Abomination of Desolation?
Jesus and Daniel talk about it!
by
Keith Hunt
It has been a common Fundamental Christian teaching for a hundred years or more, now adopted by many Church of God people, that near the end of this age, within about 7 years before the coming of Christ the Messiah, that a Jewish Temple of some type will be constructed in Jerusalem, and Jews will once more perform animal sacrifices. The teaching continues to say that a great religious leader, the false prophet of the book of Revelation, will head a mighty world power. It is said that he will come into Jerusalem, overcome the Jews, walk into the Temple they have constructed, and establish himself and his religion within its walls. This event is said by these Fundamental Protestants to be what the NT (New Testament) and Jesus were meaning to convey to us when they talk about "the abomination of desolation." I openly and frankly disagree with this theological idea of some of those who so interpret this phrase of Jesus in Matthew 24. I believe it is in total error and using the NT to interpret itself, I believe the truth of the matter is plain to see. I have not been the only one to see how the NT explains and interprets itself on this "abomination of desolation" phrase. Ralph Woodrow wrote a book on certain prophecies of the Bible, way back in 1971, called "Great Prophecies of the Bible." I do not agree with all that Woodrow has written on prophecy. But I do think he has written and come to some very good insights on parts of Bible prophecy, this being one of them. I present here, as the truth on this matter, what Ralph Woodrow has in part to say on what is the "Abomination of Desolation" (Keith Hunt). Quote: "Concerning our Lord's statement about the destruction of the Temple, the disciples asked: 'WHEN shall these things be? and WHAT SIGN will there be when these things shall come to pass?' (Luke 21: 7). As we have seen, Jesus mentioned things of a general nature that would come to pass first. Now he gives THE sign - a specific sign that would let them know that Jerusalem was about to be destroyed. He said that they would see 'the abomination of desolation' and when they saw this, they were to quickly flee, for the desolation of the city would be nigh. Matthew: 'When you shall SEE the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso reads, let him understand), then let them that be in Judea FLEE into the mountains' (24: 15, 16). Mark: 'When you shall SEE the abomination of desolation, spoken of by daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that reads understand), then let them that be in Judea FLEE to the mountains' (13: 14). Luke: 'When you shall SEE Jerusalem compassed with ARMIES, then know that the DESOLATION thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Jerusalem FLEE to the mountains....Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the GENTILES' (21: 20, 21, 24). Now, step by step, let us notice what we are told in these parallel accounts: 1. We notice where Matthew and Mark record: 'When you shall see the abomination of DESOLATION.....then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains,' Luke, in speaking of exactly the SAME thing, says: 'When you see JERUSALEM compassed with armies, then know that the DESOLATION thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the mountains.' We see, then, that it was JERUSALEM that would become a DESOLATION. We notice also that this 'desolation' was that 'which was spoken by Daniel the prophet.' ............(Daniel spoke about this in Daniel 12:11 in which the context is only certain number of days before Daniel would be resurrected at the end of the days, verse 13. Jesus in Matthew 24 is talking about the same time frame as the disciples asked Him what would be the signs of His coming and the end of the age, Mat.24:3. Keith Hunt). .....it is evident that what was to become a 'desolation' was JERUSALEM. There is no room for any misunderstanding here. 2. Looking again at the parallel accounts, we see that what Matthew and Mark refer to as the 'abomination' that would make Jerusalem DESOLATE, Luke (using plain language) shows that such would be ARMIES - Gentile armies: 'And when you shall see Jerusalem COMPASSED with ARMIES, then know that the DESOLATION thereof is nigh....JERUSALEM shall be TRODDEN DOWN of the Gentiles' (Luke 21:20-24). The word 'abomination' is a word that refers to anything that is especially loathsome or detestable. Certainly this fits the feelings the inhabitants of Jerusalem would have towards an idol-worshipping Gentile army advancing to destroy their city! In fact, an army (coming to destroy) is an abomination to any people or nation. And, as history has repeatedly recorded, the work of armies so often results in desolation - destruction! 