The Seven Year Contract

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, Daniel 9:27, KJV

The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven, but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. Daniel 9:27, NLT

That did it! I just read the title of a video that proclaims that on Sept. 25th of 2014, the seven year period of the Great Tribulation began. I believe in freedom of speech--I practice it myself--but some individuals really abuse it, especially in Bible prophecy.

This field can be a real minefield for those who do not study. This, of course, is true in many disciplines. And prophecy is a discipline with its own rules and vocabulary. It can be murky, capable of variations of interpretations.

But one subject can be determined with total precision. This is the beginning of the Great Tribulation. The book of Daniel gives us the exact period. Not a date, but the exact circumstances and the person who makes an agreement with "many" in Israel. This is given in Daniel chapter nine, verses 24-27.

A man, not yet revealed, who the Bible calls the Antichrist, makes a 7 year covenant with many. Three and a half years--elsewhere in the Bible known as 42 months and 1,260 days--into this seven year period, Antichrist breaks the covenant. When he does, this begins the Great Tribulation.

The book of Revelation details this period and the characteristics of this man. Paul calls him "the man of sin". John calls him "the beast". Since this man has not yet been revealed, no covenant with him can be made. Thus, no covenant can be broken, and the tribulation has not begun.

All the parts of a prophecy must be present before we can even begin to speak of its fulfillment. People who present such false ideas should have their "interpretor licenses" torn to shreds. After all, that is what they are trying to do to the Bible.