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Topics Research

Question

What is the biblical basis for the day-year principle? How does Daniel 9:24-27's 70 weeks prophecy prove it empirically? How does it fit Jesus's life and ministry with precision, and is there any justification for separating the 70th week from the first 69?

Topics

DAY (Nave's Topical Bible)

  • Prophetic subcategory: 2PE 3:8; DAN 8:14; 9:24-27; 12:11,12; REV 11:3; 9:15; 12:6
  • Nave's itself categorizes these time references as "Prophetic" days -- distinct from literal days. This indicates the biblical tradition recognizes prophetic time as a separate category.
  • Times of adversity called "Day of the Lord": ISA 2:12; 13:6,9; 34:8; JER 46:10; LAM 2:22; EZK 30:3; AMO 5:18; JOL 2:1; OBA 1:15; ZEP 1:8,18; 2:2,3; ZEC 14:1
  • Judgment called "THE DAY OF THE LORD": MAL 4:5; 1CO 5:5; 2CO 1:14; 1TH 5:2; 2PE 3:10

COVENANT (Nave's Topical Bible)

  • Sacred (JOS 9:18-21; GAL 3:15), binding (JOS 9:18-20; JER 34:8-21; EZK 17:14-18)
  • Blood of: EXO 24:8
  • OF GOD WITH MEN:
  • Confirmed with an oath: GEN 22:16; 26:3; PSA 89:35; 105:9; LUK 1:73; HEB 6:13,17,18
  • Everlasting: GEN 8:20-22; 9:1-17; PSA 105:8,10; ISA 54:10; 61:8
  • God faithful to: LEV 26:44,45; DEU 4:31; 7:8,9; PSA 105:8-11; 106:45; 111:5
  • Instances with Abraham: GEN 12:1-3; 15; 17:1-22; EXO 6:4-8; PSA 105:8-11; ROM 9:7-13; GAL 3
  • With his people: ISA 55:3; 59:21
  • To be confirmed: DAN 9:27
  • THE SECOND COVENANT: JER 31:31-34; HEB 8:4-13; 12:18-24; 13:20

Relevance: The Nave's entry directly links Dan 9:27 to the covenant tradition -- "to be confirmed." This connects the 70th week's covenant confirmation to the broader biblical covenant narrative, not to a hypothetical future Antichrist treaty.

ANOINTING (Nave's Topical Bible)

  • Consecration of kings: Saul (1SA 9:16; 10:1), David (1SA 16:3,12,13; 2SA 2:4; 5:3), Solomon (1KI 1:39), Cyrus (ISA 45:1)
  • FIGURATIVE -- Of Christ's kingly and priestly office: PSA 45:7; 89:20; ISA 61:1; DAN 9:24; LUK 4:18; ACT 4:27; 10:38; HEB 1:9
  • Of spiritual gifts: 2CO 1:21; 1JN 2:20,27

Relevance: Nave's explicitly connects Dan 9:24 ("to anoint the most Holy") with Christ's anointing at baptism (ISA 61:1; LUK 4:18; ACT 10:38). This is the "Messiah the Prince" event of Dan 9:25.

ARTAXERXES (Nave's Topical Bible)

  1. A Persian king -- Prohibits the rebuilding of Jerusalem (EZR 4:7-24)
  2. King of Persia -- Decree of, in behalf of the Jews (EZR 7; NEH 2; 5:14)

Relevance: Two Persian kings named Artaxerxes appear, but Nave's links the decree of EZR 7 and NEH 2 to the same king. The decree in Ezra 7 (457 BC) is the critical starting point for the 70-weeks prophecy.

JERUSALEM (Nave's Topical Bible)

  • Prophecies against: DAN 9:2,27; JER 9:11; 19:6,15
  • Of the destruction of: JER 7:32-34; 26:18; 32:29,31,32; DAN 9:24-27
  • Destruction foretold by Jesus: MAT 23:37,38; 24:15; MRK 13:14-23; LUK 19:41-44; 21:20-24
  • Prophecies of the rebuilding of: ISA 44:28; JER 31:38-40; EZK 48:15-22; DAN 9:25; ZEC 14:8-11; 2:2-5
  • Rebuilding ordered by Cyrus: 2CH 36:23; EZR 1:1-4
  • Rebuilt by Nehemiah under Artaxerxes: NEH 2; 3; 4; 5; 6

Relevance: Nave's connects Dan 9:25 ("to restore and build Jerusalem") directly with the prophecies of rebuilding and with the historical rebuilding under Artaxerxes/Nehemiah.

SABBATIC YEAR (Nave's Topical Bible)

  • Called YEAR OF RELEASE (DEU 15:9; 31:10)
  • Ordinances concerning: EXO 23:9-11; LEV 25
  • Israelite bondservants set free in: EXO 21:2; DEU 15:12; JER 34:14
  • Creditors required to release debtors: DEU 15:1-6,12-18; NEH 10:31
  • Punishment for violation: LEV 26:34,35; with 26:32-41; JER 34:12-22

Relevance: The sabbatic year system (7-year cycles) provides the cultural and legal background for understanding "weeks of years." Israel counted time in seven-year sabbatic cycles, making "seventy weeks" = 70 x 7 years = 490 years a natural reading for a Jewish audience.

DANIEL (Nave's Topical Bible)

  • A Jewish captive, also called BELTESHAZZAR
  • Prophecies of: DAN 4:8,9; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; MAT 24:15
  • Devoutness of: DAN 2:18; 6; 9; 10; 12; EZK 14:14

GOSPEL (Nave's Topical Bible)

  • Called GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM (MAT 4:23; 24:14), GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST (MRK 1:1)
  • Unclassified scriptures: MRK 1:14,15 ("the time is fulfilled")
  • CALLED THE NEW COVENANT: JER 31:31-34; HEB 7:22; 8:6-13; 9:8-15; 10:9; 12:22-24
  • Prophecies relating to: ISA 42:6,7; 49:13; 52:7; 55:1-5; 61:1-3

Relevance: The Gospel entry links MRK 1:14-15 as a primary gospel text. Jesus's opening proclamation that "the time is fulfilled" is classified under the gospel proclamation, connecting the prophetic timeline directly to the arrival of the kingdom.

GENTILES (Nave's Topical Bible)

  • Prophecies of conversion: GEN 12:3; 22:18; 49:10; PSA 2:8; ISA 2:2-5; 9:1-7; 11:1-10; 42:1-12; 49:1,5,6; DAN 2:35,44,45; 7:13,14
  • Conversion of: ACT 10:45; 11:1-18; 13:2,46-48; 14:27; 15:7-9; ROM 1:5-7; 9:22-30; EPH 3:1-8

Relevance: The turning of the gospel to the Gentiles (ACT 13:46) marks the end of the exclusive Jewish focus of the 70th week (34 AD). The prophecy "seventy weeks are determined upon THY PEOPLE" (Dan 9:24) sets a bounded period for Israel's special probation.

MESSIAH (cross-referenced from ANOINTING and DANIEL)

The term "Messiah" (H4899, mashiyach) appears in Daniel 9:25-26 and is the Hebrew equivalent of Greek "Christ" (G5547, Christos). Nave's ANOINTING entry explicitly connects Dan 9:24 with Christ's figurative anointing.

PROPHETIC TIME (from DAY entry)

Nave's classification of DAN 8:14; 9:24-27; 12:11,12; REV 11:3; 12:6 under "Prophetic" days indicates that these time periods were understood as belonging to a distinct category of prophetic reckoning rather than literal calendar time.