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Content

• PREFACE

• INTRODUCTION

• THE SETTING OF DANIEL'S PROPHECY

• SEVENTY WEEKS ARE DETERMINED

• PROPHECY TESTIFIES OF JESUS CHRIST

• DANIEL'S PEOPLE AND DANIEL'S HOLY CITY

• UNDERSTANDING THE SEVENTY WEEKS

• THE PROPHECY HAS NO GAP

• MESSIAH THE PRINCE IS THE CENTRE

• WHAT THE SEVENTY WEEKS WERE GIVEN TO ACCOMPLISH

• CONCLUSION: THE PROPHECY POINTS TO JESUS CHRIST

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PREFACE

Daniel's prophecy of the seventy weeks is one of the most precise and important prophecies in Scripture. It establishes a measured period connected with Daniel's people and Jerusalem, directs attention towards the coming of Messiah the Prince, foretells that the Messiah would be cut off and identifies purposes that would be accomplished through His work.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:24-27:

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: 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 unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

This prophecy must be approached carefully. It has often been divided, extended or moved into the future through systems of interpretation that place an undefined period between the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks. Yet the prophecy itself presents seventy weeks as one determined period, and no gap is stated in the verses.

The controlling principle is to allow Scripture to interpret Scripture. Prophecy should not be shaped around an already established religious system and then made to fit that system. Its words, historical setting, timeframe and fulfilment must be examined together and tested by the wider testimony of the Bible.

Jesus Christ must also remain at the centre of the prophecy because Scripture was given to testify of Him.

Jesus said in John 5:39:

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

Daniel's seventy weeks therefore should not be approached primarily as a means of constructing a future prophetic programme. The prophecy leads directly towards Messiah the Prince and the work He would accomplish. Its fulfilment confirms the faithfulness of God's Word and reveals with remarkable precision that Jesus Christ stands at the centre of God's redemptive purpose.

The prophecy also establishes an important covenant setting. The seventy weeks were determined upon Daniel's people and Daniel's holy city, and those expressions must first be understood within Daniel's own historical context. At the same time, the fulfilment of the prophecy leads directly into the New Covenant reality established through Jesus Christ.

This Study Guide will therefore begin by defining the prophecy itself. We will examine its setting, the meaning of the seventy weeks, the people and city upon whom the period was determined, the purpose of biblical prophecy and the reason the seventy weeks must be understood as a continuous period rather than separated by an unsupported gap.

Later Study Guides in this module will establish the detailed chronology and then examine how the purposes of the prophecy were fulfilled through Jesus Christ. The dates and calculations are important, but they are not the centre. The centre is the Messiah to whom the prophecy points.

Daniel's seventy weeks were not given to turn the believer's attention away from Jesus Christ towards speculation. They were given within the Word of God, and their fulfilment strengthens confidence in the One of whom the Scriptures testify.

The prophecy must therefore be allowed to speak according to its own words, its own timeframe and its own Scriptural context.

Above all, it must lead us to Jesus Christ.

INTRODUCTION

Daniel's seventy weeks prophecy has been interpreted in many different ways. Some interpretations move the final week thousands of years beyond the first sixty-nine weeks, while others connect Daniel's words with a future tribulation, a future covenant and events that are still expected to occur. Because these teachings have become widely established, it is especially important that the prophecy be examined from Scripture itself rather than through an inherited prophetic system.

The first responsibility of the Bible student is to allow the Word of God to interpret itself. A doctrine should not begin with a predetermined conclusion and then search for verses that can be fitted around it. The words of the prophecy, their immediate setting, their timeframe and their fulfilment must be examined together and then compared with the wider testimony of Scripture.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:24:

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”

This opening statement establishes several facts before any dates are calculated. A particular period was determined. That period concerned Daniel's people and Daniel's holy city, and within it God identified specific purposes that were to be accomplished. The prophecy therefore has defined subjects, a defined period and defined objectives.

The prophecy also directs us towards Messiah the Prince. The seventy weeks cannot be interpreted correctly if Jesus Christ becomes secondary while attention is given mainly to future political events, modern nations or speculative prophetic schemes. The Messiah stands at the centre of these verses, and the events of the prophecy must be understood in relation to Him.

Jesus explained the proper direction of Scripture.

Jesus said in John 5:39:

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

The Scriptures testify of Jesus Christ. Prophecy therefore serves a greater purpose than satisfying curiosity about future events. When the Word of God foretells what will take place and that prophecy is fulfilled, the fulfilment confirms the truthfulness of God's Word and directs attention towards the One of whom the Scriptures testify.

This principle is especially important in Daniel chapter 9 because the prophecy contains a measurable period. The seventy weeks do not appear as unrelated prophetic fragments. They are presented as one determined period, and the text itself gives no statement that thousands of years should be inserted between the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks.

Any proposed gap must therefore be tested by Scripture. It cannot be accepted simply because it has become familiar through preaching, books, charts or religious tradition. If the text presents seventy weeks, then the burden of proof rests upon any interpretation that removes the final week from the period and places it in another age.

The same care must be taken with the expressions “thy people” and “thy holy city.” Daniel was not speaking from a modern setting. He was an Israelite living during the captivity, concerned about Jerusalem and the condition of his people. These expressions must first be understood as Daniel and his original audience would have understood them before conclusions are drawn about their prophetic significance.

At the same time, the fulfilment of the prophecy does not leave God's purpose confined to natural Israel. The New Covenant reveals one people in Jesus Christ, composed of those who are born again. Jew and Gentile enter the same body through the same Gospel and the same Spirit, and no separate saving programme remains for natural Israel apart from Jesus Christ.

Daniel's prophecy therefore stands at an important point in biblical history. It reaches from the period of Israel's captivity towards the coming of Messiah and the establishment of the New Covenant reality in Jesus Christ. Understanding that movement is essential if the prophecy is to be interpreted according to its Scriptural setting rather than through later religious expectations.

The prophecy also teaches us something about the nature of biblical timespans. God may reveal a measured period and describe the events that mark its beginning, development and fulfilment. The interpreter must therefore identify those events from Scripture and history rather than invent dates independently of the prophetic conditions.

This Study Guide will establish those foundations before the detailed chronology is examined. We will consider the setting in which Daniel received the prophecy, what the seventy weeks represent, upon whom they were determined, why there is no Scriptural basis for inserting an undefined gap, and how the entire prophecy directs attention towards Messiah the Prince.

The detailed calculation from the decree to restore Jerusalem through the appearance and death of the Messiah will be examined separately. The full fulfilment of the purposes stated in Daniel 9:24 will also receive detailed treatment. Here our task is to understand the prophecy as Daniel received it and to establish the principles by which it must be interpreted.

Daniel's seventy weeks should therefore be approached with confidence in Scripture rather than with dependence upon tradition. God has not given prophecy to create confusion. He has given His Word so that truth may be understood in its proper setting and so that fulfilled prophecy may strengthen confidence in Jesus Christ.

The question throughout this study is not, “Which prophetic system is most familiar?” The question is, “What does the Scripture actually say?”

When the prophecy is allowed to speak for itself, its direction becomes clear. It leads to Jesus Christ.

