The 70th Week of Daniel
Future? or Fulfilled?
There are many preachers today that preach and teach that the 70th week of Daniel’s prophecy is yet to be fulfilled in the future. This prophecy is known as the “Seventy Weeks of Daniel”. Daniel 9:24-27
Bible students recognize that these seventy weeks or 490 days are symbolic of years. It is the same year-for-a-day principle that was used in Numbers 14:34 .
The same year-for-a-day principle was used to determine the amount of time that the Israelites would wander in the wilderness a year for each day that the spies were absent searching out the Land. Numbers 14:34
This same time principle was used in Ezekiel 4:6.
The 490 years’ timetable was to begin with the “going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem”. Ezra 1:1-3
The account of all is given in the Bible. The first segment of rebuilding was seven weeks or 49 years.
The next segment of the rebuilding was 62 weeks or 434 years, which was the exact measure of time to reach the Messiah. Thus, the time of the Lord’s first coming was definitely indicated.
When John the Baptist came baptizing, the people were in expectation and wondered whether or not John was the Messiah. Luke 3:15 John confessed that he was not the Christ. John 1:20 When Jesus came to John, He was baptized. The Holy Spirit in the form of a dove descended upon Him. “The Most Holy” was anointed with the Holy Spirit, so Jesus began His public ministry as the “Anointed One”, that is Christ the Messiah.
Jesus made reference to the time prophecy of Daniel and said, “…. the time is fulfilled…..”. Mark 1:15 We have seen how the prophecy told that Jerusalem would be rebuilt.
It also revealed that later it would be destroyed again. Bear in mind the subject of our message and look at the passage under consideration in Daniel 9:26-27 which describes the 70th week.
There are those today that teach that the 70th week is referring to an antichrist and that the 70th week is yet in the future. Notice verse 26, the Scripture says “…. after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off….”. After 69 weeks does not mean “in” or “during” the 69 weeks.
There is only one week left in which He could have been cut off – the 70th week. Yet supposedly great Bible teachers, in an effort to apply the 70th week to some future “antichrist” say that Jesus Christ was cut off within the 69th week.
This is simply an attempt to teach something that is both inconsistent and impossible. Upon this idea a whole structure of prophetic interpretation has been built.
There is no way to Scripturally make the 70th week refer to some future time because it was during the 70th week that Jesus was crucified.
Obviously, this is in the past and has already been fulfilled.
In Daniel 9:27, it says that Messiah shall confirm the covenant for one week, the 70th week which is the only week remaining. In the midst of the 70th week, in the middle of the seven years, He shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease.
During the final seven years of the prophecy, Christ was to confirm the covenant and was to be crucified. At the completion of the 3 ½ years of His earthly ministry, Jesus was crucified.
This is when He caused the sacrifices to cease because He was the Perfect Lamb of God that took on all of our sins, past, present, and future.
This happened right in the middle of the seven years of this prophecy just as Daniel recorded it.
Jesus had already given the Great Commission to His Disciples. They were to be the ones to go into all the world and preach this Gospel message to every creature.
The first half of the 70th Week of Jesus’ ministry was definitely directed toward Israel. The second half or the final 3 ½ years of the prophecy were also linked to Israel.
The Disciples continued to preach to Israel. The Disciples continued to preach to Daniel’s people Israel. We understand why the Gospel went to the Jews first and then later to the Gentiles. Romans 1:16
Peter made this clear in Acts 3:25-26. Paul also made it clear that the Gentiles chance to hear this same Gospel message had arrived. Acts 13:46 We can see the blessings of God turning to the Gentiles.
The conversion of Cornelius completely changed the missionary outreach, outlook, and ministry of the Church. The Gospel had gone first to the Jews and now the Gospel was taking on its full mission and was preached to all people of all nations.
The conversion of Cornelius, a Gentile, and his household marked this beginning. It was Peter who received the Keys to the Kingdom of God. Matthew 16:18-19
It was Peter who first introduced the Gospel to Israel on the Day of Pentecost to Israel. Now, it was Peter who first introduced the Gospel to the Gentiles.
From this point, there was a turning more and more from the Jews to the Gentiles with the Gospel message. God’s measurement of 490 years or 70 weeks had obviously been completed.
Conclusion
Jesus was the messenger of the Covenant. He confirmed the Covenant and brought an end to the old system of repeated sacrifices by himself becoming the eternal sacrifice.
Understanding this, we can now see the significance of certain New Testament statements which also speak of a definite established time at which Jesus would die.
We can see some of these statements in John 2:4, 7:6,30. Just before His death, He said “….my time is at hand….” and finally, “….the hour is come….” Matthew 26:18, 45, John 17:1
Jesus came to fulfil the Scriptures and there is only one Old Testament Scripture which predicted the time of His death which is the prophecy which stated that Messiah would be cut off in the midst of the 70th Week of Daniel’s 70 Weeks of prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27.
The teaching that the 70th Week of Daniel is a yet future period of 7 years is known as “the Gap Theory”. This separates the 70th Week from the 69th Week and placing a gap of 2,000 years between. Other theories have been invented to support this “Gap Theory”. Jesus has already fulfilled the complete prophecy of Daniel’s 70 Weeks:
1) To finish the transgression.
2) To make an end of sin.
3) Reconciliation for iniquity.
4) Everlasting righteousness.
5) To seal up vision and prophecy.
6) To anoint the Most Holy. - Daniel 9:24
If this has not already been fulfilled, we are still hopelessly lost in our sins.
Lord have Mercy!