70th Week: Alternate View

In the Orthodox Jewish Bible, the prophecy in Daniel 9:27  reads this way:

27And he shall confirm a brit [covenant] with rabbim [the many] for one heptad [week of seven years]; and in the midst of the heptad he shall cause the zevach [sacrifice] and the minchah [gift offering] to cease, and on the kenaf [wing or overspreading] of the abominations is one making desolate, even until the complete destruction, a destruction that is decreed, shall be poured out upon the Shomem [Desolator, Destroyer]. (Daniel 9:27—OJB)
It is believed by some that the “he” who would confirm the covenant or promise was Jesus, the “seed” of Abraham (Galatians 3:16,17), one of the patriarchs to whom God made specific promises (Romans 15:8).  According to those who hold this viewpoint, Jesus’ “coming” and His “anointing,” according to Daniel 9:25,26, were at the beginning of His ministry.

Some of these (preterists) believe that the 70th Week was fully completed during the First Century and that there is none of the 70th week left to be fulfilled.  Yet, not all of the decrees of Daniel 9:24 for Daniel’s people, Israel, have come to pass, nor will they take place until Yeshua/Jesus, Israel’s Messiah, returns at the end of the age.

Others (partial preterists) believe that after 3˝ years of His earthly ministry, Jesus caused Jewish sacrifices and offerings no longer to be necessary by presenting Himself as the once-for-all, ultimate sacrifice and offering on Israel’s behalf (Hebrews 7:27).  The thinking of most of those who believe this is that, at that point, the time count was stopped, with 3˝ years of the 70th Week remaining to elapse at some time in the future.

Both of these views (preterism and partial preterism) state that the covenant Jesus made anew with Israel reconfirmed the one that God had made with Israel in the time of Moses, after Israel’s exodus from Egypt.  The people had broken this covenant, primarily when they worshiped and sacrificed to the golden calf idol (Exodus 32:4-8).  So although Jesus did  give Israel a new covenant, it was forever, not merely for seven years.  In addition, most of the Jews in Israel during Jesus’ time failed to enter into the new covenant that Jesus had offered them.

Moreover, Jesus’ coming and anointing, as prophesied in Daniel 9:25, were not  at the beginning of His ministry.  Jesus’ coming was at His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday (Luke 19:28-44).  This was just a few days before He was crucified.  He wept over Jerusalem and the devastation that would be coming upon it because so many had failed to understand (from Daniel 9:25a) the time of His coming—that is, the time of God’s coming to them (Luke 19:44b)—as their King.

Furthermore, Jesus’ anointing took place at the home of Simon the Leper in Bethany, just a few days after Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem.  While Jesus reclined at a table, a woman came with a jar of expensive perfume or oil and poured it on His head (Matthew 26:6,7).  Jesus even indicated that it was a preparation for His burial (26:12), which was an anointing.  Most likely, it was the very next night when Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples (26:18-30), and the following day He was crucified or "cut off" (Daniel 9:26a).

So Jesus the Messiah’s prophesied coming, being anointed, and being cut off and buried were only days apart, not years apart.  All of this occurred at the end of 69 (= 7 + 62) weeks (of years) following the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem, in fulfillment of Daniel 9:25,26.  This commandment was given by King Artaxerxes to Nehemiah, in the month of Nisan, to go and rebuild the city of Jerusalem in Judah (Nehemiah 2:1-9).

Then in the same month of Nisan, after 69 (= 7 + 62) weeks of years (that is, 483 years on the Hebraic calendar) had passed, Jesus was crucified on Passover.  At that point, the time count was stopped, with one week of 7 years remaining to complete the 70 weeks (= 490 years) prophecy given to Daniel by the angel Gabriel (Daniel 9:24).

Again, some believe that the “he” at the beginning of Daniel 9:27 who would confirm a covenant for one week of 7 years, was Jesus.  They point to these two verses in an attempt to support this conclusion:

25Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks [7 x 7 years = 49 years], and threescore and two weeks [62 x 7 years = 434 years]: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.  26And 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. (Daniel 9:25,26—KJV)

They equate the “he” at the beginning of Daniel 9:27 with “Messiah the Prince” in 9:25.  However, the “he” in 9:27 is the “prince that shall come” in 9:26.  Some see these as the same person; but the “Prince” (with a capital “P”) and the “prince that shall come” (with a small “p”) are two completely different men.

Also, Daniel 9:26 says the people of the “prince that shall come” would destroy the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (second temple).  Certainly, the people of Messiah the Prince (Jesus), that is the Jews, never destroyed their own city or temple.  Rather, in 70 A.D., armies from the Roman Empire, led by Titus, did destroy Jerusalem and the temple.  However, Titus never made any type of agreement involving Israel for 7 years, much less one that confirmed a prior covenant.

European Neighbourhood InstrumentAlmost two millennia later, though, Israel entered into an accord or covenant, the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP), with many other nations.  It spanned the period January 1, 2007 through December 31, 2013: exactly 7 years.  In November 2013, the European Parliament voted to extend the ENP—in essence, confirming and strengthening that covenant—for the period January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2020: another 7 years.  The renewed covenant is the European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI).

The nations in the ENI are part of what used to be the Roman Empire, and someone within Europe is the man—perhaps, the prince that will come—confirming a 7-year agreement with many.  Thus, the ENI may be the prophesied 7-year agreement of Daniel 9:27a.  Many more details about this can be found in my lengthy commentaries: End of the Age: 2020? and Anticipated Prophetic Events: Delayed 1-3 Years?

Finally, Jesus had prophetic messages for those living in Jerusalem:

15So when you see standing in the holy place “the abomination that causes desolation,” spoken of through the prophet Daniel [Daniel 9:27]—let the reader understand—16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. (Matthew 24:15,16)

20When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near.  21Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. (Luke 21:20,21)

Certainly, Jesus was not  speaking about Himself as the one who would set up the abomination that causes desolation in the “holy place,” mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 24:15.  The Dome of the Rock shrine on the Temple Mount sits atop the holy place, which was located within the two ancient Jewish temples where the shrine now stands.  (The word incorrectly translated as “temple” in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 and Revelation 11:1 is correctly translated from the Greek text as shrine).  It will be the Antichristthe one confirming a covenant with many for 7 years—who will set up something that is abominable to God.  People there will flee for their lives, and then desolation in and around Jerusalem will take place.

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