If you misidentify the people of the Prince, you’ll misread the last days.

1. The Question That Changes Everything

Who destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD?
Most people answer instantly: Rome.
Yes — Rome was there, swords drawn, fire burning. But prophecy in Daniel 9:26 doesn’t just ask who swung the sword — it asks whose people they were.

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2. Daniel 9:26 — The Decisive Phrase

“…and the people of the Prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.”

This isn’t just a history note. It’s a prophetic identifier.

Here’s the detail most overlook:

• The 1611 King James Bible capitalized “Prince,” even though the capital P is not in the original Hebrew or Greek manuscripts — those languages don’t use our capitalization system.
• That capital letter is there because the early translators believed this Prince was the same “Messiah the Prince” from Daniel 9:25.
• Most modern translations lowercase it, shifting interpretation toward a generic ruler — often seen as a Roman general or a future Antichrist.

If Prince means Messiah, then “the people of the Prince” are His own people, the Jews — not Romans.

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3. Why It Matters for End-Times Interpretation

If you misidentify the “people of the Prince,” you rewrite the prophetic map:

• You move the focus from covenant Israel to a future Antichrist figure.
• You misalign the prophetic pattern of rejection → judgment → restoration.
• You disconnect the fall of 70 AD from the final events of the age.

In other words: get this wrong, and you’ll get the end times wrong.

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4. Messiah’s Own Testimony

Jesus Himself explained the cause of 70 AD’s destruction:

• Luke 19:41–44 — He wept over Jerusalem, saying the siege would come “because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
• Matthew 23:37–38 — “Your house is left unto you desolate.”

He didn’t indict Rome. He laid the blame squarely on Jerusalem — “the people of the Prince.”

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5. The Witness of the Apostles

• John 1:11 — “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.”
• Acts 3:14–15 — “You denied the Holy One… and killed the Prince of life.”
• 1 Thessalonians 2:14–16 — They “killed the Lord Jesus… and wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.”

The verdict was rendered in Heaven. Rome was just the executor.

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6. Luke 19 vs. Luke 21 — Don’t Blend Them

• Luke 19 — Past: Fulfilled in 70 AD, when the Jews’ rejection of Messiah brought Rome’s siege.
• Luke 21 — Future: A coming siege in the Great Tribulation, after the abomination of desolation.

Understanding this keeps the prophetic clock accurate.

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7. The End-Times Parallel

History is prophecy in pattern:

• First Century — Rejection of Messiah → Destruction of Jerusalem.
• Future — Rejection of His once-for-all sacrifice by resuming animal offerings → Final destruction before His return.

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8. Covenant Timeline

• At His baptism — Jesus began confirming the covenant for one “week” (Daniel 9:27).
• At the cross — He fulfilled the first 3½ years; time paused for Israel.
• End times — An Antichrist figure resumes animal sacrifices, attempting to nullify the true continual offering of Christ. This act triggers the final 3½ years.

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9. Why This Truth Must Be Recovered

If you believe Rome was “the people of the Prince,” you will keep looking for a future Antichrist to fulfill Daniel 9:26.
But if you believe the Jews themselves were those people, the prophetic picture snaps into focus — revealing that Daniel 9:26 has already been fulfilled in part, and the stage is set for the final act.

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10. The Abomination and the True “Ceasing”

Many assume the Antichrist will stop animal sacrifices. But Scripture shows something deeper:

• Daniel 9 — Jesus is the One who caused animal sacrifices to cease by His death, replacing them with the once-for-all offering of Himself (Hebrews 10:12–14).
• Daniel 11 & 12 — The Antichrist figure seeks to “take away” the continual sacrifice — not by stopping animals from being offered, but by resuming them.

This is the true abomination: replacing Christ’s eternal atonement with temporary, rejected offerings. Resuming animal sacrifices is a denial of the cross, a spiritual ceasing of Jesus’ continual sacrifice in the hearts of those who accept the substitute.

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Conclusion

The destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD wasn’t ultimately Rome’s doing — it was Jerusalem’s rejection of her King.
The “people of the Prince” are not future; they are past, and they are the key to unlocking what’s still ahead.

And when animal sacrifices return, it won’t be a holy revival — it will be the Antichrist’s attempt to push aside the only sacrifice that ever mattered.

The early translators of the 1611 King James, by giving “Prince” a capital letter, left us a vital interpretive clue that modern versions have quietly removed. Understanding this is not optional — it’s prophetic eyesight.