Read Daniel 9:24-27
Extra Context: 1 “week” can refer to “7 years” according to the hebrew word for “week” which is “sabua”. The Lord showed the exact times when Jerusalem would be rebuilt back then, when Jesus would come and die for us!!! The 70th week has been on hold until the rapture and then the 70th week/ tribulation begins.
Q. FOR WHOM ARE THESE 70 “WEEKS” DECREED?
vs 24 tells us that 490 years (70 weeks) are decreed for Daniel’s people (ISRAEL) and the HOLY CITY JERUSALEM (this shows us this is for the people of Israel and not referring to the church!) to:
-Finish transgression
-Put an end to sin
-Atone for wickedness
-Bring in everlasting righteousness
-Seal up vision and prophecy
-Anoint the most Holy
This means that this above list will only be FULLY ACCOMPLISHED at the end of the 490 years/70th week. This also shows us the PURPOSE of these 70 WEEKS is to bring about the ultimate salvation and revival/restoration of Israel!!
vs 25- from when the decree was issued to restore and rebuild Jerusalem til the Messiah comes there would be 49 years and 434 years (which equals a total of 483 years)! Historically speaking, this could refer to the decree given by Artexerxes in Ezra 7:1-9 which was possibly around 450-57BC. 483 years from this date would bring it to the exact time when Jesus came into Jerusalem on the donkey (Luke 19:42)!
vs 26- after the 62 “sevens” (483 years) the anointed one will be CUT-OFF! According to Isaiah 53:8 and it’s context, this happened when Jesus died on the cross for our sins!!
vs 26- then the people of the ruler who will come (The Romans) will destroy the CITY and the SANCTUARY! This happened historically in AD 70 when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple!!
vs 26- War will continue until the end (see Matthew 24:6-7) and DESOLATIONS have been decreed! (Eg. Matthew 23:38, Luke 21:20) The word desolation can mean to “devastate, ruin or make deserted”. Jesus prophesied about the desolation of Jerusalem in Matthew 23:38 and Luke 21:20.
vs 26- THE GAP! This refers to the period in between the 69th and 70th week!! There has so far been a 2000 year gap between when the anointed One was cut off and the beginning of the 70th week, which according to Luke 21:24 could be referred to as THE TIME OF THE GENTILES! According to Luke 21:22-23, this is the time of punishment on the Jews that needs to be fulfilled in which there will be great wrath and distress against the Jewish people! It is during this time that Jesus says in Luke 21:24 the Jews will fall by the sword and be taken as PRISONERS TO ALL NATIONS, thus leaving Jerusalem desolate! (Historically Israel was scattered among the nations after AD 70 until 1948 when they were given their land back after the atrocities Hittler had done to them with the holocaust during world war 2!)
Romans 11:25-26 tells us that Israel has experienced a hardening in part UNTIL THE FULL NUMBER OF GENTILES HAS COME IN, and then all Israel (the remnant) will be saved through finishing the 490 years from Daniel 9:24-27! (See also Acts 15:14-18) The full number of Gentiles coming in may be signalled by the RAPTURE OF THE CHURCH which may then initiate the 70th week of Daniel!
The apostle Paul mentions in Romans 11:25 that this is a MYSTERY! Ephesians 3:1-11 further explains this mystery which was not made known to the Old Testament prophets (Ephesians 3:4-5, 1 Peter 1:10-12) the mystery that through the GOSPEL, THE GENTILES ARE HEIRS TOGETHER WITH ISRAEL! (Ephesians 3:6-11)
vs 26-27 tells us that the ruler who comes and destroys the sanctuary and the city is one who will confirm a covenant with the people during the 70th week. This may suggest the anti-Christ’s background could be of Roman/European origin since it was the Romans who destroyed the city and temple back in AD 70?
vs 27- the 70th week begins when the anti-christ CONFIRMS A COVENANT with many for 7 years. What might be the catalyst for this (as explained earlier) could be the rapture of the church and therefore the taking away of The Holy Spirit’s work through the church (2 Thessalonians 2:7-8)!
This covenant is linked in with SACRIFICE and OFFERINGS since vs 27 goes on to say he puts an end to these things half way through! This may suggest the anti-christ may bring back the old covenant for the Jewish people!! For this to happen, the temple must therefore be rebuilt so that the anti-christ can set up the “abomination that causes desolation” in the holy place of the temple (Matthew 24:15, 2 Thessalonians 2:4)!
If this is the correct interpretation then the temple in Jerusalem must be rebuilt (possibly with the anti-Christ’s involvement) as currently there is no temple!
ONLY TIME WILL TELL…….
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