Daniel — Lesson 5

The Prophecy of the 70 Weeks in Daniel 9

Chapter 9:24-27

In the first 23 verses of Daniel 9, Daniel prays that God will forgive his people and act to restore their city.

The focus of Daniel’s prayer is the glory and honor of God. Daniel’s concern is not for himself or for his fellow exiles – but for the reputation and glory of God.

While he is praying, the angel Gabriel comes to him in swift flight. (One commentator noted that if Gabriel were going to catch many of us in prayer, he would have to be swift indeed!)

Verses 24-27 of Daniel 9 contain the message from Gabriel. They are some of the most commented upon verses in the entire Bible.

Daniel 9:24-27 Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. 25 Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the anointed one, the prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: it shall be built again, with street and moat, even in troublous times. 26 And after the threescore and two weeks shall the anointed one be cut off, and shall have nothing: 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 even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined. 27 And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate.

The seventy weeks in verse 24 is in Hebrew literally “seventy sevens,” which denotes 70 weeks.

What is the setting? Daniel has been reading about a 70 year decree upon the Jews found in Jeremiah. God uses that decree as an opportunity to tell Daniel about another decree regarding the Jews – a decree of seventy sevens.

How are we to interpret this ‘seventy sevens’ decree? There are two approaches: Chronological and Non-chronological.

The Chronological Approach

The chronological approach assumes that the ‘seventy sevens’ refer to a period of time in which the events mentioned in the decree will come to pass.

There are two different chronological viewpoints.

Note: Neither viewpoint believes that the ‘70 weeks’ are literal since no one has ever claimed that all of the events in the decree occurred within 490 days of a decree to rebuild Jerusalem. No one (not even the most rabid premillennial literalist) takes everything in this vision literally!

Before looking at the two different chronological approaches, it will be helpful to review the history of the exiles’ return to Palestine.

The Three Returns

Return Number 1: 539 BC

In 539 BC Cyrus gave a decree that the Jews should return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. (Some scholars think the decree was given in 538 BC. We will use the 539 date.)

This decree can be found in Ezra 1:2–4 and 2 Chronicles 36:23.

The leaders of this return were Sheshbazzar, Zerubbabel, and Jeshua.

After their return, work on the temple was begun, sacrifices were made, and the Feast of the Tabernacles was celebrated.

The Samaritans had prospered during the Jewish deportation, and they were not happy when the exiles returned. Their guerrilla tactics stopped work on the temple for 19 years until 520 BC.

The temple was completed in 516 BC.

Return Number 2: 458 BC

Ezra, a descendent of a High Priest killed by Nebuchadnezzar, was concerned about the spiritual condition of the Palestinian Jews.

There was great disparity between the rich and the poor.

Most of the exiles had been men, so mixed marriages with non-Jews had become very common. Many of the children from these marriages did not even speak Hebrew.

The Jewish law had been neglected. Prophets from this period speak of murder, adultery, perjury, and injustice.

Ezra led 1500 men with their families to Jerusalem.

He read the law to the people, who were very moved when they realized how far they had strayed from the law of God.

He commanded that the mixed marriages be dissolved, that the non-Jewish wives be sent back to their own lands, and that the walls be rebuilt.

Some have suggested that the commands to send the women out of the city and to rebuild the city walls may have had some relation!

The Samaritans again caused trouble. They reported the treasonous rebuilding of the wall to Persia and they then proceeded to tear down the wall.

Return Number 3: 445 BC

Nehemiah, a cup bearer in the court of Artaxerxes, asked the king to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

The king agreed, perhaps because he wanted a fort close to the Egyptian border.

The Samaritans ridiculed their efforts and spread rumors that Nehemiah planned an insurrection and wanted to be king himself.

The wall was rebuilt in 52 days.

The Millennial Chronological Viewpoint

The starting point for this view is the decree given 445 BC by Artaxerxes to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. (That is, the starting point is the third return.) This is the decree found in Nehemiah 2.

Verse 25 tells us that, from this point, it will be 69 weeks (7 + 62) until the Messiah comes.

Using the so-called ‘universal prophetic Day equals a Year’ principle (more on this later…) they add 69 weeks (69´7 or 483 years) to this starting point.

Here is where things really get complicated. If we add 483 years to 445 BC we arrive at the year AD 39, which misses Jesus’ ministry and death by a wide margin. (Keep in mind when you add years to a BC date to obtain an AD date that there is no year 0. For example, 6 BC + 12 years is 7 AD.)

The solution? Instead of counting 483 solar years (containing 365 days each), they count ahead 483 lunar years (containing 360 days each) to reach the year AD 32, which they claim is the year that Jesus was crucified. (Most researchers think that the crucifixion occurred a few years earlier.)

