THE CALCULATION OF THE 69 WEEKS UNTIL THE FIRST PRESENCE OF JESUS AS A PATTERN FOR THE CALCULATION OF THE APPOINTED TIMES OF THE NATIONS
THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS CHRONOLOGICAL INFORMATION REGARDING ARTAXERXES I BASED ON PERSIAN CUNEIFORM TABLETS THAT IS NOT FOUND ANY OTHER PLACE
For the past 100 years, the Bible Students and Jehovah’s Witnesses have believed that in the year 1914 CE, the appointed times of the nations ended, the kingdom of God was established in the heavens, the presence of Jesus and the time of the end started. Today, 110 years have elapsed since the year 1914, and this old system of things is still standing. Is it time to abandon the belief in 1914 as a prophetic year? My answer is an emphatic no! In what follows, I will show the biblical reasons for the importance of the year 1914.
The Bible contains two distinct types of material that require different approaches for treatment. First, we have the basic doctrines of the Christian faith. In order to understand these, we must find every place where a particular doctrine is mentioned, study these, and then draw our conclusion. Second, we have the kind of material where only half of what we need is found in the Bible — prophecies about the future and time periods — and we have to find the other parts ourselves — the fulfillment of the prophecies and time periods.
It is obvious that the second part is more problematic than the first one. In connection with the basic doctrines, we can refer to concrete texts, and because of these texts, we can clearly establish each doctrine. In connection with prophecies and time periods we ourselves must find the fulfillment, and there is the possibility that we err.
The important point here is expressed in Daniel 12:8-10 (above) and Matthew 24:32, 33 (below):
8 Now as for me, I heard, but I could not understand; so that I said: “O my lord, what will be the final part of these things?” 9 And he went on to say: “Go, Daniel, because the words are made secret and sealed up until the time of [the] end. 10 Many will cleanse themselves and whiten themselves and will be refined. And the wicked ones will certainly act wickedly, and no wicked ones at all will understand; but the ones having insight will understand.
32 “Now learn from the fig tree as an illustration this point: Just as soon as its young branch grows tender and it puts forth leaves, YOU know that summer is near. 33 Likewise also YOU, when YOU see all these things, know that he is near at the doors.
Truly I say to YOU that this generation 34 will by no means pass away until all these things occur… 36 “Concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.
Daniel asked about the prophecies that the angel had given him, and which are written in Daniel chapters 11 and 12. The angel said that these prophecies would be sealed until the time of the end, and at that time “the ones having insight will understand.”
As an answer to the disciples’ question about when his presence (parousia) and the conclusion of the system of things (the time of the end) would be, Jesus described different events in the world that together would be a sign. The quoted words show that when his followers saw this sign, they should know that he had returned and was present. He explicitly said that they should know the generation of his presence, but not the day and hour for his final judgment.
The words of the angel and of Jesus show that the followers of Jesus who lived in the time of the end should understand the prophetic material, where only half is written in the Bible. And most important in connection with this study is that Jesus said that his followers should understand the basic subject of this study, “the appointed times of the nations.” (Luke 21:24)
To find the fulfillment of the prophetic material, we need to identify the keys that we must use.
THE KEYS FOR UNDERSTANDING PROPHETIC TIMES
In order to understand the Bible, we need to have the keys that are necessary. The basic key can be construed on the basis of the words of Jesus and Paul in John 10:35 (above) and Luke 24:44 (middle) 2 Timothy 3:16, 17 (below):
35 If he called ‘gods’ those against whom the word of God came, and yet the Scripture cannot be nullified.
44 He now said to them: “These are my words which I spoke to YOU while I was yet with YOU, that all the things written in the law of Moses and in the Prophets and Psalms about me must be fulfilled.”
16 All Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work.
Jesus refers to the scriptures that could not be nullified. These “scriptures” consisted of the law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. This is still the three-fold division of the 39 Hebrew Scriptures that is known as the Old Testament. These were inspired by God and could not be nullified
The first words of 2 Timothy 3:16, “all scripture” do not have any reference, and therefore, they have no meaning. In no way could they refer to the Christian Greek Scriptures (the New Testament) because only a few books of the Christian canon, which include the 29 books of the New Testament, were written.
