UP

Daniel 9

By Ronald W. Leigh, Ph.D.
Bible and Cross
May 30b, 2016
Copyright © 1971, 1998 Ronald W. Leigh
Bible quotations are from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.
—————————— Contents ——————————
A. Introduction, outline, and text
B. The first year of Darius the Mede
C. Jeremiah's prophecy of 70 years
D. Daniel's prayer
E. Weeks of years
F. Round numbers
G. The six accomplishments of verse 24
H. Resultant overview
I. Salvation disconnected from Israel and the temple
J. Starting date
K. Ending date
L. "Prophetic years" with 360 days?
M. The parallel structure of verses 26 & 27
N. The first "he" of verse 27
O. The destruction of Jerusalem
P. Summary
   Suggested reading
—————————————————————————

A.  Introduction, outline, and text

The last four verses of Daniel 9 contain a remarkable timed prophecy.  For a discussion of other timed prophecies, see the paper Predictive Prophecy and Timed Prophecies.

The outstanding nature of this prophecy is noted by both Mauro and Archer.

The Scripture we are now about to study is one of the most marvellous and most transcendently important in the Word of God.  (Philip Mauro, The Seventy Weeks and the Great Tribulation, Rev. Ed. 1944, published by Reiner Publications, 1970, p. 13)

The prophecy of the Seventy Weeks in Daniel 9:24-27 is one of the most remarkable long-range predictions in the entire Bible. It is by all odds one of the most widely discussed by students and scholars of every persuasion within the spectrum of the Christian church.  (Gleason L. Archer, Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties, Zondervan, 1962, p. 289)

Apocalyptic? – No

It should be noted that Daniel 9 is not an apocalyptic passage.  You will find some writers who oversimplify their analysis of the book of Daniel by stating that the first six chapters are historical prose, while the last six chapters are apocalyptic.  (Even the Encyclopaedia Britannica makes this generalization about the second half of Daniel in its online article on apocalyptic literature.)  Indeed, there are commentators who refer specifically to chapter 9 as apocalyptic, but that is a most unfortunate characterization of this chapter.

Read the chapter carefully and look for apocalyptic elements.  You will find nothing in this chapter that identifies it as apocalyptic literature – it is straight prose, to be interpreted as straight prose.  Compared to the symbolism found in chapters 7 and 8 (churning sea, strange beasts, horns), such elements are entirely absent from chapter 9.  Remarkably, chapter 9 even contains relatively few figurative elements, let alone apocalyptic elements.

Notice that both chapters 7 and 8 contain first an apocalyptic vision, then an interpretation (starting at verse 15 in both chapters).  But, in contrast, chapter 9 contains no interpretation section because the nature of the entire chapter (and verses 24-27 in particular) is quite different from chapters 7 and 8.

The only reason some might consider chapter 9 apocalyptic is the fact that the word "vision" is used in verse 23.  But note what else is said about this revelation:

If we label Daniel 9 as apocalyptic, we will be tempted to think of the chapter (particularly verses 24-27) as a puzzle that can only be solved with the help of our predetermined understand of eschatology (our "chart" of the end times).  If, instead, we think of it as prose, we will be more likely to let the passage speak for itself.

Outline and text

The structure of Daniel chapter 9 is shown in the following outline.

  I. Occasion (v1-2)
     A. First year of Darius the Mede (v1)
     B. Reading Jeremiah’s prophecy (v2)
 II. Daniel’s prayer (v3-19)
     A. Confession of sin and just punishment (v4-15)
     B. Request for restoration and forgiveness (v16-19)
III. The message brought by Gabriel (v20-27)
     A. His arrival (v20-21)
     B. His reason for coming to Daniel (v22-23)
     C. The message: “70 weeks are decreed ...” (v24-27)
        1. The era and its purposes (v24)
        2. The start and time until the Messiah (v25)
        3. The end of the era (v26-27)
           a. Messiah’s work (v26a)
           b. Jerusalem’s destruction (v26b)
           c. Messiah’s work (v27a)
           d. Jerusalem’s destruction (v27b)

Here is the text of Daniel 9:24-27 form the New American Standard Bible and the New International Version.

Daniel 9, NASB
italics indicate words not in original		 Daniel 9, NIV
words between these markers ⌊ ⌋ not in original
24  Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place.
25  So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.
26  Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.
27  And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.
 24  Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.
25  Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.
26  After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.
27  He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing ⌊of the temple⌋ he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.

