27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.” Daniel 9:27
Let’s go back to looking in more detail at Daniel chapter 9.
The first 70 weeks, ‘the 70 weeks prophecy’ in Daniel is the answer to Daniel’s prayer in verses 1-9 for the restoration of Jerusalem, Your city, and Your people, the Jewish people. He asked God to forgive and restore Jerusalem and Your sanctuary, the Temple which is desolate, and to do this for the sake of Your city and Your people who are called by Your Name.
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
3 Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. 4 And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, … Daniel 9:1-19
So God’s response to Daniel’s prayer is to send the angel Gabriel with the 70 weeks of years prophecy.
When you look at the subject of this prophecy, what it says is that, at the end of this time, there’s going to be a completion. Verse 24 tells us what will be accomplished by the end of the period of the 70 weeks of which he’s talking about. So by the time it’s completion you’ll find that all this will be accomplished.
24 “Seventy weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy. Daniel 9:24
They’ll finish transgressions, make an end of sins, make reconciliation for iniquity, bring in everlasting righteousness, seal up vision and prophecy, anoint the Most Holy.
Actually, it says קֹ֥דֶשׁ קָֽדָשִֽׁים׃ [qōdeš qādāšîm] kadosh kadeshim. So, it actually means anoint the holy of holies.
So, all this is going to be fulfilled by the end of the 70th week. You’re going to see the summing up of all prophecy, the complete restoration of Israel, both physical and spiritual, the rebuilding of a Temple in the Millennial Period, and the fulfilment of all these prophecies that are going to come about through the events which would lead to the end of the 70th week.
Just to explain this prophecy: a week is a period of seven (7) years. And in the prophecy of Daniel, the 70 weeks, is divided into three periods. 7 + 62 + 1, which equals to 70. And the word in the prophecy which is translated as ‘determined’ is חָתַךְ [ḥātak] katak which also means ‘to divide’.
I have already said that, at the time of the 69th week 7 + 62, the Messiah will be cut off but not for himself.
26 “And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off כָּרַת [kārat], but not for Himself; Daniel 9:26
This was fulfilled by Yeshua the Messiah dying as a sacrifice for the sins of the world and rising again from the dead.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off גָּזַר [gāzar] from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. Isaiah 53:8
Following this event, the people of ‘the prince to come’ בּוֹא נָגִיד [nāgîd bôʾ] will destroy the city, Jerusalem, and the sanctuary, the Temple.
And the people of the prince who is to come בּוֹא נָגִיד [nāgîd bôʾ]
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined. Daniel 9:26
That took place literally in 70 AD when the Romans besieged and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. I’ve said before, this means that the Messiah must have come before 70 AD.
You then have a long period of time between the 69th week and the 70th week, which is kind of confusing and puzzling.
But if you follow through book of Daniel, you’ll see that following this event, there’d be a long period interval before the beginning of the 70th week.
During this interval, the Jewish people and Jerusalem will experience wars and desolation.
And it would correspond to the time which Jesus spoke about in Luke’s Gospel. Where He speaks about Jerusalem being trodden down of the Gentiles and the Jewish people being dispersed into the nations.
I’ve got a little diagram here somewhere you can have a look at afterwards which shows you the kind of timeline in the book of Daniel. Put that out here. You can help yourself to it.
So this speaks about an interval and during this time the prophecy which Jesus gave in Luke chapters 19 and 21 is going to be fulfilled.
On the day, when He rode into Jerusalem on what we call Palm Sunday or the Triumphal Entry, Jesus,
41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 44 and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” Luke 19:41-44
That happened quite literally in the time when the Jerusalem was destroyed.
The Romans came and burned the Temple down. And when it had been burned down, they then saw that the gold melted from the top to the bottom and they prized the stones asunder and threw them down below. You can see them today as you go up to the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
And Jesus gave a reason for this. He said this is going to happen “because you did not know the time of your visitation.” ‘Your visitation’ represents the time when the Messiah came to you. He was saying that this tragedy was going to come upon them because they didn’t recognize in Yeshua the coming of the Messiah.
