70 Weeks Are Determined

The title of our study today for the main message, 70 weeks are determined. That's the title. 70 weeks are determined. I invite you to open your Bibles with me, and let's turn to Daniel 9.

As we continue in our studies here in the book of Daniel, but come to the second half of this chapter 9. We're going to begin by simply reading this section of Scripture, which will be our focus. It's Daniel 9 verses 20 through 27. Versus 20 through 27. Seven powerful verses we will see that reveal a very powerful prophecy. Daniel 9 beginning in verse 20. Now, while I was speaking, Daniel says, praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people, Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God. Yes, while I was still speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, that simply means he appeared as a man, as an archangel, Gabriel, being caused to fly swiftly reached me about the time of the evening offering. And he informed me and talked with me and said, Oh, Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. At the beginning of your supplications, the command went out and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved. Therefore, consider the matter and understand the vision. Here it is, verse 24. The vision. 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 the Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. The streets shall be built again, in the wall, even in trouble sometimes. 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. Until 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 abomination shall one who makes desolate, even until the consummation which is determined is poured out on the desolate.

All right, let's stop there. Last time in our study, if you'll remember, we said that the prayer of Daniel, which precedes this prophecy, is one of the greatest prayers in all of the Bible. As we saw that Daniel was actually stirred to pray while he turned to God's Word. And you remember he was reading a section of a prophecy from Jeremiah. And as a result of that, he understood more the majesty of God. He understood more and recognized the need for himself and the people to repent and to turn.

And he also recognized that the exile was about to end. It was about to end for he and his people. And I think we were struck by that prayer. And his appeal to God was not only for God to hear and to forgive, but his appeal also was for asking God to act.

You know, to act in and rescue them from this enemy that had overtaken them some 70 years prior. And we see here in verse 20 that the urgency of Daniel's appeal, that appeal, is then more than matched by the immediacy of God's response. I wonder if you notice that there in verse 20, while I was still speaking and praying and confessing. And then verse 21 again, yes, while I was speaking in prayer, while he was still speaking, Gabriel's dispatched to him. That's what he's saying here. And this is an interesting point that we won't belabor this, but you know, before he was even able to get...

it's almost as if he's barely able to get the words off his mouth, the prayer off his heart, then that the answer is dispatched. Gabriel is already dispatched here. So as a side note, it's an indication that God hears the servant's prayer immediately.

Immediately. Now, he answers that prayer and how he answers that prayer, and you know, that's according to him and his wisdom. But at the moment, a prayer is given from a servant of God. God listens and he hears. It's comforting. It's also in light of that here that he then dispatches the messenger again. Gabriel has been involved with Daniel before in previous interactions in the previous chapters. He is dispatched to deliver the message of God.

Here in verse 21, he's caused to fly swiftly. So he swiftly flies to Daniel in the midst of his prayer, in the midst of his supplication here. And he first says in verse 22, Oh Daniel, I have come to give you skill to understand. That's the first thing. You know, and we know what marks Daniel is that he had already been given skill to understand by God. Skill to understand and interpret dreams, to understand prophecies, the ability to see and understand. And so here God indicates he's going to give him more understanding here with this new prophecy. He says, I've come. I'm going to give you a little bit more understanding. And just as a side note, you'll notice that the gift of understanding does not negate Daniel's necessity to be engaged in his consideration.

That's verse 23, where he says, you're going to be given understanding, but therefore, Gabriel says, consider the matter and understand the vision. So the end of verse 23 there, he says, consider the matter. So Daniel's effort, important principle here, Daniel's effort, God's enabling working together. You see this quite often. God gives the insight. It's the responsibility of the servant to take that insight and to consider it and to think about it. So Daniel, I want you to know that you've been heard. We're going to give you skill to understand.

Oh, and by the way, I also want to tell you the middle of verse 23, you're greatly beloved. I've also come to tell you that you're greatly loved. It's remarkable. You know, in other words, Daniel, you've been through a lot. You've been through so much. Just know God really loves you. That's what he's saying here. And this love is no doubt tied to Daniel's life, how he lived. The very fact that Daniel records that the flying visit of Gabriel came at the time of the evening sacrifice.

