Bible History
Picture Study Bible with Maps and Background Information
24. Seventy weeks--namely, of years; literally, "Seventy sevens";
seventy heptads or hebdomads; four hundred ninety years; expressed in a
form of "concealed definiteness"
[HENGSTENBERG], a usual way with
the prophets. The Babylonian captivity is a turning point in the
history of the kingdom of God. It terminated the free Old Testament
theocracy. Up to that time Israel, though oppressed at times, was; as a
rule, free. From the Babylonian captivity the theocracy never recovered
its full freedom down to its entire suspension by Rome; and this period
of Israel's subjection to the Gentiles is to continue till the
millennium
(Re 20:1-15),
when Israel shall be restored as head of the New Testament theocracy,
which will embrace the whole earth. The free theocracy ceased in the
first year of Nebuchadnezzar, and the fourth of Jehoiakim; the year of
the world 3338, the point at which the seventy years of the captivity
begin. Heretofore Israel had a right, if subjugated by a foreign king,
to shake off the yoke
(Jud 4:1-5:31;
2Ki 18:7)
as an unlawful one, at the first opportunity. But the prophets
(Jer 27:9-11)
declared it to be God's will that they should submit to Babylon.
Hence every effort of Jehoiakim, Jeconiah, and Zedekiah to rebel was
vain. The period of the world times, and of Israel's depression, from
the Babylonian captivity to the millennium, though abounding more in
afflictions (for example, the two destructions of Jerusalem, Antiochus'
persecution, and those which Christians suffered), contains all that
was good in the preceding ones, summed up in Christ, but in a way
visible only to the eye of faith. Since He came as a servant, He chose
for His appearing the period darkest of all as to His people's temporal
state. Always fresh persecutors have been rising, whose end is
destruction, and so it shall be with the last enemy, Antichrist. As the
Davidic epoch is the point of the covenant-people's highest glory, so
the captivity is that of their lowest humiliation. Accordingly, the
people's sufferings are reflected in the picture of the suffering
Messiah. He is no longer represented as the theocratic King, the
Antitype of David, but as the Servant of God and Son of man; at the
same time the cross being the way to glory (compare
Da 9:1-27
with Da 2:34, 35, 44; 12:7).
In the second and seventh chapters, Christ's first coming is not
noticed, for Daniel's object was to prophesy to his nation as to the
whole period from the destruction to the re-establishment of
Israel; but this ninth chapter minutely predicts Christ's first
coming, and its effects on the covenant people. The seventy weeks
date thirteen years before the rebuilding of Jerusalem; for then
the re-establishment of the theocracy began, namely, at the return
of Ezra to Jerusalem, 457 B.C. So Jeremiah's
seventy years of the captivity begin 606 B.C.,
eighteen years before the destruction of Jerusalem, for then Judah
ceased to exist as an independent theocracy, having fallen under the
sway of Babylon. Two periods are marked in Ezra: (1) The return from
the captivity under Jeshua and Zerubbabel, and rebuilding of the
temple, which was the first anxiety of the theocratic nation.
(2) The return of Ezra (regarded by the Jews as a second Moses) from
Persia to Jerusalem, the restoration of the city, the
nationality, and the law. Artaxerxes, in the seventh year of
his reign, gave him the commission which virtually includes permission
to rebuild the city, afterwards confirmed to, and carried out by,
Nehemiah in the twentieth year
(Ezr 9:9; 7:11,
&c.).
Da 9:25,
"from the going forth of the commandment to build Jerusalem,"
proves that the second of the two periods is referred to. The words in
Da 9:24
are not, "are determined upon the holy city," but "upon thy
people and thy holy city"; thus the restoration of the religious
national polity and the law (the inner work fulfilled by Ezra
the priest), and the rebuilding of the houses and walls (the
outer work of Nehemiah, the governor), are both included in
Da 9:25,
"restore and build Jerusalem." "Jerusalem" represents both the city,
the body, and the congregation, the soul of the state. Compare
Ps 46:1-11; 48:1-14; 87:1-7.
The starting-point of the seventy weeks dated from eighty-one years
after Daniel received the prophecy: the object being not to fix for
him definitely the time, but for the Church: the prophecy taught
him that the Messianic redemption, which he thought near, was
separated from him by at least a half millennium. Expectation was
sufficiently kept alive by the general conception of the time;
not only the Jews, but many Gentiles looked for some great Lord of the
earth to spring from Judea at that very time [TACITUS, Histories, 5.13; SUETONIUS, Vespasian, 4]. Ezra's placing of Daniel
in the canon immediately before his own book and Nehemiah's was perhaps
owing to his feeling that he himself brought about the beginning of the
fulfilment of the prophecy
(Da 9:20-27)
[AUBERLEN].
determined--literally, "cut out," namely, from the whole course of
time, for God to deal in a particular manner with Jerusalem.
thy . . . thy--Daniel had in his prayer often spoken of Israel as
"Thy people, Thy holy city"; but Gabriel, in reply, speaks of
them as Daniel's ("thy . . . thy") people and city, God thus
intimating that until the "everlasting righteousness" should be brought
in by Messiah, He could not fully own them as His
[TREGELLES]
(compare
Ex 32:7).
