15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, 18 and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. 19 And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! 20 Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. 22 And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short. 23 Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24 For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. 25 See, I have told you beforehand. 26 So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. 27 For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28 Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. Matthew 24: 15-28 ESV
Matthew 24: 15-28 The Olivet Discourse Continued
…26Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing. Then the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood, and until the end there will be war; desolations have been decreed. 27And he will confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of the temple will come the abomination that causes desolation, until the decreed destruction is poured out upon him.” Daniel 9: 26-27
When you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel - Jesus continues to answer their previous questions about the end and the time of His coming. This is the context, and add to that verse 21, and we see that it is within a greater context of the world, not just localized to Jerusalem. It will be closing in on the end of the birth pains discussed in the prior post, and at a magnitude never seen before. So what reference would the disciples have for the "abomination of desolation"? A great question, and I am glad you asked. Shadows and examples of Christ were laid out by the prophets, the Seed of the Woman in Genesis, the Ram that replaced Isaac, the Passover Lamb, the Tabernacle, the Son of David, etc... There is also an example of, a foreshadowing of the antichrist in the prophecies of the OT as well, which was historically fulfilled in part by Antiochus Epiphanes. He was of the declining Greek Empire, foretold by Daniel, and written of historically in Maccabees during the Intertestamental period, the period beginning after the last OT prophet and finishing with the first NT prophet, the first prophet to Israel in about 400 years time was John the Baptist. He breaks the silence. But back to Antiochus, he is a forerunner of the final antichrist, a typical, a pattern, and Jesus tells us there will be many antichrist that come, in fact, the spirit of antichrist was even there then.
Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who has been labeled the "Antichrist of the Old Testament", caused an altar to be set up in the Jewish Temple and on this altar he placed an idolatrous image of Zeus (cf 2Macc 6:2). In addition, he turned the priest's chambers into brothels, creating the "abomination that causes desolation". In other words, the Temple was desolate to pious Jews because of the desecration of the altar which destroyed its true purpose. They had no desire to worship in such a polluted environment and thus the Temple was deprived of Jewish worshippers. Just so will the Antichrist establish an abomination in the sanctuary, a demonic counterfeit worship (Da 9:27-note; Da 12:11-note). Even more blatantly defiant of God, the Antichrist will command worship of himself and his image! (2Th 2:3,4, Rev 13:14-note, Rev 13:15-note) God will allow this gross evil because He is using this devilish man to fulfill His purging and purifying purpose in the nation of Israel. While the infinitely good and holy God does not cause evil, in His infinite wisdom and omnipotence is able to bring good out of what others mean for evil. (cf Ge 50:20, Ro 8:28-note)
Henry Morris adds "It is believed that Epiphanes, aided by traitorous Jews, sacrificed a sow on the altar and erected a statue of Zeus in the temple at Jerusalem. The motive behind this act was his ambition to unify the great empire extending all the way to India, left him by his father, by compelling all people in the empire to adopt the Greco/Roman system of culture and pantheistic religion." - Precept Austin
Let the reader understand - In Daniel 9:26 above you see that after 62 weeks, which followed the 7 weeks for a total of 69 of the 70 weeks prophesied by Daniel, Messiah will be cut off, and this is a way of saying, "killed", which was Jesus' death on the cross. It says then, "the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary", so now we know that the final antichrist will come from the same people who destroyed the temple and the city. Jesus has just told them prior to this that the temple will be torn down, not one stone to remain upon another, and this was carried out by Rome. The final antichrist will come from somewhere in the area of what was once called the Roman empire. It's interesting that this starts with a Roman general, Titus, tearing through Jerusalem, and it's going to come full circle back to a Roman antichrist, a little horn that arises from a ten nation confederacy. He will be intelligent, cunning, talk of peace, and yet be a powerful military mind as well. He will push back the king of the north, and make an alliance with Israel which he will break, and he will be the mark of the last 7 years, and the tyrannical force of the second half of this week of years. He, Satan, and the false prophet will dominate the world, set up an abomination in the temple, and he will set up his throne in Israel as well. Why? Because he knows that this was the land God promised to His people, and the place of His footstool, where God had made Himself known, and the antichrist wants to be God, to usurp the place of the true God.
“Thus he said: ‘As for the fourth beast,
there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth,
which shall be different from all the kingdoms,
and it shall devour the whole earth,
and trample it down, and break it to pieces.
24 As for the ten horns,
out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise,
and another shall arise after them;
he shall be different from the former ones,
and shall put down three kings.
25 He shall speak words against the Most High,
and shall wear out the saints of the Most High,
and shall think to change the times and the law;
and they shall be given into his hand
for a time, times, and half a time.
26 But the court shall sit in judgment,
and his dominion shall be taken away,
to be consumed and destroyed to the end.
27 And the kingdom and the dominion
and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High;
his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,
and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’ Daniel 7: 23-27
Flee to the mountains - When you see this abomination set up in the temple, run, don't stop for anything, don't go back for any material thing, it's not worth it. Don't stay and fight, it's useless, flee to the mountains.
13And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle to fly from the presence of the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. 15Then from the mouth of the serpent spewed water like a river to overtake the woman and sweep her away in the torrent.… Revelation 12: 13-15
Alas for women who are pregnant - It is going to be hard enough to care for yourself, but He offers hope, that you may petition the Lord that it not be in winter or on the Sabbath. The worse physical conditions and the holy day of rest, that you have good weather and are rested.
Then there will be great tribulation - This is the time of Jacob's trouble, the last 42 months of the final week of years, 3.5 years. There is no time in history before or till that day, nor that will happen again that compares. The persecution is so severe that these days are cut short for the sake of the elect. Don't flatter yourself, no human resolve will hold up to these days, they are filled with the delusional, the violent, and those that will turn you in for a cracker. Tenderness and natural affections will be gone, it is a world under siege, a world where they will rejoice over the dead bodies of those that warned them of the wrath to come. It is a world that will worship the antichrist and sacrifice it's young. The religion of Babylon will give way to antichrist, his image, and he will be the new Nimrod, the final world tyrant. He will even fake his death and resurrection, so much is his desire to take the place of God.
11 Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 13 It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666. Revelation 13: 11-18
Look, here is the Christ - Again, and still people try to find more false Christs. Don't believe anyone when they tell you he is in the desert or in such a place. Look how big that church is or this movement, don't fall for it, the coming of the true Christ will be a surprise and unmistakable.
Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather - When you are looking for a dead body, if you are out hunting in areas that are vast and open, and you shoot a deer, but it's not a good kill shot, it's going to run. Now it may get a good ways from you, and especially if you shoot a predator, the vultures will circle it in the air, and if you lift your eyes from looking on the ground then you will see the vultures and that will faithfully lead you to your kill. The sign of Jesus coming will be without comparison, like nothing you have ever seen. Look at the end of this passage:
…29Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’ 30 At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. 31And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.… Matthew 24: 29-31
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