We are living today during the “Times of the Gentiles,” when Jesus is saving, “whosoever will believe.” This time set aside by God to save anyone in the world, no matter who they are, has an expiry. When Jesus has closed this limited-time offer to all the world, He will return again to the nation of Israel and seek to save the remnant of the Jews who are left in the world. This will not happen until the seven-year Tribulation begins. It is called in the Old Testament, “The time of Jacob’s Trouble.” We are fast approaching the beginning of these seven years, even as I write these words. The conflict with Iran that has drastically affected peace between Israel and the surrounding Arab nations is a prophecy that is described by the Prophet Daniel, which will bring the seven-year Tribulation and the salvation of Israel.

Daniel 9:25-27: “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. 26 “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war, desolations are determined. 27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. and on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.”

This is the prophecy of Daniel’s Seventy-Weeks for Israel and the Jews. Daniel’s prophecy from chapter 9 describes 70 weeks of years (70X7)  or 490 years. Gabriel speaking to Daniel:

Daniel 9:24: “Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.”

The first sixty-nine weeks (483 years) will be fulfilled by the first arrival of the Messiah. The seventieth week is the seven-year Tribulation. This will be fulfilled when the Messiah returns to earth the second time, on the last day of the seven-year Tribulation.

First, let us examine the first 69 weeks of this prophecy and evaluate its fulfillment from a historical vantage point. In Daniel 9:25, the Lord is giving Israel the precise day the Messiah will come to Jerusalem.

First, a command will be given. Then seven weeks and sixty-two weeks will take place until the Messiah, the Prince, will come.

In the first seven weeks (49 years), the second Temple will be rebuilt at Jerusalem. In the second sixty-two weeks (434 years), the Messiah will arrive. The trigger for the countdown of this prophecy is the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. The purpose of this prophecy of Daniel Chapter 9, verse 25, is to complete the will of God for the Jewish people and Israel in the record of history. This will all take place during a period of 490 years. The first 483 years will begin with a command to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and the Temple. Encyclopedia Britannica records that Artaxerxes Longimanus issued the command to release the captives of Israel in Babylon on March 14, 445 B.C.⁠[1] So named “Longimanus” by the Greeks because his right hand was longer than his left.[2]

The Babylonian calendar was based upon a 360-day per year cycle. 360 days per year times 483 years equals 173,880 days. Taking into account the calendar year change from 1 B.C. to 1 A.D. because there is no “0” year, and adding 116 days for leap years, we come to the correct number of days for this prophecy: 173,880 days.

Counting from March 14, 445 B.C., we come to April 6, the year 32 A.D. We will learn, in just a minute, that this was the precise day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey and was proclaimed as the Messiah.

How Do We Know The Command Came In 445 B.C?

The reign of Artaxerxes I (Longimanus) is computed from 465 B.C., according to the history of the Persians.[3] Xerxes I was murdered by Artabanus, the commander of the royal bodyguard of the king. He was the most powerful of the officials in the court of the Persian king. With the help of Aspamitres, a eunuch, Artabanus assassinated Xerxes I, bringing Artaxerxes Longimanus to the throne in 465 B.C.[4]

According to Nehemiah 2:1, Artaxerxes wrote the command for the Jews to return to Jerusalem in the twentieth year of his reign:

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. Now I had never been sad in his presence before.”

Computing 20 years from Artaxerxes’ ascension to the throne in 465 B.C., we come to 445 B.C.

Hebrew months were not calculated in the same way that our current calendar months are determined. The first day of a Hebrew calendar month begins immediately following a new moon (when no moon is visible).

The way in which the first day of the month was determined in Israel, during their ancient history, was by observation. When at least two witnesses noticed that a new moon had occurred, they would notify the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem. Upon verification of the beginning of the new moon, the leaders of Israel would declare the “rosh chodesh,” the first of the month. Messengers would then be dispatched over the land to notify the people that the new month had begun.[5]

In the year 445 B.C., the new moon occurred on the thirteenth day of March at 7:09 a.m.[6] This would place the first day of April, the Hebrew month of Nisan, on March 14, 445 B.C. This was also the day when the Passover Lamb was offered.

Ezra and Nehemiah traveled together from Babylon back to Jerusalem after Artaxerxes issued the command to return and rebuild the city. We know from Ezra’s account that they left Babylon on the first day of the first month, which is Nisan 1, or our calendar, the fourteenth of March 445 B.C. Ezra says that he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, Av, by the Jewish calendar. Ezra 7:9: “On the first day of the first month he began his journey from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him.”

