Seventy Sevens: Meaning of the 70 Weeks of Years in Daniel 9:24-27 Timeline

You are reading in the prophecy section of the book, Fellowship With God in the Sixth Path. I have prayed for you, that after you have received our Lord's message for you in this page, that he will lead you to click here, into the introduction of this book, into the continual prayer of the new covenant of the Spirit.

Now, please read prayerfully, asking God to reveal his truth...

Daniel's Seventy Weeks

^"24 Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, 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 out of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem to the Anointed One, the prince, will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be built again, with street and moat, even in troubled times. ²⁶ After the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off, and will have nothing. The people of the prince who come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end will be with a flood, and war will be even to the end. Desolations are determined. ²⁷ He will make a firm covenant with many for one week. In the middle of the week he will cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. On the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate; and even to the full end, and that determined, wrath will be poured out on the desolate" (Daniel 9:24-27).

Many things are revealed in this prophecy, that hundreds and thousands of years later, Messiah and judgement may be recognized when the have come.

In these words of our Lord from verse 24 are revealed seventy weeks, the content of which was to finish disobedience to the law at the replacement of the law, the defeat of sin, reconciliation and righteousness through the anointed Messiah and a period without prophecy. By the time of the crucifixion, all of the content of verse 24 had occurred in the holy city for Daniel's people. Please prayerfully observe that I have addressed each phrase of verse 24. 

In verses 26-27 our Lord also reveals some very different things: wrath, war, desolations, abominations, destruction of the city and temple... events which are not included in the content of the seventy weeks of verse 24, but occurred at the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, decades after the completion of the seventy weeks. 

So, Daniel 9:24-27 contains prophecies pertaining to four time periods.

The prophecies from our Lord in Daniel 9:24 were fulfilled in three time periods, which total 70 weeks:

7 weeks (verse 25)

+62 weeks (verse 25)

+1 week (verse 27)

= 70 weeks ( verse 24)

The wrath, war, desolations, abominations, destruction of the city and temple which are mentioned in verses 26 and 27 were fulfilled in the fourth period, the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

In this page I will present an explanation of the seventy weeks using history, the context of Daniel's prayer, the time taken to fulfill the prophecies, scripture and archaeology. Then I will explain how the seventy weeks have been fulfilled, and present a chronological timeline with dates.

Are these seventy weeks to be understood as weeks which contain seven days or as some other type of week? Please prayerfully read on, praying to God for understanding.

Pause for prayer

Pause for prayer

Weeks of Days or Weeks of Years?

In my culture growing up in the 1960's the seven days of the week were not all equal. The seventh day was the sabbath... the sabbath being a day for worship... a day of rest. Because of the Blue Laws, it was actually illegal for stores to be open on Sunday in Texas where I grew up. Many and possibly all states had restrictions of this sort, to some degree. I can't say for sure, because I didn't visit all states. But, Sunday was a special day through the entire state when I was a boy. In other words, our week was composed of seven days, with the seventh being a special day. Many viewed the Blue Law as a way of protecting workers from employers... so workers in most industries had at least one day that they could rest. It was good for the people. In 2024, my culture still reflects this sabbatical week cycle, but to a lesser degree. We have seven days in our week and Christians gather on Sunday, the seventh day for a special time of worship and praise to the creator, Yahweh. 

Under the law of Moses, in the days of Daniel, there was also the seven day week, the sabbatical week cycle. In their sabbatical week cycle there were six days of work followed by a seventh day of rest on the sabbath, resulting in weeks composed of days. 

But the law of Moses also had weeks composed of years.  In other words, the law of Moses commanded that land be sowed six years and not sowed in the seventh year to give the land a sabbath rest. So, just like I in my culture have a sabbath day, the law of Moses commanded a sabbath year, as the seventh year of a week composed of years... six sowing years followed by one non-sowing year, the sabbath year... weeks of years (Leviticus 25:8-23). 

And the prophecies of Daniel 9:24-27 were fulfilled as weeks of years, not weeks of days.

You would probably only use the word “week” to refer to a seven day period. But the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 was delivered to a people who were under the law of Moses… who as such could have understood the word “week” to represent seven days or seven years. Please prayerfully consider the evidence below, from both scripture and archaeology.

Pause for prayer

"Weeks of Years" in Scripture

Twenty-seven of the fifty-six English translations available at Biblegateway.com translate Leviticus 25:8 (shown above) with the phrase "weeks of years" or a phrase indicating a grouping of years. The thirty-one other translations use the phrases "sabbath of years" or "sabbaths of years". But all fifty-six renderings communicate a week composed of years. The phrases "sabbaths of years" and "sabbath of years" both communicate a sabbath year as a part of a seven year period, a week composed of years. Prayerfully read on and you will see.

