Daniel's Prayer and the 70 weeks
NOTES
From the
main page for this chapter, d09, you may link to
various notes on this page. Or just read the notes here.
.
NOTES
From the
main page for this chapter, d09, you may link to
various notes on this page. Or just read the notes here.
.
To compare with the similar probationary time of 70 years as noted earlier, to
highlight the critical, one-week ending section of the prophecy, and to
confirm the connection between the 70 weeks and the 2300 days of chapter
8. Incidentally, these two terms and others noted in the Bible would have
been recognized by contemporary readers as symbolic. They were not the
way literal times were normally expressed.
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periods |
by the word "week" |
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| 24
Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city. .
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25 . . . from the going forth of the commandment . . . unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks. . . . 27 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. . . . |
Preparation of chosen people to be faithful. Captivity in Babylon – 70 years | To compare the 70 probationay weeks of years to be ready for the Messiah with the probationary 70 years of captivity. | The people had not tried to be godly and obedient in Jerusalem. They were given a chance to do so in captivity. je2913. |
| Preparation for mission as chosen people – 70 weeks of years. | To highlight the critical, final week for confirming the covenant. | In accepting Jesus as the anointed Mesisah mt0307 believing Jews would allow Him to confirm the covenant in them mt2337. | |
| Preparation of all people for atonement cleansing – after 2300 yrs. (evenings and mornings) | To compare the symbolic week of covenant restoration to the literal week when God had provided the relationship of harmony and peace which had been broken by sin. | In one week God created this earth ge0201. Each day was called "evening and morning." ge0105. Both time concepts originate in the story of creation. |
| 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 [rather "prophet"], and to anoint the most Holy. |
2 - Finish transgression, end sins Transgression means rebellion against God. The word "sin," seems to indicate less intentional wrong which, in the NT, is "missing the mark." 3 - "To seal up" is not a good translation of hatam "To bring to an end" is a better translation for the Hebrew word, hatam in v24. Our first
reason for this choice is because one of the objects of the action (things
that were to be brought to an end) is "prophet" not "prophecy" (Hebrew,
nabî)
as substituted by the translators. "Seal up" doesn't work for "prophet"
but, "brought to an end," the other meaning of hatam does.
Also, the word "prophet" appears in the text without an adjective giving
it a more generic sense. Stephen, as we can see, was the last of the prophets
who appealed to Israel as a people. The line of prophets came to an end
with the end of Stephen's ministry. The end of "vision" implies this,
too pr2918,
la0209. And
hatam
is translated in the same verse as "to make an end" [of sin].
4 - Six actions cut off or determined for Daniel's people and his holy city
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| 24 . . . and to anoint the most Holy |
5 - What or who is the "most holy" here? The term "most holy" in Hebrew is qodesh qodeshim and is not elsewhere in the Bible used to describe a person. It describes the altar in ex2937, other sanctuary furniture in ex3026ff, le2405ff, certain offerings in le0203, le0701ff, nu1809ff, the most holy place of the sanctuary in ex2633f, and what our verse in Daniel may most directly refers to – the whole temple/sanctuary ez4312. The sanctuary system describes the ministry of Christ. See the comment about "sanctuary and host" at da0813. Thus Christ's anointing is the anointing of the sanctuary so when we speak of the "most holy" places and things, we speak of Christ. The process of Jesus' anointing for ministry began with His baptism, continued with His life on earth and culminated with His inauguration in heaven at Pentecost. Thus the place as well as the person was anointed. See re0509b. His confirmation and exaltation continue to the end of the thousand years. Beyond that, we have much to learn! His preparation for ministry in the sanctuary in heaven is prefigured by the process of preparing Aaron for priesthood in Leviticus re0509t. |
| 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. |
6a - Know therefore and understand Rabbis after the time of Christ have pronounced a curse on anyone who would attempt to calculate the dates of this chapter. - Talmud Sanhedrin 97b, Soncino ed., p. 659. 6b - Restore and
build
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| 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. | 7
- Not for himself
"and no one will take his part" (REB). "and no one belonging to . . . him" (Amplified Bible). "Is not to/for him" (literal translation). Conclusion 1: "He was alone" mr1427, mr1533f, . Or conclusion 2, also a correct translation of the Hebrew: "Not for Himself." From this we infer that He did not die for His own sins 1pe0318. The second seems to fit better with the situation in Daniel and in the grand plan of salvation surrounding the cross. 8 - People of the coming prince Who were they? First, who is the prince? We know that Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD under Roman Emperor Titus. That was future from the perspective of our text. Let's say Titus is the prince and see if it makes sense. Notice again the part of verse 26 we are dealing with. It says, "Messiah [shall] be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary." We were not expecting the people to destroy either city or sanctuary. The Roman soldiers would not likely have been called "people," but an "army" or a "host" as in chapter 8 da0812. Look at our verse again. We have two princes, each with a group of people. Messiah's death was not for himself but for all humanity, Note 7 above. Those who accepted the grace He offered were His people (implied in the verse). He is identified as "Messiah the Prince" in verse 25. So He was their Prince. The other group of people rejected the Messiah Prince. Their alternative? The hated Roman emperor. At Christ's trial before Pilate the mob cried, "Crucify Him." And the Jewish leaders shouted, "We have no king but Caesar!" jn1915. Caesar was a false God. Roman emperors claimed divinity. In their attempt to get rid of Jesus, they had chosen Satan who had wanted to be God. They had also chosen Satan in Barabbas mt2716ff. Since the rebellion in heaven, Satan has been the enemy of Christ re1207. Our text refers to "the people of the prince that shall come." Titus was a coming prince (later than Tiberius Caesar who ruled at the time of the crufixion of Jesus) but beyond Titus, Satan was their coming prince. In fact Jesus, speaking of Satan, said, "the prince of this world cometh." jn1430! How was Satan a coming prince? After Jesus died as the lamb for our salvation, Satan began to work with "great wrath" knowing his time would be short re1212de. This leaves us with the question of how the people of the coming prince would destroy their own city and sanctuary. Historically, they insisted that they had the divine blessing and boldly rebelled against Rome. Earlier, Jesus wept for the city who had rejected Him, The people had made God's house (temple) a den of thieves and Christ had left it desolate. lu1946; mt2334ff. They were the city. As earlier in their history, they would destroy themselves is5001, ho1309. And they would fall ho1401, je3817, mt2445. In contrast, the redeemed will be "a city not forsaken." is6212. |
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| People | Those who accepted Christ | Those who rejected Christ |
| Prince as in Dan. 9 | Messiah Prince | Prince to come |
| Representative of prince | - | Titus (after Tiberius Caesar) |
| Prince | Christ | Satan |
| City | New Jerusalem | People claiming sovereignty of Jerusalem |
| 27
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 [or "wing"] of abominations he shall make it desolate,
even until the consummation [or "complete destruction"], and that determined
shall be poured upon the desolate [literally, "upon a desolator."]
. . . and upon the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator. – RSV. |
9 - The 70th week theory Many Christians believe that the 70th week of this chapter is split off from the 69 and happens during the thousand years. This idea was suggested by a Jesuit priest and Scofield added it to his Bible notes. It has never been a part of Catholic doctrine but helped turn the heat away from the church by placing the action of the horn power in the future instead of during the middle ages when it was most active. For this theory to seem reasonable, one must read things into the text which are not there.
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A look at the pattern of this key passage helps us understand why the death of the Messiah appears twice below: 26a and 27b. The pattern also implies that the 70th week is not separated from the rest.
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Construction
25a
Command to restore and build Jerusalem