Chapter 4: Calculation and Fulfilment of the 70 Weeks

We now have established the starting date for Daniel’s 70 Weeks. It is the Ezra Decree, whose issuing forth (activation) is precisely dated by Scripture to: ‘the 7th year of King Artaxerxes’, ‘on the first day of the first month’ (Ezra 7:6-9). Fortunately, the dates for the Persian kings are well established by historical records.

The date of the beginning of the 1st year of the reign of Artaxerxes I is accepted as 1st Nisan 464 BC (the accession year being 465 BC), therefore the 7th year began with Nisan 458 BC (the Persian kings measured the start of their new regnal year from Nisan, in Spring). The commandment for Ezra to set out for Jerusalem was timed for Nisan 1st (new year’s day), the start of Artaxerxes 7th regnal year.

* Therefore, Daniel's 70 Weeks start on Nisan 1st, 458 BC.

Since the Calendar used at that time was Luni-Solar, we can use astronomy to calculate the exact date on our own Gregorian Calendar.
Each new month began at the time of the observed New Moon. Since each new day began at sunset, the month started on the evening when the moon first became visible. Lunar tables or software (I recommend the NASA tables at http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/phase/phasecat.html) can give us the dates of each Astronomical New Moon, from which we can deduce when the Crescent New Moon first became visible.

The day defined by the appearance of the New Moon is always 2 or 3 days after the Astronomical (True) New Moon happens. A good rule of thumb is that it normally needs to be at least 27-30 hours old at 6pm, for it to be observable that evening. So if there is a True New Moon before Noon on (say) 3rd March, it would not be visible that evening, but it should be visible the next evening (of the 4th March), so that the first day of the new month is the 5th March (although really it opens at the sunset of the 4th). But, if the True New Moon was after 3pm on the 3rd March, it would only be visible on the evening of the 5th, so that the first day of the new month is the 6th March. Borderline cases require more complex calculations.

Below are some results for -457 (458 BC) which are taken from: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/phase/phases-0499.html

Y e a r Astronomical New Moon
- 4 5 7 J a n 7 0 3 : 1 9
F e b 5 1 8 : 5 3
M a r 7 1 1 : 1 5
*A p r 6 0 3 : 2 7
M a y 5 1 8 : 4 6

Please note in using these tables that for years before Christ, you must make a 1 year adjustment (e.g: Year -457 = 458 BC). Also they give the Julian (rather than the Gregorian) dates, so a further adjustment has to be made. The Julian Calendar was the solar Roman Calendar in use at the time of Christ, but this Calendar had to be adjusted in the time of Pope Gregory (1582), so the Calendar we now use is called the Gregorian Calendar. So, for example April 6th, 458 BC (Julian) is equivalent to April 1st (Gregorian). There are a number of Calendar Converters online that you can use to do this.

The other correction you will need to make is from the UT (GMT) used by the Tables to ‘Jerusalem Time’, by adding about 2 hours 20 minutes. Thus, 1pm GMT is about 3pm Jerusalem Time.

Now, Nisan is the Month in Spring that marked the start of their New Year. In this case, there is no doubt that the Nisan Astronomical (True) New Moon is the one in April, namely April 6th (Julian) or April 1st (Gregorian) at 03.27 GMT (or about 6am Jerusalem or Persian time). Now the New Moon would not have been observable 12 hours later at 6pm, April 1st, but it would have been observable 36 hours later on 6pm, April 2nd, which would have marked the opening of the New Month (Nisan) and New Year. Therefore, Nisan 1st, 458 BC was April 3rd (but actually the day started at 6pm of April 2nd).

Therefore, the 70 Weeks started on April 3rd, 458 BC (on
our Gregorian Calendar), or more precisely at 6pm, April 2nd.


Let us now calculate the starting point of the 70th Week. Measuring forward 69 Weeks or 483 years (in Jewish luni-solar years), takes us to Nisan 1st, AD 26.

Here are the NASA results:

Y e a r Astronomical New Moon
2 6 J a n 7 1 6 : 3 4
F e b 6 0 7 : 2 4
M a r 7 1 9 : 1 8
*A p r 6 0 4 : 2 8
M a y 5 1 1 : 4 3

Now April 6th AD 26 (Julian) is equivalent to April 4th (Gregorian).
This means that the Observed New Moon of Nisan 1st, AD 26 was at 6pm on April 5th (Gregorian). This must be the start of the 70th Week, the opening of the Time of Messiah’s Presentation to Israel.

* According to our present Gregorian Calendar,
Daniel's 70th Week started on April 5th, AD 26.


This date finds a perfect corresponding fulfilment in the events recorded by the New Testament. The prophets had predicted that the Messiah would be heralded by a forerunner, who would go before Him, the voice in the wilderness, coming in the spirit of Elijah, preparing the way of the Lord. The New Testament tells us that this was fulfilled in the Ministry of John the Baptist, which marks “the Beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (the Messiah)” (Mark 1:1). All the prophets “prophesied unto John”, but with John something quite new began - the actual fulfilment of Messianic Prophecy.

According to the New Testament the Presentation of the Messiah to Israel, when He and His Kingdom was declared to be at Hand, was the Ministry of John the Baptist. This is what opens the 70th Week.

