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Daniel 9: Building Jerusalem

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Heaven forbid, but let’s say for arguments sake that Washington, D.C. was destroyed on December 22 of this year. Then after all the dust settled and events stabilized Congress reconvened to vote on the city’s reconstruction.  What particular reconstruction efforts would be considered rebuilding Washington, D.C.? Could you choose just one reconstruction effort? Would rebuilding the streets, bridges, and other infrastructure be considered “building” D.C.? How about Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court? Would reconstruction of these iconic symbols of America’s government also be considered, “rebuilding” the city of Washington, D.C.?

Daniel 9 and Rebuilding Jerusalem
Today, I want to consider the 2nd temple era reconstruction efforts of Jerusalem in a similar light. 70 years after Nebuchadnezzar razed the city and destroyed Solomon’s temple, Cyrus of Persia gave a decree which allowed the Jewish people to return and build Jerusalem. This rebuilding effort included the reconstruction of the temple.

 But there is a rub…

Today most leading teachers on the prophecy of Daniel 9 claim that rebuilding the 2nd Temple was not part of rebuilding the city of Jerusalem as described in Daniel 9:25. Is this an accurate understanding of the Biblical record? Today we will explore this most important subject.

First take a look at Daniel 9:25 then compare it to the following quotes by Thomas Ice, David Reagan, and Joel Richardson:

 Daniel 9:25  
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,…

Now here are the explanations of Thomas Ice, David Reagan, and Joel Richardson on “decree” of Daniel 9:25a:

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. Only decree three speaks specifically of Jerusalem (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

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

D. 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)

A Distinction without a Difference
In the quotes above, notice how the authors claim a very narrow definition of building “Jerusalem”. If you read the fuller context of their quotes, you’ll find that they make the arbitrary distinction between building Jerusalem (the city) and building the temple of Jerusalem. Just think about the logic of that for a second. Is not the temple part of the city of Jerusalem? Why do the authors above claim that building the walls and streets of the city is building Jerusalem, yet the reconstruction of Yahweh’s house, the very beating heart of Jerusalem  is not part of building the city?

Clearly, Daniel 9:25 makes no such distinction, so why have these respected authors made such a distinction? What is the basis for their claims? Frankly, I don’t know because as I will show you, the Biblical record does not support such a claim.

First let’s start with the context of Daniel 9 and Daniel’s petition to YHWH as found in verses 9-20:  

Daniel 9:16-20
  16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain:

because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. 

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. 

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. 

20 And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before YHWH my God for the holy mountain of my God;

Notice from the perspective of Daniel, Jerusalem, (the city) was Yahweh’s “holy mountain”. This statement demands we ask, why? Why was Jerusalem the city considered Yahweh’s “holy mountain”. From an Old Testament perspective Jerusalem was Yahweh’s “holy mountain” because this was the place Yahweh choose to meet with mankind. It was the place “called by” His holy name. We get that sense from reading Daniel’s prayer, don’t we? Verse 17 & 18 clearly associates the “desolation” of Yahweh’s sanctuary with the “desolation” of the city and its people. So, if the desolation of the city was part and parcel with the desolation of the temple, would the reconstruction of the temple also be part and parcel with the city’s reconstruction?

Building the Temple was Building Jerusalem
To get a firmer idea of the Biblical association between the house of Yahweh and the city of Jerusalem let’s look at the words of Yahweh concerning Cyrus of Persia and his divine impetus to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple. Notice how the two are clearly associated in this passage:

Isaiah 44:28
28 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.

Look now at the fuller context of Isaiah 45 to get a better sense of how Yahweh, through the prophet Isaiah, describes Cyrus’ decree to rebuild the temple and city of Jerusalem.

Isaiah 45:1
Thus saith YHWH to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of kings, to open before him the two leaved gates; and the gates shall not be shut;….

11 Thus saith YHWH, the Holy One of Israel, and his Maker, Ask me of things to come concerning my sons, and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.  12 I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.  13 I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will direct all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let go my captives, not for price nor reward, saith YHWH of hosts.

