Daniel 9:24

And so all which has been sealed long ago now through the grace of the Lord, has been opened to the saints. For he himself was a perfect seal and key which is from David who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens. As also John says, "And I saw at the right hand of him who sat upon the throne a book written inside and out, which was sealed with seven seals. And I saw an angel preaching in a great voice, 'Who is worthy to open the book and to loose its seals?' And no one was able in heaven nor upon the earth nor under the earth to open the book nor to look at it. And many were weeping because no one was found worthy to open the book nor to look at it. And the one from the elders says to me, 'Do not weep. Behold, the lion from the tribe of Judah has conquered, the root and the offspring of David, and he opens the book and looses its seven seals.' And I saw in the midst of the throne and in the midst of the elders a lamb standing, who was slain, who had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God which are sent on to all the earth. And he came and he took the book from the right hand of him who sat upon the throne, and when he took the book, the four creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the saints, and they sang a new song saying, 'You are worthy to take the book and to open its seals because you were slain and you purchased us for God by your blood from every tribe and tongue and people and nation and you made a kingdom and priests for God and they shall reign upon the earth.'" [Revelation 5:1-10] And so he took the book and loosed it, so that what was spoken long ago secretly concerning him, now may be preached with boldness upon the rooftops. […]

The learned scholar Clement, presbyter of the church at Alexandria, regards the number of years as a matter of slight consequence, asserting that the seventy weeks of years were completed by the span of time from the reign of Cyrus, King of the Persians, to the reign of the Roman emperors, Vespasian and Titus; that is to say, the interval of four hundred and ninety years, with the addition in that same figure of the two thousand three hundred days of which we made earlier mention. He attempts to reckon in these seventy weeks the ages of the Persians, Macedonians, and Caesars, even though according to the most careful computation, the number of years from the first year of Cyrus, King of the Persians and Medes, when Darius also bore rule, up to the reign of Vespasian and the destruction of the Temple amounts to six hundred and thirty.

It does not seem to me that the seventy weeks have been divided up without purpose, in that seven is mentioned first, and then sixty-two, and then a last week is added, which in turn is itself divided into two parts. For it is written: 'Thou shalt know and understand that from the issuing of the word (command) that the petition be granted and Jerusalem be built until Christ the Prince there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks.' And after the rest which he relates in the intervening section, he states at the end: 'He shall confirm a testimony (covenant) with many during one week.' It is clear that the angel did not detail these things in his reply to no purpose or apart from the inspiration of God. This observation seems to require some cautious and careful reasoning, so that the reader may pay diligent attention and inquire into the cause for this division (variant: vision). But if we must express our own opinion, in conformity with the rest of the interpretation which concerns this present context, in the angel's statement: 'From the issuing of the word that the petition be granted and that Jerusalem be built, until the time of Christ the Prince,' we are only to think of other princes who had charge of the Jewish people subsequent to this prophecy and subsequent to the return from Babylon. That is to say, we are to think of the <i>arkhiereis</i> and pontiffs to whom the Scripture attaches the title of christs, by reason of the fact that they have been anointed. The first of these was Jesus the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and then the rest who had that office up until the time of the advent of our Lord and Savior. […]

This means that there will be quietness for your people, so that the transgressions may be finished and the sins expiated through the seventy years of the bondage in Babylon may end, as well as all the crimes of the children of Israel. Again "to …

We may learn what Tertullian had to say on the subject by consulting the book which he wrote against the Jews <i>(Contra Judaeos),</i> and his remarks may be set forth in brief: "How, then, are we to show that Christ came within the sixty-two weeks? This calculation begins with the first year of Darius, since that was the time when the vision itself was revealed to Daniel. For he was told: 'Understand and conclude from the prophesying of the command for me to give thee this reply...' Hence we are to commence our computation with the first year of Darius, when Daniel beheld this vision. Let us see, then, how the years are fulfilled up to the advent of Christ. Darius reigned nineteen years; Artaxerxes forty years; the Ochus who was surnamed Cyrus twenty-four years; Argus, one year. Then Darius II, who was called Melas, twenty-one years. Alexander the Macedonian reigned twelve years. And then after Alexander (who had ruled over both the Medes and the Persians, after he had conquered them, and had established his rule in Alexandria, calling it after his own name), Soter reigned there in Alexandria for thirty-five years, and was succeeded by Philadelphus, who reigned for thirty-eight years. After him Euergetes reigned for twenty-five years, and then Philopator for seventeen years, followed by Epiphanes for twenty-four years. Furthermore the second Euergetes ruled for twenty and nine years, and Soter for thirty-eight years. Ptolemy for thirty-seven years, and Cleopatra for twenty years and five months. Furthermore Cleopatra shared the rule with Augustus for thirteen years. After Cleopatra Augustus reigned forty-three years more. For all of the years of the reign of Augustus were fifty-six in number. And let us see (variant: we see) that in the forty-first year of the reign of Augustus, who ruled after the death of Cleopatra, Christ was born. […]

