What evidence shows the rapture and abomination happen together?
To answer that question, a person must compare Matthew 24:15-31 to Revelation. First, the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, during the rapture in Matthew 24:29-31 perfectly match the same signs in the 6th Seal, in Revelation 6:12-14. Thus, there is no question that the 6th Seal is the rapture because both passages happen during end times and those signs are too distinct to happen twice. Plus, the ‘great multitude from every nation’ (Christians) appear in heaven immediately after the 6th Seal, yet before the 7th Seal, in Revelation 8. The key to understanding Matt 24:15-31 is to recognize that there are two groups in Revelation 7, following the 6th Seal. In addition to the Christians, there will be 144,000 Israelites (Jews) who will be ‘sealed by God’ so they won’t be fooled by the false prophet. The 144,000 must endure the Trumpet plagues, but will refuse the mark of the beast and be martyred, in Rev 14, before the Bowl plagues start. That’s why Jesus prophesied that their days would be ‘cut short’ (Matt 24:22), but I’ll address that more later. The fact that there are two distinct groups, in Rev 7, following the 6th Seal, means that Matthew 24:15-31 contains the same two groups, following the abomination. Thus, the 6th Seal rapture and abomination happen at the same time. Further evidence is that Jesus tells Judea to “flee to the mountains,” when the abomination is set up, giving two examples to illustrate the urgency. (Matt 24:15-21) Then, people are described as being in the mountains, during the 6th Seal, who see Jesus in the sky and mourn because they know they’ve been left behind to suffer wrath. (Rev 6:15-17) Additionally, I think the Jews in Israel will have another reason to ‘flee to the mountains’, whether they recognize the abomination or not, since other scriptures, below, describe a giant tsunami that happens in conjunction with the rapture. Luke 21:25-2725 "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. 26 Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. 27 At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Amos 8:8-10 8 "Will not the land tremble for this, and all who live in it mourn? The whole land will rise like the Nile; it will be stirred up and then sink like the river of Egypt. 9 "In that day," declares the Sovereign LORD, "I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. 10 I will turn your religious feasts into mourning and all your singing into weeping. So, as you can see, Amos even mentions the earthquake (land trembling) before the water rises and subsequently recedes, just like a tsunami. Scientists have long known about tsunamis hitting Israel, in the past, so they expect another in the future. That’s why Israel even has signs to show people how to evacuate the coastal regions and head to higher ground. The 6th Seal starts with an earthquake, which will generate the tsunami and give people a limited time to flee to higher ground, which is why Jesus spoke with such urgency concerning the abomination. Everything happens very quickly but I think there is a short time to allow at least some people to reach the mountains where they will see Jesus in the sky, as mentioned before. Yet, like I said, there won’t be enough time for others, around the world, to hear about the events and ask forgiveness, so it’s important to be saved ahead of time. So, what evidence shows the abomination and rapture to be near? As everyone knows, the exact time and date of the rapture cannot be predicted, but God provided a few clues in which curious Christians can watch and hope. Solomon said, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” (Prov 25:2) There is even a special table for those who are watching when Jesus comes (below), so God undoubtedly gave clues in the Bible for people to watch and decipher. God doesn’t make it easy, but a picture always gets clearer as you get closer to it. Luke 12:3737 It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. Granted, there are multiple signs in the Bible, such as disasters becoming more frequent, and society becoming more wicked, both of which seem to be happening, but those signs are not as specific as when Jesus mentioned the abomination from the Book of Daniel. Like I said, Daniel mentioned the abomination four times, but Daniel 11 is the most detailed list of events. When I started this website, which was initially a book, we were only on verse 22, but over the years, all the verses, through verse 30, have been fulfilled or satisfied, so the uprising and abomination, in verse 31, are due next. The following is a brief summary, starting with verse 15, to show how the verses got closer together, as we got closer to end times. My interpretation is totally different from previous interpretations, of which there have only been two, but both of those contain huge gaps and obvious errors. Like I said, Daniel 11 is God’s Book of Truth, which was “sealed until the time of the end,” so it stands to reason that the events would get more detailed or closer together towards end times, rather than have huge gaps. Verses 15-19 - The rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire, from 1453 to 1919. Verse 20 - The British Mandate, which spanned from 1919 to 1948. Verse 21 – The Islamic Revolution in Iran, which took place in 1979. Verse 22 – Saddam Hussein’s defeat, in 2003, and withdrawal of US forces in 2011. Verse 23 – The interim