DANIEL SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 9.25

Gleanings from the Book of Daniel:

A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series

 

DANIEL

Chapter Nine

The Prophecy of Seventy Weeks

 

 

Introduction

In the foregoing study, as Daniel was praying, Gabriel had established a seventy weeks-of-years chronology for the nation of Israel premised on the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy (cf. Jeremiah 25:11 and 29:10-14). He also told Daniel the precise dates of the 490-year prophetic calendar timeline …

 

 

(Verse 25)

 

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

 

The Four Decrees

Being aware that Captivity was nearing its end, it appears the chronology of God’s timetable is specifically dated. First, God told Daniel the start date when the Temple and Jerusalem would be rebuilt. And then, He provided him with a framework for the arrival of Israel’s Messiah.

 

The structure of the text points to the coming of Messiah the Prince, meaning the Anointed One. God made it clear for any student of Scripture to be aware of this event. Daniel was directed to learn, take notice, observe, and have discernment with deep consideration of this prophecy.

 

The seventy weeks or 490 years begins with the going forth of the word or command to restore the Temple and rebuild Jerusalem. This period is pictured in Daniel’s prophecy of the 4 world empires (cf. Daniel 7) known as the Times of the Gentiles.

 

Four edicts were issued, the last fits Daniel’s prophetic word:

1. Of Cyrus the Great – He issued a decree, however, it was only limited to rebuilding the Temple (cf. 2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4; 5:13-17; 6:1-5)

 

2. Of Darius the Great – He issued a decree, however, it reaffirmed Cyrus’ proclamation (cf. Ezra 6:8-12)

 

3. Of Artaxerxes Longimanus - He issued a decree, however, it also emphasized rebuilding the Temple (cf. cf. Ezra 7:11-26)

 

4. Of Artaxerxes Longimanus - He issued a second decree, this time for Nehemiah to restore the city of Jerusalem and rebuild its walls and gates as stated (cf. Nehemiah 2:1-8)

 

From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks

Prophetic Accuracy

Theoretically, several dates are possible. The starting point hinges around the precise date of Artaxerxes’ edict. But, the end date pinpoints when Messiah came, entered Jerusalem at His triumphal entry (cf. Matthew 21:8-11; John 12:12-19), and was crucified.

 

NOTE: For extensive research and calculated measurements based upon a 360-day (Jewish) lunar year reckoning, the suggested three resources are recommended:

a.  Sir Robert Anderson (of Scotland Yard), The Coming Prince (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1954).

b.  Harold W. Hoehner, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1977).

c.  www.neverthirsty.org – Prophecy of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks.

 

Unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks

Herein lays the exact statement of how many years until the coming of Messiah the Prince, i.e., the Anointed ruling One. This is a title for Jesus Christ.

 

Mathematics

Recall, Daniel is talking about a unit of sevens. One week is one year. One week of years is seven years. Seven weeks of years (7 X 7) is equivalent to 49 years when the city was rebuilt.

 

A score amounts to 20 years. So, threescore (60 years) and two weeks (2 years) totals 62 sevens or 434 years. Together, 49 years plus 434 years make up 483 years.

So, if seventy weeks of years amount to 490 years, then there is one week of years remaining (7 years). Therefore, we are living in a gap period when Messiah was crucified as Daniel prophesied in the next years.

 

The street shall be built again, and the wall

What is meant by the words street and wall cannot be ascertained. The street may be interpreted city square or plaza, namely, a broad open place in front of the Temple. Wall, on the other hand, has been translated: as a trench, ditch, moat, rampart, bulwark, or even aqueduct. 

 

Note: Although a different Hebrew word for the wall in Nehemiah, it took him 52 days for the wall of the city to be completed (cf. Nehemiah 6:15).

 

Even in troublous times

The phrase troublous times means times of distress. Nehemiah had encountered bitter opposition from those adversaries during his rebuilding program (cf. Nehemiah 4:1-23; 6:1-9).

