Hi Jane,
Reference your March 30, letter on Five Doves titled: The `he` in Daniel 9 vs 27.
I
will be 69 years old this year; I was baptized in 1960. For many years
I was taught by pastors, bible teachers and authors who wrote books and
articles about the bible that the he in Daniel
9:27 referred to the antichrist. I accepted their teachings until I was
discharged from the Army in September 1973. That September I made a
commitment to do my best to obey 1 Thessalonians 5:21. When I read the book of Daniel the first time, I understood the he to be Jesus Christ but later was swayed by Man (teachers and authors) that the he was the antichrist.
However, after re-reading Daniel 9:26-27 many, many times, I think it’s more likely that the he in Daniel 9:27 is referring to Jesus Christ and not the antichrist. Daniel 9:24-27 tells us the Messiah was cutoff (crucified) after 69 weeks. What comes after the 69th week, well it’s the 70th week. So Jesus Christ was crucified during the 70th week. If the he in Daniel 9:27 is referring to Jesus Christ and not the antichrist, then the covenant he (Jesus Christ) was confirming was the covenant of Grace. Then when Christ was crucified in the middle of the 70th week, HE put
an end for the need for sacrifice and oblation. So, I think it’s
likely that 69.5 weeks of Daniel’s seventy were fulfilled at the cross.
Since Daniel 9:27 tells us the Messiah was cutoff (crucified) during the 70th week, this shoots a hole in the 7 year tribulation theory.
History
tells us that America was founded on the 1599 Geneva bible and not the
1611 King James bible which our founders did not like or use.
Here’s what the 1599 Geneva Bible says about Daniel 9:26-27.
"9:26
And AFTER threescore and two [a] weeks, shall Messiah be slain, and
shall [b] have nothing, and the people of the [c] 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 battle it shall be
destroyed by desolations.
9:27
And he [d] 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 [
e] cease, [f] and for the overspreading of the abominations, he shall
make it desolate, even until the consummation determined shall be poured
upon the desolate."
Footnotes:
a.
In this least (last) week of the seventy (weeks), shall Christ come and
preach and suffer death. (that is the 70th week of Daniel)
b. He shall seem to have no beauty, nor to be of any estimation, as Isaiah 53:2
c. Meaning Titus, Vespasian's son, who should come and destroy both the Temple and the people without all hope of recovery.
d.
By the preaching of the gospel he (Jesus) confirmed his promise (for
the 70th week), first to the Jews, and after to the Gentiles.
e. Christ accomplished this by his death and resurrection. (God no longer accepts blood sacrifice after Jesus shed His blood)
f.
Meaning, that Jerusalem and the Sanctuary should be utterly destroyed
for their rebellion against God, and their idolatry : or as some read,
that the plague shall be so great that they shall be all astonied at
them. (desolate means without God)
My conclusion:
After the 69 week ended, Jesus was crucified in the middle of the 70th week
of Daniel while confirming, for one week ie. the 70th week, His
everlasting covenant of grace. Because the Jews rejected Him and His
covenant it was then offered to the Gentiles for the duration of the
Gentile Church age of grace which will end at the rapture of His Church.
At which time the last-half 3.5 years of the 70th week of Daniel will
commence and end at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The
'intermission' between the first-half and the second-half of the 70th
week of Daniel is the Church age of grace.