Devotion 10 - Seventy Years of Daniel
Dan.9:24-26 - “Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the ruler who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.
In about 538 B.C, Daniel received this prophecy on Seventy Weeks, which was the most significant and detailed prophecy from God through the angel Gabriel, in response to Daniel’s prayer for God to act on behalf of his people and his city (Jerusalem). The beginning verse shows us that the prophecy is about the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem. Thus, this prophecy provided a prophetic timetable for the nation of Israel and almost all commentators agree that the seventy weeks should be understood as seventy “weeks” of years, in other words, a period of 490 years.
The prophecy goes on to divide the 490 years into three smaller segments: one of 49 years, one of 434 years, and one 7. The final “week” of 7 years is further divided in half, that is three and a half years of peace, and three and a half years of extreme suffering.
First Segment – Seven weeks (49 years)
The first segment is seven weeks, which is 49 years. The prophetic clock started ticking at the “going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem…” and ended with the completion of the work. In 458 B.C, King Artaxerxes issued a decree allowing Ezra to lead a group of Jews to return to rebuild Jerusalem. Thirteen years later, Nehemiah led another group to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. In about 409 B.C, 49 years later, the work of the restoring and rebuilding of Jerusalem was completed, fulfilling the prophecy for the first segment.
Second Segment – Sixty-two weeks (434 years)
This segment began around 409 B.C and ended when Jesus died on the cross, that is, “when the Messiah was cut off”. But that was not all that happened after the second segment. The prophecy continued with a prediction that after Jesus was killed, “the people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.” At the time when Daniel received this vision, the city of Jerusalem and the Temple were all in ruins. Thus, this must refer to another destruction that would take place only after the city and the Temple were rebuilt. We know from history that this destruction took place in AD 70 when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and demolished the Temple. The Jews were then exiled from their homeland and were scattered all over the world.
Third Segment – Seventieth week (7 years)
Thus far we have seen that the first segment of the 70 weeks’ timeframe is 7 weeks and that the second segment is 62 weeks. These add up to 69 weeks. That leaves only one week of 7 years for the third and final segment of the timeframe – which is the 70th week. The next verse further divides the week into two smaller segments, “Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week, He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering…”
The prophecy on this final “one week” has not yet been fulfilled at this point in time, and will only be fulfilled during the period of the Great Tribulation. Hence, there is a time gap between the second and third segments of the 70 weeks. We are now living in this time gap, which is also known as the church age.
Why is there such a large gap within this timeframe of 70 weeks? Verse 24 gives us a clue: “Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city…” Hence, this time frame is about God’s specific plan for the Jews and for the city of Jerusalem.
For the last 2,000 years, the Lord’s focus has been on the salvation of the Gentiles. That’s how we Gentiles were saved! Paul says it aptly in Rom.11:11,25 “…through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles…blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” When the present time of the Gentiles is over, God will then turn His focus back to Israel again and the prophetic clock for the third segment will begin.
Below is a simple time-line to help understand the 70 prophetic weeks
The prophecy of the 70 weeks is complex, and much has been written about it with various interpretations. However, one thing is certain: God has a timetable, and He is keeping things on schedule. The end may now be nearer than we think. As we see world events developing every passing day, the 70th week may well be just around the corner.
However, we must always keep in mind that the purpose of studying bible prophecy is not to set calendar, but to build character, and to awaken and inspire us to grow in holiness. So, in the meantime, let’s keep ourselves occupied, maximising our time to do as much as we can for the Lord, and be watching and praying with alertness and be ready for the return of our Bridegroom. Let us take heed to the words of our Lord Jesus seriously, “Behold, I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Rev.22:12).