The Mysterious Seventy Weeks Prophecy, Part 2

The Mysterious Seventy “Weeks” of Daniel

Part 2, Why Seventy Years?

Chapter 32, Part 2 Preview: Among the most important prophecies in the Bible, the one usually referred to as the “Seventy Weeks Prophecy” stands out. It is the “chief cornerstone”, so to speak, of Messianic prophecies because it establishes the timeline of both the (so called) First and Second Comings of the Messiah. In fact, it is the only pre “Messianic” scripture that calls the Messiah the “Messiah”; so technically, it is the only “Messianic” prophecy of old. The Daniel 9 prophecy is very specific. It pinpoints four exact “milestone” events, three of which were prophetic. For several centuries individuals have been able to approximate within a few years, the Messianic timetable. Some few have even been able to pinpoint the very years, but there is absolutely no consensus on how the details have been—and yes will be fulfilled.

The historical context is that the northern ten tribes of Israel had already been taken captive into the land of Assyria. Because of the southern tribes continuing apostasy, Jeremiah prophesied that they too would be taken into captivity. As promised, the tribes of Judah and Levi, along with a remnant of others from various tribes and were taken into Babylonian exile.

When Gabriel visited Daniel, his beloved city of Jerusalem was a pillaged shambles. The once bountiful fields of Israel rested for decades—catching up on missed sabbatical years. Daniel was just a boy when the Babylonians captured him, but was now an old man. Altho he was a privileged and honored captive; he was still enslaved. It was after almost 70 years of oppression in captivity that Daniel learned about the 70 years prophecy.

Daniel 9:1-2 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans, 2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years about which the word of [Yehovah’] came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the accomplishing of the desolations of Jerusalem, even seventy years. WEB

But why was the penalty to last for seventy years? God’s Law required Israel to refrain from working the soil every seventh year—sort of a “land Sabbath”. (Leviticus 25). For 490 years Israel had ignored that the law and failed to heed His prophets, so:

2 Chronicles 36:18-21 All the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of [Yehovah], and the treasures of the king, and of his princes, all these he brought to Babylon. 19 They burnt the house of God, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels of it. 20 He carried those who had escaped from the sword away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: 21 to fulfill the word of [Yehovah] by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths: for as long as it lay desolate it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years. WEB

Each of the seventy years of captivity represented the violation of one Sabbatical year—one year in seven. Fortunately, the southern kingdom did not have to make up for the entire 490 years! Because the Southern Kingdom did not learn anything from the misfortune of the Northern Kingdom, they too went into captivity. In Daniel’s rear view mirror he could see nearly five centuries of contemptible historic neglect, while at the same time he was privileged to see, thru the windshield—490 years in the future—the time when the “Anointed One” would come and offer them redemption. In Daniel’s side view he saw hope for his peoples’ immediate future.

For more information on the Sabbatical years you could check out Why the Land Sabbath?

While the evidence is clear here that God cast Israel into captivity due to her violations of the Sabbatical years, it is even more certain that breaking of the weekly Sabbaths prominently figured into the condemnation and captivity. I have included most of Ezekiel 20 here, first, because it emphasizes that breaking the Sabbath figured prominently in the destruction of ancient Israel and secondly because, a careful reading shows that all twelve tribes of Israel—“ALL OF THEM” will serve God in the Holy Land in the future after yet another captivity—and for the same reasons! This will begin with the coming Third Temple when God will “require your offerings”. Can this bold concept be demonstrated scripturally? Yes, beyond all doubt! See The Time After Jacob’s Trouble.

