The Gift of Hope

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The Need of Hope

Please read the following verses:

1 Peter 1:24-25

24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.

What does verse 24 mean?

Mankind is withering away, therefore we need hope.

Verse 25 says that the word of the Lord gives us the gospel. Gospel means good news. So the Word of God has a gift of hope for us.

What is the Bible?

What does the Bible say about itself?

2 Timothy 3:16

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness

The Bible claims to be given by God. We will see that this is true as we continue to study.

Isaiah 46:9-10

9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me,
10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure

These verses say that at the beginning of time, God declared what would happen at the end of time. God says that He can tell what will happen in the future. This is called prophecy. God shows that the Bible is His Word by telling prophecies. When the prophecies are fulfilled, this confirms that the Bible truly is the Word of God.

God's Good Creation

Genesis 1:1,27,29

1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

In the beginning, what food did God give to man? Verse 29 says that God gave mankind plants to eat.

Genesis 1:30

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

In the beginning, What food did God give to animals?

Verse 30 says that God gave plants as food for animals.

Why did God give man and animals only plants to eat?

Genesis 1:31

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

In the beginning, God made a very good creation. God gave man and animals the plants for food because there was no death. Since there was no death, it was impossible to kill and eat an animal.

1 Corinthians 15:26

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

The Bible says that death is an enemy. God would like us to have everlasting life.

The Fall

Genesis 2:15,16,17

15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

Adam was the first man which God created. God instructed Adam that he could eat from any tree, except he should not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam would live forever in peace. Except if Adam ate from the forbidden tree, he would die. God also gave Adam a wife named Eve. She was the first woman.

Genesis 3:4,5

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

In this verse, the serpent is Satan. Satan is also called the devil. The devil lied and told Eve that she would not die if she ate the fruit. Adam and Eve were tempted by Satan, and they ate from the forbidden tree. Then, sadly, Adam and Eve began to die.

1 John 3:4

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

It is called sin when we break the law of God. When Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree, they broke the law of God and they sinned.

Romans 5:12

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned

Sin entered the world when Adam ate from the forbidden tree. As a result of sin, Adam began to die, and death came into the world. Have we ever done anything that was wrong? We are all like Adam. The verse says that all of us have sinned in some way, and that is why all of us are dying. Now we know the reason why people die. It is because of sin, which is breaking God's law.

The Promise of Hope

Let us now hear the gift of hope which God gives us.

Genesis 3:14-15

14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

After Adam and Eve ate from the forbidden tree, God spoke to the serpent. Since Satan was controlling the serpent, God was also speaking to Satan. God said that there would be hostility between mankind and Satan. Satan would try to destroy mankind by tempting them to break the law. But God would help mankind by offering forgiveness and helping them to obey the law. God said that the woman would have a seed. This means that after a long time, Eve would have a special grandchild. God said that this grandchild would bruise the head of Satan, but Satan would injure the heel of the grandchild. In this conflict, the grandchild would survive, but Satan would be destroyed. So in ancient times, God promised to send a child to defeat Satan. This child is the gift of hope. Satan wants us to break God's law so that we die. But the child helps us to be forgiven and to obey God's law so that we may have life. Satan brings death, but the child brings everlasting life.

This promised child is called the Messiah. The word Messiah means anointed. And anointed means to have oil on the head as a blessing. The Messiah has a special blessing from God that allows Him to defeat the devil and save us from death.

The Prophecy of the Messiah

Ever since God promised to send the Messiah, faithful men and women have hoped that when a child was born, the child would be the Messiah.

Daniel was a faithful man who hoped for the Messiah to come.

Daniel 9:1-2

1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;
2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

Daniel wrote these verses in BC 521, which was the first year of king Darius. Daniel was from Jerusalem, but he was living in Babylon because Jerusalem had been destroyed.

How many years ago was BC 521?

Daniel lived about 2,500 years ago.

Daniel 9:20

20 And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;

Daniel was praying to God and asking for forgiveness of sin.

Daniel 9:21-22

21 Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.
22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.

What happened after Daniel prayed?

God heard Daniel's confession and prayer, and sent an angel named Gabriel to visit Daniel and teach him a prophecy.

Daniel 9:23

23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.

Why Did God send an angel to Daniel?

Because God loved Daniel. This shows how God desires to help us.

Here is the prophecy which Gabriel told Daniel:

Daniel 9:25

25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

Let us study this prophecy closely. The prophecy has a starting event, a time period, and an ending event.

