Daniel's Vision of Seventy Weeks: The Times of the Jews Daniel … · namely those of Darius I in 521 B.C. and Artaxerxes in 458 and 445 (see Chronological Event Chart, Diagram 3).

Chapter V

Daniel's Vision of Seventy Weeks:The Times of the Jews1

Daniel 9:24-27

Daniel's vision of the 70 weeks of years is one of the most important prophecies in the

Bible. Daniel was given this vision in the first year of reign of Darius the Mede (Dan

9:1-2). Babylon fell to the Persian army on 12 October 539 B.C. and Cyrus who had his

hands full with consolidating and administering his vast Medo-Persian kingdom

appointed Darius the Mede (who was probably Cyrus' father in law) as his Viceroy

over Babylon. He is the king who is referred to in Daniel Chapter 6 (where Daniel is

thrown to the lions) and must not be confused with the Darius referred to in Ezra

chapters 4 to 6, who is Darius Hystapes or Darius the Great (see chronological event

chart, Diagram 3).

Thus the reigns of Cyrus the Persian and Darius the Mede, ran concurrently and are

synonymous in so far as jewish history and the Old Testament are concerned. This is

exactly what the writing on the palace wall pronounced when Belshazzar pushed God too

far: ``. . . Upharsin: your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes (Darius) and

Persians (Cyrus)'' (Dan 5:28).

During that same year of reign (but in the next calendar year, ie 538 B.C.) Cyrus issued his

famous decree ending the 70 years of exile and allowing the Jews to return to their

homeland and rebuild their temple (2 Chron 36:22-23, Ezra 1:1-4). Isaiah foresaw that

great day and actually mentions the name of Cyrus 200 years before his birth (Is 44:28 &

45:1).

And so the scene was set. Zerubbabel, Zechariah and Haggai together with a little band

of patriotic exiles journeyed back to Jerusalem to start rebuilding the temple in the midst

of a city which lay in ruins.

v v v v v

25

DIAGRAM 3

CHRONOLOGY OF PERIOD FROM DANIEL'S VISION OF 70 WEEKS

TO ARTAXERXES' DECREE TO REBUILD JERUSALEM

26

WHEN IS JESUS COMING?

DATEBC

JEWISHLEADERS

REIGNING KINGS

BABYLONMEDO-PERSIA

YR OFREIGN

DATEBC

EVENT

DESCRIPTION TEXT

550

540

530

520

510

500

490

480

470

460

450

440

430

420

Ezra 7:12-26

EZ

RA

NE

HE

MIA

H

ZE

RU

BB

AB

EL

HA

GG

AI

ZE

CH

AR

IAH

DA

NIE

L

AH

ASU

ER

US

AR

TAX

ER

XE

S

(XE

RX

ES

I)

DA

RIU

S T

HE

GR

EA

TC

AM

BY

SES

CY

RU

S

425

465

486

522

530

539

550

558T

HE

ME

DE

DA

RIU

SB

EL

SHA

ZZ

AR

NA

BO

NID

US

550

32 433 Nehemiah’s term as Governor ends.He returns to Sushan.

44520 Decree by Artaxerxes to rebuild Jerusalem44520 Nehemiah appointed governor of Judah44520 Walls and gates of Jerusalem restored

Neh 5:14

Neh 2:7-8Neh 5:14Neh 6:15

458458

77

Ezra and his arrive in JerusalemDecree by Artaxerxes secures freedomof worship for Jews in Jerusalem

Ezra 7:7-8

47412 Queen Esther saves her people fromdestruction by Haman

Rebuilding of Jerusalem forciblyopposed by enemies of the Jews

Esther 3:7

Ezra 4:1-24

Latter period of Jewish captivity

538538537

112

Daniel’s vision of 70 weeksDecree by Cyrus to rebuild TempleStart made on Rebuilding Temple

Work on Temple interrupted??

Dan 9:1-3,21Ezra 1:1-4Ezra 3:8Hag 1:1-15Ezra 4:4-5

521521517

226

Decree by Darius allows work to proceedWork on Temple resumedHouse of the Lord completed

Ezra 6:6-12Ezra 4:24Ezra 6:15

555

Gabriel's message to Daniel reads as follows:

Dan 9:24 ``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.

