Teachinghearts	The Messiah (Moshiach) Comes The 2300 Years (Daniel 8 and 9) "Explore the Word. Change the World"	Lesson 10: Time: 100 minutes Print: 19 pages

	Babylon		Medo-Persia	Greece	Rome			Rome	Papal Rome	Europe			Europe		Christ
Sanctuary Trampled			490 Days				1810 Days					Sanctuary Restored
-		457 BC	2300 Days									1844	Time of the End

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Daniel 9 Daniel 8: 13,14

Background
This is the most important prophecy you will ever study because it tells when the Messiah would appear.

Daniel is in distress according to Daniel 8: 26-27. Although the vision was explained, he did not understand. He did not understand the significance and time of the 2300 year prophecy.
His failure to understand the full vision was is conflict with the charge that was given to the Angel Gabriel to "...make this man understand the vision" (Daniel 8: 16). Gabriel had started revealing the vision to Daniel, but Daniel could not handle its impact. He fainted and was greatly troubled concerning its meaning (Daniel 8: 27).

As we demonstrated in the last lesson, the only part of the vision that was not explained was the time prophecy. In Chapter 9, we see Gabriel returning and completing the explanation of the 2300 year prophecy.

The Big Question. How Long?
Then I heard one holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, "How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, while the transgression causes horror, so as to allow the holy place and the host to be trampled?" (Daniel 8: 13).
This a picture of the two holy ones standing before God at the Ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place. They see the people in the outer court and in the Holy Place being trampled. If it were possible, the destructive forces would go after the Most Holy Place in heaven, where they were.
Question: Heaven asks a profound question. "How long would Satan be allowed to continue his rampage?"
Answer: And he said to me, "For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed. (Daniel 8: 14).
They would be allowed to work for 2300 years! No wonder Daniel fainted!

The Symbols of Daniel 8 and 9
Before we study the interpretation, let us look at the symbols.

1. Prophetic Time Symbols
One of the most important concepts to understand is prophetic time. God uses one day to be equal to one year of real time. (Numbers 14: 34 and Ezekiel 4: 6) This is discussed in more detail on this page.
The prophecies introduce a period of two thousand three hundred years for the trampled sanctuary to be restored.

2. Sanctuary Symbols
Chapter nine must be studied with chapter eight. In chapter eight, the symbols use sanctuary images and depict the destruction and trampling of the sanctuary during this period. Chapter 9 shows the details of the trampling and destruction of the Commander who is the Prince of the Covenant. The covenant is symbolized and memorialized in the sanctuary.

Daniel 8 - The Sanctuary and Feasts. The symbols are the destruction of the sanctuary and the people by the renegade scapegoat on the day of atonement.

• Sanctuary Animals. Ram and goat from the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).

  Attacks the Sanctuary					Attacks People
  West	North				Priests Camp People in the Outer Court Attacks Christ	East
  	North Wall			-
  	West Wall	Most Holy Place	Holy Place
  	South Wall
  	South
  The City of David in the South

• The Sanctuary. It is a three sided structure enclosed on the North, South and West. Notice that the ram is pushing in all these three directions (Daniel 8: 4). The symbols show a destruction of the sanctuary building by pushing down the walls. The east side only had a curtain, not a solid wall.
• Ark of the Covenant. Ram with two horns standing by a river. God, Ark with two angels and the river of life.
• Altar. The breaking of the horn into four horns towards the four winds of heaven reminds of the four horns of the altar.
• Goat. It is the goat, a symbol of Satan, from which the little horn grew. The goat defeats the ram in the Outer Court. This is a symbol of Satan killing Christ on the earth. Therefore, Satan defeats the forces of good until the sanctuary is restored. This symbol continues with the destruction of the sanctuary through the conquest of the people, the continual, heaven and the ministry of Christ.
• The Ark of the Covenant. In Daniel 8: 16 we see a symbol of the throne room of God with the river of life and the two covering cherubim. There is a Man with authority sitting above a river, on either side are Gabriel and another Holy one (Verse 13).
• Sanctuary Restored. Refers to the services on the Day of Atonement when the sins of the people are permanently removed and the sanctuary is cleansed.
• The People. After he destroys the sanctuary, he destroys the people. There are symbols that refer to the people.
  1. Stars. These are the saints and prophets and could include even the first fruits who are in heaven.
  2. The Territory of the Little Horn (Verse 9). All three directions are the location of God's people. It is this area that the religious power controls, the people of God.
     • South. Since God is in the North, then logically, the people who face Him must be in the south. In ancient Jerusalem, the city of David was south of the sanctuary.
       In another lesson we also show that the people in the last days symbolically run from Babylon the Great in the north to symbolically wait in the south for the Second Coming.
     • East. Although all Levi surrounded the sanctuary, the priests were camped in the east.
     • Pleasant Land. This is Israel or Palestine.
  3. Commander of the Host. He even attacks the Messiah while He is on earth as the ram and in heaven as the true High Priest.
• The Ram and the Goat (Christ and the Antichrist). Christ comes to be circumcized (cut off at the crucifixion) and the impotent, uncircumcized little horn (little penis) comes to attack and rape.
• Holy Place and the People. Finally, Daniel describes the vision as the destruction of the continual, the people and the building. The vision described the destruction symbolically. A direct reading of the text does not talk about a destruction of the sanctuary. It is only as we look at the symbols that we see elements of the sanctuary under attack as Daniel also concluded.
  How long will the vision about the continual apply, while the transgression causes horror, so as to allow both the holy place and the host to be trampled? (Daniel 8: 13)

Daniel 9 - The Covenant
This chapter is less symbolic than the previous. But the subject in Daniel 9 is based on the covenant. Since the sanctuary system was instituted to fulfill the covenant, it makes sense that the visions in both chapters is steeped in the covenant and its sanctuary. We left chapter 8 with the sanctuary in distress. The enemies of God were attempting to destroy the sanctuary, the people and their Messiah Lamb. And we find that God allowed it because of transgression in the people. But what does this say about the covenant? In it God promises to protect His people, make them righteous and make them triumph over their enemies. The answer comes in chapter 9 when God sets a time when He will send the permanent answer to the question of sin among His people. The answer is the Prince of the Covenant. The Messiah.

• Sabbath and Jubilee. The covenant week and the final period were both written in terms of the Sabbath rest and the Jubilee period. This is seven years and 490 years. This is significant because the Sabbath is the promised rest from sin. The Jubilee is the forgiveness of all debt and the restoration and equalization of all people.
• Covenant. God keeps the covenant and He chose a specific time to do it.
• Sacrifice. Sacrifice and offering would end because God had no pleasure in them and they did not cleanse the heart of the people.
• Messiah. He was to become the better sacrifice that would be offered once for all humans for all times.

3. Symbols: The Trampling of the Sanctuary and the People.
Historically, the trampling of the physical sanctuary, services and the people of God has occurred with each successive kingdom. The pagan empires destroyed the physical building and enslaved the nation of Israel. At His death, Christ became the high priest of a sanctuary in heaven that could not be destroyed. Papal Rome removed the knowledge of God and the ministry of Christ from the church and martyred the church.

The prophecy symbolized the destruction of the sanctuary by these powers. Each one escalates the level of the assault on the sanctuary. It is not meant to be a description of what was done historically. It is meant to simply show that each power contributed to the destruction of the sanctuary or the service of God in some manner.

• Ram ("Medo-Persia"). I saw the ram pushing to the west, and the north and the south. (Daniel 8: 4)
  This is a highly symbolic illustration of the pushing down of the sanctuary walls.
  In reality the Persian empire helped to rebuild the sanctuary that Babylon destroyed. But here we have a symbolic representation of that power destroying this structure. How did this happen? Persia tried to change the worship and destroy the people.
  The prophetic role of Persia was a paradox. Its symbols must both depict its work as a savior and destroyer.
  » Destroyer Symbols. It still attacked and ruled Israel. It also tried to destroy the people by regulating pagan worship or death. Daniel was thrown into a den of lions because of this conspiracy.
  » Savior Symbols. The ram and Cyrus who represented Christ and the kings from the east. They represent both deliverance from Babylon and Babylon the Great. It was also the only power that built the physical sanctuary instead of destroying it.
• Goat ("Greece"). Daniel 8: 7. It killed the ram that was standing before the river, broke his horns, threw him to the ground and stomped on him and grew in power.
  This is a fuzzy illustration of the attack on the true sacrifice, Christ, by the scapegoat who should be banished. It is a reversal of the roles on the day of Atonement. The development of the four horns in all directions illustrates the emergence of a new altar system. New sacrifices, new access to God.
  The process of forcing the Greek culture on the conquered lands caused many Jews to forget their God. They influenced the priests and even took the priesthood from the family of the Levites. This caused the Maccabean revolt.
• Little Horn ("Rome"). He magnified himself to the Prince of the host, the daily was taken away and place of his sanctuary was thrown down. (Daniel 8: 11)
  This is a clear statement of the attacks against the high priest, the ministry and the sanctuary.

