This prophecy which named also as Daniel vision is one of the most mysterious prophecies in the Old Testament, and it created too much controversy among hundreds if not thousands of Jewish and Christian religious scholars around the world, so they can figure its real explanation.
The prophecy is mentioned in Book of Daniel, Chapter 9, 23:29:
22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.
23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.
24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, 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 seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured -upon the desolate.
The problem in this prophecy is the following:
Duration of Week, is it days? or weeks? or years? means when talking about 7 weeks, does it means 7 days, or 7 weeks = 7 x 7 days = 49 days, or it’s 7 x 7 years = 49 years !!
Most of the scholars agree that a week means: week of prophetic days, which means each 1 day = 1 year, as mentioned in the
"After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise. [Numbers 14:34]
But this will cause another problem as the chronological order of the predicted events is not correct, and does not coincide with actual events which happened during this period.
To solve such discrepancy some researchers used weeks to be equal to years for the first 70 weeks, and days for 69 (62 + 7) weeks, which logically will not be understandable easily.
Others tried to change the starting date to fit with the first events of this prophecy which worked with them but didn’t match on its end.
This led to many interpretations of this complex prophecy, and all of them didn’t agree on the same result,
[For more information, please refer to the following resource on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prophecy_of_Seventy_Weeks]
The Correct Understanding of The 70 Weeks Prophecy:
By reading this prophecy times and times again, it shows that the order of its verses may not be totally accurate as the subject of each verse and the progression between each one and its previous and consequence verses does not match ever.
Let’s look again to the verses with indicating the common words between the verses, and after matching them we get the following astonishing result:
[Highlighting the common words]
[Indicating the relations between the common words]
Which shows that the real order of these verses must be as following:
22 à 23 à 25 à 26 à 24 à 27
Then, it becomes as following:
But, how this will help to decipher this prophecy?
Now, the prophecy with the new order will be as following with each of its “sentence” meaning:
23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to shew thee; for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.
23 – Meaning: Try to understand the prophecy with deep thinking first;
25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
25 – The period from the Order date, rebuilding Jerusalem, finishing it, till Jesus appearance is 7 weeks + 62 weeks = which equal to 69 weeks.
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
26 – After the last 62 weeks, then Jesus message will be cut but not for himself, and prince (governor)’s people (soldiers) will come to destroy the city and obviously the kingdom of “Jewish” Jerusalem.
24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, 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 seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
24 – 70 weeks will pass later to finish the transgression, make end of sins and reconciliation for iniquity, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint “announce” the most Holy.
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured -upon the desolate.
27 – Talking about the most holy, since it used “he shall” and not the “Messiah” as above, he will confirm the covenant with many for one week, and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Explanation of The Prophecy:
1st Verse:
25 – The period from the Order date, rebuilding Jerusalem, finishing it, till Jesus appearance is 7 weeks + 62 weeks = which equal to 69 weeks.
Quoted from Wikipedia: (Prophecy_of_Seventy_Weeks)
[The 70 weeks prophecy starts with the decree (by Artaxerxes in his 7th year) that allowed for Jerusalem to be restored and rebuilt. Two previous decrees only dealt with the construction of the Temple, Artaxerxes' 7th year began in 457 BC as counted by the Jewish civil calendar.
The length of the prophetic 69 weeks is 483 prophetic days. Citing other prophecies where a prophetic day represents a literal year, Seventh Day Adventists, following the Millerite lead, set the 483 prophetic days to 483 literal years. Thus, the ending year of the 69 weeks is calculated as 457 BC plus 483 years, to arrive at 27 AD. ]
Then, the explanation of verse 25 is completely understandable as following:
- Rebuilding Order Date was on = 457 BC by Artaxerxes in his 7th year.
- After 7 weeks + 62 weeks = (7 + 62) x 7 = 483 years.
- Arriving to (-) 457 BC + 483 years = 26/27 AD within the year when Jesus started preaching his message.
2nd Verse:
26 – After the last 62 weeks, then Jesus message will be cut but not for himself, and prince (governor)’s people (soldiers) will come to destroy the city and obviously the kingdom of “Jewish” Jerusalem.
The 62 weeks here are the same of above verse and they are not a new 62 weeks, but only to link the 2 scattered verse as explained above.
Jesus message will be cut but not for himself, and using the word cut means exactly that the message of Jesus will be cut and not him personally, which means that he will not die or be killed which also confirms that Jesus was never died on the cross but was saved and rose to God.