Dan 9:25 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 streets shall

be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

Dan 9:26 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.

Dan 9:27 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 unto the

consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate ''2

(K.J.V.).

It will be noted that there are three distinct periods mentioned in the above passage.

1. A period of 7 � 7 = 49 (p) years for the restoration of Jerusalem with its streets and

walls which will be during difficult times. [NB, one week in Jewish prophecy stands

for 7 (p) years. The Hebrew word for week is Shabua which literally means seven,

and one day represents one year (Ezek 4:5,6). It would be impossible to rebuild

Jerusalem in 7 weeks].

2. A further period of 62 � 7 or 434 (p) years from the time that Jerusalem is restored

to the coming of the Messiah after which he will be cut off (ie killed). Thereafter the

army of an invading prince will destroy both the city and the sanctuary (General

Titus in A.D. 70).

3. A third period of 1 � 7 (p) years during which another prince will confirm a

covenant with many and especially with the Jews. (Titus did not conclude any

covenant with the Jews; he deported them). Halfway through this period he will

break this covenant, put a stop to the daily sacrifices and introduce an àbominable

desolation' which refers to the Antichrist setting himself up as God in the rebuilt

Jewish temple (seeMt 24:15 and 2 Thes 2:4). This 7-year period still lies in the future

and is commonly referred to as the Great Tribulation.

4. This can be expressed arithmetically as follows:

7 weeks + 62 weeks + 1 week = 70 weeks

or

49 (p) yrs + 434 (p) yrs + 7 (p) yrs

(see Diagram 4)

= 490 (p) yrs

27

DANIEL'S VISION OF SEVENTY WEEKS

These periods are very specific and have been the subject of much debate and diverse

interpretation over the years by bible students in attempts to correlate them with the

dates of events as recorded in history. For centuries bible students have been baffled by

the apparent disparity between the above periods and the actual recorded historical dates

and a plethora of theories, interpretations and arithmetical manipulations have emerged

as credible explanations have been sought to satisfy Daniel's prophecy.

The author has been quite alarmed at the wide spectrum of speculations when in fact the

scriptures are very clear if read carefully and prayerfully. There appear to be four major

erroneous assumptions viz (a) The starting point for these periods is the decree by Cyrus

in 538 B.C. (b) The coming of the Messiah (or Prince) in Dan 9:25 refers to the birth of

Jesus at Bethlehem (c) The above prophetic periods are taken as calendar years of

36514days. (d) The 3rd period of 7 years is contiguous with the other two periods. The

following is a typical approach which illustrates the confusion:

p Starting point = Decree by Cyrus in 538 B.C.

p Subtracting 483 calendar years (i.e. 49 years + 434 years) from 538 B.C. = 55 B.C.

p This means that the Messiah should have come in 55 B.C.

p Jesus was born in �4 B.C.3

p Therefore there is an apparent error in the prophecy of 51 years.

Obviously something is wrong. Let's have another look at Dan 9:25 for the answer. It

says clearly ``. . . 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 . . .''. You

will note that it is very specific about Jerusalem being rebuilt. Now let's compare this

with the wording of Cyrus' decree. ``Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The Lord, the God of

heaven has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has charged me to build him a

house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever is among you of all his people, may his God

be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah and rebuild the house of the

Lord . . .'' (Ezra 1:2-3). Nothing is said about rebuilding the city. Ezra 6:3-5 also quotes a

Babylonian copy of the decree and here also the decree is specifically concerned with

rebuilding the temple. No mention is made of rebuilding Jerusalem.

Furthermore, Jerusalem lay in ruins until the 20th year of Artaxerxes (445 B.C.), which

was 93 years after the decree of Cyrus. (see Neh 1:3, 2:17). Nothing had been rebuilt

except the temple. Consequently Daniel's 70 weeks, the first 7 of which were allotted to the

rebuilding of Jerusalem, could not have started before 445 B.C.

We must therefore conclude that the decree by Cyrus was not the decree referred to in

Daniel's prophecy, even though it was wonderfully inspired and ordained by God.

