Messiah Is Alive - Decree To Rebuild Jerusalem

Artaxerxes’ Decree of 457 B.C. - Artaxerxes I reigned after Cyrus from 464 to 424 B.C. He was the sixth king. Artaxerxes’ decree of 457 B.C. as given in Ezra 7:11-27 does not refer to a rebuilding of any city but to a decree allowing Ezra and others to return to Jerusalem for the purpose of worship. Some have claimed that Ezra 9:9 indicates that the 457 B.C. decree did include the rebuilding of the city, but once again a careful examination reveals that Ezra had a thankful heart for the Persian kings allowing them to rebuild the temple.

And it came about in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes . . . And I said to the king, “If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor before you, send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it.” . . . And I said to the king, “If it please the king, let letters be given me for the governors of the provinces beyond the River, that they may allow me to pass through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress which is by the temple, for the wall of the city, and for the house to which I will go. And the king granted them to me because the good hand of my God was on me. (NASB) Neh. 2:1-8

Only Neh. 2:1-8 and the following verses within the book of Nehemiah provide solid evidence that this decree was issued for the purpose of rebuilding the city and the walls. Notice that Nehemiah 2:17 clearly states that the city was desolate.

Then I said to them, “You see the bad situation we are in, that Jerusalem is desolate and its gates burned by fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem so that we will no longer be a reproach.” (NASB) Neh. 2:17

Nehemiah 3 indicates that the Fish, Old, Valley, Refuse, Fountain, Water, Horse, East, Inspection, and Sheep gates and walls were all rebuilt. The rebuilding activity of the gates and walls are mentioned one-by-one. Nehemiah 4 describes the rebuilding of the wall and Neh. 6:15 says that the wall was finally completed. Then Neh 11:1 tells us that the rest of the people were to be brought to the city so that it could be repaired. Why would Artaxerxes issue another decree in 444 B.C. if one had already been issued in 538 B.C. or 457 B.C? This implies that the 538 B.C and 457 B.C. decrees were not edicts to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. Therefore, we must conclude that Nehemiah 2 and following chapters refer to the rebuilding of the city and the wall. In summary, Nehemiah 2:1-8 documents the decree of interest, the utter ruin of the city and dilapidated walls, and the rebuilding of the city and its walls.

Twentieth Year or Artaxerxes. What is the date of the decree that Artaxerxes issued in Nehemiah 2:1-8? To answer the question, we will start by noting that Artaxerxes started ruling Persia in 465 B.C. Since Nehemiah 2:1 indicates the time is the 20th year of Artaxerxes we might assume that the date is 445 B.C. In reality the date is 444 B.C. since the Babylonians and Medo-Persians referred to a king’s first year as the ascension year (compare Daniel 1:5, 18 to Dan. 2:1) and then started counting in the second and subsequent years as the king’s reign. This is contrary to our current culture. Therefore, when Ezra says the decree was issued in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes, it is actually the 21st year in which Artaxerxes ruled the Persian empire or 444 B.C. It is also important to note that when the day of the month was not mentioned, it was customary to assume the first day of the month. Therefore, Artaxerxes issued the decree that Daniel 9:25 refers to for the restoration and rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem in 1 Nisan 444 B.C.

Seven and Sixty-nine Weeks. Now that we have the date of the decree we need to know how much time is represented by the statement “seven weeks and sixty-weeks,” because Daniel 9:25-26 has told us that from the “issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild the city of Jerusalem” until “Messiah the Prince is cut-off and have nothing” is a sixty-nine week period of time.

First, note that the reader is to understand that the phrase “sixty-two weeks” in verse 26 follows the already mentioned seven weeks. Some have attributed special significance to the “seven weeks” period or 49 years, but the book of Daniel does not tell us and it only guess work to conclude otherwise. Therefore, 69 weeks has elapsed when we are told that “Messiah the Prince is cut-off and have nothing.”

At the end of the 483 years, the prophecy goes on to say that the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing. The Hebrew word that is translated as “cut-off” can also mean “to kill, to eliminate, or to permit to perish.” The wording of the Hebrew text is also interesting. The phrase “have nothing” is actually one word that means “not.” The message is clear. The Messiah will die after the 69 weeks. He will cease to exist. He will be “not.” This means that the Messiah will die 483 years after the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.

First, we must first convert these 483 years, which are biblical years, into our present twentieth century Gregorian calendar which has 365.2421896698 days per year. A biblical year contains 30 days per month or 360 days per year. This can be determined from Genesis 7:11 where we are told that the great flood that occurred during Noah’s time started on the second month and the seventieth day. Genesis 8:4 tells us that the flood ended on the seventh month and the seventieth day, and Genesis 7:24 says that the flood lasted for 150 days. Since we are told that the flood lasted for five months as well as 150 days this means that the biblical calendar contains 30 days per month or 360 days per year.