The Abomination
The Olivet Discourse • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Intro
Today we are continuing on through the 5th and final discourse found in the gospel of Matthew. This one being known as the Olivet Discourse, or the End Times discourse. This whole passage that we are looking at, especially in Matthew 24, is interesting and at times difficult, because there is some speculation on timelines and I can’t definitively give the answers. The truth is, it’s ok to not have all the answers. There’s never a passage of scripture that we should ignore because it’s difficult. Those are the ones we need to engage in prayerfully with others. And today, this is one of those.
This passage in Matthew 24 is a warning. A warning that things will get bad. You’ll remember that Jesus left the temple at the end of Matthew 23 after an explosive encounter with the pharisees. As they were leaving, Jesus looked at the temple and told the disciples the entire thing would be destroyed. He told them the events that would happen surrounding the destruction. 40 years after the death and resurrection of Christ, it was.
Matthew 24 began with the disciples asking Jesus 2 questions.
3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”
He tells them they would face persecution and death, that the gospel of the kingdom would be preached all over the world, and then the end would come, and that takes us through verse 14 which we looked at last week.
As we look at the passage today, I speculate some based on the reading of the text. You might disagree with me on this, and that is ok, because biblical scholars have disagreements on this particular one a lot.
The TV show “The Chosen” has this recurring moment that I love. When Jesus starts saying something that is included in the gospel of Matthew, they have Matthew take a notepad out and start writing. They’ve also been doing that with John as well. So I’m picturing that at this moment. Matthew is writing the words of Jesus in response to the destruction of the temple. I picture Jesus saying the line, “and then the end will come.” And pausing for a moment. You know when you are talking to someone that is recalling a memory, and when they make that shift, and you know they see it. The memory, perhaps long ago, is playing out in front of their eyes. Imagine Jesus, all of human history passing in front of His eyes. I picture Him looking off, seeing what no else sees. And then continues in verse 15.
15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their 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. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.
26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
Let’s dig in to this passage. This first part, in particular.
15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
First. What is the abomination that causes desolation? The NLT translates it as the sacrilegious object that causes desolation. There are a couple possibilities for what this is. The first was closer to Daniel’s time. Around the year 167 BC, Antiocus IV offered a pig on the altar in the temple and desecrated it. Many Jews believe that as the fulfillment of prophecy. Then of course, the temple was destroyed by the Roman General Titus in 70 AD. Many Christians believed this to be the fulfillment of that prophecy. But Jesus WAS talking about a future event, right? And to be clear, a future event about where? Those who are in Judea.
So which one is it? This is my view. I believe it’s both, plus 1. I believe there are multiple layers to what He is seeing. That phrase there, let the reader understand. That is interesting because some translations ascribe that portion to Jesus, and others ascribe it Matthew adding that note. You see how this passage gets difficult? I believe Jesus said “let the reader understand.” Now is He saying let those who have read the prophet Daniel understand, or future readers, since He knows this is being recorded.
Based on what He talks about later with the coming of the Son of Man, AND based on the questions the disciples asked originally, I believe there are multiple layers. That Daniel’s prophecy had been fulfilled, that it would be fulfilled again with the destruction of the temple, and there would be yet one final abomination at the end of age, the end of the world, which is the future for us. For an abomination, something vile and unnatural, so be in that place will be clear. Just like for us it’s obvious. And then yet again, the people would need to flee.
17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their 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. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.
When something unholy and sacrilegious is in that Holy Place, get out. It’s getting really bad. Don’t go back. Don’t get your stuff. Just get out.
Imagine Jesus thinking of the people in peril. And His mind turns to who? Women caring for their children. It’s hardest for them to flee their homes, and His heart breaks for them and what they and their children having to endure.
Something I found interesting. Judea and Samaria together is about 3,438 square miles. You know how big the thumb of Michigan is? By the way, according to the internet, the thumb includes Huron, Tuscola, Sanilac, Lapeer, and St. Clair counties. 3,966 square miles. So imagine this : When you see this terrible thing in Marlette, get out of the thumb. I think that helps in terms of picturing distance.
Imagine that here. Having to flee for your life. That is the reality, the warning, for the people of Judea.
22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened. 23 At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you ahead of time.
It will be terrible, but it has already been decided that those days will be cut short. That means many won’t survive. In that time especially, many will be looking for a savior. A messiah. And many will answer that call. They will deceive many through signs and wonders. And this is part of the reason I believe this to be the future even for us today. It’s not enough to stand in the temple. There will be signs and wonders as well. And they will attempt to deceive even God’s chosen ones. And yet, we have been told ahead of time. We are on the lookout for falsehoods. But how can we be sure we are not deceived?
26 “So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the wilderness,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.
This whole section is a warning. A warning for the people then, and the people now, to look toward Jerusalem. A warning that things will be terrible. And at that time there will be those that are claiming to be the messiah. The jewish people are still waiting for this messiah. What happened with Jesus? People would say “there he is, out in the wilderness. He is in there, in the inner room. An inner room is exactly that. The center of a building. Not against an outside wall.
There will be signs and wonders. People will say “the messiah has come.” But He already came in that manner. No one will have to tell you, come to this place. Come see this man. All will see for themselves.
That last line is odd, isn’t it. As far as I understand, it’s simply saying, it will be obvious. A reinforcement of verse 27. We won’t have to guess and interpret. When you see vultures circling over head, you don’t need to see the dead body. You look up, and it’s obvious what has taken place.
Jesus then goes into more details of what is to come, but we are going to end there for today. I encourage you to read ahead. So let’s summarize what Jesus said here.
Things Will Get Bad
Things Will Get Bad
Look to the temple. When the abomination of desolation is there, run. Don’t go home to get your stuff. Flee. There will death and violence. Who will need to flee? Those in Judea. That is why the eyes of the world are always on Isreal.
God will end it
God will end it
It will not play out naturally. God will intervene. Why not sooner? Why let it happen at all? Jesus has said in this discourse “these things must happen.” All I know is that as a parent, I allow things to play out with my kids, but there is a point at which I will intervene. And since I know God to be a perfect God, I know His time of intervention to be perfectly timed. At that time, there will be
False Messiahs
False Messiahs
The people of that land, as well as throughout the world, are waiting for the messiah to come. Many will be deceived. But no one has to be, because Jesus has warned us all. But the son of man will return. Jesus will return. And
It will be obvious
It will be obvious
We don’t have to speculate. We won’t have to argue. And what will that look like? Another cliff hanger, as we will look at that next week.
Let’s Pray
