I will endeavor to look at Daniel’s prophecy of the 70 weeks in a new way to me, as it intersects Holy Week. The center crux of the prophecy is the presentation and then cutting off of the Messiah. That single event is precisely foretold.
It comes as Daniel is praying for his people. He knows the end of exile is near, as he pondered the writings of Jeremiah. His intercessions for the nation called for Hod to be merciful and restore the people. Before he could finish praying, Gabriel swiftly arrived and gave an interpretive answer to Daniel’s prayer.
It is my opinion that since Daniel was interceding for his people, that the answer involved Israel. I also think that the interpretation is solely for Israel, which means the 70 weeks would accomplish the restoration of Israel. In the entire prophecy, the odd thing is that Israel is not completely retired until the end. A second temple would be rebuilt and the city destroyed. Then it is foretold that the restored city and sanctuary would be destroyed yet again. I think it will be clear that the final week of years for Israel to come at the end, sometimes yet future.
Seventy weeks have been determined for your people and upon your holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make atonement for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.
Daniel 9:24
At the start, Israel’s weeks are established and the summary of accomplishments for those are given. At the close of the 70 weeks, there are six things determined to be completed.
- Finish the transgression
- Make an end of sins
- Make atonement for iniquity
- Bring in everlasting righteousness
- Seal up the vision and prophecy
- Anoint the Most Holy Place
I will note that these things are to be accomplished in Israel and not some task or extended program for Gentiles, or that the universal church is the completeness or replacement of Israel. It is clear from some New Testament writings l that the first three of these things were accomplished by Jesus’ death in Jerusalem. The last three have not yet happened. Yet it follows that they will, and they will most likely happen in Jerusalem.
The list also provides the first hint of a division here. (There are more divisions or gaps in the prophecy.) It’s something that must be kept in mind, as three of the above list have not yet seen fulfillment. It points to something yet to come. As it does point to the future, the fact that the Most Holy Place being anointed one can assume there is a need for a physical temple. It is a real suggestion that a temple must then exist. One in need of cleansing, perhaps say from an abomination of the Most Holy Place.
Previous chapters in Daniel have outlined the abomination by Antiochus. Daniel was written far before that event occurred in 164 BC. The precision of that prophecy leads to the precision timing Gabriel gives of a seminal event in history, the first advent of Messiah. If this list is ordered, then the anointing of the Most Holy Place in the Temple happens last.
Sunday 10 Nisan
The seven-day week was established by God at creation; six days of work, followed by the seventh day of rest. As that week of days was established, it then follows that a week of years in the same pattern can be established. And it is.
Then the Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying: Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a sabbath to the Lord. For six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruit, but in the seventh year there shall be a sabbath of complete rest for the land, a sabbath for the Lord. You shall neither sow your field nor prune your vineyard. That which grows by itself from your harvest you shall not reap, nor gather the grapes of your unpruned vines, for it is a year of complete rest for the land.
Leviticus 25:1–5
The natural extension of the pattern of a week also seems to extend and apply to millennia (a thousand years.) Some hold that the amount of time given to Earth before makeover is 7,000 years. (A week of millennia.) 6,000 years of work, and 1,000 years of rest, the Millennium. As Biblical types go, the Promised Land is an analog to the Millennium. Well, the Millennium is the fulfillment of the Promised Land of rest.
I think those things are an important concept to keep in mind. The patterns have real significance. And if the significance is real, could there be a similar starting reference?
What I mean is, that this pattern of a week of days has a starting reference. It is Sunday. In the same way, so does a week of years, it is Nisan.
Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying: This month shall be the beginning of months to you. It shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak to all the congregation of Israel, saying: On the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for a household.
Exodus 12:1–3
As the month of Nisan becomes the first month of the year, attention is drawn to the significance of the tenth day of that month. It is the day that the Passover lamb was chosen and brought into the household. It is also the day that the Israelis entered the Promised Land. When Joshua led the camp into and out of the Jordan River, the priests and the Ark remained. When all had crossed, Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan!” This is another significant pointer to Nisan and specifically the tenth day.
Now the people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they camped at Gilgal, on the eastern border of Jericho.
Joshua 9:19
The Israelis were instructed to begin counting their weeks of years “When you come into the land that I give you.” That happened on 10 Nisan. It follows that the starting reference for a week of years will be 10 Nisan. This date is foundational in discussing these weeks of years. Just as Sunday is the first day of the week, 10 Nisan becomes the first day of the year.
