Chapter VIII.—Of the Times of Christ’s Birth and Passion, and of Jerusalem’s Destruction.

Accordingly the times must be inquired into of the predicted and future nativity of the Christ, and of His passion, and of the extermination of the city of Jerusalem, that is, its devastation. For Daniel says, that “both the holy city and the holy place are exterminated together with the coming Leader, and that the pinnacle is destroyed unto ruin.”101    See Dan. ix. 26 (especially in the LXX.). And so the times of the coming Christ, the Leader,102    Comp. Isa. lv. 4. must be inquired into, which we shall trace in Daniel; and, after computing them, shall prove Him to be come, even on the ground of the times prescribed, and of competent signs and operations of His.  Which matters we prove, again, on the ground of the consequences which were ever announced as to follow His advent; in order that we may believe all to have been as well fulfilled as foreseen.

In such wise, therefore, did Daniel predict concerning Him, as to show both when and in what time He was to set the nations free; and how, after the passion of the Christ, that city had to be exterminated. For he says thus: “In the first year under Darius, son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, who reigned over the kingdom of the Chaldees, I Daniel understood in the books the number of the years.…And while I was yet speaking in my prayer, behold, the man Gabriel, whom I saw in the vision in the beginning, flying; and he touched me, as it were, at the hour of the evening sacrifice, and made me understand, and spake with me, and said, Daniel I am now come out to imbue thee with understanding; in the beginning of thy supplication went out a word. And I am come to announce to thee, because thou art a man of desires;103    Vir desideriorum; Gr. ἀνὴρ ἐπιθυμιῶν; Eng. ver. “a man greatly beloved.” Elsewhere Tertullian has another rendering—“miserabilis.” See de Jej. cc. vii, ix. and ponder thou on the word, and understand in the vision. Seventy hebdomads have been abridged104    Or, “abbreviated;” breviatæ sunt; Gr. συνετμήθνσαν. For this rendering, and the interpretations which in ancient and modern days have been founded on it, see G. S. Faber’s Dissert. on the prophecy of the seventy weeks, pp. 5, 6, 109–112. (London, 1811.) The whole work will repay perusal. upon thy commonalty, and upon the holy city, until delinquency be made inveterate, and sins sealed, and righteousness obtained by entreaty, and righteousness eternal introduced; and in order that vision and prophet may be sealed, and an holy one of holy ones anointed.  And thou shalt know, and thoroughly see, and understand, from the going forth of a word for restoring and rebuilding Jerusalem unto the Christ, the Leader, hebdomads (seven and an half, and105    These words are given, by Oehler and Rig., on the authority of Pamelius. The mss. and early editions are without them.) lxii and an half: and it shall convert, and shall be built into height and entrenchment, and the times shall be renewed: and after these lxii hebdomads shall the anointing be exterminated, and shall not be; and the city and the holy place shall he exterminate together with the Leader, who is making His advent; and they shall be cut short as in a deluge, until (the) end of a war, which shall be cut short unto ruin. And he shall confirm a testament in many. In one hebdomad and the half of the hebdomad shall be taken away my sacrifice and libation, and in the holy place the execration of devastation, (and106    Also supplied by Pamelius.) until the end of (the) time consummation shall be given with regard to this devastation.”107    See Dan. ix . 24–27. It seemed best to render with the strictest literality, without regard to anything else; as an idea will thus then be given of the condition of the text, which, as it stands, differs widely, as will be seen, from the Hebrew and also from the LXX., as it stands in the ed. Tisch. Lips. 1860, to which I always adapt my references.

