‘SEVENTY WEEKS ARE DETERMINED’

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on August 4, 2024 under 2024 |

Bethany Bible Church Sermon Message from August 4, 2024 from Daniel 9:24-27

Theme: Daniel’s ‘seventy weeks’ vision gives us the framework by which we can understand God’s promises to the nation of Israel.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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In the downstairs of the library building of the Bible college that I attended was a recording studio. It always held a fascination to me; because it was where my favorite Bible teacher—Dr. John G. Mitchell—would record his Bible expositions for broadcast on the radio. I grew in my faith listening to those broadcasts; so I’d always walk past the door to the recording studio with a sense of awe. I had learned a lot about the Bible from what I heard recorded inside that room.

Above the door to the studio was a red light bulb. And below the light bulb were the words, ‘On The Air’. Most of the time that I walked by, the light wasn’t on. But whenever it was on, it was an indication that something important was going on inside. It meant that perhaps Dr. Mitchell—or one of the other Bible teachers from the college—was broadcasting God’s word out into the world.

I think of that red ‘On The Air’ light whenever I come to this morning’s passage. It’s a passage that describes a select period of prophetic segment of time that is distinguished from all the rest of time in human history—something unique in which God would accomplish something very important. It doesn’t indicate a continuous period of time, because it’s broken up into segments. But whenever God’s ‘On The Air’ light is on—as it’s described in this passage—then this select, prophetic time-flow is in effect; and it will run its course until God’s prophetic plan is completed.

This time flow was revealed in a vision to the prophet Daniel in Daniel 9. And this morning, I ask that we take a look at this remarkable time flow. It’s so important that, if we understand it rightly, we’ll have a more accurate grasp of God’s prophetic plan for the future, and will see how that plan relates to His chosen people Israel, and will understand how this world is progressing toward the reign of Jesus Christ on this earth from Jerusalem as the King of kings and Lord of lords.

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So; let’s begin by reviewing the background of this remarkable vision.

In Chapter 9, we’re told that Daniel—a Jewish man who had been a captive in a foreign land—had studied the Scriptures and saw a remarkable prophecy concerning his fellow Jewish people and their beloved city Jerusalem. God had caused the city of Jerusalem to be destroyed by the Babylonian empire because of the sins of the Jewish people. The city had been in ruins for 70 years because of God’s punishment. But Daniel saw in Jeremiah 25 how God had promised that—after those 70 years—He would cause the Jewish people to return to their homeland. The city of Jerusalem would be rebuilt, and they would worship Him again in their land. And when Daniel read those words, his heart was greatly encouraged for his people; and he prayed a deeply earnest prayer of repentance for their sins–pleading with God to have mercy upon his beloved city.

And in response, God sent the angel Gabriel to Daniel to tell him that he had heard his prayers. And what’s more, the angel came to tell Daniel—in a vision—what God’s plan would be for the Jewish people and for the city of Jerusalem. In Daniel 9:20-23, Daniel tells us;

Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God, yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved …” (Daniel 9:20-23a).

Just think of how God wanted Daniel—this faithful, earnest, humble man who prayed so diligently for God’s blessings upon His people—to know that he was “greatly beloved”. What an encouragement that must have been to Daniel in his prayers for repentance and restoration. That tells us that God is pleased whenever we cry out to Him sincerely. But I also appreciate how the angel told Daniel that God was giving him ‘skill to understand’ something. And that was because the angel was about to give Daniel a vision from God regarding the future—a vision that he could, in no way, grasp by human power. He needed God’s enabling grace to understand, And I believe so do we!

So then; with that introduction, the angel Gabriel said,

“… therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:

“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 prince 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.
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.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,Is poured out on the desolate” (vv. 23b-27).

You can understand why it would be important for God to give us the ‘skill to understand’ these words too! We truly need God’s grace to grasp the amazing thing being told to us; because these words give us an outline of God’s plan for the future with respect to His chosen people Israel—and along with it, His plan for this world.

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; there are a few very important things that we need to understand in order to grasp the meaning of these words. First, we see that it has to do with ‘seventy weeks’ of time in God’s appointed prophetic plan. But we shouldn’t understand these ‘weeks’ to mean ‘seven days’—as we ordinarily do—from Sunday to Saturday. Rather, we should understand these ‘weeks’ to be referring to units of ‘seven’ of something. It would be a little like how we often use the word ‘dozen’. We mean ‘twelve’ of something without necessarily specifying what the thing is. And in this passage, the context would require that we understand this to be a reference of seventy ‘weeks’ of years. This vision involves a select period of prophetic time totaling seventy weeks of years—that is, 490 years.

