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The Seventy Weeks of Daniel
The year was 538BC. Daniel's people were in exile in Babylon. His beloved capital city of Jerusalem lay in ruins. The fertile fields of Israel and Judah had remained neglected and unplowed for decades, sifted by desolate winds. Daniel --just a teen when he was taken prisoner by the Babylonians -- was now an old man, though a very godly one. He had endured persecution for his faith at the hands of the Babylonians and Persians alike. After almost 70 years of bondage in a foreign land, Daniel read a prophecy of Jeremiah. Jeremiah had specifically prophesied Israel's captivity in Babylon, and had pinned down an exact time period of 70 years.
"And this whole land shall be a desolation and a horror, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years."
-- Jeremiah 25:11 (note that some quote Jeremiah 29:10-14 but it is more likely that Daniel was reading from Jeremiah 25)
Daniel realized with joy that Israel was about to be released from captivity! This discovery caused him to confess his sins and those of his people, despite that fact that he was more righteous than any of them. He began to pray, confess and worship God. In the evening, during a lengthy prayer which probably lasted most of the day, the angel Gabriel came to him with a message. What followed was one of the most astonishing promises in the entire Bible.
"Seventy [weeks of years] are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.
Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven [weeks of years] and sixty-two [weeks of years].
It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.
After the sixty-two [weeks of years] the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing.
The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary..."
(Daniel 9:24-26)
At the time Daniel was given this prophecy the city of Jerusalem lay in ruins, its walls completely destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar's attack of 586BC. Gabriel told Daniel that a decree would be issued to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. But he used this as the springboard of another prediction. He claimed that from the day on which this decree would be issued, 69 weeks of years would pass before "the Anointed One (Messiah the king) would come, after which he will be cut off" or executed for no personal gain.
What are 'weeks of years'?
In our current culture we use a number of common terms to describe increments of years. We immediately know what people mean when they say millennium, century, or decade. The Jewish culture has a number of common ways to describe weeks, since seven is a significant number to the Jews. There are weeks of days, weeks of months, and weeks of years. Daniel's vision involved the Hebrew word 'shabuim' which means 'sevens' or specifically weeks of years. Thus, the phrase refers to a seven-year period.
"Seventy weeks of years are decreed concerning your people and your holy city"
God has a comprehensive plan for Israel. The vision clearly referred to the Jews ("your people") and the city of Jerusalem ("your holy city"). Seventy weeks of years are 490 years. It is not a Gentile reference. It does not refer to the church.
Note that the message goes on to say that those seventy weeks of years involve an end to sin and other conditions which are not yet fulfilled. So while part of the time period has been completed, some of it still remains. A gap of unknown length exists between the end of the 69th week and the start of the 70th week. Within that gap the Messiah would be "cut off" or crucified, and the city of Jerusalem along with the temple would be destroyed. The final week of years still hasn't started, so that gap has lasted close to 2000 years to date.
"From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem"
Only one decree is possible here. Although there were a total of four decrees regarding the Jewish people, three of these referred specifically to the rebuilding of the temple, not the city. One decree by Artexerxes did make an oblique reference to the walls, but was really about the temple. The decree to rebuild Jerusalem came in the month of Nisan in King Artaxerxes' twentieth year.
"In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes... I answered the king, 'If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it...' And because the gracious hand of my God was upon me, the king granted my requests."
(Nehemiah 2:1,8)
The Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England has calculated that this decree was issued on the 1 day of the Jewish month of Nisan (the Jewish New Year). In our modern calendar, that date is March 14, 445 BC. Note that Daniel was given this prophecy about 100 years before that decree would come.
"Until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes"
The prophecy concerns the coming of Christ. Note the wording which refers to Christ as a "ruler" or king. Some English Bibles translate this as "prince" to contrast against the reference to the coming prince, but the Hebrew phrase "Maschiach nagid" really means "Messiah the king." The word "nagid" is used repeatedly throughout the books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles to refer to various kings of Israel and Judah. This means that the Messiah would be recognized as a king at this time. There were occasions during the ministry of Jesus that people wanted to crown him king, but he rejected their attempts, slipping away. The only time he allowed himself to be proclaimed king was during his triumphant entry into Jerusalem on the 10th day of the month of Nisan in AD32, exactly four days before his crucifixion.
