The wide-ranging influence of the eschatological (End Time) teachings of John Darby, C.I. Scofield, and Clarence Larkin, within the American church systems of our day, has become absolutely astonishing. Teachings, as we’ve already discovered, that originated in 1585, by a Jesuit priest by the name of Francisco Ribera. The Jesuits were the militant branch of the Roman Catholic Church. As we’ve also discovered, the entire motivation for Ribera’s 16th century writings, was simply to take the pressure off his boss, the Pope, whom the reformers of his day, such as Martin Luther, were calling the Antichrist! Think about that for a moment, folks. Do you really think that someone who sits down to interpret a prophetical writing from the scriptures is going to come up with the proper interpretation, if they enter the task with such a skewed purpose? Do you? Let alone the fact that Mr. Ribera was not spirit-filled, and the Bible tells us that a naturally minded man CANNOT understand the things of God. Anyway, how did Mr. Ribera actually accomplish this task? He took Daniel’s prophecy of 70 weeks of years (70 x 7) from chapter 9 of his writings, inserted a 2000-year gap between the 69th and 70th week, claimed that the “prince that shall come” of verse 27 was the Antichrist, and suddenly, just like that, the “Man of Sin” was no longer a problem to his generation! The fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy, according to Ribera, would now be the problem of a FUTURE generation, therefore FUTURISM!
Many of you who have read my previous articles may also remember, that after Ribera’s passing, his writings set dormant for over 200 years, until in 1826, Samuel Maitland, who was the librarian to the Archbishop of Canterbury, discovered Ribera’s writings and had them published throughout the British Isles. Suddenly, rather than studying the writings of Daniel straight from the scriptures, the British church-world had become absolutely infatuated with the purposefully skewed writings of a Roman Catholic Priest! And, thanks to the UNCOUNTABLE TEACHINGS of John Darby, the PROPHECY CHARTS of Clarence Larkin, and the publication of C.I. Scofield’s REFERENCE BIBLE in 1909 (which was partially paid for by the Masons), by the middle of the 19th century, Ribera’s nonsense had finally arrived in America! Time cannot even permit me to further expound upon the other stateside ministries which have since that time continued to propagate Ribera’s erroneous teachings, such as the Moody Bible Institute’s Prophecy Course, Finnis Dake’s Annotated Study Bible, and the Dallas Theological Seminary as well as many others, so we must move on for now to our current article’s topic at hand: this so-called COVENANT WITH A FUTURE ANTICHRIST!
Herein lies the problem for our Futuristic Dispensationalists. Their entire doctrine completely relies upon a future, seven-year tribulation period, during which a future Antichrist makes a future covenant with the nation of Israel; and then, breaks that covenant in the middle of the 70th week of Daniel’s prophecy. If the Covenant of Daniel 9, therefore, can be shown to be anything other than a COVENANT WITH THE ANTICHRIST, then nearly everything that our present-day church systems are currently teaching about the Book of Revelation comes quickly crashing down like an unstable house of playing cards! Why? Because there’s no other passage within the entirety of the Bible that they can thereby use to substantiate Ribera’s theory! In fact, no other passage in the entirety of the Bible speaks of a seven-year period wherein a covenant is cut halfway through by anyone! So, if we can show what was really going on here, my friends, Futurism comes quickly tumbling down and is instantly proven a lie! Let’s move on to the scriptures, now, as we will quickly reveal Ribera’s folly!
THE SETTING
In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans.
2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel UNDERSTOOD BY BOOKS the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to JEREMIAH THE PROPHET, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
Two items of importance concerning the setting of Daniel chapter 9 are of absolute necessity to get ahold of here, my friends. In fact, they are items that Mr. Ribera and his present-day cohorts conveniently choose NOT TO MENTION at all in their teachings and writings. Why not? Why do they always choose to go straight to verses 24-27, and never take the time to explain to you the setting of the chapter? Let me tell you why, brethren. Because once they inform you of that, the explanation of verses 24-27 no longer fits their corrupt narrative! Let’s move on, and soon enough, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. First and foremost, we discover in verse 2, that DANIEL HAD BEEN STUDYING THE WRITINGS OF JEREMIAH THE PROPHET. I will explain the importance of this truth in a few moments. Secondly, in verses 3–20, WE FIND DANIEL CRYING OUT TO GOD IN PRAYER FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF BOTH HIS OWN, PERSONAL SINS, AS WELL AS THE SINS OF HIS PEOPLE, THE JEWISH NATION. While he’s praying, suddenly, the angel Gabriel appears to him at about the time of the evening oblation, and informs Daniel, that the reason he had come was to bring him “SKILL AND UNDERSTANDING” concerning the things that he had been seeking the Lord about. He appeared to him, therefore, to give him skill and understanding about what the Lord was eventually going to do concerning THE ISSUE OF SIN!
