What does Daniel 9:25 mean?
Gabriel (Daniel 9:21–23) is giving Daniel (Daniel 9:1–3) further information about the fate of the nation of Israel. Here, Gabriel refers to a period of seven "weeks," and then a period of sixty-two "weeks." These are described using a term that literally means "group of seven." Daniel's perception of these counts corresponds to prophetic years.Gabriel speaks of a command issued to rebuild Jerusalem. This decree is used as the starting point for a countdown to the arrival of an "anointed one." The word used here is the Hebrew term Mashiyach, from which we transliterate the English term "Messiah." This Prince and Anointed One is Jesus Christ; Gabriel is giving a prediction of when Jesus will appear in world history.
Persian rulers issued four major edicts regarding the Israeli exiles. First was Cyrus in 538 BC, and second was Darius in 520 BC. These were regarding restoration of the temple in Jerusalem. The third edict was from Artaxerxes Longimanus in 457 BC, about payments related to sacrifices in the temple.
The fourth decree, also by Artaxerxes, is dated to March 4, 444 BC. This established the right of Israel to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:1–8). Scholars have spent considerable time debating precisely what was meant. An especially interesting calculation notes that sixty-nine "sevens" equals 483. Using prophetic "years" of 360 days—twelve months of thirty days—corresponds to 173,880 total days. Counting forward that exact number of days from Artaxerxes' proclamation lands on March 30, AD 33; this may correspond to the exact date of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21:9–11). Prior to then, Jesus resisted public identification as the Messiah, but from that date on, He embraced the title. Whether or not this is the exact meaning of the prophecy, it demonstrates a connection between Gabriel's words and the historical moment Jesus Christ openly "arrived" as Messiah.
The following verse (Daniel 9:26) continues to predict events we now know as history. Jesus, the "anointed one," would be "cut off" (Mathew 16:21; Luke 18:31–33). After this, the city would experience desolation and ruin, partly fulfilled in the Roman obliteration of Jerusalem in AD 70. The rest of these events are reserved for the end times.