"Weeks of Years" Confirmed by Archaeology

The Dead Sea Scrolls confirm that “weeks of years” was in the minds of Jewish culture from ancient times. Click here and scroll down 2/3 of the page to read below the caption, "The 'Weeks' of Daniel 9:25 Were Sabbatical Year Cycles".  In the discussion of the Dead Sea Scrolls you will read the evidence from Ben Zion Wacholder on this topic from another website. Wacholder's article is titled, "Chronomessianism: The Timing of Messianic Movements and the Calendar of Sabbatical Cycles" in Hebrew Union College Annual 46 (1975) pp. 201-218, available online by clicking here. You will see that "the term 'week' had specific reference to sabbatical year cycles from a very early period". You will see a period of years described as "for their weeks". You will also see "the epochs of Israel's blindness" divided into "Jubilees and weeks". Wacholder stated, "Modern exegetes interpret the passage without reference to Jewish chronology current at that time. The ancients, however, took it for granted that the numbers in 9:24-27 had to harmonize with their calendar of sabbatical cycles."

So, when the angel Gabriel proclaimed in Daniel 9:24-27, "²⁴Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city"... these seventy weeks being composed of "²⁵seven weeks and sixty-two weeks" and "²⁷one week"... were these weeks to be understood as weeks of days or weeks of years? 

The weeks had to be understood as weeks of years!  Prayerfully consider the following evidence.

Weeks of Years in Secular History

From Adam Clarke's entry on Daniel 9:27 in his commentary on the Bible is the following:

"Marcrobius, in his book on Scipio's dream has these remarkable words: "... "From the sixth to the seventh week, there is a diminution of strength; but it is hidden, and does not manifest itself by any outward defect. Hence it was the custom in some republics to not oblige a man to go into the wars after the sixth week, i. e. after forty-two years of age." 

This text presumes that "the sixth week" means forty-two years (6 X 7 = 42). It also asserts that term "week" was understood to be equal to seven years in "some republics".

Macrobius's commentary on Scipio's dream was written in the fourth century AD. Scipio's Dream was written by the Roman Cicero long before the before the birth of Christ. So, it is clear that this way of perceiving the term week, as containing seven years, was not limited to the Jews in the days of Daniel. 

Weeks of Years in Context of Daniel's Prayer

The very reason for which the angel Gabriel was speaking to Daniel was because Daniel had been praying to God for a release from God's punishment on Israel for disobeying the command to keep seventy sabbatical year sabbaths in seventy sabbatical year cycles (Daniel 9:1-27, especially 9:2,3,20,21)). See also 2 Chronicles 36:17-21.

So, the sabbatical year cycle which measures time in WEEKS OF YEARS was the exact context of Daniel's prayer and the EXACT CONTEXT of the answer which God provided to Daniel through the angel Gabriel. 

Weeks of Years in Fulfillment of Prophecies

Furthermore, the fulfillment of the prophecies, the restoration of Jerusalem,  the coming of the messiah and his crucifixion occurred, with great precision, in accordance with a weeks of years interpretation, not a weeks of days interpretation. 

We will now prayerfully consider these four prophesies:

• Restoration of Jerusalem
• Coming of Messiah
• Crucifixion of Messiah
• Concealing of Vision and Prophecy

Remember, the prophecy focused on three time periods which total 70 weeks:

7 weeks (49 days or 49 years)

+62 weeks (434 days or 434 years)

+1 week (7 days or 7 years)

= 70 weeks (490 days or 490 years)

Well, it took 49 years to restore Jerusalem by rebuilding the temple, not 49 days. And the messiah came after 49 years plus 434 years (483 years).  He was crucified in the middle of the final 7 years of the prophecy. Prophecy ceased for a period of time which is consistent with the 434  year period.

Please prayerfully consider each of these three prophecies.

1) Prophecy of Restoration of Jerusalem

Prayerfully consider the prophecy of Daniel 9:24:

"Know therefore and discern that from the going out of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem to the Anointed One, the prince, will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks."

To restore Jerusalem would include the rebuilding of the temple, to restore Jerusalem to what it was before its destruction, to reestablish worship and sacrifice according to the law of Moses. To merely restore Jerusalem to fellowship with God without the temple would not require a commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. And the rebuilding of the temple took 49 years. And the first period of the prophecy was seven weeks. Well, seven weeks of years is 49 years. Seven weeks of days is 49 days. The temple and city walls were rebuilt after 49 years, not 49 days. So, the prophecy was fulfilled in weeks of years, not weeks of days.

2) Prophecy of the Anointed One

Prayerfully consider again the prophecy of Daniel 9:24:

"Know therefore and discern that from the going out of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem to the Anointed One, the prince, will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks."

The "anointed one" is the messiah, Jesus. Daniel 9:24 prophesied that he would come at "seven and sixty-two weeks", or sixty-nine weeks. Sixty-nine weeks of years is 483 years. Sixty-nine weeks of days is 483 days. Jesus came 483 years after the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. So, the prophecy was fulfilled in weeks of years, not weeks of days. Jesus the messiah came after 49 years plus 434 years (483 years). Then he was crucified in the middle of the final 7 years of the prophecy. 