So, why are these two points so important for our understanding, my friends? Let me explain. According to the writings of Jeremiah the prophet, which verse two tells us that Daniel had been studying, in chapters 25, 29, and 31, there was only ONE COVENANT ever mentioned, the NEW COVENANT IN CHRIST’S BLOOD! A COVENANT WHICH CAN NEVER BE BROKEN! Are you beginning to get the picture now? Gabriel showed up to give Daniel skill and understanding about what God was ultimately going to do about the ISSUE OF SIN! Gabriel showed up to give Daniel “SKILL AND UNDERSTANDING” concerning the timeline of when the NEW COVENANT which Jeremiah wrote about, would eventually come to pass! The Covenant which would ONCE AND FOR ALL, DEAL WITH SIN! So, we’re about to find out here, that the passage at hand has absolutely nothing to do, whatsoever, with the Mark of the Beast, the Antichrist, or any of that nonsense. The passage at hand is about the cutting of an immutable covenant, the NEW COVENANT WHICH CAN NEVER BE BROKEN, AND WILL NEVER FAIL! Let’s take a look!
THE RECIPIENTS OF THE PROPHECY
SEVENTY WEEKS (of years) are determined upon THY PEOPLE and upon THY HOLY CITY… (Dan. 9:24)
The next items which we must now gain some understanding on are both the LENGTH OF TIME through which the prophecy would require to come to its complete fulfillment, as well as the stipulations regarding both the RECIPIENTS OF THE PROPHECY, and the LOCATION IN WHICH THE PROPHECY ITSELF WOULD BE FULFILLED. This should be relatively quick and easy to accomplish. According to Gabriel, in Daniel 9:24, “SEVENTY WEEKS” or Seventy weeks of years (70 x 7), would be the time required through which the prophecy would ultimately reach its fulfillment! Furthermore, Gabriel concluded his explanation by stating that the prophecy would be fulfilled in the “HOLY CITY” (JERUSALEM), and among Daniel’s people (THE JEWS). Did you get that my friends? Whatever Gabriel was about to talk about to Daniel, it would take 490 YEARS (7 X 70) to be accomplished, it would be accomplished AT JERUSALEM, and it would be fulfilled among Daniel’s people, THE JEWS! That’s it for the stipulations. Let’s move on.
THE SIXFOLD PURPOSE OF THE PROPHECY
24 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.
As we’ve just read in the above passage, Gabriel’s explanation to Daniel concerning the purpose of this prophecy was SIXFOLD. Remember, Daniel had been doing two things before Gabriel appeared to him: studying the writings of Jeremiah (who prophesied concerning the New Covenant) and interceding in prayer for the Sins of the Jewish nation. Daniel’s plea to the father was, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT SIN? Let’s take a quick look now at each of the sixfold purposes of the prophecy and discover who it was that actually fulfilled them.
- To finish the transgression
- To make an end of sins
- To make reconciliation for iniquity
- To bring in everlasting righteousness
- To seal up the vision and prophecy
- To anoint the most holy
Before we ever even talk about the sixfold purposes here and give a Bible reference for each item on the list, I’d be absolutely astounded if there’s a single believer in the crowd who could glance at the six objectives of the prophecy above and say anything other than, “Hey, those were all fulfilled by Jesus!”. Right you are, my friends, and we are about to discover, that the remainder of this chapter is going to continue the same course! So, let’s cover this part of the teaching as quickly as possible, as we continue to build our case against this so-called covenant with a future Antichrist.
- It was Jesus who FINISHED THE TRANSGRESSION at Calvary (In Jerusalem, at Calvary, among the Jews – Just as the prophecy required)
“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, IT IS FINISHED: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” (Jn. 19:30)
- It was Jesus who made an END OF SIN (In Jerusalem, at Calvary, among the Jews)
“The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which TAKETH AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD.” (Jn, 1:29)
Note: We are now one-third of the way into this prophecy and NO MENTION OF ANY ANTICHRIST! Let’s continue.
