Political Conservatives, Israel, and Daniel’s 70 Weeks
March 25, 2026
David Cloud, Way of Life Literature, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061
866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org
866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org
Daniel 9:24-27 - “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and 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 unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 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.”
America’s political conservatives are a hodgepodge of Jews, Roman Catholics, Mormons, Protestants, Baptists, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Charismatics, Atheists, and Agnostics. There is even a homosexual element (e.g., Log Cabin Republicans). For the most part, conservatives are pro-Israel, but there is a growing movement of opposition to Israel from a variety of perspectives (e.g., Pat Buchanan, Curt Mills, Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Candace Owens, Nick Fuentes, Megyn Kelly). Some polls indicate that over half of young conservatives have an unfavorable view of Israel (“An entire generation of Americans,” Politico, Sept. 29, 2025).
The apostle Paul would not have joined such a coalition. In fact, he forbad it. The carnal church at Corinth would have joined it. One of their fundamental errors was the breakdown of separation from sin and error. Paul reproved this unequivocally.
“Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame” (1 Corinthians 15:33-34).
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).
“Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him” (2 Corinthians 11:1-4).
Only a tiny percentage of political conservatives have a right view of Israel by the sure light of Bible prophecy, including Israel’s most fervent supporters. For the born again Bible believer, the fundamental issue is what does Scripture say?
Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy is one of the keys.
The occasion of this prophecy was Daniel’s prayer that God would have mercy on Israel after the 70 year captivity in Babylon (Da. 9:1-19). God’s answer was delivered by the angel Gabriel (Da. 9:20-27). The prophecy reveals the time schedule and major events which will lead to the establishment of Israel’s Messianic kingdom.
Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy is one of the great Bible prophecies that prove it is God’s Holy Word. A book that tells the future with exact precision is a divine Book! Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy foretold exactly when Christ would come as the Prince of Israel to make atonement for man’s sin (“shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself,” Da. 9:26).
The supernatural character of Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy is confirmed by Christ’s prophecy in Matthew 24. Christ cited Daniel as a prophet of God and said the Antichrist prophecy is yet future and will arise just before Christ’s return (Mt. 24:15-21, 29). This refutes the liberal scorners who claim that Daniel did not write supernatural prophecy. And it refutes the teaching that the Antichrist prophecy has already been fulfilled.
Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy proves that Bible prophecy is to be interpreted literally. The events of the first 69 weeks were fulfilled literally. Christ came 483 years after the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem. It is obvious that the rest of the prophecy will be fulfilled literally.
Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy is a key to understanding Israel’s present and future. It plainly states that God is not finished with Israel in spite of her sin and dispersal among the nations. Her transgression will end (“to finish the transgression”). She will be cleansed (“to make an end of sins”). She will be reconciled with God (“and to make reconciliation for iniquity”). Her prophecies will be fulfilled (“to seal up the vision and prophecy”). Her temple will be anointed (“to anoint the most Holy”). This refers to the Millennial Temple described in Ezekiel 40-48.
Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy explains why Israel has returned to her land in an unclean, unspiritual condition. It is to prepare for the Antichrist (Da. 9:27). This is exactly what we see. Israel today is an unrighteous nation, in rebellion to God and morally filthy by the standard of God’s holy law. The state of Israel has accomplished amazing things, but it is not fulfilling the Messianic prophecies of the New Covenant with Israel’s conversion, the restoration the Davidic throne (Isaiah 9:6-7), and the exaltation of Israel as the head of the nations as per Psalm 72; Isaiah 2:1-4; 35; Jeremiah 31-33; and many other prophecies. Israel is not looking for a redeeming Messiah, but for a Messiah who bring peace and build the Third Temple. Israel is listening to Rambam more than Zechariah.
Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy says Israel will build another temple. “The sacrifice and the oblation” refer to the restoration of the Levitical sacrifices in the Third Temple. The Temple Institute is part of a broad coalition that are preparing for this. The articles, such as the golden candlestick and the altar of sacrifice, have been constructed. The Levites are training to offer sacrifices. The red heifer resides on a farm in Shiloh. In addition to Daniel 9, the third temple is mentioned in three other passages of Bible prophecy (Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4; Revelation 11:1-2). (The temple described in Ezekiel 40-48 is the Millennial Temple that Christ will build and occupy. That is when the glory will return to Israel.)
Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy proves that the Antichrist is a man. He is “the prince that shall come” (Da. 9:26). This refutes the teaching that the Antichrist is a government or a power of some sort.
Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy shows that Israel’s judgments are not yet finished (Da. 9:27). They will not be finished until the time of the Antichrist. He will be the greatest Israel hater of all times, though his reign will be short.
The purpose of the 70 weeks (Da. 9:24)
The prophecy pertains to Israel and to the city of Jerusalem (“upon thy people and upon thy holy city”).
1. The prophecy describes the finishing of the transgression and the making of reconciliation. During the 70 Weeks, Israel’s rebellion will be finished and she will be cleansed from her sin. Israel’s rebellion was the reason for the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in 586 BC and by Rome in AD 70, and she has never repented nationally. This will happen at the end of the 70 Weeks, and she will be cleansed by the atonement of Christ.
2. The prophecy describes the bringing in of everlasting righteousness. The result of Israel’s repentance and cleansing will be the establishment of Christ’s everlasting kingdom.
3 The prophecy describes the sealing up of the vision and prophecy. It will be the fulfillment of all of the Messianic prophecies.
4. The prophecy will result in the anointing of the most Holy. The temple will be desecrated by the Antichrist, but upon Christ’s return a new temple will be built and anointed by Christ’s own presence. This is described in Ezekiel 40-48.
The time element of the 70 Weeks
The Hebrew term for weeks (shebuah) means “sevens.” The context must determine whether it is a week of days or of years.
1. The weeks which have already been fulfilled show that these are weeks of years rather than of days. We know that by any reckoning, it was almost 500 years from the rebuilding of Jerusalem until the coming of Christ. This fits the testimony of Daniel 9:25, which places 69 weeks of years (483 years) between the two events. It is only reasonable to believe that the 70th week shall also be a week of years.
2. The concept of weeks of years was familiar to Jewish thinking (Le. 25:3-9). There was a weekly sabbath and a yearly sabbath.
3. At the time of the vision, Daniel had been thinking in terms of weeks of years (Da. 9:2). He was considering the 70 year captivity, which was 10 weeks of years (2 Ch. 36:21).
The events of the first 69 weeks
1. During the first 7 weeks (49 years), Jerusalem was rebuilt in troublous times.
The commandment to rebuild Jerusalem was given in 445 BC. The walls were completed that year, and work of rebuilding the city apparently continued for another 48 years.
This was accomplished “in troublous times,” as we see in Nehemiah. The rebuilding was accomplished in the face of great opposition.
2. The next 62 weeks (434 years) extends from the rebuilding of Jerusalem until the coming of the Messiah.
When did the 69 weeks (the 7 weeks and the 62 weeks) end?
It ended when Messiah came as Prince (Da. 9:25). This was when Christ entered Jerusalem on the donkey a few days before the crucifixion and was acclaimed as “the King that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Zec. 9:9; Lu. 19:37-38).
When did the 69 Weeks begin?
It began with “the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem” (Da. 9:25). This was the commandment by Artaxerxes for Nehemiah to rebuild the walls and the city (Ne. 2:1-8). (In 536 BC, Cyrus commanded Zerubbabel to build the temple, Ezr 1:1-3, but that isn’t the commandment mentioned in Daniel 9:25.)
Sir Robert Anderson, a lawyer and an investigator with Scotland Yard and a brilliant Bible student, concluded that the commandment was given March 14, 445 BC and Christ entered Jerusalem on the donkey April 6, AD 32. He documented this position in his 1895 book The Coming Prince.
