Daniel's Seventy Weeks Part 1
Bob Yandian
The Rapture
There are two mentions of the return of the Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament. The first return is for His Church and the second is for the world. Jesus Christ will come to take the Church out of the earth before the time of wrath, which is the Tribulation. The Church will rise to meet Jesus in the air. All believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and there we will receive our rewards.
I Thessalonians 4
vs. 16 “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:”
vs. 17 “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
Notice, we will meet the Lord in the air. Jesus will not come to the earth at the Rapture. Jesus will appear in the sky and when we rise to meet Him, we will be taken back up to heaven with Him.
At the Rapture of the Church, only Christians will see Jesus. Only Christians will hear the shout. Only Christians will hear the voice of the archangel and the trump of God. Christians all over the world will be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye.
The sinners will not realize that anything happened. All they will know is that we were here on earth and suddenly we are gone.
The Second Coming
At the second advent of the Lord, we will return with Jesus. At that time, every eye will see Him, every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Things in heaven, things on earth, and things under the earth will all confess that Jesus Christ is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. All iniquity will be removed from the earth and Jesus Christ will usher in a thousand years of peace on earth. This is the Millennial Reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. After the Millennium will be the ages of ages and we will be forever in the presence of the Lord.
During the thousand years of peace, Satan will be bound. All demons will be bound. Fallen angels will be bound. We will live for a thousand years in peace with Jesus Christ ruling and reigning!
Teachings about the Rapture are found in the epistles, but there are no teachings on the Rapture in the Old Testament or in the four gospels. The teaching on the Rapture is found in the epistles. It is part of the mystery: something that was not understood in the Old Testament but has been revealed in the epistles to the Church.
The Second Coming of the Lord is talked about much in the Old Testament. It is discussed much in the four gospels. When Jesus discussed His coming in the gospels, He was referring to the Second Advent. Even before the Day of Pentecost, in Acts 1:11 the angel said, “…this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
When Jesus returns at the Second Advent, His feet will touch the Mount of Olives and the Mount of Olives will literally split down the middle. Out will come the ocean, out will come the sea and Mark 11:23 will literally be fulfilled. The Mount of Olives will be removed and cast into the sea.
Daniel’s Seventy Weeks
In Daniel chapter 9, Daniel was given a prophecy. Many people today do not understand Daniel’s prophecy because they have not taken the time to study Daniel’s seventy weeks. Without a proper understanding of Daniel’s seventy weeks, the rest of prophecy makes very little sense. Prophecy is much like a wheel with many spokes. All of the spokes come back to the center hub, and the center hub is Daniel’s seventy weeks. Understanding Daniel’s prophecy helps us better understand the rest of prophecy.
Daniel 9
vs. 1 “In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;
vs. 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 unto Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.”
The word “books” refers to the scrolls of Jeremiah. The word “years” refers to seventy years of captivity. Daniel was in captivity in Babylon. The Babylonians had taken the children of Israel captive. They had desolated the city of Jerusalem, destroyed the people; killed the children, mothers, and fathers. But there was a remnant of the children of Israel that the Babylonians delivered to the Chaldeans. The Chaldeans held them in captivity for seventy years.
While they were in captivity, there was much speculation that they too, would be killed, that the Jewish race would be wiped out, and that Jerusalem would be gone forever. But while in captivity, Daniel interceded before the Lord and came across the scrolls of Jeremiah the prophet. As Daniel began to study the scrolls, he received revelation concerning “the number of the years”. Daniel received an understanding that the children of Israel would be in captivity for seventy years. He figured out when they had gone into captivity and then figured out when they would come out of captivity. He understood that during their captivity they would rebuild the city of Jerusalem.
Israel Turns from God
David was the greatest king that Israel ever had. Other kings followed David, but he alone was mentioned as a man after God’s own heart. For 490 years from the time of the reign of King David, the children of Israel began to backslide; they began to go into apostasy, into idolatry, and to follow the ways of the heathen. It did not happen overnight.
