A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of "The 70 Sevens/Weeks Of Daniel"

Kuruvilla Thomas
Bangalore
Published on 6 November 2024 *

Fig. 1

Introduction

This study treats Daniel 9:24-27 as a cryptochiasmus in order to arrive at a coherent reconfiguration of the text ( see definition of cryptochiasmus in [1] ). If you wish to skip the technicalities of a chiastic parse, you may read starting from Section 4 of the Discussion section, which has the reconfigured text.

The prophecy of the "70 Sevens/Weeks of Daniel" (Daniel 9:24-27) predicts periods of tribulation for the Judahites; we will show that it also predicts the death of Christ and the coming of the Messiah of the Millennial Reign. The prophecy is quite short, and therefore difficult, because shorter cryptochiasmi tend to have more frequent changes in context. In this study we will chiastically unscramble the text in a logically defensible manner and comment on the rearranged text. A chiastic reading will explain the many confusing passages in this text, for example, the reason for the two contiguous time periods - seven "sevens", sixty-two "sevens". This study also has a commentary on the prologue to this prophecy - Daniel's prayer in Dan. 9:1-23.

Note:
We will use the term "Judahite" to refer to the Israelites - primarily those of the tribe of Judah and their descendants - that remained after the Assyrian exile of the Northern Tribes; we will try to avoid the term "Jew" to avoid the confusion it introduces.

Discussion

1 Presuppositions

We take the timespans of this prophecy to be specified in years (based on the "70 years" of Dan. 9:2), and we take 'sevens' (or 'weeks' in some translations) to mean "multiplied by seven" (based on Lev. 26:18).

The 70 sevens or 490 years are not contiguous years but the sum of 3 sections of time "cut out" from an overarching timespan that extends from the "going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem" in 444BC to the coming Messiah's anointing in 2017AD. The 3 sections of time, which we will call Periods, in chronological sequence are:

1. 62 sevens or 434 years (444BC-10BC): From the "going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem" in 444BC to the completion of the construction of Herod's temple in 10BC. After this, Christ ministers for approximately 3 1/2 years (26AD-30AD) before he is crucified.
2. 1 seven or 7 years (66AD-73AD): The period of the First Jewish–Roman War. At the midpoint of the war (spring of 70AD), the Roman army arrives in Jerusalem.
3. 7 sevens or 49 years: From the birth of the Messiah of the Millennial Reign in 1968/69AD to his anointing in 2017AD.

2. Parsing the chiasmus

2.1 Original text of Daniel 9:24-27

We will use the NIV translation of Daniel 9 for this study. We have retranslated parts of the prophecy.

We color-code the chiastic units of the text below for easy visual identification using yellow for the opening statement, red for the 434 year Period 1, blue for the 7 year Period 2, green for the 49 year Period 3 and purple for text outside the cryptochiasmus.

24a Seventy sevens [490 years] are cut off for your people and your holy city. ^[a]

24b To finish the rebellion, and to put an end to sin-offerings: ^[b]
24c To atone for sin, and to bring in everlasting righteousness: ^[c]
24d To seal vision and the prophet: And to anoint a most holy place.^[d]
25a Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the anointed one, the ruler, comes: ^[e]
25b Seven sevens [49 years].^[f]
25c For sixty-two sevens [434 years], Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and a wall^[g], but in times of trouble. 26a After the sixty-two sevens [434 years], the Anointed One will be put to death, but not for himself^[h].
26b The people of the ruler who will come will raid^[i] the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. 27a The ruler will confirm a covenant with the Great One for one seven [7 years].^[j] 27b In the middle of the seven [7 years] the ruler will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the border^[k] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on the desolate^[l].

Notes on the retranslation:
[a] vs 24a "Seventy sevens [490 years] are cut off for your people and your holy city." instead of "Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city".
[b] vs 24b "To finish the rebellion, and to put an end to sin-offerings:" instead of "to finish transgression, to put an end to sin,".
[c] vs 24c "To atone for sin, and to bring in everlasting righteousness:" instead of "to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness,".
[d] vs 24d "To seal vision and the prophet: And to anoint a most holy place" instead of "to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place".
[e] vs 25a "comes:" instead of "comes, there will be".
[f] vs 25b "Seven sevens [49 years]." instead of "seven ‘sevens,’".
[g] vs 25c "For sixty-two sevens [434 years], Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and a wall" instead of "and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench". Based on the KJV.
[h] vs 26a "sixty-two sevens [434 years], the Anointed One will be put to death, but not for himself" instead of "sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing". Based on the KJV.
[i] vs 26b "raid" instead of "destroy".
[j] vs 27a "The ruler will confirm a covenant with the Great One for one seven [7 years]" instead of "He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven’".
[k] vs 27b "In the middle of the seven [7 years] the ruler will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the border" instead of "In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple".
[l] vs 27b "the desolate" instead of "him".


