IN THE LANGUAGE of the American Indian, I would speak of Daniel, chapter 9, as the speculator's Happy Hunting Ground--especially vv. 24-27. In the preceding article of this series we examined briefly verses 1-23. From the first and second verses we see that Daniel, though he was a true prophet of God, did not hesitate to study "the books," especially the Book of Jeremiah. Believing that the Scriptures say what they mean and mean what they say, Daniel was especially interested in the accomplishing of the desolations of Jerusalem, even seventy years. The first year of Darius was the sixty-eighth year of the Babylonian captivity. Naturally, the Prophet wanted to know what would come next, since Jeremiah in chapter 29 foretold that at the end of seventy years God would restore His people to the land of their fathers from which they had ruthlessly and cruelly been snatched away and had been deported into a foreign land, the civilization of which was purely and solely idolatrous.

Whenever one studies the Word of God, especially the prophetic Word, his heart is naturally inclined to prayer. Therefore, the Spirit of God led him to pray one of the greatest petitions found in the Bible, Daniel 9:3-23. This petition we examined with great profit in the last study of this series.

That we may view this prophecy from the right angle and avoid error and see truth, I herewith quote verses 24-27:

"Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy. 25 Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the anointed one, the prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: it shall be built again, with street and moat, even in troublous times. 26 And after the threescore and two weeks shall the anointed one be cut off, and shall have nothing: 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 even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined. 27 And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate."

We must give close attention to every word and phrase of this quotation.

The angel Gabriel declared to Daniel that seven seventies were decreed upon Daniel's people and his holy city. The word in the original text which is translated weeks is rather misleading on account of the usage of the English word. This word was used to specify the number seven. This usage may be illustrated by the English words: dozen, score, etc. As we use the word dozen for twelve and score for twenty, Gabriel used the word week for seven.

Seven of what? The context alone answers this most important question. Daniel had been reading in Jeremiah of a period of seventy years for the desolations of Jerusalem. As stated above, this revelation was given in the first year of Darius the Mede, which was the sixty-eighth year of the captivity.

Since Daniel had been studying and thinking of a period of seventy years, Gabriel said to him that seven periods of seventy years each had been decreed upon the Jewish people and Jerusalem to bring in the Millennium, for the angel spoke of six results that will follow the last year of the period and that characterizes the Millennium only. The term seven seventies is a play on words; in other words, Gabriel's message was simply a play on the term seven seventies. The same usage occurs in the following statement: Often a child takes a serious matter lightly and the parent says: "You will be laughing on the other side of your face before long." Thus the parent speaks of what the child will be doing in terms of what he is doing and what is reprehensible. A case in Scripture of the same usage is Matthew 18:21,22,

"Then came Peter, and said to him, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? until seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times; but, Until seventy times seven." In the same way Gabriel tells Daniel that the Millennium will not be brought into existence at the end of the period of seventy years of the desolations of Jerusalem, but at the end of a period of seven seventies, or 490 units of time. Since Daniel had been thinking in terms of years and since Gabriel said that there would be 490, we are to understand that he meant 490 years.

As stated above, at the conclusion of the last year of the 490 year period, six things will become realities. When they are accomplished, the Millennium will be established. The items of this statement are the following: "Seventy weeks are decreed upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy" (Dan. 9:24).

The seven seventies of years are decreed upon the Jewish people and the Holy Land to bring in the Millennium. The first item mentioned is "to finish transgression." Some copies of the Hebrew manuscript have "the transgression." According to this reading, reference is made to some particular transgression for which the Jewish people, as a group, are accountable; but this item of the program will be, figuratively speaking, a closed account; for everything pertaining to it will have been adjusted by the grace of God, and the Jews then will become the channel of world blessing. The second item on the list is "to make an end of sins." To sin is to miss the mark, a term of archery. When this time comes, Israel will be free from all sin. What will be true of the Chosen People will likewise be true of the entire world: "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob; Neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: Jehovah his God is with him, And the shout of a king is among them" (Num 23:21).