I have to say that many Jews did recognize Him. Of course, and we are indebted to the Jewish people for giving us the faith. But the minority recognized Yeshua. The majority, especially the religious leaders, rejected Him. And as a result this calamity came upon them.
Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, saying: “‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” Luke 19:37-40
Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’ ” And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him. Luke 19:45-48
Jesus goes on in Luke chapter 21 to say,
20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 24 And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Luke 21:20-24
So here Jesus gives a snapshot of Jewish history which is going to take place after this. He speaks about a dispersion into the nations. He says, ‘you’re going to be oppressed by them’. Also, He speaks about Jerusalem being trampled or ruled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
That word ‘until’ ἄχρι [achri ] is very interesting because He’s saying there’s going to be a time when this process of dispersion of scattering to the nations is going to be reversed and you’re going to come back to the land. You’re going to come back to Jerusalem.
And when you (the Jewish people) come back to Jerusalem, it will be a sign that I’m going to come back. Jesus is going to come back to Jerusalem and bring in the Millennial Kingdom. So, during this time of dispersion, the scripture tells us that Israel will be out of the land of Israel, Jerusalem will be ruled by different gentile powers. There will be just a small minority of Jews living in the land.
Ezekiel also tells us that the land will become desolate. Ancient cities will become ruins and that the Jewish people would endure a long unspecified time without revelation from the Lord apart from those who receive Yeshua as the Messiah. The Book of Hosea says,
4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, without ephod or teraphim. 5 Afterward the children of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David their king. They shall fear the Lord and His goodness in the latter days. Hosea 3:4-5
They’ll be not only be out of the land, they’ll also be out of fellowship with God. And the things which God provided under the Old Covenant will no longer be available to them unless they turn to Yeshua the Messiah, in which case, they’ll have all of these things and much more.
Daniel goes on to say that the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple following the Messiah’s first coming would take place at the hands of the people of the prince to come. That’s what Daniel tells us. So the prince to come is the same figure as the little horn who comes out of the fourth beast in Daniel chapter 7 and the stern-faced king of Daniel chapter 8 verses 23-26.
“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words. Daniel 7:7-8
“And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise, Having fierce features,
Who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; He shall destroy fearfully, And shall prosper and thrive; He shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. “Through his cunning
He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule;
And he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; But he shall be broken without human means. “And the vision of the evenings and mornings
Which was told is true; Therefore seal up the vision,
For it refers to many days in the future.” Daniel 8:23-26
We see something is being set in motion. It’s not actually being confirmed yet, but it has all the ingredients which line up with the Daniel 9.27 prophecy.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.” Daniel 9:27
So when someone comes along and actually confirms it, and brings it all into being, including the Palestinian state or the action over Jerusalem, then you know that you are really on the way to the fulfilment of this prophecy.
Now, you’ve got different views about the timing of these events. If you take the what they call the Preterist view, then, the 70th week actually begins with the end of the 69th week (Christ’s Crucifixion and Resurrection) and describes the end of the sacrificial system with the destruction of the temple in AD70.
The problem with that is that the Temple wasn’t destroyed three and a half years after the crucifixion which it would have to be to fit in with this passage. It was destroyed about 40 years later. In this view then the ‘he‘ of Daniel 9:27 refers to the Messiah making a covenant with Israel and Jesus fulfilling the New Covenant of Jeremiah 31.
31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant בְּרִית חָדָשׁ [ḥādāš bǝrît] with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jeremiah 31:31-34
Another problem with this is that the New Covenant in this interpretation doesn’t only last for seven years but is an eternal covenant offering forgiveness and the knowledge of God by the Holy Spirit.
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant διαθήκη [diathēkē], which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” Mark 14:22-25
And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant διαθήκη [diathēkē], which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.” Matthew 26:26-29
In fact, nothing which ties in with Daniel 9:27 happened either three and a half years or seven years after the crucifixion and resurrection, which is why I think we’re justified in saying it is a future event which has not yet happened.
