Daniel 9 and the “Seventy Weeks” is in fact the very keystone of the Bible’s prophetic record. This prophecy has directly and indirectly influenced how we see the Second Coming of Yeshua (Jesus), the Great Tribulation, the Rapture, the Anti-Christ, the restoration of Israel, and the identity of the final world power at the end of this age. For many of today’s most respected prophecy teachers, even though they often have different eschatological perspectives, the Seventy Weeks is the framework or backbone upon which the rest of their eschatological views are organised.

“O Daniel, I (Gabriel) have now come forth to give you skill to understand. At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:
“Seventy weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy.” Daniel 9:22-24

The “Seventy Weeks” prophecy is the only prophetic revelation in the Bible which gives us a specific starting point for the coming of the Messiah. In essence, the prophecy of Seventy Weeks is a specific measurement, laid out on our Creator’s blueprint of mankind’s history.

For Christians whether they know it or not, what they believe about Daniel 9 is in part responsible for how they see events unfolding in the world around them today. No other prophecy in the Bible carries this influential weight.

In consideration of this weighty reality, how can we make sense of all the divergent views of Daniel 9? How can we sift all of these strongly held perspectives and find the interpretations that are the most contextually accurate, so that our eschatological foundation rests upon rock solid Biblical truth? I recommend Nelson Walters book 70 Times 7.

In 70 Times 7  Nelson takes us back to the bedrock of this prophecy, back to the day Daniel prayed and the angel Gabriel appeared to him. Nelson will walk you through Daniel’s prayer and how it might be related to his night in the lion’s den, the eventual restoration of the temple, and the first and second coming of Messiah the Prince.

Nelson then identifies who he believes is the true “prince who is to come” and clarifies the meaning of the “covenant with the many.” If Nelson is correct, this new interpretation has incredible implications for the church and our role prior to and during the Tribulation.

“And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.” (Daniel 9:27)

This verse from the 70 Weeks Prophecy found in Daniel 9 is the foundation of nearly all of our opinions about what will happen prior to the return of Jesus. Current thought is that this verse reflects a coming 7 year “Tribulation,” – or 70th Week of Daniel – a coming Antichrist, and a peace treaty he makes with Israel.