AUGUST 1983-Vol. 15, No. 6

TEXT - DANIEL, CHAPTER 9

WE ARE LIVING IN A DAY AND HOUR WHEN IT SEEMS THAT JUST ABOUT EVERYONE WANTS TO BE SEEN AND HEARD AS SOME GREAT AUTHORITY ON SOMETHING, AND AN AWFUL LOT OF THEM KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT WHAT THEY ARE TRYING TO TEACH OR CRAM DOWN THE THROATS OF OTHERS. I FIND THAT ESPECIALLY TRUE IN THE RANKS OF RELIGION, AND THAT IS THE MOS SERIOUS OF THEM ALL, FOR THESE CHARACTERS ARE TAMPERING WITH THE SOUL OF THOSE WHO FOLLOW THEM. RELIGION AND POLITICS ARE BOTH GIVEN EQUAL STATUS BY THE NEWS MEDIA OF OUR DAY, AND RIGHTLY SO, FOR THEY ARE BOTH AS ROTTEN AND CONTEMPTIBLE AS THEY COULD POSSIBLY BE. BUT GOD IS NOT WITHOUT A TRUE WITNESS IN THIS EVIL AGE, NO MATTER WHAT SOME MAY THINK, FOR HE DOES HAVE A FEW GOD FEARING, BIBLE BELIEVING, BLOOD WASHED CHRISTIANS THAT STAND APART FROM ALL THE CORRUPTION OF THE ORGANIZED RELIGION, AND ARE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE THE GROSS DECEPTION OF BOTH POLITICS AND RELIGION IN OUR DAY. OF COURSE WE ALL REALIZE THAT THESE CONDITIONS ARE PRESENT, AND MOST OF THEM WE CAN DO VERY LITTLE TO CHANGE, BUT NOW AND THEN WE DO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT, FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN HEARING THE TRUTH, AND I FEEL THAT THIS IS ONE OF THOSE TIMES FOR ME.

I HAVE RECENTLY RECEIVED A LITTLE BOOKLET SUBMITTED BY MR. A. W. POST AND MR. TOM MARSHALL ENTITLES, "BRANHAMISM, FACT OR FICTION," IN WHICH THEY HAVE SOUGHT TO DISCREDIT OR DISPROVE FOUR OF THE MAIN SUBJECTS BRO. BRANHAM TAUGHT ON, AND WE BELIEVE TO BE TRUE DOCTRINE. THESE SUBJECTS ARE PREDESTINATION, THE SERPENT'S SEED, THE END TIME PROPHET, AND THE SPOKEN WORD MINISTRY. NATURALLY WE DO NOT AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT IS BEING TAUGHT BY VARIOUS ONES WHO CLAIM TO BE FOLLOWERS OF THE MESSAGE DELIVERED TO THIS AGE BY BRO. WILLIAM MARRION BRANHAM, BUT WE DO TAKE OUR STAND TO DEFEND THE TRUTH OF THESE VARIOUS BIBLE DOCTRINES THAT ARE UNDER ATTACK, FURTHERMORE WE OPENLY DEFEND THE CHARACTER AND IMAGE OF OUR PRECIOUS DECEASED BROTHER THAT WAS USED OF GOD IN THIS AGE, AS NO OTHER MORTAL MAN HAS BEEN, AND WE TAKE EXCEPTION TO ANY REMARK THAT BRANDS HIM AS A FALSE PROPHET. HE TRULY WAS A GOD ANOINTED PROPHET, AND HIS "THUS SAITH THE LORD," WAS RIGHT IN LINE WITH THE WORD OF GOD EVERY TIME. IT NEVER FAILED. IT IS ONLY WHAT OTHERS CLAIM HE MEANT, THAT IS PROVING TO BE INCORRECT AS TIME GOES ON, AND GOD IS ALLOWING THAT, FOR IT IS SERVING ITS PURPOSE IN THIS SEPARATION TIME.

