Daniel 9: Exploring Interpretations

Jun 13, 2025

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This article serves as a companion and continuation of the main article on Daniel 9. If you haven’t read that overview yet, it’s strongly recommended that you begin there for important background, historical context, and a walkthrough of the seventy weeks prophecy.

Here in Daniel 9: Exploring Interpretations, we explore some of the most prominent interpretations that shape how Christians understand the timing, structure, and fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy. While views differ in details, all major interpretations recognize the remarkable alignment between Daniel’s prophecy and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This supplemental article seeks to clarify those differences—not to divide—but to demonstrate the strength of the prophecy regardless of timeline nuances.

Let’s take a closer look at how these frameworks interpret the final “week” and what each believes about the destruction of the temple, the New Covenant, and the broader redemptive plan of God.

🕊️ Messianic View: Jesus Fulfills the 70th Week

In the Traditional Messianic view, Jesus’ ministry and crucifixion occur during the 70th week:

“He shall make a strong covenant with many for one week…” → Jesus’ New Covenant during His ministry
“…in the middle of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering.” → The crucifixion (~AD 30), rendering temple sacrifices obsolete (Hebrews 10:10–14)

The remaining 3.5 years (end of the 70th week) are sometimes said to represent the early Church era before the gospel shifts to the Gentiles (e.g., Acts 7 and the stoning of Stephen).

BUT: What About the Temple Destruction?

That’s the tension:
Daniel 9:26 says, “The people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.”

This occurs after the 69 weeks, but before or during the 70th week—depending on interpretation.

Solutions within the Messianic View:

Delayed judgment: AD 70 occurs after the 70 weeks, as a consequence of rejecting the Messiah.
Within the week: The destruction takes place during the second half of the 70th week, possibly as judgment following Christ’s crucifixion.
Typological fulfillment: The prophetic focus is fulfilled in Christ; the judgment follows as a secondary layer not bound to the 490-year window.

🔥 Preterist and Historicist Views: Emphasizing the Temple

Many scholars read a “natural gap” or transition between the 69th and 70th week, especially based on this clause:

“After the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off… and the people of the prince… shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.” (Daniel 9:26, ESV)

Why they see a gap:

“After” is vague—it doesn’t mean immediately after.
The destruction of Jerusalem (AD 70) came decades after the 69 weeks, so they place it outside the 490-year block.

In this view, the 70th week is either:

Already fulfilled (Preterist) during AD 66–73 with Titus
Yet to be fulfilled (Futurist) as a future 7-year tribulation
Dual fulfillment: initially in AD 66-73 , and ultimately in a future end-times scenario, making Titus a foreshadowing of a greater desolator.

🗺️ Dispensational View: A Future 70th Week

The Dispensational model, a form of Futurism, includes a long pause (Church Age) between the 69th and 70th weeks.

The 70th week = a literal 7-year Tribulation still to come
Includes the rise of the Antichrist, a rebuilt temple, and a global covenant
Ends with the return of Christ and establishment of His millennial reign

This is the most common view among modern evangelical and premillennial circles and is strongly associated with scholars like John Walvoord, Charles Ryrie, and Hal Lindsey.

📜 Covenantal View: Fulfilled in Christ

The Covenantal view aligns closely with the Traditional Messianic model. It emphasizes:

Christ is the final sacrifice—fulfilling all Old Testament typology
No future 70th week required
The destruction of the temple (AD 70) is divine judgment post-Christ’s rejection
Prophetic fulfillment is Christ-centered, not Israel-centered

This view is often held by Reformed theologians, including R.C. Sproul and Meredith Kline.

🧩 Summary: Does Daniel Require a Gap?

Not explicitly—but the language allows room for it.

View	Gap?	70th Week Placement
Messianic	No	Fulfilled by Jesus & early Church
Preterist	Minor	AD 66–73 (Titus)
Dispensational	Long	Future 7-year tribulation
Covenantal	No	Entirely fulfilled in Jesus

📜 Which Decree Begins the Countdown? Two Primary Interpretations

Now that we’ve explored the major interpretive views surrounding the 70th week, there’s one final key difference to address:
When does the countdown for the first 69 weeks begin?

Daniel 9:25 starts the prophetic timeline “from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem.”
Scholars have historically identified two main Persian royal decrees that could fulfill this command. While they differ in date and emphasis, both timelines converge remarkably close to the life and ministry of Jesus—each reinforcing the prophetic strength of the Messianic interpretation in unique ways.

🧱 Decree of Artaxerxes I to Ezra – 457 BC (Ezra 7:11–26)

Purpose:

Authorized Ezra’s return to Jerusalem with exiles.
Empowered religious reform, civil governance, and temple funding.
While it didn’t explicitly mention wall rebuilding, it initiated the restoration of national identity.

Why it matters:

Many evangelical scholars believe this is the decree Daniel 9:25 refers to.
Starting from 457 BC, the 483 year span (the first 69 weeks) ends at A.D. 27, which begins with the start of Jesus ministry.

🧱 Decree of Artaxerxes I to Nehemiah – 445/444 BC (Nehemiah 2:1–8)