The Futurist (Dispensational) view is that ‘he‘ is the last person mentioned in Daniel 9:26 (the preceding verse), i.e. ‘he‘ is ‘the prince to come’ or the Antichrist.
This means that the 70th week of Daniel begins with a covenant being made by the Antichrist with Israel which will last for seven years. Isaiah 28 also speaks about this. It prophesies a covenant with death made by people described as scoffers who are rulers in Israel. Isaiah 28 says,
14 Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scornful men,
Who rule this people who are in Jerusalem,
15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,
And with Sheol we are in agreement.
When the overflowing scourge passes through,
It will not come to us,
For we have made lies our refuge,
And under falsehood we have hidden ourselves.” Isaiah 28:14-16
So Isaiah speaks about a covenant which is made by scornful men in Jerusalem.
It could mean non-believing Jews, rulers who make this covenant with the Antichrist. It could mean that Netanyahu who may be out of the way because he’s actually not going to make this covenant although he’s made it so far with Trump. It could mean some kind of change that happens in Israel, which is not unlikely.
It is quite likely actually. But Isaiah also says here that there are those who refuse the covenant. It says,
16 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation,
A tried stone, a precious cornerstone פִּנָּה [pinnâ], a sure foundation;
Whoever believes will not act hastily. Isaiah 28:14-16
That’s an interesting verse because you have to ask: ‘Here are some people who don’t enter into this covenant’. They say, ‘It’s wrong’. They say, ‘You’re acting hastily. You’re acting rashly in making this covenant. We don’t agree with it‘. These people also believe something. They believe in the stone for a foundation, the precious cornerstone, the sure foundation.
Now, if you know your Bibles, you may know that’s one of the code names given for Jesus. Particularly in Psalm 118 and other passages.
19 Open to me the gates of righteousness;
I will go through them,
And I will praise the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord,
Through which the righteous shall enter.21 I will praise You,
For You have answered me,
And have become my salvation.22 The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone פִּנָּה [pinnâ].
23 This was the Lord’s doing;
It is marvelous in our eyes.
24 This is the day the Lord has made;
We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:19-24
Jesus is described as the precious cornerstone, the sure foundation and the cornerstone, the foundation and also the capstone which holds all the building together. It appears to me that those people make this statement, they represent the people who come to believe in Yeshua the Messiah who say, ‘Hey, we shouldn’t be going into this covenant. It’s going to lead us astray.‘
So, you’re going to have a people who will not be agreeing with it. There could also be some Jewish people who recognize it’s leading them astray and who are on the way to believing in Yeshua. In any case, it also has something to do with Yeshua because He’s the one who is the sure foundation.
To sum up, from this point of view, the 70th week begins after the rapture of the church. At the rapture of the church, both Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus are supernaturally removed and then there’s a time in which life goes life goes on as normal. This the church age is therefore a parenthesis between the 69th and 70th weeks of Daniel 9.
The 70th week describes a seven-year period of the Great Tribulation, the time of Jacob’s trouble. During this period, God deals with Israel, bringing them to repentance and faith in Yeshua, the Messiah.
5 “For thus says the Lord:
‘We have heard a voice of trembling,
Of fear, and not of peace.
6 Ask now, and see,
Whether a man is ever in labour with child?
So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins
Like a woman in labour,
And all faces turned pale?
7 Alas! For that day is great,
So that none is like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble,
But he shall be saved out of it.8 ‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
‘That I will break his yoke from your neck,
And will burst your bonds;
Foreigners shall no more enslave them.
9 But they shall serve the Lord their God,
And David their king,
Whom I will raise up for them.
If you read through Revelation and other passages, you can see that God then begins to move upon Israel in a big way.
Revelation chapter 7 describes 144,000 Jews who come to know the Lord and preach the Gospel during the Tribulation period. Someone has said they will be like 144,000 apostle Pauls who go out with the power of the Holy Spirit to preach the Gospel.
