Daniel’s Seventy Sevens

Daniel 9:24-27 is one of the most fascinating paragraphs in the Bible. It promises a great and final hope for salvation from sin, while at the same time leaves us wondering about many details.

The purpose of Daniel 9 is not to provide a detailed eschatological chronology, but to provide certain hope in the restoration of Jerusalem during the post-exilic period and to link this hope to the unknown details at the time of the future triumphs of God’s Kingdom to come. (See my earlier blog: Stay On Track When Preaching Daniel.)

Seventy Sevens

Daniel 9:24 NASB, “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place.”

The very first words, literally “seventy sevens,” create an enormous interpretive difficulty. What are these? Is this referring to a chronological or chronographic presentation? They could be a literal or approximate 490 years or 490 days (70 weeks), or 70 unknown prophetic units of seven or some sort of apocalyptic symbolism.

Regardless of one’s viewpoint, the people of God had received judgment from God for 70 years under Babylon, but now they would experience seven times this, i.e. “seventy sevens,” in mercy from God. The unmeasured mercy of God would be revealed in the redemptive work of His Messiah, Jesus Christ.

Six Most Important Things

In verse 24, six things are noted to take place in reference to the people of God and Jerusalem.  They relate most pointedly to Daniel’s concern over sin expressed in his prayer since the beginning of chapter 9.  

First, the decree of Seventy Sevens is to: (1) finish/restrain/conceal sin; (2) put an end to/seal/remove sin and (3) make atonement for/cover sin. All three of these speak of God’s dealing with sin in a uniquely decisive way. They speak of the atonement of Christ Jesus, forgiveness for sin, and freedom from sin. As it says in Hebrews 9:26 ESV “. . . he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”

Second, the decree of Seventy Sevens is to: (4) bring in everlasting righteousness (its origin and duration); (5) seal up vision and prophet (fulfill and finalize) and (6) anoint the most holy (Messiah). All three of these speak of specific events that point to a unique time in redemptive history. They speak of the righteousness of Christ and His people, His fulfillment of the prophets and their messages and His multi-faceted role as Messiah.

Almost all interpreters assign the accomplishment of these things to the first advent of Christ and see in them a telescoping of history until the final Day of Redemption. The differences occur in working out the details of this history and seeing them in relation to verses 25-27.

More Difficult Details 

My understanding of the Seventy Sevens of Daniel is that they find their fulfillment in the time of Jesus. So then, here is an interpretive reading of how verses 25-27 might best be understood:

25 "So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree [Cyrus in 538 BC] to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince [Jesus] there will be seven weeks [time of rebuilding] and sixty-two weeks [until Jesus]; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. 

26 "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah [Jesus] will be cut off [crucified] and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come [Romans under Titus] will destroy the city and the sanctuary [Jerusalem and Temple]. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war [history]; desolations are determined. 

27 "And he will make a firm covenant [Jesus will put in effect the New Covenant] with the many [people of God] for one week [the final period], but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering [make it obsolete by His sacrifice]; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate [Titus in AD 70], even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."

Regardless of one’s detailed understanding of the Seventy Sevens of Daniel, the integrity of the book of Daniel and its message must be maintained. Daniel does not fill in the detail because that is not his purpose, or perhaps even within his ability. Rather, we are to observe the triumph of the Kingdom of God in the restoration of His people and their nation in the post-exilic era. This is the first stage of redemptive history in the New Covenant era. This is God’s gracious and merciful dealing with His people after His chastisement of them in the Exile.

Consider Other Options

But, there are many other ways to interpret Daniel 9:24-27. Here are some basic options, with my selections above noted with an asterisk (*).

24 "Seventy weeks¹ have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy² place.

1. a. Chronology: 490 years

b. Chronography*: stylized history, a lengthy period composed of several parts

2. a. Temple

b. People of God

c. Messiah*

d. Something holy

25 "So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree³ to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah⁴ 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. 

3. a. Jeremiah’s word (29:10), 605 BC, or 594 BC

b. Fall of Jerusalem, 587/6 BC

c. Cyrus*, 538 BC

d. Darius, 521 BC

e. Artaxerxes, 458/7 or 446/5 BC

4. a. Cyrus

b. Jesus*

26 "Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah⁵ will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. 

5. a. Onias III, displaced in 175 BC

b. Jesus*

c. Antichrist

d. Another one

27 "And he will make a firm covenant⁶ with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate⁷, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate."

6. a. God, in His faithfulness to the Jews during the Antiochene crisis

b. Antiochus, in a deceitful covenant with the Jews

c. Jesus,* in effectual confirmation of the New Covenant

d. Antichrist, in a deceitful covenant with God’s people

7. a. Antiochus

b. Titus* and the Roman destruction in AD 70

c. Antichrist

Remember the Central Focus

Nevertheless, this period of vindication moves us to consider greater events that would transpire in the fulfillment of the New Covenant through the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. Six of these things were mentioned in verse 24. And we especially, as members of the New Covenant community, glory in the reception of the blessings of the Cross and in the Spirit, while we await the return and presence of Christ Jesus and the full manifestation of His Kingdom.

Keep perspective on the six items related to the Messiah and the Gospel from verse 24, regardless of your interpretive position on the Seventy Sevens. In Christ, your sins are forgiven and your righteousness has come! This is the glory of the vision!

Our Messiah is a Messiah of two Comings. Keep up your hope of final and full redemption at the return of Christ, based upon the redeeming work of Christ on the Cross. Keep up your hope of final and full expression of the triumphant Kingdom of God at the return of Christ, based upon the inauguration of the Kingdom at the first coming of Christ.

The central focus of the 70 Weeks is Messianic. It is about Jesus Christ. It is the proclamation that the Lord God mercifully forgives the sin of His Covenant people through His Messiah!