24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 25 Know therefore and understand, [that] from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince [shall be] seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof [shall be] with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: 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.
Daniel 9:24-27
Here, the angel Gabriel gives Daniel the prophecy that 70 weeks of years are “determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city”. That comes out to 490 years. The Bible always, from Genesis to Revelation, counts a year as 360 days, so the seven plus the 62 (69) is precisely 173,880 days. The clock started ticking on March 14, 445 B.C. when Artaxerxes Longimanus gave the order to rebuild the walls of the city of Jerusalem after the ceasation of the Babylonian captivity. It ended on April 6, 32 A.D. when Jesus rode the donkey into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday presenting himself as King (prince in the King James), the very day Gabriel said he would. The Jews, especially the leadership was expected to know this was coming. This is why Jesus said:
41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things [which belong] unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.
Luke 19:41-44
Gabriel’s prophecy was partially fulfilled by Jesus in presenting himself as the Massiah and King on Palm Sunday. And Jesus’ prophecy was fulfilled in A.D. 70 when Titus Vespasian four legions of the Roman army (the people of the prince that shall come in Daniel 9:26) levelled Jerusalem. The reason for this destruction is given by Jesus. However, it did not fulfill verse 27 of Daniel 9.
14 But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:15 And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter [therein], to take any thing out of his house:16 And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment.17 But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!18 And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter.19 For [in] those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be.20 And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days.
Mark 13:14-20
An “abomination of desolation” is a very specific act that has only been committed once before. Antiochus Epiphanes (Antiochus IV), in 167 B.C., errected an idol in the Holy of Holies. In the process, he also slaughtered a pig on the alter. Swine being an unclean animal, this was a very serious offence in the eyes of the Jews.
There was no similar act committed by Titus Vespasian in 70 A.D. To the contrary, the Temple was destroyed before he would have had the chance. The Temple was torched in the mayhem, and in an effort to recover the gold therein, it was picked apart stone by stone, just as Jesus said.
I’d also like to note that verse 19 says that the affliction will be the worst there has ever been, or ever will be. It is beleived that as many as a million Jews were killed in 70 A.D. While that is a lot, and certainly fits into “affliction”, it is certainly not worse than the 6 million killed in the Holocaust.
Now, going back to the first verse that I cited, Daniel 9:24 we see the purpose of the seventy weeks:
24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
Preterism states that this was all fulfilled in 70 A.D. Now this is where I have to really disagree. There has been no end to transgression or sin. We did get reconciliation for iniquity on the Cross of Calvary. We do not have everlasting rightousness (cable television should be all that is needed to verify that). Because vision and prophecy has its fulfillment in the return of Christ to set up his kingdom, we have no sealing, as He has not returned as of yet. We do have the annointing of the most Holy, that is Jesus Christ.
It is generally agreed upon by Dispensationalists that the 70th of the 70 weeks of years that Gabriel prophesied is yet to come, and is described in more detail in the book of Revelation, generally accepted as written 20-25 years after the destruction of Jerusalem. The First Advent and the Church Age is the hiatus between the 69th and 70th week.
The key to “End Times” prophecy is the last four verses of Daniel 9, quoted above. It is the trunk that all other eschatological branches grow from.
*All verses quoted are from the King James Version
This is a good starting point and with respect to the the events of 70AD, preterism doesn’t present an all encompassing explanation. I guess this is where I part ways with preterism, even though I can understand their argument in large part.
Also, please bear in mind that I’m not thoroughly scholarly when it comes to scripture. I just like reading and meditating upon it.
I’ll give some thought to this and follow-up with some thoughts/questions of my own, if that’s OK.
It’s not only okay, it’s encouraged! 🙂 I would very much like to see this become a discussion involving anyone who is interested.
Hmm. As a former dispensationalist, I’d like some clarification on some things here.
Where is Antiochus Epiphanes’ act described as an abomination of desolation?
Has there been “affliction” upon Christians as great as there was during the period leading up to the sack of Jerusalem in 70 AD?
Has not Christ’s kingdom already been established on earth, as Jesus himself indicates in Luke 9:27 and 11:20?
I would propose that another explanation that fits the events here is that the counterfeit sacrifices offered by the apostate high priest after Christ’s completing sacrifice are the abomination of desolation. Furthermore, if one accepts the idea that the church is the true Israel, then arguably the atrocities against apostate Jews are not in view here. (I note that you do not cite statistics of larger atrocities than Nazi Germany’s, for instance Stalin’s.) Finally, Christ’s resurrection does in a sense bring an end to sin: as Paul says in Romans 6:6: “We know that our old self was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.”
