A Prophecy Regarding Jesus

Darius’ reign, while Israel was still in captivity in Babylon, he was praying for the people of Israel one evening when the angel Gabriel paid him a visit and gave him a bit of encouraging information regarding the coming Messiah. More specifically, Gabriel told Daniel when Jesus would come and when He would die.

Could you imagine that? You’re quietly praying and suddenly, an angel appears and tells you something significant about the One who would save the world!

What Gabriel told him was: “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)

But what in the world did that mean?

Gabriel told him that, sometime in the future, after the orders to rebuild Jerusalem would be given, they would have to wait seven weeks and threescore weeks until the long awaited Messiah would appear.

Seven weeks equals 49 years (7 X 7) and threescore and two weeks equals 62 weeks. 62 X 7 (weeks) = 434 years + 49 years = 483 years. Gabriel told Daniel that from the time that the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince would appear would be 483 years.

History tells us that king Cyrus conquered Babylon in 539 BC and within just a few months, he issued the decree to rebuild the temple that was in Jerusalem. This is confirmed in the Bible in 2 chronicles 36 verse 23 where it says: “Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up.” (KJV) Did you catch that? Cyrus only gave the orders to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. The prophecy about the Messiah specifically said that 483 years after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, the Messiah would appear. So the order to rebuild Jerusalem hadn’t been issued as of yet. Ezra 4:3-5 validates this as well.

Furthermore, any efforts to rebuild the temple were frustrated until King Darius’ reign that began in the year 522 BC. Ezra 6:1-12 tells us that king Darius confirmed Cyrus’ decree and ruled that no one was to get in the way of that order or stop the Israelites from rebuilding the house of the Lord.

In Nehemiah 2, it says that Nehemiah pleaded with King Artaxerxes to let him go to Jerusalem to rebuild the city, and the king consented. According to the Bible, this happened in the 20th year of Artaxerxes, in the month of Nisan. History tells us that Artaxerxes ruled during the years of 464-424 BC so now we have the promised decree to rebuild Jerusalem.

Though the angel Gabriel told Daniel that 483 years after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem was issued the Messiah would appear Gabriel wasn’t finished telling the prophecy. In verse 26 of Daniel chapter 9, Gabriel further told Daniel, “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.”

Again, threescore and two equals 62. Multiply that by a week (7) and we have 434 years. Add to that what Gabriel said in verse 25, that there would be seven weeks, which is 49 years. 49 years + 434 years = 483 years.

Take 483 years from the year 444 BC and we have 39 AD. But that doesn’t make sense: didn’t Gabriel say that the Messiah would appear at this time?

Let’s go back and read verse 26 of Daniel chapter 9 again: “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.”

There we go, now it makes sense: Gabriel told Daniel specifically that 483 (49 years + 434 years = 483) years after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem was issued, the most Holy, the Messiah, would be killed and the sanctuary would be destroyed. Christ Jesus was killed when he was just 33, and Jerusalem was sacked by the Romans six years later, giving us our 39 years.

Make sense?


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