Seventy Weeks Prophecy:
What It Means:
Part 7

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Author : Bill Kochman
Publish : Jul. 5, 2025
Update : Jul. 5, 2025
Parts : 13

Synopsis:

Unto The Messiah The Prince, Shall Messiah Be Cut Off But Not For Himself, Necessity Of Jesus' Sacrifice, Without Shedding Of Blood Is No Remission, Christ Died For Us And Washed Us In His Blood, The Messiah Would Appear And Die After 483 Years, Years-Long Personal Quest For Scriptural Truth And Awakening, Challenge Of Secular Dates Versus The Bible, Solar Year Versus Lunar Year, Biblical Year Equals 360 Days, Biblical Examples, 483 Biblical Years Equals About 476 Solar Years, The Lunisolar Hebrew Calendar, A Floating Passover, 483 Prophetic Year From 445 BC Takes Us To 31-32 AD, Controversy Regarding Jesus' Date Of Birth And Crucifixion, 30 AD To 33 AD Are Common Dates For Jesus' Crucifixion, Jesus Crucified AFTER 69 Weeks, Scriptural Markers For Stages Of Jesus' Life, To Finish The Transgression, Satan In Rebellion Against God, Satan Induces Adam And Eve To Rebel, Sin = Transgression Of The Law, Sin = Break God's Laws


Continuing our discussion from part six, if I have not yet convinced you that 445 BC tends to be a much better fit for "the going forth of the commandment", let me now try to hit a big grand slam with you. First of all, being as we have to abandon my personal theory regarding the "seven weeks", that means that instead of just contending with the 434 years, we must now contend with the full 483 years. That's to say, the "seven weeks", plus the next "sixty-two" weeks equates to the first sixty-nine weeks -- or 69 x 7 -- of the prophecy, which is a total of 483 years. It is at this point that we can now move on to the next section of the Seventy Weeks Prophecy, and it is indeed the most important part of the prophecy, because it is what the entire prophecy is leading up to. Consider:

Phrase:

"unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks . . . and after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:"

Explanation:

This part of the prophecy signifies that Jesus -- God's own Messiah for the sinful world -- would be "cut off". That is to say, Jesus would be destroyed, killed, eliminated or cut down so as to fulfill the covenant, according to the Hebrew word which is used in this verse. When would this occur? It would happen sixty-two sevens -- or 434 years -- after the previous events had occurred during the first "seven weeks". As we already know, those previous events were, of course, "the going forth of the commandment", which was followed by a period of forty-nine years -- or "seven weeks" -- during which the temple was rebuilt, the walls were rebuilt, the street was rebuilt, and the city and Jewish society as a whole were rebuilt and established, and temple sacrifices begun anew.

At the conclusion of those forty-nine years, the next 434 years would then begin to count down, until a total of 483 years had transpired. At the end of the 483-year period, the Messiah would appear, and then be cut off. But as the prophecy clearly states, His sacrifice would NOT be for Himself. It would in fact be for US. As I explain in so many of my other BBB Bible articles, His would be the Final Sacrifice for sin, and no other sacrifices would be acceptable to God for our sins after that. As we read in Hebrews and in other verses, Jesus died once, and only once, for the sins of all men.

Why was Jesus' blood sacrifice even necessary? Again, as I fully explain in other BBB articles, because without the shedding of Christ's blood, there could be no remission of our sins, and thus no forgiveness, no restoration of our relationship with the Father, and no Salvation and Eternal Life. Jesus had to meet the harsh requirements of the Laws of Moses, in order for His sacrifice to be acceptable. He had to be a pure, unblemished sacrifice, and His blood had to be spilled. Being as I amply discuss this topic in many other articles, I will not be delving into it deeply here. However, allow me to share just a few key verses with you:

"And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.‭"
Hebrews 9:22, KJV


"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."
1 John 1:7, KJV


"But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ."
Ephesians 2:13, KJV


"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."
Matthew 26:26-28, KJV


"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
John 3:16, KJV


"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Romans 5:8, KJV


"Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he [Jesus] laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."
1 John 3:16, KJV


"I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep."
John 10:11, KJV


"For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."
Mark 10:45, KJV


"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."
1 Timothy 2:5-6, KJV


"Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men."
1 Corinthians 7:23, KJV


"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."
1 Corinthians 6:19-20, KJV


As we have now seen, the Seventy Weeks Prophecy said that at the end of the 483 years -- or 69 prophetic "weeks" -- Jesus the Messiah would appear, and then He would voluntarily be sacrificed for the sins of the world. He would be cut off. So then our next obvious question is this: Was Daniel's prophecy fulfilled on time exactly as the Angel Gabriel had spoken it to him? If we start counting from the year 445 BC when Persian king Artaxerxes I first gave the letter of decree to Nehemiah so that he could begin building the wall, the street and the rest of Jerusalem, did 483 years really pass before Jesus was crucified?

