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Within the Final Seven

Daniel 9 [Literal Translation]

24 “Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city, to restrain (the) transgression, to seal up sins, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.

25 Know therefore and understand: from the issuing of the word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the Prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. In (the) times of distress, the street and the moat shall be built again.

26 And after the sixty-two weeks, the Anointed One shall be cut off and shall have nothing; and the people of a prince (who) is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with (the) flood; war shall continue to the end, and desolations are determined.

27 Within one week he shall confirm a covenant with (the) many; and in the midst of the week, he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. On the wing of abominations comes one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

Within One Week

Daniel 9:27 says: “Within one week he shall confirm a covenant with (the) many.” Who exactly is this “he”? Is it the Lord, or the Antichrist?

There are generally two reasons why people struggle to distinguish whether “he” refers to the Lord Jesus or the Antichrist.

First, the latter half of verse 27 says he will “bring an end to sacrifice and offering,” which easily creates a negative impression. Second, it later speaks of “one who makes desolate,” referring to the Antichrist. Consequently, some interpret the “he” in verse 27 as the Antichrist.

However, looking at the timeline, the first half of the 70th week corresponds to the period of the Lord Jesus’ crucifixion. The “lawless one” (Antichrist) will not be revealed until the three and a half years prior to the Lord’s second coming. Therefore, the “he” here still refers to the Lord.

Verse 27 says he will “confirm” (strengthen/make firm) the covenant. To “confirm” suggests that the covenant already exists, and the Lord Jesus comes to re-establish or strengthen it. What covenant is the Lord Jesus confirming?

Luke 22:20 “In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.'”

And which covenant did the New Covenant confirm?

Jeremiah 31:31–34 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah… I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people… I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

The covenant the Lord Jesus confirmed is the one made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. This covenant is the Abrahamic Covenant:

Genesis 17:2–7 “Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers… I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.”
Genesis 22:16–18 “and said, ‘I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me.'”
The Lord Jesus continued to confirm the Abrahamic covenant with Isaac:
Genesis 26:2–5 “The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, ‘Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham… because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him.'”
The Lord Jesus continued to confirm the Abrahamic covenant with Jacob:
Genesis 35:9–12 “After Jacob returned from Paddan Aram, God appeared to him again and blessed him. God said to him, ‘Your name is Jacob, but you will no longer be called Jacob; your name will be Israel.’ … God said to him, ‘I am God Almighty; be fruitful and increase in number. A nation and a community of nations will come from you, and kings will be among your ancestors. The land I gave to Abraham and Isaac I also give to you, and I will give this land to your descendants after you.'”

Reading the scriptures in order, “he” naturally refers to the Lord, and “confirming the covenant” is the Lord’s validation of the Abrahamic Covenant.

Thanks and praise be to the Lord!

Note:
Traditionally, some believe this covenant is a seven-year peace treaty signed between the Antichrist and many people, which the Antichrist breaks halfway through (after three and a half years). However, if the analysis of the 70 weeks and the 70th week is correct, this is chronologically impossible. This passage speaks of the first half of the 70th week, whereas the appearance of the Antichrist occurs in the second half of the 70th week.