Part Two – 70 Weeks of Prophecy – Daniel 9:20-27

Daniel’s study of Jeremiah’s prophecy and his sincere, humble response through prayer is going to be blessed with a greater understanding of what God is going to be doing with Israel and the world.

“…Understand the matter, consider the vision.” – Daniel 9:23 b cp. vs. 1-2; Jeremiah 25:8-14

“Seventy Weeks are determined…” – Daniel 9:24

• The Hebrew word means “Seventy Sevens.” The number 7 is very significant to Israel:

  7 days = a Sabbath of Days – Man & Beast could rest. Exodus 23:12

  7 years = a Sabbath of Years – The Land could rest. Leviticus 25:1-7

  (Note: For each year that Israel broke this law of Sabbath rest for the land,
  God gave Israel a year of captivity cp. II Chronicles 36:20-21 cp. Leviticus 26:33-35)

  7 Sabbath years = a Sabbath of Sabbaths
       – The Nation could rest. Leviticus 25:8-17
         (This is the 50th year of Jubilee: Leviticus 25:8-55; 27:14-24.)

• Seventy 7-year periods (490 years) = God prepares Israel to receive Messiah. Daniel 9:24
  u Messiah is The Ultimate Rest:

  Personal Salvation – Now (Matthew 11:28-30; Hebrews 4:10-11; 9:14-15, 27-28; Romans 5:1)

  Millennial Kingdom (Zechariah 12:9-10; Isaiah 11:1-10; 61:1-11)

  u 490 years of prophecy pertaining to the people of Israel and the city of Jerusalem
  (note “thy” or “your” – Daniel 9:24 cp. vs. 20).
  • Correcting sins
  • Reconciliation for sins
  • Establishing righteousness
  • Fulfillment of prophecy / promises to Israel
  • Anointing The Most Holy:
    1. The Temple at Jerusalem (Holy of Holies)
    2. Christ ruling all nations from that Temple (Ezekiel 40-48).
  Note: Daniel 9:25 – “Messiah the Prince.”

Starting Point: “…From the going forth of the Commandment / Decree…” – Daniel 9:25

• The decree, that allows the Jews to return to Israel and rebuild their city, starts the 490 year period. This is done by Artaxerxes in 445 B.C. See Nehemiah 2:1-8.
• The street and wall shall be built in troublous times. See Nehemiah 2:9-20.
• Artaxerxes made his decree about 100 years after Daniel received this information. Daniel could not have influenced Artaxerxes.

  Note: Four different decrees pertaining to Jerusalem being rebuilt: Cyrus (Ezra 1:4-6); Darius Hystaspes (Ezra 6:1-12); Artaxerxes (Ezra 7:1,6-26,27-28). These all were decrees to rebuild the temple. Nehemiah 2:1-8 was Artaxerxes’ decree to rebuild the walls.

  Note: The 490 year period begins with a decree. It will also end with a decree. At the end, Antichrist shall make a covenant with Israel at the beginning of The Great Tribulation (Daniel 9:26b – 27 cp. John 5:43). Study Revelation 6 – 19 for details about the Great Tribulation.

The Odd Equation: Why add 7+62+1 to get 70? – Daniel 9:24-27

• In verse 24, the word “weeks” actually means “sevens.” It represents a seven year period.
• You start with 7 (7x7 = 49). That’s how many years it took to rebuild Jerusalem (Read Nehemiah).
• Add 62 (7x62 = 434). This is the time from the rebuilding of Jerusalem till the coming of the Messiah on Palm Sunday. (Read The Coming Prince by Sir Robert Anderson – Kregel Publications).
• Add 1 more (1x7 = 7). That is the time of the seven-year Great Tribulation, which is ended by the second coming of Christ, who will destroy the Antichrist and rule the world from the temple of Jerusalem (Daniel 9:27 cp. Ezekiel 40 – 48; Revelation 19:11 – 20:6).

  Note: Does God ever describe events with large gaps of time between them?

u Isaiah 9:6
“...A child is born...a son is given…” describes His first coming.
“...The government shall be upon his shoulder...” describes His second coming.

u Isaiah 61:1-3, etc.
In Luke 4:16-21, Christ closed the book in the middle of the second verse.
“…The acceptable year of the LORD…” describes His first coming.
“…The day of vengeance of our God…” describes His second coming.

uZechariah 9:1-8 (The conquest of Alexander the Great)
vs. 9 (Christ’s triumphal entry / Palm Sunday cp. Matthew 21:1-11, especially vs. 9), vs. 10 (Christ speaks peace unto the Gentiles / His world-wide dominion).

