Prophecy of Seventy Weeks

The Prophecy of Seventy Weeks appears in verses 24–27 in the ninth chapter of the Book of Daniel, a work included in both the Christian and Jewish Bible. The prophecy is part of both Jewish eschatology and Christian eschatology. In chapter nine Daniel records that an Angel appears to him in response to his prayer and makes a proclamation regarding the timing of important events in the future of the Jews.

The American Standard Version reads as follows:

24 Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy.

25 Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the anointed one, the prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: it shall be built again, with street and moat, even in troublous times.

26 And after the threescore and two weeks shall the anointed one be cut off, and shall have nothing: 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 even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined.

27 And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate.

Literary Structure

The scholar William H. Shea observed that verses 25-27 form a chiasm:

A. Daniel 9:25a

Jerusalem Construction:

Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem

B. Daniel 9:25b

Messiah:

until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens' and sixty-two 'sevens.'

C. Daniel 9:25c

Jerusalem Construction:

It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.

D. Daniel 9:26a

Messiah:

After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off, but not for himself.

C'. Daniel 9:26b

Jerusalem Destroyed:

The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.

B'. Daniel 9:27a

Messiah:

And he shall confirm a covenant with the many [for] one week; and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,:A'. Daniel 9:27b

Jerusalem Destroyed:

and because of the protection of abominations [there shall be] a desolator, even until that the consumption and what is determined shall be poured out upon the desolate.

This chiasm helps eliminate some otherwise ambiguous understanding.

Context

According to the Book of Daniel, the vision takes place soon after Darius (who may or may not be the same person as Cyrus II, the Persian who controlled Babylon either at the time of the prophecy or shortly later) began his rulership over Babylon. Prior to this, Babylon had been ruled over by Belshazzar, and prior to him Nebuchadnezzar, who had besieged Jerusalem while Daniel was a youth. At the beginning of the scene, Daniel relates that he had read the prophecy foretold by the prophet Jeremiah. The oracle was that after the holy city of Jerusalem, considered God's home by Jews, lay in desolation for 70 years and Judah had endured 70 years of captivity, the king of Babylon would be punished and the Jews would return to Jerusalem (Jer 25:11–12, 29:10 , strictly speaking, are two separate prophecies both of which speak of the same 70 years of Babylonian captivity).

Daniel, being aware of this writing and believing that the fulfillment was near at hand describes how he prayed for the Kingdom of Israel, asking God to have mercy on His rebellious people. Chapter 9 verses 20–23 describe an encounter in which the angel Gabriel came to share the vision.

There are several interpretations which could constitute the 70 years period mentioned in Jeremiah 25 & 29. There are several events that may signify the beginning of "desolation" as well.

The following are three separate starting points in the captivities of Judah.

• The 1st captivity of Judah started around 605 - 604 BC, in the aftermath of the Battle of Carchemish Nebuchadnezzar takes a party of Jews captive, signalling the beginning of the destruction of Jerusalem. This is the captivity mentioned in Daniel 1:1 when Daniel and his companions were taken captive.

• The 2nd captivity of Judah started in 597 BC, Nebuchadnezzar conquers Jerusalem, but leaves it standing, taking only certain groups of people captive after the Judaeans refuse to pay taxes or tribute to Babylonia and then he appoints Zedekiah, the previous king's uncle, as the governor, signalling the beginning of Babylonian control over Judea. This 2nd captivity started the period of Ezekiels captivity. (Eze. 40:1)

• The 3rd captivity of Judah started in about 587 BC, when Jerusalem and the Temple were burned down by Nebuchadrezzar's army, leaving them in complete desolation. Only a few of the poor were left in Jerusalem at this time. This destruction took place in the 19th year of Nebuchadnezzar. (Jeremiah 52:12-16)

There are several periods of 70 years during this captivity time frame. Only one likely fulfilles the criteria of Jeremiah 25 & 29. That fulfilment is the 70 years period of time between the 1st captivity of Judah and the release of the Judean captives by Cyrus of Persia. (2 Chr. 36:22; Ezr. 1:1, 7; 3:7; 4:3, 5; 5:13, 17; 6:3, 14; Isa. 44:28; 45:1;)

• This 70 years counts from the Battle of Carchemish (1st captivity of Judah) until Jerusalem was allowed to be reconstructed by the Decree of Cyrus around 538 BC. To make up for the several years' difference (605 to 538 is 67 years) some propose adjusting of the chronology slightly, or count 70 lunar years (lunar years being slightly shorter than solar years), or propose that 70 was a rounded number under inclusive reckoning. Others shift the termination event until the rebuilding actually began, one or two years later.