4 And I heard the number of those who were sealed. One hundred and forty-four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel were sealed:
5 of the tribe of Judah twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Reuben twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand were sealed;
6 of the tribe of Asher twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Naphtali twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Manasseh twelve thousand were sealed;
7 of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Issachar twelve thousand were sealed;
8 of the tribe of Zebulun twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand were sealed;
of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand were sealed. Revelation 7:4-8
Revelation 11 speaks about the two witnesses in Jerusalem.
3 And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.”
4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. 5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner. 6 These have power to shut heaven, so that no rain falls in the days of their prophecy; and they have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to strike the earth with all plagues, as often as they desire. Revelation 11:3-6
Zechariah chapter 12 speaks about the Holy Spirit being poured out and people looking upon thee whom they have pierced and mourned for him as for an only son.
10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. 11 In that day there shall be a great mourning in Jerusalem, like the mourning at Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 And the land shall mourn, every family by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of Shimei by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 all the families that remain, every family by itself, and their wives by themselves. Zechariah 12:10-14
So you can see that during this time God is going to be moving upon the Jewish people and bringing them to faith in Yeshua the Messiah. He can still do it now, but He’s going to do this in a big way during the Tribulation period. They are going to recognize that Jesus is the One they’ve been looking for and turn to Him.
There is also going to be a series of events which going to take place. Now, I got this from somebody who made this in a sort of rather special way. So, I’ve got to get this right. First of all, it begins with a covenant made by the prince to come.
For one week, covenant begins the final seven-year period of the Tribulation. In the middle of the Tribulation period, i.e. after three and a half years, the covenant will be broken by the antichrist.
And if you look at Revelation, you’ll find that the same sequence of events happens. He speaks of a period of 42 months, three and a half years, the last half of the tribulation following this event during which the authority of the antichrist continues. How does this fulfil Daniel 9:24?
Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth.” Revelation 11:1-3
And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marvelled and followed the beast. So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. Revelation 13:3-6
Okay, when you get to Daniel 9:24, we find that the Second Coming of the Messiah will cleanse the temple site of the abomination of desolation and all the desolations of the centuries.
It will cause the final reconciliation of the Lord with the Jewish people. And so, it will find the the final answer of Daniel’s prayer for the restoration of Jerusalem.
Remember where we started? Daniel is praying for the restoration of Your city and of Your people. He has a partial restoration when the Jews go back after Babylon, but that’s only partial.
And it ends up with a following dispersion after death and resurrection of Jesus. But he looks forward to a time when everything is going to be tied up. All the prophecies are going to be come to fruition.
Clearly, that hasn’t happened yet. So, he’s looking forward to something which is yet to happen in the future. And this will provide the final answer to Daniel’s prayer for the restoration of Jerusalem, Your city, and the Jewish people, Your people. And then all the things which are written in the book of Daniel will be fulfilled.
He will finish transgression, make an end of sins, make reconciliation for iniquity.
Okay? So God will be reconciled to Israel through the covenant of the Messiah and repentance and faith in Him.
There’ll be an end to the sin of Israel. Romans 11.26-27 tells you that Israel will be saved. They won’t be saved through Judaism. They’ll be saved through faith in Yeshua, the Messiah.
26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins.” Romans 11.26-27
When you get into the Millennial Kingdom period, only saved Jews are going to go into it. So, all Israel who goes into the Millennial Kingdom will be saved as Israelites who believe in Yeshua.
He’ll bring in everlasting righteousness. He’ll seal up the vision and prophecy. He’ll anoint the Most Holy. I once discussed this with an orthodox Jew and he said, “Your translation’s wrong here. It shouldn’t be ‘anoint the Most Holy’, it should be ‘anoint the Holy of Holies’.” Hebrew’s קֹ֥דֶשׁ קָֽדָשִֽׁים׃ [qōdeš qādāšîm] kadosh kadeshim. Well, that’s much better! Thank you! When Messiah comes back, He’s going to anoint the Holy of Holies in the rebuilt Temple as Jesus comes back and anoints the rebuilt Temple in the Millennial Kingdom period.
And as a result of this, all of the prophecies of the Old Testament will be fulfilled.
