Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Steve Miller" <smille10 AT sbcglobal.net>]

> From: kenneth greifer Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 9:49 PM
> 
> How do people explain the 7 weeks as 49 years of building Jerusalem? Is
> that
> what they believe happened in the past? 

[Steve Miller] yes, that is the general view in my church. There is no
Biblical record or historical record that I know of that tells how long it
took, but because the verse ends with, "The street and the moat shall be
built again, even in troublous times.", it has ground. I, personally, toy
with the idea that the 49 years are the time to finish the writing of the
Tanach. This comes from v24: one of the purposes of the 70 weeks is "to seal
the vision and prophet". I haven't found any way to confirm it.
 
> 
> I think Daniel 9:25 might not say that Jerusalem will be built unto an
> anointed prince, but from the going forth of the word to build Jerusalem
> "until an anointed one is a leader is 7 weeks". That is my wild guess.
> 
> I think that Daniel is predicting things that will happen in the future
> and
> there is no way to guess what the prophecy actually means. I understand
> that
> it seems great to show a prophecy that fits almost perfectly to certain
> religious beliefs, but it only works if you fix the prophecy so that the
> last week can happen anytime. I have heard the explanation for this, but I
> have never understood it.
> 

[Steve Miller] This is the key prophesy to interpret all other Old Testament
prophesies, so it is important to understand it. If you understand it, and
you are interested in OT prophecy, it will save you a lot of time chasing
wild gooses. vv 22-23 tell us that God will give us the ability to
understand it.
 
70 weeks are divided to Daniel's people to accomplish the 6 things stated in
v24. The rest of the time in this age is not divided to them. From the
command of the Persian king to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah, a
leader, is 7 weeks and 62 weeks = 69 weeks = 483 years. After the 69 weeks
the Messiah is cut off (executed as a criminal) followed by the destruction
of Jerusalem by the people (Romans) of the prince that shall come (the man
of sin). 

Then there is a gap in time of unknown length, which the entire Old
Testament does not see. This is the age of grace or the church age, and the
Old Testament does not speak directly about it. The Old Testament speaks
directly about the Messiah, but not about anything in the church age. When
the Old Testament speaks about the church, it is only as a type, not direct
words. Thus you will not find the fall of Rome, the dark ages, the
inquisition, the reformation, World War II, the Israeli War of Independence,
or the 1967 Six Day War prophesied in the Old Testament, even though these
events were of paramount importance to God and His people.

Then the 70th week resumes the time divided to Israel, when the prince that
shall come makes a 7 year covenant with the majority of Israel. I believe
Old Testament prophecy fulfillment resumes a short time  before the 70th
week, because it continued for about 40 years after the end of the 69th
week, from 29-33AD until 70 AD.
 
Note that the 7 weeks and 62 weeks are connected by "and", showing that they
are connected in time. (Expressing time as xxxx years and xxxx years is
common in Tanach. i.e. Gen 5:5,7,8). The last week is not connected in this
way to the previous 69.

To find examples of the gap, find almost any prophecy of the Messiah's 1st
coming. It will tell of His first coming, then jump to the end of the age.
Here are a few examples of the gap: 

Dan. 2: The 4th kingdom, Rome, extends 'till Messiah's 2nd coming when He
will destroy it. But the Roman Empire does not exist now. It will re-form
into the 10 toes of the image sometime before or during the 70th week. 

Dan 7: Same 4 empires, same gap is with the 4 beasts in Dan 7.

Matt. 26:31 quotes Zech 13:7 up to "the sheep will be scattered". The next
part of the verse, "and I will turn My hand upon the last ones", will be
fulfilled during the great tribulation.

-Steve Miller
Detroit
www.voiceinwilderness.info