THE SETTING OF DANIEL'S PROPHECY

Daniel's prophecy of the seventy weeks was given at a specific point in Israel's history. Daniel was living away from Jerusalem during the captivity, and he had been studying Jeremiah's prophecy concerning the seventy years of desolation. The setting is important because it establishes why Daniel was praying about his people and Jerusalem when the prophecy of the seventy weeks was revealed to him.

The Seventy Years of Captivity

Israel had repeatedly rejected God's Word and departed from His commandments. As judgement upon that rebellion, Jerusalem was devastated and the people were carried into Babylonian captivity.

Jeremiah had already prophesied that this captivity would continue for seventy years.

Jeremiah wrote in Jeremiah 25:11-12:

“And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the LORD, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations.”

The seventy years were a definite period established by God. They had a beginning and an end, and Daniel understood that God's Word concerning those seventy years was approaching fulfilment.

This provides an important background to Daniel's seventy weeks. Daniel had already seen that God could establish a definite prophetic period and bring His Word to fulfilment exactly as He had declared.

Daniel Understood by the Scriptures

Daniel did not discover the seventy-year period through speculation. He understood it by reading the written Word of God.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:1-2:

“In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.”

Daniel said, “I Daniel understood by books.” He went to the Scriptures. Jeremiah had already spoken, and Daniel read what had been written and understood the time in which he was living.

This establishes a fundamental rule for understanding prophecy. Scripture must interpret Scripture. A prophetic Scripture must not be separated from the rest of God's Word and made to support a system that Scripture itself does not establish.

Daniel himself followed this principle. He received visions, yet he still examined the written Word. He understood prophecy through Scripture.

Daniel Turned to God in Prayer

When Daniel understood that the seventy years were approaching their conclusion, he did not respond with speculation or excitement about dates. He turned to God in prayer.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:3-5:

“And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes: And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments:”

Daniel recognised why Israel had gone into captivity. The problem had not been God's faithfulness. Israel had rebelled, so Daniel confessed the sin of his people and appealed to the mercy of God.

His prayer continued with a direct concern for Jerusalem.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:16-19:

“O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. O my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by thy name: for we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy city and thy people are called by thy name.”

Daniel's concern is unmistakable. He was praying about “thy city Jerusalem” and “thy people.” This setting determines the meaning of the answer that followed.

Daniel Was Given Understanding

While Daniel was still praying, the answer came.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:20-22:

“And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God; Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.”

Daniel describes Gabriel as “the man Gabriel.” Gabriel is presented in the vision as a man, a human being, not as a celestial angelic being. The communication took place within the vision given to Daniel, and the purpose of the message was to give Daniel skill and understanding concerning what God was revealing.

Daniel identifies the subject of his prayer as “the sin of my people Israel” and “the holy mountain of my God.” He was specifically told that the purpose of the message was to give him “skill and understanding.” The prophecy was intended to be understood.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:23:

“At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.”

The instruction was direct: “understand the matter” and “consider the vision.” Daniel was not being given words without meaning. God was giving him understanding concerning what would happen to his people and Jerusalem.

From Seventy Years to Seventy Weeks

Daniel had been studying a definite period of seventy years concerning the captivity and desolation of Jerusalem. God then revealed another definite period: seventy weeks.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:24:

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”

The connection is direct. Daniel had been praying about his people, and God said “thy people.” Daniel had been praying about Jerusalem, and God said “thy holy city.”

Daniel had also been considering one completed prophetic timeframe, and God revealed another prophetic timeframe. The seventy weeks prophecy therefore did not appear without context. It came directly out of Daniel's understanding of Jeremiah, his prayer concerning Israel and Jerusalem, and God's answer concerning what would happen to them.

The Prophecy Looked Beyond the Captivity

The end of the Babylonian captivity was not the end of God's prophetic dealings with Daniel's people. Daniel was shown that another period extended forward towards events of far greater importance.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 10:14:

“Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.”

The prophecy therefore reached beyond the restoration of Jerusalem after the captivity. It reached forward towards Messiah the Prince and the great covenant events connected with His coming.

This is the essential setting of Daniel's seventy weeks. Daniel was living near the end of the seventy-year captivity. He understood Jeremiah's prophecy through the written Scriptures, prayed concerning Israel and Jerusalem, confessed the rebellion of his people and sought God concerning the desolated city.

God answered by revealing a new, definite prophetic period concerning Daniel's people and Daniel's holy city. The seventy weeks must therefore be interpreted within that setting. They begin with Daniel's people and Jerusalem, move forward through a determined prophetic period and ultimately lead directly to Jesus Christ, Messiah the Prince.

SEVENTY WEEKS ARE DETERMINED

The opening words of Daniel's prophecy establish a fixed and definite prophetic period. God did not give Daniel an open-ended prophecy that could be interrupted for thousands of years and resumed at some future time. He declared that seventy weeks were determined upon Daniel's people and Daniel's holy city.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:24:

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”

Every word matters. The prophecy identifies the period, the people, the city and the purposes that were to be accomplished. The seventy weeks were established by God.

CHATHAK Means “To Cut Off”

The Hebrew word translated “determined” is CHATHAK. CHATHAK means “to cut off.” God cut off a definite prophetic period of seventy weeks concerning Daniel's people and Daniel's holy city.

The period was measured, limited and established by God Himself. Daniel was not being told that sixty-nine weeks would run consecutively and that the final week would then be removed from the prophecy for thousands of years. God said, “Seventy weeks are determined.”

The whole seventy-week period was cut off and belonged together. It had to be fulfilled within the timeframe God established.

This is the starting point for understanding Daniel's prophecy correctly.

God Established the Boundary

When God determines a prophetic period, man has no authority to extend it. The seventy weeks were not an approximate period or a framework to which thousands of additional years could later be added. They were the exact period God placed upon Daniel's people and holy city.

Daniel had already been studying Jeremiah's seventy years. Those seventy years were not interrupted by an undefined age. God fulfilled them according to the period He had declared, and the same principle applies to the seventy weeks.

God established the period, its boundaries and what would occur within it. The interpreter must remain within those boundaries.

The Seventy Weeks Form One Prophecy

Daniel later divides the seventy weeks into three parts.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:25-27:

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: 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 unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

The divisions are seven weeks, threescore and two weeks, and one week. Seven plus sixty-two plus one equals seventy. These divisions identify stages within the timeline, but they do not create an interruption between the weeks.

The seventieth week follows the sixty-ninth week. There is no gap.

The Gap Is Not in Daniel's Prophecy

A widely taught prophetic system removes the seventieth week from Daniel's seventy weeks and places it thousands of years into the future. According to that teaching, the prophetic clock stopped after sixty-nine weeks, the Church entered an unmentioned gap period, and the final week will begin after the Church is removed.

Daniel did not write that, and God did not reveal it. There is no verse in Daniel 9 stating that the prophetic clock stops after the sixty-ninth week, that the Church occupies an inserted period between the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks, or that the seventieth week is moved thousands of years into the future.

The gap has been inserted into the prophecy by men. It is not contained in the Word of God.

The Church Is Not a Prophetic Interruption

The Church of God is not an interruption in God's plan. The Church is the body of Jesus Christ, composed of all who are born again. Jesus Christ did not establish His Church as a temporary arrangement while God's real prophetic programme waited to resume with natural Israel.

