This biblical prophecy proves that indeed the Messiah has already come.
IT’S WORTH CONSIDERING
The great divide between Christian and Jews is all about the Messiah. Has He
already come or is He still to be expected? At the center of the debate, of course is Jesus Christ. Is He the Messiah or isn’t He? The purpose of this article is to provide what I believe is undeniable proof that the Messiah has come, and His name is Jesus.
In Daniel 9, Daniel is given an amazing prophecy:
Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place. “So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined (Daniel 9:24-26).
This prophecy is all about a special period of 70 weeks that are decreed for Daniel’s people and their holy city. Six things will be accomplished. The first three include bringing to an end the sins of the Jewish people that have placed them under the curse of God:
1. Idolatry Ezek 5:5,7-14, (Ezek. 8)
2. Failure to observe the Sabbath Rest (2 Chron. 36:14-21 ;Lev 26:33-35)
3. Refusal to heed prophets’ warnings (Jer. 25:1-2, 29:17-19).
The second three lay out what God will do once atonement had been made for the specific sins:
2nd Temple Model
1. God would bring everlasting righteousness as the Millennial Kingdom was ushered in.
2. The prophecies regarding the promised Kingdom would be confirmed, and
3. The most holy place, the Holy of Holies in the newly completed Millennial Temple would be anointed (consecrated).
The rest of the Bible clarifies some of the remaining details. The period of time covered in Daniel’s prophecy is 69 years. At its completion the heavenly stopwatch was paused until the final (70th) week is ushered in. This week is called the Time of Jacob’s Trouble and corresponds to the Tribulation period. The period of time before it, the present age, is called the Church Age. It represents the time of the New Testament when Christ builds His Church.
With this basic understanding of the prophecy, let’s focus on the real issue-the proof that the Messiah has already come, and His name is Jesus. The prophecy clearly states that the Messiah would be cut off (killed) before Jerusalem and the temple are destroyed. In 70 AD the Romans fulfilled this prophecy. This is an undeniable fact. Therefore, the Messiah must have come and been killed sometime prior to this event.
AS I SEE IT
Not only does this prophecy prove that the Messiah must have already come, it tells us exactly when He came. According to Daniel’s prophecy, the time between the decree to rebuild Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2) and the coming of the Messiah would be 69 “weeks of years” (483 years). Taking into account the way Jewish years were counted (360 days per year with a “leap month” added 7 out of every 19 months) and the way years were figured for this calculation (fall to fall, not spring to spring), we get a total of 483 prophetic years equaling 173,880 days. If we add 173,880 days to the date of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem (March 6, 444 BC), we get March 29, 33AD, the very day Jesus Christ was crucified.
This is all laid out in the Old Testament and confirmed in the New Testament.What happened to Jerusalem and the temple was a result of the fact that when the Messiah was “presented” on what we call “Palm Sunday,” the Jews rejected him. It was “lamb selection day” in preparation for the Passover. Jesus was saying, “Select me,” but despite an initial display of affection and adoration, the Jews eventually said, “No thanks.”
And some of the Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” And He
answered and said, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!” He saw the city and wept over it saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days shall come upon you when your enemies will throw up a bank before you, and surround you, and hem you in on every side, and will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation” (Luke 19: 39-44).
ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
Yet another reason why there are fewer men than women in the world
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