Daniel’s seventy "weeks" prophecy is one of the most precise Messianic prophecies in the entire Old Testament (Dan 9:24-27). It not only foretells the coming of Christ but also captures key elements of His ministry in stunning detail. This prophecy describes how Jesus would:

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1. bring an end to the power of sin and reconcile humanity to God through His atoning sacrifice,

2. introduce everlasting righteousness,

3. mark the close of the Old Testament period,

4. enter the Most Holy Place as our High Priest and mediator,

5. confirm the New Covenant with His people, and

6. make a complete end to the sacrificial system.

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Remarkably, Daniel's prophecy also foretells the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. by the Roman general Titus, whose actions serve as a prototype for the final Antichrist (Mat 24:15; 2 Thes 2:3-4). However, the futurist interpretation of this prophecy undermines points 5 and 6 by attributing them to the Antichrist and using this prophecy to support the notion of a future seven-year tribulation. The purpose of this writing is to restore the historicist interpretation of Daniel’s seventy weeks prophecy, showing how it harmonizes with the rest of New Testament eschatology.

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Countering Futurism and the Seven-Year Tribulation:

Despite common claims, the New Testament does not directly mention a seven-year tribulation. So, where did this idea originate? The notion of a seven-year tribulation emerged in the 19th century through the teachings of John Nelson Darby, who popularized it around 1830. However, traces of this view can be found in the eschatology of Roman Catholic Jesuits centuries earlier. Darby extracted one “week” from Daniel’s seventy weeks prophecy (Daniel 9) and placed it far off into the distant future, leading to the creation of the seven-year tribulation theory. While Darby had his own reasons for constructing this view, it's essential to examine whether his interpretations align with the Scriptures.

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Before going further, it’s important to clarify a crucial aspect of Daniel’s prophecy: the seventy “weeks” are not literal weeks but represent seventy heptads, or groups of seven years. Each week corresponds to seven years, as "week" in Hebrew simply denotes a basic unit of seven.

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Now, let’s delve into Daniel 9 and break down the prophecy to understand its true meaning:

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The Seventy Weeks Explained:

“Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy” (Dan 9:24).

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Daniel is told that a full 490 years (seventy weeks of years) are decreed until the end of the Jewish Age or Old Testament period—no more and no less. He is further informed that the following key events must take place during this time, all of which were fulfilled by Christ:

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1. “Finish the transgression...make an end of sins, and make reconciliation for iniquity” (i.e., atone for sin).
Jesus accomplished this on the cross. His death brought an end to the power of sin and made reconciliation between God and man. Isaiah tells us, "He was wounded for our transgressions..." (Is 53:5). As Jesus cried, “It is finished” (Jn 19:30), He completed the work of atoning for sin (Heb 9:15). The "transgression" was rectified, and there is no future sacrifice needed for sin (see also: Jn 1:29; Rom. 5:21; 6:1-11; 2 Cor. 5:19; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; 1 Per. 1:18-19; 1 Jn. 2:2; Heb. 7:27; 10:17-18).

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2. “Bring in everlasting righteousness.”
Through His atoning work, Christ introduced a new era of righteousness, bringing the hope of eternal salvation to the world (Heb 9:12).

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3. “Seal up the vision and prophecy.”
The Old Testament prophets looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, and Jesus' arrival marked the fulfillment of their prophecies. As Jesus said, “The Law and the Prophets were until John” (Lk 16:16), meaning John the Baptist was the last prophet of the Old Testament era, signaling its end.

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4. “Anoint the Most Holy.”
Some believe this refers to the anointing of Jesus by the Holy Spirit at His baptism (Mat 3:16), while others see it as His priestly role, where He entered the Most Holy Place in heaven, offering His blood as the ultimate sacrifice (Heb 9:12).

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The Timing:

Gabriel tells Daniel that the prophetic clock starts with the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. From that decree to the arrival of the Messiah would be 483 years (69 weeks). Historically, this decree was issued by King Cyrus of Persia around 457 B.C. (Ez 1:1-3; 6:14; Is 44:28). The first seven "weeks" (49 years) cover the time it took to rebuild Jerusalem, a process chronicled in the book of Nehemiah. Jewish years are lunar, so their length varies slightly, but by adding 483 years to 457 B.C., we arrive at A.D. 26, the year of Jesus' baptism and the start of His public ministry (Lk 3:23). Remarkably, the prophecy in Daniel specifies that after 483 years, the Messiah would be "cut off" (Dan 9:26), which was fulfilled by Jesus’ crucifixion at the end of His 3.5-year ministry, in the middle of the 70th week.

Note: The above estimates are according to the calculations of Philip Mauro. To read further on the chronological timing and history of Daniel's 70 weeks prophecy, I recommend you read, The Wonders of Bible Prophecy by Philip Mauro. Proof that Christ's ministry lasted 3.5 years can be found in the helpful article provided here.

 

Daniel 9:26 continues by predicting that after the Messiah is killed, “the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.” This was fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. The “prince” here refers directly to the Roman General Titus, son of Emperor Vespasian, who later became emperor himself. The people of this prince, the Romans, did indeed destroy Jerusalem and its temple in 70 A.D. "The end thereof shall be with a flood" is a vivid metaphor for the overwhelming force of Rome’s invading armies. This "flood" imagery is used throughout the Old Testament to refer to enemy invasion or conquest (see Jer. 47:1-2; Is. 8:7-8).