The important thing to understand is that the Jews of Christ’s day knew how to figure these dates, and they had no excuse for not knowing exactly when Messiah the prince would come or what would happen when He came.
3. After the 69 weeks, the following events will happen (Da. 9:26).
Messiah is cut off, but not for himself. This refers to Christ’s crucifixion and His substitutionary atonement. He did not die for Himself, because death is the wages of sin, and Christ had no sin. He died to take the punishment for man’s sins (Isa. 53:5).
The city and the sanctuary are destroyed. This occurred in AD 70 at the hands of the Roman armies under the generalship of Titus.
There are wars and desolations until the end. The Hebrew word translated “desolation” is also translated “destruction (Ho. 2:12). This is a perfect description of the last 2,000 years of Israel’s history since Christ was “cut off.” Even today, though Israel is back in the land she has no peace; war and desolations continue; and she will have no peace until she repents and receives her Messiah, Jesus. It also describes what will happen to Israel just before the return of Christ as recorded in Matthew 24 and Revelation 6-18.
Between the 69th and 70th weeks is the interlude of the church age.
It is called a “mystery” because it was not revealed to the Old Testament prophets (Eph. 3:3-6). The church age is like a valley that the Old Testament prophets did not see between the peaks of the first and second coming of Christ.
During this time, Christ is calling out a people for His name from among the nations. Compare Ac. 15:14-18.
Paul describes the church age as the time of Israel’s blindness in Romans 11:25-27.
The events of the 70th Week (the final seven years) (Da. 9:27)
The final week, or seven years, of Daniel’s prophecy remains to be fulfilled. It is this period that Jesus describes in Matthew 24:3-31.
1. The final week is divided into two parts (Da. 9:27).
- At the beginning of the seven years, the Antichrist will make a false peace covenant with Israel, then he will break it after 3.5 years. Revelation 6-19 describes the same period and also divides it into two 3.5 year periods. During the first half of the Tribulation, the two witnesses of Revelation 11 will preach for 1,260 days, or three and a half years (Re. 11:3). During the second half, the Antichrist will rule for 42 months, or 3.5 years (Re. 13:5), and converted Israel shall flee into the wilderness for 1,260 days, or 3.5 years (Re. 12:6).
- The Antichrist is a prince of the revived Roman Empire. He is identified as the prince of the people who destroyed Jerusalem after Messiah’s death. This was Rome.
- The book of Revelation depicts the Antichrist coming on the scene on a white horse, signifying peace, and carrying an empty bow (Re. 6:2). The white horse and empty bow signifies that the Antichrist will have the capability to make war but initially he will rise as a man of peace. Five times in Daniel the Antichrist is called a liar and a flatterer (Da. 11:21, 23, 27, 32, 34). Daniel says by peace he will destroy many (Da. 8:25).
- This is when the third Jewish temple will be rebuilt. We see it being measured in Revelation 11 at the same time that the Antichrist is reigning as a man of peace. When he comes on the scene, the Antichrist will be the greatest diplomat the world has ever seen, and he will doubtless solve the “Israel-Palestinian problem.”
- It is probable that either the Antichrist or his prophet or both will be accepted by the Jews as their Messiah and by apostate Christians as theirs and by the Muslims as the Mahdi. Both Sunnis and Shiites believe in an Islamic messiah, the Mahdi, who will appear at the end of the world to establish a global caliphate in Allah’s name and rule for a period of time (seven, nine, or nineteen years, according to varying interpretations), ridding the world of evil before the day of judgment. The coming of the Mahdi is believed to coincide with the second coming of Jesus, whom they call Isa, who will join hands with the Mahdi against a false messiah or antichrist.
2. Mid-way through the seven years the Antichrist will break this covenant and exalt himself as God. (“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”).
- The abomination that makes desolate is the desecration of the Jewish temple by the Antichrist. Compare 2 Th. 2:3-4.