We have seen that Luke 3:1 gives the date of the start of John’s Ministry as the starting (foundational) date of the New Testament, namely: the 15th year of the ‘rulership’ of Tiberius Caesar, which is AD 26, the very year predicted as the start of the 70th Week!

*The Ministry of John the Baptist started on April 5th AD 26, which marks the opening of the 70th Week.


Thus we have seen how Daniel 9:25 has been fulfilled:
“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem (Nisan 1st, April 2/3rd, 458 BC) until (the time of) Messiah the Prince (Nisan 1st, April 5/6th, AD 26), there shall be 7 Weeks (49 years) and 62 Weeks (434 years, making a total of 49 + 434 = 483 years).”

Thus from Nisan 1st 458 BC (the Ezra Decree) to Nisan 1st AD 26 (the Opening of John’s Ministry) are exactly 483 Jewish (luni-solar) years (69 ‘Weeks’ or ‘Sevens’) just as predicted by the Prophecy.

Remember that whenever you go from BC to AD dates, you must take into account that there was NO YEAR ZERO (0). The year after 1 BC is AD 1, so 10 years from 5 BC is NOT AD 5, but AD 6.


Now it should be clear that the 70th Week must end 7 years later in APRIL 33 AD. Amazingly we can prove that Christ’s DEATH and RESURRECTION took place in April AD 33! Could it be that the 70 Weeks came to their climactic conclusion at the Death and Resurrection of Christ? If so, what great proof this would furnish for the Messiahship of Jesus of Nazareth!

The Dates of Christ’s Death and Resurrection.
It might come as a surprise that it’s possible to get the exact dates for Christ’s Death and Resurrection; but there is sufficient data from the Bible, astronomy and historical records to do this with confidence.


Let us put together all the clues:


1. Christ died as our Passover Lamb on a Passover (Nisan 14th), during the time of Pontius Pilate (AD 26-36).

2. The Gospel accounts agree that this was a Friday, the day before the weekly Jewish Sabbath, on the year of the Cross. The word used: PROSABBATON is the standard word used for FRIDAY. There is no evidence that this word was used in any other way in the time of Christ. Moreover, all of Church History, even from the First Century, confirms this as an accepted fact, and there was never any hint of any dispute over it. Only in modern times have theories arisen proposing a Wednesday or Thursday Crucifixion, but the evidence for Friday is so strong that these other theories would never have arisen,

if it were not for the 3 days and 3 nights of Jonah. (For those concerned about the 3 days and 3 nights see Appendix 7 for more on this issue). These theories have an initial appeal, but do not hold up to further investigation. So, I will assume that the established and generally accepted view of a Friday Crucifixion is correct.

3. Christ rose again as the Firstfruits ON THE THIRD DAY, which was also the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, the day after the Sabbath (SUNDAY). ‘On the 3rd day’ always means ‘the day after tomorrow’ and is the main phrase used by the New Testament. If Sunday is the 3rd day, then Friday is the first day, and therefore the day of the Cross must be a Friday (not Wednesday or Thursday).

The plain reading of all the Gospels is that Christ died on a Friday (the ‘Prosabbaton’, the day before the weekly Sabbath), and was in the grave throughout the Sabbath day, and then rose again on the 3rd day, which was a Sunday (the first day of the new week). Any other reading has to be artificially imposed upon the text.

Therefore His Death and Resurrection had to take place in a year when the 14th Nisan was a Friday. A Friday Passover limits the options to AD 30 or 33, as you can verify from the NASA Tables (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/phase/phases0001.html). The first Chart on the next page summarises the Passover dates from AD 26-36. Under that are listed the 3 years where there was a Friday Passover: AD 27,30,33, but we can immediately dismiss AD 27 as a possibility.

Click here for DATES chart; Chart 1 and Chart 2

Therefore, the two possible dates for the Cross are 7th April, AD 30 (on the Julian Calendar), which is 5th April on our (Gregorian) Calendar, and 3rd April AD 33 (Julian), which is 1st April (Gregorian).

4. The Signs in the Heavens. In addition, the Bible speaks of two Astronomical Signs, occurring on the day of the Cross, which confirm the AD 33 date and eliminate the AD 30 date as a possibility.

Joel 2:30,31: “I will show SIGNS in HEAVEN above:
(1) the SUN will turn to DARKNESS and (2) the MOON to blood, before the Great and Terrible (Manifest) Day of the Lord.”

SIGNS always come BEFORE the main event, announcing it. In this case, we have 2 Astronomical Signs that come BEFORE “the Great and Terrible Day of the Lord.” This literally means: ‘the Day of the Lord’s Manifestation’, the Day when He (the Messiah) would be manifested as Lord, which was fulfilled initially in Christ’s glorious Resurrection. Thus, just before the Messiah is to be manifested as Lord, first of all, the Sun (by contrast) is to be turned to darkness!

This was also prophesied in Amos 8:9: “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God, “That I will make the SUN go down at NOON, and I will darken the earth in broad daylight.”

This was clearly fulfilled on the day of the Cross: "Now from the 6th hour (NOON) there occurred darkness over all the Land until the 9th hour" (Matthew 27:45). "Now when the 6th hour had come, it became dark over all the land until the 9th hour" (Mark 15:33). "It was now about the 6th hour, and darkness came over all the land until the 9th hour, the sun failing" (Luke 23:44-45).

