Chapter Twenty-Two – The Abomination of Desolation
Back to 1The Bible’s Greatest Prophecies Unlocked!
The book has used the term “prophetic milemarker.” No mile marker may be bigger than the subject of this chapter. What it is—all that turns on its fulfillment—the all-important signal it sends to God’s people—and what it heralds is soon to follow when it appears—make understanding this subject of supreme importance.
You must comprehend!
Many know the term “Abomination of Desolation,” but almost none know what it means. Complicating the problem, misguided, deceived—and deceiving—“prophecy watchers” the world over have remained ignorant of the truth of what the prophet Daniel called “the abomination that makes desolate.” They neither understand what this is nor the prophetic implications it carries.
What is this “abomination”? Has it already come?—or is it yet to appear? How will we know it when we see it?
The confusion surrounding this prophecy will soon be stripped away—but only if you follow God's clues with an open mind. When fully understood, this prophecy is not only fascinating, but chilling! Brace for shocking facts.
Key Scriptures
The first important clue that Jesus gave about the abomination of desolation is found in Luke: “And when you shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh [or near]” (Lk 21:20). This verse often causes confusion, with some mistakenly assuming the surrounding of Jerusalem by armies is the abomination.
When the verse describes the city being surrounded, it does not say the desolation “has happened,” but that it “is near.” If something is near, it has not happened yet. So, the abomination of desolation is not Jerusalem being surrounded by armies. These are separate events that occur at different times. Get this clear before continuing!
Matthew’s account reveals more about what to look for: “When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso reads let him understand:)…” (Mt 24:15).
This verse approaches the subject from a different and slightly later point in time than Luke 21, which describes the abomination just before its fulfillment. Therefore, Luke 21:20 and Matthew 24:15 are slightly offset, as the latter speaks of the period in which God’s people, who are watching for this, “see” it fulfilled.
We have clarified two points: (1) armies around Jerusalem precede the abomination, and (2) this prophecy involves something “stand[ing] in the holy place.” Keep this simple. Do not allow mixed up theories, suppositions and assumptions you might have heard to cloud the plain understanding of what God reveals.
Before reading further, recognize another aspect of the prophecy. In both Matthew and Mark, the instruction “…whoso reads, let him understand…” is found (Matt. 24:15; Mark 13:14). God inspires this to be recorded twice for special emphasis.
Will you accept this instruction for what it so obviously means? God wants you to understand. Ignore the ridiculous claims of those who suggest prophecy is sealed—and that, while God would inspire many prophecies, He does not want them understood. God does want His servants to comprehend—to grasp—them! Hence, my emphasis so many times in this book on the very point (“let him understand”) that God states three times (including Daniel’s original statement) for His own special emphasis.
Mark Reveals More
Mark 13:1-37 removes all doubt about the abomination “standing in the holy place”—and whether it is supposed to be there: “But when you shall see the abomination of desolation…standing where itought not [meaning, in the “holy place”]…” (Mk 13:14). Clearly, the abomination is something that doesnot belong in the holy place.
But what exactly is this “holy place”? The context in which the term is used makes plain that it is not figurative, but refers to a literal place—a religious site. Recognize, however, that this place cannot be a pagan religious site. It must be a location God considers or once considered holy, with something foreign and blasphemous placed there. History and other scriptures outside the gospels reveal that this must be an at least partially rebuilt Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.
A significant event for all of God’s people who are watching follows the abomination of desolation being set up. This reference is brought from Mark’s account: “…then let them that be in Judea flee to the mountains” (Mk 13:14).
The appearance of the abomination is the signal for God’s people to flee. This makes understanding the prophecy much more crucial.
Another reference to this fleeing is found in Luke’s account. We read some of this passage earlier in the book, but it returns for its new importance in a fuller context. First, notice once again: “And when you shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is near. Then[what happens next] let them which are in Judea 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 there into. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written [by the prophets] may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! For there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people [the modern nations of Israel]. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Lk 21:20-24).
