The Bible Confirmed

I know many people try to deny the many prophecies in the Bible and try to disprove them. However, let me point out one thing about Biblical prophecies: 1) they tend to be very detailed, 2) they are fulfilled or are in the process of being fulfilled. That's what differenciates a prophecy from a prediction, right? A prediction made by a person tends to be very vague and for the most part do not come true.

Now, keeping those ideas in mind, let's look at Daniel 9:24-27, which predicts accurately and to the very day when the Messiah would reveal Himself and be cut off from His people (killed). I ask that you read through this carefully. I know it was a bit confusing when someone first showed me this, but it really does make sense.

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 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 tribulous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall the Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consumation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
~Daniel 9:24-27, KJV

We know that when the first sixty-nine weeks starts is after a decree is given to rebuild Jerusalem. That decree was given in 444 BC by King Artaxerxes. However, we need to know how many years these sixty-nine weeks is going to be. The weeks are weeks of years, we can figure out, based on the seventieth week of Daniel being seven years long. This is seen in Revelation 11:2-3; 12:6, 14; 13:5. Also, if these were literal weeks, the Millenial Kingdom would have come just over a year after the writing of Daniel chapter nine, but it did not. Also, we know they had 360 day years based on the fact that ancient Babylon, where he lived, used a 360-day year, as well as ancient Assyria, India, Egypt, Persia, China, and Central and South America.

Now that that is established, let’s figure out the year that this passage is predicting. You can check my math with a calculator, if you wish. So, 69x7 = 483 years. 483 years x 360 days = 173,880 days. Then, we need to convert to solar years, so we divide 173,880 by 365.25, which equals 476 solar years. Go forward 476 years from 444 BC, and you have AD 32, but there was no year zero, so we have to add one, which takes us to AD 33, the year that Christ was cut off (killed, crucified). Pure coincidence? I would think not when this was written many years before His birth, and especially since this prophecy goes further and predicts the exact day that Christ revealed Himself officially as the Messiah.

Let’s now go back to the day the decree was given – March 5, 444 BC. So, March 5, 444 BC going forward 483 years. 483x360=173,880 days. One solar year equals 365.2421978 days. We need to figure out how many solar years this equals, so we divide 173,880 by 365.24219878, which equals 476.06766299 years. 444 BC minus 476 years equals AD 32, and as before you add one year due to the fact that there was no year zero, which brings us to AD 33. Now, to figure out the day.  .06766299 yr.x 365.24219878 days/year = 24.713379244 days, rounded becomes 25 days. March 5+25 days = March 30, AD 33 – the exact day that Christ rode into Jerusalem, presenting Himself as Messiah. The prophecy this fulfilled, as well, was Zechariah 9:9, which says: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.” This was fulfilled in Luke 19:30ff, which says: “Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither. And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him. And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them. And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt? And they said, The Lord hath need of him. And they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon. And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the mulitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the tones would immediately cry out. And when he was come near, he behld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.” He rode into Jerusalem on a colt of a donkey, fulfilling the prophecy of Zephaniah.

Then, the people of the prince mentioned in Daniel 9 were the Romans who came in and destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70. The only thing not yet fulfilled is the 70th week of Daniel, which will be fulfilled during the Tribulation period. Look at the book of Revelation, and you will see it is referring to the same thing as the latter part of Daniel 9. The fulfillment of these prophecies cannot be mere coincidence. To have it to the exact day and the exact year? Nothing can explain that other than it is prophecy from God. Who else revealed himself as the Messiah on March 30, AD 33 and was cut off only four days later? Who else could fulfil this prophecy?