Most Christians who believe in a pre-millennial coming of the Lord, believe in the seven-year period of the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy. Most of these also believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, but even those who don't believe pre-trib, do believe that what kicks off this seven-year period is a treaty that is signed between the antichrist and the people/countries he represents, and Israel. It is expected that part of this treaty will be the allowing of a temple to be erected on the temple mount. Pre-tribbers believe either that this will immediately be followed by the rapture, or that the rapture will immediately precede it.
But what if it does not happen like that? Will people then not believe that they are in Daniel's 70th week? I can hear someone saying, how else could it possibly happen? There has to be a seven-year treaty. If there isn't, then the tribulation has not begun.
The one thing about prophecy is that it is often somewhat lacking in specific details or is a little vague, giving room for multiple scenarios. I believe it is important to consider all possibilities, so as to recognize the truth and not be deceived when it occurs, and with that in mind, I want to present an alternative theory. To do that, one must go to the chapter that gives us this information. Daniel 9:24-27 tells us the following:
“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
God has determined. What does that mean? It means that God has irrevocably promised, covenanted, or decreed something. He has covenanted with Himself that something He has stated will happen and nothing will prevent it from happening. So, what has God determined? He has promised or covenanted to give Israel seventy “weeks.” The word “shabua” means a period of seven of either days or years. In this case, Daniel had been praying to the Lord asking what would happen next to God's people, as he had read Jeremiah which had said that God was going to take back all the seventh year Sabbath years that Israel had neglected, which amounted to seventy years, as they had ignored the Sabbath year for apparently four hundred ninety years, as God was taking back seventy of them. That is determined by simple math since the Sabbath year occurs once every seven years. Seventy times seven is four hundred and ninety. So, they had not kept God's Word in this particular matter for four hundred and ninety years. And now those seventy years of punishment were about to end, and Daniel was wondering what was next for them.
Now interestingly, God tells Daniel that He has determined or is covenanting with Himself to give them seventy weeks or four hundred ninety more years in which He will deal with them as a nation to finish up what He has begun - to redeem them in such a way that they never stray again, to fulfill the prophecies, and to bring in everlasting righteousness which will commence with the millennial reign of Christ. Oddly enough, it is the same number of years that they were guilty of not keeping Sabbath years. If there is a reason for this number being the same, I have not discovered what it might be. For the sake of this article though, it is not necessary that we know. We know that the seven “weeks” refers to a week of years and not days, as 1) this was the context of the prayer and 2) God gives parameters that can only be fulfilled by these weeks being weeks of years. He begins these four hundred and ninety years at the giving of the decree for Israel to go back and rebuild Jerusalem. There are several theories as to which particular decree this refers, but again, that is not the subject of this article, so I will not spend time going over that. They are not that many years apart. What is important is that from this decree until the Messiah comes and is cut off or killed, there are seven weeks and sixty-two weeks, or sixty-nine weeks altogether. This is four hundred and eighty-three years of those promised four hundred and ninety years. So that leaves seven years left to be fulfilled. Then we are told that the temple will be destroyed (which happened in AD 70) by the people of the prince who will come, (in this case it was the Romans) and there will continue to be wars and desolations until the end of the war. As to which war He refers, since all of this ends at the Lord's Second Coming, one could say it is the war between God and Satan.
The next thing we are told is that “he” will confirm (or strengthen) the covenant with many for one week. So, this week is still future, as it has not occurred yet. The normal interpretation of this is that the word “he” refers to a future prince of the Romans, (as they destroyed the temple) which people assume to be the antichrist, but does it? Or was it merely identifying that the people who would destroy the temple would be working on behalf of the antichrist, who has had numerous incarnations as leaders of the heads of the beast which were Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Medo-Persia (during Daniel's time when this was given to him), Greece (whose beast incarnation yet to come was Antiochus Epiphanes who did desecrate the temple and stop the sacrifices), Rome, (whose people did destroy the temple) and last but not least, the seventh whom most believe to have been Hitler. The last incarnation of the beast, who presently resides in the abyss, will be the one we know as the antichrist.
The topic of this chapter has been God's relationship with Israel, His punishment of them, and His covenant with them at Daniel's time. This is the only covenant mentioned in this chapter before this last verse. Would not a reference to a covenant be a reference to a covenant mentioned in the text, keeping all this in context, and not a reference to something which has not been mentioned before in the text? To strengthen or confirm a covenant implies that a covenant is already in place. There is nothing in the text that indicates that a covenant with the antichrist already exists. That interpretation comes from speculation that there must be one. And why the specificity of seven years? Why would antichrist care about a treaty being made for seven years? On the other hand, God's covenant is not speculation. It is decreed right there in the text. And it specifically has exactly seven years left on it, hence the need for a seven-year confirmation since it already exists.
Let's say for a minute that the “he” is God and see if it fits. God does have a covenant with Israel that is mentioned in this text. And it has seven years left on it, which is precisely the amount of time for which this covenant is confirmed or strengthened. God would have to confirm, re-enact, or strengthen the existing covenant He has already made with Israel to put it into action or start it up again. While I have to assume something that is not in the text to believe that antichrist has already had some sort of treaty in place to make him the “he” that confirms a covenant, I only have to accept what Scripture tells me to see that God and the covenant He made with Israel fits this perfectly.
