The Seventy Sevens.
I think that the 7 verses of Daniel 9:20-27 must be one of the most studied and speculated about verses in the bible? Rightly or wrongly I have always adopted the view that because there seems so much variation in opinion about end times matters, I would lead my life as though even if the trumpets sound tonight or many years ahead, it made no difference to me. I would leave it in God’s hands. Speculation was not something I wanted to get into. The future belongs to God. I soon however discovered that I was missing out on a great deal in the Bible as I saw how many prophetic events have come about even in recent times. And in fact its not really speculation at all! The bible seems quite clear. I addition so many books in the bible that I read all seem to have this prophetic base that often alludes either to the birth of Jesus or the end times. And when these prophetic events do come about it, underscores the awesomeness and power of God. It shows us just how much God is in control. Not only that but it prepares us for what lies ahead.
Daniel 9:20-27 is series of verses in the bible of exceptional importance not only in being able to study the book of Revelation in completeness, but also in understanding the power of the prophetic word, matters relating to tribulation, rapture and the perhaps the whole purpose of these events- the redemption of Israel.
So let’s delve into this book of Daniel!
Daniel was taken into captivity and taken to Babylon about 605BC. And in the 2nd book of Daniel we will remember Daniel interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s dream- which was of a great statue of 4 distinct parts and materials that represented the 4 Gentile powers that would rule the world and do so up till now. This statue in Chap 2 corresponds with Daniels dream he had in Chap7 of the 4 beasts.
The Babylonian Empire- head of gold (a lion)
Medo Persians Empire- breast and arms of silver- (a bear)
Geek Empire- belly and thighs of brass ( a leopard)
Roman- Imperialistic Democratic alliances- made of iron and clay (beast with 10 horns)
These periods which cover from the time of the fall of Judah (586BC) until now and ongoing is called the “times of the gentiles”. We see this confirmed in Luke 21:24 “They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
So Daniels prophecy of the “seventy sevens” covers this “Time of the Gentiles” in Daniel 9.This “time of the gentiles” comes to an end we see depicted inDaniel 2:34-35
Daniel 2:34-35 (NIV)34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.
Deuteronomy 27:6 (NASB)6 You shall build the altar of the Lord your God of [a]uncut stones, and you shall offer on it burnt offerings to the Lord your God;
Ie the stone is Christ, the feet at the end of the age and the mountain the Kingdom of God.
Now lets look at Daniels prophecy in Daniel 9 because it gives us a timeline and amazing insight into the coming of the Messiah and also what is going to happen all the way upto Jesus’s second coming
Daniel 9:20-27 (NIV)The Seventy “Sevens”
20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill— 21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. 23 As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision:
24 “Seventy ‘sevens’[a] are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish[b] 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.[c]
25 “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One,[d] 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.[e] 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.’[f] In the middle of the ‘seven’[g] he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple[h] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.[i]”[j]
If we get nothing else out of it this piece of scripture shows that we have a Father in heaven who is in total control of everything, who is all powerful who knows the beginning and the end and everything else in between. Only God could foretell to the very day 500 years before, to the very day when Jesus would present Himself to Jerusalem as the Messiah.
By the way in some versions of the bible the word “sevens” has been translated as “weeks”. This translation into weeks is not accurate. The original word is “shabua” which literally means “seven”
In this reading of Daniel the entire period is divided into 70x7’s or as some versions say weeks- 70-weeks. This is because translators from the original text assumed the 7’s referred to a week. But the Jews also had 7’s of years eg Lev 25:3-4 says that the Jews would sow their land for 6 yrs and the seventh was one of rest. Then after 7 of these cycles we had the Jubilee year. And without going into too much detail it clearly refers to years
Its been said that the book of Revelation is simply an extension of Daniels prophecy in the 70th week. This final week which is divide into two parts of 3.5 yrs or 1260 Days or 42 months. we see these numbers coming up all the time in the bible.
Revelation 11:2-3 (NIV)2 But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. 3 And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”
Revelation 12: (NIV)6 The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
(And there are other too see Rev13:5)
Also keep in mind this is not a dream or a vision this is Gabriel the angel talking to Daniel. Daniel is simply repeating what Gabriel said.
Lets pick up a few important points in this scripture
This is all about Daniels people and Daniels holy city ie Israel and Jerusalem (v24)
We need to take special note of the fact that two persons are spoken about in vs 25/26 The Anointed One or in some versions the Messiah the Prince and secondly the ruler or sometimes the prince that shall come.
Thse 70 x7’s (Years) are divided into 3 periods. The first period of 7x7 yrs , then a second period of 62 x7 yrs and then a third and final period of 7 years. (This final period of 7 years is dived into 2 parts of 3.5 each)
The start date to this timeline is in verse 25 It is “from the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem …”
There were quite a few decrees issued by Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, but all of these relate to building the Temple not the city- they often refer to the “House of the Lord”.
However there is a decree found in the Book of Nehemiah
Nehemiah 2:1-5 (NIV)Artaxerxes Sends Nehemiah to Jerusalem
2 In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, 2 so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”
I was very much afraid, 3 but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?”
4 The king said to me, “What is it you want?”
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, 5 and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”
It’s a historical fact that Artaxerxes came to power in 465BC so this was 20 yrs after this ie 445BC. By Jewish custom if no date is mentioned then it is taken as the 1st of the month so the date of the decree was 14 March 445BC (2465yrs ago )
But now we have the start date!
