Shepard's Heart
Shepherds Heart Behold I am coming quickly, Revelation 22:17
As John finished writing the Revelation, he records for us this warning and promise from our Lord: Jesus is coming quickly. Since at his first arrival Jesus did not come in the way people thought he should, he was rejected and ultimately killed. Of course, this was all a part of God’s plan and death was defeated. But Jesus has promised to come again, and the question is, are you expecting his visitation? The triumphal entry—Palm Sunday— recorded in Matt. 21:1-17; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-40; John 12:12-19, was prophesied centuries before it occurred and gives us confidence that when Jesus said he’s coming back, he meant it. I want to share an excerpt from a well written article on the prophecy which foretold the coming of the Messiah on Palm Sunday and end with an exhortation. It’s not short so be patient but it’s fruitful for those who stick it out!
In 538 BC, the angel Gabriel gave Daniel a prophecy pinpointing when the Messiah would arrive. “Know and understand this,” Gabriel told him (Daniel 9:25). While Daniel may have understood it, somewhere along the way that insight has been lost. Old Testament scholars have long been debating the prophecy’s meaning, but one scholar, Harold Hoehner, had a particularly astounding interpretation
While in Babylon, Daniel read the Scriptures, learning that Jeremiah had foretold both the Babylonian captivity and the Israelites’ return to their homeland after 70 years. In response, Daniel confessed the sins of the nation in prayer, inciting the angel Gabriel to visit and deliver this message:
“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself” Daniel 9:25
In taking a closer look at the Daniel passage, one thing is clear: it is about the Messiah. It is also clear that a formula of sorts is provided to calculate when the Messiah will appear. The difficulties come in interpreting the formula. One such difficulty is determining the meaning of “weeks.” The context in the Daniel passage shows that “weeks” means “seven units.” Using this definition, we can calculate when the Messiah will arrive: (7 x 7) + (62 x 7) = 49 + 434 = 483 years.
The prophecy further says that after the Messiah arrives, he will be “put to death and will have nothing.” After the Messiah arrives, he will be put to death. Jesus’s crucifixion fulfills that prophecy.
We now know that the Messiah would arrive 483 years in the future. But does the prophecy specify a beginning date? The prophecy tells us: “From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.” So, who ordered this decree to restore Jerusalem, and when was it ordered? The decree that best fits the evidence was made by the Persian king Artaxerxes to Nehemiah on March 5 of 444 BC (Nehemiah 2:1–8).
Before we can make some calculations, we need to know how Daniel’s civilization counted time—by a solar year or a lunar year. A solar year has 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds, or 365.2422 days. A lunar year has exactly 360 days: 12 months of 30 days. [A lunar year has 12 rotation periods, or lunar months, which equal 354.367 Earth days (12 x 29.53059). However, ancient peoples rounded off the lunar month to 30 days. Thus, their lunar year would equal 360 days (30 days x 12).] Since the lunar year was commonly used in ancient biblical times, it makes the most sense to use the lunar year in calculations.
We must also decide how to define the arrival of the Messiah. Do we use Jesus’s birthdate, the date he began his ministry, the date of his crucifixion, or some other date? The date that many scholars have accepted as the time of the Messiah’s arrival is Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem—(Palm Sunday). The reason for choosing this date is that this is when Jesus publicly declared that he was the Messiah. Before then, he told only select people, like his disciples, and he often reminded them to keep his identity secret. History chronologists have estimated that Jesus’s triumphal entry fell on Monday, March 30, AD 33.
Now we’re ready to do some math to determine if Gabriel did in fact predict Jesus’s arrival. We’ll start by determining how many days are in 483 lunar years: 360 x 483 = 173,880 days. Next, we’ll convert those days back into solar years: 173,880 ÷ 365.2422 = 476.068 years. After converting the decimal part (0.068) to days (0.068 x 365.2422 = 24.8 days), the time prophesized for the Messiah to arrive comes out to be 476 years and 25 days.
Adding this number to March 5, 444 BC—the date on which the decree to rebuild Jerusalem was issued—brings us to March 30, AD 33, the very day of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Is this match not remarkable? The remarkable accuracy of the predictions in the prophecy in Daniel [assuming the estimates are correctly interpreted and accurate] supports the truth of the prophecy, which in turn builds confidence in the authority and reliability of the Bible. —Don Olson, Was Jesus’ Arrival Accurately predicted in the Bible?
After Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem almost 2,000 years ago, he wept over those who had missed the time of his visitation (Luke 19:44). His arrival was predicted and fulfilled down to the very day but those who knew better were more interested in their own little kingdoms than the Kingdom of God. So, my question for us today is this: Are you ready for when he comes again? Because the next time Jesus arrives it will not be to take upon his body the sins of the world but to bring swift destruction to his enemies.