The New Covenant is the fulfilment towards which the Old Covenant pointed. Scripture teaches one New Covenant people in Jesus Christ, not two separate saving programmes.

The Church is not living between the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks. The seventieth week has already been fulfilled.

The Prophecy Moves Directly to Messiah

Daniel's seventy weeks do not move towards a future Antichrist as their centre. They move directly towards Messiah the Prince.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:25:

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.”

The prophecy is Christ-centred. The measured period leads to Messiah, and the final week concerns Messiah. The covenant belongs to Messiah, the ending of sacrifice and oblation belongs to Messiah, and the reconciliation and everlasting righteousness of Daniel 9:24 are accomplished through Messiah.

Jesus Christ stands at the centre of the seventy weeks. Any interpretation that removes the final week from the time of Jesus Christ and transfers it thousands of years into the future moves the prophecy away from the One to whom it points.

The Final Week Belongs to Jesus Christ

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:27:

“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease…”

The “he” of the prophecy is Jesus Christ, Messiah the Prince. Jesus Christ confirmed the covenant, fulfilled the sacrificial system and caused sacrifice and oblation to cease in their divine purpose through His own perfect sacrifice.

The final week therefore belongs to the work of Jesus Christ, not to a future Antichrist. Its detailed fulfilment will be established later in this module, but its place in the prophecy is already certain.

The final week immediately follows the sixty-nine weeks and remains part of the seventy weeks determined by God.

There Is No Future Seventieth Week

The Church is not waiting for Daniel's final prophetic week to begin. There is no future seven-year period needed to complete Daniel's prophecy, no suspended prophetic clock and no two-thousand-year gap. There is also no future physical Second Coming required to complete the seventy weeks.

Jesus Christ fulfilled His promised coming when He came to His people as the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost in A.D. 31.

Jesus said in John 14:18-20:

“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”

Jesus said, “I will come to you.” He came, and He now dwells within every born-again believer as the Holy Spirit. The Church is not waiting in an inserted prophetic gap for Him to fulfil that promise.

Seventy Weeks Means Seventy Weeks

The opening declaration of Daniel's prophecy must therefore be allowed to stand exactly as God gave it. CHATHAK means “to cut off,” and seventy weeks were cut off upon Daniel's people and Daniel's holy city.

All seventy weeks belong to the same prophecy and the same determined period. The seventieth week follows the sixty-ninth week. There is no gap.

The prophecy moves directly towards Jesus Christ, Messiah the Prince, and finds its fulfilment in Him. God said seventy weeks.

We have no authority to make it anything else.

PROPHECY TESTIFIES OF JESUS CHRIST

Biblical prophecy has a definite purpose. It is not given to satisfy human curiosity, create speculation about future events or provide a platform for men to build prophetic systems around themselves. Prophecy authenticates Jesus Christ and the Word of God.

Jesus established this truth plainly.

Jesus said in John 5:39:

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

The Scriptures testify of Jesus Christ. The Law, the prophets and the Psalms all point towards Him and find their fulfilment in Him. Prophetic revelation must therefore remain centred in Jesus Christ.

Daniel's seventy weeks must be interpreted in the same way. The prophecy is not centred upon a future Antichrist, a future seven-year tribulation, modern political Israel or a prophetic gap lasting thousands of years. It points directly to Messiah the Prince.

Prophecy Authenticates Jesus Christ

To authenticate means to establish that something is genuine and true. Biblical prophecy authenticates Jesus Christ because God declared beforehand what would occur, and the fulfilment confirms that Jesus is the Christ whom the Scriptures foretold.

Jesus explained this principle to His disciples.

Jesus said in John 14:29:

“And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.”

Jesus told them beforehand so that, when what He had said was fulfilled, they would believe. The purpose of prophecy was not simply prediction. The purpose was authentication.

God declares what will happen, and the event occurs as He declared. The fulfilment confirms the truthfulness of His Word. Daniel's seventy weeks gives a measured prophetic period leading directly to Messiah the Prince, foretells that Messiah would be cut off and identifies covenant purposes accomplished through Him.

When these things are fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the prophecy authenticates Him as the promised Messiah.

The Scriptures Testify of Christ

Jesus did not treat the prophetic writings as disconnected predictions. He taught that the Scriptures were speaking about Him. After His resurrection, He explained this directly to His disciples.

Luke recorded in Luke 24:25-27:

“Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”

Jesus began with Moses and continued through the prophets. He showed them “the things concerning himself.” The prophetic Scriptures were pointing towards Jesus Christ.

Luke recorded in Luke 24:44-45:

“And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,”

Jesus said, “concerning me.” That is the key to Daniel's prophecy. The chronology, the Messiah, the covenant, the ending of sacrifice, reconciliation and everlasting righteousness all lead to Jesus Christ.

The prophecy must remain centred upon Him from beginning to end.

Daniel's Prophecy Leads to Messiah the Prince

Daniel's prophecy gives a direct prophetic measurement leading to the Messiah.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:25:

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.”

The destination is unmistakable: “unto the Messiah the Prince.” The prophecy does not say unto Antichrist, a future world ruler or a future seven-year tribulation. It says “unto the Messiah the Prince.”

The prophetic period leads directly to Jesus Christ. This is why the chronology matters. The dates identify and authenticate Messiah the Prince rather than provide material for endless prophetic theories.

Fulfilment Is the Proof

Prophecy becomes powerful when its fulfilment is recognised. Before the event occurs, God declares what will happen. After the event occurs, the fulfilment becomes evidence that His Word is true.

Daniel's seventy weeks has already reached its fulfilment in Jesus Christ. Messiah came, Messiah was cut off, the covenant was confirmed, sacrifice and oblation ceased in their divine purpose, reconciliation was accomplished and everlasting righteousness was brought in.

The prophecy has done what God intended it to do. It has authenticated Jesus Christ.

When fulfilled prophecy is continually moved into the future, its power as evidence is lost. Instead of confirming what Jesus Christ has already accomplished, the student is taught to wait for events that Scripture has already fulfilled.

Prophecy Strengthens Faith

Biblical prophecy is intended to strengthen faith in God and His Word. Paul knew that suffering awaited him, yet the prophetic warning did not cause fear or confusion.

Paul said in Acts 20:22-24:

“And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.”

Paul knew that bonds and afflictions awaited him, but his response was “none of these things move me.” Prophecy did not weaken his faith or turn his attention away from Jesus Christ. It strengthened his resolve to continue faithfully in the ministry Christ had given him.

This is the proper effect of prophecy. It should not produce fear, endless speculation or an unhealthy preoccupation with world events. It should confirm the faithfulness of God and strengthen confidence in His Word.

Prophecy Is Not Human Prediction

There is a clear difference between biblical prophecy and human attempts to predict the future. The believer is not called to live by continual predictions concerning tomorrow. Jesus taught His people to trust God each day.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:33-34:

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

The believer's confidence does not come from knowing every event that tomorrow will bring. Our confidence comes from knowing Jesus Christ. Fulfilled prophecy strengthens that confidence because it demonstrates that God's Word is true.