You see that at the end of verse 21 there? That tells us something about Daniel. When was the last time of the evening sacrifice? That was some 70 years ago when they were... they hadn't had the evening sacrifice since Daniel was snatched up. So they had no place to go. Daniel and his people lived entirely separate from all of that that they had known. So Daniel records the angel came at the time of the evening sacrifice. Very telling. This is why God, you know, God truly loved Daniel. Because Daniel didn't allow man to ever separate himself from his relationship with God.

You can take away the temple. You can do whatever you would like. I can still pray. I can still pray. So just as the smoke of the sacrifice would rise to heaven and rise to God, now Daniel continued to have his prayers rise to God in the same way at the time of the evening sacrifice. Daniel, we know, did this three times.

It was his practice three times a day. It's a good example. And so it is at this time Gabriel reaches Daniel, gives him this remarkable little section that we call the 70 weeks prophecy.

It's quite a prophecy. This prophecy has been said to be one of the most, if not the most, intriguing, interesting, exciting, and talked about prophecies in all the Bible.

However, these four verses here, verses 24-27, are also recognized as some of the most difficult, difficult scriptures and difficult prophecy to understand. One commentator, I'll quote him, is quoted as saying this.

This is a historian and a commentator. The history of the exegesis of the 70 weeks prophecy is the dismal swamp of Old Testament study, he says. So this prophecy that we come to this afternoon, again, it's so difficult and so complex and so deep and so full of detail. The one commentator described it just that way as he's no doubt looking into it as the dismal swamp of Old Testament study.

So let's get to it. Let's now descend into the swamp, if you will. But I'll say, despite the difficulty of this prophecy, it is a wonderful place for us to be this afternoon because of just how remarkable it is. This prophecy was given some 500 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, yet it's able to predict the specifics, just astounding specifics regarding Jesus Christ. This prophecy, hundreds of years given prior, is able to predict the year that Christ would start his ministry, which is also the year of his being baptized in the beginning of his ministry. This prophecy is able to predict how long that ministry would last. This prophecy is able to predict when that would end and predict actually even the day of the week in which Christ would be sacrificed and crucified and cut off as much else, too. So it's quite remarkable. And so in giving us this information, it arms the Christian, the true Christian, because it helps us debunk the Good Friday, Easter Sunday tradition that we see. We're able to debunk that teaching from this very prophecy. The 70-weeks prophecy does all that. So as we look into this, these four verses, let's keep a few things in mind. This is a prophecy, and the central figure of this prophecy is Jesus Christ Himself. That's the central figure, the Messiah. And also, a second thing we want to consider and understand is what's called a day-for-a-year principle. Some of you may have heard that. It's a biblical principle, a day-for-a-year biblical principle that we'll need to appreciate and utilize with this particular prophecy, a day-for-a-year understanding. And I want to establish that principle first before we get started, because it is so essential for us to stand on that understanding as our foundation as we go into this prophecy. So let's just, I want to take just a quick moment to establish this day-for-a-year biblical principle. It'll help us as we go forward.

There's a couple of places in Scripture that give us this understanding, this principle. One is Numbers 14. So I want to turn there now, but keep your marker thingy here. At Daniel 9, we'll come back not too long, but let's turn to Numbers 14 in verse 34.

Again, it's a vital piece of understanding this particular prophecy. It's important for us to establish this from the beginning. Numbers 14, and let's look at verse 34 as we look to establish the day-for-a-year principle here. So Numbers 14 and verse 34.

According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, 40 days for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely 40 years, and you shall know my rejection. So we kind of broke into the Scripture there, but let's stop there. So again, this gives us an understanding of the day-for-a-year. 40 days for each year it says you should bear the guilt, namely 40 years. So 40 days, 40 years. We see the principle there.

Just one more example of this principle. Let's turn over to the book of Ezekiel, if you will, for just one more example of this day-for-a-year principle.