If you go through the prophecies of the Old Testament, there are a huge number of prophecies which have not yet been fulfilled and many people say can never be fulfilled.
Especially Isaiah chapter 2 where it speaks about the Word of the Lord going out from Jerusalem and there being world peace as they beat their swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks and don’t study war anymore. Has that happened yet?
No. The Bible says it will happen. It’ll happen when all this is fulfilled. And Jesus wraps up all of these prophecies and fulfils them in Himself. As a result of that, all the remaining prophecies will be fulfilled. All remaining Jews will be gathered to Israel.
See also prophecies in Isaiah which speak about the Lord taking the Jewishpeople from the north, the south, the east and the west. So all remaining Jews will be gathered together.
Jesus speaks about the trumpet sounding and gathering His elect from the four winds of heaven which ties up with many prophecies in the Old Testament about the regathering of Israel in the latter days.
24 “But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; 25 the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 26 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven. Mark 13:24-27
They include also the people who died in faith in the previous dispensation in the time of the old covenant will be resurrected and gathered together unto the Lord in the Millennial Kingdom. And then the lion will lie down with the lamb.
There will be peace in the natural world and the Millennial Temple will be built according to Ezekiel. The Temple will be filled with the Spirit of the Lord and the Lord Himself will enter into it by the Eastern Gate. And once He enters into the Temple, that gate will be shut up and He will then dwell in the Temple and the Temple will be filled with the glory of the Lord. So, the Bible envisages all these things taking place in the Millennial Kingdom.
It’ll only happen when Jesus comes back. It won’t happen as a result of negotiations and peace settlements and all that kind of stuff. It’ll happen only when Yeshua the Messiah comes. And He’s the only One who can solve the problems of the Middle East, the problems of relationships between Jews and Arabs.
It even says that wasn’t going to be sought because Israel is going to be a third between Egypt and Assyria and there’s going to be a highway between them. So, they’ll be living in peace between them.
A highway shall be there, and a road, And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean shall not pass over it, But it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool,
Shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it; It shall not be found there. But the redeemed shall walk there, And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isaiah 35:8-10
And the Lord will strike Egypt, He will strike and heal it; they will return to the Lord, and He will be entreated by them and heal them. In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptians will serve with the Assyrians. In that day Israel will be one of three with Egypt and Assyria—a blessing in the midst of the land, whom the Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, “Blessed is Egypt My people, and Assyria the work of My hands, and Israel My inheritance.” Isaiah 19:22-25
All these things are going to take place. They’re going to take place to fulfil this prophecy of Daniel. So when Daniel says that these things going to happen, everything which is written here is going to take place.
Certainly it hasn’t happened yet. We do have reconciliation with God through Jesus. But that’s partial and for a few people. When it comes to the Second Coming of Jesus, only people who are reconciled to God will be in the Millennial Kingdom.
So these things are going to happen. And he says also that the Holy of Holies will be anointed as the Messiah rules and reigns from Jerusalem bringing peace to the earth.
Can that happen? It can’t happen if it’s a human who commits to working it out. It can only happen if God intervenes in the person of Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah.
When he does this, He’s going to cleanse the earth from evil, going to bring an end to the times of the Gentiles.
The times of the Gentiles is an interesting phrase. Jesus spoke about Jerusalem being trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Some people think that that happened in 1967 when Israel gained control of the old city of Jerusalem.
It was a partial fulfilment and it was pushing towards the final fulfilment. But Israel is still subject to the Gentiles in rule over Jerusalem because the most important place, the Temple Mount is in the hands of the Muslims and the United Nations, and all the nations are trying to tell Israel what to do with Jerusalem and want to divide up the city.
Zechariah chapter 12 tells you that only when Jesus returns will the end of the times of the Gentiles happen and the end of the times of Gentile domination. If you want the technical passage which deals with this, it’s Daniel chapter 2 which tells you about the image of Nebuchadnezzar which symbolizes the gentile rule over the Jewish people beginning with Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome and then looking forward to the iron and the clay which represents the time of the antichrist at the end of days.