Ezekiel 20 Thus says the Lord [Yehovah]: In the day when I chose Israel, and swore to the seed of the house of Jacob, and made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, when I swore to them, saying, I am [Yehovah] your God; 6 in that day I swore to them, to bring them forth out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands. 7 I said to them, Cast away every man the abominations of his eyes, and dont defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt; I am [Yehovah] your God. 8 But they rebelled against Me, and would not listen to Me; they did not every man cast away the abominations of their eyes, neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt. Then I said I would pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 But I worked for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, among which they were, in whose sight I made Myself known to them, in bringing them forth out of the land of Egypt. 10 So I caused them to go forth out of the land of Egypt, and brought them into the wilderness. 11 I gave them My statutes, and showed them My ordinances, which if a man does, he shall live in them. 12 Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am [Yehovah] who sanctifies them. 13 But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness: they didnt walk in My statutes, and they rejected My ordinances, which if a man keep, he shall live in them; and My Sabbaths they greatly profaned. Then I said I would pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to consume them. 14 But I worked for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them out. 15 Moreover also I swore to them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands; 16 because they rejected My ordinances, and didnt walk in My statutes, and profaned My Sabbaths: for their heart went after their idols. 17 Nevertheless My eye spared them, and I didnt destroy them, neither did I make a full end of them in the wilderness. 18 I said to their children in the wilderness, Dont walk in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their ordinances, nor defile yourselves with their idols. 19 I am [Yehovah] your God: walk in My statutes, and keep My ordinances, and do them; 20 and make My Sabbaths holy; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am [Yehovah] your God. 21 But the children rebelled against Me; they didnt walk in My statutes, neither kept My ordinances to do them, which if a man do, he shall live in them; they profaned My Sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the wilderness. 22 Nevertheless I withdrew My hand, and worked for My name’s sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them forth. 23 Moreover I swore to them in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the nations, and disperse them through the countries; 24 because they had not executed My ordinances, but had rejected My statutes, and had profaned My Sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers’ idols. 25 Moreover also I gave them statutes that were not good, and ordinances in which they should not live; 26 and I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that opens the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am [Yehovah]. 27 Therefore, son of [Adam], speak to the house of Israel, and tell them, Thus says the Lord [Yehovah]: In this moreover have your fathers blasphemed Me, in that they have committed a trespass against Me…33 As I live, says the Lord [Yehovah], surely with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out, will I be King over you: 34 and I will bring you out from the peoples, and will gather you out of the countries in which you are scattered, with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm, and with wrath poured out; 35 and I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there will I enter into judgment with you face to face. 36 LIKE as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so will I enter into judgment with you, says the Lord [Yehovah]. 37 I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant; 38 and I will purge out from among you the rebels, and those who disobey against me; I will bring them forth out of the land where they sojourn, but they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and you shall know that I am [Yehovah]. 39 As for you, house of Israel, thus says the Lord [Yehovah]: Go, serve everyone his idols, and hereafter also, if you will not listen to Me; but My holy name you shall no more profane with your gifts, and with your idols. 40 For in My holy mountain, in the mountain of the height of Israel, says the Lord [Yehovah], there shall ALL the house of Israel, ALL OF THEM, serve Me in the land: there will I accept them, and there will I require your offerings, and the first fruits of your offerings, with all your holy things. 41 As a pleasant aroma will I accept you, when I bring you out from the peoples, and gather you out of the countries in which you have been scattered; and I will be sanctified in you in the sight of the nations. 42 You shall know that I am [Yehovah], when I shall bring you into the land of Israel, into the country which I swore to give to your fathers. 43 There you shall remember your ways, and all your doings, in which you have polluted yourselves; and you shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that you have committed. WEB

Daniel Read Jeremiah—And Was Shocked!

After the exile. Jerusalem was in ruins. Here is the prophecy that Daniel noticed in the book of Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 25:4-12 [Yehovah] has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them (but you have not listened, nor inclined your ear to hear) 5 saying, Return now everyone from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that [Yehovah] has given to you and to your fathers, from of old and even forevermore.... 7 Yet you have not listened to me, says [Yehovah]; that you may provoke Me to anger with the work of your hands to your own hurt. 8 Therefore thus says [Yehovah] of Armies: Because you have not heard My words, 9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, says [Yehovah], and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations around; and I will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations. 10 Moreover I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. 12 It shall happen, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, says [Yehovah], for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it desolate forever. WEB

Jeremiah had twice explicitly foretold of Israel’s captivity by the Babylonians, because they refused to follow God, and had specified that the captivity would have an exact duration of 70 years. Daniel personally applied the statements “You shall call on Me, and you shall go and pray to Me” and “You shall seek Me, and find Me” to his own life. Gabriel came in answer to Daniels specific and continuing prayers about the “seventy years”.

Jeremiah 29:10-14 For thus says [Yehovah], After seventy years are accomplished for Babylon, I will visit you, and perform My good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says [Yehovah], thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future. 12 You shall call on Me, and you shall go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 You shall seek Me, and find Me, when you shall search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says [Yehovah], and I will turn again your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places where I have driven you, says [Yehovah]; and I will bring you again to the place from where I caused you to be carried away captive. WEB

Had someone else read the book before Daniel did, and applied the words to themselves, a book might have been written bearing another name.

