End-Time Insights

In chapter 7, the timeframe during which the “ little horn ” is authorized to wage war “ against the saints ” is described as a “ time, times, and part of a time .” At the end of the period, this malevolent ruler will lose his domain. In chapter 8, the angel Gabriel describes it as “ the END OF THE INDIGNATION, for at the appointed time will be an end .” However horrific the “ desolation ” might be, it will not last forever.

Daniel’s “ seventy weeks ” prophecy presents a 490-year period that culminates in the “ Abomination of Desolation .” Crucial to dating it and its proper interpretation is the identification of the “ commandment to restore and build Jerusalem ,” and commentators have gone to great lengths to link it to one of several known decrees issued by Persian rulers.

In his ‘Olivet Discourse,’ Jesus provided his disciples with a chronological key – they would know the time of the demise of the Temple when they saw all “ these things ” coming to pass - Before “ this generation ” reached its inevitable end. That was his definitive answer to the question, “ When will THESE THINGS come to pass? ” Within one generation, Jerusalem and its Temple would be destroyed, and some of his followers would live to see it.

According to Jesus, the “ Abomination of Desolation ” will appear in Jerusalem - It will be a local, not a global event. And his admonition for disciples to flee is applicable to Jerusalem and the immediate vicinity. Disciples must flee to the hills to escape the imminent calamity signaled by this abominable thing or person.

In his ‘Olivet Discourse,’ Jesus describes key events that will occur in the future, especially the destruction of the Temple and the “ coming of the Son of Man .” In doing so, he provides geographic details related to each event that alternate between the local and the universal, depending on which event he is under discussion.

Before his final departure from the Temple, Jesus fielded challenges from the “ Scribes and Pharisees ,” confrontations that set the stage for his arrest and trial, as well as his execution by the Roman authorities. As he left the building, he pronounced its impending judgment and destruction. From start to finish, priests, Scribes, Herodians, Sadducees, and especially Pharisees resisted him, and some of the Temple authorities became complicit in the plot to put him to death.

Beginning with the division of the Greek empire, the angel outlines the coming conflicts between two of the subsequent realms that will culminate in the rise of a “ contemptible ” ruler. Previously, the rise and division of the Greek empire were portrayed in the vision of the “Ram” and of the “ Goat ,” representing the realms of the “ Medes and Persians ” and “ Greece ,” respectively.

The climax of the ‘Seventy Weeks’ prophecy is the appearance of the “ abomination that desolates .” But what is it? The reference to it in chapter 9 is neither the first nor the last word on the matter. Interpreting the “ abomination ” in isolation from the larger literary context produces incomplete and even false answers to the question.

The period of “ seventy weeks ” concludes with several unanswered questions, but the prophecy is not the end of the matter. Clear verbal links connect it to the visions of chapters 7 and 8, and to the subsequent vision in chapter 11. It is one part of a larger whole. The complete picture becomes clear only when all the visions of Daniel are considered.

The final “ week ” culminates in the desecration of the Temple and the cessation of the daily burnt offerings. In  Daniel , the focus is on the sanctuary and its ritual pollution. The described events occurred in Jerusalem, most pivotally, the “ abomination that desolates .” The latter was installed by the figure who “ corrupts ” many of the “ people .”

The image of the “ Little Horn ” is a key component of Daniel’s visions. It represents a king from one of the four Hellenic kingdoms that evolved from Alexander the Great’s short-lived empire. Passages in the  Book of Daniel  concerning this figure also provide Paul with the model for his “ Man of Lawlessness ” described in his second letter to the Thessalonians.

SYNOPSIS :   An analysis of the final week of the “Seventy Weeks” prophecy  – Daniel 9:26-27 . We now reach the end of the “Seventy Weeks” prophecy, its final or so-called seventieth “ week ” ( Daniel 9:26-27 ). This passage describes a set of events for which the preceding sixty-nine “weeks” have prepared. The text says  nothing about the destruction  of the city or the Temple. Instead, in this final “ week ,” the people of the city are “ corrupted ,” and the Sanctuary is defiled by the “ abomination that desolates .

Synopsis :  Daniel prays a collective prayer of repentance after contemplating a prophecy of Jeremiah  - Daniel 9:1-23 .  The “ first year ” of Darius the Mede locates the vision of the “Seventy Weeks” in approximately 538 to 537 B.C. This is the same period when Babylon fell to the “ kingdom of the Medes and Persians ,” as well as the release of the Jewish exiles from Babylon by the decree of Cyrus the Great (536 B.C. -  2 Chronicles 36:22-23 ,  Ezra 1:1-11 ).

In the second half of Chapter 8, Daniel receives the interpretation of his vision of the “ Ram and the Goat .” In Chapter 7, only the first “ Beast from the Sea ,” the lion-like creature, could be identified with certainty, namely, the Neo-Babylonian Empire. In contrast, in the interpretation in Chapter 8, two of the four kingdoms are identified by name, the “ Kingdom of the Medes and Persians ” and “ Greece .”

Next, Daniel received a vision of a “ Ram ” and a “ Goat ” with a prominent horn. The Ram represented the “ Kingdom of the Medes and Persians ,” the Goat symbolized the kingdom of Greece, and its large horn represented its first great king who overthrew the “ Ram .” The vision is followed by an interpretation provided by an angelic figure. The Goat’s single horn was broken and replaced by four smaller horns.