DANIEL Ch 9:- THE SEVENTY WEEKS OF ISRAEL'S HISTORY.
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BOOKS: - Sir Robert Anderson - The Coming Prince.
H. Grattan Guinness - Light for the Last Days.
Author’s Note:
The following Bible study is one I did several years ago. Basically it is a summary of Sir Robert Anderson’s book, The Coming Prince. Anderson was a keen Bible student as well as being a noted astronomer and mathematician. All dates and calculations in his book were checked by his colleagues at the Royal Observatory in England.
After the summary of Anderson’s work I will give a brief summary of an alternative viewpoint by H. Grattan Guinness from his book “Light for the last Days”. I shall give some reasons why I think Guinness’ work is flawed.
Both of these books can be Googled and either downloaded or read on line. So if you find this interesting I recommend you do read the original texts. Guinness’ book has a vast treasury of other valuable insights that you will find fascinating – so even though I disagree with him on his interpretation of this point I recommend you read his work. It is outstanding.
Over the years I have entered into debates on the net with other points of view on this subject. There seems to be a multitude of opinions on exactly how this passage in Daniel has worked out. I cannot remember all of the approaches so I will not cover them here – most of them were highly personal opinions that did not seem to be rooted in historical data. The advantage of Anderson’s work is the exactness of his historical dating, and this is confirmed by the Royal Observatory – a highly respected secular institution.
DAN 9:1 In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who
was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom-
DAN 9:2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the
Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the
prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.
DAN 9:3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and
petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.
DAN 9:4 I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed: "O Lord, the great and
awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands,
DAN 9:5 we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have
rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws.
DAN 9:6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in
your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people
of the land.
DAN 9:7 "Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame-
the men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far,
in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our
unfaithfulness to you.
DAN 9:8 O LORD, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered
with shame because we have sinned against you.
DAN 9:9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have
rebelled against him;
DAN 9:10 we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us
through his servants the prophets.
DAN 9:11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to
obey you. "Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of
Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have
sinned against you.
DAN 9:12 You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our
rulers by bringing upon us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing
has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem.
DAN 9:13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has
come upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by
turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth.
DAN 9:14 The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster upon us, for the
LORD our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed
him.
DAN 9:15 "Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a
mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we
have sinned, we have done wrong.
DAN 9:16 O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your
anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins
and the iniquities of our fathers have made Jerusalem and your people an
object of scorn to all those around us.
DAN 9:17 "Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For
your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary.
DAN 9:18 Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation
of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we
are righteous, but because of your great mercy.
DAN 9:19 O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your
sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your
Name."
DAN 9:20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of
my people Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy
hill-
DAN 9:21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the
earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening
sacrifice.
DAN 9:22 He instructed me and said to me, "Daniel, I have now come to give
you insight and understanding.
DAN 9:23 As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have
come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the
message and understand the vision:
DAN 9:24 "Seventy `sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city
to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to
bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to
anoint the most holy.
DAN 9:25 "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to
restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes,
there will be seven `sevens,' and sixty-two `sevens.' It will be rebuilt
with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.
DAN 9:26 After the sixty-two `sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and
will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the
city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue
until the end, and desolations have been decreed.
DAN 9:27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one `seven.' In the
middle of the `seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on
a wing [of the temple] he will set up an abomination that causes
desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."
INTRODUCTION.
v1- "In the first year of Darius".
The identity of Darius has been questioned here, but this statement is now thought to be correct.
Persian inscriptions tell us that "Gobryas appointed the governors and prefects" (Annalistic Tablet of Cyrus).
Gobryas is identified as a prince of the Median royal house, who was governor in Media and viceroy when Media was reduced to a province. Inscriptions tell us that he was in charge of Babylon after Media annexed Babylon and that he returned from Babylon to Ecbanta and took his archives of his short reign in Babylon with him. Hence the statement in Ezra 4:2 makes sense.
If Gobryas is Darius then the Bible is correct, and this seems likely as it was not uncommon for kings to have several names.
Darius was the chief general of the Medo-Persian armies, led by the Emperor Cyrus, the Mede. Darius led the army on its invasion of Babylon in 538 BC and took over as acting ruler for several months until Cyrus came and formally took control. Later, on the death of Cyrus, Darius became overall emperor of the Medo-Persian Empire.
