Conversation Signaling the Start of the Terminal Month

The command prefacing the prophecy of the sixty-nine weeks—"Know . . . and understand" (v. 25)—demonstrates that God wants us to see how the prophecy was fulfilled. We may therefore assume that the riddle has a discoverable solution. But to find a solution is impossible unless the Gospels furnish certain information. They must report an incident that we can set on the momentous date we have just calculated, December 8/9, A.D. 31, and moreover they must specify the interval until another incident that we can identify as the official coming of Christ. It so happens that we find the exact information we need. The conversation remembered most fully in Matthew 16 is the incident marking the beginning of the terminal month and the imminent fulfillment of the prophecy. Jesus then revealed that shortly some of His disciples would see Him coming in His kingdom. Within a stated number of days, three of them witnessed the Transfiguration. This, as we will show, was the official coming of Messiah the Prince.

Let us examine the important conversation in Matthew 16.

13 When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?
14 And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets.
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

To compute the date of Christ's coming, we need not assume that the whole conversation took place on one day. Yet the assumption is critical for one way of verifying our solution. Support for this assumption comes from the other Gospel accounts of the events leading up to the Transfiguration. Luke says that the Transfiguration took place a certain number of days "after these sayings" (Luke 9:28). The expression "these sayings" seems to encompass everything back to verse 18, giving Jesus' question, "Whom say the people that I am?" We find a narrative break at the beginning of verse 18, which starts with an expression marking the passage of time, "And it came to pass." But afterward, there is no clear break until verse 28. Although a possible break occurs in verse 23, where it says that Jesus left off teaching His disciples and addressed a crowd, Mark indicates that when the crowd came to hear Him, the disciples had not departed, but were still present (Mark 8:34). We conclude that the sayings in Luke 9:18-28 fell within the confines of a single day. These correspond to the conversation recorded in Matthew 16:13-28,

During this conversation, Jesus affirmed three astounding truths that previously had been veiled in mystery. Each truth was connected in some fashion with the completion of the sixty-nine weeks. In effect, the new teaching was an announcement that Daniel's prophecy was about to be fulfilled.

The three truths newly revealed were as follows:

1. In asking His disciples who He was, Jesus phrased the question so as to prompt the right answer (v. 13). He identified Himself as the Son of man, a title drawn from the Book of Daniel (Dan. 7:13). The answer Peter gave was, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (v. 16). "Christ" is the Greek equivalent of "Messiah" (1), a title Jesus bears in the prophecy of the sixty-nine weeks (Dan. 9:25). Jesus' assent to this answer (v. 17) marks the first time in His recorded ministry that He openly acknowledged His identity to His disciples. What Jesus said on this occasion was, in essence, "Yes, I am the One whose coming at the end of sixty-nine weeks is prophesied in Daniel 9:25."
2. Jesus revealed His intention to found the church (v. 18). No earlier reference to the church, by that name, appears in the Gospels. To understand why this was the right moment to make His intention known, we must consider the significance of the seventy weeks. In Nehemiah's day, they represented the remaining time of God's special dealings with the Jewish nation. After the end of the first sixty-nine, the next phases in God's program for human history would be the redemptive work of Christ for the whole world and the founding of the church. Therefore, the right moment to announce the church was when the sixty-nine weeks were coming to close, for there would soon be a transition from the dispensation of law to the dispensation of grace, from the Mosaic system to the church, from the age of preparation to the Church Age.
3. Jesus began to teach His disciples that He must suffer and die (v. 21). He chose this occasion to reveal His coming ordeal because, on the prophetic timetable, the cutting off of the Messiah was the next event after completion of the sixty-nine weeks (Dan. 9:26).

Official Coming of Christ

After presenting Jesus' new teaching concerning His identity, purpose, and destiny, the synoptic Gospels move on immediately to an incident of undoubtedly great significance, the Transfiguration. We will show that the Transfiguration was the official coming of Messiah the Prince.

