The 70 week prophecy of Daniel
9:24-27 is quite astonishing in terms of its precision it had in predicting
when future events would happen hundreds of years prior. There are a few components of the prophecy. A. The angel Gabriel explains the purpose of
it, B. he accurately predicts when the Messiah will begin His ministry followed
by His death and the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem and C. with ambiguity, he describes what the
final week will entail which is the coming of the anti-Christ, the abomination
of desolations and the great tribulation.
Part 1.
In it, the angel Gabriel explains
to Daniel that there will be 70 weeks determined for his people, the Holy City
and to finish transgression, sins and to make reconciliation for iniquity, to seal
up vision and prophecy and last but not least, to anoint the Most Holy.
Therefore, the aforementioned is what is to be accomplished in the 70 week
period (See verse 24). A week in Hebrew
is either a seven day period or a seven year period as shown in Genesis 29:27
& 28. So 70 weeks is 70 seven year
periods which amounts to 490 years.
Daniel 9:23, 24
23 At the beginning of your
supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are
greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:
24 “Seventy weeks[a] are
determined
For your people and for your holy
city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of[b] sins,
To make reconciliation for
iniquity,
To bring in everlasting
righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy.
Part 2.
Now for the math portion of the
passage which predicts the year of the Messiahs ministry with amazing accuracy
and describes it being followed by his
death and the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem by a prince and the
period of desolation in verse 25 and 26.
Daniel 9:25, 26
25 “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[c] shall be built
again, and the wall,[d]
Even in troublesome times.
26 “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.
It predicts that there will be 69
weeks (483 years) from when the decree to rebuild Jerusalem is issued to when
Messiah the Prince will begin. Many
people confuse the decree to rebuild Jerusalem with the decree to rebuild the
temple by king Cyrus. But the decree to
rebuild the city was issued by King Artaxerxes in the 20th year of his reign
during the month of Nissan (mid-March to mid-April) as mention in Nehemiah chapter
2. The year of this decree is between
March 15 and April 15 of the year 445 BC since Nehemiah merely says that it was
in the month of Nissan during the 20th year of Artaxerxes reign. We also know that the angel Gabriel wasn’t
speaking of Cyrus since Gabriel the angel spoke this prophecy to Daniel after
Cyrus's death during the first year of king Darius’s reign as stated in verse
one of Daniel 9. So the beginning point
for calculating the math of this prophecy is 445 BC in the month of Nissan
which is from mid-March to mid-April.
The amount of years of your starting date would 444.75 years BC if you
were to use April, 1 of the year 445 BC as your starting point. This is because April 1 represents a quarter
into the year 445 BC which means you’re actually 444.75 year BC instead of just
445 years BC.
Now before you can just calculate
the 69 weeks or 483 years from April of 445 BC (444.75), you first have to
determine what kind of years the 483 years are.
Are they solar years, lunar years or prophetic years (yes there are
prophetic years as noted in Revelations and Daniel)? We know its unlikely to be solar years of
365.25 day years since the Gregorian calendar wasn't yet the official calendar
in use for during Daniels prophecy. The
official calendar of the day was the lunar calendar which is about a 354.5 day
year which makes the lunar calendar a good candidate. There is also the prophetic year which is a
360 day year. This is the result of
prophecy indicating that there are 1260 days in 42 months and inside of three
and a half years. That means each month
is 30 days and each year is 360 days.
The figures given in prophetic visions or by angels in both the books of
Daniel and Revelations are as follows. A
time is one year, times equals 2 years, a time, times and half a time equal
three and a half years. 42 months are equated to three-and-a-half years and
1260 days equal three and a half years, one week equals 7 years and half a week
equals three and a half years. The three
and a half years are all in reference to the length of the Great Tribulation
period of the anti-Christ in both Daniel and Revelations. (If you would like to
read more on this, see Revelation 11:2-3
and Revelation 12:6, 14, Daniel 7:12, Daniel 7:25, Daniel 9:24-27 and Daniel 12:7).
Now for the tricky part, we now
have to calibrate the years since we base the year 445 BC as the year that the
decree to rebuild Jerusalem was made is on the Gregorian calendar of 365.25 day
years but we base the 69 weeks (483 years) on either the lunar or prophetic
years of either 354.5 day years or 360 day years (To be candid, I’m not certain
which calendar is thee calendar to base the 69 weeks on since either of them
fit history. I do prefer the prophetic calendar since it lines up more ).
