Seventy Weeks of Years

The most amazing prophecy ever given--by reading it real close one can understand many things. The prophecy was given by the angel Gabriel to Daniel and is called the Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks of Years. From this prophecy, it reveals that the people of Israel had missed the"time of thy visitation" (Luke 19:44) eventhough they were given the exact time the Messiah would arrive.

"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, and to anoint the most Holy.

Know therefore and undersand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

And after sixty-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.

And he (Jesus Christ) 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." Daniel 9:24-27.



To help understand, from the Hebrew, the meaning of seventy weeks is referring to seventy sevens which is 490 years. So with this seventy weeks is 490 years, and seven weeks with sixty-two weeks is sixty-nine weeks which is 483 years. Leaving one week, or seven years left.

In breaking it down: starting with the first verse Daniel 9:24, 490 years would be the total time allotted for those things listed in the verse including the END OF THE AGE yet to come.

In the next verse, Daniel 9:25, gives the event which would start the countdown for the allotted time of the 490 years. This event occurred after the Persians conquered the Babylonians, and released the Jews from captivity; then was the prophecy fulfilled at the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem. Cyrus the Persian would give the decree to rebuild the Jewish Temple as in Ezra 1:1. This Temple being the same Temple as the time of Jesus Christ. However, this not being the fulfillment of this verse in the prophecy for it would be Nehemiah, forty-nine years later who would give the commandment to the rebuilding of Jerusalem as in Nehemiah 2:17-20.

The next verse, Daniel 9:26, states that sometime after the fulfillment of the sixty-nine weeks which equals 483 years, that the Messiah would be "cut off". And, also, that a prince shall come with his troops, and destroy the city of Jerusalem and the Jewish Temple. But not the prince would it be who would destroy the Temple, it would be his troops without his consent. This happened in 70 A.D. with the Roman siege of Jerusalem by the Roman general Titus and his legions. Jesus prophecies this in Matthew 24:2.

The next verse, Daniel 9:27, this is the seventienth week-- the last week to bring about the END OF THE AGE; and "to anoint the most Holy". In this week it states that "he" is to make a covenant for the period of the last week which is seven years. It states in the middle of this week that "he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease", and cause it to be desolate even unto the end. Jesus Christ being the "he" in this verse has already completed the first half of the last week in his three and one-half years ministry since the claim of being the Messiah. And which the last half of the last week is YET TO COME as is Jesus Christ who intends to finish his portion of the last week with the opening of the Seven Seals to bring about the end of the age and the final consummation. While scriptures also reveal that Antichrist will also be active for specifically three and one-half years to bring about the deception of the whole world as the prophecy of the "abomination of desolation" in Matthew 24:15; and thus the following verses these all being three and one-half years: Daniel 7:25; 8:11-14; 12:7&11; Revelation 13:5. The "he" in this verse being Jesus Christ, but also Antichrist will be active for the three and one-half years. And as a side note Satan after the thousand reign of Jesus Christ will be loosed out of his prison to deceive the whole world again! prospectively for Satan to finish his portion of the last week this being three and one-half years. This also meaning in the end it appears that Satan will receive the full last week to mock the Lord Jesus Christ-- this also totaling seven years for the last week.

As for the date for the end of the Babylonian captivity, a few have been prospected: 445 B.C., 454 B.C., 456 B.C., 458 B.C., and 536 B.C.

Counting Method--On the counting method for counting the weeks of years, it comes out of the book of Leviticus for counting the year of jubilee: "And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years." (Leviticus 25:8).

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