IN THIS LITTLE BOOKLET, TRYING TO DISPROVE BRO. BRANHAM'S MALACHI 4 IDENTITY, AS THAT ELIJAH THAT WAS TO COME, THEY POINT OUT HOW THE ELIJAH OF REVELATION 11, WILL BE KILLED, AND HIS BODY LIE IN THE STREETS OF JERUSALEM, AND THEN BE RESURRECTED FROM THE DEAD AND TRANSLATED INTO HEAVEN, BEFORE THE EYES OF THE OF THE WHOLE WORLD. "UNFORTUNATELY MR. BRANHAM WAS KILLED IN AN AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENT, AND CARRIED TO THE FAITH ASSEMBLY CHURCH IN JEFFERSONVILLE, INDIANA, WHERE HIS FOLLOWERS WAITED FOR OVER A WEEK FOR HIM TO BE RAISED FROM THE DEAD. HE WAS FINALLY BURIED, UPON THE INSISTENCE OF THE INDIANA STATE AUTHORITIES. HE WAS NOT RESURRECTED NOR TRANSLATED INTO HEAVEN, AND BECAUSE HE CLAIMED TO BE SOMEONE OTHER THAN WHO HE REALLY WAS, WE ARE LEFT WITH ONLY ONE CONCLUSION, CONCERNING HIS CLAIMED OFFICE OF PROPHET, (LISTEN TO THIS BLASPHEMOUS REMARK.) HE WAS INDEED A PROPHET, A FALSE PROPHET." SAINTS: THAT REMARK CAME FROM THE SAME OLD SPIRIT THAT IS ON DENOMINATIONAL RELIGION. THEY WILL GO TO ANY EXTREMES TWISTING THE SCRIPTURES TO FIT THEIR OWN PARTICULAR DOCTRINE, AND THEY WILL GO THE SAME EXTREMES IN THEIR EFFORTS TO DISCREDIT ANYTHING GOD DOES, THAT DOES NOT FIT WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THEIR PARTICULAR DOCTRINE. THEY WILL USE ANY CARNAL MEANS TO JUSTIFY THEIR REFUSAL OF ANY FURTHER TRUTH. THESE MEN HAVE GONE INTO BRO. BRANHAM'S Israel in the End Time AND PULLED OUT CERTAIN STATEMENTS THAT THEY BASE THEIR WHOLE CONCLUSION UPON. NO DOUBT THEY GOT ENOUGH OUT OF "THE CONTENDER," TO MAKE A CONNECTION WITH WHAT THEY ENDEAVORED TO WRITE ABOUT, FOR BRO. BRANHAM'S BODY WAS NOT BROUGHT BACK TO FAITH ASSEMBLY CHURCH; IT WAS TAKEN TO COOTS FUNERAL HOME, IN JEFFERSONVILLE, INDIANA, AND IT WAS MUCH, MUCH LONGER THAN A WEEK BEFORE HE WAS FINALLY BURIED. IT JUST LETS US KNOW THAT THEY TRIED TO BE A GREAT AUTHORITY OF SOMETHING THEY KNEW VERY LITTLE ABOUT. MAYBE THEY WILL CHALLENGE ME ON ONE OF THE CONTENDER SUBJECTS ONE OF THESE DAYS. I HOPE THEY DO; FOR THERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS I WOULD LIKE TO ASK THEM CONCERNING THEIR BLINDNESS TOWARD REVEALED TRUTH FROM THE WORD OF GOD.

ONE WEEK OF YEARS

Brothers and Sisters: you may think this is a strange introduction to the subject we are going to deal with, but please remember this, it is this old Antichrist spirit of error and perversion that causes us to have to deal with these things in the way we do. Denominational religion has closed their ears to any further revelation of the word of God, and the radicals of this message are perverting every truth that the true people of God stand for. That is what causes me to feel that we need to deal with the seventieth week of Daniel one more time, for even though this is not a salvational message, it is still of utmost importance, or the Devil would not fight the true teaching so hard. This is a subject that is dividing households. Family members are divided against each other because they cannot agree on whether half of that seventieth week is already fulfilled, and both sides are able to point to something they have directly, or indirectly received from Bro. Branham's teaching on the subject. Do you know what it is all about? It is two different spirits battling for preeminence, the Spirit of God and spirit of Antichrist. One proves it by the word of God, and the other tries to prove it with the statements of a man. As we have pointed out many times before, Bro. Branham was the prophet messenger to this age of Laodicea, therefore he had to feed both elements of believers, truth for the genuine believers, and something else for the make believers to feed upon. That is the only way you can reconcile dual statements made upon the same subject, when one statement will always line up perfectly with the word of God. That is why those who catch the right revelation do not have to depend completely upon what someone else says, for they can go right to the Bible and find the vindication. We have proved from the Bible itself many times over and over, that there is still one full week of years to be fulfilled to the Jews of Daniel's seventy weeks, but I feel that we can approach it from a little different angle, and publish it one more time, and maybe help some soul somewhere, that is seeking to know the truth of the matter.

