Daniel's seventy weeks

The following is a paper on Daniel's seventy weeks and how they align with secular history

In order to understand the final kings and kingdoms in the book of Revelation one must follow the progression presented in Daniel.

Daniel begins with the Kingdom of Babylon, learns of the coming of the Medo-Persian Empire and is given visions of Greece and Rome. The final kingdoms to come are sealed up for another day; to be revealed to John in the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

The timing of events are revealed in Daniel 9.

“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. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks:the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate”

There is a purpose to the time determined upon Israel; to make reconciliation for iniquity; to bring in everlasting righteousness; and to seal up and anoint. This purpose tells us a lot about the final plan of God. The Revelation shows the end of the world, details about the seventieth week and the bringing in of everlasting righteousness.

“And there shall be no more curse:but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light:and they shall reign for ever and ever” Rev 22

The time given in Daniel is 70 weeks of years; 490 years. This is broken up into 3 parts; 7 weeks; 62 weeks and 1 week. (49 years, 434 years and 7 years)

The first two parts are fulfilled; they end with Messiah being cut off, but not for himself.

Captivity of 70 years		609 BC-539 BC	Jer 25 and 29
7 weeks	49 years	539 BC-490 BC	Cyrus to Darius I
Troublous Times		487 BC-404 BC	Ezra 1:1; Neh 2:1
62 weeks	434 years	404 BC-30 AD
Interegnum	?	30 AD to present day	The Church of Jesus Christ
1 week	7 years	?	Revelation

The first 7 weeks begin when the commandment to restore Jerusalem comes by The Persian King Cyrus; In his first year as king of Babylon.

First Year of Cyrus; 

Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The Lord God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. (Ezra 1:1)

According to the best historical data the first year of Cyrus as king of Persia was 550 BC and his conquering of Babylon was 539 BC. In light of the fact that he could not restore a people captive to another nation, and that Daniel’s view is from the perspective of Babylon, we believe that the commandment to restore Jerusalem came when Cyrus conquered Babylon; 539 BC.

The Kings of Persia are as listed here.

Cyrus 550BC-530 BC

Cambyses 530 BC-522 BC

Darius I (son of Hystapes) 522 BC-486 BC

Xerxes 486 BC-465 BC

Artaxerxes (Longimanus) 465 BC-424 BC (Ahasueras)

Darius II 424 BC-405 BC

Artaxerxes II 404 BC-358 BC

Artaxerxes III (Ochus) 358-338 BC

Arses     338-336 BC

Darius (Codomannus) 336-332 BC (Conquered by Alexander of Macedon)

Another important piece of information is the identity of Darius the Mede (Dan 11:1). He is the Median ruler, under Cyrus, who conquered Babylon and ruled over a part of the empire under Cyrus. The Medians were allies with Babylon against Assyria, but joined with The Persians to conquer Babylon when it began to weaken. The relationship between the Persians, the Medes and the Babylonians is difficult to discern from historical records, but the Medes and the Persians became very closely linked with Cyrus taking over head rulership of both, but a “king” of the Medes remained.

The timing therefore is as follows:

Jeremiahs prophecy of 70 years of bondage fits from 609 BC until 539 BC. 609 BC is when Pharaoh Necho takes Jehoiakim and replaces Jehoahaz as king. Jehoiakim serves Nebuchadnezzer. (These dates may be moved slightly later to when Jehoiakim actually chooses to serves Nebuchadnezzar.) see Jeremiah 25 and 29

And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment; and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

 And it shall come to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it perpetual desolations (Jer 25:11-12)

Dan 9:2; Daniel Understand by books the seventy years of service to Babylon and asked when this should come to pass; the vision of seventy weeks was the answer.

The first period of 7 weeks (49 yrs) is from 539 BC-490 BC. (Or somewhat later) This goes into the time of Darius I. There seems to have been a halt on the work in Jerusalem after this because of the trouble caused by the people around about Jerusalem who wrote letters and spoke against Israel. This pause continued until Ezra, Nehemiah, Zechariah and Haggai came and pushed them through. Everything was set for the 62 week period to begin in 404 BC.