The book of Ezekiel, where this principle is also confirmed and seen, Ezekiel 4 and verse 4-6 here. Ezekiel 4 verses 4-6. Again, we're going to kind of just... our purpose is not to expound these particular passages, but it's just to kind of break in, see this principle, so that we can have understanding as we go back to the 70 weeks prophecy. So Ezekiel 4, let's look at verses 4-6 here. Now look for this principle. Ezekiel 4 verse 4, Lie also on your left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it. According to the number of the days you lie on it, you shall bear their iniquity.

For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of days. 390 days you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel, and when you have completed them, lie again on your right side, then you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah, 40 days. And then he says, I have laid on you a day for each year.

So let's stop there. So again, we see this principle a day for the year. Very important in understanding this principle as we move to the 70 weeks prophecy. So let's turn back to January 9. If you used your marker thingy, you're already there. I told you. Daniel 9. And of course, Daniel 9 is going to be our base. So we'll kind of leave and come back to Daniel 9 throughout the study today. And again, with this particular prophecy, I probably can't emphasize enough. It's easy to get deep into the weeds with it, where there's just so much overwhelming detail.

So we're going to try to strike a good balance today so that we can hit the high points, hit the most critical information here. If you would like to get into a deeper study, you can go to our website, ucg.org. Type in study papers, and you'll see the list of study papers.

And the 70 weeks prophecy is one of those. It's an 18-page study paper. So for more insight. Okay, let's get started here. Dropping down to Daniel 9 and verse 24. Let's kind of go verse by verse here. Daniel 9 verse 24. 70 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 everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, to anoint the most holy.

Let's stop there. So a lot of things happening here in verse 24. You'll see the first portion of verse 24 here. It mentions the 70 weeks. And again, regarding these 70 weeks in just a moment, we're going to convert that or use that day for a year understanding. And we're going to do that in just a moment with these 70 weeks.

But we first want to note first the various things that are going to be accomplished by the prophecy. Look at all that's going to be fulfilled in the end. It's six things here that are going to be accomplished at the completion here. Remember, Jesus Christ is the central figure. Notice these six results here in verse 24. Many of these, they deal in some manner with the first and the second coming of Jesus Christ related to these.

So number one, when this prophecy is fulfilled, it says to finish the transgression. That's going to be one thing it's going to accomplish to finish the transgression. So this we can say refers to the first and second coming of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, of course, dealt with transgression in his first coming. He became our Savior. He was a sacrifice, a living sacrifice, for 33 and a half years, culminating in his ultimate sacrifice, torture, and crucifixion. With that, he became available to the power of the Holy Spirit, which enables us to have progress in finishing transgression in our lives.

That's occurring now because of his first coming. But obviously still today, sin is still present. So we're looking at the second coming of Jesus Christ for the ultimate fulfillment with the establishment of the kingdom. So going past the millennial period, going past the great white throne judgment period, the establishment of God's kingdom, when this truly will be fulfilled. So that's the number one fulfillment in this prophecy.

Number two, similar, to make an end of sins. That's number two, to make an end of sins. The word sin here comes from the idea of missing the mark. So we know when Christ came, he came to teach those to whom the Father would give him a true way of worship, the true way of worship, and to know the true God, God the Father, and obeying the commandments, and not to miss the mark by sinning. So all this process began with Jesus Christ when he gave his life, but it's not ultimately going to be fulfilled until the second coming, of course.

Number three, to make reconciliation for iniquity. Certainly that's taken place in our lives with Christ's sacrifice as the Passover. We're able to, you know, we observe that every year. We're about to observe that. It's a memorial of what Christ has done for us, the Passover. And we know we're able to be one with the Father because our sins have been forgiven, and we can have this reconciliation now. Those to whom are called by God, and who have accepted that calling, received his Holy Spirit, we can have reconciliation now. But that's not necessarily true for the millions and billions who have lived and died who never knew God. Billions of people. So again, they will not have this opportunity. Their calling, their opportunity, and the second resurrection. So again, this is something that began with Christ's first coming. Ultimately, moves, though, into the future. Number four, to bring in everlasting righteousness. To bring in everlasting righteousness. So we can display a higher level of righteousness now by the power of the Holy Spirit, but a permanent way of going God's way won't be an everlasting righteousness. Of course, that comes after Christ's second coming and beyond.

