Daniel 9:26 and 27 are Key Messianic Prophetic verses from the TeNaK (Jewish Scriptures). Why is that? Because they speak of the Revelation of the Messiah, the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and several other very important things as well.
Let's see what the Archangel Gabriel said to Daniel:
Here is the passage from the TeNaK:
"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." Daniel 9:26,27. KJV
HISTORICALLY
The passages foretold the future destruction of the Holy Temple, and (this is important) "the end of the age". They also speak of the Messiahs' Arrival.
The Messiah appears first. The destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem by "the prince who is comimg" (in 70 A.D.) and "the end of the age" then take place after He is "cut off". The "sacrifice and oblation" will also cease.
So we must ask ourselves, "Were both the Holy Temple and Jerusalem destroyed after this Prophecy was given?" Yes. Both the Holy Temple and Jerusalem were destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Roman General, and later Emperor, Titus I.
What does this mean? It means that to Fulfill this Prophecy, the Messiah had to make His Appearance first, doesn't it? Yes, it does. This rules out Bar Kochba as the messiah because he was declared messiah by R" Akiva long after the Temple was long destroyed.
Then after the destruction of the Holy Temple and Jerusalem would come "the end of the age".
So who was announced as Messiah to the Jewish people before 70 A.D.? Since we know that the destruction of the Holy Temple and Jerusalem had to take place only AFTER He Came.
We see from these two passages several things Prophesied. The reckoning of Time, the Messiah is Revealed, the destruction of the Second Temple, "a flood" and "the end of the age".
We will examine them in that order.
Reckoning of Time
The Archangel Gabriel speaks of "weeks of days", and "days of years".
Messiah
From this Prophecy we see that Messiah would be "cut off" (perish) and this "not for Himself".
Holy Temple
This passage then says that the Temple will be destroyed after Messiah Comes. This happened historically, we know, in 70 A.D. according to Roman records and Josephus.
"a flood"
This "flood" is connected with Judgment. Destroying the Temple was not a Judgment? Oy Vey. We have to say it was a Judgment.
"the end of the age"
This speaks of the "end", not the "to be continued".
RECKONING OF TIME
We must remember that the TeNaK is not in chronological order. Though the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah[2] occur before the Book of Daniel in the Bible, the Prophecies in Daniel 9 were Given before Ezra and Nehemiah were ever written.
MESSIAH
The passage undoubtedly speaks of the Messiah of Israel. "Moshiach" in Hebrew. "Messiah the Prince" in the passage. Daniel was given this information by Gabriel so that the Jewish people would understand certain things about the Messiah. He would Appear, be "cut off", the Holy Temple would suffer destruction, and the "end of the age" would occur.
HOLY TEMPLE
Daniel 9:26,27 speaks of the Command "to restore and to rebuild Jerusalem" (not the Temple) until "Messiah the Prince" would be a certain number of years. We count from 458 B.C. based in Ezra 7:7. See DATES OF PROPHECIES FULFILLED under 458 B.C. Counting forward 490 years we come to Messiahs' crucifixion in 33 A.D.
There was no rebuilding of the Holy Temple connected with Ezra 7:7.
The Holy Temple specifically referred to in Daniel 9:26 was the Second Temple later rebuilt because of G-ds' Command Given to Cyrus I (a Gentile)[3] This happened already. It has been fulfilled in 516.
There is no Command to build a Holy Temple found in Daniel. Only to "restore and rebuild" Jerusalem. The rebuilding of the "street and the wall" is also mentioned in Daniel 9:25, not the Temple.
If there is a third Temple constructed in Jerusalem, it will not be tied to the Book of Daniel. There is no authorization to rebuild a third Temple.)[4] Also, the ashes of the red heifer were to contain a portion of the original red heifer that Moses sacrificed to be Lawful. They do not exist at this time.[5] Therefore the Priests cannot cleanse themselves.
Even if a "perfect red heifer" were found, there are no original ashes with which to mingle their ashes. Therefore the ashes would not be Lawful for cleansing the Priests. See Numbers 19:9.
Yeshua said "it is Finished". There is no authorization to sacrifice any more animals. The sins are paid for already.
Yeshua told the disciples to look in the Book of Daniel. There is NO Command in Daniel to rebuild any Temple.
We know the Prophecy in Amos:
"In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaks thereof; and I will raise up His ruins, and i will build it as in the days of old. That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by My Name, saith the L-RD that doeth this." Amos 9:11,12
This Prophecy is cited in Acts 15:16,17 as being Fulfilled in the Resurrection of Yeshua from the dead. "Destroy this Temple and in three days I will Raise it up". The Temple has already been Raised up. Yeshua is the Temple. Can mans' hands construct a better? Unless they do not believe that He is indeed Raised up and in the New Jerusalem in Heaven.
Sometimes Christians are taught that Yeshuas' Prophecy has not been completely Fulfilled because there was not "an abomination that standeth in the Holy Place" i.e. the Holy Temple at the time of its destruction. We know from history that this is not true, as the Roman soldiers placed a bust of Caesar in the Temple itself before it was destroyed. Also, several Emperors' thereafter placed busts of themselves directly on the Temple Mount at the location of the "Holy Place" where the Temple had once stood.
