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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