Reviewing Daniel’s 70 Weeks of Prophecy
Daniel 9:1-20 King James Version (KJV) 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. 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: Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him; Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against him. And he hath confirmed his words, which he spake against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his voice. And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 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. 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;
In the above verses, Daniel had learned from reading the word of the Lord that Jerusalem must be desolate for seventy years. Daniel began fasting and praying for forgiveness of the sins of Israel because they all had done wickedness in the sight of the Lord. The children of Israel have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments. Daniel had been praying for a while and then Gabriel comes to give him understanding. Before we continue let’s see what Daniel read and understood from Jeremiah. Jeremiah 25:11-12 states 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.
Well from reading this it sounds like 70 years that Israel will be in captivity under the King of Babylon and their land will be desolate for those 70 years. Also Daniel knew that they would return back to Jerusalem. Jeremiah 29:10 says for thus saith the LORD, that after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. Now we know that the children of Israel would be restored to their homeland, fulfilling the seventy years prophecy. We will look at what Gabriel presented to Daniel and it seem like a prophecy that went far beyond the 70 years. This prophecy pertained to seventy weeks. Now let’s look at what Gabriel revealed to Daniel.
Daniel 9:21-27 states yea, while 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. 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. 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.
What is seventy weeks? 490 years (70 x 7 = 490)
Since seventy weeks equals 490 days, applying the day-for-a-year principle, we arrive at 490 years. A day for a principle is in Numbers 14:34 which states “After the number of the days in which you searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall you bear your iniquities, even forty years, and you shall know my breach of promise.” The next example of this principle is found in Ezekiel 4:6: “And when you have accomplished them, lie again on your right side, and you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed you each day for a year.”
Now we need to understand that the beginning of the count for the seven weeks and threescore and two weeks begin at the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince.
Who gave the commandment to go forth to restore and rebuild Jerusalem? And who had the decree? Let’s look in the book of Ezra.
Ezra 7: 6-9 This Ezra went up from Babylon; and he was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, which the Lord God of Israel had given: and the king granted him all his request, according to the hand of the Lord his God upon him. And there went up some of the children of Israel, and of the priests, and the Levites, and the singers, and the porters, and the Nethinims, unto Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king. And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year of the king. For upon the first day of the first month began he to go up from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month came he to Jerusalem, according to the good hand of his God upon him. For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments. Now this is the copy of the letter that the king Artaxerxes gave unto Ezra the priest, the scribe, even a scribe of the words of the commandments of the Lord, and of his statutes to Israel. Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time. I make a decree, that all they of the people of Israel, and of his priests and Levites, in my realm, which are minded of their own freewill to go up to Jerusalem, go with thee.
The decree was given by King Artaxerxes and given unto Ezra the priest, the scribe. And it shows that it was upon the first day of the first month that he began to leave Babylon and he got to Jerusalem on the first day of the fifth month. Now there is also in scripture the decree for the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. Ezra 1:1-4 states, Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourned, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.
Now in Daniel 9:25, What is seven weeks and threescore and two weeks?
The sum of seven weeks and sixty-two weeks equals a total of sixty-nine weeks, from the time of the decree until the time of the Messiah. Applying the day-for-a-year principle, we find that sixty-nine weeks equals 483 days (69 X 7 = 483), which equates to 483 years.
With research you will find that the year of Artaxerxes’ decree was 457 BC. Counting 483 years from this would be around 27 AD. It’s a possibility that 27 AD could be the beginning year of the Messiah’s (Yahshua) ministry if the count is correct. So according to the 483 year timeframe we come to 27 AD and the seventy weeks is exactly 490 years. So there is exactly 7 years until the completion. In Daniel 9:26-27 it states and after threescore and two weeks (62) 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.
In researching Daniel 9:27 many people relate this to the coming Antichrist in the last days and some look at it as the fulfillment of the Messiah. So we can look at both angles because both reveals knowledge. Let’s look at it from the fulfillment of the Messiah.
Verse 27 speaks of one additional week in which the Messiah would confirm the covenant. It further shows that the Messiah would cause the sacrifice and oblations to cease in the midst of the week.
The beginning of the last week started at the time of the Messiah’s ministry and his ministry lasted for 3 ½ years. The middle of the last week or 70th week is when the messiah was cut off (killed/crucified approximately 31 AD) and this caused the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. Isaiah 53:8 states he was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. When the messiah was killed there was no need for us to give sacrifices or make offerings for our sins anymore, for he is the ultimate sacrifice. Now if we look at this from the perspective that the beginning of the last week started at the beginning of the Messiah’s ministry and that the Messiah completed the 1st half of the 70th week then we can look at a future fulfillment of the Antichrist for the first 3 ½ years of a 7 year period and also the fulfillment of the last 3 ½ years of the 70th week.
We must understand that the Antichrist wants to be like the Messiah Yahshua. So how does this fit? There is another 3 ½ years that needs to be fulfilled for the last half of the 70th week. I believe that the last 3 ½ years for the completion to this prophecy for the Messiah’s ministry could be the fulfillment of the ministry of the 2 witnesses because their ministry is exactly 3 ½ years or 1260 days and it fits the completion of the 70th week. In the book of Revelation we see that shortly after the 2 witnesses are killed, the Messiah returns.