From the above passage it is rather difficult to argue (as claimed by Mr. Ice, Mr. Reagan, and Richardson) that the decree of Artaxerxes is the only decree which “specifically” dealt with rebuilding the city of Jerusalem. For reasons I’ll explain more fully later, I don’t believe that Cyrus’ decree was the “decree” of Daniel 9:25. Nevertheless, those who claim the decree of Artaxerxes was the only decree that “specifically” decreed the rebuilding of the “city” of Jerusalem are certainly incorrect in this claim.

Further as Isaiah 45:1-13 describes, Yahweh rose up Cyrus to build his city and let his captives go free. This building of the city was centered around the restoration of Yahweh’s desolate sanctuary. This is confirmed in the book of Ezra to which we will now turn.

Ezra 4 and the Building of Jerusalem
The passage below is focused on the efforts of the Jewish people to reconstruct Yahweh’s desolate sanctuary. For context sake, keep in mind these events take place after the decree of Cyrus in 536 BC. As you read the passage below also keep in mind the passage acknowledges that the enemies of the Jewish people harassed their efforts to build the temple from the reign of Cyrus until the reign of Darius. Further context shows that this was roughly the years 536 to 520 BC.

More particularly notice that in the eyes of those trying to stop the construction of the temple, they considered building the temple – building Jerusalem.

Ezra 4:1-5  JV Ezra 4:1 Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the children of the captivity builded the temple unto YHWH God of Israel;  2 Then they came to Zerubbabel, and to the chief of the fathers, and said unto them, Let us build with you: for we seek your God, as ye do; and we do sacrifice unto him since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assur, which brought us up hither.  3 But Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the rest of the chief of the fathers of Israel, said unto them, Ye have nothing to do with us to build an house unto our God; but we ourselves together will build unto YHWH God of Israel, as king Cyrus the king of Persia hath commanded us.  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 4:12-13   12 Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls thereof, and joined the foundations.  13 Be it known now unto the king, that, if this city be builded, and the walls set up again, then will they not pay toll, tribute, and custom, and so thou shalt endamage the revenue of the kings.

Ezra 4:17-24   17 Then sent the king an answer unto Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions that dwell in Samaria, and unto the rest beyond…

 21 Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me…. 

23 Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes’ letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.  24 Then ceased the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem. So it ceased unto the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia.

As you see Ezra 4 opens with the Jewish people’s efforts to restore the temple and the harassment of those trying to stop this effort which they considered building the city. Finally, in the reign of a Persian “Artaxerxes” the enemies of the Jewish people found a willing ear and this Artaxerxes gave a commandment that “this city be not builded”.  Ezra 4 then closes with the devastating words: “then ceased the work on the house of God which is at Jerusalem.” So, it ceased unto the 2nd year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia.”

Building the Temple was Building Jerusalem
Contrary to the well-intentioned but unsupported claims by Mr. Ice, Mr. Reagan, and Mr. Richardson, that building the temple was not building Jerusalem,  we see from the context of the quoted verses above that in the eyes of Yahweh, Daniel, Cyrus, and the enemies of the Jewish people, building the temple was indeed building Jerusalem. Further Ezra 4 makes plain that “Artaxerxes” decreed that the “city be not builded” concerned primarily the reconstruction efforts of the Jewish people towards the temple. This decree stayed in effect until the 2nd year of Darius.

So, what happened in the 2nd year of Darius that changed the fortunes of the Jewish people? What event could have caused the Jewish people to disregard the decree of the Artaxerxes and restart construction on Jerusalem and the temple?

What happened was a “word” (Hebrew dabar) was given that profoundly changed the vector of events. As we explore this subject further, you’ll see that this pivotal event of the 2nd temple era is completely overlooked by the vast majority of prophecy teachers and scholars because they arbitrarily choose to redefine what constituted rebuilding Jerusalem. As we will see, this foundational error has led to an array of interpretational errors which have skewed the redemptive nature of this important prophecy.