B.  The first year of Darius the Mede

The events recorded in Daniel 9 (reading Jeremiah, praying, Gabriel’s arrival) took place in the first year of Darius the Mede (verse 1).

Darius the Mede is not mentioned, by that name, outside of Daniel.  The name Darius comes from the Eastern Persian word darayavaus which means king.  Thus “Darius” may serve as a title rather than a personal name.  Also, in spite of the fact that many Medes retained important positions in the Persian empire, no historical records from the Medes have been discovered.  These three facts make it difficult for historians to identify Darius the Mede with certainty or to give the precise months or years of his reign in Babylon.

Some historians identify Darius the Mede with Gubaru, who had been a governor of Elam, a Babylonian province bordering Persia.  When he and the Babylonian priesthood saw the rise of Persian power, they sided with Cyrus’ forces making it easy for Cyrus to take Babylon.  It is conjectured that Cyrus then appointed him interim ruler of that province.  Notice the wording of Daniel 9:1 in the NASB, “was made king” (compare Daniel 5:31).  If this scenario is correct, his reign was very brief and was contemporary with the reign of Cyrus, and the first year of his reign would have been 539/538 BC.

C.  Jeremiah’s prophecy of 70 years

Daniel was reading a certain timed prophecy in the writings of Jeremiah (25:11-12 and 29:10, compare 2 Chronicles 36:20-23), which Daniel received in the form of a letter (Jeremiah 29:1).  They state that the land of Judah would be desolate and the people would serve the king of Babylon for 70 years, then return.

Judah came under Babylonian occupation in 605 BC, and during that year Daniel was deported to Babylon (Daniel 1:1-7).  Jerusalem fell in 586 BC.  (See the chart "Starting Date of 70 Weeks" in the section "Starting Date" below.)  If the 70 years predicted by Jeremiah started in 605, then Daniel was reading that prediction 67 years later.  If the 70 years started in 586, then only 48 years had passed.  Daniel, of course, would have good reason to think of the 70 years as they related to him personally, starting in 605 BC.

By the way, the beginning date of the exile was no doubt reckoned differently by the various prophets based on their own individual experiences.  For example, Ezekiel places the beginning of the exile eleven years before the destruction of Jerusalem, making it 597 for him (Ezekiel 40:1).

So, as Daniel read's Jeremiah's prophecy (in the first year of Darius the Mede, 538 BC) and considers when the exile began for him (605 BC) he is probably thinking that that prophecy will be fulfilled very soon – within the next few years.

By the way, there is another prediction about the end of the exile.  Although Isaiah did not predict the time, he did identify the ruler Cyrus as the one who would end the Babylonian exile (Isaiah 44:24 - 45:13, especially 44:28: 45:1, 13).  This prediction of the exact person (or, at least, the dynasty, since there was more than one Persian king named Cyrus) is quite remarkable and rare.  Two other “named” prophecies are:

D.  Daniel’s prayer

Daniel’s prayer (Daniel 9:3-19) is primarily a prayer of confession.  This is indicated by the fact that confession occupies the largest part of the prayer.  Also, Daniel characterizes his prayer as a prayer of confession both before and after recording the prayer (see v. 4, 20).

Daniel also makes it clear that God was just in punishing Judah with exile, referring in verses 11 and 13 to Moses’ warnings.  These warnings are found in Leviticus 26 (esp. vv. 14-18, 29-45) and Deuteronomy 28 (esp. vv. 15-21, 36-37, 45-64).

E.  Weeks of years

Are the weeks regular weeks of days, or of some other unit of time?

Verse 24 gives no units; it merely says “seventy weeks” (NASB) or "seventy 'sevens'” (NIV).  The Hebrew word shabua literally means a group of seven or a heptad.  Sometimes it refers to a period of seven days, an ordinary week, as in Deuteronomy 16:9 and Daniel 10:2.  Sometimes it refers to a period of seven years, as it does in Genesis 29:27.  (Perhaps there is a parallel with the word sabbath, which usually refers to the cessation of work at the end of a week of days, but can also refer to the cessation of work at the end of a week of years, as in Leviticus 25:3-8.)  So verse 24 can be read, “Seventy sevens are decreed ...”, but the time units are not given.

The context leads to the conclusion that they are weeks of years.  Daniel had been reading about a 70 year period that would soon end.  But this would not bring a final resolution of the problems that caused the 70 year exile.  Rather, another period of years seven times as long (70 sevens of years) would be required to resolve the problem.

