Devotion 10 - Seventy Years of Daniel
Devotion 10 - Seventy Years of Daniel
Dan.9:24-26 -
“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. Know therefore and
understand, that 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;
The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the ruler who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.
The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the ruler who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.
In about 538 B.C, Daniel received this prophecy on Seventy
Weeks, which was the most significant and detailed prophecy
from God through the angel Gabriel, in response to Daniel’s prayer for
God to act on behalf of his people and his city (Jerusalem). The beginning verse
shows us that the prophecy is about the Jewish people and the city of
Jerusalem. Thus, this prophecy provided a
prophetic timetable for the nation of Israel and almost
all commentators agree that the seventy weeks should be understood as seventy
“weeks” of years, in other words, a period of 490 years.
The prophecy goes on to divide the 490 years into three
smaller segments: one of 49 years, one of 434 years, and one 7. The final
“week” of 7 years is further divided in half, that is three and a half years of
peace, and three and a half years of extreme suffering.
First
Segment – Seven weeks (49 years)
The first segment is seven weeks, which is 49 years. The prophetic clock started ticking at the “going forth of the commandment to restore and to build
Jerusalem…” and ended with the
completion of the work. In 458 B.C, King Artaxerxes issued a decree allowing
Ezra to lead a group of Jews to return to rebuild Jerusalem. Thirteen years
later, Nehemiah led another group to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. In about
409 B.C, 49 years later, the work of the restoring and rebuilding of Jerusalem
was completed, fulfilling the prophecy for the first segment.
Second
Segment – Sixty-two weeks (434 years)
This segment began around 409 B.C and ended when Jesus died
on the cross, that is, “when the Messiah was cut off”.
But that was not all that happened after the second segment. The
prophecy continued with a prediction that after Jesus was killed, “the people of the ruler who will come will destroy the
city and the sanctuary.” At the time when
Daniel received this vision, the city of Jerusalem and the Temple were all in
ruins. Thus, this must refer to another destruction that would take place only
after the city and the Temple were rebuilt. We know from history that this
destruction took place in AD 70 when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and
demolished the Temple. The Jews were then exiled from their homeland and were
scattered all over the world.
Third
Segment – Seventieth week (7 years)
Thus far we have seen that the first segment of the 70 weeks’
timeframe is 7 weeks and that the second segment is 62 weeks. These add up to
69 weeks. That leaves only one week of 7 years for the third and final segment
of the timeframe – which is the 70th week. The next verse further
divides the week into two smaller segments, “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…”
The prophecy on this final “one
week” has not yet been fulfilled at this point in time, and will only be
fulfilled during the period of the Great Tribulation. Hence, there is a time gap between the second
and third segments of the 70 weeks. We are now living in this time gap, which
is also known as the church age.
Why is there such a large gap within
this timeframe of 70 weeks? Verse 24 gives us a clue: “Seventy weeks are determined for your
people and for your holy city…” Hence, this time frame
is about God’s specific plan for the Jews and for the city of Jerusalem.
For the last 2,000 years, the Lord’s focus has been on the
salvation of the Gentiles. That’s how we Gentiles were saved! Paul says it
aptly in Rom.11:11,25 “…through their fall,
to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles…blindness
in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come
in.” When the present time of the Gentiles is over,
God will then turn His focus back to Israel again and the prophetic clock for
the third segment will begin.
Below
is a simple time-line to help understand the 70 prophetic weeks
The
prophecy of the 70 weeks is complex, and much has been written about it with various
interpretations. However, one thing is
certain: God has a timetable, and He is keeping things on schedule. The end may now be nearer than we think. As we
see world events developing every passing day, the 70th week may
well be just around the corner.
However,
we must always keep in mind that the purpose of studying bible prophecy is not
to set calendar, but to build character, and to awaken and inspire us to grow
in holiness. So, in the meantime, let’s keep ourselves occupied, maximising our
time to do as much as we can for the Lord, and be watching and praying with
alertness and be ready for the return of our Bridegroom. Let us take heed to
the words of our Lord Jesus seriously, “Behold,
I come quickly; and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his
work shall be” (Rev.22:12).
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