- It was Jesus who made RECONCILIATION FOR INIQUITY. (In Jerusalem, at Calvary, among the Jews)
“To wit, that GOD WAS IN CHRIST, RECONCILING THE WORLD UNTO HIMSELF, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: WE PRAY YOU IN CHRIST'S STEAD, BE YE RECONCILED TO GOD.” (2 Cor. 5:19,20)
- It was Jesus who brought in EVERLASTING RIGHTEOUSNESS. (In Jerusalem, At Calvary, Among the Jews)
“But of him are ye in CHRIST JESUS, WHO OF GOD IS MADE UNTO US wisdom, and RIGHTEOUSNESS, and sanctification, and redemption:” (1 Cor. 1:30)
NOTE: We are now two-thirds finished with this prophecy. No Beast, NO ANTICHRIST! Let’s continue.
- It was Jesus who SEALED UP (FULFILLED) THE VISION AND PROPHECY. (In Jerusalem, At Calvary, Among the Jews)
“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, BUT TO FULFIL.” (Mat. 5:17)
*Jesus was the complete fulfillment of the Law, and the mediator of the NEW COVENANT.
- It was Jesus who ANOINTED THE MOST HOLY PLACE! (In Jerusalem, At Calvary, Among the Jews)
The very moment that Christ said, “It is finished…”, The veil in Herod’s rebuilt temple was completely torn from top to bottom, and everything that had been hidden from the ages was opened and unveiled, as his indwelling presence permeated the earth!
There you have it, my friends. All six points of Daniel’s prophecy were completely fulfilled in Jerusalem, at Calvary, among the Jews; and still, NO MENTION OF ANY COVENANT WITH THE ANTICHRIST! Remember, Daniel had been doing two things: Studying Jeremiah, who wrote concerning the NEW COVENANT, and PRAYING ABOUT THE SINS OF THE JEWISH NATION. Gabriel showed up to simply explain to Daniel what all Jesus would do as he inaugurated that NEW COVENANT, and when it would all go down! What’s absolutely mind blowing, however, is that Darby, Scofield, and Larkin, by virtue of what they are teaching, say that none of these six points have even happened yet! How do I know that? Because they have taught both you and I, that the COVENANT of Daniel 9 is about a FUTURE COVENANT WITH THE ANTICHRIST! It can’t be both, my friends! It’s either a covenant with the ANTICHRIST in the future, or it’s a covenant with THE CHRIST in the past!
So, now that we’ve determined WHERE Daniel’s prophecy went down, and WHO fulfilled it, I must now break down and explain to you the most accurate, mathematical prophecy in all the scriptures – DANIEL’S PROPHECY OF 70 WEEKS OF YEARS (70 X 7)! The prophecy which thoroughly explains to us, beyond a shadow of doubt, that ALL OF THIS HAS ALREADY OCCURRED DURING THE TIME OF CHRIST, AND THAT WE ARE NO LONGER WAITING FOR THE 70th WEEK OF DANIEL’S PROPHECY TO UNFOLD, as John Darby, Clarence Larkin, and C.I. Scofield have proposed! Maybe you haven’t quite caught on to the significance of what is about to happen here, my friends, but if what I am about to explain to you is true (and I assure you that I will leave no doubts), then it’s absolute proof that millions upon millions of believers are either being deceived or lied to every passing week during their Sunday morning church services! That’s quite a big deal, my friends! Let’s continue
24 SEVENTY WEEKS are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city… (Dan. 9:24)
* We will simply begin by stating in verse 24, that the overall length of time for the prophecy to be fulfilled is Seventy weeks, or 70 x 7, which is 490 years.
* The next item of business is to determine WHEN the starting point of this prophecy of 490 years began. This is relatively simple to compute also. Let’s now take a look at verse 25:
25 Know therefore and understand, that 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: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
We find here that THE BEGINNING OF DANIEL’S PROPHECY was to be from the moment in time that a decree was made for the Jews to return from their 70 year captivity in Babylon, and return back to Jerusalem to restore the city. That decree, my friends, was made by Artaxerxes Longimanus, to Ezra the Scribe, in 457 BC. It was recorded in Ezra chapter 7:
*Now that we have both the OVERALL LENGTH of the prophecy (490 years), and the STARTING POINT for it (457 BC), let’s take another look at verse 25, as we seek for the next piece of our puzzle:
25 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. (Dan 9:25)
Gabriel now tells Daniel, that from the decree to return and build Jerusalem (457 BC), unto Messiah the prince (Jesus), it would be 483 years. How did we determine that? We simply did some math. Look above. Rather that coming straight out and saying it would be 483 years, GABRIEL DESCRIBED TWO DISTINCT PERIODS OF TIME: The time it would take to rebuild the street of Jerusalem (7 weeks or 7x7=49 years), and the time it would take to rebuild the wall (Nehemiah’s Day). This period was 62 weeks, or 62x7=434 years. WHEN YOU ADD BOTH OF THESE PERIODS TOGETHER, YOU SIMPLY GET 483 YEARS! So, Gabriel explained to Daniel, that from Artaxerxes’ decree in 457 BC, until Messiah the Prince (Anointed One), it would be 483 years or 69 weeks of years! Now, you may be saying to yourself, “What’s the big deal? Why all of the numbers, brother Don? Why is this so important?” Hang in there, beloved. You shall soon see! Here’s my dilemma. I can’t get to the good stuff, until we first go through the math. Please bear with me.
