Daniels 70 Weeks

And he shall enter into a strong and firm covenant with the many for one week [seven years]. And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and offering to cease [for the remaining three and one-half years]; and upon the wing or pinnacle of abominations [shall come] one who makes desolate, until the full determined end is poured out on the desolator. Daniel 9:27

The way that this verse was always taught to me went something like this: there are 70 weeks determined for the Jewish people. The weeks are actually 7 years each, so there is 490 years attributed to the Jewish people in Daniels prophecy. The years of Daniels prophecy began when Nehemiah was permitted to rebuild Jerusalem and Temple worship was restored. There were 69 weeks, or 483 years, exactly from the time that Temple worship was restored until the time that Jesus was crucified, leaving one week of the prophecy to be fulfilled. This final week will begin when the anti-christ enters into a covenant with Israel. And for the first 3 ½ years of this treaty there will be bliss and harmony, but right in the middle of the covenant, the anti-christ will break the deal and there will be 3 ½ years of great tribulation, ending only when Jesus returns. It was preached that since Daniel writes that this is a time of his peoples trouble, that it only applies to the Jews, so the Christians will be raptured out before all of this goes down, leaving only Israelites, and the rest of the unsaved world to deal with it. Oh, along with anyone who may be saved during those 7 years, but what a terrible time to be saved, so you better choose Jesus now, so that you wont have to deal with it! That is the 70 weeks of Daniels prophecy to a Full Gospel believer in a nut shell. Now there may be some nuances that I have missed, but this is the cliff notes version.

I was very content in believing this way until this last December, when the Holy Spirit began to show me that there is no pre-tribulation rapture; when He began to show me that during the Great Tribulation will be the greatest time of ministry that the world has ever experienced. All that I had been taught, all that I had heard, and even preached was shown to be false, and it was great! And last night, the Holy Spirit plainly showed me the Truth behind the 70 weeks of Daniels Prophecy.

The questions that I had always had were: the Bible never mentions a break in the 70 weeks, why do we believe that there is? Why did the weeks stop when Jesus was crucified, Israel was still a nation, there was still a Temple until 70 AD, 37 years after Jesus’ crucifixion? Why didn’t the weeks start in 1948 when Israel became a state again? Why would a new Temple have to be built to start the weeks again, when there was a Temple when the 69th week ended? It all just didn’t add up. And last night here is what the Holy Spirit showed me.

Jesus is the One who will make the strong Covenant with many people for one week, which is 7 years, and remember the many people are the Israelites, because this prophecy of Daniels is to the Jews alone. The strong covenant began when Jesus was baptized and the Holy Spirit descended on Him as a dove, and God began to use Him to minister the New Covenant with power and demonstration of the Spirit. Look at what Jesus did, He preached as no one had ever preached. For 3 ½ years He raised the dead, caused the blind to see, healed entire towns, drove out demons, changed the weather, and fed thousands from blessed table scraps. God used His flesh, Jesus, as He has used no one before. This is strong! Then right in the middle of the 7 year strong covenant, Jesus was crucified, causing the sacrifices of the Law to end. Never again would the blood of animals or the offerings of worldly things be accepted by our Father or needed. Jesus paid the price once with His perfect sacrifice, and that sacrifice will last for eternity.

But, what about the last 3 ½ years of the strong covenant? Look at scripture, for the next 3 ½ years the Holy Spirit uses Jews alone to minister in the power of the Spirit, to Jews alone. Thousands were added to the church daily, miracles abounded, the Holy Spirit was still operating and honoring the strong covenant of many Jewish people. Then at the end of the 7 years, it all stopped, Paul is called and chosen by Jesus on the road to Damascus and the New Covenant moves to the Gentiles. Paul’s ministry began in 36 AD, 3 ½ years after Jesus’ crucifixion. And we never again read of the Holy Spirit moving powerfully in Israel to bring salvation, until the Book of Revelation during the end times. Our Father moved to the Gentiles, to the Corinthians, the Ephesians, the Thessalonians, and the Romans. Our Father fulfilled His strong covenant with many people. He honored it and stopped the sacrifices by offering Himself so that there would never be a need for another one!

Now what about the one of abominations who comes and makes desolate that Daniel speaks of? It is satan, look at Revelation 12:5-9. When Jesus was raised from the dead and ascended into Heaven, satan was cast out to the earth. The perfect Blood of Jesus was applied to all of our sins and the accuser had no room any longer in Heaven to accuse us, so He was thrown down to earth. And satan, the abomination, the one who makes things desolate will do so until the end of times. Satan is allowed to cause desolation until he is bound and thrown into the abyss at Armageddon.

And she brought forth a male Child, One Who is destined to shepherd (rule) all the nations with an iron staff (scepter), and her Child was caught up to God and to His throne.. And the woman [herself] fled into the desert (wilderness), where she has a retreat prepared [for her] by God, in which she is to be fed and kept safe for 1,260 days (42 months; three and one-half years). Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels went forth to battle with the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought. But they were defeated, and there was no room found for them in heaven any longer. Revelation 12:5-8

Want further scriptural proof? Look at what Revelation 12:6 teaches us, for 3 ½ years after Jesus was caught up to Heaven, the church, which remember is only Jewish people at this time, is kept safe. The Church suffered persecution, but it flourished and grew abundantly. Jesus never said that we would not be persecuted when we are saved. But even though the Church was not part of Jewish custom or tradition, they were in the wilderness, meaning they were not part of the mainstream, they still flourished in a place of our Fathers safety, in Israel, for 3 ½ years. And right at the end of the 7 years, the time from when Jesus first began to preach, to the time Paul is called, that protection leaves and the church moves to the Gentiles.

There was no break in the 70 years. There will be no new Temple in Jerusalem at the end of times. There will be no treaty between the anti-christ and the nation of Israel. There will be no more sacrifices of animals to be ended. The 70 weeks of Daniels prophecy was fulfilled on the Road to Damascus when Jesus called Paul! When the nation of Israel completely rejected salvation and the gift was given to the wild branches!