Second, we see that these ‘seventy weeks’ are broken up into three units. The first unit is a period of seven ‘weeks’; which is a total of 49 years. The second unit is a period of 62 weeks; which is a total of 434 years. And the third unit is a period of one ‘week’; which is a unit of seven years. But even that last unit of seven years is broken in half. Something happens in the middle of it. A covenant that had been made with God’s people is described as having been broken in some way—cutting that last ‘seven’ in half. And in the second half, something abominable is done to the Jewish people. When that last week is over, then this select period of prophetic time is brought to an end.

And there’s one more thing to notice—and it’s very important. And that’s that the main thing that characterizes these seventy ‘weeks’ is that, during them, God’s chosen people—the Jewish people—are described as being in their land as inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem. The presence of God’s chosen people in their city—if you’d like to think of it this way—is the red ‘On The Air’ sign that signifies that this select period of prophetic time is in operation. And since historically, throughout the unfolding of these seventy weeks, the Jewish people were not always in their homeland and were not always in possession of the city of Jerusalem, then that would mean that there’s a period of time in which this prophetic time clock was put on hold. It can only be resumed when God’s people are back in their land and are dwelling in the holy city that God gave them.

It’s hard to stress enough the importance of this passage of Scripture in Daniel 9. As we’ve been studying the Book of Daniel, we’ve been reminded of a basic principle: If you want to know what’s going on in the world today, you need to keep your eyes on Israel. And Daniel’s ‘seventy weeks’ vision gives us the framework by which we can understand God’s promises to the nation of Israel—and thus, what its impact will be on the whole world.

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So; let’s look more closely at this vision. First, as we look at verse 24, we see …

1. THE OBJECTIVE OF THE SEVENTY WEEKS.

There’s a purpose to this prophetic time period. There are certain things that God has sovereignly chosen to accomplish in them—specifically six very important things. And they are things that only He can accomplish for the Jewish people and for Jerusalem. The angel Gabriel said;

“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 (v. 24).

First, we’re told that the completion of these seventy weeks will “finish the transgression”. The ‘transgression’ spoken of is the sin of God’s chosen people. They were sent into captivity to Babylon because they had turned to idols and had rebelled against God’s commandments. Later in time, they would even reject and crucify their promised King—the Messiah. But God has not rejected His chosen people. And when the seventy weeks are completed, their transgression will have been finished; and God will have brought the suffering for their transgression to an end.

Second, the completion of these seventy weeks will “make an end of sins”. A better way to translate that might be “to finish” those sins and to bring the whole matter of the guilt of those sins to rest. The sins that had resulted in God’s punishment would no longer be held against them. It will be as our Savior declared on the cross, “It is finished!”

Third, the completion of these seventy weeks will “make reconciliation for iniquity”. Their ‘iniquity’ describes their wickedness for having turned from the God who had chosen them for Himself. But He won’t simply ignore or disregard those sins as if they didn’t matter. Rather, He would provide full atonement for their wickedness. The iniquity will have been completely wiped away; and they will have been reconciled to God.

Fourth, the completion of these seventy weeks will “bring in everlasting righteousness”. The Jewish people won’t simply be made righteous in God’s sight ‘for a time’; rather, God will give them ‘everlasting righteousness’. As it says in Jeremiah 31, He will write His law in their minds and hearts. He will make a new covenant of grace with them that will never be broken; and they will remain “justified” in His sight forever.

Fifth, the completion of these seventy weeks will “seal up vision and prophecy”. That’s not saying that they will be ‘sealed up’ in such a way as to be hidden from view; but rather, that the prophetic plan of God—revealed through His prophets and declared in visions to Daniel—will have been brought to a completion. All the plans and promises that God had declared concerning His precious chosen people will have been accomplished; and just as if in a prophetic ‘radio broadcast’, God will—as it were—declare, “That’s a wrap!”