A Word To Restore and Build
So you have a crystal clear understanding of the context here. Remember Cyrus’ decree which allowed the Jewish people to return to Jerusalem and build the city (including the reconstruction of the temple) was given roughly in the year 536 BC. For the next 16 years until the 2nd year of Darius (son of Hystaspes) the Jewish efforts to rebuild the city –  i.e. Yahweh’s holy sanctuary, were unsuccessful. As just noted above, in fact, a Persian king Artaxerxes at some point previous to the 2nd year of Darius (520 BC), stopped construction of the city and its temple.

Then something happened which unaccountably is ignored by Mr. Ice, Mr. Reagan, and Mr. Richardson, as well as the vast majority of Biblical scholars today. A Word of Yahweh was given that commanded the Jewish people to return and build.

Yahweh willing my next article will explore this “word” to restore and build Jerusalem and explain why this “word”, given by Yahweh the living God of the Bible is the clearest and most consequential choice for consideration of the so called “decree” to restore and build Jerusalem of Daniel 9:25.

Maranatha!

 

Daniel 9: What is Your Foundation?

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If I told you that I believed the 2nd 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 2nd 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 2nd 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 6th year of Darius?
  • Explain the chronological transition from the temple completion in the 6th year of Darius I to Ezra’s excursion to Jerusalem in the 7th year of a Persian king known as “Artaxerxes”.
  • How could Ezra still be alive in the 20th year of Artaxerxes Longimanus when his father died in 19th 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 1st and 2nd 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 2nd 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 20th 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 2nd 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. 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:
          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 2nd 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 2nd 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 13th 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 13th month (13 x 29.53). If one were to calculate the 70 Sevens (490) units of time using this 13th 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 2nd 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 13th 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 2nd 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 13th word of Daniel 9:2. The last occurrence of YHWH in Daniel 9 is found in verse 20 and again it is the 13th word of that verse as well.  The 4th occurrence of YHWH in Daniel 9 is the 4th 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 (5th, 6th, 7th) 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 2nd and 3rd occurrences are each 7th successive words from the next. In other words, it is written: (YHWH + 6 + YHWH + 6 + YHWH).  Again, this pattern bridges the 13th and 14th verses of the chapter.  

Finally, the 6th and 7th usage of the name are the 206th and 213thwords 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 49th 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 2nd Seven
The 2nd seven 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 1st 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 3rd 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 2nd 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 13th and 14th 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 13th 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 13th 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 13th and 14th 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 50th 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 49th 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 13th and 14th 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 13th and 14th words of verse 23 tell us to “discern or understand the vision”.
  • The 13th and 14th words of verse 24 emphasize the redemptive nature of the prophecy with the words “atone for iniquity”.
  • The 13th and 14th 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 13th and 14th 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 13th and 14th 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 13th & 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 6th & 7th generation and 1 king is removed from between the 13th and 14th 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 3rd and 4th 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 13th and 14th 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 13th 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 13th 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 13th 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 13th 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;

 

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Nelson Walters: A Guest Post on 2nd Temple Chronology

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* A note from William Struse:
This week I’m sharing with you a guest post written by Nelson Walters. As many of you probably know Nelson is a popular and respected prophecy teacher at The Gospel in the End Times. Over the past couple of months Nelson and I have been having a spirited discussion on the 2nd temple era chronology as it relates to Daniel 9 and the prophecy of 70 Weeks. We have different perspectives on the chronological basis for this wonderful prophecy, so we decided in the interest of bring clarity to this important subject that we would have a public discussion. This week Nelson offers you his perspective. In a couple of weeks after you’ve had a chance to digest Nelson thoughts on the subject I will reply to Nelson’s article. 

Updated: My response to Nelson’s Article: Context, Chronology, & Daniel 9 

Accelerated Ezra Chronology – An Examination
By Nelson Walters – 06/2018

Introduction
This article is really the story of two books about Daniel’s 70 Weeks Prophecy: Daniel’s 70 Weeks (2015), by William Struse, and my latest book, 70 Times 7(2018). This article is being posted both on my website, at www.thegospelintheendtimes.com, and on Struse’s website, at www.the13thenumeration.com.

