NEWSBITE 18.10.2025
A Middle-East Peace Plan?
Today on 18th October 2025 the whole world is focused on the latest Middle-East peace plan that has started to be implemented by President Donald Trump and his son in law Jared Kushner working behind the scenes which will see Israel and the Arab nations entering into this peace agreement.
While President Trump had boldly announced peace in the region with accolades coming in left, right and centre, things in reality are far from peaceful with Hamas still not complying with the demands to return the remaining bodies of the hostages they murdered.
Many evangelicals (I am one too) see this latest peace agreement being established as the possible covenant they believe will be strengthened by the Antichrist which he will affirm for seven years and then break it half way through based on Daniel 9:27.
Since the 19th Century virtually most of the evangelical world has interpreted Daniel 9:27 as a prophecy concerning the last seven years of history when the Antichrist will make a covenant with Israel for seven years and then break it half way through and attack Israel.
They teach that when this happens the Time of Jacob’s Trouble or that time of Great Tribulation will begin and last for three and a half years in duration (1,260 days, a time, times, and half a time and 42 months).
The whole evangelical world by and large is thinking that this latest peace agreement or treaty looks like it will possibly lead up to that seven year covenant coming to fruition, even though so far nothing has been mentioned about any seven-year duration of this current peace agreement.
A Seven-year Peace Treaty brokered by the Antichrist?
When you look at the early notable Church fathers going back to the first century who actually commented on Daniel 9:24-27, they all related this passage of scripture to the Messiah’s death in AD 33 followed by the destruction of the Temple by the Romans.
They did not mention specifically anything about a seven year peace treaty brokered by the Antichrist with Israel that he breaks half way through, even though two or three of the Church fathers did see an application of Daniel 9:24-27 to the end-times and to an end-time Antichrist.
However, when you look at Daniel 9:27 in light of the context of Daniel 9:24-27, and in light of history, the text prophetically is Messianic in relation to the first coming of the Messiah our Lord Jesus to usher in the new covenant, but also with a prophetic perspective related to the end of this present age. Both are seen in the text.
Daniel’s prophecy telescopes to the time of the Messiah. It refers to the first coming of the Messiah, followed by Titus who destroyed the temple, and also telescoping to the end of this present age when the Antichrist himself will desecrate the rebuilt temple at Jerusalem an sit in the temple proclaiming himself to be God (Daniel 11:36-37) (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4) .
In fact Daniel’s prophecy in chapter 9:24-27 refers to two time frames which we see the Messiah our Lord Jesus clearly annunciating in Matthew Chapters 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21.
In Matthew chapter 24 the Lord Jesus affirms Daniel’s prophecy by taking an event that occurred 160 years before concerning what Antiochus did with his invasion of Israel and Jerusalem and the desecration of the temple, and said it would happen again in the future.
40 years later in 70AD what happened with Antiochus happened again with the Romans, not only was the city of Jerusalem ransacked but the temple itself was destroyed ending Mosaic Judaism as taught in Torah.
In Luke’s account he clearly describes what took place in 70AD. However, in Matthew chapter 24 the Lord Jesus does refer to 70AD but also telescopes to the end of the age when Jerusalem will be ransacked once again and the rebuilt temple desecrated this time by the Antichrist and his military forces which will be like locusts blanketing the Holy Land according to the prophecy of Joel.
The prophet Zechariah tells us that the city of Jerusalem will be ransacked again and half of the city’s population exiled (Zechariah 14:1-2).
After this happens the LORD will step in and send the Messiah back with His saints and powerful angels and His feet will once again stand on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:3-5).
At this time Israel will be rescued and its enemies destroyed! After this the Messianic age will commence (Zechariah 14:6-21).
A Messianic Prophecy
As far as the seventy weeks of Daniel mentioned in Daniel 9:24-27 I would suggest that this prophecy is Messianic and that Daniel 9:27 is not referring to the Antichrist making a seven-year peace treaty with Israel and then breaking it half way through, but is in fact referring the death of Messiah that did away with the need for sacrifices and offerings for sin.
“Seventy Weeks Have Been Determined” (Daniel 9:24)
Now the date from which the 70 weeks was to be counted was the decree to rebuild Jerusalem (vs.25). There were actually three decrees issued by Persian kings for this purpose.
The main one of these was issued in 457 BC by Artaxerxes. Based on the year-day theory of Ezekiel 4:6 all up, there would be 490 years from the decree which would bring us down to the year of Jesus’ death in 33AD, (490-457=33)
This makes sense if you use the Jewish calendar which has a 360-day lunar year, the time would be near the very crucifixion of Jesus Messiah in 33AD.
The study “Seventy Weeks Have Been Determined” on our website throws a different light from scripture and history upon the whole prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27. There is no reason to insert “a time gap” between the 69th and the 70th week of Daniel.
However, in light of history and the scripture prophetically it would be better to place a “time gap” or “time leap” between the first half and the second half of the seventieth week, being a seven year period divided into two halves.
On this website read a Biblical exposition of Daniel 9:24-27 taken from the text of the Septuagint (an English translation of the Biblical text). Click here
Is Gaza the real issue?
As for the current peace agreement in the Middle-East there are still matters unresolved where Hamas in Gaza are concerned.
