Visual Theology – Bible Prophecy Charts ?

This chart shows the structure. What follows explains each part.

The gap between Daniel's sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks exists -- we have seen that from the evidence. The prophets could not see it -- we have seen that from the mountain peaks. But none of that answers the most fundamental question: why? Why would God design a prophetic sequence with an unmeasured interval at its heart, an interval that the instrument He used to communicate the plan could not even perceive? The answer to that question is not found anywhere in Daniel, or in any of the Old Testament prophets, or in the Gospels -- it was reserved for one apostle, given one commission, entrusted with one word that Scripture calls 'the mystery.' This article names that mystery and shows what it was given to explain.

The Purpose of the Gap in Daniel's Prophecy

The existence of a gap between the 69th and 70th weeks in Daniel's prophecy (Daniel 9:24-27) has long been recognized by careful students of Scripture, but the true purpose of this interval was a mystery, veiled to the Old Testament prophets. While Daniel was told that seventy weeks were determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, he was not shown that these weeks would not be fulfilled consecutively. Instead, the sequence of events—Messiah being cut off, the destruction of the city and sanctuary, and the subsequent period of desolations—implied a pause in the prophetic timeline, a pause whose significance was not revealed until the coming of Christ and the apostolic revelation.

A Mystery Hidden, Now Revealed

This hidden interval, now commonly referred to as the Church Age, was not disclosed in the prophetic Scriptures of old. The prophets saw the coming of Messiah in suffering and in glory, but the valley between these mountain peaks, stretching across centuries, remained concealed. It was the Apostle Paul who was entrusted with the unveiling of this mystery. He speaks of "the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints" (Colossians 1:26). In Ephesians, Paul elaborates, "How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery...Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel" (Ephesians 3:3-6).

A Planned Interval, Not an Afterthought

The Church Age, then, is not an afterthought or a makeshift solution in response to Israel's rejection of the Messiah. Rather, it is a purposeful and planned period, foreknown and predestined from before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4-5), but kept hidden until the appointed time. The gap in Daniel's prophecy exists precisely to accommodate the formation of the Church—a new body composed of both Jews and Gentiles united in Christ by faith, sharing in His heavenly inheritance. The Old Testament prophets, though they saw Israel's rejection and ultimate restoration, could not see the Church that would be gathered in the interval between these events.

This is made explicit in Paul's teaching regarding Israel's current condition. He writes, "blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in" (Romans 11:25). Here, the "blindness in part" corresponds exactly to the prophetic gap in Daniel's timeline. Israel's national program is paused, the prophetic clock has stopped, while God calls out a people for His name from among the Gentiles. When the Church is complete—when the last member has been added to the body and the fulness of the Gentiles is come in—God will resume His program with Israel, and the 70th week will begin in earnest.

The Gap Filled with Glory

This understanding transforms our reading of Daniel's prophecy. What might appear to be a mere delay in God's plan is, in reality, the outworking of His eternal purpose. The gap is not empty space, but is filled with the glorious work of forming the Church, a mystery hidden from the prophets and angels, but now revealed to the saints. The Church Age stands as a testament to God's wisdom and sovereignty, demonstrating that He declares the end from the beginning and works all things according to the counsel of His will.

When this present age is complete and the Church is removed from the earth, God will seamlessly resume His dealings with Israel. The prophetic clock, paused after the 69th week, will begin again, and the final week will unfold as described, bringing God's program for thy people and thy holy city to its appointed consummation. The sixfold purpose outlined in Daniel 9:24—to finish the transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy—will find its ultimate fulfillment.

Thus, the gap in Daniel's prophecy is not a problem to be explained away, but a revelation of God's hidden wisdom, now made manifest in Christ and His body. It is the mystery revealed, the purpose of the gap, and the key to understanding the flow of redemptive history from Daniel to the present and into the age to come.

The Church -- the body of Christ formed from Jew and Gentile equally, a heavenly entity not anticipated in Israel's prophetic program -- is the divine purpose for the interval between week sixty-nine and week seventy. That mystery, once revealed through Paul, becomes the interpretive key to everything that follows: the Olivet Discourse, the Synoptic Gospels, the book of Revelation, and ultimately the question of what the seventieth week is still waiting to accomplish and for whom. The next stop in the argument begins where Jesus Himself stood: in the middle of the discourse that is most frequently misread.