"When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 'Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!'"
(Luke 19:37-38)
God decreed at the time of the Exodus from Egypt that the Passover celebration was to be held every year on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nisan. The Bible tells us that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey four days before the passover, making this the 10th day of Nisan.
The Emperor Tiberius took office in AD14, and Scripture tells us that Jesus began his ministry in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius. This means he began his ministry in AD29. According to detailed calculations by Sir Robert Anderson, which have been confirmed by many Bible teachers, the exact date of the triumphal entry was Nisan 10, AD32. That date corresponds to April 6, AD32 (or 32BCE) on our modern calendar. This was 69 "weeks of years" (483 years) to the day from the decree by Artaxerxes.
It is interesting to study the response of Jesus as he viewed the city during that moment of earthly glory. He wept for Jerusalem and declared great sadness that she did not recognize the hour of his appearing.
"If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you.'"
(Luke 19:42-44)
He was holding the Jewish people accountable for something they should have known. Daniel's prophecy had been available to the Jews for centuries. Anyone could have made a simple calculation. Jesus was holding them accountable for not knowing this exact date.
Less than 40 years after Jesus was crucified, Roman General Flavius Titus (he would later become Caesar) marched into Jerusalem after a siege. Women and children were murdered by the thousands within the walls of the city and the temple. The temple was burned to the ground by a soldier who threw a torch into a window. Titus ordered every stone removed to retrieve the gold that had melted between the cracks.
The precise detail in this prophecy is fascinating. Jewish historian Josephus points out In his account of the Roman invasion that the destruction of the temple took place against the orders of General Titus. The soldiers (or "people of the prince who is to come") simply went berserk and committed a number of atrocities on their own. When Titus was told that the temple was on fire, he reportedly raced to the scene and fell to his knees proclaiming, "I did not order this!" He tried to have the fire extinguished but it was too late.
"There will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' "
Daniel prophesied the precise number of years that would pass before the Messiah would come. Seven plus 62 adds up to 69 weeks of years, or a total of 483 years. We don't know exactly why Gabriel broke the vision into two parts (7 and 62). Some historians speculate that it may have taken 49 years (7 x 7) to complete the building of the wall.
Throughout the Bible, years are measured as exactly 360 days in length -- 12 months of 30 lunar days. The 360-day year was used in most of the surrounding cultures. Our modern calendar of 365.25 days wasn't invented until after Christ. Even in the book of Revelation God continues to use 360-day references.
Exactly 483 biblical years after the decree of Artaxerxes Jesus would triumphantly ride into Jerusalem. These 483 biblical years work out to 173,880 days. Calculating forward from March 14, 445BC, and counting 173,880 days, we end up with April 6, AD32. Keep in mind that there is only one year between 1BC and 1AD. There are also 116 leap days between those dates, and 24 days from March 14 to April 6. This Sunday is the one western cultures celebrate as "Palm Sunday," the day on which Jesus was declared king as he rode into Jerusalem on the foal of a donkey.
"It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble."
At the time Daniel wrote these words Jerusalem lay in ruins. He describes a rebuilt city and troublesome times. Times would indeed be troublesome under Roman occupation.
"After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off"
Christ's crucifixion in AD32 allows for the fulfillment of the prophecy in the prescribed time. Less than one week after he rode into Jerusalem, with a great crowd lining the street waving palm branches and declaring him the King of the Jews, Jesus Christ was cut off on a Roman cross. He died not for himself, but that God's plan would be fulfilled. Christ gave himself up to save mankind--so that anyone who would turn to him could be saved. Of all the outstanding religious teachers Judaism had, Christ is the only one who could possibly fulfill Daniel's prophecy.
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