Daniel 9:27
And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”
Question. Who is the he?
Top of the Day to Ya, Carbon. I have morphed into Rufus over here <g>.
I believe the one who made a "strong covenant with many for one week" is none other than Jesus. He made that covenant at the Last Supper with his disciples...and, of course, by extension with all God's sheep. At the cross he put "an end to sacrifices and and offering", which God signified when he rent the thick curtain between the Holy Place and Holy of Holies from top to bottom. That supernatural acrt marked the beginning of the end of the Old Covenant era and the beginning of the New Covenant dispensation. 70 A.D., of course, marked the very end of the Old Covenant period.
Many misunderstand this passage due to the Hebrew parallelism between verses 26 and 27. In other words, 26a should be matched up to 27a, and 26b to 27b. When we match these texts up as I suggest, we a get a very different understanding of the prophecy, to wit:
Dan 9:26-27
26a After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. 27a 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.
26b The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. 27b And on a wing [of the temple] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him."
NIV
These prophecies have already been fulfilled! In other words, the 70 Weeks is all history! Let me see if I can briefly explain this prophecy to you. Verses 26a and 27a are saying this:
1. 26a is saying that the Messiah will be cut off sometime
after 69 weeks.
2. 27a He will confirm a covenant with many for one week. This covenant is made
before he is cut off -- specifically at the Last Supper which technically was still in the
first half of the 70th week. The way ancient Jews reckoned time,if an event occurred any time during a stipulated period, it fulfilled the entire period. So, by Christ making the New Covenant on the
last day of the first half of the week, this would be reckoned by the Jews as him making it on the first day of the first half of the week. (Think of Christ's "three days" in the tomb. Yet, technically, the way the modern world reckons time, Christ was not in the tomb anywhere near 72 hours! But he was in the manner Jews reckoned time.) Anyway, the very next day after the Last Supper Jesus is crucified and his Cross marked the
middle of the 70th Week.
3. Verses 26b and 27b speak to the Roman siege of Jerusalem, which ironically began in the middle of 66 A.D and lasted to 70 A.D (Jewish Wars), which nicely adds up to 3-1/2 years...or the
last half of the 70th Week. In fact Jesus even alludes to 27b in the Mount Olivet Discourse (Mat 24:15).
4. More strong supporting evidence of all this can be seen in Revelation. In this book we see various allusions to the
last half the 70th week with such language as "42 months", etc.. This is because Revelation was written prior to 70 A.D. -- most likely right around the time of the Neronic persecution in Rome which also lasted about 3-1/2 years, ironically (if memory serves from early 64 to the middle of 67 A.D.) Revelation never talks about the full last week in Daniel -- only the last half of the last week because it was this half that remained to be fulfilled.
In case you're wondering, I do not believe the Seventy Sevens should be interpreted as literal 490 years. I see the 70 Weeks as symbolical weeks because scripture is crystal clear that Cyrus would be the one to issue the decree that would set the Jews free to return to the Land to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple (Isa 44:28; 45:13; 2Chron 36:22-23). I realize that this runs counter to very many who believe that it was Artaxerxes' decree that came much later that resulted in the temple being rebuilt. But scripture says differently.
Hope this helps.
