Anomalies in the Dispensational Interpretation of Daniel 9

A series of articles on Daniel 9 identified several anomalies in the Dispensational interpretation of Daniel 9, including:

The Decree to Restore Jerusalem

The decree that restored Jerusalem was Artaxerxes’s first decree. In Dispensationalism, it was His second decree. But the second decree did not restore the city. It did not return the city to Israel to use and rule as their own. (Read)

The Covenant of the Last Seven Years

In verse 27, “he” confirms with many for one week. In Dispensationalism, this is the Antichrist’s covenant. However, through the 70-week prophecy, God renewed His covenant with Israel. This has two important consequences:

Firstly, the covenant was based on the system of annual weeks, in which the land had to rest every seventh year. Therefore, the 70 weeks are covenantal years of literal years, not symbolic years of 360 days each.

Secondly, the covenant of the 70th week is still God’s covenant. (Read)

Did the Cross suspend the Covenant?

God did not suspend His covenant with Israel at the Cross, as Dispensationalism claims. After the Cross, for a few years, God sent His Holy Spirit with great power, but ONLY to Israel. (Read)

Sequence of Events

In Dispensationalism, the last seven years, as described in verse 27, are the seven years before Christ returns. This is based on the assumption that the last week, described at the beginning of verse 27, follows after the destruction of Jerusalem, described at the end of verse 26. However, the events in the prophecy are not described in chronological order. (Read)

Who is He? (Daniel 9:27)

In verse 27, “he” confirms the covenant for one week and ceases the sacrifices. In Dispensationalism, “he” is an end-time Antichrist. However, several indicators identify the “he” as the Messiah, Jesus Christ, 2000 years ago. (Read)

Daniel 9 vs the other prophecies in Daniel

Dispensationalism identifies the “he” in verse 27 as the Antichrist because it assumes that Daniel 9 describes the same crisis and the same events as in Daniel 7, 8, and 11. However, while Daniel 9 focuses on Israel and on the 490 years allocated to Israel, Daniel 2, 7, 8, and 11 cover all nations and all time. (Read)

What is destroyed in Daniel 9:27?

The destruction in verse 27 is again the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, not the destruction of an end-time revived Roman Antichrist, as in Dispensationalism. (Read)

The Six Goals (Daniel 9:24)

The six goals in verse 24 were mostly fulfilled by Jesus Christ, 2000 years ago, not when Christ returns, as in Dispensationalism. (Read)

Various Anomalies

The purpose of this article is to explain various other anomalies in the Dispensational interpretation.

The Temple is rebuilt twice.

The prophecy of Daniel 9 was received while Jerusalem and the temple were in ruins. It promises that Jerusalem and the temple will be rebuilt (Dan 9:25), but it also warns that it will be destroyed again (Dan 9:26). This was fulfilled by the rebuilding of Jerusalem a few hundred years before Christ and by its destruction in 70 AD.

However, in the Dispensational interpretation, the sanctuary will be rebuilt a second time in the end times, and the sacrificial system will be revived:

No Second Rebuilding in the Prophecy

The prophecy explicitly promises only one rebuilding of the city and the sanctuary. There is no evidence in the prophecy for a second rebuilding. If the temple was to be rebuilt after the destruction of verse 26, the prophecy would have explicitly stated this, given that it is so clear about the rebuilding in verse 25.

Sacrifices cannot be resumed.

In Dispensationalism, the last week is the last 7 years of the 490 years God gave Israel. Therefore, when Dispensationalism says that Jewish sacrifices will resume during those last 7 years, it is God’s will. However, after the sacrificial system was abolished 2000 years ago, there can never be a valid return to the old covenant sacrificial system. Christ, the antitype, the Lamb of God, has terminated once for all the “shadow” and has inaugurated a “better covenant” that offers His righteousness as the everlasting righteousness (Heb 7:22; 10:12; Rom 3:22, 25).