2.2 The parse

The guiding principle behind the parsing of this particular chiasm is that each pair of objectives in verse 24 (24b, 24c, 24d) correspond to one of the Periods of the seventy sevens (seven, sixty-two and one sevens), and that verse 25a is the pivot point.

We arrive at the chiastic structure below by applying this principle:

24a Seventy sevens are are cut off for your people and your holy city.
( Verse 24a lies outside the cryptochiasmus but it is a part of the opening statement of the prophecy.)

A1   24b To finish the rebellion, and to put an end to sin-offerings:
  B1   24c To atone for sin, and to bring in everlasting righteousness:
    C1   24d To seal vision and the prophet: And to anoint a most holy place.
      X   25a From the time the word goes out to restore Jerusalem till the anointed one comes:
    C2   25b Seven sevens [49 years].
  B2   25c-26a sixty-two sevens [434 years]...Jerusalem rebuilt...Anointed One put to death
A2   26b-27b The people of the ruler will raid the city...one seven [7 years]...desolation

We believe this parse is correct, based on its 'elegance' and the 'semantic correctness' of the resulting text: the match between events and the objectives of each Period are appropriate; and the central pivot point of the chiasmus, 'X', works well as an overarching opening statement.

3. Building the reconfigured text

We now reconstruct the phrases in the right order based on the chiastic structure we arrived at previously and based on the ordering rules of a cryptochiasmus [1].

We lead with central pivot point 'X' because it appears to be an opening statement. The corresponding subunits (For ex., subunit A1 corresponds to A2) are placed contiguously to form units (For ex., A1,A2 is a unit) so that we get a list of such units.

The sequence selected for rearrangement is:

24a  X  [A1,A2]  [B1,B2]  [C1,C2]       (1)
( Verse 24a lies outside the cryptochiasmus but it is a part of the opening statement of the prophecy.)

Translating this sequence into verse numbers, we get:

24a  25a  [24b, 26b-27b]  [24c, 25c-26a]  [24d, 25b]       (2)

We arrive at the reconfigured passage in the next section by rearranging the verses so they are in sequence (2).

4. The chiasmi in Daniel 9:5-23 and the reconfigured Daniel 9:24-27

We include below the chiastic sections of Daniel's prayer in 9:5-23 from the prologue before the reconfigured cryptochiastic passages of 9:24-27.

4.1 Daniel's prayer (9:5-23)

Chiasmus 1: Daniel's confession: The Israelites have sinned greatly and have been rightly punished for it (9:5-14)


Chiasmus 2: Daniel prays for the forgiveness of his people (9:15-23)



4.2 The reconfigured prophecy of 9:24-27

4.2.1 Overarching opening statements (24a,25a)

24a Seventy sevens [490 years] are cut off for your people and your holy city.
25a Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the anointed one, the ruler, comes:

4.2.2 Period 2. One 'seven' (7 years): The First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD) (24b, 26b-27b)


4.2.3 Period 1. Sixty-two sevens (434 years): Jerusalem is Rebuilt in troubled times in preparation for the First Coming of Jesus (444BC-10BC, 26AD-30AD) (24c, 25c-26a)


4.2.4 Period 3. Seven sevens (49 years): Preparation for the Messiah's anointing (1968/69AD-2017AD) (24d, 25b)

5. A Commentary on the Reconfigured Text

5.0 Prologue to the Prophecy (Dan 9:1-23)

5.0.1 Introduction to the Vision of Daniel 9 (9:1-4)

1 In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian kingdom—

When Cyrus, as commander of the Medo-Persian army, defeated the Babylonians in Oct 539BC, Darius the Mede (Darius appears to be the throne name of Cyaxares II the Mede), the emperor of the Medo-Persians, became ruler over Babylonia; Daniel received this prophecy in Darius' first year as king of Babylonia, c. 538BC (see Daniel 5:30,31).