• Daniel’s 70 weeks, therefore are not a continuous chronology. It is a diagram of 3 large events that must precede the rule of Messiah over Israel and over the entire world. Note Daniel 9:26 (Hebrew) “And after the sixty two weeks...”
• This strange gap between week 69 and 70 has been a mystery and frustration to many. Since the gap represents the Church Age, it makes sense that the church, the body of Christ is described as a mystery (Ephesians 3:1-12 cp. 2:11-22; 5:32).

“…The prince that shall come…” – Daniel 9:26-27

• He is not “…Messiah the Prince…” in verse 25. He is another prince.
• He is the Prince of the people who shall destroy Jerusalem and the temple. Those people, of course, are the Romans, whose army, besieged and destroyed Jerusalem, along with the temple, under the leadership of General Titus in 70 A.D. However, Titus is not the Prince.
• The Prince that shall come is The Anti-Christ, who will appear long after the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. He is one of the toes of Daniel 2:31-34, 41-43. He is the little horn of Daniel 7:7-11, 19-26. He is the blasphemous and fierce king of Daniel 8:23-25. He is the one who makes desolate (Greek – Daniel 9:27).
• His Kingdom shall last seven years (“one week” - Daniel 9:27). Study Revelation 6-19.

  u Revelation 6:1-2 (3 ½ years of false peace)
  u Revelation 11:1-2 (3 ½ years of betrayal, causing persecution against Israel).

• The prophetic clock stopped with the crucifixion of Christ (“...Messiah [shall] be cut off...”). When the Antichrist makes a 7 year treaty with Israel the prophetic clock resumes.
• What happened in 70 A.D. (Roman Empire = iron legs of Daniel 2:31-45) is only a foretaste of the destruction that shall come upon Jerusalem at the end, by a restored Roman Empire (feet of iron and clay) under the leadership of the Antichrist.

  Note: Prior to May 14, 1948 (when Israel was restored as a nation) many thought that A.D. 70 was the complete fulfillment of Daniel 9:26-27. Many still think this way (Amillennial view). If you focus on the final expectations of this prophecy in Daniel 9:24 you cannot find total fulfillment in the events of A.D. 70 – which occurred thirty seven years after Messiah’s crucifixion, not seven.

• Vs. 26 – “...and unto the end of the war [Hebrew –“until the end shall be war...” cp. Matthew 24:6] desolations [ruins] are determined.”

  This implies continual war, strife and suffering for Israel (Deuteronomy 28-29; Psalm 83). In Ezekiel 38-39 nations from the north (Russia and Muslim nations?) shall invade Israel and be defeated by God directly. Note: this is the battle of Gog and Magog – not the battle of Armageddon). Scholars have different views on when this battle takes place (near the time of the Rapture, or sometime during the first half of the Tribulation period). It is either a motivation for Israel to make the covenant with Anti-Christ at the beginning of the 7-year period. Or, it is a motivation for Antichrist to betray Israel in the middle of the 7-year period (Since the Northern threat is gone).

  Do not confuse this with another battle involving Gog and Magog at the end of the Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20:7-9). “Gog” is probably not a proper name. Rather, it is a title of a leader and “Magog” refers to a region, describing Gog’s domain.

• When The Antichrist breaks his treaty with Israel, in the middle of the 7 year period, he will stop the proper temple worship and cause the world to worship him instead of God.
  Note: Revelation 6:1-8; 11:1-2 correlate with Matthew 24:15-28; II Thessalonians 2:1-12. See also Revelation 13:1-10; 17:1-18.
• The Antichrist will be defeated by Christ, personally, at The Battle of Armageddon. See Revelation 19:11-21 cp. Daniel 2:34-35,43-45; 7:9-14, 19-27; 8:23-25 (note 8:25 “broken without hand”) cp. Matthew 24:29-51; Revelation 18. After the defeat of The Antichrist, Christ will begin His thousand year reign (Revelation 20:1-6).

Daniel 9:26 tells us that “…Messiah [shall] be cut off, but not for himself (i.e. he shall have nothing). Messiah is to receive His Kingdom on earth (Isaiah 9:6-7; Micah 4:1-8; Luke 11:19-28), but that time has not come yet (Luke 1:67-79; Matthew 19:27-29; Acts 1:6-8). The 70 weeks must all be fulfilled. Then Messiah will rule on earth (Revelation 11:15).

For further detailed study on the Seventy Weeks of Daniel read Daniel’s Prophecy of the 70 Weeks by Alva J. McClain (BMH Books – 2007). Godly scholars disagree about this great pivotal passage in Scripture. The complications of changing calendars, leap years, etc. has made this a subject of great debate. Alva J. McClain’s 73-page booklet has done a good job of trying to clear things up. On pages 12-13 there is a list of 9 clear points that will help us to grasp the basic interpretation of this prophecy.

A more complete bibliography will be supplied at the end of this study of the book of Daniel.