Chapter Eleven

The Time of Messiah’s Coming Revealed

1. Since Jehovah is the Great Timekeeper, of what can we be sure?

JEHOVAH is the Great Timekeeper. Under his control are all the times and seasons connected with his work. (Acts 1:7) All events that he has assigned to these times and seasons are sure to occur. They will not fail.

2, 3. To what prophecy did Daniel give his attention, and what empire was ruling Babylon at that time?

² As a diligent student of the Scriptures, the prophet Daniel had faith in Jehovah’s ability to schedule events and bring them about. Of particular interest to Daniel were prophecies regarding the devastation of Jerusalem. Jeremiah had recorded God’s revelation about how long the holy city would remain desolate, and Daniel gave this prophecy careful consideration. He wrote: “In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus of the seed of the Medes, who had been made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans; in the first year of his reigning I myself, Daniel, discerned by the books the number of the years concerning which the word of Jehovah had occurred to Jeremiah the prophet, for fulfilling the devastations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.”—Daniel 9:1, 2; Jeremiah 25:11.

³ Darius the Mede was then ruling over “the kingdom of the Chaldeans.” The earlier prediction that Daniel had made when interpreting the handwriting on the wall had undergone swift fulfillment. The Babylonian Empire was no more. It had been “given to the Medes and the Persians” in 539 B.C.E.—Daniel 5:24-28, 30, 31.

 DANIEL HUMBLY PETITIONS JEHOVAH

4. (a) What was needed in order to experience God’s deliverance? (b) How did Daniel proceed to approach Jehovah?

⁴ Daniel realized that Jerusalem’s 70-year desolation was about to end. What would he do next? He himself tells us: “I proceeded to set my face to Jehovah the true God, in order to seek him with prayer and with entreaties, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. And I began to pray to Jehovah my God and to make confession.” (Daniel 9:3, 4) A proper heart condition was needed to experience God’s merciful deliverance. (Leviticus 26:31-46; 1 Kings 8:46-53) There was a need for faith, a humble spirit, and full repentance over the sins that had led to exile and slavery. In behalf of his sinful people, Daniel therefore proceeded to approach God. How? By fasting, mourning, and clothing himself in sackcloth, a symbol of repentance and sincerity of heart.

5. Why could Daniel feel confident that the Jews would be restored to their homeland?

⁵ Jeremiah’s prophecy had given Daniel hope, for it indicated that the Jews would soon be restored to their homeland of Judah. (Jeremiah 25:12; 29:10) Doubtless, Daniel felt confident that relief would come for the subjugated Jews because a man named Cyrus was already ruling as king of Persia. Had not Isaiah prophesied that Cyrus would be instrumental in releasing the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple? (Isaiah 44:28–45:3) But Daniel had no idea just how that would come about. So he continued to supplicate Jehovah.

6. What acknowledgment did Daniel make in prayer?

⁶ Daniel drew attention to God’s mercy and loving-kindness. Humbly, he acknowledged that the Jews had sinned by rebelling, turning aside from Jehovah’s commandments, and ignoring his prophets. God had rightly  “dispersed them because of their unfaithfulness.” Daniel prayed: “O Jehovah, to us belongs the shame of face, to our kings, to our princes and to our forefathers, because we have sinned against you. To Jehovah our God belong the mercies and the acts of forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him. And we have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God by walking in his laws that he set before us by the hand of his servants the prophets. And all those of Israel have overstepped your law, and there has been a turning aside by not obeying your voice, so that you poured out upon us the curse and the sworn oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of the true God, for we have sinned against Him.”—Daniel 9:5-11; Exodus 19:5-8; 24:3, 7, 8.

7. Why can it be said that Jehovah acted rightly in allowing the Jews to go into captivity?

⁷ God had warned the Israelites of the consequences of disobeying him and disregarding the covenant he had made with them. (Leviticus 26:31-33; Deuteronomy 28:15; 31:17) Daniel acknowledges the rightness of God’s actions, saying: “He proceeded to carry out his words that he had spoken against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us great calamity, such as was not done under the whole heavens as what has been done in Jerusalem. Just as it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity—it has come upon us, and we have not softened the face of Jehovah our God by turning back from our error and by showing insight into your trueness. And Jehovah kept alert to the calamity and finally brought it upon us, for Jehovah our God is righteous in all his works that he has done; and we have not obeyed his voice.”—Daniel 9:12-14.