A CALCULATION OF TIME

One thing I want to say right at the beginning, a right understanding of the seventy weeks of Daniel is not necessarily tied to a Holy Ghost revelation, for it can be traced out, through the pages of history after you once get the scriptural structure of it in your mind. It is simply a matter of calculating time. That is why Jesus said in Matthew 24;15, "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (Saints: please notice, as you read this verse, that the next five words are in parenthesis, in your Bible. We are supposed to read certain things, and then understand them.) (WHOSO READETH, LET HIM UNDERSTAND.) (16) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains," and so forth. The abomination of desolation referred to here, is that period of excessive hatred for the Jews, brought on by the Antichrist, when he moves into that holy place, in the middle of the seventieth week. You should take special notice to the fact that Jesus did not say, Whosoever prays a lot will understand, nor Whosoever fasts a little extra will understand; He simply intends for us to do a certain amount of studying from available material, on some things, and brother, that has to go beyond the mere statements of a mortal man. I will never forget, one night when I was talking with a certain young man he made this statement. "Bro. Jackson: I love you, but there are some things I just do not see like you do. It looks to be like there can only be 3 ½ years left, of the seventy weeks of Daniel." I just though to myself, "Young man, what do you read? What brought you to that conclusion?" You hate to think that a young man like that would just accept a statement, or remark, and close his mind to anything further, that could shed more light upon a subject. Most of you young men out there, have a much better education than I do, and most all history books are consistent on the points that establish this subject, so why will you not avail yourselves of the opportunity to settle the matter in your own mind once and for all? I know the scripture that causes many of you to get hung up, when you approach this subject, and I intend to stress that point with special emphasis when we get to it; so please pray that God will help be say each thing in a way that can be easily understood, and then you take my remarks and do your own studying on the subject. Of course I also realize that there are some who could never care less about the seventy weeks of Daniel, but there are many who are interested, so this is for them, and I desire to make it an enjoyable subject.

GOD KEEPS TIME PERFECTLY

It is important that we know from the standpoint of the scriptures, why we believe there are yet seven full years left to be fulfilled of Daniel's seventy weeks of years, therefore I want to give you certain points of information as we go along. The first is this, When the angel of the lord appeared to Daniel there in chapter 9, Daniel had been reading books. That is how he got hold of the information that caused him to set his face toward God in prayer for his people Israel. Then I want you to notice verse 24, where Gabriel began to speak to him concerning the matter of his interest. "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon the holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy." Saints, listen to me now! Do not ever allow yourself to think that God would say, "seventy weeks," and then just play around with 65½, or 74¾, or something close to seventy. When God says seventy weeks, He means seventh weeks; He is precise. When yo deal with other things, you can have an overlapping of this and that, but when God speaks concerning a time factor, He is precise. Over in the book of Revelation, when it says that the devil will be bound for a thousand years, and that the certain ones will live and reign with Christ for a thousand years, don't allow yourself to even think that 997 years might be close enough; I tell you, God is precise on these things. You cannot give, nor take a year, it must be exactly what it says, and God is the one that keeps the time, so there will never be a mistake. When the thousand years are expired the devil will be loosed out f his prison, and allowed to test the Millennial subjects, and God will not wait three years and six months past the thousand years to loose him; it will be done immediately. That is why it is so foolish for men to wrestle with the scriptures, trying to make them fit a certain way they want to believe something. (You will understand later why I say that.) God keeps the time, and He will not change even the slightest little detail of what His word declares is yet to be.

