The Abomination of Desolation

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Jeff Addison

The Ridge Abilene

The Prophetic Anticipation of the King • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago • Presented 4 years ago • 1:24:26

Matthew 24:15

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We have a great deal to cover this morning so lets just get started by turning in our Bible’s to Matthew 24:15...

But let us read from today's text Matt 24:15

Matthew 24:15 NKJV

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),

Having given a brief overview of the entire Tribulation period prior to His return, Jesus then spoke of the greatest observable sign within that period, the abomination that causes desolation. This abomination was spoken of by Daniel (Dan. 9:27). It referred to the disruption of the Jewish worship which will be reinstituted in the Tribulation temple (Dan. 12:11) and the establishment of the worship of the world dictator, the Antichrist, in the temple. He will make the temple abominable (and therefore desolate) by setting up in the temple an image of himself to be worshiped (2 Thes. 2:4; Rev. 13:14–15). Such an event will be clearly recognizable by everyone.

So now here is verse 15, Jesus spoke of the greatest observable sign within that period, the abomination that causes desolation. This abomination was spoken of by Daniel (Dan. 9:27).

Now we will be heading to Dan. 9:27 here in a few moments but before we do lets first Break down the 15 verse of Matthew 24

v15a - “Therefore when you see” - This event that Daniel the prophet speaks about will be seen and witnessed by all.

v.15a “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation...”

What is the abomination of desolation? Let us first define what the words mean then dive a little deeper into its meaning.

abomination n. — something that is an abomination which causes horror and disgust in others.

It can also mean a detestable thing

detestable thing n. — a thing that is detestable with the implication that it can make a person unclean.

What is it that disgusts God? Idolatry

desolating (act) n. — the act of causing extensive destruction or utter ruin.

what was once holy is now been desolated made to be unclean.

So now that we have defined the words let us now look closer to what it actually means based on what Jesus spoke about it.

Jesus says,

Matthew 24:15 NKJV

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),

“spoken of by Daniel the prophet,”

Then He says, “standing the in the holy place” this is a clue to help us understand which abomination of desolation to look for.

So this means we need to go to the Book of Daniel and see what is said about the this event. Turn to Daniel 9:24

Daniel 9:24 NKJV

24 “Seventy weeks are determined For your people and for your holy city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness, To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the Most Holy.

Daniel was first informed that God’s program would be consummated in 70 “sevens.” Since Daniel had been thinking of God’s program in terms of years (v. 1; cf. Jer. 25:11–12; 2 Chron. 36:21), it would be most natural for him to understand these “sevens” as years. Whereas people today think in units of tens (e.g., decades), Daniel’s people thought in terms of sevens (heptads). Seven days are in one week. Every seventh year was a sabbath rest year (Lev. 25:1–7). Seven “sevens” brought them to the Year of Jubilee (Lev. 25:8–12)

God told Daniel that 70 sevens of time have been determined for the people of Isreal so when we do the math it comes up to 490 years of time that remaining.

70 x 7 yrs = 490 years

Now what we need to understand here that this span of time was decreed for Daniel’s people, the Israelites and the Holy City. This prophecy, then, is concerned not with world history or church history, but with the history of Israel and the city of Jerusalem.

Just a foot note - By the time these 490 years run their course, God will have completed six things for Israel. The first three have to do with sin, and the second three with the kingdom. The basis for the first three was provided in the work of Christ on the cross, but all six will be realized by Israel at the Second Advent of Christ.

Now with our understanding of how to calculate the time span of God’s plan for Israel we can move forward because understanding that will help to make since of what is to come next.

Daniel 9:25 NKJV

25 “Know therefore and understand, That from the going forth of the command To restore and build Jerusalem Until Messiah the Prince, There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; The street shall be built again, and the wall, Even in troublesome times.

The clock started when the command went out to restore and rebuild Jerusalem (Neh. 2:1-8) This happened around March 5, 444 B.C. We are not going to get into that historical part today but I will say this, that from the time the command went out to Christ’s first advent there will have been seven weeks and sixty-two weeks (7 plus 62 = 69 weeks) 483 yrs. This is the completion of the 69 weeks of a 70 weeks time frame.

Guess what Jesus came on the very day and very year of this prophesy. Fulfilling the 69 weeks or 483 years between the command to rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince.

Daniel 9:26 NKJV

26 “And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come Shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, And till the end of the war desolations are determined.

“Messiah shall be cut off” is speaking of Christ being Crucified. He was cut off after the 7 and 62 “sevens” had run their course.

So what we find here is that the Messiah will be cut off in the 70th week or 70th “seven” This means that there is an interval between the 69th and 70th “sevens.” Christ’s crucifixion, then, was in that interval, right after His Triumphal Entry, which concluded the 69th “seven.”

This interval was anticipated by Christ when He prophesied the establishing of the church (Matt. 16:18).

Matthew 16:18 NKJV

18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

This required the setting aside of the nation Israel for a season in order that His new program for the church might be instituted or established. Christ predicted the setting aside of the nation (Matt. 21:42–43).

