Eschatology Part Eleven
When you tell people that you are studying eschatology, they might tilt their head to the side and give you a strange look of confusion. Most people do not know the technical term for the study. However, if you say, “I am studying the end times” they might immediately think you are studying the antichrist. For us, this post today is regarding the evil man, however it is not a full biography of him. Today we are evaluating his most significant actions in relation to the nation of Israel as related to the Law of Accomplishment.
Daniel 9:27 “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”
If you were to just read this verse on its own without any context from our previous study, you would be scratching your head in confusion. However, we know from our previous studying that when we see the words, “and he” we know we are talking about a certain time and a certain man. Both have already been identified.
The time was identified in Daniel 9:24, “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place.” This is 490 years, also known as seventy weeks. Sixty-two weeks are completed yet there is still one week to go. This is not a study over the exact number of the days, but I would encourage you to review Dr. Chuck Missler’s work on the subject.
The “him” was identified in Daniel 9:26 “Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.” The group that destroyed the temple in 70AD will have a lineage that will be identified in the last days which will bring forth a man who will be the antichrist.
So the big question many ask is, who destroyed the temple? The short answer, Rome. However, to get down into the details there were four legions. V Macedonica, XII Fulminata, XV Apollinaris, and X Fretensis. The ethnic background all point back towards the Roman Empire.
Thus, when we examine verse 27 we can see that there will be a man who will make a treaty with Israel, “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week.” Halfway through this treaty or at three and a half years he will break this treaty, “but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering.” We see that there is the temple again being mentioned! “Stop a sacrifice and grain offering” The temple is being implied ans operational before this, as of the time of this writing this has not happened. The Jews need to build their temple again, for that they must have Jerusalem and for that they must be in the land. This is why May 14th, 1947 is so amazing for the student of eschatology. The clock is getting primed to start ticking again. The 490 years are getting prepped to start.
Often I hear people stop here, they start to speculate on who is the antichrist or race off to another verse of the Bible instead of finishing this verse and the thought process of what is being said. We will not do that here. Let us continue with the rest of verse 27, “and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”
This is talking about what will happen after the three and a half years. “And on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction one that is decreed.”
(Author note: To the reader, there are moments I try to keep to a standard of Bible translations that are closer to the word for word. However, there are moments this can be a disservice to the reader and for this reason I use the NLT for the final thought process of studying verse 27).
Daniel 9:27 “And as a climax to all his terrible deeds, he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration, until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”
Some say this has already happened with Antiochus the IV, but they forget to realize that Jesus Himself mentions this in the future. Jesus lived and performed His ministry after Antiochus performed his atrocities. Nevertheless, what we do get out of this is another hint to the circular pattern and foreshadowing of prophecy in the Bible.
Daniel 9:27 ends heroically and in a great way, “until the fate decreed for this défiler is finally poured out on him.” This moment is finally described in Jesus’ revelation to John in Revelation chapter 19. Here John testifies of when Jesus comes back as the “Ben David” the King, the Lion of Judah. This time when Jesus comes, it will be terrifying for those who do not belong to Him. Revelation 19:20-21 “And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did mighty miracles on behalf of the beast--miracles that deceived all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. Both the beast and his false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. 21 Their entire army was killed by the sharp sword that came from the mouth of the one riding the white horse. And the vultures all gorged themselves on the dead bodies.”
It is here that we come to a close regarding the Law of Accomplishment. Gabriel, who is decreeing this to Daniel, has explained to him how the 490 years will end. It will end with the worst person to ever come at the Jewish people being utterly destroyed. That destruction would not be detailed until John in the book of Revelation.
So what does this mean for you and I? It means as we study eschatology, we need to be mindful of what we are studying and take into account the laws vs theories and even hypothesis that are laid before us. Instead of assuming, we should dig deeper into God’s word. Next week we will discuss how the age of the Church comes to an end, and how does this evil man talked about in Daniel chapter 9 is brought forth.
Hold until relieved, our Blessed Hope is coming,
JL