3) Prophecy of the Crucifixion of Jesus

Prayerfully consider the prophesy of Daniel 9:27:

"After the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off, and will have nothing. The people of the prince who come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end will be with a flood, and war will be even to the end. Desolations are determined. ²⁷ He will make a firm covenant with many for one week. In the middle of the week he will cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. 

The "anointed one" is the messiah, Jesus. He was "cut off" (crucified) after the sixty-two weeks (after 483 years), "in the middle of the week" (middle of the seven year period), resulting in cessation of "sacrifice and offering", since SACRIFICES OF THE LAW WERE NO LONGER LEGITIMATE BEFORE GOD, HAVING BECOME OBSOLETE SINCE THE TRUE SACRIFICE (JESUS) HAD COME AND SINCE THE LAW WAS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON THIS.) 

Daniel 9:24 prophesied that he would come after "seven and sixty-two weeks", or sixty-nine weeks. Sixty-nine weeks of years is 483 years. Sixty-nine weeks of days is 483 days. Jesus came 483 years after the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. So, the prophecy was fulfilled in weeks of years, not weeks of days. Then he was crucified in the middle of the final 7 years of the prophecy. 

4) Concealing of Vision and Prophecy

You have probably heard of the 400 years of silence between the old and New Testament. That’s 400 years of silence, not 400 days of silence. Matthew Henry, in his commentary on the Bible, wrote concerning the book of Malachi, the last to be written of all the books of the Old Testament:

"now we have only one more witness to call... though he be the last and in him prophecy ceased... The Jews say Prophecy continued forty years under the second temple, and this prophet they call the seal of prophecy, because in him the succession of prophets broke off and came to a period. God wisely ordered it so that divine inspiration should cease for some ages before the coming of the Messiah, that that great prophet might appear the more conspicuous and distinguishable and be the more welcome."

Matthew Henry was saying that there was a long period of time during which God did not send prophecies to his people. 

²⁴ Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, 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.

"Vison and prophecy" is to see and speak what God will do because God showed truth to the prophet and commanded him to speak that truth. Many opinions exist as to the meaning of the phrase, “seal up vision and prophecy “. So, I searched the scriptures for authoritative commentary on those words, from the scriptures rather than opinions of men. In verse 24 above we see the word "seal" is connected with "vision and prophecy", that it is vision and prophecy which is sealed.  

In the middle of the night I pray for understanding. In the middle of the night I write. 

As I said before, prophecy is sealed in Daniel 9:24. Every other time we see prophecy being sealed in the Bible, the word sealed is used in the sense of prophecy being concealed, so it is not heard. I checked all 69 occurrences of original language words translated as seal, seals or sealed; Strong's Hebrew and Aramaic words 2856, 2368 and 2857 and Strong's Greek words 4973, 4972 and 2696. See Daniel 12:4, Daniel 12:9, Isaiah 29:11-14, Revelation 10:4 and 22:10. Here is Daniel 12:4-9:

• "But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end... for the words are shut up and sealed till the time of the end. " (Daniel 12:4-9).

In 12:1-3 God had prophesied trouble, deliverance, resurrection and eternal life. So, Daniel 12:4 is indeed about prophecy. Those prophetic words are to be "shut up" until "the time of the end". Instead of "shut up" Young's Literal Translation uses the word "hide" and versions of the NASB use the word "conceal" or "keep these words secret". 

Here is Isaiah 29:11-12:

• "All vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is educated, saying, "Read this, please;" and he says, "I can't, for it is sealed; and the book is delivered to one who is not educated, saying, "Read this, please;" and he says, "I can't read." " (Isaiah 29:11)

So, to shut up prophecy is to conceal or silence prophecy.

When Jesus breaks each of the seven seals of the scroll in the book of Revelation, the prophecy comes forth. See Revelation 5:1, 6:1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 12 and 8:1. So, sealing a prophecy conceals it. Breaking the seal of a prophecy reveals it. Prophetic truth lies in the mind of God. But it is not made known to us until God decides to cease his silence regarding that truth and makes it known. So, a prophecy can be made and concealed, concealed until an appointed time. Prophecies can also cease to be proclaimed by God for a long period, as they ceased after Malachi. 

No prophecies were made after those of Malachi, for apparently 434 years, UNTIL Daniel's last week, the era of John the Baptist and the incarnation of Jesus… the end of the Old Covenant age of law... the beginning of the age of the new covenant of the Spirit... after 434 years of silence. Click here to learn about the transition from law to Spirit.

If John the Baptist's ministry marks the beginning of the final week of the seven years, and assuming that his ministry began in 26 AD, then the sixty-two weeks (434 years) began in 408 BC. I am suggesting that the 434 years of silence could have begun in 408 BC. Does that correlate with when Malachi's prophetic ministry could have ended? Yes it does. The estimates I have seen for the writing of the book of Malachi range from 397 BC to 460 BC. So, if Malachi wrote the book in 428 BC and continued to preach for twenty years, the silence or sealing up of vision and prophecy, would have begun twenty years later in 408 BC. 428 BC is basically dead center of the estimates for the writing of the book of Malachi. So, it appears that Daniel 9:24 prophesied 434 years of prophecy silence with the words “seal up vision and prophecy”. 

