Gates of the City

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He Shall Confirm the Covenant with Many

Then He shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the midst of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. – Daniel 9:27

If this “He” above in Daniel 9:27 is indeed referencing Jesus Christ, then this part of the verse is certainly the most advantageous to understand. Therefore, we will begin this chapter with the following three questions.

• First, what “covenant” was the Lord Jesus confirming?
• Second, how did He confirm it; by word, deed, or both? 
• Third, if this seventieth week, which was designated as being for “confirming the covenant,” was divided by Jesus’ death which caused the previously Mosaic obligation of sacrifices and oblations to cease, then what about the remaining three and a half years. For from His baptism to His death, Jesus’ earthly ministry lasted only three and a half years?

Since there seems to be a strong possibility that Jesus is the “He” referenced in Daniel 9:27, then these are legitimate questions that need to be asked if we are to remain honest and persistent in our search of the Truth. Furthermore, if Jesus is indeed this “He,” and it’s not the antichrist being spoken of here, then we can also rest assured that there will be biblical answers to all these questions. Therefore, I submit the following for your prayerful consideration.

So, let’s start by looking at the first question again, what is the “covenant” that Jesus was confirming? Answer, it is that promise of certainty of which righteous Job stated in the following.

Job 19:25 – For I know that my Redeemer lives, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: ²⁶ And though after worms destroy my skin, and this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: ²⁷ Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reins be consumed within me. 

The covenant to which Job hung on to, was the divine promise of a bodily resurrection; and not just Jesus’ resurrection, but the resurrection of all who loved Him as well. Consequently, Jesus was faithful to be constant in confirming this truth to His own disciples, as well as to those to whom He preached the Kingdom of God.

Matthew 5:8 – Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 

John 5:24 – Truly, truly, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live… ²⁶ For as the Father hath life in Himself; so has He given to the Son to have life in Himself; ²⁷ And has also given Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of man. ²⁸ Marvel not at this, for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, ²⁹ and they all shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto a resurrection of damnation.

John 6:39 – And this is the Father’s will which has sent Me, that of all which He has given Me I should lose nothing, but that I should raise it up again at the last day. ⁴⁰ And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that everyone which sees the Son, and believes on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

John 11:23 – Jesus said unto her, Your brother shall rise again. ²⁴ Martha said unto Him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. ²⁵ Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: ²⁶ And whosoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?

John 14:19 – Yet a little while, and the world will see Me no more; but you will see Me: and because I live, you shall live also. ²⁰ At that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.

This very covenant was revealed through the prophets of old and consequently is written throughout the scriptures; the very scriptures from which Jesus and the Apostles authoritatively preached the Gospel of the coming of the Kingdom of God.

Isaiah 25:8 – He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the LORD has spoken it. ⁹ And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for Him, and we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.

Isaiah 26:19 – Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, you that dwell in the dust: for your dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.

Ezekiel 37:12 – Therefore prophesy and say unto them, thus says the Lord GOD; Behold My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, and I will bring you into the land of Israel.

Job 14:12 – So man lies down and rises not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. ¹³ Oh that You would hide me in the grave, that You would keep me secret, until Your wrath be past, that You would appoint me a set time, and remember me! ¹⁴ If a man die, shall he live again? Therefore all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. ¹⁵  for You shall call, and I will answer You: for You will have Your desire for the work of Your hands.

Psalm 16:9 – Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices: my flesh also shall rest in hope. ¹⁰ For You will not leave my soul in hell; neither will You suffer Your Holy One to see corruption. ¹¹ and You will show me the path of life: and in Your presence is fulness of joy; and at Your right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

Psalm 17:15 – As for me, I will behold Your face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake with Your likeness. 

Hosea 13:14 – I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: Oh death, I will be your plagues; Oh grave, I will be your destruction: for then shall repentance be hid from Mine eyes.

These are the scriptures from which Paul was trained as a Pharisee. Therefore, after his conversion, Paul would have continued with great authority confirming this covenant, boldly preaching the certainty of it through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Moreover, in his being the apostle to the Gentiles, we can see in Paul’s epistles how he was constantly confirming to all men that this covenant was not only to Jews, but to all who loved the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Romans 6:5 – For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: ⁶ Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. ⁷ For he that is dead is freed from sin. ⁸ Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.

1^st Corinthians 6:14 – And God has both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by His own power.