In other words, the unit of time that was already in Daniel’s mind as he read Jeremiah's prophecy and then prayed, was the year.  Daniel is told that, although he and his people have just gone through most of a 70 year punishment, there is another scenario which will take seven times as long to play out.  This contrast with the previous period of 70 years is highlighted by this usage of “Seventy sevens," much more than if it were worded “four hundred and ninety ...”.

This verbal technique (contrast by combining numbers) is also seen when Peter suggests seven as the limit on the number of times he should forgive his brother.  Jesus increases the number from seven to either seventy-seven or seventy times seven, depending on how the passage is translated  (Matthew 18:21-22).  Although the verbal technique in Daniel is somewhat similar to that in Matthew (introducing another number to greatly increase the quantity), the final intent is different.  In the Matthew passage Jesus was probably indicating that there is really no limit on forgiveness.  In other words, don't think in terms of numbers, just keep on forgiving.  However, in the Daniel passage Gabriel's message keeps the focus on the numbers by giving both a starting point and several subdivisions of the overall span (seven 'sevens,' sixty-two 'sevens,' and one 'seven', which adds up to seventy 'sevens').  Thus, rather than indicating an unending time, this prophecy appears to encourage careful counting from a particular starting point.

F.  Round numbers

The numbers in Jeremiah’s prophecy may well have been round numbers.  It is difficult to know exactly when the 70 year period began.  Did it begin in 605 when Judah was first besieged and a small group of exiles (including Daniel) was taken to Babylon, or in 597 according to Ezekiel's reckoning, or in 586 when Jerusalem was captured and the temple destroyed?  It is also difficult to know exactly when the 70 year period ended.  Did it end when the first group of exiles returned with Zerubbabel in 538 or when the restoration of the temple was completed in 516?

While the period from 586 to 516 is exactly 70 years, these dates pertain to the temple.  In contrast, Jeremiah’s prophecy focuses on the people’s absence from the land and serving the king of Babylon, so the dates from 605 to 538 are more pertinent.  But that was only 67 years, making the 70 of Jeremiah’s prophecy a round number.  The number 70 is used as a round number elsewhere in the Bible (Psalm 90:10; Matthew 18:21-22).

If the 70 years of Jeremiah’s prophecy is a round number, then it seems unreasonable to insist that the “seventy sevens” of Daniel 9:24 (and the three subdivisions in verses 25 - 27) be precise to the year.

G.  The six accomplishments of verse 24

Six things are to be accomplished in the predicted 490 years.  They were decreed for “your people,” the Jews, and “your holy city,” Jerusalem.  But we should not think too narrowly here. The predictions are not merely of some provincial event limited to Jewish interests.  Rather, in keeping with God’s statement to Abram (“in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed,” Genesis 12:3), the six accomplishments of verse 24 have significance for all mankind, as proclaimed by the New Testament writers.

These six accomplishments can be grouped into the following four categories:

Category Accomplishment N.T. References
The sins of the Jews reaching the limit
  1. “to finish the transgression”
  2. “to make an end of sin”
 (compare Genesis 15:16)
Matthew 23:29-38 (= Luke 11:47-51)
1 Thessalonians 2:14-16
The answer to sin: reconciliation and God's righteousness
  1. “to make atonement for iniquity”
  2. “to bring in everlasting righteousness
 Matthew 1:21
John 1:29
Acts 10:43
Romans 3:21-26;  5:8-11, 15-21;  10:4
1 Corinthians 1:30
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
Colossians 1:19-22
Hebrews 1:3,8;  2:17;  5:9;  7:23-28; 9:12, 26, 28
1 Peter 3:18
Revelation climax and fulfillment
  1. “to seal up vision and prophecy”
 Matthew 17:5
Hebrews 1:1-2;  2:1-4
2 Peter 1:16-19
Anointing the savior
  1. “to anoint the most holy”
 (“Christ” = “Messiah” = “Anointed”)
Matthew 3:15-17; 16:16-17
Luke 4:16-21
John 1:32, 41;  4:25-26
Acts 10:37-38
Hebrews 1:9

It is not difficult to see that all six of the accomplishments of the seventy weeks have been completed during the time of Jesus Christ at his first advent.  Indeed, most of them are completed directly by Jesus Christ.  Notice the definite connection at the beginning of verse 25 – “Know therefore” (ASV).  This ties the six accomplishments of verse 24 to the Messiah of verse 25 who will appear (be announced) in 69 weeks of years.  Also, the writer of Hebrews makes a clear statement that Christ's work was the ultimate atonement for sin (Hebrews 9:11 - 10:18).  And there is no question that what Christ did pertains to “your people and your holy city,” given the abundance of references in the above chart in the book of Hebrews.