After the 69 weeks (483 lunar years), the prophetic clock stopped and has not ticked once in the intervening 2000 years. Instead, we have been living in a prophetical gap period that they call the church age.

The last of Daniel’s 70 weeks will occur when the Rapture begins. The final 3.5 years of these 7 years will be the Great Tribulation when the Antichrist will reign on earth. Following these 7 years, Jesus will return to reign for 1000 years on Earth.

Problems with Premillennialism

Does it make any difference what we believe about premillennialism? Is it all just a matter of opinion? Should we make an issue out of it?

Here is one opinion. Listen to what Professor Carroll Osburn of Abilene Christian University has to say on pages 90 and 91 of his book The Peaceable Kingdom:

There should be room in the Christian fellowship for those who believe that Christ is the Son of God, but who differ on … premillennialism, … congregational organization, or … whether baptism is “for” or “because of” the remission of sins.

Thus, according to Professor Osburn, premillennialism (and baptism, for that matter) is just a side issue that is really of little importance.

Is premillennialism really just a side issue that doesn’t really make that much difference?

To answer that question, let’s turn to John Walvoord, who is perhaps the leading proponent of premillennialism. Here is what he has to say about its importance:

If premillennialism is only a dispute about what will happen in a future age which is quite removed from present issues, that is one thing. If, however, premillennialism is a system of interpretation which involves the meaning and significance of the entire Bible, defines the meaning and course of the present age, determines the present purpose of God, and gives both material and method to theology, that is something else. It is the growing realization that premillennialism is more than a dispute about Revelation 20. It is not too much to say that millennialism is a determining factor in Biblical interpretation of comparable importance to the doctrines of verbal inspiration, the deity of Christ, substitutionary atonement, and bodily resurrection.

Thus, according to Walvoord, premillennialism is a “determining factor in Biblical interpretation.” And if you read their commentaries, you soon find out that this in no exaggeration. They manage to work it in practically everywhere, even though the ‘1000 year’ figure they rely on occurs only in Revelation 20.

With all due respect to Professor Osburn, it does make a difference what we believe about premillennialism. It is not a side issue, it is a main issue. Why?

The premillennialist doctrine has consequences that run counter to the very heart of the gospel.

Premillennialists teach that one day the Levitical priesthood and the sacrificial system will be restored. In this way, they belittle the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice and his eternal priesthood.

They teach that Jesus is not presently ruling over Israel – that he is not now king of kings and lord of lords. Thus, they belittle his claim to have all authority in Heaven and Earth.

They teach that Jesus’ mission on earth was failure, and that the church (his body) was a result of that failure. Thus, they belittle the plan of God and they belittle the importance of his church. They teach that our Lord and Savior was a failure who caused God to come up with a Plan B at the last minute.

It makes a great deal of difference what we believe about this important issue. It strikes to the very core of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Premillennialism is false and we must continue to proclaim that.

By the way, we owe a great debt to Foy E. Wallace for keeping it out of the Lord's church.

Foy Wallace (then the editor of the Gospel Advocate) debated Charles Neal (minister of the Main Street Church of Christ in Winchester, Kentucky) in 1933 about the 1000 year reign. He was largely responsible for keeping that false doctrine from infiltrating the church. (What would the situation be like today if he had just ignored the problem? I hate to think. That sort of problem rarely goes away by itself. Someone must have the courage to stand up and refute it.)

Arguments Against the Millennial Chronological Viewpoint

(1) There is no proof that the so-called ‘Day Equals a Year’ principle is in operation here.

Although this principle is sometimes claimed to be some sort of ‘Universal Prophetic Principle,’ it is in fact only used (with certainty) twice in the Bible.

Numbers 14:34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day a year, you shall bear your iniquity, forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.'

Ezekiel 4:6 And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah; forty days I assign you, a day for each year.

How do we know the principle is in operation in these two passages? God tells us each time.

Does that mean God couldn’t use it elsewhere without telling us? No, but is does cast doubt on the idea that he would.

But could it be a universal principle? No. There are many cases where it is clearly not in use. The creation account leaps to mind. Was the creation week a 7 year period? I know of no one who believes that it was. (Notice that the first of the above two passages occurs in the Books of Moses.)

Conclusion: There is no universal principle of Biblical interpretation that requires us to view days as years. To take that view here is just an assumption since God does not tell us here (as He does elsewhere) that the principle is in effect. (Our conclusion at this point is not that this principle is not used in Daniel. Our claim at this point is simply that the principle is hardly universal.)

