Gooday and welcome to
this little study.
We are now at part 6 in a
series of videos on
Daniel’s Prophecy
of the
Seventy Weeks.
There are a number
of articles related to this
subject over at the
website,
EndTimePilgrim . org.
And also a few
videos at the
YOUTube
channel
GavinFinley
YOUTube channel
GavinFinley
In our previous video on
“Edicts and Timelines”
we established from the
chronologies that it was
Nehemiah who received
the command to restore
and to build Jerusalem.
The 69 week 173,880 day
timeline of 476 years and
25 days fits neatly between
the Edict given to Nehemiah
•in the month of Nisan in
445 B.C. and the Palm
Sunday appearance of
“Messiah the Prince” in the
month Nisan in 32 A.D..
The Edict and Chronology of
Daniel’s Seventy Weeks Prophecy
Candidate #3 The Edict of Nehemiah
Edict of Artaxerxes to Nehemiah
445 B.C. (Month of Nisan)
32 A.D.
Palm
Sunday
69 “Sevens” = 476 years + 25 days
Time span = 476 years + 25 days
The chronology based
on the earlier edict of
Cyrus issued way back
in 538 B.C. fell short by
a whopping 93 years.
The Edict and Chronology of
Daniel’s Seventy Weeks Prophecy
Candidate #1 The Edict of Cyrus
Edict of
Cyrus
62 B.C.
538 B.C.
32 A.D.
69 weeks = 476.07 Yrs.
569 Years
93 yrs.
And the chronology
based on the earlier
edict of Artaxerxes in
th
his 7 year given to
Ezra in 458 B.C. fell
short by 13 years.
The Edict and Chronology of
Daniel’s Seventy Weeks Prophecy
Candidate #2 The Edict of Ezra
Edict of Artaxerxes to Ezra
458 B.C. (- 457 A.D.)
32 A.D.
19 A.D.
69 weeks = 476.07 Years
489 Years
13 yrs.
In this video we shall be
considering this question. In
which year did Nehemiah
receive the edict to restore
and build Jerusalem?
Was it 444 B.C.?
Or was it 445 B.C.?
What year
saw the
Command
or Edict
to rebuild
Jerusalem?
444 B.C. or
445 B.C.?
Here is a brief historical
background. In 586 B.C.
the Babylonian armies
entered Jerusalem,
destroying the city and
the Temple and taking
the bulk of Judah
captive to Babylon.
The Babylonians were a supremely
sophisticated civilization. They thought
that they had it made. But their hubris
soon propelled them to the peak of
their iniquity. Here at Belshazzar’s
feast the wild party had gone on to
defile the holy vessels of the God of
Israel. When the king saw the writing
on the wall he called for the prophet
Daniel. But the words spelled
judgment and it was all over.
The armies of Cyrus had
diverted the waters of the
Euphrates River. And while
Belshazzar’s wild and unholy
party was in full swing the
city of Babylon had been
compromised. The Persian
Army was entering the city
from the river through the
breaches at the watergates.
The Persians under
Cyrus conquered
Babylon in
538 B.C..
Cyrus then continued his
campaign going north to
conquer Assyria. It seems
he left his uncle, Darius
the Mede, in charge for a
couple of years. Darius was
co-regent in Babylon for
Cyrus while he was away.
Upon arriving in
Babylon Cyrus
declared a general
amnesty for all captive
people and the exiles
of Judah were allowed
to return home.
Here we see the first part of an
answer to prayer that will be
2550+ years in the making.
Cyrus in Babylon declares a
general amnesty allowing the
captives of Judah to return
back home to Jerusalem.
The next significant royal edict in the restoration
came 80 years later. The scrolls of the Torah
were rediscovered. This led to a great Biblical
revival. In 458 B.C, the scribe Ezra was given
favor and funding by Artaxerxes in his 7th year
to lead another company of exiles back to
Jerusalem. This was a religious movement and
not a political one. In the edict given to Ezra
there was no mention of restoring the gates and
walls to restore political sovereignty to the city
of Jerusalem. This matter would be dealt with
on a later occasion.
The edict given to Ezra here is
no mention at all of rebuilding
the city of Jerusalem. Nor is there
any mention of the gates and
walls. At the time of Ezra the city
infrastructure was still in ruins and
would remain so for another 13
years on up to 445 B.C..
Nehemiah surveys the
broken walls and gates
of Jerusalem, 445 B.C.
In the month of Nisan
Nehemiah the cupbearer took
the burden of the ruined state
of the city of Jerusalem to the
Medo-Persian king. It was
th
Artaxerxes in his 20 year who
issued the edict to rebuild and
restore Jerusalem.
Daniel’s prophecy of 538 B.C.
calls for a royal command or
decree that will ensure the
restoration of the integrity and
sovereignty of the city of
Jerusalem. This will
necessitate the rebuilding of
its gates and walls. Here is the
passage from Daniel 9:25.