So years of prophecy silence are consistent with a 434 year period to "seal up vision and prophecy" in Daniel 9:24. And the second period of the Daniel 9:24-27 prophecy was sixty-two weeks. Well, sixty-two weeks of years is 434 years. Sixty-two weeks of days is 434 days. The years of prophecy silence were consistent with 434 years, not 434 days. So, the prophecy was fulfilled in weeks of years, not weeks of days.

Summary of Prophecy Fulfillments

Prayerfully consider all of these prophesies. The prophecies were not fulfilled in 49 days, 483 days and 7 days. The prophecies were fulfilled in 49 years, 483 years and 7 years, with great precision. This was a miraculous, long term prophecy which could not have been fabricated!

Once the temple was completed after 49 years and once again after the messiah came after the 483 years and was crucified in the middle of the seven year period of the 70th week and after 434 years of prophecy silence,  it was abundantly clear that Daniel 9:24-27 was a prophecy of weeks of years, not weeks of days. 

Summary: Weeks of Years

From the above sections, it is well established that ancient cultures understood that a week may be composed of seven years. We saw this understanding of the word weeks through 

scripture

archaeology

secular history

the context of Daniel's dream

The time it actually took to fulfill the prophecies. 

So, the prophecy of 70 weeks is to be understood as 70 weeks of years. 

Seventy Sevens

Six of the fifty-six English translations of the Bible available at Biblegateway.com  translate Daniel 9:24 using the phrase "seventy sevens" instead of "seventy weeks". The two phrases have the same meaning. The seventy sevens are seventy sabbath year cycles totaling 490 years. Seventy sevens are seventy weeks of years (70x7=490 years).

God had deported Israel into Babylon for seventy years (2 Chronicles 36:17-21, especially 21, Daniel 9:2). That is one year for every year that Israel did not observe the seventh year sabbath, in seventy sabbatical year cycles which encompassed a total of 490 years. Seventy seven year cycles is a total of 490 years. Or you could also say, seventy weeks of years encompassed 490 total years in sabbatical year cycles. 

IN THE REMAINDER OF THIS PAGE I WILL SHOW, FROM THE SCRIPTURES, THAT ALL OF THE DANIEL 9 PROPHECIES HAVE BEEN FULFILLED!

Daniel's Seventieth Week

Some believe that the seventieth week of 9:27 was fulfilled near the time of Christ. Others believe that it has not been fulfilled to this day. On consideration of both points of view, I could not eliminate either opinion, until I came to understand Luke 21:20-22). Please prayerfully read on...

Pause for prayer

Pause for prayer

The Law and the Prophets have been fulfilled

• Jesus said, "Don't think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I didn't come to destroy, but to fulfill" (Matthew 5:17).

• Jesus said, "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand. ²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those who are in the middle of her depart. Let those who are in the country not enter therein. ²² For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled" (Luke 21:20-22).

Jesus spoke these words in roughly 33 AD, shortly before He was crucified. His phrase "all things which are written" refers to the scriptures that had been written at that time, the Old Testament. None of the books of the New Testament were written at that time. History tells us that Jerusalem was "surrounded by armies" in 70 AD and destroyed. So, this passage is saying that the Old Testament was fulfilled on or before the "desolation" of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The Old Testament contained the Law and the Old Testament prophetic books like Daniel, Ezekiel and Isaiah. So, the Law and the Old Testament Prophecies were fulfilled at that time. Luke 21:20-22 does not say that prophecies written in the New Testament have been fulfilled, since no New Testament prophecies were written at the time Jesus spoke those words in 33 AD. But, it does appear to mean that Daniel 9 was fulfilled before 70 AD. For more on the fulfillment of all Old Testament prophecy with the destruction of Jerusalem, click here. To see how scripture defines the fulfillment of God's promises from the book of Joshua, click here.

Some say that Luke 21:20-22 only means that all things prophesied about Jerusalem were fulfilled by 70 AD... but they also believe that Daniel's seventy weeks have not yet been fulfilled. But, the seventy weeks were decreed for the "holy city", which was Jerusalem (Daniel 9:24-25). See both passages below:

• Jesus said, "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand. ²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those who are in the middle of her depart. Let those who are in the country not enter therein. ²² For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled" (Luke 21:20-22)
• "Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city" (Daniel 9:24).  

The seventy weeks decreed for Jerusalem in Daniel 9:24 were written before Jesus spoke Luke 21: 20-22. Even if "all things which are written" only applied to Jerusalem, it would apply to Daniel 9:24, because Daniel 9:24 contains prophecy about Jerusalem (holy city).

Furthermore, Daniel's prophecy specifically includes a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem and the sanctuary (Daniel 9:26, 24-27). Luke also specifically mentions the destruction of Jerusalem  in the above passage regarding the fulfillment of "all that is written (21:20). And he also mentions the destruction of the temple (21:5, 21:5-22), which occurred when Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD. 

