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)

We need to pay special attention to, not just who these weeks are for, but to what will be accomplished within them.  For a moment I want you to clear your mind of what you’ve been told, and think on the verses.  These weeks will seal up vision and prophecy.  Does this mean what it says?  Certainly.  When is the prophecy concerning Jerusalem (the holy city) and that of Daniel’s people complete?  Is it done at the time of Jesus return?  

According to this it must bring an everlasting righteousness to bear on this city and on this people.  Ask yourself: Will this come about in this age, or will it take the millennium itself to fulfill it?  Jesus rules during the millennium with a rod of iron.  I’m not sure just what that means.  In fact it could take the millennium’s completion to fulfill the prophecies concerning the holy city, but that would not be necessarily true for His holy bride (Isa. 54) 

Now think of what you’ve been taught. You have heard from the Dispensationalists that this prophecy of the 69th week has that week end with Jesus Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and then the 70th week begins after that and has now surpassed around 2000 years of history and is yet future. It begins with Antichrist’s establishment of a peace treaty with Israel, which he will break in the middle of that week, or to the Dispensationalist, 3 and 1/2 years later.  If this were true God’s prophecy to Israel or some parts of it means nothing; for some of the main points concerning this prophecy are excluded from all Seventy of the weeks as they understand them.  What’s missing?  These weeks are “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.”

Not much of this happens within the actual 70 weeks as Dispensationalists interpret them.  In order for this to occur Jesus’ death on the cross, and His resurrection which allows for its accomplishment must occur.   Israel’s coming back to the Holy city in 1948 and her current history with that city are missing.  Yet it is about both thee city and its people? All left out of the time contained within their interpretation of these weeks. Jesus death and resurrection both are left out.  They come after the triumphal entry, which concludes the 69th week.  His return is also left out: why?  The Tribulation, which brings about Israel’s salvation is over before Jesus returns to earth, if their interpretation is correct the 70th week is the Truibulation.  

Mark 13:24-26  “But in those days, [after that tribulation], THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT,  25  AND THE STARS WILL BE FALLING from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken.  26  “And then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN CLOUDS with great power and glory. (NASB2020)

The 70th week according to Dispensationalist’s theology is only the 7 year Tribulation.  

So how do these things find their inclusion within these 70 weeks?  

So in essence no currently offered eschatology can fully explain this prophecy.  

Daniel 9:27  “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations [will come] one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.” (NASB)

Much debate is offered up over just who it is who is offering up this covenant.  Is it Jesus or antichrist (the one who makes desolate)?  If it is Antichrist the most important works stated to occur within the prophecy are left out.  The following dates would be important dates, I think, in order to fulfill the prophecy, if Jesus is the one who caused sacrifice to cease?

What time of year did Jesus likely die?

If Jesus the Word of God established the covenant. Which seems to fulfill the prophecies stated much better; then which covenant did He establish and from which are we to interpret this prophecy.  There is no question that He (when He was Crucified) ended any need for further sacrifice. But if that is the middle of a very lengthy prophetic period of years which must be equally divisible by 7; and must include all that the prophecy requires; then what is its start date?

That Likely threw you for a loop.  One of the terms that is important to its interpretation is the Greek word Shabua; which has a meaning associated with weeks of sevens, or a number of weeks equally divisible by 7, and is understood to mean weeks of years. 

David Lurie, a Messianic Jew, and a mathematician years ago wrote a book (The Covenant The Holocaust and the 70th Week). In it he explained the word meaning associated with the weeks of years.  His book made a lot of sense but did not take a stand fully on what these verses required in order to affix to a theology that was correct.  Nor did he answer all the issues left unanswered.  We may not know the full answer until Jesus returns.  But, we know that the important events of Jesus’ life in accomplishing this righteousness must be within this prophecy.  So, I do have some additional thoughts that I will put out in my next post.