There were three other decrees issued by Persian kings concerning the repatriated Jews

namely those of Darius I in 521 B.C. and Artaxerxes in 458 B.C. and 445 B.C. (see

Chronological Event Chart, Diagram 3). The decree of Darius in 521 B.C. specifically

authorises the Jews to resume construction of the temple (Ezra 6:6-12). The decree by

Artaxerxes in 458 B.C. deals mainly with securing freedom of worship for the Jews and

the financing of the daily temple sacrifices, etc (Ezra 7:12-26), but says nothing about

rebuilding Jerusalem.

28


However, the decree by Artaxerxes in 445 B.C. at the request of Nehemiah (Neh 2:1-10)

deals specifically with the rebuilding of Jerusalem which, at that stage, still lay in ruins

(Neh 2:3, 17). Thus in the first month (Nisan) in the 20th year of Artaxerxes (445 B.C.)

the decree prophesied by Daniel came to pass and Nehemiah and his helpers, inspired by

God, immediately set about repairing the walls and gates of Jerusalem amidst strong

opposition from their enemies. These were indeed troublous times as predicted in

Dan 9:25. The first prophetic period of 49 years had started at last.

Thus, according to Dan 9:25 and Neh 2:17, 18 & 6:15, the restoration of Jerusalem must

have been completed in 397 B.C.

The next period is the 62 weeks or 434 years which will bring us to the coming of the

Messiah.

v v v v v

Sir Robert Anderson in his book The Coming Prince shows that the prophecy of Daniel

was accurate to the very day. Whilst Anderson's proof does rest on a number of

reasonable assumptions it is difficult to refute. It has been criticised on the grounds that it

is `too perfect' but it is quite obvious that this high degree of accuracy can only be

attributed to the hand of God. The following are the results derived from Anderson's

calculations:4

Daniel prophesied that the Messiah would come 69 `weeks' or 483 (p) years after the

decree by Artaxerxes.

483 (p) years � 360 days = 173 880 days.

The actual date of the decree was 14 March 445 B.C.

We know from Neh 2:1-8 that the decree was issued in the month of Nisan, in the 20th

year5 of Artaxerxes' reign (465-425 B.C.) We can assume that the decree was dated on the

first of Nisan because this date was always used as the New Year date for the

computation of the reign of kings and for fixing the dates of festivals. The first of Nisan,

445 B.C., fell on 14 March (Royal Observatory, Greenwich, England).

Daniel's vision focuses specifically on Jerusalem so it is logical to assume that the

``coming of the Messiah'' does not refer to the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem but to the day

on which he made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem and was proclaimed by the jubilant

throng as King of Israel (Jn 12:12-15 ). This important occasion was prophesied by

Zechariah ``Rejoice greatly O Daughter of Zion! Shout, O Daughter of Jerusalem; behold

thy King cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass,

and upon a colt the foal of an ass. (Zech 9:9). That the phrase ``Coming of the Messiah''

refers to Jesus coming to Jerusalem was further confirmed by Jesus himself when he

foretold of his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, `Ò Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the

prophets . . . For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say `Blessed is he who comes

in the name of the Lord' '' (Mat 23:37-39. Luke 13:34-35 ). And the quote `Blessed is he

who comes in the name of the Lord ' refers to nothing else but the Lords triumphal entry

into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (John 12:12-15).

29


[It is important to recognise the linkage between Dan 9:25, Zech 9:9-10 and

John 12:12-15. These three scriptures link the coming of the anointed prince and the

death of the Messiah to Jerusalem. They also imply that the coming of the anointed

prince and the death of the Messiah are concurrent events.

What Dan 9:25, 26 is actually telling us is that 69 weeks of years will elapse from the decree

to restore Jerusalem until the coming of the Messiah to Jerusalem and at that same time the

Messiah will be killed. It is not saying that this period will culminate in the birth of a

prince at Bethlehem (Many bible students miss this point completely). The birth of Jesus

at Bethlehem, although a very important event, does not play a prophetic role in so far as

the Times of the Jews are concerned. The critical and pivotal date is that of the crucifixion

± see Appendix 2].