However, it was Daniel who appears to be the first person to realize that a remnant of Israel was soon to be freed from captivity! This amazing discovery caused him to pray the prayer quoted in part below:

Daniel 9:2-23 ... I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years about which the word of [Yehovah] came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the accomplishing of the desolations of Jerusalem, even seventy years. 3 I set my face to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and petitions, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to [Yehovah] my God, and made confession, and said, Oh, Lord, the great and dreadful God, who keeps covenant and loving kindness with those who love Him and keep His commandments, [now individuals not the entire nation] 5 we have sinned, and have dealt perversely, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even turning aside from your precepts and from your ordinances; 6 neither have we listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.... 20 While I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before [Yehovah] my God for the holy mountain of my God; 21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening offering. 22 He instructed me, and talked with me, and said, Daniel, I am now come forth to give you wisdom and understanding. 23 At the beginning of your petitions the commandment went forth, and I have come to tell you; for you are greatly beloved: therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision. WEB

The Seventy “Weeks” Prophesy is only four very detailed verses in length. Including Thomas Ice’s articles we have covered the six future aspects of the ultimate prophecy.

When Daniel was given his prophecy, the following prophecy by Jeremiah had already taken place:

Jeremiah 9:11-16 I will make Jerusalem heaps, a dwelling place of jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant. 12 Who is the wise man, [who] may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of [Yehovah] has spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land perished and burned up like a wilderness, so that none passes through? 13 [Yehovah] says, Because they have forsaken My law which I set before them, and have not obeyed My voice, neither walked therein, 14 but have walked after the stubbornness of their own heart, and after the Baals, which their fathers taught them; 15 therefore thus says [Yehovah] of Armies, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them, even this people, with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink. 16 I will scatter them also among the nations, whom neither they nor their fathers have known; and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them. WEB

The above prophecy occurred when King Nebuchadnezzar attacked the city in 586 BC. Gabriel told Daniel that a decree to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem would be made. But this was only the first of a series of prophesied events. Gabriel further said that from the day when this decree would be made, that a total of 69 weeks of years would go by before Messiah the king would arrive, after which He was to be “cut off” (killed) “and shall have nothing”.

Nebuchadnezzar began taking young men from what they called “Hatti land” (Palestine/Syria) as hostages to Babylon at his first opportunity. The captivity had actually begun in the year 605/04 BC (Babylonian spring to spring calendar); this was even before the destruction of Jerusalem.

Which Decree Began the Countdown to the Messiah’s Coming?

Daniel’s prophecy states that the 70 sevens of years countdown was to begin as follows:

Daniel 9:25 Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to [re]build Jerusalem to the ‘Anointed One’ [Usually translated: Messiah], the prince, shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks: it shall be built again, with street and moat, even in troubled times.

The first critical factor, in understanding the countdown to the 69th “week”, the “First Coming” prophecy, is to determine in which year the decree was issued “to restore and [rebuild] Jerusalem.” The “Second Coming” will occur during the 70th “week”. The anciently acknowledged 7000 Year millennial Plan (off site) is divisible by Jubilees (50 year periods). Therefore, every Biblically correct millennium ends with a Jubilee year. This evil age will end on Jubilee 2027 AD!

There were considerable obstacles and some thwarted efforts to rebuild. That accounts for the four separate decrees being made. Daniel’s prophecy “anticipated” that the project would be accomplished in “troubled times”. So we must determine which decree Daniel was referring to.

The four decrees pertaining to restorations in Jerusalem to consider are all found in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, which cover this era. Cyrus 2 made a decree as did Darius 1. Artaxerxes 1 made two decrees. To paraphrase the old TV show called To Tell The Truth: Will the real Decree please stand up!

Here are the four decrees:

Decree to Rebuild the Temple

DECREE #1, 538 BC:

Cyrus, King of Persia, issued a decree to Zerubbabel telling him that God had instructed him to delegate him (Zerubbabel) “to build Him [God] “a house” [Temple] in Jerusalem”. While this was a great historic event, it was not the rebuilding of the entire city:

Ezra 1:1-4 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of [Yehovah] by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, [Yehovah] stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, 2 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, ‘[Yehovah], the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and He has commanded me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever there is among you of all His people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of [Yehovah], the God of Israel (He is God), which is in Jerusalem. 4 Whoever is left, in any place where he sojourns, let the men of his place help him with silver, with gold, with goods, and with animals, besides the freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem. WEB

This exact announcement is also found in 2 Chronicles 36:22-23. Whenever there is repetition in the scriptures it is for emphasis.

Decree for Temple Building to Continue

DECREE #2, 520 BC: Darius’ decree confirmed the decree of Cyrus.

