CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY

Key dates from 537BCE
down to 2017CE

The Babylonian Exile to the Modern Era

Scripture gives a clear chronological timeline of events that occurred throughout the 2nd Temple period and beyond right through to the Six-day War of 1967 CE. The release of the people of Y’hudah from their exile in Babylon marked the beginning of a series of events that through the words of Scripture from the Timeline of Isra’el are as follows:-

Compiled from my own personal research – Graeme Purdie – June 2020

BCE = Before the Common Era and CE = Common Era. c. = circa (Approximate date)

537 BCE
Koresh king of Persia gave approval for Y’hudah to return to Eretz-Yisra’el and build the 2nd Temple – Ezra 1:1-7.

486
The building of the 2nd Temple was halted by the decree of King Achashverosh (Xerxes I) of Persia, in response to a letter sent by the leaders of the people of Shomron – Ezra Chapter 4. The construction ceased until the 2nd year of Daryavesh – Ezra 4:26. (cessation 486-421)

447 c.
The story as told in the Book of Ester took place in the city of Shushan the capital of Persia – Ester Chapters 1-10. The king she married was Achashverosh (Xerxes I), who ruled 486-465.

445
Artaxerxes I gave approval to Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Yerushalayim – Nehemiah 1:1-3 and 2:1-8. That took place in the 20th year of the king. This started the 7x7 years (49) count until Ezra arrived in Yerushalayim as the anointed prince. (396 BCE) That event was when the count of 62x7 years began, which ended with the death of Yeshua HaMashiach, in 30 CE.

423
In the 1st year of Daryavesh II, Daniel 9:1 – Daniel received the vision of the seventy-weeks-of-years verse 24. The period of 490 years for the repentance of Isra’el began in that year and ended in 66 CE, with the cessation of the offering on behalf of the emperor of Rome.

415
The building of the 2nd Temple was completed in the 6th years of Daryavesh in Ezra 6:15.

396
Ezra returned to Yerushalayim in fulfilment of the words of Daniel 9:25a, with Ezra being the anointed prince who was to come after 7 weeks of years (49 years) from the rebuilding of the city walls. This took place during the 9th year of Artaxerxes II. This started the count of the 62x7 years (434-years) until the cutting off of Mashiach in 30 CE. (Daniel 9:25b-26)

358-329
Four more kings arose in Persia Artaxerxes III (358-338); Artaxerxes IV (338-336); Darius III (336-330); Artaxerxes V (330-329) with the latter two kings becoming vassals of Greece. These four kings are mentioned in Daniel 11:2.

333
Alexander the Great conquered the entire Near East including Persia and Y’hudah.
Daniel 8:5-12 speaks of a male goat coming from the west. It conquers everything in its path and then in 8:13-14 Daniel is told how long the trampling underfoot will last. The answer is 2300 evenings and mornings. That period does not match with anything when considered as days or even half days. But, when seen as years, it does not end until 1967 CE, the Six-Day War. This logic is also reinforced by Yeshua’s words in Luke 21:24, where there would be an unspecified time period between the destruction of the 2nd Temple and the restoring of sovereignty to Yerushalayim, which also occurred during the Six-Day War or 1967 CE.

285 c.
Ptolemy II (Philadelphus), king of Egypt commanded that the Torah of Moshe be translated into Greek for inclusion in the Library of Alexandra. Around 200BCE the remainder of the Tanakh was translated into Greek. The work was undertaken by 72 rabbis who were living among the people of Isra’el who had been taken into exile in Egypt, by Ptolemy I, following the death of Alexander the Great.

175
Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) gained control as king of the Seleucid Empire (Syria) and with it control over Y’hudah, along with Egypt.

167
Antiochus IV desecrated the Temple in Yerushalayim and took away all the equipment and gold form the treasury and sacrificed pigs on the altar. He also banned all religious practices and the reading and application of Torah.

164
Y’hudah Maccabee and a small guerrilla army with the support of YHVH managed to wrest back control of the Temple, Yerushalayim and the surrounding towns of Y’hudah. The Temple was rededicated, and a new altar built. Celebrations lasted for eight days and the miracle of Hanukkah, when one small cruse of olive oil kept the Hanukkiah burning for eight nights.

