(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.
In previous articles and TV programs we have built our case that “he” in Daniel 9:27a refers to none other than Jesus Christ, “the Messiah” referred to in verses 25 and 26. Our Messiah “confirmed the covenant,” which means the new covenant, and after 3 ½ years of holy ministry He Himself caused “the sacrifice ... to cease” by His death on the cross. This position not only fits the context of Daniel 9:24-27, the facts of history, and New Testament evidence (see Romans 15:8 and Matthew 26:28), but is the position of the majority of well-respected older Bible commentaries that have not been affected by modern Futurism (see the commentaries of Matthew Henry, Jamieson, Fausett and Brown, Adam Clarke, etc).
Grammatically, it makes sense that all references to “he” in Daniel 9:27 refer to the same person throughout the text, that is, to Jesus Christ Himself. Simply read the entire verse in the KJV. The “it” that is made “desolate” refers to the Jewish sanctuary. Speaking to the leaders of Israel, Jesus mournfully declared, “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate” (Matthew 23:38). But how could Jesus Christ make the Jewish sanctuary desolate? The answer is simple: By His death on the cross. When Jesus finally cried out, “It is finished” (John 19:30), the entire Jewish temple service, including its sacrifices, “ceased” to be of value in the sight of God. It was “desolate.”
The entire drama surrounding the fate of the Temple included the Jews, the Messiah, and finally, Roman armies led by Titus that finished the job in 70 A.D. To make it simple, here is the entire text below with explanations in brackets:
(27) And he [Christ] shall confirm the [new] covenant with many for one week [the last 7-year period of Daniel 9:24]: and in the midst of the week [after 3 ½ years of holy ministry] he [Christ] shall cause [by His death on the cross] the sacrifice [of the Jewish Temple] and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations [of the Jewish leaders who instigated Christ’s death] he [Christ] shall make it [the Temple] desolate [Christ’s death ultimately finished the Temple service], even until the consummation [which occurred 40 years later when the Roman armies led by Titus finally burned the Temple to the ground and killed approximately one million Jews. See War of the Jews by Josephus], and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate [the Jewish nation and its Temple in 70 A.D.].
Christ’s death not only atoned for our sins, but it also meant the end of the Jewish temple service
Thus the latter part of Daniel 9:27 deals with mighty cause-and-effect events. The Jewish leaders committed “abominations” by instigating the death of God’s own Son, yet their evil deeds backfired with terrible consequences. Christ’s death not only atoned for our sins, but it also meant the end of the Jewish temple service itself (making it desolate). Finally, in 70 A.D., Roman armies finished the job, thus completing “the desolation.”
Jesus clearly predicted the events of 70 A.D. when He forewarned His disciples, saying, “And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh” (Luke 21:20).
In conclusion, may God help us to learn these lessons from the Temple: Jesus Christ’s death means everlasting salvation to those who yield to His love, repent of their sins, and have faith in His sacrifice, but to those who chose abominations, remain in sin, and reject His grace, eternal desolation is the inevitable, terrible consequence.
Let’s respond to His grace, before it’s too late.
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