While in captivity, Daniel was given the famous "70-Week prophecy," which is of such precision that it boggles the mind when you realize what it’s saying. It actually names the actual day, the date, that the Messiah would ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, and be refused by national Israel.
The Book of Daniel, chapter 9, starting in verse 24
Daniel was told that 70 "shevuim" were determined upon his people and his holy city, Jerusalem. "Shevuim," translated "weeks," is a period of 7’s in the same sense that "a decade" to us would be a period of 10 years.
He was told that after 69 periods of 7, the Messiah would be "cut off," that he would be killed.
The prophecy says that the count starts at the issuing of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem. From that day, there would be 69 "shevuim," or 483 Biblical years "unto Messiah the Prince." Biblical years were 360-day years.
That command to rebuild Jerusalem was given many years later by King Artaxerxes Longimanus to Nehemiah, on March 14, 445 BCE. This is a historical fact. There were 3 prior edicts, but those were given commanding them to go back and rebuild the Temple. The fourth edict was that they go and rebuild JERUSALEM as the prophecy in Daniel 9 specifies.
So from 445 BCE there would be a time-span of 483 years (69 x 7).
We reckon 69 x 7 years, x 360 days, because in the Bible, prophecies are given in 360-day years. So it’s saying that from the issuing of that command, would be a time span of 173,880 days.
If you count 173,880 actual calendar days from March 14, 445 BCE using the worlds's calendar, here’s the math. We’re using 365-day years to get to the actual secular calendar date:
March 14, 445 BCE to March 14, 32 AD = 173,740
(476 x 365) no year "0"
March 14 to April 6, inclusive + 24
Added leap year days +116
(119-3, adjusted for actual leap years) _______
173,880
.
What happened on that date, April 6, 32 AD?
* We know historically that Jesus began his ministry
in the autumn of the 15th year of Tiberius.
Luke 3:1
* Tiberius was appointed August 19, 14 AD.
His 15th year would be in the year reaching 29,
so during the year 28 Jesus began his ministry.
* We know that Jesus ministered for 3-1/2 years and
died on Passover, 32 AD.
* The day he presented himself to Jerusalem was on
Palm Sunday,April 6, 32 AD, Nisan 10 on the Hebrew
calendar.
* He was crucified 4 days later.