or, “it shall be cut off by desolations.” Josephus says that 1,100,000 perished in the siege and 97,000 were carried away captive.
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,
This “one week” was divided into 2 parts of 3½ years each. The first half covered the Ministry of the Messiah and therefore was embraced within the 70 weeks. The last half extended beyond the 70 weeks and ended in A.D. 36. It was a period of remarkable growth in the infant church; Pilate however ceased to be procurator in A.D. 36 and the persecution described in the VIIIth chapter of Acts immediately set in.
and for the overspreading of abomination he shall make it desolate,
or, “upon the battlements shall be the idols of the desolator.” see also Matt. XXIV. 15.
even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Jerusalem was taken by the Romans on the 2nd of Sept. A.D. 70. Then the prophecy of Ezekiel was fulfilled:—“I will scatter thee among the heathen and disperse thee in the countries.”
Remarks. To understand what follows, all divisions of chapter and verse should be obliterated, from this point to the end of the book. The subject matter should be taken as descriptive of what Daniel saw and heard “by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel” “in the third year of Cyrus, king of Persia.” The description reminds us forcibly of the experiences of the apostle John and the apostle Paul. The vision had a twofold object: first, to reveal “what shall befall thy people in the latter days,” and second, to give additional information concerning Messiah’s kingdom said to be distant “many days.” The entire eleventh chapter from verse 2 to the end is devoted to the days following Nehemiah’s rule. In the first four verses of Chapter XII. we catch a glimpse of the coming kingdom, also the destruction of Jerusalem, while verses 5 to 13 set forth the coming of the Holy Spirit.
More than 200 years prior to Daniel’s day, the prophet Joel had pointed to the same great event when he said:—“And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions; And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my Spirit.” Joel II. 28, also Acts II. 17.