Let’s first calculate the 69
weeks with the lunar year value. To
convert 483 lunar years into solar years, first take 483 years and multiply it
by 354.5 days. The total comes out to
171,223.5 days. Now divide 171,223.5
days by 365.25 days. The total comes out to 468.78 solar years. So if the angel was describing 69 weeks as
being 483 lunar years, then that is the equivalence of 468.78 solar years.
Now if the angel Gabriel was
referring to 69 weeks as meaning 483 prophetic years of 360 day years, then
multiply 483 years by 360 days. The
total comes out to 173,880 days. Divide
173,880 days by 365.25 days. The amount
comes out to 476.05 solar years. So if
the angel was describing 69 weeks as being 483 prophetic years, then that is
the equivalence of 476.05 solar years. So
69 weeks is either lunar to solar totaling 468.78 solar years or Prophetic
years totaling 476.05 solar years.
So now let’s calculate the 69
weeks from the year 445 using both the lunar years value and the prophetic
years value and see what year we arrive to.
Let’s start with the 69 weeks (483 years) in lunar years which is 468.78
solar years. We have to calculate 468.78
years from about the month of Nissan of 445 BC.
Since Nissan is mid-March to mid-April, let’s use April 1 of 445 BC as
our starting point. April 1 is 90 days
into 445 BC which is a quarter of a year
into the year 445 BC. So a quarter of a
year into 445 BC is 444.75 years to the year 1 AD (there is no zero AD). So we need to use 444.75 as our value for
April 1 of 445 BC. Note: There's no information as to what day in the month of
Nissan that the decree to rebuild Jerusalem was issued. So let’s pick April 1
which is right in the middle of Nissan since it’s a nice clear quarter into the
year which makes the math easier. That
gives us a margin of error of 15 days before or after the April 1 date.
So we need to subtract our 468.78
years (69 weeks of lunar years) from 444.75 (Nissan of 445bc April 1st). 444.75 minus 468.78 is the formula. The total should come out to -24.03. The result is January of 24ad. So if the 69 weeks were lunar years, then
Messiah the prince is to be cut off after January of 24 AD according to Daniel
9:25-26.
However, since our calendar
doesn't start with zero AD, but rather
goes from the year 1 BC to the year 1 AD on the following year rather than
going from 1bc to zero ad the following year (The Gregorian calendar leaves the
year zero AD out. Example: the year 2000 should have been in 2001 AD). So a year needs to be subtracted from January
of 24 AD which brings us to January of the year 23 AD if the 69 weeks was based
on lunar years..
January of the year 23 AD is an
acceptable year since many historians argue that Jesus was possibly born about
4 BC according to one proposed birth year of Jesus by Josephus and Luke says
Jesus began His ministry at approximately 30 years old according to Luke
3:23. Jesus would have been approximately
30 on January of 23 AD. The only issue
is that it conflicts with Jesus beginning His ministry after John the Baptist’s
ministry which began on the 15th year of Tiberius Casers reign which
was the year 29 AD. So if Jesus began
His ministry in the year 23 AD, then how could he begin His ministry after John
the Baptists ministry in 29 AD. Not that
Daniel 9 is saying that Jesus’ ministry begins within 69 weeks. It merely says that there are 69 weeks until
Messiah the Prince and that Messiah will be cut off sometime after the 69
weeks. If I may be candid, I simply
presume that “69 weeks Until Messiah the Prince is referring to when He starts
His ministry since the 69 weeks from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem arrives at
either 23 AD or 30 AD depending on whether the 69 weeks are based on lunar
years or prophetic years.
Now if the 69 weeks was referring
to 483 prophetic years which is 476.05 solar years, then we need to subtract 476.05
years from April 1 of 445 BC. The
formula for this is 444.75 minus 476.05 which equal’s -31.3 or April of 31 AD. Calibrate for the missing year zero AD in the
Gregorian calendar which equals -30.3 which is April of 30 AD. 30.3 means under a third into the year 30ad
which is under 3 months into 30 AD. This
brings us into early April of 30 AD.