So, Luke and Daniel are clearly referring to the same event.  

So, according to Luke 21: 20-22, whatever was written about Jerusalem in Daniel's seventy weeks has been fulfilled. 

It is a contradiction to hold that all things written about Jerusalem were fulfilled by 70 AD, but that the seventy week prophecy written about Jerusalem in Daniel 9 has not been fulfilled.

This is so important that I must repeat it:

It is a contradiction to hold that all things written about Jerusalem were fulfilled by 70 AD, but that the seventy week prophecy written about Jerusalem in Daniel 9 has not been fulfilled.

If the seventy weeks were fulfilled by 70 AD, then the  seventieth week was fulfilled by 70 AD.

By the way, the promise of complete fulfillment at a specified time in Luke 21:20-22 is similar to Joshua 23:14 which states that all of God's promises to Israel had been fulfilled in the days of Joshua, even though all of the land promised in Joshua 1:1-4 was not yet conquered (Joshua 23:1-5, especially 4-5). In other words,  some of God's promises have been fulfilled when, at first glance, they do not appear to have been fulfilled, because many of God's promises are conditional, subject to the condition of obedience. For more on this see the last section in this page.

Is Daniel's Seventieth Week in Our Past?

I appears to be very clear that it is in our past. But, some prophecies are fulfilled more than once or fulfilled in different ways. So, I am open to possible fulfillment in our future. But, that may be said about any prophecy. To my knowledge, any teaching claiming that Daniel's seventieth week must be fulfilled again in our future is entirely without foundation in scripture. Could the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 24:15-22 regarding the abomination of desolation be an example of a partial multiple or similar fulfillment? Was Matthew 24:15-22 fulfilled on or before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD or is it to be fulfilled in our future? I will leave those issues for another day. For proof, from the scriptures, that prophecies may have multiple fulfillments, click here.

How Was the Seventieth Week in Daniel 9 Fulfilled?

A simple calculation of the 490 years of Daniel's figurative 70 weeks from the date of Artaxerxes decree in 457 BC (Ezra 7:11-28) results in a conclusion of the 490 year period in 33 AD. Most scholars seem to place the crucifixion of Jesus in 30 or 33 AD. The 30 AD crucifixion date seems to fulfill the elimination of sacrifices in the middle of the 70th week in Daniel 9:27.  So, a 2000 year gap between the 69th and 70th week, as some suggest, is not necessary. A 2000 year gap is also neither included or inferred in the text of the Daniel 9 prophecy.

For evidence in favor of 457 BC (Ezra 7:11-28) as the date of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, read the section at the bottom of this page titled, "Date of the Decree to Rebuild Jerusalem". 

Here is the text of the Daniel 9 prophecy with an interpretation consistent with a pre-70 AD fulfillment in accordance with Luke 21:20-22. The interpretation is interspersed in the text in ALL CAPS and in parenthesis:

^"24 Seventy weeks (490 YEARS) are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience (TO COMPLETE THEIR DISOBEDIENCE TO THE LAW OF MOSES BY ORCHESTRATING THE DEATH OF HIS SON WHO WAS THE FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW, AT THE TIME THE OLD COVENANT OF LAW WAS REPLACED BY THE NEW COVENANT OF THE SPIRIT: 30 AD), and to make an end of sins (DEFEAT SIN: 30AD), and to make reconciliation for iniquity (JESUS PAID FOR OUR SINS ON THE CROSS TO MAKE RECONCILIATION: 30 AD), and to bring in everlasting righteousness (THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST IMPUTED TO THE BORN AGAIN: 30 AD), and to seal up vision and prophecy (SUSPEND ALL PROPHECY UNTIL THE FINAL WEEK: 26 AD), and to anoint the most holy (TO ANNOINT THE MESSIAH: 26 AD IN JOHN 1:32).
²⁵ "Know therefore and discern that from the going out of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem (EZRA 7:11-28, 457 BC) to the Anointed One (FIRST COMING OF CHRIST: 26 AD), the prince, will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks (483 YEARS). It (JERUSALEM) will be built again, with street and moat, even in troubled times (WITH OPPOSITION, COMPLETED IN 515 AD). ²⁶ After the sixty-two weeks (AFTER, BUT NOT IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE END OF THE 62 WEEKS: AFTER 26 AD) the Anointed One (CHRIST) will be cut off (CRUCIFIED: 30 AD), and will have nothing (HIS LIFE AND POSSESSIONS TAKEN AWAY). The people (ROMAN ARMIES: 70 AD) of the prince who come will destroy the city and the sanctuary (DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM WHICH OCCURED IN 70 AD). Its end will be with a flood, and war will be even to the end (THERE WERE WARS FROM THE CRUCIFIXION TILL 70 AD). Desolations are determined (FOR JERUSALEM). ²⁷ He (CHRIST) will make a firm covenant with many for one week (IN THE 70TH WEEK, CONTAINING SEVEN YEARS, IN THE 3.5 YEARS BEFORE AND AFTER HIS CRUCIFIXION JESUS REVEALED, BROUGHT TO FRUITION AND MATURED THE NEW COVENANT OF THE SPIRIT TO REPLACE THE OLD COVENANT OF LAW. THE SEVEN YEAR PERIOD OF THE 70TH WEEK MAY SPAN FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE MINISTRY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST TO THE STONING OF STEPHEN). In the middle of the week (30 AD) he (JESUS) will cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease (JESUS, THE TRUE SACRIFICE FOR SIN, WAS CRUCIFIED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE 7 YEAR PERIOD, POSSIBLY IN 30 AD, SO THAT SACRIFICES OF THE LAW WERE NO LONGER LEGITIMATE BEFORE GOD, HAVING BECOME OBSOLETE SINCE THE TRUE SACRIFICE HAD COME AND SINCE THE LAW WAS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. IN GALATIANS 3 WE SEE THAT THE LAW WAS ADDED "UNTIL" THE OFFSPRING CAME (3:19), THAT THE OFFSPRING WAS CHRIST (3:16) AND THAT THE LAW WAS "A TUTOR TO BRING US TO CHRIST" (3:23-25). SO, THE LAW WAS INTENDED TO BE TEMPORARY, UNTIL THE COMING OF CHRIST, TO BRING PEOPLE TO CHRIST. CLICK HERE FOR MORE ON THIS.). On the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate (DESOLATION OF JERUSALEM WHICH TOOK PLACE IN 70 AD) ; and even to the full end, and that determined, wrath will be poured out on the desolate (WRATH OF GOD ON JERUSALEM; 70 AD)" (Daniel 9:24-27).

