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When Does Daniel's
70th Week Begin?
When does Daniel's 70th Week begin? There are strange but popular theories about this question and the events that are to happen within the Seventieth Week of Daniel's prophecy. Let's go to Scripture with an open mind to see what the Holy Spirit says.
"Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspread of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. [Dan. 9:24-27]
Most commentators realize the Seventy Weeks are seventy "weeks" of years - each day in the "week" standing for one year. We, therefore, have 490 years [70X7] from the beginning point ["the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem"] to the end. This period of time is broken into three time periods: 49 years ["seven weeks"], 434 years ["threescore and two weeks"], and seven years ["the final 70th week"].
Please read the above Scripture very carefully [read the entire chapter or book for context]. I want you to look for something, something significant...
The Mysterious Gap
Before I tell you what you should have found [or not found], let me set up a situation. Let's say we are close friends but live in different communities. One day I phone you up, and we plan to meet in five weeks and travel to Disneyland together. The five weeks come and go, and I don't show up. In frustration, you leave without me, have a great time - except for worrying about what has happened to me, and return home. Seven weeks from when we made our plans, I show up and ask if you are ready to go. You are upset and ask how I can be two weeks late and still expect to be considered on time. I reply that I didn't count the two weeks I had to go to a wedding on the other side of the country and what is the matter with you for not waiting when I arrived promptly in five weeks according to my calculations? You know it wasn't simply an error on my part. Would you feel deceived? Would you feel unfairly treated? What would be your thoughts about my truthfulness and integrity?
Now Daniel was told by the angel from God that "Seventy weeks are determined." I'm sure you saw it. It was right there. Many people today see it. It is the incredible gap before the 70th week. Of course, I'm only teasing. There is no gap before the 70th week. How can modern readers/expositors find a gap when it specifically states: "Seventy weeks are determined?" Reread it [go ahead, read the whole chapter]. Tell me where God told Daniel there was a gap between the 69th week and the 70th week. If there is a gap, then God either lied to Daniel, He can't count, or He doesn't know that 70 comes after 69. I don't know about your God, but my God doesn't lie, knows how to count, and is well aware of the order of numbers. [By the way, many people "find" a gap here because it must be there in order for their system of Bible Prophecy to work. They are unwilling to give up their system, so the Bible must be made to fit it - the same tactic used by the evolutionists with their "missing link."]
If you take the plain meaning of Scripture and follow Biblical Chronology, you will discover that the 69th week ended when Jesus began His ministry. The 70th week has rightly been called The Greatest Week In History [get the free PDF book], for it is the week of Christ's earthly ministry, including His death and resurrection. So where does the 70th week come? Right after the 69th week - exactly where we would expect it to come!
What Happens In the 70th Week?
This being the case, the angel told Daniel that several things would happen in this 70th week period. Those things did not happen in the first 69 weeks, so they must have occurred within the 70th week. Let's look at them and see if they did."
1. "...to finish the transgression"
Remember the context, Daniel is told, "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city..." "Thy people" and "thy holy city" talk about the Jewish people and Jerusalem. When did the Jewish people finish their transgressions? We don't have to guess. Jesus Himself tells us.
Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation. [Matt. 23:33-36]
Jesus told them that all the righteous blood shed on the earth would be required of their generation. It climaxed in the betrayal and murder of the Son of God. The greatest crime in the universe ended the transgressions of the Jewish nation.
2. "...to make an end of sins..."
Who put an end to sins, and when? Jesus Christ at His death and resurrection. He forever conquered sin, Satan, and the forces of evil. When we are in Christ, sin is no more an issue.
"Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof." [Rom. 6:9-12]
3. "...to make reconciliation for iniquity..."
Because Jesus has "made an end of sins," we can now be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.
"Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." [Heb. 2:17]
4. "...to bring in everlasting righteousness..."
Because of Jesus' work in the 70th Week of Daniel, we can now walk in His righteousness.
"For if by one man’s offense death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ." [Rom. 5:17]
5. "...to seal up the vision and prophecy..."
Jesus is the Center of Scripture. All prophecies and visions point to Him. During His time of ministry and giving up His life as a ransom for us, He fulfilled the entire point of the Scripture. There is no one else coming. Jesus sealed up the vision and prophecy.
6. "...to anoint the most Holy..."
Jesus anointed the true Most Holy Place with His blood. The type and the shadow are not needed anymore because the reality has come.
"Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us." [Heb. 9:12]
Everything predicted to happen within the 70 Weeks happened within the 70th Week, which was Christ's earthly ministry. They were all accompanied by the middle of the final week [3 1/2 years] when the Messiah was cut off and rose from the dead. Some people feel that the murder of Stephen marked the end of the 70th Week. Whether this is so or not is not essential. What is vital is that Christ completed His mission in the 70th Week.
A Warning: Those who take the incredible, world-changing events of Christ's ministry in the 70th Week and apply it to some Satanic representative in our times or our near future have taken the beautiful work of Christ and ascribed it to the enemy. The name and work of Jesus is then dishonoured. God takes the dishonouring of His name very seriously, and so we had better be careful about what we believe and teach on this subject.
For a look at the "Messiah being cut off," "the people of the prince," and "the abomination," read the report Who Are The People Of The Prince In Dan 9:26? Also, see our Joshua Institute courses. There is also a detailed review of Dr. David Jeremiah's book The Book Of Signs, which promotes many "End Times" errors.
For more information about Glenn Davis see our About Glenn page and/or his Author's Page on Amazon.
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