Daniel 9: The Timing of Messiah
When it comes to Messianic prophecy, you might wonder, Since the Messiah is so central to God’s redemptive plan, did the Old Testament provide any clues about when he would come?
The answer is yes! The clearest prophecy in Scripture about when the Messiah would come is found in Daniel 9:24-27. You may have heard this passage referred to as the 70-Weeks Prophecy. Don’t worry – you don’t need to do complicated calculations to understand this Messianic prophecy or to share it with your Jewish friends. We can discover the timing of the Messiah from a straightforward interpretation of the text.
Background of Daniel 9
At the beginning of Daniel 9, Daniel has been reading the words of Jeremiah, who prophesied that the Babylonian exile would last 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11; 29:10). Daniel realizes that the 70 years are almost over and he responds by turning to God in prayer and repentance. He asks God to forgive the Jewish people and to turn His anger away from Jerusalem, emphasizing that this plea is not “based on any merits of our own, but based on Your great compassion” (verse 18).
God responds by sending the angel Gabriel to Daniel with a prophecy. We read Gabriel’s words in Daniel 9:24: “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the wrongdoing, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.”
Notice how these 70 weeks aren’t just about forgiveness for previous sins, but rather a total end to sin and the bringing in of eternal righteousness. God was going to do something unprecedented that would change the way He related with His people.
Next, the 70 weeks are broken down into three periods of time. In the first seven and 62 weeks, Jerusalem will be rebuilt. Then, in Daniel 9:26, we get to the part about the Messiah: “Then after the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.”
God was telling Daniel that yes, Jerusalem and the Temple would be rebuilt, but they would also be destroyed again. Looking at history, we know that both the Second Temple and Jerusalem were destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. Since the prophecy tells us “the Messiah will be cut off” before these events, the Messiah must have come before AD 70. In the phrase “cut off and have nothing” we see also a hint towards the fact that not only will Messiah come at this time, but he will also die.
Using Daniel 9 in Evangelism
This is a powerful prophecy to point to when sharing the gospel with our Jewish friends! It comes from the Hebrew Scriptures and gives a clear time frame for the Messiah, giving strong evidence for Jesus as the one who fulfilled it.
The 70-Weeks Prophecy concludes with a description of the “abomination of desolation”[1] (verse 27). While end-times prophecy can often be our focus when reading the book of Daniel, we shouldn’t overlook verses like Daniel 9:26 that provide important clues about the Messiah’s first coming.
As you have conversations with Jewish people, look for opportunities to share the prophecy in Daniel 9 with them. The Messiah had to come before AD 70 and fulfill other Messianic credentials. Based on this prophecy, you can raise the question of who the Messiah is and listen to how your Jewish friend responds. This could open the way for you to share other Messianic prophecies and lead to conversations about Jesus and the gospel.
Responding to Common Objections
Some Jewish people you encounter might object that the prophecy in Daniel 9 refers to a different historical figure, not Jesus. They would argue that the Hebrew text means “an anointed one,” not “the anointed one” (the Hebrew word Messiah means “anointed one”), suggesting that the prophecy is about an anointed person like a priest or king rather than the Messiah.
We can answer these objections by returning to Daniel 9:24 and asking, What are the 70 weeks about? It’s clear from the six objectives[2] listed in the verse that the 70 weeks are about putting an end to sin once and for all. From Scripture, we know that the Messiah’s purpose is to atone for sins (Isaiah 53). No other person can accomplish this task. Therefore the “anointed one” can only refer to the Messiah.
Many Jewish people are still waiting for the Messiah today, and some might be surprised to find their own Scriptures teaching that He has already come. As you seek to reach your Jewish friends and neighbors, pray that God will open their hearts to the Good News of what Jesus has done for us.
[1] The “abomination of desolation” refers to a detestable person or thing that would be set up in the temple at a future time (see also Daniel 11:31 and 12:11). Antiochus Epiphanes, who ruled Syria from 175–164 BC, was a fulfillment of these prophecies when he built an altar in the temple in Jerusalem and sacrificed pigs to Zeus on it. The “abomination of desolation” also refers to an end-times act of desecration that the Antichrist will commit in the temple, which Jesus foretold in Matthew 24:15.
[2] (1) “to finish the wrongdoing,” (2) “to make an end of sin,” (3) “to make atonement for guilt,” (4) “to bring in everlasting righteousness,” (5) “to seal up vision and prophecy,” and (6) “to anoint the Most Holy Place.” (Daniel 9:24).