8. On what does Daniel base his appeal to Jehovah?

⁸ Daniel does not seek to justify the actions of his  people. Their exile was justly deserved, as he readily confesses: “We have sinned, we have acted wickedly.” (Daniel 9:15) Neither is his concern simply for relief from suffering. No, he bases his appeal on Jehovah’s own glory and honor. By pardoning the Jews and restoring them to their homeland, God would fulfill his promise through Jeremiah and would sanctify His holy name. Daniel pleads: “O Jehovah, according to all your acts of righteousness, please, may your anger and your rage turn back from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; for, because of our sins and because of the errors of our forefathers, Jerusalem and your people are an object of reproach to all those round about us.”—Daniel 9:16.

9. (a) With what entreaties does Daniel conclude his prayer? (b) What distresses Daniel, but how does he show regard for God’s name?

⁹ In fervent prayer, Daniel continues: “Now listen, O our God, to the prayer of your servant and to his entreaties, and cause your face to shine upon your sanctuary that is desolated, for the sake of Jehovah. Incline your ear, O my God, and hear. Do open your eyes and see our desolated conditions and the city that has been called by your name; for not according to our righteous acts are we letting our entreaties fall before you, but according to your many mercies. O Jehovah, do hear. O Jehovah, do forgive. O Jehovah, do pay attention and act. Do not delay, for your own sake, O my God, for your own name has been called upon your city and upon your people.” (Daniel 9:17-19) If God were unforgiving and left his people in exile, allowing his holy city, Jerusalem, to lay desolate indefinitely, would nations regard him as the Universal Sovereign? Might they not conclude that Jehovah was powerless against the might of the Babylonian gods? Yes, Jehovah’s name would be reproached, and this distresses  Daniel. Of the 19 times that the divine name, Jehovah, is found in the book of Daniel, 18 occur in connection with this prayer!

GABRIEL COMES SPEEDILY

10. (a) Who was dispatched to Daniel, and why? (b) Why did Daniel speak of Gabriel as a “man”?

¹⁰ While Daniel is yet praying, the angel Gabriel appears. He says: “O Daniel, now I have come forth to make you have insight with understanding. At the start of your entreaties a word went forth, and I myself have come to make report, because you are someone very desirable. So give consideration to the matter, and have understanding in the thing seen.” But why does Daniel speak of him as “the man Gabriel”? (Daniel 9:20-23) Well, when Daniel sought understanding of his earlier vision of the he-goat and the ram, “someone in appearance like an able-bodied man” appeared before him. It was the angel Gabriel, sent to give Daniel insight. (Daniel 8:15-17) Similarly, after Daniel’s prayer, this angel came near to him in humanlike form and spoke to him as one man does to another.

11, 12. (a) Although there was no temple or altar of Jehovah in Babylon, how did devout Jews show regard for offerings required by the Law? (b) Why was Daniel called “someone very desirable”?

¹¹ Gabriel arrives “at the time of the evening gift offering.” Jehovah’s altar had been destroyed along with the temple in Jerusalem, and the Jews were captives of the pagan Babylonians. So sacrifices were not being offered to God by the Jews in Babylon. At the prescribed times for offerings under the Mosaic Law, however, it was appropriate for devout Jews in Babylon to praise and supplicate Jehovah. As a man deeply devoted to God, Daniel was called “someone very desirable.” Jehovah, the “Hearer of prayer,” took pleasure in him, and Gabriel was dispatched speedily to answer Daniel’s prayer of faith.—Psalm 65:2.

¹² Even when praying to Jehovah had imperiled his life,  Daniel continued to pray to God three times a day. (Daniel 6:10, 11) No wonder Jehovah found him so desirable! In addition to prayer, Daniel’s meditation on God’s Word enabled him to determine Jehovah’s will. Daniel persisted in prayer and knew how to approach Jehovah properly so as to have his prayers answered. He highlighted God’s righteousness. (Daniel 9:7, 14, 16) And although his enemies could find no fault in him, Daniel knew that he was a sinner in God’s eyes and readily confessed his sin.—Daniel 6:4; Romans 3:23.