30 AD is a great year since
Josephus's records also allow for Jesus to be born on about 1 BC. Since Luke 3 teaches that Jesus began His
ministry at approximately 30 years old and that it began after John the
Baptists ministry which began on the 15th year of Tiberius Caesars
reign in 29 AD. The only discrepancy is
what historians believe as the official birth year of Jesus would have been
since there is uncertainty of when the death of Herod was. Jesus had to be born prior to Herods death
which was either in 5BC, 4 BC or 1 BC.
Josephus tells us that Herod died during a lunar eclipse but there was
no record of the year of his death. The
records show that that there was a lunar eclipse on the years 5 BC, 4 BC and 1
BC. If Jesus was born in 5 or 4 BC, then
He would have been approximately 30 around the 23 AD date if we calculate the
69 weeks as being lunar years. However
that would conflict with Jesus beginning His ministry after the 15th
year of Tiberius’s reign in 29 AD. As
stated before, Daniel 9:24 doesn’t say that The messiah the prince will begin
His Ministry after 69 weeks.
It just says that there will be
69 weeks until Messiah the Prince and that He will be cut off after 69
weeks. So the big question is what “69
weeks until Messiah the Prince” means?
Is it saying when He will be born, begin His ministry or enters
Jerusalem lowly on the donkey as messiah.
The lowly on a donkey would be good however it doesn’t fit since the
date is April of 30 AD and Jesus’ ministry was over 2 years long since it began
around a Passover, and ended 2 Passovers after.
So since Jesus began after John the Baptists ministry after 29 AD and
was crucified over 2 years after His Crucifixion, the date which He enters
Jerusalem on the Donkey would have been as early as April of 32 AD. So this means that Jesus likely began His
ministry when He was baptized in April of 30 AD which was very easily just
prior to a Passover and He was then
crucified just over 2 years after in about April of 32 AD.
I choose therefor believe that the 69 weeks
are prophetic years of 360 day years and that “until Messiah the Prince” in
Daniel 9:25 is referring to When He is baptized and begins His Ministry with
the power of The Holy Spirit. And I
believe that “Messiah will be cut off after the 69 weeks” in Daniel 9:26 is
referring to Jesus being Crucified after the 2 years. I believe that what is meant by “Then the
prince of the people will destroy Jerusalem and the temple” in Daniel 9:26 is
referring to Prince Titus of the Romans destroying Jerusalem and the temple
about 40 years after Jesus’s death.
Jesus's coming and crucifixion
aren’t the only impressive aspects of this prophecy, but the fact that it was
able to accurately predict that a prince would destroy the temple and Jerusalem
after the Messiah is cut off is astonishing and would require a rather ridiculous
conspiracy theory to play out just so.
Many cynics say that the earliest records of a book of Daniel ever
existing were in about 250 bc and therefore the book of Daniel may not have
been written by Daniel in about 450 BC which is ludicrous since that only means
that earlier records of the book are lost.
And it would still be too fantastic for a fraud to predict such events
even 250 years BC.
Part 3.
Now we are at the somewhat
ambiguous and yet, one of the most important eschatological pieces of prophecy
in the Bible at the end of verse 26 and
in verse 27.
Let’s review what verses 26 and
27 of Daniel 9 say:
26 “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.
27 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.”
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.
27 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.”
Let’s look at what it goes on to
say after it says that the temple and Jerusalem will be destroyed. It says there will be desolations until the
end of the war. We immediately think
that its speaking of the end of the Jewish Roman war. But if you notice carefully, it goes on to say that then the prince will
make a covenant with the people for one more week but he will make an end of
sacrifice and offering in the middle of the week. The big question is how the anti-Christ can
take away sacrifice and offering in the middle of the 70th week if he already
destroyed the temple prior to the 70th week.
Did Prince Titus rebuild the temple after he destroyed it and then take
sacrifice and offering away after he built it again? Of course not since the temple hasn't been
rebuilt since Prince Titus destroyed it in 70 AD. With that being said, when it says that
desolations will be determined after the temple and city is destroyed till the
end of the war, it’s talking about the 2000 year plus period of desolations
that the Jewish people experienced since the city and temple were
destroyed. The war is a spiritual one
and the prince who will confirm a covenant with the people for the final 70th
week is still to come and is the anti-Christ himself and will take away
sacrifice and offering from the temple after he eventually orders it to be
rebuilt again.