The third item mentioned is "to make reconciliation for iniquity." Iniquity connotes inequality among men and refers to unjust actions and deeds. In this connection it refers to the cause of wrong doings. In other words it indicates what in theological terms is called "sin in the flesh." The word reconciliation in the original text is derived from the words to cover. In this instance it seems to cover wrong doings by atonement. When atonement is made, the reconciliation is an accomplished fact. The fourth item is "to bring in everlasting righteousness." The standard of ethics and morals of all eternity will be practiced by the people who will live at that time. The fifth item is "to seal up vision and prophecy." This statement means that all of the prophecies which God has spoken through His servants will be established, there being no more prophecies in the Millennium, fortelling future earthly events. The sixth and last is "to anoint the most holy." This idiom refers to several things. For instance it sometimes refers to the tabernacle or the priestly garments. When this prophecy is studied in the light of related passages, one is of the strong conviction that in all probability it refers to the Millennial Temple which will be a house of prayer for all nations.

"Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the anointed one, the prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: it shall be built again, with street and moat, even in troublous times" (Dan 9:25).

According to this passage, the initial date of the 490 years is the time when "the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem" goes forth. Gabriel did not say who would issue the commandment. That information is to be gathered from related passages.

Isaiah the Prophet, however, gives the desired information. In speaking of God's Sovereignty and His overruling providential acts in human history, Isaiah quotes the Lord Jehovah as the one "that saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers; 28 that saith of Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure, even saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built; and of the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid" (Isa. 44:27,28). According to these verses, Cyrus king of the Medo-Persian Empire, would do all God's pleasure saying of Jerusalem, "She shall be built; and of the Temple, Thy foundation shall be laid." Continuing the prophecy regarding Cyrus in chapter 45, the prophet, in verse 13, speaking for God, says: "I have raised him up in righteousness, and I will make straight all his ways: he shall build my city, and he shall let my exiles go free, not for price nor reward, saith Jehovah of hosts." God speaks of some city as being His city. What city does God claim as His special city? Jerusalem, of course.

In II Chronicles 36:23 we find an abridged edition of Cyrus' decree, which mentions the building of the Temple only. Also in Ezra 1:1-4 is an unabridged form of this decree: "Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, 2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, the God of heaven, given me; and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whosoever there is among you of all his people, his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of Jehovah, the God of Israel (he is God), which is in Jerusalem. 4 And whosoever is left, in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, besides the freewill-offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem." In this passage also nothing is said about rebuilding the city. Because nothing is said in these passages about rebuilding Jerusalem, some Bible students say that Jerusalem is not included in the decree; but Isaiah, as we have just seen, says that Cyrus would issue a double-barrel decree for the rebuilding of the city and of the Temple. Those who believe that the Bible says what it means and means what it says are convinced that Cyrus did exactly what God said he would do. Confirmation of this interpretation is found in the letter written by the adversaries of the Jews in Palestine to the Persian king that the Jews were building the city and that they had finished the walls: "This is the copy of the letter that they sent unto Artaxerxes the king: Thy servants the men beyond the River, and so forth. 12 Be it known unto the king, that the Jews that came up from thee are come to us unto Jerusalem; they are building the rebellious and the bad city, and have finished the walls, and repaired the foundations" (Ezra 4:11,12).

In the light of these facts it is clear that Cyrus is the one who gave the commandment to restore and to build the Temple. The year, therefore, in which he gave the commandment was the initial date of the 490-year period.

We have already seen that the Golden Kingdom Age follows the 490th year because seven-seventies (490) of years have been decreed to accomplish the six items mentioned in verse 25. The accomplishing of these six things is the establishing of the Millennial Age. The terminal date, therefore, of the 490-year period is the last year of the seventieth week of years, or the last year of the Great Tribulation.

The 490 years of Daniel's prophecy are divided into three sections: "Know therefore and discern, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the anointed one, the prince, shall be seven weeks, and three-score and two weeks: it shall be built again, with street and moat, even in troublous times. 26 And after the threescore and two weeks shall the anointed one be cut off, and shall have nothing: 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 even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined. 27 And he shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one that maketh desolate; and even unto the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured out upon the desolate" (Dan. 9:25-27).

