Daniel’s Seventy Weeks
In our previous article we saw that the New Testament writers lived with a clear expectation that, in God’s prophetic programme, the nation of Israel would one day be taken up again. That raises the next question. Where exactly does Israel fit within God’s plan for the future of this world?
To answer that question, we must turn to one of the most important prophetic passages in all of Scripture: Daniel 9:24-27. This passage has often been called the backbone of prophecy. It provides a divine timetable for God’s dealings with Israel, and gives structure to the events that lead to the establishment of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Setting of the Prophecy
Daniel receives this revelation in response to prayer. Having read the prophecy of Jeremiah 25:11,12, he understands that the seventy years of captivity foretold there are nearing completion. This does not lead him to passivity, but to earnest prayer and confession. He pleads for Jerusalem, for the sanctuary, and for the people.
In response, the angel Gabriel is sent to give him “skill and understanding” (v.22). This is a vital principle. Light is given through Scripture and prayer. Daniel was “greatly beloved” (v.23), and God delights to reveal His mind to those who seek Him.
However, the answer Daniel receives goes far beyond the immediate return from captivity. Instead of seventy years, he is told of seventy “weeks”, that is, seventy “sevens” of years, a total of 490 years, determined upon “your people” and “your holy city” (v.24).
This defines the scope of the prophecy. It concerns Israel and, more particularly, Jerusalem. It is not about the church. The church is a New Testament revelation, something that “in other ages was not made known” (Ephesians 3:5), and is therefore not included in this prophetic timetable. Prophecy, in its primary sense, concerns God’s dealings with the earth, and at its centre stands Israel.
The Seventy Weeks Explained
The seventy weeks are divided into three sections: seven weeks; sixty two weeks; and one final week. The starting point is clearly defined. It begins with the command to rebuild Jerusalem. This is found in Nehemiah 2, around 445 BC, when the city itself, not merely the temple, was to be restored.
The first seven weeks, forty-nine years, saw the rebuilding of Jerusalem “in troublesome times” (v.25). The record in Nehemiah shows the work carried out with determination in the face of constant opposition (Nehemiah 4:1-6).
Following this comes a period of sixty-two weeks, or 434 years, bringing us to the time of Messiah. Daniel is told that, at the end of this period, “Messiah shall be cut off, and shall have nothing” (v.26 KJV). The meaning is unmistakable. The Messiah would come but, instead of receiving a kingdom, He would be rejected and put to death.
This was fulfilled precisely in the rejection and crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (John 1:11). Instead of a throne, He was given a cross. In the same verse of the prophecy we are told that the city and the sanctuary would be destroyed. This was fulfilled in AD 70, when the Romans devastated Jerusalem. The prophecy stands as a remarkable testimony to the accuracy of the Word of God.
The Gap in God’s Programme
At this point the prophecy demands careful attention. Daniel tells us that Messiah is cut off after the sixty-ninth week, not during the seventieth. He also places the destruction of Jerusalem after that same sixty-ninth week (v.26). Yet the events of verse 27 clearly belong to the final week.
This means that both the cutting off of Messiah and the destruction of the city occur between the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks. The text itself therefore requires a break in the sequence. The gap is not imposed upon the prophecy, it arises naturally from it. This gap is the present age. The New Testament sheds light on it. It is the period in which God is taking from among the nations a people for His name (Acts 15:14). It began on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) and will end with the “calling home” of the church to be with Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:16,17).
This also explains why the church does not appear in Daniel’s prophecy. It was a “mystery” not previously revealed (Ephesians 3:5), and therefore lies outside the scope of this Old Testament timetable. This distinction is essential. The present age is not a continuation of Israel’s national programme, but a distinct work of God. Failure to recognise this leads to confusion in reading prophecy.
The Seventieth Week
The final week, a period of seven years, remains yet to be fulfilled. It is described more fully in later Scripture, particularly in the book of Revelation.
Daniel tells us that this “week” begins with a covenant confirmed with “many” (v.27). This involves a coming ruler, described earlier as “the prince who is to come” (v.26). This figure is consistent with the little “horn” (Daniel 7:8) and the “beast rising up out of the sea” (Revelation 13:1), a future political leader who will exercise global authority. The covenant implies both political protection and religious activity. The reference to sacrifice and offering ceasing (v.27) requires that they are already in operation. This in turn implies a functioning temple in Jerusalem.