Does that mean I am saying that there will be no treaty? No, that is not what I am saying at all. It would seem almost essential that there be some sort of agreement, considering the hostilities between Israel and the Muslim nations, for a temple to go up on the temple mount. But here is where I think Satan could use deception to keep people from realizing that they are in the 70th week. (Given that Scripture does not teach a pre-trib rapture, they will still be here – see my blogs on that). If there is a treaty (and God may use something other than a treaty to erect the temple), it is not necessarily required by Scripture that it be seven years long, given that this verse most likely refers to God's covenant, not a covenant with the antichrist. So, this could be a time of great deception for Christians who have believed they will not be here.
An argument against this being God's covenant is that it says that “he” will confirm the covenant with “many”. Some take this to mean many nations, but the Hebrew word simply indicates a great number of people. God is not making this covenant with just Judah or modern Israel. He is making this covenant with what we know as the lost tribes of Israel as well, as God has promised that during this time, He will bring back Israel which has gone into and is living within the heathen nations and reunite it with the nation of Judah. (Ez. 37) This is clearly talking about those from the nation of Northern Israel who were lost to the heathen nations during the Assyrian captivity. So, this is a great multitude of people, as it goes far beyond those we call Jews today, who are numerous enough.
Another argument that someone might make is that this person who confirms the covenant is also the one who causes the sacrifices and oblations to cease midway through the seven years. Again, this is thought to be the antichrist, but this says it is the person who causes them to cease. What is the real cause behind that action that antichrist takes? His action is a reaction which has had a cause. So, what is the cause? We are told the answer in Revelation 12:7-17.
“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
What happens when Michael throws Satan out of heaven for good? He comes down with great wrath to go after Israel, but Israel is delivered by God (this is also said in Daniel 12:1. “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, (great tribulation) such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” So, Israel (at least those in the Book of Life) is protected from antichrist's holocaust and the rest of what occurs in the 1260 days after the great tribulation is cut short.
If all of those of Israel whose names are written in the Book of Life are delivered out of the Satan's hands, who does Satan go after, to kill by his puppet the antichrist? To those who have the testimony of Jesus, or in other words, Christians. Christians who overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and loving not their lives unto death. And how does he do that? First by declaring himself God. 2 Thess. 2:3-4 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” It is at this time that the sacrifices and oblations will also cease, and the false prophet insist that everyone get a mark and worship the beast. Then there will be a time of trouble such as the world has never seen before. Wholesale slaughter of Christians and anyone who refuses the mark.
While here at these last verses, it is important to note the first two verses that precede them. “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.” People were afraid that they had missed the Second Coming somehow and were now in the Day of the Lord, which they knew came after the Lord's return. Persecution and martyrdom were common in that age, and it was so bad they thought they must be at the end of time. They are told that the Second coming when He gathers us to Himself and starts pouring out God's wrath will not happen until the other things that Paul has told them will happen first, occur. Specifically, Paul has told them that 1) there will be an apostasy or falling away from the truth first, and 2) the man of sin is revealed. How is he revealed? When he sits in the rebuilt temple declaring that he is God. We know this occurs midway through the seven years, so clearly our being gathered cannot happen before then, if that is a sign that we are to see before the Lord returns and gathers us.
So now, back to who is the cause of all this? Well, ultimately God is, because He has Michael throw Satan out of heaven. All that happens after that is a direct result of that action. There is cause and effect. Satan's revenge, the setting up of the antichrist, and the wholesale slaughter of Christians, is the result of the cause, God having Satan thrown out of heaven. So still, there is no reason to think that the “he” does not refer to God, as He fits the criteria very nicely. Better than the antichrist, in fact.
So again, why is this relevant or important? Because as I told a dear friend who is a pre-tribber, if she is wrong in her belief, and that there is no pre-trib rapture or seven-year treaty by antichrist, then will she understand that she is in the 70th week, or will she be deceived right until someone comes to drag her away to be killed during the great tribulation. Or worse, would she take the mark, thinking that it could not possible be THE mark, as she was supposed to be out of here, and there was no seven-year treaty. I did hear an evangelist preach to people that since they would be out of here before the mark of the beast came into being, that they need not worry that they could accidentally take it and were free to take anything that they were told to take. Bad advice.
Another sign which people do not understand is the sacrifices. If I am correct in believing that there is no seven-year treaty with the antichrist necessary, but still something allows the sacrifices to begin, people could be deceived and accept that the temple could go up and the sacrifices begin before the 70th week actually begins, and therefore with no pre-trib rapture, the abomination would come on them completely unawares.
God did give us some insight into timing regarding the sacrifices. It has to do with the 2300 days in Daniel 8. That is in another article I've written. For the sake of information and warning, though, when the sacrifices begin, you will already be in the 70th week, so start preparing for persecution and martyrdom.
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