Antimessiah, Makes or Confirms Covenant – FAQ

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**Do you believe that the antimessiah/antichrist makes or confirms the covenant with Israel?**

In recent years there has been a substantial amount of discussion of the premise that the antimessiah “signs a treaty with Israel” initiating the Seventieth Week, in light of some of the events which have been seen throughout the history of the Middle East peace process since the early 1990s. As these are things which have yet to occur, we would like to present several plausible interpretations of how the Seventieth Week may begin from Daniel 9:27.

In the KJV, Daniel 9:27a is translated as “he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week.” Some have interpreted this as meaning that the antimessiah will not initiate a peace treaty or agreement, as is commonly approached, but rather give his assent to an already existing one. The interpretation of “confirm” is also present in the NIV translation of Daniel 9:27a: “He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’” The verb translated as either “forge a strong covenant” (ATS) or “make firm” (NASU) or “confirm” (KJV, NIV) in these passages is gavar, appearing in the Hifil stem (casual action, passive voice) meaning, “be strong, mighty,” which BDB indicates means “confirm a covenant” in this context.”[1]

Considering the fact that all of us are dealing with future events in this text, we must consider multiple possibilities. It is clear that the Seventieth Week either will begin when this leader makes an agreement with the government of Israel, or confirms and gives his support to an existing treaty and strengthens it. Either way, the overwhelming conclusion we must draw from this, is that the Seventieth Week does not begin with the rapture, as so many falsely believe.