Both John the Baptist and Jesus began their ministries during the 15th year of the reign

of Tiberius Caesar (Lk 3:1-3, Mat 3:13) who began his reign in 14 A.D. according to

historical sources. Jesus therefore must have started his ministry in 29 A.D. (ie 14 A.D. +

15 years) which continued, as we know, for 3 years. We thus conclude that 32 A.D. was the

year of the crucifixion and the triumphal entry into Jerusalem a few days earlier.

We have it from Jn 12:1 that Jesus went to Bethany, ``six days before the Passover'', and

from Jn 12:12, 13 that the triumphal entry was the ``next day ''.

Passover is always celebrated on 14 Nisan, which fell on Thursday 10 April in 32 A.D.

(Royal Observatory, Greenwich). So Jesus came to Bethany on 4 April (6 days before the

Passover) which was a Friday. The meal with Lazarus at Bethany must have been a

Sabbath dinner. The ``next day'' referred to in Jn 12:12 could not have been the Saturday

as the Sabbath still being in effect, Jesus and the Jews would have rested. So Jesus must

have made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Sunday 6 April 32 A.D.6(Palm Sunday).

What Anderson is saying in essence is:

(a) that the decree referred to in Dan 9:25 was issued by Artaxerxes on 14 March 445 B.C.

(b) that the Messiah came officially to Jerusalem on 6 April, 32 A.D.

(c) that Daniel predicted there would be exactly 173 880 days between these two dates

(483 (p) years � 360 = 173 880).

If Daniel is correct to the very day, there should be exactly 173 880 days between the

above two dates. Anderson works it out empirically as follows:

From 14 March 445 B.C. to 6 April 32 A.D. is 476(c) years plus 24 days (see explanation at

the end of Chapter IV).

476 (c) years � 36514days: = 173 859 days

Add in the additional 24 days: + 24 days

= 173 883 days

This is three days too many. But as explained in Chapter IV, there is a slight discrepancy

between our Gregorian Calendar and the true Solar year. Our Gregorian7 calendar

30


system is about 1128

of a day out of step with the sun at the end of every leap year. A leap

year should therefore theoretically be skipped every 128 years on our calendar. Three

such leap years must be skipped during Daniel's prophetic period of 483 years.

We therefore subtract 3 days:

173 883

ÿ 3

173 880 days

And so we see that Daniel was accurate to the VERY DAY8.

Jesus was not a day early; he was not a day late; he came exactly on time and he came on

a donkey as the Scriptures said he would. (Zech 9:9) He was willing to have it officially

proclaimed that the Messiah had come to Jerusalem. But Jerusalem failed to recognise

the time of her visitation (Luke 19:41-44). Five days later on Friday 11th April 32 A.D.

they crucified the precious Son of God in fulfilment of the prophecy `Àfter threescore and

two weeks shall Messiah be cut off '' (Dan 9:26).

The curtain of the temple, veiling the holy of holies was torn from top to bottom and

God's prophetic time clock stopped ticking for Israel.

v v v v v

`Ànd the people of the Prince that shall come, shall destroy the city and the sanctuary ''

(Dan 9:26).

In 70 A.D. the Roman legions under General Titus, after besieging Jerusalem for 5

months, broke through the city's defences. Titus had deliberately waited for the Jewish

Passover when the city was crammed to capacity with Jewish pilgrims before he

surrounded the city.

The human tragedy of that event is almost beyond description. At least 1,1 million Jews

died in the five-month siege of Jerusalem by the Roman legions. Approximately 600 000

starved to death in the streets. Their bodies were thrown over the city walls at the rate of

4 000 per day. The historian Josephus records cannibalism among the panic stricken and

starving 3 million people crammed within the city walls.

The city's defences eventually collapsed and the Romans poured into the stricken city.

In the heat of the fierce hand-to-hand fighting between the desperate defenders and the

Roman soldiers, a torch was thrown through one of the temple windows and the

beautiful edifice went up in flames, killing thousands of pilgrims who had sought refuge

within its precincts. The temple was razed so thoroughly that the prophecy of Jesus was

literally fulfilled ± not one stone was left upon another.

