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The Seventy Weeks of Daniel Ended in AD 34


The Seventy Sevens (490 years) should never be split or divided!



By Nab B. 

June 23, 2022



Daniel inquired of God about the return of his people to Jerusalem. He got much more than what he bargained for! He got to know the fate of his people and the people of the whole world!



Six hundred years before Jesus’ birth, it was revealed to Daniel the exact year the Messiah would appear, his death, who would murder him, and the aftermath of his death.



The seventy weeks are described in three phases with no gaps in between them! Do not believe those who teach otherwise (sadly, most do!)




The Three Phases



PHASE 1 

From Ezra's decree until rebuilding Jerusalem  

(7x7 or 49 years)




PHASE 2

From rebuilding Jerusalem till the Messiah  

another (7x62 or 434 years)




PHASE 3

Messiah Arrival, death, work  

(7x1 or 7 years)


__________




Another Way


( 7 weeks  +  62 weeks  +  1 week ) =  70 weeks

( Translates to )

( 49 year  +  434 year  + 7 year ) =  490 years






The Prophecy




Daniel 9:24 YLT


“Seventy weeks are determined for thy people, and for thy holy city, to shut up the transgression, and to seal up sins, and to cover iniquity, and to bring in righteousness age-during, and to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the holy of holies.”





What are the Seventy Weeks?



“Seventy weeks (Lit. seventy–sevens) are determined”: It means 70 X 7, by which we get 490 years. This was the period determined by God to seal the fate, not only of the people of Judah, Jerusalem, and its temple, but also the fate of the whole world by the appearance of the Saviour, Jesus Christ.



The use of seventy is not coincidental! In Daniel 9, God determined seventy-seven ( of ) years (the Hebrew word is not weeks but "sevens" indicating years). Seven (i.e. full or complete) multiplied by seventy times ( 7x70 ) refers to "complete perfection".



Don't view seven and all its derivatives (7, 70, 490) solely as a number. Seven has a spiritual meaning. It pointed to God's plan being fully and gloriously fulfilled through Jesus Christ. As the saying goes, "saving the best for last", God saved His best plan for the last age in man's history, to turn His creation from corruption to incorruption, from mortality to immortality, all through one Man.



Interestingly, and though not part of the seventy-week prophecy (but as a consequence of rejecting God's Messiah), Jerusalem and its temple worship were utterly destroyed in the year AD 70. Coincidence? Think again!





What is Accomplished 

By the End of the Seventy Weeks?



The seventy-week prophecy is about the appearance, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, through whom God accomplishes these blessings for anyone who believes.


Here's a list of these blessings found in Daniel 9:24:




To show that all temple ordinances and sacrifices had completed their purpose, the long and thick Temple veil was torn in half the moment Jesus died. This symbolized the removal of the barrier between sinful mankind and God through Christ, who willingly offered His body as a "sin offering" on behalf of all humans. 



Astonishingly, this single act, his death, ushered humanity into the last age:


“And Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up the ghost.  And the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.” 


(Mark 15:37-39; see also Matt 27:50-52)





The Beginning of 

the 70 Weeks by a Decree



“From the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with streets and moat, even in times of distress.” (Dan 9:25 ) NASB



Whether we count by solar or lunar calendar, Daniel’s prophecy was so accurate. It predicted to the day the appearance of the Messiah some 600 years in advance. Just to be clear, the prophecy was not predicting Christ’s birth; only his appearance, death, and the resulting consequences.



The 70 weeks began with Ezra issuing a decree to rebuild Jerusalem around 458 BC (which was the 7th year of King Artaxerxes, see Ezra 7:11-28).

 


Then, from Ezra's decree until the Messiah appears, 69 weeks ( or 483 years ) must pass.



Here is how the calculation is made in details:




Calculating The First 69 Weeks

(this is the total time until Christ appears for baptism)

 

   7 x 7 =  (49 years rebuilding Jerusalem) 

+  62 x 7 =  (434 years awaiting the Messiah)

____________

A total of 69 weeks or 483 years 

( From the decree to rebuild Jerusalem until Christ appears, 483 years must pass! )





Christ's year of appearance

We start from Ezra's decree in 457 B.C.

Then subtract 483 years

( from BC to AD, we subtract )

 ____________

26 + (1 for year zero) =  C. AD 27  

(approx. when Jesus was baptized)





The Messiah is Cut Off 

in the Middle of the Last Week



Daniel 9:26-27 (Berean Standard Bible)


“Then after the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing. Then the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood, and until the end, there will be war; desolations have been decreed.” 


“And he will confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week, he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of the temple will come the abomination that causes desolation, until the decreed destruction is poured out upon him.”




Calculation for the Last Week


27 AD  (Christ’s Appeared)  

    

+  3½ years   (Middle of the last seven years)

_______________________

 c. AD 30  

(Approx. Jesus' year of death)

(one event changed the course of history)




After Jesus’ death and resurrection and for the next 3½  years (around 33 or 34 AD), the door was still wide open for the few Jews to accept Christ. When that opportunity was rejected (Stephen’s murder seemed to mark that event as shown in Acts 6:8 – 8:8), the door was closed.



Shortly after, the door opened to believers fromSamaria and the Gentiles. This, according to Daniel's prophecy, it was  to “strengthen the covenant for many [or Gentiles]”.



Peter was given a kingdom key to open the door to the Gentiles with the first Gentile, Cornelius, to believe in and receive the Holy Spirit. (See Acts chapter 10)



To sum: The last three and a half year of the "last week", was mainly to strengthen the covenant by admitting Samaritans and finally Gentiles to Christ's new fold. (Compare John 10:16) By the end of that week, the whole world was admitted into the Kingdom of God. The door, surprisingly, still open today!




Who are the People of the Prince?



“The people of the prince who is to come will destroy the sanctuary and the city.” Most interpret this prince to be the Roman General Titus and his army. Although this has happened historically, I don't think the above verse applies to him! I believe the "people of the prince" applies to the Jewish Ecclesiastical powers and their supporters living then. They were the ones who destroyed the sanctuary (the temple) which was Jesus body and not the physical temple. 



By such an abominable and high act, they ruined their righteous standing and lost their city of worship, Jerusalem. 



For more details, read my article:  What is the Abomination of Desolation? 



Christ issued God’s decrees against the Temple, the city of Jerusalem and its people (see His final rejection in Matt 23:13-37).



War, trampling, and desolation were only part of these decrees which later included the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple between 66-70 AD. But do not dismiss that Israel's spiritual losses were greater than any physical destruction, due to their stubbornness when they finally rejected Jesus Christ. This will be much clearer, once you read the "Murdered Son" parable in Mark 12:1-12.



Israel's ecclesiastical system, not only killed Christ but it continued to reject Him as the Messiah for the next 3½ years. Accordingly, the tables were turned against their system which was left desolate and abandoned. 



Earthly Jerusalem ceased to be the city of God. The Kingdom of Heaven is the New Jerusalem. It is God's celestial city with Jesus Christ as appointed King and Lord. 



Any Jew or Gentile wish to partake of the New Covenant, can only do so on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ, repentaning, and leaving behind the old law!




The Deception of the Seventy Weeks Gap!



Erroneously, many Christians divide Daniel’s seventy weeks prophecy as follows:





This method is not supported scripturally. The seventy-week prophecy should not be split, divided or gapped under any circumstances! It is one continuous prophecy from its first year to its 490th year. 




The Wrong View of the Seventy Weeks Prophecy!



Now I want to share with you some timeline charts of wrong teachings depicting the 70-week prophecy extending beyond Christ's death, even to our days!