Hi John, EAR and Doves -

Thanks for the reply.  I've see the theory that the Daniel 9:27 covenant was connected to the events of the "last supper" in Matthew 26:27.  But there are problems.

You rightly state that Daniel 9:27 is a reference to a confirmed covenant by Messiah the Prince, and not "the Antichrist" as many seem to believe.  However, the idea that Jesus had a 3½ year public ministry did not appear until Eusebius suggested it in the third century, and he did so to support his eschatological musings.  Up until then, it was universally asserted that the public ministry of Jesus was about one year.  The Biblical requirement for a Passover lamb was a one-year old lamb without blemish.  Jesus was designated the "lamb of God" by John the Baptist (John 1:29) and He was crucified about a year later.

Secondly, if Daniel is chronological (and there's every reason to believe that it is) then there is a seven 'week' period, followed by a sixty-two 'week' period, then Messiah is crucified, and then the city and sanctuary are destroyed, and THEN the covenant is confirmed.  The unmistakable sequence is:  1) crucifixion, then 2) destruction, and then 3) confirmation.  Changing the order of events does unwarranted violence to the clear meaning and intent of the text.  This is done to reach a desired eschatological conclusion (eisegesis) rather than to determine the meaning of the text.

Third, the covenant that is confirmed in Daniel 9:27 is "for one 'week' " - whereas the covenant Jesus instituted is everlasting:

"Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant..."  - Hebrews 13:20

Why the confirmed covenant in Daniel 9 is only for seven years is enigmatic.  But THAT it's a covenant with an expiration date is hard to dispute.

You wrote, "So, on the night before He died for our sins, Jesus confirmed the New Covenant…"  But Jesus said it was a NEW covenant.  "Confirm" means the covenant was already in place; it will be a covenant that already exists that will be confirmed.  Jesus did not "confirm."  He "instituted" or "established" a new covenant.

If one believes that the seventieth week concluded in AD 34, you must necessarily believe that the six "agenda items" in Daniel 9:24 have been completed.  Are they?

1. To finish the transgression,
2. To make an end of sins,
3. To make reconciliation for iniquity,
4. To bring in everlasting righteousness,
5. To seal up vision and prophecy,
6. And to anoint the Most Holy.
   

That these are all complete takes more imagination than I have.  The seeds were planted 2,000 years ago, but the work is not complete.

For us it's mostly academic, since the rapture occurs first.  Our responsibility is to be reconciled with God through Christ, and to grow up in all things in Him.

Hope to see you soon.

Steve

• Was the ministry of Jesus 3 1/2 years or 70 weeks?
• 70 Week Ministry
• The Seventy Week Ministry of Messiah

 
We implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. _{- 2 Corinthians 5:20}