Daniel’s Seventy Weeks
Philip B. Brown ( www.newwine.org )

There are two major views of the seventy weeks in Daniel 9. The question is what decree to use for the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.

The dispensationalists and most premillennialists tend to go with the letters of King Artaxerxes in 445 BC (Nehemiah 2) as the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.  The 70th week is split off from the rest of the 70.  They place a big time-jump between the 69th week and the 70th week.  Then the 70th week is the time of the great tribulation, which they view as the seven-year period prior to Christ’s return.  During the second half of the seven years, a world-government ruler called the antichrist rules over every tribe, people,  language, and nation of the world (Revelation 13:5-7).

Amillennialists and preterists tend to go with the decree of King Artaxerxes in 458 BC (Ezra 7) as the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.  Preterists do not split off any of the seventy weeks.  All 490 years continues without a break.  Most amillennialists and preterists do not believe in a seven-year great tribulation period prior to Christ’s return. They do not believe in the world-government ruler called the antichrist.

There is a third view, minor in its acceptance, which is based on the decree of Cyrus in 536 BC.  Most theologians reject this view because the date seems to be too early for it to work.  This, however, is the view that I will argue, based on the evidence of Scripture.  Most theologians who would take this view would tend to be amillennialists and preterists.  They would not separate some weeks off into the future.  On the other hand, I take the futurist position.  So I split some of the weeks off into the future.

This is done with close attention to the purpose of the seventy weeks, based on Daniel’s prayer.  You can’t understand the answer to a question without understanding the question.  Likewise, you can’t understand the vision without understanding the prayer to which the vision was in response.  Thus, the vision is interpreted in a better context.

Finally, the Olivetti Discourse (Matthew 24 and Luke21) will be examined in the context of this purpose.  Thus, the Olivetti Discourse can be interpreted better in the context of Daniel.  This is appropriate because Daniel was Scripture at the time of Christ, and because Jesus makes reference to the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel.

Seventy Weeks Based On Nehemiah 2 (Decree of Artaxerxes)

Most futurists, and especially dispensationalists, tend to split the seventy weeks between the 69th and the 70th.  This theory uses the letter of King Artaxerxes in 445 BC (Nehemiah 2) as the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.  The timeline of sixty-nine weeks beginning in 445 BC requires that each week be based on 360-day years, with no correction for the solar cycle.  Those who advocate the use of these letters as the decree are convinced of its correctness by the accuracy of the math.

I don't think we should decide the decree based on the accuracy of the math.  The dates themselves require information outside of Scripture. You have to go to the footnotes in study Bibles to get these dates.  Unlike Scripture itself, they are subject to error.  I like the idea of first examining Scripture to see what the decree should be.  Use Scriptural precedent.  If we don't, the accuracy of math can deceive us.  The math can be very accurate.  But if the assumptions are incorrect, assumptions upon which the math are based, then the theory can still be wrong.  Many dispensationalists, I believe, are deceived by the accuracy of the math of the 360-day year.

Many advocates of this view tend to portray the 360-day year as being Jewish.  However, the Jewish calendar does not have 360 days in a year. The Jewish calendar is based on the lunar month.  The lunar cycle is 29 1/2 days.  Therefore, half the months are 29 days, and the other half are 30 days. This makes a 12-month Jewish year be 354 days, not 360 days.  Also, the Jewish calendar adds an extra 12th month every three years or so, in order to correct for the sun.

The only justification for the 360-day year, with no correction for the sun, is based on numbers in Revelation (not Daniel).  Revelation 13:5 says the beast will reign for 42 months.  Revelation 11:1-3 also mentions the 42 months.  And this verse says the two witnesses will prophecy 1260 days.  The 1260 days is also given in Revelation 12:6, where the woman is nourished for 1260 days.  If you divide 1260 days by 42 months, you get exactly 30 days. Daniel 9:27 is interpreted as saying the sacrifice is stopped in the midst of the week of the covenant.  All this is put together and it’s concluded that the abomination is exactly in the middle of the seven years, and that each half is 1260 days. 

Scripture, however, never explicitly equates the 1260 days with the 42 months.  Also, why is Revelation used to interpret Daniel?  Revelation was written many years after Daniel.  What does Daniel say about the number of days in half the week?  Daniel 12:11 says from the abomination there are 1290 days.  Would not that make the seven years be 1290 days times two?  Seven years would be 2580 days, making one year be 368.57 days.  Of course this doesn’t get us anywhere.  But it’s just as good a number as 360 days for a year.  There are several assumptions here that are being made, to get 360 days, which are invalid assumptions.

The first assumption is that the abomination is exactly in the middle of the seven years.  It can simply be in the midst of the seven years. The second assumption is that 1260 days is equated to 42 months.  The 1260 days could be the first half, and the 42 months could be the second half.  Daniel 12:11 says that from the abomination there are 1290 days.  That, therefore, is the second half.

Nehemiah 2:1-8  It happened in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, when wine was before him, that I took up the wine, and gave it to the king. Now I had not been before sad in his presence.  (2)  The king said to me, Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid.  (3)  I said to the king, Let the king live forever: why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' tombs, lies waste, and its gates are consumed with fire?  (4)  Then the king said to me, For what do you make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.  (5) I said to the king, If it please the king, and if your servant have found favor in your sight, that you would send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may build it.  (6)  The king said to me  (the queen also sitting by him), For how long shall your journey be? and when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time. (7)  Moreover I said to the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah;  (8)  and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the castle which appertains to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. The king granted me, according to the good hand of my God on me.

Let’s look at an alternative math theory.  The first half is 1260 days.  The second half is 1290 days.  In the middle, dividing these two time-periods, there are seven days.  The two witnesses prophecy for 1260 days. After that, they are killed and lie dead in the streets of Jerusalem for 3 1/2 days (Revelation 11:3, 9-11).  3 ½ days is obviously half of seven days. Adding it together, the seven years is 1260 days plus 7 days plus 1290 days. This adds up to 2557 days.  Seven years is 365.25 days times 7, which is 2556.75.  Round up for the leap-year and we have 2557 days.  It’s an exact match.

I reject the letters of Nehemiah 2, from 445 BC, for the following two reasons.

The first reason is that the seventy weeks are obviously weeks of years.  The Scriptural precedent for weeks of years is the Jubilee (seven weeks of years) from Leviticus 25.  Here, the growing seasons and Jewish festivals are very important in establishment of these weeks of years.  In Leviticus 25, the weeks of years are based on the growing seasons, where a year corrected to the solar cycle.  360-day years will get way off in the growing seasons.  With the 360-day year, it only takes 70 years for summer to be winter and winter to be summer - a full half-year out of sync with the solar cycle. Also in Leviticus 25 we have the jubilee defined.  The seventy weeks is ten jubilees.  There has never been a calendar that was not corrected to the solar cycle.  The Jewish calendar has 354 days in a year, and is corrected to the solar cycle approximately every third year.

The second reason for rejecting the letters of Nehemiah 2 is that they were not a public law-making decree.  They were only letters written to the governors of Trans-Euphrates for safe conduct, and to Asaph, keeper of the king’s forest, so that he would give Nehemiah timber.  The public law-making decree to release the Jews and rebuild Jerusalem had already been given by Cyrus.  No further decree was necessary.

Seventy Weeks Based On Ezra 7 (Decree of Artaxerxes)

When preterists want to interpret the abomination of desolation in Matthew 24, they generally turn to Daniel 9.  It can be shown that Daniel 12 has far more parallels to Mathew 24 than does Daniel 9.  But it’s also prudent to examine the issues of Daniel 9.   In order for the abomination of Matthew 24 to be 70 AD, preterists must argue that the seventy weeks of Daniel 9 was completely fulfilled with the crucifixion, or at least by 70 AD. 

