Chapter 5: Confirming The Covenant of Daniel 9:27.
Daniel 9:1, “In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans.”
The year, 530 B.C. Cyrus the Great had just passed away and Darius became king over the Medio Persian Empire. Daniel writes in the first year of Darius of the future Messiah of Israel.
Dan.9:27, “And he (Messiah) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week (or 7 years) and in the middle of the week he (Jesus) shall cause the (blood) sacrifices and the oblation (offerings) to cease.”
Now I know a lot of people will disagree with this assessment, but read on.
The above verse raises four questions,
- What two parties are involved in this new covenant?
- What is the covenant that is to be confirmed?
- When did the first 3 ½ years of conformation of the covenant begin and end?
- And lastly, when will the last 3 ½ years begin and end?
Question 1: “Who is this future covenant between?” The covenant Daniel speaks of is between Jesus Christ and the Jewish people.
Question 2, “What covenant is Daniel speaking of that is to be confirmed? And who is the “he” that causes the sacrifices and oblation to cease?
We must first understand what a covenant is.
A covenant is a disposition or arrangement. In N.T. it speaks to God’s covenants with Abraham, Moses and David as in the divine promises conditioned on the people’s obedience. But the new covenant is sanctioned only by the blood of Christ, and not by the works of the law. Compare,
Jeremiah speaks of this future new covenant:
Jer.31:31, Was written to the Jews between 627 and 586 B.C., while they were still in captivity in Babylon, and, is yet to be fulfilled:
“Behold, the days come, said the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.”
Ver.33, “This shall be the covenant that I (the LORD) will make with the house of Israel (all 12 tribes): After those days, said the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Yet future!
Hebrews 8:8-10, was written to the Jews between the years 68 to 70 A.D., just before the Roman invasion. Behold, the days come, said the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel (10 Northern tribes) and with the house of Judah (2 Southern tribes).
Verse 10, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel (12 tribes), after those days, said the LORD; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.”
Paul writes in Romans 11:25-27, in 57 or 58 A.D., 28 years after the cross;
“I (Paul) would not, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery (a secret hid in God until now revealed), unless you should be wise in your own conceits, that blindness in part (for a short time) is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles comes in (meaning, when the last gentile in the Christian church has been declared by the Holy Spirit).”
Ver.26-27, “All Israel (12 tribes) shall be saved: How is this to be done? “There shall come out of Zion (Israel) the Deliverer (Jesus Christ), and shall turn away ungodliness (sin) from Jacob (unbelieving Jews).” This also is yet to be fulfilled.
Also, the above supports the teaching that ALL 12 tribes will one day be united as one people. There are no lost tribes!
The warning if the Jews reject this new covenant:
Heb.10:28-29, “He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much worse punishment suppose you shall he be though worthy, who has trodden underfoot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and has done despite (insulted and mock) unto the (Holy) Spirit of grace?
Now we know what a covenant is. It’s an arrangement between God and the people of Israel.
Who is the “he” that confirms the covenant? We have to back up to verse 26 to answer the question.
Dan.9:26, “And after threescore and two (62) weeks shall Messiah (Jesus) be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince (prince here means the anointed one) that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary (Temple); and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.”
Many say Titus was that prince, but Titus was only a general in the Roman army when he led his troops into Jerusalem. He was neither a king or a prince.
As Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus, Alexander the Great; as Seleucid, Antiochus and others were sent by God to punish Israel with the rod of men, so also were the Romans sent by God to accomplish his will.
Rev.1:5, “Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.”
Jesus was “cut off” by his own; the same people He came to save from their sins. His being cut off, can be connected directly to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D. This is a perfect example of cause and effect.
Jesus declared the Temple abandoned. Therefore, it was the resurrected Jesus that moved on the people of Rome, and at his appointed time, have them enter Jerusalem with their war machine to destroy the city and the Temple. This was God’s will, and God’s will shall be accomplished.
Question 3: When did the first 3 ½ years of confirming the covenant begin, and end? And when does the last 3 ½ years begin and end?
For 3 ½ Year beginning in October of 26 A.D. after his baptism, and confrontation with the devil in the wilderness, Jesus began to confirm his new covenant. But it would be abruptly ended in April of 30 A.D. 3 ½ years later, when Judas betrayed him, and when he was taken by the priests to be tried.
Matt.4:16-17, “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him. And lo a voice from heaven, saying, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Jesus then goes into the wilderness to be tempted for 40 days by the devil, Luke 4:2. After 40 days of fasting and being tempted, the devil again tempts him with three greater temptations, but fails.
Luke 4:13, “And when the devil had ended all the temptation (testing) he departed from him (Jesus) for a season (Appointed time, set time, as in fixed or definite time.)”
Question, when would that season or appointed time for the devil begin?
John 14:30, 3 ½ years after the wilderness experience, Jesus is speaking with his disciples and said to them, “Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world comes, and has nothing (against) me.”
As the feast of Passover in April of 30 A.D. drew near, this is when Satan began his second attack on Jesus;
John 21:2-3, “The chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him (Jesus): for they feared the people. Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve (apostles). And he (Judas) went his way, and communed (conferred) with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them.”
Jesus was taken shortly after; he was tried, beaten, sent to the cross, buried for 3 days, raised and ascended into heaven.
Isa.53:8, we read, “He (Messiah) was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off (would suffer a violent death) out of the land of the living.”
So, after the cross their remains 3 ½ years for the covenant to be confirmed. Question: So, who will finish the conformation of this covenant for the final 3 ½ years, and when?
It will be the two witnesses who will confirm the covenant for the final 3 ½ years. It will begin when the 7 years of tribulation begins.
Rev.11:3, “I (Jesus) will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days (3 ½ years).” Ver.7, “And when they shall have finished their testimony (testimony here means to speak the truth of Jesus mission and his gospel), the (1st) beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them (the two witnesses), and shall overcome them, and kill them.”
I will do a separate article on the two witnesses and this 1st beast of Rev.11.
Their testimony shall be given in Jerusalem where Jesus was crucified and where he also confirmed his covenant for 3 ½ years.
Also, at the beginning of the tribulation, 144,000 Jews from the 12 tribes of Israel will receive God’s mark in their foreheads, but there is no mention of the work they are to accomplish during the 7 years of tribulation.
Thirdly, Rev.14:6-7, An angel —- having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. Saying with a loud voice, fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come;”
Question 4: Who is it that ends the sacrifices and oblations that were taking place during the Temple period, up until 70 A.D.
Two days before the cross, Jesus said to his three disciples on the Mt. of Olives,
Matt.23:38-39, Behold your (the Jews) house (the Temple) is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, you shall not see me henceforth, until you shall say, blessed is He that comes in the name of the LORD.” This conversation occurred on April 2ed or 3ed of 30 A.D.
Jesus in the above has declared that he is the Lord of the Temple, and now, that Temple will be without God when he left it for the last time.
Matt.24:1, “Jesus went out, and departed from the temple —.”
“O Jerusalem, for the glory is departed from you.”
Malachi wrote in 3:1, “I will send my messenger (John the Baptist), and he shall prepare the way before me (Jesus) suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant.”
So, the answer to the question is, Jesus Christ ended the sacrifices and oblations in the Temple when He declared the house of the Lord to be abandoned, in early April of 30 A.D. a few days before the cross and Pentecost. The Jews no longer had a Temple worthy of sacrificing for their sins, and were also without God until He removes their blindness, and restores them once more.
Phillip LaSpino www.seekfirstwisdom.