The Triumphal Entry of Messiah
“Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem until the Prince Messiah shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks. It shall be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of trouble.
Daniel 9:25
Gabriel gives a starting reference. He also provides a breakdown that involves the first 69 weeks of years. It is broken into two segments… 7 weeks and 62 weeks. These are weeks of years. Generally, the first is one group of 49 years and encompasses the time it took to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. There is another period of 434 years following when exiled Israelis returned to Israel.
From the reference and the year count, there is a precise day foretold. It is the advent of the Prince Messiah. Using the 360-day lunar year of the ancients, 483 years total 173,880 days until the Messiah comes. We know Jesus entered Jerusalem. We commemorate that day as Palm Sunday. Some scholars think the day of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem was on 6 April AD 32.
Gabriel clearly says to Daniel that the interval between the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem until the presentation of the Messiah as King would be 173,880 days. The commandment to restore Jerusalem was given in the month of Nisan by Artaxerxes Longimanus. No exact date is given, which is taken to mean the first day of the month of Nisan. That date is 14 March 445 BC on the solar calendar. Note that the command is the one to rebuild Jerusalem, not just the temple.
Now, do some mathematical calculations from 14 March 445 BC. From that date to 14 March AD 32 is 476 years. 476 x 365 days in a year = 173,740 days. Correcting for leap years adds another 116 days. From 14 March to 6 April is another 24 additional days. The math works out precisely, 173,740 + 116 + 24 = 173,880 days!
That precision is remarkable. Remember the discussion of weeks?
The Holy Spirit offers us another degree of precision. In the Gospel of John, we are provided a reckoning of the date Jesus came into Jerusalem. He says that six days before passover, Jesus went to Bethany. Passover is 15 Nisan, six days before is 9 Nisan. The next day, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, making the date 10 Nisan. We can also count the days backward from the resurrection of Jesus, which was Sunday, 17 Nisan. 10 Nisan, the first day of the week and the first day of the week of years all coincide. By the reckoning of Daniel’s prophecy, this was to be the beginning of the 70th week of years.
So many things coalesce on this day. It is precisely the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, really the unwieldy colt of a donkey. The signs were unmistakably precise to the astute person.
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! And cry aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king is coming to you; he is righteous and able to deliver, he is humble and riding on a donkey, a colt, the offspring of a donkey. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse from Jerusalem; and the bow for battle will be cut off. He will speak peace to the nations; and his dominion will be from one sea to another, and from the Great River to the ends of the earth. And as for you, because of the blood of your covenant, I will send your prisoners from the empty, waterless pits. Return to your stronghold, prisoners who now have hope. Today I declare that I will return to you a double portion.
Zechariah 9:9–12
Jesus did ride into Jerusalem in exactly that way. And He came on the colt. It is with a double portion just as Matthew records it.
When they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, on the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go over into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to Me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them.’ And he will send them immediately.”
Mathew 21:1–9
All this was done to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet, saying:
“Tell the daughter of Zion,
‘Look, your King is coming to you,
humble, and sitting on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”
The disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their garments on them, and He sat on them. A very large crowd spread their garments on the road. Others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went before Him and that followed Him cried out:
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’
Hosanna in the highest!”
The First Pronouncement of Delay
As Jesus prepared to ride into Jerusalem, we are given an aside, He wept over Jerusalem. Because of their unbelief and rejection of Him, the truth was hidden from their eyes. They didn’t know the day. He foretells destruction over the city and by extension the Temple, the same that Daniel’s prophecy will foretell.
When He came near, He beheld the city and wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had known even today what things would bring you peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you and surround you, and press you in on every side. They will dash you, and your children within you, to the ground. They will not leave one stone upon another within you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
Luke 19:41–44
The Israelis were expected to know the signs indicating the importance of this day. Yet they did not. Jesus then proceeded to the Temple. The daylight was then quickly fading away.
Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. When He had looked around at everything, as the hour was now late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.
Mark 11:11
Monday 11 Nisan
Now that blindness had come over the city and the people for their rejection of Jesus, the next day as Jesus returned to Jerusalem, He encountered a fig tree. Here the fig tree is a Biblical type representative of the nation of Israel.
On the next day when they had returned from Bethany, He was hungry. Seeing from afar a fig tree with leaves, He went to see if perhaps He might find anything on it. When He came to it, He found nothing except leaves, for it was not the season for figs. Jesus said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And His disciples heard it.
