In any study of prophecy, the difference between God's foreknowledge and His predestination should be noted. His foreknowledge lies in His ability to see the end from the beginning: it is simply His ability to know beforehand what is going to happen. His predestination, though, is His bringing to pass those things that must be for His ultimate will to be accomplished. Sometimes it is possible for His ultimate will to be brought to pass with the cooperation of man; but often it is accomplished in spite of man's efforts, and many of the things that God has predestined for the nation of Israel fall into this last category. God has called Israel to do certain things that must be done; but because of her predisposition to be unwilling, many of those things have been "determined" upon her—Daniel's seventy prophetic weeks being an example of such. "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end to 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" (Daniel 9:24).

Daniel's seventy weeks is a critical key to the unlocking of the mysteries of prophecy, but the term itself lends more to questions than it does to answers. For example, just what did Daniel mean by "weeks"? Why did he use that particular term to describe Israel's "determined" time in the prophetic scheme of things? To gain an understanding, we need to go back to the creation account in Genesis. In six days God created the heavens and the earth, we're told; and on the seventh day He rested. God brought forth this concept of resting or putting aside our labors on the seventh day by making it one of the Ten Commandments. Jesus added to our understanding of this commandment, explaining that it was intended as a blessing for man. In fact, for Israel, the Sabbath was extended to the years and every seventh year was to be set aside to be a time of blessings—a time of generosity and reprieve. The particulars of the sabbatical years are included in the giving of the law in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy.

In Exodus 21:2, for example, Moses wrote: "If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh year he shall go out free for nothing." Again in Exodus, this time chapter 23, verses 10 and 11, we read: "And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruit thereof. But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still, that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave, the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy olive yard." Also, in Deuteronomy, the fifteenth chapter, we learn that all debts between the Hebrew brethren were to be released every seventh year. So then, the seventh year was set aside by God to be a time of abundant blessings from Him, a time of testing to see if the Israelites would by faith accept the ordinance, and a time for the Israelites to exercise their generosity and concern one for another.

In Leviticus 25:20-22b, God anticipated the grumbling of the Jew. Let's read. "And if ye shall say, what shall we eat the seventh year? behold we shall not sow, nor gather in our increase. Then I will command my blessing upon you in the sixth year, and it shall bring forth fruit for three years. And ye shall sow the eighth year, and eat yet of old fruit until the ninth year...." God promised the Hebrew children that if they would obey Him in the matters of the Sabbath year, He would bless them exceedingly. These commands were given around 1450 B.C.; and about 600 B.C., God brought them to task for their refusal to honor the sabbatical years and for their greed and cruelty one to another.

The prophet Daniel was probably referring to Jeremiah 25:11 when he wrote: "I Daniel understood by books the number of the years whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the Prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem" (Daniel 9:2).

Daniel was praying; he was grieving for the sins of his people Israel. He was seeking the mind of the Lord; and as he was reading the book of Jeremiah, the Spirit of revelation of prophecy came upon him. It's true we don't know how many of the sabbatical years the Jews refused to honor in the some 850 years between Moses and Jeremiah—but God knew; and His just law required that He deal with the matter.

At this point, we need to go to the New Testament and pick up on the words of Jesus so that we might tune in on the prophetic understanding that settled into Daniel's heart as he meditated on the matter.

But God has set before us two ways. Choose one and choose His blessings and grace. Choose the other and choose His cursings and wrath. Daniel, here, is being given to understand that the Jews have chosen God's wrath and that as His grace is boundless, contrariwise, so is His wrath.

Perhaps as Daniel was reading Jeremiah concerning the seventy-years of captivity prophesied for Israel, the seventy years of captivity she was experiencing at the time because of her backsliding and her idol worship (Dan. 9:2), the Spirit of God dropped into his heart the judgment that would be Israel's because of their refusal to keep the Sabbath years and to be gracious one to another. At any rate, Daniel understood that Israel had brought upon herself a fullness of cursing—a seventy times seven situation (490 years)—and the angel Gabriel had come to him to give him the particulars of how this judgment would come to pass. [He was not the only prophet to understand the relation of days to years in judgment. (See Ezekiel 4:6.)]