An alternative translation, which I prefer, is: “Every scripture that is inspired by God, is beneficial…” The early Christian congregations had catalogues of the canonocal books, and these include the 29 books of the New Testament. On this background words of Paul have meaning: “All scriptures that are inspired by God are beneficial for teaching…” The scriptures that are inspired by God (the canon) are the 29 books of the Christian Greek Scriptures. Thus, the 66 books of the Bible are inspired by God, and they cannot be nullified.
This is the basic key: The belief that every account in the Bible is included with a particular purpose and has a particular meaning.
Prophetic time is an important part of the text of the Bible, as we see in Acts 1:6,7 (above) and Mark 1:15 (below):
6 When, now, they had assembled, they went asking him: “Lord, are you restoring the kingdom to Israel at this time?” 7 He said to them: “It does not belong to YOU to get knowledge of the times (khronos) or seasons (kairos) which the Father has placed in his own jurisdiction.
14 Now after John was put under arrest Jesus went into Galʹi·lee, preaching the good news of God 15 and saying: “The appointed time (kairos) has been fulfilled, (pleroō) and the kingdom of God has drawn near. Be repentant, YOUpeople, and have faith in the good news.”
We note that the disciples connected the return of Jesus with the restoration of God’s kingdom for Israel.
The basic meaning of the Greek word khronos is “unspecified time” and kairos means “a specified time” or “an appointed time.” Jesus told his disciples that God’s purpose includes unspecified times (khronos) and specified times (kairos). But at that moment when Jesus was about to ascend to heaven, God had not revealed these times and specified times (“seasons”) to the disciples.
The words of Jesus, according to Mark 1:15, are particularly important. Jesus had now started his great preaching work about the kingdom of God, because “the appointed time (kairos) had been fulfilled.” I will later return to the meaning of Jesus’ words. However, so far, they indicate that there were a prophetic time pointing to the coming of Jesus that could be calculated.
The key: The scriptures contain prophetic times that can be calculated.
The book of Daniel mentions several specified prophetic times, and in Daniel 12:6-12, there are four keys that we need to know to understand the importance of the year 1914:
6 Then one said to the man clothed with the linen, who was up above the waters of the stream: “How long will it be to the end of the wonderful things?” 7 And I began to hear the man clothed with the linen, who was up above the waters of the stream, as he proceeded to raise his right [hand] and his left [hand] to the heavens and to swear by the One who is alive for time indefinite: “It will be for an appointed time, appointed times and a half. And as soon as there will have been a finishing of the dashing of the power of the holy people to pieces, all these things will come to their finish.”
8 Now as for me, I heard, but I could not understand; so that I said: “O my lord, what will be the final part of these things?”
9 And he went on to say: “Go, Daniel, because the words are made secret and sealed up until the time of [the] end (‘et qets). 10 Many will cleanse themselves and whiten themselves and will be refined. And the wicked ones will certainly act wickedly, and no wicked ones at all will understand; but the ones having insight will understand.
11 “And from the time that the constant [feature] has been removed and there has been a placing of the disgusting thing that is causing desolation, there will be one thousand two hundred and ninety days.
12 “Happy is the one who is keeping in expectation and who arrives at the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days!
Verse 6 speaks of “the holy people.” This must be a distinct people that is separated from all other peoples, because the prophecy says that 3 1/2 times will elapse over this people, and then its power will be dashed to pieces. This can only happen to a united and distinct people and not to people in general.
The key: In the time of the end, God has a people who is clearly identified and separated from other people. Because many prophecies are fulfilled on this people, we need to identify this people.
Verse 9 speaks “the time of the end”
The key: There is a time period called “the time of the end.” This period must be identified.
Verse 11 speaks of an entity called “the disgusting thing that causes desolation,” which will appear in the time of the end. We need to identify this entity because it plays a role in calculating the time prophecies.