140
Shim’on Thassi the second son of Mattityahu of the Hasmonean family, was appointed ruler of Y’hudah by the then Seleucid king - Antiochus VI Dionysus. Shim’on was the first of nine rulers in the Hasmonean Dynasty, which lasted from 140-37 BCE. The Hasmonean’s started out as Princes in Y’hudah, but progressively adopted the Greek title of Basileus (vassal king). This however ran against the teachings of Torah, which requires that the Priesthood and political governance of Isra’el must always remain separate.

69-63
Following the death of Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) in 164 BCE, the Seleucid Empire went into slow decline and finally fell into the hands of Pompey of Rome around 69BCE. At that time there was conflict between the brothers Aristobulus II and Hyrcanus II over the succession to the Hasmonean throne, which also began in 69 BC. Pompey liberated a number of Hellenised towns from their former rulers. He joined seven towns east of the River Jordan that had been under the Hasmoneans, plus Damascus, into a league. Philadelphia (today's Amman), which had been under Nabataea, also joined to the league, which was renamed the Decapolis (Ten Cities). They were mostly in Transjordan (now part of Jordan) and around the east of the Sea of Galilee, which extended into Syria. The campaign was completed in 63 BCE, which became known as the Pompeian Era.

47
Julius Caesar appointed Antipater to be procurator of Y’hudah in 47 BCE and also appointed his sons Phasal and Herod to be governors of Jerusalem and Galilee respectively. Antipater was murdered in 43 BCE; however, his sons managed to hold the reins of power and were elevated to the rank of Tetrarchs in 41 BCE by Mark Antony.

40
In 40 BCE, the Parthians invaded the eastern Roman provinces and managed to drive the Romans out of many areas. In Y’hudah, the Hasmonean dynasty was restored under king Antigonus as a pro-Parthian monarch. Herod the Great, the son of Antipater the Idumean, managed to escape to Rome. Herod was subsequently, according to Josephus, Mark Antony convinced the Roman Senate to announced Herod as “King of the Jews” because he stood solidly against the Parthians, in favour of Rome.

37
In 37 BCE Herod handed Antigonus over to the Romans for execution, after Antigonus's three-year reign during which he led the Jews' fierce struggle for independence against the Romans. Herod the Great, was then fully confirmed in the role as King of the Jews at the behest of the Roman Senate.

2 BCE
Near the end of the reign of Herod the Great, Yeshua was born, with the Magi from the east bringing word to Herod that God’s choice for the “King of the Jews” had been born in Beit-Lechem. In response Herod had all boy babies in Beit-Lechem killed, but Yeshua and his family fled to the safety of Egypt (most likely Alexandria) until after Herod died. (Mat 1:13-15)

1 BCE
Herod died in Jericho, most likely on December 1 BCE, although many scholars have moved the date back to 4 BCE. However, this would distort the timing of Yeshua’s ministry, which according to Luke’s Gospel did not begin until the 15th year of Emperor Tiberius, which commenced in September 29 CE. So, if Yeshua had been born around 5 BCE, he would have been at least 33-34 years old, when he commenced his ministry.

CE
The turning of the calendar between BCE and CE we lose one year, because there is no zero year in the Julian Calendar. Hence, we go from 1 BCE to 1 CE.

-1 to 6
Archelaus son of Herod the Great, ruled Y’hudah from the death of his father until 6 CE. It was because he was on the throne that Yosef was told by the angel Gavri’el to return from Egypt, because the one who wanted to kill Yeshua had died. However, the family were told not to return to their hometown of Beit-Lechem, but instead to flee to the Galil beyond the realm of Archelaus, who was a greater tyrant than his father. (Mat 1:19-23)

6
Archelaus ruled with such an iron fist, that the people of Y’hudah rebelled. However, upon going to Rome to solicit the royal dignity (the practice of the tributary kings, who received their crowns from the Roman emperor). The Jews sent an embassy, consisting of fifty of their principal men, with a petition to Emperor Augustus that they might be permitted to live according to their own laws, under a Roman governor, and also complaining of his cruelty — (Josephus, War, 2, 2-7). The cruelty of Archelaus appears to be the basis for Yeshua’s parable in Luke 19:11-27. Archelaus was removed from office and sent into exile in Gaul.

