Response to Eschatology Notes

Some folks got hold of me privately with questions and comments.

The explanation of Daniel 9 that I offered was not meant to be definitive. I’m not entirely happy with the results myself, and there are other plausible explanations. You need to study it yourself and let it guide how you walk in your own convictions. I made two main points: (1) Daniel learned that the nightmare was just getting started and (2) apparently nobody in the NT thought it was a critical messianic prophecy.

And one little side note: In Gabriel’s words, the seventy weeks were “decreed” (determined) but the rebuilding of Jerusalem was simply a “word” (“permit” in that context) — two different terms. The decree came from God, but the permit is ambiguous. I take it to mean the Persian permit Ezra brought back in 457 BC. Feel free to pick a different answer.