Daniel 9 is different from Daniel 7 and 8.

The idea that sacrifices will be reinstated is also based on the assumption that Daniel 9 describes the same crisis and the same events as Daniel 7, 8, and 11, which do refer to the restoration of the temple (e.g., Dan 8:14) and Christ’s return (e.g., Dan 7:27). However, as stated, Daniel 9 does not describe the same crisis as Daniel 7, 8, and 11: Daniel 9 is a literal prophecy, dealing only with Israel and with the 490 years allocated to Israel. The other prophecies in Daniel are symbolic and concern all nations and all time. (Read)

Antichrist breaks his own covenant.

According to Daniel 9:27, “he” will confirm the covenant for the full seven years. However, in Dispensationalism, the Antichrist breaks his covenant with Israel and “puts a stop to sacrifice” in the middle of the last seven years. He does not confirm the covenant for the full seven years.

Sacrifices ceased within the 490 years.

According to the prophecy, 490 years have been determined for the city of Daniel’s people (Dan 9:24). Therefore, the temple services will not be disrupted during the 490 years. However, in Dispensationalism, the Antichrist puts a stop to sacrifices in the middle of the last seven years.

The Roman Empire will be revived.

Dispensationalism correctly identifies the 11th horn of Daniel 7 as of Roman origin. However, the Dispensational Interpretation of Daniel 9 then assumes that the “he” in 9:27 is the same as the 11th horn. It then proposes that the Roman Empire will be revived in some form in the end times. But how can the Roman Empire be revived 1500 years after it ceased to exist?

The 490 Years end with Christ’s Return.

Dispensationalism maintains that the last seven years end with Christ’s return, but there is no indication of His return in the prophecy. If the 490 years would end with Christ’s return, would verse 27 not end with a description of His glorious return, as the other prophecies in Daniel do? In contrast, the Daniel 9 prophecy ends in the accumulation of desolations and chaos.

Goals fulfilled when Christ Returns

Daniel 9:24 lists 6 goals to be achieved by the events of the 70 sevens, including:

“to make an end of sin,”
“to make atonement for iniquity,” and
“to bring in everlasting righteousness.”

In Dispensationalism, the 69th week ends a few days before the death of Christ, namely at His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, while the 70th week still lies in our future. Consequently, the 70 weeks do not include the death of Christ. It follows that the goals in 9:24 have not been fulfilled by the Cross. Dispensationalism proposes that these goals will be fulfilled at the end of the last seven years, when Christ returns.

However, this view denies Israel’s responsibility, and it denies the purpose of 490 years. The goals in 9:24 were given to Israel to fulfill, and Israel was given 490 years to fulfill them. Daniel did not pray for a messiah or for the goals. He prayed only for His people and for Jerusalem. But the prophecy adds the Messiah and the goals because Jerusalem’s purpose was to receive the Messiah and to realize the goals through the Messiah. In other words, these goals were to be achieved DURING the 490 years, THROUGH Daniel’s people.

Since the final seven years are the core of the 490 years, these goals must be particularly fulfilled by the events of those last seven years, as described by the first part of verse 27:

“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.”

In Dispensationalism, this describes the work of an end-time Antichrist. However, an Antichrist will certainly not fulfill these wonderful goals.

A Gap destroys the Unity.

A gap, which postpones the last seven years to the end of the age, as proposed by Dispensationalism, destroys the simple unity of the prophecy.

There is no indication of a gap in the prophecy. On the contrary, this prophecy is very concerned about specifying time precisely. The last seven years, which are explained in verse 27, are the core of the prophecy. The purpose of the first 69 weeks (483 years) is merely to inform readers WHEN the last week will begin. Hence, to insert an undefined period into the 490 years contradicts the spirit of the prophecy and defeats the purpose of the 69 weeks. It divides the prophecy into two completely separate and unrelated prophecies: one about Christ 2000 years ago, and one about some future Antichrist.