“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’spoken of
through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16then let those who are in Judea flee to
the mountains. 17Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house.
18Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak. 19How dreadful it will be in those days for
pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on
the Sabbath. 21For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world
until now—and never to be equaled again. 22If those days had not been cut short, no one would
survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.‖ – Matthew 24:15-22
This abomination was mentioned by Jesus as the first major event of the “Great
Tribulation” (“great distress” in the NIV). The blasphemous announcement by this false messiah
in the Temple Holy of Holies will also mark the one clear “sign of the end of the Age” given to
us by the Lord himself (Matthew 24).
The term “Antichrist” is widely used today. In his epistles, the Apostle John used this
word to refer to a succession of evil world rulers, one of whom would be the final world dictator.
“Anti” can mean “against” or “opposed to” in Greek, but it also can mean “instead of.” Thus this
man is a clever counterfeit of God’s Messiah (christos means messiah or “anointed one”). See:
―About the Name ‗Antichrist‘‖ at the end of Chapter 1.
The event that will precipitate a last desperate flight of the believing remnant of the
Jewish people from Jerusalem and Judea will be “The Abomination of Desolation,” which was
predicted in Daniel 9:27 at the mid-point of the seven year peace treaty.
He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an
end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that
causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him. – Daniel 9:27
This same event is mentioned by the Apostle Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4.
Actually, two great world leaders, prominent on the world stage for the final seven years
of the world-wide Tribulation period, are described for us in Revelation Chapter 13. The imagery
used is that of two wild beasts (Revelation 13:1-2, 11). The man who desecrates the temple is
evidently the second of these two men also called “the false prophet.” Jesus warned the Jews that
such a man would come among them at the end of the age. He said, “I have come in my Father’s
name, and you do not receive me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive” (John
5:43).
This man was also predicted by Zechariah (Zechariah 11:15-17).
Thus it is clear that this second three and one half years of the Tribulation are the worst
years of human history. This also corresponds to the Old Testament prophecy of the “Time of
Jacob’s Trouble” (Jeremiah 30:1-7). Secular Jews, who constitute the majority of the people of
Israel today, will not heed the ancient warning of Jesus in the Olivet Discourse, nor heed his
144,000 end-of-the-age witnesses who will surely warn the world afresh. Indeed most of the
world will probably herald–with approval–the public announcement that a great and powerful
world leader has found a formula for world peace. This same man will claim that he is also God
incarnate, and his claims will be accepted. It will be a time of unprecedented world-wide
deception as Jesus has already warned. Paul reasserts this in his warning in his description of this
event in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.
The Abomination of Desolation in the Temple
What is this “Abomination of Desolation”? In addition to the Scriptures given above,
there is this description of this detestable event in 2 Thessalonians 2.
Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you,
brothers, 2
not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by some prophecy, report or letter supposed
to have come from us, saying that the day of the Lord has already come. 3Don’t let anyone
deceive you in any way, for (that day will not come) until the rebellion [apostasia] occurs and the
man of lawlessnessis revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4He will oppose and will exalt
himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s
temple, proclaiming himself to be God. – 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4
According to Revelation 13, the Beast, who will be energized by the devil, will be
considered so wonderful that many of the people of the earth will voluntarily offer to worship
him. They will see him as a benevolent dictator. Not content with this, at the height of his power,
he will make it mandatory for everyone to give him homage. In order to enforce this, he will
have his religious leader, The False Prophet, set up an image of the Beast in the newly rebuilt
temple. The image (an idol) must also be worshiped. The two Leaders will also institute a system
of economic dictatorship that allows only those who agree to worship him to receive a mark
(666). Without the mark, no one will be able to buy or sell anything. Those who believe in Jesus
Christ will not be willing to accept the mark. No one who does receive the mark will ever be able
or willing to repent and become a true Christian (Revelation 14:9-11; 20:4). Those who refuse
the mark will be forced underground, living with other true believers in out of the way places. If
they are caught they will be put to death for treason against the dictator‘s world government
(Revelation 13:10; 20:4).
The final form of world government in this Tribulation period will have two aspects:
Military, political and economic power will revolve around the first Beast. Subservient to him
will be the harlot church. In Israel a powerful religious coalition will be led by the Second Beast.
Both of these Leaders are Satan’s masterpieces for deceiving the world. Both are energized by
Satan, who until now has never found a complete way of expressing himself in human form
ruling the earth.
