DANIEL 9:24

The Bible says in Daniel 9:24-27, “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.[25] 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.[26] 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.[27] 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.” The seventy weeks of years that were revealed to Daniel were divided into 3 periods. The first period was seven weeks of years: 49 years. The second period was sixty-two weeks of years: 434 years. And the third period was one week of years: 7 years. The first period is mentioned in verse 25 as starting with “the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem.” Several of the kings of the Media-Persians gave commandments regarding the Jews returning from Babylon to Jerusalem and rebuilding it. The first decree was made by King Darius. King Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem in 586 BC. The captivity was seventy years. Once the commandment went forth by King Darius or King Artaxerxes or whoever it was, then the first seven weeks of years went past. Then there was some period of several years that passed and the second group of weeks of years was counted: the sixty-two weeks or 434 years. Then Jesus was crucified on the cross, and then there is another gap of years and we get to the final week: the last week of the seventy weeks, one final seven year period. Let’s lay these events out numbering them one by one:

1. A commandment is given by one of the kings of Media-Persia to “restore and to build Jerusalem.”

2. 49 years pass: the first seven weeks of years.

3. Another unspecified number of years pass that represent the gap between the first seven weeks of years and the sixty-two weeks of years. This gap is approximately eighty years. This number we can determine because we know when the Jews returned to Jerusalem (approx. 516 BC), and we know when Jesus was born. To go from 516 BC to the year 0; and having the 434 years specified by the sixty-two weeks of years, leaves a gap of 82 years.

4. The sixty-two weeks of years pass. This is 434 years, and “after” this “shall Messiah be cut off.” The 434 years takes us perhaps to some major event, maybe the birth of Christ, and then “after” this the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

5. Another unknown number of years pass that represent the gap between the sixty-two weeks of years and afterwards the crucifixion, and the final week. So far this gap has been almost two thousand years.

6. The final week is the 7-year period of the Great Tribulation, during which the antichrist comes to power and wreaks destruction and desolation especially in regards to Israel, and especially at the three and a half year mark: “in the midst of the week.”

7. At the end of the final seven year period Jesus returns to the earth, destroys the armies of the world at the Battle of Armageddon, and brings in a one-thousand year reign of “everlasting righteousness.”

Daniel 9:26 jumps immediately from the crucifixion of Christ to what the antichrist will do when he comes to power. It says about the antichrist, “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.” The antichrist will destroy Jerusalem and the sanctuary, which is in the Jewish temple. In order for this to happen there must be a temple. Perhaps the new temple will be built in the first part of the seven year period or perhaps before that. The point is that the antichrist will have great hatred for the Jewish people and the nation of Israel, will set out to destroy them, and will come close to doing so, except for the return of Christ.

The last part of Daniel 9:26 seems to be a description of the rest of the last three and a half years of the tribulation. It will be a terrible time for the earth. Human suffering will reach a level never before known. The words “war” and “desolations” are used for a reason. Jesus said about this period of time in Matthew 24:21-22, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.[22] And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.” The book of Revelation goes into great detail describing the suffering that will take place during the Great Tribulation. Just looking at a few verses, it says in Revelation 6:2-8, “And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.[3] And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.[4] And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.[5] And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.[6] And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.[7] And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.[8] And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.”

Daniel 9:27 tells us clearly several important details about the Great Tribulation: the last week of years of Daniel’s seven weeks. It says, “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.” It appears that the antichrist comes into power at the beginning of the seven year period. Perhaps this is the time when the ten kings give their power to him. Perhaps the covenant is the agreement whereby the governing power is given over to the antichrist. This might be the time when the fulfillment of Second Thessalonians 2:7-8, “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.[8] And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming.” It appears that the covenant that is made with the antichrist will result in the antichrist taking control over Jerusalem and the temple in Jerusalem some time in that first year of the Tribulation. This would account for the sanctuary being “trodden under foot” for “two thousand three hundred days” as described in Daniel 8:14-15.

The Bible says in Daniel 10:1-7, “In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.[2] In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.[3] I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.[4] And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel;[5] Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:[6] His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.[7] And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves.” There are at least a couple of important truths that we can glean from these verses. The first we have seen before which has to do with how greatly Daniel desired to understand the visions that he saw, and to understand the Word of God that had been revealed in regards to prophecy. In many ways God will give you your desires. In addition to having the Holy Spirit within you because you know Jesus as Savior, it is important to have a desire to understand and know more about God’s Word. Jesus said in Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask and it shall be given you: seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Daniel definitely had such a desire. Let’s read again what it says in Daniel 10:2-5a, “In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.[3] I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.[4] And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel;[5] Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked…” The Bible is like a very rich and lavish gold mine. The gold is the truth of the Word of God. The Bible is such a rich gold mine that there are nuggets lying around everywhere. You can easily pick up nuggets wherever you are, such as with John 3:18, Romans 8:28, or the 23^rd Psalm. But all of the nuggets are lying around in easy reach. Some will require digging and will require and effort and a desire. Prophecy is like that. You can understand it, if you desire and dig for it and seek God’s face.

God sent an angel to reveal the truth to Daniel. This symbolizes the fact that we cannot understand without divine intervention. It also shows that Daniel had an experience very similar to Paul’s salvation experience on the road to Damascus. Jesus appeared to Paul. An angel appeared to Daniel. God has His ways of reaching people no matter where or when they live on this earth. Other men were with Daniel when the angel came to him, but they did not see what Daniel saw. The same thing happened when Paul was converted to Jesus, It says in Acts 9:3-7, “And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:[4] And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?[5] And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.[6] And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.[7] And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.” There were other people present with Daniel and Paul, but the Lord did not touch the others or reveal more truth to the others. God deals with us one person at a time, individually. This is also a warning. If God is speaking to you, do not miss your opportunity. Tomorrow He may be speaking to someone else. It says in Second Corinthians 6:2, “For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

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