2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. 3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed: “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments.

At that time, c. 538BC, the Judahites had been in exile in Babylon for around 67 years, starting from 605BC. Daniel realized that the Judahites' 70 year period of punishment for their sins, as predicted by Jeremiah (see Jer. 29:10, Jer. 25:4-11), was coming to an end, and so he earnestly beseeched God for their deliverance.

5.0.2 Daniel's prayer (9:5-23)

Chiasmus 1: Daniel's confession: The Israelites have sinned greatly and have been rightly punished for it (9:5-14)

A1 9:5-6 The Israelites have sinned greatly
  B1 9:7-8 Israel has been punished
    X 9:9-10 The Lord is merciful
  B2 9:11-12 Israel has been punished
A2 9:13-14 The Israelites have sinned greatly: The Judahites have not adequately repented


Subunit A1: The Israelites have sinned greatly (9:5-6)

5 We have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. 6 We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.

Daniel confesses the sins of all the Israelites before God: they have disobeyed His Laws and even turned to other gods ("been wicked and have rebelled"); they have not listened to the prophets that God had sent to correct them.

Subunit B1: Israel has been punished (9:7-8)

7 “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. 8 We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you.

All the Israelites, the Judahites and the Northern Tribes, are covered in shame, as they have been punished with exile for their sins, particularly for their sin of unfaithfulness. Their righteous God has punished them according to His Law.

Pivot X: The Lord is merciful (9:9-10)

9 The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him; 10 we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets.

In spite of the Israelites' rebellion over the centuries, God has been merciful and forgiving. In this pivot, Daniel implicitly appeals to God's mercy while confessing the sins of his people.

Subunit B2: Israel has been punished (9:11-12)

11 All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you. “Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you. 12 You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem.

All of Israel had broken the Mosaic Law, and so God, in His righteousness, had punished the Israelites severely according to the Law (see Deut. 28:15-68). In Daniel's time, God had punished Judah and Jerusalem by sending the extraordinarily cruel and ruthless Nebuchadnezzar against them: Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and took the Judahites into exile (see Jer. 25:8-11, Jer. 26:4-6).

Subunit A1: The Israelites have sinned greatly: The Judahites have not adequately repented (9:13-14)

13 Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. 14 The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.

Even during their punishment in exile, the Judahites have continued to sin and have not exhibited sufficient remorse for their sins. So Daniel is concerned that their punishment may be extended beyond the original 70 years to 70 times 7 years, according to the formula in Leviticus 26:18 (the "Law of Moses").

Chiasmus 2: Daniel prays for the forgiveness of his people (9:15-23)

A1 9:15-17a Daniel's plea for his people: The request
  B1 9:17b-18a Daniel makes a case for forgiveness: for God's own sake
    X 9:18b Daniel makes a case for forgiveness: an appeal to God's great mercy
  B1 9:19 Daniel makes a case for forgiveness: for God's own sake
A2 9:20-23 Daniel's plea for his people: The response


Subunit A1: Daniel's plea for his people: The request (9:15-17a)

15 “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. 16 Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us. 17a “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant.

Daniel pleads for God's forgiveness for his people. He asks that God frees them once again from slavery in Babylon as He had miraculously done in Egypt, and that God restores His city, Jerusalem, which had become an object of mockery after God had punished the Judahites.

Subunit B1: Daniel makes a case for forgiveness: for God's own sake (9:17b-18a)

17b For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. 18a Give ear, our God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name.

Daniel argues that Jerusalem should be restored, because it is God's own city - its continued desolation will tarnish God's reputation.

Pivot X: Daniel makes a case for forgiveness: an appeal to God's great mercy (9:18b)

18b We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.

Daniel appeals to God's mercy in this pivot once again, as he did in the pivot of Chiasmus 1, for God's great mercy is the primary basis for Daniel's plea for the restoration of the Judahites.

Subunit B2: Daniel makes a case for forgiveness: for God's own sake (9:19)

19 Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”

Daniel argues that Jerusalem should be rebuilt, because it is God's city, and that the Judahites should be restored, because they are representatives of God on earth (note that the prophecy below is primarily regarding the Judahites and Jerusalem - see vs 24).

Subunit A2: Daniel's plea for his people: The response (9:20-23)

20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill— 21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.

