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Seventy Weeks - The Final Week

An analysis of the final week of the “Seventy Weeks” prophecy – Daniel 9:26-27. We now reach the end of the “Seventy Weeks” prophecy, its final or so-called seventieth “ week ” ( Daniel 9:26-27 ). This passage describes a set of events for which the preceding sixty-nine “weeks” have prepared. The text says  nothing about the destruction  of the city or the Temple. Instead, in this final “ week ,” the people of the city are “ corrupted ,” and the Sanctuary is defiled by the “ abomination that desolates .

First Sixty-Nine Weeks

The first sixty-nine “weeks” lay the groundwork for the tumultuous events of the final or “seventieth week”  –  Daniel 9:25 .  Next, the angel described the first sixty-nine “ weeks ” of the  prophecy, but only briefly. As he declared at the start, “ seventy weeks are  divided  upon your people and upon your holy city .” After presenting the  redemption  that would be realized by the end of the prophecy, he described its three subdivisions of “ seven weeks ,” “ sixty-two weeks ,” and “ one week ,” presumably, consecutive periods of 49, 434, and 7 years.

Prayer and Visitation

After contemplating  Jeremiah’s prophecy , Daniel began to pray and repent for the nation’s sins. He did not seek revelation into the meaning of the prophecy since he understood its prediction (“ I understood by the writings the number of the years ”). Instead, he confessed Israel’s sins as Jeremiah had instructed.

Four Beasts in One

In the 13th chapter of  Revelation , the single “ Beast from the Sea ” displays the same animal characteristics of the four creatures that Daniel saw ascending from the sea. John’s “ beast ” is from the same lineage, but it is also something more. It certainly is not identical to the “ fourth beast ” with the “ little horn ,” though it incorporates many of its attributes.

King of Fierce Countenance

In the second half of Chapter 8, Daniel receives the interpretation of his vision of the “ Ram and the Goat .” In Chapter 7, only the first “ Beast from the Sea ,” the lion-like creature, could be identified with certainty, namely, the Neo-Babylonian Empire. In contrast, in the interpretation in Chapter 8, two of the four kingdoms are identified by name, the “ Kingdom of the Medes and Persians ” and “ Greece .”

The Ram and Goat

Next, Daniel received a vision of a “ Ram ” and a “ Goat ” with a prominent horn. The Ram represented the “ Kingdom of the Medes and Persians ,” the Goat symbolized the kingdom of Greece, and its large horn represented its first great king who overthrew the “ Ram .” The vision is followed by an interpretation provided by an angelic figure. The Goat’s single horn was broken and replaced by four smaller horns.

Seventy Weeks - Commencement

SYNOPSIS  –  The commencement of the “seventy weeks” is linked to the prophecy of Jeremiah about the Babylonian Captivity  –  Daniel 9:1-2 .  The prophecy of the “ seventy weeks ” in  Daniel  is one of the most perplexing and disputed passages in the Hebrew Bible. One of the few aspects on which there is a general agreement is the length of the prophetic period – That the “ seventy-sevens ” equates to a period of 490 years. Beyond this, interpretations diverge on every aspect of the prophecy - ( Daniel 9:24-27 ).

First Three Beasts

In a dream, Daniel saw “ four beasts ascending ” from a chaotic sea. Each corresponded to one of the four parts of the “ great image ” that Nebuchadnezzar saw previously in his dream of a great image with a head of gold, a torso of silver, brass thighs, and legs of iron and clay. Daniel’s vision of four creatures utilizes that same fourfold structure.

Next Imperial Power

After the overthrow of the Babylonian kingdom, the new ruler appointed Daniel as his chief officer over the other civil servants of the city. This caused resentment among the other officials, so a conspiracy was hatched to destroy by trapping Daniel with his own words, even ensnaring the unwitting king in the plot.

Head of Gold Shattered

The events recorded in the fifth chapter occurred on the eve of the city’s conquest by the “ Medes and Persians .” That night, the king hosted a feast “ for a thousand of his lords ” who “ tasted wine ” from the vessels looted from the Jerusalem Temple by Nebuchadnezzar, all while praising the false gods of the empire.

Downfall and Restoration

Nebuchadnezzar has another dream, and as before, one that only Daniel can interpret. Yahweh will remove the king from power until he learns that the “ Most-High God ” is sovereign over the affairs of men. Chapter 4 begins and ends with the Babylonian ruler acknowledging the sovereignty of the God of Israel.

Introduction to Daniel

An introduction to the book of Daniel with a brief overview of how the book of Revelation applies passages from it .  The book of  Daniel  is a well-structured literary work, not a collection of folk stories or random and unrelated visions. At the very beginning, the key themes of the book are presented in brief, then worked out in detail in its subsequent chapters, and each new vision builds on the preceding ones.

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