Over 500 years before Christ, Daniel prophesied about the coming Messiah. And he gave a very specific timetable on WHEN the Jews could expect Him to arrive. This prophecy is known as “The 70 Weeks of Daniel”. It is a count down on the coming of the Messiah and what we could expect to see afterwards.
Unfortunately this prophecy is misunderstood by the majority of people who are teaching it today. They have twisted parts of it to make it appear to be talking about the Antichrist when no reference to him has been made at all. I would like to point out those errors and explain the real meaning of this fascinating prophecy.
It begins with a small introduction that doesn’t seem to make much sense but then it starts over again with more details and the prophecy comes alive and is packed with information. We will go over each verse one by one and look at each detail for a full understanding of this prophecy.
The entire prophecy is Dan. 9:24-27 There are only 4 verses but it is jam packed with information. Lets first read that introduction. Again this first verse (Daniel 9:24) is only a quick summary of the prophecy from start to finish.
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.
That’s the prophecy in a nutshell but it sets the stage for the next verses. So basically there will be 70 weeks from a given point until the end of this world as we know it. We know it’s a reference to the end since “the end of sins” and “everlasting righteousness” can only happen then.
The anointing of the most Holy is most likely a reference to Christs blood anointing the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant when he was crucified and shed His blood 2000 years ago.
An interesting note is that Christs blood LITTERALLY anointed the Ark of the Covenant which was laying 20 feet below His crucifixion spot and had been hidden there for approximately 600 years before Christ came on the scene. The Ark of the Covenant was found on Jan. 6th 1982 by the American Archaeologist Ron Wyatt. You can watch some of his videos about it here.
- Deathbed Confession, date found (Video 2.12 min.)
- Hidden Secrets,
- Ark and the Blood.
Back to the Prophecy
Now in the next few verses Daniel goes over the same prophecy with much more detail. Here is where the meat of the prophecy is and where all the details come to life. Although the introductory verse is especially important to understand because it shows that the prophecy carries through to the end of the world.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Now before we go further, let us set the backdrop. The Babylonians had just conquered Judah, destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple and had taken many of the Jews captive back to Babylon, Daniel being one of them. They were to be captives in Babylon for 70 years during which time Jerusalem and the Temple were laid waste.
So Daniels prophecy is an encouragement that gives hope to his people by letting them know that God had not forgotten them and that His promises are valid and will be fulfilled in due season.
Later they would be allowed to return to first rebuild the Temple under King Cyrus and Darius, then after that they would be allowed to build Jerusalem itself under King Artaxerxes.
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We will begin now looking at the verses closely and breaking them down starting with verse 25.
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Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem…
Here is where the 70 week timeline begins. It starts when they are given the commandment to go and rebuild Jerusalem. This commandment or decree was given by King Artaxerxes.
Some believe it was Cyrus while others believe it was Darius, but both Cyrus and Darius issued decrees to build only the Temple, NOT Jerusalem. The prophecy specifically says it is the commandment to build Jerusalem, and that was only given later by Artaxerxes.
Now in verse 25 it says there will be a total of 69 weeks until the Messiah makes his appearance. Let’s break it down to see how we get that 69 weeks.
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: …
It says their will be 7 weeks, and threescore and two weeks. Sounds a bit confusing at first but once we understand that a score is 20, then it is easy to see that threescore is 60 and threescore and two is 62. If we then add this all up we have the following;
7 weeks plus 60 weeks then 2 more weeks (7 + 60 + 2 = 69). Pretty simple math. So the prophecy is telling us that there will be 69 weeks after the commandment (by Artaxerxes) to go and rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah the Prince shows up.
Before we continue it is important to understand that these 70 weeks are not literal weeks of days, but weeks of years. In other words, we are not talking about 70 weeks times 7 days, we are talking about 70 weeks times 7 years.
70 x 7 = 490 But the prophecy was not meant to be 490 days, which would be less than a year and a half after the prophecy started. It was meant to be 490 Years. And History proves this because Christ was to come 69 weeks later (69 x 7 = 483) which He did, but not 483 days, 483 years later. This proves it is a prophecy of years not days.
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Therefore when calculating the 70 weeks of Daniel, it is important to remember that it is weeks of years and not weeks of days.
