©Kris Gerbrandt
Chapter 9:26b (ESV) - And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.
Question to consider: To what “end” does Gabriel refer which would come with a flood?
As we get to the end of the prophetic promise given by Gabriel, there are many views of this passage which turn from the anointed prince to the wicked one represented by the little horn from the prophetic dream of chapter eight or the beast/anti-Christ passages of the New Testament.
While I’ll admit how verses 26 and 27 can be difficult to translate and leave room for different interpretations, I think we should assume the timeline coincides with the promises given in verse 24 unless we have a clear reason not to do this. If there is one takeaway I hope you receive from the book of Daniel, it is the emphasis that the LORD was building an eternal kingdom that would overtake the kingdoms of men. This eternal kingdom was not just for the Jews but for every tribe and nation of men, and Daniel provided examples of two Gentile kings who recognized the King of kings and Lord of lords.
The end of the age of the earthly temple in Jerusalem came in AD 70, and Jesus compared the suddenness of this judgment with the flood of Noah. The city and the sanctuary were completely destroyed down to the last brick. Matthew’s gospel account included the decree for its desolation. Jesus called out the wickedness of the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites (actors) who traveled over land and sea to win a single convert but then made him twice as much as son of hell as they were. After pronouncing seven woes upon the city and the sanctuary, Jesus said, “Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Therefore I send you prophets and wise men and scribes, some of whom you will kill and crucify, and some you will flog in your synagogues and persecute from town to town, so that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the sanctuary and the altar. Truly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” (Matthew 23:32-39)
While the Romans may have been the sword to carry out this destruction, the cause was from those who were supposed to be the people of the anointed prince.
Dear heavenly Father, may we see the destruction upon the age of the earthly temple as a type and shadow of the judgment that is coming upon the whole world when Christ returns. May the end of the earthly sacrifices point us to the perfect sacrifice of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. Amen.