Chapter II

The Theology of the Movement

Terms:

 ¨       WHWH Yahweh

¨       Adonai

¨       Elohim

¨       Kurios

¨       Theos

 

The Triune God

             The formulated teaching that God is one in being or eessence who exists eternally in three distinct coequal persons, is crucial to Biblical Christianity.  The doctrine of the Triune God is seen most clearly in the fullness of New Testament revelation, but it is also found in the language of the Old Testament.   

     The Evangelical Dictionary of Theology states:

Although the Trinity finds  its clearest evidence in the NT, suggestions of a fullness of plurality are already found in the OT revelation of God.  The plural form of the name of God (Elohim) as well as the use of plural pronouns Gen. 1:26; 11:7 and verbs Gen. 11:7; 35:7 point in this direction.  So also do the identity of the angel of the Lord as God Exodus. 3:2-6; Judge. 13:21-22...1 

     William J. Schnell says about the doctrine of God:

Let us face it.  If we cannot understand the doctrine of God, which is a spiritual doctrine, if we cannot discern Jesus Christ as Lord (Greek: Christos Kurion), then read what Paul writes, showing why we cannot discern it.  He says in I Cor. 12:3, “...and that no man can say that Jesus is Lord (Christos Kurion) but by the Holy Spirit.”  There we have it.  Only the Holy Spirit, the third person of God, can reveal that to you John 16:13,14.2 

      Concerning the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ teaching on this issue Schnell writes:    

The Watchtower Society knows the power of that statement.  They came face to face with it in the Greek manuscripts, when they discovered it in I Cor. 12:3b, “and that no man can say Christos Kurion.”  They had declared in the forward of their New World Translation, that “wherever the Greek word Kurios and Theos appeared they would translate them Jehovah.”  Notice, in this  case, as  in  many  others,  they broke their own rule  and did not  translate Christos Kurion as “Christ is Jehovah,” but left “Lord” stand.  The Unitarian lie had to be covered up.  Those who do not have the Holy Spirit not only fail to understand that Jesus is God.  They also deny it.3

            A  most  powerful  demonstration  of  the  Triune  God  in  the  Old  Testament is found in Deuteronomy, chapter six, verse four, “Here, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD.” Here,  the  word  for  LORD  is Yahweh  (I am),  that is God’s name.  The word for God is Elohinue which is the  plural possessive form of Elohim  (our God),  and the word for one is echad, thus, (“Yahweh Elohinue echad”)  The I am our plural  God is one.

 The Deity of Jesus Christ and Sharp’s rule.

             In 1798 Granville sharp laid down a rule of grammar relating to the Greek article and the Deity of Jesus Christ, which has become famous.  A. T. Robertson states the rule.

“When  the  copulative  Kai  connects  two  nouns  of  the  same case, (nouns either substantive or adjective, or participle) if the article o, or any of its cases precedes the first of the said nouns or participles and  is  not  repeated  before the second noun or participle, the latter always  relates  to  the   same  person that is expressed or described by the first noun or participle:....4

             Two idioms  “the God and Father”  Rom. 15:6; 1 Cor. 15:24; 2 Cor. 1:3; 11:31; Gal. 1:4 and “the Lord and saviour Jesus Christ” 2 Peter 2:20; 3:2 demonstrate how the principle works. There is no dispute here that the author describes one and the same person.  In 2 Peter 1:11 and 3:18 the pronoun “our” comes after “Lord,” but that doesn’t change the idiom. It becomes “our Lord and Saviour” and that is the way it is translated in the English versions. The  exact  same  idiom  is  found  in 2 Peter 1:1, “our God and Saviour Jesus Christ.”  A. T. Robertson comments on this passage when he writes:

...”our God and Saviour Jesus Christ” as the Canterbury Revision rightly has it and so Moffatt translates it.  But the King James Version renders it “God and our Saviour Jesus Christ,” while the American Standard Version reads, “our God and the Saviour Jesus Christ” (note the insertion of [the] not in the Greek text) after the marginal rendering of the Canterbury Revision.  Now why this confusion where the syntax is so simple?  A strange timidity seized some of the translators in the Jerusalem Chamber that is reproduced by the American Committee.  There is no hesitation in translating John 1:1 as the text has it. Why boggle over 2 Pet. 1:1?

