Daniels Prophesy of Seventy Weeks
The typical credited author of Daniels prophesy of the seventy weeks is given to Daniel himself. Dating of this book is about 618 B.C.E.. The date coincides with Daniel 11 21 and 101, 4 where it is stated that the passage pertained to the third year of the kingship of Jehoiakim the king of Judah. Other evidences proving Daniels existence is the prophet Ezekiel himself in the Bible at Ezekiel 14 14, 20 and at Ezekiel 283. Ezekiel confirms the existence of Noah and Job along with Daniel. Other sources backing the book of Daniel are fragments of the book of Daniel from the Dead Sea Scrolls and Daniel is always listed in the Jewish catalogs as one of the books of inspired scriptures. Some of these Dead Sea Scroll fragments are dated back to the first and second century B.C.E. In the Christian Greek scriptures, Jesus Christ quoted the book of Daniel in various accounts such as Mathew 2415 and Mark 1314 (quoting Daniel 927, Daniel 1211 and Daniel 1131), Mathew 2421 (quoting Daniel 121) and Mathew 2430 (quoting Daniel 7 13, 14) . Some Higher Critics do question Daniels authenticity.
This paper will go into a few common interpretations of Daniel 924-27, the authenticity of its writer and the pre-millennial viewpoint.
The Accuracy of this Prophecy
The Writer
As noted above, the typical credited author of Daniels prophesy of the seventy weeks is given to Daniel himself. Dating of this book is about 618 B.C.E. to 536 B.C.E.. The date coincides with Daniel 11 21 and 101, 4 where Daniel starts off by saying in the third year of the kingship of Jehoiakim the king of Judah, history points to the reign of the King being around 618 B.C.E.
Another source used to prove Daniels existence is the prophet Ezekiel who in the Bible at Ezekiel 14 14, 20 and at Ezekiel 283 confirms the existence of Noah, Job and Daniel.
Historical and archaeology based sources backing the book of Daniel are fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls from the book of Daniel. These Dead Sea Scroll fragments date back to the first and second century B.C.E.
In the Christian Greek scriptures, Jesus Christ quoted the book of Daniel in various accounts such as Mathew 2415 and Mark 1314 (quoting Daniel 927, Daniel 1211 and Daniel 1131), Mathew 2421 (quoting Daniel 121) and Mathew 2430 (quoting Daniel 7 13, 14).
Some Higher Critics do question Daniels authenticity. One example is of, Porphyry, a third century heathen philosopher (He was also an enemy of the Christian faith), Porphyry, held the belief that Daniel was written by a Palestinian Jew who lived in the same era as Antiochus Epiphanes. Porphyry claimed that the Palestinian Jew wrote false prophecies using history.
Another example is found in the eighteenth century. Some critics in that era claimed that there was not much archaeological evidence to prove the authenticity of the Book of Daniel.
Even with the little historical evidence available, there are the Dead Sea Scroll fragments and also testimony from Josephus, a Jewish historian who lived in the time of Alexander the Great. Josephus claimed that when Alexander the Great arrived in Jerusalem he was sent to the scrolls of Daniel and was able to read a Biblical prophesy in which he felt pertained to him. This was before 323 B.C.E. and history confirms that Alexander the Great did many good things for the Jews because of the prophetic words found in the book of Daniel about him. (The above is referenced to passages found at Daniel 825, 26.)
The Prophesy
Daniel 924-27 is believed to hold prophetic meaning and foretell the coming of the promised Messiah. The standard time table of the seventy weeks is that in sixty-nine weeks the Messiah would appear.
According to the Bible at Daniel 93, 4 Daniel petitions God concerning the restoration of Jerusalem. In Isaiah 4428-453 the prophet Isaiah foretells the restoration of Jerusalem and names the person who will overthrow Babylon. The name given was Cyrus. At the time of Daniels prayer, a man named Cyrus was ruling over Persia.
In answer to this prayer, the angel Gabriel at Daniel 920-23 gives Daniel reassurance that the restoration of Jerusalem would come and then, Daniel 924-27 gives the timeline for the coming of the Messiah.