Because of Luke 21:20-22 we understand that all of Daniel 9 was fulfilled on or before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. There may be better interpretations of this scripture than what I have presented above, interpretations which are also consistent with Luke 21:20-22. But, we can not ignore Luke 21:20-22.

The following contains my estimated timeline:

• 7 Weeks (49 Yrs) 457-408 BC: Temple Construction
• 62 Weeks (434 Yrs) 408 BC - 26 AD: 434 Years Without Prophecy
• 1 Week (7 Yrs) 26 AD - 33AD: Atonement, New Covenant Established

Total: 70 Weeks (490 Yrs)

• Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD

I assume that the crucifixion was in 30 AD. The seven year period could be a seven year period beginning with the ministry of John the Baptist and ending with the stoning of Stephen.

The Atonement Was in the 70th Week!

The atonement or "reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness" was prophesied to occur in the 70 weeks according to Daniel 9:24 above:

• "Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness"

This atonement was accomplished by the death of Christ on the cross in 30-33 AD. I am assuming that the crucifixion occurred in 30 AD. But there are arguments for the 33 AD date as well. But in either case, Daniel 9:26 tells us that this occurs AFTER the 62 weeks: 

• "After the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One (Christ) will be cut off (Crucified). 

The 70 weeks occur in the following order: 7 weeks followed by 62 weeks followed by 1 week (Daniel 9:25,27). Since the atonement occurs within the 70 weeks but AFTER the 62 weeks, the atonement and crucifixion could only occur in the 70th week. 

Some teach an unscriptural doctrine that a 2000 year gap occurred after the 62nd week, in between the 69th week and the 70th week, with the result being that the anointed one was "cut off" (crucified) in the gap.  Well, the gap doctrine is consistent with Daniel 9:26, because it places the crucifixion AFTER the 62nd week. But the gap doctrine is NOT consistent with Daniel 9:24. Please prayerfully consider it again:

• "Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, 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" (Daniel 9:24).

"To make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness" occurred at the crucifixion of the messiah. It was "decreed to occur in the "seventy weeks". No gap was decreed here or in any other scripture of the Bible. If the "reconciliation for iniquity" was to occur in a gap instead of in one of the weekly periods, then the preeminent event would not be in any of the three weekly periods which add up to the "seventy weeks" that were decreed. It is a serious contradiction to hold that the primary event mentioned in the seventy weeks did not occur and will not occur in the seventy weeks. 

In the next section, I will show that the portions of the Daniel 9:24-27 prophecy which were about topics not mentioned in 9:24 as the decreed "70 weeks" are all outside of the decreed "70 weeks". 

Since the crucifixion was prophesied to occur "after the sixty-two weeks", and since the sixty-two weeks follow the seven weeks, the crucifixion had to occur in the seventieth week, the week in which sacrifice ceased (Daniel 9:27). Sacrifice ceased because the lamb of God was crucified. 

The crucifixion took place in 30-33 AD, SO THE 70TH WEEK HAS ALREADY OCCURED. THERE CAN BE NO 2000 YEAR GAP BETWEEN THE 69TH AND 70TH WEEK! The seventieth week is not in our future. It is in our past.

The next section will add additional clarification.

In the Prophecy but Outside of the Weeks

Daniel 9:24-27 contains a prophecy of seventy weeks. It also contains prophecies which can be outside of the weekly periods. 

