A Strong Covenant with the Many

As we come to the end of the Feast of Sukkot, a feast that points so powerfully to the coming Messianic Age, an age of peace, harmony, and God’s presence among His people, one question naturally arises: When? When will that peace finally come to this world? This is where biblical prophecy offers us remarkable insight.

According to Scripture’s prophetic calendar, before the Messianic Age is established, a final seven-year period will unfold, during which the events and judgments foretold by the prophets will take place. At the end of those seven years, Yeshua will return and establish His Kingdom.

We will take a fresh look at this prophecy and consider two very important questions: How will the final seven years begin? In other words, what will set them in motion, and what will happen afterward?

What does Daniel tell us about what is about to happen in our world today? In the 9:27 passage, an individual, a false messiah, a political one, is mentioned. This is what it says, “And he will make a firm covenant with the many for seven years, but in the middle of the seven years, he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”

The first question we ask is who this nagid, or leader, is (Dan. 9:25-26). He is not new here: Daniel has seen him before. This prophecy in Daniel 9:27 answers a question posed in chapter 8, when the prophet saw the last kingdom on earth. He was so affected by its devastating power that, as the angel Gabriel showed him the vision, he fell into a deep sleep with his face to the ground (Daniel 8:18).

But what did Daniel hear and see about this individual and his coming kingdom over our world? Daniel describes this kingdom beginning in Daniel 8:9, when he saw a little horn that grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land. He saw a little horn – a horn is a symbol of power and strength; it is small, beginning very subtly, when no one expects it to grow so quickly into power.

In Hebrew, this word מִצְּעִירָה simply means small; however, in Aramaic, the language spoken by the Jewish people at the time of Daniel and in the first century, the same word for small also means evil, shameful, and insignificant, as heaven sees it. But see where the little horn was heading; its final destination is the Beautiful Land, that is, Israel.

Daniel gave Israel this title three times, and the word beautiful, צְבִי (ṣĕʾbî), is a characteristic applied to God and the Messiah (Isaiah 24:16, 4:2). It is especially fitting here, within the same vision. Israel was the little horn’s target—he was surely heading there to try to stop the advent of Yeshua, who will be there at His Second Coming.

But in the next verse, we see the depth of this individual’s power and evil; it says: “It grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down.” Daniel 8:10

The battle was not confined to Jerusalem but also extended into the heavenly realms, involving the spiritual hosts; it is and will be the final cosmic battle. As for this individual, Daniel tells us what kind of man he will be: Daniel 8:11 reads, “It even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down.” The Commander of the Host is none other than Yeshua Himself. This individual assumes the title of antichrist, believing he is superior to the Messiah and attempting to replace Him.

And see what he does: He removed the regular sacrifice, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down (Dan. 8:11). This is where Daniel 9:26 picks up, for this is repeated: it will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined.

And this is when Daniel gives us a timeline; he tells us how long it was given to this individual to rule. Daniel 9:27 says, And he will make a firm covenant with the many for seven years, but in the middle of these seven years… shall be one who makes desolate. Two timelines are given: 7 years and 3.5 years. These seven years are the last of the 490 years predicted in vs.24.

So Daniel tells us that this seven-year period will begin with a covenant promising peace—something Israel desperately needs today. An allusion is made to this strong covenant ( וְהִגְבִּיר בְּרִית לָרַבִּים) … And he will make a covenant strong [for/with] the many. The Hebrew says that he will “make a covenant strong,” or “cause a covenant to prevail,” for one week. This may refer either to a new agreement that he powerfully guarantees or to an existing arrangement that he strengthens, for a period of seven years. This covenant may have its roots in the Abrahamic Accords. This so-called covenant of peace is especially necessary as more nations rise against Israel and speak ever more openly against her. We have seen this opposition over the past month at the eighty-first session of the United Nations General Assembly.

But Daniel is not the only prophet who points to this promise of peace. John, in the book of Revelation, takes us further. He shows us what follows that false peace—and how quickly the promise of security gives way to devastation. John uses both months and days to confirm the timing: 3.5 years. He twice speaks of 1260 days (Rev. 11:3, 12:6) and twice of forty-two months (Rev. 11:2, 13:5).

Go to the video  – THE FINAL 7 YEARS – The Prophecy That Sets the End Times in Motion