However, in the midst of the week, after three-and-a-half years, the covenant is broken. Sacrifice ceases. The abomination who makes desolate is set up in the temple. This marks the beginning of a time of unparalleled trouble, sometimes denoted “the great tribulation” (Matthew 24:21; Revelation 7:14). This final period concludes with the return of Christ in glory (Matthew 24:29,30).
The Outcome of the Seventy Weeks
Daniel is told that at the end of the seventy weeks six great purposes will be fulfilled (v.24). Transgression will be finished, sin dealt with, reconciliation completed, righteousness established, prophecy consummated, and the most holy anointed.
These blessings look forward to the reign of Christ on earth. They are inseparably linked with the restoration of Israel and the fulfilment of God’s promises to that nation. The New Testament confirms this. “All Israel shall be saved” (Romans 11:26). What Daniel saw in outline, Paul declares plainly.
Confidence in the Word of God
The precision of Daniel’s prophecy is striking. The coming of Messiah, His rejection, and the destruction of Jerusalem were all foretold with remarkable clarity, and fulfilled exactly. This gives us profound confidence in the reliability of Scripture. What God has spoken, He will perform.
Indeed, this principle is seen throughout the Bible. Joseph had spoken of the day when his brothers would bow before him, and many years later, in the providence of God, those very dreams were fulfilled with remarkable precision when they all bowed before him in Egypt (Genesis 50:18). Likewise, over three hundred years before his birth, a prophet declared that a king named Josiah would arise and destroy Jeroboam’s altar at Bethel (1 Kings 13:2). Centuries later, the prophecy was fulfilled to the letter when Josiah defiled that altar in obedience to the Word of God (2 Kings 23:15,16).
Every prophecy of Scripture that has reached fulfilment has done so with pinpoint accuracy. Therefore, we have every confidence that prophecies still awaiting fulfilment will also be realised exactly as God has declared. The same God who brought to pass the events of the first sixty-nine weeks will also ensure the accomplishing of those of the seventieth. His purposes are neither delayed nor endangered. They are unfolding according to His perfect timetable.
A Renewed Concern for Israel
Daniel’s prophecy also reminds us that God is not finished with the nation of Israel. Though presently set aside in terms of God’s national dealings, they remain central to His future purposes. This should guard believers from indifference toward the Jewish people. Israel is not simply another nation among many. They occupy a unique place in the purposes of God and have a future yet to be fulfilled according to His covenant promises. For this reason, despite many historic attempts on the part of others to obliterate them, owing to God’s care and providence, they remain a distinct people with national borders.
However, we must resist the notion that modern Israel, in its present unbelieving and largely secular condition, is somehow automatically sanctioned by God because of future blessing. Scripture is clear that nationally Israel remains set aside because of unbelief, and stands corporately responsible for the rejection and crucifixion of her Messiah (Romans 11:20; Acts 2:23; 3:13-15). The fact that God has future purposes for the nation does not justify every political ambition or national action in the present.
Nevertheless, we glory in the fact that God has preserved a future for Israel corporately. His promises have not failed. The setting aside of the nation is neither total nor final. As Paul makes clear, “the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29).
At the same time, Jewish people today must still be reached with the gospel. Like all men and women, they can only be saved through repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). The existence of a future for Israel does not remove present responsibility.
A Forward Look
Daniel’s prophecy does not end in uncertainty, but in glory. It points forward to a day when Christ will reign, when righteousness will be established, and when God’s purposes will be fulfilled upon the earth. History is not random or uncontrolled. It is moving according to a divine timetable. Every promise of God will be fulfilled, every purpose accomplished, and every part of His Word vindicated.
In this article we have sought to show that the nation of Israel does have a future in the purposes of God. Yet Scripture is equally clear that, before Israel experiences national restoration and blessing, the nation must pass through a unique period of suffering and tribulation, described by Jeremiah as “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7). It will be through that period of unparalleled distress that the nation will finally be brought to recognise Jesus Christ as Messiah and Lord.
That coming period of tribulation – its character, purpose, and place within the prophetic programme of God – will form the subject of our next article. And at the centre of all these future events stands the Lord Jesus Christ, rejected once, but soon to reign.
(This article is based on Chapter 5 of His Coming, titled “Daniel’s Seventy Weeks Prophecy”, by Ian Jackson; the book is available here.)