Jesus Christ Is the Centre

Daniel's seventy weeks must therefore be interpreted according to its true purpose. The prophecy authenticates Jesus Christ, confirms the accuracy of God's Word, establishes a measured prophetic period and leads directly to Messiah the Prince.

It foretells His being cut off, identifies the covenant work accomplished through Him and confirms God's New Covenant purpose. Any interpretation that removes the final week from the time of Jesus Christ and moves it thousands of years into the future takes the prophecy away from the Messiah to whom it was given to point.

That interpretation reverses the direction of Daniel's prophecy. The prophecy does not move away from Christ; it moves towards Him. It does not point beyond Christ to a future fulfilment greater than Him.

Jesus said, “they are they which testify of me.” Daniel's prophecy testifies of Jesus Christ and authenticates Him as Messiah the Prince. When the seventy weeks are understood correctly, Jesus Christ remains exactly where Scripture places Him: at the centre of the prophecy.

DANIEL'S PEOPLE AND DANIEL'S HOLY CITY

Daniel 9:24 identifies exactly upon whom the seventy weeks were determined. God did not leave the identity of the people or the city open to speculation. Daniel's own prayer and the historical setting establish both clearly.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:24:

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”

Daniel's people were literal Old Covenant Israel, and Daniel's holy city was literal Jerusalem. The seventy weeks were determined upon both.

Daniel's People Were Old Covenant Israel

Daniel himself identifies his people earlier in the chapter.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:20:

“And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;”

Daniel said, “my people Israel.” Therefore, when the message that followed spoke of “thy people,” it referred to literal Israel, the natural descendants of Jacob who occupied the Old Covenant position.

The Hebrew word translated “determined” is CHATHAK. CHATHAK means “to cut off.” The seventy weeks were cut off or determined upon Daniel's people, and at the conclusion of God's appointed dealings with Old Covenant Israel, their exclusive covenant position came to an end.

Paul confirms that this cutting off had already occurred.

Paul wrote in Romans 11:20-21:

“Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.”

Paul calls them “the natural branches.” These natural branches were the descendants of Israel who had occupied the Old Covenant position. Paul then said, “they were broken off.”

This was not still waiting to happen in some future age. Paul spoke of it as an accomplished reality.

Jesus Foretold the Change

Jesus also declared that the kingdom would be taken from those who rejected Him and given to another nation.

Jesus said in Matthew 21:42-43:

“Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.”

Matthew then records who understood that Jesus was speaking about them.

Matthew wrote in Matthew 21:45:

“And when the chief priests and Pharisees had heard his parables, they perceived that he spake of them.”

Jesus declared, “The kingdom of God shall be taken from you.” The exclusive covenant position of natural Israel was coming to an end, and a new nation would bring forth the fruits of the kingdom. This agrees with Paul's later statement that the natural branches had been broken off.

Natural Birth No Longer Identifies God's People

Under the New Covenant, natural descent does not make a person part of God's spiritual people. Jesus established this clearly when He spoke to Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a Jew, a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews, yet Jesus did not tell him that his natural birth gave him entrance into the kingdom.

Jesus said in John 3:3:

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Jesus repeated the requirement.

Jesus said in John 3:7:

“Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”

There is one entrance into the kingdom of God. Natural ancestry, Jewish identity and Old Covenant descent cannot replace the new birth.

Every person must be born again.

One People in Jesus Christ

The New Covenant does not establish one saving programme for Jews and another for Gentiles.

Paul wrote in Romans 10:11-13:

“For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Paul states the truth plainly: “There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek.” There is one Lord, one Gospel, one salvation, one New Covenant and one people in Jesus Christ.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:13:

“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”

Jew and Gentile are brought by one Spirit into one body. That body is the Church.

Paul wrote in Colossians 1:18:

“And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.”

There are not two covenant peoples. There is one body in Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ is its Head.

One New Man

Paul explains this New Covenant unity further in Ephesians.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:13-16:

“But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:”

The Greek word translated “one” in “one new man” is HEIS. HEIS means “one.” Jesus Christ made Jew and Gentile one; He did not preserve them as two covenant peoples.

Paul says Christ made “of twain one new man” and reconciled “both unto God in one body.” The place where Jew and Gentile become one is Jesus Christ. The Jew does not remain under the Old Covenant while accepting Jesus alongside it, and the Gentile does not become part of natural Israel.

Both come into Jesus Christ.

Those Who Belong to Christ Are Abraham's Seed

Paul establishes the identity of God's people under the New Covenant.

Paul wrote in Galatians 3:28-29:

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

The determining words are “if ye be Christ's.” Those who belong to Jesus Christ are Abraham's seed. Natural ancestry does not determine the seed; belonging to Christ does.

Paul makes the same truth clear when speaking of the Israel of God.

Paul wrote in Galatians 6:15-16:

“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God.”

Under the New Covenant, the controlling reality is not circumcision, uncircumcision or natural Jewish descent. It is “a new creature.” The Israel of God is the spiritual people of God in Jesus Christ: those who are born again and made part of His body, the Church.

Daniel's Holy City Was Literal Jerusalem

Daniel 9:24 also states that the seventy weeks were determined upon “thy holy city.” Daniel's holy city was literal Jerusalem, and the Old Testament directly identifies Jerusalem as the holy city.

Nehemiah wrote in Nehemiah 11:1:

“And the rulers of the people dwelt at Jerusalem: the rest of the people also cast lots, to bring one of ten to dwell in Jerusalem the holy city, and nine parts to dwell in other cities.”

Jerusalem was the holy city under the Old Covenant. Daniel had been praying concerning Jerusalem, the sanctuary and the holy mountain, so the expression “thy holy city” in Daniel's prophecy refers directly to literal Jerusalem.

The Old Jerusalem and the New Jerusalem

Literal Jerusalem no longer holds the covenant position it occupied under the Old Covenant. Scripture reveals a New Jerusalem.

John wrote in Revelation 21:2:

“And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

There is now a New Jerusalem. The old Jerusalem was earthly and belonged to the Old Covenant, while the New Jerusalem is spiritual and belongs to the New Covenant. The old Jerusalem was associated with a physical Temple, while the New Jerusalem is composed of the born-again people of God in whom Jesus Christ dwells by His Spirit.

The New Jerusalem Is the Church

John identifies the New Jerusalem with the bride.

John wrote in Revelation 21:9-10:

“And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,”

John was told, “I will shew thee the bride,” and he was shown “that great city, the holy Jerusalem.” The bride and the holy city are the same spiritual reality. The New Jerusalem is the Church, the born-again people of God.

God Now Dwells in His People

Under the New Covenant, God's dwelling place is not a physical Temple in literal Jerusalem.

Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 3:16:

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?”

The believer is now the temple of God, and the Church is the spiritual dwelling place of God. Jesus Christ, as the Holy Spirit, dwells within every born-again believer. This is why literal Jerusalem no longer holds the covenant position of God's holy city.

The presence of God is now in His people.

From the Old Covenant to the New

Daniel's prophecy begins with literal Israel and literal Jerusalem. Daniel's people were Old Covenant Israel, Daniel's holy city was earthly Jerusalem, and the seventy weeks were determined upon both.