3. Matthew's account says that the abomination (Gentile army) would 'stand in the holy place' and adds the words: 'Whoso reads, let him understand.' Mark's account, because it too is given in somewhat veiled language, includes the words: 'Let him that reads understand.' BUT, looking at Luke's account of the SAME passage which is given in PLAIN language, we read: 'When you see JERUSALEM compassed with armies....' And because he gives the EXPLANATION, he does not include the phrase: 'Let him that reads understand.' By letting the Bible be its own INTERPRETER, then, we see that the term 'holy place' (Mat.24:15), is a reference to JERUSALEM. Jerusalem is commonly referred to as the HOLY CITY (Mat.27:53; Dan.9:16 etc.). According to the prophecy, Gentile armies were to compass it and finally bring it to desolation. The word translated 'place' in the expression 'holy place' in Matthew's account is TOPOS (see any Greek dictionary or Bible Concordance such as Strong's, Young's, etc.). The word TOPOS means simply a locality. Such words as TOPICAL and TOPOGRAPHY are derived from it. It is used in such scriptural expressions as 'a desert place,' 'dry place,' etc. (It is NOT the same term as that which is used in describing the holy of holies in the temple). What is called the holy place is EXPLAINED by Luke as the area that would be occupied by armies surrounding Jerusalem. The MATTHEW HENRY COMMENTARY has well put it: 'Jerusalem was the holy city, Canaan the holy land, the Mt.Moriah which lay about Jerusalem, for its nearness to the temple was, they thought, in a particular manner holy ground; on the country lying round about Jerusalem the Roman army was encamped, THAT was the abomination that made desolate' (Henry, Commentary on the whole Bible, vol.5 p.352). " The 70 A.D. captivity of Jerusalem by the Roman armies of Titus and then the desolation and destruction of that city was a forerunner of what once more will take place in the last few years before the close of this age and the return of Christ (Keith Hunt). Continuing with Woodrow: " These pagan armies were to 'compass' the city (Luke); they would take a 'stand' there (Matthew) - the word STAND indicating rebellion or hostility. Examples of the word used in this way may be seen in the following: 'A king of fierce countenance...shall stand up' (Dan.8:23, 25). 'A mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion...and when he shall stand up...'(11:3,4). Another will 'stand up in his estate, and shall come with an army' (verse 7). 'Then shall stand up...a raiser of taxes...and in his estate shall stand up a vile person' (verses 20, 21). A king 'shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand...' (verse 25). Concerning persecution against the cause of Christ, we read in Acts 4:26: 'The kings of the earth stood up and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord...' We cite these references to show how the word 'stand' is used of those who assume a place of leadership or authority to rebel or fight. And in the same sense, the 'abomination' - the pagan armies - were to take a stand against Jerusalem and compass it about to destroy it!.....Any way we look at it, according to the words of Christ, Jerusalem was marked for destruction by the hands of her enemies......." From recorded history we know that in the 70 A.D. forerunner and type of what will take place at the end time, not one single Christian was killed in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman armies of Titus. They saw Jerusalem being compassed with armies, waited for the opportune time (which God gave them) and fled the city. They fled when they saw Jerusalem compassed about with Gentile armies, NOT when something was done inside the Temple. The prophecy has nothing to do with the Temple in Jerusalem. It has nothing to do with a person doing anything outside or inside a physical building, that some could want to call a Temple. The prophecy has to do with Gentile ARMIES compassing about the city of Jerusalem, and getting ready to capture and desolate and destroy it (Keith Hunt). Woodrow explains correctly: "We see, then, that in the place where Matthew and Mark use the somewhat veiled expression 'abomination of desolation,' Luke (using PLAIN language) shows that such was to be Gentile armies compassing Jerusalem to bring it to desolation. All three of the Gospel accounts before mentioning this sign begin with the words: 'When you see...' and follow this with the words: 'Then let them that be in Judea flee to the mountains,' etc. There can be no mistaking that these are PARALLEL accounts. By simply letting the Bible EXPLAIN ITSELF, we have seen that the 'desolation' was to be the destruction of Jerusalem.....the 'abomination of desolation' referred to the heathen armies that would bring about the desolation; and then these armies would be seen compassing Jerusalem, the disciples were to flee. This interpretation is solidly