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“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; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress”. Daniel 9:25

In verse 25, two periods are specified. One of seven ‘sevens’ (49 years) and another of sixty-two ‘sevens’ (434 years). It is common practice for interpreters to add the seven times seven years and the sixty-two times seven years together. Having come up with a period of sixt-nine times seven years (483 years) they then look for the missing seven-year period from the 70-week prophecy in the verse before. Volumes have been written on the significance of this missing seventieth ‘seven’ of Daniel.

Two separate periods

Before racing ahead, we should pause and answer this question: why was the time expressed in this way? In this very concise prophecy there are no throwaway statements. Both the seven sevens (49 years) and the sixty-two sevens (434 years) must be significant. If sixty-nine sevens were in mind, the only justification for dividing the period would be that there was a distinct, recognisable, and meaningful division of history into two periods, one following immediately after the other. One suggestion is that the 49 years covers the reconstruction of the Temple. Personally, I do not find that a sufficiently convincing explanation.

Before racing ahead, we should pause and answer this question: why was the time expressed in this way? In this very concise prophecy there are no throwaway statements.

The verse as printed at the start of this article has English punctuation which interprets that found in the Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew treats these as two separate periods. After the Jews were expelled from the land of Israel, Hebrew fell out of use as a spoken language. In order to preserve the traditionally understood meaning of the scriptures, the Rabbis added punctuation and vowel points to the text. In this instance they added a punctuation mark between the seven sevens and the sixty-two sevens. This is the equivalent of a semicolon in English punctuation. The punctuation confirms that the Jews understood that two separate periods were in mind.

The 62 weeks

The straightforward implication of this prophecy is that the Messiah is not coming immediately. The people of Daniel’s day had to accept that a period of time must elapse before he comes.

Of the two periods, the 62 weeks (434 years) comes first in history. In Daniel 9:26, the prophecy states that it is after that time that the Messiah is cut off and has nothing. His cutting off refers to the cross, which is now history. The sixty-two weeks have been fulfilled.

The sixty-two weeks have been fulfilled.

The period started with the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem and ends with the coming of the Messiah (v.27). It is widely agreed that the decree to rebuild Jerusalem was given in 445/4 BC when Nehemiah received a commission to return and restore Jerusalem. Moving forward in time 434 years brings us to 10 BC. At first this may seem a meaningless date that has no relationship to the first coming of Christ. But that is the point. The prophecy is not revealing when the Messiah will come. It is stating that a period of 434 years will elapse before the Messiah comes.

The purpose is to warn that the Messiah was not to be expected before the completion of this period. It is given to guard against the acceptance of a false claimant to the title and to enable the nation to prepare. The Father would not reveal the exact time of the birth of his beloved Son. At his birth, the Son was vulnerable. The radiance of the Father’s glory was contained within one tiny baby. It is interesting that to this day we do not know the date of Jesus’ birth. There are those who put forward arguments for dating his birth in each year of the decade spanning 10 BC to 1 BC.

From 10 BC onwards the Jews, if they had understood the prophecies of Daniel, should have been in a state of heightened expectation. The time had come for the Messiah to appear. From scripture we know that the nation was far from expectant. The city of Jerusalem was thrown into panic when some mysterious wise men arrived from the East. They announced that they were looking for the one born King of the Jews. The religious leaders certainly did not want to go with the wise men to see for themselves if it was true. They thought it better to conspire with King Herod on how to do away with someone as inconvenient as the Messiah.

Not all were so blind. One man understood that the time had come. The Holy Spirit had answered his prayers that he would live to see the Saviour. I believe that Simeon had recognised the times by studying the book of Daniel. This knowledge enabled him to be a blessing and encouragement to Joseph and Mary when they presented Jesus in the Temple. May we be as vigilant.

The 49 years

We now come to the second period of seven weeks (49 years). As with the 62 weeks, it runs from a decree to rebuild Jerusalem until the coming of the Messiah. I believe that this time it is the second coming of Christ that is in view.

At his coming Israel will repent. In mourning they will turn to him. They will be cleansed from their sins and given a new heart. Never again will they turn to their own ways. At that time they will receive all that is promised to them at the beginning of this prophecy. (Dan 9:24)

• They will be given a new heart and their transgression will be ended.
• God will write his laws on their hearts so that they no longer sin.
• They will accept the atonement made on their behalf by their Prince.
• They will live with God in a relationship of everlasting righteousness.
• At the return of Christ all prophecy will be finally fulfilled.
• Jesus the anointed King will anoint Jerusalem as his dwelling place.

