The
Seventy Weeks
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We invite you to join us as we pray:
O Lord, Almighty God,
Today, we will study a long prophetic period, that is, the seventy weeks, which You
presented to Your prophet Daniel.
Please guide us in this lesson, so that our understanding of this valuable prophecy may be
appropriate, and that our confidence in Your Word may be strengthened.
In Jesus Christ our Savior we pray.
Amen.
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2 Peter 1:19
We also have the prophetic word made more sure, which you
do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns.
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Revelation 1:3
Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of
this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
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A special blessing is promised to those who study Bible prophecy.
God encourages us to invest time to understand this part of His Word.
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Daniel 9:1
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the
lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans (...).
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The prophecy of the seventy weeks is found in chapter 9 of the book of Daniel.
Before starting on the content of this prophecy, let's look at its historical context.
The events described in chapter 9 took place in 538 B.C., shortly after the conquest of
the kingdom of the Chaldeans (Babylon) by the Medes and the Persians.
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Daniel 9:2,3
In the first year of Darius (...), in the first year of
his reign, I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the
word of the Lord, given through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy
years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications.
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Studying Jeremiah's prophecy, Daniel saw that his people would be slaves in
Babylon for 70 years.
These 70 years were now over, and Babylon had fallen, but the reconstruction of Jerusalem
was still delayed.
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Daniel 9:4,5,18
And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and
said,
«O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him,
and with those who keep His commandments, we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have
done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. (...)
O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city
which is called by Your name.»
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Daniel thought that the delay in beginning the reconstruction of Jerusalem was
caused by the wickedness of his people.
So he prayed to obtain God's forgiveness.
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Daniel 9:20,21
Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin
and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for
the holy mountain of my God, yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I
had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me.
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While Daniel was praying, Gabriel appeared.
Thirteen years before, this angel of God had given him the vision of the 2300 days (which
we will study in a future lesson), but this vision still remained unexplained.
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Daniel 9:22,23
And [Gabriel] said,
«O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.
At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you,
for you are greatly beloved.
Therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision.»
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The angel said he had come to explain the vision. But which vision?
The prophet Daniel had received no vision since the beginning of chapter 9, so we must
conclude that the explanation referred to his last vision, that is, the 2300 days.
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Daniel 9:24
«Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for
your holy city.»
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The Hebrew word «chathak», translated here by «determined», means literally
«cut off».
Thus Gabriel informed Daniel that a period of 70 weeks had been cut off for the people of
Israel.
Now, this period of 70 weeks (or 70 x 7 = 490 days) could only be cut off from a longer
period, that is, the 2300 days.
We will come back to this point in a moment.
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Daniel 9:25
«Know therefore and understand, that from the going
forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem (...).»
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The starting point of the prophetic period of 70 weeks is «the going forth of
the command to restore and build Jerusalem».
When was the command given to restore and build Jerusalem?
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Ezra 7:8,11,13,20
In the seventh year of the king, (...) this is the copy
of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest, the scribe (...):
«I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and Levites in
my realm, who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem, may go with you. (...)
And whatever more may be needed for the house of your God, which you may have occasion to
provide, pay for it from the king's treasury.»
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In the seventh year of his reign, Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, issued the
decree ordering the restoration of Jerusalem.
It was in 457 B.C.
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Daniel 9:25
From the going forth of the command to restore and build
Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.
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The prophecy tells us that there are 69 weeks (7 + 62 = 69) between the decree
ordering the restoration of Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah.
Let's try to understand what a period of 69 weeks means in Bible prophecy.
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Numbers 14:34
The number of the days in which you spied out the land,
forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years.
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Ezekiel 4:5,6
For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity,
according to the number of the days, (...) you shall bear the iniquity of the house of
Judah forty days.
I have laid on you a day for each year.
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The principle of equivalence «1 day = 1 year» is recognized and applied by
most Bible prophecy students. We will do the same.
