~~~ The Seventy 'Sevens' ~~~
Daniel Prays and Gabriel Answers:

In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom - in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. Daniel 9:1-3

Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: "Because you have not listened to my words, I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon... This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years." Jeremiah 25:8-9, 11

  1. The only mention of 'Darius the Mede', son of Xerxes, is in the book of Daniel.
  2. He is said to be made ruler over Babylonia after its fall to Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, in 539 BC.[1]
  3. It is suggested that Darius the Mede was subject to Cyrus the Great. Daniel 6:28
  4. All other references in the Old Testament refer to Darius the Great, fourth king of Persia.
  5. The destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylonia, occurred in 587 BC.[2]
  6. According to Jeremiah, the seventy years meant Jerusalem would lay desolate until 517 BC
  7. This date would occur during the reign of the Persian king Darius the Great

The first six Achaemenid kings of ancient Persia:[3]

  1. Cyrus the Great (600-530 BC)
  2. Cambyses II (530-522 BC)
  3. Smerdis (522 BC)
  4. Darius I AKA Darius the Great (522-486 BC)
  5. Xerxes I (485-465 BC)
  6. Artaxerxes I (464-424 BC)

Footnotes:

  1. Fall of Babylon
  2. Siege of Jerusalem
  3. Achaemenid Dynasty
The Seventy Sevens:

"Seventy 'sevens'[1] 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." Daniel 9:24

"Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens', and sixty-two 'sevens'. It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. After the sixty-two 'sevens', the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing[2]. The people[3] of the ruler[4] 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[5] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.[6]" Daniel 9:25-27

Alternate translations:

  1. Or weeks
  2. Or death, but not for himself
  3. Or troops
  4. Or prince
  5. Hebrew: wing
  6. Or poured out upon the Desolator

The Seventy Sevens in three parts:

  1. Seven weeks to restore and rebuild Jerusalem
  2. Sixty-two weeks until the Anointed One comes
  3. "He will confirm a covenant... for one week"
The Proclamations of Cyrus, Darius I, and Artaxerxes I:

Cyrus' decree: "The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them." 2 Chronicles 36:23

About 520/519 BC, Darius issued his own decree that affirmed Cyrus' decree: "Do not interfere with the work on this temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and the Jewish elders rebuild this house of God on its site." Ezra 6:7 (Ezra 6:15).

Artaxerxes' decree: "Now I decree that any of the Israelites in my kingdom, including priests and Levites, who volunteer to go to Jerusalem with you, may go. You are sent by the king and his seven advisers to inquire about Judah and Jerusalem with regard to the Law of your God, which is in your hand." Ezra 7:13-14

  1. The Edict of Cyrus refers to the biblical account of a proclamation by Cyrus the Great dated 539 BC.
  2. The decree is first mentioned in 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 and repeated verbatim in Ezra 1:1-4.
  3. When the exiles returned to Judea and began the reconstruction they were met with opposition. Ezra 4:1-5, 24
  4. Those who opposed the reconstruction appealed to king Darius to find proof if Cyrus did in fact issue a such a decree. Ezra 5:17
  5. King Darius ordered a search be made of the archives and did in fact find the scroll containing Cyrus' proclamation. Ezra 6:1-5
  6. King Darius then issued his own decree telling the troublemakers to cease and desist. Ezra 6:6-7
  7. The temple reconstruction ordered by Cyrus was completed around 516 BC, the 6th year of the reign of Darius I.
  8. Artaxerxes' first decree was delivered to Ezra the priest regarding the reconstruction going on in Judea. Ezra 7:12-26
  9. This first decree is dated as occurring in the seventh year of his reign (457 BC).
  10. Artaxerxes' second decree was given to Nehemiah at his request to return to Judea to continue the reconstruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem. Nehemiah 2:4-9
  11. This second decree is dated as occurring in the twentieth year of king Artaxerxes (444 BC).

The starting date for the Seventy 'Sevens' is generally agreed to be 457 BC, the first decree of king Artaxerxes I. Using this date and assuming the 'sevens' are temporally contiguous equals a date of 26 AD to the coming of the Anointed One. Add to that the last 'seven' results in an end date for this prophecy to be 33 AD.
Unfolding the Seventy 'Sevens' time period prophecy:

The overall impression detailed in the first sixty-nine sevens is that this is a Messianic prophecy.

  1. To finish transgression
  2. To put an end to sin
  3. To atone for wickedness
  4. To bring in everlasting righteousness
  5. To seal up vision and prophecy
  6. To anoint the Most Holy

But there is one more seven, the last of the seventy, that Gabriel reveals next.

  1. The Anointed One is put to death after the sixty-two 'sevens'.
  2. A new entity is introduced referred to as the "people of the ruler who will come".
  3. The ultimate goal of this entity is to "destroy the city and the sanctuary".
  4. Is this entity the one responsible for putting to death the Annointed One?
  5. What is the covenant that is confirmed during the last 'seven', and who confirms it?
    • Some interpreters say this is a pact the Antichrist makes with Israel at the beginning of the tribulation.
    • It provides religious freedom under which Israel is free to re-establish their system of sacrifices.
    • A prerequisite of this is necessarily the reconstruction of the Jewish temple.
    • Since this is an end-time event it means the last 'seven' is not temporally contiguous (i.e. it is cut off) with the first seventy-nine.
    • This interpretation is not supported by Jesus' own words to his disciples given below, hence I will not accept it.
  6. So what is the covenant that is confirmed? It is the one God made with Abraham that through his offspring "all nations on earth will be blessed."Genesis 18:22
  7. The last 'seven' are the seven years of Christ's ministry beginning with his baptism and ending three and one half years after his crucifixion.
  8. "He will put an end to sacrifice and offering." Jesus is the sacrifical 'lamb of God' that takes away the sin of the world, rendering the old sacrificial system obsolete.
  9. The conclusion of the last 'seven' is probably related to the onset of Jewish persecution of Christs followers and their flight from the Holy Land.
  10. The "people of the ruler who will come" is none other than the Roman occupiers who governed the Holy Land in Jesus' day.

Jesus told his disciples about the coming destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem, connecting it to Daniel and the Seventy 'Sevens' prophecy: "So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel - let the reader understand - then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains." Matthew 24:15-16
"When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near... For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written." Luke 21:20,22
Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in 70 AD when Roman forces under general Titus put down the final Jewish revolt. This was the end of the Jewish temple religious practice and has never been resumed. The Islamic sacred site known as the Dome of the Rock now occupies the temple mount.