built on the Bible. With it, the Gospel accounts are COMPLIMENTARY, not CONTRADICTORY...... Having set forth what we sincerely believe to be the exact and only fulfillment of our Lord's words, we must now consider an interpretation which has become widely believed, especially in this century (20th century). We have reference to the teaching that the 'abomination of desolation' is an IDOL to be placed in the holy of holies of a REBUILT Jewish Temple - possibly an idol of the Anti-christ or the Anti-christ HIMSELF..... An example....is seen in the following: 'The Jews - who will have....restored Herod's Temple, and be in LEAGUE with the Antichrist - will have a visit by the False Prophet who shall bring an image of the Antichrist into Jerusalem and wheel it into the Temple....When this image of the Antichrist is taken into the Jewish Temple, that will be the sign Jesus mentioned in Matthew 24, the Abomination of desolation' (Roberts, how to be Personally Prepared for the Second coming of Christ, p. 38). Another futurist says: 'This image will be placed in the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, and is the abomination of desolation to which the Lord made reference in his Olivet discourse' (DeHaan, The Antichrist and Armageddon, p. 13)...... The setting up of an idol in the sanctuary is something the enemy could not do UNTIL such a time as the Temple would be in the enemies' possession. Since the magnificent Temple would no doubt be the LAST thing to be yielded to the enemy in battle, by this time the city would have ALREADY BEEN CAPTURED and it would be TOO LATE for the disciples to FLEE! Obviously then, this could NOT be the SIGN to flee. In order for something to be a WARNING for the disciples to ESCAPE, it would have to come BEFORE the capture of the city - not something to take place AFTERWARDS! In view of this, an idol in the holy of holies could not be the sign Jesus referred to. But the presence of heathen armies compassing Jerusalem could be - and was the sign, such happening BEFORE (in 70 A.D. Keith Hunt) the overthrow of the city (as we have seen)...... The 'abomination' that would make desolate was to be something that could be SEEN by the inhabitants of Judea and Jerusalem. 'When you SEE the abomination,' that is, 'When you SEE Jerusalem compassed with ARMIES,' then, 'let them that are in Judea flee into the mountains.' It is evident that Jesus was not talking about an idol in the holy of holies, for such could NOT be SEEN by the population of Jerusalem and Judea. Only the high priest entered the holy of holies. None of the ordinary Jews would dare enter there..... On the other hand, it was pagan armies that destroyed the city....It was armies that were seen by the people, and it was the compassing of Jerusalem by the armies that warned the disciples to flee! (in the first 70 A.D. fulfillment when Jerusalem was desolated by the Roman armies of Titus - Keith Hunt)..... 'And as He (Jesus) went out of the TEMPLE, one of His disciples said unto Him: Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are HERE! And Jesus answering said unto him, See you THESE great buildings? There shall not be left ONE STONE UPON ANOTHER, that shall not be thrown down......' " With this last quote from Matthew 24 by Woodrow I leave off quoting from him and his chapter in his book on this subject, and continue with my own further expounding on this matter and topic. The context of Matthew 24 from where this quote by Jesus is taken must be read very carefully. The disciples asked Jesus when these things would be AND, "what shall be the SIGN of YOUR COMING, and of the END of the world (age, as the Greek should be understood), verse 3. Matthew 24 is clearly a prophecy for the END TIME, not for 70 A.D. There may have been a type fulfillment in 70 A.D. but the prophecy of Jesus in Matthew 24 is for the END of the age, for a time just SHORTLY BEFORE His return. This we can see from the mention of the resurrection of the saints as they are gathered by the angels to meet the returning Christ (verses 25-31). The fact is that in 70 A.D. NOT ALL the stones from the Temple and the buildings were cast down, so that there was not one left upon another. Such as that NEVER happened in 70 A.D. Nor has it happened to this very day. For the now famous WAILING WALL in Jerusalem which still stands with stones one upon another, was a PART OF THE TEMPLE of Jesus' day! In the future fulfillment of Matthew 24, when the Gentile armies of the Beast power of the book of Revelation comes to compass about Jerusalem, to take the city and to destroy it in battle (see Rev.11:2) then this prophecy of Jesus will finally be fulfilled and all the stones of the Temple of Jesus' day will come down, so not one will be left upon another. In passing, you may have questions regarding Revelation 11:1-2 as it talks about a Temple