Also, note Christ’s own announcement in the synagogue about his own anointing  (Luke 4:16-21).

H.  Resultant overview

Based on the fact that the six accomplishments of verse 24 were accomplished at Christ's first advent, we suggest the following chart as an overview of the 70 weeks of Daniel 9.

Daniel's prophecy makes very good sense as a continuous run of years, without any gap or parenthesis.  There is no need to move the 70th week far into the future, for everything that was prophesied to take place in the middle of the 70th week and after the 69th week already happened in the first century AD.

Furthermore, the very concept of a revealed time span loses its meaning if it contains indeterminable gaps.  According to Daniel 9:22-23 (compare 8:16), Gabriel had come to give him insight and understanding, not a riddle.  The purpose for giving Daniel the span of 490 years is completely lost if the actual number of years is going to be well in excess of 2,000.

I.  Salvation disconnected from Israel and the temple

Daniel’s thoughts were focused on the Jews as a people, on the land promised to them, and on their holy city Jerusalem and its temple.  But if Daniel thought that lasting righteousness needed these things, this message from Gabriel would have changed his mind.

Notice that it is predicted that Jerusalem will be rebuilt early in the 70 weeks, but lasting righteousness requires the full span of 70 weeks.  Thus, Jerusalem and the temple will exist for many years, but lasting righteousness will still be absent.  Notice also that after lasting righteousness finally comes Jerusalem and the temple will be destroyed.  Thus, lasting righteousness can exist without Jerusalem and the temple. Lasting righteousness is much larger than the Jews, their land, their city, and the temple.

God’s solution to the problem of the Jews is also his solution to the problem of all mankind in all places for all time.  Even though the great salvation events occur in the context of the Jews and Jerusalem, that old arrangement was to come to an end.  This is the clear teaching of Jesus and the New Testament writers.

  1. When the Samaritan woman asks Jesus about the proper place of worship, he teaches her that things have changed – a sincere and true worship is “neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem” (John 4:19-24).
  2. Jesus’ kingdom is a spiritual kingdom, not of this world. (John 18:36, see also Luke 17:20-21 and Matthew 12:28)
  3. Spiritual birth, not natural birth, lets one into the kingdom. (John 3:3-7, esp. v. 3)
  4. The nation of Israel has no more claim to the kingdom (Matthew 21:33-46, esp. v. 43; Matthew 23, esp. 29-38; Luke 12:32; 1 Thessalonians 2:15-16; 1 Peter 2:9-10)
  5. The New Covenant is in place and the Old Covenant is no longer valid (Hebrews 8:7,13; 10:9b; Matthew 27:51)
  6. The church is the continuation of spiritual Israel according to the analogy of the olive tree (Romans 11:17-24).  Shortly after discussing the olive tree, Paul uses the term “Israel” to refer to the church (Romans 11:26), in keeping with his earlier statement that “they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel” (Romans 9:6).  See also Galatians 3:7, 28-29 and Romans 2:28-29.

J.  Starting date

According to Daniel 9:25, the weeks are said to start “from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.”  A key question is: When was this decree issued?  The following time line will help us see the various possible decrees in their larger historical context.

With the above time line in mind, we consider three possible decrees that might serve as the starting date for the 70 weeks.

Cyrus’ decree in his 1st year - 538 BC (reiterated by Darius I)

This decree is recorded in Ezra 1:1-4 (compare 2 Chronicles 36:22-23), and reiterated later by Darius I according to Ezra 6:1-12.

Each of the two accounts contains details not found in the other account, so we are dealing here with partial accounts.  This makes it all the more important to take into consideration how the decree was interpreted by Ezra and his contemporaries.  Even when their enemies asked them who gave them permission to rebuild the temple and the wall (Ezra 5:3,9 ASV), they claimed only that Cyrus gave permission to rebuild the temple (5:13-16).  They worked in fear without a wall (3:3).

This decree fails to meet the requirements of Daniel 9:25 because it pertains to the temple and does not pertain directly to the city of Jerusalem.

Artaxerxes’ “decree” in his 20th year - 445 BC

This “decree,” during Artaxerxes’ 20th year, is recorded in Nehemiah 2:1-8.

