The Assumption That Shapes the System: Forcing Jesus Into Daniel’s 70th Week. This affirms historicist thinking and provides justification for Amillennialism: interpretating the Roman Catholic Church as the body of Christ and the Pope as its authority.

Talks of WW3 brings eschatology to the fore. Besides that espoused by the Roman Catholic Church, much of modern eschatology — whether futurist, preterist, or Adventist — rests on a key assumption:

That Daniel’s 70th week was fulfilled (at least partially) in the first coming of Jesus, and that the “midst of the week” in Daniel 9:27 refers to His crucifixion.

From this premise, a sequence of unsupported assumptions is made:

Step-by-Step Breakdown of the Faulty Reasoning

1. ASSUMPTION: The 70th week began with Jesus’ baptism.

2. THEREFORE: The “middle of the week” (3.5 years later) must be when He was crucified.

3. THEREFORE: Jesus’ ministry must have lasted exactly 3.5 years.

4. BUT: The Gospels never say this. At most, two Passovers are clearly recorded after His baptism.

5. SO: The remaining 3.5 years of the week must be fulfilled after Jesus’ death.

6. THEREFORE: The second half of the week is said to end with the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7).

7. THEREFORE: The full 70th week is said to be complete by around AD 34.

This timeline forms the basis for:

• The Preterist claim that all prophecy (including the Great Tribulation) was fulfilled by AD 70.

• The Seventh-day Adventist claim that the 70th week confirms their 1844 investigative judgment doctrine, based on a historicist reading.

• Replacement theology, which says God's promises to Israel (as a nation) ended in the first century.

The Problems with This View

1. No Direct Scriptural Statement

• Nowhere does the Bible say Jesus’ ministry was 3.5 years.

• There’s no explicit connection between Daniel 9:27 and Jesus’ death.

• The connection is assumed to make the math fit.

2. The Final 3.5 Years After Jesus’ Death Are Pure Speculation

• The Book of Acts never ties the stoning of Stephen to Daniel’s prophecy.

• There is no inspired indicator that God’s clock was running through those 3.5 years in this way.

• Stephen's death is significant — but it is not linked in Scripture to the conclusion of Daniel’s 70th week.

3. Christ Didn’t End Sacrifices Physically

• Sacrifices continued in the Temple until AD 70.

• Daniel 9:27 speaks of a literal cessation of sacrifices, not just theological fulfillment.

• The plain reading implies a temple is operational and then suddenly shut down — which did not happen at the cross.

The Real Consequence: Scripture Interpreted by Assumption

Instead of letting Scripture interpret Scripture, this model:

• Begins with an arbitrary dating scheme.

• Forces Christ into a week not defined by the New Testament.

• Ignores that Daniel 9:27 matches more closely with Paul’s Antichrist than with Jesus.

“...he shall sit in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”
— 2 Thessalonians 2:4

That is not what Jesus did — but it is exactly what Daniel 9:27 warns about.

 The Better Conclusion

• The 70th week is not yet fulfilled.

• It awaits the final 7-year period dominated by Antichrist, false covenant, temple desecration, and the true return of Christ.

• Jesus was “cut off” after 69 weeks (Daniel 9:26), not during the 70th.

• The 70th week begins when the Antichrist confirms a covenant with many (Daniel 9:27).

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