By Hazel Holland
Think about it for a minute... When has a Bible passage been so abused and distorted by the enemy? Attention is being drawn to Antichrist instead of Jesus Christ! Isn't attributing Daniel’s 70th week that points to Jesus’ baptism and crucifixion, and applying it instead to a future Antichrist and a rebuilt temple simply blasphemous?
Daniel's 70 Weeks Prophecy
Let's carefully take another look at this familiar passage of Scripture in Daniel 9:24-27, and ask the Holy Spirit to help us see what God is really talking about here. As we do we need to keep in mind that the Book of Daniel was written while the Jews were in exile in Babylon because of their sin and rebellion against God. This prophecy spoken by the angel Gabriel was to encourage the Jewish people because they were going to be given further grace in spite of their sin and rebellion. God wanted them to return home and rebuild Jerusalem and their temple, and ultimately receive their long awaited Messiah, Jesus Christ.
24 “Seventy weeks[a] are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of[b] sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.”
When Jesus was crucified in the spring of A.D. 31, (in the middle of the week) the temple veil was rent from top to bottom, (Matthew 27:51) which signified the end of the sacrificial system. By His own death Jesus caused the “sacrifice and the oblation to cease”! His death was the GREAT DIVIDE that brought in everlasting righteousness!
For the remaining three and a half years, until A.D. 34, the disciples labored mainly to bring the gospel to the Jews. Finally the 70 weeks (years) ended with the stoning of Stephen after his speech before the council in Acts 7. This meant that the Jews as a nation were no longer God’s chosen people, and the gospel message began to go to the Gentiles (Acts 8:4). Now the Jews could receive salvation as individuals in the same way Gentiles do.
A New Reality
God confirmed this new reality to Peter when He showed him in a vision a sheet full of unclean animals and told him rise, kill and eat! Shortly after, Peter realized that God wasn't talking about unclean animals, but Gentiles that Jews considered ceremonially unclean, and Peter exclaimed:
"In truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all." (Acts 10:34-36).
Yes, Jesus IS Lord of all, and He desires to be Lord of all to both Jews and Gentiles! He is no respecter of persons and has no favorite people or nation. God joined believing Jews and believing Gentiles together at the cross when He brought down the wall of hostility. Now His heart's desire is that what He has joined together we do not tear apart!
Throughout history the sacred traditions of men continually seek to divert us away from what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross, and give us a religious substitute for the true gospel. But the One who loves us and gave Himself for our peace has joined together believing Jews and Gentiles at the cross. We are His one new body... His church.
Just as God gave ancient Israel further grace to respond to their Messiah, may He also give the body of Christ a further measure of grace so that we may turn away from our fear of a future Antichrist, and instead place our trust in Jesus Christ--the Anointed One! Yes, Antichrist is coming, but so is Jesus Christ at His Second Coming! Who are you eagerly waiting for? Christ or Antichrist?
Of all the controversial topics found in the Bible, none has been as misunderstood and abused, in my opinion, as Daniel’s 70th Week. I do not believe that there is any other Messianic prophecy that so perfectly foretells the coming of Jesus Christ, and the year of His baptism and crucifixion as this one. So why does this 70 week prophecy of Daniel 9 continue to be so misinterpreted... in my opinion?
Perhaps the most significant reason is that the 70 weeks of Daniel gives us Old Testament proof that Jesus IS the Christ... the Messiah... the Anointed One! Of course the enemy hates this, and wants to divert our attention away from the true fulfillment of this prophecy so that we will find ourselves swimming around in a quagmire of opposing views that will leave the body of Christ divided over the GREAT DIVIDE of history!
Instead of seeing this prophecy of Christ's crucifixion as the GREAT DIVIDE of history that marks the beginning of the new covenant gospel, many of us have been deceived into believing that it foretells the coming of a future Antichrist. Instead of seeing that God is revealing, both to Jews and Gentiles, the time of Christ's anointing at His baptism, and His making reconciliation for our sins by His death on the cross, we have been led to believe that this prophecy is pointing to Antichrist. How can this tragic misunderstanding have possibly happened?
If we go back and take a look at the counter Reformation, we will see that the Catholic Church commissioned Jesuit priests to write counter interpretations to this Bible prophecy. Spanish Jesuit, Francisco Ribera proposed that the final seven years of Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy was a future fulfillment of the coming Antichrist, and that he would bring an end to sacrifices in a rebuilt temple.
In essence, this was a manufactured prophecy, written as a counter response to the Protestant Reformation when the finger was pointed at the Catholic church/Pope as being Antichrist. This is also where the supposed 7 years of tribulation comes from before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps the most significant reason is that the 70 weeks of Daniel gives us Old Testament proof that Jesus IS the Christ... the Messiah... the Anointed One! Of course the enemy hates this, and wants to divert our attention away from the true fulfillment of this prophecy so that we will find ourselves swimming around in a quagmire of opposing views that will leave the body of Christ divided over the GREAT DIVIDE of history!
Instead of seeing this prophecy of Christ's crucifixion as the GREAT DIVIDE of history that marks the beginning of the new covenant gospel, many of us have been deceived into believing that it foretells the coming of a future Antichrist. Instead of seeing that God is revealing, both to Jews and Gentiles, the time of Christ's anointing at His baptism, and His making reconciliation for our sins by His death on the cross, we have been led to believe that this prophecy is pointing to Antichrist. How can this tragic misunderstanding have possibly happened?