Kingdom	Symbol	Year	Sanctuary			Destructive Actions
Babylon	-	609-539	First temple			Destroyed the first temple (586). Exiled the people
Medo-Persia	Ram	539-331	Second temple		-	Enslaved Israel and tried to change their worship
Greece	Goat	331-168			-	Defiled the temple, forbid worship, occupied Israel, corrupted priests, sold the office of the high priest and replaced the true rulers with the Hasmonean dynasty
Pagan Rome	Little Horn	31-70			Christ	Destroyed the second temple and the Christ temple
		70-132	The Place of the Sanctuary			Jews exiled from Jerusalem. A mosque has been built on the temple mount since 715
Papal Rome		538-1798	Christ (High Priest)			Assumed the ministry of Christ as our only intercessor
		538-End		Ark (Throne)		Sits in the temple as God
		538-End		Ark (Laws)		Changed the laws (Sabbath, Passover)
		600		Altar of Incense		Ministry of Christ as our high priest replaced with a human priesthood
		1014		Table of Shewbread (Drink Offering)		Blood is spilled. People martyred in the crusades and inquisition
		1504		Menorah		Reformation. The Age of Enlightenment
Europe	Ten Horns	1844	Heaven			Sanctuary Restored. The day of atonement began

After Christ returned to the permanent, indestructible sanctuary in heaven, the forces of evil concentrated on destroying the people, their connection to the High Priest and their respect for the laws.

4. Symbols: The Vision

Type of Vision
Chapter	Type
Daniel 8: 1-2	Chazon
Daniel 8: 13	Chazon
Daniel 8: 15	Chazon
Daniel 8: 16	Mar'eh
Daniel 8: 17	Mar'eh
Daniel 8: 26	Mar'eh
	Chazon
Daniel 8: 27	Mar'eh
Daniel 9: 21	Chazon
Daniel 9: 23	Chazon
Daniel 9: 24	Chazon
Daniel 10: 1	Mar'eh
Daniel 10: 7,8	Mar'ah
Daniel 10: 16	Mar'eh
Daniel 10: 14	Chazon
Daniel 11	Chazon

In Daniel two different Hebrew words are used to refer to this vision. The words are used in several chapters. When they are used, it is important to understand what section of the vision is being explained.

Chazon (2300 Years)
Mar'eh (490 Years)		1810 years remain from the Chazon
Explain		Keep Secret

1. Chazon (הזוך). Means: Mental sight, dream, revelation, oracle or vision.
   It refers to the long vision of 2300 days which starts with the Persian empire and concludes at the time of the end.
   • Daniel 8: 1-2. A vision appeared to me. I looked in the vision.
   • Daniel 8: 13. How long will the vision about the continual [tamid] apply.
   • Daniel 8: 15. When I, Daniel had seen the vision, I sought to understand it.
   • Daniel 8: 26. The vision [mar'eh] of the evening and morning is true, but keep the vision [chazon] secret for it pertains to many days in the future.
     He did not explain the Messiah. Daniel explained the political events of the mar'eh without reference to the time division, or the religious aspects of the work of the Messiah during this period. This vision included the Persians and the Greeks. But it also appears to give some of the highlights of the chazon. But he gave no information about the details at the end of the chazon as Daniel 11.
   • Daniel 9: 23. I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision.
     Although some of the vision was interpreted, according to Daniel 8: 27, Daniel did not understand some of the vision. Which part? The only unexplained part was the previous vision of the 2300 days and the cleansing of the sanctuary in Daniel 8. Gabriel had already explained the meaning of the ram, goat, horns and the little horn. Only the time prophecy was not explained.
     
     As further proof that it is the 2300 day time prophecy that was not explained, we find Gabriel beginning his explanation in chapter 9 with a reference to a time prophecy. Gabriel now explains how the time prophecy is related to the mar'eh of the 2300 days and what happens to the Jewish people.
   • Daniel 10: 14. Now I have come to give you understanding of what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision pertains to the future days.
     Then chapter 11 gives the details of the vision of the 2300 days.
   • Daniel 11. According to chapter 10: 14, the angel came to explain the "chazon". All of chapter 11 to 12 is the detail about the 2300 days.
2. Mar'eh (מראה) or Mar'ah (feminine). Means: View, appearance, the thing seen, pattern, mirror, shape or vision.
   It refers to the vision of the 490 days, part of the chazon. It is the vision about a man which ends with Christ.
   The Mar'eh was what was explained. The chazon was not explained. Gabriel explained the events from the Greek conquest of Persia to the attack on Christ by the Romans. But Mare'eh also means pattern and it is a pattern of what would occur in the chazon as the little horn attacked the people and the sanctuary in the same way it attacked the Messiah. Revelation 12 and 13 also shows this sequence of events. Unable to further persecute the child who escaped from the dragon, it attacked the woman and her other children.
   • Daniel 8: 16. Gabriel, give this man an understanding of the vision.
   • Daniel 8: 17. The vision pertains to the time of the end.
   • Daniel 8: 26. The vision [mar'eh] of the evening and morning is true, but keep the vision [chazon] secret ...
   • Daniel 8: 27. And I Daniel fainted and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.
     It seems incredible that after the angel gives a detailed explanation of the vision that Daniel made this statement. So what was not explained?
     

     Prophecy		Mar'eh Explained in Daniel 8	Destruction	Mar'eh Patterns
     Ram		Medo-Persian empire	Sanctuary trampled	Lamb with 2 Horns	Jesus (Lamb of God)
     -	Two Horns	Kings of Media and Persia
     Goat		Greek empire		Dragon from the sea	Satan
     -	Great Horn	First king (Alexander the Great)
     -	Four Horns	Breaks into four kingdoms
     Little Horn		Fierce king		Pope	Eighth head
     -	Sanctuary Trampled	Rome destroyed the sanctuary in 70 A.D.		When Satan appears as the scapegoat in the false Second Coming, he may follow this pattern of the angry goat in his final attack
     -	Great to heaven	Mighty but not by his own power
     -	Magnified to Prince of Princes	Stands up against Jesus Christ	Host (Jews and Christians) trampled
     -	Cast down stars	Destroys the mighty and holy people
     -	The host was given to it with the daily	Host. Destroys the mighty and holy people
     -		Daily. Papal Rome assumed the role of priest and intercessor	Laws trampled	First four commandments broken. Sabbath changed
     -	Removed the continual from the Commander	His policy causes craft and deceit to succeed. Sacrifices stopped in the sanctuary
     -	Magnifies Himself	Removes laws, changes times and laws
     -	Sanctuary restored	He is broken without hand (human agency)	Defeated by God	Second Coming
     2300 days		Not Explained		Sanctuary Restored

   • Daniel 10: 1. but he understood the message and had an understanding of the vision.
   • Daniel 10: 7-8, 16. Now I Daniel alone saw the vision, while the men who were with me did not see the vision; nevertheless a great dread fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves. So I was left alone and saw this great vision; yet no strength was left in me, for my natural color turned to a deathly pallor and I retained no strength.
   By the days of Jesus the Mar'eh was being fulfilled. Although Jesus tried to tell them that He was going to die they did not believe Him. However, Jesus explained some of the chazon in Matthew 24 and advised us to understand Daniel, yet He still kept some details hidden about how long it would take.

The 490 Year Prophecy
Jewish Period Ending. "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.
The Messiah Comes. "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.
Final Week. "And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate." (Daniel 9: 24-27)

The Seventy year prophecy of Jeremiah (Daniel 9: 1-2)
... When seventy years have completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill my good Word to you, to bring you back to this place ... (Jeremiah 29: 10-15)

This punishment was given because they violated the covenant to keep the Sabbaths.
to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths, all the days of its desolation it kept Sabbath until seventy years were complete. Verse 21. (2 Chronicles 36: 14-21)
According to Leviticus 25: 3-4, the land must rest every seven years. For 420 years they did not observe the Sabbaths of the land so, during the captivity, God gave back the land all the Sabbaths that it should have rested, seventy years. The dates show that the apostasy started around the time the temple was built and the covenant was read to the people.