“Know therefore and
understand, that from
the going forth of the
commandment to
restore and to
build Jerusalem …”
The street
shall be built again,
and the wall,
even in
troublesome times.
Here are the words of
Nehemiah from Nehemiah 2.
They directly and specifically
answer to and address the
Jerusalem restoration and the
sovereignty issues involving
the street and walls as
mentioned in Daniel’s
prophecy.
Nehemiah 2
5. . . . . .I ask that
you send me to Judah,
to the city of my
fathers’ tombs,
that I may rebuild it.”
Remember that in our search
for the correct edict we
suspected that Nehemiah’s
main issue, the repair of
the gates and walls of
Jerusalem was going to be
the key piece of information
and our main clue.
Nehemiah’s burden to rebuild the
walls and gates of Jerusalem to
restore the city of Jerusalem to
sovereign status as a selfgoverning city-state was what
made Nehemiah tremble and led
to the highly significant royal
decree giving an authorization to
“restore and build Jerusalem”.
Take a look at this wonderful
Biblically correct image from
Nehemiah chapter 2 by the
German artist Gustave Dore.
It clearly shows us which edict
it was that gave the go ahead
from the Medo-Persian
superpower to “restore and
build” Jerusalem.
And why is this image and its
scriptural message so
significant? Because the
person surveying the broken
walls and the burned gates of
Jerusalem is none other than
Nehemiah himself!
Nehemiah surveys the
broken walls and gates
of Jerusalem, 445 B.C.
There was no civic restoration of
the city of Jerusalem before
Nehemiah. And even the children
in Sunday School know who
rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem. So
why are our theologians failing to
tag the edict of Nehemiah in 445
B.C. as the starting point for the
Seventy Weeks Prophecy?
Before Nehemiah Jerusalem
was an encampment of exiles
in a rough Medo-Persian
territory. Rude houses were
clustered around a rebuilt
temple inside the broken shell
of a former city. The walls and
gates were in ruins.
It was Nehemiah who undertook
the restoration of the gates and
walls of Jerusalem to restore it
as a self-governing sovereign
city-state. Only Nehemiah had
received authority from the
Medo-Persian king to do this.
As we see in this picture
it was a huge task
The decree of Artaxerxes
th
in his 20 year was given
to Nehemiah under the
new moon of Nisan in the
year 445 B.C. and we are
going to prove that further
along in this video.
The
Decree of
Artaxerxes
Longimanus
given to
Nehemiah
445 B.C.
Our scripture is found in
Nehemiah chapter 2.
Nehemiah 2
1……in the
month of Nisan,
in the
twentieth year
of King Artaxerxes,
It is important to appreciate
Nehemiah’s predicament here. He
was the kings butler and wine is
always presented in a spirit of
celebration and cheer. The king was
supposed to be the center of this
glory and good spirits, and especially
when wine was being served.
So for Nehemiah’s countenance to be sad
was for it to be bad. In Hebrew and as a
matter of custom in ancient times a sad
countenance was a bad countenance.
For the kings butler, traditionally a man of
cheer, to serve wine when he was sad
was more than just a matter of bad taste.
A gloomy countenance would be
perceived as a bad attitude. It would be
an insult to the presence of the king, . .
Unless, . .
Unless the king understood the
burden of the person bringing the
appeal and was inclined to do
something about it. His royal scepter
held great authority for both blessing
and for judgment. We saw this in the
case of Esther before a later Persian
King Ahasuerus.
The king’s butler was under the gun
here. The matter he was bringing up
involved the sovereignty of the Medo
Persian superpower and the ruined
and forgotten city of Jerusalem, a city
that in former times had not paid its
taxes to the superpower of Babylon.
If the Persian king did not respond
favorably to his appeal then
Nehemiah was a dead man.
Alexander Scourby
Nehemiah 2
1. . . . . Now I had never been
sad in his presence before.
2. Therefore the king said to me,
“Why is your face sad, since you
are not sick? This is nothing but
sorrow of heart.”
So I became dreadfully afraid.
Nehemiah 2
3 (Nehemiah) said to the king,
“May the king live forever!
Why should my face not be sad,
when the city, the place of my
fathers’ tombs, lies waste, and
its gates are burned with fire?”
Nehemiah 2
4 Then the king said to me,
“What do you request?”
Nehemiah 2
So I prayed to the God of
5
heaven. And I said to the
king, “If it pleases the king,
and if your servant has
found favor in your sight,
Nehemiah 2
5. . . . . .I ask that
you send me to Judah,
to the city of my
fathers’ tombs,
that I may rebuild it.”
Here is
Daniel’s prophecy
Daniel 9:25
“Know therefore and
understand, that from
the going forth of the
commandment to
restore and to build
Jerusalem …”
And here again is Nehemiah
sadly surveying the broken
walls and burned gates of
the city of Jerusalem. He is
just about to begin the
fulfillment of
Daniel’s prophecy
The Edict to
Restore
and Build
Jerusalem
In 445 B.C.