 

 

(Verse 26)

 

And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the Sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

 

Verse 26 is packed with critical phrases pertinent to Daniel’s Seventy-Week prophecy. Seven phrases are listed as such:

1. After threescore and two weeks

2. Messiah shall be cut off

3. But not for Himself

4. The prince that shall come

5. The people…shall destroy the city and the Sanctuary

6. The end thereof shall be with a flood

7. Unto the end of the war desolations are determined

 

After threescore and two weeks

After, i.e., at the end of the two periods of 49 years and 438 years (69 weeks), and one week (7 years short of 490 years i.e., 70 weeks), there is a gap of time between verses 26 and 27.

 

The Timeline Gap

Once again, it is essential to fully understand the Seventy Weeks of Daniel’s prophecy. It does not flow consecutively through to the 70th week.

 

Between the 69^th and 70^th sets of weeks, there is an amount of time unaccounted for and not revealed to Daniel or any of the prophets (cf. Ephesians 3:1-12). This parenthetical period is known as the Church Age or the Age of Grace which is presently in progress. The 70^th week will commence following the rapture of the church.

 

Shall Messiah be cut off

Messiah Crucified

Beginning with Artaxerxes’ decree in either 444/445 B.C. (see above references), and prophetically, at the end of 69 weeks of years, the Anointed One, the Messiah will be cut off.

 

To be cut off in the Hebrew is karath, Strong’s 3772). It is widely used throughout Scripture and has several meanings: cut down, eliminate, destroy, or kill. In this case, the intent describes the violent death penalty and execution of a criminal. This is expressly described in Leviticus 7:20 and Psalm 37:9a.

 

After the 69 weeks of years (483 years) had been fulfilled, Jesus of Nazareth rode on a donkey into Jerusalem and presented Himself as Messiah on Palm Sunday (cf. Zechariah 9:9; Luke 19:37-38). So then, Israel's long-awaited Anointed One would die a criminal’s death as predicted in Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, and Daniel 9:26. This was the crucifixion of Christ.

 

But not for Himself

Other translations render this phrase shall have nothing, or but nothing against Him. The word for nothing signifies nothingness. There have been a few interpretations to determine the meaning of this obscure phrase. Two are indicated both ways:

1. Jesus died a violent death, not for Himself but a ransom for many (cf. Mark 10:45)

 

2. Jesus died having nothing:

a.  He had no place to lay His head (cf. Matthew 8:20)

b.  He had no garments - the soldiers gambled for them (cf. Luke 23:34)

c.  He had no people – His own received Him not (cf. John 1:11)

 

The prince that shall come

Antichrist Identified

There are two persons crowned with the title prince:

1. The Messiah the Prince (v. 25)

2. The prince that shall come (v. 26)

 

Opposite the Messiah in verse 25, the prince that shall come is none other than Antichrist (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 1:7). He is the little horn of Daniel 7:8 and the beast of Revelation 13:4. Interestingly, the prince Antichrist will emerge from the Revived Roman Empire (cf. Daniel 7:8, 20-21, 24-25).

 

The people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the Sanctuary

Judgment on Jerusalem

Amongst the Gentile nations of the Old Roman Empire, Antichrist will be identified with a particular people from the Revived Roman Empire in the Later Days. These people of the ruler who will come (NIV) will be directed to lay desolate Jerusalem and the Temple.

 

Less than forty years after Christ’s death, Jerusalem and its Sanctuary were destroyed by the Romans under Emperor Titus Vespasian and the Roman legions in 70 A.D. Regarding the Temple, this event was predicted by Jesus during His ministry on earth:

Matthew 24:2 - And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

 

The end thereof shall be with a flood

This phrase reads: And the end of it will be in the overflowing. In other words, the siege of Jerusalem and the Sanctuary will come with not a flood of water, but overwhelming disaster.

