70 Weeks of Daniel

I pray you are blessed by the study of these prophecies as it is confirmed in His Word that this is the end result.

2 Peter 1:19, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:"

Revelation 1:3, "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand."

Not only does one learn of the Truth as well as the character of this Mighty God we serve by studying His Word, we also are blessed by reading His Word with advance knowledge of the perilous days ahead of us. I must admit that studying Bible Prophecy has been such a blessing to me and my family. I also see the fruits of this wonderful Word of Prophecy in the eyes of even complete strangers when they hear such Truths for this first time. I truly enjoy seeing that!

With that said, let us jump right into this Bible study of the 70 weeks of Daniel chapter 9.

Daniel 9:1, "In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;"

The events spoken of in Daniel chapter 9 took place in 538BC, shortly after the Chaldeans (Babylon) were conquered by the Medes and the Persians.

Daniel studied the book of Jeremiah often and realized that the last 70 years of slavery for his people had now come to an end.

Daniel 9:2-3, "In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem. And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:"

Babylon had fallen. It was now time to concentrate on the reconstruction of Jerusalem. Daniel understood the prophecy declared that this was next. So, he went to the Creator God in intense prayer and fasting. By the way, this is something you don't seek too often in today's world. Many Christians today have totally forgotten about such powerful prayer and supplications as this. We ALL would see the hand of the Lord move far more frequent I am sure if we too would do as His prophets of old have done.

Daniel 9:4-5,18 "And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies."

All that Daniel saw was accurate. Even looking upon his people he saw that their sins have caused them this grief. However, he thought because of their rebellion, the construction of Jerusalem was being delayed. This is why his prayer is concentrating on forgiveness for his sins and the sins of his people.

Daniel 9:20-21, "And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God; Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation."

Right in the midst of prayer, the angel Gabriel once again appeared to Daniel. If you recall in the Word, it speaks of how thirteen years prior, the angel gave Daniel a vision describing a 2300 year period of time. However, because of Daniel being unable to handle to physically handle any interpretation of the vision at that time. (See Daniel 8:27) Gabriel left before explaining it. This 2300 year panoramic view of many prophetic events is extremely important and will be the topic of yet another study. For now, let's concentrate on the 70 weeks within it.

Daniel 9:22-23, "And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision."

Here we see Gabriel telling Daniel that he was going to explain a vision he had. However, Daniel did NOT have a vision during this prayer did he? In fact, the last vision he had was 13 years ago. So, using common sense we must conclude that Gabriel is about to share with Daniel that which he was too weak to hear before.

Daniel 9:24, "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city..."

The word "determined" here in this verses comes from the Hebrew word, chathak {khaw-thak'}(See Strongs 02852) The word chathak literally means to "cut off" or to be "marked out." In other words, the angel is telling Daniel that 70 weeks had been cut of or marked out for the people of Israel.

How do you cut off or mark out 70 weeks? You would have to do so from a larger period of time. The 2300 prophecy is what the angel is referring to here. He is about to illustrate a period of time "cut out" of a longer period of time that is "marked" specifically for the people of Israel. (We will get back to the 2300 years later)

Daniel 9:25, "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem..."

The angel also tells Daniel WHEN to start the prophetic period of time. Daniel will know that it will begin the very moment a king declares it is time for the people of Israel to go forth to build Jerusalem. When was this command given?

Ezra 7:8,11,13,20 "...in the seventh year of the king. ...this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe... I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee. And whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king's treasure house."

In the seventh year of king Artaxerxes' reign, he made a decree unto the people of Israel to go forth and rebuild the temple. The seventh year of this king was in fact 457BC.

Daniel 9:25, "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."

The prophecy then declares that there will be 69 weeks (7 + 60 + 2) until Messiah arrives. So, what does 69 weeks mean in prophecy?

Numbers 14:34, "After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise."

Ezekiel 4:5-6, "For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year."

Each day for a year. Literally, “a day for the year, a day for the year.” This expression may be compared with a similar statement in Num. 14:34, “After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years.” In these statements are found the first intimations of the prophetic scale which later was to figure so largely in the interpretation of the great time prophecies, such as the “time and times and the dividing of time” (Dan. 7:25), and the “two thousand and three hundred days” (Dan. 8:14).-SDA Bible Commentary Vol 4. p. 590

By the way...
Don't make the same mistake I made when I first calculated this prophetic fact some years ago. I completely forgot about the fact that there is a YEAR 0 to contend with. I kept coming up with a calculation that was ONE YEAR OFF when trying to place Jesus Christ being baptized in 27AD. I kept seeing Him baptized in 26AD instead!

So... does the Word confirm that Jesus was baptized in that very year of 27AD or not?

John 4:25-26, "The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he."

Acts 10:38, "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him."

The word "Messiah" comes from the Hebrew word, "Mashiach," which in Greek is translated as "Christos" which means ANOINTED ONE. Here we see plainly that the New testament Word does in fact declare Jesus to be, the Messiah," "the Christ," "the Anointed One."

Does history confirm this as well? Remember? Prophecy tells us that in 27AD we will see Messiah anointed. Does this happen? First of all we need to answer an objection that is bound to spring up in some minds. Scriptures declare...

