In preparation for Easter, this posting will help to illuminate the significance of the ninth chapter of Daniel, one of the most dramatic examples of literal Biblical prophecy. Since this blog is read by Muslims as well as atheists, I thought this posting might be helpful to understand the purpose of prophesy, which is to authenticate the Bible as God’s word. Fulfilled prophesy is a hallmark of the Bible, and is not found in the holy books of other religions.

Although Muslims are fond of saying that the Qur’an is a miracle and there is no book like it, it does not contain prophecy, and therefore lacks the supernatural element that would commend it in a comparative study of religions. In contrast, it demonstrates the challenges inherent in man-authored religion in its disjointed prose and embedded contradictions.

The scene in Daniel takes place during the Babylonian captivity. As will be seen below, the Jews had rebelled against the Lord. His punishment was to send them into captivity in Babylon. Daniel prayed to the Lord and received a very detailed revelation from Him regarding the role of the Jews in Biblical prophecy. The revelation is broken into three specific time periods which are referred to as “weeks.” There were to be seventy “weeks” in the remainder of human history in which the nation of Israel would play a significant part.

Before we study this passage, we must address the issue of weeks. Does this literally mean seventy weeks, or do we need to delve into the Hebrew context for a fuller understanding?

Meaning of “Week”

1. The Hebrew word for “week” is shabua and literally means a time period of “seven.”
2. The idea of 70 weeks should be interpreted as “seventy periods of seven”
3. The Jews were familiar with various uses of the term “seven.” Depending on the context, it was used to signify a Sabbath period of either seven days or seven years. Leviticus 25:2-4 illustrates:

When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the Lord. For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a sabbath of rest, a sabbath to the Lord.

4. Verse eight in the same chapter includes a critical requirement:

Count off seven sabbaths of years – seven times seven years – so that the seven sabbaths of years amount to a period of forty-nine years.

5. The Babylonian captivity was based on a failure to observe the Sabbatic year as specified in the above passage. The Lord told Daniel that since His people had not observed the Sabbatic year that he had commanded, then their land would have an uninterrupted period of Sabbatic years to make up for the lack of them for so many generations. He accomplished this by removing His people from the land and exiling them to Babylon.
8. Therefore, we must conclude that the prophecy should be interpreted as “70 periods of 7 years.”

Here is the significant passage from Daniel 9:24-27, where I have inserted bracketed substitutions for weeks:

“Seventy [7 year periods] have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place. So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven [7 year periods] and sixty-two [7 year periods]; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. Then after the sixty-two [7 year periods] the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince [this is a prophecy of the Roman general Titus] who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. And he [this is a prophecy of the Antichrist] will make a firm covenant with the many for one [7 year periods], but in the middle of the [7 year periods] he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.

Meaning of Year

In Biblical Prophecy, the references to years are always based upon a 360 day prophetic year. Examples: Compare Gen 7:11 with Gen 8:4. Contrast with Gen 7:24 and Gen 8:3. Rev 13:4-7, Rev 12:6 Rev. 13:4-7 are also instructive.

The calculations below will convert the prophetic years into calendar years in order to create a timeline that can be used for an historical analysis.

Beginning of 70 Weeks

There are several decrees that could be considered as the correct beginning point of the prophecy. All of these decrees have been accurately dated by historians, and have been confirmed from archaeology:

1. Decree of Cyrus, issued in 539 B.C. Biblical reference: Ezra 1:1-4
2. Decree of Darius, issued in 519-518 B.C. Biblical reference: Ezra 5:3-7
3. Decree of Artaxerxes to Ezra , issued in 457 B.C. Biblical reference: Ezra 7:11-16
4. Decree of Artaxerxes to Nehemiah, issued in 444 B.C. Biblical reference: Neh 2:1-8

a. The forth decree is the only one giving permission to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, and is therefore the one prophesized in Daniel.

b. The date of the decree was Nisan 1, 444 B.C., corresponding to March 5, 444 B.C.

First 7 Weeks (49 prophetic years)

1. It took 49 years to restore Jerusalem.
2. The close of Hebrew prophecy (and the Old Testament) in Malachi was 49 years after Artaxerses’ decree in 444 B.C.
7 years X 7 = 49 X 360 days = 17,640 days, which divides out to 48.3 calendar years (of 365.25 days each).
3. Starting with 444 B.C. and adding 48.3 years, you arrive at 396 b.c., the end of the Old Testament era.

Next 62 Weeks (434 Prophetic Years)

1. The inter-testament period was a time when God was silent. It is helpful to understand the Jewish mindset during this time. The Old Testament included two distinct categories of Messianic prophecies (which is acknowledged by Jewish scholars). Christians who accept the Scriptures as the inerrent word of God believe that both categories of prophecy foretell the person of Jesus, but at two distinct points in human history:

a. The suffering servant who would atone for the sins of the Jews.
b. The warrior Messiah who would vanquish the enemies of Israel and establish the throne of David for eternity.
c. So, how did the first-century Jews reconcile this? Which Messiah were they watching for? The answer is easy when you consider the plight of the Jewish nation.

