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A remarkable mathematical prophecy
10th of Nisan ... 'Palm Sunday'... 32 A.D.
The Prophecy ... (Daniel 9:24)
"He [Messiah, the King] will be revealed 7 weeks + 62 weeks [weeks of years] after the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem and its walls, then He [Messiah] will be cut-off [executed]." (Daniel 9:24)
This is a mathematical prophecy . . .
- A week of years (shabua or shabu’im) = 7 years - "Cut-off". . . the actual Hebrew word used was karath, literally means "executed!" - The "70th Week" [the last 7 years] of this prophecy is yet future - See the 'Apocalypse.'
God gave the Jews the most sophisticated calendar on Earth. It is both a Lunar and a Solar calendar. The Jewish calendar uses a 360 day lunar (and prophetic) year and then adds a 'Leap Month' on specific years to accurately coincide with the Solar cycle we use on our 'Julian' calendar ...
The Bible uses 360 day years for prophecies and expects us to add the appropriate 'leap months' on schedule. So, the easiest way to unravel this prophecy is to first convert this prophecy into days ...
1. Add 7 + 62 weeks of years = 69 weeks of years in this prophecy 2. Multiply 69 (weeks) x 7 (to get the total number of years in this prophecy) = 483 years 3. Multiply 483 years x 360 (to get the total number of days in this prophecy) = 173,880 days
So, the prophet Daniel, who lived 500 years before Jesus-Yeshua wrote that from the day of the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem and its walls, until the coming Messiah would be 173,880 days! (Note: This prophecy was also translated from Hebrew into Greek in the Septuagint almost 300 years before Jesus-Yeshua made His prophetic entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey.)
To convert the 173,880 days found in this prophecy into our 365.25 day solar years (the .25 adjusts for leap years) . . .
173,880 days ÷ 365.25 (days in a year) = 476 years (our solar 'Julian' calendar)
So, the prophet Daniel told us it would be 476 years from the 'commandment to rebuild Jerusalem and its walls' to the time the Messiah of Israel would first be revealed to the nation and to the world ...
The Commandment ...
This prophecy of the coming Messiah is both remarkable and extremely precise. There were other orders to rebuild the Temple, but, there was only one commandment to restore Jerusalem and its wall. On March 14th, 445 BC, as confirmed by modern archaeology, King Artexerxes I of Persia issued the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem and specifically included its wall (see Nehemiah 2:2-9 ... the book of Nehemiah records this account of rebuilding the city and its wall.)
Prophecy fulfilled ...
Now take the 476 years in this prophecy and simply start counting from March 14, 445 B.C. (when the command to rebuild the city Jerusalem and its wall was given) and you end on the exact year (even the very day) Jesus-Yeshua rode 'triumphantly' into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday), being praised as King and Messiah by thousands upon thousands of the Jewish people who had gathered from all over for the Passover Holidays. Honored, yet lowly, riding on a donkey - exactly as another prophet, the prophet Zechariah, said He would ...
"Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion [Israel]! Behold, your King [Messiah] is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, yet He is lowly and riding on a donkey." (Zechariah 9:9 ... written around 500 B.C.)
Thus, on the 10th day of Nisan ('Palm Sunday') 32 AD ... 476 years after the command was given to rebuild the city and its wall ... Jesus-Yeshua made His famous triumphal entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey. It was the only day that He ever allowed Himself to be honored as Messiah or King (Mark 11:1-12) as the people of Israel cried out and sang "Hosanna to the Son of David [this is a Psalm of the Messiah], blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!" from Psalm 118 ... and all this took place just a few days before He was 'executed' exactly as the prophecy said He would! A remarkable prophecy . . . simply count the years! March 14, 445 B.C. Order is issued to rebuild the wall to April 6, 32 A.D. 10th of Nisan, 'Palm Sunday' - Jesus welcomed as King and Messiah = 477 years - 1 year Subtract one for no "0" A.D. or B.C. = 476 years Exactly!
Who else around 32 A.D. fulfilled all these many prophecies?
Who else was born in Bethlehem who fulfilled all of these prophecies?
"But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting." (Eternal ... the Bible warns here Messiah would step forth from Eternity.) (Micah 5:2 ... written around 700 B.C.)
No one!!! Only Jesus-Yeshua of Nazareth, who was born in Bethlehem ... the promised Messiah!
The Jewish Temple destroyed . . .
