Interpreting the 70th Week Through Daniel, the Gospels, Paul, and Revelation
How do we build the larger historical scheme of the events that comprise the apocalyptic saga? Daniel, Jesus, John, Luke, and Paul each fill in the gap of the broad view of history in the following verses. And, correspondingly, in the big scheme of things, this is accurately, in general and to some degree specifically, what history has presented us.
Matthew 24:6And you will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
This description, “nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom” is not a description of the short history between the crucifixion and the destruction of Jerusalem. This statement paints a broader picture. Its length can only be determined if we have specific claims or events marking its culmination. Daniel, the gospels, the letters, and Revelation all contribute to the understand of the extent of this time period.
The First Seal: Revelation 6:1 Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked, and behold, a white horse, and the one who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.
The Second Seal: War 3 When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come!” 4 And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that people would kill one another; and a large sword was given to him. Seals 3 and 4 follow in concert with the thousand plus wars of history.
Daniel 9:26 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.
The three previous verses all characterize this undefined period of history as being filled with war and desolation. This period is described in Matthew 24:8 as “the beginning of birth pains.”
Tribulation
Jesus continues with more general historical detail without changing the flow of the narrative. History reveals that committed Christians have experienced tribulation throughout the ages. Jesus frames this time of suffering of the saints as “tribulation” to be differentiated from the Great Tribulation of Revelation 7 which focuses on events immediately preceding the Second Advent.
Matthew 24:9-14 “Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name…
More Tribulation
Luke also takes up this broad swath of history with a specific beginning and end. In the following verses we note the dispersion of the Jews from Jerusalem (70A.D), the diaspora, and Jerusalem being taken into the hand of the gentiles until their time is finished (1948).
Luke 21:20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. 21 Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are inside the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; 22 because these are days of punishment, so that all things which have been written will be fulfilled. 23 Woe to those women who are pregnant, and to those who are nursing babies in those days; for there will be great distress upon the land, and wrath to this people; 24 and they will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles UNTIL the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
When the gentiles lose control over Jerusalem to the Jews once again, the end time generation begins. This functions as the opening parenthesis to the generation that precedes the Second Advent.
The following verse, Matthew 24:14, is the end parenthesis of this short period before the Great Tribulation (Revelation 7:14). The Great Tribulation should be differentiated from the previous reference to the tribulation of the church through history. It commences from these two heavenly events of chapter 7, the first taking place on earth to facilitate protection of the 144,000 while the second is a transference from earth to heaven for the deliverance of the church and other difficulties the church on earth might present if it remained to expose the Antichrist. There is an obscure verse in Daniel 12 they may also support this deliverance from the time of troubles.
Daniel 12:1 And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued.
Matthew 24:14 This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. We should note the extent of this preaching as described in Revelation 7:9,14.
Peter also weighs in on the time frame of the coming Day of the Lord:
2 Peter 3:8 But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.
Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons in the 2nd century, while speaking of the mark of the beast expounded on this 1,000 year concept by stating, “…whole of that apostasy which has taken place during six thousand years…,Against Heresies V,28).
Following this verse, Peter then launches into the Lord returning like a thief and the passing away of heaven and earth condensing the end times into this brief statement.
Perilous Times – The Abomination of Desolation
Daniel, Jesus, Paul, and John take on the topic of the Abomination of Desolation to be committed by the beast of Revelation. Daniel’s 70th week has been detached from the previous 69 weeks to the First Advent. Jesus specifically places this event of Daniel’s abomination of desolation as following the preaching of the gospel in the whole world, Matthew 24:14 above.Daniel 9:27 And “he” (THE PRINCE WHO DESTROYS JERUSALEM) will confirm a covenant with the many for ONE WEEK, but in the MIDDLE OF THE WEEK “he” will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of ABOMINATIONS will come the one who makes DESOLATE, until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, gushes forth on the one who makes desolate.”
Matthew 24:15 “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place—let the reader understand— 16 then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains.
Jesus’s takeoff on the abomination of desolation during Daniel’s 70th week attributes that week to the activities of the “prince who is to come” associated with His Second Advent, Matthew 24:29-31.
Time Setting of the Abomination
Further chronological setting is added to the end time events as Daniel’s 70th week is connected to the event of the resurrection (Revelation 20, first and second resurrections).
Daniel 12:1…And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.
If Daniel 9 wasn’t clear on the history gap before the abomination of desolation, his vision in chapter 12 seals the deal. The setting of this vision is near the time of the resurrection of the dead. There is rescue of saints at the time of distress accompanied by the waking of dead saints to accompany them. This rings of the description in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18. The vision is also received within the same year as the vision in Daniel 9 which is the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede.
Daniel 12:9 And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for these words will be kept secret and sealed up until the end time. 10 Many will be purged, cleansed, and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand. 11 And from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION is set up, there will be 1,290 days (30 days following the cutting of the sacrifice at mid-week).
The Abomination According to John and Paul
Revelation 13:14 And he deceives those who live on the earth because of the signs which it was given him to perform in the presence of the beast, telling those who live on the earth to make an image to the beast who had the wound of the sword and has come to life. 15 And it was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast would even speak and cause all who do not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
2 Thessalonians 2:2…or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.
These are events that have no counterpart in history following the ministry of Christ. They are moderately connected to the abomination of Antiochus Epiphanes as he set the statue of Zeus in the temple, but many details are lacking.
Further Connection of the Abomination and the End Time
Matthew 24:22 And if those days had not been cut short, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.
Matthew 24:27 For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be (2nd Advent).
Matthew 24:29 “But immediately after the tribulation (Mt.24:9) of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.
Luke 21:25 “There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress among nations, in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting from fear and the expectation of the things that are coming upon the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
Revelation 6:12 And I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became as black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood; 13 and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. 14 The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place.
In these preceding verses we have unmistakable evidence of the connection of the event of the abomination among all of our referenced authors to certain signs in the heavens. Matthew places this after the time of historical tribulation. John, in Revelation, places them most specifically during seal 6 after the period of wars, conflicts, and death of seals 1-4 which seemingly define the entire scope of history. Revelation 1:1 also speaks to a historical commencement for these first four seals. The appearance of the Lamb, Jesus, in Revelation 6:16-17 accompanies signs in the Sun, Moon, and Stars just as in Matthew 24:29-30.
Revelation 6:16 and they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the sight of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; 17 for the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
Matthew 24:36 “But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. 37 For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.
From the perspective of Christ’s day these events had little historical context in which to predict their fulfillment. With historical hindsight and the modern availability of scripture, we can see the fit of the prophecy on the historical landscape bringing new fervency to the study of scripture among the church.
Luke 21:29 And He told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees: 30 as soon as they put forth leaves, you see for yourselves and know that summer is now near. 31 So you too, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.