Category Archives: Daniel’s Seventy Weeks

An Oath, the Book of Words, & Daniel 9

Authors Note:
This article will explore the profound influence the book of Deuteronomy and the story of Abraham & Isaac in Genesis 22 had on the numerical and literary framework of Daniel 9. May you be blessed (barak) by these words (dabar).

A Book of Words
In most English versions of the Bible, the 5^th book is titled Deuteronomy. The etymology of this word comes from the Greek deuteros and nomos – literally meaning the Second Law. In Hebrew, the 5^th book of the Bible is titled, Devarim (דברים) and comes from the Hebrew devar (dabar) and means “Words” or “The Words”.

Deuteronomy opens on the 1^st day of the 11^th month, of the 40^th year of Israel’s wandering. Israel is camped in the wilderness on the other side of the Jordan river in preparation for entering the Promised Land. Here at the end of the 40 years in the wilderness, with the Promised Land in sight, Moses for the last time, speaks to the children of Israel.

Deuteronomy 1:3
And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spake (דבר dabar) unto the children of Israel, according unto all that YHWH had given him in commandment unto them;

An Oath of Sevens
In verse 8, just five verses after Moses begins to speak the “words” (dabar) of Yahweh to Israel, he provides them with the legal basis for their claim to the Promised Land. This legal claim, according to the text, originates when Yahweh sware (an oath) with Abraham which was confirmed with Isaac and Jacob.

Deuteronomy 1:8
⁸ Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which YHWH sware [נשבע=shaba] unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.

In Hebrew, the word shaba (sware) implies the making of an oath (shabuw’ah). As we’ll see in the text below, this oath originated in Genesis 22 when Abraham showed exceptional faith by his willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac as Yahweh instructed.

That act, taken in faith, believing that whatever the outcome, he and Isaac would return down off that mountain, was the catalyst for Yahweh’s unilateral declaration – His “shaba” with Abraham. This swearing (shaba) of an oath (shabuw’ah) in Genesis 22 was the first oath Yahweh sware with any man in the Bible. Take special note of Genesis 26:2-4 below, as it confirms that this shaba (swearing) with Abraham was in fact a shabuw’ah (oath).

Genesis 22:12-18
¹² And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. ¹³ And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. ¹⁴ And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of YHWH it shall be seen.

¹⁵ And the angel of YHWH called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, ¹⁶ And said, By myself have I sworn [shaba’], saith YHWH, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: ¹⁷ That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

¹⁸And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Genesis 26:2-4
² And YHWH appeared unto him [Isaac], and said, Go not down into Egypt; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of: ³ Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath [shabuw’ah] which I sware [shaba] unto Abraham thy father;

⁴ And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

Daniel 9 and Yahweh’s Oath with Abraham
This first oath in the Bible sworn unilaterally by Yahweh with Abraham was so important that not only did Moses use it in the opening verses of Deuteronomy as the legal basis for Israel’s claims to the Promised Land, but the prophet Daniel referenced it in his own opening words in the 9^th chapter of the book that bears his name. In Daniel chapter 9 verse 4, Daniel opens his “prayers and supplications” to Yahweh by quoting Moses in Deuteronomy 7. This passage referenecs the “covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments”.

Daniel 9:4
⁴ And I prayed unto YHWH my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

A careful examination of Deuteronomy 7:7-9 & 12 makes it clear that this “covenant and mercy” was the the “shaba” YHWH made with “the fathers”. These “fathers”, Moses goes on to clarify in Deu. 9:5, originated with Abraham. For further confirmation from the book of Deuteronomy see the following references: Deu. 1:8; 6:10; 9:5; 30:20; 34:4.

Deuteronomy 7:7-9, 12
⁷ YHWH did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:

⁸ But because YHWH loved you, and because he would keep the oath [shabuw’ah] which he had sworn [shaba] unto your fathers, hath YHWH brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt…

⁹ Know therefore that YHWH thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;…

¹² Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that YHWH thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware [shaba] unto thy fathers:

and I will perform the oath [shabuw’ah] which I sware [shaba] unto Abraham thy father;

⁴ And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed;

Deuteronomy 9:5
⁵ Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thine heart, dost thou go to possess their land: but for the wickedness of these nations YHWH thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that he may perform the word [dabar] which YHWH sware [shaba] unto thy fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

As you can see from the passages above, Daniel’s plea to Yahweh for His “covenant and mercy” was a call to remember the oath that Yahweh sware (shaba) with Abraham!

Numerical Considerations
The numerical peculiarities of this form of the word sware (shaba – (נשבע) as found in Deu. 1:8 and 7:8, 12 are worth noting. This word shaba, in context, originates from the events described in Genesis 22 as confirmed in Gen. 26:2-4 and the other references provided. This form of Shaba (swear) is used 22 times in Deuteronomy and another 22 times in the rest of the Old Testament.

A Swearing of Seven
The context is important here and requires a better understanding of the Hebrew root word shaba/sware (שבע). This word is the identical phonetic twin of the word sheba/seven (שבע). In other words, before vowel pointings were added to the Hebrew version of the Biblical text, the Hebrew spelling of both words was the same. From this duel meaning root word we get the Hebrew cognates, השבעה shabuw’ah (oath), שבעים shib’iym (seventy), שבעים shabuwa’ (Sevens). So, in other words, in Hebrew, the idea of swaring and its resulting oath is etymologically, phonetically, numerically, and symbolically related to the number seven and its related numerical derivatives.

This bit of Hebrew semantics allows us to look at the covenant Yahweh made with Abraham in Genesis 22 in a different light. That swearing with Abraham was quite literally an Oath of Sevens. This understanding brings new context to Daniel’s opening words in verse 4 where he calls to remembrance the “covenant and mercy” – that oath of Sevens Yahweh sware with Abraham.

Think about Yahweh’s answer to Daniel. The answer given to Daniel was the prophecy of Shabuwa’ Shib’iym (70 Sevens), a prophecy that was, as we have learned, the etymologic, numeric, and dare I say spiritual offspring of that ancient Oath of Sevens.

Returning to the word shaba as used in Deuteronomy, consider its numerical value. The value of this form of the word is 422. Remember this form of the word is used 22 times in Deuteronomy and 22 times in the rest of the OT. Regarding this word, it is fascinating to note that the Hebrew words for 70 & Seven (Shabuwa’ and Shib’iym) as found in Daniel 9:2, 24, and 25, not only share the same etymological roots as sheba’/shaba’ (seven/swear), but they also have the same numerical value.For those who might not be aware, in Daniel 9:24 the prophecy begins with the words שבעים שבעים (seventy sevens). In English, the words have been translated with two different meanings based upon the vowel pointings given by the Masorets. In Hebrew, the words as given are identical. The context was the original determining factor of their meaning. In the text below please keep in mind that Hebrew is read from right to left while the English version from left to right.

Daniel 9:24
שבעים שבעים נחתך על עמך ועל עירקדש לכלא

Daniel 9:24
Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city,…

With this contextual and numerical understanding of Daniel 9 and its origins in Deuteronomy and Genesis 22 in mind, I’d like to now attempt to explain to you the numerical and compositional genius of Daniel 9 and how Daniel used his divinely inspired skills to present his Jewish brethren with a literary, numerical, symbolic, and prophetic work of art that is unparalleled in recorded history.

Reconstructing Daniel 9
To give you a true sense of the compositional genius of Daniel 9 we need to start at the chronological beginning. When I say chronological beginning, I mean we need to determine the compositional order of the chapter. Thankfully Daniel provides us with that chronological fixing point. Take a look:

Daniel 9:21-23
²¹ Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even 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 oblation. ²² And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. ²³ At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.

What is helpful about this passage, if taken at face value, is that Daniel received the prophecy of 70 Sevens before he had written down a single word of what we know today as chapter 9. He was still in prayer when the prophecy was given to him. This takes on significant meaning when you realize that Daniel 9:23-27 is a distinct literary unit of 100 words and 418 letters. This is important because this passage of 100 Hebrew words is arranged around the two Hebrew words שבעה ושבעים pronounced sheba’ shabuwa’ (‘7 Sevens’ when read in Hebrew from right to left).

There are 49 words before words שבעה ושבעים and 49 words after, i.e. 49+2+49. Considering the thematic content of Daniel 9:23-27 it takes little imagination to see the intentional nature of such an arrangement.

Further evidence that this passage was an intentional numerical construction is found in the letter count of these 5 verses. There are 204 letters before the 2 words & 10 letters of שבעה ושבעים (7 sevens) and 204 letters after. It is beyond any reasonable doubt that this passage could have been coincidently arranged in this manner. This is further demonstrated when a close examination of the prophecy itself, its solution, the arrangement of the words, verse numbers, and word values are taken into consideration.

Literary and Numerical Construction Techniques of the Hebrew Bible
It has long been known that the authors of the Hebrew Bible constructed many of its passages using chiastic, acrostic, and other literary techniques to emphasize and embellish the text. Only recently though, have scholars been rediscovering that the Hebrew authors arranged certain words, passages, or ideas in a numerically structured manner so that those words, ideas, or themes of the text could be emphasized. Based upon the scribal notes of the Leningrad Codex, the oldest known complete Hebrew text of the Old Testament, the numerical structure of chapters, passages, and words in the Hebrew Bible is testified to as far back as the 1^st millennium.

The late professor Casper Labuschange, a pioneeer of Logotechnical analysis of the Hebrew text, explained the purpose of the ancient scribal efforts to count the verses, words, and letters of the Bible:

“The Masoretes and subsequent copiers of the text of the Hebrew Bible, who were responsible for handing down the text, carefully counted verses, words, and even letters of most biblical books and painstakingly located and registered their arithmetic centres. It is usually held that the purpose of this meticulous counting was to ensure that the text was transmitted correctly. However, in my opinion, it had a more specific purpose: namely to preserve the intricate, delicate numerical structures, which can be done only by recounting what has been counted earlier.”

The First 22 Verses
Clearly, Daniel 9:23-27 demonstrates an intentional numerical construction. This construction emphasized the numerical theme of the passage by centering it upon the Hebrew word שבעה ושבעים (7 sevens). This proves beyond a reasonable doubt that this was not an accidental construction.

Since this portion of the text was received before Daniel’s inspired pen composed the rest of the text of Daniel 9, that leads us to consider the possibility that the first 22 verses of Daniel 9 were also a numerical construction used as a literary device to bring special attention to the text.

A preliminary analysis of the text supports this consideration. Daniel 9 (in Hebrew), taken as a whole, is a passage of 462 words. Its verse structure is centered around 18 words of verse 15. There are 222 words before the 18 word numerical center of verse 15 and 222 words after (222 + 18 + 222). This indicates that Daniel purposely composed the first 22 verses of Daniel 9:1-22 so that when the prophecy of 70 Sevens was included in verses 23-27 its verse structure would be evenly balanced around the 18 words of verse 15. This provides compelling evidence that Daniel 9 was a single and cohesive work.

Daniel 9:15
¹⁵ And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

We already know that Daniel’s opening words in verse 4 are words quoted from Deuteronomy 7 and refer to the Oath of Sevens Yahweh sware with Abraham in Genesis 22. Remember that unilateral swearing by Yahweh with Abarham was, according to numerous references in the book of Deuteronomy, the legal basis for Israel’s claim to the Promised Land. Further a return to the Promised Land, at what Daniel understood to be the end of the prophecied 70 years desolations of Jerusalem (Dan. 9:1-2), was an important underlying theme of Daniel’s prayers and supplications made in the first 22 verses of Daniel 9.

Consider this. In Genesis 22:15 Yahweh swears (shaba) a Oath of Sevens with Abraham. This the text further describes as an irrevocable “blessing” that included (in part) a promise that through Abraham’s “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed.

The word “bless” in Hebrew is barak. In some cases, this Hebrew word is also translated kneel (bow a knee), and may originate in the sense of kneeling to receive a blessing.

The first occurrence of the root form of barak (bless) is found in Genesis 22:17. This occurrence is right at the heart of the promised blessings made in Yahweh’s Oath of Sevens with Abraham. Blessings that not only included a permanent land grand to the Promised Land, but more importantly those blessings include a promise that through Abraham’s “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed. Intriguingly, the root form of the word barak (bless) first used in Genesis 22:17 has a numerical value of 222.

So what do you think? Did Daniel just get lucky with a numerical verse structure of 222 + 18 + 222 for chapter 9? Or did Daniel purposely design the first 22 verses of chapter 9 so that when the prophecy of 70 Sevens was included it would highlight the promised blessings of Genesis 22 which he had in mind when he opened his pleadings to Yahweh in Daniel 9:4?

Genesis 22:15-17
⁵ And the angel of YHWH called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, ¹⁶ And said, By myself have I sworn [shaba], saith YHWH, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

¹⁷ That in blessing [barak] I will bless [barak = 222] thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

¹⁸And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed [barak]; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

222 / dabar: Before & After
It might also interest you to note, that the Hebrew word value of 222 is found three times in Daniel 9. The first occurrence is found in Daniel 9:12 which is the first half of the 222 words structure (222 + 18 + 222). Here the word is translate “his words” and comes from the Hebrew root word dabar (דבר) which means word, speech, speak, utterance, matter, thing. In Daniel 9:12 the root dabar (דבר) preceeds its suffix (דבריו).

^KJVDaniel 9:12 And he hath confirmed his words [דבריו], which he spake [דבר] against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem.

The third occurrence of 222 in Daniel 9 comes 10 verses later in verse 22. Verse 22 falls in the 2^nd half of the 222 word structure of Daniel 9 (222 + 18 + 222). Here the word dabar is translated as talked or spoke. This time the root dabar is preceed by (וי) (וידבר). Another way to look at this is that in the first half of Daniel 9 dabar precedes its suffix. In the last half of Daniel 9, dabar follows its prefix.
((דבריו) 222 + 18 + 222 )(וידבר)).

See the chart on the above left for a more visual explanation.

Daniel 9:22
And he informed me, and talked [וידבר] with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.

The 2^nd occurrence of the 222 word value is found in Daniel 9:13. Here a form of the Hebrew word avon (iniquities) is used. For what is it worth, the only other occurrence of this form of avon is found in Ezra 9:13.

Jacob and 222
I’ve mentioned in past articles that 13 & 14 are often used in the Old and New Testament to represent Yahweh’s redemptive plan through Yeshua (Jesus) the promised “seed”. I believe I’ve also mentioned that the Hebrew word Jacob has a numerical value of 182 or 13×14 and as such, his name appears to have messianic symbolism.

With this in mind, it is worth noting what many consider a messianic prophecy in Numbers 24. Here Baalam prophecies that a star shall come “out of Jacob” and a scepter rise out of Israel. In this passage the 13^th Hebrew letter mem precedes the name Jacob. This additional letter gives his name a numerical value of 222.

Numbers 24:17-19
¹⁷ I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob [מיעקב = 222], and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. ¹⁸ And Edom shall be a possession, Seir also shall be a possession for his enemies; and Israel shall do valiantly. ¹⁹ Out of Jacob [מיעקב = 222] shall come he that shall have dominion, and shall destroy him that remaineth of the city.

Isaiah 65:9
⁹ And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob [מיעקב = 222], and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.

Genesis 28:13-16
¹³ And, behold, YHWH stood above it, and said, I am YHWH God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; ¹⁴ And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

¹⁵ And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. ¹⁶ And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely YHWH is in this place; and I knew it not.

The Mighty Hand of Yahweh
For the Biblical sleuths out there, can you tell me where the words “mighty hand” (ביד חזקה) are first used in the Bible to describe Yahweh’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt? How about the last occurrence of this phrase?

If you said Exodus 13, you are correct. Moses, when instructing Israel to keep the feast of Unleavened Bread, told them that when their sons asks why they keep the feasts they were to tell them this feast was related to Yahweh’s “mighty hand” that delivered them from Egyptian bondage.

Exodus 13:8-11
⁸ And thou shalt shew thy son in that day, saying, This is done because of that which YHWH did unto me when I came forth out of Egypt. ⁹ And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that YHWH’S law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand [ביד חזקה] hath YHWH brought thee out of Egypt.

¹⁰ Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in his season from year to year. ¹¹ And it shall be when YHWH shall bring thee into the land of the Canaanites, as he sware [נשבע=shaba] unto thee and to thy fathers, and shall give it thee,…

Before continuing with this theme of the “mighty hand” of Yahweh, its worth noting here that Exodus 13:10 connects Israel’s return to the Promised Land with an oath the Yahweh “sware unto thee and to thy fathers”. Once you’ve noticed the significance of Yahweh’s swearing (shaba) with the fathers (beginning with Abraham) you’ll begin to see it mentioned throughout the OT.

Let’s drill down on the Hebrew phrase ביד חזקה (mighty hand) of Yahweh. Anyone care to guess which book of the Bible most often uses this phrase to describe the Exodus events? If you answered, The Book of Words or Deuteronomy, then you are correct. In fact, this phrase is used five times to describe Yahweh’s deliverance of Israel from Egypt. Here take a look:

In the following passage, the“mighty hand” of Yahweh is used in connection with the fourth commandment.

Deuteronomy 5:15
And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that YHWH thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand [ביד חזקה] and by a stretched out arm: therefore YHWH thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day.

Here it is used in connection with reminding your son about the Exodus.

Deuteronomy 6:21
Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and YHWH brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand [ביד חזקה] :

Here it is used in connection with Israel’s cries of affliction and Yahweh’s answer to their prayers.

Deuteronomy 26:7-8
⁷ And when we cried unto YHWH God of our fathers, YHWH heard our voice, and looked on our affliction, and our labour, and our oppression: ⁸ And YHWH brought us forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand [ביד חזקה] , and with an outstretched arm, and with great terribleness, and with signs, and with wonders:

Here it is in connection with Moses’ pleadings with Yahweh not to destroy Israel and to remember His servants, “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”.

Deuteronomy 9:26-29
²⁶ I prayed therefore unto YHWH, and said, O Lord YHWH, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness, which thou hast brought forth out of Egypt with a mighty hand [ביד חזקה] . ²⁷Remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; look not unto the stubbornness of this people, nor to their wickedness, nor to their sin:

²⁸ Lest the land whence thou broughtest us out say, Because YHWH was not able to bring them into the land which he promised them, and because he hated them, he hath brought them out to slay them in the wilderness. ²⁹ Yet they are thy people and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest out by thy mighty power and by thy stretched out arm.

Finally, here the phrase is used in connection with Moses explaining to Israel the real reasons that Yahweh delivered Israel from Egypt. Further, this is the very passage that Daniel refers to in verse 4 of Chapter 9 in his opening plea for Yahweh to restore His people to the Promised Land.

Deuteronomy 7:7-9
⁷YHWH did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: ⁸ But because YHWH loved you, and because he would keep the oath [shabuw’ah] which he had sworn [shaba’] unto your fathers, hath YHWH brought you out with a mighty hand [ביד חזקה] , and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

⁹ Know therefore that YHWH thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

A variation on the “mighty hand” of Yahweh is used an additional 5 times in the book of Deuteronomy.

If you look at every instance of this theme in the book of Deuteronomy you get the sense that the “mighty hand” of Yahweh was employed on behand of Israel when they cried out to Him, when others pleaded on their behalf, when Yahweh was keeping His word or oath to others, and when He worked His sovereign will.

In consideration of how important this theme is to the book of Deuteronomy, the Oath of Sevens, and Israel’s return to the Promised Land, it is rather significant that the final occurrence of the “mighty hand” of Yahweh is found in Daniel 9:15, right in the numerical center of a passage pleading for Israel’s return. These pleadings are followed with a Divine prophetic answer we know as the prophecy of 70 Sevens. Daniel makes the “mighty hand” of Yahweh and the deliverance it provides, the numerical focal point of Chapter 9. Daniel further juxtaposes this deliverance with an unqualified admission of their collective guilt before Him.

Daniel 9:15
And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand [ביד חזקה] , and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

The Sevens of Daniel 9
Acknowledging the fact that Daniel 9 and the prophecy of 70 Sevens is a prophecy in answer to Daniel’s prayers and supplication concerning the “covenant and mercy” of Yahweh – that ancient Oath of Sevens given by Yahweh to Abraham, it should not come as a surprise that the number 7 might also be an important numerical feature of the 22 verses Daniel composed to highlight this important prophecy. A composition, I might add, that I believe accurately reflected his inspired thoughts, prayers, & supplications up to the point when he received the 70 Sevens prophecy.

If we take the 100 words of the prophecy of 70 Sevens found in verses 23-27 and the 18 words of verse 15 at the numerical center of Daniel 9, we are then left with just 21 verses in chapter 9. These 21 verses include the 7 verses of Daniel 9:16-22 and the 14 verses of Daniel 9:1-14. Structurally, this means we can ascertain three 7 verse groups remaining in Daniel 9. These 7 verse contain 344 words. (Interestingly 344 is 7x7x7 + 1)

They can be arranged as indicated in the chart on the left. Here is why I believe this also was an intentional arrangement.

The Numerical Value of Yahweh’s Name
A careful exploration of the numerical compositional features of the Hebrew text of the Bible reveals that great emphasis was often put on the numerical value (or a factor of said value) of Yahweh’s proper name. In Hebrew each letter has a numerical value. Using the most common method of calculating the proper name of Yahweh’s gives a value of 26. Because 26 has as its factors 2 & 13, the number 13 (the 6^th prime) or multiple of 13 is often used to represent Yahweh’s name in the text. Interestingly, Lord (Adoni) and God (Elohyim), additional titles often used to represent Yahweh in the Hebrew text, also are multiples of 13.

Another, though less widely known, way of calculating the numerical value of Yaweh’s name was to use only whole numbers which gave a value of 17 (the 7^th prime number).

