Evidence that Demands a Verdict: Chapter 9, part 3

More about prophecies etc. This is a very long chapter.

4. Prophecies fulfilled confirm Jesus as the Christ, Son of God.
* Objection: Jesus deliberately fulfilled the prophecies concerning Himself.
* Answer: Many were beyond His human control - the place, time, and manner of His birth.
* Objection: Fulfillment was coincidental.
* Answer: No one else fulfills anywhere near all of the 61 above prophecies, let alone the others listed below.
* Time of the Messiah's coming:
- Removal of the scepter: Genesis 49:10. Began with Herod the Great.
- Destruction of the Temple: Malachi 3:1, Daniel 9:26. After the Messiah died.
* Fulfilled prophecies (double fulfillment is common).
- The text: Daniel 9:24-27 (the "seventy sevens" prophecy).
- Interpretation:
> Main features: two princes (Messiah and a prince to come), time period (70 weeks, both as a unit and as 7 + 62 + 1), specified start time, Messiah's appearance at the end of 69 weeks, Jerusalem and the Temple destroyed, covenant made between the people and the second prince, and Israel's final, eternal righteousness.
> Time measurement: Jewish "week" = "seven"; could stand for days or years. Example: Leviticus 25:2-4, 8. Years make sense here.
> Length of prophetic year: usually 360 days.
> Beginning of 70 sevens: Artaxerxes's decree to Nehemiah in 444 B.C. fits best.
> First 7 sevens: prophecy ended and Jerusalem was restored 40 (7 x 7) years after.
> 69-70 sevens: Messiah was cut off (crucified), Jerusalem and the Temple destroyed.