Daniel's Seventy Weeks
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. 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. 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. 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. (Daniel 9:24-27 KJV)
The Famous 70 weeks of Daniel. Even people knowing nothing else of the book have heard of this passage. It’s vital to understand this section before you get to Revelation or you’ll be completely lost; Matthew underscores the importance of the prophecy as it’s specifically called out for understanding.
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand) (Matt 24:15 KJV)
This passage provides the framework to understanding all unfulfilled prophecy. If you follow this, the remainder falls into place, while failure to understand this prophecy causes many problems relating the church and the Jews, the tribulation and the church, and so on.
First note the implicit technology — when you see. We immediately take that for granted, but prior to satellite TV, only a few could see the Holy Place at once, while these events will be broadcast world-wide. It’s only recently (last 30 years or so) where such technology existed for the whole world to watch events unfold live.
A few quick remarks to help avoid lots of bad information, and which should be obvious from even a casual reading (though surprisingly many miss):
- It’s about the Jews, not the church. It’s Daniel’s people (the Jews) and their Holy City (Jerusalem).
- It hasn’t happened yet. The end of sin, everlasting righteousness, and so on. Some attempt to claim a previous fulfillment, but then we must have missed the end of sin and the beginning of everlasting righteousness.
- The 70 weeks are not continuous. A gap appears between the 69th week and the 70th week.
- Revelation details the 70th week (mainly chapters 6-19).
Just keeping a few obvious things in mind helps avoid pitfalls and puts you ahead of many scholars who don’t really read the book.
You’ll notice God deals with the church and Jews separately. Before Jesus, God dealt with the Jews (Gentiles were only included if they became a Jew). Since Jesus’ death and resurrection, God dealt with the Gentiles. This leads some to believe God abandoned the Jews, and their promises are now bestowed on the church.
Nonsense — God’s promises to Abraham in Genesis are unconditional and irrevocable; the Jewish people still have a destiny to be fulfilled. Don’t make the mistake the Jews aren’t important anymore, or God’s promises to them have now fallen on the church. That’s a tragic error, and the cause of much persecution of the Jewish people. More importantly, it’s simply not true.
We’ll break the prophecy down into a few sections:
- V24 — Overview.
- V25 — The 69 weeks (complete).
- V26a — The Messiah.
- V26b — The interval between week 69 and 70 (where we’re currently at).
- V27 — The final week (still future, but detailed in Revelation).
The Overview (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. (Daniel 9:24 KJV)
As noted, it’s obvious this prophecy concerns the Jews and Jerusalem, not the Church; the Church and the Jews are distinct and separate. Second, while history records the fulfillment of parts of the prophecy, parts are still yet future. Obviously, an end of sin hasn’t occurred, nor everlasting righteousness.
But what are the seventy weeks? The Hebrew says seventy sevens, and it’s translated weeks. Similar to our use of decade (meaning 10 years), in this context the Hebrew clearly implies a week means 7 years. One thing you must note; Bible prophecy uses 360 day years. Why exactly isn’t important, but if you’re going to try to calculate this yourself you can’t use the current 365 day calendar.
But it does represent a literal period of time — it’s not an allegory and must be understood to be literal. To jump ahead a bit, several allusions to the 70th week appear elsewhere in the bible, each describing the time involved a bit differently, yet equally.
- 42 months — Revelation 11:2,13:5
- 1,260 days — Revelation 11:3,12:6
- Half of one week (literally “sevens”) — Daniel 9:27
- Times, time and half a time (3 1/2 years) — Daniel 12:7
Notice that 1260 divided by 3.5 = 360 — so a year in the Bible is 360 days.
Chuck Missler notes all ancient calendars changed in about 700BC from 360 days to the current 365 1/4 days, although each did it differently. Why the change occurred is historically interesting, but not important here, and is left as an exercise for the interested reader.
The 69 Weeks
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. (Daniel 9:25 KJV)
For most of this discussion, we’re going to use Sir Robert Anderson’s work “The Coming Prince”, cited by Chuck Missler, J Vernon McGee, and others (no we didn’t do all this work ourselves).