1^st Corinthians 13:12 – For now we see through a glass darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

1^st Corinthians 15:12 – Now if Christ be preached that He rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ For if there be no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen: ¹⁴ And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and so also is your faith vain. ¹⁵ Yea, and then are we are found to be false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ: whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. ¹⁶ For if the dead rise not, then Christ is not raised: ¹⁷ And if Christ be not raised, then your is faith vain; for you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then also have they which have fallen asleep in Christ perished. ¹⁹ For if in this life only we have hope in Christ, then we are of all men most miserable. ²⁰ But now is Christ risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of them that slept. ²¹ For since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead. ²² For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³ But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, and afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming.

2^nd Corinthians 4:13 – We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; ¹⁴ Knowing that He which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.

2^nd  Corinthians 5:1 – For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were to be dissolved, we have a building of God, even a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. ² And for this do we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: ³ If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. ⁴ For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened not that we might be unclothed, but clothed upon that our mortality might be swallowed up of life. ⁵ Now He that has done us for this selfsame thing is God, who also has given unto us the earnest of His Spirit. ⁶ Therefore we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in this body, we are absent from the Lord: ⁷ (For we walk by faith, and not by sight:) ⁸ So we are confident, and I say we are willing rather to be absent from this body, so as to be present with the Lord. ⁹ Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him.

Philippians 3:10 – That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; ¹¹ If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. ¹² Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after that I may apprehend that for which I also am apprehended of Christ Jesus.

Likewise, the Apostle John also faithfully confirms the certainty of God’s covenant of a resurrection of the saints in his open thesis on the deity of Jesus as the Christ.

1 John 3:2 – Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.

Now the second question put forth at the beginning of this chapter was how did Jesus confirm the covenant of a literal resurrection? Was it by word, by deed, or was it by both? Not only did He confirm the covenant in word, but with His own bodily resurrection as well. For by His resurrection Jesus Christ proved that not only did He have the power to raise Himself from the dead, but others too.

Matthew 27:52 – And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, ⁵³ And came out of the graves after His resurrection, and they went into the holy city and appeared unto many.

John 20:25 – Then therefore said the other disciples unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe. ²⁶ And after eight days His disciples were again within and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, even with the doors being shut, and He stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. ²⁷ Then said He to Thomas, Reach hither your  finger, and behold My hands; and put forth here your hand, and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless, but believing. ²⁸ And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God!

Romans 1:4 – And is declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, and by His resurrection from the dead.

The Spirit of Christ Which Was In Them

Daniel 9:24 – Seventy weeks are determined upon your people and upon your holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

It has been reasoned that Jesus ministered at least two years since three separate Passovers are mentioned within the Gospels, and that He and the disciples journeyed to Jerusalem three times as well, again likely for the Passover. The reason I mentioned just two years is simple, because the duration from one Passover to the following, and then to the third one, would only require two years and therefore establishes the minimum duration. However, most scholars have scrutinized the duration to be at least three years and up to three and a half. So, if Jesus is indeed the one who “confirmed the covenant” in the Holy City to the Jews, both by His preaching and with His bodily resurrection, then the next question which everyone should be asking is where are the remaining three and a half years of the seventieth week whereby the week is fulfilled by His confirming the covenant with many? For we know the “seventy weeks” of the prophecy are determined to be upon Daniel’s own people and concerns the holy city, and also that this week’s conclusion is said to “seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”

Well, with no beating around the bush, let me state that I have come to believe that the final portion of that week will be fulfilled by the two witnesses of Revelation chapter 11, whose ministry is in Jerusalem to the Jewish people during those remaining three and a half years. Of course, I fully expect that to be more than a bewildering statement, especially to those who have never heard or even considered such an idea. I also expect those three steps which are often taken before acceptance of truth; that first the notion is greeted with ridicule or scorn, then often with a strong or intense disagreement, and then finally after serious evaluation, accepted as self-evident. But of course, we as Christians don’t give much regard to personal opinion, but base our faith on the Word of God. This is why it is dangerous if we read scripture in the light of a theology and don’t prove our theology under the light of scripture.

