Q.  Please explain Daniel 9:27. Will there be a seven-year tribulation period and will Yahshua or the Anti-messiah cause the sacrifice to cease? 

A.  Daniel 9:27 is an important prophecy with more than one application. It was fulfilled by Yahshua at His death when the animal sacrifices were put in abeyance.  Notice that verse 26 speaks of the Messiah, and verse 27 continues talking about Him: “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.  And for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
            Verse 27 could also refer to the Man of Sin who will appear at the end of the age.  Both interpretations are possible, according to the Hebrew. The Jews will initiate sacrifices again at the end of the age, but will stop in the middle of a seven-year treaty as the Man of Sin turns on them.  This will probably be in a Sabbatical and Jubilee year. We understand that the next Sabbatical year is 2001-2002, which is hardly enough time for these prophecies to play out.
            Although it is unlikely that the present agreement between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Israelis is the total fulfillment of these prophesies, they are setting the stage for the realization of end-time events. (See our ministudy, Prophetic Truths In The Sabbaticals And Jubilees.)
            We believe the tribulation period will be three and a half years in duration, half of the seven-year accord. “In the midst of the week” means in the middle of a seven-year agreement, just as Yahshua was “cut off” in the midst of the week, dying on a Wednesday and rising on Sabbath (See our ministudy, Our Savior’s Resurrection.)