Verse 12
After 70 years, the Lord promised to punish the king of Babylon and his nation for their sins and make their land a desolation forever (cf. Habakkuk 1-2). Daniel was reading this passage or the one in Jeremiah 29:10, when God gave him the prophecy of the seventy weeks (sevens) of years yet future (Daniel 9:2). Babylon fell in 539 B.C. when Cyrus the Persian captured and overthrew it. [Note: Some scholars believe that Cyrus the Persian was another name for Darius the Mede (Daniel 5:30-31; 6:28).] It did not become a complete desolation, however, which has led literal interpreters to conclude that a future destruction of Babylon will fulfill this prophecy (Revelation 16:19; Revelation 17:1 to Revelation 19:10). Some literal interpreters believe that this requires the rebuilding of the city of Babylon. Most believe it only requires the future fall of the nation. [Note: See my comments on chapters 50-51, and Chisholm, "A Theology . . .," pp. 349-50, for an excursus on Jeremiah’s prophecy of seventy years.]
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