Israel in Bible Prophecy - NetBibleStudy.com

It is any wonder that Jesus, a few days before He was crucified, recalling the words ofDaniel prophesying f this terrible coming catastrophe, wept, as He said, “The days will comeupon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hemyou in on every side. They will dash you in the ground, you and the children within your walls.They will lot leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’scoming to you” (Luke 19:43-44).The “gap,” or parentheses, between the 69 th seven of years and the 70 th seven of years, isthis present Church Age – held a “mystery” in the Old Testament (Ephesians 3:3-6). Romans,chapter 9, 10 and 11, makes it clear that God, for this period of time (over 2000 years now), has“set aside” Israel and is dealing with all mankind through His Church, the Body of Christ on theearth today.Now, looking at verse 27 we see some very precise statements concerning Israel’s futureduring the 70 th “seven of years,” (or, week) when God’s plan and purposes for the nation ofIsrael will be rendered in a very specific way. Daniel says that . . .“And he [the antichrist, introduced in verse 26] shall confirm thecovenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week heshall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for theoverspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, evenuntil the consummation, and that determined shall be poured uponthe desolate” (Daniel 9:27 – King James).The Living Bible renders it as, “This king will make a seven-yeartreaty with the people, but after half that time, he will break hispledge and stop the Jews from all their sacrifices and theirofferings; then, as a climax to all his terrible deeds, the Enemyshall utterly defile the sanctuary of God. But in God's time andplan, his judgment will be poured out upon this Evil One.”The “he” in this verse, 27, refers back to the coming prince, the one whose people (theRomans) destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D. He will make a seven-year pact withIsrael – [Remember that this prophecy has to do with Daniel’s people, the Jews, and his holycity, Jerusalem] – The Jews, at least a representative group of them, will be in the land of Israel(or, Palestine), and they will feel secure in this agreement with the wicked prince, who is theAntichrist. He will honor his contract for three and one-half years. During that time the Jews willbuild a Temple, and they will set up some form of worship. Suddenly, however, this worlddictator will turn against them, and in the wing of their Temple he will erect an image that hewill insist they must worship. Daniel predicted this when he said in this verse, 27,“In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice andoffering. And on a wing of the Temple he will set up anabomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreedis poured out on him.”The final words found in this verse, “for the overspreading of abominations he shallmake it desolate,” are clearly related to a prophecy that Jesus Himself made concerning thisabomination of desolation. Jesus says in Matthew 24:15-16, “When ye therefore shall see theabomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whosoreads, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains.”