The explanation is to be found in Winer’s Grammar (Thayer’s Edition, p. 130, W.F. Moulton’s p. 162), where the author seeks by indirection to break the force of Granville Sharp’s rule by saying that in 2 Pet. 1:1, “there is not even a pronoun with swthros.”   That is true, but it is quite beside the point.  There is no pronoun with sothros in 2 Pet. 1:11, precisely the same idiom, where no one doubts the identity of “Lord and saviour.”  Why refuse to apply the same rule to 2 Pet. 1:1 that all admit, Winner included, to be true of 2 Pet. 1:11?  There is no escape from the logic of the Greek article in 2 Pet. 1:1.  The idiom compels the translation, “our God and Saviour Jesus Christ.”... Winer... attacks the Sharp rule in Tit. 2:13 ...  The grammatical criterion is plain, and Winer knew it, for in a footnote he adds: “In the above remarks it was not my intention to deny that in point of grammar, sothros  may be regarded as a second predicate, jointly depending on the article tou;  but the dogmatic conviction derived from Paul’s writings that this apostle cannot have called Christ the great God,induced me to show that there is no grammatical obstacle to our taking the clause kai sothros....Cristou by itself, as referring to a second subject.” 5

            It is obvious that Winer a Greek scholar, that did not believe in the Deity of Jesus Christ, influenced the translators of the Scriptures even the  translators of King James Version.

 

Hell

 Terms:

 ¨       Sheol

¨       Hades

¨       Tartarus

¨       Gehenna

 I. Sheol: The Unseen Place,The Place of disembodied spirits

              (translated in the K.J.V., 31 times grave, 31 times hell, and 3 times pit)

           A. Sheol is translated grave many times when referring to saved

               individuals.

1. Gen 37:35   Jacob said “I will go down into the grave  (Sheol) unto            my son mourning.”

2. I Samuel 2:6   The Lord killeth and maketh alive; He bringeth down to the grave (sheol) and bring up.

           B. Sheol is translated hell when it is referring to punishment

1. Ps. 9:17   The wicked shall be turned into hell (sheol) and all the

nations that forget God.

2. Jonah 2:2   I cried by reason of mine affliction unto the LORD; out

of the belly of hell (sheol) cried I.

 II. Hades: The Unseen Place (Translated 10 times hell, 1 time grave)

           A. Hades is the New Testament equivalent of sheol; it is the unseen world,

               the place of departed spirits.

1. The Septuagint invariably translated sheol with the word hades.

2. When quoting the Old Testament scriptures the New Testament

writers rendered sheol as hades Ps.16:10; Acts 2:27

          B. Hades had two compartments.

1. Place of punishment (soul tormented in fire)

a. Capernaum is sent down to hades in judgement Mt. 11:23; Lk. 10:15.

b. The rich man is tormented in flames in hades Lk. 16:23.

2.  Paradise

a. Lazarus was comforted in Abraham’s bosom Luke 16:22.

b. Christ went to paradise for three days and three nights Luke 23:43; Mt. 12:40.

(1) David prophesied that Christ would not be left in sheol Ps. 16:10 .

(2) Peter quotes this in reference to Christ's time in hades Acts 2:27.

(3) Christ did not go to a place of torment to suffer for our sins.  All  references to Christ’s paying for our sins is in reference to His suffering on the cross, not in fire John 19:30.  Christ’s words “it is finished” would have no meaning if he had yet another three days of suffering in fire.

           C. Paradise is no longer in hades.

1. When Christ rose from the dead He brought paradise out of hades and took it to heaven Eph. 4:8-10, Ps. 68:18, Mt. 27:52-53.

