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follows that the seventy weeks are also weeks of years, so that the seventy
weeks 'determined' represent a period of 490 years.
When does the period of 490 years commence?
After revealing to Daniel a prophetic period of 490 years marked off on
the divine calendar, the angel proceeds to divide the number of years up in a
rather strange way. We first learn that during the 490 years the following
events are to be fulfilled:
'To finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make
reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness
... and to anoint the most Holy' (Dan. 9:24).
The angel next proceeds to give further light upon this time by saying
that the period from the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem to the
coming of Messiah the Prince will be 7 weeks and 62 weeks, and that after the
62 weeks have elapsed the Messiah will be cut off. We found it useful when
speaking of 'lo -ammi' periods to use a simple illustration to make the
matter clearer. It may be of service to use the same method here. Suppose a
motorist is being directed to a certain destination and that, instead of
being told that his goal is 69 miles away, he is told that it is 7 miles and
62 miles away. If after that somewhat cryptic statement, a remark is added
about some feature in the road that marks a junction, the obvious thing for
the motorist to do would be to travel the first seven miles and then look for
some change. If at the end of 7 miles of rather bad country lane the car
emerged into a new, well -made road which continued for the remaining 62
miles, he would realize the reason for dividing the distance. Moreover, if
he had been told that at the end of 62 miles he would come to a cross, he
would look for it at the end of 62 miles of new road, for so the direction
had indicated.
Now it must be obvious that when the angel speaks of 7 weeks as
distinct from 62 weeks, he has some special reason for it. The angel also
speaks of the building of the wall and the street of Jerusalem as an event
related to the time periods with which his message deals. The Companion
Bible in Appendix 58 gives the history of Nehemiah and Ezra. It is much too
long to quote here, but we give two extracts to prove our point. We must
leave our readers to test the matter further by consulting that appendix for
themselves.
455 b.c.
Nehemiah 1:1 -2:8. Hanani's report in the month
of Chisleu leads to the 'going forth of the commandment to
rebuild Jerusalem' (Dan. 9:25).
454 b.c.
By Artaxerxes in his twentieth year.
407 b.c.
Nehemiah obtains leave of absence (Neh. 13:6), and returns
to be present at
405 b.c.
The dedication of the temple.
This ends the 'seven sevens' from the going forth of the
commandment in 454 b.c.