Hence this verse refers to Darius' temporary rule in Babylon, immediately after the conquest.
v2 "according to the word of Jeremiah the Prophet".
Historical Background:
When Israel took the land of Canaan, God told them to allow every seventh year as a Sabbath for the land. They were not allowed to plant crops in that year.
Leviticus 25:1-7.
LEV 25:1 The LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai,
LEV 25:2 "Speak to the Israelites and say to them: `When you enter the land
I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the LORD.
LEV 25:3 For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your
vineyards and gather their crops.
LEV 25:4 But in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest, a
sabbath to the LORD. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards.
LEV 25:5 Do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the grapes of your
untended vines. The land is to have a year of rest.
LEV 25:6 Whatever the land yields during the sabbath year will be food for
you- for yourself, your manservant and maidservant, and the hired worker
and temporary resident who live among you,
LEV 25:7 as well as for your livestock and the wild animals in your land.
Whatever the land produces may be eaten.
This seven year Sabbath the Jews never kept, so God told them he was going to punish them as a nation, and give the land its Sabbaths.
This message came through Jeremiah the prophet but he saw that it was already written in the curses of the Law.
Leviticus 26:33-35.
LEV 26:33 I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword
and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in
ruins.
LEV 26:34 Then the land will enjoy its sabbath years all the time that it
lies desolate and you are in the country of your enemies; then the land
will rest and enjoy its sabbaths.
LEV 26:35 All the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest
it did not have during the sabbaths you lived in it.
2 Chronicles 36:15-21.
2CHR 36:15 The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them through
his messengers again and again, because he had pity on his people and on
his dwelling place.
2CHR 36:16 But they mocked God's messengers, despised his words and scoffed
at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD was aroused against his people
and there was no remedy.
2CHR 36:17 He brought up against them the king of the Babylonians, who
killed their young men with the sword in the sanctuary, and spared neither
young man nor young woman, old man or aged. God handed all of them over to
Nebuchadnezzar.
2CHR 36:18 He carried to Babylon all the articles from the temple of God,
both large and small, and the treasures of the LORD's temple and the
treasures of the king and his officials.
2CHR 36:19 They set fire to God's temple and broke down the wall of
Jerusalem; they burned all the palaces and destroyed everything of value
there.
2CHR 36:20 He carried into exile to Babylon the remnant, who escaped from
the sword, and they became servants to him and his sons until the kingdom
of Persia came to power.
2CHR 36:21 The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its
desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment
of the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 29:10-14.
JER 29:10 This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for
Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you
back to this place.
JER 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans
to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
JER 29:12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will
listen to you.
JER 29:13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your
heart.
JER 29:14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you
back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places
where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to
the place from which I carried you into exile."
After Solomon's reign the country divided in two, Judah in the South, Israel in the North. In the 8th Century BC Israel was invaded by Assyria (Nth Iraq) and the aristocrats in the population were deported to Assyria (Nth Iraq). Judah continued as a vassal state of Assyria.
In 606 BC Assyria was overrun by Babylon (Sth Iraq) and to punish the people of Judah who rebelled against them a small group of rulers were deported to Babylon as slaves. Daniel, Ezekiel and Daniel's three friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were among these.
ah rebelled again, and Babylon invaded in 589 BC. As a result the whole population except a few peasants were deported to Babylon. A small leadership group was also left behind which again rebelled and then fled to Egypt before Babylon could punish them (2 Kings 25).
Jeremiah, besides prophesying a 70 year exile, also prophesied a 70 year period of "desolations" along the lines of the Leviticus 26 curse.
Jeremiah 25:1-11.
JER 25:1 The word came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in
the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, which was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
JER 25:2 So Jeremiah the prophet said to all the people of Judah and to all
those living in Jerusalem:
JER 25:3 For twenty-three years- from the thirteenth year of Josiah son of
Amon king of Judah until this very day- the word of the LORD has come to me
and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened.
JER 25:4 And though the LORD has sent all his servants the prophets to you
again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention.
JER 25:5 They said, "Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your
evil practices, and you can stay in the land the LORD gave to you and your
fathers for ever and ever.
JER 25:6 Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not provoke
me to anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you."
JER 25:7 "But you did not listen to me," declares the LORD, "and you have
provoked me with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to
yourselves."
