A Question on Daniel 9

Q. In your recent lecture, you referred to Christ’s Resurrection as 33 AD and that this date was the end of the seventieth week of Daniel 9: 24. This goes against everything I have been taught. In my church, we are told that Christ was crucified in 30 AD, which was the end of 3½ years of his ministry and that the other 3½ years of the seventieth week is to be fulfilled just before Jesus returns to end the great tribulation. Hal Lindsay and other ministers also teach this. How can you support your comments?

A. This is a very debatable issue these days but I suppose no more so than the Israel Truth. Yet, from studying the Scriptures, I have become certain of one thing beyond any shadow of a doubt. The Lord God Almighty is exact; He makes Himself crystal clear by making sure that all the road signs are there for the enquiring student to discover. A lawyer once summed up his evidence concerning a glove, by saying, “If it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t fit.” Well, God has given us mathematical prophecies and the 3½ dangling period, as promulgated by fundamentalists, doesn’t fit, doesn’t fit, doesn’t fit. And there is absolutely no way you can make it fit! I hope I can get this across to you in an understandable way.

In dealing with Daniel’s visit with Gabriel (via his vision, while in prayer), let’s examine just those portions of the verses that contain mathematical calculations.

Daniel 9: 24 sets out the overall time frame, i.e., “seventy weeks,” which all scholars agree is 490 years, by employing Ezekiel 4: 6 “I have appointed thee each day for a year.”

Daniel 9: 25 establishes the date of the beginning of the 490 years, “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem…” When did this happen? The Bible tells us. Ezra 7: 6-7 tells us it was in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king’s reign. The Encyclopedia Britannica tells us he began his reign on 465 BC so seven years after brings us to 458 BC. Bible scholars also have no difficulty accepting this date as the date of “going forth.”

Daniel 9: 25 goes on, “to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and three score and two weeks: the street shall be built again, …” So the Messiah will come after the seven weeks or 49 years, and 62 weeks or 434 years or a total of 483 years. Beginning with 458 BC and adding 483 years it brings us to 26 AD. Remember here that we must add “1” to compensate for the cross over year going directly from 1 BC to 1AD rather than 1 BC to 0, then to 1 AD. In this calculation, it is 458 + 26 + 1 = 483. Bible scholars generally agree with 26 AD as well.

Daniel 9: 26 tells us that after the 62 weeks, Messiah will be cut off, obviously this has to mean some point in the last or 70th week of the prophecy.

Daniel 9: 27 tells us the Messiah will “confirm the covenant for one week” (this means 7 years) and at the midpoint of this seven years (i.e. in the midst of the week) “he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” Adding the 7 years to 26 AD means that the seventieth week ends on 33 AD. Now, if the Crucifixion took place in 33 AD, the prophecy would be neatly tied up. Yet, the “midst of the week” statement has caused most theologians to speculate that the Crucifixion took place at that time.

With most believing that Christ was born in 4 BC, these Christian students place the beginning of His Ministry and His Baptism by John at 26/27 AD, the beginning of the seventieth week. They have him attaining the age of thirty at that time, which age was necessary to become a priest. Then, they date His Crucifixion at 30 AD, 3½ years from 26/27 AD, thus leaving another 3½ years for His disciples to complete what He began, that is, “he shall confirm the covenant for one week” (seven years).

Still, did the Crucifixion occur in the “midst of the week” or did Jesus Himself confirm the covenant for seven years as was prophesied? Remember, nowhere in the prophecy did it say that He would just begin the process and have others complete it. Let’s look quickly at the Gospels to see if they shed any light.

Luke 1: 36 clearly shows that at the time of Jesus conception that Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, was six months pregnant. So, John would have been roughly six months older than Jesus and would likely have begun his ministry at the accepted age of 30, approximately six months before Jesus.

Luke 3: 1-3 shows that John the Baptist began his ministry in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Emperor of Rome. The date Tiberius began his reign is one of the best-documented dates in history, even from coins that were minted in his honour. The Encyclopedia Britannica confirms the date at 14 AD. This clearly proves John must have begun his ministry fifteen years after 14 AD, or, in 29 AD, three years past 26 AD, the beginning of Daniel’s seventieth week.

Then, Luke 3: 23 tells us that Jesus was thirty years of age when baptized, obviously six months after John began his ministry, i.e., in the fall of 29 AD, or, in the midst of the seventieth week of Daniel’s prophecy.

The Gospel of John demonstrates that the Ministry of Jesus Christ covered a period of 3 ½ years, that He attended three Passover celebrations and at the 4th, was crucified. This would have been 33 AD.

To me, it’s pretty clear. The “midst of the week” statement represented the Baptism of Jesus. It was 29 AD, the fifteenth year of Tiberius’ reign, the beginning of Christ’s Ministry and half way through Daniel’s seventieth week. When Daniel said, “he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,” he was referring to the Law of Ordinances, the sacrifice of animals for sin offerings, which was subsequently nailed to the Cross (Colossians 2: 14).

