What is the meaning of the abomination of desolation?

WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?

The word "abomination" in the Greek means something that is disgusting and is oftentimes associated with that which is defiling and/or idolatrous. In the Hebrew, the meaning is the same and is associated with pagan idols. The word "desolation" means a condition that is uninhabitable and devastated. In all biblical uses, the term can be understood as the "abomination causing the desolation." The abomination of desolation refers to an idolatrous act that defiles God's holy place, causing devastation. Daniel prophesied it, with a near fulfillment in Antiochus IV's desecration of the Jerusalem temple, and a future fulfillment involving the Antichrist. Jesus referenced this event in Matthew 24:15, pointing to a future moment when the Antichrist will proclaim himself as God in the rebuilt temple. Paul and John further describe this in 2 Thessalonians 2:3–4 and Revelation 13, where the Antichrist and his image will demand worship. Ultimately, this act will trigger God's judgment, leading to the Antichrist's destruction.

FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT

• The abomination of desolation is mentioned three times in the book of Daniel (Daniel 9:27; Daniel 11:31; Daniel 12:11). As is sometimes the case in Scripture, there is a dual, or near/far, fulfillment to Daniel's prophecies. There is little to no disagreement among theologians that the near fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy refers to the reign of Antiochus IV, a Syrian king who ruled Palestine from around 175–164 BC.
• Regarding the future, far fulfillment of the prophecy in Daniel, a few clues help piece together what this future event will be. First, Jesus says in Matthew 24 that the abomination will be "standing in the holy place" (Matthew 24:15). The term "holy place" is found in only one other place in the New Testament (Acts 21:28) and refers to the temple in Jerusalem. Psalm 24:3 also identifies the temple as the holy place of God.
• Daniel 9:27 also shows that it is a person who causes the desolation; "one who makes desolate" is repeated twice in the verse in the NASB. So, putting these two puzzle pieces together, we understand that a person being in God's holy place will cause some sort of desolation until complete destruction is delivered upon that individual. Moreover, the destruction of that individual has been decreed by God.
• Who could this individual be? Daniel 9:26–27 indicates he will be "prince" from a people who will come to destroy the city (Jerusalem) and the sanctuary after the Messiah has been put to death.

FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT

• After the Sermon on the Mount (cf. Matthew 5–7), the longest recorded address by Jesus is His Olivet Discourse, which is found in Matthew 24–25 (see also Mark 8; Luke 21). In these chapters, Jesus briefly describes the coming destruction of Jerusalem, which occurred in 70 AD, and then He goes on to describe at length what will happen just before His second coming. Christ goes into vivid detail of the signs and events that will comprise what is often called the tribulation in Scripture, a period of time in which God pours out His wrath on the unbelieving world and upon the Antichrist and his kingdom.
• A defining moment in the general tribulation period is identified by Jesus in Matthew 24:15, where He describes an incident that immediately brings about a terrible series of events: "So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand)." Once this "abomination of desolation" occurs, "then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be" (Matthew 24:21). Jesus does not say what the abomination of desolation is in this passage or the parallel passage in Mark. However, Matthew and Mark both add the parenthetical note "let the reader understand," which underlines the criticality of those reading Matthew and Mark's gospels being able to comprehend what Jesus was talking about. Although the abomination of desolation is not defined by Matthew, there are enough clues contained in Scripture to arrive at a reasonable conclusion as to what it will be.
• After Jesus was crucified, the Romans, under the lead of Titus, came into Jerusalem and destroyed the city and the temple, literally not leaving one stone upon another. The prince who is spoken of, therefore, in Daniel 9:26–27 will be of Roman descent, with most theologians agreeing that his identity is the Antichrist. This is confirmed in the New Testament in two separate passages, which also provide the last pieces of the puzzle as to what the actual abomination of desolation act is. In his letter to the Thessalonians, the apostle Paul describes the end times tribulation period and gives his readers an interesting sign of that period that concerns the Antichrist and an important blasphemy he commits: “Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God" (2 Thessalonians 2:3–4). This agrees perfectly with Jesus's statement about the abomination being in the holy place of God and the abomination being an individual, as described by Daniel.
• Finally, in Revelation 13:5, the Apostle John describes the Antichrist and the time given him to rule, which is 42 months. This agrees with Daniel 9:27, which says the Antichrist will break his treaty with Israel in the middle of the seven year tribulation period, and it also matches up with Daniel 12:11, which says that there will be 1,290 days (approximately 3.5 years) before the abomination of desolation occurs.
• John also explains that an image of the Antichrist will be constructed, and those on the earth will be forced to worship it: "and by the signs that it [the false prophet] is allowed to work in the presence of the beast [the Antichrist] 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. 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" (Revelation 13:14–15). It is possible that this image could be set up in God's rebuilt temple in Jerusalem and could be what Paul refers to as the abomination, rather than the Antichrist actually seated there in person.

IMPLICATIONS FOR TODAY

There is both a near and future fulfillment of the prophecy found in Daniel. The near fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy refers to the reign of Antiochus IV, a Syrian king who ruled Palestine from around 175–164 BC. He assumed the title "Theos Epiphanes" (god manifest), which gives some idea of his tyrannical pride. The text of Daniel 11:21–35 perfectly describes the rule of Antiochus, who gained his throne "through intrigue" (Daniel 11:21 [NIV]), made numerous excursions into Egypt (vv. 24–27), and desecrated the temple in Jerusalem (v. 31). The apocryphal books of 1 and 2 Maccabees describe in detail the rule of Antiochus and the Jewish resistance to his brutal actions. Antiochus slaughtered thousands of Jews and attempted to obliterate the Jewish religion. History records him as desecrating the temple by sacrificing a pig, the most ceremonially unclean of all animals, on the altar and forcing the priests to eat its flesh. He then set up in the temple an idol of Zeus, the pagan deity he believed himself to be.

When Jesus's words were recorded by Matthew, the reign of Antiochus had long since ended, and yet, Jesus clearly speaks in a way that shows the abomination of desolation is to occur sometime in the future. So, while the reign of Antiochus clearly fulfilled part of the prophecies contained in Daniel, there is evidently a future aspect to it as well. Further, Antiochus's reign was not characterized with a covenant with Israel that was broken in three and a half years, nor a complete desolation that occurred (see Daniel 9:27; 12:11), which gives further evidence of a fuller, future fulfillment of Daniel's prophecies.

By letting Scripture interpret Scripture, we find a reasonable answer to the question of "What is the abomination of desolation?" is that it will be the Antichrist, three and a half years into his reign, taking a place in God's rebuilt temple in Jerusalem and saying to the world that he is God and must be worshipped as God. When that occurs, the real Creator will respond to the challenge and will ultimately and eternally destroy the Antichrist (Revelation 19:20).

UNDERSTAND

• The abomination of desolation is an idolatrous act defiling God's temple.
• The abomination of desolation was fulfilled by Antiochus IV but will also be fulfilled by the Antichrist.
• The abomination of desolation triggers God’s judgment and the Antichrist’s destruction.

REFLECT

• How does understanding the abomination of desolation warn you of idolatry and unfaithfulness to God today?
• How do you see similar patterns of defiling what is sacred in the world today?
• How can you remain steadfast in your faith when faced with spiritual deception or false teachings?

ENGAGE

• What connections are there in the descriptions of the abomination of desolation in the Old and New Testaments?
• How do Daniel, Paul, and John’s descriptions of the abomination of desolation deepen our understanding of the Antichrist’s role in the end times?
• What can we learn from past fulfillments of prophecy about God’s character and how He reveals Himself to humanity?