And so the Dark Ages of the Great Diaspora began with the remnant of the Jewish

nation being deported and scattered around the globe for nigh on 2 000 years.

v v v v v

31


DIA

GRAM

4

THETIM

ESOFTHEJEWS:DANIEL'S

VISIO

NOF70WEEKS

32

WHEN

ISJE

SUSCOMIN

G?

538 BC 445 BC 397 BC 32 AD 70 AD 1948

1 WEEK 1000 YRSPEACE62 WEEKS7 WEEK

• Daniel’s Vision• Decree by Cyrus• (Ezra 1:2-4)

• Decree by Artaxeres• to rebuild Jerusalem• 14 March 445 BC• (Neh 2:1-8)

Rebuilding ofJerusalemcompleted

• Triumphal entry of• Jesus into Jerusalem• 6 April 32 AD• (Zech 9:9)• (John 12:12-15)• Crucifixion 5 days later• (11 April 32 AD)

DIASPORA – periodof Jewish dispersion.Isreal under controlof Roman, Islamic,Ottoman empires, etc.

• 70th week of Daniel*• 7 years of tribulation• Jews accept Jesus as Messiah• (Zech 12:10) at end• of this period.

7(p) YEARS= 7(c) yrs

1878(c) yrs434(p) YEARS= 427,8(c) yrs

49(p) YEARS= 48,3(c) yrs

Diagrams not to scale.*see diag 5 for details of 70th week

Approx. Period of Jewish rejection

40 x 50 = 2000(p) years= 1971(c) years

(See Diag. 7)

483(p) yrs x 360 = 173 880 days

The 70th Week of Daniel: The Great Tribulation

The reader is referred to diagram 5 for a graphical summary of this important period.

The second half of Dan 9:26 and Dan 9:27 tell us that towards the end of this prophetic

period there will be a desolating war during which another prince will make a covenant with

many for one week (ie seven years). Neither of the two world wars resulted in a seven year

covenant with any king or world ruler and so we conclude that another world war is

looming during which the Antichrist will appear on the world scene as the great peacemaker

(the counterfeit prince of peace) and orchestrate a brilliant package of peace treaties with

the warring nations. They will hail him as the new world ruler, and worship him as God

incarnate. Because they reject the truth God sends them a strong delusion (2 Thes 2:10-11).

This brings us to Daniel's 70th week which, after an interval of nearly 2 000 years, still

awaits fulfilment. Dan 9:24-27 does not give us any indication of the period of time which

elapses between the 69th and 70th weeks of Daniel, the period in which we are now

living. From Revelation chapters 19 and 20 it is clear that the Great Tribulation is

consummated with the battle of Armageddon which simultaneously closes this age and

ushers in the Biblical millennium or 1 000 years peace. The Great Tribulation thus takes

place during the last seven years of the present dispensation and hence coincides with the

70th week of Daniel (see diagram 7).

This 70th week is so apocalyptic and important to God that 60% of the book of

Revelation (ie chapters 6 to 18) is devoted to a description of the horrors that will take

place during these seven cataclysmic years. This period is graphically depicted in

diagram 5. It seems almost impossible that anyone could survive this terrible period of

tribulation during which the wrath of God is going to be poured out without measure on

a rebellious and corrupt humanity. It will be so terrible that `ìf those days had not been

shortened, no human being would be saved '' (Mt 24:22). Jer 25:15-38 and Zeph 1:14-18

give us a glimpse of this period ± please take off one minute to read these passages.

We have seen that when Daniel's 70th week starts the following events will occur almost

simultaneously:

1. During peace talks a sudden, unexpected and devastating world war will break out

from which there will be no escape (I Thes 5:2-3). [This world war must not be

confused with the Battle of Armageddon which takes place seven years later.]

2. The Antichrist, `à master of stratagem '', will appear on the scene and conclude

peace treaties (covenants) with many nations including Israel (Dan 9:27) and

thereby succeed in stopping the war(s). The seven year agreement which he

concludes with Israel will allow the latter to rebuild their temple during the first 312

years of the tribulation.

3. The Bride of Christ and the wedding guests who are counted worthy are raptured to

Heaven to enjoy a blissful seven year wedding feast with their Saviour.