12 Disobedient Tribes				Assyrian Captivity		Captive and Scattered in Babylon				Persia
1025 BC	Temple Built	985	Kingdom Divided	721	10 Tribes	605	2 Tribes	586	Temple Destroyed	535 BC
Apostasy (420 Years)						Desolate Land Enjoys Sabbath (70 Years)

Daniel's Prayer of Repentance For Israel (Daniel 9: 3-19)

The Wrath of God
Event	Fulfillment
Cities Wasted	Jerusalem destroyed
Sanctuary Destroyed	Temple destroyed in 586BC
People Scattered	Exiled to Babylon
Land Keeps Sabbath	70 Years (609-539)

Daniel's prayer is structured according to the covenant curses. He recognizes that the people are in captivity because they had repeatedly violated the terms of the covenant and were now suffering the condemnation of the final curse, which is the wrath of God. Daniel acknowledged their sin and the right of God to give them this punishment under the legal terms of the covenant.

And if you will not listen to Me after all this, but walk against Me, then I will walk against you with fury [wrath]. ... and I will make your cities waste and bring your sanctuaries to desolation. ... And I will scatter you among the heathen. ... Then shall the land enjoy her Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies' land. (Leviticus 26: 27-35)

• Covenant. God keeps covenant and mercy to them that keep His Commandments. (verse 4)
• Disobedience. Israel had not obeyed God, nor kept his laws. (verse 10)
• Wrath. Daniel acknowledges the people's sins and the right of God to send His wrath. (verse 11, 15- 16)
• Righteousness of God. He acknowledges the righteousness of God in His works. God was not unfaithful, Israel was. (verse 14)
• Forgiveness. He pleads for forgiveness and the restoration of the sanctuary and Jerusalem. (verse 17-19)

The Prophecy of the Messiah
490 Years. Seventy Weeks. (Daniel 9: 24)
Remember that the angel came specifically to explain the 2300 days that were not explained in the previous vision.
seventy weeks are determined. (Daniel 9: 24)

2300 days (Daniel 8: 14)
Daniel 9: 25, 26 (70 Weeks Cut Off) Daniel 9: 27							1810 days
69 Prophetic Weeks			1 Prophetic Week
7 Weeks	62 Weeks		3½ days		3½ days		1810 years
49 years	434 years		3½ years		3½ years
483 Years			7 Years
457 B.C. decree to restore Jerusalem			27 A.D. Baptism	31 A.D.	Gospel to the Jews	34 A.D.	Stephen is stoned	1844 A.D.

The word "determined" is translated from the Hebrew word 'chathak' which means 'cut off'.
So, the seventy weeks are 'cut off' from the time 2300 year prophecy that Gabriel is explaining for Daniel.

Seventy weeks were given to the Jewish nation. They had just suffered the wrath of God for one series of disobedience when God allowed them to go into captivity under the Babylonians. Their final probationary period would last from the time they paid the penalty for disobedience until they once again filled up the cup of the wrath of God. This would happen when they rejected the Messiah who was to appear at the end of this time period.

483 Years: Sixty Nine Weeks. The Decree (457 B.C.) Daniel 9: 25
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.

Kings of Persia
King	Reign	Decree
Cyrus II the Great	559-530		538 BC	Ezra 1: 1-4
Darius the Mede	539-536	None
Cambyses II	529-522
Bardiya (Smerdis)	522
Darius 1	522-486		519 BC	Ezra 6: 7-12
Xerxes 1 (Ahasuerus)	486-465	Married Esther
Artaxerxes 1 (Longimanus)	465-425		457 BC	Ezra 7: 11-12
Xerxes 2	424	None
Sogdianus	424
Darius 2	423-405
Artaxerxes 2	404-359
Artaxerxes 3	358-338
Arses	337-336
Darius 3	335-330
Alexander the Great	330-323	Greek Empire
Cyrus left Darius the Mede in charge as governor
Achaemenes, Teispes, Cyrus 1 and Cambyses ruled before the conquest of Babylon

The decree to 'restore and rebuild' Jerusalem. There were three decrees for restoring Jerusalem:

1. Ezra 1: 1-4. First decree by Cyrus in 538-537 B.C.
2. Ezra 6: 7-12. Second decree by Darius around 519 B.C.
3. Ezra 7: 11-12. Final decree by Artaxerxes in 457 B.C. provided the finances to do whatever they wanted. This provided money for the sacrifices, the vessels taken from the sanctuary and allowed people to go back to Jerusalem.

The final decree restored the government of Israel to full authority. The first two had dealt only with rebuilding considerations. It was not until the decree of Artaxerxes in 457 B.C. that full restoration occurred (Ezra 7: 21-28).

Three Decrees. Ezra recognized that the combination of the three decrees of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes were required.
And they builded it and finished it according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia. (Ezra 6: 14)

How do we know that the third decree was in the fall of 457 B.C.?

1. Olympiad Dates. Classical historians accurately preserved Olympiad dates for Artaxerxes. These were transmitted from Xenophon and Thucydides through Plutarch to the Christian chronographer Julius Africanus.
2. Ptolemy's Canon. Documents the reigns of kings as far back as the seventh century B.C.
3. Cuneiform Text. (Compiled by Parker and Duberstein), Archeological findings of Babylonian Cuneiform texts providing a relatively complete catalog of dates for kings who ruled there from 626 B.C to A.D. 75.
4. Elephantine Papyri. Records written by Jews who lived on the island of Elephantine, in southern Egypt, during the Persian period. The dates were recorded with both the Persian-Babylonian lunar calendar and the Egyptian solar calendar dates. So this helps to fix the time of reign of Artaxerxes to our dating system.

The Rebuilding
The prophecy starts with the giving of the commandment and reaches to the Messiah 69 years later. This is the seven and sixty two weeks. Some have speculated about why the prophecy divides the time into two sections and what happened in the seven weeks (49 real years). The answer could simply be their way of expression just as the old English expression of "three score and two years" means sixty two years. Whatever the reason that period of time is not necessary for understanding the starting point of the prophecy.

Most people believe that this time was related to the building of the temple. The prophecy makes no claims about what would be done during the seven years. John adds to the mystery by giving a time period that is almost equal to this time.
Then the Jews said, forty and six years was the temple in building, and will you rear it up in three days? (John 2: 20)

It is impossible to tell when this forty six years started and ended. If we count back from the sixth year of Darius when the temple was finished, we actually arrive at the year 561 B.C. This is before their captivity ended.
It was actually 23 years from Cyrus' command to the completion of the temple in the sixth year of Darius.
It was 93 years until the wall was rebuilt and even then the houses were not rebuilt.

However, the answer to the riddle is not important. The start of the 69 weeks is dated from the commandment to rebuild, not the successful completion of the building project. And it clearly states the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem not just the temple.

Herod's temple which was in existence at the time of Christ is not the same temple that was built after the Babylonian captivity. A bigger temple was built around the existing structure and this took forty six years to build. So, the most likely explanation was that John referred to the restoration efforts by Herod that improved the original structure.

The prophecy does state that the rebuilding will be done under distress. Historically, this is what happened.

• 538/7. Cyrus issues the first decree.
• 535. Temple rebuilding started (Ezra 5: 16). Only the foundation was laid.
• Xerxes suspended the rebuilding of the city, walls and temple. (Ezra 4: 21).
  Rebuilding was suspended until the second year of Darius. (Ezra 4: 24)
• 519. Second decree. Darius reads and enacts the decree of Cyrus.
• 520/19. Second year of Darius (Zerubbabel and Jeshua renew rebuilding). (Ezra 4: 24)
• 515. Temple completed in the sixth year of Darius (Ezra 6: 15).
• 457. Third decree given by Artaxerxes. It took the third decree to restore the stolen furnishings and treasures.
• 445. Nehemiah took 52 days to repair the wall around the twentieth year of Artaxerxes. (Nehemiah 6: 15 and 2: 1).
• The houses were not built when the wall was completed because few people had returned. (Nehemiah 7: 4).