2. Israel sits in the strategic crossroads of three continents. Every empire in history sent its armies marching across Israel in order to subjugate all territories in the known world.
3. Israel seemed destined to be a vassal state as they were dominated in turn by Egypt, Assyria, Persia, the Greeks and finally the Romans.
4. Therefore, the Jews were not looking for a Suffering Servant Messiah. They anxiously awaited their warrior Messiah, who would establish his throne in Jerusalem and overthrow the oppressors who continued to subjugate the Holy Land.
5. They would certainly have difficulty understanding Daniel’s prophecy that “after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing.”
6. To calculate the date when the Messiah would be cut off:

62 years X 7 = 434 X 360 days = 156,240 days, which divides out to 427.77 calendar years (of 365.25 days each).

7. Starting with 396 B.C. and adding 427.7 years, we arrive at March 5, A.D. 33.
8. Note: When it was originally decided that the years prior to Christ would be designated b.c., and the years following would be a.d., the calendar went from the year 1 b.c. directly to 1 a.d. with no zero year.
9. It is important to remember that mathematics is different. A number line includes zero: -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3. In other words, zero is a value that takes a place in the series. Since this is not true of the calendar, you have to make a mathematical adjustment of one year when calculating time spans that cross this boundary.
10. Biblical historians estimate that Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on March 25, 33 a.d.
11. On the following Friday, April 3, 33 a.d., Jesus Christ, the Messiah, was crucified, or “cut off.”
12. Therefore the above calculations are within 25 days of the event that was prophesized hundreds of years previously.
13. This is extremely precise, given that the prophecy was focusing on prophetic years.

What about Daniel’s 70th Week?

Bible scholars believe that Daniel’s 70th week is yet to occur. Many feel that the Church age is not part of the prophetic calendar since the Church is predominantly made up of Gentiles. Further, Daniel’s prophecy is strictly a reference to “your people” and “your holy city,” a clear reference to the nation of Israel.

The events of Daniel 9:27 align perfectly with other Biblical prophecies of the Antichrist and the seven year Tribulation Period, a time when the Jewish nation is to again take center stage at the conclusion of world history. The beginning words of the above prophecy make it clear that the end of all history is intended:

24…to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place.

The end of the 70th week/Tribulation Period will be the return of Christ in glory. At that time, he will finally set his throne in Jerusalem, the very event that was offered to Jews at his first coming. So, if this prophecy was given by God, why would He completely ignore the Church age, which has been – so far – four times longer than the combined 70 weeks of years? In fact, why is the Church age completely absent from all Old Testament prophecies? This passage in Daniel may provide the clue.

The perspective of Biblical history starts and ends with God’s relationship to his people, the Jews. His covenant was originally revealed to Abraham and the focus on his descendants should continue through history. At times, God blessed the children of Abraham when they were obedient, and at others, He chastised them for their rebellion, often by using other peoples as his instrument of discipline.

From an (Jewish) historical point of view, the crux of Daniel’s prophecy is Israel’s response to their Messiah. The 69 weeks would lead up to His triumphal entry into Jerusalem during the Passover in 33 a.d., when Jesus clearly presented Himself as the heir of David’s throne, the King of the Jews. Tragically, instead of acknowledging their King, the mob clamored for His crucifixion. and told Pilate they were willing put the responsibility for His blood on themselves and upon their children.

The church age should be interpreted as a parenthesis in the 70 weeks, a time when God would once again discipline his children, and use the “grafted” or “adopted” gentile Christians as his instruments of evangelism. At the end of the parenthetical period – after the Gospel had been preached to all peoples of the earth – God’s focus on the Jews would resume in the seventieth, final week.

The Messiah will come a second time – ironically in the fashion anticipated by the first-century Jews – as a warrior Messiah. They will finally “…look upon Him who they have pierced” and acknowledge His rightful ascendancy to David’s throne in Jerusalem.

When Christ returns, the Millennial Kingdom will begin and the most holy place will be anointed. This will mark the end of transgression and sin; the beginning of everlasting righteousness. There will be no further need of vision and prophecy since the King will “tabernacle,” or dwell with His people.

It should be acknowledged that “Higher Critics” claim that Daniel must have been written in the first century a.d. Why? Because a naturalistic (atheistic) world view leaves no room for supernatural prophecy. Therefore, the only explanation must be fraud. The unknown Jewish writer must have written with full knowledge of world events, and intended to mythologize the importance of his people.

On the other hand, if the words of Daniel can be confirmed as being ancient – and authentic – It is a powerful testimony of a transcendent, personal God.

Please refer to Daniel in the Critics’ Den, by Josh McDowell for a complete analysis of the historical reliability of this text and the utter confusion evident in the minds of the critics. This book, as well as Evidence that Demands a Verdict, also by Josh McDowell, were the basis of the date calculations and many of the insights above.

Even so, come Lord Jesus!

Liam Roberts

Timeline (Click to enlarge):