Pastor John
As John finished writing the Revelation, he records for us this warning and promise from our Lord: Jesus is coming quickly. Since at his first arrival Jesus did not come in the way people thought he should, he was rejected and ultimately killed. Of course, this was all a part of God’s plan and death was defeated. But Jesus has promised to come again, and the question is, are you expecting his visitation? The triumphal entry—Palm Sunday— recorded in Matt. 21:1-17; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-40; John 12:12-19, was prophesied centuries before it occurred and gives us confidence that when Jesus said he’s coming back, he meant it. I want to share an excerpt from a well written article on the prophecy which foretold the coming of the Messiah on Palm Sunday and end with an exhortation. It’s not short so be patient but it’s fruitful for those who stick it out!
In 538 BC, the angel Gabriel gave Daniel a prophecy pinpointing when the Messiah would arrive. “Know and understand this,” Gabriel told him (Daniel 9:25). While Daniel may have understood it, somewhere along the way that insight has been lost. Old Testament scholars have long been debating the prophecy’s meaning, but one scholar, Harold Hoehner, had a particularly astounding interpretation
While in Babylon, Daniel read the Scriptures, learning that Jeremiah had foretold both the Babylonian captivity and the Israelites’ return to their homeland after 70 years. In response, Daniel confessed the sins of the nation in prayer, inciting the angel Gabriel to visit and deliver this message:
“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself” Daniel 9:25
In taking a closer look at the Daniel passage, one thing is clear: it is about the Messiah. It is also clear that a formula of sorts is provided to calculate when the Messiah will appear. The difficulties come in interpreting the formula. One such difficulty is determining the meaning of “weeks.” The context in the Daniel passage shows that “weeks” means “seven units.” Using this definition, we can calculate when the Messiah will arrive: (7 x 7) + (62 x 7) = 49 + 434 = 483 years.
The prophecy further says that after the Messiah arrives, he will be “put to death and will have nothing.” After the Messiah arrives, he will be put to death. Jesus’s crucifixion fulfills that prophecy.
We now know that the Messiah would arrive 483 years in the future. But does the prophecy specify a beginning date? The prophecy tells us: “From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.” So, who ordered this decree to restore Jerusalem, and when was it ordered? The decree that best fits the evidence was made by the Persian king Artaxerxes to Nehemiah on March 5 of 444 BC (Nehemiah 2:1–8).
Before we can make some calculations, we need to know how Daniel’s civilization counted time—by a solar year or a lunar year. A solar year has 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds, or 365.2422 days. A lunar year has exactly 360 days: 12 months of 30 days. [A lunar year has 12 rotation periods, or lunar months, which equal 354.367 Earth days (12 x 29.53059). However, ancient peoples rounded off the lunar month to 30 days. Thus, their lunar year would equal 360 days (30 days x 12).] Since the lunar year was commonly used in ancient biblical times, it makes the most sense to use the lunar year in calculations.
We must also decide how to define the arrival of the Messiah. Do we use Jesus’s birthdate, the date he began his ministry, the date of his crucifixion, or some other date? The date that many scholars have accepted as the time of the Messiah’s arrival is Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem—(Palm Sunday). The reason for choosing this date is that this is when Jesus publicly declared that he was the Messiah. Before then, he told only select people, like his disciples, and he often reminded them to keep his identity secret. History chronologists have estimated that Jesus’s triumphal entry fell on Monday, March 30, AD 33.
Now we’re ready to do some math to determine if Gabriel did in fact predict Jesus’s arrival. We’ll start by determining how many days are in 483 lunar years: 360 x 483 = 173,880 days. Next, we’ll convert those days back into solar years: 173,880 ÷ 365.2422 = 476.068 years. After converting the decimal part (0.068) to days (0.068 x 365.2422 = 24.8 days), the time prophesized for the Messiah to arrive comes out to be 476 years and 25 days.
Adding this number to March 5, 444 BC—the date on which the decree to rebuild Jerusalem was issued—brings us to March 30, AD 33, the very day of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Is this match not remarkable? The remarkable accuracy of the predictions in the prophecy in Daniel [assuming the estimates are correctly interpreted and accurate] supports the truth of the prophecy, which in turn builds confidence in the authority and reliability of the Bible. —Don Olson, Was Jesus’ Arrival Accurately predicted in the Bible?
After Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem almost 2,000 years ago, he wept over those who had missed the time of his visitation (Luke 19:44). His arrival was predicted and fulfilled down to the very day but those who knew better were more interested in their own little kingdoms than the Kingdom of God. So, my question for us today is this: Are you ready for when he comes again? Because the next time Jesus arrives it will not be to take upon his body the sins of the world but to bring swift destruction to his enemies.
Pastor John