Right after the "Triumphal Entry," Jesus-Yeshua wept over Jerusalem, knowing the people of Israel would ignore this prophecy and all the other prophecies of the Messiah which were so specific that God held them accountable! This is why the Temple was destroyed and the Jewish people were scattered and dispersed around the world . . . Here, Jesus issues a new prophecy and warns Israel why it would happen ... "Now as He [Jesus-Yeshua] drew near, He saw the city [Jerusalem] and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known, even you [the children of Israel], especially in this your day, [this day Daniel prophesied about] the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you [the Temple] one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.’" (Luke 19:41-44)
Thus, within that generation, in 70 A.D., 38 years after Jesus-Yeshua was crucified, Jerusalem was besieged and brutally destroyed when Titus Vespasian, with the Fifth, Tenth, Twelfth, and Fifteenth Roman Legions did build a Roman siege wall around the city, starving and slaughtering over a million Jews, and then tore down the Temple, stone by stone, to retrieve the gold that had melted when Roman soldiers (against orders) set the Temple on fire, thus leaving not one stone upon the other . . . exactly as Jesus had prophesied. Afterwards, the Romans scattered and dispersed the Jews around the world ... and after that changed the name of Judea-Israel to Palestine.
The Scriptures tell us there are two roles the Messiah must fulfill:
First, as the Passover Lamb of God . . . Whose blood on the Cross saves us from the utter darkness and torment of Hell
Second, as the Lion of Judah . . . To save Israel from her enemies and restore the Earth ... King of kings and Lord of lords.
The Scriptures also tell us the Messiah will return . . . twice:
First, "as a thief in the night" . . . For those who have waited in faith . . . the "Rapture." Suddenly, to remove the all the faithful believers from Earth to shelter and protect them.
Second, "every eye shall see" . . . With those who have waited in faith. He will return to establish His just and fair Kingdom over the world.
Remember . . . We, as followers of Jesus-Yeshua, the Messiah, are to be a separate people - a people of honor, strength, and courage. To obey Him, we must take the heart of a servant and be meek (the word meek means the opposite of revenge), humble, patient, kind, willing to forgive, willing to help and serve others, even our enemies. This requires much strength. This is strength. We must pray for His strength. Hold fast and endure in faith. God watches us, hears us, and knows our hearts. He is the God who lovingly offers a second (and third and fourth) chance. He waits patiently for us to return to Him, and will forgive us when we ask.
The Bible says there is no other way into Heaven . . . Jesus knew what was about to happen when He prayed, "If there is any other way" three times in the garden the night before He was crucified. If there was, or is, any other way to gain entrance into Heaven other than believing in the One who paid our debt, then Jesus suffered and died needlessly and in vain, on the Cross. He lovingly laid down His life for you and for me.
"The Lord is my shepherd . . ." (Psalm 23:1)
And Jesus graciously tells us,
"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep." (John 10:11)
Please remember, the Kingdom of Heaven is available to every man, woman, boy, and girl in this world, no matter who they are, where they live, or what they have done. It is freely offered to any and all who will receive it. Simply learn of Jesus-Yeshua, the promised Messiah, invite Him into your life as Lord, believe He died on the Cross for all of your sins and rose from the grave (proving there is a Kingdom of Heaven ... and a Hell). Learn of Him and believe in Him . . . for He was the only one who has ever loved you enough to substitute Himself for you on the Cross. He shed His blood, suffered, and died on the Cross to save you from your sins and from the utter darkness and torment of Hell, if you will accept it, believe it, and trust in it. That is why Jesus-Yeshua is called Savior. He now lovingly and graciously offers you life in Heaven (and we are warned it is a "take it or leave it" proposition.) We have to consciously receive it and accept it in faith. If you sincerely admit you have sinned (which means you will need a Savior to get into Heaven) and ask Jesus-Yeshua to come into your life and honestly repent by trying to stop doing (and saying) those things God says are wrong and are against His Law, you will go to Heaven ... and with open arms and tears of joy He will receive all who will come to Him in faith and in love ... It's God's Promise!!!
The only unpardonable sin is to reject God's love and His free offer of life in the Kingdom of Heaven by rejecting Jesus-Yeshua, the Messiah, who stepped forth from Heaven (as promised) ... not to condemn the sinner, but to save the sinner (from the torment of Hell) and who willingly and lovingly shed His blood on the Cross so we can be washed clean of all our sins. The Bible warns there will be no peace in our lives until we make peace with God through His Son, Jesus-Yeshua, the promised Messiah. The Bible also says there will be no peace in Israel or on Earth until Jesus-Yeshua, the Messiah returns . . .
It is interesting to note the only prophecies found in other religions are either based on prophecies already found in the Scriptures, or point to a powerful leader who someday will rise (the coming Antichrist). The Bible warns to beware of this false messiah who will soon rise and will deceive many. God also makes it very clear there would be only one real Messiah. If you are approached, or belong to a religion which denies Jesus-Yeshua is the promised Messiah, humbly ask them to show you the prophecies preparing the way and describing their prophet . . .
In the beginning was the Word . . . and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father . . . full of grace and truth. He was in the world, the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him . . .
(Excerpted from the Book of John 1:1-14)
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