Numerically Woven into the Text
The numerical value of Yahweh’s name was showcased in the Hebrew text in several ways. One of the most common was to place the name at strategic locations in the text based upon the word or letter count of the verse. Another way was to arranged the structure of the passage to equal a multiple of the value of the name. In this way Yahweh’s power or presence could be represented in the text bringing additional underlying authority to the text. In some cases, it may have been used simply as an artistic embellishment. In either case, numerically weaving the name of Yahweh into the text was another way to honor the holy name of Yahweh. In the 9^th chapter of Daniel both compositional techniques described above are used.

Did you know that in the book of Daniel the proper name of Yahweh is only found in chapter 9? It is used 8 times. Of those 8 occurrences, all of them are found in one of the 7 verse groupings. The first occurrence of Yahweh’s name is the 13^th word of verse 2.

Note:(13 is a prime factor of the value of Yahweh’s name which is equal to 26 or 13×2)

The last occurrence of Yahweh’s proper name is the 13^th word of verse 20. The 4^th occurrence of Yahweh’s name is the 130^th word of Daniel 9. The 6^th and 7^th occurrence are the 206^th& 213^th words of chapter 9.

For those interested, the root form of the Hebrew word “dabar” (word) is used 4 times in Daniel 9. It’s numerical value is 206. The first occurrence is found in verse 2 along with the first occurrence of Yahweh’s name. In this verse it references the “word of YHWH” concerning the 70 years spoken of by Jeremiah. Take a look:

Daniel 9:2
In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy [shabuw’ah = 422] years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

Finally, running through the 13^th and 14^th verses of chapter 9 is a unique 15-word pattern where Yahweh’s name is used three times separated by 6 words each time for: Yahweh + 6 + Yahweh + 6 + Yahweh. Here Yahweh’s name is every 7^th word and there are 13 words between the first and last occurrence of His name in this pattern. In chapter 9 Yahweh is refered to by the titles Lord, and God 24 times. The occurrences are as follows:

10 – Lord / Adonay
1 – God / El
13 – God / Elohiym
8 – Yahweh

The Numerical Centers of the Sevens
The numerical genius of the first 22 verses of Daniel 9 shines through in another intriguing way. It has to do with the numerical structure of the 7 verse groupings. By the structure of verses 23-27 (49+2+49) and the overall structure of chapter 9 (222+18+222), it is apparent that Daniel understood the finer points of organizing Hebrew passages into equal halves around a numerical center in order to draw the readers attention to specific themes in the text. Daniel uses this numerical structuring technique when writing the 7 verse groups as well.

The 1^st Group of Seven
The first 7 verses of Daniel 9 are 109 words. The meaningful numerical center of this passage is the 13 words that begin Daniel’s prayer and supplications to Yahweh. These are the first words spoken by Daniel in chapter 9. There are 48 words before these 13 words and 48 words after (48 + 13 + 48).

Please forgive me but this bears repeating. The 13 word numerical center of the first 7 verses of Daniel 9, refers by way of Deuteronomy 7, to Yahweh’s Oath of Sevens made with Abraham in Genesis 22. How is that for divinely inspiration numerical genius!

Daniel 9:4
“… and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;”

Deuteronomy 7:7-9, 12
⁷ YHWH did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:

⁸ But because YHWH loved you, and because he would keep the oath [shabuw’ah]which he had sworn [shaba] unto your fathers, hath YHWH brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt…

⁹ Know therefore that YHWH thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepethcovenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandmentsto a thousand generations;

Genesis 22:15-17
¹⁵ And the angel of YHWH called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, ¹⁶ And said, By myself have I sworn [shaba], saith YHWH, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

¹⁷ That in blessing [barak] I will bless [barak= 222] thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

¹⁸And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed [barak]; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

1 Chronicles 16:15-18
¹⁵ Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word [dabar] which he commanded to a thousand generations; ¹⁶Even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath [shabuwa’] unto Isaac; ¹⁷ And hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant, ¹⁸ Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance;

The 2^nd Group of Seven
The seven verses of Daniel 9:8-14 build upon Daniel’s admission of their collective guilt as a people. There are 113 words in these seven verses. 50 words before the 13 words of its numerical center and 50 after (50 + 13 + 50). The passage climaxes with the acknowledgment that they deserve the curse written by Moses. In the following passage the 13 word numerical center is bracketed in arrows:

>>>because we have sinned against him. ¹² And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, …<<<

by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. ¹³ As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before YHWH our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

To get the fullest sense of what Daniel is saying in the passage above it is helpful to read all seven verses. Once you’ve done that take a look at the following passage where you get a sense that Daniel is again drawing from the words of Moses in Deuteronomy when talking about the curse upon Israel, if they do not obey Yahweh’s laws.

Did you know that Jewish tradition believed that Moses received the law on the 50^th day after the exodus? Indeed a case can be made from the Hebrew chronology of the Old Testament that this is the case. Interesting that this group of seven verses highlights the “law of Moses” and its numerical structure of 50 +13 + 50 seems to support this association.

This is especially relevant given Deuteronomy 30:1-5 where it says if Israel returns unto Yahweh (and His laws) He will lift the curse and bring them back to the Promised Land from wherever they are scattered in the world. Again, a return to the Promised Land is an underlying theme of Daniel 9:1-22 and Daniel pleading for this return is best seen within the context of Deuteronomy and the promised blessings of Genesis 22.

Deuteronomy 11:26-28
²⁶ Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; ²⁷ A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of YHWH your God, which I command you this day: ²⁸ And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of YHWH your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.

Deuteronomy 30:1-5 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither YHWH thy God hath driven thee, ² And shalt return unto YHWH thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; ³ That then YHWH thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither YHWH thy God hath scattered thee.

⁴ If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will YHWH thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: ⁵ And YHWH thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.

The 3^ndGroup of Seven
The final group of seven verses in Daniel 9:16-22 is 122 words and reaches a broken climactic conclusion with the admission of Israel’s collective guilt and a thrice-repeated plea for Yahweh to act. The meaningful numerical center of this passage is 26 words. There are 48 words before this numerical center and 48 after (48 + 26 + 48).

That Daniel purposely chose this number to highlight the personal name of Yahweh and its value of 26, is indicated by the reference to “thy name” which bookends the 26 word numerical center of this passage. Here is the passage with the numerical center bracketed in arrows. Note that just as the numerical center of the first 7 verses of Daniel 9 began Daniel’s plea to Yahweh, the numerical center of this final group of 7 verses appropriately ends Daniel’s words in Chapter 9. Take a look:

Daniel 9:18-19
¹⁸ O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name:

>>>…for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. ¹⁹ O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.<<<

70 Sevens and the Blessing of the Oath of Sevens
How do I summarize something as important and beautiful as the 9^th chapter of Daniel? I, frankly, feel inadequate to walk on such holy ground. But if I tried to make this subject as simple as possible I would hope this is not too far from the mark.

Daniel 9 is a prayer by a man of faith, to his faithful Creator. It is a prayer of a contrite sinner to a just and righteous God. It is the prayer, a pleading on behalf of himself and his people for Yahweh to remember an unbreakable oath sworn with their father Abraham. A Oath of Sevens and its blessings, that by way of Deuteronomy and the words of Moses, Daniel painfully explains to his readers why they as a people are totally unworthy to receive.

Nevertheless, by faith in the irrevocable word (dabar) of Yahweh, Daniel pleads for mercy, and for the “mighty hand” of Yahweh to act on their behalf. Just a Yahweh delivered Israel from the hand of Pharaoh, Daniel now pleads for Israel’s deliverance from the 70 years of Babylonian captivity prophesied by Yahweh through Jeremiah.

And once again Yahweh, in response to a man of faith, sets His mighty hand in motion. In answer to Daniel’s prayer regarding the Oath of Seven’s and the related blessings (barak) promised to Abraham, Yahweh sends though the angel Gabriel a prophecy of 70 Sevens. A prophecy that tells when a promised “anointed prince” would “finish the transgression, make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy”.

Daniel after receiving this gift of assurance in Israel’s coming redemption and restoration goes on to write this prophecy down in a manner which ensured that his readers would someday understand the significance of these important prophetic words. By framing the entire chapter 9 as 222 + 18 + 222 words including the 100 words verses 23-27, Daniel ensured that his readers would someday understand that the 22 verses that introduce the prophecy of 70 Sevens, were, by way of Deuteronomy 7, an acknowledgment that their return to the Promised Land would only be accomplished by the righteousness of Yahweh in keeping the Oath of Sevens that He sware with Abraham in Genesis 22. An oath that promised in part, that through Abraham’s “seed” all nations of the world would be blessed (barak = 222).

Maybe in the most inadequate and abbreviated way, one might say that Daniel 9 was Daniel’s inspired testimony to his brethern that the promised blessings (barak = 222) of Genesis 22:17-18 would be realized by the “mighty hand” of Yahweh and the redemptive work of His “anointed prince” described in the prophecy of 70 Sevens.

In closing I leave you with the words of Peter, Zacharias (father of John), and the apostle Paul, which confirm that Yeshua of Nazareth was the “anointed prince” of the 70 Sevens – that promised “seed” of Abraham through whom all nations of the earth would be blessed (barak):

Acts 3:25-26
²⁵ Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. ²⁶ Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless [barak = 222] you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

Luke 1:67-75
⁶⁷ And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying, ⁶⁸ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, ⁶⁹ And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; ⁷⁰ As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: ⁷¹ That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; ⁷² To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; ⁷³ The oath [shabuw’ah’] which he sware [shaba’] to our father Abraham, ⁷⁴ That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, ⁷⁵ In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

Galatians 3:16-19
¹⁶ Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.¹⁷ And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. ¹⁹ Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

Daniel 9: Building Jerusalem

Daniel 9: What is Your Foundation?

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If I told you that I believed the 2^nd coming of Christ was going to take place next year because I heard several of today’s leading prophecy teachers (whom I respect) are making the claim – what would you think? What would you think if I further told you, that I could not verify their claims from the Bible but I believed them because they were really decent, smart, and sincere?

If I ever were to make such claims, I hope you’d have the good sense to be skeptical and instead of taking my word for it, make sure you search the Scriptures to “see if these things be so”.

Now I certainly don’t have any special insight about the return of Yeshua next year and I don’t know of any prophecy teacher making such claims. Inexplicably thought, most of today’s smart and sincere expositors of Daniel 9 and the 70 Sevens prophecy, expect you take their word (without Biblical evidence) for the starting point of the Bible’s countdown to the first coming of Christ.

Don’t believe me? Let me show you what I’m talking about. Most of you know or have heard of Thomas Ice, David Reagan, and Joel Richardson. By most standards, these men are well-spoken, smart, and sincere believers and teachers of the Bible’s prophetic word. Each one of them though, when it comes to Daniel 9 and the prophecy of 70 Sevens, instead of laying a sound Biblical chronological foundation for the starting point of the prophecy of 70 Sevens, simply ask you to take their word for it. Here take a look:

Thomas Ice

“Artaxerxes’ Decree
It is clear to me that of all the options available, the only decree that specifically fits the statements of Daniel 9:25 is the one by Artaxerxes given in 444 B.C. as recorded in Nehemiah 2:1-8. Why? Because decree one and two relate to rebuilding the Temple.”
(Thomas Ice – The Seventy Weeks of Daniel – – For the full context of this quote please see the following Link)

David Reagan

- “445 B.C. — Artaxerxes issued a decree to Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:1-8).

On the surface, the third decree, the one issued to Nehemiah, seems to be the most obvious candidate for the starting date of the prophecy, for it is the only one that specifically relates to the rebuilding of the city. For that reason, most commentators have selected it as the beginning of the 70 weeks of years. ”
(David Reagan, Daniel’s 70 Weeks of Years – – For the full context of this quote please see the following Link)

Joel Richardson

“The only position that literally fulfills the requirements of the passage seems to be the decree from Artaxerxes as recorded in Nehemiah 2:1-8,17-18 given on March 5, 444 B.C….

1. Only one decree matches or fulfills the Scriptural criterion of a decree issued specifically to rebuild the city.”
  (Joel Richardson, Daniel’s 70 Weeks: An Introduction – – For the full context of this quote please see the following Link)

Here is the trouble with the statements above. What the above well meaning authors fail to tell you is that there are at least two “Artaxerxes” mentioned in the Bible and at least three Persians who bear this throne name. Further complicating the issue is that word “Artaxerxes” originated as a Median administrative title which was then later used by Persian kings as a throne name. So even though Greek sources identify three Persian kings with the throne name of “Artaxexes”, the word may well have been used as an administrated title by Meads and Persians before it became a throne name taken by Artaxerxes I (Longimanus).

I find it Inexplicable that Mr. Ice, Mr. Reagan, and Mr. Richardson assert that Artaxerxes I (Longimanus) was the Persian king who gave a decree to “restore and build Jerusalem” in 444-445 BC, yet they make absolutely no effort to apprise their readers of the critical facts which let them to this conclusion. They simply make this foundational statement without a single Biblical chronological reference to back them up. Collectively, these men represent nearly a century of accumulated Biblical knowledge, yet none of their writings to date (that I’m aware of) provide a single piece of evidence to back up the most important foundational claims they are making regarding Artaxerxes’ decree and the date 444-445 BC.

Think about that for a moment. This date (444-445 BC) is the fixing point of their calculations for the countdown to the coming of the Messiah. All three authors admit the importance of the starting point of the 70 Sevens (Terminus a Quo) to a proper interpretation of the 70 Sevens. Further, each of the authors also acknowledges the profound importance the prophecy of 70 Sevens has to our understanding of Yeshua’s first coming and our understanding of His second coming as well. Yet, each fails to build his interpretation upon a solid Biblical foundation, rather they all, in respect to this critical subject, defer to the opinion of their peers.

Why is that? Why are most of today’s leading prophecy teachers like Mr. Ice, Mr. Reagan, and Mr. Richardson loath to give you a solid Biblical chronological foundation for their Terminus a Quo of Daniel 9 and the prophecy of 70 Sevens?

I won’t speculate as to their motivations but what I will say is that each day, each month, and each year that goes by, that they do not address this important subject, it undermines their credibility and ultimately the credibility of the Bible’s most important prophetic utterance. The only prophecy, it’s important to note, that provides a specific and datable timeline for the coming of the Messiah Yeshua.

I encourage you to ask them why they haven’t provided the basic Biblical fact to back up their claims. I’ve personally asked two of these authors how they arrived at their conclusions regarding this critical 2^nd temple chronology of Ezra, Nehemiah, and their chronological relationship to the Biblical “Artaxerxes”. Neither could provide a single Biblical fact to back up their claims.

Do you want to know just how well your prophecy teacher understands the basic foundational chronology upon which they claim Artaxerxes Longimanus was the king who gave the commandment “to restore and build Jerusalem” of Daniel 9:25? Ask them to explain to you the following questions related to the 2^nd temple era of the Bible. If they can’t give you clear and reasonable answers then you know they really don’t have the depth of understanding necessary to make definitive claims about this important prophecy.

Here are questions every prophecy teacher on Daniel 9 should have a grasp of in order to make any claim about the Terminus a Quo of Daniel 9:

Who is the Artaxerxes of Ezra 4 and what does the chronology related to that king tell us about how the term is used in the Bible?
What does the use of the Medio-Persian word Arta tell us about the use of Arta-xerxes in the Bible?
Who was the Artaxerxes of Ezra 6 that gave a commandment to restore the rebuild the temple that was completed in the 6^th year of Darius?
Explain the chronological transition from the temple completion in the 6^th year of Darius I to Ezra’s excursion to Jerusalem in the 7^th year of a Persian king known as “Artaxerxes”.
How could Ezra still be alive in the 20^th year of Artaxerxes Longimanus when his father died in 19^th year of Nebuchadnezzar?
How could the Priests and Levites who officiated in the days of Joshua and Zerubbabel be still alive in the 20th year of Artaxerxes Longimanus?
Explain the 1^st and 2^nd generational relationship between the Priests and Levites of Nehemiah 10 and 12.
Who is the Mordecai of Ezra 2 and Nehemiah 7, how is this man related to Esther and why is this important to understanding the chronology of the 2^nd temple era and the Persian king “Artaxerxes”?

The prophecy of 70 Sevens is the Bible’s definitive proof given to the Jewish people (and all mankind) to prove that Yeshua of Nazareth was the promised Redeemer of the Old Testament. I challenge you to carefully read Mr. Ice’s, Mr. Reagan’s, and Mr. Richardson’s papers on Daniel 9 and the 70 Sevens that I’ve linked in this article and see if you can find a single Biblical fact you can use to verify their claims that the Persian Artaxerxes I (Longimanus) in his 20^th year (444-445 BC) was the “Artaxerxes” who gave the dabar (word) to “restore” (return) and build Jerusalem” described in Daniel 9:25. If you cannot, then I encourage you to write and ask them to explain their position with real Biblical evidence not just the well-meaning opinions of their peers. I want to stress here that I believe all three of these men are sincere believers who have a passion for sharing the Bible’s prophetic words. That being said, their interpretation of this wonderful prophecy is an illustrative example of what happens when you don’t laid a solid Biblical foundation for your teachings and beliefs.

In Closing
I’ll leave you with a quote from each of these authors showing in their own words just how important this prophecy is to our Biblical world view. As you read their well-spoken words, ask yourself why, if this prophecy is as important as they say it is, didn’t take the time to establish it upon a rock-solid Biblical foundation as Yahweh, the living God of the Bible clearly intended? Also, ask yourself if they can’t provide you with verifiable Biblical facts related to their claims that Artaxerxes Longimanus gave the decree which began the Bible’s countdown to the Messiah, (no matter how well intentioned) what confidence can you place in their other conclusions about the prophecy, be it the 1st or 2^nd coming of Christ?

To My Peers
Mr. Ice, Mr. Reagan, and Mr. Richardson I sincerely hope you’ll take the criticisms expressed in this article in the spirit in which they are intended and use them to sharpen your exposition of this wonderful prophecy. Your unsupported assumptions regarding Artaxerxes Longimanus undermine the credibility of your claims about Yeshua and His fulfillment of the Bible’s most important prophecy. It is time for you and your peers to remedy this serious deficiency.

Thomas Ice

“One of the most important prophecy passages in the whole Bible is that of God’s prophecy given to Daniel in Daniel 9:24-27. This passage constitutes one of the most amazing prophecies in all the Bible. If worked out logically, this text is both seminal and determinative in the outworking of one’s understanding of Bible prophecy.”

Joel Richardson

“The prophecy of 70 weeks is one of the most critically important eschatological passages in the Bible, which the Church of the last days must properly interpret and understand.”

“F. Several critical issues are at stake in the proper interpretation of this passage.

1. 1. 1. At stake is the recognition of the present-tense, ongoing election and calling of the Jewish people.
    2. At stake is the nature of this final future period of tribulation as necessary to accomplish all of the following specifically on behalf of Israel:
2. 1. 1. 1. “To finish the transgression”
      2. “To make an end of sin”
      3. “To make atonement for iniquity”
      4. “To bring in everlasting righteousness”
      5. “To seal up vision and prophecy”
      6. “To anoint the most holy place”
    3. At stake is the Church’s recognition of the defining timing markers given to us by the Holy Spirit in Daniel and by Jesus personally.4.At stake is a proper understanding of the very nature of the Kingdom of God.”

David Reagan

“One of the most remarkable and important prophecies in the Bible is found in Daniel 9:24-27. It is the cornerstone of Messianic prophecy because it establishes the timing of both the First and Second Advents of the Messiah.”

Next Time – A WORD to rebuild Jerusalem
Yahweh willing next time I look at the assertions made by Mr. Reagan, Mr. Ice, and Mr. Richardson about the “commandment” of Daniel 9:25. This commandment they claim referred to “building Jerusalem” which they arbitrarily limit to the reconstruction of the city walls and other infrastructure. Each of these authors claims that only the decree of “Artaxerxes” in 444-445 BC qualifies as a command to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and by their definition rebuilding the temple was not part of rebuilding Jerusalem. Is this an accurate point of view that can be supported from the Biblical record? I think you’ll be surprised at what the Biblical record reveals.

And what about the divine “word” Yahweh the living God of the Bible gave to the Jewish people to “return” and build? A word witnessed by Zechariah, Haggai, and Ezra? Why is this central event of the 2^nd Temple era not even mentioned by Mr. Ice, Mr. Reagan, or Mr. Richardson, even though the “word” (dabar) of Yahweh is mentioned three other times in Daniel 9?

As we explore these important subject I think you’ll be surprised at how much the context of the 2^nd temple era illuminates the starting point of Daniel 9 and the “word” to restore and build Jerusalem.

Maranatha!

