They are literal years ending with
Christ’s second coming. . . . The first seven sevens (forty-nine years)
commence with a command to rebuild Jerusalem (either the decree to Ezra in 458
B.C. or the decree to Nehemiah in 445 B.C.) and terminate with the completion
of the work of Ezra and Nehemiah about forty-tine years later (either ca. 409
B.C. or ca. 396 B.C.). The next sixty-two sevens (434 years) extend from the
end of the first group of sevens to Christ’s first coming (either his baptism
in A.D. 26 or Christ’s presentation of himself to the people as Messiah on Palm
Sunday in A.D .32/33).
After the coming of the Messiah, he
was rejected by Israel; and the time of the Gentiles began, which is not
counted in the “seventy sevens.” Just as God focused his attention on the
Jewish people for about two thousand years, these past two thousand years his
attention has been focused on the Gentiles. However, just as many Gentiles were
saved during the Old Testament period, in this present age there are many
Jewish believers. At the end of the present age, God will again deal with
Israel in a special manner, and the final seven will begin.
During the last seven, which
immediately precede Christ’s second advent, there will be a terrible time of
tribulation for Israel and the world. God will use this trial to bring Israel
and countless others to saving faith. At that time the majority of the people
in Israel will acknowledge Jesus as the promised Messiah, repent, and be saved
(cf. Rom 11:25-29; Zech 12:10-13:1). The final seven (seven years) will be
terminated by Christ’s second coming and the establishment of his earthly
kingdom, which will last a thousand years. Christ’s reign will, of course,
continue beyond the millennium into the eternal state. This last approach seems
to be the most exegetically viable alternative. (Stephen R. Miller, Daniel:
An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture [The New
American Commentary 18; Broadman and Holman Publishers, 1994], 257)