Observe we, therefore, the limit,—how, in truth, he predicts that there are to be lxx hebdomads, within which if they receive Him, “it shall be built into height and entrenchment, and the times shall be renewed.” But God, foreseeing what was to be—that they will not merely not receive Him, but will both persecute and deliver Him to death—both recapitulated, and said, that in lx and ii and an half of an hebdomad He is born, and an holy one of holy ones is anointed; but that when vii hebdomads108    Hebdomades is preferred to Oehler’s -as, a reading which he follows apparently on slender authority. and an half were fulfilling, He had to suffer, and the holy city had to be exterminated after one and an half hebdomad—whereby namely, the seven and an half hebdomads have been completed. For he says thus: “And the city and the holy place to be exterminated together with the leader who is to come; and they shall be cut short as in a deluge; and he shall destroy the pinnacle unto ruin.”109    There is no trace of these last words in Tischendorf’s LXX. here; and only in his footnotes is the “pinnacle” mentioned. Whence, therefore, do we show that the Christ came within the lxii and an half hebdomads?  We shall count, moreover, from the first year of Darius, as at this particular time is shown to Daniel this particular vision; for he says, “And understand and conjecture that at the completion of thy word110    Or, “speech.” The reference seems to be to ver. 23, but there is no such statement in Daniel. I make thee these answers.” Whence we are bound to compute from the first year of Darius, when Daniel saw this vision.

Let us see, therefore, how the years are filled up until the advent of the Christ:—

For Darius reigned…xviiii111    So Oehler; and I print all these numbers uniformly—as in the former part of the present chapter—exactly in accordance with the Latin forms, for the sake of showing how easily, in such calculations, errors may creep in. years (19).

Artaxerxes reigned…xl and i years (41).

Then King Ochus (who is also called Cyrus) reigned…xxiiii years (24).

Argus…one year.

Another Darius, who is also named Melas…xxi years (21).

Alexander the Macedonian…xii years (12)

Then, after Alexander, who had reigned over both Medes and Persians, whom he had reconquered, and had established his kingdom firmly in Alexandria, when withal he called that (city) by his own name;112    Comp. Ps. xlix. 11 (in LXX. Ps. xlviii. 12). after him reigned, (there, in Alexandria,)

Soter…xxxv years (35).

To whom succeeds Philadelphus, reigning…xxx and viii years (38).

To him succeeds Euergetes…xxv years (25).

Then Philopator…xvii years (17).

After him Epiphanes…xxiiii years (24).

Then another Euergetes…xxviiii years (29).

Then another Soter,…xxxviii years (38).

Ptolemy…xxxvii years (37).

Cleopatra,…xx years v months (20 5–12).

Yet again Cleopatra reigned jointly with Augustus…xiii years (13).

After Cleopatra, Augustus reigned other…xliii years (43).

For all the years of the empire of Augustus were…lvi years (56).

Let us see, moreover, how in the forty-first year of the empire of Augustus, when he has been reigning for xx and viii years after the death of Cleopatra, the Christ is born.  (And the same Augustus survived, after Christ is born, xv years; and the remaining times of years to the day of the birth of Christ will bring us to the xl first year, which is the xx and viii^th of Augustus after the death of Cleopatra.) There are, (then,) made up cccxxx and vii years, v months: (whence are filled up lxii hebdomads and an half:  which make up ccccxxxvii years, vi months:) on the day of the birth of Christ. And (then) “righteousness eternal” was manifested, and “an Holy One of holy ones was anointed”—that is, Christ—and “sealed was vision and prophet,” and “sins” were remitted, which, through faith in the name of Christ, are washed away113    Diluuntur. So Oehler has amended for the reading of the mss. and edd., “tribuuntur.” for all who believe on Him. But what does he mean by saying that “vision and prophecy are sealed?” That all prophets ever announced of Him that He was to come and had to suffer. Therefore, since the prophecy was fulfilled through His advent, for that reason he said that “vision and prophecy were sealed;” inasmuch as He is the signet of all prophets, fulfilling all things which in days bygone they had announced of Him.114    Comp. Pusey on Daniel, pp. 178, 179, notes 6, 7, 8, and the passages therein referred to. And for the whole question of the seventy weeks, and of the LXX. version of Daniel, comp. the same book, Lect. iv. and Note E (2d thousand, 1864). See also pp. 376–381 of the same book; and Faber (as above), pp. 293–297. For after the advent of Christ and His passion there is no longer “vision or prophet” to announce Him as to come. In short, if this is not so, let the Jews exhibit, subsequently to Christ, any volumes of prophets, visible miracles wrought by any angels, (such as those) which in bygone days the patriarchs saw until the advent of Christ, who is now come; since which event “sealed is vision and prophecy,” that is, confirmed.  And justly does the evangelist115    Or rather, our Lord Himself. See Matt. xi. 13; Luke xvi. 16. write, “The law and the prophets (were) until John” the Baptist. For, on Christ’s being baptized, that is, on His sanctifying the waters in His own baptism,116    Comp. the very obscure passage in de Pu. c. vi., towards the end, on which this expression appears to cast some light. all the plenitude of bygone spiritual grace-gifts ceased in Christ, sealing as He did all vision and prophecies, which by His advent He fulfilled. Whence most firmly does he assert that His advent “seals visions and prophecy.”