Further Food for Thought:
Why would a prophetic passage so exquisitely designed by Yahweh be given such an uncertain starting point as proposed by the authors above? Here are just a few amazing facts about Daniel 9 that shows why it is the crowning prophetic passage of the Bible and why its Terminus a Quo deserves a better foundation than well meaning assumptions:

Daniel 9:23-27 consists of:

100 Hebrew words designed in a manner to showcase the “7 sevens” (49) as the numerical center of the passage. In other words, Daniel 9:23-27 is 49+2+49 words. The two words sheba shebuw’ah in the numerical center of this passage themselves are an expression of 49.
100 Hebrew words consisting of 418 Hebrew letters designed to showcase the 10 letters that spell 7 sevens. These 10 letters are proceeded by 204 letters and 204 letters follow them. (204+10+204) In other words the 49 words that proceed the “7 sevens” in the numerical center of this passage, themselves consists of exactly 204 letters. The last 49 words of the passage also consist of 204 letters.
The word Seven in the numerical center of Daniel 9:23-27 is proceed by 49 words.
That same word Seven in verse 25 is the 13^th word of verse 25 and it also is proceeded by the 49 letters of verse 25.
The Hebrew word “seven” in verse 25 is the 13 word of that verse. This word in Hebrew has the numerical value of 377. (13×29)
The Biblical calendar used by the Jewish people for thousands of years is lunar/solar. This lunar solar calendar typically has 12 lunar month but once very three years it is reconciled by the intercalary 13^th month (13 x 29.53). If one were to calculate the 70 Sevens (490) units of time using this 13^th month as a basis, those 70 Sevens would be a equal to a period of 515.05 years. From for “word” (dabar) to restore and build Jerusalem given by Yahweh, the living God of the Bible in the 2^nd year of Darius as witnessed by Haggai, Zechariah, and Ezra there it are precisely 515 years to the winter of 5 BC. By many conservative scholars calculations, 9 months later in the fall of 4 BC Yeshua of Nazareth was born. If the birth of Christ took place in the fall of 4 BC then his conception – that point when Yahweh’s Salvation – Yeshua – became flesh – would have taken place in the winter of 5 BC.

For a more detailed explanation of the incredible design of Daniel 9 please see my related article: The Numerical Structure of Daniel 9 and the Prophecy of 70 Sevens

Click on image to Enlarge

The Numerical Structure of Daniel 9 & the Prophecy of 70 Sevens

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This week I have some wonderful information to share with you about Daniel 9 and the prophecy of 70 Sevens. I guarantee that after reading this article you’ll never look at Daniel 9 the same way again. My real hope though is that by the time you’ve finished this article you’ll have a new and fuller understanding of Yahweh’s redemptive plan for mankind and how richly He has woven that redemptive thread throughout the Biblical record. I hope you are prepared for an amazing adventure in Yahweh’s words. To begin lets talk about the power of words.

Words are powerful!

But have you ever thought about what makes them powerful?

Words are powerful because they convey meaning, right? But meaning alone doesn’t make words powerful. Words are powerful when they are arranged in specific ways to convey thoughts, emotions, and ideas. If we dig even deeper, we realize the same about the letters that make up those words. Letters are merely symbols (with meaning) which we arrange to make words.

Let me give you an example of why words, even though individually they have meaning, are only truly powerful when arranged with an intent to express thoughts or ideas. See if the following words have any noteworthy meaning to you.

Spot saw nor I never moor a in of how I the certain
I heather the saw given as spoke know
the with if visited a never were be what god never looks
I and heaven I charts yet am wave the sea yet.

While each of these words in the above sentence has a meaning, as they are currently arranged, they certainly are not what we would consider powerful or moving. In fact, as a whole they do not make much sense at all. Now take a look at those same words as they were arranged by the poet Emily Dickinson:

Chartless

I never saw a moor,
I never saw the sea;
Yet know I how the heather looks,
And what a wave must be.

I never spoke with God,
Nor visited in heaven;
Yet certain am I of the spot
As if the chart were given.

– Emily Dickinson

As you can see those are some powerful words once they have been imbued with order. That is what I want to talk about today – the order and design of words in the Bible.

Did you know that the Hebrew authors of the Old Testament were masters at arranging words to make powerful literary statements? Scholars have long realized that many passages in the Bible have been arranged in specific ways to bring meaning to the text. For example, many passages of the Bible are arranged a chiastic pattern. Chiasm refers to a crosswise arrangement of concepts or words that are repeated in reverse order. This chiastic arrangement of the text allows the author to emphasis important parts of the passage in an artistic and more meaningful way.

Psalm 119 is a classic example of another literary devices used by Hebrew wordsmiths. This 22 stanza Hebrew poem is ordered acrostically. Each stanza beginning with a Hebrew word whose first letter is one of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet (arranged alphabetically). Further each stanza is exactly 8 verses. In total there are 1063 words to Psalm 119. There are 533 words in the first 11 stanzas and 530 words in the second. The numerical center of this Psalm is the three words of verse 88b which in English translates to:

“so shall I keep the testimony of thy mouth.”

This three Hebrew word statement situated in the exact middle (530+3+530) of Psalm 119 perfect summarizes what this Psalm is all about. Now that is a powerful numerical and literary statement! For more on the numerical arrangement of Psalm 119 I’d encourage you to read Casper Labuschagne’s logotechnical analysis of Psalm 119 here: Psalm 119

You see the Hebrew authors not only arranged many of the Biblical passages chiastically and poetically, but in some instances, they also structured them numerically to emphasize a word, verse, a larger passage, or an idea. As Casper Labuschange and others have demonstrated, many of the books of the Bible have a distinctive numerical structure which their authors used to emphasize their divine authorship.

Biblical scholars have noted that the Jewish scribes who painstakingly copied the Hebrew text meticulously counted the verses, words, and letters of the Hebrew Bible. As demonstrated by the Leningrad Codex, these summations were noted in margins of the text. One particularly interesting feature of these scribal notes is that they noted the exact numerical center word and often the letter of the Biblical books and even some passages. The significance of this has been debated but as demonstrated with Psalm 119 there is often a numerically structured design to the books of the Bible and many of its passages that focuses on the center of the passage.

If you think about it this propensity to mark the numerical center of a Hebrew passage, it could be seen as a type of encryption key which locked in the number of words in the particular passage in question because that numerical center was fixed relative to the entire passage. Just one wrong letter or word would change the entire numerical structure of the text. This precise layout of the Hebrew text also makes it hard for those who claim the Hebrew text of the Bible was corrupted to make their case. In a way you could look at as Yahweh’s way of numerically sealing the books and passages of the Bible.

In the modern era this numerical analysis of the Old Testament is in its nascent stages of rediscovery. I only recently stumbled upon this logotechnical analysis of the Hebrew Bible after reading an article by Israel Kohl on Academia.edu entitled: Solving the Mystery of Genesis 49:10b? – The Numerical Key. That article argued that the controversy surrounding Genesis 49:10b might be solved by looking at the overall numerical structure of the text. Professor Kohl’s makes his argument to good effect. In his article he referenced Casper Labuschange and his work. Mr. Labuschagne extensive research into the numerical structure of the Bible can be found at his website: Casper Labuschagne or at this Academia.edu page here: casperlabuschagne.academia.edu/research For what it is worth Mr. Labuschange would probably be considered a “liberal” scholar and does not share a “fundamentalist” (as he calls it) view of the Scriptures. Nevertheless, his work provides compelling evidence that the Hebrew MT text of the Scripture was intentionally designed to glorify Yahweh the living God of the Bible.

A Numerical (logotechnical) Analysis of Daniel 9
For those of you who have read my book The 13^th Enumeration, I’ve long believed that the numbers 13 and 14 have special significance related to the Bible’s messianic message. Specifically, I’ve proposed that these numbers were incorporated into the Bible in order to show that Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth was the Bible’s promised Messiah. In fact, I’ve shown that a reasonable case can be made that these numbers identify Yeshua as the Bible’s prophesied Messiah and that they can be used to calculate the coming of the Messiah as prophesied in Daniel 9 and its 70 Sevens prophecy.

What I didn’t know until this past month is that Daniel 9 is designed to emphasize the numbers 7 & 13 (and their derivatives 14 & 26) in relation to the 70 Sevens Prophecy. Last week I shared with you a chart of 100 Hebrew words arranged into 49+2+49 word groups. I asked if any of you could tell me its significance. Some of you correctly identified the chart as Daniel 9:22-27. As you can see below the 13 & 14 words of verse 25 (the center verse) of that 100 words 5 verse passage were the words 70 Sevens (49). So like Psalm 119 and many other passages in the Bible, Daniel 9:22-27 was arranged to emphasize the very heart of the prophecy of 70 Sevens. But that’s not all that is special about Daniel 9. (A special thanks to NR for providing me with the English translation for the Hebrew words):

Please note the following chart is read right to left.

In this article I want to share with you something truly special about how Daniel 9 in general and the prophecy of 70 sevens in particular was arranged by the prophet Daniel under what I have to believe is divine inspiration, in order to provide you and me with the basis to prove that Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth was the Bible promised Messiah.

Let’s start by looking at the numerical structure of Daniel 9 and its use of the numbers 7 & 13 in the Daniel’s efforts to show that the prophecy of 70 Sevens was of divine origins. Based upon the work of Labuschagne and others this exploration also shows how the numerical center of Daniel 9 provides the pivot around which the entire chapter is organized. Further this organization brings to light the incredibly complex and intricate nature of the passage.

To start with Daniel 9, as given in the Hebrew (MT) text, has 462 words. The 18 words of verse 15 are the exact numerical center of this passage. There are 222 words before Daniel 9:15 and 222 words after. Daniel 9:15 reads as follows:

Daniel 9:15
⁵ And now, O Lord our God,
that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt
with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown,
as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

Thematically, Daniel 9:15 is the climax of Daniel’s confession and admission of guilt on behalf of himself and his people. Daniel opens his moving intercessory prayer in verse 4 with a plea for YHWH to remember his “covenant and mercy to them that love him and keep his commandments”. This “covenant and mercy” is a direct quote from Deut. 7:9 and Moses’ admonitions to Israel before they were to cross over into the promised land.

It’s important to note for the sake of context here, that Moses’ “covenant and mercy” is a reference to the oath (shabuwa’) YHWH swore (shaba) with Abraham in Genesis 22:16. This was the first recorded oath sworn with any man in the Bible.

Also note that the Hebrew word sware (shaba) is phonetically identical to the word seven (sheba). This has led some Bible commentators to acknowledge that Yahweh’s oath with Abraham could rightly be called a swaring of sevens. (For more on this please see my article: Seven, 70, & Sevens: Daniel 9 & the Bible’s Messianic Symbolism)

Daniel’s confessions on behalf of his people reaches its final climactic admission of guilt in verse 15 with the words “we have sinned, we have done wickedly”.

After verse 15, Daniel shifts his pleadings to YHWH from admissions of their collective guilt, to a petition for unmerited mercy and forgiveness. Verse 21 acknowledges that while Daniel was still in prayer the angel Gabriel came to answer Daniel’s petition with a prophecy of 70 Sevens. So with that general overview of the passage, we can now dig into the author’s arrangement of the passage.

In the chart below you can see that once the numerical center of Daniel 9 is acknowledged the passage then naturally organizes into three 7 verse groups and a final five verses in which the angel Gabriel’s gives a 14 words introduction followed by the prophecy of 70 Sevens.

It’s fascinating, I dare say mind boggling, the obvious effort that went into the design of this passage. Its verses are arranged into groups of 7+7+1+7+5. As becomes apparent each 7 verse grouping has its own numerical center of 13 (or 2×13) groups of words.

The Proper Name of YHWH in Daniel 9
The three 7 verse groupings also have another unique characteristic in common. They are the only places where the proper name of YHWH is found in the entire book of Daniel. YHWH is used 8 times in the book of Daniel and all 8 occurrences are found in Daniel 9 in one of the 7 verse groups, each of which have a numerical center of 13 or 26 (2×13) words – numbers which underline the numerical structure of YHWH’s name. Of these eight occurrences, 2 occurrences are found in the first 7 verses of Daniel 9. Five occurrences are found in the 2^nd grouping of 7 verses of Daniel 9, and the final occurrence of YHWH is found in verse 20 in the final grouping of seven verses.

Using a symbolic flourish, the author bookends or seals the use of the name of YHWH by numerically highlighting the first and last usage of the name. The first occurrence of YHWH is the 13^th word of Daniel 9:2. The last occurrence of YHWH in Daniel 9 is found in verse 20 and again it is the 13^th word of that verse as well. The 4^th occurrence of YHWH in Daniel 9 is the 4^th word of verse 10 which itself has 13 words. This occurrence of YHWH is also the 130th word of the chapter 9.

The name YHWH is used three times (5^th, 6^th, 7^th) in a unique 15-word pattern running through verses 13 and 14. There the first and last occurrence of the name is separated by 13 words and the 2^nd and 3^rd occurrences are each 7^th successive words from the next. In other words, it is written: (YHWH + 6 + YHWH + 6 + YHWH). Again, this pattern bridges the 13^th and 14^th verses of the chapter.

Finally, the 6^th and 7^th usage of the name are the 206^th and 213^thwords of the passage. Call it a coincidence, if you will, but the numbers 206 and 113 both remind the reader of the divine name numbers of YHWH. Even discounting some of these usages as coincidental, there is sufficient reason to see an effort by Daniel in Daniel 9 to emphasize the name of YHWH and its numerical basis in the number 13.

The Numerical Middle of the 7 Verse Groupings
Next let’s turn our attention to the Daniel’s use of 13 and 26 as the numerical centers of the 7-verse groupings as described in the following chart.

Once again, the Daniel’s amazing efforts are on bold display. The numerical center of the first 7 verses of Daniel 9 are the 13 words in which Daniel pleads with YHWH to remember his “covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments.”

Daniel 9:4
….and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God,
keeping the covenant and mercy
to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

This 13-word numerical center begins with the 49^th word of Daniel 9:23-27 – thus again linking the numbers 13 & 49. Those 13 words are proceeded by 48 words and are followed by the same. (48+13+48)

To repeat, this “covenant and mercy” mentioned by Daniel is a quote taken from Deut. 7 and Moses’ admonitions to Israel before entry into the promised land. Note also, that Deut. 7:7-12 (quoted below) mentions the “mighty hand” of YHWH which brought Israel out of Egypt – the very same sentiments highlighted by the numerical center of Daniel 9. So, we can see that Daniel is framing his plea for Israel’s deliverance in terms that shadow Israel’s Exodus from Egypt.

Further, a close reading of Deut. 7-9 reveals that Moses’ mention of YHWH’s “covenant and mercy” (as mentioned above) finds its source in the oath (shabuwa’) that YHWH personally sware (shaba) with Abraham in Geneses 22:16. (see also Gen. 26:3-4, Deut. 9:5, Luke 1:67-80, Acts 3:25-26, Hebrews 6:13-20) This oath which promised, in part, that through Abraham’s seed “all nations of the earth would be blessed”.

While this oath with Abraham was seen from an Old Testament perspective as primarily a promise of Israel’s national restoration, the New Testament authors saw the fulfillment of this oath, primarily as a restoration of Israel’s spiritual fortunes through the Messiah and only after this spiritual restoration would come the fulfillment of the other promises made to Abraham. This is important to note because the Prophecy of 70 Sevens, found in the final verses of Daniel 9 speak primarily to this redemptive nature of Israel’s future restoration.

Deuteronomy 7:7-12
⁷ YHWH did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: ⁸ But because YHWH loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath YHWH brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.

⁹ Know therefore that YHWH thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; ¹⁰ And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face. ¹¹ Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.

¹² Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that YHWH thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware unto thy fathers:

Genesis 22:16-18
⁶ And said, By myself have I sworn, saith YHWH, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: ¹⁷ That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; ¹⁸ And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

The 2^nd Seven
The 2^ndseven verse group also has a numerical center of 13 words. Here there are 50 words before and 50 words after the numerical center. Just as the numerical center of the 1^st seven verse group harkened back to words of Moses, so do these 13 words. They are as follows:

Daniel 9:11-12
…because we have sinned against him.
And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us,
and against our judges that judged us,..

The context here are the words of YHWH as given through Moses. They related to the curses pronounced upon Israel by Moses if they departed from YHWH’s righteous instructions. Daniel is acknowledging their deserved nature.

As demonstrated, both of these 13-word numerical centers find their context in the words of YHWH through Moses. To emphasis this Moses is mentioned just before and just after this center point. Here is the fuller context:

Daniel 9:11-13
¹¹ Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, – – – because we have sinned against him. ¹² And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, – – – by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. ¹³ As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the YHWH our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth.

The 3^rd Seven Verse Grouping
The final seven verse grouping are verses 16-22. The numerical center are the 26 (2×13) words that bridge verses 18-19. In this passage there are 48 words before and 48 words after (48+26+48). They are as follows:

Daniel 9:18-19
…for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses,
but for thy great mercies.
O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do;
defer not, for thine own sake, O my God…. called by thy name.

[note here the reading in English is not exactly the same as in Hebrew. To get the full sense of the passage and its order it is better to read the Hebrew provided at the bottom of this paper.]

There are several neatly congruent things about this passage. First, these 26 words have their own numerical center. That center is the 13 & 14 words “O Lord hear”. (12+2+12) These two words begin a uniquely emphatic triplet phrase of petition,

“O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do…”

Another neat aspect of this passage is now that we are on the back side of the 18-word numerical center of Daniel 9:15 (the numerical center of the entire chapter), Daniel is petitioning YHWH to remember his people, sanctuary, and city – not because Israel deserves it, but rather for YHWH’s righteous name sake. Here are verses 18-19 in full. Notice the emphasis on YHWH’s holy name:

Daniel 9:18-19
O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. ¹⁹ O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.

You have to admit, it is incredibly congruent in light of the Daniel’s emphasis on “the name” in this seven verse grouping that He makes the numerical center of this passage 26 words in length. As most know the proper name of YHWH has a Hebrew letter numerical value of 26.

Further adding to the congruency, is just as the numerical center of the first seven verses appealed to YHWH to remember his “covenant and mercy”, these 26 words also emphasize the importance of that plea by not just pleading for YHWH’s mercy but His forgiveness as well.

Summary of the Seven
In summary, by acknowledging the 18 words of Daniel 9:15 as the numerical center of Chapter 9, the three groups of seven verses stand out as individual mini-themes in their own right. Further each of these passages have their own numerical center emphasizing the particularly important aspect of the seven verses in which they are centered. All three of these three 7-verse groupings build to the coming revelation of the 70 Sevens prophecy.

The heart of the first seven verses called to remembrance YHWH’s “covenant and mercy” – that oath of sevens which He sware with Abraham in Gen. 22:16.
The 2^nd seven verses confess the individual and national guilt of Israel.
The final group of seven verses requests YHWH divine intervention.

The final 5 verses of chapter 9 then provide YHWH’s answer to Daniel. Let’s look at the response Daniel received in light of its numerical structure.

The Prophecy of 70 Sevens
Now we turn to the final 5 verses of Daniel 9 and the prophecy of 70 Sevens as given by Gabriel to Daniel. If we looked at the first 22 verses of Daniel 9 as “the problem” the final five verses represent the solution. Daniel’s people were captives in Babylon, Jerusalem was destroyed, and YHWH’s house desolate. Daniel raises these issues with YHWH, acknowledges the reasons for them and then pleads for YHWH to intervene. The 70 Seven’s prophecy is YHWH’s answer to Daniel.

The passage includes verses 23-27 of chapter 9. Curiously, the word count develops as a countdown of sorts:

Verse 23 = 14 words
Verse 24 = 23 words
Verse 25 = 22 words
Verse 26 = 21 words
Verse 27 = 20 words

These final five verses of Daniel 9 begin in Daniel 9:23 with 14 words. The 13^th and 14^th word of which are key to “understanding” the prophecy. In English it is as follows:

Daniel 9:23
²³ At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.

The 14 words which begin Gabriel’s introduction to the prophecy of 70 Sevens start with the Hebrew word techillah (begining) and end with the words biyn mar’eh which means discern/ understand the vision / prophecy. The Hebrew word biyn to discern or understand is the 13^th word of verse 23.

We’ve already seen the two numbers 7 & 13 and its factors prominently displayed in the numerical structure of the first 22 verses of Daniel 9 (used alternatively as 14, 49 & 26). As we dig deeper here, it will become more apparent that not only were the numbers 7 and 13 (and their derivatives) an important part of the numerical structure of the first 22 verses but they also appear to be numerical keys that demonstrate the exquisite symbolism of the 70 Sevens prophecy and the means by which we also find a unique numerical solution.

The Numerical Center of the 70 Sevens
So the prophecy opens with an introduction of 14 words, the 13^th word of which reminds us to discern or understand the vision. As you can see from the provided charts, the final 5 verses of Daniel 9 are exactly 100 words in length. The numerical center of this passage being the two words shabuwa’ sheba (Sevens 7) found in verse 25.

This numerical center then makes for 49 words before and 49 words after the Hebrew words sheba’ shabuwa’ “7 Sevens” which itself is a representation of 49. In other words, these two words sheba’ shabuwa’ which represent the heart of this prophecy are numerically equal to 49. These words are also the 13^th and 14^th word of Daniel 9:25 – the central verse of the prophecy.

Solidifying the authors intent to showcase sheba’ shabuwa’ as the heart of this prophecy is the fact that there are also exactly 204 letters before the two words and ten letters that make up sheba’ shabuwa’. There are also exactly 204 letters after this heart of the prophetic passage.

Further showing the design of this prophetic passage was meant to emphasize the word “seven” which begins the numerical center of Daniel 9:23-27, we find that this word is the 50^th of the passage and its first letter the 50 letter of verse 25.

This unique occurrence of “seven” in Daniel 9 has the numerical value of 377 or 13×29. This does not seem to be an accident as I’ll explain below. Bringing special attention to this word the Masoretes marked the letter Ayin with an Etnachta. This cantillation mark was used to mark a pause or dividing point in the passage. In this case the letter Ayin under which this mark is used has the numerical value of 70. Obviously, the Masoretes saw some significance to this word and its numerical placement in the text.

Digging Deeper
It worth reiterating here, as partially noted at the beginning of this article, the 13-word numerical center of the first 7 verses of Daniel 9 begins with yadah (confess/praise) – this word is the 49^th word of Daniel 9. Incidentally, yadah comes from the root yad which means hand. So, one might see there in the numerical center of this passage, the hand of Daniel raised in supplication for YHWH to remember his oath (shabuwa’) that He the living god of the Bible sware (shaba) with Abraham. This contrasts with the numerical center of the entire chapter of Daniel 9 which acknowledges and calls upon the mighty “hand” of YHWH which delivered Israel out of Egyptian bondage.