Times of Distress. it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. (Daniel 9: 25)

Nehemiah 4: 16-17 says that they had to rebuild the walls with half the people as armed guards. Ezra also records the attempts to stop the building. Their enemies succeeded in convincing Xerxes that the Jews would cause trouble. Consequently, two previous commandments to rebuild were not obeyed because of the delaying tactics of the enemy.
Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah, and frightened them from building. And hired counselors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. (Ezra 4: 4-5)

The Last Seven Years (The Seventieth Week)
Sixty nine of the seventy weeks elapsed from the decree to rebuild until the Messiah. The Messiah appears during the final week. This is represented by the seven day feast of unleavened bread. The Jews has seven years to remove sin. The Gospel commission was only given to the Christians after they rejected the disciples. Then they had forty years of wandering before the wrath of God fell again on their temple in 70 AD.

• The Anointing (27 A.D.)
  until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty two weeks. (Daniel 9: 25)

  483 Years		7 Years
  7 Weeks	62 Weeks	1 Week
  		Messiah

  
  The word Messiah means the "anointed one". Christ did not officially become the Messiah until the anointing which occurred at the baptism. He was baptized by water and by the Holy Spirit who descended in the form of a dove.
  Then Jesus arrived from Galilee at the Jordan coming to John to be baptized by him. But John tried to prevent Him saying "I have need to be baptized by You, and do You come to me?" But Jesus answering said to Him, "Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he permitted Him. After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and look, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and coming on Him. and look, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased". (Matthew 3: 13-17).

  The Reign of Tiberius Caesar (13 or 14 to 37 A.D.) Augustus Caesar ruled from 27 BC and died on 19 August 14 A.D. He was succeeded by his stepson, Tiberius. The senate confirmed his position on September 18. He was adopted in 4 AD and became co-emperor with Augustus in 13 AD when the senate approved him as proconsul and princeps with Augustus to eliminate the problem of hereditory transfer of power.

  
  The seven prophetic weeks or 49 real years went from 457BC to 408BC.
  The 62 weeks or 434 years went from 408 B.C. to A.D. 27.
  What happened in 27 A.D.?
  • It was the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar. (Luke 3: 1-3)
  • Jesus became the Messiah at His baptism. (John 1: 41)
  • The baptism of Jesus. (Luke 3: 21-22)
  • God anointed Jesus with the Holy Ghost. (Acts 10: 38)
  • "eager expectation." There was messianic hope among the people. (Luke 3: 15). Probably because they believed that the Messiah would come in the seventy seventh generation after Adam.
  • Jesus announced the fulfillment of a time prophecy. (Mark 1: 14-15)
    But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His son, born of a woman, born under the law. (Galatians 4: 4)
• The Crucifixion (31 A.D.)
  and after the 62 weeks, shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself. (Daniel 9: 26)

  The Evidence for Christ Item Comment Decree Sixty nine weeks after any of the decrees ended during 54 BC to 27 A.D. Only Jesus appeared in this time. Other Messiahs Other Messiahs appear too late or too early Legacy No movement survives all the other possible candidates. History Christianity is the leading religion Talmud Messiah must come during the second temple period. (Sanhedrin 99:a).

  
  Circumcision (Cut off). The Prince of the Covenant would be cut off in the same way as the sign of the initiation into the covenant. His human body would be cut off like the foreskin. He will die after the sixty two weeks for the sins of others. Later we will learn which year and what day and time.
  
  ... But Not for Himself. Jesus died for the sins of the world.
  but not for himself can also be translated as and have nothing.
  Sometime after the 62 weeks, after A.D. 27, Christ was indeed "cut off" (Hebrew "Karath" - which means "cut off", "kill" ), and he literally had nothing - even his disciples forsook him at that time.
  But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled. (Matthew 26: 56)
  
  ... and the people of the prince that shall come shall 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: 26)
  The word "Prince" refers to two people.
  » Jesus: Prince of the Covenant. The Messiah is the Prince of the Covenant (Daniel 11: 22). The Jews are the people of the Prince who destroyed Him. They destroyed His body which He referred to as the sanctuary.
  "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up". ... But He was speaking of the temple of His body. (John 2: 19, 21 ).
  » Titus: Prince of the Roman Army. The total desolation of Jerusalem occurred as predicted. Water represents people, and a flood represents people coming by force. The Roman army came like a flood and the war desolated and destroyed the sanctuary. Having rejected God's Messiah, the city was destroyed by the Roman Legions under Titus in A.D. 70.

  Three Days and Nights in the Bowel Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Night 1 Day 1 Night 2 Day 2 Night 3 Day 3 Nissan 14 Nissan 15 Nissan 16 Lamb Killed Sabbath Wavesheaf Tortured, Killed Buried Resurrection Boil and Eat Swallow Vomit Jesus in the Bowels Jonah in the Belly of the Fish Jonah 1: 14-16 Jonah 1: 17 Jonah 2: 10 A high Sabbath is the merging of two Sabbaths when the Sabbath of a feast day occurs on the Weekly Sabbath.

  
  
  The End of the Second Temple Period.
  Apparently, the Talmud states the following.
  "Messiah must come during second temple period". (Sanhedrin 99:a).
  The second temple period ended in 70 AD when the Romans destroyed it.
  
  Friday Crucifixion.
  When was Jesus crucified? It was the day before a high Sabbath. This means that the Passover Sabbath occurred on the same day as the weekly Sabbath. Unfortunately, our current Jewish calendars and astronomical calculations cannot confirm a high Sabbath during these years. Why? It is because the Jews had a calendar reform in 135 A.D. and we do not know how this change affected previous calendars. Therefore, anyone who attempts to calculate feast days by counting back from current calendars will be incorrect for any years before 135 A.D.
  
  The Jewish day was from sunset to sunset. Jesus was killed on Nissan 14. This is Thursday night through Friday evening. Nissan 15 was the second day of Passover. This is a feast Sabbath. It was also the weekly Sabbath.
  The Impossible Solar Eclipse of 31 A.D.
  Historical records cannot tell us when the crucifixion occurred. Various religious groups place it somewhere between 28 and 34 AD. Some try to prove their argument by trying to calculate when a solar eclipse might have been visible over Jerusalem within a ten year period that should cover His death. But such proof is scientifically impossible. Because the Jewish calendar was a lunar calendar, we are positive that Jesus died during a full moon. Nisan 14-15 occurs on a full moon every time. The darkness that occurred during the crucifixion could not have been the result of a normal solar eclipse because solar eclipses only happen during a new moon! In addition, since a full moon is half way between new moons, the Passover is scientifically the worst possible time for a solar eclipse to occur. So the dark day was a miracle that was cause by forces we do not understand.
  
  The Ministry of One Righteous Life - Daniel 9: 27.
  Jesus fulfilled this prophecy.
  Covenant. and he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week. (Daniel 9: 27)
  

  The Gap Theory Error
  #	Prophecy
  1	Jesus confirms the covenant for one week
  	The Antichrist makes a seven year peace treaty with Israel
  2	Jesus causes animal sacrifices to stop
  	The Antichrist stops all sacrifices when he breaks the treaty after three and a half years.
  3	Jesus and the temple were desolated
  	The Antichrist persecutes. The temple must be rebuilt and sacrifices restarted
  The Gap Theory assigns this prophecy to the Antichrist and interprets the three points of verse 27 as we describe above.

  The entire Bible is about this covenant. The "Messiah" or "Christ" is the Prince of this covenant and the use of the word Messiah in verse 25 is a clue that this prophecy is about the fulfillment of the eternal covenant. Verse 27 confirms this. Therefore, this covenant is God's covenant, not a future peace treaty by Antichrist.
  
  The Final Week: (A Global Fulfillment).
  This week is the final seven years of the 490 year prophecy. Jesus confirmed the covenant with "many" of the Jewish people for the period of his ministry (3½ years) and then after his crucifixion and resurrection, through the early Church for another 3½ years until the stoning of Stephen after which time the gospel was taken to the Gentiles.
  Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers. (Romans 15: 8)
  How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by them that heard him. (Hebrews 2: 3)
  
  The Final Week (A Local Fulfillment).
  This week is the final week of His life. His ministry lasted 3.5 years of seven years. But when He came to Jerusalem on the donkey for the final Passover the events lasted one week and He was "in the bowels of the earth" in the middle of the week.