JER 25:8 Therefore the LORD Almighty says this: "Because you have not
listened to my words,
JER 25:9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon," declares the LORD, "and I will bring them
against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding
nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror
and scorn, and an everlasting ruin.
JER 25:10 I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the
voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of
the lamp.
JER 25:11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these
nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
The period of the exile and the period of the desolations are not the same.
The Exile is counted from the first Babylonian deportation in 606 BC.
The Desolations from the destruction of Jerusalem in 589 BC.
Agriculture ceased in 606 BC, and didn't resume until the first group of exiles was allowed to return home and rebuild their cities. This happened in 536 BC. This return coincided with the decree of Cyrus, in the first year of his rule as recorded in: Ezra 1:1-5.:
EZRA 1:1 In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the
word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, the LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king
of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in
writing:
EZRA 1:2 "This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: "`The LORD, the God of
heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me
to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah.
EZRA 1:3 Anyone of his people among you- may his God be with him, and let
him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD, the God
of Israel, the God who is in Jerusalem.
EZRA 1:4 And the people of any place where survivors may now be living are
to provide him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with
freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem.'"
EZRA 1:5 Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and
Levites- everyone whose heart God had moved- prepared to go up and build
the house of the LORD in Jerusalem.
It was Persian policy to allow exiles to return home and rebuild their cities and shrines. They even provided money to help in reconstruction shrines. Though this first group of exiles returned home at that time, they did not rebuild the city or the temple because God's time was not yet - it was 17 years to early according to the word of Jeremiah's prophecy.
CALCULATIONS:
(a) Using the Julian Calendar:
Saul reigned from 1096.
1096 - 606 = 490 years = 70 x 7 (i.e. Seventy Sabbaths owing).
606-536 = 70 years.
(b) Using the Jewish Calendar:
A Jewish / Biblical year is counted at 360 days, following the lunar calendar. All of the important Bible dates are based on this calendar, hence when working out prophetic calculations a year is 360 days, hence 3 ½ years = 1260 days, or 42 months of 30 days as in Revelation.
Temple dedicated in 11th year of Solomon = 1003B.C.
Second Temple begun in 520B.C.
1003 - 520 = 483 solar years
= 490 lunar years
= 70 x 7 years.
I.e. 70 Sabbath years were owing, on both the solar and lunar calendars.
B) THE DESOLATIONS.
These began with the destruction of the city by Babylon in 589 BC and ended with he decree of Darius in:
Ezra 6:8-13.
EZRA 6:1 King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the
archives stored in the treasury at Babylon.
EZRA 6:2 A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of
Media, and this was written on it: Memorandum:
EZRA 6:3 In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree
concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: Let the temple be rebuilt as a
place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid. It is to be
ninety feet high and ninety feet wide,
EZRA 6:4 with three courses of large stones and one of timbers. The costs
are to be paid by the royal treasury.
EZRA 6:5 Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which
Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon,
are to be returned to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; they are to
be deposited in the house of God.
EZRA 6:6 Now then, Tattenai, governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-
Bozenai and you, their fellow officials of that province, stay away from
there.
EZRA 6:7 Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the
governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its
site.
EZRA 6:8 Moreover, I hereby decree what you are to do for these elders of
the Jews in the construction of this house of God: The expenses of these
men are to be fully paid out of the royal treasury, from the revenues of
Trans-Euphrates, so that the work will not stop.
EZRA 6:9 Whatever is needed- young bulls, rams, male lambs for burnt
offerings to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and oil, as requested
by the priests in Jerusalem- must be given them daily without fail,
EZRA 6:10 so that they may offer sacrifices pleasing to the God of heaven
and pray for the well-being of the king and his sons.
EZRA 6:11 Furthermore, I decree that if anyone changes this edict, a beam
is to be pulled from his house and he is to be lifted up and impaled on it.
And for this crime his house is to be made a pile of rubble.
EZRA 6:12 May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there, overthrow any
king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this
temple in Jerusalem. I Darius have decreed it. Let it be carried out with
diligence.
EZRA 6:13 Then, because of the decree King Darius had sent, Tattenai,
governor of Trans-Euphrates, and Shethar-Bozenai and their associates
carried it out with diligence.
CALCULATIONS:
70 lunar years = 25200 days.
Babylonian invasion began 10th Tebeth 589 BC.