My friends, I will honestly tell you that I personally have been waiting for literally decades for a clear understanding of the deep prophecies I have been writing about in recent months. I am now in my early seventies. I began reading the Bible in earnest during my teen years more than fifty-five years ago as of the date of this current writing. I've asked and asked, and prayed and prayed many times for the Lord to reveal these hidden truths to me. I am happy to report that in recent months, He has begun doing that very thing. Thus, after waiting patiently for so long, I am now beginning to understand some things as I've never understood them before. My awakening actually began around 2011-2012, as I explain in other articles. However, the things I have been learning and publishing since around March of this year are recent revelations to me.

So to answer our question, yes, I am fully convinced that the fulfillment of the well-known Seventy Weeks Prophecy of Daniel -- although it was really Gabriel's -- arrived right on time. However, in order for you to understand this, you are going to have be attentive, patient, and depending on your particular doctrinal background, perhaps flexible as well. You need to be a new bottle in which new wine can be poured, and not someone who embraces a deeply traditional perspective. So are you ready? Let's go then.

The first thing you need to understand is that throughout this series, I have used secular, historical dates for the reigns of kings and other events. This is necessary due to the fact that these are the dates which are established by the secular world amongst researchers, historians, scholars, theologians, etc. They all use the solar calendar. However, something very important you need to understand is that in the Bible, secular dates are NOT used. In fact, as you will already know, Biblical authors do not use modern dates at all. Instead, they will use the time span from one event to another, or a point in a ruler's reign at which a certain event occurred, or perhaps say something such as "in the first year of so-and-so", or "in the third month of the year."

For us modern readers, this can make understanding certain events rather confusing or tricky. But that is not all. In the Scriptures, the solar calendar -- meaning 365.24 days per year is not used. Instead, a lunar calendar is used, which is based on lunar cycles. A lunar year consists of a total of 354.37 days. This total is based on a lunar month alternating between 29 or 30 days. However, if that is not already enough, careful inspection reveals that a Biblical year is neither 365.24 days nor 354.37 days. It is in fact 360 days per year. Why is this? Simply because the sum of a solar year and a lunar year are averaged out thusly:

365.24-day solar year + 354.37-day lunar year = 719.61 days

719.61 ÷ 2 = 359.805 average days per year

But to make it easier, it's rounded out to an even 360 days per Biblical year. Can we verify this figure by using the Bible alone as our reference? Yes, we most certainly can. As I have shown before, this 360 days per year becomes very evident in the time prophecies which are found in both the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation. In these two Books, we find the following phrases which all amount to the very same amount of time. Please note that "time" is equivalent to one year:

1. "forty-two months"

2. "1,260 days"

3. "time and times and the dividing of time" (3 1/2)

4. "time, times, and an half" (3 1/2)

Thus, if we divide 1,260 days by 3.5 years, it equates to exactly 360 days per Biblical year. So now you understand why we use 360 days per year when performing any Biblical calculation. You need to remember that we need to view all things from the Hebrew or Jewish perspective, and NOT from our modern perspective. Following are the various Bible verses where these different phrases are used:

"And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time."
Daniel 7:25, KJV


"And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished."
Daniel 12:7, KJV


"And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days."
Daniel 12:11-12, KJV


"But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth."
Revelation 11:2-3, KJV


"And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days."
Revelation 12:6, KJV


"And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations."
Revelation 13:5-7, KJV


With this understanding that a Biblical year equates to 360 days, and not to 365 days, we can now proceed to understand and verify the accuracy of Daniel's Seventy Weeks Prophecy. Being as we are using 445 BC as our starting point for when the 69 "weeks" -- or 483 years -- began, we can now begin to count forward in time 483 years. Why this particular date? Because as we learned earlier, that is when King Artaxerxes I gave Nehemiah his letter of decree, and permission to begin building in Jerusalem.

Starting at 445 BC and moving forward 483 solar years, takes us to the imaginary year 0. However, we need to move beyond the imaginary year zero another 38 years in order to reach the total of 483 solar years, because 445 + 38 = 483. Doing so obviously takes us to the year 38 AD. As you can see, we have missed the mark by eight years, if we assume that Jesus was crucified in 30 AD. We will get to that particular point in just a moment. If the prophecy is accurate as I've stated, then exactly what went wrong? Why didn't we end up at 30 AD as we hoped to do? I can assure you that the prophecy is NOT the problem. Rather, it is our use of modern calendars which is skewing the results. If you are confused, no worries. Let me walk you through this.