Jesus' last saying on the day of new teaching was, "There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom" (Matt. 16:28). A casual reader might suppose that Jesus was predicting His second coming. But His coming with great power and glory would not occur until all His disciples had tasted death. Many expositors—William Kelly, J. C. Ryle, A. C. Gaebelein, H. A. Ironside, John F. Walvoord, and J. Dwight Pentecost, to name a few (2)—have decided that Jesus was speaking of the Transfiguration. This event fits the description.

1. It was seen by only some of the disciples—specifically, by only three.
2. They saw it before they tasted death.

The writers of the synoptic Gospels could hardly make it more obvious that the Transfiguration was the predicted event. Not only do they place the Transfiguration next in the narrative (the Greek originals contain no chapter divisions), but also they introduce the Transfiguration with the comment that it took place shortly, within a few days, after the new teaching. The clear implication is that the Transfiguration was the event which Jesus said would come soon, during the natural lifetimes of those disciples who would see it.

What they saw was Christ's "coming in his kingdom" (Matt. 16:28). Any doubt that the phrase designates His official coming is dispelled by the question which the three disciples asked the next day as they accompanied Jesus down the mountain. They said, "Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come?" (Matt. 17:10). Their puzzlement had no basis unless they believed that they had just witnessed the coming of Christ.

Coronation of Christ

When Jesus predicted that they would see Him "coming in his kingdom" (Matt. 16:28), He meant that they would see Him come as the King. In other words, He would, before the eyes of some of His disciples, be inducted into His kingly office. The Transfiguration was both His coming and His coronation (3).

The event therefore fulfilled the prophecy that sixty-nine weeks would usher in Messiah the Prince (Dan. 9:25). That the three disciples themselves looked upon the event as Jesus' coronation is evident from their behavior afterward. Immediately, "There arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest" (Luke 9:46); that is, the greatest in His kingdom (Matt. 18:1). Then James and John wanted God to rain fire upon the Samaritan cities that had refused to receive Jesus as royalty (Luke 9:51-56). Years later, when Peter looked back on the Transfiguration, he remembered that they "were eyewitnesses of his majesty" (2 Pet. 1:16).

Christ has three offices.

He is a prophet like unto Moses.

For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.

The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken.

He is a priest after the order of Melchisedec.

Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.

The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

He is a king in the line of David.

Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.

I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the off-spring of David, and the bright and morning star.

If the Transfiguration brought Jesus into His kingly office, did other ceremonies bring Him into His offices of prophet and priest? The Father spoke to Jesus in an audible voice from heaven on three occasions: at His baptism, at His transfiguration, and during one of His last visits to the Temple before His death. The third occasion is remembered only in the Gospel of John. As Jesus stood in the midst of a crowd gathered to hear His teaching, He prayed,

28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.
29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.
31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
33 This he said, signifying what death he should die.

On the premise that Jesus received one of His offices on each occasion when the Father spoke to Him, Pink conjectured that He became a prophet at His baptism, a priest at His transfiguration, and a king on that day during Passion Week when His audience in the Temple heard the voice from heaven (4). But with respect to the last two occasions, Pink has transposed their proper interpretations. In fact, Christ became a king at the Transfiguration, and He became a priest on that day shortly before He offered up His own body as a sacrifice for sins. It was fitting that He should receive the priestly office as He stood in the place where the priests had always performed their service to the Lord.

Date of the Transfiguration

We have shown that the sixty-nine weeks came to an end sometime during the month following December 8/9, AD 31. This was the opening day of the month during which, according to prophecy, Messiah the Prince would come. We have shown further that this was the day when Jesus elicited Peter's confession, announced the church, and first warned of the Messiah's coming ordeal in Jerusalem.

