He [Antichrist] shall confirm the covenant with many for one week [7 years]: 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 (Daniel 9:27).

The final seven years is the Tribulation which begins with the confirmation of the covenant by Antichrist. Ten kings rule the world during the first half and Antichrist rules the world during the second half. In the middle of the Tribulation, the Jewish temple sacrifices stop. Then Antichrist sets up his image in the temple for the world to worship. The Tribulation ends with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

When you shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: (Matthew 24:15-16).

Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4).

God told Daniel about His complete plan and time for Jerusalem, Israel and humanity through Jesus the Messiah's redemptions and reign. After the first sixty-nine weeks or 490 years, Jesus Christ dies on the cross for the redemption of the world. After the final seven years is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and the restoration of Israel and Jerusalem at the beginning of the Millennium.

References: 21st Century Revelation: World Wars, Iraq Wars & End War Chapter 15 - Daniel's Seventy Weeks, Chapter 18: Spring Forward or Fall Back, First Coming, Bible Chronology, Daniel 2: The Statue & the Rock, Fall Feasts & Prophecy, Tribulation, Unholy Trinity, Second Coming, Millennium

Creation, the Jewish feasts and Israel's history tell of God's timing. But no study of God's time is complete without the seventy weeks of Daniel. While Daniel was praying about the end of Babylon captivity, God told him about His complete plan and time for Jerusalem, Israel and humanity through Jesus the Messiah's redemptions and reign.

God's Plan of Redemption

Seventy weeks are determined upon your people and upon 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 the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy [Place] (Daniel 9:24).

God told Daniel His six point plan of redemption for the Hebrew people and the holy city, Jerusalem. This was covered in the first part of Daniel 9. The Hebrew people, the Israeli nation and Judaism are interwoven more tightly than any other people, nation and religion on earth.

God's Time of Redemption

Seventy Weeks

Seventy weeks [of years, 70 X 7 = 490] are determined upon your people and upon your holy city … (Daniel 9:24).

•  7 X 7 (49 Years)        Command to Restore Jerusalem to Jerusalem Complete

•  62 X 7 (483 Years)    Jerusalem Complete to Messiah Cut Off
•  1 X 7 (7 Years)         Confirm a Covenant to End of Seven Years

    70 X 7 (490 Years)

Bible scholars agree that week is seven of years.

7 Weeks (49 Years) - Command to Restore Jerusalem to Jerusalem Complete

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem … shall be seven weeks [49 years], … the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times (Daniel 9:25).

The seventy weeks begins with a decree to rebuild the city of Jerusalem. There are six possible starting points. Most Bible scholars point to Artaxerxes decree for the Jews to return to Israel or Nehemiah's request to build Jerusalem. Nehemiah's request is the only decree about building Jerusalem. The king agreed and supplied building materials. Nehemiah describes the people's endurance during opposition.

[Nehemiah] said unto the king [Artaxerxes], If it please the king, and if your servant has found favor in your sight, that you would send me to Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchers, that I may build Jerusalem. The king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me (Nehemiah 2:5, 8).

Beginning Point - The Decree

•  Nebuchadnezzar - Capture of Jerusalem - 587-586 BC (2 Kings 25:8-9)
•  Cyrus - Build the Temple - 538 BC (Ezra 1:2)
•  Darius - Reauthorization to Build the Temple - 519 BC (Ezra 6:1, 7)
•  Artaxerxes - Stop Work - ~463 BC (Ezra 4:6, 21)
•  Artaxerxes - Return to Israel - 457 BC (Ezra 7:12-13)
•  Artaxerxes - Rebuild Jerusalem - 444 BC (Nehemiah 2:5, 8)

69 Weeks - Messiah Cut Off

•  Birth of Christ - Bethlehem (Luke 2:7)
•  Baptism of Christ - Jordan River (Mark 1:9-11)
•  Transfiguration of Christ - mountain (Matthew 17:1-3)
•  Triumphal Entry - Jerusalem (Mark 11:7-8, 9-10)
•  Destruction of the Jewish Temple - Jerusalem (Matthew 24:1-2)

62 Weeks (483 Years) - Jerusalem Complete to Messiah Cut Off

… unto the Messiah the Prince shall be … sixty-two weeks [434 years]: … After sixty-two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself (Daniel 9:25, 26):

The ending point is "Messiah the Prince." Messiah in Hebrew and Christ in Greek is Anointed One. There are five possible ending points of the decrees.

Most Bible scholars point to the baptism or Triumphal Entry of Jesus Christ. In the fall at His baptism, Jesus Christ is presented to His Father to minister. In the spring at the Triumphal Entry in Jerusalem, He is presented to Israel as the Passover Lamb (John 1:29). But Israel was looking for a political messiah to free them from Roman oppression (John 6:15). The religious leaders directed the crowd to reject Jesus (John 19:14-15). God did not reject the Jews but time stopped until the final seven years (Romans 11:11-12). The period between the cross and the Tribulation is the Church Age.

On the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord (John 12:12-13).

In Nisan 444 BC, King Artaxerxes gave the decree to rebuild Jerusalem and in ~33 AD, Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Despite the Roman calendar starting with the birth of Christ, God's calendar is synchronized to the cross. The first sixty-nine weeks are completely fulfilled.

… 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 (Daniel 9:26).

The First Jewish-Roman War lasted from 66 to 73 AD. In 70 AD, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Jewish temple. The prince to come is Antichrist who will be from the Roman Empire.

Roman vs Babylonian Years

When using our Roman years (~365.2425 days), the calculation is off. Daniel is in Babylon which uses 360 day years. Seven years are 2520 days and not 2556.70 days, a difference of 36.70 days. Multiply Babylonian years by 360 days and divide by 365.2425 for years. Add 1 year when crossing BC to AD.

1 Week (7 Years) - Covenant to End