Daniel 9:24-2724Seventy 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. 25Know 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. 26And 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. 27And 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. (Daniel 9:24‑27)
The mass of Jews and Christians are alike in the understanding of this celebrated prophecy. The mistake lies in not perceiving that the last or 70th week is yet future, and that a long interval of time, one which has lasted for nigh 2000 years, occurs between the close of the 69th week and the opening of the 70th, and, further, that the prophecy concerns Jerusalem and the Jewish people. The apostle had no need to write of times and seasons to Gentile Christians (1 Thess. 5:11But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. (1 Thessalonians 5:1)). The prophecy itself clearly teaches a long gap or interval between the last two weeks.
We transcribe the words of the prophecy in full, adding a word here and there of explanation.
“Seventy weeks (490 years) are determined upon thy people (the Jews), and upon thy holy city (Jerusalem) 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 (six blessings). Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem (Neh. 2) unto the Messiah, the Prince (Matt. 21), shall be seven weeks (49 years), and threescore and two weeks (434 years); the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after three score and two weeks (in addition to the seven) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people (the Romans) of the Prince that shall come (little horn of Rev. 7) shall destroy the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (the Temple), and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he (the Roman Prince) shall confirm the (“a”) covenant with many (“the many,” that is, the mass of the people) for one week (seven years); and in the midst of the week he (the Prince) shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations (idolatry) he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate (that is, the desolator).”
To whom then does the prophecy refer—to Christians or Jews? To the latter undoubtedly. Daniel’s people (the Jews) and city (Jerusalem)—the Jews and Jerusalem—are the subjects of the prophecy (vs. 24). In a letter received a few years ago from one of the most distinguished students of the prophetic Word, he urged the writer to study carefully the celebrated prophecy of the seventy years, as he regarded them as “the key to all prophecy.
The 70th week is yet future. The latter half of it is variously spoken of as 42 months, 1260 days—time, times, and half a time. It is that solemn period referred to in the central part of the Apocalypse, one profoundly interesting, and absolutely needful to understand if the prophecies are to be scripturally apprehended. Within these 70 weeks or 490 years the prophetic program is mapped out.
Are the weeks periods of days or years? All competent Hebraists hold that the “week” simply denotes “seven,” whether of days, years, or other denomination of time, must be learned from the context; the word itself does not determine. It is simply “seventy sevens.” Says the learned Tregelles: “I retain the word `week for convenience sake, and not as implying seven days to be the import of the Hebrew word.” That they are weeks of years is evident on the surface of the prophecy.
In Revelation 10:22And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, (Revelation 10:2) we have weeks of days; in that before us weeks of years. But another important inquiry meets us. When did the 70 weeks or 490 years commence? We are informed that it was “from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem.” Now, in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah we meet with several decrees, but only one in reference to the building of Jerusalem, the others refer to the Temple. This special commandment or decree is that to which the prophecy refers, and will be found fully recorded in the last historical book of the Old Testament-Nehemiah, Revelation 2. This decree was promulgated in the 20th year of Artaxerxes, the king. Thus, then, we have the exact commencement of the 70 weeks-455 B.C.
The prophecy is thus divided:
1. Seven weeks, or 49 years, occupied in the reconstruction of the city (see Neh. 2), which had been destroyed by the universal autocrat, Nebuchadnezzar—the head of gold (Rev. 2:38), and the lion amongst beasts (Rev. 7:44And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. (Revelation 7:4)). The books of Nehemiah and Ezra give the history of this period, or “troublous times.”
2. Three score and two weeks, or 434 years, which commenced from the city rebuilt, and the restoration of its social and ecclesiastical polity, which occupied 49 years, till Messiah the Prince. Thus, from the decree of Artaxerxes in the 20th year of his reign (Neh. 2) commanding the rebuilding of Jerusalem till the triumphal entry of Christ as Messiah into Jerusalem (Matt. 21) we have the two former periods multiplied; in all 483 years.
3. One week, or seven years, yet future. This interesting time, which introduces the closing sorrows of Judah, commences after the removal of the Church, and after the restoration of Judah to Palestine (Isa. 18). All prophecy, more or less, is concentrated in its final character in this interesting crisis. It is a week in which the gravest events which the world has ever known, political and otherwise, have their place.
4. Didst of the week of seven years, or three years and a half. This last week is divided into two equal parts. The attention of the reader in the books of Daniel and the Revelation is fixed on the history of the second half of the week. The first half will be one of general peace, one, too, of preparation for the awful outburst of satanic blasphemy, power, and cruelty, which characterizes the closing half of the week. The history of the first three years and a half is not written, either by the Hebrew prophet or by the apocalyptic Seer.