2. Today, when a saved person dies, he goes to heaven immediately 2 Cor. 5:2-8

3. The Gates of hades do not prevail against the Church Mt. 16:18.

 III. Tartarus: The lowest depths of hades (used only once in the Scriptures, 2 Peter 2:4; possibly the bottomless pit)

           A. In Greek writing tartaroo referred to a place lower than  hades where divine

               punishment was endured comparable to that of hades (Evangelical Dictionary

              of Theology, Elwell Pg. 506).

          B. The Bible refers to tartarus as a place where angels are reserved in chains of

              darkness 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6.

1. All fallen angels are not bound in tartarus.

a. Satan goes about as a roaring lion 1 Peter 5:8.

b. Christ cast out many devils while he was here on earth Mt. 9:33, Mk. 5:2-15, Mt. 15:22-28.

2. Who are these fallen angels reserved in chains of darkness?

a. They committed a sin that God will not tolerate for any length of time.

b. They left their first estate.

c. They are associated with sudden judgement against fornication, idolatry, and strange flesh (homosexuality).

 (1) Noah’s flood 2 Peter 2:5

 (2) Sodom and Gomorrah 2 Peter2:6, Jude 7

3. Perhaps they are the Sons of God who married the daughters of men Gen. 6:4.

a. “Sons of God” in the Old Testament refers to angels Job 1:6, 2:1.

b. “daughters of men” the word for men in Gen. 6:4 is Adam (mankind)

c. The offspring of these unions were giants, men of renown.

d. Angels are not sexless.

(1) Angels always always appear unto men as male beings Dan. 9:21; Rev. 19:9-10.

(2) There are no female angels, thus there would be no marriages in heaven.

 IV Gehenna: God’s Garbage Dump

           A. Valley of the Son of Hinnom

1. Place where human sacrifices were offered Jer. 7:31; 2 Chron. 33:1-7

2. Place where garbage was burnt outside of Jerusalem.

          B. Christ discourse on the second death Lk. 12:4-5

1. “And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do, but I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell (gehenna); yea I say unto you, fear him.”

2. Where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched... Mk. 9:43-48.

3. “And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee; for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell (gehenna)  Mt. 5:39.

          C. Gehenna and the Lake of Fire are one and the same.

1. “And death and hell (hades) were cast into the lake of fire.  This is the second death” Rev. 20:14.

2. “And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.  And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me.  For their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and shall be an abhorring unto all flesh” Isa. 66:23-24.

The Second Coming

The key to understanding prophetic Scripture and especially the Tribulation is to understand the seventy weeks of Daniel's prophecy.  In Daniel 9:24-27, he is given the comprehensive program for the nation of Israel.  Walvoord says of the ninth chapter:  "...It provides one of the most important keys to understanding the Scriptures as a whole.  ...The ninth chapter specifically takes up prophecy as it applies to the chosen people."⁶

He continues:

 The long preamble of the twenty-three verses leading up to the great revelation of the seventy weeks is, in itself, a testimony to the importance of this revelation. The stage is now set for Gabriel to reveal to Daniel God's purposes for Israel, culminating in the second coming of Christ to establish His kingdom on the earth.⁷

 The last four verses are summarized by Walvoord:

 The prophecy as a whole is presented in verse 24.  The first sixty-nine sevens is described in verse 25. The events between the sixty-ninth seventh and the seventieth seventh are detailed in verse 26.  The final period of the seventieth seventh is detailed in verse 27.⁸

It is necessary to observe the important factors given in Daniel's prophecy.  First, the entire prophecy deals with Daniel's people, Israel, and the holy city Jerusalem, vs. 24.  Second, there are two princes mentioned, Messiah the prince, vs. 25, and the prince that shall come, vs. 26.  Third, the time period of seventy weeks, vs. 24, which is divided into three periods of seven weeks, sixty two weeks and one week vs. 25, 27.  Fourth, the seventy weeks begin with the commandment to go forth and restore and build Jerusalem vs. 25.  Fifth, Messiah the prince shall come at the end of seven weeks and sixty two weeks vs. 25.  Sixth, Messiah shall be cut off after the sixty-two weeks and the city and the sanctuary will be destroyed by the people of the second prince who is to come, vs. 26.  Seventh, the seventieth week will begin with the establishment of a firm covenant between the prince that shall come and the nation of Israel for one week, vs. 27.  Eighth, in the "midst" of the seventieth week the prince will cause the sacrifice to cease and precipitate an abomination that makes desolate until the consummation is poured out upon the desolator.

