This One Verse Shatters Replacement Theology

Daniel 9 makes it clear: God’s covenant with Israel is still in effect... and if you skip the start of verse 24, you miss the entire point.

There is nothing quite like diving into one of the most hotly contested verses in all of Scripture to make a day off exciting!

I just finished reading the book “The 70 Weeks Jubilee: Israel, the Messiah, and the End of the Age in Daniel 9:24-27” by Travis M Snow. You can grab a copy on Amazon and plow through it in a day like I did and learn a TON about the various interpretations of these four verses and how it applies to the end times, Israel, and Jesus.

After reading the book…

I want to offer one core takeaway that I believe matters a TON in 2025:

This prophecy is not only about the Messiah…it is also about Israel. And that changes everything.

First, here is the prophecy.

“Seventy weeks are determined
For your people and for your holy city,
To finish the transgression,
To make an end of sins,
To make reconciliation for iniquity,
To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy,
And to anoint the Most Holy.

“Know therefore and understand,
That from the going forth of the command
To restore and build Jerusalem
Until Messiah the Prince,
There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;
The street shall be built again, and the wall,
Even in troublesome times.

“And after the sixty-two weeks
Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself;
And the people of the prince who is to come
Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
The end of it shall be with a flood,
And till the end of the war desolations are determined.

Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.”

-Daniel 9:24-27 NKJV

If you never pick up the book and study the prophecy for yourself, at least know this:

This prophecy in Daniel starts by discussing Israel and Jerusalem.

“For your people” and “For your holy city” in verse 24 means Israel and Jerusalem.

MANY other popular interpretations (especially in evangelical circles) assume this prophecy is JUST about the Messiah. They skip over the first part of verse 24 and read verse 25, and then back into verse 24 thinking the angel is only talking about the Messiah.

But if you read the text as intended, Gabriel is talking to Daniel about a nation and a city.

The takeaway is this: There is a key role for Israel and Jerusalem to play in God’s redemptive story. The Church does NOT replace Israel.

The verse has 6 prophetic markers that show the redemptive completion of the people of Abraham and Yahweh.

Yes, of course Jesus the Jewish Messiah is a part of that story (He our High Priest & King from the line of David), but Christians have a tendency to read ancient scripture through New Testament theology, rather than reading the text as intended.

The author of the book in NO WAY denies that Jesus is the one who atones for sin, or suggests that Israel’s salvation is outside of what Jesus did on the cross, but when we read this prophecy as if it’s only about Jesus, it completely ignores the fact that Gabriel is discussing the nation of Israel with Daniel.

If verse 24 is about Israel, then Israel must still have a central role to play in the end times.

This blows up the idea that:

• “Israel’s role is over since Jesus came”

• “The Church is the only focus now”

Replacement theology has been the cause of so much anti-semitism in the world.

1. Theological Arrogance: Gentile Christians believed they were the new “chosen ones” - and Israel was cursed and discarded.

2. Liturgical Erasure: The Church disconnected from its Hebraic roots.

3. Cultural Hostility: Martin Luther wrote vile anti-Semitic treatises late in life, the Crusades, and even Nazi Ideology took hold in Christian circles.

Why does this matter so much?

The rise of Anti-semitism in our culture today in 2025. It’s rampant and culturally acceptable. We see it everywhere. But God has made it clear. The nation of Israel was chosen, not because they are better than anyone else, but because He chose them as the people who would be the ones to reveal Himself, and bring forth the Messiah, which made a way for everyone to be reunited with God.

And He’s not finished yet.

This is good news for anyone who follows Jesus. To know that God is keeping His covenant with Israel, means God is faithful to us, even in our sin.

If God is faithful to the covenant with Abraham, that means He will not turn His back on the promises He made, no matter what.

Believers and followers of Jesus are grafted into the covenant God made with Israel through faith and the atoning work of the cross. They enjoy the blessings that God gives His covenant people. Israel is still the prophetic clock for us all, because Jesus will return to rule from Jerusalem in the Messianic age.

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree,

do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.

-Romans 11:17-18

Jesus is the center of God’s redemptive plan, but Israel is the stage.

If you want to learn about how this prophecy talks about the Messiah, the Anti-christ, the timing of the 70 weeks, and the theme of the Sabbath year and Jubilee (from Leviticus 25) that most people miss, I really encourage you to pick up the book.

Snow frames this prophecy against the backdrop of Jubilee, and it’s a stunning theme running through it that helps to place this prophecy in context.

For me, I’m interested in the end times because who doesn’t want to know how the story ends, but more importantly, I want to understand how today’s world headlines are playing out a storyline that God already has the ending to.

As for the author of the book, Travis Snow… I concluded this:

• He is a Messianic Jewish Premillennialist: Sees Jesus as Israel’s Messiah, grafting Gentiles into Israel’s covenant rather than replacing Israel.

• Advocates for a Jubilee-based prophetic timeline, tying Daniel 9 directly to Leviticus 25 and Jesus’ ministry.

• Educated, experienced, and Messianic Jewish-informed.

• Bridges Jewish tradition and evangelical prophecy in a scholarly yet accessible way.

• Provides a balanced alternative to both replacement theology and rigid dispensationalism, grounded in Israel-first covenant theology.

So what does this ancient prophecy means for followers of Jesus today?

1. I encourage you to read the Bible with Israel’s story in view. Be careful not to “back into” verses with hindsight view. Read them as they were intended in the original timeline.

2. Reject anti-semitism in all its forms. Speak up when you see it.

3. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

4. Trust God’s faithfulness for your own life, knowing He is faithful even over thousands of years.

Daniel 9 isn’t just about dates and timelines. It’s about a faithful God who finishes what He starts - in Israel, in history, and in us.

And that is very good news.

xx

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Theological clarification:

This article isn’t about political Zionism or modern state endorsements. I’m not making a foreign policy argument. My focus is the biblical narrative … specifically, the covenant God made with Israel and the role it still plays in His redemptive plan.

The heart of this piece is grounded in the conviction that God’s covenant with Israel is still active (Romans 11:1, 11:29), and that Gentile believers have been grafted in (Romans 11:17–24) … not as replacements, but as co-heirs in the promise (Ephesians 2:12–13, Galatians 3:29).

I’m simply affirming what Scripture makes clear:

• God doesn’t break His promises to Israel or to the Church (Numbers 23:19, Romans 3:3–4)

• Jesus is the fulfillment of prophecy, not the erasure of Israel (Matthew 5:17)

• And we, as followers of Jesus, are called to honor the root that supports us (Romans 11:18)

This isn’t about elevating one nation over another. It’s about recognizing that God is faithful to His covenants, and that faithfulness is the foundation of our hope, for Israel, the Church, and the world.