A covenant will be established with many for one week, and in the midst of that week, sacrifices and offerings will cease. An abomination that causes desolation will be set up in the temple, and this desolation will continue until the appointed end.
As the prophet stated, You have brought forth Your people and Your name is called upon Your city and Your people. Gabriel declares, not as God's people but as Your people, and not the holy city of God but holy as You claim. We see a parallel in Exodus, where God tells Moses, "Go down, for your people have become corrupt" (Exodus 32:7), implying they are not God's people as they have forsaken Him. Thus, as you seek Jerusalem and pray for the people of Judah, heed what must happen to them during these seventy weeks. It is well known that scholars have interpreted this in various ways, each expressing their thoughts based on their understanding. It is unwise to favor any single interpretation over another, so I will present the insights of different scholars while allowing the reader to decide which interpretation to follow.
Africanus, in the fifth book of Times, remarked on the seventy weeks found in Daniel, which contains marvelous truths worth discussing. Yet, focusing on the present matter—time—he notes it is a precursor to the arrival of Christ, who entered the world following these seventy weeks, when vices were eliminated, sin ended, and iniquity was washed away, proclaiming eternal truth that triumphed over the law's truth. Vision and prophecy ceased as the law and prophets came to fruition, culminating at John the Baptist (Luke 16:16), and the Most Holy was anointed. All these prophecies were looked forward to before Christ took on flesh.
The angel indicates that these seventy weeks, equating to four hundred and ninety years, commence from the issue of the command to restore and build Jerusalem, specifically in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes of Persia. Nehemiah, who served as the cupbearer, initiated the request for this rebuild, as narrated in Ezra, where the command was given to restore the city, which had been vulnerable to attacks from neighboring nations. By order of King Cyrus, who permitted those wishing to return to Jerusalem, high priest Joshua and Zerubbabel, followed by Ezra the priest and others, endeavored to build the temple, yet faced opposition from surrounding nations, delaying the project until Nehemiah's arrival in Artaxerxes' twentieth year.
This period of captivity before Persian rule lasted seventy years; at this time, one hundred and fifteen years of Persian dominance had already elapsed since Jerusalem's capture, resulting in a total of one hundred eighty-five years to that point. Then, it was during this time Artaxerxes commanded the rebuilding of Jerusalem, under Nehemiah's supervision. Calculating forward from this point, it rounds out to seventy weeks before Christ's arrival. However, initiating calculations from an earlier event will lead to inconsistencies, pointing to more than a hundred years beyond the seventy weeks if we begin from Cyrus's first favor towards the Jews.
If we calculate from the angel's speaking to Daniel or further back from when they were initially captured, the resulting centuries encompass two hundred and thirty years of Persian authority followed by three hundred years of Macedonian rule; thus, culminating in a total of five hundred and ninety years until the time of Tiberius Caesar's fifteenth year when Christ suffered. Yet, from Artaxerxes' twentieth year to Christ amounts to a fulfilled seventy weeks based on the Jewish lunar calendar.
From the one hundred and fifteenth year of the Persians to the full turn of events with eight Olympiads and into Tiberius's reign amounts to four hundred and seventy-five years, reaching four hundred and ninety lunar years according to their measurement style. These lunar months may include twenty-nine and a half days per month, illustrating that the solar year comprises more days, accommodating for intercalary months every eight years to align with the solar calendar.
Eusebius, in the eighth book of Evangelical Proof, contemplates the divisions of these weeks a bit differently, suggesting it is significant that they are segmentized into seven, then sixty-two, and then another week, which is also split. The messenger indicates this division is not without divine purpose. Further interpretation leads us to understand that the chronology from the command to rebuild until Christ the Ruler incorporates significant figures in the governance of the Jewish people, including the anointed ones like high priest Joshua and Zerubbabel. The prophetic foreshadowing implies that the timeline extends from the announced decree until Christ appears, encapsulating the prophetic intervals.
In summation, the accounting from King Darius serves as the starting point for the prophecies about times and events leading to Christ’s coming, evidenced through the chronology of various leaders until the prophecy's conclusion—marking the transition from the old covenant and the cessation of the sacrificial system following Jesus Christ's sacrifice, which represented true worship in spirit and truth. After Christ, there are no further prophecies solely meant to forecast His coming, as He fulfilled all appointed scriptures.
In the remainder of the narrative, the prophetic outline continues with reflections on the civilizations that influenced Judaea, the transitions in leadership, significant dates surrounding the end of the Jewish temple system, and culminates in revealing the intent behind the seventy weeks. It further posits the anticipated coming of Elijah, the establishment of true worship amidst trials, and the contrast between faith and falsehood as represented through historical cycles of reign and rebellion. Through Christ, ultimate reconciliation with God is expected, asserting the assurance found in faith for those who believe.
THEOSIS