Only his message will be cut and as everything being cut, it will be divided into 2 parts, the first part has already fulfilled from 27 AD till 33 AD, and the second part is to come before the end of life, which all Christians and Muslims agree on, as mentioned in the following saying “Hadith” of prophet Muhammad (PBUH) prophesying that Jesus son of Marry will come later on before the end of life:
[Descending of Jesus]
Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said:
"By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, surely (Jesus,) the son of Mary will soon descend amongst you and will judge mankind justly (as a Just Ruler); he will break the Cross and kill the pigs and there will be no Jizya (i.e. taxation taken from non Muslims). Money will be in abundance so that nobody will accept it, and a single prostration to Allah (in prayer) will be better than the whole world and whatever is in it."
Abu Huraira added "If you wish, you can recite (this verse of the Holy Book): -- 'And there is none Of the people of the Scriptures (Jews and Christians) But must believe in him (i.e Jesus as an Apostle of Allah and a human being) Before his death. And on the Day of Judgment He will be a witness Against them." (4.159) (See Fateh Al Bari, Page 302 Vol 7)
Secondly, the destruction of the holy city of Jerusalem, will be done by the prince people which means also the governor’s soldiers, “The Romans”.
This was started on 70 AD when Jerusalem has been invaded by the Roman, but the Jewish rebellion didn’t stop till 81 AD when it’s finally disappeared and the Jewish king was removed finally, as explained on the http://prophecyhistory.com/node/318 in the article titled as:
79-81 AD: Titus: When “King” Jerusalem no longer existed.
3rd Verse:
24 – 70 weeks will pass later to finish the transgression, make end of sins and reconciliation for iniquity, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint “announce” the most Holy.
Now, adding to the date of holy city destruction and the vanishing of the Jewish Kingdom completely 70 weeks more, which equal to:
81 AD + 70 weeks x 7 years = 81 + 490 = 571 AD.
On this 571 AD, the vision and prophecy will be sealed up and the “Most Holy” will be announced or selected, but who was born on 571 AD?
It was the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) who was born on 571 AD, and he is the most holy and the seal of all prophets.
And as mentioned in the Holy Quran, that Muhammad is the seal of all prophets, using the same word “Seal” mentioned in the verse above:
Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets; and Allah is ever Aware of all things. (Ahzab - 40)
But, what is the proof?
The proof is explained in the last verse, and which is the most important in the entire prophecy.
4th Verse:
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured -upon the desolate.
27 – Talking about the most holy, he will confirm the covenant with many for one week, and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured -upon the desolate.
1. “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:”
Knowing that we are talking about the “most holy” prophet Muhammad (PBUH), who did, in a period of 7 years after his immigrant “Hijra” to Medina, write a covenant with the Jews there upon his arrival [1], this covenant continued from the 1st year of Hijra till the 7th year where the covenant was broken between the prophet Muhammad and the Jews in Medina due to their deceitfulness and their many trials to assassinate him.
On the 7th year, Prophet Muhammad led an attack on Khybar the last city of the Jews north of Medina, which he won later on and exiled most of them outside Arabia.
This corresponds exactly with what mentioned in this prophecy that he’ll keep the covenant for one week exactly, also it can relate to the covenant signed between him and Kuraysh “the infidels of Makkah” end of year 6 and shortly before attacking Khybar.
2. “and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate,”.
This related to half week after the one week which equals to 3 ½ + 7 years = the 10th year of Hijra, that was also the last year of prophet Muhammad (PBUH) life and the date of his “Farewell” Pilgrimage.
In his “Farewell” speech to all Muslims, he started by forbidding two important things: the Usury and bloody revenge.
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:
“Verily your blood and your property are as sacred and inviolable as the sacredness of this day of yours, in this month of yours, in this land of yours.
Behold! Everything pertaining to the days of ignorance is under my feet completely abolished.
Abolished are also the blood revenges of the days of ignorance. The first claim of ours on blood revenge which I abolish is that of the son of Rabi`ah ibn al Harith.
And the usury riba of the pre-Islamic period is abolished, and the first of our usury I abolish is that of `Abbas ibn `Abd al Muttalib, for it is all abolished.”