“SEVENTY WEEKS” TO FINISH OFF SIN

13, 14. (a) What important information did Gabriel disclose to Daniel? (b) How long are the “seventy weeks,” and how do we know?

¹³ What an answer prayerful Daniel receives! Jehovah not only assures him that the Jews will be restored to their homeland but also gives him insight into something of far greater significance—the appearance of the foretold Messiah. (Genesis 22:17, 18; Isaiah 9:6, 7) Gabriel tells Daniel: “There are seventy weeks that have been determined upon your people and upon your holy city, in order to terminate the transgression, and to finish off sin, and to make atonement for error, and to bring in righteousness for times indefinite, and to imprint a seal upon vision and prophet, and to anoint the Holy of Holies. And you should know and have the insight that from the going forth of the word to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Leader, there will be seven weeks, also sixty-two weeks. She will return and be actually rebuilt, with a public square and moat, but in the straits of the times.”—Daniel 9:24, 25.

¹⁴ This was good news indeed! Not only would Jerusalem be rebuilt and worship be restored at a new temple but also “Messiah the Leader” would appear at a specific  time. This would occur within “seventy weeks.” Since Gabriel does not mention days, these are not weeks of seven days each, which would amount to 490 days—a mere year and a third. The foretold rebuilding of Jerusalem “with a public square and moat” took much longer than that. The weeks are weeks of years. That each week is seven years long is suggested by a number of modern translations. For example, “seventy weeks of years” is a rendering indicated by a footnote on Daniel 9:24 in Tanakh—The Holy Scriptures, published by The Jewish Publication Society. An American Translation reads: “Seventy weeks of years are destined for your people and for your holy city.” Similar renderings appear in the translations by Moffatt and Rotherham.

15. Into what three periods are the “seventy weeks” divided, and when would they start?

¹⁵ According to the angel’s words, the “seventy weeks” would be divided into three periods: (1) “seven weeks,” (2) “sixty-two weeks,” and (3) one week. That would be 49 years, 434 years, and 7 years—totaling 490 years. Interestingly, The Revised English Bible reads: “Seventy times seven years are marked out for your people and your holy city.” Following their exile and suffering in Babylon for 70 years, the Jews would experience special favor from God for 490 years, or 70 years multiplied by 7. The starting point would be “the going forth of the word to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem.” When would this be?

THE “SEVENTY WEEKS” BEGIN

16. As shown by his decree, for what purpose did Cyrus restore the Jews to their homeland?

¹⁶ Three noteworthy incidents deserve consideration with regard to the beginning of the “seventy weeks.” The first occurred in 537 B.C.E. when Cyrus issued his decree  restoring the Jews to their homeland. It reads: “This is what Cyrus the king of Persia has said, ‘All the kingdoms of the earth Jehovah the God of the heavens has given me, and he himself has commissioned me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all his people, may his God prove to be with him. So let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of Jehovah the God of Israel—he is the true God—which was in Jerusalem. As for anyone that is left from all the places where he is residing as an alien, let the men of his place assist him with silver and with gold and with goods and with domestic animals along with the voluntary offering for the house of the true God, which was in Jerusalem.’” (Ezra 1:2-4) Clearly, the express purpose of this decree was to have the temple—“the house of Jehovah”—rebuilt on its former site.

17. The letter given to Ezra gave what reason for his journey to Jerusalem?

¹⁷ The second incident occurred in the seventh year of the reign of Persian King Artaxerxes (Artaxerxes Longimanus, son of Xerxes I). At that time, Ezra the copyist made a four-month journey from Babylon to Jerusalem. He carried a special letter from the king, but it did not authorize the rebuilding of Jerusalem. Instead, Ezra’s  commission was limited to ‘beautifying the house of Jehovah.’ That is why the letter referred to gold and silver, sacred vessels, and contributions of wheat, wine, oil, and salt for support of worship at the temple, as well as freedom from taxation for those serving there.—Ezra 7:6-27.