Five, to seal up the vision and prophecy. To seal up vision and prophecy. What does that mean? Well, this reference is a time in the future when prophets aren't needed. All prophecy has been fulfilled. You know, it's all going to be sealed up, fulfilled. This is after Christ's second coming, when all that prophecy is fulfilled. Lastly, number six, to anoint the most holy.

The last thing that will be fulfilled when this prophecy has the ultimate fulfilling, to anoint the most holy. This may refer to the temple, which will exist after Christ's return. That's described in the book of Ezekiel, to anoint the most holy place, perhaps.

Likely, it refers to Jesus Christ Himself, the anointing of the most holy. You know, ultimately, He will be anointed as our Lord and Master.

So, here are the six things that will be accomplished in the fulfillment of this prophecy. And you can just see, they're just so big. I mean, just remarkable. You can't even imagine these things, but they will be fulfilled. So, when we look at the 70 weeks prophecy, we should see it as giving us a relatively detailed plan of the fulfillment of God's plan of salvation. That's what it gives us, an overall picture, even going past again, the millennial period, past the great white throne judgment period, into the establishment of God's kingdom.

All that in one verse. So, you see why the commentator said that.

It is quite a bit. There's a lot here. Again, if you'd like to look into these six things a little bit better, there's an 18-page study, more detailed. It does go into different ideas regarding these six things that will be accomplished. Here, we want to hit the primary points. But essentially, again, the focus of the prophecy. This is a prophecy dealing with Jesus Christ and all He has accomplished and all He will accomplish here. Okay, moving on to verse 25. Verse 25, chapter 9 of Daniel, verse 25.

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.

So, let's stop there. Okay, verse 25 here. Let's note here that the 70-week prophecy is broken up into three segments. 70-week prophecy is broken up into three segments. You'll notice verse 25. It gives us two of these segments. It says seven weeks, seven weeks period, and a sixty-two weeks period, doesn't it? So, from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until the Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. So, seven weeks and sixty-two weeks, that adds up to sixty-nine weeks. And then in the beginning of verse 27, you'll see the one-week period mentioned. Verse 27, the beginning, then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. So, the 70-week prophecy is broken up into three segments. Sixty-two, you may get your calculator out, seven and one. Okay, that equals 70 weeks. We're dealing with three segments here. Again, two of the segments are referenced in verse 25. Seven and sixty-two. So, this is referencing a period of 69 weeks. Sixty-two plus seven. A total period of 69 weeks here in verse 25. So, if we now, we want to take that 69 weeks and break it up to get to the day for the year principle that we talked about. We want to break the 69 weeks into days. How would you break 69 weeks into days? You would multiply 69 times seven. So, 69 weeks times seven days a week. That gives us 483 consecutive days. But remembering the day for a year principle, that would give us 483 years. 69 weeks. 483 days. Using that principle, 483 years. So, 69 weeks times seven gives us 483. A day for a year principle. We're looking at, here in verse 25, 483 consecutive years. That's what we're dealing with here at first.

We'll get to the breakdown here in a moment. But, verse 25, what we're dealing here with, with these two references, is 483 consecutive years. So, again, let's look at verse 25 again. It says, Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem, until the Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks, the street shall be built again, in the wall, even in troublesome times. So, in other words, from the time of the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, there will be 483 years. Then, the Messiah the Prince. 483 years from that command, until Messiah the Prince. So, the 70 weeks prophecy has a definite starting point.

From the command to restore Jerusalem, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks, again, in other words, from that command, 483 years from the command to restore Jerusalem, until the Messiah will come on the scene.

So, with that knowledge, then we can look at Scripture and find the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. And from that command, then, we can count 483 years, and we should come to something significant regarding the Messiah, Messiah the Prince. And it should relate to those six prophecies, those six accomplishments that this prophecy will do.