13 & 14 in Daniel 9
By now it’s apparent that the numbers 7 & 13 and their derivatives 14 & 26 have a certain prominence and structural significance in Daniel chapter 9. As we’ve seen, this is especially apparent in the fact that the two words 7 Sevens (49) of the numerical center of Daniel 9:23-27 are the 13^th and 14^th words of verse 25. I believe the significance of this has been underappreciated by scholars.

I’ll explain more of this significance later but to recap, Daniel opens his pleadings with a call for YHWH to remember His “covenant and mercy” – a phrase, which comes by way of Moses, from Gen. 22:16 and YHWH’s “oath” (shewbu’ah) that “by Himself” He sware (shaba) with Abraham, an swaring of sevens if you will, that promised (in part) that through Abraham’s seed “all nations of the earth would be blessed”. Then in answer to Daniel’s pleadings YHWH sends a prophecy of Shibiym Shabuwa’ (70 Sevens) both Hebrew words which find their roots in the Hebrew word Shaba / Shiba (sware / seven) and YHWH’s oath (shaba) with Abraham, the first “swaring of sevens” with any man in the Biblical record. Exquisitely congruent to say the least!

I believe it is important to note here that YHWH’s answer to Daniel’s prayer with the prophecy of 70 Sevens is primarily redemptive in nature. Of the six goals that will be fulfilled by the coming “anointed” one, four are specifically redemptive in nature.

Daniel 9:24 ⁴ Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

This redemptive context is important to the numerical symbolism of the Bible in general and Daniel 9 in particular because these numbers -13 & 14 – are intimately connected to the sacrificial redemptive rites given in the Torah. Each month and during nearly every one of the 7 Biblical holy days throughout the year, Israel was required to make atonement with 13 or 14 sacrifices. The following are exemplar.

The Use of 13 & 14 in Daniel 9:23-27
Now let’s look at what happens when we view the prophecy of 70 Sevens through the numerical structural lens of 13 & 14:

The 13^th and 14^th words of verse 23 tell us to “discern or understand the vision”.
The 13^th and 14^th words of verse 24 emphasize the redemptive nature of the prophecy with the words “atone for iniquity”.
The 13^th and 14^th words of verse 25 – “seven sevens” (49) are the numerical center of the prophecy. Both words find their roots in the Hebrew shaba/shiba a “swaring of sevens”. These words are a richly symbolic answer to Daniel’s plea for YHWH to remember His “covenant and mercy” – the oath that He sware with Abraham – an oath that New Testament authors claimed was fulfilled in Yeshua – the promised “seed” through who all nations of the earth would be blessed.
Counting down from the numerical center and climax of the passage the 13^th and 14^th word are “cut off anointed” and parallel the OT idea of a suffering servant.

Isaiah 53:4-5
⁴ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:
yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace was upon him;
and with his stripes we are healed.

After the numerical center of Daniel 9, the prophecy takes a decidedly negative turn. After the 13^th and 14^th word of the numerical center mentions “cut off anointed”, there does not seem to be any further numerical significance to these numbers in the prophecy (that I can find).

Daniel 9 and the New Testament book of Matthew
In light of the redemptive nature of Daniel 9 and the symbolism of 13 & 14, one can’t help but think of Matthew’s representation of Yeshua’s (Jesus’) lineage. As described in Matthew 1, there are 14 + 14 + 14 generations from Abraham to Yeshua. As give in the text though, Yeshua is the 14 + 14 +13 generation from Abraham – thus symbolically making Yeshua both the 13^th & 14 generation.

This unique arrangement is further emphasized by noticing the location where the author removed 4 kings from Yeshua’s generations. 3 kings are removed between the 6^th & 7^th generation and 1 king is removed from between the 13^th and 14^th generation. Incidentally both 6 & 7 and 13 & 14 are cycles representative of the Bible’s lunar/solar calendar. More on the significance below.

Like the author of Daniel who uses the numbers 7, 13, & 14 to emphasize the divine and redemptive nature of Daniel 9, Matthew uses those very same numbers to represent Yeshua as a descendant of Abraham and David. Matthew seems to have understood the messianic symbolism of Daniel 9 and used that very same symbolism in his opening arguments to prove that Yeshua was the Bible’s promised Messiah.

A New Testament Perspective
It is worth noting here that from a New Testament perspective there are strong grounds to believe that Matthew saw in Yeshua of Nazareth a fulfillment of the prophecy of Daniel. Aside from the symbolic parallels between the lineage of Yeshua in Matthew 1 and the numerical structure of Daniel 9, the Biblical calendar, and the Bible sacrificial rites, a reasonable chronological case could also be made that Yeshua’s birth fulfilled the statement of Daniel 9:25a.

Daniel 9:25
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment
to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince
shall be seven weeks,

This countdown to the Messiah begins with a “commandment” to restore and build Jerusalem. Interestingly, the English word “commandment” comes from the Hebrew dabar. Dabar is used 1439 times in the Old Testament and of those, the vast majority refer to the “dabar” or word of YHWH the living God of the Bible.

In Daniel 9 dabar is used four times including the instance in Daniel 9:25. Excluding Daniel 9:25 the other three occurrences clearly refer to the words of YHWH (Dan. 9:2, 12, 23). For comparison here is the 3^rd and 4^th occurrence of the word dabar in Daniel 9:

Daniel 9:23
At the beginning of thy supplications the dabar (commandment) came forth…

Daniel 9:25
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the dabar (commandment) to restore and to build Jerusalem…

Surprisingly few Biblical scholars today consider the possibility that Daniel 9:25 refers to the word (dabar) of YHWH despite the contextual use of the word in the Bible in general and its use in Daniel 9 in particular. This oversight is especially problematic because we have a specific and datable dabar of YHWH to restore and build Jerusalem given through the prophets Haggai and Zechariah and witnessed by Ezra 6:14:

This dabar of YHWH commanded the Jewish people to return and build YHWH’s holy sanctuary., the very beating heart of the city of Jerusalem. If there was one de facto event that marked the return and building of Jerusalem then it would have been YHWH’s house, the very event that Daniel interceded for in his prayer to YHWH in Daniel 9:17.

Daniel 9:17
¹⁷ Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake.

Ezra 6:14
¹⁴ And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel….

Zechariah 1:7, 16
Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word of YHWH unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying,…..

Therefore thus saith YHWH; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith YHWH of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.

Both Haggai 1 and Zechariah 1 date YHWH’s divine “word” to return and build the Temple to year 520 BC. For the sake of argument, let’s assume that Matthew saw in this divine decree the starting point of Daniel’s 70 Sevens countdown to the Messiah.

Now that we have the starting point (terminus a quo) in 520 BC, verse 25 states that it would be “Sevens 7” (Hebrew is read from right to left). It should be noted here that most scholars assume Hebrew reads sheba (7) shebuwa’ (sevens) but this assumption is based upon the Masoretic vowel pointings which were added over a thousand years later.

As given, the Hebrew (without vowel pointings) would have read Seventy 7 (shib’iym sheba). Literally 490 periods of time. So, in other words, from the dabar of YHWH until the coming of the anointed prince there were 490 periods of unspecified time.

Keep in mind here the numerical center of the prophecy was the 13^th and 14^th words of Daniel 9:25. Scholars have long acknowledged the curious fact that prophecy of 70 Sevens does not specify the units of time the prophecy was to be measured in. Many evangelical scholars see that unit of time as a “prophetic” year of 360 days. Others see a year of 365.24 days. Still other see a jubilee period of time.

These units of time aside, one must ask how the Jewish people to whom this prophecy was given might have calculated time. Most scholars acknowledge that the Biblical calendar was lunar/solar. The solar side of the calendar regulated the day. As mandated by the Torah, these days were arranged into a cycle of 6 & 7 days. Six days of labor and a day of rest. There were 52 (4×13) cycles of these in a year.

The other half of the Biblical calendar, (the lunar side of the calendar) regulated the various Biblical holydays throughout the year, as demonstrated in the charts above, each of these holydays had mandated sacrificial rites which often included 13 or 14 sacrifices. Because the lunar side of Israel’s calendar was regulated by the moon and its 29.53 days lunar cycle, each month there were two cycles of 13 or 14 waxing days of (visible) light followed by the same 13 or 14 days of waning (visible) light. Each month through the centuries these cycles of waxing and waning light were the means by which the Israelites kept “time” and marked events on their religious calendar.

So one might argue that “time” in the Bible was not a certain number of days, but rather a certain number of lunar cycles. Most years it was 12 lunar cycles of 29.54 days each for a “year” of 354.36 days. Every 3 years or so though, a Biblical intercalary year of 13 lunar cycles of 29.53 days was needed to rebalance the Biblical calendar. This intercalary “year” was 383.89 days.

With these facts in mind it would not be unreasonable to entertain the idea that the Jewish people might have considered the 70 Sevens units of “time” in the Bible as a “year” of 12 or 13 lunar cycles.

Curiously the 13^th word of verse 25 is “seven”. This unique occurrence of the Hebrew word sheba in Daniel 9 – right in the numerical center of the prophecy – believe it or not, has a numerical value of 377. The factor of which are the prime numbers 13 and 29 – the very factors that delineate a 13 month Biblical “year”.

Summary
To summarize, the 13 words of Daniel 9:25 tell of a dabar to restore and build Jerusalem. A contextual Biblical case can be made that this dabar was the word of YHWH given through the prophets Haggai and Zechariah in the year 520 BC. Further, this 13 word Hebrew passage tells that the “anointed prince” will come after 70 seven. The 13^th word of this passage is a unique occurrence of the Hebrew word sheba or seven (unique to Daniel 9). This unique occurrence of sheba in Daniel 9 has the numerical value 377 and the factors of 13 & 29. These factors being the very root of a 13^th month Biblical year of 383.89 days.

By the way the Hebrew word Sevens (Shabuwa’) in Daniel 9:27 has a numerical value of 383. Which as demonstrated above is the number of days in 13 month Biblical (lunar) year.

Using a 13^th month year of 383.89 days multiplied by 70 seven or 490 periods of time gives 515.05 solar years. From the terminus a quo in 520 BC, theoretically this places the coming of the anointed prince in the year 5 or 4 BC. It doesn’t take much imagination to see why the New Testament authors would have seen in Daniel 9:25 a fulfillment in Yeshua of Nazareth who by many conservative estimates was born in 4 BC and thus would have been conceived in 5 BC.

In Conclusion
Daniel 9 and the Prophecy of 70 Sevens was uniquely designed to highlight the “divine” numbers 7 & 13 – numbers which are intimately woven into the Biblical calendar and its sacrificial rites. The New Testament’s belief that Yeshua (Jesus) was the promised Messiah appears to have both a chronological and symbolic connection to the prophecy of 70 Sevens found in Daniel 9. This connection likely contributed to the early New Testament’s basis for their belief that Yeshua (Jesus) was the promised Messiah.

For a more in-depth explanation of Daniel 9 and the Prophecy of 70 Sevens you can download my free book: Daniel’s 70 Weeks: The Keystone of Bible Prophecy at the following link: Free Book Download Please note my books at this download link are several years old and do not reflect my latest research on the prophecy of 70 Sevens such as this present article.

Maranatha!

A Treasure Hunt for Next Time
For those of you who like to dig deeper on your own I have a special challenge for you. As this article demonstrated, the numerical center of the first 7 verses of Daniel 9 is a reference to “covenant and mercy” of YHWH – a quote that comes from Gen. 22:1-19 by way of Moses in Deu. 7. This covenant and mercy was but a reference to the first oath Yahweh swore with any man in the Bible. An oath which promised in part that through Abraham’s “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed. A promise which the New Testament authors clearly demonstrates as being fulfilled in Yeshua.

Yahweh willing my next article will take a look at the numerical structure of Genesis 22:1-19 to see what Biblical treasures we can find. To give you a hint of how amazing this passage is there are a total of 307 words which tell of Abrahams willingness to sacrifice Isaac – and his faith that He and Isaac would return home. A faith that was rewarded by YHWH with an oath that promised through Abraham’s “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed. This wonderful messianic picture of YHWH “providing Himself a lamb” has long been seen as a foreshadowing of Yeshua.

The numerical center of this passage is a single word – a name. See if you can figure out who’s name is highlight by the numerical arrangement of the text. There are 153 words before this name and 153 after. The first verse of Genesis 22 has 13 words in it and the last verse of this passage (v. 19) has 14 words. Believe it or not!

So see if you can figure out how the author of this passage organized it to highlight its redemptive message. I hope you enjoy the treasure hunt.

For Further Reflection
Its also worth mentioning that Yeshua and His twelve disciples made 13. Later when Yeshua called Paul as the apostle to the Gentiles this made 14.

Paul and the Middle Wall of Partition
As the apostle to the gentiles, Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians described Yeshua and his work at Calvary as breaking down the “middle wall of partition”. This “wall” was built to keep the gentiles from entering the temple proper and by extension the presence of Yahweh. Only the Jewish people had access through this wall. In a symbolic picture par excellence it is fascinating to note that during Paul’s and Yeshua’s era that middle wall was access by 14 steps and 13 gates:

Ephesians 2:13-14
13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

Click on images to enlarge

A 100 Hebrew Word Challenge

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The past several weeks I’ve been rediscovering some amazing information that I believe will change how you look at one of the most significance passages of prophetic Scripture in the Bible. The information has wide ranging implications that frankly I’m still trying to wrap my mind around.

I hope to be able to put this wonderful information together in a congruent article in a week or two but to give you just a glimpse, below is an image of a 100 word passage of Scripture that most of you are familiar with. These 100 Hebrew words are as they are found in the Hebrew Bible only I’ve arrangement them in a special way as indicated by the larger context in which they are found.

The Challenge:
Can anyone tell me where this exquisite numerical arrangement is found in the Bible?

A Bonus Challenge:
Any Ideas on the larger context of this passage which might support such an arrangement?

Hints:
These five verses are from a chapter of the Bible in which the name of YHWH is used 8 times and no other times in the other chapters of the book. There are 100 words in these five verses and they are arranged by its author in a symbolic pattern of 49+2+49.

The two words of the numerical center of this passage clearly identify it, and the 13th & 14th words of the first three verses and the 13th and 14th words after the numerical center of the passage tell the story. The gray boxes market the start of each verse – – – Hebrew is read from right to left.

Click on Image to Enlarge:

Book 1

Book I - Description

The 13th Enumeration
"A book that will change how you look at the Bible's Messianic Symbolism."

Click for Free Download

Book 2

Book 2 - Description

Daniel's 70 Weeks -
"A book that will forever change how you understand the Bible's greatest Messianic prophecy."

Click for Free Download

Book 3

Book 3 - Description

The Jubilee Code -
"A book that will show you real Biblical evidence for Yahweh's guiding in hand history bringing about His redemptive plan for mankind."

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Darius I: A Gentile King at the Crux of Jewish Messianic History

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My last several articles have looked at the Persian king Darius and his important role in the return and restoration of the Jewish people to their land. This effort by Darius also included moral and financial support in rebuilding the temple, reestablishment of the temple service, and most importantly (I believe), the restoration of Torah observance.

The last seven articles have been a book’s worth of Biblical and historical details spread out over a period of months. So in this article I’ll attempt to summarize the important highlights of the information so that you’ll will be able have the big picture of how Yahweh, the living God of the Bible, used a the Persian king Darius to prepare the way of the coming of Israel’s (and the world’s) promised Redeemer. If these highlights challenge or intrigue you then I encourage you to read the underlying articles which show the Biblical foundations for my arguments.

In response to The Seraiah Assumption by Rick Lanser, which was a critical review of my work on the 2^nd temple era as posted on the Associates for Biblical Research website, I started this series of articles with the premise that the Bible is a trustworthy and accurate account of history. As the Biblical history has unfolded in these articles we’ve seen in fact that taking the Biblical account in its most natural and plain sense provides us with a clearer picture of Biblical history and its chronology than if we try to rearrange the Bible’s chronology using a thematic approach as proposed by Rick Lanser.

In the following paragraphs let me show you just how incredibly important Darius I was in Jewish history. And so that you will have the clearest context of the events described, I will giving them in the same chronological order as they appear in the Biblical record. As a sort of prologue we will start with Cyrus and his decree which allowed the Jewish people to return and build the temple and Jerusalem.

Keep in mind here that in this series of articles I provided evidence to show that the Biblical authors of Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther used the Medo-Persian administrative titles of Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes to describe the Persian king Darius I (and others) long before those titles were take as throne names by his descendants in the decades that followed.

As I’ve demonstrated in these article and others over the years, Old Testament Biblical history in terms of an Bible chronology ends here in the reign of Darius I ‘The Great’, the only thing connecting the next five centuries of Biblical history to the coming of the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) and the New Testament record of Yeshua’s birth, death, and resurrection is the prophecy of Daniel 9 and its 70 Sevens. Daniel 9 and its 70 Seven prophecy is the bridge that connects the Old Testament and New Testament,. In essences it is the cord that binds them into a congruent and complete chronological whole.

Why is This Even Important?
The reason I’ve spent so much time going over the chronology of the 2^nd temple era in this series and over the years at this blog is because the Bible is a congruent whole with specific redemptive message to share with mankind. That message is Yahweh’s atoning love through His Yeshua – His Salvation worked out through Biblical history according to His preordained calendar as measured in what we understand as time – past, present, and future. When we misidentify chronological fixing points Yahweh has recorded for us in the Bible, these errors can’t help but influence the interpretational matrix of how we understand what happened at Yeshua’s first coming as well as what Yahweh’s word predicts about what will take place at Yeshua’s return.

Think about the implications of an inaccurate understanding of Biblical history as it relates to Daniel 9 and the prophecy of 70 Sevens. Because the vast majority of evangelical Biblical scholars of the past and present believe that chronology of Ezra is a jumbled up mess that cannot be taken in a straightforward and chronological manner, they place the start of 70 Seven’s countdown to the Messiah nearly 60 years later in Biblical history than is chronologically justifiable by a plain reading of the text. Having done this, their view of Biblical history then influences how they understand what that prophecy says about the Messiah and the purpose of his first coming. Then upon that weak foundation they make conclusions about what the Bible says about the Messiah Yeshua’s second coming.

Instead of an amazingly congruent prophecy which primarily speaks to the covenantal and redemptive nature of Yahweh’s redemptive plan for all mankind at Yeshua’s first coming, the 70 Sevens becomes a dispensational hybrid prophecy in which its covenantal and redemptive message for all mankind (the 69 Sevens = 98.6% of the prophecy) is left hanging and instead the focus shifts to the Anti-Christ and a final period of the 7 year tribulation (1.4%) in which Yahweh’s wrath towards the Jewish people reaches is fateful climax.

Chronological Errors Have Theological Significance
Let me give you a few examples of what has happened to most evangelical interpretations of the prophecy of 70 Sevens because Biblical chronologists have erroneously reconstructed the chronology of the 2^nd temple era as it relates to Ezra, Nehemiah, Darius, and “Artaxerxes”.

Instead of the most congruent and wonderful testimony of Yahweh’s redemptive love for the Jewish people and all mankind through the promised Messiah, the messianic redemptive nature of the prophecy of 70 Sevens ends with the death of Yeshua and then shifts to the work of the Anti-Christ. (The resurrection is missing in most interpretations.)
Instead of a covenantal fulfillment of the oath (shebuw’ah) Yahweh swore (shaba) with Abraham, that “covenant and mercy” held up by Daniel in his prayer to Yahweh, (Dan 9:4)), the covenant of the prophecy of 70 (Shib’iym) Sevens (Shabuwa) is stripped of its context and becomes a covenant with the Anti-Christ.
Instead of providing the covenantal template by which the Jewish people can fully realize their promised restoration to the land sworn (shaba) by Yahweh in the an oath (shebuw’ah) made with Abraham, (that template which shows that the Jewish peoples temporal fortunes come only after their spiritual fortunes are restored through faith in Yeshua), the prophecy of 70 Sevens becomes a dark ugly thing which tells the Jewish people only of the Messiah’s death without the resurrection (after 69 Sevens), then tells of 7 years of punishment, and tells of yet another unknown period of desolation without hope. (And we wonder why Jewish anti-missionaries are so resistant to evangelical interpretations of Daniel 9)
Instead of confirming the multiple New Testament witnesses which tell us that Yeshua, by His death and resurrection, confirmed (strengthen) the oath (shebuw’ah) Yahweh swore (shaba) with Abraham, the messianic covenantal nature of the prophecy of 70 Sevens is transformed into a covenant made with the Anti-Messiah.

Today the vast majority of my evangelical peers tell us the prophecy of Daniel 9 and its 70 Sevens is a prophecy given by Yahweh to the Jewish people. With this I agree because it is through the Jewish people that a Jewish Messiah came and through the Jewish people (the seed of Abraham) that we received prophetic record which tells of Yahweh’s wonderful redemptive plan for all of us.

With this wonderful messianic covenantal heritage, I for the life of me cannot understand why we then disassociate this prophecy with its covenantal messianic roots in the oath (Shebuw’ah) swore (shaba) with Abraham, an oath that Moses described as the “covenant and mercy” made with the “fathers” Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I cannot understand how my evangelical peers then further deconstruct this wonderful covenant and mercy made with Abraham, that oath (shebuw’ah) which tells of the coming Yeshua Messiah and instead turn the prophecy and its promised covenantal restoration (spiritual & physical) through the Messiah into the darkest chapter in Jewish history.