Then the people of the land weakened the hands of the people of Judah, and troubled them in building, And hired counsellors against them, to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, wrote they unto him an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem. (Ezra 4:4-6).

Darius I finds the command of Cyrus to rebuild Jerusalem in Achmetha (Ecbatana). (Ezra 6) Ecbatana was and is a city in Media; now western Iran.

Specific letter to Artaxerxes I (Ahasueras) in his first year (465 BC) requesting that he stop allowing the Jews to rebuild Jerusalem. (Ezra 4:11).

Ezra receives letter from Artaxerxes I, in his 7th year, (458 BC) commending him to fulfill the command to rebuild Jerusalem. (Ezra 7)

Haggai prophesies:

In the second year of Darius the king, (422 BC) in the sixth month, in the first day of the month, came the word of the Lord by Haggai the prophet unto Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Josedech, the high priest, saying…(Haggai 1:1)

In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying (Zech 1:1)

The time of Nehemiah; beginning in the 20th year of Artaxerxes, 445 BC; rebuilding the wall in troublous times. Nehemiah became governor for 12 years. (Neh 5:14) (445 BC-433 BC)

The beginning of the 62 week period (434 yrs) is 404 BC, and it ends in 30 AD.

404 BC is the first year of Artaxerxes II. This is based on the crucifixion of Jesus being in 30 AD; when Messiah was cut off, but not for himself. (Jesus crucified in 30 AD; born in 4 BC.)

The final week begins with the catching away of the church and the free reign of the destruction of sin in the earth until the final end and restoration of righteousness.

Esther is not absolutely worked out, but clearly Mordecai was in the captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon and ended up in Shushan a city of the Medes in that province of the greater Babylonian empire.

“Now in Shushan the palace there was a certain Jew, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite; Who had been carried away from Jerusalem with the captivity which had been carried away with Jeconiah king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon had carried away” (Esth 2:5) (About 597 BC).

Esther’s Ahasueras must have been within a timeframe for Mordecai to still be alive. Shushan is the palace in the province of Elam which borders Babylon.

Now it came to pass in the days of Ahasuerus, (this is Ahasuerus which reigned, from India even unto Ethiopia, over an hundred and seven and twenty provinces:) That in those days, when the king Ahasuerus sat on the throne of his kingdom, which was in Shushan the palace, In the third year of his reign (Esth 1:1-3)

A Change of Government (CA)

Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. Jn 12:31

Jesus declared in this statement that the prince of this world has been defeated. Jesus defeated him in his death, burial and resurrection, no more could Satan lay claim to all men. Because of Adam's sin and abdication of his responsibility to dress and keep the garden, Satan had dominated men and held them in bondage. As in Adam all died, so in Jesus all who believe are made alive! The change of government casts Satan out and he cannot rule as he did in times past.

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. Eph 2:1-3

Everyone, whosoever will, has been called out of the darkness of the former days and given opportunity to come into the light. This change is one more reason for understanding the catching away.

How do we go from here to the catching away? Because this major change in government is what keeps the world from being as bad as it otherwise would be.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder:
and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God,
The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end,
upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom,
to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice
from henceforth even for ever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. (Isa 9:6-7)

The ruler spoken of is Jesus, and his government is now active. The kingdom of Heaven is at hand. (Matt 3:2; 4:17; 10:7) Jesus rules and there is no end to his government. Saul made havoc against the church and Jesus asked him why are you persecuting me? The church is Jesus' representative on earth, and it is also the hinderer of lawlessness. (2 Thess 2:5-8)

When the church is removed there will be an increase of lawlessness such that we would be shocked, we see its description in the Revelation as the wrath of God is poured out upon it. But thankfully today we live in the Government of the Prince of Peace, and that complete acceptance into his beloved body, the church, is available to all who would call upon him. The love of God calls out to whosoever would hear to come into this kingdom and be free from the wrath that is to come, but more importantly to receive all the fulness of what God has freely given in Jesus.