= 13th Dec 589 BC.
Add 25200 days of desolation.
= 17th Dec 520 BC.
= 24th day of 9th month of 2nd year of Darius
= Haggai 2:18,19, the day then second temple was begun.
= 24 Chislein 520 BC.
10th Tebeth 589 - 24 Chislein 520 = 25202 days.
I.e. the desolation began the day after the invasion and ended the day before the founding of the second temple.
Daniel clearly had in mind the prophecy of the desolations. Until these wee fulfilled the temple could not be rebuilt in spite of Cyrus' edict.
Ezra 3:8-11 - the first attempt failed because it was too early.
EZRA 3:8 In the second month of the second year after their arrival at the
house of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of
Jozadak and the rest of their brothers (the priests and the Levites and all
who had returned from the captivity to Jerusalem) began the work,
appointing Levites twenty years of age and older to supervise the building
of the house of the LORD.
EZRA 3:9 Jeshua and his sons and brothers and Kadmiel and his sons
(descendants of Hodaviah) and the sons of Henadad and their sons and
brothers- all Levites- joined together in supervising those working on the
house of God.
EZRA 3:10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD,
the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons
of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed
by David king of Israel.
EZRA 3:11 With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD: "He is good;
his love to Israel endures forever." And all the people gave a great shout
of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was
laid.
Haggai 1:14-15, 2:10 -19 - Now in God's time it is completed in 5 years.
HAG 1:14 So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,
governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high
priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God,
HAG 1:15 on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month in the second year of
King Darius.
HAG 2:10 On the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, in the second year of
Darius, the word of the LORD came to the prophet Haggai:
HAG 2:11 "This is what the LORD Almighty says: `Ask the priests what the
law says:
HAG 2:12 If a person carries consecrated meat in the fold of his garment,
and that fold touches some bread or stew, some wine, oil or other food,
does it become consecrated?'" The priests answered, "No."
HAG 2:13 Then Haggai said, "If a person defiled by contact with a dead body
touches one of these things, does it become defiled?" "Yes," the priests
replied, "it becomes defiled."
HAG 2:14 Then Haggai said, "`So it is with this people and this nation in
my sight,' declares the LORD. `Whatever they do and whatever they offer
there is defiled.
HAG 2:15 "`Now give careful thought to this from this day on- consider how
things were before one stone was laid on another in the LORD's temple.
HAG 2:16 When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only
ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only
twenty.
HAG 2:17 I struck all the work of your hands with blight, mildew and hail,
yet you did not turn to me,' declares the LORD.
HAG 2:18 `From this day on, from this twenty-fourth day of the ninth month,
give careful thought to the day when the foundation of the LORD's temple
was laid. Give careful thought:
HAG 2:19 Is there yet any seed left in the barn? Until now, the vine and
the fig tree, the pomegranate and the olive tree have not borne fruit.
"`From this day on I will bless you.'"
Daniel, in ch9, is recording an event in his life which happened in 536 BC - and in reading the prophet Jeremiah he realised there was only 14 years to go before the prophecy was to be fulfilled.
Jeremiah 29:12 - pray. So Daniel began to pray.
Jeremiah 29:12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
As a result of his prayer God answered with a message sent by an angel, Gabriel, to explain more of God's plan for the nation of Israel.
C) THE SEVENTY WEEKS.
Daniel 9:20-27.
NOTE: - The word "weeks" is literally "sevens" in the Hebrew, and clearly here means a period of seven years, hence the prophecy is about a period of:
70 x 7 years = 490 years.
Taking these as lunar years = 490 x 360 days
= 176400 days.
(1) The Reasons for the 70 Weeks.
(a) "concerning your people and the holy city"
It is about the nation of Israel and the city of Jerusalem.
(b) "to put an end to sin"
This time period will see God deal, once and for all, with sin.
(c) "to atone for iniquity"
In this time God will make provision for the forgiveness of sins.
(d) "to bring in everlasting righteousness"
This is the coming of the Eternal Kingdom of God in his Christ.
(e) "to seal both vision and prophets"
In this time God will show that the prophecies of the Bible are true.
(f) "to anoint a most holy (X)"
The "X" is implied by the Hebrew but is not present. It could refer to a person, place, or thing, but it is not said which. V 26 identifies it as a person, an "anointed one", i.e. Christ.