Now just like with the prophets of old, and as did Jesus and the apostles, we will see how these two witnesses also continue to confirm the covenant of God to the descendants of Abraham in the last days, by testifying openly in the Holy City that Jesus was indeed their promised Messiah the Prince. “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.” Showing us that just as the devil has stirred up wicked men all throughout history to murder the righteous, so too will these two witnesses eventually be killed. Then in a vain attempt to finally discredit the declared “myth” of Jesus Christ and His resurrection, their bodies are left unburied in the open streets for three and a half days. So, let’s see if I can unpack all that so as to make some logic out of my suggestion. But first, let’s review Revelation’s account of their ministry.

Revelation 11, verses 3 & 7 thru12, And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days clothed in sackcloth… ⁷ And when they complete their testimony, the beast coming up out of the abyss will make war against them and will overcome them, and kill them. ⁸ And their bodies will lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. ⁹ And many of the peoples, and tribes, and tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three days and a half, and they will not allow their dead bodies to be put in tombs. ¹⁰ And they who dwell on the earth will rejoice over their death and will make merry, and will send one another gifts because these two prophets tormented those living on the earth. ¹¹ Yet after three days and a half, a spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood on their feet, And so great fear fell on all those seeing them. ¹² And the two witnesses heard a great voice from Heaven saying to them, Come up here. And they went up to Heaven in a cloud while their enemies watched them.

I know, I truly do, that some are being pretty hard pressed to accept any of this, and can’t wait for an answer as to how can these two witnesses possibly be the fulfillment of Daniel 9:27. After all if Jesus is indeed the “He,” who confirms the covenant, then wouldn’t Jesus need to be the one preaching? My reply might surprise you, for my answer would be an absolute yes. But for clarity I must first direct you again once more to a few verses which I hope you are getting more familiar with.

Hebrew 1:1 – God, who at various times and in diverse manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, ² Has in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He Has appointed heir of all things, and by whom also He made the worlds.

Note the words in bold type, “God, spoke, by the prophets, by His Son.” Let’s continue.

2^nd Peter 1:21 – For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

Again, we see it was “God” who “spoke, by the prophets” in Hebrews 1:1-2, and is again speaking by “holy men of God as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” Same God, same prophets, and the same Spirit.  So again, let’s continue.

1^st Peter 1:10 – Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: ¹¹ Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ, which was in them, did signify when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. 

The “prophets” through which “God spoke” as they “were moved by the Holy Ghost,” were only speaking that which “the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify,” for those three passages are all saying the same things, only in diverse ways, which is exactly what the first verse said, “God, …in diverse manners spoke…”

To continue, Paul in a statement to the Galatians stated that as a minister of the Gospel he was crucified with Christ, and consequently Christ lives in and through him. But Paul doesn’t stop with applying this principle only to himself, for later he stresses how this principle applies to all who are Christ’s. For if we are truly “in Christ Jesus,” it is only because His Spirit lives in us; and if we are ever to truly be ministering life through the Gospel, it is because Christ is ministering it through us.

Galatians 2:20 – I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me. 

Galatians 5:24 – And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. ²⁵ If we live in the Spirit, then let us also walk in the Spirit.

For this reason, Paul testified to both the Thessalonians and the Corinthians that what he preached unto them was not merely the word of a man, but rather the word of God. For what Paul had spoken was through the leading of the Spirit of Christ within him.

1^st Thessalonians 2:13 – For this cause we also thank God without ceasing, because, when you received the word of God which you heard of us, you received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually works also in all you that believe. 

1^st Corinthians 13:3 – Since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you. ⁴ For though He was crucified through weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you. ⁵ Examine yourselves therefore, whether you be in the faith; and prove your own selves. Know you not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, unless you be reprobates?

Below is another passage that further establishes this truth that it was Jesus Christ, who by His Spirit was ministering through the prophets of old. Unfortunately, it is also a passage that has been greatly misunderstood by many throughout the centuries. Sadly, this confusion has given way for many erroneous teachings to creep into the church about Jesus, His death, and the completeness of the work of the cross.

1^st Peter 3:18 – For Christ also has once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: ¹⁹ By which Spirit He also went and preached unto the spirits in prison; ²⁰ which were some time ago disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is eight souls were saved by water.

One popular understanding of this verse is that after He died, Jesus went to hell and preached to the souls there; and all those that believed were therefore set free. Added to this are other false assertions such as Jesus had to die spiritually, taste hell itself, and then be born again in order to defeat the devil on his own ground so that He could take back the keys of death and hell. All of which are false.

