Daniel's Seventieth Week and Revelation Compared
by Larry Cockerham

One other structural chronology that seems to set the boundaries of Revelation is Daniel's "seventy weeks" (Dan. 9:24-27). This prophecy was given to Daniel while in Babylonian exile and concerns a 490 year period that would begin with the commandment to restore the walls and streets of the city of Jerusalem (Dan. 9:25). Notice that this period was "determined upon thy people [Israel] and upon thy holy city [Jerusalem]" (Dan. 9:24). After the crucifixion of Christ (Dan. 9:26) the sixty-ninth week ended and God's dealings with Israel were suspended. During the sixty-ninth and seventieth week the body of Christ is being completed while Israel is cut off.

Paul states: "For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in" (Rom. 11:25). This unreckoned period is the church age which compares to the harvest or ingathering between the Feast of Pentecost and the Feast of Trumpets. Daniel 9:27 states: "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week." This last or seventieth week will be of seven years duration and will end with the glorious return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This seven-year period includes Revelation chapters four through nineteen. Revelation chapters two through three describe the church age, which is that interval between the sixty-ninth and seventieth week (Eph. 3:1-11). Therefore, any chronology of the Book of Revelation must take into account these time periods before any serious attempt is made to formulate an arrangement of its contents.