Some writers note that this is a common name for the inner room of the temple, the Holy of Holies, which is a type of the Millennium, where God reveals himself in his fullness.
Either way it doesn't matter because the intent of the prophecy is clear: The 70 weeks will bring us to a time when all Biblical prophecy is fulfilled.
C/f the seventh trumpet.
Revelation 10:7
“But in the days when the seventh angel is about to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be accomplished, just as he announced to his servants the prophets."
So the end terminus of the 70 weeks corresponds in time to the 7th Trumpet of Revelation. But we need to remember that the 7th trumpet blows for over 1000 years of earth time (See notes on this in the Notes on Revelation Ch 10 & 11).
(2) Timing of the 70 Weeks.
(a) The Start.
v25 - "from the going forth of the word to ... rebuild Jerusalem".
Not the temple, but the city.
Nehemiah 2:1ff.
NEH 2:1 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes,
when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I
had not been sad in his presence before;
NEH 2:2 so the king asked me, "Why does your face look so sad when you are
not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart." I was very much afraid,
NEH 2:3 but I said to the king, "May the king live forever! Why should my
face not look sad when the city where my fathers are buried lies in ruins,
and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"
NEH 2:4 The king said to me, "What is it you want?" Then I prayed to the
God of heaven,
NEH 2:5 and I answered the king, "If it pleases the king and if your
servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah
where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it."
NEH 2:6 Then the king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, "How
long will your journey take, and when will you get back?" It pleased the
king to send me; so I set a time.
NEH 2:7 I also said to him, "If it pleases the king, may I have letters to
the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct
until I arrive in Judah?
NEH 2:8 And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the king's forest, so
he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the
temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?" And
because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my
requests.
This decree was issued by Artaxerxes in his 20th Year, Nisan 445 BC.
Julian Date = 14 March 445 BC.
(Date set by the Royal Observatory, London, according to the phasis of the moon by which Passover was kept.)
(b) Five Periods Marked Out.
(i) v25 = “7 weeks” = 49 years.
"to the coming of an anointed one, a prince".
We do not know to whom this refers as there are no historical records to guide us.
(ii) v25,26 = “62 weeks” = 434 years.
Jerusalem is rebuilt, but in a troubled time - indeed it was, with repeated invasions by warring empires. Israel always got the rough end of the stick.
Daniel ch 10,11 record some of these invasions in a prophecy.
(iii) v27 = “a week” = 7 years.
Clearly in reading this prophecy there is a break after the 69th week, or in the middle of the 70th week.
This is a point many interpreters contest, arguing that there is no break after the 69th week. As we go along I will argue the case for the point of view that there is a break in the prophecy.
(iv) v26 "and after the 62 weeks".
The events recorded here are clearly not part of the 70th week, which is described in v27.
This indicates that there is an unmeasured time span between the 69th and 70th week, during which time "an anointed one is cut off, and (the city and temple will be destroyed)."
There is also an implication that the city and temple are rebuilt because in v27 they exist again.
(v) The 70th Week.
CALCULATIONS:
(From "The Coming Prince")
Starting Point = 14th March 445 BC.
69 weeks = 69 x 7 years
= 483 x 360 days
= 173880 days.
4th March 445 BC. + 173880 Days
= 6th April 32 AD.
3) Probable Reconstruction of Christ's Life.
(a) Birth date unknown - possibly 7 BC. or 4 BC.
Luke 2:1 - Date is Unknown.
(b) Luke 3:1-5.
LUKE 3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar- when
Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his
brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of
Abilene-
LUKE 3:2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God
came to John son of Zechariah in the desert.
LUKE 3:3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a
baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
The actual date of the beginning of John’s ministry is unknown. However the “15th Year of Tiberius” began on 19th August 28 AD.
We are not sure how long John ministered before Christ was baptised by him. It would seem John’s ministry was about 3 years long, but it is clear from Matthew 14 that John’s ministry overlapped Jesus' ministry for quite some time.
(c) Luke 3:23 - "about 30 years old" - this is only a general statement from common usage and can mean "30 or over, but not too much over". It indicates that Christ was fully mature and fitted for all the requirements of the Law for human responsibility and Priestly service.
(d) The first Passover of Christ's ministry was 29 AD and his ministry covered four Passovers, i.e. he died Passover 32 AD.