According to Josephus Ant. 17:13:2 and 5, Augustus abolished the rule Archelaus and made the territories a Roman Province. At that time Quirinius was governor of Syria and Coponius was sent to Y’hudah as their first procurator.

6-7
Judas the Galilean, was a Jewish leader who led resistance to the census imposed for Roman tax purposes by Quirinius in Judea Province around 6 CE. In Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus states that Judas, along with Zadok the Pharisee, founded the "fourth sect" of 1st century Judaism (the first three being the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the Essenes). Josephus blamed this fourth sect for the First Jewish–Roman War of 66–73 AD. Judas and Zadok’s group were theocratic nationalists who preached that God alone was the ruler of Israel and urged that no taxes should be paid to Rome – (source Wikipedia)

29
The 18th September 29 CE saw the start of the ministry Yochanan the Immerser, as recorded in Luke 3:1. Around that same time Yeshua was immersed and headed away into the wilderness for 40 days before he began his ministry.

30
Pesach – Wed 14 Aviv (Nisan) Yeshua died was laid in the tomb before sundown for three days and three nights in accordance with the Sign of Yonah. This also brought to an end the prophecy of 69 weeks of years in Daniel 9:25-26, which began in 445 BCE.

Bikkurim – Sun 18 Aviv (Nisan) Yeshua presented himself to his Father at which stage all authority was given him in heaven and on earth.

Shavuot – Sun 8th day of the 3rd month. The day the Ruach HaKodesh came down.

Following the death of Yeshua the Great Sanhedrin lost its authority to inflict capital punishment. During the earthquake at the death of Yeshua the Hall of Hewn Stone, the seat of the Great Sanhedrin, located adjacent to the inner court of the Temple, was totally destroyed. A regrouped lesser Sanhedrin took over many of its functions, under the authority of Rabban Gamliel in other parts of Yerushalayim, until the destruction of the Temple, when it moved to Yavneh.

51
Jerusalem council of Messianic believers when Ya’akov issued the foundational mandate for Gentiles who were being grafted into the 1st century Messianic Community. (Acts 15:23-28)

63-65
The writing of the Book of Hebrews by Sha’ul while under house arrest in Rome. It was written to the leaders of the synagogues in Rome as a record of all that Sha’ul taught about Yeshua and the need for all Isra’el to do t’shuvah. The summary is found the words of Acts 28:17-31.

66
In August 66 Menahem a Sicarians ("dagger men"), made a successful raid on the fortress of Masada. Menahem was the grandson of Judas the Galilean, who had led an anti-Roman revolt in 6-7 CE. They hailed their leader as king of the Jews and went to Jerusalem, where they laid siege to the remaining Roman garrison. The new king had the high priest Ananias executed, but when he went to the Temple, he was lynched by the adherents of Ananias' son. The Sicarians left Jerusalem and returned to Masada, which they used as a base for a guerrilla war, until they were defeated in 74 CE. (source Livius.org)

67
This year saw the cessation of the regular offering to the Emperor and the rise of the Zealots (4th sect) spoken about by Josephus, beginning in 6-7 CE. It also saw the start of the count of 1290 days in Daniel 12:11, which ended with the destruction of the 2nd Temple.

This was the year also saw the completion of the 490-years of Daniel 9:24 and advance of the Roman Legions under leadership of Vespasian, starting in Caesarea and moving Jerusalem.

70
9th of Av (possibly 8 Aug) destruction of the 2nd Temple at the hand of the Roman - Titus.

74
Spring possibly around Pesach the Roman’s finally captured the summit of Masada, only to find all 960 Zealots had committed suicide rather than be taken prisoner. That brought an end to the 1st revolt by Y’hudah against Rome and ended the 1335 days recorded by Daniel 12:12.

