70 Weeks Prophecy (Part 08) - Dan 9:25 (Part C)

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H. Jerusalem would be restored and built. i. Restore v. - 1. trans. To give back, to make return or restitution of (anything previously taken away or lost). a. Jerusalem was restored when the Jews were returned to it and inhabited it after the 70 years of exile in Babylon (Ezr 1:3; Isa 44:26). b. The Jews returned to Judah and dwelt in Jerusalem and in their cities (Ezr 2:1, 70). ii. Build v. - 1. a. trans. Orig. To construct for a dwelling; to erect (a house), make (a nest). Hence, To erect, construct (any work of masonry), and by extension, To construct by fitting together of separate parts; chiefly with reference to structures of considerable size, as a ship or boat, a carriage, an organ, a steam-engine (not, e.g. a watch or a piano). iii. Jerusalem was built by the Jews who returned and inhabited it (Isa 44:26). iv. The building of the wall in Jerusalem under Nehemiah was repairing the rebuilt wall and finishing it (see previous notes, pp. 16-17). I. Cyrus' decree marked the end of the 70 years of captivity and the beginning of the 70 Weeks. i. Cyrus' decree was a fulfillment of God's promise to bring the Jews back to Jerusalem after the 70 years of Babylonian captivity (2Ch 36:21-23). ii. It was also the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy that Cyrus would rebuild Jerusalem (Isa 44:28) and of Daniel's prophecy for the start of the 70 weeks (Dan 9:25). J. There would be 69 weeks (7 weeks + 62 weeks) which was 483 years (69x7) from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the prince (Dan 9:25). i. The decree of Cyrus was given in 457 BC according to Mauro's chronology which is based on the Bible alone (Philip Mauro, The Wonders of Bible Chronology, p. 100). ii. The "seven weeks" (49 years) was the period of time it took to build the city, the street, and the wall in troublous times (Dan 9:25). iii. Jesus became the Messiah (the Christ, the anointed one) at His baptism (see pp. 10-11). iv. The 483 years "unto Messiah the Prince" therefore brought us to Christ's baptism in 26 AD (457 BC + 483). v. History places Christ's baptism very near this time also. a. Jesus was baptized by John in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar (Luk 3:1). b. Tiberius began to reign alone in 14 AD after Augustus died (Tiberius, Wikipedia, 7-2-20). c. The 15th year of Tiberius' reign would be in 28 AD (14 AD is counted as the 1st year). d. This would put the baptism of Christ in 28 AD. e. But, "it was discovered in later years that Tiberius began to reign as colleague with Augustus four years before the latter died." (Philip Mauro, The Wonders of Bible Chronology, p. 104) f. This means that Tiberius began to reign with Augustus in 10 AD. g. This would put the baptism of Christ in 24 AD. h. So depending on when the beginning of Tiberius' reign is assigned, the baptism of Christ was somewhere between 24-28 AD. vi. Christ was 30 years old when He was baptized (Luk 3:21-23). vii. Assuming that Christ's baptism was in 26 AD, this means that Christ's birth was in 5 BC (there is no year 0). viii. Christ ministered for 3.5 years before He was crucified. a. There are three passovers mentioned in the Gospel of John (Joh 2:13; Joh 6:4; Joh 13:1). b. There is a feast in Jerusalem mentioned in Joh 5:1. (i) There is much debate as to which of the three Jewish feasts (Passover, Weeks (Pentecost), or Tabernacles) is being referenced here. (ii) Given that the passover was the most eminent feast of the Jews, it is most likely that it is being spoken of here. c. The mention of four passovers during the ministry of Christ means that His ministry lasted 3.5 years. (i) We conclude this because Jesus was born in September (see sermon on Luke 1:1-5 - https://kjvchurch.com/Luke1-1-5) and His ministry began near His 30th birthday (Luk 3:23). (ii) Since Jesus was born in the fall and His ministry began near his 30th birthday, then His ministry began in the fall. (iii) The fourth passover after September would be 3.5 years later (since the passover is in the spring). d. Coming at it from the other direction we come to the same conclusion regarding the dating of the birth of Christ since: (i) 1) Christ was cut off in the midst of the week (3.5 years after His baptism) (Dan 9:27) (more on this later). (ii) 2) We know He was crucified at the time of the passover (Luk 22:15) which is in the springtime. (iii) 3) Subtracting 3.5 years from springtime brings us to the fall of the year 3.5 years earlier. (iv) 4) Christ was baptized near His 30th birthday. (v) 5) Therefore, Christ was born in the fall, not in the winter. ix. This puts Christ's death at 30 AD (26 AD + 3.5) which in the midst of the 70th week (Dan 9:27).