Daniel 9:24
Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Daniel 9:24-27
Gabriel tells Daniel that there are seventy “sevens” decreed for God’s chosen people and Jerusalem. We believe that we have seen the first seven “sevens” and also the next sixty-two “sevens”. Jesus was crucified and ascended into heaven after sixty-nine “sevens”. So that leaves one more “seven”.
If the first sixty-nine “sevens” were seven-year periods of time, then it would make sense that the final “seven” would also be a seven-year period of time. Gabriel told Daniel what would happen after the sixty-two “sevens”:
“After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him” (Dan 9:26-27).
Here are the events that are to happen:
- the Anointed One will be put to death
- the people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary
- war will continue until the end and desolations have been decreed
- “He” will confirm a covenant with many for one “seven”
- Half-way through the “seven”,”he” will put an end to sacrifice and offering and set up an abomination that causes desolation at the temple
- the end will come like a flood
There are a couple of these events that we know have already happened. For one, the Anointed One is Jesus. He was put to death and not for himself. He died for us so that we could be saved. The other event that seems to have already happened is the destruction of the city and sanctuary. Jesus also spoke about this event:
“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you’” (Luke 19:41-44).
In 70 AD, in order to stamp down the Jewish revolt, Roman forces led by Titus invaded Jerusalem, destroyed the temple, razed the city and killed many of the Jews. Once the Romans had captured and taken control of the city, Titus ordered the city’s total destruction and it was reduced to ruins. Jerusalem was systematically leveled by the Romans leaving very little evidence that a city ever existed.
What about the rest of the events that are supposed to occur after the sixty-two “sevens”? When will the last “seven” occur? Who is this “ruler who will come”? From where we stand today, it seems that the last seven years of this prophecy has yet to happen. The ruler who will come is the person many refer to as the Anti-Christ. This ruler is going to establish a covenant or possibly a treaty with many for these seven year. About halfway through the seven years, the prophecy indicates that he will put an end to sacrifice and offering and set up an abomination that causes desolation at the temple.
There’s a lot happening in all of that! The assumption is that if this ruler ends sacrifice and offering at the temple, there needs to be a temple in place where sacrifices and offerings are being given before the ruler makes this treaty. So many people are waiting for this next temple to be built to usher in this final week.
It’s all very interesting but the one thing I have learned about prophecy in my studies is that only God can accurately interpret them. Prophecies are not meant for man to use to predict the future. Sometimes it’s possible to do that but that’s not their purpose. Their purpose is to reveal the power of God. God shows us that he is in control of everything by telling us things before they happen. Once they happen, we can then look back and worship our great God because what He said came true.
David knew this when he prayed this prayer:
“There is no one like you, Lord, and there is no God but you, as we have heard with our own ears. And who is like your people Israel—the one nation on earth whose God went out to redeem a people for himself, and to make a name for yourself, and to perform great and awesome wonders by driving out nations from before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt? You made your people Israel your very own forever, and you, Lord, have become their God.
“And now, Lord, let the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house be established forever. Do as you promised, so that it will be established and that your name will be great forever. Then people will say, ‘The Lord Almighty, the God over Israel, is Israel’s God!’ And the house of your servant David will be established before you” (1 Chr 17:20-24).
When we see God do what He said He would do, the people can only say that our God is the Lord Almighty, the God over Israel. There is no God but you!
Christ in the Old Testament 
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