Daniel and Revelation
Chapter 5
The Pre-Tribulation Appearance of the New Jerusalem

The New Jerusalem will appear in orbit
around the earth to stop the attack on Israel.

According to Ezekiel 38, the attack on Israel will not be successful.  God will show up and cause a great earthquake (Ezekiel 38:19).  All the people of the world will tremble at God's presence (verse 20).  The attacking armies will fight each other (verse 21).  God will make himself known in the sight of many nations (verse 23).  In other words, the New Jerusalem will appear in orbit around the earth.  It will be obvious to the world that those in the New Jerusalem will have stopped this attack on Israel.

The idea that the Day of the Lord begins at the start of the seven-year period is one of the few points where New Wine premillennialism is in agreement with dispensationalism.  But the argued reason for this position is very different.  Dispensationalism separates Israel from the Church.  Dispensationalists argue that God has two programs for two groups of people.  They argue that God must shift from his program for the Church back to his program for Israel.  This becomes the primary argument for a pre-tribulation rapture.

New Wine premillennialism, on the other hand, simply argues that Christ comes at the same time as the antichrist (false prophet), and that this is at the start of the seven-year period of Daniel 9:27.  But only a few will have overcome sin and be ready for Christ's return.  They will not be ready for the rapture.  Christ must confirm a "covenant with many" for one more seven so that they can also embrace Christian perfection and overcome sin.  When Christ returns, the New Jerusalem will appear and be seen by everyone in orbit around the earth.  But only the few who are ready will see Christ.  They are the 144,000 firstfruits who will receive their spiritual bodies when Christ returns before the seven-year period. They will see Christ standing on Mount Zion (Revelation 14:1-5).

Chapter 15 of this book has a detailed discussion about Daniel's seventy weeks.  But a summary is given here to make the case that Christ returns at the start of the seven-year week of the covenant (Daniel 9:27).  The important point is that Christ returns with the New Jerusalem at the appointed time, when the seventy weeks have ended.  But the majority of the Church is not ready for Christ to return.

Daniel 9:27 has a controversial pronoun "he."  "He" makes a covenant with many.  "He" stops the sacrifice and offering.  Is "he" the Messiah or an antichrist?  Can an antichrist really make a covenant?  If so, it would be the only place in Scripture where an evil person makes a covenant.  On the other hand, does the Messiah really stop the sacrifice and offering?  

Preterists argue the seventy weeks of Daniel 9 was entirely fulfilled by Christ in his first coming.  They attribute the "he" as being Christ.  Christ is said to have stopped the sacrifice and offering when he died on the cross.  Dispensationalists and most pre-millennialists, on the other hand, argue that the last week of the seventy is split out from all the others and is fulfilled in the future.  They attribute the "he" as being the antichrist.  The antichrist makes the covenant with many for one seven.

New Wine premillennialism takes a very different approach.  The first "he" is attributed to Christ and the second "he" is attributed to the antichrist (false prophet).  This is grammatically valid because of parallelism.  Christ confirms a "covenant with many" for one more seven so that they can also embrace Christian perfection and overcome sin.  For more information about Christian Perfection, please read my booklet titled, Christian Perfection by Grace and Works.  It's available online, on my website.  Or it can be purchased from Amazon.

The antichrist (false prophet) sets up the abomination and stops the animal sacrifice.  As we will see, this interpretation of Daniel 9 shows how Christ can return at the start of the millennium, but at the same time, this world system of government continues for seven more years.  Thus, during this seven-year period the temple can be rebuilt and animal sacrifice can be started because Christ will have returned.  (The Old Testament system of government was a shadow of the theocracy that will come during the millennial reign of Christ.)  But in the midst of that seven-years, the false prophet stops the sacrifice and the first beast rules over every nation, tribe, people, and language for three and a half years.

The vision of Daniel 9 itself has a purpose statement.  Each of the three systems of interpretation views this purpose statement quite differently.  Preterists say it was fulfilled at the cross.  Dispensationalists say it will be fulfilled by Israel and not the Church.  New Wine premillennialism says it must be fulfilled by Israel, but we are grafted into that same Israel and thus we must also completely overcome all our sinful habits in order to be ready for Christ to return.

Daniel 9:24 NIV Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness , to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.

Israel was punished seventy years for sin.  Now God is saying that we must stop sinning during these seventy weeks of years.  Saying that Christ fulfilled this vision is to avoid the responsibility that we have to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12.)  Saying that Christ fulfilled this vision is to completely ignore Daniel’s prayer of repentance for Israel.  God’s response to Daniel's prayer is that Israel must repent and stop sinning.  This is sanctification.  God does the greatest work in us (Philippians 2:13.)  But it’s a task that we must undertake, with the Holy Spirit (our Helper) doing the greater work in overcoming sin.