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So, we can place the following prophetic
milestones:
«From
the going | ° Starting point of the 70 weeks prophecy:
forth of the
| Artaxerxes' decree.
command to re- |
Year: 457 B.C.
store and build |
Jerusalem un- | ° 7 weeks later, that is,
49 years (7 x 7 = 49 years):
til Messiah the |
Restoration of Jerusalem is completed.
Prince, there
| Year: 408 B.C. (-457 + 49 = -408)
shall be seven |
weeks and six- | ° 62 weeks later, that is, 434
years (62x7=434 years):
ty-two weeks.» |
The coming of Messiah the Prince
(Daniel 9:25) |
Year: A.D. 27 (-408 + 434 = 27)
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Let's note the following point:
Some may point out that
-408 + 434 = 26, not 27. But we must note that there is no year 0 (zero). To illustrate
this, let's look at the following example:
================================= You
might think that between
Year |-4 |-3 |-2 |-1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -4 and 4, there are 8
years.
================================= But
year 0 does not exist,
Length |-1-|-2-|-3-|-4-|-5-|-6-|-7-| so there are only
7 years.
So to the addition (-408 + 434 = 26), we must add a year since there is no year 0 (26 + 1
= 27). For the example above, we get: -4 + 7 = 3, and then 3 + 1 = 4.
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Daniel 9:25
From the going forth of the command to restore and build
Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.
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Knowing that the first 69 weeks (7 + 62), or 483 years (49 + 434), lead to A.D.
27, we must find out what happened that year concerning «Messiah the Prince».
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John 4:25,26
The woman said to [Jesus], «I know that Messiah is
coming» (who is called Christ). «When He comes, He will tell us all things.»
Jesus said to her, «I who speak to you am He.»
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Acts 10:38
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and
with power.
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The word «Messiah» comes from Hebrew «mashiach» (in Greek, «christos»),
which means «the anointed one».
The New Testament declares that Jesus is «the Messiah», «the Christ», «the anointed
One».
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Luke 3:21,23
When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that
Jesus also was baptized. (...)
[He] began His ministry at about thirty years of age.
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Jesus was baptized at the age of 30.
Then, why does prophecy tell us that this event would take place in A.D. 27? When the
Christian Era was first calculated, an error of four years was made.
It is obvious that Christ was not born in A.D. 1, since at His birth Herod the Great was
still alive, and Herod died in 4 B.C.
Therefore Jesus was born in 4 B.C., and baptized in A.D. 27, at the age of 30 (that is,
since there is no year zero: -4 + 30 + 1= 27).
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Mark 1:9,14,15
It came to pass in those days that Jesus came from
Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. (...)
Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying,
«The time is fulfilled.»
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Jesus was well acquainted with Bible prophecy, and knew that the year of His
baptism (autumn of the year 27) represented an important date.
This is why He declared that the time was fulfilled.
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Daniel 9:26,27
And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off.
(...)
Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he
shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
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Now let's look at the seventieth week.
Prophecy tells us that in the middle of this last week, «Messiah shall be cut off»,
bringing «an end to sacrifice and offering».
The middle of the week means 3½ years (7 years ÷ 2). By adding these 3½ years to autumn
27, we get spring 31.
What happened in the spring of A.D. 31?
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Daniel 9:27
Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week.
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Matthew 26:27,28
Then [Jesus] took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it
to [the disciples], saying,
«Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for
many for the remission of sins.»
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The «covenant with many», which Christ had to confirm, is the covenant He
sealed with His own blood by His death on the cross, for the salvation of all those who
would accept His sacrifice for the remission of their sins.
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Daniel 9:26,27
And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off.
(...)
In the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
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Matthew 27:50,51
Jesus, when He had cried out again with a loud voice,
yielded up His spirit.
And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
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Exactly at the predicted time, in the middle of the seventieth prophetic week,
in the spring of 31, Jesus, the Messiah, died on the cross, thus bringing an end to the
temple's sacrificial system.
