SEVENTY WEEKS BREAKDOWN

 

 The Vision of the "SEVENTY WEEKS."

In chapter nine Daniel had a Vision of "Seventy Weeks" that were determined on his "People" (the Jews) and the Holy City (Jerusalem) to finish "their transgressions, " and make an "end of their sins, " and bring in "everlasting righteousness." Dan. 9:24. This Vision of the "Seventy Weeks" is the most important revelation in many respects made in the Scriptures. It set the date of the First Coming of Christ, and gives the length of the reign of Antichrist. The date of the "Vision" is important. The first verse of the chapter locates it in the "First Year" of Darius the Median, or the same year as the "Fall of Babylon, " B.C. 538. Daniel had been studying the Prophecy of Jeremiah, and learned from it that the 70 years of "Captivity" of his people were drawing to a close, for the "Captivity" began in B.C. 606, and 68 years had elapsed since then. Jer. 25:11. This discovery thrilled Daniel and he set his face toward God and poured out his soul in one of the most wonderful prayers recorded in the Scriptures. Verses 3-5. It is a model of confession, supplication and intercession. His prayer was interrupted by the appearance of the angel Gabriel, who had been sent at its commencement to give him "understanding in the matter." Vs. 20-22. Daniel was concerned about the end of the "seventy years" of the "Captivity, " and doubtless Gabriel relieved his mind as to that, but Gabriel had something more important to reveal to Daniel and that was the period of "Seventy Weeks."

The purpose of Gabriel's visit was to show Daniel that while his people would be restored to their own land at the end of the "Seventy Years, " that did not mean the restoration of their National Life, but was only the commencement of a longer period, which the angel called the "Seventy Weeks, " that must elapse before they should again be in control of their own land. This period was "determined" upon Daniel's people, and upon the Holy City. This is very important. It discloses the fact that the "Seventy Weeks" have nothing to do with the Gentiles or the Church. It also discloses another fact that the "Seventy Weeks, " or 490 years, only cover the period when the Jews are, by God's permission, dwelling as a people in their own land. It does not cover the present period of their Dispersion.

    

THE SEVENTY WEEKS

The expression "Seventy Weeks" should read "Seventy Sevens." Whether those "sevens" are days, weeks or years is to be determined by the context. The "Period" of the "Seventy Weeks" is divided into three periods of "Seven Weeks, " "Threescore and Two Weeks" and "One Week, " and it was to be 7+62--69 weeks from the going forth of the "commandment" to Restore and Build Jerusalem Unto

"MESSIAH THE PRINCE."

The date of the "commandment" is given in Neh. 2:1 as the month "Nisan" in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, which was the 14th day of March, B.C. 445. The day when Jesus rode in Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem as "Messiah the Prince, " was Palm Sunday, April 2, A. D. 30. Luke 19:37-39. But the time between March 14, B.C. 445, and April 2, A. D. 30, is more than 69 literal "weeks." It is . 445+30=475 years. What explanation can we give for this? It is clear to every careful student of the Word of God that there is a "Time Element" in the Scriptures. We come across such divisions of time as "hours; " "days; "-"weeks, ;" "months; " "years; " "times; " "time and the dividing of time." To be intelligible and avoid confusion they must all be interpreted on the same scale. What is that scale? It is given in Num. 14:34. "After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days-Each Day FOR A YEAR, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years" See also Eze. 4:6

The "Lord's Scale" then is-

"A Day Stands for a Year."

Let us apply this scale to the "Seventy Weeks." We found that the time between the "commandment" to restore and build Jerusalem, and "Messiah the Prince, " was to be 69 weeks, or 69 X 7 = 483 days, or if a "day" stands for a year, 483 years. But we found that from B.C. 445 to A. D. 30 was 475 years, a difference of 8 years. How can we account for the difference?

We must not forget that there are years of different lengths. The Lunar year has 354 days. The Calendar year has 360 days. The Solar year has 365 days.- The Julian, or Astronomical year, has 365 1/4 days, and it is necessary to add one day every 4 years to the calendar.

Now which of these years shall we use in our calculation? We find the "Key" in the Word of God. In Gen. 7:11-13; Gen. 8:3, Gen. 8:4, in the account of the Flood, we find that the 5 months from the 17th day of the 2nd month, until the 17th day of the 7th month, are reckoned as 150 days, or 30 days to a month, or 360 days to a year. So we see that we are to use in "Prophetical Chronology" a "Calendar" year of 360 days.

According to ordinary chronology, the 475 years from B.C. 445 to A. D. 30 are 64 "Solar" years of 365 days each. Now counting the years from B.C. 445 to A..D. 30, inclusively, we have 476 solar years. Multiplying these 476 years by 365 (the number of days in a Solar year), we ave 173, 740 days, to which add 119 days for leap years, and we have 173, 859 days. Add to these 20 days inclusive from March 14 to April 2, and we have 173, 879 days. Divide 173, 879 by 360 (the number of days in a "Prophetical Year"), and we have 483 years all to one day, the exact number of days (483) in 69 weeks, each day standing for a year. Could there be anything more conclusive to prove that Daniel's 69 weeks ran out on April 2, A. D. 30, the day that Jesus rode in triumph into the City of Jerusalem.

       

We must carefully notice that nothing is mentioned as occurring between the "Seven Weeks" and the "Threescore and Two Weeks, " is and that Daniel was to understand that the latter followed the former without a break. The words that follow, "the street shall be built, and the wall, even in troublous times, " doubtless refers to the "first period" or 49 years, occupied by Ezra and Nehemiah in the work of restoring and rebuilding the City o Jerusalem.

