Daniel 9:24 and 9:25 are considered by most biblical scholars to be the most important prophecies in the Bible. The trouble with Daniel 9:24 is that it didn't seem to fit within any historical benchmarks to date and was also at odds with Ezekiel's specific prophecies for the same events provided around the same time.

Israel was taken over by the King of Babylon in 606 BC and were allow to return in 537 BC. 69 years later which equals 70 years of 360 days (note that prophecies within the Bible are calculated using a 360 day year).

The Babylonian King destroyed Jerusalem in 587BC and around 518 BC (70 years of 360 days) a new King of Persia sent a decree to Jerusalem allowing rebuilding of the Temple and at the same time the same King of Persia had to attack the city of Babylon, finally pulling down the Exterior walls and destroying the gates so it could not fortify itself again. Jeremiah had predicted this many years earlier.

We also know that during the time of Jeremiah who God was speaking to in Jerusalem, God was also speaking to Ezekiel who was a captive Jew in Babylon.

While the country of Israel lost their Independence in 606 BC they were allowed to rule the city Jerusalem for the next 19 years until in 587 BC they rebelled and the King of Babylon ordered both the city walls and the temple in Jerusalem destroyed, only a small fraction of the population were spared death or captivity in Babylon (Jeremiah was one of the few). 

Ezekiel, a prophet, who was a Jewish captive in Babylon at the same time Jeremiah was prophesying to those in Jerusalem. God told Ezekiel that Israel and Judah had done so much wrong that the following punishment was necessary:

Ezekiel 4:1-7
"Now, son of man, take a clay tablet, put it in front of you and draw the city of Jerusalem on it. Then lay siege to it: Erect siege works against it, build a ramp up to it, set up camps against it and put battering rams around it. Then take an iron pan, place it as an iron wall between you and the city and turn your face toward it. It will be under siege, and you shall besiege it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel. "Then lie on your left side and put the sin of the house of Israel upon yourself. You are to bear their sin for the number of days you lie on your side. I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin. So for 390 days you will bear the sin of the house of Israel. "After you have finished this, lie down again, this time on your right side, and bear the sin of the house of Judah. I have assigned you 40 days, a day for each year. Turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem and with bared arm prophesy against her. (NIV)

Note the statement "I have assigned you the same number of days as the years of their sin" So 390 years + 40 Years = 430 Years

It is also noted that in the book of Leviticus if the people did not do what God required during the punishment he would multiply the punishment by seven times over and if they still did not repent he would punish them seven times more.

So when we combine these prophecies and rules we can see that both the rebirth of Israel in 1948 and the recapture of Jerusalem in 1967 have their origins in the original loss of Independence in 606 BC and the loss of Jerusalem in 587

So what is Daniel 9:24 all about as it also speaks directly of the People and the City but the number 490 years seems to be at odds with the other portions of the Bible on this.

Daniel 9:24
"Seventy `sevens' are decreed for your people (Israel) and your holy city (Jerusalem) to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy. (NIV)

In Daniel 9:24 God has invoked his rule of Leviticus on the 70 year prophecies of Jeremiah. 70 years x 7 = 490 years (as translated by Dr. Price) and the passage also clarifies that there are two points - the People and the city Jerusalem.

So we can look at this new number in a few ways;  Daniel 490 years minus first 70 years (time served) = 420 years

Nothing occurred so we need to multiply by 7 (Leviticus rule) =  2940 Years minus 420 years (second period of time served) = 2520 years x 360 (prophetic years) = 907,200 days, this provides the same dates with 1948 and 1967 we arrive at in the Ezekiel equation.

Or without having to remove the initial 70 years within the equation: we can take the 430 years (from Ezekiel 4:1-7) multiply by 7 (Leviticus rule) = 3010 Years. Subtract the 490 years (from Daniel 9:24) = 2520 years once again arriving at 1948 and 1967.

The elegance in these differences is that we can use Daniel 9:24 independent of Ezekiel 4:1-7 to arrive at 907,200 days the same number or we can use both in combination to do the same.

It should also be noted that Daniel 9:24 (490 years) is the same as Jeremiah 25:11 or Jeremiah 29:10 (both of which = 70 years) Multiplied by 7 (Leviticus 26:18) so both of these passages in Jeremiah can substitute for Daniel 9:24, as shown below.

or

or

So instead of just Ezekiel being used to account for the 907,200 days we actually can use six separate equations from Ezekiel 4:1-7 or Daniel 9:24 or Jeremiah 25:11 or Jeremiah 29:10 which can be used independent of each other or in combination to arrive at the same solution. (Nine equations if you determine Jeremiah 25:11 and 29:10 are different).