18. What news disturbed Nehemiah, and how did King Artaxerxes learn of it?

¹⁸ The third incident occurred 13 years later, in the 20th year of Persian King Artaxerxes. Nehemiah was then serving as his cupbearer in “Shushan the castle.” Jerusalem had been rebuilt to some extent by the remnant that had returned from Babylon. But all was not well. Nehemiah learned that ‘the wall of Jerusalem was broken down and its very gates had been burned with fire.’ This disturbed him greatly, and gloom settled upon his heart. Questioned about his sadness, Nehemiah replied: “Let the king himself live to time indefinite! Why should not my face become gloomy when the city, the house of the burial places of my forefathers, is devastated, and its very gates have been eaten up with fire?”—Nehemiah 1:1-3; 2:1-3.

19. (a) When questioned by King Artaxerxes, what did Nehemiah do first? (b) What did Nehemiah request, and how did he acknowledge God’s role in the matter?

¹⁹ The account involving Nehemiah continues: “In  turn the king said to me: ‘What is this that you are seeking to secure?’ At once I prayed to the God of the heavens. After that I said to the king: ‘If to the king it does seem good, and if your servant seems good before you, that you would send me to Judah, to the city of the burial places of my forefathers, that I may rebuild it.’” This proposal pleased Artaxerxes, who also acted on Nehemiah’s further request: “If to the king it does seem good, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the River [Euphrates], that they may let me pass until I come to Judah; also a letter to Asaph the keeper of the park that belongs to the king, that he may give me trees to build with timber the gates of the Castle that belongs to the house, and for the wall of the city and for the house into which I am to enter.” Nehemiah acknowledged Jehovah’s role in all of this, saying: “So the king gave [the letters] to me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.”—Nehemiah 2:4-8.

20. (a) When did the word “to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem” take effect? (b) When did the “seventy weeks” begin, and when did they end? (c) What evidence points to the accuracy of the dates for the beginning and the end of the “seventy weeks”?

²⁰ Although permission was given in the month of Nisan, during the early part of the 20th year of Artaxerxes’ reign, the actual “going forth of the word to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem” took effect months later. This occurred when Nehemiah arrived in Jerusalem and began his work of restoration. Ezra’s journey had taken four months, but Shushan was over 200 miles [322 km] east of Babylon and thus even farther from Jerusalem. Most likely, then, Nehemiah’s arrival in Jerusalem occurred near the end of Artaxerxes’ 20th year, or in 455 B.C.E. It is then that the foretold “seventy weeks,” or 490 years, began. They would end in the latter part of 36 C.E.—See “When Did Artaxerxes’ Reign Begin?” on page 197.

 “MESSIAH THE LEADER” APPEARS

21. (a) What was to be accomplished during the first “seven weeks,” and despite what circumstances? (b) In what year was the Messiah due to appear, and what does Luke’s Gospel say happened at that time?

²¹ How many years elapsed before Jerusalem was actually rebuilt? Well, the restoration of the city was to be accomplished “in the straits of the times” because of difficulties among the Jews themselves and opposition from the Samaritans and others. The work was evidently completed to the extent necessary by about 406 B.C.E.—within the “seven weeks,” or 49 years. (Daniel 9:25) A period of 62 weeks, or 434 years, would follow. After that time period, the long-promised Messiah would appear. Counting 483 years (49 plus 434) from 455 B.C.E. brings us to 29 C.E. What happened at that time? The Gospel writer Luke tells us: “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was district ruler of Galilee, . . . God’s declaration came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness. So he came into all the country around the Jordan, preaching baptism in symbol of repentance for forgiveness of sins.” At that time “the people were in expectation” of the Messiah.—Luke 3:1-3, 15.

22. When and by what means did Jesus become the foretold Messiah?

²² John was not the promised Messiah. But concerning what he witnessed at the baptism of Jesus of Nazareth, in the fall of 29 C.E., John said: “I viewed the spirit coming down as a dove out of heaven, and it remained upon him. Even I did not know him, but the very One who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘Whoever it is upon whom you see the spirit coming down and remaining, this is the one that baptizes in holy spirit.’ And I have seen it, and I have borne witness that this one is the Son of God.” (John 1:32-34) At his baptism, Jesus became the  Anointed One—the Messiah, or Christ. Shortly thereafter, John’s disciple Andrew met the anointed Jesus and then told Simon Peter: “We have found the Messiah.” (John 1:41) Thus, “Messiah the Leader” appeared exactly on time—at the end of 69 weeks!

