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.—Daniel ix. 27.

Some writers consider this verse prophetical of the desolate state of Jerusalem under Antiochus Epiphanes, that sacrilegious monarch who impiously profaned the sanctuary of the God of Israel. By him the temple was ransacked and despoiled of its holy vessels; its golden ornaments pulled off; its hidden treasures seized; and an unclean animal offered on the altar of burnt-offerings. Thus did this impious Syrian king dare profane the altar and temple dedicated to Jehovah. Neither was this all; Jerusalem again felt the force of his horrid cruelty and profaneness; men, women, and children, were either slain or taken captive; and the houses and city walls were destroyed. The Jews were not allowed to offer burnt offerings or sacrifices to the God of Israel—circumcision was forbidden—they were required to profane the Sabbath, and eat the flesh of swine, and other beasts forbidden by their law[135]—the sanctuary dedicated to Jehovah was called the temple of Jupiter Olympius, and his image set up on the altar—idol temples and altars were erected throughout all their cities—and the Holy Scriptures destroyed whenever they were met with—and death was the fate of those who read the word of the Lord. The most horrid and brutal cruelties were inflicted on such as chose to obey God, rather than this Syrian monster. Jerusalem was overspread by his abominations; desolation was indeed poured out "upon the desolate" when Antiochus Epiphanes held the blood stained sceptre, emblem of satanic power. Yet, closely as these circumstances resemble the description given by the prophet's vision, we cannot think it is the event alluded to in this prophecy. Daniel, in the three preceding verses, speaks of the Messiah, and the final destruction of the city and sanctuary: by Antiochus the temple certainly was not destroyed. In the eleventh chapter there appears a striking prophecy of the events which happened in Jerusalem during the dominion of the Syrian tyrant, but we cannot think he is alluded to in any part of the ninth chapter. The first clause of this verse, "He shall confirm the covenant with many," cannot refer to Antiochus, but alludes to the same glorious person mentioned in the preceding verses. The latter part of this verse may with propriety be considered as a continuance of the prophecy of Jerusalem's final destruction, as it occurred under Titus. To Jesus the Messiah we direct our eyes. The one week, or the midst of the week, (seven years half expired,) alludes to the time of his Public Ministry, which was three years and a half; during which period he declared, the design of his mission was to confirm the well-ordered covenant of redemption and peace, which was drawn up in the counsels of eternity—sealed on earth with the blood of the Incarnate God—signed in the presence of Jehovah, angels, men, and devils—registered in the court of Heaven—and proclaimed good and valid by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.[136] It is true, the sacrifices and oblations of the temple service did not cease immediately on the death of Christ, they were continued some little time after that event; but they became unnecessary, they had lost their value, and were but idle ceremonies and useless rights, when the thing signified was accomplished. At best, they were only types of the Lamb of God, the blood of that one great sacrifice, which alone "cleanseth from all sin." "It is not possible for the blood of bulls or goats to take away sin." No, the sacrifices and ceremonies of the Mosaic economy were only efficacious so far as Christ, the substance, was viewed through the shadow.[137] In less than forty years after the death of Christ, the sacrifices and oblations ceased, for the temple was demolished. A spot so deeply stained with crime, needed the fire of divine vengeance to consume it from the face of the earth: it was erected for the worship of the God of Israel, but was turned into the seat of iniquity and profaneness. The horrid enormities observed in the temple of Juggernaut scarcely surpassed the impious practices exercised within the Jewish sanctuary. When Titus, the Roman general, approached the walls of the city, it more resembled the court of Mars and Bacchus, than the temple of Jehovah; the drunkard's voice—the clash of arms—the shouts of the victor—the cries of the vanquished—and the groans of the dying, echoed through that magnificent pile; human blood flowed in its courts, and sprinkled its altars and its walls. Jerusalem was a scene of slaughter; but it was not a war to support the glorious cause of freedom; nor were they fighting to repel the foreign foe, or shedding their blood to defend their beloved homes, and the still dearer objects of affection, around which the warm heart clings with fondest thought amidst the scene of danger and of death, and for whose preservation the weakest arm grows desperate, and the feeblest mind resolves to conquer or to die. But theirs was no such glorious contest; no—civil war had reared her hydra head; the horrid yell of intestine discord rang through Salem's courts, and echoed round her walls; that infernal power bursts the bands of brotherhood, severs the closest ties, dissolves the strongest link of union, and makes the man a monster. The sword of her own sons deluged Jerusalem with Jewish blood; the fire which destroyed her houses was kindled by her own children; death and destruction reigned through all her palaces; the city groaned beneath a three-fold faction, when the Roman legions approached her walls to complete the horrid scene of slaughter. The temple was the head-quarters of Eleazar and the Zealots; they had in their possession the stores of first fruits and offerings, and were frequently in a state of intoxication; but when not drunken with wine, they thirsted for the blood of their countrymen, and issued from their strong hold, to assault John and his party, who lay intrenched in the out-works of the temple. The ruin of Jerusalem is attributed to the horrid enormities of the Zealot faction: surely that was the summit of wickedness, when the priests sold themselves to work iniquity, and the temple of the Lord was the seat of their crimes. That was "the overspreading of abomination," and it continued until the sanctuary was consumed, and "ruin was poured upon the desolators." It was the iniquitous practices of the Jews, rather than the Roman eagle, which profaned the courts of the Lord's House: the conquerors did not plant their standard to insult, but with a wish to preserve, the temple from total ruin and destruction.