The angel Gabriel arrives immediately in response to Daniel's prayers at the time of the evening sacrifice, around 3pm (the time of Jesus' death in Period 1), to give Daniel the prophecy below. Gabriel had also given Daniel the prophecy of the previous chapter, Daniel 8 ("the earlier vision") (see Dan. 8:16).

22 He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. 23 As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision:

The angel Gabriel comes to give Daniel the important prophecy below in 9:24-27 ("give you insight and understanding"); Daniel is accorded this honour, as he is highly esteemed (see also Dan 10:11). The Lord heard Daniel's plea for Jerusalem and his people, and so He will soon deliver the Judahites of the time from bondage, as predicted by Jeremiah (see Jer. 29:10, Jer. 25:4-11). But because the Judahites have not adequately repented, their descendants will face another 490 years (70 sevens, as in Lev. 26:18) of tribulation, as detailed below.

5.1 Overarching opening statements of the Prophecy (24a, 25a)

24a Seventy sevens [490 years] are cut off for your people and your holy city.

The people of Daniel, the Judahites (mainly the Israelite tribe of Judah), will face a period of seventy sevens, 490 years, of tribulation as punishment, because they have not sufficiently repented for their sins (see 9:13-14 above). Through these 490 years of punishment, the six objectives listed in verse 24 will also be achieved. These 490 years are not contiguous years but the sum of sections of time carved out ("cut off") of a much longer period of 2460 years (444BC-2017AD), as detailed below.

25a Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the anointed one, the ruler, comes:

The events that mark the beginning and end of the overarching time-span of 2460 years, out of which 70 sevens are "cut out", are specified here:

• Start Date: The "word to rebuild Jerusalem" went out around 444BC, the 20th year of Artaxerxes (Neh. 2:1,7-9). Other dates have been proposed, like that in Ezra 1:1-4, but they appear to be decrees to build the temple and not Jerusalem.
• End Date: The "anointed one, the ruler", is the coming Messiah, a representative of Christ, who is anointed in 2017AD. ( The 2017AD date is from another cryptochiastic passage in Revelation 12 [10].)

This opening statement introduces a list of three Periods of 7, 62 and 1 "sevens". For each Period, the list specifies 2 objectives, a timespan of the Period and, except for the last Period, a short description of the Period.

5.2 Period 2. One 'seven' (7 years): The First Jewish–Roman War (66AD–73AD) (24b, 26b-27b)

We propose that this one 'seven' (7 years), the most detailed of the prophecy, is a summary of the First Jewish-Roman War (66–73 AD) [2]. To establish this, we must match events mentioned in the passage to historical events during the war. Before we get into a commentary on the passage, we have below: a short history of the war as relevant to this passage; and a discussion on the 'covenant' of vs 27.

5.2.1 A Brief History of The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 AD) condensed from [2]

The war began in the fall of 66AD after the Judahites stopped prayers and sacrifices for Caesar in order to protest the desecration of a Jewish synagogue in Caesarea - this cessation was considered a major act of rebellion. The Roman governor, Gessius Florus, launched a raid on the city, arrested and crucified numerous Judahite leaders, and plundered the Jewish Temple. The city was eventually retaken by the rebels, who established a Judahite government in Jerusalem.

The Roman General Vespasian and his son Titus began the campaign to crush this revolt by attacking the Judahite centres surrounding Jerusalem in 67AD. A large number of Judahites in these towns fled Roman punishment to take refuge in the fortified city of Jerusalem.

With Vespasian called away to Rome to be appointed emperor in 69, Titus moved to besiege the centre of rebel resistance in Jerusalem in the spring of 70AD with 4 legions. Unable to breach the city's defences, the Roman armies established a permanent camp just outside the city, digging a trench around the circumference of its walls and building a wall as high as the city walls themselves around Jerusalem. Anyone caught in the trench while attempting to flee the city, would be captured, crucified, and placed in lines on top of the dirt wall facing into Jerusalem. During some infighting inside the city walls, a stockpiled supply of dry food was intentionally burned by the Zealots to induce the defenders to fight against the siege instead of negotiating peace; as a result, many city dwellers and soldiers died of starvation during the siege.