Ezra 7:11-22  Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, even the scribe of the words of the commandments of Yahweh, and of his statutes to Israel:  (12)  Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect and so forth.  (13)  I make a decree, that all those of the people of Israel, and their priests and the Levites, in my realm, who are minded of their own free will to go to Jerusalem, go with you.  (14)  Because you are sent of the king and his seven counselors, to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your hand,  (15)  and to carry the silver and gold, which the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose habitation is in Jerusalem,  (16)  and all the silver and gold that you shall find in all the province of Babylon, with the freewill offering of the people, and of the priests, offering willingly for the house of their God which is in Jerusalem;  (17)  therefore you shall with all diligence buy with this money bulls, rams, lambs, with their meal offerings and their drink offerings, and shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God which is in Jerusalem.  (18)  Whatever shall seem good to you and to your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and the gold, do that after the will of your God.  (19) The vessels that are given to you for the service of the house of your God, deliver before the God of Jerusalem.  (20) Whatever more shall be needful for the house of your God, which you shall have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king's treasure house.  (21)  I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers who are beyond the River, that whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done with all diligence,  (22)  to one hundred talents of silver, and to one hundred measures of wheat, and to one hundred baths of wine, and to one hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much.

Preterists generally use the decree of King Artaxerxes in 458 BC (Ezra 7) as the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.  Preterists do not split off any of the seventy weeks.  All 490 years continues without a break. The math of this date works quite well.  Sixty-nine weeks brings us to 26 AD, the start of Christ’s ministry.  Thus the crucifixion would be in the middle of the seventh week.  The problem, however, is that the decree given in Ezra 7 is not for the rebuilding of Jerusalem.  It was not for the rebuilding of anything.  It was simply for supplies for the temple.  Verses 16, 17, and 20 of Ezra 7 specifically say it's for the temple.  (The KJV says the "house of their God which is in Jerusalem."  The NIV says the "temple of their God in Jerusalem.")  I could find no mention of building anything in Ezra 7.  And, the temple was already completed at the time of this decree.

The BC dates that we have in our study Bibles are not in Scripture itself.  They are computed from ancient lists of kings.  There is very little disagreement among scholars on these dates.  Nevertheless, they are based on ancient texts outside of Scripture, and can have errors.  As we will see, all the arguments of Scripture itself, without data from outside of Scripture, point to the decree of Cyrus.  If we didn't have those lists of kings that are not in Scripture, then nobody would suggest Nehemiah 2 or Ezra 7.  Everyone would be in agreement that it's the decree of Cyrus, because Scripture itself suggests no other decree.

BC Dates Should Only Be For Comparison

It's my belief that the sixty-two weeks begins with the decree of Cyrus and completes with the birth of Christ.  At this point most theologians will say that my dates do not add up.  The decree of Cyrus is said to have been in 536 BC.  The birth of Christ was around 6 BC to 2 BC.  And sixty-two weeks of years would be 434 years.  The date of 536 BC would seem to be about 96 years too early.

But where in Scripture does it say the decree of Cyrus was in 536 BC?  Scripture only tells us that it was in the “first year of Cyrus king of Persia.”  Scholars have spent huge amounts of time trying to piece together ancient king-lists and other information that is used to determine the dates when various kings ruled.  The study of all this information is extremely complex and can be prone to lots of error because much of the ancient information often itself has errors.

Ptolemy of Alexandria was such an astronomer who lived in the second century AD.  Many of the Bible dates are based on his king-list, which includes lunar eclipses.  When the lunar eclipses are verified, the lists are given a high level of credibility.  But what if Ptolemy did the computations himself?  After all, he was an astronomer, not a historian.  What Ptolemy simply included his computations alongside faulty king-list that the historians of his time had compiled based on limited and error-prone information?  Bottom line is that the subject of dates for all the ancient kings is extremely complex.

BC dates are good for comparison.  They help us understand what events took place before or after other events.  They help us lay out the timeline for a better understanding of Scripture.  But ancient BC dates should never be used to determine theology.  Ancient BC dates should be completely ignored when determining the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.  We must use Scripture alone to determine theology.

Seventy Weeks Based On Ezra 1 (Decree of Cyrus)

Some have argued that the decree of Cyrus was not a decree to rebuild Jerusalem, but was instead a decree to rebuild the temple.  But is not rebuilding the temple the first step of rebuilding Jerusalem?  Is not the temple in Jerusalem?  Isaiah lays this argument to rest.  Isaiah prophesied the decree to rebuild Jerusalem in Isaiah 44:28, even naming Cyrus' name, hundreds of years before Cyrus was born.  Isaiah said that Cyrus would rebuild the temple and Jerusalem.  So from a perspective of letting Scripture interpret Scripture, the decree of Cyrus is the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.

Ezra 1:1-5  Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Yahweh by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Yahweh stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying,  (2)  Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth has Yahweh, the God of heaven, given me; and he has commanded me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah.  (3)  Whoever there is among you of all his people, his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of Yahweh, the God of Israel  (he is God), which is in Jerusalem.  (4)  Whoever is left, in any place where he sojourns, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with animals, besides the freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem.  (5)  Then rose up the heads of fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites, even all whose spirit God had stirred to go up to build the house of Yahweh which is in Jerusalem.

Isaiah 44:28  Who says of Cyrus, 'He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure,' even saying of Jerusalem, 'She will be built;' and of the temple, 'Your foundation will be laid.' "

Daniel's prayer in Daniel 9 was given after Babylon had been conquered.  And Daniel's prayer (Daniel 9:2) mentions the 70 years that Jeremiah said the captivity would last.  This prophecy (Jeremiah 25:11-12) also said that the king of Babylon would be punished.  Daniel had obviously recognized this punishment and was thus prompted to pray for Israel.  Ezra 1:1 also mentions Jeremiah's 70 years and says that the decree of Cyrus was in its fulfillment.  Daniel's prayer was given the first year of Darius the Mede.  The decree of Cyrus was given the first year of Cyrus, which would be first year of his rule over Babylon.  Cyrus was ruler over the entire Persian Empire.  Thus Darius was probably a governor of Babylon starting in the year that Babylon was conquered.  For Darius' rule to have started later would not make sense.  Why would Daniel pray for something that had already been given?  So Daniel's prayer must have been given in the same year that Babylon was conquered.

Daniel's prayer specifically asks for the fulfillment of Jeremiah's 70 years (Daniel 9:2).   And Scripture itself tells us that the decree of Cyrus was in fulfillment of Jeremiah's 70 years (Ezra 1:1).  So the decree of Cyrus was in direct answer to Daniel's prayer.

Daniel’s Prayer

You can’t understand the answer to a question without understanding the question.  Likewise, you can’t understand the vision without understanding the prayer to which the vision was in response.  Thus, the vision is better interpreted in the context of Daniel’s prayer.

Daniel prayed for the forgiveness of Israel's sins.  Daniel confessed that Jerusalem had been desolate for 70 years, because of Israel's sins.  Daniel, in his prayer, explicitly mentions the prophecy of Jeremiah, which said the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.  Is not the seventy weeks of years in Daniel 9 related to the 70 years of Jeremiah 25:11-12?  Would not one begin when the other ends?

In the vision, God is saying that He would put an end to the desolation of Jerusalem.  But God gives a reason for doing so.  God says that "your people, and your holy city" have seventy weeks of years to put an end to sin.  It all adds up together.  God immediately brought the desolation of Jerusalem to an end.  The prophecy of Jeremiah 29:10 even says that after the 70 years the people of Israel would be brought back to Jerusalem.  Jerusalem would no longer be desolate.  So seventy weeks that Israel was given to put an end to sin would logically start right then, when God brought the desolation of Jerusalem to an end.  The start of the seventy weeks of non-desolation immediately followed the 70 years of desolation.