The fulfilment of the prophecy leads beyond the Old Covenant order into the New Covenant reality established in Jesus Christ. Natural Israel's exclusive covenant position ended, and literal Jerusalem's position as God's holy city ended. The New Covenant people are those who are born again, the New Covenant city is the New Jerusalem, and the New Covenant temple is the people in whom Jesus Christ dwells.

There is now one people, one body and one spiritual city in Jesus Christ. Daniel's people and Daniel's holy city belonged to the Old Covenant setting of the prophecy, but its fulfilment leads to the New Covenant reality: the born-again people of God, the Church, the New Jerusalem, in whom Jesus Christ dwells.

UNDERSTANDING THE SEVENTY WEEKS

Daniel's prophecy does not give an undefined period. It gives a precise prophetic span of seventy weeks. To understand that period correctly, the Hebrew words must be understood and Scripture must be allowed to interpret Scripture.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:24:

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”

The expression translated “seventy weeks” is built from the Hebrew words SHIBIYM and SHABUA. SHIBIYM means “seventy,” and SHABUA means a period of seven. The prophecy therefore identifies seventy periods of seven.

SHABUA Is a Period of Seven Years

The meaning of SHABUA is established clearly in Genesis 29. Jacob had served Laban for seven years in order to marry Rachel. Laban deceived Jacob and gave him Leah instead, and Jacob was then required to fulfil another week in connection with Rachel and serve another seven years.

Moses wrote in Genesis 29:25-28:

“And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me? And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn. Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.”

The relationship is clear. The week is connected with seven years. The same Hebrew word, SHABUA, is used in Daniel's prophecy, so Daniel's seventy weeks are seventy periods of seven years.

The Bible interprets the prophetic expression for us.

Seventy Weeks Equal 490 Years

Once SHABUA is understood, the duration of Daniel's prophecy becomes definite. Seventy periods of seven years equal 490 years.

70 × 7 = 490 years.

Daniel's seventy weeks therefore span 490 years. This is the total prophetic period determined upon Daniel's people and Daniel's holy city.

The seventy weeks are not symbolic of an unlimited period. They are not sixty-nine weeks followed by an age of unknown duration and then one final week. They are 490 years.

The Prophecy Divides the 490 Years

Daniel's prophecy divides the seventy weeks into three parts.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:25-27:

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: 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 unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

The divisions are:

• Seven SHABUA = 49 years;
• Sixty-two SHABUA = 434 years;
• One SHABUA = 7 years.

Together, 49 + 434 + 7 = 490 years. The prophecy is therefore mathematically exact.

The First Seven SHABUA

The first division consists of seven SHABUA, or forty-nine years. Daniel connects this period with the restoration and rebuilding of Jerusalem.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:25:

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.”

The first forty-nine years belong to the rebuilding period. The exact starting commandment and the chronology flowing from it will be examined in the next Study Guide. For now, the important point is that the prophecy begins with a definite historical event and then moves forward through a measurable period.

The Next Sixty-Two SHABUA

After the first seven SHABUA come another sixty-two SHABUA. Sixty-two periods of seven years equal 434 years.

62 × 7 = 434 years.

When the first seven weeks and the following sixty-two weeks are added together, the total is sixty-nine weeks. Sixty-nine periods of seven years equal 483 years.

69 × 7 = 483 years.

Daniel says this period extends from the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem “unto the Messiah the Prince.” The destination of the first sixty-nine weeks is therefore Jesus Christ. The 483 years lead to Messiah.

The Final SHABUA

After the sixty-nine weeks comes the final one SHABUA. One SHABUA equals seven years, and this final seven-year period completes the seventy weeks.

483 years + 7 years = 490 years.

The final week is not a separate prophecy. It is not detached from the first sixty-nine weeks. It is the final seven years of the same seventy-week period.

The detailed fulfilment of this final week will be examined later, but its mathematical position is already certain. It completes the 490 years.

The Prophecy Has a Definite Starting Point

Daniel does not leave the beginning of the seventy weeks undefined. He identifies the starting event.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:25:

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks…”

The prophetic clock begins with “the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem.” The correct commandment must therefore produce the chronology established by Daniel.

From that commandment, forty-nine years cover the first seven weeks and another 434 years complete the sixty-two weeks. Together they total 483 years and lead to Messiah the Prince. The final seven years then complete the full 490-year prophecy.

The detailed identification of the commandment belongs to the prophetic timeline that follows. The structure, however, is already fixed by the text.

The Prophecy Is Measurable

Daniel's seventy weeks is not vague prophecy. It can be measured because the Hebrew terminology establishes the unit, Scripture establishes the meaning of SHABUA, the arithmetic establishes the total, and the prophecy itself establishes the divisions.

The commandment establishes the starting point, while Messiah the Prince establishes the central destination. Nothing about the fundamental structure requires speculation.

The seventy weeks equal 490 years.

Every Part Belongs to the Same Period

The three divisions must always be kept within the seventy weeks. The first seven weeks, the sixty-two weeks and the final week all belong to the same determined period.

Seven weeks plus sixty-two weeks plus one week equals seventy weeks. Forty-nine years plus 434 years plus seven years equals 490 years.

That is the period God determined. The prophecy must therefore be interpreted inside the 490 years God gave.

The Seventy Weeks Lead to Jesus Christ

The purpose of understanding the Hebrew terminology and the arithmetic is not simply to master a prophetic calculation. The timeline leads to a Person.

Daniel says, “unto the Messiah the Prince.” The 490 years are Christ-centred. The first sixty-nine weeks lead directly to Jesus Christ, the final week contains the work of Jesus Christ, and the purposes declared in Daniel 9:24 are accomplished through Jesus Christ.

The prophecy is therefore both chronological and doctrinal. The chronology authenticates the Messiah, and the fulfilment identifies Jesus Christ.

The seventy weeks are not an unfinished timetable waiting for a future generation. They are a definite 490-year prophecy that moves directly towards Jesus Christ and the New Covenant work accomplished through Him.

SHIBIYM means “seventy.” SHABUA means a period of seven. Seventy SHABUA equal 490 years, and those 490 years lead directly to Jesus Christ, Messiah the Prince.

THE PROPHECY HAS NO GAP

Daniel's seventy weeks form one continuous prophetic period. The prophecy contains no interruption between the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks. The teaching of a gap is not found in Daniel 9 and must therefore be rejected.

The seventy weeks equal 490 years. The first sixty-nine weeks equal 483 years, and the final week equals seven years. The seventieth week follows the sixty-ninth week.

There is no gap.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:25-27:

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: 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 unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

The prophecy itself establishes the order: seven weeks, sixty-two weeks and one week. Together they are seventy weeks.

The Sixty-Ninth Week Leads Directly to Messiah

Daniel 9:25 states that the period from the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem to Messiah the Prince is seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. Seven plus sixty-two equals sixty-nine weeks, and sixty-nine SHABUA equal 483 years.

The end of that 483-year period leads directly to Jesus Christ. Daniel wrote “unto the Messiah the Prince.” The prophecy therefore reaches Messiah at the conclusion of the sixty-nine weeks. It does not reach a gap or a prophetic suspension.

It reaches Jesus Christ.

“After” the Sixty-Nine Weeks

Daniel then tells us what happens after those sixty-nine weeks.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:26:

“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself…”

The word “after” is decisive. The first seven weeks have already passed, and the following sixty-two weeks have also passed. That totals sixty-nine weeks.

