The End Times According to Daniel 9

The Bible gives us several timelines of key end-times events that transpire before Christ returns. We covered one such timeline in Daniel 7. In this article we will look at another timeline, this one from Daniel 9.

(The Prophecy Study Bible by Tim LaHaye supplies most of the information on this page. The comments are my own, not direct quotes from his notes. The most comprehensive book on the end times is found in The Sign, by the late Robert Van Kampen. Some of my writings are derived from this book as well.)

Dan 9:25a
“Know therefore and understand,
That from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem
Until Messiah the Prince,
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;”

Nehemiah 2 records when the command was given to restore and build Jerusalem. At the time, the Jews had been led away captive, far from their country.

Nehemiah, King Artaxerxes’ Jewish cup bearer, makes an entreaty to the king for help to restore his city, and the king provided papers to help him.

Nehemiah did indeed go to Jerusalem and help restore Jerusalem. The book of Nehemiah recounts the story. Now back to Daniel.

Daniel 9:25b
“The street shall be built again, and the wall,
Even in troublesome times.”

Nehemiah received permission “in the month of Nissan, in the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes.” Historians place that time at 445 B.C.

From that time to the Messiah would be 7 weeks + 62 weeks (one week of days being equivalent to seven years). This adds up to 483 years, with the Jewish year being 360 days. When we calculate the dates, it spans from 445 B.C. to A.D. 30.

It’s possible that the end date was the time Christ entered the city on a colt and said, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:42). “This your day” may have been the day on which the 483 years ended.

Daniel 9:26a
“And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;”

Jesus was crucified soon after riding into Jerusalem on the colt, “after” the 62 weeks. He was cut off, or crucified, not for Himself, but for the sins of the world.

Daniel 9:26b
“And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.”

Just a few decades after Jesus died and rose again, Roman troops destroyed the temple. Jesus said in Matthew 24:2 that this would happen.

The “people of the prince who is to come” means the Roman people who destroyed the temple in A.D 70 will be the people from which the “prince” or Antichrist will arise in the future. Thus the Antichrist figure will be European or Germanic descent like Titus was.

Daniel 9:26c
“The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.”

The flood might be the worldwide dispersal of the Jews after A.D. 70, which several Old Testament prophets proclaimed would happen (Leviticus 26:32-45, Deuteronomy 28:63-65). The land of Israel was left desolate of a people who lived for God. This diaspora ended in 1948 when England gifted the land of Israel back to the Jews.

If this sounds chronologically confusing, that’s because up to this point, the prophecy has a near and far fulfillment. The above steps were fulfilled literally earlier in history. They will be fulfilled literally again. With the Jews back in their land, the stage is set for end-time prophecies to move forward in earnest.

Daniel is told these events occur in order, but no time element is given between verses 26-27. A gap exists at this location consisting of over two thousand years. The gap will end with the signing of the 7-year covenant mentioned in this verse. Then the prophecy clock will count down Daniel’s final “week” of seven years before the Messiah sets up His kingdom.

Daniel 9:27a
“Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;”

When “he,” an agent of the Roman empire, a European, makes a covenant with many, it will be for seven years. It’s possible it will be a coalition of Israel and its surrounding Muslim neighbors. The man making this contract is himself head of an army. Perhaps the nations make a treaty with him because they look at his military conquests and wonder, “who is able to make war with him?” (Revelation 13:4). And so Israel would relax, saying “peace and safety,” not know whom they have signed with.

The book of Revelation goes into details of this final period at the end of this age. Could this 7-year duration be a term limit of rotating leaders that expect to rule over a coalition of nations which are bound by the covenant? In this case, the very first to take the helm will be the last.

This treaty will include Israel because of the “covenant of death” twice mentioned in Isaiah 28:14-19. In that chapter, this covenant will occur after the Lord speaks to the Jews “with stammering lips and another tongue” (verse 11), which occurred at Pentecost (Acts 2) when the apostles proclaimed the gospel in different languages to the Jews which had come from outlying nations to worship. So this covenant in Isaiah 28 is not referring to an earlier covenant, but points us to a treaty in the last days.

Could that covenant result in the Jews receiving permission to rebuild the temple in such a way that it doesn’t disturb the Muslims’ current site? The temple must be at least partly built and sacrifices instituted because the Antichrist will cause the sacrifices to cease and enter that temple.

Daniel 9:27b
“But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.”

At the mid-point of the treaty, the Antichrist, also called the “man of sin,” will stop the sacrifices of the temple. We have details of this in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4, where he is given that title. He will enter the temple and exalt himself above God, and call himself god. Daniel 11:29-39 gives us more information about this time.

Daniel 9:27c
“And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.”

Jerusalem will be surrounded with the armies of Ezekiel 38, probably the same nations he made the treaty with, specifically to destroy Israel. But he Lord will guide the holy ones to a safe place, to Edom. After a time, the Messiah will destroy the Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2:8, Revelation 19:19-20).

I think the “desolation” of this verse refers to the closing out of this age and the wrath of God poured out on those who remained on earth without God.

Conclusion

The prophecies in Daniel 7 (my previous article) and Daniel 9 do not tell us when a catching away of the people of God occurs. I must stress that, more important than the timing of the rapture is the readiness of the saints to meet the Lord. Why? Because to be ready for the rapture means to be ready for the judgment of the people of God that follows. (My book Ready for a Reward covers the issue of readiness.)

God’s people will be judged for how they lived on earth in response to their salvation. See 1 Cor. 3:10-17. If we build our lives on Jesus Christ as the foundation of everything we do and are, we will do well. If our foundation is the flesh, we will pamper ourselves and choose the world.

Matthew 24:45-51–Will we be found faithful or unfaithful? 1 John 2:28–Will we abide in Christ or be too busy for Him? Galatians 5:16-26–Do we live according to the flesh or the Spirit? These are the elements that will make the biggest difference at the judgment.

Jesus died for our sins. Are we dealing with sin? Are we saying sin doesn’t matter and we can live as we please? Jesus died a horribly painful death to set us free. If we continue willfully in sin, what are we saying about His death for us? We will appear before Him in either joy or shame. The outcome depends on our perspective toward sin in our lives. We will not simply “go to heaven when we die.”

Let’s be careful if we call ourselves Christian. Look again at the Beatitudes in Matthew 5. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” Jesus does not say, “Blessed are the born again, or Christians, or baptized.”

Are you merciful? Hungering after righteousness? Pure in heart? No, not naturally, but by the work of the Holy Spirit you can be.

If Paul the faithful apostle of Jesus Christ did not count himself as having attained the right of the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3:9-14), why should we be so sure of ourselves? Are we placing the bar too low?

In each of the Beatitudes, Jesus addresses people who have had a life-altering transformation by the power of the Holy Spirit and are living the blessed life. Are you that person, or are you a self-made person who is just doing your best? Have you been changed after receiving the gospel of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, or is your standing based on your own works, that you are a good person who goes to church and does good deeds?

If the latter, please turn to this page. It presents the gospel invitation for you to come to God on His terms and not your own, and be changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. The path of readiness is the path of the Spirit.