The Seventy Weeks

This prophecy has been much misunderstood because it comes in two stages and deals exclusively with God’s people. “There are seventy weeks that have been determined upon your people and upon your holy city, in order to terminate the transgression, and to finish of sin, and to make atonement for error, and to bring in righteousness for times indefinite, and to imprint a seal upon vision and prophet, and to anoint the Holy of Holies.” Please note, that although Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, and this passage deals with the Messiah, the context limits the application of the seventy weeks that have been determined, to deal exclusively with the transgression of the holy people and the holy city.

There were to be 69 weeks of years to the Messiah’s cutting off with nothing for himself, that is, without receiving the kingdom and without accomplishing the task set for the seventy weeks, namely, to finish off sin and to terminate the transgression of his people. This was to be accomplished at the end of the remaining week, the seventieth week. When does the seventieth week of seven years start? We do not know directly, not yet, at least, but we do know precisely when we will be half way through the seven years of trouble.

But first back to verse 26: “And after the sixty-two (69) weeks Messiah will be cut off, with nothing for himself.” Notice, Jesus was to be cut off after 62 (69) weeks, not 62 ½ weeks as we say! Verse 26 continues: “And the city and the holy place the people of a leader that is coming will bring to their ruin.” The city is Jehovah’s visible organization, and the leader that is coming with his people to destroy it, is the modern-day Assyrian, the antichrist! Verse 26 continues: “And the end of it will be by the flood.” This is the “overflowing flash flood” of Isaiah 28:18,19, of which we keep saying, “in case it should pass through, will not come to us!” Verse 26 continues: “And until the end there will be war; what is decided upon is desolations.”

Yes, the “leader that is coming” will make “war upon the holy ones, prevailing against them” “until the end!” The “disgusting thing,” the U.N.- beast, will indeed be “causing desolation” to Jehovah’s “holy city” and thus the objective of the seventy weeks will be accomplished, namely, “to terminate the transgression and to finish off sin, and to make atonement for error!” Verse 27 continues: “And he must keep [the] covenant in force for the many for one week; and at the half of the week he will cause sacrifice and gift offering to cease.” Was the Abrahamic, or new covenant kept in force for the Jews for only seven years? No, that “covenant is in force for the many” even today. Hence a different covenant is meant here. Was Christ cut off at the half of the sixty-third week, as we say? No, he was cut off at the end of the 62^nd. Week! And who is “he” who keeps the covenant in force? Messiah was cut off in verse 26, then “a leader that is coming” is introduced;

Hence it is the antichrist that will conclude and “keep in force [a] covenant with the many” of “your (Daniel’s) people” for the remaining week of seven years yet to come, thus causing “the transgression!” But who “will cause sacrifice and gift offering to cease?” Chapter 11:31 provides the clue, talking about the “king of the north,” it says: “And there will be arms that will stand up, proceeding from him; and they will actually profane the sanctuary, the fortress, and remove the constant [feature]. And they will certainly put in place the disgusting thing that is causing desolation.” What is the “constant [feature] ” here, if not the “sacrifice and gift offering” of chapter 9:27? And it is caused “to cease” by being “removed!”

Verse 27 continues (the step in the verse here is arbitrary): “And upon the wing of disgusting things there will be the one causing desolation;” – Clearly, the “leader that is coming,” the “one causing desolation” who is “upon the wing of disgusting things,” is the one that “will cause sacrifice and gift offering to cease!” This “leader” is described in his various forms as the “little horn,” the “king of the north,” and the “antichrist” among others. And since he enters into a covenant with “the many” of God’s people for seven years, at the half of which his “arms” place him into “the holy place,” it becomes evident that there is a period of 3 ½ years preceding the start of the Great tribulation! The whole focus of chapter 9 verses 24 to 27 is on the destruction of Jerusalem and the events leading up to it. Hence it has got nothing whatsoever to do with Christ’s sacrifice for mankind, or the 3½ years of special privilege for the Jews, as we suppose! It does however provide a time frame for the appearing and cutting off of the Messiah in the first century, followed by an as yet undeterminable interval, followed by two consecutive 3 ½ year periods, at the end of which the Messiah would appear for his Parousia.

