The very big misconception regarding Daniel 9

Hey everyone, I'm back. I know, my loyal fanbase around the world has missed me, and I apologize! Let's just say I had writer's block for a bit, but I hope the Lord uses me and helps the ideas flow through my head again!

So I figured I'd kick things off with something that I had discovered a little while ago, something that the majority of Christians don't agree with me on. (Shocking, I know.) Daniel chapter 9 and the 70 weeks. Now, I definitely don't have all of this resolved, and I could be off on a few things, but I believe the 70 weeks mean a very different thing to a lot of people. Hopefully I can dissect the verses here and give you some insight about my take on this. I believe Daniel 9:24-27 is a Messianic prophecy alone, and that I think the 70 weeks may be completely fulfilled.

Christian legend has it that there will be "The Antichrist" that will establish a peace treaty with 3 1/2 weeks (years) of peace, then he'll turn and have 3 1/2 years of terror. I'm very hesitant to use the term "The Antichrist," since the Bible never uses it to describe one man. The man is referred to as the man of sin, son of perdition, little horn, abomination of desolations. There are many antichrists in the world, there isn't just going to be one, with a nice fancy title like that. We'd be deceived if we were waiting for something like that to happen. So this treaty idea is mainly based on Daniel 9:24-27. I'm not sure how and where it originated, but I don't believe it's correct. Let me give you the verses:

[24] 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.
[25] 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.
[26] 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.
[27] 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.

I'll dive in and see what the scoop is with all this. Before I do, I just want to say that I don't have the timing down the way some others do. I haven't really personally studied the idea of weeks being years, and all that. My goal here is to just give you what I feel the passage is about.

Look at what the seventy weeks establish in verse 24: 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. Does any of this sound familiar? The Lord Jesus Christ has accomplished all of this in his birth, death, and ressurection.



Now let's compare the highlighted area with verses about what Jesus has accomplished:


Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

Isaiah 53:5-6 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

Romans 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

Romans 5:21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

2 Cor. 1:21 Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;

So hopefully you can see a similar thread running through Daniel 9:24 and the other verses I've provided. Jesus Christ has reconciled us from our iniquities, brought in everlasting righteousness, and put an end to transgressions. Daniel 9:24 is talking about Christ. It's a Messianic prophecy. Let's continue!

To be completely honest I'm not too sure about verse 25 and 26. It gives a seven week and threescore and two week timeframe for the building of Jerusalem to the Messiah. I do think the building of Jerusalem is a figurative phrase, relating to the building of the Body of Christ though.

Verse 27 is the verse that I feel gets misinterpreted in mainstream Christianity.

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.

Somehow this verse is taken out of the previously established Messianic context of the passage and it is ascribed to "The Antichrist." If this is what you've been taught as a Christian I encourage you to take a closer look with me.

The Bible wouldn't go from describing something Jesus has accomplished to talking about a treaty from an antichrist in the same breath. If we look at verse 27 with Jesus in mind we see a completely different picture.

"And he shall confirm the covenant" - What does this mean? Doesn't God work through covenants? The Old Testament and New Testament mean Old Covenant and New Covenant. Jesus Christ is the promise of the new covenant, and verse 27 is addressing it.

Is. 55:3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.

For more insight into this let us read further into verse 27. What does this covenant achieve? In the midst of the week (3.5 years into the 7, the length of Jesus' ministry) the sacrifice and oblation (religious gifts) will cease! The blood of Christ becomes the only atoning sacrifice, and all others become an abomination to the Lord.

I want to finish this little study with a question. Why would the 70 weeks be unfinished to this day if Jesus Christ has already finished the transgression, made an end to sins, reconciled our iniquities, brought in His everlasting righteousness for us, and annoited us with his Holy Spirit?

I know this hasn't been my most thorough and definitive study I've done, and for that I apologize. I've just had this burden for a little while and wanted to shed some light on some things that I had discovered from it. Like I said, I don't have a full understanding of the weeks/years, the timeframe, and things like that. However I hope you take away from this the idea that Daniel 9:24-27 is solely about Jesus Christ, and does not have anything to do with an antichrist making a treaty that he will break halfway through his rule.

I feel Christians have to be prepared for some tough times ahead, and that there is a chance that we may see the man of sin in our lifetime. It's important for us to know what's going on, and what to expect. If we're looking for a peace treaty with Israel or something of that nature, we may not even notice him until it's too late! Who knows. There is much out there in the Christian world that is accepted dogma that just isn't true. We have to all dig into our Bibles ourselves and know that we all have the Teacher inside us in the Holy Spirit!

Now to balance out what may seem to be a little bit of gloom and doom, it's also important to remember that the Lord has conquered sin and death, loves us beyond belief, and laughs at those that plot against him. He's on our side, and we really don't have anything to worry about.

Thanks for reading!