03.03.04 444 B.C. Prophecy concerning Jesus and His Ministry

Previously the prophet Daniel gave a messianic prophecy related to “sixty-nine weeks” of years or 176,295 days until the coming of the Messiah.^[1]  Many scholars believe the beginning time of the prophecy was with a decree given in 445 B.C. by King Artxerses.^[2] However, there were several decrees issued about this time and the difficulty scholars have is to determine from which decree should they begin to count the years.^[3]

[1]. Some scholars reckon the number of days to be 173,880. For an exhaustive study to support this conclusion, see Gleason Archer’s study in “Daniel” in the Expositor’s Bible Commentary, 111-21.

[2]. See 03.02.14 and Appendix 15 concerning Daniel’s prophecy.

[3]. See last section of 03.02.14.