It should be noted here that the date of 538 B.C. for the first year of Cyrus is based on the work of Ptolemy. Ptolemy does not give specific astronomical data to fix the date of the 1st year of Cyrus as he does with many of the other Babylonian and Persian kings. The Babylonian dynastic tablet gives 194.3 years from Yukin-Zira to the overthrow of Nabonidos. The 1st year of Yukin-Zira is astronomically fixed to the year 731 B.C. This then would make the overthrow of Nabonidos in the year 537 B.C. and the 1st year of Cyrus as ruler of Babylon in the year 536 B.C. Which would then would make the 2nd year of Cyrus (when the 2nd Temple foundation was laid-- Ezra 3:8) 70 years from the 1st captivity of Judah.

• Some other 70 year periods are as follows:

1. From the destruction of Jerusalem in the 19th year of Nebuchadnezzar until the Temple was fully rebuilt in the sixth year of Darius I(Hystaspes), producing a time frame of 586-516 BC or 70 years. (Jer. 52;12-14; Ezra 6:15)
2. The 70 year period of Divine indignation mentioned in Zechariah 1:12. This period of 70 years ended in the 2nd year of Darius I (Hystaspes) 520 B.C. This Divine anger began when the glory of God left the Temple and Jerusalem. According to Ezekiel 8-10 this took place in the 6th year and 6th month of his captivity or the 2nd captivity of Judah, which would have been the year 590 B.C.

Debate on Weeks

One principal debate regarding the words in the prophecy deals with the meaning of Weeks. The Hebrew word shebu`ah or "week" is also the word for "seven." Secondly, in this instance the Hebrew word is in the male gender when normally the female version is used. There are three interpretations.

1. A large majority of theologians believe each seven represents seven years. Amillennialists who hold this believe the final fulfillment to have already happened; some premillennialists hold that an anacoluthon exists between the first 69 weeks and the last. Some believe that the gap is over now that the nation of Israel has gained Jerusalem as its capital.
2. Scholars like J. A. Montgomery also consider the seven to be seven years, but place the fulfillment of the prophecy in the person of Antiochus Epiphanes and consider the book of Daniel to have been written during that time in an effort to engender resistance against the oppression of Antiochus.
3. Various commentators (e.g., some conservative amillennialists, Orthodox Jews) believe that the seventy weeks represent, to one degree or another, an indefinite time scale that cannot be used for definite prediction. Some Orthodox Jews hold the fulfillment to be in the 70 destruction of the temple. Philip Mauro believed the first 69 weeks to be 69 sevens of years, but the last to be an indefinite period.
4. Few hold that the weeks in question are sets of 7 days. Some Christians have proposed such theories, but no such theory has gained any degree of acceptance.

Timing of the decree

One aspect of the 70 weeks prophecy is that it specifies a specific starting point in history before the countdown, as it were, begins. In this case it is an edict to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple in Jerusalem. Five edicts concerning reconstruction in Judaea are recorded in the Bible.

