In Daniel-nine, verse twenty-four, we read about six impossible problems.
The prophet promised a solution for all of them. Did Jesus really finish his work on the cross, or is there more work to finish? In Daniel-nine we find many puzzles that remain unsolved.
Daniel-nine is, without doubt, one of the key passages in Bible prophecy. I know I’ve said that before, but it’s worth repeating. There are numerous volumes of work by scholars and theologians who have worked tirelessly to solve the many puzzles of this chapter. Some say they have found the answers, while others rightly conclude that there are mysteries that remain.
Daniel-nine verse 24
“Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.”
In this article, I will focus on the seven parts of Daniel-nine, verse twenty-four. That verse begins the famous seventy-weeks prophecy which the prophet received from the mouth of the angel Gabriel. At issue in this verse, we are faced with a critical challenge to our understanding of Christ’s work on the cross. Most of the Old Testament prophets prophesied the second coming of the Messiah. And Daniel is included. But in Daniel-nine, we see an important focus on the first coming of the Messiah.
And now, as we await the second coming of the Lord, a strong division of prophetic interpretation has occurred. Not suddenly of course, but gradually over the centuries.
Is prophecy complete or not?
Within the field of Bible prophecy, there are tens of thousands of variant views. Some are crazy, there is no doubt about that. Others stand on a firm biblical foundation. All views, presumably, have developed from a thorough exploration of the scriptures.
But, there are two primary groups upon which I will focus in this discussion.
I will summarize the first group in two sentences. In the year, 70 AD, most biblical prophecies were complete. This is called “Preterism.”
The second group is known by the term, “futurism.” The futurist believes that there are many more prophecies that await future fulfillment.
We find a key in Daniel-nine.
A big fight over the proper interpretation of Bible prophecy hones in on this passage in Daniel-nine. Some experts say Christ’s work on the cross was complete. And we know Jesus said it was. He spoke those very words while he hung on the cross. When he said, “It is finished,” did he mean to say that everything in Daniel-nine, verse twenty-four, was also complete? That’s the important question we will look into right now.
The preterist says yes. The futurist says no.
There are seven parts to this verse.
Part one:
Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy city.
Part two:
To finish the transgression:
Part three:
To make an end to sins:
Part four:
To make reconciliation for iniquity:
Part five:
To bring in everlasting righteousness:
Part six:
To seal up vision and prophecy:
Part seven:
To anoint the Most-Holy:
Are the big seven prophecies of Daniel-nine complete?
So I’ve laid out the seven key points of the verse. Now I’ll summarize and contrast how the preterist and futurist interpret these points.
Part one summary
In part one we see that seventy weeks are determined. Most scholars believe the seventy weeks add up to 490 years. There are different views but I’ll leave that for another article. But what happens during these seventy weeks? The issues that follow, the remaining six points, should all be resolved at the end of Daniel’s seventy weeks. And the unresolved issues affect Daniel’s people, the Jews. And also, the Holy City. That city is Jerusalem.
The Preterist says, “The issues with the Jews are resolved.” They rejected their Messiah. Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jews were scattered into the nations. And never again will God deal with Israel. All the promises and prophecies transfer to the Church.
The futurist says, “The Lord is not done with Israel.” God’s purpose was fulfilled when the Jews rejected their Messiah. The prophets predicted the Jews would do so, and the Gentiles would find the Light that the Jews were blinded to.
Part two summary
This reads, “to finish the transgression.”
In the original language, we find this phrase can mean, ‘to finish,’ ‘seal up,’ or ‘restrain’ sin. So, we must consider each possibility as we look for a proper interpretation. The preterist will argue that it means that sin is only restrained after the Jews reject their Messiah. But the futurist will essentially argue the same thing but in a future context.
Most preterists don’t believe in a future age of the Messiah. That’s a one-thousand-year period often referred to as the Millennium. The preterist says that when the church began, sins were restrained by the Holy Spirit’s work in the church. The futurist agrees with that interpretation. But they take it further. Sin was restrained for the last two thousand years, but there are still one thousand years that will follow that. That’s the day of rest that God promised. One day is like a thousand years. It will be a Sabbath rest with Jesus as king.
Here’s a surprising truth.
During the Millennium, people will still sin but it will be restrained. Jesus will reign as King of the world from Jerusalem. But humanity will continue, grow, and thrive. But they will have the free choice to sin if they wish. Thus we have verses that tell us the Messiah will rule with an iron scepter.
Revelation 2:27
that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’-just as I have received authority from my Father.
Part three summary
This part is similar to the previous one. It reads, “to make an end of sins.”
It really serves as an effective finish to the last clause. In part two we saw that Christ’s work on the cross will restrain transgression. And now, in part three we learn that it will put a final end to sin. The restraining will end and the sins will too. Can anyone effectively argue that sins have ended? Of course not.
But the preterist does have some wiggle room even in this part. There are some who suggest that this means that the opportunity for forgiveness of sins is over. And this justifies a prominent point of view in this interpretive model. The preterist believes there is no hope for the Jewish believers to find forgiveness as a Jew. That may sound right, but, God’s prophets predict something different. In Zechariah, we read that the Jews will look to their Messiah as a conquering warrior. They will finally recognize Him and ask for forgiveness and mercy.
