Will the “Framework Agreement” with Iran be the False Peace Treaty in Bible Prophecy?

"Negotiations about Iranian Nuclear Program - 
the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Other Officials 
of the P5+1 and Ministers of Foreign Affairs 
of Iran and EU in Lausanne" 
by United States Department of State
Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons

I had a friend ask me the other day if the "framework for a deal with Iran," which seems to be coming to be known as the "Framework Agreement," which the Obama Administration has worked out via Secretary of State John Kerry could be the "false peace treaty" in Bible prophecy. (Tweet that!) I had to admit I was kicking myself that I had not thought of that possibility.

Let me explain what my friend was referring to. The Bible speaks of "weeks" which we understand to be "weeks of years," in other words 7-year segments of time. In Daniel 9:20-27 the prophet Daniel saw a vision of the angel Gabriel, whom Daniel had seen and met with before. This time, Gabriel gave Daniel insight and instruction about "seventy sevens." We understand these to be 70 weeks of years.

Then in Daniel 9:25 Gabriel speaks of "seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.'" That totals 69 sevens. Which means there is one more "seven" left: the 70^th seven, or one more "week of years," a 7-year period.

There are, of course, different ideas about this, but many (if not most?) scholars believe there was an indeterminate gap of time between the 69^th week in Daniel and the 70^th week. And this final 70^th week of 7 years will be the final 7 years of history on earth as we know it now.

Then Daniel says this about that 70^th week of years:

"He [that is the Antichrist] will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him." (Daniel 9:27, NIV 1985)

As you can see, there is a covenant with "many." I believe most scholars think this is the Jewish people. I wonder if it isn't the majority of people on the earth?

This covenant is for one seven-year period. But in the middle of this seven – in other words, at the 3½ year point – the Antichrist breaks the covenant. (Tweet that!) This means the Antichrist never really meant for there to be lasting peace and so it was a "false peace." (Tweet that!)

We know the Jewish Temple has been rebuilt on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem at this point because sacrifices are going on, and that is the only place Jewish sacrifices can take place. (Tweet that!)

Then, in the middle of this seven-year so-called peace deal, the Antichrist puts an end to sacrifice, meaning he stops the Jewish sacrifices going on at the Temple.

When he, the Antichrist, breaks that covenant at the half-way point through the seven years, all hell breaks loose quite literally. The Antichrist sets himself up as God in the Jewish Temple or "on a wing of the temple" and this attempt to usurp God's rightful place as King of kings and Lord of lords is the last straw: the abomination that causes desolation.

So, for prophecy watchers, we are watching for these two things:

• the Temple to be rebuilt on the Temple Mount where sacrifices resume for the first time since 70 A.D., and

• the start of a “peace” deal which we know will be killed after 3½ years.

So the question is, could this so-called deal with Iran that the United States and other nations are painfully claiming to be negotiating with Iran be that Biblically prophesied false peace deal? And furthermore, considering the previous post, I’m wondering might this "peace deal" be made on the 9^th of Av? (Tweet that!) It's something to watch.

Related Article:

• Previous post: Can this Date be Biblically Prophetic? Important Events in Jewish History on the 9th of Av

Muslims Claim the Mahdi Will Rule for Seven Years - Bible vs. Islamic Prophecy - Part 8 -- Plus Easter Moments Countdown Days 21 & 20

End Times Eyewitness:
Israel, Islam and the Unfolding
Signs of Messiah's Return

This another interesting parallel between the Islamic "end of days prophecies" and the End Time prophecies in the Bible. (Tweet that!)

I hope you understand there is no coincidence in all these parallels. (Tweet that!) The evil one, Satan, is very well aware of what God has predicted in His Word, the Bible. Satan has been around since before the Bible was written and he is well aware of what it says. (Tweet that!)

Also, Satan is very good at counterfeiting what God has created (because Satan cannot create anything on his own). (Tweet that!) So all the so-called "prophecies" that Islam teaches and believes are counterfeited and twisted from what God has done.

For example the true God is one God expressed in the Father, the Son which is Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. (These three are known as the Trinity.) According to the book of Revelation in the Bible, in the End Times Satan will mimic this holy Trinity with his own unholy trinity: The Beast (Satan himself), the Antichrist, and the False Prophet. (Tweet that!)

