Segment 6 - Daniel 9
“God’s Timing Is So Perfect”
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“… Who foretold this long ago, who declared it from the
the distant past? Was it not I, the Lord? And there is no God
apart from me, a righteous God and Savior; there is none but me.”
Isaiah 45:21

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Look again at Chart 6.7. Counting from the decree of Artazerxes, notice that A.D. 30 is in the middle of the seventieth week. Notice that A.D. 30 occurs in the middle of the 210^th week counting from the Exodus in 1437 B.C. Notice that the seventy weeks of Daniel 9 began at the beginning of the 141^st week (or 987 years) since the Exodus, and also notice that the seventieth week terminates 210 weeks of years, which is exactly thirty Jubilee cycles since the Exodus.

Proving A.D. 30 is the year of Christ’s Death

Daniel 9:27 says, “… In the middle of the ‘seven’ [or week] he will put an end to sacrifice and offering.” Gabriel said that Jesus would die in the middle of the seventieth week. (See Chart 6.7) Since we know that Jesus died at the time of the Passover (John 12), and since there is widely accepted astronomical data for A.D. 30 that is accurate to within two hours, there is sufficient evidence to prove beyond reasonable debate that Jesus was crucified on Friday, April 7, A.D. 30. (There is another signature seven in April 7!) If we follow Bible history and the synchrony of God’s Great Clocks to resolve the question of the time of His death, all of the data presented in the Gospels concerning Christ’s passion week harmoniously fits together. In fact, A.D. 30 exclusively satisfies the synchrony required by all seven clocks that the Creator devised! A.D. 30 is the only year during which all of the events described in Scripture could have occurred.

How Israel Measured Time

The Jews measured time inclusively. Any part of a year month or day counted as a whole unit. Remember how Tiberius came to power about two months before Tishri 1 (the beginning of a Jewish civil year), but Luke counted those two months as a whole year.  (Luke 3:1) Similarly, if someone came to your home on Tuesday and left on Wednesday, the ancients would measure the time your guest visited in your home to be two days and two nights –Tuesday and Wednesday – even though the actual time was less than twenty-four hours. Because a day consists of a dark portion and a light portion, any part of two days was called “two days and two nights” This inclusive method for measuring time explains how Jesus could be dead for three days and three nights (Matthew 12:40), even though the Bible says the Father resurrected Jesus on – not after – the third day (Acts 10:40), which was Sunday, the first day of the week. (John 20:1-5) Using inclusive reckoning, Jesus was in the tomb for three days and three nights: Friday, Sabbath and Sunday. However, He was slain on Friday afternoon, rested in the tomb on Sabbath and resurrected on Sunday. The number of hours that Jesus was dead was less than forty hours (two hours on Friday afternoon, twenty-four hours on Sabbath and ten to twelve hours on Sunday). The timing of this matter can be demonstrated beyond the point of reasonable controversy!

One more point about inclusive measurement of time. Eighteen prophetic time periods are in Daniel and Revelation’s seventeen prophecies, and from God’s perspective, all of them use inclusive reckoning. The decree of Artaxerxes in 457 B.C. occurs during the first year of the seventy weeks; therefore, the year of the decree is included in the count of 490 years. (See Chart 6.7.) The time period of forty years the Israelites spent in the wilderness was measured with inclusive reckoning. (Deuteronomy 2:14; Numbers 14:34) The three days allotted to Pharaoh’s cupbearer was measured with inclusive reckoning. (Genesis 40:12,13)

One Moon – Two months

History says the Jews abandoned God’s ‘new moon’ synchrony for determining the beginning of a new month. In its place, they adopted the Babylonian method of sighting the first crescent of a new moon to determine the beginning of a month. Even today, Jews and Moslems continue the practice of sighting a new moon to determine the beginning of a religious month. God’s synchrony for starting a new month is based on calculation, not observation. A new moon occurs when the moon crosses an imaginary line between Earth and the Sun. Since a new moon cannot be seen (the moon is between Earth and the Sun), the time of conjunction has to be calculated. Calculation of a new moon is not difficult. (See Numbers 28:14; 1 Samuel 20:24-27; Isaiah 66:23.) Of course, when two different methods for starting a given month are used, there are two different results. The difference between these two methods is usually two days. The sighting of a new crescent of a moon occurs in Jerusalem anywhere between sixteen to forty hours after conjunction. Because there are two methods for starting a new month (thus, two calendars) in the New Testament, there is confusion about the timing of Christ’s death.

