Daniel 9:27's link to end times prophecy?
How does Daniel 9:27 relate to the prophecy of the end times?

Setting the context

Daniel 9:24-27 records Gabriel’s timetable of “seventy weeks” (seventy sevens of years, 490 years) decreed for Israel and Jerusalem.

• Sixty-nine weeks (483 years) ran from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem (445 BC, Nehemiah 2) to Messiah’s public arrival (AD 32).

• One final “week” (seven-year period) still awaits fulfillment and is introduced in verse 27.


Text under consideration

“ ‘And he will confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations will come the destroyer, until the decreed end is poured out upon him.’ ” (Daniel 9:27)


The “he” — identifying the end-time ruler

• Grammatical flow links “he” to “the prince who is to come” (v 26).

• This prince is distinct from Messiah and arises from the same people who destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70—i.e., the restored Roman sphere.

• Scripture later calls him “the man of lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4) and “the beast” (Revelation 13:1-8).


A future seven-year covenant

• “Confirm a covenant with many for one week” indicates a formal agreement Israel accepts for seven years.

• No historical figure has fulfilled a seven-year pact that halves and terminates temple worship; therefore the verse projects into the future.

• This covenant begins the tribulation clock (compare Daniel 12:11).


Midpoint abomination of desolation

• “In the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering” = after 3½ years.

• Jesus applies this to the last days: “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place…” (Matthew 24:15-16).

• Paul elaborates: the man of lawlessness “takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4).


Desolations until the decreed end

• “On the wing of abominations will come the destroyer” pictures the prince unleashing desecration and persecution (Revelation 13:15-17).

• “Until the decreed end is poured out upon him” guarantees God’s fixed termination point—fulfilled at Christ’s return when the beast is cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 19:19-20).


Connection to Revelation’s timeline

• First 3½ years: apparent peace under the covenant (Revelation 6:1-2, first seal).

• Midpoint: temple worship halted, image erected, global coercion (Revelation 13).

• Final 3½ years: “great tribulation” (Matthew 24:21), wrath poured out (Revelation 15-16).

• End of week: Messiah descends; Israel saved (Zechariah 12:10; Romans 11:25-27).


Why this matters for end-time chronology

Daniel 9:27 furnishes the backbone of the seven-year tribulation model.

• It harmonizes the Olivet Discourse, 2 Thessalonians 2, and Revelation 6-19.

• It affirms God’s faithfulness to Israel and certifies that history moves by divine appointment toward Christ’s victorious return.


Encouragement for believers today

• God remains sovereign over political pacts, temple sites, and global rulers.

• Prophecy’s precision underscores Scripture’s reliability.

• Watching for these events fuels hope and motivates holiness (1 John 3:2-3).

What is the meaning of Daniel 9:27?
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