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The Seventieth Week - How Jesus Christ Fulfilled Daniel 9:24-27

The Text This is the text this article will be discussing. Please note that we do recognize that not all folks who are post trib agree with us concerning the 70th week of Daniel. We also realize that many groups believe the 70th week was fulfilled. This does not mean we agree with them on other points.

Daniel 9:24-27

Daniel 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

Daniel 9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

Daniel 9:26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

Daniel 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

To begin with, no matter how the 360-prophetic-day view twists it around, the Jews knew that the Messiah was due - as is evidenced by these passages from Acts.

Acts 5:34-39

Acts 5:34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;

Acts 5:35 And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what ye intend to do as touching these men.

Acts 5:36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.

Acts 5:37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.

Acts 5:38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought:

Acts 5:39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.

Gamaliel made several observations. He pointed out that there was Theudas who claimed to be the Christ and what happened to his followers after he was killed? They all scattered. He pointed out that there was also Judas of Galilee, who claimed to be Christ (in the days of the taxing, so about 5 BC). What happened to his followers? They were scattered. What is the point? They knew that it was about time for the Messiah. There were false Christs abounding. They all amounted to nothing.

What about Simeon? In Luke 2:25-35, you see that Simeon has been told by God that he won't die until he sees the Messiah, "the consolation of Israel." And in verse 32, holding baby Jesus, he says, that the baby is a "light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel." So, Jesus' arrival was not unexpected.

Indeed, Daniel prophesied in verse 25 that from the commandment to restore and rebuild Israel to the coming of the Messiah is 483 years. The question comes to "which decree is it?"

Here are the decrees: (all dates taken from the 1917 Scofield Reference Bible)

The Decree of Cyrus - about 536 BC * Ezra 1:2-4 Cyrus sends folks out to build the temple. * The math: 536 - 483 = 53 BC. * Guess what? No Messiah in 53BC.

The Decree of Artaxerxes - about 534 BC * Ezra 4:17-22 Artaxerxes' decree here is actually to stop building and wait, not to start. * Scratch that one.

Haggai and Zechariah Prophesy * Ezra 5:1-3 Here Zerubbabel and Jeshua build, but no decree is mentioned. * Scratch that.

Darius quotes Cyrus - about 520 BC * Ezra 6:1-5 Darius simply quotes Cyrus, but in vv. 6-12, Darius sends out a decree. * The math: 520 - 483 = 37 BC (some say 33BC...it's close enough I reckon). * Maybe this was when Theudas popped up? * Scratch this one, no Messiah.

Ezra 6:14 * "According to the commandment of God, of Cyrus, of Darius, and of Artaxerxes they builded and finished it." * But look carefully at the decree above of Artaxerxes. His decree was to stop building and wait. * So they couldn't have been talking about his decree.

Decree of Artaxerxes - 458 BC * Ezra 7:12 - 26 Artaxerxes makes the decree. * The math: 483-458 = 25, but there was no 0 AD nor 0 BC, so that makes 26 AD. * What happened in 26 AD? * Again, using the 1917 Scofield Reference Bible notes, in Mark 1,

Mark 1:9-10

Mark 1:9 And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.

Mark 1:10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him:

Messiah the Prince came and the Spirit, like a dove, descended upon Him. So began the ministry of Jesus Christ. If you have a 1917 Scofield Bible, then on that very page (page 1045), his notes say, "The events recorded in this book cover a period of 7 years."

What is 483 + 7? 490 years. Simple.

Jesus' first coming and ministry on this earth, through to His death, burial and resurrection fulfilled the 70th week of Daniel.

How Jesus fulfilled Daniel 9:24 Let's look at Daniel 9:24 in greater detail.

Daniel 9:24

Why are 70 weeks determined? To do these things: 1. to finish the transgression 2. to make an end of sins 3. to make reconciliation for iniquity 4. to bring in everlasting righteousness 5. to seal up the vision and prophecy 6. to anoint the most Holy 1. Finish the Transgression. Recall that to begin with, the Jews were in captivity for 490 years because of not honoring the Sabbath - they didn't give the land rest every seven years. The 70 years of capitivity in Babylon gave the land its rest. This is in 2 Chronicles 36- it's a whole lot of verses. Then God gives them another 490 years - maybe this time is their last chance.

2. Make an End of Sins. Though we still sin, if we are saved, then there is no condemnation for those sins.

Romans 8:1

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

3. Make Reconciliation for Iniquity. Only Jesus could do this. He came to make reconciliation for us.

Hebrews 2:17

Hebrews 2:17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.

4. Bring in Everlasting Righteousness Jesus Himself said that He fulfilled all righteousness.

Matthew 3:13-15

Matthew 3:13 Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized of him.