(e) Luke 19:39 is the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9 where Jesus is proclaimed "Messiah" = “anointed one”, c/f Daniel 9:26 "An anointed one shall be cut off".
This happened on the 10th Nisan AD 32 = Palm Sunday.
Julian date of 10th Nisan AD 32 = Sunday 6th April AD 32. (The same date arrived at from the calculations from Daniel 9 above).
From the above calculations we can see that this fulfills the terminus date of the 69 weeks.
(4) The Rest of the Prophecy.
(i) v 26 tells us that the "anointed one shall be cut off" after the 69th week, as Christ was four days later.
(ii) After that "the temple and city are destroyed". The Romans did this in AD 66 destroying the temple and in AD 132 destroying the city.
There is no way that the destruction of the temple and the city can be made to fit into a 70 “week” prophecy if there is no break after to 69th week. All attempts to explain how this could be so have resulted in far fetched explanations like you wouldn’t believe.
So it is clear there is a break between the 69th and 70th weeks of the prophecy.
The phrase "the prince who is to come" is deliberately ambiguous suggesting that the "people" who destroy the city live some time before the "prince" himself appears. It must refer to some “Roman” Emperor, but the language indicates that a greater fulfillment in the Antichrist is intended. The NT clearly interprets it to refer to Antichrist at the end of the Age. This very fact points to a time break between the events of the death of the Messiah and the Antichrist. To argue otherwise seems insane to me.
(iii) However In the 70th week we find "sacrifice and offering" for the first half of the week. This indicates that the city and temple has been restored. It is a requirement of Judaism that there be a temple in order for there to be sacrifice, so it seems implicit in the prophecy that there will be some form of temple rebuild before the return of Christ.
(iv) v27 "And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week".
This statement is obscure to say the least.
(i) Who is the "he"?
Is it the "prince who is to come", i.e. Antichrist, or is it "the anointed one" i.e. Christ?
A strong case can be made either way (see below).
(ii) What is the covenant he establishes with them?
(iii) Who are the "many"?
D) INTERPRETATION ONE: "HE" = ANTICHRIST.
This is the view taken by Sir Robert Anderson.
By this interpretation we get the following ideas:
(1) The Covenant.
The Antichrist makes a seven year covenant with a large number of people, but who they are is not clear, the text does not indicate that it is Israel, though this may be implied because the whole prophecy is essentially about Israel.
It is from this text that the idea of a seven year tribulation is built, based on the idea that Antichrist secures peace in the world by negotiating a seven year treaty, primarily with Israel.
The idea that it is with Israel is based on two other scriptures that may or may not indicate that.
They are:
(i) Isaiah 28:14,15 "a covenant with death, and with Sheol".
This verse is from a passage that relates to the covenant Israel made with Babylon, and the breaking of it by Israel. The invasion of Israel by Babylon came in judgement. The invasion by people of "strange tongues" (v11) is a covenant curse on disobedience (see Lev 26, Deut 28), i.e. breaking of covenant.
The problem is that this prophecy was not totally fulfilled in history, and there are indications in the chapter that the prophecy goes beyond the immediate threat of Babylon. The Babylonian invasion is often seen to be a prefiguring of Antichrist, indeed it is the spirit of Antichrist that causes it! (See notes on Revelation 17).
Antichrist will eventually set up his capital in Babylon also. (See notes on Revelation 17,18).
Isaiah 28:16,17 - are in the NT taken to mean the ministry of Christ which made Israel stumble.
Isaiah 28:21 - God's "strange work" of judgement on sin has a very "End of the World" sound to it.
Hence it is possible that this prophecy has a still yet future application.
(ii) Ezekiel 38:8,11,14 - Israel in peace and security in the last days?
It implies that Israel has given up her own defenses (no walls) and accepted protection from another.
Thus it may mean this, but it is not clearly so.
Hence the whole teaching of a covenant between Israel and Antichrist rests on a very insecure foundation. It is not explicitly stated, nor are the inferences clear.
Thus the idea of a 7 year tribulation is also on very shaky foundations.
(2) Daniel 9:27.
"for half the week he shall cause sacrifice and offering to cease".
