gooday and welcome to this little study. we are now at part 6 in a series of videos on daniel’s...
TRANSCRIPT
Gooday and welcome to this little study.
We are now at part 6 in a series of videos on Daniel’s Prophecy
of the Seventy Weeks.
There are a number of articles related to this
subject over at the website,
EndTimePilgrim . org.
And also a few videos at the
YOUTube channel
GavinFinley
YOUTube channel
GavinFinley
In our previous video on “Edicts and Timelines” we established from the chronologies that it was
Nehemiah who received the command to restore and to build Jerusalem.
The 69 week 173,880 day timeline of 476 years and 25 days fits neatly between
the Edict given to Nehemiah •in the month of Nisan in 445 B.C. and the Palm Sunday appearance of
“Messiah the Prince” in the month Nisan in 32 A.D..
The Edict and Chronology of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks Prophecy
Candidate #3 The Edict of Nehemiah
Edict of Artaxerxes to Nehemiah445 B.C. (Month of Nisan)
Time span = 476 years + 25 days
32 A.D. Palm
Sunday
69 “Sevens” = 476 years + 25 days
The chronology based on the earlier edict of
Cyrus issued way back in 538 B.C. fell short by a whopping 93 years.
The Edict and Chronology of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks Prophecy
Candidate #1 The Edict of Cyrus
569 Years
32 A.D.
69 weeks = 476.07 Yrs.
62 B.C.
93 yrs.
Edict ofCyrus
538 B.C.
And the chronology based on the earlier edict of Artaxerxes in his 7th year given to Ezra in 458 B.C. fell short by 13 years.
The Edict and Chronology of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks Prophecy
Candidate #2 The Edict of EzraEdict of Artaxerxes to Ezra458 B.C. (- 457 A.D.)
489 Years
32 A.D.
69 weeks = 476.07 Years
19 A.D.
13 yrs.
In this video we shall be considering this question. In
which year did Nehemiah receive the edict to restore
and build Jerusalem? Was it 444 B.C.?
Or was it 445 B.C.?
What year saw theCommandor Edict to rebuild Jerusalem?444 B.C. or445 B.C.?
Here is a brief historical background. In 586 B.C. the Babylonian armies
entered Jerusalem, destroying the city and the Temple and taking
the bulk of Judah captive to Babylon.
The Babylonians were a supremely sophisticated civilization. They thought that they had it made. But their hubris
soon propelled them to the peak of their iniquity. Here at Belshazzar’s feast the wild party had gone on to defile the holy vessels of the God of Israel. When the king saw the writing on the wall he called for the prophet
Daniel. But the words spelled judgment and it was all over.
The armies of Cyrus had diverted the waters of the Euphrates River. And while
Belshazzar’s wild and unholy party was in full swing the city of Babylon had been
compromised. The Persian Army was entering the city from the river through the
breaches at the watergates.
The Persians under Cyrus conquered
Babylon in 538 B.C..
Cyrus then continued his campaign going north to conquer Assyria. It seems he left his uncle, Darius the Mede, in charge for a
couple of years. Darius was co-regent in Babylon for
Cyrus while he was away.
Upon arriving in Babylon Cyrus
declared a general amnesty for all captive people and the exiles of Judah were allowed
to return home.
Cyrus in Babylon declares a general amnesty allowing the
captives of Judah to returnback home to Jerusalem.
Here we see the first part of an answer to prayer that will be 2550+ years in the making.
The next significant royal edict in the restoration came 80 years later. The scrolls of the Torah were rediscovered. This led to a great Biblical revival. In 458 B.C, the scribe Ezra was given favor and funding by Artaxerxes in his 7th year to lead another company of exiles back to Jerusalem. This was a religious movement and not a political one. In the edict given to Ezra there was no mention of restoring the gates and walls to restore political sovereignty to the city of Jerusalem. This matter would be dealt with on a later occasion.
The edict given to Ezra here is no mention at all of rebuilding
the city of Jerusalem. Nor is there any mention of the gates and
walls. At the time of Ezra the city infrastructure was still in ruins and
would remain so for another 13 years on up to 445 B.C..
Nehemiah surveys the broken walls and gates of Jerusalem, 445 B.C.
In the month of Nisan Nehemiah the cupbearer took
the burden of the ruined state of the city of Jerusalem to the Medo-Persian king. It was
Artaxerxes in his 20th year who issued the edict to rebuild and
restore Jerusalem.
