In a previous article, I discussed why some say the Great Tribulation will last seven years or happen sometime within those seven years.
Here, I would like to further discuss the Daniel prophecy 70 weeks in a different way.
We will look at a popular author who makes a weird connection.
Read until the end, and I'll tell you how to get access to another case study I did about another author's startling statements about gaps in the Bible.
Quickly Recapping the Daniel Prophecy 70 Weeks
To quickly recap:
Daniel 9 gives a prophecy that would span 490 years.
The prophecy began sometime around the mid 450s BC.
The endpoint would be sometime around the early-mid-first century.
We found out that the endpoint was precisely around the death of Christ.
We concluded that Daniel’s entire 490-year prophecy was completed.
However, futurists say that at the 483rd year, God “stopped the prophetic clock.”
They then say the last 7 years will happen sometime in our future.
This places a massive “gap of time” between the 483rd and these last 7 years.
They say these last 7 years will be the time of the Great Tribulation.
I think this is an incorrect view, and you can find out why by clicking the link above.
As you can see, the entire concept of futurism—that there will be a pre-trib rapture, a future Great Tribulation, an Antichrist, and so forth—all rests on whether or not there actually is a gap of time in this prophecy.
That’s why understanding Daniel 9 is crucial to understanding eschatology in the Bible.
Later, I would like to publish an in-depth book about the entire book of Daniel, discussing its concepts with simplicity.
But for now, I would like to make you aware of another claim about this prophecy:
I don’t believe there are any gaps of time in any prophecy that was said to last a specific amount of time.
If a prophecy said something would last for 40 years, like the wandering of the Israelites in the wilderness, then it lasted for 40 years, period.
Prophetic “gaps of time” are illogical and absurd.
However, Futurists say that “gaps in time” are “common” in the Bible.
I will give you an example from a futurist author who says this, and we’ll analyze it.
Author - David Guzik
David Guzik is a popular believer who is famous for authoring an entire Bible commentary that is widely used online.
Perhaps you’ve used it and aren’t even aware. It’s called The Enduring Word.
He seems to be a great man who has done great things for God, but I disagree with many of his eschatological claims.
I think he should be critiqued because if you’re looking for the meaning of a biblical topic in “commentary form” online, you will probably use a search engine (like Google) to find it.
And when you search for it, Google will most likely present you with David Guzik’s commentary on the front page.
If he is a leading voice online, we should analyze his words.
Remember that a commentary is not automatic truth. It’s just what the author of the commentary thinks.
David is a futurist, so he will present a futurist perspective on Daniel 9.
Futurist perspectives are the most common view that will pop up when researching these matters via search engines online.
For example, the popular site Got Questions says this about Daniel 9:
What David Guzik Says About Daniel 9
Let’s look at what David says about a “gap” in Daniel 9.
He says the 70th week has not happened yet because there is a “gap” between the 69th and 70th week.
He then says that even though it is “strange” to think of a gap of time in Daniel 9, it’s actually a “common” theme.
What I find illogical is his reasoning for saying they’re “common:”
Because he thinks he has found a similar time gap when you compare Isaiah 9:6 and Luke 1:31-33.
If there is one in these scriptures, this would make a “gap” a recurring theme, right?
Let’s look at these scriptures to see if we can understand what he’s trying to say. After all, he didn’t explain the scriptures; he just listed them.
A Gap in Isaiah and Luke?
Isaiah 9:6 ESV
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
We have the famous scripture that most believe is a prophecy about the birth of Jesus.
Luke 1:31-33
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
This is about the same prophecy—the birth of Jesus would happen soon.
So, here is what David Guzik is trying to say:
There is a “gap” of hundreds of years between the time Isaiah declared this prophecy and when it actually happened in Luke.
Because this “gap” exists, it is reasonable to think that Daniel 9 also has a gap.
He’s trying to plant the idea in your mind that “gaps” are normal in the Bible by showing you one example of what he thinks is a gap after the manner of what they say exists in Daniel 9.
But if you’re like me, many red flags should have gone up, and alarms should have started sounding in your mind.
Like a football game, I pictured a bunch of yellow flags flying onto the field after a violation of the game happened.
Here is why.
This "Gap" Doesn't Prove a "Gap" in Daniel 9
There is no “gap of time” in Daniel 9 like the one he describes from Isaiah 9:6 and Luke 1:31-33.
Isaiah gave the prophetic declaration of Jesus’ birth in Isaiah 9:6. The fulfillment happened in Luke.