I could not summarize it any better than the words of Raymond Capt, well known archaeologist, historian, author, lecturer and Bible scholar. In his book “The Great Pyramid Decoded” one of his graphs is accompanied by these words.

Spring 26 AD – Beginning of Daniel’s 70th Week – Messiah present on Earth. He observes the Law Covenant for 7 years more, thus confirming it for “one week” (of years).

Autumn 29 AD – Christ offers Himself as sacrifice for sins on Day of Atonement – Causes typical “sacrifice and oblation to cease” in God’s sight – Baptism in water follows.

Spring 33 AD – Christ’s sacrifice consummated, “it is done” – Crucifixion – Resurrection – Ascension – Pentecost.

In fact, look at this depiction (taken from the Great Pyramid, the Bible in Stone) in Capt’s book about the Birth, Baptism and Crucifixion of Christ.

Archaeological findings have recently established September 29, 2 B.C. as the birth of Christ and April 3, A.D. 33 as the precise day of His Crucifixion. The base length of 30.043 Pyramid inches converted to years and projected on the slope of the Ascending Passage marks October 14, A.D. 29 which is the date of His baptism, exactly 3½ years before His death on Calvary.

CHRIST TRIANGLE

I hope this satisfies your anxiety. However, don’t get me wrong, I believe there is a replaying of Daniel’s seventieth week, indeed perhaps the entire seventy weeks. If you have read my previous articles, you know the emphasis I place on 1996 and 2003. Also, you know that when Edward I brought the Throne of David to London in 1296, being the third overturn of the throne as prophesied at Ezekiel 21: 26-27, then the Throne upon which Queen Elizabeth sits is the one Jesus is promised in Luke 1: 32. History has proved that God has surely protected His Throne. For a replay of Daniel’s seventy weeks, consider this possible scenario.

1513 AD – God protects His Throne – Scotland invaded England from the north to aid their French ally who was battling Henry VIII’s (who was to free true Israel from the Papacy) forces in France, the French fell in August 1513. The entire armies of Scotland, Highland and Lowland alike, met the English at Flodden Field in September, 1513 in a fierce bloody battle. Scotland lost and their king, James IV was killed. Peace was assured when Henry’s sister became Regent to Scotland’s infant King James V.

1562 AD – seven weeks later (49 years) – God protects his throne from the Papacy – After Elizabeth I agreed to permit Mary Queen of Scots to return to Scotland in August 1561, Mary spends 1562 visiting powerful noblemen, going to Linlithgow Palace followed by Stirling, Perth, Coupar Angus, Glamis Castle, Edzell Castle and Aberdeen. Next she visits Darnaway, Inverness, Spynie Palace, Aberdeen again, Dunnottar Castle, Montrose, Stirling again and finally back to Edinburgh. She also stays at Balvenie Castle and Arbroath Abbey. Judging from historical comment, it appears she was attempting to establish alliances, perhaps in a bid for England’s throne. Obviously she was unable to, but it must be remembered that many Roman Catholics recognized Mary as Queen of England after Mary I died and the Protestant Elizabeth I succeeded her to the throne in November 1558. Mary Stuart’s claim to the English throne was based on the fact that she was the granddaughter of Margaret Tudor, sister of Henry VIII, Elizabeth’s father. To the Roman Catholics, Mary’s claim appeared stronger than Elizabeth’s because they viewed Henry’s marriage to Anne Boleyn as illegal.

1996 AD – 62 weeks later (434 years) – God arranges safety for His Sacred Stone (Jacob’s Pillar Stone) upon which He, like all other monarchs of Israel, will be crowned. In 1996 London and Westminster Abbey are rife with blasphemy and the heir to the throne, Prince Charles, wants to be defender of all faiths, thus opening the way for a catholic to again become monarch. In July 1996, the decision is made to return the Stone of Destiny to Scotland, exactly 700 years after Edward I brought it to London. It is removed on November 14th, 1996, the date of Prince Charles’ birthday.

2003 AD – Judgment? – One week (7 years) after 1996 – exactly six of God’s days (6000 years) from the fall of Adam – 400 years from Elizabeth I’s death, 70 years from the dominion of Esau, etc., etc., etc. Ironically, in approximately the “midst of the week”, in March 2000, we witnessed Pope John Paul II making a pilgrimage to the town of Jesus’ birth where he celebrated an open-air mass before a crowd of thousands in Bethlehem’s Manger Square and sank to his knees in prayer in the dim grotto where Christian tradition says Christ was born.

It is important to consider Luke 4, when Jesus Christ preached in the synagogue; He ended by quoting only a portion of Isaiah 61: 2. He left off the words, “and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.” So we must never forget that His return will be unlike the First Advent, he is coming as the King of kings, Lord of lords and to administer judgment.