4. The Antichrist will embark on a 312year campaign to persecute and annihilate the

christians and church groups who are left behind and who refuse to worship him or

accept his mark (Rev 12:13-14).

v v v v v

33


DIA

GRAM

5

THE70THWEEKOFDANIEL:THESEVEN

YEARSTRIBULATIO

N9

34

WHEN

ISJE

SUSCOMIN

G?

70TH WEEK OF DANIEL (DAN 9:27)7 YEARS OF TRIBULATION ON EARTH(Rev Chapters 6-18; Isaiah Ch 24, Jer 25:15-38)

RA

PTU

RE

RE

TU

RN

OF

CH

RIST

IN G

LO

RY

MILLENIUM

1000 YEARS PEACE

2nd 3 years

• Persecution of Church• (Rev 7:13-17, 12:6, Dan 7:25)• Jews Rebuild Temple• Mark of the Beast• (Rev 13:16-18, 14:9-12)

• Persecution of Jews• (Mark 13:14-20)• 7 last plagues of• God (Rev 16:1-21)• Fall of Babylon• (Rev 18:1-24)• Gentiles trample• Jerusalem for 42• months (Rev 11:2)

• Sound of Trumpet (1 Thes 4:16-17; I Cor 15:52)• Unexpected (Math 24:44; Luke 12:40)• Thief in the Night (2 Pet 3:10; 1 Thes 5:2; Math 24:43; Rev 16:15)• One Taken, the Other Left (Luke 17:34-35; Math 24:40,41)• Changed in the Twinkling of an Eye (1 Cor 15:51,52)• Caught up to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thes 4:16-17)

Mark 13:26-27Math 24:30-312 Thes 1:7,8Math 25:31Rev 1:7Rev 19:11-21Zech 14:4

• Armageddon (Rev 16:16;• Rev 14:19-20)• End of 6000 years• End of times of Jews• End of times of the Gentiles• Satan bound for 1000 years• Jews accept Jesus as• Messiah (Zech 12:10)• Read Zech Chapter 14

• Antichrist breaks his agreement• with the Jews (Dan 9:27)

• Antichrist sets himself up as God in• the Jewish temple (2 Thes 2:4)

• Abominable desolation set up• (Dan 9:27; Math 24:15-16)

• Daily sacrifice stopped,• Jews flee Jerusalem

• 3rd World War• (Dan 9:26; Rev 6:3-4; 1 Thes 5:3)• Antichrist revealed• Peace treaties concluded• 7 year covenant with Jews

• Ten virgins asleep• (Math 25:1-13)

• Lukewarm Church• of Laodicea• (Rev 3:14-22)

• Church in Labour• (Rev 12:1-4)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

• Holy Spirit• (2 Thes 2:6-7)• Bride• (Rev 12:5; 19:7-8)• Guests• (Rev 19:9)

7 YEAR WEDDING FEAST IN HEAVENMIDNIGHT HOUR

Midnighthour

1st 3 years12

12

Jesus will come on two separate occasions (Diagram 5)

Many people are confused when they read about the Lords' coming because in some

places the Scriptures, talk about Jesus coming like a thief in the night (1 Thes 5:2,

Mat 24:43,44, Rev 16:15 ) while others talk about him coming on the clouds of

Heaven with power and glory and every eye shall see him (Mt 24:30, 25:31, Rev 1:7,

etc.).

We have seen that during the tribulation God will pour out his wrath upon a reprobate

mankind, and also allow Satan, through his powerful agent the Antichrist, to rule on

Earth. Before this can happen and before the Antichrist can be revealed, the restraining

force, ie the Holy Spirit working through the truly born-again children of God, must

retire from the scene (2 Thes 2:7).

As shown in diagram 5 Jesus comes the first time as a thief in the night to rapture

away his saints who (a) form his bride and (b) make up the wedding guests, to spend

seven wonderful years of bliss at the heavenly wedding (Math 25:10). Running

concurrently with this will be the seven years of demonic rule on earth, when sin will

reach a climax. In the middle of this period Antichrist will break his covenant with the

Jews and sit in the newly built Jewish temple proclaiming himself as God (2 Thes 2:4).

