Greetings Burninglight,
First of all, it is not for us to decide that "there shouldn't be such a gap" but should be determined by the comparison and cross-referencing of scripture.
In Dan.9:24 a decree of seventy sets of seven years were decreed upon Israel and Jerusalem:
7 x 7 = Restore and rebuild Jerusalem
62 x 7 = At the end of which the Messiah was cut off (Christ crucified)
That totals 69 seven year periods or 483 years, with one seven year period remaining.
At the end of the 69 sevens when the Messiah was cut off, he put a hold on Israel's last seven years and began to build the church, which is still in the process of being built. Once the church has been completed, then the Lord will descend and gather his church. At that point, the Lord will pick up right where he left off with Israel, in fulfillment of that last seven, complete with temple and sacrifices. That last seven years will be initiated when the ruler, that antichrist, establishes his seven year covenant with Israel, allowing them to build there temple and begin to worship according to the Law of Moses.
"He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."
From the time that Jesus quoted Daniel in Matt.24:15 regarding the setting up of the abomination until the destruction of the temple, none of the events of that last seven years has been fulfilled, unless you bend, fold and mutilate scripture.
The last part of Dan.9:27 "until the end that is decreed is poured out on him" is in reference to the demise of the antichrist/beast when Christ returns to the earth to end the age, where he is captured and thrown alive into the lake of fire.
That last seven years is meant to be fulfilled in conjunction with the end of the age, where the decree will be fulfilled with Israel and Jerusalem to "finish 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.
Therefore, it is not a matter of coming to our own conclusion as to whether there should be a gap or not, but the scriptures bear out that truth. There is no reason why God cannot fulfil prophecy in this way.