Many believers raised in traditional churches assume these beliefs to be credible because they lack an understanding of the scriptures and the Nicene or Apostles’ Creed which they may have been compelled to memorize. For when it states that Jesus was “crucified, buried, descended into hell and rose again the third day,” they assume it means Jesus literally went to hell, the place prepared for the angels that had sinned. However, this reference to the death, burial, and resurrection which is a true tenet of the Christian faith actually refers to Jesus’ body being crucified, prepared for burial, and placed in the grave for three days after which He resurrected.

Psalms 16:10 – For You will not leave my soul in hell; neither will You suffer Your Holy One to see corruption.

This psalm is speaking about the body of Jesus not being left in the grave to decay, or “see corruption.” It is not speaking about Jesus going into hell which was prepared for the devil and his angels. The word translated “hell” in English is the Hebrew word “sheol” which was used sixty-five times in the Old Testament; thirty-three times implying the “grave” and consequently so translated.

Oddly, many people falsely believe that Hell is the headquarters of Lucifer, when actually it is a prison made for the fallen angels and those who imitate their lawlessness. For when Jesus cast out demons out of the possessed Gadarenes man, they were terrified of hell and fearfully inquired if He had come to torment them before their time by sending them there.

Matthew 8:29 – And behold, they cried out saying, What have we to do with You, Jesus, You Son of God? Are You come here to torment us before the time?

Except for those fallen angels which were long ago cast down for their particular sins and are already bound in chains of darkness in Tartarus, the remaining principalities, powers, and rulers of the darkness of this world, are still loose and share the sentiments of demons having a fear for the torment of hell, for they know this prison was created for them. 

2^nd Peter 2:4 – …God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.

(Sadly, many are completely ignorant of the extent of the various rebellions and sins of these fallen angels, a subject far too vast to cover here. I would simply recommend two books on the subject which are available online in PDF format for those interested. The first would be “The Fallen Angels and the Heroes of Mythology” by Rev. John Fleming, A.B., published in 1879. The second would be “Earth’s Earliest Ages” by G.H. Pember, published 1889.)

Since Jesus created all things, it would be foolish to assume He needed to go to hell in order to get the keys of death and hell, for He has always possessed them. 

Psalms 68:20 – He that is our God is the God of salvation; and unto GOD the Lord belong the issues from death.

Revelation 1:18 – I am He that lives and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and I have the keys of hell and of death.

One only needs to carefully listen to what Jesus is saying to properly discern what He is meaning. For many believers are so lazy, they have become gullible and easily swayable by the latest popular theology that comes along. Others are so convinced that what they were taught is so unquestionably right, they only know how to read the Holy Scriptures in the light of their theology; when in truth they desperately need to learn how to prove all theologies, even my presentation here as well, critically, with much prayer, and only by the light of the scriptures.

2^nd Timothy 2:15- Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, as one rightly dividing the word of truth.

Hebrews 11:6 – But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

For in Revelation 1:18, Jesus clearly says “I am He that lives, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore.” That is because once again to “confirm the covenant” He tells us that it is He who has “the keys of hell [meaning the grave] and death.”  After His death, Jesus ripped the veil of the Temple in two and “the graves were opened.” However, it was not until after His resurrection that “many bodies of the saints… came out of the graves… and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.” 

Matthew 27:50 – Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. ⁵¹ And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; ⁵² And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, ⁵³ And came out of the graves after His resurrection, and they went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

Ezekiel 37:12 – Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus says the Lord GOD; Behold, O My people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and will bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and have brought you up out of your graves, ¹⁴ And I shall put My spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall you know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, says the LORD.

While there are conflicting opinions on just who those saints were that “came out of the graves… and went into the holy city and appeared unto many,” I do not believe they were the old patriarchal saints. The scripture plainly states that “many bodies of the saints which slept arose,” making it evident that not all of “the saints which slept arose.” Thus, I am persuaded these were probably saints who had recently died; for the patriarchal saints would not have been known by their appearance as there were no photos of them whereby the townspeople would have readily recognized them. Rather these were most likely contemporary saints, who like Lazarus were brought back to life in their mortal bodies. For incontestably, Jesus was the “firstfruits from the dead,” which means that all those who have died in faith are still awaiting the fulfillment of the covenant to be resurrected with their own glorified, immortal bodies at His return.