*There was indeed a supernatural darkness on the day of the Cross just as prophesied in Amos 8:9 and Joel 2:31, 2 days before the Day of the Lord’s Manifestation (in His Resurrection)! Now this strange darkness was also recorded by the Roman historians and one of them even dated it to AD 33! See Appendix 4: “The Day the Sun stopped Shining”, for a Summary of the historical evidence for this Darkness.

Thus, this Darkness confirms AD 33 as the year of the Cross!



50 days later, on the Day of Pentecost, Peter pointed to this fulfilment of Prophecy as a proof of Jesus’ Messiahship:

Acts 2:16-21: “This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass AFTERWARDS, says God, ‘that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy. I will show Wonders (Signs) in heaven above and on the earth below: blood, fire and vapour of smoke. The SUN shall be turned into DARKNESS, and the MOON into BLOOD, BEFORE the Coming of the Great and Awesome (Manifest) Day of the Lord (the Great Day of His Manifestation). And it shall come to pass that whoever calls upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Joel prophesied that BEFORE the Day of Messiah’s Manifestation

in glory, the Sun would be turned to darkness and the Moon to blood, and AFTERWARDS (on the basis of His Work), His Spirit would be poured out upon (made available to) all flesh, so that all could be saved and filled with His Spirit, by calling upon the Messiah as Lord.

In Peter’s Sermon (Acts 2:22-39), he proved that Jesus fulfilled this Prophecy, as well as other prophecies, in His Death and Resurrection.
His listeners had just experienced the Supernatural Darkness, on the very same day that Jesus was crucified, so it would have been impressive to them when Peter showed how this was prophesied to happen in connection with the Coming of the Messiah, proving that the Messiah had to be Jesus. It was even more impressive when put together with two other prophesied supernatural events, namely the Resurrection (the Day of His Manifestation as Lord and Christ - Acts 2:36), and the Outpouring of the Spirit (Acts 2:1-4, 32,33).

*The Prophecy spoke of: (1) a Supernatural Darkness happening
just BEFORE (2) the Day of the Lord’s Manifestation,
AFTER which (3) the Spirit being poured out on all flesh.

*In the Fulfilment (in AD 33): (1) the Supernatural Darkness happened at the Cross, just BEFORE (2) the Day of the Lord’s Resurrection, AFTER which (3) the Holy-Spirit was poured out on all flesh.

All this (the supernatural Darkness, along with Christ’s Resurrection as witnessed by the disciples, and by the empty tomb) would have

convinced many that Joel’s Prophecy was indeed being fulfilled and that on this Day of Pentecost, the Spirit was indeed being poured out on all flesh, and that Salvation was available to all, through calling on the risen Christ. No wonder thousands believed and were saved! Peter did not need to add any comment about the Supernatural Darkness, for all his listeners knew that it had recently happened.

Next, we will show how the 2nd Sign in the Heavens of the Moon turning to Blood, confirms AD 33 as the year of the Cross. Moreover, we will see that it even confirms and fixes the date of the Cross as April 1st AD 33. If Joel’s Prophecy was inspired by God and fulfilled in the year of the Cross, as Peter claimed, then we would expect this to have happened at about the same time the Sun was turned to Darkness, since these two Signs are mentioned together in Joel’s Prophecy as happening just before the Day of Messiah’s Manifestation. Moreover, when Peter quoted this Prophecy as having been recently fulfilled in Christ’s First Coming, he mentioned both Signs together, with no hint that only one happened, but not the other. If they had not BOTH happened, this would certainly have weakened his argument that the Outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, resulting from the Resurrection of Christ, which had preceding astronomical Signs ‘in the heavens’, was a genuine fulfilment of Joel’s Prophecy, confirming that Salvation and the Gift of the Spirit were available to ALL through Jesus. On the other hand, if the Sign in the Moon had also just happened, that would have been all the more impressive!

So what does this Sign of ‘the Moon turning to Blood’ mean?
In fact, this was a well-known expression for a LUNAR ECLIPSE, when the earth’s shadow crosses the moon, causing it to turn blood-red. This effect is strengthened whenever there is a lot of dust in the air, as indeed there would have been on the day of the Cross, due to all the earthquake activity that took place then (Matthew 27:51,54).

Therefore, the day of the Cross can be located by a double Sign in the heavens, one (the sun turning to darkness) being supernatural, and the other (the Moon to Blood) being natural. The Sun turning to darkness can be dated by the historical records to Passover (Nisan 14th) AD 33 (see Appendix 4) which was April 3rd (according to the Roman Julian Calendar used by the people of that time), as we shall establish from the NASA Tables. Also, this day was a Friday, just as Scripture requires. According to the Gregorian Calendar (the Calendar we now use) this is April 1st (you convert Julian dates to Gregorian dates for events around the time of Christ by subtracting 2 days).

Part 2

In Appendix 5, we show that the Sign in the Moon gives an amazing confirmation of this date. For it has now been established by modern astronomical calculations that on Passover, Friday April 1st, AD 33 there was a LUNAR ECLIPSE, visible from Jerusalem at moonrise!

The Moon actually turned to Blood in the skies of Jerusalem that very evening after Jesus was crucified, shortly before the glorious Day of His Resurrection, just as the prophet Joel had predicted!

