May, 1939
179
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
Daniel's Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks* I . T H E F IR S T S IX T Y -N IN E W EEK S AND T H E COM ING O F T H E M E SS IAN IC PR INCE (CONTINUED) By A LVA J. McCLA IN Akron, Ohio
[In the April issue o f T he K ing ’ s B usi ness , the author o f the present series o f artí celes, who is President o f Grace Theological Seminary, made three major assertions con cerning the prophecy o f the Seventy W eeks (Dan. 9:24-27): (1) The prophecy has an immense evidential value as a witness to the truth o f Scripture; (2) the prophecy is the infallible rock on which all naturalistic the ories o f prophecy are,shattered, and (3) in this prediction we have the indispensable chronological key to all New Testament prophecy. H e further pointed out that the period o f sixty-nine weeks begins with the "going forth o f the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem," and that it ends with the manifestation o f Messiah as the "Prince" o f Israel .-—E ditor .] W HAT kind of “weeks" are the “weeks" of Daniel 9:24-27? To the casual English reader the word "week” means but one thing, that is, a period of seven days. And many interpreters have accepted this rather superficial view of the matter. Taking the "Seventy Weeks” as “weeks” of days, they have then proceeded to translate the days into years. And if we ask what right they have to take such liberty with the inspired Word of God, they answer, “In prophecy a day stands
‘'week" of days. It was in certain respects, even more important. "Six years" the Jew was free to till and sow his land, but the "seventh year” was to be a “Sabbath of solemn rest for the land” (Lev. 25:3, 4, R. V .). Upon a multiple of this important week of years—“seven Sabbaths of years” —there was based the great Jubilee of social and economic adjustment every fiftieth year, when debts were wiped out, estates returned to the original holders, and slaves went free (Lev. 25: 8, 9). Nothing was so important to the Jew as this week of years. Now there are several reasons for be lieving that the “seventy sevens" of Dan iel’s prophecy refer to this well-known "seven" o f years. In the first place, the prophet Daniel had been thinking not only in terms of years rather than days but also in a definite multiple of “sevens” of years (Dan. 9:1, 2). Second, Daniel also knew that the very length of the Babylonian cap tivity had been based on Jewish violations of the divine law of the Sabbatic “week” of years. Since according to 2 Chronicles 36:21 the Jews had been removed from off the land in order that it might rest for sev enty years, it should be evident that the Sabbatic “week” of years had been violated for 490 years or exactly seventy "sevens” of years. How appropriate, therefore; that now at the end of the judgment for these violations, the angel should be sent to re veal the start of a new era of God’s dealing with the Jew which would extend for the same number of years covered by his vio lations of the Sabbatic year, namely, 490 years or “seventy sevens” of years (Dan. 9:24). Furthermore, the whole context of the prophecy demands that the "Seventy Sev ens" be understood in terms of years. For if we make them “sevens” of days, the en tire period would extend for merely 490 days or a little over one year! Considering now that within this brief space of time the city is to be rebuilt and once more de stroyed (to say nothing of the tremendous events of verse 24), it becomes clear that such an interpretation is altogether improb able and untenable. Finally, there is a remarkable and con vincing argument based on the usage of the Hebrew word, curiously overlooked by most of the commentators. Outside the prophecy of the "Seventy Weeks,” the He brew word " shabua” is found only in one other passage of the book (10:2, 3 ), where the prophet states that he mourned and fasted “three full weeks.” Now here it is perfectly obvious that the context demands “w eek s” of d a y s , fo r D an iel could not have fasted twenty-one years! And
"Sevens" of years were important in the Mosaic law concerning "the land." For six years the fields might be tilled, but through out the seventh year the fields were to be fal low (Lev. 25:3, 4). The accompanying article relates this law to the interpretation of an important prophecy. Most important is the fact that in their divinely inspired calendar, the Jews had a “seven" of years as well as a "seven” of days. And this Biblical “week” of years was just as familiar to the Jew as the for a year." This is the so-called "Year-Day” theory. But to me it has always seemed an arbitrary method, although it claims the support of some great names. I cannot dis cover any sound Biblical authority for put ting “years” where the sacred text reads “days.” The folly of this system appears most clearly in attempts to handle the 1260 days of Revelation 12:6, which constitute simply one-half of the SEVENT IETH week of Daniel's p rophecy. Here the “Year-Day” theorists are compelled either to abandon their scheme or else make one- half of the last week of Daniel equal to over twice as many years as are found in the other sixty-nine and one-half weeks. The precise figures would be as follows: 69J/2 weeks equals 486*^ years: but the last Yl week equals 1260 years! If such a vio lent and inconsistent device is the only way, as some have claimed, to make the prophecy “come out right," then we had better cease all attempts to interpret prophecy. It is this sort of thing that makes the skeptic smile and brings the whole study of prophecy into disrepute. Turning now to the simple facts concern ing these “weeks" in Daniel, we shall find no necessity for tampering with the exact language of the text. The Hebrew word is ” shabua" which means literally a “seven," and it would be well to read the passage thus, dropping for a moment the word “week” which to the English ear always means a week of days. Thus verse twenty- four of Daniel 9 simply asserts that "Sev enty Sevens are determined” (cf. Stuart's translation), and what these "sevens” are must be determined from the context and from other Scriptures. The evidence is clear and sufficient, as follows:
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