okay, let's combined the two segements into one chart and see what we got.
It looks like a gap of some sort between 496 BC and 401 BC.
I think that gap may be due to some inter-ruptions made, and that the Jewish leaders had to seek directives from Artaxeres to continue. And that may be the 401 BC year was the beginning of some phase to continue to rebuild Jerusalem, the street, and wall.
I don't know if I personally have the where-with-all to go through Nehemiah and Ezra to explain what took place during that gap in terms of specifics. Maybe others here do.
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You really need to start the end of the 434 years prior to 10 BC. Probably more like 60 to 50 BC. Simeon was waiting to die, and saw the newborn child, and gave thanks that the promise of the Holy Spirit let him die in peace. Anna was was a widow for 84 years after being married for 7 years. That means she was at least 15+91 to 20+91 years of age. She had been waiting for a maximum of at least 90 years for the birth of the Messiah. Were these two the last humans still waiting after the 434 years were over? If they were over in 50BC, then it would seem likely that all had forgotten about any Messiah. Besides the fact that Herod was in good standing with the Romans, when Jesus was born. There was no oppression yet, that started in the days of Pilate, and evidently grew worse after Pilate.
The verse states:
"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."
Until the birth of. It does not say until the death of.
"And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off,"
It does not say a minute after, nor a day after. It does not say immediately after or any amount of years after. It can be interpreted as any time after, Messiah will be cut off. Seems to me we have more OT information about the gap between the 49th and 50th year than when the time literally stopped, and the time Messiah was even born. We can safely say the work stopped as well as the countdown after 49 years. Then started back up, for another 434 years. What we cannot do is count backwards from a point prior to even the birth of Jesus, to get an exact date. We were not told how long after the 490 years were up when Simeon and Anna would have expected the Messiah. Obviously they seemed to have waited a lifetime for the birth of Jesus, yea even 40 years at the least. And the 70th week itself was given to the Messiah the Prince and the ministry of Jesus on the earth. The 70 weeks included what Jesus Himself would do, both as Messiah and Prince. The 70th week was never defined nor implied to be a specific 7 year time period.
Seems the 70th week would start where the 69th week left off, decades prior to the birth of Jesus, not at the birth, but at the first act of obedience to God, the baptism of Jesus. Then the next 3.5 years were the earthly ministry, and then Messiah was cut off. Time would not start counting again until Jesus returns as Prince, even future from this very post. The first 30 years of Jesus' life was not part of either the 69 weeks nor the 70th week. The first 69 weeks ended decades before Jesus was born, the coming to earth of the Messiah. But they still were not in effect the first 30 years of Jesus' life. One cannot force 30 years into 7 years much less, 3.5 years. We have only had 3.5 years of the 70th week, because that was half the 70th week as Messiah. The other half of the 70th week would be as the Prince to come. Now we don't have to wait for a child to grow up. The countdown would start immediately upon the Second Coming, and then be over now in less than 3.5 years. Because this 3.5 years is the final harvest, the time of Jacob's trouble, the GT which is shortened, lest all humanity end up dead.