Ezra 5:8-17 Be it known to the king, that we went into the province of Judah, to the house of the great God, which is built with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls; and this work goes on with diligence and prospers in their hands.... 14 The gold and silver vessels also of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought into the temple of Babylon, those Cyrus the king took out of the temple of Babylon, and they were delivered to one whose name was Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor; 15 and he said to him, ‘Take these vessels, go, put them in the temple that is in Jerusalem, and let the house of God be built in its place.’ 16 Then the same Sheshbazzar came, and laid the foundations of the house of God which is in Jerusalem: and since that time even until now has it been in building, and yet it is not completed. 17 Now therefore, if it seem good to the king, let there be search made in the king’s treasure house, which is there at Babylon, whether it be so, that a decree was made of Cyrus the king to build this house of God at Jerusalem; and let the king send his pleasure to us concerning this matter. Ezra 6:1-5 Then Darius the king made a decree, and search was made in the house of the archives, where the treasures were laid up in Babylon. 2 There was found at Achmetha, in the palace that is in the province of Media, a scroll, and therein was thus written for a record: 3 In the first year of Cyrus the king, Cyrus the king made a decree: Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the house be built, the place where they offer sacrifices, and let its foundations be strongly laid; its height sixty cubits, and its breadth sixty cubits; 4 with three courses of great stones, and a course of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king’s house. 5 Also let the gold and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which is at Jerusalem, and brought to Babylon, be restored, and brought again to the temple which is at Jerusalem, everyone to its place; and you shall put them in the house of God. WEB [details in the next 6 verses]

During the reign of Darius I, some politicians complained to the king that the Jews were rebuilding the Temple. The city and the walls were not an issue. They said that the Jews claimed to have permission as per the decree of Cyrus 2 (Ezra 5:8, 14-17) Darius checked the records and told those in opposition to “back off” and stay away. Furthermore, the meddlers were forced to provide money for the project from their tax revenues! While construction of the Temple began during the reign of Cyrus 2, little was done until the beginning of the second year of Darius 1. Four years later, in 516 BC, the construction of the Temple was finished. Ezra records:

Ezra 6:15-16 ... so that he may search in the book of the records of your fathers, and you shall discover in the book of the records and shall know that this city is a rebellious city, and hurtful to kings and to provinces; and insurrection was stirred up in it in the past; for which reason this city was destroyed. 16 We notify the king that if that city is built, and its walls completed, then you shall have no portion Beyond the River. LIT

Again, the city was not rebuilt beginning with this decree.

* * *

DECREE #3

457 BC Artaxerxes, King of Persia, issued a detailed decree to Ezra giving him everything necessary “for the service of the house of your God.”

Ezra 7:11-26 Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, even the scribe of the words of the commandments of [Yehovah], and of His statutes to Israel: 12 Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect and so forth. 13 I make a decree, that all those of the people of Israel, and their priests and the Levites, in my realm, who are minded of their own free will to go to Jerusalem, go with you. 14 Because you are sent of the king and his seven counselors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your hand, 15 and to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem, 16 and all the silver and gold that you shall find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem; 17 therefore you shall with all diligence buy with this money bulls, rams, lambs, with their meal offerings and their drink offerings, and shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem. 18 Whatever shall seem good to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, do that after the will of your God. 19 The vessels that are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver before the God of Jerusalem. 20 Whatever more shall be needful for the house of your God, which you shall have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king’s treasure house. 21 I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers who are beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done with all diligence, 22 to one hundred talents of silver, and to one hundred measures of wheat, and to one hundred baths of wine, and to one hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. 23 Whatever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be done exactly for the house of the God of heaven; for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons? 24 Also we inform you, that touching any of the priests and Levites, the singers, porters, Nethinim, or servants of this house of God, it shall not be lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll, on them. 25 You, Ezra, after the wisdom of your God who is in your hand, appoint magistrates and judges, who may judge all the people who are beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God; and teach him who doesnt know them. 26 Whoever will not do the law of your God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed on him with all diligence, whether it be to death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment. WEB

This is easier determined after the fact. Historically, this is when the command for rebuilding took place. Many people correctly understand that in 458/457 BC, the 69 prophetic weeks (the 7+62) countdown began. This is determined by using the day for a year principle, in which a prophetic day equals a year. 483 years of literal time, must pass before the Messiah’s public appearance in the temple. However, more people believe that the countdown began in 445 BC due to the teaching popularized by Sir Robert Anderson in his book, The Coming Prince (1894).

In short, from 536 BC to 457 BC Israel was a beleaguered people without true government or even well defined borders. However these pioneers did manage to rebuild the temple. When Artaxerxes came to power in 464 BC serious rebuilding of the city began.