This verifies from the secular, historical record and the Bible that the date of the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem from Artaxerxes was issued on March 14, 445 B.C.

According to Nehemiah 6:15, the walls of Jerusalem were completed after just 52 days, on the twenty-fifth day of September. Counting backward 52 days, we come to the third of Av (July). This confirms that Nehemiah would have arrived with Ezra on Av 1, according to Nehemiah 2:11. Nehemiah 2:11: “So I came to Jerusalem and was there three days.”

From the historical records of the Persians, the Jews, and the Hebrew scriptures, we can accurately compute the date of Artaxerxes’ command to return to Jerusalem as March 14, 445 B.C.

The Jews who had been held captive in Babylon for 70 years were allowed by Artaxerxes’ command to return to Jerusalem and begin building the city and the Temple. This is the object of the first seven weeks or 49 years of Daniel’s prophecy that was precisely fulfilled, according to the Book of Nehemiah, chapters 3-6.

The second set of 62 weeks of years (483) ended with Jesus’ arrival in Jerusalem on April 6, 32 A.D. On the Hebrew calendar, this was the tenth day of Nisan 32 A.D., the day when the Passover Lamb was inspected for flaws before He would be sacrificed four days later, on the fourteenth day of the month—the precise day the Passover Lamb should be sacrificed. Jesus died on Passover, the same day the Lamb of God died; He was the Lamb who took away the sins of the world.

Was There Any Event Of Importance On April 6, 32 A.D.?

When we study the texts of the New Testament, we learn that on this date, Jesus came with His disciples to the city of Bethany. He instructed these men to go and fetch a colt for Him and return.

Luke 19:29-42: “And it came to pass, when Jesus came near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, saying, “Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Lose him and bring him here. And if anyone asks you, ‘Why are you loosing it?’ thus you shall say to him, ‘Because the Lord has need of it.'” So those who were sent went their way and found it just as He had said to them. But as they were loosing the colt, the owners of it said to them, “Why are you loosing the colt?” And they said, “The Lord has need of him.” Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him.”

On April 6, 32 A.D., Jesus sat on the back of the donkey and made His way into Jerusalem, also fulfilling the Messianic prophecy of Zechariah 9:9:

“Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey—riding on a donkey’s colt.”

A foal is an unbroken young horse or donkey that has never had a man sit upon its back. Under normal circumstances, this young foal would throw the first person who attempted to ride him. Amazingly, this young donkey submits to Jesus and allows Him to ride into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. As Jesus makes His way into Jerusalem, He allows the assembled crowd to hail Him as “The Son of David,” a clear title for the Messiah.

Matthew 21:8-9: “And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’ Hosanna in the highest!”

The words of the people in proclaiming Jesus the Messiah are from David’s prophecy of the Messiah in Psalms 118:24-26:

“This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it. Please, Lord, please save us. Please, Lord, please give us success. Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.”

David wrote this Psalm only for the Messiah and only for one specific day, the day He would ride into Jerusalem and the people would proclaim Him the Messiah. Jesus understood what He was doing. He had been following a very specific and detailed plan to fulfill all 400 of the Messianic prophecies with perfect precision.

It is interesting that up to this point, Jesus had refused all requests by His disciples to announce to the world that He was the promised Messiah.

John 7:3-6: “His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” For even His brothers did not believe in Him. Then Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready.”

Jesus was waiting for this one specific day that Daniel, Zechariah, and David had predicted when the Messiah would come to Jerusalem. Jesus had planned everything He did so that He could be there at the correct date and time to fulfill the words of the prophets.

The Seven-Year Peace Plan Described in Daniel 9

The book of Daniel speaks of the necessity for a seven-year peace plan for Israel and the surrounding nations. Daniel’s prophecy was given to him by God concerning Israel in the last days. The Lord purposed that seventy weeks are determined for Israel and the Jews: 70 x 7 = 490 years (a prophetic week is seven years; see Genesis 29:27).

In the first seven weeks or 49 years, the Jews who were held captive in Babylon for 70 years were released to return to Israel and rebuild the Temple. The second set of sixty-two weeks was fulfilled at the arrival of Jesus in Jerusalem as the Messiah, and He was cut off (killed).