So it's no coincidence at all that the "prophecies" of Islam also talk of a 7-year rule of Antichrist, as the Bible does. (Tweet that!)  Here is another byte from the "End Times Eyewitness" DVD:

[Joel Richardson's introduction to this portion of the DVD:] "To discuss the Muslim expectations concerning their two primary Messiah figures, I sat down with two Muslim leaders. The first was Adnar Oktar of Istanbul. And the second was Sheikh Ekrima Said Sabri. Sabri is the President of Quranic and Islamic Studies at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem." 

[A little later, Joel Richardson narrating on the DVD:] "Because the Bible teaches that the Antichrist will rule for a period of seven years, many Christians are surprised to find out that according to Islamic prophecy the Mahdi will also rule specifically for a period of seven years." 

[Sheikh Ekrima Said Sabri, translated in captions on DVD:] "There is more than one tradition concerning how long the rule of the Mahdi will be. The most common version is seven years."

(Tweet that!)

When the Bible speaks of the last 7 years, these seven years are divided into two: the first 3.5 years of a "false peace" when everything appears to be going great under the rule of the Antichrist (although anyone who follows and worships the true God will be persecuted and, if they don't denounce Him, will be killed. So it's really not so great after all.)

The Antichrist will then set himself up as "God" in the Jewish rebuilt Temple, which is the Abomination that Causes Desolation. During the second 3.5 years then all hell breaks loose leading up to the Battle of Armageddon -- in which God and his people are victorious over the Antichrist and all evil -- and the end of all as we know it. 

Here are some Bible prophecies about the last 7 years of life on earth as we know it now:

Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, "Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth." (Revelation 11:1-3, ESV)

Remember that on the Hebrew/Jewish calendar a month is 30 days, so 1,260 days equals 42 months which equals 3.5 years. (Tweet that!)

In some Bible verses this 3.5 years is said this way:

• "a time, and times, and half a time"
• interpreted as a year plus two years plus half a year ( or 1 + 2 + 1/2 = 3 1/2 years)

Also, for more please take the time to look at these verses:

• Daniel 7:25
• Daniel 12:7
• Revelation 12:6
• Revelation 12:14

Related Articles:

• Amazing Bible and Islamic Prophecy Parallels - Part 1
• Muslims' Teach the Lie that Jesus Will Deny the Cross! -Bible vs. Islamic Prophecy - Part 2
• All Inhabitants of the Earth Will Worship the Beast - Bible vs. Islamic Prophecy - Part 3
• Peace, When There is No Peace - Bible vs. Islamic Prophecy -Part 4
• Sacrifices Being Performed at the Rebuilt Jewish Temple - Bible vs. Islamic Prophecy - Part 5
• Will the Muslim Caliph Rule from the Temple Mount? - Bible vs. Islamic Prophecy - Part 6
• Muslim Mahdi Will Rule with Help of Djinn Demons - Bible vs. Islamic Prophecy - Part 7

Easter Moments:

• Countdown Day 21: He was Crucified

• Countdown Day 20: Jesus, Though Sinless, was Numbered As One of the Sinners

(Tweet that!)

The "Abomination that Causes Desolation" Spoken of Through the Prophet Daniel - Part 4: What is it?

Morguefile.com 

I'm not sure we know exactly what the "abomination that causes desolation" is or what it will look like, but it seems to be when the Antichrist comes on the scene and then sets himself up in the Jewish Temple of God and claims that he himself is God. (Tweet that!)

That is the “abomination that causes desolation.”

It is an abomination because there is no god but the one true God! (Tweet that!)

This is what the Lord says - Israel's King and Redeemer, the Lord Almighty: I am the first and the last; apart from me there is no God. (Isaiah 44:6, NIV)

I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged me... (Isaiah 45:5, NIV)

This causes desolation because the whole earth, meaning every nation, every people group, everyone, is gravely affected by what happens next. (Tweet that!)

This abomination begins at the time Daniel 11:31-32 tells us: 

His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

Verse 31 tells us "his" (that’s the Antichrist) armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress. (Tweet that!)