Daniel 924, 25 is the prophesy pertaining to Jerusalem, She will return and actually be rebuilt, and verses 26-27 is the coming of the Messiah.
One of the first forms of Pre-millennial belief, chiliasm, which is the Grecian word for thousand, came into existence around the third century. Interpreters of chiliasm believed that the Messiah would return personally to rule as king on earth and deliver his subjects from tribulation. There would also be a restoration on earth and Jerusalem would be rebuilt. The pre-millennial belief in basic terms today is that the Messiah will return before an earthly millennial kingdom.
The basic structure of pre-millennial belief is that the person believes in the Kingdom of God, the Messiah is to become the King and that there will be a period of tribulation. The Messiah will put an end to the tribulation being faced today, some would be resurrected from the graves and Satan would be bound in an abyss for one thousand years during which time, the Christ and his one hundred and forty four thousand co-rulers (servings as Kings and Priests) would restore the earth. After the thousand years, Satan would be released in order to test persons before the final war between heavenly creatures where Michael, the archangel (Christ) destroys Satan for all eternity.
Evidences pointing towards the pre-millennial belief can be found in Revelation 201-3 where it mentions the thousand year reign of the Messiah, the resurrection (Revelation 204-6) and the judgment for Satan and those resurrected (Revelation 207-15). Scriptures proving the earthly paradise are Isaiah 22-4, Psalm 72, Psalm 37 29, Matthew 2020-23 and Matthew 2629.
Post-millennial beliefs came into existence in the early eighteenth century. Starting in Britain and Western Europe, the ideas of post-millennial expanded. The belief is that Christ will return after the millennial kingdom. The basics of this belief are that the kingdom of God is a current reality, Christ reins through the church and the church will bring peace. At the right hand of God, the Messiah will sit, he will return at the end of the millennial kingdom, destroy Satan, resurrect the dead, judgment ends and eternity begins. Postmillennialists and Pre-millennialists agree that there will be an earthly messianic kingdom but where they do not agree is that the reign is through his people or the church versus him ruling the people directly. They use Mathew chapter thirteen as their reasoning where it says that this kingdom will increase.
A-millennial was started in the fifth century by Augustine of Hippo whose ideas became very popular for over a thousand years. Hippo believed that the millennium began with the Christs first coming and would continue until his second. Some felt that Augustines view was postmillennial. But it was not. His view stressed the heavenly city of God. The basic belief is that Christ reigns now in heaven and in its believers hearts. Next, the resurrection and ascension puts the Messiah at the right hand of God, while there is still tribulation there will also be spiritual blessings. Tribulation will end when the Messiah comes. At this time Satan and those who worship him will be destroyed. All those who have died will be resurrected to judgment and afterwards, eternity is granted to those who pass the judgment. Biblical backing of this belief is only two scriptures. The view is minimalist. The scriptures used to back this view are 1st Corinthians 1550 and Colossians 113-14. They claim that the earthly language used is symbolic and is figurative. They argue that believers have promises of blessings pertaining to salvation. And that the references to a heavenly kingdom are symbolic too.
What of the seventy weeks foretold at Daniel 924-27 How do these three common beliefs relate to this account
The Starting Time and Event for the Prophesy
(This section covers the suggested time frame of the seventy weeks and the events that took place in the seventy weeks prophesy according to the scriptures and not any one particular belief.)
There were three major events that need consideration. First, in 537 B.C.E, Cyrus issued a decree allowing the Jews to go back to their homeland. (Ezra 21-4) The second, in the seventh year of King Artaxerxes he allowed the beautification of Jerusalem but not the restoration and finally, the third point of interest was that of Nehemiah. In the kings 13th year of reign, he noticed that Nehemiah was sad. The account of Nehemiah 24-8 tells of how when the king saw Nehemiah upset about Jerusalem he agreed to allow him to restore the city. It wasnt until the kings 20th year in 455 B.C.E., that Jerusalem began its restoration. This is important because, in Daniel 924-27 the beginning of the seventy weeks begins with the restoration of Jerusalem.
