This prophecy, called ‘Daniel’s 70 weeks’, is a glorious prophecy and one of the most famous in regard to the last days. It gives us an allotment of time for God to fulfil His promises. This prophecy came to Daniel as an outcome of prayer. We will only understand this prophecy through prayer. We will only be able to live according to this prophecy (being prepared for it and being found faithful in the midst of it) by means of prayer. We are going to explore how parts of this prophecy are relevant for the church and how parts of it are not.

Verse 24: “Seventy ‘sevens’ have been cut out for your people and for your holy city: to close up transgression, to seal up sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision and prophecy, and also to anoint the Holy of Holies.”

Sevens: Weeks. Usually when we think of a week we think of seven days. There is Scriptural evidence, however, that Daniel is not speaking about seven days here, but rather about a sevenyear time period. The Hebrew word for a week (seven days) is ִַּֽועּב ָש)) Shavoo). In the plural (i.e. weeks, feminine plural) this word changes to: שבועות (Shavuot). Here, ‘seventy sevens’ are written: שבעים שבעים.  This different (masculine, plural) ending lets us know that we are speaking about seven-year periods and not seven days.

The calculation for this then would be: 70 x 7 years = 490 years. This prophecy of Daniel concerns a 490-year period of time.

Cut out: Determined

Your people: This is a reference to Daniel’s people i.e. the Jewish people. For the most part this prophecy affects the Jewish people.

Your holy city: Jerusalem.

Note: In this time period of 490 years six main things are going to be accomplished, namely:

1. Transgression (iniquity) will be done away with, finished.
2. Sin is going to be ended.
3. Atonement for iniquity is going to be made.
4. Everlasting righteousness (an adjective that describes the Kingdom of God) to be brought in. This is talking about the establishment of the Kingdom of God.
5. Vision and prophecy are going to be brought to their conclusion, allowed to come into their fullness.
6. The anointing of the Holy of Holies speaks about the establishment of the temple for the Millennial Kingdom, to inaugurate worship once more in the temple of God.

Verse 25: “Know and understand that from the going forth of the word, to restore and build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince, there are going to be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; they are going to build up the street, and also the moat, in difficult times.”

From the going forth of the word (command) to restore and build Jerusalem: This was the starting point of those 490 years. Most scholars agree that this happened in the time of Nehemiah and Ezra. This verdict would have been given around the middle of the 5th century BC. Messiah the Prince: Yeshua (Jesus Christ)

Seven weeks: 7 x 7 years =49 years

Sixty-two weeks: 7 x 62 years = 434 years

Note 1: 7 weeks + 62 weeks = 69 weeks (one week short of the 70-week total)

This can also be calculated as 49 years + 434 years = 483 years (7 years short of the 490-year total amount)

Note 2: Why does the Bible break the weeks up into 7 week and 62-week periods? Many people surmise that something significant happened after 49 years. And after that significance another 434 years elapsed. This cannot be proved, however. Many of the rabbis see this division as having another purpose – to emphasize the number seven. Seven has to do with holiness – the purposes of God. They say that what is being emphasised here is that all that is happening has to do with the fulfilment of the purpose/will of God – which Messiah is going to bring about. He is the One who is going to make those six things, spoken about in Daniel 9:24, possible.

Moat: This was probably around the walls of the city of Jerusalem.

Verse 26: “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah will be cut off, but not for Himself; the city and the Holy Place will be destroyed, and the people of another prince will come. His end is going to be with a flood, until the end of war and the determination of destruction.”

After the sixty-two weeks: We need to remember that 7 weeks preceded this 62 weeks. So, this is now speaking about 483 years after the command given to rebuild Jerusalem [This will take us to around 29 or 30 AD – scholars debate the actual year of Yeshua’ s crucifixion (what we do know is that He was crucified on the 14th day of Nisan) but it would be around this time. What we can be 100% sure of is that 483 years elapsed from the giving of the edict until the crucifixion].

Cut off: This is referring to the crucifixion. This word ‘cut’ is the same word that is used for making a covenant. This informs us that Messiah’s death was going to establish a covenant, a new covenant. The purpose of this new covenant (Messiah’s blood is completely sufficient to pay the price for sin) is to atone for sin, to deal with iniquity, to make an end to transgression, and to
enable the Kingdom to be established. 

This is why Messiah died. When Messiah was cut off that concluded the first 69 weeks of Daniel’s 70 weeks of prophecy.

Not for Himself: The covenant is not for His benefit, but is for ours.

The city and the Holy Place (the temple) will be destroyed: This happened in AD70.

Another prince: The people that are the ancestors of the final antichrist.

Flood: He is going to be swept away quickly.

The determination of destruction: Messiah is going to return and is going to devour the false messiah, the antichrist.

Verse 27: “Then he is going to make firm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week, he will bring a stop to sacrifice and offering. And upon the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, until the end has been determined and poured out upon the desolation.”

Note: This is a very important and key event. Yeshua spoke of it when He was giving insight to His disciples about the last days. Before the end of the church age, after the gospel of the Kingdom has been proclaimed to all nations as a testimony (Matthew 24:14), this event is going to take place ((Matthew 24:15).

He: The antichrist

Make firm: This is a word that means ‘to make strong’ (to validate, to put into effect).

With many: This does not say that this covenant is going to be made specifically with Israel. This is a covenant made with many peoples/nations.

One week: This is that final week – the seventieth week or last 7 years. After Messiah was cut off the prophecy of the 490 years was also paused. It is only in the last 7 years (of life in this dispensation), when the antichrist makes a covenant with many, that this prophecy is going to be resumed and completed.

Middle of the week: The halfway point of the week – three and a half years, 42 months.

Note: This week begins with a functioning temple in Jerusalem – sacrifices and offerings are going to again be a part of daily life in Israel.
This temple (and it is debatable as to whether the sacrifices and offerings will be pleasing to God, as Messiah Yeshua’ s sacrifice on the cross was all sufficient) is not going to be a temple that is pleasing to God. It is going to be a temple that the antichrist, and that evil empire in the last days, will use for their own purposes.

Abomination: Yeshua spoke of this in Matthew 24:15, as did the Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. The abomination of desolation is when the antichrist stops the offerings and worship to the God of Israel, goes into the Holy of Holies and professes himself to be God, to be the Messiah, and demands worship. Israel is going to reject this false Messiah, and this is the reason why they go through such intense persecution (“the time of Jacob’s trouble – Jeremiah 30:7) at the end.

At this time the remnant of Israel is going to receive the seal and protection of God upon them (Revelation 7:1-8) so that they are able to live through the time of the wrath of God. It is also at this time that the rapture of the church is going to take place (Revelation 7:9-14, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4)

The end has been determined and poured out: After this abomination of desolation God is going to move/begin to pour out His wrath. The church is not going to be a recipient of the wrath of Gd (1 Thessalonians 5:9) and is raptured just after the abomination of desolation has occurred and just before the wrath of God falls (In Revelation 7:9-10 we have a picture of the rapture. It is only from Revelation 8 onwards that we see the wrath of God being poured out).The purpose of God’s wrath is to pour out God’s judgement on all things which are desolate – all things which disagree with His purposes.