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."
Daniel 9:23 "At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision."
The angel Gabriel is telling Daniel now to think back to the vision of the seventy weeks, that we read of in verse two.
Daniel 9:24 "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy People and upon thy holy city, to finesh 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."
There are six things that will come to pass before the transgression is completed upon Jerusalem. Then we will see our Lord Jesus Christ coming back to set up His kingdom upon the earth, and the transgressions will be no more.
Do you see sin around today? Of course; What these things are referring to is the first day of the millennium age. this is looking forward to when the Antichrist has come to earth, and has been cast into the pit.
It is a time when our Lord Jesus Christ is anointed in the most holy place in Jerusalem, showing the world that Jesus Christ is the only True Christ. The next three verses lets us know there is a difference between the true Christ and the false Christ.
Daniel 9:25 "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to rebuild 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."
There are four times in history that the starting time of this seventy week period of prophecy could have started. This is what has made this starting date so controversial. During the time of Jewish captivity, four different commandments were issued, for the return to Jerusalem. These were:
First, was the command of Cyrus to return to rebuild the temple as seen in II Chronicles 36:22-23 and Ezra 1. the date of this command was given in 539 B.C.
Second, was the command by Darius to advance the construction of the temple, as we see in Ezra 6:1. This command was given in 518 B.C. or in 519 B.C.
Third, was the command of Artaxerxes to Ezra to purify the temple and reestablish the sacrifices and ordinances. This command is found in Ezra 4:17, and the command was given in 457 B.C.
Fourth, the command of Artaxerxes to Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem, to rebuild the city streets and walls, to make the city safe from the raids and plundering of the neighboring nations. We read of this in Nehemiah 2:1-9, and this puts this command in 444 B.C.
In Daniel 9:25 we read, "Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem..." The fourth command in 444 B.C. could be the only starting point for Daniel's seventy week prophecy. All three of the other commands were not relating to the city of Jerusalem, but to the building, finishing, and purification of the temple.
At the conclusion of the seventy weeks of years, Daniel saw in the vision that certain things would happen. Look ar Daniel 9:24, "... 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."
We know that each of these things above still exist and will exist until the end of the tribulation period. That time of testing for all Israel, and destruction for the rest of the world.
It is an historical fact that the time to rebuild the streets and walls of Jerusalem was 49 years, exactly as Daniel prophesied in Daniel 9:25. "...from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince (Jesus Christ recognized as the Messiah), shall be seven weeks, three score and two weeks."
The first seven weeks, then sixty-two more weeks of years were given in the vision of Daniel for the time of the Messiah. This then leaves us one week shy of the total seventy weeks prophesied by Daniel, for the Messiah to come and physically rule over Israel.
444 B.C. Jerusalem Rebuilt Messiah Messiah
7 weeks 62 weeks Gap 1 week
49 years 434 years time of Millennium age
Gentiles
there are three separate periods, with a gap between the second period of of 434 years, and the final period of seven years. This gap in the seventy years of weeks prophecy period is what the Apostle Paul calls the time of the Gentiles. In Romans 11:17-24 Paul talked about the time when Gentiles, the wild olive branch, will be grafted onto the good olive tree, the trunk of Abraham. This grafting period, or the gap, is what we now call "the Church age". The time from the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the head of the Church, to the start of the last seven week period, then is the time of grace, and peace that is offered to all.
Grace is the gift of total forgiveness by God, by simply accepting by faith the price that Jesus Christ's death on the cross, and his resurrection, paid for. For this God offers "peace", and whatever sins were ever committed, are blotted out and covered by the blood of Christ. This is spelled out in John 3:16.
When we consider the time span from 444 B.C to 33 A.D., and deduct for the fact of the one year between 1 B.C. and 1 A.D., we have a total of 476 solar years. That is 173,855 total solar days. The Jewish calendar year has 360 days to the year, and would show 483 years for the same time frame. (360 days X 483 years equals 173,880 Jewish calendar days.)
To be accurate, the actual date of the commandment was March 5th of our calendar year of 444 B.C. When we compute the solar calendar days of 173,855 to the starting date, and add the 25 days excess from the Jewish calendar, we find the date to be March 3oth, 33 A.D., the time Jesus rode into Jerusalem with a multitude of people around him; "...cried saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest." Matthew 21:1-12 They were claiming Jesus to be the Messiah.
In Daniel 9:27 continues thousands of years later, following the period we call the gap, or Church age. This is the one week of years God set aside to draw His people, called the Jews, back to himself. "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 consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate."
Halfway into the period, three and a half years, the Antichrist reveals his true colors, and Satan then turns on the Jews. He stops sacrifices and oblations, and brings the abomination to the temple. Then hatred, wrath and killing will be poured out on the nation of Israel. We will discuss each of these points later, as we look at various biblical passages in both the Old and New Testaments.
The thing that makes these four verses, Daniel 9:24-27 so important to Christians, and Bible prophecy, is that it identifies the time of the age of Christ's church on earth. The two important things to remember here is that the sacrifices and the oblation will cease, this is the communion, and the Passover feast offerings, and that is because the entire world, including Christians, will believe that Christ has returned to earth. They will believe that the Antichrist is the Messiah.
The second thins is that abomination that is to take place in Jerusalem, is when the Antichrist, Satan, shall stand in the temple and claim himself to be the true Christ.
Daniel 9:26 "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 unto the end of the war desolations are determined."
The emperor of Rome took sides with the Syrians, against the Jews, and Titus Vespian moved his huge Roman army against all Judea, to totally destroy the city, and as Jesus prophesied, dismantled the entire temple. The Jews that escaped with their lives were scattered throughout the countries of the world.
Daniel 9:27 "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."
In the translation, "the desolate", it is a person, and should be translated "desolator". That desolator is the Antichrist. and is Satan himself. It is not a king in Europe, or the middle east, for Satan is the "star" that fell to the earth in Revelation 9:1, and he will be given the key, or the authority to the bottomless pit.
When the seventh trump sounds, the seventy weeks of years are over, and you will face the Lord Jesus Christ, either as a happy bride [the church], or in shame for chasing after the Antichrist.