I haven’t had much chance to hash out the details of prophecy and so forth with dispensationalists lately. Looking forward to further installments 🙂
Allen,
I’m sorry I missed your comment in moderation, I am not on the net much over the weekends. Now that you have an approved comment, the rest should post without need of moderation from now on.
Thanks for your comments and questions. I am more than happy to answer your question from a dispensationalist viewpoint.
Where is Antiochus Epiphanes’ act described as an abomination of desolation?
The Jews have always understood that an abomination is to commit an unclean act in the presence of God. The abomination that causes desolation is the ultimate unclean act, sacrificing an unclean animal to an idol in the Holy of Holies.
Has there been “affliction� upon Christians as great as there was during the period leading up to the sack of Jerusalem in 70 AD?
Have you heard what is going on in Muslim countries all over the world? Are you familiar with what is happening in the Darfur region of the Sudan? Did you know that if you are a Muslim in Saudi Arabia and convert to Christianity, they take you to “Chop Chop Square” (their title, not mine) and cut off your head? Do you know what the penalty is for running an unregistered church in most, if not all, Communist countries? Have you heard nothing of the violence against Christians by Hindus in India? Have you heard anything of the persecutions of Christians by the Catholic Church (which is still official doctrine where Catholicism is dominant BTW)? Did you know that Pope Innocent III murdered more Christians (The Albingenses – as well as the Catholics living among them)) than all of the Roman Ceasars put together, in one day? (That alone should answer your question).
Has not Christ’s kingdom already been established on earth, as Jesus himself indicates in Luke 9:27 and 11:20?
Are you serious? Let’s use a little context here. You point out Luke 9:27, but don’t you think that that has anything to do with verses 28-36? Peter, John, and James did see the Kingdom of God in the Transfiguration. Seeing the Kingdom of God and seeing it established on Earth are two completely different things. Paul was caught up to heaven, and saw it as well. That does not mean that Heaven was established on Earth at that time.
As for 11:20, you are also leaving out context. Jesus is responding to those who accuse him of casting out demons by the power of the king of the demons. As the King of Heaven, he was stating that the Kingdom of Heaven is with you. This would be no different than if President Bush went to Iraq and told the Iraqis that “America is with you.” As the leader of America, he’d have a basis for saying that, but it would not meand that Iraq is now a province of America. It merely means that America’s presence is there, for the time being.
I would argue that you are totally misguided on your comment about the “apostate high priest”. First of all, scroll up and read the quote I used from Mark 13. Jesus made it clear that when you see this thing, to flee to the mountains immediately. Do not even go home to get your coat. If we ignore the discrepencies in the calendar and say that Christ was crucified in 33 A.D., then there was 37 years in which sacrifices were being made that you would call “the abomination that causes desolation”. That is more than enough time to safely go home to get your coat before fleeing.
Second, How does someone on a rooftop, or in a field, see this abomination that was supposed to happen in the Temple? It was not possible in the first century. It is today, as it would likely be broadcast on CNN!
Third, the Bible seems to suggest that there will be sacrifices in the Milleniam Temple. Ezekiel described the third (yet unbuilt as of 2005) Temple and wrote of sacrifices that would be made in it in 43:27; 45:15, 17, 20. This is corroborated in Isaiah 56:7; 66:20-23; Zechariah 14:16-21, & Malachi 3:3-4.
Furthermore, if one accepts the idea that the church is the true Israel…
I most certainly do not. If you look at the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the Jews at large in the old testament, those promising that they will be His people and He will be their God are unconditional. If God magnifies His Word even above His Name (Psalm 138:2), then there is nothing the Jews can do to forfeit those promises.
I note that you do not cite statistics of larger atrocities than Nazi Germany’s, for instance Stalin’s.
I did look, but didn’t find anything in my quick, cursory search. It seems to be easier to find the number of Ukranians killed by Stalin than Jews. However, I think your comment suggests that it would only bolster my argument.
Finally, Christ’s resurrection does in a sense bring an end to sin: as Paul says in Romans 6:6: “We know that our old self was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.�
Yes, in a sense it does. There are three things that the atonement, sactification, and the resurrection does in regards to sin for us. The atonement cleanses us from the eternal (but not temporal) consequenses of sin. The sanctification cleanses us from the desire to sin, and the Resurrection will cleanse us from the presence of sin. In other words, one down, two to go.
Also, this doesn’t speak of those who choose not to be “crucified with him”. Paul is speaking about our personal relationships with Christ, not the world as a whole.