and altar (but notice it says, "temple of God" not "temple of the Jews." A Jewish Temple, built by those who have rejected the Christ and the NT, who are worshipping God not under the NT but under the OT, who do not worship God in "spirit and in truth" could hardly be said to be a "temple of God'). For the contextual truth of these verses I refer you to the excellent comments by Albert Barnes in his Bible Commentary. Animal Sacrifices by Jews at the End Time? Many have and do feel very confident that a Jewish temple will yet be built in Jerusalem, and that the Jews will once more offer animal sacrifices in that Temple before the coming of the Messiah in glory. First, it is often either not known or is forgotten by most. The State and Government of Israel is a "secular" Government. They are NOT interested in "religious matters" on the whole. The secular government of Israel could really care less about building a "religious" Temple for a certain relatively small religious sect of Judaism. Secondly, the main body of "orthodox" Judaism clearly and strongly is opposed to any Temple being built BEFORE the coming of the Messiah. They actual teach that ONLY the Messiah can build the NEXT temple in Jerusalem. This main body orthodox religious Jews would be totally AGAINST the building of a Jewish temple in which an animal sacrificial system would once more be practiced. Thirdly, of those religious Jews who do want to build a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem (and some Christian sects backing them), those Jewish groups teach that a Temple CANNOT be built just ANYWHERE in Jerusalem. They teach that a Temple can ONLY be built where the Dome of the Rock now stands. They claim and teach that the Arab Dome must GO, and that the Jewish Temple must be built where it now stands. They have their clear theology for so teaching, and nothing, no other place or area of land in the city of Jerusalem can be used to build a temple upon, in which the old Levitical priesthood and sacrifices could be reinstated. They have then limited themselves between a rock and a hard place as they say. The religious Arabs would never allow their Dome to be destroyed by the Jews, not without creating a full scale war of death unto the end. Such an attempt by the Jews or by Christians would bring sure Nuclear war between a united Arab world and the Jews of the State of Israel. But, even with all this, some still say the Bible prophecies of the OT, especially in the book of Daniel, teach that animal sacrifices will be performed in Jerusalem before the Messiah returns. Hence to them a Temple, a Jewish Temple, in Jerusalem must yet be built before the end of this age. To them this is so critical that the Messiah cannot come until such a Temple and animal sacrifices are once more functioning in Jerusalem, hence they believe the sooner all this comes about the sooner the Lord Messiah can return, and so they live and breath (some sects) and push and pull and shout and move, to bring all this to pass, thinking they are then being a part of fulfilling the Lord's prophecies of the end time. Their mistake is two fold. First, they do not read the prophecies of Daniel very carefully. They do not see that in those end time prophecies the Hebrew word for "sacrifice" is NOT THERE!! Yes, that is correct, the Hebrew word for "sacrifice" is not there in those prophecies! Oh, to be sure, something is going to be STOPPED by the end time Beast power that comes into the city of Jerusalem as foretold by Daniel and by the book of Revelation. But the word for "sacrifice" is not found in those passages of Daniel that have reference to the end time, the final world power and to the city of Jerusalem. Yes, as they say, be my guest. Look up those passages in Daniel, go to the Hebrew/English Interlinears. Many things can be stopped as to not allowed to function by a people who are taken in captivity by another army of another power. Many of their daily practices as to religious practices can be stopped by a conquering power that may differ in its religious beliefs and practices from those it has conquered. Certain religious sects within Jerusalem have certain daily religious practices today. The orthodox sect of Judaism have their daily religious devotions at the Wailing Wall. This would certainly come to a stop when the Gentile Beast power takes captive and destroys much of the city of Jerusalem at the time of the end, when not one stone of that wall (once a part of the Temple of Jesus' day) will remain upon another, but all will be cast down. Secondly, they miss the mark by not understanding some of the principles of Bible prophecy. Bible prophecy is not all cut and dry, there are many pros and cons, many slights of the hand, and within a context it may not always be easy to pin down certain phrases and how they may be played out in actual