Moreover, it has been shown astronomically that this is the ONLY lunar eclipse visible from Jerusalem, that took place in the time-frame required by Scripture. Thus this Sign in the Moon independently fixes the date of the Cross, giving a date that confirms the very date given by the Sign in the Sun. Moreover, this is also one of the only 2 possible dates given by the Biblical requirement of a Friday Passover. Thus (1) the supernatural Sign in the Sun, and (2) the natural Sign in the Moon, and (3) the Friday Passover (Nisan 14th) Crucifixion all strongly confirm that Friday April 1st (Gregorian) AD 33 is the date of the Cross, with the Resurrection 2 days later on Sunday April 3rd!

This ‘bloody’ sign in the heavens, coming just after the supernatural Darkness for 3 hours, and the earthquake activity at Christ’s Death (recorded by the secular historians as well as by the Bible) were just as the prophets had foretold, and must have been deeply impressive for the people as signifying that momentous events were taking place:

Joel 2:31,32: “I will show Wonders (Signs)
(1) in the HEAVENS, and (2) in the EARTH:

(1) The Signs in the earth: “BLOOD (signifying death) and Fire and Pillars of Smoke (disturbances of nature, due to earthquakes).”
On the earth: a significant DEATH, accompanied by earthquakes.

(2) The Signs in the Heavens: “The Sun shall be turned into Darkness, and the Moon into Blood, BEFORE the Coming
of the Great and Awesome (Glorious) Day of the Lord.”

The visible sign of Blood (Death) in the earth can only refer to the Blood of Jesus being shed, which was at the heart of what was going on at this time. This was reflected in the corresponding Sign of blood in the Moon. This scene of God’s cosmic Judgement of sin upon Christ was confirmed on earth by disturbances of nature bringing fires and vapours of smoke, and in the Heavens by a blackout of the Sun.

In Acts 2:16-21, Peter quoted Joel 2:31,32 on the day of Pentecost:
“This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: “And it shall come to pass AFTERWARDS (or ‘in the last days’), says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy. I will show Wonders (Signs) in heaven above and on the earth below: Blood, Fire and Vapour of smoke (the signs on earth). The SUN shall be turned into DARKNESS and the MOON into BLOOD (the signs in heaven) BEFORE the Coming of the Great and Awesome (Manifest) Day of the Lord. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the Name of the Lord shall be saved.”

In saying: “This is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel” Peter claimed that Joel’s Prophecy had been fulfilled by the recent events! It is significant that Peter then quoted the whole Prophecy, implying that it had ALL been fulfilled. It is commonly thought that although he quoted the whole Prophecy, only the part about the Spirit being outpoured had actually been fulfilled, but this makes no sense! If that was the case, it would invalidate his conclusion that this was the Outpouring that Joel prophesied, rather than support it. Why did he quote the rest of the Prophecy, if it did not have a fulfilment then?

The ‘Outpouring of the Spirit’, which was taking place on that Day, was prophesied to take place AFTER certain other events, the main one being ‘the Great and Manifest Day of the Lord’ or ‘the Day of the Lord’s Manifestation’, which Peter applied to the Resurrection of Christ. Moreover, BEFORE this great Day of the Lord’s Manifestation, certain SIGNS must happen, both in the Earth and in the Heavens. All of these Signs took place together on the same day, 2 days before, on the day of the Crucifixion.

* In the Heavens: the Sun turned to Darkness and the Moon to Blood. * In the Earth: “Blood, Fire and Vapour of Smoke.”

A Sign is something outwardly visible that signifies (points to) an important spiritual truth or reality that is taking place. The first Sign in the earth is ‘Blood.’ This is the Blood of Christ being shed on the Cross, signifying the price that He was paying for our sins through His atoning Death! Both Signs of Blood on the earth and in the sky pointed to the momentous Redemption taking place. The Signs of ‘Fire and Vapour of Smoke’ were fulfilled by the great earthquake that took place on this day, which was large enough to also be recorded by the secular (Roman) historians. The dust this created would have greatly enhanced the redness of the lunar eclipse.

Peter’s hearers would have known that all these events, centred on the Redemptive Death of Christ and His glorious Resurrection, took place a few weeks before, exactly as Joel had prophesied, and that therefore the Outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost was not just a one-off experience, but the initiation into a new Age of the Spirit. It was the Risen Christ, having purchased our Salvation with His Blood, pouring out His Spirit upon ALL flesh. Since Christ has paid the price in full, He now makes all the blessings of Salvation freely available (upon request) to all people through His Spirit. Therefore, the Prophecy concludes with: “whoever calls on the Name of the Lord (Jesus) shall be saved” (now fulfilled in this Age - Romans 10:13).

By showing how Joel’s Prophecy had been fulfilled, He was building their faith that the Spirit had been poured out upon all flesh, and therefore that Salvation and the Gift of the Spirit were freely available to all, to be received by trusting in and calling upon Christ. This was the climax of Peter's Sermon (Acts 2:32-38). This opens up his sermon in a new way. He was claiming the passage from Joel he quoted was completely fulfilled in the recent events of the Signs on the day of the Cross, followed by the Resurrection and Outpouring of His Spirit (although this does not exclude a future fulfilment at Christ’s Return). This means his whole message was an exposition of the Joel passage, pointing out that the recent Signs above and below, and the Resurrection (the Great Day of the Lord's Manifestation), were perfectly in line with Joel's Prophecy, confirming that it was all being fulfilled, including the Outpouring. He established the Resurrection as the central event (supported by the empty tomb, Psalm 16 and the preceding notable Signs), leading to the conclusion that the Outpouring of the Spirit was not just an isolated event for a few, but Joel's Outpouring upon ALL FLESH. Therefore Salvation and the Holy-Spirit were available as a free gift, available on request, for the Prophecy ends with: "ALL who call upon Jesus shall be saved." This understanding unifies all the strands of his Pentecostal message.

