Text: Daniel 9:24-27
"24 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.
25 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.
26 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.
27 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."
Today, I'd like for us to study about the 70 weeks written about in the book of Daniel. This prophecy of the 70 weeks is famous as the most accurately fulfilled prophecy in the Bible. The first 69 weeks corresponds to 483 years. "The commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem" was issued in 457 BC. So, the rebuilding of Jerusalem, that is, from "the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem" and 483 years later would correspond to AD 26. This is the year when Jesus started his public life. And this prophecy was fulfilled correctly. After this, Jesus was killed as per the word that "shall Messiah be cut off."
Therefore, this prophecy of 70 weeks starts at the year of the "commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem" (457 BC) and reach to the year of the start of Jesus' public life (AD 26) without even one year of delay as though a time clock was started and calculated the seconds precisely.
But, after this, something odd happened. Suddenly, this time clock stopped and the game was interrupted. It has been stopped about the last 2000 years. But in the end time, this time clock will re-start and count the time once again. But it is currently not keeping time.
I would ask this question. Why did God define the 70 weeks in such an unusual way? The prophecy of 69 (or 69.5) weeks was fulfilled by the time of Jesus and only the last week (or half a week) still remains to be fulfilled in the end time. This is a very long time to be blank. It is as though a very long bracket is inserted within one sentence. Why did God insert such a parenthesis into history in this odd way? For a long time I could not understand it. But, I now think the following discussion makes a lot of sense to me.
This prophecy is a double prophecy. It relates to two parties, Israel and the church. So, the fulfillment of this prophecy will occur twice. Therefore, this prophecy has so far been fulfilled in this kind of doublefold manner.
Please consider what has been happening or what has been inserted between this 69 weeks and the last one week. The whole church era has been included in this blank period.
Jerusalem of the first definition is the capital of Israel, and it was destroyed by "the people of the prince," the Roman soldiers in AD 70. This was 40 years after the messiah's or Christ's death on the cross. This took place after Daniel's 69 weeks. And this is the first fulfillment of the prophecy.
But, Jerusalem's destruction is the foreshadowing of another destruction to come. We need to think about the second definition of Jerusalem. The second definition of Jerusalem is the figure of the church.
The phrase "the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary" will be fulfilled doubly. In AD 70, "the people of the prince" -the Roman people destroy the city of Jerusalem and the temple. And in the end time, "the people of the prince," the people of Rome (The European Union?) will destroy the city and the sanctuary. That is to say, they will destroy the church, the city, and the sanctuary of God. That is to say, within these 70 weeks, there will occur a destruction of Jerusalem for the second time to fulfill the second definition. Therefore, it takes over 2000 years from the start to the finish of the prophecy.
It says in the prophecy "in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease." So, a true Christian's dedication toward Christ will become illegal and prohibited in the last 3 and a half years. Concerning Christ, the expression "prince, messiah" is used. The expression "prince " is also used about the king to come. The same word is used for both. This indicates that this king will oppose the work of Christ. He is the antichrist.
But, why would God have used this kind of complicated way to reveal his prophecy? Why did God combine two matters into one? We should be able to uncover the wisdom of God in it. What might it be?
Not all of us know that the prophecy toward Jerusalem, written in the old testament, has a connection to the church. But, it does. This prophecy about Jerusalem is a prophecy of warning to the church. But, most of us do not understand it. But, God used this kind of way, this prophecy of the 70 weeks to contain the church age within it. This is a hint given from God to make us understand. So, we had better try to understand it.
If this 70 week prophecy had been fulfilled within Jesus' generation, how could we understand that this is a prophecy for the church? One other reason why God used this kind of method is to make us imagine our future from past history. God's purpose in giving this prophecy for the church is to give her a prophecy and warning before she will have to go into the tribulation.
Where is this 70 weeks warning written? It is written in the old testament. For example, there are many warnings about Jerusalem written in the book of Jeremiah, etc. These would also be warnings toward Jerusalem or the church in the new testament.
The fact that the rebuilt Jerusalem was abolished by the abominations of AD 70 is a warning toward the future Jerusalem (the church) in the new testament. This warning was given to us so we would not make the same mistake. When we see the destruction of Jerusalem, the capital of God's people, we should understand this figurative meaning deeply and receive some lesson from it. This is God's purpose.
Therefore, what God wants to inform us through this 70 weeks prophecy is the fact that the destruction of Jerusalem after 69 weeks was really a miserable incident. But, this was not the most important matter. Instead, the judgment of God's people and the city (the church) which will come to pass in the end time is the purpose and conclusion of this 70 weeks prophecy.
