69 Weeks: Daniel’s Prophecy of the Advent of the Messiah
It’s not about 483 years as much as it is about 69 sabbatical year cycles.
Why were the Magi watching for the birth of Christ, when His own countrymen were not? The story of the wise men from the east is recorded in Matthew 2:1-12. The answer to that question requires some speculation, but not outlandish speculation.
“The East” from Israel—the far east to them—was Babylon and Persia. One of the greatest and most influential of all the Babylonian and Persian scholars was a Jewish slave who rose from the ranks of servitude to one of the highest positions in the land, first under the Babylonians and then under the Persians. His name was Belteshazzar—but most know him by his Hebrew name—Daniel.
A significant Jewish community remained living in Babylon during the time of Christ. While the wise men who came to visit the Christ-child were most like Gentiles, there had been interaction between the Jews and the intelligentsia. These magi were likely familiar with the Jewish Old Testament and the writings of Daniel.
One of the most remarkable Old Testament prophecies is found in Daniel 9:24-27. In this passage, an angelic messenger lays out a timeline that stretches from the Babylonian (now Persian) captivity until the seating of the Messiah on His throne in the coming Kingdom. It is likely that these wise men not only had the prophecy of Daniels’s 70 weeks but also understood its meaning. Let’s dive into the prophecy.
It’s a timeline.
It has a beginning and an end. The beginning is identified in 9:25. It is the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. There were three different commands and returns that marked the end of the Babylonian exile—Zerubbabel’s return in the 530’s BC, Ezra’s return in 458 BC, and finally Nehemiah’s return in 445 BC. Given the nature of the command as described in Daniel 9:25, Nehemiah’s return fits the description best, although good Bible Scholars will differ on this point.
The end of the timeline is given in two stages. The first is a period of 69 sevens. After the sixty-nine sevens, Messiah the prince would come and be cut off. Then the city of Jerusalem would be destroyed by the people of the prince that will come—that would be the antichrist described elsewhere in Daniel and the people of the fourth kingdom of Daniel 2—the Romans. This prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman General Titus.
For this discussion, we will focus on the 69 sevens, because that is the portion of the timeline that would mark the first advent of Christ.
What is a “seven”?
Many translations use the word “week” in this passage. The Hebrew word for week is indeed seven. But seven what? Most assume it means seven years. But the multiple of seven was likely used in conjunction with years to convey a more specific meaning. In the Jewish Old Testament economy a seven-year period held great significance. It delineated the Sabbatical year cycle.
Every seventh year, God commanded the land to be left fallow (Exodus 23:10-11, Leviticus 25:3-7). The nation’s failure to obey this command was given as the primary reason for the exile to Babylon (2 Chronicles 36:21).
And those who escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon, where they became servants to him and his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths. As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.
Some would contend that the duration of the timeline is not so much 483 years (seven times 69) as it is 69 sabbatical year cycles until Messiah the Prince would come. Robert Newman of Biblical Seminary in Hatfield PA, wrote an excellent article explaining this idea.
He maintains that the Jews to this day keep meticulous records of the sabbatical years that coincide perfectly with the ancient testimonies. We know today which specific years were the sabbatical years stretching far back into Jewish antiquity.
How the Jews counted.
According to Newman (and most others), the typical way of Jewish counting was to count any part of a time unit when identifying a period. For instance, if today is Sunday, three days from now would be Tuesday. Sunday counts as day one, Monday as day two, and Tuesday as day three. Any part of a day counts as a day. A good explanation of this way of reckoning along with many biblical examples (as well as examples and statements from other Jewish writings) can be found in this article by P.J. Hanley.
If this is the case, then the 69th Sabbatical cycle from the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem under Nehemiah (445 BC) started in the year 27 AD and concluded in 34 AD. Since most scholars believe that Jesus was born between 6 and 4 BC, the 69th Sabbatical cycle would have included the entirety of Jesus’ earthly ministry and crucifixion. It would be the expected time of the arrival of the Messiah based on Daniel’s reckoning.
But it says “after.”
The word “after” used in Daniel 9:26 might cause concern for some. Newman’s answer for that is the following:
Some may be troubled by the fact that Daniel says, “after the 62 weeks shall Messiah be cut off . . . “ whereas according to this calculation, the crucifixion occurs on [or in] the 62nd week (the 69th, adding the first seven). But this, too, is a conventional Jewish idiom. Recall that our Lord’s resurrection is variously spoken of as occurring “after three days” (Matthew 27:63; Mark 8:31) and also “on the third day” (Matthew 20:19; Mark 9:31).
This understanding of the term “week” in Daniel’s prophecy seems to best fit the Jewish understanding of seven years, the context of the judgment of Israel in exile, and the fulfillment of the prophecy perfectly in the life of Christ.
If they had been studying Daniel’s writings, these Babylonian or Persian wise men could have been waiting for a sign of the arrival of the Jewish Messiah to appear—perhaps anticipating Him for many years. To these philosophers and astronomers, the sudden arrival of the star would then have confirmed their expectations and prompted a dangerous journey to investigate.
It is a truly remarkable prophecy.
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