(2) Beginning with the 445 BC decree from Nehemiah is just an assumption.

The prophecy clearly has a starting point, but what is it?

Verse 25 tells us that the staring point was the time when the word went out to restore and build Jerusalem. When was that?

If it were not for the efforts to make a chronology fit this prophecy, there would never have been any question as to the starting point: it is the decree of Cyrus in 539 BC.

Let’s consider the facts:

God had prophesied that Cyrus would rebuild the city. Some deny that he did, but listen to Isaiah:

Isaiah 44:28 who says of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and he shall fulfil all my purpose'; saying of Jerusalem,She shall be built,' and of the temple, `Your foundation shall be laid.'"

Isaiah 45:13 I have aroused him in righteousness, and I will make straight all his ways; he shall build my city and set my exiles free, not for price or reward," says the Lord of hosts.

Cyrus gave a decree relating to Jerusalem in 539 BC.

Daniel received this vision around 539 BC.

Put yourself in Daniel’s place. Which decree would you have thought God was speaking about? The only decree you knew of! The decree that Cyrus had just given must have been the one that God was referring to.

Objection: Premillennialists say that the only decree ever given to rebuild the city was issued in 445. (This is the one found in Nehemiah.) But is that what God said? No! Look at Isaiah 44 and Isaiah 45 again. God said that Cyrus would issue the decree to rebuild the city.

Conclusion: The context virtually demands that we take the starting point of this prophecy to be the decree of Cyrus in 539 BC. Take this as the starting point , and you will never reach the cross in 69 weeks (483 years).

(3) The use of lunar years to reach their target date is baseless.

Going back to the lunar calendar to make the numbers work out is (pardon the pun) sheer lunacy.

No country (ancient or otherwise) has ever used lunar years to count out long periods of time without including some method of intercalation [the insertion of days into the calendar] to reconcile the lunar and solar years.

At the time of Daniel, the Assyrians, Babylonians, Sumerians, Persians, and Egyptians all had methods in place for reconciling lunar and solar calendars.

(4) They miss the date of the cross – perhaps by as much as several years.

This inaccuracy is particularly troubling based upon their own comments regarding the accuracy of what they call the Divine Chronology.

Here is what one leading proponent had to say:

And accuracy as absolute as the nature of the case permits is no more than men are here entitled to demand. There can be no loose reckoning in a Divine chronology; and if God had designed to mark on human calendars the fulfillment of His purposes as foretold in prophecy, the strictest scrutiny shall fail to detect miscalculation or mistake.

I agree that the strictness scrutiny will not detect an error on God’s part. However, even a casual scrutiny is enough to leave the premillennialists’ theory looking like a piece of Swiss cheese.

The Non-Millennial Chronological Viewpoint

This view, which is very popular in the church, begins with the decree of 458 BC when Artaxerxes gave Ezra approval to rebuild the city. (This decree is found in Ezra 7.)

Again, verse 25 tells us that 69 weeks will elapse before the Messiah comes. Applying the ‘Day Equals a Year’ principle to the 69 weeks gives us 483 years, as before.

Taking the starting point of 458 BC and adding 483 (solar) years, we arrive at the year AD 26, which is about the year that Jesus was baptized (the coming of an Anointed One).

Verse 27 tells us that in the middle of the 70th week, the sacrifices will cease. This, they claim, occurred when Jesus died on the cross and ushered in the new Christian age.

Again, this seems to fit chronologically since Jesus’ earthly ministry lasted about 3.5 years.

Most in the church rightly reject the millennial approach, but this non-millennial approach is very popular. Let’s consider a few arguments against the non-millennial chronological viewpoint.

Arguments Against the Non-Millennial Chronological Viewpoint

(1) Again, there is no proof that the ‘Day Equal a Year’ principle is in operation here. There are only two places in scripture where we know it is used, and the reason we know is because each time God explicitly told us it was being used. (See our earlier comments.)

(2) Verse 25 requires that 7 weeks (49 years) elapse from the decree in 458 BC until the city is rebuilt. That is, verse 25 under this interpretation would have the city rebuilt in 409 BC. But, Nehemiah suggests that the city was rebuilt in 444 BC during the reign on Artaxerxes.

(3) There is no particular reason to begin with the decree in 458 that is found in Ezra 7, except that it seems to work. As we mentioned earlier, there is much more reason to believe that the prophecy begins with the original decree of Cyrus in 539 BC.

(4) Verse 26 clearly suggests that the 70 weeks includes the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans under Titus in AD 70. There is no way to make this fit with a 490 year chronology beginning in 458 BC.

