Daniel 9:24-27
A Time to Fight
By my count, this is our tenth week studying the topic of END TIMES.
1. From Romans 1, saw where we are in our present time and where
we are headed.
2. For several weeks, we looked at why I believe the next major
event on God’s calendar of events is the rapture, then we saw
from 1Thess 4 what the rapture is. The rapture is a glorious
but quick event, lasting less than a second so it doesn’t
take long to look it.
3. For the last three weeks, we have been looking at the
Tribulation.
a. From Isaiah 13, we learn that it is a judgement which God
pours out His wrath upon the whole earth.
b. From Daniel, we have learned that it is a kingdom.
(1) I have called it the "Other Kingdom," the one that
God will give to both Satan and this world during
the Tribulation.
(2) We have not studied the king of that other kingdom a
lot but we have seen he will be against God and
against God’s people.
(a) In Daniel 7, God referred to him as a horn with
a big mouth, speaking great words against God
and God’s people.
(b) New Testament saints have another name for him.
(c) We commonly call him the anti-Christ.
(3) And from Daniel 9, we have seen that the Tribulation
is the last week of God’s seventy weeks, a time
period for the Jews that will last for 7 Jewish
years.
(4) And we have seen that what will start the Tribulation
is a treaty signed between the prince of the people
and Israel.
Dan 9:24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy
people and upon thy holy city, to finish the
transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to
make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in
everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the
vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
25 Know therefore and understand, that from the
going forth of the commandment to restore and to
build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall
be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the
street shall be built again, and the wall, even
in troublous times.
26 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.
27 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.
Let’s consider what kind of kingdom the Tribulation will produce.
I. We have already described in from Isaiah 13 as one of God’s wrath.
Is 13:11 And I will punish the world for their
evil, and the wicked for their iniquity….
A. If that was the only thing God said about the Tribulation in
the whole Bible, that would be enough to let you know it will
will not be a pleasant time.
B. But exactly how will God punish the earth during the
Tribulation?
C. It appears to me that God will use three different means:
1. Man-Made Judgments (wicked leadership, the natural cruelty
of mankind, and war)
2. Natural Judgments (earthquakes, the objects of heaven
both malfunctioning and falling from their places)
3. Spiritual Judgments - Demons and Satan being unleashed
upon the planet
II. Being a Bible-believing church that does occasionally study end
times, most of us are familiar with some of the Man-Made
Judgments God will allow mankind to pour on himself during those
years; but if you are like me, you might not have considered
just how much war will play a part in those last seven-years.
A. It has not been that many years ago that I thought the anti-
Christ would reign over the whole world as a one-world
dictator; yet, the more I study what the Bible says, the more
I am sure that is not the case.
B. It looks to me that the anti-Christ will have to spend much of
the first 3 1/2 years of the Tribulation getting control of
the kingdoms of this world and much of the last 3 1/2 years
keeping control of the kingdoms of this world.
C. And that means there will be much fighting occurring across
the planet during the entire seven years.
1. It is very hard to put together what WILL happen.
2. To be sure, I am not sure we can; even though some believe
they have figured it out.
3. The best I can do is point out some Scriptures and tell
you what MIGHT happen.
III. Scriptures:
A. Daniel 9 told us that there would be troubled times WHEN and
AFTER the 69th Week.
1. I cannot review all that I have shared.
a. \\#Dan 9:25-26\\ The event that marked the end of the
69th Week was the Messiah being cut off.
b. The Seventieth Week does not start until the treaty is
signed between the prince of the people and Israel
\\#Dan 9:26-27\\.
c. Whatever happens in-between those two events is not
apart of the 70 Weeks of Israel.
2. From the text, we would not know for certain that there
was to be an in-between period.
a. If you will recall from the five rules I gave last
week for dealing with difficult Bible passages, some
times we just have to wait until the prophecy is
fulfilled to understand it.
b. This is one of the those cases.
c. Jesus died 2,000 years ago and no seven-year treaty
has been signed with Israel yet.
d. Everything that has happened since the cross,
including the Church Age, is not a part of the 70
Jewish Weeks.
e. That is a lot of time and a lot of events.
f. Get this: Just like there is a gap between the 69th
and the 70th week of Daniel so there may be a gap
between the rapture and the beginning of the
Tribulation.
(1) I believe there likely will be.
(2) I do not think it will be "long," perhaps only
a few weeks or months; but the world will just
have to wait to see.
3. Daniel 9:25-26 describes troubled times and war occurring
around the Messiah being cut off.
a. The troubled times come with the rebuilding of the
city.
Dan 9:25 …the street shall be built again, and
the wall, even in troublous times.
b. But A WAR seems to come after the Messiah is cut off.
Dan 9:26 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.
(1) Everything that was to be rebuilt for the Messiah
to come was to be destroyed again.
(a) "like a flood."