• A decree permitting rebuilding of the 2nd Temple (Ezra 1:2-4) issued by Cyrus in the first year of his reign (539-536 BC, depending on reckoning system)
• A decree restarting the construction of the 2nd Temple after a lull and confirming Cyrus' earlier decree (Ezra 6:3-12) granted by Darius in his second year (520-518 BC for Darius Hystaspes, 422-420 BC for Darius Nothus)
• A decree authorizing the use of certain articles for the temple rites and giving certain rights to Ezra and the Jews (Ezra 7:12-26) issued by an "Artaxerxes" in his seventh year. (459-457 BC for Artaxerxes Longimanus, 398-397 BC for Artaxerxes Memnon)
• A decree authorizing the reconstruction of the city of Jerusalem (Nehemiah 2:4-9), granted by an “Artaxerxes” in his 20th year. (446-444 BC for Artaxerxes Longimanus, 385-384 BC for Artaxerxes Memnon)
• A divine decree issued by God in the 2nd year of Darius I (Hystaspes) commanding Joshua and Zerubabbel to restart construction on the Temple and Jerusalem. This divine command was witnessed by the two prophets Haggai and Zechariah. (Ezra 6:14, Zechariah 1:16)

Many Christian interpreters, following Sir Robert Anderson and/or Harold W. Hoehner, have held that only the decree of Artaxerxes Longimanus explicitly allows for the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem. However, this particular idea does not actually have strong scriptural support. The Bible itself is arguably more directly supportive of the decree of Cyrus or Darius being the key initiating edict (see Isa. 44:28;45:18 Zech.1:16, Ezra 6:14), with many Jews adhering to this same belief. A rigorous Christian interpretation of the 70 Weeks prophecy that begins the prophecy with the decree of Cyrus (rather than with Artaxerxes' letters of support to Nehemiah) has recently been written by T.T. Schlegel (see external link below).

Other authors have speculated the decree, in a divine prophecy, could be a divine command, which God's responses to Ezra's (several months after his decree was issued) or Nehemiah's prayer (in the month of Kislev the year before his decree was issued) would presumably represent. Jeremiah's prophecies of desolation at the fall of Jerusalem are also supplied as an opening date. Here it is said that the first seven weeks end at the Cyrus decree (exactly 49 years after the Fall of Jerusalem).

Division between the periods

In the prophecy the 69 weeks prior to the last are separated into a set of seven sevens and another set of sixty-two sevens. There is little description in the prophecy to enlighten one as to why the division is there in the first place. Some, such as Edward Young, suggest that the first set of 49 years represents the gap between one decree and another. His viewpoint is that the first decree by Cyrus represents the beginning of the prophecy, and the decree by Darius is represented by the second part of the prophecy (admittedly, this would force 49 years to lie between 538 BC and 520 BC, but Young does not hold that the years are definite measures of time).

Another viewpoint is that the first seven set of seven years represents the time it took to clean out Jerusalem and restore the city. This is John Walvoord's supposition, but he does not consider it particular important in the grand scheme of things.

A composite interpretation involves the identification of the Ezra decree's progenitor with Artaxerxes Memnon. Then, there are 49 years between Nehemiah's decree and Ezra's decree. Since Nehemiah's decree was followed by a start to rebuilding and Ezra's decree was followed by the end of the temple building and the dedication of the new temple, the two events can also stand as the endpoints of the restoration period. [1]

Fulfillment

A variety of opinion is present as to possible fulfillment of the prophecy.

Jewish views

This passage has caused concern for some Jews as it might, according to some interpretations, suggest that their Messiah should already have come. It is for this reason that a curse was placed on any who attempt to calculate the end times. Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon, better known as "Maimonides", is one of the most prominent exegetes in Jewish history, and he wrote of this exact concern in his Igeret Teiman. His viewpoint was that the timing was sealed up so that none should attempt to calculate when the Messiah was coming, and he was concerned that the "untutored" would be led astray upon finding that the Messiah's time had already come. Rabbi Judah haNasi, one of the most respected teachers in Rabbinical Judaism for his work in assemblage of the Talmud, had a less hopeful viewpoint on the matter, indicating that the time of the fulfillment of the prophecy was long past. (Sanhedrin 98a and 97a)

Fulfillment in the time of Antiochus IV Epiphanes

Scholars who hold that Daniel was written in the 2nd century BCE generally hold that the prophecy was fulfilled in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes. In this view, the "cutting off" of an anointed one may refer to the murder of the high priest Onias in 170 BCE; the destruction of the city refers to the sacking of Jerusalem in 168 BCE; the "strong covenant" refers to a treaty between apostate Jews and Antiochus; the "cessation of sacrifice and offering" refers to the decree of Antiochus suspending temple offerings in 167 BCE; and the "desolating sacrilege" refers to the altar of Zeus which Antiocus set up in the temple. An account of these events is found in the intertestamental book of 1 Maccabees.

