One of the most important verses in the Bible concerning the end-times and relation to that, the rapture, is what we call Daniel's last week. Not only because it is important, but also it is interpreted differently. And the question is why. Is there not one way of interpreting this text? Lets take a good look.

Daniel 9:24-27

Verse 24:

Seventy weeks are determined. For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression.

To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.

This verse says that there 70 weeks determined, but these weeks are not 7 weekdays, but septets of years. So one week is 7 years. The angel Gabriel here is saying to Daniel that 483 years are determined for the Jewish people and Jerusalem. This 70 weeks is the end of everything because the end is also told. Beyond this there is nothing more to tell after the end concerning this world and the universe.

Now Daniel lived in Babylon when Jerusalem was taken and destroyed by king Nebuchadnezzar. The end could never have come after 70 weeks or 483 years if these were contiguous. Because we are still here. So there must be something going on. The beloved prophet Daniel lived around 620 to 538 B.C. 

Verse 25:

Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.

This text is very challenging because the Lord here shows a very important timeline. And we have to interpret it correctly. In the future of Daniels time, a king of the Medes will grant the rebuild of Jerusalem. From that point on there will be 7 weeks and 62 weeks. Until now I haven't heard an explanation about these first 7 weeks or 49 years. So why Gabriel said this 7 and 62 weeks is beyond me. But to me the important thing is that it says until Messiah the Prince. So the whatever these weeks are and how they are distributed do not really matter because it says UNTIL Messiah the Prince. When Jesus takes up his ministry He is Messiah the Prince. From the day He was baptized by John the Baptist. 

Also priesthood can only be accepted from the age of 30. And we know from the new testament that Jesus was 30 years old when He started His ministry. If you'd begin to calculate then you'll see that the 7 and 62 weeks are contiguous if you take the year the king Artaxerxes the 1st who gave the order to rebuild Jerusalem to Ezra. Also when you add everything up you'll get to the time that Jesus started His ministry. You will have to take into account Biblical years (360 days and Biblical leap years) and years as we know it know to be: 365.242374 days. 

Supporting conjecture:

We know that Christ has many titles. In Daniel He is referred as the Prince. Even in Daniel 8:25 you'll see that. Daniel does not refer to Jesus as King. Maybe because it was not applicable at the time. A Prince can become a King. And at the end of Jesus's ministry He was referred to as King of the Jews. Later on King of kings. 

Verse 26:

And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.

Now we get into another part which has to be understood correctly. After the sixty-two weeks we are in (7+62=69) in the 70th week. That is the last week of Daniel. And IN that 70th week the Messiah will be cut off. And indeed, that was not for Himself but for every sinner in the world. Now something interesting is at hand. Jesus was cut-off not for Himself when He was crucified and gave His life for all mankind. Then we are (near the end) of Jesus's ministry. We have to add 43 days after the cross. 

So the other part about destroying the city (Jerusalem and the second temple of God) is a prophecy that fulfilled itself in 70 AD, when the Romans came, destroyed the city, killed over a million Jews and deported the Jews all over other countries. 

This is the time line as I read it from Daniel:

There are interpretations that say that "After 62 weeks" ends with the cross, leaving a full week as the 70th week. Maybe you can understand why for me that is a tough one to swallow. As to me the text tells a different story. But because of the mind shift of that last week, other interpretations went along as well. Not just this. But we will get tot that later.

Verse 27:

Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.

This angel Gabriel gave Daniel prophecy not just about a hundreds of years but also a few thousand of years. Because what it says in the verse is for the time we live in NOW. No here it gets tricky. Because as I said before, this is where some think what Daniels last week is. As I say it's not. But in the future, and for us it is in the near future, there will be a coming of the man of sin. And he will for some reason make a covenant with many for one week. You do not see with whom, or for whom. In this case it is implicit. Because the Jews - today - are looking to reinstate the offerings and sacrifices. For that they need to rebuild the temple of God. Also known as the 3rd Temple of God that yet has to be build. But all the artifacts for the temple, even the stones - not cut with iron - but with water - are already made and are on standby to be used. It is only a question on when it will happen, not if it will happen. It will happen as it written in the Word. Because this is what is also referenced as the holy place by Christ in Matthew 24. 

So the man of sin will attack Israel in the middle of that covenant week, not only breaking his word, but to show that the one who made the covenant is the one who hates them the most. Now that is when I think that we are close to the second half of the 70th week. We need to this study further, because there is more to find out. But that last period cannot be anything else than the Great Tribulation as that is beyond dispute 3,5 years and is also known as the Great Day of our Lord. 

The last week has a very distinct setup, and it is all about Christ according to my research, not about Christ and Satan. They share nothing, as it should be the case.

Supporting arguments:

The 70th week is a also completion. For the Jews completion would be hearing the Gospel and be saved. And I don't see completion in the works of Satan. He does not complete anything then dragging every soul he can to complete and eternal destruction. This also is why I think, as a bonus, the last week of Daniel does not start with the covenant but with the Lam of God and in the end with the Lion of Judea. In context of "To finish the transgression. To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy" are mostly achieved by these two major events. Really, nothing adds to this, in terms of completion, in the period of the false covenant when they sell peace but actually seek destruction. 

Final Thoughts:

Already from 70 week prophecy reading the text, assuming the interpretation is indeed literal, we see that there is no whole last 70th week. The question then is what this means for the Rapture. It means that the false covenant maybe a week before the end, but in itself it means nothing. Because in order prove that it has substantial meaning other than what Daniel says, like that the wrath of God starts at the covenant. We cannot assume to be raptured before that last 7 years in time before the end. 

So indeed we have to know when and how to recognize the Great Tribulation. And if we can connect that to the false covenant. For this we really need to study the Book of Revelations and other scriptures that refer to it. 

If the study confirms this study about Daniel 9, then we are more likely to be raptured before the Great Tribulation starts.