nuclear deal with Iran, which was signed in Nov-2013. Verse 24 – The ISIS invasion of Mosul was in June-2014, which ultimately led to Iran gaining a military foothold in Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon (ancient Mesopotamia). Verse 25 – Saudi Arabia invaded Yemen, in March 2015, because they said the Houthis were allied with Iran. Verse 26 – The attempted coup in Turkey, in July 2016, turned Erdogan away from Saudi Arabia and more towards Russia, Iran, and Assad. Verse 27 – The G20 summit, in Sept 2016, where Erdogan sat with Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, from Saudi Arabia, despite accusations that Saudi Arabia at least knew about the attempted coup ahead of time. Verse 28 – Later, in Sept-2016, President Rouhani of Iran used the UN General Assembly to complain to the P5+1 that the US wasn’t upholding their end of the nuclear deal, which resulted in the unfreezing of most of Iran’s wealth, which further financed their spread into ancient Mesopotamia. Verses 29-30 – In Dec-2016, the UN Security Council approved resolution 2334, which condemned Israeli settlements and demanded that all building be stopped. Note: That vote was historic because the US refrained from vetoing as they normally did. In Dec 2017, the UN voted 128-9 to condemn Trump’s declaration that Jerusalem was the capital of Israel, thus “forsaking the holy covenant.” As you can see, the verses went from being about one-century apart, to about one-year apart. They got even closer, in 2016, which is understandable, since 2016 was on God’s timeline of 37’s, which I discovered with God’s help. It would seem that a gap has been forming, since Dec-2017, but I don’t think so because the Palestinian rioting began in Dec-2017, just days after Trump declared Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The Gaza protests continued for over a year, especially as America moved their embassy to Jerusalem, on May 14, 2018, which was the 70th anniversary of Israel. The Palestinians vowed to continue the riots, but were forced to stop, in late-2019, not by the Israelis, but by the covid-19 pandemic. I initially thought the riots would develop into the armed uprising, in Daniel 11:31, but as I point out on another page, the pandemic was indirectly mentioned in Isaiah 26:20, so it seems that God wanted to tamp down the riots a bit. Yet, even so, since the riots started in 2017, and were directly about Jerusalem, I don’t think there is much of a gap, if any. God is just controlling things to fit His chosen Day. The 70th Seven Like I said, besides Daniel 11, the prophet Daniel mentioned the abomination three other times, but two of those (chapters 8 and 12) concern periods after the abomination, giving important milestones during the post-rapture tribulation. Only Daniel 9:27, which describes the 70th Seven, gives a clue to the possible timing of the abomination. Daniel 9:27 (NIV) He will confirm a covenant with many for one 'seven.' In the middle of the 'seven' he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing [of the temple] he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. Basically, a ‘confirmation of a covenant with many’ will start a 7-year period in which the abomination happens in the ‘middle’. However, the KJV uses the phrase ‘midst’ of the seven, which could be any time within. Actually, I think both are accurate if you think of the middle like the middle of a jelly doughnut. I mean, the jelly is not just in the exact middle, but extends throughout, except for the outer breading. Likewise, the middle of the 70th Seven can extend throughout, and no one knows the exact thickness of the outer breading.“That Causes Desolation”
The phrase, “the abomination that causes desolation” comes from a Jewish mindset because the Jews regarded their homeland as the “holy land,” that is, land set apart or separated from other nations for Abraham’s descendants. They also considered their homeland to be God’s “holy land” because God dwelt in their land: at the temple in Jerusalem. Here is King David’s song of praise: “He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham. But He brought His people out like a flock; He led them like sheep through the desert. He guided them safely, so they were unafraid; but the sea engulfed their enemies. Thus He brought them to the border of His holy land, to the hill country His right hand had taken. He drove out nations before them and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance; He settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.” Psalm 78:51-55 (emphases mine)
The word holy means “set apart” from the common or usual. The term “holy land” defines land as that which is set apart from all other lands. God set Israel apart from Egypt as a holy nation of people. (Exodus 19:4-6) He placed Israel in the center of the nations at a special location, called “His holy land.” Ezekiel 5:5
God did not give a share of the Promised Land to the tribe of Levi when Israel entered Canaan. (Numbers 18:20,21) God did this because He wanted to tie the prosperity of the tribe of the Levites to their effectiveness as teachers and pastors of His flock. If the priests were faithful and taught the people the ways of the Lord, the nation would prosper, and the Levites would prosper from the increase in tithe. If the priests failed to teach the people the ways of the Lord, the nation would suffer, and the Levites would suffer because of Israel’s economic failures.