The key: The abomination that causes desolation” will appear in the time of the end. This entity must be identified.
Verses 6, 11, 12 speak about particular time periods, 3 /12 times, 1,290 days, and 1,335 days that will be fulfilled on the holy people.
The Key: There are specified time periods that will be fulfilled on the people of God. These must be calculated.
These keys do not say anything that directly has a bearing on the year 1914. However, they demonstrate that the Holy Scriptures encompass specific time periods, and these periods can be calculated once we have identified “the holy people.”
The first key to use is the one about “the time of the end.” How can this period be fixed in relation to the stream of time from the prophet Daniel and to our time? The symbols written in the book of Revelation will also be understood in the time of the end. The key to understanding when “the time of the end” is, is found in Revelation chapter 17. Verse 3 speaks about a wild beast with seven heads and ten horns. The heads are identified in verses 8-11:
8 The wild beast that you saw was, but is not, and yet is about to ascend out of the abyss, and it is to go off into destruction. And when they see how the wild beast was, but is not, and yet will be present, those who dwell on the earth will wonder admiringly, but their names have not been written upon the scroll of life from the founding of the world.
9 “Here is where the intelligence that has wisdom comes in: The seven heads mean seven mountains, where the woman sits on top. 10 And there are seven kings: five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet arrived, but when he does arrive he must remain a short while. 11 And the wild beast that was but is not, it is also itself an eighth [king], but springs from the seven, and it goes off into destruction.
The ”kings” have characteristics of the beasts that are mentioned in the book of Daniel chapter 7. These beasts represent world powers, and, therefore, the “kings” must also represent world powers. John says that five have fallen in his time: Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece were fallen. One “king” or world power existed, which was the Roman Empire. The seventh world power, which can be identified as Anglo-America (Britain and USA together) would be the last “king.”
The wild beast itself was an eighth world power that would spring from the other seven world powers and would exist contemporaneously with the seventh world power. It would exist, then be in the abyss and not exist. Then it would come up from the abyss and exist again. The beast can be identified as the League of Nations which was in the abyss during the World War II, but came to life as the United Nations after the war.
The key: The time of the end is connected with the time when the seventh and the eighth world powers exist, and this relates to 20th and 21st centuries.
Verse 11 in Daniel chapter 12 connects the disgusting thing that causes desolation with the time of the end and one of the prophetic times. In the first fulfillment, the disgusting thing was a political entity, namely, the Roman armies that surrounded Jerusalem. We see this when comparing Matthew 24:15-16 with Luke 21:20-21. These armies were disgusting because they stood on the holy ground of the temple. The disgusting thing caused desolation of a religious entity, the city of Jerusalem, and its inhabitants when the city was destroyed in 70 CE.
Jesus demonstrated that there was a second fulfillment of the prophecy regarding the disgusting thing that would cause desolation in the time of the end. We read Matthew 24:3, 14-22:
3 While he was sitting upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached him privately, saying: “Tell us, When will these things be, and what will be the sign of your presence and of the conclusion of the system of things (synteleias tou aiōnos)?”
14 And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end (telos) will come.
15 “Therefore, when YOU catch sight of the disgusting thing that causes desolation, as spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in a holy place, (let the reader use discernment,) 16 then let those in Ju·deʹa begin fleeing to the mountains.
17 Let the man on the housetop not come down to take the goods out of his house; 18 and let the man in the field not return to the house to pick up his outer garment. 19 Woe to the pregnant women and those suckling a baby in those days! 20 Keep praying that YOUR flight may not occur in wintertime, nor on the sabbath day; 21 for then there will be great tribulation such as has not occurred since the world’s beginning until now, no, nor will occur again.
The Greek expression syntelieas tou aiōnos (“the conclusion of the system of things”) in Matthew 24:3 can be shown to have the same meaning as the Hebrew expression ‘et qets (“time of the end”) in Daniel 12:9.[1] Thus, the setting of the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter 24 is the time of the end when the prophetic word should be understood.
