Did You Know the Bible Foretold the Exact Time of the Messiah’s Arrival?

And Only One Man Fulfilled the Messianic Prophecies at that Time…

Sep 24, 2024

“One day the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, demanding that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority. He replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; red sky in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times!” (Matthew 16:1-3)

So what did Jesus mean when He referred to the “signs of the times”? What signs? And what times?

Many people believe Jesus was pointing to the miracles He had already performed as evidence of who He was, and this is partially true. Much like the traditional expression “where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” Jesus was basically saying that enough evidence of who He was had already been presented.

First, let’s remember who the Pharisees and Sadducees were. They were self-proclaimed scriptural experts, and as a group they did know the scriptures well – at least in letter if not in spirit. This means they had full knowledge of the Messianic prophecies, and they knew exactly what to “look” for when the Messiah appeared, much in the same way that you and I can look at a dark, cloudy sky and predict rain.

In contrast to the religious leaders who demanded a miraculous sign, when John the Baptist sent a messenger to Jesus to ask Him if He was the Messiah or if another person should be expected, Jesus replied, “The lame walk, the blind see, and the deaf hear” (Luke 7:18-23). This was enough to satisfy John who knew the Messianic prophecy of Isaiah 35:5-6. But it was not enough for the teachers of religious law who also knew Isaiah’s prophecies and who still demanded a further sign.

As far as Jesus was concerned, the signs had already been given. And anyone who had knowledge of the scriptures should not only have identified Him as the Messiah, but should’ve been actively expecting Him just before His ministry began – much like the arrival of a rain cloud you can see on the horizon.

Why? Because the Book of Daniel foretold the exact time of the Messiah’s arrival. The religious teachers knew this, and they were actively awaiting the Messiah. Yet, despite intimate knowledge of Daniel’s prophecy and all the other Messianic prophecies, the religious leaders still rejected Jesus.

Waiting for the Messiah

Before Jesus began His ministry, John the Baptist gained fame throughout Judea for His preaching, baptizing people in the Jordan River. Many people in Israel considered John to be a prophet, and the Jewish leaders came to Him and asked, “Are you the one we’re expecting?” (John 1:19).

Who was it they were expecting? They were expecting the Messiah. The Jewish leaders were looking for the same prophet Moses predicted would rise up from among the people of Israel (Deuteronomy 18:15-18), and many speculated that John was that prophet. But John emphatically stated he was not the Messiah.

The Jewish leaders then asked, “Well, if you’re not the Messiah, are you Elijah?” (John 1:21). Why did they ask this? Because the prophet Malachi predicted Elijah would precede the Messiah (Malachi 4:5-6).

So why were the Jewish leaders and priests interrogating John the Baptist and asking him all these questions about the Messiah? The answer is clear. They knew the scriptures, and they knew the Messiah was predicted to appear at that exact moment in time.

Daniel’s 483 Years

While still captive in Babylon, the prophet Daniel was visited by the angel Gabriel. During this visitation, Gabriel revealed that precisely 483 years would pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until “the Anointed One” comes (Daniel 9:25).

So what did this mean? It meant just what it says. It meant the Messiah (the Anointed One) would appear exactly 483 years after the command to rebuild Jerusalem. So, did this happen? To find out, we only need to count forward 483 years from the time of the command to rebuild Jerusalem.

457 B.C.

In the year 457 B.C., the King of Persia, Artaxerxes, issued a decree instructing officials in the province west of the Euphrates to give Ezra “whatever he requests of you” in his efforts to rebuild Jerusalem, reinstitute the Temple services, appoint judges and magistrates, and teach the Law (Ezra 7:11-26). This is the starting point for the 483 year countdown.

A.D. 27

If you count forward 483 years from 457 B.C., you get the year A.D. 27 (note that the year zero doesn’t count). This is the time when Israel should have been looking for the arrival of the Messiah. And as we noted earlier, the chief priests and Jewish leaders of this era were looking for the Messiah, which is why they so avidly questioned John the Baptist.

The year A.D. 27 coincides with the beginning of the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, since it’s generally accepted that His ministry lasted 3 to 3.5 years, and He was crucified in spring of the year A.D. 31.

After the 483 Years

The Book of Daniel also predicts that after the 483 years pass and the Messiah comes, He will be killed “appearing to have accomplished nothing.” Then a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the Temple and the City (Daniel 9:26). So did this happen?

Yes. Jesus was killed, and His ministry appeared to have fallen short of its goals. Why? Because at the time of His arrival, the Israelites were looking for a Messiah who would conquer their Roman oppressors and rule the earth in righteousness forever. They were expecting fulfillment of the prophecies of the Messiah’s second coming, not realizing at the time that the Messiah would come twice – once as a “suffering” Messiah and the second time as a “conquering” Messiah. So the death of Jesus on the cross seemed to indicate (at least in the world’s eyes) that He was not the Messiah – that He had “accomplished nothing.”

Less than four decades after the crucifixion (A.D. 70), the Roman legions under the command of Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. To this day, the Arch of Titus stands in Rome as a monument to this event. So was Titus “a ruler whose armies will destroy the Temple and the City”? Yes. While Titus was, at the time, commander of the military campaign to put down the Jewish rebellion, he was also the son of Emperor Vespasian. And Titus himself served as Emperor following his father’s death, making him “a ruler” in every sense of the word.

The Messiah Had To Live Between A.D. 27 and A.D. 70

The Book of Daniel clearly stated the Messiah would come in the year A.D. 27 and the Temple would be destroyed shortly thereafter (which it was in A.D. 70). So in order to fulfill the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament, any Messianic candidate would have to have lived between the years 27 and 70. Jesus of Nazareth is the only historical figure from this period (or any period) to fulfill the Messianic prophecies.

So either Jesus is the Messiah the Jewish leaders were expecting when they questioned John the Baptist, or the Messiah never appeared and never will appear. There can be no future Jewish Messiah, because the Messiah had to appear within this short historical timeframe in order fulfill the prophecy of Daniel 9:25.

So now we come full circle. If Jesus was a mere man attempting to arrange His life so it would appear He fulfilled the Messianic prophecies, how did He arrange the timing of His birth so He would be on earth between the years A.D. 27 and A.D. 70? Can you dictate the timing of your birth?

Coupled with His subsequent fulfillment of all the other Old Testament Messianic prophecies, the life of Jesus would have to be an astounding coincidence which defies all statistical probability. His generous odds of fulfilling only the Messianic prophecies from the last chapter were 1 in 137 billion, and modern historians estimate the total world population between A.D. 27 and A.D. 70 was somewhere between 200 and 300 million. So if you’re betting against Jesus as the Messiah, you’re really making a totally irrational bet against all odds. Good luck with that.

But again, don’t take my word for it. Read the Bible for yourself. It reveals who Jesus is. In fact, if you’re still not sure, examine His own words. Jesus will gladly tell you exactly who He is.

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End Times Bible Prophecy with Britt Gillette

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