first century believed this prophecy
predicted when the Messiah would come.
Daniel lived in Judea 100 years after the
northern kingdom (Israel) had been taken into captivity by the Assyrians.
When Daniel was a young man, Jerusalem and the first Temple were destroyed
and the nation of Judah was also taken captive. Daniel grew up in Babylon
where he wrote this prophecy.
Daniel 9:26
26 But after 62 weeks (434 years) the
Messiah will be killed but not for himself; then the people of the prince
shall come and destroy the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (Temple); and
the end thereof shall be with a flood and unto the end of the war
desolations are determined.
There are two points to consider when reading this prophecy. First, If Daniel wrote this prophecy after
the first Temple had ALREADY been destroyed, then this prophecy is about the
destruction of the SECOND Temple. Daniel received this prophecy BEFORE the
second Temple had EVEN been built.
Second, this is NOT a prophecy about Messiah ben David, because THIS Messiah is killed. It is a prophecy about Messiah
ben Joseph.
NOTICE that
Messiah comes and THEN the Temple is destroyed. The second Temple was
destroyed in 70 CE (AD). If it is Messiah
ben Joseph's death that brings the exiles back, allowing the northern and
southern kingdom to once again be brought together. How can this be, since the exiles of the northern
kingdom (an event saved until the end of the age) have not yet returned?