This shows that while the word of Jesus got a miniature fulfillment in the first century CE, until the destruction of Jerusalem in the year 70 CE, the main fulfillment would be in the time of the end. The preaching of the good news to all the nations did not happen in the first century. But it has happened today, and the word “end” (telos) in 24:14 refers to the end-point of the time of the end. This “end” corresponds with the great tribulation mentioned in 24:21 which is will be greater than any other tribulation, including the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Thus, the disgusting thing that causes desolation would exist in the time of the end. this is also confirmet in Daniel 12:9-11.
As mentioned above, in the first century, the disgusting thing was a political entity (the Roman armies) that would cause desolation for a religious entity (the city Jerusalem). In Revelation chapter 17, which I have already quoted from, the political entity (the wild beast with seven heads and ten horns = the United Nations) will cause desolation the religious entity (the harlot, Babylon the great). There are several threads that connect this wild beast with the disgusting thing that causes desolation.[2]
The Key: The abomination that causes desolation, which is the League of Nations and the United Nations, would exist in the time of the end, in the 20th and 21st centuries.
Table 1.1 The basic keys for the understanding of the importance of the year 1914 CE
The fundamental key: |
The belief that every account in the Bible has a meaning. |
| Different keys: |
| The holy Scriptures contain prophetic periods that can be calculated. |
| In the last days, God has a people who is clearly identified and separated fromother people. |
| There is a time period called “the time of the end,” which must be identified. |
| There are specified time periods that will be fulfilled on the people of God. |
| The time of the end is connected to the period when the seventh and eighth world powers exist, which corresponds to the 20th and 21st centuries. |
| The abomination that causes desolation — the League of Nations and the United Nations — would exist in the time of the end, in the 20th and 21st centuries. |
The keys that have been discussed, point to the 20th and 21st centuries as the time for the fulfillment of important prophecies. Because all the accounts in the Bible are included with a particular purpose and meaning, including the prophetic times, we need to take a closer look at the prophetic periods that are mentioned.
[1]. See my book, When Was the Book of Daniel Written? A Philological, Linguistic, and Historical Approach, chapter 8. And the article. “The sign 3: The setting and time line of the great prophecy of Jesus (https://mybelovedreligion.no/2024/08/30/the-sign-the-setting-and-time-line-of-the-great-prophecy-of-jesus/).
[2]. See my article «The abominations that causes desolation. Matthew 24:15 (https://mybelovedreligion.no/?s=causing+desolation).
THE PROPHETIC TIMES LEADING TO THE FIRST COMING OF JESUS CHRIST
I have already quoted the words of Markus 1:15. When Jesus started his preaching work, he said “The appointed time (kairos) has been fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has drawn near.” The appointed time (kairos) leading to the coming of Jesus Christ are found in Daniel 9:24-27:
24 There are seventy weeks that have been determined upon your people and upon your holy city, in order to terminate the transgression, and to finish off sin, and to make atonement for error, and to bring in righteousness for times indefinite, and to imprint a seal upon vision and prophet, and to anoint the Holy of Holies.
25 And you should know and have the insight [that] from the going forth of [the] word to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem until Mes·siʹah [the] Leader, there will be seven weeks, also sixty-two weeks. She will return and be actually rebuilt, with a public square (rehob) and moat (haruts), but in the straits of the times.
26 “And after the sixty-two weeks Mes·siʹah will be cut off, with nothing for himself. “And the city and the holy place the people of a leader that is coming will bring to their ruin. And the end of it will be by the flood. And until [the] end there will be war; what is decided upon is desolations.
27 “And he must keep [the] covenant in force for the many for one week; and at the half of the week he will cause sacrifice and gift offering to cease. “And upon the wing of disgusting things there will be the one causing desolation; and until an extermination, the very thing decided upon will go pouring out also upon the one lying desolate.”
Who is this Anointed One (the Messiah), the Leader, who is mentioned in verse 25? I will first analyze the words. The word mashiah is an adjective with the meaning “anointed,” and nāgid is a substantive meaning “leader; ruler.” It is clear that the adjective does not modify the substantive, thus giving it the meaning “the Anointed Leader,” because the adjective occurs before the substantive and not after it. Thus, nāgid mashiah represents an appositional phrase, “Messiah, the Leader.”
