I have recently reread the article entitled
The Beginner's Guide To Christian Rapture on the CLE website. This article states:
Many of the problems people have had with the 490-year timeline is the date when the construction of the temple actually began because it is presumed that construction began under Darius I (reigned 522-486 BC), but it makes more sense that the construction began soon (i.e. six years) after Darius II (reigned 423-404 BC) began his rule.However, this is when the temple was actually
finished. The book of Ezra tells us that the foundation was laid during the reign of Cyrus, who made the decree to rebuild the temple, (Ezra 3:8-11) and that it was finished during the reign of Darius II.
Ezra 6:14 And the elders of the Jews builded, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia. 15 And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.Now, Daniel actually says this:
Daniel 9:24 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. 25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalemunto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.This suggests to me that the rebuilding of the
city of Jerusalem began AFTER the temple was finished. However:
Ezra chapter 4 tells us that the enemies of Judah and Benjamin did all they could to hinder the building that was going on, and they finally wrote a letter to Artaxerxes who, in turn, wrote a decree to stop the building of the city, but not the temple (Ezra 7).
Nehemiah was the cup bearer to Artaxerxes, and he got permission from the king to rebuild the city, so the question remains as to what exactly is meant by 'the going forth of the commandment.' I agree that it makes the most sense for Daniel's 70 weeks to be an unbroken period of 490 years, but I'm just trying to reconcile that timeline with what the Bible actually says about when the building was started and completed, both for the temple and the city.
I'm in a Bible study group with someone who believes and teaches that Daniel's 70th week is yet to happen, and I want to be able to show biblically that this can't be true.
