Here we examine one of the most fascinating prophecies in scripture: The word ‘week’ is translated from the Hebrew ‘shabuwa’, which means ‘sevened’ or ‘units of seven’. It can mean a literal week, as in Lev 12.5 and Gen 29.27,28, or a symbolic week lasting seven years. It is generally accepted that Dan 9.24 refers to symbolic weeks since historical events fit this interpretation extremely well. Accordingly, it is widely accepted that Dan 9.24 refers to a period of 490 years.
Historicist View
Depending upon interpretation, Dan 9.24 could refer to milestone events that have already happened, or it can refer to both past and future events. Historicists see all 70 weeks as past and contiguous, with week 70 (seven years) commencing with the 3½ years of our LORD’s ministry, and concluding with the stoning of Stephen. They believe the ‘firm covenant’ made in Dan 9.27 is the New Covenant: ‘And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week …’ (Dan 9.27) and that full ‘atonement for iniquity’ was achieved when Christ was crucified or ‘cut off’ in the midst of week 70 (Dan 9.26,27): ‘Then after sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing … in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering …’ (Dan 9.26,27)
Historicists believe that the cessation of the Jewish sacrificial system in Dan 9.27 was achieved when the temple veil was rent from top to bottom, and that the ‘destroyer’ of Dan 9.26,27 was Titus, who destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD: ‘… and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary … and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even a complete destruction …’ (Dan 9.26,27)
There are several problems with the Historicist interpretation. First, it is difficult to see how the sacking of Jerusalem and the destruction of the holy temple are compatible with the anointing or re-dedication (GNB) of the holy place in Dan 9.24. In what sense was the temple in Jerusalem anointed over the past 2,000 years for example? In what sense are Daniel’s people (Israel) ‘finished’ in a transgression sense (v24) if week 70 has expired? ‘Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make an atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place’ (Dan 9.24).
Secondly, is the ‘prince’ of v26 necessarily the same person as ‘the one who makes desolate’ in v27? There could be a significant time period between the two individuals. And if the firm covenant in Dan 9.27 was made by Christ, why don’t Bible translators denote this by using the pronoun ‘He’ rather than ‘he’ in verse 27? Also, as we shall see, the Historicist view fails to blend Dan 9.24 with many other prophecies (particularly those concerning Israel) and with modern day observation.
Nevertheless, the Historicist view has been widely held by respected preachers such as Wycliffe, Luther, Calvin, Knox, Wesley, Moody, and Spurgeon, and the Church of England accepted it in the 17th century. This is understandable when we recall that these years saw the height of Papal persecution, some 50 million believers being martyred for their faith. The TIME, TIMES AND HALF A TIME of Dan 7.25 is interpreted as one TIME = 360 years giving a total of 1260 years of Papal supremacy.
Futurist View
Daniel’s timing is given as follows: ‘So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks …’ (Dan 9.25) Daniel’s 7+62 weeks therefore span 69 x 7 = 483 years. Bearing in mind that Daniel used the Hebrew calendar year of 12 lunar months or approximately 360 days, this period amounts to approximately 476 solar years. The exact start of the 70 weeks is unknown although there are two favourite dates. Many believe the decree of King Artaxerxes (Ezra 7.11-28) could be the beginning of Daniel’s 7 weeks or 49 years (Dan 9.25). This decree was issued about 458BC, although it does not specifically refer to ‘rebuilding’. If we take 458BC as the start of Daniel’s 69 week period, then 476 solar years brings us to about 18 AD. But no significant Biblical event is recorded around this period. Others see the commissioning of Nehemiah in 445BC by the same king as the starting point of the prophecy (Ne 2.8-17). Starting from this date, 476 solar years brings us to about 32AD. Significantly, this date lies within the widely accepted bounds for the date of the crucifixion (30-33AD). In other words, starting from 445BC, Daniel’s 69 weeks brings us very close to the crucifixion date or the ‘cutting off’ of the Messiah (Dan 9.26), as indicated in Table 1. Note that in this interpretation, the times of the Messiah in v25 and v26 are taken as synonymous, and not as two separate dates.
In contrast to the Historicist viewpoint, the Futurist view places an unknown time period between weeks 69 and 70, with week 70 still future. The interpretation of the first 69 weeks is therefore similar to the Historicist view e.g. Dan 9.26 refers to the destruction of Jerusalem under Titus. However, futurists believe the crucifixion took place ‘after the 62 weeks’, i.e. after the 69th week, but not in the 70th week. The problem lies in the interpretation of Dan 9.27, since the subject of the verse is ambiguous. Grammatically, the pronoun ‘he’ in v27 should refer to the subject of the preceding sentence, and some take this to be the Messiah. If this true, translators should have used ‘He’ rather than ‘he’, as discussed. It is more likely that the subject of the sentence is ‘the prince who is to come’, v26. In particular, many take the ‘he’ of v27 to refer to a future successor to the prince of v26, and this is the view assumed here. This successor is taken to be the final Antichrist of history, who comes to the Jews in particular on a ‘wing of abominations’ (Mat 24.15).
The correct interpretation of Dan 9.27 must be one that is harmonious with the rest of scripture, and with modern day events. If week 70 has elapsed around the time of Christ there is no framework within which to fit many end-time prophecies, such as Jer 30.4-7; Dan 7.23-28; Dan 11.21-45; Dan 12.11,12; Mat 24; 2 Thes 2.3,4 Rev 7.3-8; Rev 12.6; Rev 13
It seems Historicists generally have difficulty accommodating such texts, particularly those inferring a worldwide dictatorship and a cashless society (Rev 13), both of which seem imminent. For example, consider: ‘He will speak out against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, … and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.’ (Dan 7.25) This refers to severe persecution of ‘the saints’. Whilst Historicists assume that the major persecution has already occurred under the Papacy, futurists take one TIME = 1 year and consider Dan 7.25 to refer to a future 3½ years of (probably Jewish) persecution under a final world dictator. As we shall see, this view is compatible with the modern-day scenario, such as worldwide computer control of people and the cashless society, both of which were veiled to Wycliffe, Luther, Calvin, Knox, and Wesley. This is not to say that all Historicist teaching is erroneous, rather, the truth probably lies in a blend of both viewpoints e.g. persecution under Papal power may once more emerge. As shown in Table 1, at the end of week 70 eternal justice is established under the reign of Christ during the millennium, and the holy temple is rededicated (anointed) to the Lord after being ravaged by Antichristian forces (Dan 11.31).
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