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that YHWH thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;

Deuteronomy 7:12 ¹² Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that YHWH thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware [shaba] unto thy fathers:

Galatians 3:16-17 ¹⁶ Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. ¹⁷ And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

Genesis 22:16-18 ¹⁶ And said, By myself have I sworn, saith YHWH, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: ¹⁷ That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

¹⁸ And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

Luke 1:68-73 ⁶⁸ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, ⁶⁹ And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; ⁷⁰ As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: ⁷¹ That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; ⁷² To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; ⁷³ The oath [shebuw’ah] which he sware[shaba] to our father Abraham,

Acts 3:25-26 ²⁵ Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. ²⁶ Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities.

Daniel 9:4 ⁴ And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

Shame on us!

I know many of you that read this blog long for the return of Yeshua as I do. I have sobering news for you though. Yeshua unequivocally told His Jewish brethren that He will not return again until they (the Jewish people) acknowledge him as their promised Messiah.

Luke 13:34-35 ³⁴ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! ³⁵ Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Daniel 9:27 ²⁷ And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

I believe now is the time to remove the chronological stumbling block we have placed upon the Bible’s single most important Messianic prophecy given specifically to the Jewish people, a stumbling block that undermines its clearly OT covenantal and messianic context, a context that proves that Yeshua is the fulfillment (or if you prefer a confirmation) of the oath (shebuw’ah) that Yahweh swore (shaba) with Abraham.

The Covenant and Messianic congruency of Daniel 9 and the 70 Sevens can only be properly understood if it is placed in the chronological context given by Yahweh as recorded in Bible. That is the reason I’ve spent so much time showing you why the 2^nd temple context of the Bible is the crux of Biblical Messianic history as it relates to the Jewish people and the prophecy of 70 Sevens.

Please don’t take my word for it. Do your own Berean duty and see if these things be so.

With that being said, here is the summary of the chronology we’ve explored to date as it relates to Ezra, Nehemiah, Darius, and “Artaxerxes” place in the 2^nd temple era. Yahweh willing, in my final article in this series I’ll show you why accepting the lineage of the priests and Levites as recorded in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah in its most natural and plain sense reading provides us with further evidence that the reign of Darius I ‘The Great’ is truly and accurately described as the crux of Jewish Messianic history as it relates to the Daniel 9, the Bible’s greatest Messianic prophecy.

536 BC
Cyrus Decrees that the Jewish People can Return to Building Jerusalem
At the end of the 70 years captivity prophesied by Jeremiah, Yahweh raised up Cyrus of Persia to allow the Jewish people to return and build Jerusalem. This return was lead by Joshua, the high priest, and Zerubbabel, the governor.

²¹ To fulfil the word of the YHWH by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years. ²² Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the YHWH spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the YHWH stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, ²³ Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the YHWH God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The YHWH his God be with him, and let him go up. 2 Chronicles 36:21

536 BC
Mordecai Returns to Jerusalem
After Cyrus’ decree that allowed the Jewish people to return and rebuild Jerusalem, this repatriation was lead by Joshua, the high priest, and Zerubbabel, the governor. Amongst those who lead this return was a man named Mordecai. For further explanation as to why this is important to the subject of Darius and Artaxerxes please see my article Mordecai and the Chronological Context of Esther.

Now these are the children of the province that went up out of the captivity, of those which had been carried away, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away unto Babylon, and came again unto Jerusalem and Judah, every one unto his city; ² Which came with Zerubbabel: Jeshua, Nehemiah, Seraiah, Reelaiah, Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispar, Bigvai, Rehum, Baanah. Ezra 2:1-2

522-521 BC
Darius I Squelches the Lobbying Efforts of the Jewish People’s Enemies
Today much is written about king Cyrus of Persia and his decree which allowed the Jewish people to return and build the temple of Jerusalem. What is often left unsaid is that after Cyrus’s decree and the Jewish people’s return, they were only able to lay some of the temple foundation stones before their construction efforts on Yahweh’s house were interrupted.

⁴ Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, ⁵ And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. Ezra 4:4-5

For the next roughly 16 years any serious effort to rebuild Yahweh’s sanctuary were interrupted and instead the Jewish people worked on their own dwellings. After Cyrus died and his son Cambyses (a.k.a. the Ahasuerus of Ezra 4:6) took the throne, the enemies of the Jewish people sent lobbyists to the Persian court to ensure that any reconstruction efforts of the Jewish people were blocked. These efforts by the Jewish people’s enemies seemed to have fallen on a deaf ear by the Persian king Cambyses.

After Cambyses a new Persian king identified in the Bible as “Artaxerxes” (a.k.a. Bardis the Magian Usurper) took the throne and the lobbying efforts of the Jewish people’s enemies found a willing ear in this new Persian king’s court. “Artaxerxes” countermanded the original decree by Cyrus of Persia and by force of arms the enemies of the Jewish people stopped the meager efforts of the Jewish people to rebuild Yahweh’s house. According to Persian history written by Darius I on the granite cliffs of Behistun, the Usurper’s reign only lasted a short time before he was deposed by Darius I (son of Hystaspes).

Shimshai the Scribe
One of those lobbyists who tried to thwart the Jewish people’s reconstruction efforts the Bible identifies as Shimshai the Scribe. Intriguingly, there is a tablet from the reign of Cambyses which names such an individual. This provides intriguing confirmation that the events of Ezra 4 are contemporaneous with the era of Cambyses and Darius I. For more on this see my article: Darius, Artaxerxes, & the Bible: Confirming Royal Persian Titulature

520 BC – Yahweh and the Divine Command to Restore and Build
Then in 520 BC when the divine clock in Yahweh’s redemptive plan struck a preordained hour, He personally reached down into the affairs of mankind and commanded that the Jewish people “return” and build His desolate sanctuary.

Zechariah 1:16
Therefore thus saith YHWH; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith YHWH of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem.

³ Then came the word of the YHWH by Haggai the prophet, saying, ⁴ Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste? ⁵ Now therefore thus saith the YHWH of hosts;….

Haggai 1:3-9
Thus saith the YHWH of hosts; Consider your ways. ⁸ Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the YHWH. ⁹ Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the YHWH of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.

Remember the Messianic Context!
Keep the big picture in mind here. In order for the Messiah to come and fulfill the many prophecies written about Him, Yahweh’s house had to be restored. That is the reason Satan used the enemies of the Jewish people to block the reconstruction of the temple. No temple – no Messiah, no Torah observance – no Messiah.

(521 BC)- Darius I – Helps Restores the Jewish Temple
After Yahweh’s divine command to restore and build Jerusalem, the enemies of the Jews approached king Darius in his 2^nd year of reign (521 BC) to stop the Jewish people’s divinely mandated construction efforts. Darius had no sympathy for their cause of obstruction. In fact, as we know from Persian history that Darius favored the restoration of the religious institutions and their service of the people in his kingdom. This is what Darius told the enemies of the Jewish people:

Ezra 6:6-7, 11
⁶ Now therefore, Tatnai, governor beyond the river, Shetharboznai, and your companions the Apharsachites, which are beyond the river, be ye far from thence: ⁷ Let the work of this house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews build this house of God in his place….

¹¹ Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this.

Ezra 6:13-15
¹³ Then Tatnai, governor on this side the river, Shetharboznai, and their companions, according to that which Darius the king had sent, so they did speedily.

¹⁵ And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.

521 BC & 515 BC – Darius the “Huckster” supports the Temple Service
One of those unusual statements of history that has stuck to Darius I was the appellation of “huckster” that Herodotus bestowed upon him. This term was given to Darius I because he was the Persian king who instituted a commodities based form of tribute in lieu of Gold and Silver. This historical fact is confirmed in the Bible when Darius I gave the Jewish people (in days of Joshua and Zerubbabel) from the king’s treasury in support of the temple service. This interesting historical fact is further confirmed when “Artaxerxes” a.k.a. Darius also gave to Nehemiah in support of the same:

Ezra 6:8-10
⁸ Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king’s goods, even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered.

⁹ And that which they have need of, both young bullocks, and rams, and lambs, for the burnt offerings of the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the appointment of the priests which are at Jerusalem, let it be given them day by day without fail: ¹⁰ That they may offer sacrifices of sweet savours unto the God of heaven, and pray for the life of the king, and of his sons.

Ezra 7:21-23
²¹ And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily, ²² Unto an hundred talents of silver, and to an hundred measures of wheat, and to an hundred baths of wine, and to an hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. ²³ Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?

519 BC
Darius Holds Court for Officials of his 127 Provinces
By the 2^rd year of his reign Darius had put down the rebellions in his kingdom and consolidated his power. According to the Persian records and historians of that day only Darius I could rightly be distinguished as the Persian Ahasuerus who ruled over “127 provinces”. It was he who achieved this distinction. While Darius’ son Xerxes did indeed inherit the full extent of Darius’ kingdom, by his 7th year he had lost part of the kingdom and no longer could he rightly be distinguished as such as is described in the book of Esther in the 13^th year of “Ahasuerus”. Further, only Darius could rightly be said to have “laid tribute upon the land and the isles of the sea” as described in the book of Esther.

This evidence suggest then that in his 3^rd year it was Darius, also known in the book of Esther by the title Ahasuerus, that held a grand banquet for the rulers of his 127 provinces. The following Biblical and historical sources confirm this:

Ester (Greek) 16:1
The great king Artexerxes unto the princes and governors of an hundred and seven and twenty provinces from India unto Ethiopia, and unto all our faithful subjects, greeting.

^KJA1 Esdras 3:1
Now when Darius reigned, he made a great feast unto all his subjects, and unto all his household, and unto all the princes of Media and Persia, ² And to all the governors and captains and lieutenants that were under him, from India unto Ethiopia, of an hundred twenty and seven provinces.

^KJVEsther 1:1
Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:)

516 BC – The Temple Completed in the 6^th year of Darius I

Ezra 6:14-15
¹⁴ And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.

¹⁵ And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.

515 BC – Darius I Commands the Restoration of Torah Observance
From historical sources we know that Darius I, who the Bible also identifies by the title “Artaxerxes” had a passion for restoring the laws and religious practices of the people he ruled. This is evidenced in the Bible in his 7^th year when he granted Ezra the legislative and judicial power to institute Torah observance.

Ezra 7:25-26
²⁵ And thou, Ezra, after the wisdom of thy God, that is in thine hand, set magistrates and judges, which may judge all the people that are beyond the river, all such as know the laws of thy God; and teach ye them that know them not. ²⁶ And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death, or to banishment, or to confiscation of goods, or to imprisonment.

Encyclopedia Britannica – Darius as An Administrator
While measures were thus taken to unite the diverse peoples of the empire by a uniform administration, Darius followed the example of Cyrus in respecting native religious institutions. In Egypt he assumed an Egyptian titulary and gave active support to the cult. He built a temple to the god Amon in the Kharga oasis, endowed the temple at Edfu, and carried out restoration work in other sanctuaries. He empowered the Egyptians to reestablish the medical school of the temple of Sais, and he ordered his satrap to codify the Egyptian laws in consultation with the native priests. In the Egyptian traditions he was considered as one of the great lawgivers and benefactors of the country. In 519 bc he authorized the Jews to rebuild the Temple at Jerusalem, in accordance with the earlier decree of Cyrus.

Darius’ Behistun Inscription
(Column 2 – 14) King Darius says: The kingdom that had been wrested from our line I brought back and I reestablished it on its foundation. The temples which Gaumâta, the Magian, had destroyed, I restored to the people, and the pasture lands, and the herds and the dwelling places, and the houses which Gaumâta, the Magian, had taken away. I settled the people in their place, the people of Persia, and Media, and the other provinces. I restored that which had been taken away, as is was in the days of old. This did I by the grace of Ahuramazda, I labored until I had established our dynasty in its place, as in the days of old; I labored, by the grace of Ahuramazda, so that Gaumâta, the Magian, did not dispossess our house.

515 BC
Esther Becomes the Queen of Persia
Towards the end of his third year of reign (519 BC)Ahasuerus requested Queen Vashti to present herself at the banquet which he held for the rulers of his 127 provinces. After Vashti refused king Ahasuerus’ (Darius I) asked the advice of his 7 “wise men” as to what her punishment should be.

Four years later in Darius’ 7^th year (a.k.a. Darius even “Artaxerxes”) we find these 7 wise men as part of the royal benefactors who send Ezra to Judah and Jerusalem along with those other willing Judeans who wanted to return.

Esther 1:13-15
Then the king said to the wise men, which knew the times, (for so was the king’s manner toward all that knew law and judgment: ¹⁴ And the next unto him was Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven princes of Persia and Media, which saw the king’s face, and which sat the first in the kingdom;) ¹⁵ What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to law, because she hath not performed the commandment of the king Ahasuerus by the chamberlains?

Ezra 7:12-14
¹² Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time. ¹³ I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee. ¹⁴ Forasmuch as thou art sent of the king, and of his seven counsellors, to enquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of thy God which is in thine hand;

It is in this same 7^th year of Darius (Esther’s Ahasuerus & Ezra’s Darius “even” Artaxerxes) that Esther became the Queen of 127 provinces.

510 BC
Haman Sets Out to Destroy the Jewish People
In the 12^th year of Darius, a man named Haman lays plans to kill the Jews in the kingdom of Persia. After casting Pur (lots) for nearly a year in an effort to determine the best day to exterminate the Jewish people, Haman was given permission to fulfill his evil machinations. It was that infamous day, on the 13^th month after casting his first pur (lot), on the 13^th day of the month in the 13^th year of king Darius that the evil plan was set. Esther intervened and what was intended to be the day which ended the Jewish race instead became one of their greatest deliverances.

In one of the great ironies of the Bible, what the evil Haman had intended for Mordecai and the Jewish people, instead fell upon him and his family. After Haman’s death in the 13^th year of Darius, Mordecai became a VIP in the kingdom of Persia. Four years later we find this confirmed in the Persian historical record where a man named Mordecai (Marduka) appears in the cuneiform tables. See the follow article for more details Mordecai & the Chronological Context of Esther.

505-490 BC
Mordecai the Persian Administrator
According to Persian cuneiform tables a man named Mordecai (Marduka) was a high official in Persian government from the 17^th to the 32^nd year of Darius I.

501-490 BC
Nehemiah Becomes Governor of Jerusalem
Roughly 4 years after we have the first evidence of Mordecai in the Persian records we learn from the Biblical record that Nehemiah was granted the governorship of Jerusalem from the 20^th/21^st year to the 32^nd year of king Artaxerxes. It is fascinating to note that Nehemiah brings to his readers attention that at his audience with the king of Persia “the Queen” was sitting beside him.

Also worth noting, both Nehemiah and the Mordecai of the Persian cuneiform records seem to end their respective administrations in the 32^nd year of Darius I.

Nehemiah 5:14
¹⁴ Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the two and thirtieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that is, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor.

Nehemiah 2:6
⁶ And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.

Did Mordecai and Esther leave traces in the Neo-Babylonian documents? The name “Mordecai (Mar-duk-ka)” is relatively rare; it is sometimes found during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar and Nabonidus³², unlike the name “Marduk”, typically Babylonian (always written dAMAR.UTU “calf-sun”, originally pronounced amarutuk)³³, which was widely used. For example, a contract dated 16/XI/8 of Nebuchadnezzar (February 596 BCE) reads³⁴:

Adi’ilu, son of Nabu-zer-iddina, and Ḫuliti, his wife (the divine Ḫulitum) have sold Marduka, their son, for the price agreed upon, to Šula, son of Zer-ukin. The liability to defeasor and pre-emptor, which is upon Marduka, Adi’ilu and Addaku respond for.

Among the cuneiform sources dating to the period of the Neo-Babylonian empire, of which 16,000 have been published³⁵, there are only 2 individuals bearing the name Marduka: an entrepreneur³⁶ who did business under Nabonidus until the year 5 of Cyrus (534 BCE), and a administrative superintendent³⁷ who worked under Darius I from his years 17 to 32 (505-490 BCE), exactly the same period as Mordecai worked³⁸. (Queen Esther wife of Xerxes Chronological, Historical and Archaeological Evidence by Gerard Gertoux p. 13-14)

Summary
In order to ensure the fulfillment of His redemptive plan for mankind, Yahweh, the living God of the Bible, rose up the Persian king Darius I, who in his 2^nd year (520 BC) gave moral, legal, and material support for the reestablishment of Yahweh’s desolate sanctuary. By Darius’s 6^th year (516 BC) the temple was completed. The following year (515 BC) Darius sent Ezra to Jerusalem with a mandate to reestablish Torah observance and the authority to adjudicate its observance. That same year (515 BC) Esther (Haddasah) became the Queen of Persia. In the 13^th year Haman and his coconspirators were destroyed and Mordecai became an important administrator in the Persian empire. In the 20/21^st year of Darius, Nehemiah was appointed governor and the walls of Jerusalem had been restored. By the 32^nd year of Darius both Mordecai and Nehemiah’s administrations for the king of Persia seem to come to an end.

This Temple and the Torah observance encouraged by Darius I lasted for nearly 5 centuries until the coming of the promised Messiah Yeshua. After Yeshua’s death and resurrection, the temple and its sacrificial service only lasted for 40 more years.

It was here then, in the reign of Darius I of Persia that Yahweh, the living God of the Bible brought together various threads of His divine redemptive plan and set in motion His countdown to the Messiah Yeshua. That countdown, begun in the 2^nd year of Darius with Yahweh’s divine command, and that divine countdown bridged nearly 5 centuries of divine silence and precisely on time (515 years later) brought forth the Messiah Yeshua.

Maranatha!

Articles related to this series:
The Seraiah Assumption by Rick Lanser of Associates for Biblical Research
The Seraiah Assumption: Wrapping up Loose Ends by Rick Lanser

My response to Rick Lanser’s – The Seraiah Assumption:
Introduction – The Associates for Biblical Research Responds to the Artaxerxes Assumption
Part I – Cyrus to Darius: The 2nd Temple Context of Ezra 4
Part II – Darius & Artaxerxes: The Context of the Word to Restore & Build Jerusalem
Part III – Darius the great Persian Artaxerxes: A Contextual Look at the Book of Ezra in the Light of Persian History
Part IV – Darius and the Kingdom of Arta
Part V – Darius, Artaxerxes, & the Bible: Confirming Royal Persian Titulature
Part VI – Mordecai & the Chronological Context of Esther
Part VII – Esther, Ahasuerus, & Artaxerxes: Who was the Persian King of 127 Provinces?
Part VIII – Darius I: A Gentile King at the Crux of Jewish Messianic History
Part IX – The Priests & Levites of Nehemiah 10 & 12: Exploring the Papponymy Assumption

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Darius & Artaxerxes: The Context of the Word to Restore & Build Jerusalem

$1000 to Help Solve the Artaxerxes Assumption

2 Replies

Raising the Challenge
Wow, this year sure went by fast. I can hardly believe It’s been a year now but my original $500 challenge still has not be claimed. Although no one has been able to help me find evidence of how one of the listed authors (below) have addressed the Artaxerxes Assumption, I am still hopeful. To encourage you to keep looking I’ve upped the challenge to $1000. You can read about the terms and conditions below.

On an encouraging note, Nelson Walters of The Gospel in the End Times saw the need to address the Artaxerxes Assumption as it relates to his teachings on Daniel 9 and the Prophecy of 70 Sevens. He courageously stepped forward when many of his peers have continued to remained silent. Although I disagree with Nelson I have a great deal of respect for his efforts in trying to resolve the Artaxerxes Assumption. We had an edifying discussion about the subject which help raise awareness of this most important topic.

Hopefully, more of our peers who teach or write about Daniel 9 and the Seventy Weeks prophecy will follow Nelson Walters example. For those interested you’ll find Nelson Walters explanation of the Artaxerxes Assumption below. My rebuttal to Nelson’s explanation is also provided.

Nelson on the Artaxerxes Assumption: Accelerated Ezra Chronology – An Examination
My response to Nelson’s article can be found here: Context, Chronology, & Daniel 9

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Terms and Conditions of My Artaxerxes Assumption Challenge
I need some help. For nearly two decades now I’ve been searching the works of some of the most respected Biblical scholars, looking for answers for what I’ve termed, the Artaxerxes Assumption. As I’ll explain in a moment, the Artaxerxes Assumption is a pivotal piece of Biblical history and to date I’ve only found a few scholars who have attempted to addressed the subject. I’ve come to realize, as much as I hate to admit it, that I can’t read every book or publication that might have been written on the subject so I’m asking for your help.

Here’s the offer. I’m offering ~~$500~~ $1000 to the first person who can help me find one of today’s leading Biblical authors who has (at some point previous to 1/25/2018 and my original challenge) addressed several pertinent subjects which have direct bearing on the Artaxerxes Assumption. For right now I want to focus on the list of authors provided at the end of this article. If this challenge is successful I may expand the search at a later date.

Note: If you are one of these authors in the list below, and have not addressed the challenges related to the Artaxerxes Assumption, but would like to have the opportunity to address the subject I’d be happy to post your thoughts on the subject at this blog and at my site www.danielsseventyweeks.com. (Please note your explanations will not qualify for the ~~$500~~ $1000.)

If you are an author not listed in this article and would also like to have an opportunity to share your thoughts on the Artaxerxes Assumption I’d like to hear from you as well. (Please note your explanations will not qualify for the ~~$500~~ $1000.) There are some additional terms and conditions, but I’ll explain them below.