So, again, if we can find that command when it's given to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, we should be able to count 483 years, and then it should give us some indication of those six things beginning to happen. Now, this is where we get into the weeds. If we're not in the weeds already, this is where we get into the weeds. Because when you look at Scripture, you actually find four instances, four different times, and four different commands to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. Four different recordings where a decree is made or where a command is made to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. So, the question is, which of those commands do we use? Which of those commands relate to this prophecy? Which of those commands can we identify as the year and then be able to count 483 years and be able to see something significant with the Messiah? Well, let's find out. Let's take a brief moment to quickly look at the four different times that a command was given to rebuild Jerusalem. And by looking at these, we should be able to see which, if any, line up with this prophecy. Because at the end of those 483 years from the command, we should see something significant with a relating to the Messiah.

Okay, so let's do that now.

The first time a command is given to restore Jerusalem is recorded for us in 2 Chronicles chapter 36. So let's turn there now. We're going to look at this first command, a command to restore Jerusalem. It's found in... it's one of the four. It's found in 2 Chronicles 36 verse 22 and 23. So let's look at the first of those commands recorded for us in Scripture. 2 Chronicles 36 and verses 22 through 23. 2 Chronicles 36 verse 22 and 23.

Now in the first year of Cyrus, king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation or a command throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing, saying, verse 23, Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia, all the kingdoms of the earth the Lord God of heaven has given me, and he has commanded me to build him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah, who is among you of all his people. May the Lord be... may the Lord his God be with him and let him go up. So here's a first command, a decree here, a proclamation that's given. And we know this proclamation was given in 538 BC. History tells us that. 538 BC. So is this the date that we can then count forward 483 years and find that those significant six points beginning to happen? So again, the command here, the first one we're looking at is 538 BC. If you go forward 483 years, you come to 55 BC? 55 BC? Did something special happen about Jesus Christ in 55 BC? No, he's not born yet. So nothing significant in 55 BC with regard to regarding the Messiah from this command. So the 70 weeks prophecy can't be related to this particular command to restore Jerusalem. Let's look at the next three. The next three are given to us. Commands given to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. Let's go forward a little bit to the book of Ezra. Ezra chapter 6. And take a look at a second time in which a command is given to rebuild Jerusalem. This is a second time a command was given. Ezra 6. And let's look at verses 1-3. Ezra 6 verse 1-3. Then King Darius issued a decree. So here's a command, a proclamation.

And a search was made in the archives where the treasures were stored in Babylon. And at Acmetha, in the palace that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found and it was recorded. And in it, a record was written thus. So here's the proclamation. Here's the command. And this is actually a re-statement, a re-command of the one we just read about. But we want to be thorough here. Verse 3. In the first year of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a decree concerning the house of God at Jerusalem. He said, the decree, let the house be rebuilt. The place where they offered sacrifice. Let the foundations of it be firmly laid. And it goes on here. So forth. But we're going to stop there. So this is actually a re-statement of the previous command that we just read, the other one. But we want to be thorough. Is this the command? This command that the 70 Weeks Prophecy is referring to. We're wondering that. So this command was in, this re-statement was in 520 BC. 520 BC. So again, the question, can we count 483 years from 520 BC to find something significant with the Messiah, the Prince?

Well, given 520 BC, if you move forward 483 years, you come to 37 BC. 37 BC. So did anything relevant happen to Jesus Christ in 37 BC? No. He wasn't physically on the earth at this point. He wasn't born a human being. So the 70 Weeks Prophecy isn't related to this command either. All right, let's look at a third command recorded in Scripture. Let's look at Nehemiah chapter 2. Nehemiah chapter 2. Starting in verse 1.

