Which prophecy helped the Jews know “the time of the Messiah”?

The prophet Daniel revealed the time of the coming of the Messiah in the amazing prophecy of the 70 septenaries: "Seventy septenaries are appointed for thy people and thy holy city, to put an end to perversity, and to put an end to sin, absolve the fault and bring eternal justice, to seal vision and prophecy and anoint the Holy of Holies” (Dn 9).

This clear temporal indication, the only one of this kind in the Old Testament, gives a precise number of septenaries, which are periods of seven years, designating the coming of the Messiah at the end of 490 years or in other words at the time of the Virgin Mary.

The scrolls from the 1st century BC found in Qumran show that the community living there was very preoccupied with the signs of the times and that they also believed in Daniel’s prophetic count of 70 septenaries. They calculated that the time of the Messiah was to begin around 26 BC. It was because of this belief that they retreated to the desert to prepare for his coming.

Hence Jesus announced when he inaugurated his mission: "The times are fulfilled and the kingdom of God is near" (Mk 1:15).

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