The Bible indicates that Jesus and His disciples (and other Jews) observed Passover according to the “new moon” calendar, even though the nation of Israel observed its corporate Passover according to the Babylonian method for starting a new month. (Mark 14; John 13) Since the moon determines the first day of the month for both groups of people, the position of the moon plays an important role in determining the date of the Passover. God commanded the Passover lamb to be slain on Nissan 14 as the day was ending, and after roasting the lamb for a few hours, it was to be eaten at midnight on the fifteenth day of the first month. The Lord passed over Egypt at midnight on the fifteenth of Nissan. (Exodus 12; Leviticus 23:5,6; Numbers 28:16,17; Luke 22:1-8) Therefore, any attempt to determine a date and time for the death of Jesus has to address the astronomical position of a new moon for Nissan 1, as well as the first sighting of the crescent of a new moon.

After the Babylonian captivity, the Jews observed two Feasts of Passover in the same month. This conflict (and many other contradictory issues) gave the Romans another reason to mock the Jews. Evan as late as the fourth century A.D., the emperor Constantine used the competing observance of two Passovers to prove that Christians should not depend upon the Jews to determine the correct time for Passover (the observance of Easter was determined by the time for Passover in those days). Notice his denigrating comments: “We ought not, therefore, to have anything in common with the Jews, for the Savior has shown us another way; our worship follows a more legitimate and more convenient course; and consequently, in unanimously adopting this mode, we desire, deepest brethren, to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jews, for it is truly shameful for us to hear them boast that without their direction we could not keep this feast [of Easter at the proper time]. How can they be right, they who, after the death of the Savior, have no longer been led by reason but by wild violence, as their delusions may urge them? They do not possess the truth in this Easter question; for in their blindness and repugnance to all improvement, they frequently celebrate two Passovers in the same year.” (Eusebius, Vita Const., Lib iii., 18-20, insertions mine)

Two Passovers in One Week!

When Jesus came to Earth, He came to declare the truth on many issues that the Jews had distorted. The presence of two calendars (and two Passovers) in Israel solves an interesting mystery, namely, how Jesus could observe Passover at its appointed time with His disciples in the upper room (on Nissan 15 – Mark 14:14-16), and within the same year, also die at the time of the national Passover which took place on Nissan 15 (John 19:14-31)! The solution to this mystery is quite simple. Jesus and His disciples observed Passover in the upper room according to God’s synchrony for the month (new moon to new moon), but Jesus died on the cross according to the Babylonian method of starting a new month 9the sighting of the first crescent of a new moon)! Since the observance of two calendars was a common part of Jewish life, Gospel writers do not specifically mention that two conflicting calendars existed. For two thousand years, this silence has caused a lot of controversy over the day and date of Christ’s death. I hope the following explanation eliminates the confusion surrounding the time of Christ’s death.

Jesus was crucified on Friday afternoon, April 7, A.D. 30, which is the precise year required by Daniel 9! Even though most Christians accept A.D. 30 as the year of Christ’s death, a few understand that it is in the middle of the seventeenth week and even fewer understand how this date is determined.

Step 1

Solar and lunar tables posted at the United States Naval Observatory (USNO) website offer astronomical data covering the years Jesus was on Earth. This data has been carefully verified by several astronomers through the years and is accurate to within one or two hours. The dates and times from the USNO are given in Universal Time. Notice the dates of the equinox and the time of conjunction for years A.D.29-31; especially notice the days of the week:

A.D. 29  Vernal Equinox: Tuesday, March 22, 4 p.m.

          First New Moon on or after Equinox: Saturday, April 2, 5 p.m.

A.D. 30  Vernal Equinox:  Wednesday, March 22, 10 p.m.

          First New Moon on or after Equinox: Wednesday, March 22, 6 p.m.

A.D. 31  Vernal Equinox: Friday, March 23, 3 a.m.

           First New Moon on or after Equinox: Tuesday, April 10, 12 noon

Source: http://aa.usno.navy.mil/AA/faq/docs/springphenom.html

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