قال ابن إسحاق : ثم مضى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم على حجه فأرى الناس مناسكهم وأعلمهم سنن حجهم وخطب الناس خطبته التي بين فيها ما بين فحمد الله وأثنى عليه ثم قال :
(أيها الناس اسمعوا قولي، فإني لا أدري لعلي لا ألقاكم بعد عامي هذا بهذا الموقف أبدا:
· أيها الناس إن دماءكم وأموالكم عليكم حرام إلى أن تلقوا ربكم كحرمة يومكم هذا، وكحرمة شهركم هذا، وإنكم ستلقون ربكم فيسألكم عن أعمالكم وقد بلغت،
· فمن كان عنده أمانة فليؤدها إلى من ائتمنه عليها،
· وإن كل ربا موضوع ولكن لكم رءوس أموالكم لا تظلمون ولا تظلمون. قضى الله أنه لا ربا، وإن ربا عباس بن عبد المطلب موضوع كله
· وأن كل دم كان في الجاهلية موضوع وإن أول دمائكم أضع دم ابن ربيعة بن الحارث بن عبد المطلب، وكان مسترضعا في بني ليث فقتلته هذيل فهو أول ما أبدأ به من دماء الجاهلية.
قال ابن إسحاق : وحدثني يحيى بن عباد بن عبد الله بن الزبير، عن أبيه عباد قال كان الرجل الذي يصرخ في الناس بقول رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وهو بعرفة ربيعة بن أمية بن خلف.
· قال يقول له رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : (قل يا أيها الناس إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول هلا تدرون أي شهر هذا ؟ "
· فيقول لهم فيقولون الشهر الحرام.
· فيقول قل لهم " إن الله قد حرم عليكم دماءكم وأموالكم إلى أن تلقوا ربكم كحرمة شهركم هذا " ;
· ثم يقول قل " يا أيها الناس إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول هل تدرون أي بلد هذا ؟ "
· قال فيصرخ به قال فيقولون البلد الحرام،
· قال فيقول قل لهم " إن الله قد حرم عليكم دماءكم وأموالكم إلى أن تلقوا ربكم كحرمة بلدكم هذا ".
· قال ثم يقول قل " يا أيها الناس إن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول هل تدرون أي يوم هذا ؟
· قال فيقوله لهم. فيقولون يوم الحج الأكبر
· قال فيقول قل لهم إن الله قد حرم عليكم دماءكم وأموالكم إلى أن تلقوا ربكم كحرمة يومكم هذا.
“and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate,”
And this exactly means what is mentioned in the prophecy of stopping the sacrifice, oblation, and abominations, and all related to bad acts that were highly overspreading in Arabia and in the world.
Sacrifice (n) - the act of losing or surrendering something as a penalty for a mistake or fault or failure to perform etc.- the act of terminating a life
oblation (n) - the act of contributing to the funds of a church or charity, offering, giving, gift - the act of giving
abomination (n)- an action that is vicious or vile; an action that arouses disgust or abhorrence; "his treatment of the children is an abomination" - the act of transgressing; the violation of a law or a duty or moral principle; "the boy was punished for the transgressions of his father"
desolate (v) - leave someone who needs or counts on you; leave in the lurch; "The mother deserted her children" desert, forsake, abandon, leave - go and leave behind, either intentionally or by neglect or, to make barren or lay waste; devastate, - to make wretched or forlorn, - to forsake or abandon
3. “even until the consummation”,
This refers to the completion of “Islam” Religion as final and only accepted religion to God, which revealed also in the following verse on the same day of the Farwell Hajj speech:
“This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islâm as your religion” [Maaeda:3]
4. and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate,
This could be explained as one of the following meanings:
· This declaration by ALLAH that final religion will be the ISLAM will pour badly on the desolate “The Bad One, devastated one” i.e. Satan, which is mentioned in the same speech of prophet Muhammad that: “today Satan had been depressed from your religion” (i.e. means changing it, or preventing you ever from following it).