The starting event is:

"the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem"

After the starting event, the time period to wait for Messiah is seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks.

The ending event is the coming of Messiah the Prince.

This prophecy was about the gift of hope because it foretold the future time when the Messiah would be anointed.

Let us now study the prophecy to see if it was fulfilled.

The Starting Event

The starting event of the prophecy is:

The going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem.

To find the date of the starting event, we will read from the book of Ezra:

Ezra 7:11

11 Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the LORD, and of his statutes to Israel.

The book of Ezra contains the letter which the Persian king Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest.

Ezra 7:12-13

12 Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time.
13 I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee.

In this letter, king Artaxerxes declares that the people of Israel are free to go to Jerusalem to rebuild it.

Ezra 7:7

7 And there went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, unto Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king.

This verse tells us that this decree was made in the 7th year of king Artaxerxes. So the starting event is the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, and this event happened in the 7th year of Artaxerxes. To find the date of the 7th year of Artaxerxes, we may read history books. A record called the Canon of Kings keeps track of the years when ancient kings began to rule. This is what an encyclopedia says about it:

The Canon of Kings was a dated list of kings used by ancient astronomers as a convenient means to date astronomical phenomena, such as eclipses. For a period, the Canon was preserved by the astronomer Claudius Ptolemy, and is thus known sometimes as Ptolemy's Canon. It is one of the most important bases for our knowledge of ancient chronology.

Canon of Kings. Accessed 3/22/2025. In Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_of_Kings

The Canon of Kings tells us the years that Artaxerxes ruled:

Artaxerxes I: 464–424 BC

So the 1st year of Artaxerxes was BC 464. The starting event of the prophecy took place in the 7th year of Artaxerxes, so let's calculate when the 7th year would be:

BC 464 - 1st year
BC 463 - 2nd year
BC 462 - 3rd year
BC 461 - 4th year
BC 460 - 5th year
BC 459 - 6th year
BC 458 - 7th year

Our calculation shows that the 7th year of Artaxerxes began in BC 458. Ancient kings used a calendar that began in the fall season and continued until the next fall season. Because of this, the 7th year of Artaxerxes began in BC 458 and continued until BC 457. We will use BC 457 as the starting date of the prophecy.

In conclusion, the starting event of the prophecy is "the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem" which happened in:

BC 457

The Time Period

Here is the prophecy again:

Daniel 9:25

The prophecy says that the time period of waiting for the Messiah was seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks. This equals 69 weeks.

So the time period to wait for Messiah was:

69 weeks

Since this is a time prophecy, we will do one more conversion. Another Bible story tells us that the Israelites wandered the desert for 40 years:

Number 14:33-34

33 And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.
34 After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.

Why did they wander the desert for 40 years, and not some other number of years?

In this story, the Israelite scouts searched the land for 40 days. But then they lost faith. Since they saw the land for 40 days, their consequence was to wander the desert for 40 years. God converted each day into a year.

We will do likewise and convert the 69 weeks into years. First, we will convert the 69 weeks into days:

69 weeks = 69 x 7 days = 483 days

483 days, with each day for a year, is 483 years.

In conclusion, the time period to wait for the Messiah was:

483 years

Now we know the starting year of BC 457 and the waiting time period of 483 years, so let us calculate the ending date.

Here is an example of how to count years in BC and AD times:

If we start in BC 1 and go forward 1 year, we arrive in AD 1. This is because there is no year called 0.

Consider these additional examples:

Start in BC 1 and go forward 1 year to arrive at AD 1.
Start in BC 2 and go forward 2 years to arrive at AD 1.
Start in BC 3 and go forward 3 years to arrive at AD 1.
And so forth...

So according to the examples, if we start in BC 457 and go forward 457 years, we arrive in AD 1. Since we went forward 457 years but we want to go forward a total of 483 years, we still need to go forward 26 more years. This is because 483 - 457 = 26. So from AD 1, we go forward 26 more years to reach AD 27.

In conclusion, if we begin in BC 457 and go forward 483 years, we arrive in AD 27.

Therefore, the ending date of the prophecy is:

AD 27

The Ending Event

What happened in AD 27?

