The 70-Week Prophecy

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19. THE 70- WEEK PROPHECY

Daniel 8 is parallel to Daniel 2 and 7: it talks about the same time period and the same powers. The key to understand the latter part of the vision is the 70-week prophecy in Daniel 9, which gives the starting point for the 2300 days prophecy.

The vision in Daniel 8 took place in the third year of Babylon’s last king, Belshazzar; for this reason Babylon is not represented in this vision. The beasts in Daniel 7 were ferocious. The animals in

Daniel are connected with the sanctuary service.

THE RAM WITH 2 HORNS : MEDO -PERSIA  Daniel 8:3-4,20 The angel Gabriel gives the interpretation of the vision: this ram represents Medo-Persia. In Daniel 7, Medo-Persia was represented by a bear raised up on one side. Here the higher horn that came up after the other symbolizes the Persians that came after the Medes but had a preeminent role.

In Daniel 7, the bear had 3 ribs in his mouth, to represent its major conquests: here the ram conquered towards the west (Babylon), the north (Lydia) and the south (Egypt).

THE GOAT : GREECE  Daniel 8:5-8,21-22 The goat represents Greece; in Daniel 7 Greece was represented by a 4 winged and 4 headed leopard. The wings symbolized swiftness in conquests and here the ram doesn’t touch the ground.

The 4 heads represented the divisions of the empire. Here the notable horn is the first king, Alexander the Great. After the horn was broken 4 horns came up but not with the same power: after Alexander died, his empire was split into 4 kingdoms not having the same power.

THE LITTLE HORN : ROME  Daniel 8:9-12,24-25 The expression “out of one of them” (v. 9) refers to one of them 4 winds of heaven (the 4 cardinal points).

The sequence in Daniel 7 is: Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Pagan Rome, Papal Rome. The little horn representing Papal Rome grew on the terrible beast that represents Pagan Rome. Here there is one symbol, the little horn, for both phases: Pagan and Papal Rome. 2 19. The 70-Week Prophecy – Menorah Mission School – 2018/2019 Pagan Rome is represented by the little horn growing on the horizontal level, by military conquests; then Papal Rome by the little horn that attacks the host of heaven. Papal Rome attacks 4 entities:  The people of God: “It cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them” (v. 10); “He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people” (v. 24).

 The Son of God, Jesus Christ: “He even exalted himself as high as the Prince of the host” (v.

11); “He shall even rise against the Prince of princes” (v. 25).

 The sanctuary of God: “The place of His sanctuary was cast down” (v. 11).

 The truth of God: “He cast truth down to the ground” (v. 12).

THE 2300 DAYS PROPHECY  Daniel 8:13-14 In the vision, Daniel hears the conversation between two holy beings. One asks how long would the people of God and the sanctuary be trampled underfoot by the little horn. The answer is until 2300 days then the sanctuary would be cleansed: the next study will deal with the cleansing of the sanctuary.

The 2300 days prophecy is the longest Bible prophecy. The angel told Daniel it would refer to the time of the end (see Daniel 8:17). This is an internal evidence for the day/year principle: if it were 2300 literal days, the prophecy could not concern the time of the end.

1. What did the Angel Tell Daniel to do with the Vision?

 Daniel 8:26-27 The angel Gabriel told Daniel to seal the vision, i.e. to keep it secret. He had explained everything in the vision except the 2300 days prophecy. This was the only part of the vision that was sealed.

In Daniel 8 there is no starting point to the 2300 days prophecy: it is given in Daniel 9 through the 70-week prophecy.

Daniel was astonished by the vision and he could not understand the meaning of the 2300 days prophecy. From Daniel 9 we infer that Daniel thought this prophecy applied to Israel.

He knew from the book of Jeremiah that the Jews would remain captive in Babylon for 70 years (see Jeremiah 29:10); then they would go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple and the city (see Daniel 9:1-3). The 70 years were about to end and He was afraid that the 2300 days prophecy was about a delay of the return of the exiles to Jerusalem.

