Daniel Chapter 9 Vs. 26

 The Seventy Weeks

Daniel 9:26 "And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: 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." 

And after threescore and two weeks... The 62 “sevens” (434 years) extend up to the introduction of the Messiah to the nation Israel. This second period concluded on the day of the Triumphal Entry just before Christ was cut off, that is, crucified. In His Triumphal Entry, Christ, in fulfillment of Zec. 9:9, officially presented Himself to the nation of Israel as the Messiah. He was evidently familiar with Daniel’s prophecy when on that occasion He said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:42). 

Thus the first two segments of the important time period — the 7 sevens (49 years) and the 62 sevens (434 years) — ran consecutively with no time between them. They totaled 483 years. 

shall Messiah be cut off”: This phrase assumes that the first seven weeks have already transpired and thus serves to summarize the passing of 69 weeks of year or 483 years. 

According to Dan. 9:26 the Anointed One was not “cut off” in the 70th “seven”; He was cut off after the 7 and 62 “sevens” had run their course. This means that there is an interval between the 69th and 70th “sevens.” Christ’s crucifixion, then, was in that interval, right after His Triumphal Entry, which concluded the 69th “seven.” This interval was anticipated by Christ when He prophesied the establishing of the church (Mat. 16:18). This necessitated the setting aside of the nation Israel for a season in order that His new program for the church might be instituted. Christ predicted the setting aside of the nation (Mat. 21:42-43). The present Church Age is the interval between the 69th and 70th “sevens.” 

When the Anointed One would be cut off, Daniel was told, he would have nothing. The word translated “cut off” is used of executing the death penalty on a criminal. Thus the prophecy clearly points to the crucifixion of Christ. At His crucifixion He would “have nothing” in the sense that Israel had rejected Him and the kingdom could not be instituted at that time. Therefore He did not then receive the royal glory as the King on David’s throne over Israel. John referred to this when he wrote, “He came to that which was His own [i.e., the throne to which He had been appointed by the Father] but His own [i.e., His own people] did not receive Him” (Jhn. 1:11). Daniel’s prophecy, then, anticipated Christ’s offer of Himself to the nation Israel as her Messiah, the nation’s rejection of Him as Messiah, and His crucifixion. 

There is a gap of time between the sixty ninth and seventieth weeks. This is indicated by the statement that the Messiah will be cut off after the 69 weeks. Daniel used a calculation of time based upon prophetical years (360 days), rather than solar years of 365 days. The same calculation is used in the Book of Revelation where “a time, and times, and half a time” (Rev 12:14) equals 1260 days or 42 months. In each case the calculation is based upon 30 day months. 

The prince that shall come is the little horn of 7:8 who will emerge from the fourth, or Revised Roman Empire. He is known elsewhere is Scripture as the Antichrist. However, the present verse states that the people of the prince, and not the prince himself, will destroy the city. 

This prophecy was fulfilled in A.D. 70 when Titus the Roman general, destroyed the city of Jerusalem, killing thousands. 

The 62 “sevens” 

Amillenarians teach that Christ’s First Advent ministry was in the 70th “seven,” that there was no interval between the 69th and 70th “sevens,” and that the six actions predicted in Dan. 9:24 are being fulfilled today in the church. This view, however, (a) ignores the fact that Dan. 9:26 says “after the 62 ‘sevens,’” not “in the 70th ‘seven,’” (b) overlooks the fact that Christ’s ministry on earth was three and one-half years in length, not seven, and (c) ignores the fact that God’s six actions pertain to Daniel’s “people” (Israel) and His “Holy City” (Jerusalem), not the church.

 
The prophecy continues with a description of the judgment that would come on the generation that rejected the Messiah. The city which contains the sanctuary, that is, Jerusalem, would be destroyed by the people of the ruler who will come. The ruler who will come is that final head of the Roman Empire, the little horn of Dan. 7:8. It is significant that the people of the ruler, not the ruler himself, will destroy Jerusalem. Since he will be the final Roman ruler, the people of that ruler must be the Romans themselves. This, then, is a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem about which Christ spoke in His ministry. 

When the leaders of the nation registered their rejection of Christ by attributing His power to Beelzebub, the prince of the demons (Mat. 12:24), Christ warned that if they persisted in that view they would be guilty of sin for which there would be no forgiveness (Mat. 12:31-32). He also warned the nation that Jerusalem would be destroyed by Gentiles (Luke 21:24), that it would be desolate (Mat. 23:38), and that the destruction would be so complete that not one stone would be left on another (Mat. 24:2). This destruction was accomplished by Titus in a.d. 70 when he destroyed the city of Jerusalem and killed thousands of Jews. But that invasion, awesome as it was, did not end the nation’s sufferings, for war, Gabriel said, would continue until the end. Even though Israel was to be set aside, she would continue to suffer until the prophecies of the 70 “sevens” were completely fulfilled. Her sufferings span the entire period from the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70 to Jerusalem’s deliverance from Gentile dominion at the Second Advent of Christ.