Okay, this article gets into some serious Bible study so buckle up!

Daniel 9 begins with: 9:1 “In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans— ² in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.” Darius the Mede defeated Babylon and Belshazzar in 539 BC (Daniel 5:30). So in the 1st year of Darius in 539 BC the 70 years of Babylonian captivity is just about over (the 1st deportation in 606 BC to 536 BC when Cyrus the king of Persia allowed Jews to return to rebuild the temple). Daniel confesses the sins of the nation but asks God to fulfill His promise and let the Jews return to Palestine. Gabriel came to him and gave him what is called the “70 weeks prohecy” that goes way past the return in 536 BC.

Daniel 9:²⁴ “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the wrongdoing, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. ²⁵ So you are to know and understand that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with streets and moat, even in times of distress. ²⁶ Then after the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. ²⁷ And he will confirm a covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come the one who makes desolate, until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, gushes forth on the one who makes desolate.”

Here is a great timeline of Daniel:

The best way to show what I believe is the correct interpretation of the 70 week prophecy is this chart:

Dates on the chart: Matthew 24 is critical in determining these dates as will be explained below.

1) 457 BC Decree to rebuild Jerusalem: 457 BC (when Artaxerxes allowed the Jews to finish rebuilding the walls and the city). Would be finished in 49 years (the 7 weeks)

2) 30 AD The Messiah cut off (died): 30 AD at the end of the 69th week (62 more weeks after the first 7 weeks for a total of 483 years from the decree to rebuild till the death of the Messiah Jesus)

3) 30 AD – 63 AD Gap (read below to see why there must be a gap)

3) 70 AD The destruction of the city(Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (the temple) and the abomination of desolation: 70 AD (the end of the 70th week and the last 7 years of the prophecy from 63-70 AD)

I do believe each week is a prophetic 7 year period, so 70 x 7 = 490 years from the decree to rebuild the Jerusalem ( 457 BC when Artaxerxes allowed the Jews to finish rebuilding the walls and the city as recorded in Ezra) to the end of the 70th week. 7 weeks (49 years) to rebuild the walls and the city, then 62 more weeks (434 years) till the Messiah Jesus is “cut off” (dies, is crucified) and that puts the end of the 69th week (after 483 years) it at about 30 AD. That date for the death of Christ can be off some since Jesus really was born in 4-5 BC instead of 0 BC/AD (you can google that!). But for sure the death of Christ is at the end of the 69th week and that just leaves one more week, the 70th week (7 years). But the 70th week cannot begin immediately after the end of the 69th week. Why not? B/c the end of the 70th week (490th year) is when the “the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary and that refers to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Romans and Titus in 70 AD. How do we know that? B/c Daniel 9:27 puts the “abomination of desolation” at the end of the 70th week, which refers to some desolation and destruction of the temple. So when was the “abomination of desolation”? We must go to Matthew 24 to get that answer. Jesus said in Matthew 24:¹⁵ “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), ¹⁶ then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” But then he adds in Matthew 24:³⁴ Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” The Greek word for generation is genea and in the New Testament always refers to a 40 year period or the people living in. a 40 year period, just like we use the term the “x” generation. So Jesus is saying that the abomination of desolation predicted by Daniel in Daniel 9:27 had to occur within the next 40 years after he said these things in Matthew 24, and that could only be the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD. So the end of the 70th week is the abomination of desolation. Daniel also predicted the abomination of desolation to occur at the “end time” in Daniel 11:31, 35, 40. Then in Daniel 12:11 Daniel again mentions the abomination of desolation at the “end time” (12:4, 9), the “end” (12:13) the “end of the age (12:13, i.e. the end of the Jewish Age). Again, we go to Matthew 24 to find when “the end” happened. Matthew 24:¹⁴ And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” That “end” would also have to happen within the next 40 years before that generation passed away(24:34). That could only be the end of the Jewish theocracy and the end of the Jewish Age in 70 AD.

The bottom line is that the 70th week ended at 70 AD at the destruction of the temple and city by the Roman emperor Titus. That means that those who say that the 70th week is yet to be fulfilled in our future, still yet to be fulfilled, are wrong! This is a typical iinterpretation of the 70th week that futurists say is stll to be fulfilled in the future: “According to the biblical prophecy in Daniel 9, the “70th week” refers to a seven-year period where the Antichrist will rise to power, make a covenant with Israel that he will later break, and unleash a time of great tribulation upon the earth, ultimately culminating in the return of Jesus Christ at his second coming. The covenant will be broken halfway through the seven-year period, marked by the “abomination of desolation” which could involve the re-establishment of pagan worship in the Jerusalem temple (so the temple has to be rebuilt?). The 70th week is often seen as the final stage before the end times and the 2nd coming of Jesus.” I believe that the 70th wek has already been fulfilled by 70 AD in the first century.