When Struse’s book was first published, I believed several of his insights were quite profound — specifically, that the “decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem” in Dan. 9:25 was a command of the Lord (a dabar of the Lord) and that the “Prince who is to come” in Dan. 9:26 was the Lord himself. I incorporated both insights into a rough draft of my own book and sent it to Struse for review.  I sent it to eight other teacher/authors who represented the full spectrum of eschatological thought as well. The insights of these teachers — some of whom agreed with me and some of whom did not — led me to revise my draft in very significant ways.

When Struse read what I had written in my book, we began a rather earnest email dialog, because it was clear that I no longer supported his position and had, in fact, come to believe in my own very different principles for the Daniel prophecy.  Still, we found that as brothers in the Lord, we were able to share our differences and advance our common understanding of this important prophecy. It’s that discussion that led to this article and to the posting of the article on both websites.

With that background, I’d now like to “pull back the curtain” Continue reading →

$500 Reward to Help Solve the Artaxerxes Assumption

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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 to the first person who can Continue reading →

The D70 Project

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How well do you understand the prophecy of 70 Weeks? Have you ever wondered how today’s leading prophecy teachers compare when answering key questions about this wonderful prophecy? Do they base their interpretations on reasonable Biblical facts, circumstantial evidence, or well-meaning error?

Since I read my first book on the prophecy of Seventy Weeks (Daniel 9:24-27) nearly three decades ago, I’ve had a passionate interest in the subject. Over the years I’ve been confounded at how just four verses can be viewed with such different perspectives that they engender literally hundreds of widely varying interpretations.

What I’ve discovered in my own studies of the subject is that most of the time the divergent views of the Seventy Weeks prophecy originate from an incomplete or inaccurate understanding of the chronological context of this prophecy.

After all, prophecy is a predication of future events and to have any real relevance it must have a clearly identifiable chronological context.

This is especially so for the prophecy of Daniel 9. The “Seventy Weeks” prophecy is the only prophetic revelation in the Bible which gives Continue reading →

Queen of 127 Provinces

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Chapter-8“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:) . . .”  Esther 1:1

To me one of the coolest statements in the book of Nehemiah is an often overlooked mention of the queen of Persia. It’s a statement that frankly seems out of place unless you understand the chronological context of the Persian era. In the past few chapters, we’ve learned that the Jewish people were shown amazing favor during the reign of Darius ‘the Great’ Artaxerxes. This king over 127 provinces went out of his way to financially support and encourage the construction of the temple of Jerusalem as well as the city itself. It turns out there is more to the story than most of us have realized, and the book of Nehemiah gives us a clue: Continue reading →

The 70 Weeks of Alan Kurschner

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Antichrist AlanKurschnerAs part of our ongoing effort to understand the influence of Daniel 9 on popular Christian eschatological thought, this week we will be looking at the influence of the 70 Weeks on the pre-wrath position of Alan Kurschner. Mr. Kurschner is the director of Eschatos Ministires and a leading apologists for the pre-wrath position. Like my previous article this is meant to be a critical but respectful look at the subject.

Daniel 9 and the Pre-wrath view of the Rapture For those who don’t know, briefly, the pre-wrath position places the rapture of the church after the revelation of the Antichrist but before the wrath of YHWH is poured out upon the earth. Continue reading →

The 70 Weeks of Chuck Missler

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Chuck Missler BookAs promised in my last blog article, over the next several weeks, we are going to look at the influence Daniel 9 and the 70 Weeks prophecy has had on the teachings of some of today’s respected prophecy teachers. I want to make it clear up front that these articles, though critical, are not meant to be disrespectful. None of us have all the answers and when discussing Bible prophecy a great deal of humility is required.

I decided to start this series by looking at Chuck Missler’s interpretation of Daniel 9. The reason, I start with Mr. Missler’s interpretation of the 70 Weeks, is because this is the predominately held view today and it will be most familiar to a majority of my readers. Mr. Missler is a respected prophecy teacher and I have enjoyed and learned from reading his material over the years. Continue reading →

70 Weeks and the Blood Moon

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Book2_400x600In all the hoopla surrounding the Blood Moons my hope is that the real significance of this day is not forgotten. You see, over 6000 years ago our Creator set in motion His heavenly Rolex so that you and I could see this incredible display. I know, many claim the world we live in is just the evolution of randomness, but just a glance into your child’s eyes will put the lie to that claim.

