How does Daniel 9:26 relate to the prophecy of the Messiah's coming? Daniel 9:26 “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood; until the end there will be war, and desolations have been decreed.” Immediate Literary Context: The Seventy Weeks Framework Daniel’s prayer of repentance (9:3-19) prompts Gabriel’s revelation of “seventy weeks” (heb. shavuʿim, sevens). Verse 25 divides the sixty-nine weeks into 7 + 62, covering the restoration of Jerusalem to the appearance of Messiah. Verse 27 treats the seventieth week. Verse 26 therefore functions as an interlude that describes two key events between the 69th and 70th week: (1) the cutting off of the Anointed One, and (2) the destruction of the city and temple. The Phrase “Anointed One Will Be Cut Off” • Anointed One (Heb. mashiach) is transliterated “Messiah” in some English versions. The LXX renders it Christos (Χριστός), the very title applied to Jesus in the NT over 500 times. • “Cut off” (Heb. karath) elsewhere speaks of violent death, often with covenantal overtones (Genesis 9:11; Exodus 12:15). Isaiah 53:8 uses the same verb: “For He was cut off from the land of the living for the transgression of My people He was stricken” , directly linking Daniel’s prediction to the Suffering Servant. • “And will have nothing” (lit. “and nothing for Him”) underscores the apparent futility of His death, fulfilled when Jesus died abandoned (Mark 15:34) and His messianic kingdom seemed dashed. Chronological Calculations: From Decree to Messiah 1. Starting Point—“the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem” (v. 25). The most precise historical decree fitting both restoration of city and walls is Artaxerxes I’s edict to Nehemiah in 445 BC (Nehemiah 2:1-8). 2. Prophetic Measure—Sixty-nine “weeks” = 69 × 7 = 483 biblical years (360-day). 3. End Point—483 × 360 days = 173,880 days. Converting to solar years (365.2422 days) yields 476 years 25 days. From the 1st of Nisan 445 BC to the 10th of Nisan AD 32 (the date many scholars place the Triumphal Entry) is precisely that span. Jesus publicly offered Himself as King that day (Luke 19:38-42), fulfilling “until Messiah the Prince.” 4. Within that same Jewish year, on 14 Nisan (Passover), Jesus was crucified—thus, “after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off.” Alternative evangelical chronologies begin with Artaxerxes’ earlier decree of 457 BC (Ezra 7), using inclusive reckoning of lunar-solar years; both arrive at AD 27–33—squarely within the historical window of Jesus’ ministry and death. “The People of the Prince Who Is to Come” and the Temple’s Destruction Daniel foretold that the same interval would witness Jerusalem’s ruin. Rome, whose legions bore the aquila standard of the future Antichrist’s empire, razed the city and second temple in AD 70 under Titus—as Josephus records (Wars 6.4.5). The prophecy requires Messiah’s death to precede that catastrophe. Since the temple has not stood since AD 70, any future claimant to messiahship is disqualified. Theological Significance Messiah’s “cutting off” secures atonement (Isaiah 53:5-6; Daniel 9:24 “to make atonement for iniquity”). His resurrection three days later validates the sufficiency of that sacrifice (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Daniel thus forms a critical bridge between Old Testament promise and New Testament fulfillment. Answering Critical Objections • Late-dating theory: the presence of Daniel in Qumran caves, the linguistic profile of Imperial Aramaic, and the detailed knowledge of 6th-century court life nullify a Maccabean-era composition. • “Symbolic only” view: the precise chronological alignment, compounded by the second-temple terminus, yields a probabilistic impossibility outside supernatural revelation. • Skepticism about 360-day prophetic years: the Genesis flood narrative (Genesis 7:11; 8:3-4) implicitly uses 30-day months, demonstrating an established biblical calendar; Revelation 11:2-3 does the same. Practical Implications for Evangelism Daniel 9:26 furnishes a datable, falsifiable prophecy fulfilled in Jesus alone. Because it hinges on publicly verifiable events—decrees of Persian monarchs, Roman crucifixion, and the AD 70 destruction—it becomes an ideal text for dialog with skeptics. One may invite hearers to calculate the 69 weeks themselves, compare with Jesus’ ministry, and confront the question Jesus posed: “Who do you say I am?” (Matthew 16:15). Conclusion Daniel 9:26 pinpoints the Messiah’s advent, death, and the ensuing desolation of Jerusalem with stunning specificity. Historical data, manuscript evidence, and the cohesive testimony of Scripture converge to confirm that Jesus of Nazareth fulfills the prophecy, validating His identity as the promised Redeemer and offering incontrovertible grounds for faith in His finished work. |
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