Accordingly, showing, (as we have done,) both the number of the years, and the time of the lx two and an half fulfilled hebdomads, on completion of which, (we have shown) that Christ is come, that is, has been born, let us see what (mean) other “vii and an half hebdomads,” which have been subdivided in the abscision of117    Or, “in abscision from.” the former hebdomads; (let us see, namely,) in what event they have been fulfilled:—

For, after Augustus who survived after the birth of Christ, are made up…xv years (15).

To whom succeeded Tiberius Cæsar, and held the empire…xx years, vii months, xxviii days (20 etc.).

(In the fiftieth year of his empire Christ suffered, being about xxx years of age when he suffered.)

Again Caius Cæsar, also called Caligula,…iii years, viii months, xiii days (3 etc.).

Nero Cæsar,…xi years, ix months, xiii days (11 etc.).

Galba…vii months, vi days. (7 etc.).

Otho…iii days.

Vitellius,…viii mos., xxvii days (8 mos.).

Vespasian, in the first year of his empire, subdues the Jews in war; and there are made lii years, vi months.  For he reigned xi years. And thus, in the day of their storming, the Jews fulfilled the lxx hebdomads predicted in Daniel.

Therefore, when these times also were completed, and the Jews subdued, there afterwards ceased in that place “libations and sacrifices,” which thenceforward have not been able to be in that place celebrated; for “the unction,” too,118    And, without “unction”—i.e. without a priesthood, the head whereof, or high priest, was always anointed—no “sacrifices” were lawful. was “exterminated” in that place after the passion of Christ. For it had been predicted that the unction should be exterminated in that place; as in the Psalms it is prophesied, “They exterminated my hands and feet.”119    See Ps. xxii. 16 (xxi. 17 in LXX.) And the suffering of this “extermination” was perfected within the times of the lxx hebdomads, under Tiberius Cæsar, in the consulate of Rubellius Geminus and Fufius Geminus, in the month of March, at the times of the passover, on the eighth day before the calends of April,120    i.e., March 25. on the first day of unleavened bread, on which they slew the lamb at even, just as had been enjoined by Moses.121    Comp. Ex. xii. 6 with Mark xiv. 12, Luke xxii. 7. Accordingly, all the synagogue of Israel did slay Him, saying to Pilate, when he was desirous to dismiss Him, “His blood be upon us, and upon our children;”122    See Matt. xxvii. 24, 25, with John xix. 12 and Acts iii. 13. and, “If thou dismiss him, thou art not a friend of Cæsar;”123    John xix. 12. in order that all things might be fulfilled which had been written of Him.124    Comp. Luke xxiv. 44, etc.

CAPUT VIII.