70 WEEKS EQUALS 490 YEARS

I believe we are ready to begin reading in Daniel 9:1, which takes up the account in the year 538 B.D., just two years prior to the actual release of certain jews by King Cyrus to rebuild the temple at Jerusalem. We are bringing this in, for the sole purpose of showing how precise God is when He is dealing with a time element, so let us read. (1) "In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; (2) In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, (Praise God! The Jews were a people that really believed in keeping record of their events and happenings. That is what you are reading when you read Kings and Chronicles, a historical account of their kings, and happenings. The word Chronicle itself, means, to set in order. But what Daniel is reading is the writings of the prophet Jeremiah who is no longer in the picture, for he is already dead at this time. Daniel was carried away into Babylonian captivity, in the first invasion, in the year 607 B.D., by Nebuchadnezzar's army, and while in captivity, he had been reading Jeremiah's prophecy concerning the length of time that the lord would allow them to be punished in this way, and knowing that the time had almost expired, he began to seek the face of God in the matter.) that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem." (You can read Jeremiah 25:11, and 29:10, if you want the exact prophecy that Daniel was referring to.) Daniel knew that he had been there almost seventh years already, and he felt that it was just about time for God to set in motion the next phase of Jeremiah's prophecy. God was giving the land of Israel a rest, because those Jews had become so greedy for gain, they had failed to let the land rest from tilling one year out of every seven, according to the Levitical order given to Moses. While they were in captivity, the land of Israel was enjoying her sabbaths. By connecting certain scriptures together we find that Israel had actually gone on for 70 sabbaths without letting the land rest, so that really adds up to 490 years when you multiply 7 x 70. Therefore God is giving the land all of her neglected rest in one continuous period of time, and even though Daniel was taken into captivity in the year 607 B.D., when the final destruction was accomplished, and the Jewish temple lay in ruins. But Daniel, counting only the time of his own captivity, realized that he has been there in Babylon almost seventy years, and he becomes very concerned about what the Lord is going to do. That is when he begins to seek the face of God, and that brings us to verse 3, in the 9th chapter. (3) "And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fastings and sackcloth, and ashes: (4) And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God." (You can read those verses of his confession later, but right now we want to get on down to verse 20, where the angel of the Lord appeared to him.) (20) "And while I was speaking, and praying, and confession my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God: (21) Yea while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. (That would be as the sun was setting in the evening.) (22) And He informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding." (We could go to Ezra 1:1-4, and read how God stirred the spirit of Cyrus the king of Persia, to build Him a house "temple" in Jerusalem, and see how the time worked out perfectly with the prophecy of Jeremiah, but you can read that later, for we must continue reading, here in Daniel 9, verse 23.) (23) "At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee; for thou are greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. (Notice now.) (24) Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy." I will not use chalk board, because of those who will hear this on tape. We have to present it clearly for those who could not see our illustrations. But to you who will hear this on tape, or read it in the Contender, let me say this, We have to realize that when Jeremiah prophesied this captivity, and the children of Israel began to be carried away, they were to be penalized 70 years, all because they had failed to observe seventy sabbatic sabbaths whereby according to the law given to Moses, the land was to be tilled six years, and rested the seventh. God promised to give them an abundant crop the sixth year, so there would be plenty to carry them through the seventh, but they became greedy and failed to rest the land, and God allowed them to go on like that for 490 years before He judged them for it. There, sits a profile of how God deals with Israel in a numerical way so much of the time. There in Babylon in 538 B.D., just two years prior ro the actual release, God tells Daniel that seventy WEEKS are determined upon his people. (For what?) To finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in EVERLASTING righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Brothers and Sisters: When you break that down, that means that in exactly 490 years of prophetic time Jesus Christ is going to be on earth literally, to sit up His Millennial reign. That is why Jesus said in Matthew 24:29, "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: (30) And THEN shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and THEN shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man (Jesus) coming in the clouds of heaven with POWER and GREAT GLORY." That is absolutely to take place exactly at the end of this 490 years of prophetic time allotted to God's dealing with the Jewish people in their land. Many people get the seventy years of Babylonian captivity mixed up with the seventy weeks of Daniel's vision, but they are absolutely not the same. You will see as we continue reading this 9th chapter of Daniel, that God gave those Jews a perfect yardstick to measure time by, and if they had used it correctly, they would have known exactly when to expect their Messiah to appear on the scene. You just have to realize that it is a prophetic yardstick, and that being so, there is a broken interval of time between the 69th week and the seventieth week while the prophetic clock is stopped for the nation of Israel. That is the part this is so hard for a lot of people to understand. Naturally I am speaking of Gentiles that are so wrapped up in John 3:16, they simply cannot see anything else. But God means for the bride of Jesus Christ to understand these things before the end of Gentile time.

