It All Depends on Who You Think “He” Is…

Boy, have I let the day get away from me here. I was planning to post this much earlier, but time sure does fly. If you have not yet read my previous post, I encourage you to do so to get a proper understanding for where this one is coming from. In that entry I asked the question: Where in the Bible does the view originate from that there will be a seven-year period of time at the end of history that will be known as the Tribulation? Many people believe there will indeed be a 7-year tribulation before Christ returns, but I fear that many do not know where that view has its foundations in Scripture.

It is interesting to note that it does not come from the New Testament. The word which is rendered “tribulation” (thilipsis ) occurs forty-three times in the NT (often translated as affliction, tribulation, anguish, distress & persecution), but only ten times in a context which speaks of an event known as the tribulation. Of those ten occurrences, not one of them places this tribulation in the context of a seven-year span at the end of the world, and certainly not in the context of taking place after the church is gone from the face of the earth. But I digress.

There is one, and only one, verse in the whole Bible from which such an end-times theology originates: Daniel 9:27. Here is the verse in isolation, and then in context.

And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week 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.

Now in context:

So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come 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 he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week 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. – verses 25-27

As stated in the title of this post, it all depends on who you think “he” is in verse 27 of Daniel, chapter nine. Who do you think the “he” is in v. 27? What would/should you do in order to correctly discern who the “he” is? Would you agree that the verses just prior to v. 27 should shed some light on who “he” is? I think so too. In order to determine who he is, we need to know who is the subject of this passage. So, let’s take a look at the subject of the verses just prior to verse 27 to see if we can tell who “he” really is.

• v.25 records a prophecy of the arrival of Messiah the Prince (who is he?)
• v.26 then focuses more on the Messiah, saying he will be cut off & have nothing (what is this referring to?)
• v.27 states that “he” will make a firm covenant with the many for one week
  • but in the middle of that week “he” will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering

I submit to you that the subject of “he” in verse 27 is the same subject as in v.26 (Messiah the Prince). There is no grammatical indication whatsoever that the subject of verse 27 has changed from that of verse 26. The one who makes a firm covenant with the many for one week is the same one who is cut off in middle of that week, the same one who puts a n end to sacrifice and grain offering.

Now, I know that many look at verse 26 and they see a prepositional phrase which says, “and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary”, and they see that prepositional phrase (the prince who is to come) as referring to the anti-christ. They then proceed further and apply the subject of the prepositional phrase (anti-christ) in verse 26 to the “he” of verse 27. But, the subject of verse 26 is Messiah, and verse 27 simply continues on with more information about “he”, Messiah the Prince.

To apply the subject of the prepositional phrase in verse 26 (the prince who is to come) to the “he” in verse 27 is simply bad grammatical diagramming. I request anyone to show me in the text where there is any hint grammatically of the subject of v. 27 being different from the subject of verse 26.

• Who established a covenant?
  • I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness;I will take you by the hand and keep you;I will give you as a covenant for the people,a light for the nations, – Is. 42:6
  • Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, – Jer. 31:31
• Who was cut off?
  • But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and have his inheritance. – Matt. 21:38
  • By oppression and judgment he was taken away;and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living,stricken for the transgression of my people? – Is. 53:8
• Who put an end to sacrifice and grain offering?
  • Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin. – Heb. 10:18
  • And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. – Matt. 27:51

He shall introduce a new covenant between God and man, a covenant of grace, since it had become impossible for us to be saved by a covenant of innocence. This covenant he shall confirm by his doctrine and miracles, by his death and resurrection, by the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s supper, which are the seals of the New Testament, assuring us that God is willing to accept us upon gospel-terms. His death made his testament of force, and enabled us to claim what is bequeathed by it.

By offering himself a sacrifice once for all he shall put an end to all the Levitical sacrifices, shall supercede them and set them aside; when the substance comes the shadows shall be done away. He causes all the peace-offerings to cease when he has made peace by the blood of his cross, and by it confirmed the covenant of peace and reconciliation. By the preaching of his gospel to the world, with which the apostles were entrusted, he took men off from expecting remission by the blood of bulls and goats, and so caused the sacrifice and oblation to cease. – Matthew Henry

So, you see…it makes a huge difference with how one interprets this passage based upon who “he” is in verse 27. I submit to you that He is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, who has established a new covenant in His blood…who has put an end to sacrifice, because He is the once-for-all sacrifice, who died…but is alive forevermore!