Itaque requirenda tempora praedictae et futurae nativitatis Christi, et passionis ejus, et exterminii civitatis Hierusalem, id est, vastationis ejus. Dicit enim Daniel et civitatem sanctam et sanctum exterminari cum duce venturo, et destrui pinnaculum usque ad interitum. Venturi itaque Christi ducis sunt tempora requirenda, quae investigabimus in Daniele: quibus 0612B computatis, probabimus venisse cum, etiam ex temporibus praescriptis, et ex signis competentibus, et ex operationibus ejus: quae probamus ex consequentibus quae post adventum ejus futura adnuntiabantur, ut tam adimpleta omnia quam prospecta credamus. Sic igitur de eo Daniel praedicavit, ut et quando et quo in tempore gentes esset liberaturus, ostenderet, et quoniam post passionem Christi ista civitas exterminari haberet. Dicit enim sic: In primo anno sub Dario filio Assueri ex semine Medorum, qui regnavit super regnum Chaldaeorum, ego Daniel intellexi in libris numerum annorum. Et adhuc me loquente in oratione, ecce vir Gabriel, quem vidi in visione in principio, volans, et tetigit me, quasi hora sacrificii vespertini, et intelligere fecit me, et locutus est 0612C mecum, et dixit: «Daniel, nunc exivi imbuere te intelligentia, in principio obsecrationis tuae exivit sermo. Et ego veni ut annuntiem tibi, quia vir desideriorum tu es, et cogita in verbo, et intellige in visione.» Septuaginta hebdomadae breviatae sunt super plebem tuam, 0613A et super civitatem sanctam, quoadusque inveteretur delictum, et signentur peccata, et exorentur injustitiae, et inducatur justitia aeterna, ut et signetur visio et prophetes, et ut ungatur Sanctus sanctorum. Et scies, et perspicies et intelliges a profectione sermonis, integrando et reaedificando Hierusalem usque ad Christum ducem, hebdomadas septem et dimidiam, et septuaginta duas et dimidiam: et convertet, et aedificabitur in laetitiam, et convallationem, et innovabuntur tempora: et post hebdomadas has septuaginta duas, et exterminabitur unctio, et non erit: et civitatem et sanctum exterminabit cum duce adveniente, et concidentur quomodo in cataclysmo usque ad finem belli, quod concidetur usque ad interitum. Et confirmabit testamentum in multis. Hebdomada una et dimidia hebdomadis, auferetur meum sacrificium 0613B et libatio, et in sancto execratio vastationis, et usque ad finem temporis consummatio dabitur super hac vastatione. Animadvertamus igitur terminum, quomodo in vero praedixit septuaginta hebdomadas futuras, in quibus si receperint eum, aedificabitur in latitudinem et in longitudinem, et innovabuntur tempora. Providens autem Deus quid esset futurum, et quoniam non tantum non recipient eum, verum et insequentur, et tradent eum morti, et recapitulavit, et dixit: In sexaginta duabus hebdomadibus nasci illum et ungi Sanctum sanctorum; hebdomades autem VII et dimidia cum implerentur, pati habere, et civitatem exterminari post unam et dimidiam hebdomadam, quo scilicet tempore septem et dimidia hebdomadae completae sunt. Dicit enim sic: Et civitatem 0613C et sanctum exterminari cum duce venturo, et concidentur sicut in cataclysmo, et destruet pinnaculum usque ad interitum. Unde igitur ostendimus quoniam venit Christus intra LXII, et dimidiam hebdomadas? Numerabimus autem a primo anno Darii, quomodo 0614A in ipso tempore ostenditur Danieli visio ipsa. Dicit enim: Et intellige, et conjice ad perfectionem sermonis respondente me tibi haec. Unde a primo anno Darii debemus computare, quando hanc visionem vidit Daniel. Videamus igitur anni quomodo impleantur usque ad adventum Christi. Darius enim regnavit annis XIX; Artaxerxes regnavit annis XL: deinde rex Ochus, qui et Cyrus, regnavit annis XXIV; Argus anno uno; alius Darius, qui et Melas nominatus est, annis XXII; Alexander Macedo annis duodecim. Deinde post Alexandrum, qui et Medis et Persis regnarat, quos revicerat , et in Alexandria regnum suum firmaverat, quando et nomine suo eam appellavit. Postea regnavit illic in Alexandria Soter annis XXXV; cui succedens Philadelphus, regnavit 0614B annis triginta