The Gentile Times Reconsidered Chronology Christ

The 20 th Year of Artaxerxes 393
Two other astronomical tablets from the reigns of Xerxes and
Artaxerxes, BM 45674 and BM 32299, contain dated observations
of the planet Venus. Again, these observations establish the
chronology of this period as an absolute chronology.
Thus we have numerous astronomical observations dated to
different parts of the reigns of Xerxes and Axtaxerxes preserved on
cuneiform tablets. In many cases, only one or two of these
observations would suffice to establish the beginning and end of
their reigns. The total number of astronomical observations dated
to their reigns, however, are about 40 or more. It is impossible,
therefore, to change their reigns even one year! The Society’s dating of
Artaxerxes’ 20th year to 455 BC is demonstrably wrong. This, of
course, also proves that their interpretation of the 70 weeks of
Daniel is wrong.
The seventy weeks of Daniel
A number of applications of the 70 weeks of Daniel have appeared
throughout the centuries. Some of them, including that of the
Watch Tower Society, have to be discarded at once, as they can be
shown to be in direct conflict with historically established dates.
They have nothing to do with reality.
If Artaxerxes’ 20th year was 445/44 instead of 455, it is still
possible to start from that year, provided that we use a "prophetical
year" of 360 days instead of the solar year of 365,2422 days. This
was demonstrated by Sir Robert Anderson in his book The Coming
Prince (first published in 1895). His application has recently been
improved upon by H. W. Hoehner in his book Chronological Aspects
of the Life of Christ (1977), pages 135ff. These authors show that the
476 years from Artaxerxes’ 20th year, 445/44 BC, to the death of
Christ ( if set at 33 A.D.) correspond to 483 years of 360 days.
(476x365,2422 is 173.855 days, and if this number is divided by 360
we get 483 years.) This is just one example of an application that at
least has the advantage of a historically established date at its start.
There is, of course, much more that can and should be said about
this subject. On the preceding pages I have just tried to summarize
a few of the more important observations. Now and then members
of Jehovah’s Witnesses and others have written to me about this
problem, and maybe this summary can be of some benefit to
others, too, who are asking about the matter. In the future I hope
to find time for writing a more detailed discussion on the subject.