Prophecy of Seventy Weeks

The Prophecy of Seventy Septets (or literally 'seventy times seven') appears in the angel Gabriel's reply to Daniel, beginning with verse 22 and ending with verse 27 in the ninth chapter of the Book of Daniel,^[1] a work included in both the Jewish Tanakh and the Christian Bible; as well as the Septuagint.^[2] The prophecy is part of both the Jewish account of history and Christian eschatology.

Daniel 9

In chapter 9, Daniel records that an angel appears to him in response to his prayer and makes a proclamation regarding the timing of important events in the future regarding the people of Israel and the holy city of Jerusalem.

Chapters of the Book of Daniel
1: Induction into Babylon 2: Nebuchadnezzar's dream of an image 3: The fiery furnace 4: The madness of Nebuchadnezzar 5: Belshazzar's feast 6: Daniel in the lions' den 7: Daniel's first vision 8: Vision of the ram and goat 9: Prophecy of Seventy Weeks 10: Vision of a man 11: Kings of the North and South 12: Epilogue
American Standard Version reads as follows: 24 Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. 25 Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the anointed one, the prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: it shall be built again, with street and moat, even in troublous times. 26 And after the threescore and two weeks shall the anointed one be cut off, and shall have nothing: 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 even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined. 27 And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate. Narrative criticism In biblical criticism, the author of The Concept of Fate in Ancient Mesopotamia of the First Millennium (1994), Jack Newton Lawson, analyzes Daniel 9:24-27 that the Seventy Weeks passage is a reinterpretation of Jeremiah’s prophecy of the desolation of Jerusalem lasting seventy years.[3] According to John J. Collins, the Chronologists[clarification needed] of Jeremiah and Daniel both take into account the Jubilee year. Leviticus 25 stipulates that seven Sabbaths (weeks) of years is the maximum period that land could remain outside the possession of its original owner or heirs. 2 Chronicles 36:21 states that the land of Israel ran the full term of its Sabbaths. Daniel extends this period of desolation to seventy weeks of years, or 490 years, the equivalent of ten jubilees. Thus, the passage can be interpreted as seventy weeks of sabbatical years. Leviticus 26:18, 21, 28 also states that God would punish the people sevenfold for their transgressions.[4] Michael Fishbane views that from the time the scriptures originated, there arose the ‘concern to preserve, or reinterpret these teachings or traditions in explicit ways for new times and circumstances.[5] It must also be considered that when reinterpreting scripture, it is done through the process of translation, which involves moving from one cultural context into the another.[3] Literary structure See also: Book_of_Daniel#Literary_structure Historicist William H. Shea[6] notes that verses 25-27 form a chiasm: A. Daniel 9:25a (ASV) Jerusalem Construction: Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem B. Daniel 9:25b Anointed one: unto the anointed one, the prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: C. Daniel 9:25c Jerusalem Construction: it shall be built again, with street and moat, even in troublous times. D. Daniel 9:26a Anointed one: And after the threescore and two weeks shall the anointed one be cut off, and shall have nothing: C'. Daniel 9:26b Jerusalem Destroyed: 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 even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined. B'. Daniel 9:27a Anointed one: And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; A'. Daniel 9:27b Jerusalem Destroyed: and upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate. Interpretations Common interpretations Coin of Antiochus Epiphanes. Reverse shows Apollo on an omphalos. The inscription ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ means ("of Antiochus, God Manifest, Bearer of Victory"). The seventy weeks has often been applied to the period between the exile and the death of Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 164 BCE.