The precision of prophecy daniels 70 weeks chuck missler. As we have noted in previous articles, the jewish and babylonian calendars used a 360day year. The 70 weeks prophecy of daniel gives us an important starting date for the 2300 day years prophecy of daniel 8. The only thing that is not initially distinctly clear and that many dispute is the date evidence. This is a fascinating date, because it just so happens to correspond to the sunday before the jewish passover of that year. It also gives us a definitive time frame that god gave to the jews as a nation to turn to him and accept jesus. Dont be left in darkness or caught unpreparedfind out when and how. Theologians have added up the dates for the first 69 weeks. Several bible translations note that these are, not weeks of seven days, but weeks of years. Daniel s seventy weeks the triumphal king in prophecy in this study of daniel s 70 weeks, you will discover this amazing prophecy in the old testament predicted the very day that jesus presented himself to jerusalem as the meschiach nagid, the messiah the king.
The olivet discourse fixes the time of israels greatest trouble within the days of daniel s prophecy. This means a prophecy given to daniel back in the third or second early century. How jesus fulfilled the 70 week prophecy the christian life. These 70 weeks are the future of the nation of israel as given to daniel by gabriel from god. Most scholars believe that we are now living in a huge gap between the 69th week and the 70th week. God enabled daniel to see not just into the future of his own jewish people. Daniels prophecy of 69 weeks was fulfilled when jesus of nazareth was baptized in a. Over the centuries scholars have proposed dozens of competing interpretations of these challenging verses, especially daniel s prophecy of the 70 weeks. Daniels seventy weeks prophecy about bible prophecy. Daniel 2, 7, 9, 12 the coming of messiah the prince. The prophecy of seventy weeks chapter 9 of the book of daniel is a prophecy given to daniel by the angel gabriel in response to daniels prayer for god to act on behalf of his people and city i. The first 49 years 7 weeks are the time during which the city was being rebuilt. Furthermore, the events recorded in nehemiah perfectly match daniel s prophecy. Daniels 69 weeks should also use a year of 360 days, to be consistent with this prophecy.
Thirdly, after the 69 th week, calculated by adding the two periods of the seven and sixtytwo weeks together, the messiah is cut off i. This is a typically daniel like compressed expression of the type found throughout the book. Multiply 69 weeks x 7 years 483 years multiply 483 years x 360 days 173,880 days so, the prophet daniel, who lived 500 years before jesus yeshua wrote that from the day of the commandment to rebuild jerusalem and its walls, until the coming messiah would be 173,880 days. If the 70th week of daniel is reckoned as 7 years of 360 days then we must conclude that the first 69 weeks of the seventy weeks of daniel will be the same. A proper understanding of the seventy weeks of daniel not only safeguards the. And a greater part of the book of the revelation is simply an expansion of daniel s.
But thou, o daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end. Although theologians have not reached a consensus on the exact timing of the 70 weeks mentioned in daniel 9, we can draw a number of conclusions from this enigmatic prophecy what are the seventy weeks. Thus, the date of messiahs coming calculates out to be precisely april 6, 32 ad, which is based upon the total number of days in the first 69 weeks of daniels prophecy of the seventy weeks. Over the years, i have studied dozens of interpretations of daniel 9. This episode explains daniel s 70 weeks prophecy and more. In effect, gabriel told daniel that the interval between the commandment to rebuild jerusalem until the presentation of the messiah as king would be 173,880 days. This is a direct continuation from the fulfilled weeks of daniel 70 weeks. I enjoyed your analysis at prophecy of daniels 70 weeks. This 69 week period ended at christs triumphal entry. The basics of the 70 week prophecy of daniel 9 are relatively simple and clear as i am sure you will now agree. Daniel indicates how long the time period leading to the arrival of messiah the leader would last. At least the last 63 weeks, if not all the 70, are yet to occur in the future.
I will go over each verse separately because of the detail each one holds and how thats connected to the overall study. The first 69 weeks of daniel 70 weeks prophecy were fulfilled with the cutting off of messiah jesus. But the history of israel and jerusalem is determined to be 70 weeks so there is one week 7 years remaining. For more on the rebuilding, read the entire books of ezra and nehemiah. The middle of the 7 year tribulation period, is what jesus said referred to a prophecy of daniel. The angel gabriel approaches daniel in the latter half of the ninth chapter after daniel. Several bible translations note that these are, not. The last of the 70 weeks of daniel, the last 7 years also known as the 70th week, is yet to be fulfilled, and will be soon. This is biblically accurate, yet radically novel, interpretation of daniel s 70 weeks. The final week of the 70 weeks of the 70 sevens, 69 have been fulfilled in history.
