Daniel 9:21-27

69 Weeks, 483 years until the Messiah Comes

The Angel Gabriel told Daniel that the Messiah will come after 69 weeks, 483 days or years. Then, the people of the Ruler to come (the Romans) would put an end to sacrifice and offering by crucifying Christ. The destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans is also prophesied here. There is a double meaning of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple that was explained by Christ in Luke 21:20-24: the trampling under foot of the New Jerusalem.

Dan 9:21-22
the man Gabriel – the Angel who shall also appear to Mary.

Dan 9:23
understand the vision – that follows.

Dan 9:24
seventy weeks – the meaning implied is “seventy sevens.” The Hebrew word for “week” can mean a period of seven. It shall take seven times longer than the seventy years in Babylon, to make a reconciliation for iniquity.

to finish the transgression – as compared to the punishment described in verses 1 to 20.

to make an end of sins – through putting Christ on the cross.

to make a reconciliation for iniquity – through Christ’s death.

to bring in everlasting righteousness – through the kingdom of God.

to seal up vision and prophecy – to fulfill the Law and the Prophets through Christ.

to anoint the most Holy – to anoint Christ. Generally the phrase “qodesh qodasheem” (most holy) refers to the temple, but without the article, as here, it can refer to a person, for example, 1Chronicles 23:13.

Dan 9:25
from the going forth of the command –  in 457 BC. King Artaxerxes, in Ezra 4:21 commanded that the City and walls (vs.16) could not be built “until a decree is issued by me.” The decree is found in Ezra 7:13, which is the fifth month, and seventh year of the king as noted in Ezra 7:8, being 457 BC.

until the Messiah – literally “the anointed.”

the Prince – here the word “Prince” means “ruler,” as it does in verse 26, referring to “the ruler of the people to come.” From this passage, we can see that the Jews expected the Messiah to be a “ruler” that combated “the ruler” of the Romans.

there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks – for a total of 69 weeks, 483 days, or years, from 457 BC to A.D. 27, when Christ was anointed.

the street shall be built again and the wall – the command does not relate to the restoration of the temple, but the street and the wall, see Ezra 4:16-21

Dan 9:26
after the sixty-two weeks – this is actually after 7 + 62 weeks. The 7 weeks in verse 25, and the 62 weeks. It is 69 weeks after the command to restore the walls.

the Messiah will be cutoff – this actually occurs in the “middle of the next week” as we will see in verse 27.

the people of the Prince to come – these people are the Romans.  Jesus said “the ruler of this world is coming,” when He was about to be crucified (John 14:30). He was referring to the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy of His crucifixion.

shall destroy the City – there is a double meaning to “City” here. The “people of the ruler to come” destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70, when the Romans surrounded Jerusalem. However, when Jesus describes the City of Jerusalem that is surrounded by “armies” in Luke 21:20-24, He also refers to the spiritual City of New Jerusalem, which is clear in Luke 21:24, “Jerusalem shall be trampled under foot until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” – see Revelation 11:2, “they shall trample the Holy City underfoot for 42 months.”

and the sanctuary – literally “the holy” קֹ֫דֶשׁ (kodesh). This word also appears in verse 27, but was corrupted to “wing.” There is also a double meaning here.  Jesus introduced this prophecy in Matthew 24:2: “not one stone shall be left upon another.” The “holy” also refers to Christ’s Church, as mentioned in Daniel 8:11, “the place of his sanctuary was cast down.” This was the setting up of the abomination of desolation.

the end of it shall be with a flood – that is the end of the sanctified Church, the “holy.” Here, we refer to the flood described in Revelation 12:15, which is the persecution of the kingdom of heaven, by the Romans, that lasted until 313, culminating with “the Great Persecution.”

And til the end of the war desolations are determined – until the truth is fully restored, those believers outside of the sanctified Church will be desolate of the Holy Spirit. This spiritual war is described in Revelation 12:17, “the dragon went out to make war with those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus.”

Dan 9:27

This verse has been faithfully translated from the Masoretic text of A.D. 1000 by the NKJV and NASB, but there is an obvious error in that text. The word “wing” should actually be “holy” as we find in the Greek Septuagint in the 3rd Century BC, the words of Christ in Matthew 24:15, and Theodotion’s Greek translation of 200 BC.

The NIV is decidedly most accurate, which we shall follow to explain this verse.

He will confirm a covenant with many – in fact, Satan without realizing it, established the New Covenant when he crucified Christ.

In the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering – the Messiah began His mission, in A.D. 27, after the 7 and 62 weeks described in verse 25. Then in the middle of the next week, ie the 7 year period, He was crucified, and put an end to the daily offerings, and the sacrifice. The word used here is not “hattamid” as in Daniel 8,11, and 12. Rather, the word used in Daniel 9:27, is “zebah uminhah” and refers to the normal grain offering, which ceased for the saints, when the New Covenant was established.

There is no clear time given for Jesus’ ministry, but the assumption is that He was cut off after 3 1/2 years. That is “time, times and half a time.” It is generally accepted that Jesus was baptized in the fall of A.D. 27. This was the fifteenth year of Tiberius, as recorded in Luke 3:1. Adding 69 weeks, or 483 days as years, to the year 457 B.C., we come to the fall of A.D. 27, when Christ was anointed in His baptism. According to Luke 3:1, this was in the 15th year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius.  Tiberius was granted authority to govern the provinces soon after his military celebration on October 23, A.D. 12.¹

The Apostle John described two Passovers and an unnamed feast in the first six Chapters of his Gospel. We know the unnamed feast in John 5:1 was the Passover, because in John 4:35, Jesus said, “you say there are four months and then comes the harvest.” The Passover was the next feast. These quick jumps in time were all introduced by the Greek phrase, Μετὰ ταῦτα, “change afterward,” (John 2:12, John 5:1, and John 6:1).

The Passover in A.D. 31 fell on a Wednesday according to the moon record of the US Navy Observatory. According to Exodus 12:6, and Leviticus 23:5, the Passover should be held on the 14th Day of Nissan. However, this date is affected by the rules of the Rabbis. The Passover (Pesach) can only be held on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, or Thursday. This can be verified on the schedule for the years 2000 – 2050. For example, in the year 2000, 2002, and 2003, the Passover was on Thursday, the 15th of Nissan. A Thursday Passover agrees with Luke 24:21, and the Second Century Gospel of Peter, discovered in 1886.

In the year A.D. 31, they moved the Passover to Thursday, the 15th Day of Nissan. This fulfilled the word of the Targum of Hosea 3:2 which said, “I redeemed them by My Memra (My Word) on the fifteenth day of the month of Nisan.” 

In fact, A.D. 31, is the only possibility, as we can see from the dates calculated by the US Navy Observatory.

The Comparison of the Gospel of Peter and Matthew is as follows:

At the temple (holy place) he will set up abomination that causes desolation – here the word is actually “holy” קֹדֶשׁ (qodesh). This is the verse quoted by Christ in Matthew 24:15: “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, ‘standing in the holy place.'” This is the work of the Antichrist, who “cast his sanctuary to the ground” as described in Daniel 8:11, when he exalted himself as high as “the Captain of the Armies” – as high as Christ.

until the end that is decreed is poured out on him – that is the end of Satan’s work through the Beast described in Daniel 7:26, “they shall take away his dominion.” This end of the Beast was prefigured in the King of Babylon in Daniel 5:26, “God has numbered your kingdom and finished it.”