And finally, the completion of these seventy weeks will “anoint the Most Holy”. Another way of interpreting those words would be to say that they will result in the full sanctification of ‘the Most Holy place’ in the temple. In other words, God’s holy temple will be restored in His holy city Jerusalem; and His holy people will worship Him in it in complete purity and righteousness—with their sins fully atoned for.

Now; that’s quite a lot that God will accomplish in these seventy weeks! They almost sound like a description of the Jewish people being washed clean in God’s sight through faith in the atoning sacrifice of His Son Jesus the Messiah. And that, in fact, is indeed what God will accomplish through these seventy weeks! They will result in the Jewish people fully and joyfully receiving Jesus as their Lord and King, and being completely saved by faith in Him.

And although I want to be careful how we take this, I can’t help but think about how the description of these seventy weeks sounds like another 70 x 7. We find it in Matthew 18:21-22;

Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22).

In that passage, the ‘seventy times seven’ offers of forgiveness were symbolic of complete, total, perfect forgiveness and pardon. And could it be that the Lord Jesus intentionally used that figure—knowing it would cause His hearers to remember this prophecy from Daniel? Could it be because, in the plan of His Father, that’s what kind of complete forgiveness He would accomplish for His precious chosen people during this prophetic outflow of time? It’s something to think about.

* * * * * * * * * *

So then; that’s the objective of the seventy weeks that God has determined for His people. And now; let’s consider …

2. THE DIVISION OF THE SEVENTY WEEKS.

There are three “units” of weeks. The first one is mentioned in verse 25. Gabriel told Daniel;

“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 … (v. 25a).

Gabriel declared that the first unit—the first ‘seven’ weeks, or 49 years—was begun by a command to restore and build Jerusalem. In the Old Testament, there were at least three different commands given by Gentile kings to the Jewish people to go and rebuild the temple. But there was only one command given to them to go restore and build the city of Jerusalem. And that was the command given by King Artaxerxes of the Median-Persian empire. The story of that command is told to us in Nehemiah 2:1-8. The Jewish cupbearer of the king—Nehemiah—expressed deep concern for the condition of Jerusalem and for the distressed condition of his people. Nehemiah said;

“If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers’ tombs, that I may rebuild it” (Nehemiah 2:5);

and the king permitted him to go, gave orders that the city be rebuilt, and made provisions for it to be done. That means that we can know for certain when the seventy weeks began. It began in the year 445 B.C. when the command to restore and build Jerusalem was officially given by Artaxerxes.

Now; the first unit of the seventy weeks was ‘seven weeks’. And so, for 49 years the people of Israel were returning and the city was being restored. And you’ll notice that Gabriel said, “There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks”; and added, “The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times”. So; after that first seven weeks, it could be said that the construction was largely finished. It truly was in ‘troublesome times’; as the Book of Nehemiah itself makes plain to us. But then comes the next unit; the ‘sixty-two weeks’ which followed after the first seven. This would be a period of an additional 434 years—during which the Jewish people were in their land and dwelt in Jerusalem. But at the end of verse 25, we’re told “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself …”

What an amazing and sobering promise this is! The troublesome nature of these particular years is described to us in remarkable detail in the first half of Daniel 11; as kingdom and nation battled against one another with Jerusalem in the middle. It was in that period of time that Jesus was born into the world, offered Himself as the King of the Jews, was rejected and crucified, and was raised again. As Gabriel said, He would be “cut off, but not for Himself”. He would be put to death for the sins of mankind. As it says in Isaiah 53—some 750 years before it happened;

Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah 53:4-6).

And as we look into this passage more closely—and examine it in the light of other prophetic passages—we make an amazing discovery. In God’s timetable, His prophetic definition of a year is a period of 360 days1; and by the time that Jesus died, there would have been 69 weeks of years—or 483 prophetic years—of 360 days each. And if you begin that 69-week period with the year 445 B.C., you end up with the year 32 A.D.—when Jesus entered Jerusalem to die for our sins!

Gabriel went on to describe the condition of things after the 69 weeks had been completed. In the latter half of verse 26 he said;

And the people of the prince 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.

It was after Jesus’ sacrifice for us that the prophetic time clock was put on hold. They were still in their land and in their city for a time; but the prophetic space between weeks 69 and 70 had begun. The Jewish people had rejected their King; and in 70 A.D., the Roman armies destroyed the city and scattered God’s chosen people throughout the world. It’s described for us in the words of our Lord in Luke 21:20-24; when He said,

“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Luke 21:20-24).

