Daniel's 70 Weeks Prophecy: Timeline to the Messiah

Daniel 9:24-27

24 Seventy weeks are determined on your people and on your holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem to the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and three score and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

26 And after three score 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 to the end of the war desolations are determined.

27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the middle of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured on the desolate.

The prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 is a foundational pillar of prophetic understanding, establishing the precise timeline for the Messiah’s first advent and serving as the key to interpreting the entire 2300-day period Daniel 9:24BDOC 27.9+2.

This prophecy was given by the angel Gabriel to Daniel while the prophet was earnestly praying for Jerusalem, having mistakenly thought that the cleansing of the sanctuary might occur at the end of the seventy years of desolation predicted by Jeremiah Daniel 9:2-3+1LJL 38.1+1. Gabriel was sent to fulfill the instruction given in the previous chapter—to give Daniel skill and understanding regarding the length of the 2300 days Daniel 8:14+2DAR1909 209.3.

The Six Purposes of the Seventy Weeks Daniel 9:24

The prophecy begins by declaring that "Seventy weeks are determined [cut off] upon thy people and upon thy holy city" Daniel 9:24ARSH February 7, 1856, page 146.24+1. This period of 490 years was specifically allotted to the Jewish nation to complete six significant redemptive acts connected with the MessiahAPEC 84.2+1:

1. To finish the transgression: This culminated in the Jews' ultimate rejection and death of Christ, which sealed their national doomAPEC 84.2.

2. To make an end of sins: This was accomplished when Christ offered Himself as the one sin-offering, fully satisfying Divine justiceAPEC 84.2.

3. To make reconciliation for iniquity: Reconciliation was achieved through the atonement of the Savior, by which God reconciled humanity to HimselfAPEC 84.2.

4. To bring in everlasting righteousness: This righteousness, obtained through Christ's entrance into the holy place by His own blood, is eternal and stands in sharp contrast to the temporary sacrifices of the Levitical law Hebrews 9:12APEC 84.2.

5. To seal up the vision and prophecy: The reliable fulfillment of these first 490 years confirms or makes sure the truth of the larger vision of which the seventy weeks are a part, thereby providing certainty for the remainder of the prophecyAPEC 84.2+1.

6. To anoint the Most Holy: This refers to Christ consecrating the "holiest of all" (the heavenly sanctuary) when He entered there as our High Priest, providing us boldness to enter by a new and living wayAPEC 84.2.

The Chronology of the 490 Years Daniel 9:25-27

The prophecy is divided into three distinct chronological segments, all commencing from a single, defined historical starting point:

A. The Starting Commandment

The period begins "from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem" Daniel 9:25. This command was issued by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, in his seventh year, which is fixed chronologically at 457 B.C. Ezra 7:74SP 494.3+2. Although Cyrus and Darius also issued decrees concerning the temple, the decree of Artaxerxes was the comprehensive action counted in scripture, authorizing the restoration of the city and its civil structure Ezra 6:14+14SP 494.3.

B. The First 69 Weeks (483 Years)

1. Seven Weeks (49 Years): The first seven weeks were specifically allotted for the restoration and building of the street and wall of Jerusalem, which was accomplished "even in troublous times" Daniel 9:25STTHD 66.1. This work of restoration, led by Ezra and Nehemiah, occupied a time frame slightly exceeding forty-five years, concluding this first segment of timeSBBS 519.3.

2. Sixty-two Weeks: The sixty-two weeks follow the initial seven, resulting in a total of sixty-nine weeks (483 years) which extend "unto the Messiah the Prince" Daniel 9:25FEE 190.1+1.

3. Arrival of the Messiah: Reckoning 483 years from the starting point of 457 B.C. leads precisely to the autumn of A.D. 27LUJ 197.6+2. This date is confirmed as the time when Jesus was baptized by John, was anointed with the Holy Spirit, and commenced His public ministry Mark 1:14-15FEE 190.1+1. Upon beginning His mission, Christ declared, "The time is fulfilled," referencing the conclusion of these prophetic 69 weeks Mark 1:15STTHD 84.2.

C. The Seventieth Week (7 Years)

The final week, spanning seven years, focuses entirely on the life and work of the Messiah Daniel 9:27.

1. Confirming the Covenant: The Messiah was to "confirm the covenant with many for one week" Daniel 9:27. Christ's ministry, preaching the gospel (the New Covenant), was the confirmation of this covenant, beginning at His baptism in A.D. 27LOM, page 44.3+1.

2. Midst of the Week: "In the middle of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease" Daniel 9:27. The Messiah was "cut off" (crucified) precisely halfway through this final weekARSH January 7, 1858, page 68.13. Three and a half years after the start of His ministry (autumn A.D. 27), Christ was crucified at the Passover in the spring of A.D. 31, causing the entire system of Jewish sacrificial offerings to virtually cease, as they were fulfilled in His death Colossians 2:14LUJ 197.6+1.

3. End of the 70 Weeks: The remaining three and a half years of the 70th week brought the total period to its close in the autumn of A.D. 34STTHD 95.1+1. This point was marked by the martyrdom of Stephen, the formal rejection of the gospel by the Jewish leaders, and the subsequent turning of the apostles to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, confirming that the time specifically allotted to the Jewish nation had expired Acts 9:1-18ARSH March 1851, page 49.5+1.

The Conclusion of the Larger Prophecy

Since the 70 weeks (490 years) were definitively "cut off" from the 2300 days, the fixed starting date of 457 B.C. for the 490 years must also be the starting point for the 2300 daysHST May 8, 1844, page 108.2+1. The conclusion of the 490 years in A.D. 34 leaves a remaining period of 1810 years (2300 - 490 = 1810)HST May 8, 1844, page 108.2. Counting forward 1810 years from the autumn of A.D. 34 leads directly and conclusively to the autumn of A.D. 1844, when the sanctuary was to be cleansed Daniel 8:14STTHD 95.1+1.