If this refers to Israel's cult then we must assume that the temple and city have been rebuilt. However it does not say that it refers to Israel's cult. It could be a general reference to the practice of religion world-wide. If Antichrist demands worship as "god" then he would attempt to silence every other form of worship. It may not imply the resurrection of a Jewish Cult.
This is the event prophesied in Matt 24:15ff and 2 Thess 2:3,4.
The last half-week here is clearly meant to be tied in with the 3 ½ years of Revelation:
12:6 – “1260 days.”
12:14 – “times, time and half a time”, i.e. 3 ½ years.
13:5 –“42 months” (of 30 days each, hence 1260 days.)
These three time periods are clearly meant to be taken to be the same period, and are also clearly linked with the prophecy of the last half week of Daniel 9.
Thus there is absolutely no doubt that the second half week is still future and refers to the time period Jesus called “the Great Tribulation” (Matthew 24:15-21, especially v21).
Thus it is clear that there is a time gap in the seventy week prophecy of Daniel 9 and that this time gap occurs before the last half week of the prophecy. Interpreters who argue that there is no time gap are clearly wrong. The only question that remains is this: Is the time gap at the beginning of the 70th week, or half way through it?
My own view (concurring with Anderson) is that the Bible text as we have it places certain events in Daniel 9:26 – after the 69th week and before the 70th week is mentioned. These events seem to demand a fulfillment not long after Christ’s death and resurrection, whereas the events of Daniel 9:27 seem to be clearly events linked to the end of the age in the NT. To fit the events of Daniel 9:26 into the first 69 weeks or into the last 70th week would require rearrangement of the order of scripture verses to make them fit the theory – but scripture is the given – we are not free to rearrange the predicted events to suit ourselves or our own theory.
Thus it seems best to understand these events (Dan 9:26) as referring to the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus.
The problems with this interpretation are:
(i) The difficulty of seeing sacrifice restarted now that Christ has died.
This view seems to require that “offerings and sacrifice” are reinstated at a rebuilt Jewish temple and this practice continues for 3 ½ years until Antichrist stops it.
It seems unlikely that sacrifices can be reinstated now that Christ has died.
However this objection can be overcome in two ways:
(a) Sacrifice and offerings clearly continued after Christ’s death until the destruction of the temple in AD 70 – because those who carried them out didn’t believe in Christ. And this is the point – any Jewish temple that would be rebuilt in the last days would be rebuilt by people who don’t believe in Christ anyway so the objection really doesn’t hold up.
(b) It is possible that the latter part of this prophecy should be interpreted symbolically – thus “temple” would mean the church and “sacrifices and offerings” would mean “public worship”. Thus the objection would cease to have relevance.
While I think this symbolic interpretation is included in the meaning here I do not think it exhausts the meaning. The prophecy seems to be about Israel as a nation so a literal interpretation would seem to be consistent even if a symbolic interpretation is accepted as well. It will be clear from other articles on this blog that I feel there are often dual fulfilments of prophecies – a literal (in Israel) and a symbolic (in the Church), and this I feel is the case here.
(ii) For there to be a functioning temple it would have to be rededicated by a red heifer offering, which because of its nature cannot be repeated. This is more difficult to overcome.
(iii) We end up with a seven year Tribulation, but elsewhere in scripture we only hear of 3 ½ years. The building of another 3 ½ years on the basis of this scripture has lead to all sorts of speculation as to what happens in it, and we must admit we know nothing.
There is the implication elsewhere that Antichrist is a political ruler prior to his apostacy, but we do not know for how long. He must have been a significant international figure to negotiate a treaty of this sort with Israel so undoubtedly he was a political ruler much longer than just 7 years. Also the Apocalypse of Peter tells us that Israel accepts Antichrist as the Christ for a period before his Blasphemy.
(iv) v27 "one who makes desolation" is clearly the Antichrist, the NT identifies him as such.
But it is grammatically difficult to identify him with the "one who makes a strong covenant" later in the verse. The two seem to be different people.
Hence this interpretation is possible even though it has its difficulties.
On the whole this interpretation seems a little forced, but no more so than the second interpretation.
E) INTERPRETATION TWO: - "HE" = CHRIST.
Again the "he" makes a strong covenant with the "many".
H. Grattan Guinness favours this interpretation. In his calculations of the dates he arrives at Christ dying in AD 32, this being (according to him) 69 ½ weeks into the prophecy.