The world has fought battles and wars; and nations have risen against nations; and the Jewish people were out of their homeland and away from Jerusalem for almost 19 centuries. But then, in 1948, they again returned to their land. And in 1967, Jerusalem was again reunified under Israeli occupation. Imagine that! Within the lifetimes of many of us in this current generation, the Jewish people have returned! God’s prophetic ‘On The Air’ light can light up again any day now; and things certainly seem to be heading in that direction. There has been a space of time between the 69th and the 70th week in God’s prophetic program. And in that time, God has revealed the mystery that was prophetically unknown to the prophets of the Old Testament—that is, that Jesus would form His Bride—the church—from out of the world of believing Gentiles. That’s the time we’re living in now.

This current age of grace—during ‘the times of the Gentiles’—appears to be drawing to a close; and the last week of God’s prophetic program may begin very soon. The nations of the world—in a way that seems almost sudden and inexplicable—are turning in hostility against Israel. And what did Gabriel say about this final week? In verse 27, he told Daniel; “Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week …” The ‘he’ that Gabriel referred to is the ‘prince’ that he mentioned in verse 26 when he spoke of ‘the people of the prince who is to come’ who would destroy the city and the sanctuary of the temple. That would be the revived form of the Roman empire that God described to Daniel in Chapter 7. And so, this ‘prince’ is a ruler who arises—sometime in the future—from out of that revived Roman empire. He’s the ‘prince’ of the ‘people’ who are to come.

This ‘prince’ is none other than the Antichrist. We’re told that—in this seventieth week—he will dazzle the world by ending the Middle East crisis. He will make a covenant with the Jewish people in Jerusalem—seeming to make peace with them—seeming to restore to them all the traditions and practices of the Jewish faith in a rebuilt temple of God. The whole world will be in awe of him;

“But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate”

At the middle point of the seventieth week—three-and-a-half years into this covenant—he will grotesquely violate the terms of the covenant, will dare to set up an ‘abomination’ of some kind in the temple, and will make desolation of the Jewish people all the way up to the end of this prophetic time schedule. It’s told to us in gruesome detail in such passages as the latter half of Daniel 11 and in Revelation 13.

But the phrase, “even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate” can be translated to say that the determined consummation is poured out on “the desolator”—that is, the Antichrist. And that’s how I believe this should be understood. At the end of this remarkable 70th week, the Antichrist—the Desolator of all desolators—will be destroyed by the glorious return of King Jesus to His people.

The story ends in victory for God’s chosen people.

* * * * * * * * * *

Now; before we end our look at this prophecy, let me share with you …

3. THE OUTCOME OF THE SEVENTY WEEKS.

We’re already given a picture of it in Daniel 7:13-14; where Daniel was shown a vision from God about which he said,

“I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, One like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.
Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed (Daniel 7:13-14).

The seventy weeks are followed by the glorious return and reign of our Lord Jesus Christ—ruling bodily as the promised King of the Jews over His Jewish people from Jerusalem! As it tells us in Revelation 20:4;

And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years (Revelation 20:4).

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; the prophetic ‘On The Air’ light is off for the moment. But everything seems to now be in place for it to begin to be turned on again. That last remaining week that God has promised to Daniel concerning his people may begin very soon. God has shared His plan with us through this vision, so that we can understand His promises to the nation of Israel and their impact upon this world.

So then; let’s look up and lift up our heads, because our redemption most certainly draws near!

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1It’s important to understand how this prophetic ’360-day year’ is calculated with respect to the crucifixion of our Lord. The 42 months (or 3.5 years) of Revelation 11:2 and 13:5 are the same as the 1,260 days of Revelation 11:4 and 12:6; thus requiring ‘prophetic’ years of 360 days (3.5 x 360 = 1,260). With respect to Daniel’s seventy-weeks prophecy, 69 x 7 x 360 = 173,880 days; which, when divided by 365 days, comes to 477 ‘calendar’ years (that is, from 445 B.C. to 32 A.D.). 32 A.D. is figured—by most conservative biblical scholars—to be the year that our Lord entered into the city of Jerusalem to be crucified. After that, one prophetic ‘week’ of seven years (1,260 days x 2) remains.

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