All of this requires a lunar eclipse (the Moon turning to Blood) visible from Jerusalem, on the day of the Cross (at Passover). There is only one possibility: April 1st, AD 33 (on our Gregorian Calendar)!
Thus, the year of Christ’s Death and Resurrection is astronomically and Biblically fixed at AD 33. Passover that year was Friday, April 1st (on our current Gregorian Calendar), or April 3rd (on the Julian Calendar used at that time), on which day there was a lunar eclipse, the earth’s shadow causing a blood-red moon. Moreover there is NO OTHER DAY between AD 26-36, on which a suitable lunar eclipse could have taken place in connection with Messiah’s Death and Resurrection (as required by Joel 2 and Acts 2), and so this Prophecy could only have been fulfilled on April 1st AD 33 (Gregorian), thus fixing the date of Christ’s Death (and Resurrection).
See Appendix 5 for more details about the Moon turning to Blood.

Thus the double astronomical Sign in Joel 2:31 that ‘the Sun would turn to Darkness and the Moon to Blood’ before ‘the Great Day of the Lord’s glorious Manifestation’ was fulfilled initially on the Day of the Cross, 2 days before His glorious Resurrection, as Peter pointed out a few weeks later at Pentecost, convincing many that this Prophecy was indeed being fulfilled and the Spirit was being poured out on all flesh. We know that there will also be a future fulfilment of this Prophecy at Christ’s 2nd Coming (another ‘Great and Manifest Day of the Lord’) on the last day of the Rerun of Daniel’s 70th Week, just before which the Sun will again turn to Darkness and the Moon to Blood (according to Revelation 6:12), but this does not discount the wonderful fact that there was also a perfect fulfilment of the Prophecy in AD 33. The fact that Israel did not receive Christ required a Rerun of the 70th Week, resulting in a double fulfilment of Joel’s Prophecy, which explains why there are 2 Great and Glorious Days of the Lord, each preceded by the same 2 Signs in the Sky.

Christ died on Friday Nisan 14th (Passover), 33 AD, which was April 1st (Gregorian Calendar), and April 3rd (Julian). This is confirmed by the fact there was a lunar eclipse that evening visible from Jerusalem (the Moon turned to blood).

Let us now verify our conclusion from the NASA tables from AD 33: (http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/phase/phases0001.html).

Y e a r Astronomical New Moon F u l l M o o n
3 3 J a n 19 16 : 09 F e b 3 04 : 2 1
F e b 1 8 01 : 49 M a r 4 22 : 2 0
* M a r 1 9 10 : 38 T *A p r 3 14 : 51 p
A p r 1 7 19 : 09 M a y 3 04 :54

The New Moon that started Nisan (the first month of the New Year in Spring AD 33) can be calculated from the true New Moon, which was on March 19th (Julian), about 1pm Jerusalem time. This means the New Moon would be visible on the evening of March 20th (as confirmed by more complex astronomical calculations), so that Nisan 1st was on March 21st (on the Julian Calendar used by these tables). This means: Nisan 14th (Passover) AD 33 was Friday April 3rd (Julian), which is April 1st (according to our present Calendar).

Notice also that April 3rd (Julian) AD 33 was the day of a Full Moon, and next to it is a ‘p’. This is a symbol for a partial LUNAR ECLIPSE, showing that God arranged for the Moon to be turned to Blood on the day of the Cross! Recent calculations have established that it was visible from Jerusalem at moonrise (see Appendix 5)!

The Resurrection therefore took place two days later on Sunday, April 3rd, AD 33 (on our Gregorian Calendar).

The Day of Christ’s Resurrection must be the Great and Glorious Day of the Lord, when He was given all authority in heaven and earth, and was therefore ready to establish the Messianic Kingdom (in fulfilment of Daniel 9:24), and He would have done so, had Israel been ready to receive it. This day, April 3rd AD 33, must be the final and climactic day of Daniel’s 70 Weeks. This is confirmed by the fact that 490 solar years from the starting Decree on April 3rd 458 BC takes us to April 3rd, AD 33 (there is no year 0), the very Day of Christ’s Resurrection!

Daniel’s 70 Weeks start on April 3rd 458 BC and
end exactly 490 years later on April 3rd AD 33!

Christ died on Passover, Friday 1st April, AD 33, and He rose from the dead on Sunday April 3rd, AD 33, exactly 490 years after the Decree to Restore Jerusalem, just as was predicted by Daniel’s 70 Weeks. This perfect fulfilment proves that Jesus is the Messiah!

*Daniel’s 70th Week and its 40 day Epilogue.
We have seen that Daniel’s 70th Week covers the whole period of Messiah’s Presentation to Israel, ending with the climactic day of His Resurrection, the Great Day when He was manifested as both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36). Also, there was a 40 day Epilogue.

The 70th Week started at 6pm, April 5th, AD 26 and
ended at 6pm, April 3rd, AD 33 (the Resurrection).
This makes a total of 2,555 days. Therefore, the Rerun
of the 70th Week must also be 2,555 days long.

