The Covenant and the 7 Year Tribulation

Welcome or welcome back to BibleStudyMinistry.com – an online Bible study for Christians interested in learning more about the Jesus within the pages of the Bible. This week’s Sabbath Bible study is titled The Covenant and the 7 Year Tribulation.

I know many Christians do not even consider the great tribulation prophesied in the Bible as a threat, or as reality, or something to be concerned with.

“Christianity is not about negativity,” some say, “let’s focus on the positives,” others profess. The reality of the matter is that the same people who have “hi-jacked” Christianity are going to cause much grief on the earth because they are also going to attempt to hi-jack the earth.

Thus learning about the great tribulation is important.

 

Nevertheless, we won’t get into the great tribulation in this study, but we will talk about the debate around it. Christians who do study the great tribulation will debate about the length of it.

“Three and a half years,” “7 years” they will talk about a pre-tribulation and a post tribulation and Christians as a unit are divided on this subject.

Guess what, with as many denominations we have out there, it does not surprise me. However, this has been a topic of interest for me since my youth as my parents taught me about this gruesome time on the earth.

I was between the ages of five to nine, and learning about the tribulation at that time could be straight out scary. Heck, it is scary today and I’m a full grown adult. We are going to look at this study from two views and I truly hope you get some valuable understanding from it.

We will begin in the book of Daniel

Daniel chapter 9

³ And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

⁴ And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

Daniel is praying to God for understanding. He’d read in the books of Jeremiah how the captivity of Judah was suppose to be for seventy years. However, it had gone longer and Daniel knowing the Lord does not show up late for a date or forget, or change His words, Daniel knew it was a misunderstanding on his part and prayed to God Almighty for understanding.

If all Christians would do the same today, the confusion around subjects would be 99% lowered within Christianity and the teachings of it. Daniel confessed the sins of himself, his people, and the world. Let’s read how the great God responded to him.

Daniel Met by the Angel Gabriel

²⁰ And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God;

²¹ Yea, whiles I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation.

²² And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding.

While Daniel was speaking and praying, God Almighty sent the angel Gabriel and Gabriel informed Daniel regarding his concern. Gabriel talked with Daniel giving him skill and understanding about the matter he was in prayer about.

Seventy Weeks are Determined

Now it is safe for all Christians to agree that Daniel certainly understood the matter after his communion with Gabriel. Here is the response from God Almighty given to Daniel from the angel Gabriel:

²⁴ Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy 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.

²⁵ Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

Seventy weeks (of years) were determined upon Daniel’s people. Daniel’s people are the children of Judah (Jews). Also seventy weeks (of years) were upon Jerusalem (the Holy city) to finish sin by making an end to it and make settlement for sin.

Also with this those seventy weeks (of years) would bring in everlasting righteousness, seal the vision and prophecy, and most importantly to anoint the Most Holy. In plain English, the seventy weeks (of year) is the time needed for Jesus to die for the sins of the world.

Jesus Christ will finish sin and make a settlement for it; He will bring in eternal righteousness, seal the vision and prophecy (Revelation 5), and Jesus was the Anointed One who is Most Holy.

Jerusalem Will Be Rebuilt

Daniel is told to understand that from the time the commandment to restore and rebuild Jerusalem to the time the Messiah (Christ) the Prince will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. In that time period, Jerusalem will be rebuilt even in troublesome times.

Historical figure and king, Artaxerxes, is the one that commanded the rebuilding of Jerusalem. He made it official. Neighboring countries were not all happy with it (you can read that in Ezra’s and Nehemiah’s accounts).

²⁶ And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

²⁷ And 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, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

After the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah (Christ, Jesus) will be cut off but not for Himself. Another way to say this is to say that Jesus the Christ (Messiah) will be killed but not for Himself. Jesus did not die for Himself, but for the sins of the world.

Moving onto the next sentence in the verse, it says the people of the prince (lower case “prince” is not referring to the Messiah the Prince as in Jesus) will come and destroy the city (Jerusalem). They will also destroy the sanctuary and it will end in total destruction and desolations. This is referring to the destruction of Jerusalem, not the world; Gabriel is still talking about Jerusalem only.