As I previously explained to you, the date 445 BC is based on the solar calendar. Likewise, 30 AD is also based on the same solar calendar as well. However, please recall what I just explained to you. Bible prophecy does NOT use the solar calendar as modern society does. Rather, it really uses the prophetic 360 days per year model. Thus, the 483 years in the Seventy Weeks Prophecy is Biblical prophetic years, as the Israelites would have understood it. So to resolve this issue, what we need to do is to just convert the 483 years to solar years so that it will match the 445 BC solar year date, and the 30 AD solar year date. Here is how we do it:

483 x 360 days per Biblical year = 173,880 days total.

173,880 days ÷ 365.25 days per solar year = 476.07 years.

So for the sake of simplicity in our calculations, we will round out to approximately 476 solar years. So, just as we did earlier, if we start out at the solar date of 445 BC, and count forward 476 solar years from that date, we arrive at 31 AD as our new solar date. Well, that is certainly a lot better than 38 AD, isn't it?

Now depending on which Passover calendar is used, it could possibly come to 32 AD. The end result is likewise directly affected by the month in which each event occurred. Let me explain this to you a little more clearly. As we discussed earlier, a Biblical prophetic year is based on the average length of a solar year and a lunar year, which as we saw, is 359.805 days, which we round out to 360 days. But that is not all. The Hebrew calendar is actually lunisolar in nature. In other words, the Israelites marked the beginning of each new month by observing the phases of the Moon. Yet at the same time, they would add extra months so that the seasons would align with the solar year as well.

While the Passover feast always falls on the 15th of Nissan -- which is the first month of the year in the Hebrew lunar year -- because the Israelites would add months so that the seasons would align with the solar year, this also creates a problem when we are using the Western calendar, or what is more correctly known as the Gregorian calendar. The result is that the Passover feast does not always fall on the very same date on the Western calendar. It in fact becomes what we might refer to as a "floating feast" from year to year. So this Israelite practice of adding months to each year does affect historical dates to some degree.

But insofar as the Seventy Weeks Prophecy is concerned, it should be pointed out that no matter how you look at it, we still end up with a date of 31 to 32 AD when we move forward 483 prophetic years from 445 BC when King Artaxerxes I gave his letter of decree to Nehemiah so that he could return to Jerusalem and begin the task of rebuilding the wall, the street and Jerusalem on the whole. This task was totally separate from the decree to rebuild the temple, which was Zerubbabel and Ezra's job.

Now, I warned you earlier that if you happen to embrace a more traditional perspective, you might find this somewhat challenging. Why? Because most traditionalists are adamant regarding maintaining 30 AD as the one and only acceptable date for the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. However, allow me to inform you that the truth of the matter is that there is no extant -- that is to say, existing or surviving -- Roman, Greek, Jewish or Aramaic manuscripts, or any other reliable documentation, to clearly support 30 AD as the precise date of Christ's Crucifixion. Furthermore, neither is there any precise Biblical information to establish a clear date for the Lord's Crucifixion. Along the same lines, neither do we find clear information in the Scriptures to establish Jesus' date of birth beyond a shadow of a doubt.

If you take the time to conduct your own online research, you will in fact discover that there has been an ongoing debate regarding both of these dates -- Birth and Crucifixion -- for literally centuries. If you should choose to delve into that information, I do urge caution, because there is so much out there, that you can easily become confused, and not know what to believe. Everybody will pull out their big guns, and try to convince you to accept their point of view, even if it is wrong. So you really need to have a sharp eye, and ask the Lord for both Wisdom and Spiritual Discernment if you choose to go that route.

Now regarding Jesus' date of birth, it seems that 4 BC is a commonly accepted date. But concerning Jesus' Crucifixion, you will quickly see that depending on which source you are reading, the date may fluctuate between 30 AD to 33 AD. The date I arrived at for the fulfillment of that particular part of the Seventy Weeks Prophecy sits comfortably right in the middle of those two dates. Furthermore, please note that the prophecy does NOT state that Jesus was cut off right at the conclusion of the "seven weeks" and "sixty-two weeks" period. What it does say is the following:

"and AFTER threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off"

So, if Jesus was crucified any time AFTER the 483 years had been completed, the prophecy would STILL be accurate in my opinion. The only way in which it would NOT be accurate, is if it demanded a definitive end date. However, it does not. Instead, it uses the word "after", which clearly suggests that any date between 30 AD and 33 AD would still align with the prophecy, not contradict it and thus be acceptable. From the Scriptures, the only clear chronological markers which we can establish for Jesus' age are the following:

1. Herod's slaughter of the children occurred around the time that Jesus was two years old, shortly after the Wise Men had visited Joseph and Mary. By that time, Joseph and Mary were living in a house:

"And when they were come INTO THE HOUSE, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh . . . Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, FROM TWO YEARS OLD AND UNDER, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men."
Matthew 2:11, 16, KJV


2. Jesus got separated from His parents and went into the temple in Jerusalem to teach at twelve years old:

"Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast."
Luke 2:41-42, KJV


3. Jesus began His public ministry following His baptism by John when He was around thirty years old:

"And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,"
Luke 3:23, KJV


4. Based on different Jewish feast days, and the reigns of different leaders who are mentioned in the Gospels, we are given the impression that it was some three to three and half years later when Jesus Christ was crucified on a Roman cross.