Please prayerfully consider my words. The description of the contents of the seventy weeks is in 9:24. It is very important to recognized that none of the things that are decreed to be within the seventy weeks involve wrath, war, desolations, abominations, destruction of the city or temple. See for your self:

• ^"24 Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, 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.

Wrath, war, desolations, abominations, destruction of the city and temple are not in the seventy weeks which were decreed. But wrath, war, desolations, abominations, destruction of the city and temple are in verses 26 and 27.

Those are the things which did not occur by the expiration of the 490 years in 33 AD. Those things occurred in 70 AD. Wrath, war, desolations, abominations, destruction of the city and temple occurred in 70 AD. That is why they were not mentioned in the seventy weeks. They were not included in the seventy weeks

To help you to see this in the context of the whole passage, I will repeat the passage and show the portions of the prophecy which didn't occur in the seventy weeks in bold text. I placed footnote subscripts in the text to direct you to my comments.

^"24 Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, 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 out of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem to the Anointed One, the prince, will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be built again, with street and moat, even in troubled times. ²⁶ After the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off, and will have nothing₁. The people of the prince who come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end will be with a flood, and war will be even to the end. Desolations are determined₂. ²⁷ He will make a firm covenant with many for one week. In the middle of the week he will cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease₃. On the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate; and even to the full end, and that determined, wrath will be poured out on the desolate₄" (Daniel 9:24-27).

1) "After the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One will be cut off, and will have nothing" (9:26) must occur within one of the seventy weeks because 9:24 states that "reconciliation for iniquity" occurs in the seventy weeks. The cutting off of the anointed one is the crucifixion.

2) No wording in the text indicates that the destruction of the city and sanctuary are within one of the weeks. This actually occurred in 70 AD, after the expiration of the seventieth week.

3) This verse clearly states that it is within "one week". This week is the only other weekly period mentioned besides the seven weeks and the sixty-two weeks. So, it must be a part of the seventy weeks, since the seven and sixty-two weeks need one additional week to add up to the seventy. The verse tells us what happens in that week: A covenant is made. Sacrifice and offering ceases. The old covenant of the Mosaic law was replaced by the new covenant of the Spirit at this time. Click here to read about this transition from law to Spirit. 

How did sacrifice and offering cease in the seventieth week? Jesus, the true sacrifice for sin, was crucified in the middle of the 7 year period, possibly in 30 ad, so that sacrifices of the law were no longer legitimate before God, having become obsolete since the true sacrifice had come and since the law was no longer in effect. Click here for more on this. 

Some say that Jesus didn't cause sacrifice and offering to cease... that the antichrist will do this. I will respond to that in the next section.

4) Nothing in the passage states that the one who makes desolate in the second sentence of verse 27 is within one of the weekly periods. "The wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate" in Daniel 9:27 appears to be connected to "the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place" in Matthew 24:15 and also to "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand" in Luke 21:20. Both passages from Matthew and Luke warn the inhabitants of Judea to "flee to the mountains" and therefore appear to refer to the same event, the destruction of Jerusalem which occurred in 70 AD. In summary, Daniel 9:27 speaks of abominations and desolations, without stating that they occur within one of the weekly periods. And in fact, it appears that they occurred in 70 AD, which was after the expiration of the seventieth week, which expired in about 33 AD.

So, all of the portions of the prophecy which are not explicitly placed within one of the weekly periods appear to relate to the destruction of Jerusalem, which occurred in 70 AD.... after the expiration of the 70th week, said expiration occurring near 33 AD.

Now, lets see how that compares with what Daniel 9:24 stated was prophesied to occur within the seventy weeks. Does 9:24 say that the destruction of Jerusalem is included in the seventy weeks? Does 9:24 use any of the words found in the bold print text which could be outside of the seventy weeks, like destroy the city and the sanctuary, flood,  war, desolations,  abominations, desolate or wrath?

No. Look and see:

• ^"24 Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to finish disobedience, 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" (Daniel 9:24).

The destruction of Jerusalem is not mentioned or inferred in Daniel 9:24. That is because it did not occur within the seventy weeks. It occurred in 70 AD, after the seventy weeks had expired in 33 AD. Daniel 9:24 tells us exactly what is in the seventy weeks. Daniel 9:24 told us that the atonement was to occur in the seventy weeks, so it must occur after the sixty-ninth week, in the seventieth week. Jesus was crucified in the seventieth week, probably in 30 AD. So, there is no gap between the sixty-ninth and seventieth week. All of Daniel 9 has been fulfilled.

Antichrist or Messiah?

Some say that 

• the "one who will cause the sacrifice and offering to cease" in the final week is the antichrist
• that the final week has never occurred
• that Israel will start "sacrifice and offering" again
• that some day the antichrist appear and stop "sacrifice and offering"

But Israel can't restart the once divinely ordained "sacrifice and offering" because that was from the law of Moses and the law of Moses ceased in 30 AD, by God's design. It was replaced by the new covenant. God said it would cease when Christ came and it did. Hebrews 8:13 tells us,  

"In that he says, 'A new covenant', he has made the first old. But that which is becoming old and grows aged is near to vanishing away."