So the whole prophecy from start to finish is 490 years. ( 70 x 7 = 490 )
But the time table for Christ to come was 483 years. ( 69 x 7 = 483 )
Then the verse says “the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.”
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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.
This was historically true. While the Jews were attempting to build the walls they were constantly being harassed by those who did not want Jerusalem rebuilt. See (Nehemiah 4:7-23)
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So there would be 69 weeks or 483 years from when Artaxerxes issues the command to rebuild Jerusalem until the Messiah makes His appearance. But there is some confusion on when His official appearance began.
It is not the time of His birth and neither is it when He was crucified. It was when He began His ministry at the age of 30. When He was found and when He went public. Remember when Andrew, the brother of Peter said they had found Him?
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He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
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Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
When He was FOUND, this is the year that was prophesied the Messiah would come, when Jesus was a full 30 years old and at the beginnings of His ministry. But even more specifically it was when He confirmed the covenant and the promises of God when He declared who He really was in this next verse.
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16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written,
18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
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This is Jesus’ official introduction! He has taken this passage of the Bible (Isaiah 61) and has applied it to Himself. He has publicly announced who He is and has confirmed the promises of His coming and of the covenant. His coming was a fulfillment of prophecy and here He is verifying that fact. Of course they didn’t believe His claims and they tried to kill Him because of it. See the rest of the passage in Luke 4:22-29.
Even the prophet Malachi spoke of the Messiah arriving suddenly, but of full age. First he describes John the Baptist (the messenger) preparing the way, then he describes Jesus coming to the Temple. This all happened later in life when He was of full age. (Age 30)
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Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
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All of this to show you that His appearance prophesied in Dan. 9:25 is NOT a reference to His birth or His death on the cross, but His introduction to the world when He was found and when He suddenly appeared to His people. All this when Jesus was 30 years old at the beginnings of His ministry. Luke 3:23
The Prophecy of His coming could not be a reference to the moment of His birth because then the Prophecy would have come to a close when Jesus was only 7 years old. Remember He was to come on the 69th week, so one more week would be the full 70 weeks. One week is 7 years, so Jesus would only be 7 years old at the end of the 70th week.
But He hadn’t even started His ministry yet, so His appearance could not have been a reference to His birth. Neither could it be a reference to His death on the cross because it was a prophecy about His appearance, not His departure.
So the Prophecy of His appearance was a reference to Him being found at the beginning of His Ministry at the age of 30, and when He went into the synagogue to confirm the covenant.
This is important to know because with this information, we can calculate exactly to the year when Christ arrived. Exactly 483 years after the command to build Jerusalem by Artaxerxes. Without this information we would be off by as much as 33 1/2 years. But now we can pinpoint the year.
Hopefully it should be clear now that His appearance “unto the Messiah” means His arrival on the scene at the age of 30. Now lets get back to the main prophecy.
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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.
Now the exact time of the commandment was not given in the Bible but it is easy to calculate. We know that it was Artaxerxes that gave the command (Neh. 2) and that it was in his 20th year as king. So we start with the known years that he ruled 465 BC to 424 BC and then subtract the first 20 years from when he began his rule in 465 BC and we get a date of 445 BC. This is the exact year that he gave the command to “restore and to build” Jerusalem, and this is what starts the prophecy.
So far, that is simple to calculate. Now since we know where the beginning of the prophecy starts, in 445 BC, all we have to do now is go forward from there 69 weeks or 483 years until the Messiah appeared on the scene at the age of 30.
However, here is where it starts to get a little confusing because we go from a date in BC to a date in AD. As you know, we count forward from the birth of Christ to get a date in AD. But we count backwards from the birth of Christ to get a date in BC.
So if we start with the date that King Artaxerxes gave the command to rebuild Jerusalem (445 BC) and subtract the 483 years prophesied unto the Messiah, we get a negative -38. And once we get a negative number we are then counting in AD. So a negative -38 is actually 38 AD.
This 38 AD is supposed to be when Christ came on the scene. However Christ did not make His appearance at the age of 38, but at the age of 30. So it would appear that the prophecy is off by 8 years. But God doesn’t make mistakes, His calculations are perfect.