- This event marks the beginning of the 3.5 years of the Great Tribulation (Mt. 24:15-21).
America’s political conservatives are a hodgepodge of Jews, Roman Catholics, Mormons, Protestants, Baptists, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Charismatics, Atheists, and Agnostics. There is even a homosexual element (e.g., Log Cabin Republicans). For the most part, conservatives are pro-Israel, but there is a growing movement of opposition to Israel from a variety of perspectives (e.g., Pat Buchanan, Curt Mills, Tucker Carlson, Steve Bannon, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Candace Owens, Nick Fuentes, Megyn Kelly). Some polls indicate that over half of young conservatives have an unfavorable view of Israel (“An entire generation of Americans,” Politico, Sept. 29, 2025).
The apostle Paul would not have joined such a coalition. In fact, he forbad it. The carnal church at Corinth would have joined it. One of their fundamental errors was the breakdown of separation from sin and error. Paul reproved this unequivocally.
“Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame” (1 Corinthians 15:33-34).
“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).
“Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him” (2 Corinthians 11:1-4).
Only a tiny percentage of political conservatives have a right view of Israel by the sure light of Bible prophecy, including Israel’s most fervent supporters. For the born again Bible believer, the fundamental issue is what does Scripture say?
Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy is one of the keys.
The occasion of this prophecy was Daniel’s prayer that God would have mercy on Israel after the 70 year captivity in Babylon (Da. 9:1-19). God’s answer was delivered by the angel Gabriel (Da. 9:20-27). The prophecy reveals the time schedule and major events which will lead to the establishment of Israel’s Messianic kingdom.
Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy is one of the great Bible prophecies that prove it is God’s Holy Word. A book that tells the future with exact precision is a divine Book! Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy foretold exactly when Christ would come as the Prince of Israel to make atonement for man’s sin (“shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself,” Da. 9:26).
The supernatural character of Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy is confirmed by Christ’s prophecy in Matthew 24. Christ cited Daniel as a prophet of God and said the Antichrist prophecy is yet future and will arise just before Christ’s return (Mt. 24:15-21, 29). This refutes the liberal scorners who claim that Daniel did not write supernatural prophecy. And it refutes the teaching that the Antichrist prophecy has already been fulfilled.
Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy proves that Bible prophecy is to be interpreted literally. The events of the first 69 weeks were fulfilled literally. Christ came 483 years after the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem. It is obvious that the rest of the prophecy will be fulfilled literally.
Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy is a key to understanding Israel’s present and future. It plainly states that God is not finished with Israel in spite of her sin and dispersal among the nations. Her transgression will end (“to finish the transgression”). She will be cleansed (“to make an end of sins”). She will be reconciled with God (“and to make reconciliation for iniquity”). Her prophecies will be fulfilled (“to seal up the vision and prophecy”). Her temple will be anointed (“to anoint the most Holy”). This refers to the Millennial Temple described in Ezekiel 40-48.
Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy explains why Israel has returned to her land in an unclean, unspiritual condition. It is to prepare for the Antichrist (Da. 9:27). This is exactly what we see. Israel today is an unrighteous nation, in rebellion to God and morally filthy by the standard of God’s holy law. The state of Israel has accomplished amazing things, but it is not fulfilling the Messianic prophecies of the New Covenant with Israel’s conversion, the restoration the Davidic throne (Isaiah 9:6-7), and the exaltation of Israel as the head of the nations as per Psalm 72; Isaiah 2:1-4; 35; Jeremiah 31-33; and many other prophecies. Israel is not looking for a redeeming Messiah, but for a Messiah who bring peace and build the Third Temple. Israel is listening to Rambam more than Zechariah.
Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy says Israel will build another temple. “The sacrifice and the oblation” refer to the restoration of the Levitical sacrifices in the Third Temple. The Temple Institute is part of a broad coalition that are preparing for this. The articles, such as the golden candlestick and the altar of sacrifice, have been constructed. The Levites are training to offer sacrifices. The red heifer resides on a farm in Shiloh. In addition to Daniel 9, the third temple is mentioned in three other passages of Bible prophecy (Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4; Revelation 11:1-2). (The temple described in Ezekiel 40-48 is the Millennial Temple that Christ will build and occupy. That is when the glory will return to Israel.)
Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy proves that the Antichrist is a man. He is “the prince that shall come” (Da. 9:26). This refutes the teaching that the Antichrist is a government or a power of some sort.
Daniel’s 70 Week prophecy shows that Israel’s judgments are not yet finished (Da. 9:27). They will not be finished until the time of the Antichrist. He will be the greatest Israel hater of all times, though his reign will be short.
The purpose of the 70 weeks (Da. 9:24)
The prophecy pertains to Israel and to the city of Jerusalem (“upon thy people and upon thy holy city”).
1. The prophecy describes the finishing of the transgression and the making of reconciliation. During the 70 Weeks, Israel’s rebellion will be finished and she will be cleansed from her sin. Israel’s rebellion was the reason for the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in 586 BC and by Rome in AD 70, and she has never repented nationally. This will happen at the end of the 70 Weeks, and she will be cleansed by the atonement of Christ.
2. The prophecy describes the bringing in of everlasting righteousness. The result of Israel’s repentance and cleansing will be the establishment of Christ’s everlasting kingdom.
3 The prophecy describes the sealing up of the vision and prophecy. It will be the fulfillment of all of the Messianic prophecies.
4. The prophecy will result in the anointing of the most Holy. The temple will be desecrated by the Antichrist, but upon Christ’s return a new temple will be built and anointed by Christ’s own presence. This is described in Ezekiel 40-48.
The time element of the 70 Weeks
The Hebrew term for weeks (shebuah) means “sevens.” The context must determine whether it is a week of days or of years.
1. The weeks which have already been fulfilled show that these are weeks of years rather than of days. We know that by any reckoning, it was almost 500 years from the rebuilding of Jerusalem until the coming of Christ. This fits the testimony of Daniel 9:25, which places 69 weeks of years (483 years) between the two events. It is only reasonable to believe that the 70th week shall also be a week of years.
2. The concept of weeks of years was familiar to Jewish thinking (Le. 25:3-9). There was a weekly sabbath and a yearly sabbath.
3. At the time of the vision, Daniel had been thinking in terms of weeks of years (Da. 9:2). He was considering the 70 year captivity, which was 10 weeks of years (2 Ch. 36:21).
The events of the first 69 weeks
1. During the first 7 weeks (49 years), Jerusalem was rebuilt in troublous times.
The commandment to rebuild Jerusalem was given in 445 BC. The walls were completed that year, and work of rebuilding the city apparently continued for another 48 years.
This was accomplished “in troublous times,” as we see in Nehemiah. The rebuilding was accomplished in the face of great opposition.
2. The next 62 weeks (434 years) extends from the rebuilding of Jerusalem until the coming of the Messiah.
When did the 69 weeks (the 7 weeks and the 62 weeks) end?
It ended when Messiah came as Prince (Da. 9:25). This was when Christ entered Jerusalem on the donkey a few days before the crucifixion and was acclaimed as “the King that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Zec. 9:9; Lu. 19:37-38).
When did the 69 Weeks begin?
It began with “the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem” (Da. 9:25). This was the commandment by Artaxerxes for Nehemiah to rebuild the walls and the city (Ne. 2:1-8). (In 536 BC, Cyrus commanded Zerubbabel to build the temple, Ezr 1:1-3, but that isn’t the commandment mentioned in Daniel 9:25.)
Sir Robert Anderson, a lawyer and an investigator with Scotland Yard and a brilliant Bible student, concluded that the commandment was given March 14, 445 BC and Christ entered Jerusalem on the donkey April 6, AD 32. He documented this position in his 1895 book The Coming Prince.