Daniel then says that after those weeks Messiah would be cut off. The cutting off of Messiah therefore occurs after the sixty-nine weeks have been completed. The next period is the seventieth week.

Jesus Christ was therefore cut off during the seventieth week.

The Messiah Was Cut Off in the Seventieth Week

The Hebrew word translated “cut off” in Daniel 9:26 is KARATH. KARATH means “to cut off.” In this context it refers to the violent cutting off of Messiah: His death.

Daniel did not prophesy that Messiah would appear, the prophetic clock would stop, thousands of years would pass, and then the seventieth week would begin. He prophesied that after the sixty-nine weeks, Messiah would be cut off.

The crucifixion therefore belongs inside the final week of the prophecy. The seventieth week had already begun when Jesus Christ was crucified.

The Gap Teaching Removes the Cross From the Final Week

The gap teaching says that after the sixty-nine weeks, Daniel's prophetic clock stopped. The Church is then placed inside an inserted period of more than two thousand years, after which the seventieth week is said to begin in the future.

Daniel never says this. The text contains no stopped prophetic clock, no inserted Church age and no future restart of the seventy weeks. It moves directly from the sixty-nine weeks to Messiah being cut off.

To insert a gap at that point removes the crucifixion from its proper place in Daniel's prophecy. The seventieth week is Christ-centred, and the cross belongs within it.

The Final Week Belongs to Jesus Christ

Daniel then writes concerning the final week.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:27:

“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease…”

The “he” is Jesus Christ, Messiah the Prince. Jesus Christ confirms the covenant, Jesus Christ is cut off, and Jesus Christ causes sacrifice and oblation to cease through His perfect sacrifice.

The final week therefore belongs to Jesus Christ. It does not belong to a future Antichrist or a future seven-year tribulation. The prophecy remains centred upon Messiah from beginning to end.

The Crucifixion Occurred in the Midst of the Week

Daniel says, “in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” The seventieth week is seven years, and the midst of seven years is three and a half years.

Jesus Christ began His public ministry at the beginning of the seventieth week. Approximately three and a half years later, He was crucified. His death therefore occurred in the midst of the final week.

Through His perfect sacrifice, the Old Covenant sacrificial system reached its fulfilment. Animal sacrifices could continue physically for a period, but they no longer possessed divine covenant purpose because Jesus Christ had offered the perfect sacrifice.

The final week contains the crucifixion exactly where Daniel placed it.

The Gap Teaching Creates a False Future Expectation

The gap teaching does more than alter Daniel's chronology. It creates an entire future prophetic system that Scripture does not teach.

It claims that the Church exists in an interruption, that Jesus Christ must return physically to restart Daniel's prophetic clock, that natural Israel must again become central to God's prophetic programme, and that a future seven-year tribulation completes the seventieth week. None of this is stated in Daniel 9.

The prophecy has already moved through its seventieth week. Jesus Christ has already been cut off, the covenant has already been confirmed, and sacrifice and oblation have already ceased in their divine purpose.

The Church is not living inside a prophetic gap.

The Church Is Not Waiting for Jesus to Return Physically

The gap teaching is closely connected with the teaching of a future physical Second Coming. According to that system, Jesus must return physically to remove the Church and restart God's dealings with natural Israel. Scripture teaches otherwise.

Jesus promised His disciples that He would come to them.

Jesus said in John 14:18-20:

“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”

Jesus said, “I will come to you.” He fulfilled that promise on the Day of Pentecost in A.D. 31 when He came as the Holy Spirit. The Church has therefore not been waiting for two thousand years for Jesus Christ to return physically.

Jesus came, and He now dwells within His born-again people as Spirit.

The Believer Is Complete in Christ Now

The gap system also encourages people to look towards a future event for the completion of God's purpose. Scripture teaches that the born-again believer is complete in Jesus Christ now.

Paul wrote in Colossians 2:10:

“And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:”

The Greek word translated “complete” comes from PLEROO, meaning to fill fully or make complete. The born-again believer is complete in Jesus Christ.

There is no future physical return required to complete the believer's salvation. There is no missing prophetic week required to complete the work of Christ, and there is no future covenant programme that must be added to what Jesus Christ has already accomplished.

Complete means complete.

The Prophecy Continues Without Interruption

Daniel's seventy weeks therefore stand as one continuous prophecy. The first seven weeks lead through the rebuilding period, and the next sixty-two weeks bring the total to sixty-nine.

After the sixty-nine weeks, Messiah is cut off. That places the crucifixion inside the seventieth week. In the midst of that week, sacrifice and oblation cease in their divine purpose through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

The chronology continues without interruption. The prophecy contains no gap.

There Is No Gap

The conclusion is definite. Daniel gave seventy weeks. CHATHAK means “to cut off,” and SHABUA means a period of seven. Seventy SHABUA equal 490 years.

The first sixty-nine weeks lead directly to Messiah the Prince. After those sixty-nine weeks, Messiah is cut off, placing the crucifixion in the seventieth week. The final week belongs to Jesus Christ.

There is no suspended prophetic clock, no inserted Church age, no future seventieth week and no future physical Second Coming needed to restart the prophecy. The seventy weeks move continuously from their beginning to their fulfilment in Jesus Christ. The prophecy has no gap.

MESSIAH THE PRINCE IS THE CENTRE

Daniel's seventy weeks must remain centred upon Jesus Christ. The prophecy does not build towards a future Antichrist, a future tribulation or a restored earthly system. It moves directly towards Messiah the Prince and the work He accomplished.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:25:

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.”

The destination of the first sixty-nine weeks is explicit: “unto the Messiah the Prince.” The prophecy therefore gives a measured period that leads directly to Jesus Christ.

The Sixty-Nine Weeks Lead to Jesus Christ

The first seven weeks and the following sixty-two weeks total sixty-nine SHABUA. Sixty-nine periods of seven years equal 483 years. Daniel says that this period runs from the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem “unto the Messiah the Prince.”

The chronology therefore has one central purpose: to identify Messiah. The detailed calculation of the starting decree belongs to the prophetic timeline, but the end point of the sixty-nine weeks is already definite. It is Jesus Christ.

The prophecy does not lead to an undefined future generation. It leads to Messiah the Prince.

Jesus Christ Was Revealed as Messiah

The chronology followed in this module places the beginning of Jesus' public ministry in A.D. 27, at the end of the sixty-nine weeks. At the Jordan, Jesus Christ was openly manifested as the One to whom the prophecy had been pointing.

John wrote in John 1:29:

“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

Jesus was not simply another prophet within Israel. He was the promised Messiah, the One to whom Daniel's prophecy had been moving for centuries. The 483-year period reached its appointed destination in Him.

Messiah Means the Anointed One

The Hebrew word MASHIACH means ‘Anointed One.’ It is the word from which we receive the title Messiah. Daniel identifies Jesus Christ as Messiah the Prince — the Anointed One of God.

He identifies “Messiah the Prince.” The prophecy therefore demands a Christ-centred interpretation. Everything before Messiah moves towards Him, everything within the final week must be interpreted through Him, and everything accomplished in Daniel 9:24 must be fulfilled through Him.