We are grafted into Israel.  New Wine premillennialism views “your people and your holy city” as being about Israel, which includes Gentile believers.  From Old Testament teaching, the purpose of Israel is to reign with the Messiah over the nations in order to bring righteousness to the world.  But in order to bring righteousness to the world, the world’s priests and kings (rulers) must themselves first become completely righteous.  The seventy weeks is a time allotment during which Jerusalem is not trampled on by Gentiles.  During the week of the covenant, at least during the second half, Jerusalem will again be trampled on by the Gentiles (nations).  But after the 42 months, Christ will set up his kingdom and Jerusalem will never again be trampled on by the Gentiles (nations).

Revelation 11:1-2 NIV I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, "Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshipers there.  (2) But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles . They will trample on the holy city for 42 months.

New Wine premillennialism recognizes a parallelism in Daniel's vision between Christ and the antichrist.  The parallelism can be best seen in this ESV translation. It's easy to assume that the prince in Daniel 9:25 is the anointed one.  However, the prince in verse 26 is clearly an evil ruler.  Try reading the vision with an eye for a parallelism between the "anointed one" and the "prince," with the "prince" always being the antichrist.  In the following verses, both the "anointed one" and the "prince" are separately underlined.  The "anointed one" is always first and the "prince" (or ruler) is always second.  Then follow the same parallelism with the two pronouns translated "he" in verse 27.

Daniel 9:25 ESV Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks.  [SO] for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time.

Daniel 9:26a ESV And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.

Daniel 9:26b ESVIts end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.

Daniel 9:27 ESV And he [the anointed one] shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he [the prince] shall put an end to sacrifice and offering.  And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator."

Thus, according to the parallelism, the anointed one makes a covenant with many and the prince stops the sacrifice and offering.  Christ returns at the appointed time after seventy weeks.  But only a few are ready for Him to return.  Only a few really understand and accept the stated purpose of the seventy weeks.  Only a few are really willing "to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, [and] to bring in everlasting righteousness."

At the time of Christ's coming, after the seventy weeks, only a few will have found the narrow gate.  So Christ makes a "covenant with many " for one more seven.  This is an additional week is after the seventy weeks have expired.  The appointed time will have already come.  The millennium will have already begun.  Christ returns and thus the new covenant is complete.  But because the Bride is not ready, an additional covenant extends the new covenant for one more week.  The prince, who is the false prophet, stops the sacrifice in the midst of that week.

Go back and take a closer look at verse 25.  The anointed one and the prince both come at the same time.  Also, look at verse 9:26b.  It's at the end of seven weeks, which is the end of the seventy weeks.  After the "end" of the seventy weeks comes the additional week of the covenant in verse 9:27.  Compare this with what Jesus said in Matthew 24.

Matthew 24:6 ESV And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.

Matthew 24:14-15 ESV And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.  (15)  "So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

The gospel of the kingdom is preached throughout all the nations, and then the end comes.  There are wars and rumors of wars, and then the end comes.  The end comes at the appointed time.  Thus, the millennium begins.  But the end is extended seven years.  So the entire seven-year period can be thought of as the end.  But the Day of the Lord (the millennium) still begins at the appointed time, when the seventy weeks are completed.  This is when Christ appears.  The coming of Christ and the antichrist, at the same time, at the appointed time, on the Day of the Lord, can also be seen in this verse:

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3 ESV Now, brothers, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to him, we ask you (2) not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.  (3)  Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction

Let's go back to Daniel 11:25.  The sixty-two weeks are associated with the building of Jerusalem.  The sixty-two weeks begin with the issuing of a decree to rebuild Jerusalem.  During the time that Jerusalem is rebuilt is troubled times.  So the sixty-two weeks must come first, followed by the seven weeks.  However, there is nothing in the vision that requires the seven weeks to immediately follow the sixty-two weeks.

The vision could have unfolded in one of two ways.  The seven weeks could have immediately followed the sixty-two weeks.  But as it turned out, the seven weeks was postponed until a later time.  After the sixty-two weeks, Christ came at his birth.  If Israel had been ready, the final seven weeks could have proceeded immediately following the sixty-two weeks.  But Israel was not ready for the Messiah to come.

The first dispersion of Israel was because of sin.  Daniel prayed for the dispersion of Israel to come to an end.  In response to this prayer, seventy weeks were decreed for Israel to stop sinning before the Messiah would come.  The generation in Israel, which grew up at the time of Christ, was tested.  Because of sin, that generation did not recognize the Messiah.  So after that generation, Israel went back into dispersion.  The trampling of Jerusalem by the Gentiles continued until the time of the Gentiles was completed.  After the Six Day War, Jerusalem was no longer trampled on by the Gentiles.  So the final seven weeks has been unfolding since that time.

Luke 21:20 "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand.

Luke 21:24-26 They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.  (25) There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and on the earth anxiety of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the waves;  (26)  men fainting for fear, and for expectationof the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Revelation 6:12-17 I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became as blood.   (13) The stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when it is shaken by a great wind.   (14) The sky was removed like a scroll when it is rolled up. Every mountain and island were moved out of their places.   (15) The kings of the earth, the princes , the commanding officers, the rich, the strong, and every slave and free person, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains.  (16) They told the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,  (17)  for the great day of his wrath has come; and who is able to stand?"

