“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…” Dan. 9.27

This outrage, this thing, called the abomination of desolation by Jesus, comes in the midst of the final “week” and is the pivotal point of the Tribulation. The exact moment of its institution by the Antichrist and his co‑conspirators is declared in the last chapter of Daniel: “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.” Dan. 12.11 Some simple arithmetic tells us that the abominable thing in the sanctuary is set up 30 days short of the exact halfway point of the seven year period, and as the abomination that makes desolate this development stands as the dividing line between the tribulation and what was labeled by Jesus as the time of “great tribulation”. This overspreading of abominations changes the tone of everything between God and the earth, because the earth, by officially accepting the Antichrist as God, has once and for all rejected God completely. Jesus, who came in another’s name was rejected, now he who comes in his own name, is received. The first three years and five months of the 70th week of Daniel are spent in preparation for this most heinous moment in all of history. The Abomination of Desolation – this Antichrist usurping of God’s throne, is the fulfillment of the Antichrist vision spoken of by Daniel. This is what the Tower of Babel was all about, this is the culmination of Satan’s conspiracy on earth, the moment of the great blasphemy has finally arrived. The Empire has been united, Israel has been taken, the Temple has already been restored, but now, after more than four millennia of trying, Satan has finally installed his man on God’s throne presenting him to an adoring world as God himself.

The Antichrist will conquer many nations. By his military genius, he will first subdue his own kingdom and then will begin his two‑pronged military and diplomatic assault on the rest of the world. He will use might when he has to, but he will prefer to seduce people to his side. Soon after he has confirmed the covenant with Israel, he will have a clash with the King of the South. He will have to crush resistance by force, but, as with Antichrist types before, he will be received in many nations by cheering crowds. “And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power [by Satan’s]: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and shall practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the Holy people [the Church]. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many…” Dan. 8.24‑25

By peace he shall destroy many! Through slick slogans and by preaching an ungodly “peace and unity” he will seduce many into his rebellious course. Equality, justice and economic reform will be the web used to ensnare, while new catch‑all phrases like solidarity, human rights and the dignity of Man will be the mottos of his crusade. As his kingdom expands, his anti-gospel will spread with it. And all the time he will be carefully preparing the souls of Mankind for his coronation as God.

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [the day of Jesus’ coming] shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” 2 Thess. 2.3‑4

It seems, as the 1990s get underway, the world is slowly coming to a boiling point; frustration over the Middle East’s volatile political and military atmosphere grows with every missed peace opportunity. The constant threat hovering over the world because of the Arab‑Israeli problem will have reached such an impossible impasse that when the Antichrist unlocks the puzzle with his ingenious solution, the stock of his already rising star will go sky high. Confirming the covenant with many probably means he will be the person able to pull off a peace settlement; something no diplomatic effort, crisis, or war has ever been able to produce. Incredibly, the Antichrist will champion the cause of the Jews by mandating their right to stay in Jerusalem and to keep the so‑called occupied lands of Israel. At the start of the Tribulation, he will have convinced the Jews that he believes in the holy covenant. To Christians of no understanding, with plastic faith, the Antichrist will seem to be reestablishing God’s word among the nation Israel. The lukewarm Church and corruptible Jews will believe in him as the one who will protect both the right of the Jew to the land and to worship in the Temple at Jerusalem according to Mosaic Law. And during the first half of the Tribulation, the Antichrist will be engaged in the most critical and sensitive part of Satan’s conspiracy of counter‑redemption. He will be seducing the apostate Jews, the lovers of this world, into believing in him personally. He will convince them to sell out the Holy Covenant in favor of worshipping him and having power. The prophecy that he will destroy many by peace should be taken literally, and the peace accord will be the great feather in the Antichrist’s cap that will make him the man of the hour. Solving the Middle East problem, or appearing to solve the problem, will be the launching pad so the Antichrist can declare himself God.

Russia’s Attack Could Come After Confirmation of the Covenant
The prophecies concerning the Antichrist’s peace settlement between Israel and the world also serve as a telltale prophecy for the timing of Russia’s attack on an unsuspecting Israel. Ezekiel says Israel “shall dwell safely”, and Russia will think to herself, “I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely”. Certainly, Israel does not feel safe today. She is by no means at rest. She is suspicious and alert to attack from anywhere and everywhere. The scud missile attacks during the Persian Gulf War has made Israel more skittish than ever. But the Antichrist and his mystique will change that; he and only he, with his Messiah‑like persuasion and reassurance, will be able to put all the fears of the Jews to rest. So it seems that because of the Antichrist’s peace settlement in the Middle East, Russia’s attack fits neatly into the period right after the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel, when an attack would truly be a surprise to the unsuspecting Jews. Ezekiel 38.14 says, “Therefore son of man, prophesy, and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord God; In that day when my people Israel dwelleth safely; shalt thou not know it?” The expression “shalt thou not know it?” also indicates that the Jews’ feeling of safety will be obvious to all. What would make it more obvious than the Antichrist’s miraculous peace settlement?