The book of Revelation offers a parallel description brought by Christ through John of what happens to Jerusalem. The context is coming directly off of chapter 10, and how the “little book” described there is the book of Ezekiel, as well as a reference in chapter 11, Rev 11:1-2, about the “Temple of God” being “measured.”
What follows this “measuring”? Let’s read: “…the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they [the Gentiles] tread under foot forty and two months” (Rev 11:2). The very next verse continues by introducing the work of the Two Witnesses for this same 42 months (three and a half years)—or “1,260 days,” the term used in Revelation to describe the length of their commission.
It should be obvious that this “treading” by the “Gentiles” in Revelation 11:2 has to be referring to the length of time that Jerusalem is being “trodden down of the Gentiles,” as Luke so similarly put it.
An inset: The faithful people of God’s Church (not those who have grown lukewarm and confused) know that there is more very special (and truly sobering) understanding tied to additional details about what is the holy place, what—and also who, because it includes a human figure (Dan. 11:45)—it is that stands in this place, as well as the spiritual implications tied to being on the wrong side of events in Jerusalem when the Temple is measured. (It is not the purpose of this volume to cover those details. They are for another place.)
It does need to be at least briefly stated, however, that the “temple” being measured in Revelation 11:1-19 is not the physical one that the Jews will rebuild. It is speaking of the New Testament Church (or Body of Christ), which is referred to in numerous places by the apostle Paul as the “Temple of the Lord” (I Cor. 3:17; Eph. 2:20-22). The more-than-curious reader will want to at least read these verses for proof of understanding how the true Church and the (spiritual) Temple of the Lord are synonymous terms in the New Testament.
The seriousness of the events and time periods that follow the setting up of the abomination of desolation should bring a new level of gravity to understanding this prophecy. All who care to escape what is coming—to “flee” at the right moment with the rest of God’s people—must know exactly what to watch for.
We have still not answered the question of what the abomination is.
An Earlier Type
Now for another clue about the abomination. Recall the biblical principle of duality—a former and latter fulfillment—in prophecy. God usually gives a former type to help us understand the latter fulfillment. The former is not the primary fulfillment of a prophecy. It only points to the latter fulfillment, which is the main focus and purpose of the prophecy itself.
This duality is seen with the “abomination of desolation” prophecy. And what it reveals is fascinating! Let’s examine the historical type of what has already occurred. First, recall the lengthy Daniel 11:1-45 prophecy. A crucial part of that prophecy comes up for review and expansion at this juncture.
In about 176 BC, Antiochus IV (king of the north, and type of the future final civil ruler who embodies the Beast system) acquired the kingdom from his older brother. After this, Antiochus Epiphanes removed the high priest in Jerusalem and installed someone loyal to himself. Upon a triumphant return from Egypt, in 168 BC, Antiochus sacked the Temple at Jerusalem and took its golden vessels.
Recall that Antiochus also sent troops to Judea in 167 BC. They destroyed the Temple and its sanctuary. This act stopped the commanded twice daily sacrifices at the Temple (Ex. 29:39-42; Num. 28:4-6). This was an overt attempt to wipe out the Jewish religion with all of its doctrines.
This military leader also stationed a garrison atop the Jewish Temple Mount, desecrating it. Also recall that Daniel wrote, “Yes, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him [Antiochus] the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of [the] sanctuary was cast down” (Dan 8:11).
Daniel added this in chapter 11: “And arms shall stand on his [Antiochus’] part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength [the Jewish Temple], and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that makes desolate” (Dan 11:31).
Now then, what exactly is this coming “abomination” that will be “set up” again? The truth—born of history—is beyond eye-opening in regard to prophecy.
The first fulfillment was not just Antiochus’ armies coming into Jerusalem—an early “treading it down” for three years until 165 BC—but the fact that those armies set up an image—a specific idol—on the Temple’s altar, which defiled and made it desolate. Antiochus further polluted the Temple by offering swine’s blood upon the altar.
These historical events of Daniel 8:1-27 are an unmistakable fulfillment of the prophecy in Daniel 11:31, and a forerunner of the end-time fulfillment of the “abomination of desolation” spoken of by Christ in Matthew, Mark and Luke.
We are left to ask: What was this statue and where is it now?