SLD
Contributor
Having been homebound due to the weather, I’ve recently re read the book of Daniel. The latter part of it contains many prophecies, but they’re kind of jumbled and unclear. Chapter 9 refers to a period of some years, which he refers to in periods of 7 which he calls weeks, after which something happens and maybe it is referring to a messiah but it’s unclear. Christians argue that if you add up the numbers you get 33 AD. But it first depends on what the starting point is and how you count the numbers. There are actually two time periods, one of 434 years and another of 49 years. Some say that the two time periods have to be added, or 483. But that’s not exactly clear from the text, and why are there two different time periods? That’s verse 26.
Verse 25 says the starting point is from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem. It’s unclear though which decree. Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the temple. That was 538 BC, and that gives a time of 104 BC, or 55 BC depending on how you count. That’s long after Daniel was written and after the end of the Maccabean revolt. Christian prefer 445 BC, when Nehemiah allows the walls of Jerusalem to be rebuilt. But to me that makes no sense as there was already temple sacrifices going on by that point. It is supposed to jives with 33 AD using 483 years, but my math gets you to 37 AD. So I’m not sure how they get to the year of Jesus crucifixion or the start of his ministry.
But verse 27 then talks about another 7 year period where something happens halfway through it to stop the sacrifices. But this can’t jive with Christianity because Jesus didn’t have a 7 year ministry and temple sacrifices continued for decades after his crucifixion. Even if Jesus’s ministry is 3.5 years and the prophecy is referring to Jesus’s death, it still doesn’t make sense.
I still don’t see how Christina’s can reconcile these two different verses. It’s like they’re using two different mathematical methods with each verse.
Then in later chapters, there’re the prophecies that relate to Antiochus IV, the Seleucid king who tried to stamp out Judaism and compel worship of the Greek gods. There’s significant detail about his suppression of Judaism and his war with the Ptolemies, but nothing about the aftermath, indicating that the author wrote it before Antiochus’s death. Antiochus died around 162 BC.
The problem with this from Christianity’s perspective is that you’ve got to pick and choose which prophecy refers to Jesus and which to the Seleucids. Why aren’t the prophecies read together as one big one rather than two distinct ones with the latter one coming before the earlier one? Chapter 9 refers to Jesus but 10 - 12 refer to the Seleucids. Makes absolutely no sense from a timing perspective. A better interpretation is that the starting point for the prophecy in chapter 9 is from the earlier date of 538 bc, but actually should be earlier and maybe the authors didn’t have an exact year to go by, and then maybe the whole thing refers to the Maccabean revolt. Makes more sense to me that way.
But I don’t believe in Jesus as my messiah. So Christians tell me how wrong I am.
Verse 25 says the starting point is from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem. It’s unclear though which decree. Cyrus allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem and to rebuild the temple. That was 538 BC, and that gives a time of 104 BC, or 55 BC depending on how you count. That’s long after Daniel was written and after the end of the Maccabean revolt. Christian prefer 445 BC, when Nehemiah allows the walls of Jerusalem to be rebuilt. But to me that makes no sense as there was already temple sacrifices going on by that point. It is supposed to jives with 33 AD using 483 years, but my math gets you to 37 AD. So I’m not sure how they get to the year of Jesus crucifixion or the start of his ministry.
But verse 27 then talks about another 7 year period where something happens halfway through it to stop the sacrifices. But this can’t jive with Christianity because Jesus didn’t have a 7 year ministry and temple sacrifices continued for decades after his crucifixion. Even if Jesus’s ministry is 3.5 years and the prophecy is referring to Jesus’s death, it still doesn’t make sense.
I still don’t see how Christina’s can reconcile these two different verses. It’s like they’re using two different mathematical methods with each verse.
Then in later chapters, there’re the prophecies that relate to Antiochus IV, the Seleucid king who tried to stamp out Judaism and compel worship of the Greek gods. There’s significant detail about his suppression of Judaism and his war with the Ptolemies, but nothing about the aftermath, indicating that the author wrote it before Antiochus’s death. Antiochus died around 162 BC.
The problem with this from Christianity’s perspective is that you’ve got to pick and choose which prophecy refers to Jesus and which to the Seleucids. Why aren’t the prophecies read together as one big one rather than two distinct ones with the latter one coming before the earlier one? Chapter 9 refers to Jesus but 10 - 12 refer to the Seleucids. Makes absolutely no sense from a timing perspective. A better interpretation is that the starting point for the prophecy in chapter 9 is from the earlier date of 538 bc, but actually should be earlier and maybe the authors didn’t have an exact year to go by, and then maybe the whole thing refers to the Maccabean revolt. Makes more sense to me that way.
But I don’t believe in Jesus as my messiah. So Christians tell me how wrong I am.