Gabriel’s Prophecy of the 70 Weeks:
A Prophecy of the Christ!
(Daniel 9:24-27)
Part Four
Presented by Murray McLellan, an unworthy sinner upon whom grace unimaginable has been poured by the kindest of Kings. I do not claim to be, nor seek to be original in the following manuscript. I seek to magnify and exalt the Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. Unto him belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Editor’s Note: In Part One of this series, we examined the biblical time frame and the setting of this prophecy. Part Two turned our attention to the prophecy as an answer to Daniel’s prayer for Israel, and the six things that must be accomplished for the prophecy to be fulfilled. In Part Three, we looked at the seventieth week from our time in history, with the completed canon of Scripture to guide us; has it already occurred, or is it yet to come? In this, the conclusion to the series, we will examine the time frame of the Anointed—the Messiah.
Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy.
Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.
And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.
Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.” (Dan. 9:24-27, NKJV)
10. Until Messiah the Prince
“… Until Messiah the Prince …” (v. 25)
This is the goal toward which the chronology of the Bible has been moving. From the going forth of God’s anointed, Cyrus, until the greater Anointed One – the greater Deliverer – the greater Restorer who would build the fallen tabernacle (see Acts 15:14-18!) – there would be a stretch of sixty-nine weeks of years.
The word Messiah is equivalent to the word Christ. It means ‘the Anointed.”
Where, in the earthly life of our Lord, was he anointed and presented to Israel as the Anointed One – as Messiah the Prince? Verse 25 of Gabriel’s prophecy to Daniel began with the statement, “Know therefore and understand.” Therefore we can expect the Scriptures to clearly reveal to us both the starting point (the command to restore and build Jerusalem) and the culmination of this prophecy (until Messiah the Prince). We know that was certainly true of the starting point. We will now see that the Scriptures clearly establish the time of “Messiah the Prince,” and that last week when all will be fulfilled.
Let us see from Scripture when an Anointed One is revealed.
The word which God sent to the children of Israel, preaching peace through Jesus Christ – He is Lord of all – that word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee after the baptism which John preached: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. (Acts 10:36-38)
What did Malachi say would come? He promised a forerunner – John the Baptist – who would preach and prepare the way for the Messiah. When was Jesus anointed? He was anointed when he was baptized by John. It is here that Jesus is anointed with the Holy Spirit. It is here, sixty-nine weeks of years from Cyrus’ command to restore and build Jerusalem, that God’s anointed Prince is manifest.
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John to be baptized by him. And John tried to prevent Him, saying, “I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?”
But Jesus answered and said to him, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he allowed Him.
When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matt. 3:13-17)
Here, at Jesus’ baptism, he is anointed and proclaimed to be the Son of God by the Father himself.
And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.” From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matt. 4:13-17)
Jesus begins his ministry after he is anointed.
When all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also was baptized; and while He prayed, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”
Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph…” (Luke 3:21-23)
Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.”
Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:14-21)
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe…. The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who is preferred before me, for He was before me.’ I did not know Him; but that He should be revealed to Israel, therefore I came baptizing with water.” And John bore witness, saying, “I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. I did not know Him, but He who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.” (John 1:6-7, 29-34)
Before his anointing, not even John the Baptist recognized the Messiah. Now, at around thirty years of age, Jesus is revealed to Israel as the Messiah – the Anointed One!
Again, the next day, John stood with two of his disciple. And looking at Jesus as He walked, he said, “Behold the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.… One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ).” (John 1:35-36, 40-41)
(See also John 4:25-26; Acts 1:22; and Acts 10:36-38.)
Jesus was anointed at his baptism, sixty-nine consecutive weeks of years after the proclamation of Cyrus – thus beginning the last and seventieth week! That seventieth week began when Jesus was baptized and anointed by the Holy Spirit and presented to Israel as the Messiah! The times are clearly given to us in the Scriptures in reference to the reigns of Gentile rulers. The time frame begins in the first year of Cyrus, King of Persia. Jesus is baptized in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar (Luke 3:1). This is the only dated event in the New Testament. I believe that is significant. There is no time date given in regard to the census or the birth of Christ or other events. However, we are given the time of the baptism of Jesus by John – the time of his anointing.
