24 “Seventy ‘sevens’[c] are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish[d] transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.[e]
25 “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One,[f] the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. 26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing.[g] The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. 27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’[h] In the middle of the ‘seven’[i] he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple[j] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.
I've included some study materials. I've also included a youtube video that in my opinion is worth watching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xkMAzKKH9Y and the debate continues lol.
Daniel 9:24-27 is a key biblical passage. It is the only Old Testament passage which refers to the Messiah as “Messiah.” Elsewhere He is called “Shiloh” (Genesis 49:10), the “Root of Jesse” (Isaiah 11:10), the “Righteous Branch” (Jeremiah 23:5), the “Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6), etc. But the name by which He is known best, “Messiah,” appears in only one passage: Daniel 9:24-27. Here is an excerpt from that passage:
"Seventy sevens have been decreed for your people. . . . So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven sevens and sixty-two sevens; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. Then after the sixty-two sevens the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.”
Exactly what is meant by “seventy sevens”? The phrase by itself is ambiguous, but taken in context the meaning is clear. Daniel’s prayer in verses 3-19 of the chapter refers to the fulfillment of a specific seventy-year period, the seventy years of the Babylonian captivity (as prophesied by Jeremiah). Daniel received the seventy sevens prophecy in response to his prayer. The prophecy foretold a period of seven times seventy yet to come, or seventy seven-year periods. Seventy seven-year periods equals 490 years.
The prophecy goes on to say that “from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven sevens (49) and sixty-two sevens (434). . . . Then after the sixty-two sevens the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing.”
Nebuchadnezzar had Jerusalem dismantled around 587 BC after having to put down two rebellions there in less than 10 years. At the time this prophecy was given, Jerusalem still lay in ruins. According to the prophecy, from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem there would be seven seven-year periods and sixty-two more seven-year periods—or 483 years—until the Messiah would show up. After the culmination of the 62 seven-year periods, or after 483rd year, the Messiah would be cut off.
Both the ancient Hebrews to whom Daniel was writing and the ancient Babylonians to whom he was subservient (the Book of Daniel having been written in Babylon during the latter half of the 6th century BC) used a 360-day year.
So, 483 years x 360 days = 173,880 days. This is the equivalent of 476 years and 25 days, using our modern Gregorian calendar’s 365-day year.
As for our starting point, the Persian emperor Artaxerxes Longimanus (who ruled from 464-424 BC) issued the edict to rebuild Jerusalem sometime during the Hebrew month of Nisan in the 20th year of his reign, or c. 445 BC (Nehemiah 2:1-8). From c. 445 BC, 173,880 days brings us to c. AD 30.
According to this prophecy, the Messiah would show up, present Himself as Messiah to the nation and then be “cut off” some time near AD 30. This was fulfilled as Jesus Christ presented Himself to the nation of Israel on Palm Sunday, was crucified on Preparation Day (the annual day on which the Passover Lamb was slain), and rose from the dead on Sunday.
The prophecy then goes on to say that, subsequent to the Messiah’s being killed, “the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.” Within one generation of Christ’s crucifixion, Titus razed Jerusalem and destroyed the temple.
There is some debate about the exact date of the decree that began the 483 years. There is also debate as to whether the days should be counted on our modern 365-day calendars or the 360-day lunar calendar. Regardless, Daniel's prophecy lays out an amazingly accurate time line. If we knew all the exact dates of Daniel's prophecy and timing, we would find it predicted the very day of Christ's death—over 600 years before it occurred.
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John Burnett:
20 While
I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people
Israel and making my request to the Lord my
God for his holy hill— 21 while
I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision,
came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.22 He instructed me and said to me,
“Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. 23 As soon as you began to
pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly
esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision:
24 “Seventy
‘sevens’[a] are decreed for your people and
your holy city to finish[b] transgression, to put an end to
sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting
righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy
Place.[c]
25 “Know
and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and
rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One,[d] the ruler, comes, there will be
seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a
trench, but in times of trouble. 26 After
the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will
have nothing.[e] The people of the ruler who will
come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a
flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been
decreed. 27 He
will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’[f] In the middle of the ‘seven’[g] he will put an end to sacrifice
and offering. And at the temple[h] he will set up an abomination
that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on
him.[i]”[j]
One
of the reasons I love the Bible is the connectivity of prophesy. The
Anointed one is Jesus Christ and the ‘one seven’ is the seven year tribulation
period that is initiated when the Antichrist signs the peace treaty with
Israel. After the three and a half years the Antichrist will take over
the temple and will declare himself to be God. Thankfully the rapture
takes place before this happens and we will be taken out of this world and miss
the wrath that will be poured out on him and his followers.
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-
Gabriel was on a serious mission that caused him to get to Daniel as quickly as
possible.
22 He instructed me and said to me,
“Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. 23 As
soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for
you are highly esteemed.
- I
imagine Daniel was blown away by these words- "for you are highly
esteemed". My version says, "for you are greatly beloved".
Either way, that is huge!
Therefore, consider the word and
understand the vision:24 “Seventy ‘sevens’[c] are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish[d] transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.[e]
25 “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One,[f] the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. 26 After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing.[g] The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. 27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’[h] In the middle of the ‘seven’[i] he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple[j] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Allen Michaels: 20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my
people Israel and making my request to the Lord
my God for his holy hill— 21 while I was still in prayer,
Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight
about the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He instructed me
and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding.
23 As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have
come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and
understand the vision: Just as God answered Daniel’s
prayer, so we can have confidence that God hears and answers our prayers.
24 “Seventy ‘sevens’
are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression,
to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting
righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy
Place.
25 “Know and
understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild
Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’
and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in
times of trouble. Each of these 70 weeks (“seventy
‘sevens’ “) may represent one year. The Bible often uses round numbers to make
a point, not to give an exact count. For example, in Matthew 18:22, Jesus said
we are to forgive others “seventy-seven” times. He did not mean a literal 77
times only, but that we should abundantly forgive. Similarly, some scholars see
this figure of 70 weeks as a figurative time period. Others, however, interpret
this time period as a literal 70 weeks, meaning that one day equals one year. Therefore, one week
is equal to 7 years, and seventy weeks equals 490 years. Therefore they observe
that Christ’s death came at the end of the 69 weeks (i.e., 483 years later).
Another interpretation places the 70th week as the seven years of
the great tribulation, still in the future. Consequently the number would
symbolize both the first and second coming of Christ. 26 After the
sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have
nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city
and the sanctuary. The Messiah, the Anointed one,
will be rejected by his own people. His perfect eternal kingdom will come
later. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the
end, and desolations have been decreed. 27 He will confirm a
covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he
will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will
set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is
poured out on him.”
There
has been much discussion on the numbers, times, and events in these verses, and
there are three basic views: (1) the prophecy was fulfilled in the past at the desecration
of the temple by Antiochus IV Epiphanes in 168-167 B.C. (see 11:31); (2) it was
fulfilled in the past at the destruction of the temple by the Roman
general Titus in A.D. 70 when one million Jews were killed; or (3) it is still
to be fulfilled in the future under the Antichrist (see Matthew 24:15).
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Tomorrow’s reading for Daniel 10:1-11
10 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a
revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its message was
true and it concerned a great war.[a] The understanding of the message came to
him in a vision.
2 At that time I, Daniel, mourned
for three weeks. 3 I ate no
choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all
until the three weeks were over.4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, 5 I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.
7 I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; those who were with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. 8 So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. 9 Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.
10 A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. 11 He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.
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