The end of the 69 weeks can then be calculated as follows 69x7x360=173880 days which brings us to exactly 6 April 32AD. According to Daniels prophecy this is when Jesus truly reveals Himself as the Messiah or in some versions the “Messiah the Prince”. This is exactly the day we celebrate Palm Sunday (a week before Easter )
(The length of the year was clearly taken at this time to be 360 days eg we know from Genesis (7:11, 8:4) that the duration of the flood was exactly 5 months and that this period was 150 days (Genesis 8:3). Also Rev 11:2-3 42 months is given as 1260 days
Lets have a closer look at when Jesus comes to Jerusalem as King at the end of those 69x 7 ie 483 years
Luke 19:28-44 (NIV)28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32 Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”[a]
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
He fulfils Zechariah 9:9 (NIV)The Coming of Zion’s King9 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
The people knew He was the Messiah spreading their cloaks on the ground, which they only did for Kings (see 2 Kings 913)
They even quote the Messianic Psalm 118:26“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” Mat 21:9 quotes it as follows Matthew 21:9 New International Version (NIV)9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna (Hosanna means savior /rescue) to the Son of David!”“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”[b]“Hosanna in the highest heaven!” So the crowds recognised Him as the Saviour!
But the Jewish priests reject Jesus at this time and sadly Ps118 :22 The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone
This all took place exactly to the day 483 yrs or 69 weeks of years after the commandment to build Jerusalem on 14 March 445BC by Artaxexes on the 6 April 32AD
We see in v42- 44 how He expands on what is predicted in Daniel 9:26 The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood. And Jesus weeps and says in Luke 19:44They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
“After” the 69weeks the “Messiah the Prince” ie Jesus is put to death. And this happened very soon after Jesus entered the city riding on a donkey
Then we come to another key period the Seventieth seven (week)
It is very clear that there is a gap between the 69th and 70th week. If we look at the verses to we see
26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death – ie after the 62 “weeks” Jesus is crucified… then
“26 …..The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.” This happened in 70AD when Titus the Roman destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. This was 40 yrs after the Crucifixion- so clearly there is a gap. There is another very important point here and that is we should note that it is the “people of the ruler” that destroy Jersualem. We know that to be the Romans- so it is expected that this “Ruler” or anti-Christ will come out of this extended Roman alliance or empire that is present in these last days. This links into Daniels vision in Chap 2 the strong (ron) nations held together with clay- the legs and the feet.
This ruler is the same as the “beast in Rev 13:1 or one spoken about in 2 Tess 2:3-4
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 (NIV)3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness[a] is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
Lets now have a look at this final verse 27 in Daniel 9
27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’[f] In the middle of the ‘seven’[g] he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple[h] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.[i]”[j]
Jesus expands on this last week.. confirming of things to come…
Matthew 24:15-30 (NASB)Perilous Times 15 “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. 17 [a]Whoever is on the housetop must not go down to get the things out that are in his house. 18 [b]Whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. 22 Unless those days had been cut short, no [c]life would have been saved; but for the sake of the [d]elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Behold, here is the [e]Christ,’ or ‘[f]There He is,’ do not believe him. 24 For false Christs and false prophets will arise and will [g]show great [h]signs and wonders, so as to mislead, if possible, even the [i]elect. 25 Behold, I have told you in advance. 26 So if they say to you, ‘Behold, He is in the wilderness,’ do not go out, or, ‘Behold, He is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe them. 27 For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the [j]vultures will gather.
29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from [k]the sky, and the powers of [l]the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.
So clearly the last week of Daniel is referring to the time of tribulation at the end just before Jesus second coming in glory.
With this in mind lets do an overview of this last week
It is marked by a covenant or treaty between the “ruler” or “coming Prince” and the Jewish nation for 1 “week” v27“He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’”This will allow the Jewish Nation to offer sacrifices at the Temple again. So the Temple becomes available to the Jews again! This site is currently in the hands of Islam- the Al Aqsa Mosque. So when we see this, when we see some in Israel offering sacrifices at the temple site, or Jews returning to the Temple site, or some deal between Jews and the powers that be allowing the Jews back to the Temple site, the countdown starts and then we know we have 7 years to the the end of this current age and Jesus coming again
But after 3.5 years this “ruler” breaks the agreement ….”.In the middle of the ‘seven’[g] he will put an end to sacrifice and offering”
Then at this time v27 “ at the temple[h] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” So at this time the Jewish sacrifice will stop and there will be a time of great wrath and desolation. This is the “tribulation”. While some refer to this final 7 years as the tribulation, the last 3,5 yrs will be the great tribulation.
At the end of this final 7 years and after this period of tribulation, there is great blessing for Israel.There will be according to V24…. an end to sin, atonement for wickedness, everlasting righteousness, and it will seal up vision and prophecy and anoint the Most Holy Place.
Paul states in Romans 11:26 that all Israel would be saved and then quotes from Isaiah 59 that God would take away their sins.
Bring in Everlasting Righteousness is the positive result of God’s work during this time. Not only would the sin problem be dealt with, but righteousness would be established.
Anoint the Most Holy or more literally, to anoint a holy of holies, appears to be a reference to the consecration of the Temple complex area in Jerusalem in preparation for the building of the Millennial Temple which is described in detail in Ezekiel 40-48.
So in conclusion. We serve a God that we can see has everything under control. We can see in these verses of Daniel how God has planned things to the day, thousands of years in advance. The paths of nations and people are governed by God and nations and people may have great meetings and deliberations and make endless plans, we can see that in the end God directs their paths and our. And for that I am eternally grateful!