Secondly, he will "abolish the daily sacrifice" of sheep at the Temple. Again, this tells us the Temple must be standing on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, because that is the only place where the daily sacrifices of lambs by the Jewish people can take place.  (Tweet that!) (Can you imagine how many people will be against these sacrifices taking place, from the animal-rights people to other religions who find this repulsive?)

In order for this prophecy to be fulfilled -- that of the Antichrist putting a stop to the sacrifices -- the Temple must be standing and the Jewish sacrifices must be going on. Therefore, when the Temple is rebuilt on the Temple Mount, this is an extremely significant sign of the End Times which has not yet occurred in our day. (Tweet that!)

The "Abomination that Causes Desolation" Spoken of Through the Prophet Daniel - Part 3: Means the Temple Must be Rebuilt

The golden dome of the Dome of the Rock is prominent
on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem today.
The Dome of the Rock - Wikipedia

In the previous post we talked about the desecration of the Temple in Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes. Because the actions of Antiochus Epiphanes purposely desecrating the Jewish Temple by sacrificing a pig on the altar of Zeus in 168 B.C. was not the complete fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy, there is a more complete fulfillment yet to come.

This fulfillment was in the future when Jesus spoke about it around 30 A.D.

It is clear that the "abomination which causes desolation" occurs at or in the Jewish Temple. The thing is, the Temple was completely destroyed in 70 A.D. when the Romans burned the Temple to the ground. (Tweet that!)

That was only 40 years after Jesus spoke these words. Ever since, the Jewish Temple has not stood on the Temple Mount. 

This Temple can only be located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. (It's not like it can be built in another location. God instructed that it be located on Mount Moriah, which is also known as the Temple Mount. See Genesis 2:22 and 2 Chronicles 3:1.)

Therefore, in order for this prophecy to be fulfilled, the Jewish Temple must once again stand on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. (Tweet that!)

The rebuilding of the Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is a subject of great animosity. Currently the Islamic shrine known as the Dome of the Rock, sits on the Temple Mount. I'm sure you've seen it. It's that large golden dome glistening in the sun whenever we see pictured the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Some people think the Jewish Temple can be built in another area so the Dome of the Rock and the Temple can both coexist on the Temple Mount. Others believe the Jewish Temple belongs in the location of the Islamic shrine, because "the rock" which the Dome covers is the foundation stone of the Temple. Either way, something significant would have to happen for the Jewish Temple to be rebuilt.

Because of the perceived clash it might cause between Muslims, Jews, and Christians, some people think rebuilding the Temple could ignite World War III. I don't think so because I believe there will be a "false peace" negotiated by the Antichrist. (But that's yet another discussion, prophecy, and blog post.)

Obviously this prophecy has not yet been fulfilled. But it is something to watch for, because it would definitely signal when we are in the End Times.

I believe the rebuilding of the Temple could happen extremely quickly. It's possible that, when the go-ahead to build is given, the Temple could be erected very quickly - possibly in a day, if it's possible to erect and use the tent-Temple, like Moses built, instead of the building-Temple, like Solomon and Herod built. (Tweet that!)

Nevertheless, next to the most significant fulfillment of prophecy in our day, which was the fact that Israel is once again a nation, in my opinion this is the next most significant sign of the End Times. (Tweet that!) I believe that because it is something concrete and visual. Unlike the "birth pains" that can leave us wondering "are we there yet?," there will be no mistaking the rebuilding of the Temple when it happens. (Tweet that!)

However by the time the Antichrist sets up the "abomination that causes desolation," so many people may be following him instead of Jesus that they may not recognize this abomination for what it is. (Tweet that!)

The "Abomination that Causes Desolation" Spoken of Through the Prophet Daniel - Part 2: Antiochus Epiphanes

Another photo I took of a model at of first century
Jerusalem and Solomon's Temple at
The Holy Land Experience, Orlando, Florida, USA

We could spend a lot of time working through the End Times prophecies and vision given to Daniel, but since we're currently working our way through Matthew 24, let's try to keep our look at Daniel's vision of the "abomination that causes desolation" simple. Maybe we can revisit Daniel's End Times prophecies another time.

In the previous post we looked at Daniel and his story and history.

In Daniel's vision of the End Times, he refers three times to "the 'abomination which causes desolation.' " This is what Jesus mentions in Matthew 24:15. Here are the three times where Daniel mentions this event: 

• Daniel 9:27:  He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.

