Are There Two 70th Weeks?

Q

I saw a video where a man took Daniel 9:24-27 and used his knowledge of coming lunar and solar eclipses to determine that the missing 70th Week cannot be the same as the 7 year covenant with Israel. Would you take a look at this and give me your opinion?

A

The facts are, whether you look at Daniel 9:24-27 from a theological perspective, a grammatical one or a historical one it comes out the same. The passage is very clear. Israel was given a period of 70 “weeks”. The Hebrew word translated “weeks” means a period of seven years, or a week of years. The 70 were split into three segments. The first was 7 weeks (49 years), the second was 62 weeks (434 years) and the third was 1 week (seven years).

The first and second periods have passed but the third is yet to come. There is nether need nor reason to consult the stars in order to understand this. There is one 7 year period left. According to Daniel 9:27, that period, called Daniel’s 70th week, will begin when a covenant is confirmed by a leader of the same people who destroyed the city and the sanctuary (temple) in 70AD.

This man’s reasoning seems to rest on his opinion that since the anti-Christ violates the covenant in the middle of the 70th Week, then it can’t be the final week in Israel’s covenant. But God established the 70th Week. The fact that a man breaks his agreement with Israel does not negate that, especially when the angel told Daniel that’s exactly what will happen, and even though it does happen the week will continue until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.