Daniel was praying for forgiveness of sin.  The seventy weeks of non-desolation of Jerusalem are given for us to completely stop sinning, according to Daniel 9:24 (quoted below).  The seventy weeks are for “your people and your holy city” to do this.  Therefore, this will be completed for all of Israel (which is the true Church) before Christ returns.  That's the literal interpretation of the verse, so that's what we must believe.  However, failure to do so does not mean the loss of salvation.  The verse says we must "finish transgression, put an end to sin, ... and bring in everlasting righteousness."  Failure to completely overcome sin by the time Christ returns means that one is not a part of the true Israel, which is the true Church, the Bride of Christ.  One would simply continue their journey towards salvation during the millennium.  This is the New Wine System.  The New Wine System is a literal interpretation of Scripture such that Old Testament Jewish eschatology is applied directly to the New Testament Church. For more information on the New Wine System, refer to my book, "New Wine for the End Times."

Comparison between Three Systems of Interpretation

As described in this article, I believe the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem is the decree of Cyrus.  But unlike some preterists who might agree, I put a significant portion of the seventy weeks in the end times.  In other words, I believe in a futurist interpretation of Daniel’s seventy weeks – specifically the seven weeks of the seventy.  And I view this interpretation of Daniel 9 as being compatible with the New Wine System. The New Wine System interprets Old Testament prophecies about Israel ruling the world, in the Messianic age to come, as being literally fulfilled in the Church.  Again, refer to my book for more information.

Jesus will be the literal King of Kings and Lord of Lords in the age to come.  And we will be priests and kings with Christ, ruling over the nations.  Through Christ’s Bride, which is Israel, which is all who are in Christ, the gospel will go out to all the nations.  Those who are in Christ are Israel, and will literally fulfill all the Old Testament prophecy about Israel ruling the world when the Messiah comes again.  This is the New Wine System.

The other two major systems of interpretation have been preterism and dispensationalism.  Traditional preterism has had predominance throughout most of Church history.  Dispensationalism is more recent in Church history, but today it enjoys a lot of acceptance, especially with the more literal minded theologians.  Preterists usually use Ezra 7 as the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.  Dispensationalists usually use Nehemiah 2 as the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.  And the New Wine System uses Cyrus (Ezra 1) as the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.  It’s interesting to do a comparison between these three systems of interpretation, and to see why their specific approaches to Daniel 9 strongly reflects the differences between these three systems.

Preterism means “past fulfillment.”  The preterist view of Daniel 9 is that the seventy weeks are contiguous, and go from the decree in Ezra 7 to the crucifixion of Christ.  The crucifixion itself happens in the middle of the seventieth week.  The end of the seventieth week is often assumed to be the stoning of Stephen.  (We don’t actually know how long it was between the crucifixion and the stoning of Stephen.)  Preterists pick Ezra 7 primarily because the dates work out nicely.  Preterism goes hand-in-hand with the covenantal view, which says the Church, under the new covenant, is a continuation of the Old Testament system of covenants.  This means that the Church is basically the same as Israel.  With preterism, the kingdom of heaven is spiritual.  It’s in our hearts.  So there is no literal fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies about Israel literally ruling the nations.

Dispensationalism, on the other hand, draws major distinctions between Israel and the Church.  Dispensationalism views all of history as being divided up into seven dispensations, which is roughly seven time periods.  But more accurately, each dispensation has a different set of rules by which God judges men for salvation.  The Church dispensation is seen as a “parenthesis” between Old Testament Israel and the millennial age to come.  The dispensationalists view the seventy weeks as sixty-nine of them being contiguous, and go from the decree in Nehemiah 2 to Palm Sunday when Christ rode into Jerusalem on a donkey.  The seventh week is the week of the covenant.  It is split off from the rest.  The seventh week begins with a covenant between the antichrist and Israel.  The pre-tribulation rapture is also believed to be at the start of this week.  The “glorious appearing” of Christ is said to be at the end of the seventh week.  With dispensationalism, the kingdom of heaven is more literal.  The kingdom will come when Christ returns to rule during the millennium.  However, there is a newer view called progressive dispensationalism which says the kingdom is in our hearts as a partial fulfillment.  Then when Christ returns, the kingdom of heaven will come literally to earth in the millennial reign of Christ.

The New Wine System, on the other hand, views Israel and the Church as being identical.  The Church is Israel.  The New Wine view of Daniel 9 is that the seventy weeks are split between sixty-two weeks and seven weeks.  The Messiah comes twice.  Two antichrists come, and there are two great tribulations, the first being in 70 AD.  Each allocation of weeks brings us to a coming of the Messiah.  The sixty-two weeks go from the decree of Cyrus (Ezra 1) to the birth of Christ.  Then there is an extra week from the birth of Christ to Herod’s death.  The time in-between the two allocations of weeks is the time of the Gentiles, when Gentiles trample on Jerusalem by ruling over it, or when Jerusalem is desolate.  Then there is a final seven weeks during which Jerusalem is not trampled on by Gentiles.  After the seventy weeks, there is another half a week of great tribulation, not included in the seventy, during which Jerusalem is again trampled upon by the Gentiles.  Then the Messiah returns and ushers in the Messianic reign and the age to come.  The New Wine System agrees with progressive dispensationalists in that the kingdom of heaven is partially fulfilled in our hearts, but will literally be fulfilled when Christ returns.  We will literally reign with Christ over the nations during the millennium.

The Purpose of the Seventy Weeks

The vision of Daniel 9 itself has a purpose statement.  Each of the three systems of interpretation views this purpose statement quite differently.

Daniel 9:24 NIV  Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.

Preterists will argue that Christ fulfilled this purpose entirely at the cross.  It’s true that Christ’s crucifixion paid for our sins. So in a way, transgression was finished.  In a way, sin was put to an end.  And the cross did atone for wickedness.  Sin is still with us.  But since the sins are paid for, you could argue that we have everlasting righteousness.  So certainly the cross has a lot to do with the fulfillment of Daniel 9.  But is this something that we ourselves did?  Or is this something that Christ did? Yet the text says these are things that “your people and your holy city” must do.  Israel was punished 70 years for sin.  Now God is saying that we must stop sinning during these seventy weeks of years.  Saying that Christ fulfilled this vision is to avoid the responsibility that we have to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12.)  Saying that Christ fulfilled this vision is to completely ignore Daniel’s prayer of repentance for Israel, and God’s response that Israel must repent and stop sinning.  This is sanctification.  God does the greatest work in us (Philippians 2:13.)  But it’s a task that we must undertake, with God doing the greater work.

Preterism says the vision is completely fulfilled.  Therefore, the purpose must also be fulfilled.  Even though the purpose statement says “your people” must do these things, preterists believe all these things were accomplished by Christ on the cross.  In other words, sins were put to an end because of the cross.  Transgression was finished because of the cross.  It’s true that our sins are forgiven because of the cross.  But the cross did not bring about an end to transgression and sin.  By saying the purpose was fulfilled at the cross, the requirement that all sin in God’s people be ended before Christ returns becomes entirely removed from what the vision says.

Dispensationalists would view “your people and your holy city” as being entirely Israel and not the Church.  The time in-between the sixty-ninth week and the seventh week is considered to be a “parenthesis” between two dispensations for Israel.  The Church is believed to be caught up in the rapture and in heaven before the seventh week is completed.  By saying the vision is for Israel, and not the Church, the requirement that all sin in God’s people must be ended before Christ returns becomes entirely removed from what the vision says.

The New Wine System views “your people and your holy city” as being about Israel, which is the Church.  The Old Testament purpose of Israel was to reign with the Messiah over the world in order to bring righteousness to the world.  But to bring righteousness to the world, the world’s priests and kings must themselves be righteous.  The seventy weeks are time periods during which Jerusalem is not trampled on by Gentiles.  This is important, because after the seventy weeks, during the Messianic reign of Christ, Jerusalem will be the capitol of the world.

