Daniel’s seventy weeks

Daniel 9: 24 – 27: 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.

The prophet of God preached a series of three messages addressing the seventy weeks of Daniel. The first was “Gabriel’s instructions to Daniel” (July 30, 1961); the second was “The sixfold purpose of Gabriel’s visit to Daniel” (July 30, 1961); and the third was “The seventieth week of Daniel” (August 6, 1961). These three messages provide us with the necessary information to concisely understand this very famous portion of scripture from the Book of Daniel, and which we shall now examine.

The seventy weeks are really 490 prophetic years (70 x 7) of 360 days each, wherein God is dealing with the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem (Daniel 9: 24). We know this to be true because each day represents a year according to Genesis 29: 27 and Ezekiel 4: 6, so if we can establish when the seventy weeks began, then we can accurately determine when they will end. Furthermore, the purpose of God behind the seventy weeks is actually sixfold in nature and deals specifically with the 144,000 Jews who will be called and sealed under the ministry of Moses and Elijah (Revelation 7: 1 – 8; Revelation 11: 3).

But first, let us see when the seventy weeks began and where exactly we are at according to this prophetic time-clock. The seventy weeks began with the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem which had been sacked by the Babylonians. This decree was given by Artaxerxes Longimanus in B.C. 445, and is detailed in Nehemiah 2: 1 – 8. The street and the wall were indeed built again as described in the Book of Nehemiah; but furthermore, when a street and a wall meet, then you have a gate. So the repairing of the streets and walls would also point to the repairing of Jerusalem’s gates that had been burned with fire. This wonderful rebuilding of the holy city would happen during troublous times as is again described in the Book of Nehemiah when Sanballat and Tobiah strongly opposed the reconstruction of the city. Forty-nine years (seven weeks) later, in B.C. 397, Jerusalem had been rebuilt, the temple worship reestablished, and the Old Testament canon closed under the minor prophet Malachi. Four hundred silent years then elapsed between the closing of the Old Testament and the opening of the New Testament.

Thus far we have accounted for the first seven weeks or 49 years of Daniel’s prophecy. Next, we have sixty-two weeks or 434 years between the restoration of Jerusalem and Messiah the Prince. These sixty-two weeks were fulfilled at Jesus’ baptism in A.D. 29, when the Spirit of God descended upon Him like a dove, anointing Him for His public ministry (Luke 3: 21 – 22). It was this public anointing that made Jesus the Messiah, or the Anointed One. And because Jesus was the Son of the King (the Father in Heaven), He was called “the Prince” at His baptism.

Sixty-nine weeks have now been accounted for, taking us from the decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus to Jesus’ baptism at the River Jordan. This leaves us with the final or seventieth week to unravel. The first half of the seventieth week was Jesus’ three-and-a-half years of public ministry, then He was cut off at Calvary when He was crucified. Jesus was not cut off for Himself, but died that He might purchase and redeem a Gentile Bride to Himself. After Jesus had been cut off at Calvary, then the Romans came against Jerusalem in A.D. 70, and destroyed the city and the sanctuary. This terrible destruction befell the Jews because they rejected Jesus as the Messiah, and had turned him over to the Roman power to be crucified.

What is interesting about Gabriel’s foretelling the destruction of the city and the sanctuary (Daniel 9: 26) is that when Daniel learned of this, Jerusalem and the temple were already desolate, having been destroyed by the armies of Babylon when they invaded Judah and took the Jews into captivity. So Daniel is being informed that the already desolated city and sanctuary will be rebuilt in order that both might be destroyed again! And indeed they were, for the Romans came in A.D. 70 and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, after Messiah had been cut off at Calvary.

Between the first half of the seventieth week (Jesus’ public ministry and crucifixion) and the last half of the seventieth week (the ministry of Moses and Elijah to the 144,000 Jews), we have an interval of approximately 2000 years of seven church ages where God is calling a Bride to Himself from amongst the Gentiles whilst the Jews have been blinded (in part; Romans 11: 25). When the last member of the Gentile Bride has been called and sealed, then She will be raptured into Glory, and the last half of the seventieth week will begin.

It is at this point that we must take a little time to explain clearly about the last half of the seventieth week, for it is this segment of time that causes the most confusion and has given rise to all kinds of interpretations that are far removed from what the scriptures actually say. What we have made clear is that the first half of the seventieth week was fulfilled in Jesus’ public ministry and crucifixion, meaning that only three-and-a-half years remain. With 69 ½ weeks fulfilled, then the Tribulation period just cannot be seven years as is so often taught and believed in the world of Christendom. The Tribulation period when Moses and Elijah come to the 144,000 Jews is only three-and-a-half years! This is confirmed again and again in the books of Daniel and Revelation (Daniel 7: 25; Daniel 12: 7; Revelation 11: 3; Revelation 12: 6, 14).

We can therefore see that Daniel 9: 26 actually details the first half of the seventieth week (Jesus’ public ministry and His being cut off at Calvary), whilst Daniel 9: 27 details the last half of the seventieth week. Added to this is the discovery that there are two princes connected with the seventieth week! The first is Messiah the Prince (Daniel 9: 25), whilst the second is the prince that shall come (Daniel 9: 26). Both of these princes make a covenant with Israel.

The name Israel was born when Jacob had his name changed from “Supplanter” to “Prince with God” in Genesis 32: 28, so Jesus was Messiah the Prince coming to the people of the prince (Israel). But the people of the prince rejected Jesus and crucified Him, so in A.D. 70 another people (the Romans) of another prince (that shall come [Daniel 9: 26]) destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and scattered the Jews throughout the world. The prince that would come in the distant future is the Man of Sin (2 Thessalonians 2: 3 – 4) who will not step onto the scene until the last half of the seventieth week, and when he comes, he will make war against the Prince of princes (Christ) at Armageddon and be destroyed (Daniel 8: 25; Revelation 19: 19 – 21).