Nehemiah secretly
surveys the broken
walls, the rubble,
and the burned
gates of the city.
The edict Nehemiah receives
from Artaxerxes Longimanus
dispelled his gloom. And the
work began soon afterwards.
It was a huge citywide
building project to
restore and build
Jerusalem
So now we cut to the
chase. In what year did
holy history record the
issuing of a royal edict
to restore and build
Jerusalem?
What year
saw the
Command
or Edict
to rebuild
Jerusalem?
Nehemiah 2
1……in the
month of Nisan,
in the
twentieth year
of King Artaxerxes,
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.
So it was in the
springtime Passover
month of Nisan in the
th
20 year of Artaxerxes.
So when did the king
Artaxerxes Longimanus
ascend the throne?
Some authorities assign
the commencement of the reign
of Artaxerxes to the death of
Xerxes in July 465 B.C.. These
authors say the eldest son of
Xerxes, (presumably the heir
apparent), was then assassinated
by Artaxerxes his younger
brother who immediately took
the throne in July 465 B.C..
“Of the three sons of Xerxes the
eldest was …. put to death by
the youngest, Artaxerxes, …….
who at once, B.C. 465 ,
took the throne.”
- Page 365
- Ridpath’s History of the World
- Jones Publishing Co. 1910
Sir Robert Anderson
held to this July 465
B.C. commencement
date as well.
“the death of Xerxes and
the epoch (beginning) of
the reign of Artaxerxes
Longimanus should be
assigned to the latter part
of July, 465 B.C..”
- Sir Robert Anderson
“The Coming Prince” page 253
By this reckoning
st
The 1
Year
of Artaxerxes
Longimanus
began in July
of 465 B.C.
465 B.C. 464 B.C.
The 1st Year
of Artaxerxes
July 445 B.C,
465 B.C. 464 B.C.
th
20
His
year
began 19 years
later in July of
446 B.C.
to end in July
of 445 B.C.
446 B.C. 445 B.C.
The 1st Year
of Artaxerxes
465 B.C. 464 B.C.
His 20th year
would have
begun 19 years
later in July
446 B.C. 445 B.C.
of 446 B.C.
NISAN
The 1st Year
of Artaxerxes
His 20th year
would have
crossed the
springtime
Nisan moon
of 445 B.C.
465 B.C. 464 B.C.
446 B.C. 445 B.C.
NISAN
446 B.C. 445 B.C.
NISAN
By this reckoning the
20th year of Artaxerxes
tags the springtime
Nisan moon in 445 B.C.
Others present evidence
that Arbanus reigned
for seven months from
July 465 B.C. and was
then assassinated
by Artaxerxes in
February of 464 B.C.
“Xerxes was assassinated
by Artabanus …... Consequently
the accession of Artabanus can
be fixed as July or August B.C.
465.”
Ref. SAO/NASA Astrophysics Dating System
Title: Aramaic Papyri from Assuan, note on
regnal years by E.B. Nobels, 1908
Monthly notices –
Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 69, page 8
“Artabanus reigned for seven
months, all authorities agree, which
brings us to February B.C. 464
when he was killed by Artaxerxes,
whose accession can be thus fixed
with considerable accuracy”
Ref. SAO/NASA Astrophysics Dating System
Title: Aramaic Papyri from Assuan, note on regnal
years by E.B. Nobels, 1908
Monthly notices –
Royal Astronomical Society, vol. 69, page 8
Establishing the ascension
of Artaxerxes Longimanus
st
The 1
Year
of Artaxerxes
Longimanus
began in
February of
464 B.C.
464 B.C. 463 B.C.
The Ascession of Artaxerxes
The 1st Year
of Artaxerxes
464 B.C. 463 B.C.
His 20th year
would have
begun 19 years
later in Feb.
445 B.C. 444 B.C.
of 445 B.C.
NISAN (March-April)
The Ascession of Artaxerxes
The 1st Year
of Artaxerxes
His 20th year
would have still
included the
springtime
Nisan moon
of 445 B.C.
464 B.C. 463 B.C.
445 B.C. 444 B.C.
NISAN (March-April)
445 B.C. 444 B.C.
NISAN
According to this reckoning
the 20th year of Artaxerxes
STILL tags the springtime
Nisan moon in 445 B.C.
So in which year did
the command come to
restore and rebuild the
city of Jerusalem?
Using BOTH reckonings
of the commencement
of his reign, the
th
20 Year of Artaxerxes
still covers the
Nisan moon of
445 B.C.
So the Edict issued to Nehemiah during
the springtime Nisan moon of 445 B.C.
initiated the Seventy Weeks Prophecy.
So the Edict of Artaxerxes Longimanus issued
his 20th year as recorded in Nehemiah 2 came
in the springtime Nisan moon of 445 B.C.