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The latter part of verse 26 tells us that the Jewish-Roman war of A.D. 70 would result in desolations ("and unto the end of the war desolations are determined"). This was tragically fulfilled as Israel remained desolate and uninhabited for nearly two thousand years.

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However, the controversy begins with verse 27: "Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate" (Dan. 9:27).

Before 1830, the Church was united in its understanding that the "he" in this passage referred to Jesus Christ, not the antichrist. However, John Nelson Darby introduced a new interpretation, suggesting a hidden gap between the 69th and 70th week. He believed this gap represented the Church Age, a parenthesis in the prophetic timeline. According to Darby’s view, once the Church Age concludes, the prophetic time clock resumes, and the antichrist will supposedly initiate the final seven years of Daniel's prophecy.

 

But Darby's theory presents a significant issue: there is no indication of a 2,000-year gap anywhere in Daniel 9. So, perhaps the historicist view, which interprets verse 27 as referring to Jesus Christ, offers a better explanation.

 

Let’s explore what Jesus did according to verse 27:​

 

1. “He shall confirm the COVENANT with many for one week”

When Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper to commemorate His atonement, He declared: “This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Mt. 26:28). Our Lord Jesus confirmed the covenant through His redemptive sacrifice at Calvary, as foretold by the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 31:31-34).

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As a result, Jesus is referred to as the "mediator of the new covenant" (Heb. 8:6; 9:14, 15) and the "messenger of the covenant" (Mal. 3:1). His shed blood is identified as "the blood of the everlasting covenant" (Heb. 12:24). This prophecy is directed specifically toward Daniel's people, the Jews (v. 24). Thus, the New Covenant had to be confirmed with the Jewish people before the seventy weeks concluded, after which God’s focus would shift away from them to the Gentiles. This is why it is stated that the Messiah would confirm the “covenant” with many during the final seven years of this prophecy. This does not imply a temporary covenant lasting only seven years; rather, it signifies God establishing an everlasting covenant with the Jewish remnant within the remaining seven years of the 490 years allotted to His people.

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Notice that the term “many” is a key indicator of what this covenant entails:

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• “My righteous servant shall justify many” (Is. 53:11).

• “This child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel” (Lk. 2:34).

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In these verses, “many” refers to those who receive the benefits of the New Covenant by faith, ratified through Christ's blood.

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Interestingly, careful estimates by Bible scholars suggest that the Apostle Paul was commissioned to take the Gospel to the Gentiles precisely as the final seven years of Daniel's prophecy came to a close. Thus, God's exclusive dealings with the Jews reached their end.

 

2. “He shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease”

This, too, was fulfilled in the death of Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament, sacrifices were made repeatedly, each serving as a mere type pointing toward the perfect sacrifice, the Lamb of God. Once Christ’s sacrifice was accomplished, God would no longer require or accept further sacrifices.

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The perfect sacrifice was Jesus Christ. The old system of repeated sacrifices could only conclude at Calvary, where Christ became the perfect, eternal, and final sacrifice (see Heb. 9 and 10). Nothing more can be added to Calvary's sacrifice; “there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins” (Heb. 10:18, 26).

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For several years after Christ's death, the Jews continued their sacrifices, but these were not recognized by God. Such actions cannot be termed sacrifices in the true scriptural sense, as the death of Christ provided the perfect and final sacrifice for sins forever.

 

3. “And on the wing (at the end) of abominations shall be one who makes desolate even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate”

This describes the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and its subsequent desolation. Daniel 9:27 parallels Matthew 24:15, where Jesus warned His disciples to flee when they would see the “abomination of desolation standing where it ought not to, as spoken by Daniel the prophet”. History shows that the Christian Jews living in Jerusalem at this time followed Christ's instructions, fleeing to Pella Jordan, and were preserved alive as a result.

 

However, Daniel 9:27 may also contain dualistic fulfillment, just like other noteworthy prophecies. In other words, it may equally apply to the "desecration" of a future Jewish temple built illegitimately by the antichrist in defiance towards God. ​While Christ's atonement marked the end of the sacrificial system, the Jews may still attempt to restore temple sacrifice. In doing so, their rebellious actions could fulfill prophecy. After all, Jesus warned the Jews that by rejecting Him as their Messiah, they would end up accepting the antichrist: “I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive” (Jn. 5:43). It seems plausible that the Jews would embrace the antichrist once he makes provisions for a third Jewish temple. It is likely that he would then desecrate it, leading to the complete destruction of Israel.

 

CONCLUSION

It is evident that each of the six points described in Daniel 9:24-27 directly pertains to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Moreover, Daniel provides a fixed 490-year period in which Christ was to arrive and carry out His ministry before being “cut off” on behalf of His people. There is no indication of a 2,000-year gap (and counting) between the 69th and 70th weeks that would necessitate a future seven-year tribulation. This aligns with the testimonies found in Daniel 7:25, 12:7, and Revelation 11:2, 12:6, 12:14, and 13:5, which restrict the tribulation period to a mere 3.5 years. Therefore, Christians should reconsider their belief in a future seven-year tribulation, as opposed to the 3.5 years of tribulation taught by the Scriptures.

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