“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon the 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, and to anoint the most holy. 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. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself” (Dan. 9:24-26).

This prophecy given by the angel Gabriel to the prophet Daniel is of great interest and importance. As to the meaning of the term “weeks,” it is clear from history that nothing like this took place within a period of 70 literal weeks, or 16 months. The word itself means “something divided into or consisting of seven parts.” If we interpret these ‘weeks’ as sets of seven years rather than sets of seven days, we shall see that this prophecy has a beautiful correspondence to historical fact.

What about the date of commencement of the 70 weeks? It is stated by Gabriel to be “from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem” (verse 25). In the book of Ezra we have a decree by Cyrus and another by Artaxerxes in the seventh year of his reign; but both of these are concerning the house of God in Jerusalem, and hence neither satisfies the terms mentioned by Gabriel. However, passing on to Nehemiah, we find that “in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes” he issued letters commissioning Nehemiah to go to Judah that he might build it (Neh. 2:1-8). It has been ascertained by scholars that the 20th year of Artaxerxes most likely coincides with the years 454 or 455 B.C.

The expressions in Dan. 9:24 concerning the 70 weeks or 490 years plainly look onward to the full re-establishment of Daniel’s people and city in blessing. The transgression for which they have been scattered will be ended. Jerusalem having “received of the Lord’s hand double for all her sins” (Isa. 40:2), her iniquity will be pardoned and everlasting righteousness, God’s righteousness, will be brought in (Isa. 51), and the holy of holies will once more be set apart.

In verse 25 the period of 70 weeks is divided into three portions—seven weeks, 62 weeks, and one week. The first portion undoubtedly comprises the period occupied in rebuilding Jerusalem and the wall in Nehemiah’s day, for the end of the verse expressly speaks of the “troublous times” during which this was performed (see Neh. 2:19; 4:1-23; 6:1-19). Next we have 62 weeks which reach “unto the Messiah the Prince.” That is, adding the 49 years occupied in the restoration of the city, there would be 483 years until Christ. It must be carefully observed that the expression is general, that neither the birth of Christ, nor His anointing for His mission, nor His death is specified. Some, taking the date of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem as 454 or 455 B.C., calculate that the 483 years terminated with the death of Christ. (This calculation assumes, what indeed is now commonly accepted, the year 4 B.C. for the birth of Christ and consequently 29 A.D. for His crucifixion.) Had the Messiah been received, the Jewish nation would have been at once established in the kingdom. But instead of that He was rejected, was cut off, and the kingdom and its glory—and along with these the fulfillment of the last portion of the 70 weeks—were as a consequence postponed.

In connection with Messiah’s being cut off, the prophecy goes on to say: “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” (verse 26). In Daniel 7 we find that the fourth kingdom, the successor to the Grecian Empire led by Alexander the Great, which is to complete the times of the Gentiles, is the Roman Empire. And this kingdom will have no earthly successor but will, in fact, be displaced by the kingdom of the Son of Man (Dan. 7:13,14). While to outward appearances the Roman Empire seems to have passed away forever, Scripture shows that in the end times it will be revived in some form (see Dan. 7; Rev. 13 and 17), and will assume the form of ten kingdoms, confederated under one imperial head—the little horn of Daniel 7 or the first beast of Revelation 13. Moreover, it is clear in the Scriptures that it was at a Roman tribunal, with Pilate as judge, that the Lord Jesus was sentenced to the death of the cross.

Notice, then, that it does not say in Daniel 9 that “a prince shall come and destroy the city and the sanctuary,” but that “the people of the prince that shall come” shall do so. In other words, “the prince that shall come” applies to the future, and, as will be seen in the next verse, is indeed the imperial head of the revived Roman Empire in the last days. The “people” are identified with him because they are Romans of the same kingdom that is yet to reappear, and of which this prince will be the leader. What we have then in this passage is the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 A.D. as God’s judgment upon the Jews for their rejection and crucifixion of their Messiah. Our Lord Himself several times spoke of this sorrowful event and always connected it with His own rejection (Matt. 22:7; 23:37-39; Luke 19:41-44). The Lord Himself said that the Jews “shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive into all nations; and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:24).

