[Note: There are numerous interpretations regarding the Seventy Sevens in Daniel 9.  The following explanations are just one among many out there.  Along with those interpretations, the following explanation also might help the reader to make their own conclusion in understanding the ‘Seventy Sevens’ theme] 

Daniel 9 focuses mainly on Daniel’s prayer for forgiveness and reconciliation from God, the restoration of the Temple and the City of Jerusalem, and the nation of Israel.  Daniel remembered Jeremiah’s prophecy that the desolation would last only for 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11).  For he states (Daniel 9:2),“… in the first year of his [Darius] reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years”.  But 70 years is passed and Jerusalem was not restored and the temple was not built.  As a young boy he was probably brought to Babylon, but now he is old, 85 or 90 years of age or older.  He served mighty kings like Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 1:1); Belshazzar (Daniel 5:1); Darius (Daniel 9:1); and Cyrus (Daniel 10:1).  

However, he did not give up on the matter of God’s restoration of Jerusalem.  He remembered God’s prophetical word that came through the Prophet Jeremiah (Daniel 9:2; Jeremiah 25:11-12) and he took it literally and prayed for God’s intervention.  

What did Daniel do? Daniel 9:3 states, “So, I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.”

Daniel’s all-inclusive prayer is recorded in (Daniel 9: 4 – 19).

• 9:20 “While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill.”
• 9:21 “While I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.” 
• 9:22 “He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding.” 

Based on Jeremiah’s prophecy, Daniel was expecting an immediate restoration for his people, but God is preparing a long-term plan for His people’s complete deliverance.  

Now, Gabriel appeared to give insight and understanding to Daniel: 

• 9:23, “As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed.  Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision:”
• 9: 24, “Seventy ‘Sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy” [the Most Holy One].

Now, Daniel needs insights to understand, what does it mean by 70 ‘Sevens’.  The term ‘Sevens’ described here represents ‘a unit of seven years – 

For instance, according to Leviticus 25:8, “Count off Seven Sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven Sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years.”

If we calculate the ‘Seventy Sevens,’ based on the Leviticus 25:8 criterion,’ it will be 70 x 7 = 490 years.  

Daniel 9:25, “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ 

Examine what happens between issuing the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem and the coming of the Anointed One (Daniel 9:24 & 25):  

• 9:24 – A decree will be issued to restore and rebuild Jerusalem
• 9:24 – Transgression will be finished
• 9:24 – There will be an end to sin
• 9:24 – An atonement will be made to bring everlasting righteousness
• 9:24 – Seal up the vision
• 9:24 – Seal up the prophecy because it will be fulfilled and completed
• 9:24 –  The Anointed One would come
• 9:24 – (last phrase) The Anointing of the Most Holy One
• 9:25c – The Temple and Jerusalem will be rebuilt

Now, we need to understand that the 70 years’ time-period and beyond: Jeremiah’s 70 years’ time-period has now become 70 ‘Sevens’ time-period (70 x 7 = 490), which is divided in to three different time segments: 

1. 9:25 – Seven (7) ‘Sevens’ (or 7 × 7 = 49 years), 
2. 9:25 – Sixty-two (62) ‘Sevens’ (or 62 × 7 = 434 years), and 
3. 9:27 – One (1) ‘Sevens’ (or 1 × 7 = 7 years) 

Thus, a total of Seventy (70) ‘Sevens,’ that is,  70 × 7 = 490 years (that is,  49 + 434 + 7 = 490)

Issuing of the Decree: 

2 Chronicles 36:22-23 states, “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: 23 This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah.  Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them.”

Isaiah 44:28 states, “… who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd and will accomplish all that I please; he will say of Jerusalem, “Let it be rebuilt,” and of the temple, “Let its foundations be aid.”’

Isaiah 45:13 states that, “I will raise up Cyrus in my righteousness: I will make all his ways straight.  He will rebuild my city and set my exiles free, but not for a price or reward, says the Lord Almighty.”

The Decree from King Cyrus – Ezra 1:1-2 (about 539 BC)

“In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah (36:20-23), the Lord moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and also to put it in writing: “This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah.”

The Decree from King Darius Ezra 6:1-3 & 12b [confirming Cyrus’ Decree] (about 519 BC)

Zecheriah 7: 1, “In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Kislev.”

Ezra 6:1-3 & 12b “King Darius then issued an order, and they searched in the archives stored in the treasury at Babylon.v.2 A scroll was found in the citadel of Ecbatana in the province of Media, and this was written on it …v.3 In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid …v.12b “I Darius have decreed it.  Let it be carried out with diligence.”

The Decree from King Artaxerxes in 457 BC 

He ruled the Medo-Persian kingdom from 564 to 524 BC His kingdom extended all the way from India to Cush.  Esther became his wife in the place of Queen Vashti (Esther 1:1 & 2:17).  

To Ezra (7:12, 13 & 27) v. 12 “… Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, teacher of the Law of the God of heaven: Greetings.  v.13 Now I decree that any of the Israelites in my kingdom, including priests and Levites, who volunteer to go to Jerusalem with you, may go … v.27 Praise be to the Lord, the God of our ancestors, who has put it into the king’s heart to bring honor to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem in this way.”

To Nehemiah (Nehemiah 2:1-8); Nehemiah 2: 1-3 & 17 [this is Nehemiah’s testimony] – v.1 “In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king.  I had not been sad in his presence before, v.2 so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.” I was very much afraid, v.3 but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?” … v.17 Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire.  Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.”

