OpenAI just released the latest version o1 of ChatGPT, which aims to reduce the number of errors in its answers known as “hallucination”. In the new version, responses to user inputs do not come immediately as in previous versions, but may take from a few seconds to half a minute to “process” and “think” about the response. This allows it to deduce the correct answer step-by-step for even very complex tasks that often require human deductive reasoning and stringing together clues (instead of just automatically inputting text based on the probability of the next words and training material learned from billions of web pages and books).

I’ve already tried a new version for biblical questions. This version of ChatGPT seems to confirm many of my own interpretations of Bible prophecy by mere deductive and logical reasoning from the context of biblical texts. This is a good way to ascertain, for example, whether we are practicing exegesis (understanding the original meaning of the text) or eisegesis (reading our own preconceptions into the biblical texts) when interpreting Scripture. Yesterday I asked him about the timing of the rapture in 2 Thess. 2:3 in context and concluded that the text itself supports that the rapture (the coming of Jesus Christ and our gathering to Him) does not come until the appearance of the man of lawlessness, and that the removal of the restrainer in the chapter implicitly refers to the apostasy of the church (although on the latter it could not make the correct association fully independently, but I had to lead it a little to understand the context of verses 5-6 in relation to verses 1-4).

Today I asked Daniel about the person fulfilling the 70th week of Daniel 9:27, and he concluded that the text structure itself best supports the idea that it is not the anointed prince mentioned in verse 26 (Jesus Christ), as some Christians interpret the vision, but rather the prince who will destroy the city and the sanctuary, or his future colleague.

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Some might now say that AI should not be used to interpret the Bible because AI answers are not guided by the Holy Spirit but by mathematical algorithms. But the point is not that the AI’s answers should be seen as inspired by the Holy Spirit, but that the software seeks to deductively understand the linguistic structure of the biblical texts in order to provide an explanation of the texts that most closely matches the conclusion that emerges from the text itself. I don’t think this contradicts the understanding guided by the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit does not work against the laws of linguistics.

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Me:

Daniel 9:24-27 says: “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for wrongdoing, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place. So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. Then after the sixty-two weeks, the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined. And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.” Reason deductively – without resorting to the explanatory doctrines of biblical commentaries – how the vision should be interpreted and to who the covenant maker in verse 27 refers to in the context of the vision. In other words, try to deduce the exegetical meaning of the vision without external influences (such as Bible commentaries).

ChatGPT o1

To interpret Daniel 9:24-27 deductively and understand to whom the “he” in verse 27 refers, we’ll analyze the passage step by step, focusing solely on the text itself.

1. Overview of the Passage

Verse 24 sets the stage:

• Seventy weeks are decreed for your people and your holy city.
• Objectives to be accomplished:
  • Finish transgression
  • Make an end of sin
  • Atone for iniquity
  • Bring in everlasting righteousness
  • Seal both vision and prophet
  • Anoint a most holy place

Verses 25-26 break down the timeline:

• From the word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem to the coming of an Anointed One, a prince, there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks (totaling 69 weeks).
• Jerusalem will be rebuilt during difficult times.
• After the sixty-two weeks:
  • The Anointed One shall be cut off and have nothing.
  • The people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.
  • The end shall come with a flood, leading to war and desolations.

Verse 27 focuses on a key figure:

• He shall make a strong covenant with many for one week.
• For half of the week, he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering.
• An abomination that desolates will occur until the decreed end is poured out upon the desolator.

2. Identifying Key Figures

• Anointed One (Messiah): A significant figure who is “cut off” after the sixty-two weeks.
• Prince Who Is to Come: Associated with the people who destroy the city and sanctuary.
• He in Verse 27: The subject making a covenant and stopping sacrifices.

3. Determining the Referent of “He” in Verse 27

To find out who “he” refers to, we examine the immediate antecedents:

1. Anointed One: Mentioned as being “cut off” and having nothing.
2. People of the prince who is to come: They destroy the city and sanctuary.
3. Prince who is to come: Implied leader of the people who cause destruction.

Given that the Anointed One is cut off before the events of verse 27, and the people (plural) of the prince (singular) are the last subjects mentioned, the most logical antecedent for “he” is the prince who is to come.

4. Interpreting the Actions of “He”

• Covenant with Many for One Week: The prince establishes a strong agreement lasting one “week” (interpreted as seven years).
• Ending Sacrifices Mid-Week: Halfway through this period (after 3.5 years), he stops sacrificial practices.
• Abomination That Desolates: He introduces something detestable that causes desolation until his own end is decreed.

5. Understanding the Seventy Weeks

• “Weeks” as Periods of Seven Years: In prophetic literature, a “week” often symbolizes seven years.
• Total Duration: Seventy weeks equal 490 years (70 weeks × 7 years/week).
• Division of Weeks:
  • 7 weeks (49 years): Time to rebuild Jerusalem.
  • 62 weeks (434 years): Period until the Anointed One.
  • 1 week (7 years): Final period involving the prince.

6. Deductive Interpretation

• The passage predicts a timeline leading up to critical events for Jerusalem and its people.
• Anointed One: Represents a figure who is eliminated before the city’s destruction.
• Prince Who Is to Come: Likely a future ruler whose actions result in desolation.
• The “he” in verse 27 refers to this prince, not the Anointed One, based on grammatical structure and narrative flow.

7. Conclusion

Within the context of Daniel 9:24-27, the “he” in verse 27 is best understood as the prince who is to come. This figure:

• Makes a covenant with many for seven years.
• Halts sacrifices midway through this period.
• Brings about an abomination leading to desolation until his own destruction is decreed.

This interpretation aligns with the passage’s structure and maintains internal consistency without relying on external commentaries.

An overview of the new ChatGPTo1 version’s amazing reasoning abilities to solve, in less than a minute, crime mysteries that used to require a detective genius like Sherlock Holmes.