When the time came for Israel to possess the holy land, God gave Moses certain instructions about the Levites. (Numbers 35:1-8) Six cities were set aside as cities of refuge and became known as “holy cities.” When King David overthrew the city of Jebus and established his throne there, he renamed Jebus, “Jerusalem” [City of Peace] and it became the seventh [and last] of the holy cities. After Solomon’s death, the kingdom of Israel was divided into two states and in 722 B.C, the northern kingdom was destroyed. At that time, Jerusalem became the only holy city remaining for the tribes in the south, Benjamin and Judah.
When each “holy city” was established, the nearby pastureland around the walls of the city was “set apart” for the Levites as a place for their gardens and flocks. They called the pastureland around the walls of each city “the holy place” or “holy ground” because it was set apart for the priests to use exclusively. Even after the Babylonians destroyed Jerusalem, God planned for the rebuilt city to have “holy ground” surrounding its walls. Ezekiel 45:1-6
With that explanation of how the language is used to describe the pastureland around the walls of the holy cities, let’s examine closely these two texts:
- Jesus said: “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel – let the [Gentile] reader understand – 16) then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17) Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18) Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19) How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20) Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.” Matthew 24:15-20 (emphasis mine)
- Jesus said: “When you see Jerusalem being ‘surrounded by armies‘, you will know that its desolation is near. 21) Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. 22) For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. 23) How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people.” Luke 21:20-23 (emphasis mine)
There is an interesting difference between these two texts. Both Matthew and Luke heard Jesus give the same discourse. Years later, when the gospels were written, Matthew, the Jew, wrote as a Jew would have remembered Jesus’ prediction. Luke, a Gentile converted to Christianity, wrote according to what he understood Jesus to mean. Both men understood the meaning of Christ’s words.
In the Jewish mind, the city of Jerusalem was an object of highest adoration and exaltation. Jerusalem was the hub of Judaism. Jehovah’s temple was located on Mount Moriah, and the Jews regarded Jerusalem as the invincible City of God. Given this ideology, the Jews considered the presence of an uncircumcised Gentile army standing in the land dedicated to the Levites to be an insult to God. Luke confirms this understanding. He interprets Jesus’ words to mean “when you see Jerusalem being surrounded by foreign armies, you will know that its desolation is near.”
Jesus was trying to warn His followers about a future event that was something unbearable to hear. Why would God allow His holy city and His temple to be subjected to barbarians bent on destruction? His justification for destroying Jerusalem a second time was the same as the first destruction of the city and temple by Nebuchadnezzar. God destroyed Israel because of apostasy defiant.
Jesus quoted Daniel 11:31 saying, “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel . . .” because the first fulfillment in Daniel, Chapters 10-12, was about to reach fulfillment in A.D. 70. This portion of Daniel’s prophecy was fulfilled when Vespesian set siege to Jerusalem in A.D. 68. He surrounded Jerusalem so that no one could enter or leave the city. However, Nero died shortly after the siege began, and Vespesian ordered his troops to return to Rome to secure his position on the throne. The following year, the siege was renewed under the leadership of Vespesian’s son, Titus. In A.D. 70, the city of Jerusalem fell and was totally destroyed.
When Vespesian lifted the siege on Jerusalem and returned to Rome because of Nero’s death, a short window of time opened up. The retreat gave believers enough time to escape the city of Jerusalem. Early Christians understood Daniel’s words, as well as Jesus’ warning. When Titus destroyed Jerusalem the following year, few, if any, Christians perished. Thousands of Christians survived because Jesus pointed them to Daniel 11:31. The dispersion of thousands of Christians from Jerusalem in A.D. 69 forced the Gospel into many places where it had not gone before.
Remember, God gave this vision to Daniel about 540 B.C., and it was meant to benefit two groups of people who would be separated by almost 2,000 years.
- Early Christians experienced the destruction of Jerusalem.
- Great Tribulation Christians will experience the destruction of earth.
The ‘abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of in Daniel 11:31, is the Universal Death Decree [also referenced in Daniel 12:11] which is set up on the 1,290th day of the 1,335 days of Daniel 12:12.
So, an abomination that causes desolation is this: a great insult, an evil act committed against Almighty God; a detestable plan implemented by man for the purpose of destroying an object of God’s affection. Just as wicked men surrounded ancient Jerusalem to destroy it, so wicked men will surround the saints of God with an intent to destroy them during the Great Tribulation. (Revelation 13:15) From the casting down of the censer, there will be 1,290 days before a universal death decree is issued against the saints. [See the book of Esther for a parallel story about an abomination that almost caused desolation.] This is why the Bible says, “Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the 1,335th day.”