This is why the veil of the temple was torn in two.
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Daniel 9:24
Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your
holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for
iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to
anoint the Most Holy.
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After Jesus' death and resurrection, «making an end of sins and bringing in
everlasting righteousness», half a week (3½ years) was still remaining before the end of
the 490 years of probation set aside exclusively for the people of Israel, who now had to
accept Jesus as the Messiah.
Did they accept Him?
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Luke 24:46,47
Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the
Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and
remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.
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During the 3½ years following the ascension of Jesus to heaven, the apostles,
by preaching and working miracles, invited the people of Israel to accept Jesus as the
Messiah.
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Acts 7:56-58
[Stephen] said,
«Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!»
Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord;
and they cast him out of the city and stoned him.
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Unfortunately, the Jewish nation rejected the apostles' call.
The end of the 70 weeks (490 years) was marked, in autumn of the year 34, by the stoning
of Stephen, approved by the religious leaders of Israel.
Stephen was the first Christian martyr killed by the hand of the Jewish nation itself.
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Acts 13:45,46
But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled
with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul.
Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said,
«It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you
reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the
Gentiles.»
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With the stoning of Stephen in A.D 34, the Jewish nation conclusively rejected
the gospel, putting an end to their 490 years of probation.
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Daniel 9:26,27
The people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the
city and the sanctuary. (...)
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the
consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.
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The prophecy of Daniel 9 ends tragically, with the announcement of the
destruction of Jerusalem and its temple.
Again the prediction has been rigorously accurate: in A.D. 70, the Roman army, led by
Titus, destroyed the city of Jerusalem, and entirely demolished its temple.
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An interesting observation: the literary
organization of Daniel 9:25-27
The first part of each
of the three verses speaks about the works of the Messiah, and the second part speaks
about the fate of Jerusalem. See:
Verse 25, Part 1: Seven weeks and sixty-two weeks until the
Messiah.
Part 2:
How Jerusalem will be rebuilt.
Verse 26, Part 1: The Messiah shall be cut off.
Part 2:
Jerusalem and the sanctuary will be destroyed.
Verse 27, Part 1: The covenant and the sacrifice of the
Messiah.
Part 2:
The abomination of desolation in Jerusalem.
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Daniel 9:22,23
And [Gabriel] said,
«O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand.
At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you,
for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision.»
----------------------------------------------------
As we have seen, the period of 70 weeks aimed, among other things, to explain
the vision Daniel had received before, that is, the 2300 days.
Since these two visions are closely linked, and since we now understand the prophecy of
the 70 weeks, we will be able to study the 2300 days in a future lesson.
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Summary of the 70 weeks prophecy:
+---
«70 weeks are determined for your people.» (DANIEL 9:24)
---+
|
|
Decree Restoration
Baptism
Crucifixion Stoning
of king of
of
of
of
Artaxerxes Jerusalem
Jesus
Jesus
Stephen
|----------------|-----------------|--------------|--------------|
Autumn Autumn
Autumn
Spring
Autumn
457 B.C. 408 B.C.
A.D. 27
A.D. 31 A.D. 34
|---- 7 weeks ---|---- 62 weeks ---|--- ½ week ---|--- ½ week ---|
|--- 49 years ---|--- 434 years ---|-- 3½ years --|-- 3½ years --|
|
|
+------------ 70 prophetic weeks, that is, 490 years ------------+
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Let's thank God for His help:
Father,
The prophecy of the 70 weeks didn't aim only at satisfying the curiosity of its students.
Its main goal was to announce the coming of the Messiah, our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.
We want to take this moment to renew our covenant with Your Son and our commitment to Him,
by the precious blood He shed on the cross for each one of us.
Please continue to guide us, as we continue to study Your Word.
In Jesus Christ we pray.
Amen.
The test of Lesson 20 is waiting for you!