Mark 11:12–14
It can seem trivial to the disciples who heard it as recorded here. Mark will later add more information to show the significance of this. Jesus is showing yet again, that the kingdom would be delayed because of the fruitlessness of Israel. Other Gospels record the tree withering.
As the day progresses, Jesus again goes to the Temple. He cleanses the place of money changers. Then He and His disciples leave the city.
Tuesday 12 Nisan
Returning to Mark for his recording of the events of the next day.
In the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. Peter, calling to remembrance, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.”
Mark 11:20–21
The fig tree is dried up, unable to produce fruit. The message being conveyed is that Israel is dried up. That the ministry and privileges it now enjoys are gone.
To compound the problem, the people don’t recognize the One they’ve been waiting to see. The days interlaced with the underlying intrigue of the leaders of Israel. It is overtly revealed that they are looking for an opportunity to kill Jesus.
As the day progresses, Jesus is questioned as to the origin of His authority. His interlocutors are hoping to trip Him up. Jesus answers that question with another to them.
Jesus answered them, “I will also ask of you one question. Answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Was the baptism of John from heaven or from men? Answer Me.”
Mark 11:29–33
They debated among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ But if we say, ‘From men’ ”—they feared the people, for everyone held John to be a real prophet.
So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.”
Jesus answered them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
They could not answer, so Jesus did not answer their question of the origin of His authority. They remain in the dark
Jesus teaches through many questions designed to trip Him up. Amongst the answers are parables. Each has significance as it pertains to the Holy Week and what Daniel wrote. I leave that for the astute reader to explore. But I draw attention to one of these that is necessary to understand.
The Delay of the Kingdom
“Listen to another parable: There was a certain landowner who planted a vineyard and built a wall around it. He dug a winepress in it and built a tower. Then he rented it to vinedressers and went into a distant country. When the season of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers to receive his fruit.
Matthew 21:33–40
“The vinedressers took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants, more than the first. And they did likewise to them. Last of all, he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’
“But when the vinedressers saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ So they caught him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him.
“Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vinedressers?”
I know most understand this parable. The season of fruit drew near. The Messiah was presented as King. The parable reveals that Jesus is also prophesying of Himself and His impending death. It is the answer to the question that becomes fascinating.
They said, “He will severely destroy those wicked men and rent his vineyard to other vinedressers who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”
Matthew 21:41
Jesus has their answer that they knew the vineyard will be given to another. So He continues to show them from their Scriptures exactly what is happening right before them.
Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
Matthew 21:42–44
‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?
“Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing its fruits. Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces. But on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”
They didn’t know their visitation. They didn’t know the Messiah on the day they were to expect Him. They didn’t know He would be killed at their hands. They didn’t know the Kingdom would be delayed. Yet they knew Jesus was talking about the nation of Israel in the parable.
When the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. But as they tried to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, because they held Him as a prophet. In the midst of the Holy Week, Jesus is meticulously showing that the double-portion kingdom coming to Israel will be delayed.
Matthew 21:45–46
The Destruction of the Temple
As the day wound down and Jesus and His disciples exited the temple. Even His disciples had not really caught many of the things Jesus was saying.
As some spoke of how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts, He said, “As for these things which you see, the days will come when not one stone shall be left on another that will not be thrown down.”
Luke 21:5–6
Jesus then teaches those disciples present about what will happen in the coming end of days. This private briefing is known as the Olivet Discourse. It is recorded in the three synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke.) It is Luke’s version where a short synopsis is given, followed by an interruption.
“But before all these things, they will seize you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for My name’s sake. It will turn out as a testimony for you. Therefore resolve in your hearts beforehand not to practice your defense. For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your opponents will be able to neither refute nor resist. You will be betrayed by parents and brothers and relatives and friends. And they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all men for My name’s sake, but not a hair of your head shall perish. In your endurance you will gain your souls.
Luke 21:12–19
While this is yet future for the disciples hearing it, the fulfillment of that is recorded for us in history and the Bible. These friends of Jesus endured some severe persecution. Along with the foretelling of that persecution is the siege of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple of God. This is also part of the prophecy of Daniel.
“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you know that its desolation has drawn near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are in the city depart, and let not those who are in the country enter it. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who nurse in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and will be led away captive to all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Luke 21:20–24
For the astute reader, it is clear that there is an extended period of time that comes with the last phrase, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. This also tracks with everything Jesus taught in that Holy Week, that the program for Israel will be delayed and given to another.