Daniel made intercession for his people pleading God to fulfill His promise without delay (see

Daniel 9:16-19). 19. The 70-Week Prophecy – Menorah Mission School – 2018/2019 3

2. HOW DID GOD ANSWER DANIEL ’ SPRAYER? WHAT DID THE ANGEL COME TO EXPLAIN?

 Daniel 9:20-23 There is no vision in Daniel 9, so the angel Gabriel came to explain the vision of chapter 8. But the only part of the vision that needed an explanation was the 2300 days prophecy.

The link between Daniel 8 and 9 is confirmed by the original language. There are two terms Daniel used for the word vision: châzôn, which applies to the entire vision, and mar'eh, that is used only in reference to the 2300 days prophecy.

“And the vision [mar'eh] of the evenings and mornings which was told is true… I was astonished by the vision [mar'eh]” (Daniel 8:26-27). The angel Gabriel told Daniel: “ODaniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand… therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision [mar'eh]” (Daniel 9:22-23).

The angel than introduced another prophecy, the 70-week prophecy. This prophecy is an explanation of the 2300 days prophecy and it gives its starting point.

3. WHAT IS THE STARTING POINT OF THE 70- WEEK PROPHECY?

 Daniel 9:24-25 The angels said that 70 weeks had been set for Israel; the verb means literally to cut off. They were cut off from the 2300 days prophecy: the 70-week is part of the 2300 days.

70 weeks: 70 x 7 days = 490 prophetic days = 490 years.

The starting point was the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, which was issued by Artaxerxes in the 7th year of his reign, which was 457 BC (see Ezra 7:6-26). This date is the starting point of both the 70- week prophecy and the 2300 days prophecy.

The prophecy foretold the time of the appearance of the Messiah: the Hebrew word mâshîach literally means anointed. From the decree to rebuild Jerusalem to the Messiah there would be: 7+62 weeks = 69 weeks = 69 x 7 days = 483 prophetic days = 483 years.

490 years 457 BC 27 AD 34 AD 483 years 7 years 4 19. The 70-Week Prophecy – Menorah Mission School – 2018/2019

4. WHAT HAPPENED IN 27 AD, AT THE END OF THE 69TH WEEK?

 Luke 3:1-3,21-22; Luke 4:18 The 15th year of Tiberius’ reign was 27 AD (he started co-ruling with Augustus in 13 AD). In that year John the Baptist began preaching and baptizing and Jesus was baptized by him.

At His baptism, Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit for His ministry as the Messiah. Then He began preaching that the time was fulfilled, meaning the time of the 69 weeks (see Mark 1:14-15).

5. Which Events Were Foretold by the Rest of the Prophecy?

 Daniel 9:26-27 The 70-week prophecy foretold not only the year the Messiah would start HI public ministry but also the year of His death.

The latter part of the prophecy focuses on the last week, the 70th (from 27 AD to 34 AD). In the middle of the last week, on the day of Passover in the spring of 31 AD (3 ½ years after His baptism in 27 AD), Jesus died just as it was prophesied.

It was written that the Messiah would “be cut off, but not for Himself” (v. 26) and that He would “bring an end to sacrifice and offering” (v. 27). Jesus did not die for Himself, but for humanity. His sacrifice put an end to the sacrificial system of the sanctuary because He was its fulfillment (see

Matthew 27:50-51).

490 years 457 BC 27 AD 31 AD 34 AD 483 years 7 years The prophecy also foretold the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Romans as a result of the rejection of Jesus as the Messiah (see Luke 19:41-44). In the 3 ½ years from the cross until the end of the prophecy, the gospel was preached to the Jews; they rejected the message and the 490 years determined by God for them expired at Stephen’s murder.

This prophecy shows the mercy of God. He gave some time to Israel even after the religious leaders had crucified Jesus. They rejected the mercy of God and all the opportunities given. Nobody will be lost because God did not give him enough opportunities to be saved. All the lost will be lost because of their choices. 19. The 70-Week Prophecy – Menorah Mission School – 2018/2019 5

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