The Abomination of Desolation
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Next, Antiochus decided to attack and slaughter as many Jews as possible. Upon returning from Egypt in 168 B.C., with “great riches,” he sacked the Temple at Jerusalem and took the golden vessels from it—all as part of his planned genocide of the Jews. He turned back toward Egypt, this time without similar success, because Ptolemy Philometor had secured assistance from Rome (Dan 11:28-29).
The Roman commander, Popillius, brought his fleet of ships to attack Antiochus. Popillius secured surrender on his own terms, which included leaving Egypt after returning Cyprus to Egypt.
This caused Antiochus, once again, to vent his anger against Judea (the Jews) as he was returning to Antioch. This “indignation against the holy covenant” offered favor to any Jews who would renounce their beliefs and practices (Dan 11:30).
Antiochus dispatched troops to Palestine one year later, in 167 B.C., with terrible results for all who fell in his path. He destroyed the Temple and its sanctuary—doing away with the daily sacrifice (described in Daniel 8:11, 24), while setting up an image, the abomination of desolation, directly on the altar of the Temple—thus defiling it, or making it desolate! (There are those who attempt to portray this verse as having been fulfilled at the time the Dome of the Rock was built on the Temple site, over eight centuries later, in the seventh century A.D.
For this to be true, all of the verses that have been explained to this point would require some other equally plausible explanation to “work” with the precision we have seen every step of the way thus far. This would also apply to all the verses that follow Dan 11:31.) Antiochus Epiphanes placed the “abomination that makes desolate” in the Temple in 167 B.C. (Dan 11:31).
Antiochus’ prophetic fulfillment of this verse is a great “type” of a latter day fulfillment to occur in our time. Luke 21:20 makes plain that Jerusalem will be left in “desolation” by “armies” that will “surround” and destroy it. The gravity of this prophecy will be addressed in more detail at the end of this section.
However, it is important for the reader to recognize that God often uses duality to show the world, through prior similar events, exactly what He intends to do again—to repeat—usually in a far greater way, in the future.
This is an absolutely vital key to understanding the meaning of all Bible prophecy!