Introduction
Incredible as it may sound, Jesus only ministered on earth from the time of His baptism till His death for 62 weeks or just over one year, not the commonly accepted three years. Most people accept that Jesus was 33 when He died but I am convinced that the Scriptures say otherwise. In fact, He would have been 31 years of age when He died on April AD 30 after approximately only 1 year of ministry.
We find this information starting in Daniel 9:26 where Daniel is told that the Anointed One (Jesus) would be cut off after 62 weeks. This is a dual fulfillment prophecy because it also refers to the fact that the angel Gabriel told Daniel that the Messiah would be rejected by His own people, the Jews, 69 weeks of years after the decree of Cyrus to rebuild Jerusalem.1
70-week prophecy of Daniel
This is part of the so-called 70 weeks prophecy which is so important to the understanding of Bible Chronology in the end times. Daniel prayed and desired to know what would become of his people and what would happen in the end. He was a student of prophecy like we should all be. If we can understand the 70 weeks prophecy then we will have some answers as did Daniel.
Gabriel says in the book of Daniel that "seventy sevens" (literally weeks) are decreed for your people and for the consummation of everything we know in this present age.2 Everything is included in one verse: sin to be dealt with, prophecy to be complete, to bring in everlasting righteousness and for the holy of holies (temple) to be restored. But we need to understand something that Gabriel says. This 70-week or 500-year period is broken up into three groupings: 7 sevens (50 years); 62 sevens (442 years); and 1 seven (7 years). There are also ten intercalated3 years added to 490 years (70x7) allowing for a Jubilee year every 50 years bringing the total to 500 years.
The first 50 years is how long it took for the Jews to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem and the temple from the decree of Cyrus. It was done with great trouble because of the enemy that opposed it in the land. You read about this 50-year period in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah.
Adding another 62 weeks you arrive at 69 weeks (7+62) of years when the Anointed One (the "Messiah") is cut off. I believe that this refers to none other than Jesus Christ.
Jesus was cut off and not permitted to rule as King because His people cried out rejecting Him.4 This speaks of the rejection by the Jewish nation of the true Messiah in AD 30. The Jews still reject Jesus the Messiah. So He was cut off and returned to Heaven to be with the Father. But as I mentioned above this is a dual prophecy which means that it has another meaning. Jesus literally was cut off after 62 actual weeks of ministry as well. So 62 weeks means two things: 62 weeks of years and 62 literal weeks!
Jesus started His ministry at 30 years of age
This goes against the traditionally held belief that Jesus ministered for 3 years or so from age 30 to age 33. This holds up when you do the maths. Jesus was born on Sep 11th, 3 BC (See my blog "Jesus was born on September 11th") so when 30 years are added, ensuring that you don't count the year 0 (counting goes from 1 BC to AD 1 as there was no year 0), this takes us to late AD 28 when Jesus turns 30. He turned 30 on the Day of Trumpets (New Year's Day) on 8th September AD 28. The Bible says in Luke 3:23 that Jesus was about 30 years of age when He began His ministry. He didn't begin His ministry until after He was baptised by John nearly 6 months after turning 30. Priests had to be at least 30 years of age before they were allowed to do the work of a priest.5 This was repeated in the Law seven times. So Jesus could not be just under 30, He had to have turned 30 years of age which was 8th September AD 28. This takes us to a framework of just over one year. More specifically 62 literal weeks would have passed from His baptism until when Jesus was crucified and rejected by His own people on Thursday 6th April AD 30.
The numbers add up
You might be asking why this really matters. This all matters because it adds further proof and weight to the fact that Jesus will be returning soon. The numbers all add up and everything is cross-referencing and interlinking to prove to us that the final seven years are nearly upon us. In fact, the overwhelming evidence is that from late 2029, almost 2000 years after Christ ministered on earth for the first time, the final 7 years on earth as we know it will begin. Incredibly the final seven year countdown should start just after the Feast of Tabernacles on the 8th day of assembly known as Sh'mini Atzeret. This is a holiday characterized by joy for Israel when the conclusion—and restart—of the annual Torah-reading cycle. Jesus referred to it as being the last and greatest day of the feast with the day representing the living waters of the Scriptures.6 Something new was about to happen. In 2029 this occurs on 1st October. That will be at the beginning of when the last 7-year Sabbatical cycle or the last week in the 70-week prophecy occurs when the two witnesses will begin their 1260-day ministry. But if you are unaware or tightly hold to the generally accepted notion that Jesus was 33 when He died then the numbers are all out of whack. We need to look to the numbers and be wise just as the magi calculated and saw a king being born in the stars. To be sure nowhere in the Bible does it say that Jesus was 33 when He was crucified.
The reason for Sh'mini Atzeret, the Eighth Day of the Assembly: Seven is the number of completion, but eight pertains to eternity, and the world to come.
One for Israel