11. The Climax of the Prophecy
And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself (v. 26)
Now we reach the climax of the prophecy – the seventieth week – in which the most stupendous event of all time occurred. It is in that week that God, manifested in human flesh, made atonement for the sins of his people and the kingdom of heaven was opened to all believers! We see that this would occur after the second grouping of weeks—the sixty-two weeks. Thus it would be in the seventieth week that Messiah would be “cut off, but not for Himself.”
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.… He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. … He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.” (Isa. 53:5, 8, 11, emphasis added)
This “cutting off” accomplished the predicted events of Daniel 9:24. We start counting from the time of Christ’s anointing, and we know that before that week of years is over (seven years), he is going to die. In that last week of years, all those predictions given by Gabriel must come about.
Jesus was cut off – bearing the sins of “many.” As a result of this “finishing of the transgression,” – the cutting off of Messiah – the city of Jerusalem and the temple would be desolated. “… And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined” (Dan. 9: 26).
The city and temple, of which Daniel had been told, that would be rebuilt during seven weeks of troublesome times, would be destroyed. This would come about as a result of Israel’s cutting off their Messiah – showing indeed that they were sons of their fathers (Matt. 23:31-32; Acts 7:51-52). Gabriel’s prophesy does not state that this destruction is to occur in the seventieth week, but as a result of what did occur then. In fact, this desolation came about in A.D. 70 when Rome, under the direction of the Roman general Titus, surrounded the city of Jerusalem. There was a great slaughter and the city and its temple were destroyed. In fact, not one stone of that temple was left upon another as the soldiers pried apart every burned block to retrieve all the gold they could get (Matt. 24:1-2; Luke 21:5-6, 20-24).
Then He shall confirm a covenant with many, one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. (Dan. 9: 27)
Note again that there is no word “for” in this verse in the original Hebrew text. It is supplied in the English text. One Hebrew rabbi translated the text into English for me this way: “During one week, He will make a firm covenant with many.”
The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament Scriptures which Jesus used) reads: “And one week shall establish the covenant with many.”
One week would witness the confirming of the New Covenant with many. The covenant does not last for one week. It is made during one week.
The word “confirm” carries the idea of a victory achieved by great power and strength. The Hebrew word is usually translated “prevail.” Remember Isaiah 53? “… He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.”
There are some who would claim that the “He” of verse 27 is the “prince who is to come.” However, grammatically this does not fit. Who is the subject of verse 26? Clearly the subject is “Messiah” (“Messiah shall be cut off”). The subject of the next sentence is “the people” (“the people of the prince who is to come”). “People” is a plural noun, and does not take the singular pronoun ‘he’. “Of the prince” is a prepositional phrase that modifies or distinguishes the “people” mentioned. “Prince” is the object of the preposition. If you cross out all the prepositional phrases, you find out who or what the sentence is about. The subject and the focal point of this whole prophecy is the Messiah. The only person referred to as the subject of the previous sentence as the “He” of verse 27, is “Messiah.”
If grammar rules confuse you, I will illustrate my point this way: If I stated, “Blair, the son of Murray, went to Saskatoon. He…” You know that the “he” that begins the next sentence refers to Blair. Why? Blair is the subject of the previous sentence. Murray just identifies whose son he is. Murray is simply the object of the preposition. In the same way, the “He” in verse 27 must refer to the Messiah of verse 26.
It is the Messiah who will confirm a covenant with many. This will happen during one week – the seventieth week of the prophecy. It happened when he was “cut off.” Listen to the words of Jesus in Matthew 26:28: “‘For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.’”
In the above context, Jesus is about to go to the Cross. He had just previously foretold his coming crucifixion in John 12:23-24, where he said, “‘The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.’”