The Epilogue: Only after the 70th Week had ended on Sunday 6pm, April 3rd, did Jesus appear to His Apostles. He visited them that same evening while they were eating (Mark 16:14, John 20:19). The Jewish days end at sunset, so this was at the start of a new day.

His physical Presence with them continued for 40 days until His Ascension: “Until the day in which He was taken up (His Ascension) after He, through the Holy Spirit, had given commandments to the Apostles whom He had chosen, to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them during 40 days and speaking of the things pertaining to the Kingdom of God...Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight” (Acts 1:2,3,9). These 40 Days are defined as being the time that Jesus appeared to His APOSTLES after His Resurrection, until His Ascension. He rose again on Sunday Morning, but His Appearances to the Apostles only began on that Sunday Evening (John 20:19-24, Luke 24).

Therefore the 40 Days came to an end on a Friday Evening. In fact, it was Friday, May 13th, AD 33, and so Christ ascended at the close of that day (near 6pm), as the Sabbath was about to begin. Thus as they walked back from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem it was the opening of the Sabbath Day, which explains the comment in Acts 1:12: “Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath Day’s journey.”This phrase indicates that their return journey to Jerusalem took place on a Sabbath, but that it complied with the Jewish regulations. Indeed the distance from the top of the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem is indeed ‘a Sabbath day’s journey.’

Therefore, Scripture marks the total Time for Messiah’s personal physical Presence, being officially presented to Israel as consisting of 2555 days (Daniel’s 70th Week concluding with His Resurrection), followed by 40 days (concluding with His Ascension), making a total of 2595 days. Peter confirms that this Period of 2595 days measures

the time when Jesus was officially PRESENT to Israel as the Messiah, thus emphasising its importance and significance:

Acts 1:21,22: “Therefore of these men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, BEGINNING from the BAPTISM of JOHN,
UNTIL that Day when He was taken up from us (in the Ascension)
one of these must become a witness with us of His Resurrection.”

The time when He was officially among Israel as the Messiah BEGAN with “the Baptism of John”, a technical phrase that denoted John’s whole Ministry (Matthew 21:25, Mark 11:30, Luke 20:4), and it ENDED with the Ascension. This was 2595 days.

The total Time of Messiah’s Official Presentation to Israel
(when He was personally present) was 2,555 + 40 = 2,595 days.

Since the Time of Messiah is to be rerun at the End of the Age, there must be a future period of 2,595 days, consisting of the 2,555 days of Daniel’s 70th Week (which end with a climactic ‘Great and Manifest Day of the Lord’), followed by a 40 day Epilogue.

*This is amazingly confirmed in Daniel 9:27, Revelation 11 and Daniel 12, which describe these last 7 years in chronological detail! These passages mark out a total time-period of 2595 days, the exact Rerun of the 2595 days of Daniel’s 70 Weeks and its Epilogue!

*Daniel 9:27 sets forth an overview of these 7 years (NIV): “He (the antichrist) will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven' (7 years). In the middle of the 'seven' (7 years), he will put an end to Sacrifice and Offering. And on a Wing of the Temple, he will set up an Abomination that causes Desolation (Judgement), until the end that is decreed is poured out on him (at Christ’s Return).”

From this we can deduce:
1. The antichrist will make a strong covenant with Israel for 7 years. By this covenant, he will have seemed to solve the Middle East problem, and the status of the Temple Mount in particular. It will involve Israel submitting to his protection, and being given the right to practice their Temple worship in a rebuilt Temple. We will see this confirmed by the description in Revelation 11 of this time.

2. There will be a REBUILT JEWISH TEMPLE dedicated to the God of Israel, which will be functioning during the first 3.5 years.

3. Halfway through the 7 years, antichrist comes in and breaks this covenant by stopping the Jewish Temple Worship (‘Sacrifice and Offering’). He sets up an Abomination (an Idol) which brings down increasing Desolation (Divine Judgement) during the last 3.5 years. Thus he will dedicate the Temple to another god. Parallel scriptures reveal that this god is himself. Antichrist will declare himself to be god, and the Abomination is the Image of the Beast (himself).

4. This idolatrous worship of the antichrist will continue until he is destroyed at the Return of Christ (see Revelation 19).

5. Thus for the first half of the Tribulation the Temple in Jerusalem is dedicated to the worship of the God of Israel, whereas for the 2nd half it is dedicated to the worship of the antichrist. The turning point is the intervention of the antichrist at Mid-Tribulation.

*Revelation 11:1-6: “Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the Temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the Court which is outside the Temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the Holy City underfoot for 42 months. And I will give power to My 2 Witnesses and they will prophesy 1260 days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the 2 olive trees and the 2 lampstands standing before the God of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire.”

1. This describes the same situation as described in Daniel 9:27. A covenant (peace-treaty) has been made whereby Israel has given up

her sovereignty over Jerusalem, but in return she has been given part of the Temple Mount for her to worship at her Temple (the right to ‘measure’ expresses ownership and dominion). The rest of the Temple Mount will be given to the Gentiles (Islam?).

2. These verses clearly describe the first half of the Tribulation when the Temple is given over to the worship of the God of Israel. During this time, the 2 Witnesses are ministering on the Temple Mount, calling Israel to faith in her Messiah, Yeshua. We are told that this period of time lasts precisely 42 months or 1260 days.

