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Daniel
9
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When the topic of the "future Antichrist" arises, its supporters sometimes refer to the 70 weeks prophecy in Daniel 9 for Scriptural proof. However, a close examination of this passage will prove otherwise. In verse 24, six things are mentioned that would be accomplished during the 70 weeks. Notice how all six relate to the work of Jesus Christ. In fact, the fulfillment of each event by Jesus is mentioned by New Testament writers in the following passages:
The fact that these six things were accomplished by Jesus should be no surprise because verse 25 of Daniel 9 refers to the coming of "Messiah the Prince" after seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks, or a total of sixty-nine weeks. Here, once again we apply the principle of one day representing one year, as has been previously shown to be done with many time periods in Bible prophecy. The 69 weeks represent 69 "weeks of years" (RSV) or 483 years. These 483 years began in 456 BC with a decree by Artaxerxes to "restore and build Jerusalem" (see Nehemiah 2: 1-10), and ended in 27 AD when Jesus Christ began his public ministry and was anointed with the Holy Spirit at his baptism. During the seventieth week of
years, Jesus the Messiah was "cut off" or crucified
in 30
AD as verse 26 predicted*. The Jews were then given a
40 year trial period to see if they would repent of their
wicked deeds. As a nation, the Jews still rejected Jesus
as their Messiah at the end of 40 years, so God then
sent "the people (Roman army) of the Prince (Jesus)
that shall come" (v.26) into Jerusalem to "destroy
the city and the sanctuary." This occured in 70
AD when the Roman army entered Jerusalem and destroyed
both the city and the temple. The Roman army was referred
to as "the people of the Prince" because Jesus
used that army in carrying out God's will to humble the
Jews for their rejection of the Christ. The parable of
the marriage feast in Matthew 22:1-14 is in agreement
with this principle. In this parable, the King's (God's)
marriage feast for his son (Jesus) was made light of
by the people (the Jews) and they slew the King's servants
(the prophets), so the King "sent forth his armies
(the Roman armies), and destroyed those murderers (the
Jews) and burned up their city (Jerusalem)." Continuing in Daniel 9 at verse 27, we find that Jesus did confirm the Abrahamic Covenant* during the seventieth week of years, the same in which he was crucified. Sacrifice and oblation were made to cease, because after Jesus' death there was no longer any need to sacrifice for sins. Israel has been desolate since the days the Roman army destroyed the city. Jesus himself said of the Jews before his death:
Only recently have we seen the beginning of the consummation as the Jews are establishing themselves in Israel today. Very shortly the desolation will be over and Israel will again turn to Jesus and say, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." So when we examine the seventy-weeks prophecy of Daniel 9 in detail, we find there is no support, nor any mention of the "future Antichrist" that is so popular in Christianity today. There is also no justification for separating the seventieth week from the previous sixty-nine, and placing its fulfillment at the second coming of Jesus Christ, some 2,000 years after the fulfillment of the first sixty-nine weeks. The "future Antichrist" theory relies heavily upon inserting a 2,000 year gap between the fulfillment of the sixty-ninth and seventieth weeks, however, the Bible makes no mention of this gap. By reading through the entire ninth chapter of Daniel, it becomes evident that this prophecy of the seventy-weeks was given to the Jews of Daniel's time who were in captivity in Babylon, to encourage them concerning the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the coming of Messiah, both of which happened many centuries ago. A SUMMARY OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE APOSTASY
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