The Power of the Holy People
“It shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished” (Dan. 12:7)
What does the term “power of the holy people” refer to? Answer: It refers to the Law, aka the Old Covenant.
Under the Old Covenant, the “holy people” Israel (Rom. 11:28) obtained their power from obeying the Law. Whenever Israel obeyed the Law, God blessed her immensely and conquered all her enemies. Conversely, when Israel disobeyed the Law, God cursed her, and she was defeated by her enemies (Lev. 18:28; Deut. 4:40, 23:63). Israel’s power was not in her numbers or weaponry or any other earthly thing; it came from her covenant relationship with God (Deut. 7, 32:30; Ps. 41:11; Jeremiah 7).[1] Israel obtained her power by obeying God’s covenantal requirements. In other words, “the power of the holy people” was the Law.
Furthermore, the power of the holy people was “shattered”—as Daniel prophesied (see above)—in the first century. The writer of Hebrews said in around AD 60:
“In that He [God] says, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first [covenant] obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away” (Heb. 8:13; see also 2 Cor. 3:7-10 and Matt. 24:3, 34).
The Law was shattered (ended) in the first century. Today, God’s people are under a New Covenant, the Gospel.
Possible objection: Some commentators say that the “power of the holy people” refers to the Gospel, not the Law. After all, Israel was not very holy throughout much of her history (see the Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers – Matthew 21:33-44).
Response: The power of the holy people cannot possibly refer to the Gospel because Daniel said it would be “shattered”(Dan. 12:7); yet the Gospel, aka the New Covenant, will never pass away (Matt. 24:35, Rom. 1:16, Heb 13:20, Jer. 32:40, Isa. 61:8).
Therefore, “power of the holy people” must refer to the Law, which was in fact shattered (ended) in the first century!
Regarding the “time, times, and half a time,” this refers to the three and a half year Jewish-Roman War, which began in spring of AD 67 and ended in September AD 70. See “A Time, Times, and Half a Times (Dan. 12:7).”
For more information about the topics described in this article, please see my book The End Is Here: How the New Testament’s Prophecies Were Fulfilled, available NOW at Amazon.
By Alex Polyak, Director of The Bible Fulfilled, 7/4/25
[1] Don K. Preston, Watching for the Parousia (Ardmore, OK: JaDon Management, Inc., 2020), 70.