Nehemiah 2. We're going to read verses 1 through 6 here. This is a third time recorded in history where a command is given to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. This is the third of four. So we're looking for the command that would relate to our 70 Weeks Prophecy. Nehemiah chapter 2 verse 1 through 6 says, And it came to pass in the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was before him, that I took the wine and gave it to the king. Now I had never been sad in his presence before. This is speaking of Nehemiah. Therefore the king said to me, Why is your face sad, since you are not sick? There's nothing but sorrow of heart. So I became dreadfully afraid and said to the king, May the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad, when the city and the place of my father's tombs lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire? And the king said to me, What do you request? So I prayed to God of heaven, and I said to the king, If it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, I ask that you send me to Judah, to the city of my father's tombs, that I may rebuild it. And the king said to me, How long will your journey be? And when will you return? So it pleased the king to send me, and I set him a time. Let's stop there. So here we see a third command take place to restore Jerusalem. This here took place in 444 BC. 444 BC, this third command to restore Jerusalem. So 440 BC, count 483 years forward. Did something significant happen regarding the Messiah and regarding those six fulfillments of this prophecy? No, once again, when you count forward 483 years from 444 BC, you add one year going from BC to AD It's important. And you come to 40 AD. 40 AD. 40 AD, at that point, Christ's ministry is over. He's already resurrected at that point. So that really doesn't apply to those six items that would those six things that would be fulfilled. So we've looked at three commands to rebuild Jerusalem. Let's go to the fourth, and the fourth, which I believe is the one. I think you're going to be astonished by this.

We've counted 483 years from those three commands. We see nothing relevant to those six points of the prophecy. So let's take a look at the fourth command in history. It's found in Ezra chapter 9. Ezra chapter 9, verse 1. Here is a fourth and remaining command. I saved it for the last to rebuild Jerusalem recorded in Scripture. Ezra chapter 7, verse 1. We're going to ask, will the starting of this command reveal something significant regarding the Messiah 483 years later? I believe it will, and it's remarkably so. Ezra chapter 7, starting in verse 1. And we're going to skip down here a little bit. So verse 1, Ezra 7. Now, after these things, in the reign of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, Ezra and son of Saria, the son of Azariah, the son of Hilkiah. Let's drop down to verse 11 here, verse 11 of chapter 7, verse 11. This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave Ezra the priest, the scribe, expert in the words of the commandments of the Lord and of his statutes to Israel. Artaxerxes, king of kings to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and so forth. Verse 13. I issue a decree that all those of the people of Israel and the priests and the Levites in my realm who volunteer to go up to Jerusalem may go with you. So this opens the door for them to return here. So again, we have this fourth command, a decree in history. This history tells us it takes place in 457 BC. 457 BC. So, looking at the 70 weeks prophecy, if you go forward 483 years, allowing for the extra year from BC to AD, what year do you think we come to? 457 BC, 483 years forward, account for the year between BCAD. You come to 27 AD. 27 AD. Did something significant happen with the Messiah, Jesus Christ, in 27 AD? Yes, many of you know that. That is the year He started His ministry, His earthly ministry. That is the year He was baptized. 27 AD. Therefore, this is the command that Daniel 9, the 70 weeks prophecy, is referring to. From this command here in Ezra 7, we know that the 70 weeks prophecy points to.

Let's turn back to Daniel 9 again, if you will, in verse 25.

Daniel 9 and verse 25. I hope we didn't leave many of you in the swamp. Don't worry, we'll come back and get you in a moment.

It gets even more complex, by the way. I gave you the... We're going through the 50,000 foot flyover here. It's amazing, though. Daniel 9 verse 25 again. Let's read this again. And then, 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 62 weeks. The street shall be built again in the wall even in troublesome times. So if you combine both of those periods, seven and sixty-two gives you 69. Sixty-nine times seven days gives us 483 year days. 483 days if you use the day for a year principle. 483 days from this command, years from this command. So the command to rebuild Jerusalem in Ezra chapter 7, that command given in 457 BC. 483 years later allow for the BCAD extra year. We come to the Messiah, the Prince, and all the incredible prophetic beginnings that we read about those six items. You may ask, well, why did they break up to seven weeks here? Why not just say 69 weeks? Why break it up into three segments? Well, there's something to appreciate about the seven weeks. It's even more profound here. Verse 25, there shall be seven weeks and 62 weeks. Why not just say 69 weeks? Well, the seven weeks is discussed separately, and we look to see what the reason is. And the seven weeks points to the time it took to actually rebuild the city. The seven weeks points to the time to reconstruct the city walls, interior, exterior, all the interior appointments of the city. Seven weeks, remember, the day for the principal. So seven weeks times seven is 49. So it actually took 49 years to rebuild the temple. That's why it's broken down in that way. It's profound.

