Chapter 9:27a (ESV) - And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering.
Question to consider: What event put an end to sacrifice and offering?
The final seven of the seventy sevens in the promise Gabriel gave to Daniel concerning his prayer of repentance for Israel (the people and the holy city) involves the prince and a strong covenant. Once again, I believe that while this passage can be difficult to translate, our understanding should come from the promises given in verse 24 to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.
As I mentioned yesterday, there are those who associate “the prince” with the small horn of chapter eight or the beast of Revelation. However, from the text in verses 24 through 27, the only reference to a prince has been the anointed prince. If we are counting the 490 years from the decree of Artaxerxes to rebuild the city of Jerusalem in 457 BC, the seven and sixty-nine sevens lead up to Jesus' baptism and time in the wilderness. We should ask ourselves whether there was a covenant established 3 ½ years into Jesus’ ministry which put an end to sacrifice and offering, finished the transgression, put an end to sin, atoned for iniquity, brought in everlasting righteousness, and sealed both vision and prophet.
Hopefully, your understanding brings you clearly to the upper room at the final Passover of Christ where He established the New Covenant in His blood, and then ratified it on the cross. If you instead believe that this passage is talking about some future anti-Christ who would make a false peace treaty and then break it 3 ½ years into a seven-year tribulation period in which the church at some point has been raptured out of the world, I would invite you to re-read my studies over the last few days.
In order to hold that view, you have to believe that the final seven of the seventy sevens was not fulfilled with the other sixty-nine but has a 2,000+ year gap. You also have to believe that the temple which was destroyed in AD 70 will need to be rebuilt, and that sacrifices will begin again for the forgiveness of sins even though the book of Hebrews compared the return to animal sacrifices with crucifying Christ all over again (Hebrews 6:1-8). Both of these things should give you pause.
I’ll wrap up the rest of the verse tomorrow, but I ask that you prayerfully consider the prince who established the covenant in this passage to be Christ Jesus and the cross, for to attribute the work of Christ to anti-Christ is a serious matter.
Dear heavenly Father, thank You for giving us Your word which reveals Christ crucified for the forgiveness of our sins. May we not return to our own insufficient attempts at keeping Your Law but rest in the knowledge that Christ has kept the Law for us and clothes us in His righteousness. Amen.