 Hebrews 11:39 – And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: ⁴⁰ God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Let’s take another fresh look once more at that greatly misunderstood passage in I^st Peter and see if we cannot now properly follow the apostle’s words.

1^st Peter 3:18 – For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: ¹⁹ By which Spirit He also went and preached to the spirits in prison; ²⁰ Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is eight souls were saved by water.

First it is clear how Jesus suffered and “was put to death in the flesh,” but He was then “quicken by the Spirit,” signifying His body was not resurrected by the power of that earthen vessel of Christ’s humanity, rather by the Spirit of Christ that dwelt in that fleshly tabernacle. Paul had stated virtually the same thing in his Epistle to the Romans, which again is also a “confirming the covenant.”

Romans 8:11 – But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.

But what also needs be taken notice of is that Peter was very specific in what he stated, in how it was by that same “Spirit” which had quickened Jesus’s flesh and bone body by which He had “went and preached unto the spirits in prison,” and not in His bodily form. So, unless we pay careful attention to just whose “spirits” these are that are “in prison,” then like so many others have, we too might run the risk of jumping to all sorts of erroneous conclusions; which is completely unnecessary since Peter clearly states right here just whose “spirits” these are. These are those spirits “which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is eight souls were saved by water.”

Therefore, these spirits are not all the lost souls of humanity which died from the time of Adam to the time of Christ, which are in hades waiting final judgment; rather these are only the spirits of those who were alive during the days of Noah, “while the ark was a preparing.” This is an excellent example of how we must be careful not to apply content beyond what is written in the context of a passage of scripture. So why then does it say it was Christ who preached to those souls which were alive in those last days of Noah while the ark was being built? Perhaps it will help to review what Peter had said just a little  earlier, as well as another passage from his second epistle.

1^st Peter 1:10 – Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: ¹¹ Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.

2^nd Peter 3:2 – That you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour.

Noah was not just an ark builder – nor was he only a “preacher of righteousness,” for unquestionably Noah was one of these very prophets which Peter mentioned as preaching by, “the Spirit of Christ which was in” them. So, when it says by which Spirit he also went and preached to the spirits in prison, which were sometime disobedient when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah,” that this was in fact Jesus Christ preaching thru His prophet Noah. For this is no different from what the Apostle Paul stated to the Corinthians, that he would come with power in his reproof “Since you seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, who is not weak toward you, but is powerful in you,” and this is also why the prophets of old often began their messages with “Thus says the Lord…” Nonetheless, the people in Noah’s day were disobedient, and because they had rejected what the Spirit of Christ thru Noah had preached unto them, they therefore perished and their bodies returned into the earth, but their “spirits” are now awaiting their final judgment “in prison.”

So no, Peter wasn’t saying that after Jesus Christ died that He went to hell to preach. For anyone who could possibly enter into hell and offer any hope to those spirits, would immediately find every soul there grasping at any possibility to escape. No, rather Peter was affirming the omnipotence of Christ, that though He was a man who suffered and died in the flesh, He was much more, He was a quickening Spirit within the Prophet Noah through which He warned those alive in those days that they should flee the wrath to come, of which only the few righteous were spared while the disobedient perished.

Consequently, we have a sound scriptural account of Jesus preaching before Israel was a nation, and before there was a Holy City of Jerusalem and Temple, even before the time of His own incarnation. So why then would we fail to acknowledge that it will once again be the Spirit of Christ in the same power and authority via the Two Witnesses at this next coming end of the world, which is now cresting our own horizon?

1^st Peter 3:5 – For of all this they are willingly ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: ⁶ Whereby the world that was then, was overflowed with water and thereby perished: ⁷ But the heavens and the earth which are now, are by the same word kept in store, and are reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and the perdition of ungodly men. 

It may very well be that these Two Witnesses will know exactly who they are. For by “the Spirit of Christ, which is in them,” they will testify how just as Jesus Christ their Savior was crucified, that they too will be martyred, and likewise, according to His word and promise, as He had risen from the dead, so they too will also be raised from the dead. However, their testimony of Jesus Christ will utterly infuriate the Jewish people and the world, nevertheless a remnant of the Jews will be convicted in their hearts, being pierced by the Sword of Truth, and will believe the words of the Two Witnesses and be watching and waiting. This remnant will fulfill prophecy and give glory to God after they witness their resurrection as the Spirit of Christ within the Two Witnesses once again, in both word and deed, confirms the covenant of God, and this perhaps for the very last time before the entire world.