What do the seventy weeks mean First, there would be A period of seventy sets of seven then, Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a rulerthe Anointed Onecomes, after this then, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing. What does this mean
The Division of the Weeks within the Prophesy
According to the above passages (Daniel 924-27), the seventy weeks is divided into three periods. They are the seven weeks, sixty-two weeks and one week. The Revised English Bible says, seventy times seven years are marked out for your people, and when seventy is multiplied by seven the total comes to four-hundred and ninety years.
And in his commentary, Isaac Newton says that Daniels prophesy consists of two parts the introduction and the explanation. Here are both the introduction and explanation
The three parts of the seventy weeks or 490 total years is broken up this way (1) the Seven sets of seven represents the time period from 455 B.C.E. when the order to restore Jerusalem was given to 406 B.C.E. when it was actually restored represent the seven weeks, (which is 7 times 7 or a total of 49 years), (2) the second part of the scripture said, plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a rulerthe Anointed Onecomes, this represents from 406 B.C.E the restoration of Jerusalem to 29 C.E when Jesus was baptized as the anointed one of God. This agrees with the time frame of 62 (sixty-two weeks) times 7 (seven weeks) or 434 years. (3) The final part of the prophesy said that the 1 week or seven years would represent the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing that would be 29 C.E when the Christ is baptized, three years later he is killed in the critical half of the week or in 33 C.E. and finally in 36 C.E. the final part of the scripture is fulfilled where it says in verse 26, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. This was accomplished in 36 C.E. when the apostle Peter preached to Cornelius and other gentiles. This ended the Abrahamic covenant or the seventy weeks, opening up the the way for all the nations to be able to receive the blessings from Gods kingdom. This can be backed up with Romans 321-26, Romans 622, 23 and 1 John 21, 2 where it speaks of gentiles receiving the everlasting life through Christ. This doesnt account for the fact that Jerusalem wasnt destroyed until 70 C.E.
The above supports most beliefs pertaining to pre-millennial interpretations. There are differences in the translation of the above mentioned text for post and a-millennial views. To list a few, in the a-millennial belief, they do not believe that the thousand year reign of the anointed one found in Daniel 924-27 is a literal number. This puts into question the literalness of the years provided in chapter nine. Commentary from A-millennialism and Pre-millennialism by Matt Slick says of a-millennium beliefs, we are in the millennium now. If this were true, then the entire timeline of Daniels seventy weeks prophesy would be invalid from the Christs death forward.
Another point, made by John Wolvoord in his commentary The Ascension, it the ascension of Christ has been eclipsed by the present work and future work of Christ. So, in summary, the three major factors involved in the views of Pre-millennialism, Postmillennialism and A-millennialism is the timing of Christs return, the nature of his reign and the physical location of his return. For Pre-millennialism, Christ returns before the millennium, he rules personally and his kingship is on earth. Postmillennialisms view is that Christ returns after the millennium, rules through the church and his kingship is on earth. The A-millennialism approach is that Christ returns in the millennium, rules in the church and his kingship is heavenly and inside human hearts.
Conclusion
Biblical accounts such as in Ezekiel 14 14, 20 and at Ezekiel 283, (Ezekiel mentioning Daniel by name) and historical evidence (the Dead Sea Scrolls and Josephus historical documentation in reference to Alexander the Great) proves the existence of Daniel and the authenticity of the book of Daniel.
The seventy weeks can be interpreted in many ways. History and Bible accounts point towards the weeks meaning years totaling 490 years leading towards the Messiah. The 490 years are then broken into three categories 7 weeks (7 years x 7 years 49 years) representing the restoration of Jerusalem, 62 weeks (62 years x 7 years 434 years) from the restoration of Jerusalem to when the Messiah is baptized as the anointed one of God. The final category is the most controversial as it is interpreted in several ways. The basic view is that of 1 week or seven years from the Messiahs death to the destruction of Jerusalem. This is important because through the Messiah all three major view points (Pre-millennialism, Postmillennialism and A-millennialism) conclude that the anointed one mentioned in Daniel 924-27 will be the means of their salvation.
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