Following as if this were narrative, is what happens next:
“There will be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men fainting from fear and expectation of what is coming on the inhabited earth. For the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, for your redemption is drawing near.”
Luke 21:25–28
The ideas conveyed here are often confused. But make note of the distinctions. First is between the groups of people… They and your. What they witness is going to be perplexing. The second is the before and after these things begin to happen. Jesus says clearly that when these things begin to happen, redemption comes for believers.
Why aren’t the fearful and perplexing happenings the hallmarks of the nearness of redemption?
Jesus clearly states that it is before these things happen. So as redemption comes for believers, concerning and foreboding disasters will follow for the world. Everything will be shaken, and then Jesus comes in judgment. In another place, the people mourn His return.
The Delay of the Kingdom Will Be Revoked
Coupled with the idea of before the bad stuff happens, is that the withered fig tree Jesus cursed. It is going to produce leaves.
He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees. When they are sprouting leaves already, you see and know for yourselves that summer is now near. So in like manner, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
Luke 21:29–31
This is the precursor to the restoration of the kingdom. The culmination of which will be the fulfillment of the last three items from the list above.
“Truly, I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things are fulfilled. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
Luke 21:32–33
Those in the generation that witness the new budding of the tree will not pass away before these things are done.
Wednesday 13 Nisan
Now the feasts of the Passover and of Unleavened Bread were two days away. And the chief priests and the scribes looked for a way to seize Him secretly and kill Him. But they said “Not on the feast day, lest there will be an uproar among the people.”
Mark 14:1–2
The narrative now enters the days of Passover and the Feast. The days before, people are to prepare. They are to remove leaven from their homes.
The Betrayal
As with the underlying tension in all of the accounts of Holy Week, there is the intrigue of those in power. They are looking for an opportunity to seize Jesus and kill Him. Enter the one to betray Him. This will be by one of those He chose to be His friend.
Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them. When they heard it, they were glad and promised to give him silver. So he looked for how he might conveniently betray Him.
Mark 14:10–11
Now the plot is afoot. I will not give a comprehensive account, but the crucifixion of Jesus is central to this discussion, as are some of the events that immediately precede it.
The Preparation for Passover and the Feast
On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, His disciples said to Him, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”
Mark 14:12
Here is where we encounter some blurriness. Each of the Gospels relates details that are not always chronological nor identical. I also think that some other details that are lost in translating from Aramaic to Hebrew and then to English. What is known is that the day Passover Lambs are slaughtered is 14 Nisan. The first day of Unleavened Bread is 15 Nisan. This means that given the word for word translation above, it may be a loose account of an idea. Maybe even a type of synechdoche. The underlying Greek can mean something like, “Now at the beginning of the time of Unleavened Bread.” In my mind, this makes a bit more sense.
When looking to the other Gospels, they do not alleviate the seeming confusion, either. The word day is inserted but can be left out.
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where will You have us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?”
Matthew 26:17
There are other contextual problems. Passover, as originally instituted, is on 14 Nisan with the celebrations being kept in homes. Later provisions added to Passover required it be kept in Jerusalem. This presents a logistical problem. According to Josephus, he records that over 250,000 lambs were sacrificed for Passover in 4 BC.
So He sent two of His disciples and said to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you there. Follow him. Wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, Where is the guest room where I may eat the Passover with My disciples?’ He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”
Mark 14:13–16
His disciples went out, and came into the city, and found it as He had told them. And they prepared the Passover.
In my mind, it would seem that there may have been a Passover season. One in which people prepared for Passover and then the Feast of Unleavened Bread. These texts may indicate that. Nevertheless, it is my speculation. If some seders were kept in homes, as the one Jesus held, it could be the day before with a private slaughter of the lamb. Though noticeably absent are the other traditional items at a Passover meal like lamb and bitter herbs. So I like to think on Wednesday, they prepared for the meal, which would occur that evening. Others speculate that because of the sheer number of lambs needed, it could not all happen on that one day, 14 Nisan.
Thursday 14 Nisan
Remember the days for Israel begin at evening. Jesus would sit with His disciples for a seder meal, the Passover meal in the evening. That means the Last Supper would come on Wednesday, 14 Nisan after sunset.
The Passover With the Disciples
In the evening He came with the twelve. As they sat and ate, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, one of you who is eating with Me will betray Me.”
Mark 14:17–18
There are other accounts of the events that happened at that meal. I will leave that for another time.
