So are you saying the "covenant with his New Testament congregation" only lasted "for one week"?
What is this one week (seven) that follows the cutting off of Messiah (after the 62 weeks or sevens). There has been a lot of speculation and guessing of what this means. We've heard everything from 7 literal days, 7 years, or 70 years. The reason that we have all these different ideas about this final week, is that
people are not letting the scripture interpret this week. They are doing a lot of assuming, and their studies dripping with speculation of when this Covenant is confirmed. I say that respectfully, but with passion. For we 'must' let the Bible itself tell us what it means. As Righteous Joseph said when asked his interpretation, "
..Do not Interpretations belong to God?" He was right! And God speaks to us today through His word, not speculation. Let's look within His Holy Word and see what God declares.
There is a simple way to determine what period this is. We know From the context (after the 62 weeks) that it starts after the cross, after Messiah the Prince is 'Cut Off.' And we know that this Prince Confirms ([
gabar], a Hebrew word which actually is
Strengthened) the Covenant after these 62 weeks. Therefore, the
one week cannot start until Christ is cut off first! Moreover, we know that in the
middle of this final week, the
sacrifice and offering will cease, and that at the end of this last week, is the
consummation. This much is clearly told us in the verse. And so God has told us that this week is from the cross (
after 62 weeks when Messiah is cut off), and goes all the way from there, to the Consummation (the End of the World). And so what need is there to speculate? On several levels, we see that
one week signifies the New Covenant week. In fact, the only reason anyone would speculate differently would be if
they didn't understand how sacrifice and offering ceases in the middle of the week. Many people believe this refers to the 'literal' sacrifice of lambs in the literal temple in 70A.D., and so they are confused by a New Covenant week, with sacrifice ceasing, after the cross.
Daniel 9:27... 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, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
...refers to "the covenant" earlier in the discourse...
Daniel 9:4... And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
Covenant for who? Who did Messiah the Prince go to the Cross and confirm a covenant with? According to the Word of God:
Heb 9:14-17
(14) How much more shall the
blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
(15) And for this cause
he is the mediator of the new testament, that by
means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
(16) For
where a testament is, there must also of
necessity be the death of the testator.
(17) For a
testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of
no strength at all while the testator liveth.
The covenant and testament are the same. The
covenant cannot become a force or made strengthened UNTIL Messiah the Prince was cut off first. Messiah the Price is the mediator of the NEW TESTAMENT! This is who Christ has confirmed a covenant for! He confirmed the covenant so it becomes a force with His Blood for His Elect.
Therefore, the covenant lasted much longer than you think, from the Cross to the Second Coming, as long as the Elect are here on Earth.
It is not some 7 years' peace treaty with Israel signed by some evil person as some speculated which is absurd and not according to the context of Daniel 9.