A Study of Daniel 9
Seventy
weeks are determined upon Israel to finish—or literally to
restrain—transgression. That is, Satan—the one who causes
transgression—will be restrained. After seventy weeks, sin will end.
There will also be reconciliation for iniquity and everlasting
righteousness. The vision and prophecy will be sealed and the most Holy
anointed. In other words, the message to Daniel was, “Daniel, good
things are going to happen at the end of seventy weeks, or four hundred
ninety years. Iniquity will be forgiven. Prophecy will be fulfilled.
The most Holy One, Jesus Christ, will be anointed and received as King.”
Daniel 9:25
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.
Daniel
was told that sixty-nine weeks—or four hundred eighty-three years—would
pass between the time the command to rebuild Jerusalem was given and
Messiah would come. Why is there a division between seven weeks and
sixty-two weeks? We see the answer in Nehemiah. Don’t forget, the Jews
were in captivity in Babylon. Jerusalem was lying in ruins. On March
14, 445 b.c., the command was given the Jews to go back home, to
rebuild Jerusalem, and restore the temple. Zerubbabel, Ezra, Nehemiah
and others began to lead groups of Jews out of captivity and back to
Jerusalem to restore and rebuild the city. How long did it take to
rebuild the city? Forty-nine years. That’s why there are seven weeks
followed by sixty-two additional weeks.
If
you begin at March 14, 445 b.c. and use the Jewish calendar of three
hundred sixty days per year, sixty-nine weeks, or four hundred
eighty-three years, brings you to April 6, a.d. 32. What happened on
that day? Messiah came riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, offering
Himself to be the King of Israel. At first they welcomed Him, waving
palm branches and saying, “Hosanna in the highest. Save now. Be our
King!”
But within days, the fickle crowd said, “We will not have this Man rule over us. Away with Him. Crucify Him.”
And
when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If
thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which
belong unto thy peace!… Luke 19:41, 42 (a)
“Jerusalem,”
Jesus said, “you should have known that this is your day! Oh, the peace
that would be possible if I were your King.” But they didn’t know it
was their day because they didn’t know Bible prophecy. And Jesus wept.
Daniel 9:26 (a)
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself…
Messiah
will come. And yet He will be cut off. He’ll be killed—but not for
Himself. Indeed, He who knew no sin was made sin for us that we might
be made the righteousness of God through Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Jesus died for our sins. Messiah came, was rejected by Israel, was cut
off for our sins—exactly as the prophet declared.
Daniel 9:26 (b), 27 (a)
…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…
After sixty-nine weeks Messiah came.
But there’s still one week left. The history of Israel consists of
seventy weeks. Therefore, one seven-year period remains to be unfolded.
At that time, the prince of the people, antichrist—a charismatic,
influential, intelligent world leader—will appear on the scene. And the
people will say, “You’re the one we want to lead us.”
Daniel 9:27 (b)
…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.
Antichrist
will come on the scene and negotiate a treaty. He’ll solve the Middle
East problem ingeniously, including a way that the temple will be
rebuilt in Jerusalem.
“But isn’t there a mosque on the temple mount?” you ask.
Archaeological
discoveries in recent years have unmistakably confirmed that the temple
was a little bit north of the Dome of the Rock Mosque. And,
interestingly enough, the space where it sat is blank. The Dome of the
Rock Mosque sits in the outer court of the old temple. The outer court
of the temple was the area where Gentiles could come.
Orthodox
Jews today say they will recognize Messiah as the One who rebuilds the
temple. Antichrist will do just that. But in the middle of his
seven-year treaty, his true colors will show. He’ll go into the temple,
cause the sacrifices to cease, and set up an image of either himself or
Zeus and demand it be worshiped. Matthew 24 calls this “the abomination
of desolation.” When this happens, the Jews will say, “What have we
done?” And, realizing the Jews are no longer going along with his
program, antichrist will wage war against Israel.
For
three and one-half years, hell will literally break loose on this
planet. Finally, at the end of the seven-year Tribulation—or Daniel’s
seventieth week—Jesus will come back to rule and reign on this earth.
Thus, with the seventy weeks completed, there will be an end to sin, a
beginning of everlasting rightness, and the Most Holy will be anointed.
We
have already seen the first sixty-nine weeks come to pass historically.
When will Daniel’s seventieth week begin? It could begin anytime.
But
before it does, Jesus will call us up to heaven in the Rapture. For
seven years, we’ll be in heaven, getting to know Him. The church was
not in Daniel’s first sixty-nine weeks, so neither shall she be in
Daniel’s seventieth week. That’s why Jeremiah calls the Tribulation the
time of Jacob’s trouble (30:7). What separates Daniel’s sixty-ninth
week from the seventieth? It’s the period of time known as the church
age. In a.d. 70, when the temple was destroyed and the Jews were
scattered, the prophetic clock stopped ticking. But in May, 1948, when
Israel became a nation once again, the prophetic clock started ticking
as well.
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