 

And unto the end of the war desolations are determined

There are two consequences determined or decreed by God:

1. Seventy weeks upon Israel

2. Several desolations upon Israel

 

Until the end of the Times of the Gentiles, wars, and desolations will ravage the Holy Land. It appears that repeated periods of determined wars and desolations occur between the 69^th and 70^th week of Daniel’s prophecy. Much has transpired historically since the death of Christ, including the Holocaust. But, in all probability, Daniel is also referring to the Great Tribulation before Christ's Second Coming (see Matthew 24:7-22).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

(Verse 27)

 

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

 

It is assumed the Jewish people will regain statehood. The Six-Day War of June 5-10, 1967 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states came to pass.

 

The word for he is referring back to the prince that shall come of verse 26, the Antichrist. He will be a world leader that emerges from the ten toes, i.e., the revived Roman Empire (most likely the European Union) at the beginning of the seventieth week. So, he will be the Roman ruler of the Last Days, also known as the beast in Revelation 13. And, Israel will accept him as her Messiah.

 

He shall confirm the covenant with [the] many for one week

Antichrist will make a covenant (agreement, contract, peace treaty) with the many, i.e., the nation of Israel, to be in force for seven years. This contract starts the clock for the 70th week, again, after the rapture of the church. Although it is not written, most likely it will be a non-aggression pact stipulating several provisions:

1. He will protect Israel from the surrounding Gentile nations

2. He will permit Israel to build a Temple on the Mount

3. He will allow blood sacrifices and offerings to their God Jehovah according to the Levitical system of the Mosaic Law

 

Beguilingly, it will be a false treaty. Notice how Israel’s prophet describes this type of covenant:

Isaiah 28:15a - Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement.

 

Mid-Tribulation

In the middle of the week, i.e., at the 3 ½ year mark (42 months or 1260 days; a time, times and half a time), Antichrist will break the covenant by doing two immediate things:

1. He will cause the sacrifices and worship to stop

2. He will cause the Temple to be desolate 

 

In the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease

In this clause, the rebuilt Temple is inferred. Anticipated is an altar and a Holy Place. However, the sacrifices will not be honored by God. Because, at Christ’s crucifixion, He died a sacrificial death once and for all (cf. Hebrews 9:26).

 

After 42 months, similar to the historical Antiochus Epiphanes, Antichrist, given power by Satan (cf. Revelation 13:2), will engage in an all-out war against the Jews. At this time, several things will occur:

1. He will break the covenant with Israel by stopping all the Temple ceremonies

 

2. He will proclaim himself to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:4)

 

3. He will then set up an image of himself to be worshipped as God (cf. Revelation 13:4-15)

 

According to Matthew’s Gospel, this was predicted by Christ (cf. Matthew 24:15-26).

 

And for the overspreading [wing] of abominations he shall make it desolate

The word for overspreading is wing (not a literal wing). A better translation for the first phrase is rendered: Upon the wing of abominations. In other words, there will be a large widespread abominable behavior that causes Jewish worship to be impossible. And, the Temple will become desolate as did once before.

 

There have been several alternate interpretations of the overspreading wing, as listed below:

1. It is a reference to the pinnacle of the Temple

2. It is a figure of the Antichrist swooping down on his prey

3. It is an eagle’s wing of the Roman legions 

 

And that [wrath] determined shall be poured upon the desolate

Everything is under God’s sovereign and providential control. The wrath that God has fore-ordained shall be poured out upon the desolator (Antichrist). Expressly, God has decreed that destruction be emptied upon he who makes Jerusalem desolate (cf. Revelation 16.13-17; 19:11-21).

 

The globalist system Antichrist once ruled will be completely demolished by God. Finally, the fate of the unholy trinity (Satan, Antichrist, and the false prophet), will be cast into the eternal lake of fire (cf. Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10).

 

 

One other vision of Daniel encompasses the final three chapters. It details the immediate and distant future of the nation Israel. Follow the continuing and most prophetic narrative in the book of Daniel.

