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Daniel in a prophecy proclaiming concerning the kingdom of Christ, according to the stone cut from a mountain without hands; for who else could it be, the one coming as a son of man upon the clouds, and reaching to the ancient of days, than our Lord Jesus Christ who said, who for our sakes took the form of a servant, and became a son of man, "I came forth from the Father, and I go to God"? who also in the presence of his own disciples, as they were watching, was lifted up, and a cloud received him, when also as they were gazing into heaven, behold two men appeared in bright clothing, teaching them about his second coming, foretelling that he would come again in a cloud. To Christ alone, therefore, was given by the Father both the authority and the honor and the kingdom, so that all the nations should serve him, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Ps. Of the same. 45. When Daniel prayed concerning the captivity of all the people in Babylon, and concerning the desolation of Jerusalem, Gabriel the archangel appeared and at the same time 150 signifies to him the conclusion of the seventy-year captivity, and the renewal of Jerusalem, and the time from the renewal to the coming of Christ, and the second capture of the city that would happen after this, and the subsequent enslavement of the whole nation, which was accomplished after the coming of Christ. And his words are in this manner: Daniel, I have now come forth to give you understanding. At the beginning of your supplication the word went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are a man greatly beloved, and consider the word, and understand the vision. Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish sin, and to seal up sins, and to wipe out iniquities, and to make reconciliation for injustices, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint a holy of holies. And you shall know and understand from the going forth of the command to answer and to build Jerusalem until Christ the Prince shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks; and it shall return, and a street shall be built, and a wall, and the times shall be emptied. And after the sixty-two weeks, anointing shall be destroyed, and there is no judgment in it; and he shall destroy the city and the sanctuary with the prince who is to come, and they shall be cut off in a flood, and until the end of a decreed war with desolations. And he will confirm a covenant with many for one week; and in the middle of the week sacrifice and oblation will be taken away, and upon the sanctuary the abomination of desolations, and until the consummation of time, a consummation will be given for the desolation. 151 Of those who have attempted the aforementioned weeks, we know only Africanus to have theorized most accurately and more successfully than the rest; and indeed it seems necessary to me first to bring forth his exposition of the passages, and then to examine if we ourselves might be able to contribute anything to the argument. He writes then in the fifth of his Chronographies verbatim thus: Ps. Of Africanus. 40. The passage, then, being as it is, signifies many and paradoxical things; but now we shall make our argument about the times and the things contributing to them. That these things, then, are said concerning the coming of Christ, who was to appear after 70 weeks, is clear; for in the time of the Savior or from him, transgressions are made old, and sins are brought to an end through forgiveness, and iniquities are blotted out by reconciliation along with injustices, and everlasting righteousness is proclaimed in place of that from the law; visions and prophecies until John; a holy of holies is anointed; for before the coming of the Savior these things, not existing, were only expected. The angel proposes, then, to begin the numbers, that is, of the 70 weeks, which are 490 years, from the going forth of the word to answer and to

