70 Weeks Prophecy (Part 10) - Dan 9:27 (Part A)

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4. Dan 9:27 - "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." A. "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:" i. The antecedent of the pronoun he is the Messiah mentioned in v.26 (this will be proven shortly). ii. Messiah is the only singular person performing in the preceding sentence. iii. The dispensationalists say that "he" refers to "the prince that shall come" in v. 26 whom they claim is the antichrist. a. They argue that "the prince" is the closest antecedent to the pronoun "he", and therefore "he" refers to "the prince that shall come." b. This argument is faulty for several reasons. c. First of all, an antecedent does not have to be the closest noun to the pronoun (Psa 105:23-37). (i) The antecedent them in verse 37 refers to Israel, his people, and his servants in verses 23-25. (ii) But it skips over at least seven references to the Egyptians in the intermediate verses (vv. 29-36). d. Secondly, it is grammatically incorrect to claim that "he" refers to "the prince." (i) "The prince" in v. 26 is a possessive modifier of "the people" which (the people) is the subject of the clause. 1. It is "the people" that "shall destroy the city and sanctuary." 2. "of the prince that shall come" describes "the people" who are the active subject. 3. "The prince" is not the subject, and therefore cannot be the antecedent of the pronoun "he." (ii) Therefore, the antecedent of the singular pronoun "he" is "Messiah." e. Thirdly, "the prince that shall come" was the Roman general Titus, not some future "antichrist." See notes on Dan 9:26 above. f. Fourthly, the Messiah would be cut off during the 70th week (after the 69th week). (i) See notes on Dan 9:26. (ii) This is additional proof that it would be the Messiah who "shall confirm the covenant with many for one week." iv. The "he" in v. 27 that shall confirm the covenant with many is Messiah in v. 26. a. Jesus confirmed the covenant during His earthly ministry. (i) Confirm v. - 1. trans. To make firm or more firm, to add strength to, to settle, establish firmly. 2. To make valid by formal authoritative assent (a thing already instituted or ordained); to ratify, sanction. (ii) Covenant n. - 1. A mutual agreement between two or more persons to do or refrain from doing certain acts; a compact, contract, bargain; sometimes, the undertaking, pledge, or promise of one of the parties. 7. Scripture. Applied esp. to an engagement entered into by the Divine Being with some other being or persons. (iii) This is a clear reference to the new covenant or testament that Christ established in the last week of the 70 weeks (Mat 26:28). 1. Christ by His bloodshed and death put the new covenant in force, that is, He confirmed it (Heb 9:15-17). 2. Referring to the death of Christ by the will of God, Paul wrote: "He taketh away the first that he may establish the second" (Heb 10:9-10). a. “The first” refers to the old covenant and “the second” refers to the new covenant. b. To establish the second or new covenant is to confirm it by definition. (iv) The Messiah didn't make the covenant with many, but confirmed it. (v) God made an everlasting covenant with Abraham long before the Old Covenant (law of Moses) was made (Gen 17:1-8). 1. The promises were made to Abraham and his seed which was Jesus Christ (Gal 3:16). 2. God confirmed that covenant in Christ (Gal 3:17). 3. God later promised to make a new covenant with the house of Israel (Jer 31:31-34 c/w Heb 8:8-13). 4. That covenant was called the new covenant (Heb 12:24) and the everlasting covenant (Heb 13:20). 5. The New Covenant (the everlasting covenant) was the fulfillment of the everlasting covenant that God made with Abraham. 6. Christ confirmed (established, strengthened, ratified) the New Covenant by declaring it to Israel during His 3.5 years of public ministry (Rom 15:8), legally putting it into effect by His death for the sins of His elect (Heb 8:12 c/w Heb 9:12-17), and then more fully revealing it to Israel by the apostles for 3.5 years after His death (Mar 16:20; Heb 2:3). 7. Jesus "taketh away the first" (the old covenant) "that he may establish the second" (the new covenant) (Heb 10:9). 8. To establish the new covenant is to confirm it by definition. b. He confirmed the covenant with many. (i) He gave Himself a ransom for many (Mat 20:28). (ii) He shed His blood for many (Mat 26:28). (iii) He brought many sons unto glory (Heb 2:10). c. He confirmed the covenant with many for one week. (i) The new covenant is everlasting (Heb 13:20). (ii) One week is the length of Christ's confirmation of the covenant, not the length of the covenant itself. (iii) Jesus' ministry lasted 3.5 years (see notes on Dan 9:25). (iv) He personally confirmed the covenant for the first half of the week, setting up the NT church and its ordinances. (v) He confirmed the covenant through His apostles for the legal second half of the week. (vi) The experiential second half of the week was postponed by God until 66-70 AD when Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed and the old covenant was practically ended and the new covenant was fully and practically confirmed by Christ (more on this at the end of this outline). d. The dispensationalists claim that it is the antichrist that will make a covenant with the Jews for seven years (the 70th week) at some time yet future. (i) This is false for many reasons. (ii) Firstly, it has already been proven from the plain reading of the text that it was the Messiah that confirmed the covenant for one week. (iii) Secondly, there is no mention in the New Testament of any covenant made by the antichrist. (iv) Thirdly, it's absurd to claim that the 70th week of the prophecy is separated from the 69th week by thousands of years. (v) Fourthly, it's already been proven that the 70th week began during Christ's earthly ministry (see notes on Dan 9:26). (vi) Fifthly, if the antichrist confirmed the covenant (made it firm, added strength, established it), then who made the covenant in the first place?