Judas did betray Jesus. He was led away, and questioned by many. The people of Jerusalem were adamant on having Jesus executed even though the governor did not find anything He could assign guilt to Jesus. At least no guilt worthy of capital punishment.
Messiah Shall be Cut Off
After the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the troops of the prince who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall come with a flood. And until the end of the war desolations are determined.
Daniel 9:26
As it has come to that point in the week where the Messiah is betrayed, and then cut off at Golgotha. Many times Jesus told the Jewish people present with Him that the kingdom for them is delayed. It will be given to another. They understood this, and in their blindness did not see the prophetic patterns in play. Jesus did indeed die with nothing.
When the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Mark 15:33–37
Some of those who stood by, when they heard it, said, “Listen, He is calling Elijah!”
One man ran and filled a sponge with vinegar, put it on a stick, and gave it to Him to drink, saying, “Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah will come to take Him down.”
But Jesus cried with a loud voice and gave up the spirit.
Beyond Holy Week
After the death of the Messiah, the city and the Temple would be destroyed. History informs us of this as happening in AD 70. What I hope is clear, is that the patterns in Daniel 9 have not yet all been completed. There are still three things that remain from the list:
- Bring in everlasting righteousness
- Seal up the vision and prophecy
- Anoint the Most Holy Place
The New Modern Temple
And the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom.
Mark 15:38
After Jesus died, the veil in the sanctuary that separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was torn. This signifies that the presence of God is no longer veiled. It foreshadows that God’s dwelling place and temple will now be in men’s hearts.
What? Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God, and that you are not your own?
1 Corinthians 6:19
Though the temple of God exists today in every believer, there will be a future building in Jerusalem called the Temple of God. That is overwhelmingly attested to in prophetic writings. Things are going to happen in that temple, namely sacrifice and offering, which will cease. This will be clear from what Gabriel spoke to Daniel.
The Prince Who Shall Come
And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator.”
Daniel 9:27
After this other prince arrives, he will make an agreement with many. Many is often a rhetorical device used to mean the nation of Israel. The unspoken idea is that Israel accepts this impostor as Messiah. He makes an agreement. One which allows Israel to make sacrifices and offerings. Presumably, it is the reinstitution of the Mosaic system. With those things comes the necessity of a sanctuary. The Temple is necessary to the Mosaic system.
A sudden change in situations occurs as this prince reveals his true self. He stops the offerings and sacrifices. Gabriel offers a reference to abominations that make desolation. The Tanakh tends to describe the idols of other nations as abominations. It follows that this abomination is an object for worship. It is not unlike before where Antiochus stops the sacrifices. The appalling event becomes another pattern. One that is dastardly reenacted in history and culminates at some future point. Paul foretells the same event to the church in Thessalonica.
Now, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and concerning our gathering together unto Him, we ask you not to let your mind be quickly shaken or be troubled, neither in spirit nor by word, nor by letter coming as though from us, as if the day of Christ is already here. Do not let anyone deceive you in any way. For that Day will not come unless a falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself as God.
2 Thessalonians 2:1–4
I believe that the resumption of the Mosaic law is part of the covenant established with the impostor prince. I hold that the falling away described here is not an apostasy of believers from the universal church. The gist of that is Paul’s use of the Greek word apostasia. It is used only twice in the Scriptures. The only other occurrence is in the New Testament is here. It is used in the context of forsaking (or abandoning) the law of Moses. So it follows that when the man of lawlessness is revealed, it will come with a breaking of the covenant, and the compulsory forsaking of the Mosaic Law. He won’t allow sacrifices, but to himself as he sees himself to be God to worship. These multiple abominations reveal the desolator. And with this event is the defilement of the sanctuary. Precision timing markers indicate this happens in the middle of a week of years.
He was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. And he was given authority to wage war for forty-two months. He opened his mouth to speak blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to wage war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe and tongue and nation.
Revelation 13:5–7
For One Week
The covenant made is for one week. It is the final missing week of years from Daniel’s prophecy. It doesn’t go with the first 69 weeks. It is not Holy Week. It comes after Messiah is cut off. It comes after the city and the sanctuary are destroyed. It comes after the fulfillment of the times of the Gentiles.
One week of years is 84 months. The prince who shall come breaks his word in the 42 months into the final week. He was given authority to wage war with the saints for 42 months after. The timing markers are precise, to help identify the time, place, and person. Yes, there will be saints in the last week of years. But because this is Israel, these will primarily be Jewish in nature. This is deduced from this text, and in that last week of Daniel 144,000 evangelists are revealed from the twelve tribes of Israel.