Forty-nine years it took to rebuild the streets and the buildings. The walls were all restored there. That's why we have the breaking out there of those 62 and seven. Okay, now let's move on to verse 26. Verse 26 of Daniel 9. After the 62 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, and the end of it shall be a flood with a flood. Until the end of the war, desolations are determined. So that's verse 26, a lot happening there. After 62 weeks, after that period of time, the Messiah will be cut off. We know Jesus Christ didn't die in 27 AD, but he did die after that time, three and a half years after that time. So he was going to be cut off. That's true.

He wasn't going to be cut off for himself. That's also true, as it says there. The Messiah was sinless. So who was the Messiah cut off for? It's cut off for us, not for himself.

It's cut off for us, our sins. And then so that's the first part of verse 26. The second part of verse 26 is a reference to a prince, but an evil one. So it goes from the Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and the first part of verse 26 to then in the last part of verse 26, referencing an evil prince, where it says, "...and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary, and the end of it shall be with a flood until the end of the war desolations are determined." So the second part of verse 26 there is regarding a prince who is to come, brings destruction, destroy the city and the sanctuary. This is not talking about the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. This is talking about a different prince. Historically, we believe this reference is Titus. Historically, Titus commanded the Roman army and he came in with and laid siege to Jerusalem in 70 AD. That's the historical prince. The flood was Titus's army. Now, prophetically, though, we see a prophetic mention here as well. Revelation, we won't turn there, Revelation 12 in verse 15, talks about the church of God, how Satan the devil sends a flood after God's people to swallow them up.

So the end time flood, you know, goes after God's people. That's Revelation 12 verse 15. So this flood represents an army historically, but also prophetically.

So again, here in verse 26, we're historically talking about Titus's army, 70 AD, destruction of Jerusalem. But there's a desolation that happens in the prophetic future as well with an end time antichrist's abomination of desolations spoken of in Matthew 24. All right, so let's move on to verse 27 and this final week here. We've spoken about the 62 weeks, we've spoken about the 70 weeks. That adds up to 69 weeks, but we still have a final week of the 70 weeks prophecy to discuss. So verse 27 brings us to that. Verse 27, Let's stop there. So here talking about Jesus Christ, 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 abomination shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate. Let's stop there. So here talking about Jesus Christ, he shall confirm a covenant with many, it says, for a week. So again, this is the 70th week, the final week of the 70 week prophecy. We've gone through 69. Here's the final one. One week means seven days, the day for a year. So this actually is referring to seven years. This final week is seven years. He shall confirm a covenant with many for a week, or seven days, or using that principle for seven years. There's quite a depth here in verse 27. Different meanings here. He shall confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week, he shall bring it in to sacrifice and offering. So we're going to talk about those last seven years in just a moment. But I think it's interesting if you look at this, this also has a dual aspect here. When you think about the week that Christ was sacrificed, what was the middle of the week? Well, you got Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, the middle of the week. Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Wednesday's in the middle. Jesus Christ, according to prophecy, was he cut off? Was he crucified on Friday? On Good Friday, as they say? No. We know he was crucified on Wednesday, the middle of the week. Jesus Christ was killed. We've always taught. We've always proclaimed on Wednesday, the middle of the week. That's the correct observance of the crucifixion week. Tuesday evening, they partook of the Passover and they instituted the new symbols of the new covenant Passover. Tuesday evening, Wednesday, Jesus Christ was crucified. He dies around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. Wednesday being the preparation day for the annual, not the weekly, Sabbath.

Thursday, the annual high day, the first day of Unleavened Bread, which we observe.