  Monday	3.5 Days Teaching	Thursday Night		3.5 Days in the Bowels	Resurrection	Sunday Evening

  
  Death. and in the middle of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and grain offering [oblation] to cease. (Daniel 9: 27)
  Christ paid the ultimate sacrifice. He was killed in the middle of this seven year period. This was in 31 A.D. And by doing so, he did away with the need for animal sacrifices and sin offerings. He caused the Temple veil to be rent from top to bottom (Matthew 27: 51) symbolizing that man now could have access directly to God without priests through the atoning blood of his sacrifice. No more was God shielded from man by the temple veil. Christ had paid the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. As a result he had fulfilled the shadow of the Mosaic sacrificial law.
  Above when he said, sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin you would not, neither have pleasure in them; which are offered by the law: Then said he, Lo, I come to do your will, O God. He takes away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. (Hebrews 10: 8-10)
  
  (Christ had "done away with" or "fulfilled" the sacrificial law, and had established His eternal covenant of "Grace" -- He had paid the penalty for all of our sins - satisfying God's justice of requiring a blood sacrifice for sins. )
  
  The Year, Date and Time He Died. This prophecy tells us what year He would die. But another prophecy tells us what day and time. This was the prophecy told by the Passover feast. In the Passover, the lamb would die and the blood would cover all who trusted in it and they would be passed over by death. The sacrificial system also designated when the lamb would die. It was between the evening. After the sun started going down from its highest point at midday. So this is when the Messiah would die.
  • Year. 31 A.D. 483 + 3½ years after the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem.
  • Day. Nisan 14. On Passover.
  • Time. 3 to 6 P.M. The time the Passover lamb was killed.
  
  Curse and Abominations. and for the overspreading [wings] of abominations he shall make it desolate. (Daniel 9: 27)
  God brought about or allowed desolation's because of the unfaithfulness of Israel (Daniel 9: 11,18). Just like the desolations that occurred when the Babylonians destroyed the city and the sanctuary; this punishment would occur because of the covenant curse. They were hostile to God when they rejected the Messiah. In fact, the greatest hostility to God is this killing of God.
  So the desolations of the curse came. The Romans destroyed the city and the sanctuary and killed over one million people in 70 A.D. (Matthew 24: 15). This also prophetically applies as a type or foretaste of the coming desolation of the church at the hands of Papal Rome.

  The Cross: (כנף) The Wings of Abomination (Abomination on Soaring Heights)
  

  See how Christ Suffered the Curses for Us

  What does the phrase "wings of abomination" mean? Let us look at a Jewish translation of this verse in the book "Daniel. Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Hersh Goldwurm. Page 265-267". It states that the Hebrew word for wing is a metaphor for a "high place" just as a winged bird flies. (כנף)
  ... and upon soaring heights will the mute abominations be. Until exterminations as decreed will pour down on the abomination. (Daniel 9: 27)
  
  The abomination on soaring heights is the death of God on the cross. Even the cross looks like wings spread out.
  If you look at the words of Jesus Christ in John 12: 32 you get the same image. His death, lifted high on the cross is the abomination (the murder of God) that occurred on "soaring heights".
  And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself. (John 12: 32)
  However, it was this abominable death of an innocent that atoned for our sins and allows Him to draw us back to God.
  How did Jesus become an abomination?

  • He Became Sin. He made Him who knew no sin to became sin for us ... (2 Corinthians 5: 21)
    
  • He Became the Abominable Serpent. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. so that whoever believes in Him will have eternal life. (John 3: 14-15)
    He became a symbol of Satan because He became sin. But salvation came from what seemed to be cursed.
  • He Became the Demon Goat. This was another symbol of Satan that was the sin offering.
  • The Mute Abomination. He was silent. Normally, this refers to a dumb, lifeless idol that cannot talk. But Jesus also remained silent even when He was being oppressed.
    ... He was led as a sheep to slaughter; as a lamb before its shearer is silent; so He does not open His mouth. (Acts 8: 32; Isaiah 53: 7)

  The Final Curse: Desolations (The Decreed Exterminations)
  Until exterminations as decreed will pour down on the abomination. (Daniel 9: 27)

  The Abominations and Desolations # Abomination Desolation 1 Jesus Became sin Body crucified 2 Jews Reject Christ Temple destroyed in 70 A.D. Both Jesus and the Jews became abominations that were desolated. 3 Rome Destroy temple Mt. Vesuvius 79 AD 4 Wicked Destroy church Seven last plagues
  See the lesson on the Blessings and Curses

  
  
  It is the covenant curse that decrees desolations and exterminations.
  and I will make your cities as well as make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your soothing aromas.
  I will make the land desolate so that your enemies who settle in it will be appalled over it. (Leviticus 26: 31-32)
  
  This legal extermination for becoming an abomination occurred on two levels.

  • Jesus. He was exterminated for becoming sin.
  • Israel. The destruction of Jerusalem and the temple occurred because of their final hostility to God.
    Jesus interpreted their desolation as occurring when the sanctuary was destroyed. They had an additional 3.5 years to fulfill the covenant. After the last Passover the generation had an additional forty years to consider the events. Just as their ancestors wandered in the desert for forty years after the first Passover, they had forty years to accept their God after the last Passover (the crucifixion). This final desolation happened when the Romans destroyed the temple in 70 A.D. It is not a future event over 2000 years later. It would be an event seen by that generation.
    Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken through Daniel the prophet standing in the Holy Place [let the reader understand], then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. (Matthew 24: 15-16)
    But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. (Luke 21: 20)
    But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be [let the reader understand], then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. (Mark 13: 14)

  Three and a Half Years
  How do we know that Christ worked for three and a half years?
  First, this prophecy sets the time between His anointing and "cutting off" as half a week. Secondly, the gospels also verify some of this.

  • Beginning of Ministry. Jesus started His ministry at His baptism and His anointing at the age of thirty. In another lesson we prove that He was born during the Feast of Tabernacles.
    When He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age. (Luke 3: 23).
  • End of Ministry. His ministry ended during the Passover when He was crucified.
  • Duration of Ministry. He worked as the Good Shepherd for about three Passovers.

    6 Months		Year 1	Year 2	Year 3
    30 Years Old (Luke 3: 23)		31 Years Old	32 Years Old	33 Years Old
    Tabernacles	Passover	Passover?	Passover	Passover
    Baptism	Cleansed the temple (John 2: 13-15)	Heals on the Sabbath (John 5: 1, 9)	Five loaves, two fishes (John 6: 4, 9)	Crucifixion (John 11: 55-57)
    Good Shepherd	Drove away the wolves	Heals the sheep	Feeds the Sheep	Died for us

  • Age at Death. He died at about the age of 33 as required by the prophecy of the unclean woman.

• Probation Ends - The Stoning of Stephen (34 A.D.)
  At the end of the 490 years, the end of the seventieth week the time for the Jews was over. The responsibility for teaching the world about the kingdom of God passed to another nation.
  Look, your house is being left to you desolate. (Matthew 23: 38)
  
  At the end of this period, Stephen was stoned and he became the first Christian martyr. The Jewish people had gotten Rome to kill Christ for them. But here, the Sanhedrin directly did the stoning!
  Saul was present at the stoning of Stephen and he was later called to go to the Gentiles. (Acts 7: 51-60)
  The message was taken from the Jews and given to the Gentiles to become the light to spread the good news to all the earth. Prior to this, it was supposed to be the Jews who God intended to be the light bearers. But they rejected the truth and light given to them once too often, and lost that privilege. (Acts 13: 46-47)
  Therefore, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing the fruit of it. (Matthew 21: 43)

The Desolations of Israel: The Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D.
... 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: 26)

Desolation of the Sanhedrin The people suffered just like Jesus. From the account of Josephus these are the details. ★ Siege Jerusalem was surrounded ★ Famine and Cannibalism Women ate their own children ★ High Priest Wrongly Accused The high priest Matthias, the third generation and the grandson of Annas, was wrongly accused by his own people of treason ★ Sanhedrin Massacred Three of Matthias' sons were killed before him. Then he and 16 other members of the sanhedrin were executed ★ King Eaten by Worms In 44, Herod Agrippa 1 was eaten by worms immediately after the people called him a god ★ Mass Crucifixions People who tried to find food at night were beaten, tortured and crucified until there was no more wood to make crosses ★ Temple Burned The temple was destroyed

After the nation of Israel rejected Christ, they had three and a half years of ministry from the disciples. After they stoned Stephen, and the Gospel legally went to the Gentiles, they had another forty years before the temple was destroyed. Destruction also came to the high priest Matthias, the grandson of Annas, in the third and fourth generation as the third commandment required.
... visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, and on the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me. (Deuteronomy 5: 9)
Beginning on Passover (April 14, 70 AD or Nisan 17) Titus besieged the temple from April to September. On Tisha B'av (9th Av or August 10), the temple began to burn. Titus finally had control by September 7 around Yom Kippur. The city and the temple were destroyed by the flood that was the Roman army.
Records indicate that for forty Passovers and Yom Kippurs until the destruction of the temple in 70 AD, God signified that He had rejected the earthly temple services through several miracles. If the miracles began at Passover in the year of the crucifixion (31 A.D.) then the fortieth Passover and Yom Kippur would be in 70 A.D. This is thirty nine years and eight months later, or about forty years.