The Keystone of Bible Prophecy
For a better understanding of the importance of the Artaxerxes Assumption, let me give you a brief overview of the subject. Most Christians have heard of the prophecy of 70 Weeks found in Daniel chapter 9. This prophecy is an amazingly specific prediction of when the Messiah will come. In fact, it is the only prophecy in the Bible which provides a specific chronologically verifiable starting point from which we can determine a date for the coming of the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus). No other prophecy in the Bible provides this information. To give you a sense of the importance of this prophecy, here are a couple of quotes from two highly knowledgeable and respected prophecy teachers:

“The interpretation of the revelation of Daniel concerning the seventy weeks (Daniel 9:24-27) constitutes one of the determining factors in the whole system of prophecy…. The interpretation of this passage inevitably colors all other prophetic views, and a proper understanding of it is the sine qua non of any student of prophecy.” – John F. Walvoord

“I am convinced that in the predictions of 70 weeks, we have the indispensable chronological key to all New Testament prophecy” – Alva J. McClain

Pretty powerful statements, don’t you think? Not only does this great prophecy tell us when the Messiah will come, but as these two scholars acknowledge, the 70 Weeks prophecy is in fact the basis upon which much of our eschatological (end times) understanding rests. In other words, our understanding of the 70 Weeks prophecy is largely responsible for how we see the 1^st and 2^nd coming of the Messiah. It influences how we see the end of this age, the great (7 year) tribulation, the rapture, the Anti-Christ, the Jewish people’s return to the Promise Land, and even the millennial reign of Christ.

So with this heavy theological weight resting on it, it is only reasonable to expect that the starting point of this prophecy would be established upon a rock solid incontrovertible foundation so that the eschatological interpretations we build upon that footing can be confidently shared as proof of the exceptional nature of the Bible’s prophetic record.

The Artaxerxes Assumption
This is where the Artaxerxes Assumption enters the picture. Today, the vast majority of interpretations of the 70 Weeks prophecy rests on a well-meaning assumption about the chronology of Ezra, Nehemiah, and a Persian king named Artaxerxes Longimanus.

Surprisingly, this assumption about Artaxerxes Longimanus didn’t originate in our generation. In fact, this intriguing chronological conundrum originated nearly 2000 years earlier with the Messianic expectations of the Jewish people in the 1^st century BC & AD. 300 years ago one of the most renowned scientists of all time had this to say about the subject:

Those Jews who took Herod for the Messiah, and were thence called Herodians, seem to have grounded their opinion upon the seventy weeks of years, which they found between the Reign of Cyrus and that of Herod: but afterwards, in applying the Prophesy to Theudas, and Judas of Galilee, and at length to Barchochab, they seem to have shortened the Reign of the Kingdom of Persia.”

Anyone care to guess who made the quote above? It may come as a surprise to some, but it was Sir Isaac Newton who wrote those words in his book Chronology of Ancient Kingdoms Amended. What’s fascinating about Newton’s discovery is that those early messianic expectations resulted in a series of assumptions which caused the Jewish people to eclipse over two centuries of Persian history. (For more on this subject see my recent article Sir Isaac Newton and Rabbinic Forgeries Hypothesis)

Now two millennia later those assumptions are still influencing how we view the Bible and the chronology of the 2^nd temple era. As Mark Twain is purported to have said,

“History doesn’t repeat itself but it does rhyme”.

To get to the real root of the problem, it is imperative to understand the prophecy within the context of the 2^nd temple era. The starting point for the prophecy of Daniel 9 (which was the basis for each of the failed messianic claims noted by Newton) began with a “commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem”.

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks,… (Daniel 9:25a)

As explained in my article A Divine “Command” to Return and Build Jerusalem and in my book Daniel’s 70 Weeks: The Keystone of Bible Prophecy there was only one “commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem” the Jewish people would have readily recognized. That command was the Divine command given by YHWH, proclaimed by Haggai and Zechariah and witnessed by Ezra 6:14.

Here is how the “Artaxerxes Assumption” enters the picture. The Divine command “to restore and to build Jerusalem” was given in the 2^nd year of Darius who was also known historically as “Artaxerxes”. (Newton incorrectly attributed the commandment to Cyrus). When the Asmonaeans calculated the 70 weeks of Daniel from the 2^nd year of Darius (Artaxerxes) it allowed them to claim that Judas Maccabaeus was the promised messiah. When Judas failed to usher in the Messianic kingdom, the prophecy was recycled for the next Jewish messianic figure.

Since the Divine command was given in the 2^nd year of Darius also known as “Artaxerxes”, the next generation of Jewish messianic expectants just shifted the prophecy to the 2^nd year of another Persian Artaxerxes so they could make their calculations work. With the end of the Bar Cochab rebellion in the first part of the 2^nd century, the use of Daniel 9 to claim the start of the Messianic era had run its course, the Rabbinic calendar was reset, and 241 years of Persian history were erased from Jewish history. Along with that rewriting of 2^nd temple history, the chronological context of the prophecy of Daniel 9 was left hopelessly muddled.

click on image to enlarge

To this day, the Rabbinic calendar still reflects the chronological mistakes originating in the expectations of those early messianic believers. Unfortunately, the “Artaxerxes Assumption” of the 1^st centuries BC/AD set in motion the chronological confusion which our generation has inherited. It seems many Christian chronologists today have borrowed some of the historical errors of the early messianic expectants, most being unaware of the Biblical facts and chronology that gave rise to those errors.

This confusion was further compounded around the turn of the twentieth century, when a Scotland Yard investigator named Sir Robert Anderson wrote a wonderful book on the 70 Weeks prophecy of Daniel 9 entitled The Coming Prince.

In his explanation of this great prophecy, Anderson revitalized the “Artaxerxes Assumption.” This time instead of erasing the Persian chronology like his Jewish predecessors, Anderson stretched the Biblical chronology of Ezra and Nehemiah by inserting a 58 year gap between Ezra 6 & 7. Like his 1^st century predecessors, Anderson borrowed the title of Artaxerxes from Darius ‘the Great’ and applied it to the Persian king Longimanus. Today, Anderson’s chronology is the basis for most scholars’ writings on the subject of Daniel 9. Regrettably, his good intentions were a little short on reasonable chronological evidence from the Bible.

First, Anderson ignored the contextual relevance of YHWH’s command “to restore and to build Jerusalem.” Unlike his 1st century Jewish messianic predecessors, Anderson saw no reason to begin the prophecy with the words of YHWH the living God of the Bible. Next, Anderson assumed the “Artaxerxes” of Nehemiah and Ezra was Artaxerxes Longimanus because that was the only way he could show that the prophecy of 70 Weeks was fulfilled in Yeshua (Jesus). Unfortunately, Anderson did not base this assumption upon any real solid Biblical evidence , but instead provided this well-meaning but unsubstantiated statement of the Christian historian Rawlinson, found in Rawlinson’s translation of Herodotus, vol. 4, p.217 . This quote as taken from Anderson’s The Coming Prince is as follows:

Artaxerxes I. reigned forty years, from 465 to 425. He is mentioned by Herodotus once (6. 98), by Thucydides frequently. Both writers were his contemporaries. There is every reason to believe that he was the king who sent Ezra and Nehemiah to Jerusalem, and sanctioned the restoration of the fortifications.” – RAWLINSON, Herodotus, vol. 4., p. 217.

“Every reason to believe” even coming from a Biblical historian of Rawlinson’s stature does not exactly constitute proof that Artaxerxes “was the king who sent Ezra and Nehemiah to Jerusalem.” But that statement is the main thrust of Anderson’s arguments for his Artaxerxes Assumption. (Since I first wrote this article I’ve learned that Anderson did try to address some of the challenging aspects of the Artaxerxes Assumption in the appendices of his book The Coming Prince. You can read about that here: Eliashib, Artaxerxes, and Sir Robert Anderson)

Anderson, by all accounts, was an exceptional Biblical scholar. To be fair to Anderson, his assumption was understandable, considering Ussher, Newton, Rawlinson, and Josephus were of the same general opinion concerning “Artaxerxes” and his contemporaneous relationship to Ezra and Nehemiah.

I mean, what kind of person argues with the opinion of some of the greatest Biblical chronologists of all time? Okay, I must admit this homeschooled high school educated plumber is raising his hand timidly from the back of the room. But with all due respect to these great men, it seemed to have been a case of each thinking the other had done his homework.

In the case of Daniel 9 and the Artaxerxes Assumption, it seems their messianic zeal, like their 1^st century Jewish counterparts, have caused them to make an assumption which so far seems to be unsupported by a reasonable rendering of the Bible’s chronology. I appreciate the fact that so many well respected and incredibly intelligent scholars believed Ezra and Nehemiah were contemporaries of Artaxerxes Longimanus and I understand the convenience of this assumption, but is that sufficient proof upon which to establish the most important prophecy in the Scripture? Where is the reasonable Biblical evidence for such a pivotal determination? Where is the application of the Golden Rule of Biblical Interpretation most of my peers hold so dear?

Since I learned of Newton’s discovery and its associated Artaxerxes Assumption, I’ve been trying to understand how other authors and scholars who have studied the subject of Daniel 9 have reconciled the Bibles 2^nd temple era chronology with an interpretation of Daniel 9 which sees Ezra and Nehemiah as contemporaries of the Persian king Artaxerxes Longimanus. What Biblical evidence is there for this association? How did they reconcile the chronological statement of the Bible and secular history which seem to refute this assumption?

Your Help is Needed
So this is why I need your help. As I said before I can’t read every article or book ever written on the prophecy of Daniel 9, nor can I email, tweet, or facebook every author who has written on the subject asking if they would be willing to share with me the Biblical evidence they used to solve their Artaxerxes Assumption.

So I’m hoping with your help we might be able find out how these authors solved the Artaxerxes Assumption in their own explorations of the subject.

Here is what I’m looking for in order for you to win this challenge. In any of the currently existing written works of the authors listed in the table below I am looking for examples where they have explained (Scripturally) the chronological challenges posed by the following six Biblical subjects related to the Artaxerxes Assumption:

Biblical Challenges to the Artaxerxes Assumption

The statement of Ezra 6:13-15 and the identity of “Artaxerxes”
The identities of the “Artaxerxes” of Ezra 4:7, 8:1; Nehemiah 2:1
The age of Ezra whose father died in the 19^th year of Nebuchadnezzar
The age of the priests and Levites of Nehemiah 10 & 12
Nehemiah 12:26 & the age of the 2^nd temple porters of Neh. 11:19 & 12:25-27
The chronological flow of Ezra 6 & 7

In order to collect the ~~$500~~ $1000 you must be the 1^st person to post in the comments section of this blog post, excerpts from the currently existing works (as of 1/25/2018) of any one of the authors listed in the table below which clearly explain how they reconciled the above six Biblical challenges to the Artaxerxes Assumption. In order for your entry to be considered valid the excerpted explanations you present from one of these authors must adhere to the following guidelines:

The quotes provided must adhere to fair use guidelines and must be referenced.
The author’s interpretation quoted must adhere to the Golden Rule of Bible interpretation as described by Dr. David L. Cooper:

“When the plain sense of Scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense; therefore, take every word at its primary, ordinary, usual, literal meaning unless the facts of the immediate context, studied in the light of related passages and axiomatic and fundamental truths, indicate clearly otherwise.” – Dr. David L. Cooper

The author’s answers cannot contradict another passage of Scripture.
The author’s explanation must adhere to the Exponential Decay Curve as explained by Ed Hindson and Thomas Ice in their book, Charting the Bible Chronologically – unless a reasonable argument, with supporting Biblical evidence and examples, can be made as to why an exception to this rule is justified in the case of any 2^nd temple era individuals or groups.
Any quoted explanation which uses as its basis an explanation which questions the integrity of the original Biblical texts will also be disqualified. (This does not include reasonable questions regarding differing interpretations of the text.)

Additional Prizes:
In addition to the ~~$500~~ $1000 reward I’m also offering a free printed copy of one of my Prophecies & Patterns series books (your choice) to the first 25 readers of this blog who can find an author listed in the table below who has addressed (prior to my original challenge) in any manner two of the six Biblical challenges (listed above) related to the Artaxerxes Assumption. (You must post their explanations in the comment section of this blog post.) I’ll send the printed book anywhere in the world the US postal service delivers.

Stewardship as the Time Draws Near
In closing, I wish to stress that for those of us who are earnestly looking for the return of Yeshua, an accurate understanding of the prophecy of 70 Weeks is of paramount importance. As faithful stewards of Yahweh’s prophetic words, it is imperative that as this age draws to a close our prophetic worldview be based upon real Biblical evidence that does not call into question the credibility of the Biblical record.

My hope is that this challenge, will ultimately result in all of us holding each other to a higher standard of prophetic interpretation. No prophecy in the Bible is of any private interpretation and must find its foundation in the inspired words of the sixty six books we call the Bible. I’m asking for your help to ensure that the 70 Weeks, the Bible premier prophecy, is established upon such a secure foundation.

I hope you’ll join me in this worthy endeavor.

Maranatha!

Further Terms and Conditions:
This challenge is void where prohibited. You must be 18 years or older to participate. The ~~$500~~ $1000 dollars reward will be sent as a check anywhere in the 50 US states or its territories. If you live outside the United States and would like to participate I will award the money in your name to a Biblically based charity of your choice (I reserve the right to exclude any charity that I do not approve of).

Authors Who Wish to Respond
If you are an author who has written about the prophecy of 70 Weeks (listed in this article or not) and would like the opportunity to share your perspective on the six points related to the Artaxerxes Assumption, I’d love to hear from you. All I ask is you abide by the five guidelines above, you answer the six points, and you keep your explanations on topic, respectful, and as brief as possible. I also ask that you use your real name. If your explanation abides by all the terms outlined in this article I will provide you a dedicated blog page in your name where you can share your perspective.

Any explanations or comments that do not adhere to the above guidelines or that are in any way derogatory towards an individual or group will be rejected without explanation. Authors can email their explanation of the following six point of the Artaxerxes Assumption to me at williamstruse@danielsseventyweeks.com

I look forward to hearing from you and seeing the subject through your eyes.

Reminder:
To have your explanation published on this site please explain the following six points as they relate to the Artaxerxes Assumption, using the guidelines outlined above:

Biblical Challenges to the Artaxerxes Assumption

The statement of Ezra 6:13-15 and the identity of “Artaxerxes”
The identities of the “Artaxerxes” of Ezra 4:7, 8:1; Nehemiah 2:1
The age of Ezra whose father died in the 19^th year of Nebuchadnezzar
The age of the priests and Levites of Nehemiah 10 & 12
Nehemiah 12:26 & the age of the 2^nd temple porters of Neh. 11:19 & 12:25-27
The chronological flow of Ezra 6 & 7

Further Research on the Artaxerxes Assumption:
For those looking for more information on the Artaxerxes Assumption you can download my book Daniel’s 70 Weeks: The Keystone of Bible prophecy for free by clicking on the following link: Book Download. You’ll also find several articles I’ve written about the subject in menu listed on the right side of this page.

For a different point of view on the subject I would also recommend Dr. Floyd Nolan Jones’s book The Chronology of the Old Testament. Dr. Jones is one of the few Biblical scholars I’ve had the privilege of corresponding with who has tried to solve the Artaxerxes Assumption. Though I do not agree with his ultimate conclusions, he at least acknowledges the importance of the subject to Biblical history and Bible prophecy.

For another perspective, David Austin at Creation.com has written an excellent article on the subject. Although I do not agree with his conclusions regarding Daniel 9 and a shorten Persian chronology, his article Darius is Artaxerxes provides a lot of good information on the subject.

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"A book that will change how you look at the Bible's Messianic Symbolism."

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The Jubilee Code -
"A book that will show you real Biblical evidence for Yahweh's guiding in hand history bringing about His redemptive plan for mankind."

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List of authors who may have written about the Artaxerxes Assumption:

· Alan Kurschner	· Joel Rosenberg
· Andrew B. Ray	· John Hagee
· Andy Woods	· John MacArthur
· Arnold Fruchtenbaum	· John Walvoord
· Barry Horner	· Jonathan Bernis
· Bill Cloud	· Jonathan Cahn
· Bill Koenig	· Joseph Farah
· Bill Salus	· Josh McDowell
· Billy Crone	· Ken Johnson
· Billy Hallowell	· Larry Spargimino
· Bob Theil	· Mark Biltz
· Brian Godawa	· Mark Hitchcock
· Britt Gillette	· Mark Toben
· Bryant Wright	· Matthew Hagee
· Carl Gallups	· Michael Heiser
· Charles Dyer	· Michael Brown
· Chuck Missler	· Michael Rydelnik
· Dave Williams	· Michael Vlach
· David James	· Michael Youssef
· David Jeremiah	· Mitch Glaser
· David Limbaugh	· Nathan Jones
· David Reagan	· Paul McGuire
· Derrick Gilbert	· Perry Stone
· Don Perkins	· Rabbi K.A. Schneider
· Douglas Hamp	· Randall Price
· Douglas Stauffer	· Ray Bentley
· Douglas Woodward	· Robert Jeffress
· Ed Hindson	· Rodrigo Silva
· Frank Turek	· Ron Cantor
· Gary Stearman	· Ron Rhodes
· Greg Laurie	· Russell Stendal
· Hank Hanegraaff	· Ryan Speakman
· Jack Kelley	· Samuel Whitefield
· Jake McCandless	· Sid Roth
· James Prasch	· Stan Guthrie
· James White	· Terry James
· Jan Markell	· Thomas Horn
· JD Hall	· Thomas Ice
· Jeff Kinley	· Tim LaHaye
· Jim Fletcher	· Troy Anderson
· Joel Richardson	· Walid Shoebat

A Favor to Ask
I have a favor to ask. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that you can download all of my books and articles free of charge. I don’t ask for donations or allow advertisements on this blog. This effort is a labor of love for me as a testimony to Yahweh’s wonderful redemptive plan for mankind through Yeshua. I don’t want your money but if you would take a moment to share the articles you read on this blog with your friends and family on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media I would greatly appreciate your help. Together we can share the Biblical evidence for Yahweh’s wonderful redemptive plan for mankind. Thank you for your help in this effort! [DISPLAY_ULTIMATE_PLUS]

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Hanukkah, Christmas, & the Back-story of the Messiah’s Birth – PART II

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PART II: I Am the Light of the Word

“Sent Him to Bless You!”

This week as we continue looking at the back-story of the Messiah’s birth, I hope to show you the thrilling origins of the apostle Peter’s statement (above), origins found in a promise made to the Jewish people by Yahweh, the living God of the Bible, in the 2^nd year of Darius ‘the great’ Artaxerxes. Intriguingly, we’ll find in Peter’s statement a connection to Daniel 9, Hanukkah, the glory of Yahweh, and the birth of Yeshua (Jesus), the Bible’s promised Messiah.

I Have Sworn – An Oath of Sevens
Part I of this series (here) looked at Yahweh’s Oath of Sevens with Abraham, also know in the Old and New Testaments as the “Covenant and Mercy” of Yahweh. This Oath of Sevens we learned was an ancient promise concerning (in part) the promised messianic “seed” through whom all nations of the earth would be blessed. We followed this Covenant and Mercy to Daniel’s opening words in Chapter 9 of the book that bears his name where we saw that Daniel’s prayer for Yahweh’s “covenant and mercy” (a.k.a Yahweh’s Oath of Sevens) was answered with prophecy of 70 Sevens, telling Daniel, the Jewish people, and indeed all mankind when that promised messianic hero would come.

So let’s briefly return to Daniel’s wonderful prophecy in order to further fill in the context and texture of the Bible’s most important prophetic utterance, the only prophetic utterance in the Bible, I remind you, that specifically tells mankind when that Messianic redeemer would come.

Thy Holy Mountain
We return now to look at Daniel 9 and Daniel’s impassioned prayer. As we’ve seen, Daniel opened his prayer with a plea for Yahweh to remember His “Covenant and Mercy” which as we now know was a call for the coming of the Messiah. Daniel goes on to plea with YHWH to restore Jerusalem, the holy city and Yahweh’s desolate sanctuary, that one place where Yahweh choose to meet with mankind and where Daniel’s people (the Jewish people) had the special distinction of serving the living God of the Bible.

I believe far too often most scholars and commentators separate the context of Daniel’s prayer to Yahweh in Daniel 9:4-19 from the prophecy of 70 Sevens. For some strange reason they don’t allow the context of Daniel’s prayer to inform their interpretation of the prophecy.

I encourage you to read Daniel 9:4-19 carefully. Daniel’s view of the restoration of Jerusalem was insuperably linked to the restoration of Yahweh’s desolate sanctuary. This restoration of Yahweh’s house was further linked to the coming of the Messiah by Daniel’s plea for Yahweh to remember His “Covenant and Mercy”. It makes no difference whether Abraham, Daniel, Zachariah, Peter, or even Mary fully understood the implications of Yahweh’s covenant and mercy (as discussed in Part I of this series). Nevertheless, in retrospect, we are all privileged to see the context and implications of those wonderful words. As the apostles and other early believers learned, Yahweh’s covenant and mercy was first and foremost a promise of the restoration of Israel’s spiritual fortunes, after which Yahweh in His mercy gave a special dispensation (times of the gentiles) to the nations so they too could be added to the family of God, and finally, at some point in the future, Israel’s physical/political restoration will take place with Yeshua’s return and rule from the throne of David in Jerusalem.

