Seventy Sevens
The 70th seven will complete the set period of Israel’s
hardening as just punishment for their rejection of the Messiah and the
Messianic program. Daniel’s 70th seven will create a Messianic revival among
Jews: the Jewish people will be convinced that they need the Messiah and a
national rebirth will take place. When “all Israel” is saved, Christ will
return to the earth and the Times of the Gentiles will cease. Jesus’ first and
second coming is therefore necessary to attain all the goals of the seventy
sevens of Daniel. The prophecy of the seventy sevens, or 490 years, not only
covers the time to Christ’s first coming, but it also covers the 70th seven –
and immediately after this 7-year Tribulation Period, Christ will return to the
earth. This time He will come as the king to establish the Messianic kingdom.
faithequip.org
What will the “seventy sevens” of Daniel
9:24-27 achieve?
When did this period begin, and when will
the 70th seven end?
What does this prophecy have to do with
Christ’s first and second coming?
Background
and Context
God entered the Mosaic covenant with Israel
at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19-23).
One of the laws of this covenant is that
Israel should, every seventh year, observe a Sabbath year (Leviticus 25:3-5).
Israel obeyed this command initially, but
eventually a time came when Israel ignored this command for 490 years.
God said in Leviticus 26:33-35 that if this
command is disobeyed, Israel would be scattered among the nations.
Israel therefore owed God 70 Sabbath years.
Jeremiah prophesied about these 70 years in the first year of Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah
25:1-12; cf. 2 Chronicles 36:21).
But in Jeremiah 29:11, God also emphasised
that He has thoughts of peace towards Israel, to give Israel hope and a future.
The
Prayer of Daniel
Daniel “understood by the books” that
Israel would be in exile in Babylon for 70 years (Daniel 9:2).
Daniel’s Bible study undoubtedly took him
to Jeremiah 25:11-12, but in Jeremiah 29:10-12 the LORD also said [my additions
in brackets]:
“For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed
at Babylon, I will visit you [Israel] and perform My good word toward you, and
cause you [Israel] to return to this place [Jerusalem/Israel]. For I know the
thoughts that I think toward you [Israel], says the LORD, thoughts of peace and
not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you [Israel] will call upon
Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.”
God’s plan in Christ will undoubtedly come
to pass; God will certainly fulfil all unconditional prophecies and promises
that He has made.
But this does not mean one should not pray
about it.
Rosscup (1992:50) states it well: “As events advance toward His appointed fulfillment, He appeals to mankind to be prayerfully involved in his work, and these prayers do make a difference to God.”
Daniel noticed the injunction to pray in
Jeremiah 29:12 and so he prayed for the fulfilment of God’s program.
Daniel’s prayer contains an adoration of
God (Daniel 9:4), confession (verses 5-15) and a petition for Israel’s
restoration (verses 16-19).
Daniel emphasised the greatness,
faithfulness and mercy of God (verse 4).
Daniel prayed a genuine prayer of
repentance, confessing Israel’s sins.
Even though Israel has been given a great
position as head of the nations, it acted shamefully (verses 5-8),
unfaithfully, and disobeyed the Law of Moses (verses 10-11).
God acted righteously by doing what He said
He would do if Israel disobeyed Him (verses 12-14).
God had already demonstrated his power by
rescuing Israel from Egypt.
Daniel asked God to be merciful and to save
Israel again, for the sake of God’s Name (Daniel 9:15-19).
Daniel did not ask the Lord to hear his prayer based on
Israel’s righteousness, “but because of Your great mercies” (Daniel 9:18b).
Notice what Daniel asked God to restore:
o “Your city
Jerusalem” (verses 16 and 19); and
o “Your holy
mountain” (verse 16), which refers to the temple in Jerusalem; and
o “Your people”,
which refers to the Jews/Israel (verses 16 and 19).
God’s
Answer
God immediately answered Daniel (verses
20a, 23a).
The prophecy of the seventy sevens of
Daniel 9:24-27 is God’s answer to Daniel’s prayer request concerning “the holy
mountain of my God” (verse 20; cf. verses 16, 19), the Jewish nation (verse
24a) and “your holy city” (verse 24a).
God sent the angel Gabriel to give Daniel
insight so that he will understand the prophecy (Daniel 9:22-23).
Daniel learnt that Israel had to undergo 70
years of exile in Babylon because they failed to keep 70 Sabbath years.
But God’s new prophecy is that Israel must
also experience “seventy sevens”, or 70 times seven years – 490 years – before
the Messianic kingdom will be established (cf. Rydelnik 2014:1304-1305).
69
Sevens
Referring to “seventy sevens” is like
referring to a dozen … but a dozen of what, or seventy-sevens of what?