[14][15] This view is supported by the Jewish Encyclopedia,[16] the Jewish Publication Society study bible, the Catholic New American Bible commentary [17] and some Evangelical Christian scholars (Vanderwaal, Goldingay, Lucas). It is considered an ex eventu prophecy fulfilled in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes who is interpreted as "the prince" in Daniel 9:26. The "anointed," mentioned after the first seven times seven units, must be Cyrus, who is called the anointed of the Lord in Isa. xlv. 1 also. He concluded the first seven weeks of years by issuing the decree of liberation, and the time that elapsed between the Chaldean destruction of Jerusalem (586) and the year 538 was just about forty-nine years. The duration of the sixty-two times seven units (434 years) does not correspond with the time 538-171 (367 years); but the chronological knowledge of that age[16][18] and the historical knowledge of the author was not very exact.[19] This is all the more evident as the last period of seven units must include the seven years 170-164.[20] This week of years began with the "cutting off of an anointed one" (9:26)— referring to the murder of the legitimate high priest Onias III (compare Lev. iv. 3 et seq. on the anointing of the priest) in 170 BC; the "destruction of the city" (9:26) refers to the destruction of Jerusalem and the desolation of the Temple in 168 BC by the forces of Antiochus (1 Macc 1:29-39); the "unto the end of the war" (9:26) refers to the end of the Sixth Syrian War when Antiochus vented his anger on Jerusalem after suffering a humiliating defeat against Egypt (cf Daniel 11:30); the "strong covenant" (9:27) refers to a treaty between apostate Jews and Antiochus; the "cessation of sacrifice and offering" (9:27) refers to the decree of Antiochus suspending temple offerings in 167 BC; the "abomination that causes desolation" (9:27) refers to the altar of Zeus which Antiochus set up in the temple; and the anointing of the Holy of Holies (9:24) refers to the reconsecration of the Temple in 164 BC.[21] Jewish interpretations According to Jews for Judaism, the sixty-two weeks mentioned in Daniel 9:25 are correctly separated in the original Hebrew from the seven weeks by the punctuation mark 'atnach which is omitted in the King James Version. By creating a sixty-nine week period, which is not divided into two separate periods of seven weeks and sixty-two weeks respectively, Christians reach an incorrect conclusion, i.e., that the Anointed one will come 483 years after the destruction of the First Temple. The 'atnach is the appropriate equivalent of the semicolon in the modern system of punctuation. It thus has the effect of separating the seven weeks from the sixty-two weeks: ". . . until an anointed one, a prince, shall be seven weeks; then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again. . ." (9:25). Hence, two anointed ones are spoken of in Daniel 9, one of whom comes after seven weeks, and the other after a further period of sixty-two weeks…[citation needed] The first "anointed" is Cyrus (Isaiah 45:1) whose decree to rebuild Jerusalem comes forty-nine years after the destruction of the city and the Temple, which is the time when an "anointed one" (Daniel 9:25) is to come to fulfill the prophecy (586-49=537 BC). The second segment of the Seventy Weeks period, sixty-two weeks long, covered by verse 26, culminates in 103 BC (586-49-434=103 BC). Verse 26 indicates that "after sixty-two weeks an anointed one shall be cut off." This "anointed one" is the High Priest Alexander Yannai (103-76 BC) who came to power just at the end of the sixty-two week period in 103 BC and was the last of the important Hasmonean leaders. The phrase "after sixty-two weeks" indicates the time frame during which the "anointed one shall be cut off," that is, suffer karet, "excision." The penalty accompanying karet is here aptly described as "to have nothing," or "be no more." This punishment is given to Alexander Yannai infamous for his unjust, tyrannical, and bloody rule. He is notorious for his open violent animosity against the Pharisees and his brazen rejection of the Oral Law. For example, Josephus records that Alexander Yannai fought against the Pharisees for six years, "and . . . slew no fewer than fifty thousand of them" (Jewish Antiquities XIII. 13. 5. [373]). He also "ordered some eight hundred of the Jews to be crucified, and slaughtered their children and wives before the eyes of the still living wretches" (Jewish Antiquities XIII. 14. 2. [380]).[22][23][24] Christian interpretations Sir Isaac Newton called the seventy weeks the foundation of the Christian religion.