We who are in the Church must all completely stop sinning before Christ will return.  It’s only those who completely overcome all their sinful habits through a relationship with Jesus Christ that will be in the wedding banquet and will reign as priests and kings during the Messianic age to come.  There will be many who will be resurrected to live during the millennium.  Everyone has the free-will opportunity to accept Christ as their Savior and King.  But not everyone is elected to be in the commonwealth of Israel.  In other words, not all who believe in Christ will be kings and priests during the millennium.

Therefore, the people who have died, having never heard about or accepted Christ as their personal Savior, will be able to hear the gospel during the millennium.  They will have the opportunity to accept Christ as their Savior after the resurrection of both the just and the unjust.  It's only those who deliberately and knowingly reject God's Salvation that will not be resurrected, and will wind up going to the lake of fire, which is hell, after the thousand-year reign of Christ.  The final Judgment, therefore, is not until a thousand years after the resurrection of both the just and the unjust.

If you are Baptist, you might believe that vision and prophecy were sealed with Christ’s first coming.  Other Christians believe that vision and prophecy are still with us today.  But even if vision and prophecy were sealed with Christ’s first coming, it would not have been sealed at the time of the crucifixion.  The book of Revelation, as an example, was written years later, and it’s certainly a book of vision and a prophecy.  The entire New Testament was written after Preterists say that the seventy weeks were finished.

Daniel 9:24 NIV "Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.

The seventy weeks were given for “your people and your holy city” to anoint the most holy.  Messiah means the anointed one.  In Old Testament times, this meant to literally pour oil over the head of a person, saying that he is king.  The Church today considers Christ to be our king.  He reigns in heaven.  But he reigned in heaven from the creation of the world. Everything that was made was made by Him and through Him (Colossians 1:16). But during the ministry of Christ, he avoided being made king by the people (John 6:15).  Someday, however, when Christ returns, “your people and your holy city” will anoint him King.  This has not yet happened.

Preterists claim that Christ completely fulfilled all these things at the cross.  But look at what the text says.  It’s not the Messiah that was to do these things.  It’s “your people and your holy city” which must finish transgression and put an end to sin.  The seventy weeks are given for us to “to put an end to sin,” and to “bring in everlasting righteousness.”  While the first coming of Christ is an essential part of the fulfillment of Daniel’s vision, it’s not the complete fulfillment.  This leads us to believe that the seventy weeks are decreed for Christ’s second coming, as well as for His first coming.

The decree is for "your people and your holy city." All true believers are included in "your people" because the true Israel and the true Church are the same.  But are we included in "your holy city?"  Sure you could say there is a spiritual Jerusalem.  But in the context of the vision, Daniel was praying for the restoration of the natural city of old Jerusalem.  Context is king.  The decree of Cyrus was for the restoration of that natural city, not for the restoration of a spiritual Jerusalem.  So "your holy city" must be talking about the natural old city of Jerusalem. 

Matthew 23:37-39 makes it clear that Jesus will not return until those who “sit on the seat of Moses” (verse 2) say about Jesus, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”  The people of Jerusalem had already said these exact words (Matthew 21:9) when Jesus rode in on a donkey.  So this is not a requirement for Christians, or Jewish people in general, or even for Jews in Jerusalem.  The Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, who “sit on the seat of Moses,” must fulfill this prophecy.  Romans 11:25 also talks about the fact that the Jews must turn to Christ before Christ returns.  Thus, it fits that Daniel's vision says that “your holy city”, which is the Jewish leaders in old Jerusalem, must acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah before the seventy weeks are fulfilled.

With this in mind, the seventy weeks cannot have already been finished. There must be a gap between Christ’s first coming and his second coming.  It’s true that the text does not suggest a gap between the 69th and the 70th week. But the text does allow for a gap between the seven weeks and the sixty-two weeks.  Both time periods are decreed.  Nothing in the text requires them to be added or to occur concurrently.  Forcing them to be contiguous is forcing a requirement on the timeline that the text itself does not indicate.  It's only an assumption to say that the two allotments of time are contiguous.  Making them as two separate allotments of time in two separate comings of Christ makes a lot more sense than trying to find some significant event that might have occurred at the point where they would be joined contiguously.

Daniel 9:25 NIV "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.

 Since the seventy weeks are not yet fulfilled, and since the sixty-two weeks were fulfilled when the Messiah was “cut off”, then the seven weeks must remain to be fulfilled in the end times, just prior to Christ’s second coming.  As a matter of fact, the time when “the end shall come” (Matthew 24:14) is probably the “end” of the seventy weeks.  It fits the context because Jesus is referring back to the abomination of desolation, spoken of in the prophet Daniel.

Since the seventy weeks is not yet completely fulfilled, it would hold that the abomination of desolation is still in the future.  This makes Matthew 24 also be future, while Luke 21 deals with the surrounding of Jerusalem in 70 AD.  Later in this article I will discuss more about how the Olivetti Discourse (Matthew 24 and Luke 21) ties back to the seventy weeks.

The Messiah is Cut-Off

It's my belief that the sixty-two weeks goes from the decree of Cyrus to the birth of Christ.  Christ is "cut off" at his birth, not his death.  Most people interpret this verse to mean the Messiah is crucified after the sixty-two 'sevens.' The Hebrew word that is translated 'cut off' is karath.  The first five books of the Bible use the word 66 times.  Only 8 of these references actually mean to be killed or destroyed.  And there are other Hebrew words that always mean to kill or destroy.

Daniel 9:26 NIV After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.

This word usually is used when a covenant is cut (or made). Originally, a covenant was made by cutting an animal in half. The two parties of the covenant would walk between the pieces of flesh to seal the agreement (Genesis 15:9-10, 17-18). In the following passage, we see that the 'cutting off' of flesh in circumcision is the same. The word karath is used here as well. Moses is on the way to Egypt to tell Pharaoh to let God's people go.

Exodus 4:24-26  It happened on the way at a lodging place, that Yahweh met him and wanted to kill him.  (25)  Then Zipporah [Moses' wife, (2:22)] took a flint, and cut off [karath] the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet; and she said, "Surely you are a bridegroom of blood to me."  (26)  So he let him alone. Then she said, "You are a bridegroom of blood," because of the circumcision.

Israel is God's firstborn son. Israel went down into Egypt and became a slave. Just as Israel was freed from the bonds of slavery to Pharaoh, Christ came to free us from the bonds of slavery to sin and Satan. Satan is the prince of this world (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:11). Christ came to free us from the Pharaoh of this world. As Moses went down into Egypt, his son's circumcision [karath] had to be performed. When God sent his Son into this world, to free us from Pharaoh, he too was circumcised (Luke 2:21-23) and then went down into Egypt (Matthew 2:14). Christ was born to be a "bridegroom of blood," (as the verse above says) which refers to karath or circumcision.

To 'cut off' is to separate. Circumcision is the cutting of skin or flesh. It is symbolic of the cutting off of ourselves that must be done. Our sinful nature, our desires of the flesh, must be cut off (Romans 2:29, Philippians 3:2). We must be separated from the evil part of ourselves that we inherited from Adam. When Israel crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land, the waters of the Jordan River were 'cut off' [karath] from the city of Adam to the Dead Sea (Joshua 3:16). This allowed Israel to cross the Jordan on dry ground. If our inheritance that flows from Adam, which leads to death, is not 'cut off' we cannot enter the Promised Land.  We enter God's Rest (Hebrews 3-4), which is the Promised Land, when sin - our fleshly desires, are 'cut off.'  In obedience to the Law, and as an example for us, Christ was circumcised at his birth.  The purpose of the seventy 'sevens' of time is stated to be time for overcoming sin.  To overcome sin, we must be crucified with Christ.