The Commandment to Restore and Build Jerusalem
So when Daniel 9:25 tells us that the 70 Sevens countdown to the Messiah begins with a “commandment” (Hebrew = dabar = word) to restore and build Jerusalem; we must look for this word with our understanding informed by Daniel’s original prayer for the coming of the Messiah and the restoration of YHWH’s desolate sanctuary. (The de facto event in the restoration of Jerusalem.) To refresh your recollections, the 70 Sevens prophetic countdown to the Messiah begins with these words:

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment [dabar = word] to restore [shuwb = return] and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks,… (Daniel 9:25)

Babylon Is Fallen!
Remember the context here, Daniel’s prayer and Yahweh’s subsequent prophetic answer originated at the tail end of the Jewish people’s 70 year exile in Babylon. The Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar and his descendants had just fallen to Cyrus of Persia and Daniel understood that the 70 years of exile was nearly over. The following verses provide a succinct summary:

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish 70 years in the desolations of Jerusalem. (Daniel 9:1-2)

And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon 70 years. And it shall come to pass, when 70 years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith YHWH, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations. (Jeremiah 25:11-12)

That confirmeth the word of his servant, and performeth the counsel of his messengers; that saith to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be inhabited; and to the cities of Judah, Ye shall be built, and I will raise up the decayed places thereof: That saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers: That saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid. (Isaiah 44:26-28)

So now Daniel, after his opening plea for Yahweh’s “covenant and mercy” also pleads for the restoration of Jerusalem and Yahweh’s desolate sanctuary, pleadings that are themselves but reminders of Yahweh’s promises given through “his messengers” that Jerusalem and the temple would be restored.

Cyrus and the Temple Foundation
Today, there are many respected commentators on Daniel 9 who still believe that somehow it was the decree by Cyrus (which allowed the Jewish people to return and build Jerusalem and the temple) mentioned above and in 2 Chron. 36 & Ezra 1 that was the “commandment to restore and build Jerusalem” prophesied by Daniel 9:25.

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of YHWH spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, YHWH stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath YHWH God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? YHWH his God be with him, and let him go up. (2 Chronicles 36:22)

Indeed, as it is recorded in 2 Chronicles 36:22 (above) and repeated in Ezra 1:1, Cyrus himself claims that Yahweh charged him to “build the house of Yahweh God of Israel”. To be fair to those who see this as the “commandment to restore and build Jerusalem”, the context of Daniel’s prayer to Yahweh is in fact focused towards the restoration of Jerusalem which he (Daniel) understood as centered on the restoration of Yahweh’s “sanctuary that is desolate”. There is no way to escape the context here. Daniel’s view of Jerusalem’s “restoration” centered on Yahweh’s house and the return of His presence to that house.

The Prophecy of Isaiah Versus the boasting of Cyrus
Even though Cyrus personally boasted that Yahweh had charged him to “build him a house at Jerusalem” it is clear from the prophet Isaiah (below) that Cyrus’ contribution to building Yahweh’s house was to be limited to the restoration of the temple’s foundation. Here take a look again:

A careful reading of the book of Ezra confirms that in fact the prophecy of Isaiah as given by Yahweh concerning Cyrus was amazingly accurate. Cyrus’ decree allowing the Jewish people to return and build Jerusalem and the temple only resulted in the start of efforts to lay the temple’s foundation. The Jewish people left off building the temple and instead started working on their own houses. It would be 16 more years and another very special “commandment” to return and build Jerusalem before the temple construction would resume and the temple itself be restored. The following chart reflects the chronology discussed:

But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon. But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon the same king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God. Ezra 5:12-13

Now in the second year [2^nd yr. of Cyrus as king of Babylon] of their coming unto the house of God at Jerusalem, in the second month, began Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and the remnant of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all they that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and upward, to set forward the work of the house of YHWH. (Ezra 3:8)

Think about that, it was 16 years after Cyrus’ initial decree and Yahweh’s house was no closer to completion – nearly a decade and a half and only some of the foundation had been laid! If Daniel was still alive at this time can you image his sorrow at the fact that Yahweh had allowed his brethren to return yet they had not been motivated enough to lay more than a few foundation stones of Yahweh’s desolate sanctuary.

As we will see, there was reason for this delay. In Yahweh’s divine redemptive plan it was not yet time for His countdown to the Messiah to begin. In fact, according to the book of Zechariah 1 those sixteen years from the decree of Cyrus were the final years of a 70 year period of Yahweh’s divine indignation against the Jewish people. The following verses explain:

Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius [520 BC], came the word of YHWH unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying…

Then the angel of YHWH answered and said, O YHWH of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these threescore and ten years? And YHWH answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words. So the angel that communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus saith YHWH of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for Zion with a great jealousy.

… Therefore thus saith YHWH; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith YHWH of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. (Zechariah 1:7-16 excerpted)

A “Commandment”, Decree, Proclamation, or Word?
I hope you’ll stick with me here, because we are working towards the goal of understanding the context surrounding the “commandment” to restore and build as described in the prophecy of Daniel 9. This “commandment” in turn provides us with the foundation upon which to build our understanding of Daniel 9:25 and the countdown to the Messiah as it relates to the celebration of Hanakkuh, Christmas and the birth of the Messiah. Once again Daniel 9:25a provides us with that amazing prophetic countdown:

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment [Hebrew dabar = word] to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks,… (Daniel 9:25)

Did you know that the word “commandment” as used here in Daniel 9 is the Hebrew word dabar? Dabar interestingly in its plainest sense simply means ‘speech’ or ‘word’. In fact, according to my concordance dabar is used 1439 times in the Old Testament and of those occurrences the vast majority refers to the “word” of Yahweh.

Daniel 9, in fact, confirms this rule. Dabar is found four times in Daniel 9, including the occurrence of Daniel 9:25. Of those, the first three occurrences unambiguously describe the dabar or word of Yahweh, the living God of the Bible. Take a moment to see for yourself:

In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word [dabar] of YHWH came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. (Daniel 9:2)

And he hath confirmed his words [dabar], which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. (Daniel 9:12)

At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment [dabar] came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. (Daniel 9:23)

Astounding, isn’t it? Can you explain to me why, given that dabar is used three other times in Daniel 9 to refer to the literal words of Yahweh, the living God of the Bible, scarcely a single writer today, when commenting on the “commandment” of Daniel 9:25 acknowledges this most important context?

Compounding this egregious oversight is the fact that Ezra, Haggai, and Zechariah all testify that there was indeed a Divine word (dabar) to restore and build Jerusalem. We’ll get to this Divine word in a moment but for thoroughness sake let’s first take a quick look at four of the most often cited decrees that commentators today use to claim the fulfillment of the “commandment” (word) of Daniel 9:25. In chronological order those so called “commandments” are as follows:

The “proclamation” (Hebrew abar) of Cyrus which allowed the Jewish people to build Jerusalem and the Temple. (2 Chron. 36:22, Ezra 1:1) Ezra 4:3 describes this proclamation by Cyrus as a command (Hebrew tsavah) Ezra 5:13, 17, 6:3 & 14 describes this original proclamation as a “decree” (Hebrew te’em). Finally Isaiah 44:28 describes these events as Cyrus “saying” (Hebrew amar)
The undated “decree” (Hebrew te’em) given at some point during or after the 7th year of “Artaxerxes” as described in Ezra 7:13 & 21. This “decree” granted Ezra permission and resources to beautify the temple.
The “decree” (Hebrew te’em) given in the 2^nd year of Darius granting the Jewish people permission to continue building the house of YHWH (after Yahweh had already commandment them to restart construction), further Darius granted building materials and commodities in assistance of the building efforts. (see Ezra 6:8, 11, & 13)
The permission given in the 20^thor 21^st year of “Artaxerxes” allowing Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem and fortify its walls. This permission was certified in what the text describes as “letters” (Hebrew iggereth) that also seemed to include an appointment or command (Hebrew tsavah) which made Nehemiah governor of Jerusalem. (See Neh. 2 & 5) The text never describes these letters as commands or decrees nor does the text tell us when these letter or implied decrees/commands were given (it must be guessed at from the text).In the interest of thoroughness, Nehemiah 2:18 does describe “words” (Hebrew dabar) that King “Artaxerxes” spoke personally to Nehemiah, words Nehemiah shared with his brethren. The text doesn’t indicate though whether these words were related to King Artaxerxes’ letter, his implied decree or just personal words of comfort to Nehemiah. Here too the text does not provide us with a definitive date as to when these “words” were given.

In summary, it should be noted that none of these proposed proclamations, decrees, or letters clearly qualify as a “word” (Hebrew dabar) to restore and build Jerusalem described within the context of Daniel 9:4-20), and even more clearly none of these could be described as a divine word to restore and build Jerusalem. And options #2 & #3 above do not provide definitive dates upon which to calculate a starting point of Daniel 9:25.

A Divine Word to Return and Build
Here is where the congruency of the Bible really shines if you allow it to speak for itself. We’ve now established that in roughly 536 BC Cyrus gave a decree which allowed the Jewish people to return and build Jerusalem. The thrust of the initial efforts were directed towards the rebuilding of Yahweh’s desolate sanctuary. Those efforts did not get further than laying the foundation of the temple in fulfillment of Isaiah 44:26-28.

Then in the 2^nd year of Darius ‘the great’ Artaxerxes (circa 520 BC), Yahweh, through the prophets Haggai and Zechariah commanded Joshua the high priest, Zerubbabel, the governor, and Jewish people to return and build His desolation sanctuary. This so called “command” was given as a the “word” (dabar) of Yahweh through these two prophets. Notice in the following passage Ezra records that there were two witnesses for this divine word to return and build Jerusalem:

To complete the picture, here are the two so called words (dabar) of Yahweh commanding the Jewish people to return and build Jerusalem. Remember, from the perspective of Yahweh, Daniel, and the prophets we’ve explored in this article, restoring Yahweh’s desolate sanctuary (the temple) was in fact “building Jerusalem”.

The WORD given to Haggai

In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word [dabar] of YHWH by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying,…

Then came the word [dabar] of YHWH by Haggai the prophet, saying,

Is it time for you, O ye, to dwell in your cieled houses, and this house lie waste?…

Thus saith the YHWH of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith YHWH.

Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith YHWH of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house.

Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of YHWH their God, and the words [dabar] of Haggai the prophet, as YHWH their God had sent him, and the people did fear before YHWH.

Then spake Haggai the YHWH’S messenger in the YHWH’s message unto the people, saying, I am with you, saith YHWH. ¹⁴ And YHWH stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and did work in the house of YHWH of hosts, their God, In the four and twentieth day of the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king. (Haggai 1:1-15 excerpted)

The WORD given to Zechariah

Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius, came the word [dabar] of the YHWH unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying… Then the angel of the YHWH answered and said, O YHWH of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indignation these 70 years? And the YHWH answered the angel that talked with me with good words and comfortable words…

Therefore thus saith YHWH; I am returned to Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith the YHWH of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon Jerusalem. (Zechariah 1:7-16 excerpted)

A Window of Time
As seen from the two passages above (also confirmed by Ezra 6:14), Yahweh’s divine word to restore and build Jerusalem could be considered a window of time between the 1^st day of the 6^th month and the 24^th day of the 11^th month. I believe that this window in time, if the text provided no additional information, would be sufficient for calculating the starting point of the divine “word” of Daniel 9:25.

I believe though, there is reasonable grounds to consider a more specific starting date for Yahweh’s countdown to Yeshua (His Salvation) within this window. Following the chronology here, inside this 6 months window in time, as the prophet Haggai speaks the dabar “words” of Yahweh to Zerubbabel, the governor, and Joshua (Hebrew Yeshua), the high priest, words that are clearly Messianic in nature:

In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month, came the word of YHWH by the prophet Haggai, saying, Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, and to the residue of the people, saying,

Who is left among you that saw this house in her first glory? and how do ye see it now? is it not in your eyes in comparison of it as nothing? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith YHWH; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith YHWH, and work: for I am with you, saith the LORD of hosts: (Haggai 2:1-4)

Yahweh Dwells With Mankind
Notice the dates here. This Word of Yahweh came to Haggai on the 21^st day of the 7^th month (the final day of the Feast of Tabernacles). This word was a call to compare the glory of the 1^st temple with the glory of the 2^ndtemple along with encouragement to stay the course.

(Remember this is just one month after Yahweh gave His divine commanded to the Jewish people to return and build the temple and in the middle of Yahweh’s window of time between His divine word to restore and build.)

Then Yahweh further explains to Haggai that “in a little while” He will shake the heavens, the earth, and the nations, and this will result in that the “desire of all nations will come: and I will fill this house with glory saith YHWH of hosts.”

Keep in mind the amazingly congruent context here. Exactly 480 years earlier Solomon completed the temple and dedicated it during the Feast of Tabernacles. Here Yahweh is calling Joshua, the high priest, Zerubbabel, the governor, and the people to remember the former glory of Solomon’s temple, reminding them that that “glory” (Yahweh’s presence) came down out of heaven and consumed the sacrifices and filled the newly built 1^st temple during the Feast of Tabernacles (Yahweh’s divine appointment – mow’ed)

Now Yahweh is saying, be encouraged Joshua and the people because the glory of this 2^nd temple will be greater than the glory of the former. As you read these two passages think about the implications of this statement and how such a wonderful future even might be possible?

For thus saith YHWH of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith YHWH of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith YHWH of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith YHWH of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith YHWH of hosts. (Haggai 2:6-9)

Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of YHWH was finished: and Solomon brought in all the things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God. Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of YHWH out of the city of David, which is Zion. Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the feast which was in the seventh month…

Then said Solomon, YHWH hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. But I have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling for ever….

Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of YHWH filled the house. And the priests could not enter into the house of YHWH, because the glory of YHWH had filled the YHWH’S house…

Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt. And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. (2 Chronicles 5:1-3; 6:1-2; 7:1-9 excerpted)

Let me emphasize that it was during the Feast of Tabernacles that Yahweh’s presence filled the 1^st temple. 480 years later it was on the 7^th day of Feast of Tabernacles that Yahweh promised Joshua, Zerubbabel, and the people that he would someday again fill His house with a greater glory and that He would bring peace. Does this sound like another prophecy you might have heard? Who but the Prince of Peace could fulfill such a prophecy?

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of YHWH of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

Let the astounding implications of this set for a moment as we rejoin Joshua and Zerubbabel two months later (still inside our 6 months window of time) at another auspicious date. Don’t worry we will revisit these wonderful prophecies and show how amazingly congruent and connected they are.

Consider From This Day Forward I Will Bless You
Today, many claim that Hanukkah (the Jewish Festival of Lights / Dedication) is nowhere mentioned in the Old Testament. While this may be true in letter, an argument can be made that it is mentioned in spirit. I’ll let you decide as you consider the word (dabar) of Yahweh to Haggai just two months after His amazing prophecy concerning the coming glory of His house.

Then answered Haggai, and said, So is this people, and so is this nation before me, saith YHWH; and so is every work of their hands; and that which they offer there is unclean. ¹⁵ And now, I pray you, consider from this day and upward, from before a stone was laid upon a stone in the temple of YHWH: …

Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of YHWH’S temple was laid, consider it. Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you. (Haggai 2:14-19 excerpted)

As you can see from this passage the temple foundation was completed on the 24^th day of the 9^th month. I remind you of the context here as described by the book of Ezra. Joshua’s and Zerubabbel’s efforts to rebuild the temple were beset on every side by difficulties and resistance. It had been 15 years and the people’s heart had not been in the effort. They were surrounded by enemies who continually tried to resist their efforts to rebuild the temple. When this prophecy was given to Haggai the temple was still four years away from completion, yet here is Yahweh promising them to consider or count from this day forward because He promised to bless them.

Counting from the 24^th day of the 9^th month, the first day of blessing fell on the 25^th day of the 9^th month. This day nearly 350 years in the future would be celebrated by the cleansing and rededication of the temple by Judas Maccabaeus, a blessing indeed.

It was claimed by the Maccabaeus that after the cleansing of the temple there was only one day of oil for the 7 branched menorah which lighted the outdoor area around the temple, but miraculously the oil lasted for 8 days. Because of this miracle, with time, the celebration of Hanukkah (dedication) became also known as the Festival of Lights. This great event in Jewish history was celebrated in the time of Yeshua, and continues to be celebrated to this day. In fact, it was during this “feast of dedication” that Yeshua stood up in the temple and said “I am the Light of the World”.

I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,…

Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind? And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch. (John 9:5 – 10:23 excerpted)

Sent Him to Bless You
As enlightening as this history has been, (excuse the pun) the real blessing of counting this day forward is found in prophecy of Daniel 9. I remind you the countdown to the Messiah found in Daniel 9:25 begins with the following words:

The (word=dabar) to restore and build Jerusalem was given through the prophets Haggai and Zechariah in the 2^nd year of Darius ‘the great’ Artaxerxes. These divine words bookended a roughly 6 months window of time inside of which Yahweh told the Jewish people to remember the coming of the glory of Yahweh into the 1^st temple during the Feast of Tabernacles, and a yet coming greater glory. Two months later Yahweh again spoke to the Jewish people through Haggai and told them to count from the 24^th day of the 9^th month because He was going to Bless them.

So let’s consider or count Daniel 9:25 forward from the 24^th day of the 9^th month. Our first day of the count then begins on the 25^th day of the 9^th month in the 2^nd year of Darius ‘the great’ Artaxerxes. That date falls in winter of 520 BC.

Seven Weeks
To this day it The history we explored in the pages above showed us that Yahweh’s divine “commandment” still surprises me how most scholars ignore the plain statement of Daniel 9:25, which tells us the Messiah would come “seven weeks” after the “word” to restore and build. The Hebrew language is quite fascinating, and the usage of Hebrew in the Bible even more so.

As I’ve explained in the first part of this article and more fully in my recent article Seven, 70, & Sevens: Daniel 9 & the Bible’s Messianic Symbolism, the number 7, Sevens, and 70 have great significance related to the Bible’s Messianic symbolism. Here in Daniel 9:25 the Hebrew words translated “seven weeks” (In Yellow below) by English scholars look like this in Hebrew:

As I’ve explained in my articles and books, when Daniel was given the prophecy there were no cantilation marks (vowel pointings) in Hebrew. They were added by the Mesoretes during the Middle Ages to provide the reader with their understanding of the Hebrew words. The cantilation marks are not inspired. Let that sink in a moment!

To be sure the Mesoretes did their best to interpret the Hebrew text in keeping with what they believed to be the most contextually accurate meaning of the words. But they didn’t necessary get it correct every time.

Look at Daniel 9:25 again. Based upon the Mesoretes’ vowel pointings, the King James version of the Bible translates the passage as “seven weeks”. Translated literally as the text was given to Daniel, the passage might be more accurately read Seven 70. This would mean then that Daniel 9:25 read literally as given would be:

As many scholars have noted through the centuries, Daniel 9 does not specifically state what measure of time is to be used when calculating the Seven 70. Yahweh could have easily said it would 490 Years to the coming of the Messiah.

That He did not say this should give all of us pause. In fact, it should make us carefully consider that something special is going on here. As regular readers of this blog know, I believe the “time” aspect of Daniel 9 seems a mystery to most of us because we are not familiar with how the Bible reckons time nor are we familiar with how that reckoning of time is related to the Bible’s messianic symbolism.

In short, the Bible’s calendar is lunar/solar. It is not based upon a strictly solar year nor is it based upon a strictly lunar year it is a hybrid between the two. In practical terms this means that the Bible’s year varies between 12 or 13 months. This means that the Bible’s calendar is a certain number of lunar cycles, and said cycles are then intercalated (synchronized) with the solar year. (For more on this subject please see my article: Calendar Confusion and the Basics of Biblical Time).

Many of you learned this year another fascinating fact which supports the use of a 13^th month Biblical year when calculating the 7 Seventies of Daniel 9:25. As I explained in the first part of this article Daniel’s plea for Yahweh to remember His “covenant and mercy” was in fact a call for Yahweh to remember His Oath of Sevens which He swore with Abraham, that oath which promised in part that through Abraham’s “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed.

You might recall that the Hebrew word ‘7’ and ‘sware’ are in fact the same word. From this Hebrew root we get the words sevens, 70, oath, and many other variations. So in fact Yahweh’s answer to Daniel with the prophecy of 70 Sevens, as I’ve stated before was physically, spiritually, and Hebrew grammatically rooted in an Oath of Sevens Yahweh swore with Abraham.

In Daniel 9, the Hebrew word 7 is only used once. That occurrence is found right here in Daniel 9:25 and is specifically related to the timing of the coming Messiah. It is beyond reasonable calculation to claim that it is a coincidence, accident, or happenstance that this single use of the word 7, has as its Hebrew numerical roots, a formula for the Biblical intercalary year of 13 months.

Here is the bottom line. The Divine “word” to restore and build Jerusalem was given in the 2nd year of Darius within a 6 months window of time between the 6^th & 11^th month. Inside that window of time is a call for the Jewish people to consider or count from 24^th day of the 9^th month, a date that would someday become the date for the start of the Feast of Dedication, also known as Hanukkah or the Festival of Lights. From that date 7 seventies using a 13 months lunar year gives us 515.02 years. This date likely takes us 5 centuries into the future Festival of Lights in the year 5 BC, a date which 9 months later around the Feast of Tabernacles in 4 BC has great Biblical support as the date of the birth of Yeshua.

Sent Him to Bless You
I ask you now to once again consider the words of the Apostle Peter where he reminds his Jewish brethren about the Oath of Sevens Yahweh made with Abraham. That oath which promised the coming Messiah, a Messiah Peter tells us Yahweh sent to “bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities.”

Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. (Acts 3:25-26)

Now also remember the words of Yahweh to the Jewish people given through Haggai which tells them to consider or count from the day the temple’s foundation was laid because Yahweh had promised that from this date He would “bless” them.

¹⁸ Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of YHWH’s temple was laid, consider it…

from this day will I bless you…

And again the word of came unto YHWH Haggai in the four and twentieth day of the month, saying, ²¹ Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I will shake the heavens and the earth; ²² And I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the heathen; and I will overthrow the chariots, and those that ride in them; and the horses and their riders shall come down, every one by the sword of his brother. ²³ In that day, saith YHWH of hosts, will I take thee, O Zerubbabel, my servant, the son of Shealtiel, saith YHWH, and will make thee as a signet: for I have chosen thee, saith YHWH of hosts. (Haggai 2:18-23)

Wonderfully congruent, isn’t it!

