“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.”

“And after the sixty-two weeks

Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;

“After the sixty-two weeks, Messiah shall be cut off” (434 years). This period extends to the presentation of the Messiah to Israel and concludes on the day of the Triumphal Entry. This is just before the Messiah was “cut off” in the crucifixion.

Zech 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your King is coming to you;

He is just and having salvation,

Lowly and riding on a donkey,

A colt, the foal of a donkey.”

The Messiah shall be cut off but “not for Himself.” Jesus was “cut off” by the crucifixion. Jesus came to pay for all personal sins on the cross.

The Messiah did not receive anything due Him at His first coming. He did not reign as King because “He came unto His own (own things — neuter), but His own (own people ((Jews))– masculine) did not receive Him” (Jn 1:11).

The first two sections of this prophecy run without interruption in time (7 sevens and 62 sevens). They total 483 years extending from 445 B.C. until the time of Christ.

The “Messiah” was not “cut off” in the 70^th seven. He was cut off “after” the 7 and 62 sevens had finished, not “after” the 70^th week. The implication is that there was an interlude or intercalation between the 69^th and 70^th sevens. The idea of “cut off” in the Hebrew is that of executing a death penalty on a criminal implying the crucifixion. The crucifixion of Christ after the Triumphal Entry concluded the 69^th seven dealing with Israel. Jesus then launched a new institution – the church (Mt 16:18). During God’s dealing with the church, He set aside Israel as His institution of dealing in the world between the 69^th and 70^th sevens (heptads).

The Jewish calendar calculates a month as 30 days and a year as 360 days. The lunar month is 30 days for every month, including February (calculated by the time between two full moons). It is the time that elapses between successive new moons averaging 29 days, 12 hours, and 44 minutes. The Jewish lunar year has 354 days (a solar year contains 365 days, 5 hours and 48 minutes, 45.5 seconds – the rotation of the earth around the sun). The Jewish calendar adjusts to the solar year by the periodic introduction of leap years that contain an intercalary month, ensuring that the major religious festivals fall in proper season. Today, we use the Gregorian calendar.

PRINCIPLE:

Prophecy with integrity gives people, places, times, and dates.

APPLICATION:

The Bible is clearly prophetic in very specific ways. In contrast to false prophecy, biblical prophecy gives specifics of people, places, times, and dates. This particular prophecy of the 70 sevens pinpoints the exact time when the Messiah came and died.