Dispensationalism and the 70th Week of Daniel’s Prophecy

Dispensationalists hold that after the secret Rapture, the saints will be with Christ in the sky for seven years. At the end of this period He shall return visibly with His saints to the earth (commonly called the Revelation). "This theory," writes Dr. Fletcher, "is a perversion of Second Coming truth, a delusion of the last days, widely held. Nowhere does the New Testament teach two future comings of Christ, first for His saints, and then with His saints. Those who hold this view seek to harmonise it with the New Testament teaching on the Second Coming of Christ by asserting that the coming for and with His saints several years later are not two comings, but two stages of the Second Coming of Christ. This attempt to justify the theory cannot overthrow the testimony of the senses that the coming for the saints is a FIRST second coming, and the subsequent coming with the saints is a SECOND coming. But this cannot be. He came once, and He will come once more — and only once more: ‘the second time without sin unto salvation’ (Heb. 9: 28)."

If it be asked, where in Scripture is there authority for a seven year period such as Dispensationalism sets forth as elapsing between the Rapture and the Revelation, the answer must be: there is none. It is a period of time imported by inference from Daniel’s prophecy of the 70 weeks, it being assumed that the 70th week has not yet been fulfilled, that it is the 7th week or the seven years between the Rapture and the Revelation and that during that time a number of predicted events — such as the apostasy, the appearance and reign of the Antichrist, the Great Tribulation, the return of the Jews to Palestine and their conversion are to occur.

"But there are no grounds" writes Dr. Boettner "either in reason or in Scripture for inserting a parenthesis of many centuries duration between the 69th and the 70th week of Daniel’s prophecy, a parenthesis which strangely has already extended nearly four times as long as the entire period of the 70 weeks themselves. In this prophecy it is quite evident that the weeks refer to years. The Jews had just completed 70 years captivity in Babylon — years that had run consecutively. Daniel understood from the prophecies that the time was at an end, and he besought God earnestly in prayer for their deliverance. It was revealed to him that 7 times 70 were determined to complete God’s dealings with Israel as a nation — for their return to their own land, the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the temple, and until Messiah should come and accomplish His work of redemption. Certainly the natural inference is that in this prophecy time runs concurrently as it does in any other prophecy. Nowhere in Scripture is a specified number of time-units, making up a described period of time set forth as meaning anything but continuous and consecutive time. Likewise the 70 weeks in Daniel’s prophecy are 70 links in a chain, each holding to the others, a definite measure of the remaining time allotted to the nation of Israel before the coming of the Messiah.

The correct interpretation of Daniel’s prophecy is, we believe, that the events of the 70th week were fulfilled during the public ministry of Christ in Palestine including the completion and abolition of the Old Covenant. After a further period of grace, some 37 years later, the final break-up of the Jewish economy came with the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem and the final dispersion of the Jews." (The Millennium).

"Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people" etc. (Daniel 9:24). The seventy weeks, weeks of years are 490 years. These 490 years are to the death of Christ as the remainder of the verse makes clear. It was by His death that He finished transgression, made an end of sin by His complete Atonement for it and brought in an everlasting righteousness. His death is mentioned first as it was to this end that He came into the world.

"And to seal up the vision and prophecy. He came to seal up the vision and prophecy, all the prophetical visions of the Old Testament, which had reference to the Messiah. He sealed them up, that is He accomplished them, answered to them to a tittle; all the things that were written in the law, the prophets and the psalms concerning the Messiah, were fulfilled in Him. Thus He confirmed the truth of them as well as His own mission. He sealed them up, that is He put an end to that method of God’s discovering His mind and will, and took another course by completing the Scripture-canon in the New Testament, which is the more sure word of prophecy than by vision." (Matthew Henry).

"He came to anoint the most holy," that is Himself, the Holy One who was anointed (that is appointed to His work and qualified for it) by the Holy Ghost, that oil of gladness which He received without measure above His fellows: or to "anoint" the gospel-church, His spiritual temple or holy place, to sanctify and cleanse it and appropriate it to Himself, (Eph. 5:26), or to consecrate for us ‘a new and living way into the holiest,’ by His own blood (Heb. 10:20) as the sanctuary was anointed (Exodus 30:25 etc.). He is called Messiah (v. 25, 26) which signifies Christ — Anointed (John 1:41) because He received the unction both for Himself and for all that are His. In order to do all this Messiah must be cut off, must die a violent death, and so be cut off from the land of the living as was foretold in Isaiah 53:8." (Matthew Henry).

v. 25. "Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and three score and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times."

The seven weeks or 49 years are from the publication of the edict to restore and to build Jerusalem. The restoring and building of Jerusalem took place "in troublous times." The troubles encountered in connection with the work are narrated for us in the Book of Nehemiah. The 49 weeks ended at the end of Nehemiah’s reformation. Then 62 weeks are mentioned. The 7 weeks and the 62 weeks making 69 weeks or 483 years, are said to be "unto Messiah the Prince" unto the time of His public manifestation through the ministry and baptism of John the Baptist the forerunner of the Messiah, the Prince and King of the kingdom. "The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached and every man presseth into it." (Luke 16:16).

v. 26. "And after three score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself" etc. That is AFTER the 483 years or 69 weeks, that is in the 70th week — the week embracing the ministry of John the Baptist which lasted for about 30 years and Christ’s own ministry for 30 years. The 70 weeks or the 490 years as stated in v. 24 are to the death of Christ. There is therefore no foundation whatsoever in the Word of God for the Dispensational fantasy that the final week of seven years is still future, the period between the Rapture and the Revelation. "This theory" as quoted above by Dr. Fletcher "is a perversion of the Second Coming truth, a delusion of the last days widely held."

In verse 26 we read that after Messiah had been cut off but not for Himself, "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." The learned Dr. Gill, the noted 18th century commentator, takes this to be a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem and of the temple by the Romans under the Emperor Titus and to the desolations which ensued.

v. 27. "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week, and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease" etc. In the midst of the week must be therefore about 70 A.D. the date of the destruction of the city and the temple. With the destruction of the temple an end was put to the sacrifice and the oblation, as sacrifices could only be offered in the temple.

"The Romans spoken of in the latter part of verse 26," writes Dr. Gill, "in order to accomplish their design to destroy the city and temple of Jerusalem, made peace with many nations, entered into covenant and alliance with them, particularly the Medes, Parthians and Arminians for the space of one week or seven years; as it appears they did at the beginning of this week; "and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease"; the daily sacrifice of the Jews and all their offerings; and which was literally fulfilled "in the half-part" of this week, as it may be rendered, towards the latter half of it when the city of Jerusalem being closely besieged by Titus, what through the closeness of the siege, the divisions of the people and the want both of time and men, and beasts to offer, the daily sacrifice ceased as Josephus says, to the great grief of the people; nor have the Jews since the destruction of their city and temple offered any sacrifice, esteeming it unlawful to do so in a strange land."

Dr. Gill points out that the "week" spoken of here did not immediately follow the 70 weeks at the end of which the Messiah was cut off. It was 30 or 40 years after this. "The reason" as Dr. Gill observes, "was the long-suffering and forbearance of God towards the Jews, who gave them as to the old world space to repent; but His grace and goodness being slighted, things began to work at the beginning of this week towards their final ruin, which in the close of it, was fully accomplished."

"And for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate" or as it is in the margin "with abominable armies," the Roman armies being abominable to the Jews.

Even until the consummation, until the time appointed by God for their return to the land, Jerusalem was to be trodden under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

"And that determined shall be poured upon the desolate" or desolator (margin) — the vengeance will continue upon the Jews until the time determined when the wrath shall be turned upon those who made them desolate.