The reply of Artaxerxes, while it obviously relates to the city, is questionable as a decree.  Even if it is considered a decree, it is not the first one that qualifies.

Artaxerxes’ decree in his 7th year - 458 BC

This decree, during Artaxerxes’ 7th year, is recorded in Ezra 7:7, 11-26.

This decree, issued in 458 BC, meets the requirements of Daniel 9:25 and serves as the starting date of the 70 weeks.

Archer comes to the same conclusion regarding the starting date of the 70 weeks.

As we examine each of the three decrees issued in regard to Jerusalem by kings subsequent to the time Daniel had this vision (538 B.C., judging from Dan. 9:1), we find that the first was that of Cyrus in 2 Chronicles 36:23: "The LORD, the God of heaven,...has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah" (NASB). This decree, issued in 538 or 537, pertained only to the rebuilding of the temple, not of the city of Jerusalem. The third decree is to be inferred from the granting of Nehemiah's request by Artaxerxes I in 446 B.C., as recorded in Nehemiah 2:5-8. His request was "Send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' tombs, that I may rebuild it." Then we read, "so it pleased the king to send me, and I gave him a definite time [for my return to his palace]" (NASB). The king also granted him a requisition of timber for the gates and walls of the city.

It should be noted that when Nehemiah first heard from his brother Hanani that the walls of Jerusalem had not already been rebuilt, he was bitterly disappointed and depressed – as if he had previously supposed that they had been rebuilt (Neh. 1:1-4). This strongly suggests that there had already been a previous decree authorizing the rebuilding of those city walls. Such an earlier decree is found in connection with Ezra's group that returned to Jerusalem in 457, the seventh year of Artaxerxes I. Ezra 7:6 tells us: "This Ezra went up from Babylon,...and the king granted him all he requested because the hand of the LORD his God was upon him" (NASB …) … he had permission from the king to employ any unused balance of the offering funds for whatever purpose he saw fit (v.18); and he was given authority to appoint magistrates and judges and to enforce the established laws of Israel with confiscation, banishment, or death (v.26). Thus he would appear to have had the authority to set about rebuilding the city walls, for the protection of the temple mount and the religious rights of the Jewish community.

In Ezra 9:9 Ezra makes reference to this authority in his public, penitential prayer: "For we are slaves; yet in our bondage, our God has not forsaken us, but has extended lovingkindness to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us reviving to raise up the house of our God, to restore its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem" (NASB; italics mine). While this "wall" may have been partly a metaphor for "protection," it seems to have included the possibility of restoring the mural defenses of Jerusalem itself. (Archer, op.cit., p. 290)

K.  Ending date

Daniel 9:25 says “until Messiah” there will be 7 weeks and 62 weeks, that is, 69 weeks or 483 years.  The most logical ending date is the year of the baptism of Christ.

Christ's baptism has a unique significance all of its own, for it marks the beginning of his public ministry, and with it are associated both John the Baptist’s announcement of him as the "Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29), and the Father’s identification of him in a voice from heaven saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17).  In addition, this year is heavily documented by Luke (3:1), more so than any other year in the entire Bible.  No other event is "nailed down" as well as this one, not Christ's birth, nor his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, nor even his death.  Furthermore, this is the year referred to by Jesus as the “fulfilled” time (Mark 1:15).

Some chronologists date the baptism of Jesus at AD 26.  If this date is accepted, it is exactly 483 years (69 weeks) after Artaxerxes’ decree issued in 458 BC, and as such is a very remarkable fulfillment of Daniel’s timed prophecy.  Other chronologists, however, date the baptism of Jesus at AD 29, which comes 486 years after Artaxerxes' decree.  In view of our acceptance of round numbers as explained above, this date would also prove to be a very remarkable fulfillment.  (See the discussion of the dates of Christ's life in Jack Finegan's Handbook of Biblical Chronology, rev. ed., Hendrickson, 1998, especially the summary in sections 625-630 on pages 366-367.)

L.  “Prophetic years” with 360 days?

Some interpreters of Daniel's vision hold that the years are special prophetic years, each with only 360 days.  (For example, see the commentary by John F. Walvoord, Daniel: the Key to Prophetic Revelation, Moody Press, 1971, p. 228)  However, this so-called prophetic year is not well supported from Scripture.

Remember that the message brought by Gabriel connects the future to the past.  That is, the message comes in the context of Daniel considering the 70 years of Jeremiah’s prophecy, and announces that a future period will be seven times as long.  In view of this connection with the past, a sudden change from normal years to a special prophetic year seems rather disjointed.