This will herald the beginning of a terrible and final time of persecution for the Jews

which will also last for 312years. Daniel chapter 12 deals specifically with this period

which is also referred to in Jer 30:7 as `à time of distress for Jacob'' or ``the time of

Jacob's trouble ''.

At the end of the seven years, after Gods wrath has been poured out, the battle of

Armageddon takes place (Rev 16:16). Jesus and his saints who descend from Heaven

on white horses (Rev 19:11-21) engage the Antichrist and his vast army. It is during

this second appearance that Jesus will come in power and glory and `èvery eye shall

see him'' and when the few remaining Jews will accept him as their Messiah (Rev 1:7,

Zech 12:10).

The all-important question is, where do we chronologically place the 70th week of Daniel?

The first clue is to consider the Jewish feasts and Jubilee Years.

ÐÐÐÐÐÐÐÐÐÐ

1 ``The times of the Jews'' actually began with Abraham many centuries before Daniel but for the sake of

distinguishing the various prophetic periods considered in this book this dispensation has been coupled to the

prophecy in Daniel Chapter 9, which deals solely with Jewish periods (and specifically Jerusalem), and

started in the year 445 B.C. with the Decree of Artaxrxes to rebuild Jerusalem.2 Some versions read ``desolator''.3 Historians differ in computing this date. Dates vary from 1 B.C. to 7 B.C. The general consensus, however is

that 4 B.C. is the most likely date of the birth of Jesus.4 Information in this section is taken from ``Satan in the Sanctuary'' by Thomas S Mc Call and Zola Levitt.

35


5 Historians put this date at 444 B.C. based on the fact that Artaxerxes Longimanus ascended the throne in

February 464 B.C. and therefore the ``20th year of his reign'' would refer to a period commencing in

February 444 B.C. From a profane historical point of view this reasoning is entirely logical. Sir Robert

Anderson argues, however, that Nehemiah makes certain other date-related statements which cast doubts on

the accuracy of the above, seemingly logical, deduction requiring us to dig below the surface to get the true

picture.

Xerxes, the father of Artaxerxes, was murdered by Artabanus in July, 465 B.C. who usurped the Persian

throne for seven months before being deposed by Artaxerxes in February 464 B.C. Nehemiah states in

Neh 1:1 that the Jewish month Chislev (Nov/Dec) fell in the 20th year of the reign of the king. In the next

chapter, (Neh 2:1) he states that the month Nisan (March/April) also fell within the same (ie 20th) year of

the king's reign. For this to be the case, the 20th year could not have started in February 444 B.C. However,

if Nehemiah had reckoned the date of accession of his regal master de jure from July 465 B.C., then the

Jewish months Chislev and Nisan (in that order) do fall into the same Persian regal year. Sir Robert

Anderson ± The Coming Prince pp 64±66. According to Clinton, the seven months of Artabanus were, by

some Persian records, added to the last year of Xerxes reign, and by others were included in the reign of

Artaxerxes ± Clinton, Fasti Hellenici, vol II, p 42.6 Using the Julian Day system we arrive at 4 April 32 A.D. as the end date taking 14 March 445 B.C. as

starting date and adding 173 880 days.7 Our Gregorian calendar is based on the Julian calendar year of 365 days 6 hours which exceeds the length of

the true solar year by 11 minutes 14 seconds. Including an additional day every leap year thus takes care of

the 6 hour periods but still leaves us with a positive discrepancy of 44 minutes 56 seconds at the end of every

leap year. After 32 leap years (ie 128 years) the accumulative discrepancy amounts to a whole day (ie 23

hours 58 minutes).8 This astounding degree of accuracy automatically raises the question, `Ìf God, in his fulfilment of the

prophecy of the 69 weeks, was so precise, would it not be reasonable to assume that he would be consistent in

his treatment of the 70th week?'' This is a very cogent argument which cannot be discounted and has in fact

been one of the primary drivers of this book.9 Diagram 5 may appear somewhat complex and confusing at a first glance but it should become clearer as we

cover the various aspects of the end of the age in subsequent chapters.

36


Daniel's Vision of Seventy Weeks: The Times of the Jews Daniel … · namely those of Darius I in 521 B.C. and Artaxerxes in 458 and 445 (see Chronological Event Chart, Diagram 3).

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