Those people who live beyond the universal death decree will see Christ appear in clouds of glory and victory. They will witness the most powerful battle ever seen on earth as Jesus destroys the false prophet and the beast. The redeemed who live to see Jesus come will be the eyewitnesses who can sing the song of mighty deliverance, and they will also tell of this glorious rescue to those individuals who slept in death through this event. What a blessing God will give the people who will endure to the end. They kept the faith and He who is Faithful and True kept them from death!
By the way…….History records that when Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70, every stone in the temple was pulled apart by Roman soldiers to retrieve the gold that melted during the great fiery conflagration. (Matthew 24:2) According to the Jewish historian, Josephus, more than one million Jews were killed and 97,000 were taken captive. The amazing thing about this story is historical records claim that not one Christian perished during the destruction of Jerusalem.
When Vespesian abandoned the siege, all of the Christians who had been trapped inside the city escaped for their lives to Pella. They understood and believed the prophecy of Daniel 11 which had been highlighted by Jesus just 40 years earlier. [Do you think those early Christians would say that understanding prophecy is important?]
Most Christians today have no idea about the events that are coming. They are like the Jews living inside ancient Jerusalem. Vespesian’s departure did not mean an end to Rome’s hostilities against Jerusalem, as the Jews mistakenly presumed. It was merely a signal of a reprieve — a window of opportunity to escape. Christian believers who understood Jesus’ words knew what was coming next and fled the doomed city.
In our day, people who understand Daniel’s words can know what is coming next and when the time becomes appropriate, they will flee from Babylon and separate themselves from this horrible system that will form. God wants His people to understand the big picture before it happens.
As I understand it, the meaning of three elements in Daniel 12:11,12 is most important.
- The termination of the daily refers to the corporate intercession of Jesus in Heaven.
- The abomination that causes desolation at the 1,290th day refers to a universal death decree issued against the saints.
- The blessing promised to those people who wait for and reach the 1,335th day refers to those people who are eye witnesses to the majesty and glory that belongs to Jesus as He crushes His enemies at the Second Coming.
The First Desecration
In Daniel chapter 8 (see the section entitled Daniel’s Vision of the Four Beasts), we find a description of how the empire of Persia would be destroyed by the coming of Alexander the Great. In the symbolism of Daniel’s prophecy, the he-goat (Greece) had a “notable horn” (Alexander the Great) between its eyes. After the goat had destroyed the ram (Persia), the large horn was broken and four others came up in its place. As we learned from Daniel’s vision, this was a prophecy of the unexpected early death of Alexander and the taking over of his empire by his four principle generals. After the take-over, the empire was divided into four main regions, two of which became prominent: the kingdom of the Ptolemies in Egypt and the Seleucids in Syria.
Daniel’s prophecy, however, does not end at that point. It continues to predict further into his future by focusing on one part of the broken Greek empire, namely the northern Seleucid kingdom. Daniel said that out of this kingdom would arise a prominent king (referred to as the “little horn”—but in this case it is not the Antichrist) who will begin to extend his empire toward the land of Israel. Using the past tense for his description as though the events had already occurred, Daniel predicts…
“…by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.
“And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it continued, and prospered.
“Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint who spoke, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled under foot?
“And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.”
Dan. 8:11b-14
Recorded history points us directly to the person of Antiochus IV Epiphanes as the only possible fulfillment of this prophecy. Antiochus ruled Syria from 175-164 B.C., but centuries before his rise Daniel predicted a period of widespread destruction at the hands of this Seleucid king. As Antiochus fought for territory with the Ptolemies of Egypt, his forces inevitably pushed south toward the land of Israel. In time, the king subjugated the small land of the Jews without much difficulty. In defiance of their religious beliefs, Antiochus also desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem by offering a pig as a sacrifice. He then set up an altar to Jupiter right in the holy place and condemned the people to eat pork, which was unclean to every Jewish believer.
This was what Jesus was referring to when he mentioned the term “abomination of desolation”. Antiochus had set up a pagan altar right in the Jewish Temple and sacrificed to his god, not to the one true God. He also outlawed the Torah, the Jewish sacrifices, and the following of any holy day observances as prescribed by Moses. This was the abomination that had made the Temple and the land desolate from a spiritual perspective. Every person listening to Jesus when he predicted that another Abomination of Desolation would occur in the last days knew immediately what he was talking about.
However, Daniel predicted that Antiochus and his idolatrous abomination within the temple would not remain there forever. He also prophesied that exactly 2,300 days after Antiochus defiled it that the holy place would be completely cleansed and restored. In fact, at precisely the predicted time, the Lord raised up a priest by the name of Mattathias Maccabee and his son Judas to lead the people out from between the yoke of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Seleucid Empire and institute a brief period of Jewish independence, known as the Kingdom of the Maccabees or the Hasmonean dynasty.
