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Prophecy of Seventy Weeks

reddogs

Active Member
In the Seventh-day Adventist interpretation of the Prophecy of Seventy Weeks in Daniel chapter 9, the 490 years is an uninterrupted period starting from "the time the word goes out to rebuild and restore Jerusalem," of Daniel 9:25 and ending 3½ years after Jesus' death. The starting point identified with a decree by Artaxerxes I in 458/7 BCE to provide money to rebuild Jeruslaem and its temple. The appearance of "Messiah the Prince" at the end of the 69 weeks (483 years) is aligned with Jesus' baptism in 27 CE. The 'cutting off' of the "anointed one" is applied to the Jesus' execution 3½ years after the end of the 483 years, bringing "atonement for iniquity" and "everlasting righteousness". Jesus' death is said to 'confirm' the "covenant" between God and mankind by in 31 CE "in the midst of" the last seven years. The end of the 70th week is associated with 34 CE when the gospel was redirected from only the Jews to all peoples

Christian historicism, which is what unveils these verses from scripture, interprets prophecy as an overview of the history of the Christian church, asserting connections between historical events and statements in the Bible, and distinguishing between prophecies considered already fulfilled and those still to come. The Jews of biblical times, had taught this view in the many prophecies to be fulfilled, which were pointing to the Messiah such as those by the prophets Isaiah and Ezekiel. The early church and the precursors to the Reformation used it, Jerome in his 'Commentary on Daniel' went into the kingdoms that Daniel predicted. Many Protestant Reformers were interested in historicism and the day-year principle, and used it assigning prophecies in the Bible to past, present and future events. It was prevalent in Wycliffe's writings and taught by Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Wesley, and Sir Isaac Newton and many others. George Whitefield, Charles Finney, C. H. Spurgeon, Matthew Henry, Adam Clarke, Albert Barnes, and Bishop Thomas Newton also are considered as advocates of this view. Modern proponents of historicism include historian Edward Bishop Elliott, theologian Francis Nigel Lee, and denominations derived the 19th century Millerite movement, including Seventh-day Adventists.
 
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reddogs

Active Member
In the historicist view of the 70 weeks (generally interpreted as 490 years according to the day-year principle), Antiochus IV Epiphanes is considered irrelevant, and the period is instead applied to the Jewish nation from about the middle of the 5th century BCE until not long after the death of Jesus in the 1st century CE. The seven and sixty-two-week periods are generally understood as consecutive, non-overlapping periods starting with an event during the reign of Artaxerxes I and ending with Jesus' baptism. The specific event during the reign of Artaxerxes I varies by denomination. References to "most holy", "anointed" and "prince" and Messiah are interpreted as speaking of Jesus, and the reference to an anointed one being "cut off" at Daniel 9:26 is identified with the death of Christ, generally marking the midpoint of the seventieth week. The Jewish expectation of the fulfillment of the many Messianic prophecies was well known at the time of Jesus and the apostles. The "abomination of desolation" that Jesus refers to in the Gospel of Matthew adds a direct reference to this prophecy as being from the Book of Daniel, "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet…" (Matt 24:15). Jesus predicted that at this time spoken of by Daniel, every stone of the Jewish Temple would be “thrown down” (Matt 24:2), and it was fulfilled when the temple was destroyed by the Romans during “The First Jewish War” in 70 A.D.
 
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