Sin does not come overnight. It starts as something small. If we fall for that, the devil has something more. If we fall for that, soon we are so far out of fellowship with the Lord that we finally look back and wonder how we ended up where we are and have a difficult time remembering when it all started.
The same thing happened with the children of Israel. God extended His longsuffering and grace for 490 years, but the children of Israel kept turning from the Lord. God would send the prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah and others, who would prophesy that if they did not turn back to God, God’s wrath would come. The children of Israel would not listen; they would spit on the prophets, throw them in prison, and kill them to try to keep from hearing the message being delivered. They continued to follow after idolatry and the ways of the heathen until finally, after 490 years, they went into captivity. Jerusalem was destroyed. The temple was ransacked and literally plundered as all of the gold and silver was taken from it. The city of Jerusalem was left in ruins for seventy years.
Sabbatical Years
The first area in which the children of Israel began to walk in disobedience dealt with sabbatical years. God had instructed them that every seventh year they were to let the land rest so that the ground could renew itself. In the eighth year, they could again begin to plant. One year they just forgot about letting the land rest and they planted right on through the seventh year. They did this for 490 years.
If we divide that, we can figure out the number of sabbatical years they owed the Lord. Seven years divided into 490 years is seventy years. The children of Israel owed God seventy years. That is why they went into captivity for seventy years. Because they were in captivity, the land rested and no one planted on it. God allowed the children of Israel to go through seventy sabbaticals before they went into captivity. He is a God of longsuffering and grace, but after seventy sabbaths He finally said, “That’s it! I cannot go any longer. My grace has reached its limit. My longsuffering has reached its limit.” God had to release His protection and the forces of the enemy came in.
In the New Testament, there was a time when Peter asked the Lord, “How many times should I forgive my brother? Seven times?” The Lord answered, “No. Seventy times seven.” God went to the limit with the children of Israel. Seventy sabbaths had passed and God finally said, “That’s it!” and the land rested.
Leviticus 26
vs. 27 “And if you will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;”
vs. 28 “Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.”
vs. 29 “And ye shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.”
vs. 30 “And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcasses upon the carcasses of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.”
vs. 31 “And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savor of your sweet odors.”
vs. 32 “And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.”
vs. 33 “And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.”
vs. 34 “Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies’ land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.”
vs. 35 “As long as it lieth desolates it shall rest; because it did not rest in your Sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.”
In the land of Israel, the pollutions of sin had gone to the top. The kings were in idolatry, the Levites — the priests were in idolatry. The priests were condoning the worship of idols. Even if they had repented one day before captivity, God would have spared them. But they refused. They continued to destroy and kill the prophets.
2 Chronicles 36
vs. 14 “Moreover all the chief of the priests, and the people transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the Lord which he had hallowed in Jerusalem.”
vs. 15 “And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on the people, and on his dwelling place:”
vs. 16 “But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused the prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy.”
vs. 17 “Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old men, or him that stooped over for age: he gave them all into his hand.”
vs. 18 “And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon.”
vs. 19 “And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.”
vs. 20 “And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and the sons of the reign of the kingdom of Persia:”
vs. 21 “To fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath, to fulfill threescore and ten years (seventy years).”
Daniel Intercedes for the Sins of the People
Daniel was one of the Jews who escaped the sword and was taken into captivity. He was a young child when he was taken. While in captivity, he remembered the Lord. He worshiped the Lord and refused to turn from His teachings. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego also refused. Daniel rose up to be a mighty prophet in the land. He first gained knowledge through the scrolls of Jeremiah. He was given the understanding of the seventy years of captivity.
Knowing that they would soon be released from captivity because the seventy years were almost complete, Daniel began to intercede and fast before the Lord and pray for the sins of the people. He asked the Lord, “Lord, I know how long we will be in captivity, but what will happen when we are released?” Because Daniel asked in faith, God answered exceeding abundantly and gave him a vision from the time of their release from captivity up until the Second Coming of the Lord.