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∆ανιὴλ προφητείᾳ προθεσπιζούσῃ περὶ τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ βασιλείας κατὰ τὸν λίθον τὸν ἀποτμηθέντα ἐξ ὄρους ἄνευ χειρῶν· τίς γὰρ ἂν ἄλλος, ὁ ὡς υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου ἐρχόμενος ἐπὶ τῶν νεφελῶν, καὶ ἕως τοῦ παλαιοῦ τῶν ἡμερῶν φθάνων, ἢ ὁ εἰπὼν Κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς, ὁ δι' ἡμᾶς μορφὴν δούλου λαβὼν, καὶ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου γενόμενος, ἐκ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐξῆλθον, καὶ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ὑπάγω; ὃς καὶ παρόντων τῶν ἑαυτοῦ μαθητῶν, βλεπόντων αὐτῶν, ἐπήρθη, καὶ νεφέλη ὑπέλαβεν αὐτὸν, ὅτε καὶ ἀτενιζόντων εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν, ἰδοὺ δύο ἄνδρες ἐν ἐσθήσεσι λαμπραῖς ὀφθέντες, τὰ περὶ τῆς δευτέρας αὐτοῦ παρουσίας αὐτοὺς ἐδίδασκον, αὖθις ἐν νεφέλῃ παραγενήσεσθαι αὐτὸν προλέγοντες. Τῷ οὖν Χριστῷ μόνῳ ὑπὸ τοῦ Πατρὸς ἐδόθη καὶ ἡ ἐξουσία καὶ ἡ τιμὴ καὶ ἡ βασιλεία, ὥστε πάντα τὰ ἔθνη λατρεύειν αὐτῷ, καὶ πᾶσαν γλῶσσαν ἐξομολογεῖσθαι, ὅτι Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χρίστος εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ πατρός. Ψ. Τοῦ αὐτοῦ. ΜΕʹ. Εὐξαμένῳ τῷ ∆ανιὴλ περὶ τῆς εἰς Βαβυλῶνα αἰχμαλωσίας τοῦ παντὸς λαοῦ, περί τε τῆς ἐρημώσεως τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ, Γαβριὴλ ἐπιφανεὶς ἀρχάγγελος ὁμοῦ 150 τε αὐτῷ σημαίνει τὸ συμπέρασμα τῆς ἑβδομηκονταετοῦς αἰχμαλωσίας, καὶ τὴν ἀνανέωσιν τῆς Ἱερουσαλὴμ, τόν τε ἀπὸ τῆς ἀνανεώσεως ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίαν χρόνον, καὶ τὴν μετὰ ταῦτα γενησομένην δευτέραν ἅλωσιν τῆς πόλεως, καὶ τὸν ἐπὶ πᾶσιν ἀνδραποδισμὸν τοῦ παντὸς ἔθνους, τὸν μετὰ τὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίαν ἐπιτελεσθέντα. Ἔχουσι δὲ αὐτοῦ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον αἱ λέξεις· ∆ανιὴλ, νῦν ἐξῆλθον συμβιβάσαι σε σύνεσιν· ἐν ἀρχῇ τῆς δεήσεώς σου ἐξῆλθεν λόγος, καὶ ἐγὼ ἦλθον τοῦ ἀναγγεῖλαί σοι, ὅτι ἀνὴρ ἐπιθυμιῶν σὺ εἶ, καὶ ἐννοήθητι ἐν τῷ ῥήματι, καὶ σύνες ἐν τῇ ὀπτασίᾳ. Ἑβδομήκοντα ἑβδομάδες συνετμήθησαν ἐπὶ τὸν λαόν σου, καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν πόλιν τὴν ἁγίαν, τοῦ συντελεσθῆναι ἁμαρτίαν, καὶ τοῦ σφραγίσαι ἁμαρτίας, καὶ ἀπολεῖψαι τὰς ἀνομίας, καὶ τοῦ ἐξιλάσασθαι ἀδικίας, καὶ ἀγαγεῖν δικαιοσύνην αἰώνιον, καὶ τοῦ σφραγίσαι ὅρασιν καὶ προφήτην, καὶ τοῦ χρῖσαι ἅγιον ἁγίων. Καὶ γνώσῃ καὶ συνήσεις ἀπὸ ἐξόδου λόγων ου τοῦ ἀποκριθῆναι καὶ τοῦ οἰκοδομῆσαι Ἱερουσαλὴμ ἕως χριστοῦ ἡγουμένου ἑβδομάδες ζʹ, καὶ ἑβδομάδες ξβʹ· καὶ ἐπιστρέψει, καὶ οἰκοδομηθήσεται πλατεία, καὶ τεῖχος, καὶ κενωθήσονται οἱ καιροί. Καὶ μετὰ τὰς ἑβδομάδας τὰς ξβʹ ἐξολοθρευθήσεται χρίσμα, καὶ κρίμα οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν αὐτῷ· καὶ τὴν πόλιν, καὶ τὸ ἅγιον διαφθερεῖ σὺν τῷ ἡγουμένῳ τῷ ἐρχομένῳ, καὶ κοπήσονται ἐν κατακλυσμῷ, καὶ ἕως τέλους πολέμου συντετμημένου ἀφανισμοῖς. Καὶ δυναμώσει διαθήκην πολλοῖς ἑβδομὰς μία· καὶ ἐν τῷ ἡμίσει τῆς ἑβδομάδος ἀρθήσεται θυσία καὶ σπονδὴ, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ ἱερὸν βδέλυγμα τῶν ἐρημώσεων, καὶ ἕως συντελείας καιροῦ συντέλεια δοθήσεται ἐπὶ τὴν ἐρήμωσιν. 151 Τῶν εἰς τὰς προκειμένας ἑβδομάδας ἐπιβεβληκότων μόνον ἴσμεν Ἀφρικανὸν ἀκριβέστατα καὶ μᾶλλον παρὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἐπιτετευγμένως τεθεωρηκότα· καὶ δή μοι δοκεῖ ἀναγκαῖον εἶναι πρῶτον αὐτοῦ τὴν εἰς τοὺς τόπους διήγησιν εἰς μέσον ἀγαγεῖν, εἶθ' οὕτως ἐπισκέψασθαι, εἴ τι ἄρα καὶ αὐτοὶ δυναίμεθα συμβαλέσθαι τῷ λόγῳ. Γράφει δὴ οὖν ἐν πέμπτῳ τῶν Χρονογραφιῶν κατὰ λέξιν οὕτως· Ψ. Ἀφρικανοῦ. Μʹ. Ἡ μὲν οὖν περικοπὴ οὕτω πῶς ἔχουσα πολλά τε καὶ παράδοξα σημαίνει· νῦν δ' ὧν χρεία περί τε τοὺς χρόνους καὶ τὰ τούτοις συντείνοντα τὸν λόγον ποιησόμεθα. Ὅτι μὲν οὖν περὶ τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ παρουσίας λέγεται ταῦτα μετὰ ἑβδομάδας οʹ μέλλοντος ἐπιφαίνεσθαι, δῆλον· ἐπὶ γὰρ τοῦ Σωτῆρος ἢ ἀπὸ τούτου τὰ παραπτώματα παλαιοῦται, καὶ αἱ ἁμαρτίαι συντελοῦνται διὰ τὴν ἄφεσιν, αἵ τε ἀνομίαι ἐξιλασμῷ μετὰ τῶν ἀδικιῶν ἀπαλείφονται, δικαιοσύνη τε αἰώνιος καταγγέλλεται παρὰ τὴν ἐκ νόμου· ὁράσεις τε καὶ προφητεῖαι μέχρις Ἰωάννου· χρίεται ἅγιος ἁγίων· πρὸ γὰρ τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος παρουσίας οὐκ ὄντα ταῦτα προσεδοκᾶτο μόνον. Ἄρξασθαι δὴ τῶν ἀριθμῶν, τοῦτ' ἔστιν τῶν οʹ ἑβδομάδων, ἅ ἐστιν ἕτη υʹ, ὁ ἄγγελος ὑποτίθεται ἀπὸ ἐξόδου λόγου τοῦ ἀποκριθῆναι καὶ τοῦ