Rev. 11:7-15 states and when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven. The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Now we can look at it from another perspective. In the last days when the antichrist is here. Daniel 12:9-13 states and he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waited, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days. But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
From the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away to the abomination of desolation there shall be 1290 days. The wise will recognize this sign and they will be purified by making themselves clean and getting ready for the return of the Messiah. Now once this happens this could be the beginning of the last 7 years in the 70th week. Blessed is he that waited and come to the 1335th day. What if this 1335th day falls on a Feast Day and his people are blessed because they can discern the times up ahead? It’s like a time for his people to gather together and to sound the alarm. During this time his people are keeping watch and they are preparing. They are sounding the alarm and preparing the way for the 2 witnesses and when the 2 witnesses get on the scene they will be preparing the way for the 2nd return of Yahshua.
Yah’s people must rededicate themselves to him and make themselves clean. While this is happening the wicked will continue to be wicked but his people will repent and make themselves ready for the wedding feast; keep in mind this is in the Great Tribulation. Now if we just look at the timeframe from the time that the 2 witnesses die and unto the 2nd Coming of the Messiah (Yahshua) it’s shortly after that when the 7th trumpet blows. So that is very interesting I wonder when the ministry of the 2 witnesses will start. Could it be during Hanukkah since it represents the rededication of the temple? We know that the temple is our body, so that means Yahshua’s people will be cleaning their temple before and during the start of the 2 witnesses ministry.
Ok now back to the time during the reign of the Antichrist. The 1290 day mark may be at the point which starts a lot of things. During the next 3 ½ years the antichrist could be setting the stage for more abominations in the nation and people probably wouldn’t recognize him because a lot of people might actually like him. He could be changing laws and doing wicked things. The world may be going along with him and participating in these wicked things. But at this time Yah’s people can see the signs and they are fleeing away and coming out of Babylon. They are preparing themselves spiritually. Daniel 7:25 states and he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. So Yah’s people will be under the rule of this Antichrist. He could be a president over a nation of Yah’s people. Hmm!! Well I know the children of Israel are here in the USA and President Obama is doing a lot of wicked things. And when he became president majority of all black people were so excited. But look at the things he is doing that is against the Most High. Do your research. He is setting up many abominations in this nation. But the wise know and they are aware of the times we are living in. This verse could refer to the fleeing of Yah’s children, not physically but spiritually. Rev 12:6 states and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.
Well the 1260 days could be a time period for the Bride and the Bride is not the same people as the remnant. Please check out my post called The Wedding Feast: The Bride, Groom and The Guests and review my post called A revelation of Yahshua’s 2nd Coming. I continue to reveal more mysteries in the scriptures. The Bride is prepared in advance and they actually fly away from the face of the serpent. Revelation 12:14 states and to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. Well in my other posts I go into where the Bride is taken. Now to go into more about the first 3 ½ years in the wilderness, the children of Israel will be preparing themselves spiritually but some of them will be trying to flee physically. I have scripture that we are not to flee physically in the end days but most people say we need to pack up and leave. Matthew 24: 23-26 states then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
So brothers and sisters this message is for us in the last days, we are not supposed to go anywhere because Yahshua will come to get us, he will deliver us. He will send his angels to rescue us wherever we are located on this earth and you can see that with Lot and his family. Don’t be listening to these other Israelites that are telling you to leave and go to the wilderness or Jordan or wherever they are trying to set up their camps. It’s best to prepare spiritually in these last days because you can’t hide especially being a Hebrew Israelite. But many will be deceived since the scriptures states the very elect will be deceived. Now the beginning of the last 3 ½ years is going to be bad and this is when the Devil or Satan is thrown down to the earth and he goes after the remnant of the woman (Israel). I believe this is the same time that the 2 witnesses will be on the earth and things are really starting to kick off. You have Yah’s people and you have the rise of Satan’s people on the earth and this is the time for great repentance and we know that a multitude will clean their robes in the Great Tribulation.
So in this review of the 70th week we see how it fulfills the time of the Messiah and when he was crucified and we see how it relates to the end days for the reign of the Antichrist. We must remember that there has been many antichrist and in the end there will be an Antichrist and we need to ask ourselves if that Antichrist is here now. I believe he is here and has been here for a while and we need to be preparing ourselves spiritually because we are getting closer to the return of Yahshua. The angels of the Most High are in the chariots above us and they have been watching over us and protecting us. If you have been sealed please continue to do the work of the Most High so that we can bring in the lost sheep. Stop debating with one another over the scriptures and let’s come together in love and prepare for our Yahshua. All of the creator’s children have a purpose and we all have a piece to the puzzle of the revelation of the 2nd coming. Everyone is not going to agree but we can all learn from each other. We must respect each other and clean our hearts and repent from all sin and stay on the right path of righteousness. Humble yourselves children of Israel. I love all of my people and I just want us to worship the Creator of the Universe and have love for his son Yahshua. The creator chose Yahshua and he is the King so we must follow the King and be obedient to the Father (the Creator of the Universe) and also week wisdom.
Written by Sister Carter