We see from this that if the "students of Prophecy" of Christ's day had been on the alert, and had understood Daniel's prophecy of the "Seventy Weeks, " they would have been looking for Him, and would have known to a certainty whether He was the Messiah or not.

While there was no break between the "Seven Weeks" and the "Threescore and Two Weeks, " there is a break between the "Sixty-ninth" and "Seventieth Week, " in which several things were to happen.

First we read that "Messiah Was to Be Cut Off, But Not for Himself." This refers to Christ's rejection and crucifixion. He died for others. Then we read that the people of the "Prince That Shall Come' shall destroy the City and the Sanctuary. Note that it does not say that the "Prince" will destroy the City and Sanctuary, but the People of the Prince. The people who destroyed the City of Jerusalem and the Temple in A. D. 70 were the Romans, therefore the "Prince (Antichrist) must be a Roman Citizen. This does not mean that he cannot be a Syrian Jew, for Syria will then be a part of the revived Roman Empire, and Saul of Tarsus was a Roman citizen as well as Jew.

We are then told that the desolation of the land of Palestine shall continue until the "End of the War" (probably Armageddon).

 As this "desolation" still continues we see that the "GAP" between the "Sixty ninth" and "Seventieth Week" takes in the whole of this PRESENT DISPENSATION.

The next verse (vs. 27) introduces the "Seventieth Week."

"And He (the "Prince"-Antichrist) shall confirm the Covenant with many for ONE WEEK (the Seventieth Week); and in the MIDST (middle) of the Week He (the Antichrist), shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease, " etc. For a description of the "Seventieth Week" see the chapter on "The Tribulation."

THE TIMES OF THE GENTILES

In Luke 21:24 Jesus says that Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the "Times of the Gentiles" be fulfilled.

We have seen that the "Times of the Gentiles" began in B. C 606; is there any way of telling when they will end?

There are those who claim that Jesus meant by the word "Times, " "Prophetical Times, " and that a Prophetical "Time" is a year of 360 days, each day standing for a year, thus making a "Time" equal to 360 years. They also claim that Moses in the Book of Leviticus (Lev. 26:18-20, Lev. 26:24-26), foretold, and four times repeated it, that if the Children of Israel disobeyed God, He would punish them "Seven Times" for their sins and that Jesus referred to these "Seven Times" when He spoke of the "TIMES" of the Gentiles. Therefore if a "Time" is 360 years, "Seven Times" would be 7 X 360 = 2520 years; and as the "Times of the Gentiles" began in B.C. 606, they should end in A. D. 1914.

   

Can this claim be substantiated? In the Book of Revelation the last "half" of the "Seventieth Week" of Daniel is described by three statements of time. First by 42 months (Rev. 11:2; Rev. 13:5) ; second by 1260 days (Rev. 11:3; Rev. 12:6); third by "Time, and Times, and Half a time" (Rev. 12:14); this last corresponding with Daniel's "Time and times and the dividing of time." Dan. 7:25; Dan. 12:7. Now as all these statements of time apply to the same period it is clear that the things that are equal to the same thing are equal to each other; and as a "thousand, two hundred and threescore days" equal 1260 days, and 1260 days equal 42 months of 30 days each, and 42 months equal 3 1/2 years, then "Time, Times and Half a Time" (or the dividing of time), must equal 3 1/2 years. That is, a "Time" must equal one year; and "Times, " two years; and a "Half a Time, " half a year. So we see that in "Prophetical Chronology" a "Time" is equal to a year of 360 days, and not a year of 360 years. There is therefore no scriptural authority for calling a "Time" 360 ordinary years.

If a "Time" was 360 ordinary years, then the "times, and times, and half a time" of Rev. 12:14 would be equal to 360+720+180 or 1260 years, making the "Last Week" of Daniel's "Seventy Weeks" 2520 years long; the absurdity of which is seen when we remember that the last week of the "Seventy Weeks" must be on the same scale as the "Weeks" of the 69 Week Period, which we proved from history were only 7 years long.

If the claim that the "Times of the Gentiles" is 2520 years long is correct, then we must not forget that those years are years of 360 days each. Now 2520 years of 360 days each, make 907, 200 days. But exactly 2523 Julian or "Astronomical Years" of 365 1/4 days each, or 921, 516 days, have elapsed since B.C. 606 up to the present time (A.D. 1917), a difference of 14, 316 days. If we reduce these 2523 years of 365 1/4 days to years of 360 days, then we must divide 921, 516 by 360, which gives us 2559, 3/4 years, which is 39 3/4 years more than 2520 years, so that the 2520 years of the "Times of the Gentiles" ran out 393/4 years ago, or in A. D. 1877.

As further proof that the "Seven Times" of Leviticus are not Prophetic "Times, " we have the fact (shown on the chart on "Prophetical Chronology"), that the Children of Israel have been punished, or given over to "Servitude" and "Captivity" exactly SEVEN times. Their present "Dispersion" is neither a "servitude" or "Captivity, " and does not count.

If the "Seven Times" of Leviticus are Prophetic "Times" and a "Time" is one year, then "Seven Times" would be seven years, the length of the "Last Week" of Daniel's "Seventy Weeks, " and would make the statement of Leviticus a Prophetic reference to the length of the "Tribulation Period" through which the Jews must go as a punishment for their sins. The 1000 years of Rev. 20:2-4 are ordinary years, just as the 70 years of the Babylonian Captivity were. The context will show whether ordinary or prophetical years are meant. It is this confusion in interpreting "Prophetical Chronology" that has led to the "time setting" that has brought discredit upon the whole. system of Preinillennial Truth.

The "Times of the Gentiles" will end with the end of Daniel's "Seventieth Week." When that will begin and end no one knows, for the Scriptures teach that it is not for us to know the

"Times and Seasons."