13. The Middle of the 'Week'

Recall how the Seventy Week prophecy finished. It said the Messiah would be cut off after 69 weeks (i.e. in 30 A.D.), but then "he will confirm the covenant with many for one week. In the middle of the week, he will cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. And for the overspreading of abominations, he will make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined, shall be poured on the desolate." (Daniel 9:27)
There are some strange words in this part of the prophecy; but they are important words, and it is worth the effort it takes to understand them.
We have said that there are two he's here. One is the Lamb of God, confirming a covenant with those who have chosen to follow him; and the other is the Antichrist confirming a covenant which enables the Jews to resume sacrificing lambs and other animals in their Temple in Jerusalem. Both of these things happen at the same time and are supposed to cover a period of seven years.
However, the counterfeit "prince" reneges on his agreement in the middle of the week. This is where we get the period of three and a half years that is repeatedly mentioned in The Revelation. For the first three and a half years everything goes along nicely. The Temple is built; the sacrifices begin; religious tolerance abounds. But then the sacrifices suddenly cease. We know in advance that the "prince" who made the agreement will be behind the sudden change. He causes the sacrifices to cease.The Last Seven Years
Daniel says, "For the overspreading of abominations, he will make it desolate."
The words used here were repeated by Jesus in a sober warning about events just before his return. He said, "When you see the abomination of desolation (spoken of by Daniel the prophet) stand in the holy place, (Whoever reads this, let him understand.) then let them which be in Judea flee to the mountains. Let him that is on the housetop not come down to take anything out of his house, neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe to those that are with child, and to those that give suck in those days! Pray that your flight will not be in the winter, nor on the sabbath day. For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there shall no flesh be saved. But for the elect's sake, those days shall be shortened." (Matthew 24:15-22)
When you see the abomination of desolation (spoken of by Daniel) in the "holy place" (the Temple), the "great tribulation" is about to start. This is the sign Jesus himself told us to look for.There are several theories as to what the "abomination of desolation" is. One thing we do know: Temple sacrifices will stop when it starts. Other prophecies indicate that the Antichrist will either move himself or a statue of himself (or both) into the Temple, in preparation for a decree that the whole world must worship him.
Daniel concludes: "He will make it desolate even until the consummation, and that determined, shall be poured on the desolate." (Daniel 9:27)
Jesus used this word "desolate" in a prophecy over Jerusalem shortly before he was crucified. He said, "Behold, your house is left to you desolate. For I say to you, You shall not see me henceforth, till you shall say, 'Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord'." (Matthew 23:38-39)The desolation began when the Jews rejected Christ. But the Antichrist will make the rebuilt Jewish Temple even more desolate, by profaning the Temple in some shocking way. And that will bring the Jewish ritual sacrifices to an abrupt end.
The prophecy above says that the Temple will stay desolate (i.e. without sacrifices) until "the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate." This phrase, consummation determined" is used in the Bible to mean complete and inescapable destruction. (Isaiah 10:16-19, 23) The word determined was also used with regard to the seventy weeks that were "determined" for Daniel's people.
The final words say that this "consummation" that has already been "determined" will be "poured upon the desolate". In The Revelation, there is a short period after the Great Tribulation, when the "Wrath" of God is represented by bowls or "vials" being poured out on the earth. By the time this happens, all of God's people will have been taken away from the earth, and spiritually the planet will be left utterly "desolate".
So let us restate, in simpler words, what this prophecy is most likely saying. Follow along with the wording from Daniel 9:27 (see appendix below), and you get: "The Antichrist will make an agreement with the Jews to enable them to resume offering sacrifices during the last seven years of earth's history. However, three and a half years before Christ is to return, the Antichrist will cause the sacrifices to stop. And because of the shocking and blasphemous things that he does, the Temple will be devoid of any redeeming qualities, until God finally pours out his wrath on an evil world."

Back to the Top...

Appendix, Chapter 13

Daniel 9:27. He will confirm the covenant with many for one week. In the midst of the week, he will cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease. For the overspreading of abominations, he will make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined, shall be poured on the desolate.

Back to the Chapter

Isaiah 10:16-29, 23. The Lord will send among his fat ones leanness. Under his glory he will kindle a burning� It will burn and devour his thorns� in one day� The rest of the trees of his forest will be so few that a child can [count] them� [He] will make a consumption, even deter