Daniel’s prophecy of 538 B.C. calls for a royal command or decree that will ensure the
restoration of the integrity and sovereignty of the city of
Jerusalem. This will necessitate the rebuilding of
its gates and walls. Here is the passage from Daniel 9:25.
“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the
commandment to restore and to
build Jerusalem …”
The street
shall be built again, and the wall, even in
troublesome times.
Here are the words of Nehemiah from Nehemiah 2. They directly and specifically
answer to and address the Jerusalem restoration and the sovereignty issues involving
the street and walls as mentioned in Daniel’s
prophecy.
Nehemiah 25.. . . . .I ask that
you send me to Judah, to the city of my
fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”
Remember that in our search for the correct edict we
suspected that Nehemiah’s main issue, the repair of the gates and walls of
Jerusalem was going to be the key piece of information
and our main clue.
Nehemiah’s burden to rebuild the walls and gates of Jerusalem to restore the city of Jerusalem to
sovereign status as a self-governing city-state was what
made Nehemiah tremble and led to the highly significant royal
decree giving an authorization to “restore and build Jerusalem”.
Take a look at this wonderful Biblically correct image from Nehemiah chapter 2 by the
German artist Gustave Dore.It clearly shows us which edict it was that gave the go ahead
from the Medo-Persian superpower to “restore and
build” Jerusalem.
And why is this image and its scriptural message so
significant? Because the person surveying the broken walls and the burned gates of Jerusalem is none other than
Nehemiah himself!
Nehemiah surveys the broken walls and gates of Jerusalem, 445 B.C.
There was no civic restoration of the city of Jerusalem before
Nehemiah. And even the children in Sunday School know who
rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. So why are our theologians failing to tag the edict of Nehemiah in 445 B.C. as the starting point for the
Seventy Weeks Prophecy?
Before Nehemiah Jerusalem was an encampment of exiles
in a rough Medo-Persian territory. Rude houses were clustered around a rebuilt
temple inside the broken shell of a former city. The walls and
gates were in ruins.
It was Nehemiah who undertook the restoration of the gates and walls of Jerusalem to restore it as a self-governing sovereign city-state. Only Nehemiah had
received authority from the Medo-Persian king to do this.
As we see in this picture it was a huge task
The decree of Artaxerxes in his 20th year was given
to Nehemiah under the new moon of Nisan in the year 445 B.C. and we are going to prove that further
along in this video.
The Decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus given to Nehemiah
445 B.C.
Our scripture is found in Nehemiah chapter 2.
Nehemiah 2 1……in the
month of Nisan, in the
twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,
It is important to appreciate Nehemiah’s predicament here. He was the kings butler and wine is always presented in a spirit of
celebration and cheer. The king was supposed to be the center of this
glory and good spirits, and especially when wine was being served.
So for Nehemiah’s countenance to be sad was for it to be bad. In Hebrew and as a matter of custom in ancient times a
sad countenance was a bad countenance. For the kings butler,
traditionally a man of cheer, to serve wine when he was sad was more than just a
matter of bad taste. A gloomy countenance would be perceived as a
bad attitude. It would be an insult to the presence of the king, . . Unless, . .
Unless the king understood the burden of the person bringing the
appeal and was inclined to do something about it. His royal scepter held great authority for both blessing and for judgment. We saw this in the case of Esther before a later Persian
King Ahasuerus.
The king’s butler was under the gun here. The matter he was bringing up involved the sovereignty of the Medo Persian superpower and the ruined
and forgotten city of Jerusalem, a city that in former times had not paid its taxes to the superpower of Babylon. If the Persian king did not respond
favorably to his appeal then Nehemiah was a dead man.
Alexander Scourby
Nehemiah 21.. . . . Now I had never been sad in his presence before.
2. Therefore the king said to me, “Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? This is nothing but
sorrow of heart.”So I became dreadfully afraid.
Nehemiah 23 (Nehemiah) said to the king,
“May the king live forever! Why should my face not be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire?”
Nehemiah 24 Then the king said to me,
“What do you request?”
Nehemiah 2So I prayed to the God of heaven. 5 And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king,
and if your servant has found favor in your sight,
Nehemiah 25.. . . . .I ask that
you send me to Judah, to the city of my
fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.”
Here is Daniel’s prophecy
Daniel 9:25“Know therefore and
understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to
restore and to build Jerusalem …”
And here again is Nehemiah sadly surveying the broken walls and burned gates of
the city of Jerusalem. He is just about to begin the
fulfillment ofDaniel’s prophecy
The Edict to Restore and Build Jerusalem
In 445 B.C. Nehemiah
secretly surveys the broken walls, the rubble, and the burned gates
of the city.