Revelation 11:7 – And when they complete their testimony, the beast coming up out of the abyss will make war against them and will overcome them and kill them. ⁸ And then shall their bodies lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. ⁹ And many of the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations will see their dead bodies three and a half days, and they will not allow their dead bodies to be put in tombs. ¹⁰ And the ones who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, and will make merry, and will send one another gifts, because these two prophets tormented those living on the earth. ¹¹ And after three and a half days a spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood on their feet. And great fear fell on those seeing them. ¹² And they heard a great voice from Heaven saying to them, Come up here. And they went up to Heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. ¹³ And in that hour a great earthquake occurred, and the tenth part of the city fell. And seven thousand names of men were slain in the earthquake. And the rest were frightened and gave glory to the God of Heaven.

The only way these Jews or anyone can give glory unto God is to honor the Son even as they honor the Father. As a result, this remnant gives glory unto the Son as their Redeemer, calling on Christ as their LORD. This will be the prophesied in-grafting of the Jews back into the vine, resulting in the completion of the Angel Gabriel’s words to Daniel ushering in the fulfillment of the covenant, even the resurrection of the dead. 

Romans 11:15 – For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, then what shall the receiving of them be, except that life from the dead?

Luke 13:35 – Behold, your house is left to you desolate. And truly I say to you, You will not see Me until it come when you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.

In The Midst of The Week

Lastly, and I know this too will require the patience of many readers to hear me through here as well, but another reason why I believe that Daniel’s 9:27 reference to “in the midst of the week” refers to Jesus causing “the sacrifice and oblations to cease,” is because staying true to this verse, Jesus was indeed crucified in the midst, or middle of the week, However, for the moment I want you to think of a millennial week.

Peter stated that when considering the coming of the Lord, that we should be mindful of this one thing, that a day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as a day. This concept is not new, for many Jews believed that it would be six thousand years before the Messiah would come, and that He would reign in the seventh millennial day, making as it were, a millennial week. However, it was in the fourth and middle millennial day that Christ came and died, and caused “the sacrifice and oblations to cease.”

2^nd Peter 3:3 – Knowing this first, that there will come in the last days scoffers walking according to their own lusts ⁴ and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation. ⁵ For this is hidden from them by their willful ignorance, that the heavens were of old, and the earth out of the water, and in the water, are being held together by the word of God, that the heavens were of old, and the earth out of the water, and through water, being held together even by the word of God, ⁶ through which also the world that then was, being flooded by water, perished. ⁷ Likewise, the present heavens and the earth are being kept in store by the same word, are being kept for fire until the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. ⁸ But you beloved, let not this one thing be hidden from you, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ For the Lord is not slow concerning His promise, as some count slowness, but is long-suffering toward us, not willing that any of us should perish, but that all of us should come to repentance. ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a rushing noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat. And the earth and the works in it will be burned up.

It must be noted that in his addressing the subject of the promise of Jesus’ coming, that Peter says he is writing to “stir up” their minds by way of remembrance, “that they may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets,” For Peter, like Paul, always uses the authority of what is written to substantiate his own experiences and understanding, even that which he was an eyewitness to concerning Jesus Christ. So, it needs to be recognized that it is in this context, focusing on the Lord’s return, that Peter references that which was written, that “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” This phrase gives us the perfect key to properly understand what one of the prophets had written concerning both comings of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Hosea 5:9 – Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke: for among the tribes of Israel have I made known that which shall surely be. ¹⁰ The princes of Judah were like them that moved the boundary stone: and therefore will I pour out My wrath upon them like water. ¹¹ Ephraim is oppressed and is broken in judgment, because he willingly walked after the commandment. ¹² Therefore I will be unto Ephraim as a moth, and to the house of Judah as rottenness. ¹³ When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: howbeit he could not heal you, nor cure you of your wound. ¹⁴ Therefore I will be unto Ephraim as a lion, and as a young lion to the house of Judah: and I, even I, will tear and go away; I will take away, and none shall rescue him. ¹⁵ For I will go and return to My place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek My face: and in their affliction they will seek Me early.

