two sevens, which reach down to the day of the so-called triumphal entry of our Lord into the holy city. These years, be it remembered, are, as ev erywhere in prophecy, the prophetic cycle years of 360 days each. The whole period of seventy sevens or four hundred and ninety years, as we have seen, is divided into three sections: first, there are seven sevens, or forty-nine years, during ¡which the city, with its streets and moated wall, was rebuilt, in troublous times; second, there are three-score-and-two sevens, or four hundred and thirty- four years, the interval between the restoration of the city and Messiah the Prince; and third, there is one seven of years yet to be accounted for. There is a gap here between the sixty-ninth and seventieth week of years and of course this gap is the age of the Church. Several events transpire after the second period of sixty-two-weeks has ended and be fore the third period of one week has begun. Verse 26 tells us that after the three-score-and-two weeks shall the Anointed One (Hebrew, “Messiah” ; Greek, “Christ,”) be cut off, and shall have nothing, or “but not for Him self” (A.V.). Now we know that, a few days after his so-called triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Messiah was cut off on the cross, just outside the city walls. It was not for Himself in deed, for He was ever holy, harmless and undefiled. And He had nothing, for He had given up His life for the sins of Israel, and of the whole world. This, you will notice, does not take place during the sixty-ninth, but between them. The destruction of Jerusalem is next prophesied. The city and sanctu ary were to be destroyed by the peo ple of the comi ng prince. All through the book of Daniel we have been learning of this coming prince, the antichrist, the king of fierce coun tenance, who shall appear as the last great Gentile sovereign, wilful, wicked and blasphemous. Observe that Ga briel does not say that the coming prince shall himself destroy Jerusa- 34
munion with God uninterrupted, IS RAEL WILL HAVE NO NEED OF VISIONS AND PROPHECIES. “Sixth. To anoint the Most Holy, or a Most Holy place. This expres sion doubtless refers to the anointing of the Holy of Holies in the millen nial temple described by Ezekiel.” The beginning of this period of four hundred and ninety years is in dicated in the twenty-fifth verse. The point of departure is “the going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem.” This is clearly enough the decree of Artaxerxes Lon- gimanus, authorizing Nehemiah to re store and build Jerusalem. (Nem. 2:1-5.) There need be no confusion about this if we are careful to ob serve that the decree mentioned was a decree to restore and build Jerusa lem— not the temple, but the city — with street and moated wall. The de cree of Artaxerxes was issued in the twentieth year of that king, in the month Sisan (Neh. 2:1); that is, March, 445 B.C. Thus we have a def inite point from which to start in our calculations. Gabriel goes on to say that from this decree to restore and build Jeru salem unto Messiah the Prince shall be seven sevens and three-score-and- two sevens. That is, there should be in this interval sixty-nine sevens, di vided into two periods of seven sev ens and sixty-two respectively. This gives us the key to the meaning of the word weeks or sevens, for, accord ing to the best chronology, it was ex actly sixty-nine seven of years—that is, four hundred and eighty-three years — from Artaxerxes’ decree, down to the day when the Messiah presented Himself to Israel as the Anointed One, the Prince, riding into Jerusalem upon an ass and greeted by a remnant as the King of Israel, the Son of David coming in the name of Jehovah. The section of seven sevens divided off at the beginning of the period probably refers to forty-nine years occupied by Ezra and Nehemiah in the work of restoring and building the city. This is followed by the sixty-
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