiphanius, followed by Kepler, Bucher, Patinus, and Petavius, some reckoning on the 10th of the calends of April, others on the 13th.'" - Hales, Vol. I, pp. 69-70.
All right then, we have thirteen credible authorities who locate the crucifixion of Jesus/Christ in the spring of 31 A.D. Not even the most skeptical or cautious person could ask for anything more definite.
From the crucifixion that took place in the spring of 31 A.D., all we have to do to find the end of the 62 weeks/434 years period is to go back 3 ½ years, and that takes us to the autumn of 27 A.D. when Jesus began his ministry after his baptism. From the crucifixion to the end of the 70 weeks/490 years period, we again only have to move forward 3 ½ years to the autumn of 34 A.D. That then is the end of the whole 70 weeks prophecy of Daniel. See FIGURE 6 below.