According to verse twenty four, God will have accomplished six important results at the completion of the seventy weeks.

1.             "to finish the transgression"

2.            "to make an end of sins"

3.            "to make reconciliation for iniquity"

4.            "to bring in everlasting righteousness"

5.             "to seal up the vision and prophecy"

6.            "to anoint the Most Holy"

 The Meaning of the Weeks

Before one can understand the amazing prediction foretold by Gabriel through the prophet Daniel, he must first understand the use of the term weeks.  Pentecost quotes Alva J. McClain who writes on the meaning of the weeks:

The  Hebrew  word  is  shabua,  which  means literally a "seven," and it would be well to read the passage  thus.... Thus the twenty-fourth verse of  Daniel's ninth chapter simply asserts that "seventy sevens are determined".  ...and  what these "sevens" are must be determined from the context and from other Scriptures. The evidence is quite clear and sufficient as follows:  ...The Jews had a “seven” of years as well as a "seven" of days.  And this Biblical "week" of years was just as familiar to the Jew as the week of days.  It was, in certain respects, even more important. Six years the Jew was free to till and sow his land, but the seventh year was to be a solemn "Sabbath year was to be a solemn sow his land, but the seventh year was to be a solemn “Sabbath of rest unto the land” Lev. 25:3-4. Upon a multiple of this important week of years—“ seven Sabbaths of yers”—there was based the great jubilee year…

Now there are several reasons for believing that the "seventy sevens" of Daniel's prophecy refer to this well known "seven" of years.  In the first place, the prophet Daniel had been thinking not only in terms of years rather than days, but also in a definite multiple of "sevens," (10 x 7), of years, Dan. 9:1-2.

Second, Daniel also knew that the very length of Babylonian captivity had been based on Jewish violation of the divine law of the Sabbatic year.  Since according to 2 Chron. 36:21, the Jews had been removed form off the land in order that it might rest for seventy years, it should be evident that the sabbatic year had been violated for 490 years, or exactly seventy "sevens" of years.  How appropriate, therefore, that now at the end of the judgement for these violations the angel should be sent to reveal the start of a new era of God's dealing with the Jew which would extend for the same number of years covered by his violations of the sabbatic year, namely, a cycle of 490 years, or seventy "sevens" of years, Dan. 9:24.

Furthermore, the context of the prophecy demands that "seventy sevens" be understood in terms of years.  For if we make them "sevens" of days, the entire period would extend for merely 490 days or a little over one year.  Considering now that within this brief space of time the city is to be rebuilt and once more destroyed (to say nothing of the tremendous events of verse 24), it becomes clear that such an interpretation is altogether improbable and untenable.  Finally... the Hebrew word Shabua is found only in one other passage of the book, Daniel 10: 2-3, where the prophet states that he mourned an fasted "three full weeks."  Now, here it is perfectly obvious that the context demands "weeks" of days. ... And significantly, the Hebrew here reads literally "three sevens of days."  Now, if in the ninth chapter, the writer intended us to understand that the "seventy sevens" are composed of days, why did he not use the same form of expression adopted in chapter ten?  The quite obvious answer is that Daniel used theHebrew shabua alone when referring to the word "week" of years... but in chapter ten, when he speaks of the "three weeks" of fasting, he definitely specifies them as "weeks of days" in order to distinguish them from the "weeks" of years in chapter nine.⁹ 

There is more substantiating evidence found in Genesis 29: 27-28 where Laban says to Jacob: "Fulfill her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.  And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week:  and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also."

