Prophecies of Daniel

 25"So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a ^(AW)decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until ^(AX)Messiah the ^(AY)Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.

 26"Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be ^(AZ)cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will ^(BA)destroy the city and the sanctuary And its end will come with a ^(BB)flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.

 27"And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of ^(BC)abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a ^(BD)complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."

Daniel 9:2-3, "In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:"

Babylon had fallen. It was now time to concentrate on the reconstruction of Jerusalem. Daniel understood the prophecy declared that this was next. So, he went to the Creator God in intense prayer and fasting. By the way, this is something you don't seek too often in today's world. Many Christians today have totally forgotten about such powerful prayer and supplications as this. We ALL would see the hand of the Lord move far more frequent I am sure if we too would do as His prophets of old have done.

Daniel 9:4-5,18 "And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies."

All that Daniel saw was accurate. Even looking upon his people he saw that their sins have caused them this grief. However, he thought because of their rebellion, the construction of Jerusalem was being delayed. This is why his prayer is concentrating on forgiveness for his sins and the sins of his people.

Right in the midst of prayer, the angel Gabriel once again appeared to Daniel. If you recall in the Word, it speaks of how thirteen years prior, the angel gave Daniel a vision describing a 2300 year period of time. However, because of Daniel being unable to handle to phyically handle any interpretation of the vision at that time. (See Daniel 8:27) Gabriel left before explaining it. This 2300 year panoramic view of many prophetic events is extremely important and will be the topic of yet another study. For now, let's concentrate on the 70 weeks within it.

Daniel 9:22-23, "And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision."

Numbers 14:34, "After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise."

Ezekiel 4:5-6, "For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year."

 In Bible prophecy a "day for a year" calculation has always been the norm.

• Starting point of the 70 weeks =  King Artaxerxes decree in 457BC

• 7 weeks later (49 years in reality. 7 x 7 = 49) The Restoration of Jerusalem is finished. The year is 408BC (-457 + 49 = -408)

• 62 weeks later (434 years in reality. 62 x 7 = 434) Jesus Christ arrives as Messiah in the exact year 27AD (-408 + 434 = 27)

By the way...
Don't make the same mistake I made when I first calculated this prophetic fact some years ago. I completely forgot about the fact that there is a YEAR 0 to contend with. I kept coming up with a calculation that was ONE YEAR OFF when trying to place Jesus Christ being baptized in 27AD. I kept seeing Him baptized in 26AD instead!

Try that in your calculator and you WILL see it work out just fine. Jesus did in fact step into the river Jordan in the exact year the vision Daniel had prophecied! PLUS, Jesus even proved this confrmation when He declared that the time was "fulfilled" after He was baptized.

Mark 1:9,14,15 "And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel."

 Jesus understood Bible prophecy! He knew that the Autumn of the year 27AD was a fulfillment of the prophecy of Daniel.

 Daniel 9:26-27, "And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off... And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."

Getting back to the 70 weeks. Here we see that in the middle of the 70th week something is to occur. Prophecy is stating that the Messiah shall be "cut off." It also states that when this occurs, it will, "cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease."

The middle of the week means 3.5 years. (7 years divided by 2) By adding 3.5 years to the autumn of 27AD, we come to the Spring of 31AD. What happened in the Spring of 31AD?

Prophecy says...

Daniel 9:27, "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:"

Matthew 26:27-28, "And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

The "covenant with many" is what actually happened when Jesus Christ sealed the covenant when He shed His blood on that cross and died. He died for all those that sinned even though He Himself knew no sin. He did this for the salvation of all those that would ACCEPT His sacrifice for the remission of sins.

Matthew 26:27-28, "And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it;  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

In the middle of the week of Daniel we see that Jesus Christ prophetically accurately hug on the cross but 'NOT FOR HIMSELF." He died for the sins of you and me. He was sinless and a perfect sacrifice for sin. Just like of old when the Jewish nation brought forth a lamb to be slaugthered for their sins, it could NOT have any "blemish" upon it (see Exodus 12:5) because the Lord to come would not have any sin in Him.

To further confirm that this occured. At the very moment "The Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world" died on that cross. The temple veil ripped from top to bottom therefore siginifying that the "lamb sacrifice" for sins of the nation of Israel was at an END! The "oblation ceased!"