The Non-Chronological Viewpoint

The non-chronological approach assumes that the ‘seventy sevens’ refer to a state of affairs (rather that a period of time) that symbolically describe the events in the prophecy.

Before we consider what state of affairs is being described here, let’s consider what the symbol of ‘seventy sevens’ might depict.

The number 7 as we have suggested depicts perfection. The creation completed in 7 days was perfect and complete. Thus, 7 could depict the completion of divine activity.

The number 7 is used all throughout the book of Revelation to denote the total and complete judgment of Rome and victory of the church.

The figure of ‘seventy sevens’ is also found elsewhere in the Bible.

Genesis 4:24 If Cain is avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy-sevenfold.

Matthew 18:21-22 Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.”

In each case, the ‘70 by 7’ figure denotes something that is total and complete. (Total and complete vengeance and total and complete forgiveness.)

What was total and complete about the decree that Daniel received in Chapter 9? The decree in Daniel 9 was God’s final decree with respect to the Jews under the Law of Moses.

This decree represented the completion of his work with regard to the Jews.

This decree embodied all of the elements that were needed to completely fulfill all of God’s promises to the Jews.

As far as God was concerned, this decree was his final word with regard to the Jewish Age.

The ‘70 by 7’ symbol was the perfect way to denote this statement of God’s completed activity. God is telling Daniel that this is a final decree. One day the Messiah will come and the city will be destroyed.

Now we are ready to consider the details of verses 24–27

Verse 24 lists six things that are dealt with by this decree. That is, the decree will accomplish or bring about these six things:

(1) To finish transgression.

This could mean that under this decree transgression would reach its peak or limit. That is, the transgression of the faithless Jews would reach its peak and then be punished.

Matthew 23:31-32 Thus you witness against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.

1 Thessalonians 2:14b–16 for you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all men 16 by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they may be saved – so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But God's wrath has come upon them at last!

Or, to finish transgression could mean that transgression would be dealt with effectively, which of course is what occurred at the death of Christ.

(2) To make an end of sins.

This was also accomplished by the death of Christ.

Hebrews 9:26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

Hebrews 10:12-14 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 then to wait until his enemies should be made a stool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

(3) To make reconciliation for iniquity.

Again, this was accomplished by Christ’s perfect sacrifice.

Romans 5:10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

2 Corinthians 5:19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

(4) To bring in everlasting righteousness.

Yet again, we see something that was accomplished by the death and resurrection of Christ.

Jeremiah 23:5-6 "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: `The Lord is our righteousness.'

2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

(5) To seal up vision and prophecy.

This part of the decree could mean that this decree would bring about the fullness of God’s revelation, and that after it there would be no more.

Hebrews 1:1-2 In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

John 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

1 Corinthians 13:9-10 For our knowledge is imperfect and our prophecy is imperfect; 10 but when the perfect comes, the imperfect will pass away.

It could also point to the hardening of the Jews that occurred at this time. That is, the prophecy would be sealed to them because they would not understand it due to their hardness of heart.

Isaiah 29:10-11 For the Lord has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes, the prophets, and covered your heads, the seers. 11 And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot, for it is sealed."

Romans 11:7-8 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it sought. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written, "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that should not see and ears that should not hear, down to this very day."

Matthew 23:37-38 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! 38 Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate.

(6) To anoint the most holy.

If the most holy refers to a person then it must refer to Christ who was anointed by God with the Holy Spirit and with power at his baptism.

Luke 3:21-22 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form, as a dove, and a voice came from heaven, "Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased."

Acts 10:38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

Luke 4:16-19 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day. And he stood up to read; 17 and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord."

If the most holy refers to a place then it must refer to the church – the new dwelling place of God which God has anointed with the Holy Spirit. This fits well with the context since the decree ends with the destruction of the old dwelling place of God – the Jewish sanctuary.

Ephesians 2:19-22 So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.

The last week of this decree begins with the coming of the anointed one and ends with the destruction of the city and the sanctuary.

I believe that the ‘last week’ of Daniel’s prophecy coincides with the ‘last days’ that are spoken of in the New Testament.

That is, the ‘last week’ or the ‘last days’ both point to the period of time between the incarnation (or perhaps the baptism) of Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

We know that the ‘last days’ occurred during the first century. In Acts 2:16–17 Peter said:

but this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 `And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

Thus, Peter very clearly said that he and his audience were living in the ‘last days’ that had been spoken of by the prophet Joel.

Whereas God’s new covenant and his kingdom were ushered in 40 years before the fall of Jerusalem, God’s patience and longsuffering toward the Jews continued until AD 70. It was at that time that God’s patience came to an end with respect to the faithless Jews who rejected and continued to reject his son.

