The Prophecy Given to Daniel: "The Seventy Weeks"

Hello John and Doves,

In this letter I wanted to take a 'different' look at Daniel 9 and Gabriel's prophecy of the 70 Weeks.

I jotted down a few thoughts on this. And, as many here know, I often don't follow mainstream eschatology.

The 70 Week Prophecy:

The angel Gabriel was sent to Daniel with a '70 Week prophecy - 490 years. This is God's timetable. Each week is considered seven years. 7 x 70 = 490. This prophecy is for the Jewish people and Jerusalem. Remember this.

"Seventy weeks are determined/decreed

upon thy people and upon thy holy city (Jerusalem)" to 1) finish the transgression, 2) put an end to sin, 3) to atone for wickedness, 4) to bring in everlasting righteousness, 5) to seal up the vision and prophecy and 6) anoint the Most Holy Place (the Holy City, Jerusalem). Daniel 9:24

The prophecy is divided into three time periods: 'seven weeks' (or 49 years), 'threescore and two weeks' (or 434 years) and 'one week' (or 7 years) to equal the 70 weeks (or 490 years). The Lord divided up these weeks for a reason.

From the command to restore and to build Jerusalem "to the Messiah, the Prince" is 'seven weeks' and 'threescore and two weeks'. Note the order here of the weeks - this is important - the seven weeks happen BEFORE the threescore and two weeks. It's a timeline.

"to the Messiah" is 7 + 62 weeks or 69 weeks. 69 weeks have past. So the Messiah, Jesus, shows up at the start of the 70th week. So there is this one week of the 70 left to fulfill. Jesus starts that week with His ministry.

The prophecy goes on to say that "after threescore and two weeks" shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself.." Daniel 9:26 There is not a problem here because, remember, the 7 weeks came before the 62 weeks..i.e. the 7 weeks has already happened before the 62 weeks so, again, this is saying, the Messiah is cut off/crucified after the 69 weeks are finished. This is during the 70th week. He started His ministry at the beginning of the 70th Week, then He is 'cut off/crucified' in the middle of the 70th Week. Jesus' ministry was exactly 1260 days/3.5 years...and there are exactly 1260 days/3.5 years left.

The 70th week starts with the arrival of the Messiah - not His 'triumphal entry' - but the start of His ministry. Jesus fulfilled the new covenant that God told Jeremiah about.

Jeremiah 31:31 - 34 "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord', for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." This will lead Daniel's people and the Holy City to the fulfillment of the decrees of the 70 Weeks.

In Daniel 9:27, We are told that Jesus brings about the 'new covenant of God' promised via Jeremiah - a new covenant with His people - Jesus did this with His ministry - Jesus brought 'the kingdom of God' to Earth. Matt 12:28, Luke 11:20, Luke 10:11, Luke 9:27, Acts 28:31 But after just 3.5 years, He is crucified. He is the last Passover lamb. The veil to the Holy of Holies is torn in two from top to bottom. The sacrifices and offerings are over. He was the ultimate sacrifice/offering. It is finished.

And to finish Daniel 9:27: "and for the overspreading of abominations shall one make it desolate, even until the consummation and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." Israel is taken by the Roman army under Titus; Jerusalem is besieged, the walls battered down, and the Second Temple is destroyed in 70 AD. The Holy City was left ruined and desolate. The people are scattered, many taken captive.

10 Nisan and Triumphal Entry:

Remember Jesus' prophecy on 10 Nisan, the Triumphal Entry: "And when He was come near, He beheld the city, and wept over it. Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side. And shall lay thee even with the ground, and they children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation." Luke 19:41 - 44.

IF the Jews had recognized "ON THIS DAY" (10 Nisan) - the day of the visitation of their God...they would have known peace...the last half of the 70th Week could have been fulfilled...all that was decreed for Daniel's people and his Holy City could have been fulfilled and finished. But "the things" that could have brought peace are "now concealed/laid up/taken away from you."

The Time of the Gentiles is inserted...and when this time period ends, the last 3.5 years of the 70th Week can begin. Then with the Second Coming, the decree of the 70th Week will be fulfilled.

Conclusion:

For me, the significance of the date of Palm Sunday and 10 Nisan is more than the choosing of the Passover lamb and the 'triumphal entry'. Something HUGE happened on that day to God's timetable. So meaningful that The Son of God wept. This is hugely significant! Are we now waiting for the start of the last 3.5 years/1260 days?

And the Tribulation Period, 3.5 years (1260 days, 42 months, 'time, times and half a time') is for the Jewish people and for Jerusalem. To finish the decree. To bring them back to God.

Could this last 3.5 years start this Palm Sunday/10 Nisan?

Just my thoughts for now.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!

Maranatha!

Chance