|
Daniel's Seventy Weeks |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
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 is 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. 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 then 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 says 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 times two days? 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. |
New Wine for the End Times
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
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. 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 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 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. 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 are not a public law-making decree. It's only some letters that were 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. | (ESV Nehemiah 2:1-8) In the month of Nisan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had not been sad in his presence. And the king said to me, "Why is your face sad, seeing you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of the heart." Then I was very much afraid. 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' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?" Then the king said to me, "What are you requesting?" So I prayed to the God of heaven. And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' graves, that I may rebuild it." And the king said to me ( the queen sitting beside him), "How long will you be gone, and when will you return?" So it pleased the king to send me when I had given him a time. And I said to the king, "If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, 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 fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy." And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
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. 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. | (ESV Ezra 7:11-22) This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the LORD and his statutes for Israel: "Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven. Peace. And now I make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel or their priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to Jerusalem, may go with you. For you are sent by the king and his seven counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the Law of your God, which is in your hand, and also to carry the silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, with all the silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia, and with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, vowed willingly for the house of their God that is in Jerusalem. With this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and you shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God that is in Jerusalem. Whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of your God. The vessels that have been given you for the service of the house of your God, you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem. And whatever else is required for the house of your God, which it falls to you to provide, you may provide it out of the king's treasury. "And I, Artaxerxes the king, make a decree to all the treasurers in the province Beyond the River: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all diligence, up to 100 talents of silver, 100 cors of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
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.
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 prayed for the forgiveness of Israel's sins. Daniel confessed that Jerusalem had been desolate for 70 years, because of Israel's sins. Is not the 70 weeks of years in Daniel 9 related to the 70 years of Jeremiah 25:11-12? Would not one begin when the other ends? 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 70 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 the 70 weeks 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 70 weeks of non-desolation immediately followed the 70 years of desolation. Daniel was praying for forgiveness of sin. The 70 weeks of non-desolation of Jerusalem are given for us to stop sinning. This will be completed when Christ returns. The Purpose of the Seventy Weeks The 70 weeks of non-desolation of Jerusalem are given for us to put an end to sin. But God does the greater work. It's like in Philippians 2:12-13 which says, "Continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." We must continue to overcome sin. But it's God who works in us and does the greater work. | (ESV Ezra 1:1-11) In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and rebuild the house of the LORD, the God of Israel- he is the God who is in Jerusalem. And let each survivor, in whatever place he sojourns, be assisted by the men of his place with silver and gold, with goods and with beasts, besides freewill offerings for the house of God that is in Jerusalem." Then rose up the heads of the fathers' houses of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and the Levites, everyone whose spirit God had stirred to go up to rebuild the house of the LORD that is in Jerusalem. And all who were about them aided them with vessels of silver, with gold, with goods, with beasts, and with costly wares, besides all that was freely offered. Cyrus the king also brought out the vessels of the house of the LORD that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. Cyrus king of Persia brought these out in charge of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. And this was the number of them: 30 basins of gold, 1,000 basins of silver, 29 censers, 30 bowls of gold, 410 bowls of silver, and 1,000 other vessels; all the vessels of gold and of silver were 5,400. All these did Sheshbazzar bring up, when the exiles were brought up from Babylonia to Jerusalem. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Were the seventy weeks of Daniel 9 completely fulfilled in Christ’s first coming? Or is it a two-stage prophecy that covers both of Christ’s comings? To better answer this question, perhaps we should ignore the starting date and concentrate more on the purpose of the seventy weeks, and on the wording of the text with regard to whether the timeline can be split between Christ’s two comings. Preterists will argue that Christ fulfilled this purpose entirely. 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 70 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.) 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. And it’s a work that has not yet been fulfilled. Daniel’s 70 weeks have not yet been finished. 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. For example, the book of Revelation was written years later, and it’s certainly a vision and a prophecy. The entire New Testament was written after Preterists say that the seventy weeks were finished. The 70 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 Daniels’ vision says that “your holy city”, which is the Jewish leaders in old Jerusalem, must acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah before the 70 weeks are fulfilled. | (NIV Daniel 9:24) "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. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
With this in mind, the 70 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 7 weeks and the 62 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. Since the 70 weeks are not yet fulfilled, and since the 62 weeks were fulfilled when the Messiah was “cut off”, then the 7 weeks must 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 70 weeks is not yet fulfilled, it would hold that the abomination of desolation is still in the future. It will be 1290 days (Daniel 12:11) before the end, which is the time of the resurrection (Daniel 12:13), when Christ returns. This makes Matthew 24 also be future, while Luke 21 deals with the surrounding of Jerusalem in 70 AD. | (NIV Daniel 9:25) "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. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
It's my belief that the 62 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. 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.
