One of the most amazing predictions of the Bible was made in the middle of a
national disaster.

The pride of Israel had been broken. On the heels of a military defeat, some of the most religious people in the world wondered if God had abandoned them. Many of Israel’s brightest and best young people had been exiled to Babylon, a region known today as the nation of Iraq.

One of those young men was an exile named Daniel. In the dark shadows of Babylon he developed a reputation for interpreting dreams and predicting the future.

Today we look back at Daniel as an important Jewish prophet who not only deepened the anticipation of a coming Messiah, but also predicted when this Messiah would come. This prediction is so provocative that many scholars have tried to argue that the prophecy at the center of the controversy must have been written after the fact.

In 1948, however, ancient copies of Daniel were found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. Scholars were forced to admit that Daniel’s predictions were written no later than the second century BC. That conclusion places the prophecies well before the events that were predicted.

So what did Daniel foresee? He said the long-awaited Jewish Messiah would come before the destruction of a rebuilt temple. Even more specifically, the prophet said Messiah would come after a period of 69 “sevens.” This is the kind of prophecy that deserves front-page coverage on every newspaper of the world.

What is the background of this prophecy?

Seventy sevens of history—While in exile, Daniel learned why his nation had been defeated in the Babylonian invasions of 605 and 586 BC. By studying the prophet Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:11; Daniel 9:2), he discovered that his people were enduring 70 years of exile for 490 years of spiritual neglect. During that period they showed their disregard for God by failing to give their fields 70 seventh-year sabbath rests.

Seventy sevens of future—As Daniel looked back over 490 years of spiritual idolatry and unfaithfulness, he learned that his generation was at a pivotal point in history. According to chapter 9 of his prophecy, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and revealed that another period of “seventy sevens” would pass before God’s Messiah appeared to bring the peace they had been waiting for (Daniel 9:24-27; Isaiah 2:1-4; Genesis 12:1-3).

The prediction was Messianic in scope.

Some Jewish writers insist that the Messiah foreseen in Daniel’s vision was the Persian King Cyrus who conquered Babylon and then gave the Jewish people permission to return to their homeland. They point to the prophet Isaiah who quotes God as referring to Cyrus as “My anointed servant” (literally “my messiah”) in Isaiah 45:1.

Cyrus was God’s chosen servant to return Israel to her land. But Cyrus doesn’t fit the rest of the picture (see Daniel 9:24). Daniel’s Messiah was to come 69 “sevens” after the “edict of return.” Then this Messiah was to be “cut off,” as if in defeat, prior to the long-anticipated peace of a messianic age (v.24).

The prediction says when Messiah would come.

As we look back, Daniel’s prediction was that Messiah would come 69 sevens (69×7=483) after “the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem” (Daniel 9:25 NIV). When was that command given? There are three possibilities. The Bible mentions three edicts of two Persian kings who gave the Jewish people a right of return to their homeland. In 539 BC, Cyrus issued a decree allowing the Jewish people to begin rebuilding their temple. Artaxerxes later issued two decrees. His first in 458 BC also authorized the rebuilding of the temple. His second in 444 BC clearly allowed restoration of both the temple and the city of Jerusalem.

To see the amazing significance of this prophecy, look what happens if we test the possibility that Daniel was foreseeing 483 (69×7) years rather than 483 days or months. If we begin in 538 BC and follow Daniel’s prediction of 69 sevens, we come to about 55 BC. If we begin at 458 BC we come to AD 25. And if we begin at 444 BC and move forward 483 years we come to about AD 38. (See Discovery Series The Daniel Papers for a more detailed calculation.)

What is so compelling to me is that adding 483 years to any of these start dates leads to a time-frame that is close, but prior, to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. If Daniel was predicting 483 periods of time greater than years, the result would go beyond the 70 AD destruction of Jerusalem.

The prediction says Messiah would be “cut off.”

Even though Jesus of Nazareth lived within the time-frame that Daniel seems to anticipate, many Jewish people insist that Jesus could not have been the true Messiah because He did not bring in the expected kingdom of God. Yet Daniel, along with other Jewish prophets, indicates that the Messiah of Israel would be “cut off” (i.e., killed) in apparent defeat before reigning as King of kings (Daniel 9:26; Isaiah 53:1-8,10-12; Zechariah 12:10; 14:3-9).

The prophecy shows that the “anointed one” would be “cut off” after the 69th “seven,” and prior to the resumption of the 70th (Daniel 9:26-27).

Do you see the implications of this? Daniel gave us not only a time-frame for when the Messiah would come, but he also told us that this “anointed one” would be rejected before bringing the peace of His kingdom to earth.

Who could this Messiah be?

Who within Daniel’s time-frame could qualify as the “cut off” Messiah? And if the crucified and resurrected Jesus is the only one who qualifies, who can afford to ignore Him? If Christ alone is God’s promised Savior and King, where—but to Him—can we turn for forgiveness and immortality?

If He came the first time, as predicted, we have every reason to hear His promise to return at a time known only to God. Our Lord says, “Be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44).