Probably no single prophetic utterance is more crucial in the fields of biblical interpretation, apologetics, and eschatology. In his book the coming princenew window 1895, sir robert anderson carefully outlined the position that the seventy weeks could be taken as. This model is popular in modern evangelical christendom. The book of daniel is the book of revelation in the old testament because it is an excellent prediction of the coming of jesus christ, the messiah and the triumph of his messianic kingdom. But the history of israel and jerusalem is determined to be 70 weeks so there is. What makes this prophecy so remarkable is that it is a specific time prophecy that deals with both the first and second comings of jesus christ. Since the first 69 weeks have been perfectly fulfilled according to daniel s prophecy, i am confident he will work out in his own perfect way and time. Secondly, it is clear that 69 of the 70 weeks, divided into two parts consisting of seven weeks and sixtytwo weeks brings us to the time of the messiah, i. Discover for yourself how this fulfilled prophecy confirms the credibility of the bible and jesus as messiah. It is not possible to understand jesus teachings in matthew 24, without an understanding of daniel 70th week. Palm sunday and daniels 70th week discover the book. Jesus fulfills the 69th week according to daniels 70 weeks prophecy, the date that the messiah would appear was 69 weeks or 483 years from the day the decree was given to restore jerusalem and build the second temple in jerusalem. Supplemental notes on daniel nine the seventy weeks of daniel 3 it is an indispensable chronological key to all new testament prophecy.
Daniels prophecy of 70 weeks foretells the messiahs. A discussion of the meaning and the chronology of daniel s prophecy of the 70 weeks of years. The book of daniel is actually one of the most authenticated books of the. If we present or teach something relating to the holy one of israel then it had better be right. At this point we are trying to figure out when the 476year period begins. These were the times of trouble mentioned in daniel 9. The very brief but famous prophecy of the seventy weeks, recorded in daniel 9. Such exciting endoftheworld and rapture paradigms are dearly held and difficult to change. How can we be sure that this prophecy did in fact begin in 457 b. Alva mcclains book daniel s prophecy of the 70 weeks makes sense for many if the word of god is interpreted through the grid of dispensationalism, and forced to fit it. This is an amazing prophecy that provides us with a number of important truths. When was daniels 69 weeks of years supposed to begin.
The bible gives the length of a year as consisting of 360 days. The fulfilled weeks of daniel 70 weeks christian truth. Some commentators have calculated that daniels prophecy of 69 weeks is accurate down to a specific day in the life of christ. This is equal to 483 biblical years 69 x 7 years since daniel s weeks should be understood as seven see prophecy of daniels 70 weeks for details. Let us take a look again at our scripture and in particular verse 25. What is the correct calculation of daniels 69 weeks. Seventieth week of daniel 70 weeks christian truth center. Daniels prophecy of 70 weeks foretells the messiahs arrival bible. Nehemiah tells of workmen building with one hand while holding a sword in the other, and sleeping on site in their. Daniel knew from a prophecy in the book of jeremiah that their. But the history of israel and jerusalem is determined to be 70 weeks for god to accomplish his plan as seeing in dan 9. Why is the prophecy of the 69 weeks and the 70th week only now being revealed. But israel rejects the messiah, interrupting the 70 week timetable.
Daniel chapter 9 the 69 weeks is one of the golden keys to understanding bible prophecy. On the contrary, i do explain the meaning of the seven weeks in my books daniel unsealed also in he is the one and the 70 weeks, and i give specifics the seven weeks are aligned with the sevenyear sabbath cycle observed by ancient jews from 42 bce to 35 bce, thus locating the prophecy about the messiah in history with certainty. The timeline calculations found in the coming prince. Some say it points to the day of his triumphal entry into jerusalem, some say its the day he was baptized, and others say it was the day of his transfiguration. Many people have proposed different years for different decrees. In the bible, the prophecy of seventy weeks is a prophecy given to daniel by the angel gabriel. Daniels prophecy of 69 weeks gods signature of authenticity. Let us turn now to focus in on those first 69 weeks of the seventy weeks of daniel. Any person who teaches bible prophecy should be very very careful. A gap, or unexplained period of time, follows the 69 th week.
One of the most beautiful prophecies in scripture is the 70 week prophecy found in the book of daniel. There are four verses to the prophecy of daniels 70 weeks. Gabriel came to daniel with a prophetic revelation. Jesus christ was crucified as daniel prophesied, cut off and having nothing in a. These awesome verses lay out the entire plan of redemption about 500 years before the actual events would take place.
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