By the summer of 70, the Romans had breached the walls of Jerusalem, ransacking and burning nearly the entire city. The Second Temple (the renovated Herod's Temple), one of the last fortified bastions of the rebellion, was destroyed in Jul./Aug. 70AD, and the conquest of the city was completed by Sep. 70AD. According to Josephus, in a city of 1.1 million, 1 million Judahites were killed and 100,000 taken captive; it was almost the entire population of the Judahites in the area.

During the spring of 71, Titus returned to Rome and a new governor was assigned the "mopping-up" operations in Judea. Lucilius Bassus used Legion X Fretensis to besiege and capture the few remaining fortresses that still resisted. Towards the end, Flavius Silva moved against the last Judean stronghold, Masada, with an army of around 10,000 troops. When the Romans eventually broke through the walls of this citadel in April of 73, they discovered that 960 of the 967 defenders had committed suicide. This concluded major operations of the war, but a few Sicarii zealots continued to trouble the Romans as the war petered out.

5.2.2 The covenant

We take a rather startling position on the covenant of verse 27, but we justify it using the passage itself and using some historical evidence.

We contend that the covenant is an agreement between God and Titus to completely eliminate the Judahites and destroy the city of Jerusalem within 7 years. During those 7 years, all divine protection for the Israelites would be suspended (Michael will stand by - Dan. 12:1). At the end of that time, protection would be reinstated for the "elect" - those who believed in Jesus and fled, as he instructed them in the Olivet discourse (Matthew 24:22) [7].

Consider the evidence:

• In verse 26, we read "desolations have been decreed", and in verse 27, "until the end that is decreed is poured out on the desolate". Based on the eventual results, we can make the reasonable assumption that the "desolation" refers to the destruction of the Judahites and Jerusalem, and that this "decree" was executed through the covenant. We can also say that God must have been one of the parties to the covenant, since only God can successfully "decree" the "desolation" of His chosen people.
• From verse 27, the person who confirms the covenant appears to be the same as the one who ended the sacrifice. So we can say the other party to the covenant was Titus.
• According to Philostratus' Life of Apollonius, Titus refused to accept a wreath of victory, as he claimed that he had not won the victory on his own but had been the vehicle through which their God had manifested His wrath against His people.[3]
• Titus was apparently bent on killing all the Judahites and ending Judaism as a religion. When he breached the walls of Jerusalem, his soldiers set upon everyone - man, woman, child, those who stayed loyal to Rome, and those who did not. The city went up in flames. When the fires subsided, Titus gave the order to destroy the remainder of the city and the temple, seeking that no one would remember the name "Jerusalem".

5.2.3 Commentary on the verses related to the one "seven"

This Period (24b, 26b-27b) is arranged in the form of a single-unit chiasmus:

A1 24b,26b Summary of the war: The objectives, the beginning and the end (66-73AD)
    X 27a The 7-year covenant (66AD)
A2 27b Summary of the war: Jerusalem is destroyed in the middle of the war (70AD)


Subunit A1: Summary of the war: The objectives, the beginning and the end (66-73AD) (24b,26b)

24b1 To finish the rebellion,

The First Jewish-Roman War began as a Roman effort to quell a Judahite revolt. Those who ignored Jesus' instruction to flee and instead stayed to fight in support of the rebellion were killed. In this case, those who rebelled against the Romans effectively also rebelled against God and Christ, and they were destroyed for it.

24b2 and to put an end to sin-offerings:

With the destruction of the temple in the middle of the war in 70AD, sacrifices and offerings were ended. This was significant, as it marked the complete end of the Old Covenant (see Zech. 11:10-11,14); under the New Covenant, Christ's death on the cross was a "sin-offering" for all mankind forevermore (Hebrews 9).

26b1 The people of the ruler who will come will raid the city and the sanctuary.

If we designate Titus as the "ruler who will come" (Titus was not present at the beginning of the war), then the Roman governor Gessius Florus and his forces would qualify as "the people of the ruler who will come", and this passage refers to Gessius' attack on Jerusalem at the beginning of the war in 66AD (see history section above). The Roman governor plundered the Jewish Temple, launched a raid on the city, and arrested and crucified numerous Judahite leaders. This prompted a wider rebellion that demanded the attention of the Roman General Vespasian. His son Titus arrived in 67AD, a few months after making the covenant, to destroy the Judahites (see section on the covenant above).

26b2 The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.