We should also pay special attention to the statement that "He shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease". To "cease" means just that. Yet there are some that think G-d would approve them starting again?
The 1599 Geneva Bible Note on Matthew 24:15 says this:
"the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the Prophet: or as others think, He (Yeshua) meant the marring of the Doctrine in the Church."
This means the "falling away" is the rejection of True Doctrine that will become the "abomination of desolation" to the whole earth and to the Saints in particular.
Dispensationalists teach that the Temple will be rebuilt with G-ds' Permission? Look at this verse and decide!
For He is our Peace Who has Made both One, and has broken down the middle wall of partition [between us]: Having abolished in His Flesh the enmity, [even] the law of commandments contained in the ordinances; for to Make In Himself of two One New Man, [so] Making Peace. And that He Might Reconcile both unto G-d, in One Body by the Cross, having slain the enmity thereby. Ephesians 2:14-16
The "middle wall of partition" was broken down by Messiahs' own Sacrifice, but the Dispensationalists want to build it back again? What?!?
"A FLOOD"
What other "flood" is connected with "a Judgment"? Noahs' Flood of course. What am i saying? Here is what:
The number 40 is connected with Judgment in the Scriptures. Example: The Flood of Noah, "it rained 40 days and 40 nights".
Since the passage speaks of Judgment (destruction of the Temple and "end of the age") what "Judgment" is connected with a "flood"? Noahs' flood; which gives us the number 40 "days".
Is Yeshua the Messiah? If so, how could it be proven? When was He Revealed?
30 A.D.
Yeshua was "cut off" (crucified), in 33 A.D. His Ministry was 3 1/2 years, or, "in the midst of the week" (the 70th week).
The Prophecy said "with a flood", and with a certain number of "days of years": 40 days (Noah) = 40 years (until destruction of the Temple) from the time Messiah Yeshua first Apppeares.
That is, Messiah Yeshuas' Ministry began in 30 A.D.
30 A.D. plus 40 "days of years": 30 + 40 = 70 years. 70 A.D. precisely.
"THE END OF THE AGE"
"the end of the age" means "the end" it does not mean anything "to be continued" or "interrupted", but that these things were "finished".
The time of "Jacobs' trouble" also sometimes mentioned, referring to Daniel specifically says "there shall be a TIME of trouble". Daniel 12:1. Singular. He did not Prophecy "TIMES of trouble". Daniel refers to One Event. Not several, and certainly not any "continuation the age" AFTER that One Event occurs.
No matter how you juggle the numbers, the events listed in Daniel 9:26,27 took place historically and marked "the end" not "the continuation".
MORE FOLLOWONG SOON!
PEOPLE OF G-D MINISTRIES
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FOOTNOTES
[1
"And he shall confirm (gabar) the covenant (b@riyth) with many (rab) for one (echad) week (shabuwa): and in the midst (chetsiy) of the week (shabuwa) he shall cause the sacrifice (zebach) and the oblation (minchah) to cease (shabath) and for the overspreading (kanaph) of abominations (shiqquwts) he shall make [it] desolate (shamem) even until the consummation (kalah), and that determined (charats) shall be poured (nathak) upon the desolate (shamem)." Daniel 9:26,27 Masoretic Text Interlinear Hebrew.
[2
The Masoretes who complied the Hebrew text (known as the Masoretic Text [MT]) in the Middle Ages over 400 years (between 900 and 1200 A.D.), split Ezra into two books.
The Masoretes not only split Ezra into two books, but also placed Ezra and Nehemiah before Daniel, out of chronological order. The reasons why they did this are not known, but it does make reading the TeNaK more difficult with regard to the Prophetic analysis if one does not not know this.
[3
[4
"And afterward, in Julian the Apostates' time, when the Jews were encouraged by him to rebuild their temple, in opposition to the Christian religion, what remained of the ruins was quite pulled down, to level the ground for a new foundation; but the attempt was defeated by a miraculous eruption of fire out of the ground, which destroyed the foundation they laid, and frightened away the builders. Now this prediction of the final and irrepairable ruin of the temple includes a prediction of the period of the Levitical and priesthood and the ceremonial law." Matthew Henry. Matthew Henrys' Commentary. Matthew to John. MacClean, Virginia. Macdonald Publishing. First Publication: 1721. p.346.
Matthew Henry also notes that because of the destruction of the geneological scrolls in the Temple fire in 70 A.D., it makes it impossible to determine who may be of the House of Aaron any more, and so there is no way to determine who may actually be High Priest.
Today, claims are being made concerning DNA. Perhaps the Tribe of Levi could be identified, but as Aaron was of Levi, no one knows who of Levi is of Aaron, DNA or no.
[4
He further announced that all he needed was "another $100,000.00 for a new bulldozer" and the excavation would be completed.
That was 10 years ago, and we do not know if he got his "$100,000.00 bulldozer" or not, but no ashes seem to have appeared withal.
There also seems to be a few beef ranchers who are breeding "red heifers" for inspection by the "orthodox authorities" who do such things. They had to wait a certain number of years and one of them was disqualified because of a grey hair found somewhere or other. Red heifer or not, there can be no sacrifice without some of the original ashes.
Mede, Joseph. Clavis Apocalyptica. 1650. Tanslated into English from the Latin by Richard More.