The word 'karath,' meaning 'cut off,' has four basic uses or meanings. All four meanings can be applied to Christ's birth.  The first five books of the Bible use the word 29 times in reference to being separated from Israel. At Christ's birth, God was 'cut off' from Himself.  God became Man.  It is used 20 times in these same books in reference to cutting a covenant. When Christ came at his birth, God was cutting a new covenant with Man.  A simple act of cutting something occurs 9 times. (OK, at Christ's birth the umbilical cord was 'cut off'.)  It is used 8 times to mean killed or destroyed. Jesus is the Word, the Word is God, and the "Word became flesh" (John 1:14). At the end of the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Word became flesh so that the flesh could be 'cut off.' God was 'cut off' (separated) from God so that God as flesh could be 'cut off' (killed/destroyed) in our place. This is the new covenant given by Jesus at the Last Supper. In acceptance of this covenant we must 'cut off' (separate and kill/destroy) sin from ourselves. "If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away" (Matthew 5:30).

At the end of the sixty-two 'sevens,' the "Word became flesh" and Jesus was circumcised. This sums up the meaning of the word 'karath,' or 'cut off.'  The birth of Christ marks the end of the sixty-two 'sevens.'

Most of the modern translations say that after the Messiah is "cut-off", he will have nothing.  This includes the NAS, NIV, RSV, NASB, ASV, Darby, and the NRSV.  If "cut-off" means to be killed, then "will have nothing" doesn't really flow very well.  On the other hand, if "cut-off" means the birth, then it makes a lot of sense. Christ came from heaven where he was rich.  He was born into a poor family.  He had nothing.  You could say that Christ also died poor.  But to say that would distract from the purpose of his coming.  His real sacrifice of poverty was at his birth.

The Sixty-Two Weeks

In the previous sections, we saw that purpose for the allocation of seventy weeks has not yet been fulfilled.  Therefore, the seventy weeks themselves have not yet been completely fulfilled.  Furthermore, we saw that Scripture highly supports the decree of Cyrus as the time when the seventy weeks began.  As soon as the seventy years of Jeremiah were finished, God used Cyrus to bring Israel back to Jerusalem.  In answer to Daniel’s prayer, Jerusalem became no longer desolate.  Thus the seventy weeks of years began as soon as the seventy years were ended.  We also saw that the text does not support the idea of a contiguous sixty-nine weeks followed by a gap between the 69th and the 70th week.  The text does, however, allow for the seven weeks to be a separate allocation of time.  The sixty-two weeks are given until the first coming of the Messiah.  The seven weeks are given until the second coming of Christ.  The full seventy weeks are about both of Christ’s comings.  The full seventy weeks of Daniel are given for “your people and your holy city” to “stop sinning”, to “seal up vision and prophecy”, and to anoint the most holy.  These are all things that will be fulfilled before Christ comes again.

From the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, to the coming of the Messiah, the ruler, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. Christ came at his birth, not his death.  But then he left and went to Egypt for a few years.  After Christ came, the trampling upon Jerusalem by the Gentiles began because of the rejection of Christ by the Jewish leadership. This started when Herod the Great deliberately and purposefully tried to kill God’s Messiah by killing all the babies in Bethlehem.

In the previous section on the “Purpose of the Seventy Weeks,” we saw that that Jesus will not return until those who “sit on the seat of Moses” say about Jesus, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”  The seventy weeks requires that “your people and your holy city” must “anoint the most holy.”  Failure of the Jewish leadership, those who sit on the seat of Moses, to anoint the most holy brings desolation to Jerusalem.  This process of trampling by the Gentiles started with Herod the Great.  The desolation of Jerusalem was finished in 70 AD.  Herod the Great was the last ruler of Jerusalem that had any arguable independence from Rome.  After Herod, Jerusalem was ruled directly by Roman governors, such as Pilate.  Time ran out in 70 AD, for those who sat on the seat of Moses, to repent.  The temple and Jerusalem was destroyed.

After the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah came to Jerusalem. Christ came at his birth, not his death.  But then Christ left Israel and went to Egypt for a few years until Herod’s death.  After Herod’s death, Christ came back to Israel.  We don’t know exactly how long it was between Christ’s birth and Herod’s death.  But it’s a reasonable guess to say that Christ was born around 6 BC and that Herod died around 2 AD.  This would be a difference of seven years.  The difference could have been shorter.  But we know that Herod killed all the children two years old or younger.  And we know that Mary, Joseph, and Jesus lived in Egypt for a while.  It’s reasonable that it would have been a few years.

Sixty-two weeks plus seven weeks adds to sixty-nine weeks. It’s been assumed that the half week in Daniel 9:27 is a part of the seventy weeks.  But the great tribulation cannot be included in the seventy weeks.  During these 42 months, Jerusalem is trampled upon by the Gentiles (Revelation 11:2). Therefore, the great tribulation cannot be a part of the seventy weeks.  The missing week cannot be the seventieth week.  There will be more on this later.

I believe there were sixty-two weeks from the decree of Cyrus until the birth of Christ.  And then there was another week until Herod’s death.  This is the missing week that makes it add up to seventy weeks.  After Herod’s death, the trampling of Jerusalem by the Gentiles began, and the seventy weeks were no longer underway.  Herod’s death marked the beginning of the “time of the Gentiles.”  Jesus said:

Daniel 9:26 NIV After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.

Matthew 23:36-39  Most certainly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.  (37)  "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her! How often I would have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not!  (38)  Behold, your house is left to you desolate.  (39) For I tell you, you will not see me from now on, until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' "

Luke 21:20-22 NIV  "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.  (21)  Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. (22) For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written.

Matthew 23 teaches us that the rejection of Christ by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem was the cause of the trampling upon Jerusalem, eventually leading to the desolation of Jerusalem.  Luke 21 teaches us the desolation is a “time of punishment,” and that it is in fulfillment of “all that has been written.”  Full Preterists argue that this verse means that all Bible prophecy was fulfilled by the time of 70 AD.  But a better way to interpret the verse is to see that the punishment of 70 AD directly relates to “all that has been written.”  It’s not the last thing that will happen in Bible prophecy.

Man fell into sin from the time of Adam.  Christ came and redeemed the world.  But when men reject Christ’s salvation, it brings destruction and desolation.  Daniel prayed for the forgiveness of Israel’s sins and for the desolation of Jerusalem to come to an end.  Seventy weeks of non-desolation for Jerusalem were given for “your people and your holy city” to entirely stop sinning, seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Messiah. In other words, the seventy weeks of Daniel is a summary of “all that has been written.”  It goes to the heart of the gospel for all time, for both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.  The heart of the gospel is the reversal of Man’s fall into sin and the restoration of Man’s relationship with God.  This is carried out as outlined in a seventy-week prophecy.  After this vision is completed, there will be no more need for vision and prophecy.  Vision and prophecy will be sealed up.  Jesus goes on to say:

Luke 21:24 NIV  They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The Jewish leaders were expecting a Messiah that would overthrow the Roman (Gentile) rulers and then to set up the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven would then bring righteous to the nations.  But the Jewish leaders were so full of sin that they could not recognize Righteousness when it was standing right in front of them.  So Christ had to allow Jerusalem to become desolate again, and for the Jews to be taken as prisoners to the nations.  The true gospel of the kingdom must to spread to people from every nation, tribe, people, and language.  Then, Christ will have the true Israel who will reign with him during the age to come, after Christ returns.

During that time Jerusalem was trampled upon by the Gentiles. But the time of the Gentiles has now come to an end.  Jerusalem is no longer being trampled upon by the Gentiles.  After the Six Day War of 1967, Jews again controlled Old Jerusalem.  Some will argue that the Jews in Jerusalem today do not believe in Christ, and therefore cannot be a fulfillment of the time of the Gentiles.  But the word Gentile means non-Jewish.  The word says nothing about belief in Christ.  For Jerusalem to be control by Gentiles means it’s not being controlled by Jews.  Nothing is being said about the repentance of the Jews. Of course we do believe there will be a repentance of the Jews before the end of the seventy weeks.  But the seventy weeks are underway simply because Jerusalem is no longer being controlled by Gentiles, based on Daniel’s prayer and God’s allocation of seventy weeks in response to that prayer.  The Six Day War of 1967 is a clear reversal of 70 AD.  The time of the Gentiles is when Jerusalem is controlled by Gentiles.  It began with Herod’s death, continued with the desolation of Jerusalem in 70 AD, and ended in 1967.  Therefore, Daniel’s seventy weeks are again underway.  We are currently in the seven weeks.