Does that mean that we can calculate the time of Christ’s arrival? Yes, but only if we can discern the start of the covenant with the antichrist, and, more importantly, the standing of the disgusting thing in a holy place, and then we still don’t know the ‘day and the hour,’ but we are not in the dark and deluded as the rest of the world!

What other indications are there in scripture that show such a future covenant between God’s people and the antichrist? This seems outrageous! Isaiah prophesises for our day in 8:11, saying: “This is what Jehovah has said to me with strongness of the hand, that he may make me turn aside from walking in the way of this people, saying: ‘You men must not say, ‘A conspiracy!’ (Heb. confederacy) respecting all that of which this people keep saying ‘A conspiracy!’ and the object of their fear you men must not fear, nor must you tremble at it. Jehovah of armies – he is the One whom you should treat as holy, and he should be the object of your fear, and he should be the One causing you to tremble.”

So it seems that fear of the U.N.- beast will be a factor in making an agreement with it. Further, in chapter 10 verse 20 we are told that “those remaining over of Israel and those who have escaped of the house of Jacob will never again support themselves upon the one striking them, and they will certainly support themselves upon Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, in trueness.” That we will “never again” support ourselves upon the modern-day Assyrian implies that we will yet conclude a covenant with the New-world-order-beast in the near future, alas! Yes, this is speaking about us, who are supporting ourselves upon Jehovah; only, we have yet to do so “in trueness!”

This future arrangement with the antichrist is referred to in Daniel 8:13 as “the transgression causing desolation,” on account of which the ‘army’ of holy ones will be given over to be trampled on. Moreover, in Daniel 11:23, the “little nation” of God’s people are “allying themselves with” the coming king of the north, who will use them to carry on his deception and become mighty be means of associating himself with them! So apart from the motive of fear there is also the enticement of sharing in the glory of this new world order to come!

In Isaiah 28:15 we hear the “rulers of this people” brag: “We have concluded a covenant with Death (the deadly U.N.- dictatorship); the overflowing flash flood, in case it should pass through, will not come to us!” Makes one wonder how come the Watchtower is so sure that, “The coming destruction will be fear inspiring for faithful Christians watching from the sidelines.” (WT.2.1.04, 21; 14) Might they already know more than we do?

In summary, at some future time, when Satan gets thrown out of heaven, and hands his authority over all the nations to the New world order, (and they receive his kingdom for an ‘act of worship,’ such as Jesus refused, Mat.4: 8,9) the leaders of God’s people will make a covenant with them, starting off the last seven years of this system. At this point also all the world’s religions will climb on the back of this beast to control it. During the first 3 ½ years of ‘pre-Great tribulation,’ there will be persecution of the faithful ones as they preach the good news of the coming kingdom of God to all nations, as well as the doom of false religion, while their brothers who have joined the beast will betray them and drag them before the courts.

Then comes the Great tribulation on all religion conflicting with the worship of the beast, which will go on for another 3 ½ years, after which Jesus comes on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory to start his Parousia by rescuing his chosen ones from being wiped out completely, glorifying them together with himself. He will force the whole apostate leadership of the New world order, the beast, to “come and do obeisance before [the] feet,” of his glorified chosen ones who will then join with Jesus to destroy this apostate man of lawlessness! This destruction of the beast along with its worshipers by the glorified Sons of God will be a spectacular show of fire, hail, lightning and earthquakes, as nation turns against nation, that will make even the best Hollywood production look like a pre-historic rock painting, as all the glorious angels on fiery steeds with drawn swords join in the mayhem of battle, before the eyes of tens of millions of onlookers who did not receive the mark of the beast, as they witness the wrath of the lamb!