While many focus on the future, the most staggering aspect of Daniel’s “Seventy Weeks” is the mathematical precision with which the first 69 weeks have already been fulfilled. This prophecy provides a verifiable “time stamp” for the first appearance of Jesus Christ, proving that His arrival was not a historical accident but a divinely scheduled event. To understand the foundational math of this timeline, see our introductory post: What are the 70 Weeks of Daniel?
The Starting Point: The Decree (Daniel 9:25)
The prophecy begins with a specific command recorded in Daniel 9:25 (KJV):
“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, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.”
Historically, this decree was issued by King Artaxerxes Longimanus to Nehemiah in the month of Nisan, 445 BC. This was the only decree that specifically authorized the rebuilding of the city walls and gates, rather than just the temple. The record of this decree is found in Nehemiah 2:1-8 (KJV):
“And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it. And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.”
The Fulfillment: 483 Years to the Day
The prophecy states that 69 weeks (7 + 62) would pass before the Messiah appeared. In the prophetic calendar, this equals 483 years (69 x 7). Using the biblical 360-day year, this period totals exactly 173,880 days. When calculated from the decree in 445 BC, the timeline lands precisely on the day of the Triumphal Entry, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and was publicly proclaimed as the Messiah (Luke 19:28-44).
The Messiah “Cut Off” (Daniel 9:26)
Daniel predicted that *after* this 483-year period, the Messiah would be killed. Daniel 9:26 (KJV) states:
“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”
This was fulfilled with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The phrase “not for himself” signifies that His death was a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of others. As predicted in the same verse, the “city and the sanctuary” were destroyed in 70 AD by the Romans. This historical event identifies the “people” of the prophecy; however, the “prince” himself is a future figure who will eventually rise from this same Roman lineage to conclude the final week of the prophecy.
Why This Silences Critics
The 70-week prophecy is the “Achilles’ heel” of secular criticism. Because the timeline is so precise, critics often attempt to date the book of Daniel to the 2nd century BC. However, even a 2nd-century date would mean Daniel predicted the exact timing of the Messiah’s death and the Roman destruction of Jerusalem over a century before they happened. The mathematical alignment between the Persian decree and the life of Christ is too exact to be attributed to coincidence or “vague” religious writing; it is a documented historical fulfillment.
Related Article:
What are the 70 weeks of Daniel?
Historical and Secular References
- Sir Robert Anderson, *The Coming Prince*: The definitive work by the former head of Scotland Yard, which provides the astronomical and mathematical proof for the 173,880-day calculation.
- The Arch of Titus: A Roman monument that still stands today, physically documenting the fulfillment of the destruction of the temple predicted in Daniel 9:26.
- Luke 19:41-44: The account where Jesus weeps over Jerusalem because they “knew not the time of [their] visitation,” referencing the very timeline Daniel had provided.