We easily can see the obstinacy of the Jewish leaders directed towards the Lord at His first coming in the above passage. The Holy Spirit here is testifying against them through Hosea, that the princes of Judah were like those who would deceptively move boundary stones, doing so in hopes to lay claim to more than is rightly theirs. That is exactly what the Jews were planning to do when Jesus exposed their corrupt hearts with His parable concerning the keepers of the vineyard, where the wicked servants sought to kill the son of the landowner that they might steal his inheritance for their own.

Matthew 21:33 – Listen to another parable. A man, who was an employer, once planted a vineyard, and he put a fence round it and dug a winepress in it, There built he also a tower, and then he let it out to tenants and went abroad. ³⁴ When the time for the vintage drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to receive his share of the produce, ³⁵ but the tenants seized his servants,  and they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. ³⁶ So, a second time the owner sent some servants, a larger number than before, and the tenants treated them in the same way. ³⁷ As a last resource he sent his son to them, thinking surely ‘They will respect my son’. ³⁸ But the tenants, on seeing his son, said to each other ‘Here is the heir! Come, let us kill him, and get his inheritance.’ ³⁹ So they seized him, and threw him outside the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰ Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” ⁴¹ “Miserable wretches!” they exclaimed, “he will put them to a miserable death, and he will let out the vineyard to other tenants, who will pay him his share of the produce at the proper times.” ⁴² Then Jesus added: “Have you never read in the Scriptures, that the very stone which the builders despised, has now itself become the corner-stone? This corner-stone has come from the Lord, And is marvelous in our eyes. ⁴³ And that, I tell you, is why the Kingdom of God will be taken from you, and given to a nation that will produce the fruit of the Kingdom. 44 Yes, and he who falls on this stone will be dashed to pieces, while any one on whom it falls it will scatter him as dust.”

Therefore, just as Hosea had prophesied, Jesus became “as a lion and as a young lion to the house of Judah” and He tore away the kingdom from them, and in 70 A.D. brought such desolation upon them that none could rescue them. Hosea continues the prophecy, saying, “I will go and return to My place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek My face: in their affliction they will seek Me early.” Having gone through their affliction, and now like Daniel remembering that God’s judgments are foretold out of His earnest desire to show mercy, Hosea then turns and lends a prophetic voice to this remnant of Jews in the last days, and hear their words then –

Hosea 6:1 – Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for He has torn, and He will heal us; He has smitten, and He will bind us up. ² After two days will He revive us: and in the third day He will raise us up, and then we shall live in His sight. ³ Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: that His going forth is prepared as the morning; for He shall come unto us as the rain, as surely as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

Therefore, the words of Peter are meant to stir up our minds “by way of remembrance, so that we too are made “mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets,” and might understand his reference to “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” as providing us with the proper key to what the Prophet Hosea had written concerning both comings of the Lord. Therefore, with what Daniel and Hosea had written, we can see that the crucifixion, when “Messiah the Prince… was cut off” and the “sacrifices and oblations ceased,” that it all transpired on the fourth millennial day, which is “in the midst of the [millennial] week.” And yet, this millennial week isn’t the only week where we find “Messiah the Prince… cut off” and the “sacrifices and oblations [having] ceased… in the midst of the week.” So far, we have seen the midst of Daniel’s seventieth week, and the midst of the millennial week, so let us now examine the actual week of Jesus’ crucifixion.

For centuries there has been much confusion among God’s people with regard to the timeframe and events concerning the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Also, the different variations and accountings of Jesus’ resurrection which are recorded in the four Gospels don’t appear to offer help to the casual reader of God’s word; with each Gospel having its own different list of several people, seemingly various timings of their visits, and each records assorted events which occurred around this glorious resurrection event.

The fact that these accounts each illustrate a unique perspective of the resurrection story leaves many confused and thinking they are seeing contradictions in scripture. However, because all these different events are chronicled in God’s word, we can still be sure that they are all accurate and equally true. Perhaps, an effective way to consider their seemingly different reports is to view them like transparent overlays, similar to the one’s used in old medical books showing the skeleton, then the nerves and blood vessels, organs, muscular and finally the skin and hair. When this is done, we discover the answer to the confusion is that there had to be multiple trips by various people made to the tomb at distinct times which were being faithfully recorded.