The repossession of Jerusalem

With such breath-taking promises in view, we long to know when this time will be. The promises to the Jews will also apply to the Church for both will be grafted into the one olive tree (Rom 11: 24). Then we ask – are we actually living in this final period of 49 years when all our dreams, hopes and prayers are to be fulfilled? Has a second decree been issued to restore Jerusalem?

Are we actually living in this final period of 49 years when all our dreams, hopes and prayers are to be fulfilled?

In 1967 after the six-day war, the Jews regained sovereignty over Jerusalem. Was this the second return?

First a comment on the decree to restore Jerusalem. Who will issue it? In verse 23, Daniel is told that a command was issued from the throne. It is unfortunate that translators then use a different word in verse 25 for the decree, by doing so they change the focus of the two events. A literal translation of the Hebrew for both phrases would be ‘the word was issued’ and ‘issuing of a word’, and I believe that the decree is ultimately issued from the same source. The authority for both commands comes from the throne of God.

I read a while ago that when Dr Martin Lloyd Jones was asked what he considered to be the greatest single event in Church history since the day of Pentecost he replied unhesitatingly: “the repossession of Jerusalem in its entirety by the Jewish people. It signifies the last phase of world history”. Without any doubt he was correct. We are living in the final closing years of the present age. But are we in the final 49 years?

The UN resolution of 1947 had specifically excluded Jerusalem from Jewish sovereignty. With the passing of the years it is now inconceivable that the world would ever agree to accept Jewish claims to Jerusalem. The nations are more inclined to appease the Arabs and concede Jerusalem to them. Increasingly the Jews are being treated as squatters with no right to the land. Therefore, it is most improbable that we will see another human decree granting Jerusalem to the Jews.

It was a divine decree that brought the Jews back to Jerusalem in 1967.

It was a divine decree that brought the Jews back to Jerusalem in 1967. The remarkable events, which surrounded that return, bear witness to this. God had decided that it was time for the closing years of this age to begin. The years following 1967 have certainly been a time of distress. It has even been necessary to build a wall around the city.

Becoming the capital

1967 was very significant and could be the start date of the final period, but there is another possible date. It is a date that seems most notable by its lack of apparent significance. Although Israel took Jerusalem in 1967, they did not declare the city to be the capital of Israel for another 13 years. When it did happen it almost came in as an afterthought through a private members bill introduced into the Knesset. The Act when it was passed declared, “Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel.” In many ways this Act did nothing to change anything. Most legal experts considered that the Act did not change the effective legal status of the city. It would be an easy date to pass over but for three reasons.

First is the coincidence that the declaration of Jerusalem as the capital city followed 13 years after the return. In the interpretation of the earlier 434 years we look to a start date when Nehemiah returned. This was 13 years after Ezra’s return to Jerusalem. This is an interesting coincidence but not overly persuasive.

A jubilee

The second reason is of more importance. My initial conviction that the 49 years represented a separate period leading up to the second coming came from studying the work of Sir Isaac Newton. But he also stipulated that the 49 years represented a Jubilee. The period of the Jubilee always starts with a Sabbatical year. According to Zuckerman’s chart 1967 was not a sabbatical year but 1979 – 1980 was. This decree by the Israeli parliament, therefore, came during a sabbatical year. If this period began with the Sabbatical year 1979-1980, it will end on Rosh Hashanah 2028 when the 50th year will begin.

This global response was prophetic of the final rallying of every nation against Israel. It is the response of all the nations of the world that most strongly points to the significance of 1980.

A third reason for taking an interest in this date is the effect it had on the rest of the world. Following the passing of the Act there was a resounding rebuff from the United Nations. Under resolution 478 they declared that the Act was null and void. As a response every member state was asked to remove their embassies from Jerusalem, which they promptly did. This global response was prophetic of the final rallying of every nation against Israel. It is the response of all the nations of the world that most strongly points to the significance of 1980.

It is my conviction that we are now living in the final period of 49 years.

I am not predicting the date of Jesus’ return. The Bible states that God has not revealed the time just as he did not reveal in advance the exact time of his Son’s birth. But the return of Jesus is very close. There are only a few years left to complete his commission and to prepare. I will be bold enough to predict that, based on the fulfilment of the previous period of 62 weeks, within seven years of the completion of the 49-year period our Lord will have returned to reign from His throne in Jerusalem.

Philip Wren, a Bible student of many years standing, regularly writes and speaks on biblical prophecy.