Corroborating this is the fact that in verse 26, mashiah occurs alone. The word mashiah occurs 38 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. In eleven instances, mashiah is followed by Jehova, so the meaning is “Jehova’s anointed.” In four instances, mashiah is preceded by kōhēn (“priest”), so the meaning is “the anointed priest.” In 21 instances mashiah is modified by “my,” “his,” or “your,” with the pronouns referring to God.
Only in Daniel 9:25, 26 is mashiah standing alone without any determination. The word nagid occurs 43 times, and in most cases, it refers to the ruler over God’s people. The word can also refer to a person who is a leader of a lower rank, for example, in charge of the temple. According to 1 Samuel 10:1, Jehova’s anointed (māshah, the verb corresponding to the substantive mashiah) Saul was to become ruler (nāgid) over his people. In the versions we find the following renderings of nāgid mashiah:
Theodotion: kristou = Christ.
The Latin Vulgate: Christum ducem = Christ, leader.
The Ethiopic translation: Krestos negus = Christ (as a proper name), king.
The Syriac Peshitta: meshihā malkā= the anointed, king.
Regarding the identity of the Anointed One, the Leader, we should keep in mind that although the word mashiah can be applied to any person who is anointed to an office, and thus it can refer both to priests and kings, there is just one person in the Hebrew Scriptures, apart from Melchizedek, who is both priest and king (Psalm 110:1, 4; Zechariah 6:13), and that is the coming Messiah. Corroborating this is the fact that mashiah in Daniel 9:25, 26 is unqualified and therefore does not refer to one who is anointed, but to the Anointed One.
The Messiah would arrive after the sixty-ninth “week,” according to Daniel 9:26. Most commentators agree that the “weeks” each represent seven years, which means that 69 weeks are 483 years.[1] What would mark the beginning of these years? Daniel 9:25 says that the starting point was “the issuing of the word to restore and build Jerusalem.” After this starting point the city would “be restored and built with streets (rehōb) and trenches (hārūts).” I will analyze these words.
The word rehōb comes from a root meaning “wide; broad.” It occurs 43 times in the Hebrew Bible, and it often refers to a broad plaza or an open area inside the city gate used as a marketplace. Alternatively, the word could be used with a collective meaning, referring to the city’s streets.
For example, Esther 4:6 says that the servant of Esther went to Mordecai in the square (rehōb) of the city. But according to 6:9, Morecai was led on horseback through the streets (rehōb) of the city. The context in Daniel chapter 9 suggests that the single rehōb refers to the streets of the city. There were many plazas or squares in Jerusalem before the city was destroyed, and the city would not be restored by building a single square. Therefore, because “rehob” is used in connection with the verbs “restore” and “build,” it is evidently used in a collective sense, indicating the restoration of either the squares or the streets of the city.
The verb hārats means “to cut,” and the substantive hārūts literally means “the cut” (“what is cut”). Because hārūts occurs only once in the Hebrew Bible, its reference is not clear. In the Aramaic Zakkur inscription (800–775 BCE) a deep trench (hārūts) is connected with the building of a wall. Such a trench was cut into the rock outside the city wall to increase its height. Regarding Jerusalem, Montgomery says: “The great cutting in the natural rock along the northern wall of Jerusalem is a marked feature of the city’s defenses.”[2]
For the Hebrew word hārūts, the Theodotion translation of Daniel uses the word teikhos, which refers to a wall, particularly to the city wall. The Latin Vulgate uses murus, which also means “wall.” Because of these renderings, and because hārūts is connected with a wall in Aramaic, I take the word hārūts as a collective, referring to the trenches that were cut in the rock outside the walls to make them higher. So, the prophecy speaks of a complete restoration of the streets and plazas inside the city and the city walls with their outside trenches. When these were restored, the city would be more difficult to conquer.