Jesus had predicted this in Matthew 21:33–43 with the parable of the wicked tenants who cast the owner’s son out of the vineyard and killed him. Beginning in verse 41, we read:

41 They said to him, "He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons." 42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the scriptures: `The very stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the corner; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? 43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it."

Finally, just because God delayed the punishment of the faithless Jews until AD 70 does not mean that the Mosaic covenant remained in effect until that time.

The Mosaic covenant was removed at the cross and was replaced with the new covenant.

Hebrews 7 makes it very clear that Christ could not become a high priest until the Mosaic cove nant was removed. (See also Hebrews 9:11–12.)

What occurred in this decree and during this last week?

The entire decree began with a command to restore and rebuild the city and the sanctuary.

As we have suggested the most likely candidate for this decree is the decree by Cyrus which was given at the same time that this vision was received.

The only reason why other decrees are put forward is because they fit in better with attempts to fit this vision with a chronology. These problems disappear if we take a non-chronological approach to the vision.

After 7 weeks the city is rebuilt and the sanctuary is restored.

This part of the decree speaks of the efforts under Nehemiah and Ezra that we talked about. Read those books to find out more about the ‘troublous times’ mentioned in verse 25.

Why seven weeks to rebuild the city? It depicts God’s activity in perfectly fulfilling the promises he had made regarding the city in Isaiah and Jeremiah.

The chronological view really breaks down here. It did not take 49 years to rebuild the city. (One particularly desperate commentator has suggested that they may have finished much earlier but it took them a long time to clear away all the extra construction material and garbage! That’s a lot of garbage – in more ways than one.)

After 62 weeks (69 weeks from the beginning of the decree), we have the coming of the anointed one.

This, as we have suggested, must be Christ. He is the Messiah. He is the anointed one.

Verse 27 tells us that he makes a strong covenant with many for one week.

I think the ‘he’ in verse 27 must refer to the anointed one and not to the prince of the people to come. The prince of the people to come was the Roman leader Titus, and he did not make a strong covenant regarding the Jews.

Christ on the other hand did make such a strong covenant, but was it for just one week? No. The word ‘for’ is not in the Hebrew. The strong covenant was made during this week, but was not restricted to this week. (Remember also that the point of the 70 ‘weeks’ is not ‘duration.’)

Which covenant is in mind here? If it is the old covenant, then it means that he would make that covenant firm – he would fulfill all of the Jewish promises, which he did. If it means the new covenant, then it means that he would bring it about by his death, which he did.

This anointed one is cut off half way through the last week. (As verse 26 says, he is cut off after the 69th week – that is, during the 70th week. Verse 27 suggests that he was cut off half way through the 70th week.) Isaiah spoke about this:

Isaiah 53:8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?

This ‘cutting off’ ushered in the blessings listed in verse 24. It also resulted in the destruction of the city in AD 70 since the Jews were punished for rejecting and cutting off God’s son.

Verse 26 says that the anointed would ‘have nothing’ after he was cut off. What does that mean? I think it points toward the faithless Jews who rejected him. They were not his people. He had nothing in their city and in their sanctuary, and thus they could be destroyed.

Why was he cut off half way through the 70th week? Because half of a week is 3.5 days, which as we recall from our study of Revelation depicts a temporary persecution. Jesus was cut off, but not for long!

The sacrifices ceased during this week.

This could refer to the final sacrifice of Christ which meant that the Jewish sacrifices no longer had any significance.

It could also refer to the literal end of the Jewish sacrifices, which occurred in AD 70. Not only was the temple destroyed, but the priestly records were also destroyed, which effectively brought the Levitical priesthood and the sacrificial system to an end.

Finally, at the end of the decree (i.e. at the end of the 70th week), the prince of a people that is to come destroys the city and the sanctuary again.

This prince was Titus and the people to come were the Romans. They destroyed the city and the temple in AD 70. Premillennialists say that the people to come were the first century Romans but the prince is the antichrist, who hasn’t shown up yet!

The city and the sanctuary are destroyed by divine decree – not by accident. The destruction of the city was a punishment by God against the faithless Jews. The use of a ‘flood’ to depict the judgment makes this even more clear.

Amos 3:6 Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does evil befall a city, unless the Lord has done it?

Jesus speaks of these same events in Matthew 24 when he described the destruction of Jerusalem that would occur in just a few short years. In verse 15 of chapter 24, Jesus refers to the prophecies of Daniel and in verse 34 he states very clearly that those prophecies about the destruction of Jerusalem would occur during the lifetimes of his listeners.

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