The first of these sections is a period of seven weeks (sevens) of years, or forty-nine years. During this time Jerusalem is to be built "with street and mote even in troublous times." The rebuilding of Jerusalem was accomplished by Zerubbabel the governor and the exiles who returned with him. Read the Book of Ezra for an account of these facts.

The second section of this period consists of threescore and two weeks (sevens) of years, or 434 years. At the end of this second section Messiah the Prince is cut off (the Crucifixion of Christ). When He is executed, He has nothing.

The third section consists of one week, or seven years. With the passing of these last seven years, the long rejected Messiah will return to earth and set up His Kingdom of Righteousness. This seventieth week is yet in the future.

Let us think of these years as 490 blocks. We shall put them on a straight line which runs the length of a long table. On this line we shall place the blocks immediately one after the other. We shall make a mark after the forty-ninth block. Then we shall continue placing the blocks on the line, in number 434. Thus we have placed on the line 483 blocks. There is no gap between any of these 483 blocks, as some expositors have thought, for "from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the anointed one, the prince, shall be seven weeks, [sevens] and threescore and two weeks:" [sevens], or 434 years. From the issuing of the commandment, therefore, to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince there are 483 years.

Does the 484th year follow immediately the 483rd? In other words, is there a gap between the 483rd and the 484th years? Facts of the context alone can answer this question. What time in the career of King Messiah is indicated by the phrase "Messiah, the prince?" Some think that it refers to the birth of Messiah. Others think that it refers to the baptism of King Messiah, at which event God, speaking from heaven concerning Him, declares "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17). Still others think that it refers to the Crucifixion. Since in Daniel 9:26 the Angel Gabriel declares that at the end of threescore and two weeks "shall the anointed one [King Messiah] be cut off, and shall have nothing," this statement appearing in this connection points most definitely to the cutting off of King Messiah, that is the Crucifixion.

That the 484th year does not follow immediately the 483rd year is clear from the facts that are mentioned in verse 26: "And after the threescore and two weeks shall the anointed one be cut off, and shall have nothing: 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 even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined." Here the statement is made that the city and the sanctuary would be destroyed by the people of the coming prince, the Anti-christ. The city of Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed in the year A.D. 70. If the seventieth week of this prophecy falls immediately after the sixty-ninth week, Gabriel would have stated that fact. Moreover, as we have already seen, the Millennium follows the end of the seventieth week.

We therefore know that the seventieth week did not follow the sixty-ninth, because the Millennium did not then start; nor has it since then begun. On the contrary, Gabriel informed Daniel that 'the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood.' In these words is couched the prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem which occurred in A.D. 70, when the Romans under Titus destroyed the Holy City. We therefore see that the angel Gabriel, figuratively speaking, jumps from the year A.D. 30 (the time of the Crucifixion) to A.D. 70, because it was in that year that Jerusalem fell and the Jews were dispersed throughout the world. From this point he leaps forward to the end of the 490-year period in the statement, 'even unto the end shall be war.' This is a prediction that there would be wars for the Jews and for Jerusalem from the year A.D. 70 unto the end of something; but of what? There is but one answer, which is: the end of the 490 years.

There is an indefinite number of years separating the seventieth week of years from the sixty-ninth week. Irrespective of human events, time rolls onward, but at the end of the sixty-ninth week (483rd year) God's prophetic timepiece stops, whereas His universal chronometer continues to register the passing years. Figuratively speaking, God stops His prophetic clock at the end of the sixty-ninth week because there are no more prophetic years decreed upon Jerusalem until the time of the seventieth week begins. When that time arrives, God will start His prophetic clock to measure the last week of years of this prophecy of the 490 years.

The interval between the sixty-ninth and the seventieth week is what is known by Bible students as the Christian Dispensation, or Church Age. This same period of time intervenes between the first and the Second Coming of Christ, in between the second and third verses of Isaiah chapter 11. The same thing is true in regard to Zechariah 9:9,10.

Since the Church Age is revealed in the Old Testament prophecies, it is not surprising that the Church itself is likewise made known in the Old Testament. Study carefully Deuteronomy 32:21, Isaiah 65:1, and Romans 10:18-21.