Then the stone of Daniel in Daniel the stone hits the image and fills the earth which brings an end to the times of the Gentiles. I don’t know if you understood all that but it means that there’s a time coming when the gentile rule over Jerusalem will come to an end.
The kingdom of God will be set up and Yeshua the Messiah will rule from Jerusalem. All these events are prophesied in the Old Testament as well as in the New Testament which speaks about Jesus coming back as King of kings and Lord of lords and taking up His rule from Jerusalem. So, the saints who’ve been taken in the rapture will return with the Messiah. And Zechariah chapter 14 says that the Lord will come and all the holy ones with Him.
Thus the Lord my God will come,
And all the saints with You.6 It shall come to pass in that day
That there will be no light;
The lights will diminish.
7 It shall be one day
Which is known to the Lord—
Neither day nor night.
But at evening time it shall happen
That it will be light.8 And in that day it shall be
That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem,
Half of them toward the eastern sea
And half of them toward the western sea;
In both summer and winter it shall occur.
9 And the Lord shall be King over all the earth.
In that day it shall be—
“The Lord is one,”
And His name one. Zechariah 14:5-9
Jude says that the Lord is coming with 10 thousands of his saints. Revelation 19 says that the saints are coming with the messiah.
Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.” Jude 1:14-15
And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God.” And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Revelation 19:8-10
Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:
KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS. Revelation 19:11-16
It says the armies in Heaven clothed in fine linen. And he says earlier that the fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. So, when Jesus comes back, He’s not coming back on His own. He’s coming back with all those who’ve been taken in the rapture of the church.
If you’re a believer in Jesus, you’re going to be taken in the rapture of the church. That means you’re going to come back with Him in wearing robes of righteousness. I think that’s pretty exciting prospect. So, I’m looking forward to that.
Some people tell you that Christianity is boring. Well, it’s not going to get boring when all this starts taking place. I can tell you, Jesus is going to come back and He’s going to come back with all power. That time, the He’ll be joined by the Old Testament saints who will be resurrected. Daniel 12 tells you that.
“At that time Michael shall stand up,
The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people;
And there shall be a time of trouble,
Such as never was since there was a nation,
Even to that time.
And at that time your people shall be delivered,
Every one who is found written in the book.
2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
Some to everlasting life,
Some to shame and everlasting contempt.
3 Those who are wise shall shine
Like the brightness of the firmament,
And those who turn many to righteousness
Like the stars forever and ever. Daniel 12:1-3
And the Tribulation saints, those who died in faith during the Tribulation period will also be resurrected according to Revelation 20:4 following the return of the Messiah to the earth.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. Revelation 20:4
The believers who survive the Tribulation will go into the Millennial Kingdom in mortal bodies and repopulate the earth in the Millennial Kingdom period. The unbelievers will be cast off the earth and that unfortunately will be the end of their time on earth.
Satan will be bound and unable to influence the earth, the nations. And at that point it says that the earth will be full of the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
Now, a lot of the church has scrubbed all this out of the agenda, but you have to scrub out a vast amount of Hebrew prophecy too to do that. You certainly have to scrub out Revelation chapter 20 if you want to scrub out the Millennial Kingdom because it’s there in the Bible.
And what the Bible is telling you is that, when these things begin to happen, certain events are going to take place in the world. That’s why I start off with the political things in my talks. You might think, ‘Why is he going on about stuff to do with politics and stuff to do with the Middle East?‘ I tell you that because it all lines up with what the Bible says is going to happen in the last days.
In the last days, you’re going to see somebody coming along to confirm a covenant with Israel, which will bring a temporary peace, which will break down halfway through and lead to the consummation, which will be destruction upon the one who makes desolate, the one who’s causing all the desolation of the earth.
I put it to you that we’re living in the last days. We’re seeing a number of things taking place not just in the Middle East, but also in our own country, and in the rest of the world which point us in that direction. Particularly, in the Middle East because in a way, Israel is God’s signpost.
