Category Archives: Old Testament

WHEN DO DANIEL’S WEEKS BEGIN?

Daniel, Dispensationalism, Old Testament November 13, 2013 Leave a comment

PMT 2013-026 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

Start dateAn initial problem faces the interpreter of Daniel’s Seventy Weeks prophecy. We must determine the identity of the “command” in Daniel 9:25: “Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem. . . .”

Decrees to Consider
At first we might suspect Cyrus’s decree in 538 B.C., which is mentioned in 2 Chronicles 36:22-23 and in Ezra 1:1-4; 5:13, 17, 6:3. Certainly Cyrus gives a command to rebuild the city (Isa. 44:28): yet the bulk of the references to his decree deal with the Temple’s rebuilding. Daniel, however, specifically speaks of the command to “restore and build Jerusalem,” which is an important qualification as E. W. Hengstenberg so capably shows. Though the Jews make half-hearted efforts to rebuild Jerusalem after Cyrus’s decree, the city long remains little more than a sparsely populated, unwalled village.

Yet Daniel speaks of the command to “restore” (root: shub, “return”) Jerusalem (Dan. 9:25). This requires a return to its original integrity and grandeur as per Jeremiah’s prophecy: “I will cause the captives of Judah and the captives of Israel to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first” (Jer. 33:7). This must involve the restoring of the city complete with its streets and protective wall: “the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times” (Dan. 9:25). Continue reading →

STRUCTURE AND CHRONOLOGY OF DANIEL’S 70 WEEKS

Daniel, Dispensationalism, Old Testament November 11, 2013 Comments: 6

PMT 2013-025 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

DecreeDaniel’s seventy weeks prophecy in Dan 9:24-27 is a famous and intriguing passage of Scripture. It’s eschatological character and time-frame provide important information for biblical eschatology. Unfortunately, this is a difficult passage to interpret, though it is thought by the majority of laymen to be quite simple.

I am beginning a brief series on Daniel’s prophecy of the seventy weeks. As we begin I would like first to consider two issues: the structure and the chronology of the seventy weeks.

Covenantal Structure

If we are to understand Daniel’s prophecy, it is extremely helpful to recognize the crucial structure of this unique prophecy. Meredith Kline provides a thorough presentation of the strongly covenantal cast of the prophecy. He meticulously demonstrates that Daniel’s prayer (Dan. 9:3-19) leading up to the prophecy is “saturated with formulaic expressions drawn from the Mosaic treaties, particularly from the Deuteronomic treaty.”

We see that the covenant is a key concern for Daniel. We see this in both Daniel’s prayer and the Lord’s answer to it. Let me explain. Continue reading →