(b) A flood speaks to me of FAST and FURIOUS.
(2) The CITY and the SANCTUARY are specifically
mentioned, but "unto the end of the WAR
desolations are determined."
(a) I take that to mean the war between Rome and
Israel.
(b) If that is the war between ancient Rome and
Israel, that is all past.
(c) But we remember \\#Dan 2:44\\ told us that
the kings of the fourth kingdom will still
be reigning when God sets up His eternal
kingdom.
(d) If that is a reference to the Revived Roman
Empire, then neither the war or the
desolations are ended yet.
(e) In fact, it maybe that the treaty of
\\#Dan 9;27\\ is to put a pause to that war,
and that the pause will only last for the
first 3 1/2 years.
Dan 9:27 And he (the prince of the people) shall
confirm (make) the covenant (treaty) with many
(Israel and probably some other nations) for one
week (a week of years): and in the midst (middle)
of the week (3 1/2 years) he (the prince of the
people) shall cause the sacrifice and the
oblation (the Jewish worship) to cease, and for
the overspreading of abominations (repeated
offenses in the temple against Jews and God) he
(the prince of the people) shall make it (the
temple) desolate (unusable), even until the
consummation (the end of the seventy
weeks), and that (desolation) determined (by
God) shall be poured upon the desolate.
i. This MAY indicate that Israel will be
attacked by the Revived Roman just
before the Tribulation begins.
aa. I know the covenant MAY NOT be
that kind of covenant.
bb. Not all covenants are PEACE
TREATIES.
cc. But it could be that a war
against Israel will be what
causes the covenant that starts
the Tribulation to be signed.
dd. And I think it likely will be.
(3) So even by Daniel’s prophesy, the best we could
hope for is a peace that lasts for 3 1/2 years.
(4) The last 3 1/2 years, referred to as the GREAT
Tribulation, will be a time of sacrilege and
bloodshed that few if any have ever seen.
B. Rev 6:1-4 - We are, I believe, at the beginning of the
Tribulation at this reference.
1. The Four Horsemen being sent forth seem to be the first
judgments God allows to happen upon the earth related to
the Tribulation.
Rev 6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of
the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of
thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and
see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he
that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given
unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to
conquer.
2. These verses describe what happens when the first and
second horsemen ride.
a. With the first horseman, a spirit of conquest is
released upon this planet.
(1) This is a Spirit of Conquest to the ENTIRE WORLD.
(a) I am no military genius, but I don’t think
you can have conquests without war.
(b) The first thing that blankets the earth is
a spirit of war.
(1) No one is for war, but those who have read
history know that peace is maintained by
strength not weakness.
(a) Too many in leadership today have not known
war and have no appreciation of what it has
taken to grant large areas of this planet a
lifetime of peace.
(b) Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow, but
they will throw away peace earned by
previous generations and cause the worst
fighting this world has ever seen.
b. The second horseman marks the beginning of the
fighting.
Rev 6:3 And when he had opened the second seal,
I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
4 And there went out another horse that was red:
and power was given to him that sat thereon to
take peace from the earth, and that they should
kill one another: and there was given unto him a
great sword.
3. The fourth horseman tells us the consequence of the first
three.
Rev 6:7 And when he had opened the fourth seal,
I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come
and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his
name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed
with him. And power was given unto them over the
fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and
with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts
of the earth.
a. I have changed my mind about this text.
(1) I have always assumed that Death and Hell killed
1/4 of the world’s population due to these three
at the beginning of the Tribulation.
(2) That MAY be exactly what happens, but I now
believe it MAY NOT.
(3) What I am seeing now is that the "power" or
"authority" to kill 1/4 of the world was given
to Death and Hell, but that does not mean they
actually have to claim all that they have the
power to claim.
(4) It may be that what God is saying is that the
war and ensuing famine will effect 1/4 of the
world.
b. However at the least, 1/4 of our planet will know the
death that war brings at the beginning of the
Tribulation.
4. It is actually possible that this is the war that produces
the treaty that STARTS the Tribulation.
a. Revelation does not mention the treaty that begins the
Tribulation at all so we don’t know the exact moment
it begins.
b. Daniel 9:27 indicates the 70th week is not started by
a war but by a covenant.
c. There are lots of reasons for nations to sign
covenants, but one of them is for peace.
d. If this covenant is for peace, then it would explain
how another prophecy could come to pass:
1Th 5:3 For when they shall say, Peace and
safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them,
as travail upon a woman with child; and they
shall not escape.
Now we must stop for the time being, but there are many more
references to fighting and conflicts during the Tribulation. If the
Lord allows, we will look at more next week.
But for now, understand that if the Lord’s coming is near, we may be
enjoying some of the last days of peace this nation will ever know.
Thank God for them. Don’t take them for granted. Understand only by
obeying God will peace last.
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