Daniel 9 24 27 Daniel tells of the comming of the messiah Jesus This was a prophecy and the Magi or wise men read the prophecy and identified the Mesiah well in advance This proves that for men of faith prophecy is fact not mere speculation Jesus told Thomas more blessed is he that belives without first seeing I have posted an article by Pastor David Bay for you to read which explains in detail the prophecy of Jesus s comming THE UNPARALLELED PRECISE PROPHECY Daniel 9 24 26 Seventy weeks of years or 490 years are decreed upon your people and upon your holy city Jerusalem to finish and put an end to transgression to seal up and make full the measure of sin to purge away and make expiation and reconciliation for sin and to bring in everlasting righteousness and to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint a holy of holies Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem until the coming of the anointed one a prince shall be seven weeks of years and sixty two weeks of years it shall be built again with city square and moat but in troublous times And after the 62 weeks of years shall the anointed one be cut off killed and shall have nothing and no one belonging to and defending Him The remaining one week is found in verse 27 and refers to the last seven years of earth s history the period which we know as the Great Tribulation The term Weeks of Years was a common Jewish term It meant literally seven 7 years The term comes from God s commandment in Leviticus 25 3 4 to farm a piece of land for only six years allowing it to lie fallow for the seventh This seven year period came to be known as a week of years Therefore Seventy Weeks of Years was 490 Hebrew years Note this prophecy contains three parts 1 7 Weeks of Years 49 Hebrew Years 2 62 Weeks of Years 434 Hebrew Years 3 1 Week of Years 7 Hebrew Years At the precise point in history when the 7 62 Weeks of Years occurred Israel could expect Messiah to announce Himself as Messiah What great news This means that Israel could not miss Messiah All they had to do was to count be cognizant of current events in Israel as they unfolded and be aware of this prophecy This study will show us several things 1 Why the Wise Men knew the time for Messiah was close 2 Why Israel missed Messiah 3 How this applies to us today Let us now consider the meaning of the prophecy I The Duration of the Prophecy This prophecy stipulated that Messiah would be presented to Israel and would be killed after 69 weeks of years had elapsed from the specified starting point When we multiply 69 times 7 we understand that the time involved here equals 483 Jewish years Since the Jewish calendar contains 360 days we can easily see that God is talking about 173 880 days Therefore we can expect that 173 880 days after the prophecy started the Messiah would present Himself to Israel as Messiah King II The Starting Point of the Prophecy Daniel 9 25a In this verse God said the prophecy would begin from the going forth the issuing of the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem At the time God gave Daniel this prophecy Israel was a slave nation under Babylon however God had foretold that this slavery would last only 70 years This 70 year period was rapidly coming to a close indeed non Jewish history records that the Medo Persian emperor Artaxerxes issued such a decree on March 14 445 B C Therefore precisely 173 880 days from this day should bring us to some significant event in Jesus life which presented Him to the nation Israel as Messiah III The Mathematics Of The Prophecy A The First Seven Weeks 49 Jewish Years If you study the book of Nehemiah you will find the account of the Jewish pilgrimage to rebuild Jerusalem following King Artaxerxes decree The prophet Nehemiah assumed charge of this rebuilding effort which was carried out in such extreme hardship and danger that the builders carried swords with them as they were building the walls Thus was fulfilled precisely the prophecy in verse 25b it shall be built again with city square and moat but in troublous times This effort began in 445 B C and culminated in 396 B C exactly 49 years just as foretold B The Second Period 62 Weeks of Years 434 years Daniel 9 26 foretells that the anointed One would come after this period and would then be killed This wording is understood by most conservative scholars to refer to Jesus Christ not at His birth but at His presentation as the Messiah Prince 2