This is the decree that precipitated the “troublesome times” because during Artaxerxes reign the adversaries sought legislation to stop Israel, from “building the rebellious and evil city”.

Artaxerxes decree in 457 BC not only facilitated establishing the temple, but it also gave Israel its own government. Prior to this decree the leaders in Judea occupied only the lowest tiers of government. Suddenly that all changed. Now they could pass and enforce their own laws. Now they were granted nationhood status. This decree reestablished Jerusalem!

I had spent many hours researching this topic when I encountered the article:

When Did the Seventy Weeks of Daniel 9:24 Begin?

This very specific article in the offsite link above crossed all of the t’s and dotted all of the i’s in dating the countdown start at 457 BC. I highly recommend this article for the evidence to nail down the beginning of the count down. There is no reason for me to dwell on this very important aspect of the prophecy as long as this web article is available. However, before moving on I should mention Isaac Newton.

Isaac Newton’s Ground Breaking Interpretation

Sir Isaac Newton believed that the Seventy Weeks Prophecy had to do with the “Second Coming of Christ”. He hesitated to make any predictions fearing that that was the responsibility of prophets. However he felt that discerning the fulfillment of past prophecies was fair game and a way of praising God.

Therefore, Newton only focused only on the first sixty-nine weeks. He believed that the prophecy had to span from the edict of Artaxerxes I to the crucifixion of Jesus. I made the same mistake when I first wrote my Jubilee Chapter. It was titled Jubilee 2031 AD instead of Jubilee 2027 AD. The end point is His anointing and baptism.

Newton may have been the first person to identify Artaxerxes I (Artaxerxes Longimanus) as the king who issued the decree, and to place the decree in the year 457 BC. Newton then counted forward toward the Crucifixion year and selected a date when the preparation for Passover fell on a Friday, which he calculated to be AD 33 or 34. It’s a little known fact, but Isaac Newton’s incredible zeal for Biblical truth was the reason for his great scientific discoveries. He created the science of physics to calculate the phase of the moon in antiquity so that he could date Biblical events. It’s too bad that he had been hoodwinked about Good Friday, and I understand only too well the error concerning which event terminated the sixty-ninth week.

He kept the science of physics to himself for decades, knowing that others would not understand it. Much of what he had learned was not “discovered” by mainstream scientists for two centuries!

Newton did write that his countdown could be a year too early and he also thought that Jesus’ ministry was 4.5 years long. An extra year was needed to get to the supposed Friday crucifixion he had in mind. He did not consider a delay in the 70th year and so he tried to add significance to 34 AD, which did mark a seventieth year—a time cycle that often did have special significance. Historians generally reject 34 AD as a possible crucifixion date, and rightly so. Nevertheless, Newton discovered a great foundation for others to build upon. I truly anticipate meeting him!

Here is some of what Isaac Newton wrote as posted at the following link:

“I take it for granted that the passion was on Friday the 14th day of the month Nisan, the great feast of the Passover on Saturday the 15th day of Nisan, and the resurrection on the day following. Now the 14th day of Nisan always fell on the full moon next after the vernal Equinox; [more assumptions] and the month began at the new moon before, not at the true [astronomical] conjunction, but at the first appearance of the new moon; for the Jews referred all the time of the silent moon, as they phrased it, that is, of the moon’s disappearing, to the old moon; and because the first appearance might usually be about 18 h after the true conjunction, they therefore began their month from the sixth hour at evening, that is, at sun set, next after the eighteenth hour from the conjunction. And this rule they called Jah, designing by the letters and the number 18. [Bold added.]

“... And the Jews still keep a tradition in their books, that the Sanhedrin used diligently to define the new moons by sight: sending witnesses into mountainous places, and examining them about the moon’s appearing, and translating the new moon from the day they had agreed on to the day before, as often as witnesses came from distant regions, who had seen it a day sooner than it was seen at Jerusalem....

“Computing therefore the new moons of the first month according to the course of the moon and the rule Jah, and thence counting 14 days, I find that the 14th day of this month in the year of Christ 31, fell on tuesday March 27; in the year 32, on sunday Apr. 13; in the year 33, on friday Apr. 3; in the year 34, on wednesday March 24, or rather, for avoiding the Equinox which fell on the same day, and for having a fitter time for harvest, on thursday Apr. 22, also in the year 35, on tuesday Apr. 12, and in the year 36, on saturday March 31.