The prophecy says that Messiah the Prince would arrive in that year. Is that true? Let us read from the New Testament book of Luke since Luke lived about that time:

Luke 3:1

1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene

Luke wrote a record of what happened in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar. When was the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar? Let us check history books again:

Thus, when in AD 13, the powers held by Tiberius were made equal, rather than second, to Augustus' own powers, he was for all intents and purposes a "co-Princeps" with Augustus
Tiberius. Accessed 1/1/2024. In Wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberius

This encyclopedia article tells us that Tiberius gained the power of emperor in AD 13. The previous emperor Augustus was in poor health, and so Tiberius was promoted. So the 1st year of Tiberius was AD 13. Then what was his 15th year? Let us count:

1st year - AD 13
2nd year - AD 14
3rd year - AD 15
4th year - AD 16
5th year - AD 17
6th year - AD 18
7th year - AD 19
8th year - AD 20
9th year - AD 21
10th year - AD 22
11th year - AD 23
12th year - AD 24
13th year - AD 25
14th year - AD 26
15th year - AD 27

The 15th year of Tiberius was AD 27. So Luke chapter 3 tells us what happened in AD 27. Let's keep reading:

Luke 3:2-4

2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.
3 And he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins;
4 As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.

These verses tell us about John, who is also called John the Baptist. John the Baptist was telling people to prepare for the Lord. He was baptizing people in the river Jordan. Baptism is a process where a person goes into water to represent cleansing from sin. Let us continue reading:

Luke 3:6

And all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

John the Baptist also said that the salvation of God would be seen since he was expecting the Messiah to come to save us.

Luke 3:21-22

21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
22 And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.

Jesus was baptized by John, and people saw the Holy Spirit come down from Heaven onto Jesus. Jesus then began healing people from all kinds of disease.

Jesus said that the time was fulfilled:

Mark 1:15

And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Jesus said that the time was fulfilled because He knew that the 483 year waiting period from the prophecy had been reached in that same year when He was baptized.

What Does Messiah Mean?

Jesus would later say:

John 8:12

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Jesus said that He is the light of the world. And the word Messiah means anointed, or oiled. So let us consider light and oil. To become the Messiah, oil would need to be poured on the head. Let us therefore compare the Messiah to a lamp. Oil is poured into a lamp, and the lamp burns the oil to produce light. When Messiah was anointed in AD 27, oil was poured into the lamp. The Holy Spirit came down from Heaven like oil poured onto Jesus, then Jesus became like a lamp giving light to the world. Jesus healed the sick, helped the poor, and taught us the Word of God. This light of Jesus lets us know the glory of God. Satan tries to confuse people about God so that they walk in darkness. But Jesus reveals to us who our Creator is. The Greek word for Messiah or Anointed is Christ, and this is why Jesus is also called Christ.

In summary, Luke records that people witnessed the Holy Spirit being poured onto Jesus like oil in AD 27. And this is the exact year that the prophecy foretold the Messiah would arrive. We conclude that Jesus is the Messiah who came to give light to the world.

Birth of Jesus

There is more confirmation that Jesus fulfilled the time prophecy of the arrival of the Messiah. We saw that in AD 27 Jesus was baptized and anointed by the Holy Spirit. The next verse in Luke tells us how old He was when this happened:

Luke 3:23

23 And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli

Jesus was 30 years old in AD 27 when He was anointed.

What year was Jesus born?

If we start in AD 27 and go back in time 27 years, we arrive at BC 1. Then we need to go back 3 more years to total 30. Starting in BC 1 and going back 3 more years brings us to BC 4. Jesus was therefore born in BC 4. Amazingly, we can confirm this with history books:

The date of birth for Jesus of Nazareth is not stated in the gospels or in any secular text, but basing it on the death of Herod would place the date between 6 BC and 4 BC.
Nativity of Jesus. In Wikipedia. Accessed 3/16/2025.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nativity_of_Jesus

Historians and archaeologists calculate the birthdate of Jesus to be between BC 6 and BC 4 based on ancient records. This matches the same year of BC 4 that we calculated using Bible prophecy. This confirms for us that the Bible is the Word of God and Jesus is the Messiah. History records that He fulfilled the time prophecy which was given to Daniel hundreds of years before He was born.

Why wasn't Jesus born in AD 1?

The labels of BC and AD were placed on the wrong years. BC 5 should have been labeled BC 1, because it was the 1st year before Christ was born. BC 4 should have been labeled AD 1 because it was the same year that Jesus was born.

Conclusion

We have reached an amazing conclusion that the Bible is the Word of God and Jesus is the Messiah. Now let us take the next steps and continue learning about Jesus and Bible prophecies.

Numbers 6:24-26

24 The LORD bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.