6. What does Paul refer to when he writes that God sent His Son to earth in “the fullness of time” (Galatians 4:4)?
In an amazingly accurate time prophecy made by the prophet Daniel more than five centuries before the birth of Jesus, God prophesied the exact beginning of Christ’s ministry and the time of His death and resurrection. Using the biblical principle that a day in prophetic time equals a literal year (Numbers 14:34; Ezekiel 4:6), the 70 weeks of Daniel 9:24, 25 represent 490 literal years. This time was allotted to the Jews to fulfill God’s purpose as His witness to the world through repentance and ultimate acceptance of Jesus as Messiah.JTL10 3.8
The 70 weeks began with “the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem” issued in 457 BC. At the end of 69 of these prophetic weeks, Messiah would appear—and indeed, Jesus was baptized and began His public ministry in AD 27.JTL10 4.1
In the middle of the 70th week, the Messiah was “cut off, but not for Himself” (Daniel 9:26). This represented Jesus’ death in AD 31. Because all the Old Testament offerings and sacrifices pointed forward to the death of the Messiah, the entire system of sacrifices ceased at His death—shown by the veil of the Temple in Jerusalem being supernaturally “torn in two from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51).JTL10 4.2
The stoning of Stephen, the conversion of Saul (who became Paul), and the beginning of the preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles in AD 34 marked the end of the probationary 70 weeks of years allocated to the Jews to collectively as a nation accept Christ as Messiah. This incredibly precise prophecy gives one of the strongest evidences of the fundamental historic truth that Jesus Christ is the long-predicted Savior of the world.JTL10 4.3