“But because the 15th and 21st days of Nisan, and a day or two of Pentecost, and the 10th, 15th, and 22nd of Tishri, were always sabbatical days or days of rest, and it was inconvenient on two sabbaths together to be prohibited burying their dead and making ready fresh meat, for in that hot region their meat would be apt in two days to corrupt: to avoid these and such like inconveniences, the Jews postponed their months a day, as often as the first day of the month Tishri, or which is all one, the third of the month Nisan was sunday, wednesday, or friday: and this rule they called Adu, by the letters aleph, daleth, waw, signifying the numbers 1, 4, 6, that is, the 1st, 4th, and 6th days of the week, which days we call sunday, wednesday, and friday. Postponing therefore by this rule the months found above; the 14th day of the month Nisan will fall in the year of Christ 31 on wednesday March 28; in the year 32 on monday Apr. 14; in the year 33 on friday Apr. 3; in the year 34, on friday Apr. 23; in the year 35, on wednesday Apr. 13; and in the year 36, on saturday March 31.

“By this computation therefore the year 32 is absolutely excluded, because the Passion cannot fall on friday without making it five days after the full moon, or two days before it; whereas it ought to be upon the day of the full moon, or the next day. For the same reasons the years 31 and 35 are excluded, because in them the Passion cannot fall on friday, without making it three days after the full moon or four days before it: errors so enormous, that they would be very conspicuous in the heavens even to the vulgar eye. The year 36 is contended for by few or none, and both this and the year 35 may be thus excluded....

This web site notes some of Newton’s errors, but I find that their fixes fall a bit short:

“Moreover, Newton’s choice of friday, AD 34 April 23, rather than thursday, AD 34 April 22, depended on invoking a postponement rule from the modern [4th century] Hebrew calendar which Zeitlin (1966) has effectively argued was not used at that time.”

Calculating T-457

Thus far, in working out the bugs, we have the decree given to Ezra in 457 BC as the starting point. Ezra interpreted the decree to mean that he was authorized to spearhead a broad ranging construction project that included the temple, the city, and its walls. The decree is summarized as follows:

Ezra 9:8-9 Now for a little moment grace has been shown from [Yehovah] our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in His holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. 9 For we are bondservants; yet our God has not forsaken us in our bondage, but has extended loving kindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the ‘house’ [temple] of our God, and to repair its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem. WEB

While a year appears to be destined to become 360 days long again, it has been 365 1/4 days long since about the 7th century BC.

If we count forward from our starting point by 483 years we will arrive at 27 AD. Dont get tripped up with the year “0”. Several popular chronologists such as Henry Halley in his Halley’s Bible Handbook make this mistake. In crossing from BC to AD you must allow for the primitive Roman system which did not recognize the concept of “0”. To correct for this, when crossing the line, the AD date equals the period of years from the BC date +1 year – the date BC. In this case the AD date = 483 + 1 – 457 = 27. So the true date is AD 27 rather than AD 26. AD 30 crucifixion advocates often add the 3 1/2 year ministry to AD 26 to achieve a 30 AD (Friday) crucifixion. Those who make the “0” hurdle often resort to a 2 1/2 year ministry to reach the same Friday, April 7, 30 AD date, rather than 31 AD (Wednesday: crescent moon, aviv, no postponements).

When Did Jesus Die?

As stated earlier in this chapter, we can prove that Jesus died on a Wednesday. All of the Wednesday proponents whom I know believe that the crucifixion was on April 25, 31 AD—but for the wrong reason! They believe that without a “postponement” of one day, starting from the astronomical “invisible conjunction” that Passover would have been on a Tuesday. This they claim is proof that the postponements were in effect in the first century. No Jewish encyclopedia would concur with such slight of hand but these people never cite the openness in which the Jews claim to have “temporarily” changed the rules due to what might be called the “diaspora tribulation”. However, in this instance, the time lapse between the “astronomical new moon” and the visible new crescent moon comes out on the very same day as the calculated new moon (Molad) with a one day unbiblical postponement.

There is a second way for there to have been a Wednesday Passover in 31 AD that a small minority of 31 AD proponents believe in.

This outside link—NEWSFLASH: PROOF POSITIVE! has some interesting lunar dating information. It is not even a web site, just a lonesome page with barely two paragraphs of real explanation. Yet it was the only live reference to “Wednesday, March 28, 31 AD” to be found on a Google search in reference to the veracity of the date of Jesus’ crucifixion, tho the exact information is available three times since the writer encouraged copying. I searched for “Wednesday, March 28, 31 AD” as well as “Wednesday, March 28, 31 CE”.

While this “Newsflash” writer accepts some of the added Jewish rules (i.e. the supposed factoring in of the equinox) as being applicable, nevertheless he records the lunar statistics for March of 31 AD. This month would also be in agreement with a Biblical Wednesday crucifixion if the weather had been inclement and the crescent new moon was not seen on the first “possible” day. When a new moon is “expected” but then is not visible, it is always reckoned as the next day; meaning that several days of clouds would never throw a monkey wrench into the determination of the new month.