The reasons given for 360-day years seem very weak.  Some who hold this view refer to the Genesis flood, which involved a span of five months (from the 17th day of the 2nd month to the 17th day of the 7th month) and is said to be 150 days (see Genesis 7:11, 24; 8:3-4).  This, they say, would make each month 30 days (at least an average of 30 days).  But even on our current calendars there are exactly 150 days between 2/17 and 7/17 in most years, and we do not have a 360-day year.  Nor did they.  The Jews operated on two calendars, one civil and the other religious, both of which had lunar months averaging approximately 29½ days, with added months every so often to re-align the lunar year with the solar year.  Thus, if no month was added, that year was shorter than ours.  But if an extra month was added, that year was longer than ours.  On average, however, their years were the same length as ours.  More significantly, the flood story is a historical passage, not a prophecy, so why use it to try to prove a prophetic year of 360 days?

Also, some proponents of the 360-day prophetic year use calculations based on the numbers in Revelation 11 - 13 to prove that a prophetic year is 360 days.  Revelation 11:2-3 speaks of 42 months and also of 1260 days.  It is true that 1260 days divided by 42 months yields 30 days per month and thus implies a 360-day year.  However, the 42-month period is never explicitly equated with the 1260-day period, making such a calculation very questionable.

Revelation 12:1-6 tells how the mother of the child who is to rule all nations escapes from the dragon for 1260 days by fleeing to the place of safety prepared by God.  This same period of escape is described as "time, times and half a time" in verse 14.  Revelation 13:5-7 describes the beast who utters blasphemies and wars against believers for 42 months.  These proponents divide the 1260 days by 3½ years (the "time, times and half a time") to obtain a 360 day year. They also divide it by the 42 months to obtain a month of 30 days and thus a year of 360 days.  But this assumes that the "time, times and half a time" are exactly 3½ years.  It also assumes that the time period described in chapter 12 is precisely the same as the time period described in chapter 13.  While the same activity takes place in both periods (warring against the saints), there is nothing in the context which explicitly indicates that these two periods are identical.  Making such precise calculations based on such highly symbolic passages seems to be a very questionable procedure.

It becomes even more questionable when the same proponents, after precisely calculating 360 days in their so called prophetic year, violate their own calculation by arbitrarily adopting leap years in order to add an extra day every four years!  They do this to make the total number of days of Daniel's vision come out, to the day, between 445 BC (the 20th year of Artaxerxes) and Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem the week before his crucifixion (see Sir Robert Anderson's calculations as quoted in J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come, Dunham, 1958, p. 246).  In other words, they actually use a prophetic year of 360¼ days to make their calculations come out as they want.  But the occurrence of a leap year every four years, with its extra day, is based on the Julian calendar (which had a year of exactly 365¼ days) and on our Gregorian calendar (which is similar to the Julian calendar, but occasionally omits the extra leap year day).  This is a strange mixture of prophetic and non-prophetic years.

Note that this “prophetic year” is part of a scheme which (1) starts counting the 70 weeks in the 20th year of Artaxerxes, a questionable starting point, as discussed earlier, (2) uses an extremely odd hybrid year of 360¼ days, and (3) terminates the 483 years at the triumphal entry rather than the baptism of Christ.  With its incorrect starting date, incorrect length of year, and incorrect ending date, how could we accept such a scheme?

M.  The parallel structure of verses 26 & 27

How do verses 26 and 27 relate to each other?  Are they talking about different ideas?  Do they follow in sequence?  In particular, who is the “he” at the beginning of verse 27?

The structure of these two verses may hold a clue. Notice first the parallelism between verses 26 and 27 shown in the table below.

Verse 26A COMMON
ELEMENT		 Verse 27A
“Then after the sixty-two weeks” timing at the end
of the 70 weeks		 “for one week, but in the middle of the week”
“the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing” the work of
the messiah		 “he will make a firm covenant with the many ... he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering”
Verse 26B   Verse 27B
“the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary” destruction “on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate”
“its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined” to the end “even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate”

Every idea in these two verses is represented in the above table, and every concept has its counterpart in the other verse. This degree of parallelism is rare even in poetic passages. It is an indication that verse 27 is a reiteration of verse 26, rather than new material.

