Daniel 9:24-27...........
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."
Now, may I say to you that right here is the *****KEY***** to the prophetic Word of God. If you get this wrong, it will mess up your whole understanding of the LAST DAYS!
Now, please understand, I am not a prophet! I am not an expert! I encourage you, if you are following along, please do some work on your own. Study, search out the teaching I am giving you and prove them.
Seventy weeks are determined:
There is almost universal agreement among Bible scholars and commentators that this refers to seventy sets of seven years, or weeks of years.
SEVENTY WEEKS literally means = "70 Sevens".
The Hebrew word for "SEVEN" is SHABUA which again literally means = a unit of measure.
It would be the same as the English word DOZEN = TWELVE.
The SEVEVY YEARS (70) years again goes back to the time that Israel did not keep the Sabbath. (2 Chronicles 36:21).
So then, the whole 70 weeks is a period of time that comes out to be 70 x 7 for a total of 490 years.............
1 Week = 7 Years
70 Weeks = 490 Years
70 Weeks divided into 3 periods
7 Weeks -- 62 Weeks -- 1 Week
NOTICE CAREFULLY if you are a "Preterist"-----"For your people and for your holy city":
The seventy weeks were focused upon Daniel’s
people (the Jews) and his
holy city (Jerusalem).
Unless the church has become Israel, it is not in view here. Talbot Commentaries calls the seventy weeks “God’s calendar for Israel” in the sense that it does not focus on the Gentiles or the church.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS TIME FRAME?????????
To finish the transgression:
This says that transgression itself will be finished. Taken literally, this means establishing an entirely new order on earth, with an end to man’s rebellion against God.
“The culmination of appointed years will witness the conclusion of man’s ‘transgression’ or ‘rebellion’ against God – a development most naturally entered into with the establishment of an entirely new order on earth. This seems to require nothing less than the inauguration of the kingdom of God on earth.” (Archer)
To make an end of sins:
Taking these words at face value, this means not only the
end of the guilt of sin, but an
end of sin itself. It means to “seal up” or to “restrain” sins. This looks to a new, redeemed world.
To make reconciliation for iniquity:
Man’s
iniquity must be reconciled to God’s justice and holiness. This work was clearly accomplished at the cross.
To bring in everlasting righteousness:
One might take this in an individual sense, but there have always been righteous
individuals. Taking the statement at face value, this means a new order of society brought in by the Messiah.
To seal up vision and prophecy:
This speaks of both the ending and fulfillment of prophecy, concluding the final stage of human history and culminating with the reign of the Son of God.
To anoint the most holy:
Taken at its simple, literal meaning, this refers to a place, not a person. There is a
most holy place – the
most holy place of the temple – that will be anointed and blessed.
Taken as a whole, Gabriel made a remarkable announcement to Daniel. He told him that each of these amazing things would happen within the period of
seventy weeks.
Looking back in history, we can only say these things are
already fulfilled if we ignore their plain, literal meaning and give them a spiritualized meaning that replaces their plain meaning. Some believe that these promises were fulfilled generally in the spread of the Gospel over the centuries, but this belief neglects the plain and simple meaning of these words.
Verse # (25) The course and dividing of the seventy weeks.
From the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem:
Here Gabriel revealed to Daniel the
starting point for the seventy-weeks prophecy. There was a
command to restore and build Jerusalem in history that started this specific period of time.
The Bible presents a possible decree that might fulfill this description:
Artaxerxes made a decree giving Nehemiah permission, safe passage and supplies to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and the walls in 445 B.C. in Nehemiah 2:1-8.
There were FOUR decrees in the Bible on this issue but the only command to restore and build Jerusalem is the one in 445 BC.
The others each focused on the
temple, not on
the street or on
the wall.
Until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks:
Gabriel’s message to Daniel was simple and striking. 483 years – that is, 69 units of seven years – would pass from the time of the command recorded in
Nehemiah 2:1-8 until the appearance of
Messiah the Prince.
Some say the 483 years were completed at the time of Jesus’ birth (5 or 4 B.C.). There is little chronological support for this date.
Some say the 483 years were completed at His baptism, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (if dated at A.D. 26). This is possible if one begins with the earlier decree of Artaxerxes, and figures with our present measurement for years (365.25 days to a year) instead of the ancient measurement of years (360 days to a year).
Some say the 483 years were completed at the triumphal entry of Jesus (if dated at A.D. 32).