The "flood" refers to the large Roman army sent to finish off the Judahite resistance towards the end of the war. We know that the war did go on to the end of the 7-year covenant period, and that the desolation of Judea was divinely ordained (see covenant section above).

Pivot X: The 7-year covenant (66AD) (27a)

27a The ruler will confirm a covenant with the Great One for one seven [7 years].

The covenant between God ("the Great One") and Titus ("The ruler") was that God will suspend His protection of the Judahites for 7 years (Michael, their protector, will stand aside - Daniel 12:1), during which, Titus will have free rein on the utter destruction of the Judahites. The 7-year covenant period started at the beginning of the war around Sep. 66AD, it had a midpoint in the spring of 70AD, and it ended around Sep. 73AD. God's protection of the Christian Judahites was reinstated after this period. For a more detailed analysis of these time periods, see appendix below.

Although this passage on the covenant appears in the middle of this Period about the war, because of the chiastic structure of the Period, we can treat this passage, the pivot, as an opening sentence. That is, this agreement or covenant was made before the war and not in the middle of it.

Subunit A2: Summary of the war: Jerusalem is destroyed in the middle of the war (70AD) (27b)

27b1 In the middle of the seven [7 years] the ruler will put an end to sacrifice and offering.

When Titus encircled Jerusalem in the spring of 70AD, he effectively put an end to sacrifices at the temple.

27b2 And at the border he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on the desolate.

Titus set up the "abomination that causes desolation", which is the Roman army (see Luke 21:20 [8]), "at the border" of Jerusalem for a siege of the city that lasted around five months. This ultimately resulted in the death of nearly the entire Judahite population within the city through battle, execution or famine, and the destruction of the city - complete and utter "desolation" as divinely decreed (Luke 19:41-44). Jesus refers to this passage (among others, see Dan. 11:31, 12:11), when he warns his followers to flee and to not enter the city when they saw the "abomination" (Roman army) prepare for a siege of Jerusalem (Matthew 24:15,16 [7], Luke 21:20-21 [8]).

The Judahites of the time were given every reason to believe in Jesus and escape this massacre: they were the first people Jesus and his followers preached to; and they witnessed first-hand a large number of miracles (Matthew 10:5-7, Romans 1:16). But, not only did some of these non-believers (primarily Pharisees and their ilk) kill Jesus, they persecuted and killed his prophets, teachers and followers. For this, Jesus condemned them to pay for all the righteous blood that has been shed from the time of Abel (Matt. 23:33-38, Luke 21:22).

5.3 Period 1. Sixty-two sevens (434 years): Jerusalem is Rebuilt in troubled times in preparation for the First Coming of Jesus (444BC-10BC, 26AD-30AD) (24c, 25c-26a)

This Period is arranged in the form of a single-unit chiasmus:

A1 24c Christ's ministry and death: The objectives (26AD-30AD)
    X 25c Jerusalem is rebuilt in preparation for Christ's coming (444BC-10BC)
A2 26a Christ's ministry and death (26AD-30AD)


Subunit A1: Christ's ministry and death: The objectives (26AD-30AD) (24c)

24c To atone for sin, and to bring in everlasting righteousness:

Christ achieved both the objectives of this Period (see corresponding Subunit A2 below): through his ministry, he taught the Gospel of the New Covenant, the everlasting truth from God (Rev. 14:6, Matt. 24:35) that enables righteous living; through his crucifixion, he atoned for the sins of mankind (1 Peter 3:18).

Pivot X: Jerusalem is rebuilt in preparation for Christ's coming (444BC-10BC) (25c)

25c "For sixty-two sevens [434 years], Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and a wall, but in times of trouble.

Jerusalem was rebuilt completely in the 434 years of this Period, inside and out - the "streets" represent the interior of the city, and the "wall" refers to the exterior, the fortification. Earlier in this chapter (Dan. 9:16-19), Daniel prayed for the restoration of Jerusalem, which had been made desolate because of the Judahites' wickedness; this Period of the prophecy appears to be partly in answer to Daniel's request.

