MARK

THE SEVENTY WEEKS OF DANIEL (Daniel 9:24-26)

Written by Kenute Curry

 

“ 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.
      “ Know therefore and understand,
      That from the going forth of the command
      To restore and build Jerusalem
      Until Messiah the Prince,
      There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
      The street shall be built again, and the wall,
      Even in troublesome times.
      “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.”

(Daniel 9:24-26)

These are weeks of years, whereas weeks of days are described in Daniel 10:2-3). The seventy weeks culminate in a total of 490 years. The time spans from Artaxerxes’s decree to rebuild Jerusalem, c. 445 B.C. (Nehemiah 2:1-8), to the Messiah’s kingdom. This panorama includes:

1.    Seven weeks or forty-nine years possibly closing Nehemiah’s career in the rebuilding of the “street and wall,” as well as the end of the ministry of Malachi and the close of the Old Testament.

2.    Sixty-two weeks or 434 more years for a total of 483 years to the First Advent of Messiah. This was fulfilled at the triumphal entry on 9 Nisan, A.D. 30. The Messiah will be “cut off,” (a common reference referring to death).

3.    The final seven years or seventieth week of the time of Antichrist (cf. v.27). Roman people, from whom the Antichrist will come, will “destroy the city” of Jerusalem and its temple in A.D. 70. From that time on, the history of the city would be one of war and destruction.

God promises two sets of three accomplishments each. First those            related to sin are:

1.    Finish the transgression. To restrain sin and Israel’s in particular during its long trend of apostasy culminating in the nation’s rejection of the Messiah (Daniel 9:11). At the Second Advent of Christ, a remnant will turn to Him in faith and the nation’s transgression and sins will be forgiven.

2.    Make an end of sins. To judge sin with finality, as stated in Hebrews 9:26. All the eras and ages came together and were consummated in the coming of the Messiah.

3.    Make reconciliation for iniquity. It is the actual basis for covering sin by full atonement, by the blood of the crucified Messiah who is “cut off” in verse 26. This refers to the time, still future, when the believing remnant of the nation of Israel will come into the benefit and enjoyment of the finished work of Christ.

Second, those accomplishments related to righteousness are:

1.    Bring in everlasting righteousness. This refers to the eternal righteousness of Daniel’s people in their great change from centuries of apostasy, pointing forward to the Second Advent and the Millennium when King Jesus will reign in righteousness.

2.    Seal up vision and prophecy. No more revelation will be needed and God will bring everything to completion by the fulfillment in Israel’s blessing as a nation. The bulk of prophecies will be fulfilled at the end of the seventy weeks.

3.    Anoint the Most Holy. To consecrate the Holy Place in a future temple that will be the center of worship in the millennial kingdom. The glory will return in the person of Jesus Christ (Ezekiel 43:1-5).

The end of the seventy weeks sweeps to the end of Gentile power and the time of Antichrist right before Christ’s return. The first three are fulfilled in principle at Christ’s First Coming, and in full at His return. The last three complete the plan at His Second Advent.

 

 

Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible, © 1979, 1980, 1982, 1990, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.

 

 

©2011 by Kenute Curry. All rights reserved.

 

 

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

WILLIAM MacDONALD – Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old Testament, Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville, Tennessee – 1992.

JOHN MacARTHUR – The MacArthur Bible Commentary, Thomas Nelson, Inc: Nashville, Tennessee – 2005

CLARENCE LARKIN – The Book of Daniel, Rev. Clarence Larkin Estate: Glenside, Pennsylvania - 1919