Rather, as God is wishing to console Daniel and the godly Jews, "the
people whom thou art so anxiously praying for"; such weight does
God give to the intercessions of the righteous
(Jas 5:16-18).
finish--literally, "shut up"; remove from God's sight, that is, abolish
(Ps 51:9)
[LENGKERKE]. The seventy years' exile was a
punishment, but not a full atonement, for the sin of the people; this
would come only after seventy prophetic weeks, through Messiah.
make an end of--The Hebrew reading, "to steal," that is, to hide
out of sight (from the custom of sealing up things to be concealed,
compare
Job 9:7),
is better supported.
make reconciliation for--literally, "to cover," to overlay (as with
pitch,
Ge 6:14).
Compare
Ps 32:1.
bring in everlasting righteousness--namely, the restoration of the
normal state between God and man
(Jer 23:5, 6);
to continue eternally
(Heb 9:12;
Re 14:6).
seal up . . . vision . . . prophecy--literally, "prophet." To give
the seal of confirmation to the prophet and his vision by the
fulfilment.
anoint the Most Holy--primarily, to "anoint," or to consecrate after its pollution "the Most Holy" place but mainly Messiah,
the antitype to the Most Holy place
(Joh 2:19-22).
The propitiatory in the temple (the same Greek word expresses
the mercy seat and propitiation,
Ro 3:25),
which the Jews looked for at the restoration from Babylon, shall have
its true realization only in Messiah. For it is only when sin is "made
an end of" that God's presence can be perfectly manifested. As to
"anoint," compare
Ex 40:9, 34.
Messiah was anointed with the Holy Ghost
(Ac 4:27; 10:38).
So hereafter, God-Messiah will "anoint" or consecrate with His presence
the holy place at Jerusalem
(Jer 3:16, 17;
Eze 37:27, 28),
after its pollution by Antichrist, of which the feast of dedication
after the pollution by Antiochus was a type.
JFB.
The Book of Daniel
Daniel 6:15-16 - Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians [is], That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast [him] into the den of lions. [Now] the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.
Daniel 7:13-14 - I saw in the night visions, and, behold, [one] like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion [is] an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom [that] which shall not be destroyed.
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. 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. 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. 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 Old Testament - A Brief Overview
Bible Survey - Daniel
Hebrew Name - Dani-El "God is my judge"
Greek Name - Danil (Greek form of the Hebrew)
Author - Daniel (According to Tradition)
Date - 607 BC Approximately
Theme - The final kingdom of the Messiah
Types and Shadows - In Daniel Jesus was the fourth man in the fiery furnace
The prophet Daniel was actually taken captive during the Babylonian invasion on Jerusalem, the first attack in 607 BC. When Daniel came to Babylon he became a chief minister at Nebuchadnezzar's royal court. He became known as a man who could interpret dreams and visions. God did mighty miracles through Daniel that impressed King Nebuchadnezzar himself, so much so that he worshiped the Jewish God. Later when the Medes and Persians conquered Babylon King Cyrus ruled the Persian Empire. He also had visions that Daniel had given interpretation to. some of the great miracles mentioned in the Bible happened in the book of Daniel: the fiery furnace, the handwriting on the wall, and Daniel in the lion's den. Daniel can be seen in the Bible as the Empire predicting prophet, because he accurately predicted the world governing empires before they came on the scene, first Babylon, second Persia, third Greece, fourth Rome, and in the last days would be another Roman empire where the antichrist would arise. At this time the Messiah will return and set up his everlasting kingdom. Daniel also predicted the exact day and year the Messiah would die. There is also a prophecy Daniel refers to as the 70th week, which speaks of a seven-year period in the future that will mark the second coming of the Messiah (Son of Man) coming with the clouds of heaven. - The above text is © Rusty Russell - Bible History Online and must be sourced for use on a website.