A Penitent Heart

Then Job answered the Lord, and said,
 I know that thou canst do every thing,
and that no thought can be withholden from thee.
 Who is he that hideth counsel
without knowledge?
therefore have I uttered that I understood not;
things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak:
I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear:
but now mine eye seeth thee.
 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent
in dust and ashes (Job 42:1-6)

Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye. (Ezek 18:30-32)

In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea, And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. (Matt 3:1-3)

From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent:for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. (Matt 4:17)

Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2:38)

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. (Acts 17:30-31)

Repentance is a cardinal doctrine in the Bible. (Heb 6:1) For both John the Baptist and Jesus it was their first message. The goodness of God leads men to repentance (Rom 2:4), Godly sorrow leads men to repentance (2Cor 7:10), and God desires all to come to repentance (2Pet 3:9). In repentance, one turns from the wrong way, renounces it, and cleaves to the right way. One acknowledges failure and gives it up to receive from God the righteousness of Jesus.

God the Father is calling men to come to receive new life in Jesus, they can be baptized for the remission of sins and made a new creation by a miracle. (2Cor 5:17) It is in Jesus that all receive newness of life.

A penitent heart does not require sin, it requires an acknowledgement of God as supreme and his mercy as perfect. It recognizes that only in Jesus is there life forever. Only because of God's mercy were we not all destroyed (Lam 3:22), and only because of that mercy can we stand before him at all. Job saw this clearly, and though he had spoken right he saw that his right was nothing compared to the glory of God which he now saw.

How much more should we repent for any sin, for any evil spoken! Recognize that only God can see and correct that which is wrong and correction is a blessing for the believer. (Heb 12:7). As David cried out, Search me Oh God. (Ps 139:23) A Penitent life is one not of self examination, but of submission to God's examination. The Holy Spirit, the word of God and the gifts of God to his church all speak forth that which is right, calling men to right living.

If any man sin, we have an advocate (1Jn 2:1). Jesus is our payment for sin. This payment began with Adam and Eve, where animals were killed to make them a covering and with Cain and Able, where the proper sacrifice was demanded, but repentance offered when it was done wrong. The payment for Cain was available, pointed out by God, but he refused and instead slew his brother. Jesus is now preached, the payment for sin, the way of salvation from the bondage of sin. Do not refuse instruction (Prov 8:33) and do not refuse the one who speaks from Heaven (Heb 12:25).

Repentance acknowledges that all righteousness is from God; It is God who makes righteous, not man who earns righteousness. (Ezek 33:13; Rom 10:3)

We can live, in the new life we have been given by the Father, in Christ Jesus, sealed by the Holy Ghost; completely submitted to the fulness of all that God has freely given to those who will believe. A Penitent heart is essential, therefore, Repent.

Righteousness

Many say today that all are unrighteous, but these passages shout to someone the glorious news that righteousness comes with salvation. Salvation is not earned by the righteousness we obtain; but righteousness is received by those who believe.

Righteousness is something to seek after:
But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matt 6:33)
Righteousness makes up the kingdom:
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. (Rom 14:17)
By Jesus we are filled with righteousness:
Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God. (Phil 1:11)
By faith we receive it:
But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: (Phil 3:7-9)
We have been changed from sin to righteousness:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed (1 Pet 2:24)

I am the Light of the World

(Jesus said) "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world. When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing." (John 9:5-7) (John 8:12; 9:5)

Jesus showed forth his glory by the miracles and healings that he did. (Jn 2:11)

At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. (John 14:20)

"But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you:and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

Jesus' life is the life I have now received; He is in me and I am a member in particular of his glorious church. I have received the baptism/filling of the Holy Ghost that I might be empowered to be his witness.

So now; as long as I am in the world; I am the light of the world. My purpose is to show forth the glory of the one who saved me; filled me and sent me.

"Jesus answered, I have not a devil; but I honour my Father, and ye do dishonour me. And I seek not mine own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth." (John 8:49-50)

Like Jesus I seek not my own glory.

"Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." (Matt 5:14-16)