At this point in our discussion, we will return to the list of six items which I first shared with you in part one of this series. Please consider the following things which the Angel Gabriel stated would be accomplished by the time the Seventy Weeks Prophecy had come to its final conclusion:

1. to finish the transgression.

2. to make and end of sins.

3. to make reconciliation for iniquity.

4. to bring in everlasting righteousness.

5. to seal up the vision and prophecy.

6. to anoint the most Holy.

The first thing that stands out is the fact that every one of these six things relates directly to Jesus Christ, His earthly mission, and His sacrifice as the Passover lamb of God who shed His blood for the sins of the world. So let's take each item one at a time and discuss them.

1. TO FINISH THE TRANSGRESSION.

In looking at these six items, I realized that some of them can be understood in more than one way, while yet remaining true in both ways. This in fact applies to this first phrase. In looking at the original Hebrew, we see that the Hebrew word which is translated here as "finish" -- that is to say kala' -- can also mean to restrict, restrain, withhold, shut up, keep back, refrain or forbid‭. Likewise, the Hebrew word which is translated here as "transgression" -- that is to say pesha' -- can also mean rebellion. So this part of the verse is saying that Christ's sacrifice would in some way finish, restrict, restrain, withhold, shut up, keep back, refrain or forbid‭ the transgression or rebellion.

As I contemplated the extended meaning of this short phrase, a number of different things entered my mind. First of all, as I explain in articles such as "Satan: His Origin, Purpose and Future", since a very long time ago, Satan -- a.k.a. the Devil -- has been in rebellion against God. I don't want to get into a lot of detail here, because this topic is fully discussed in the aforementioned article, as well as in a few other articles. But because of his own pride, Satan wanted to usurp the Throne of God, and was thus cast down to the earth, along with other rebellious Angels. In fact, you may recall that in the Gospels, we find the following interesting verse:

"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force."
Matthew 11:12, KJV


However, upon being cast down to the earth, the Devil did not simply surrender. He in fact continued his rebellion against God, and caused it to spread, when he lied to, deceived, and corrupted the first human pair. That is to say, Adam and Eve. As all Christians understand, Adam and Eve rebelled against God when they partook of the forbidden fruit. It is at this point that we come to the well-known concept of sin. Exactly what is meant by sin? Sin is a trespass, or a transgression. But what does this mean? As I've explained on many previous occasions, the Apostle John offers us a clear understanding of the word with the following Bible verse:

"‭‭Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.‭"
1 John 3:4, KJV


According to Thayer's Greek English Lexicon, in the previous verse the word "transgression" finds its origin in the Koine Greek word "anomia". This Greek word is variably translated as iniquity, unrighteousness, and transgression of the law. More specifically, the lexicon notes as follows:

‭‭----- Begin Quote -----

‭‭1) the condition of without law‭

    1a) because ignorant of it‭

    1b) because of violating it‭

‭‭2) contempt and violation of law, iniquity, wickedness‭

----- End Quote -----‭

‭In that very same verse, the word "sin" is derived from the Koine Greek word "hamartia", which is directly related to the Koine Greek word "hamartanó". So exactly what do these Greek words mean? Consider the following definitions which are found in the same lexicon:

‭‭----- Begin Quote -----

‭‭1) equivalent to hamartanó

    1a) to be without a share in‭

    1b) to miss the mark‭

    1c) to err, be mistaken‭

    1d) to miss or wander from the path of uprightness and honour, to do or go wrong‭

    1e) to wander from the law of God, violate God's law, sin‭

‭‭2) that which is done wrong, sin, an offence, a violation of the divine law in thought or in act‭

‭‭3) collectively, the complex or aggregate of sins committed either by a single person or by many‭

----- End Quote -----‭

If we consider all of the previous information and summarize it, what we are being told is that sin means to transgress, or break, violate, err from, wander away from, or basically to live outside of God's Laws. It is to be mistaken and to miss the mark of remaining inside of God's Laws. It is to be in a state of rebellion against God's Laws. My friends, that is exactly what Satan did and continued to do. That is also what Adam and Eve did when they went against God's Word and ate of the forbidden fruit. God warned them that in the day that they ate of the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they would surely die, as we see by the following two verses:

"And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."
Genesis 2:16-17, KJV


Please go to part eight for the continuation of this series.

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