The edict Nehemiah receives from Artaxerxes Longimanus dispelled his gloom. And the work began soon afterwards.
It was a huge citywide building project to
restore and build Jerusalem
So now we cut to the chase. In what year did holy history record the issuing of a royal edict to restore and build
Jerusalem?
What year saw theCommandor Edict to rebuild Jerusalem?
Nehemiah 2 1……in the
month of Nisan, in the
twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,
Nehemiah 2 1 And it came to pass
in the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,
when wine was before him, that I took the wine and
gave it to the king.
So it was in the springtime Passover month of Nisan in the
20th year of Artaxerxes.
So when did the king Artaxerxes Longimanus
ascend the throne?
Some authorities assignthe commencement of the reign
of Artaxerxes to the death of Xerxes in July 465 B.C.. These authors say the eldest son of Xerxes, (presumably the heir
apparent), was then assassinated by Artaxerxes his younger
brother who immediately took the throne in July 465 B.C..
“Of the three sons of Xerxes the eldest was …. put to death by the youngest, Artaxerxes, ……. who at once, B.C. 465 , took the throne.” - Page 365 - Ridpath’s History of the World - Jones Publishing Co. 1910
Sir Robert Anderson held to this July 465 B.C. commencement
date as well.
“the death of Xerxes and the epoch (beginning) of the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus should be
assigned to the latter part of July, 465 B.C..”
- Sir Robert Anderson “The Coming Prince” page 253
465 B.C. 464 B.C.The 1st Year of Artaxerxes Longimanusbegan in July of 465 B.C.
By this reckoning
465 B.C. 464 B.C.
446 B.C. 445 B.C.
His 20th year began 19 years later in July of 446 B.C. to end in July of 445 B.C.
The 1st Yearof ArtaxerxesJuly 445 B.C,
465 B.C. 464 B.C.
446 B.C. 445 B.C.
His 20th year would have begun 19 years later in July
of 446 B.C.
The 1st Yearof Artaxerxes
NISAN
465 B.C. 464 B.C.
446 B.C. 445 B.C.
His 20th year would have crossed thespringtime Nisan moon
of 445 B.C.
The 1st Yearof Artaxerxes
NISAN
445 B.C.446 B.C.
NISAN
By this reckoning the 20th year of Artaxerxes
tags the springtime Nisan moon in 445 B.C.
Others present evidence that Arbanus reigned
for seven months from July 465 B.C. and was
then assassinated by Artaxerxes in
February of 464 B.C.
“Xerxes was assassinated by Artabanus …... Consequently the accession of Artabanus can be fixed as July or August B.C.
465.”
Ref. SAO/NASA Astrophysics Dating SystemTitle: Aramaic Papyri from Assuan, note on regnal years by E.B. Nobels, 1908Monthly notices – Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 69, page 8
“Artabanus reigned for seven months, all authorities agree, which
brings us to February B.C. 464 when he was killed by Artaxerxes, whose accession can be thus fixed
with considerable accuracy”Ref. SAO/NASA Astrophysics Dating SystemTitle: Aramaic Papyri from Assuan, note on regnal years by E.B. Nobels, 1908Monthly notices – Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 69, page 8
464 B.C. 463 B.C.The 1st Year of Artaxerxes Longimanusbegan in February of 464 B.C.
Establishing the ascension of Artaxerxes Longimanus
464 B.C. 463 B.C.
445 B.C. 444 B.C.
His 20th year would have begun 19 years later in Feb.
of 445 B.C.
The 1st Yearof Artaxerxes
NISAN (March-April)
The Ascession of Artaxerxes
464 B.C. 463 B.C.
445 B.C. 444 B.C.
His 20th year would have still included thespringtime Nisan moon
of 445 B.C.
The 1st Yearof Artaxerxes
NISAN (March-April)
The Ascession of Artaxerxes
444 B.C.445 B.C.
NISAN
According to this reckoningthe 20th year of Artaxerxes STILL tags the springtime Nisan moon in 445 B.C.
So in which year did the command come to restore and rebuild the
city of Jerusalem?
Using BOTH reckoningsof the commencement
of his reign, the20th Year of Artaxerxes
still covers the Nisan moon of
445 B.C.
So the Edict issued to Nehemiah during the springtime Nisan moon of 445 B.C. initiated the Seventy Weeks Prophecy.
So the Edict of Artaxerxes Longimanus issued his 20th year as recorded in Nehemiah 2 came
in the springtime Nisan moon of 445 B.C.