Spiritual Israelite
Well-Known Member
Right. The pattern is clear. The prophecy first identifies the Messiah as the prince. After that it refers to the Messiah separately and the prince separately. The reason it doesn't say Messiah the prince each time is because that was unnecessary. The reference to the Messiah would be understand as referring to Messiah the prince and the reference to the prince should be understood that way as well.I concur that the little horn refers to the apostate papacy. But where is/are the apostate papacy/popes ever referred to as (a) prince(s)?
All of the "he's" in Daniel 9:27 refer back to the prince in Daniel 9:26. When did the apostate papacy fulfill Daniel 9:27?
Messiah the Prince alone fulfilled Daniel 9:27.
Daniel 9:25 “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times. 26 “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”
What this says is clear when you understand this is all centers around Jesus. There would be 69 weeks (483 years) leading up to the revealing of Messiah the Prince. Then some time after that He would be cut off when confirming the new covenant with many during the 70th week which would cause the old covenant sacrifices and offerings to become obsolete. In the process He made the temple spiritually desolate while establishing the spiritual temple of God (the church) with Himself being the cornerstone. The people of Messiah the prince would be responsible for the destruction of the city and the sanctuary. Jesus said He was a Jew and the Jewish people, for the most part, rejected Him and that is why their city and sanctuary were physically destroyed and made desolate, which was the consummation that was poured out on them in 70 AD.