Israel is the epicentre of God’s dealing in the last days. So, when you see certain things happening in the last days, certain things happening around you that line up with the last days prophecies of the Bible, it means you could get ready for the coming of the Lord.
And right now, I think we’re heading towards this time. Obviously, one of the things which happens in prophecy is that sometimes events seem to be speeding up then, they slow down and you don’t know when it’s really going to take place.
But what really interested me in the whole thing about this Trump program is that it goes much further than what they said in the UN. What they said in the UN was just a kind of idea that they want to have a Palestinian state. There was no mechanism to bring it into being.
Well, this program which I started off with gives you a mechanism to bring it into being. A mechanism which has been accepted by Israel and partially accepted by Hamas has been accepted by Arab countries round about. So it speaks about making a strong covenant with many.
So, not just with Israel but with many people round about it. So if you see that happening, then you’ve got to prick up your ears and say, ‘yeah’ this is significant.
Now, whether it will come immediately remains to be seen. Obviously, all sorts of things can go wrong and we’re still living in very uncertain days. But, if you follow it through, then something has been set in motion which ties up very much with what the Bible prophecies say is going to happen in the last days.
So, I think we should take notice of it. When you see these things begin to happen, then don’t panic. Look up and lift up your heads because your redemption draws near. It means that Jesus is coming. And get ready to meet with Jesus because when he comes, He’s going to judge the world in righteousness. And we need to be in a right relationship with Him.
And Jewish people need to be in a right relationship with Him also because Judaism is not going to save them. Only Yeshua is. That’s why, although we support Israel’s right to exist, we also believe that Israel and the Jewish people need Yeshua, the Messiah, because He is the Messiah.
And whether the church has failed, which it has, whether Israel has missed the boat, which they have, doesn’t make any difference to the fact that Jesus is the only Messiah who God is going to send.
The other interesting thing from that prophecy of Daniel is that, if you take it literally, then the Messiah must have come already.
It says ‘the Messiah’. It uses the word Messiah Messiah. It says Messiah will come and be cut off not for himself.
25 “Know therefore and understand,
That from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem
Until Messiah מָשִׁיחַ [māšîaḥ] the Prince,
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The street shall be built again, and the wall,
Even in troublesome times. Daniel 9:25
Then, the people of the prince to come and shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. So, either that means what it says which is that the Messiah must have come before the destruction of the Second Temple or it means something else.
Rabbis say that Messiah מָשִׁיחַ [māšîaḥ] just means ‘anointed one’ Some have said that it refers to King Agrippa who died before the destruction of the Second Temple, which is nonsense because King Agrippa was not even an anointed King of Israel, he was just a Edomite who happened to be there at the time. I think he actually died after the destruction of the Second Temple as well. Others say that Messiah means that the high priest died before the Second Temple. Well, high priests were dying all the time. That doesn’t make any difference. What makes the difference is that the Messiah comes.
The Messiah is Yeshua and He fulfilled all the other prophecies. He’s the suffering servant of Isaiah 53. He died by crucifixion according to Psalm 22.
He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:3-6
I am poured out like water,
And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death. For dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots. Psalm 22:14-18
He’s the Messiah. It’s how it is. And He’s going to come again, not this time as the suffering servant, but this time as the King of kings and Lord of lords. And when He comes, He’s going to bring an end to all of the bad stuff which we’ve talked about. And He’s going to bring in everlasting righteousness through faith in Jesus.
So, when you see these things begin to happen, look up because Jesus is coming and get ready to meet Him and use the time that remains to spread the Good News that there is a hope.
There’s only one hope though. There’s one one who’s going to bring peace and there’s only one who’s going to bring peace. That’s Jesus, the Messiah, who is the Prince of peace. When He comes again, the government will be upon His shoulders. That’s going to be considerably better than any of the governments we have now. He’s going to be the good government and He’s going to put to right all the mess which is in the world today.
Can he do it? Of course he can. He’s God. So, believe on the Lord Jesus, Yeshua the Messiah, and you shall be saved. Amen.