If Hamas refuse to lay down their weapons and withholding the remaining bodies of the Israelis they murdered then there will be no option for the Israelis but to go in and finish Hamas off once and for all with the backing of the United States.
Having said this, Erdogan of Turkey has placed aid workers in Gaza to help locate bodies buried under rubble; however is there another hidden agenda?
The truth is that Erdogan of Turkey supports Hamas as both Hamas and Turkey are adherents to the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood as is Qatar. The man from Turkey backs Hamas!
Having his people there is defying the power of Israel and the United States of America from carrying out their ultimatum to destroy Hamas if the terrorists do not lay down their arms and leave Gaza.
Added to this, Erdogan may well be looking for an excuse to invade Israel.
He must first have control of Syria and he is using the military forces of Ahmed Hussein al-Sharaa, also known by his nom de guerre Abu Mohammad al-Julani, the so called self-proclaimed President of Syria, to establish a foothold over the whole of Syria. al-Julani is controlled by Erdogan’s regime.
The only obstacle to the invasion of Syria by Turkey is the community of Kurds that are fighting against the Turks.
Also you have the minority communities of Christians and the Druze that are allied to the Kurds also being savaged by al-Julani’s military forces. Israel considers themselves brothers to the Druze Communities which are the descendants of Jethro. Moses’ father in law.
While the “focus” zooms in on the situation in Gaza when it “zooms out” we can see the panoramic overview of the whole situation in the Middle-East coming into focus of which Gaza is a piece on the chessboard of a bigger game being played by the whole International community.
The Big Picture!
One thing to keep in mind is the bigger picture. Israel has three natural gas facilities off shore from Gaza.
There is Leviathan approximately 130 km west of Haifa discovered in 2010, one of the largest gas fields in the Eastern Mediterranean, estimated to have 620 billion cubic meters of gas.
Then you have Tamar Approximately 50 km west of Haifa discovered in 2009 holding around 280 billion cubic meters of gas. Then there is Karsih approximately 80 km west of Haifa discovered in 2013, also now producing gas.
These gas fields have significantly contributed to Israel’s energy independence and security. Israel has been exploring opportunities to export natural gas to neighbouring countries including Europe. The International community is more than interested in this endeavour.
The presence of these natural gas facilities has geopolitical implications, especially concerning relations with Gaza and other neighbouring regions. Tensions often arise over who has resource access and control.
With these successful gas facilities you also have Russia and China meddling in Middle-East politics. Already China is engaged in an economic war with the United States of America seeking to become the number one superpower ahead of America.
As for the Russians, they are still engaged in their war with Ukraine and Russia’s economy is taking hits at present as the war continues unabated, something that President Trump thinks he can broker a peace deal with but he is mistaken.
We know that the future invasion of Israel by the armies of the nations is for spoil and the natural undersea gas reserves more than likely will be the catalyst for an invasion.
When this happens Israel will be enjoying a settled peace in the Middle-Eastern region, a land of un-walled villages, a peaceful and unsuspecting people all living without walls and without gates and bars, having economically prospered through their natural gas exports (Ezekiel 38:8-11).
This regional peace agreement that Israel will have with the nations is called “a covenant of death” in the Bible because Israel will be looking to the nations for its security and prosperity rather than to the Triune God of Israel (Isaiah 28:14-15).
When Israel feels secure, even though the nation by and large the Israelis are still aliens and strangers to their own covenants of promise and estranged from their Messiah, the invasion will come! It will come suddenly and without warning.
As we are also told in the New Testament that when men are saying peace and security sudden destruction will come upon them unawares and take them by surprise on the Day of the LORD when He starts to judge the ungodly Messiah hating, Messiah rejecting nations, before He sends the Messiah His one and only begotten Son to destroy all opposition and inaugurate the Messianic Kingdom.
“For God has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).
The only ones who will not be taken unawares will be His saints who are looking for the His Second Coming with eagerness! (1 Thessalonians 5:1-4). As for Israel it will be a time of sheer terror but the nation will be saved out of it (Jeremiah 30:1-10).
Gaza “the Pawn”
Gaza then, is a key part of why the nations are interested in the Middle-Eastern region, not for the sake of Gaza or the Arabs living there, but for the sake of who will control the off shore gas facilities? This it would seem then is the big picture that will bring the nations of the world to attack Israel!
As for Gaza, is it merely a pawn in the purposes of those nations that would want to see Israel “done and dusted,” so that they can have access to the undersea gas reserves off shore from Gaza?
Once the invasion of Israel comes, and it looks like the nation will be annihilated, the surviving Jewish people will see the Messiah our Lord Jesus coming in the clouds of heaven to earth with His powerful angels and accompanied by the saints of all the ages, to judge the nations and rescue Israel from the hand of all of their enemies, to enable the survivors of Israel to serve their Messiah without fear in holiness and righteousness before Him all of their days! (Zechariah 12:10-3:1) (Jude 1:14-16) (Luke 1:71-75).
When He appears again and descends to earth the Jews will recognise Him as their Messiah and Passover Lamb and in that day “All Israel will be saved! (Romans 11:26) Israel will then fully and completely “possess their possession” (Obadiah 1:17) and “possess the gates of their enemies!”(Genesis 22:17)