Here was a man operating in faith. In the midst of captivity, he remembered the covenant God had made, and God delivered him! It does not matter what we are facing, if we stand in faith, God will deliver us!
Daniel’s Seventy Weeks
As Daniel interceded before the Lord, God gave him a vision. The angel Gabriel came and gave it to him. The vision is told in four verses.
Daniel 9
vs. 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.”
vs. 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.”
vs. 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.”
vs. 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.”
All prophecy hinges on these verses. If we can understand these four verses, we can understand most prophecy today. If Daniel could know and understand, we can certainly know and understand. We have a better covenant established on better promises and we also have the Holy Spirit residing on the inside of us, which Daniel did not have!
In verse 24, “thy people” refers to the Jews and “thy holy city” refers to Jerusalem. The Church did not exist in Daniel’s day. The city that is the center of all Bible prophecy is Jerusalem.
vs. 24 “Seventy weeks are determined on thy people (the Jews) and thy holy city (Jerusalem)…”
This verse is referring to Jewish time. The Hebrew word for “weeks” literally means “sevens”. This passage could better be translated “Seventy sevens are determined on thy people (the Jews).” Seventy sevens equals 490 years. God is telling Daniel, “You had 490 years before captivity and I am going to give you 490 years after captivity.”
The Hebrew word for “determined” is “chathak”, which means, “to cut out.” God is saying, “Daniel, I have taken and cut 490 years out of time for you to examine. I want you to isolate and examine these 490 years. What will happen after these years?”
“…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.”
At the end of 490 years, all sin will come to an end. When will we “anoint most Holy”? When will “everlasting righteousness” be ushered in? These things will happen when Jesus comes back at the Second Advent and the Second Advent introduces the Millennium.
The seventy weeks will be broken down as follows:
1. Seven weeks
2 Sixty-Two weeks
3 One Week
At the end of each of these time periods, interesting events occur.
vs. 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.”
God is telling Daniel that the seventy weeks will begin when the decree is given to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and the sanctuary. Nehemiah 2:1-8 describes this event. One day King Artaxerxes made a decree. He said, “Let’s rebuild the city. Let’s rebuild the sanctuary. Let’s reconstruct the walls.” The moment he made his decree, the 490 years began.
At the end of “seven weeks” (forty-nine years), the city was reconstructed. The walls were reconstructed and Jerusalem was rebuilt. “Threescore and two weeks” (sixty-two weeks) after that, “Messiah the Prince” came. “Messiah the Prince” is Jesus Christ. Sixty-two weeks is equivalent to 434 years. Seven weeks added to sixty-two weeks is sixty-nine weeks. It was at the end of Daniel’s sixty-nine weeks that Jesus came as Messiah, the Prince. There was still one more week (seven years) left to be fulfilled.
Verse 26 will point out when Messiah will come."
vs. 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.”
When Jesus Christ went to the cross, Daniels’ weeks stopped at sixty-nine. One more week (seven years) is yet to be fulfilled.
Notice, verse 26 begins, “…after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:” Jesus took the curse because He had no curse of His own. When Jesus went to the cross, it was for our sins, not His; it was for our sickness, not His; it was for our poverty, not His. Why? Because He had none.
The Two “Princes”
Notice in verse 25 that “Prince” is capitalized and that in verse 26 “prince” is not capitalized. The “Prince” with a capital “P” is referring to the Messiah. The “prince” with a lower case “p” is referring to the Antichrist.
Following the crucifixion of Jesus, Jerusalem was again destroyed. In 70 A.D., the Romans came in and destroyed the city of Jerusalem; they completely plundered it and since that time Jews have been scattered all around the world, and they will be until the Second Advent of the Lord Jesus Christ.