Not only is the week a week of years but the prophetic year in Scripture is 360 days.  McClain continues to state:

The first argument is historical.  According to the Genesis record, the Flood began on the Seventeenth  day of the second month, Genesis 7:11, and come to an end on the seventeenth day of the seventh month. Genesis 8:4.  Now this is a period of exactly five months, and fortunately the length of the same period is given in terms of days-- "an hundred and fifty days," Genesis 7:24; 8:3.  Thus the earliest known month used in Biblical history was evidently thirty days in length, and twelve such months would give us a 360-day year.

The second argument is Prophetical...Dan. 9:27 mentions a period of Jewish persecution.  ...Since this persecution begins in the "midst" of the seventieth week and continues to the "end" of the week, the period is obviously three and on-half years.  Dan. 7:24-25 speaks of the same Roman Prince and the same persecution fixing the duration as "a time and times and the dividing of time"--in the Aramaic, three and a half times.  Rev. 13: 4-7 speaks of the same great political Ruler and his persecution of the Jewish "saints" lasting "forty and two months."  Rev. 12:13-14 refers to the same persecution, stating the duration in the exact terms of Dan 7:25 as a "time and times and half a time"; and this period is further defined in Rev. 12:6 as "a thousand two hundred and three score days."  Thus we have the same period of time variously stated as 3 1/2 years, 42 months, or 1260 days.  Therefore, it is clear that the length of the year in the seventy weeks prophecy is fixed by Scripture itself as exactly 360 days.¹⁰

 The Terminus a Quo, (The date on which the seventy weeks begin.)

The key to understanding the entire passage is found in the phrase of verse twenty-five, "from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem."  From the date, therefore, of the command to go forth and build Jerusalem begins the seventy sevens, (490 years). Four commandments or decrees were issued from different kings.  From one of these four, some theologians have taken as the staring date of the seventy weeks.  Walvoord lists them as:

1.  The decree of Cyrus to rebuild the temple.  2 Chron. 36: 22-23; Ezra 1: 1-4,  6: 1-5

2.  The decree of Darius confirming the decree of Cyrus.  Ezra 6:6-12

3. The decree of Artaxerxes.  Ezra 7: 11-26

4. The decree of Artaxerxes given to Nehemiah authorizing the

    rebuilding of the city.  Neh. 2: 1-8¹¹

 Besides these four starting points, others have been conceived, but they are hardly to be taken seriously.  Of the four decrees, only one, that of Artaxerses Longimanus in the twentieth year of his reign which was 445 BC, Neh. 2:1-8, was given "to restore and to build Jerusalem" as Daniel 9:25 requires.  The other three decrees only refer to rebuilding the temple. Artaxerxes began to reign in 465 BC and the twentieth year of his reign would be the year 445 BC. According to Walvoord, "Most scholars, whether conservative of liberal, accordingly accept 445 BC as the date for Nehemiah's decree."¹²

Daniel's prophecy states that from the going forth of the command unto Messiah the Prince would be "seven weeks and threescore and two weeks" or sixty-nine weeks.  The question then is when did Messiah the Prince come?  The prophet Zachariah sheds light on the issue, Zac. 9:9:  "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King cometh unto thee:  he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and  upon a colt the foal of an ass."

          Of all the theologians that have studied the problem of the seventy weeks of Daniel's prophecy, no greater interrogation has been made than that of Sir Robert Anderson in his book, "The Coming Prince," where he reckons the chronology of the sixty-nine weeks thus:

 "From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks and threescore and two weeks."  An era therefore of sixty-nine "weeks" or 483 prophetic years reckoned from the 14th March, BC 445, should close with some event to satisfy the words, "unto the Messiah the Prince.  "No student of the Gospel narrative can fail to see that the Lord's last visit to Jerusalem was not only in fact, but in the purpose of it, the crisis of His ministry... now the twofold testimony of His words and His works had been fully rendered, and His entry into the Holy City was to proclaim His Messiahship and to receive His doom.

     ...And the date of it can be ascertained.  In accordance with the Jewish custom, the Lord went up to Jerusalem upon the eighth day of Nisan, "six days before the Passover."  But as the 14th, on which the Paschal Supper was eaten, fell that year upon a Thursday, the eighth was the preceding Friday.  He must have spent the Sabbath, therefore, at Bethany; and on the evening of the ninth, after the Sabbath had ended, the supper took place at Martha's house.  Upon the following day, the tenth Nisan, He entered Jerusalem as recorded in the Gospels.