There is also a possible indication of a break in thought within each verse. At the beginning of verse 26B, the prince is described as one “who is to come.”  This phrase probably indicates that the first and second halves of the verse are describing two different persons (otherwise, it would not be necessary to describe the second person as one “who is to come”).  It is especially significant that the “prince who is to come” is differentiated from the messiah because the messiah is also a prince, according to verse 25.  A similar phrase is found at the beginning of 27B, where one comes “who makes desolate.”  This phrase seems to be needed more if there is a contrast between 27A and 27B than if 27B is a continuation of the thought carried all the way from 26B through 27A.  So the phrases “put a stop to sacrifice” in 27A and “cut off” in 26A (compare Isaiah 53:8) refer to the same thing, making verse 27A parallel with 26A.

These considerations lead to the conclusion that the content of verses 26 and 27 exhibits A-B-A-B construction:

26A - Christ’s Work
26B - Jerusalem’s Destruction in AD 70
27A - Christ’s Work
27B - Jerusalem’s Destruction in AD 70

N.  The first "he" of verse 27

Based on the above analysis of the parallel structure of verses 26 and 27, we conclude that the "he" at the beginning of verse 27 refers to Christ.  And the covenant which Christ "confirms" is not a brand new covenant, but is the long anticipated new covenant described in Jeremiah 31:31-34.  Note the following analysis of the beginning of verse 27 by Edward J. Young.

He shall confirm the covenant (27); better translated 'he shall cause the covenant to prevail'. The Hebrew words are unusual. They are sometimes interpreted as though they meant simply 'to make a covenant'. Such an interpretation, however, is incorrect, for it does not do justice to the original which can only mean to cause a covenant 'to prevail', or 'to make a covenant firm'. The implication is that the covenant is already in existence and that its terms and conditions are now to be made effective. Who is the one that causes the covenant to prevail? Many find the subject in the prince that shall come of verse 26, and refer this, either to Antiochus, or to the Roman ruler of a future, revived Roman Empire. However, the word prince is there in a subordinate position, and it is very unlikely that this word should be the subject in verse 27. It is better to regard the subject as the Messiah, since he has been the most prominent Person in this passage. The covenant which is to prevail is the covenant of grace wherein the Messiah, by His life and death, obtains salvation for His people. The seventieth seven (a symbolical number) thus has reference to the time of our Lord's earthly life. In the midst of this seven the Messiah, by means of His death, causes the Jewish sacrifices to cease (cf. Heb. viii. 13).  (Edward J. Young, commentary on Daniel 9:27 in The New Bible Commentary, 2nd ed., Eerdmans, 1954, p. 679)

The prophecy is not only that Christ will confirm the covenant, but also that he "will put an end to sacrifice and offering."  Some argue against the idea that Christ is the one who ends these things.  They reason that, since the sacrifices continued up to AD 70, they were not really ended when Christ died.  However, as effective sacrifices, they did end with the death of Christ, which was the ultimate sacrifice and only sacrifice effective as the basis for the forgiveness of sin.  Jesus "gave up his spirit," and

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom  (Matthew 27:50-51)

O.  The destruction of Jerusalem

The Jews frequently rioted against the Roman occupation of Jerusalem.  In AD 66 a major revolt began when the Jews took control of Jerusalem.  The revolt was crushed by Titus and the Roman army in AD 70 during the reign of Emperor Vespasian.  Much of the city was ruined, the temple was burned and only a small southern portion of the western retaining wall (now known as the Wailing Wall) was left intact.

Regarding the “abomination,” compare Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14 with Luke 21:20.  A harmony of the three gospel accounts of the Olivet Discourse makes it clear that the abomination mentioned in Matthew and Mark is the Roman armies surrounding Jerusalem (see the harmony in the paper Jesus' Olivet Discourse about Two Future Events).

The historian Josephus provides accounts of the misery and desperation suffered by the Jews during this siege, in line with the predictions of Moses in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 (especially vv 52-57).  See Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, Book 6, chapter 3, section 4.

P. Summary

Here is an expanded paraphrase of Daniel 9:24-27 which summarizes the interpretation presented in this paper.  (Italics in the NASB indicate words not found in the original.)