The important thing to understand is that the Jews of Christ’s day knew how to figure these dates, and they had no excuse for not knowing exactly when Messiah the prince would come or what would happen when He came.
3. After the 69 weeks, the following events will happen (Da. 9:26).
Messiah is cut off, but not for himself. This refers to Christ’s crucifixion and His substitutionary atonement. He did not die for Himself, because death is the wages of sin, and Christ had no sin. He died to take the punishment for man’s sins (Isa. 53:5).
The city and the sanctuary are destroyed. This occurred in AD 70 at the hands of the Roman armies under the generalship of Titus.
There are wars and desolations until the end. The Hebrew word translated “desolation” is also translated “destruction (Ho. 2:12). This is a perfect description of the last 2,000 years of Israel’s history since Christ was “cut off.” Even today, though Israel is back in the land she has no peace; war and desolations continue; and she will have no peace until she repents and receives her Messiah, Jesus. It also describes what will happen to Israel just before the return of Christ as recorded in Matthew 24 and Revelation 6-18.
Between the 69th and 70th weeks is the interlude of the church age.
It is called a “mystery” because it was not revealed to the Old Testament prophets (Eph. 3:3-6). The church age is like a valley that the Old Testament prophets did not see between the peaks of the first and second coming of Christ.
During this time, Christ is calling out a people for His name from among the nations. Compare Ac. 15:14-18.
Paul describes the church age as the time of Israel’s blindness in Romans 11:25-27.
The events of the 70th Week (the final seven years) (Da. 9:27)
The final week, or seven years, of Daniel’s prophecy remains to be fulfilled. It is this period that Jesus describes in Matthew 24:3-31.
1. The final week is divided into two parts (Da. 9:27).
- At the beginning of the seven years, the Antichrist will make a false peace covenant with Israel, then he will break it after 3.5 years. Revelation 6-19 describes the same period and also divides it into two 3.5 year periods. During the first half of the Tribulation, the two witnesses of Revelation 11 will preach for 1,260 days, or three and a half years (Re. 11:3). During the second half, the Antichrist will rule for 42 months, or 3.5 years (Re. 13:5), and converted Israel shall flee into the wilderness for 1,260 days, or 3.5 years (Re. 12:6).
- The Antichrist is a prince of the revived Roman Empire. He is identified as the prince of the people who destroyed Jerusalem after Messiah’s death. This was Rome.
- The book of Revelation depicts the Antichrist coming on the scene on a white horse, signifying peace, and carrying an empty bow (Re. 6:2). The white horse and empty bow signifies that the Antichrist will have the capability to make war but initially he will rise as a man of peace. Five times in Daniel the Antichrist is called a liar and a flatterer (Da. 11:21, 23, 27, 32, 34). Daniel says by peace he will destroy many (Da. 8:25).
- This is when the third Jewish temple will be rebuilt. We see it being measured in Revelation 11 at the same time that the Antichrist is reigning as a man of peace. When he comes on the scene, the Antichrist will be the greatest diplomat the world has ever seen, and he will doubtless solve the “Israel-Palestinian problem.”
- It is probable that either the Antichrist or his prophet or both will be accepted by the Jews as their Messiah and by apostate Christians as theirs and by the Muslims as the Mahdi. Both Sunnis and Shiites believe in an Islamic messiah, the Mahdi, who will appear at the end of the world to establish a global caliphate in Allah’s name and rule for a period of time (seven, nine, or nineteen years, according to varying interpretations), ridding the world of evil before the day of judgment. The coming of the Mahdi is believed to coincide with the second coming of Jesus, whom they call Isa, who will join hands with the Mahdi against a false messiah or antichrist.
2. Mid-way through the seven years the Antichrist will break this covenant and exalt himself as God. (“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”).
- The abomination that makes desolate is the desecration of the Jewish temple by the Antichrist. Compare 2 Th. 2:3-4.
- This event marks the beginning of the 3.5 years of the Great Tribulation (Mt. 24:15-21).
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