TIMES, DAYS, MONTHS
A time is a year (for the force of the term, time, see Dan. 4:16-3716Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him. 17This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men. 18This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee. 19Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies. 20The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; 21Whose leaves were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven had their habitation: 22It is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy dominion to the end of the earth. 23And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times pass over him; 24This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king: 25That they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 26And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. 27Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity. 28All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. 29At the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. 30The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my majesty? 31While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is departed from thee. 32And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will. 33The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws. 34And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honored him that liveth for ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation: 35And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? 36At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness returned unto me; and my counsellors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. 37Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase. (Daniel 4:16‑37)); times, two years; dividing of time, or half a time, signifies half a year; months are of 30 days; days are literal days of 24 hours. Now these periods refer to the same time, namely, the last half of the 70th week. They cover the period of the tribulation. It will be observed that in Revelation 11:33And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. (Revelation 11:3) and 12:6, days, and not months or times, are spoken of, the reason being that God’s suffering saints are in view; hence the days of their testimony and trial are carefully numbered. Days of interest to Him, Who has numbered the hairs of our heads. But when the power and blasphemy of the great political enemy of God and of the Lamb, as also the persecutor of the godly-fearing part of Judah, the king of the west is in question, and we may add, of the oppressing Gentiles as well, then the period is curtly spoken of as 42 months (Rev. 13:5; 11:25And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. (Revelation 13:5)
2But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. (Revelation 11:2)). The days are twice named in reference to God’s saints. The months are twice named in relation to the enemy of God’s people. “Times and laws,” not the saints, are given into the hands of the little horn, or head of the revived Roman empire, “until a time, and times, and the dividing of time” (Dan. 7:2525And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. (Daniel 7:25)). He rages and ravages in the wide scene of Christian profession, but especially in Palestine is his iron hand felt, not against the nation as such, but against the God-fearing part of the people who boldly witness for God in these awful times. The Antichrist will support the pretensions of the arrogant, blaspheming king, energized by Satan cast down from Heaven, whose expulsion there from is noted in Revelation 12. Daniel 7:2525And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. (Daniel 7:25) and Revelation 13:55And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. (Revelation 13:5) refer to the same personage and to the same period. The continuance of the last and satanic phase of the empire (Rev. 17:88The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. (Revelation 17:8)) is limited to 42 literal months. Thus the 1260 days of suffering, 42 months of 30 days each of Gentile domination, and time, times, and half a time of Judah’s abject misery synchronize.
Five Months Five months of torment (Rev. 9. 5-10).
The locust judgment under the sounding of the fifth angel is a terrible one, and spite of the assertion of Hengstenberg to the contrary, we believe that the “five months” of torment is in allusion to the ravages of the natural locust which usually lasts five months. A limited and brief period is referred to, and one which may not exceed five months.
Hour, Day, Month, Year An hour, a day, a month, and a year (Rev. 9:1515And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. (Revelation 9:15)).
The angels of judgment bound at the Euphrates were to be loosed, not during the time specified, but at that particular moment. These evil agencies were to be let loose at an exactly defined moment. The very hour of the day of the month and year is noted. It is an exact note of time.
The dead bodies of the witnesses lying unburied in the streets of Jerusalem, and exposed to the cruel and public gaze of the Gentiles, is a scene of three and a half literal days. Be it observed that the testimony of the witnesses extends during the last half of the unfulfilled week. Then they are killed, and after the public exposure of their bodies for three days and a half a public resurrection is granted them. The prophetic days in Daniel and in other parts of the Apocalypse are literal; why then should this particular passage form an exception? This is a special scene, confined in its peculiar features to events in Jerusalem. It is the Beast who murders the Jerusalem witnesses.
Two Thousand and Three Hundred Days
2300 days (Dan. 8:1414And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. (Daniel 8:14)) is an historical statement referring to the desecration of the Temple and the cruel treading down of the Jewish people by the Syrian monarch of infamous memory, Antiochus Epiphanes. That there is a typical bearing on the last days of Gentile supremacy and misrule over the restored Jewish commonwealth seems evident from verses 17 and 19. Antiochus figures the future Jewish antagonist, the king of the north.
These days exceed by a month the tribulation and the forced interruption of Jewish worship. They commence with the well-known and divinely-appointed sign (Matt. 24:1515When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) (Matthew 24:15)), idolatry, which will mark the commencement of the closing sorrows of the coming crisis. The extra month is needed to complete the destruction of Israel’s enemies. The prophet does not speak of blessing in connection with this period, because not only must judgment clear the scene of evil and evil men, but the people themselves must be morally prepared for the full tide of millennial blessing. The days are literal, of course.
Here 45 days are added to the former number. “Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the thousand, three hundred, and five and thirty days.” Thus we have 75 literal days added to the 1260 before the full blessing of Israel is secured. What a busy two months and a half! The tale of judgment will be finished, “the filth of the daughters of Zion” washed away, temple worship restored under new conditions (Ezek. 40), and the people morally cleansed from all defilement in heart and life; then “blessed is he” who waits and reaches that moment of wondrous blessing for Israel and the earth.
Postponement of the Seventieth Week of Seven Years
The present interval of grace and of Jewish degradation are co-existent, and are terminated by the translation of the heavenly saints, consisting of the changed living and raised dead. Then the last week, needed to complete the full tale of 490 years, opens with the apostate Roman prince and the apostate nation returned to Palestine, making a mutual agreement. The prince perfidiously breaks the treaty in the midst of the week. The great Tribulation with its horrors immediately ensue. It is enough. The throne is satisfied (Isa. 40:22Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins. (Isaiah 40:2)). The seven years close, and the ancient people, chastened, saved, and blest, enter into blessing. Her sun will never again set, and Jerusalem becomes the throne of the Lord (Jer. 3:1717At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. (Jeremiah 3:17)).
Now unless this Dispensation is seen as having its place between the 69th and the 70th week of prophecy, there must be muddling and confusion. The interval between these weeks explains much.