The beginning of the Maccabean revolt was in direct response to the evil committed at the hands of Antiochus. As a result of their victory, Jewish people today still celebrate the Feast of the Dedication in remembrance of when the temple was finally cleansed in 165 B.C.
The Final Desecration
If the “abomination of desolation” had already taken place long before Christ was born, why did Jesus prophesy of it again in Matthew chapter 24? Actually, what the Lord is saying is that history is going to repeat itself at the end of the age. Remember, Paul predicts that the Antichrist would present himself as God in the temple before the end comes. Instead of setting up an idol to worship as Antiochus did, the Antichrist is going to proclaim himself as a god to be worshipped!
At the very time when the Antichrist is at the pinnacle of his power—when the entire world is following his one-world government of “peace and safety” and no one seems able to stand in his way—he will make the monumental mistake of daring to enter a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem and proclaim himself to be God and savior of the world.
In another place, Daniel said in his prophecy of the Seventy Weeks that the Antichrist would “in the midst of the week (or in the middle of the final seven years)…cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease” (Dan. 9:27). It is important to note that this very act of stopping the sacrifices and offerings implies that there will have to be a rebuilt temple that will exist in the last days during the Antichrist’s reign. Only in the city of Jerusalem, and then only at the temple mount itself, can the Old-Testament ceremony of worship take place. Although this temple does not yet exist in our time, Jewish religious organizations already are planning for its construction and even preparing the building materials and the prescribed trappings of worship necessary to erect it quickly when the opportunity arises.
So powerful and popular will the Antichrist become during his rule that he will even think to take the place of the God of the universe in the Holy of Holies. When this event happens, Daniel says that…
“…for the overspreading of abominations he (e.g., the Lord) shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolator”
Dan. 9:27
This is why Jesus strongly warned that when the abomination occurs, everyone in and around Jerusalem should run for the hills and take cover. The abomination of desolation will become a major transition point to the destruction of the last days. It is a flag post that will mark the beginning of the end for the Antichrist. At the very moment it happens, a decisive change in the course of world history will have taken place that will cause the entire earth to become a desolate wilderness. This is also why Jesus named it “the abomination of desolation”. It is an abomination of hideous idolatry that will turn the entire world into a war-torn wasteland of unimaginable and unprecedented scope.
The abomination of desolation therefore marks the beginning of the wars of the end. After that turning point, the kingdom of the Beast will be transformed into a fragmented power that will be consumed and destroyed by war unto the end (cp. Dan. 7:26). And when will this abomination occur? Daniel says that it will definitely happen sometime in the middle of the last seven years (Dan 9:27). In addition, since the book of Revelation puts a time limit on the reign of the Antichrist by stating that he will be allowed to continue for only three and a half years, the abomination must surely take place before the Beast’s kingdom begins to dissolve. Incredibly, Daniel is so accurate in his visions that he actually predicts the very day that the Antichrist will commit this act! In the last chapter of his book, Daniel asks an angel about the timing of the events of the end. This is part of what the angel tells him:
“And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”
Dan. 12:11
Since the last prophetic time period of this age will be seven years in length (each year consisting of the Jewish year of 360 days), 1,290 days is just 30 days longer than half of this total period. Daniel’s prophecy says that the abomination will occur precisely 1,290 days before the end. Therefore, the Antichrist’s presentation of himself as God must happen 30 days prior to the exact midpoint of Daniel’s 70th Week.
Suddenly, these prophecies are starting to fall into place—at least well enough to understand some of the chronology of the last seven years. According to the Bible, God gives the Antichrist only three and a half years to work his evil. Therefore, when he declares himself to be God it is almost at the end of his allotted reign. In fact, only 30 days after the abomination occurs, his undisputed rule will be terminated and his kingdom will begin to fall.
The closeness of these events is not just coincidental. When the Antichrist exalts himself to the point of deity, the righteousness of God will simply not permit his empire to continue. The Lord himself will initiate a series of devastating events which will collapse the very foundations of the Antichrist’s kingdom. This means that while the first 3-1/2 years of Daniel’s 70th Week may be characterized by the iron rule of a ruthless but popular empire, the last 3 1/2 years will be transformed into a battleground of world-wide destruction.