Forty years before the destruction of the Temple, the western light went out, the crimson thread remained crimson, and the lot for the Lord always came up in the left hand. They would close the gates of the Temple by night and get up in the morning and find them wide open.
Jerusalem Talmud (Jacob Neusner, The Yerushalmi, page 156-157)

"Our rabbis taught: During the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple the lot ['For the Lord'] did not come up in the right hand; nor did the crimson-colored strap become white; nor did the western most light shine; and the doors of the Hekel [Temple] would open by themselves".
Babylonian Talmud (Soncino version, Yoma 39b)

• The Temple Lot. On Yom Kippur, a lot was used to determine which of the two goats would be the Lord's goat and which would be Azazel, the scapegoat (Leviticus 16: 8). The priest placed both hands in a bowl so that the hand which received the lot was just as random as the lot that was selected. The lot for Azazel was the black stone. Before the crucifixion, the choice would be governed by chance. The priest would pick a black stone as often as he picked the white stone for either the left or right hand. But after the crucifixion, the priest always picked the black stone in his left hand for forty years. The Lord's Goat was now sitting at the right hand of God permanently.
• The Red Strip. A red strip of cloth was tied to the Azazel goat at Yom Kippur and a piece was also tied to the temple door. Every year the red cloth on the door would turn white to signify the acceptance of the atonement. But it remained red for the last forty years.
• Open Temple Doors. The temple doors would open every night on their own for forty years. This open door began at the crucifixion when the veil that separated the Most Holy Place was ripped in two from top to bottom (Matthew 27: 51).
• Menorah Light. The eternal flame of the menorah was never to be extinguished. But every night for forty years the light would go out no matter what the priests did to keep it lit.

The Desolations of Rome: The Destruction of the Roman Army in 79 A.D.
... 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: 26)
Everyone who killed Christ was desolated according to this same pattern when their end came.

• The Prince who is to Come ("Titus"). Titus is the prince to come and his people are the Roman legion that destroyed Jerusalem. At that time he was general of the army. Nine years later, He was emperor of Rome for three years and his reign was cursed with disasters.
• The Flood at Its End (Mount Vesuvius). The flood that came at its end was a fiery flood of lava and volcanic ash that destroyed the city of Pompeii and Herculeneum where the army of Titus was on vacation.
  Destruction of the Soldiers. Forty nine years after the death of Christ, on 24 August 79 AD, and one month after Titus became emperor on June 24, the Roman legion under then general Titus who were responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple were on vacation in Pompeii when a volcanic eruption blew up Mount Vesuvius and buried the city of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Stabiae and the soldiers who desecrated the sanctuary! They were stoned to death with hell fire! The Romans had no idea that this volcano existed.
  The Colosseum (Flavian Amphitheatre) was funded by the treasures taken from the temple. Beginning in 72 AD, it was built by his father Vespasian, opened in 79 AD and dedicated by Titus in 80 AD with 100 days of festivities. 50 tons of gold and silver treasures were stolen and paraded through the streets of Rome in 71 AD. The event is carved in the arch of Titus in the Colosseum which was built to honor the Roman conquest of Jerusalem.
  Destruction of the City of Rome. Rome and its people were destroyed by fire and plague as revenge for the destruction of the city and the people and the burning of the temple.
  » Fires. In 80 A.D. a fire ravaged Rome for three days and nights.
  » Plague. In 80-81 A.D. one of the worst bouts of plague hit Rome. 10,000 were buried in one day.
  Destruction of Pompeii. The volcano also destroyed the city named after the man who conquered Jerusalem in 63 BC and put Israel under Roman rule. Pompey had entered the temple and desecrated it. In a civil war with Julius Caesar he was beheaded when he fled to Egypt. So his head and his name were cut off.

The Desolations of the Earth: The Destruction of Satan
Verse 26 is about the crucifixion of Christ. But notice at the end it hints that there will be similar wars and desolations up to the end. The crucifixion was just one crucial battle in the war on sin that caused the desolation of Christ. But until the final end, there will be more wars and more desolations. Sometimes the good are the victims, but ultimately evil loses the war.
With every desolation, a way of escape is made through a place or in the sleep of death. For the righteous, death is temporary. For the wicked, death will ultimately be permanent. All the battles in this war followed the same pattern of desolation.

War in Heaven		War of the Angels			War of the Dragon			War of the Bridegroom
Elapsed Time		Unknown	6000 Years					1000 Years
Battle		Satan Rebels		Wicked	Christ	70 (A.D.)	Little horn	Second Coming		Armageddon
Desolation	People	Bad angels	Adam	Noah	Christ	Israel	Church	Good	Wicked	Satan	All Wicked
	City	Heaven	Earth	Earth	Disciples	Jerusalem	Church	Babylon the Great			Gog, Magog
	Sanctuary	Throne	Eden	Earth	His Body	Temple	Truth	False religion			Earth
	The End	Exile	Exile	Death	Crucifixion	Destroyed	Martyred	Seven Last Plagues			Second death
	The Flood	Michael	Satan	Flood	Roman Army		Europe	Army of Christ			Lake of fire
The Great Escape		Sick Earth		Ark	Heaven	Christians	America	Heaven	Death	Abyss	No Escape

The desolations began in Heaven when Satan, one of the covering cherubs at the throne of God rebelled. He was thrown out of heaven by Michael and His army (Revelation 12: 7). Satan and his angels were banished to the earth. They literally escaped to earth. They exported the rebellion to earth and destroyed Eden so Adam was also banished to the earth, outside of Eden.
Almost two thousand years later, God had to destroy the earth with a flood because the rebellion had become extensive.
Two thousand years later Israel was exiled when Jerusalem fell, but the Christians escaped when the Romans temporarily abandoned the siege. The church would later be martyred for another thousand years before it escaped to the new world.

The Six Major Points of Daniel 9: 24. The Work of the Messiah

The Gap Theory Error 69 Weeks 2000+ Year Gap 1 Week The Gap Theory claims that Jesus did not accomplish all these six points. Some groups claim none were completed others say only some were. Therefore the prophetic clock stopped and the last seven years is ripped from the preceding 69 years and placed at the end of time. Jesus and the Jews will fulfill this prophecy during the last seven years on earth. The period between is called the Gap. The problem is that this is illogical. 69 + 2000 + 1 is not equal to seventy. God could just have easily said 69 weeks. This theory makes it seem that God did not expect Jesus to fail at doing all the works. So being surprised by the failure, He had to postpone the remaining time until the end. The creative minds have begun to speculate that God counts time by covenants. In this way they ignore huge gaps in time.

Gabriel made six major points in Daniel 9: 24. Seventy weeks (490 years) are given to Israel and Jerusalem to confirm the covenant with these specific actions. Jesus fulfilled them as the only faithful Jew.

1. Finish the transgression (to end lawlessness).
   Fill up the measure of the guilt of your fathers. (Matthew 23: 32)
   They were about to tip the scale of disobedience and the final curse would be applied. But one righteous Jew would remain faithful.
2. To make an end of sins. This was the period up to the end of the Jewish probation. They had this long to cease being lawless, and to follow God as He intended. See Hebrews 9: 11-14; 10: 9-14.
   ... but now once in the end of the world He has appeared in the world to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. (Hebrews 9: 26)
   See Hebrews 5: 9. One righteous man can be exchanged for many and end all sin. This is fair because one disobedient man brought this punishment on the world.
3. To make reconciliation for iniquity. Jesus did this at the cross.
   For if, when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5: 8-11 (Verse 10))
   And all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 5: 17-20) See Colossians 1: 20-21
4. To bring in everlasting righteousness. Jesus did this at the Cross when He introduced righteousness by faith.
   See Romans 3: 21-26; 4: 13; 5: 17-19.
   For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. (Romans 5: 19)
5. To seal up the vision and prophecy. By clearly demonstrating the fulfillment of the 490 years (70 weeks) prophecy, Jesus "sealed" or confirmed the accuracy of the overall prophecy of Daniel 8 and 9. So He "sealed" or authenticated and validated the vision and the prophecy for us. Since the 70 week portion of the 2300 years was confirmed on earth with such startling accuracy, we should have equal confidence to unearth the fulfillment for the end of the 2300 years.
6. To anoint the most Holy.
   and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of Heaven. "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well pleased". (Luke 3: 22)
   The Hebrew can read Most Holy One or Most Holy. As we learned Jesus was the Holy one of God that was anointed A.D. 27. at His baptism when the Holy Spirit descended on Him.
   Christ went up to heaven after His resurrection to inaugurate the real sanctuary in heaven and begin His ministry as the high priest, when he presented Himself as the wavesheaf at His resurrection. So it is also possible that this prophecy means that He anointed the sanctuary in heaven. The Most Holy One anointed the Most Holy Place.
   Just as the prophecy indicated, Christ's anointing occurred and the beginning of the sanctuary ministry in heaven occurred within the 70 weeks.

