For forty years — one year for each of the forty days you explored the land — you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you. (Numbers 14:24)
This is a verse early in the bible, which introduces the idea of a day signifying a year. This technique is used later in prophetic books such as Daniel and Revelation to give exact dates in which we can expect events to occur.
"and thou shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year"
Ezekiel 4:6
Take this prophecy in the book of Daniel chapter 9:
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. 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. Write on Medium 27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolat
From this we say that from the decree to rebuild the temple will be 62+7 weeks or 69 weeks; 7 weeks (49 years) for the rebuilding and then 62 weeks (434 years) till the messiah comes. We also see that half-way through the final week the messiah will cause the sacrifice to cease. This was fulfilled when Jesus became the perfect sacrifice.
The decree to rebuild the temple came almost a century after this was written. The Jews had returned to Israel a long time before this but only a small amount had returned and the city was still in ruins.
Ezra arrived in Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. 9 He had begun his journey from Babylon on the first day of the first month, and he arrived in Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month, for the gracious hand of his God was on him. (Ezra 7:8)
When Ezra returned a decree gave finances to rebuild the wall and Jerusalem. This was the starting point of the prophecy written in Daniel
King Artaxerxes began his reign in 465 B.C as this decree was given in the 7th year of his reign then we know this would have been around 458/457 B.C. this is where the 69 weeks or 483 years prophecy begins. 483 years later from 457 B.C would take us to 27 A.D the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. 3 and a half years later Jesus was crucified right in the middle of the final week of the prophecy causing the sacrifices to cease fulfilling the prophecy precisely, leaving no doubt Jesus is the messiah.
This is one of several prophecies which use this format in the bible in which all are completed perfectly, leaving no doubt as to Jesus Christ being the messiah. Any book that can predict the year of a specific event 400 years before it happens, and in some cases 1000 years, surely must be special!