The text, "Jerusalem will be rebuilt...", anchors the start of this Period to the beginning of the overarching time-span (see vs 25a) when the order to rebuild Jerusalem went out, around 444BC. The rebuilding was started at that time in spite of some opposition (Neh. 4 & 6). During the 434 years, a series of Gentile rulers took control of Jerusalem; the temple and city were both built up and defiled in this time of trouble (see Daniel 11 [9]). This cycle ended when Herod, an adherent of Judaism, having captured the city around 37 BC, started rebuilding the temple in 20BC (see John 2:20) and completed major works on the magnificent temple complex around 10 years later (finishing works apparently continued indefinitely). Considering the primacy of the temple to Jerusalem, we can reasonably treat Herod's completion of the temple reconstruction, around 10BC, as the terminating event of the 434 years of Jerusalem's restoration.

This period of 434 years was one of preparation of the Judahites and Jerusalem for the coming of Jesus, who arrived shortly afterwards, around 5BC.

Subunit A2: Christ's ministry and death (26AD-30AD) (26a)

This subunit continues from 24c in the corresponding subunit A1 above.

26a After the sixty-two sevens [434 years], the Anointed One will be put to death, but not for himself.

A few decades after the "sixty-two sevens", Jesus Christ was anointed at the start of his ministry in 26AD (see Matt 3:13-17), and, after teaching the Gospel for around 3 1/2 years, he was put to death in 30AD to atone for the sins of man. It was during this period of 3 1/2 years that the two objectives of the Period (24c) were accomplished.

Although the events of the Pivot X of this Period were primarily relevant to the Judahites and Jerusalem, the objectives of this Period, as achieved through Christ, are for all mankind.

5.4 Period 3. Seven sevens (49 years): Preparation for the Messiah's anointing (1968/69AD-2017AD) (24d, 25b)

This Period is arranged in the form of a single-unit chiasmus:

A1 24d1 The Messiah is tested and considered worthy to open the scroll (1968/69AD-2017AD)
    X 24d2 Israel is restored to being God's holy nation at the start of the Period (1968/69AD)
A2 25b The Messiah is tested and considered worthy to open the scroll (1968/69AD-2017AD)


Subunit A1: The Messiah is tested and considered worthy to open the scroll (1968/69AD-2017AD) (24d1)

24d1 To seal vision and the prophet:

God will put his stamp or seal on prophecies ("vision"); that is, He will begin to reveal the meaning of all Biblical prophecies, showing them to be true (in this context, "seal" effectively means "unseal"). God will also place his seal on the Messiah of the Millennial Reign ("the prophet"); the Messiah, a human representative Christ, the "Lion of the tribe of Judah", triumphs so that the seals on the scroll may be opened (Rev. 5:5), and, at this triumph, he is figuratively anointed ("sealed") (Christ is also deemed worthy at this time - Rev 5:9-12).

So prophecy will be explained by the coming Messiah: he is the Spirit of Truth who will "teach you all things" (see John 14:16,17,26, John 16:13, see also 2 Peter 1:19). The Messiah will especially unseal and reveal the prophecies that correspond to the seals on the scroll (in Rev 5:5) that release the 4 horsemen and the tribulations.

Pivot X: Israel is restored to being God's holy nation at the start of the Period (1968/69AD) (24d2)

24d2 And to anoint a most holy place.

The New Israel will be anointed at the start of this Period in 1968/69 - at the same time as the birth of the Messiah of the Millennial Reign - so that it is once more God's chosen and holy nation (see also Dan 8:14 in our reconfiguration of Daniel 8 [6]). Israel had lost this status when Jerusalem and its temple were destroyed in the middle of the First Jewish-Roman War in Period 2 (see Zech. 11:10-11).

Subunit A2: The Messiah is tested and considered worthy to open the scroll (1968/69AD-2017AD) (25b)

This subunit continues from 24d1 in the corresponding subunit A1 above.

25b Seven sevens [49 years].

This Period of 49 years begins at the birth of the Messiah, in 1968/69AD (see our parse of Daniel 8 [6]) and ends when the Messiah is anointed in 2017AD (see our parse of Revelation 12 [10]). These 49 years appear to primarily be a time of testing and preparation of the Messiah; the anointing of the Messiah and the beginning of the "sealing" (revelation) of prophecy occur at the end of this Period. After this anointing, Christ's reign will begin following a period of tribulation.

While this prophecy predicts times of tribulation for the Judahites in the other 2 Periods, this Period is regarding a time of testing for one Judahite, the Messiah, who, like Christ, will be of the line of David of Judah (see Jer. 23:5,6).

This Unit A predicts the anointing of the ruler (see 24d1 in Subunit A1 above) who is mentioned at the end of the overarching statement (vs. 25a), thereby anchoring this Period to the end of the overarching timespan of 2460 years.