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. | (NIV Daniel 9:26) 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. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
In the previous sections, we saw that purpose for the allocation of seventy weeks has not yet been fulfilled. Therefore, the seventy weeks themselves has not yet been 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 69 weeks followed by a gap between the 69th and the 70th week. The text does, however, allow for the seven weeks to be non-contiguous. The 62 weeks are given until the first coming of the Messiah. The 7 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 when Christ comes again. I believe that after Christ came, the desolation of Jerusalem began again because of the rejection of Christ by Jewish leadership (Matthew 23:37-39). This began with Herod the Great, who purposely killed all the babies knowing that he was trying to kill the coming Messiah. So with Herod's death, Jerusalem was effectively desolate. I believe that God condemned Herod as king of Israel. Thus the "time of the Gentiles" had begun. The actual desolation, of course, was fulfilled in 70 AD. The "time of the Gentiles" continued until the Six Day War when Gentiles no controlled old Jerusalem. (It matters not that Jews in Jerusalem today are not Christian. They weren't Christian in 70 AD either.) So, Jerusalem was effectively desolate after Herod the Great. But during Christ's ministry, Jerusalem really did have a king. Jesus said that Pilate did not have the power to crucify him if it had not been given from above. Christ was effectively the king of old Jerusalem during his ministry. So during his ministry, the 70 weeks were underway. Also, since the 70 weeks are fulfilled with both of Christ's comings, it's only right that his 3 ½ years of ministry are included. The timeline, therefore, is 62 weeks from Cyrus to the birth of Christ. Then there is half a week from the birth of Christ to Herod's death. The other half a week was during the ministry of Christ. The final 7 weeks is in the future, just prior to Christ’s second coming. Christ “comes” at his birth, not his death. Both the 62 weeks and the 7 weeks end when Christ comes. The seventy weeks are about both comings. Each marks the coming of the Messiah. | (NIV Daniel 9:26) 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. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Another reason for the futurist view of Daniel’s vision, is that the futurist view is much more chronological. The preterists view must jump back and forth between 30 AD and 70 AD. It goes from 30 AD to 70 AD, then back to 30 AD, and then back again to 70 AD. The preterist view makes a very poor timeline. This chart shows the differences.
Seventy weeks is ten jubilees. Thus, after Christ's ministry, nine jubilees were finished. The seven weeks is the last (tenth) jubilee. It's take place just before the return of Christ. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
The week of the covenant (Daniel 9:27) is the 70th week of the prophecy. But it's not the 70th week in the traditional way that that's interpreted. The week of the covenant is the Sabbath week of the last jubilee. It's the last of the 70th weeks. But the missing week is not included in the 7 and the 62. It’s really the 63rd week. The missing week is 3 1/2 years from Christ's birth to Herod, and another 3 1/2 years during the ministry of Christ. 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. It's the fulfillment of the prophecy. It's the time when "your people and your holy city" will put an end to sin, bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up vision and prophecy, and anoint the most holy. | (NIV Daniel 9:27) He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him." | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Philip B. Brown
|
Overcome sin, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!
