Page 12 - February 2025 - Truth & Tidings

The Defining of the Week be accomplished at the conclusion of the

The angelic interpreter of the vision now 490 years. But prior to coming to the de-
tails, the angel Gabriel further divides the
begins to unfold to Daniel the future for weeks into three groups: seven weeks, 62
“thy people” and for “the holy city.” Any weeks, and one final week.
fair exegesis of these terms must recognize
The first week of seven years began with
and own that they relate to the nation of the decree of Artaxerxes in Nehemiah
Israel and to the city of Jerusalem. All 2 to rebuild the city, in about 446 B.C.
that is given in this prophecy is strictly These first 49 years are the subject of the
for Israel and not for the Church. We will early chapters of Nehemiah. The people
see as we consider it in more detail that rebuilt the city under the supervision of
the present Church age falls between the Nehemiah and Ezra. The decree in Ezra 1
69th and 70th week. was related more to the rebuilding of the
Crucial to an understanding of the temple and not the city.
angelic message is resolving what the Then there are 62 weeks of years, or
“weeks” mentioned in verse 24 refer to. 434 years. This interval was until Messiah
Many suggestions have been made and it the Prince would present Himself to the
is beyond the scope of this article to review nation. Once again, we are indebted to
them all. The interested reader is referred men such as Sir Robert Anderson, who
to Mr. Jim Baker’s excellent handling of has calculated the dates and shown with
the subject in Daniel: What the Bible Teaches. some degree of certainty that this was the
We will accept his logical conclusion that day the Lord Jesus rode into Jerusalem on
the “weeks,” or “heptads,” actually refer the colt, presenting Himself as the King to
to weeks of years, one week equaling the nation (John 12).
seven years. Thus, the 70 weeks represent Certain events then are mentioned as
490 prophetic years. And since in the book occurring prior to the onset of the 70th
of Revelation a month is limited to 30 days week of years, suggesting an interval of
(the lunar calendar), the number of days undisclosed length. First, Messiah the
can actually be calculated (Rev 11:3; 12:6). Prince would be cut off. The language is so
The Division of the Weeks similar to Isaiah 53:8 that we instinctively
and accurately think of Calvary. Second,
Verse 24 is a summary of all that will the people of a coming prince (not the

44 TRUTH kTidings February 2025