If we go back and take a look at the counter Reformation, we will see that the Catholic Church commissioned Jesuit priests to write counter interpretations to this Bible prophecy. Spanish Jesuit, Francisco Ribera proposed that the final seven years of Daniel’s 70 weeks prophecy was a future fulfillment of the coming Antichrist, and that he would bring an end to sacrifices in a rebuilt temple.
In essence, this was a manufactured prophecy, written as a counter response to the Protestant Reformation when the finger was pointed at the Catholic church/Pope as being Antichrist. This is also where the supposed 7 years of tribulation comes from before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Think about it for a minute... When has a Bible passage been so abused and distorted by the enemy? Attention is being drawn to Antichrist instead of Jesus Christ! Isn't attributing Daniel’s 70th week that points to Jesus’ baptism and crucifixion, and applying it instead to a future Antichrist and a rebuilt temple simply blasphemous?
Daniel's 70 Weeks Prophecy
Let's carefully take another look at this familiar passage of Scripture in Daniel 9:24-27, and ask the Holy Spirit to help us see what God is really talking about here. As we do we need to keep in mind that the Book of Daniel was written while the Jews were in exile in Babylon because of their sin and rebellion against God. This prophecy spoken by the angel Gabriel was to encourage the Jewish people because they were going to be given further grace in spite of their sin and rebellion. God wanted them to return home and rebuild Jerusalem and their temple, and ultimately receive their long awaited Messiah, Jesus Christ.
24 “Seventy weeks[a] are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of[b] sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy.
25 “Know therefore and understand,
That from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem
Until Messiah the Prince,
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The street[c] shall be built again, and the wall,[d]
Even in troublesome times.
That from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem
Until Messiah the Prince,
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The street[c] shall be built again, and the wall,[d]
Even in troublesome times.
26 “And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.”
Briefly, this chart depicts the verses we have just read. The well known starting date for the decree to rebuild Jerusalem was given by Artaxerxes in 457 B.C. (See Ezra 7:13). This date was also the beginning of the 70 weeks of years (70 x 7 = 490 years) that God gave Israel to respond to His grace.
Remember how Jesus makes reference to this prophetic time period while conversing with Peter on the topic of forgiveness? “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22). Seventy times seven of course is four hundred and ninety! Four hundred and ninety years of grace God gave Israel!
The 70th Week
Although the prophecy was 70 weeks (490 years), Jesus appears as the “Messiah” after 69 weeks when He was anointed as Messiah after His baptism in AD. 27. So what happened during this 70th week? The "midst of the week” is half of 7 days (years) being of course 3½ prophetic days (years) and covered the time from the baptism of Jesus to His crucifixion. The Bible confirms that the ministry of Jesus lasted exactly three and a half years!
Remember how Jesus makes reference to this prophetic time period while conversing with Peter on the topic of forgiveness? “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22). Seventy times seven of course is four hundred and ninety! Four hundred and ninety years of grace God gave Israel!
The 70th Week
Although the prophecy was 70 weeks (490 years), Jesus appears as the “Messiah” after 69 weeks when He was anointed as Messiah after His baptism in AD. 27. So what happened during this 70th week? The "midst of the week” is half of 7 days (years) being of course 3½ prophetic days (years) and covered the time from the baptism of Jesus to His crucifixion. The Bible confirms that the ministry of Jesus lasted exactly three and a half years!
When Jesus was crucified in the spring of A.D. 31, (in the middle of the week) the temple veil was rent from top to bottom, (Matthew 27:51) which signified the end of the sacrificial system. By His own death Jesus caused the “sacrifice and the oblation to cease”! His death was the GREAT DIVIDE that brought in everlasting righteousness!
For the remaining three and a half years, until A.D. 34, the disciples labored mainly to bring the gospel to the Jews. Finally the 70 weeks (years) ended with the stoning of Stephen after his speech before the council in Acts 7. This meant that the Jews as a nation were no longer God’s chosen people, and the gospel message began to go to the Gentiles (Acts 8:4). Now the Jews could receive salvation as individuals in the same way Gentiles do.
A New Reality
God confirmed this new reality to Peter when He showed him in a vision a sheet full of unclean animals and told him rise, kill and eat! Shortly after, Peter realized that God wasn't talking about unclean animals, but Gentiles that Jews considered ceremonially unclean, and Peter exclaimed:
"In truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all." (Acts 10:34-36).
Yes, Jesus IS Lord of all, and He desires to be Lord of all to both Jews and Gentiles! He is no respecter of persons and has no favorite people or nation. God joined believing Jews and believing Gentiles together at the cross when He brought down the wall of hostility. Now His heart's desire is that what He has joined together we do not tear apart!
Throughout history the sacred traditions of men continually seek to divert us away from what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross, and give us a religious substitute for the true gospel. But the One who loves us and gave Himself for our peace has joined together believing Jews and Gentiles at the cross. We are His one new body... His church.
Just as God gave ancient Israel further grace to respond to their Messiah, may He also give the body of Christ a further measure of grace so that we may turn away from our fear of a future Antichrist, and instead place our trust in Jesus Christ--the Anointed One! Yes, Antichrist is coming, but so is Jesus Christ at His Second Coming! Who are you eagerly waiting for? Christ or Antichrist?
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