Let's change the story and look at this 70 weeks prophecy from a different view. What is the character of this 70 weeks? That is to say, is this a period in Jerusalem when God's people recover? Or is it the period when they will be desolated or abolished? Which is it? The first one suggests that God's church will recover at end time. The latter one suggests it will be a time of in which it will be desolated and abolished. Which is correct? As a hint to this answer, we can find the following scripture in the book of Daniel;
Daniel 9:2
"In the first year of his reign I Daniel
understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD
came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in
the desolations of Jerusalem"
This seventy years has a connection to the 70 weeks (seventy seven). Because the same word is used ("seventy") in both scriptures. In addition, both talk about the destruction of Jerusalem. Therefore, based on the 70 years of Jeremiah, we can discern the character of Daniel's 70 weeks.
When we see the expression, "accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem," it sort of sounds like "it takes seventy years till recovering Jerusalem from desolation." It sounds like the whole church will recover by the end of the world. But, that is probably not so. Because some Bibles translate this with a completely different meaning. The J.N. Darby Bible and other Bibles translate this verse as "it takes seventy years till the desolations of Jerusalem." That is to say, the desolation of Jerusalem proceeds and it will be accomplished after 70 weeks.
We can find another scripture which will give us another hint. We can find another "seventy seven" in the scripture. This is in the conversation between Peter and the Lord.
Matthew 18:21, 22
"21 ｦ Then came Peter to him, and said,
Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till
seven times?
22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto
thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven."
This scripture also uses the same word seventy times seven. This is the same Greek word used for 70 weeks in Daniel. This is not accidental. Instead, God explained the meaning of 70 weeks through this fact.
God's way of forgiveness exceeds forgiving a wayward brother even more than seven times in one day. He will forgive till seventy times seven. This is an example of the great mercy of God. But, this does not mean God is endlessly merciful. There is a defined clear limit. This limit is seventy times seven. In contrast, if we continue to sin exceeding this limit, his mercy will finish. In other words, we have to think about God's judgment. Therefore, please note. God defined a clear limit about the judgment of his people. Until this time, God had been patient and merciful.
But, this period of time is not an endless one. God says he will judge his people and his city after a defined time passes. And this defined period is seventy times seven, 70 weeks. This is the hidden meaning of seventy weeks.
The word about 70 weeks, written in the book of Daniel, say the same thing.
"24 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."
Seventy weeks are allocated to God's people "to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins." If they repent of their sins and return back to God, this repentance will be accepted by God. Because God is will forgive sins 70 times seven. If they repent before the last week, this prophecy may finish in half. That is to say, a prophecy of 50 weeks or 60 weeks. But, this prophecy will continue till 70 weeks and will be fulfilled completely. And its ending will be accomplished in the tribulation time. Furthermore, in the end time, a judgment of God's people and Jerusalem is prophetised.
"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."
What is the meaning of this verse? That is to say, they will not stop committing sins and return back to God till the 70 weeks is finished. Instead, they will never repent unitl the 70 weeks is fulfilled. And as a result, they will be judged when God' s patients is finished.
In addition, when we see the word "desolation," we will arrive at the same conclusion. We can see the word "(abomination) desolation" used in the Bible so many times.
One fact is that this word has a relationship with the end time. For example, it is included within Daniel 9:2, "he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem."
This word is used as "a key word" of the 70 week prophecy. From this fact, we can say the same story about the desolation of church. That is to say, this 70 weeks is the period about the desolation of God's people and his city. The desolation proceeds gradually and finally reaches its height. And at the climax of this desolation, "the abomination, desolation" will appear. Because of this the desolation of the church will be fulfilled and her destruction will be complete. Complete destruction will happen on the church and not even one stone will remain on another stone. This is the time when the house of God will be judged as per the epistle of Peter.
It says, "and unto the end of the war desolations are determined." So, the destruction of this people is determined by the end of this 70 weeks; that is the meaning of this text.
Of course the message of "the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times" will be fulfilled. This is about the restoration of the church. But, this is not about the whole church. At the end time, there are wheat and tares in the church. The wheat is few in number. And the tares within the church will comprise a determined amount of desolation. The reason for this desolation is their unbelief toward God. It is very extreme. During this time, God's saints have to go out from Babylon as per the warning of Revelation.
Let's do the will of God in this end time.
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