DANIEL 70-WEEKS (MEANING OF THIS) ARE DETERMINED ON ISRAEL.

‘Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city‘. (Daniel 9:24) God has His inflexible and accurate timetable, which is seventy weeks or sevens (that is years of sevens):  that is, God has given Israel 490 (that is 70 x 7) years.  

The programme was to ‘Finish the transgressions -make an end of sins:  make reconciliation for iniquity.’ which our Lord concluded at Calvary, where HE finished the transgression.  For 2000 years, enabling us to live a victorious life in our blessed Messiah. The writer of Hebrews 9:26 expressed it beautifully, ‘Once in the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.  And in 2 Corinthians 5:18 ‘God has reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.’  Daniel reveals a strong evangelical trend in this remarkable prophecy.

Daniel continued his strong biblical stand, trusting that the Messiah would

‘Bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up vision and prophecy-and anoint the most holy‘.  Exactly at Calvary we were cleansed from our sin and made righteous. 

Christ Jesus became the supreme wisdom from God- of righteousness, sanctification and redemption. (1Corinthians 1:30).  Daniel described such consummation: for Christ’s death and resurrection crystallised all righteousness. 

Know and understand, from the going forth of the command to restore Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince 7 weeks and 62 weeks 7 weeks (49 years) 62 weeks = 434 BC. =483 years. Did you notice that three times (v 22, 23 25) the scripture repeats we are to ’know and understand.’ So we are not left to superior theological wisdom, but to the common understanding of these valuable truths,  Sir Robert Anderson in his revealing work, ‘The Coming Prince “ teaches that each of Daniels’ seven weeks  is a year of sevens.  My dear grandfather, leaving school at eight to harness a team of eight horses taught me this truth as a little child.  Very precious, indeed.

This truth has a commencement: ‘From the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the prince there shall be seven weeks and sixty two weeks. That is 69 sevens or 483 years.  The first seven in the Old Testament finish at Malachi, while the next 62 sevens (434 Years) cover the silent years from OT until the triumphal entry of Christ Jesus into Jerusalem.  Could Nehemiah in his second chapter imagine that this would be the focal point in Daniel’s prophecy?

Sir Robert estimated 173.880 days (estimated from the Julian calendar of 30 days monthly) from King Artaxerxes’ decree to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem on 1 Nisan 451 BC until the triumphal entry of the Messiah into Jerusalem on 10 Nisan 32 AD.  The final days of our Lord’s ministry preceded His utter rejection, scourging and crucifixion.   It proves the Word of God is truly knit into a glorious harmony.   

Daniel continued, ’After the 62 weeks, Messiah shall be cut off but not for Himself.’  So the Jewish history was suspended for 2000 years when they nailed the perfect SON OF GOD to the cross, crying ‘His blood be on us and on our children.’ Indeed, the Messiah, the Lamb of God, cried, ‘My God, My God why have you forsaken Me’ from the famous 22^nd Psalm?  My sin, your‘s and Israel’s was the answer!

The common people acclaimed Him, ‘Hosanna, Hosanna.  Blessed is He that comes in the name of the Lord.’ Hosanna means ’Save now- be propitious.’ Only the precious blood of God’s Son could reconcile and propitiate the righteous nature of the Lord. After the triumphal entry of our Lord into Jerusalem, (Matthew 21) He cleansed the temple, protesting’ You have made it a den of thieves.’ Then He miraculously shrivelled the fig tree (21:18) as a type of the decadent Jewish nation.  Then they brazenly questioned Jesus’ authority, ‘Who gave you this authority? (23)

In AD 70, the Roman Emperor Titus ransacked Jerusalem, so that not a stone of the temple was left standing, God brought such a fearful judgment on Israel for the rejection and slaying of their Messiah: Who is Our beloved Saviour and Lord.

For 19 centuries, the people of Israel were scattered across the nations. The Nazi forces wiped out 6 million Jews in gas chambers, leaving about 12 million. In 1948, God allowed Israel sovereignty, the nation was revived, their Hebrew language and the Old Testament truth authoritative.  Parliament was restored. Recently many have turned in faith to our Lord Jesus as their Messiah and Redeemer.  While Muslim nations threaten to liquidate them, Israel remains strong.  God promised,

‘I will bless them that bless you, and I will curse them that curse you.’  Great Britain forfeited (as did other nations) their position as champions of Israel- and lost status in the world’s estimate - and God’s.    History is HIS story.

The Wailing Wall, the surviving portion of the former temple, is the meeting place for devout Jewish scholars.  I stood with them, during my hospital commitments in Israel during the WW11, deeply touched with their weeping and broken-hearted passion to worship on the holy mount.  Abraham offered Isaac on Mt Moriah;

King David offered His sacrifice to quench divine wrath: and the King of Kings offered Himself as a blood sacrifice without spot to God as Saviour / Redeemer.

Israel’s last week of seven years. The true church will have been raptured (caught up to heaven) and the Jews will resume temple worship for the remaining seven years. The antichrist will be accepted as a world leader: he will maintain the sacrifices morning and night until half way through.  Then He will persecute such as the world has never known.  One third of the total population will be slain. 144,000 Jewish evangelists (not the Jehovah’s Witnesses as falsely claimed) will preach Christ’s salvation to the ends of the earth. Prepared to die for their Messiah Jesus.

God’s Spirit will use their colossal language mastery. One of my medical friends in Java had 3 family Chinese languages, four regional and four European from medical school: 11 in all. I sighed. 144,000 multilingual Jewish evangelists with the 6,000 languages (Wycliffe Bible Translators) will enable every tribe, kingdom, race and nation to hear the glorious gospel of God’s grace within the 3 ½ years. 

‘If their casting away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead.’ (Romans 11:15): ‘So all Israel shall be saved, as it is written, The Deliverer shall come out of Zion, and he will turn away ungodliness from Jacob, for this is the covenant with them, when I take away their sins.’ (v26)  

Keep your eyes on Israel as a nation - for they are God’s clock for the climax.

For those deeply interested in the people of Israel, contact John Ecob of Herald of Hope; Colin Stock of Manna International; or Deane Woods of Friends of Israel.