By Betsy Mayer
When Jesus began His public ministry, He proclaimed, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:15. What fulfillment of time was He referring to?
Jesus was referring to the 70-week prophecy of Daniel 9, which revealed the exact year that the Messiah would appear, and was applying it to Himself.
Many centuries before Christ, Daniel received this time prophecy in answer to one of the most beautiful prayers of confession and repentance ever recorded in the Bible. See Dan. 9:4–19. In his prayer, Daniel asked God to forgive the sins of his people who had been exiled to Babylon because of their persistent disobedience. Not only were they captives, but their city and beautiful temple had been destroyed because of their refusal to accept God’s message to submit to the Babylonians.
Even though Jeremiah had prophesied that after 70 years of captivity God would return them to their land, Daniel knew that Israel had no right to demand that God fulfill this promise, for God’s promises are always conditional. Nor did God’s faithful prophet hesitate to identify himself with the problem. “We have sinned…, we have done wickedly.” V. 5. And then in humility he petitioned, “For we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies.” V. 18.
But Daniel wasn’t just asking for forgiveness; he was also asking for understanding. Eleven years earlier he had been given a vision about the desecrated sanctuary with a time frame that reached centuries beyond Jeremiah’s 70-year prophecy. See Dan. 8. It seemed to indicate that God would prolong the punishment of His people and that the sanctuary wouldn’t be restored for many more years. For Gabriel had told him, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.” Dan. 8:17.
As Daniel humbly interceded for his nation, heaven favored him with the precise timing of the Messiah’s appearance.
Daniel pled specifically for the restoration of God’s sanctuary, “Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate.” Dan. 9:17. Without the restoration of the sanctuary services, God’s name could not be truly vindicated. Until Messiah would come, the temple and its services stood as the designated way God drew near to sinful humans. “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I might dwell among them.” Exod. 25:8.
Daniel’s prayer also shows that he understood the true purpose for the nation of Israel: God’s people were to be witnesses to the world of the power of His name—His character, His righteous acts. “O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.” Dan. 9:19.
As Daniel humbled himself in prayer, claiming the great mercy of God to pardon and cleanse, Gabriel, the angel who stood next to the throne of God, was sent to reassure him that his prayer had been accepted and his people would be given nearly five centuries of extra grace. Gabriel also explained that the Jewish nation would be restored, the temple and city rebuilt, and the Messiah would come to this rebuilt temple!
“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.” Dan. 9:24, KJV.
Then he revealed the exact timing of the Messiah’s appearance:
“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.” V. 25, KJV.
This was to take place at the end of the 69th week (483rd year). The angel also pinpointed the starting date of the 70-week prophecy—the year of the command to restore and rebuild Jerusalem.
Three decrees were given by Medo-Persian monarchs to return and rebuild first the temple and then the city. But it was the third decree, given in 457 BC, that allowed the Jews to officially restore the city and the national status of the Jews under the supervision of the Persian Empire. Ezra 7:1–26. Calculating 483 complete years from this date would put us at the beginning of AD 27, the exact year historians agree that Jesus was baptized by John and began His public ministry as the Messiah. (See accompanying timeline.)
The dates 457 BC and AD 27 also firmly established the “day for a year” method of interpreting this 70-week prophecy. (69 weeks x 7 = 483 days/years + 1 week x 7 = 490 days/years. There is no 0 year when calculating from BC to AD.)
The angel also made special mention of the events between AD 27 and 34—the prophetic week of Daniel 9:27 and the final seven years of the 490-year prophecy.
“And He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” Dan. 9:27, KJV.
Christ’s crucifixion, during the Passover of AD 31, brought an end to the earthly sanctuary service and priesthood. At His ascension, He became our eternal High Priest in the heavenly sanctuary.
Christ’s death during the Passover in AD 31 brought an end to the earthly sanctuary service.
Futuristic interpretations of this verse as applicable to an end-time antichrist rob this prophecy of its Christ-centered
application. They also introduce a deceptive method of prophetic interpretation that undermines other key prophecies in the book of Daniel, including the identity of the little horn power of Daniel 7:19–26. Under a garb of piety this power oppressed the consciences of millions for centuries and deprived them of access to God’s Word.
Because the Jews misunderstood the kingdom of God, they did not understand how Jesus fulfilled this prophecy and crucified Him as an imposter instead, fulfilling the very prophecy they rejected. God still honored His covenant with them for three and a half more years, granting them every opportunity to see their error and repent. At the end of AD 34, the leaders stoned a prominent disciple of Jesus—Stephen—who had preached Christ’s fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies. This act symbolized their unwavering rejection of God’s Son. No longer was Heaven to recognize the Jewish nation as God’s light in the world. The 490 years of extra grace were ended.
Daniel’s prophecy briefly describes the fate of impenitent Jerusalem and its proud temple:
“And the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.” Dan. 9:26, KJV.
The Hebrew word translated “flood” here is sheteph and can be used figuratively as “judgment,” “calamity,” or “overflowing.”
Not many days before His death, Jesus prophesied about Herod’s magnificent temple: “They shall not leave in [it] one stone upon another.” Luke 19:44, KJV. In AD 70, Jerusalem and the temple were completely destroyed by the Romans because of persistent insurrection by Jewish factions.
The prophecy of Daniel 9 was fulfilled in detail.
Unless otherwise noted, all verses quoted are taken from the New King James Version of the Bible.
Image credit: © Sermonview.com
Betsy Mayer is the managing editor of Last Generation magazine.