Luke 3:21,23 "Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,"

Why is it the Bible says this occurred in 27AD, and it also states Jesus was about 30 years of age when it happened? When the calendar time of this occurrence was first calculated there was an error of 4 years made as many of us today are now aware. It's overwhelmingly obvious that Christ could not have been born in 1AD because that would NOT make Him to be "about 30 years of age" now would it? PLUS, Herod was still alive when Christ was born as everyone is aware. He did all he could to kill Jesus at that time. But History records Herod's death to be in 4BC.

After the error was realized, historic fact became even clearer. Jesus was truly born in 4BC, and then baptized in 27AD at the age of 30. Since there is no such thing as a phantom "zero year" we have the following accurate formula to bring about the correct year of the baptism of Christ.

Try that in your calculator and you WILL see it work out just fine. Jesus did in fact step into the river Jordan in the exact year the vision Daniel had prophesied! PLUS, Jesus even proved this confirmation when He declared that the time was "fulfilled" after He was baptized.

Mark 1:9,14,15 "And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel."

Jesus understood Bible prophecy! He knew that the Autumn of the year 27AD was a fulfillment of the prophecy of Daniel.

Daniel 9:26-27, "And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off... 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."

Getting back to the 70 weeks. Here we see that in the middle of the 70th week something is to occur. Prophecy is stating that the Messiah shall be "cut off." It also states that when this occurs, it will, "cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease."

The middle of the week means 3.5 years. (7 years divided by 2) By adding 3.5 years to the autumn of 27AD, we come to the Spring of 31AD. What happened in the Spring of 31AD?

Matthew 26:27-28, "And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

The "covenant with many" is what actually happened when Jesus Christ sealed the covenant when He shed His blood on that cross and died. He died for all those that sinned even though He Himself knew no sin. He did this for the salvation of all those that would ACCEPT His sacrifice for the remission of sins.

Daniel 9:26-27, "And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:... 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..."

Matthew 26:27-28, "And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

In the middle of the week of Daniel we see that Jesus Christ prophetically accurately hung on the cross but 'NOT FOR HIMSELF." He died for the sins of you and me. He was sinless and a perfect sacrifice for sin. Just like of old when the Jewish nation brought forth a lamb to be slaughtered for their sins, it could NOT have any "blemish" upon it (see Exodus 12:5) because the Lord to come would not have any sin in Him.

To further confirm that this occurred. At the very moment "The Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world" died on that cross. The temple veil ripped from top to bottom therefore signifying that the "lamb sacrifice" for sins of the nation of Israel was at an END! The "oblation ceased!"

Matthew 27:50-51, "Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;"

Exactly 3.5 years AFTER Jesus stepped into the river Jordan the Messiah was cut off but not for any sins He committed. He died for those that had sins and needed to have them "atoned" for by bringing a lamb for sacrifice. In the exact year 31AD this occurred.

There is another way of finding that Messiah was "cut off" 3.5 years after He begins His ministry. Directly after Jesus is anointed by God in the river Jordan, Luke 3:23 tells us accurately that "Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was [the son] of Heli," This tells us when Jesus "began" His ministry, now all one needs do is "COUNT" the amount of Passovers that follow from this verse until Jesus is "cut off" or "crucified" and you will see 3.5 years have passed by.

Read John chapter 2 through chapter 13. Specifically John 2:13,23...6:3,4...13:1 (Passover, 1-2-3)

PASSOVER #1	PASSOVER #2	PASSOVER #3
John 2:13,23 "And the Jews' Passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem, Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did."	John 6:3-4, "And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. And the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh."	John 13:1, "Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end."

Daniel 9:24, "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."

After the death and resurrection of Christ, which in turn was to "make an end of sins", there was still 3.5 years left in the prophesied 490 years allotted to the Jews to accept Jesus Christ as Messiah.

Luke 24:46-47, "And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."

To finish off the week of Daniel, as well as finish the final years left in the 490 years of probation for the Jews, the Apostles were specifically targeting the Jewish nation in their Gospel preaching campaign. Prophecy said that after Messiah would be "cut off" for sins He did NOT commit there would still be 3.5 years left for the Jews to hear the message of the Gospel. The Apostles did exactly that. They preached exclusively to the Jewish nation.

Acts 7:56-58, "And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul."

In the Autumn of the year 34AD, the Jewish people openly rejected the Gospel message. They made an open declaration of that rejection by the stoning of Stephen. A stoning that was wholly approved by the leaders of Israel. Sad historic fact is, Stephan is the first Christian martyr killed by the hands of the Jewish nation itself.

Further biblical fact can be found in a prophetic utterance, and then a prophetic confirmation...

Daniel 9:26-27, "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."

Yes, this can be confusing. Perhaps I need to clarify it better... Here’s how I see it.

As we see in Daniel 9:24, two events are predicted here for the 70 weeks. “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.” Yes, three things are listed, but when Christ arrives and is “anointed” that coincides with Him becoming Messiah to “make an end of sins.” So, we are to focus on two things. That being the “holy city” and “Messiah who makes an end of sin.” Daniel then goes into detail outlining these two factors.

Daniel 9:25-26 “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.”

In short.. at the end of 69 weeks, Messiah arrives. During the 70^thweek Messiah is “cut off.”

It’s not that Daniel 9:25 and 26 contradict. It’s that in verse 25 it emphasizes the rebuilding, and then it continues from there. Verse 26 just reiterates the 62 weeks as far as I can see.