70 Weeks of DanielBible Truth for the End Times

This is an amazing prophecy that provides us with a number of important truths. The 70 weeks prophecy of Daniel gives us an important starting date for the 2300 day (years) prophecy of Daniel 8. It also gives us a definitive time frame that God gave to the Jews as a nation to turn to Him and accept Jesus. And most important of all it confirms Jesus Christ as the Messiah. In this amazing study we will find out exactly what happened to the Jewish nation when this time prophecy was fulfilled and came to an end.

It is interesting that the non-Messianic Jews who this 70 weeks of Daniel partly concerns, actually leave it well alone, because they believe it to be accursed. The tragic thing is, that if they really studied and heeded what it said, then they would have realized exactly who Jesus was. This is one reason why Bible prophecy is so important for us to study and find out the truth, because through it, God reveals vital information for us.

Unfortunately, these days we have so many different interpretations of end times Bible prophecy. Why is that? Well, one of the reasons is that TRUE Bible prophecy points to the Roman Catholic Church as the Bible antichrist, and therefore, as a counter to the well known Christian reformation which exposed the Papal Church of Rome as antichrist, they commissioned Jesuit priests to think of different interpretations and to flood the world with those interpretations, so that the Roman Catholic Church no longer stood as antichrist (according to the new false Jesuit interpretations). How did they do this? By cutting off 7 years from this 70 weeks of Daniel and putting it in the future, where a future (different) antichrist would put an end to the sacrifices in a rebuilt temple in Israel, and sadly the majority of Christians have fallen for this false teaching of Rome.

How do you know that you will find the truth here? Because we only use the Word of God and historical facts to reveal the truth.

Many Christians, as said above, cut off the last 7 years from this 70 weeks prophecy of Daniel and place them in the future, but there is not a single line of scripture that tells us to do this. So let me start by saying that the seventy weeks of Daniel are seventy CONTINUOUS weeks of prophetic time. This is so important to grasp. There are no gaps in between this prophecy, but a continuous unbroken time line. There is no scriptural support for the theory that the last week of this 70 weeks prophecy is cut off and placed in the future, like so many people like to believe. So how long is the 70 'prophetic' weeks? We will find out below. Let's now delve into this fascinating Bible prophecy from Daniel, the great prophet and servant of God.

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 was a student of Jeremiah's prophecies, and understood that the 70 years of captivity for the Israelites had come to an end ..... Jeremiah 25:11-12 ...'And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.' ... The seventy years that Jeremiah had prophesied about had now come to an end with the fall of Babylon.

Daniel now comes before God in prayer. Take a good look at how Daniel approaches our Heavenly Father ... Daniel 9:3-4 ...'And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments.' ... How does the majority of the Christian world come to God? We seem to think these days that a quick prayer without even a bowed head will do. There is very little reverence for God these days, so we need to learn a lesson from Daniel. He came to God in prayer, WITH FASTING, SACKCLOTH AND ASHES!! Does that mean we need to be covered in sackcloth and ashes? No, but we need to take the lesson of reverence and humility from Daniel. And how does he address God? 'the great and dreadful God'. He has complete reverence for our Almighty Creator. I really believe that God would move in a more greater and glorious way if the church would learn how to come before Him.

So why does Daniel come before God in prayer? ... Daniel 9:5-6 ...'We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.' ... The Israelites kept falling into sin and disobeying God, and if you study through the Old Testament you will find that they kept falling into apostasy over and over again and that is why they were taken into captivity, because of their many sins, and constant turning from the LORD. So Daniel comes before God to confess their sins and ask for forgiveness. So this is a good lesson for us in that we should be asking for forgiveness for others we know, not just for ourselves. Daniel doesn't just pray for himself, he prays for ALL Israel.

Daniel 9:20-22 ...'And whiles I was speaking, and 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; Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.' ... Daniel was given a vision in chapter 8, and now during his prayer, the angel Gabriel was commanded by God to go and give Daniel understanding about the vision. Now we know that this was concerning the vision in chapter 8, because there is no other vision given to Daniel between that time and his prayer in chapter 9. The vision is concerning the 2300 days (from chapter 8), where at the end of the vision, if you read it, you will find that Daniel fainted and was sick and couldn't understand the vision (Daniel 8:27). Gabriel had come now to give Daniel 'skill and understanding' about the vision. We now delve into the actual 70 weeks prophecy of Daniel.

Daniel 9:24 ...'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.' ... As mentioned at the start of this page, this prophecy of the 70 weeks were given to the Jews to put an end to their sins. God chose the nation of Israel to be a light to the World, to take God's Word to the world and bring glory to Him. But, the Israelites failed because of their constant sin and apostasy. So now God through Daniel gives them 70 weeks to put an end once and for all to their falling away, otherwise He would take away from them their special status of being the chosen nation and give it to someone else. Jesus confirmed this Himself when He said in Matthew 21:43 ...'Therefore say I unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.' ... Why did Jesus say this? Because the nation of Israel had failed. They didn't end their sin and rebellion against God's law, and they didn't accept Jesus as their Saviour. So the kingdom of God was taken from them and given to the Gentiles (anyone who accepts Christ Jesus). Did this mean that the Jews were lost? No, it just means that they no longer enjoyed special status as God's only chosen people.

