Misconception About the 70 Weeks of Jacob’s Trouble
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Many eschatologists and bible scholars have many misconceptions when it comes to the
tribulation period that will face the nation of Israel in the latter days. Some claim that the 24-27
verses of Daniel 9, in which the Angel of the Lord warned Daniel about a period of judgment
that was to come against the Nation of Israel, refer to a period of time in the future in which the
Antichrist will reign in Jerusalem for a period of 70 weeks. According to them during this period
the Antichrist will bring great tribulation against the people of Israel and put and end to sacrifice
and offerings.
Part of the reason that many scholars are mistaken by these verses is the simple fact that they
are not looking at the oldest translation of the Jewish Bible into the Greek language. All of the
original Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament) had already been translated to the Greek by
the second century before the Christian era. This bible is known as the Septuagint (meaning
seventy in Latin) as it took between 70 to 72 people to complete the translation. The
Septuagint was translated into Greek, because by the 3rd and 2nd century before Christ, many
Jewish people who had been spread throughout the Roman empire had lost their Hebrew
language. Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton translated a complete copy of the Septuagint to
the English language in 1851.
Daniel 9:24-27 below was taken from Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton’s 1851 translation of the
Septuagint. Reading these verses will help us understand the message that the Angel of the
Lord brought to Daniel.
24 Seventy weeks have been determined upon thy people, and upon the holy city, for sin to be
ended, and to seal up transgressions, and to blot out the iniquities, and to make atonement for
iniquities, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal the vision and the prophet, and
to anoint the Most Holy.
25 And thou shalt know and understand, that from the going forth of the command for the
answer and for the building of Jerusalem until Christ the prince there shall be seven weeks,
and sixty-two weeks; and then the time shall return, and the street shall be built, and the wall,
and the times shall be exhausted.
26 And after the sixty-two weeks, the anointed one shall be destroyed, and there is no
judgment in him: and he shall destroy the city and the sanctuary with the prince that is coming:
they shall be cut off with a flood, and to the end of the war which is rapidly completed he shall
appoint the city to desolations.
27 And one week shall establish the covenant with many: and in the midst of the week my
sacrifice and drink-offering shall be taken away: and on the temple shall be the abomination of
desolations; and at the end of time an end shall be put to the desolation.
Prior to analyzing the above verses, we need to clarify that 1 day in bible prophecy often refers
to 1 whole Hebrew calendar year; therefore, in many instances when the Bible says that
something is to happen in a day, may also mean that it will take place in 1 year.
In verse 24 of Daniel 9, the Angel of God said to Daniel that 70 weeks or a period of 490 years
(70 x 7 = 490), were determined for the people of Israel and the City of Jerusalem to stop
sinning and transgressing against God and make reconciliation for their iniquities and to
become righteous. At the end of this period, God would seal up vision and prophecy, meaning
that God would remove every prophet from Israel and would anoint the most holy, meaning the
Holiest of Hollies in heaven.
In verse 25 the Angel said to Daniel that from the time when the commandment to restore and
to build the city, the street and the wall of Jerusalem until the time when Christ, the Prince
would appear, there would be seven weeks (7 x 7 = 49) and threescore and two weeks (62 x
7=434). According to this, the true Christ and Messiah would come to Jerusalem 483 Hebrew
Calendar years (434 + 49 = 483) after the issuing of a decree that would cause the City, the
street and the wall of Jerusalem to be rebuilt.
For those who have the eyes to see and the ears to hear, this one is one of the most amazing
prophecies in the bible that has already been fulfilled.
According to the Chapter 2 of the Book of Nehemiah King Artaxerxes issued out letters to
Nehemiah authorizing him to repair the Temple and all of the City of Jerusalem. This decree
was signed sometime near 457 B.C. Some scholars believe that it took precisely 49 years for
Nehemiah and his people to rebuild the Temple and the City of Jerusalem.
Verse 25, of Daniel 9 also said that from the going forth of the commandment to rebuild the City
of Jerusalem there would be 483 years until the coming of Christ, the Prince. If we count 483
years from 457 B.C we would find out that the Christ and Messiah would come to Jerusalem
somewhere around 26 A.D., which certainly coincides with the time that Jesus was baptized, in
which Luke said that the spirit of God descended from heaven upon Jesus as in a dove. For
this reason we know that Jesus is the Messiah that the Angel told Daniel would come to
Jerusalem.
In verse 26, the Angel said to Daniel that after the sixty-two weeks (62 x 7 = 434) the anointed
one, shall be destroyed, meaning that he would be killed; but there would be no judgment in
him, meaning that He would not be guilty. Verse 26 also said that the Messiah should destroy
the city of Jerusalem and the sanctuary (the Temple) with the prince that was coming after him.
The Messiah would also appoint the City of Jerusalem to become desolated, and the people of
Jerusalem would be cut off with a flood until end of the war, which would be rapidly be
completed.
In verse 27, the Angel said that in one week (7 years) Christ the Messiah would establish a
covenant with many, but in the middle of the week He would take away sacrifice and offerings.
Jesus preached the gospel to the Jewish people and after nearly 3 ½ He was then crucified.
The disciples continued preaching in Israel; however, because most Jewish people would not
receive the gospel, the gospel was sent to the gentiles about 3 ½ years after Jesus ascension.
The message of the Angel in Daniel 9: 24-27, was fulfilled over 1900 years ago. Just as the
Angel said, it took nearly 49 years for the city and the Temple of Jerusalem to be rebuilt. About
434 later Jesus Christ the Messiah was baptized at the Jordan. About 3 ½ years later, Jesus
was killed by crucifixion. Three and a half (3 ½) years later, the gospel was taken away from
the Land of Israel and directed to the gentile nations. Do the math: 49 + 464 + 3.5 + 3.5 = 490
years just as the Angel had spoken.
Jesus ascended to the Most Holy place in Heaven, where He was crowned as King of Kings
and Lord of Lords and received all authority in heaven, earth and under the earth. Jesus said
to those who rejected Him, He who is not with me scatters abroad. Do you think that is
coincidence that about 40 years after the ascension of Jesus, the Romans destroyed the
Temple and the City of Jerusalem; and killed thousands of Jewish men, women and children,
just as the Angel of God told Daniel in Chapter 9? Only those that received him entered into a
covenant relationship with Him.
The Prophet Jeremiah said in Jeremiah 31:31-34, that God would establish a new covenant
with the people of Israel and Jerusalem; not according to the covenant of the Law that God
established when He brought the People of Israel out of Egypt. Jesus fulfilled the Law of
Moses and established a better covenant with better promises. He ended both sacrifices and
offerings, by becoming a better sacrifice for sin. He took all of the rituals of the law, including
sacrifices and offerings out of the way and set us free to worship in spirit and truth and not
according to the rituals of the Law of Moses.
Beware of the false prophet and the High Priest in Jerusalem that tries to bring back sacrifices
and offerings to the Temple of Jerusalem. If Jesus is our High Priest and He took away
sacrifice and offerings, then any one who tries to bring back anything that Jesus has done
away with has become an Antichrist.