Conclusion

With this chiastic reconstruction of the text, we have shown that it contains three interwoven prophetic passages, allowing for a far more coherent interpretation of this otherwise confusing passage. Because of its basic, "ideal" cryptochiastic structure, this passage can be considered a key to deciphering other passages in the Bible that are structured as more complex cryptochiasmi.

The common theme that connects the first and last Periods seems to be one of preparation for the Messiahs (the Period of the First Jewish-Roman war is common to all chiastic reconstructions); the 62-sevens Period is a time of preparation for the first coming of Jesus (Christ was born 5-6 years after the Period), and the 7-sevens Period is a time of preparation of the Messiah some time before the start of Christ's Millennial Reign (the coming Messiah will be revealed a few years after the Period - Matt. 24:27).

There are several implications of this interpretation that are relevant today:

• The 7 year Period does not describe end-times tribulation (as many believe), but the 49 year Period refers to Pre-Millennial times.
• Who are the present day Judahites? If most of the non-Christian Judahites were killed in Period 2 and only Christian Judahites escaped death by fleeing to the mountains, the present-day Judahites should be Christians of an ancient tradition going back to the first century [5] and not adherents of the Jewish religion.
• The sacking of Jerusalem in 70AD, which appears in all cryptochiastic passages, is significant because it marks the complete end of the Old Covenant (Hebrews 8:13) - any remaining Judahites that came under the Old Covenant were killed. The spiritual significance of geographic Jerusalem and Israel ended in 70AD with the desolation of the Judahites and Jerusalem (see Zech. 11:14, Rev. 11:8). The New Jerusalem and New Israel of the Millennial Reign will be located elsewhere.

Appendix

Details on the timeline of the First Jewish–Roman War

The One 'Seven' of Dan. 9:27: The covenant period of 1 'seven' (Dan. 9:27) seems to follow the Hebrew 'fall to fall' civil calendar. That is, the Period starts on the 1st of Tishrei (the first day of the civil calendar, Rosh Hashanah) in Sep. 66AD and ends by the 1st of Tishrei in Sep. 73. So the 'middle' of the covenant period (Dan. 9:27) would be the 1st of Nisan around Mar. 70AD, when the Judahite sacrifices were stopped and the "abomination that causes desolation" was set up (Dan. 9:27). The time between the start of the covenant period (1 Tishrei 66) and the 'middle' of the period (1 Nisan 70) was around 1300 days, and the time from the 'middle' to the end (1 Tishrei 73) was around 1270 days. (We used a Hebrew molad calculator to get approximate dates of the start of the Hebrew months.)

1290 days of Dan 12:11: In the first half of the 7 year period (1300 days), the cessation of sacrifices for Caesar probably took place around 10 days (maybe on Yom Kippur, a special time for sacrifices) after the start of the Hebrew year in Sep. 66, so that the time between this cessation and the "abomination that causes desolation" in 70AD was 1290 days.

1260 days Revelation 12:6: In the second half of the 7 year period (1270 days), the time from the "abomination that causes desolation" in 70AD (when the Judahites fled to the mountains) to the end of the covenant period in 73AD was 3 1/2 Hebrew years (Rev. 12:14) or 1270 days, but since the journey of the Judahite Christians to their refuge took around 10 days, the time at the mountains was 1260 days.

The first 'half' (1290+ days), is longer than the second 'half' (1260+ days) by about 30 days, because there are 2 intercalary months (leap months) in the Sep. 66 - Mar. 70 period, and only one in the Apr. 70 - Sep. 73 period. ( While we take the 62 and 7 "sevens" to be accurate to the year, we treat this 1 "seven" as accurate to the day for several reasons, primarily because there was a 7-year covenant.)

References

[1] A Definition of Cryptochiasmus
[2] First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE) - by Wikipedia.
[3] Titus - by Wikipedia
[4] Flight to Pella - by Wikipedia
[5] Jewish Christian - by Wikipedia
[6] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Daniel 8
[7] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of "The Olivet Discourse" in Matthew 24
[8] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of "The Olivet Discourse" in Luke 21
[9] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Daniel 10-12. Part 2: Daniel 11-12
[10] A Chiastic Reconfiguration Of Revelation 12





* First Version published on 23 September 2017