The Seventy Weeks

After the fall of Babylon, the Medo Persian empire arose just as Daniel had seen in his visions. Chapter 9 begins during the first year of the reign of Darius. This chapter is broken into two parts, the first is Daniel's prayer and petition to God on behalf of Israel and the second has to do with the Seventy weeks of prophecy.

9 In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes^[a] (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the Babylonian^[b] kingdom— ² in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years. ³ So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.

⁴ I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:

“Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ⁵ we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws. ⁶ We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors, and to all the people of the land.
⁷ “Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame —the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you. ⁸ We and our kings, our princes and our ancestors are covered with shame, Lord, because we have sinned against you. ⁹ The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving,even though we have rebelled against him; ¹⁰ we have not obeyed the Lord our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets. ¹¹ All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.
“Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you.¹² You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing on us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem. ¹³ Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come on us, yet we have not sought the favor of the Lord our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth. ¹⁴ The Lord did not hesitate to bring the disaster on us, for the Lord our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.
¹⁵ “Now, Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty handand who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong. ¹⁶ Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.
¹⁷ “Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary. ¹⁸ Give ear, our God, and hear;open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy. ¹⁹ Lord, listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”


Daniel had always been dedicated to God. He continued to worship God even when his own life was in danger. I would think that he began to do research into the Biblical writings of the prophets, especially after receiving his visions. It seems that he was reading the writings of the prophet Jeremiah and saw that the desolation of Jerusalem was to last seventy years. The Jewish people had not followed God's law to let the land rest every seventh year
¹⁰ “For six years you are to sow your fields and harvest the crops, ¹¹ but during the seventh year let the land lie unplowed and unused. Then the poor among your people may get food from it, and the wild animals may eat what is left. Do the same with your vineyard and your olive grove. 
Exodus 23:10-11
²¹ The land enjoyed its sabbath rests; all the time of its desolation it rested, until the seventy years were completed in fulfillment of the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah. Chronicles 36:21
At this time the seventy years were almost up. Daniel began to pray for Israel. He prayed towards God clothed in sackcloth and ashes (this was worn to mourn and showed repentance and humility). Daniel acknowledges to God that the Jewish people had not kept the Commandments and had broken God's laws. He tells God that the Jewish people deserved to be punished for not obeying God. Daniel then petitions God for mercy on His people.

The Seventy “Sevens”

²⁰ While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill — ²¹ while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. ²² He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. ²³ As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision:
²⁴ “Seventy ‘sevens’^[c] are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish^[d]transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the Most Holy Place.^[e]
25 “Know and understand this: From the time the word goes out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One,^[f] the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble. ²⁶ After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be put to death and will have nothing.^[g] The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. ²⁷ He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’^[h] In the middle of the ‘seven’^[i] he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple^[j] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.^[k]”^[l]



During his prayer on behalf of Israel, Gabriel appears to Daniel.  Gabriel tells Daniel that he has come to explain things to Daniel. When Daniel began to pray, the Lord sent an answer because He held Daniel in high regard.
Gabriel begins to tell Daniel the prophecy for the future of Israel. Seventy "sevens" are decreed for Israel, the seven is considered a week. From the time that the decree to rebuild Jerusalem is given until the Messiah comes there will be seven "sevens" and sixty-two "sevens". (483 years) After the sixty-two "sevens" the Messiah would be put to death. 
The Jewish calendar is 360 days, so that would be (360*483= 173,880) 476 years in our standard calendar. Artaxerxes issued the decree to rebuild Jerusalem in 444 B.C.

In the month of Nisan in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes, when wine was brought for him, I took the wine and gave it to the king. I had not been sad in his presence before, ² so the king asked me, “Why does your face look so sad when you are not ill? This can be nothing but sadness of heart.”

