Or, the books. Daniel’s understanding of the prophecies in Jer. 25:11-12 and Jer. 29:10-14, concerning the seventy years of Israel’s captivity before the return of a remnant to Jerusalem (2 Chron. 36:21-23), was the cause of the vision of the seventy weeks given to Daniel in this chapter.

Daniel was in captivity in Babylon (vv. 1-2a); his heart was fully set on God and His people, His temple, and His holy city for God’s kingdom on earth (vv. 2-19); and he was in his spirit, fully occupied with prayer and supplications to God (vv. 20-23). Thus, he had the proper standing and a proper angle to receive the revelation and see the vision from God (cf. note Rev. 1:9³, note Rev. 1:10^1a, and note Rev. 1:12¹).

Lit., Your righteousnesses.

In his desperate prayer Daniel confessed his own sins and the sins of his people Israel (vv. 3-15) and requested that God recover the Holy Land, send His people back, and rebuild the holy city (vv. 16-19). God answered him by giving him the report through the angel Gabriel of the seventy weeks (vv. 20-27). This answer exceeded what Daniel requested.

The contents of Daniel’s vision are the seventy weeks, which are the destiny apportioned by God for His people and for His holy city. The purpose of the seventy weeks is to close the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make propitiation for iniquity, to bring in the righteousness of the ages, to seal up vision and prophet, and to anoint the Holy of Holies. In the old creation under human government, transgression, sins, and iniquity are prevailing. When Christ comes to crush human government (Dan. 2:34-35), at the time appointed, the transgression will be closed, sins will be ended, and iniquity will be propitiated. Then the righteousness of the ages will be brought in, the vision and prophet will be sealed, and the Holy of Holies will be anointed.

Or, seal up.

When Christ returns and the age is consummated, there will be no more unrighteousness on the earth. After the Lord’s return all the evil persons and things on earth will be swept into the lake of fire (Matt. 13:30; 25:32-33, 41; Rev. 19:19-21), and Satan will be bound and cast into the abyss (Rev. 20:1-3). At the end of the millennium the deceived nations (with Satan) will be removed in the last rebellion of mankind against God (Rev. 20:7-10), and after the millennium the dead unbelievers and the demons will be cleared away through the judgment at the great white throne (Rev. 20:11-15). Beginning with the millennium there will be the eternal kingdom of Christ with His righteousness, which is the righteousness of the ages, the eternal righteousness. In the millennium Christ will be the righteous One (Jer. 23:5), and He will rule the thousand-year kingdom in righteousness (Isa. 11:4-5). Ultimately, in the age of the ages, righteousness will dwell in the new heaven and new earth for eternity (2 Pet. 3:13 and note 2 Pet. 3:13³).

To seal up vision and prophet is to close the age of mystery at the sounding of the seventh trumpet (Rev. 10:7 and note Rev. 10:7²). Since all the mysteries of God will be fulfilled, there will be no need of visions or prophets. In the kingdom age there will be kings and priests (Rev. 20:6) but no prophets.

At the time of Daniel’s prayer, the Holy of Holies was contaminated, defiled, and devastated. But when the apportioned time comes, the Holy of Holies will be properly anointed. This means that the service to God will be recovered (see note Dan. 11:31¹, par. 2, note Dan. 12:11^2c and note Dan. 12:12¹).

The seventy weeks are divided into three parts, each week being seven years in length (see “The Chart of the Seventy Weeks and the Coming of Christ, with the Rapture of the Saints” at the end of the New Testament). First, seven weeks (forty-nine years) were apportioned from the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (Neh. 2:1-8) to the completion of the rebuilding. Second, sixty-two weeks (434 years) were apportioned from the completion of the rebuilding of Jerusalem to the cutting off (crucifixion) of the Messiah (v. 26). Third, the last week of seven years will be for Antichrist to make a firm covenant with the people of Israel (v. 27).

