Read Daniel 9 – 11
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. Daniel 9:24 KJV
Daniel 9:24-27 contains one of the most significant prophecies of the Old Testament. It is usually referenced as the Seventy Weeks of Daniel. Jesus used it to answer His disciples’ question about the signs of His coming (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21). The context of this chapter and the book of Daniel show these to be weeks of years, not days. It is divided into three parts: seven weeks, sixty-two weeks, and one week. The first two parts began with the decree to restore Jerusalem following its destruction by the Babylonians, and concluded with the death of the Messiah (Jesus Christ) and the destruction of the city and the temple once again (by the Romans). Historically the first sixty-nine weeks are fulfilled. We now await the start of the seventieth week, a time of tribulation, which Jesus described as being future. This will be a time of judgment against the sins of the world.
Lord, because the first sixty-nine weeks of this prophecy have been fulfilled literally, I expect the seventieth to be as well. I am always encouraged by the accuracy of Your Word, and encouraged by Your control of time and the events of mankind. Help me to live in light of Your time-table, rather than this world’s or my own.
A question to ponder: Since we know God plans to judge the world for its sins how should we live in light of this coming judgment?