Matthew 21:42–43 NKJV

42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’? 43 “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.

The present Church Age is the interval between the 69th and 70th “sevens.”

So with all that being said, there is still one more week or one more seven that has yet to be fulfilled. It is known as the 70th week or the last 7 years leading up to Messiah’s Return.

Now lets go back to Dan 9:26

Daniel 9:26 NKJV

The prophecy continues with a description of the judgment that would come on the generation that rejected the Messiah. The city which contains the sanctuary, that is, Jerusalem, would be destroyed by the people of the ruler who will come. The ruler who will come is that final head of the Roman Empire, the little horn of Dan. 7:8 this of course is The Antichrist.

It is significant that the people of the ruler, not the ruler himself, will destroy Jerusalem. Since he will be the final Roman ruler, the people of that ruler must be the Romans themselves. This, then, is a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem about which Christ spoke in His ministry.

Now it needs to be said, when the leaders of the nation declared their rejection of Christ by attributing His power to Beelzebub, the prince of the demons (Matt. 12:24),

Matthew 12:24 NKJV

24 Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

Christ warned that if they persisted in that view they would be guilty of sin for which there would be no forgiveness (Matt. 12:31–32).

He also warned the nation that Jerusalem would be destroyed by Gentiles (Luke 21:24), that it would be desolate (Matt. 23:38), and that the destruction would be so complete that not one stone would be left on another (Matt. 24:2).

This destruction was accomplished by Titus in A.D. 70 when he destroyed the city of Jerusalem and killed thousands of Jews. But that invasion, awesome as it was, did not end the nation’s sufferings, for war would continue until the end. Even though Israel was to be set aside, she would continue to suffer until the prophecies of the 70 “sevens” were completely fulfilled. Her sufferings span the entire period from the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 to Jerusalem’s deliverance from Gentile dominion at the Second Advent of Christ.

So now we finally come the passage in question and by setting the stage leading up those passage in Dan. 9:27 we can perhaps understand it more clearly in light of Matt. 24:15.

Daniel 9:27 NKJV

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.”

This verse unveils what will occur in the 70th seven years. The 70th “seven” will continue till the return of Jesus Christ to the earth. Because Jesus said this will be a time of “great distress” (Matt. 24:21), this period is often called the Tribulation.

A significant event that will mark the beginning of this seven-year period is the confirming of a covenant. This covenant will be made with many, that is, with Daniel’s people, the nation Israel. “The ruler who will come” (Dan. 9:26) will be this covenant-maker.

The covenant he will make will evidently be a peace covenant, in which he will guarantee Israel’s safety in the land. In offering this covenant, this ruler will pose as a prince of peace, and Israel will accept his authority. But then in the middle of that “seven,” after three and one-half years, he will break the covenant.

As so how does this so called peace keeper break the covenant?

Daniel 9:27 NKJV

“He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And of the wind of abomination shall be one who makes desolate,” since we now know what abomination means we see that this one will go into the holy place and stand where the sacrifices are made and proclaim himself as God.

So the one spoken by Daniel here is none other that the Antichrist, who sets up a peace treaty with Isreal which will begin the final 7 years left before Christs second coming, and then at the middle of that covenant proclaim himself as God by standing the holy place.

So this what the “abomination of desolation” Jesus is referring to back in Matt. 24:15.

Now to continue to the Biblical pattern of this one who is to come and desolate the Tribulation Temple (which by the way, has not been build yet) lets turn to Revelation and see if there is a parallel between Daniels 70th week account and John’s vision of the that 70th week. Which we know as the 7 years of great tribulation.

Many believe that Rev. 13:1-6 stands as a vision of this event taking place in the future.

Revelation 13:1–6 NKJV

1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name. 2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast. 4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” 5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. 6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.

The ultimate fulfillment of these prophetic elements, still future, will take place when the Antichrist occupies the most holy place. Daniel 9:27 describes these events. This evil prince will “confirm a covenant with many [Israel] for one ‘seven’ ” (or one period of seven years). In the “middle of the ‘seven’ he will … set up an abomination that causes desolation.” Second Thessalonians 2:4, referring to this same event, describes this ruler setting himself up as a god in the temple.

2 Thessalonians 2:4 NKJV

4 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.

Of course, the fact that Israel has reestablished itself as a national political entity and occupied the holy temple site again has many scholars anticipating the end times very soon. No other nation has experienced two thousand years of cultural dispersion and retained their national integrity. God is not yet finished with the Jewish people. And the Great Tribulation to come in the seventieth and final of the “seventy weeks” (periods of seven years) predicted for Israel by the prophet Daniel (Dan. 9:24–27) will see the nation purged and prepared for the return of its Messiah-King.

This period of “tribulation” is a specific period of time beginning with the abomination and ending with the second coming of Christ (Rev. 11:2; 13:5.) It is during this time that the terrible judgments of Revelation 6–19 with its seals and trumpets will destroy great portions of the earth. This time of trouble will be without precedent in world history.

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