Two principles are used to scientifically date biblical events:

1. Astronomical positions of the sun, moon and earth.
2. Secular references of the biblical events.

First and most importantly, I must stress I am surveying Scripture with science. For example, I show how I used astronomy to resolve the date of the temple's destruction by Rome in AD 70. Scripture and science naturally bond together using this approach.

Second is the principle of using the evidence of secular (nonreligious) people. For instance, Josephus, a secular historian, recorded Jerusalem's sacking in A.D. 70. The link between science and the Bible is that Daniel, a biblical prophet, foretold of Jerusalem's destruction that occurred in A.D. 70 of which Josephus, a secular historian, witnessed.

Related to the principle of using the evidence of secular history is the use of archaeological discoveries that link ancient human events to astronomical positions of the sun, moon and earth. This approach yields the scientific date for rebuilding Jerusalem in 445 BC.

The result is that by using astronomy and secular writings, I can scientifically date two events in Daniel's "time-oriented" prophecy of the seventy weeks. The two dates charted below set up scientific limits for a portion of Daniel's prophecy, which show design by counting the days between the two events.

The time between these two events, fixed by scientific dating, is set at 187,880 days. The result is that scientific limits have been applied to Daniel's "time-oriented" prophecy.
 

I cannot figure out the dates of all biblical events using science. For instance, Daniel's time line pointed to the suffering Messiah. Figuring out the date of the crucifixion requires astronomy, a secular reference, and the Bible.

However, by applying the calculated dates of Christ's entry into Jerusalem and the crucifixion, the scientific limits in the chart above are split in a way that reveals supernatural design and control of human events in ancient history as follows:

The center of the chart shows when Jesus rode into Jerusalem with crowds proclaiming him as Messiah. This divides the 187,880 days in the first chart to reveal a time length the 14,000 days hidden in Daniel's "time-oriented" prophecy.

The 14,000 day design uncovered in the 1st century has a natural link to the 20th and 21st centuries. Daniel's "time-oriented" prophecy foretold that Jerusalem would be destroyed after the Messiah was destroyed. Daniel wrote: "The Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city [Jerusalem] and the sanctuary [Temple]" (Dan 9:26). Daniel's prophecy was fulfilled by the Roman General Titus who destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70.

Jesus, like Daniel, also foretold of Jerusalem's destruction that occurred in AD 70. However, Jesus' words bring us into the 20th century since he foretold that after Jerusalem was destroyed, Gentile nations would control the city until the generation in which he would return to earth. Consider Jesus' words about Jerusalem's future, "Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles [Beginning with the Romans on August 5, AD 70] until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled [Literally fulfilled on June 7, 1967 when Israel regained control of Jerusalem from Jordan in the Six-Day War]" (Luke 21:24b). Consider how the 14,000 days uncovered in the 1st century A.D. fit perfectly into the 20th & 21st centuries based on Jesus' words as follows:

The 14,000 days hidden in Daniel's "time-oriented" prophecy in the 1st century A.D. find a perfect fit in the 20th & 21st centuries, counted from Israeli conquest of Jerusalem in 1967 to the "Feast of Trumpets on October 4, 2005."

REFERENCES WITHIN THE GRAPHS:

• [a] Dan. 9:24-25 & Neh. 2:1-6
• [b] Dan. 9:26 & Luke 21:20-24
• [c] Dan. 9:25-26 & Luke 19:29-40