*Our next order of business will be to start at the year 457 BC (The time of the decree), and count forwards 483 years (69 weeks), to see what year on the calendar it brings us to. We must remember when doing this, that when you go from BC to AD, you must add a year because there was no year “0”. When you do this, it brings us to the year 27 AD. Does anyone see any significance to this year? Probably not at the moment, but please allow me to explain a couple of things, and then you most definitely will. First and foremost, Daniel’s prophecy DOES NOT SAY that it would be 483 years to the BIRTH of the Messiah, but unto MESSIAH THE PRINCE, and there’s a good reason for that. The Hebrew word “PRINCE” here is “NAGID”, which means the “Chief Ruler”. Scriptures tell us that from the moment of his birth, Jesus began to grow in both “wisdom and stature”. He did not operate as a prince from the moment of his birth; but there was a point in time in which he did do so. We must also remember that the Greek equivalent of the word Messiah is the word “CHRIST” which means “ANOINTED ONE”! Can you recall when it was, therefore, my friends, that Jesus received the anointing to begin the work of the ministry? Absolutely, He began his assignment as MESSIAH THE PRINCE (CHIEF ANOINTED RULER), at the Jordan river when the Heavenly Father clearly stated, “…this is my beloved SON (HUIOS – MATURE SON) in whom I am well pleased”! (Matt 3:18) You see, my friends, in Bethlehem, a CHILD was born, but at the Jordan, a MATURE SON (HOUIS) was given! You’ll never accomplish the Lord’s purpose for your life in the childhood stage! Everyone must at some point in time, be brought to maturity!
“Now I say, That the heir, as LONG AS HE IS A CHILD, DIFFERETH NOTHING FROM A SERVANT, though he be lord of all…” (Gal. 4:1)
Paul clearly tells us here, that as long as one remains a child, though he is an heir to everything, he is no different than a servant. Our Godly purpose can only begin as we reach BIBLICAL MATURITY, and so it was with Christ, our forerunner! According to Luke, the moment in which this happened to Jesus was “about” the age of 30 (Luke 3:23), In the year 27 AD, therefore, Jesus’ ministry as Messiah the Prince began! Along with this important point, listen to the astounding statement that Jesus made when Paul tried to stop this from happening.
14 But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
15 And Jesus answering said unto him, suffer it to be so NOW: for thus it becometh us TO FULFIL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS. Then he suffered him. (Matt. 3: 14-15)
Did you catch that, my friends? Jesus told John that not only did he need to baptize Him, but that he needed to baptize Him NOW in order to FULFILL something. What might you think that baptism would allow Him to fulfill, beloved? It would allow Him to begin his ministry which would FULFILL ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS at Calvary, one of the 6 MAIN PURPOSES for Daniels Prophecy of Seventy weeks!
So, do all of these calculations add up? Absolutely, my friends, because when you dig into all of the historical clues within the scriptures surrounding Jesus’s birth (such as the death of Herod, the date of the taxation, the reign of Tiberius Caesar, the timeline for the ministry of John the Baptist, and many others) the most accurate possibility of his birth is 4 BC! If you count backwards from AD to BC, you must SUBTRACT a year to make up for there not being a year zero. What do we end up with when we do that? THIRTY! The exact age that Luke described for the beginning of Jesus’ ministry! Allow me if you would to back up these calculations, using a quoted paragraph from Dr. Kelley Howard Varner, from his book entitled: “Whose Right It Is! A Handbook of Covenantal Theology”:
“Jesus was born three to four years before the beginning of the Christian Era, the year called A.D. 1. This mistake in dating arose when in A.D. 532 Dionysius Exiguus invented the calendar of the Christian Era based upon the time of the building of the city of Rome. This kind of time was called ab urbe condita, or A.U.C. (or simply, U.C. time). Dionysius placed the birth of Christ U.C. 753. Later, when it was ascertained that Herod had died in U.C. 750, Jesus' birth was moved back to the latter part of U.C. 749, a little more than three years before A.D. 1. THEREFORE, JESUS CHRIST WAS 30 YEARS OF AGE IN A.D. 27. The "Child" had been born in Bethlehem; the "Son" was given 30 years later at the Jordan (Is. 9:6-7)!”