What is off is our current dating system. Our dating system is supposed to start at the birth of Christ but no body knew the exact year of His birth so they guesstimated. Many knew later that they were off by 4 or 6 years, but as it turns out, they were off 8 years and this prophecy of the 70 Weeks of Daniel proves it.
For more details, see the short study “Dating of Christ’s Birth” for the real year that Christ was born.
Now moving forward to the next verse in the 70 Weeks of Daniel.
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: …
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After the threescore and two weeks (62) is actually 69 weeks later. Remember there was 7 weeks and then 62 weeks. So to say “after the threescore and two weeks” it should be understood that it is the same thing as saying after the 69th week. If that’s confusing, just read Dan. 9:25 again and compare it with the diagram below.
So Christ appears after this 69th week and then it says that Christ would be cut off, but not for Himself. This is touching because it is a direct reference to His sacrifice for us. For Him to be “cut off” is a reference to His death, and the point that it was “not for Himself” should be clear because He died for us! So this part of the verse is a reference to His sacrifice for us.
Then it goes on to say that the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
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; …
This is a direct reference to the Romans under Titus. In 70 AD., less than 40 years after Christ died for us, the Romans under Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. After burning the Temple, Titus had every stone from it removed so that they could get to the gold that had melted between them. But Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jews were scattered abroad from that time until 1948. For a total of 1878 years. So this was a total destruction and desolation.
Now we get to the final verse of the prophecy which is the one that most people are interpreting wrong.
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: …
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The majority of those being taught this prophecy are being told that this is the Antichrist, who makes a covenant with the Jews that will last 7 years. This is entirely FALSE! This is not about the Antichrist at all. It is about Jesus Christ confirming the original covenant!
The Messiah is the subject of the last 2 verses, why would it suddenly change to the Antichrist without even an introduction of him? This isn’t proper grammar at all, the subject is still the Messiah. So when it says “He shall confirm the covenant”, it is still talking about the same subject, the Messiah.
The Authorized King James version of the Bible says “he shall confirm the covenant“.
But many of the new corrupted versions of the bible have changed how this is worded, which is why so many people get this wrong. Some corrupted versions say “he shall make a covenant” or “he shall confirm a covenant”, or “he shall make a firm covenant”. All these corrupted versions are wrong because they suggest that a new covenant of some kind is started, or some other covenant is confirmed.
But the truth is that Daniel is writing to the Jews and is referring to the only covenant that the Jews are familiar with, which is the one that God started with Abraham. So when Daniel writes “he shall confirm THE covenant”, he is speaking about the covenant that God made with Abraham and it includes all the promises, one of the promises being the coming of the Messiah.
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So the King James version is the only Bible that makes perfect sense here. Jesus confirms the covenant for one week (7 years). Remember He came on the 69th week so now He is confirming all that is left, the Last week of the prophecy which is the 70th week of Daniel. This all fits perfectly.
Plus the Bible actually tells us that Christ is the one who confirms the covenant.
And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.
This verse proves that Jesus Christ is the one who confirms the covenant. And the King James makes this so perfectly clear.
So again, this passage is NOT about the Antichrist making a 7 year covenant like most people are teaching today! It is about Jesus confirming the original covenant that God made with His people. This prophecy isn’t about the Antichrist at all, it is about Jesus Christ !
Next the prophecy says: “in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,”
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, …
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Jesus began His ministry at the age of 30 and at the end of the 69th week. Now begins the 70th week and it is saying that in the midst (middle) of this same week He causes the sacrifice and oblation to cease. Well first of all, if it is in the middle of the week, it means half of the 7 years which is 3 1/2 years later. So what happened 3 1/2 years after Jesus began his ministry? Well, that is when He was crucified! Jesus’ ministry only lasted 3 1/2 years. But did Jesus cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease? Absolutely!
Jesus became the final sacrifice with His death and now all sacrifices for sins has become obsolete. They have ceased just as predicted by Daniel. It doesn’t matter if they continued to do them or not, because they have no meaning to God anymore. So in Gods eyes they ceased over 2000 years ago when His son became the final sacrifice. Read that verse again and let that sink in.
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Next it talks about the “overspreading of abominations”.
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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, …
Many prophecy students are being taught that this is a description of the Antichrist’s time. But it is not, it is a prophecy of the future state of Israel during the time of Christ, and about its destruction.