As someone who loves to dig into the history and chronology of the Bible, to me the blood moon is a spectacular reminder of a world changing Biblical event that happened long ago. For those of you who have read my book The 13th Enumeration: Key to the Bible’s Messianic Symbolism or one of my blog articles on the subject you know that there is reasonable, if not conclusive, evidence that today, nearly 2018 years ago, a Jewish child was born who changed the history of the world.

We know Him as Jesus or by his Hebrew name Yeshua and today just happens to be his birthday. You see today is the Biblical Feast of Sukkot also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths and it was around this time of year that Yeshua was born in Bethlehem of Judea. Interestingly, the traditional association of Christ’s birth with Christmas likely comes from the fact that it was nine months earlier during the Feast of Hanukah (in late December) when the conception of the Messiah took place. Over the years the lines between Hanukah (also known as the Festival of Lights / Feast of Dedication) and Christmas blurred due to the increasingly gentile make-up of the early church and slowly the messianic significance of the Jewish Festival of Lights was forgotten.

Did you know that Yeshua, during the Festival of Lights in Jerusalem, told his listeners that He was “the light of the world”? Indeed, when YHWH’s spirit brought about the conception of the Messiah in a Jewish maiden named Mary, a new hope was brought into a world blinded by the darkness of sin.

And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.  And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?  Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him…

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,  And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing…..

And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. John 9:1-7; 10:22 

Although Yeshua told us that He was the light of the world it was the apostle John who so eloquently alluded to the birth of Christ in words which remind us of the Feast of Tabernacles.

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….. 

And the Word was made flesh, 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 1:1-2, 14 

So over the coming days when you look back on the “super blood moon” during the Feast of Tabernacles in 2015, no matter what your opinion on the subject, don’t forget about a lowly little Jewish child born in a manger who brought light and hope into this world.

Book2_400x600Daniel’s 70 Weeks: The Keystone of Bible Prophecy
For those of you who would like real Biblical proof for the promised Messiah I’m happy to tell you that I’ve finished Book II in the Prophecy and Patterns series. Daniel’s 70 Weeks: The Keystone of Bible Prophecy is finally finished!

As promised, subscribers to my blog may download it for free. If you are not yet a subscriber and would like to read the book please feel free to subscribe below. The book will also be up on Amazon in the coming days.

Let me tell you right up front the book will be controversial. This is not your ordinary book on the prophecy of Daniel 9. Those of you who have read my blog over the years know I often have an unconventional take on Biblical history and Bible prophecy. Here are just a few of the many topics we will look at in the book which I hope will give you a new appreciation for the subject:

  1. Can we date the birth of the Messiah from Daniel 9:25?
  2. Why does Daniel 9 point symbolically to the flood of Noah and the consequences of mankind’s sins?
  3. What is the significance of the Messiah being “cut off” after the 69th week?
  4. Who gave the “commandment” to restore and build Jerusalem?
  5. What is the significance of the covenant of Daniel 9:4 as it relates to the covenant of Daniel 9:27?
  6. Why have we ignored the Biblical evidence concerning the 2nd temple era?
  7. Who was the “Artaxerxes” of Ezra and Nehemiah?
  8. Why do many acknowledge that Yeshua fulfilled the Biblical feast days of Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits using a biblical lunar/solar calendar, but when it comes to Daniel 9 and the prophecy of 70 Weeks, they insist on a so called “prophetic” calendar which would wander through the seasons much like the Islamic calendar of today?
  9. Why both Historicists and the Futurists have used Daniel 9 and an erroneous chronology of the 2nd temple era to bolster their theological positions. (And the effect this has had on modern eschatological thought.)
  10. Why many scholars believe the Messianic message of Daniel 9 ends with the Messiah’s death.

I know some may be wondering why any of this even matters. Whether you know it or not, the truth is, Daniel 9 has in some way influenced nearly every aspect of how we see the Messiah Yeshua. This is especially true for our yet future eschatological expectations. Daniel 9 is the basis for our understanding of a 7 year tribulation, the anti-Christ, and many other end time events. Yet, surprisingly very few of us can provide a solid Biblical basis for our interpretation of this wonderful prophecy.