3. When they have fulfilled their 1260 days of Ministry, the antichrist launches an attack upon the Temple Mount and kills them:

Revelation 11:7: “When they finish their testimony (of 1260 days), the Beast (antichrist) that ascends out of the Bottomless Pit will make war against them, overcome them, and kill them.”

At this point, the antichrist stops all Jewish Temple worship and instead sits in the Temple, declaring Himself to be god: “the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as god in the Temple of God, showing himself that he is god” (2Thessalonians 2:3,4). Thus he will dedicate the Temple to himself as the only god to be worshipped. It is now at Mid-Tribulation that He desecrates the Temple of God by placing within it

an idolatrous Image of Himself called: “the Abomination of (bringing) Desolation” (Daniel 9:27, 12:11).

Jesus spoke about this dangerous time in Matthew 24:15-22:
“When you see the ‘Abomination of Desolation’ spoken of by Daniel the Prophet, standing in the Holy Place, then let those who are in Judea FLEE to the mountains... For THEN (when you see the Abomination of Desolation in the Temple at Mid-Tribulation) there will be Great Tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world, until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”

1. The erection of the Abomination will be a sign to believers in Israel to flee from the antichrist to the mountains of Jordan, where those who heed Jesus’ warning will be kept safe. God will provide a short window of opportunity to escape, but they must go quickly.

2. These events bring in the 2nd half of the 7-year Tribulation, called ‘the Great Tribulation’, which will be the worst and most evil time that shall ever be. It will not last forever, but will be cut short after 3.5 years by Christ’s Return: “Immediately after (‘meta’ = at the end of) the Tribulation of those days, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the Sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of

earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (v29,30).

Revelation 12:6,14 describes believing Israel fleeing to Jordan where she will be kept safe for the final 3.5 years (the 2nd-half of the Tribulation), after antichrist takes over the Temple in Revelation 11:

“Then the Woman (Israel) fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God that they should feed her there 1260 days .... the Woman was given 2 wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a Time, and Times and half a Time (3.5 Times = 3.5 x 360 days = 1260 days), from the presence of the serpent.”

Then Revelation 13 describes the activities of the antichrist (the Beast) during this time. At Mid-Tribulation, he becomes world-dictator and is worshipped as god for 42 months (v4,5; Daniel 7:25). Revelation 13:14-17 then describes how all mankind will be required to worship the Image of the Beast (the Abomination in the Temple). This Worship will be enforced by the Mark of the Beast.

Daniel 11:36 - 12:13 is our final passage that describes these end-time events. The antichrist has been introduced in Daniel 11:36-45: “The king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the (Tribulation) Wrath has

been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done” (v36). In Daniel 11:41, antichrist invades Israel at Mid-Tribulation:
“He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon (these 3 regions define present-day Jordan, which God keeps from his hand, since this is to where believing Israel will flee, during the Great Tribulation).

Daniel 11:45: “And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the Seas (the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea)
and the glorious Holy Mountain (Temple Mount); yet he shall (ultimately) come to his end, and no one will help him.”

Thus, Daniel 12 opens with antichrist having just invaded Israel and taken control of the Temple, which is at Mid-Tribulation.

Daniel 12:1: “At that time (when antichrist has invaded Israel and captured the Temple) Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people (Israel); and there shall be a Time of Trouble (Tribulation), such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time (the Great Tribulation that Jesus described in almost identical language in Matthew 24:21).

After describing the final resurrection of believers and the establishment of God’s Kingdom, an important question is asked in Daniel 12:6: “How long shall the fulfilment of these wonders be?”

In other words: For how long will antichrist rule; for how long will the Temple be desecrated; and how long will it be until the Messianic Kingdom is established? Although we already know that the answer to this must be about 3.5 years from antichrist’s invasion at Mid-Tribulation, Daniel 12:7,11,12 give more precise answers to these questions, from which we can deduce a precise Chronology for the Tribulation (see Appendix 9, for more details on this).

Daniel 12:7: “It shall be for a Time, Times, and half a Time; and when the power (stubbornness) of the holy people (Israel) has been completely broken (by the rule of antichrist), all these things shall be finished.” This agrees with Daniel 7:25 and Revelation 13:5, that antichrist’s world dictatorship will last 3.5 Times = 1260 days.
His dictatorship ends with the Second Coming of Christ.

Daniel 12:11: “And from the time that the daily Sacrifice is taken away, and the Abomination of Desolation is set up, there shall be 1290 days.” This indicates that there will be 1290 days from when antichrist invades and sets up the Abomination in the Temple. This implies the Abomination of Desolation will stand for 1290 days. Logic dictates and Daniel 9:27 confirms that this period of time also ends at the 2nd Coming of Christ, so comparing v7,11 reveals that there will be a Mid-Tribulation Interval of at least 30 days.

Daniel 12:12: “Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the 1335

days.” This describes the blessedness of the righteous inheriting the Kingdom (Matthew 25:34). This indicates there will be a further short period of time after Christ’s Return before the Kingdom is officially established. During this time there will be Resurrections, Judgements and Preparations for the Government of the Coming Kingdom.

I trust this study has shown how consistent all the parts of Scripture are in giving a detailed description of the events and Chronology of the Tribulation. In Appendix 9, we put together all the clues to deduce the exact Chronology of the 7-year Tribulation.