The Julian date of that tenth Nisan was Sunday, the sixth of April, AD 32.  What then was the length of the period intervening between the issuing of the decree to rebuild Jerusalem and the public advent of "Messiah the Prince" -between the 14th March, BC 445, and the 6th April, AD 32?  The interval contained exactly and to the very day 173,880 days, or seven times sixty-nine prophetic years of 360 days, the first sixty-nine weeks of Gabriel's prophecy.¹³

           Anderson, therefore shows that it is possible for the sixty-nine weeks to begin with the decree to rebuild Jerusalem and to terminate at the triumphal entry of the Lord Jesus Christ into Jerusalem.  When Jesus came into Jerusalem, He asked a question, Luke 19:42.  In the English its just a question, but with the Greek construction Jesus' question assumes an answer, and it is most significant: "you should also have known, even on this day, the things which belong to they peace; but now they are hid from thine eyes!"  Daniel's prophecy was being fulfilled that very day.  When the multitude shouted "blessed be the King that comes in the name of the Lord," Luke 19:37-38, the Pharisees tried to stop it, Luke 19:39.  Notice Jesus’ answer to the Pharisees  in  Luke 19:40:   ..."I  tell  you  that, if these should hold there peace the stones would immediately cry out."  On the very day the sixth-ninth week ended Messiah the Prince entered into Jerusalem exactly the way Zachariah prophesied he would, Zac.9:9.  The accuracy of Daniel's prophecy is also clearly demonstrated when he wrote, "after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off," Dan. 9:26.

 The Gap between the Sixty-Ninth and Seventieth Week

The dilemma now is whether the seventieth week followed immediately after the sixty-ninth week.  When was Messiah "cut off"?  On this difficulty Walvoord writes:

Although evangelical expositors have been agreed that the reference is to Jesus Christ, a division has occurred as to whether the event here described comes in the seventieth seventh described in the next verse, or whether it occurs in an interim or parenthetical period between the sixty-ninth seventh and the seventieth seventh. Two theories have emerged, namely, the continuous fulfillment theory which holds that the seventieth seven immediately follows the sixty-ninth, and the gap or parenthesis theory which holds that there is a period of time between the sixty-ninth seven and the seventieth seven.  If fulfillment is continuous, then the seventieth week is already history.  If there is a gap, there is a possibility that the seventieth week is still future.  On this point, a great deal of discussion has emerged.

In the interpretation of this passage and the decision on the question of the continuous fulfillment versus the gap theory, the fulfillment of the prophecy again comes to our rescue.  The center part of verse 26 states "the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary."  Historically the destruction of Jerusalem occurred in AD 70 almost forty years after the death of Christ.  Although some expositors, like Young, hold that the sacrifices are caused to cease by Christ in his death which they consider fulfilled in the middle of the last seven years, it is clear that this does not provide in any way for the fulfillment of an event thirty-eight years or more after the end of the sixty-ninth seven. Young and others who follow the continuous fulfillment theory are left without any explanation adequate for interposing an event as occurring after the sixty-ninth seven by some thirty-eight years-- which, in their thinking, would actually occur after the seventieth week.  In a word, thir theory does not provide any normal or literal interpretation of the text and its chronology

The intervention of two event after the sixty-ninth seven which in their historic fulfillment occupied almost forty years makes necessary a gap between the sixty-ninth seven and the beginning of the seventieth seven of at least this length of time.  Those referred to as "the people of the prince that shall come" are obviously the Roman people and in no sense of these people belong to Messiah the Prince.  Hence it follows that there are two princes: (1) the Messiah of verse 25 and 26, and (2) "the prince that shall come" who is related to the Roman people. That a second prince is required who is Roman in character and destructive to the Jewish people is confirmed in verse 27... which the New Testament declares to be fulfilled in relation to the second coming of Christ, Mt. 24:15.

