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On Mon, 23 May 2005 19:35:18 +0000 (UTC), "Sarah Kanary"
wrote:

>"Douglas Cox" wrote in message
>news:138.36.09.05.923308000@srcbs.org...
>>
>>
>> The 70 weeks of Daniel begin with the decree of Cyrus in 538 BC. He
>> issued a commandment to rebuild Jerusalem (Isa 44:28): "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."
>
>Cyrus did indeed set in motion events that led to the rebuilding of
>Jerusalem, and during Cyrus' reign, the temple was rebuilt to some extent.
>However, it was not until 455 BCE that the actual city of Jerusalem began to
>be rebuilt - in the 20th year of the reign of Artaxerxes. (Nehemiah 2:4-8)
>It is then that the foretold "seventy weeks," or 490 years, began. They
>would end in the latter part of 36 C.E.

The problem with this is that Daniel's prophecy begins with the
initial commandment to build Jerusalem and the temple, not the date of
actual commencement of the building. This was given by Cyrus in 538
BC.

Dan 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, and threescore and two weeks: the street
shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

There were several decrees concerning the rebuilding of Jerusalem and
the temple after the one that Cyrus issued. Making one of the
subordinate decrees the start point of the 70 weeks seem to be an
error. The original decree of Cyrus, that had been foretold by Isaiah,
is described in Ezra 1.

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

Another problem with selecting one of the subsequent decrees is that
it is ad hoc. Also the date one obtains for the beginning of Christ's
ministry is inaccurate. If the first 7 weeks of Daniel's 70 weeks are
taken to be leap years, counting from the decree of Cyrus fits the
history; there are 49 leap years in 133 years, and adding the 434
years for the 62 weeks gives 567 years for the first 69 weeks, so the
69 weeks end in 28 AD.

>How many years elapsed before Jerusalem was actually rebuilt? Well, the
>restoration of the city was to be accomplished "in the straits of the times"
>because of difficulties among the Jews themselves and opposition from the
>Samaritans and others. The work was evidently completed to the extent
>necessary by about 406 B.C.E. within the "seven weeks," or 49 years. (Daniel
>9:25)
>
>A period of 62 weeks, or 434 years, would follow. After that time period,
>the long-promised Messiah would appear. Counting 483 years (49 plus 434)
>from 455 B.C.E. brings us to 29 C.E. What happened at that time? The Gospel
>writer Luke tells us: "In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius
>Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was district
>ruler of Galilee, . . . God's declaration came to John the son of Zechariah
>in the wilderness. So he came into all the country around the Jordan,
>preaching baptism in symbol of repentance for forgiveness of sins." At that
>time "the people were in expectation" of the Messiah. (Luke 3:1-3, 15).

The first year of Tiberius is counted from the year in which Augustus
died; this occurred 19 August, 14 AD. If Luke used the Syrian
calendar, in which the new year occurred in the fall, the 15th year of
Tiberius would be fall 27 AD - fall 28 AD, as the few remaining weeks
of the year in which he began to reign would be counted as year 1 of
Tiberius. This year was also apparently one of the sabattical years
when crops were left uncultivated, so people would have had more
leisure time to listen to John the Baptist preach. Evidently Jesus
died 3 years later, in 31 AD.

>
>The final "week", or 7 years, began with Jesus' baptism and anointing as
>Messiah in 29 C.E. "At the half of the week" or 33 C.E., Jesus' ransom
>sacrifice "put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering" in that sin was
>atoned for once for all time. The final "week" of favor toward the Jews
>ended in 36 C.E. with the first Gentile convert: Cornelius. (Acts ch 10)

When the ministry of Jesus is equated with the first half of the last
week, and the final half week is taken as the symbolic "time, times,
and a half" of Daniel's prophecies, the significance of "he shall
confirm the covenant with many for one week" is clear; it refers to
Christ confirming the covenant with believers, and the gospel being
taken to the world by the Church, which continues today. It does not
end in the 1st century.

Doug

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