As discussed throughout our To the Watchmen article series, we believe one week minus 14 days remains in Daniel’s 70 Weeks prophecy, and that the prophecy will resume at the end of the age. This paper is written for those who disagree and think the entire prophecy was fulfilled in the 1st century AD.
I believe that at the heart of the theory that the 70 weeks have been fulfilled is a desire to acknowledge the great work that our LORD and Savior YASHUA HA MASHIACH did for us when HE died for our sakes. So, while we disagree with the “already-fulfilled” theory, we respect those who hold to it. We too have a desire to glorify His Name and think that whichever viewpoint you hold to, it does not in any way affect your salvation or your walk with our Father. So, before we get started, shalom to all Father’s children. We’re not looking to argue, we’re just hoping to make it clear why we believe what we do about the words written in Daniel.
Here’s some context for the 70 Weeks Prophecy in Daniel 9:24-27:
After the destruction of the second temple, Daniel was in exile in Babylon, praying to GOD and crying out because of the sins and transgressions of his people Israel, and because of the destruction of Jerusalem.
He said this to Father as he prayed:
“All Israel has transgressed Your law and turned away, refusing to obey Your voice; so the oath and the curse written in the Law of Moses the servant of God has been poured out on us, because we have sinned against You. You have carried out the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us a great disaster. For under all of heaven, nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem.” (Daniel 9:11-12)
In response to his prayer, Father sent Gabriel to give Daniel a message about the people (Israel) and the city (Jerusalem) that he was praying about. Gabriel starts off by telling Daniel that 70 weeks were coming in which several things would be accomplished.
We’re going to take a look at each purpose that Gabriel outlines for the 70 Weeks, and I’ll give you my thoughts on whether or not each purpose has been fulfilled.
Gabriel tells Daniel:
“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city,”
Thy people = Israel.
Thy holy city = Jerusalem.
“to finish the transgression,”
The question is: Has the transgression been finished?
Our answer: No, not yet.
YASHUA came to those in Jacob who repented from transgression (literally in Hebrew to those who turned from transgression). HE did not stop the transgression of Israel – HE saved those who turned away from it.
Today, there is transgression around the world, and, most notably, there is still transgression in Jerusalem and among the people of Israel (the subjects of the prophecy). Those who haven’t repented continue their transgressions to this day, and it will only get worse until the end. In fact, Gabriel tells Daniel that “when the transgressors are come to the full,” the antichrist figure will arise (Daniel 8:23).
In the future, “the destruction of the transgressors and of the sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the LORD shall be consumed,” as we read in Isaiah 1:28.
“and to make an end of sins,”
Question: Has an end been made of sins?
Our answer: There is a future end of sins that is still yet to come.
The Hebrew word for “to make an end of” is “chatam,” which means to seal up and close up, like something that cannot be opened. If YASHUA is your LORD and Savior, YASHUA became sin for you and has freed you from your sin, and we glorify His Name for all the work that HE did.
But there is even more work regarding sin that HE intends to do! In Matthew 13, YASHUA talks about the end of the world in which His angels remove all causes of sin from the earth, when they throw all the evil and all lawbreakers into a fiery furnace. Matthew 25 tells us that they’ll be thrown into the same fire that’s prepared for the devil and his angels. And in Revelation, we learn that this fiery pit will be shut and sealed for 1000 years, harkening back to the prophecy in Daniel about sins being sealed and closed up (chatam).
So, our answer here is that an end of sins will not be fully fulfilled until the future, when the causes of sin, the sinners, the devil, the beast, and the false prophet are sealed in a pit at YASHUA’s return.
Here are the Scriptures that connect the dots on sin being sealed up (chatam) in a pit:
“The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:41-42)
“So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 13:49-50)
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Matthew 25:41)
“And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10)
“And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended.” (Revelation 20:2-3)
“and to make reconciliation for iniquity,”
Question: Has reconciliation been made for iniquity?
Our answer: Yes.
The Hebrew word for “to make reconciliation” is “kaphar” which is the root word for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Kaphar means “to atone for.” YASHUA’s death provided atonement for believers. Whether you’re from Israel by birth or from the nations, if you are in YASHUA, your sins, iniquities, and transgressions have been atoned for, so we would say this part of the prophecy has indeed been fulfilled.
“and to bring in everlasting righteousness,”
Question: Has everlasting righteousness been brought in?
Our answer: This prophecy is speaking of a time that has not yet come.
As a reminder, the prophecy is about the people of Israel and Jerusalem. And Jerusalem won’t be in a state of everlasting righteousness until YASHUA is in His rightful place, reigning as King of Kings!
“Everlasting righteousness” in Hebrew is literally “righteousness forever.” If this prophecy was solely about the existence of YASHUA as some believe, then we have always been in a state of righteousness forever since YASHUA has always existed.
We believe this prophecy is speaking instead of the days to come when all the people of Zion will be righteous (Isaiah 60:21), and when the righteousness of the city will shine like a bright light (Isaiah 62). Those days of righteousness forever haven’t been brought in yet, but once our King comes to His rightful place to rule and reign in Zion, we’ll be living in the time Gabriel is talking about.
“and to seal up the vision and prophecy,”
Question: Has the vision and prophecy been sealed up?
Here’s our answer: No, not yet.
In Hebrew, it literally says “and to seal up vision and prophet(s).”
It’s possible Gabriel is referring to an earlier vision that Daniel had. But, notably, Gabriel doesn’t talk about sealing up “the” vision.