Jesus Christ is not one figure among several competing prophetic personalities. He is the centre.

The Same Messiah Continues Into Verse 26

Daniel 9:25 identifies Messiah the Prince, and the next verse continues with that same Messiah.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:26:

“And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: 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 unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”

The Messiah of verse 25 is the Messiah of verse 26. Jesus Christ appears at the end of the sixty-nine weeks, and after those weeks He is cut off. The prophecy does not change its central figure.

It continues speaking about Jesus Christ.

KARATH Means “To Be Put to Death”

The Hebrew word translated “cut off” in Daniel 9:26 is KARATH. KARATH means “to be put to death.” Daniel therefore prophesied the death of Messiah.

The Messiah would not simply appear. He would be killed. This is a direct prophecy of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Daniel says, “Messiah be cut off, but not for himself.” Jesus Christ died for others. He was not cut off because of His own sin, but gave Himself for the sins of others.

The prophecy therefore moves from the manifestation of Messiah directly to His sacrificial death.

Jesus Christ Foretold His Own Death

Jesus Himself spoke beforehand concerning His death.

Jesus said in John 2:19:

“Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

John explains what Jesus meant.

John wrote in John 2:21:

“But he spake of the temple of his body.”

Jesus knew that He would be put to death. Daniel had already prophesied that Messiah would be cut off. The fulfilment in Jesus Christ confirms that He is the Messiah of Daniel 9.

The Final Week Remains Centred Upon Christ

Daniel then continues into the seventieth week.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:27:

“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease…”

The subject remains Jesus Christ. Messiah appears, Messiah is cut off, Messiah confirms the covenant, and Messiah causes sacrifice and oblation to cease through His own sacrifice.

The final week therefore remains Christ-centred from beginning to end. It does not suddenly change from Messiah to Antichrist or shift from Jesus Christ to another central figure.

The “he” of Daniel 9:27 is Jesus Christ.

He Confirms the Covenant

Daniel does not say that Messiah creates an unrelated covenant. He says, “he shall confirm the covenant.” The covenant belongs to the redemptive purpose of God fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Jesus identified His own blood with the New Covenant.

Jesus said in Luke 22:20:

“Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.”

The New Covenant was established through Jesus Christ. Daniel's prophecy therefore moves directly from Messiah to covenant fulfilment. The final week is not a future agreement between Antichrist and natural Israel.

It is the covenant work of Jesus Christ.

He Causes Sacrifice and Oblation to Cease

Daniel also says, “in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” Jesus Christ fulfilled the Old Covenant sacrificial system by offering Himself. The writer of Hebrews explains this transition.

Hebrews states in Hebrews 10:9-10:

“Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Jesus Christ took away the first and established the second. His sacrifice was “once for all.” The animal sacrifices had reached their fulfilment and no longer possessed divine covenant purpose.

The reality had come in Jesus Christ.

The Prophecy Must Not Be Taken Away From Christ

An interpretation of Daniel 9 that places a future Antichrist at the centre of the final week moves the focus away from Jesus Christ. It turns the covenant into a future treaty, the ending of sacrifices into a future event and a future tribulation into the climax.

Daniel's prophecy does not do this. Messiah appears, Messiah is cut off, Messiah confirms the covenant, and Messiah causes sacrifice and oblation to cease. The prophecy remains about Him.

All Scripture Testifies of Jesus Christ

The Christ-centred nature of Daniel's prophecy agrees with the wider testimony of Scripture.

Jesus said in John 5:39:

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

Daniel's prophecy testifies of Jesus Christ. The chronology, covenant, sacrifice and fulfilment all testify of Him. The prophecy authenticates Jesus Christ as the Messiah.

Jesus Christ Must Remain the Centre

Daniel's seventy weeks cannot be understood correctly when Jesus Christ is moved away from the centre. The first sixty-nine weeks lead to Him, and the seventieth week contains His work. His death fulfils the cutting off of Messiah, His blood establishes the New Covenant, and His sacrifice ends the Old Covenant sacrificial system in its divine purpose.

There is no need to search beyond Jesus Christ for the central figure of Daniel 9. The prophecy itself identifies Him as Messiah the Prince.

And that Messiah is Jesus Christ.

WHAT THE SEVENTY WEEKS WERE GIVEN TO ACCOMPLISH

Daniel 9:24 does not simply establish a prophetic timeframe. It also declares what God would accomplish within that timeframe. The seventy weeks were determined for definite purposes, and those purposes are fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:24:

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”

The prophecy therefore does more than identify a period of 490 years. It identifies the work towards which that period was moving. Each purpose named in the verse leads directly to Jesus Christ and the New Covenant work accomplished through Him.

To Finish the Transgression

The first purpose was “to finish the transgression.” The Old Covenant revealed sin, exposed transgression and showed the need for redemption, but the Law could not itself remove sin. Jesus Christ came to deal with sin through His redemptive work.

The writer of Hebrews states in Hebrews 9:15:

“And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.”

Jesus Christ became the mediator of the New Covenant. His death provided redemption for the transgressions that were under the first testament. The first purpose of Daniel's prophecy therefore leads directly to the saving work of Jesus Christ.

To Make an End of Sins

The second purpose was “to make an end of sins.” Jesus Christ did not come simply to lessen the effect of sin or leave humanity under its dominion while waiting for a future completion. He came to save His people from their sins.

Matthew wrote in Matthew 1:21:

“And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

Jesus Christ came to save from sin. The New Covenant does not offer partial salvation now and complete salvation later. The believer receives complete salvation in Jesus Christ.

Complete means complete.

To Make Reconciliation for Iniquity

The third purpose was “to make reconciliation for iniquity.” Sin separates man from God, but Jesus Christ came to make reconciliation. This work is not waiting for a future prophetic age.

John wrote in 1 John 2:2:

“And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

The writer of Hebrews also states in Hebrews 2:17:

“Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.”

Jesus Christ made reconciliation. Daniel's prophecy therefore does not point towards a reconciliation still waiting to be accomplished. The reconciliation was accomplished through Him.

To Bring in Everlasting Righteousness

The fourth purpose was “to bring in everlasting righteousness.” Jesus Christ did not simply teach righteousness from the outside. The believer's righteousness is found in Him.

Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:21:

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

The righteousness brought in through Jesus Christ is not temporary, ceremonial or dependent upon the Old Covenant system. It is everlasting righteousness found in Him. The believer is made righteous in Jesus Christ.

To Seal Up the Vision and Prophecy

The fifth purpose was “to seal up the vision and prophecy.” The Hebrew word translated “seal up” is CHATHAM. CHATHAM means to close, conclude or authenticate.

The prophecy would be sealed through fulfilment. A seal confirms authenticity, and fulfilled prophecy authenticates Jesus Christ and confirms the truthfulness of God's Word.

Jesus said in John 5:39:

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

The Scriptures testify of Jesus Christ. Daniel's prophecy is sealed through its fulfilment in Him, and the seventy weeks authenticate Him as Messiah the Prince. The prophecy does not remain open and incomplete for thousands of years.

It reaches its fulfilment in Jesus Christ.

To Anoint the Most Holy

The sixth purpose was “to anoint the most Holy.” This does not point to a future physical temple in Jerusalem. It points to Jesus Christ.

Scripture establishes the holiness of God.