"The Kingdom of God shall be taken from you (Jews) and given to another nation (Gentiles)"

Are the 70 weeks of Daniel literal weeks? No, you see in bible prophecy a day equals a year. Note the following two scriptures:

Ezekiel 4:6 ...'And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.'

Numbers 14:34 ...'After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.'

So one day in bible prophecy is one literal year. So let's calculate the 70 weeks. 70x7 = 490. So the 70 weeks = 490 prophetic days, but taking into account that a day = a year in bible prophecy, then this 70 weeks is actually 490 years. Most bible scholars are in agreement that this time period is actually 490 years, not days. So to remain as God's special chosen nation, Israel had 490 years to put a complete end to their sins. But when did this 490 years start?

SEE THIS LINK to learn the truth about the 2300 day time prophecy of Daniel.

Daniel 9:25 ...'Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem.' ... So as we do here, we need to use the Word of God and actual historical facts. Now the seventy weeks prophecy of Daniel would start, as said in the verse above, at the command to rebuild Jerusalem. When was this? ... Ezra 7:13,20 ...'I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee. And whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of thy God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow, bestow it out of the king's treasure house.'

Artaxerxes issued the above decree in 457 BC. This is where some people disagree, because the command to rebuild Jerusalem had already been given by Cyrus, and the rebuilding had already started. We find this decree in Ezra 1:3 ...'Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem.' ... This decree was given in 539 BC. But the Israelites were forced to stop rebuilding the city by Artaxerxes ... Ezra 4:21,23 ...'Give ye now commandment to cause these men to cease, and that this city be not builded, until another commandment shall be given from me. Now when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went up in haste to Jerusalem unto the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.' ... But notice that they were to only stop UNTIL they were given another command by Artaxerxes to continue. So it is at this second command that the 490 year (70 weeks) prophecy begins.

Is there any way we can be sure that we have chosen the right command? Yes! There is a very sure way of knowing that we have chosen the right one, because within this 70 weeks (490 years) prophecy, Christ is revealed as the Messiah ... Daniel 9:25 ...'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.' ... Did you notice there, from the command until MESSIAH THE PRINCE? This is none other than Christ Jesus. So, we need to do some easy straightforward calculating to work this out. The seven weeks and threescore and two weeks in the above verse is 69 weeks, which amounts to 483 days. Now as we know a day in bible prophecy = a year. So this 483 days is actually 483 years. So in 483 years AFTER the command (second command from Artaxerxes) to rebuild Jerusalem, Jesus would be revealed as the Messiah. This is the important bit as to know which command to choose:

If you choose the first command by Cyrus in 539 BC and take away 483 years, we come to 56 BC.

If you choose the second command by Artaxerxes in 457 BC and take away the 483 years, we come to 27 AD.

What happened in 56 BC? Nothing that concerned Jesus.

What happened in 27 AD? Jesus' Baptism! He is revealed as Messiah.

For more information on the evidence for this date, see HERE. You can also read THIS DOCUMENT giving much more detail and evidence.

So now you can see why the SECOND command by Artaxerxes HAS to be used. Not that we need any more confirmation that we are using the right starting point with the second command, but God's amazing truth gives us even more confirmation. You see, in Daniel 9:25, the angel Gabriel gives two time periods. One period of '7 weeks' and the other period of 'threescore and two weeks'. A little bit more calculating to do! Seven weeks = 49 years (don't forget the day to year rule). From 457 BC (the second command), 49 years would take us to 408 BC. Is this date significant? Yes it is!! It is the date that the restoration of the city finished! Then we have the threescore and two weeks which equates to 434 years. Now if we take 434 from 408 BC (when rebuilding the city had finished), we come to 27 AD, Jesus' baptism! Friend, that is the amazing truth of God right there! Praise God!!

Notice from this next scripture that Jesus Himself confirms that this time period from Daniels 70 weeks prophecy had been fulfilled by Himself.

Mark 1:9-15 ...'And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him: And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And immediately the spirit driveth him into the wilderness. And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him. Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.' ... The time of the 7 weeks and the threescore and two weeks had been fulfilled. The voice from Heaven was heard and Jesus Christ was revealed as the Messiah.

So we still have one week left to account for in this 70 week prophecy. This is where a lot of Christians now cut off the last week of this prophecy and place it future to us at the very end times. But as we confirmed earlier, this prophecy is a continuous one. There is no scripture to say we need to cut off the last week and place it somewhere in the future. Again, this was done by the Jesuits to take the focus off the Roman Catholic Church as antichrist. So let's see where this last week fits in:

Daniel 9:26-27 ...'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. 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.'

