What are the 70 weeks of Daniel?

What are the 70 weeks of Daniel?

The 70 weeks of Daniel are a prophecy about the future of Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah. There are several interpretations of this prophecy. Many believe that the last part of the 70 weeks will be fulfilled near the end of time.

Daniel receives the 70 week prophecy

One day Daniel read the book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25:11) and understood that the exile of the Jews would last 70 years, then they would rebuild Jerusalem.

Then Daniel prayed to God, asking forgiveness for the sins of his people (Daniel 9:2-3). While he was still praying, the angel Gabriel appeared and gave him an important message .

The angel said that 70 weeks were decreed to put an end to sin and transgression, remove guilt, establish righteousness, fulfill every vision and prophecy, and anoint the most holy (Daniel 9:24). The 70 weeks would be divided into:

• 7 weeks – starting from the order to rebuild Jerusalem –Daniel 9:25

• 62 weeks – the Anointed One (which in Hebrew is Messiah) would come and be killed at the end of that time, then Jerusalem would be destroyed and there would be many wars –Daniel 9:26

• 1 week – this week the “ruler who will come” will make a covenant with the Israelites but will break it in the middle of the week, end the sacrifices and place the “terrible sacrilege” in the temple –Daniel 9:27

What do 70 weeks mean?

No one knows for sure what the correct interpretation of this prophecy is. The Hebrew word translated as “week” means “seven”, in the sense of seven periods of time, which can be days, months, years... Therefore, some people think that the 70 weeks are 70x7 years (490 years).

On the other hand, the 70 weeks may have a completely different meaning. God has a different concept of time than we do (2 Peter 3:8). There are many different calculations to explain 70 weeks but they all use a lot of speculation and none can be confirmed.

According to the information we have, we can divide the prophecy into three parts:

• Prophecies fulfilled – Jerusalem was rebuilt when the Israelites returned from exile; Jesus, the Messiah came and was killed; Jerusalem was destroyed again in 70 AD

• Prophecies that we do not know if they have been fulfilled – we do not know who the “ruler to come” is, nor whether or not he has already made an alliance with Israel, nor what the “terrible sacrilege” is.

• Prophecies yet to be fulfilled – sin has not yet ended, righteousness has not yet been established everywhere, and not every vision and prophecy has been fulfilled

We may not fully understand the 70 week prophecy but we can see that God is at work. The fulfilled parts of the prophecy give us hope because they confirm that God will end sin and establish justice. As promised, Jesus has come and he will finish his work of restoration. -2 Peter 3:14-15