The Babylonians

Judah fell in the hands of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar during the reign of King Jehoiachin in BC 605 and the Babylonians ultimately destroyed and burned down the royal palace and the temple of God during the reign of Zedekiah in 586 BC.  

According to Jeremiah, the Prophet, the captivity would last for 70 years (Jeremiah 25:11).  Cyrus’ and Darius’ Decrees were issued to build the Temple of God in Jerusalem and the Artaxerxes’ Decrees were issued to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem and rebuild the ruined walls of Jerusalem.

Ezra 4:3-7, “But Zerubbabel, Joshua and the rest of the heads of the families of Israel answered … we alone will build it for the Lord, the God of Israel, as Cyrus … Darius … Xerxes … and in the days of Artaxerxes kings of Persia commanded us.” 

Ezra 6: 14b-15 states that, “They finished building the temple according to the command of the God of Israel and the decrees of Cyrus, Darius and Artaxerxes, kings of Persia.  The temple was completed on the third day of the month Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.”

Most scholars have agreed that the Decree issued by King Artaxerxes, in the seventh year of his reign, to build house of the Lord in Jerusalem, which was in BC 457 (Ezra 7:18), would be the most appropriate timing to fit the context here.  

Daniel 9:25c says it would take 7 ‘Sevens’ and 62 ‘Sevens’ from the time the decree was issued to build the house of God and to the coming of the Anointed One.  

7 ‘Sevens,’ that is,  7 x 7 = 49 yrs

62 ‘Sevens,’ that is,  62 x 7 = 434 yrs

Thus, a total of 49 + 434 = 483 years

Now, when we deduct 483 years from BC 457 (that is, 457 – 483 = -26), the outcome will be AD 26.  When we study biblical history, this was the time when Jesus began His earthly ministry – approximately AD 26.  The gospel according to Luke (Luke 3:23) states that Jesus was about 30 years old when he started His ministry.  

The Anointing of the Most Holy One: Daniel 24 states that, “Seventy ‘sevens’ are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish[d] transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy One.”  Thus, the anointing of the Most Holy One, Jesus, took place just prior to the starting of His ministry.  Matthew 3:16-17 states that, “As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water.  At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.  And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” 

Imagine the scene of God’s way of anointing His Son Jesus: After John the Baptist baptized Jesus in the river of Jordan and as Jesus was coming out of the water after His baptism, the Heaven was opened and The Holy Spirit (God the Holy Spirit), the Third Person in the Holy Trinity, descending like a dove on Jesus (God the Son), the Second person in the Holy Trinity, and God the Father, the First Person in the Holy Trinity, speaks from heaven saying, This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.  Listen to Him (Matthew 17:5).  This shows, it is not just about the Father or the Son or the Holy Spirit alone but ‘All Three’ working together in unity and one accord.  That was the reason why Jesus commanded His disciples that, “… Go and make disciples of all nations and baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit …” (Matthew 28:18-20).  

What would happen after the ‘Seven-Sevens’ and the Sixty-Two Sevens, that is, 483 years?

Daniel 9:26, “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.” 

* Daniel 9:26 – The Anointed One will be cut off or crucified (fulfilled in c. 30 AD)

Isaiah 53:8 states that, “By oppression and judgment he was taken away.  Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished” which portrays the crucifixion and death of Christ 

* Daniel 9:26 The City and the Holy Sanctuary will be destroyed

Luke 19:41-43, “As he [Jesus] approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it … The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.”

Luke 21:6 states, “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.” 

[Fulfilled in 70 AD: Jerusalem – the city and the temple – was destroyed by the Roman army]

* Daniel 9:26 – The end will come like a flood, 

* Matthew 24:21 “Jesus said, there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.” 

* Daniel 9:26 – War will continue until the end.  The wars on earth will continue until the Lord destroy His enemies and establish His Kingdom.

* Daniel 9:27, Then, the final ‘Seven’ begins, which is the 70^th seven: 

* Daniel 9:27 “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.”

Matthew 24: 15-21 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel – let the reader understand – then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.  Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house.  Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak.  How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.  For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.”

The Seventieth Seven (The last One)

The command to restore Jerusalem and rebuild the temple is given in Nehemiah 2.  The decree was given in the month of Nissan, that is, 14th day of March 445 BC, which is the twentieth year of the king Artaxerxes.  It took about 49 years to rebuild the city and the wall.  The Seven Sevens (49 years) are from the issuance of the decree until the completion of the rebuilding.

The second period of 434 years extended from the time the city was rebuilt under Nehemiah to Messiah (Daniel 9:25), which could be the triumphant entry of Messiah into Jerusalem.  Sir Robert Anderson in his book, The Coming Prince says the first week opened on 14th March, 445 BC and 69th week closed on April 6th, 32 AD, that marks the triumphant entry of Jesus to Jerusalem.  After these two periods (7+62=69) shall the Messiah be cut off (Christ’s crucifixion).

The last 7 years of the 490 years is known as the Daniel’s 70th Seven.  It is yet to come.  The first 69 weeks came to an end during the lifetime of the Messiah.  The rapture will take place before the 70th week opens and there will be a covenant of peace treaty made between the Anti-Christ and the Israel during the tribulation period.

It is believed that there are going to be seven years of tribulation: three and half years of normal tribulation, and three and half years of severe tribulation.  From this, we can understand that the 69 Sevens have already passed but the 70th Sevens is yet to start.  Another important thing to notice here is that the Church is not revealed in Daniel’s prophecy, which shows that the Church age would take place between the 69th and the 70th weeks.  That means, we, the Church, are part of the age that is between the 69th and 70th ‘Sevens,’ which is known as the era of church (the Dispensation of Grace).