However, at this time, I simply want to establish that these final 7 years are an EXACT chronological Rerun of Daniel’s 70th Week (of 2555 days) and its Epilogue (of 40 days), making 2595 days.

We saw from Daniel 9:27 and Revelation 11 that the first half of the Tribulation, from the start of antichrist’s covenant with Israel UNTIL he invades Jerusalem and takes over the Temple Mount, killing the 2 Witnesses in the process, will be exactly 1260 DAYS.

Then, Daniel 12 picks the story up from this invasion and gives 3 measurements (of 1260, 1290, 1335 days) for the remaining time.
For our present purposes, we only need to consider the longest of these periods: 1335 DAYS, which must give the full measurement of the time from antichrist’s invasion and capture of the Temple at Mid-Tribulation, until the Establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth. (The

2 shorter periods are measurements within the full period of 1335 days, giving extra information about the timing of important events).

Therefore, from the start of the antichrist-covenant until the Kingdom is fully established, there will be a Total Time of
1260 DAYS + 1335 DAYS = 2595 DAYS!

Remember that initially Daniel’s 70th Week ran for 2555 DAYS followed by a 40 DAY Epilogue, during which Christ prepared His disciples for the New Dispensation, making a total of 2595 DAYS!

The 2595 days of Christ’s time will be rerun at the End of the Age!

This confirms the Tribulation is the Rerun of the 70th Week!

Once the Principle of the Rerun of the 70th Week and its Epilogue is established, we can go further and be more precise:

1. The initial 70th Week was exactly 2,555 days, and its final (2,555th) and climactic day was the Great and Manifest Day of Christ’s Resurrection. Therefore, the final 70th Week must also be 2,555 days, and its final (2,555th) climactic day will be the Great and Manifest Day of Christ’s 2nd Coming in power and glory.

2. The initial 70th Week had a 40 day Epilogue. Therefore, the the final 70th Week must also have a 40 day Epilogue, after the 2nd Coming. As with the initial Epilogue, this will be a time of necessary Preparations for the New Kingdom Age. There is much

Scripture describing the events of this time (for example Matthew 25), which will include Resurrections, Judgements and putting people into their positions of authority in the Messianic Kingdom.

*Therefore, 40 days of the 1335 days belong to the Epilogue.

*This leaves 1335 days - 40 days = 1295 days, from antichrist’s Capture of the Temple to the 2nd Coming of Christ.

*The 1295th day is the unique DAY of the 2nd Coming of Christ (“the Great and Manifest DAY of the Lord”).

*This leaves 1294 days leading up to the Return of Christ.

*Now 1260 of these days belong to the world-dictatorship of antichrist, which leaves 1294 days - 1260 days = 34 days.

*These 34 days must belong to a Mid-Tribulation Interval, measuring the time from antichrist’s Capture of the Temple to his rising to world-dictatorship. It is in this Interval that the believing Remnant of Israel must make their escape to Jordan (Revelation 12). Amazingly, this 34 (actually 33.5) day Interval can be deduced independently from other Scriptures (as I show in Appendix 9), which provides another confirmation of the correctness of this analysis. Briefly, a 30-day Mid-Tribulation Interval is clear from Daniel 12, and 4 days from Revelation 11, giving a perfect solution for the Chronology of the Tribulation!

Finally, we need to consider a technical point arising from the fact that the 70th Week was exactly 2,555 days as measured on the Jewish (6pm) Calendar. Now, the first 69 Weeks (Sevens) of years had to have been measured on the Jewish Luni-Solar Calendar, ending on April 5th (6pm) AD 26. However, 2555 days are not 7 luni-solar years, so it seems that for the 70th Week a different kind of Calendar year was used. This should not be too surprising as these 7 YEARS were uniquely MESSIANIC in nature. Moreover, we know that the Rerun of the 70th Week also uses a different kind of year (the Time of 360 days). Now, 2,555 = 7 x 365 days, which implies that the 70th Week is 7 solar years. We can deduce from this that God measured the Life of His Messiah (‘the SUN of Righteousness’ - see Malachi 4:2 and Hosea 6:3) on a special personal Calendar, that was TRUE SOLAR in nature (measured from the Spring Equinox), in contrast to Israel’s Luni-Solar Calendar. Once His official Messianic Ministry began, He Solar Calendar naturally took priority over Israel’s Calendar, as far as the 70 Weeks were concerned.

Now the 70th Week ran from 6pm April 5th, AD 26 to 6pm April 3rd AD 33 on our solar-based Gregorian Calendar. This seems to be slightly less than 7 years. However, our Calendar is not true solar, and the Spring Equinox was one day later in AD 26 than it was in AD 33. Even when we take this into account there still seems to be a small discrepancy. 7 true solar years is actually 2,556 days, so in what sense is the 2,555 days (from 6pm April 5th, AD 26 to 6pm April 3rd AD 33) 7 years?

The solution is connected to when the days start in Christ’s Personal Solar Calendar. The days in our solar-based Calendar (of Roman origin) start at Midnight.
Perhaps the same is true for Christ’s Calendar, or much more likely, they started at sunrise (for good reasons that I can’t go into here). If this is the case, then Daniel’s 70th Week was actually 2,556 days (exactly 7 true-solar years), by reckoning inclusively (which is the normal way that time is measured in the Bible)!