Daniel 9:25: "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble." This tells us that the 70 "weeks" will begin when a decree is issued to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. According to The Bible Knowledge Commentary (Walvoord and Zuck, Dallas Theological Seminary, p.1362), there were four decrees issued in the Old Testament in reference to the Jews. The first of these decrees was issued by Cyrus in 538 B.C., and it is recorded in 2 Chronicles 36:23 and Ezra 1:2. However, that decree was only for rebuilding the temple, not for restoring and rebuilding the city of Jerusalem. Darius I also decreed a rebuilding of the temple in 520 B.C., but this was simply a confirmation of Cyrus' decree (see Ezra 6:6-13). The third decree was issued by Artaxerxes Longimanus in 458 B.C. (see Ezra 7:11-26), but it related specifically to finances for animal sacrifices at the temple. None of these decrees said anything about rebuilding the actual city of Jerusalem, which is what the angel Gabriel had prophesied. The decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (in Daniel's prophecy) was issued by Artaxerxes Longimanus in 445 (or 444) B.C. (see Nehemiah 2:1-8). Therefore, the starting date for the 70 "weeks" is accepted by many scholars as being 445 (or 444) B.C., when the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem was issued in fulfillment of Daniel 9:25 (above). The angel Gabriel had said that from the issuing of this decree until the Anointed One comes (i.e. the Messiah - see Luke 4:18, Acts 4:27, 10:38), there will be 7 "weeks" plus 62 "weeks" (483 years). If we start with 445 (or 444) B.C. and we add 483 years, taking into account the Jewish lunar calendar, this brings us right up to the Triumphal Entry where Jesus officially entered Jerusalem as the Messiah, riding on a donkey. For a detailed description of the math involved, see The Bible Knowledge Commentary (Walvoord and Zuck, p.1363), or The Footsteps of the Messiah (Dr. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, p.131), or Major Bible Prophecies (John Walvoord, chapter 16), or other books on Bible prophecy. When Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey, Bible scholars refer to this as "the Triumphal Entry" because Jesus was officially presenting Himself to Israel as the Messiah by fulfilling a prophecy of the Messiah in Zechariah 9:9: "The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!" Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, "Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey's colt." [Zechariah 9:9]. At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him." (John 12:12-16) These actions by the Jews and these shouts of greeting had been prophesied concerning the long-awaited Messiah (see for example Zechariah 9:9 and Psalm 118:22-27), which tells us that the crowd was greeting Jesus as the Messiah. So at the end of the 69th "week," Jesus was officially entering Jerusalem as "the Anointed One," right on schedule (in the Greek, the word "Christ" means "Anointed," according to Strong's Greek Dictionary). The angel Gabriel's prophecy to Daniel was literally and accurately fulfilled at that moment, and the 69 "weeks" of Daniel 9:25 (above) had come to an end. This means that there was one more "week" (7 more years) left to go until Israel's sins would be completely removed for all time.