Daniel 9 [Literal Translation]
24 “Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city, to restrain (the) transgression, to seal up sins, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.
25 Know therefore and understand: from the issuing of the word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. In (the) times of distress, the street and the moat shall be built again.
26 And after the sixty-two weeks, the Anointed One shall be cut off and shall have nothing; and the people of a prince (who) is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with (the) flood; war shall continue to the end, and desolations are determined.
27 Within one week he shall confirm a covenant with (the) many; and in the midst of the week, he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. On the wing of abominations comes one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”
Daniel 9:25 states that from the issuing of the word to rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks, totaling sixty-nine weeks. These sixty-nine weeks ended when the Lord Jesus was anointed.
The following passage from Matthew records the anointing of the Lord Jesus:
One of the main difficulties in this passage from Daniel concerns when the 70th week begins.
The key to unlocking when the 70th week begins lies in the objectives that the seventy weeks are meant to achieve. These goals are recorded in Daniel 9:24: Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city to accomplish six things:
| Goal | Status | Related Scriptures |
|---|---|---|
| Restrain the transgression | Accomplished | 1 John 3:6, 3:9, 5:18 |
| Seal up sins | Accomplished | John 1:29, Heb 9:26, 3:5 |
| Atonement for iniquity | Accomplished | Isa 53:6,10,12; Heb 9:15,28; 10:12,17,18 |
| Bring in everlasting righteousness | Unfulfilled | Revelation 15:1-4 |
| Seal up vision and prophecy | Unfulfilled | 1 Corinthians 13:8 |
| Anoint the Most Holy Place | Unfulfilled | Eze 43:1-5, 44:4, 48:35; Rev 21:22-23 |
The seventy weeks are the time limit God has set for these six things, meaning all six goals must be completed within the seventy weeks. We can see that at the end of the 69th week, not a single one of these six goals had been achieved. Therefore, all six objectives must be fulfilled within the period of the 70th week.
Based on the nature of these six goals, we can see that the first three were accomplished through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, while the latter three will be accomplished through His second coming.
Since the first three goals were completed through His death and resurrection, the 70th week must include the period of His death and resurrection. As this period immediately followed the 69th week, the 70th week must begin directly after the 69th week. Furthermore, because the seventy weeks cover accomplishments across both comings of the Lord Jesus, the 70th week is not continuous. The first half is the final three and a half years of the Lord Jesus’ first coming, and the second half is the three and a half years preceding His second coming.
To summarize: the 70th week begins immediately after the 69th week and is divided into two halves. The first half spans three and a half years immediately following the 69th week, fulfilling the first three goals through the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. The second half also spans three and a half years, beginning three and a half years before the second coming of the Lord Jesus, fulfilling the remaining three goals through His return.
Use the following diagram to help understand:
If integrated with God making known the end from the beginning, the diagram can be viewed as follows:
Note:
Traditional teaching suggests that the 70th week begins seven years before the second coming of the Lord Jesus. Based on the analysis above, it is clear that such an interpretation is impossible to fulfill. Additionally, the traditionally mentioned “seven-year Great Tribulation” is derived from this traditional teaching.