Before we read what the angel had to say, let's consider some questions about the passage. First, what was the purpose for the strange numbering system? We've already touched on the why of the seventy "sevens"; but why the strange divisions of seven weeks (49 years), sixty-two weeks (434 years), and one week (7 years)? Then, considering that there's already been some two thousand years between the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks, what's unique about the seventy weeks that will let us know when they are in effect? Also, can we deduce the whole length of time from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem to the end—intervals included? And again, can we determine what major prophetic events are included in the intervals between the divisions of the seventy weeks?

The divisions of Daniel's prophetic seventy weeks were destined to play a very important role in the history of the nation of Israel. From the four Gospels we can deduce that the Israelites were expecting the birth of their Messiah at the time of their Visitation, and we can assume that the first two divisions of Daniel's seventy weeks (the 7 and the 62) had much to do with their expectations.

Because speculation is an integral part of learning and because the visit of the wise men, as recorded in Matthew 2:1-12, took place around the time of the birth of Jesus, let's speculate a little on what might have happened when the wise men came to Jerusalem looking for the prophesied new-born King of Israel.

Matthew identified the visitors as Magis, which was translated into the English as wise men. (The Magis were influential men of Old Testament times that sought for truth, especially in the spiritual realm; they were considered by most to have wisdom.) His reasoning in calling them Magis was probably two-fold, for they were not only of the Magiam order, but they feared the God of Abraham and knew the Old Testament prophecies—at least well enough to be familiar with Daniel's "weeks of years" and Balaam's "Star out of Jacob." Knowing the time was near from Daniel's prophecy and seeing the star appear over Jerusalem, they became quite excited and went to find the newborn Baby and to worship Him.

Now King Herod, Rome’s puppet ruler over Israel at the time, was not only an astute statesman, but a crafty ruler as well. Because he understood the importance that the Jews placed on religion, he would often play the part of their benefactor, hoping, thereby, to defuse his volatile subjects. For example, he erected a temple for their religious exercises, putting much of his treasury into the forty-six year project. Also, because Jewry made up a large part of his rule, he had men under him who were familiar with the law of Moses and the "goings-on" in Israel. When word came to him through his sources that dignitaries from the east were in Jerusalem looking for an infant king born of the Jews, Herod became very troubled. Knowing that their prophecies spoke of a soon-coming Messiah (Is. 9:6-7; Num. 24:17; etc.), he gathered all the chief priests and the scribes of the people and demanded where their Christ was to be born. They showed him from the prophets of Scripture that little Bethlehem would receive the honor (Mt. 2:5 cf. Micah 5:2).

The next logical question from Herod was probably: "When will the Messiah be born?" (We should note that Daniel's seventy weeks was the key given to Israel concerning the when of their Messiah. Nevertheless, as we will discuss later in this chapter, the seventy weeks can also function to foil any attempts at exact date setting.) Apparently the priests and scribes could not answer his question to his satisfaction; therefore, he had a private meeting with the visiting wise men and inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared (Mt. 2:7).

According to Matthew, it was Herod's intent to find the baby and kill him to protect his throne. With this in mind, he asked the wise men, when they found the baby, to let him know where it was so he could also worship it. God, though, warned them in a dream and they left another way. In addition, an angel had come to Joseph in a dream warning him of Herod's intentions; so Joseph took the Baby to Egypt out of harm's way. In the meantime, realizing that the wise men were not going to return, Herod, with the calculations at hand, made his plans. He decreed that all of the male Hebrew children in and around Bethlehem, two years old and younger, were to be slain; and thus, he unknowingly fulfilled key prophecies of the Scriptures (Mt. 2:16-17 cf. Jer. 31: 15).

It would be interesting to know just how Herod and his staff came up with the two-year figure. We do know that they had the sixty-nine of Daniel's seventy weeks. ("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..." [Dan. 9:25a].) Nevertheless, as we have mentioned, the prophetic seventy weeks could only serve for approximation. Also, the scribes and priests had probably clued Herod and his crew in on most of the prophecies for that time—some of which had already come to pass. (For example, there had been much talk on the street about angels appearing to the shepherds, heralding the birth of Israel’s Messiah [Luke 2:8-18].) Then, of course, there was the very disconcerting visit of the wise men. But whatever their reasoning, we know that Herod and his men could not pinpoint the time of our Lord's birth from the facts on hand. However, we should note that they were able to determine the time span in which He could have been born; and history bears out the accuracy of their estimation. After all, if Joseph had not been warned in a dream, Herod's dragnet of slaughter would have included Israel's Messiah (Mt. 2:13-18).

