The phrase 'unto the Messiah the Prince' in verse 25 is referring to the 'arrival' of Jesus (as being identified as the Messiah) during the First Coming of Christ.
Wasn't He identified as the
"Christ" [i.e. Messiah] some
30 years earlier, in the passages below:
-- Luke 2:8-19 :
8And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
9And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12And this
shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
15And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
17And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19But Mary kept all these things, and pondered
them in her heart.
-- Luke 2:25-28 :
25And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name
was Simeon; and the same man
was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him.
26And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that
he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,
28Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,
-- Matthew 2:1-11, when the Magi came [even]
later :
1Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
3When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4And
when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together,
he demanded of them where [the] Christ should be born. [
https://biblehub.com/text/matthew/2-4.htm ]
5And they said unto him,
In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6And thou Bethlehem,
in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda:
for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. ["
out of thee"... see the wording in Micah 5:2, "
out of thee shall he
come forth unto Me
that is to be ruler in Israel..."]
7Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
8And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found
him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
9When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
Now, I am
not saying that THIS [any of these ^ passages] is when the "69 Weeks" were concluded;
I'm just making the point that He was
identified as the
Christ [/Messiah] some 30 years prior to His baptism;
...and, like I had stated in a previous post, regarding that baptism event, Dan9:25 just says "unto the Messiah the Prince," it doesn't saying "unto [the point] when His
anointing takes place" or "unto His
anointING [action]" (as though the event of His baptism is what the time-prophecy pointed to... I disagree that it is; Again, I do believe that the time-prophecy in Dan9:24-27 says, "____ are DETERMINED UPON "thy [Daniel's] people"... "AND UPON thy [Daniel's] holy city"... and the passages I placed in previous posts tie that all together perfectly, as well as "fitting" / connecting "time-wise," precisely... in many ways...)