Today, I asked you to join me in a Biblical adventure with the goal of remedying that oversight. Together let’s look at the prophecy of 70 Weeks with an eye to its 2nd temple era context and a Biblical reckoning of time. I can’t promise you that you’ll agree with me on every point, but I will guarantee that by the time you have finished the book you will be in awe of YHWH’s love for His fallen Creation and how Daniel 9 is one of the greatest testimonies of that love found in the Bible.

To help you understand the extent to which Daniel 9 has influenced our view of the End Times, YHWH willing over the coming weeks I will be sharing with you how Daniel 9 has been incorporated into the teachings of some of today’s most popular prophecy teachers. We will take a respectful but critical look at how Daniel 9 is used to strengthen:

As we will see, though diverse in their opinions regarding Daniel 9, all have failed to address the most basic aspect of the prophecy of 70 Weeks – that is they have failed to establish the prophecy of Daniel 9 on a solid chronological basis in the Biblical and secular record. In other words, they have failed to provide a definitive starting point upon which to calculate the countdown to the Messiah. This oversight in turn has caused each of them to make assumptions about Daniel 9 which has altered their eschatological world view. Can their end-times world view survive this oversight? Stay tuned, the answer will surprise you.

Getting a Head Start
If you would like to get a head start on these upcoming discussions I encourage you to download a free copy of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks: The Keystone of Bible Prophecy. Verified blog subscribers may download a free copy of the book here: Subscribers Book Download

If you would like to become a subscriber you may use the form below. It’s free to subscribe and I won’t share your email nor will I spam you with junk mail. Long ago I made a commitment to make the information on this blog and my websites available free of charge in one form or another. So you won’t find advertisements on this blog or a donation button, just my unconventional take on Biblical history and Bible prophecy.

My Gift to You
So today, on Yeshua biblical birthday, my gift to you is reasonable Biblical proof that Yeshua was the Messiah promised in the Scriptures. My hope is that you will enjoy the adventure as much as I have!

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."

Click for Free Download

 

Nehemiah: The Governor

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Authors Note: This article is part of an ongoing series on the 2nd temple era chronology as it relates to the prophecy of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks.

Nehemiah: The Governor

In 520 BC YHWH gave Joshua and Zerubbabel  a “commandment to restore and build Jerusalem.” (See my article Fifth Command for more information on the subject.)  Four years later the temple in Jerusalem was completed but very little progress had been made in building the walls of the ancient citadel.  The remnant of people who dwelt there was still being harassed by their enemies.

Back in Shushan, the winter palace of the Persian Kings, a Judean captive named Nehemiah was the cupbearer to king “Artaxerxes”. Nehemiah heard of the plight of his brethren in Jerusalem and set out to do something about it. After pouring his heart out to YHWH in prayer, Nehemiah petitioned king Artaxerxes to allow him to go up and repair the walls of Jerusalem. Artaxerxes granted his request and we learn later that Nehemiah also became governor (Tirshatha) of Jerusalem.

Most scholars today identify the Persian “Artaxerxes” in the book of Nehemiah as Artaxerxes Longimanus.  If you have read my articles the Artaxerxes Assumption, or Ezra: Priest & Scribe you know why this identification is without a reasonable basis in the Biblical record. A close look at the information provided in the book of Nehemiah further adds to that conclusion.