There is a set time and hour when Jesus is going to establish a covenant with many. How is he going to do it? He is going to be “cut off,” but not for himself – for the many! He is going to establish a New Covenant whereby sinners can receive the remission of sins and enter into reconciled communion with the holy and true God through a new and living way.
Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Heb. 10:19-22)
One week would witness the confirming of the New Covenant with many, whereby the sacrifices and offerings of the Old Covenant are brought to an end!
“Then He shall confirm a covenant with many, one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.” (Dan. 9:27)
We are told that in the middle of the seventieth week, Messiah “shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.” If we follow along in the book of John, we can see that the time period from the baptism of Jesus until the crucifixion was just over three years. The crucifixion was in the middle of the last week of years!
Before then, Jesus had continued to state that it was not his time – his hour had not yet come. But in the middle of the week, at a particular Passover, he said, “My hour has come!” It was this Passover for which he was waiting and aiming. He fervently desired to partake of that final Passover, where he would establish the New Covenant Passover (Luke 22:14-20); thus putting an end to sacrifice and offering.
He [Christ] then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. (Heb. 9:26-28, emphasis added; see the entire context of Heb. Chapters 7-10)
Jesus is not like the old high priests – for then he would have to suffer often. But Jesus, by his one perfect sacrifice and offering of himself, has brought an end to all the sacrifices and offerings of the old which could never take away sins.
Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second.” (Heb. 10:8-9)
When it says in the above verses that Jesus “takes away the first,” what is the first? The sacrifice and offering of bulls and goats which could never take away sin – those burnt offerings in which God had no pleasure. What is the second? Hebrews 10 continues: By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Heb. 10:10). All the other sacrifices are taken away with the establishment of the new.
For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin. (Heb. 10:14-18, emphasis added)
We see then that this taking away of sacrifice and offering is directly related to the establishment of the New Covenant – exactly as Gabriel stated in Daniel 9:27. It was “in the middle of the week” that Christ was crucified!
Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel.” (Mark 1:14-15)
Jesus has been baptized and anointed and he begins his ministry in Galilee. What is the first thing he says? “The time is fulfilled.” What time? What time has ever been given? Gabriel gave a time…sixty-nine weeks until Messiah the Prince. The only time prophecy about the Messiah ever given was in Daniel, chapter 9. The time determined by God and foretold by Gabriel has been fulfilled. This was the time appointed by the Father (Gal. 4:2).
In Luke, we see Jesus anticipating the desolation that would come as a result of Israel’s not recognizing this time and thus rejecting the Anointed of God. “Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surrounding you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.’” (Luke 19:41-44) (Compare the desolation of Daniel 9:26-27.)
How could they have possibly known the time of the visitation? The prophet Daniel recorded that time!
Then He also said to the multitudes, “Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is. And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is. Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?” (Luke 12:54-56)
Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy. (Dan. 9:24)
Seventy weeks were appointed for the people of Israel and then there would be a New Covenant. In the first phase of Israel’s history, they were laid desolate for a time because of their disobedience and unbelief. They had demonstrated their heart-rebellion by utterly rejecting, and even killing, the prophets of God. However, that desolation lasted only seventy years. Then Israel was restored, and Jerusalem and the temple were rebuilt. How long would the restored Israel have? They would have seventy weeks of years. Following that time, there will be a new people. After that time, God will establish a new nation. After that time, God will establish a New Covenant. His Son will build a new temple built with living stones. After that time, all things will be new, old things will pass away (2 Cor. 5:17).
In this glorious New Covenant, God’s dealings are with a holy nation composed of all who believe the gospel and receive the one who was rejected by “His own” (John 1:6-13). This spiritual nation is redeemed by a greater Deliverer in a far grander display of power than that at the Red Sea - the Cross in the prophesied seventieth week of years. The seventieth week as foretold to Daniel was the greatest week of all time. In the midst of that week, Jesus confirmed the New Covenant with his people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation – all gathered together into one flock with one Shepherd. Our glorious Shepherd gave his life for the sheep as the ultimate Passover Lamb. “Him God has exalted to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:31).
Praise and glory to Messiah the Prince!