Click on Image for better Resolution

The Back Story is the Real Story
So now when you think of Yeshua’s words “I am the light of the world”, words spoken during the Festival of Lights in the final years of His ministry you now know the wonderful back- story to that statement. Indeed, we can say with the apostle John that Yeshua “was the light of men”.

My hope for you, in reading this information, is that it strengthens your faith in the amazing congruency of the Bible’s messianic message and that these two articles shed new light and glory on Yahweh’s redemptive plan for mankind. That message was based in part upon an ancient Oath of Sevens given to Abraham, which promised that through his “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed. That blessing, (that promised light) which Haggai called us to consider from the 24^th day of the 9^th month, which Peter reminded us was a blessing which intended to turn mankind away from their iniquities. A light which we can reasonably now claim was made “flesh” during the winter months of 5 BC during the Festival of Lights, then 9 months later that light “Tabernacled” with mankind when Yahweh’s Salvation, Yeshua was born into this world. Now we understand why Yahweh told Haggai that the “glory” of the 2^nd temple would be greater than glory of the first.

That glory was Yeshua (Hebrew = Yahweh’s Salvation) come to give light to this world!

Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. (John 12:35-36)

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7)

It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter [dabar]. (Proverbs 25:2)
[matter in Hebrew = dabar = word].

Maranatha!

Hanukkah, Christmas, and the Backstory of the Messiah’s Birth – Part I — Here

A Note on Hanukkah and Christmas
I believe the above history provides a reasonable explanation of why the birth of Christ came to be associated with the Roman Catholic celebration of Christmas. In the early first centuries after Yeshua, as the gentile church distanced itself from its Biblical (Jewish) roots, the conception of Yeshua around 25th day of the 9th Biblical month (in nov/dec) easily would have merged with the celebration of the birthday of the Roman god Sol Invictus Mithra on the 25th of December.

For context sake, keep in mind that in the early first centuries of the church there was great animosity between Gentiles and Jews. (Both side bear blame for this schism.) In any event the Biblical celebration of Passover became Easter, the Passover supper became the Lords Supper, the 7th day Sabbath became the Lord’s Day on the 1st day of the week, and Shavout became Pentecost.

A Final Bonus
As a final bonus I leave you with a ribbon of Yahweh’s redemptive plan based in the promise of His coming Glory and strung together with the words of the apostles and prophets who gave them.

The Glory of Yahweh Shall Be Revealed
Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. ² Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of YHWH’s hand double for all her sins. The voice [John] of him that crieth in the wilderness [see Luke 3:1-6],

Prepare ye the way of YHWH, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. ⁴ Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of YHWH shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. (Isaiah 40:1-5)

The Glory of this House will be Greater
In the seventh month, in the one and twentieth day of the month [final day of the Feast of Tabernacles], came the word of YHWH by the prophet Haggai, saying,

….For thus saith YHWH of hosts; Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come: and I will fill this house with glory, saith YHWH of hosts…

The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith YHWH of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith YHWH of hosts. (Haggai 2:1-9 excerptd)

The Prince of Peace
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of YHWH of hosts will perform this. (Isaiah 9:6-7)

The Light of the World
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

… ¹⁴ And the Word was made 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. (John 1:1-14 excerpted)

I Have Sworn – An Oath of Sevens
And said, By myself have I sworn [shaba=seven], saith YHWH, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: ¹⁷ That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. (Genesis 22:16-18)

That Keeping the Covenant & Mercy (Oath of Sevens)
And I prayed unto YHWH my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; (Daniel 9:4 )

The Blessing of Abraham
¹⁴ That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. (Galatians 3:14-18)

Consider From This Day Forward – I Will Bless You
Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of YHWH’s temple was laid, consider it…. from this day will I bless you. (Haggai 2:18-19 excerpted)

Sent Him to Bless You
Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. (Acts 3:25 – 4:1)

YHWH sitteth upon the flood; yea, YHWH sitteth King for ever. YHWH will give strength unto his people; YHWH will bless his people with peace. (Psalm 29:10-11)

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? YHWH strong and mighty, YHWH mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? YHWH of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah. (Psalm 24:7-10)

Book 1

Book I - Description

The 13th Enumeration
"A book that will change how you look at the Bible's Messianic Symbolism."

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Book 2

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Daniel's 70 Weeks -
"A book that will forever change how you understand the Bible's greatest Messianic prophecy."

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Book 3

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The Jubilee Code -
"A book that will show you real Biblical evidence for Yahweh's guiding in hand history bringing about His redemptive plan for mankind."

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Hanukkah, Christmas & the Back-story of the Messiah’s Birth

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Part I – I Have Sworn – An Oath of Sevens

We all know the thrilling story of Jesus’ (Yeshua’s) birth, of Mary and Joseph, of the angels sent to announce His birth, of the wise men bearing gifts, and even the merciless Romans and the brutal Herod. This week though, I want to share with you some Biblical history related to Christ’s birth that’s even more important than these wonderful traditions we are all so familiar with.

Today, I hope you’ll join me on a wonderful adventure as we explore the underlying Messianic message of the Bible as it relates to the coming of Christ. I’ll tell you right up front that it will take a bit of work to follow the momentous threads of this story, but I guarantee if you make the effort with me, you’ll have a new appreciation for the lengths to which Yahweh, the living God of the Bible, went to ensure that all of us would have the evidence necessary to believe that Yeshua (Jesus) was indeed His Salvation sent to redeem all of us from our sins.

To get you thinking a bit outside the box of your familiar traditions, let me ask you a question:

What was the real miracle of Yeshua’s first coming? Was it His birth, or His conception?

If we think about it carefully, it could be argued that the real miracle of Yeshua’s first coming was the unfathomable fact that YHWH, the living God of the Bible, made himself lower than the angels and took on human flesh so that He could redeem mankind from their sins. He, YHWH, when the righteous penalty for our sins was carried out, stood in our place and became our Yeshua. (Yeshua in Hebrew means – Yahweh’s Salvation) As wonderful as Yeshua’s birth was, it was simply the natural order of things following His miraculous conception 9 months earlier. To set off on the right foot, let’s look at a couple of passages which speak about Yeshua’s divine nature and His humble human incarnation.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made….

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among and dwelt [tabernacled] among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-3 &14 )

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. (Hebrews 2:9)

In this two part series we’ll explore the events leading up to the Messiah’s birth, events which were foretold with an amazing prophecy that lays out the roadmap for the coming of the Messiah and provides us with insights as to why YHWH, in His divine perfection (represented throughout the Bible by the number 7) lowered Himself and became human flesh (represented by the number 6).

Or as the apostle Matthew so beautifully and cleverly illustrates in the first chapter of the first book of the New Testament, Yeshua (through his legal father Joseph) came as the 13^th enumeration, a literal Homo Deus or God Man (6+7=13).

These events also provide us with enough Biblical history to understand the likely reason the Christian traditions of Christmas as the birthday of the Messiah superseded the more important and earlier date which marked the Messiah conception.

The Fall of Babylon and the Promised Redeemer
In fitting irony our story begins in Babylon of the Chaldeans, the rebuilt ancient metropolis where centuries before, mankind in their hubris and pride tried to make their own pathway to heaven. As is so often demonstrated in the Bible, man’s ways are not always in sync with God’s ways. In this case, Yahweh’s pathway for mankind to reach heaven didn’t begin with a tower but rather a humble manger.

So it’s in the first year of a conquered Babylon and its new Median king (Likely the viceroy of Cyrus the Great) that we find an ancient Jewish man on his knees, his face towards the distant homeland of his fathers, his body prostrate in prayer to the living God of the Bible, a man pleading for the restoration of Jerusalem and its desolate sanctuary, that once glorious, though temporary dwelling place of Yahweh, the living God of the Bible.

This prayer as it is recorded in the 9^th chapter of the book of Daniel is truly one of the most moving prayers you’ll find in the Bible. It is so moving in fact, that it touched the heart of Yahweh and caused Him to respond with a thrilling message to Daniel. This message you and I know as the prophecy of 70 Sevens, more commonly known to some of you as the Prophecy of 70 Weeks.

The Coming of the Messiah
Did you know that 70 Sevens prophecy is the only prophecy in the Bible which gives a specific date by which we can determine the timing of the Messiah’s first coming? In other words, this is the only prophecy in the Bible that links verifiable secular dates with a predicted date for the arrival of the Messiah.

Of all the hundreds and hundreds of other Messianic prophecies in the Bible, this is the only one that provides verifiable, datable chronology proving that Yeshua of Nazareth was the Bible’s promised Messiah. As I explained in my recent article Sir Isaac Newton, Daniel 9, & the Rabbinic Forgeries Hypothesis, this prophecy was so influential that it was used by the followers of nearly every Jewish messianic hero of the 1^st centuries BC & AD to prove that their hero was the Bible’s promised messiah. Unfortunately, they sought a warrior to restore Israel’s political fortunes when Yahweh’s plan included a humble carpenter (builder or craftsman) sent to first restore their spiritual fortunes.

An Answer To Prayer
Now you might be thinking, sure the Jewish messianic expectants of the first centuries BC/AD might have understood Daniel 9 to speak of the coming Messiah, but their messianic expectations were wrong. So how can we be any more confident that this prophecy speaks of Yeshua of Nazareth as the coming Messiah? Fair question, so let’s dig into that a bit.

First of all, keep in mind that Daniel 9 describes specific pleadings by Daniel and a specific answer by Yahweh, the living God of the Bible. We cannot separate the context of one from the other. With this in mind we find that the very first words out of Daniel’s mouth are incredibly significant.

And I prayed unto YHWH my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;… ( Daniel 9:4)

The Covenant and Mercy
I can’t tell you how much Daniel 9:4 thrills me. The Bible is so congruent! Too often I think we look at the Bible as a bunch of books and stories, each with valuable insights and moral guidance but no single idea which binds them into a congruent whole. This couldn’t be farther from the truth.

The Bible is 66 books, each of which provide a piece of the panoramic picture of Yahweh’s redemptive plan for mankind. The Bible is the story of Yahweh’s Salvation for mankind. It is the story of His Yeshua! (To remind you, Yeshua (Jesus), in Hebrew means Yahweh’s Salvation or the Salvation of Yahweh). Here in Daniel 9:4 we find a major piece or thread if you will, of this redemptive panoramic.

It’s no accident that Daniel opens his pleadings on behalf of his people, his city, and Yahweh’s desolate sanctuary – with a call for Yahweh to remember the Covenant and Mercy “to them that love him, and that keep his commandments”.

You can read more about this Covenant and Mercy in my free book Daniel’s 70 Weeks: The Keystone of Bible Prophecy or my article Seven, 70, & Sevens: Daniel 9 & the Bible’s Messianic Symbolism but in short, Daniel’s remembrance of Yahweh’s Covenant and Mercy is a direct quote from Deut. 7:9-12 where Moses (just as Israel is poised to enter the Promised Land) is reminding Israel about the covenant Yahweh swore (shaba) with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Here take a look:

Know therefore that YHWH thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;…

Wherefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that YHWH thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant and the mercy which he sware [shaba] unto thy fathers: (Deuteronomy 7:9-12)

Here is where this so called Covenant and Mercy gets really exciting. You see, if you follow this thread of covenant and mercy back through the Biblical story you’ll find it originates with the father Abraham and an “oath” (shebuw’ah) Yahweh, the living God of the Bible, swore (shaba) with him. To give you an added sense of the importance of this oath, take note that this was the first “oath” Yahweh swore (shaba) with any man or woman in the Bible. This oath in part, promised that through Abraham’s “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed. Here read the words for yourself:

And the angel of YHWH called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn [shaba], saith YHWH, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba. (Genesis 22:15-19)

It was there on that holy mountain, when Abraham demonstrated his faith (by a willingness to sacrifice his only son in that ancient messianic foreshadowing) that Yahweh swore (shaba) that someday through Abraham’s “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed. Indeed centuries later it was on that very same mountain, where Yeshua became mankind’s salvation.

To Sware Sevens
For those of you not familiar with Hebrew, some fascinating details about the word “sworn” or “to sware” (shaba) and its relationship to the numbers 7, Sevens, and 70 is worth noting here.

Shaba, the Hebrew word for sware, is phonetically identical to the Hebrew word for the number 7. In other words, before vowel pointings or cantillation marks were added during the middle ages, context determined the meaning of the word shaba. For those of you, like me, who need a visual, here are the Hebrew words for shaba and seven. See if you can find any difference:

Interesting, isn’t it?

It is further worth noting that shaba (to sware / sworn) is also the root of the following Hebrew words and their variants. To aid in comparison I’ve provided the Hebrew letter value for each word. I’ve also highlighted the root “shaba” in every word.

Messianic Markers
The wonder of Yahweh’s redemptive plan and the ingeniousness of the way He incorporated evidence of that plan in the entire Bible should blow you away. Think of it this way, consider the Hebrew word shaba (Sware/Seven) as Messianic marker of divine perfection for Yahweh’s redemptive plan for mankind.

When Yahweh swore to Abraham that through his “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed, this swearing henceforth became known as the Covenant and Mercy of Yahweh.

Realistically, you could call this swearing an “oath of sevens”. After all to sware and seven are the exact same word! Centuries after Yahweh’s covenant with Abraham, the prophet Daniel was pleading for Yahweh’s “covenant and mercy” in Daniel 9:4. Immediately Yahweh sent Daniel a prophecy which provided Daniel with an answer to when that “covenant and mercy” of the promised seed would come, in other words – when the Messiah would come. Yahweh’s reply was the prophecy you and I know as the 70 Sevens or more accurately in Hebrew as Shabuwa/Shib’iym.

Do you see how awesome that is?

Yahweh’s answer to Daniel was a messianic prophecy rooted literally, spiritually, and Hebrew grammatically in the oath of “sevens” Yahweh swore with Abraham.

Yahweh’s oath of sevens with Abraham, centuries later was confirmed in a prophecy of 70 sevens, given to Daniel which precisely told Israel (and mankind) when that oath of sevens (the covenant and mercy) would become manifest.

I would call that divine ingenuity, wouldn’t you?

What more proof do you need that Daniel 9 is a prophecy which speaks of the Bible’s promised Messiah? Consider once more Yahweh’s words to Abraham and Isaac:

And said, By myself have I sworn [shaba], saith YHWH, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; (Genesis 22:16-18)

And the YHWH appeared unto him [Isaac], and said,

I will perform the oath [shebuw’ah] which I sware [shaba] unto Abraham thy father; ⁴ And I will make thy seed to multiply as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these countries; and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; (Genesis 26:2-4)

To round this aspect of the subject out here is the TWOT Bible Lexicon explaining the usage of the word “shaba”.

It is apparent that shaba “swear” is identical in its consonantal root to the word sheba “seven.” It is identical, of course, to the feminine form of seven-the masculine adding a fourth letter, “he”-and it is in the feminine in which the Hebrew counts his cardinal numbers! [another approach is to call shibâ the fem. from though it is used with masc. nouns, and sheba the masc. from used with fem. nouns. R.L.H.]

Not only is the Hebrew verb “to swear” identical in the ancient unpointed text to the number seven, but also a relationship is suggested by the 2000 B.C. incident of Gen 21:22-34 . Here Abimelech desires Abraham to swear to deal uprightly, while Abraham in turn requires Abimelech to swear that the well of water belongs to him, Abraham. Abraham then seals the oath by giving exactly seven ewe lambs as a testimonial witness to Abimelech, and the well is called Beer-sheba, or Well-of-the-seven-oath! Thus BDB has defined shaba by the pithy oneline paraphrase, “to… seven one self, or bind oneself by seven things” (p. 989). Gesenius cites Herodotus iii:8 and the Iliad, xix:243, to give evidence that in the ancient world it was not uncommon to seal an agreement by the septenary number….

An oath, shebûwâ, should be contrasted to a covenant, berît, in order to better understand both. An oath in the OT is a solemn verbal statement or pledge that is affirmed, while the covenant is the substance of an agreement itself. In the Hebrew idiom, one would swear (shaba) an oath (shebûwâ), e.g. Gen 26:3, “I [God] will perform an oath which I swore unto Abraham.” A covenant, however, would be either established (Hiphil of qûm, literally, “caused to stand”) as in Gen 17:19, or it would be cut (k¹rat) as in Jer 31:31, “I [God] will make (cut) a new covenant with the House of Israel.”

Oaths were made by Jehovah to show the absolute certainty of his performance of that which he promised (e.g. to Abraham, Gen 26:3; and Isaac, Psa 105:9). (excerpted from 2319a in the TWOT Bible Lexicon)

Wonderfully congruent, isn’t it?

But now let’s turn our attention to how the New Testament writers understood the Covenant and Mercy, that ancient oath of sevens made by Yahweh with Abraham.

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The Covenant and Mercy in the New Testament
Did you know that Paul, Zachariah (father of John), Peter, and even Mary the Mother of Yeshua all alluded to the Covenant and Mercy of Genesis 22, Deut. 7, and Daniel 9 as a promise fulfilled in Yeshua? Here read it for yourself:

And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed….

Did you catch that? Paul acknowledges that Yahweh’s covenant (oath) with Abraham that his “seed” would be a blessing to all the nations, was a Messianic covenant “confirmed” and fulfilled in Yeshua.

Zachariah and the Covenant
Zachariah, the father of John, even acknowledged that covenant and mercy that Yahweh “sware” to Abraham would be fulfilled through a “horn of Salvation” in the house of David. This “horn of salvation” which Zachariah acknowledged was spoken about by “his holy prophets, which have been since the world began”.

Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people, And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began: That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; The oath [shebew’ah] which he sware [shaba] to our father Abraham,.. (Luke 1:68-73)

Mary and the Covenant
It was just a few months previous to this statement by Zachariah, that Mary the Mother of Yeshua, when visiting Zachariah and his wife Elisabeth acknowledged the following in response to Elisabeth salutation that she (Mary) was “blessed among women”.

And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. (Luke 1:41-43, 46-49, 54-55 )

Peter and the Covenant
Just to leave no doubt in your minds as to the meaning of this Covenant and Mercy as understood by the New Testament apostles, here are the words of Peter in Acts 3 when speaking to his brethern on the temple mount in Jerusalem as they marveled about the Peter’s healing of the lame man:

And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? ¹³ The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus… And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong,…

But those things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled. Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you:…

Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days.

Wow, powerful words, are they not? Here Peter is telling his Jewish brethren in the temple that Yeshua was a fulfillment of what Yahweh had promised by the “mouth of all his prophets”. Further that Yeshua’s death and resurrection was the fulfillment of the “covenant” Yahweh made with Abraham which promised that in his “seed” all nations of the earth would be blessed, a blessing which at its heart entailed a spiritual restoration of the people by their “turning away” from their iniquities.

As we move on to the next messianic thread in Yahweh’s redemptive plan for mankind, keep the above words of Peter in mind. As you see, they are an important reminder of another ancient prophecy (we’ll look at in the next part of this series) which spoke of a promised blessing upon the Jewish people (and by extension the Gentiles as well).

…Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities. (Acts 3:26)

Yahweh willing, In Part II – I am the Light of the World, I will show you how Yahweh’s – oath of sevens- with Abraham, (as described in the prophecy of 70 sevens) was fulfilled in Yeshua. We will also look at how that prophecy and its fulfillment became the basis for Yeshua’s statement that He was the “light of the world” and further I will provide you with reasonable evidence to show how that light dawned upon mankind in the winter of 5 BC during the Jewish Festival of Lights, also known as Hanukkah. Finally, I will do my best to explain why this history is likely the origin of early Roman Catholic traditions related to Christmas.

Updated: You can read part two here: I am the Light of the World

Maranatha!

Book 1

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Context, Chronology, & Daniel 9

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William Struse responds to Nelson Walters’ Reasonable Doubt

What if I told you that nearly everything you believe about the Bible’s future prophecies is somehow influenced by an assumption originating in the historical details of Ezra and Nehemiah’s place in the 2^nd temple era?

What many don’t know is that there is a little known and less understood fact of Biblical history, that is the basis for much of what you and I believe about the 7 year tribulation, the rapture, the 2^nd coming of Christ, the identity of the anti-Christ, and most of the events described in the book of Revelation. What I’m talking about is the chronological assumption regarding Ezra and Nehemiah’s place in the 2^nd temple era as it relates to an unnamed Persian king who the Biblical record only identifies by the Persian title “Artaxerxes”.

You see, there are multiple “Artaxerxes” in the Bible and 99% of teachers and scholars who write about Daniel 9 and the 70 “Weeks” date the starting point of the prophecy from a “commandment to restore and build Jerusalem” which they believe was given during the reign of the Persian king “Artaxerxes” Longimanus. This assumption, in nearly every case, is given without a single Biblical chronological fact from which a reader might attempt to verify the claim.

This is important because nearly every event described in the book of Revelation is organized within a framework based at least in part on the 70 Weeks prophecy of Daniel 9. Every interpretation of Daniel 9 and the 70 “Weeks” in turn finds its basis in a “Commandment to restore and build Jerusalem” which is set during the era of Ezra, Nehemiah, and a Persian king who bares only the title “Artaxerxes”. Despite all the incredible theological weight resting upon this 2^nd temple era chronology, it is one of the best kept secrets of Bible prophecy. And for good reason as you’ll soon understand.

Unfortunately, most of today’s scholars, teachers, and writers on the subject of Bible prophecy are either unaware of the subject, unwilling to deal with the implications, or they are simply depending upon the ignorance of their readers to give them a pass. Frankly, the few who are aware of the challenges this subject poses to our understanding of Bible prophecy are loath to Continue reading →