novem . Huic succedit Evergetes, annis XXV; deinde Philopator annis XVII; post hunc Epiphanes annis XXIV; item alius Evergetes, annis XXIX, Soter annis XXXVIII, Ptolemaeus annis XXXVIII, Cleopatra annis XX, mensibus VI. Item adhuc Cleopatra conregnavit Augusto annis XIII, post Cleopatram Augustus aliis annis XLIII. Nam omnes anni imperii Augusti, fuerunt anni LVI. Videmus autem quoniam quadragesimo et primo anno imperii Augusti , quo post mortem Cleopatrae imperavit, nascitur Christus. Et supervixit idem Augustus, ex quo nascitur Christus, annis XV. Et erunt reliqua tempora annorum in diem nativitatis Christi anni XLI. Efficiuntur autem anni CCCCXXXVII, menses VI. Unde adimplentur LXII hebdomadae et dimidia, quae efficiunt annos CCCCXXXVII, 0614C menses VI, in diem nativitatis Christi. Et manifestata est justitia aeterna, et unctus est Sanctus sanctorum, id est Christus; et signata est visio et prophetia, et dimissa sunt peccata, quae per fidem nominis Christi, omnibus in eum credentibus remittuntur . 0615A Quid est autem quod dicit, signari visum et prophetiam , quoniam omnes prophetae nuntiabant de ipso, quod esset venturus et pati haberet. Igitur, quoniam adimpleta est prophetia per adventum ejus, propterea signari visionem et prophetiam dicebat, quoniam ipse est signaculum omnium prophetarum, adimplens omnia quae retro de eo prophetae nuntiaverant. Post enim adventum Christi et passionem ipsius, jam non visio neque prophetes est qui Christum nuntiet venturum. Denique hoc si non ita est, exhibeant Judaei prophetarum post Christum aliqua volumina, angelorum aliquorum visibilia miracula, quae retro patriarchae viderunt usque ad adventum Christi, qui jam venit, ex qua signata est visio et prophetia, id est statuta. Et merito Evangelista: 0615B Lex et Prophetae usque ad Joannem baptizatorem (Matth, XI, 13). Baptizato enim Christo, id est sanctificante aquas in suo baptismate , omnis plenitudo spiritalium retro charismatum in Christo cesserunt, signante visionem et prophetias omnes, quas adventu suo adimplevit. Unde firmissime dicit adventum ejus signare visum et prophetiam. Itaque ostendentes et numeram annorum et tempus LX duarum et dimidiae hebdomadarum adimpletum, tunc venisse Christum, id est natum; videamus aliae VII et dimidia hebdomades, quae sunt subdivisae in abscissione priorum hebdomadarum, in quo actu sint adimpletae. Post enim Augustum, qui supervixit post nativitatem Christi, anni XV efficiuntur: cui successit Tiberius Caesar, et imperium habuit annis XXII, mensibus 0615C septem, diebus viginti . Hujus quintodecimo anno 0616A imperii passus est Christus, annos habens quasi XXX cum pateretur. Item Caius Caesar, qui et Caligula, annis III, mensibus VIII, diebus XIII ; Nero Caesar annis IX, mensibus IX, diebus XIII; Galba mensibus VII , diebus VI; Otho mensibus III, diebus V; Vitellius mensibus VIII, diebus X ; Vespasianus anno primo imperii sui debellavit Judaeos: et fiunt anni numero quinquaginta duo, menses sex. Nam imperavit annis novem : atque ita in diem expugnationis suae Judaei impleverunt hebdomadas LXX praedictas a Daniele. Igitur, expletis his quoque temporibus, et debellatis Judaeis, postea cessaverunt illic libamina et sacrificia; quae exinde illic celebrari non potuerunt. Nam et unctio illic exterminata est post passionem Christi. Erat enim praedictum exterminari illic unctionem, 0616B sicut est in Psalmis prophetatum. Exterminaverunt manus meas et pedes (Ps. XXI, 17). Quae passio hujus exterminii intra tempora LXX hebdomadarum perfecta est sub Tiberio Caesare, Coss. Rubellio Gemino, et Fufio Gemino, mense martio, temporibus Paschae, die VIII calendarum aprilium, die prima azymorum, quo agnum ut occiderent ad vesperam a Moyse fuerat praeceptum. Itaque omnis synagoga filiorum Israel eum interfecit, dicentes ad Pilatum, cum vellet eum dimittere: Sanguis hujus super nos, et super filios nostros (Matth. XXVII, 25); et si hunc dimiseris, non es amicus Caesaris (Joan. XIX, 12): ut adimpleri possent omnia quae de eo fuerant scripta.