SEVENTY WEEKS - Chapter Five

"Seventy shabuwa are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city,

1. to finish the transgression, and
2. to make an end of sins, and
3. to make reconciliation for iniquity, and
4. to bring in everlasting righteousness, and
5. to seal up the vision and prophecy, and
6. to anoint the most Holy." (Daniel 9:24)

In segments one through four of this series we have examined the first three things that God was going to accomplish during the seventy shabuwa of this prophecy. I personally am in agreement with many preachers and teachers that these three items on the list were accomplished at the cross of Christ, but I am also in agreement with Gabriel/Daniel 9:24 that these three things would be accomplished DURING the Seventy shabuwa, and not at some point outside of that time-frame.

Therefore, in this segment we are going to examine the probability of there being an unannounced gap of 2,000+ years between the 69th and the 70th shabuwa.

The first point to consider is that there is no mention of any gap. Proponents of THIS gap theory are quick to denounce a similar gap theory postulated to have occurred between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2 as a way to reconcile the Biblical seven-day creation period and today's understanding of the age of our planet. Neither gap is Biblical.

I asked a question of about ten men, pastors and pastor types. I wanted to know their understanding of when the 69th shabuwa ended. Without exception the answer was; on the day of the triumphal entry of Yeshua into Jerusalem. The day we read about in Matthew 21, Mark 11 and John 12. Typically, we call that day, Palm Sunday. That day saw the end of the 69th shabuwa of Daniel 9:24.

Now I ask you a question. When was Yeshua crucified? When was the cross?

Eight days following Yeshua's triumphal entry into Jerusalem, before the sun came up on the first day of the week (Sunday), the women went to the tomb where Yeshua's body had been placed, and they found it empty. Resurrection morning is what we call that day. It was the Sunday morning following Palm Sunday. Yeshua of Nazareth was crucified sometime during that week.

So what? I'm so glad you ask these questions.

The 69th shabuwa ended on Palm Sunday, so Yeshua was not crucified during the first 69 shabuwa, so:

IF the 70th shabuwa is yet to happen in our future, and
IF there is a 2,000+ year gap between the 69th and the 70th shabuwa,
and since we know He has already gone to the cross...
THEN the atonement for iniquity at the cross will not have happened during ANY OF THE SEVENTY SHABUWA even though Gabriel said that it would happen during the SEVENTY SHABUWA.

This analysis rests on a premise that the 69th shabuwa ended on Palm Sunday, which has been validated by many, and you can find it all over the net, but that's not good enough to guarantee that the cross of Christ happened after the 69th shabuwa. To obtain that guarantee, we go to scripture, and we find that guarantee in Daniel 9:26, part of the overall Seventy Weeks prophecy. The first phrase of that verse clearly states:

"And AFTER threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:" (Daniel 9:26a)

Any questions? Messiah was to be "cut off" AFTER the 62 shabuwa, which followed the first 7 shabuwa, for a total of 96 shabuwa. Yeshua went to the cross sometime AFTER the end of the 69th shabuwa. Whether or not that day was Palm Sunday is irrelevant at this point.

Summary: One of the things that God was going to accomplish during the seventy shabuwa was to make reconciliation for iniquity, and that happened when Messiah was cut off; it happened at the cross of Christ, and that happened AFTER THE 69th SHABUWA, not DURING any of those 69.

Summary: If a 2,000+ year gap happened after the end of the 69th shabuwa, then item number three, the reconciliation for iniquity, the cross, the atonement didn't happen during the 70 shabuwa even though Gabriel prophesied that it would.