So, here’s the significance of all of this, my friends. By the year 27 AD, sixty-nine weeks of Daniel’s 70-week prophecy had already been completed. Therefore, THE BEGINNING OF THE 70TH WEEK OF DANIEL’S PROPHECY WAS THE BEGINNING OF JESUS’ MINISTRY! Now we are onto something, beloved, because Ribera, Larkin, Scofield, and Darby have tried to push this 70th week into OUR DAY! Let’s see who’s correct!
26 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.
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.
Here, my friends, is where you must concentrate for a few moments. This is not difficult to understand if you do not allow your mind to wander. It’s these two verses which our Futurists friends (Ribera, Darby, Larkin, & Scofield) have used to distort this entire prophecy; so, as we read them, our problem is, we are constantly having to fight off the preconceived teachings which have been inbred into us for all our lives as we attempt to read this with an open mindset. So, let me just ask a couple of questions as we begin. First, who has the entirety of this prophecy been about to this point? You are correct, my friends. THE ENTIRE PROPHECY HAS BEEN ABOUT JESUS. The one, whom we’ve already discovered, FULFILLED ALL 6 POINTS WHICH THE PROPHECY DEMANDED. Please keep that in mind. Second, if 69 weeks of this prophecy have already been accounted for up until the baptism of Jesus and the beginning of his public ministry, then what week of the prophecy is left to talk about? Correct again. THE 70TH WEEK! So, we must understand, that VERSES 26 AND 27 OF DANIEL 9 ABOVE ARE DESCRIBING THE 70TH WEEK OF THAT PROPHECY (with one exception, which I will explain thoroughly). So, what I am going to do for a moment, to try to avoid confusion, is ignore what the Futurists have said about these verses and discuss what really happened. After I have shown this, if need be, we will then be able to talk about the errors of the Futurists with some better understanding. Until then, MUM IS THE WORD! Here we go.
As I just stated, the entirety of verses 26 and 27 above are describing things which were to happen during the 70th and final week of that prophecy, with one exception. That one exception is called a PARENTHETICAL STATEMENT! What is a parenthetical statement? It’s a statement designed to add additional details to an event or occurrence without those details necessarily having to fall within the guidelines or timeline of that event. Allow me now to point out what the parenthetical statement above is, and then I’ll explain how it works in this prophecy.
“… 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.
Here is our parenthetical statement, folks. Right here in the middle of verse 26, is a statement which adds more detail to our event which is being talked about (THE CUTTING OF THE NEW COVENANT), but it’s a statement, which doesn’t fall within the 70-week timeline of the prophecy. Let me explain. Can you remember back to the trial of Jesus, just before His crucifixion? Let me bring back to your remembrance something that was said by the Jewish people themselves during that event:
23 And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.
24 When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.
25 Then answered all the people, and said, HIS BLOOD BE ON US, AND ON OUR CHILDREN. (Matthew 27:23-25)
Ahhh, my friends, now can you see why a parenthetical statement was needed here? You see, it was the Jews themselves that asked for the responsibility of Jesus Christ’s innocent blood to be poured out upon both them AND THEIR CHILDREN! So, what did our Heavenly Father do? He gave them exactly what they asked for! He allowed exactly one generation to go by (40 years), and then gave them exactly what they requested! In 66-70 AD, General Titus (“THE PRINCE THAT SHALL COME”), who was the leader of the Roman Army (THE “PEOPLE OF THE PRINCE THAT SHALL COME”), led a 3 ½ year siege on the city of Jerusalem, and NOT ONE UNBELIEVING JEW WHO HAD REJECTED THE CUTTING OF THE NEW COVENANT ESCAPED ALIVE! This parenthetical statement, we can now see, added much more clarity and explanation to Daniel’s prophecy, WITHOUT HAVING TO FALL WITHIN THE 70 WEEK PARAMETER OF THE PROPHECY!