Confirmed Covenant with the Messiah the Prince

As verse twenty-seven states, “he” shall confirm the covenant with many for one week. Who is “he?” Well who has Gabriel been talking about to Daniel? The Messiah the Prince, so this “he” is Jesus Christ; Jesus will confirm the covenant with many for one week and in the middle of this week, He will cause the sacrifice and oblation to stop or cease.

Also because of the overspreading of abominations He will make it (Jerusalem) desolate. It will desolate until the completion of Jerusalem and all things determined will be poured out on the desolate. Gruesome, but in the end of this dialogue between Gabriel and Daniel, we should gather that Gabriel only referred to the Jews, to Jesus (Messiah), and Jerusalem.

There is no anti-Christ in these set of verses. No tribulation for seven years, and no covenant between the Jews and the anti-Christ. We want to support this with scripture, although it is plain to see without it.

A Covenant Already Established

We can read about the destruction of Jerusalem by looking up and reading about General Titus and the Romans who destroyed Jerusalem in a bitter war against some extremely zealous Jews.

The next issue is that Jesus will confirm the covenant with many in one week. In the middle of the week He will cause the sacrifice to cease. Let’s take a look at this. To confirm a covenant, a covenant had already had to be established.

Galatians chapter 3

¹⁴ That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

¹⁵ Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.

¹⁶ Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

¹⁷ And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ,

This scripture edifies us that Jesus indeed confirmed the promises or covenant made with Abraham and the fathers. Also in the book of Luke, John the Baptist father, Zechariah made a very informative prophecy and prayer upon the eighth day circumcision ceremony of his son John (the Baptist).

God Performed His Promise

Luke chapter 1

⁶⁸ Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,

⁶⁹ And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;

⁷⁰ As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:

⁷¹ That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;

⁷² To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;

⁷³ The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,

Zechariah was pleased with the God of Israel for performing the promise He made with the fathers. He was also happy God remembered His Holy Covenant that He swore to our father Abraham. This is the covenant that Jesus confirmed in the middle of the week. We can read about it in Genesis chapter 22 and chapter 17 of Genesis – let’s read in chapter 22

Genesis chapter 22

¹⁵ And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time,

¹⁶ And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:

¹⁷ That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;

¹⁸ And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.

The Sacrificial Laws Ceased!

Keep in mind verse eighteen, that in Abraham’s seed will all the nations of the earth become blessed. They are blessed all because Abraham obeyed the voice of the God of Heaven. Ephesians chapter two supports this as through Jesus the Gentiles were brought into salvation. Jesus is the seed all nations of the earth are blessed through.

¹¹ Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;

¹² That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:

Further, Jesus died in the middle of the week. View our Passover study to see this, and when He died, the need for sacrificing animals ceased. The sacrifice and oblation ceased with the death of Jesus Christ. Sacrificing animals was merely a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.

Here He is on the cross being the official sacrifice, so the sacrificial laws ceased. The blood of bulls and goats could not remove sin anyhow. The covenant is between Abraham and his seed, spiritual seed and physical seed are both included.

Adam and Eve Rebelled Against God

That covers the covenant, but what about the 7 year tribulation? We will soon prepare a Great Tribulation lesson. There is no seven year tribulation as taught in some Christian circles.

This is the seven year tribulation it began the moment Adam and Eve rebelled against God Almighty. This is when the seven year tribulation began. God gave man seven days. As we read the story of the Bible, it has been nothing but tribulation since the fall of Adam and Eve.

My teacher use to always say, “God put it on my mind to put together this lesson,” and I would always laugh about that. However, I totally went to bed and woke up with this subject on my mind heavily. It was not as if I was thinking about it, but as if Someone put it there.

BibleStudyMinistry.com exist to edify souls in the Word of God. I pray your strength in the Lord God of Israel. May peacefulness and many blessing be upon you and your household in the Mighty name of Jesus I pray. Amen.

Selah

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