50 Days to Understanding the End-Times More Accurately - Day 3 - The Seventieth Week of Daniel
DAY 3 - The Seventieth Week of Daniel
The supposed seven year “tribulation period” is based upon a concept called the “Seventieth Week of Daniel”. In Daniel 9:24, seventy weeks are mentioned; “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.”
Whatever we are to determine about the “Seventieth Week of Daniel”, we would do well to remember that it is just the final week of a period containing 69 other weeks. The purposes previously listed are in relation to all “Seventy” of the “weeks”, not just the first 69 or the last one.
The six specific purposes that are listed in this verse for the 70 weeks are as follows:
- 1- To finish the transgression
- 2- To make an end of sins
- 3- To make reconciliation for iniquity
- 4- To bring in everlasting righteousness
- 5- To seal up the vision and prophecy
- 6- To anoint the most Holy
These are the only purposes listed.
Please note that God’s wrath is never mentioned in the purposes for these seventy weeks.
If the entire “Seventieth Week of Daniel” is supposedly synonymous with “The Tribulation”, and if “The Tribulation” is when God pours out His end-time wrath, then we should see something mentioned about it.
The passage continues; “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” (Daniel 9:25).
Here we see the first 69 weeks mentioned; “seven weeks” (7) plus “threescore and two weeks” (62) equals 69 weeks.
“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” (Daniel 9:26)
After these first 69 weeks are finished, there remains only one week left, the “Seventieth Week of Daniel”.
Let’s examine what Scripture tells us about this week.
“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 9:27)
As you might have suspected, there is no mention of God’s wrath in this verse either. We only read that the week will be confirmed by a covenant, and in the midst of the week the Temple sacrifices will be taken away, and the “Abomination of Desolation” will occur.
Even if we are to conclude that “The Tribulation” is just a man-made term used to describe the “Seventieth Week of Daniel”, we do not have any Biblical evidence thus far that this is a specific time of God’s wrath.
All we know for sure so far is that the Antichrist will make a covenant with many for seven years (1 week) and that he will commit the “Abomination of Desolation”.
Point: There is no mention of God’s wrath in relation to any of the 70 weeks of Daniel, much less the 70th week specifically.
2+2=4
Thanks, @narrowminded
In case you missed them,
Introduction
Back Cover
1 : The Foundation
2 : The Tribulation
Bonus : "Thlipsis" & "Thlibo"