Sorry Mr. Ribera, sorry Mr. Larkin, sorry Mr. Scofield, and sorry Mr. Darby, but the “PRINCE THAT SHALL COME”, WAS NOT SOME FUTURE ANTICHRIST – IT WAS PRINCE TITUS; and the “PEOPLE OF THE PRINCE”, WAS THE ROMAN ARMY WHO BESEIGED JERUSALEM FROM 66-70 AD! During the last few moments of that siege, the Jewish Historian JOSEPHUS described the events which he personally witnessed as being LIKE A FLOOD – just as Daniel 9:26 predicted. Also, within his description, HE STATED THAT HE HAD WITNESSED TRIBULATION LIKE HAD NEVER BEEN BEFORE, NOR EVER SHALL BE! IT WAS THE COMPLETE, HISTORICAL FULFILLMENT OF THE “GREAT TRIBULATION” OF MATTHEW 24. JUST AS JESUS HAD PREDICTED! Read it for yourself! The Roman Army ENCOMPASSED THE CITY, cut off the Jews supply lines and began to starve the inhabitants to death, Women were eating the flesh of their own babies to prolong their lives for yet another day, Men were being crucified by the tens of thousands daily as they attempted to escape the city, dead bodies were being stacked several corpses high within the walls of the city (BLOOD TO THE HORSES BRIDLE!). It’s all there, folks! It’s all there! Let’s continue.
Now that we’ve discussed the parenthetical statement and gotten that out of the way, to make things easier to understand, I’m going to rewrite Daniel 9: 26-27 below, without that statement included, so we can see what events are left to talk about during the 70th week of Daniel’s prophecy:
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself:
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. (Dan. 9:26-27, parenthetical omitted)
Now that the parenthetical has been removed, we must keep in mind that what is left in these two verses, is talking about things which were to occur during the 70th week of Daniels prophecy. Notice the three pronouns “HE”. Rather than saying that those three pronouns refer to THE ANTICHRIST, which the Futurists were calling “THE PRINCE THAT SHALL COME”, we can now see that they properly refer to their antecedent – MESSIAH THE PRINCE (JESUS)! Doesn’t it only make sense, my friends? Wasn’t it Jesus who was “CUT OFF” (CRUCIFIED) during the “MIDDLE” of that 70th week, “BUT NOT FOR HIMSELF” (FOR OUR SINS)? And, by doing that, wasn’t it Jesus who CAUSED THE SACRIFICE AND OBLATIONS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT LAW TO CEASE? Wasn’t it? Wasn’t it Jesus who caused the veil to be torn, and the temple worship to become desolate due to all the abominations that were taking place, even unto the consummation, when that which was prophesied (determined) was poured out upon the desolate in AD 70? Wasn’t it? You see, my friends, Daniel’s prophecy has nothing to do, whatsoever, with any Beast, Antichrist, or Covenant with any Antichrist! Daniel’s prophecy is nothing more than the most accurate, biblical timeline ever recorded concerning WHEN “THE CHRIST” (JESUS), would arrive upon the scene and cut the NEW COVENANT in HIS BLOOD, which Jeremiah had clearly prophesied about! Gabriel, the same angel who would later appear to the virgin Mary to prophesy Jesus’ birth, now appears to Daniel to prophecy his death! Hallelujah!
So, with all of this completed, there’s probably one remaining question which some of you may be wondering about. If Jesus died (was “CUT OFF”) in the MIDDLE of the 70th week, Brother Don, then how do you account for the last half of that week, because the prophecy clearly tells us, that 70 weeks were “DETERMINED” upon God’s people (THE JEWS) and upon the Holy City (JERUSALEM)? To answer that, let’s first bring back to our remembrance what the stipulations of the prophecy were. According to Gabriel, 490 YEARS WERE THE DETERMINED LENGTH OF THE PROPHECY (7 X 70). The other two stipulations were, that during these 490 years, whatever was going to happen, would happen WITHIN THE HOLY CITY (JERUSALEM), AND TO DANIEL’S PEOPLE (THE JEWS). That’s it. So, with Jesus being “CUT OFF” (CRUCIFIED) in the middle of the 70th week, what that tells us is that there is still 3 1/2 years’ worth of time, where the NEW COVENANT must be CONFIRMED to the Jews within the city of Jerusalem. Do you remember verse 27 from earlier?
“And HE (Jesus) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week…” (Dan. 9:27
Herein lies a mystery, my friends. How was Jesus going to finish out the 70th week, if he had already been crucified, buried, resurrected, and ascended? Seems like and impossibility, doesn’t it, until you think back to the conversion of Saul of Tarsus for a moment and understand a statement there.
3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, WHY PERSECUTEST THOU ME?
5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I AM JESUS WHOM THOU PERSECUTEST: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Ahh, Beloved, now we’re starting to catch a great revelation concerning the “CHRIST” of God! Ever since His resurrection 2000 years ago, the Christ of God, beginning with Jesus, has been multiplying into a MANY-MEMBERED BODY! ONE BODY, MANY PARTS! “There is ONE BODY, but it has MANY PARTS.” (1 Cor. 12:12) Can we not clearly see the mystery here?
