What would Israel have become if the kingdom had started at the end of the 490 years?
At the end of the 490 years, Israel would have become a nation of priests, a go-between between man and God, and every Jew was intended to bring pagan Gentiles to a knowledge of their God, with Christ ruling as their King.
Les explains that all Old Testament prophecies concerning Israel run continuously to the completion of the 490 years. At that point, Christ could have come and set up His kingdom, and He would have been the King. Israel, the nation, could have been the priests promised back in Exodus 19. Since a priest is a go-between between man and God, every Jew was intended at some future day to become a priest of God to bring all these pagan Gentiles to a knowledge of their God. Daniel 9 speaks of the 70 weeks, 490 years, being determined to finish transgression, make an end of sin, make reconciliation for iniquity, and bring in everlasting righteousness—the kingdom. Les notes this was all to flow right in that 490-year period, but it is hypothetical because it did not happen.