· If “desolate” means a deserted, it also can fit, since the last speech of prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was on Arafa that is absolutely a deserted area next to Makkah city in Arabia.
desolate (adj): uninhabited; deserted, made uninhabitable; laid waste; devastated, without friends, hope, or encouragement; forlorn, wretched, or abandoned, gloomy or dismal; depressing
By this explanation, it shows clearly that this prophecy is talking about the arrival of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by mentioning his birth year “571 AD”, and confirms that Jesus Christ (PBUH) was never killed or crucified as mentioned in the Quran:
And because of their saying: We slew the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, Allah's messenger - they slew him not nor crucified him, but it appeared so unto them; and lo! those who disagree concerning it are in doubt thereof; they have no knowledge thereof save pursuit of a conjecture; they slew him not for certain. (157)
But Allah took him up unto Himself. Allah was ever Mighty, Wise. (158)
There is not one of the People of the Scripture but will believe in him before his death, and on the Day of Resurrection he will be a witness against them - (159)
And, as he will replies on the Day of Resurrection:
When Allah saith: O Jesus, son of Mary! Remember My favour unto thee and unto thy mother; how I strengthened thee with the holy Spirit, so that thou spakest unto mankind in the cradle as in maturity; and how I taught thee the Scripture and Wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel; and how thou didst shape of clay as it were the likeness of a bird by My permission, and didst blow upon it and it was a bird by My permission, and thou didst heal him who was born blind and the leper by My permission; and how thou didst raise the dead by My permission; and how I restrained the Children of Israel from (harming) thee when thou camest unto them with clear proofs, and those of them who disbelieved exclaimed: This is naught else than evident magic; (110)
And when I inspired the disciples, (saying): Believe in Me and in My messenger, they said: We believe. Bear witness that we have surrendered (unto Thee). (111)
When the disciples said: O Jesus, son of Mary! Is thy Lord able to send down for us a table spread with food from heaven? He said: Observe your duty to Allah, if ye are true believers. (112)
(They said:) We wish to eat thereof, that we may satisfy our hearts and know that thou hast spoken truth to us, and that thereof we may be witnesses. (113)
Jesus, son of Mary, said: O Allah, Lord of us! Send down for us a table spread with food from heaven, that it may be a feast for us, for the first of us and for the last of us, and a sign from Thee. Give us sustenance, for Thou art the Best of Sustainers. (114)
Allah said: Lo! I send it down for you. And whoso disbelieveth of you afterward, him surely will I punish with a punishment wherewith I have not punished any of (My) creatures. (115)
And when Allah saith: O Jesus, son of Mary! Didst thou say unto mankind: Take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah? he saith: Be glorified! It was not mine to utter that to which I had no right. If I had ever said it, then Thou wouldst have known it. Thou knowest what is in my mind, and I know not what is in Thy Mind. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Knower of Things Hidden? (116)
I spake unto them only that which Thou commandedst me, (saying): Worship Allah, my Lord and your Lord. I was a witness of them while I dwelt among them, and when Thou tookest me Thou wast the Watcher over them. Thou art Witness over all things. (117)
If Thou punish them, lo! they are Thy slaves, and if Thou forgive them (lo! they are Thy slaves). Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Mighty, the Wise. (118)
Allah saith: This is a day in which their truthfulness profiteth the truthful, for theirs are Gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein they are secure for ever, Allah taking pleasure in them and they in Him. That is the great triumph. (119)
Unto Allah belongeth the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth and whatsoever is therein, and He is Able to do all things. (120) [Al-Maaeda]
Thanks only to ALLAH, Lord of the Worlds.
---------------
Reference:
[1] Names of Arab and Jewish tribes who Prophet Muhammad had signed a covenant with them upon his arrival to Madina:
9 x Arab Tribes: The Immigrants from Quraish, Bno Awof, Bno Alhareth (khazraj), Bno Saaedah, Bno Jashem, Bon Alnajjar, Bno Amro bin Awof, Bno Alnabiet, Bno Alaws.
8 x Jewish Tribes: Jweish bno Awof (those who are allied with bno Awof), Jewish Bno Alhareth, Jewish Bno Saaedah, Jewsih Bno Jashem, Jewish Bno Alaws, Jewish Bno Thalaba, Jefnah Bno Thalaba, Bani Alshtyba.
أسماء القبائل والعشائر التي صالحها النبي محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم, عند وصوله للمدينة:
العرب: المهاجرون من قريش, بنو عوف, بنو الحارث (من الخزرج), بنو ساعدة, بنو جُشم, بنو النجار, بنو عمرو بن عوف, بنو النبيت, وبنو الاوس,
اليهود: يهود بني عوف, يهود بني الحارث, يهود بني ساعدة, يهود بني جُشم, يهود بني الاوس, ويهود بني ثعلبة, جفنة بطن من ثعلبة, بني الشطيبة
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