When the final seven weeks is over, the entire seventy weeks will be completed.  At that time, both Christ and the antichrist (false prophet) will come.  Christ will return and the New Jerusalem will appear.  This will terrify almost everyone, including most of the Church.  The high majority of the Church will again not be ready for the Messiah to come.  This time, however, a Church will be in place that at least understands the basic teachings of Christ.  So Christ will be able to make a covenant for one more seven, effectively extending the new covenant.  The "many" of the Church will get ready by "finishing transgression, putting an end to sin, atoning for wickedness, and bringing in everlasting righteousness."

For the elect, God's grace is extended seven more years.  It's also seven more years of faith because the Church will be living during a time of great tribulation for the Church.  But for the nations, the age of grace will be over.  Christ will be physically present, but he will delay setting up his earthly kingdom.  Thus, during these seven years, the temple will be physically built and animal sacrifice will be started.  But during the same seven years, the elect will be getting ready to reign with Christ by overcoming sin and embracing Christian perfection.

Our hope is in the appearance of the City of God, which is the New Jerusalem, also called Paradise.  As we have seen in the previous section, this can be found in Jewish culture, in Galatians, in the book of Hebrews, and even in the Psalms.  But most of the Church has lost that understanding and will be terrified along with the rest of the world when it happens.  This hope might shed some light on the blessed hope of Christ's appearance.

Titus 2:13 looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ;

Many dispensationalists have used this verse to defend the pre-tribulation rapture.  I think Jesus really does "appear" before the tribulation in the New Jerusalem.  However, only a few will be ready for his return.  So he will confirm a "covenant for many" for seven more years.  The rapture of the entire Bride of Christ is not until after the "many" are ready.  So it's after the great tribulation.  The great tribulation is not tribulation experienced by the world.  It's tribulation experienced by the Church.  It's great persecution.  Christ will allow this great persecution to take place in order that his Bride will overcome all sinful habits and get ready to reign with Him.

1 Timothy 6:13-14 I command you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate testified the good confession,  (14)  that you keep the commandment without spot, blameless, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ;

2 Timothy 4:7-8 I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith.   (8) From now on, there is stored up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day; and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his appearing .

Hebrews 9:28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, without sin, to those who are eagerly waiting for him for salvation.

When Christ appears in the New Jerusalem, the world will be terrified.  Let's go back to the chapter 3 titled, "Ezekiel 38 (Not 39) Will Unfold."  God's defense of Israel in Ezekiel 38 is similar to the sixth seal of Revelation.

Ezekiel 38:18-20 It shall happen in that day, when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, says the Lord Yahweh, that my wrath shall come up into my nostrils.   (19) For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;  (20) so that the fish of the sea, and the birds of the sky, and the animals of the field, and all creeping things who creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the surface of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground .

Revelation 6:12-17 I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became as blood.   (13) The stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when it is shaken by a great wind.   (14) The sky was removed like a scroll when it is rolled up. Every mountain and island were moved out of their places.   (15) The kings of the earth, the princes , the commanding officers, the rich, the strong, and every slave and free person, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains.   (16) They told the mountains and the rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,  (17) for the great day of his wrath has come; and who is able to stand?"

Luke 21:24-26 They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.  (25) There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and on the earth anxiety of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the waves;  (26)  men fainting for fear, and for expectationof the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

Notice that Ezekiel 38:20 speaks of the Lord's "presence."  God shows up and the world is terrified.  Ezekiel 38:18 says, "my wrath shall come up into my nostrils."  In the sixth seal of Revelation (quoted above), the world is terrified saying "hide us ...from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of his wrath has come; and who is able to stand?"

After the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Jews were taken as prisoners to all the nations.  This was the second dispersion.  The time of the Gentiles began when Herod the Great died.  After Herod died, the Roman Empire began stationing a governor in Jerusalem.  The sixty-two weeks were finished after the first coming of Christ, at his birth.  The seventy weeks were no longer underway when Christ returned to Israel from Egypt as a child.  This marked the start of the time of the Gentiles.  The seventy weeks are not underway during the time of the Gentiles.

The trampling of Jerusalem in the time of the Gentiles continued until the Six Day War.  This end-times baby-boom generation, beginning after World War II, and becoming adult around the time of the Six Day War, marks the end of the time of the Gentiles.  After the final seven weeks of Daniel's vision are over, Christ will appear in the New Jerusalem and the world will be terrified.  As we read in Ezekiel 38, Christ's "presence" will return just in time to stop the Islamic nations, led by the Islamic antichrist, from destroying Israel.  In Ezekiel 38 and 39, the antichrist (false prophet - Gog), is from the land of Magog, which is in modern-day Turkey.

Let’s put it all together.  The New Jerusalem will appear before the start of the millennium.  It will also appear before the start of the great tribulation.  The covenant for seven years is the first seven years of the millennium.  And the millennium is the age to come.  The pre-tribulation appearing of the New Jerusalem is the blessed hope of Christ's appearing.