The context makes it clear: the seventy
sevens refer to years (cf. Daniel 9:1-2), that is, to 490 years (70 times 7 years).
However, these 490 years will not run
consecutively.
According to Daniel 9:25-26, there will be seven sevens
(that is, 49 years) and then directly thereafter will follow 62 sevens (434
years) and then “after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be
cut off, but not for Himself” (Daniel
9:26a).
The seven sevens, or 49 years, is the time
it took to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (Daniel 9:25).
Then immediately followed another 62
sevens, or 434 years, until Christ’s first coming.
Stated differently, 69 sevens or 483 years
elapsed from the beginning of these “seventy sevens” until Christ’s first
coming.
Jesus is the Messiah who was “cut off”, who
died a violent death on the cross for sinners but who did not begin to reign in
the Messianic kingdom.
Furthermore, just as Daniel 9:26b prophesied, “the people of the prince who is to
come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary”.
This prophecy was tragically fulfilled in
70 AD when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed.
When did the seventy sevens start?
According to Daniel 9:25a, the seventy sevens started “from the going forth of the command to
restore and build Jerusalem”.
The most likely starting point for the 70
sevens is when Artaxerxes gave Nehemiah authority to rebuild the walls of
Jerusalem (Nehemial 2:1-8; Rydelnik 2014:1306).
This decree was granted about 445-444 BC.
Between
the 69th and 70th Seven
There is undoubtedly an undefined period
between the 69th and 70th sevens, as can be deduced from Daniel 9:26-27 (see
also Price 1994:133-146).
With Christ’s entry into Jerusalem, the
clock stopped (cf. Luke 19:42; Woods 2016:359).
It is like injury time in a game.
The time between the 69th and 70th seven
basically covers the time between Christ’s first and second coming.
During most of this time, Christ is
building his Church.
But the clock will tick again as soon as
something happens.
The 70th seven will begin when the
Antichrist will make a covenant with many (Daniel 9:27), with the leaders of
Israel, at some point in the future.
Daniel’s
70th Seven
From the perspective of Israel, the
Tribulation Period is known as “the time of Jacob’s trouble” or as Daniel’s
“70th week”.
The Tribulation Period is a seven-year
period during which God will judge the earth.
Christ will return to the earth immediately
after the Tribulation Period (Matthew 24:29-30).
The
Purposes
What will God achieve with this prophecy of
the “seventy sevens” which are determined for “your people”, which is Israel,
and for “your holy city”, which is Jerusalem?
Daniel 9:24 mentions six purposes of God:
o “… to finish the
transgression”, that is to put an end to Israel’s rebellion and sin against
God. Eventually the nation of Israel will believe in the Messiah;
o “… to make an end of
sins”, that is, Israel will stop sinning. Particularly, Israel will stop
rejecting its Messiah (Fruchtenbaum 2004:190);
o “… to make
reconciliation for iniquity”, that is, Christ’s sacrifice on the cross will
make atonement to achieve the first two purposes mentioned above;
o “… to bring in
everlasting righteousness” at the time of Christ’s return to the earth when He
will rule in righteousness in the millennium, and thereafter in the eternal
order;
o “… to seal up
vision and prophecy” so that all unconditional prophecies and covenantal
promises will be fulfilled; and
o “… to anoint the
Most Holy”, a reference to the millennial temple (Ezekiel 40-48; Fruchtenbaum
2004:192; Rydelnik 2014:1305).
The 70th seven will thus complete the set
period of Israel’s hardening as just punishment for their rejection of the
Messiah and the Messianic program (cf. Isaiah 6:9-13; 24:1-6; John 12:37-41;
Romans 11:7-10).
According to Price (1996:415), Daniel’s
70th seven will create a Messianic revival among Jews, regardless of where they
may be scattered in the world: the Jewish people will be convinced that they
need the Messiah and a national rebirth will take place (Isaiah 59:20-21: Jeremiah
31:31-34, Ezekiel 20:34-38, Daniel 12:5-7; Zechariah 12:9-13:2).
When “all Israel” is saved, Christ will
return to the earth and the Times of the Gentiles will cease (Isaiah 24:21-23;
59:16-21; Daniel 2:44-45; cf. Matthew 24:29-31; Romans 11:25).
The Tribulation Period will purify the
earth of evil so that the Messianic kingdom will be established in
righteousness.
Jesus’ first and second coming is therefore necessary to attain all the goals of the seventy sevens of Daniel 9:24-27 (cf. Vlach 2017:216-218).
Concluding
Remarks
The prophecy of the seventy sevens, or 490
years, is very important.
This prophecy not only covers the time to
Christ’s first coming, but it also covers the 70th seven – and immediately
after this 7-year Tribulation Period, Christ will return to the earth.
This time He will come as the king to establish the Messianic kingdom.
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