Saul of Tarsus had been persecuting the NEW COVENANT BELIEVERS (THE CHURCH) WHO WERE OUT SPREADING (CONFIRMING) THE GOSPEL; but Jesus told Saul he had been persecuting HIM! So, what do we have here? For the first 3 1/2 years of Daniel’s 70th week, Jesus himself confirmed the NEW COVENANT within the HOLY CITY (JERUSELEM), and amongst Daniel’s people (THE JEWS). His 3 1/2-year ministry can be found clearly recorded within the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In fact, one passage was a direct reference to Daniel’s prophecy! Do you remember when Peter asked Jesus how often he should forgive, and Jesus replied, “SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN”? Jesus didn’t just through a random number out into thin air which coincidentally meant unlimited forgiveness, as we’ve been taught all of our lives. He was making a DIRECT REFERENCE TO DANIEL’S PROPHECY OF 70 WEEKS OF YEARS (70 X 7)! He was saying, “Boys, you’ve got to show unlimited forgiveness now, because one of the goals of Daniel’s Prophecy was to make reconciliation for iniquity, and the 70th week has arrived!” (Paraphrased, of course) For the first 3 1/2 years of that week, Jesus himself CONFIRMED THE NEW COVENANT, but for the last 3 ½ years, He confirmed it through His MANY-MEMBERED BODY – THE CHURCH!
Here's where the mathematical accuracy of this prophecy gets absolutely mind-boggling! Bear with me for a moment, friends. For the last 3 1/2 years of the 70th week of Daniel’s prophecy, as we just discovered, JESUS CONTINUED TO CONFIRM THE NEW COVENANT THROUGH HIS NEWLY FORMED, MANY-MEMBERED BODY! These 3 1/2 years, can be clearly found within the first 7 chapters of the Book of Acts. How can we tell that the first 7 chapters were accomplished within a 3 1/2-year period of time? First, we must remember that Jesus’ ministry began in the AUTUMN OF 27 AD., exactly 483 years after Artaxerxes’ decree to go back and restore Jerusalem (which was in the autumn). Therefore, we now know that Jesus’ death occurred in the SPRING OF 31 AD (3 ½ years later). So, that tells us that something significant was going to need to happen 3 1/2 years after His death in the year 34 AD, to complete the 70th week of Daniel’s prophecy; and once again, my friends it absolutely did! In order to bring the prophecy to its complete fulfillment and allow the Gospel to begin extending itself beyond the walls of the Holy City (Jerusalem), and to other people besides the Jews, something significant had to happen!
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
58 And cast him out of the city and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.
59 AND THEY STONED STEPHEN, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
60 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, HE FELL ASLEEP. (Acts 7:57-60)
In Acts 7, the persecution of the NEW COVENANT believers within the city of Jerusalem had reached such a feverish pitch, that the Jews, in their stunning unbelief, and absolute rejection of Jesus as the Messiah, finally allowed their hatred to escalate to a point that they martyred their first believer. Stephen, at the age of 29, was stoned to death! What’s this have to do with Daniel’s prophecy, you’re probably asking? One of the charges that Stephen was accused of was “BLASPHEMY AGAINST THE HOLY PLACE”, which was their Temple! They were trying to portray Stephen’s ministry as one that was preaching that someone would one day emerge to destroy their Temple, as the PARENTHETICAL STATEMENT in Daniel 9:26 predicted. Are you ready for this, my friends? In his extremely long, self-defense in Acts chapter 7, STEPHEN NEVER DENIED THAT CHARGE!
As most believe, though due to the various calendars at the time, there is some dispute (just as it was with Jesus’ birth), Stephen was born in 5 AD, and was martyred at the age of 29, which places the year of his death, at 34 AD! Absolutely astounding! With the official rejection of the 3 1/2-year ministry of Jesus as MESSIAH THE PRINCE, and the 3 1/2 years of the NEW COVENANT being confirmed through his many-membered body, with the martyrdom of Stephen, Daniel’s 70th week had officially come to an end! The Sanhedrin, the official voice of the Jewish people, had now publicly rejected MESSIAH THE PRINCE – BOTH HEAD AND BODY! How do I know that the 70 weeks had now come to an end? Look what immediately follows in the next few chapters of the Book of Acts!
- Acts 8: Phillip goes to SAMARIA!
- Acts 9: Saul becomes Paul, The Apostle to the UNCIRCUMCISED!
- Acts 10: Cornelius’ (A GENTILE!) household is SAVED!
