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 prophecy? Those other than Pre-millennialists say yes.

But is Daniel 11 speaking of this event which occurred in 167 BC?

What is interesting about Daniel’s 70 week prophecy is the statement made to Daniel before in chapter 9: 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 entire period of history from the time of this prophecy, since it is about Israel Daniel’s people and their time line. So if this is the meaning of this prophecy; then it’s not possible for that year 167 and the temple event to be significant and within the seventieth week?

But Is the prophecy as it is worded to possibly include the entire time of Israel’s history concerning Daniel’s people; but only that time as it relates to their Holy City Jerusalem? If so this would require us to include 167 BC. BUT, we can start to see a real problem if this is truly to be the case.

Concerning the city’s history over the time of Daniel’s peoples existence there have been over 4000 years of that city (Jerusalem’s) history, but not all of it had involved Israel. In fact it is even possible that it was not always “the Holy City”.

Although Jerusalem was destroyed twice it still continued to exist until this very day. It has existed in relation to Daniel’s people for an unexplored but likely 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 the time even before Daniel’s prophecy was given? 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? Only God does.

The Hebrew word for weeks of years above is not limited to 7 weeks, but can mean any integer multiple of 7. If Daniel’s people began with Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac on a mountain in the location of the Holy City is this the beginning point of such calculation? Mt Moriah is also said to be where Jesus was crucified. Was this even a city in Abraham’s day. It is stated to be then Salem see (Heb. 7:1-2).

It has been pointed out that the translation Shabua means a period of years equally divisible by seven in the original. 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 (no 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.

If it might be possible that this prophecy is to include all of Israel’s history with Jerusalem then we have questions: when is the time of Israel’s or Daniel’s people’s birth? For is it not an issue if this includes her time with the Holy city? So the time when Abraham was actually called should not be the question? When Jacob was renamed Israel could be part of the prophecy? Maybe? So can we make a determination as to the date 167BC BEING OR NOT the event in the middle of Daniel’s 70th week, which could include all of her history and thus can we decide if it could be the Abomination spoken by Jesus?

Let’s consider: can we conclude our answer by simply stating that it’s time is long past for Jesus to return. Why? The time of offering Issac is stated to have occurred in 1845 BC*. If 167 BC was meant to be the middle of Daniel’s 70th week; then Jesus would have returned long ago.

* https://www.biblestudy.org/maps/life-of-abraham-timeline.html

Therefore the reference concerning the Abomination of Desolation by Daniel could not be a reference to Antiochus’ act; and therefore this act must be yet future at the time that Jesus referred to it.

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 all will be made clearer to us.

I think it to be best understood that the coming of Messiah will be pre/millennial. Our still praying “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven” is for the future. It has not yet happened.

But is pre/millennial thinking correct on its understanding of Daniel’s 70th week? I don’t think it to be as clear as they would have us believe, but neither do I believe that the post/mill thinking concerning Daniel’s prophecy is as clear as they state it to be.

What is clear, is the teachings concerning Jesus physically returning to this earth, and that return will be associated with a great Tribulation, and it will be following the preaching of the gospel to every nation and tribe of people. And it is called the end both in what Daniel was told; and in what Jesus described.

To Daniel that end is associated with the age.

With Jesus this end involves the salvation of man. With both this end goes beyond the concept known as death, and instead involves resurrection. It therefore involves in fact, the blessed hope for every believer including Both Abraham and Daniel.