This article forms part of a series presenting varied interpretations of different aspects of eschatology. You can find the others here. It is an area where there are many different viewpoints, and we encourage healthy and constructive discussion. We ask readers to reflect on the various studies put forward, and we welcome comments that are respectfully made. This is the fifth in a short series seeking to understand Daniel’s prophetic timelines, written by one of our readers. If you wish to contribute an article on any area of eschatology to our series, you can find our guidelines here.
“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 Place.
25 “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out 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. 26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death 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. 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 at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” Daniel 9: 24-27
There have been several articles considering this 70th week of Daniel. For me, it is clear that this week has already been fulfilled, and is not in the future, because of what transpired during Jesus’ ministry and shortly after. Let me explain.
To whom are these prophecies addressed?
Verse 24 states that they are to Daniel’s people (ie the Jewish people); and the location is “your holy city” (i.e. Jerusalem).
Daniel’s 70th week
“He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven’...” (Dan 9: 27)
Again, it is the Jewish people who are being addressed, and the location is Jerusalem.
It is thus prophesied that many Jews will have the covenant confirmed in Jerusalem for one heptad, which equals seven years – traditionally translated as one week.
The first key question is, which covenant is it that is being discussed here?
Jeremiah 31: 33 tells us: “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” It would make sense that this is the covenant being spoken of – one of salvation.
Do the Scriptures confirm this prophecy? That is do the Scriptures confirm the following points:
- Many Jewish people
- in Jerusalem
- will have the covenant confirmed – i.e. receive salvation
- for 7 years?
Let us have a look first at what is written in the gospels, and note the language used.
John 2: 23 says that “Now when he [Jesus} was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name.” Again, John 7:31 states that “many of the people believed on him..” John 7:40 and John 8:30 also share that many believed, and in John 12:42, we are told that many of the chief rulers also believed.
Following Jesus’ ascension, we see the same pattern. At Pentecost, 3,000 souls were saved (Acts 2:41) and we read of 5,000 soon after. (Acts 4:4) We read in Acts 6:1 of how “the number of the disciples was multiplied”. This is emphasised in Acts 6:7: “And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.”
Persecution
When did these great numbers of Jewish converts (in Jerusalem) diminish? Although the apostles faced some opposition, the gospel spread relatively freely until we come to the first wave of persecution. We read in Acts 8:1 that, following Stephen’s martyrdom, “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Acts 11: 19 tell us that “those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews.”
Thus, from the Scriptures, it can be seen that during the ministry of Jesus and right up to the death of Stephen, many Jews, in Jerusalem did indeed have the covenant confirmed.
A seven-year period?
This brings us to the fourth point: did this cover a seven-year period?
There was, more or less, a seven-year period of many Jews, particularly in Jerusalem, turning to Christ.
It is generally acknowledged that the ministry of Jesus was three-and-a-half years in duration. We can roughly date when it began, as John began to baptise, and Jesus himself was baptised in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar (Luke 3: 1-22). Tiberius Caesar became Emperor in 14AD. Jesus’ ministry would thus have begun about 29AD. History books put the death of Stephen about 35-36 AD, which is approximately seven years after the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. There was, therefore, more or less, a seven-year period of many Jews, particularly in Jerusalem, turning to Christ.
The end of the sacrificial system
Daniel’s prophecy is such a glorious witness to our great God: knowing the end from the beginning.
Daniel 9: 27 says, “and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” (KJV)
In the middle of the week (i.e. after 31/2 years), God caused an end to the need for the Jewish sacrificial system. The once-for-all sacrifice had been made: the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Temple curtain had been torn from top to bottom.
Although animal sacrifice was offered by the Jews for another 30-odd years (until the Temple was destroyed in AD70 by the Romans), Isaiah 66:3 indicates that it would have been considered by God to be an abomination, as referred to in Daniel’s prophecy, and not sacrifice:
“But whoever sacrifices a bull is like one who kills a person, and whoever offers a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever makes a grain offering is like one who presents pig’s blood, and whoever burns memorial incense is like one who worships an idol. They have chosen their own ways, and they delight in their abominations.”
Daniel’s prophecy is such a glorious witness to our great God: knowing the end from the beginning.
It is a joy that so many saints are interested in studying and discussing the precious Word of God. It is even more of a joy that the Lord delights to answer our questions.
For those seeking an exposition based on the Hebrew text, there is a booklet by Herman Goldwag: “Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy” which is now available in its entirety online, www.daniels70weeks.org