Bear in mind that while this is the old Julian calendar, the day of the week never changes from calendar to calendar:

[His Note]: Orthodox theologians reject Wednesday crucifixion, even though the Scriptures entirely support this.”

Interestingly, modern calculations show that the moon was 100.0% full at 3:14 PM on that fateful Wednesday. “Coincidentally”, the “darkness over the whole land” ended at exactly 3:00 PM according to Mark.

Mark 15:33-34 When the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land UNTIL the ninth hour. 34 AT the ninth hour [3:00 PM] Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is, being interpreted, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? WEB (uplifting off site explanation)

Matthew 27:46 is usually translated “about the ninth hour”. The Greek word is “peri” (peri), and could just as easily have been used in a definitive manner as Mark did, rather than in an approximate manner. It might just as well be translated “concerning the ninth hour” or even “because of the ninth hour”. [Strong’s 4012: concerning, on account of, because of, about, around, near]

The following concept is some of my musing on the possible March Passover.

While the Passover does not have to occur on exactly the full moon, it is always close. If the time zone line were relocated 14 minutes east of its present location it would run thru, or at least next to, Jerusalem. Using Jerusalem as the International Dateline, Jesus would have died at the fullest point of the Full Moon, precisely 3:00 PM of what I would call “Jerusalem Standard Time” to the very minute, as close as I can figure. I believe that the time zones of the future will be based on Jerusalem (or Israel) time rather than Greenwich time (and always should have been). Under this scenario the minute that Jesus spoke His final words the “lights” came back on and the 100.0% full moon shone. Jesus was “the light of the world” (John 8:12, 9:5) The exact three hours of darkness (far too long for an eclipse: outside link) had just ended and the full moon was as full as it could get, and you dont get a greater contrast of light and darkness than that.

[Of course having the International Date Line run thru Israel may pose too many problems for “those who pass through”. Another option might be for the dateline to pass thru a place where traffic would not face the complexities of a different day of the week being observed by “their neighbors”. This end time prophecy indicates that there will be a place on the eastern edge of Israel where traffic is impeded—east of the “sea” or lake. Both lakes (formerly all 3) of Israel are presently on the exact border of Israel. None of Israel is east of these “seas” so Israel will expand eastward far enough to provide a burial place (off site) known as the Valley of Hamon-Gog.

Ezekiel 39:1 It shall happen in that day, that I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the valley of those who pass through on the east of the sea; and it shall stop those who pass through: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude; and they shall call it The valley of Hamon Gog. WEB]

This will form a “netherworld” valley on the order of the Valley of Jehoshaphat which people mistakenly think is Armageddon (Revelation 16:16). Armageddon is only the the gathering place for the Battle of Jehoshaphat! (Joel 3:1-2, 11-12)

The only other references to this alternative date of Jesus’ crucifixion were references to this link. Note the opening statements:

“The day of the crucifixion of Jesus was a Wednesday, Thursday or a Friday. That day on the Jewish calendar was Nisan 14 or Nisan 15, depending on whether the day was reckoned from sunrise or sunset. There are six possible combinations leading to four possible dates of the crucifixion. These dates are Thursday, April 6, 30 CE, Friday, April 7, 30 CE, Wednesday, March 28, 31 CE and Friday, April 3, 33 CE. On which day was Jesus nailed to the cross?

The above possible days and dates for the crucifixion are discussed in the chapter, ‘Astronomical Determination of the New Moon.’ The surrounding years are there eliminated as possible for His crucifixion.”

This writer dismissed a Wednesday Passover for several reasons, none of which are valid. His “best” argument was that the women would have wrapped His body with spices on the following Friday, if Thursday had been the First Day of Unleavened Bread, because Sunday would have been too late. However his grave site was under armed guard until the third day (Matthew 27:62-66). Another objection I have is to his conclusion that “preparation day” was a descriptive term for Fridays, and in this particular instance the alleged “Good Friday”, yet every reference to the preparation day in the Bible applies it to the Passover—in particular Jesus’ last Passover—and never to a preparation for the weekly Sabbath! In fact John said “Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover” and “Therefore the Jews, because it was the Preparation Day, so that the bodies wouldnt remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a special one), asked of Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.” WEB (Compare Matthew 27:62, Mark 15:42, Luke 23:54, John 19:14 & 31 & 42, Ephesians 6:15) Then there is the usual: ‘three days and three nights’ between the death of Jesus and His resurrection ... is a figure of speech ...” ploy. He also leans on a theory that there were “two Passovers” that year.