Other scholars hold that, though Antiochus is the fulfillment of other prophecies in Daniel, he is not fulfillment of this one.

Fulfillment in the time of Jesus Christ

Many theologians believe that the prophecy reaches its fulfillment during the life of Jesus Christ, although there is little consensus regarding whether it points to his birth, baptism, transfiguration, triumphal entry, crucifixion, or some combination of these events.

One traditional chronology of the 69 weeks has been done from Ezra's decree in 458 BC to AD 26, the alleged date of Christ's baptism, a span of 483 solar years. Some have used other methods to determine the chronology, some exact to the day.

Sir Robert Anderson used lunar data to fix the date of the first day of the first month of the twentieth year of Artaxerxes (the day implied in Nehemiah) to March 14, 445 BC. He showed that, based on various apparent references to the Great Tribulation both as three and a half years and also as 1260 days, 360 days could be fixed as the length of what he called a "prophetic year". He fixed the end date to April 6, 32, which he offered as the date of the Triumphal Entry. Alva McClain and others have since concurred with this viewpoint. There have been objections raised to some of Anderson's calculations. For instance, later calculations have confirmed that Anderson was off by two days, as the opening date was a Friday, but the closing date a Sunday, something that could not happen in a whole number of seven-time periods. Also, Babylonian records appear to show a leap month in 445 BC (so Nisan 1, the date of the decree, should be one month later on April 13). Moreover, Sunday, April 6 was almost certainly not Nisan 10, and more likely Nisan 6, with Passover eight days later on Monday the 14th.

Harold Hoehner set forth revisions to Anderson and gave an opening date of March 4, 444 BC (the one year shift being due to a different accession date of Artaxerxes) with the end of the 69 weeks on March 30, 33. The same errors with Anderson's calculations also plague Hoehner's, for he miscalculated the length of a year. The leap month means that Nisan 1 probably occurred on April 3 or 4. Ron Bigalke Jr. set forth revisions to Anderson and Hoehner based on the year of Artaxerxes succession as August 465 BC which Hoehner timed as December 465 BC. According to Bigalke, the end of the 69 weeks may be March 26, 33. However, this event loses its significance as the Triumphal Entry, for it does not occur on Sunday as church tradition dictates, nor on Monday as some new interpretations report. Bigalke did indicate the problem of a 26 March date since it would be too soon before Jesus' arrival in Bethany and the Passover. He stated that Hoehner did admit the possibility that Artaxerxes may have given permission to Nehemiah later than 1 Nisan. Bigalke's conclusion was if the starting date was 5 Nisan (which Hoehner left possible) then the number of days would be an exact 173,880 days.

The 19th century theologian Nathaniel West offered a completely different Christian solution and utilized internal biblical evidence to begin the prophecy with the decree of Cyrus (see Isa. 44:28, 45:13) and end the 69th week with the birth of Jesus' rather than with Jesus' Triumphal Entry. The recent work by T.T. Schlegel further builds upon West's original scholarship and adds additional historical, hermeneutical and textual support.

Another interpretation can be found at a Christian apologetics ministry, The Moorings. [2] It dates the decree to the divine command in response to Nehemiah's prayer in chapter 1 of his book, on November 24, 446 BC. Counting 173 880 days results in December 15, 31, which is given as the date of the Transfiguration. An extension is then added counting off 62 weeks (Dan. 9:26), but this time, in ordinary seven-day periods, to February 20, 33 (depending on reckoning), which is postulated to be the date of Lazarus' resurrection (and the subsequent warrant of arrest to Jesus, John 11:45-57). They back this up with a Talmudic passage citing approximately 40 days between a warrant of arrest and a crucifixion of a certain "Yeshu", deemed to be a corruption of the Hebrew form of Jesus. There are 42 days from the condemnation to the crucifixion, if the latter is placed on the traditional date of April 3, 33.

