Much of this has already been covered by myself and others who write on the topic, and much of this will not be new to many of you, but I am discovering new things myself as I go through this, and I have yet to see a condensed-yet-thourough study of Daniel's 70th week, so here goes:
In the book of Daniel, a prophecy is given which details a time-line that stretches from the declaration to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, and to build Israel's second temple, through the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and on through His second advent and the institution of His kingdom on earth.
Understanding this prophecy is critical to knowing how and when the last days before the return of the Lord will pan out, and that knowledge may be critical to full success of our work on earth in these last days. As the Lord says in
Hosea 4:6, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge". One's understanding of the prophetic significance of events unfolding around them will likely have an effect on how they react to these things. It should be our intention to understand this prophecy, at least in part, and how it may relate to the times we find ourselves in. In
Daniel 9:24-27, we read:
Da 9:24 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. 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. 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. 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. Daniel had been seeking the Lord in prayer, fasting, and he donning of sackcloth and ashes, asking for mercy upon the people of Israel, in response to reading of the seventy years of desolation prophesied in Jeremiah(see
Dan. 9:2). His confessional plea for mercy is encapsulated in
Daniel 9:16:
Da 9:16 O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. The people of Israel had fallen into great sin, and they were being chastised because of this. Their sin was so great that those around them had taken notice. He says in
Daniel 9:5-6,
Da 9:5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 6 Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. While Daniel was aware of the state of his people, he was also aware of his inability to stand on his own as a righteous man. This is made evident in
Daniel 9:18, where he says,
"for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies". In response to this heartfelt plea for mercy, Daniel may have received more than he had bargained for. The angel Gabriel was sent by the Lord to give Daniel this prophecy, which spoke of the times leading up to the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, the destruction of Jerusalem, and the events leading up to the return of our Lord, "
to bring in an everlasting righteousness"(see
Dan. 9:24) and to finally restore the Jewish people to their chosen place with God.
The time-frame is given in a series of "weeks", translated from a word that simply means "seven", and refers to groups of seven years in this context, as is shown by the amount of time between the portions that have already been fulfilled and documented. In
Daniel 9:25, we read:
Da 9:25 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. This portion of the prophecy is divided into two successive time periods. The first is the seven "weeks", or 49 years, between the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem, to it's completion. The second is the following 62 "weeks", or 434 years, between the restoration of Jerusalem, including it's temple, and the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ,
"Messiah the Prince".
The 49 years began at the second decree of Artaxerxes, giving the permission to rebuild the city walls, which his first decree did not allow for(see
Ezra 4). This second decree came on the first of Nisan, 445 BC(see
Nehemiah 2:1, knowing from history that: A. Artaxerxes reign started in 465 BC, and: B. A king's reign was traditionally dated from the first month of his reign), which would be March 14, 445 BC according to our calendar. The rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem during the following 49 years is documented in
Ezra 9 and 10, and N
eh. 4, 6, 9, and 13. These 49 years ended in 396 BC.
The next time period, spoken of as 62 "weeks"(434 years), commenced at this time. Combined with the first, this creates a time span of 483 years(49 + 434). The Jews used a 360 day calendar, so this would bring the 69 "weeks"(again, 483 years) prophesied until
"Messiah the Prince" to a total of 173,880 days, to be exact. The triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem has been calculated by Sir Robert Anderson of Scotland Yard, using astronomical calendars and charts, to be April 6, 32 AD, which is exactly 173,880 days from the first of Nisan, 445 BC. Next, in
Daniel 9:26, we read:
Da 9:26 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. The next event in the sequence is the crucifixion of Christ following the 62 "weeks", which ended with His triumphal entry. Referring to this, the Scripture says that he would be
"cut off, but not for himself". Then, we read that
"the people of the prince that shall come" would destroy
"the city and the sanctuary" of Jerusalem. This occurred in 70 AD with the incursion of Rome to the city. So far, only 69 of the prophesied 70 "weeks" have been fulfilled.
Daniel 9:27 addresses this:
Da 9:27 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. The
"he" here, by the rules of language, must refer to the last singular male person spoken of in the passage, which is the
"prince that shall come" of verse 26. Since his
"people" have already identified themselves as the people of the Roman empire, when they fulfilled the destruction of the city and the sanctuary, it follows that this prince must be of the Roman empire as well. Next, I hope to cover Daniel's description of this Roman prince, and Daniel's 70th, yet-to-be-fulfilled(see
Matt. 24:15, where Jesus synonymizes
Daniel 9:27 with His second coming) "week".
I wouldn't be able to write this without all those who have helped and encouraged my study of prophecy, and this section owes a particular debt to John MacArthur and Arno C. Gaebelein, along with those I know in person. Thanks for reading!
TO BE CONTINUED(LORD WILLING)