I was very much afraid, ³ but I said to the king, “May the king live forever! Why should my face not look sad when the city where my ancestors are buried lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire? ”
⁴ The king said to me, “What is it you want?”
Then I prayed to the God of heaven, ⁵ and I answered the king, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my ancestors are buried so that I can rebuild it.”
⁶ Then the king , with the queen sitting beside him, asked me, “How long will your journey take, and when will you get back?” It pleased the king to send me; so I set a time.
⁷ I also said to him, “If it pleases the king, may I have letters to the governors of Trans-Euphrates, so that they will provide me safe-conduct until I arrive in Judah?⁸ And may I have a letter to Asaph, keeper of the royal park, so he will give me timber to make beams for the gates of the citadel by the temple and for the city wall and for the residence I will occupy?” And because the gracious hand of my God was on me, the king granted my requests.
Nehemiah 2:1-8
Counting forward from this date 173,880 days would be around March 24-April 22  in 33 A.D. Jesus presented Himself to the nation of Israel on Palm Sunday, March 27 in 33 A.D. and was crucified on April 1 and rose on April 3. 
After this, the prophecy states that the city and sanctuary would be destroyed. 
Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. ² “Do you see all these things?” he asked.“Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” Matthew 24:1-2
In 70 A.D. Titus, the Roman general laid siege to Jerusalem and the Temple was burned on the 9th of Av in the Jewish calendar, the same day that the King of Babylon had originally burned the Temple in 586 B.C. The Temple had been filled with gold and when it was set on fire, the gold melted into the stones that made up the Temple walls. The Temple was dismantled to remove the gold, fulfilling Jesus words that not one stone would be left on another. 
We can see at this point that the first sixty-nine weeks have already happened. When the Jews rejected the Messiah the countdown was stopped for a time. This interlude is the church age, it lasts from the Messiah rising from the dead until the rapture. After the church has been removed from the earth the seventieth week will resume. The Tribulation period is meant for the Jewish people. God will raise up two prophets that will convert millions of Jewish people. 
I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. ² But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. ³ And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” ⁴ They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.”^[a] 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. ⁶ They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.
Revelation 11:1-6
After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. ² Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: ³ “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” ⁴ Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel. Revelation 7:1-4

Now we reach the final seven years that make up Daniel's seventieth week. The Antichrist will sign a treaty with Israel and the daily sacrifice will resume. After three and a half years, the Antichrist will break the treaty and desecrate the Temple. This is how it will be until the end of the time period when his destruction that is decreed for him will be done. 
But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.  Revelation 19:20

Daniel's Vision of the Ram and the Goat

After Daniel's vision in chapter 7, he was very disturbed. He really had no one to talk to about what he had seen, if he had tried to tell anyone they would not have understood. That was not the end of the visions that God wanted to show Daniel. God was giving Daniel insight into the end time events, which would not be understood by anyone in Daniel's time, but only during the end times would people understand their meaning. In Daniel chapter 8, Daniel receives another vision.

Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat

8 In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had already appeared to me. ² In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susain the province of Elam; in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal. ³ I looked up,and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. ⁴ I watched the ram as it charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against it, and none could rescue from its power. It did as it pleased and became great.

⁵ As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between its eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground.⁶ It came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at it in great rage. ⁷ I saw it attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering its two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against it; the goat knocked it to the ground and trampled on it, and none could rescue the ram from its power. ⁸ The goat became very great, but at the height of its power the large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven.
⁹ Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land. ¹⁰ It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. ¹¹ It set itself up to be as great as the commander of the army of the Lord; it took away the daily sacrifice from the Lord, and his sanctuary was thrown down. ¹² Because of rebellion, the Lord’s people^[a] and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.
¹³ Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled —the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, the surrender of the sanctuary and the trampling underfoot of the Lord’s people?”
¹⁴ He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.”

The Interpretation of the Vision

¹⁵ While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man. ¹⁶ And I heard a man’s voice from the Ulai calling, “Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision.”
¹⁷ As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. “Son of man,”^[b] he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”
¹⁸ While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me and raised me to my feet.
¹⁹ He said: “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath,because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end.^[c] 20 The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. ²¹ The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king. ²² The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power.
²³ “In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise. ²⁴ He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people. ²⁵ He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.
²⁶ “The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”
²⁷ I, Daniel, was worn out. I lay exhausted for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.