These equations are not so easy that the people would force the outcomes of the prophecies, but the equations do only use the most basic math so as to not be confusing to most people.

We have a law in Canada; if your awaiting trial your time served in jail will count as double so if someone waits in jail for 2 years before being convicted, those 2 years will count as four years served of the sentence. The government is now considering scrapping this law as the suspects or their lawyers are purposely delaying the trials to capitalize on this. (Ironically, the following was released today: The Government of Canada Introduces Legislation Restricting Credit for Time Served)

In each equation as it applied to the 907,200 days, note that the full extent of punishment is not implemented, God grants them probation or credit for time served, He is a merciful God. So in one equation (just as an example) Daniel 9:24 works in combination with Ezekiel but the 490 years is the probationary number. Yes God is ticked with the people and He sticks to His rules in Leviticus: if the people don't change, their punishment will be multiplied by 7, but God factors in time served to drastically reduce the sentence. What you see here is God's grace, He follows His rules but there's a loophole which God can use without breaking the initial rule to allow for less than the maximum sentence.

Why the prophecies? Throughout the book of Ezekiel we read "and you will know that I am the LORD."

For those that may believe these equations working out to 1948 and 1967 is a Jewish conspiracy theory must also look at the following verse in Daniel 9:25 as it relates to the coming Messiah.

Daniel 9:25
"Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven `sevens,' and sixty-two `sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. (NIV)

The NIV translates as trench but the NKJV translates this properly as Wall as Dr. Price has confirmed is correct in the original Hebrew.

Daniel 9:25: "Know therefore and understand , That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince There shall be seven weeks and sixty two weeks; The street shall be built again and the wall, Even in troublesome times." NKJV

Daniel 9:25 states that from the time of the command to rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be 483 years. If a "shabuim" is a week (seven) of years, it therefore follows that 69 sevens is 483 years (69 x 7=483 years). 483 years x 360 day prophetic year = 173,880 days

When was the command issued to restore and build Jerusalem: There are 4 different decrees issued in the Bible within almost 100 years of each other. Which one do we use? The logical choice is the decree of Artaxerxes to Nehemiah (Nehemiah 2:1-8). Why use this one? Because it is the only decree that mentions rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem. The commandment to restore and build Jerusalem was given by Artaxerxes Longimanus on March 14, 445 BC.
See: #X23.

If we jump ahead 173,880 days we arrive at April 6, 32 AD. This is the day that Jesus presented himself as the Messiah. This historical date of April 6, 32 AD can also be verified;
See; #X87.

Of course the atheists understanding the implications of all the data put forth on the Daniel 9:25 prophecy coming out to the very day, argued that the decree used as a starting point for the prophecy was not a decree at all. I reviewed the original Hebrew in both Daniel 9:25 and Nehemiah 2:1-8 and asked a Professor of Hebrew to verify it. He showed that the royal letters issued in Nehemiah 2:1-8 can be understood as a decree and even sited another reference to back this up.
See; #X88.

The book of Daniel was translated into Greek (the Septuagint) nearly three centuries before Jesus was even born. Original copies exist today.

Luke 19:35-42
They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes. (NIV)

Zechariah prophesized this event in Luke over 500 years prior

Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.(NIV)

Confirming the date April 6, 32 AD.

Luke 3:1-2
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar--when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene-- during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the desert. (NIV)

...

Luke 3:21-23
When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli,  (NIV)

Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and began his ministry. Jesus started with his baptism in the Fall of A.D. 28, the 15th year of reign of Caesar Tiberius. The ministry of Jesus spanned four Passovers or about three and one half years. The fourth Passover of His ministry was the day of his crucifixion and would have fallen in the year A.D. 32. The Passover in that year fell on April 10th (The Passover holiday always occurs on the 14th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar. This corresponds to the first full moon after the Spring equinox.). The Sunday before that Passover was April 6th-The very day that Jesus presents himself as King.

The solution to Daniel 9:24 has been obscured for the past 2,600 years, It is complex yet simple and not only conforms to the other prophets at the time; Jeremiah and Ezekiel but it also integrates with their prophecies about events which have occurred in our generation.

This material is Copyright © 2009, by Guy Cramer, All Rights Reserved.
This material cannot be reproduced in any form without the expressed written permission of the Author.

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