“…and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;”
The subject of this sentence is “the people”. The “prince that shall come” is the Antichrist. His rule will begin from the revived Roman Empire, therefore, “the people of the prince that shall come” were the Romans. Daniel was predicting that the Romans would come through and destroy the city and the sanctuary, which is exactly what they did in 70 A.D. following the crucifixion.
Daniel did not say that the “prince” would destroy the city and the sanctuary. He said, “the people of the prince” that is yet to come would bring the destruction. The “prince” that is yet to come will be the dictator over the revived Roman Empire. Why didn’t Daniel just plainly say “the Romans”? It was because they did not yet exist. Again, the destruction occurred in 70 A.D. and the Church Age had already begun. The Jews were in dispersion around the world and will be until the time when Jesus Christ comes back to earth.
vs. 27 “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week.”
The “he” is the prince that is yet to come—the Antichrist. It was pointed out to me that “the covenant” should actually be “a covenant”. This is not a reference to “the covenant of the Lamb”. This verse says that “he” (the Antichrist) will confirm his covenant for “one week”. That “one week” is yet to come. The “one week” being referred to is the Tribulation and the Tribulation is Daniel’s seventieth week.
The seventy weeks that are determined on “thy people” and “thy holy city” in verse 24 is a reference to the Jews and Jerusalem. Therefore, the last week of Daniel’s seventy weeks is also in reference to the Jews and Jerusalem.
The Jewish Age
The Jewish Age has never been completed. It temporarily stopped. The Jewish Age is yet to be completed. The Church is living between Daniel’s sixty-ninth week and Daniel’s seventieth week. Daniel’s seventieth week cannot come to pass until the Church is taken. One reason the Church cannot be here during the Tribulation is because the earth will go back to Jewish time.
A tremendous gap occurs between verses 26 and 27 of Daniel chapter nine. People ask, “Didn’t Daniel know that the Church was coming? Why did he jump from the Messiah being cut off to the Tribulation?” It is because the Church was a “mystery”. The “mystery” was not revealed until the Church Age. We are living between verse 26 and verse 27 of Daniel chapter nine!
Literally, what happened when Artaxerxes gave the decree in Nehemiah, chapter 2 for the city and sanctuary to be rebuilt, God pulled out a stopwatch that was called “Jewish time” and said, “I gave you 490 years before captivity. I am giving you 490 years after captivity and it begins with the going forth of the decree.”
When Artaxerxes gave the decree, God took out the Jewish stopwatch and punched it. That stopwatch ticked and ticked until it ticked past 49 years. The city was rebuilt. The sanctuary was rebuilt. It kept ticking when Jesus Christ was introduced as the Messiah. It continued ticking for 483 years. But when Jesus Christ went to the cross, God grabbed that stopwatch and stopped it seven years short of it reaching its completion.
On the Day of Pentecost, God laid down the Jewish stopwatch and picked up the Church stopwatch. When the Holy Spirit was poured out, the watch started ticking. It has been ticking for almost 2000 years. The last tick is about to occur because Jesus Christ is about to come back for His Church. He is going to split the skies wide open and descend from heaven with a shout. When this happens, God is going throw away the Church stopwatch and pick up the Jewish stopwatch again, and it will tick off the last seven years of Jewish time.
The Acceptable Year of the Lord
Isaiah 9
vs. 6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us, a Son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and of the increase of his government there shall be no end.”
Isaiah wrote about the first advent of the Lord. The child was born and the Son was given, and suddenly he jumped to the Millennium, where the “government shall be upon his shoulders.” The governments are not on His shoulders today. But there is coming a day when they will be.
Luke 4
vs. 15 “And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified of all.”
vs. 16 “And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.”
Isaiah 61
vs. 1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;”
vs. 2 “To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn.”
In Luke 4, Jesus was teaching in the synagogue and He opened to the book of Isaiah. He began to read Isaiah 61 and He paused when He read, “…to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” What follows the comma in verse 2 is a reference to what will happen after the Lord returns a second time. When Jesus came at the first advent, He came to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.
