Do these expressions describe Jerusalem as in favour of in desolation? There is only

one answer. Nehemiah saw in these events the fulfillment of the curse threatened by law

and prophets:--

Daniel also uses terms that imply "Lo-ammi" conditions. Jerusalem is "desolate"

(9: 2); Israel are driven (verse 7); the curse is poured upon them (verse 11); the

visitation upon Jerusalem is unprecedented (verse 12). And in verse 16 there is anger and

fury and reproach.

The seventy-sevens cannot commence until Jerusalem is rebuilt and the curse

removed; this makes clear the reason for the division of the years into seven sevens and

sixty-two sevens. The seven sevens of 49 years represent the time occupied in the

rebuilding of the wall and street of Jerusalem by Nehemiah in time of trouble, and the

period ends at the dedication of the temple (Ezra 6: 16-18; Neh. 13: 6).

To revert to our illustration, the period covered by the building of the wall up to the

dedication of the temple corresponds with the first 7 miles of country road. At the

dedication of the temple at the end of the seven sevens the "Lo-ammi" period ends; the

new high road is reached. It is then a distance of 62 miles to the Cross; or, leaving the

illustration, an unbroken period of 62 sevens to the time of "the Messiah the Prince".

Those who include the 49 years of rebuilding, include a period when Israel was

"Lo-ammi", and they have no alternative to excluding from their reckoning the whole

period of the Acts of the Apostles. But it is quite certain that Israel were not set aside as

a people until Acts 28:, so that the period of the Acts must be included. Our

interpretation has required only 62 sevens; so that there is still scope remaining. From

A.D.29 to A.D. 63, the usual dates now given for the Crucifixion and Acts 28:,

respectively, is a period of 35 years; this accounts for 5 sevens. Three sevens, therefore,

remain for the future, and these are dealt with in the book of the Revelation: seven seals,

seven trumpets, and seven vials. The final "seven" is concerned with the beast, the false

prophet, antichrist and Babylon, as we read in Dan. 9:

Figure 1 in the diagram shown in Volume VI, page 169 exhibits the orthodox

scheme, which includes 49 "Lo-ammi" years, and finds no room for the Acts. Figure 2

sets forth the interpretation suggested in this article, where the "Lo-ammi" conditions are

recognized both in Nehemiah's day and in subsequent times. We must reserve for

another article the exposition of the divine purpose for which this period of 490 years was

set apart.