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Daniel’s “ seventy weeks ” prophecy presents a 490-year period that culminates in the “ Abomination of Desolation .” Crucial to dating it and its proper interpretation is the identification of the “ commandment to restore and build Jerusalem ,” and commentators have gone to great lengths to link it to one of several known decrees issued by Persian rulers.

After contemplating  Jeremiah’s prophecy , Daniel began to pray and repent for the nation’s sins. He did not seek revelation into the meaning of the prophecy since he understood its prediction (“ I understood by the writings the number of the years ”). Instead, he confessed Israel’s sins as Jeremiah had instructed.

Daniel received the revelation about the “ seventy weeks ” in the “ first year ” of Darius the Mede, shortly after the fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire to the “ Medes and Persians .” And his inquiry and prayer indicate that the events in chapter 9 occurred before the return of the first Jewish exiles to Jerusalem after the decree of Cyrus the Great.

The period of “ seventy weeks ” concludes with several unanswered questions, but the prophecy is not the end of the matter. Clear verbal links connect it to the visions of chapters 7 and 8, and to the subsequent vision in chapter 11. It is one part of a larger whole. The complete picture becomes clear only when all the visions of Daniel are considered.

The final “ week ” culminates in the desecration of the Temple and the cessation of the daily burnt offerings. In  Daniel , the focus is on the sanctuary and its ritual pollution. The described events occurred in Jerusalem, most pivotally, the “ abomination that desolates .” The latter was installed by the figure who “ corrupts ” many of the “ people .”

Next, the angel briefly describes the first sixty-nine “ weeks ” of the prophecy. As he declared, “ seventy weeks are divided upon your people and upon your holy city .” After presenting the redemption that will be realized by the end of the period, he explains its three subdivisions of “ seven weeks ,” “ sixty-two weeks ,” and finally, “ one week .”

Understanding the “start date” of the “ seventy weeks ” is vital to its interpretation.  WHEN  the period commenced determines when it will end. Fortunately, the interpreting angel provided Daniel with that information - “ From the going forth of the word to return and to build Jerusalem .” And the identification of this “ word ” is found in the context of the chapter.

The angel divided the period of “ seventy weeks ” into three divisions - the initial period of “ seven weeks ,” the second of “ sixty-two weeks ,” and the final segment of “ one week .” The latter is subdivided further into two “ half weeks .” And at the start of the prophecy, the angel listed six redemptive goals that must be achieved by the end of all seventy “ weeks .”

The book of  Revelation  never refers to the “ seventy weeks ” prophecy in  Daniel , directly or indirectly, a passage in the Hebrew Bible that is foundational to the chronologies and expectations of many interpretations of  Revelation , a rather striking omission.

SYNOPSIS  – The commencement of the “seventy weeks” is linked to the prophecy of Jeremiah about the Babylonian Captivity – Daniel 9:1-2 .  The prophecy of the “ seventy weeks ” in Daniel is one of the most perplexing and disputed passages in the Hebrew Bible. One of the few aspects on which there is a general agreement is the length of the prophetic period – That the “ seventy-sevens ” equates to a period of 490 years. Beyond this, interpretations diverge on every aspect of the prophecy.

SYNOPSIS: An analysis of the final week of the “Seventy Weeks” prophecy – Daniel 9:26-27. We now reach the end of the “Seventy Weeks” prophecy, its final or so-called seventieth “ week ” ( Daniel 9:26-27 ). This passage describes a set of events for which the preceding sixty-nine “weeks” have prepared. The text says  nothing about the destruction  of the city or the Temple. Instead, in this final “ week ,” the people of the city are “ corrupted ,” and the Sanctuary is defiled by the “ abomination that desolates .

SYNOPSIS - The first sixty-nine “weeks” lay the groundwork for the tumultuous events of the final or “sixty-ninth week” – Daniel 9:25.  Next, the interpreting angel described the first sixty-nine “ weeks ” of the “ seventy weeks ” prophecy, although only briefly. As he declared at the start, “ seventy weeks are  divided  upon your people and upon your holy city .” After presenting the  redemption  that would be realized at the end of the prophecy, the angel described its three subdivisions of “ seven weeks ,” “ sixty-two weeks ,” and “ one week ,” presumably, consecutive periods of 49, 434, and 7 years.

Synopsis: Daniel prays a collective prayer of repentance after contemplating a prophecy of Jeremiah - Daniel 9:1-23.  The “ first year ” of Darius the Mede locates the vision of the “Seventy Weeks” in approximately 538 to 537 B.C. This is the same period when Babylon fell to the “ kingdom of the Medes and Persians ,” as well as the release of the Jewish exiles from Babylon by the decree of Cyrus the Great (536 B.C. -  2 Chronicles 36:22-23 ,  Ezra 1:1-11 ).