A Question on Daniel 9:27

Q. In the book of Daniel, right before the 70th week, Israel will sign a 7year peace covenant with the many.  Who are the many?  Also my preacher said the 7 year peace treaty will be floating around and all the anti-christ will have to do is sign it.  Do you know if one has already been written and is just waiting for a signature? On the news a while back ago they spoke of a treaty between Israel and another country but Israel would not sign a ten year treaty because it was always broken before ten years was up.  I believe the other people were palestinians but not sure. What are your thoughts?

A. The phrase “the many” in Daniel 9:27 refers to Israel. We know this because Israel is the beneficiary of the treaty.  Since the treaty authorizes the rebuilding of the Temple, I can’t imagine that it’s already been drafted.

I believe the 10 years you’re thinking about comes from a comment made by a spokesman for Hamas.  He said that Moslems are permitted to make a treaty with a stronger foe but only for the purpose of buying time to become strong enough to defeat them and only for a maximum of 10 years.