Sir Robert Anderson’s significant work
The Coming Prince followed this argument in great detail. Anderson, using a 360-day year (which Israel used in Daniel’s day), calculated 173,880 days from the decree to the triumphal entry, fulfilling the prophecy
to the day.
“It is customary for the Jews to have twelve months of 360 days each and then to insert a thirteenth month occasionally when necessary to correct the calendar.” (Dr. John Walvoord)
The year A.D. 33 (based on Luke 3:1) for Jesus’ death is controversial But recent attempts have made some case for the date:
Source: “A recent article attempts to give credence to the date cf. R.E. Showers,
Grace Journal, XI (Winter, 1970), pp. 30ff.
The evidence presented is worthy of notice.” (Wood)
“No one today is able dogmatically to declare that Sir Robert Anderson’s computations are impossible.” (Walvoord)
Some say the 483 years were completed at the exact time of the crucifixion. This is a minority opinion. Most who find the date near this time also see it belonging to the Triumphal Entry, which happened seven days before the crucifixion.
Until Messiah the Prince:
Taking Anderson’s calculations as reliable, we see a
remarkable fulfillment of prophecy. A Gentile king made a decree and 483 years later
to the day, Jesus presented Himself as
Messiah the Prince to Israel.
Note......483 Years at 360 days per year = 173,880 days.
So, Daniel is saying that after 173,880 days, the Messiah would be CUT OFF!
Luke 19:41-44 tells us that this was Israels day of decision, however as a nation they choose to 'CUT OFF THEIR MESSIAH'.
This "CUTTING OFF" was the offical rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ, God's Messiah.
Real history and calculations from the British Royal Observatory and Greenwich Conn. Time, confirm that from March 14, 445 BC to April 6, 33 AD is exactly 173, 880 days or 483 years. TO THE DAY!
In my mind a
Prince is a good step lower than a
king. In the Hebrew vocabulary, “
Prince” has more the idea of “strong, mighty ruler” than “son of a king and heir to the throne.”
There was only one occasion in our Lord’s earthly ministry on which He is depicted as presenting Himself openly as Zion’s King, the so-called ‘Triumphal Entry,’ recorded in each one of the Gospels and fulfilling
Zechariah 9:9 and
Psalm 118:26.
1. On that day, Jesus
deliberately arranged the event to present Himself as Messiah
(Mark 11:1-10).
2. On that day, Jesus welcomed praise (
Luke 19:38-40) instead of quieting it
(Lk. 5:14 and 8:56).
3. On that day, Jesus made special reference to the importance of that day (Lk. 19:41-42).
This prophecy is so specifically fulfilled that it has been known as the most amazing prophecy in all of the Bible!
The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times:
This indicates that the rebuilding of the streets and wall of Jerusalem would happen in the first
seven weeks mentioned. Then would follow another 62 weeks of years until the coming of
Messiah the Prince.
The seventy weeks are divided into three parts:
1. Seven weeks – 49 years, until the city and its walls are rebuilt.
2. 69 weeks (7 plus 62), 483 years from the decree, until Messiah the Prince appears.
3. A final 70th week to complete the prophecy.
4. (26) What happens after the first sixty-nine weeks.
“And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined."
After the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off:
The Biblical term
cut off is sometimes used to describe execution (see
Genesis 9:11 and
Exodus 31:14). Gabriel told Daniel that the Messiah will
be cut off for the sake of others,
not for Himself.
“Able chronologists have shown that the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ occurred immediately after the expiration of 483 prophetic years, of 360 days each, from the time of Artaxerxes’ order.” (Ironside)
Strangely, many LIBERAL and able commentators simply ignore these numbers. “The numbers are symbolic and not arithmetical.” (Baldwin)
Cut off :
is a poignant description of Jesus’ earthly life up to and including the cross.
“Born in another man’s stable, cradled in another man’s manger with nowhere to lay his head during his life on earth, and buried in another man’s tomb after dying on a cursed cross, the Christ of God and the Friend of the friendless was indeed cut off and had nothing.” (Heslop)
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary:
After the Messiah was
cut off, Jerusalem and her temple would be destroyed
again by an overwhelming army (
with a flood).
Most all Bible scholars and commentators agree that this was fulfilled in the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
The people of the prince who is to come shall destroy:
The destroying army is made up of the
people of the prince who is to come. This
coming prince is described more in
Daniel 9:27.