First off, notice it’s a prediction, and it has a starting event, mathematical number, and a terminating event. This should be easy to verify or disprove for critics. In fact, it’s the exact nature of this prophecy (and others in Daniel) leading skeptics to late date the book by someone other than Daniel. The research is on shaky ground, but the presumption is God doesn’t exist, therefore prophecy doesn’t exist, thus it’s impossible for Daniel to have known the future with such precision.
But notice Daniel’s error is zero. Compare that to the prophets you’ll find in the National Enquirer who have great accolades heaped on them if they get it half right. Compare to the Bible prophets who were correct 100% of the time, and would be stoned if something uttered failed to come true — the yardstick for prophets of God is 100% accuracy, all the time.
But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously; thou shalt not be afraid of him. (Deuteronomy 18:20-22 KJV)
Let’s break down the 69 weeks for further analysis:
- START: from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem.
- NUMBER: There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.
- FINAL EVENT: Until Messiah the Prince.
So lets figure this out. First, when did this start? Perhaps your Bible mentions 3 possibilities for this starting event (actually, there are 4).
- Cyrus in Ezra 1:1-4 (First year of Cyrus)
- Darius in Ezra 6:1-12 (First year of Darius)
- Artaxerxes in Ezra 7:11-26 (Seventh year Artaxerxes)
- Artaxerxes in Nehemiah 2:1-8 (Twentieth year Artaxerxes)
So which is it? Go back to the text to get one more clue “The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times”. Only Nehemiah mentions the wall, and that decree occurred in 445 BC in the month of Nisan. Notice how simple Bible prophecy becomes when you just take what it says as what it means? Imagine all the problems we’d have if we tried to allegorize it. Just take it as it says and you’ll be fine.
Mark Eastman in his book “The Search for Messiah” states it’s Hebrew tradition when the day of month isn’t mentioned specifically it means the first day[1]. According to Nehemiah, the starting point is the first of Nisan in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes.
So we have a starting point — the interval is easy as 69 weeks of 360 day years is 173,880 days. What’s the final event? Until the coming of the Jewish Messiah. And that’s the whole prophecy.
If you do the calendar work, from Nisan 445BC to the tenth of Nisan 32 AD is 173,880 days[2]. You know this as April 6, 32AD. So What? The significance of this comes from Jesus himself, after the events of what we call Palm Sunday, as He weeps over the city.
And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. (Luke 19:41-44 KJV)
As you read the Gospels, you’ll notice a few times the crowd tries to make him King, but he slips away, saying My time has not yet come. Yet this specific day, he not only allowed it, he arranged it. Why? It’s the exact day from the prophecy in Daniel.
Jesus held them accountable to know. The prophecy isn’t hard to understand, and if we can figure out the events thousands of years later, the Jews certainly should have understood. It’s not allegorical or theoretical; the creator of the universe holds people accountable to what He’s said.
Something else is going on on why the Jews missed it.
The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. (Genesis 49:10 KJV)
To distill all that, it means the Jews would not have capital punishment taken away from them until the Messiah comes. And as Rome takes over Israel, the Jewish leaders lament, for they think the scripture has been broken. Yet they did not know about a young boy growing up among them in a local town; the Jewish leaders believed God’s word had been broken.
They imposed presuppositions to the text, and possibly for that, missed their messiah. Don’t do that. Don’t force your ideas on the Bible. God sometimes does things a little strange, at least the way we see it. But the prophecy is clear — “Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets” (Amos 3:7 KJV).
OK, you’re a skeptic. Let’s look at it another way, as Mark Eastman[3] notes the following. Luke chapter three states Jesus’ baptism occurs in the fifteenth year of Tiberius. Tiberius’s reign began on Aug 19 14AD, so Jesus’ first passover would have been spring AD29. Most believe Jesus’ ministry was 3 1/2 years, so the fourth would have been 32AD. And in 32AD, the Sunday before Passover that year was April 6, 32AD, the same day given to Daniel (what a coincidence!).
So that’s verse 25. So far it’s been simple. But once you get there, what happens?
