I have written this for our Men’s Bible Study groups at TCAB church, but it is pertinent for all believers.

Is the offering that took place on the Temple altar in 167 BC to be seen by believers as a partial fulfillment of Daniel’s 70th week? Some say yes.

But is Daniel 9 speaking of this event in the 70 week prophecy? What is interesting about Daniel’s 70 week prophecy is the statement made to Daniel:

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. (NASB2020)

Is it thus possible to exclude from consideration any event concerning Israel over her following period of history from the time stated in this prophecy? It would seem that since the prophecy is about Israel Daniel’s people and their time line. So is it possible that the year 167 and the temple event is significant within the seventieth week? The 167 BC date cannot possibly fulfill this prophecy.

But beyond that: is it possible that the prophecy as it is worded is meant to include the entire time of Israel’s history concerning Daniel’s people, but with the caveat that it is to only include that time that they would occupy their Holy City Jerusalem?

Concerning the city’s history over the time of Daniel’s peoples existence there have been over 4000 years of Jerusalems history, but not all of it had involved Israel’s presence because of various exiles:

Although destroyed twice Jerusalem still continued to exist until this very day. It has existed in relation to Daniel’s people for an unexplored but specific and likely identifiable period of time. I have never heard anyone explain the exact number of years of Israel’s existence where she was connected directly to Jerusalem. So is that not the period of time that we are to be considering according to Daniel’s prophecy? Especially when God specifically states to Daniel that: “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city”? Can that not possibly mean that it might include even the time before Daniel’s prophecy was given: a time since David’s conquering of this territory and renaming it Jerusalem? This does not seem to imply just seventy future weeks, but 70 total weeks involving their time with Jerusalem.

Israel spent time more than once in exile. Can those years be accounted for, and if so are they to be deducted from the calculations in this prophecy? I don’t know?

The Hebrew word for weeks of years is:

David Lurie, author of the Holocaust and Daniel’s 70th Week. has pointed out that the translation means a period of years equally divisible by seven. In light of that fact it has been speculated that the seventieth week can be any number of years which can be equally divided by seven. (Eg 49/7 = 7, so it is an even number answer without a fraction in that answer. The question is can 167 BC be the center of Israel’s long history thus fulfilling Daniel’s 70’th week itself. The answer: not likely.

◦ Weather it might be possible that this prophecy is to just include all of Israel’s history with Jerusalem, or just it’s future years as a nation; then either way, 167 BC is not a fulfillment of Daniel’s 70 week prophecy.

◦ Otherwise back to the prophecy: We have a beginning point within David’s reign continuing forward in time where she is with her Holy city?

◦ So the time when Abraham was called until that time should not be involved for there was no nation. When Jacob was renamed Israel: this should not be involved in this prophecy for he was not associated with Jerusalem. And so the Abomination of Desolation told of to Daniel could not be a reference to Antiochus’ act within the prophecy itself; and therefore this act must be yet future even as Jesus implied it to be. We must still look for the rebuilding of the Temple. But the 70 weeks of prophetic years of Israel’s history takes on a different challenge when considering that it likely has to be tied only to their time associated with Jerusalem: their holy city.

Someone with more understanding than I concerning Israel’s history with the Holy City must attempt those calculations. But I believe one day soon all will be made clear to us.

But considering the facts from Scripture, I think it to be best understood that the coming of Messiah will thus be pre-millennial.

Christ Himself will eventually reign on earth over mortal mankind. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. To conclude that Christ has come in His Spirit in the Church, as the fulfillment of this prophecy is to overlook what Jesus prayed in both of His prayers. Neither His our Father prayer, which we still have prayed by someone within the faith every single day, nor His John 17 unity prayer for Church unity have been fulfilled. So this leads to only one conclusion. His physical appearance and presence is needed following our resurrection to reign with Him thus bringing fulfillment for both prayers.