Antichrist Betrays The Covenant
Also, with Russia out of the way, the Antichrist’s path to world domination and worship would appear to open up like the parting of the Red Sea. Within months of the beginning of the Tribulation, the Antichrist’s heart turns against the holy covenant and it may be that Russia’s supernatural defeat by God and the opportunity it presents will be the catalyst for the Antichrist’s change of heart. Daniel indicates that within a few short months of confirming the covenant and setting up the daily sacrifice and oblation in the Temple, the Antichrist, possibly brimming with confidence because of the demise of Russia and its allies, will begin to trample underfoot the sacred sanctuary. Daniel says, “…How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Dan. 8.13‑14

This 2,300 days is just short of six and a half years and indicates that the Antichrist will quickly, within six months of the start of the Tribulation, begin to fudge on his promises to Israel. The Holy of Holies and the sanctuary are to be trodden by the sacred priesthood only, but the Antichrist will allow other Jews or perhaps even Gentiles, he among them (though it is likely he himself will have some Jewish blood too), to trodden underfoot and defile the sanctuary and holy places of the temple. It will take the coming of Jesus, who will cleanse the Temple, to end the 2,300 day period. So, shortly after the confirmation of the covenant, within a matter of months, the transgression of the law and the covenant will begin, and the situation will erode from there as the Antichrist gains in stature and power and as his indignation toward the covenant grows.  

A Man of Great Exploits
During the first half of the final week of Daniel the Antichrist will do great exploits; all his wars will be successful. He will topple all opposition within his own ranks and he will have a miraculous recovery from a mortal head wound. As Revelation 13 reports, “…and all the world wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the Beast, Who is able to make war with him?”. During the first half of the Tribulation, the Antichrist and the world will be on a honeymoon. He will pile success upon success, anyone opposing his regime will be ridiculed, tarred and feathered by public opinion, and eventually discredited. Like a highly contagious and very lethal virus, his mystique will spread among the people of the world. An aura of mystical power, reaching mythical proportions, will surround every success, be present with every movement, and felt in every word he utters.

“Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land.
  At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.
  For ships from Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant; so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.”  Dan. 11.28‑30

The deals between the Antichrist and his Roman Empire and the Jews will cause the Arabs to be outraged. The Antichrist will think to squash Egypt and its allies once and for all by invading Egypt itself, but ships sailing out of Cyprus (Chittim) will demand that he turn his forces back to Israel. These ships may be allied with the Arab world or they may come from some rebelling nation within the New European Empire, only time will tell; they may even be some kind of zealot Jewish force working out of a base in Cyprus trying to pull off a coup in Israel in the absence of the Antichrist. But whomever or whatever, this threat causes the Antichrist to have indignation against the Holy Covenant and it gives the Antichrist the opportunity to renege on his word to the Jews, because, as it is written, “he will have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant”. It is the time for him to set up his throne and proclaim himself God. Time for the abomination that makes desolate.

With Russia out of the way, the South (Arab League) will be the only force able to muster the power to oppose him, but the South will be beaten back. And while his reputation is being built, his true attitude toward Israel and the covenant will emerge slowly, subtly at first, allowing a few compromises in the worship and way of sacrificing, but his heart will turn against the holy covenant, until he finally forsakes it all together and declares himself God. As Daniel 11. 28, 30 forewarn: first his heart turns against the covenant, then he has indignation against the covenant, and then he forsakes the covenant altogether. The erosion in his heart is clear.

First three and a Half Years Leads to Antichrist Enthronement
The first three and a half years is a progression of events leading to the abomination of desolation and all the while the legend and stature of the Antichrist will be growing to divine proportions. The abomination that makes desolate will not only be the Antichrist and the worship of the dragon, but it will include an image of the Antichrist which will be given the power to speak and cause those who do not worship it to be killed by it. At some point during the first three and a half years of the Tribulation, the Antichrist will live through an assassination attempt and he will be “raised from the dead” in a Satanic charade of the resurrection of Christ. The world will follow after their new “Christ” like no other man before him, including Nimrod, the Pharaohs, Nebuchadnezzar, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, or Hitler.

He will be given supernatural power from heaven to conquer in war after war, and the suffering of war will flow as abundantly as his victories. There will be disease, famine, inflation, economic hardship and confusion on a scale never before experienced; and still people will be deceived by his power and charisma. The delusion will be furthered by the miracle-working False Prophet who will stand at the Antichrist’s side, charming the people into believing that this man is the world’s savior and its omnipotent God. For the first half of the Tribulation, the Antichrist will be invincible. And the people of the world will love him like no other man has ever been loved before. But once he takes the throne of God, all Hell will break loose.

Taken from “The Redemption Play” by ™ Smith