A comma divides the first advent with the second advent of the Lord.
The last half of verse 2 referring to “…the day of vengeance of our God” will not be fulfilled until Jesus Christ returns. At the Battle of Armageddon, He will wipe all vengeance from off the earth and establish His millennial reign.
Daniel’s Sixty-Ninth Week
In Daniel 9:25, Jesus is referred to as “Messiah the Prince”, indicating royalty. During His time on earth, Jesus never told people He was the “Prince”. He never let them know He was the Messiah. He never let them know He was the One to come.
When John the Baptist was thrown into prison, he suddenly began to have doubts about Jesus. John sent disciples to ask Jesus, “Tell me, are You really Him that is to come or should we look for someone else?” (Matthew 11:3-6). Jesus did not respond with, “I am the One. I am the Messiah.” John recognized that He was the Messiah because the Spirit of the Lord came down from heaven like a dove, and rested upon Jesus (Matthew 3:13-17). John recognized that Jesus was the Messiah because He performed signs, wonders, and miracles. Jesus responded to John’s question with, “Comfort John. Tell him blind eyes are open. The dead are raised. Miracles are performed.” If signs were not enough proof for John, telling him that Jesus was the Messiah would not have made any difference!” Jesus let His works precede Him.
There is one time Jesus told someone that He was the Messiah. He told the woman at the well (John 4:25-26). She said to Jesus, “The Jews tell us there is One Who is to come. Are You Him?” Jesus responded, “I am He.”
Most of the time, people would simply recognize that Jesus was the Messiah and often when they did, Jesus would say, “Please keep that to yourself. Don’t run off and tell everyone.” Jesus wanted His walk to demonstrate that He was the Messiah. He wanted the works to speak. He wanted to fulfill prophecy so that everyone would know through the Word that He was the Son of God. He wanted to confirm the Word.
But there came a day when it no longer mattered to Jesus if people kept quiet about Who He was: that was the day Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey.
Luke 19
vs. 29 “And it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,"
vs. 30 “Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in which at the entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereupon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither."
vs. 31 “And if any man ask you, Why do you loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him."
vs. 32 “And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them."
vs. 33 “And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt?"
vs. 34 “And they said, The Lord hath need of him."
vs. 35 “And they brought him to Jesus: and cast their garments upon the colt, and they set Jesus thereon."
vs. 36 “And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way."
vs. 37 “And when he was come nigh, even now unto the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that had been seen;"
vs. 38 “Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest."
vs. 39 “And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples.
vs. 40 “And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these would hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.”
This event took place just two days before the crucifixion. Jesus rode into town and proclaimed Himself as the King of kings, as Messiah, the Prince. Two days later, the same people who shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord!” began to shout, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” He turned to His own, and His own received Him not.
When Jesus was crucified, the Messiah was cut off and Daniel’s sixty-nine weeks ended. This is a fulfillment of Zechariah, chapter nine.
Zechariah 9
vs. 9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
vs. 10 “And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim, and the horse from Jerusalem and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from river even to the ends of the earth.”
Chapter 9 was fulfilled at the end of Daniel’s sixty-ninth week. Verse 10 is yet to be fulfilled at the end of Daniel’s seventieth week. There is a tremendous gap between verses 9 and 10 of this chapter.
Psalm 118
vs. 26 “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord: we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.”
The second half of this verse will not be fulfilled until the Millennium when the house of the Lord is built. Just as Isaiah 61, verse 2 was divided, so is this verse. The first half was fulfilled when Jesus came into Jerusalem. The second half will not be fulfilled until approximately 2,000 years later when the Millennial reign of the Lord Jesus Christ is established; when Jesus builds the Millennial Temple in the city of Jerusalem and we worship God out of His own house.
The Church today is living between Daniel’s sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks; we are living in the Church age and will continue until Jesus establishes His kingdom in the earth.