95 c.
Revelation the final Book of Scripture was given to Yochanan while imprisoned on the Island of Patmos, for spreading the words about the messiahship of Yeshua. Around the same time Yochanan also wrote his three letters to the Messianic Communities in Asia Minor, along with his account of the life and times of Yeshua as the Gospel of Yochanan.

107
The first known example of anti-Jewish rhetoric by a Gentile leader of the early 2nd century Messianic Community. The Epistle of Ignatius (3rd Bishop of Antioch) to the Magnesians faithful in Chapter 8 says:- “Be not deceived with strange doctrines nor with old fables, which are unprofitable. For if we still live according to the Jewish law, we acknowledge that we have not received grace.”

Then in Chapter 9 he says - “If, therefore, those who were brought up in the ancient order of things have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observe the Sabbath, but live in the observance of the Lord's Day, on which also our life has sprung up again by Him and by His death.”

115-117
In 115 the second Jewish revolt, known as the Kitos War, erupted across the eastern parts of Roman Empire. In Cyrenaica, the Jewish rebels were led by one Lukuas (or Andreas), who called himself "king" (according to Eusebius of Caesarea). His group destroyed many temples, as well as the civil structures that were symbols of Rome. The revolt was suppressed by Rome within two years with little lasting outcome.

132-135
This period, saw the third and final Jewish revolt, led by Simon bar Kokhba. Some historians refer to it as the Second Revolt of Judea, not counting the Kitos War (115–117 CE), which had only marginally been fought in Judea. This final revolt was a reaction to the building of the Temple of Jupiter over the ruins of the 1st and 2nd Temples in Yerushalayim. Emperor Hadrian having built his temple renamed the whole Land of Isra’el as Syria Palaestina and Yerushalayim was renamed Aelia Capitolina. He also forbad Jews the right to enter the city except on the day of Tisha B’Av (9th of Av), as a commemoration of the destruction of both the 1st and 2nd Temples.

135
Siege of Betar - After losing many of their strongholds, Bar Kokhba and the remnants of his army withdrew to the fortress of Betar, which subsequently came under siege in the summer of 135. According to Jewish tradition, the fortress was breached and destroyed on the fast of Tisha B'Av, the ninth day of Av, a day of mourning for the destruction of the First and the Second Jewish Temple. The Jerusalem Talmud records that the deaths in Betar were so enormous, that the Romans went on killing until their horses were submerged in blood to their nostrils. This appears to a reflection of the words of Daniel 9:26, with a flood of human blood.

Following the massacre of the people of Y’hudah in the siege of Betar, they were driven from Eretz-Yisra’el into the Galut (Exile) until 1948 CE. (For more details visit Judaism and Christianity)

1217
In the year 1217 CE, Judah ben Samuel (Judah He-Hasid, who lived in Regensburg, Germany. He was one of Judah’s most legendary and prolific German Hassidic rabbis made an astounding prediction about the future of Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah. His prophecy covered a period of 500-years or 10 Yovels (see Vayikra (Leviticus Chapter 25).

1517
Rise of the Ottoman Empire which ruled Yerushalayim for 400-years as prophesied by Judah ben Samuel.

1917
The Ottoman Empire’s rule of Yerushalayim was ended with the entry of the British Army under General Allenby on 11 December 1917 entered and claimed the city.

1948
State of Israel declared, on May 14, 1948, in Tel Aviv, Jewish Agency Chairman David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the State of Israel, establishing the first Jewish state in nearly 1900-years.

1967
The Six-Day War in June 1967 between Israel and the Arab states of Egypt, Syria and Jordan significantly altered the map of Isra’el and gave rise to the continuing geopolitical friction, between the State of Isra’el and the PLO. The Six-Day War also ended the 2300 evenings and mornings spoken about in Daniel 8:14, which is reinforced by Yeshua’s words in Luke 21:24.

2017
The fifty-years between 1967 and 2017, was the tenth Yovel, which Judah ben Samuel prophesied would be the Messianic end-time, meaning the last full Yovel before the coming of Mashiach.