The closing portion of verse 26, although not entirely clear, indicates that the destruction of the city will be like the destruction of a flood and that desolations are sovereignly determined along with war until the end.  Because of the reference to "the end" twice in verse 26, it would be contextually possible to refer this to the end of the age and to a future destruction of Jerusalem.  According to Revelation 11:2, "The holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months" probably refers to the great tribulation just before the second advent.  However, there is no complete destruction of Jerusalem at the end of the age as Zachariah 14:1-3 indicates that the city is in existence although overtaken by war at the very moment that Christ comes back in power and glory.  Accordingly, it is probably better to consider all of verse 26 fulfilled historically. 

The same expression of an overflowing flood is used to denote warlike hosts who annihilate their enemies in Daniel 11: 10, 22, 26, 40 and in Isaiah 8:8. This seems to be a general reference to the fact that from the time of the destruction of the city of Jerusalem, trouble, war, and desolation will be the normal experience of the people of Israel and will end only at "the consummation" mentioned in verse 27, that is, the end of the seventieth seven.  History has certainly corroborated this prophecy, for no only was Jerusalem destroyed but the entire civilization of the Jews in Palestine ceased to exist soon after the end of the sixty-ninth seven, and that desolation, continued until recent times.  The prophesied events of verse 26, like those of verse 25, already have been fulfilled and constitute clear evidence of the accuracy of the prophetic word.  The prophecy of verse 25, dealing as it does with the restoration of Jerusalem at the beginning of the seventy sevens, the sixty-two sevens which follow the fist seven sevens culminate in the Messiah, and the prediction that the Messiah shall be cut off and Jerusalem destroyed gives the high points in Israel's history and provides the key to understanding this difficult prophecy.  In contrast to the rather clear fulfillment of verses 25-26, verse 27 is an enigma as far as history is concerned; and only futuristic interpretation allows any literal fulfillment.¹⁴

The Covenant for One Week

          The major difference of opinion among conservative Bible scholars has been between amillennial and premillenial interpretations.  Nowhere is it shown more clearly than in verse 27.  The literal fulfillment of verse twenty-seven requires a futuristic interpretation, and that demands a gap between the sixty-ninth and seventieth week.  No matter how the opposition tries there is no adequate literal fulfillment in history of the seventieth week of Daniel's prophecy.  Walvoord cites four views that have been advanced:

1. The Liberal view that the Seventieth seven is fulfilled in events following the Maccabean persecution just as the preceding sixty-nine sevens were;

2. The view of Jewish Scholars that the seventieth week is fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70;

3. The view that the seventieth week of Daniel is an indefinite period beginning with Christ but extending to the end, often held by amillenarians such as Young and Leupold;

4.  That the seventieth seven is seven literal years beginning with the public ministry of Christ and ending about three and a half years after His death.¹⁵

Walvoord continues to say that:

Each of the four views which claim fulfillment largely in the past have their supporting arguments, sometimes presented at length.  But they have one common failure, which is the Achilles' heel of their interpretation: none of them provides literal fulfillment of the prophecy.

 Ultimately, the question facing every expositor is what interpretation gives the most natural and intelligent exposition of the text.  If it is not necessary to consider this literal prophecy, and the time units are not literal, a variety of interpretation immediately becomes possible.  If the expositor desires to follow the text meticulously, however, there is really no alternative but to declare the entire seventieth seven future, for there has been no seven-year period fulfilling the events of prophecy, however labored the interpretation.  This is usually conceded by those who make the last seven years an indefinite period which allows for still future interpretation.¹⁶

Verse twenty-seven, then, of Daniel chapter nine begins the seventieth seven.  "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." The verse begins with a firm covenant being made and there are some expositors in trying to make this passage harmonize with their interpretation, take the word "week" to be the subject of the sentence.  Biederwolf describes their views  as follows:

1.  The one week shall make the Old Testament Covenant, (adherence to the faith in Jehovah and to the theocratic law), hard (grievous) for many.  ...