 

 

QUESTIONS:

1. Why were there 4 decrees for the rebuilding program?

2. What do 62 weeks represent?

3. How many weeks of years remain on God’s timetable?

4. What is meant by Messiah being cut off?

5. At what point in time does Antichrist appear?

6. What will Antichrist do after 3 ½ years?

7. According to Daniel, does the church go through Tribulation?

 

 

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 DANIEL SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 9.24

Gleanings from the Book of Daniel:

A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series

 

DANIEL

Chapter Nine

The Prophecy of Seventy Weeks

 

 

Introduction

After the prior study, Daniel was in prayer confessing his sin and the sins of his people Israel before Almighty God. Upon reading Scripture, Daniel understood the seventy-year captivity was coming to a close as Jeremiah predicted, and that the physical and spiritual redemption of Israel was neigh.

 

As Daniel was petitioning the Lord based on His promise during the evening oblation, the archangel Gabriel swiftly appeared to Daniel before his prayer was completed and gave him an answer by way of the revelation of future events. However, Daniel was informed to pay close attention so that he completely understood the prophecy before it was recorded.

 

In Chapter 9, God had given Daniel a precise timetable specifically for the people of Judah and Israel, not the Gentiles. The prophecy of the Seventy Weeks is the apex of the book of Daniel. It has been identified by various commentators in this manner:

1. The backbone of all Bible prophecy

2. The framework by which all other prophecies are built

3. The most profound prophecy in the Word of God

4. The most incredible prophecy regarding the history of Israel ever given in the Bible

 

As early as 400 A.D. there have been many interpretations of the remaining passages in Daniel 9. Keep in mind, however, all Scripture has but one interpretation.

 

 

1. The Occasion of the Vision )Vv. 1-2)

2. The Prayer of Daniel (Vv. 3-19)

3. The Appearance of Gabriel (Vv. 20-23)

4. The Response of the Lord (Vv. 24-27)

(Verse 24)

 

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.

 

Seventy weeks

Shâbûwaʻ or šā·ḇu·‘îm is the Hebrew word for weeks. It is defined as heptad, meaning a unit of seven. It also designates a collection of seven things.

 

Accordingly, when Daniel refers to weeks, he is not referring to a seven-day week. No, he means seventy units of sevens and is talking about one week consisting of 7 years, i.e., seven weeks of years.

 

Simply illustrated: If 7 weeks of years are equal to 49 years. Subsequently, the meaning of the prophecy would factor as such:

 

70 X 7 = 490 years,

 

 

[i.e., 70 sets of 7 years enumerated totals 1290 days].

 

 

Historical Background

Borrowed from Roman culture, people think in terms of tens:

1. Ten years equals a decade

2. Ten decades equals a century

3. Ten centuries equals a millennium

 

In Hebrew antiquity, their thinking was geared toward units of sevens, namely:

1. A week of 7 days: Six days of labor and the seventh day was for rest – Called the Sabbath (cf Genesis 1:24 – 2:3; see further Exodus 16:23, 25-26; 20:8-11)

 

2. A week of 7 years: Six years of farming, and the seventh year the land was to lie fallow – Called the Sabbatical year [the  Shemittah (cf. Leviticus 25:1-7)]

 

3. A week of 7 Sabbatical years, i.e., 7 cycles of 7 years  (49 years), and the fiftieth year was called a Year of Jubilee (cf. Leviticus 25:10a, 11). It was a time of atonement.

a.  The land was to rest (cf. Leviticus 25:4)

 

b.  The appropriated property, possessions, and personal belongings were released from indebtedness (cf. Leviticus 25:35-38)

 

c.  The slaves, prisoners, and captives were to be set free (cf. Leviticus 25:39-55)

 

Time Measurement Models

Some examples in Scripture allude to the collection-of-days principle to form a unit. For instance:

1.  When the Lord God created the heavens and earth in 6 days and rested on the seventh (cf. Genesis 1), there were 7 total days of creation.

 

2. When Jacob worked for Rachael for 7 years, it was calculated one week. Laban said:

Genesis 29:27 – [To] Fulfil (finish or complete) her week (7 years), and we will give thee this [one] (Rachael) also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.

 

3. When God judged the spies for the number of days employed in spying out the land of Canaan, a day for each concept was employed:

Numbers 14:34 - After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know My breach of promise (opposition).