So God said that the old covenant would "vanish away" not reappear. 

"Furthermore, the one who will cause the sacrifice and offering to cease in the final week can't be the antichrist because the antichrist is not mentioned in the description of the seventy weeks (9:24). 

Furthermore, in the section above titled, "The Atonement is in the Seventieth Week", you saw that the termination of sacrifice in the final week came about because of the atoning death of Christ. I will repeat from that section: 

"Since the crucifixion was prophesied to occur "after the sixty-two weeks", and since the sixty-two weeks follow the seven weeks, the crucifixion had to occur in the seventieth week, the week in which sacrifice ceased (Daniel 9:27). Sacrifice ceased because the lamb of God was crucified. So, it can't be true that 9:27 is saying that the antichrist will terminate sacrifices and offerings in our future, because Christ already did that. And he did it in the final week in 30 AD. The final week has already occurred and there is nothing in the scripture which states that it will occur again.

So, the final week is not about the antichrist. It is about Christ.

Date of the Decree to Rebuild Jerusalem

I have suggested Ezra 7:11-28 as the decree to "restore and build Jerusalem" and 457 BC as the date of that decree, to define the starting point of the Daniel 9:24-27 prophecies. Other scriptures have been suggested as representing decrees by various rulers, resulting in three other suggested starting points. Chronologists don't always agree on dates for ancient events and the consideration of relevant issues may involve numerous scriptural and secular accounts requiring extensive assimilation of information. Here are the four possibilities and some dates suggested by others:

1) Ezra 1:1-4 by Cyrus in 538-536 BC

2) Ezra 6:1-12 by Darius in 521-515 BC

3) Ezra 7:11-28 by Artaxerxes in 458-457 BC

4 ) Nehemiah 1 by Artaxerxes in 449-445 BC

The first two decrees pertain only to rebuilding the temple and don't mention rebuilding the city. So they don't qualify. The event in Nehemiah, which occurred after the event of Ezra 7:11-28, seems to relate to rebuilding what was rebuilt pursuant to Ezra 7:11-28 (Nehemiah 1:1), indicating that Ezra 7:11-28 was the starting point, with the. The short answer is that Ezra 7:11-28 is the only decree which correlates with the date of the crucifixion. Books have been written about this issue. If you desire to dig deeper into the details, click here to go to another website to see scriptural evidence for 457 BC as the date of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem. 

The chronological reigns of the kings of Persia relevant to the reconstruction of the temple and city were Cyrus, Cambyses, Smerdis, Darius 1, Xerxes (Ahasuerus), and Artaxerxes 1 (Longimanus). 

Some of the account in Ezra can be confusing. I will explain. As the Jews were rebuilding the temple on authority of the decree of Cyrus during his reign, their enemies interfered with construction (Ezra 4:4-5). So, construction stopped (Ezra 4:24). Ezra 4:4-23 adds more information about the history of interference after the days of Cyrus. But 4:24 actually connects chronologically with 4:5. During the reign of Artaxerxes 1 they wrote a letter to Artaxerxes accusing the Jews of rebuilding the city (Ezra 4:4-16, especially 12), upon which Artaxerxes decreed that the city not be rebuilt until another decree is issued (Ezra 4:21), such decree being issued in Ezra 7:11-28.

The decree is in Ezra 7:11-28, by Artaxerxes 1, wherein we are told in Ezra 7:6 that the king granted all that Ezra requested, with Ezra 7:18 indicating unrestricted use of the funds, which would include rebuilding the city and Ezra 9:9 indicating that the city wall was rebuilt. By approving unrestricted use of the funds, Artaxerxes made it clear to the enemies of the Jews that the Jews could do what ever they wanted, rendering future protests to the king regarding their construction activities fruitless. Since homes and roads may be continually in construction, completion of the walls could indicate the rebuilding of the city.

When is a Prophecy Fulfilled?

In the second to last chapter in the book of Joshua, we are told that God's promises had been fulfilled when, at first glance, they had not been fulfilled. Click here to see, how scripture communicates, that God's promises have been fulfilled when they do not appear to have been fulfilled.

Conditions for Understanding the Word

Understanding of scripture is a gift from God to those who are born again with soft hearts and a willingness to obey, who receive this understanding by zealously seeking it through prayerful meditation on scripture. 

Click here to see how scripture says that we may come to understand scripture.

My Prayer: 

Lord of Heaven and Earth, as I continually ask you to reveal the meaning of your word, you multiply my understanding. I pray that you will continue to multiply my understanding so that my misunderstanding will be turned into understanding. I pray that you will draw all who read here to seek understanding directly from you, through your Holy Spirit, by prayer. I pray that you will release your children from misunderstandings caused by man’s man-made theological systems, where your word has been replaced by the tradition of man, where are the opinions of man are taught as doctrines of God. Amen.