Matthew 3:14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?

Matthew 3:15 And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him.

5. Seal up the Vision and Prophecy Contrary to what most teach about this passage, "seal up" doesn't mean to hide it from men's understanding until the last days. From Strong's, seal is [2856] chatham: meaning to close up, make an end of, stop. So Jesus made the end of this vision and prophecy. It doesn't say "all visions and prophecies" for you naysayers. It says "the vision..."

6. Anoint the Most Holy Again, Jesus was anointed at His baptism in Mark 1. He is the Most Holy.

Daniel 9:25

I've already showed in the first post, why I believe, and the math supports it, that Jesus is whom this is referring to. The big question comes from the next verse:

Daniel 9:26

Who is The Prince? A big argument is over who this prince is. In the 1769 KJV, the first prince is capitalized - Prince and the second is not. Unfortunately, not knowing the Hebrew, folks err and make a doctrine based on the translators' take. What they may not know is that the 1611 KJV had both of them as "Prince." It was changed later. The YLT (a really good word-for-word translation of the Textus Receptus/Masoretic) has this:

Daniel 9:25-26 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

Daniel 9:25 And thou dost know, and dost consider wisely, from the going forth of the word to restore and to build Jerusalem till Messiah the Leader is seven weeks, and sixty and two weeks: the broad place hath been built again, and the rampart, even in the distress of the times.

Daniel 9:26 And after the sixty and two weeks, cut off is Messiah, and the city and the holy place are not his, the Leader who hath come doth destroy the people; and its end is with a flood, and till the end is war, determined are desolations.

Clearly, in the word for word, he equates Messiah the Prince with the Prince that shall come.

In the KJV, we find that "the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city." Does the prince destroy the city? No, the people of the prince. In 70 AD, the people of the prince rebelled and went against the Romans. What happened? The city was destroyed. Did they do it directly? Well, no one knows exactly who torched the temple. But, either way, the actions of the Jewish people in Jerusalem brought down the fury of the Roman armies. Whether the Jews burned it or the Romans did is rather a moot point.

Daniel 9:26 - Another Look Look at this from Dan 9:26. "...and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined." Desolations are determined to the end of the war. At the end, when Jerusalem was destroyed is when the desolation ended.

From the YLT....

Daniel 9:27 Young's Literal Translation (YLT)

Daniel 9:27 And he hath strengthened a covenant with many -- one week, and in the midst of the week he causeth sacrifice and present to cease, and by the wing of abominations he is making desolate, even till the consummation, and that which is determined is poured on the desolate one.'

From the KJV...

Daniel 9:27

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week. From the first post, Jesus' ministry (most agree with this) was seven years...one week. "Confirm" as shown by the YLT, means "strengthen." This says "Covenant." Not treaty. Covenant. What covenant?

Look at Daniel 9 again...

Daniel 9:3-4

Daniel 9:3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

Daniel 9:4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

Note that Daniel does not say to all Israel. He says to them that love him and that keep his commandments. So again, what covenant? It's a covenant that Jesus merely strengthened. It is the covenant that He gave to Abraham.

Genesis 22:18

Genesis 22:18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

How would all nations be blessed through Abraham's seed? Through Jesus the Christ. The father of John the Baptist, Zacharias, gave this prophecy:

Luke 1:72-75

Luke 1:72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

Luke 1:73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

Luke 1:74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,

Luke 1:75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.

Jesus Strengthened the Covenant Jesus strengthened the covenant that God had already made. Those believers in the Old Testament believed that God would do as He promised and provide His salvation, though they knew not the name of Jesus. Those who have believed since Jesus cmbelieved that Jesus' death, burial and resurrection paid the price for their (our) sins. It has always been the same. God has not changed. His mercy and grace has been extended in the same way, most folks, however, saw the physical or fleshly side and not the spiritual side and I must admit that I find it difficult somedays to see the spiritual too. I know we all do. The flesh wars against the Spirit all the time. Jesus confirmed the covenant that God had made with Abraham. In thee shall all nations be blessed. See also Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24, and Luke 22:20.

He shall cause the sacrifice to cease... In Daniel 9, we find that "he shall cause the sacrifice to cease." If this were the antichrist, as is taught by dispensationalists, then he has already been here because there has been no sacrifice in the temple for a long time. Not since 70 AD. Instead look at what Jesus' death meant. It meant that the covering of sins that the sacrifices did was no longer needed. He took all our sins upon Himself and once we accept that free gift, then ours sins are removed as far as east is from west.

The sacrifice ceased literally in 70 AD, but the need ended at Calvary.

[A]nd for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. Indeed, the city was made desolate. The Romans overran the city, destroying all that was in their wake. This has been done. History proves it.

Last modified on July 07, 2001.

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