Samuel wrote in 1 Samuel 2:2:

“There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.”

Isaiah identifies the promised Son as the mighty God and everlasting Father.

Isaiah wrote in Isaiah 9:6:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”

Jesus Christ is the most Holy. He did not become holy through anointing because He was already holy.

Luke recorded in Luke 1:35:

“And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

His anointing marked the beginning of His public ministry and the fulfilment of Daniel's prophecy.

Peter declared in Acts 10:38:

“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”

The prophecy therefore points again to Jesus Christ. The most Holy who was anointed is the Messiah to whom the seventy weeks lead.

The Prophecy Centres Upon Christ's Work

Every purpose in Daniel 9:24 leads to Jesus Christ. He finishes the transgression, makes an end of sins, makes reconciliation for iniquity, brings in everlasting righteousness, seals and authenticates the prophecy through fulfilment, and is the most Holy who is anointed.

The prophecy is not centred upon earthly Jerusalem, natural Israel or Antichrist. Those subjects may appear within the historical setting, but the saving purposes of the seventy weeks are accomplished through Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ is the centre of the prophecy.

The Old Covenant Gives Way to the New

Daniel's prophecy also reveals the movement from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. The work named in Daniel 9:24 cannot be separated from the covenant change accomplished through Jesus Christ.

The writer of Hebrews states in Hebrews 10:7-10:

“Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”

Jesus Christ took away the first and established the second. The Old Covenant was fulfilled in Him, the New Covenant was established through Him, and the sacrificial system reached its fulfilment through His perfect sacrifice.

The prophecy therefore does not describe a future return to the Old Covenant order. It describes the movement towards its fulfilment in Jesus Christ.

The Purposes Have Been Accomplished

Daniel's seventy weeks were not given simply to provide a timetable. They were given because God was moving history towards the saving work of Jesus Christ.

The prophecy identifies the people, the city, the timeframe, Messiah and the work Messiah would accomplish. That work has been accomplished.

Jesus Christ has come. He has made reconciliation, brought everlasting righteousness, confirmed the New Covenant, fulfilled the sacrificial system and authenticated the prophecy through its fulfilment.

Everything Daniel said the seventy weeks were given to accomplish is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

CONCLUSION: THE PROPHECY POINTS TO JESUS CHRIST

Daniel's seventy weeks is one of the clearest prophetic testimonies concerning Jesus Christ. The prophecy establishes a definite period, identifies the people and city involved, rejects the idea of an inserted gap and directs the entire prophetic movement towards Messiah the Prince.

The prophecy is not unfinished or waiting for a future generation to complete it. It is not waiting for Jesus Christ to return physically to restart a suspended prophetic clock. It has been fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

The Prophecy Has a Definite Framework

Daniel's seventy weeks were not vague. The Hebrew word SHIBIYM means “seventy,” and SHABUA means a period of seven. Seventy SHABUA therefore equal 490 years.

The Hebrew word CHATHAK means “to cut off.” The seventy weeks were cut off or determined upon Daniel's people and Daniel's holy city. Daniel's people were literal Old Covenant Israel, and Daniel's holy city was literal Jerusalem.

The prophecy therefore begins in a definite historical and covenant setting.

The Prophecy Has No Gap

The seventy weeks form one continuous prophetic period. Seven weeks plus sixty-two weeks plus one week equal seventy weeks. The first sixty-nine weeks lead directly to Messiah the Prince.

Daniel then states that after those sixty-nine weeks Messiah would be cut off. That places the death of Jesus Christ inside the seventieth week. There is no Scriptural basis for separating the seventieth week from the first sixty-nine weeks and moving it thousands of years into the future.

The Church is not living in a prophetic gap. The prophetic clock did not stop, and the seventieth week has already been fulfilled.

Jesus Christ Is the Centre

Daniel wrote in Daniel 9:25:

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.”

The prophecy leads to Messiah the Prince, and that Messiah is Jesus Christ. Daniel then says that Messiah would be cut off.

The Hebrew word KARATH means “to be put to death.” Jesus Christ was cut off. He was crucified, not for His own sin, but for the sins of others.

The prophecy therefore not only identifies the Messiah. It foretells His sacrificial death.

The Final Week Belongs to Christ

The seventieth week remains centred upon Jesus Christ. Daniel says, “he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week.” The One who confirms the covenant is Jesus Christ, and the covenant is the New Covenant.

Jesus said in Luke 22:20:

“Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.”

The New Covenant was established through Jesus Christ. Daniel also says that in the midst of the week He would cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease. Jesus Christ accomplished this through His own perfect sacrifice.

The Old Covenant sacrificial system reached its fulfilment in Him. The final week therefore does not belong to a future Antichrist. It belongs to Jesus Christ.

The Purposes Were Fulfilled in Christ

Daniel 9:24 identifies what the seventy weeks were given to accomplish. Jesus Christ finished the transgression, made an end of sins, made reconciliation for iniquity, brought in everlasting righteousness, sealed and authenticated the vision and prophecy through fulfilment, and is the most Holy who was anointed.

The Hebrew word CHATHAM, translated ‘seal up,’ means ‘to seal, seal up or close up.’ Through its completed fulfilment, the prophecy is sealed and authenticates Jesus Christ.

Jesus said in John 5:39:

“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.”

Daniel's prophecy testifies of Him. Its fulfilment confirms Jesus Christ as Messiah the Prince.

The Prophecy Moves From the Old Covenant to the New

Daniel's people were Old Covenant Israel, and Daniel's holy city was literal Jerusalem. The fulfilment of the prophecy, however, moves beyond the Old Covenant order into the New Covenant reality established through Jesus Christ.

Natural descent no longer determines the people of God. Jew and Gentile must both be born again, and both are brought by one Spirit into one body. They become one New Covenant people in Jesus Christ.

Literal Jerusalem no longer holds the covenant position it once held. The New Jerusalem is the spiritual city of God, the Church composed of those who are born again, and God now dwells within His people.

The movement is therefore from outward to inward, from natural to spiritual, from shadow to reality and from the Old Covenant order to Jesus Christ Himself.

Jesus Christ Has Come

Daniel's prophecy does not leave the Church waiting for a future physical Second Coming. Jesus Christ fulfilled His promised coming when He came to His people as the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost in A.D. 31.

Jesus said in John 14:18:

“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”

He came, and He now dwells within every born-again believer as Spirit. The Church is therefore not waiting in a prophetic gap for Jesus Christ to return physically and complete what Daniel left unfinished.

Daniel did not leave an unfinished prophecy. Jesus Christ fulfilled it.

The Prophecy Points to Jesus Christ

The conclusion of this study is direct. The seventy weeks were determined by God, they form one continuous prophetic period, and they lead to Messiah the Prince.

Messiah was cut off. The covenant was confirmed. Sacrifice and oblation ceased in their divine purpose. The Old Covenant gave way to the New, and the prophecy was sealed through fulfilment.

Every major line of the prophecy leads to one Person: Jesus Christ.

Daniel's seventy weeks therefore do not point us towards a future prophetic system. They point us towards the One who has already come, the One who fulfilled the prophecy, the One who established the New Covenant and the One who now dwells within His people.

The prophecy points to Jesus Christ.

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