Daniel … teaches that God decided that a period of 490 years should be allotted to Jerusalem to enjoy divine gifts as usual until it committed that sacrilegious and fearsome crime—I mean, the crucifixion of the Savior, who is known as Holy of Holies for …

The chapter which we read in Daniel concerning the seventy weeks contains many remarkable details, which require too lengthy a discussion at this point; and so we must discuss only what pertains to our present task, namely that which concerns chronology. There is no doubt …

When Origen came to deal with this chapter, he urged us to seek out what information we do not possess; and because he had no leeway for allegorical interpretation, in which one may argue without constraint, but rather was restricted to matters of historical fact, he made this brief observation in the tenth volume of the <i>Stromata:</i> "We must quite carefully ascertain the amount of time between the first year of Darius, the son of Ahasuerus, and the advent of Christ, and discover how many years were involved, and what events are said to have occurred during them. Then we must see whether we can fit these data in with the time of the Lord's coming."

As the end of the seventy-year period was drawing near, during which Jerusalem would be left desolate, as the Lord had foretold through the prophet Jeremiah, Daniel poured forth his prayer.… The archangel Gabriel came to his aid and told him about the mysteries that …

The words "seventy weeks will linger," that is, until the destruction caused by the Romans. In fact, even though, in the meantime, they are sometimes afflicted, they will not be abandoned completely. Seventy weeks make 490 years; they are calculated from the time when they …

To make reconciliation: all which words are very expressive in the original, and signify to pardon, to blot out, to destroy. To bring in everlasting righteousness - To bring in justification by the free grace of God in Christ, and sanctification by his spirit: called everlasting, because Christ is eternal, and so are the acceptance and holiness purchased for us.

And it is the clearest, brightest, prophecy of the Messiah, in all the Old Testament. Daniel's Confession and Prayer. 1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans;

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-run:26w-of-46

Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people, and upon thy holy city,.....

Seventy weeks are determined - This is a most important prophecy, and has given rise to a variety of opinions relative to the proper mode of explanation; but the chief difficulty, if not the only one, is to find out the time from which these seventy weeks should be dated. What is here said by the angel is not a direct answer to Daniel’s prayer. He prays to know when the seventy weeks of the captivity are to end.

The propitiatory in the temple (the same Greek word expresses the mercy seat and propitiation, Ro 3:25), which the Jews looked for at the restoration from Babylon, shall have its true realization only in Messiah. For it is only when sin is "made an end of" that God's presence can be perfectly manifested.

Seventy weeks are determined - Here commences the celebrated prophecy of the seventy weeks - a portion of Scripture Which has excited as much attention, and led to as great a variety of interpretation, as perhaps any other. Of this passage, Professor Stuart (“Hints on the Interpretation of Prophecy,” p. 104) remarks, “It would require a volume of considerable magnitude even to give a history of the ever-varying and contradictory opinions of critics respecting this “locus vexatissimus; “and perhaps a still larger one to establish an exegesis which would stand. I am fully of opinion, that no interpretation as yet published will stand the test of thorough grammatico-historical criticism; and that a candid, and searching, and thorough “critique” here is still a “desideratum.” May some expositor, fully adequate to the task, speedily appear!” After these remarks of this eminent Biblical scholar, it is with no great confidence of success that I enter on the exposition of the passage. Yet, perhaps, though “all” difficulties may not be removed, and though I cannot hope to contribute anything “new” in the exposition of the passage, something may be written which may relieve it of some of the perplexities attending it, and which may tend to show that its author was under the influence of Divine inspiration. The passage may be properly divided into two parts. The first, in Dan 9:24, contains a “general” statement of what would occur in the time specified - the seventy weeks; the second, Dan 9:25-27, contains a “particular” statement of the manner in which that would be accomplished. […]

Gabriel proceeds to give Daniel the most astonishing four verses in the entire Bible: 24, 25, 26, and 27.