Others have argued the time of the Gentiles cannot be over because the temple has not yet been rebuilt.  But the seventy weeks began with the decree of Cyrus.  It took a good number of years for the temple to be completed. But the seventy weeks were still underway as soon as Cyrus issued the decree.  Thus, the temple does not have to be standing during the entire seventy weeks.  I believe the temple will be built during the final 1260 days of the seven weeks, during which the two witnesses of Revelation 11 will be prophesying.  The temple does not have to be standing for the final seven weeks to be underway.  Based on Daniel’s prayer, the only requirement is that Old Jerusalem not be under Gentile control, and that plans are underway for Jerusalem to be rebuilt instead of being desolate.

The Seven Weeks

The sixty-two weeks ended with the birth of Christ.  In between the sixty-third week and the final seven weeks is the time of the Gentiles. Jerusalem is trampled upon by the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled.  Then the seventy weeks of non-desolation, promised to Daniel, starts up again. When do these last seven weeks end?  Would the seven weeks end when Christ returns?  This would mean that Jerusalem will never again be trampled upon by the Gentiles.  However, Scripture teaches there will again be a time when Jerusalem will again be trampled for forty-two months.

Revelation 11:1-2 NIV  I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there.  (2) But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.

If Jerusalem is trampled upon by Gentiles for 42 months, it means that the month before and the month after this time-period Jerusalem is not trampled upon by Gentiles.  So this is further evidence that today Jerusalem is not currently being trampled on by Gentiles, and thus the time of the Gentiles is over with – except for another 42 months.

Matthew 24:12-15  Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold.  (13)  But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved.  (14)  This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.  (15) "When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

Notice several points about the end, as given in this passage.  The gospel is preached and then the end comes.  Then we see the abomination of desolation.  The natural interpretation of this passage is that the Church is free to preach the gospel until the end.  But after that, we will see the abomination that causes desolation and we will not be free to preach the gospel all over the world.  As we have seen, there is a 42-month period between the last of the seventy weeks and the return of Christ.  During this time, the saints are turned over to the beast (Rev. 13:5-7).

The disciples had asked for signs of Christ’s return and the end of the age.  When the end of the seventy weeks comes, there is this time of great tribulation.  And he who stands firm to the end of that will be saved.

So there are two “ends” being discussed.  First, there is the end of the seventy weeks.  At this time we will see the abomination that causes desolation.  This marks the start of the 42 months when Jerusalem is trampled upon by Gentiles again.  Then there is the end of the age, when Christ returns.  Therefore, for all practical purposes, the entire 42-month period of great tribulation can be called the “end.”  It goes from the end of the seventy weeks until the end of the age. 

Every other place in Scripture characterizes the time of great tribulation as half a week.  In Daniel 7:25 and Revelation 12:14, it's a time, times and half a time, which is 3 1/2 years.  In Daniel 12:11 it's 1290 days. In Revelation 11:2 and 13:5 it's 42 months.  No other verse in Scripture characterizes the great tribulation as seven years, split in the middle by the abomination.  Also, during the 42-month reign of the antichrist, Jerusalem will be trampled upon by the Gentiles (Revelation 11:2).  It cannot be included in the seventy weeks, because Daniel was promised seventy weeks during which Jerusalem would not be desolate.

The Church can preach the gospel right up to the end of the seven weeks.  The last 1260 days of the seven weeks is when we expect to see the two witnesses preaching.  It’s when we expect the temple to be rebuilt. It’s when we expect the greatest awakening of all time.  It’s when we expect the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem, those who sit on the seat of Moses, to anoint Jesus as the Messiah.  It’s when we expect people from every nation, tribe, people, and language to commit their lives to Jesus.

The Jews at the time of Christ were not ready to reign with Christ over the nations.  The Jewish leaders appeared to be holy on the outside. But inside they were as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).  Outside, they were like clean cups.  But inside they were unclean (Matthew 23:25-26).  The Messiah was suppose to come and take on the burden of government.

Isaiah 9:6  For to us a child is born. To us a son is given; and the government will be on his shoulders. His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

They were not ready to reign with Christ over the nations. So Christ had to wait and come again in a future generation when he would have people from every nation, tribe, people, and language who will have overcome all sinful habits, both inside and outside, and will be ready to reign with Christ.

The Sabbath week of the seven weeks is a special week.  This is the week that Christ strengthens the covenant (Daniel 9:27).  This is the last week of the seven, and the last week of the seventy.  This is the week when it all comes together, before the great tribulation comes.  This is the week of the greatest awakening of all time.

During the 42 months, after the seventy weeks are finished, the saints will be turned over to the antichrist.  But this will only bring about a purification of the Church, the Bride of Christ.  The great tribulation will bring holiness.  By the time Christ returns, he will have people from every nation, tribe, people, and language who have completely overcome sin, and will be ready to reign with Christ over the nations.

The Messiah vs. the Prince (or Ruler)

The NIV translation simply adds the seven weeks and the sixty-two weeks, making them appear contiguous.

Daniel 9:25 NIV  Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.

The ESV translation, on the other hand, seems to recognize two independent allocations of time.  This much better fits the separate allocation of two periods of weeks, as presented in this article.

Daniel 9:25 ESV  Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time.

This translation unfortunately has the word “then” to make the seven weeks appear like it happens before the sixty-two weeks.  But in the Hebrew, the seven weeks simply appears before the sixty-two weeks.  Nothing in the text really requires the seven weeks happen first.  There is a conjunction word between the seven and the sixty-two.  It can be translated as “then.”  But it can also be translated as “and”, “so”, “but”, or “that.”  This conjunction does not require the seven weeks to come first.  I prefer the use of the word "so", because the sixty-two weeks were given "so" that the seven weeks could come.

Daniel prayed for the forgiveness of Israel's sins and for the desolation of Jerusalem to come to an end.   The sixty-two weeks of non-desolation for Jerusalem were given "so" that "your people" and "your holy city" could overcome sin and get ready for that end-time generation when the Messiah would come.  But of course we know that when that end-time generation came, they were not ready to reign with Christ.  So, the final week would have to wait on another end-time generation. There would be two comings of an antichrist, there would be two great tribulations, and the Messiah would come twice.

Daniel 9:25 ESV  Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks.  [SO] for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time.

The thing I like about this translation is that it shows the relationship between the sixty-two weeks and Jerusalem being built in a troubled time.  The book of Nehemiah tells us all about the rebuilding of Jerusalem in a troubled time.  Likewise, this translation also seems to associate the coming of the “anointed one, a prince” with the seven weeks.

Another think I like about this translation, as compared with the NIV, is that it doesn't use a definite article ("the") for "an anointed one, a prince."  Indefinite articles ("an" and "a") are used instead.  This allows for the Anointed One to be a different person from "a prince" (or "ruler.")  Verse 26 uses this same word "prince" or "ruler" in reference to the city and the sanctuary being destroyed.  The "prince" or "ruler" of verse 26 is obviously an antichrist.  So the "prince" or "ruler" of verse 25 can also be an antichrist. After the seventy weeks of non-desolation for Jerusalem, the antichrist comes first ushering in great tribulation.  Then the Messiah comes ushering in the age to come and the Messianic reign, where the people of Israel (which is the Church) reign with Christ for a thousand years. 

From this perspective, the vision has a parallelism between Christ and the antichrist.  The parallelism can be seen best in this ESV translation.  Christ is highlighted in green, and the two antichrists are highlighted in red.