- Acts 11: Peter’s dream of the descending sheet of PREVIOUSLY UNCLEAN FOODS!
- Acts 12: First Apostle Martyred (JAMES), Peter’s imprisonment!
- Acts 13: Paul says: “LO, WE TURN TO THE GENTILES!”
With the stoning of Stephen, THE PARIDIGM SHIFTED! The center of Christianity had now moved onward from Jerusalem to Antioch! The 490-year requirement of Daniel’s prophecy taking place WITHIN the Holy City (JERUSALEM), and amongst Daniel’s people (THE JEWS), had now been ABANDONED! The prophecy had finally reached its COMPLETE FULFILLMENT! No BEAST! No ANTICHRIST! No COVENANT WITH ANY ANTICHRIST!
Where’s it at, my friends? OUR CHAPTER IS NOW COMPLETE! Where’s this Covenant which a FUTURE ANTICHRIST is going to make and then break with the nation of Israel, in the middle of the 70th week of Daniel’s Prophecy? Where’s it at? THE 70TH WEEK OF DANIEL’S PROPHECY IS OVER, BELOVED! It was JESUS who was “CUT OFF” in the “MIDDLE” of the 70th week, “BUT NOT FOR HIMSELF” (BECAUSE HE DIED AS US)! It was JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THERE IS NO 2000-YEAR GAP BETWEEN THE 69TH AND 70TH WEEK, MR. RIBERA! Daniel had been reading JEREMIAH, and Jeremiah’s example of the 70 STRAIGHT YEARS of Babylonian captivity in His Day, became the SPIRITUAL BLUEPRINT which Gabriel used to bring “SKILL AND UNDERSTANDING” to Daniel concerning the 490 STRAIGHT YEARS OF HIS PROPHECY! NO GAPS, my friends! MESSIAH THE PRINCE has already been baptized at the JORDAN RIVER, MESSIAH THE PRINCE has already CONFIRMED THE NEW COVENANT, MESSIAH THE PRINCE has already been “CUT OFF” AT CALVARY, and yes, my friends, MESSIAH THE PRINCE has already been multiplied into a MANY-MEMBERED BODY, to finish out the fullness, of DANIEL’S 70TH WEEK! Once again, Ribera, Larkin, Scofield, and Darby, by virtue of what they are teaching (That the 70th week is still in our future), are telling you that none of these things have even happened yet! I say, that FUTURISM, is a DOCTRINE OF DEVILS!!! Where is this COVENANT that you’re talking Mr. Ribera?
The truth is it doesn’t exist! It was a cleverly designed plan by a Jesuit Priest named Francisco Ribera in 1585, to keep the reformers from calling the Pope the Antichrist! His writings were later discovered in the British Isles in the early part of the 19th century, and then passed on to America by the late 1800’s. The American church then bought these teachings hook, line, and sinker, from John Darby, Clarence Larkin, and C.I. Scofield! Daniel’s prophecy of 70 weeks of years, had nothing to do with a future covenant with an Antichrist then, and it most certainly has nothing to do with a future covenant with an Antichrist now! THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL 9 HAS BEEN COMPLETELY FULFILLED, MY FRIENDS! Daniel was reading the writings of Jeremiah. The covenant which Jeremiah wrote about was the NEW COVENANT, an EVERLASTING COVENANT which will never be broken during any week, of any year!
For the unbelieving Jews who refused to accept this NEW COVENANT, he gave them exactly what they asked for. From 66-70 AD, exactly one generation later, the blood of both them and their children was poured out during the siege of Jerusalem, as the PRINCE THAT SHALL COME (General Titus), and THE PEOPLE OF THE PRINCE (The Roman Army), encompassed the city of Jerusalem, starved out its inhabitants, crucified tens of thousands of Jews per day, burned down the Temple, and leveled the city so that not one stone was left upon another! The Great Tribulation that Jesus had spoken about is over, my friends! Nevertheless, I’ll ask it one more time. Where is it at? Where is this COVENANT WITH THE ANTICHRIST?
As I’ve already stated earlier on in this article, if the teaching which I’ve just unveiled is found to be true, then the doom and gloom ministers of our day have now been dealt a MAJOR DILEMMA! Why? Because there’s no other passage in the entirety of the scriptures which includes a 7-year period of time in which a covenant is both made and broken anywhere, by anyone! If the church of our day chooses to continue preaching this nonsense, so be it! But there will be a price to pay! For they can only plead ignorance until they’ve been given the truth! From that moment onward, they will forever be held accountable to our Heavenly Father, for that which they’ve held back from their congregations! Selah!