And on the wing of Abominations shall be One who makes Desolate

This chapter goes forward to the time of during the reign of Ahaseurus, the son of Darius the Medes, over the land of the Chaldeans. It appeared Daniel was studying the prophecies from the prophet Jeremiah and understood that Jerusalem will be in desolation for seventy years. It may be that the time of the seventy years is almost over. In response to this, Daniel prayed fervently, perhaps asking God to fulfill the prophecy to restore Jerusalem.

In his prayer, Daniel recounted the sins and rebellion of his people from previous generations. He understood that his people have been unfaithful, wicked, committed iniquity and forsaken the ways of God. He knows God makes and keeps covenant and that God can show great mercy. So Daniel prays to God to act now and show His mercy.

Then Daniel was visited again by the angel Gabriel. It appeared that Gabriel gave Daniel another prophecy, that spans from the first coming of the Messiah till the second Coming. According to the prophecy, the Israelites will be send back to Jerusalem to rebuild it and then 7 and 62 weeks later, the Messiah will come for the first time. Historically this is consistent between the time Artaxerxes gave the command to rebuild the temple till the time Jesus entered the Temple which is 483 years. This is because 69 weeks = 69 x 7 days  = 483 days which is 483 years.

Following this, it is natural to take the last week, the 70th week, as 7 days which means 7 years of tribulation, during the End Times. In the last verse, it describes in this last week, the Anti Christ will make a covenant, likely to be a peace treaty. But he will break the treaty in middle of the seven years and shall end the temple sacrifices and does abominable things in the Temple. From this, it is also clear that the temple sacrifices will be restarted someday in our future, after the temple is again rebuilt.

Another note is that the 69 weeks is mentioned as 7 and 62 weeks because the first 7 weeks (=49 days - representing 49 years) is the time when the order was given to rebuild the temple to the time it was finished. This took 49 years because of the constant opposition in rebuilding the temple, as mentioned in Nehemiah.



Daniel 9
Daniel’s Prayer for the People

1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

3 Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. 4 And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, 5 we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. 6 Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. 7 O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.

8 “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 9 To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. 10 We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. 11 Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. 12 And He has confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.

13 “As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. 14 Therefore the Lord has kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself a name, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly!

16 “O Lord, according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us. 17 Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, and for the Lord’s sake cause Your face to shine on Your sanctuary, which is desolate. 18 O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. 19 O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”


The Seventy-Weeks Prophecy

20 Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God, 21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. 22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. 23 At the beginning of your supplications the command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved; therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision:

24 “Seventy weeks[a] are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of[b] sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy.
25 “Know therefore and understand,
That from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem
Until Messiah the Prince,
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The street[c] shall be built again, and the wall,[d]
Even in troublesome times.
26 “And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.”