1844: The Cleansing of the Sanctuary
Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said to that certain saint which spoke, How long shall be the vision about the daily [sacrifice], and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said to me, to two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed [restored to its rightful state]. (Daniel 8: 13-14)
The cleansing of the sanctuary occurred on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16: 29-31, 33, 34). On this day, the high priest entered the Most Holy Place, symbolically transferred the accumulated sins from the sanctuary (the temple) to the scapegoat, and he then banished the scapegoat to the desert. (Leviticus 16: 10, 29, 30) In the Hebrew tradition it was the last day in which they could be sealed and have their names kept in the book of life!

Captivity in Babylon	2300 Days (Daniel 8: 14) (Chazon)							Time of the End
	Daniel 9: 25, 26		Daniel 9: 27			1810 years		Sanctuary Cleansed or Restored		Second Coming	Scape goat
	(Mar'eh) 70 weeks (490 years) cut off					Sanctuary Destroyed	-
	69 weeks (483 years)		1 week (7 years)
	7 Weeks (49 years)	62 Weeks (434 years)	Christ (3½ years)		Ministry to Jews (3½ years)	Christian era
70 Years	483 Years		3½ Years		40 Years		-	-	Wrath	1000 Years
70 Years	457 B.C.		27 A.D.	31 A.D.	34 A.D.	70 A.D.	1844	Now		Azazel Banished
-			Passover		Day of Atonement
The 2300 years and the 490 years both start at the same time. Therefore, 490 years are "cut out" from the 2300. 2300 - 490 = 1810 years.   A.D. 34 + 1810 = A.D. 1844. Seventy weeks were cut off of the longer time prophecy of 2300 days. This time was given to the Jews. It began with the release from Babylonian captivity when the commandment to build and restore Jerusalem was given. The seventy weeks would end with the Messiah. 457 B.C. Decree to restore and build Jerusalem after Babylon. The final decree provided the money to rebuild. 27 A.D. Baptism of Jesus. He was anointed by the Holy Spirit and formally became the Messiah at that time. 31 A.D. The crucifixion of Jesus 34 A.D. The stoning of Stephen. The gospel formally goes out to the Gentiles who will produce the fruits. 1844 A.D. The 2300 day time prophecy ends with the formal beginning of the judgment.

Sprinkling the Blood The blood was sprinkled on the ark eight times. Once up and then seven times down. He first offered His own blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. This is the blood cast up. Then the people made seven wounds that shed His blood. Gethsemane. Blood from His pores that He gave. Beaten. Flagellum tore skin. Crown of Thorns. 4 Nails. Hands and Feet Sword in His side. Blood and water poured out.

The events of the day of of atonement began to be fulfilled at the crucifixion. They will end at the millennium. During this day, the High Priest is ministering in the sanctuary as He removes the sin of the penitent people and cleanses the sanctuary. The day had several important events.

• Casting Lots ("31 AD"). The priests and people selected the Lord's goat who was to die for sins. They chose Jesus and released Judas and Barabbas.
• Lord's Goat Killed ("31 AD"). When He died during the Passover the curtain that concealed the Most Holy Place was torn. It is now the Day of Atonement. The only day that the Most Holy Place can be opened.
• Blood Applied to the Most Holy Place ("31 AD to Second Coming"). Jesus ministers as our High Priest in heaven, using His own blood for the removal of our sins.
  » Tamid ("Continual"). The regular daily offerings were made.
  » Mussaf. The special additional offerings of a bull, ram, seven male lambs and a goat were given.
  » Atonement. Finally the high priest entered the Most Holy Place to cleanse the sanctuary. Jewish tradition says that the High Priest entered the Most Holy Place four times on the Day of atonement. He made three offerings and then he retrieved the vessels that he used.
  1. Incense. The most important offering was prayer using a pan with incense and hot coals.
  2. Bull Offering. He made atonement for himself. Jesus became sin. The blood was sprinkled eight times on the ark and then on the curtains.
  3. Lord's Goat. He made atonement for the sins of the people. The blood of the goat was sprinkled eight times on the ark. Then he sprinkled the bull's blood and then the goat's blood on the curtain eight times. Then he mixed the blood of the bull and goat and placed it on the four corners of the altar of incense and sprinkled the mixed blood seven times in the center.
  4. Pan and Spoon. He retrieved the vessels that were used for the incense offering.
  
  » Joyful Greeting. When the high priest leaves the sanctuary, the crowds kissed his hands to show gratitude.
  » Ne'ilah ("Locking"). Near sunset the door to the ark that contains the Torah remains open for the entire service. Then it is closed as a signal that the gates of heaven are shut.
  » A Feast. When he gets home, he invites his friends and family to a feast.
• Sanctuary Cleansed ("1844"). So, we have the end of the 2300 years and the date for the restoration and cleansing of the sanctuary in the heavenly temple in 1844. So, what happened in 1844?
  He went in the Most Holy Place to cleanse the sanctuary by making the atonement offerings.

  The Sealing of the Righteous During this awesome time, the people are being sealed. They repent as they recognize the significance of the events in heaven.

  • Pan and Spoon. The wrath of God will be poured out when He takes the pan of hot coals and incense and answers the prayers of the martyrs.
  • Ne'ilah. Probation will be closed.
  • Joyful Greeting. Jesus received His dominion and glory from a grateful heaven and earth. (Daniel 7: 14)
  • Feast. The Jews will recognize Him during a Passover feast and we will have a feast in heaven.
  Jesus also restored knowledge of His tamyid (continual) ministry and His role as the High Priest that were almost wiped out in the dark centuries.
  I saw in the night visions, and then, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7: 13,14 RSV)
• The Last Trumpet ("Second Coming"). The service ends with a long blast of the shofar as Satan is defeated.
  Satan is Defeated by Non-Human Forces. By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind he shall magnify himself. Without warning he shall destroy many; and he shall even rise up against the Prince of princes; but, by no human hand, he shall be broken. (Daniel 8: 25 RSV)
• Scapegoat Banished ("Second Coming"). He will be banished to the earth for one thousand years.
• Scapegoat Killed ("Third Coming"). He is thrown off a cliff. Satan will fall from the heights he coveted. He wanted to conquer Mount Zion.

The Restoration of the Sanctuary
Three times Gabriel declares in Daniel 8 that the vision of the 2300 day / years reaches to the time of the end. (Daniel 8: 17,19,26). Therefore, any interpretation that concludes that this was fulfilled before Christ is wrong.

1. So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was frightened and fell upon my face. But he said to me, "Understand, O son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end."
2. He said, "then, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of the indignation; for it pertains to the appointed time of the end.
3. The vision of the evenings and the mornings which has been told is true; but seal up the vision, for it pertains to many days hence." (Daniel 8: 17,19,26).

The 2300 years of Daniel 8: 14 stretches from the time of the ram symbolizing Medo-Persia all the way down to the nineteenth century. At the end of the 2300 years of Daniel 8: 14, Jesus reverses the effects of Satan's control over the church. Heaven has all the testimony and the witnesses that they need to convict Satan in the judgment. (Daniel 8: 14; Daniel 7: 13,14; Daniel 8: 25)

The Objects Restored
At the perfect time God reveals what has been hidden and He restores what has been broken.

