The Book of Daniel 93 but whether astronomical years of 365% days or prophetic years of 360 days does not appear. Our Lord’s saying when referring to the prophecy of Daniel (Matt. 24:15), “Let him that readeth understand,” seems to indicate a peculiarity about the period foretold. From the issuance of a commandment to restore and re- build Jerusalem unto Messiah there would be sixty-nine sevens, i. e., 483 years. Messiah would be cut off and have nothing, and the people of a prince would destroy Jerusalem and the temple. It came to pass in the procuratorship of Pontius Pilate. Messiah appeared; He was cut off; He had nothing, no place to lay His head, nothing except a cross. And before the gene- ration which crucified Him passed away, the soldiers of the Roman emperor destroyed the city and sanctuary, slew all the priests and ended Jewish church and nation. Unto Messiah the Prince there were to be 483 years from an edict to rebuild Jerusalem. That edict was issued in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes Longimanus. Somewhere be- tween 454 B. C. and 444 B. C. is the date, with the pre- ponderance of opinion in favor of the later date. Four hun- dred and eighty-three years brings us to 29—3 9 A. D. Or, if prophetic years are meant, the terminus ad quem is 22—3 2 A. D. Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judea from 26 A. D. to 36 A. D. All this is plain enough, and if the words of Daniel had been written after the death of our Saviour and the fall of Jerusalem, no one could fail to see that Jesus Christ is indi- cated. But if written in the exile this would be supernatural prediction, and hence the struggles of the critics to evade somehow the implications of the passage. To find some prominent person who was “cut off” prior to 163 B. C. was the first desideratum. The high priest Onias, who was murdered through the intrigues of rival candidates for his office, was the most suitable person. He was in no respect
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