TWO SEPARATE DECREES

Alright now, we are showing this Cyrus decree that actually ended the seventy years of captivity for any Jew that wanted to go up to Jerusalem and work on the temple. God gave Daniel the vision and understanding of certain things in the year 538 B.D., and just two years later, when the full seventy years of captivity had expired, He moved upon Cyrus to set the plan in motion for their release. When you go to II Chronicles 36:22-23, you find where Cyrus the king, made a proclamation stating that the Lord God of heaven had given to him all the kingdoms of the earth, and that He had commanded him to build Him an house in Jerusalem. Then as you read the first chapter of Ezra, you find that the year is 536 B.C., and that it is the first year of the reign of Cyrus the great, and that he somehow knew that the Lord God of heaven had given him this kingdom to rule over. How do you suppose he knew all of this? I believe Daniel had been talking to him, Don't you? It was Daniel, that helped him understand how much that temple meant to his own people that had by the year 536 B.C., been deprived of the use of it for seventy years. But it was God Himself that stirred the spirit of Cyrus to do something about it. Throughout his kingdom, went these words of Cyrus. Who is there among you of all His (God's) people? (Jews) His God b with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the Lord God of Israel, which is in Jerusalem. That released all the Jews that wanted to go. But remember, This was not the decree that started the seventy weeks of Daniel's prophecy, this was the decree that ended the seventy years of captivity. From his own treasury Cyrus provided gold and silver for the Jews to take with them, but he also decreed that they should receive help from others throughout his kingdom. Ezra was not on the scene at this time; he stood out in the second great migration from Babylon during the reign of King Artaxerxes, and was active with Nehemiah when the decree was given that activated the seventy weeks of Daniel's prophecy. But Ezra's writings go all the way back, to pick up the account of the first decree, given by Cyrus, and brings it up to date at that time, and then Nehemiah picks up in the year 446 B.D., and deals with the period of time that covers the building of the wall and the city itself, and the commandment to do that is what started the prophetic clock ticking on the 70 WEEKS, which actually covers 490 years of prophetic time allotted to God's dealing with the Jews, and of which, there is exactly one WEEK left, exactly SEVEN years. Not 3½, but 7 years, no matter how you calculate it.

PROPHETS ON THE SCENE

Now when the temple was rebuilt the first time, the prophets Haggai and Zechariah were on the scene prophesying, while the temple was being constructed. That set a perfect type for what is ahead, for when the Millennial temple is being constructed, there will be two other Jewish prophets on the scene, prophesying. That will be the Moses and Elijah of Revelation 11:3-7, which will prophesy to Israel for a full 3½ years, which is the first half of the seventieth week of Daniel's prophecy. Brothers and Sisters: I am trying to go slow, and be specific with the points of this subject, that I feel should enable every true child of God to see clearly, what pertains to what. Some have wondered about the 91 years between 536 B.C., when the decree ended the 70 years of captivity and 445 B.C., when the decree came that activated the 70 weeks of Daniel's prophecy. But you just have to realize that they are not related in any way to the prophetic years. Well, how about the fact that not all of the Jews left Babylon in 546 B.C.? Some will say, Saints, you just have to realize that from the time Cyrus gave the decree of release in 536 B.C., there was not a thing holding those who wanted to go, but by the same token, they were not forced to leave. It was the same way in 457 B.D., when Ezra led another bunch of them up to Jerusalem; there were a lot of them that were prospering where they were, so they chose to stay in Babylon. All this time Daniel's prophecy is still lying there, yet to be fulfilled. Jeremiah's prophecy concerning 70 years of captivity as a result of failing to keep the law of sabbatic sabbaths which was given on behalf of the land itself, had been fulfilled exactly. The time was not cut short to 68½ years, and neither was it stretched out to cover 71¾ years; it was exactly 70 years. Therefore, Daniel's 70 WEEKS will be exactly 70 weeks of years. Not 69½, nor 70½, but exactly 70 weeks, (490 years) then Jesus will be on earth, to rule and reign. It is of utmost importance though, if we are going to understand this prophecy, that we see the three divisions of that seventy weeks, and realize that there is a two thousand year interval of Gentile time between the 69th and the 70th weeks are allotted for the completing of these certain things, and verse 25 begins to break it down into three categories, so let us read it slowly, and think about what we are reading.