Zechariah 12:10-14 The Jews will mourn for their Messiah
10“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
11“In that day there will be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the plain of Megiddo.
12“The land will mourn, every family by itself; the family of the house of David by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself and their wives by themselves;
13the family of the house of Levi by itself and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself and their wives by themselves;
14all the families that remain, every family by itself and their wives by themselves.
Daniel-nine includes the end of sin.
The time of sin is not over. In fact, a great stretch of ungodliness is right around the corner. Daniel-nine promised an end of sin. We shouldn’t twist the meaning of that in order to fit it into our interpretation. Daniel-nine isn’t done. There is one week of years that remains.
Part four summary:
In this part, Daniel-nine reads like this, “to make reconciliation for iniquity.”
My primary argument in this article is to suggest that the Daniel-nine prophecy isn’t yet complete. And in particular, verse twenty-four. But this part of the verse is done. It was done in the final moments of Christ’s life. He said so while on the cross. This is the part that I will boldly agree was completed on the cross. The word reconciliation means to ‘cover,’ or conceal.’ The blood of Jesus covered or concealed the sins of every person. God won’t see our sins if we accept the sacrifice of Jesus. If we do so, we gain immunity from the death sentence that started with Adam.
God told Adam he would die if he sinned. Every human has inherited that death sentence.
One more to go
So, the preterist and the futurist see this phase as unquestionably complete. Except for anyone who has rejected Christ’s sacrifice. If the futurist’s interpretation is correct. And I believe it is. The Jews will suffer severe persecution during the tribulation. That’s the final seven years of the ‘seventy-sevens’ prophecy found in Daniel-nine. At the end of those seven years, the Jews will finally accept Jesus as their Lord. So, at the end of the seven years, the Jews will receive their long-awaited reconciliation for iniquity.
But the preterist, says that time is up for the Jews. I don’t think so…I don’t think so.
Part five summary:
To bring in everlasting righteousness.
We don’t find this phrase anywhere else in the Bible. We see everlasting covenant, God, life, or many other things, but not righteousness. There is a strong sense of finality with this phrase. And it’s strongly associated with eternity. The preterist says that happened nearly two thousand years ago. The futurist argues that this moment is yet future. There will come a time when eternity and righteousness will meet and never part with one another. The everlasting God will ensure that it remains so. The world is not experiencing everlasting righteousness. A glance at the news will make that obvious. Or better, take a glance in the mirror. We still have some progress to make on righteousness.
There is a big ‘monkey wrench’ in the machinery of the preterist model. They want us to believe that everything is done. We just have some mild cleanup to do but everything is minor in comparison to the past. The futurist says, hang on. According to Daniel-nine, there is one wild and insane week left. At the end of that week, the Jews will accept Christ, and the one thousand years of rest will begin.
Part six summary:
To seal up vision and prophecy.
The preterist interpretation falls miserably short on this phrase. Vision and prophecy are not sealed up or completed. At the end of the seventy weeks prophecy, all visions and unfulfilled prophecies will see their expected end. Nothing will remain undone. But to argue differently seems almost preposterous. If we read the Old Testament or the New, we find hundreds of verses that await future fulfillment.
How does the preterist interpret this? He or she will say that this refers only to prophecies about the Messiah. They shift the focus and say it’s only about him in this phrase. But that argument falls weak and flat too. There are numerous prophecies about the Messiah that are unfulfilled.
Have we seen the Lord coming in the clouds surrounded by legions of angels?
And have we seen him covered in the blood of his enemies?
Or, have we seen him all the weapons of war beaten into farming tools?
These haven’t happened yet. But they will.
Part seven summary:
To anoint the Most-Holy.
In this last phrase, we have what appears an obvious answer. In the original language, we find the familiar term, Holy of Holies. And it’s used in a variety of ways but almost exclusively pertaining to the temple or things consecrated for use in the temple. And even in rare cases, it’s applied to individual persons.
Most Bibles translate this as “Most Holy Place.” If that is correct then it could be nothing else but the most sacred place inside the temple. But I need to be fair and honest in the interpretation. It’s very probably a reference to a person. That’s the Messiah, Jesus.
To anoint the Most -Holy, we would usually assume is alluding to the holy of holies. The scriptures record the first anointing in Exodus 30:25-31. And this can also serve as a type for the church. But the phrase also applies easily to Christ himself, who is the Holy One, Acts 3:14 and received the anointing of the Spirit. He received the Holy Spirit without measure, John 3:34.
Ezekiel’s temple will be anointed
I believe the anointing of the Most-Holy applies to the temple, all the instruments, furnishing, the priestly garments, the laver, altar, and finally Christ.
And I expect this ‘cleaning’ and ‘preparation’ to take place once the final enemies are vanquished and the thousand years of peace have begun. That’s the futurist interpretation of this anointing. But the preterists do have a solid point when they say it simply refers to Jesus.
In the next article of this series, we’ll take a look at verse twenty-five of Daniel-nine. That verse takes us into more details regarding the numbering of the years.
Let me know what you think. Does the preterist have good arguments? I think they do make some good points, but I also think it’s clear from the scriptures that God is not done with Israel. And the prophecies are not complete.
Get the book here.
It’s a fictional story of a modern-day Samuel. Called to help awaken sleeping warriors for Christ.
Let me know what you think.