The end of the 70th week also coincided with the 2nd coming of Jesus. We go again to Matthew 24:²⁹ “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” That coming also had to happen within that generation (24:34). That is consistent with Jesus’ other predictions that his 2nd coming would be within the lifetime of those he was speaking to (Matthew 10:23; 16:27,28; 26:64), which could only refer to his coming in judgment on the Jews in 70 AD at the destruction of the temple. There are no other predictions by Jesus in the gospels of a “coming back” at some time beyond 70 AD or in our future.

Yes this view of the 70 weeks prophecy leaves a gap between the end of the. 69th week and the beginning of the 70th week. If not, then the 70th week would have to be the 7 years immediately following the death of Jesus at the end of the 69th week and that would not put the end of the 70th week to be 70 AD which we have established that it must be so. So the end of the 69th week is around 30 AD. The 70th week ends at 70 AD, so the 7 years of the 70th week must begin at 63 AD. That makes a gap of about 33 years. Why would there be such a gap? B/c even though Jesus predicted his 2nd coming to be within that generation, he also said that no one, even he, knew the exact time of the 2nd coming. So there had to be a gap where the 1st century Christians were waiting for the imminent 2nd coming but did not know the exact date. They had to be ready at all times. They could only watch for the signs of the 2nd coming such as the surrounding of Jerusalem by the Gentile army (the Romans) and the tribulation or suffering of the Jews during the wars of the Jews (67-70 AD). Those Jewish Christians who heeded Jesus’ warnings in Matthew 24 escaped the city before the final siege and safely fled to Pella according to Eusebius.

Daniel 12 also predicts a tribulation at the end of the age, at the end time. Daniel 12:1 “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.” Again, Jesus said that tribulation surrounding the abomination of desolation was to happen within the generation he was speaking to. Matthew 24:²¹ For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be.” He is saying that Daniel’s prediction of a tribulation at the end time was fulfilled in the tribulation experienced by the Jews in the destruction of Jerusalem. During Titus’ siege of the city, the Jews in the city suffered greatly with hunger, resorting to cannibalism. Josephus said that one million Jews died in the siege and another 200,000 were taken captive back to Rome as slaves. Those who say the tribulation of Matthew 24:21 is still to be fulfilled in our future are wrong! They mistakenly propose some tribulation just before Jesus comes back and begins his supposed millennial reign.

The 70th week wil also bring several Messianic blessings. Daniel 9:²⁴ “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the wrongdoing, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place. The Messiah the Prince (9:25) finish the sins of the nation by judgment on the wicked Jews in 70 AD, end the grip that sin and death have on believers, provide atonement for sins through the death of Jesus, bring in righteousness imputed to believers through faith in Jesus, fulfill all the. prophecies of the Old Testament (Luke 21:22) and thus no more prophecies to fulfill after 70 AD, and anoint the new Most Holy Place in heaven when Jesus enters bringing His blood to the Father for our sins. If the 70th week hasn’t happened yet, then we don’t yet have these wonderful Messianic blessings. But by 70 AD, the plan of redemption was finished once for all time and believers have these blessings.

Finally, Daniel 12 also predicts a resurrection at the end time, at the end, at the end of the age. Daniel 12:² And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.” In the Old Testament, both the righteous and the unrighteous went to the hadean world, probably the state described in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. The righteous would be in comfort in Abraham’s bosom and unrighteous would be in torment. As we have seen, Jesus’ words in Matthew 24 show us that this resurrection of Daniel 12:2 would occur at the end of the age in 70 AD. The dead of the OT would be raised in 70 AD to receive their final sentencing: eternal life or eternal contempt. Paul said that resurrection of Daniel 12:2 was the “hope of Israel” and that it was “about to happen” when he spoke in Acts 24: ¹⁴ `And I confess this to thee, that, according to the way that they call a sect, so serve I the God of the fathers, believing all things that in the law and the prophets have been written, ¹⁵ having hope toward God, which they themselves also wait for, [that] there is about to be (Greek word mello which always means “about to be” in the NT) a rising again of the dead, both of righteous and unrighteous” (Young’s Literal Translation). Where did the prophets predict a resurrection. In Daniel 12:2! Hades was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone in 70 AD so hades no longer exist. Revelation 20:¹³ And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. ¹⁴ Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.” After 70 AD, believers would go directly to be with Jesus and enjoy eternal life.

If you are still reading, thanks. If all this is a little too much, just remember that Jesus basically said that the 70 weeks prophecy ended in 70 AD. That should ease your mind (or the mind of others whom you talk to who might be concerned due to false teaching) when you hear predictions about the 70th week being fulfilled in our future. It should also be comforting that we have all those wonderful Messianic blessings now. We are not still waiting for them to be delivered.