The
“70 Weeks of Daniel” (Daniel 9:24-27) is a prophetic timetable concerning the
restoration of Israel as a people and nation in relation to the
first and second comings of Christ.
The “Weeks” are sevens
of years and adds up to 490 years. It begins with a command (or
decree) by a Persian King after the 70 years of Babylonian captivity
of Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel, “to restore and build
Jerusalem,” Daniel 9:25. The 70 Weeks end with the second coming
of Christ at the end of “great tribulation” to save and gather
the elect and Israel as a people under the terms of the “New
Covenant.”
From
the time of that command “until Messiah the Prince,” Daniel 9:25,
is 69 Weeks, that is, 483 years. The reference to “Messiah the
Prince” is to the time and year in which Jesus either started his
ministry, or made his "triumphal entry," or was crucified. Some have actually
calculated the end of the 483 years to the very day Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. It's after the 483 years that
“Messiah shall be cut off,” Daniel 9:26. The text actually
breaks the 69 weeks or 483 years into two time periods, being 7 Weeks
and 62 Weeks, and it is believed that the first 7 Weeks or 49 years
(7 times 7 years) is the time period it took to rebuild the walls of
Jerusalem.
The
Messiah being “cut off” is understood as His execution. Included
in the time at the end of the 483 years is the destruction of
Jerusalem in AD70 by the Romans: “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.” Daniel 9:26 This was by the Romans under the command
of Titus, whose Triumphal Arch commemorates this event. It stands in
Rome today just
to the south-east of the Roman Forum.
The final Week, being the 70th Week," is understood by many as not yet fulfilled. Between the 69th and 70th Weeks is an unspecified period of time: there is a gap of time of unknown length. That gap is mostly the time during which the people of God for His purposes is the Gentile-Jew Assembly, commonly identified as the "Church." Prior to this unique people of God, Israel was the people of God for His purposes.
The final Week, being the 70th seven of years, begins with a covenant be confirmed or strengthened for 7 years. Then in the middle of that 7 years, there comes an end of the daily sacrifices, and an event takes place that is considered an “abomination” in the holy place of the temple. This abomination causes "desolation," and it continues to the end of the period:
Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate. Daniel 9:27
The event in the middle of the Week is understood as the "abomination of desolation" that takes place in the Jewish Temple. Jesus makes reference to this in the context of His Second Coming, and he says that following that event will be "Great Tribulation." Daniel also speaks of this Great Tribulation with reference to "the time of the end."
Jesus said: 15 ... when you see the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place ... 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened. Matthew 24:15-22
Daniel wrote: 1 At that time [the time of the end]
Michael shall stand up,
The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people [Israel];
And there shall be a time of trouble [tribulation],
Such as never was since there was a nation,
Even to that time.
And at that time your people [Israel] shall be delivered,
Every one who is found written in the book. Daniel 12:1
The end of the Great tribulation is the end of the 70 Weeks: it is the time of Jesus's second coming, to deliver the saints of God from great tribulation and save Israel as a people and nation:
29 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matthew 24:29-31
The 70 Weeks prophecy was a timetable for the fulfillment of certain things with reference to Daniel's people Israel and Jerusalem in connection with the first and second comings of Christ and what he would accomplish. Those accomplishments are through both comings of Christ, as some have to do with what Jesus accomplished on the cross for sin and salvation, and some are the realization of the benefits of the cross in Israel and their land.
Seventy weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy. Daniel 9:24
Jesus at His second coming will bring an end to the 70 Weeks and the great tribulation. He will raise the dead, gather the elect, and restore and save Israel as a people and nation. Israel will be saved and come under the terms of the New Covenant. Israel as a people of God is in a state of blindness, while presently the gentiles along with Jews who believe in Jesus are in a place of privilege and blessing, like Israel once was, but that will change with the close of great tribulation at the coming of Christ.
25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
"The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins."
28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. Romans 11:25-29
The future fulfillment of the salvation of Israel in their land is according to those things determined in the 70 Weeks prophecy. Those things include what Jesus accomplished on the cross, dying for sins that will make reconciliation and restoration possible. What Jesus accomplished on the cross is the basis for a new covenant to be fulfilled in Israel. At the coming of Christ, there will be a resurrection of the dead in Christ, a gathering together of living believers, and a turning to Christ in faith a remnant of Jews who will enter the 1000 year reign of Christ.
When Jesus comes again ... it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it. Zechariah 12:3 And then ... 8 In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; ... 9 It shall be in that day that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Zechariah 12:8-9 10 "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. 11 In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. Zechariah 12:10-11
And then...
It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues;
and they [Gentiles] shall come and see My glory.
19 I will set a sign among them [Gentiles];
and those [Jews] among them [Gentiles] who escape I will send to the nations:
to Tarshish and Pul and Lud, who draw the bow,
and Tubal and Javan,
to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory.
And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles.
20 Then they [Gentiles] shall bring all your brethren [Jews] for an offering
to the LORD out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters,
on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem," says the LORD,
"as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel
into the house of the LORD.
21 And I will also take some of them for priests and Levites," says the LORD.
Isaiah 66:18-21
...to
be continued and revised