Friday, the women brought spices, prepared Christ's body. Saturday, Jesus Christ arose from the grave. Saturday, Sabbath, near sunset. Three days, three nights later. And it says, you know, early morning before the sun comes up, the women arrived and they found the tomb empty. He'd already risen. He'd already risen on the Sabbath, near sunset. So there's a dual aspect of this prophecy here that we can point to as Christ died on Wednesday of that Passover week, resurrected on the Sabbath. We're actually going to look at that in a little bit more detail in the Bible study a few weeks from now. I believe I'm going to be able to get to that.

The week leading up to Christ's sacrifice. But again, we're looking at 70 weeks' prophecy here, and it does give us this dual aspect. It gives us confidence that we as a church look to Scripture for our beliefs. We don't look to traditions. We look to Scripture. What does Scripture tell us? And this is a further confirmation in this way. It helps us debunk again the Good Friday, the Easter Sunday tradition. We can debunk that. So we still have, though, in referring back to the prophecy, we still have this final week to talk about in terms of years. So seven years, this final week, seven years. In thinking historically, let's think historically, what was the middle of the week of Christ's ministry? Christ's ministry lasted three and a half years, didn't it?

So the middle of the week would have been three and a half years into His ministry.

So we see that. So in this last week, we see that half the week, the middle of the week, three and a half years, Jesus Christ was crucified. His ministry lasted three and a half years.

But we still have three and a half years. We still have the second half of the week to go, three and a half years. So what do we do with that second half of the final 70th week? The final three and a half years. Again, we believe that the first half of the 70th week took place at Christ's lifetime, the first three and a half years of His ministry. And then we believe that the then the second half of the 70th week will happen at the end of the age. Let's read this again. Verse 27. Verse 27. Then He shall confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week, after three and a half years, He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. That's true, of course. Jesus Christ put an end at that time to the sacrificial system that had been. He the perfect Lamb, of course. Continuing here, continuing here, here at the end of verse 27. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, abomination of desolations, even until the consummation. The consummation is speaking about Christ's second coming.

The consummation, Christ's second coming.

On the wing of abomination shall be one that makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate. So again, our understanding of this 70th week is that it's divided up into two halves. The first half being the three and a half years of Christ's ministry, but the second half we are still waiting for the end of the age.

There's a few different thoughts when it comes to this future three and a half years. When will that take place? When will the second half of the week, of the 70th week, take place?

The scriptures aren't definitive. They don't come down in an ironclad way. Some believe it'll be during that three and a half year tribulation. God's people will, as we read in Revelation, many of God's people will be taken to a place of protection for three and a half years where training might happen, and the three and a half years will be fulfilled the second half of the 70th week. Another view, which we could also say because the scriptures do not come down in an ironclad way, is that Christ, after his second coming, will give his people three and a half years of intensive training at the beginning of the Millennial period.

The church has really put forth that belief and understanding that the second half of the week, those three and a half years, will occur at the beginning of the Millennial and will be included in some intensive training for God's people as we prepare to teach those in that thousand years to come. But either way, it's important to understand that at the end of the 70 weeks prophecy, it's all the same. It's all the same. I hope you feel the impact of this prophecy. I hope it gives you encouragement because when we look at the end, we remind ourselves of this prophecy and what has been foretold here. What are we reminded in verse 24 again? 70 weeks are determined. This is going to happen just as he said it would happen, just as it has happened. 70 weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city to finish the transgression, make it into sins, make reconciliation for iniquity, bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. Think of the impact of this. Think of the impact this would have had on Daniel. I'm sure you just say, thank you, Father. I needed that. I needed that. We need this today. It gave Daniel incredible strength and confidence and faith in his Father. It gives us incredible strength, confidence and faith in our Father. The one who knows the end from the beginning knows it all. Will you be a part of it? Will I be a part of it? So for us today, we should take from this wonderful encouragement, see how powerfully God has worked in history to fulfill what has been foretold and all that he will powerfully fulfill in the future. So make no doubt the 70 weeks are determined.