The Messiah
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself (Daniel 9:26a KJV)
After sixty-two weeks is same as after the 69 weeks (as it’s 7 + 62). After that period of time the Messiah shall be cut off (which means executed). But not for Himself (substitution); of course Jesus Himself was innocent, He paid the price for my sin, not His (He was sinless). Chuck Missler examines the gospel according to Barabbas:[4]
The substitution of Barabbas over Jesus before Pilate on that fateful day has profound implications for each of us. It is illuminating to examine the contrast between the two accused more closely:
- Barabbas stood under the righteous condemnation of the law.
- Barabbas knew the One who was to take his cross and take his place was innocent.
- Barabbas knew that Jesus Christ was for him a true substitute.
- Barabbas knew that he had done nothing to merit going free while another took his place.
- Barabbas knew Christ’s death was for him perfectly efficacious.
Barabbas and Jesus changed places! “The murderer’s bonds, curse, disgrace, and mortal agony were transferred to the righteous Jesus; while the liberty, innocence, safety, and well-being of the immaculate Nazarene became the lot of the murderer.
The Interval
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. (Daniel 9:26b KJV)
How do we know an interval exists between 69th and 70th week? Carefully read the passage again, “the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary”. The prince who is to come refers to Antichrist, and his people (the Romans) destroyed Jerusalem in 70AD as a historical event. So we know by history the interval was at least from 32AD to 70AD, and by real experience it’s been about 2,000 years.
But the 70th week draws near.
Back to what we started with, as this passage concerns the Jews, not the church. What happens in the 70th week? You’ll find out in Revelation chapters 6-19. But here’s what Daniel says about that period.
The 70th Week
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. (Daniel 9:27 KJV)
He is “the price who is to come”, the anti-christ. He shall enforce an agreement with Israel (whether he makes the agreement itself is debatable), but in the middle of the period he breaks the covenant, committing the abomination which causes desolation — it’s at that point the Jews realize their mistake. The book of Revelation expands on the 70th week if you’re interested.
Conclusion
History records the fulfillment of the first 69 weeks perfectly, do you have any doubt the 70th week will be? This passage poses no problems if you take it as it reads, and not try to allegorize it. The events are sure — but where is United States in the end times? It’s not mentioned much in Bible. Why not?
Society continues to degrade — Robert Bork wrote a book called “Slouching toward Gomorrah”, and the title itself is provocative as we head toward value relativism and moral relativism, losing the moral absolutes of God’s word in all corners of society. Schools fail to teach, turning out people ignorant of basic skills which makes them easy pickings for anyone desiring to subvert the truth; consider a recent bizarre Texas court decision.
Texas law allows the killing of a fetus to be prosecuted as murder, regardless of the stage of development, but the laws do not apply to abortions, the states’ highest criminal court has ruled … The Texas court said abortion precedent was based on the premise that a woman wants the procedure.[5]
First situational ethics, now situational murder. It’s based on the idea the woman wants to kill her baby. If she wants to kill her baby, it’s not murder (George Orwell would be proud as we’ve now called bad good, and good bad). If she doesn’t want to kill her baby, it’s murder. We’re rapidly slouching back toward the time of Judges, where “everyone did what was right in their own eyes”, and moral absolutes become lost in a sea of relativism.
Some say the situation is hopeless, yet Nineveh was 40 days from destruction and turned it around. Since the United States isn’t in prophecy we don’t know the end; it’s possible to change course. The problem does not lie with the congress or president, it’s us; the politicians are our employees, we put them in office, and by our votes we can remove them.
If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV)
We will be held accountable as stewards for the republic; we hired the guys leading the county. If they be Godly men, it’s because we demanded it to be so. It’s not about advocating for a political party, but principles. Find out what the candidates believe, and support those holding biblical principles.
And of the children of Issachar, who were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; (1 Chronicles 12:32 KJV)
[1]http://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mark_eastman/messiah/sfm_06.html
[2]McGee page 588
[3]http://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mark_eastman/messiah/sfm_06.html
[4]http://www.khouse.org/articles/2000/217/
[5]http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/23/us/23texas.html