SEVENTY PROPHETIC WEEKS START

Daniel 9, verse (25) "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build (what?) Jerusalem (Not the temple; it is already built.) Unto the Messiah the Prince (Jesus) shall be SEVEN WEEKS, and threescore and two weeks: and threescore and two weeks: (That is another SIXTY TWO WEEKS.) the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times." That covers a total of 69 WEEKS, when you add 7 weeks and 62 weeks together, and in just a few minutes, we are going to read verse 26, and see what happened at the end of that 62 week period. But right now, let us go to the 2nd chapter of Nehemiah, where we will see what led up to the decree that actually activated the 70 WEEKS prophecy. The year is 445 B.C., and Nehemiah, still in Babylon serving the king, has received word from some brethren that have returned from Jerusalem, that the city itself is still lying waste, the gates burned, and the people were suffering hardship and much affliction, and that made Nehemiah feel real bad, and it affected his countenance as he went about his duties as the king's cupbearer. That brings us to Nehemiah chapter 2, where we will begin reading. (1) And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him, and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence. (2) Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? This is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, (3) And said unto the king, Let the King live forever: why should not my countenance be said, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?" Nothing had been said in the 536 B.C., decree about building the city or anything else other than the temple, and 91 years had come and gone, and the city was still as it was, and that burdened Nehemiah. He no doubt felt that this would automatically have gone along with the rebuilding of the temple, but for some reason it was left as it was. God knew why, but Nehemiah did not know. (4) "Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven. (5) And I said unto the King, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favor in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it." Certainly we all understand that no one man alone is going to build the city, but with proper authorization and authority from the king, he would be able to gather together the people that it would take to accomplish the work. Verse 6, "And the king said unto me,(the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? And when wilt thou return? So it pleased the King to send me; and I set him a time. (7) Moreover I said unto the king, It if please the King, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah; (8) And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertaineth to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me." A letter was given to Nehemiah according to his request, and that letter of authorization from the king, in the year 445 B.C., in the month of Nisan, was what set Daniel's seventy weeks prophecy in force. That points right to Daniel 9:25, which we have already read. But let me say this, The word week does not just apply to a period fo seven days as we normally use it. It applies to a period fo seven. It could be days, months, or years, but in this particular instance, the term applies to seven year periods of time, seventy weeks of years. The first division in these seventy weeks was a definite seven WEEKS, and that would cover the first 49 years of the prophecy, and would be from 445 B.C., until Malachi came on the scene. By the time Malachi came upon the scene, the revival spirit had worn off of those Jews, and they had already ceased to offer acceptable sacrifice unto the Lord, so He sent Malachi with a rebuke, and a promise. He rebuked them for their ways, and promised to send them Elijah the prophet to deal with the apostate spirit before the coming of the GREAT and DREADFUL day of the Lord. From there, time moved on, and even though there was a division in the weeks of prophecy, there was no broken gap of time between the first seven weeks and the next sixty two weeks. Let me remind you also, at this time, that history is recorded by the secular calendar which consists of 365¼ days to each year, and prophetic time is calculated by a 360 days to the year Hebrew calendar, so do not expect the recorded dates to match exactly with what we know to be accurate according to prophetic time. If you are looking at dates in your Bible, they may not correspond, for that reason. Nevertheless 7 WEEKS added together come to a total of 483 years that would expire between the time of the Nehemiah decree to build the city, and the time when the Messiah the Prince would be cut off. So when you take the 49 years (SEVEN WEEKS)of the first seven weeks from that total of 483 years, you have 434 years left, from Malachi to the crucifixion. Sometime during the early part of that last 34 years, Jesus was born, and when He was crucified, (you believe me) It was exactly 483 years from the start of that 70 WEEKS of years of Daniel's prophecy, leaving exactly 7 years (one week) that God will yet deal with the nation of Israel, before Jesus returns bodily to rule on earth for a thousand years.