• Daniel 11:31-32:  His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

• Daniel 12:11-12:  From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days.

(For more on these numbers you might be interested in reading "How the Jewish Calendar Works.") (Tweet that!)

What is the "abomination that causes desolation"?  (Tweet that!)

Some people point to when Antiochus Epiphanes set up an altar within the Jewish holy Temple to the pagan god Zeus and sacrificed a pig on it, and unclean animal to the Jews, with the very purpose of desecrating the Temple. This occurred in 168 B.C.

But that was (approx.) 168 years before Jesus was born. Jesus talks about this "abomination" occurring in the future from when he spoke these words, and he was speaking approximately 200 years after Antiochus Epiphanes' desecration of the Temple, in about 30 A.D. So there must be another, a different, or a more complete fulfillment to come. (Tweet that!)

This is Daniel 11:35:

Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

This verse mentions "the time of the end" (which hasn't come yet because, well, we're still here). It is clear Daniel is writing about a more distant future time from the then-future time (now past) of Antiochus Epiphanes. From Daniel 11:35 on, Daniel is writing about a time that has not yet come, a time still future to us. (Tweet that!)

We'll talk more about it in the next post.

The "Abomination that Causes Desolation" Spoken of Through the Prophet Daniel - Part 1: Who is Daniel?

Photo I took of a model  of first-century Jerusalem
with the Temple at The Holy Land Experience
Orlando, Florida, USA

Let's look at the next section of Matthew 24:

So when you see standing in the holy place "the abomination that causes desolation," spoken of through the prophet Daniel -- let the reader understand -- then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now -- and never to be equaled again. 

If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. (Matthew 24:15-22, NIV)

Remember that Jesus is speaking. He is responding to the question his disciples asked in Matthew 24:3:

As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

After Jesus lists the events we've been discussing since June 24 (The Prophecy Buff's Favorite Chapter: Matthew 24), he now begins to talk about " 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Daniel." 

What is the "abomination that causes desolation?" There so much information there, let's take several posts to talk about it. (Tweet that!)

First, please notice that Jesus himself validates the prophecy of Daniel. (Tweet that!)

Who was Daniel? Daniel was a young man living in Jerusalem when the Babylonians, under King Nebuchadnezzar, invaded and took the people of Israel into exile in Babylonia (modern-day Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and parts of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Kuwait, and Iran). 

There were actually three deportations of people from Israel to Babylonia: 

• Daniel was taken with the first group in 605 B.C. 
• The second deportation came eight years later in 597 B.C. The prophet Ezekiel was taken with this group. 
• The third and final deportation took place in 586 B.C., which is when the invading Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple.

If, as a child back in Sunday school or somewhere along the way, you heard the story of "Daniel in the lion's den," that's not a fairy tale. That's a true story and this is the same Daniel.

From what I can gather, I think Daniel was probably a teenager when he was deported to Babylonia and I don't believe he ever saw the land of Israel again. But much later he did discover, according to the prophet Jeremiah, this exile in Babylonia was prophesied to last 70 years.

This is what the Lord says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:10-11).

Because Jeremiah was writing from Jerusalem to those in exile in Babylonia, "bring you back to this place" refers to bringing the exiles back to Jerusalem. 

Many people are familiar with that beautiful promise of Jeremiah 29:11. But not many are aware of its context -- that it was written to the Israelites when they were in exile in Babylonia! I included verse 11 so you can see the context of that promise. (Tweet that!)

Even as a young man Daniel showed extraordinary bravery and leadership. You can read how his time in exile began here. (I'm not posting it all because of its length, although it will only take you a few minutes to read it):

Read Daniel 1:3-21 here.

That passages ends with a mention of the first year of King Cyrus, king of the Medes, which was 539 B.C. That means by this time Daniel had spent 66 years in Babylonia.

Note that in verse 17 we are told "Daniel could understand visions and dreams of all kinds." Daniel not only interpreted dreams of Nebuchadnezzar (see Daniel 2), Daniel was given visions of the End Times by God. It was in these visions that he "saw" the "abomination that causes desolation." (Tweet that!)

We will look at the actual verses where Daniel told about this "abomination that causes desolation" in the next post.