So after the baptism of Jesus (after the threescore and two weeks, which ended in 27 AD), it says that Messiah shall be 'cut off'. Now those words, cut off means to be killed. This can only point to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Notice in the verse it also says that it was NOT FOR HIMSELF that he was cut off (killed). As we know, Jesus died for us to bare our sins. Now if you take this last week of this 70 week prophecy and put it in the future, then you are denying that it is pointing to the cross of our Saviour, which it clearly is. So this last week of the 70 weeks prophecy starts at the baptism of Jesus, and in the middle of the week, He would cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease. At the cross, Jesus put an end to the priestly service, which included the sacrifice and offerings of animals for sins. The middle of 7 years is 3.5 years. If you add 3.5 years to 27 AD, you come to 31 AD. This is the exact year of Jesus sacrifice on the cross of Calvary. The great veil of the temple ripped in two, which symbolized the end of the sacrifice and oblation (offerings). In no way is this a future antichrist which the Jesuit false teaching proclaims.

There is 3.5 years left of this 70 weeks of Daniel. After they killed Jesus on the cross, the Jews were given another 3.5 years to end their sin and accept Jesus as their Saviour. What an awesome God we have, who is full of grace! Now it said in the 70 week prophecy that the covenant would be confirmed for 1 week, which is 7 'prophetic' days, which equates to 7 literal years. Christ confirmed the covenant for the first 3.5 years, and after His death and resurrection, it was now the job of the apostles to continue preaching the gospel message to the Jews for the last 3.5 years.

Luke 24:46-47 ...'And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved 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 among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.'

So beginning at Jerusalem, the apostles were to confirm the new covenant. So when did the Jews finally reject the gospel message of Christ and when did this 3.5 years come to an end? ... Acts 7:57-58 ...'Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.'

Stephen had just given a speech about the gospel to the Jewish leaders, and notice above what they did, 'they stopped their ears' and stoned Stephen. So they finally rejected the new covenant message and thus rejected Jesus and this fulfilled the 70 weeks prophecy of Daniel and that special status of being God's chosen nation was taken from them. By the way, the stoning of Stephen happened exactly 3.5 years after the cross, thus perfectly fulfilling the time prophecy of 70 weeks (490 years). Paul himself, after becoming a follower of Christ, confirmed this ... Acts 13:46 ...'Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.'

This 70 weeks prophecy of Daniel 9 doesn't end there though. Something else was prophesied that would happen ... 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 the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.' ... This is the part where the Jesuits 'made up' a different interpretation, so as to point to a future antichrist. Many Christians go along with this and believe this 'prince' to be the future antichrist. But this part of the prophecy has also already been fulfilled. The Roman army in 70 AD, came and destroyed the city of Jerusalem:

"In AD66, when Cestius came against the city, but withdrew, the Christians discerned in this the sign foretold by Christ and fled, while 1,100,000 Jews are said to have been killed in the terrible siege in AD70." Eusebius, Church History, Book 3, Chapter 5

This was a tragic consequence of the Jews rejection of Christ. The city of Jerusalem was completely leveled by the Romans, which also was foretold by Christ ... Mark 13:2 ...'And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.'

The house of the Jews was left desolate!

So in this prophecy of the 70 weeks of Daniel, God forgave the Jews 70 x 7. Jesus confirmed this Himself when He said to Peter in Matthew 18:21-22 ...'Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.' ... How amazing is the Word of God?!! So the Jewish nation were given 70 x 7 (70 weeks or 490 years) to end their sin and turn to God. This they did not do and as a result, the Kingdom of God was taken from them and given to the Gentiles. The Jewish nation were no longer the chosen nation. This is something that many prophecy teachers and students miss. You will see many end times bible prophecy websites that focus on the nation of Israel in end times prophecy, still thinking that they are God's chosen people, but this 70 weeks prophecy of Daniel proves that they are no longer that chosen nation. They can still turn to Jesus and be converted to Christianity, but they are no longer the one chosen nation, because now all who turn to Jesus, whether Jew or Gentile are TRUE Israel, as the following verses confirm:

Romans 2:28-29 ...'For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.'

Galatians 3:28-29 ...'There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.'

Ephesians 3:6 .....'That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel.'

A true Jew, a true chosen child of God, is anyone who turns to Him, accepts Jesus as their Saviour, and worship God in spirit and in truth. Jesus said Himself in Matthew 23:38 ...'Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.' ... The house of the Jews, and the special chosen status became desolate, destroyed, because of their complete rejection of the gospel message. So this amazing 70 weeks of Daniel confirms Jesus Christ as the Messiah, and at the same time confirms that Israel in the flesh is no longer God's chosen nation. Yes, I'm sure that Israel will have a part to play in the end times, as will all other nations, but don't focus your attention on them, as many other prophecy students do. Focus on following Jesus and obeying and keeping God's Commandments ... Revelation 14:12 ...'Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.' ... These are God's TRUE end time people.