During the time of Christ, the state of Israel had become corrupt and the abominations by His people were many. Remember how furious Christ got when He overturned the tables in the Temple and drove the people out for making the very Temple a place of merchandise? That’s just one example, but there are many. The final one being the illegal trial and conviction of Jesus Christ that led to His crucifixion. This is the “overspreading of abominations” that Daniel is prophesying about.
Now this is NOT the same as “The Abomination of Desolation” spoken of in Dan. chapters 11 and 12, (which is a single event and person). But the terminology is similar and is why some people get this confused with the Antichrist. But in Dan. 9:27 it is talking about literal abominations that the Jews will be guilty of during the time of Christ’s first arrival.
Now when Jesus spoke about “The Abomination of Desolation”, He spoke of it as a single event. The above verse is not the same thing. It says “abominations” plural meaning more than one. So this is not “The” abomination of desolation, it is multiple abominations and He will make the land desolate because of them. The Bible has used this terminology before. Look at this next verse for an example.
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So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day.
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So what Dan. 9:27 is saying is that because of the spreading of abominations (plural), He shall make it desolate. He is speaking of the abominations that will be committed by His own people the Jews.
But when it says that “He shall make it desolate”. Who is “He”? Well, Jesus of course! We are still talking about the same subject Jesus Christs, that hasn’t changed. So Jesus is the one who will make it desolate as punishment because of their sins and abominations.
Once again, Daniel was describing the Jewish state of being by the time that Christ would come on the scene. These abominations became so horrible to the point that the Jews even rejected their own Messiah and condemned an innocent man to death, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And this desolation was punishment.
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Jesus brought judgement upon the Nation of Israel because of their abominations and rejection of Him. This happened in 70 AD. when He let them be destroyed by the Romans under Titus. This was less than 40 years after Christ died. And it become desolate from that time in 70 AD. until 1948, a period of 1878 years. Only now in modern times and after the times of the gentiles spoken of in (Luke 21:24) has God again chosen Israel, and has caused it to blossom once again.
And now for the last few parts of the verse;
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.
Now a consummation is the act of completing something or the bringing together of two parties. In this case I believe that both apply in this prophecy. One; it is the completion (or end) of the desolation. In other words when it says “even until the consummation”, It’s like saying “even until the end of the desolation”. Two; it is the bringing together again of God to His people the Jews and reestablishing their relationship.
And the last part “that determined shall be poured upon the desolate”, is a NOT a curse, but a blessing. In other words, the desolation occurs all the way up until the consummation which is the end of the desolation and now certain things that have been determined will be poured upon the desolate to make it whole again or to heal the desolation. To pour in the oil and the wine if you will.
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This in fact is what has happened to Israel. Since they have become a nation again in 1948 the desolation has stopped. Now they have blossomed and grown into a rich and prosperous nation. God has been pouring blessings and healing upon them and their land. This is what has been determined and poured upon the desolate, a blessing and restoration of His people and their land.
Now with all this in mind, lets read the passage once more;
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.
This fits PERFECTLY if it is a reference to Christ, which it is. It only gets confusing when they try to apply this to the Antichrist who is never mentioned in this prophecy at all. The “Abomination of Desolation” is not the same thing as “the overspreading of abominations” mentioned in this prophecy, even tho at first glance it may appear to be. This is NOT about the Antichrist!
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All that above covers the first 69 and a half weeks of the 70 weeks of Daniel, which leaves only the last half or 3 1/2 years left to be fulfilled in this prophecy. However something occurs in the prophecy that the prophecy itself does not mention and that is the temporary halting of the prophecy.
In other words, there is a break in the prophecy time line. The prophecy has actually stopped without completing, at least for now. It stopped when Jesus was crucified and has not continued yet until this day over 2000 years later.
And although the Bible doesn’t warn us about this pause or break in the prophecy, we know for a certainty that it exists. How? Let me explain.
The explanation is simple really because the Bible tells us in the first verse of the prophecy that at the end of the 70 weeks their would be an end of sins, and the bringing in of everlasting righteousness (Dan. 9:24). Neither of which can happen until the second coming of Christ.
If the prophecy would have continued as normal, then the end of the world would have already come only 3 1/2 years after Christ died, because that would be the end of the 70 weeks. But obviously the end of the world didn’t come at that time so we know that the prophecy has temporarily stopped.