When Jesus told his followers to flee to the mountains as soon as they saw the abomination, he did so because he foresaw the resulting desolation of the end. The Lord said that there would suddenly come a time of unparalleled trouble which would leave the entire world in a state of impending doom. So great would be the aftereffects of this “great tribulation”, as he called it, that all life on Earth would be threatened and held in the balance. This is not an overstatement. The wars that are going to engulf mankind at the end of this age will be so destructive that the very death of the Earth is not beyond the realm of possibility. The Lord indicates this very fact in Matthew. Jesus says that if God does not intervene to save his people just in the nick of time…”there should no flesh be saved” (Matt. 24:22). This time period will be much worse than the World Wars of the Twentieth Century. The Bible describes such a horrific time period that only World War III could be in view. From the point of the Abomination of Desolation forward, the Bible gives us a blow-by-blow account of what will occur. The prophesied events take us all the way up to the battle of Armageddon and ultimately to the very moment of the return of Christ. And it all begins just 30 days after the Antichrist makes his appearance in the temple of God.
When studying things related to the end times, one important topic of discussion is the ‘abomination of desolation’. Broken down, an abomination is a particularly gross kind of sin that God calls particularly wicked. There are many things that God refers to as abominations (but not all), including homosexuality, a perverse look, pride, a dishonest balance or scale, condemning the just or justifying the wicked. The list goes on. But, as an abomination is a sin of particular disgust, the ‘abomination of desolation’ is an abomination that cause desolation, or a state of complete emptiness or destruction to come about, especially on a people, land, or nation. Thus, when we come to read about the ‘abomination of desolation’, written of in the Bible, it is talking about a particular sin that is so grievous to God and to creation that it causes the desolation of Israel, for Israel to become vacant and not lived in and utterly destroyed.
There are traditionally eight Biblical references to the Abomination (we will capitalize ‘Abomination’ to specifically refer to the Abomination of Desolation, rather than spelling it out).
- Daniel 8:13 – Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?”
- Daniel 9:27 – 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 11:31 – And forces shall be mustered by him, and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation.
- Daniel 12:11 – And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.
- Matthew 24:15 – Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation‘, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (whoever reads, let him understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
- Mark 13:14 – So when you see the ‘abomination of desolation‘, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 – Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.
- Revelation 13:12-18 – And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men. And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived. He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.
Of these eight verses, really only five specifically name the abomination, and the other three are by interpretation or some other thing. Clearly, the references in Daniel 11, 12, and Matthew and Mark are references. While the passage in Daniel 8 uses different language, it can be judged to be corollary by interpreting Daniel 8 in context to Daniel 11. The 2 Thessalonians is often considered to be equal, but, as we could develop, this is merely by method if interpretation. Likewise, the passage in Revelation is often talked about as the Abomination, it is not called that by Scripture. If it is referring to the same thing, it is not explicit in the chapter. This leaves Daniel 9, which is also not explicitly a reference to the Abomination. While similar words are employed, it cannot say “abomination of desolation” without changing one of the letters. The word is, as it is written above, a ‘desolator’, a person who desolates.
So, setting aside the questionable reference in Daniel 9:27 (which we will return to examine in the end), as well as the ones that are only interpretations of other texts supposed to be references to it, we have three direct references in Daniel, and two references to Daniel in the Olivet Discourse of the Gospels (Matthew and Mark). Additionally, it should be noted that in Luke’s account of the Olivet Discourse, instead of the Abomination being the sign to watch for, he indicates Jerusalem surrounded by armies.
And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. [21] Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.
As this particular phrase, the abomination of desolation, is mentioned no where else in Scripture, we are left to interpret it. Fortunately, the Apocryphal books of Maccabees seem to provide the most direct reference to it. As the Maccabees are merely historical, and not considered part of the cannon of Scripture, we cannot treat them as authoritative, but we can use them for reference. The books of Maccabees are considered inter-testamental, meaning they fall between the Old and New Testament.
- 1 Maccabees 1:54 – Now the fifteenth day of the month Casleu, in the hundred forty and fifth year, they set up the abomination of desolation upon the altar, and builded idol altars throughout the cities of Juda on every side;
- 1 Maccabees 6:7 – Also that they had pulled down the abomination, which he had set up upon the altar in Jerusalem, and that they had compassed about the sanctuary with high walls, as before, and his city Bethsura.”
- 2 Maccabees 6:1-5 – Not long after that, the king sent an elderly Athenian to force the Jews to abandon their religion and the customs of their ancestors. He was also to defile their Temple by dedicating it to the Olympian god Zeus. The temple on Mount Gerizim was to be officially named ‘Temple of Zeus the God of Hospitality’, as the people who lived there had requested. The oppression was harsh and almost intolerable. Gentiles filled the Temple with drinking parties and all sorts of immorality. They even had intercourse with prostitutes there. Forbidden objects were brought into the Temple, and the altar was covered with detestable sacrifices prohibited by our Law.