 

4. When Moses realized his fallen nature, he prayed for the  omnipotent God's intervention on how to apply wisdom and number his days:

Psalm 90:4 - For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.

 

5. When Peter taught about Christ’s Second Coming, he reminded them time is meaningless with God:

2 Peter 3:8 - But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

 

Analysis

Although the passage does not specifically say years, most biblical interpreters agree that weeks are years in this case and not days. And, seventy multiplied by 10 signifies God’s number of completion [see further: Revelation Simplified 4.1.A.Introduction, Seven Dispensations].

 

Seventy Years of God’s Punishment

As a reminder, the passages below determined the 70 years of the nation Israel’s captivity.

God’s Initial warning to Israel for disobedience:

Leviticus 26:34-35 - Then shall the land enjoy her Sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her Sabbaths. As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your Sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.

 

God’s punishment of captivity for Israel’s disobedience:

2 Chronicles 36:20-21 - And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years (70 years).

 

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city

The word for determined in Hebrew (charats, Strong’s 2782) may be defined as come to pass, or cannot change. However, in this context, it is taken from the verb to decide, move, decree, or allot (RSV).

 

Hence, 70 weeks or 490 years are decreed upon:

1. The nation of Israel

All prophecies contained in Daniel 2, 7, and 8 are directed toward Gentile nations.

 

2. The capital city of Israel

Even as it lies in ruins (v. 20), Jerusalem is set apart (made holy) in the heart of God.

 

This is all part of a universal special burden executed by God that must befall before Messiah comes (presently at His Second Advent).

 

To finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy

Six Aspects of God’s Redemptive Plan

Daniel next proceeds to enumerate six objectives God will accomplish during the projected 490 years:

1. To finish the transgression

God intends to bring an end to all national Israel’s rebellion against Him on earth. Their future rejection of Jesus as Messiah is included as well.

Zechariah 12:10 - And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn (NKJV).

 

2. To make an end to sins

Similar to the prior objective, God will seal up or eliminate sins (plural), wickedness from His sight, and human failure to obey Him.

Ezekiel 37:23 - Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be My people, and I will be their God.

 

3. To make reconciliation for iniquity

Reconciliation speaks of atonement (cleanse, forgive, pardon) or the expiation of wickedness. This purpose is also twofold, i.e., the historical as well as its eschatological fulfillment: (1). Christ reconciled the world to Himself (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:19), and ultimately (2) at the Second Coming when sin, death, and Satan are no more (cf. Revelation 20:14).

 

4. To bring in everlasting righteousness

First, an age characterized by Christ’s righteousness will be eternally established:

Psalm 85:11, 13 - Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from heaven…Righteousness shall go before Him; and shall set us in the way of His steps.

 

And secondly, God’s righteousness will be visible on earth:

Jeremiah 31:31, 34b - Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:…for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

 

5. To seal up the vision and prophecy

Once the Kingdom of God is established, God’s revelations will no longer be needed. All visual and oral prophecies will be fulfilled.

 

6. To anoint the Most Holy

The term Most Holy is mentioned 39 times in the Old Testament and it is always concerning the Holy of Holies of the Tabernacle and Temple. Although Zerubbabel’s Temple was historically consecrated, the Millennial Temple is the one with which it is pointing in this context (cf. Ezekiel 40 - 46).

 

So, in these six aspects, God reveals mankind will be completely redeemed and restored. It historically indicated Christ’s redemptive work on the cross, and prophetically announces everlasting shalom and righteousness. Above all, the New Jerusalem shall be established as a place for God’s eternal glory following the seventy weeks of years, i.e., the final Jubilee!

 

 

The following study, Daniel 9:25-27, will delve into the Antichrist, the destruction of the Temple, and the Great Tribulation Period.

 

 

QUESTIONS:

1. How are seventy weeks determined?

2. How many days/years comprise 70 weeks?

3. To whom or what are the 70 weeks determined?

4. What are some elements of God’s redemptive plan?

5. What is meant by: to seal up the prophecy?

6. What is meant by the Most Holy?

7. [Not in notes] Is God’s plan exclusively for the Jews?

 

 

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