To seal up vision sounds to me like a future cessation of people having visions. And that can’t happen until after the last days (Joel 2, Acts 2). Similarly, the role of prophet continues through the end of the age, with the final Two Witnesses prophesying for 1260 days at the end. Just based on that, I’d have to say this part of the prophecy is unfulfilled.
Even if Gabriel is referring to an earlier vision that Daniel had, those visions all speak of events that extend to the end of days. So, in either case, this part of the prophecy is unfulfilled.
“and to anoint the most Holy.”
Question: Has the most holy been anointed?
Our answer: If this verse is referring to YASHUA, then yes, it has been fulfilled. If it’s referring to the temple, it’s not fulfilled yet.
In Hebrew, the words Gabriel uses are to anoint “qodesh qadashim,” which could literally mean to anoint a “holy one of the holy ones.” A holy one of the holy ones is one way of saying the Holy One of Israel, which is YASHUA.
YASHUA was anointed while on earth. HE told us so Himself when HE read aloud from Isaiah which says: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor…” After HE read those words, here’s what HE told the people: “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” So, if qodesh qadashim is a reference to YASHUA, then this part of the 70 Weeks Prophecy has been fulfilled.
Alternatively, qodesh qadashim could be a reference to the Holy of Holies in the temple. Ezekiel tells us that in Millenium we’ll build a new temple for GOD, and I personally believe construction starts sometime in the final months of the last 7 years. This temple interpretation would align with Daniel’s earlier prophecy of the 2300 days which ends with the sanctuary being made righteous.
I’m not sure if qodesh qadashim in this verse is a reference YASHUA or to the physical temple, so my answer for now is that it’s possible this part has been fulfilled, and possible that it hasn’t.
In conclusion, When looking at all the stated purposes of the Seventy Weeks, some parts have been fulfilled and some have not, so the prophecy as a whole is only partially fulfilled, and we look forward to its full fulfillment at the end of the age.
The final week
At the end of the 70 weeks prophecy, Gabriel talks about the events of the final week. We believe this week of seven years (minus 14 days as described in our To the Watchman series) is reserved for the future.
Here then is my interpretation of what Gabriel says about the final week:
“And after 62 weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:”
This is speaking of YASHUA’s crucifixion. HE was crucified 14 days into the final week as we discussed in To the Watchmen.
“and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;”
The people who destroyed the city and sanctuary after YASHUA’s crucifixion were the Romans, so when we read here about the prince to come, it’s not talking about YASHUA. HE is not a prince of Rome, HE’s the Glory of Israel, and Israel did not destroy the city, Rome did. This verse is letting us know that a leader is coming who will, in some respect, be in charge of whatever remains of Roman Empire.
“and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”
Literally in Hebrew, this verse says “until an end of war.” There won’t be an end of war until YASHUA returns, so we expect desolations to occur in the land of Israel until then.
“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:”
Some think this confirming of the covenant is talking about YASHUA making the new covenant with believers, or enforcing the Law of Moses, but the Hebrew does not say confirm the covenant – it literally says to strengthen a covenant. Also it’s a covenant, not the covenant, and if it was a reference to the new covenant, it wouldn’t have a seven year timespan.
We believe “he” who will strengthen a covenant is the leader Gabriel mentioned earlier – the prince coming who takes charge of the Roman empire.
Note: Full translation tables for these verses are on our website if you want to study any of these points further. The tables are free & dedicated to the public domain. Here’s a link: https://www.fathersalphabet.com/endtimestimeline/
“and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,”
Many think this is a reference to YASHUA as well since HE made it so that sacrifice is no longer necessary. We agree that sacrifices are no longer necessary! However, sacrifices in the Land did not cease after YASHUA’s crucifixion and resurrection – they continued in the Land until approximately 70 AD. And according to all of Daniel’s other prophecies, sacrifices will resume in the Land at the end because of transgression.
The truth is that YASHUA made it so that sacrifices are no longer necessary, but it’s written that they will cast truth to the ground by restarting these sacrifices. There are more details on this topic in To the Watchmen Part 4, and as you’ll see there, our understanding is that sacrifices will be restarted under the leadership of the antichrist, in transgression, and will later be stopped by the antichrist.
Here’s where it’s written that antichrist stops the sacrifice:
“And in his estate shall stand up a vile person… and arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.” (Daniel 11:21-31)
It’s clear to us from the Scripture above from Daniel 11 that the antichrist stops the sacrifices. So, it’s no stretch to assume that the sacrifices ceasing in the midst of the week in Daniel 9 is also a reference to what the antichrist does. Especially considering that both prophecies speak of the abomination of desolation immediately following the stopping of sacrifices.
Here are Gabriel’s words from the 70 Weeks Prophecy that show the abomination follows the stopping of sacrifice:
“and in the midst 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 upon the desolate.”
A literal Hebrew reading of that last part of the 70 Weeks Prophecy is “And on a wing of abominations is one who makes desolate, even until a full end. And that which is determined will be poured out over the desolation.”
For those who think the abomination of desolation was already fulfilled by a man named Antiochus Epiphanes in the 2nd century BC, we disagree. YASHUA, speaking nearly 200 years after Antiochus, said that the abomination of desolation was something coming in the future, not something that happened in the past.
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Hopefully all of this helps explain our viewpoint. And again, whichever viewpoint you hold to, it does not affect your salvation or your walk with our Father. So, whether you agree or disagree with what we’ve outlined here, peace to you.
Peace unto Jerusalem.