One of the important things to remember is that Jesus did not say He would be in the tomb for “three days,” rather He specifically said it would be “three days and three nights.” Matthew clearly states the first trip was in the “end of the Sabbath as it began to dawn towards the first day of the week,” which is dusk, not sunrise. Dawn here means the actual beginning of the first day of the week, sunset and not sunrise, for sunrise would in fact actually have been the middle of the biblical day. This dawn being like the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, of which there was no sunrise ushering in the Age of Aquarius.

Another key point is the scriptures plainly tell us it was after the Sabbath that the women purchase the spices, which John 19:31 reveals was actually a high day. What that means is that particular Sabbath referenced in that verse was not the seventh day of the week Sabbath, rather it was the first day of the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread, which began on the fifteenth day of the first month after Passover, for remember, Passover was the fourteenth day of the month and function as a normal workday. But during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, both the start day (the 15^th) and the end day (the 21^st) are both high Sabbath days, which would naturally mean a normal weekly Sabbath would always fall somewhere in between those two high day Sabbaths. If you are considering this for the first time, I know it seems confusing, but in reality, it is quite simple to comprehend. I have a chart here, or there is one in the back of the actual book.

Therefore, the scriptures accurately state that after the high day Sabbath which immediately followed Passover, that the women went and bought the spices and spent the remainder of that day preparing them. Afterwards, on the following day, they then “rested according to the [Fourth] Commandment” which would be the weekly Sabbath which began Friday evening at sunset.

According to Matthew it was “in the end” of this weekly Sabbath, as the sunset was ushering in the first day of the week, that the women went to “visit the tomb,” without any mention being made of their taking the spices since night was falling. That is when the angel of the Lord descended like lightning and the stone was rolled away and the angelic proclamation made “He has risen.” 

So, let’s briefly go through the days and events one last time. Jesus, having been crucified on Passover the 14^th day, was then placed into the tomb just before sunset as it “dawn toward” the “high day” Sabbath on the 15^th day. Now remember, according to biblical reckoning the beginning and end of every day occurs with the setting of the sun.

Then after the 15^th day, which would be the first high day sabbath of two that occur at the beginning and end of the Feast of Unleaven Bread, the women then went on the 16^th day and purchased the spices so they could on that day properly prepare them. After which, they then rested the 17^th day “according to the 4^th commandment” which would now be the weekly Sabbath. It was then, according to Matthew, in the end of the Sabbath day, day 17, as the sun was setting – and yet still just prior to the 18^th day, which would in fact be the dawning of the 1st day of the week, that the resurrection of Jesus scripturally occurred. And again, not meaning to be overly redundant, this is as Matthew records still in the end of the Sabbath just before the Sabbath sunset, and not Sunday’s sunrise. It was then, after Jesus’ resurrection, that the soldiers went and told the priests, and they all met franticly throughout the rest of the night forging the lie that the disciples had come during the night and stolen Jesus’ body… for come sunrise, everyone in Jerusalem was going to hear that the body of Jesus was missing. 

Accordingly, Jesus was literally three nights and three days in the tomb; just like He said He would be. Night and day of the 15^th day of the month, night and day of the 16^th day of the month, and night and day of the 17^th day of the month; making it in the end of the weekly Sabbath when He rose just before sunset. Which means Jesus was crucified “in the midst of the week,” on a Wednesday and not on Friday according to the Catholic invention of Good Friday. All this is covered in more detail in this book’s last chapter titled “Trips to the Tomb.”

Summary

Now dear reader, if you find these things to have plausible credibility, then the whole seven-year tribulation message that has been taught, and widely promoted by such fables as the “Left Behind” series, all needs to be reexamined to determine on what other foundation of scripture it has to stand, or fall. Regardless, we as believers must be diligent to rightly discern the times and the seasons in which we are living and pray always that we may be found worthy to escape the wrath to come. Let us therefore give earnest heed to the words of our Savior and His apostle.

Luke 21:34 – But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, so that Day come on you unexpectedly. ³⁵ For it will come as a snare on all those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶ Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.

2^nd Thessalonians 1:5 – Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer: ⁶ Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to repay tribulation to them that trouble you; ⁷ And to all who are troubled, rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, ⁸ In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: ⁹ For they all shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power; ¹⁰ When He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. ¹¹ Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of His goodness, and the work of faith with power: ¹² That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.