DANIEL 9:20-27

Understanding Christianity

In the middle of his prayer, the angel Gabriel comes to Daniel with a word of comfort and begins to tell him about the future and to give him an answer to his prayer. Historically, there have been two predominant ways to interpret this difficult passage. Number One: The Traditional Messianic Interpretation This passage is a prophecy about the first coming of Jesus, His death on the cross, and the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 by the Roman army. Number Two: The Dispensational Interpretation This views the prophecy as a great parenthesis between the 69th and 70th week. When the 70th week begins, the antichrist will appear and make a covenant with the Jewish nation, promising them seven years of peace. The physical temple will have been rebuilt during this time, and the sacrificial system will be re-instituted. In the middle of this, at 3 ½ years, he will break this covenant and end the temple worship, ushering in the Great Tribulation. Since Sean is Reformed and holds to Covenant theology, he holds view one and teaches this text accordingly. www.seancole.net