Now the big part of this to
notice is when it says that the prince will take away sacrifice and offering,
and that he will do it on the wing of abominations shall be one who
makes desolate. Jesus cations us in Matthew 24 5 “So when you
see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’[a]
spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let
those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go
down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to
get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women
and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or
on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the
beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
This great distress that is
unequaled from the beginning of the world until now and never to be equaled
again is known as the great tribulation.
Jesus is referring to back to Daniel 12 when He says this which says:
Daniel 12:1 “At that time Michael
shall stand up,
The great prince who stands watch
over the sons of your people;
And there shall be a time of
trouble,
Such as never was since there was
a nation,
Even to that time.
And at that time your people
shall be delivered,
Everyone who is found written in
the book.
2 And many of those who sleep in
the dust of the earth shall awake,
Some to everlasting life,
Some to shame and everlasting
contempt.
Jesus is also referring to Daniel
12:11 when He says in Matthew 24:15
15 “Therefore when you see the
‘abomination of desolation,’[c] spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in
the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 “then let those who are
in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down
to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go
back to get his clothes.
Daniel 12:11 says:
11 “And from the time that the
daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up,
there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. 12 Blessed is he who
waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.
13 “But you, go your way till the
end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the
days.”
And Daniel 12:7 says that this
Great Tribulation will be a time, times and half a time which is three and a
half years.
Daniel 12:7
7 Then I heard the man clothed in
linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand
and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it shall
be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people
has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.
Jesus Says that the sun and moon
will darken and the powers of the heavens will be shaken immediately after
the Great Tribulation and that He will return on the clouds sometime after the
sun and moon dimming event.
This sun and moon dimming event
is very likely to be the opening of the 6th seal as mentioned in
Revelation 6:12. Let’s compare the 2 in Matthew 24:29-31 and Revelation
6:12-17.
Matt 24: 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.
And now compare this to
Revelations 6:12
Rev 6:12 I looked when He opened
the sixth seal, and behold,[e] there was a great earthquake; and the sun became
black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon[f] became like blood. 13 And the stars
of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is
shaken by a mighty wind. 14 Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled
up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. 15 And the kings
of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders,[g] the mighty men,
every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of
the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us
from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17
For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
The 70th week is yet to begin and
when it does, the temple will be rebuilt and the great tribulation will begin
in the middle of the last week when we see the abomination of desolations. This great Tribulation period will last three
and a half years since this event occurs in the middle of the week or 7 year
period.
Jesus says the great tribulation
ends with the sun going dark and the moon and with Him ultimately returning in
the clouds sometime after the sun and moon going dark along with the powers of
the heavens being shaken in Matthew 24:29-31. The sun and moon going dark after
the tribulation is likely the opening of the sixth seal in Revelations 6:12 when the sun goes dark and the moon dims
blood red followed by the great earthquake and the stars falling from the
sky.
Daniel 12 also confirms that the
Great Tribulation occurs with the abomination of desolations and lasts three
and a half years. The prince mentioned
in verse 27 is a spiritual principality just as is the prince of Persian which
is a demon as shown in Daniel 10:13. The
prince in verse 27 of Daniel 9 is the antichrist who commits the abomination of
Desolations by declaring himself as god in the Holy place.
Daniel 12:1-3
1 “At that time Michael, the
great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of
distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But
at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will
be delivered. 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some
to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.
Daniel 12:11-12
11 “From the time that the daily
sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up,
there will be 1,290 days.12 Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the
end of the 1,335 days.
Part 4.
So with all that being said, let’s
read the 5 short verses of Daniel 9:23-27 and understand what this small but
treasure trove of knowledge passage is all about.
Daniel 9:23-27
23 At the beginning of your
supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are
greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:
24 “Seventy weeks[a] are
determined
For your people and for your holy
city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of[b] sins,
To make reconciliation for
iniquity,
To bring in everlasting
righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy.
25 “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[c] shall be built
again, and the wall,[d]
Even in troublesome times.
26 “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.
27 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.”
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