I will return to the beginning of the period of 70 weeks and ask: When did the word “to restore and build Jerusalem” go forth? Could it be the decree of Cyrus in 538/37 BCE? This decree said that a temple for the God of the heavens should be built, but it does not mention the city of Jerusalem. According to Ezra 7:8, 9, Ezra went up to Jerusalem in the 7th year of Artaxerxes, and this year has also been suggested as the starting point. However, the word from Artaxerxes I related to the beautifying of the house of Jehova, as seen in Ezra 7:27, and not to the restoring and building of Jerusalem and its walls.
The real starting point must be related to Nehemiah. Hanani told Nehemiah that the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and its gates were burned with fire. According to Nehemiah 2:5, Nehemiah asked King Artaxerxes I if he could go to Jerusalem and build the city. The verb used is bānā, and many translations use the word “rebuild” to translate this verb. But the meaning of the verb is “to build.”
This is the same verb that is found in Daniel 9:25. Nehemiah 2:8 shows that Nehemiah asked for timber to build the gates of the castle belonging to the temple, for the walls of the city, and for the house where Nehemiah would stay. There was also a need for work to build the city as a whole, because in 2:17, Nehemiah says that “Jerusalem is devastated.”
Thus, the work of Nehemiah fulfills the words of Daniel 9. The journey from Shushan to Jerusalem would take about four months, and Nehemiah’s words to start the building work could have been spoken at the beginning of the 5th Jewish month. This must be the time when the 70 weeks began.[3]
Which year corresponds to the 20th year of Artaxerxes I? According to the traditional chronology, this is the year 445/44. However, dated cuneiform tablets from the reigns of Darius I, Xerxes, and Artaxerxes I, and various Greek and Egyptian sources indicate that Artaxerxes I started his reign ten years earlier, in 475/74 and not in 465/64. This means that the 20th year of Artaxerxes I is 455/54 BCE. The evidence is as follows: There are 3 cuneiform tablets with celestial positions that are connected with the reign of Artaxerxes I.[4]
The tablet BM 33478 was dated in year 24 of Artaxerxes I by Sachs and Hunger, but they admit that the celestial positions do not fit that year. A study of the celestial positions in all the regnal years of Artaxerxes I, Artaxerxes II, and Artaxerxes III reveals a perfect fit of the positions on BM 33478 only in 465/64.
According to the traditional chronology, this is year 21 of Xerxes and the accession year of Artaxerxes I. The cuneiform tablet BM 33478 tells that in the year when the celestial positions were observed, there was an intercalary Addaru (an extra month 13). However, the accession year of Artaxerxes I did not have an intercalary Addaru. Therefore, this tablet suggests that the traditional chronology is wrong, and 465/64 was not the accession year of Artaxerxes I.
However, the 10th year of Artaxerxes I had an intercalary Addaru, and this may suggest that 465/64 was the 10th year, and not the 1st year of the reign of Artaxerxes I. The cuneiform tablet BM 32235 mentions the year in which Xerxes died, which was his 21st year. Two lunar eclipses are also mentioned on the tablet, one whose position in relation to the constellation Sagittarius is described, and the other is said to have occurred in month VIII, and its magnitude is described. There were two lunar eclipses in the years 465/64 and 475/74, respectively, and it is interesting that the eclipses of 475/74 fit the description on the tablet perfectly, but that is not the case with the eclipses of 465/64, where the fit is only approximately correct. This suggests that 475/74 was the accession year of Artaxerxes I, and that his twentieth year was 455/54.[5]
| Most lexicons and textbooks point to 445/44 BCE as the year 20 of Artaxerxes. This is a tradition that simply has been repeated over and over again from scholar to scholar. I have studied all the astronomical cuneiform tablets with their celestial positions from the reigns of Xerxes, Artaxerxes I, Artaxerxes II, and Artaxerxes III.
