The People of the Prince

The People of the Prince

Of course there is a Antichrist covenant, for that is who is spoken of: "the people of the prince" (Dan. 9.26). "He shall make a strong covenant with many for one week" (v.27).

For "half a week he shall cause sacrifice and offering to cease...who makes desolate until the decreed end until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator". This certainly can't apply to Jesus since 42 months after Jesus died, He didn't return to sacrifice. Nor did Jesus make desolate. Why accuse Jesus as being the Antichrist? It is Jesus who returns to make an end "poured out on the desolator" Antichrist and his father Satan.

I am always amazed how people have no faith to believe this is going to happen and they call themselves Christians too. The "wings of abomination" agrees with "when you see the desolating sacrilege spoken of the prophet Daniel" (Matt. 24.15). This is the same three and half years spoken of in a book of prophecy in Revelation. There are not two end-times of three and a half years each.

John in 95 AD was not writing about what happened 25 years before or back on the cross when talking of these things that are going to happen in our future. Genesis is a book of beginnings. Revelation is a book of endings. Logic requires this too. "Forty-two months" (Rev. 13.6), "it opened its mouth to utter basphemies against God". "It was allowed to make war against the saints and to conquer them" in the Tribulation (v.7). The False Prophet (the second beast, who is not the Antichrist) makes this abomination statue of the Antichrist that can speak: "making an image of the beast" (13.14,15). If you don't think this is going to happen, wouldn't you "receive the mark" of the beast? (Rev. 14.11)

"This calls for wisdom: let him who has understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty-six" (13.18). It is the number of a man.

Neron Kaisar in Aramaic is equals 666, so the Antichrist will be resurrected Nero, before he is finally thrown into hell for the millennium.

Daniel Predicted the Gap

"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" (Dan. 9.27). Jesus didn't make any covenant for one week, nor did He cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease, for it says in verse 26, "after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself". Since Jesus didn't make a covenant for one week, then who is this "he" if he is not the Antichrist? Jesus cut off occurs after the 69 weeks, but not the 70th week: "unto the Messiah the Prince [shall be] seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks" (v.25), otherwise it would have said at the 70th week. Messiah was not to be cutoff in the 70th week but at the time after the 69th week as it clearly says (7+62=69): "after the sixty-two weeks" (v.26). Then further events are described what takes place in the 70th week. Daniel actually describes the gap, since Jesus is not cut off in the 70th week, but was cut off after the 69th week. What glorious revelation!

From henceforth that point, wars will continue until the final week is to commence and complete over 7 years: "the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and even unto the end shall be war; desolations are determined" (v.27). When are desolations to end? "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city" (v.24). Israel is now back in the land, so it won't be much longer now and could even be this century.

Since a historicist can't disagree with this, yet they still disagree anyway because of their system they belong to obligates them to accept their teaching, know this is their false fruit which requires them to shut down their mind to these facts.

The Prophecy of the Lord Jesus

We know how the mind of the Holy Spirit is manifested harmoniously in the Old Testament prophecies. Now let us witness how the prophecies in the New Testament agree with those of the Old, and in addition let us witness how the book of Revelation concurs with all the prophecies of the past. We will look at the Olivet prophecy of our Lord Jesus first; except that for our present purpose we will not delve into all the prophecies given on the Mount of Olives but just those ones which are related to the Jews. We will use Matthew 24 as the basis of our consideration, and use the records in the other Gospels as a further reference. From verse 4 to verse 31 of chapter 24, we read of certain things which pertain to the Jews. We will study this section alongside the prophecies in Daniel in order to obtain a clear understanding.

The disciples asked the Lord Jesus two questions concerning (1) the holy temple and (2) the sign of His coming and of the end of the world (v.3). The question concerning the temple is not relevant to our investigation, and furthermore, it is answered in greater detail in Luke 21. Matthew instead focuses more on the second question. Although with respect to this second question, we find that the disciples mixed up the coming of the Lord with the end of the world, in actuality they are different; nevertheless, we will not deal with the difference since we have limited ourselves to what is relevant to the Jews only.

We should know that the sixty-ninth seven and the seventieth seven are separated by the time of grace. During the last seven the sacrifice and the oblation of the sanctuary will be restored until they are caused to cease by the Antichrist. What our Lord spoke of here refers to that period: "When therefore ye see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let him that readeth understand), then let them that are in Judea flee unto the mountains: let him that is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house: and let him that is in the field not return back to take his cloak" (Matt. 24.15-18).

The latter part of what Jesus said here meant that because the enemy would be in their midst, their flight would therefore be extremely urgent. Since the holy people are the target of the wrath of the Antichrist, and the army of destruction is approaching, it behooves the people to leave everything in order to save their lives. "But woe unto them that are with child and to them that give suck in those days!" (v.19); such is because they are unable to run fast. "And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on a sabbath" (v.20). This latter statement regarding the sabbath clearly shows its pertinence towards the Jews.

Then the Lord continued by saying, "For then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be" (v.21). This word may be linked up with that of Daniel’s: "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince who standeth for the children of thy people (Israel are the people of the archangel Michael); and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book" (12.1). Those will be days of great tribulation (but they will also be days of the deliverance of God). Consequently, the Lord said: "Except those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for the elect’s sake (Israel's sake) those days shall be shortened" (24.22). From the book of Daniel we understand that these days cover three and a half years.

Later on, the Lord spoke of the sign of false christs and false prophets — something which is not found in the Old Testament: "If any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is the Christ, or, Here; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. Behold, I have told you beforehand. If therefore they shall say to you, Behold, he is in the wilderness; go not forth: Behold, he is in the inner chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh forth from the east, and is seen even unto the west; so shall be the coming of the Son of man. Wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together" (vv.23-28).

The testimony of Daniel is that as soon as the Anointed One (the Lord Jesus) comes again, all troubles will come to an end. Jesus, as recorded in Matthew, reports the same thing: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather (not rapture) together his elect (Israel) from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (vv.29-31).

Though briefly discussed, this is enough to show how the prophecies of the New Testament agree with those of the Old.

70 AD and the Consummation

Chapter 11, Antiochus Epiphanes, was a type: "last prophecy fits in with his earlier prophecies". All futurists know this was Epiphanes.

And what Josephus said about 70 AD was true, but that doesn't mean it refers to Chapter 9 since "to make an end of sins" (Dan. 9.24) has not happened yet. Nor has "make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness" (v.24) happened yet at 70 AD. Everlasting righteousness pertains to the beginning of the Messianic Kingdom for the Jews which also coincides with the millennial reign of Christ and His saints.

The most holy place (temple on earth) has not been sealed up yet, but in the millennium, it will be, "to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place" (v.24) where Christ will reign for 1000 years.

Today, there is still war, but verse 26 reads, "with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined" (v.26) and "even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate" (v.27).