The final week, the seventieth week, will be fulfilled during the seven-year Tribulation. During this time, a peace treaty will be made concerning Israel and many nations (Daniel 9:27). This treaty will be orchestrated by the antichrist, who will enter the new Temple after three and one-half years and command the world to worship him as God.

Daniel 9:27: “Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week, He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”

Before the 2019 Israeli election of their prime minister, U. S. President Donald Trump stated that his “Super Peace Plan” would not be revealed until the election results were finalized. The new prime minister was not decided until April 20, 2020, when Israel’s political leaders broke the political impasse—when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his challenger, Benny Gantz, announced a deal to join forces and form an emergency unity government. Under the terms of this new agreement, Netanyahu would remain as prime minister for 18 months, with Gantz following after that time as prime minister of Israel.

Trump released the terms of his Super Peace Plan during a White House press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on January 28, 2020.

The reason for this peace plan will likely be necessitated by President Trump’s unwillingness to stop an attack on Israel using the US military. At present, no such threat exists. We should understand that the real goal of Russia is not Syria but Israel. The events that are taking place today in Syria, by Russia, will lead to a future attack on Israel, according to the words of Ezekiel’s prophecy.

In the middle of a seven-year peace plan that will convey peace to Israel and allow the building of the third Temple on the Temple Mount, a new world leader will stop the daily sacrifices that have begun again, and proclaim that he is the God of this world and all those who dwell upon this planet must worship him. 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4: “Let no one deceive you by any means; for the Day of the Lord (The Tribulation) will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”

As the Jews in Israel hear the news of the antichrist in the Temple, declaring himself to be God, they will flee Jerusalem for the wilderness of Petra. This leader will dispatch his troops to destroy the fleeing Jews. Once again, the armies of the antichrist will be swallowed up by a large fissure in the earth (Revelation 12). When Israel is saved at this time, they will remember that Jesus predicted this would happen, in Matthew Chapter 24:15-16: Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

John writes in Revelation 12:15-16: “So the serpent (the enemy, the devil) spewed water out of his mouth like a flood (antichrist’s armies) after the woman (Israel), that he might cause her to be carried away (destroyed) by the flood. But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.”

Isaiah 59:19: “When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.”

Jesus warned the Jews that when they see the antichrist commit the abomination of desolation described by Daniel, as a statue of him is placed in the new Temple, and commands the world to worship him, as 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 states that they should flee Jerusalem: (Jesus speaking)

Mark 13:14: “So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not” (let the reader understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”

At this time, all those in Israel whom God has prepared for this moment will receive Jesus as their Messiah and be saved.

This is what Paul is describing in Romans chapter 11, the time in Bible Prophecy called “The Times of the Gentiles,” will be completed, and Jesus will turn to the Jews alive on earth at that time, during the Seven-Year Tribulation, and save whoever believes in Jesus as the Messiah.

See: “Days of Wrath: The Final Sign,” HERE

See: “The Last American President: Prophecy, Peace, and the Return of the King,” HERE

1. Encyclopedia Britannica, 1990 Edition.

2. Plutarch, Artaxerxes, l. 1. c. 1. 11:129 – cited by Ussher, Annals, para. 1179

3. R. Schmitt. of Iran “Art”axerxes. Encyclopædia Iranica. 15 December 1986. Retrieved 12 March 2012.

4. 1.Iran-e-Bastan/Pirnia Book, 1 page 873, 2. Dandamayev 3. History of Persian Empire-Olmstead pages 289-90

5. From Judaism 101, http://www.jewfaq.org/calendar.htm

6. From a letter sent to Sir Robert Anderson: To the Royal Obseervatory, Greewich, June 26th, I877. “SIR, – I have had the moon’s place calculated from Largeteau’s Tables in Additions to the Connaisance des Tems 1846, by one of my assistants, and have no doubt of its correctness. The place being calculated for – 444, March 12d. 20h., French reckoning, or March 12d. 8h. P. M., it appears that the said time was short of New Moon by about 8h. 47m., and therefore the New Moon occurred at 4h. 47m. A. M., March 13th, Paris time.” I am, etc (the 13th  day of March at 7:09 a.m)., ” (Signed,) G. B. AIRY.” Anderson, Sir Robert (2010-05-27). The Coming Prince (Kindle Locations 1737-1748).  . Kindle Edition.

Categories: Robert Clifton Robinson