2.  The one week shall conform many in the covenant through tribulation and the trial of their faith.

3.  The one week shall confirm a covenant to many through the seductive arts of Antiochus Epiphanes.

4.  The one week, (especially by the death of the Messiah), shall lead to the conclusion of a new, strong and firm covenant with many.¹⁷

 The preferential reading of the text however, is to make "he" the subject of the sentence.  The "he" then, refers to "the prince that shall come" of verse twenty six.  Biederwolf comments on the "he" of verse twenty-seven:

In verse 26 must therefore be determined by the content of this verse 27 as well as by its own content.  ...It would seem therefore that the reference in both verses must be to the Antichrist who is yet to come.¹⁸

           Keil says of the prince who is to come:  "That ungodly prince shall impose on the mass of the people a strong covenant that they should follow him and give themselves to him as their God."¹⁹

There are other views expressed by expositors regarding the "he" of verse 27.  Some believe the reference is to Antiochus Epiphanes, and that the prophecy was fulfilled in the second century BC.  Some believe "he" refers to Christ.

The difficulty with these interpretations is that neither Christ or Antiochus fulfilled a seven year period of time in history required by the language of Daniel's prophecy.  Biederwolf well states the issue when he writes:

It would seem evident therefore that "the prince that shall come" and the "he"  cannot refer to Antiochus Epiphanes..., because, as Strong remarks, "the language was not fulfilled in any sense by Antiochus who aimed at the suppression of Jehovah's worship and virtually left the city and the sanctuary untouched"; nor can it refer to Christ, the Messiah... because it was not His people, verse 26 that destroyed the city and the sanctuary, nor is it without extreme difficulty that we can think of Him making a covenant for a week, (seven years).  His was and "everlasting covenant."  Once more, it can hardly refer to Titus..., because while verse 26 might be true of him, verse 27 can in no sense be said to be so.  It would seem therefore that the reference in both verses must be to the Antichrist who is yet to come.²⁰

According to the prophecy, the one who makes the covenant, in the "midst" of the week, will cause "the sacrifice and oblation to cease."'  There are some who refer this cessation of sacrifice and oblation to the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, but His expiatory sacrifice could not have fulfilled Daniel's prophecy because the sacrifices did not cease until the Roman soldiers destroyed the temple many years later in AD 70.

The expression the "overspreading of abominations" can be rendered as: "on the wings of   abomination he comes desolating."  Keil says that on wings "signifies not acts of abomination, but objects of abomination, things causing abomination, and is constantly used of the heathen gods, idol-images, sacrifices to the gods, and other heathen abominations."²¹ This is the event that Jesus Christ referred to as the abomination of desolation, Mt. 24:15.  See also Dan. 12:11.  Keil observes on Matthew twenty four:

 Then He speaks of the signs which immediately precede the end, namely, of the abomination of desolation in the holy place of which Daniel prophesied.  With this period of tribulation would commence such as never yet had been, so that if these days should not be shortened for the elect's sake, no one would be saved, verses 15-28.  To this he adds, in conclusion, the description of His own Tapouoia, which would immediately follow this great tribulation, verses 29-31.²²

 Keil summarizes the seventy weeks thus:

Let us now, after explaining the separate clauses, present briefly the substance of this divine revelation.  We find that the verses 25-27 contain the following announcement: From the going forth of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the appearance of the Messiahs seven weeks shall pass away; after that, during threescore and two weeks the city shall be restored and built up amid the oppression of the times; but after the sixty-two weeks the Messiahs shall be cut off, so that to Him nothing remains, and the city together with the sanctuary, shall be destroyed by the people of a prince who shall come, who shall find his end in the flood; but the war shall continue to the end.  Since destructions irrevocably decreed, that prince shall force a strong covenant for one week on the mass of people and during half a week shall take away service of sacrifice, and, borne on the wings of idol-abominations, shall carry on a desolating rule, till the firmly decreed judgment shall poor itself upon him as one desolated.²³

 So, Daniel's prophecy of the seventy weeks outline the Chronology of Israel's future, beginning with the command to restore and build Jerusalem, taking in the first advent of Christ and the grotesque actions of the Antichrist to the consummation and second advent of Christ.