It is now apparent why the last of the 70 weeks is separated from the previous 69. Within one week (seven years) of the death of Christ the 70 weeks spoken of by Gabriel had run their course. Had the Jews repented of having “killed the Prince of life,” Christ would have established at once His kingdom and brought in all the blessings spoken of in Dan. 9:24 (see Acts 3:14-21). But they knew not the time of their visitation (Luke 19:44). As a consequence the course of the 70 weeks has been interrupted, and God does not count time while His ancient people on earth are out of their inheritance and scattered over the globe. There is therefore a blank, so to speak, in Jewish history, an interval during which the nation, though still watched over, has no recognized relationship with God. But, blessed be His name, “Through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy” (Rom. 11:11). For it has pleased God to use this very interval for the unfolding and accomplishment of His eternal counsels in Christ concerning the saints who are to be joint heirs with Christ, and to form His body and His bride. It is precisely this interval, wherein time is not reckoned, which forms the period of the Church; and when this period is ended, God will again put forth His power for the blessing of the chosen earthly people (see Psa. 107:1-3).

“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, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate” (Dan. 9:27). It will be perceived that an immense interval is to be interposed between verses 26 and 27. Verse 26 refers to the death of Christ and God’s judgment upon Jerusalem in 70 A.D., while verse 27 passes on to a time after the period of the Church is closed, when the Jews, though in unbelief, will be again in their own land.

The first thing to be decided in verse 27 is who is the person who makes a covenant with the many. Adopting the translation of the KJV, “the covenant,” some have hastily concluded that it is Christ Himself, neglecting to notice that the covenant mentioned is only made for seven years. However, it is now agreed by all scholars that the words should be translated, “a covenant,” and this at once shows that it could not be the Messiah. Indeed, the proper antecedent of the pronoun “he” is “the prince that shall come” (verse 26). What is asserted, therefore, is that the future head of the revived Roman Empire will make a covenant with “many” (or better, “the many”), that is, with the mass or majority of the Jews who at that time will be again in their own land.

The mention of the sacrifice and the oblation puts it beyond doubt that Jerusalem is in question, and that the temple has been rebuilt. This prince will then enter into an alliance with the Jews, professedly as befriending their cause and as protecting them from their adversaries. And it should be well observed that the term of this covenant is one week—that is, for the 70th week. Other scriptures allude to this covenant: “Wherefore hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men who rule this people which is in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us, for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves” (Isa. 28:14,15). It would appear that it will be the fear of another adversary, “the overflowing scourge” (generally identified as “the Assyrian” of Isaiah 10,14, and 31 and “the King of the North” of Daniel 11), who will drive these “scornful men” into the arms of the imperial head of the Roman Empire. It must also be considered that the Antichrist will at this time have his seat and sway in Jerusalem, and that he will act as the prophet—he is also called “the false prophet”—to the prince of the Empire (Rev. 13; 19:20). It will thus be, as led by him, that in fear of their terrible adversary, the Assyrian, they will accept the treaty of alliance proposed by the head of the revived Roman Empire.

At the outset, as noted in Isaiah 28, all will promise well, and the Jews will delude themselves with the thought that they have secured themselves from all possible danger. Shutting God out, they will lean upon the arm of the most powerful monarch of the world. Of whom therefore should they be afraid? But the very one in whom they trust becomes their enemy, for, false to his own covenant, “in the midst of the week” (that is, at the end of 3½ years) “he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease. ” And not only this, but “on account of the protection of idols there is a desolator, and until the consummation that is determined there shall be poured [judgment] upon the desolate” (a preferable translation of the latter part of Dan. 9:27).

Not only will this prince cause the daily sacrifices to be removed, but also his own image will be erected by Antichrist and will be endowed with seemingly miraculous powers (Rev. 13), and further, Antichrist himself will, as God, sit “in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thess. 2:4). The Lord Himself refers to this awful fact when He speaks of the abomination of desolation to be set up in the holy place (Matt. 24:15; Dan. 12:11).

The situation can be summarized in this way: The Jews at this time will have returned to their own land and, though for the most part in unbelief, they will have rebuilt the temple and restored the temple services. Antichrist, one coming as the Messiah, will be received as their king. Under his leadership, when threatened by the power of the Assyrian, they will make a treaty with the head of the western Empire. After 3½ years this prince breaks his covenant and abolishes the temple services. With daring profanity, the Antichrist causes an image of the prince to be erected in the holy of holies and demands that divine honors should be rendered to him instead of to Jehovah. God then uses the Assyrian as a rod to break the guilty people to pieces; they are twice guilty—in rejecting Christ and in again accepting idolatry after the house had been swept and garnished. The Jews will be the objects of unceasing judgment and Jerusalem will be given up to the fury of her oppressors.

This brings us to the end of this prophecy, but not to the end of the story. Elsewhere we are told that at the close of this night of great tribulation for the Jewish nation, their Messiah will appear, and “will destroy in this mountain [Zion] the face of the covering cast over all people, and the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it” (Isa. 25:78). (From Daniel the Prophet.)