My daughter Jennifer, independently studying the crucifixion year, found the following chart put out by the United Church of God (UCG) that attempted to show all of the variables in use by different chronologists. The committee responsible for the table decided that their “Church” (off site) must use the “Calculated with Postponements” method:

The dates are using the Julian calendar (Not Gregorian).

4) Based on details provided from a variety of sources, including: Herman H. Goldstein, New & Full Moons: 1001 BC to AD 1561, Vol. 94, American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, 1973; Colin J. Humphreys and W.G. Waddington, “Dating the Crucifixion,” Nature 306 (December 1983): 743—746; Jean Meeus, Astronomical Formulae for Calculators; Karl Schock, Table for the Visibility of the New Crescent; and the Royal Nautical Almanac.

Jennifer wrote “I could not find any errors in the calculations and I also came to the spring of 31 AD. Those comparing only two calendar options (Calculated with Postponements vs. Calculated without Postponements) use this information to conclude that using the Calculated Calendar with Postponements is the correct method as it is ‘the only way that Passover could have been on a Wednesday in 31 AD’. Their conclusion, therefore, is that the current Jewish calendar system must be correct. However, as we can see above, a Wednesday Passover would also have been possible in 31 AD using Observation.

“Problem: The Jewish calendar adds the 13th month in a fixed pattern over a 19 year cycle. The above calendar appears to take into account the fact that there was a change made to this pattern sometime after 100 AD. I came across several calendar converters that convert dates based on all of the current Jewish calendar rules (the fixed days of each month, with the exception of postponements, and fixed pattern for adding in the 13th month) and they all placed Passover in the year 31 AD—one month earlier than in the chart shown above”. [March rather than April]

“Using the fixed calendar of today and the fixed pattern of adding the 13th month, Passover in the year 31 AD would have been on a Monday! Of course this does not prove that the rest of the rules surrounding the present Jewish calendar are incorrect—just that the fixed pattern of when to add the 13th month is incorrect. To understand more about the other rules used by the current Jewish calendar, we’ll have to look elsewhere”.

In addition to Jewish “postponements” and “calculated new moons” (also created in the 4th century) which mark the invisible conjunction rather than the visible crescent—one to two days later—another major error of most chronologists is that they believe that to determine when Passover is we must factor in the spring equinox. Such an assumption is not the case: See Holy Days And Equinoxes-Is there A Connection?. [It does appear that when the year was 360 days long, that the equinox always coincided with a New Moon, which accounts for so many ancient calendars being based on it rather than the barley harvest in Israel. Yet Biblical months are precisely based on harvests.]

According to the translator of Josephus, the last Jubilee Year that was celebrated before the Diaspora (70 AD) was in 27 AD. This adds great credibility to the belief that when Jesus proclaimed, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:21) He was indeed proclaiming the “acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:21) in 27 AD!

Next we have the much acclaimed—but wrong—starting year of 445 BC:

DECREE #4

445 BC: Artaxerxes issued a decree to Nehemiah concerning the city of his “fathers’ tombs” (Jerusalem), that he should go and rebuild Jerusalem. Astronomical and archaeological records (off site) do exist that prove that this particular edict was made on March 14, 445 BC, and most commentators believe that the edict issued to Nehemiah, the royal cupbearer for Artaxerxes I, is the obvious candidate for beginning the countdown to the Messiah, because it is the only one that specifically mentions the rebuilding of Jerusalem. For that reason, they assume that the countdown to the Messiah’s arrival began in 445 BC.

Here is the account:

Nehemiah 2:1-8 It happened in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, that I took up the wine, and gave it to the king. Now I had not been before sad in his presence. 2 The king said to me, Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid. 3 I said to the king, Let the king live forever: why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are consumed with fire? 4 Then the king said to me, For what do you make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 I said to the king, If it please the king, and if your servant have found favor in your sight, that you would send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may build it. 6 The king said to me (the queen also sitting by him), For how long shall your journey be? And when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. 7 Moreover I said to the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah; 8 and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the castle which appertains to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. The king granted me, according to the good hand of my God on me. WEB

True, there is mention of rebuilding the city and it’s Artaxerxes only decree that mentions the rebuilding of Jerusalem. But this passage does not indicate that this was the beginning of the project. Actually, it simply tells of Nehemiah’s request to participate in the seemingly unending project. Nehemiah requested “timber to make beams for the gates” etc. and Artaxerxes complied with Nehemiah’s request.