[25] Many Christian commentators hold that the 69th week reached its fulfillment during the life of Jesus Christ, although there is little consensus regarding whether it points to his birth, baptism, transfiguration, triumphal entry, crucifixion, or some combination of these events[citation needed]. There are three schools of thought on how the 70th week should be interpreted. Messianic prophecy interpretations In the works of Robert C. Newman,[26] his paper interprets the "seventy sevens" in the Daniel 9:24–26 prophecy to be seventy shemittot (or Sabbatical) Cycles. Sabbatical years begin on 1 Tishri (and not 1 Nisan) of every seventh year; with the Jubilee year also beginning on 1 Tishri and being completed every (49 + 1 =) 50 years (b. Nedarim 61a; b. Rosh Hashannah 9b). As such, the decree to rebuild Jerusalem during the twentieth year of Artaxerxes I would have occurred in the first of these "seventy sevens"; and the Messiah would have been "cut off" in the sixth-ninth of these "sevens."[27] Philip Mauro's interpretation See also: Historic premillennialism From a historical premillennial[28] perspective, Philip Mauro (1921) associated the discourse on the Mount Olivet (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21) to be an expansion of Daniel’s “seventy weeks” prophecy. His research on the Daniel prophecy was in part, influenced by the works of Martin Anstey (1913). He fully supported Ezra 1:1 and viewed the decree of Cyrus, exhorting the Jews to return to their land, as a real event. Like many others, he agreed that the period designation of the Daniel prophesy was “seventy sevens of years” (490 years). However, he also points to the significance of 69 sevens, for a 483 year period, as being the length of time to the Messiah. Thus, in the remaining “seven years” the Messiah would be “cut off and have nothing”.[29] Mauro agreed with Anstey that the angel Gabriel of the Hebrew Bible, who visited Daniel, is the same angel who visited Mary in the New Testament (Luke 1:11-19; 26). He compared Gabriel’s expression to Daniel “thou art greatly beloved” as an exact equivalent to “thou art highly favored” which was spoken to Mary by her visiting angel, also known as Gabriel.[30] By establishing Gabriel as visiting both Daniel and Mary in his commentary, Mauro further expounds on the words of Gabriel: “seventy weeks are determined upon thy people to finish the transgression” (Daniel 9:24), thus making a comparison to the Christ’s words: “Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers” (Matthew 23:32). Mauro interpreted these narratives as referring to the rejection and crucifixion of the Christ. Further relates that, “the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;” (9:25) is prophetic of the “desolation” of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD (Matthew 24:1-22; Luke 21:20-24)[29] Jehovah's Witnesses interpretation See also: historicism (Christian eschatology) Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that Artaxerxes' first year of rule was 474 BCE. Based on Nehemiah 2:1, 5-8, Nehemiah went forth to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem “in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king.” Thus, Jehovah Witness theologians have added 20 years to 474 BCE, pinpointing 455 BCE as the starting point for Daniel’s Messianic prophecy.[31][32] Like Martin Anstey (1913) and Philip Mauro (1921), Jehovah’s Witnesses also agree with the 69 weeks of years principle, where each “week” represents “seven years”. Therefore 69 weeks translates as 483 years of which is added to 455 BCE, the 20th year of Artaxerxes reign. That pinpoints the return of the Messiah to the year 29 CE. To Jehovah’s Witnesses, this is a significant year because it was Jesus’ baptismal year, just three years before his crucifixion. (Luke 3:1, 2, 21, 22) The remaining week of seven years, from 29 CE, is the duration of Jesus being “cut off”. To Jehovah’s witnesses, Daniel’s prophecy is fulfilled in 36 CE.[33] [32] Seventh-day Adventist interpretations The Seventh-day Adventist Church interprets the 70 weeks as a 490 year period, according to the day-year principle. The first 69 weeks (483 years) begins in 457 BC and ends in AD 27, the beginning of Jesus Christ's ministry. Jesus is crucified in the middle of the final week (AD 31), and the gospel is preached to the Gentiles in AD 34, the close of the period.