So then, in the scheme of time, Daniel's "seven weeks and three-score and two weeks" with the unknown interval between were given so that Israel could know approximately when to expect the birth of its Messiah. (We'll soon see that this system of timing the spans between major prophetic events by including an immeasurable interval is a pattern used throughout all the ages from the time of Daniel forward—a system which serves to frustrate all attempts at date setting while still spelling out the "watch" in which various events are to take place.)

Due to the interludes of unspecified times between the divisions, the seventy weeks determined upon Israel cover a very large number of years. This being so, is there anyway that we can determine when the seventy weeks are in effect? Well, there are at least three things that we can look for. First, there must be a remnant of Israel in her homeland. Second, her will must be in accordance with God's as to His prophetic goals. Finally, Israel must embrace the covenants given to her during the Age of the Law and they must be the only Biblical covenants being observed by man at the time. These three conditions were in effect during the first sixty-nine "weeks" up to the Messiah—so it only stands to reason that they will hold sway in the final or seventieth "week."

It's also noteworthy that because these things have been "determined" upon Israel, her heart being right with God is not a condition. For example, let's consider the generation that brought forth the "male-child" Jesus. Prior to His birth, the nation's prophetic will was in agreement with God's—they wanted their Messiah, their Deliverer, to be born. After He was born, it was a different story. The Jews wanted a king who would act like the kings of the earth. They expected a king who would set up an earthly kingdom there and then, a kingdom wherein they could rule with Him in their unregenerated state. It was God's will, though, for Jesus to be born in a stable, to be born to die for the sins of His people that they might one day rule with Him in sinless perfection in His future kingdom.

In summation, Daniel prophesied of a unique seventy-week period of troublous times for Israel—yet a time during which God would intervene on their behalf. As we've mentioned, certain things must be in place for the seventy weeks to be in effect; and the seventy weeks, intervals included, will include all the remaining time of the planet from Daniel's time forward. The seventy prophetic weeks (each week is 7 years) were divided into intervals of seven weeks, sixty-two weeks, and one week. The one week was further divided into two periods of three and one-half years each. Between each of these divisions can be seen an indeterminate interval of time. The first interval was between the seven weeks and the sixty-two weeks before the birth of Christ, and it had to do with the timing of His birth. We're living in the second interval, the time of Israel's dispersion among the nations and her mistreatment at the hands of the Gentiles. The third and final interval will be the time of the Kingdom Age, which will take place between the two halves of Daniel's seventieth week. Daniel's seventy weeks are not only to be seen as three times of trouble for Israel, but also as three times of judgment for the sins of the world. The first period, the seven weeks and sixty-two weeks, were troublous times for Israel and they saw the birth of Israel's Messiah who was born to bear the judgment for the sins of mankind in His substitutionary death on the cross. The second time of judgment for sin will be the first 1/2 of Daniel's seventieth week—the first 3 1/2 years of the day of God's wrath at the end of our age and the subsequent judgment of the nations. The third and final time of judgment for sin will come at the end of the Kingdom Age during the last 1/2 of Daniel's seventieth week. It will be the final 3 1/2 years of the day of God's wrath. It will be followed by the Great White Throne Judgment of the lost of all the ages.

As we can see, Daniel's seventy weeks is a very powerful, condensed prophetic key and a major tool for understanding prophecy. For Israel it is a brief overview of those things that have been determined upon her to finish the transgression and to make an end of sins. For the Church it is an outline that will permit all the "meat of the prophets" to fall into place on the prophetic bones. For the world its events are the key increments on the Clock of the Ages. Consequently, we've included the concept in our prophetic foundation and placed it at the beginning of our study; and what a fantastic concept it is! Only God could devise and use such a key to "close the book" for some twenty centuries; and then, in the fullness of time, use the same key to open the understanding of His Church. This being so, with key in hand, let’s go on into our study of Matthew, chapters 24 and 25, and continue our examination of the Clock of the Ages as we do.