Here is a quick summery so far;
- Artaxerxes gave the command for the Jews to go and rebuild Jerusalem in 445 BC starting the prophecy of the 70 weeks of Daniel.
- Jesus came on the scene exactly 483 years later at the age of 30 which ended the 69th week and started the 70th week.
- Jesus confirmed the covenant for one week (7 years) but was crucified 3 1/2 years later, in the middle of the last week or the 70th week.
- When Jesus died, the prophecy came to a halt and we have been living in a prophecy time gap now for over 2000 years.
So we know that the prophecy stopped, but what will start the prophecy up again? What event or trigger will start the countdown for the last 3 1/2 years? Since the Bible doesn’t tell us about the pause in the prophecy, it probably doesn’t tell us about restarting of it either, but I think we have a pretty good idea.
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Keep this in mind;
The prophecy stopped when Christ was crucified which was the ultimate rejection of their Messiah.
Could it be that the acceptance of the false messiah (the Antichrist) starts the prophecy clock ticking again?
To me this makes perfect sense. It’s as if Jesus was saying, “Ok, you don’t believe that I am your Messiah? Let me know when you have found him and we will continue”. And when the Jews accept the Antichrist as their long awaited messiah, which they will, then the prophecy will continue for the last 3 1/2 years of the 70 weeks of Daniel and the end of this world system as we know it.
One reason I believe this is because just like Jesus only got 3 1/2 years for His ministry, the Antichrist too only gets 3 1/2 years for himself and his kingdom. See the next scripture.
And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
Forty two months, that is exactly 3 1/2 years and that just happens to be the exact amount of time left in the prophecy to be fulfilled. Just a coincidence? I think not, it only makes sense to me that if Jesus Himself only had 3 1/2 years for His ministry, the Antichrist shouldn’t get more then 3 1/2 years either.
So Jesus fulfilled the first half of the last 7 years and the Antichrist fulfills the second half or the end of the 70th week which brings in the battle of Armageddon and the end of this current world system.
Now we know that the Jews are still looking for their long awaited messiah and that they will eventually accept the Antichrist. Below is one verse by Jesus referring to His rejection and the acceptance of the Antichrist.
I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.
It may not be that obvious at firsts but who else could Jesus be referring too? He is not talking about the acceptance of “others” plural, He is talking about “another” singular. He is speaking about a specific person here. Now it should be a little more obvious that it is in fact the Antichrist.
So although the Bible doesn’t specifically say it, I firmly believe that it is the acceptance of the Antichrist that begins the final countdown and last 3 1/2 years of the 70th week of Daniel. Remember the Antichrist only gets 3 1/2 years to rule (Rev. 13:5), and it’s at the end of his rule that the battle of Armageddon takes place.
So if we only have 3 1/2 years left of the 70th week to be fulfilled and the Antichrist rules for the same 3 1/2 years of this world, then the last half of the 70th week coincides perfectly with the Antichrists rule. This tells me that it is the acceptance and rule of the Antichrist that starts the clock ticking again. Study the diagram below, especially the last half.
There are also 2 other things that coincide with the Antichrists rule for the same 3 1/2 year period. They are the Two Witnesses who prophesy during the Antichrists rule (Rev. 11:3) and the Woman who flees to the wilderness to escape from the Antichrist (Rev 12:6), (Rev 12:14). All these things happen during the same last 3 1/2 years of this world.
This covers the whole 70 weeks of Daniel from start to finish but there is one more thing I would like to briefly cover about the final week or the 70th week. This last week of the prophecy is the EXACT same thing as “The 7 Years Of Tribulation”. This is the only place in the Bible that it comes from, unfortunately most people are teaching the “7 Years Of Tribulation” incorrectly. As you’ve seen in this study, the first half of it has already been fulfilled by Jesus Christ over 2000 years ago and it is only the last half or what they are calling “The Greater Tribulation” that still needs to be fulfilled.
What I am saying is that there is no 7 Years Of Tribulation coming, only 3 1/2 years of tribulation which is the Antichrist rule on the earth and it is the only part of the Tribulation that the book of Revelation covers. for a full study on this go to my page on “The 7 Years Of Tribulation”.