I.e. the first 3 ½ years of the last (70th) week are the ministry of Christ. With the death of Christ the clock stops and only restarts when Israel rejects Antichrist and begins to turn to God. Guinness works out his dates (I think) using the solar year or 365 days, hence ends up with a slightly longer period than if the lunar year of 360 days is used.
The “covenant” is thus the “New Covenant” that Christ established.
It is significant that using this different calendar we end up exactly at the death of Christ. Clearly we are to understand that no matter how you calculate it the time was up.
Again we have problems:
(i) What is the "covenant" he establishes with the "many"? It does not appear to be the New Covenant as it only seems to apply to the seven-year period in question. And it also seems to be limited to Israel (the prophecy is clearly said to be about Israel in v24) The New Covenant applies to all of us in the church age and so has no “7 year” limit.
One could argue that the number “7” in scripture is often used in a symbolic way to indicate “a complete amount of time” for whatever is under question, so hence a “seven year treaty” if it was the New Covenant could be taken to mean “The whole period of time the New Covenant is in operation, i.e. the church age.” But this is to mix literal and symbolic interpretation in a way that seems gratuitous.
(ii) A grammatical difficulty. It is hard to Identify the "he" with the "anointed one". But then the other theory has this difficulty too.
(iii) Why does sacrifice only stop for "half a week"? In actual fact sacrifice continued until AD 66 when the temple was destroyed.
Guinness would argue to this that the clock has clearly stopped ticking from the Crucifixion on. Hence when it begins again at the beginning of the last half-week sacrifice stops because it cannot continue, it has been fulfilled in Christ. Hence the 30 years of sacrifice until the temple was destroyed do not count on the time clock.
It could be that the prophetic clock in this prophecy measures only the period of the inclusion of Israel in God's covenants. In this case the restarting of the clock indicates that God has again included Israel in his plan of Salvation, as Paul talks about in Rom 9-11. As the "New Covenant" is not anything essentially different to the covenant with Abraham what we see here is the period of the inclusion of Israel in the New Covenant, i.e. the period of Christ's ministry and the period of their national repentance just prior to Christ's return.
NOTE: - The Gap in the Time Clock.
This leaving out of time periods in God's reckoning of his dealings with Israel is a common Biblical feature. We see it also in the OT.
Solomon built the temple 480 years after the Exodus (1 Kings 6:1).
c/f Acts 13:18-21 gives the following time periods:
40 (Exodus) + 450 + 40 (Saul) + 40 (David) + 3 (Solomon) = 573 years.
However in Judges there are five periods of rebellion against God when God sold them into the hands of their enemies:
Judges 3:8,14 4:1 13:1.
8+18+20+7+40 = 93 years.
573 - 93 = 480 years.
Clearly the clock had not recorded the periods of Apostacy. This is the same feature we see in Daniel.
F) CONCLUSIONS.
God's plan for Israel is summed up in a 70 week, 490 year period. Starting with the restoration to Palestine after the exile there was to be 69 or 69 ½ weeks of years until Christ. Following this there was to be an indefinite period during which Israel would not be counted as God's people. Finally there is a period of 3 ½ or 7 years during which Antichrist rules. In this period Israel is once again "grafted in" to God's People.
In my opinion it is possibly better to take the viewpoint of Anderson. I toyed with Guinness’ view for a couple of years and actually favoured it over Anderson’s, but now feel that the weight of evidence favours Anderson. It seems to raise less problems.
Essentially the details of the prophecy are correct, and we can see that they have been perfectly fulfilled up to this time. We can be assured that then rest of the prophecy will also be fulfilled just as accurately.
Hence we can be clear from this prophecy that:
(1) A world ruler will emerge who will exercise international influence for a considerable period – at least 7 years seems likely. He will become the Antichrist.
(2) There will be a minimum three and a half year period of the rule of Antichrist. which shall begin with some form of blasphemy which shall reveal his true nature to Israel. In their rebellion against Antichrist they will begin to turn to Christ. This 3 ½ years will end with the return of Christ and Antichrist's destruction at Armageddon.
The church that is awake will see these events and will know TO THE DAY when Christ's return will be, exactly 1260 days after Antichrist's blasphemy.
Thus Christ’s words “no man Knows the day or the hour” (Matthew 24) have a limited truth to them. There will come a time when those who are alert will know.