Don’t be tricked into thinking God gave or granted the authority this false prince. He comes with the work of Satan and that power, signs, and false wonders. It is the dragon who grants his authority.
One Week Yet Future
After the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the troops of the prince who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall come with a flood. And until the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week. But in the middle of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator.”
Daniel 9:26–27
The decreed destruction poured out on the desolator is the end when Jesus returns and destroys this appalling abomination. It is the end of the war. Jesus consumes those who oppose Him with the breath of His mouth. This is the underlying answer to Daniel’s prayer. His prayer included petitions to God to restore Israel. Israel’s restoration comes after the war is ended and the desolator is gone.
The restoration of Israel is the Millennium. In Gabriel’s answer to Daniel’s prayer, there is no real revelation of the restoration for which Daniel interceded. The foretelling of the deliverance of the people seems to come a bit later in the book, though in the same time-frame as the first year of Darius. Daniel 9 is written to have occurred in the first year of Darius. The deliverance of the people comes after a time of great trouble.
“And at that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who shall be found written in the book. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine as the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who turn the many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”
Daniel 12:1–4
The premillennial nature of this is difficult to ignore. Yet, as we’ve witnessed Jesus attest to the delay of the Kingdom. Just as it was foretold to Daniel. The Kingdom is restored to Israel, which is also foretold to Daniel. One of the best witnesses of the premillennialism comes as a dispute arose among the early church holy ones.
The controversy being addressed was whether Gentiles needed to be circumcised. Paul and Barnabas were dispatched to Jerusalem. Leave it to the Pharisees’ legalism to point us in the right understanding. And it is not about circumcision.
Then some believers of the sect of the Pharisees rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the Law of Moses.”
Acts 15:5
There was much discussion on the matter. There was no lack of dissension.
After much disputing, Peter rose up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that some time ago God decided among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, approved of them, giving them the Holy Spirit just as He did to us, and made no distinction between them and us, and purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why test God by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.”
Acts 15:7–11
After Peter spoke, Paul and Barnabas relayed what God had done with the Gentiles. The matter was heavy and amidst some silence, James spoke up.
After they had become silent, James answered, “Brothers, listen to me. Simon has declared how God first visited the Gentiles to take from among them a people for His name.
Acts 15:13–14
James is retelling a specific encounter Peter had. Most know of the account in Acts 10. When Peter returned from Caesarea, it was not without controversy. As many had heard that the Gentiles also received the word of God. As Peter expounded on what occurred in Caesarea, this is the conclusion:
“As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, as He fell on us at the beginning. Then I remembered the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ If then God gave them the same gift as He gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to be able to hinder God?”
Acts 11:15–18
When they heard these things, they were silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then God has granted to the Gentiles also repentance unto life.”
I thank God that He has chosen to take a people for Himself from the Gentiles. When the Jewish elders of the church heard that these were baptized with the same Holy Spirit that came upon them, there was silence. They did glorify God, but why was there silence?
Perhaps they had suddenly recalled Jesus’ words from Holy Week, “Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing its fruits.” Yet it was James who made the connection of this to what the prophets say, and he cites Amos:
With this the words of the prophets agree. As it is written:
Acts 15:15–18
‘After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the tabernacle of
David, which has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will set it up;
that the rest of men may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who are called by My name,
says the Lord who does all these things.’
Known to God are all His works since the beginning of the world.
After This
God says, “After this I will return.” After what?
All of what is ascribed in the answered prayer, then interpreted as prophecy, and given to Daniel by Gabriel.
Prince Messiah came first, precisely at the end of the 69 weeks of years. After Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Holy Week, He spoke many times of how the kingdom was going to be delayed, and even given to another people. Then Messiah was cut off with nothing.
The city and sanctuary would then be destroyed. And until the end of the war, the desolation of Israel will remain. The many will then fall for a charismatic leader who will give them a covenant for one week of 7 years. He will allow them to build a new temple and reinstate the Mosaic sacrifices. In the middle of that covenant week, this leader will make an appalling move that desolates the temple. These things culminate in the determined complete destruction of the desolator. At which time, the people would be delivered.
After this… I will return, says Jesus. The throne of David will be restored with the rightful promised King. He will bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up the vision and prophecy, and anoint the Most Holy Place.
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