THE EVENTS OF THE FINAL WEEK

23. Why did “Messiah the Leader” have to die, and when was this to happen?

²³ What was to be accomplished during the 70th week? Gabriel said that the period of “seventy weeks” had been determined “in order to terminate the transgression, and to finish off sin, and to make atonement for error, and to bring in righteousness for times indefinite, and to imprint a seal upon vision and prophet, and to anoint the Holy of Holies.” For this to be accomplished, “Messiah the Leader” had to die. When? Gabriel said: “After the sixty-two weeks Messiah will be cut off, with nothing for himself. . . . And he must keep the covenant in force for the many for one week; and at the half of the week he will cause sacrifice and gift offering to cease.” (Daniel 9:26a, 27a) The critical time was “at the half of the week,” that is, the middle of the last week of years.

24, 25. (a) As prophesied, when did Christ die, and to what did his death and resurrection bring an end? (b) What did Jesus’ death make possible?

²⁴ Jesus Christ’s public ministry began in the latter part of 29 C.E. and lasted for three and a half years. As prophesied, early in 33 C.E., Christ was “cut off” when he died on a torture stake, giving his human life as a ransom for mankind. (Isaiah 53:8; Matthew 20:28) The need for the animal sacrifices and the gift offerings prescribed by the Law ceased when the resurrected Jesus presented the value of his sacrificed human life to God in heaven. Although the Jewish priests continued to make offerings until the destruction of Jerusalem’s temple in 70 C.E.,  such sacrifices were no longer acceptable to God. They had been replaced by a better sacrifice, one that never had to be repeated. The apostle Paul wrote: “[Christ] offered one sacrifice for sins perpetually . . . For it is by one sacrificial offering that he has made those who are being sanctified perfect perpetually.”—Hebrews 10:12, 14.

²⁵ Though sin and death continued to afflict mankind, Jesus’ being cut off in death and his resurrection to heavenly life fulfilled prophecy. It ‘terminated transgression, finished off sin, made atonement for error, and brought in righteousness.’ God had removed the Law covenant, which had exposed and condemned the Jews as sinners. (Romans 5:12, 19, 20; Galatians 3:13, 19; Ephesians 2:15; Colossians 2:13, 14) Now the sins of repentant wrongdoers could be canceled, and the penalties thereof could be lifted. By means of the Messiah’s propitiatory sacrifice, reconciliation with God was possible for those exercising faith. They could look forward to receiving God’s gift of “everlasting life by Christ Jesus.”—Romans 3:21-26; 6:22, 23; 1 John 2:1, 2.

26. (a) Although the Law covenant had been removed, what covenant was ‘kept in force for one week’? (b) What took place at the end of the 70th week?

²⁶ So it was that Jehovah removed the Law covenant by means of Christ’s death in 33 C.E. How, then, could it be said that the Messiah “must keep the covenant in force for the many for one week”? Because he kept the Abrahamic covenant in force. Until the 70th week ended, God extended the blessings of that covenant to Abraham’s Hebrew offspring. But at the end of the “seventy weeks” of years, in 36 C.E., the apostle Peter preached to the devout Italian man Cornelius, his household, and other Gentiles. And from that day on, the good news began to be declared among people of the nations.—Acts 3:25, 26; 10:1-48; Galatians 3:8, 9, 14.

27. What “Holy of Holies” was anointed, and how?

 ²⁷ The prophecy also foretold the anointing of “the Holy of Holies.” This does not refer to anointing the Most Holy, or innermost compartment, of the temple in Jerusalem. The expression “Holy of Holies” here refers to the heavenly sanctuary of God. There, Jesus presented the value of his human sacrifice to his Father. Jesus’ baptism, in 29 C.E., had anointed, or set apart, that heavenly, spiritual reality represented by the Most Holy of the earthly tabernacle and of the later temple.—Hebrews 9:11, 12.