"I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed." Daniel 7:13-14
Daniel was among the Jewish captives who were brought to Babylon from Jerusalem after Nebuchadnezzar conquered the city. Daniel was still a youth but apparently of high status (Daniel 1:3). He was of such a high status that he was considered one of the wise men of the court of Babylon .He was quickly recognized in Babylon for his devotion to the one God Yahweh, and he refused to eat of the "dainties" which were brought to him by the king's servants. He also became recognized as the interpreter of dreams (Daniel 1:8-16), because when King Nebuchadnezzar being disturbed by a dream asked his own wise men to interpret they could not. Daniel offered to give the king the interpretation and the King was very appreciative to Daniel, he was so impressed that he allowed Daniel to rise to a place of great prominence in Babylon. Later when Babylon fell to the Persians the Jews had new masters over them, and Daniel was quickly recognized as a very special man and he had favor with the king of Persia. This caused many of those in authority to scrutinize Daniel and to look for flaws in his character and they could not find any. They developed a plot which forced the King to have Daniel thrown in the lion's den. The King recognizing their treachery and hoped for Daniel's deliverance, and when the Lord saved Daniel from the mouth of the lions Darius ordered his own leaders to be thrown into the lion's den and they were torn in pieces immediately.
Daniel the Empire Predicting Prophet
Daniel is clearly seen as the Empire predicting prophet. He was an interpreter of dreams, and God revealed through his interpretations his plans for the kingdoms that would rise to power in world history. At that time Babylon was in power, and in fact a world governing Empire in the ancient world. But Daniel said that Babylon would be defeated by the Medes and the Persians who would become a world governing empire. Then Greece would come and dominate the world, and after Greece the Romans would become a world governing empire. Then Daniel predicted that way in the future a final world governing empire would rise that would be like Rome, but different in that it would consist of 10 kings, and then finally 1 king who would rise to power. This 1 king would be a man referred to in the Bible as the antichrist. This would all take place in the final seven-year period known as the 70th week of Daniel. At its consummation the Lord will return, he will crush the enemy, and he will set up a kingdom, an everlasting kingdom, which will never be destroyed.
The 70 weeks of Daniel
The 70 weeks in Daniel are mentioned in Daniel 9, and they refer to a prophecy of Daniel where he claims that the king of Persia will release the Jews to rebuild their Temple in Jerusalem. When he makes this decree the Jews are to begin counting, and after 70 weeks (7 year periods or 490 years) the kingdom of the Messiah will be established on earth. But something interesting would happen, at the end of the 69th week (483 years) the Messiah will be "cut off" which indicates His death. The final seven year period is suddenly thrown into the future, to the time of the end of the world. This final seven year period is described in the book of Revelation as a time of the Messiah taking back the earth. It is divided into two 3 1/2 year periods and directly in the middle is when the antichrist sets up his throne in Jerusalem and reveals himself as God. Certain portions of this final seven years are mentioned in other prophetic books of the Bible like Zechariah.
Daniel, The Author of His Book
Daniel was the author of this book, and this was confirmed by Jesus himself, but there has been considerable criticism about the book of Daniel because of the accuracy of the prophecies. Many claim that these had to been written after the fact, and that Daniel could not possibly have known so much detail about the future. The first major critic of the genuineness of the book of Daniel was Porphyry of Tyre, a Greek philosopher of the third century AD who claimed that the book of Daniel had been written by a person living in the second century BC during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes. His main reason for rejecting the book of Daniel was centered around the person of Antiochus Epiphanes, whom Daniel claimed was a prototype of the Antichrist. Daniel's prophecies written a few hundred years prior but were very very accurate in their detail. Many other critics have tried to discredit the book of Daniel, but the Bible and history have confirmed that Daniel was the author of this book, and therefore was written at the time of the Persian Empire (sixth century BC).
The contents of the book may be analyzed further as follows :
Outline of the Book of Daniel
Daniel is divided into two sections of six chapters each. Daniel 1-6 are largely historical, explaining how Daniel came to be in the court of Nebuchadnezzar and of his rise to power. It tells of Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the image which Daniel interpreted to refer to the current kingdom and three world powers which would arise after it and of the kingdom of God "a kingdom which shall never be destroyed" which would arise during the era of the last of these great empires. This section also includes the account of the deliverance of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace and of the handwriting on the wall which spelled out the defeat of Belshazzar at the hands of the Medes and the Persians.
The second section, Daniel 8-12, describes visions which Daniel received concerning the great world powers of the future and the kingdom of God.
The Greek translation of Daniel contains additions not found in the Hebrew and Aramaic text. These additions are found as separate books in the Apocrypha and are called The Song of the Three Holy Children, the History of Susanna, and Bel and the Dragon.
The book of Daniel assures God's people that their situation in exile would not be permanent, that God would keep his promise to Abraham, he would keep his promise through Jeremiah the prophet that they would return after 70 years. And he would also keep his promise that the Jews would still be the channel through which all nations would be blessed. The book of Daniel is a grand tribute to the providence of God and His lordship of history and the universe.
Daniel Resources
The Divided Kingdom
The
Northern Kingdom of Israel
The
Southern Kingdom of Judah
The Assyrian Captivity
The Babylonian Captivity
The Return From Babylon
The Prophets
The Messiah
The Book of Daniel
More About the Book of
Daniel
Daniel in the Picture
Study Bible
Timeline of the Ancient
World
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