Daniel 9:25 ESV  Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks.  [SO] for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. 

Daniel 9:26a ESV And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.

Daniel 9:26b ESV Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.

This end, that comes like a flood and war, is found in both Matthew 24 and Luke 21.  The generation of Christ and the end-time generation of today are described in the same way.  There are many parallelism between the two generations.  If that generation had not rejected the Messiah, then that generation would have been the generation that ushered in the age to come with the Messiah.

Daniel 9:27 ESV And he shall [strengthen] the covenant with many for one week, and for half of [a] week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering.  And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator." 

The sacrifice and offering is stopped for half a week, until the end is poured out on the antichrist.  Dispensationalists interpret both pronouns in verse 27 as referring to the antichrist.  Their weakness is in the idea of an antichrist entering into a covenant.  Preterits interpret both pronouns as referring to Christ.  Their weakness is in saying that Christ stopped the sacrifice and offering.  Christ made the sacrifice and offering no longer necessary.  But he didn't stop it from happening at the time of the crucifixion.  The New Wine System uses this parallelism to say two pronouns follow the same parallelism.  The order is consistent.  The first pronoun refers to Christ and the second pronoun refers to the end-time antichrist. 

Christ strengthens the New Covenant during its last week.  This is the last week of the seven, and it's the last week of the seventy.  During this last week, people from every nation, tribe, people, and language will dedicate themselves to following Christ so that they may completely overcome sin, through a personal relationship with Christ, and thus be ready to reign with Christ during the Messianic kingdom.

Basically, if Israel had not rejected the Messiah, then the seven weeks could have continued right after the sixty-three.  There would have been an additional seven weeks after Herod's death.  Of course one might say that Israel didn't reject at Herod's death.  It was only Herod that rejected Christ.  This is true.  After Herod's death, the Gentiles began to trampled upon Jerusalem.  But Jerusalem was not yet desolate.  Thus, after Herod's death there was a gray area that could have been reversed.

About four weeks of years (28 years) after Herod's death was the time of the crucifixion and resurrection, which was about 30 AD.  The kingdom of heaven had come because the Messiah was present in Israel.  Then there would have been another three weeks (21 years) for the kingdom of heaven to grow in Christ.  However, Rome would have still come against Jerusalem, and it would have been even sooner if Israel had accepted Christ.  But Israel would have matured, especially in that last week of the seven.  The covenant with Christ would have been strengthened according to Daniel's vision.  After the seven weeks, Rome would have attacked Jerusalem.  There would have been 42 months of great tribulation.  But then Christ would have returned to restore Jerusalem.  They would not have been taken as prisoners to all the nations. 

Go back and read the vision again with this scenario in mind. The people Rome would have attacked Jerusalem at the end of the seven weeks (verse 24).  The people of the prince who was to come would have still destroyed the city and the sanctuary (verse 25).  The end would have come like a flood (verse 26b).  Christ would have strengthened the Sabbath of the seven weeks.  And then the antichrist would have stopped the sacrifice and offering for 42 months.  After that, the Messiah would have returned.

Two Generations

There has been a lot of debate over the differences and/or similarities between Matthew 24 and Luke 21.  These two accounts are often both called the Olivetti Discourse, even though only Matthew’s account says it happed on the Mount of Olives.  As will be shown, I believe these are two different discourses and are talking about two different generations.  Luke’s account happens in the temple.  It’s given to all the people.  Matthew’s account is given privately for the disciples only, and happens on the Mount of Olives.

The sixty-two weeks of Daniel 9 reflect the first generation. That generation was the generation of Christ.  That generation was born when Christ was born. That generation was adult during Christ’s ministry.  And that generation passed away in 70 AD when Jerusalem was destroyed.

The seven weeks of Daniel 9 reflect the second generation.  This generation is the baby-boom generation that was born right after World War II. This generation was born when Israel became a nation again.  This generation was adult when Old Jerusalem was no longer trampled on by the Gentiles.  And this generation will not pass away before the great tribulation and the return of Christ.

When we read Matthew 24, Jesus tells us to watch for the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel.  A study of Daniel points to a future time when the antichrist will erect a statue for the entire world to worship.  But when we look at the account in Luke 21, we get the preterist perspective.  Instead of the abomination of desolation, it speaks of Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, and its desolation being near.  Obviously this was fulfilled in 70 AD.

The key to the problem is found in the original question that was asked by the disciples.  All of Matthew 24 and 25 was in answer to this question.  The disciples were wandering through the temple, looking at the buildings.  Jesus had just left the temple.  The disciples caught up with him and called his attention to the buildings.  Jesus said, "Do you see all these things?"  He asked, "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down" (verse 2, NIV).

The disciples were in culture shock.  The temple was the greatest and most important thing they had ever known.  Its construction had started before they were born and was still under way.  The construction of this temple was not finished until 64 AD, just six years before it was destroyed.  From the disciple’s point of view, its destruction must be the end times.  They were speechless as the group went up the Mount of Olives, which is just outside the eastern gate leading from the temple mount.  It probably took about fifteen minutes to walk.

"As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately.  "Tell us," they said, "when will all this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" (verse 3, NIV).  "All this happening" was the destruction of the temple. "Not one stone here will be left on another."  This is one question.  Another question is, "what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"  There are two fulfillments to the prophecy.  One is when the temple was destroyed in 70 AD.  The other is when Jesus returns.  The prophecy is true about both times.  I don't believe the disciples actually understood that they were asking more than one question.  But prophecy is prophecy.  God's word is God's word.  You ask the question, you get the answer to the question(s) you ask.

When we read Luke's account, we notice some differences.  Matthew's account reads, "So when you see standing in the holy place the abomination that causes desolation, spoken of through the prophet Daniel..." (Matthew 24:15 NIV)  Luke's account instead reads, "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies you will know that its desolation is near" (Luke 21:20 NIV).

Luke's account is primarily in answer to the first question.  Matthew's account is primarily in answer to the second question.

Matthew's account reads, "For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now - and never to be equaled again.  If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened" (Matthew 24:21-22 NIV).  Luke's account instead reads, "There will be a great distress in the land and wrath against this people.  They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations.  Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" (Luke 21:23-24 NIV).

Matthew's account ends in victory.  Luke's account ends in defeat, but jumps in time to the point of victory.

The greatest distress of all time is at the end times, at the time of the resurrection.  It's a greater distress than in 70 AD.  Depending on how you measure distress, there has since been wars of much greater distress and scope than in 70 AD.  Consider the Holocaust of World War II.  70 AD was not the greatest distress of all time.  Christ will return and save Jerusalem and his people.  This is Matthew's account.  A great distress, but not the greatest of all time, was in 70 AD.  That is when the Gentiles (Rome) conquered Jerusalem and the Jews were taken as prisoners to all the nations.  This is Luke's account.  Gentiles have trampled on Jerusalem from 70 AD until 1967, when Israel regained Jerusalem.

In Matthew’s account, Jesus gives this speech in private to the disciples, up on the Mount of Olives.  If you read Luke’s account, without letting Matthew’s account influence what you read, the speech is given in the temple.  Luke’s account was a warning to the people in Jerusalem.  Matthew’s account is a private warning to the disciples and the Church.

In Matthew’s account, we are told to watch for the abomination of desolation.  In Luke’s account, we are told to watch for the surrounding of Jerusalem by armies.  Well which one did Jesus say?  If both accounts are of the same speech, then we have a problem of Scriptural accuracy.  The text does not say, “the abomination of desolation which is the surrounding of Jerusalem by armies.”  That’s not what the text says.  One text says one thing, and the other text says the other thing.  There are other examples of multiple accounts of the same event, as seen by different disciples.  But the question of whether he said to watch for the abomination or for the surrounding of Jerusalem is a more than just different perspective of the same event.  On the argument of Scriptural inerrancy alone, it must have been two different speeches.