Seventh-day Adventist interpretation

Seventh-day Adventists have traditionally placed strong emphasis on the prophecy of 70 weeks. They believe that the beginning of the seventy weeks occurred in 457 BCE (the decree of Artaxerxes). The final week thus begins in 27 CE (the baptism of Jesus), the middle of the week corresponds to Jesus' crucifixion, and the end of the week marks the announcement of the gospel to the Gentiles in 34 CE. Furthermore, in Adventist theology the seventy weeks marks the first part of the 2300-day prophecy of Daniel 8:14.

Dispensationalist interpretation

See also: Great Tribulation and Futurism (Christian eschatology)

Dispensationalists typically hold that a hiatus occurred between the 69th and 70th week of the prophecy, into which the "church age" is inserted (this is also known as the "gap theory" of Daniel 9). The seventieth week of the prophecy is expected to commence after the rapture of the church, and will contain the reign of a pagan Antichrist, the Great Tribulation and Armageddon.

Other interpretations

Some scholars believe that no intelligible specific fulfillment exists. Among these are J.A. Montgomery and Edward Young.

More on the fringes, Michael Travesser[3], spiritual leader of Strong City sect, calculated 490 years, or 70 "weeks of years" from October 31, 1517, the publication of Martin Luther's 95 Theses. Thus he predicts the fulfillment of Daniel's prophesy for late 2007![4]

See also

• Book of Daniel
• Nebuchadnezzar's statue vision in Daniel 2
• Daniel's Vision of Chapter 7
• Daniel's Vision of Chapter 8
• Daniel Prophecy Literary Parallels
• Book of Revelation
• Christian eschatology
• Dispensationalism - which posits a "parenthesis" between weeks 69 and 70 in the historic fulfilment.

Bibliography

• Sir Robert Anderson, The Coming Prince (ISBN 0-8254-2115-2)
• Ron J. Bigalke Jr., "Government of the Future," in One World (ISBN 0-9749811-8-4)
• Harold W. Hoehner, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ (ISBN 0-310-26211-9)
• Clarence Larkin, The Book of Daniel (ISBN 0-7661-8573-7)
• Holbrook, Frank. ed., The Seventy Weeks, Leviticus, and the Nature of Prophecy 1986, (ISBN-10: 0-9256-7502-4)
• John F. Walvoord, Daniel: The Key To Prophetic Revelation (ISBN 0-8024-1753-1)
• T. T. Schlegel, Know Therefore and Understand: A Biblical Explication of the First 69 Weeks of Daniel 9 (ISBN 0-9704330-9-3)

External links

• Articles on Sir Robert Anderson's calculations and similar chronologies
  • Thoughts on the Seventy Weeks
  • The 69 Weeks with calculations using the lunar cycles in Sir Robert Anderson's scheme
  • A chart of the future 70th Week of Daniel showing possible connections to the yet unfulfilled Fall Feasts of Israel.
  • Prophecy Watch
  • An article with a focus on Anderson
  • A page purporting many objections to Anderson's calculations and suggesting an interesting other interpretation
  • A tribute to Anderson and an online copy of the text.
• Link to an alternative Christian solution that builds upon the original work of the respected 19th century theologian Nathaniel West
  • T.T. Schlegel's recent book
• Christian articles arguing for the time period to be counted from Artaxerxes' decree of 457 BCE
  • The 70 Weeks and 457 B.C.
  • When Did the Seventy Weeks of Daniel 9:24 Begin?
  • The Beginning of the 490 years: 457 BC
• Other Articles
  • A discussion of Jewish thought on the endtimes
  • The Seventy Weeks of Daniel: Key to Unlocking All Biblical Time Frames Examines the seventy "weeks" as derived from jubilee cyles and interlocking with most biblical time frames such as 1260 and 1290 days
• The doctrine of Jehovah's Witnesses about the Seventy Weeks
  • Interpretation of the prophecy and evidence of the beginning of the reign of Artaxerxes in 475 B.C. (fr)
  • A study about their belief vs history