• Sanctuary. The sanctuary was destroyed by Babylon and then by Rome in 70 A.D. The importance of the sanctuary, its laws and services are restored after 1844. We recognize that there is an indestructible temple in heaven. We also recognize a body of evidence that will restore the High Priest to His people. This evidence has been obscured for thousands of years because its significance was not understood. Now at the end of time, after the dragon has tried to destroy knowledge, after the skeptics have denied that Jesus Christ even existed, after the skeptics have claimed that the disciples wrote lies and made fanciful and arbitrary connection to prove their Messiah, we find a body of cohesive evidence taken out of the laws, prophets and sanctuary which prove that Jesus is the Messiah that even the disciples did not write about.
• People. The people were rejected in 34 A.D. and the church was split into two groups. The new covenant was made with the Gentiles. But the people of the old covenant were given another task that would help to reconcile the church, restore their dignity and restore the sanctuary at the end of time. Ironically, the people who rejected the Messiah were given the task of keeping the evidence that proved that Jesus is the Messiah! So the two branches of the church will be reunited under the High Priest as the people of the old covenant regain their light and lead the people of the new covenant before the Second Coming.
• Priest. The High Priest Who was rejected by the people in 31 A.D. is now recognized as the High Priest by the entire nation of global Israel (Jews and Gentiles).

The Evidence For Christ As the Messiah
In our next lesson we will show all the evidence from the law and the prophets that Jesus is the Messiah. Some of it is new and even more convincing and more comprehensive than the traditionally accepted evidence.
Here we will deal with the evidence that is related to time and candidates.

First Temple				Second Temple Period												Heavenly Temple
-	The First Decree by Cyrus											Too late
-	1	The Second Decree by Darius											Too late
		2		The Third Decree by Artaxerxes											Too late
				3		Too early			Messianic period							Too late
														Gentiles
586 BC	538 BC	519 BC		457 BC			Judas Maccabee 160 BC		55 BC	36 BC	Jesus Christ 27-31 AD		31 A.D.	34 A.D.	Temple Destroyed 70 A.D.	Shimon Bar Kokhba 132-135 AD	Shabbatai Zvi 1665 A.D.
		-		-		-	Too early	125 BC Only Possible Messianic Period 104 A.D.								Too Late
We know that the Messiah will appear at the end of the 69 weeks. If we assume that we did not know what age He will be at that point, it will be reasonable to give a range of forty years to seventy years on either side of the date of the end of all three decrees for Him to be possibly alive. Therefore, if we allow a maximum age of seventy years, the only possible Messianic period is 125 B.C. to 104 A.D. Only Jesus appeared in this period or within 100 years of the outer limits.

The prophecy says that the Messiah should appear sixty nine weeks after a decree to rebuild Jerusalem. There were three decrees. Assuming any of the three decrees could be correct, we must look at what evidence there is for another possible candidate.

The Candidates. These are the possible candidates throughout history.

1. Judas Maccabee. A leader in the Maccabean revolt in 167 B.C. when the Greeks desecrated the temple under Antiochus Epiphenes. He was killed in 160 B.C. in the battle of Elasa. No movement survives him. He did not claim to be the Messiah.
   » Hasmonean Dynasty. Alexander Balas the Greek ruler, awarded his brother Jonathan the office of priest and later king in the Hasmonean dynasty. His father Mattathias was a lesser priest of the line of Jehoiarib, but not from the line of Zadok who should be priests. They were not from the line of David.
2. Jesus Christ. He said that He was the Messiah. He even said that He is God. He was crucified after a three and a half year ministry in 31. A.D., but a worldwide movement survives Him. Thirty percent of the world is Christian.
3. Jewish Messiahs (30-100 A.D.). These messiahs are on time but no movement survives them and they do not meet other requirements.
   • Theudas (44-46). He led an unsuccessful revolt with about 400 people.

   It came to pass, while Cuspius Fadus was procurator of Judea, that a certain charlatan, whose name was Theudas, persuaded a great part of the people to take their effects with them, and follow him to the Jordan river; for he told them he was a prophet, and that he would, by his own command, divide the river, and afford them an easy passage over it. Many were deluded by his words. However, Fadus did not permit them to make any advantage of his wild attempt, but sent a troop of horsemen out against them. After falling upon them unexpectedly, they slew many of them, and took many of them alive. They also took Theudas alive, cut off his head, and carried it to Jerusalem. Josephus (Jewish Antiquities 20.97-98)

   • Judas the Galilean. He is mentioned in the bible along with Theudas as unsuccessful movements.
   For some time ago Theudas rose up claiming to be somebody, and a group of about four hundred men joined up with him. But he was killed and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After this man Judas of Galilee rose up in the days of the census and drew away some people after him. He too perished and all those who followed him were scattered. (Acts 5: 36-38)
   • Menahem ben Judah (70). A zealot who led a revolt at Masada. He was killed as a result of a conspiracy by another zealot.
4. Shimon Bar Kokhba. From 132-135, he started a three and a half year revolt against the Roman occupation. The high priest, Rabbi Akiva, said that he was the Messiah. He was killed and the Jews were exiled from Palestine.
5. Other Jewish Messiahs. These messiahs are too late and no movement survives them.

   133-135	440	684-705	720-723	Crusades	1160	1240
   Bar Kokhba	Moses of Crete	Abu 'Isa	Serene	Several Messiahs	David Alroy	Abraham Abulafia

   
   • Moses of Crete. The Messiah was expected in 440 because of a computation found in the Talmud and the problems of the declining Roman empire pointed to signs of the times. A man appeared in Crete who promised to lead the people through the sea back to Palestine. On the day of their exodus they threw themselves into the sea and they either drowned or had to be rescued.
6. Shabbatai Zvi (Zevi). In 1665, a Turkish Jew who thought that he could get the Muslims to return Palestine to the Jews. He converted to Islam after he was threatened with death or conversion. This was a very important global movement that led to several claims by subsequent followers to be the Messiah or the reincarnation of Zevi.

   1295	1413	1502	1524-1532	1534-1572	1665-1755	1980's-1994
   Nissim ben Abraham	Moses Botarel of Cisneros	Asher Lemmlein	David Reuveni and Solomon Molko	Isaac Luria	Zevi and his followers	Menachem Mendel Schneerson
   1626-1676 Followers of Zevi 1678-1683 1726-1755 Sabbatai Zevi Barukhia Russo, Miguel (Abraham) Cardoso (1630-1706), Jacob Querido, Löbele Prossnitz Mordecai Mokia Jacob Frank

The Timing of the Three Decrees.
These are the times during which the Messiah could possibly appear. The Messiah should appear during week sixty nine. We do not know what age he will be, therefore we will assume that he could be any age up to about seventy years. Assuming that we also do not know which of the three decrees is the one prophesied, and assuming that the time could be real time (one day is one day) or prophetic time (one day is one year), then we can establish the range of years in which the Messiah must appear.
If any of the three decrees are correct then the Messiah must appear within a reasonable time, sixty nine weeks of real time or (483 prophetic years) after the decrees were issued. And He must die three and a half years later.

• Prophetic Time (538 BC - 31 A.D.). 483 years after the decrees are 55-51 B.C. 36-32 B.C. and 27-31 A.D.
  Only Jesus appeared in this period. And only Jesus appeared within seventy years before or after any of these dates (125 BC - 104 BC).
  Judas Maccabee appeared 100 years too early and no one considers him to be the Messiah. Bar-Kokhba appeared 100 years after but no movement survives him either. All the other candidates appeared too late and no movement survives them. They had no visible effect on the future. Only Jesus did.
• Real Time (538 BC - 457 BC). The Messiah should have appeared within two to six years of one of the decrees. This is 536-532, 517-511 and 455-451. He did not. The major Jewish champions in those times were Nehemiah and Ezra, but they did not claim to be the Messiah.

The Works of the Messiah. The Messiah is associated with certain works, some of which appear to conflict. He also has an established lineage.

Requirements Fulfilled by The Major Candidates
Year	167 BC	31 AD	132 AD	1665	Future
Item	Judas	Jesus	Kokhba	Zvi	All Future
On Time
Line of David
Second Temple
Miracles, Works					Unknown
Redemption					Unknown
Rejected					Unknown
Suffer					Unknown
Conqueror					Unknown
Successful Movement					Unknown

• The Line of David. We know that Jesus was from the line of David through both Mary and His step-father Joseph. Judah Maccabee is from the tribe of Levi. They were priests who illegally took away the throne from the Davidic line. Bar-Kokbah and Zvi cannot trace their lineage because the temple records were destroyed.
  » Bar-Kokbah. However, since the Jews at that time thought that Bar-Kokbah might be the Messiah, we will assume that he was from the line of David.
  » The Temple Records. Since the temple records were destroyed in 70 A.D. no one can accurately establish their lineage anymore. Therefore, they cannot prove their ancestry to David as a requirement for being the Messiah.
  The gospels of Matthew and Luke establish His lineage to Daivd through Joseph and Mary. Judging by the initial reception that He received, Jesus must have met this qualification. This