There was lead-up time between the declaration and the fulfillment, of course, as there is with any prophecy.
It is first prophesied that something will happen sometime in the future, then a certain amount of time passes, and then it happens.
David Guzik would call this elapsing time between the declaration of a prophecy and its fulfillment a “gap of time.”
Really, you can call it whatever you want.
But this is the main point:
This is NOT what they say is happening in Daniel 9, so don’t be fooled by this logic!
He’s making a category error, a standard mistake in biblical interpretation that presents things belonging to a specific category as if they belong to a different category.
The time between a prophetic declaration and its fulfillment, as with the prophecy of Jesus’ birth, is a normal prophetic expectation.
However, inserting an unrevealed time gap within a specific, time-bound prophecy (like Daniel’s 70 weeks) is not the same.
The 70-week prophecy is presented as a continuous sequence, so assuming a gap disrupts its intended meaning.
The Main Difference
One significant way Isaiah’s situation differs from Daniel’s is like this:
The prophecy in Isaiah 9 was given around the 700s BC. Jesus was born 700 years later.
However, Isaiah did not prophesy precisely how long it would take to fulfill the prophecy.
Daniel’s prophesy was time-specific, and Isaiah’s was not.
If he did explicitly state that it would take 700 years (he did not), only for it to take 1500 years to happen (it did not), then:
A case for hidden, inserted gaps of time within pre-declared, time-specific prophecies could be made
It would be more reasonable to believe in them, and
Daniel’s 70 weeks could have one.
But Isaiah did not say it would happen sooner, later, or for thousands of years.
Daniel, on the other hand, gave a very specific and exact time frame for when the things would happen.
All the things would come to pass within that time frame and be complete by the end of those 490 years.
Technically, Could We Say There Is a Gap Somewhere?
To find common ground with David Guzik, I would say, “Yes, there is a “gap” between Isaiah 9 and Luke, but it’s not like the one you’re describing in Daniel 9.”
“You’re confusing normal time lapse in prophecies with this different kind of gap you’re creating in Daniel 9.”
“You’re creating something entirely new and foreign to biblical prophecy.”
And you know what? I’ll be bold here and say that I think David knows this.
He knows that there is a discrepancy in what he’s saying. Maybe that’s why he just kind of says it in the commentary, doesn’t elaborate, and then quickly moves on.
I’m just amazed that anyone can see that he is committing a category error here, but he is still passing it off in his popular commentary to keep the futurist doctrine alive.
Now, I made a bold statement above that many preterists would probably have trouble admitting: “Yes, there is a “gap” between Isaiah 9 and Luke.”
I understand why they would not like to admit that: Because a futurist would probably say, “Aha! See, I got you! You admitted that there are gaps!”
But don’t be scared of gotcha arguments, which is exactly what that is.
By saying that, they’re really just deflecting from all the other information and explanations I gave and choosing to stubbornly keep their false evidence.
A Summary of Our Findings - Two Kinds of Gaps
At this point, to summarize, I would say:
The “gap of time” that Guzik and other futurists say exists in Daniel 9 is made up and unbiblical.
We’ll call this Gap #1, and it can be defined as:
A period of unknown time that interrupts a prophecy with a specific time span (starts with the first year and goes to the final year), stretching the first year far away from the final year and making the original time span longer than its said amount.
For the sake of argument, we can also say there is another type of biblical time gap (Gap #2).
Let’s just call it a “Guzik Gap” in this article. It can be defined as:
The normal time that lapses from the first declaration of a prophecy that will happen in the future to its actual fulfillment.
Don’t think too hard about that. It’s just typical prophecy.
Conclusion
I just wanted you to see the absurdity of modern futurists' reasoning in defending a “gap of time” in Daniel.
But there’s more…
I’ll email a special release later in the week only to subscribers about yet another kind of futurist gap.
I’ll expose another futurist author’s reasoning for a gap in time in Daniel, and you won’t believe the scriptures he uses to prove this.
I’m going to call it an “Ice Gap,” and it is a fascinating dive into the Israelites’ breaking of the Sabbatical years.
The author does a great job discussing the reason for the 70-year exile in Babylon…
…but then he makes a fatal mistake by applying illogical reasoning to a gap of time in Daniel.
If you are already a subscriber (thank you!), you’ll get the email Friday! Be on the look out!
If you’re not a subscriber, subscribe below to get it on Friday!
P.S.
Daniel prophecy 70 weeks - an entire breakdown is also included in my book.