There is a gap of unknown duration between the first sixty-nine weeks and the last week of the seventy weeks. This gap is the age of mystery, the age of grace, the age of the church (Eph. 3:3-11; 5:32; Col. 1:27). During this age Christ is secretly and mysteriously building up the church in the new creation to be His Body and His bride (Eph. 5:25-32). When the new creation has become mature in life, it will be attached to Christ and become one with Him to be His counterpart (Rev. 19:7-9). At the end of the last week of the seventy weeks, after Christ has married His bride, He with His bridal army will come as the stone cut out without hands and will crush the great human image from the toes to the head, destroying the human government that fights against God directly. Through this crushing the problem of human government in the old creation will be solved. Then Christ with His overcomers will increase to become a great mountain that fills the whole earth (Dan. 2:34-35 and notes).

Referring to the wide open plaza of the city or the free open space before the temple; hence, the street.

This refers to the crucifixion of Christ, which was the termination of the old creation, with the human government in the old creation, and the germination of God’s new creation through the resurrection of Christ (1 Pet. 1:3), with God’s eternal kingdom as the divine administration in God’s new creation. Thus, the cross of Christ is the centrality and universality of God’s work.

The book of Daniel bears a particular characteristic: to draw the marking lines of the ages. First, the crucifixion of Christ in His first appearing is the landmark that terminated the age of the old creation for the germination of the age of the new creation in Christ’s resurrection. In His crucifixion Christ, the last Adam, terminated the old creation (2 Cor. 5:14), and in His resurrection He became the germinating Spirit, the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45), to germinate all God’s chosen people in His resurrection (John 12:24; 1 Pet. 1:3) to be God’s new creation (2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 6:15). This new creation begins with the believers in Christ as God’s sons (Gal. 3:26) and as Christ’s members who constitute His Body (1 Cor. 12:27). This Body will grow (Eph. 4:13-16) and will eventually consummate in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21; Rev. 22). Second, the upcoming appearing of Christ with His overcomers as His bride will be the landmark that will end the age of man’s government on earth in the old creation and will initiate the age of God’s dominion over the entire earth in the millennium and in the new heaven and new earth for eternity (Dan. 2:34-35, 44; 7:13-14). Although in His first appearing Christ terminated the old creation spiritually through His death on the cross, the human government that began with Nimrod continues to exist. For this reason there is the need of Christ’s second appearing, in which Christ will clear up the human government in the old creation physically and will usher in the universal and eternal kingdom of God. By Christ’s appearing in these two aspects, and by the ruling of the heavens over all the environment on earth, Christ, who is the centrality and universality of God’s economy and of God’s move, will become the centrality and universality of God’s elect, including Israel and the church.

Titus, the prince of the Roman Empire, who came with His army in A.D. 70 to destroy the city and the sanctuary, the temple, as prophesied by the Lord Jesus in Matt. 24:2.

From the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 until the seventy weeks are completed, there has been and will be war after war.

Referring to Antichrist, typified here by Titus, the prince mentioned in v. 26. At the beginning of the last week of the seventy weeks, the last seven years of the present age, Antichrist will make a firm covenant of peace with Israel. In the middle of that week he will break the covenant and will cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease (Dan. 12:11a). This will be the beginning of the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21), which will last for three and a half years (Dan. 7:25; 12:7; Rev. 11:2-3; 12:6, 14; 13:5). During the great tribulation both the faithful Jews and the Christians still on earth will suffer Antichrist’s persecution (Dan. 7:21, 25; Rev. 13:7). After he causes the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, Antichrist will replace them with the abominations of the desolator (the idols of Antichrist — 12:11; Matt. 24:15; Rev. 13:14-15; 2 Thes. 2:4). These idols will remain in the temple for three and a half years, even until the complete destruction that has been determined is poured out upon the desolator, Antichrist (Dan. 2:34-35a; 2 Thes. 2:8; Rev. 17:14; 19:20).

The fact that the temple will be devastated and contaminated by Antichrist strongly indicates that the temple, which has not been rebuilt since it was destroyed by Titus and the Roman army in A.D. 70, will be rebuilt by the Jews before the completion of the seventy weeks. This will be one of the final signs that will take place before Christ’s return.

Lit., upon the wing of abominations will be a desolator. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain; the translation offered is based on the events recorded in Dan. 11:31.

See note Matt. 24:15^2b and note Matt. 24:15^3c.