Before disclosing how the last half of the seventieth week works, it is necessary to understand that the sixfold purpose of Gabriel’s visit to Daniel will be fulfilled during that time under the ministry of Moses and Elijah to the 144,000 Jews. God will finish or make an end of Israel’s transgression by turning away their ungodliness when they recognize and acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah whom their forefathers rejected. Their forefathers made a most fatal mistake when they called for Jesus’ blood to be upon them and their children (Matthew 27: 25), resulting in the Jewish people being persecuted all over the world for centuries. An end of sin will follow the turning away of Israel’s transgression when they recognize Jesus as their Messiah, ending their unbelief in the Son whom the Father had sent to them. This will bring about a reconciliation for iniquity, and the 144,000 Jews will receive the Holy Ghost (Revelation 7: 1 – 4) by the revelation of Jesus Christ to them, bringing them back into fellowship with God again.

The bringing in of everlasting righteousness is the Millennium of one thousand years of peace upon the earth, when Christ and His Bride will be ruling and reigning, and the 144,000 Jews will be attendants to the Bride and Bridegroom at that time. The sealing up of the vision and prophecy speaks of the complete revelation of the Word being kept a secret till the last days, until the seven seals were torn off the Book and Its content was revealed to the Gentile Bride under the ministry of a Gentile prophet (Malachi 4: 5; Revelation 10: 7), and then will be revealed to the 144,000 Jews under the ministry of the two Jewish prophets (Moses and Elijah). In other words, Israel will get the same message preached to them that we have already heard. Finally, the anointing of the most Holy. This in ancient times referred to the dedication of the temple for the service of God, but in the Millennium, it speaks of the enthronement of Christ, of Messiah (the Anointed One), as King of kings and Lord of lords.

What is perhaps the most misunderstood portion of our study is that of the seventieth week being confused with the one-week covenant. The two are entirely separate from each other and have very different meaning. Let us look at the covenant first, for it has a dual fulfilment. The Bible states that the covenant is “confirmed,” not “made,” and that in the midst of the week, the sacrifice and oblation would cease. This was firstly fulfilled in Jesus who was crucified after His three-and-a-half years of public ministry. His death confirmed the covenant that God had made with Abraham’s seed in Genesis 15: 18 – 21. Then in Galatians 3: 16 – 17 we read the following: Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

Thus when Jesus died on Calvary, it was a confirmation of the covenant that had been already made long ago to Abraham and his seed, that they would inherit the full boundaries of the Promised Land in the Millennium, and that Abraham’s spiritual seed, the Gentile Bride, would be taken to Her future eternal home in Glory. Jesus’ being cut off on Calvary is what also caused the sacrifice and oblation to cease, for the Judaic system of worship, consisting of the blood of bulls and goats was done away with, having been made obsolete by Jesus’ perfect offering once and for all on the cross.

This brings us to the second fulfilment of the covenant and will conclude our study of Daniel’s seventy weeks. It is the one-week covenant being confused with the seventieth week that made Bible scholars believe there is a seven-year Tribulation. But this is wrong, for the first half of the seventieth week was fulfilled in Jesus’ public ministry, leaving only three-and-a-half years remaining. So how does the one-week covenant correlate with the last half of the seventieth week?

We saw earlier that the people of the prince (the Romans) came in A.D. 70 and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, but the prince himself (the Man of Sin) does not appear till the last days. So it is here, after the Gentile Bride is raptured into Glory, that the last half of the seventieth week begins and Satan incarnates himself into the Man of Sin (the last pope), making him the Beast (Satan incarnate in flesh). This Man of Sin or Devil-incarnate pope will make a seven-year (one-week) contract (covenant) with the Jews to refinance the world economy after it has entirely collapsed. Rome controls the gold of the world, and the Jews control the paper money, so in making its financial contract with the Jews to create a one-world currency valued against gold, the Catholic Church will allow them to rebuild their temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and to have back their Judaic system of worship, offering up the blood of bulls and goats again on this most sacred of sites.

During this time when the contract has been made, agreed upon, and put into effect, Moses and Elijah will be calling 144,000 Jews out of Judaism and restoring them back to the original Word that the apostolic fathers had in the New Testament. Their ministry will be for three-and-a-half years, after which the 144,000 Jews will be sealed by the Holy Ghost. From this we can see that the first three-and-a-half years of the Roman contract takes place in the last half of the seventieth week.

When Moses and Elijah have finished their ministry and the 144,000 Jews have been called and sealed, then Rome will break its covenant with the Jews. Thus what was originally supposed to have been a seven-year agreement is violated halfway through, and Rome will then proceed to kill the two Jewish prophets and the 144,000 Jews (Revelation 11: 7), it will abolish the Judaic system of sacrifice and oblation, the Man of Sin will enthrone himself in the third temple and show himself to be God (2 Thessalonians 2: 4), and the armies of the Beast will overrun the land of Israel in an attempt to exterminate the Jews.

The last half of the seventieth week having expired with the calling and sealing of the 144,000 Jews, Armageddon will then set in and the seven vials of God’s wrath will be poured out when Christ and His Bride return to the earth to deliver Israel and to destroy the Beast and his armies, that Christ might be enthroned as King of kings and Lord of lords over all the earth for the great Millennial reign to follow.