These historical references to the time of Anitochus IV in 165 BC correspond to those verses in Daniel 8 & 11. From these texts, the general reference is to the idolatry of the temple. While Maccabees identifies specifically the idol placed upon the altar of burnt offering (in the outer court) as the Abomination, it is not necessary to continue with such a narrow definition, as this is not Scripture.
But, if we look at the general pattern of what is going on, we can discern the times of the Abomination.
In Daniel 8, the horn of Daniel 8:9 is Antiochus Epiphanes. He is not little in the sense that his kingdom is small, but he is small in that his claim on the throne and his strength of leadership is small (he was a hostage in Rome before he was king, and when he seized the throne, the true heir was imprisoned elsewhere. Never did Antiochus exercise great leadership skills, but ruled as a tyrant and a poor organizer who was most of the time broke). Daniel 8 speaks of removing the sacrifice and the sanctuary being cast to the ground, as well as truth being cast down as well.
But, it is good to note that the Daniel 8 uses different terminology. In various versions, the language used reads, ‘rebellion that causes desolation’ (NIV), ‘transgression that causes horror’ (NASB), or the ‘transgression of desolation’ (KJV). What is going on in this period of history involves the following.
- The priesthood is corrupted – The high priest Jason bought his position from Antiochus for a large sum of money. With his position he built a Greek gymnasium in Jerusalem and hosted the nude Greek athletic games with sacrifices to the Greek gods, and began to see people adopting the Greek culture. After him, another high priest, Menelaus, paid an even greater sum of money for the position, which was open only to members of the priestly line. For the first time in the Second Temple period, the priesthood was held by someone not of the tribe of Levi, nor had he ever even been a priest. And, ultimately, he, the spiritual leader of the Jewish nation, answered to Antiochus, the king of an ruling nation. Many Jews went along with both.
- Removal of the Sacred and Profane – Menelaus went further than Jason, looking to outlaw all particular Jewish expressions. He hoped to end circumcision, end all ideas of clean and unclean foods, remove distinctions of holy and profane among the Jews, and remove all the distinctions of sacred times.
- The temple treasures were plundered – Ten years earlier, a God had stopped an attempt to commandeer the temple treasures, but Menelaus, unable to pay his promised amount to Antiochus, took some of the precious vessels from the temple and used them to pay it.
- The desecration of the Temple – He further planned to turn the entire temple complex into a form of universalism, an ecumenical place where all religions were free to worship (which would entail the desecration of all things Jewish). In this context, he had plans to erect a statue of Zeus on the temple’s altar of sacrifice in the outer courts. This was to symbolize the union of Greek universalism with the universal God of the Hebrews.
So, whether one equates the Abomination with the actual idol or not, the context of the Abomination is the complete subjugation of the sacred to the corruption and unholy. It is more than simply coming against Judaism, it is the replacing it with a counterfeit. To those versed in Eschatological scriptures, the following verses should be easily recognized.
[18] Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. [19] They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.
[20] But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. [21] I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. [22] Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist–denying the Father and the Son. [23] No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
[4:1] Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. [2] This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, [3] but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.
[2 John 1:7] I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist.
1 John 2:18-23; 4:1-3; 2 John 1:7, emphasis added
Here, John highlights that the spirit of antichrist is not ‘against Christ’, but it is replacing Him with another. Yet, this evil spirit’s forerunner can be seen in the history of the Jewish nation, as not only was the Jewish religion come against, but it was surplanted from within, under the very name and guise of the temple, priesthood, and true and pure worship of God! The forerunner to the antichrist spirit is the motivating force behind the Abomination!
In Daniel 8 and Daniel 11, the context of both chapters clearly place these abominations in the 3rd Kingdom, or Greece. Despite both Daniel 7:8 and Daniel 8:14 using, in some translations, ‘little horn’ should not be the same horn, because Daniel 7’s little horn is within the fourth beast and ‘little’ is not a sufficient descriptor to designate the connection (besides which, although one is in Aramaic and the other in Hebrew, the words for ‘little’ are different words entirely).
So, this brings us to the question of Jesus’ reference to the abomination in the Gospels. One issue stands out here–the Jews had already identified the Abomination and its time frame, Antiochus. So, Jesus is here, prophesying a “second abomination”. Now, to some, this is considered the founding case for the idea of ‘double fulfillment’, the idea that many things in prophecy may be fulfilled more than once. But, in the scope of Scripture, this is the only clear-cut, or so it is called, example of such. Considering other options, we are left with one other viable alternative.
The problems arises that Jesus is referencing the Abomination as a (then) yet-future-event. In Jesus’ day, it had not yet happened, and He is stating that when they see it, to be alerted. But, to many of the Jews, the idea of the abomination was already well known, and was historical by nearly some 200 years. So, what are the textual indicators to the abomination?