Daniel's second vision came two years after his first vision. In his vision, Daniel is in Susain, the province of Elam. This was the winter residence of the kings of Persia. It was thought that Daniel was living here and not in Babylon since Belshazzar did not have a good relationship with Daniel. This palace overlooked the U'lai river and is located in the southwestern corner of modern day Iran. In the vision Daniel sees a ram with two horns standing beside the canal. The ram had long horns, but one was longer than the other and grew later. The ram was undefeated and no one could stand against him.  This ram represents Medea Persia.   The two horns represent the two sides of the Medea Persian empire, Cyrus overthrew his grandfather, Astyages the king of the Medes and Persia, the younger kingdom rose up later. This was also represented by the Bear raised up on one side in Daniel's last vision.                                                                                           Then Daniel sees a goat with one large horn came from the west and he seems to cross the earth without touching the ground.  The goat represents Greece, which was located west of Persia. The horn represents Alexander the Great, who was represented by the leopard in Daniel's first vision. The goat crosses the earth without seeming to touch the ground represents the speed with which Alexander the Great was able to conquer the world during this time.   The goat furiously attacks the ram and breaks its horns, Greece and Persia had a long history of conflict, and when Alexander came to power he went out to defeat the Persians. Greece defeated Persia and became great under Alexander, but at age 33 he died and his kingdom was broken into four pieces. This is the meaning of the large broken horn and the four horns that grew up in its place.        Out of one of the horns rises a small horn. It grows in power to the south and east toward the Beautiful Land, which is Israel.  This little horn represents Antiochus Epiphanes who outlawed judaism and demanded to be worshiped as a god four times a year. He defiles the Temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar. Daniel hears a voice asking how long the sacrilege in the Temple will be allowed to continue, the answer is 2300 mornings and evenings. This period coincides with the time that the corrupt high priest Jason began to neglect the daily sacrifices until the Temple was cleansed after the Jews returned to Israel.  This little horn foreshadows the coming of the Antichrist which Daniel will talk more about in later chapters.  Daniel is confused by the vision, and then he sees the angel Gabriel standing before him. A voice commands Gabriel to tell Daniel the meaning of the vision, we can assume that it is God. Gabriel tells Daniel that the vision he had been shown was about the end times. He tells Daniel that the ram represents Medea Persia and the goat is Greece, with the large horn representing its first king and the four horns that rise up replacing the first.  Now Gabriel refers to a king that will rise up in the latter period. This can't be a reference to Antiochus, but to the Antichrist. He will rise up, but not under his own power, we know that Satan will give him the power. He will be destroyed, but not by man, Messiah will destroy him. Gabriel tells him that this vision is for the distant future.                                 Daniel is quite overwhelmed by this vision and was in bed exhausted for many days. After he recovered he got up and continued on the king's business. The vision was too overwhelming for Daniel to think about. 

Daniel's Dream

The first six chapters of Daniel gave you a background of what was going on at that time and who Daniel was. Not only as a person, but why God chose him to reveal visions of the end times. Daniel was faithful to God even though it could have cost him his life. He put his faith in God to keep him safe among the Babylonians and then the Medo-Persians. His life is an example of what true faith really is. As we start the last chapters of Daniel we will be shown visions that tie in to the visions that John was given in the book of Revelation. Daniel is  told to write them down and seal the vision until the time of the end. No one would be able to understand Daniel's vision until the time of the end, at this time men would be given understanding. I do believe that we are living in the end times and that all these visions will be played out after Jesus comes to rapture His Church.

Daniel’s Dream of Four Beasts

7 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visionspassed through his mind as he was lying in bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.

² Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea. ³ Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
⁴ “The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.
⁵ “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’
⁶ “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
⁷ “After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
⁸ “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a littleone, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being and a mouth that spoke boastfully.
⁹ “As I looked,

“thrones were set in place,
    and the Ancient of Days took his seat. 
His clothing was as white as snow; 
    the hair of his head was white like wool. 
His throne was flaming with fire,
    and its wheels were all ablaze.
¹⁰ A river of fire was flowing,
    coming out from before him. 
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
    ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
    and the books were opened.

