Time of his Coming
WHAT THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES SAY…
Messiah was to come before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 CE
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. (Daniel 9:25-26)
WHAT THE RABBINIC WRITINGS SAY…
I have examined and searched all the Holy Scriptures, and have not found the time for the coming of Messiah, clearly fixed, except in the words of Gabriel to the prophet Daniel, which are written in the ninth chapter of the prophecy of Daniel. (Rabbi Moses Abraham Levi)
He (Jonathan) moreover sought to make a Targum of the Hagiographa; but the bath Kol came forth and said, "Enough." And why might he not execute a Targum of the Hagiographa? Because the End about the Advent of the Messiah is revealed in it. Rashi says, "In the Book of Daniel." (Megillah fol. 3a)
And they [the Romans] fulfilled the prophecy given out against the Fatherland. (Flavius Josephus)
The world is to exist six thousand years. In the first two thousand there was desolation; two thousand years the Torah flourished; and the next two thousand years is the Messianic era. (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a) [The current year, according to Jewish reckoning, is 5769 years since creation. If that reckoning is correct Messiah should have come 1769 years ago!]
WHAT THE NEW TESTAMENT SAYS…
But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.(Galatians 4:4)
Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down... this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place." (Matthew 24:1-2, 34)
But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:20-24)