reality. A study of all the prophecies that were fulfilled at the first coming of Christ will show this to be all so true. There are some prophecies that will only take place ONCE, and others that will take place more that once, a duality to those if you will. I have given some of the keys to understand Bible prophecy in another study. Some have seen that in the book of Daniel there are a few passages that have ALREADY been fulfilled, recorded history making this very clear. And with a few of those passages the words "daily" is used but the word in Hebrew for "sacrifice" is NOT used. Yet, it was indeed the daily sacrificial system that did come to a stop by the power of certain kings and armies of certain nations that came against Judah or the Jews. Hence, the reasoning goes because of this that those passages of like manner that are to do with end time or end of the age prophecies, must also mean animal sacrifices by be stopped. So the reasoning continues that for physical sacrifices to stop they must begin again, and to begin again a Temple will need to be built. The reasoning feeds on itself, so is one (people coming to a dogmatic, close of the mind, stance on a verse) and so must be the other. What they fail to see and understand about Bible prophecy is that just because one verse with certain words was fulfilled in a certain way, DOES NOT MEAN another verse with the same words, regarding a prophecy for much later (at the end of the age) must also be fulfilled the exact same way as the one fulfilled thousands of years earlier. Not understanding this "un-sameness" in Bible prophecy, even when the words used are identical, has led many to run off shouting as they go, on wild goose chases, which have often left all kinds of egg on people's faces, or a face full of the smashed cream pie dripping all over it. As before stated the passages in Daniel to do with end of the age prophecies that use the word "daily" but not the word "sacrifice" CAN be understood in a way that has nothing to do with daily animal sacrifices being stopped by some Beast power that captures Jerusalem and takes the Jews captive. There are many "daily" practices (some religious in nature) that the Jews would be prevented from practicing and continuing, should they be conquered by a religious force such as that mentioned in the book of Revelation, a religious force that would not be at all sympathetic to the Jews and their OT religion. I have mentioned ONE very important daily practice done by the orthodox Jews that would surely come to and end, be stopped, by the Beast power and its false Prophet, and that is the prayers and religious worship done daily by Jews at the Wailing Wall. More interesting Words and Verses=20 Now we shall look at two Hebrew words used in the OT for our English KJV translation - the words are TEMPLE and SANCTUARY. The Hebrew word translated "temple" in dozens of passages, such as in Mal.4:1 and Zech.6:12,13, is number 1964 in Strong's Concordance. It is used for the tent tabernacle built under the leadership of Moses, also called "the sanctuary" as well as the "temple" that Solomon built. The Hebrew word translated "sanctuary" in dozens of OT passages is number 4720 in Strong's Concordance. This word is used in Ex.25:8,9. Sometimes the physical structure that God dwelt in when among Israel was called "sanctuary" and sometimes it was called "temple." BOTH WORDS ARE USED TO DENOTE THE SAME PHYSICAL STRUCTURE that God dwelt in when among Israel. Now notice this! Talking about the tribes of Israel, Moses prophesied, "You shall bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which you have made for thee to dwell in, in the SANCTUARY, O Lord, which they hands have established" (Ex. 15:17). This is BEFORE God instructed Moses to build a physical tabernacle or tent sanctuary. The Hebrew word used here in Ex.15:17 is the SAME WORD used for the physical sanctuary - #4720 in Strong's.=20 Ex.15:17 is plainly talking about the LAND OF PALESTINE or the PROMISED LAND! Now, turn to Psalm 78 and read verse 54. Talking about how God brought Israel out of Egypt, verse 53, AND, "And He brought them to the border of His SANCTUARY, even to this MOUNTAIN......" verse 54. The whole context makes it clear that the "sanctuary" here spoken about is the PROMISED LAND - PALESTINE!! So, as the words "sanctuary" and "temple" as used for the physical structure, as the literal building that God dwelt in when among the people of Israel could be called EITHER "sanctuary" or "temple," COULD IT BE POSSIBLE (without being dogmatic), could it be that when the prophet said the Messiah would "suddenly come to His temple" he had in mind the PROMISED LAND, and not a physical building at all? And of course the Temple of God for the New Testament, as Paul often used it, the Church of God.
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