“Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble." - Daniel 9:25
Merry Christmas to all of you. I hope that your day was filled with the blessings from above, family love and friendly fellowship. Mine certainly was as we gathered around the tree with laughter, joy, happiness and awe for the Savior's birth.
Here again in Daniel we find a prophecy that is not necessarily about Christ's birth, but more about His death and His second coming. Consider that "sevens" is a description used to represent a year of weeks. So, when Daniel states seven sevens he is actually stating 49 years. A year in that period was 360 days, therefore seven sevens plus sixty two sevens equals sixty nine sevens is 69 * 7 years = 483 years. Multiplying this times 360 days we discover the answer to be 173,880 days.
So how good of a mathematician is God in His perfection?
There is much research into which of the "decrees to restore and rebuild Jerusalem" this prophecy references as the starting point. But careful observation will point one to Nehemiah, who championed the rebuilding and restoration of Jerusalem in the second chapter of Nehemiah. This rebuilding was done in 445 BC, as stated by many scholars. The first seven 'sevens' takes us 49 years forward to 396 BC. Following this there are sixty two sevens, which equals 434 years. Following on from 396 BC this takes us to 30 AD.
Here again in Daniel we find a prophecy that is not necessarily about Christ's birth, but more about His death and His second coming. Consider that "sevens" is a description used to represent a year of weeks. So, when Daniel states seven sevens he is actually stating 49 years. A year in that period was 360 days, therefore seven sevens plus sixty two sevens equals sixty nine sevens is 69 * 7 years = 483 years. Multiplying this times 360 days we discover the answer to be 173,880 days.
So how good of a mathematician is God in His perfection?
There is much research into which of the "decrees to restore and rebuild Jerusalem" this prophecy references as the starting point. But careful observation will point one to Nehemiah, who championed the rebuilding and restoration of Jerusalem in the second chapter of Nehemiah. This rebuilding was done in 445 BC, as stated by many scholars. The first seven 'sevens' takes us 49 years forward to 396 BC. Following this there are sixty two sevens, which equals 434 years. Following on from 396 BC this takes us to 30 AD.
Palm Sunday, when Christ comes into Jerusalem on a donkey as the anointed one, is when Jesus references this prophecy directly with His disciples. This, by God's planning, is 173,880 days after Nehemiah first declared his desire to rebuild Jerusalem. From that point forward Jerusalem was destroyed (40 years later) and has never been rebuilt or restored to this very date. A Muslim mosque sits upon the site of God's holy temple today as we await the arrival of our Savior, Redeemer and King. Through God's promises to the Hebrew nation in the days of Daniel, He has stated His plan for the Messiah. If He lied in these promises, then He lied in all of His promises. For God is either 100% just, truthful and righteous or 100% unjust and evil, there is no middle ground. I believe the former and trust that God will soon begin the execution phase of the seventieth seven as detailed in Jeremiah 25th and 29th chapters, which will usher in the end of time and final judgment of all people.
So which side are you on? Is God's word in the Old Testament promises something truthful that can be trusted, passed down and carried from generation to generation, or is it simply an interweaving of the scripture from multiple books intent on misleading and destroying Israel, His prized people? It can’t be both.
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