THE PROPHECY AFFIRMED BY GOD

28. What was meant by ‘imprinting a seal upon vision and prophet’?

²⁸ The Messianic prophecy uttered by the angel Gabriel also spoke of ‘imprinting a seal upon vision and prophet.’ This meant that everything foretold regarding the Messiah—all that he accomplished by means of his sacrifice, resurrection, and appearance in heaven, as well as the other things occurring during the 70th week—would be stamped with the seal of divine backing, would prove true, and could be trusted. The vision would be sealed, restricted to the Messiah. Its fulfillment would be in him and in God’s work through him. Only in connection with the foretold Messiah could we find the correct interpretation of the vision. Nothing else would unseal its meaning.

29. What was to happen to rebuilt Jerusalem, and for what reason?

²⁹ Gabriel had previously prophesied that Jerusalem would be rebuilt. Now he foretells the destruction of that rebuilt city and its temple, saying: “The city and the holy place the people of a leader that is coming will bring to their ruin. And the end of it will be by the flood. And until the end there will be war; what is decided upon is desolations. . . . And upon the wing of disgusting things there will be the one causing desolation; and until an extermination, the very thing decided upon will go pouring  out also upon the one lying desolate.” (Daniel 9:26b, 27b) Although this desolation would take place after the “seventy weeks,” it would be a direct result of happenings during the final “week,” when the Jews rejected Christ and had him put to death.—Matthew 23:37, 38.

30. As shown by the historical record, how was the decree of the Great Timekeeper fulfilled?

³⁰ Historical records show that in 66 C.E., Roman legions under Syrian Governor Cestius Gallus surrounded Jerusalem. Despite Jewish resistance, the Roman forces bearing their idolatrous ensigns, or standards, penetrated the city and started to undermine the temple wall on the north. Their standing there made them a “disgusting thing” that could cause complete desolation. (Matthew 24:15, 16) In 70 C.E., the Romans under General Titus came like a “flood” and desolated the city and its temple. Nothing stopped them, for this had been decreed—“decided upon”—by God. The Great Timekeeper, Jehovah, had again fulfilled his word!

WHAT DID YOU DISCERN?

• When the 70 years of Jerusalem’s desolation were coming to an end, what entreaties did Daniel make to Jehovah?

• How long were the “seventy weeks,” and when did they begin and end?

• When did “Messiah the Leader” appear, and at what critical time was he “cut off”?

• What covenant was kept “in force for the many for one week”?

• What took place following the “seventy weeks”?

[Study Questions]

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When Did Artaxerxes’ Reign Begin?

HISTORIANS disagree regarding the year in which the reign of Persian King Artaxerxes began. Some have placed his accession year in 465 B.C.E. because his father, Xerxes, started to rule in 486 B.C.E. and died in the 21st year of his reign. But there is evidence that Artaxerxes ascended to the throne in 475 B.C.E. and began his first regnal year in 474 B.C.E.

Inscriptions and sculptures unearthed at the ancient Persian capital Persepolis indicate a coregency between Xerxes and his father, Darius I. If this covered 10 years and Xerxes ruled alone for 11 years after Darius died in 486 B.C.E., the first year of Artaxerxes’ reign would have been 474 B.C.E.

A second line of evidence involves Athenian General Themistocles, who defeated Xerxes’ forces in 480 B.C.E. He later fell out of favor with the Greek people and was accused of treason. Themistocles fled and sought protection at the Persian court, where he was well received. According to the Greek historian Thucydides, this happened when Artaxerxes had but “lately come to the throne.” The Greek historian Diodorus Siculus puts the death of Themistocles at 471 B.C.E. Since Themistocles requested a year to learn Persian before having an audience with King Artaxerxes, he must have arrived in Asia Minor no later than 473 B.C.E. That date is supported by Jerome’s Chronicle of Eusebius. As Artaxerxes had “lately come to the throne” when Themistocles arrived in Asia in 473 B.C.E., German scholar Ernst Hengstenberg stated in his Christology of the Old Testament that Artaxerxes’ reign commenced in 474 B.C.E., as do other sources. He added: “The twentieth year of Artaxerxes is the year 455 before Christ.”

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Bust of Themistocles

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“SEVENTY WEEKS”

455 B.C.E 406 B.C.E. 29 C.E. 33 C.E. 36 C.E.

“The word to Jerusalem Messiah Messiah End of the

restore . . . rebuilt appears cut off “seventy

Jerusalem” weeks”

7 weeks 62 weeks 1 week

49 years 434 years 7 years

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