CHAPTER TEN

THE 70 WEEKS; A CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS

Despite divergence of opinion concerning the fulfillment of Daniel's Seventy Weeks, all interpreters agree it is essentially a reinterpretation of Jeremiah's prophecy of the 70-year Babylonian Captivity. With this point in mind, the present chapter will demonstrate the correspondence between the 70 weeks and Daniel's visions which have already been determined to culminate in the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes. It will be concluded that the 70 weeks do not extend beyond the time of Daniel's author to predict a seven-year tribulation period, but are simply another creative method of communicating the author's apocalyptic hopes.

Significance of Jeremiah's Prophecy

In the first year of Darius son of Ahasuerus, by birth a Mede, who became king over the realm of the Chaldeans--in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to the word of the Lord to the prophet Jeremiah, must be fulfilled for the devastation of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. Then I turned to the Lord God, to seek an answer by prayer and supplication with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. (Daniel 9:1-3)

The key to properly interpreting the Seventy Weeks Prophecy is found in the preceding verses. The author depicts Daniel studying "books" containing the "word of the Lord" as revealed to the "prophet Jeremiah." Daniel's study is focused on the "seventy years" of Babylonian Captivity that "must be fulfilled for the devastation of Jerusalem." During his study, Daniel turns to the "Lord God" for understanding.

The angel Gabriel comes to Daniel and explains an extended version of Jeremiah's prophecy. The importance given Jeremiah's prophecy is demonstrated by Daniel's need to understand it, and the resulting explanation by Gabriel. Therefore the 70 weeks are to be interpreted in light of Daniel's study of Jeremiah's prophecy.