My conclusion, as my short presentation above illustrates, is that Artaxerxes I began his reign ten years earlier than the textbooks indicate and that his year 20 corresponds to 455/54. A detailed study of this material is found in my book mentioned in note 7. The parameters for the celestial positions of the cuneiform tablets I have mentioned are found in this book, and the positions can be checked by the use of an Astro-program. No scholar has published a study of a comparison of all the mentioned cuneiform tablets, the historical Persepolis tablets, and relevant Egyptian and Greek material as a basis for calculating the regnal years of Artaxerxes I. Thus, the information I have given cannot be found in any other place. |
Based on the 20th year of Artaxerxes I being the year 455/54, the first seven weeks (49 years) it took to build the city ended in 406/405, and the 62 weeks, at the end of which the Messiah would appear, ended in the year 29/30 CE. This fits exactly the time when Jesus Christ started his work.
The mothers of John the Baptist and Jesus were relatives, and according to Luke 1:36, John was six months older than Jesus. This has a bearing on the time when Jesus began his public ministry, as Luke 3:1-2 dates the start of John the Baptist’s work to the 15th year of Emperor Tiberius. Tiberius had a joint rule of the provinces with Augustus, probably from October 12 CE. Augustus died on 19 August 14 CE (Julian calendar),[6] and on 17 September 14 CE (Julian calendar),[7] the senate named Tiberius emperor; thus, the 15th year of Tiberius can be counted from three different dates.
Because Luke 3:1 uses the words “Emperor Tiberius,” and the title “Emperor” was first applied to Tiberius after the death of Augustus, we can exclude October 12 CE as the date to count from, so we are left with 19 August or 17 September of the year 14 CE. John the Baptist began his mission in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar, which corresponds to a period between August 28, 28 CE, and August 29, 29 CE. Because John the Baptist was six months older than Jesus, and on the assumption that both Jesus and John started their service when they were 30 years old, Jesus started his public service between February/March 29 CE and February/March 30 CE.[8] This is 483 years after the 20th year of Artaxerxes I.
Table 1.1 lists the rulers mentioned in the 15th year of Tiberius (Luke 3:1), and their regnal years show that the prophecy in Daniel 9:24–27 was fulfilled in the year 29/30 CE. A person who is able to write in detail and correctly about the future must have been directed by God, and he must be an honest person. When such a person dates the different visions of his book, we must accept these dates as correct.
Table 1.1 The fifteenth year of Emperor Tiberius
| 15th year of Tiberius Caesar | Aug./Sept. 28 CE to Aug./Sept. 29 CE |
| Pontius Pilate, governor in Judea | 26–36 CE[9] |
| Herod Antipas, governor in Perea and Galilee | 4 BCE–39 CE[10] |
| Philip, governor in Iturea and Trachonitis | 4 BCE–34 CE[11] |
| Lysanias, governor of Abilene | Unknown[12] |
| Annas, high priest | 6–15 CE |
| Caiaphas, high priest | 18–36 CE[13] |
Could ordinary people in the days of Jesus understand the prophecy about the 70 weeks? The obvious answer is Yes. The basic principle for understanding the time prophecies in the Bible is that every account in the Scriptures is included with a particular purpose and has a particular meaning.
There are many prophecies about the coming Messiah in the Hebrew Scriptures. And the prophecy in Daniel 9:25-27 is written so those who studied the Scriptures could calculate the time when the Messiah would arrive. If the people could not understand and calculate it, this prophecy was included in the Scripture without any purpose.
Supporting that the prophecy could be understood are the words of Luke 3:15; we read:
15 Now as the people were in expectation and all were reasoning in their hearts about John: “May he perhaps be the Christ?” 16 John gave the answer, saying to all: “I, for my part, baptize YOU with water; but the one stronger than I am is coming, the lace of whose sandals I am not fit to untie. He will baptize YOU people with holy spirit and fire.
John the Baptist started his baptisms six months before Jesus started his preaching of the good news of the kingdom. At this time, the people were in expectation of the coming of the Messiah. It is very likely that the reason for this was the prophecy in Daniel chapter 9.
CONCLUSION
The focus of this article and the two following ones is the importance of the year 1914 CE, which is the year when Jesus returned as king, and when the time of the end started. The purpose of this detailed discussion of the 70 weeks is to show that the coming of Jesus to the earth was connected with a time prophecy by which the time of Jesus’ arrival could be calculated.