[34] Dispensationalists Christian eschatology Eschatology views Viewpoints • Preterism • Idealism • Historicism • Futurism The Millennium • Amillennialism • Postmillennialism • Premillenialism • Prewrath Rapture • Posttribulation Rapture Biblical Texts • The Olivet Discourse • The Sheep and the Goats • The Book of Revelation • The Book of Daniel     Seventy Weeks • Apocrypha     Enoch     2 Esdras Key Terms • Abomination of Desolation • Armageddon • Four Horsemen • New Jerusalem • Rapture • Second Coming • May 2011 Prediction • Seven Seals • Tribulation • Two Witnesses • Antichrist • in Historicism • Son of Perdition • The Beast • in Preterism Israel & the Church  • Supersessionism • Covenant Theology • New Covenant Theology • Dispensationalism • Olive Tree Theology • Dual Covenant Theology Christianity portal v · d · e See also: Great Tribulation and Futurism (Christian eschatology) Dispensationalists typically hold that a 'hiatus', which some refer to as a 'biblical parenthesis', occurred between the 69th and 70th week of the prophecy, into which the "church age" is inserted (also known as the "gap theory" of Daniel 9). The seventieth week of the prophecy is expected to commence after the rapture of the church, which will incorporate the establishment of an economic system using the number '666', the reign of the beast (the Antichrist), the false religious system (the harlot), the Great Tribulation and Armageddon.[35] Controversy exists regarding the antecedent of he in Daniel 9:27. Many within the ranks of premillennialism do not affirm the "confirmation of the covenant" is made by Jesus Christ (as do many Amillennarians) but that the antecedent of "he" in vs. 27 refers back to vs. 26 ("the prince who is to come"—i.e., the Antichrist). Antichrist will make a "treaty" as the Prince of the Covenant (i.e., "the prince who is to come") with Israel's future leadership at the commencement of the seventieth week of Daniel's prophecy; in the midst of the week, the Antichrist will break the treaty and commence persecution against a regathered Israel.[36] See also Abomination of Desolation Apocalypse Armageddon Book of Revelation Dispensationalism, which posits a "parenthesis" between weeks 69 and 70 in the historic fulfillment. Olivet discourse Post Tribulation Rapture Progressive dispensationalism The Two Witnesses Year-day principle Notes and references ^ Scherman, Rb. (Ed.), 2001, p.1803 ^ http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/40-daniel-nets.pdf ^ a b Porter, ed., Stanley E (2006). Dictionary of biblical criticism and interpretation (1. publ. 2007, transferred to digital printing. ed.). London: Routledge. pp. 59-60. ISBN 0415201004.  ^ Cross, John J. Collins. With an essay "The influence of Daniel on the New Testament" by Adela Yarbro Collins. Ed. by Frank Moore (1994). Daniel : a commentary on the book of Daniel ([Nachdr.] ed.). Minneapolis: Fortress Press. p. 352. ISBN 0800660404.  ^ Fishbane, Michael (1985). Biblical interpretation in ancient Israel (Repr. with corrections ed.). Oxford [Oxfordshire]: Clarendon Press. p. 8. ISBN 0198263252.  ^ a b William H. Shea, "The Prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27", in Holbrook, Frank. ed., The Seventy Weeks, Leviticus, and the Nature of Prophecy, 1986, Daniel and Revelation Committee Series, Vol. 3, Review and Herald Publishing Association ^ "Daniel's 70 weeks". Enjoyinggodministries.com. 2006-11-06. http://www.enjoyinggodministries.com/article/daniels-70-weeks/. Retrieved 2011-11-17.  ^ Jewish Study Bible Notes Comments 2004 (Reform/Conservative): Seventy weeks [of years], that is 490 years, the true prediction of Jeremiah according to this interpretation (see v.2 and n.). This interpretation is based on reading a single word in Jer. 25. 11-12 in two different ways, as “shav’uim” (weeks) and “shiv’im” (Seventy). Such close textual study and revocalization of texts for interpretive purposes would characterize later rabbinic interpretation. Holy of Holies anointed, finally accomplish by Judas Maccabee in 164 BC (1 Macc. 4.26-59), shortly after the final editing of Daniel. ^ "Jews for Judaism FAQ #43". J4j.org. http://www.j4j.org/web/faq/faq043.html. Retrieved 2011-11-17.  ^ "Daniel - Chapter 9 - Tanakh Online - Torah - Bible". Chabad.org. http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/16492/showrashi/true. Retrieved 2011-11-17.  ^ Waw has two basic functions, one as a simple co-ordinating conjunction (as found between "sixty" and "two", ששים ושנים), the other as an interclausal conjunction in a large syntactic group. If the waw at the beginning of "sixty-two weeks" attached it to the preceding "seven weeks", there would be no way of attaching the following clause. The sixty-two weeks belong to the following clause and the waw before it connects the clause to what precedes it, giving the discourse its consecutive order of events. See Bruce Waltke, M. O'Connor, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax, Winona Lake, 1990, pp. 634–5. ^ Ostervald, et al., The Holy Bible…with Annotations (London: Harrison, 1785) ad loc Dan 9:24 ^ Rise and Fall of the AntiChrist. Fruchtenbaum was a Christian minister and founder of Ariel Ministries. Arnold Fruchtenbaum, p 5 ^ "Counting the days to Armageddon: the ... - Robert Crompton - Google Books". Books.google.ca. http://books.google.ca/books?id=CWUtuA1oa-AC&pg=PA42. Retrieved 2011-11-17.  ^ "Daniel - Choon Leong Seow - Google Books". Books.google.ca. http://books.google.ca/books?id=nuLapFR3AX4C&pg=PA150. Retrieved 2011-11-17.  ^ a b "Jewish Encyclopedia Online". Jewishencyclopedia.com. http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?letter=D&artid=34. Retrieved 2011-11-17.  ^ "New American Bible". Usccb.org. 2011-03-13. http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/daniel/daniel9.htm. Retrieved 2011-11-17.  ^ The Seder 'Olam Zuṭacomputed the Persian rule to have lasted fifty-two years, ed. Meyer, p. 104 ^ The literary guide to the Bible, Robert Alter, Frank Kermode, p. 345 ^ see "Rev. Et. Juives," xix. 202 et seq. ^ Ronald S. Wallace. The Message of Daniel (BST). InterVarsity Press.  ^ "Jews for Judaism FAQ #119". J4j.org. http://www.j4j.org/web/faq/faq119.html. Retrieved 2011-11-17.  ^ "Jews for Judaism FAQ, #120". J4j.org. http://www.j4j.org/web/faq/faq120.html. Retrieved 2011-11-17.  ^ "Jews for Judaism FAQ, #43". J4j.org. http://www.j4j.org/web/faq/faq043.html. Retrieved 2011-11-17.  ^ "Observations upon the Prophecies of Daniel, and the Apocalypse of St. John | Part I, Chapter III: Of the vision of the Image composed of four Metals." By Sir Isaac Newton; London: 1733. "Daniel...to reject his Prophecies, is to reject the Christian religion. For this religion is founded upon his Prophecy concerning the Messiah." As quoted at The Newton Project: [1] ^ R.C. Newman et al., "Public theology and prophecy data: Factual evidence that counts for the biblical world view," Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 46/1 March 2003, 79–110. ^ For a list of in what span of years these Sabbatical Cycles occurred in Jewish history, see Benedict Zuckermann, Jahresbericht des jüdisch-theologischen Seminars, Breslau, Germany. 1857. ^ Mauro, Philip (1921, revised 1944). The Seventy Weeks and the Great Tribulation. Philip Mauro Libary. pp. 136:3.  ^ a b Mauro, Philip (1921). The Seventy Weeks and the Great Tribulation (1988 Revised ed.). Grace Abounding Ministries. pp. 1-4.  ^ Anstey, Martin (1913). The Romance of Bible chronology. Marshall Bros. p. 276.  ^ "11". Pay Attention to Daniel's Prophecy!. Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania.  ^ a b "How Daniel’s Prophecy Foretells the Messiah’s Arrival". Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. 2009. http://www.watchtower.org/e/bh/appendix_02.htm.  ^ Insight on the Scriptures (Vol. II ed.). Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. pp. 899-901.  ^ General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists (2005), Seventh-day Adventists Believe (2nd ed.), pp. 358-359  ^ J. Dwight Pentecost. Things to Come. Zondervan Publishing House.  ^ Sir Robert Anderson, The Coming Prince (ISBN 0-8254-2115-2) Further reading Ron J. Bigalke Jr., "Government of the Future," in One World (ISBN 0-9749811-8-4) Harold Hoehner, Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ (ISBN 0-310-26211-9) Clarence Larkin, The Book of Daniel (ISBN 0-7661-8573-7) T. T. Schlegel, Know Therefore and Understand: A Biblical Explication of the First 69 Weeks of Daniel 9 (ISBN 0-9704330-9-3) John F. Walvoord, Daniel: The Key To Prophetic Revelation (ISBN 0-8024-1753-1) Nathaniel West, The Thousand Year Reign of Christ (ISBN 0-8254-4000-9) Seventh-Day Adventist Holbrook, Frank B., ed (1986). The Seventy Weeks, Leviticus & the Nature of Prophecy. Daniel & Revelation Committee Series. 3. Biblical Research Institute: Review and Herald Publishing Association. ISBN 0925675024.  External links Daniel 9 The Seventy Weeks, Jews for Judaism audio file True Messiah - Properly Anointed; False Messiah - Smeared with Ointment, Virtual Yeshiva article by UriYosef The 9th chapter of Daniyyel by Mordochai ben Tziyyon, former Professor of Jewish Bible Studies at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel The 70 Weeks and 457 B.C. When Did the Seventy Weeks of Daniel 9:24 Begin? A Critical Examination of the Seventy Weeks Prophecy Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. 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