The Problem with Daniel Nine

Nebuchadnezzar by William Blake -
Tate, Minneapolis and Boston Art Galleries

 DANIEL Chapter 9:  26-27

²⁶ “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.  The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined.  ²⁷ Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.  And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.”  (New King James Version)

²⁶ ”After the sixty-two “sevens”, the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing.   The people of the Ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: war will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. ²⁷ He will confirm a covenant with many for one “seven”.  In the middle of the “seven” he will put an end to sacrifice and offering.  And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”  (New International Version)  

²⁶ “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a Ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. ²⁷ The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”  (New Living Translation)

²⁶ ”And after the sixty-two weeks, an Anointed One shall be cut off, and shall have nothing; and the people of the Prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its^[e] end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war; desolations are decreed. ²⁷ And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week; and for half of the week he shall cause sacrifice and offering to cease; and upon the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”  (Revised Standard Version- Catholic Edition)

²⁶  ”Finally, after the sixty two weeks of years, the consecrated priest shall be cut off, leaving no successor; the city and the sanctuary shall be destroyed along with the consecrated priest, and then ruin shall pour in with a flood of warfare to the very end.  ²⁷ For a week of years the main body of the people shall cease to practise their religion; for half of that time sacrifice and offering shall cease, and instead of this there shall be an appalling abomination, till finally the appointed doom falls upon the sacrilegious abomination.”  (James Moffatt Translation)

 

Very interesting… and confusing.  If only it were possible to rewrite some of these prophecies to make then fit with the story as we know it now in the New Testament.

I have chosen five translations to compare the message.

The Messiah, (Anointed one or consecrated priest).  Most Christian commentators believe this to be Jesus. 

The Timings.  Most commentators see the seventy sevens and sixty-two sevens, as being either weeks or sets of seven years.  This allows the timings to fit with the prophecy of the coming of Jesus, taking the date right up to when Jesus was 27 years old.  This is when he was baptised and began his ministry on earth.

The one week, and the middle of this week.  Some people see this as the Holy Week, when the need for sacrifice in the Jewish religion was made redundant. 

It is noted that the verses are not clear about who the ‘He’ refers to.  We have ‘The Ruler who will come’.  Most commentators believe this to be the Emperor Titus, who in 70 AD sacked Jerusalem so severely that the city was obliterated.  But the ruler is then described as the one who ends sacrifice, and puts up an abomination in the temple.  So are the rulers the same force or different?

What does the NIV Bible commentary say?

·         Verse 25 relates to the times of Ezra and Nehemiah, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem following the Babylonian destruction.  483 years follow to the arrival of the Messiah, and his ‘cutting off’.  Verse 26 also notes that the death will appear pointless. 

·         The destruction of Jerusalem was predicted by Jesus in Matthew 24:7-22. 

·         The commentary highlights the problem of our knowledge of the sack of Jerusalem in 70 AD, and suggests the ‘Ruler’ is a collective term. 

·         The commentary notes that Jesus refers to this passage in Matthew 24:15, indicating that it is for the future. 

·         Barker an Kohlenberger III does not see how ‘the ruler’ can both be Jesus and the Romans.  The note this as a difficulty in understanding these verses.

What does John Calvin say?

·         Calvin starts by explaining why he believes the anointed one is Jesus Christ.  He notes the manner of the description of the death, and likes it to the prophecy in Isaiah 53, vs2.  Calvin also believes the destruction predicted was most likely to be at the behest of Titus. 

·         Calvin wonders whether the prophecy might aid those reluctant to lose their affinity with the Jewish congregation, understanding that this was all to come to an end.

·         Calvin comments on the significant of the ending of the old covenant and beginning of the new.  This is done through Christ’s death, but also through the destruction of the past through Roman violence.  However a clear link to the passage is not made.

Summary

²⁶ “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven [434 YEARS], the Anointed One [CHRIST] will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a Ruler will arise [TITUS] whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come [70 AD] with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end [JUDGEMENT DAY].

 ²⁷ The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings (THIS IS REMINISCENT OF THE MEANING OF CHRIST’S DEATH]. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he [ROMAN AUTHORITY?] will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him [FINAL JUDGEMENT].”  (New Living Translation)

I think these verses continue to perplex and intrigue.  Nothing comes ‘presented on a plate’, and that is a good thing.  The gospel is all about working out from the position of the heart, not the page.

Just as in English 40% of words have more than one meaning, perhaps biblical prophecy fits a similar pattern?