Based on the time prophecy of Jesus’ first coming, it would not be presumptuous to expect that there would also be a time prophecy of Jesus’ second coming. I will show in detail in Part II of this study that Jesus’ second coming has three aspects. Jesus is invisibly present, the time of the end (the conclusion of the system of things) has begun, and the kingdom of God has been established.
There is a prophecy in Luke 21:24 that suggests the nations will have exclusive dominion for some time without God having a kingdom. The prophecy then reveals that God would establish his kingdom after seven appointed times. Since God’s kingdom is established when Jesus’ second coming begins, this prophecy of the establishment of God’s kingdom (heavenly Jerusalem) after seven appointed times will provide us with a basis for calculating the time for Jesus’ second coming and his presence.
The prophecy of the 70 weeks provides a pattern for calculating the seven appointed times of the nations, according to the principle that one day represents one year. It is therefore essential that we study the prophecy of the 70 weeks, providing a solid basis for calculating the time of Jesus’ second coming.
[1]. J. Wood, The Book of Daniel, 252. Koehler and Baumgartner, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1385, has the definition “a week of years,” and the lexicon refers to The Community Rule, earlier called The Manual of Discipline, 10:7, 8, which speaks of “seasons, years, weeks of years.” This was the document dealing with the organization of the Qumran community.
[2]. J. A. Montgomery, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Daniel, 380.
[3]. Jerome used Nehemiah’s 20th year as the starting point; G. L. Archer Jr., Jerome’s Commentary on Daniel, 97.
[4]. Sachs and Hunger, Astronomical Diaries and Related Texts from Babylonia, 1:56–60.
[5]. The evidence in favor of a coregency between Xerxes and Darius I is discussed in Furuli, Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian, and Persian Chronology, Persian Chronology andthe Length of Babylonian Exile of the Jews, Second edition, pages 192–238; the evidence for the beginning and end of the reign of Artaxerxes I in 475/74 is discussed on pages 239–295.
[6]. Augustus died on 17 August 14 CE, Gregorian calendar.
[7]. Tiberius named emperor on 15 September 14 CE, Gregorian calendar.
[8]. Luke 3:23 says: “And Jesus himself was about thirty years when he began [his service].” The meanings of the particle hōsei are “like, as, about.” Most Bible translations use “about” in this verse. Does Luke imply that Jesus could have been 29 or 31 years, as well as 30 years? No, because Luke uses hōsei in a more specific way, as the following examples show: Acts 13:18 says that Israel was “about forty years in the desert.” In this text Luke uses the particle hōs, which is a synonym to hōsei and has the meaning “about” as well. So, the word “about” does not mean that the time could be 39 or 41 years (Numbers 14:34; Deuteronomy 2:7). It means “40 years,” but not necessarily exactly 40 years to the very day. Luke 23:44 says that darkness came over the earth when Jesus was fastened to the pole “about (hōsei) the sixth hour.” This does not mean that the darkness came in the fifth or the seventh hour, but not exactly when the sixth hour began. This is what Matthew 27:41 and Mark 15:33 say. From Luke’s use of the word “about,” we must conclude that Jesus was 30 years old when he began his service, but not necessarily on the very day that he rounded 30 years. John was of the tribe of Levi, and Levites started their service when they were 30 years old. (Numbers 4:46, 47)
[9]. J. A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke I–IX, 456.
[10]. Ibid., 457; W. E. Filmer, The Chronology of the Reign of Herod the Great, 283–298.
[11]. J. A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke I–IX, 457.
[12]. Lysanias, son of Ptolemaus, “king” of Chacus and Coele-Syria, was killed by Mark Antony in 36 BCE. This is not the Lysanias that Luke refers to. Josephus refers to another Lysanias, “Abila, which had been the Lysanian tetrarchy.” (Josephus 20.7.1 § 138). J. A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke I–IX, 457.
[13]. Filmer, The Chronology of the Reign of Herod the Great, 298.
