I said last time that we would go over the usage of the pronoun "he" in verses 25-27 of Daniel 9 in this article. Some commentators (like Steve Wohlberg) argue that each instance of "he" in that section refers to the same person and that same person is Jesus (Jewish Messiah). Unfortunately, I believe Mr. Wohlberg is ignoring one of the more important rules of grammar and antecedents. Let's take a look at the text, Daniel 9:25-27.
25 So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. 26 Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. 27 And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”
As you can see, I have bolded certain parts of the text. The first mention of an individual is in verse 25 - Messiah the Prince. We know without doubt that this is referencing the Jewish Messiah, Jesus. In verse 26, Messiah is mentioned again. No one can really argue that the references here do not refer to the Jewish Messiah.
In verse 26 though, we are introduced to a new person, labeled "the people of the prince who is to come." This individual is NOT the Messiah because the angel would likely have simply said "he" if he was intending to refer to the Messiah.
We have also dealt with this section of text in this series of articles and learned that the people (of the prince who is to come) who destroyed the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary (the rebuilt Jewish Temple) turned out to be the Roman armies in AD 70. Jesus was NOT the prince of the Roman armies. The Romans were Gentiles and Jesus came to call the nation of Israel to repentance. While He did deal with and meets the needs of certain Gentiles, that was not His main ministry.
The Romans were Gentiles and the text tells us that the people OF the prince who is to come were the ones who destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. What this tells us is that another individual would eventually rise to be prince over the Gentile nations. That prince is none other than the Antichrist because he will come from the same people as the Roman armies came from - Gentiles. This also answers the question about whether or not the coming Antichrist will be Jewish or not. He won't be, but he will obviously be able to convince the leaders of Israel to sign the covenant he presents to them. There will be some rapport.
The first two references to individuals in this section of Scripture are to the Messiah. This third reference is to the Antichrist. In no way can it be construed to refer to Jesus.
In verse 27, we see our first usage of the pronoun "he." The first part of 27 reads, "Andhe will make a firm covenant with the many for one week..." The question we must ask then is who is this "he" referring to here? This is where the rule of antecedents comes into play. We look at the "he" and we ask, to whom does this "he" refer. If we travel backwards in the text, we come to the "people of the prince who is to come" section. We have determined that this is a roundabout way of referring to the Antichrist. Therefore, the "he" in verse 27 refers back to the Antichrist.
The second portion of verse 27 says, "but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering..." Again, the question arises, who is this "he" referring to here? The answer is that if the first "he" referred to the Antichrist, so does this second instance of "he."
In other words, the Antichrist will broker an agreement with "the many" (leaders of Israel) for one "week" (or "seven"), which turns out to be seven years, the final seven years of this age, just before Jesus returns. This event will mark the official beginning of the Tribulation/Great Tribulation. Why this event? Because by entering into an agreement with Antichrist, the leaders of Israel will literally be making an agreement with Satan himself. At that point, God's patience will have ended and with this agreement, the wrath of God will begin pouring out onto this planet.
Notice in the second portion of Daniel 9:27, we are told that "he" will stop the sacrifices and grain offering. How does he do this and by the way, we know that this is the same "he" who brokered the agreement with Israel - the Antichrist. He makes a deal with Israel, then breaks the deal in the "middle" of the "week."
Three and a half years into the Tribulation/Great Tribulation, Antichrist does something that will cause the sacrificial system to stop. Obviously, this means that the Temple (or part of it) will be rebuilt and the sacrificial system will be reinstated at some point in the future. After things are up and running with the sacrificial system, Antichrist does a redo of what Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) did in 168 BC when he went into the Jewish Temple standing in Jerusalem then and also did something to completely stop the sacrificial system. As mentioned previously, he went into the Holiest of All, sacrificed a pig on the altar, brought in a statue of Zeus and some say even put a mask of his face over Zeus' face. He then demanded that Zeus be worshiped.
This is what the Antichrist will do at some point in the future. It is clear that his agreement with Israel is done in order to allow the Jews to rebuild at least part of the Jewish Temple and restart the sacrificial system. As far as Antichrist is concerned, it will be done so that he can go into the Holiest of All (without dying) and demand that the world worship him as God.
Remember, Isaiah 14 where Satan (Lucifer) promised that he would be like the Most High? This is Satan's attempt to bring that to fruition. Revelation 12 & 13 tells us in quick summation how this happens. Revelation 13 also tells us that after Antichrist reveals his true nature, he decides that no one will be able to buy or sell without his mark. In essence, those who accept the mark will be worshiping the Antichrist (Satan) and will have sealed their eternal fate.
Again, 2 Thessalonians 2 is where Paul outlines this event from his perspective. He tells us that the "man of lawnessness" (another name for Antichrist) will go into the Temple, sit on the mercy-seat and declare himself to be God.
Regardless of what Steve Fletcher says, or Ron Weinland, or anyone else, none of these events have occurred yet. The Tribulation has not begun. We are still experiencing the birth pangs that Jesus speaks of in Matthew 24.
The Tribulation cannot - will not - start until the man of lawlessness steps up and finds a way to broker an agreement with Israel's leaders and the surrounding Arab nations, guaranteeing a time of peace for seven years (the Tribulation/Great Tribulation). He will break that agreement three and a half years in by defiling the Temple and demanding to be worshiped. He will have a remaining three and a half years to do whatever he can to overcome God.
At the end of the seven years, Jesus will physically return, destroying the Antichrist with one word from His mouth. End of story.
Thank you for joining me for this eleven part series. I hope you've enjoyed it.
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