In Nehemiah 5:14, it states that Nehemiah was appointed governor from the 20th to the 32nd year of “Artaxerxes”.  This information allows us to limit our search for Nehemiah’s “Artaxerxes” to three Persian kings because only three ruled 32 years or longer than. Those kings are Darius, Longimanus, and Memnon. (Memnon ruled 46 yrs. but is not included in the list below. His rule commenced after Darius Nothus)
    Persian Rulers                     

So which of these three Persian kings provides a reasonable basis to claim he is the “Artaxerxes” of Nehemiah?  There are several pieces of evidence in the book of Nehemiah which give us the answer so let’s take a look:

  1. In Nehemiah 1:1 we find Nehemiah in the Shushan palace.  For those familiar with the book of Esther you know that Shushan was the palace of Esther’s King. In my articles on the Queen of Persia I showed that in the most reasonable rendering of the Biblical evidence, Esther was the Queen of Darius Hystaspes, king of 127 provinces. This premise is further strengthened by an unusual statement in Neh. 2:6 (Artaxerxes is addressing Nehemiah)And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return?
  2. Nehemiah 12:25-26 shows a contemporaneous relationship between the porters and Joiakim (son of Jeshua the high priest), Nehemiah, and Ezra. This is important, because this places Nehemiah as a first generation contemporary of those who returned under the mandate of Cyrus in 536 BC.Nehemiah 12:25-26  2Mattaniah, and Bakbukiah, Obadiah, Meshullam, Talmon, Akkub, were porters keeping the ward at the thresholds of the gates.  These were in the days of Joiakim the son of Jeshua, the son of Jozadak, and in the days of Nehemiah the governor, and of Ezra the priest, the scribe.
  3. Nehemiah 12:47 links the governorships of Zerubbabel and Nehemiah and their ministrations to the singers and porters.Nehemiah 12:47 – 13:1  47 And all Israel in the days of Zerubbabel, and in the days of Nehemiah, gave the portions of the singers and the porters, every day his portion: and they sanctified holy things unto the Levites; and the Levites sanctified them unto the children of Aaron.
  4. In Nehemiah 8 it describes the celebration of the first Feast of Tabernacles which took place after the wall was finished. (21st year of Artaxerxes) The text identifies those who partook:Nehemiah 8:17   17 And all the congregation of them that were come again out of the captivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day had not the children of Israel done so. And there was very great gladness.

    Notice it says “them that were come again out of the captivity”. The most reasonable reading of this implies these people were the same generation as those who came up with Joshua and Zerubbabel in 536 BC.  This places them as the contemporary of Darius Hystaspes also known as Artaxerxes.
  5. Further supporting the above is the lists of Nehemiah 10 & 12. In Nehemiah 12 it lists the priests and Levites “chiefs of their fathers” who came up out of the captivity with Joshua and Zerubbabel by the decree of Cyrus in 536 BC.  Nehemiah 10 lists many of those same priests and Levites as still alive in the 21st year of “Artaxerxes”.

So which is the more reasonable explanation? These men were (at their youngest) 65-75 years old during the reign of Darius Hystaspes or they were (at their youngest) 122-132 years old during the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus.  Only one of these options does not strain the bounds of credibility.  Please see the chart below for comparison.

Nehemiah_10&12

In summary, it is clear that Nehemiah and Ezra were contemporaries of Darius Hystaspes, also known as Artaxerxes.  Any other rendering of the chronology requires one to ignore the most reasonable and natural reading of the book of Nehemiah.

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."

Click for Free Download

 

More Articles related to the prophecy of 70 Weeks and 2nd temple era chronology:
The “Artaxerxes” Assumption – The best kept secret of Old Testament chronology.
The Fifth Command – Why do prophecy teachers ignore it?
Ezra: Priest & Scribe – Part I – Defining “Artaxerxes” in the context of Ezra.
Ezra: Priest & Scribe – Part II – Ezra, Darius even “Artaxerxes”.
Nehemiah: The Governor– Nehemiah’s place in the 2nd temple chronology
Queen of Persia – Part I – Defining Esther is the context of the 2nd Temple era.
Queen of Persia – Part II – Defining Esther is the context of the 2nd Temple era.
A New Testament Cipher – The key to unlocking the prophecy of Daniel’s 70 Weeks.
Ezekiel’s 13th Month– Key to understanding Biblical “time” in the 2nd Temple era
6 milestones – Seventy Weeks – Defining the purpose of the Messiah within Daniel’s 70 “weeks”.
The Messiah Factors (Part I): Decoding 13 & 14 – Symbolism of the Messiah
The Messiah Factors (Part II): The Countdown – Proving Yeshua/Jesus is the Messiah promised in Daniel 9.