212 



LIEUT.-COLONEL G. MACKINLAY, THE DATE 



indicated 8 B.C. for the Nativity and a.d. 29 for the 

 Crucifixion." 



Thus they found that the author of the paper read, regarded those 

 three important dates as being more or less linked together in the 

 chain of evidence presented, and in the " practically fresh system of 

 Bible study " which he advocated, of which he said (at page 209 of 

 the paper) that " these new methods l)oth indicated 8 B.C. for the 

 Nativity and a.d. 29 for the Crucifixion." 



He felt bound to draw the attention of the meeting to a p'ophecy 

 in Daniel ix, 25, wherein is distinctly set forth and foretold the 

 precise year of Christ's public entry into Jerusalem as her Prince or 

 King, and of His almost immediately subsequent Crucifixion. 



The language of the prophecy is perfectly simple. It fixes a 

 certain starting point, then it gives the precise duration of time 

 which is to elapse fro))i the aforesaid starting point iqy to " Messiah 

 the Prince." 



The prophecy (Daniel ix, 25) runs thus : — " From the going forth 

 of the command to restore and build Jerusalem " (street and wall) 

 " unto Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks and three score and 

 two weeks " ; or rathei, 7 sevens and 62 sevens, that is, 69 sevens, 

 that is, 483 prophetic or Babylonian years. 



The AYord of God in the Book of Daniel leaves no doubt whatever 

 as to the precise length of the prophetic year. 



Of course, to institute a comparison of that prophecy with the 

 records of secular history, the first step was to convert those 483 

 prophetic years into historic or solar years, and they found that 483 

 prophetic years of 360 days each, were equivalent to 476 historic or 

 solar years of 365J days. 



The starting point of the count they found in Nehemiah ii, 1-6, 

 the commission to Nehemiah having been issued 445 B.C., which, in 

 counting the years elapsing to the Cross, must be read as 444 B.C., 

 so as to avoid counting A.D. twice. 



There is therefore only one year in the history of the universe 

 when Daniel's prophecy could have been fulfilled. 



Namely B.C. 444 



To which add ... A.D. 32 



476 years. 



And this gave with unfailing certainty the year date of the Crucifixion 