Very seldom do the Gospel records specify the amount of time between consecutive events, yet each of the Synoptics tells how many days fell between the new teaching and Jesus' departure for the Mount of Transfiguration. According to Matthew and Mark, Jesus and three disciples went away "after six days" (Matt. 17:1; Mark 9:2). Luke says "about an eight days after" (Luke 9:28), but he is using a rounded number. By inclusive reckoning, the interval between two times a week apart is eight days, because the sum embraces the days at both ends (5). Thus, we infer that Luke is saying "about a week later." If the exact count, "after six days," is also based on inclusive reckoning, we may conclude that the departure for the Mount of Transfiguration fell on December 13/14, AD 31.

The fourteenth was a Friday (6). On that day, "Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart" (Matt. 17:1). By his mention of no day other than the day of departure, the narrator implies that it was still Friday when they came to the place of prayer. Then, "Peter and they that were with him were heavy with sleep: and when they were awake, they saw his glory, and the two men that stood with him" (Luke 9:32). The revelation of Jesus' glory seemingly came after nightfall.

It appears, then, that the Transfiguration took place on the night of December 14/15, AD 31, in either the late hours of Friday or the early hours of Saturday. Among the Jews, the day was the Sabbath. (The Sabbath begins on Friday evening.)

The date of the event terminating the sixty-nine weeks unveils the date of the opening event, of the heavenly commandment issued as soon as Nehemiah began to pray. The date of the opening event was November 22/23, 446 BC.

To verify the date proposed here for the Transfiguration, we must view it in relation to the date of the Crucifixion. We will therefore proceed to show that the Crucifixion fell on April 3, AD 33. In the light of presently available evidence, this date is nearly certain.

1. What was the first truth that Jesus revealed in the conversation recorded in Matthew 16?
2. What was the second?
3. What was the third?
4. What was Jesus' last saying on the day of new teaching?
5. What event fulfilled this prophecy?
6. Approximately how long afterward did this event occur?
7. What was the larger significance of this event?
8. What are the three offices of Christ?
9. Who was His forerunner in each office?
10. When did He assume His other two offices?
11. What happened on all three occasions when He entered a new office?
12. Exactly how long after the day of new teaching did Jesus depart for the mountain?
13. Why does Luke say "after eight days"?
14. What was the likely date of the Transfiguration?
15. What was the day of the week?

1. W. E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, reprinted in, An Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, by W. E. Vine, Merrill F. Unger, and William White, Jr. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1984), 182.
2. William Kelly, An Exposition of the Gospel of Luke, 3d ed. (repr., Sunbury, Pa.: Believers Bookshelf, 1971), 144; J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: St. Mark (New York: Fleming H. Revell Co., n.d.), 174; A. C. Gaebelein, The Gospel of Matthew: An Exposition, 2 vols. combined (New York: Publication Office, Our Hope, 1910), 2:59; H. A. Ironside, Expository Notes on the Gospel of Matthew (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Bros., 1948), 209; John F. Walvoord, Matthew: Thy Kingdom Come (Chicago: Moody Press, 1974), 126; J. Dwight Pentecost, The Words and Works of Jesus Christ: A Study of the Life of Christ (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, 1981), 255.
3. G. H. Pember, The Great Prophecies of the Centuries Concerning the Church (New York: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1909; repr., Miami Springs, Fla.: Conley & Schoettle Publishing Co., 1984), 392-399; Francis J. Lamb, Miracle and Science: Bible Miracles Examined by the Methods, Rules, and Tests of the Science of Jurisprudence as Administered Today in Courts of Justice (Oberlin, Ohio: Bibliotheca Sacra Co., 1909), 245-252.
4. Arthur W. Pink, Exposition of the Gospel of John, 1 vol. ed. (Swengel, Pa.: I. C. Herendeen, 1945; repr., Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, 1975), 680.
5. The Jews and other ancient Semitic peoples were accustomed to "inclusive reckoning." Any fractional unit of time at the beginning or end of an interval was considered a whole unit. For example, the interval from the Feast of First Fruits, which fell on a Sunday, until the Sunday seven weeks later was counted as fifty days (Lev. 23:15-16), since both Sundays were included in the total.
6. Frank Parise, ed., The Book of Calendars (New York: Facts on File, 1982), 299, 307.