So Matthew’s account must be more about the end time generation.  And Luke’s account must be more about the generation of Jesus.  In Luke’s account, the statement "Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled" is our clue that the prophecy skips over time. It skips over the times of the Gentiles. From Luke's perspective, everything before this statement is about the generation of Jesus, and everything after this statement is about the end time generation.

The statement, "this generation shall not pass away," is given to the adult generation, both to the adult generation of Jesus, and to our adult generation today.  The baby boom generation that was born right after World War II had just reached adult age when Israel regained Jerusalem in 1967. Israel became a nation again right after World War II.

Basically, what we have here is a timeline as follows:

1) The adult generation of Jesus, that didn't pass away before 70 AD.

2) The time of the Gentiles, when Jerusalem would be trampled on by the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled.

3) The baby-boom generation, born when Israel became a nation (1948), and the generation that saw the Jews regain Jerusalem when they were adults (1967).

The statement, "This generation shall certainly not pass away until all these things have happened," is applied to both generations!  And the time in between both generations is the time of the Gentiles.  If you were born after World War II, the baby boom generation, you should live long enough to see the return of Christ Jesus.

As you can see, the two-generation view of the Olivetti Discourse fits very nicely with the seven weeks split off from the sixty-two weeks.  Israel, at the time of Jesus’ generation, was not ready to reign with Christ during the Messianic age to come.  Jesus often referred to that generation as an evil generation.  In the age to come, Jerusalem will be the capitol of the world.  But because of that evil generation, Jerusalem was trampled on by the gentiles.  After that generation had passed away, Jerusalem was destroyed and became desolate.

Those who reign with Christ must do so entirely out of a love of God and a love of our neighbors.  Those who reign with Christ must do completely without sin.  The time of the Gentiles was needed for the gospel of Jesus Christ to spread all over the world.  So the kingdom of heaven is in our hearts in preparation for the kingdom of heaven to literally come into the world.  Today, the good news of the kingdom is known, to one degree or another, in every nation of the world.  Before this baby-boom generation passes away, people from every nation, tribe, people, and language will have completely overcome sin through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  Therefore, when Christ returns, he will have a Bride to rule over the nations with him.

The seventy weeks are ten jubilees during which Jerusalem is not trampled upon by Gentiles.  During this time, the people of God must completely overcome sin so that we can reign with Christ.  The last seven years is the last jubilee, which is the last trumpet.

The Last Trumpet

The Scriptural precedent for weeks of years is Leviticus 25. Here, the growing seasons and Jewish festivals are very important in establishment of these weeks of years.  In Leviticus 25, the weeks of years are based on the growing seasons, in which is a year corrected to the solar cycle. Therefore, weeks of years must be solar-based years.  Any calendar, including the Jewish calendar, must be corrected to the solar cycle. 

Leviticus 25 also tells us about the Jubilee.  The jubilee was seven weeks of years.  Therefore, the seventy weeks of Daniel 9 can be viewed as ten Jubilees.  And the seven weeks of the end-time generation can be viewed as the last jubilee.

Paul said that we get spiritual bodies at the "last trumpet" (1 Corinthians 15:52).  In the Hebrew, jubilee means "trumpet" or the "blowing of trumpets."  So, the last jubilee is the “last trumpet.”  It’s the last seven weeks of Daniel 9.

The “last trumpet” is the last jubilee.

By the way, some people believe the last trumpet is the seventh trumpet in Revelation.  Many have used this as an argument against the pre-tribulation rapture.  Unfortunately, this interpretation violates one of my fundamental hermeneutic principles.  I always try to interpret Scripture with the understanding that the author and readers of that Scripture understood and knew only what was written prior to the time of writing of that specific letter.  In other words, I think the people at Corinth would have understood what Paul wrote, about the last trumpet, probably because of Paul's personal teaching with them.  But John's seven trumpets would not have been known, as yet, to even Paul when he wrote the letter.

Seven Years of Harvest, Seven Years of Famine

As we have seen, the vision of Daniel’s seventy weeks can be seen as a parallelism between the Messiah and the prince (or ruler) that will come.  This prince (or ruler) is the antichrist.  Because of this parallelism, Daniel 9:27 can be interpreted as involving two different seven-year periods. Christ strengthens the New Covenant during the Sabbath week of the last Jubilee.  Also, the antichrist makes a covenant or treaty with many for one week, but in the middle of that week he breaks the covenant and puts an end to the sacrifice and offering.  This can be viewed as two different seven-year periods that overlap by thee and a half years.

Jesus symbolized the New Covenant as a harvest of believers.

Matthew 9:36-38  But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.  (37)  Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest indeed is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  (38) Pray therefore that the Lord of the harvest will send out laborers into his harvest."

John 4:35-36  Don't you say, 'There are yet four months until the harvest?' Behold, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and look at the fields, that they are white for harvest already.  (36)   He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit to eternal life; that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.

But there will come a time when no more work of the harvest can be done.

John 9:4  I must work the works of him who sent me, while it is day. The night is coming, when no one can work.

Christ will strengthen the New Covenant for seven years. The antichrist will also make a treaty for seven years but will break the treaty in the middle.  All this reminds us about the story of Joseph when he interpreted the dream of Pharaoh.

Genesis 41:29-34 NIV  Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the land of Egypt,  (30)  but seven years of famine will follow them. Then all the abundance in Egypt will be forgotten, and the famine will ravage the land.  (31)  The abundance in the land will not be remembered, because the famine that follows it will be so severe.  (32)  The reason the dream was given to Pharaoh in two forms is that the matter has been firmly decided by God, and God will do it soon.  (33)  "And now let Pharaoh look for a discerning and wise man and put him in charge of the land of Egypt.  (34)  Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.

Of course Pharaoh appointed Joseph as that wise man who would administer the seven years of great abundance.  This story seems to be a type for the end-time seven-year harvest of believers followed by a time of great tribulation for believers.  The difference between these two seven-year periods is that the time of great tribulation is shortened for the sake of the elect.

Matthew 24:21-22  for then there will be great oppression, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will be.  (22)  Unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved. But for the sake of the chosen ones [elect], those days will be shortened.

How are the days shortened?  Was some specific number of days changed that are given in Daniel?  Would this make Daniel’s prophecy no longer be entirely correct?  If not, then how are the days shortened without changing the original prophecy?  Could it be that Jesus had the story of Joseph in mind as a type when he said this?  Could it be that the days are shortened, for the sake of the elect, by making the two seven-year periods overlap? 

This story of Joseph would seem to be a very good type for two opposing seven-year periods in the end times.  The subject is a time for an abundant harvest, and then a time for a famine, or a severe lack of harvest. The harvest of abundance for seven years happens in Egypt.  In Bible prophecy, Egypt is symbolic of the world.  So the harvest of believers happens in a world ruled by Satan and the antichrist’s governmental system.  There would seem to be a fair number of parallels between this story of Joseph and the time of greatest awakening in the end times, followed by the time of greatest tribulation.

Many people read Revelation and the end-time prophecies of Daniel with fear.  But Revelation is the only book in the Bible that promises a blessing for those who read it and take it to heart.

Revelation 1:1-3 ESV  The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, (2) who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.  (3)  Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

When you read Revelation, don’t think of it as events that have already taken place (preterism).  Don’t think of it as symbolism about good and evil but not about actual events (idealism).  And don’t think of it as events that will take place after you are snatched away from the world (the pre-tribulation rapture).

Take these words to heart and be blessed.  From where does this blessing come?  It comes from getting ready in your heart.  It comes from overcoming sin so that you are ready for Christ to return.  It comes from knowing that God is about to bring in the greatest harvest of believers of all time.  It comes from knowing that God is about to display his works of miracles in a public way, to the world, in a greater way than even in the time of Christ’s ministry.  And this blessing comes from getting ready to be in the middle of what God is about to do.

Overcome sin, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!

Philip Brown
www.newwine.org