The Seventy Weeks Were Fulfilled in A.D.70

By Todd D. Dennis

Luke 21:22 "These be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled."

What were the consequences for the generation that rejected Christ? Was the desolation of A.D. 70 foretold by Christ?

     In Daniel, chapter nine, the angel Gabriel told Daniel that there were "seventy weeks" determined upon the people of Israel as a nation. Verse 26 shows that the completion of this seventy week period would specifically bring the destruction of the city and the sanctuary of Jerusalem. Christ, in describing the sinfulness of the Jewish leaders in Matthew 23, closed by saying that upon that generation would come all of the righteous blood shed since Abel's. These two prophecies are directly related to one another. Christ, also in a display of the judgment that would come upon the nation, told them, "behold, your house is left unto you desolate." This is the same language that is used in Daniel chapter nine referring to the completion of the seventy week period.

     First, we must realize when the desolation occurred. Most teach that it will be during a future seven year tribulation period, in which God will finish his dealings with the 'nation of Israel.' Christ himself, however, said that judgment would come upon that generation. Having seen that one is only a 'Jew' if he is born again (Rom. 2:28,29), we know that the only 'nation of Israel' after Christ is the body of born-again believers (See Who are 'God's Chosen People'). In Matt. 21:43, when Christ confronted the Jewish leaders that the kingdom of God was being taken away from them and given to a nation bringing forth fruits, he was clearly identifying that his dealings with the 'nation of Israel' were soon to be completed. Seeing that the judgment was to come upon that generation, what became of this last generation of unsaved national 'Jews'?

     In fulfillment of the prophecies of Daniel chapter nine, and the prophecies of Jesus Christ, the judgment of God came upon that unprofitable nation in the seven year war, hilighted by the destruction of Jerusalem (Hereafter simply called 'A.D. 70'.  This was when the city of Jerusalem was besieged and utterly destroyed, left so desolate that only hyenas are said to have lived within its walls.  This is the very judgment which was promised for disobedience in Leviticus 26, Deut. 28, I Kings 9, II Chron. 7, and many other places.  Matthew 24 and Luke 21 date this destruction as clearly being the desolation of the entire Jewish nation from A.D. 66-73, with the destruction of Jerusalem at the three and one-half year point.

     The Matthew 24 reference identifies the destruction of the city and the sanctuary as occurring, first of all, very soon to the day of his prophecy.  In Matthew 21:34, Christ says," Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." Many say that the word generation does not refer to time, but to the type of people involved. We know that this is not so, because in Luke 17:25, Christ refers to his crucifixion, saying, "But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation" clearly making a commentary on a specific generation.  Also, in unmistakable language, Jesus Christ said to the high priest, in Matthew 26:64, "Hereafter shall ye see the son of man... coming in the clouds of heaven'. In Matthew 16:28, Christ says, ' There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man..'   Besides this, it just so happens that everything that Christ said would come upon that generation, did!  This clear, literal statement by God Himself , implying that the fulfillment of the judgments of Daniel 9 would occur within the space of that living generation, can be substantiated in other ways.  A reference of Matthew 24:15 with Luke's account links the destruction of Jerusalem as occurring when that generation would see the city surrounded by an army.   It reads in Matthew, "When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judea flee unto the mountains." Using the same command for the people in Judea to flee, Christ says, in Luke 21 reads, in verse 20, "And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed about with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh." And to clearly identify what the purpose for the desolation is, we are told, in verse 22, "For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled."

     If, indeed, the indignation of the Lord was poured upon the 'desolate' Jewish nation in A.D. 70, what becomes of the prophecies in Daniel 9:24-27 which identify the completion of the unprofitable nation as happening at the end of the seventy weeks, when the city and the sanctuary were destroyed? Are we to understand that this seventy week period was fulfilled at the destruction in A.D. 70?  Keep in mind that the seventy weeks were determined upon "thy people and thy holy city", and that by the end of the seventy weeks, the city and the sanctuary would be destroyed. This was fulfilled in A.D. 70. We are not waiting today for the temple to be rebuilt today, simply so that it can be destroyed, as it has already happened! Also, by the end of this period, the 'sacrifice and the oblation' (Dan 9:27) were to cease. This, too, was accomplished in A.D. 70. We are not waiting today for the sacrifices to start again, simply so that they can stop, as this has already happened! In further confirmation, Daniel 9:24 lists six specific things would be accomplished by the end of this period, all of which have been fulfilled. In confirmation of the fulfillment, it reads, "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to:"

1. "To finish the transgression,"
- This was fulfilled. (Luke 11:47-51 ; Matt 23:29-32; Matt 21:33-45)

2. "Make an end of sins,"
- This was fulfilled. (John 1:29; Matt 1:21; Acts 10:43; Hebrews 9:26)

3. "Make reconciliation for iniquity,"
- This was fulfilled. (II Cor 5:18-21; Hebrews 2:17; Col 1:20; Romans 5:10)

4. "Bring in everlasting righteousness,"
- This was fulfilled. (Romans 3:25,26; Hebrews 9:12; II Thess 2:16; II Cor. 9:9)

5. "Seal up vision and prophecy,"
- This was fulfilled. (Hebrews 1:1-2; John 1:1; II Peter 1:19-21)

6. "Anoint the most holy (or holy place)."
- This was fulfilled. (Matthew 3:15-17; Luke 4:18; Acts 4:26,27; 10:38)

     Interestingly, Christ, in response to the question of how many times a man should forgive his brother, responded by saying, "until seventy times seven," which is the exact amount of time in Daniel's seventy weeks. The implication being that there was an end to Christ's patience with His nation. Christ fulfilled the covenant that they broke well over 490 'times'. That is not necessarily to say that Christ was saying after 'seventy sevens' we should not forgive, but that, simply, "seventy weeks (were) determined upon (Daniel's) people."

     Therefore, we can see that the desolation of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 fulfilled the prophecies of Daniel chapter nine, against the perverse generation that rejected the Lord and his Anointed. Christ judged the nation with desolation, and took away the kingdom of God and gave it to a nation bringing forth fruits, which is the nation of believers. The "days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled" spoken of can be no other than the fulfillment of Daniel's seventy weeks with the Desolation of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Therefore,

The Desolation of Palestine in A.D. 66-73 was The Fulfillment of Daniel's 70th Week, And the End of Any Temporal 'Nation of God'.