NASB Running Paraphrase and Commentary
Verse 24  

Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city,

490 (approx.) years – 7 times as long as Jeremiah predicted for the length of the Babylonian exile – must pass, for the Jews and for Jerusalem,

to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin,

to reach the limit of Israel's sins, to end the time of God's patience with Israel

to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness,

to finally solve mankind’s problem with sin, pay the price for sin, and establish righteousness forever,

to seal up vision and prophecy,

to realize what the prophets were pointing to, Jesus, the ultimate prophet, the Word of God

and to anoint the most holy place.

and to identify and certify God’s holy redeemer, Jesus Christ.
Verse 25  

So you are to know and discern that

So, Daniel, be certain and clear about this:

from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem

from the time Artaxerxes publicly approves the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem (458 BC)

until Messiah the Prince

until Jesus Christ, the anointed ruler, is introduced as the Messiah at his baptism (AD 26)

there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;

will be 49 (approx.) years, then another 434 (approx.) years, that is, a total of 483 years.

it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress.

Jerusalem will be rebuilt in the midst of trouble; it will be a functioning city and will protect its inhabitants.
Verse 26  

Then after the sixty-two weeks

After those 483 years

the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing,

Jesus the Christ (Messiah) will be crucified (compare “cut off” in Isaiah 53:8), disconnected from the Father because he carries our sins (Matthew 27:46), as well as deserted by his followers.

and the people of the prince who is to come

Roman troops, under general Titus,

will destroy the city and the sanctuary.

will destroy both Jerusalem and the temple (AD 70).

And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.

The end of Jerusalem will be inevitable, with continuous war and destruction.
Verse 27  

And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week,

During the last period of 7 years, Jesus the Christ will establish the promised new covenant.

but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering;

In the middle of that period (at the sacrificial death of Jesus) the old system with its sacrifices and offerings will become obsolete.

and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.

The destruction of Jerusalem and the temple will be horrible and complete, but in time the same end will befall the desolator.

Matthew Henry summarizes as follows:

The seventy weeks mean a day for a year, or 490 years. About the end of this period a sacrifice would be offered, making full atonement for sin, and bringing in everlasting righteousness for the complete justification of every believer. Then the Jews, in the crucifixion of Jesus, would commit that crime by which the measure of their guilt would be filled up, and troubles would come upon their nation. All blessings bestowed on sinful man come through Christ's atoning sacrifice, who suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. Here is our way of access to the throne of grace, and of our entrance to heaven. This seals the sum of prophecy, and confirms the covenant with many; and while we rejoice in the blessings of salvation, we should remember what they cost the Redeemer. How can those escape who neglect so great salvation! (Matthew Henry, commentary on Daniel 9:24-27)

Payne provides this packed summary of the 70 "weeks."

Daniel goes on in chap. 9 to present the most remarkable chronological anticipation of Christ to be found in the O.T.  There are to be 69 weeks of years, 69x7=483 yrs., from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem to the Messiah, 9:25.  It is sometimes claimed that this decree must be that of Cyrus in 538 B.C.; but though Isaiah's prophecy makes incidental mention of Jerusalem along with the temple, 44:28, Cyrus' decree in fact says nothing about rebuilding the city or its walls, only the temple, II Chron. 36:23, Ezra 1:2-4.  Artaxerxes I commissioned Nehemiah to rebuild the walls in 444 B.C., but a preferable point of departure appears to be the decree of the same king to Ezra in 458.  It included blanket powers of reconstruction, Ezra 7:18, 25; and it is known that the walls began to be rebuilt before the time of Nehemiah, under leadership that could hardly be other than Ezra's 4:8-16.  Counting 483 years from the decree of Artaxerxes in 458 B.C. brings one to A.D. 26, the commencement of Christ's ministry.  The prophecy goes on to describe how the testament would be confirmed to Israel throughout the last seven-year week, 9:27, making reconciliation for iniquity and bringing in everlasting righteousness, v. 24, actions which must refer to the incarnate ministry of Christ.  In the middle of the 70th week, the Messiah shall bring to an end the sacrificial system of the O.T., v. 27, cf. Mt. 27:51, though it means the Messiah Himself must be cut off, v. 26, events which in fact took place 3½ years later, apparently the Passover week, Spring, A.D. 30.  True, the testament was held open to Israel, cf. Acts 2:38, until the Jews deliberately cut themselves off by the stoning of Stephen, an event to be dated shortly before the conversion of Paul in A.D. 33, the termination of precisely 70 weeks of years, 490 years.  It was then only a matter of time until the armies of Titus left Jerusalem a desolation, A.D. 70.  (J. Barton Payne, An Outline of Hebrew History, Baker, 1954, pp. 160-161)

Archer concludes,

Only God could have predicted the coming of His Son with such amazing precision; it defies all rationalistic explanation.  (Archer, op.cit., p. 291)

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