What is left is that the abomination of Daniel 8 and 11 seem clearly fulfilled, leaving Daniel 12 and possibly 9. Comparing the structure of the introduction of the event in Daniel 8 with that of Daniel 12 then proves to be interesting.
[13] Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, “How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, while the transgression causes horror, so as to allow both the holy place and the host to be trampled?” [14] He said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be properly restored.”
Daniel 8:13-14, emphasis added
And, in Daniel 12,
[5] Then I, Daniel, looked and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the river and the other on that bank of the river. [6] And one said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be until the end of these wonders?” [7] I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they finish shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed.
[8] As for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these events?”
[9] He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time. [10] Many will be purged, purified and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand. [11] From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. [12] How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days! [13] But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age. [End of the book of Daniel]
In both of these passages, information about the preceding events is related. The phrasing is nearly identical, but the context has changed in Daniel 12. In the Daniel 8 abomination, the events at hand pertain to the re-purification of the temple, but in Daniel 12, the full context of Daniel 10-12 has shifted to the culmination of the Great Tribulation (Daniel 12:1), with the ultimate conclusion of the “shattering [of] the power of the holy people”. One is restoration, the other is utter destruction.
It is on this grounds, that Jesus, from a prophetic understanding of the prophecies of Daniel, could both look back the (then) historical Abomination of Antiochus IV prophesied in Daniel 8 & 11, and yet prophesy about the coming Abomination of Daniel 12. They are two separate abominations, one resulting in eventual re-purification of the temple under Judas Maccabeus, and the second, worse one, which completes all of the events of the prophecy given in Daniel 10-12.
Their distinction is secured in the same way as the rest of the chapter, by the location within the beasts. Not that there may not be some deliberate hiding of these things, but the abomination of Daniel 8 and 11 fall solidly within the 3rd beast, and, given the language of Daniel 12:11, the Abomination of Daniel 12 will fall within the fourth.
If one were to continue to use Daniel 9’s reference to abomination, it too would fall into the fourth, not the third kingdom, and relate to Daniel 12, not Daniel 8 and 11. Daniel 9, like Daniel 12, speaks of the final end of the Jewish people, the destruction of the city, and does not refer to the time in the third Kingdom under Antiochus.
So, what is the Abomination that Jesus was referring to? For this, the passage in Luke is the clearest indication of the timing. Because Luke referred to the armies surrounding Jerusalem, we can look to the time frame of the campaign of Cestius Gallus, the first Roman general to encompass Jerusalem. Because of the providence of God, after advancing upon the city and camping against it for several days, Cestius Gallus inexplicably withdrew his army towards the Mediterranean, believing the he could not take the city. The rebellious zealots of Jerusalem, hopeful to defeat all of Rome, chased after them and slew several thousand. But, this was the sign that Luke had recorded Jesus saying to watch for to know that its desolation was near. The Jewish historian Josephus records that many notable Jews fled the city at that time, including you can be sure, the Christians who were watching for this prophecy.
But, the events that prompted Cestius Gallus to march upon Jerusalem are the focus. Indeed, we find the same pattern of events going on then that we find in 165 BC under Antiochus.
- The high priesthood corrupted – Again, the priesthood was corrupted. Beginning possibly with Joshua ben Damneus, after Ananus ben Ananus was removed, the position of high priest no longer followed Jewish law. Three priests came after him, largely political appointees, such that Phannias, such a rough country person, was ultimately appointed as high priest, knowing nothing of the priesthood and not even knowing what the high priest should do. To appoint him, the zealots simply made claim that the high priest could be appointed by lot, and it fell upon him. He was a man, says Josephus ‘unworthy of the high priesthood’, and yet they put on him the holy garments and, often, had to tell him everything he had to do.
- Rebellion and apostasy – The rebel leaders scoffed at the idea of restraint. They slaughtered the innocent, burnt their own food supplies to try to force others to fight, and, by the record of Josephus, were barbarous beyond all human dignity and decency.
- Subversion of the Temple – Not only did they do all these things, but the rebel leaders also set up their headquarters in the most defended part of the city, the temple itself. At one point, the projectiles of the Romans without the city often flew into the temple courtyards, striking and killing the zealots, so that their blood fell upon the altar and holy places, defiling them with their blood.
- Subersion of all that is good – Like in Antiochus’ day, the idea of Jewish nationalism and independence inflamed the leaders of the Jewish rebellious factions, and the false prophets gave a false hope. Ultimately, Josephus records 1.1 million Jews killed in the siege.
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