In the last blog we learned that the 70 weeks of Daniel are divided into three phases. PHASE ONE spans seven weeks (or sevens) and centers on the rebuilding of Jerusalem which includes the rebuilding of the Temple. PHASE TWO spans sixty-two weeks (or sevens) and anticipates the coming of the anointed one. PHASE THREE spans one week (or seven) and centers on the death of the anointed one and the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple (although there is debate over this fact--see part 1 to this blog).
The giving of this chronology begs the question: Are the units of time to be taken literally or literarily (figuratively)? This might seem like an insignificant question. But it is actually very important. Why? It speaks to the way we read and interpret the Bible. Are we obligated to read the Bible (and especially prophetic literature) with a wooden, literal reading strategy (unless the text explicitly indicates otherwise) or are we to read the Bible with a strategy that takes into account the genre of the literature (even when not made explicit)? This passage provides a good case study to address this issue. So let's dive in...
LITERAL INTERPRETATION
PHASE 1: The First Seven Weeks (The Restoration of Jerusalem)
Many read Daniel 9:25-27 literally (Dispensationalists, Preterists, and many non-dispensational futurists--Google these!). They understand the units of time to be 'years' in light of Daniel 9:2 where Jeremiah's 70 YEARS of judgment are referenced which serve as the basis for the 70 weeks (which to them implies 70 weeks of years). Common sense would also indicate that the 'year' (versus the 'day') is the unit of time (if interpreted literally) because everything in Daniel 9:24 couldn't have happened (and didn't happen) in 490 days.
But when does this chronological sequence of 490 years begin? This is much debated! Assuming that the 'word' that goes out in Daniel 9:25 is a 'decree', the options would be Cyrus' decree to rebuild the Temple in 538 BC (Ezra 1), Artaxerxes' decree to continue the rebuilding of the Temple in 458 BC (Ezra 7), or Artaxerxes' decree to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem in 445 BC (Neh. 2:1, 5).
Most who read the passage literally begin the chronological sequence with Artaxerxes' decree in 445 BC because only here (Neh. 6:15) is explicit ('literal') reference made to the 'rebuilding of Jerusalem' (while the other decrees focus on the rebuilding of the Temple). Based on Nehemiah 6:15, the wall was completed in 52 days. But this could not have marked the literal fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy because it calls for a period of 49 years from the time of the decree until the city is rebuilt! However, the city wasn't completely restored with the rebuilding of the walls according to Nehemiah 7:4. People had yet to rebuild their houses! Also, based on extrabiblical sources, the streets of Jerusalem were still impassible due to remaining debris from the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC.
So when was the rebuilding of Jerusalem completed? No monumental date has been recorded either in the Bible or the annals of history to establish an exact date. However, Preterist scholars point out the fact that the text does not demand an exact date; the text only demands that the city of Jerusalem be rebuilt within the 49 year window of time!
So is it possible to read the first seven weeks literally? YES
PHASE 2: The Middle Sixty-Two Weeks (The Coming of the Anointed One)
The best case for a literal reading of the seventy weeks comes with PHASE TWO, the middle sixty-two weeks at the end of which the anointed one will come. Daniel 9:25 says, "From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One...there will be seven sevens and sixty-two sevens." If you compute the 7 plus 62 sevens (or 483 years) in this verse from Artaxerxes' decree in 445 BC you arrive at a date during the life of Jesus!
A person named Sir Robert Anderson believed that he had computed the sixty-nine weeks to the exact day of Jesus' death, April 6, 32 AD (in his book The Coming Prince)! However, Bible scholarship has since concluded that Jesus was most likely born between 4-6 BC. This means that Jesus would have died closer to the year 30 AD. How do we know this? Luke 3:23 tells us that Jesus' ministry began at about the age of 30 and the Gospels (especially John's) tell us that Jesus' ministry lasted about 3-4 years. Based on this new information, scholars went back to the drawing board. Dr. Harold Hoehner updated Anderson's date to March 30, 33 AD based on new historical data. But then most recently, Dr. Bruce Waltke computed the sixty-nine weeks to 30 AD. Whether or not the exact date can be determined (which appears to be somewhat of a lost cause!), it is amazing that the sixty-nine weeks in Daniel compute to the life of Jesus!
Preterists (an End Times system at odds with Dispensationalism and Futurism in general--remember to Google these!) believe that the sixty-nine weeks end (not with Jesus' death but) with the anointing of Jesus at His baptism. Based on this, they compute the sixty-nine weeks to roughly 26 AD (using Artaxerxes first decree given in 458 BC). This date then marks the beginning of Jesus' formal ministry. But as mentioned above, dating the sixty-nine weeks appears to have a certain margin for error. But their dating scheme is not impossible.
So is it possible to read the middle sixty-two weeks literally? YES
PHASE 3: The Last Week (The Death of the Anointed One and Temple)
The greatest difficulty to reading the seventy weeks literally comes with the final week (or seven years). The text gives every indication that the seventy weeks are to occur consecutively (that is, one after the other). This is the literal understanding of the passage! However, Dispensationalists believe that the events of the final week (or seven years) have yet to take place. They believe the final week of Daniel will take place during the Great Tribulation of the End Times after the church has been raptured. But this interpretation requires that a GAP exist between the time of Jesus' death (the first sixty-nine weeks) and the final week (or The Great Tribulation). But this 'GAP' interpretation of the text violates the literal reading strategy that is so foundational to Dispensationalism. Why is it a violation? Nothing in the text indicates a GAP.
The Preterist position runs into a similar problem. This position holds that the final week begins with the anointing of Jesus at His baptism (26 AD). Based on Daniel 9:27, they believe that midway through the final week (or seven), Jesus will be killed (or 'cut off') and thereby bring an end to sacrifice. This leaves 3.5 years to finish Daniel's 70 weeks which requires (according to their view) the destruction of the Temple (Dan. 9:26-27). However, the Temple is destroyed not until roughly 40 years after Jesus' death (not 3.5 years) in 70 AD! And so their position too requires a GAP in order to hold to a literal interpretation.
So is it possible to read the last week literally? PROBABLY NOT
So then is there another way to interpret the seventy weeks of Daniel? That will have to wait until the next blog...
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