¹¹ “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking.I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire. ¹² (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)

¹³ “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,^[a]coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. ¹⁴ He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

During the first year of Belshazzar Daniel had a dream. Chronologically this came before the events in Daniel 5. When he awoke, Daniel wrote down what he had seen in the dream. Daniel saw four different beasts come up out of the sea. As we had discussed in Revelation, the sea represented the gentile nations. 
The first beast was a lion that had eagles wings. The lion represented Babylon and the wings represented the speed in which Nebuchadnezzar conquered his kingdom. The wings are ripped off and the lion is made to stand on two feet and is given the mind of a man. We see this fulfilled in Daniel chapter 4, Nebuchadnezzar is arrogant; because of his arrogance God strikes him with insanity and he lives like an animal for seven years. At the end of that time, Nebuchadnezzar humbles himself before God and gives God praise and is restored to his throne. 
The second beast looked like a Bear and had three ribs in its teeth. The bear represents Medo-Persia. It is told to "get up and eat its fill of flesh". The three ribs may represent the nations that were conquered by the Bear; Egypt, Lydia and Babylon. 
The third beast is a leopard with four wings and four heads and was given authority to rule. This beast represents Greece under Alexander the Great. The wings represent speed and Alexander conquered the known world in seven years. After Alexander died, the kingdom was divided into four parts represented by the four heads of the leopard. 
The fourth beast was not identified with any animal, but was described as powerful and terrifying with iron teeth that devoured its victims. This beast is Rome and the iron teeth represent its cruelty. The ten horns represent ten kings that will arise out of the Roman empire, which possibly represent kings that will arise out of the revived Roman Empire. The little horn represents a man that will rise up through the revived Roman Empire and destroy three of the other horns or kings. He is represented by a little horn because he is not the ruler of a kingdom as the other horns are, but he rises up among them and usurps three of the kings. This little horn is the Antichrist that will arise from obscurity and control the world. 
At this point while Daniel is contemplating the little horn his attention is drawn to the heavenly throne room. God takes His seat on a fiery throne representing judgment. God is clothed in white with white hair representing holiness and purity and wisdom. Thousands attended him, probably angels and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him waiting to be judged.  The beast was slain and its body thrown into the fire, this could mean that the revived Roman Empire led by the Antichrist was destroyed and the Antichrist was thrown into the fire. The other rulers of the revived Roman Empire are allowed to live for a period of time. 
Then Daniel sees Jesus described as one like the son of man approach God. He is given authority over all the nations, his dominion will be everlasting and his kingdom will never be destroyed. 

The Interpretation of the Dream

¹⁵ “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. ¹⁶ I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this.
“So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: ¹⁷ ‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. ¹⁸ But the holy people of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’
¹⁹ “Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. ²⁰ I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully.²¹ As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, ²² until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.
²³ “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it. ²⁴ The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. ²⁵ He will speak against the Most High and oppress his holy people and try to change the set times and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.^[b]
26 “‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed forever. ²⁷ Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the holy people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him.’
²⁸ “This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled by my thoughts,and my face turned pale, but I kept the matter to myself.”



After Daniel's vision he was troubled. He approached an angel? possibly and asked for clarification of his vision. The angel? tells him that the four beasts represent four kings that will arise but after these the holy people will receive their kingdom and possess it forever. Daniel is most concerned about the fourth beast because it was so different than the others. He saw the little horn waging war against God's people until the time of judgment. The angel tells Daniel that the fourth beast will conquer the whole world and the ten horns are ten kings that will arise out of this kingdom. At a later time another king that is different than the first ten will arise and subdue three kings. He will speak against God and persecute God's people. This will be allowed for a time, times and half a time which is commonly thought to represent three and a half years of 1260 days. This would be the period after the Antichrist is killed and rises indwelt by Satan; he enters the holy of Holies and proclaims himself God. After this the second half of the Tribulation will occur or the Great Tribulation that will last 1260 days. After this time power will be taken from him by God and the holy people of God will have an everlasting kingdom. 
Daniel was deeply troubled but kept this knowledge to himself. I can empathize with Daniel, he must have been in shock knowing the horrors that would come. He had to have some measure of reassurance that in the end God would prevail and God's people would live in his everlasting kingdom.